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Ethics For Dummies
Ethics is the study of the way things ought to be. Ethics applies to topics as mundane as doing your taxes and as momentous as how to structure government. Studying ethics can give you deep insights into what people do and why they do it. If you let it, studying ethics also can motivate you to change morally questionable habits and live an ethical life.
Why Study Ethics?
Ethics is a central component of any happy, healthy, and mature life. But some critics still question the value of studying ethics and living an ethical life. After all, if you ignore ethics, you can just focus on yourself, right? Not so fast. Some great reasons to resist those critics include the following:
Ethics allows you to live an authentic life. An authentic and meaningful life requires you to live with a sense of integrity. Integrity is making commitments and sticking to them through thick and thin — no matter how much violating them may benefit you. Having a firm character or set of principles to guide your life and the choices you make is what ethics is all about.
Ethics makes you more successful. You may think that ethics can hold you back in all kinds of ways, but the truth is the opposite. Ethical people embody traits that unethical people have to work at to fake — they’re honest, trustworthy, loyal, and caring. As a result, ethical people are perfectly suited not only for interpersonal relationships generally, but also more specifically for the kinds of interactions that make for thriving business. Unethical people generally don’t do so well at these things.
Ethics allows you to cultivate inner peace. Lives that are lived ethically tend to be calmer, more focused, and more productive than those that are lived unethically. Most people can’t turn off their sympathy for other human beings. Hurting people leaves scars on both the giver and the receiver. As a result, unethical people have stormier internal lives because they have to work to suppress their consciences and sympathies to deal with the ways they treat others. When they fail to properly suppress their sympathies, the guilt and shame that comes with harming or disrespecting one’s fellow human beings takes deep root within them.
Ethics provides for a stable society. When people live ethical lives, they tell the truth, avoid harming others, and are generous. Working with such people is easy. On the other hand, callous and insensitive people are distrusted, so it’s difficult for them to be integrated well into social arrangements. A stable society requires a lot of ethical people working together in highly coordinated ways. If society were mostly composed of unethical people, it would quickly crumble.
Ethics may help out in the afterlife. Some religious traditions believe ethics is the key to something even greater than personal success and social stability: eternal life. No one can be sure about an eternal life, but people of faith from many different religions believe that good behavior in this life leads to rewards in the next life.
A Snapshot of Key Ethical Theories
Ethical theory serves as the foundation for ethical solutions to the difficult situations people encounter in life. In fact, for centuries, philosophers have come up with theoretical ways of telling right from wrong and for giving guidelines about how to live and act ethically. Here are a few ethical theories to whet your appetite:
Virtue ethics states that character matters above all else. Living an ethical life, or acting rightly, requires developing and demonstrating the virtues of courage, compassion, wisdom, and temperance. It also requires the avoidance of vices like greed, jealousy, and selfishness.
Utilitarianism holds that the amount of happiness and suffering created by a person’s actions is what really matters. Thus, acting rightly involves maximizing the amount of happiness and minimizing the amount of suffering around you. Sometimes you may even need to break some of the traditional moral rules to achieve such an outcome.
Kantianism emphasizes the principles behind actions rather than an action’s results. Acting rightly thus requires being motivated by proper universal principles that treat everyone with respect. When you’re motivated by the right principles, you overcome your animal instincts and act ethically.
Contract theory proposes thinking about ethics in terms of agreements between people. Doing the right thing means abiding by the agreements that the members of a rational society would choose. So for contract theorists, ethics isn’t necessarily about character, consequences, or principles.
Care ethics focuses ethical attention on relationships before other factors. As a result, acting rightly involves building, strengthening, and maintaining strong relationships. Acting rightly thus displays care for others and for the relationships of which they are a part. To care ethicists, relationships are fundamental to ethical thinking.
How Ethical Thinking Applies to Real Life
Studying ethics can help you arrive at clearer positions and arguments on real life issues — and can help you apply them, too. In fact, thinking more about ethical theory may even change your mind about issues in today’s world. Here are some ways you can apply ethics to your life:
Consider how you interact with animals. Some folks may think animals don’t ethically matter. However, most ethical theories disagree. So before you abuse a dog, take a bite out of that next steak, or raise cattle inhumanely, you have to consider some ethical arguments. After all, animals feel pain and suffer just like humans. Perhaps this possibility of pain and suffering entitles them to rights and considerations that you’re ethically expected to respect.
Be kinder to the environment. People typically see recycling or using certain kinds of household products as neutral lifestyle choices. However, ethics may actually demand a particular sort of interaction with the world around you. Sawing down a tree is innocent enough, but when you think of trees as parts of ecosystems that keep humans alive, things become less clear-cut.
Respect and defend human rights. What are the basic things to which humans are entitled just because they’re humans? This question forms the basis of an inquiry into human rights. Ethics has a lot to say about what those rights are, who has them, and why. Many 21st century debates about torture, genocide, women’s rights, free speech, and welfare all focus on human rights
Become more ethical in your career. Ethical professionals are better professionals. Lawyers, engineers, doctors, accountants, and journalists must avoid conflicts of interest and be sensitive to the ethical requirements of their jobs. However, keep in mind that being ethical in your profession can lead to surprising results. Lawyers, for instance, have to defend some pretty shady characters in order to give everyone a fair defense.
Engage with medical advances. Some of the most contentious ethical problems of today arise in the practice of medicine and with the use of biotechnology. Human cloning, abortion, euthanasia, and genetic engineering challenge long-standing beliefs about human life, identity, and dignity.
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January 11, 2012
Lynne M. Thomas
DeKalb, Ill. — The federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded Northern Illinois University Libraries with a National Leadership Grant of $575,000 to investigate affordable digital preservation solutions for small and medium-sized college and university libraries.
Because technology changes so rapidly, libraries nationwide are becoming increasingly concerned about the preservation of their digital materials, including images, videos, audio files and textual documents.
“This grant will give us an opportunity to find ways to make digital preservation affordable, sustainable and scalable,” says Lynne M. Thomas, curator of Rare Books and Special Collections for NIU Libraries. She and Drew VandeCreek, director of digital initiatives, head the project for NIU.
“Digital preservation aims to ensure long-term access to everything from photographs taken at a university sporting event to university meeting minutes to the research work of faculty members,” Thomas adds. “We need to make sure we can access those materials 50 years from now. Right now, there’s no way to guarantee that— especially for smaller libraries.”
University Libraries is partnering on the grant project with Chicago State, Illinois State, Illinois Wesleyan and Western Illinois universities. The institutions will simultaneously test multiple collaborative digital preservation solutions and evaluate the suitability of each option.
The project also will produce a report on viable options, a potential business model for sustaining such operations and a digital preservation planning toolkit tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized universities.
“This is an exciting endeavor. This grant is important to the small and medium-sized college and university libraries that do not necessarily possess the resources to be able to create local digital preservation solutions or to purchase any turnkey product,” University Libraries Dean Patrick Dawson says. “Hopefully the end product will include viable, sustainable solutions that will be able to be adopted and employed.”
The largest museum and library joint grant program administered by IMLS, National Leadership Grants support projects that will advance the ability of museums and libraries to preserve culture, heritage and knowledge while enhancing learning.
This past year, IMLS received 210 applications and distributed 48 National Leadership Grants for collaborative planning. Recipients provide some matching funds.
“We believe that each of these grants will advance the museum, library and archive professions through new research and the creation and dissemination of innovative tools, models and activities that can be shared broadly,” IMLS Director Susan Hildreth says.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The institute’s mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to support professional development, enhance learning and innovation, and sustain heritage, culture and knowledge. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov.
# # #
Media Contact: Lynne M. Thomas, NIU Libraries, Rare Books and Special Collections
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What would you pack in your camera bag to shoot the biggest sporting event in the world? PopPhoto has a great interview with Getty photographer Streeter Lecka in which he talks about preparing for (and shooting) the Olympics in London. His daily-basis kit includes two Canon 1D Xs, a 400mm f/2.8, two 70-200mm (f/2.8 and f/4), a 16-35mm f/2.8, and a 15mm fisheye. Here’s how his images are beamed to headquarters:
Getty has our own lines that are hardwired into every single event. Our tech crew came over months before to get an idea of where we’d be shooting. We can just plug in and send from there. The editors are in the media center where they can send it out immediately.
I have a backpack everyday with a computer and a card reader. When I plug it into the wire, push in the card, and press start, it automatically sends everything to the editors. Everything transfers to my computer as well. I also bring a separate little hard drive so I can back up everything I shoot for myself. If I want an original RAW file, I can get it if I want to.
Lecka says he expects to snap 2,000-4,000 photos a day on average.
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An Ideal Marketplace: For-profit Businesses Helping, Not Exploiting, the PoorPublished: May 14, 2008 in Knowledge@Wharton
Can a company make money from the work of impoverished people in the developing world without taking advantage of them?
For Patrick Byrne, the answer is a qualified yes. Byrne believes that he has found a way for his company, Overstock.com, to benefit while it helps developing-world artisans connect with developed-world customers. But for Chuck Waterfield, creator of Microfin -- a software program he wrote for microlenders -- the answer is a qualified no, at least as it applies to Compartamos, a well-known microfinance lender operating in Mexico. Both men spoke at this year's University of Pennsylvania Microfinance Conference.
Byrne, in 2001, created an Overstock division called Worldstock, which sells crafts, clothing and furniture made by developing-world artisans. His original idea for Overstock was to cut out middlemen in the retail industry by using the web's expertise in logistics to sidestep the so-called "jobbers" who traditionally bought and resold retailers' excess inventory. Byrne figured that his company could perform the same sort of service for craftspeople in the developing world, cutting out the importers and boutiques that often stand between them and consumers in the United States.
Overstock, which is publicly traded, aims to turn a profit -- although it doesn't always do so. In 2007, it lost $45 million on sales of $760 million. But Byrne operates Worldstock on a break-even basis, trying to simply cover costs. It serves the parent company by generating positive press and cementing the bonds between Overstock and its customers. "The people who buy [these products] from us are our most loyal," he said. "Somebody who comes in and buys a stereo doesn't have any loyalty. But if somebody comes in and learns about these products and how and where they're made, they become our best customers -- not just for Worldstock but for the whole website."
Among the wares that Worldstock sells are stools made in Peru, table settings crafted in Indonesia and carpets woven in Tibet. "These aren't sympathy products," Byrne said. "We're saying, 'Buy this carpet because it's beautiful.'" When these products enter the American retail system, "they end up in upper-end boutiques that charge five times what we're charging. Some of the backlash we got was from that community. They were paying $35 for a product that had a month's work in Indonesia in it, bringing it to the U.S. and selling it for $150. We're buying it for $60 or $70 and selling it for $99."
Criticism from boutique owners doesn't really bother Byrne. In fact, it pales next to the chiding that he has received from Wall Street. For several years, Byrne has engaged in -- and been lambasted for -- his crusade against short sellers -- investors who bet that the value of particular stocks will drop. Byrne has sued short sellers and feuded with the business media, accusing the two groups of colluding to sap the value of vulnerable companies. (Specifically, Byrne dislikes a practice called "naked short-selling" in which investors illegally sell-short shares that they haven't borrowed. Byrne's critics say that the practice is far less common than he contends and that his campaign merely distracts attention from Overstock's poor performance.)
The ownership structure of Overstock enables Byrne to operate in unorthodox ways, protecting him whether he launches an unprofitable subsidiary or spars with the investment world. "I'm in a lucky position in that I own about a third of the company, and people with my last name and close friends collectively own about 80% or 85%," he said. "So I don't have to worry too much about a shareholder uprising."
Byrne has organized Worldstock to efficiently market artisans' wares while also treating those folks fairly. He has found that it can operate most effectively when it trades with small co-operatives rather than individual artisans. A solo craftsperson won't typically have access to the Internet, and Worldstock prefers to communicate with suppliers via the web. "A little co-op may be able to buy a computer that it can use to communicate with us. What we've found to be the most successful is working with groups of five to 25 people."
Worldstock won't trade with larger groups because it might then end up selling factory-made goods, and that could hurt its reputation. Factories are more likely to exploit their workers than small co-ops are, Byrne argued. Worldstock also tries to limit the amount of child labor that its suppliers use. "We came up with a principle that said if a child is going to school and he or she works no more than two hours a day, that's allowed," he said. The company made an exception for Afghanistan after the woman running its program there, an Afghani, pointed out that very few Afghan girls attend school.
Byrne accuses people who would ban child labor of naiveté. "The view that children shouldn't work at all is basically a Western bourgeois view of the last 150 years," he said. "For most of humanity, for most of its existence, if pop was a silversmith, the kids were going to be doing some silversmithing."
Worldstock no longer operates in Afghanistan but not because of child-labor problems. Byrne found that officials there expected bribes, and he refused to pay them. "Given that Afghanistan is the world's largest supplier of heroin, who knew that the customs agents were going to be corrupt?" he quipped.
Byrne's travels originally piqued his interest in the ways that for-profit enterprises could help people in the developing world. When his journeys began, he was a philosopher -- he earned a doctorate in the subject from Stanford University -- not a businessperson. He had also studied economics, and his travels left him wondering about the United States' and Western Europe's ethical obligations to the developing world.
"I was somewhat discouraged with the NGO [non-governmental organization] world," he recalled. "I saw some [NGO] people living like it was the days of the Raj. And when I ran into NGOs that were all about saving the world -- like, 'Let's save all of the world's infants from something' -- I found a lot of waste. From my experiences in Southeast Asia and China, I was pretty cynical." He had come to the conclusion, for example, that big NGOs, like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, "might be doing more harm than good."
He began thinking about ways in which Western-style capitalism might succeed where the NGOs were failing. This led him to the work of economist Muhammad Yunus, who pioneered the practice of microfinance -- making tiny loans to very poor people -- in his native Bangladesh. Byrne sees Worldstock as a way of merging Yunus's philosophy with Internet commerce. "I think we are the largest fair-trade-style organization in the world," he said. "We are now in 35 countries. We're just about to cross $50 million in lifetime sales of which $30 million has been paid back to the suppliers. We're trying to get the money as directly to the artisans as we can with as few markups as possible. Our goal typically is to triple people's income."
Raking in Money
Yunus's work didn't just inspire Byrne. It has spawned microfinance programs throughout the developing world. Among them is Banco Compartamos, a Mexican lender. Compartamos has found success by lending to the poorest of the poor in such Mexican states as Chiapas. It sold stock to the public last year, raising $450 million, and has routinely racked returns on equity of more than 50%. A well-run bank would be happy to see a ROE of 20%.
Compartamos' numbers have brought controversy, with critics complaining about the interest rates it charges -- typically about 100% -- and its roots as a nonprofit. The bank began as a charity and became a for-profit firm in 2000. Even Yunus has singled it out for criticism, accusing it of preying on its poor customers.
Waterfield, who led a case-study discussion on Compartamos at the conference, was less pointed in his remarks but hinted that he shares at least some of the skeptics' views. He noted, for example, that Wal-Mart's bank in Mexico usually charges less for loans than Compartamos does. Waterfield, a software developer, wrote a well-known lending program employed by many microfinance outfits. "Compartamos was one of the first organizations to use my software," he said, adding that no one has accused Compartamos of operating illegally and pointed out that it's one of the biggest microlenders in the world, which suggests that many of its customers don't oppose its practices.
He also noted that, according to developed world norms, all microfinance loans look expensive, with interest rates that dwarf even those of credit cards. "There's no one acceptable interest rate for microfinance institutions. Interest rates need to differ [depending on] the country where you're operating, the services provided and the size of the loan." Some countries pose more risk than others, and tiny loans cost just as much to administer as bigger ones do. Lenders must charge higher rates for smaller loans to cover their costs. "Interest is variable, but costs are fixed," he noted.
Even so, Waterfield wondered whether Compartamos might be taking advantage of people with limited access to both credit and information about standard lending rates and policies. When compared with other microfinance firms, the bank seems to rake in money. "Other institutions with similar loan sizes are charging less than Compartamos, and that difference is profit," he said. "There's nothing illegal here. They charge what the market will bear."
In theory, Compartamos' customers will compare its rates and services with those of its competitors and go elsewhere if they feel cheated. Yet the developed-world principle of buyer beware may not work in the poorest parts of the world, Waterfield warned. "There are no truth-in-lending laws in many countries. We've done a good job getting the public behind the industry, but we've done zero in promoting pro-consumer policies and transparency."
Thus, Compartamos borrowers who wanted to collect information on competing loans would have difficulty doing so, he noted. "The markets are so rural and separated that it's unlikely that the [borrowers] know what's going on with other lenders." Very few in the industry "are against profits," he added. "But how much profit is acceptable? It's the degree of wealth transfer that you have to consider."
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By Nathan Koppel
Drivers around the country are fighting mad about high gas prices, which exceed $4 per-gallon in many markets.
But could there be something fishy behind these soaring prices? A federal taskforce is looking into that very question, Attorney General Eric Holder said today, according to this Reuters report.
“To the extent that there are inappropriate attempts to manipulate the [gas] markets, that there is price gouging, other things of that nature that have had a devastating impact on average Americans … that will be the focus of this taskforce,” Holder told the House Judiciary Committee. “We will hold them accountable.”
Holder said that prosecutors will look into possible violations of criminal and civil laws, Reuters reports, but he also said that high prices might be merely a product of usual market forces. “I don’t want to oversell what it is we are doing,” Holder said.
The taskforce had its first meeting yesterday, behind closed doors.
The U.S. sued BP in 2009 for allegedly violating the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act in connection with the spills, according to Bloomberg.
BP has also agreed as part of the settlement to make improvements to its pipelines in Alaska.
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FARMINGTON — It may take another 10 years, but a 220-mile highway from Coburn Gore to Calais is going to be built, Darryl Brown of Cianbro construction company said Tuesday.
"It's been talked about since 1937 but it's going to happen," Brown, of Livermore Falls, told those at the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce business breakfast at the University of Maine at Farmington.
Brown, formerly of Main-Land Development Consultants, recently joined Cianbro as manager of the $2.1 billion project for company president and CEO Peter Vigue.
Supporters foresee the potential of shipping containers from around the world destined for Eastport, then transported across Maine and Canada to markets in Chicago and beyond, Brown said.
"We know container traffic is expected to increase three-fold, and existing ports can't handle them. But we have the deep water," he said of the potential to lure tanker traffic to Eastport.
The Panama and Suez canals are currently being widened and deepened to handle tanker ships hauling containers globally, a mode of transportation expected to triple by 2024. Plans for a container tanker dock at Portland were recently announced, he said.
While direct studies of the potential for bringing cargo ships to Eastport have not been done, east-west highway advocates are thinking 10 years out, he said.
It's about Maine and Maine's economy, Brown said, while reviewing statistics. He cited Forbes magazine's listing of best states for business, which places Maine at 50th. He said Maine is also ranked 48th for non-farm employment growth, 36th for poverty level and has a median age that is the oldest in the nation.
"Maine's largest export is not potatoes, blueberries or wood, it's our young people looking for meaningful employment," Brown said. "If we don't step up to the plate and not allow the state to become a playground for the wealthy, shame on us."
New England may be the end of the road and "we're just up here in the woods," Brown said, but Eastport has the deepest water in the continental United States with a capacity to handle the larger tankers.
The toll highway would be open to all modes of travel, not just truckers, he said. The highway would pay taxes within in each town it crosses, contract with state police for patrol and not have the ability to take property by eminent domain, Brown said.
Construction would be done by Maine people and companies, Brown said.
Cianbro, based in Pittsfield, has thousands of employees at job sites across the United States, according to its website.
Lining up private funders for the east-west highway is under way, Brown said, and route designs are expected to be finished by the end of this year. Planners anticipate three years to get permits and handle any lawsuits, and another three years for construction, with completion in nine to 10 years, he said.
The plan also includes an all-purpose, recreational trail across the state for snowmobilers, all-terrain vehicles, hikers and bikers.
More information is available at www.eastwestme.com
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I have lost the GPG keys I use for Launchpad and email encryption, along with my entire
~/.gnupg folder. Can I recover them using the public key?
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Sorry, but you cannot get your key back. This is by design.
The RSA (and DSA/ElGamal) algorithms are engineered so that the keys must be made at the same time. There are intermediate variables that are not stored as part of the either the private or public key. Because the public key is crafted to be made public, you cannot deduce the secret key from it, or there would be a giant security hole. The two primes are generated from random numbers.
Also, the key email/name/description have no bearing on the modulus("meaty" data portion of the key). Therefore, you cannot recover your secret key without a backup, at least not without factoring large numbers which cannot be easily done right now. The passphrase is used to protect the key with another (symmetric) key generated from the passphrase, but neither this key nor the password affect the modulus in any way except a stray source of random data.
What can I do?
You can go to Launchpad key management after logging in via username and password, revoke your old keys. and then make and publish new keys. There is no limit on the number of keys you can publish. Make a secure backup, and ensure nobody gets unauthorized access to the backup, and that the keys in the backup are protected by a passphrase.
No, it is highly unprobable that you'd be able to generate the same key again.
However, you can easily import/export keys following the steps below:
Importing the keyring (all the keys)
Just copy the
Importing only a particular key
Suppose the name of the key is
Export the public and private keys to files named
Then, copy those files to the destination computer, and run:
Open your unity dash and type as
Now open your destination system where you would like to import this . There also as mentioned above same process upto opening passwords and application . In that application from main menu choose file and select Import . through you can choose the key which you have saved from your 1st PC .
Look at the images if you want more clarity .
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In most countries of the world, an accusation by the State forces the accused to prove himself innocent. In the United States, however, the presumption of innocence has always been a fundamental part of our rights as a free people. This basic protection against the power of the government has been recognized as flowing from the 5th, 6th and 14th Amendments to our Constitution. As the United States Supreme Court has said, “The principle that there is a presumption of innocence in favor of the accused is the undoubted law, axiomatic and elementary, and its enforcement lies at the foundation of the administration of our criminal law.” Coffin v. U.S., 156 U.S. 432 (1895).
So what happened to this presumption of innocence in a drunk driving case? Is this yet another example of “The DUI exception to the Constitution”?
Let’s take a look at how our DUI laws have slowly eroded this fundamental right….
Let’s assume you’ve been arrested for drunk driving, and a breathalyzer gives a reading of .09% blood-alcohol concentration (BAC). You will probably be charged with two crimes: (1) driving under the influence of alcohol, and (2) driving with over .08% BAC.
Let’s look at the .08% charge first. The .08% offense depends entirely upon the results of the breath machine (often called a “Breathalyzer”, although there are many makes and models). These machines are notorously unreliable for any number of reasons. But a funny thing happens when your attorney tries to bring out those reasons for the jury. He tries to point out, for example, that the Breathalyzer computes the results by presuming that the defendant has a partition ratio of 2100:1 (the ratio of alcohol in the breath to the alcohol in the blood) — but that this is only an average: in fact, the defendant’s ratio is much lower, so the .09% reading should actually be .07%. However, the judge stops him: the law presumes that all men are average — even if they are not.
The Supreme Court of California has specifically ruled that such scientific truth is irrelevant. People v. Bransford, 884 P.2d 70 (1994). The Court justified its ruling in a rather frank — and amazing — justification:
It (.08%) will increase the likelihood of convicting such a driver, because the prosecution need not prove actual impairment…Adjudication of such criminal charges will also require fewer legal resources, because fewer legal issues will arise. And individuals prosecuted under such a statute will be less likely to contest the charges.
In other words, ignoring scientific facts makes it easier — and cheaper — to convict.
What about the officer who gave the breath test? Surely, we can question his experience and the way he administered the breath test. And this raises a prosecutrial favorite: the “Official Duty Presumption”. The California Evidence Code (sec. 664) puts it very simply: It is presumed that official duty has been regularly performed. Period. That’s it: Since it was the officer’s official duty to give the test, the law presumes he was qualified and did it correctly — and the burden is on the defendant to prove he didn’t.
Interesting twist on the presumption of innocence, huh? Well, so much for the .08% charge. At least the defendant is presumed innocent of the DUI charge, right?
Wrong. The laws of most states create a presumption of guilt: if the Breathalyzer reads .08% BAC or higher, the jury will be instructed that the defendant is legally presumed to be under the influence of alcohol. That’s right: the defendant is presumed guilty. As with the others, this is called a “rebuttable presumption” — that is, the defendant can try to rebut this presumption with other evidence. Put another way, he is presumed guilty and the burden is on him to prove his innocence. Just like in third world countries.
Ok, but the law says it’s illegal to have .08% BAC when driving — not when tested an hour later at the police station. If, for example, a person has a drink or two before driving, the alcohol will not be absorbed into the system for an hour or so: it will not be in his system while driving, but will be reaching peak BAC levels when tested an hour later at the station. So how does the prosecution prove what the BAC was at the time of driving?
Easy: the law presumes the BAC is the same. Let’s take a look at California’s fairly typical law:
In any prosecution…it is a rebuttable presumption that the person had 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood at the time of driving the vehicle if the person had 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her breath at the time of the performance of a chemical test within thre hours of the driving.
Well, now, that’s really amazing. The Legislature simply passed a law against scientific truth. We can absolutely say, with scientific certainty, that the BAC will NOT be the same three hours after the test — and yet the law says it is.
So much for the “presumption of innocence” in a DUI case….
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A conservative Utah county Republican writes. . .
My husband and I are cancer survivors, which makes us uninsurable. We
applied for an individual health insurance policy for our 17-year-old daughter
so she could have coverage separate from our health history, but she was turned
down because of a topical gel prescribed for typical teenage acne two years
earlier. In order to provide access to insurance, I gave up my successful small
business of 18 years and went to work for a large corporation. To us, health insurance has been more distressing than the fear of cancer itself. If health insurance companies can reject a perfectly healthy, athletic teenage girl for such a trivial reason, they have gone too far. As a conservative Republican from the heart of Utah County, I am generally opposed to more government involvement. However, I am convinced that the federal government must step in and establish some national regulations. We currently have a patchwork of vastly different laws from state to state, and insurance companies continue to have too much power. While I understand the arguments about a public plan creating unfair competition for private insurance companies, I feel strongly that some competition would be healthy. The worst thing that could happen at this point is for partisan politics to bring the current momentum to a halt, thus preventing any legislation from being passed. For the sake of all Americans, we cannot return to our current situation. I urge Congress to be sure that reforms move forward.
I think it might help you to know that reaching for federal intervention is unnecessary. We in Utah can make this happen, and by doing so, lead the rest of the nation to sustainable health system reform. You are absolutely right that health insurance is more distressing than disease. The health insurance business model is the problem, it cannot be the solution.
Join the Utah Healthcare Initiative and lets work for a sustainable health system in the Beehive State.
Dr. Joe Jarvis
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A phase I trial and pharmacokinetic study of aflibercept (VEGF Trap) in children with refractory solid tumors: A Children's Oncology Group Phase I Consortium Report
Clinical Cancer Research,
Bender JG et al. – The aflibercept MTD in children of 2.5 mg/kg/dose every 14 days is lower that the adult recommended dose of 4.0 mg/kg. This dose achieves, but does not sustain, free aflibercept concentrations in excess of bound. Tumor pain and hemorrhage may be evidence of anti-tumor activity, but were dose-limiting.Methods
- Cohorts of 3-6 children with refractory solid tumors received aflibercept intravenously over 60 minutes every 14 days, at 2.0, 2.5 or 3.0 mg/kg/dose.
- PK sampling and analysis of peripheral blood biomarkers were performed with the initial dose.
- 21 eligible patients were enrolled; 18 were fully evaluable for toxicity.
- One of 6 patients receiving 2.0 mg/kg/dose developed dose-limiting intra-tumoral hemorrhage and 2 of 6 receiving 3.0 mg/kg/dose developed either dose-limiting tumor pain or tissue necrosis.
- None of the 6 patients receiving 2.5 mg/kg/dose developed DLT, defining this as the MTD.
- The most common non-dose limiting toxicities were hypertension and fatigue.
- Three patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatoblastoma and clear cell sarcoma had stable disease for >13 weeks.
- At the MTD, the ratio of free to bound aflibercept serum concentration was 2.10 on day 8, but only 0.44 by day 15.
- A rapid decrease in VEGF (p<0.05) and increase in PlGF (p<0.05) from baseline was observed in response to aflibercept by day 2.
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AQA GCSE English Language & English Literature
Series Editor: Steve Davies
Authors: John D Clare, Helen Clyde, Mike Devitt, Shelley Etheridge, Sarah Forrest, Robert Francis, Joanna Haffenden, Chris Hawkes, Linda Hill, Sharon McCammon, Kathryn Simpson
More about the authors...
Everything you need for success in the new AQA specifications for English, English Language and Literature…
Differentiated Student’s Books for Foundation and Higher - approved by AQA
"We have been very impressed by the clarity of the teacher’s support materials and the effort the publishers have gone to to differentiate the material. The texts are interesting and contemporary and are supported by the online software which we have also bought. We are integrating lesson plans and resources into our new GCSE schemes of work – why re-invent the wheel?"
Nick Spalding, Head of English, St Mary's Catholic School, Bishop's Stortford
- Detailed guidance on preparing for the Controlled Assessment tasks
- An exact match to the new specification
- Unrivalled support for lower ability students
- High quality digital resources that support the printed material
- Written by an experienced author team of senior examiners, controlled assessment advisors and practising teachers
View the course guide for more information.
See for yourself how we'll be helping you with Controlled Assessment - download free sample Controlled Assessment support material based on the AQA specimen tasks.
Download a FREE guide to the new specifications from Steve Davies, an Assistant Principal Examiner for GCSE English.
AQA GCSE English Language & English Literature covers all the specification content from both options – giving you real value for money.
|The Teacher’s Resource Book (approved by AQA):
The Teacher’s Resource Book provides detailed guidance on how to use the course for maximum effect. Particular attention has been paid to the inclusion of support for teachers delivering Controlled Assessment and to those offering the new English Language specification. The book also includes fully differentiated activities and assessment tasks to support both Foundation and Higher Tier students. The accompanying free disc has editable worksheets as well as versions of texts used in the book for students to work with.
More about the Teacher’s Resource Book...
Download the introduction...
Dynamic Learning provides support resources to help students learn in a stimulating and appealing way. Personal Tutor presentations and interactive tasks assist students with independent study, whilst video clips and audio files enhance the content of the course. Web links and additional downloadable worksheets provide information on the context of many of the texts and authors included in the course materials. There is also plenty of support for teachers with links to the specifications and sample assessment material. Content will be updated to ensure it addresses the latest Controlled Assessment tasks.
Sign up for a free trial now!
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The Tweens News | English
Oily skin is the hardest to take care of, especially when you are prone to breakouts.
Today we are going to share with you how to treat oily skin with a cheap and easy product: cucumber.
Many people don’t know it, but cucumber calms, cleans and gives valuable nutrients to skin.
If you have red skin patches, acne, oily skin or blackheads, cucumber can help.
How? Write down this cucumber wash recipe and use it alongside your regular facial cleansers.
Liquify a cucumber in a blender or food processor along with one glass of non-fat milk. Blend with the peel and all because the peel has the most vitamins. Then, with a cotton ball, apply the mix to your face, especially in problems areas. Let the mix do its magic for 15 minutes and then remove it with warm water.
Always remember that after a treatment such as this you need to wash your face with facial soap and apply your moisturizer.
Please share this news with your friends and family!
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How far can you expect to get on a single litre of fuel?
How far can you expect to get on a single litre of fuel?
It qualifies as the slowest race I’ve ever competed in: drain the fuel tank of a diesel-engined Volkswagen Polo, tip back in a single litre of fuel, and then nurse it along to discover how far you can get.
The German car maker this week attempted an unusual experiment to introduce the Australian motoring media to its fuel economy hero, the Polo 66TDI Comfortline, powered by a not-so-small 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine.
Stick to quiet rural roads and set the cruise control, however, and officially fuel use will fall to 4.0L/100km, which is even better.
But Volkswagen has thrown out a pretty big challenge to us. We’re to pick up our little Polo at Melbourne’s airport, and drive it as fuel-efficiently as we can around a 44-kilometre loop that involves intersections, roundabouts, steep hills and sweeping cuttings.
Making it even more difficult is the realisation that Drive’s Melbourne team has sent its ... ahem ... biggest-boned representative along for the ride. Considering I alone account for almost a 10th of the Polo’s weight before I get in it, I reckon I’m already at a slight disadvantage.
There’s a little relief, then, when former Australian Rally Championship driver Ed Ordynski tells me that the best fuel-use run for the morning, which reeled in about 35 kilometres before conking out on the roadside, was set by the heaviest driver.
Ordynski is probably better known for burning fossil fuels than conserving them. During his rallying career, he says it was quite normal to see fuel use soar as high as 75L/100km during competition, although tooling along the road in between stages his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo would drop to a less jaw-dropping 7.5L/100km.
Ordynski is here for two reasons; to make sure we’re absolutely clear about not cheating by switching off the engine if we’re caught in traffic, and to give us a few pointers about how to drive economically.
Basically, he tells us, the main reason someone will go the furthest distance is all down to luck, mostly in the first 100 metres of the car park. Driving out of the airport, there’s a chance you can get caught up by a long line of passing taxis, while two sets of fuel-sapping traffic lights sit between us and the open road.
Avoid them, he says, and I’m in with a chance.
We depart rally-style, with take-offs coinciding with a spotter who lets us know when the nearest set of traffic lights is in our favour. Ordynski is in the car behind me as I see the signal to go, fire up the engine and almost instantly pop the clutch in second gear to take advantage of the diesel’s pulling power that rivals that of a much larger petrol engine.
Straight away, things start to go pear-shaped. As I nose out of the car park, a stream of taxis flow across the bit of road I’m aiming to join — nothing for it but to tap the brakes and slow right down.
A gap appears, and I’m out on the road to Sunbury, chugging slowly out of the airport under a featherweight throttle as I let revs rise to about 1200rpm before snatching the next gear up.
The road forms a single lane, and very soon there’s a queue of cars behind me as I build speed as slowly as I can. Before too long there’s the telltale flash of headlights, so I’m forced to squeeze the throttle a bit more and get up near the 100km/h speed limit to appease the growing conga line. I’m cursing them, though, as much as I’m sure they’re cursing me.
A lazy run to the first roundabout is an opportunity to experiment a bit with the Polo and work out that there’s no benefit in letting the car look after the hills on its own account.
Once the engine starts to stall, the Polo’s electronic nerve centre will inject more fuel into the cylinder, delivering more power to keep the engine alive but at the expense of a fuel use figure jumping as high as 15.0L/100km.
It’s better, then, I work out, to invest in a light throttle on the downhill sections to help the Polo climb the gentle slopes on the other side. If I do this, I can keep fuel use on the uphill sides to below 10.0L/100km.
After an ugly start, I’m now having a dream run. The roundabout is a lazy curve and free of traffic, and a long, straight section of rural road means I can chug along in fifth gear at 60-odd and get my race face on.
In this instance, my race face looks a little red, sweaty and grim. In the interests of conserving fuel, I’ve switched off the radio and air-conditioning despite the blazing sun, so I’m starting to get a little hot and bored.
Cracking the driver’s window a little helps with the heat. A steep cutting — the first significant topographic obstacle I’ve faced in the first 10 kilometres — helps with the boredom.
Once again, the Polo is smarter than I am. I could easily pop the clutch and use the brakes to regulate speed while coasting down the steep, sweepingly curved decline, but the engine has a cut-off system that stops feeding fuel into the engine when it’s not needed.
I’m better off, then to use a combination of the engine’s compression and the brakes to slow the car down for corners, and use a little throttle-induced momentum to get up the other side.
I’d rather not talk about the climb. For the economy racer, it was akin to having your heart ripped out of your chest. Let’s just say the fuel-use indicator climbed to figures more representative of summer heat than ideal beer-consumption temperatures. You get the idea.
About the 20-kilometre mark dishes up a T-intersection. The grass has grown quite high on the road margins, so despite the give-way sign a safe turn requires an almost complete stop.
Not long after, Ordynski appears in his car and flashes past. It may be five years since he last raced competitively, but it looks as though the need to get in front is still much stronger than the need to conserve fuel.
It pays off as the odometer ticks over the 30-kilometre mark. Not long into it, Ordynski is pulled over on the side of the road, his litre fully expended.
Pressing on with a growing sense of Toyota Prius-like smugness, the kilometres climb higher and higher. I’m nervous as I reach, then pass, the best distance of the earlier competitors.
Tragically, I take a wrong turn at a roundabout. It’s simply fixed by completing a U-turn, but I’ve had to expend more precious fuel idling on the side of the road waiting for a gap in the traffic, and then building momentum from a complete stop.
The next think I know, and I’m past the 40-kilometre mark and in sight of the airport. I pass another competitor on the side of the road near the northern end of the runway, and the excitement builds. I’m going to make it all the way back!
Again, there’s now a long snake of traffic trailing out behind me. I’m forced to coax the little Polo along using the throttle as I hit 90km/h.
What was that? Did the Polo just give a little hiccup? I can see the sign saying ‘‘Airport’’ spearing off the left of the Sunbury road, but I’m now a little worried that it may be a turn too far.
The road dips down and then sweeps right to a fairly short but steep climb into the airport access road, the car park and the finish line.
As I come down, the little Polo gives a cough and the engine dies. It’s as far as I’ll be going today — I’m now into survival mode, trying to coax the car across two lanes of traffic as it rapidly loses momentum.
The blue ute behind me offers a few words of encouragement — ‘‘What are you doing, you d**khead?’’ — as I hit the hazard light switch, make room and swing left to the kerb travelling on nothing but hope and momentum.
I’m less than 500 metres away from the destination. After travelling 43.47 kilometres on its equivalent of a small milk carton of fuel, this last hill proves a challenge too far.
I’m not the winner. A lone car covered the extra few hundred metres to the finish line, running out of fuel only when its driver went to nurse it back into its original parking spot.
The cruel hand of fate, then, has decided that on this day, Ed Ordynski and I will not be winners.
However, If I’d kept going with the Polo’s 65-litre tank full, and assuming the same 2.3L/100km fuel use rate as our test, I could theoretically drive the smallest VW from Melbourne to Cairns without needing a single refuel.
I could never do that, though. Just like Ordynski, I’ll probably always give in to the temptation of wanting to be first past the line.
Volkswagen Australia donated $10 for every kilometre travelled during the Polo One-Litre Challenge to Queensland flood relief.
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This one-month experiment, that we have named “Expedition La Sagra”, is almost over. Three more nights and the airplane from Granada will depart again with, I think, two happy students on board. For us at OLS this experiment was something new, but it turned out as a huge success. I am therefore sure that it was only the first one with many more to come in the near future.
Aleksandar and Stefan made good use of their stay at OLS by improving their skills in observational techniques and data reduction methods. After a short time of orientation, they worked completely independent – planning the observations, controlling all telescopes and reducing the images the next day. We hope that this knowledge will help them when they enter University life at Zurich, where they begin to study Astrophysics this fall.
For OLS it was a benefit as well. We saw in this long dark run how well certain telescope/CCD combinations work for asteroid and comet surveying and we will use this knowledge to improve the systems further. It will also influence our decisions once new hardware has to be selected for purchase, in order to extend our capabilities in Solar System work.
Up to now this July campaign has a total of 60 credited asteroid discoveries. The most interesting finding was our discovery of the Mars Trojan 2007 NS2. It is only the fourths known Mars Trojan so far and several newspapers did report about the discovery. However all of them missed the real story behind the story, i.e. the fact who discovered it.
I think it is not uninteresting to point out that this discovery was achieved practically by two 19 year old high school graduates within an educational project. And the fact that this object awaited its discovery for decades, being well observable each year, but all professional asteroid surveys failed to discover it. For me these discovery circumstances are the really big news, not just the pure fact that it was found…
Beside the Mars Trojan, a few other interesting discoveries could be achieved, even if not nearly as important. The objects designated 2007 NL2 and 2007 OU6 turned out to be new Jupiter Trojans. 2007 OU6 however needs more tracking data because our orbital calculations show that other orbital types can’t be excluded yet. To be more precise, we get a cometary orbit with very large semimajor axis and eccentricity for it, that fits the available observations better than a Jupiter Trojan solution. Only new data in the next days will tell however.
Below I’ve added two plots that show the situation in the inner Solar System on July 14 midnight UT. The first plot shows the planets up to Mars and the four known Mars Trojans. One of them, (121514), is in the Lagrangian point (well, rather region) L4, while the other three including our 2007 NS2 are in L5.
The second plot shows the planets up to Jupiter and all its Trojans that are known so far. Two objects are marked with white circles. The one closer to Jupiter is 2007 NL2, which very certainly is a Jupiter Trojan. The other one is 2007 OU6 which is suspected to be a Jupiter Trojan as well, but which could still turn out to be a comet on a very elliptical orbit, being just by coincidence close to Jupiter’s L4 cloud at the moment. We will know more in a couple of days.
Finally I’d like to thank the entities that run OLS for supporting this educational experiment. Salvador Sanchez, director of OAM, for his vital support that made this expedition possible at all. Jose Luis Ortiz and Pablo Santos Sanz of IAA, for their organisational help before and during the expedition as well as for their visits to OLS for introducing Aleksander and Stefan to the hard- and software. Jaime Nomen and Juan Rodriguez of OAM, who helped with data reduction and follow-up observations. And last but not least I wish to thank Senor Arturo and Amancio, the owners of the Ressort Collados de La Sagra, for their hospitality. Without the great cuisine at Collados, the long stays on the mountain would be much less convenient
Beside these OLS entities, I’d like to thank Lutz D. Schmadel of the Astronomisches-RechenInstitut Heidelberg for his effort trying to find additional old precovery observations of 2007 NS2. And for allowing me to schedule my day-job at the ARI so flexible that I can “escape” to Spain and Croatia frequently for such projects
OAM Observatories and ARI-Heidelberg
Top picture (from left to right): Stefan and Aleksandar Cikota
Bottom picture (from left to right): Jaime Nomen, Reiner Stoss, Jose Luis Ortiz, Pablo Santos Sanz, Salvador Sanchez, Nicolas Morales (currently at CASLEO – Cerro Burek) and Juan Rodriguez
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Pingyao Ancient City Tours
The ancient city of Pingyao is an outstanding example of an ancient Ming and Qing Dynasty city. Despite the passage of time, this ancient Chinese city has survived intact, as it was 600 years ago. Pingyao is the only well preserved Ming and Qing Dynasty city in China. Of particular interest are the imposing buildings associated with banking. Pingyao was the major banking center for the whole of China in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Pingyao was first built in Xizhou dynasty, and it has a history of about 2700 years. It is a town that is completely constructed according to the traditional planning ideas and layout pattern of the Han people. In 1997, Pingyao was listed as a World Culture Heritage site by UNESCO.
The ancient town of Pingyao is made up of four main streets, eight narrow streets, and 72 alleys. It takes on the eight diagrams design of the tortoise shell and streets and alleys are interlaced in a perfect order. The elegant buildings are in succession and the dense enclosures echoes closely. The streets are not wide. With the disturbances of two hundred years, this ancient town has seen a lot, but its soul is always there. There are deep track marks on every threshold of the old shops. You can imagine how busy and heavy the traffic was. There used to be chariots and horses from every part of China. They carried money, risks, pride, and all the customs and dialects of China. They also helped to direct and carry out the national economy of the southern and northern parts of the imperial realm.
Of its many historical and cultural sights, the Pingyao City Wall is a must-see. The City Wall in Pingyao was first built in 827 B.C. In the early days of Ming Dynasty, in order to prevent the enemies from invading, all the cities in China began to build the City Wall to defend themselves. The City Wall in Pingyao was also built at that time. At the beginning period of the Qing Dynasty (1703), the emperor passed by Pingyao, so the people in Pingyao built especially for him four city gate towers, which made the Pingyao City Wall even more spectacular.
In addition to the ancient city of Pingyao, our tours will also take you outside the city to some of the sprawling mansion/estates used by the Chinese nobility and merchants during the Qing Dynasty. Known as a “civilian Forbidden City”, the Wang Family Compound and the Qiao Family Compound are two exquisite examples of the grand style of courtyard homes. Many famous Chinese movies and TV shows have been here, thanks to the rich historical flavor still pervading throughout the premises.
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As G8 leaders meet in Deauville, we wait to hear what pledges will be reaffirmed, what action will be agreed, and what issues will be avoided.
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), a group of 13 parasitic and bacterial infections, affect more than 1.4 billion of the world's poorest people. These diseases, some of which can kill or cause severe physical impairment, have made it on to the G8 agenda in the past.
For three years running, the G8 member states have made pledges to address NTDs. Even better, some have made positive steps. The UK and US governments, in particular, have strongly supported NTD control. In 2008, the UK government committed £50m towards tackling NTDs and as part of President Obama's global health initiative; $155m has been requested from the US congressional budget for the control and elimination of seven of the NTDs from 2011 to 2015, building on previous commitments.
But, what about the G8 countries yet to act on their commitments?
NTDs produce a burden of disease that may be equivalent to half of sub-Saharan Africa's malaria burden and more than double that caused by tuberculosis. Yet despite the overwhelming need, NTDs represented just 0.6% of total international development assistance for health until 2010.
More frustrating is that for years Sightsavers and many NGOs like us have been showing how effectively these devastating diseases can be treated and controlled. Programmes designed to control NTDs are among the most cost effective in public health, not least because there is a wealth of pharmaceutical companies, among them Merck, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline, willing to donate the drugs to treat them. And trained community members willing to volunteer their time to distribute the drugs to those at risk.
I've seen firsthand how effective these programmes can be. Take for instance a groundbreaking pilot programme recently completed in Zamfara state, Nigeria. Groundbreaking for Sightsavers – as it's the first time it has invested in treating five NTDs together. Groundbreaking for Zamfara – because it's the first time state-wide NTD prevalence mapping has taken place in Nigeria.
This meant that we were not only able to prevent onchocerciasis (river blindness) and trachoma, but also control three other NTDs identified as highly prevalent in Zamfara. The three additional NTDs – schistosomiasis (schisto) also known as bilharzia, soil transmitted helminths (STH), and lymphatic filariasis (LF) – can have devastating impacts on people's lives. Schisto can cause serious damage to internal organs and in children it can impair growth and cognitive development; STH can cause death through anaemia and vitamin A deficiency; and LF, commonly known as elephantiasis, causes severe disfigurement.
Building on our experience in Nigeria, we're developing pilot programmes to combine NTD work with malaria prevention. This is a big step forward in better integrating NTD control within the health system. We hope there may be possibilities of better future integration with the other G8 priority diseases, TB and HIV/Aids.
So why aren't world leaders making this a priority when strategies for controlling many of the NTDs are already proving to be cheap, deliverable, tested and have a strong record of success?
To alleviate poverty for over 1 billion of the world's people and to achieve progress on the health millennium development goals, G8 investment is critical. It is estimated that $2bn-$3bn is needed over the next five to seven years to address seven of the NTDs alone.
We're calling on the G8 countries to direct an increased proportion of international development assistance for health towards NTD control, specifically ensuring funding is allocated to the areas of research, prevention and treatment. Only then can we truly control these diseases of poverty that are devastating lives and communities. Or better still, we could eliminate them.
• Simon Bush is the director of African alliances and advocacy at Sightsavers, an international NGO. He has lived in Ghana since 1999, having spent most of his working life in Africa.
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Lockheed Martin, the company better known for airborne innovation, is developing a way to mine renewable energy that is literally just sitting there in the ocean, waiting for someone to reach out and grab it. The new system, a twist on ocean thermal energy conversion, is considered one of those “disruptive” technologies that could bring about a sea change (sorry, couldn’t resist) in the way ships, robots and other oceangoing equipment power their operations, in addition to providing a steady supply of energy for landlubbers.
Hidden Energy in the Ocean
According to Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Jim Pearce, ocean thermal conversion (OTEC) systems located in tropical waters could generate up to five terawatts of power without affecting the ambient temperature of the ocean. That would be five terawatts of clean, renewable “base” power. Like geothermal, OTEC systems operate continuously and could potentially provide a reliable base of supply to back up intermittent sources like wind and solar (a terawatt is a trillion watts, by the way).
Mining Ocean Thermal Energy
For now, the key to ocean thermal energy is locked away at about 3,000 feet below the surface. In the tropics, the temperature difference between that depth and the surface is about 20 degrees Celsius. The OTEC system would use this naturally available supply of warm and cold water to run a power plant based on Rankine engine technology. Also known as Schoell engines, Rankine engines are external combustion engines in which a piston is moved by cycles of heat and cold.
Corrosion is the Rub for OTEC
One obstacle in the path of a commercially viable, large scale OTEC plant is the cost of a heat exchanger needed to intensify the energy of the warm surface water. Last month, Lockheed shipped a new 20-foot tall heat exchanger to Hawaii for a six month round of testing. The exchanger was constructed using a process called friction stir welding to reduce corrosion. The process, which involves heating metal to a plastic state rather than melting it, has been used successfully on ships and spacecraft. This is its first use on an ocean-going heat exchanger. With another new twist – the use of graphite foam to boost the
Thank You, U.S. Navy
As regular readers of CleanTechnica could probably guess, Lockheed’s OTEC project is yet another example of the U.S. Department of Defense pursuing alternative energy sources under the Obama Administration. Lockheed has been working on the technology since the 1970′s but things really took off after 2009 when the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command awarded Lockheed Martin $12.5 million to develop a pilot plant. The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is also a collaborator on the project.
Image: Courtesy of Lockheed Martin via ORNL.
Follow Tina Casey on Twitter: @TinaMCasey.
Tina Casey specializes in military and corporate sustainability, advanced technology, emerging materials, biofuels, and water and wastewater issues. Tina’s articles are reposted frequently on Reuters, Scientific American, and many other sites. You can also follow her on Twitter @TinaMCasey and Google+.
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Your home needs looking after. If you spot a problem quickly it can often be put right cheaply, but if it is left it may cause a lot of damage which can end up being very expensive to put right. This guide tells you the important things to look for.
Are they leaning or broken?
Is it leaning or are there any damaged bricks? Is the pointing missing or perished?
These prevent the water getting in. Are they slipped or missing?
Are there any broken, missing or slipped slates or tiles?
Are the gutters leaking or are they blocked with leaves or vegetation. Even a small leak will damage bricks, rot wood and cause damp if it is not quickly repaired.
If these are leaking it means that a water tank or toilet cistern is not working properly, these will require fixing quickly before any damage or damp is caused.
If the bricks or mortar joints between the bricks are damaged or crumbling they may allow damp in.
Wood will rot if it is not properly protected with paint or wood stain. Check whether the paint is cracked, loose or peeling.
These help stop the floors rotting by allowing air to circulate underneath.Do not block them with soil or new paving and make sure that they are clear and clean.
Most houses have a waterproof layer to stop rising damp. Make sure that earth or new paving is kept six inches below this or you may get damp.
If there are signs of damp within a property this may be due to property repair or maintenance being required to rectify the issue or it may be due to condensation.
If a property is reported to have an area(s) of damp this will be inspected by a qualified contractor. Should the outcome be that repair or maintenance is required, we shall organise for the appropriate works to be done.
However, should the inspection report findings conclude that the damp is from condensation then this may be due to property neglect on behalf of the tenant. Where possible and if deemed necessary, vents may be fitted to various areas of a room or property to assist with remedying the issue. If the outcome is deemed to be neglect on behalf of the tenant, a suitable remedy will need to be discussed. Please note that if it has been deemed that damp has been caused by neglect of the tenant, any associated costs may be passed on to the tenant and the landlord may seek further action which may result in issues with your tenancy agreement.
To avoid this some tips include, ensuring the heating is put on often enough, opening windows in the bathroom or rooms where condensation usually occurs and not putting wet clothes on the radiators to dry.
When moisture gathers on a window in the form of condensation it gives an indication as to how much moisture is in the air and how much is being absorbed by the surrounding walls. Please be aware that windows may not indicate whether there is moisture in the air or not and you will only find out once the walls of the property have become moist and damp!
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This one’s kind of key. As kids move from one activity to another, the preschool teacher will ask your child to follow simple instructions (like “sit in a circle” or “put the blocks away”).
If you answered no (or thought, “Not consistently!”) don’t give up. Kids are more likely to follow directions when they see their pint-sized peers doing the same thing — and when it’s not a parent doing the asking. In the meantime, you can get him ready for preschool by making a game out of following directions (“Pick up that book and thump on it like a drum. Now spin around and cluck like a chicken. Yay, you did it!”).
2. Is your child able to cooperate and take turns?
In a group setting, your little one will be expected to play nice with others (at least some of the time).
If you answered no, take heart: Preschoolers are still getting the hang of social skills. You can prepare your child by providing plenty of practice at home. For instance, share a muffin, take turns fitting the pieces of a puzzle, or cooperate on a chore like sorting the laundry. Consider stepping up the play dates, too — and emphasize games and activities that encourage teamwork.
3. Is your child potty-trained?
Many (though not all) preschools will require your child to be toilet-trained.
If you answered no, check with the preschools you’re contemplating to find out what their policies are: Do they open their doors only to kids who’ve totally ditched their diapers or will they consider tots who are still training? If they accept toilet trainees, then go ahead and take the plunge — if (and only if) your tot is showing signs of potty-readiness. Don’t force the issue if he’s not ready — you’ll be putting too much pressure on both of you, a scenario that never works out well when it comes to potty training. Keep in mind, too, that accidents happen at preschool, when even well-trained children can become so absorbed in play that they neglect to answer nature’s call.
4. Can your child spend time away from you for a few hours a day?
This one’s a no-brainer: Children who have experience being cared for by a sitter or child-care provider will typically have an easier time separating when preschool starts.
If you answered no, don’t worry. Some kids cling tighter than others, but eventually they all learn to loosen their superglue grip at drop-off time and join the group happily. You can encourage your little barnacle to let go by scheduling some trial separations — for example, a few hours here and there with a loving relative or trusted babysitter.
5. Is your child comfortable around other adults and kids?
Also in the stating-the-obvious department, the more accustomed your child is to being around people outside your family, the more easily he’ll adjust to hanging out with the preschool teacher and other kids.
If you answered no, there’s hope yet for your tiny recluse. Gradually step up your child’s exposure to other adults and kids — invite friends and their offspring over to your house, talk to parents at the playground in his presence, register for a parent-child class, and widen his social circle by arranging play dates.
6. Does your child know how to make decisions?
Preschoolers are expected to make some decisions by themselves (“Shall I play dress-up now or look at books in the story corner?”).
If you answered no, help your child become a decision-maker by offering limited choices whenever possible (“Do you want an apple or a banana for a snack?” “Do you want to wear your blue shirt or green shirt today?” “Would you like to go on the swings first or in the sandbox?”).
7. Is your child used to a structured schedule?
Preschools usually run like clockwork on a regular routine (for example, circle time, snack, free choice, story time, outdoor play).
If you answered no, help your free spirit get ready for preschool by adding some predictability to his day. Begin following a schedule that suits both your needs and his. You can even post the schedule (snack after play, nap after story time) with pictures so he can “read” it (drawing of an apple for snack, blocks for play, bed for nap, books for story time).
8. Does your child have basic self-care skills, such as using zippers and buttons, washing hands, and eating lunch or a snack without help from you?
Preschool teachers and assistants are there to help, but they’ll expect kids to have some practical life skills know-how.
If you answered no, don’t worry — but do get busy teaching your little one some basics. Practice may not make perfect, but it goes a long way. For instance, pack a lunchbox and show your child how to eat from it. Hold back (despite the mess!) and let your little one wash his hands by himself. And set your child up for success by avoiding school clothes with tricky buttons and snaps.
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The Test of English as a Foreign Language (or TOEFL, pronounced "toe-full") evaluates the ability of an individual to use and understand English in an academic setting. It sometimes is an admission requirement for non-native English speakers at many English-speaking colleges and universities.
Additionally, institutions such as government agencies, licensing bodies, businesses, or scholarship programs may require this test. A TOEFL score is valid for two years and then will no longer be officially reported since a candidate's language proficiency could have significantly changed since the date of the test. Colleges and universities usually consider only the most recent TOEFL score.
The TOEFL is administered by Educational Testing Services (ETS) and is conducted at many locations in India, as an internet based test.
The TOEFL is scored on a scale of 0 – 120 and consists of 4 sections:
Reading: Passage reading followed by 36- 70 questions and the duration of the test is 60-100 minutes.
How we can help you? We provide comprehensive training to improve the efficiency in all the four areas of the test. We provide sufficient material for practice.
Test of Spoken English
Test of Spoken English, (T.S.E). is all about mastery in spoken skills in English Language. The passing rate of the test is quite alarming. The rate of student’s passing in the second or the third attempt is high. The end tends to be unsatisfactory if the nears contain flaws. Unlike the IELTS test, the examining body for TSE is entirely non-Indian. One has to speak the kind of English they comprehend.
Mastery in spoken skills of English language is not merely right glossary and grammar but it also is mastery in phonetics, which actually affects the international intelligibility of the language. Many people face difficulty in successfully in this endeavor. At strike the perfect balance. We train you to amalgamate the right usage of phonetics to acquire the accuracy in semantics based on firm grounds of pragmatics. We assist you to express, convey, interpret and communicate the right way.
TOEFL test format
The TOEFL test consists of four modules namely Listening, Structure, Reading and Writing. These four modules test one persons ability to communicate in English language.know how
is best for you?
Our Experts care always ready to help you get to your dream college by following an accurate process of elimination to decide on where to apply so as to increase your probability of admission.know how
GMAT, GRE, SAT, TOEFL, IELTS and Admission and Visa Counselling, but that is not all we do in Wisdom Mart, we don't rest till we see you through to your destined college.know how
GRE, GMAT, SAT, TOEFL, IELTS
Test & Admissions Abroad. Whether its visa guidance, admission counselling, essay/SOP/LOR editing, practice tests, learning procedures, or study material Wisdom Mart is the place to be.know how
with our help
To do well in a TOEFL test requires you to be aware of the fact that there is no shortcut to a high score but there is a smartcut to it. You shouldn't just focus on scoring high, instead focus on better commanding the English language.know how
for GMAT, GRE, SAT, TOEFL, IELTS and experience the difference of study environment in Wisdom Mart. Do not accept life as it comes to you, make it come as you expect it to. Wisdom Mart, your Way to Success.know how
variations in the language
Although there are not much differences between the two main types of English, American English seems to be dominating due to global companies operating are based in US, and movies and TV shows shown globally are also American.know how
6 Full-length tests, 30+ Quizzes, 30+ Practice tests, 200+ Flash Cards, 110+ topics on Quant and Verbal, 1500+ Practice Questions, 1000+ Video Sessions, 30+ counselors, 24X7 access for GRE, GMAT, SAT.know how
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Apply here payday loans
GTherm, Inc. is dedicated to advancing geothermal technology in order to improve the efficiency of harvesting the earth’s energy, reduce the overall cost and timeframe of power plant implementation and diminish further the potential of any environmental impact.
GTherm’s portfolio of patent-pending technologies eliminates many of the limiting factors of current water-based Enhanced Geothermal Systems.
GTherm’s technology utilizes widely available ‘dry hot rock’ geothermal energy, requires very little water, creates no water or air pollution, produces renewable power with a zero carbon footprint and has a very limited visual impact. GTherm technology can be utilized to inexpensively produce a consistent supply of clean, reliable electricity.
The Promise and Challenges of Geothermal Power
Because it represents the only alternative for clean, base load generation of electricity, geothermal power is a highly-desirable form of renewable energy. The earth’s heat is plentiful. The amount of heat contained in just the first two miles (3km) of the Earth’s crust below the continents could supply enough energy to meet the world’s consumption requirements for approximately 100,000 years (EPRI, 2010). Geothermal is a vast, untapped resource; and as innovations in technology unlock its potential, the growth of geothermal power is expected to be exponential.
Until the 1980s, the generation of electricity from geothermal heat was limited to locations containing naturally-occurring, superheated steam and/or water to drive steam turbines. Since the 1980s, a technology called “Enhanced Geothermal Systems” (EGS) has been developed as a way to extract geothermal heat energy from areas without naturally-occurring, superheated steam or water. EGS consists of the injection of large quantities of water into the bedrock of a geothermal resource and the extraction of the superheated return water to power steam turbines. Most of the geothermal power plants developed around the world in the last 30 years have relied on first-generation EGS technology.
Despite the initial promise of EGS geothermal power, its application is limited by several negative environmental impacts which include the following:
• Requirement for large quantities of injection water
Apply here payday loans
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Topic One: The occasion of public festival was an opportunity for display of wealth, power, and honor, and thus particularly coveted by the aristocratic clans. What privileges should the Praxiergidai clan have in the festival of Athena in Thargelion? The clan claims ancestral privileges of draping the statue with a new tunic, supervising and leading the procession to the sea to wash the statue and back to the temple before the festival, and conducting the sacrifices to the Fates, to Zeus leader of Fate, and to Athena protector of the City. Other citizens have suggested that only the privileges of draping the statue and conducting the sacrifice to the Fates are properly the ancestral privileges of the Praxiergidai and that the supervision of the procession and the other sacrifices should be undertaken by officials chosen by lot from those citizens offering to pay the expenses.
Topic Two: As AthensŐ wealth and power grows, the city is able to do more to further her interests in the Mediterranean world. Representatives from Tenos, a Greek city on an Ionian island near Delos in the Cyclades have come to Athens, asking for some help against Persian encroachment. They remind Athens of their common Ionian heritage and point out the dangers of the growing power of Persia. The date is 535 BCE, the Persians have just conquered Phoenicia, and they now have control of the Phoenician fleet. What aid, if any, should the Athenian people give to the people of Tenos? What might the consequences be of helping Tenos or of leaving the island to its fate?
You should prepare to participate in the Council (if you hold office in the Boule) and the Assembly (if you are a citizen) as debate is held on these two issues. Those on the Council will be responsible for drafting measures for the Assembly to approve or reject. The preliminary proposals for such a measure should be posted (and debated) in the online Moodle discussion group. Those who are not in the Boule may not speak in this debate (although they may read the postings). The Boule must vote (via Moodle postings) on proposals to put before the assembly before class on Wednesday, October 10. In class that day, the whole Assembly will debate on both issues (non-citizens may not speak). After the debates are concluded, you should write a brief essay explaining why you voted the way you did in each case and/or what solution you would have preferred to the one adopted and why that would have been preferable (around 2-3 pages each). Make sure to explain your position with regard to your status within Athenian society, your connections or conflicts with other groups in Athens, and your interests in Athenian interaction with other cities. Cite sources, both ancient and modern, to support your arguments, bearing in mind that specific points made with reference to particular facts are always most persuasive. The essays are due before the beginning of class on Monday, October 22.
Basic Guidelines and Recommendations:
1. The papers are due before the beginning of class or at the time our class would begin if we had class on that day. If you need an extension, you must contact me more than 24 hours before the paper is due. As a general rule, the further in advance you contact me, the longer the extension I might be willing to give.
2. The papers should be type-written, double-spaced, with reasonable fonts and margins (e.g., my default font and margin settings are Garamond 12 point with 1 inch margins).
3. Please number the pages and clip, not staple, them together. Please ensure that your name is on at least the first page, if not in a header on every page. Also on the first page should be my name, the course title, the date, and the number of the assignment.
4. Make sure you read the question carefully. Your thesis and main points should be clearly stated and well-supported with citations from the text. Be sure to cite the sources for your information carefully and accurately so that a reader could quickly and easily check your reference. Please cite the book and chapter numbers from the ancient sources (e.g. Herodotus, Thucydides, Diodorus Siculus) for your quotations, not page numbers. Modern references such as Buckley should be cited using the bibliographic conventions found in Buckley's bibliography at the end of his textbook.
5. Please ensure that your paper is free from errors of spelling and grammar. I find such errors terribly distracting. The spell-checker in most word processors is useful, but you should proofread the paper yourself as well. You might try exchanging papers with a classmate and proofreading each other's papers. Another person can often catch the errors you have missed.
6. Not only are late papers anti-social, but they will be penalized unless you have obtained an extension from me before the day on which the paper is due. For every 24 hours the paper is late (including weekend days!), the grade will be lowered by one step (e.g., from 3.7 to 3.3).
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Remembering the Matsui yearsBy
When Hideki Matsui came to America — to New York, to the Yankees — it was a Very Big Deal. When he announced his decision to become an international free agent and test the U.S. market in November of 2002, Ken Belson of The Times piled on the praise. Matsui was Japan’s “most popular and perhaps most talented player,” and it pained him to leave almost as much as it pained the fans who gave the nickname Godzilla to see him go.
”I tried to tell myself I needed to stay here for the prosperity of Japanese baseball,” he said at the time ”but in the end I decided to go with what my gut said. I will do my best there so the [Japanese] fans will be glad I went.” Clearly, Hideki has not disappointed.
From the get-go, the Yankees wanted Matsui. Before he even had a chance to declare free agency, before the Angels and Giants wrapped up their seven-game World Series, the Yankees were rumored to be interested in Matsui. Godzilla, just 28 at the time, had just finished a season for the ages. He hit 50 home runs, drove in 107 and flashed a batting line of .334/.461/.692. No wonder the Yanks, looking for some stability in the outfield and a bat to fill the hole left a year earlier by Paul O’Neill’s retirement, coveted the slugger.
By December, as has happened so many times since, the Yankees got their guy. The Yankees outbid the Orioles and Mets to land Matsui to a three-year, $21-million deal. Today, it sounds like a fleecing. For the Yankees, the investment represented their first in Japan since the glory days of Hideki Irabu, and the team was looking forward to the arrival of their Japanese slugger.
In his first game at Yankee Stadium, Hideki Matsui did not disappoint. On a 35-degree day in mid-April and with the Twins in town, the Yanks had built up a 3-1 lead when Matsui stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. Godzilla crushed a pitch into the right field bleachers for his first career Major League home a run — a grand slam to boot. “That was the greatest moment I ever had,” Matsui said after the game.
The rest of the year would be an up-and-down one for the slugger. Matsui played in every game and hit .287/.353/.435 on the season but launched just 16 home runs. Where, Yankee fans wondered, was the famed Godzilla power? It would return in a big way the next season when Matsui had his best year in pinstripes. He hit .298/.390/.522 with a career high 31 home runs and tried his best to beat the Red Sox in that famed ALCS.
After the 2005 season, the Yankees and Matsui rushed to reach an agreement on a contract extension. As part of the original three-year deal that brought Matsui to the States, the Yanks promised to non-tender him if they could not agree on a new contract in 2005. Just hours before the deadline, Matsui reupped with the Yanks for four years at $13 million a year.
Unfortunately for the Yanks, the new contract started out with an injury. On May 11, in a game against the Red Sox, Matsui tried to make a sliding catch and ended up shattering his wrist. He would miss four months of the year. It was his first stint on the DL during his professional career. The next three years were uneven ones for Hideki. He missed significant time in 2008 with knee problems, but when he was healthy, he could hit with the best of them.
For his Yankee career, Matsui was every bit as good as advertised. Despite missing time over the last three season, he heads west with a career batting line of .292/.370/.482 and a career OPS+ of 124. In 56 playoff games with the Yanks, he hit .312/.391/.541, and Yankee fans will forever remember his effort in the 2009 World Series. The three home runs in 13 at-bats, the eight RBIs, the decisive blows against Pedro Martinez will all live in Yankee lore.
As Matsui heads to Anaheim, reports Ken Belson, the Japanese presence will start to recede from the Bronx. For me, though, it’s more personal. He was a quiet and steady presence on the Yanks who always seemed to come through, and I’ll really miss the guy. He was a stalwart on the Yankees during a World Series drought, and it was fitting that he was the one to take home the MVP award and bring that title to the Bronx in his last season here. I had always figured he would leave after this season, and I’m glad he did it while going out on top. Even as he joins the hated Angels, I’ll be pulling for him, good old Number 55, the former left fielder-turned-designated hitter, Hideki Matsui, Number 55.
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Gardening is a hobby for most people and has become an occupation, not only for professionals, but also for those who enjoy watching their gardens develop into a medium providing solace and relaxation.
Gardening is a hobby for most people and has become an occupation, not only for professionals, but for those who enjoy watching their gardens develop into a medium providing solace and relaxation among flowers and vegetables. It is also a form of exercise for those that are interested in tending their gardens where they must water the rose bushes and plants, as well vegetable patches. A home owner can turn his backyard into a beautiful garden where he can grow vegetables to eat in his own home and flowers to cut and show for beauty.
There are garden clubs whose members raise gorgeous flowers in their communities and win prizes in special flower shows. Vegetables gardens are generally a flat piece of land where the seeds are planted in even rows, far enough apart to walk between them. It is necessary to walk between the rows in order to weed the plants and loosen the soil around the roots. Working around plants and flowers is a form of exercise, not only for the body, but also for the mind.
A flower garden is usually used to beautify the areas around the house. A garden must be well-maintained for it to preserve its aesthetic appearance. Gardeners are fully aware that flowers bloom in spring and at times in early and late summer. Some flowers bloom in the fall. Flowers need “pampering” since they must be routinely tended.
A gardener must be familiar with many aspects of gardening that calls for constant care. He must move around the garden to water the plants, trim, cut and prune, as well as dispose of weeds that can stunt the growth of flowers. The work can be hard, but at the same time, the gardener benefits by the exercise, both mentally and physically.
Gardening is a delightful occupation as well as a source of inspiration. The gardener feels that he or she has a close affinity with Nature in such an environment. Working in a garden is considered to be a beneficial exercise for both, the young and old, as well as a means of relaxation for the mind and body. Similar to walking, gardening can help normalize blood pressure. It also helps the circulation, while it serves to broaden a person’s outlook in life. There is ample opportunity for a person to learn a great deal about the nature of flowers and plants, while being conscious of the nature of his own being from the point of view of health and exercise.
Published in: Gardening
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Pride Parade in Bratislava is disrupted by protesters
24 May 2010 Flash News
Twenty-nine people were arrested by the police in Bratislava on Saturday, May 22, on suspicion of having violated law while protesting against the Rainbow Pride parade planned for the city centre.
One of the organisers of the first-ever gay parade in Slovakia, Peter Weisenbacher, told the TASR newswire that they were disappointed by the fact that the police failed to prepare for the event with improved security measures. According to him, the parade route wasn't covered well enough by the police, allowing aggressive protesters from radical groups to gather along it.
He added that another route had to be found, as the event was scheduled to cross the Danube River to the Bratislava borough of Petržalka where an 'afterparty' took place on Saturday night. But in the end, the parade took place and people moved to Petržalka across the New Bridge (Nový Most).
Around a hundred protesters against the parade gathered in Hviezdoslavovo Square early on Saturday afternoon, including dozens of supporters of the People's Party-Our Slovakia, a political party led by former leaders of extremist movement Slovenská Pospolitosť (Slovak Togetherness). Several attempts to disrupt the Rainbow Pride march took place on the square - such as the throwing of tear-gas canisters, rocks and eggs - some of which resulted in clashes with the police.
Rainbow Pride Bratislava 2010 is being promoted by the organisers as not only meant for gay and lesbians, but for all people who identify themselves with the idea of 'human rights for everyone' and the values of an open society. One of its objectives is to draw attention to the lack of legislation in Slovakia in this sphere.
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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Quote of the Week
“You can call me Tired Joe; I am frustrated that we have been living through the crisis for five years.” Finance Minister Peter Kažimír, speaking after a multi-hour discussion of Slovakia’s 2013-16 Stability Programme.
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When two "queens" meet, expect some whistles and fireworks.
Cunard Line plans a royal rendezvous next month when the modern ocean liner Queen Elizabeth visits the Queen Mary, a former Cunard ship that has been retired for 45 years. The Long Beach landmark, whose art deco cabins now serve as hotel rooms, once sailed the North Atlantic as a sister ship of the Queen Elizabeth from 1947 to 1967.
The deal: The public is invited to stroll onto the Queen Mary for free to watch the historic rendezvous that includes a whistle salute between the two ships, live entertainment and fireworks.
When: The Queen Mary will be open 4 to 9 p.m. March 12 for viewing the ships. The Queen Elizabeth is expected to arrive in Long Beach Harbor at 6:30 p.m. and fireworks begin at 7:30 p.m.
Details: The thoroughly modern Queen Elizabeth is the newest Cunard ship and the second to bear the royal name. It was launched in 2010. Cunard says it's the first time the two ships have met since 1967 when the Queen Mary and the original Queen Elizabeth passed each other on transatlantic voyages. The Queen Mary 2 visited its namesake in 2006, and the Queen Victoria visited in 2011.
Contact: The Queen Mary
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H. B. 2382
(By Delegates Mezzatesta and Williams)
[Introduced January 17, 2003; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend
article four, chapter eighteen-a of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
two-b, relating to education; high quality educational
programs; professional personnel; national certification and
comparable credential; standards; salary supplement; expense
reimbursement; limitations; rules; and report.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
article four, chapter eighteen-a of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section two-b,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. SALARIES, WAGES AND OTHER BENEFITS.
§18A-4-2b. State minimum salary supplement for nationally
certified professional personnel.
(a) The Legislature finds that professional personnel who meet
the requirements for national certification are highly trained and
capable employees who provide needed services to the students of
this state. The purpose of this section is to create an incentive
for all professional personnel to increase their professional
knowledge and skills by providing an additional statewide
supplement to professional personnel who hold national
certification by the national board for professional teaching
standards, or a comparable credential as determined by rule of the
state board of education.
(b) For any category of professional personnel for which
national certification is not provided through the national board
for professional teaching standards, the state department of
education shall examine the standards and requirements to attain
national certification in that profession. The department shall
determine the quality of standards for that national certification.
If the standards and requirements are not equivalent to the
standards of the national board for professional teaching
standards, the department shall develop standards that are
equivalent to those of the national board for which a comparable
credential may be attained through the state department.
Achievement of the comparable credential qualifies the professional
personnel for the annual salary supplement and reimbursement as
provided in this section.
(c) In addition to any amounts prescribed in the applicable
state minimum salary schedule, each employee included in
professional personnel who holds national certification or other
credential as provided in this section, must be paid an annual
salary supplement of two thousand five hundred dollars. The
(1) In addition to any amounts prescribed in the applicable
state minimum salary schedule;
(2) To be made in equal monthly installments;
(3) To be considered a part of the state minimum salaries for
(4) To continue for the life of the certification, or for ten
years for any one certification, whichever first expires.
(d) Professional personnel who attain national certification
or comparable credential under the provisions of this section are
eligible for reimbursement of expenses actually incurred in
attaining the certification or credential. Reimbursement is
obtained through application to the state department, and is
limited to one half of the certification fee paid by the applicant,
and an additional six hundred dollars in incurred expense as
approved by the state department.
(e) The state board shall establish by rule, in accordance
with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of
this code, the process and standards for achieving a comparable credential as provided in this section. The board shall report the
rule to the legislative oversight commission on education
accountability by the January, two thousand four, legislative
interim meeting period, and shall report on its progress in
developing the rule to the commission during each prior interim
(f) Payment of the supplement and reimbursement provided for
in this section is subject to legislative appropriation therefore,
and is limited to one hundred professionals per year in any one
category of professional personnel. Nothing in this section
requires any appropriation, or any specific level of appropriation,
by the Legislature.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
supplements of $2,500 and expense reimbursements to professional
personnel who meet certain professional national certification
standards, and to require the state board of education to develop
equivalent qualifying standards for professional fields where none
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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Basic Definitions in TrackStudio
One of the most important features of TrackStudio is the hierarchical organization of tasks as well as users. The parameters (workflows, categories, and permissions) for upper layers of hierarchy are inherited by the lower layers of hierarchy. Besides, child objects can have additional parameters, not inherited from parents.
Workflows are used for determining the life cycle of tasks in TrackStudio. They enable the setting of user permissions for changing the state of task and contain the set of properties: priorities, types of user notes, steps between the states and custom fields.
Operations are intended for changing the state of task, assigning the assignee, time tracking and adding the comments. Every executed operation has a submitter, create (execution) time and type. Depending upon the type of operation, the task is transferred from one state to another, or it remains in the same state. For executing the operation, the user must have the corresponding permission.
Categories determine the types of tasks in TrackStudio, and also the relationsbetween them. While creating categories, it is necessary to select the workflow, which will reflect its policy, list of permitted sub-categories for it and permission to view, delete and edit the tasks for different groups of users. In other words, the categories, in contrast to workflows, define not the life cycle of tasks, but they define the limitations and rights of users for their usage.
Roles of users are used for distributing the responsibilities of users, taking part in the project. One user may have several roles in one as well as in different projects.
Filters are used for selecting and sorting the tasks and users, corresponding to particular categories. Like other objects in TrackStudio, filters are also inherited from higher layers to the lower layers thereby saving a lot of time for configuring the projects. For example, one may create a filter which will show the list of tasks solved during the week. If this filter is executed for the root project, we get the list of tasks solved during the week by all the users in all the sub-projects during that week (considering that the function of deep search has been included in the filter). If the same filter is executed for a sub-project, we get the list of solved tasks in that particular sub-project. Filters can be private and public. Private filters are accessible only to that user, who created them
E-mail Notifications are used for the purpose of informing the users about the changes in the tasks which concern them. For example, the reader may get an email notification when the task concerning him has been solved.
Filter Subscriptions are intended for periodically informing the users about the state of their concerned tasks.
Scripts are used for computing the custom fields and for defining the triggers (trigger – is a special script, which gets automatically actuated before, in place of or after the change of task). Java-like language (Beanshell) is used for writing the scripts, which enables to solve the tasks of different complexities: from simple mathematical operations with task fields to implementing the rigorous algorithms for processing the data using cycles and branching. You can also write scripts directly in Java, then compile them independently and use them in TrackStudio in the compiled form.
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Safe Money is "The Money You Can Not Afford to Lose"
For terminology you do not understand please visit our terminology page
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of keeping your money safe? Most people automatically think of the banks. Keep this in mind as you read further: Banks offer minimal growth to your money; while annuity rates allow for earning potential to be much greater. The banks are not the only place for your safe money and they are not the safest place either. If you are not keeping up with inflation, you are losing money..... Over the past several years our economy has gone through some major changes, most of which have affected the majority of Americans’ retirement accounts. Fixed Annuities are a great way to counter the negative economic situation financially through education.
A safe Money Alternative:
A Fixed Index Annuity (FIA) is a fixed annuity with an interest rate that is linked to the performance of a stock index (S&P500 or NASDAQ for example). The annual credited interest rate can increase depending on the market index but can never be less than zero should the market decline. A fixed index annuity offers safety of principal, a guaranteed minimum return, and the ability to participate in market gains through an index-linked interest rate. A fixed index annuity has many features such as participation rates, interest rate caps, and potential administration fees. There are also many methods used to calculate and credit interest such as the point-to- point, high-watermark, averaging, and annual reset indexing methods. Features and indexing methods directly affect a fixed index annuity's potential return.
A fixed index annuity can be described as a hybrid of fixed annuities and variable annuities, having some characteristics of both, and falling in between regarding the potential for return and levels of risk. With traditional fixed annuities, the annuity issuer guarantees the rate of return. Investors in fixed annuities elect safety of principal and guaranteed returns over market risks and the potential for higher returns. With a variable annuity, the rate of return varies according to the performance of the investments you choose from those offered by the issuer. With the exception of a guaranteed sub account, variable annuities do not offer any guarantees on the performance of the sub-accounts. You assume all the risk related to those investments including the risk of losing principal. In return for assuming this greater amount of risk, investors in variable annuities have a greater potential for growth in earnings. A fixed index annuity takes the middle ground, offering limited downside risk balanced by limited upside potential for returns.
They offer safety of principal and, generally, a minimum rate of return if the fixed index annuity is held for the full term.
Who Buys a Fixed-Index Annuity?
People purchase a fixed index annuity because they are not satisfied with the returns from their CD’s and annuity rates that are fixed, and don't have the time for the stock market.
If you have sufficient time to recover from potential losses, direct stock market investments should give you a higher return than a fixed index annuity. However, if your time frame is too short to recover from a potential bad market, or you simply don't like the idea of possibly losing principal, a fixed index annuity are used as an alternative saving vehicle to bank instruments, fixed rate annuities, bonds and mutual funds. If you can wait on the funds and still need the investment to be fixed, try a deferred annuity.
Are all Index Annuities the Same?
No. Index annuities have different penalties for early withdrawal, may offer different options for indices, and one index annuity probably credits interest at a different rate from another.
Some index annuities credit interest each year, some wait until the end of a longer period, some average the index values, others set a cap or maximum on the interest that may be paid, and some guarantee all of the fees or moving parts will not change, while others have the flexibility to adjust. What this means is one company could offer 100% participation in their way of calculating interest, and still credit less interest than another company that participates in 60% of a different method. Or, a company with a 3% asset fee could pay more than another company quoting a 0% fee.
Are Fixed Index Annuities Safe?
The simple answer to the question presented above is, "Yes!" Both principal, annuity rates, and credited interest are protected from index declines, so the worst thing that could happen is the stock market drops for years, and you still get back your principal plus a little interest. If you took advantage of a deferred annuity, then you can allow the investment to grow tax deferred. The fixed index annuity is as safe as the insurance company issuing it. States and independent rating firms examine financial books of insurance companies on a regular basis. They make sure that there is enough money to cover everything, which is why you rarely hear of an insurance company going bust. If a company did go out of business, other insurance companies would assist with the fixed index annuity contracts of the troubled company. Also, every state has a guarantee fund to dip into and protect annuity contract owners, within certain limits.
How are Fixed Index Annuities different from other fixed annuities?
A Fixed-Index Annuity is different from other fixed annuity contracts because of the way it credits interest to your annuity's value. Fixed annuities only credit interest calculated at a rate set in the contract. Fixed index annuities credit interest using a formula based on changes in the index to which the annuity is linked. The formula decides how the additional interest, if any, is calculated and credited; how much additional interest you get and when you get it depends on the features of your particular annuity. The Fixed-Indexed Annuity, like other fixed annuities, also promise to pay a minimum interest rate. The rate that will be applied will not be less than this minimum guaranteed rate even if the indexed-linked interest rate is lower. The value of your annuity also will not drop below a guaranteed minimum. For example, many single premium contracts guarantee the minimum value will never be less than 90 percent of the premiums deposited, plus at least 3% in annual interest (less any partial withdrawals taken during the contract period). The minimum guaranteed value is the minimum amount available at the end of the term.
How Do Fixed-Index Annuities (FIAs) Work?
As with fixed annuities and variable annuities, a Fixed Index Annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company, in which you pay premiums and the issuer promises to make periodic payments to you in the future.
You can pay premiums in one lump-sum or in installments over time. What makes a fixed index annuity unique is that they offer a minimum guaranteed interest rate, but allow for the possibility of higher earnings by linking the interest rate calculation to the performance of an equity index. Interest is calculated using a formula based on changes in the index. The terms of the Fixed Index Annuity contract dictate how interest is calculated and when it is calculated.
How do I know which Fixed-Indexed Annuity is best for me, and make the best product decision?
As with any other insurance product, you must carefully consider your own personal situation and how you feel about the choices available. No single annuity design may have all the features you want. It is important to understand the product benefits and trade-offs, so you can choose the annuity that is right for you. Keep in mind that it may be misleading to compare one annuity to another unless you compare all the other features of each annuity. You must decide for yourself what combination of features makes the most sense for you. Also remember that it is not possible to predict the future behavior of an index. If you feel a fixed index annuity may be right for your situation; consulting with a trusted Safe Money Advisor will make product selection and the accomplishment of your goals a much simpler process.
Since interest is based on an index, isn't this similar to a variable annuity?
No, if a variable annuity account goes down, you could lose principal. Index annuity principal is protected from market risk - you can't lose principal if the index declines. Variable annuity gains are not locked in. Once index-linked interest is credited in an index annuity it can not be lost, even if the index declines substantially. Variable annuities also include reinvested dividends but neither the index nor index annuities reflect reinvested dividends.
So Do I Get All Of The Index Gains?
No. As you have annuities explained to you, you learn that it costs the insurance company to provide this protection against loss. This means that you will not fully participate in all of the gains when the market goes up and you will not lose principal in a falling market.
What are some of the Pros to FIAs?
What are some of the Cons to FIA's?
What kind of interest will I earn?
Index annuities are designed to provide a return somewhere between stock market vehicles and savings instruments, or somewhere between mutual funds and CDs. Because interest is linked to movements of an index, there could be periods when the index annuity credits double digit interest rates, and years when zero is credited. Index annuities were created with the intention of providing a more realistic potential for higher interest rates than other instruments that protect principal from market risk.
Urgent...Questions You Need to Ask Your Financial Advisor Or Insurance Company Before Making Any Financial Decisions?
The diversification of your money is one of the most important concepts to understand within your financial plan.
If you feel a fixed index annuity may be right for your situation; consulting with a trusted Safe Money Advisor could make product selection and the accomplishment of your goals easier and more beneficial. Call 877-GROW-SAFE (476-9723)
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|
I want to blink an led using the 'timer' peripheral on atmega8. But the delay between switching of the led is to be determined by an analog voltage applied on port C 5.
The program attached is to do the following function-
1. Initialise the ADMUX register to use port C 5 as input of analog voltage, with Aref as the reference voltage.
2. Initialize the timer0 on the chip to start counting
3. Enclose adc start in single conversion mode in a while loop
4. A variable 'volt' stores the result of the a/d conversion (only ADCH is read, last 2 lsb's are ignored)
5. The Timer0 Overflow interrupt, when triggered, switched the adc interrupt off, reads value of 'volt' and appropriately sets the delay period of the led switching
But this isnt working. Can you tell me where i made a mistake?
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Just a couple days ago, I encountered an issue with having to serve a rails app over SSL from a local development environment. Unfortunately the localhost was a windows machine, so using passenger wasn’t much of a choice. I found several good articles talking about how to do this, however they didn’t work for me. The one that got me the closeset was from a post at zunisoft.com (thanks Keith!).
I believe the issue I had was that the articles I was referencing were nearly a year old, and probably used an older version of rails. I took a look at the server script that others proposed, vs the latest server.rb file (and hence rails’ server command.rb file) that is used in 2.3.x rails applications; and I believe the difference comes down to the changes in rails’ underpinnings to being rack based and how the webrick server & rails envirionment is setup and configured.
I first cracked open the ‘script/console.rb’ file from my app:
require File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../config/boot'
Turns out that, it isn’t too helpful, as the bulk of the logic exists somewhere else. Turns out if you freeze your rails gems, it’s in: ‘vendor/rails/railties/lib/commands/server.rb’. If you don’t freeze your gems, it’ll be in: $GEMS_HOME/gems/rails-2.3.x/lib/commands. This file’s a bit large to post here, but for discussion’s sake here’s a link to it on github.
After reviewing the file, I found I needed to add values into the options hash, but there didn’t seem an easy way to make that happen. Since I was short on time, I took the path of least resistance – I copied commands/server.rb and created a file in scirpts/ssl_server.rb. For reference, here is a copy of the ssl_server script file I am running.
There are three notable changes I made:
- Modified port to be 443 (to simplify testing)
- Added options values for SSLEnable, SSLVerifyClient, SSLCertName
- Removed block that determines server and forces the use of webrick
One last thing to note, in our scenario we needed to have mixed traffic over both 80 and 443. In order to accomplish this, I borrowed a suggestion from the 81electric blog, and ran both the ssl_server and standard server scripts at the same time – maybe not elegant, but simple!
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|
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| 0.930918
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|
Oct 26 2012
Councils have urged ministers to give them powers to check on academies to prevent standards from slipping.
Around 2,300 schools in England now have academy status, including half of secondaries, according to the latest figures from the Department for Education (DfE). Responsibility for their performance lies with the DfE.
But the Local Government Association (LGA) said they were concerned that as the number of academies grows, it will become more difficult for central government to monitor them - putting standards at risk.
They argue that councils should be put in charge of decisions on funding, improvement and intervention in areas where more than 50% of secondaries have become, or are becoming academies. There are 86 local authority areas where this is the case, the LGA said.
Without local oversight, under-performance in academy schools could be missed, and standards may slip, the association said.
Councillor David Simmonds, chair of the LGA's children and young people board, said: "Once the majority of secondary schools in an area have converted to academies, does the Secretary of State for Education have the capacity to monitor the performance of, and provide support to individual schools?
"We are concerned that by sheer weight of numbers, some academies may be left to fall through the cracks. We are particularly concerned about the majority of recently-converted academies that do not have a sponsor to keep an eye on their performance and step in with support if standards start to decline.
"Councils, with their local knowledge and democratic mandate, are better placed than civil servants in Whitehall to keep an eye on these schools and to spot the early signs of declining performance."
Academies are semi-independent state schools which receive their funding directly and have more control over areas including the curriculum and staff pay and conditions.
A DfE spokeswoman said: "Academies allow heads and teachers on the front line to make their own decisions - rather than local bureaucrats. They are raising standards and improving their results at twice the national average rate. But there can be no excuse for any school letting pupils down. We monitor performance in academies and, where they don't perform well enough, we will take action to make sure they do improve."
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A commentary on the 2nd Amendment [UPDATED]Published 10:03am Thursday, January 24, 2013 Updated 12:07pm Thursday, January 24, 2013
Everyone with a sense of humanity detests seeing families destroyed, and innocent children sacrificed as we witnessed at Sandy Hook School. The argument that reducing the number of guns produces a safer society beguiles the public, promotes politicians and fails to hold wicked people accountable for their actions.
While gun rights supporters assert that the Constitutional Second Amendment right of the people to keep and bears arms is an inalienable individual right just as freedom of speech or religion, and confirmed by the our Supreme Court. Gun opponents assert this right pertains only to collective bodies such as the militia, the military, police or National Guard.
The Washington Post states: “[T]he sale, manufacture, and possession of handguns ought to be banned…[W]e do not believe the 2nd Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep them.
Gun opponents frequently utilize highly-publicized, tragic instances of violence to fortify their confiscation argument saying that guns should be left only in the hands of ‘professionals’. California Senator Diane Feinstein (D) is preparing legislation to outlaw 120 firearms. The ACLU, supports Senator Feinstein, and has stated “[T]he individual’s right to bear arms applies only to the preservation or efficiency of a ‘well-regulated militia.’” Except for lawful police and military purposes, the possession of weapons by individuals is not constitutionally protected.”
Yet, disarming innocent people does not make innocent people safer.
Cabinet Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, even prefers to abandon our Constitution, stating in a speech given at a Washington DC elementary school that “We have common values that go far beyond the Constitutional right to bear arms.”
The Founders of this nation understood that there exists individual inalienable rights and our American government was formed with the sole purpose of safeguarding those inalienable rights. As a nation we are unique in this purpose for government, and the Founders demanded that all office holders swear an oath to ‘protect and defend’ these rights enumerated in our Constitution.
Opponents confuse the Founders original intent to argue that they never intended to allow citizens to be armed with semi-automatic rifles. This common error in constitutional interpretation is failing to examine the Constitution according to its original meaning.
James Wilson, one of only six founders to sign both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, was nominated by President George Washington as an original Justice on the Supreme Court, exhorted: “The first and governing maxim in the interpretation of a statute is to discover the meaning of those who made it.”
The Founders framed the Second Amendment as a certification to protect what was frequently called “the first law of nature”—the right of self-protection, an inalienable right—guaranteed to every citizen individually.
Understanding the Second Amendment’s intention that secures the right “to keep and bear arms,” it is important to establish the source of inalienable rights constitutionally. Constitution signer John Dickenson, like many of the others in his day, defined an inalienable right as a right “which God gave to you and which no inferior power has a right to take away.”
Our Founders believed that it was the duty of government (an inferior power) to protect inalienable rights from encroachment or usurpation. This was made clear by Justice Wilson, while a serving Justice on the Supreme Court; he taught his law students that the specific protections found in our government documents did not create new rights, rather secured old rights – that our documents were merely “…to acquire a new security for the possession or the recovery of those rights…which we were previously entitled by the immediate gift or by the unerring law of our all-wise and all-beneficent Creator.”
Justice Wilson asserted that “…every government which has not this in view as its principal object is not a government of the legitimate kind.”
The Founders understood the basic concept that government is not the source of rights; that self defense is an inalienable right the Second Amendment guarantees; that each citizen is guaranteed the tools necessary to defend their life, family, or property from aggression, whether from an individual or a government.
Richard D. Skidmore is a professor at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. He may be contacted at email@example.com
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Academic highlight: Amar on the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act (VRA) requires that certain states with a history of discrimination in voting obtain preapproval from federal officials before making changes in their voting procedures. The VRA’s supporters argue that this preclearance provision is a lawful exercise of Congress’s powers under the Reconstruction Amendments, while its opponents claim that targeting some states and not others goes beyond Congress’s powers to remedy discrimination — a question that the Supreme Court considered yesterday at oral arguments in Shelby County v. Holder. In a provocative essay in the Harvard Law Review, Professor Akhil Reed Amar argues that the Voting Rights Act’s selective preclearance requirement must be constitutional because the Reconstruction Amendments themselves became law through a similar process of selective preclearance in which some southern states were required to ratify these Amendments to regain their positions in Congress.
Amar’s essay outlines the historical background to the Reconstruction Amendments, focusing on the special conditions that the “ex-gray” states had to meet before they could re-take their seats in Congress. For example, these states had to obtain federal approval for new state constitutions in which they were required to establish race-neutral voting systems, and they were required to ratify the Reconstruction Amendments. In contrast, the northern states were not obligated to abolish racist election practices or ratify the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendments. Although some challenged the constitutionality of these requirements, Congress claimed the authority to force reforms on those states with “dismal democratic track records” under the Constitution’s Republican Government Clause. Amar argues that the same logic justifies Congress’s enactment of the Voting Rights Act a century later. He writes: “If sweeping congressional power to enforce voting rights is somehow unconstitutional, then the Constitution itself is unconstitutional.”
Amar’s essay is interesting and enlightening, but not entirely persuasive. The Constitution itself was drafted through a secretive, and some claim illegal, process, and yet that fact cannot justify legislation enacted using similarly questionable procedures. Nonetheless, the historical parallels between the ratification of the Reconstruction Amendments, in which some states ratified these Amendments pursuant to “selective preclearance” procedures accompanying their readmission, and the selective preclearance required by the Voting Rights Act, remind us that in both cases Congress was responding to democratic crises that would not resolve themselves.
Recommended Citation: Amanda Frost, Academic highlight: Amar on the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act, SCOTUSblog (Feb. 28, 2013, 11:09 AM), http://www.scotusblog.com/2013/02/academic-highlight-amar-on-the-constitutionality-of-the-voting-rights-act/
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Forget bonking, now mobes can buy stuff using pay-by-SQUEAK
Chinese spurn NFC, go for acoustic-coupled modem look
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has launched a mobile wallet app with a more-than-passing resemblance to Apple's Passbook. It enables fandroids to pay each other over the air and squeaks every time it's used.
The new wallet comes from Alipay, the financial arm of Alibaba, which already processes 8.5 million transactions a day for its half-a-billion users. As well as storing credit card details - which can be used in shops via QR Codes, barcodes or the aforementioned squeaking - the Alipay Wallet can handle person-to-person transactions enabling every user to become a merchant.
Few electronic wallets support these peer-to-peer transactions as they are more complicated and harder to secure than the usual customer-to-merchant payments. But P2P is essential if electronic systems are going to replace cash in a significant way so the inclusion in Alipay's app is significant.
The user interface is inspired by Apple's Passbook, and it can store vouchers for money off products and other offers just like its Cupertino rival.
Apple and almost everybody else is waiting for radio-wave-based Near Field Communications (NFC) technology to emerge, enabling pay-by-bonk payments: a suitably equipped phone is waved over or tapped against a till or any other NFC terminal to send its the payee's details so transactions can be completely wirelessly.
However, Alipay is pushing ahead with pay-by-squeak.
Pay-by-squeak requires two devices with the Alipay Wallet installed, which means Android for the moment though an iPhone version is promised. Using the microphone and speaker, the two devices beep to each other until the transfer has been authenticated.
Alternatives include an on-screen barcode or QR Code, read by the cameras on phones running software provided by Alipay, which is the crux of the matter and explains the desire for an early presence in the market.
Stores, even in China, are conservative, and won't invest in payment-accepting hardware unless they're confident it has a long-term future. PayPal's barcode-based system launched last May, but despite boasting four fashionable frock shops at launch it hasn't signed up anyone else since then, demonstrating just how hard it is to get retailers on board. ®
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Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar announced Wednesday that PacifiCorp had reached an agreement with local and state governments in Oregon and California, the federal government, environmental groups and Native American tribes that could bring about the removal of four dams along the Klamath River beginning in 2020.
“This agreement marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Klamath River and the communities whose health and way of life depend on it,” Mr. Salazar said in a statement about the pact, known as the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement.
The dams provide electricity to approximately 70,000 of PacifCorp’s 1.6 million customers in Oregon, California, Washington, Utah and Wyoming.
The pact, which must still be approved by several stakeholders, would be followed by roughly three years of environmental studies. Based on those studies, Mr. Salazar will determine whether the removal of the dams will benefit the fish population and is in the public interest.
If undertaken, it would become the largest dam-removal project in the world, restoring some 300 miles of what had once been the third largest salmon run on the West Coast.
“The draft agreement not only addresses the unique needs of each of these very diverse groups, but also provides a framework for both environmental protection and economic growth in the region,” Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California said in a statement.
PacifiCorp, based in Portland, Ore., has been under pressure for decades to remove the dams, which were built in 1909 and have long been considered a major contributing factor to the decline of the salmon and trout populations in the river. Tearing down the dams, which is expected to cost about $450 million, is a cheaper option than bringing the dams into compliance with federal clean water and fish and wildlife regulations.
“Our top priority has, and continues to be, protecting our customers in terms of cost and liability,” Greg Abel, chairman and chief executive officer of PacifiCorp, said.
More than half of the financing for the project — $250 million — is dependent on voters in California approving general obligation bonds.
Oregon has already approved a surcharge on ratepayers that will bring in $180 million.
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Kings Historical Society
KINGS COUNTY"As the most prosperous part of the whole Acadian country in French times, and as the scene of conspicuous events at the tragical period of the Acadian expulsion, King's County, Nova Scotia, will always have a wider interest for the world than is possible with most rural localities."
Arthur Wentworth Hamilton Eaton, "The History of Kings County"
Kings County was created in 1759, as were the townships of Cornwallis and Horton. It was not until 1770 that the Township of Aylesford was created, being made up of parts of Cornwallis and Horton. All three townships were dissolved in 1879. The town of Kentville was incorporated in 1886, the town of Wolfville in 1893 and the town of Berwick in 1926.
The Kings Historical Society, established in 1978, acquired the near-century old Kings County Courthouse and renovated it so that it could be used as a county museum. This courthouse was the seat of justice and municipal government from 1903 to 1980. The Society provides ongoing administrative and financial support to the Museum.
OUR MANDATETo preserve and promote the cultural and natural history of Kings County for present and future generations.
MEMBERSHIPWe invite you to help support the Kings Historical Society and the Kings County Museum by becoming a member. As a paid up member you will receive 2 newsletters per year, entrance to our Community and Family History Research Centre at no charge (non members are charged $5.00 per day) and photocopying at $.25 per page (non members pay $.40 per page). We also try to keep our members up to date on museum events. Our annual membership is based on the calendar year and fees are: $20.00 per individual and $25.00 for family or organization. If you would like to join the Kings Historical Society you can pay by cash, cheque (payable to Kings Historical Society) Visa, Master Card or money order.
MONTHLY MEETINGSThe Kings Historical Society meets at the Museum on the last Tuesday of each month at 7:30 pm (no meetings during June, July or August.) Guest speakers are featured each month, refreshments are served and the public is invited to attend.
The Community and Family History Committee meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm on the Museum's lower level.
Board of Directors
Board of Trustees
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Nothing beats the feeling of driving a GMC Sierra 1500 HD with a great body lift kit. Aside from trimming up your vehicle when installing bigger tires, raising your body or suspension also gives your vehicle a higher profile and a rugged new look. However, getting your GMC Sierra 1500 HD to ride higher will also result in changes in your vehicle's behavior and drivability. That's why it's important to take note of the problems that you could encounter the possible causes behind them.
If your GMC Sierra 1500HD's front tires wobbles from side to side while driving, it is most likely experiencing wheel shimmy. Don't forget that a vehicle becomes less stable and more wobbly especially in sharp turns at high speeds when it has been raised higher. This problem is generally caused by misalignment of the steering linkage. However, this could also be the result of installing a new body lift kit, a heavy winch, or oversized wheels and tires. The geometry of your vehicle's suspension will be greatly affected by these kinds of alterations in your GMC Sierra 1500HD. Getting a good set of steering stabilizers will help in reducing wheel shimmy on your lifted rig.
If you're experiencing errors in your speedometer and odometer's readings, this is mainly because there have been alterations made in your vehicle like the change in the size of the tires. These changes will cause your GMC Sierra 1500HD's speedometer and odometer to read slower than your vehicle's actual speed. It may also result to altered transmission shift points, traction control, and ABS functionality. Changing the gear located at the end of the speedometer cable usually solves is problem for older trucks. For the modern trucks, the Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) will do the trick.
Some of the possible causes of drivability issues such as axle hop, loss of suspension damping, and vibrations are low-quality shocks and generic suspension tuning. However, this problem could also be caused by an incorrect vehicle trim height because the vehicle's body and frame is positioned away from the differentials. Adding spacers with stock axles should solve this problem.
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Mercury Thermometers Are Going Extinct. What Will Replace Them?
CREDIT: nray | Dreamstime
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced last week that it would stop calibrating mercury thermometers starting March 1 a move that brings the U.S. one step closer to phasing out these temperature-measuring devices for good.
Although mercury thermometers have been mostly phased out of daily home use, the tool, which was invented in the 1700s by Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit, remains a standard measuring device for many industries, including regulating the temperature of a chemical concoction being made in an industrial lab, and monitoring the temperature in blood banks and vaccine storage facilities.
The problem is that mercury is toxic to humans and to the environment , making spills of this substance a reason for concern. So why did mercury become the main temperature-measuring fluid and what will we do without it?
The mercury thermometer was invented back around 1748 and there was no electricity or digital anything back then, said Greg Strouse, head of the Temperature and Humidity Group at NIST. That thermometer became a dominant thermometer in use and it just became a cultural thing, Strouse said.
The alternative to the mercury thermometer is the digital thermometer, which measures temperature by monitoring changes in electrical properties voltage and resistance of metals inside the device. (Mercury, on the other hand, works by expanding and contracting with increasing and decreasing temperature. With nowhere else to go, this liquid metal zooms up and down a tube inside of the thermometer stick.)
It turns out that this change is for the better for more than environmental reasons: Mercury isn't even the most accurate way to measure temperature. While mercury thermometers can measure temperature within one degree Celsius, digital thermometers can be as accurate as 0.001 degrees C a difference of four orders of magnitude in accuracy.
This changeover won't be a big deal for the average person "In fact, you can't buy [mercury thermometers] anymore," Strouse said. To ease the transition in other settings, NIST is proving the feasibility of the switch and working with each industry to come up with the right electronic replacement.
- What Causes a Fever?
- When It Comes to Mercury, Saltwater Fish at a Disadvantage
- If Global Warming is Real, Why is It Still Snowing?
Got a question? Send us an email and we'll look for an expert who can crack it.
MORE FROM LiveScience.com
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Sentient Engineering Code Breaking
It is considered 'possible' (if impractical) for a being to give enough information about itself over a period of time that its thought processes can be modeled solely from its external actions.
In some certain circumstances (cf - the Llewellyn affair, Gupta 3 bureaucracy scandal, etc) this has been proven to be a successful if truly involved method to gather initial cryptographic keys and similar critical information. This usually (as in the Llewellyn affair) involves transapient intellect(s), but occasionally (as in the Gupta 3 incident) merely requires a large number of baselines working efficiently together.
In each case, a model of the targeted being(s) is developed and refined over a period of weeks to years, and then this model is utilized in predicting future actions of the sentient. If the predictions appear highly accurate to the producers (which may take multiple iterations to 'get it right') the model can then be used to begin predicting thought processes, often involving prediction of specialized information - when a conceptual breakthrough may occur, what a specific passcode might be, etc.
Text by John B (inspired by Dr William Sims Bainbridge's work on 'personality capture')
Initially published on 31 December 2007.
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Scott Brown Challenges Elizabeth Warren’s Native-American Ancestry
(BOSTON) -- Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown issued a statement on Tuesday calling on Elizabeth Warren -- his likely Democratic opponent in the state's hotly contested Senate race -- to release her law school applications in response to the questions about the recent revelations that she self-identified as Native American based on her tenuous Cherokee bloodline.
“Serious questions have been raised about the legitimacy of Elizabeth Warren’s claims to Native American ancestry and whether it was appropriate for her to assume minority status as a college professor,” the statement said. “The best way to satisfy these questions is for Elizabeth Warren to authorize the release of her law school applications and all personnel files from the various universities where she has taught.”
Warren has faced questions about reportedly listing herself as a minority in law school directories in the 1980s and 90s since the allegations emerged two weeks ago. Chris Childs, a genealogist at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, traced Warren’s Native-American roots to her great-great-great-grandmother, who was listed as Cherokee on an 1894 marriage record.
Warren, 62, released a statement through spokeswoman Alethea Harney saying that Brown was attempting to “divert attention” from his voting record.
“Once again, Republican Senator Brown is shamelessly attempting to divert attention from his record on the issues that really matter in this election, like the cost of student loans,” Harney said. “Minutes after Scott Brown voted with his Republican Party to double interest rates on student loans, he ridiculously attacked Elizabeth Warren with questions that have already been answered.”
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which oversees Democratic Senate races, released a similar statement.
“At the exact same moment that Scott Brown was voting with his fellow Republicans to block low interest college loans for Massachusetts students, Brown shamelessly resorts to tired personal attacks aimed to distract voters” said DSCC spokesman Matt Canter. “Brown’s latest bait-and-switch illustrates just how personally desperate he is to avoid the real issues in this race -- like making college more affordable, protecting Medicare, holding Wall Street accountable -- because on the issues that matter most to voters Scott Brown sides with Republicans and special interests and against the middle class.”
Since the story broke, several of Warren’s past employers have come forward to say that their hiring decision was not influenced by her minority status. Nevertheless, the cries from her opponents to further investigate the matter have continued.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Google Wave is Coming, (ETA 'later this year') and it appears it could be 'game changing.'
Google has come up with many useful applications: Google Maps, Google Books, Google News to name three of them. They have all added to the overall internet experience. However, the designers behind Google Wave (the same programming team that designed Google Maps, incidentally) have come up with something that approaches revolutionary upheaval. I say this because they have taken the one part of the internet experience that predates the internet by over a decade, the one thing everyone is used to and has remained basically the same since the 1970s, and reconfigured it from scratch. E-mail.
Google Wave is open source - meaning Google is encouraging other companies to create their own Waves, so there will be user choice. You will be able to choose from Google Wave, Yahoo Wave, Acme Wave, etc, and they will all interact like email.
There is an hour and twenty minute demo available along with a 10-minute abridged version.
[What follows is my own interpretation of what I saw on the Demo]
Google Wave combines aspects of email, mailing lists, social networks, blogging, and wikis. At its most simple, it can be used exactly like an email-client. One person sends a message to another, and they respond, and then person A responds back. Instead of the email-client putting these messages together in a 'thread' like Gmail and other clients now do, they will appear in a series on one document - the Wave.
So instead of an inbox of email messages, you will have an inbox of several Waves. These waves may be an ongoing conversation between two or more friends/relatives/coworkers that lasts years, or a very short-lived conversation. Not much more than a change in nomenclature, but the revolution is in what can be done with the waves.
From the demo it appears only those in the Wave can add participants to the Wave. There will have to be a way to find the "wave addresses" of friends, coworkers, etc - like in Social Networks - though it may be difficult for strangers to send waves to you, unless you 'approve them'. Some have suggested this could mark the end of spam. It might also complicate legitimate electronic advertisement for companies -- for if all your friends, kin, and colleagues are communicating via Wave - and the only thing hitting your email box is 'junk mail', you're going to stop opening your email box. You will end up 'approving' your bank, cable company, etc for the 'important stuff', but the unsolicited mail will be stopped at the door. (You'll likely get an endless series of 'requests' to approve senders, but I am sure you will be able to go through the list, click yes on the 1 or 2 legitimate requests, and mass-delete the rest.)
You can do a lot more with a Wave than with a traditional email. First off, all participants can edit the wave document simultaneously, anywhere in the document, and the wave keeps track of who makes which edits. This will be useful for collaborative documents in a corporate environment.
You can drag and drop photos or videos into the document. A great way for family members to share photos from a trip.
There is also the option of copying an entire wave (or part of a wave) and pasting it onto your blog with a click of the button. It doesn't just copy the text - it copies the wave itself. In that a visitor to the blog can reply on the wave, and the reply will appear in the Wave-Client of all participants. And when more is added to the wave, it will automatically appear on the blog. The blog - and all its readers - have become a participant in the Wave.
This - appears - to reintroduce the threat of spam. It's not clear if *any* visitor to the blog will be able to interact with the Wave. I suspect that will be a modifiable setting.
Google wants companies to create applications/gadgets that will fuse with Waves. One Genealogical possibility I foresee is some company coming up with a way for participants on a wave to group-edit a family tree.
I suspect at some point in the future the monthly Geneablogger Scanfests will be held on a Wave.
And while it may take a few years - as there will be some resistant to change - I wholly suspect the grave for e-mail has just been dug. As someone who was sending email back in 1987, I have some fond memories, but the poor guy is ancient in technological years. It's time.
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Gaming for Good
What about getting employees engaged in sustainability through interactive gaming?
According to a recent GreenBiz article, SAP has used a game called TwoGo to help employees in Germany identify carpooling buddies through a game that matches up their routes and timing. Further, according to a recent survey, 55 percent of Americans would like to work for companies that use gamification as an incentive to boost productivity. Deloitte is also playing in this space by designing a game that teaches players to create more sustainable initiatives in the business and logistics industry.
Social networks are quickly becoming prime platforms for gaming and engagement--rather than losing employee productivity from these sites, companies could capitalize off them by creating productive ways for employees to engage with each other and advance sustainability within the firm.
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Today, online presence does not only mean you have a website. It means that you optimize your website for top ranking in search engines. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) developed through this concept is a highly popular means to showcase the online brilliance of a business. Not only does the business grow sales and leads, many potential people get jobs, associated tasks, and good money out of it. No wonder, SEO training courses have become highly popular. And, there are more reasons for its popularity too. Check out in these paragraphs.
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Aesop’s fables constitute one of the few traditions in ancient Greco-Roman literature which enjoy an unbroken line of popularity over the past three thousand years. Unlike the other genres of ancient literature which European scholars had to rediscover in the Renaissance (the “rebirth” of classical studies giving that era its name), the fables did not have to be rediscovered at all, because they retained their popularity throughout the so-called “Dark Ages” and “Middle Ages.”
Unlike other genres of ancient literature, Aesop’s fables were easy to assimilate into the European Christian tradition because of their resemblance to the parables of Jesus recorded in the Gospels. Like the parables of Jesus, Aesop’s fables are short, simple stories that teach a moral lesson. Moreover, the adventures of Aesop’s talking animals provided some welcome humor, being filled with comic elements that are lacking in the parables of Jesus. As they rewrote the fables, the Christian monks would freely elaborate on the morals of the stories, adding in Bible verses in order to bring the fables more fully into the Christian tradition. Sometimes they would allegorize the fables, looking for Christian symbols, such as the treacherous serpent or the peaceful dove. They sometimes supplemented the traditional fables of Aesop inherited from ancient Greece and Rome with similar animal fables, drawing on local storytelling traditions, or making up stories of their own. These fable books were used as reference materials for preachers as they crafted their sermons, much as in the ancient Greek world the first collections of Aesop’s fables had been created as a reference work for orators looking for anecdotes to use in a speech.
One of the most famous of these medieval fable collections was written by Odo of Cheriton, a 13th-century English preacher and scholar. Odo’s Latin fables were well-known and circulated widely, as evidenced by numerous manuscript copies as well as translations into Spanish, French, and Welsh. Odo was a very learned man for his time, having studied in the schools of Paris, but he was not a high-brow scholar. Instead, he intended for his writings to appeal to a general audience, embracing both the clergy and lay people. Many of the fables evince a strong sympathy for the poor and oppressed, with often sharp criticisms of high-ranking church officials. At the same time, Odo also looked for theological messages in the fables, interpreting the stories of the animals as a symbolic code for the workings of God in the world. Odo’s fables thus provide evidence of both the “humanistic” and “religious” types of storytelling which Randy introduced in an article from a previous issue, God And Man: Two Themes.
For an example of Odo’s humanistic social satire, let’s look at the little story of the rat, the cheese and the cat. The story is a simple one: There was a certain man who had some cheese in his pantry, and a rat came and gnawed on the cheese. The man decided that the best thing to do would be to get a cat to guard the cheese — but the results were not what the man expected: the cat ate the rat, and then ate up all the cheese, too. In the moral to the story, Odo explains:
So likewise many bishops put a parish into the hands of a chaplain who devours the parish. Finally the bishop puts an archdeacon in charge, and the archdeacon devours both the chaplain and the parish, just like the rat and the cheese.
Odo thus uses the story of the greedy cat to criticize the greedy church officials of his time.
Odo is also one of our earliest recorded sources for the story of belling the cat, and this story, too, he turns into a criticism of corrupt church officials. Here is the story: the mice held a council to decide how to protect themselves from the cat. A wise mouse said that they should tie a bell around the cat’s neck so that they could hear when he was coming. All the mice like this idea, and then one of the mice said asked who was going to tie the bell around the cat’s neck, whereupon each of the mice squeaked, “Not me! Not me!” Here is the moral that Odo gives to the story:
So it often happens when preachers and monks rise up against a bishop or a prior or an abbot, saying, “If only so-and-so could be removed so that we could have another bishop or abbot.” Everybody likes the idea, but finally they ask: “Who will stand up against the bishop? Who will accuse him?” Everybody is afraid and says, “Not me! Not me!” So in this way the less powerful people allow the more powerful people to exist and dominate them.
In this story, Odo again interprets the predatory cat in terms of a powerful church official, with the mice being too timid to defend themselves.
Yet while Odo is not afraid to criticize the authority of the church, his humanistic impulses extend only so far. When it comes to the question of God himself and obedience to divine authority, Odo was no rebel. We can see this very clearly in the way that he interprets the fable of the lion’s share. In this story, a lion goes hunting with a fox and a wolf as partners. The lion catches a fat ram, the wolf a skinny cow, and the fox a goose. The lion tells the wolf to divide the spoils. The wolf says each animal should take what he caught, whereupon the lion flays the wolf’s head, leaving it bloody. Then the lion tells the fox to divide things up. The fox tells the lion to take the fat ram and the goose because they are good to eat; he tells the lion to leave the skinny cow for the lion’s followers, since it is not very good to eat to begin with. The lion praises the fox and asks how she learned to do division so well. The fox replies: “The red cap of my colleague taught me, his flayed head providing the lesson.”
When Odo interprets this story, the predatory lion is not seem as the emblem of a dangerous and greedy church official. Instead, this lion is a symbol of God, and his actions are interpreted as a perfect expression of divine justice. Odo explains that the lion punished the wolf just as God punished Adam for the sin of disobedience. The moral of the story is to learn from Adam’s punishment to show reverence to God, just as the fox reverenced the lion after seeing the wolf’s punishment.
Odo’s approval of the lion’s actions as an emblem of divine authority is something quite different from what we find in traditional interpretations of the fable of the lion’s share. The usual moral of the story is that the lion is a very greedy and dangerous beast; the best solution is simply not to make a partnership with the lion to begin with! If an animal is foolish enough to become partners with a lion, that animal should be prepared to pay the consequences. Leonina societa periculorum plena, as the old Latin saying reminds us: Keeping company with a lion is full of danger. For Odo, however, the lion is not just another animal; the lion is a symbol of God, and as such his authority is to be obeyed without question. (The Islamic poet Rumi took exactly the same approach to the fable of the lion’s share, interpreting it as a lesson in religions obedience; I have discussed this in a previous article, Rumi: The Fable of the Lion’s Share.)
As you can see from the range of Odo’s interpretations of the fables, there are no objective or absolute rules for interpreting a given fable. Sometimes a predatory animal is a symbol of a greedy bishop or deacon, as in the story of the cat, the rat, and the cheese, or in the story of belling the cat, prompting a humanistic message that defies false claims to divine authority. Yet a predatory animal can also be a symbol of divine authority which must be obeyed without question, as in the story of the lion’s share. Even if the ancient Romans did not interpret the lion’s share as a story of divine authority, there is nothing to stop Odo from taking that approach to the story, fitting the story firmly into a Christian framework. The adaptability of the fable genre allows Odo to use the old fables to express a wide range of meanings, from social satire to theology, with morals that suit his life and time.
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BASHMURIC REVOLTS. In the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries Copts revolted a number of times against the Arabic administration in different parts of Egypt and were rapidly crushed. Only in the Bashmuric region (see BASHMUR, AL-) were Copts able to resist for a relatively long period against repeated attacks of the Arabic army by land and by sea and to inflict heavy losses on their oppressors while enduring lengthy sieges.
Though Arabic geographers are not consistent in their delineation of the borders of al-Bashmur, it appears that the Bashmurites lived in the marshy regions that lay near the Mediterranean coast in the northern part of the Delta between the Rosetta and Damietta branches of the Nile close to the lake of Idku. The region had a history of intransigence; through the centuries its inhabitants had revolted against their Egyptian, Roman, and Byzantine masters. This was also the last region in Egypt to submit to the Arabs, years after the rest of the country had been conquered.
The marshy land of al-Bashmur with its low-lying sandy banks offered two major advantages: security and economic self-sufficiency. Access to the inhabited parts of the region was through sandy banks that were sometimes too narrow to admit the passage of more than one person, and the marshes with their thickets of reeds served as cover for revolutionary operations. Thus nature offered this region protection from intrusion and natural cover, elements denied all other parts of Egypt where the flatness of the land afforded easy access to inhabited places, with no forests or hills to hide insurgents. The Bashmuric region was the only part of Egypt where the Arabic authorities could not apply their policy of settling
Arabic tribes among the native population to prevent revolts.
The economic infrastructure of the region also aided the Bashmurites. While they did not possess the kind of fertile fields that gave rise elsewhere in Egypt to widespread civilization and later to foreign occupation, they did have space for limited agriculture, which, in combination with the region's richness in fish and fowl, provided enough food to withstand any siege. These conditions rendered the Bashmurites far less vulnerable than the fellahin in other parts of Egypt, who depended on an intricate irrigation network that could be easily cut by the army in case of revolt.
Arabic historians viewed the Bashmuric uprisings as a reaction to the heavy fiscal demands placed on the Copts, a view that seems to have influenced the conclusions of quite a few modern historians. However, one can discern a relationship between an increase in Arabic intolerance and the beginning of the Bashmuric revolts. One notes a difference between the attitude of the Bashmurites and the passive acquiescence of other Copts in the face of this growing intolerance.
The difficulty in defining the exact limits of the region occupied by the Bashmurites makes it impossible to date precisely the beginning of the series of Bashmuric revolts. The recorded anti-Arab revolts that were a reaction against the growing hardening of the Arabic policy from the second part of the seventh century began to occur as early as the close of that century, first in the eastern part of the Delta and later extending to the whole Delta as well as to Upper Egypt. The topography of the Bashmurite region and the reluctance of the army to operate there suggest that the revolts may have begun in this area before extending to the neighboring areas of the Delta. One should also bear in mind that it was in the northern part of the Delta that Byzantines landed for a short time in 720, which could mean that the area was already in agitation or even in open revolt.
Revolts flared up in the last years of the Umayyads, perhaps because the caliph Marwan could not tolerate trouble in Egypt, his last stronghold. SAWIRUS IBN AL-MUQAFFA provides precious information about the dramatic last operation against the Bashmurites before the arrival of the Abbasids in Egypt. It seems that Hawthara, Marwan's governor in Egypt, had already failed to end the revolt, in spite of his repeated expeditions by land and by sea. When Marwan arrived in Egypt to deal with the uprising personally, he proposed an armistice, probably to consolidate his position in front of the advancing Abbasids. When the Copts refused the treaty, Marwan joined the army he had brought from Damascus to the troops already fighting the Copts in Egypt. As further pressure upon the Copts, Hawthara took KHA’IL I (744-767), the Coptic patriarch, hostage, transported him to Rashid (Rosetta), which was a government stronghold, and threatened to kill him if the Bashmurites did not end the hostilities. Far from being intimidated by this step, the Copts avenged it by not only attacking the besieging army, which had to evacuate its positions, but also by destroying Rashid. Marwan responded by ordering his troops to sack the villages, churches, and monasteries they encountered.
The arrival of the Abbasids did not improve the situation, as the political disorder between them and the Umayyads encouraged revolts by the Copts and by the Arabic settlers. Arabic historians speak about the Bashruds (a corruption of Bashmurites), who joined the revolt of 767, which flared up in the Delta. The expedition sent by the governor Yazid ibn Hatem against them was defeated, his local high officials were killed, and the army retreated to al-Fustat (Old Cairo).
In 830, the caliph al-Ma’mun, desiring to quash the rebellions in the Delta, sent a strong army to the area under the command of the Turkish general Afshin. The army destroyed the rebels in the eastern part of the Delta and in Alexandria, but was helpless against the Bashmurites. Afshin approached the patriarch and asked him to use his influence to stop the revolts. The patriarch agreed to intervene, but his letters to the insurgents were fruitless and his envoys achieved no success.
Finally Afshin asked the caliph to come in person. Al-Ma’mun arrived in Egypt accompanied by Dionysus of Tell Mahre, the patriarch of Antioch, who was to help in negotiations with the Coptic patriarch. When the two patriarchs were unable to obtain any positive results, the caliph took command of the army and launched a systematic attack on the rebels. Losses were great on both sides. To stop the slaughter, the caliph offered the Bashmurites an armistice. The insurgents accepted the offer. The temporary success of this rebellion did not achieve any amelioration of the conditions that had made the Bashmurites revolt. Some of them were deported to Iraq; others were sent to Syria and were sold as slaves in
Damascus. The army destroyed and burned the entire area to wipe out all possibility of further revolts.
Thus ended the last revolt of the Copts in Egypt. Without any real political plan or any national leadership, without any organized armed force, and in the face of a strong, experienced army, these spasmodic revolts were an indication of desperate courage. Not only did they achieve nothing but they drained the force and pride of the Copts. Nonetheless, these revolts are important for Coptic history, as they shed light on the character of the Coptic masses.
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RACE TRAITOR : The Rogue Debate
[EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a transcript of a debate Rogue sponsored Sunday evening, March 17, 1996 between Harvard historian Noel Ignatiev and San Jose immigration attorney Dale Warner on the topic: Are Irish Americans White?]
Surowiecki: Good evening everyone, this is Jim Surowiecki from Rogue, AOL's magazine of culture and politics. Tonight, we're hosting a very interesting debate about Irishness. Our guests are Harvard historian Noel Ignatiev and San Jose immigration attorney and activist Dale Warner. Each believes that Irish Americans are not "white," or at least, should not be said to be white, but for very different reasons. Let's begin with some comments from each of you. Noel, you use the line from THE COMMITMENTS to begin your book: The Irish are the blacks of Europe. So say it loud--I'm black and I'm proud. Can you explain exactly how that encapsulates your views?
Ignatiev: In Ireland the Catholics were victims of oppression very much like what we call racial oppression in America. My book is about how in America the Irish gained the rights of citizens in the white republic and thus were transformed from victims of racial oppression into enforcers of racial oppression.
Surowiecki: So your point is that the Irish in a sense "became" white. Can you explain that?
Ignatiev: They made use of existing institutions and developed new ones, in order to 1) overcome the resistance to them put up by the nativist Protestant bigots and 2) distance themselves from the Afro-Americans in the labor market, housing market, and political activity. The institutions I refer to are the church, the early labor unions, the urban riot, and, above all, the Democratic Party, above all.
Surowiecki: So what does this mean for us today? What should Irish Americans or whites in general do? In other words, what use is your historical study for us?
Ignatiev: People's willingness to settle for being white is the main barrier that prevents them from acting together with the victims of racial oppression to create a more just society. In order to realize the full potential of America, it's necessary for the people who enjoy the privileges of whiteness to repudiate them and choose the path of universality.
Surowiecki: As far as relinquishing whiteness goes, how do "whites" do that?
Ignatiev: By breaking the rules that allow them to be complicit with the subjugation of people of color. These days, the color line is not transparent in the way that it was in the days of legal segregation. Instead, it's enforced by invisible mechanisms, including redlining, job segregation through networking, school tracking, and of course through the criminal justice system, which has defined black people as a criminal race. The way for European-Americans to repudiate the privileges of whiteness is to disrupt the functioning of these mechanisms, to prevent their operation, even at risk to themselves. This is what it means to repudiate the privileges of the white skin, to break up the mechanisms that reproduce those privileges.
Surowiecki: But you assume that whites have some kind of identity that they can and should disrupt. Do black people have the right to reject a "black identity" as well? And would that be useful in achieving the kind of social equality you're after?
Ignatiev: No. White identity is not cultural. It's entirely an assigned status. There is no white culture: there are Irish, Italian, Polish, Yiddish cultures, etc. And all those ethnic cultures are valid. But whiteness itself means only the maintenance of the privileges of race. Blackness is on the one hand an ethnic identity analogous to Polish and Irish identities, but it's also a defense against white racial supremacy. I'm not anti-Irish, anti-Polish, anti- any ethnic culture. I'm anti-white, because "white" is an exclusive club, and I'm against all exclusive clubs.
Surowiecki: Well, to follow up, are poor whites really the beneficiaries of these privileges--isn't class a more definitive truth?
Ignatiev: Yes. I certainly think that class is a more fundamental truth than race. The problem is that the privileges of race, assigned to the "white" identity, prevent the poor whites from seeing the realities of class. America is divided into two nations: the masters and the slaves. The problem with whiteness is that it makes some of the slaves think they're allied with the masters.
Warner: Thanks for letting me have a word! What a debate!
Surowiecki: Glad to have you join us, fire away.
Warner: My principal qualification for discussing Irish American identity is that I am a fifth generation survivor of The Great Hunger which saw 2,000,000 Irish starved to death just 150 years ago. What qualified you to address the question of Irish American identity?
Ignatiev: How do you know I'm not Irish?
Warner: Why don't you tell us what your background is so that we know you? Don't forget that for 30 generations before The Great Hunger, the Irish people were oppresed. The oppression began on October 18, 1171, when the Norman King Henry II invaded the Irish island 824 years ago. Celtic people in Ireland have not been free since that day.
Ignatiev: My background is that I'm a seeker after truth. In fact, I'm not Irish. And I'm not addressing the matter of Irish-American identity. I'm addressing the question of white identity. My whole point is that the Irish, who were victims of racial oppression in Ireland, became part of an oppressing race in America. It's a sad story and I think they made the wrong choice.
Warner: We Irish are still America's outsiders. We are the Others who are excluded from arts programs on a city and county level. We are excluded from diversity and multicultural programs throughout northern California. In 1995 we were called "micks" by the drama critic at the Mercury News and potato-heads by the film critic at the L.A. Times. Both papers smother our diversity in a defamatory way by slapping us with [the labels] "anglo" or "caucasian" or "white." Race doesn't exist so why are you so intent on smothering us in a race?
Surowiecki: Dale, you identify as an Irish American. You consider your history one filled with difficulties but Noel seems to be saying that you today also are playing a role in social oppression by embracing an Irish identity that is perhaps just another name for white, i.e. privileged. How do you respond?
Warner: We Irish have been the victims of widespread centuries-old defamation campaigns in England & the U.S. We're called paddy & patty, mick & potatohead. We're told we're the Other and not welcome. We were the favorite target of good old Mark Twain. Now you tell us that we have no diversity, that we are just white. Sounds like the same old campaign of defamation we are so accustomed to. The campaign to smother all the richly-textured diversity of Americans of European origins is simply a defamation campaign that works against respect for diversity in every other group. Why deny our wonderful diversity?
Ignatiev: Name-calling may be ugly, but are you actually pretending that Irish-Americans are victims of discrimination in employment, housing, the criminal justice system, or any other area of life? I would be delighted if Irish-Americans would reclaim their ethnic heritage and renounce the privileges of the white skin.
Warner: Your lack of any human sympathy with the Irish circumstances in America has been made abundantly clear. I don't think we are "white"---that's your position, not mine. I'm happy being a Celtic-American, an Irish-American. It seems to me that we would all be a lot better off if people who know about their subject would be the ones to talk about it and lay it out. You do not have any basis for most of what you say except to provide yet more fuel to what has been a campaign of defamation that has gone on for centuries. Why not lay off us Celts?
Ignatiev: Sounds to me like all Mr. Warner wants to do is shed the label "white" while hanging on to all the privileges of the white skin in America. I'm still waiting to hear where Irish are discriminated against in this country.
Surowiecki: Dale, do you have to "be" a certain ethnicity to discuss it? Isn't being a historian enough?
Warner: I think if I were to discuss Iggy's ethnicity, whatever it is, he might find it offensive. Who are you? And why are you obsessed with denying diversity to Irish Americans?
Ignatiev: I wouldn't be offended in the least. . . .
Warner: But Celtic-Americans (our ethnicity) are discriminated against in some quarters. Take the University of California at Berkeley. We Celts are 16% of California's population, yet we are allowed only 4% of freshman admissions. Dozens of valedictorians with high SATs whose roots are Irish or Scottish are denied admission because of racist admission policies at Berkeley. Check it out. We're pushed away in other surroundings, too.
Ignatiev: What racist admission policies is he referring to? Who has been denied admission to Berkeley because he or she was of Irish descent? Not every discrepancy in numbers is proof of discrimination. Does he think Irish-Americans are discriminated against by the NBA?
Warner: We have files with over 44 cases of Irish-American or Scottish-Americans with high SATs who were barred from UC Berkeley. You tell me why.
Ignatiev: There are many considerations which determine admission to Berkeley besides SAT scores.
Warner: I still don't understand why you decided to do us a favor and try to smother our Celtic diversity. Why do you want to do that?
Surowiecki: So would you favor quotas?
Warner: Yes, I do favor quotas. I believe that admission to publicly supported institutions should reflect the population. Berkeley discriminates wildly within what you would probably call the "white" segment.
Surowiecki: So are you also in general support of affirmative action?
Warner: I have no problem with affirmative action. I've long supported affirmative action in my company, and I've supported diversity requirements in my law association. My neighborhood is diverse, my employees are diverse, my politics support diversity and affirmative action.
Ignatiev: Do you also want to establish minimum numbers of Irish in the NBA, or maximum numbers of Irish in the priesthood or the police force?
Warner: I think, as I said above your query, that publicly supported institutions should reflect the population!!!!! What could be simpler?
Ignatiev: As for your support of affirmative action, what group do you think has benefited from the supposed discrimination against Irish Americans?
Warner: Well, I'm not as smart as you are. I cannot talk for any group of which I am not a member the way that you can. Please lay off us Celtic-Americans and us Irish-Americans. We treasure our diversity very much. Celts are diverse within that ethnic designation. There are six Celtic nations and St. Patrick happens to be the patron saint for two, not just Ireland. The other one is the Isle of Man.
Surowiecki: Well I'm afraid we're going to have to wrap it up.
Ignatiev: If you want quotas, how will you determine who's Irish? What about the millions of black O'Neals and Kennedys? Do they qualify as Irish?
Warner: I promise not to write about Iggy's group (whatever it is) if he will stop slamming us. I follow the one-drop rule: one drop of Celtic blood qualifies anyone to share our sufferings.
Ignatiev: My suggestion to Mr. Warner is that if he feels discriminated against because he's Irish, then the next time black Americans protest against some outrage like the Rodney King verdict, that he get out there and join them.
Surowiecki: OK, we have to leave it at that, I'm afraid. I'm sure we could keep talking all night.
Ignatiev: Is Shaq O'Neal really Irish?
Surowiecki: On that note, good night from Rogue.
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Whether number plate recognition at the gate of a company’s car park, video cameras in banks, wide-range surveillance of parking lots, industrial sites or airports – Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) keeps a close watch. Many solutions add infrared light to enhance the quality of images recorded in the dark. It was the development of powerful infrared LED (IRED) which made many of these applications economical. Meanwhile, manufacturers can choose from a wide range of IRED for illumination applications. The product line ranges from devices of medium power to multi-chip modules supplying several Watt in continuous wave operation.
IRED in the medium power range
Picture 1: Systems for number plate recognition take several photos per second
Typical examples of the medium power range are Power Topled with highly efficient emitter chips in thin-film technology. For more narrow emission angles of +/-15° and +/-25° are compact SMT devices with integrated lenses available. In continuous wave operation a current of 100 mA is admissible. Also in pulsed operation, Power Topled facilitate compact and powerful illumination units. They are particularly well suited for applications with a lower duty-cycle, e.g. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) at gates, where only a few pictures per second are taken. Pulsed operation also facilitates synchronizing illumination and exposure time, thus reducing power consumption. Combined with the Nanostack technology for 850nm emitters – another recent development by Osram Opto Semiconductors, which realizes two light-generating pn-junctions per chip – Power Topled yield a record-breaking power. A Power Topled with Nanostack supplies almost double the amount of light and yields an optical power output of 560 mW at 0.7 A in pulsed operation. Thus not only the number of IRED per illumination unit drops, but designers can also increase the brightness of existing Power Topled systems without difficulty by using identical IRED devices with Nanostack.Powerful IRED
For developing high-power IRED, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors could benefit from its LED illumination technologies. The result is a large variety of devices featuring an optical power in the 1-Watt range. The IRED are based on chips with a size of 1mm² in modern Surface Mount Technology (SMT) packages. Devices with one Nanostack-chip only supply an optical power of almost 1 Watt. Since chips in thin-film technology emit almost all their light on the top-surface, multi-chip devices like the OSTAR Lighting yield a power of several Watt.
Picture 2: A broad range of lenses is available for many high-power IRED.
The infrared Platinum Dragon more and more replaces the conventional cascades of radial IRED. With its extremely low thermal resistance the device is particularly well suited for continuous operation in which the 850nm version supplies more than half a Watt optical power at 1 A. A range of several 10 meters can be reached using the classical Dragon design without lens. For longer distances, a large variety of lenses is available . Dragon IRED are also available in Nanostack technology, supplying almost double the power. It allows designers to easily upgrade existing systems or to reduce the number of components. In case the size of the system is crucial, the infrared Oslon is a suitable alternative. At present it is the smallest IRED in the category of more than 1W optical power. This device produces a +/-45° beam, therefore coupling more light into external optics. Oslon is also a suitable alternative to Power Topled designs with external optics. For long-distance systems, the 6-Chip-IRED OSTAR Lighting is a compact and elegant solution, supplying 3.5 W light at 1 A in continuous wave operation.
Picture 3: IRED with one or more Watt power: Platinum Dragon, OSTAR Lighting and Oslon
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|33 IDEAS! PARTICIPANTS
Mary Ellen Campbell
Mary Ellen Long
Lauri Lynxxe Murphy
Alex Van Ark
Mary Ellen Long
Book and environmental artist
Mary Ellen Long was born in Los Angeles, California and lived in the North San Diego County for 22 years. A multi-media artist who now lives in Durango, Colorado, she exhibits widely. Her work includes mixed media drawing and assemblage, collage, indoor and outdoor environmental installations and artists' books. She is represented by Lora Schlesinger Gallery in Los Angeles and artists' book dealer Vamp and Tramp. She received her BA and MA degrees from San Diego State in printmaking and painting. She teaches and curates... most recently, The Book Unbound Redux at the Durango Arts Center. She has received grants from the Colorado Arts Council and in 2003 she was the monthly featured artist at The Center for Book Arts in New York City.
In 2008, the artist was given the honor of Sweetheart of the Arts by the Durango Arts Center. Also in 2008, the film "Seeing the Forest for the Trees: The Art of Mary Ellen Long" was made by the Durango Community Access TV.
Her blog is a good way to find out her current projects.
About the DIA Project
MAPPING - KNOWING THE LAND
An exploration into nature's process in both an ecological and historical sense.
I have been working as an environmental artist for thirty years in the Colorado Mountains, specifically the San Juan Mountains outside Durango, Colorado. My goal is to create forms that speak of the slow process of nature...of growth, of decay and rebirth on the land, and the effect of humankind's use and abuse.
I lay paper and books on the earth to hibernate under the winter's snow and harvest the various forms in the spring. The paper or books, used in book art, sculpture, and wall works, records a narrative of time - a language of seasonal change and process.
To see, to understand the integrity of the wild and our interconnections to it, is my hope for this work. It is a time to seriously reassess our relationship with the land - to personally touch the wild with respect and care, and to discover a sense of belonging to the whole of the earth.
33 IDEAS!, an exhibit of art, writing and ideas
March 15-June 15,
Denver International Airport
This exhibit showcases visual and literary artists associated with Colorado Art Ranch as presenters, artists in residence, or Nomads at one or more Artposia. The artists were selected because they use their passion, skills, knowledge, and talent to ask questions and react to the world around them. The work, in turn, inspires us to ask questions and view the world from different perspectives.
33 IDEAS! is on display at the Ansbacher Hall: The Art of Colorado, on the walkway between the terminal and A Gates before the security screening. The hall is accessible for everyone’s enjoyment.
For more information contact DIA Art Program at
(303) 342-2521 or visit www.flydenver.com/art
Keep update on the program.
Join our email news
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- This Sunday Tour of the Mazovian Countryside with Piano Recital tour in Warsaw will guide you along charming villages, farms, palaces and manor houses to the most fabulous sites of the Mazovian Countryside. See Kampinos National Park and the famous battlefield, the Battle of Bzura (WW II) and the Bolimow battle (WW I).
Pilaszkow Manor House from the middle of the 15th century is substantially entangled with the Polish history. Nieborow Palace is a gorgeous Radziwill family residence where you can encounter the famous Niobe, an antique sculpture.
Zelazowa Wola is the birthplace of Frederic Chopin and well worth a visit at any time of the year. Enjoy a piano recital in Zelazowa Wola (May to September) and a Polish style lunch served in Nieborow. You will also visit Brochow Village, and see its fortified late Gothic church by the Bzura River.
- © Viator2013
Ask a local about Sunday Tour of the Mazovian Countryside with Piano RecitalLocals have answered 29 questions about Warsaw.
Ask Warsaw Locals about Sunday Tour of the Mazovian Countryside with Piano Recital
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Patience Is a (Training) Virtue
One of the best training analogies I’ve ever read is by Mike Boyle. He said training is like farming. You do all these things today that you can’t see producing a result in the hope of a future payoff. You plant the seeds, water and fertilize, and scare away the birds, all in the hope that one day some little green shoots will pop through the soil.
When these shoots start to show that’s like someone you haven’t seen in a while telling you how great you look and asking if you’ve lost weight. Looking at yourself in the mirror every day, your gym poundages maybe not having budged for a month or more, it can be hard to tell. But little by little the shoots grow. The muscles become more visible, you get faster, or your clothes fit differently.
And seemingly, all of a sudden, as if it happened overnight, you’re fit.
I have to say that my understanding of farming is probably about done with that analogy. But one thing I do know is that crops, and fitness, aren’t born overnight. It can take months for progress to occur and sometimes you just mess it up and your crops whither and die. When this happens in training it’s time to go back to your training diary and see what was working before you went wrong.
This whole process isn’t helped by modern society. We want it all and we want it now. I’d argue that if more people spent more time in the gym maybe the credit bust might not have happened. Because you know what happens if you go into the gym and try to squat more than you can handle on your own? You get crushed. In life, you can buy whatever you want – just put it on the credit card. But there’s no credit card option with training.
In training you get exactly the fitness and strength you deserve. No more and no less. That’s probably not a bad lesson for many people today. It might seem a shock to some of the younger readers, but no one owes you anything. You want it, be prepared to go work for it. Don’t be surprised if it takes you the rest of your life to get what you’re after. Trust me when I say the longer and harder you work for something the more you’ll appreciate it.
I remember when I started Taekwondo - I was ten. I didn’t want to start as I’d been to watch a class and it looked like really hard work. But I went because my mother told me I needed to go. Obviously I sucked. No one is good at anything on the first attempt. That’s another great lesson sport teaches us – perseverance.
What really strikes me about it now is how I was taught. I was shown one new thing each lesson and then the instructor just walked away leaving me to practice. He didn’t stick around and coach me to death and I didn’t have any questions. I just did what I was told. No surprise that I progressed due to this simple “just do it” attitude to training. A few years later I came runner up in the 1988 selection trial for the Barcelona Olympics. But I never could have done that on my first night of training.
These days I get new clients and usually after teaching them something, for example the kettlebell swing, they’ll do one or two and ask how it is. Of course it’s awful. You’ve done two. Why not go over in a corner and practice and come back to me when you’ve done about three thousand? (Which I find to be the tipping point for most people for their swing). But that doesn’t work for most people. They expect instant mastery and are stumped why they’re not instantly successful. I’d love to see the other areas of their life and see how instantly successful they are at work or in their relationships.
Recently I saw a question on a forum regarding Maffetone’s heart rate formula and running. Given I’m following this currently for my base-building period I’ve possess not just text book knowledge of this but also know how to apply it (and this is actually the second time I’ve used it).
Here’s the problem - the guy asking the question had been using Maffetone’s heart rate formula for a month, running a maximum of three hours per week. That gives him twelve total hours of training time in that system over the month. Twelve hours. And he wonders why he isn’t an elite runner yet? Going by the 10,000 hour rule I’d suggest it’s because he has 9,988 more hours to go.
But that would require patience. That would require sticking to a plan and not getting training ADD and jumping ship because some other currently in vogue training plan (Easy Strength/5-3-1/TacFit – doesn’t matter) has taken your fancy. There’s nothing sexy about an hour run at 140bpm. Trust me, I know. When I run it’s mostly in the mornings during peak hour. There I am, all kitted up in my 2XU gear looking like I’m about to go so fast I’ll burst into flames. As I plod along with my heart rate under control I’m always painfully aware of the hundreds of pairs of eyes no doubt on me wondering why someone dressed so fast moves so slowly.
I suggested to this guy asking the question that maybe three hours per week really wasn’t cutting it. For reference I’m doing twenty. And I’ve been doing that twenty for months now. Funnily enough I’m seeing results because I’ve waited patiently for my fitness to come.
Lance Armstrong has a saying that if you’re training over seventy percent you’re not building yourself up, you’re breaking yourself down. It’s like putting money in the bank. Each session done right builds your fitness bank account up - slowly accruing fitness session-by-session, day-by-day. Go too hard too often and you wind up having to use your credit card. The only problem with using your credit card all the time is sooner or later you wind up in debt. The problem becomes that in training terms “debt” means injury, illness, and burn out. You can’t deficit spend on fitness.
Learn to be patient. Work on the skills of fitness. It takes time. You’re certainly not going to become fast overnight nor have a six-pack. Be okay with that.
Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.
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Gardener's Grapevine 2011.04.27
By Jo Erbskorn
Spring brings to mind so many things—sunshine after the gloomy winter, renewed life in our greening plants, and elevated moods due to a feeling of a fresh start. Spring gives every gardener the undeniable urge to play in the dirt.
While starting out at the beginning of the growing season, remember not everything wakes up at the same time. Plants are happy in certain zones, and until temperatures warm up for that zone our plants stay dormant. That is why some trees leaf out earlier than others. My husband thinks it’s so we constantly have something new to clean up.
There are many plants and bushes that mistakenly get ripped out for not budding; there stands this eyesore all dry and ugly. One of these is the butterfly bush. It may have a few small areas were some buds are peeking out and some just look dead. For the most part it is asleep and needs time and a sign that says, “Leave me alone.” Another plant is the hydrangea bush.
At the church we have two very lovely hydrangea bushes that are about three years old. The first year they bloomed a bit, but not a big show. This is normal as they use their old dry stems like a spine to hold up the huge blooms. It is very easy to want to trim these old stems off as they are unsightly long after everything else is waking up. But what was once the plant’s beauty will this season be its strength for a bigger show.
Climbing roses fall into this category of late sleepers. Some climbers leave their long arms looking awful, long after other plants have leaves. So if you are not a master rose gardener, you stand there having a mental fight with yourself—is it dead or is it alive?
To prune or not to prune, that is a gardener’s dilemma. I learned the hard way to give them time. I asked someone I trusted why my climbers did not bloom like they were supposed to and that person said, “Oh, cut off those long stems every fall. They zap all the plant’s strength.” So inexperienced me did as I was told. Wrong! I got excellent stem and foliage growth and no blooms at all.
At a Garden Club district meeting, a master rose gardener spoke and explained why roses should be left alone until late May or even June. I followed that advice, and now my climbers are beautiful.
My point is, clean up but know your plants and don’t be quick to write them off as dead.
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The Irish Family History Foundation (IFHF) has announced that some of its member genealogy centres are making further records available to search and purchase online.
As part of its reinvestment in completing additional records by its county genealogy centres, the IFHF has applied various updates and corrections to its Online Record Search site, and more than 230,000 new records have been added, including:
- 25,000 Church of Ireland baptisms;
- almost 2,000 records from the 1821 census;
- 3000 Church of Ireland baptisms;
- 18,000 births;
- 7,000 marriages;
- 54,000 census returns;
- 42,000 baptisms;
- 25,000 marriages;
- 3,500 deaths;
- 28,000 census returns;
- 11,000 births;
- 4,000 marriages;
- 21,000 gravestone inscriptions;
- 9,000 census returns.
The IFHF is working towards making the records of Counties Laois, Offaly and Wexford available on the site in early 2010. The site is being given a new domain name – http://www.RootsIreland.ie – which IFHF hopes will help people find it more easily. The old name will continue to work, but will be phased out over time.
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Barber says he recalls Giffords shooting each Sat.
GREEN VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Ron Barber says the January 2011 mass shooting in Tucson that killed six and forced his predecessor, Gabrielle Giffords, to resign because of brain injuries, haunts him every Saturday.
Speaking Saturday at a Green Valley event to commemorate the shooting's two-year anniversary, Barber said that he has remembered the shooting every Saturday at the exact time it began.
Barber spoke at one of two events as part of a movement called BEYOND. It was started by the family of Gabe Zimmerman, who was one of six people killed in the Jan. 8, 2011, attack. Giffords was shot in the head and later resigned from Congress. Twelve others were injured, including Barber who was Giffords' district director.
Barber vowed in Zimmerman's honor to pursue legislation aimed at preventing mass shootings in the future.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
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National Security Action Memoranda of John F. Kennedy
This site provides access to 272 facsimiles of National Security Action (NSA) memoranda written by President John F. Kennedy or by McGeorge Bundy, his NSA advisor. The memoranda are 50-200 words each and cover subjects such as the training of Cuban nationals, the distribution of U.S. forces in Vietnam, Berlin, civil defense, and a "Review of the Iranian Situation." The documents are indexed by NSA numbers from February 1961 to November 1963. More documents will be added as they are declassified. The index provides a one to five-word description of the subject of each memo. There is a 100-word introduction to the collection, but no contextual material or annotations. The site cannot be searched by subject. Teachers and students in search of primary source material about foreign policy in the Kennedy Administration will find this site useful.
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Before we started this project, we were made familiar with the 51% childhood obesity rate in Rosedale. We were informed of the efforts to remedy the situation, as well as programs like the Healthy Kids Initiative.
Our first idea was based on the notion that the students don’t have access to healthy food in their cafeteria. So we developed a concept that would change the school lunch standards and introduce healthier foods to their environment.
Before we had an opportunity to visit the school, we speculated what the cafeteria could look like in an ideal situation. The cafeteria would be lit to make the healthier items look more appetizing, with a strategic lunch line sequence to make the students choose healthier options before they even see their entree. This is an idea that stuck with us throughout the project.
When we visited the middle school, we observed some things that changed our outlook on the project. The menu items weren’t as unhealthy as they seemed on paper, and the school’s enthusiasm about healthier habits was noticeable. This caused us to change our project a bit, and base our concept around utilizing the options they already have, instead of introducing a whole new menu.
Our solution to reinforce these healthy habits is, in a nutshell, an environmental redesign. Our components consist of: a lunch line reversal, a new look for the cafeteria, and a menu with healthy items renamed to be more appealing.
The simplest change, by far, is to reverse the way the students go through the lunch line. Instead of starting with a carb-heavy entree and glossing over the rest of the options, we enforce the opposite perspective where the students will start by loading up on a-la-carte items like vegetables and fruits, and then get to their entrees at the end. Simply being exposed to a different way of filling their trays will get them to more carefully consider the choices they make.
Another aspect in the cafteria redesign is replacing the laminated wall menu, which was not up to date when we visited, in the cafeteria with a large display showing the day’s menu items in a slideshow format. Using appetizing photos and lively typography adds a sense of sophistication to the space, which conveys a more uplifting feeling to the formerly drab cafeteria. In a study by Cornell University’s Food & Brand Lab, it was found that simply renaming and branding the fruits and vegetables in a school cafeteria nearly doubled the consumption of healthy foods. Attractive names are a great way to sell healthy food to kids. So, with that knowledge, we’ve renamed the healthier items at Rosedale Middle School to be fun and engaging. The names also let the students know the health benefits of each item, making them aware of the reason why these are healthy for them.
When we visited the Rosedale Middle School cafeteria, it was beige. Floor-to-ceiling beige, and a sterile, metal lunch line. Our redesign adds a friendly, more sophisticated feel, with wood paneling on the lunch line, energetic color scheme, and fruit and vegetable decals on the walls.
The whole point of this project is to influence the choices that kids make so they can have healthier lives. Our ultimate goal would be to lower the Rosedale obesity rate, and every meal counts.
Kansas City Art Institute
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Children are being attacked from all sides these days. Firstly there is a recommendation that children should not start "formal" education until they are six. As someone who started school at four, I can't imagine waiting so late, but obviously others take a different line.
Dame Gillian Pugh, review author, said, "four and five-year-olds tended to be at a stage where they were just "tuning in" to learning and that they could be "turned off" if they were made to follow too formal a curriculum, too early on." Perhaps, but not for all children. The mandated age for children to enter school is questionable as the parents should decide, an issue Douglas Carswell eloquently puts forward here.
On top of this, or indeed in direct competition to it, the European People's Party believes that children should be given lessons in the benefits of the European Union from the earliest of ages. Of course, some would question how long a lesson it would be.
They claim that, "knowing and understanding, from a young age, the principles, the procedures and the successful history of the European Union, the generations of tomorrow will be immune to any distortion of the perception of the role of the EU and will much better embrace the advantages of this unique project of voluntary sharing of sovereignty." They want to 'instruct' young children in the "benefits" of the EU before they have a chance to formulate their own opinions on the institution.
Clearly both of these examples highlight why government needs to stand aside in the provision of education. The temptation to meddle and mould children's minds to be in sync with the government thinking of the time is too great. Free enterprise in schooling is best for parents, the taxpayer and the children themselves.
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Kennedy Speech – One of the great successes of the Kennedy Administration was the passage of what was then known as the Medical Care Bill, which became better known in decades to come as Medicare. In a 20 minute address in front of a filled Madison Square Garden that is a model of great speech-making, the president makes a call, dignified, yet passionate case for the bill, citing both anecdotal and philosophical reasons.
Camel News Caravan – In the 1950’s, news organizations were a lot freer in their plugging of sponsors, and Camel Cigarettes are mentioned all over this report by John Cameron Swayze. In addition to news of a train wreck and labor strife, most of the content of this Labor Day 1951 report is about the Korean War, with the enemy referred to as “Commies,” with an extended account of the arrival of Scottish troops in Korea – three wounded G.I.’s, Corporal Frank Canady, Pfc. James Flynn, and Cpl. Robert Byron, are also interviewed in a military hospital in Philadelphia.
Today Show – Dave Garroway hosts this bizarre report, in which Dick McCutcheon plays an explorer (to Groucho Marx’s theme music “Hooray for Captain Spaulding”) coming ashore at the New York docks and meeting native dancers.
|This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 01 March, 2011.
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Violent Crime Drops . . . Again
This week, the FBI estimated that the number of violent crimes decreased 5.5 percent from 2009 to 2010, including a 4.4 percent decrease in the number of murders. Because the U.S. population increased during the period, the figures imply that the total violent crime per capita rate and the murder rate decreased more than six percent and five percent, respectively. Based upon the preliminary data, it appears that violent crime fell to a 37-year low and murder fell to a 47-year low. The FBI will report final figures for 2010 later this year.
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According to some historians, the first feast of thanks took place in St. Augustine in 1565, more than 50 years before what most of us were taught was the first Thanksgiving. In St. Augustine, the Spanish settlers shared food and fellowship with the Timucuans of Florida.
Rather than the traditional sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie, the menu likely featured pork, deer, mullet, oysters, beans and squash. Regardless of where the first Thanksgiving occurred, the time-honored tradition of giving thanks began as a celebration of the opportunities derived from the bounty of our land.
Today, families and loved ones will gather together to continue this tradition. The cooks of the family will prepare generations-old recipes using American meats, fruits and vegetables, as well as seafood from our coastal waters. Families will say their blessings and give thanks for all we have to be grateful for, including the land that provided the food on our table.
With this land, we are able to raise animals and grow crops that provide abundant food for our nation. America not only offers the resources to grow our own food, but also the bright minds to develop innovative technologies that allow us to grow enough food for our expanding population.
Over time, we've changed the way we produce food. The industrial revolution yielded new technologies for farming like the seed drill and horse hoe that transformed the way we grow crops. Research from American universities — including the University of Florida and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University — has also played a critical role in agricultural productivity. Technology that was born in the labs of these academic institutions enables us to use less water, improve varieties, increase yield and practice good stewardship of the resources we have.
Today, agriculture is more efficient than ever, producing more food and relying on fewer natural resources. In 1960, the 17 largest crops grown in America totaled 252 million tons of production. Decades later, America produces 700 million tons on 10 million fewer acres. As society becomes increasingly urbanized, Americans lose sense of where their food comes from. Thanksgiving is an annual reminder to be thankful for agriculture among our many blessings, including freedom, tolerance and opportunity.
Today, when you join friends and family to share a Thanksgiving meal, celebrate the bounty of our land as the Spanish settlers, Timucuans of Florida, Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians once did. Nearly four centuries later, Americans still have much to be thankful for.
Adam Putnam is Florida's Agriculture and Consumer Services commissioner.
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Rather than depending on government to prevent another tragedy such as Caylee Anthony's, I would suggest a proactive solution based on the way we teach young sailors in our Junior Fleet sailing class. We make it a rule that the kids always wear their lifejackets with a whistle attached. The only time they are allowed to remove their lifejacket is when they are under direct adult supervision. They are allowed to swim without their lifejackets only when an adult is there and watching them.
This way the kids develop good habits. And they know that if they blow their whistle, it means they need help, right now. Screaming can be a result of reacting to being splashed or other typical kids' behaviors. Blowing the whistle is a deliberate act. We also teach them to take a deep breath and hold it whenever they feel like they are going to fall into the water. This prevents them from gasping with their faces in the water. If their lungs are already full, they cannot inhale more air or water. So when they bob to the surface, they are instructed to blow their whistles. This proves that they have only air, not water, in their lungs and alerts anyone around that they might need help. The kids find this drill to be fun! Take a deep breath, jump in and blow your whistle immediately as you surface. Try it! Your kids will thank you by learning to help themselves.
Consider if Caylee Anthony had been trained this way and did indeed go into the pool unattended, as Casey alleged. She still would not have been able to get out, but wearing her lifejacket, she would not drown. And by blowing her whistle, she might have drawn the attention of a responsible adult neighbor, as her adult guardian proved herself to be absolutely worthless when Caylee needed her. Caylee definitely would have had a much improved chance for survival. And she would bequeath a noble legacy to other children.
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|What or Who:||Where:|
7 Pictures 1 Video
Scenic Painters offers a wealth of information about scenic painting and paint effects. There is information about the two and four week courses in Scenic Painting, the one day courses in Paint Effects and a large resource section with articles, advice, and information.
Scenic Painters run two types of one day courses.
Paint Effects for the Stage serves as an introduction to scenic painting. Students learn about four main types of paint effects, wood graining, marbling, brickwork and aged and distressed paintwork. The course is an ideal way for those involved in amdram groups or college productions to expand their repertoire of scenic paint effects.
Paint Effects for Interiors focuses on paint effects to transform your home. Again the day breaks down into four parts and students learn to paint a scumbled wall, a limed floor, how to prepare and paint furniture, and how to use stencils.
James Rowse began work as a scenic artist at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry. He has painted scenery for numerous theatre productions and has also worked on a number of TV and film projects. In 2006 James started DAP Studio, an independent scenic art studio specializing in scenery for the stage. DAP Studio, (Scenic Painters sister company) have painted scenery for English National Opera, Glyndebourne, Shakespeare's Globe, The Donmar Warehouse, The Almeida Theatre, The Royal Court, as well as numerous West End and international productions.
Recent customer reviews
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At the bottom line, the socio-cultural and economic systems of sustainable communities and regions are ultimately dependent upon the integrity of the ecosystems in which they exist. Exceeding the carrying capacity of soil, water, air, and plants, and/or otherwise compromising the bio-geo-chemical standards that underpin the ability of the full range of native species and habitats to flourish is, as the old cliché goes, “To foul one’s own nest.” UWRF and the City of River Falls are blessed with presence in the Kinnickinnic and St. Croix River watersheds, two of the premier water resources in the Upper Midwest, if not the nation.
The Kinnickinnic River and watershed (approximately 240 square miles), hosts an abundance of native brook and non-native brown trout, as well as very unique biological communities in the southern stretch. The St. Croix watershed (almost 7,800 square miles in size), is host to the convergence of three major biomes and hundreds of species of plants and animals, not to mention the river hosts 95 fish species and 44 mussel species, 2 of which are endangered and occur almost nowhere else in the world (the Winged Maple Leaf and Higgins’ Pearly Eye).
Closer to home, the UWRF campus hosts the South Fork of the Kinnickinnic (or it hosts us), and presents phenomenal opportunity to showcase what a restored, meandering floodplain and native trout stream habitat ought to look like for the sake of itself and the laboratory it presents to virtually every academic program on campus. We hope the resources below help to build on the collective appreciation and protection of the habitats that determine whether or not we will truly become a sustainable community.
As always, your constructive critiques and suggestions for refinement of this portion and the rest of the site are welcome.
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Via Did Weigel: Hot, Fresh Koch Damage Control:
The Koch Brothers: Since the time of its founding, when the original Charles Koch Foundation changed its name to the Cato Institute, Cato has been envisioned as a committed force to advance free societies…. [A]ffirmative steps were taken to convert Cato… to a stock based corporation… intentionally… because Charles, as principal donor and founder… wanted to keep oversight of Cato in the hands of a few shareholders who could be relied on to maintain the original intent and vision…. Cato has been operating under this structure for more than 35 years….
Charles Koch and David Koch went to great lengths to avoid this dispute. Their efforts were numerous, sincere, and went literally up to the last minute. The disagreement over the shareholders’ agreement has been going on for years with Charles Koch and David Koch receiving several proposals from Cato’s officers to dissolve the agreement. Charles and David consistently declined these proposals because they feel the shareholder structure is important to preserve donor intent…. Charles Koch and David Koch… sought to resolve the issue, or… table the issue for a year or longer…. They proposed a standstill agreement… for one year or longer. They proposed third party mediation. They proposed alternative corporate structures…. All of these efforts were rejected, and Cato’s other shareholder demanded that a shareholders' meeting be held on March 1 where a new party (Ms. Washburn – Bill Niskanen’s widow) would be named a shareholder and new directors would be named. The court action, filed immediately before the shareholders’ meeting, was a last resort to ask the court for help in confirming the meaning of the governing documents and the shareholders’ agreement….
[A] key principle of libertarianism is recognizing and respecting the rule of law. The founders of the Cato Institute reached an agreement and agreed to be bound by it. And that is what Charles Koch and David Koch are seeking here…. [L]ike President [George W.] Bush, if Cato’s leaders are willing to abandon a key libertarian principle – adhering to voluntary agreements – when they feel it’s convenient, the organization has lost its way….
Charles and David believe that upholding the shareholder agreement is crucial to protecting Cato’s principled mission…
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What is BS 10008:2008?
BS 10008 sets out the requirements for the implementation and operation of electronic information management systems.This includes data processing, information exchange between computers and electronic storage. The standard addresses issues relating to the authenticity and integrity of data, helping organisations to comply with the law and legal procedures. BS 10008 also covers the process of electronic identity verification, such as the use of electronic signatures and electronic copyright systems.
How does it work?
BS 10008 helps organisations to manage their electronic information over long periods and when their technology changes. By following this standard’s best practice guidelines, a company can better manage the various risks that are associated with electronic information and data security. Other topics covered are policies, security issues, procedures, technology requirements and the auditability of electronic document management systems (EDMS).
Who should buy it?
- Business managers
- Records managers
- Compliance officers
- Legal advisors in financial institutions
- Insurance companies
- Local government departments
We are global, we’re independent and we’re a trusted service provider to 80,000 businesses. We operate in 147 countries and are the number one certification body in the UK and US. We created 85% of our portfolio because we know standards and we know your business. We’re leaders and we can make you one too.
For more information about freedom of information (FOI) and data protection, visit the Information Commissioner’s Office website:
BS 10008 is available in two formats, as a hard copy printed version or electronically, as a PDF for download.
Also of interest
Four books support the standard and offer guidance:
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The incredible U.S. military spy drone that's so powerful it can see what type of phone you're carrying from 17,500ft
- The ARGUS-IS can view an area of 15 sq/miles in a single image
- Its zoom capability can detect an object as small as 6in on the ground
- Developed by BAE as part of a $18million DARPA project
- System works by stringing together 368 digital camera chips
By Damien Gayle
A sinister airborne surveillance camera gives the U.S. military the ability to track movements in an entire city like a real-time Google Street View.
The ARGUS-IS array can be mounted on unmanned drones to capture an area of 15 sq/miles in an incredible 1,800MP - that's 225 times more sensitive than an iPhone camera.
From 17,500ft the remarkable surveillance system can capture objects as small as 6in on the ground and allows commanders to track movements across an entire battlefield in real time.
Scroll down for video
Beat that, Google: An image taken from 17,500ft by the U.S. military's ARGUS-IS array, which can capture 1,800MP zoomable video feeds of an entire medium-sized city in real time
'It is important for the public to know that some of these capabilities exist,' said Yiannis Antoniades, the BAE engineer who designed the system, in a recent PBS broadcast.
The aerospace and weapons company developed the ARGUS-IS array as part of a $18.5million project funded by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa).
In Greek mythology, Argus Panoptes, guardian of the heifer-nymph Io and son of Arestor, was a primordial giant whose epithet, 'Panoptes', 'all-seeing', led to his being described with multiple, often one hundred, eyes.
Like the Titan of myth, the Pentagon's ARGUS-IS (a backronym standing for Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance-Imaging System) works by stringing together an array of 368 digital camera imaging chips.
An airborne processor combines the video from these chips to create a single ultra-high definition mosaic video image which updates at up to 15 frames a second.
All-seeing: This graphic illustrates how the U.S. military's ARGUS-IS array links together images streamed from hundreds of digital camera sensors to watch over a huge expanse of terrain in real time
What it looks like: The ARGUS-IS (a backronym standing for Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance-Imaging System) strings together an array of 368 digital camera imaging chips into a single unit
That tremendous level of detail makes it sensitive enough to not only track people moving around on the ground thousands of feet below, but even to see what they are doing or carrying.
The ARGUS array sends its live feed to the ground where it connects to a touch-screen command room interface.
Using this, operators can zoom in to any area within the camera's field of view, with up to 65 zoom windows open at once.
Each video window is electronically steerable independent of the others, and can either provide continuous imagery of a fixed area on the ground or be designated to automatically keep a specified target in the window.
Sinister: The system tracks all moving objects in its field of view, highlighting them with coloured boxes, allowing operators to track movements across an area as and when they happen
The system automatically tracks any moving object it can see, including both vehicles and individuals on foot, highlighting them with coloured boxes so they can be easily identified.
It also records everything, storing an approximate million terabytes of data a day - the equivalent of 5,000 hours of high-definition video footage.
'So you can go back and say I'd like to see what happened at this particular location three days, two hours [and] four minutes ago, and it will actually show you what happened as if you were watching it live,' said Mr Antoniades.
iPad next? The feed from the ARGUS is transmitted to a touch-screen command and control interface
Windows: Operators can open a window to zoom in to any area within the camera's field of view, with up to 65 open and running at once
Total surveillance: The view of Quantico, Virginia, highlighted in the PBS film
For the PBS programme reporting the technology, Mr Antoniades showed reporters a feed over the city of Quantico, Virginia, that was recorded in 2009.
The technology has been in development since 2007 but authorities are staying tight lipped about whether it has yet been deployed on the battlefield.
Dr Steven Wein, director of optical sensor systems at BAE Systems, said: 'The ARGUS-IS system overcomes the fundamental limitations of current airborne surveillance systems.
'Very high-resolution imaging systems required for vehicle and dismount tracking typically have a "soda-straw" view that is too small for persistent coverage.
'Existing wide-area systems have either inadequate resolution or require multiple passes or revisits to get updates.'
BAE are now said to be working on an infra-red version of ARGUS that would allow commanders total surveillance of an area even at night.
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On May 2nd, 21 women from Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia came together to take part in NLIRH’s Latinas Organizing for Leadership and Advocacy (LOLA) training held at DC’s All Souls Unitarian Church. The training was made possible with the help of our dedicated partners in Washington DC, Mary’s Center and La Clinica Del Pueblo. This was our 10th LOLA training and the third to be done entirely in Spanish.
The two-day training provided women with an introduction to the history of feminism and the women’s movement, the legislative landscape of DC, and the basics of community organizing. “Aborto Sin Pena,” a Mexican documentary about three women and their personal experience with abortion, was screened during the second day and inspired a lively discussion. The end of the training was met with a graduation ceremony where all the LOLA graduates received certificates for completing the training.
The main goal of our LOLA trainings is to strengthen the voices of Latinas within the reproductive justice movement. The trainings are designed to be a space where women can comfortably share their experiences as they learn new leadership skills and how to become part of our national reproductive justice campaigns.
To view pictures of this and past LOLA trainings, please visit our newly updated photo gallery!
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Stephen James O'Meara's Secret Sky: Measure the Moon
March 2010: Don't let psychological tricks fool you when determining the Moon's size.
January 25, 2010
|In my January column, I challenged readers to look for some of the finest naked-eye features on the Moon during lunar perigee — when the Moon is closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit. But have you ever wondered if we can tell whether the Moon is at perigee or apogee (when it's farthest away) using only our unaided eyes?|
The problem is that during the night the Moon sails across the vast vault of the sky unrivaled in size. During the day, only the Sun (which we should never look at without proper protection) compares to the Moon in apparent size. Furthermore, when the Moon lies just above the horizon, a physiological effect called the Moon illusion causes its image to swell in the mind's eye. And when the Moon stands high overhead, another illusion makes it appear smaller than it should.
Nevertheless, noticing a change in the Moon's apparent size shouldn't be too difficult. At perigee the Moon lies some 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers) closer to Earth than it does at apogee, making it appear roughly 10 percent larger. That's the equivalent of a quarter's size compared to a nickel's.
The varying size of the Moon over time became clear to Kevin Krisciunas, who visually measured and graphed its changing sizes with homemade equipment.
Photo by Kevin Krisciunas, : Roen Kelly
Few would argue that a Full Moon rising attracts attention. But I've noticed a greater "Wow!" factor when people see a perigee Full Moon rising. Arguably, then, we can detect the difference, at least on a subconscious level. But can we perform a more reliable test?
|Two thumbs up!|
Over the years, I've enjoyed experimenting with the challenge noted above and have found a simple solution. Just go outside when the Moon is visible in the daytime sky, hold out your thumb at arm's length, and point it toward the Moon. With both eyes open, first focus on your thumb, then on the Moon. What happens?
When you shift focus, your thumb should look doubled (the effect of parallax). Depending on your dominant eye, one of the thumbs will appear transparent enough for you to project the Moon against the phantom thumbnail! If you do this when the Moon is at apogee, then at perigee, you can detect a noticeable difference in the size of the Moon compared to the size of your nail.
A precision experiment
By pointing his homemade device at the Moon, Kevin Krisciunas emulates inventor Levi ben Gerson (1288-1344), famous for measuring the varying sizes of the Moon, the Sun, and various other stellar objects.
Photo by Sandra Rodriguez Krisciunas
Independently, Texas A&M University astronomer Kevin Krisciunas has also given this matter some thought. While teaching his students, Krisciunas began to wonder about the ancient Greeks and naked-eye Renaissance observers who long knew that the Earth-Moon distance varies — knowledge deduced primarily from observations of the Moon's size during total and annular solar eclipses.
But those observed changes in size could have been due to the variable Earth-Sun distance or Earth-Moon distance, or both. "So," Krisciunas pondered, "can we measure (without any lenses) the Moon's correct angular size, and that the Earth-Moon distance varies by plus or minus 5 percent?"
To find out, Krisciunas designed an experiment. Using a hole punch, he took a thin piece of cardboard and made a hole 0.24 inch (6.2 millimeters) across. He then attached the cardboard to a cross piece that could slide along a yardstick. By simply pointing the yardstick at the Moon and moving the cardboard back and forth, Krisciunas could match the Moon's angular size with the hole's angular size.
A hole 0.24 inch across, held 27.05 inches (687mm) from the eye, should subtend an angle of 31 arcminutes — the Moon's average angular diameter. But that's not what he found. Using the following equation: θ = 60 × (h/d) × (180/π) where θ is the Moon's angular extent in arcminutes, h is the diameter of the hole (0.24 inch), and d is the distance of the hole from the eye (which he determined to be 32.56 inches [827mm]), Krisciunas determined θ to be only approximately 26 arcminutes.
As Krisciunas discovered, and as the late Marcel Minnaert suggested in his 1954 book The Nature of Light and Color in the Open Air, psychological factors that are little understood play a role in perceiving the Moon. Indeed, Minnaert stated that if you look at the Moon through an aperture in a piece of cardboard with one eye, the Moon will appear smaller than when viewed directly with two eyes.
A Correction factor
Kevin Krisciunas shows off his homemade Moon-measurer, based on Gerson's staff of Jacob.
Photo by Sandra Rodriguez Krisciunas
Undaunted, Krisciunas took a disk 0.358 inch (9mm) in diameter and taped it to a door 32.8 feet (10 meters) away, so that its angular size would equal 31 arcminutes. When he looked at that disk through the 0.24-inch hole at a distance of 32.3 inches (821mm), he found a match of angular size (26 arcminutes). If we therefore divide the Moon's true average angular extent (31 arcminutes) by the measured average (26 arcminutes), we arrive at a correction factor of 1.2.
"If I take my uncorrected measures of the angular diameter of the actual Moon and multiply them by 1.2," Krisciunas says, "I get, on average, the correct angular size of the Moon accurate to plus or minus 0.8 arcminute. I've convinced myself [that] with my very simple equipment I can measure the variation of the Moon's angular size and eliminate systematic errors with my correction factor" (see graph above).
Krisciunas cautions, however, that everyone's eyes are different; observers may have to find their own correction factors. He'd like to know if you get the same correction factors for objects that are demonstrably 31 arcminutes wide, using a sighting hole that is about 0.24 inch.
If a 0.35-inch circle viewed at a distance of 32.8 feet comes out to 31 arcminutes, then your correction factor is 1. If you derive an angular size less than 31 arcminutes, then your correction factor is greater than 1, like Krisciunas'.
Sticking tape to his thumb, the author managed to semi-accurately determine the Moon's size, with an error factor of only 6 percent. Can you do any better?
Photo by Stephen James O’Meara
After speaking with Krisciunas, I took a piece of ½-inch masking tape on which I had penned a couple of measurement lines, and placed it on my thumbnail. I went outside, casually held my thumb up to the Moon, and measured the Moon's north-south extent against the ruled lines. Next I measured the distance from my dominant eye to my extended thumb. Back inside, I measured the Moon's projected size on the tape with a ruler.
The result? At that date and time, the Moon was 32 arcminutes in apparent diameter. My measurement? 34 arcminutes, off by only 6 percent ... not bad for a casual experiment! I know I can do better, and I bet you can, too!
Krisciunas and I would love to hear about your experiences. Send reports to email@example.com and firstname.lastname@example.org.
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By Michael Collins
There was a shadow over the national conventions of both political parties. The people know that the economy is much worse than anyone in the power structure will admit. As usual, the people are right. The real rate of unemployment is 23%, not the official figures we hear on a regular basis. The 23% figure represents all of those unemployed no matter how long, the involuntarily under employed (part time), and those who have given up looking, the discouraged, due to an chronically arid job market. If either wing of The Money Party, Democratic or Republican, admits to the the real unemployment situation, they would be forced to admit a complete system failure and compelled to act now. There would be no choice but to drop the nonsense about austerity and balanced budgets.
Here is how the fantasy of the official unemployment figure works.
Official unemployment includes those who are both unemployed during the week of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) survey and without a job for the prior four weeks.
The official unemployment number we see excludes those marginally attached to the labor force, discouraged workers, and those working part time due to the absence of full time work. The Alternative unemployment statistic is always higher than the official version. It includes most of the unemployed but excludes discouraged workers after twelve months without a job (See Appendix). In the chart above, you will see the official government unemployment number (U-3), the alternative number (U-6), and the shadowstats.com figure, which includes U-3 and U-6 plus all those unemployed who have given up. That represents 23% of the work force. (Graph Courtesy of Shadowstats.Com Shadow Government Statistics - John Williams)
By: Andrew Gavin Marshall
The following is a sample analysis from my upcoming book on the global economic crisis and global resistance movements. Please consider donating to The People’s Book Project to help support the effort to finish this book.
Political language… is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.
- George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language,” 1946
Political language functions through euphemism, by employing soft-sounding or simply meaningless words to describe otherwise monstrous and vicious policies and objectives. In the European debt crisis, political language employed by politicians, economists, technocrats and bankers is designed to make policies which create poverty and exploitation appear to be logical and reasonable. The language employed includes the words and phrases: fiscal austerity/consolidation, structural adjustment/reform, labour flexibility, competitiveness, and growth. To understand political language, one must translate it. This requires four steps: first, you look at the rhetoric itself as inherently meaningless; second, you examine the policies that are taken; third, you look at the effects of the policies. Finally, if the effects do not match the rhetoric, yet the same policies are pursued time and time again, one must translate the effects as the truemeaning of the rhetoric. Thus, the rhetoric has meaning, but not at face value.
Greece faces the unenviable choice between accepting the terms of “the Troika” and facing the continuation and deepening of a socio-economic crises, which includes five years of negative growth, over 23% unemployment, an astronomical rise in poverty (from less than 15% to over 40%) and mounting suicides, or a rejection of the “memorandum”, and a likely cut-off of Eurozone funding and capital markets with virtually few reserves to cover salaries, pensions or public services.
While the immediate cost of a break with catastrophic conditions imposed by Eurozone bankers may be high, it opens up the possibility of transforming the internal and external relations and structures which led Greece to ground zero.
Crises as Opportunity?
by Stephen Lendman
In 2008, a protracted global depression began, criminally manufactured by Wall Street and Washington scoundrels, complicit with major European partners.
Why? To permit greater financial and other corporate consolidation, more power, and ability to buy favored assets cheap, profiting hugely at the expense of millions of working households.
At the same time, Washington's got it own agenda. As White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel (now Chicago's mayor) told the Wall Street Journal on November 6, 2008:
“George Papandreou is not bought, he is rented. He sells public enterprises to the multinationals. He reduces wages, pensions and employment at the behest of the IMF. He turns over the public treasury to the European banks. He supports NATO’s war against Libya. He directs the Greek Coast Guard to enforce Netanyahu’s blockade of Gaza.” - According to a demonstrator in Syndigma Square, Athens, July 3, 2011
A self-proclaimed “Socialist” Government in Greece is imposing by ballots and clubs the most far reaching reversals of wages, pensions, jobs, educational, health and tax programs in the history of Western Europe.
by Stephen Lendman
Public rhetoric obscures important facts about these plans politicians won't discuss in their zeal to end them incrementally.
Medicaid is welfare for low-income beneficiaries, jointly funded by the states and Washington, managed at the state level.
Social Security and Medicare are insurance programs, funded by worker-employer payroll tax deductions. They're contractual federal obligations to eligible recipients who qualify. However, you'd never know it the way both programs are publicly discussed, explaining everything but the truth.
On August 14, 1935, the Social Security Act became law, known as the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program (OASDI). It provides retirement, disability, survivorship, and death benefits. It's still America's most effective poverty reduction program that's worked remarkably well since inception. It exists to provide secure inflation-adjusted retirement or disability income, unlike risking personal savings to create private wealth and perhaps lose it.
By Rady Ananda
Review of: The Global Economic Crisis: The Great Depression of the XXI Century
Editors, Michel Chossudovsky and Andrew Gavin Marshall
Publisher: Global Research, 2010 (391 pp)
There’s a certain irony to my reading this book while waiting at the Food Stamp office. I’m part of an increasing number suffering under the New World Order’s systematic destruction of the planet’s middle classes so as to concentrate wealth in the hands of fewer and fewer families. While global uprisings now threaten global governance under a single currency, scheming rulers have long anticipated this reaction. In The Global Economic Crisis, we learn exactly how a planet-wide military dictatorship plans to enforce its feudal vision.
Neatly organized into five sections comprising 20 essays by fifteen different authors, Global Economic Crisis carefully ties militarization with the planned economic meltdown. Client states and the U.S. itself have openly and sometimes secretly developed the legal framework for martial law. Testifying before a US Senate committee on Intelligence in early 2009, Obama’s Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, warned that civil unrest owing to the economic collapse posed a greater threat than Arab terrorism. One of the book’s essayists, Bill Van Auken, points out that this is the first time in several years that Al Qaeda did not top the list of threats to national security.
Until April 5, 2013 the 1984 American science fiction-horror film, directed by John Carpenter could be streamed or downloaded from a number of websites. They Live (Full movie) was in the playlist below created by Buddy Huggins.
|Your donation helps provide a place for people to speak out. thepeoplesvoice.org P.O. Box 159113 Nashville, TN 37215 Not tax deductible. firstname.lastname@example.org|
|Articles and Writers||Old TPV|
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bf sv nation crowdfunding battery charging
SAN FRANCISCO--I've written for many years about the new
development paradigm in the semiconductor industry, given cost
constraints and other factors. Since venture capitalists aren't
giving entrepreneurs any love, it's time to leverage crowd-funding,
as we've seen in successes like Adapteva
Now comes a battery-charging idea, based on Georgia Tech patents,
that's seeking funding.
, a company founded by a part-time blues singer and Harvard biochem graduate,
is looking for $50,000 to push its technology to market. To date,
the company has spent $300,000 in R&D, a third of that from the
founder, Elliott Small (pictured
). But as it nears the prototype stage the
company, working with Chargetek
(Camarillo, Calif.), is looking for a little bit more to get over
is a 120-day project, ending March 26, and
he's raised $950 so far toward his $50,000 goal
Why crowd-sourcing more money at this point?
"The money can be procured even in significant amounts fairly
quickly," Small said in a telephone interview, a small dog barking
in the background. "Campaigns can't last more than a few months
anyway. It's not borrowed money and it's not equity."
Indiegogo offers a few ways of building a crowd-funding project,
including entrepreneurs getting no money if the target is not
achieved or taking the money regardless of whether that threshold is
"It's a way of pre-selling the products...although actually you're
not selling. You're getting donations and you're getting a perk,
which is the legal background," said Small, who also moonlights as
an R&B singer.
So what's the technology? Small licensed two patents from Georgia
Tech that were awarded more than a decade ago, essentially software
managing the battery-charge process and keeping track of the state
of charge of the battery and applying the charge in a way that will
allow you to charge with a higher current.
granted in 2001, to Yi Ding, determines the battery's state of
charge by applying an alternating current pulse to the battery
before initiating a charging sequence and recording the battery's
response. Patent #6094033
granted in 2000, also to Ding, describes a similar approach to
battery monitoring and charging.
This isn't Small's first crowd-sourcing rodeo. He tried
raising money on Kickstarter to raise money to take a converted EV
across the country on a promotional drive. "I didn't really work at
it hard at (raising the money), and nothing resulted from it,"
But this time around, he's sees a much bigger opportunity, with an
estimated 2 billion cell phones and laptops being sold each year.
"There are two ways to provide faster charging for cell phones,"
Small said. "One is to work out collaboration with cell phone
manufacturers. We're working on that. The other is to target
cellphone battery chargers that people use to charge spare cell
phone batteries. That's a market we can approach right away while
we're working on relationships with cell phone manufacturers."
Electronics entrepreneurs are building leaner startups and getting
smarter about funding them, using today's tools to take ideas to
market. Elliott Small is one of them. Andreas Olofsson at Adapteva
is a another.
How about you? Does crowdfunding intrigue you enough to get that
idea out of your head and into the garage and prototyping phase?
Valley Nation: VCs still hate you
Valley Nation: The end of Silicon Valley?
Kickstarter created a community for Adapteva
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Nebuchadnezzar (nĕbˌəkədnĕzˈər) [key], d. 562 B.C., king of Babylonia (c.605–562 B.C.), son and successor of Nabopolassar. In his father's reign he was sent to oppose the Egyptians, who were occupying W Syria and Palestine. At Carchemish he met and defeated (605 B.C.) Pharaoh Necho, thus becoming the undisputed master of Western Asia. The sudden death of his father caused Nebuchadnezzar to return home to safeguard his inheritance, permitting Necho to escape to Egypt with part of his army. Three years later (601 B.C.) Necho defeated Nebuchadnezzar in battle. This event may have encouraged the revolt of Judah under Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim died shortly after the siege began and was succeeded by his son, Jehoiachin. In Mar., 597 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar crushed the revolt and carried off the young Jehoiachin and many of his nobles to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar then placed the puppet king Zedekiah on the throne of Judah. A new revolt occurred (588–587 B.C.) in Judah. After a siege of about a year, Jerusalem was finally destroyed in 586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar was a splendid builder, and Babylon with its hanging gardens was then the greatest city of the ancient world. However, Babylon was shortly to fall under conquest when Nabonidus was king. The book of Daniel depicts Nebuchadnezzar as a conceited and domineering king and tells of his going mad and eating grass. He is also called Nebuchadrezzar or Nebuchodonosor.
See G. R. Tabouis, Nebuchadnezzar (1977).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
More on Nebuchadnezzar from Infoplease:
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Ancient History, Middle East: Biographies
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From Be the Change: How Meditation Can Transform You and the World
What stops you from sleeping through the night? Is it when things are not going your way or they look topsy-turvy and you just want to scream; when your life appears chaotic and you are not sure if you are coming or going; or when it feels like everything is piled on your shoulders?
Life should be an exciting and outrageous adventure. Isn't it a wonder how a spider weaves a web or a bee makes a hive? Did you ever notice the small, everyday miracles, like the fact that you can breathe in and out? But how many of us get to experience this miracle? Sometimes life just feels too awful. We want to feel good, we want to be happy, in fact happiness is our birthright. But so often there are just too many difficulties to deal with. And although we may know that meditation chills us out, if we are feeling stressed or irritable then it just doesn't seem so appealing.
So here are three mini-meditations, moments to just stop and breathe and remember why you are here. A moment to check yourself out, to look within, and to find what is really meaningful to you. You can get it together even when you think it is all falling apart.
Mini-meditations can be done on a train, walking down the street, at an airport, standing at a bus stop, in an elevator, while sitting in the bathroom (often the only place you can be alone!). Silently count your out-breath up to ten times, or walk with awareness of each step for up to ten steps. Or relax each part of your body, then silently repeat "soft belly" for five breaths.
If you are at work, then use your lunch hour to find a quiet spot, perhaps in a park, or even in the office if everyone else has gone out. If you are traveling then use that time to consciously breathe, letting your awareness follow your breath from your nose tip to your belly and back out again. If you are driving or operating machinery and feel you are getting tense, then stop for a moment, breathe into your belly and silently repeat "soft belly, soft belly." Focus on any part of the body that is feeling tight and breathe into it, until you relax and let go. Silently repeat "soft shoulders" or "soft neck" and so on.
As you walk down the street or ride in an elevator, practice a mini-loving kindness by silently wishing everyone be well, wishing that everyone be happy. In the office you can spend a few moments repeating the names of everyone you work with and wishing them happiness. On your way home from work reflect on your day and generate loving thoughts to all those you met. When you send out relaxing and loving thoughts it relaxes the space around you and often any chaotic or disturbing energies will dissipate. What you put out comes back to you ten fold
1. Mini Breath Meditation
Sit comfortably with your back straight. Take a deep breath and let it go. Begin to silently count at the end of each out breath: Inhale . . . exhale . . . count one, inhale . . . exhale . . . two, inhale . . . exhale . . . three. Then start at one again. Just three breaths and back to one. Simply following each breath in and silently counting. So simple. Do this as many times as you want, eyes open or closed, breathing normally.
2. Mini Walking Meditation
You can do this walking along a country lane, a city street, in the office or the garden. You can walk slowly, normal or fast, whatever feels right. As you walk become aware of your walking, of the movement of your body and the rise and fall of your feet. Become aware of your breath and see if you can bring both your breathing and your walking together. Just walk and breathe with awareness for a few minutes.
3. Instant Letting Go
Find a quiet place to sit, have a straight back, and take a deep breath and let it go. Then quietly repeat to yourself: "My body is at ease and relaxed . . . my heartbeat is normal . . . my mind is calm and peaceful . . . my heart is open and loving." Keep repeating this until you have let go of the tension and are at peace. Then take a deep breath and have a smile on your face!
©2009 Ed and Deb Shapiro, author of Be the Change: How Meditation Can Transform You and the World
Ed and Deb Shapiro, authors of Be the Change: How Meditation Can Transform You and the World, are the award-winning authors of fifteen books on meditation, personal development, and social action. They are featured bloggers for the HuffingtonPost.com and for Care2.com, teach meditation workshops worldwide, work as corporate coaches and consultants, and are the creators and writers of the daily Chill Our inspirational text messages on Sprint cell phones. The Shapiros have taught meditation and personal development for more than twenty-five years. They currently reside in Boulder, Colorado.
For more information please visit www.EdandDebShapiro.com.
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The women of Hannah's Hands provide physical and emotional nourishment for hundreds of orphans who come through the Crisis Center. (Orphan Outreach photo)
Russia (MNN) ― It's no secret that Russia has an orphan problem.
Parentless children enter orphanages daily in the vast country, but where are they coming from?
Most start out in a Crisis Center.
In Crisis Center #15 in St. Petersburg, Russia, children brought in have been abused, neglected or abandoned. Many of the children suffer from diseases, including HIV and AIDS.
The consequences of neglect are evident in the children at the Center. Stunted cognitive, emotional, and social development, as well as physical problems, are just some of the results of a lack of care.
Once they arrive at the Center, their heads are shaved to prevent the spread of lice. Up to 20 infants and toddlers along with 40-60 older children fill the Center under the supervision of only one or two paid government workers.
The children stay in the Center for 30-90 days until they are placed into an orphanage.
When Orphan Outreach was alerted to the terrible understaffing problem of Crisis Center #15, help was immediately called for. The ministry's program, "Hannah's Hands," was developed to hire Christian women to help care for the children at the Center.
Hannah's Hands workers feed, bathe and pray over the orphans. The women offer the desperately vital touch and love that these children lack so severely.
However, a bump in the road has caused a huge problem for Hannah's Hands. Crisis Center #15 was closed for the second half of 2010 for much-needed renovations. Now that it has finally reopened, Orphan Outreach is in desperate need of funding to rehire women to care for the orphaned children there.
Support is needed for the women's salaries. A monthly salary is $400 for a full-time worker and $200 for someone who works part-time.
These women are likely the first images of Christ these children have ever seen. They live out James 1:27 on a daily basis. If you can help these women as they serve with just a meager salary, please click here.
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major changes to search today. The announcement was called "Search, plus Your World." It was the inevitable launch of the integration between Google's core product, Web search, and its new identity service, Google+. There are now two modes of search on Google, personal and global. Personal search shows users stuff from their Google+ circles, and global search is good old Google search, albeit with public Google+ posts included.Google shipped some
Before today, Google+ was shoved into Web search in uncomfortable ways. Public Google+ posts interfered with natural search when users were logged in. It looked like Google was going to force its social product into its users' lives. But that's not how it turned out. Today's updates put Google users' identities into their own hands.
We're still testing whether public Google+ posts are getting undue influence in global search mode. It is possible that Google is still giving preference to its own services. It has been known to do that in other categories, such as place results and videos. But today's updates to search changed one thing profoundly: Google's users do not have to use Google+ anymore.
As 4chan's Chris Poole so eloquently said last year, Google was moving toward a monolithic identity like the one Facebook offers. It seemed as though the only "you" that would matter on Google would be your Google+ profile. Last week, I couldn't take it anymore. I said Google+ was going to mess up the Internet by causing us to all rearrange our online identities around our Google+ profiles. I feared it would be the only way to matter in Google search.
To my surprise, Vic Gundotra himself saw where I was coming from. "Honestly, Jon has a few good points," he wrote. "We are working to address."
Little did I know, a huge overhaul of Google's search interface was less than a week away. When Google Fellow Ben Gomes showed me around, I was astonished by the extent to which users could control the experience. For those who want no part in this social search business, there's a total opt-out switch in search settings. If you stick with social search, as I plan to try to do, there's a toggle button to switch between personal and global modes.
That was enough for me to give the feature a chance. It's not evil if you can turn it off. But today, as I've been playing around with the new Google, I observed one of the new features in action, and I'm even more intrigued now.
I don't have the new personal search available yet, but some of the underlying new features are already working. When I searched for "everything is ablaze," the name of my personal WordPress blog, I was presented with a new set of options. Right inside the search result, it asked whether this was my blog. I hadn't added this to my Google+ profile yet, because it's for crazy, personal stuff, and I use my Google+ profile for work.
I indicated that yes, this is me. It then asked me a second question: Did I want to add Everything is ablaze! to my public Google profile? I said 'no,' and that was that. If I understood what happened correctly, people connected to me in personal search will now find my blog because it is by me, but I'm still free to keep that invisible in my profile.
That's the way I want it. My online identity is bigger than Google+. It includes a bunch of blogs, a podcast and a Twitter account, which is my main presence. That Twitter account is already listed in my Google+ profile. So will my tweets surface in Google's social searches for me? I've been led to believe so.
Google's Definition of "Your World"
John Battelle posted his reservations about today's update, lamenting the fact that Google's personal search would lean so heavily on Google+ and Picasa content but not include Facebook's, for example. I agree with that complaint; we should be able to express our online identities however we want on whatever services we choose.
Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land asked Amit Singhal about this, and here's what he said:
"Facebook and Twitter and other services, basically, their terms of service don't allow us to crawl them deeply and store things. Google+ is the only [network] that provides such a persistent service. ... Of course, going forward, if others were willing to change, we'd look at designing things to see how it would work."
MG Siegler doesn't believe it will happen. It's healthy to remain skeptical about that. But even before I got social search, Google indicated to me that it's looking for me on other services. It let me indicate that my WordPress blog is me. That's a social signal that will affect personal search, and it doesn't come from Google+.
It's true that Google's personal search will present Google-hosted content more attractively and with more features. I can't retweet a Twitter result from right inside Google search. But my Google profile associates my Twitter account with me. Yes, Twitter and Google's relationship is on ice. But tweets are ultimately Web pages, Google sees them, and it asks whether that Twitter account is you. The implementation might not live up to the ideal, but at least Google is trying to let our other Web identities be a part of us.
Facebook? Twitter? Your thoughts?
UPDATE 1:23 p.m.: MG Siegler got a response from Twitter about today's update:
"For years, people have relied on Google to deliver the most relevant results anytime they wanted to find something on the Internet.
Often, they want to know more about world events and breaking news. Twitter has emerged as a vital source of this real-time information, with more than 100 million users sending 250 million Tweets every day on virtually every topic. As we've seen time and time again, news breaks first on Twitter; as a result, Twitter accounts and Tweets are often the most relevant results.
We're concerned that as a result of Google's changes, finding this information will be much harder for everyone. We think that's bad for people, publishers, news organizations and Twitter users."
Sure they're concerned. Is it true, though? It's not like Twitter's own search tools are that helpful; Google is still the best Twitter search tool there is. It recently acquired Julpan, a social search company, so maybe Twitter has a better idea. But if you search for content that's on Twitter, Google will find it. If Twitter wants full-featured integration into Google search, that's up to them. I'm sure Google would be delighted to oblige.
Nothing about today's update makes things worse for Google's competitors in Google results. If anything, it just means they have more work to do.
UPDATE 1/11 8:07 a.m.: Yesterday evening, Google posted a snide response to Twitter on Google+ suggesting that the collapse of the Google-Twitter real-time search deal was Twitter's fault. It also says that Google has observed Twitter's
rel=nofollow instructions, so that Google cannot fully crawl Twitter users' streams.
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt told Search Engine Land yesterday that Google is perfectly willing to talk about integrating Facebook and Twitter into social search. The problem is that it has to happen on those companies' terms. If they could just strike a deal, social search would be great for users. Let's hope they work out their little tiff.
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Features include interactive map, in-depth stories, and more.Download now. »
The week's top five must-sees,
delivered to your inbox.
The Federal Land Development Authority, or FELDA, is a Malaysian government agency and the world's largest plantation operator. Since the 1950s, FELDA has given more than a million "settlers" land to farm cash crops, but now the business is being privatized. With shares of FELDA trading for the first time Thursday, worries are surfacing among the settlers about what the IPO will mean for them.
LinkAsia | May 10
Malaysia's opposition coalition is calling foul after losing to the ruling party in a general election which saw the highest voter turnout in the n...
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In 1992, the nonprofit Josephson Institute of Ethics hosted a gathering of experts in ethics and character education to find ways to work together, primarily by developing a common language of core ethical values that transcend religious, political and socioeconomic differences.
The conference, held in Aspen, Colorado, produced the Aspen Declaration on Character Education, which identified the values we now call the Six Pillars of Character — trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. Read more about the Six Pillars »
To advance the goals of the Aspen Declaration, Josephson Institute in 1993 launched CHARACTER COUNTS! and assembled its Coalition, which consisted of a handful of national organizations.
Today, the Coalition has grown to include thousands of members and affiliates, including schools, school districts, youth-service groups, and even whole communities. Read about joining »
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Planning, Design, & Construction Main Line: 282-2784
Director of Planning, Design, & Construction: Cheryl Hanson, 282-2533
Project & Space Manager: Josh Scoffield, 282-2887 (Interim)
Sr. Architect: Denton Dance, 282-4710
Campus Engineer: Mark Hiatt, 282-2899
Drafter: Josh Scoffield, 282-2887
The Planning, Design, and Construction Department can assist you with building floor plans, cost estimates, code requirements, space modifications, remodels, additions, and even new buildings.
ISU Project Managers handle all the planning and design of remodels that take place at the University. Projects can range from large capital improvements to smaller in-house projects. The list of large capital projects is compiled with input from each College/Division on campus and goes through an approval process in order to keep in line with the Universities core themes and goals. With licensed architects and engineers on staff, and a very experienced drafter, the project management team is able to handle most everything that comes our way.
In progress projects and recent accomplishments:
- ISU Master Plan
- Various remodels in the PSUB
- Infrastructure upgrades
- Grounds improvements (signs, sidewalks, etc.)
Q: How do I get projects on the capital project list (DPW list)?
A: Every year the project list is reviewed by the administration. Projects can be added to the list by going through your respective chair or dean.
Q: If I would like to remodel some of my space how do I get started?
A: You can always call the PDC main line but you will start most projects with a PSR form.
- The PDC department handles 2-3 million dollars of capital projects every year over the three ISU campuses
- The PDC department has hardcopy blueprints ranging from the early 1900s to the most recent renovations of nearly every building on each ISU campus
The Project & Space Manager is the first point of contact in the Project & Space Request process. He/She is responsible for tracking and reporting of all University owned space. We maintain an active database of departmental space in order to provide quick and accurate information to the campus community. Using this information allows the University to plan for the future and accommodate the needs that will arise. The Project & Space Manager also works closely with the Architectural Drafter to maintain accurate building plans for emergency planning, project planning and various other uses. To begin the project process, the Project & Space Request (PSR) form can be found here.
Examples of information available in the space management database:
- ISU Research Lab space
- Departmental space occupied
- College/Division space occupied
- Total mechanical rooms on campus
- ISU Clinic space
- ISU total Gross Square Feet
- NSF reporting needs every two years
Q: If I submit a Work Request do I still need to submit a PSR form?
A: Yes, a PSR form should actually be submitted prior to the Work Request if you are changing the space use or modifying the space in any way.
Q: What if I just want an estimate; would a Work Request be sufficient?
A: No, a PSR form should be submitted because every project receives a feasibility study and an estimate is created prior to work commencing in any situation.
- ISU occupies nearly 4,000,000 gross square feet spanning three campuses throughout Idaho
- ISU has over 230 classrooms over three campuses
- ISU has 228 research labs on the Pocatello and Idaho Falls campuses
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I'm interested in how cognitive science experiments are designed and executed. Up until now, all of the papers I've seen dealing with cognition use availability of test subjects as one of the major factors of recruitment for experiments. For example, students are recruited for an experiment, and because the group is so diverse, they are tested on general skills that the entire group would possess, like reading or math.
For example, consider this experiment: "Happiness economics" in reverse: Does happiness affect productivity? There were 276 university students and faculty involved. The students are tested with a math task.
Math and reading comprehension are general skills, and I can think of few people who earn their living with those skills, aside from SAT tutors.
I'm interested if there have been other types of cognitive experiments tried, where the skills used to evaluate experiment are at a "professional" level. For example professional athletes, soldiers or pilots come to mind.
- Experiments that use scoring percentage as a metric for basketball players
- Experiments that use marksmanship grouping as a metric
- Professional video game players
Are there any groups of people, whose professional skills are consistently tested as metric of cognitive performance?
Thank you for your input!
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<urn:uuid:6c3b2ccd-9ac7-47aa-acdc-31c6bb030d3d>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/1898/are-there-professional-cognitive-science-test-subjects/1899
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The Iowa Lakes Community College Board of Trustees Tuesday heard about the impact postsecondary programs are having on the college.
Mark Gruwell, executive dean of instruction and development, introduced Kari Hampe, secondary programs director, who outlined program options the college offers to secondary students.
They include: career academies, career and technical education programming, college prep, educational and postsecondary enrollment, shared programming and articulation agreements.
Kim Pouykham of Estherville started taking courses in the Hotel and Restaurant Management program on the Emmetsburg campus during her junior year of high school. She said she liked the career academy because it let her know how she would like the program.
Jackie Carlson, a senior at Emmetsburg High School, took four college classes last semester. She said taking classes at Iowa Lakes saves her a lot of money and that the classes are a lot more challenging than those she took in high school.
In other business, the board approved final training agreements for Brownmed of Spirit Lake and Simonsen Iron Works, Inc. of Spencer. Brownmed is expanding its facility by 50,000 square feet and adding 30 new jobs over the next two to three years.
The total amount of the training agreements was $110,000.
The board also approved permission to seek bids for the new swine farrowing facility at the college farm west of Emmetsburg. Estimated cost of the building is $400,000.
The board also held a public hearing and approved a $37.5 million budget for 2014.
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.esthervilledailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/517611/Trustees-hear-about-secondary-pr---.html
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Author: Albert Einstein (---.hsd1.or.comcast.net)
Date: 04-20-05 05:30
I believe in God like I believe in the sun rise. Not because I can see it, but because I can see all that it touches.
- C.S. Lewis, In Religion
So, now I have confess'd that he is thine,
And I my self am mortgag'd to thy will,
Myself I'll forfeit, so that other mine
Thou wilt restore to be my comfort still:
But thou wilt not, nor he will not be free,
For thou art covetous, and he is kind;
He learn'd but surety-like to write for me,
Under that bond that him as fast doth bind.
The statute of thy beauty thou wilt take,
Thou usurer, that putt'st forth all to use,
And sue a friend came debtor for my sake;
So him I lose through my unkind abuse.
Him have I lost; thou hast both him and me:
He pays the whole, and yet am I not free.
Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty-a beauty cold and austere, like
that of sculpture. -Bertand Russell, Mysicism and Logic, 1918
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://killdevilhill.com/sailingchat/read.php?f=110&t=280&a=2
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en
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Discover how worm gears are used to greatly lower rotational speed and how screws can convert circular to linear motion while greatly increasing force. By constructing five working models and reading the explanations provided, you'll master the engineering of screws. Instructions and materials provided to construct a screw press, folding lifting platform, two cranes, and a vice. A 36 page activity book is included with innovative experiments and detailed explanation of the different technological principles applied. Reccomended ages 8 and up.
WARNING: Choking Hazard - Small parts..Not for children under 3 years.
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http://www.scientificsonline.com/review/product/list/id/4962/?microscope_brand=85
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Audio slideshow: Thesiger's photographs
Sir Wilfred Thesiger took nearly 40,000 photographs during his eight decades of travels throughout Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Now, to mark 100 years since his birth, Oxford's Pitt Rivers Museum is displaying some of his most striking images.
For BBC Radio 4, the BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner - who met Sir Wilfred several times - has been to the museum to see the photographs.
Here - with the help of museum curator Christopher Morton and archive recordings of Sir Wilfred himself - he looks back at Thesiger's appreciation of desert communities and their ways of life.Continue reading the main story
It will then be available for seven days on the BBC iPlayer.
All images copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. Music courtesy KPM Music.
Audio from Unique Broadcasting Company. Slideshow production by Paul Kerley. Publication date 13 December 2010.
More audio slideshows:
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11954293
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Three UWO students from Nursing and Health Sciences completed a Community Service Learning placement at mindyourmind during the Winter semester of 2011. The students chose mindyourmind for their placement because they wanted to help deliver relevant on-line messages of hope and support to students who are experiencing stress or emotional challenges while at school. The students completed a scan of 11 Canadian universities to examine what the universities were doing online to support students and took a close look at what students at Western thought about on-campus mental health services in general.
The students then developed a public service announcement aimed at students as a call to action. “If you feel Like the world is moving too fast...” They also created video questions and answers specific to students at Western that could be used in a customized version of mindyourmind’s Reach Out Game aimed at reducing stigma and encouraging people to talk to their friends about tough or sensitive issues.
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A production music library is somewhere where you can buy the rights to various music tracks for your own commercial or personal use. Here we will look at why you would need this, how to go about finding music production libraries, how to use them and more.
Why You Need Music Production Libraries
Firstly, the reason that you need a production music library is that it will enable you to purchase music that comes with the rights. Of course it is possible these days to listen to almost any music that you want for free using systems such as YouTube and Spotify, so you might wonder why you would need a music library. This is particularly true when you consider that the music in a music library is largely not music you would have heard of before. This is random background music with no big names attached and often with no singers or lyrics. So why buy short snippets of music from someone you've never heard of when you can listen to the latest big hits and even download them for free?
The answer is because music production libraries allow you to buy not just the music, but the rights along with that music. This then means that you can use that music for commercial uses and in other ways that you would not be permitted to use it for otherwise.
For instance then, say that you are making a computer game, or a short film, or even a book, and say you then intend to sell this via a short trailer that would get people excited. If you use a piece of music that you do not own the legal rights to, then you will face a lawsuit following the release of the trailer because it was for a commercial purpose and you did not first get permission from the owners.
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Guest Blogger: Mary Chase Breedlove
Children’s Ministry. Sometimes those two words paint an image of angelic, frolicking children playing gently with colored building blocks and eating their cookies and Kool-Aid quietly at a kid-sized table. They sing songs and read stories about the Bible. They sit quietly through lessons. Sure, sometimes they may make you want to pull your hair out, but for the most part, they’re well-behaved.
For some, perhaps I’ve described a decent image of your very own children’s ministry. But I’m sure most children’s ministers and volunteers find themselves in a whirlwind of laughing, talking, running, jumping, playing, complaining, shushing, and the general “joyful noise” of children.
So what do you do when someone from your church criticizes your ministry because kids are laughing loudly in the children’s room? Or one took off running through the hallway?
A lot of the “church curmudgeons” known for their criticism can be very discouraging to children’s ministers, especially young ones. You know the people I’m talking about—the ones who don’t like loud music and expect nothing less than for the third grade boys to sit quietly and perfectly still for an hour-long lesson.
I understand people can be slow to change, and the idea of active learning may be foreign to some, but I want to encourage you to try to include them in your ministry. I know it’s hard to fight the temptation of arguing with them or being engulfed in rage. The next time they complain to you (or someone else) about how loud their room sounds or how energetic they are, invite them to participate in your Wednesday or Sunday activity. Let them see how important active learning is for children.
One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned working as a CentriKid staffer, production leader and director is the importance of active learning. Children learn though doing; some of the most intentional conversations I’ve ever had with kids have occurred while they are crawling around on the floor playing a game during Bible study or running through a sprinkler during an outdoor track time. Sure, it’s summer camp, but when kids are engaged, they are attentive.
If you have to crawl on all fours playing a game that illustrates the Gospel, do it. If you have to jump around doing hand motions to songs to get kids excited, they could memorize scripture in the process.
There is no limit to how children can learn about Jesus.
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Now that we've broken to the "other" side of Memorial Day, the days will be getting hotter and hotter while the humidity will climb higher and higher. You may notice the more frequent presence of muggy conditions and reference to the "heat index". What exactly is the heat index, anyway?
The heat index in summer is similar to what wind chill is to winter. The heat index is a measure of how hot it actually feels based on increased humidity. Humidity - or simply the moisture in the air - can make it feel significantly hotter to a person or living creature, and thus cause a faster onset of heat-related illnesses and problems.
As unsightly or smelly as it may be at times, your body's natural cooling mechanism is sweating. When the sweat beads on your skin, it goes through evaporation - a cooling process. The evaporation of your sweat keeps your body temperature in check, much like the cooling system in a car. The more moisture / higher the humidity, the slower the sweat will evaporate on your skin. This will lead to a hotter feeling since your body isn't cooling as fast. For example, when the heat index is 100°, it feels like 100° to a human because the body is having a tougher time cooling due to all of the humidity in the air.
While the heat index applies only to living creatures, it is still to be taken seriously because high heat indicies can have an effect on one's health. If the human body can't cool fast enough, heat-prone illnesses may settle in at a faster rate. These illnesses may include fatigue, heat stroke, dehydration, and heat exhaustion. Therefore, it's extra important to keep cool and not overexert when the heat index climbs over the 100° mark.
With hot and humid times guaranteed to continue for several more months, the heat index will become a common part of our weathercasts. Stay safe - stay cool!
3, 2, 1, fade out...
Chief Meteorologist Travis Koshko
(This blog typed while listening to "Summer Breeze" by Seals and Crofts)
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As a host Newsplex.com welcomes a wide spectrum of opinions. However this is a site that we host. We have a responsibility to all our readers to try to keep our comment section fair and decent. For that reason The Newsplex reserves the right to not post or to remove any comment.
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Source: Today’s Zaman
Although the Syrian military admitted it shot down the Turkish jet, the question of how the Turkish jet was brought down has remained a mystery. Some claims have surfaced in media reports indicating what might have caused the jet to go down. These claims include that the jet was taken down by a missile, anti-aircraft fire or a laser-guided or heat-seeking missile. There have also been some claims that the jet was downed as a result of accident or pilot error and not by Syrian forces.
The debate widened after Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz revealed that an examination of plane parts from the wreckage on July 8 showed there were no signs of a missile attack or anti-aircraft fire. On July 11, the General Staff raised the possibility of an accident by saying, “An ongoing examination of the pieces of the plane’s wreckage has revealed no results indicating that a weapon was used in the downing of the jet.”
Some military experts claim that the Turkish jet was downed as a result of “electromagnetic intervention.” The experts claim the jet was disrupted after being subject to high intensity radio waves released by electromagnetic (radiation) weapons.
Professor Selim Şeker from Boğaziçi University told Today’s Zaman that a plane cannot only be taken down but can also be directed to any destination with the help of electromagnetic weapons systems. Stating that armored cables should be used to prevent any electromagnetic intervention, Şeker said Turkish military planes are vulnerable to outside interference.
“Because Turkey imports military jets, the Turkish military does not know much about the software of these planes. As Turkey doesn’t have much information about the planes’ software, it is difficult to determine if the plane is exposed to electromagnetic fluctuations and what frequencies they are coming from. Thence, it [the Turkish military] cannot develop a prevention mechanism,” Şeker noted.
Another military expert who asked to remain anonymous told Today’s Zaman that because the software of the Turkish military planes was designed by the US and these planes are modernized by Israel, Turkey does not possess the software source codes for the planes, which constitutes a weakness.
“As Turkey does not own the software source codes, it can make Turkish planes open targets to outside intervention,” this expert explained.
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http://www.phantomreport.com/electromagnetic-intervention-may-have-downed-turkish-jet
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What is Solanine and Why are Nightshade Vegetables Harmful?
Solanine is a poisonous substance that occurs naturally in potatoes and other members
of the nightshade family,
such as tomatoes, peppers, tobacco, goji berries and eggplants.
A very small amount of solanine can be toxic,
and in very large doses it can be fatal.
Most animals, including humans, have learned the lesson and learned to leave nightshades alone.
Leaves, roots, flowers, stems, and fruits can all contain solanine in varying levels.
It is now apparent that there are groups of people who cannot tolerate nightshades in their diets,
wish to avoid them anyway or find that eliminating them helps alleviate a variety of mental,
emotional and physical problems.
The following links will provide more information on these poisonous vegetables.
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http://www.anaturalway.com/
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I ran across this concept of “Structured Procrastination” (click the the title) when I was researching laziness not too long ago. I think it’s an absolutely fascinating concept and I feel that I have implemented this by accident in the past. Specifically, my junior and senior years of high school. I had so much going on during those two years of my life. I was preparing for college auditions, gigging constantly, practicing, and all the regular high school work (which was a pretty low priority since I never particularly cared for school.) I was overwhelmed but somehow I managed all of it and managed it surprisingly well. As I mentioned, I think I got all this done by accidentally using this concept of “Structured Procrastination.”
Essentially, the concept is that you take the “negative” trait of procrastination and turn it into a “positive” trait that helps you get things done. This is done by prioritizing all of your tasks and getting the tasks that are lower down on the list in order to avoid the other ones. Eventually you cycle through all the tasks by avoiding the other ones and you have accomplished a lot.
Those last two years of high school I had so much work to do. So I think I subconsciously put off what was the scariest or ugliest piece of work at the moment and I would do other work. For instance, college essays were very tedious for me so I would work on my regular school work. Then finals came around and everything else seemed more appealing. And so on and so on. As tasks fluctuated in the priority list, they would all eventually get done. I am very proud of my accomplishments those two years of my life. I got into all the colleges I was really interested in, I got into the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, I had a lot of great gigs, maintained a 4.0 GPA in high school, and I still had time to spend with my friends and whatnot.
So, I guess the next step for me is to think about it and consciously implement “Structured Procrastination” into the practicing, business, and maybe even performance aspects of music. I’ll let you know how it goes. If anyone has had some success with this concept I’d love to hear about it.
Visit the link above (click the title) to read the article about “Structured Procrastination.” John Perry explains his concept better than I do. Apparently he won an Ig Nobel Prize for this concept.
Let me know what you think about this,
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The Tokyo Happy Coats racked up a string of albums and singles on the King Record label in Japan throughout the 1960s. I’m not sure how many albums they released, but the one in my collection is named for one of their hits, “Forevermore.” The Coats toured the U.S. and even appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.
The publicity photo up top was apparently not just a stunt. According to one source, the members actually played 26 different instruments!
The first song posted here, “Uptight,” is of course a cover of Stevie Wonder’s 1963 hit, and it’s surprisingly well done. My friend Peter Stenshoel used the other track (“Tea-A-Wanna-Whistle”) as intro music on Little City In Space, his syndicated radio show from the mid-1980s. It’s just a real peppy tune featuring the girls whistling.
Helpful note: Happi (法被, 半被) is a traditional Japanese straight-sleeved coat made of cotton and imprinted with a distinctive crest. Originally, these represented the crest of a family, as happi were worn by house servants. In English, “happi” is most often translated as “happi coat” or “happy coat.”
Tokyo Happy Coats – Uptight
Tokyo Happy Coats – Tea-A-Wanna Whistle
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http://musicnotmusic.wordpress.com/2009/01/01/happi-new-year/
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Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio on Sunday criticized President Obama’s immigration plan, the DREAM act, as “a short-term fix for a long-term problem” and said the president’s efforts on immigration have injected election-year politics into the issue.
“This issue is more valuable to them unresolved,” Rubio said, speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press.
He described the DREAM act, which would ease the way to legal status for young children of illegal immigrants, as too broad. “It could lead to these kids bringing in multiple relatives,” Rubio said. “We need to be compassionate but we need something that doesn't encourage more illegal immigration.”
The Supreme Court this week will issue a decision on whether to uphold Arizona’s controversial immigration law giving police new powers to demand that people show proof of U.S. citizenship. Rubio, who is often discussed as a possible vice presidential candidate, said he would support a decision upholding the law.
“When it was first introduced it made me very uncomfortable,” he said. But later, “I understood about what Arizona faces compared to Florida. I believe Arizona has a right to pass that bill. I understand why they did but it I don’t think it’s a national model.”
He declined to answer questions about his status as a vice presidential candidate, saying only that “I am confident that Mitt Romney is going to make a great decision for Vice President.”
See all NJ’s Sunday show coverage | Get Sunday show coverage in your inbox
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http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/rubio-suppports-arizona-law-attacks-obama-on-immigration-20120624
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THERE are many views on the recent action taken by Dr Wayne Kublalsingh and the Highway Re-Route Movement, in bringing their case to the public, as to why the portion of the proposed highway to Point Fortin, from Debe to Mon Desir, should be re-routed. Dr Kublalsingh has embarked on a hunger strike, and some of his followers have joined him in fasting. Whether we consider the actions to be foolish or an emphatic display of persons having the courage of their convictions, there is in civilised society the need to respect not only different points of view—but also the individuals who hold them.
Interestingly, the UNC's (United National Congress) Youth Arm chairman himself made this point in a media release in which he chastised Dr Kublalsingh for allegedly using obscene language last week to the Minister of Health when the latter sought to intervene in his hunger strike. The chairman talked about the need to communicate one's views in a "respectful" way. Yet when he was asked about the comments made by Government ministers at a UNC forum in Debe last Monday, he is reported to have said, "Statements made on the political platform does (sic) not violate a law".
First of all, that statement is rubbish in terms of whether a political speech can be the subject of a criminal charge. It is only in relation to the law of defamation that political speeches enjoy some privilege—and then, it is only qualified privilege. There is no such protection in the law of sedition, or incitement or even breaches of the peace. Hopefully, this budding politician will familiarise himself with these matters before he himself jumps on a political platform.
Secondly, the question of whether statements attributed to Messrs Warner and Moonilal at the Debe meeting violated the law does not arise. The issue was raised about the need to communicate respectfully, and this is what drives the criticisms by various persons of the statements of the two ministers.
What are those impugned statements? Mr Warner is reported to have said, in relation to Dr Kublalsingh's hunger strike, that he was killing himself and he should do so "quickly". That statement is itself callous as many persons have repeatedly stated.
Dr Moonilal's attack was more direct but equally reprehensible. He described the family as a "cult" and stated that he hoped he was pronouncing the word properly. This statement is suggestive of a recognisable obscene word and as such is particularly distasteful, offensive and totally disrespectful of Dr Kublalsingh's family who have been, in my view, a model of support and loyalty to their relative.
He reportedly described the hunger striker as a "fraudster" and a "trickster". He also apparently predicted violence from the controversy surrounding the Re-Route Movement's actions. The former statements are not only defamatory but also scandalous—unless Dr Moonilal has some kind of evidence that Dr Kublalsingh is somehow faking his hunger strike. Speaking for myself, the obvious fragility of the hunger striker seems to be a clear contradiction of this assertion. As to the suggestion of violence, what could be more calculated to put violence in the minds of persons who have conflicting views?
Government ministers are and ought to be held to a higher standard than ordinary citizens. We have through our parliamentary system of government placed them where they are. They are meant to be not only working towards a better quality of life for us all but should be leading examples. The behaviour of Ministers Warner and Moonilal this past week has not been in keeping with our requirements of those who hold such portfolios but more in line with rum-shop talk. They can be justified by no right-thinking person in this society and, despite Dr Moonilal's talk of numbers of calls, e-mails and texts commending him for his statements, they can appeal to no one except sycophants and bacchanalists. These ministers are bringing the Government into contempt whether they realise it or not.
It was therefore refreshing to read the responses of Ministers Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, Prakash Ramadhar and Winston Dookeran. Ramadhar described the language used by his Cabinet colleagues as "unbecoming and inappropriate". He recognised that as leaders, members of Government ought to "set the right example". Dookeran appreciated the "deep conviction" of the hunger striker for which he is prepared to die and called on the Government to engage in compassion and compromise. He warned that otherwise, T&T might be seen as an "uncaring" society in the eyes of the world.
While this Government has not specifically adopted the mantra of being a "caring" Government, its Prime Minister has on many occasions talked of her Government being caring (the Children's Life Fund) and one that was concerned about the needy, the children and the unfortunate. Are the words and actions of her Ministers Warner and Moonilal consistent with this position? It was reported that at the last Cabinet meeting ministers, including Minister Warner, said a prayer for Dr Kublalsingh's health. In the face of statements by Warner and Moonilal, was this not somewhat hypocritical?
This Government has to be careful that its reaction in the wake of Dr Kublalsingh's hunger strike is not the straw that will break its back. The fact is that for over two weeks, this has seized the public's imagination and has further polarised those elements of society that were already separate in their political allegiances.
What should be more disturbing to the Government however is that the roughly 35 per cent of the population that is not permanently aligned to any side is gradually shifting away from the Government. Last week's statements by the UNC ministers seem to be cementing that trend.
• Dana S Seetahal is a former
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Tourism, hotels, tour operators
The journey is not an end in itself, because people travel with a purpose, so they want to access information about their destination and to make bookings for when they arrive. AIC has put its knowledge acquisition skills in this area on a professional basis over many years of collaboration with numerous clients. As comprehensive as the information available from the tour operator, tourist information office or hotel chain may be, we will still delve deeper. We share this knowledge with our service center agents through a well-designed and sophisticated training system. In the initial phase, our trainers sit in on the calls until the material is internalized. Due to their experience in the travel industry and their personal interest in tourism, our service center teams continue to impress our clients. Their detailed knowledge and professionalism meet the callers’ highest expectations.
Our service center agents put themselves in the customer’s situation, handling their needs and preferences as if they themselves were making the journey. Top-quality service and top-quality advice are a good basis for a successful trip … and for repeat business.
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Buildings account for an estimated 40% of greenhouse gas emissions, yet between 20-50% of energy used in buildings is simply wasted through inefficiencies such as poor insulation and excess lighting.
Make it a priority. Using less energy saves money as well as being the right thing to do.
Conduct an energy audit to understand what, and how, energy is being used in your business.
Fit compact fluorescent light bulbs: they pay for themselves in a year, last up to 10 times longer than conventional bulbs and save more than 66% in lighting costs over their lifetime.
Fit draft excluders (or a door-snake works just fine too!) to exclude the draft from windows and doors.
Turn all office appliances off at the wall when you’re not using them or overnight.
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from freight transport by buying local food and products.
Energy in business
Make sure all your computers have the save energy feature activated.
Replacing travelling with teleconferencing or videoconferencing whenever possible.
Review your supply chain with “green” in mind. When you need to purchase new goods and services seek value for money, which includes energy efficiency as a key factor.
Waste in business
Introduce a multiple bin system to encourage recycling – one bin for paper/cardboard, another for plastics/cans and one more for general waste. Check with your local council what recycling occurs in your area and what is the best system for your office.
Default set photocopiers to double-sided printing. If you can’t do this, place a box next to the photocopier for waste copies and then have staff use them for note taking paper (saving the cost of notebooks!).
Set up a central memo noticeboard or a dry erase board to eliminate large amounts of office paper notifications.
Use office products made from recycled materials.
Avoid using disposable products wherever possible. Consider investing in ceramic plates and mugs instead of paper or plastic for the office kitchen.
Order supplies in bulk to reduce packaging waste.
Waste in business
Reuse old binders, folders and general office equipment to reduce waste and save on money.
Instead of throwing away unwanted paper, shred and reuse them as packing material.
Reduce margins to cut down on printing.
Water in business
Install low flow regulators to taps and showers.
Think about changing toilets over to dual flush systems.
Don’t run a dishwasher until it is full and use signage to encourage staff to save water.
A leaking tap can waste up to 200 litres of water a day – check your washers!
When you are washing your hands, don't let the water run while you lather.
Consider choosing water efficient options across all areas of your business.
Assess how your building uses water and keep track of how much is being used to easily identify problem areas.
The Power of 1
1 Degree is a great place to start.
Tips & Tools
There are hundreds of ways to save energy. We’ve provided a start.
The Garage Sale Trail
Australia’s largest community recycling initiative.
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Amen, AT&T is loudly proclaiming in response to Verizon and Google's call for a federal net neutrality policy that exempts wireless broadband from non-discrimination rules.
"Wireless is different," insists AT&T Vice President Joan Marsh on her latest blog post. The good news is that data traffic on AT&T's networks "continues to explode."
But the company faces the "ever-constant struggle between capacity and demand."
"Pitted against this insatiable demand are wireless networks of finite and shared resources. Wireless networks simply cannot provide the same amount of capacity as wireline networks (i.e., DSL and cable). Fiber is to a wireline network what spectrum is to a wireless network, and as a transmission medium, the two simply do not compare."
AT&T's Marsh estimates the "theoretical top speed" of a LTE 4G carrier at 100Mbps. "By contrast, theoretical transmission speeds on fiber can reach as high as 25,000,000Mbps. The 5 extra zeros tell the story."
The carrier insists it's doing all it can to manage this explosive situation, including rolling out 4G and building up its backhaul facilities.
But the post also calls upon the government to get more spectrum licenses to the wireless industry (which the FCC is indeed trying to do) while sparing AT&T any "onerous new net neutrality regulations."
"Perhaps what might help most of all is for agreement to be reached on net neutrality so we can finally satisfy concerns and put that issue behind us," Marsh concludes. "Then we could focus all our attention on a more urgent matter struggling for oxygen right now, and that's the National Broadband Plan."
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(written from a Production point of view)
Harry "Doc" Kloor (born 28 April 1963; age 50) is a scientist, writer, producer and director who wrote or co-wrote four episodes of Star Trek: Voyager. In 1994, he became the only American to earn simultaneous PhDs for physics and chemistry.
Kloor's first contribution to Voyager was writing the story for the third season episode "Real Life". For Voyager's fourth season in 1997, he co-wrote the teleplay for "The Raven" with Bryan Fuller. Kloor co-wrote the story for the next episode, "Scientific Method" with Sherry Klein. In 1998, during the fifth season of Voyager, he co-wrote the story for "Drone" with Bryan Fuller.
Kloor later produced, directed and wrote the computer animated film Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey, which featured the voice talents of several Star Trek actors including William Shatner, Chris Pine, Brent Spiner and Robert Picardo.
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By: Mike Thompson, Detroit Free Press
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Texting may be a better way to get at the truth than voice-based surveys.
People were more likely to disclose sensitive information via texting and give more precise responses when texting as opposed to voice communication, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and the New School of Social Research in New York City.
"This is sort of surprising since many people thought that texting would decrease the likelihood of disclosing sensitive information because it creates a persistent, visual record of questions and answers that others might see on your phone and in the cloud," said Fred Conrad, a cognitive psychologist and director of the Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research.
Conrad conducted the study with Michael Schober, a professor of psychology and dean of the graduate faculty at the New School for Social Research. When texting, people were also less likely to engage in "satisficing"--a survey industry term referring to the common practice of giving good enough, easy answers, like rounding to multiples of 10 in numerical responses, for example.
"We believe people give more precise answers via texting because there's just not the time pressure ... that there is in phone interviews," Conrad said. "As a result, respondents are able to take longer to arrive at more accurate answers."
People were more likely to provide thoughtful and honest responses via text messages even when they're in busy, distracting environments, the researchers said. The researchers say the findings are preliminary.
"We're in the early stages of analyzing our findings," Schober said. "But so far it seems that texting may reduce some respondents' tendency to shade the truth or to present themselves in the best possible light in an interview--even when they know it's a human interviewer they are communicating with via text. What we cannot yet be sure of is who is most likely to be disclosive in text. Is it different for frequent texters, or generational, for example?"
The researchers recruited approximately 600 iPhone-users on Craigslist, through Google Ads, and from Amazon's Mechanical Turk, offering them iTunes Store incentives to participate in the study.
Their goals were to see whether responses to the same questions differed depending on several variables: whether the questions were asked via text or voice, whether a human or a computer asked the questions, and whether the environment, including the presence of other people and the likelihood of multitasking, affected the answers. Examples of questions answered more honestly via text than speech:
• In a typical week, about how often do you exercise?
• During the past 30 days, on how many days did you have five or more drinks on the same occasion?
The authors were motivated by changes in the way people communicate which could impact the way survey industry conducts its business.
About one in five U.S. households only use cell phones and no longer have landline phones.
Cell-only households are typically not surveyed even though they tend to differ in important ways from households with landline phones.
Also, more people are using text messages on mobile phone. And texting is now the preferred form of communication among many people in their teens and 20s in the United States.
Texting may be a better way to get at the truth than voice-based surveys. People were more likely to disclose sensitive information via texting and give more precise in their responses when texting
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CMLC supports Muddy Sneakers with grant
Published: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, November 26, 2012 at 5:43 p.m.
A grant awarded to Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy will help support the outdoor-based curriculum provided by Muddy Sneakers in Henderson County elementary schools.
The grant provides $4,000 to fund Muddy Sneakers expeditions at Edneyville Elementary and The Mountain Community School in Hendersonville.
Muddy Sneakers provides field-based experiential education to fifth-grade students at public schools across Western North Carolina. The program’s mission is to awaken in children a deeply felt connection with the natural world, one that inspires curiosity, stimulates learning, and brings new life to classroom performance.
Founded by CMLC-conservation landowner Sandy Schenck, Muddy Sneakers is now in its fifth year of programming, serving 16 schools across five WNC school districts. Muddy Sneakers has developed curriculum for expeditions at the CMLC-conserved Green River Preserve and CMLC-owned Florence Nature Preserve properties.
“Muddy Sneakers cannot begin to express our gratitude to CMLC for securing this significant funding,” said the organization’s new executive director, Ryan Olson. “This funding is precedent in our continued partnership and shows an incredible commitment by CMLC to support education that directly ties into creating the next generation of conservationists.”
The grant was awarded by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation through the Conservation Trust for North Carolina. In the last eight years, CTNC has directed more than $10 million of private and public funding to local land trusts in North Carolina.
CMLC protects land to benefit the quality of life of residents and visitors in Henderson, Transylvania, Polk, and surrounding counties. Since 1994, the land trust has protected more than 23,000 acres of natural lands in our mountains. For more information, visit www.carolinamountain.org.
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.
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Yellow Lums are the 1000 fragments of the Heart of the World broken by the pirates. They contain universal knowledge. The more you gather, the more you will learn. You can access the secrets of the world by pressing F1.
There are 4 types of Lums. The most important ones are the Yellow Lums. There are 1000 of them. The Yellow Lums give knowledge to those who gather them and can also open doors into unknown places...
These are the 1000 shards broken from the Primordial Core when the pirates exploded it. When Rayman has collected enough of them, he'll be able to negotiate his entry into new worlds. In addition, they contain precious knowledge. The more Rayman can gather, the more he knows of the secrets of the world. At any moment in the game, just press F2 to read new information provided by the Yellow Lumz.—Manual (PC version), Rayman 2: The Great Escape
These are the 1,000 shards broken from the Primordial Core when the pirates exploded it. When Rayman has collected enough of them, he’ll be able to negotiate his entry into new worlds.—Manual, Rayman 3
These Lums arrange themselves to guide Rayman and Globox along the safest path through the level; they also do their best to increase Rayman and Globox's score.—Manual, Rayman: Hoodlums' Revenge
Yellow lums are pieces of the Primordial Heart that the rabbids have blown up. Once Rayman has collected enough, he can access other worlds.
Yellow Lums are the most important of all Lums. They, along with the Red, Blue, and Purple Lums, created the god Polokus, who went on to create the Glade of Dreams. There are exactly 1000 Yellow Lums in existence; when united (which seems to be their natural state), they form the Heart of the World, which was shattered into its constituent Yellow Lums by the Robo-Pirate army prior to the beginning of Rayman 2. Rayman collected all 1000 of them throughout the course of this game; the Heart (which contains them) is seen for the first time in the Fairy Council in Rayman 3. The Game Boy Advance version of Rayman Raving Rabbids contradicts the previous games regarding the number of Lums, featuring 1550 of them to collect, rather than the previously established 1000.
There is some evidence to suggest that the Great Protoon and the Heart of the World are in fact the same object; the reason for its differing appearance in Rayman and Rayman 3 may be its destruction by the Robo-Pirates and its subsequent reconstruction by Rayman and the Teensies. If this is true, then the 1000 Yellow Lums (in the form of the Great Protoon) actually first appeared in Rayman. If enough Yellow Lums are collected, the collector can find out the Knowledge of the World.
In most versions of Rayman 2, Razorbeard eats a Yellow Lum during a cutscene. This causes the total Yellow Lum counter on the heads-up display to decrease from 1000 to 999. This Lum, however, can later be found in a secret room in the Tomb of the Ancients. In Rayman Revolution, it is instead found in the same chest as the Lums Radar, also in the Tomb of the Ancients.
In the PlayStation version, there are only 800 Yellow Lums and Rayman no longer receives the Knowledge of the World from them. In this version, the Yellow Lum which Razorbeard eats is replaced with a Red one. There are also 800 Lums in Rayman 2 Forever. When the word Lums first comes up, it says it as ‘Lumz’.
In the Game Boy Advance version of Rayman Raving Rabbids, there are 1550 Yellow Lums to be found. However, in the Nintendo DS version the Yellow Lums have a totally different use; Rayman uses Yellow Lums to throw Energy Spheres, which do greater damage on enemies. Yellow Lums can be found in a great group, being called as "Bag of Lums". These are hidden in a single unit for every level of the game.
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[Adapted from Victorian Types, Victorian Shadows: Biblical Typology in Victorian Literature, Art, and Thought, 1980. Full text]
Whereas Jane's citing the death of the first-born children of Eygpt makes an explicit judgment on her own romantic idolatry, Rochester's citation of scripture demonstrates a complete lack of self-awareness. After Jane leaves her room convinced that she has disobeyed God's commandments, he tries to convince her to go away with him, and he tells her that he does not "mean to torment you with the hideous associations and recollections of Thornfield Hall — this accursed place — this tent of Achan . . . — this narrow stone hell, with its one real fiend, worse than a legion of such as we imagine" (ch. 27).
In mentioning Achan's tent, Rochester condemns himself by admitting more than he realizes, for Achan was the Israelite who disobeying God's command that no Jew should take spoil from conquered Jericho, brought disaster upon his people. When Joshua prostrates himself in the dust before God's ark, the Lord informs him that He will no longer "be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed among you" (Joshua 7:12). When Joshua urges Achan to glorify the Lord with his confession of guilt, he admits that he has hidden gold, silver, and "a goodly Babylonish garment" beneath his tent. Thereupon, the Israelites punish the source of their alienation from God and consequent military disaster by stoning Achan and his family to death and then burning their bodies. Rochester, who still refuses to see that he has done anything wrong in trying to marry Jane while his first wife still lives, believes that Thornfield Hall is a "tent of Achan" only in so far as it contains the evidence of crime. Furthermore, Rochester, who has failed to learn from the story of Achan that God punishes severely, still believes he can evade all consequences of his acts. Thus, in a manner quite common in works whose characters misapply types to themselves and their situations, Jane Eyre uses such symbolism to convict Rochester of both sin and lack of self-knowledge. By placing these contrasting citations of types within a few pages of each other, Brontë manages to define the spiritual condition of her two main characters at a crucial point in the narrative. Moreover, by having Rochester describe Thornfield in terms of stone and fire- that is, as "a narrow stone hell"- she reminds her reader of Achan's fate and, as it turns out, also makes that fate a partial type of Rochester's.
Last modified 1998
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