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OpenERP is a complete business application suite. It covers CRM, accounting (analytic and financial), production management (MRP), stock management, sales and purchases management, task automation, marketing campaigns, help desk, POS, and more. Technical features include a distributed server, flexible workflows, an object database, a dynamic GUI, an XML-RPC interface, and customizable reports.
Google Apps Manager (GAM) is a command line tool that allows Administrators to control their Google Apps domain and accounts. With GAM you can create users, turn on/off services for users like POP and Forwarding and much more. It requires Google Apps Education or Premier Edition. Standard Edition is not supported. Future plans for GAM include even more management capabilities as well as a graphical and Web-based interface.
ScreenBullet is a tool that allows you to create your own TV shows (non-interactive and interactive) to be later presented on displays and kiosks in public and private environments, such as retail stores and corporate buildings. It is a digital signage solution that allows you to create and distribute information, advertising campaigns, and messages in a very attractive form to a large number of devices. It was created from the ground up with a main goal of delivering attractive content to a large audience.
LabKey Server is open source software that helps scientists manage, analyze, and share complex datasets. It supports tandem mass spectrometry, flow cytometry, assays for neutralizing antibodies, Luminex, observational studies, and secure, Web-based collaboration. The software is modular, configurable, and customizable. It can be installed in your institution on any modern hardware and operating system. It is designed to integrate with your existing systems, instruments, and work flows, and to be readily adapted by skilled programmers to novel methods of inquiry. The project is under active development by a team of professional software engineers and a community of active contributors. New versions are released about four times per year.
RC Flyers Toolkit Box is a handy toolbox for R/C pilots. It helps you manage batteries, flights, charge cycles, and check lists. It helps you keep track of which of your batteries are charged, where and when you have been flying last, how much went in your battery compared to the last cycle, what you have to pack to take with you, and which parts you have to check before flying. For rotary wing users, there is a pinion calculator that quickly gives you an idea about the RPM to be expected.
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Apple is testing an iPhone with A5X processor
According to reports on 9to5Mac, Apple is testing a prototype of a new iPhone. This prototype is mounted with a variant of A5X processor, which is already present in the new iPad and suppose that will have less power consumption to extend the autonomy of the device as possible. It makes little sense to put the A5X on an iPhone when that processor is born only to move the new iPad Retinal Display with ease.
Lastly, it’s possible that the iPhone 6 will use an upgraded version of the A5X and not the quad-core A6 chip many were expecting. Since Nvidia released it’s quad-core Tegra 3, there’s been a lot of back and forth between mobile processor makers about which is better–a quad-core chip based on older ARM Cortex-A9 processors or a dual-core chip based on the newer ARM Cortex-A15 processors. We’ll have to wait until the next generation iPhone comes out to see what Apple thinks.
As with the new iPhone, this iPhone prototype has 1GB of RAM versus the 512 MB iPhone 4/4S. This is a test model labeled under the name of N96 that has been created to see how it behaves this processor on an iPhone so it does not mean the end mass produced. In regard to the iPod Touch, it seems that Apple is also working on the fifth generation model (iPod 5.1)as shown by a build of iOS 5.1. We do not know if this new iPod Touch will inherit the current A5 or if Apple will wait to introduce this variant of A5X.
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Appellate Judge Mac McEntire is a chicken, I tell ya! A giant chicken!
Baloney the Dinosaur: "I love me! Yum, yum, doodle dum."
It's time for another Good Idea, Bad Idea.
Good Idea: Laughing hysterically while watching Animaniacs on
Facts of the Case
The legend goes that back in the 1930s, animators created three characters, the Warner brothers and their sister Dot. These three escaped from the animation studio and ran amok on the Warner lot, destroying everything in sight with their out-of-control comedy. They were eventually captured and locked inside the famous Warner Brothers water tower. There they remained until the early Â'90s, when they escaped and Animaniacs was born.
Alongside the Warners' adventures are those of a few other familiar faces:
• Pinky and the Brain—prior to spinning off into their own series, these two lab mice entertained with their many plans to…take over the world!
• The Goodfeathers—three pigeons who bear a shocking similarity to characters from a certain Martin Scorcese film.
• Mindy and Buttons—an adventurous toddler who consistently wanders into danger, and her loyal dog who experiences unbelievable pain while trying to rescue her.
• Slappy the Squirrel—an elderly, retired, and very cranky cartoon character teaching her nephew the finer points of comedy, such as anvils and explosions.
• Rita and Runt—a songstress cat and a dim-bulb dog in search of a home, although each "home" they find usually means danger of some kind.
I've always believed that although Animaniacs usually gets labeled as a kids show, its true audience has always been older viewers, ones that are savvy enough to get all the inside jokes and pop culture references. The various Hollywood spoofs will likely fly over the heads of the 10-and-under set, but for high schoolers and the college crowd, Animaniacs is a must-see if you love to laugh. This is rapid-fire comedy, with jokes and visual gags flying at you about every 30 seconds, so if one joke doesn't work for you, there's not a long wait for the next one.
With the show being more than 10 years old now (can you believe it?), the obvious question to be asked is, "Is it dated?" In some ways, yes. But more often than not, the comedy holds up quite well. For example, viewers might groan when the whole Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding thing gets referenced in one cartoon, but then, minutes later, the same cartoon namedrops writer Gertrude Stein and pianist Vladimir Horowitz. So anyone and anything is a target for parody in the world of Animaniacs.
With the Warner siblings, the writers have created three characters that can be put in any situation, only to have them run amok with their particular brand of lunacy. The Warners' purpose is to diffuse any seriousness they come across, and they do it wonderfully. Whether it's in wisecracks, absurd visuals, or just plain weirdness, it's always a delight when they cut loose on the villain du jour. I think we all wish we could similarly diffuse seriousness in our own lives. We'd much rather goof off and laugh and play around than go to work or pay bills, and the Warners' craziness speaks to this part of ourselves.
If you dig the Goodfeathers, you're in luck, because they're in almost every episode on disc four of this five-disc set, and in plenty of other episodes as well. We get closer looks into their world, especially in meeting their female counterparts, the Girlfeathers. Even better, the Italian-American pigeons get their musical freak on, with a beautifully nonsensical take-off on Fiddler on the Roof. If you can't follow the plot, that's OK; just be coo.
If you dig Slappy the Squirrel, you're also in luck, because she's in almost every episode on disc five, and in plenty of other episodes as well. Some of her best moments here are her appearance at Woodstock, which leads to an Abbott and Costello routine, and her trip to New York in the 1950s, where she debunks the Stanislavski method of acting (see, what little kid is going to understand this cartoon?). Although Slappy's comedy isn't quite as manic as the others, she gets in her share of winning one-liners.
This set contains the final group of episodes that aired on the Fox Network on weekdays, and the first few episodes that aired after the show made the jump to the brand-new WB Network, where it aired on Saturday mornings. On DVD, the change isn't really noticeable except for one thing: mega-popular characters Pinky and the Brain appear a lot less frequently than they did in the Volume One and Volume Two DVDs, because, by this time, the characters were being prepped for their own prime-time spin-off. Their few appearances here are notable, though, especially "Meet John Brain," in which the big cheese does the obvious and runs for president, opening the door for political spoofs a-plenty.
Mindy and Buttons are probably the characters that will have viewers reaching for their remote controls to fast forward. I, however, still appreciate how the writers have taken what is essentially the same sketch over and over, and twisted that formula around by placing it in different environments. This time around, there's mermaid Mindy and SuperMindy, but the best is Mindy and Buttons set in France, with the entire cartoon in French with no subtitles (Buttons: "Le Woof!"). This one actually spoofs the classic 1956 French film The Red Balloon, with the kid from that movie making a little cameo as Buttons gets trampled on by some nuns. It's just another example of a joke that kids are never going to get, but that will have the film majors in the audience nodding with amusement.
Rita and Runt are the other characters that often get pegged by fans as "not as funny." I won't disagree, but I say these two are likable not so much for the laughs but the music. Bernadette Peters (Into The Woods) provided Rita's voice; with it, she gave her considerable singing talent to the writers' often screwy lyrics. Animaniacs could easily be described as musical comedy, with a full orchestra providing the score and goofy, sarcastic song and dance numbers in each episode.
Some of the most vicious satire in this series was reserved for taking on other kid shows that aired at the time (Slappy: "Cartoon characters never really die. Except for Bonkers"). "Baloney and Friends" is appropriately cruel to Barney, and "Super Strong Warner Siblings" does an admirable job at pointing out everything that was stupid about Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Plus, Elmyra, the endlessly annoying character from Tiny Toon Adventures, shows up in one episode, in which she finally gets the punishment she so richly deserves.
The creators continue to display a love of animation and animation history in this series. "Ragamuffins" is allegedly one of the Warners' "lost" cartoons from the 1930s, and is animated in that style, in black-and-white, and accompanied only by music. The retro approach works nicely, and this Â'toon is as fun and engaging as any of the others. "Of Course You Know This Means Warners" is made in the style of a 1940s WWII-era cartoon, with characters encouraging viewers to help with the war effort. Finally, "The Flame Returns," plays around with animating a flame on the end of a candle as if it's a character, giving animators a chance to flex their muscles a little and try something different.
But the standout episode on this set—and reason numero uno why you want to buy it—is the "65th Anniversary Spectacular." Again working under the assumption that these characters have been around since the early 1930s, this episode traces their history throughout the years, from their creation and early films, to their surprise appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show and at the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, all wrapped up in a spoof of cheesy TV award shows. Overall, it's a brilliant piece of comedy and one of the best episodes—if not the best.
The picture quality here is a little hit or miss. More than one animation house worked on the series, which led to some inconsistencies in the fluidity and detail of the visuals. Similarly, some scenes on these DVDs are marred with white flecks during darker moments. At other times, though, the colors are bright and vibrant. The audio comes in dual 5.1 and 2.0 tracks, and they both sound fine, with music and dialogue coming forth with clarity.
This time around, we're treated to two featurettes. The first is a roundtable discussion with the show's original character designers, art directors, and storyboard artists, who go over their thoughts on the look of the characters, and the challenges of animated such an outrageous show. The second featurette is about the show's music, with a special tribute to late composer Richard Stone. These are both great featurettes, and yet I'm still left wanting more, such as commentaries, etc.
The Rebuttal Witnesses
That annoying woodchuck from Volume Two shows up again in this one, with two appearances. First he's depicted as an obnoxious Hollywood director, and then as a nuisance during a Dr. Seuss parody. He's just a bothersome, unlikable character, and the writers would have been better off cutting their losses with this one.
Comedy is subjective, I know. One person's "hilarious" is another person's "stupid." That being said, I feel anyone can find something to laugh at in Animaniacs. This is madcap comedy at its madcappiest. Not guilty.
"Okay, I love you, bye-bye!"
Give us your feedback!
What's "fair"? Whether positive or negative, our reviews should be unbiased, informative, and critique the material on its own merits.
Scales of Justice
Studio: Warner Bros.
• "They Can't Help It If They're Cute, They're Just Drawn That Way" Featurette
Review content copyright © 2007 Mac McEntire; Site design and review layout copyright © 2013 Verdict Partners LLC. All rights reserved.
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Applicable Electronics was established in 1984. The corporate mission is to design, develop and market computer-controlled, rapid, non-invasive, scanning microelectrode measurement systems to detect ionic currents in conductive solutions. The major fields of application for these NDT techniques are biology and corrosion.
Applicable Electronics works together with Science Wares, Inc. Falmouth, MA to continue systems development. Applicable Electronics designs and manufactures system hardware. Eric Karplus, owner of Science Wares, Inc. is the owner and software engineer of the ASET (Automated Scanning Electrode Techniques) software package as well as the mechanical designer and manufacturer of some of the system components.
Both Alan Shipley and Eric Karplus were employed at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA at the National Vibrating Probe Facility (NVPF), which, since 1995, is called the Bio-Currents Research Center. The NIH Division of Research Resources in 1981 established the NVPF and continues funding under its new name, BRC. Shipley and Karplus worked together to build the NVPF by assisting Dr. Carl Scheffey and Dr. Lionel Jaffe in the development of the scanning microelectrode techniques. Since 1994, they are both full-time business professionals dedicated to the development and marketing of these techniques to the world.
Both companies work closely with the laboratory of Dr. Hugh Isaacs of Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY to continue systems development as they are applied to corrosion studies. Applicable Electronics was awarded a Phase I SBIR grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, September, 2001. Alan Shipley was PI and Brookhaven National Labs and Science Wares were contractors on the grant. Project title: "Non-Invasive Techniques to Study Local Passivity Breakdown of Metal Alloys in Aqueous Media". Phase II award, May 30, 2002. The project was a success and produced the DVIT (Differential Video Imaging Technique) which is now available for sale. This is a rapid NDT system for detecting initial corrosion. A patent is pending.
Applicable Electronics has donated the necessary equipment and expertise to help create the University of Massachusetts Vibrating Probe Facility, in Amherst, MA under the direction of Professor Joseph G. Kunkel. The purpose is to continue development of the equipment in a working laboratory for use in biological studies. Applicable Electronics also provides student fellowships at the facility. Science Wares, Inc. donates software, machining and technical support to this facility.
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Doctors may be missing "silent strokes" in a small but significant number of children with severe anemia, who may be unfairly labeled as slow learners when in fact they have a medical problem, troubling new research suggests.
USA Today, Feb 11, 2011:
Strokes have long been known to be a risk for kids with sickle cell anemia, an inherited blood disease that affects 70,000 to 100,000 Americans, mostly blacks. The new study finds that strokes are more common than has been believed in these children.
More surprisingly, the study found that strokes also were occurring undetected in children who do not have sickle cell but have other conditions that can cause anemia, such as cancer, kidney failure or blood loss from trauma such as a car crash.
Some of them have what researchers described as the brains of 80-year-olds when they were only 5 or 10. Read more>>
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- I look up at a wooden beam on the ceiling, or I look at the office door; both the door and the ceiling are about 2 meters from my face.
- I rotate my face 90 degrees left or right at a rate of about 90 degrees per second. (You may have to adjust this rate to experience the flicker. Too fast or too slow, and you won't experience the flicker.)
- My visual perception (of the edge of the door or ceiling) flickers rather than being smooth and continuous.
- I typically perceive 4 (but sometimes 5 or 6) images during the rotation, which translates to 1/3 second between images or one image per 30 degrees of rotation.
- Ensure that ambient illumination doesn't flicker. Sunlight is suitable. Most electrical light that runs on AC is not.
- I understand that not everyone who tries this experiment will experience this phenomenon.
- This phenomenon also occurs when viewing a sheet of paper held at arm's length and pressed against a contrasting wall (e.g., white paper on brown wall). Rotating the paper instead of your face does not generate the phenomenon.
- The intention of the linked YouTube video is only to show which plane to rotate.
- I recorded a video of my face during the experiment. Reviewing the video, I see no eye movement.
Is there any research on this phenomenon? (I have been unable to find anything on it, perhaps because I don't know the proper terminology.)
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Publication Date:Jan 15, 2010
Discipline:Human Resource Management
Source:Stanford Graduate School of Business
English Hardcopy Black & White
Also Available in:
|English Hardcopy Black & White||
Netflix was among a small group of Silicon Valley companies to emerge from the technology bubble of the late 1990s a clear winner in terms of growth, market share, and profitability. That Netflix was able not only to prevail over this competition but also to thrive was largely attributable to the culture of freedom and responsibility inculcated by founder Reed Hastings. To foster this culture, the company adopted a series of unique employment practices that were meant to attract, retain, and motivate the type of employee that Netflix valued. Among these practices was a compensation system with several unconventional features. Whereas most companies provided compensation packages with a predetermined mix of cash and equity-based awards, Netflix turned the model on its head and allowed employees to request their own mix. Management was interested in finding out whether this practice supported or detracted from the company's main objectives for its employees.
This case explores the relation between employee compensation, economic efficiency, company performance, and reinforcement of culture.
Compensation; Corporate governance; Human resource management; Internet
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What's New in Finances
Consolidating college loans may save you money
The government is offering reduced interest rates to borrowers who consolidate their federal education loans by September 30, 2001. This incentive is designed to reduce the default rate on student loans.
Under the Direct Consolidation Loan program, your college loans are paid off and a new consolidation loan is created. You may choose from four different repayment plans, and you may switch plans at any time.
The new fixed-rate loan is based on the weighted average of the loans you are consolidating. However, the rate cannot exceed 8.25 percent. If you consolidate your college loans by the September 30 deadline, you’ll receive an interest reduction of .8 percent. If you pay electronically, the rate drops another .25 percent. Certain loans are eligible for an additional up-front interest rebate of 1.5 percent of the loan balance.
Consolidating different types of federal education loans into a single loan may make your debt more manageable for several reasons.
- The interest rate may be lower.
- You may be able to extend the repayment period.
- The monthly payment amount may be lower.
- You’ll have a single payment and a single lender (the Department of Education).
To find out more information about these loans and whether they might fit into your financial plan, give us a call or visit www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov.
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1999 Quarter 1 | Vol. 35, No. 1
The Effects of Vertical Integration on Competing
by R. Preston McAfee
When a downstream firm buys an input supplier, it can reduce its costs of using that input. Other input suppliers typically respond by pricing more aggressively, given the demand reduction, which tends to lower input supply costs to other firms. Thus, a vertical merger may lower rivals' costs instead of raising them.
PDF file 131K
Banking Consolidation and Correspondent
by William P. Osterberg and James B. Thomson
Banking consolidation, spurred on by interstate branching deregulation, is changing the competitive structure of banking markets. Policymakers and regulators have focused on the implications of the ongoing consolidation for customers of banks in retail and wholesale markets. Little attention, however, has been paid to the impact of interstate consolidation on correspondent banking markets-those markets where banks buy and sell inputs used to produce banking services. By studying the era of intrastate branching deregulation, the authors provide some insights on the implications of interstate branching for correspondent banking.
PDF file 142K
1999 Quarter 2 | Vol. 35, No. 2top
The Third Industrial Revolution: Technology,
Productivity, and Income Equality
by Jeremy Greenwood
The author examines periods of rapid technological change for coincidences of widening inequality and slowing productivity growth. He contends that while in the short run the introduction of technologies offers profits to investors and premiums for skilled workers, in the long run the rising tide of technological change lifts everybody's boat.
PDF file 282K
Accounting for Capital Consumption and Technological
by Michael Gort and Peter Rupert
Methods currently used to calculate capital consumption, the capital stock, and the sources of economic growth do not adequately measure the underlying growth in inputs due to technological advance. This lack affects tax policy as well as programs targeting potential areas of economic growth. The authors present a model designed to surmount the deficiencies of current calculation methods.
PDF file 108K
Defining Capital in Growth Models
by Michael Gort, Saqib Jafarey, and Peter Rupert
The authors analyze the measurement of the capital stock when technological advance is embodied in capital. The source of the problem is that capital is not homogeneous across vintages. Which measure of the capital stock to use is dictated by the question being addressed.
PDF file 102K
1999 Quarter 3 | Vol. 35, No. 3top
Term Structure Economics from A to B
by Joseph G. Haubrich
The interest rates for bonds of different maturities are related, but the interplay of factors that influence these rates is not easy to tease apart. The author leads the reader through the development of a model of the term structure of interest rates, then works with the model to provide some insights into the interplay of factors, especially the effect of uncertainty on interest rates. His analysis shows how a common simplification known as the expectations hypothesisobscures the significant contribution that uncertainty can make to the determination of interest rates.
PDF file 143K
Depositor-Preference Laws and the Cost of
by William P. Osterberg and James B. Thomson
Under depositor-preference laws, depositors' claims on the assets of failed depository institutions are senior to unsecured general-creditor claims. As a result, depositor preference changes the capital structure of banks and thrifts, thereby affecting the cost of capital for depositories. Depositor preference has no impact on the total value of banks and thrifts, however, unless deposit insurance is mispriced.
PDF file 143K
Household Production and Development
by Stephen L. Parente, Richard Rogerson, and Randall Wright
The authors introduce home production into the neoclassical growth model and examine its consequences for development economics, focusing on how differences in policies that distort capital accumulation explain international income differences. In models with home produc-tion, such policies not only reduce capital accumulation, they also change the mix of market and nonmarket activity; therefore, for a given policy differential, these models generate larger differences in output than standard models. Policy differences' (hence market income differences') welfare implications change when the model explicitly incorporates home production.
PDF file 183K
1999 Quarter 4 | Vol. 35, No. 4top
Effects of Movements in Equities Prices
on M2 Demand
by John B. Carlson and Jeffrey C. Schwarz
Large swings in stock prices are sometimes associated with a redirection of household savings flows. Such changes can lead to transitory increases in M2 as investors temporarily "park" funds in depository assets while they determine the funds' ultimate destination. The authors find that, although stock price changes are statistically significant as an explanation for M2 growth, they do not account for much of M2's recent strength.
PDF file 135K
Population Aging and Fiscal
Policy in Europe and the United States
by Jagadeesh Gokhale and Bernd Raffelhüschen
The authors report each country's total intertemporal public liability as the sum of its explicit outstanding debt and the present value of its implicit liabilities-the excess of projected transfers and government purchases over tax revenues. They find rapid, persistent population aging in almost every European country. They also calculate that for European countries with the highest implicit liabilities, eliminating total intertemporal liabilities would require tax revenue increases exceeding 4 percent of GDP. Compared to Europe, the future challenges of population aging and fiscal problems in the United States seem far more benign.
NOTE: This version has been revised since publication to correct for errors in calculations which appeared on page 14 of the published version.
PDF file 137K
1998 1999 2000 | top
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| 0.905172
| 1,171
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Oh hey! I just want you to know that this isn't directed at you. Because I think you are a great writer! This is for that other blogger. Over there.
It's / Its
IT'S = it is
ITS = pronoun
Example: It's annoying when a fellow shopper hovers next to me. (True statement, by the way.)
Use the apostrophe because you can substitute "it is" in that sentence.
Example: My favorite black sweater is missing its buttons.
See? No apostrophe there because substituting "it is" wouldn't make sense. (And yes, I'm very sad about my black sweater.)
Feeling superior? Take this quiz on it's versus its.
They're / There / Their
THEY'RE = they are = a word usually used at the beginning of a sentence
THERE = use when referring to a place
THEIR = possessive (always comes before a noun)
Are you rolling your eyes at me yet? Then take this one, Smartypants!
LOOSE / LOSE
lose = to come to be without
loose = adjective meaning not bound together; free; slutty (heh)
Example: They're going to lose their minds when I let my boyz loose there.
Wrong: His car's are both red.
Right: His cars are both red.
Wrong: His cars paint is red.
Right: His car's paint is red.
Feeling smug? Try this!
And a bonus tip: I have lots of pairs of shoes. (Again, true statement.)
NOT: I have lot's of pair's of shoe's.
So report your scores below in the comments, class!
And again...this totally wasn't directed at you.
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A couple of days ago Scott David Herman (@erasing) posted a great little piece to wallace-l about the source of the Anthony Burgess epigraph for David Foster Wallace's story/novella (and one of my very favourite Wallace shorts), Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way (from the Girl with Curious Hair collection).
I've reproduced the post below with Scott's permission. Thanks, Scott!
If anyone's interested, I recently dug up the source of the Anthony Burgess quote that Wallace used as the first epigraph to "Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way":
"As we are all solipsists, and all die, the world dies with us. Only very minor literature aims at apocalypse." -- Anthony Burgess
I was surprised to find that this is kind of a misquote, or at least it's an alteration -- maybe deliberate, maybe not. There are two issues:
- The epigraph's two sentences aren't adjacent in Burgess's original piece. In fact they're almost antipodal from each other.
- The second sentence changes Burgess's wording a bit.
The original piece is "The apocalypse and after", a book review Burgess wrote for the March 18, 1983 issue of the Times Literary Supplement. He was reviewing an academic book entitled Terminal Visions: The Literature of Last Things by W. Warren Wagar (what a name) and musing generally about end-of-the-world literature. Burgess also included the review in his 1986 essay collection Homage to QWERT YUIOP, under the title "Endtime" (and its text appears to be unchanged, from what I can see on Google Books).
The first sentence of the epigraph is the second sentence of Burgess's opening paragraph:
We have had the end of the world with us ever since the world began, or nearly. As we are all solipsists, and all die, the world dies with us. Of course, we suspect that our relicts are going to live on, though we have no proof of it, and there is a possibility, again unprovable, that the sun will heartlessly rise the morning after we have become disposable morphology. Perhaps it is rage at the prospect of our ends that makes us want to extrapolate them onto the swirl of phenomena outside.
The unaltered version of the second sentence appears nearly 2000 words later, as the last sentence of the piece:
And if H.G. Wells emerges in this survey as the only giant in a genre which he virtually invented, it is, almost in spite of himself, because he was interestingly ambiguous, which few of his successors are, and because he dealt in the minutiae of human experience. The man in "The War of the Worlds" who, facing the probable endtime, mourns the loss of tinned salmon with vinegar remains more memorable than the Martian death-rays. Only very minor literature dares to aim at apocalypse.
(I do like that "dares to aim at" rather than "aims at"...)
I guess either Wallace wrote down the lines from memory and misremembered them, or he was pulling some sort of Reality-Hunger-ish remix of Burgess's words in order to generate the epigraph he preferred. Or both -- i.e. deliberately combining non-adjacent sentences without an ellipsis, and misremembering the wording of one of them?
If anyone wants to read the whole Burgess piece, I've got a PDF of it here.
PS: I should probably confess that it was all the tongue-in-cheek Mayan apocalypse stuff from last month that reminded me of Wallace's epigraph and spurred me to look it up.
Scott David Herman (@erasing) - Jan 2013
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Pulling or Walking on a Leash
This is the most common complaint and it is caused by enthusiastic dogs and a willing human. Dogs do not walk slowly to see something exciting; they run. Dogs also pull because they want to get from here to there and we taught them that if they pull, we will follow along.
Where to Start
Start with a fun game of fetch; wear your dog out before you start your walk. Bring some very small treats. Reward for a loose lease and include a “Good dog”. Make walking fun, go fast, go slow, turn corners, make going for a walk a fun game. Reward for good behavior and ignore bad behavior, but do not allow yourself to be pulled.
When your dog starts to pull, stop. Stop every time. This is frustrating to any dog. How can thy get to Point B when you are not following along? Wait until the leash slacks and then continue on. The first time you walk around the block (stopping ever time the leash tightens) will seem endless and you will feel frustrated. Do not give up. Start your first lesson on a short block and for no more than 5 minutes. Keep it short, so you do not become frustrated. Practice everyday for 5 minutes. You will be astonished at the progress. Consistency is very important.
No Pull Collars
There are numerous type of collars and halters that will discourage a dog from pulling and they can be very helpful when trying to un-teach the unacceptable behavior of dragging you down the street. These collars do not teach a dog; we teach dogs. Dogs will pull as long as it works and until they are rewarded for not pulling.
There are 2 opinions about pinch collars; bad or great. I have seen a professional trainer put one on her neck to demonstrate that in fact a pinch collar only pinches; it does not dig in and hurt. I have used them to start training an overly, enthusiast dog, but with consistent training any dog should be able to learn how to walk without pulling and be able to switch to a normal choke collar. Remove this type of collar when not training.
Choke collars should be used to communicate your instructions to your dog. Do not jerk or use the choke collar roughly or you can injure your dog. When the choke starts to tighten, your dog will notice. It is important for you to teach your dog the appropriate action when it feels the collar tightens; slow down or stop; not drag you on. Be sure to put a choke collar on correctly, so that it releases each time. Use only for training and remove this type of collar when not training.
A harness is a good choice for small dogs, older dogs or breeds which are prone to a collapsing trachea. They are not advisable for training the large, more powerful dogs.
Nylon or Leather Collar
These collars are great for everyday use, since they may be left on all the time with your dog’s ID attached. Many dogs can slip out of these collars. These collars may not be effective for the more enthusiastic dog.
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Why Getting the Business Cycle Right Is the Only Thing That Pays
Wednesday, June 13th, 2012
By Mitchell Clark, B.Comm. for Profit Confidential
Two decades ago, everyone was making money from the stock market. There was a boom, and some of the best stocks were in the technology sector, mostly due to the proliferation of the Internet. You didn’t even need to own the best stocks; just owning the index was a profitable investment strategy. Then, the best stocks and the rest of the market came apart, because valuations got too extreme for the amount of earnings being generated. Many companies in the technology sector are still today recovering from the stock market bubble that burst.
Take Intel Corporation (NASDAQ/INTC), for example. This company is still growing its revenues and earnings, but what used to be one of the market’s best stocks turned out to be a big dud. The company’s stock price hasn’t done anything for years. In fact, Intel’s stock market price on a split-adjusted basis is the same now as it was in November 1998. That’s 13 1/2 years of dividend payments, but no bankable capital appreciation for long-term holders of the shares.
Another company with a similar story is Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ/CSCO), which is now trading at the same split-adjusted price as in October 2008. Even if the company’s dividend payments covered the inflation rate, if you still owned the stock from that time, you wouldn’t have made a dime.
The notion that long-term investing in the stock market is the only way to go is a total bust as far as I’m concerned. Long-term investing works—but only if you own the right businesses at the right time during the business cycle. Things happen; industries change and so do investor expectations. Just like the business cycle, the best stocks in any given stock market environment are going to change.
Compared to the best stocks in the 1990s, a lot of money was made over the last 12 years from companies like railroad Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE/UNP) and consumer goods provider Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE/CL). Some of the best stocks in the stock market over the last few years have been old-school, blue-chip names that are known for their conservative management. International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE/IBM) and The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE/PG) come to mind. (See Dividend Increases Soar as Companies Return Excess Cash.)
All the shocks the stock market experienced over the last dozen years serve to remind us that the business cycle is very real and, if you’re on the wrong side of it, you’d better be prepared to lose money (and not just on the stock market). Right now, the U.S. economy is in the process of stabilizing itself after a major housing bubble. The best stocks currently are the ones that pay high dividends. I think the foundation is being set for a new, upward business cycle in a couple years’ time. The U.S. economy may experience a recession beforehand and there will be cracks in the eurozone. But interest rates continue to be artificially low and, eventually, the U.S. economy is going to experience a major acceleration. When this happens, the next business cycle will bring about one major investment theme: price inflation.
Next year or the year after is probably going to be a great new entry point in the stock market and I think the best stocks for the rest of this decade will be those that benefit from inflation, which is simmering, just waiting to boil over. Now would be a good time to be looking for the best stocks that will be the new market leaders.
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I don't see why you couldn't use the expression in both of its senses in the same sentence. Example: "He bolted the door then he bolted."
There is a clear difference in usage between the two. There is little chance of getting them confused. One always takes an object; the other never does. One bolts a door or (less often) a gate or a window. OTOH (on the other hand), in the other sense (running away), one simply bolts.
That should do it. :wink:
BTW, welcome to the forum. It's good to "see" you here. :)
- For Teachers
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'Cautious Optimism' But Fires Still Rage
Fire Chief Shimon Roma announced Sunday morning that the worst may be over and "cautious optimism" is at hand but the fire is still raging in a number of locations and total control will take time. Roma told listeners on IDF Army Radio that although the combined strength of Israeli and foreign firefighting teams appeared to have brought the blaze into a more manageable state than that which they confronted on Thursday, they still had a long way to go.
More than 30 firefighting aircraft were gearing up to make their drops of chemical retardant on Sunday morning, including the largest firefighting aircraft in the world -- a privately-owned American Boeing 747. The Evergreen Supertanker, which landed at Ben-Gurion International Airport late Saturday night, can carry up to 80 tons of chemical fire retardant and water at one time -- 16 times the amount of the average firefighting plane -- and was already preparing to make its first drop at 6:00 a.m. Sunday.
After three days of spreading flames and the deaths of 41 people in Israel's worst fire ever, authorities were somewhat optimistic Saturday night that the tide was turning, and that with the assistance of some 33 foreign firefighting aircraft, the Carmel fire could be brought under control within a day or two. However, some sources in the fire department said that it could take as long as a week to completely douse the flames.
The fire is still raging in "Little Switzerland", the verdant mountain road and its wildlife preserve, Mount Shekef near the Druze towns of Daliat El Carmel and Ussefiya, the Nir Etzion, Beit Oren and Yemin Orde Youth Village areas.
All the animals in the wildlife preserve were saved, some by evacuation and some by opening the cages and allowing the non-dangerous indigenous animals to escape to safer areas in time by themselves.
So far, over 50,000 dunams (12,500 acres) of forested area – including some 5 million trees - have been destroyed. However, officials said that the fire had still not been brought under control, and that easterly winds, although weaker than they were Friday, could still spread the fire.
The Jewish National Fund, Keren Kayemet Leyisrtael, whose mandate is forestation, says that thousands of hundred year old trees were destroyed and estimates that many decades will pass before the forests will be restored to their former beauty.
All 41 victims of the fire were identified over the weekend, and the names of 39 of the victims had been released by Saturday night. The youngest victim was Elad Rivan, a 16 year old student from Haifa, who had volunteered to help firefighters. Elad appeared for duty on Thursday, and was killed as he was working with a firefighting crew from Afula that was trapped by spreading flames. Ten of the victims were buried Friday, and another five funerals are so far scheduled for Sunday.
Planes from Switzerland, Russia, Holland, France, Azerbaijan, and Romania on Saturday joined planes from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey that were working to prevent the spreading of the fire and to douse some of the flames. Over the weekend, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that Israel would buy more firefighting planes in order to ensure that future fires are brought under control more quickly.
Speaking to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said that the PA would be glad to provided whatever help it could in the tragedy, and pledged three firefighters. Netanyahu expressed his gratitude for the offer, saying that “neighbors must help each other.”
In what is being taken as a positive sign, residents of some of the towns that were evacuated Thursday night and Friday, including Tirat HaCarmel and the Denya neighborhood of Haifa, were allowed to return to their homes Saturday night. Authorities said that the smoke cloud over Tirat HaCarmel, which made breathing the air hazardous Friday, had dissipated somewhat, and that the town was now safe from pollution and spreading flames.
Many of the roads that had been closed throughout Friday, including Road 4, the main north-south highway in the area, have been reopened. Police have increased their patrols of the evacuated areas to prevent possible looting of empty houses.
Meanwhile, on Saturday afternoon police arrested two 16 year old youths from the village of Ussefiya, which itself was heavily damaged in the fire, in connection with the inferno. The two brothers were questioned by police, who said that they had apparently had acted with negligence, and did not start the fire intentionally. On Friday night, police said at a press conference that they knew the family who had started the fire, and that they had not acted out of nationalistic or other intentional motivation.
However, reports persisted Saturday that there had been other contributing factors to the fire – specifically, groups and individuals who had thrown firebombs in different areas where firefighters were working, in order to rekindle fires that had gone out. Firefighters and rescue workers reported seeing such individuals throughout Friday, and late in the day, two youths from the village of Daliat al-Carmel were arrested when they were seen acting suspiciously near a site where the flames had recently been doused. They were later released.
Several smaller fires broke out in the Carmel region and in other areas as well, and police said these fires were “copycat arson” blazes being set by individuals or, perhaps, by organized groups. Through Saturday night, police were chasing down suspects who had started a fire in the Jerusalem Forest. A PA Arab and an Israeli Arab were apprehended attempting to set a fire in the valley near Gilo. That fire was doused, and no injuries were reported.
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NORRISTOWN, PA – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today called on Congress to pass the transportation portion of the American Jobs Act during a visit to the Bridgeport-Norristown Viaduct outside Philadelphia, a century-old passenger rail bridge that is among the hundreds of pieces of transportation infrastructure across Pennsylvania in serious need of upgrades and repairs.
The investments made under the transportation portion of the American Jobs Act could put hundreds of thousands of people to work in Pennsylvania and around the country, renovating and rebuilding our roads, rails, and runways.
“There’s no such thing as a Democratic or Republican bridge, and there’s no such thing as a Democratic or Republican job when it comes to rebuilding our aging infrastructure,” said Secretary LaHood, who was joined by state and local officials. “Congress needs to pass the transportation portion of the American Jobs Act as soon as possible so we can continue to modernize our transportation systems and keep our economy moving forward.”
The transportation piece of President Obama's American Jobs Act would make an immediate investment of $50 billion in America's transportation infrastructure and put people back to work upgrading 150,000 miles of road, laying or maintaining 4,000 miles of train tracks, restoring 150 miles of runways, and putting in place a next-generation air-traffic control system that will reduce travel time and delays.
The President's legislation would also make a $10 billion investment to create a nonpartisan National Infrastructure Bank that would operate independently and issue loans for major transportation and infrastructure projects based on two criteria: how badly a road, bridge, transit, water, or energy project is needed and how much good it would do for the economy. These investments would also be paid for without adding a dime to the deficit; resources would come from a balanced deficit reduction plan that includes closing corporate tax loopholes and asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share.
The Jobs Act would invest $50 billion in crucial transportation projects, including about $1.4 billion for projects across Pennsylvania. As part of that $1.4 billion, Pennsylvania would receive $384.2 million in much-needed federal transit assistance that could be used to repair and rehabilitate infrastructure such as the Bridgeport Viaduct that Secretary LaHood visited today, which was built by the Philadelphia and Western Railroad a century ago in 1911.
The 3,175-foot bridge carries approximately 24,000 Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s (SEPTA) Norristown High Speed Line passengers over the Schuylkill River in Montgomery County each month. The viaduct also connects passengers to the Norristown Transportation Center, a major intermodal transfer point that’s also served by eight local bus routes and the Manayunk/Norristown commuter rail line, as well as inter-city bus service.
“Southeastern Pennsylvania, home to some of the oldest transit infrastructure in the nation, is in need of a 21st Century overhaul,” said Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff. “Passing the American Jobs Act will put nearly a thousand Pennsylvanians to work rehabilitating the Bridgeport-Norristown viaduct alone, modernizing the Jenkintown power substation, or upgrading the Levittown Station on the Trenton Line, giving hundreds of thousands of SEPTA riders a more reliable and desirable commute to work each day.”
The transportation investments made under the American Jobs Act include:
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Riverside home featured in My Cincinnati House lecture July 14 | Arts & Culture
CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) - The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County’s 2012 Cincinnati House series continues 2 p.m. Saturday, July 14, with the Matthew McWilliams house in Riverside at the Main Library, 800 Vine St., on the third floor in the Genealogy & Local History program space.
The house is a Greek revival temple-form house from the 1840s owned by Dave Zelman.
“The Matthew McWilliams house is a survivor of the period when Cincinnati was growing faster than any other city in the U.S. With this growth came unprecedented prosperity, and a generation of Americans that could take advantage of what the industrial revolution had to offer,” said Zelman.
“My Cincinnati home was one of a number of riverfront estates built by military officers, land speculators, and captains of industry. They built these homes to impress, to socialize, and to experiment with their agricultural pursuits. Time passed, and many of these homes were lost or forgotten. Today, our home is a comfortable place for family and friends. As the steward of one of Cincinnati's antebellum survivors, I look forward to sharing the story of my Cincinnati house,” said Zelman.
Award-Winning Lecture Series Continues Throughout the Year
The Library’s Genealogy & Local History Department received the “We Are Much Pleased” award from the Ohio River Valley chapter of The Victorian Society in America for its My Cincinnati House lecture series. The award was bestowed in recognition of the series’ exploration and celebration of the region’s “rich 19th century legacy.”
Every other month, the owner of a beautiful house in the Cincinnati area will present a history of his or her house for the My Cincinnati House series. After the July 14 event, the next lecture will be given by Ted Ganz Sept. 8 about the Sycamore Street Studio in Over-the-Rhine.
For more information, contact the Genealogy & Local History Department at 513-369–6905.
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Two 6-year-old boys were suspended for pretending to shoot each other with imaginary guns.
(UPI) -- School officials in Maryland suspended two 6-year-old boys for pretending to shoot each other with imaginary guns, a move some parents call "ridiculous."
Officials at a Talbot County elementary school suspended the two boys, who were playing cops and robbers during recess, using their fingers in the shape of imaginary guns, WJZ-TV, Baltimore, reported Tuesday.
"It's ridiculous," said parent Julia Merchant.
This is the second such incident in less than a month in Maryland, after 6-year-old Rodney Lynch was suspended from a Montgomery County school for pretending to fire an imaginary gun at a fellow student.
"They're saying he threatened a student, threatened to shoot a student. He was playing," said Rodney Lynch Sr., the boy's father.
Child psychologist Dr. Joe Kaine said he did not believe Rodney was acting out of maliciousness, and most children that age can't comprehend why something they consider fun might upset adults.
"I can certainly appreciate that at school, that's not a type of play that they are going to endorse and I certainly support that, but that's where we educate the time and place for doing things," he said.
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“People Power” in the Philippines refers to the overthrow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.
Famous in the West for his wife’s taste in shoewear, his administration was also known for embezzlement, corruption, despotism, fraud and rigging elections.
In 1972 President Marcos declared martial law in response to a bombing in Manila that killed killed nine civilians. Marcos had his political opponent Benigno Aquino arrested, and though no evidence connected him to the …Read more
Flag of Mexico! Legacy of our heroes, Symbol of the unity of our parents and of our siblings, We promise you to be always faithful To the principles of liberty and justice That make our Homeland The independent, humane and generous nation To which we dedicate our existence.
Flag Day is held on the anniversary of the creation of the Plan de Iguala in 1821, named for the city Iguala …Read more
Today Russia celebrates Defenders of the Fatherland Day.
On February 23 (Julian Calendar) 1917, Russian women in Petrograd celebrated the 7th International Women’s Day. In response to food shortages caused by the war with Germany, the women of Russia’s capital city “poured onto the streets,” demanding “bread for our children” and “the return of our husbands from the trenches.” (www.marxists.org/archive/kollonta/1920/womens-day.htm)
The protests gained momentum the following days when workers’ strikes forced the closure of hundreds …Read more
Actual birthday: February 22? Observed: 3rd Monday in February
George Washington’s birthday is observed on the third Monday in February. Since the third Monday falls between Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthdays, many people celebrate it as Presidents’ Day. But the federal holiday’s name was never officially changed. It is still ‘Washington’s Birthday Observed’ even if it is commonly referred to as ‘Presidents Day’ by state legislatures and mattress stores alike.
(Flags George served) (1700s Union Jack; early …Read more
February 22, 2012
Ash Wednesday, by Carl Spitzweg, ca. 1855
Don’t tell your co-worker he has dirt on his face; he’s been told this a dozen times already today, and it’s not dirt.
The ashes on his forehead, resembling the shape of a cross, most likely come from palms that were burned last year after Palm Sunday and were blessed by a priest. On the morning of Ash Wednesday, Catholic priests and some Protestant ministers mark their parishioners foreheads …Read more
Observed: Third Monday in February Actual Birthday: February 22
Was George Washington elected unanimously?
The tallies of the first presidential election in 1789, submitted by electors of 10 of the 13 United States of America, were as follows:
George Washington: 69 votes John Adams: 34 votes John Jay: 9 votes Robert Harrison: 6 votes John Rutledge: 6 votes John Hancock:4 votes< George Clinton: 3 votes Samuel Huntington: 2 votes John Milton: 2 votes James Armstrong: …Read more
Language is the soul of a nation… Do you want to make a people disappear? Destroy its language.
Jules-Paul Tardivel, L’anglicisme, voila l’ennemi, 1880
Today is International Mother Language Day.
For some reason the excitement surrounding this occasion is not quite as intense as other more important holidays, such as Talk Like a Pirate Day. This may be because our national linguistic experience differs from most countries. As one joke goes:
What do you …Read more
Date varies. February 21-23, 2012
Today Mongolians celebrate Tsagaan Sar, or “White Month.” It roughly mirrors the Chinese Lunar New Year (but don’t say this out loud in Mongolia) and heralds the coming of spring.
The beginning of spring is definitely something to look forward to in Mongolia where temperatures hover well below 0°F in the winter months. A couple weeks ago the temperature was under -30º F.
This year’s Tsagaan Sar is a particularly …Read more
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In a recent Dorset School Board meeting, Ellen Saltonstall, a seventh and eighth grade English teacher, gave a presentation on the program, known as the Haiku Learning Management System, and how it is being used in her classes. She noted that students are much more engaged during their lessons.
"This summer [the school board] voted to give us chrome books and with a lot of trepidation because we have so many new things that we are dealing with, like the Haiku pages and putting all the grades online," she said. "I was overwhelmed and I thought I would never be able to do this; well I was wrong and it has really changed my instruction. It has changed all of our instruction and it has created a whole new environment in my classroom. Kids are really engaged."
Chrome books are a type of laptop computer.
What Haiku allows teachers to do is basically post assignments on their specific Haiku class page. Haiku is used to extend teaching and learning online that will result in better communication with parents, students, and teachers as well as better monitor student development. The goal is to work towards ePortfolio, which is an online-centered program that is augmented by a platform builder and assessment module such as Haiku.
"This will allow students to create an academic portfolio
Rosanna Moran, The Dorset School principle, thinks that Haiku is a great tool to use and helps teachers and students interact in a positive way. "It has increased student engagement," she said. "It has given an avenue for the use of technology where everyone has equal access. It has opened up ways for students to respond whereas in the past a shy student might not enter into a discussion in the classroom, but when it's posted in Haiku on a discussion board it gives them a better way to voice there opinion."
Added Moran: "We need to give it some time and give it a proper assessment. I definitely see an increase in student engagement. You put technology in [students] hands and they are more invested."
Students might be more invested due to the social media aspect that the Haiku Learning Management System adds. Students are allowed to comment on assignments and instant messaging can be used to interact with each other to work on projects and other assignments. They can even "like" things on Haiku.
Jackie Wilson, Curriculum Director at the BRSU, said that social media engages student in a way that fits the culture they are growing up in. "To put kids where they are comfortable now, which is in that social environment with those social tools right in hand, I just think that it matches their learning style," she said.
It also makes the teacher's job, if not easier, simpler. When a teacher posts an exam to the Haiku website and the students complete it, Haiku actually grades if right when the exam is complete, saving the teachers time allowing them to focus on the next assignment. It also allows teachers to interact with other teachers using Haiku.
"We are using Haiku in a way that teachers are sharing to build some of their units of study," said Wilson. "When all the teachers can collaborate using that learning management system and share their resources and plan together around our standards it is great not just for our teachers but for our students as well."
Dorset is not the only local school to use Haiku as the Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union (BRSU) has implemented the use of Haiku to the other schools in the district: Manchester Elementary-Middle School, Currier Memorial School, Mettawee Community School, and Sunderland Elementary School.
Melody Troy, the principal at Sunderland Elementary School, said, "It is a direct link between teachers and students and one of the best things is that parents are more involved in their child's learning."
Haiku allows for parents to keep track of how their child is doing and better understand and help kids as they work on an assignment. To learn more about the Haiku Learning Management System go to www.haikulearning.com.
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.manchesterjournal.com/education/ci_21995907/haiki-more-than-poetry
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More computer systems are being developed that will help take advantage of this kind of algorithmic advance. 1000 processors via FPGAs for $100,000 later this year and next.
Intel is promising hundreds of processor cores within ten years.
Backgroun on supercomputer architectures
1. vector processors that can execute particular types of mathematical problems very quickly. (traditional Cray type machines)
2. large numbers of regular processors typically placed in a large number of networked computers. (Big Blue type supercomputers)
3. field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), chips that can be reconfigured on the fly to run specific programs very quickly.
4. Multithreaded chips
Details on the algorithmic advance:
The calculation requires solving an approximation of the Schrödinger equation, one of the central equations of quantum mechanics. It can be approximated as the sum of an infinite number of terms, each additional term contributing a bit more to the accuracy of the result. For all but the simplest systems or a relative handful of terms, however, the calculation rapidly becomes impossibly complex. Precise calculations have been done for systems of three components but this is for four. Their calculations were carried out to 7,034 terms. Two earlier algorithms were merged. They also developed improved computer code for a key computational bottleneck (high-precision solution of the large-scale generalized matrix eigenvalue problem) using parallel processing. The final calculations were run on a 147-processor parallel cluster at NIST over the course of a weekend.
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://nextbigfuture.com/2006/03/computational-chemistry-advance-100_20.html
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|
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It's a tremendously rich article, and I plan to discuss some of the elements in it in coming days, but here are a few preliminary quotes:
ordinary language itself verifies how similarly the two appetites are experienced, with many of the same words crossing over to describe what is desirable and undesirable in each case. In fact, we sometimes have trouble even talking about food without metaphorically invoking sex, and vice versa. In a hundred entangled ways, judging by either language or literature, the human mind juggles sex and food almost interchangeably at times. And why not? Both desires can make people do things they otherwise would not; and both are experienced at different times by most men and women as the most powerful of all human drives.
One more critical link between the appetites for sex and food is this: Both, if pursued without regard to consequence, can prove ruinous not only to oneself, but also to other people, and even to society itself. No doubt for that reason, both appetites have historically been subject in all civilizations to rules both formal and informal. Thus the potentially destructive forces of sex — disease, disorder, sexual aggression, sexual jealousy, and what used to be called “home-wrecking” — have been ameliorated in every recorded society by legal, social, and religious conventions, primarily stigma and punishment. Similarly, all societies have developed rules and rituals governing food in part to avoid the destructiveness of free-for-alls over scarce necessities. And while food rules may not always have been as stringent as sex rules, they have nevertheless been stringent as needed. Such is the meaning, for example, of being hanged for stealing a loaf of bread in the marketplace, or keel-hauled for plundering rations on a ship.
These disciplines imposed historically on access to food and sex now raise a question that has not come up before, probably because it was not even possible to imagine it until the lifetimes of the people reading this: What happens when, for the first time in history — at least in theory, and at least in the advanced nations — adult human beings are more or less free to have all the sex and food they want?
Read the whole article here.
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://themagdalenesisters.blogspot.com/2009/03/is-food-new-sex.html
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio is getting ready to expand the number of sites where motorists can go for emissions testing that's required in seven northeast Ohio counties.
Vehicles must now be taken to one of 23 tailpipe testing centers within an area that includes Cleveland and Akron. The Plain Dealer reports (http://bit.ly/ycamnm ) that drivers of new cars made since 1996 will have other options for the beginning in late June, including 53 independent testing centers at auto repair shops and 16 self-serve kiosks that will be available 24/7.
Eventually, a remote sensing unit could screen cars as they drive by, and the owner wouldn't have to get out.
E-Check testing is mandatory Summit, Portage, Medina (meh-DY'-nuh), Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh), Lake, Lorain and Geauga (jee-AW'-guh) counties because of ozone pollution in the region.
Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com
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http://daily-jeff.com/ap%20state/2012/02/03/vehicle-emissions-test-sites-to-expand-in-ne-ohio
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Generalized Audio Coding with MPEG-4 Structured Audio
The MPEG-4 Structured Audio standard was created to enable low bit-rate yet high-quality transmission of synthetic audio sound tracks. However, structured audio techniques are suitable for flexible natural coding of audio as well as audio synthesis. This paper introduces the concept of generalized audio coding, in which the Structured Audio decoder is used to emulate the behavior of other audio decoders.
Click to purchase paper or login as an AES member. If your company or school subscribes to the E-Library then switch to the institutional version. If you are not an AES member and would like to subscribe to the E-Library then Join the AES!
This paper costs $20 for non-members, $5 for AES members and is free for E-Library subscribers.
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http://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=8069
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en
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The best bikes trailers are very useful for transforming ordinary bikes into serious load carrying vehicles. Some of the best bike trailers are designed specifically for carrying children, featuring canopies for sunlight exposure, and many are equipped with plenty of pocket and packing room for any extra necessities.
Bikes can tow a remarkable amount of weight — loads in excess of 880 pounds (400 kilograms) have been hauled behind bikes along flat surfaces. Generally though, 300 pounds (140 kilograms) is considered the upper threshold for hauling. Even large pieces of furniture that won’t fit in a car can comfortably be pulled behind a bicycle with the right kind of trailer! Here are some the different kinds of bike trailers available:
One Wheeled Bike Trailers
For small-sized loads you can try something like a B.O.B trailer, which is a single-wheeled trailer that attached to the back of most bikes. These are practical trailers that are good for carrying light to medium-weight loads (up to 77 pounds or 35 kilograms). A single wheel reduces resistance and allows for narrower riding surfaces, so they are a popular choice for long-distance cyclists.
When overloaded, the single wheel trailer transfers too much weight to the bicycle and riding becomes unstable. Also, heavily loaded trailers can cause frame or hub damage to your bicycle due to the torsion forces transferred through pivoting hitch.
Two Wheeled Trailers
Two wheeled trailers have the potential to carry more weight because they create a more stable platform, and the weight can be distributed right over the trailer wheels, taking the burden off your bicycle. Two wheelers also utilize multi-directional pivoting hitches (since they don’t rely on the bike to keep them upright) which don’t transfer torque through to your bike frame. These trailer are often used to carry children or groceries. Here are some of the top rated two-wheel trailers:
Chariot Bike Trailers
Chariot Carriers, made in Canada, are known for their design quality and functionality. Chariot produces a wide range of single and double child trailers. They are also more expensive than most trailers — you can expect to pay $400-$800 for a Chariot trailer. What you get for this price is a trailer designed with great attention to detail.
Many parents like Chariot’s unique SideCarrier, which puts the carrier directly beside the bike, allowing for more conversation and interaction with one’s child.
The Classic Burley Honey Bee Bike Trailer
Burley is the most recognized name in child trailer, so much so that people refer to any child trailer as a Burley. In my experience Burley trailers, hold up well after years of use.
The Burley Honey Bee Bike Trailer has room for two kids, with a towing capacity of 100 pounds. Its five point harnesses keep kids safe while the storage pockets provide room for any extra gear. It’s equipped with two 20-inch wheels, and features a folding construction that easily collapses for convenience. There are windows with UV protection included and a safety flag is also added to alert motorists of your towing.
Users appreciate the value and the comfort for their kids, but many complained that without the extra stroller add-on they felt a bit robbed, as many other trailers included the kit with the price. However, many owners noted the ease of construction and lauded the durability of the product.
The Transformable Schwinn Joyrider Bicycle Trailer
The Schwinn Joyrider Bicycle Trailer doubles as a stroller, allowing users to convert this best bike trailer into a regular running buggy with an included kit. There is room for extra baby gear, such as bottles and diapers, and its canopy protects your child from the harsh UV rays. This best bike trailer can hold a child up to 50 pounds, and its aluminum frame is sturdy enough to take on any bumps in the road. There is also a zippered shield that can be pulled down in case of a downpour.
Users absolutely love this best bike trailer, giving it a four star review at Amazon. They love the conversion to a regular jogging stroller, and they also appreciate the value that the comfortable seats bring. While some users note that the lap belt may be too short for their kids, it really depends on how old the child is. Many users say it’s made for very small children.
The Rustproof InStep Quick N EZ Bicycle Trailer
This best bike trailer, the InStep Quick N EZ Bicycle Trailer fits two small children comfortably, and features a zip up shield against inclement weather. It weighs a meager 28 pounds and provides plenty of space for any needed cargo. Its 16-inch wheels can handle 100 pounds of weight, and its steel frame is easily foldable for any storage needs.
Amazon users really found a lot they liked about this best bike trailer, rating it four and a half stars. Owners liked using it as both a stroller and a trailer, and while they didn’t love the seats, they found it to be quite usable and durable. Some users note that the small wheels translate into a rough ride at time.
The Lightweight Schwinn Trailblazer Double Bicycle Trailer
The Schwinn Trailblazer Double Bicycle Trailer can handle 100 pounds of weight on its 20-inch wheels. It can be transformed into a simple stroller without the need for any external tools. This best bike trailer can hold two small kids, and its aluminum frame is lightweight and resilient. It features a rapid-discharge of the wheels for easy storage. The hitch is also universal and will fit most bikes.
Users lauded this best bike trailer, noting that its inside cupholders are a great addition for kids. While some users noted that the safety strap can sometimes ride up high on smaller kids, they found that its super easy to assemble. Many users also mentioned that this trailer produces quite an even ride to their kids, giving it a four star rating at Amazon.
Other Bike Trailers
There are also two-wheeled trailers available which can carry loads of 260 pounds (120 kg) or more. A company that makes heavy-duty trailer is Bikes At Work.
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http://www.metaefficient.com/bicycles/best-bike-trailers.html
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How to select a rust inhibitor
October 10, 2006
Rust, wear, and dirt cost tube fabricators and producers millions of dollars annually, and they can be the bane of tube processes. Analyzing the criteria for selecting the lubricant, cleaner, and rust preventative can help provide maximum protection.
One of the most common problems in the manufacturing industry is rust. This four-letter word costs manufacturers millions of dollars annually. The good news is that with careful consideration, you can eliminate costly waste caused by rust. This can be done by understanding the different types of rust inhibitors, or preventives, and their properties, as well as specific details on how these inhibitors should be applied.
While a variety of rust inhibitors are available, five chemical rust preventives are commonly used:
Synthetic compounds are nonpetroleum products that are nontoxic, nonhazardous, and environmentally acceptable. They normally are used in the final stage of a spray washer at 5 percent to 10 percent concentration in water.
Straight oils normally are applied at the steel mill as a mill or slushing oil. They provide short-term protection and can be press-applied.
Soluble oils are water-soluble. They are used in spray washers and immersion baths at 5 percent to 25 percent concentration.
Solvent compounds contain polar- or barrier-type dissolved solids that remain on the metal surface after the solvent carrier has evaporated. These rust preventives are available with a range of flash points, depending on safety regulations, and may be applied by hand spray, spray booth, brush, or parts tumbler.
Water-displacing compounds contain polar wetting agents that have a strong affinity for metal surfaces. They quickly displace water off parts and to the bottom of an immersion tank.
When you are selecting a rust preventive, you must be aware of several critical factors to provide maximum part protection. By first answering a series of questions, you will be in the best position to select rust inhibitors that are well-suited for your application.
1. How long will parts be stored, and in what environment? Indoors? Outdoors? Sealed packaging? The protective film left by the rust preventive is crucial in parts protection. In addition, the environment it is stored or transported in affects the protection. If the plant is not climatically controlled, you need to assume that condensation will accumulate on parts as the temperature fluctuates. In this instance, a protective film that is not easily removed by condensation would be required for periods of protection longer than six to eight weeks.
If the parts are stored in a high forklift-traffic area, the rust preventive must account for the corrosive exhaust gases the parts will be exposed to. Most inhibitors can protect against this type of rust. However, in high-traffic areas with little ventilation, a heavier-duty preventive may be needed.
Outdoor storage always presents a challenge because the environment varies. Inhibitors composed of solvents and oils work well for parts that are stored outdoors short-term—for three months or less—or for longer than three months if the parts are covered with a tarp or overhangs. However, most preventives meant for long-term outdoor storage are pastes or heavy oil types.
2. How will the parts be shipped? Transit conditions are important. If the parts are coated in Texas and shipped to Maine, they will experience varying temperatures and be susceptible to moisture accumulation. The inhibitor must not be easily washed off by condensation. A variety of solvent- and oil-based preventives satisfy this requirement. Incidentally, just because the inhibitor is resistant to removal by condensation does not mean that it will be resistant to removal in a degreasing operation or alkaline washer.
Will the part be shipped overseas? Transcontinental shipping has increased steadily in recent years. As many companies source manufacturing operations overseas, many parts that are shipped to the U.S. may be exposed to salt air, moisture, and varying environments. Several companies have outsourced manufacturing operations, such as machining, only to have the parts return spotted, corroded, or heavily coated with rust. A water-displacing, semifirm, dry-to-the-touch preventive is best-suited for transcontinental shipments.
3. What type of film can be left on the parts? Can the film be oily? Dry? Heavy? Waxy? The type of film that can remain is important for postprocessing applications (see Figure 1).
Will people handle the parts? Sweat contains high levels of salt, which promotes rust. If the metal parts will be handled by humans without gloves, it is important that the rust preventive have additives blended into the formulation to neutralize the salts left from human fingers.
Many rust preventives have these additives as a standard component. However, often this is overlooked, resulting in rusty parts.
Will the parts be painted? If they require short-term protection, a light film solvent, oil-based preventive, or an easily removed water-based preventive is best, depending on how much time lapses between application of the rust preventive and the painting.
Will the preventive be in contact with rubber seals or O-rings? Some oil-based preventives may cause swelling on seals. You can conduct a simple lab test before you use a preventive to find out if it will affect seals or O-rings.
4. How will my customer clean the parts? Knowing this facilitates a smooth integration of the rust preventive and will ensure that any residual film will not negatively affect the cleaning process.
If your customer will clean the parts with solvents, then most oil- and solvent-based preventives can be used. A water-soluble synthetic may react with the solvent, leaving a slightly gummy residue, depending on the chemistry of the preventive. You can remove most synthetic water-soluble preventives with hot water or a mild detergent alkaline cleaner. Generally, alkaline cleaners can remove most preventives on the market.
5. Do I need to use the rust inhibitor on wet parts? If you are coating wet parts, you will require a water-displacing, penetrating preventive to ensure complete part coverage and protection. The preventive flushes out the water, leaving a protective film.
6. Are parts tightly nested? If they are closely nested, viscosity will play an important role, because tight nesting requires that the inhibitor have good penetrating qualities. If the preventive is too thick, not all parts will be coated, resulting in rust. Conversely, if the preventive is too thin, it may not coat the parts adequately.
7. What are the disposal considerations? Unless a company has on-site waste disposal, most oils and solvents usually cannot be discharged to a waste stream and, therefore, must be hauled off-site by an authorized waste disposer (see Figure 2).
8. Is mixing or maintenance acceptable, or do I need a ready-to-use product? This applies to water-based inhibitors or firm, waxy-type inhibitors.
9. Is adequate ventilation available? The application of many solvent inhibitors requires ventilation, such as fans or air scrubbers, to reduce operator exposure to fumes. Each preventive has a threshold limit value, reported on the MSDS. If adequate ventilation is not available, you must determine if the exposure limits are within the acceptable ranges.
Recent technology advances have prompted the development of dry-to-the-touch, durable, water-soluble products. In addition, in response to demand, a combination cleaner and rust preventive has been developed. Such products do not contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and are more environmentally friendly than their predecessors. While these compounds will not fully replace solvent- or oil-based preventives, they are capable of providing sufficient short-term protection.
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<urn:uuid:d489b2ff-7968-4e5d-92a6-fce97abd66da>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.thefabricator.com/article/tubeandpipeproduction/flushing-out-four-letter-words-rust-dirt-and-wear
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|
en
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|
Cancer cells do not exist in isolation but rather within a complex milieu of normal cells, secreted proteins, physiological small molecules and blood vessels which comprise the tumor microenvironment. Recent advances have indicated that the tumor microenvironment is critically important for cancer initiation, progression, metastasis and drug resistance, opening up opportunities for therapeutic intervention. We have focused on three systems modeling tumor microenvironment interactions models to identify small-molecule probes that perturb them:
Cancer stem cells. The malignant counterparts of normal hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), called leukemic stem cells (LSCs), reside in a specialized ‘niche’ within the bone marrow where they interact with osteoblasts and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). These leukemic stem cells have the unique ability to initiate leukemia, self-renew and differentiate, and are thought to be the root cause of relapse in patients treated with traditional cancer drugs. To target these cells, we have used primary LSCs and MSCs to reconstruct the microenvironment ex vivo. In parallel, we use primary HSCs with MSCs to represent normal hematopoiesis. The goal of this highly collaborative project is to use high-throughput image-based screening to identify novel anti-leukemic or pro-normal stem cell small molecules in the context of their bone marrow microenvironment.
Multiple myeloma. Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignancy of plasma cells that, like leukemia, arises in the bone marrow. Primary MM cells have an obligate dependence on interactions with bone marrow MSCs to maintain viability. These interactions also lead to resistance to traditional anti-myeloma drugs such as dexamethasone. We have undertaken screening efforts to identify small-molecule inhibitors of microenvironment-dependent MM cells.
Breast cancer metastasis. There are no definite genetic alterations associated with the acquisition of metastatic properties in breast cancer cells. Recent advances have shown that bone marrow derived MSCs home to the sites of breast cancer growth and promote metastasis of the cancer cells. We have undertaken systematic efforts to uncover the mechanisms of MSC-promoted breast cancer metastasis and will use small molecules to target those mechanisms.
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.broadinstitute.org/scientific-community/science/programs/chemical-biology/project-cancer-dependencies-%E2%80%93-ctd2/tumor-micr
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en
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Three days of hearings before the U.S. Supreme Court have raised questions about whether the Affordable Care Act is constitutional. But the state of California has already started implementing some provisions of the Act. It has set up a health benefit exchange. It's expanding Medicaid and has passed laws to enhance and extend health coverage.
Capital Public Radio's Health Reporter Pauline Bartolone talked with Diana Dooley, who's California Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Chair of the California Health Benefit Exchange board.
Bartolone: If the Supreme Court were to strike down the entirety of the Affordable Care Act, how would that affect how California is rolling out with health reform?
DOOLEY: California is building a health benefit exchange with funds provided under the Affordable Care Act. And those funds are available through 2014. My agenda is to use as much of that as possible, as quickly as possible, to be sure that California has a marketplace even if we don't have the full promise of the ACA - the Affordable Care Act. I believe that the constitutional questions will be answered in favor of the law. I believe that the law will be upheld. But I'm also working very hard to assure that we have as much benefit for California as possible, even if we don't have the full promise of the Act.
Bartolone: Tell me a little bit more about using the federal funds to implement the exchange. Would the exchange also need money from the federal government to operate the exchange once it's already set up?
DOOLEY: Under the terms of the Affordable Care Act and the California legislation that implemented that, both require that the exchange be self-supporting in 2015 so that as a marketplace for people to buy insurance, the insurance providers that are offering their product will pay a fee for this marketplace. So the federal funds are to start up the exchange, but it must be self-supporting, whether or not the Affordable Care Act is upheld.
Bartolone: Would the exchange work without the individual mandate?
DOOLEY: With the mandate, the operation of the exchange will move more quickly at the outset. But there is a strong appetite in the marketplace for people to buy insurance. And if the exchange can offer insurance at an affordable price, in transparent… people know what they're getting and they know which doctors and hospitals they can go to, there will be a marketplace for that even without the mandate and the subsidies. It will be very hard to do because many well-intentioned people would like to buy insurance now but they can't afford it. So it's much more about the affordability.
Bartolone: Is there any aspect of health reform in California that you feel that California couldn't move forward on without the federal government's support?
DOOLEY: I think the most significant challenge that California faces in the short run is our budget deficit. We have had to make very serious reductions because of the recession. There are more people without jobs and therefore without health insurance now than even five years ago when California was looking at healthcare reform. So in the short run, it will be very hard for us to move forward to expand health coverage without the additional federal funds that we would have under the Affordable Care Act. We simply have to balance our budget and get California on a strong footing to do any of this work.
Bartolone: So it sounds like the Supreme Court decision will help determine how California moves forward with health reform, not if?
DOOLEY: I think that's a very fair characterization. The Supreme Court will define how California will move forward and how quickly California will move forward, but I believe our history and our current understanding of the real mess that the healthcare system - loosely called a system - is in need of reform. And if we have to do it without our federal partners we will find a way to do it. But it will be a much better transition to better health if we can do it with the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://archive2.capradio.org/articles/2012/03/28/-top-california-official-says-state-will-continue-work-for-a-more-fair-health-system
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en
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how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten; when one came to the winevat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty.
I smote you and all the products of your toil with blight and mildew and hail; yet you did not return to me, says the LORD.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. (Revised Standard Version w/ Apocrypha)
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible/passage.aspx?q=haggai+2:16-17&t=rsva
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en
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This past Saturday the New York Times printed a fascinating interview with Chris Oynes, the former director of the gulf office of the Mineral Management Service (MMS), the agency responsible for issuing permits for off-shore drilling, including the BP/Deep Horizon drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. In it Oynes confirms many of the points I made in my earlier post in which I argued that, contrary to the prevailing media narrative, the MMS was in fact not primarily to blame for the Gulf oil spill. Instead, in expediting the permit process that allowed BP to drill at the Deep Horizon site, it was doing precisely what congressional representatives from the Gulf region were expecting it to do.
The article makes four essential points that bear repeating. First, the MMS was part of a classic iron triangle involving the oil industry that dominated the Gulf Coast economy, the elected representatives from that region who understand how many jobs the oil industry provide to local residents, and the MMS which, as with most public bureaucracies, proved acutely responsive to political incentives. In particular, MMS officials in the Gulf office felt pressure from local officials to expedite the off-shore drilling permit process and from members of Congress who sought to maximize the revenues the government received from leasing offshore drilling rights. The key point is that MMS defined the public interest in terms of sustaining the oil-based economy of the Gulf region. As the Times article puts it, “In some states, drilling has been seen as a threat to native cultures. In Cajun country, it opened a door to the middle class — even as a typical offshore schedule (two weeks on, two weeks off) let workers still fish, hunt and farm. ‘The industry didn’t destroy the old culture — it saved it,’ said Diane Austin, an anthropologist at the University of Arizona.”
That definition of the public welfare shaped the MMS’ well-defined sense of mission: to promote off-shore drilling in order to maximize government revenues. By mission, I mean a widely-shared belief among MMS members regarding what its critical task should be. In this case, MMS’s bureaucrats agreed that their primary task was to expedite off-shore drilling. They did so because Congress – which controlled MMS funding – signaled that this was what the MMS was supposed to do. “’We have 20,000 oil wells off the coast of Louisiana, and we have been drilling out there for a quarter of a century,’ Senator J. Bennett Johnston, a Democrat, said on the Senate floor. ‘The so-called danger from oil spills has simply not been proved. Not only has it not been proved, it has been disproved, and we need to get on with that drilling.’” Contrary to what some media outlets have suggested, the MMS was not a rogue agency corrupted by oil money. In fact, it was an agency that was very effective at doing what Congress wanted it to do, a point that Oynes makes repeatedly. MMS bureaucrats understood that, as the Times puts it, “[T]the agency’s Washington bosses cared more about leasing — where to do it and how much money it would bring? — than they did about the challenges of getting the oil from the sea. That was true, Mr. Oynes said, under Republican and Democratic administrations. ‘It’s almost a given with a director that they don’t know anything about drilling,’ Mr. Oynes said. “We would turn to each other and say, ‘Headquarters isn’t paying attention.’ ”
In theory, of course, the MMS was supposed to balance the economic concerns with environmental ones in considering whether to issue a permit. But most government agencies find it difficult to embrace two, somewhat contradictory missions. The MMS was no exception. The Times reports: “Both sides knew which division held the power. The law gave the head of field operations — the lead engineer — the authority to approve exploration and drilling plans. To win changes, the environmental scientists had to work through him.” Why did engineers dominate the permitting process? Because Congress’ enabling legislation essentially insured that would be the case. The authorizing legislation that defined the MMS’s mission stipulated goals that were somewhat in tension: As the Times’ article notes, “One passage calls for the ‘expeditious and orderly development’ of offshore gas and oil. The next adds a codicil: ‘subject to environmental safeguards.’” Oynes said he gave the mandates equal weight. But the reality is that the MMS was rewarded by Congress for focusing on the development of off-shore drilling – and penalized when it failed to do so. Protecting the environment was simply not very high on Congress’ priorities, at least as signaled to the MMS. According to the Times, Oynes recalled, “We would issue standard notices to environmental groups, and they would never even come to a meeting… Arguing against oil and gas isn’t going to get them anywhere.”
The reality is that MMS employees were rewarded for bringing in revenue – not for protecting the environment. In 1998 Oynes won a presidential award for leasing a record number of drilling tracts that brought in $824 million in revenue. In another case, Oynes alerted federal prosecutors when he discovered that Shell was burning natural gas rather than bringing it to shore, thus cheating the government of royalties. Shell was prosecuted and the government won $49 million in additional revenue. Given these political signals, it is not surprising that MMS bureaucrats tended to define their mission in term of permits processed, not environmental regulations enforced.
The third point is that government agencies today operate under increasing contextual constraints that are imposed by Congress with little regard for their impact on how well an agency carries out its primary mission. The MMS was no exception. It was charged with processing up to 1,000 drilling permits annually, each requiring an environmental impact statement (EIS) that could take months, or even years, to conduct. Whenever an agency is forced to address contextual constraints that impede its ability to carry out its primary mission, agency bureaucrats will devise ways to minimize the impact of fulfilling the contextual constraints. In this case, according to the NY Times, the MMS processed the EIS “in wholesale fashion, before conducting the annual lease sales.” On the other hand, the pace of technology, including the increasing depth at which drills were sunk, outran Congress’ ability to issue new environmental and safety regulations, even had it been inclined to do so. According to the Times, “One internal problem [the MMS] faced was a feeling among many staff members that swift action was impossible. One regulation had famously taken nine years to get through Washington.” In lieu of updated regulations, the MMS worked informally to police the drilling industry with the realization that without formal backing they were vulnerable to a legal challenge from the oil companies.
The fourth point is that public bureaucracies are incredibly sensitive to congressional inquiries that hint at scandal. In my earlier post I noted that there had been multiple investigations into the MMS’ operating culture – but almost none of them focused on lax environmental standards. Instead, they were driven by congressional concern that the MMS wasn’t charging enough to allow oil companies to drill in federal waters. The New York Times’ story picks up on this point. It recounts how Oynes was forced to testify before Congress regarding why his office had issued two years of contracts that essentially allowed the oil companies to avoid paying the required royalties on deep-water tracts. “The incident has trailed Mr. Oynes ever since, but most accounts omit the coda. Congress drafted the law so poorly that the federal courts invalidated the thresholds for the entire five-year program, at a cost of up to $60 billion. Congress had derided Mr. Oynes while committing the greater mistake.”
What is missing from this story? Any mention of Obama, or of any of his presidential predecessors. The reality is that presidents were only peripheral players in this policy area. Despite their constitutional charge to “take care that the laws are faithfully executed,” presidents often lack the tools to fulfill this mandate. This is particularly the case in issue areas dominated by an industry with close ties to Congress.
When government agencies fail, it is customary for the media to search for signs of corruption or malfeasance. The MMS story was no exception. Early coverage was dominated by charges of an ethically-challenged agency, its members in the hip-pocket of the oil industry. But outright corruption or ethical lapses are rarely the cause of bureaucratic failure. Instead, its roots usually run much deeper, into the mix of political and institutional incentives that determine how an agency defines its mission, and how it carries it out. To its credit the New York Times finally got this story right. When an agency is faced with contextual goals that run contrary to its primary mission, and when it becomes politically vulnerable for failing to fulfill its primary mission, it will tend to minimize or avoid fulfilling those contextual goals. In the aftermath of the Deep Horizon explosion, the MMS was abolished, and its permitting process separated from its environmental and leasing duties. The primary fault underlying the Gulf spill, however, lies not with the MMS. It lies with Congress.
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Blog Checking Lines: May’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge was pretty twisted – Ruth from The Crafts of Mommyhood challenged us to make challah! Using recipes from all over, and tips from “A Tast of Challah” by Tamar Ansh, she encouraged us to bake beautifully braided breads.
Challah is a bread of celebration in Jewish tradition. What makes it really stand out is the fancy braided shapes. Braiding is an intertwining of separate pieces into a combined entity. This is symbolic of the intertwining of the everyday and the holy, and of the coming together of family and friends. The bread can be braided into three, four, rounded four or six stranded loaves. Challah can also be shaped in other ways for different Jewish holidays.
For this challenge, we were required to make a shaped, enriched bread. For variety, we were allowed to add various fillings. While I’ve tasted Challah plenty of times, I’ve never made it and I seldom shape my breads so this was a fun thing to try. I chose to make the Honey White Challah, adding 1/2 cup cinnamon chips (more next time), and shaping it into a six-stranded braid using the process in a helpful video from Fine Cooking. It was a little challenging at first. I soon got the hang of it after a few false starts and I was thrilled with the results! I also sprinkled the top with pearl sugar for decoration which stands out nicely on the browned top.
This particular recipe was lovely to work with and produced a very tender, soft and lightly sweet bread. Though at it’s best the day it’s baked, I was surprised how long it lasted (a good thing since this recipe makes two giant loaves!). I suspect the honey works as a preservative in this particular recipe which keeps it from molding and getting too hard and dry. Leftovers make great French Toast or bread pudding and of course are just fine as regular toast.
- 1 1⁄2 cups (360 ml) warm water, separated
- 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) (15 gm/1⁄2 oz sugar
- 2 Tbsp. (2-2/3 packets) (30 ml) (18 gm) (2/3 oz) dry active yeast
- 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) honey
- 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) oil (light colored vegetable oil, or olive oil if you prefer)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1⁄2 tsp. 71⁄2 ml) (9 gm) (1/3 oz) salt
- 5 cups (1200 ml) (700 gm/25 oz) all-purpose (plain) flour, plus more as needed (up to 8 or 9 cups total)
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water
- In mixer bowl/large mixing bowl combine 1⁄2 cup warm water, 1 Tbsp. sugar and 2 Tbsp. yeast. Allow to proof approximately 5 minutes until foamy.
- To the yeast mixture add the remaining water, honey, oil, eggs, salt and 5 cups of flour. Knead until smooth (by hand or mixer) adding flour as needed. Knead approximately 10 minutes.
- Transfer dough to a clean, oiled bowl, turn to coat or add a bit more oil on top. Cover bowl with a kitchen/tea towel. Leave to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1⁄2 hours.
- Punch down the dough, divide it into two sections. Use one half to make each loaf (shaped or braided as desired).
- Place loaves on parchment lined or greased baking sheets, cover with a towel, allow to rise 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Brush tops loaves with egg wash. (Sprinkle with seeds or toppings here if wanted.)
- Bake loaves 30-40 minutes until done.
- Cool on wire racks.
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Barack Obama showed a talent for political strategy in 2008, upending the favorite, Hillary Clinton, in the Democratic primaries and capturing a bigger share of the vote in November than any Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. But the bold, hopeful insurgent has become the unpopular incumbent. His historic election has been followed by a massive repudiation.
How can Obama regain his standing — and rescue his presidency?
He can start by recognizing that his overly ambitious policy agenda in his first two years signaled that the president is intent on enlarging the government and its power, regardless of the real-world consequences. His disparagement of business leaders failed to appease the left, but it induced uncertainty and resentment among the business people whose confidence is needed to revive job growth.
Obama can reflect that it's hard for any president to retain public support with unemployment at 9.6 percent. Presidents soon learn that their power to alter the course of the economy is limited. Obama would be wise to look for places he has capacity to make a difference soon.
That will require something that has been rare in Washington lately: bipartisan cooperation. With Democrats controlling both houses, the administration and the Democratic leaders in Congress only had to compromise with each other to get legislation passed. They got legislation passed — and the American people shuddered at what they did and how they did it.
With the GOP now dominant in the House, nothing will get to the president's desk without Republican help.
The obvious area for bipartisan solutions is the budget, whose rapid expansion fueled the tea party movement.
Why not invite the House GOP's star budget-cutter, Wisconsin's Paul Ryan, to the Oval Office for a serious talk about ways to trim the fat without harming the most vulnerable Americans?
Obama might take a page from Ronald Reagan and press for drastic simplification of the tax code, which would allow him to satisfy liberal demands for more revenue with conservative calls for tax cuts. Eliminating loopholes would expand the taxable base, making it possible to raise more revenue while bringing rates down. It was a popular approach under Reagan, who got tax reform passed with bipartisan support, and its obvious attractions remain.
Obama may worry about alienating the left wing of his party. A new poll finds that 47 percent of Democrats want to see a challenger to Obama in the 2012 primaries. As Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush can attest, primary challengers can be fatal even when they are vanquished.
He will seal the fate of his presidency if he becomes too focused on his party's left. He's losing the great middle of America. He won in 2008 by offering himself as a creative, positive pragmatist. Now's the time to show that he can govern that way.
He should listen to centrist Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh, who wrote Wednesday in The New York Times: "…don't blame the voters. They aren't stupid or addled by fear. They are skeptical about government efficacy, worried about the deficit and angry that Democrats placed other priorities above their main concern: economic growth."
Obama needs to govern toward the center. If Republicans elect to be solely the party of no, they will push independent voters back in Obama's direction. The Republican sweep on Tuesday happened not because Americans love the GOP, but because they dislike the Democrats who are in charge now. Pollster Scott Rasmussen says Republicans "didn't win, the other team lost." Victory creates responsibility. Americans took Congress away from the GOP in 2006 and the White House away in 2008. If the party doesn't make good use of its new position, it could be dumped once again in 2012.
A good sign: Obama was far more reflective than obstinate at his news conference on Wednesday. He got onto an unfortunate track in his first two years. He has two more years to change.
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Franklin, Tennessee – On Saturday, June 30, 2012, Mars Petcare US announced a voluntary dog food recall of a limited number of three varieties of Pedigree weight management canned products due to a potential choking risk.
Affected product may contain small pieces of blue plastic — which entered the food during the production process.
The source of the plastic has been identified and the issue resolved.
Consumers who have purchased affected product are advised to discard the food or return it to the retailer for a full refund.
While a small number of consumers have reported finding the plastic pieces, the company claims it has not received any reports of injury or illness associated with the affected product.
The lot codes indicated below should not be sold or consumed.
Affected product was distributed to retail customers throughout the United States. Mars Petcare US is working with its distributors and retail customers to ensure the recalled products are no longer sold and are removed from inventory.
Which Pedigree Dog Foods Are Recalled?
Only Pedigree weight management canned dog food varieties with the production codes shown below are included in this voluntary recall.
Each product will have a lot code printed on the end of the can that begins with 209, 210, 211 or 212 and a Best Before date that falls between 2/24/2014 and 3/23/2014.
No other Pedigree products are affected, including any other variety of wet food, dry dog food, or dog treats.
What to Do?
For questions or more information, the company invites consumers to call 877-720-3335 from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM CST.
You can report complaints about FDA-regulated pet food products by calling the consumer complaint coordinator in your area.
Or go to http://www.fda.gov/petfoodcomplaints.
Get Dog Food Recall Alerts by Email
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Friday, March 4
I would like to thank readers for being concerned about our safety. I assure you that the safety of our crew is our first priority. Most of the Preclassic construction fills at Ceibal, made of limestone-derived soils with high clay contents, have an almost cementlike quality. Those soil layers are difficult to excavate, as they are sometimes as hard as the ceramics that we try to extract, but they make very solid and stable excavation walls. We can even tunnel through those fills safely. To them, we add three types of reinforcements depending on their conditions: consolidation with lime mortar, braces with wood planks, and covers of wire nets. Daniela’s pit (shown in a previous post) is extensively consolidated with lime mortar.
Our larger concerns are the perils of the rain forest. Unlike the excavations, which we can control, nature constantly surprises us, demanding our respect. These threats range from mild ones like mosquitoes to more serious ones. Mosquitoes are vectors of malaria and dengue fever, and are a major nuisance, so Dani makes sure everybody is on a regular chloroquine schedule. Located on a river, Ceibal is known for an abundance of these bloodsucking insects, particularly during the rainy season (May to December). The repellent that we used, bottle after bottle, did little to help. Kazuo Aoyama brought electric-powered repellent dispensers from Japan, but it turns out that Guatemalan mosquitoes have no respect for Japanese technology. We had no choice but to adopt the local remedy — producing a profuse amount of smoke by burning palm nuts. Luckily, we are able to work in the dry season this year.
Many people would probably worry about poisonous snakes, tropical diseases and parasites. True, fer-de-lances are highly dangerous, and flesh-eating leishmaniasis is quite nasty. But what we fear most are the omnipresent trees that make up the forest. In a fierce competition for the sunlight, tropical trees extend their trunks and branches to their limits, and from time to time they fail, throwing their tremendous weight to the ground.
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Impulse buying is typically buying something that isn’t within budget or a part of a monthly spending plan. It’s a purchase that isn’t necessary. It’s a product or service that taps into the customer’s emotions. Personally, I feel strongly against impulse buying because it’s one of the largest causes of consumer debt each year.
There are a number of ways to stop impulse buying if it’s causing problems for you each month. Take a look at this list of 20 different ideas to stop impulse buying. See if you can apply all or any combination of these to your situation to change this behavior.
20 Tips to Stop Impulse Buying and Get Spending Under Control
1. Keep impulse buying cash with you
Okay, if you’re set on spending a little money every time you go to the store take a little bit of blow money or cash with you and use it for impulsive buying. The only rule is you can’t buy something that costs more than the total of your cash.
2. Take some time to think about your purchases
Taking 24 hours, or a few days (or even a week) will most often help you determine if it’s truly a need.
3. Keep your financial goals in mind
Ultimately, you want to get out of debt, right? You may want to build wealth by investing, right? Well, you can’t do those things if you’re spending all of your money. What are your current goals? Keep them in mind the next time you want to spend more than you have.
4. Determine if it’s a want or a need
Asking yourself if you’re purchasing a want or need is helpful to curtail spending. Try to limit most of your spending to need related items. Could you really not get by without the item this month?
5. Recognize some impulse buying is not all bad
It’s fair to recognize you may come across the best deal of the century. So, if you can buy 1 box of diapers and get 4 for free go ahead and spend if it’s within your budget. Just recognize that the advertiser’s job is to make every deal seem like it’s the deal of the century.
6. Shop with a list or a plan
Having a game plan is important. Try to only focus on the items that are on your list. Great deal or deal of the century you say? At least give it some thought while you’re in the store. Don’t immediately place the item in your cart. Stick with your list!
7. Avoid dangerous hobbies (such as shopping)
Enjoy going to the mall just to go to the mall? This is actually a dangerous hobby if you tend to spend more than you have. It’s proven the more people are in front of items or in stores, the more they will spend.
8. Shop with cash versus credit cards
Perhaps you know where you tend to overspend or impulse buy. Leave your credit card at home when visiting these stores. Only carry cash and follow rule #1 above.
9. Recognize store strategy
Stores strategically place items where your eyes go. The best example is the check out register. Every item at the check out is a convenience type item. The store is hoping to sell you the last minute item not on your list before you walk out the door. Don’t get trapped by the convenience items.
10. Be careful what you surf
The internet has become its own place to shop. Many of the best deals are found in the internet today. Recognize surfing your favorite stores online can be just like walking around in the mall. The more you’re exposed the higher the changes you’ll make a purchase.
11. Be careful what you watch on TV
Just like the internet TV is a shopping mall full of advertisements and info commercials. I recently heard someone say that John Travolta watches info commercials for amusement, but after watching long enough he wants to the buy the product. I think that’s probably true for most people. The longer a product is dangled in front of us the more likely we are to want to purchase it.
12. Send someone else to shop
Do you tend to overspend at the grocery store or when in particular stores? If so, let someone else do the shopping for you so that you’re not tempted.
13. Shop with an accountability partner
Tell your friend or spouse you need help with avoiding the temptation to buy while in the store. Ask them to hold you accountable to not making a random purchase.
14. Shop backwards
The deeper into the store you go the more likely you are to be enticed by more products. Try starting in the back of the store and shopping forward.
15. Don’t go to a store to just hang out
It’s easy to use the mall or stores as a source of entertainment. Again, the more time spend in stores the more likely you are to buy something, Try to look for other sources of entertainment with less temptation.
16. Recognize your feelings after the purchase
Most people recognize when they’ve made an unwise purchase decision and feel a sense of anxiety or frustration afterwards. Consider this feeling when about to make the purchase. If you go to a thought of what it may be like afterwards (do I really need this?) then it may help in avoiding the spending.
17. Unsubscribe to mailing lists
Companies love when you sign up to receive their catalog by mail or special offers by email. These are ways to entice you to spend online or in the store.
18. Recognize the spending habit by tracking your spending
Probably the best way to determine if you have a problem or not is to review where you’re spending your money every month. Good tracking of where you spend money and on what will tell you where your spending priorities are.
19. Buy only to replace items
We often think we need a new TV or other item, but the truth is that the item we have at home works just fine. Even if the latest gadget is at a rock bottom price, it’s not a good deal if you already have something at home that serves the same purpose.
20. Establish a want list
Want lists are great to avoid the impulsive purchase. By having a want list you’ve already established the items that can potentially entice you to spend. Putting them on the list allows you to think about how important they really are and prioritize them for future purchase.
How do you feel about impulse buying and how do you work to avoid it?
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What more could be said about the necessity for a transportation authorization bill? Nothing? We all understand it is vital, right? OK, good. Maybe it's more important to discuss what is actually going on and what some industry insiders talk about off the record.
First, Congress is currently working under a March 31 deadline to get an authorization bill done or risk the further slowing down or stoppage altogether of more than 100,000 transportation construction projects around the nation. Yesterday, the Senate roundly rejected Republican-backed attempts to extend the Keystone XL oil pipeline, delay tougher air pollution standards for industrial boilers and expand offshore oil drilling, as part of the House's authorization proposal.
The House's proposal from the start has been a complete sham. First, Republicans are painting it as their way to create jobs and get the nation's economy rolling again. This attempt was already made by President Barack Obama in both his American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and in his own transportation plan, which started out as a $556 billion package but has now shrunk significantly. Both of these proposals were roundly criticized by Republicans.
It doesn't take a fool to realize that the House proposal is less about maintaining or growing jobs and investing in all forms of transportation, and actually, more about some Republicans attempting to sneak in issues like extending the Keystone XL pipeline, which they have now been trying to do for years. In fact, yesterday it was reported that U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) held a private meeting urging Republicans to get on board with his proposal, which he has not been able to garner enough support for. If there isn't support why is Boehner pushing so hard?
Now is the time to urge Congress to pass a version of the transportation authorization bill that is in the best interest of the nation instead of their own.
In case you missed it...
Read our METRO blog, "Urban and rural transit, different yet similar," here.
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Custom Disqus identifier:
However, there is a backhand approach that almost all parents
can afford to do, and it is something that most will want to do in order to help their darling offspring.
This is the world of connections: not connections that the young person has made for him or herself, but rather the connections that parents have made and maintained.
From the joiner who works for the local council and who ensures his son a place on the apprenticeship programme, to the doctor who has his daughter shadowing the best surgeon, no student is going to pass up an opportunity to further themselves when it is offered by the hand that feeds.
But the question that throws up is whether or not this is fair? Of course, "It's not what you know, it's who you know" is no new trend phrase on Twitter. It has been around for a while and I expect to be reading this phrase several times over as I trudge through the Jane Austen classics that are staring at me from the bookshelf.
The end products of the knowing-the-right-people process are Britain's political party leaders. When I watch the news and I see David Cameron arguing in Parliament, I wonder whether handing a young person their future will ever really allow them to grow up and fulfil an adult role in society.
Those who lead a life established on connections are like an overindulged child at Christmas and birthdays.
Imagine two girls talking: one brings out Shop Assistant Barbie, well dressed, even if her limited wardrobe was bought with the money the girl earned through hard work.
However, she will immediately be outclassed when Doctor Barbie is brought out, complete with a range of minuscule accessories, classy car, and townhouse, all given to her when Daddy brought them home one day.
Or, if Barbie dolls aren't your thing, we can turn to Top Trump cards as an example. One boy's hand of cards will have been well shuffled with additional winning cards inserted by his parents. So no matter how his friend plays, the privileged or connected boy will always win hands down.
What's the solution? Should parents think twice before paving the way for their children? Should we encourage pride in young people for achieving things on their own without relying heavily on their family?
I think that the human resources department in companies ought to stand up a little more and look past the surname at the top of the CV. Even if you get to the interview room with a little help from your well connected family or friends, you should have to prove that you are capable of a job or a work placement.
Stamping feet and demanding the latest job or Barbie may work for parents, but it should not work with bosses of companies. The representative from the HR department should not be intimidated by the potential outcome of turning down a well-connected young person who knows their boss.
After all, we don't want too many James Murdochs in the world.
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- General News
- Published Date
- Hits: 621
Volvo cars are no strangers to over-the-top safety features. During the seventies and eighties when Volvo sedan design was often described as boxy, their point of excellence was always safety.
Meantime, Volvo has made its mark in the design arena without sacrificing its incredible safety record. The new S60 and XC60 are no exception.
Just how impressive Volvo’s innovative safety features are, have been demonstrated live recently at the Tony Rust track outside Windhoek when a group of car enthusiasts were treated to a display of what happens when the vehicle takes over the responsibility of safe driving.
The day at the track showed just how dependable two new systems are i.e. the Pedestrian Detection Technology system and a Roll-over Protection system.
The Pedestrian Detection System is a unique in-advance mobile detection system that prevents the vehicle from hitting unexpected obstructions on the road, without a preceding response from the driver. Live objects are detected, assessed and if required, the car stops 1 metre away from the object to avoid a collision even if the Volvo driver fails to step on the brakes. Through a laser sensor in the upper portion of the windscreen, the system establishes the danger of collision when the car in front performs a sudden brake, or due to a stationary vehicle up ahead.
It sounds unreal but it does work as was vividly experienced on the track day by the participating drivers. “Getting behind the wheel and having your car stop just like that without you even realising that there is an object in front of you is just like soaring on the wings of an angel” said Valerie Beukes of the Economist after emerging wide-eyed from a test car.
Volvo’s Roll Over Protection System is their best safety feature yet. The ROPS is activated by a gyroscope that monitors the vehicle’s leaning angle. The safety belt pre-tensioners are activated at every seat to keep all the occupants of the car secure. The system cannot prevent a roll-over if the vehicle exceeds gravitational limits, but it anticipates the possibility, takes corrective action, and if that fails, prepare the occupants by automatic safety adjustments, for the event.
The probability of the car rolling into the veld is considerably reduced as the system intervenes proactively to reduce jerking and restore balance thereby preventing the actual rolling over.
The safety features are fitted in the Volvo S60 and the Volvo XC60.
Truly these features benefit the Volvo owners, as they reduce personal injury and lower vehicle repair costs, as they essentially watch out on behalf of the driver. It is a great leap in Volvo’s stated commitment to attain their 2020 goal of making cars that will not seriously injure its occupants, or, worse, kill them. Testimony to Volvo’s safety commitment is that this concept has now been taken a step further - the car itself starts looking out for trouble ahead.
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Just How Screwed Are Patients?Posted: 6 March 2013
Back after hurricane Katrina my leg was crushed in a fall……and when I was looking at the bill that the EMs sent to me, which was covered under Workers Comp, I noticed a charge that was not kosher……I was charged $50 for a cervical collar and was never given one…..my leg was broken but I had all my faculties….I told the workers comp rep that was handling my case and was told that it was not important enough to challenge……I asked her just how much money does the service make on gouging? I never got an answer.
And then I saw this story and it answered my question pretty well…..
Getting Hodgkin’s lymphoma was bad enough. Then Ohio resident Sean Recchi received his hospital bill: $83,900. You can blame his limited health insurance, but Steven Brill at Time looked behind the numbers to see why MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston charged so much. What Brill found: shocking markups that hiked prices by several hundred percent or more above cost. Queried about the markups, MD Anderson said their billing practices “are complex” and “similar to those of other major hospitals.” Which is exactly what Brill found: “a uniquely American gold rush” of tax-exempt “nonprofit” hospitals across the US that are raking in huge bucks and handing administrators mega-salaries. Among his other findings:
- Hospitals are forcing Americans to spend nearly 20% of GDP on health care—double the usual for developed countries—and more than the next 10 top-spending nations combined.
- Each hospital’s internal price list, or chargemaster, is far higher than what Medicare pays for health care. Advocates have started a cottage industry helping people understand and reduce their bills.
- Brill uncovers huge markups from specific bills, like $4,000 for items like a blanket warmer, marking pen, and surgical gown. Recchi was billed $13,702 for medicine that cost MD Anderson only $3,000 to $3,500.
- Brill’s first solution: Bring all Americans under the Medicare umbrella, and charge wealthier Americans more for their medical care. At least Medicare forces hospitals to charge the proper rates. Only problem: A massive, single-payer overhaul like that won’t happen anytime soon.
- Solution No.2: Strengthen anti-trust laws to restrict the power of hospitals; this would give insurance companies more leverage to bargain over prices. Then tax hospital profits at 75%, and tack a surcharge on excessive non-doctor hospital salaries. And ban the chargemaster. Will any of this happen? Probably not, because hospitals are too powerful.
- Brill’s take on ObamaCare: It’s good for certain things, like curbing some hospital-bill collecting and getting more people insured. But ultimately it’s just bringing more customers into a grossly unfair marketplace.
- Click for the full article.
We all know that hospitals gouge the patients……and there is little we can do about it…….but crap like this drives all the rising costs of health care……but yet they are seldom held accountable…….why is that?
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Young Children: Child Development (cont.)
In this Article
How can parents ensure the safety of their young children 6-8 years of age?
For the 6- to 8-year-old child, parents have a primary obligation of providing an emotional safety net for an often turbulent period. Reinforcing that the love and respect they have for the child is not dependent upon academic, athletic, or social success is important. Coupled with this unconditional love must be the expressed parental belief of what is expected and what consequences may occur.
Parents have an obligation to provide athletic equipment that is both age appropriate and sized correctly. The concept of "he'll grow into it" can be a recipe for accidents. Bicycles, bike/ski helmets, skis/snowboards, baseball bats/gloves should properly fit the child at the time the equipment is purchased. Many sporting good stores have end-of-season exchanges facilitating "trading up" in size or skill level of equipment.
While many children feel they are adept swimmers, drowning remains an unfortunate event in this age range. Whether associated with accidental trauma (head vs. shallow pool bottom) or panic in ocean waves or undertow/riptides, constant adult supervision is mandatory.
Automobile seat belt and booster seat laws vary by state and should be strictly reinforced. Parental seat belt use and avoidance of distractions (cell phones, food, etc.) all underscore that absolute vigilance is necessary when operating a moving vehicle. Pedestrian safety rules ("walk" and "don't walk" signs) should be reinforced to children.
Passive smoke, firearms in the home, and easy access to matches are other areas in which parents can intervene to further guarantee their children's safety.
In the end, although there are never any guarantees, all parents are shepherds who must try to guide their children safely to the next stage in life.
Last Editorial Review: 11/17/2009 3:25:05 PM
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Instead, she and assistant Hannah are concentrating on the mammoth task of trawling though the countless boxes of negatives – rating, scanning and cataloguing this unique, priceless archive of honest and frank photographs.
“They’re hugely untouched – this exhibition is the tip of the iceberg,“ says the photographer.
“It’s a labour of love – my greatest joy would not be so much selling the pictures – obviously it’s very nice – but it’s really to have a record and history of time that’s thoroughly organised; how I’d want it to be is just to be able to sit down with Hannah and do a box and half [of negatives] every day.
“It’s such fun to take a picture and remember where you were, and I think a lot of people of my generation have those memories and those experiences, but not all of them have got the pictures, and if they have they’re probably quite blurry snaps... and perhaps now and then I’ve got a good shot.”
As this exhibition shows, there are more than few.
* Hanging Out With Carinthia West runs at St Paul’s Gallery, Northwood Street from November 12 to January 28. www.stpaulsgallery.com
In contrast to Carinthia West’s ‘off duty’ hanging out images, the current photographic exhibition at The Public in West Bromwich finds its subjects in more conventional portrait poses.
That’s not to say there aren’t a few treats – The Who high kicking in their dressing room and Hendrix playing the guitar with his teeth are two of the unusual delights among the 23 iconic pictures which make up My Generation: Glory Years of British Rock.
All were taken by Harry Goodwin, a Mancunian who, between 1964 and 1973, was resident snapper at the Top of the Pops studio.
As well as the Who’s Who of music captured in the shots – ‘Little’ Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Elton John – there is Goodwin’s own fascinating tale – his photographic talents were first put to use in RAF reconnaissance in the Second World War.
The exhibition is part of The Public’s Art of Noise programme – a series of shows all tied together with the common thread of music.
Ian Danby, Head of Arts Programmes at The Public, says: “On one floor we’ve commissioned other artists to make pieces in response to the idea that the exhibition is all about sound and how art uses sound – this part fits perfectly with that.
“Downstairs we’ve got some pictures by Steve Gerrard. As part of the Home of Metal exhibition, he’s taken pictures of fans going to various metal gigs, so there’s a nice contrast with the other things going on here. It’s all going to be an eclectic set of exhibitions set around artists involved in music.
“The Black Country is renowned for its bands and music, so we thought we should do something that responds broadly to music and this seemed perfect.”
* My Generation: Glory Years of British Rock runs at The Public in West Bromwich from October 21 until January 15. www.thepublic.com
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January 3, 2012
In the tenth paragraph of a page A15 Times piece, Rick Santorum accuses Barack Obama of engaging in “absolutely un-American activities.” What are they? The article doesn’t say. The quote appears without explanation or comment, in an article entitled “Santorum’s Challenge: Broaden His Appeal Beyond Evangelical Christians.” Nor does the line show up anywhere else on the Web—apparently no reporter in the mob following the candidates through the last days before the Iowa caucuses thought it worth writing down, and no blogger thought it worth repeating. It was just a throwaway line, a hunk of spoiled red meat tossed at the crowd in a Sioux City coffee shop, no more newsworthy than saying, “It’s a great day to be an Iowan!” And the crowd ate it up, applauding lustily. According to the Times, Santorum, surging in the polls, “became emotional at times.” He “wore a beaming smile on his face.” He said that he was running for his children’s sake. A supporter from a nearby town said that he liked Santorum for his avoidance of hyperbole: “Santorum doesn’t make crazy statements.”
Continue Reading >>
January 2, 2012
What does Ron Paul’s rise say about American politics, and what does it mean for the two major parties? In Comment this week, Nicholas Lemann examines the implications of the Texas Congressman’s ideology:
Yet what is and isn’t part of the mainstream is something that political campaigns determine. And the truth is that Paul’s vision reveals—with candor and specificity—what the G.O.P.’s rhetorical hostility to government would mean if it were rigorously put into practice. A minimal state, without welfare provisions for the unemployed. A quarter of a million federal workers—as a first installment—joining those unemployed. Foreign policy and national defense reduced to a few ballistic-missile submarines. The civil-rights legislation of the nineteen-sixties repealed as so much unwarranted government intrusion. As for the financial crisis, Paul would have countenanced no regulation that might have prevented it, no government stabilization of the financial system after it happened, and no special help for working people hurt by it. This is where the logic of government-shrinking leads.
Will Paul’s campaign force the Republican Party even further to the right, or will it allow the G.O.P. to continue its tradition of small-government rhetoric and big-government Administrations? Can President Obama overcome the Republican intransigence that Paul has helped to inspire? Read the full Comment, and share your thoughts below.
Illustration by Tom Bachtell.
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During a two-day European Union summit held in Brussels from October 15-16, French President Nicolas Sarkozy (whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency) stressed that the EU would maintain its stringent goals to reduce carbon emissions, despite economic objections from some EU member nations. Following the prevailing opinion held by much of the world, the EU’s leaders have based their continent-wide regulations on the theory that periodic variations in global temperatures are the result of man-made causes, such as emissions of C02 gasses.
Mbhazima Shilowa, the former premier (equivalent to a U.S. governor) of South Africa’s wealthy Gauteng province, announced in a press conference on October 14 that he had resigned from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and would join a breakaway group headed by former Defense Minister Mosiuoa Lekota.
In recent days, as many as 15 Christians have been slain in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, prompting the Iraqi government headed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to dispatch 1,000 police to the violence-plagued city. The prime minister’s office said in a statement that units of the Iraqi army and police were being sent to the Mosul area “to provide protection for members of this community” and that the forces would “target the terrorist groups” responsible for the attacks. Police reported that two car bombs blew up in Mosul on October 12, killing seven Iraqis.
One day after the United States announced on October 11 that it was removing North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, the North Koreans announced that they would resume disabling the communist nation’s principal plutonium processing plant at its Yongbyon compound and allow international monitors back to the site.
“Life in Zimbabwe: Wait for Useless Money,” a report in the New York Times for October 2,
is a firsthand look at the effects on any society whose government has recklessly inflated its currency, thereby destroying its value. Even the next-to-worthless Zimbabwean currency is in short supply, since the nation’s central bank governor, instead of supplying banks, has been sending agents with suitcases filled with Zimbabwean currency into the streets to buy U.S. dollars and South African rand on the back market.
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From Karma to Dhyana: Meditation According to the Gita
"Meditation is often interpreted as a translation of the Sanskrit word ‘dhyana’.... In particular, it is the sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita which dedicates itself exclusively to answer all our queries regarding mediation.....not indulging in what we think is right, but doing what God knows is right, by unquestionably obeying His commands like a dutiful servant....This verse is not speaking of two different people.... The phrase ‘look at the tip of the nose’ is not to be taken literally to mean that one should direct one’s eyeballs towards the tip of one’s nose.... Next the Gita speaks of how a meditator should eat.... Meditation is not done to calm the mind."
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Indian art is truly exotic. The crafts of this land of culture, tradition and festivals have redefined ingenuity time and again. Artistic creations fashioned from precious stones, metals, wood, marble, ceramics or any other material are solid proofs of craft skills that have been preserved and perfected over the centuries.
Exotic India Art is proud to offer the most beautiful and appreciated Indian handicraft items like textiles, sculptures, paintings, beads, books, Indian jewellery including gold jewelry and sterling silver & other metal jewelry. Adorn your home, office or even yourself or your loved ones in finery like- silk sarees, marble sculptures, Indian jewelry and more.
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Troy, N.Y. ? A dealer in antique coins gets an offer to buy a beautiful bronze coin. The coin has an emperor's head on one side and the date "544 B.C." stamped on the other. The dealer examines the coin, but instead of buying it, he calls the police. Why?
Solving this "insight problem" requires creativity, a skill at which humans excel (the coin is a fake ? "B.C." and Arabic numerals did not exist at the time) and computers do not. Now, a new explanation of how humans solve problems creatively ? including the mathematical formulations for facilitating the incorporation of the theory in artificial intelligence programs ? provides a roadmap to building systems that perform like humans at the task.
Ron Sun, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute professor of cognitive science, said the new "Explicit-Implicit Interaction Theory," recently introduced in an article in Psychological Review, could be used for future artificial intelligence.
"As a psychological theory, this theory pushes forward the field of research on creative problem solving and offers an explanation of the human mind and how we solve problems creatively," Sun said. "But this model can also be used as the basis for creating future artificial intelligence programs that are good at solving problems creatively."
The paper, titled "Incubation, Insight, and Creative Problem Solving: A Unified Theory and a Connectionist Model," by Sun and Sèbastien Hèlie of University of California, Santa Barbara, appeared in the July edition of Psychological Review. Discussion of the theory is accompanied by mathematical specifications for the "CLARION" cognitive architecture ? a computer program developed by Sun's research group to act like a cognitive system ? as well as successful computer simulations of the theory.
In the paper, Sun and Hèlie compare the performance of the CLARION model using "Explicit-Implicit Interaction" theory with results from previous human trials ? including tests involving the coin question ? and found results to be nearly identical in several aspects of problem solving.
In the tests involving the coin question, human subjects were given a chance to respond after being interrupted either to discuss their thought process or to work on an unrelated task. In that experiment, 35.6 percent of participants answered correctly after discussing their thinking, while 45.8 percent of participants answered correctly after working on another task.
In 5,000 runs of the CLARION program set for similar interruptions, CLARION answered correctly 35.3 percent of the time in the first instance, and 45.3 percent of the time in the second instance.
"The simulation data matches the human data very well," said Sun.
Explicit-Implicit Interaction theory is the most recent advance on a well-regarded outline of creative problem solving known as "Stage Decomposition," developed by Graham Wallas in his seminal 1926 book "The Art of Thought." According to stage decomposition, humans go through four stages ? preparation, incubation, insight (illumination), and verification ? in solving problems creatively.
Building on Wallas' work, several disparate theories have since been advanced to explain the specific processes used by the human mind during the stages of incubation and insight. Competing theories propose that incubation ? a period away from deliberative work ? is a time of recovery from fatigue of deliberative work, an opportunity for the mind to work unconsciously on the problem, a time during which the mind discards false assumptions, or a time in which solutions to similar problems are retrieved from memory, among other ideas.
Each theory can be represented mathematically in artificial intelligence models. However, most models choose between theories rather than seeking to incorporate multiple theories and therefore they are fragmentary at best.
Sun and Hèlie's Explicit-Implicit Interaction (EII) theory integrates several of the competing theories into a larger equation.
"EII unifies a lot of fragmentary pre-existing theories," Sun said. "These pre-existing theories only account for some aspects of creative problem solving, but not in a unified way. EII unifies those fragments and provides a more coherent, more complete theory."
The basic principles of EII propose the coexistence of two different types of knowledge and processing: explicit and implicit. Explicit knowledge is easier to access and verbalize, can be rendered symbolically, and requires more attention to process. Implicit knowledge is relatively inaccessible, harder to verbalize, and is more vague and requires less attention to process.
In solving a problem, explicit knowledge could be the knowledge used in reasoning, deliberately thinking through different options, while implicit knowledge is the intuition that gives rise to a solution suddenly. Both types of knowledge are involved simultaneously to solve a problem and reinforce each other in the process. By including this principle in each step, Sun was able to achieve a successful system.
"This tells us how creative problem solving may emerge from the interaction of explicit and implicit cognitive processes; why both types of processes are necessary for creative problem solving, as well as in many other psychological domains and functionalities," said Sun.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
(518) 951-5650 (mobile)
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TRAVELLERS go to Leinster to see Dublin and the Dargle; to Ulster, to see the Giant's Causeway, and, perhaps, to do penance at Lough Dearg; to Munster, to see Killarney, the beautiful city of Cork, and half a dozen other fine things; but whoever thinks of the fourth province ? - whoever thinks of going -
- "westward, where Dick Martin ruled
The houseless wilds of Cunnemara ?"
The Ulster-man's ancient denunciation "to Hell or to Connaught," has possibly led to the supposition that this is a sort of infernal place above ground - a kind of terrestrial Pandemonium - in short, that Connaught is little better than hell, or hell little worse than Connaught; but let any one only go there for a month, and, as the natives say, " I 'II warrant he'll soon see the differ, and learn to understand that it is mighty like the rest o'green Erin, only something poorer;" and yet it might be thought that in this particular worse would be needless;" but so it is.
"My gracious me," said the landlady of the Inn at Sligo, " I wonder a gentleman of your teest and curosity would think of leaving Ireland without making a tower (tour) of Connaught, if it was nothing more than spending a day at Hazlewood, and up the lake, and on to the ould abbey at Friarstown, and the castle at Dromahair."
Polly M'Bride, my kind hostess, might not in this remonstrance have been altogether disinterested; but her advice prevailed, and the dawn of the following morning found me in a boat on the unruffled surface of Lough Gill. Arrived at the head of that splendid sheet of water, covered with rich and wooded islands with their ruined buildings, and bounded by towering mountains, noble plantations, grassy slopes, and precipitous rocks, which give beauty, and, in some places, sublimity to its shores, I proceeded at once up the wide river which forms its principal tributary. The "ould abbey" is chiefly remarkable for having been built at a period nearer to the Reformation than any other. ecclesiastical edifice of the same class. Full within view of it, and at the distance of half a mile, stands the shattered remnant of Breffni's princely hall. I strode forward with the enthusiasm of an antiquary, and the high-beating heart of a patriotic Irishman. I felt myself on classic ground, immortalised by the lays of Swift and of Moore. I pushed my way into the hallowed precincts of the grand and venerable edifice. I entered its chambers, and, oh my countrymen, I found them converted into the domicile of pigs, cows, and poultry ! But the exterior of " O'Rourke's old hall," grey, frowning, and ivy-covered, is well enough, it stands on a beetling precipice, round which a noble river wheels its course. The opposite bank is a very steep ascent, thickly wooded, and rising to a height of at least seventy feet; and, for a quarter of a mile, this beautiful copse follows the course of the river.
The first individual I encountered was an old cowherd; nor was I unfortunately in my cicerone, for he assured me there were plenty of old stories about strange things that used to be in the place; "but," continued he, "for my own share, I never met any thing worse nor myself. If it bees ould stories that your honour's after, the story about Linn-na- Payshtha and Poul-maw-Gullyawn is the only thing about this place that's worth one jack-straw. Does your honour see that great big black hole in the river yonder below?" He pointed my attention to a part of the river about fifty yards from the old hall, where a long island occupied the centre of the wide current, the water at one side running shallow, and at the other assuming every appearance of unfathomable depth. The spacious pool, dark and still, wore a deathlike quietude of surface. It looked as if the speckled trout would shun its murky precincts - as if even the daring pike would shrink from so gloomy a dwelling-place. " That's Linn-na-Payshtha, sir," resumed my guide, " and Poul-maw-Gullyawn is just the very moral of it, only that it's round, and not in a river, but standing out in the middle of a green field, about a short quarter of a mile from this. Well, 'tis as good as fourscore years - I often hard my father, God be merciful to him tell the story - since Manus O'Rourke, a great buckeen, a cock-fighting, drinking blackguard that was long ago, went to sleep one night and had a dream about Linn-na-Payshtha. This Manus, the dirty spalpeen, there was no ho with him; he thought to ride rough-shod over his betters through the whole country, though he was not one of the real stock of the O'Rourkes. Well, this fellow had a dream that if he dived in Linn-na-Payshtha at twelve o'clock of a Hollow-eve night, he'd find more gold than would make a man of him and his wife, while grass grew or water ran. The next night he had the same dream, and sure enough if he had it the second night, it came to him the third in the same form. Manus, well becomes him, never told mankind or womankind, but swore to himself, by all the books that ever were shut or open, that, any how, he would go to the bottom of the big hole. What did he care for the Payshtha-more that was lying there to keep guard on the gold and silver of the old ancient family that was buried there in the wars, packed up in the brewing-pan? Sure he was as good an O'Rourke as the best of them, taking care to forget that his grandmother's father was a cow-boy to the earl O'Donnel. At long last Hollow-eve comes, and sly and silent master Manus creeps to bed early, and just at midnight steals down to the river side. When he came to the bank his mind misgave him, and he wheeled up to Frank M'Clure's - the old Frank that was then at that time - and got a bottle of whisky, and took, it with him, and 'tis unknown how much of it he drank. He walked across to the island, and down he went gallantly to the bottom like a stone.
Sure enough the Payshtha was there afore him, lying like a great big conger eel, seven yards long, and as thick as a bull in the' body, with a mane upon his neck like a horse. The Payshtha more reared himself up; and, looking at the poor man as if he 'd eat him, says he, in good English,
" 'Arrah, then, Manus,' says he, ' what brought you here? It would have been better for you to have blown your brains out at once with a pistol, and have made a quiet end of yourself, than to have come down here for me to deal with you.'
" 'Oh, plase your honour,' says Manus, 'I beg my life:' and there he stood shaking like a dog in a wet sack.
" 'Well, as you have some blood of the O'Rourkes in you, I forgive you this once; but, by this and by that, if ever I see you, or any one belonging to you, coming about this place again, I'll hang a quarter of you on every tree in the wood.'
" 'Go home,' says the Payshtha - ' go home, Manus,' says he; ' and if you can't make better use of your time, get drunk; but don't come here, bothering me. Yet, stop ! since you are here, and have ventured to come, I'll show you something that you'll remember till you go to your grave, and ever after, while you live.'
"With that, my dear, he opens an iron door in the bed of the river, and never the drop of water ran into it; and there Manus sees a long, dry cave, or under-ground cellar like, and the Payshtha drags him in, and shuts the door. It wasn't long before the baste began to get smaller, and smaller, and smaller; and at last he grew as little as a taughn of twelve years old; and there he was, a brownish little man, about four feet high."
" ' Plase your honour,' says Manus, ' if I might make so bold, maybe you are one of the good people?'
" ' Maybe I am, and maybe I am not; but, anyhow, all you have to understand is this, that I'm bound to look after the Thiernas [Tighearna - a lord. Vide O'Brien] of Breffni, and take care of them through every generation; and that my present business is to watch this cave, and what's in it till the old stock is reigning over this country once more.'
" 'Maybe you are a sort of a banshee ? '
" ' I am not, you fool,' said the little man. 'The banshee is a woman. My business is to live in the form you first saw me in, guarding this spot. And now hold your tongue, and look about you.'
Manus rubbed his eyes, and looked right and left, before and behind; and there was the vessels of gold and the vessels of silver, the dishes, and the plates, and the cups, and the punch-bowls, and the tankards: there was the golden mether, too, that every Thierna at his wedding used to drink out of to the kerne in real usquebaugh. There was all the money that ever was saved in the family since they got a grant of this manor, in the days of the Firbolgs, down to the time of their outer ruination. He then brought Manus on with him to where there was arms for three hundred men; and the sword set with diamonds, and the golden helmet of the O'Rourke; and he showed him the staff made out of an elephant's tooth, and set with rubies and gold, that the Thierna used to hold while he sat in his great hall, giving justice' and the laws of the Brehons to all his clan. The first room in the cave, ye see, had ,the money and the plate, the second room had the arms, and the third had the books, papers, parchments, title-deeds, wills, and every thing else of the sort belonging to the family.
" 'And now, Manus,' says the little man, 'ye seen the whole o' this, and go your ways; but never come to this place any more, or allow any one else. I must keep watch and ward till the Sassanach is druv out of Ireland, and the Thiernas o' Breffini in their glory again.' The little man then stopped for a while and looked up in Manus's face, and says to him in a great passion, 'Arrah ! bad luck to ye, Manus, why don't ye go about your business ?'
" 'How can I ? - sure you must show me the way out,' says Manus, making answer. The little man then pointed forward with his finger.
" 'Can't we go out the way we came ?' says Manus.
" 'No, you must go out at the other end - that's the rule o' this place. Ye came in at Linn-na-Payshtha, and ye must go out at Poulmaw-Gullyawn: ye came down like a stone to the bottom of one hole, and ye must spring up like a cork to the top of the other.' With that the little man gave him one hoise, and all that Manus remembers was the roar of the water in his ears; and sure enough he was found the next morning, high and dry, fast asleep, with the empty bottle beside him, but far enough from the place he thought he landed, for it was just below yonder on the island that his wife found him. My father, God be merciful to him ! heard Manus swear to every word of the story."
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10 Best Features of Office 2010 for the Enterprise
Microsoft Office power users often find themselves cutting and pasting graphics, columns, large chunks of text, and many other elements between files. More often than not, they get unexpected results. For example, you may not want formatting to be copied from one column to another in Excel, or you may want to remove source formatting when copying text between Word documents. Office 2010's Paste Preview function gives you much better control over the pasting process.
Paste Preview works as the name implies, allowing you to see what a paste will look like before actually executing the command. What's more, Paste Preview offers multiple options to manipulate your clipboard contents before pasting. You can use it to remove or preserve formatting, convert to an image, remove borders, and so on, depending upon what application you are using and what type of data you are working with. Paste Preview will prove to be a major time-saver, especially for those working with large, complex spreadsheets where columns of numbers, associated formulas, and embedded formatting needs to be adjusted whenever you move something around.
Outlook Conversation View
Today, most users are inundated with hundreds of emails, from a multitude of contacts and concerning numerous projects, on a daily basis. As a result, email is often more of a burden than a productivity tool. The latest version of Outlook aims to alleviate much of that strain by offering new ways to organize your email, and one of its most powerful tools is the enhanced Conversation View.
Conversation View, which you may have used in previous versions of Outlook, has gone through significant changes to address user complaints. It's a feature that heavy email users will actually find effective, as it can help to streamline inboxes and remove the chaos from email conversation chains.
Conversation View groups related emails based on subject lines, From and Reply To fields, and other data gathered from IMAP data fields; it also now works across folders. In the past, if you had hundreds of emails from multiple parties about a particular subject, and those emails were stored under different folders, the Conversation View wasn't able to display them all together. In Outlook 2010, Conversation View will bring those emails together to create a date-ordered view of the entire stream.
The ability to work across folders, ignore selected messages, and collapse conversations to avoid displaying duplicate text brings welcome functionality to the Conversation View. If you were one of the users who found fault with Conversation View in the past, note that Outlook 2010 addresses enough of those faults to make it a worth another look.
More on Office 2010:
- Office 2010: Inside Microsoft's newest suite
- The twists and turns of Office Web Apps' software license
- Microsoft vs. Google: The empire strikes back
- Microsoft Click-to-Run: The future of software delivery?
- Office 2010: At last, the suite that users built
- Office suites in the cloud: Microsoft Office Web Apps versus Google Docs and Zoho
- Office 2010 looks solid and smooth
- Why I hate Microsoft Office 2010
Read more about applications in InfoWorld's Applications Channel.
Frank J. Ohlhorst is a technology professional specializing in products and services analysis. He writes for several technology publications.
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By Dan Hust
WOODRIDGE April 7, 2006 Turn a feed mill into a housing development?
Is that even possible?
According to Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development Vice President Don Perry, not only is it possible, its a growing trend throughout the world.
In a December 2005 report to the Woodridge Village Board, Perry detailed how former feed mills, grain elevators and similar industrial structures have staved off a long, slow deterioration by being transformed into upscale high-rises.
And hes of the mind that the same can happen at the Inter-County Farmers Cooperative Associations old grain feed mill off Green Avenue in Woodridge.
Woodridge Mayor Ivan Katz agrees.
It fits the village perfectly, he said this week. It would be great for Woodridge.
For one, Perry recommended that the apartments be priced below luxury but above low-income given the economic demographics of the Woodridge area, it would be ideal to attract residents with greater disposable income and thus capable of helping to boost retail sales and support new businesses catering to residents needs on the main downtown shopping strip.
The mill, after all, is located next door to the village hall, which itself anchors the eastern end of Woodridges struggling downtown business district.
And though only Perry will address it publicly, a private hope of village residents and officials is that it will force the neighboring egg processing facilities to permanently resolve persistent odor problems.
When contacted Wednesday, Perry said the Partnership is taking that into account and plans on obtaining a grant to put a green roof on Newburgh Eggs plant to be more environmentally friendly, along with relandscaping the area to make it more attractive.
Of course, any potential developer of which none have yet been approached would want all this done ahead of opening day.
The whole project isnt really one yet, anyway. The December report was the result of a request by Inter-County to investigate ways to make the feed mill viable, as it has been on the market for years, said Perry. The near-100-page document was solely meant to be conceptual, he explained.
The Partnership, however, is now in the midst of preparing a full feasibility study, engaging engineers, architects, real estate agents and developers familiar in such conversions. That study is due to be complete by June, said Perry.
If realized, such a project would be a major shift in usage of Woodridges largest factory. The earliest structures on the two-acre site date back to the first half of the 20th century, but their wooden frames have mostly been overshadowed by the 100-foot-tall concrete building and four 5-story silos that greet passersby.
That expansion happened in 1955 right next to the O&W Railway tracks that would disappear just two years later; nevertheless, the mill operated for 35 more years processing and supplying grain to various businesses and individuals.
Inter-County Farmers Cooperative Association, which has been the sole owner for the mills entire existence, still has an active office next to a printing plant in a small part of the otherwise dormant complex.
Developable space is around 80,000 square feet, estimated Perry, with a range of possible configurations. In his report, Perry explored the possibility of offering 480-square-foot studio and 580-square-foot 1-bedroom apartments. Utilizing a similar arrangement already in existence elsewhere in the country, Perry figured about 155 apartments could be offered as a senior housing complex.
Regardless of who inhabited the old mill, thered also be room for anything from meeting rooms to a pool, a cafeteria to a solarium, even exercise and game facilities.
But what about the outside of the uniformly brownish-gray structures?
The biggest hurdle for people is the visual one, Perry acknowledged.
Then again, he said, if I were sitting in Woodridge and had that eyesore to look at . . . I think Id be interested [in this project]!
It beats tearing it down, he added, because the thing is built like a tank with much of it foot-thick concrete reinforced by steel bars.
The idea of trying to demolish that . . ., Perry said, trailing off at the thought of such a monumental effort.
Hes hoping developers will latch on to the building enthusiasm for converting the mill, as he plans to take the idea on the road once the feasibility study is complete. And there are public grants to tap into if this really gets going, he added.
Regardless, it seems Perry and village officials agree that this incorporated village of 900 souls could use the infusion of residents and money.
It is evident . . . that there is a strong case to be made for the conversion of the Woodridge feed mill to residential housing, wrote Perry in his conceptual report. The size of the site, the amount of potential developable square footage, the proximity to retail and recreational amenities, and the potential for substantial density all would seem to point to the possibility of a successful residential conversion.
I dont think anybody would be against it, agreed Mayor Katz, echoing the thoughts of a unanimously favorable board.
Looking for more info? Perrys happy to talk about it call 794-1110.
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What Law Applies To My DUI Case?
The individual rights guaranteed in the United States Constitution are federal rights that cannot be restricted by any State. Each individual state does have the authority to expand those rights, however, and can give citizens more protection at their discretion. Thus the federal constitutional rights are a floor, not a ceiling.
Because individual states have the authority to expand on federal rights, the protections regarding searches and seizures could possibly be very different depending on which state you are in.
According to the Supremacy Clause in the U.S. Constitution (Article VI, Clause 2), when a federal law and a state law conflict, the federal law controls. States are required to follow applicable federal laws, and any state legislation or court decision that conflicts with a federal legislation or rulings should not be followed.
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Hidden Hills is a community that tries to live by its name. It has just two entrances, both gated and guarded. Million-dollar homes sit behind spacious front yards, oak trees and white ranch-style fences.
It is a town without apartments, without condominiums and without, well, poor people.
But now the city is grappling with a state mandate that it provide low-cost housing. A proposal before the City Council to annex land outside the gates and build 46 units of multifamily housing for senior citizens has resulted in a controversy that has shaken the serene 2,000-member community west of Woodland Hills.
Two stormy public meetings have pitted opponents of the plan against the city's attorney, who is backing it. In the second meeting last week, an uncertain City Council voted unanimously to conduct an informal advisory poll of the residents.
"This is a real sensitive issue for some of us in this community," said resident Susan Porcaro. "Yes, there is a need for low-income housing. No, we don't want it on our street. . . . We worked our tails off to have this house."
Hidden Hills was incorporated in 1961 to retain the area's rural, equestrian quality and to fight off a planned extension of Burbank Boulevard through the town. Some residents say opposition to the affordable housing plan stems from residents' desire to keep Hidden Hills an island in a sea of urban growth.
"When there's a suggestion that the city wishes to annex an area that has higher density, I think there's a reaction," said Paul Gilbert, president of the town's community association, which owns and maintains the city's roads and its two gates.
"Low density is the desire, and there's no other innuendo or implication to flow from that," added Gilbert, who said he has yet to make up his mind on the issue.
But earlier this summer, an anonymous letter was circulated in town. It said in part: "Keep in mind, the residents of the low-income housing project would: 1. Have a right to vote in our city elections, 2. Have a right to be members of our city commissions . . . 3. Have a right to use all city-owned facilities, such as the swimming pool, tennis courts, administration building, etc., 4. And, have their best interests conflict with our best interests. Is this what we really want for our community???"
City Atty. Wayne K. Lemieux says he finds the controversy hard to understand. The project would house senior citizens outside the town's gates and would be shielded from the existing city by a hill. Its residents would use different access roads, he said. Lemieux called the opposition "unreasonable."
"When people are being unreasonable, I look for ulterior motives," Lemieux said. "I don't know if there are any here."
Hidden Hills is considering the senior citizen housing project because of a complex set of circumstances that some residents have found difficult to understand and some city officials have found difficult to explain.
In 1984, the city formed a redevelopment agency to finance a needed flood-control project without new taxes. Hidden Hills was promptly sued by Los Angeles County and a private attorney, Murray Kane. Both contended that the city was not blighted and thus should not reap the tax benefits of redevelopment at the expense of county taxpayers.
Last year, the suit with the county was settled, with county officials agreeing to pay $5.1 million for the drainage project. But Kane contested the settlement; under state redevelopment law, a portion of redevelopment money must be spent on affordable housing. In May of this year, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge R. William Schoettler Jr. agreed to dismiss the suit if Hidden Hills would agree to an affordable housing plan. The City Council consented.
Last year, the wealthy desert city of Indian Wells was involved in a similar controversy after it launched a redevelopment agency to attract upscale resort businesses. Confronted with the affordable housing regulations, the city and a resort developer lobbied Sacramento for an exemption that passed the Legislature but was vetoed by Gov. George Deukmejian.
Aside from Hidden Hills' settlement in the redevelopment lawsuit, Lemieux points to state law that requires all cities to provide for affordable housing in their planning and zoning regulations.
Hidden Hills argued last year to the Southern California Assn. of Governments, a regional planning agency responsible for enforcing the housing law, that the city has no more room for affordable housing and that building it would not be feasible. SCAG rejected the argument.
"What we're doing is identifying what the need is, not how feasible it is," said Jim Minuto, manager of SCAG's housing program. "The city, in their housing element, has to address that need."
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Skip to Main Content
Large-core (42 /spl times/43 /spl mu/m) 1/spl times/16 optical power splitters in polymers have been fabricated. Y-branch waveguide structures with and without offsets in the arc-bending regions were designed by the beam propagation method software and molded by a silicon-mold master using a hot-embossing process. The optical power splitters were produced by epoxy core filling and ultraviolet curing processes. The average insertion losses at a wavelength of 850 nm were measured to be 19.8 dB with offset and 17.1 dB without offset, respectively. The maximum uniformities were 3.3 dB with offset and 3.9 dB without offset, respectively.
Date of Publication: June 2003
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The GED test is given at eighteen local testing centers in New Hampshire. Each one sets up its own testing schedule and procedures for registration.
To find out where testing centers are located, call the GED Testing Office at (603) 271-6699 or look at the list: GED Testing Centers in New Hampshire
No. Some testing centers require that you pass a practice test before you sign up for the official GED, but there is no requirement that you attend classes. Some people may have the skills to do well on the GED without taking a class.
If you want to take some classes or work with a tutor to improve your skills, we can tell you where there are adult education classes. Call the Bureau of Adult Education at (603) 271-6698 or look at the the section on Preparation for the GED Tests.
Yes, you can find GED study books at most libraries and book stores.
NO! A New Hampshire GED Certificate of High School Equivalency cannot be obtained via the Internet or through correspondence programs. Please see the warning about GED internet testing.
It's $65 at every New Hampshire testing center. (Testing centers that give practice tests may have a separate fee for the practice test, usually $10 or $15.)
You must be a resident of New Hampshire to receive a New Hampshire GED certificate. If you are from another state, you should talk with the GED administrator in your state to see if they can accept results from New Hampshire before you plan to test here.
You do not have to be a citizen to take the GED, but you must be a New Hampshire resident and have a photo ID.
The tests are scored by National Scoring Service. It usually takes about two weeks for your testing center to get the results.
According to New Hampshire rules, you have to be 18 years old. There are exceptions for students in approved GED Option programs and some other students may receive approval from their school districts to take GED Tests. See Information for Students Under the Age of 18.
Home schooled students who are under 18, who have completed their home school programs, who have passed GED Practice Tests, and who wish to take GED Tests should use Referral Form 3 to apply for GED testing. The Form must be signed by an official of the agency that oversees the student's home schooling.
We need to receive a written request from you, and there is a $5 fee. You can print a request form, fill it out, and mail it with a check or money order for $5 payable to State of New Hampshire to GED Testing, NH Department of Education, Division of Adult Learning and Rehabilitation, 21 South Fruit Street, Suite 20, Concord, NH 03301. Your transcript request will be processed within two business days of receipt. You may print a GED Transcript Request Form.
Microsoft Word format. You can download a free reader from Microsoft.
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By Daryl Nelson
— It’s certainly safe to say that most people didn’t expect the microwave to become the everyday kitchen appliance that it is today.
And just like many other everyday household products that we use, a lot of consumers don’t really think about how they differ from each other, in terms of functionality and overall safety, which is why certain government agencies spend a great deal of time regulating certain products, to set standards of performance and to ensure safety for the general public.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tells consumers not to just randomly select a microwave when shopping for one, and each person should really understand how microwaves work, how to properly use them, and how to give them the proper maintenance.
It’s safe to assume that a lot of people associate microwave ovens with radiation waves and are also aware that these waves are what heat up foods.
Once these waves reach the water or fat content in the food, these contents vibrate, which in turn heats or cooks whatever is inside the microwave.
The FDA says the good thing about microwaves, is there have been very few cases surrounding people becoming injured by radiation, aside from just a few instances. In these rare cases the microwaves weren't serviced correctly or people had somehow managed to get body parts where they didn't belong.
The government regulators also point out that most microwave injuries are related to people becoming burned by containers or other hot receptacles placed inside, and many people heat items for too long, especially liquids that can explode and cause scalding.
And since some small children can reach a low-placed microwave and open its door, they could potentially expose themselves to those hot liquids or overly heated foods and suffer a serious injury.
Parents should definitely place microwaves out of the reach of small children who may grab a hot item out of sheer curiosity, experts say.
To decrease the chances of liquids exploding in the microwave, the FDA says to add whatever contents you were planning to use beforehand, like cocoa mix, sugar or instant coffee.
And many of us don’t like to actually do it, but reading the manual from cover to cover when purchasing a microwave is extremely important, stresses the FDA, since it outlines the right operating procedures and advises how to avoid any mishaps which may be specific to that particular microwave.
The FDA also says not to use a microwave if the door doesn’t close securely, and if a piece of the door is bent, chipped or damaged in any way, it should no longer be used.
And if for some reason the microwave is able to function with the door still open, which happens more than one may think among older and heavily used microwaves; consumers should immediately stop using it and replace it if possible.
The government agency also says that certain microwaves shouldn’t be in use while empty, since the waves can shoot back and forth inside the oven, which can cause damage if there’s nothing to absorb those waves.
The United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service, reminds consumers to be extra mindful when using the microwave when reheating fish, poultry and eggs, and to make sure foods have no “cold spots”, which happens if plates aren’t rotated properly within the oven.
Also, just as you would when cooking meat in a conventional oven, the USDA says consumers should use a food thermometer to make sure bacteria and other potential disease-carrying microorganisms aren’t present in your food.
And both the USDA and the FDA dispel the common belief that microwaved foods are cooked from the inside out, and confirm that radiation waves pass through food and cook it about 1 to 1 ½ inches deep.
A few months back we ran a story on canned, fresh and frozen vegetables, and asked an expert if cooking veggies in the microwave takes away some of the nutrients.
Perhaps surprisingly, the food expert and nutritionist said cooking vegetables as quickly as possible preserves most of the nutrients, so using a microwave is your best bet since it heats veggies faster than most other foods.
The USDA says when cooking meats in the microwave, it's best to remove all of the bones first, especially with thicker cuts of meat, as this will better ensure it’s cooked evenly and prevent the bones from blocking the waves.
It’s also wise to stop foods in the middle of the cooking cycle to turn or stir it so each side is cooked equally.
There’s no doubt that microwave ovens have gone from that weird mystery box that my Dad brought home over 30 years ago, to an everyday kitchen staple that seems a little crazy not to have.
But just because microwaves are extremely commonplace to own these days, doesn’t mean that consumers still shouldn’t be mindful of how each one works best, and how each one is properly maintained.
Also, be sure to read that pesky manual. It’s never good to assume that you know everything about an appliance just because you’ve had one since childhood.
Story provided by ConsumerAffairs.
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As I write this, the President of the United States is taking his place at the front of a joint session of Congress to present his jobs plan for America. A critical speech to a supremely critical audience – the Republican caucus, most certainly, and the American people at large. He will talk about extending unemployment benefits, tax breaks, and public works projects. His critics will talk about bigger tax breaks and cutting away at regulation. And some pols may even pay lip service to small businesses and entrepreneurs as the engines of job creation.
Meanwhile, all across the country in small offices, dining rooms converted into command centers, co-work spaces, coffee shops, libraries and just about anywhere an entrepreneur can jump onto a WiFi network, startups are going about the work of actually creating jobs.
I was talking about this reality to my colleague yesterday morning and the light went on. The only way we can move from the recipients of lip service to an empowered seat at the table is to actually show the nation exactly the impact we have. So, we went to work to create Startupjobscount.org. It’s a very simple Web app that asks entrepreneurs to register the number of jobs they have created. We’ll keep a running total, as well as roll call of the nation’s Jobs Creators.
No matter what market or industry you are in, please take a minute now to be counted as the Jobs Creator that you are. Let’s show Congress exactly who’s doing the hard work of putting America to work.
Special thanks to Dierdre Gibson, Guidewire Group’s senior developer, and designer Tom Loveman for scrambling to put this site together so quickly. StartupJobsCount.org went from idea to launch in under 30 hours.
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In britain these are the government funded schools similar to the american 'public school'. state schools are free to attend as they are funded through taxation (even if your kids go to private school, i know, soo unfair).
State school pupils fall into many catagories:
1- the middle class kid who's parents don't love them enough to send them to private school and would rather buy an aga instead.
2- the common chav ( aka scum, thief, rapist, slut, and any other annoying scummy person). key identifying points are the classic disfigured chin due to inbreeding by their now incarcerated father(who is also their uncle)and as much fake merchandise that they can fit on their face and fingers.
3- the 'individual', these folks usually spend most of their time hanging around under a tree, in the music, art or drama department proclaiming their individuality whilst dressed the same and listening to the same music as their other individual friends.
State schools are not bad places really, they offer just the same education as a private school just with added sound effects of gang rape behind the bike sheds and teachers glugging down cocktails of meths and copper sulphate to pass the day quicker.
state school: any schools where the blazers are less than 100% pure british wool.
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Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2010
Robert J. Savage, Jr., Adjunct Associate Professor of History
This book was recently awarded the 2010 James S. Donnelly, Sr. Prize for Best Book in History and Social Sciences.
A Loss of Innocence? Television and Irish Society, 1960-1972 explores the evolution of Ireland’s national television service during its first tumultuous decade, addressing how the medium helped undermine the conservative political, cultural and social consensus that dominated Ireland into the 1960s. It also traces the development of the BBC and ITA in Northern Ireland, considering how television helped undermine a state that had long governed without consensus.
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The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey today named Susan Baer as director of aviation. She is a 32-year veteran of the agency and the first woman to hold the post. Baer replaces the late William DeCota, who died suddenly in August.
Baer has held a number of positions within PA management since her hiring in the late 1970s. She joined the aviation department in 1988 and has been entrusted with progressively larger responsibilities ever since. In the 1990s, Baer was appointed general manager of LaGuardia Airport, until she was moved into the same role at Newark Airport in 1998. In 2007, when she was appointed general manager of Kennedy Airport, she became the first person to have run all three of the Port Authority’s major airports. In 2008 she was promoted to deputy director/chief operating officer of the Port Authority.
The Port Authority’s aviation department manages all three of the New York metropolitan area’s major airports—Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark—ranking among the world’s largest airport management organizations. Baer will hold the reins on a $1.3 billion operating budget and $594 million 2009 capital budget. The role is also deeply involved in the federal government’s efforts to modernize air traffic control systems and reduce flight delays.
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The Beastie Boys Biography
New York – the great multi-national city. New York inspired by its splendor and scared by its nightmares. New York charmed many famous musicians and singers from Frank Sinatra to SONIC YOUTH. That is to say New York became the place where the band, surpassing the time, came into the world. Things, for what Beastie Boys was routinely cricized severely in 80s and 90s, are norm for modern alternative bands. It’s all the same Beastie Boys is in the vanguard, each their new album set the fashion for a lot of young bands. Beastie Boys became the first white rappers achieved such stunning success.
The Beastie Boys history began in 1981 on New-York sreets fulled of punks, when Mike Dimond ( was born on 20.11.1966) и Adam Yauch ( was born on 5.8.1965) decide to start their own music band. In that time almost all their friends had own groups, that is why the boys decided to indulge in music. In the beginning the name of band was not clear - BOYS ENTERING ANARCHISTIC STATES TOWARD INTERNAL EXCELLENCE. The Punk and Hard Cor became their guiding star on their complicated way to success. In 1982 they released “Polly Wog Stew” and broke up to join agane one year later and the name Beastie Boys.
In that time Adam Horovitz ( was born on 31.10.1967) joined to the band. Their “Cooky Puss” was somethind looked like Rap, after this release the boys stopped to indulge in Hard Cor, they began to mix different music styles. The band signed to contracts with Def Jam and famous producer Rick Rubin. Their music combined Rap, Hard Metall and others. In 1986 they released their debut album “Licensed To Ill” is the kaleidoscope of street rhythms, metall and indecent jokes. The album was flaied but at the same it was most popular Rap album of 80s. With Dust Brothers they recorded their most unusual in their career album in 1992. After its release the boys bought the Grand Royal label where they recorded their third album “Check Your Head” which got mass recognition.
Two years later Beastie Boys released the “Ill Communication” album with classic tracks “Sabotage”, “Root Down”, “Tough Guy”, “Sure Shot” and “Heart Attack Men”. In 1998 they released their fifth album “Hello Nasty” was sold in three millions copies. They word for word killed all envious persons by their hits “Intergalactic”, “Body Movin” and “3 MCs and 1 DJ”.
Next album was waited till summer of 2004 but expectation was worthy of it. The album “To The 5 Boroughs” was met by modern generation ambiguously. But Beastie Boys stay one of the most loved and uncommon band of our time.
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The Salzburg Collection is one of the most important collections in Canada for Central European law studies. It represents the original law collection of the Seminary Library of the Archbishop of Salzburg, acquired by the University of Alberta in 1965. The Bruce Peel Special Collections Library houses the pre-1800 publications, considered rare books. The newer, post-1800 publications, which represent about half of the collection, are housed in other locations, including the John A. Weir Memorial Law Library, the Book and Records Depository, and the Humanities and Social Sciences Library.
Following the recommendations of the Tridentine Council (Tridentinischer Konzil) of 1562, the Salzburg Provincial Council (Salzburger Provinzialkonzil) established the Archiepiscopal Seminary in Salzburg (Erzbisch�fliches Priesterseminar zu Salzburg) with its decree of May 25, 1579. Its first statutes were written and signed in July 1579 by the rector, Georg W�rfel. The library was founded at the same time as the seminary, with books contributed by the private library of the Archbishop.
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Visitors at this week’s lecture at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center learned about something going on right in their own backyard. Researchers from the University of Alaska Southeast gave some insight into the work they’ve done over the year on the glacier, and how the ice that makes it up continues to decrease.
“Glacier ecosystems are unique in that they’re not particularly well-studied,” said environmental science and geography professor Eran Hood. “Additionally, glacier ecosystems are changing very rapidly, so it’s important to understand how these ecosystems play.”
Instructor Michael Hekkers started the evening with some insight into how Mendenhall’s state has changed. There was a big change, indeed, as the terminus lost 540 feet between 2009 and 2010. This is more than twice the yearly average of ice loss between 1997 and 2009. Hekkers and Hood explained that some of this can be explained through climate and environmental changes in temperature and precipitation, which researchers are still studying.
Such climate influences may also affect the glacier’s calving. UAS student David Sauer did a case study, during which he found the year’s largest calving event took place Aug. 18. This calving was preceded by increased temperatures, up to 65 degrees Fahrenheit, plus 2.5 inches of rain at the Northstar camp.
Sauer then explained the significance of calving such as this, such as the straining effect of the terminus’ buoyancy, increasing the release of accumulated precipitation and melt. The draining to the base also increases glacier sliding. The terminus does become more buoyant as the lake level rises.
He also said terminus retreat has opened up the deepest portion of the lake over the last decade, causing more instability and calving of the terminus. The three presenters agreed the glacier will eventually retreat out of the lake, but it’s not certain when that will happen. Future calving studies will be done before this happens.
Sauer said the deepest point was measured at 77 meters in 2008, but is slowly decreasing due to increased sedimentation.
In terms of climate effects at Mendenhall, Hekkers showed the numbers. The mean annual temperature on the glacier from 1949 to 2009 was 3.2 degrees Fahrenheit, with the average slightly rising over the winter months and dropping during the summer, which he said is an important time to retain accumulated snow for the glacier to grow.
“A significant change in winter temperature means less snowfall for the glacier,” he said.
Hood went on to describe the significance of glacier water to the local ecosystem, as 95 percent of Southeast Alaska’s glaciers are thinning, a phenomenon he said is worldwide.
“One thing we know from a variety of studies is that we’re losing glacier water very rapidly in Southeast Alaska,” he said.
Southeast glaciers are also a large contributor to the Gulf of Alaska. The region gives 42 percent of its runoff to the gulf, a large part of that from glaciers. The Gulf of Alaska itself gets 47 percent of its discharge from such runoffs. Hood said it’s important to study how climate changes will affect that percentage and how much the gulf water itself will change.
He said marine and terrestrial ecosystems are very tightly coupled, and the importance of glacier runoff is its strong impact on water’s physical properties. For example, glacier stream temperatures go down in the summer. Colder water can affect fish habitats and other marine habitats. Such ecosystems that are accustomed to certain temperatures and timing are affected when glacier runoff changes over time.
Glacier thinning can also make room for more vegetation, as Hood pointed out has happened in Lynn Canal.
Hood added that a future project could involve a climate and modeling study of Juneau’s ice field.
Hekkers also presented findings from geology professor Cathy Connor, who discovered newly exposed sediments and wood. Carbon dating places some of these sediments around 2,000 years old.
The sediments lie on the previously eroded Taku terrane bedrock and represent late Holocene channels and a quiet water pond or floodplain. Larger sediments were carried by rivers, while smaller streams deposited the finer sediments.
The wood washed in from nearby upland forests, as no rooted wood was found. The wood was deposited there more than 2,000 years ago and was covered by the advancing glacier sometime after 20 A.D.
• Contact reporter Jonathan Grass at 523-2276 or at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Juneau Empire ©2013. All Rights Reserved.
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Is Facebook a Black Eye for US Investors?: Survey
CNBC Senior Economics Reporter
The Facebook IPO, which could have been a major black eye for the stock market, has instead turned out to have had little effect on American’s investment plans, according to the latest CNBC All–America Economic Survey.
The survey finds widespread knowledge of what is widely considered to have been a botched initial public offering where the company raised $18 billion, but the stock fell sharply in its wake.
According to the survey, 72 percent of the public heard either a lot or something of the debacle. But 72 percent of the 800 Americans polled said it will have no effect on their plans to invest in stocks.
About half the public say they have a Facebook profile, with women outnumbering men by a 55 percent to 45 percent. Republicans with Facebook profiles outnumber Democrats 54 percent to 48 percent.
The public seems divided on the future of the social media giant. Five years from now, say one in five Americans, it will have been a passing fad; 48 percent say it will be just one of many such services. Just 17 percent says it will maintain its dominant position in the social media world.
Facebook users skew younger than Apple users. Nearly 80 percent of Americans in the 18-34 demographic group have Facebook profiles; while 62 percent of that demo, according to a prior CNBC survey, say they have an Apple product.
Facebook users fall off with the older demographics while Apple users rise. Both tech companies decline to just 20 percent to 25 percent of users among Americans 65 and older.
-By CNBC's Steve Liesman
Follow Steve Liesman on Twitter: @steveliesman
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Editorial: Council should drop 'survey' ideaDoes anyone think that Mountain View voters will agree to tax themselves so the city can afford to build affordable housing projects? That's a plan that looks like a possibility after a City Council study session. But in our view, even at the relatively low proposed rate of $5 a month ($60 a year), this idea is dead on arrival, a conclusion voiced by council member Mike Kasperzak at last week's meeting.
The city already has a 51-unit affordable housing project nearly shovel-ready at the corner of Evelyn Avenue and Franklin Street, and is sitting on still more funds ($8.8 million) in the Below Market Rate Housing (BMR) account. Why waste $15,000 on a survey that is timed so that if a decision is made to go ahead, a measure would appear on the November ballot, along with the City Council election, potentially numerous statewide tax increase proposals, including the one from Gov. Jerry Brown, and the presidential election.
And there is another problem with the idea of asking local property owners to pay for affordable housing. In the past, the city maintained a healthy BMR account that was replenished when rental housing projects were approved. Developers would pay BMR housing fees based on the size of their project. The funds were saved until the city could fund housing like the complex moving forward at Franklin and Evelyn.
But a Los Angeles court case found a problem with the way such BMR ordinances are written and although the city made the necessary revisions to bring its ordinance into compliance, council members have not approved it and, at least at the moment, have decided to leave rental housing developers off the hook. Instead, they decided to conduct a survey to see if voters are ready to bankroll such projects.
It does not take a rocket scientist to correctly guess what the voters will say on this survey. With all the clutter on the ballot, and the recession/depression still gripping some parts of our city, we can't imagine local voters will be in the mood to add another burden of any kind to their tax bills. While there is still time, we recommend that council members cancel plans to waste $15,000 to survey support for a ballot measure that they must know is very likely to be rejected by voters next November.
Instead, the council should immediately get to work and pass a new BMR ordinance that will continue to generate funds from rental housing projects to build below-market-rate housing for the hundreds of low-income residents who cannot afford the city's high housing costs.
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Treatment and Management of Diabetes
A person with diabetes must take many things into consideration in order to properly manage his or her condition. Listed in the directory below are some, for which we have provided a brief overview.
Treatment of Diabetes
Insulin Replacement Therapy
Alcohol Use and People with Diabetes
Sodium and People with Diabetes
Healthy Cooking Tips for People with Diabetes
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The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes a mastiff from England named Zorba as the heaviest dog in the world, at over 343lb (143 kg). Zorba stood 37 inches (94 cm) at the shoulder and was 8 feet 3 inches (251 cm) from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. Zorba set this record in November 1989, when he was 8 years old, and about the size of a large donkey.
Click to view image: '70421-zorba.jpg'
Click to view image: '70421-grootste0021.jpg'
|Liveleak on Facebook|
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The Americas in the Modern Age - Langley, Lester D. - Yale University Press
- Related Categories
The Americas in the Modern Age
In this wide-ranging book, historian Lester D. Langley offers a fresh interpretation of the history of the modern Western hemisphere since the mid-nineteenth century. He evaluates the dynamics of hemispheric history, commencing with the articulation of the “two Americas” (Theodore Roosevelt’s America and the contrasting America described by Cuban revolutionary, essayist, and poet José Martí) and culminating with recent controversial efforts to forge a united hemisphere.
Tracing the interactions and influences among the nations of South, Central, and North America, including Canada, Langley departs from other accounts of the past 150 years. He argues that the seedtime for today’s Americas was not the Cold War but the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He also contends that it is not what the countries and people of the Americas have in common that binds them; instead, their cultural, political, and economic conflicts tie them together. Comprehensive and balanced, this history of the nations of the Americas offers new insights into both the past and the future of inter-American relations.
Lester D. Langley is professor emeritus of the department of history, University of Georgia. His earlier book, The Americas in the Age of Revolution: 1750–1850, is also available in paperback from Yale University Press.
OTHER TITLES BY THIS AUTHOR
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I’ve never been to Rwanda. Ever since the 100-day genocide – and after watching Hotel Rwanda – I’ve followed news stories, always hoping to better understand how survivors find the resilience to return to “life as normal.”
At last, I am traveling from California to Rwanda….virtually. Thanks to the vision and determination of my amazing National Writing Project colleague and HEN partner Pam Bodnar, I will be able to join her students as they blog about the sights visited and personal insights experienced. I’ve added the Rwanda Trip 2012 blog to my RSS reader and am really looking forward to joining in the conversations and learning from both Pam’s students and Sacramento USD friend Jeremy Pretko’s students, who are also part of the AfriPeace organization.
But how do you prepare high school students to listen to and experience the first-hand accounts of 100 days of death and destruction as neighbor turned against neighbor in an effort to eliminate an entire group of people? I think back to my college days when on a trip to Munich, Germany, I ventured to the Dachau concentration camp, with little more preparation on the topic of genocide than having read the Diary of Anne Frank as a 7th grader and maybe a page or two about the Holocaust in a college textbook. I was emotionally and physically ill for hours following the tour.
Pam’s students are prepared. Although now in high school, as 8th graders, they studied the Holocaust not only in their U.S. History class, but also as part of Pam’s Peer Mediators Team. They delved into the events that led up to the exclusion, forced removal, and murder of over 6 million Jews and other “undesirables” during World War II. But they did not study the Holocaust as an isolated event on a timeline that happened “then and there.” Instead they researched connections from “then and there” to “here and now.” Events including the genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia, as well as the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. They approached events of the past and recent past as a call to social action. They became “change writers.”
I hope you will join me in following the Rwanda Trip 2012 students in what I already know will be a highlight of the summer and a testimony to the power of youth to make a difference.
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Fuel for cars could be created from ice cream and soap
Researchers have shown that the emerging field of synthetic biology can be used to manipulate hydrocarbon chemicals, found in soaps and shampoos, in cells.
The researchers, led by Professor Nick Turner from The University of Manchester, used synthetic biology to hijack the naturally-existing fatty acids and direct those fatty molecules towards the production of ready-to-use fuel and household chemicals.
This development, discovered with colleagues at the University of Turku in Finland, could mean fuel for cars or household power supplies could be created from naturally-occurring fatty acids.
Hydrocarbon chemicals are everywhere in our daily lives; as fragrance in soap, thickener in shampoo and fuel in the car. Their number of carbons and whether they are acid, aldehyde, alcohol or alkane are important parameters that influence how toxic they are to biological organisms, the potential for fuel and their olfactory perception as aroma compounds.
The breakthrough allows researchers to further explore how to create renewable energy from sustainable sources, and the advance could lead to more innovative ways of sourcing fuel from natural resources.
Synthetic biology is an area of biological research and technology that combines science and engineering for the benefit of society. Significant advances have been made in this field in recent years.
"In our laboratories in Manchester we currently work with many different biocatalysts that catalyse a range of chemical reactions - the key is to match up the correct biocatalyst with the specific product you are trying to make," said Professor Turner.
"Biocatalysts recognise molecules in the way that a lock recognises a key - they have to fit perfectly together to work. Sometime we redesign the lock so that if can accept a slightly different key allowing us to make even more interesting products," he noted.
"In this example we need to make sure that the fatty acid starting materials would be a perfect match for the biocatalysts that we discovered and developed in our laboratories," he added.
The researchers published their work in PNAS.
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Talk explores expanding role of EU, Sept. 20
Posted September 13, 2006; 04:32 p.m.
"Europe as Empire: The Nature of the New EU" is the subject of a lecture by Oxford University political scholar Jan Zielonka scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, in 16 Robertson Hall.
Zielonka is the Ralf Dahrendorf Fellow in European Politics at St Antony's College at Oxford. His research deals with the evolving nature of the European Union and the process of its eastward expansion. His books include "Europe as Empire: The Nature of the Enlarged European Union," "Europe Unbound: Enlarging and Reshaping the Boundaries of the European Union" and "Democratic Consolidation in Eastern Europe."
The discussion will be chaired by John Ikenberry, Princeton's Albert Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs. Andrew Moravcsik, professor of politics and director of Princeton's European Union Program, will provide commentary.
The lecture is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the European Union Program.
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A robot to play with! A childhood’s dream has now come true for researchers at the Flanders’ Mechatronics Technology Centre (FMTC) in Belgium.
Wim Symens and his team pioneered the development of the first robot ever to play badminton. But this robot is only a guinea pig to test a software application designed to optimise energy efficiency in machine design.
Thanks to the EU funded research project ESTOMAD, a new computer program is now capable of detecting the energy guzzlers in so-called mechatronic systems, that are controlled by both software and electronics. The results are impressive. Following an energy efficiency analysis of the badminton robot with the new software, the team made some small changes where most of the energy was identified as being wasted in the robotic system. “We were able to cut down the energy consumption of the badminton robot by 50%!” claims Wim Symens.
Industry has already expressed interest in performing this type of energy efficiency analysis. For example, PICANOL, a key actor in the production of weaving machines, was thus able to cut the energy consumption of their existing machines by 10-15% by adapting the software to its production line.
In the future, engineers could use this software for machines even before they are built. Performing a virtual analysis at such an early stage, could provide a very important competitive advantage to industry. “A virtual approach is always a preferred one. You can even simulate strange conditions; very fast or very high temperatures. In real life those tests are very expensive!” explains Tom Boermans of engineering solution consultancy LMS International, who is based in Leuven, Belgium and one of the partners in the project.
Ultimately, the badminton robot and the innovative software will help engineers of many different industries cut down the energy consumption of their production line –making it more sustainable—while reducing the costs of their end products. It is eco-innovation at its best.
Connect Read Watch Broadcast Contact
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Dependency Ratios: Social Security and the "Celtic Tiger"
Dr. Eric Gaze
Director of the QR Program
Numb: In 2005 there were 62 million people under the age of 15 and there were 36 million people age 65 or over in the US.
Number: In 2005 the number of people in the US under the age of 15 (62 million) combined with those age 65 or over (36 million) represented 33% of the total US population.
Num-best: In 2005 the number of people in the US under the age of 15 (62 million) combined with those age 65 or over (36 million) was 33% of the total population; the share of the population in these age groups is expected to grow to 41% by 2050. In contrast, 49% of Niger's population in 2005 were "dependents," and the share of dependents is expected to drop to 37% by 2050.
The country of Ireland has undergone an astonishing turnaround in economic fortunes over the last quarter century, with the Emerald Isle now being compared to none other than Silicon Valley. As the "Celtic Tiger's" economic star has risen, the outlook for America's retirees and their federally-funded pension plan, Social Security, has waned. Certainly a case of correlation, not causation, you cry! While leprechauns are obviously not stealing coins from some pot of gold the United States has tucked away for its dependents, you can imagine all sorts of more viable social or economic explanations being proffered for each of these seemingly disparate situations. There is, however, a not so obvious connection between Ireland's boom and Social Security's thud: birth control. The United States had a boom of its own back in the Fifties, and now those boomers are heading into the golden years of retirement ready to collect all the cash they have been so dutifully sending to Uncle Sam to hold for them. Ireland, on the other hand, lifted restrictions on contraception in 1979 and is now reaping the benefits of all that protection. From latex to silicon in 25 years!
Sounds like something out of Freakonomics I know, but this idea actually comes from an excellent article, "The Risk Pool," by Malcolm Gladwell in the August 28, 2006 New Yorker. Pension plans, including Social Security, seem to be a no-brainer in terms of caring for retirees and their families. Employees pay a mandatory percentage of their salary into a pool matched by the company, which is invested by savvy professionals so that it compounds into a nice nest egg for the employee upon retirement. Excess gain from the pool is even used to cover disability claims and costs. So why are pension plans being phased out (except for the public sector) in favor of the mysterious sounding 401k plans?
The answer lies in dependency ratios, which compare the non-working age people (dependents) to those of working age in any given population; whether it be a company or a country. It might seem as though the number of dependents shouldn't matter since each employee is only collecting the money he or she deposited. Most pension plans, however, suffer from a fatal flaw: depending on how the plan was established, it owes money immediately to existing dependents. Known as a "pay-as-you-go" system, today's workers pay benefits for current dependents; and back in the 1950's the unions ensured the plans were very generous to existing employees and retirees who had paid in little to the pool.
In the case of Social Security, the Old Age and Survivors Trust Fund was well established in 1936, and had a balance of $267 million at the end of 1937 (US Fiscal Budget 2008). For twenty years this fund ran a surplus and the balance grew until 1958 when it paid out $8,041 million but only took in $7,825 million for a deficit of $281 million. Over the next twenty years the fund struggled to meet its growing obligations, with money coming in just barely covering money going out. The balance stopped growing and remained flat so that by 1980, the fund had an end of year balance of $24,578 million after paying out $100,615 million! In addition to the Old Age and Survivors Fund, three more funds were established: Disability in 1957, Hospital Insurance in 1967, and Supplementary Medical Insurance in 1967. By the 1990's all four of these funds were finally growing again, economically sound but demographically running out of time. The dependents were growing faster than the workers and the cost of care was skyrocketing. Thus the dependency ratio quantifies, in some sense, the "drag" on the financial well-being of that population due to supporting the children and retirees.
An example at this point will illustrate the devastating effect of dependents as captured in the dependency ratio:General Motors' Dependency Ratios (The Risk Pool)
Back in 1962 each of those 11.6 workers was chipping in to cover the retirement of that lone pensioner, but 43 years later you have one exhausted employee trying to keep 3.2 retirees afloat. To make matters worse those 3.2 retirees are living a lot longer and paying a lot more for health care in 2005. There was just not enough money coming in, including interest gained on invested funds, to keep up with the massive outflow of cash for the pensions. I have heard that for each car GM sells, $1500 immediately goes to cover health care costs of employees. Now imagine a car company in a country with universal health care. That company can reduce its price by $1500 and still make the same profit as GM! What happens when a company can't keep up with its debt obligations? It goes bankrupt and those pensioners are left without a dime.
The stark calculus of assessing a company's pension burden with a dependency ratio may seem too simplistic and cold-hearted to apply to a country's well being. Surely the old and young provide many intangible benefits that cannot be so crudely quantified? You, of course, can be the judge. In 1970 the fertility rate in Ireland, meaning the average number of children a woman could expect to have in her lifetime, was 3.9 (The Risk Pool); in 2005 it had basically been cut in half to 2 children (2005 World Population Data Sheet). As a side note, the highest fertility rate in 2005 goes to Niger at 8 children with Afghanistan close behind at 6.8 children per woman. In the 1960's Ireland's dependency ratio was 1 dependent for every 1.4 worker bees, while in 2005 the ratio had changed to 1 dependent for every 2.2 workers (The Risk Pool).
The dependency ratio as defined above is the ratio of non-working age people to those of working age which begs the question: What is the working age? The way we define this, as Joel Best in Damned Lies and Statistics so admirably admonishes us, is critically important to the social construction of this statistic. The U.S. Census Bureau uses the age group 18-64 years old as the working age for their dependency ratios. Every other source I can find defines working age as 15-64 years old, so we will use this latter definition.
|Dependency Ratio =||[Under 15 plus 65 and over]||:||[15-64 year olds]|
Next we must decide how to represent our ratios. Malcolm Gladwell chose to scale the number of dependents to 10, giving us the dependency ratio 10 :14 for Ireland in the 1960's; which I then chose to rescale to 1 : 1.4. Most websites would represent this ratio as a decimal, 0.714, i.e. with the second number scaled to one: 0.714 : 1; while the US Census Bureau would have us multiply by 100 to get 71.4. The Census Bureau is, of course, using the unfortunately familiar grade school technique for "converting" a decimal to a percentage, but multiplying a decimal by 100 to make it a percentage makes no sense, since 0.714 = 71.4/100 = 71.4 per 100 = 71.4 per cent = 71.4%. Interpreting this ratio as a percentage is very tricky since we are comparing two parts of the whole population, leading to the sentence: the number of dependents is 71.4% of the number of workers. It is much better to say there 71.4 dependents for every 100 workers, or 714 per 1000. I calculated the dependency ratios in the following table using the International Data Base from the US Census Bureau to 3 decimal places, cross checked the 2005 ratios with the 2005 World Population Data Sheet, and the 2005/2025 ratios with figures from the Department of Labor:
You can read these numbers per 1000, so that in 2005 Ireland had a very low 481 dependents per 1000 workers, which will jump back up to their 1960's number of 748 dependents per 1000 workers by 2050. Note how Niger's ratio, like most of Africa, is much higher than the more developed nations and certainly a factor in these third world countries' failure to accelerate their economies. The developed nations are all aging however, which accounts for their rising dependency ratios. According to the Organization for Economic and Cooperative Development (OECD), in 2005 roughly 12% of the population of most developed nations was 65 and over. This percentage will basically double by 2050 so that one-quarter of these countries' populations will be senior citizens. This may be the death knell for Social Security and why so many people are predicting the demise of this program. We just won't be able to support all of these dependents without raising the tax on workers to unsustainable levels. Niger and India will not have this to worry about so maybe one of them will be the next Celtic Tiger!
The author welcomes any suggestions of ratios for use in this column. If your ratio is chosen (first suggestion received for that ratio) you will be sent a complimentary Alfred University t-shirt!
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An economy in which customs and habits from the past are used to resolve most economic issues of production and distribution.
A system wherein economic decisions that people and groups make to answer the basic economic questions of “what”, “for whom” and “how” generally repeat the decisions made at an earlier time or by an earlier generation.
A mode of economic organization which borrows economic decisions made at an earlier time or by an earlier generation
production and distribution decisions are largely determined by the way things have been done in the past. There is little money. These economies are usually found in remote parts of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East where people are engaged in agriculture, fishing or hunting.
an economy where the who, what, and for whom questions are answered by tradition.
A traditional economy is an economic system in which resources are allocated by inheritance, and which has a strong social network and is based on primitive methods and tools. It is strongly connected to subsistence farming. In the majority of countries traditional economy has been replaced by command economy, market economy or mixed economy.
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What Are The Consequences of Poor Communication About Performance?
Performance management is, above all else, about communicating. Communicate effectively with employees during the entire performance management process (that's from goal setting to appraisals), and performance is likely to improve, and problems to be reduced. Communicate poorly and the opposite happens.
But what are the effects of poor communication during performance management, on how employee behave? Here's a short list. The consequences (clearly negative for managers and organizations) are obvious.
- Employees become hesitant to work with thier manager.
- Employees argue and reject their manager's opinions and input.
- Employees file more grievances related to performance issues.
- Employees don't keep their manager informed and avoid talking to their manager.
- Employees do their best to hide their deficiencies or performance difficultlies.
- Employees refuse to take responsibility.
In other words, when managers communicate poorly about performance, during the performance management process, the managers create huge problems for themselves.
The above is adapted from from The Manager's Guide To Performance Reviews (McGraw-Hill), by Robert Bacal.
- Busy? We walk you through the complete process of managing performance, from goal setting to addressing performance problems and discipline issues. Contains ALL our help cards, and here's a sneak peak: Walk the path WITH employees.
- Well, we do. Here's a low cost mini-guide FOR EMPLOYEES so they can be active participants in a truly collaborative performance review.
- Well, you can't, so this short LearnByte guides explains how to identify barriers to employee performance, in order to clear them away. Diagnosing is the key to productivity improvement.
- Ok. Now you can have a reusable checklist so you don't miss any of the critical steps needed to succeed with your employee reviews.
- Save huge amounts of time and frustration during performance review meetings, by having set proper goals and objectives for the employee. Isn't that your job? To make sure employees know what they need to accomplish?
- If you think performance management = performance appraisal, you NEED this badly.
- ...and how damaging to your employees. We'll walk you through the entire process of dealing with performance problems with one goal: To FIX them, and improve productivity. And we ask for less than 20 minutes of your time.
- Prefer Kindle? Many of our quick read helpcards and also our books on performance management and reviews and how to make them work, are available via Amazon on the KINDLE. Click here to go direct.
- It's 2013, not 1945 and it's time to lose the industrial mindset and use management tools for THIS century. Here's ten steps to improvement.
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The mission of the Prevent Cancer Foundation is saving lives through cancer prevention and early detection.
Since 1985, we have provided more than $130 million in support of cancer prevention research, education and outreach programs nationwide and have played a pivotal role in developing a body of knowledge that is the basis for important prevention and early detection strategies.
Voluntary donations from individuals, foundations and corporations have helped fund research grants to nearly 450 scientists at over 150 leading medical institutions across the country. Our public education programs have applied this scientific knowledge to teach the public on ways they can reduce their cancer risks.
Funds raised through the Prevent Cancer Foundation 5K support:
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Grocery shoppers in Burlington, Vt., are picking up much more than food and household items these days.
Strolling the aisles of community-owned City Market, the 3,000 daily customers also learn about the co-op's 136 rooftop photovoltaic panels and monthly "Solar Made Simple" seminars.
Reducing energy demand
With freezer and refrigerator units running 24/7, energy demand is high at the 16,000 square foot store. The co-op's electricity bill averaged $17,000 a month.
With the solar energy system, its conventional energy use is expected to fall about three percent, helped by the 31 kilowatts of solar-generated power fed directly into the store. That's the kWh reduction equivalent of powering six Burlington homes, according to City Market.
Since activation in March, the grocer has generated 22.8 MWh of renewable energy. Ultimately, a $53,900 Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund grant through the Recovery Act and a $40,204 federal tax credit defrayed the store's cost, leaving it to pay just half of the $187,912 bill.
City Market hopes to recoup its investment in seven years and inspire customers to explore residential solar power all the while.
"We're adding and removing coolers so [total energy reductions are] hard to judge," explains Facilities Manager Brent M. Demers. "The panels are adding quite a bit of energy to the building and they are working the way they were designed to work."
Keeping it sunny in Vermont
In keeping with its mission to support the local economy, the market worked with Vermont-based groSolar to install the photovoltaic solar energy system from Canadian Solar and lead the in-store education effort.
If City Market seminar attendees launch solar projects of their own, groSolar provides them a $500 discount and donates $250 to CityMarket's sustainable agriculture fund.
"A few of our members have gone away from the seminar and have actually purchased solar panels for their own homes," Demers says. "We're having a positive impact on the community."
Joe A. Adams of groSolar recalls the two organizations' partnership unfolding from July through December of 2009 as the solar company prepared grant proposals on the grocer's behalf. "We had to figure out what kind of incentives they would get and what they would need to fund themselves," says Adams, who handles Vermont sales and presents the "Solar Made Simple" seminars.
As a result of the companies' collaboration, many shoppers will expand their conservationism from locally-grown organic food shopping to renewable energy production.
As for Adams, the local and sustainable focus is important. "I'm passionate about renewables and get to meet others who are excited about doing something positive."
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Audio engineers have developed a novel artificial intelligence system for understanding and indexing sound, a unique tool for both finding and matching previously un-labeled audio files.
Having concluded beta testing with one of the world's largest Hollywood sound studios and leading media streaming and hosting services, Imagine Research of San Francisco, Calif., is now releasing MediaMinedTM for applications ranging from music composition to healthcare.
The company developed the tool with support from the National Science Foundation's Small Business Innovation Research program (IIP-0912981 and IIP-1206435).
"MediaMinedTM adds a set of ears to cloud computing," says Imagine Research's founder and CEO Jay LeBoeuf. "It allows computers to index, understand and search sound--as a result, we have made millions of media files searchable."
For recording artists and others in music production, MediaMinedTM enables quick scanning for a large set of tracks and recordings, automatically labeling the inputs.
"It acts as a virtual studio engineer," says LeBoeuf, as it chooses tracks with features that best match qualities the user defines as ideal. "If your software detects male vocals," LeBoeuf adds, "then it would also respond by labeling the tracks and acting as intelligent studio assistant--this allows musicians and audio engineers to concentrate on the creative process rather than the mundane steps of configuring hardware and software."
For special effects studios, MediaMinedTM offers a new approach to sound searches. "Let's say you are working on a movie, and the director needs some explosions," says LeBoeuf. "The state of the art for searching for sounds in multi-terabyte audio collections is to search on the text--usually the filename--of the sounds. So, the sound editor could find 'explosion'--but would never find tracks that were labelled 'big bang', 'huge blast', 'detonation', 'nuclear blast', 'bomb', etc. MediaMinedTM is capable of grouping those sounds together--you would give us an example of what you are looking for (the sound of an explosion) and we are able to return things that sound like an explosion--regardless of their underlying metadata, name or text content."
The technology uses three tiers of analysis to process audio files. First, the software detects the properties of the complex sound wave represented by an audio file's data. The raw data contains a wide range of information, from simple amplitude values to the specific frequencies that form the sound. The data also reveals more musical information, such as the timing, timbre and spatial positioning of sound events.
In the second stage of processing, the software applies statistical techniques to estimate how the characteristics of the sound file might relate to other sound files. For example, the software looks at the patterns represented by the sound wave in relation to data from sound files already in the MediaMinedTM database, the degree to how that sound wave may differ from others, and specific characteristics such as component pitches, peak volume levels, tempo and rhythm.
Because the software's sound database continues to grow--it currently contains over two million files totaling ten terabytes--the characterization ability of the software continues to improve as the product attracts more users and analyzes additional files.
In the final stage of processing, a number of machine learning processes and other analysis tools assign various labels to the sound wave file and output a user-friendly breakdown. The output delineates the actual contents of the file, such as male speech, applause or rock music. The third stage of processing also highlights which parts of a sound file are representing which components, such as when a snare drum hits or when a vocalist starts singing lyrics.
"MediaMinedTM listens to audio files that are uploaded to our servers, and we generate an XML output with the low-level perceptual content, a universal sound signature and a high-level description of the audio in the file," says LeBoeuf. "When software applications understand what they are listening to, they can do a better job processing audio and help users discover new content."
One of the key innovations of the new technology is the ability to perform sound-similarity searches. Now, when a musician wants a track with a matching feel to mix into a song, or an audio engineer wants a slightly different sound effect to work into a film, the process can be as simple as uploading an example file and browsing the detected matches.
"There are many tools to analyze and index sound, but the novel, machine-learning approach of MediaMinedTM was one reason we felt the technology could prove important," says Errol Arkilic, the NSF program director who helped oversee the Imagine Research grants. "The software enables users to go beyond finding unique objects, allowing similarity searches--free of the burden of keywords--that generate previously hidden connections and potentially present entirely new applications."
While new applications continue to emerge, the developers believe MediaMinedTM may aid not only with new audio creation in the music and film industries, but also help with other, more complex tasks. For example, the technology could be used to enable mobile devices to detect their acoustic surrounding and enable new means of interaction. Or, physicians could use the system to collect data on such sounds as coughing, sneezing or snoring and not only characterize the qualities of such sounds, but also measure duration, frequency and intensity. Such information could potentially aid disease diagnosis and guide treatment.
"Teaching computers how to listen is an incredibly complex problem, and we've only scratched the surface," says LeBoeuf. "We will be working with our launch partners to enable intelligent audio-aware software, apps and searchable media collections."
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/28/code_of_ethics/
YaGoogleSoft! adopt voluntary 'code of ethics'
No more grassing up Chinese dissidents?
The US's Center for Democracy & Technology has announced that after two years of negotiations, Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft will in the next few days adopt a voluntary code of ethics "intended to safeguard online freedom of speech around the world".
The big three joined the initiative early last year and promised to work towards "a set of principles guiding company behaviour when faced with laws, regulations and policies that interfere with the achievement of human rights".
Yahoo! has in the past demonstrated it could use a bit of guidance, notably in China. In 2005, the company copped a righteous amount of flak for "assisting" the communist powers that be in tracking down and subsequently jailing "dissident" Shi Tao - a data-coughing incident which caused the company much embarrassment and earned it a rap on the knuckles from the US Congress.
Google, meanwhile, has been criticised for offering Google.cn which fails to index touchy local subjects such as the the Falun Gong sect or Tiananmen Square lest they offend the delicate sensibilities of the lucrative Chinese market's masters.
Back in August, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! wrote to two concerned US senators insiting the move towards the new code of conduct was proceeding apace-ish.
Google declared: "Promoting freedom of expression and privacy for users in the United States and around the world is a top priority for Google. As a company that aspires to bring the democratizing power of the internet to individuals in every corner of every county in the world, Google helped initiate the principles process to strengthen the internet's collective hand vis-a-vis restrictive and repressive regimes."
Quite what that means in practice remains to be seen, although we doubt that either empty rhetoric or an unenforceable "code of ethics" will provoke more than a wry smile in Beijing as China opens its fat chequebook in front of companies eager to get their snouts in the trough. ®
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Yesterday I heard words that were music to my ears. When, in a flawed attempt to get down with the youth, I tentatively asked a 21-year-old colleague whether she planned to post some recent good news on Facebook, she rolled her eyes slightly in that way only the younger generation do when confronted with their embarassingly out-of-touch elders.
"Facebook is so over!" she exclaimed dismissively. For one who has point-blank refused to join Facebook, Twitter or any of those other tragic networking sites, the death knell sounding could not come sooner. Now, I have no doubt the social networking revolution is far from over. Former Facebookers are, I am certain, turning to Twitter to continue posting messages about the mundanity of their drab existences before another platform comes along for them to somehow imbue a sense of importance in their humdrum lives.
It is the insidiousness of a network that has enveloped one in 13 of the world's population - that's more than 500 million people - into its web that disturbs me. These people think nothing of sharing their most intimate moments with complete strangers or posting images of themselves in cringeworthy situations - and if you think the information you are posting is private, you only have to read about the views of its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, who thinks privacy is overrated.
While he has succumbed to pressure and recently redesigned Facebook's privacy settings after a backlash against information being made public to marketing companies - not to mention the burglars delighted to find out when users are away on holiday - he stopped short of introducing an opt-in rather than opt-out system for sharing certain personal information. But it is not just the pernicious nature of sharing your innermost thoughts with a much wider audience that leaves me uncomfortable.
It is the enormous amount of time and energy people waste on these websites that appals me. There are not enough hours in the day as it is for me to do a day's work, catch up with friends and enjoy some downtime at the weekend. But according to researchers, the average person fritters away three hours every day on sites such as Facebook when they should be working. I have lost count of the number of times I have walked past the screens of colleagues to see their Facebook page open; they hastily close the browser window when they think they are being observed.
These people delude themselves into thinking they have a vast network of friends enthralled by their diatribes of incessant mundanity, most of whom they would not give the time of day to if they bumped into them on the street. Facebook is a pure numbers game, and there is a reason why they dropped out of the circle of friends you see regularly - you never thought very much of them in the first place.
Nor are they happy to leave the likes of my kind be; they constantly attempt to draw me into their cult-like web. I have had numerous "pokes" from friends, acquaintances and even random people in the office I have never spoken to before, inciting me via email to join their masses. Well, I never have, and I don't intend to. If you are a friend of mine, you will be in no doubt about it from the very real birthday presents you receive, the phone calls, the personal emails, the one-to-one conversations and the wonderful catch-ups over dinner.
Many fellow expatriates have waxed lyrical about the benefits of maintaining contacts with friends at home via Facebook. I'll admit, it hasn't been easy while living in the UAE to stay in touch. The time difference and busy working lives make it more difficult to touch base as regularly as I would at home, and I miss the nuances of their everyday lives - the rows, the disappointments, the meeting of a new partner.
But I am there for the big occasions: the weddings and babies and a large bouquet for the important announcements when I cannot say it in person. If anything, being away has made me work harder at being a constant and loyal friend. Whenever I go home, my diary is packed with lunches and dinners so I get to spend time with each of my friends in turn to hear their news, rejoice over the good stuff and commiserate when things are not going well.
It is just a reminder there is no substitute for the pure pleasure of seeing friends who are like family in person, reading their facial expressions, cackling out loud about the memories and parting with a great bear hug until the next time. And that will never go out of fashion. firstname.lastname@example.org
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Movietone create beguiling musical statements that draw explicit influence from the coastlines of England. When the band recorded a film as a backdrop to their live shows, it featured band members in home made sea-creature outfits and concluded with one of the group wriggling about in the sand dressed as a starfish while their last, lovely release The Blossom Filled Streets invoked images like "1950s chairs weathered by the salt in the air, rocks and grey and the sand and the yellow and the aquamarine in the ocean." As if to make this influence even more explicit, new long-player, The Sand And The Stars was even partially recorded on a beach, an experience that involved the band carrying a double bass down a cliff. Taking its trigger from a review of The Blossom Filled Streets, The Sand And The Stars is explicitly intended to sound like "a jazz record being played from across the bay." "We found the perfect bay in which to play the music, near Land’s End," recalls the group's vocalist/guitarist Kate Wright, "The sand shelved gently and the waves were loud even on calm days. We found a house to rent above the bay. The path down to the beach was steeper than I remembered and fairly difficult to navigate in the dark. But there were clear nights under the stars. We recorded on the beach with two microphones." Alongside the likes of Nina Simone, Jefferson Airplane, The Carter Family, The Band and Sandy Denny, Wright recalls the field recordings of late ethnomusicologist, record producer and radio producer Alan Lomax as a specific inspiration on the recording of The Sand And The Stars: "We wanted to capture all the sounds of life outside the silent walls of the recording studio. The locations were chosen to suit the songs." "Snow Is Falling" demanded the sepulchral, resonant sound of a church, "Ocean Song" needed a warehouse, "Near Marconi’s Hut" was recorded on a cliff path near a gorge where the seagulls swooped and cried. Movietone's understated music has been compared to "exercises in painting rather than in composing: the elements are carefully orchestrated on the canvas, with consistency of colour a clear mandate." It’s an intriguing and effective comparison that acknowledges Movietone's deft and considered deployal of their instruments and the power of the band to evoke specific imagery. Like the mythological sirens who would lure sailors into the sea with their sweet voices, the band even recorded "Beach Samba" as a deliberate attempt to "make everyone listening want to rush to the beach for a dip - the light sparkling on the blue sea, the sand between your toes, the swell of the cool green water, staring at the cliffs from the sea." Plunge in!
ON THE SITE
This band shares members with Crescent.
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Ask Admiral Growler (Continued)
George Duffy asks: With regards to transferring a shuttle from one shuttle box to another shuttle box within the same bay, if two deck crews were used in the transfer would the time be cut in half (16 impulses) as described in (J4.817)?
ANSWER: Sorry, but no. Rule (J1.594) says "It takes one entire turn (starting with Impulse #1) to move any shuttle to another box (or pair of boxes) within the same bay." It does not say "It takes one deck crew action to move any shuttle to another box (or pair of boxes) within the same bay."
Moving a shuttle from one box of a given bay to another box of a given bay is not a deck crew action. Deck crew use for this purpose is not required in either (J1.594) or mentioned anywhere in (J4.81).
Follow-up question: A suicide shuttle is armed and is being held, paying a holding cost during Energy Allocation.
Can said shuttle be transferred to another box within the same bay, within a turn before the next turn's Energy Allocation step and still considered being held?
Or is it considered to have discharged its energy and would have to start the charging procedure all over again?
ANSWER: Suicide shuttles cannot be transferred after the arming process has begun. You can only abandon the arming process, or complete it and hold the armed shuttle. If you could move the armed suicide shuttle, you would be able to move it to a balcony of a ship with a balcony and track system, and this is specifically prohibited: "(J1.534) Scatter-packs can be held on the balcony; suicide shuttles and wild weasels cannot. The targeting of scatter-packs held on the balcony can be determined on the impulse of launch."
Follow-up question: Rule (J2.2213) says that reserve power can be used for holding a suicide shuttle. Which would seem to support that energy used for holding is not considered continuous.
ANSWER: Better reread the rule, it does not say that reserve energy can be applied to hold the suicide shuttle, it says it can be applied to the shuttle ". . . (up to the limit of nine total points)." What the rule is telling you is that if you had a suicide shuttle armed with say six points of power (say 2+2+2) and being held, you could apply up to three points of reserve power to bring it to its full warhead potential (nine points of power). It does not say you can fail to pay the holding cost during Energy Allocation [which (J2.2122) very clearly says you cannot do] and then apply reserve power in mid turn to not lose it.
Follow-up question: Can a fully loaded scatter-pack be transferred to another shuttle box within the same bay?
ANSWER: Yes. So could a fully loaded photon fighter, or fusion fighter, or hellbore fighter, or disruptor fighter, or plasma fighter, or etc. (You cannot move the fighter in the middle of loading it.) Fighters are purpose built to hold their weapon charges and drones are pretty dormant until launched.
But suicide shuttles and wild weasels are another matter requiring that they be tied to the ship's energy systems until they are launched, or disarmed.
Follow-up question: I do have some doubt as to the answer given with regards to the second question: "The transfer of a 'held' suicide shuttle to from one shuttle box to another within the same bay."
The reason why (J1.534) prohibits suicide shuttles and wild weasels from transferring and operating on the balcony is because of rule (J1.531). It states: "Shuttles on the balcony cannot be prepared for special missions (wild weasel, suicide, scatter-pack), or rearmed or repaired by deck crews (J4.8)."
Since the equipment needed to apply power is not on the balcony tracks, it cannot be used.
But I was asking about transferring to another shuttle box within the same bay, where the box (or fighter box for that matter) has the necessary connections for the armed "held" shuttle to operate from.
For a wild weasel, rule (J3.121) clearly states: "A wild weasel can be kept in the bay and continuously supplied with energy (one point per turn, i.e., a rolling delay)." which would prevent it from being transferred.
A suicide shuttle does not have that sentence anywhere. It only needs to be given energy at the beginning of each turn's Energy Allocation Step. If a transfer is done during the impulse movement steps of a turn, then wouldn't the shuttle be ready to receive "holding" energy next turn during its Energy Allocation step?
ANSWER: The holding energy may be paid at the start of the turn, but it reflects a continuous feed of energy all through the turn, just like life support or shield costs or fire control. You pay for those things in Energy Allocation and they operate continuously through the turn, but it actually represents a continuous feed of power through the coming 32 impulses, just like there is a continuous feed of power to keep your computer operating. Shuttles do not take over the holding of the antimatter bomb until you launch them.
Until that point, they are plugged into the ship's power grid and the ship maintains the antimatter bomb.
George Duffy asks: To prepare a shuttle as a suicide shuttle or a wild weasel does a deck crew have to be assigned?
ANSWER: There is no requirement to use a deck crew to prepare a suicide shuttle or wild weasel. Removing the systems to make the shuttle normally useable is a different matter (J1.869).
Follow-up question: Do deck crews have to be assigned to deploy a mine/T-bomb from a shuttlebay?
ANSWER: There is no requirement to use a deck crew to lay a T-bomb or nuclear space mine.
Troy Latta asks: I was pretty sure I knew that the fighters listed in the R-section for each carrier are just guidelines, and they can actually use any fighter appropriate for that empire in a given year, but I cannot find a rule to support this position. Help?
ANSWER: See (R0.7), the second paragraph under the table.
Roch Chartrand asks: A drone-armed multi-role shuttle has two spaces of drones; how many reload drone spaces are available?
ANSWER: Multi-role shuttles have their own supplies as listed in their rule; see (J8.53).
Mike Kenyon said: Multi-role shuttles are usually issued to units that have entries in Annex #7 for drone reloads and would come out of that. By (J8.13), they are loaded as though a fighter and therefore on a ship that does not have an Annex #7 entry, would be treated at though on a casual carrier (J4.62), and provided with three complete reloads.
Strangely, by the discussion of last week, this rule means that casual carriers were better stocked than fleet carriers as history progressed (Annex #7 entries are static, while casual carriers have their supplies based off of the capabilities of their fighters).
ANSWER: The supplies for multi-role shuttles are not covered in Annex #7, but found in (J8.53), and any drones (or plasma-Ds) are in addition to any listed in Annex #7G or Annex #7N. See (J8.53).
Frank Brooks asks: Rule (J1.531) says that if a ship has a shuttle on its balcony and receives a "rear hull" damage point, the shuttle is destroyed instead of a rear hull box. Does "the shuttle is destroyed" include the box the shuttle was in or just the shuttle itself?
ANSWER: Only the shuttle on the balcony is destroyed, there is no "hull" or "bay" box that is also destroyed, and (I will add) there would be no "chain reaction" in such a case. You simply lose the shuttle rather than a rear hull box if the shuttle was on the balcony (or do not have to take a hit on a system a rear hull box would have protected if you were out of rear hull boxes).
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The Building Safety division of the Planning Department handles most of the building permit process. Outlined below are the steps necessary for the construction of a typical apartment, commercial, or public building.
Schedule inspections, get permits and assistance regarding our Building Section's policies and permitting procedures.
Information about film permits.
Albuquerque Environmental Health Department Construction Services reviews plan submittals for compliance with Chapter 9, Article 6 and Chapter 10, Article 3 of the City of Albuquerque Revised Ordinances.
The City of Albuquerque Swimming Pool Ordinance (Chapter 10, Article 3) regulates the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of public swimming pools.
Instructions and forms for registering your business.
This division's administrative staff schedule Field Inspections for inspectors to address construction status and issues. The Chief Building Inspector directs and dispatches State & ICC-certified inspectors to appropriate job sites to ensure code compliance.
The Construction Coordination Section of the Construction Services Division is responsible for coordinating most activities conducted in the public right-of-way.
Special events include Summerfest to the Balloon Fiesta and everything in between, including private events.
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New Internet Industry Lobby Group (Google, Facebook, etc) Event Reveals Why US Companies Fighting EU Privacy Rights Legislation
The Internet Association is yet another well-funded special interest lobby group created to push the agenda of the digital data collection industry. While it frames its work as "Protecting Internet Freedom," its real role is to act as a political defense mechanism for the industry. When it serves their interests, it will fight against repressive proposals and policies that impact Internet users and their own role as conduits and providers of expression. But when it comes to challenging their basic business model which ensures a loss of citizen privacy and human rights, it will work to defend its own narrow concerns.
The Association recently held a event in DC where some of the panelists revealed why US online companies are working so hard to undermine a proposed EU privacy law. They idea that the US has a better system for privacy than the EU is a cruel (and inaccurate) joke. Here is (my bold) an excerpt:
An audience member asked if U.S. companies are too involved in the EU political process as they re-write EU data privacy regulations. Lindsey responded that U.S. companies are clearly impacted, so of course they should be involved. Gretchen also said that U.S. companies are the digital leaders with the most at stake in the maneuvering in Brussels. Absent a good outcome in the new data protection directive, taking the stricted privacy approach may end up being the only choice for a digital company doing business all around the world....In retort to complaints from foreign governments about the patchwork of U.S. privacy laws, Justin said that, "no other country has done more active enforcement of privacy protection" than the U.S., under the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Europeans do what Justin called "pre-regulation" that requires prior authorization for any innovation and creates barriers. Some in the EU, Justin said, have even floated the idea that they should consider turning to a more American style of data protection and enforcement. In the end, Justin said, one of the most important things the U.S. needs to do is stand by its existing agreements, since commerce could collapse without the Safe Harbor.
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March 22, 2013 Six billion people around the world now own cellphones, while only 4.5 billion people have a safe place to use the bathroom, the United Nations said Thursday. Improving sanitation could help prevent thousands of kids from dying each day of waterborne diseases.
February 21, 2013 Frustration over a change in federal copyright policy making it illegal to unlock a new cellphone has resulted in more than 100,000 signatures on a petition at the White House's website, meaning the executive branch must now respond to the call to overturn the policy.
November 8, 2012 Exit polls and a separate survey of cellphone users show similarities between Obama voters and people who tap their mobile devices to get health information. Latinos, African-Americans and young people were big in both groups.
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Birth Name: Kenneth Elton Kesey
Born: 17 September 1935 Died: 10 November 2001
Country of origin: United States
Ethnicity: White / Caucasian
Relationship Status: Married
Partner: Norma Faye Haxby
View all Ken Kesey lists
View all Ken Kesey pictures (2 more)
About: Ken Kesey was an American author, best known for his major novels, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Sometimes a Great Notion, and as a counter-cultural figure who, some consider, was a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s.
"I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a hippie," Kesey said in a 1999 interview with Robert K. Elder.
Movies written by
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The dissolution of the euro zone is inevitable according to British economist Roger Bootle. Hastening its split, rather than forestalling it, is the most prudent way of resolving the crisis.
Roger Bootle prides himself on being something of a modern-day Nostradamus -- with good reason. In 1999 the British economist predicted a bursting of the dotcom bubble, and in his 2003 book, Money for Nothing, he forecast a worldwide crash in housing that would prove dire for the financial system. A rigorous student of markets, Bootle, 60, is a onetime Oxford don and chief economist for HSBC (HBC) who now runs Capital Economics, a London consulting firm. Operating out of a 19th-century Victorian townhouse near Buckingham Palace, the bald, bespectacled son of a civil servant confidently advises major banks and hedge funds from New York to Beijing. But away from the office he isn't much of a risk-taker. Bootle likes to unwind at England's famous Ascot Racecourse, where he wagers no more than "five or 10 quid just so I have a horse to cheer home."
Today Bootle is betting his professional reputation on another bold contrarian call, one with long-term ramifications for the world economy and global stock markets: He strongly believes that at least a partial breakup of the eurozone is inevitable and that massive changes are coming for the euro, the currency now shared by 17 nations accounting for one-eighth of world GDP.
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The creator of Dolly the Sheep heads a list of Scots honoured by the Queen.
Professor Ian Wilmut is the best known of the new knights
Professor Ian Wilmut is to receive a knighthood for his pioneering work at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh - including cloning the first mammal.
World snooker champion John Higgins is made an MBE for services to the game, as is Ian Anderson, frontman of veteran rock band Jethro Tull.
The housebuilding tycoon Stewart Milne, the majority shareholder of Aberdeen Football Club, becomes a CBE.
Professor Wilmut said: "I am naturally delighted and excited by this award and accept it on behalf of the team in the new Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, and previously at the Roslin Institute.
"It also recognises the importance of biomedical research to develop new treatments in regenerative medicine which holds great hope for the future."
Glasgow-born film producer Iain Smith, renowned for his production of Hollywood blockbusters such as The Fifth Element, becomes an OBE.
Other Scots being honoured include Central Scotland Police chief constable Andrew Cameron, Glasgow School of Art director Seona Reid, tourism chief Philip Riddle and acclaimed artist Alison Watt.
Snooker star John Higgins and the Jethro Tull frontman are honoured
Former drama lecturer Annie Inglis, who has been heavily involved in amateur dramatics in the north east of Scotland for 50 years, has been made an MBE.
The list of Scotland's knighthoods includes Ian Good, head of the Edrington drinks group and chairman of the Scotch Whisky Association.
The Edrington group, whose brands include The Macallan and Famous Grouse, is said to be one of Scotland's biggest private manufacturing companies and exports five million cases a year.
Knighthoods are also conferred on Professor Timothy O'Shea and Professor John Savill, both of Edinburgh University, for services to higher education and clinical science respectively.
The best-known of the new knights is Professor Wilmut, who is said to have revolutionised biology by successfully pioneering the cloning technique that underpins the science of stem cell technology.
His role in cloning Dolly the sheep, the world's first clone from an adult cell, led to an OBE in 1999 and he has been elected to five scientific academies worldwide.
He now heads the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine at Edinburgh University.
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Bush takes his energy plan on the road
President pushes plan by ordering government to increase use of alternative fuels, touts use of nuclear power.
WILMINGTON, Del. (CNN) -- Flush with what his administration called a "positive reaction" to his State of the Union address, President Bush took his message on the road Wednesday and explained in detail his plan to reduce gasoline consumption and greenhouse gases in the United States.
After touring the DuPont (Charts) Experimental Station in Wilmington, where researchers are working on alternative fuel sources, Bush also announced that he had signed an executive order to cut back on the federal government's energy consumption.
The U.S. government is the "single largest purchaser and user of energy in the world," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Wilmington.
The order requires the government to increase its use of alternative fuels - including using more hybrid vehicles; to reduce federal petroleum consumption in fleet vehicles by 2 percent a year through 2015; and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing energy intensity by 3 percent each year, or 30 percent by 2015.
"We're going to purchase more hybrid and flexible fuel vehicles that run on ethanol," Bush told the crowd of about 1,150 people at Hotel DuPont.
"We own a lot of cars, and therefore it's one thing to say this is the goal, it's another thing to actually participate in achieving that goal," the president added. "Secondly, we're going to purchase plug-in hybrid vehicles as soon as they hit the market."
Bush also talked about nuclear power as a clean alternative energy source.
"I strongly believe that if we're that interested in greenhouse gases and renewable fuels, this country has got to be aggressive about establishing a safe nuclear power," he said. "If that is one of our objectives, to be serious about dealing with the environment, there's no cleaner source of energy than nuclear power."
Pushing forward with a plan
The speech expanded on the president's energy plan that he discussed in the State of the Union address Tuesday night.
In it, Bush announced what the White House called a "20 in 10" plan - an effort to cut U.S. gasoline consumption by 20 percent over a decade. Bush said the country could reach that goal by increasing fivefold the current target for producing alternative fuels, and by giving him the power to raise fuel-efficiency standards for passenger cars.
Bush has previously called for Congress to give the administration that authority, as it now does for light trucks. The current passenger-car standard of 27.5 miles per gallon was last raised in 1990.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said Tuesday that Bush's proposals to reduce carbon emissions widely blamed for global warming won't "force people to choose between having a clean environment and having a job."
"What you have to do is to unleash the innovative potential of the American marketplace on the problem of cleaner, more effective energy, and the president is going to talk about that," Snow said.
On Monday, a group of leading business executives met in Washington and called for steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The White House said Bush's proposals would stop the growth of carbon dioxide emissions from cars, light trucks and sport-utility vehicles within 10 years.
But Philip Clapp, president of the National Environmental Trust, said they would do "almost nothing" to slow the pace of global warming.
"There is no revolution in global warming policy in anything the president is proposing, no matter how the White House tries to spin it," Clapp said in a written statement. "The numbers are calculated to sound big and impressive, but the president is being just as intransigent on global warming as he is on Iraq - ignoring Congress, major business leaders and the public, who have called for action."
The president has used his annual address to Congress to call for cleaner energy before. But in 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency conceded that greenhouse gas emissions went up in the two years since Bush vowed to cut them by 18 percent over 10 years. The EPA blamed the increase on greater economic growth.
Big Three look for U.S. help to soothe gas pains
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A mountain toad that breeds in alpine ponds and feeds on forest insects is threatened by a fungal epidemic and deserves federal protection, said three biodiversity groups Wednesday in filing a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The boreal toad, a lumpy, 4-inch amphibian ranging from coastal Alaska to Utah, Colorado and the mountains of New Mexico is at risk in the southern Rockies and deserves protection as a distinct population there, according to the petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Native Ecosystems and the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance.
The toad breeds in just 1 percent of its historical areas, said Collette Adkins Giese, staff attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. Colorado already protects the toad from significant habitat disruption under state law.
"There's just a handful of populations left in Colorado," Adkins Giese said, "which used to be a real mainstay for the toad."
The primary threat to boreal toads is a fungus affecting amphibians worldwide. There's no cure or treatment for afflicted populations, though reducing environmental stresses logging, livestock grazing and other disturbances could keep outbreaks in check.
"We need [toads] to develop resistance, or we need to find a way to help them develop resistance," said Tina Jackson, species-conservation coordinator with the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
A Utah Division of Wildlife Resources conservation plan notes that boreal toads live in most of the Beehive State's major highlands including the Wasatch, Bear River and Uinta ranges in the north and the Paunsaugunt, Sevier and Awapa plateaus in the south with at least two dozen known breeding areas.
The plan acknowledges possible habitat destruction by grazing in national forests, where poorly managed cattle are allowed to stay in and around alpine water, trampling eggs and causing siltation. But the plan also foresees a possible role for grazing, since properly managed herds can help prevent forest plant successions that can close in on wetlands.
Grazing and other activities can also compact forest soils where toads burrow to hibernate, Adkins Giese said.
In 1995, the Fish and Wildlife Service agreed that the toad warranted listing as a threatened or endangered species, although it didn't do so at the time because of a backlog of more pressing actions. In 2005, the agency reversed course and said the southern population wasn't distinct from toads in the Northwest and therefore didn't merit special consideration.
Since then, two genetic studies conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Colorado have determined that the southern population is, indeed, distinct.
Feds have 90 days to respond
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has 90 days to review the petition seeking protection for the boreal toad. The petition asks for protection in Utah, southern Wyoming, southern Idaho, Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico.
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Feb 01 2011
Have you seen the latest viral UFO video – this purports to be of a UFO spotted hovering over the Dome of the Rock Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This is actually presented as confirmatory evidence of a previous UFO video of the same location. Viral videos are a great opportunity for a little “armchair skepticism” – applying critical thinking to assess the logic and probability of a claim and to think of potential alternate explanations for what is being claimed. If you are ambitious you can then follow up with some actual investigation, or at least see if someone else has.
I also like to think about how an individual case fits into the bigger picture. What patterns of behavior does this reflect? First take a look at the videos and we’ll analyze them for plausibility.
The first video I linked to above seems superficially compelling. At least it does not seem like any natural or mundane phenomenon. It’s not a helicopter, flare, floating lantern, or ultralight. It’s not a re-entering satellite, or an out-of-focus blimp. But also – it does not look like an alien spacecraft, meaning that we are not seeing details of what can only be a technologically advanced craft. What we are seeing is a pulsating blob of light. Blobs of light, no matter what they appear to do, are never compelling because you cannot tell what they actually are. You also often cannot tell size, distance, and speed. Blobs of light are common photographic artifacts. They are also easy to fake.
Also notice how the blob of light moves – it is very uniform and abrupt. I have seen a lot of CG movies, from the very beginning of CG, and have noticed that one tell-tale sign of CG is that movement is too perfect, geometric, and uniform. It is movement that seems like it is controlled by a computer mathematical algorithm, not by something physical in the real world. Such stilted movement is now a sign of low-grade CG. This is especially true of acceleration. We are used to seeing thing accelerate all the time – that is how things move in gravity. We have a very good feel for what acceleration should look like. When an object appears to transition from not moving, to moving at a uniform speed without any apparent acceleration in between, we notice how unnatural it seems.
The movement of the BFO (blob-like flying object) has all the hallmarks of CG, especially in the way in changes its movement. This is desktop CG.
Other aspects of the video are also suspect. The reaction of the onlookers does not seem to match what they are allegedly viewing. Some commenters have speculated that they were drunk, but that does not seem to cut it. Their reaction just does not seem genuine – as if they see a UFO every second Tuesday.
We can also ask – if a UFO made an appearance over a major city like Jerusalem, there would not just be one or two videos, there would be dozens at least, and thousands of eyewitnesses. This claim fails on that point alone.
There are probably other points to make, but those are the main ones. This video’s armchair skepticism rating for plausibility is very low, approaching zero. In addition we have the fruits of investigation to follow up as well. UFO-blogger has uncovered this photograph, which looks suspiciously like the background of the video. It now seems like this photo was used to generate the CG, and the voices were just added over. Once I saw this I went back over the video to see if this fits, and it does. You’ll notice that in the video no lights in the city sparkle, twinkle, or shift at all. Their flares are all absolutely static – because it’s not a video, its a still picture. I’ll have to keep this effect one in mind for the future. Also, I think I notice some pixelization when the camera “zooms” – because it’s not a real zoom, it’s a digital zoom into the photo. I suppose it’s possible that a video camera has a digital zoom, but in my experience most video cameras these days have a pretty high optical zoom function.
So this video is totally busted as a fake.
How does this fit into the larger phenomenon of UFOs, and even larger category of the paranormal? Over historical time different kinds of evidence are presented to support claims of ghosts, aliens, and fairies. Since none of these things are apparently real, we can infer that such evidence is all either a misinterpreted artifact or a hoax. Artifacts and hoaxes should follow the technological limits of the day – and that is exactly what we see. Joe Nickel once observed to me that ghosts always happen to look like the common artifacts of the photographic technology in use at the time. It seems that UFOs look like whatever technology is capable of faking at the time.
Now that we have desktop CG we are seeing UFOs that can plausibly be created by desktop CG, and happen to look and move like cheap CG. A proponent may argue that alien spacecraft just happen to move in a way that makes them look CG, but that is a massive and unimpressive bit of special pleading, and nothing more. It reminds me of the claim by Billy Meyer, whose video of a UFO obviously swinging like a pendulum from a string just happened to move that way – a phenomenon I dubbed “pendulum drive”. Now we have CG-drive – engage, Mr. Sulu.
18 Responses to “Jerusalem UFO”
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Open-Pollinated, Heirloom & Homestead Seeds
Especially adapted for Northern Gardens
Why Garden? Ten Reasons
Many vegetables lose nutrition very quickly. Food fresh from your garden is very high in vitamins, minerals, enzymes and micro-nutrients. Science is still discovering new health benefits of fresh vegetables and herbs.
You can eat your food picked fresh from the garden. Try boiling water before picking the corn. You can't get much fresher! Help your kids eat those peas right from the vine.
Spend your spare time among the flowers and greens: plants of such beauty growing from soil and manure. Sit among your Royal Mix sweet peas - the colors and smells are delightful!
Growing food is called agriculture. You don't have to go to a museum or a library for culture. Our food comes from cultures of Native Americans (corn, beans, squash). Our food comes from Europe and the Mediterranean, from Asia and all over the world. Many of these seeds are living heirlooms. Through our gardening, we become part of that synthesis of culture.
Vegetables and flowers just keep getting more expensive. Certainly medical costs keep soaring. It is hard to figure dollars per hour in the garden, but in many visible and hidden ways a garden is a smart money move.
Outdoors in the fresh air. From the very young to the very old: dig a little, plant a little, harvest. This exercise can benefit your health, wealth and well-being.
7. MENTAL RELAXATION
Therapy is very expensive and mental strain costs in many ways. Peace and well-being are only as far away as the pea patch. Let those troubles flow out through your hands into the soil. Forget Freud, remember to water!
Grow the spice of life. You can grow a cornucopia of food from all over the world. Mizuna, delicate lettuces, fragrant flowers and spicy healthful herbs.
We can learn history, biology, chemistry, culture and many other good teachings in the garden. The secrets of life and health are in our seeds and roots. Our children can learn the most valuable lessons of life, there among the sunflowers.
Gardening is the most important thing you can do to heal the Earth, bar none. Commercial food usess a lot of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and oil to produce. Even organic produce requires oil for transportation and to be stored, cooled and protected. Practice wise use in the garden by practicing environmentalism in the garden!
Home | Garlic | Vegetables | Herbs | Flowers | Heirloom | Cold Hardy | Our Philosophy | Articles | Links
ŠAll Rights Reserved
Webmaster: Hoot Owl Computing
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Written by Dominique Dawes, Co-Chair of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition (PCFSN)
Originally posted on the PCFSN Blog, in honor of the February 6 observance of National Girls & Women in Sports Day
Each year, this observance provides us with a tremendous opportunity to help get more girls in the game, and make a significant investment in the future of our Nation. I am proud to serve as co-chair of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition and sound the alarm about the importance of ensuring equitable physical activity opportunities for all Americans.
Throughout my life, I have been transformed and inspired by sports. Since the first time I tumbled into a gymnasium at six years old to becoming an Olympic gold medalist, I was motivated and excited by the opportunities presented to me as an athlete and a coach. I owe my participation and success in
gymnastics (and so much more) to the passage of Title IX of the Education Act of 1972, which has transformed the lives of millions of girls by granting them greater access to participate in sports.
One amazing example of making this investment is in Daly City, California with the Benjamin Franklin Middle School girls’ basketball team. Their coach is 28-year-old Sarah Egan, who in addition to teaching social studies also teaches how to dribble, make layups, and block. The school has mostly low-income students from immigrant families, and Sarah faces significant challenges with her athletes.
In the first season the team didn’t win any games. But that’s not what Sarah focused on. She told her team, “You’re taking baby steps now. But you have it in you to catch up.” The next season 80 girls tried out and Sarah began to pick up the intensity. In the third season the team caught up and won their first game. Things only got better from there: they went to the championship finals. While Sarah taught these athletes the rules of the game, they learned more from each other and the game itself.
Title IX prohibits gender discrimination in educational programs. The law applies to all aspects of educational opportunities, but is most known for how it has impacted sports. Title IX requires that schools provide equal opportunities for male and female students to play sports, give male and female athletes equal athletic scholarship dollars, and provide equal benefits and services to athletes overall.
Since 1972, there has been over a 940% increase in sports participation for females in high school and the NCAA reports that there has been a 456% i
ncrease in female varsity athletes as well. In addition to the physical health benefits sports participation provides, female athletes are more likely to graduate from high school and have higher self-esteem than non-athletes.
Despite these strides, there are still more hurdles to clear. But with inspirational leaders like First Lady Michelle Obama, who launched Let’s Move! to end childhood obesity within a generation three years ago this week, I am confident that we will make even greater strides in the months and years ahead.
The positive impact of girls and women in sports is clear. The investment my family made in me as an athlete has significantly paid off, just like Sarah Egan’s has for the girls’ basketball team at Benjamin Franklin Middle School. Those girls developed skills and lessons that make them strong, smart, and competitive in all aspects of their lives. I urge you to continue to support the girls and women in your life to participate in sports and see what greater opportunities can be created. By doing this you will be investing in a brighter future for our nation.
For more information about National Girls and Women in Sports Day, visit: http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/en/home/advocate/ngwsd/ngwsd
For more on Sarah Egan’s story and to read more success stories from the Faces of Title IX series, visit: Faces of Title IX site: http://www.nwlc.org/title-ix/
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kw: book reviews, nonfiction, writing, reviewing
I seldom read writing about writing. As I hope this blog gives evidence, the way to learn to write is to write (and considering the very few pieces that have been published, to say nothing of remuneration, it is clear I am not destined to rank among the pros).
However, seeing the dust jacket almost forced me to take the book—In Other Words by John Crowley—home to read. Dust jacket, endpiece, and at section heads, the book is illustrated with old etchings by Grandville and others, similar in tone to this one. Picking early 19th-Century illustrations does neatly avoid copyright dust-ups.
Author Crowley has quite a bit to say about writing, and quite well put. As it happens, after four essays in fifty pages, the rest of the book is book reviews. Giving it another look, three of the essays are reviews of a sort as well, but of a body of work rather than a single volume.
This is sort of like, "who watches the watcher?"...I am reviewing a book of reviews! It's a good thing they are smashing good reviews.
One section contains reviews of a few works each by the authors Robt. Louis Stevenson, Thos. M. Disch, T.H. White, Vladimir Nabokov, and Anthony Burgess. Having read at least one book by each of the five, I found myself nodding in agreement as he extracted something essential from each author. For example, though no single review brought this out, the several reviews of Burgess's work make clear his later torments, and how they showed in the quality of his later writing (rather bad with one stellar exception).
After that section, the reviews are mostly single, ranging over quite a bit of history, including Daisy Ashford's The Young Visitors, written at age nine in 1890 (first edition 1919); comic-book writing (and a bit on illustration) by Walt Kelly (Pogo series) and others; to a posthumous publication of Italo Calvino's unfinished autobiography, reviewed in 2003 but written and gathered over a few decades, and edited by the author's widow.
Considering the way our minds work, I can't help but be influenced by Crowley, but it will be without conscious intention. He thinks very differently...and that's very good.
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|FILE - In this publicity file photo released by HBO, the creator and star, Lena Dunham, of the HBO TV series, "Girls," is shown. Television looks like the land of female opportunity with the success of shows like "Girls" and "New Girl" and the achievements of actor-writers including Tina Fey and Lena Dunham. but making TV remains largely man's work. (AP Photo/HBO, Ali Paige Goldstein, File)|
'Girls' shine on TV, but not behind the scenes
Janis Hirsch, a veteran TV writer, said producers and writers, male and female, can be tough on women in the pressure-cooker world of TV. But her accounts of men behaving badly sound like absurdly outdated sitcom scenes.
Some men poison the work atmosphere by using raunchy sexual terms for women as a power play, she said. Others blatantly discriminate: One series producer made it clear Hirsch would be relegated to writing strictly for actresses.
‘‘I'm sure some insurance agents hate women, too, but they have HR (Human Resources) to deal with,’’ Hirsch said. ‘‘We literally get told, ‘File a complaint and you'll never work again.'’’
Why is Hollywood’s shabby treatment of women — ironic in an industry seen as a reliable champion of liberal causes — so stubborn?
‘‘This is not perceived as a problem by many of the individuals who could do something about it,’’ said San Diego State University’s Lauzen. ‘‘There’s a good deal of denial, and until that changes the numbers are not going to move.’’
Kohan, whose ‘‘Weeds’’ wrapped on Showtime this month and who’s moving on to a new Netflix series, ‘‘Orange is the New Black,’’ said she doesn’t ‘‘think about the gender thing that often.’’
‘‘I'm just in pursuit of good work and good writers. In terms of whatever package they come in, I'm looking at scripts, I'm not looking at vaginas,’’ she said, bluntly.
But she and others acknowledge that women working in a demanding industry can face unique demands.
‘‘TV is a very consuming business and it’s really hard to balance a life with that,’’ said Kohan, a mother of three. ‘‘If you want to have a life, it’s a very tricky equation.’’
Actress Julia Ormond ("Mad Men") also has faced the working mother quandary.
‘‘It impacts us hugely when we’re a mom,’’ she said. ‘‘I can’t just up and go to (a filming) location easily without certain considerations, and I don’t think the industry has a great history of really looking at that.’’
Change may have to be mandated because ‘‘industries are not good at policing themselves,’’ Lauzen said. But insiders say it’s also up to women to reject being treated as second-class citizens in a medium that typically broadcasts to — and richly profits from — a heavily female audience.
‘‘I have really high hopes for this new generation of women because they’re not afraid. They don’t see why they should be scared or why they should put up with rape jokes in the writing room,’’ Hirsch said.
Others, also voicing optimism, issue a call to arms.
‘‘Women have to get stronger and voice their opinion louder and say, ‘Look, I can do this and I do just as good a job and it’s time,'’’ said ‘‘The Young and the Restless’’ star Kate Linder. ‘‘It’s definitely time for that.’’
AP Writer Michael Cidoni Lennox contributed to this report.
EDITOR'S NOTE — Lynn Elber is a national television columnist for The Associated Press. She can be reached at lelber(at)ap.org.
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With summer just around the corner, many parents and teachers are already making plans for summer fun. Do you need ideas for speech-language activities during the summer break? Read on! Here are my top suggestions for fun, language-based activities that target communication skills in memorable ways.
Take a walk – A walk that incorporates language skills can be as simple as a stroll around the block, or as complex as an afternoon hike to a scenic destination. As you walk, encourage conversation by asking open-ended questions or observations like, “I wonder what this is!” Take note (out loud) of things that you see, hear, discover and enjoy, encouraging your child to do the same. You could also create a game or scavenger hunt for your walk, prompting your child to search for and label objects using a picture checklist:
Plan Day Trips – Take trips to local beaches, parks, museums or amusement parks. These excursions are not only fun, but they give your child the gift of developing background knowledge, or schema – an important database of personal experiences that become essential for reading comprehension. Providing your child with a variety of life experiences gives them a broader vocabulary base and fosters personal connections to text and stories. These connections will prepare children for higher level skills as they are introduced to new reading material and participate in group discussions. Day trips are also good practice for language formulation, planning and organization skills, and they offer many opportunities to reinforce conversational behaviors, language use and comprehension. Here are some select visuals that target these skills:
Take a Road Trip – If you are planning a vacation this summer, take advantage of the many built-in opportunities to develop communication skills. Trapped in the car for hours? Resist the urge to “autoplay” your ride with DVDs or handheld electronic devices. Why not target speech-language skills with games that kids love and will very likely remember for years? “I Spy,” license plate games or find-the-alphabet contests all target verbal skills and a variety of language concepts. You could also create a Seek-and-Find activity for your trip, like this downloadable version:
Make a Treat – What activity is more rewarding than one that ends in a fun treat to eat? Simple recipes can target a variety of language skills and are a favorite with kids. Practice following directions, using descriptive concepts, sequential vocabulary and more with real tools and materials. Here is a super easy treat I’ve made with my own children and students, with visual directions that allow for review after you are done:Go to the Movies – ‘The movies’ are not exactly the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks about fostering communication skills. How can sitting passively in a dark theater target speech-language goals? But let’s face it – many parents can become desperate to find an enjoyable activity for the kids on those stifling hot, lazy days of summer. Enjoying an air-conditioned theater for a two hour respite can be just what you and your child need. (For children with sensory issues that make trips to movie theaters a challenge, look for sensory-friendly movie times, like those offered in AMC theaters.) In addition to creating motivating content for future discussions and activities, movies also generate opportunities for language before and after your excursion. Decide with your child what you will see; where and when you will see it. After the show, review with your child the movie plot, characters and sequential events. Ask questions like, “What was your favorite part? Why?” to help your child formulate and support their opinions. Offer your own opinion, too! Encourage critical thinking skills by asking “why” “how” and “what if” questions. Some families I know even keep a log of movies they see throughout the year, giving each movie a rating after a family movie discussion.
Schedule Playdates – Effective speech-language therapy often includes group sessions to promote socials skills and to create opportunities that reinforce generalization of skills. Foster peer interaction, interactive play, functional communication and other skills by arranging a short playdate. Around two hours is a good length of time for a get-together, allowing ample opportunities for play, exploration and a small snack. Offer a few summer activities (bubbles, balls, sand toys, etc) and encourage conversation/interaction, but do resist the urge to organize their activities. Children need time to develop play with each other and discover what is motivating or fun in the moment.
Read, Read, Read – Reading with your child is one of the best activities you can do to promote language and literacy skills. Studies show that time spent reading with your child is the best predictor of overall academic success. The AmericanAssociation of School Librarians reported a study, (Wells, 1988) where researchers found that “the amount of experience that five-year-old children had with books was directly related to their reading comprehension at seven and eleven years old. Wells stated that of all the activities considered possibly helpful for the acquisition of literacy, only one—listening to stories—was significantly associated with later test scores.” Read more.
Not sure how to incorporate language into reading? The U.S. Department of Education outlines things you can do to help your child develop language and literacy skills. Read more.
Whatever your plans this summer, do take time to engage with your child in real ways using everyday activities. For more ideas/activities that target communication skills, please visit my speech-language blog at LiveSpeakLove.
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Issues in international development, appropriate technology and project implementation addressed through lectures, case studies, guest speakers and laboratory exercises. Students form project teams to partner with community organizations in developing countries, and formulate plans for an optional IAP site visit. (Previous field sites include Ghana, Brazil, Honduras and India.) Recitation sections focus on specific project implementation, and include cultural, social, political, environmental and economic overviews of the target countries as well as an introduction to the local languages. Enrollment limited by lottery; must attend first class session.
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WITH the U.S. in the throes of a devastating economic crisis and donation dollars more scarce than ever, should foundations divert their funding efforts to direct-service programs which assist casualties of this devastating recession — or should they instead continue to funnel their funds into advocacy efforts aimed at alleviating social inequality?
Leaders of several foundations and non-profit luminaries grappled with the topic during a lively, 90-minute discussion entitled “Philanthropy and the Economic Crisis” on Thursday, March 26, at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. The well-attended event even included a scoop courtesy of Wagner Professor Rogan Kersh, who is the school’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs — but more on that later.
Gara LaMarche, Chief Executive Officer of The Atlantic Philanthropies, one of the largest and most socially progressive foundations in the country, was moderator of the discussion about the fallout from the economic crisis for nonprofits as well as the perhaps unprecedented opportunities the crisis presents for catalyzing social change. In addition to LaMarche, who is a Wagner adjunct, and Kersh, the panel included Ann Beeson, a human rights advocate and litigator who has twice argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and is director of U.S. Programs for the Open Society Institute; David Jones, president and Chief Executive Officer of the Community Service Society of New York; and Oona Chatterjee, co-executive director of the grassroots organization Make the Road.
Chatterjee, whose organization works to improve health care, education, housing and job opportunities in some of New York City’s poorest neighborhoods, said that while private funding has “held stable,” the economic crisis has caused some of its foundations to hold back on funding. So instead of concentrating on the work at hand, Chaterjee said, “We’re thinking about how to make the next payroll.”
Even before the economic crisis hit with full force, the task of raising $6 million to meet the organization’s budget was arduous, she said, since most of their donations are in the $15,000 to $20,000 range. What advocacy organizations like hers really need, she said, is help from the major national foundations. But she said she heard that the large national foundations “have a lot of pressure to fund regional and national work,” instead of locally focused, grassroots efforts.
For foundations, striking the right balance between funding organizations with a large national profile and those with a grassroots orientation is also difficult in light of the major contraction in the amount of dollars that foundations are able to provide these days. According to David Jones of the Community Service Society, a 160-year-old poverty-fighting institution in New York City, it’s more critical than ever that foundations’ funds are used responsibly. Unfortunately, Jones contended, too many boards on too many foundations are packed with lawyers and power brokers who are “out of touch” with poor communities. Rather than funding programs that could make a real difference, too often foundations are supporting what he termed “amenity charities…An amenity charity is one in which you give to Harvard because your kid gets in.”
Ann Beeson of the Open Society Institute asserted that despite the failing economy there is an unprecedented opportunity to set a new political and social agenda, though she acknowledged that the Open Society Institute and The Atlantic Philanthropies are in a unique position to take such stances. “I think this is absolutely not the time to be timid around our policy agenda. This is the time to be transformational,” she said at one point.
The Open Society Institute and The Atlantic Philanthropies are two of the country’s largest foundations, and are not therefore under the same economic pressures faced by many other foundations at this time. Beeson and LaMarche defended their continued advocacy funding as cost effective inthe long run, saying that if they invest now in advocacy, they will affect policies and reduce social needs over time.
Even if foundations could increase funding for direct service, LaMarche said it would be a “drop in the bucket” compared to the actual need created by the economic crisis that has washed over the entire country. With the sentiment at the White House and on Capitol Hill running high for meaningful, progressive change, The Atlantic Philanthropies felt it was a favorable time to right long-standing “systematic injustices” and put dollars to work to fund advocacy aimed at issues such as overhauling a tax code that favors the rich or instituting affordable health care.”We have a window of time now when that can work,” LaMarche said.
Meanwhile, Professor Kersh said that President Obama is expected to announce the creation of a new Office of Social Innovation. The anticipated White House “clearinghouse for the philanthropic community and agencies” will be a source of creative solutions to pressing social problems. Kersh also said the Obama administration is pushing for a reduction in the tax breaks for charitable deductions that individuals or couples making more than $250,000 a year. The proposal would cut, to 28 percent, the current rate of 39.6 percent on deductions.
One study Kersh cited from Indiana University suggests that such a policy could reduce charitable giving by 4.8 percent, which he said translates to nearly $4 billion drop in charitable giving a year nationwide. (Professor LaMarche, however, said the money raised by erasing that tax break is earmarked by the Obama administration for the type of “human needs” that foundations should be funding.)
Legislation has been proposed that would create a standard 1.32 percent excise tax on foundations, instead of the current system, which increases the tax to 2 percent. This legislation should encourage foundations to “give more money away,” Kersh said.
Lastly, the NYU Wagner associate dean and professor reported that the reputable non-profit Finance Fund conducted a survey that found that 52 percent of the nonprofit leaders polled believe that despite the federal stimulus package and other anti-recessionary efforts by the Obama Administration and Congress, their organizations will suffer some type of long term or permanent damage from the economic crisis.
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Sat December 29, 2012
In Limbo: Stateless Man Stuck On American Samoa
Originally published on Sun December 30, 2012 6:42 am
Last December, Mikhail Sebastian decided to take a New Year's trip to American Samoa, but when he tried to board his flight to return home to Los Angeles, he was barred. U.S. immigration officials said he had self-deported.
Weekends on All Things Considered talked with Sebastian, stateless and stranded, this fall. Born in the former Soviet Union bloc, he escaped and made his way to the U.S., where he had been living and working for 16 years. He had a work permit, but as a stateless person, he was not allowed to travel outside the U.S. He had no problems visiting the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico, but found American Samoa had its own immigration rules.
We caught up with him recently to find out if anything had changed. It hadn't. He's still living in limbo on the island.
"Since the first interview we had back in October, I am so thankful to NPR," he told us by phone from the home of a family that is putting him up. Local law prevents Sebastian from working, so the American Samoan government is paying the family to house him.
"I got a lot of emails and tweets from people who really cared about the situation," he said, "who are on my side."
Despite the positive response, Sebastian is still stuck and he's marking a bitter anniversary on the island.
"It's frustrating because I didn't expect it's going to take a whole year," Sebastian said. "I want to just get out of here. I just want to go back home."
A lawyer is working his case, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has gotten involved. The UNHCR recently traveled to the island to make a video about Sebastian's plight.
U.S. immigration officials have so far shown no indication of reversing their decision and letting him return.
Still, while 2012 was a bad year, Sebastian says he is looking ahead.
"I hope that 2013 will bring me a lot of hope and a lot of changes can be done in our broken immigration system," he said.
There are an estimated 12 million stateless people in the world; an unknown number living in the U.S., according to the UNHCR. Sebastian says if he ever gets back home, he will work to promote the rights of these "citizens of nowhere."
JACKI LYDEN, HOST:
Now, from the journal of stories of the year past, come with us to American Samoa. Mikhail Sebastian is a man without a country, stateless and stranded on that South Pacific island. And he's a lot more eager to get off than Robinson Crusoe ever was. We first encountered Sebastian in October. Born in the former Soviet bloc, he escaped and made his way to the United States, living and working here for 16 years. A condition tied to his residency is that he cannot leave. So Sebastian travels to the farthest fringes of U.S. territory: Guam, Puerto Rico - you get the idea.
But he hit the end of the line in American Samoa. When he tried to get home to L.A., he was blocked. He found out that American Samoa has its own rules, and paradise has turned to limbo. He can't even work there, so the American Samoa government is paying a local family to put him up. We caught up with him at their home.
MIKHAIL SEBASTIAN: Since the first interview we had back in October, I'm so thankful to NPR. I got a lot of emails and tweets from people who really cared about the situation, who were over on my side.
LYDEN: Nevertheless, U.S. Immigration has shown no sign of relenting, and today marks one year precisely that Sebastian has been stranded on the island.
SEBASTIAN: First of all, it's hard. It's frustrating because I did not expect it's going to take a whole year. And the only thing I just want to say, that I want to just get out of here. I just want to go back home.
LYDEN: Staff from the office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees recently traveled to the island to make a video about Mikhail Sebastian's plight.
(SOUNDBITE OF UNHCR VIDEO)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Nothing like this has ever happened in American Samoa. I'm fairly confident of that because American Samoa has no idea what to do with Mikhail.
LYDEN: That's Sebastian's lawyer. But so far, no agency that could do something about this has budged, so Mikhail Sebastian kind of lives in his head.
SEBASTIAN: 2012 was a bad year. And I hope that 2013 will bring me a lot of hope and then a lot of chances can be done in our broken immigration system.
LYDEN: The UNHCR estimates there are 12 million stateless people throughout the world. Mikhail Sebastian says if he ever gets back to the United States, he'll work to promote the rights of these citizens of nowhere. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
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The Canadian mint sent a legal threat to a folk-singer called Dave Gunning, objecting to his use of photos of pennies in the liner notes on his latest CD, No More Pennies, which eulogizes the Canadian one-cent piece, now discontinued.
My friends in the commonwealth sometimes don't understand what the practical difference is between "Crown copyright" (where the government holds a copyright to the works it creates at taxpayers' expense) and the US system, where government works automatically enter the public domain. But here it is: the right of Canadian artists to create art about the decisions of the Canadian government is contingent on the government's permission -- and is subject to an arbitrary fee levied by the state.
After a good deal of public embarrassment, the mint backed down, but it continues to assert that it holds a copyright in the image of Canadian currency.
On the other hand, if Mr Gunning wants to reissue his CD jacket with pictures of American pennies, he'll be on safe ground.
The Globe and Mail's Brad Wheeler describes Gunning's answer to the mint:
After an initial run of 2000 albums had already been produced, Gunning was notified that he’d need to to pay $1,200 for the rights to the penny image. After Gunning spoke to CBC Radio One’s Mainstreet Halifax about the fee and a “penny drive” to cover the costs, the Mint waived the royalty.
The ubiquitous currency will no longer be circulated in Canada as of Feb. 4, 2013. No More Pennies, Gunning’s 10th album, is, in his words, a “heartfelt tribute to the passing of the penny.” The vanishing of the loosest of loose change is a metaphor for the passing of time.
Although the copyright fee for the album’s initial run of 2,000 albums was waived, the Mint has conditions tied to any future copies of the CD. Gunning has made the requested alterations to the original design and has resubmitted his application for permission to use the one-cent likenesses. The Mint will now decide on what amount, if any, it will charge the musician. “We’re not preventing Dave Gunning from commemorating the penny through his album,” says Christine Aquino, the Mint’s communications director. “The issue is the use of the image, and we’ll be working with him on that.”
(Image: CANADA, GEORGE V 1920 ---FIRST ISSUE, SMALL ONE CENT a, a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (2.0) image from woodysworld1778's photostream)
I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.
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PINRANG/JAKARTA (Reuters) - Nurhaedah, a vivacious Indonesian cocoa trader, shakes her head in disappointment as she sifts through a pile of blackened, shrivelled beans. Yet another crop from "Frankentrees": weak, misshapen cocoa trees toppling under their own weight.
A $350-million campaign to boost cocoa yields in Indonesia, the world's third largest producer of the commodity, is turning sour as farmers send streams of poor-quality beans plucked from the defective trees to a collecting centre Nurhaedah runs.
"Farmers are complaining the beans are so small they look like roasted peanuts," said Nurhaedah, as her deft fingers sought out the bigger beans whose size indicated better quality.
"I don't think anyone has told us what went wrong. Many trees have fallen down and when you pull them up, it's obvious they don't have taproots."
Farmers' disappointment at the outcome of the three-year campaign that aimed at increasing cocoa output to offset tight supplies and satisfy rising demand is ironically driving some to cultivate palm oil, which brings in more money for less work.
The main growing island of Sulawesi, where Nurhaedah works for a trading firm based in Singapore, is the centre of a three-year-old effort to boost cocoa output to 600,000 tonnes by 2013, to meet demand from grinders in Indonesia and elsewhere in Asia.
As top cocoa grower Ivory Coast struggles to stamp out an outbreak of fungal disease in the face of bad weather, problems in Indonesia and the likelihood of a disruptive El Nino weather pattern could leave the global market with a deficit of around 40,000 tonnes in the current crop year, driving prices higher.
Ratios, an indicator of demand, have rallied more than 40 percent since January in Asia, boosted by year-end festive demand and a drop in grindings in Europe that curbed supply of cocoa butter, which makes chocolate melt in the mouth.
GROWING ASIAN APPETITE
To meet the growing appetite for chocolate in Asia, fed by rising incomes and growing populations, multinational firms such as Cargill and Barry Callebaut, the world's top chocolate maker, have built grinding projects in Indonesia.
In the last five years, the country's grinding capacity has doubled to reach around 400,000 tonnes this year, making it Asia's largest after Malaysia.
"Everybody realizes we need more supply because the demand is growing," said Ruud Engbers, president director of Mars Symbioscience Indonesia, a unit of privately owned Mars Inc, one of the world's leading food manufacturers, which turns out Snickers and Twix candy bars.
The world will need an additional 1 million tonnes of cocoa beans annually by 2020, Engbers estimates.
But a smaller than expected share of that increase will come from Indonesia, battered by bad weather and a cloning technique gone awry, yielding the outsize, misshapen trees that traders and farm researchers have dubbed "Frankentrees".
Despite the battle to boost output, dry weather is expected to keep Indonesia's output this year at between 435,000 and 450,000 tonnes, or a drop of almost a third since 2006.
Moreover, farmers say output from cocoa trees in much of Sulawesi appears to have been hurt by the cloning technique, originally intended to hasten seed production, but which has led instead to sickly trees that yield small, discolored beans.
The technique called somatic embryogenesis, or SE, was invented to produce high-yielding, disease-resistant seeds. A success in Ecuador in the early 2000s, it had never been used on a large scale until Indonesia adopted it in 2009.
Seedlings from the new clone take only three years to produce cocoa pods, versus four years for non-cloned varieties.
But in Indonesia, farmers say, it has produced trees that are a metre taller than usual with extra branches, which need support from stakes tied to their trunks to keep upright, yet are still prone to disease.
The trees have been producing elongated cocoa pods in strange orange-red hues, compared to the usual reddish-purple.
Cocoa trees planted in 2009 have matured this year to yield poor quality pods, with up to 160 beans in every 100 grams, far more than the national standard of 110. Plantations normally yield up to 450 kg of cocoa per hectare a year, but small beans cut that output in half.
"Many trees are dead, the beans are small and I don't think the whole thing is a success," said Siti, a 73-year old widow who looks after plantations owned by her son-in-law in the lush, hilly region of Pinrang, about 170 km north of Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi.
"My own plantation didn't get the SE seedlings but my son-in-law's did. The result is bad," said Siti, speaking outside a stilt hut at the plantation, and pointing to the elongated, cocoa pods infested by bean-eating pests.
Almost 1 million Indonesian families, most of them in Sulawesi, rely on cocoa for their livelihood, but its stubbornly low output is a pointer to low overall rates of productivity.
"If the farmers are unhappy and they cannot make a proper living, there will never be a sustainable supply chain," Engbers told Reuters at Mars' sprawling 17,000-tonne annual capacity grinding plant in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi.
A survey by the nearby Hasanuddin University showed that most trees grown from the new seeds died or fell over, or were likely to do so, prompting cocoa farmers to switch to crops such as palm that are easier to care for.
In Southeast Sulawesi, desperate farmers are cutting down cocoa trees to make way for oil palm plantations that bring better returns. Indonesia is the world's biggest producer of the edible oil used in products from biscuits to biofuel.
"I've been taking care of my palm oil plantations in the last three years, while getting rid of cocoa trees," said 50-year old Mustafa, adding that 1,200 palm oil trees now grow on a plantation where he once had 12,000 cocoa trees.
A cocoa farmer can earn 8 million rupiah a year from one hectare of land, or about half the 15 million earned by cultivating palm instead.
Yet these signs did not prove the national cocoa campaign had failed, Indonesian Agriculture Minister Suswono said.
"It is true that some cocoa farmers in Sulawesi have replaced cocoa trees with palm oil, but acreage is still very limited," Suswono told Reuters. "There must be a scientific answer on the real cause of declining output."
WHAT WENT WRONG?
The Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute (ICCRI), which distributed about 74 million specially developed seedlings to farmers across a tenth of the nationwide growing area of 1 million hectares by 2011, has done its own plantation survey.
It has offered advice ranging from proper of use of fertilizer to better handling of seedlings on their way to plantations from nurseries, as well as how to fight Vascular-Streak Dieback, a virus that decimated Sulawesi's trees in 2008.
"There were cases when nursery workers didn't properly treat the roots. I don't want to blame anyone, but it may also be due to our fault for not providing clear instruction to farmers," said ICCRI research head Soetanto Abdoellah.
Although the government-sponsored rejuvenation program has kept output from falling further, the quality of Indonesian beans will be a headache for grinders in the next few years.
"The program should be extended but the strategy should be changed," said Zulhefi Sikumbang, chairman of exporter body the Indonesian Cocoa Association. "We need more field facilitators to help farmers and help transfer the technology."
With domestic grindings set to rise to 650,000 tonnes next year, imports of about 180,000 tonnes of cocoa beans will be needed from Ghana, Ivory Coast or Papua New Guinea, he said.
Back in Pinrang, Nurhaedah sorted beans in her combined home and office, amid a faint whiff of chocolate given off by sacks of dried cocoa stacked in a corner of her living room.
"Had farmers known from the beginning the trees would eventually fall over, they wouldn't have planted them," she said.
(Additional reporting by Yayat Supriatna in Jakarta and Yusuf Ahmad in Southeast Sulawesi, Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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A federal grant is expected to boost manpower in the Warren Fire Department, but city officials may hire significantly fewer firefighters than the grant allows.
The $2.79 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency would enable the city to hire 18 firefighters for two years. That’s a welcome financial shot in the arm for Macomb County’s most populated city, which has had declining manpower in the Fire Department for several years.
Unlike some federal funding for first responders, the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant, or SAFER, requires no local matching funds or a commitment to keep the new hires after two years. However, the city must replace any firefighters who leave the department during that period, including those who retire.
“I’m very grateful to the federal government,” said Fire Commissioner Wilburt McAdams, who wrote the grant application. “It will allow me to sleep a little more restfully.”
To avoid the possibility of laying off the new hires after two years on the job, the city administration will ask FEMA to consider an alternative.
Mayor James Fouts said Friday that officials will ask the agency for permission to hire 10 new firefighters but to use the funding to keep those new employees on board longer. An amendment being prepared to revise the grant terms is expected to be submitted to the agency very soon.
“The overall concerns are we don’t get in a situation where we use the money and the money runs out and we’re forced to lay off firefighters. I didn’t want to do that,” Fouts said. “It’s a fair compromise. It’s a reasonable proposal we could handle.
“That way we can assure there would be no layoffs,” he said.
The lagging economy, declining property values and the projected loss of $3 million under Gov. Rick Snyder’s plan to eliminate the personal property tax on businesses in Michigan create a formula of economic uncertainty for Warren and other communities in the near future.
“We don’t know what our financial picture is going to be down the line,” Fouts said. However, city officials expect collections from the billing of patients transported by Warren EMS rigs to hospitals, to rise.
Currently, Warren has 111 budgeted firefighting personnel. Having 129 with the SAFER grant “would be difficult for us to handle” after two years, Fouts said.
Four years ago, the city had 145 firefighters in the budget, but more than a dozen positions were vacant. Since then, manpower has dropped through attrition. When too few off-duty firefighters are available to be called in to meet daily minimum manpower requirements aboard fire rigs — common during deer hunting season and peak vacation period — fire engines are taken out of service for the day. Critics charge that policy hurts response times and risks public safety.
The grant, McAdams said, “should eliminate overtime call-ins for manpower shortages” and slash overtime costs which total approximately $500,000 a year.
News of the grant is welcome relief to the city firefighters’ union.
“It means a lot,” said Chris Andary, vice president of Warren Fire Fighters Association Local 1383. “Our biggest tool is manpower.”
Andary said the union learned last week that the city plans to accept the grant and he praised the mayor.
“I do believe he’s doing everything possible to keep city services at a high standard. Whenever there’s been a problem or concern in our department, he has addressed them immediately,” the union officer said.
Formal acceptance of the grant requires the approval of the City Council, following a recommendation from the mayor. McAdams said city administrators will review grant details and how the money would be spent, in a study session with council members.
The grant could create some political risk if FEMA rejects Warren’s amended plan for SAFER spending and demands that Warren hire 18 firefighters for 24 months. If officials are forced to lay off firefighters in 2015, they could face voter backlash from residents during the citywide elections that year. But not accepting the nearly $2.8 million — the grant award was first announced by U.S. Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow in late December — would raise eyebrows and anger the firefighters’ union.
In 2009, the Fire Department responded to 12,677 calls, including 9,500 EMS runs and 435 fires, according to figures provided by McAdams. Since then, the firefighters have been increasingly busier while their ranks have shrunk. Last year, the department handled 14,974 incidents, including 10,169 EMS calls.
The fire commissioner said new firefighters could be hired in early March. The current Civil Service Commission list of eligible applicants has 55 names. However, fire administrators wonder how many of those individuals are available. Waterford Township in Oakland County was awarded a SAFER grant of $7.67 million on Jan. 25 and plans to hire 39 firefighters.
“Normally, firefighters apply all over,” McAdams said.
In 2011, Clinton Township received $3.34 million during a round of SAFER grants.
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Many ads attempt to accomplish nothing more than to create a connection between a given product and the possibility of having sex with hot women, or, relatedly, of becoming the type of man that hot women are willing to have sex with. It's the old adage "sex sells," and it works because men really want to have sex, and even though deep down we know that drinking a particular brand of light beer or using a certain deodorant isn't going to help us do that, our dumb animal brains compel us to seek out any possible edge we can find. Now two ad executives and a Yale researcher have teamed up to see if capuchin monkeys, who also have dumb animal brains, will be as susceptible to advertising. One billboard that's being used in the experiment is simply "a graphic shot of a female monkey with her genitals exposed, alongside the brand A logo."
The first advertising campaign for non-human primates [New Scientist]
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