text stringlengths 181 608k | id stringlengths 47 47 | dump stringclasses 3 values | url stringlengths 13 2.97k | file_path stringlengths 125 140 | language stringclasses 1 value | language_score float64 0.65 1 | token_count int64 50 138k | score float64 1.5 5 | int_score int64 2 5 |
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The bio-box on the Wikipedia page for the notorious Lebanese Maronite warlord/militiaman Samir Geagea, who is meeting with American officials this week in Washington, D.C., reads rather interestingly:
Born: October 25, 1952
Occupation: War Criminal
Home town: Bsharre
Known for: Assasinations and Killing Civilians
Predecessor: Fouad Abou Nader
Political party: Lebanese Forces
Religious beliefs: Maronite
Spouse: Sitrida Taouk Geagea
Listening to many, it is not all that far from the truth:
In one of the most notorious events of the war, Samir Geagea of Bcharré amassed several hundred militiamen, went into the home of Tony Franjieh (son of President Suleiman Franjieh) in Ehden and proceeded to kill him and his entire family as they slept. While this was explained by political differences between the two families, in fact it had its roots in a feud between the Geageas and the Franjiehs, which dates back to the 19th century. At that time, according to local (Bcharré) lore, a Geagea woman was killed by two Ehden men after offering them water and food. In response Bcharré’s residents burden down the town of Ehden and killed many of its inhabitants.
On Geagea’s visit, he has met with top State and Defense Department officials responsible for Near and Middle Eastern affairs, including NSC advisor Elliot Abrams, whose expertise on the Middle East and North Africa was elucidated to me when he explained to a friend in the DoS that although there was no real geopolitical reason (aside from arms sales, which have been on the decline) to support Morocco’s claim/occupation of the Western Sahara since the Cold War had ended his persistent support for the Moroccan position derived from the fact that “I just like Moroccans.” Perhaps his affection for Mr. Geagea comes from a similar impulse.
Abrams said, “We were impressed by the loyalty and patriotism of all the March 14 leaders, and their willingness to work for their country, but we waited for long time for you Dr Geagea. Now that I have met you I feel honored and I want to welcome you back to Washington.
I Believe you said that what was needed was faith and perseverance and effort. Here I disagree with you a bit. What is required is what you have proven through faith, perseverance, effort and courage untold. Therefore, I salute you of all what you have done and I am honored to be with you and welcome you to Washington. | <urn:uuid:d56c85a4-23ee-41da-a8b5-24889638a4d5> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://themoornextdoor.wordpress.com/2008/03/14/wikipedia-on-geagea/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280730.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00250-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97623 | 567 | 1.78125 | 2 |
filmgimp - Image manipulation program supporting 16-bit color and a
filmgimp [-h] [--help] [-v] [--version] [-b] [--batch <commands>] [-n]
[--no-interface] [--no-data] [--verbose] [--no-shm] [--no-xshm] [--dis-
play display] [--no-splash] [--no-splash-image] [--debug-handlers]
Film Gimp is a motion picture editing tool primarily used for painting
and retouching of individual movie frames. With sixteen bits per compo-
nent instead of eight, Film Gimp has much more color depth capacity
than Gimp. Film Gimp extended Gimp to operate upon a series of images,
known as the frame manager, and in 16-bit linear and floating point
color depths. Film Gimp is currently based upon the HOLLYWOOD 1.0.4
branch of Gimp, but is no longer a part of the GIMP project.
Film Gimp features a set of drawing, painting, and selection tools
along with a frame manager to allow for quickly and easily working with
multiple sequential image files.
Film Gimp has the script-fu scripting extension which allows for
advanced non-interactive processing and creation of images.
Display a list of all commandline options.
Output the version info.
-b, --batch <commands>
Execute the set of <commands> non-interactively. The set of
<commands> is typically in the form of a script that can be
executed by one of the Gimp scripting extensions.
Run without a user interface.
Do not load patterns, gradients, palettes, or brushes. Often
useful in non-interactive situations where startup time is to
Show startup messages.
Do not use shared memory between Film Gimp and its plugins.
Instead of using shared memory, Film Gimp will send the data
Use the designated X display.
Do not show the splash screen.
Do not show the splash screen image as part of the splash
Enable debugging signal handlers.
Do not popup dialog boxes on errors or warnings. Print the mes-
sages on the console instead.
DISPLAY to get the default host and display number.
to get the name of a resource file that overrides the global
resources stored in the RESOURCE_MANAGER property.
Most Film Gimp configuration is read in from the users init file,
$HOME/.filmgimp/gimprc. The system wide equivalent is in $PRE-
FIX/share/filmgimp/$VERSION/gimprc. The system wide file is parsed
first and the user's gimprc overrides the sytem settings. $PRE-
FIX/share/filmgimp/$VERSION/gimprc_user is the default gimprc placed in
users home directories the first time a user runs filmgimp.
Film Gimp's data files are stored in $PREFIX/share/filmgimp/$VERSION
where $PREFIX is set on install, but is typically /usr/local.
$HOME/.filmgimp/gtkrc - users set of GTK config settings. Options such
as widget color and fonts' sizes can be set here.
$PREFIX/share/filmgimp/$VERSION/gtkrc - sytem wide default set of GTK
$HOME/.filmgimp/menurc - user's set of keybindings.
$HOME/.filmgimp/plug-ins - location of user installed plugins.
$HOME/.filmgimp/pluginrc - plugin initialization values are stored
here. This file is parsed on startup and regenerated if need be.
$HOME/.filmgimp/tmp - default location that gimp uses as temporary
$PREFIX/share/filmgimp/$VERSION/brushes - system wide brush files.
$HOME/.filmgimp/brushes - user created and installed brush files. This
files are in the .gbr (gimp brush) format.
$PREFIX/share/filmgimp/$VERSION/patterns - basic set of patterns for
use in Film Gimp.
$HOME/.filmgimp/patterns - user created and installed Film Gimp pattern
files. These files are in the .pat format.
$PREFIX/share/filmgimp/$VERSION/gradients - standard system wide set of
$HOME/.filmgimp/gradients - user created and installed gradient files.
$PREFIX/share/filmgimp/$VERSION/scripts - system wide directory of
scripts used in Script-Fu and other scripting extensions.
$HOME/.filmgimp/scripts - user created and installed scripts.
$HOME/.filmgimp/gflares - user created and installed gflare files.
$HOME/.gimp/gfig - user created and installed gfig files.
$PREFIX/share/filmgimp/$VERSION/gimp_splash.ppm - graphic file used for
the gimp splash screen.
$PREFIX/share/filmgimp/$VERSION/gimp_logo.ppm - graphic file used in
the gimp about dialog.
$PREFIX/share/filmgimp/$VERSION/gimp_tips.txt - list of tips displayed
in the "Tip of the Day" dialog box.
Copyright © 1995 Spencer Kimball and Peter Mattis
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its
documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, pro-
vided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that
both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in sup-
SUGGESTIONS AND BUG REPORTS
Any bugs found should be reported to the Film Gimp Developer mailing
list at firstname.lastname@example.org or you may want to make use of the online
bug-tracking system available on the web at http://filmgimp.source-
When reporting Film Gimp bugs, it is important to include a reliable
way to reproduce the bug, version number of Film Gimp (and probably
GTK), OS name and version, and any relevant hardware specs. It is also
very important to include as much info as possible about the Xserver
the problem was found on including at least server name, the visual,
and the bit depth.
If a bug is causing a crash, it is very useful if a stack trace can be
forge website http://filmgimp.sf.net.
The complete history of Film Gimp has been cronicled by Robin Rowe at
the Film Gimp homepage. Currently there are many active developers
working on different aspects of film gimp. Most can be reached on the
Film Gimp Devellopers mailing list.
Major contibutors are: Robin Rowe, Sam Richards, Caroline Dahllof,
Jonathan Cohen, Andrew Lau,......
Note: Please let me know if your name should be here! I've based this
on what I remember seeing coming over the filmgimp-devel list so I'm
sure I've missed many a folk.
The Authors of Gimp 1.0.4 are Spencer Kimball and Peter Mattis.
With patches, fixes, plugins, extensions, scripts and more from lots
and lots of people including but not limited to Lauri Alanko, Shawn
Amundson, John Beale, Zach Beane, Tom Bech, Marc Bless, Edward Blevins,
Roberto Boyd, Seth Burgess, Brent Burton, Ed Connel, Andreas Dilger,
Larry Ewing, David Forsyth, Jim Geuther, Scott Goehring, Heiko Goller,
Michael Hammel, Christoph Hoegl, Jan Hubicka, Simon Janes, Ben Jackson,
Tim Janik, Tuomas Kuosmanen, Peter Kirchgessner, Karl LaRocca, Jens
Lautenbacher, Laramie Leavitt, Raph Levien, Adrian Likins, Ingo Luetke-
bohle, Josh MacDonald, Ed Mackey, Marcelo Malheiros, Ian Main, Torsten
Martinsen, Federico Mena, Adam D. Moss, Shuji Narazaki, Sven Neumann,
Stephen Robert Norris, Erik Nygren, Miles O'Neal, Jay Painter, Mike
Phillips, Raphael Quinet, James Robinson, Mike Schaeffer, Tracy Scott,
Manish Singh, Nathan Summers, Mike Sweet, Eiichi Takamori, Tristan Tar-
rant, Owen Taylor, Ian Tester, James Wang, Kris Wehner.
Film gimp January 2003 Film gimp(1) | <urn:uuid:b3acf319-cc77-4a45-b6f0-b44e9fc24d47> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://ccrma.stanford.edu/planetccrma/man/man1/cinepaint.1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280128.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00386-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.755492 | 1,901 | 1.742188 | 2 |
The world of search engine optimization (SEO) can be confusing, particularly as the rules seem to change every year. As such, it is a breeding ground for myths and misconceptions, many of which can end up costing marketing teams both time and money.
To help you avoid making SEO mistakes, we’ve put together a quick list that debunks common myths surrounding the practice.
Myth #1: SEO is essentially a scam
Unfortunately, many businesses are missing out on the lucrative powers of SEO thanks to the misconception that the practice is shady or unethical. It is likely that this myth has come about thanks to the ubiquity of spam emails promising companies top rankings in Google in exchange for a fee. However, this is not SEO. In reality, SEO takes real time and commitment by marketing professionals that know their sector inside and out.
Myth #2: SEO is just about keywords
Whilst the use of keywords can be a valuable part of an SEO strategy, marketers need to look far beyond this simple technique if they want to drive traffic to their websites. Indeed, search engines such as Google use complex algorithms that take into account a whole host of factors including site usability, backlinks, domain history, loading speeds, page age and much, much more.
Myth #3: SEO is a one-time project
It can be tempting to put SEO to one side once you have given it a go, particularly if you felt that the results were minimal. However, it is important to realize that SEO can take time to be effective and requires consistent effort. Indeed, allowing your site to sit stagnant for months can lead to issues surrounding outdated content, link rotting, and new algorithms affecting the ranking of your site. These factors can combine to allow competitors to move ahead of you in search engine rankings, thereby costing you money.
To avoid falling by the wayside, take advantage of Google Analytics to look at engagement statistics such as session duration, bounce rate, new visitors, and CTR. These will help alert you to issues with your site and tell you what parts of your SEO strategy to focus on. | <urn:uuid:696e44ff-3f45-46ae-8671-0ac26405c4ba> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.pinecode.co/blog/dont-fall-for-these-common-seo-myths/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571536.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811224716-20220812014716-00278.warc.gz | en | 0.955885 | 426 | 1.796875 | 2 |
This article originally appeared on the PUBLIC DISCOURSE Ethics, Law, and the Common Good, the online journal of The Witherspoon Institute of Princeton, NJ. This article is reprinted with permission.
Learning from a religious skeptic's rejection of polygamy and easy divorce
While often hostile to the Calvinist Christianity in which he was reared, David Hume’s essay “Of Polygamy and Divorces” offers a vigorous and well-argued defense of marriage arrangements as they existed in England and many other parts of Europe from the early Middle Ages through most of the 18th century. His arguments have great relevance for us today as we struggle to cope with unprecedented rates of divorce and unprecedented ease of both entering into and exiting marriages and other intimate procreative relationships. His arguments against polygamy are also important as that practice seems to be undergoing something of a resurgence in parts of the southwest, with renewed interest in the popular culture.
Hume begins the substantive part of his inquiry with a brief description of the great variety of marriage practices and customs that have existed throughout the world, noting that “as circumstances vary and the laws propose different advantages, we find that, in different times and places, they impose different conditions” on the marriage contract. Custom and law in different times and places have permitted polygamous marriages (one man with several wives); confined one man to one woman (sometimes allowing for divorce and remarriage and other times not); permitted one man to have two wives but no more than two; assigned multiple men to one wife; permitted group marriages between numerous men and numerous women; and even, as in the case of Tonkin (Vietnam), permitted foreign sailors “when the ships come into harbor” to engage in temporary marriages with local women that lasted only for a season.
But Hume is no cultural relativist and rejects the view that all marriage customs are equally good at producing desirable results. Much of his essay is devoted to showing the many harms and disadvantages of two of the most common types of marriage arrangements outside the Christian West: polygamy in which men have multiple wives, and monogamous marriages in which the spouses are permitted to dissolve their marriage and marry someone else.
Hume begins his critique of polygamy with the challenge of a hypothetical defender. Having multiple wives, says the polygamy defender, is “the only effectual remedy for the disorder of love and the only expedient for freeing men from that slavery to the females which the natural violence of our passion has imposed upon us.” It is by multiple partners alone—partners who can be used at will and played off one against the other—that “[we men] regain our right of sovereignty, and sating our appetite, reestablish the authority of reason in our minds, and, of consequence, our own authority in our families.”
Hume’s answer to the polygamy defender continues in the tradition of Locke’s famous attack on patriarchy and does so in a manner that strongly resonates with contemporary liberal sensibilities. The sovereignty of the male in a polygamous marriage, says Hume, “is a real usurpation and destroys that nearness of rank, not to say equality, which nature has established between the sexes. We are, by nature, their lovers, their friends, their patrons: Would we willingly exchange such endearing appellations for the barbarous title of master and tyrant?”
brought on by polygamous marriage do not stop with the adults in the arrangement, according to
Hume. Children brought up under such a marriage learn only the lifestyle of masters and slaves
and never come to understand the importance of human equality. The huge number of offspring
produced by such an arrangement also deprives each child of substantial fatherly guidance,
since a polygamous father will have little time to spend with each of his numerous progeny.
“Those who pass the early part of life among slaves,” says Hume, “are only qualified to
be themselves slaves and tyrants, and in every future intercourse either with their inferiors
or superiors are apt to forget the natural equality of mankind. What attention, too, can it be
supposed a parent, whose seraglio affords him fifty sons, will give to instilling principles
of morality or science into a progeny with whom he himself is scarcely acquainted…?”
with polygamous marriage, and “matched one man with one woman” as a more desirable marital
arrangement, Hume turns his sights to the “duration we shall assign to their [monogamous]
union” and to “whether we shall admit of those voluntary divorces which were customary
among the Greeks and Romans.” The arguments of the defenders of divorce seem strong: “Let
us separate hearts which were not made to associate together,” they say, so that divorcing
spouses “[may each] find another for which it is better fitted.” “Nothing can be more
cruel,” they continue, “than to preserve by violence an union which, at first, was made by
mutual love, and is now, in effect, dissolved by mutual hatred.”
Hume responds to
these arguments on two fronts: the welfare of children and the happiness of spouses. His
arguments closely parallel those of the critics of our contemporary “no fault” divorce
culture. “What must become of the children upon the separation of the parents?” he asks.
“Must they be committed to the care of a stepmother, and instead of the fond attention and
concern of a parent, feel all the indifference or hatred of a stranger or an enemy? … And
shall we seek to multiply those inconveniencies by multiplying divorces and putting it in the
power of parents, upon every caprice, to render their posterity miserable?”
believed, as did almost all the English of his day (and almost all Americans until quite
recently), that children generally thrive best when brought up in a two-parent, husband-wife
household, where the children are the biological offspring of both parents. Both reason and
common experience justified such a judgment. Divorce and the breakup of the marital household
were viewed as harmful to children, since, even if the divorced parents remarry, step-parents
usually don’t have the same warmth or commitment in rearing other people’s children as in
rearing their own. This for Hume—and most of his contemporaries—was a simple fact of
everyday experience that needed no proof. Stereotypes of wicked or cold stepmothers existed
precisely because the stereotypes contained a good deal of easily observable statistical
What Hume has to
say about divorce and the happiness of spouses contains his most profound insight into human
relationships and the difficulties of sustaining marital happiness. Contrary to what some
romantics may think, marital happiness and conjugal human love cannot be sustained by amorous
or infatuating passions, Hume says, since they are by nature unstable and fleeting. “Amorous
love,” he says, “is a restless and impatient passion, full of caprices and
variations—arising in a moment from a feature, from an air, from nothing, and suddenly
extinguishing after the same manner.” Whatever its value may be, no marriage can be
sustained by it.
Hume proposed as
his alternative the companionate friendship that is fostered by and preserves marriage. This,
Hume says, is an affection “calm and sedate … conducted by reason and cemented by habit,
springing from long acquaintance and mutual obligations, without jealousies or fears, and
without those feverish fits of heat and cold, which cause such an agreeable torment in the
amorous passion.” Abiding friendship and the sharing of life’s experiences and tasks, says
Hume, are what render the married state both endurable and happy.
Does the presence of an option for “voluntary divorce” within a marriage negatively affect the cultivation of friendship between the marital partners and hence their conjugal happiness? It does, says Hume, and it does so in a powerful way. If spouses know they can divorce at will and seek their marital bliss with another partner, the relationship dynamics within marriage, he believed, would be radically altered and in such a manner that diminishes marital stability and marital happiness. With no sense of obligation to stick together through thick and thin, they would be less inclined to work together to iron out their differences and keep their conjugal friendship alive.
There is a
paradox here, Hume acknowledges, in that “the heart of man naturally delights in liberty,”
and the liberty to marry the person of one’s affection is acknowledged as an important
ingredient in marital happiness. But once married, the liberty of easy divorce has the
opposite effect on a couple’s happiness, Hume says, and he gives as an historical example
the decline in marital happiness that followed Rome’s abandonment of its ancient
proscription of divorce. Under the older dispensation, says Hume (citing the Roman historian
and orator Dionysius Halicarnassus), marriages were generally harmonious and satisfying, as
couples “considered the inevitable necessity by which they were linked together and
abandoned all prospect of any other choice or establishment.” “The heart of man naturally
submits to necessity,” Hume explains, and it will soon lose “an inclination when there
appears an absolute impossibility of gratifying it.” The secret to happy marriages thus
involves principles of both freedom and constraint, principles Hume readily acknowledges that
seem to contradict one another. “But what is man,” he muses, “but a heap of
Hume would no
doubt agree with the claim of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his prison “Wedding Sermon”: “It is
not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your
love.” The no-divorce-option marriage, for Hume, is an institution that binds spouses
together through strong social and legal obligations, and gives them permanent incentives to
sustain and deepen their mutual friendship and love.
Looked at from
our current perspective with more than three decades of experience behind us of
divorce-on-demand laws—and a cultural value system paralleling them—Hume’s critique
seems uncannily prescient. Sociologists specializing in family issues, including Sara
McLanahan, Paul Amato, and David Popenoe, have documented the substantially greater risk to
the children of divorce with regard to virtually every “social bad” that social scientists
can measure—e.g., drug and alcohol addiction, teen pregnancy, child abuse, depression and
mental illness, poor school performance, juvenile delinquency, and increased risk of injury
from accidents. This greater risk holds true whether the children of divorced parents wind up
in single-parent, step-parent, mother-and-grandmother, mother-and-boyfriend, or
father-and-girlfriend households. Growing up with two biological parents, in an intact,
husband-wife family, with the parents committed to lifelong monogamy and working together as a
team, has been shown to benefit children in countless ways.
And just as Hume
would have predicted, recent research suggests that our easy divorce laws may have contributed
to the well-documented decline in overall marital happiness over the past four decades, a
decline seen even among couples who do not divorce. Summing up the results of recent studies,
Linda Waite and Maggie Gallagher note that “even as divorce [in the 1980s] became an easier,
more common, and more acceptable outlet for marital unhappiness, marriages became
unhappier.” In surveys since the 1970s, couples increasingly rate their marriages as
unsatisfactory, even those who remain married and do not follow the divorce route of so many
Waite and Gallagher conclude with a quotation from two other marriage researchers that could stand as a fitting epigraph to Hume’s much-neglected and prescient essay: “Ironically, by adopting attitudes that provide greater freedom to leave unsatisfying marriages, people may be increasing the likelihood that their marriage will become unsatisfying.” And one could add: “unsatisfying and unhappy to all concerned—the spouses, their children, their relatives, their friends, their fellow church members, and the surrounding social order more generally.” With his keen insight into people—and his uncommon degree of common sense—David Hume would have understood America’s current marriage crisis only too well.
Russell Nieli, who received his Ph.D. from Princeton’s Politics Department, is currently a Senior Preceptor in the Executive Precept Program of Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions.
Ex-Minister.org May 12, 2011 All rights reserved | <urn:uuid:bc2414ec-24c5-49ab-a6c2-d9c47e2e622a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://exminister.org/Nieli-David-Hume-defends-traditional-marriage.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571150.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810070501-20220810100501-00673.warc.gz | en | 0.953163 | 2,792 | 2.671875 | 3 |
A run around the park or on a treadmill in the gym is the best most of us manage these days. We should do better really, given that our body shape – upright, with large buttocks – apparently evolved for running.
Anthropologist Dan Lieberman of Harvard University suggested two years ago that our body shape evolved to allow our ancestors to run long distances, and reach animal carcasses before other scavengers. After observing modern hunter-gatherers from the !Xo and /Gwi tribes in Botswana, Louis Liebenberg, an anthropologist from Cape Town, South Africa, has suggested that the next evolutionary step was to become good at endurance running in order to run down prey.
Liebenberg’s observations suggest that chasing animals until they collapse from exhaustion yields more meat per hunt than hunting with spears or a bow and arrow. Despite that, the limited number of prey species that can be hunted in this way, and the physically demanding nature of the chase, mean that the practice is dying out, says Liebenberg, who will be publishing his findings in Current Anthropology. | <urn:uuid:992d51a3-3369-490a-b08e-35609ecb4614> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19225724.800-food-was-prize-in-early-marathons | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281331.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00224-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951415 | 221 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1924 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities external link and the Library of Congress. Learn more
About The Gothenburg times [microform]. (Gothenburg, Dawson County, Neb.) 1947-current
Gothenburg, Dawson County, Neb. (1947-current)
The Gothenburg times [microform]. : (Gothenburg, Dawson County, Neb.) 1947-current
- Place of publication:
- Gothenburg, Dawson County, Neb.
- Geographic coverage:
| View more titles from this:
- R.D. & D.P. Holmes
- Dates of publication:
40th year, no. 5 (Aug. 14, 1947)-
- Gothenburg (Neb.)--Newspapers.
- sn 94056503
- Preceding Titles:
View complete holdings information | <urn:uuid:98b07ce8-b111-4bcf-90bc-779cd2904797> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn94056503/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00069-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.729142 | 220 | 1.59375 | 2 |
In order to follow optic neuritis patients and evaluate the effectiveness of their treatment, a handy, accurate and quantifiable tool is required to assess changes in myelination at the central nervous system (CNS). However, standard measurements, including routine visual tests and MRI scans, are not sensitive enough for this purpose. We present two visual tests addressing dynamic monocular and binocular functions which may closely associate with the extent of myelination along visual pathways. These include Object From Motion (OFM) extraction and Time-constrained stereo protocols. In the OFM test, an array of dots compose an object, by moving the dots within the image rightward while moving the dots outside the image leftward or vice versa. The dot pattern generates a camouflaged object that cannot be detected when the dots are stationary or moving as a whole. Importantly, object recognition is critically dependent on motion perception. In the Time-constrained Stereo protocol, spatially disparate images are presented for a limited length of time, challenging binocular 3-dimensional integration in time. Both tests are appropriate for clinical usage and provide a simple, yet powerful, way to identify and quantify processes of demyelination and remyelination along visual pathways. These protocols may be efficient to diagnose and follow optic neuritis and multiple sclerosis patients.
In the diagnostic process, these protocols may reveal visual deficits that cannot be identified via current standard visual measurements. Moreover, these protocols sensitively identify the basis of the currently unexplained continued visual complaints of patients following recovery of visual acuity. In the longitudinal follow up course, the protocols can be used as a sensitive marker of demyelinating and remyelinating processes along time. These protocols may therefore be used to evaluate the efficacy of current and evolving therapeutic strategies, targeting myelination of the CNS.
20 Related JoVE Articles!
Stimulating the Lip Motor Cortex with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Institutions: University of Oxford.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has proven to be a useful tool in investigating the role of the articulatory motor cortex in speech perception. Researchers have used single-pulse and repetitive TMS to stimulate the lip representation in the motor cortex. The excitability of the lip motor representation can be investigated by applying single TMS pulses over this cortical area and recording TMS-induced motor evoked potentials (MEPs) via electrodes attached to the lip muscles (electromyography; EMG). Larger MEPs reflect increased cortical excitability. Studies have shown that excitability increases during listening to speech as well as during viewing speech-related movements. TMS can be used also to disrupt the lip motor representation. A 15-min train of low-frequency sub-threshold repetitive stimulation has been shown to suppress motor excitability for a further 15-20 min. This TMS-induced disruption of the motor lip representation impairs subsequent performance in demanding speech perception tasks and modulates auditory-cortex responses to speech sounds. These findings are consistent with the suggestion that the motor cortex contributes to speech perception. This article describes how to localize the lip representation in the motor cortex and how to define the appropriate stimulation intensity for carrying out both single-pulse and repetitive TMS experiments.
Behavior, Issue 88, electromyography, motor cortex, motor evoked potential, motor excitability, speech, repetitive TMS, rTMS, virtual lesion, transcranial magnetic stimulation
Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat
Institutions: University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Fear of certain threat and anxiety about uncertain threat are distinct emotions with unique behavioral, cognitive-attentional, and neuroanatomical components. Both anxiety and fear can be studied in the laboratory by measuring the potentiation of the startle reflex. The startle reflex is a defensive reflex that is potentiated when an organism is threatened and the need for defense is high. The startle reflex is assessed via electromyography (EMG) in the orbicularis oculi muscle elicited by brief, intense, bursts of acoustic white noise (i.e.
, “startle probes”). Startle potentiation is calculated as the increase in startle response magnitude during presentation of sets of visual threat cues that signal delivery of mild electric shock relative to sets of matched cues that signal the absence of shock (no-threat cues). In the Threat Probability Task, fear is measured via startle potentiation to high probability (100% cue-contingent shock; certain) threat cues whereas anxiety is measured via startle potentiation to low probability (20% cue-contingent shock; uncertain) threat cues. Measurement of startle potentiation during the Threat Probability Task provides an objective and easily implemented alternative to assessment of negative affect via self-report or other methods (e.g.
, neuroimaging) that may be inappropriate or impractical for some researchers. Startle potentiation has been studied rigorously in both animals (e.g
., rodents, non-human primates) and humans which facilitates animal-to-human translational research. Startle potentiation during certain and uncertain threat provides an objective measure of negative affective and distinct emotional states (fear, anxiety) to use in research on psychopathology, substance use/abuse and broadly in affective science. As such, it has been used extensively by clinical scientists interested in psychopathology etiology and by affective scientists interested in individual differences in emotion.
Behavior, Issue 91,
Startle; electromyography; shock; addiction; uncertainty; fear; anxiety; humans; psychophysiology; translational
Identification of Post-translational Modifications of Plant Protein Complexes
Institutions: University of Warwick, Norwich Research Park, The Australian National University.
Plants adapt quickly to changing environments due to elaborate perception and signaling systems. During pathogen attack, plants rapidly respond to infection via
the recruitment and activation of immune complexes. Activation of immune complexes is associated with post-translational modifications (PTMs) of proteins, such as phosphorylation, glycosylation, or ubiquitination. Understanding how these PTMs are choreographed will lead to a better understanding of how resistance is achieved.
Here we describe a protein purification method for nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NB-LRR)-interacting proteins and the subsequent identification of their post-translational modifications (PTMs). With small modifications, the protocol can be applied for the purification of other plant protein complexes. The method is based on the expression of an epitope-tagged version of the protein of interest, which is subsequently partially purified by immunoprecipitation and subjected to mass spectrometry for identification of interacting proteins and PTMs.
This protocol demonstrates that: i). Dynamic changes in PTMs such as phosphorylation can be detected by mass spectrometry; ii). It is important to have sufficient quantities of the protein of interest, and this can compensate for the lack of purity of the immunoprecipitate; iii). In order to detect PTMs of a protein of interest, this protein has to be immunoprecipitated to get a sufficient quantity of protein.
Plant Biology, Issue 84, plant-microbe interactions, protein complex purification, mass spectrometry, protein phosphorylation, Prf, Pto, AvrPto, AvrPtoB
Measuring Oral Fatty Acid Thresholds, Fat Perception, Fatty Food Liking, and Papillae Density in Humans
Institutions: Deakin University.
Emerging evidence from a number of laboratories indicates that humans have the ability to identify fatty acids in the oral cavity, presumably via fatty acid receptors housed on taste cells. Previous research has shown that an individual's oral sensitivity to fatty acid, specifically oleic acid (C18:1) is associated with body mass index (BMI), dietary fat consumption, and the ability to identify fat in foods. We have developed a reliable and reproducible method to assess oral chemoreception of fatty acids, using a milk and C18:1 emulsion, together with an ascending forced choice triangle procedure. In parallel, a food matrix has been developed to assess an individual's ability to perceive fat, in addition to a simple method to assess fatty food liking. As an added measure tongue photography is used to assess papillae density, with higher density often being associated with increased taste sensitivity.
Neuroscience, Issue 88, taste, overweight and obesity, dietary fat, fatty acid, diet, fatty food liking, detection threshold
Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
Institutions: Rutgers University, Rutgers University, Rutgers University, Rutgers University, Rutgers University.
Kinesthetic awareness is important to successfully navigate the environment. When we interact with our daily surroundings, some aspects of movement are deliberately planned, while others spontaneously occur below conscious awareness. The deliberate component of this dichotomy has been studied extensively in several contexts, while the spontaneous component remains largely under-explored. Moreover, how perceptual processes modulate these movement classes is still unclear. In particular, a currently debated issue is whether the visuomotor system is governed by the spatial percept produced by a visual illusion or whether it is not affected by the illusion and is governed instead by the veridical percept. Bistable percepts such as 3D depth inversion illusions (DIIs) provide an excellent context to study such interactions and balance, particularly when used in combination with reach-to-grasp movements. In this study, a methodology is developed that uses a DII to clarify the role of top-down processes on motor action, particularly exploring how reaches toward a target on a DII are affected in both deliberate and spontaneous movement domains.
Behavior, Issue 86, vision for action, vision for perception, motor control, reach, grasp, visuomotor, ventral stream, dorsal stream, illusion, space perception, depth inversion
Irrelevant Stimuli and Action Control: Analyzing the Influence of Ignored Stimuli via the Distractor-Response Binding Paradigm
Institutions: Trier University, Trier University.
Selection tasks in which simple stimuli (e.g.
letters) are presented and a target stimulus has to be selected against one or more distractor stimuli are frequently used in the research on human action control. One important question in these settings is how distractor stimuli, competing with the target stimulus for a response, influence actions. The distractor-response binding paradigm can be used to investigate this influence. It is particular useful to separately analyze response retrieval and distractor inhibition effects. Computer-based experiments are used to collect the data (reaction times and error rates). In a number of sequentially presented pairs of stimulus arrays (prime-probe design), participants respond to targets while ignoring distractor stimuli. Importantly, the factors response relation in the arrays of each pair (repetition vs. change) and distractor relation (repetition vs. change) are varied orthogonally. The repetition of the same distractor then has a different effect depending on response relation (repetition vs. change) between arrays. This result pattern can be explained by response retrieval due to distractor repetition. In addition, distractor inhibition effects are indicated by a general advantage due to distractor repetition. The described paradigm has proven useful to determine relevant parameters for response retrieval effects on human action.
Behavior, Issue 87, stimulus-response binding, distractor-response binding, response retrieval, distractor inhibition, event file, action control, selection task
A Lateralized Odor Learning Model in Neonatal Rats for Dissecting Neural Circuitry Underpinning Memory Formation
Institutions: Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, University of Victoria.
Rat pups during a critical postnatal period (≤ 10 days) readily form a preference for an odor that is associated with stimuli mimicking maternal care. Such a preference memory can last from hours, to days, even life-long, depending on training parameters. Early odor preference learning provides us with a model in which the critical changes for a natural form of learning occur in the olfactory circuitry. An additional feature that makes it a powerful tool for the analysis of memory processes is that early odor preference learning can be lateralized via
single naris occlusion within the critical period. This is due to the lack of mature anterior commissural connections of the olfactory hemispheres at this early age. This work outlines behavioral protocols for lateralized odor learning using nose plugs. Acute, reversible naris occlusion minimizes tissue and neuronal damages associated with long-term occlusion and more aggressive methods such as cauterization. The lateralized odor learning model permits within-animal comparison, therefore greatly reducing variance compared to between-animal designs. This method has been used successfully to probe the circuit changes in the olfactory system produced by training. Future directions include exploring molecular underpinnings of odor memory using this lateralized learning model; and correlating physiological change with memory strength and durations.
Neuroscience, Issue 90, lateralized odor learning, rats, memory, nose plug, olfactory bulb, piriform cortex, phosphorylated CREB
Getting to Compliance in Forced Exercise in Rodents: A Critical Standard to Evaluate Exercise Impact in Aging-related Disorders and Disease
Institutions: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.
There is a major increase in the awareness of the positive impact of exercise on improving several disease states with neurobiological basis; these include improving cognitive function and physical performance. As a result, there is an increase in the number of animal studies employing exercise. It is argued that one intrinsic value of forced exercise is that the investigator has control over the factors that can influence the impact of exercise on behavioral outcomes, notably exercise frequency, duration, and intensity of the exercise regimen. However, compliance in forced exercise regimens may be an issue, particularly if potential confounds of employing foot-shock are to be avoided. It is also important to consider that since most cognitive and locomotor impairments strike in the aged individual, determining impact of exercise on these impairments should consider using aged rodents with a highest possible level of compliance to ensure minimal need for test subjects. Here, the pertinent steps and considerations necessary to achieve nearly 100% compliance to treadmill exercise in an aged rodent model will be presented and discussed. Notwithstanding the particular exercise regimen being employed by the investigator, our protocol should be of use to investigators that are particularly interested in the potential impact of forced exercise on aging-related impairments, including aging-related Parkinsonism and Parkinson’s disease.
Behavior, Issue 90, Exercise, locomotor, Parkinson’s disease, aging, treadmill, bradykinesia, Parkinsonism
Functional Analysis of the Larval Feeding Circuit in Drosophila
Institutions: Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
The serotonergic feeding circuit in Drosophila melanogaster
larvae can be used to investigate neuronal substrates of critical importance during the development of the circuit. Using the functional output of the circuit, feeding, changes in the neuronal architecture of the stomatogastric system can be visualized. Feeding behavior can be recorded by observing the rate of retraction of the mouth hooks, which receive innervation from the brain. Locomotor behavior is used as a physiological control for feeding, since larvae use their mouth hooks to traverse across an agar substrate. Changes in feeding behavior can be correlated with the axonal architecture of the neurites innervating the gut. Using immunohistochemistry it is possible to visualize and quantitate these changes. Improper handling of the larvae during behavior paradigms can alter data as they are very sensitive to manipulations. Proper imaging of the neurite architecture innervating the gut is critical for precise quantitation of number and size of varicosities as well as the extent of branch nodes. Analysis of most circuits allow only for visualization of neurite architecture or behavioral effects; however, this model allows one to correlate the functional output of the circuit with the impairments in neuronal architecture.
Neuroscience, Issue 81, Neural Pathways, Drosophila, Microscopy, Neuroimaging, Behavior, Behavior Mechanisms, Dopamine, Immunohistochemistry, neurite, proventriculus, serotonin, varicosities, animal model
A Proboscis Extension Response Protocol for Investigating Behavioral Plasticity in Insects: Application to Basic, Biomedical, and Agricultural Research
Institutions: Arizona State University.
Insects modify their responses to stimuli through experience of associating those stimuli with events important for survival (e.g.
, food, mates, threats). There are several behavioral mechanisms through which an insect learns salient associations and relates them to these events. It is important to understand this behavioral plasticity for programs aimed toward assisting insects that are beneficial for agriculture. This understanding can also be used for discovering solutions to biomedical and agricultural problems created by insects that act as disease vectors and pests. The Proboscis Extension Response (PER) conditioning protocol was developed for honey bees (Apis mellifera
) over 50 years ago to study how they perceive and learn about floral odors, which signal the nectar and pollen resources a colony needs for survival. The PER procedure provides a robust and easy-to-employ framework for studying several different ecologically relevant mechanisms of behavioral plasticity. It is easily adaptable for use with several other insect species and other behavioral reflexes. These protocols can be readily employed in conjunction with various means for monitoring neural activity in the CNS via electrophysiology or bioimaging, or for manipulating targeted neuromodulatory pathways. It is a robust assay for rapidly detecting sub-lethal effects on behavior caused by environmental stressors, toxins or pesticides.
We show how the PER protocol is straightforward to implement using two procedures. One is suitable as a laboratory exercise for students or for quick assays of the effect of an experimental treatment. The other provides more thorough control of variables, which is important for studies of behavioral conditioning. We show how several measures for the behavioral response ranging from binary yes/no to more continuous variable like latency and duration of proboscis extension can be used to test hypotheses. And, we discuss some pitfalls that researchers commonly encounter when they use the procedure for the first time.
Neuroscience, Issue 91, PER, conditioning, honey bee, olfaction, olfactory processing, learning, memory, toxin assay
Training Synesthetic Letter-color Associations by Reading in Color
Institutions: University of Amsterdam.
Synesthesia is a rare condition in which a stimulus from one modality automatically and consistently triggers unusual sensations in the same and/or other modalities. A relatively common and well-studied type is grapheme-color synesthesia, defined as the consistent experience of color when viewing, hearing and thinking about letters, words and numbers. We describe our method for investigating to what extent synesthetic associations between letters and colors can be learned by reading in color in nonsynesthetes. Reading in color is a special method for training associations in the sense that the associations are learned implicitly while the reader reads text as he or she normally would and it does not require explicit computer-directed training methods. In this protocol, participants are given specially prepared books to read in which four high-frequency letters are paired with four high-frequency colors. Participants receive unique sets of letter-color pairs based on their pre-existing preferences for colored letters. A modified Stroop task is administered before and after reading in order to test for learned letter-color associations and changes in brain activation. In addition to objective testing, a reading experience questionnaire is administered that is designed to probe for differences in subjective experience. A subset of questions may predict how well an individual learned the associations from reading in color. Importantly, we are not claiming that this method will cause each individual to develop grapheme-color synesthesia, only that it is possible for certain individuals to form letter-color associations by reading in color and these associations are similar in some aspects to those seen in developmental grapheme-color synesthetes. The method is quite flexible and can be used to investigate different aspects and outcomes of training synesthetic associations, including learning-induced changes in brain function and structure.
Behavior, Issue 84, synesthesia, training, learning, reading, vision, memory, cognition
Olfactory Behavioral Testing in the Adult Mouse
Institutions: Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School.
The rodent olfactory system is of increasing interest to scientists, studied, in part, in systems biology because of its stereotyped, yet accessible circuitry. In addition, this area's unique ability to generate new neurons throughout an organism's lifetime makes it an attractive system for developmental and regenerative biologists alike. Such interest necessitates a means for a quick, yet reliable assessment of olfactory function. Many tests of olfactory ability are complex, variable or not specifically designed for mice. Also, some tests are sensitive to memory deficits as well as defects in olfactory abilities, confounding obtained results.
Here, we describe a simple battery of tests designed to identify defects in olfactory sensitivity and preference. First, an initial general health assessment allows for the identification of animals suitable for further testing. Second, mice are exposed to various dilutions of scents to ascertain whether there is a threshold difference. Third, mice are presented with various scents, both attractive and aversive, that allow for the assessment of olfactory preference. These simple studies should make the initial characterization of olfactory behavior accessible for labs of varied resources and expertise.
Neuroscience, Issue 23, olfaction, behavioral phenotyping, olfactory preference, olfactory sensitivity, sensory ability
Targeted Training of Ultrasonic Vocalizations in Aged and Parkinsonian Rats
Institutions: University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin.
Voice deficits are a common complication of both Parkinson disease (PD) and aging; they can significantly diminish quality of life by impacting communication abilities. 1, 2
Targeted training (speech/voice therapy) can improve specific voice deficits,3, 4
although the underlying mechanisms of behavioral interventions are not well understood. Systematic investigation of voice deficits and therapy should consider many factors that are difficult to control in humans, such as age, home environment, age post-onset of disease, severity of disease, and medications. The method presented here uses an animal model of vocalization that allows for systematic study of how underlying sensorimotor mechanisms change with targeted voice training. The ultrasonic recording and analysis procedures outlined in this protocol are applicable to any investigation of rodent ultrasonic vocalizations.
The ultrasonic vocalizations of rodents are emerging as a valuable model to investigate the neural substrates of behavior.5-8
Both rodent and human vocalizations carry semiotic value and are produced by modifying an egressive airflow with a laryngeal constriction.9, 10
Thus, rodent vocalizations may be a useful model to study voice deficits in a sensorimotor context. Further, rat models allow us to study the neurobiological underpinnings of recovery from deficits with targeted training.
To model PD we use Long-Evans rats (Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.) and induce parkinsonism by a unilateral infusion of 7 μg of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the medial forebrain bundle which causes moderate to severe degeneration of presynaptic striatal neurons (for details see Ciucci, 2010).11, 12
For our aging model we use the Fischer 344/Brown Norway F1 (National Institute on Aging).
Our primary method for eliciting vocalizations is to expose sexually-experienced male rats to sexually receptive female rats. When the male becomes interested in the female, the female is removed and the male continues to vocalize. By rewarding complex vocalizations with food or water, both the number of complex vocalizations and the rate of vocalizations can be increased (Figure 1).
An ultrasonic microphone mounted above the male's home cage records the vocalizations. Recording begins after the female rat is removed to isolate the male calls. Vocalizations can be viewed in real time for training or recorded and analyzed offline. By recording and acoustically analyzing vocalizations before and after vocal training, the effects of disease and restoration of normal function with training can be assessed. This model also allows us to relate the observed behavioral (vocal) improvements to changes in the brain and neuromuscular system.
Neuroscience, Issue 54, ultrasonic vocalization, rat, aging, Parkinson disease, exercise, 6-hydroxydopamine, voice disorders, voice therapy
Using a Comparative Species Approach to Investigate the Neurobiology of Paternal Responses
Institutions: Randolph-Macon College, Marshall University.
A goal of behavioral neuroscience is to identify underlying neurobiological factors that regulate specific behaviors. Using animal models to accomplish this goal, many methodological strategies require invasive techniques to manipulate the intensity of the behavior of interest (e.g., lesion methods, pharmacological manipulations, microdialysis techniques, genetically-engineered animal models). The utilization of a comparative species approach allows researchers to take advantage of naturally occurring differences in response strategies existing in closely related species. In our lab, we use two species of the Peromyscus
genus that differ in paternal responses. The male California deer mouse (Peromyscus californicus
) exhibits the same parental responses as the female whereas its cousin, the common deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus
) exhibits virtually no nurturing/parental responses in the presence of pups. Of specific interest in this article is an exploration of the neurobiological factors associated with the affiliative social responses exhibited by the paternal California deer mouse. Because the behavioral neuroscience approach is multifaceted, the following key components of the study will be briefly addressed: the identification of appropriate species for this type of research; data collection for behavioral analysis; preparation and sectioning of the brains; basic steps involved in immunocytochemistry for the quantification of vasopressin-immunoreactivity; the use of neuroimaging software to quantify the brain tissue; the use of a microsequencing video analysis to score behavior and, finally, the appropriate statistical analyses to provide the most informed interpretations of the research findings.
Neuroscience, Issue 55, Peromyscus, mouse, paternal behavior, vasopressin, immunocytochemistry, microsequencing behavioral analysis
Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
Institutions: University of Zurich.
Mori's Uncanny Valley Hypothesis1,2
proposes that the perception of humanlike characters such as robots and, by extension, avatars (computer-generated characters) can evoke negative or positive affect (valence) depending on the object's degree of visual and behavioral realism along a dimension of human likeness
) (Figure 1
). But studies of affective valence of subjective responses to variously realistic non-human characters have produced inconsistent findings 3, 4, 5, 6
. One of a number of reasons for this is that human likeness is not perceived as the hypothesis assumes. While the DHL can be defined following Mori's description as a smooth linear change in the degree of physical humanlike similarity, subjective perception of objects along the DHL can be understood in terms of the psychological effects of categorical perception (CP) 7
. Further behavioral and neuroimaging investigations of category processing and CP along the DHL and of the potential influence of the dimension's underlying category structure on affective experience are needed. This protocol therefore focuses on the DHL and allows examination of CP. Based on the protocol presented in the video as an example, issues surrounding the methodology in the protocol and the use in "uncanny" research of stimuli drawn from morph continua to represent the DHL are discussed in the article that accompanies the video. The use of neuroimaging and morph stimuli to represent the DHL in order to disentangle brain regions neurally responsive to physical human-like similarity from those responsive to category change and category processing is briefly illustrated.
Behavior, Issue 76, Neuroscience, Neurobiology, Molecular Biology, Psychology, Neuropsychology, uncanny valley, functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI, categorical perception, virtual reality, avatar, human likeness, Mori, uncanny valley hypothesis, perception, magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, imaging, clinical techniques
RNAi-mediated Double Gene Knockdown and Gustatory Perception Measurement in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Institutions: Arizona State University , Norwegian University of Life Sciences.
This video demonstrates novel techniques of RNA interference (RNAi) which downregulate two genes simultaneously in honey bees using double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) injections. It also presents a protocol of proboscis extension response (PER) assay for measuring gustatory perception.
RNAi-mediated gene knockdown is an effective technique downregulating target gene expression. This technique is usually used for single gene manipulation, but it has limitations to detect interactions and joint effects between genes. In the first part of this video, we present two strategies to simultaneously knock down two genes (called double gene knockdown). We show both strategies are able to effectively suppress two genes, vitellogenin (vg
) and ultraspiracle (usp
), which are in a regulatory feedback loop. This double gene knockdown approach can be used to dissect interrelationships between genes and can be readily applied in different insect species.
The second part of this video is a demonstration of proboscis extension response (PER) assay in honey bees after the treatment of double gene knockdown. The PER assay is a standard test for measuring gustatory perception in honey bees, which is a key predictor for how fast a honey bee's behavioral maturation is. Greater gustatory perception of nest bees indicates increased behavioral development which is often associated with an earlier age at onset of foraging and foraging specialization in pollen. In addition, PER assay can be applied to identify metabolic states of satiation or hunger in honey bees. Finally, PER assay combined with pairing different odor stimuli for conditioning the bees is also widely used for learning and memory studies in honey bees.
Neuroscience, Issue 77, Genetics, Behavior, Neurobiology, Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, biology (general), genetics (animal and plant), animal biology, RNA interference, RNAi, double stranded RNA, dsRNA, double gene knockdown, vitellogenin gene, vg, ultraspiracle gene, usp, vitellogenin protein, Vg, ultraspiracle protein, USP, green fluorescence protein, GFP, gustatory perception, proboscis extension response, PER, honey bees, Apis mellifera, animal model, assay
Models and Methods to Evaluate Transport of Drug Delivery Systems Across Cellular Barriers
Institutions: University of Maryland, University of Maryland.
Sub-micrometer carriers (nanocarriers; NCs) enhance efficacy of drugs by improving solubility, stability, circulation time, targeting, and release. Additionally, traversing cellular barriers in the body is crucial for both oral delivery of therapeutic NCs into the circulation and transport from the blood into tissues, where intervention is needed. NC transport across cellular barriers is achieved by: (i) the paracellular route, via transient disruption of the junctions that interlock adjacent cells, or (ii) the transcellular route, where materials are internalized by endocytosis, transported across the cell body, and secreted at the opposite cell surface (transyctosis). Delivery across cellular barriers can be facilitated by coupling therapeutics or their carriers with targeting agents that bind specifically to cell-surface markers involved in transport. Here, we provide methods to measure the extent and mechanism of NC transport across a model cell barrier, which consists of a monolayer of gastrointestinal (GI) epithelial cells grown on a porous membrane located in a transwell insert. Formation of a permeability barrier is confirmed by measuring transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), transepithelial transport of a control substance, and immunostaining of tight junctions. As an example, ~200 nm polymer NCs are used, which carry a therapeutic cargo and are coated with an antibody that targets a cell-surface determinant. The antibody or therapeutic cargo is labeled with 125
I for radioisotope tracing and labeled NCs are added to the upper chamber over the cell monolayer for varying periods of time. NCs associated to the cells and/or transported to the underlying chamber can be detected. Measurement of free 125
I allows subtraction of the degraded fraction. The paracellular route is assessed by determining potential changes caused by NC transport to the barrier parameters described above. Transcellular transport is determined by addressing the effect of modulating endocytosis and transcytosis pathways.
Bioengineering, Issue 80, Antigens, Enzymes, Biological Therapy, bioengineering (general), Pharmaceutical Preparations, Macromolecular Substances, Therapeutics, Digestive System and Oral Physiological Phenomena, Biological Phenomena, Cell Physiological Phenomena, drug delivery systems, targeted nanocarriers, transcellular transport, epithelial cells, tight junctions, transepithelial electrical resistance, endocytosis, transcytosis, radioisotope tracing, immunostaining
Operant Learning of Drosophila at the Torque Meter
Institutions: Free University of Berlin.
For experiments at the torque meter, flies are kept on standard fly medium at 25°C and 60% humidity with a 12hr light/12hr dark regime. A standardized breeding regime assures proper larval density and age-matched cohorts. Cold-anesthetized flies are glued with head and thorax to a triangle-shaped hook the day before the experiment. Attached to the torque meter via a clamp, the fly's intended flight maneuvers are measured as the angular momentum around its vertical body axis. The fly is placed in the center of a cylindrical panorama to accomplish stationary flight. An analog to digital converter card feeds the yaw torque signal into a computer which stores the trace for later analysis. The computer also controls a variety of stimuli which can be brought under the fly's control by closing the feedback loop between these stimuli and the yaw torque trace. Punishment is achieved by applying heat from an adjustable infrared laser.
Neuroscience, Issue 16, operant, learning, Drosophila, fruit fly, insect, invertebrate, neuroscience, neurobiology, fly, conditioning
Choice and No-Choice Assays for Testing the Resistance of A. thaliana to Chewing Insects
Institutions: Cornell University.
Larvae of the small white cabbage butterfly are a pest in agricultural settings. This caterpillar species feeds from plants in the cabbage family, which include many crops such as cabbage, broccoli, Brussel sprouts etc. Rearing of the insects takes place on cabbage plants in the greenhouse. At least two cages are needed for the rearing of Pieris rapae. One for the larvae and the other to contain the adults, the butterflies. In order to investigate the role of plant hormones and toxic plant chemicals in resistance to this insect pest, we demonstrate two experiments. First, determination of the role of jasmonic acid (JA - a plant hormone often indicated in resistance to insects) in resistance to the chewing insect Pieris rapae. Caterpillar growth can be compared on wild-type and mutant plants impaired in production of JA. This experiment is considered "No Choice", because larvae are forced to subsist on a single plant which synthesizes or is deficient in JA. Second, we demonstrate an experiment that investigates the role of glucosinolates, which are used as oviposition (egg-laying) signals. Here, we use WT and mutant Arabidopsis impaired in glucosinolate production in a "Choice" experiment in which female butterflies are allowed to choose to lay their eggs on plants of either genotype. This video demonstrates the experimental setup for both assays as well as representative results.
Plant Biology, Issue 15, Annual Review, Plant Resistance, Herbivory, Arabidopsis thaliana, Pieris rapae, Caterpillars, Butterflies, Jasmonic Acid, Glucosinolates
A Rapid Technique for the Visualization of Live Immobilized Yeast Cells
Institutions: Princeton University.
We present here a simple, rapid, and extremely flexible technique for the immobilization and visualization of growing yeast cells by epifluorescence microscopy. The technique is equally suited for visualization of static yeast populations, or time courses experiments up to ten hours in length. My microscopy investigates epigenetic inheritance at the silent mating loci in S. cerevisiae. There are two silent mating loci, HML and HMR, which are normally not expressed as they are packaged in heterochromatin. In the sir1 mutant background silencing is weakened such that each locus can either be in the expressed or silenced epigenetic state, so in the population as a whole there is a mix of cells of different epigenetic states for both HML and HMR. My microscopy demonstrated that there is no relationship between the epigenetic state of HML and HMR in an individual cell. sir1 cells stochastically switch epigenetic states, establishing silencing at a previously expressed locus or expressing a previously silenced locus. My time course microscopy tracked individual sir1 cells and their offspring to score the frequency of each of the four possible epigenetic switches, and thus the stability of each of the epigenetic states in sir1 cells. See also Xu et al., Mol. Cell 2006.
Microbiology, Issue 1, yeast, HML, HMR, epigenetic, loci, silencing, cerevisiae | <urn:uuid:c3b56436-39e1-480a-81b3-d792b9ba4b44> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.jove.com/visualize/abstract/20862259/genetic-determinants-time-perception-mediated-serotonergic | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280891.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00164-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906865 | 7,907 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Knowing the best foods to select to maintain the ideal balance of carbohydrates, fats and proteins can be confusing. A free program, "Making Healthy Food Choices," will cover this topic with a focus on keeping blood sugars in a healthy range. This event will be held Thursday, Nov. 10, noon to 1 p.m., at the Hospital of Central Connecticut, New Britain campus, 100 Grand St. Facilitator will be Anne Young, MS, RD, CDE, registered dietician and certified diabetes educator, MidState Diabetes and Nutrition Center. Hartford HealthCare Center for Healthy Aging is sponsoring the program.
A light complimentary lunch will be served. Space is limited and reservations are required. To register, call Hartford HealthCare Center for Healthy Aging, 1.877.4AGING1 (1.877.424.4641).
Hartford HealthCare Center for Healthy Aging, a not for profit member of Hartford HealthCare Senior Services, is a resource and assessment center designed to enhance access to services and information related to attaining optimal quality of life for seniors and their caregivers. For more information about Hartford HealthCare Center for Healthy Aging, visit cthealthyaging.org.
This item was posted by a community contributor. To read more about community contributors, click here. | <urn:uuid:602cf6d0-1067-4749-b245-8a5c1969dfdc> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.courant.com/community/hc-ugc-article-lunch-learn-making-healthy-food-choices-se-2016-10-25-story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00082-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90577 | 261 | 1.960938 | 2 |
The unemployment rate for the 15-to-24 age group was 12.89 percent last month, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from January, with the jobless rate for 20-to-24-year-olds — at 13.38 percent — three times higher than the national average, the latest government data showed.
For people with a university or post-graduate degree, the unemployment rate rose by 0.13 percentage points from January to 5.03 percent, higher than the national average of 4.09 percent, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
The agency did not elaborate on the youth unemployment situation, only saying at a press conference that the overall employment would improve throughout this year.
The jobless rate of 4.09 percent last month was 0.07 percentage points higher than January’s level. Seasonally adjusted, the figure was 0.02 percentage points higher than January, which DGBAS said supports its forecast that the jobless rate may start declining this month.
“Based on historical experience, the jobless rate usually rises after the Lunar New Year holiday,” DGBAS Deputy Director Lo Yi-ling (羅怡玲) said.
However, under a stable economic situation, the unemployment rate often improves in the following months, she added.
The agency said the average monthly wage in the industrial and service sectors was NT$37,938 (US$1,240) in January, an increase of 1.21 percent from a year earlier, the DGBAS report said.
The overall average monthly wage, including bonuses and compensation, rose 47.13 percent to NT$88,285 in January compared with a year earlier, the agency’s data showed, as most employers distributed bonuses in January ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
After adjusting for inflation — which climbed 0.83 percent year-on-year in January — the real average wage last month, including bonuses and compensation, rose 0.38 percent from a year earlier, the DGBAS data showed.
However, more than 70 percent of employees nationwide earned less than NT$40,000 a month, according to a DGBAS report issued in November last year, which was based on data from a survey the previous May.
More than 60 percent of workers under the age of 30 took home less than NT$30,000 a month as of May last year, while more than 80 percent made less than NT$40,000, DGBAS data showed.
The average monthly wage for 20-to-24-year-olds was NT$24,269, the lowest among all age groups in the survey. | <urn:uuid:b65c9624-c84a-4631-a747-7085d8c18bbe> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2014/03/25/2003586451 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00044-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966615 | 561 | 1.992188 | 2 |
Backing Up Your Windows 10 PC Can Be Done Using Multiple Methods
Windows 10 has improved the PC user's experience in a few ways and one such improvement would be the Windows 10 backup options which expand on the backup options provided in previous Windows Operating Systems. We have always had the ability to backup on a CD, DVD, or USB (well, for quite some time) but Windows 10 has a built-in customizable option called File History for performing backups and it is a little different with some options which were not previously available. The Windows 10 File History option is easy to use, it allows you to manage specific folders efficiently and Windows 10 File History can run as often as every 10 minutes. If you liked or are just plain used to the way Windows 7 backups were done you'll be happy to know that Windows 7 Backup And Restore in Windows 10 is also available as an option. It's interesting that Windows 10 does not declare its own similar "Backup and Restore" function, rather choosing to hearken back to Windows 7 for that set of "older" backup options and adding more possibilities for the newest Microsoft Operating System. Perhaps that's due to the clear popularity of Windows 7 but don't forget things do change as Windows 10 moves forward.
Using Windows 10 File History Is A Good Option For Backups
Depending on how you operate it might be an excellent option, especially when used in addition to that familiar Windows 7 Backup And Restore in Windows 10. If you work with multiple documents throughout your day it may benefit you to use Windows 10 File History and have it run every 10 minutes (or every hour) to keep your work backed up. If you do run into a problem during the day you could then quickly restore any given backed up item to its original location. This type of backup/restore action will be very quick to accomplish when using a drive which is always connected to your system throughout the day however that connected drive is more susceptible to things such as ransomware than a disconnected drive which should be used for the Windows 7 Backup And Restore in Windows 10. It's basically a trade-off if you will but still a fact of computing environment life today. Make sure your security software is always updated and have a look at the slideshow below. Just hit START and then SETTINGS, choose Update & Security and you'll find the Windows 10 backup options.
As you can see, once backup is chosen the Windows 7 backup option can be chosen as well as going through the setup of Windows 10 File History backup. Both backup options are also available in the Windows 10 Control Panel however Windows 10 File History is more easily customized in the Settings App. So think about which option is best given your circumstances and use BOTH if that works for you because the drive used for File History can be included in the Windows 7 backup in Windows 10. Actually, if you will use File History you should definitely be using BOTH because backups can save your sanity and there are an amazing number of people who can speak to that (if they would). Bottom line is that backups are a sensible tool and Windows 10 now affords its users with more options so why not use that when it's appropriate? | <urn:uuid:393def54-f533-47a1-8790-d1381c7aeefb> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.resolvecomputer.com/windows-operating-systems/windows-10/166-backing-up-your-windows-10-pc-can-be-done-using-multiple-methods | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571097.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810010059-20220810040059-00273.warc.gz | en | 0.946191 | 641 | 1.53125 | 2 |
In April 2008, IUCN presented training for protected area managers and conservationists on Legal Mechanisms for the Establishment and Management of Terrestrial Protected Areas in Fiji.
The workshop was hosted by Birdlife International, with support from the Darwin Initiative. The lead facilitator for the workshop was John Parr, a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.
Pepe Clarke, IUCN Legal Advisor, presented on the following topics:
- the international and national policy context for the establishment and management of protected areas in Fiji; and
- the legal mechanisms currently available for the establishment and management of terrestrial protected areas in Fiji.
Following the workshop, IUCN has been working with its members to promote enhanced national coordination on protected area issues, including the establishment of a national protected areas committee. | <urn:uuid:33f29fb8-cbac-4325-a0f8-f0f33db0f3bf> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.iucn.org/fr/node/1978 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718866.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00003-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950016 | 167 | 1.898438 | 2 |
Presenting an analysis of how the popular social media platform was targeted by hackers, especially accounts of eminent politicians and business personalities...
Over the last few years, social media has witnessed a steep rise in cryptocurrency scamming. The widespread hacking of prominent personalities in July 2020 is one such incident arising due to a Bitcoin giveaway scam on Twitter. What set this attack apart was that it managed to leverage a lot of big names to execute it.
To execute this attack, a cryptocurrency give-away scam was setup, and to promote this campaign a website with a domain name ‘CryptoForHealth’ was registered on 15th of July 2020 according to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. This site is currently flagged as a phishing site and has now been taken down.
To promote this fraudulent scheme, hackers did meticulous planning. They hackers initially hacked into twitter accounts of all the top crypto exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, Kucoin, Coindesk etc. and individual crypto influencers like Justin Sun, Charlie Lee, King Cobie, AngeloBTC among others. Identical tweets were posted via all these hacked accounts claiming a partnership with CryptoForHealth, offering to give away 5000 Bitcoins to their followers.
On 16th of July 2020, Twitter accounts of many renowned individuals and organizations were hacked by alleged Bitcoin fraudsters to create more impact. The renowned entities include Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Kanye West, Joe Biden, Kim Kardashian, Apple’s official account, and many others. Other non-verified accounts also posted similar tweets, although it is not clear if those accounts were also hacked or were merely bots.
The hackers posted charitable tweets from the hacked accounts, saying they would ‘Double the money sent to the bitcoin account’. The hack has been followed by an Instagram update by the apparent hackers that ‘the money will reach its right place’.
This has raised apprehensions about Twitter’s cyber safety mechanisms. Twitter is one of the most used platforms by eminent politicians and business folk. In the backdrop of this attack, it is to be noted that U.S. Presidential elections are around the corner. India houses the largest number of Internet users in the world. It is extremely crucial for the agencies to understand such attacks and create a cybersecurity policy in anticipation of any such attack on Indian entities.
This article aims to elaborate the details of the attack, along with the possible methodology used by the hackers.
There are a few generic observations about the attack, which are imperative to understand the gravity of the cybersecurity scenario across the globe. Around USD 116722.73 was transferred to the bitcoin address ‘bc1qxy2kgdygjrsqtzq2n0yrf2493p83kkfjhx0wlh’. A total of 378 users transferred bitcoins to this address to get it doubled. Around USD 116604.84 has been sent from the hacker's primary account to another Bitcoin address, which could be the address of the mastermind of the entire attack. The last transaction was done after it was revealed that Bill Gates’ and other renowned entities’ accounts were compromised.
Attackers might have used a particular approach for this attack, which is easy to discern, but the magnitude of the attack makes it dangerous. There seems to have been a lack of proper security controls while twitter allowed its employees to work from home. A series of social engineering attempts of twitter employees which were successful led the hackers to trace them. The security controls Twitter uses while it allowed users to work from home were not complex and hacker could understand the entire complexity and the network system deployed.
Series of privilege escalation techniques were used to gain meaningful administrative level access, control of Twitter’s internal tools and bypass security controls. Successful compromise of the VPN server of Twitter led to the access and eventual hacking of celebrity and high net worth individual accounts which was further utilized to launch massive tweets by automated tools.
This episode mandates a few crucial lessons to be learnt by organizations to safeguard themselves against similar attacks possible in the future. Proper implementation of effective ‘work from home’ security solutions for the organization is a must while employees have to work from home. Training the employees on how to safeguard themselves from Phishing attacks and create reporting mechanism for employees to flag any malicious attempts becomes imperative. Companies must also use multifactor authentication solutions to allow access to applications, systems that hold confidential and critical data.
As a matter of practice, regular vulnerability assessment and penetration testing of the network which allows work from home must be carried out. Suitable and effective end point security controls must be deployed on systems which people are using to work from home. Their monitoring must be done through behavioral anomaly based detections solutions.
Going forward, it is important to carry out regular Cyber Threat intelligence and Cyber Threat Hunting activities to monitor threat actors targeting an organization, and also to find out insider threats. The Cybersecurity ecosystem is clearly compromised in the age of Industry 4.0. It needs an overhaul and an effective, coming-of-age mechanism to root out any such attacks being planned in the future. This is necessary to maintain the credibility of the online world and keep the digital ecosystem functioning smoothly.
The author is Founder of India Future Foundation | <urn:uuid:438b1371-4db1-4ce2-a078-cdcdc1654f70> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.itnext.in/article/2020/08/06/what-led-recent-and-massive-twitter-hacking-episode | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573533.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818215509-20220819005509-00276.warc.gz | en | 0.959837 | 1,074 | 2.0625 | 2 |
1. What internal constraints does GVB face in becoming a more powerful player? Following are the internal constraints that Guam Visitor’s Bureau faced, * Guam as an organization had a large size of Board of Directors, i.e. 13 to be precise; * This huge size of the committee and formal lines of communication resulted in slow decision making. * Lot of external factors determined the selection of members in the Board of Directors, i.e. GHRA(Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association), GTF (Guam Tourist Foundation), JGTA (Japan Guam Travel Association), etc. * GVB had a huge organizational structure, lot of silos existed in the organization. * Employees with limited or experience were hired in GVB which resulted in low productivity and negative feedback to GVB. * General Managers job in GVB was a very difficult as it required aligning various interest groups together. The various interest groups that existed in coherence to GVB were: GTF, JGTA and GHRA. * It was very difficult for GVB to find skilled labour and they had to import labour from Asian countries. * One of the major problems with GVB was that, most of the employees were either too young (starters in the industry) or very old (in the phase of retirement). 2. Conduct a resource analysis of Guam’s resources.
Resource analysis of Guam Resources:-
a) Human Resources
a. Very limited skilled and unskilled labour, need to get from Asian countries b. Very young staff was sent to Guam for exposure or very old staff before retiring was sent. This caused poor service. c. International hotels & Restaurants never sent their top staff to Gaum. b) Transportation facilities
d. Tourism was overly dependent on Airlines companies which sometimes stopped their services owing to low business. e. All the consumer items for visitors were imported from far places by ship, which in turn made up everything on Guam costly. Also Very few cruise ships docked. f. Due to buses running services only on Guam Island timing, visitors use to opt for rental cars.
c) Natural Resources
g. Rich in scenic beaches which could attract tourists. h. The weather on Guam was very pleasant which made it an ideal location for tourists. i. It was also considered as a desired destination for diving. j. Waterfalls, mountains and caves were added advantage.
3. Assess the stakeholders in the distribution channel, their positioning and the level of integration in Guam’s tourism industry. The hotels and restaurants association, tourism foundation, the travel agents association are the various stakeholders which come under the distribution channel
a. GHRA – An association of hotels & restaurants in Guam to help the members by addressing their issues. The hotels believed that they provided superior service and customers had a great regard for their hotel specific product. b. GTF – A tourism foundation to promote awareness tourism industry to community and also improve relationship with the tourist market through community services and destination enhancement projects. c. JGTA – An association comprised of travel agents. They accounted for 85% to 90% of all visit arrivals from Japan to Guam. Korean and Chinese tour operators were also purported to consolidate their GUAM booking through JGTA. They were positioned excellently that they were able to negotiate the best prices to the customers.
The American government had a system in place to look into the functioning of GVB. The five governor appointees, two legislative committees and six elected members were members of the board of directors. Every member of the GVB board also headed a committee or used to oversee a function of the organization. Members of GHRA, GTF and JGTA also held key positions in GVB board of directors which ensured that their interests were taken into account... | <urn:uuid:bf1dd1e3-d0dc-4248-b07b-b01c8f410cc3> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.studymode.com/essays/Guam-Case-780181.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00359-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975305 | 773 | 1.90625 | 2 |
IBM and the China-based Range Technology will build a cloud computing data center near Beijing that the companies claim will be Asia's largest by floor space.
The 620,000 square meter facility, which is to be owned by Range Technology, is expected to be completed in 2016, the companies announced on Tuesday. The data center aims to mainly serve government departments from China's capital and across the country, but will also be open to banks and private enterprises.
The cloud computing center will be built in Langfang, a city between Beijing and Tianjin, in northern China. The data center is meant to support the development of a new information technology hub being built in the area, said IBM spokeswoman Harriet Ip.
IBM, the vendor for the project, did not disclose the cost of the data center. But the company said Range Technology is spending about US$1.49 billion on the building of the Langfang Range International Information Hub, of which the data center will be a part.
IBM says there has been growing demand for data centers and cloud computing in China. The company's data-center business in China has tripled in the last four years. In 2010, China overtook Japan as IBM's second largest data center market, with the U.S. as the company's number one market.
Range Technology could not be reached for comment. But the company said in a statement, "This initiative plays a critical role in the economic development of China in light of the pressing demand for managed hosting in the areas of cloud computing and mobile devices," according to its chairman Zhou Chaonan.
Range Technology, an Internet data center services provider, was founded in 2009. Earlier this month, the company and IBM formed a strategic partnership on cloud computing and software services. | <urn:uuid:8a7b4e4a-ac89-4fe3-8258-f5dfe8637349> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.pcworld.com/article/217744/ibm_to_build_asias_largest_cloud_computing_center.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282202.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00548-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957872 | 362 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Can Juicing Your Greens Jumpstart Your Health?
Juicing is a popular way to try to get more fruits and vegetables. But, it can also cause problems if you aren’t doing it correctly or are using it in ways that are not beneficial for your gut or your health.4 Kinds Of Weight Loss Supplements
With the proliferation of weight loss pills and supplements on the market today, as people strive to become more health conscious, making a pick can get quite confusing. In this article, we’ll discuss the main differences between them so you can make an informed choice for yourself.Lose Weight and Get Healthy Diet Plan
This is a weight loss diet plan to help you not only lose weight but improve your health. Follow this diet for at least eight weeks to see the results.Is Lifestyle to Blame for Not Being Able to Drop the Belly Fat?
If your current lifestyle has led you to live in the body you currently have and ‘nothing seems to work’ to help ‘shape-up’, there is a huge possibility that your lifestyle is the major contributing factor. There is a very high chance the fitness training or working out to shape up may not be all is jacked up to be in your quest to drop belly fat and look and feel great.Dealing With Excess Skin After A Huge Weight Loss
If you’ve recently lost a huge amount of weight and find yourself with excess skin, you may be wondering what you can do about it. This article offers a few suggestions…6 Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Weight
1. Not drinking enough water – Your body is 50-60% water so do not deprive it of its most vital nutrient! Water helps you burn fat, build muscle, stay hydrated, and feel satiated. To determine how many ounces of water you should drink, divide your bodyweight in pounds by two. For example, a 180 pound person should drink 90 ounces of water per day.Avoid This Weight Loss Killer!
Everyone makes this mistake. It’s especially common around the New Year and before the Summer Holidays. Here’s what happens… You’re super-motivated to change your body. Maybe you’re going to go on a diet. Maybe you’re going to start exercising. Or maybe you’re going to hit it hard and do both!The Best Food to Lose Belly Fat Easily
The balance between eating right and exercise can help us reduce weight easily. Learn about the different foods, which are beneficial for weight loss and step in the path of weight loss.What’s the Secret to Permanent Weight Loss?
Are you tired of your flabby body? Do you go on diet after diet but never lose your excess weight? My friend, Andrea has finally discovered the secret after years of struggle.How Essential Oils Can Aid in Weight Loss
For centuries, people have been using essential oils for many remedies; including weight loss. Are you ready?The 5 Most Misleading “Facts” About Fat Loss
Fat loss is a complicated thing that takes much more than simply creating a calorie deficit. While that is part of it, fat loss success lies in avoiding these common fat loss misconceptions. Learn how to avoid the 5 most misleading fat loss “facts.”Prevent The Childhood Obesity Menace
One out of every three children is either overweight or obese. This figure is astounding, when you look at all the countries suffering from this childhood obesity and their lax method in dealing with the problem. They need to come up with a sustainable solution. | <urn:uuid:9d48ebd0-f844-4af1-ab0d-f3e63bd0edeb> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://nextweightloss.com/booty-pump-in-14-days-grow-your-butt-10-minute-home-workout/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571097.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810010059-20220810040059-00270.warc.gz | en | 0.943928 | 745 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Friday, June 30, 2006
Gord writes: "The banquet was a lot like GKC's view of the Inn, replete with music, jokes, a catered feast, wine and bon homie. There was also a contest for clerihews, that odd limerick-like form invented by GK and E. Bentley and taking the form AABB. Each evening we night people stayed up nearly all night drinking beer and smoking cigars, hopefully observing GK's dictum, that 'we should thank God for beer and burgundy by not drinking too much of them.' One night I jumped into a great talk with Joseph Pearce and Carl Olson on punk rock and gospel rock, one of my favorite topics. There was also iced tea and homemade wine provided in the daylight hours, along with crackers and cheese. I very much enjoyed the New York contingent who not only seemed to supply an infinite amount of beer but put on a midnight barbeque with dogs on the grill. As GK probably wouldn't say, jolly good show!"
You can read all of Gord's review here.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Lewis’ fairy tale series – The Chronicles of Narnia – is, of course, the best known of their works in this field.
In his learned way, he also wrote about fairy tales, providing scholarly analysis.
Chesterton’s comments were no less insightful, but perhaps more easily graspable.
Academic vs. journalist.
I’ll briefly deal with Lewis first.
With a title that says it all, Lewis wrote an essay called “Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What’s To Be Said.”
Gee, the essay itself almost seems anticlimactic!
In the essay (which can be found in Of Other Worlds), Lewis begins by quoting Tasso’s comments that poets “ought `to please and instruct.’” (As I said, Lewis is the scholarly academic.)
He says that good writing (including his own), should be both “pleasing” and “instructing.”
“If only one of these is present, then, so far as I am concerned, the book will not be written. If the first is lacking, it can’t; if the second is lacking, it shouldn’t.”
He points out that children’s literature should not be written with purely pedantic purpose and in a calculated way. As far as his writing for children goes, he says such a notion is “pure moonshines” and notes “I couldn’t write in that way at all.”
He says his own children’s fiction begins with images (Narnia started with an image of a faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood), and that the story takes form around the image, a process he calls “bubbling.”
As for the Christian nature of the Narnia stories, he says he didn’t set out to write Christian stories: “At first there wasn’t anything Christian about them; that element pushed itself in of its own accord.”
Of course, that is only natural as Lewis was a Christian, and that faith formed his thinking. Thus what came out on paper had to grow out of that way of thinking.
As the stories began to take shape, they became fairy tales.
“As these images sorted themselves into events (i.e., became a story) they seemed to demand no love interest and no close psychology. But the Form which excludes these things is the fairy tale.”
He said he fell in love with the “Form” of the fairy tale because of “its brevity, its severe restraints on description, its flexible traditionalism, its inflexible hostility to all analysis, digression, reflections and `gas’.”
The fairy tale form allowed him to present the Christian faith without all the religious trappings (“lowered voices”) that can help to “freeze feelings.” Paradoxically, through the use of fantasy, the elements of faith can become more real.
“But supposing that by casting all these things into an imaginary world, stripping them of their stained-glass and Sunday school association, one could make them for the first time appear in their real potency?”
Which explains his Narnia tales. As for fairy tales (and fantasy) in general:
"At all ages, if [fantasy and myth] is used well by the author and meets the right reader, it has the same power: to generalize while remaining concrete, to present in palpable form not concepts or even experiences but whole classes of experience, and to throw off irrelevancies. But at its best it can do more; it can give us experiences we have never had and thus, instead of 'commenting on life,' can add to it."
I dare say Lewis’ fairy tales have added to many people’s lives.
(Chesterton will be covered in a post this weekend.)
Waldemar Kaminski, who quietly ran a food stand in Broadway Market for more than 50 years, has been revealed to be a self-made millionaire and philanthropist who anonymously gave millions to Buffalo charities and neighbors in need.
He died at home Wednesday night from complications of a long illness. He was 88.
And it doesn't stop there. Dozens of people who knew him personally, and could always count on him for help. Hundreds who never met him, but reaped the benefits of his philanthropy. Through it all, Mr. Kaminski toiled merrily along in obscurity, feeling even that the simple and pleasant life he lived was too extravagant to be just.
For he was one who would not, as the saying goes, "look a gift universe in the mouth." His time was spent in fishing, kite-flying and horseplay with his youthful relatives. To simply see people, and the world, and to feel the happiness that can be found therein, was to Mr. Kaminski a gift beyond gratitude. We know this feeling; we have felt it. Chesterton felt it, too.
Hail and farewell, then, to Waldemar Kaminski; requiescat in pace.
[Cross-posted from A Gentle Fuss]
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
The paganism of St. Justin’s day was soon supplanted by Christendom—a culture steeped in the Bible. From the Middle Ages to about the beginning of the 20th century, the Bible reigned as the central epic of our culture. We might say that Mythmaking was superceded by the blinding presence of myth-become-fact. But by the turn of the 20th century the Bible had lost this role—the re-paganization of the West had begun. And it’s this re-paganization of our people that has led to the recreation of mythology and it’s return to a central role in the lives of our young people.
Now, undoubtedly it would have been better if this hadn’t happened. But that isn’t the point right now—that ship has sailed. The need for a St. Justin has returned.
Alan's post of last Thursday, Still wearing my ID bracelet, sparked some good comments. In the combox, “Chestertonian” mentioned a favorite story of mine: Tolkien's creation myth in The Silmarillion. Tolkien, a man considered here to be a friend of GKC, loved truth, and he loved myth as an expression of truth. The word myth seems to be defined as “a delightful lie” in the mind of many, but it should not have this connotation.
Joseph Pearce, biographer of both Chesterton and Tolkien, was interviewed by James Person for The University Bookman (Fall 2004, link); in the interview Pearce says “What I call Tolkien’s philosophy of myth is the fact that mythology is the only means of expressing adequately metaphysical truth—because truth is metaphysical, facts are physical. Now, let’s go back a step for a moment: G. K. Chesterton wrote, 'Not facts first, truth first.' This is the key thing, because we need to differentiate between facts and truth. Facts in the sense that Tolkien and Chesterton were referring to them are physical realities. Truth is the metaphysical realities that inform the facts.”
John Paul II made a similar point when talking about Biblical interpretation. In an October 1981 address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences he said: “The Bible itself speaks to us of the origin of the universe and its make-up, not in order to provide us with a scientific treatise, but in order to state the correct relationships of man with God and with the universe. Sacred Scripture wishes simply to declare that the world was created by God, and in order to teach this truth it expresses itself in the terms of the cosmology in use at the time of the writer. The Sacred Book likewise wishes to tell men that the world was not created as the seat of the gods, as was taught by other cosmogonies and cosmologies, but was rather created for the service of man and the glory of God. Any other teaching about the origin and make-up of the universe is alien to the intentions of the Bible, which does not wish to teach how heaven was made but how one goes to heaven.” (link)
“Not facts first, truth first.”
I don't know from where this exact quote comes, or even if Chesterton wrote it that way; but it is certainly a good synthesis of what Chesterton wrote. A fact, or a collection of facts, is not the whole truth. Chesterton's interest was in pointing towards the whole truth. In so many things he wrote Gilbert was helping his readers to overcome misconceptions of facts and truths. In his fiction: “'Facts,' murmured Basil, like one mentioning some strange, far-off animals, 'how facts obscure the truth.'” (The Club of Queer Trades); in his philosophy: “I am concerned with a certain way of looking at life, which was created in me by the fairy tales, but has since been meekly ratified by the mere facts.” (Orthodoxy); and especially in his biography St. Thomas Aquinas when Chesterton wrote that St. Thomas “was willing to allow the one truth to be approached by two paths, precisely because he was sure there was only one truth.”
St. Thomas was ready to fight for the doctrine that the Faith and scientific study would not yield two opposing 'truths' (whatever that could even mean); Chesterton thrills us this with the sentence: “So, in his last battle and for the first time, he fought as with a battle-axe.”
The Dumb Ox went off to war, to fight for the Truth, and it seems the battle never ends.
(Nikolay Gay. "Quod Est Veritas?" Christ and Pilate. 1890. Oil on canvas. The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia. link)
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
To add to Furor’s post (below) on the new mythology, Mark Shea has put it very succinctly.
“With the new Superman flick coming out, the fun thing is watching the way in which various folk in our culture, both Christian and non-Christian, approach the obvious Christian parallels in this and other stories.One thing that strikes me is how often a secular film gets praised for drawing from Jewish and Christian roots, while religious films get damned for drawing from those same roots. If you ransack a religious tradition for its symbolism, you are a masterful, allusive and profound storyteller. If you “believe” the things symbolized in that tradition, you are a flat-footed Neanderthal with an Agenda. This suggests to me that our culture hungers for Reality, but simply cannot handle too much of it. Our eyes can bear to look at images of Christ, but not to stare into the full Radiance of He Himself.”
It’s strange but true: Just about every aspect of Our Lord’s life and character is foreshadowed, in some way, in the myths and legends of pre-Christian paganism. This fact was very obvious to people of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. So obvious, in fact, that the pagans often used it as an argument against the Faith! The Christians, after all, spoke of Jesus as a real man, who lived in a certain city, in a certain country, not much more than one long lifetime earlier. And yet it seemed clear to the pagans, that their Christ was just one more example of the typical mythological avatar—just another Icarus or Heracles. Just one more “Corn King”—who dies and rises again, bearing much fruit. And Christ’s teachings seemed to them to echo, at times, the ethics of Zeno or Epictetus.
Well, this is where St. Justin came in…
There's also a quote Rod mentions from the young C.S. Lewis which shall be shockingly familiar to those of you have had any dealings with "young atheists:"
“You know, I think, that I believe in no religion. There is absolutely no proof for any of them, and from a philosophical standpoint Christianity is not even the best. All religions, that is, all mythologies to give them their proper name, are merely man's own invention‑Christ as much as Loki. Primitive man found himself surrounded by all sorts of terrible things he didn't understand...thus religion, that is to say mythology grew up.”
Although I have gone on to read a number of other works by him – including more Father Brown tales – I have not read any of his other short fiction.
Thanks to Ignatius Press, I intend to remedy that situation this summer - and to drag you along.
Volume XIV of The Collected Works of G. K. Chesterton is Short Stories, Fairy Tales, Mystery Stories – Illustrations.
As a bonus, it includes some Father Brown stories, two of which had been “lost.”
The collection includes a number of stories that had been published in various periodicals but not collected previously. The editors note that some of the stories had been published in English editions, but not American editions, and vice versa. The collection also includes stories from his notebooks and some juvenilia.
The stories are dated (where possible) and arranged in chronological order in each of the three sections - "A Potpourri of Tales," "Juvenilia," and "What Might Have Been" (complete stories and fragments from the notebooks).
Over the summer, I will work my way through the stories, then report back periodically with comments and reviews.
One of my paying gigs is that of theatre director/designer at my local community college (small pay-big fun so it balances out). When I first took the job there was only person on campus in charge of the performing arts and she told me I could do any play I wanted, as long as it was not R rated and that I was not to exceed the $500.00 dollar budget and it had to be one that would help build a repeat audience. She handed me a catalog of plays. By the time I got home I knew it had to be a comedy. I opened to that section of the catalog, at random, and at the top of the page was SCREWTAPE a play by James Forsyth based on C. S. Lewis “The Screwtape Letters”. My search was done.
Forsyth had managed to transform the decidedly one way dialog of the SCREWTAPE LETTERS in to a well fleshed out theatrical presentation. Instead of letters, Screwtape ‘came up’ with Wormwood to act as a personal coach. These guys are portrayed as a classic two person comedy act in the Laurel & Hardy mold. When Slumtrimpet enters they become more like the Marx Brothers. These three interact, unseen, by the “patients” providing two plays at the same time or rather being able to see the supernatural influence the natural all working to get Mike to ‘hell’s dinning table’.
Word of warning here: as one reviewer said "purest fans of C.S. Lewis' brilliant, witty "The Screwtape Letters" - 31 epistles of seductive advice from an avuncular old-timer to his naive relative - will likely be disappointed. James Forsyth's 1972 play departs from the original, failing to capture the subtleties of the Lewis satire, a masterpiece of reverse theology." (Aside from that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?) But hey, if it followed the book exactly the show would run over 15 hours. Remember it had to fit the dramatic format and it does that very well combining the satire and slap-stick of the original while not losing the point and providing the trials of the patient as something we can care about. Some of the English idioms had to be Americanized and Forsyth did make a few errors in theology at the end but that was easily fixed.
Warning number 2: The devil can not stand to be mocked and he started trying to stop this play shortly after it was cast. Several professors started that church/state nonsense. I had to speak to the Dean and simply asked him, “Would it be alright if I were to do “Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat or Godspell (yuck)? He said “Yes”, and I said “Then why are we talking?” “Good point” he said, (he was on my side anyway because he loves C. S. Lewis. He just needed a talking point).Things also started happening to my cast. The leading Lady bowed out after the first rehearsal saying that she was sorry but she had fought the devil before and lost and was not strong enough to do it again on purpose. I kissed her on the head and bid her farewell. She was replaced. Next, the cast started getting flat tires on the way to rehearsals, and there were two minor fender benders. I taught the cast St. Michael’s prayer (don’t tell the Dean) and that nonsense stopped. A week before we were to open a cast member quit. I replaced that one with a friend that I knew could memorize the part and pull it off in time. I have never gone through that many cast changes and “accidents” with any other play I have done.
It made me understand why Lewis did not write a sequel. Being that close to the devil is a sticky ugly place to be. The distance between the rehearsal hall and my home is exactly the time it takes to say one Rosary. I did that every night just to feel clean again. I taught two other actors that prayer as well.
For those of you that have been involved with theatre you might recall that sort of thing happens with another play all the time, Shakespeare’s tale of the Scottish King. Theatre people don’t even say the name especially backstage. It has the same effect as saying Voldemort, because the dark arts are in that play too.
All said and done, the play came off as a success. We tripled the previous attendance record. A local convent came – all seven of them and they gave us praise. They even liked pre-curtain song, Bob Dylan's Gotta Serve Somebody.
I have noticed that there are now several theatrical versions of Screwtape out there along with Forsyth’s and his show is getting mounted more now than when it first came out. Keep an eye peeled at the theatres in your area or suggest it to one of them.
Chesterton told us “Nothing succeeds like failure” and Gerald Nachman tells us “Nothing fails like success.” In my case the latter is true. The other production I did last year was The Diviners by Jim Leonard. Not as successful as Screwtape but we hit another box office record. I began looking at the Chesterton plays for this year but that is now on hold. With those successes the performing arts department was taken over by the English Lit dept. a committee will pick the plays with no input from me, “Thank you very much”. A committee is a group of people who know nothing and get together to decide nothing can be done. But I'm not bitter.
Here is my number one pet peeve with English Literature programs: Play scripts are not literature. It’s like teaching about sculpture in a music class because if you hit a sculpture with a mallet it makes a sound. The only similarity between a book and a script is that they both have words on a page. They can not be read as literature. They can not be analyzed, critiqued, enjoyed nor appreciated as literature. A script was written to be preformed not read. A script is at best one third of a completed work - you need actors and a director to fully bring it to life. This is why so many kids hate Shakespeare; they are forced to read it in English class, and rarely, if ever, seeing a production.
A good piece of literature you reread and enjoy the visit but it will give no new surprises on the second reading for the characters are locked into your brain as you have painted them like visiting a very old and dear friend. A play on the other hand can be seen several different times by different troops, the words will remain the same, but nothing else will. Some of the versions you will not like others will astound you. I read a script six times before the first rehearsal in order to figure out how it will look and play out. And yet every time one of the actors will do a certain reading or bit of business I had not thought of and it will be perfect. Theatre is a collaborative art but not a democracy.
On those occasions I have allowed my scripts to be mounted by other directors I am always surprised at the interpretation (as I’m sure Forsyth would have been with mine) sometimes positive sometimes not. That is the beauty of the beast.
Monday, June 26, 2006
His views concerning the sexes were equally at variance with those of Shaw and of most of the moderns. He was quite frankly the old-fashioned man and Frances was the old-fashioned woman. They both agreed that there is one side of life that belongs to man - the side of endless cigars smoked over endless discussions about the universe. He often said that the important thing for a country was that the men should be manly, the women womanly: the thing he hated was the modern hybrid: the woman who gate-crashes the male side of life: no one, he had said later in a letter of his engagement time, "takes such a fierce pleasure as I do in things being themselves." And both he and Frances found amusement in that "eternal equality" which Gilbert saw in the sexes so long as they kept their eternal separateness. If everything, he said, is trying to be red, some things are redder than others, but there is an eternal and unalterable equality between red and green.The clarity of that last line is particularly striking to me, and it is one of the very few sections of text I have ever underlined in a book.
2. A woman's duty to work in the corporate world out of spite
3. A woman's right to disdain children, and spend as little time with her own as she can manage
4. A woman's right to be snarky and disrespectful to her husband, while he himself is of course required to treat her like a delicate pagan goddess lest she file for divorce
5. A woman's duty to rebel against any traditional conceptions of womanhood that may still, incredibly, exist
All this, and more, he did not affirm. The world we live in today has brought us to the point where it is not merely enough to "live and let live" with disagreement in principles; either you explicitly promote the agendas listed above, or you are cast off into the outer darkness.
Alan wrote on Saturday of the various ways in which "women's liberation" has come back to enslave women in even worse ways than they felt they were enslaved before. The "supply" of women will decrease as the years go by. That is a fact. The sexual desires of men will not. This is a fact. The idea of women walking around like ancient Arabian god-queens, draped in finery and with mute masculine harems in tow, is a fallacy both in terms of optimism and ethic. If we must refute its optimism, we could suggest observation of how a group of men long in prison reacts to the presence of almost any woman at all. For indeed, this is the mentality that will grow, in the long term, in such men as remain. If we must refute its ethic, we should turn to the likelihood (and it is a strong one) that a decrease in the number of women would lead, if anything, to a resolute strengthening of those women's radical feminist ideals, becoming as they would be a small elite. They would, in essence, rule the world; and it is worth considering the possibility that they would have, rather than harems, no men at all. Radical feminists aren't known for their extravagant promiscuity, whatever their faults may be, and it's unreasonable to think that they would suddenly dole themselves out to a succession of men if they are generally disdainful of even one.
So it is not even a tarnished utopia to which we can look forward, and this generation is steaming full ahead into Moloch and Astarte's waiting arms. The old gods never die; they merely abide. Yahweh knew this, and He knows it still. With every child modern woman commits unto the furnace of convenience or "personal choice;" with every day modern woman crushes her soul and hardens her heart in the corporate world; with every marriage she disolves "without fault," another offering is laid at the foot of the great idol. In a mad rush to defend their honour, many women have forsaken their dignity and their value. It is an instructive and not unrelated truth that both "dignity" and "value" have been dismissed as vacuous fictions by post-modern thought.
Gilbert spoke grandly on all of this and more, most notably in What's Wrong with the World, but also elsewhere. His strongest and most bewildered comments were reserved for those who trumpetted the coming of "equality between the sexes." Such an event, taken to the conclusion its proponents demanded, would be disastrous; and we have seen that it has been disastrous. It is a not a true equality, measuring similarities and differences alike, and coming to a common equation. It is an equality born of the death of distinction. It creates a world in which women try to be hard and manly, and fail everyone; in which men try to be sassy and feminine, and die a little inside with every passing day. Gilbert took great pleasure in "things being themselves," for they're simply no good at being anything else. The results, says he, are ominous:
Men are beginning to revolt, we are told, against the old tribal custom of desiring fatherhood. The male is casting off the shackles of being a creator and a man. When all are sexless there will be equality. There will be no women and no men. There will be but a fraternity, free and equal. The only consoling thought is that it will endure but for one generation.I do not see in all this a hatred of women, but rather a fierce and almost desperate love for them, motivated in equal parts by duty, reason, compassion and - what is more - the imminent prospect of loss. I can not be accused of being a "church hater" for crying out against seeing my church turned into a brothel. It is no slander on my country if I should implore her to stay true to the principles upon which she was founded.
It is a sad state of affairs, and I can not close on a happy note.
Most notable, from our point of view, is the poetry. John seems to be a firm proponent of the sonnet, and has some considerable skill in the field. His most recent post is a lengthy series of the things, dedicated to the Carmelite Order, and it is simply wonderful to behold.
You can also find plenty of stuff about ChesterCon, economics, and his prodigous summer reading list (plenty of Chesterton and Dickens). He seems to have started posting regularly again since the advent of the Conference, and hopefully this trend will continue. Be sure to stop by and take a look. More encouragement means more posting, after all.
This is just a note to say that there will be something more put up by me (and possibly even by others of our number) later today, so be sure to check back in the evening.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
What do people in modernizing cultures do when they take reproduction out of the hands of God and put it under self-conscious control? In much of Asia, the answer has turned out to be that they have sons. For those conditioned by U.S. abortion politics to think of reproductive choice as always and entirely pro-woman, this is a disconcerting irony, (and I am by far not the first to point this out) One expert has estimated that up to 200 million women are missing from the world because of the kill-the-girls phenomenon, leaving about 200 million men and boys unable to marry over the next 20 years—and growing. With this imbalance: What will be the plot lines of future love stories? Will women be allowed to have more than one husband at the same time? When I lost my first girl friend my dad said, “Don’t worry there are plenty of fish in the sea.” what will future dads say? Will this imbalance make the issue of homosexual marriage moot?
Yet no one is suggesting, to paraphrase Joseph A. D'Agostino, “…any of the genuine, time-tested remedies for this socially destabilizing problem. No one in a political leadership role is suggesting (in public anyway) a cultural return to the celebration of large families nor reducing the massive taxes that have prompted so many people worldwide to limit their family sizes. They don’t even suggest the abolition of China’s coercive one-child-per-family population quota. And never, never would it occur to the progressive mind to suggest encouragement for, and government policies to enable, more women to be homemakers, who tend to have more children than working mothers.”
There is an interesting new field opening up called “The New Biopolitics,” It is based on demographics linked to which country will run out of people first, the last one with the most babies wins. They will be the new world power. (see Jedediah Purdy article) The western narcissist and feminist (the latter is a subset of the former) attitudes being exported world wide is, quite literally, exterminating the Western world. Most of Europe’s birth rate is below replacement level, America is a close second. The only demographic that has a growing birth rate is the Moslem countries. Belloc said in The Great Heresies; “And for my part I cannot but believe that a main unexpected thing of the future is the return of Islam. Since religion is at the root of all political movements and changes and since we have here a very great religion physically paralyzed but morally intensely alive, we are in the presence of an unstable equilibrium which cannot remain permanently unstable.”
Even the UN sees the problem of low birth rates but they are not telling people have more babies they proposes the opposite: A massive feministization campaign.They talk about a strategy for women's empowerment: “Access to family planning,” “job training,” “an exit option from the family”: All these will export to Asia the suicidal birthrates plaguing Europeans and Americans. In fact, anti-family careerist attitudes are already taking hold. Even India’s fertility rate has been falling fast and will be under replacement rate, and thus into suicidal territory, within 20 years or so, according to the United Nations. The problem they believe will be solved with science both the technical and political kind.
From Lecture XXXVI, Eugenics and Other Evils by Dale Ahlquist; “Eugenics is also about the tyranny of science. Forget the tired old argument about religion persecuting science. Chesterton points out the obvious fact that in the modern world, it is the quite the other way around; “The thing that really is trying to tyrannize through government is Science. The thing that really does use the secular arm is Science. And the creed that really is levying tithes and capturing schools, the creed that really is enforced by fine and imprisonment, the creed that really is proclaimed not in sermons but in statutes, and spread not by pilgrims but by policemen - that creed is the great but disputed system of thought which began with Evolution and has ended in Eugenics. Materialism is really our established Church; for the Government will really help it to persecute its heretics.”
I remember, during the height of the ecology movement, a popular T-shirt that read ‘Save the world – plant a tree’. Maybe we should all get T-shirts that say ‘Save the world – get married have babies’.
Friday, June 23, 2006
There's a select club in the mystery world, with membership limited to the great names of British crime writing. Founded by Golden Age greats like Dorothy Sayers and G.K. Chesterton (its first president), the Detection Club now counts luminaries such as P.D. James and H.R.F. Keating among its ranks as it celebrates its 75th year of murder most foul.you can find the rest of the review here
According to an afterword in this anthology of short stories by present-day members, it's principally a dining club with traditions that each era reshapes to its own image. The originators required that members had published two detective novels "of admitted merit." They also had a few rules that modern-day writers would do well to heed: those who were chosen had to forego the use in their stories of "Divine Revelation, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery Pokery" to solve crimes, while agreeing to use only in moderation "Conspiracies, Death-Rays, Ghosts. . . Trap-Doors. . . Super Criminals and Lunatics."
Song of the Pelagian Heresy for the Strengthening of Men's Backs and the very Robust Out-thrusting of Doubtful Doctrine and the Uncertain Intellectual
Pelagius lived in Kardanoel,
And taught a doctrine there,
How whether you went to Heaven or Hell,
It was your own affair.
How, whether you found eternal joy
Or sunk forever to burn,
It had nothing to do with the Church, my boy,
But was your own concern.
Oh, he didn't believe in Adam and Eve,
He put no faith therein!
His doubts began with the fall of man,
And he laughed at original sin!
(With my row-ti-tow, ti-oodly-ow,
He laughed at original sin!)
Whereat the Bishop of old Auxerre
(Germanus was his name),
He tore great handfuls out of his hair,
And he called Pelagius Shame:
And then with his stout Episcopal Staff
So thoroughly thwacked and banged
The heretics all, both short and tall,
They rather had been hanged.
Oh, he thwacked them hard, and he banged them long
Upon each and all occasions,
Till they bellowed in chorus, loud and strong,
Their orthodox persuasions!
(With my row-ti-tow, ti-oodly-ow,
Their orthodox persua-a-a-sions!)
Now the Faith is old and the Devil is bold,
Exceedingly bold indeed;
And the masses of doubt that are floating about
Would smother a mortal creed.
But we that sit in a sturdy youth,
And still can drink strong ale,
Oh - let us put it away to infallible truth,
Which always shall prevail!
And thank the Lord for the temporal sword,
And howling heretics too;
And whatever good things our Christendom brings,
But especially barley brew!
(With my row-ti-tow, ti-oodly-ow,
Especially barley brew!)
I finally met a number of people whom Ive known only through writing or email. Something which struck me was the social levity and upbeat tone of the entire gathering. One would expect that people who come together through their admiration of old books to not be so jovial. Over the course of a lunch strangers often became friends. The presenters and speakers this year included some people with substantial credentials and the same spirit of camaraderie can be extended to them. Whatever accusations of elitism are leveled at "conservatives", I noticed how the speakers casually interacted with conference attendees. I thought it a very rare thing to be able to converse with people of that level in such a setting.
I ramble, this is an event that more people should attend.
I only bought a few books. Got the Chesterton Sherlock Holmes Ive been trying to get for years, I re-purchased Pieper's Leisure, the Basis of Culture( I kept my old one in the garage to read when I took the dog out, lost it when I cleaned out the garage --lost the book, not the dog), also picked up a couple books on the Jesuits in China, and a couple travelogue books by Arbp Sheen.
Have a great weekend.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Nancy C. Brown, on her great blog about the Chesterton conference, mentioned; “Father Jaki had a small group session on Intelligent Design…Well, Father is very blunt, and he even told us that the bible can't be so correct, which caused people to walk out of the room, because the bible says in Genesis Chapter one that the plants were created before the sun, which we know can't happen.”
That reminded me of a story I wrote for Our Sunday Visitor’s Catholic Answers. It was not an ID piece but an apologetics dialog. This is not the space to publish the whole story but here is an excerpt concerning the third day (plants before the sun). Just another thought to kick around.
Then she asked with a pointed finger, thinking she had me, “But what about the plants without the sun?”
“Yes, that’s a tricky one.” I admitted and went on to explain, “Some call it the day of adornment. The problem I have with that is one does not adorn before the work is done. God said: ‘…Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, ‘Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth. And it was so.’”
“As for the plants without the sun again this is not a problem, because there was light, His first command was "Let there be light"; and there was light. Not as we know light but light none-the-less. If we can thrive in His light surly plants can. So, on this third day there are two things going on here. God is creating the armature, Earth, in which to build his image, and the media, clay, in which to form his magnum opus, Man, ‘…then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground,’. Aside from his physical structure there are other things needed to make man, to keep him going, man needed hope. I see this third day as the first promise of the coming of His Son and the truth of His church that will stand forever. It is not the fruit trees that are important, it is the seed. Since the first readers had an agricultural mindset, they would understand this day as one of hope, of bounty to come, and the promise of salvation. The image of the symbolism of the seed is used throughout both Testaments. The word seed is mentioned more than a dozen times in Genesis alone, from the seed of the land and harvest to the seed between the woman and the serpent and to the seed of Abram. The short sighted ask for food, the intelligent ask for seed, ‘… and give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.’ ”
The Autobiography of G.K. Chesterton,
Common Sense 101 (Ahlquist's new GKC book),
Narnia & Beyond: A Guide to the Fiction of C.S. Lewis, by Thomas Howard (reprint, I think)
C.S. Lewis: The Man Who Created Narnia, by Michael Coren (a reprint, I think)
Beyond the Wardrobe: The Official Guide to Narnia
Narnia: Official Illustrated Movie Companion
Dynamics of World History, by Christopher Dawson (an ISI Books product)
Shakespeare the Papist, by diehard Chestertonian Peter Milward (a Sapientia Press product)
If you don't get Ignatius Press' catalogue, order one.
In a number of search engines like Google, Yahoo and Technorati, he shows up frequently – sometimes as officials sites dedicated to him or mentioning him, mostly as cited quotations.
But sometimes people write more in depth about him, quoting him at length, discussing his ideas, citing books of his they are reading (Orthodoxy seems to be showing up quite a bit lately).
I recently came across this entry by Stephanie in her MySpace blog:
G. K. Chesterton is one of my most favorite authors. It takes patience to read Chesterton because he writes in this long-winded Britishy speak and can drown you in minute details. But, in one of his books, he argues that the nature of the human is closer to the nature of God than to the nature of the animal. Chesterton doesn't base his theory on intelligence. He bases it on the fact that we humans have IMAGINATION. We express ourselves through poetry, stories, artwork, dance, song, and the like.
I think that's beautiful and true.
You can teach a dog to roll over, a parrot to speak, and marvel over the intelligence of the worker ant, but when is the last time a cat painted the Sistine Chapel? So, I say, the more CREATIVE I am the closer I am to God. Ahhh! That makes me even happier to be an artist!
Nice. I chuckled at the mention that he writes in “long-winded Britishy speak.” But her point about imagination is a good one.
A lot of young people are discovering Chesterton. That gives me hope for them – and the future.
In the Catholic world, there is even a youth-oriented Chesterton blog just begun on June 19 – Chesterteens.
Created by Ria, gilbertgirl and Margaret, they describe it as “an unofficial society for teenage Chesterton fanatics.”
In her first entry, Ria wrote, “I hope that I will soon be joined by other Chesterton loving teens This is going to be fun!!!!!”
I certainly hope so. Chesterton can be a lot of fun - even in a "long-winded Britshy speak" way.
Check them out and encourage them. So many blogs start out with grand ideas, then fade as reality (and life) intrude. I hope this is one that will succeed.
The first word is 'bigot'. It sounds almost like the biblical 'begat'. However these are two different words in spelling and meanings.(link)
A bigot may begat. Conversely many bigots have been begat. A bigot is one whose prejudice is sustained by intolerance for differing views. It does not matter whether the different view is informed by reason, logic, and possibly reality.
Prejudice is for some, a life source. It gives sustenance to nonsense, and it provides bliss for the ignorant. G.K. Chesterton suggests that, "bigotry may be roughly defined as the anger of men who have no opinions."
** don't forget Furor's Chesterton Experiment **
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
I'm posting this today because I've noticed that our traffic has grown significantly since the great Chesterton Express rolled into the station, and I think it would be a good idea to make sure that there's more content than usual around here at key points during the week. Wednesday - "humpday" - is one such time. Weekends are another, but we'll address that in times to come.
So, I was reading an old article by Mark Shea lampooning revisionist biblicism and modernity, and found myself thereafter wondering just what I would do if Gilbert suddenly walked through my front door. What would it mean for the world? For me? For history? It's an enormous concept.
So, in lightning fashion, I distilled the essence of this universe-spanning conundrum into a five-point questionnaire. My own answers will be provided below, but I invite any who are interested to respond in the combox with their own ideas.
If you could spend a day with Gilbert, here and now...
1. What would be the first thing you'd say to him on his arrival? What would you talk about thereafter?
2. You need some way to pass the morning before lunchtime; what do you do?
3. What media would you attempt to expose him to in the time you had? Or would you?
4. It's time for dinner; where do you do about it? What do you have?
5. What would be your valediction when the time comes to part?
My own answers to these are:
1. The first thing I would say would be, "Oh God! The surprise!" The time spent thereafter would be devoted to just seeing what he's been up to, what has occasioned his presence, that sort of thing. More intense and self-serving questions can wait for the afternoon.
2. As is traditional (or at least expected), the time before lunch would be spent on a light walk around town to expose Gilbert to the modern feeling, and it, likewise, to him. This could be an occasion for glee as well as sadness, on both our parts, so I should be sure to direct us to a bar for lunch. I would make certain to take him to St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica, in the heart of downtown London (Ontario; it's where I live), to show him that though the main streets may be lost, some medieval virtues live on.
3. I should like to take him to the movies, just for the sheer absurd novelty of the thing, but I don't know if I could bring myself to do it. There are certainly films that I would pay great sums to hear his commentary upon, but the agony of choice here has paralysed me. Let us settle upon showing him What Dreams May Come, then, which in both ethos and delivery has much that he would find familiar, or even pleasant. I would also be certain to demonstrate the Internet to him, and see what he thinks of blogging.
4. The dinner arrangements are something that I simply can not crack. I am no great cook, for my own part, but I feel it would be almost unacceptable to take Gilbert out to a restaurant. In any case, something would certainly be done, and it would certainly involve meat and beer, in the old high way. His opinion on pizza could also be sought.
5. As much as I should like to deliver an oratory of parting that would shake the world, only a simple "thank you" would be appropriate. What else, indeed, can be said?
So, there you go. As I say, be sure to reply to this below with your own ideas. Even if you don't, however, this is still something to meditate upon.
This book has yet to hit the stores but she went and blog published an excerpt that got the “lattes-and-latex lads and lassies” in an uproar.
Dawn begins with the premise that sex is sacred. She also backs up her premise with Scientific and Sociology studies. Dawn’s premise will lead to the conclusion that all life is sacred. We can come close to true fulfillment by sharing that sacredness in the sacrament of matrimony yet it can not truly be realized this side of the great divide. Life is an exciting adventure.
Her opponents do not begin with a falsehood they begin where all heresies begin with something close to the truth. They begin with sex is good. They back that up with feelings and moods as well as animal biology. Their conclusion ends with life is a commodity. And that achieving sexual pleasure is the end in itself and the only sin is to sleep alone. Life is the hunt.
As St. Thomas points out “A mistake in the beginning is a mistake indeed.”
Chesterton again: “If things deceive us, it is by being more real than they seem. As ends in themselves they always deceive us; but as things tending to a greater end, they are even more real than we think them. If they seem to have a relative unreality (so to speak) it is because they are potential and not actual; they are unfulfilled, like packets of seeds or boxes of fireworks. They have it in them to be more real than they are. And there is an upper world of what the Schoolman called Fruition, or Fulfillment, in which all this relative relativity becomes actuality; in which the trees burst into flower or the rockets into flame.”
I hope Dawn’s book gets a wide reading. Her work along with the work of Jason and Crystalina Evert will help restore sanity for she and they did not make a mistake in the beginning. Where as the “condoms-and-Cosmo coalition” most certainly did.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
After getting checked in and dropping off our luggage we went down to see the action and immediately started recognizing faces: hey there's Fr Jaki! and there's Dale Ahlquist! and there's Joseph Pearce! and look, there's a guy tapping a keg! Nathan Allen graciously provided his homebrew for the conference, brewed under the patronage of Our Lady of Walsingham; I was blessed with the opportunity to drink some of it while visiting with Nathan and with Joseph Pearce, and to talk about important things (like beer). And there was Stilton cheese and homemade wine.
The conference allowed me to put faces with a few names that I see online or in print. Many more writers were in attendance than I was able to meet, but a few people I met whose names you might recognise are: Kyro Lantsberger, Gilbert Magazine columnist (The Battle With the Dragon) and one of the gang here at Chesterton & Friends; David Beresford, Gilbert Magazine columnist (The Flying Inn) of mushroom and mustard fame; Peter Floriani, Dr Thursday of GKC's Favourite, a man of enormous laughter (hee hee!); Nancy Brown, Gilbert Magazine columnist (The Flying Stars) and blogger at TBOTACS; Sean Dailey, editor of Gilbert Magazine, who comments here and there as Chestertonian; and Ted Olsen, of "Four Man Feast" fame, who gave me some tips on cooking the bacon and eggs just right.
A beautiful component of the conference were the book sellers. It was distributivism in practice as the small dealers of books set up their tables for business. Each vendor had his own flavor; I spent most of my book-browsing time in ecstasy at the Notting Hill Books table, which had a beautiful ChesterBelloc section containing many first editions. Gier Hasnes, Norwegian bibliographer of Jilbert [sic], said it succinctly when he asked during his presentation "Don't you want to run out there to the book tables and buy everything before anybody else can get to it?" My wife attended the conference with me possibly for this very reason: to temper my book purchasing. I did manage to take home a very fine hardback of Belloc's The Servile State, and a reading copy of Cruise of the Nona.
Nancy Brown, over at TBOTACS (TEE-bo-tacks ... I made that up; it's not official), made several posts during the conference about the various talks (which were all very well done -- both the talks and Nancy's posts). I won't do the same (but I will say that in The Surprise Dale Ahlquist played a drunk quite well). Instead of telling you about the conference I'll mention a little about the small area of St Paul that I visited. Just prior to the conference I read GKC's Charles Dickens, and this book mentions travel and noticing the "common" things that are different -- not the extravagant things that one might visit but the everyday things. So my senses were a little more attuned to noticing the little things of the St Thomas campus and of the little area of St Paul that I explored. Many things were, to me, surprisingly the same as home. I went North expecting cooler, dryer weather; but was greeted with a warm and humid day that make me think I was still back in Texas. And as I walked across the St Thomas campus there was the ridiculous artwork typical of an university campus. I expected something different and it was surprisingly, almost shockingly, the same. Everybody can notice the odd taste of tap water when visiting a place away from home. Here was something different; each time I took a sip of water it was a surprise, like the man of "artistic temperament" who drank from his water bottle and was surprised to find it filled with wine. Then there was the afternoon I took off for a jog along the Mississippi River Blvd path: a perfect asphalt trail along the river that the locals can take for granted, but I was able to appreciate it. Alongside the asphalt there typically was the dirt path which I and Mr Belloc prefer; in the gutter of the road I passed a dead beaver, victim of a passing car, and I smiled as I noticed that it was not the armadillo typical of Texas roads. The houses along this way were certainly something to look at: a kind of cottage style that were built in the early 1900s; in their yards, when a tree was cut down they were not removed or left as a stump, but instead they were cut six feet tall and carved into sculpture. And then there was the Ford Street bridge over the Mississippi River that I jogged: something used constantly by the locals in cars, but that I could experience as I rather slowly passed across it.
Our stay in St Paul ended with a 6:00 AM ride to the airport with Carl Olson, which was graciously given to us by John & Luba Hickey.
We hope to be back again in 2007.
No small part of the denunciation of Columbus and his successors in our times is an update of the leyenda negra — the Black Legend — that Protestant countries applied to the Catholic Spaniards. As the gifted writer G. K. Chesterton put it, many of the English histories of Spanish exploration and conquest reflected “the desire of the white man to despise the Red Indian and the flatly contradictory desire of the Englishman to despise the Spaniard for despising the Red Indian.”
In 1985 the heavy-metal rock band Iron Maiden released an album with the cheerful title, Live after Death. One of the songs included therein bears the title "Revelations"; and barely decipherable there, amid the successive detonations of electric guitar, someone is singing the words of Chesterton's famous 1905 Christian hymn, "Oh God of Earth and Altar."
We don't know whether GKC rolled over in his grave or smiled.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Touchstone Magazine - This "journal of mere Christianity" is my favourite of the current crop for a number of reasons. First, the sheer variety of material they cover is excellent. The magazine's raison d'etre is to look at culture in a way that is informed by Christianity, and as such, anything is fair game (with reasonable exceptions). Looking at a back issue I've got here, I can see articles about the overpopulation scare, the problems of television, gender-inclusive mutilation of hymns, a light analysis of Jane Austen, the minority Suriani Christians of Turkey, and one of Mike Aquilina's wonderful patristics pieces. If there's nothing in there that tickles your fancy, or if even the variety of it doesn't, well... I don't know what to say. Anyway, Touchstone is broadly ecumenical, and offers a platform for Christians of all denominations and platforms. I recommend this one heartily.
First Things - This one operates along much the same guidelines as Touchstone does, but with a more overtly political and editorial tone. It's certainly worth checking out, and their website is updated with a truly impressive amount of content on a regular basis.
Christianity Today - A more generally protestant magazine, it nevertheless carries a tremendous amount of information about all sorts of things. I've been particularly impressed with their ability to carry entertaining stories with the same frequency as they do serious and thoughtful ones. And, much as with Touchstone, the topics are as wide as they are interesting.
Dappled Things Magazine - This magazine, with a name from a Gerard Manley Hopkins poem, is a newcomer to the field, and focuses on young Catholic writers, and the issues that concern them. What's more, they offer a truly wonderful selection of poetry and short fiction. They're still trying to get off the ground, so why not head over there and lend your support?
Crisis Magazine - Catholic. Conservative. American. This is some excellent reading, and is absolutely worth your time. Their website boasts an extensive archive of past content, and the magazine itself features regular columns from Maureen Martin, Fr. James Schall and Sen. Rick Santorum. Go for it.
The St. Austin Review - Besides being great fun to read, it is worth noting that the St. Austin Review has some of the most beautiful covers of any magazine going. Apart from that, however, I can tell you that this periodical has a decidedly artistic feel to it, and is often concerned with matters literary and paint-spattered.
Our Sunday Visitor - Offers a wide variety of products and services, including a number of small magazines, books, and a weekly newspaper. I don't have much experience with them, but I've heard good things.
The National Catholic Register - The gold standard of Catholic newspapers. Just go there and check it out; you will not be disappointed. I'm not just saying that because Eric works for them, either. Note: Not to be confused with the National Catholic Reporter, which I'm told can be Problematic in its approaches to some things.
Envoy Magazine - This magazine is devoted to apologetics and, well, arguing with people. That might not be everyone's thing, but you can usually find some good interviews and analyses there.
Gilbert Magazine - Naturally.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Today there are few Literary magazines and fewer still for Catholic Christian writers. Magazines are important because they are tangible - you can fold them, put them in your pocket, read whenever or wherever, underline them, cut them out, pass them along or save them. Yes, I know with a few button pushes and PDAs you can do that with the web too but what you do not have with the web is the intimate relationship of touch and smell. As with love, works on paper come to you through all your senses.
I mention all this because we need to support the efforts of those working to put out Literary magazines especially of those of a Christian nature. Here are two:
St. Linus Review. published by William Ferguson. He tells us, this magazine is a place to “Explore the world through the writing of Catholics who see the Faith as an endless inspiration and orthodoxy as the artist's liberator.” St. Linus Review is a semi-annual magazine of poetry, short prose, book reviews and art by orthodox Catholics.
No, really, it’s not just because they publish my stuff it’s a good deal.
The other magazine worthy of note is the young upstart Hereditas Magazine. Its fifth issue is now complete. For us Chestreton Fans the Editor, Colleen Drippe’, tells us, “We have also been so fortunate as to secure two different pieces on that, er, massive subject, Gilbert Chesterton. Allison Thornton, a student of Regina Coeli Online Academy has provided us with an excellent study of Chesterton’s “Ballad of the White Horse”, and Kathy Gavlas (author of “Eagle Mountain”) has written a short piece on Father Brown. So dig in. Read for the Glory of God. It’s lots better than watching television.”
Here is the cover art:
Again it’s not just because I had a small hand in giving birth to this mag and they have used some of my art and writing, Honestly.
Get your subscriptions today- supporting these efforts could bring forth great fruit.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
The timing of this was wonderful in that tonight begins the ACS's Chesterton Conference at the University of St. Thomas. Dale Ahlquist has assembled such lumenaries as Fr. Stanley Jaki, Carl Olson, and Joseph Pearce for this event.
I have to leave early tonight, but I plan on updating all of you through here on this first rate event.
As many of you may have noticed, for as much as Chesterton's defenses of traditional Christianity represent the best ink on paper in this area, I have a great affection for Chesterton the mystery writer. For years, I have had Chesterton's Sherlock Holmes - compliation of essays and GKC drawings of stories from Holmsian canon-- on Christmas wish lists, birthday hint lists, father's day options, etc. I guess I have to just go and buy it myself.
Parting on that theme, I leave an imperfect Clerihew,
A Ballade of Suicide
The gallows in my garden, people say,
Is new and neat and adequately tall;
I tie the noose on in a knowing way
As one that knots his necktie for a ball;
But just as all the neighbours--on the wall—
Are drawing a long breath to shout "Hurray!"
The strangest whim has seized me. . . . After all
I think I will not hang myself to-day.
To-morrow is the time I get my pay—
My uncle's sword is hanging in the hall—
I see a little cloud all pink and grey—
Perhaps the rector's mother will not call—
I fancy that I heard from Mr. Gall
That mushrooms could be cooked another way—
I never read the works of Juvenal—
I think I will not hang myself to-day.
The world will have another washing-day;
The decadents decay; the pedants pall;
And H.G. Wells has found that children play,
And Bernard Shaw discovered that they squall,
Rationalists are growing rational—
And through thick woods one finds a stream astray
So secret that the very sky seems small—
I think I will not hang myself to-day.
Prince, I can hear the trumpet of Germinal,
The tumbrils toiling up the terrible way;
Even to-day your royal head may fall,
I think I will not hang myself to-day.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
The art world has many lines of demarcation, and boundaries as if it were a real kingdom. It did once have royalty but those days are gone. However, it is still a world of battling warlords trying to carve out their little serfdoms, write their manifestos or burn the manifestos of others. Each is positive what they do is right and all else is weak. Nobody knows who rules or who makes up the rules only that there are rules. For the past 100 years or so they are still battling on whether or not photography is art. When does craft cross the line into art? Who gave the guy at the Times the authority to decide what great art is and what is not but more importantly why does anyone listen? It is like Chesterton’s description of the medieval period, “It was not a war of nations; but it was a rather widespread family quarrel.”
Everyone who picks up a brush, pencil or chisel and stands alone before a blank paper or hunk of rock is in the same sibling band. Or it is as in the metaphysical question GKC posed, “Are things so different that they can never be classified; or so unified that they can never be classified?” In aesthetics the answer is; Composition: make exist all together as one. Although Chesterton was not one to talk much about aesthesis I co-opted this GKC quote, “The wedding of Man with God and therefore with nature.” as a better definition of composition.
Elie Faure, a most respected art historian, was trained in medicine. He brought his scientific knowledge to bear in his study of the history of art, (best known is his History of Art (5 vol., 1909–21; tr. by Walter Pach, 1937)). As a scientist he could not help but to put things in classifications and sub categories. And as a scientist his writing definitely lacks soul. And most of his work is clueless as to how an artist thinks and works. He had nothing good to say about either Chesterton’s art or Gilbert’s opinion of modern art, (Time magazine March 1923).
“Once men sang together round a table in chorus; now one man sings alone, for the absurd reason that he can sing better. If scientific civilization goes on . . . only one man will laugh, because he can laugh better than the rest.” (GKC) a quote taken from The Humble Artist a review of Thomas Peters The Christian Imagination:G. K. Chesterton on the Arts By Eric J. Scheske
Faure and other “respected” art historians are like visitors reporting back from a strange planet, since they are unable to speak the language they can only comment on the appearance of things as if that were it’s most important aspect. Chesterton lives on that strange planet. The art historian will talk on and on about the process of seeing where Chesterton would talk about the joy of sight.
Chesterton was first trained as an artist, an illustrator in particular and thus that has been his classification. Illustrators have never been given their rightful place at the table. They are always looking in from the street like N.C. Wyeth and Norman Rockwell to mention a few of the famous examples. The higher up self proclaimed Grand Puba’s in the art world look down on illustrators for two reasons: the first is that their work is a visualization of someone else’s thought and the second is that they can make a living at doing it. This line of thought when carried through makes Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel trite because it is after all just an illustration of the Bible and one in which he was well paid.
In 1892, at the age of eighteen, Chesterton left St. Paul's School. His drawings showed so much talent that it was decided that he should go, not to Oxford, but to the Slade School of Art. It was here that he was asked to write an art criticism paper. The rest as they say is history. It soon became clear that writing, not drawing, was Chesterton's primary talent and unique style. Style can neither be predicted nor imposed it grows organically out of any given epoch reflecting the needs, wants and desires of that epoch. And when the thin core of truth is tapped for all to drink from it transcends that epoch, this is what a genius does.
On modern art Chesterton said: "It was the whole point of Whistler and his school that they produced the picture without troubling about the meaning. We may say it is the point of Picasso and the rest to paint the meaning without troubling about the picture."
Elie Faure says: "Picasso was undoubtedly a great criminal, in the sense that he is largely responsible for the muddle which painting has got into latterly. It is from him chiefly that the younger artists have taken the notion of looking within themselves to interpret the outer world, instead of, like their elders, looking at the outside world to realize themselves. Because oftentimes they are unable to distinguish much of anything within themselves, you know what happens (They get themselves called crazy). That is Picasso's crime."
This is not the space to get into the merits of Picasso but I will say this about him that he became aware of his crime. He saw that young artists were abandoning the pursuit of truth to bow to novelty. Picasso stopped giving sound bites to the media because how they were twisted to the fit the mess others were making. Primarily among them is the notion that if you know what end of the pencil makes a mark you are an artist. This mess, this loss of the reality of absolute universal truth, has led to our current Dark Age of art.
Chesterton prophesized this new Dark Age of art when he discussed the artists of the "newer schools," for whom he sees little hope—“unless the rest of the world goes mad as well. The rest of the world has gone mad.” No, not a new Dark Age but a real Dark Age for the first was not dark at all it was filled with lightness and buoyancy of spirit, (as Chesterton explains in his books on Saints Francis and Aquinas). Why they call it the Dark Age is because it did not have gadgets. Now we have buckets full of gadgets but the world now is very dark and heavy in spirit. We have hardened our hearts. “The swiftest things are the softest things. A bird is active because a bird is soft. A stone is helpless because a stone is hard. The stone by its own nature go downwards, because hardness is weakness. The bird can of its nature go upwards, because fragility is force.” (GKC) Art today has definitely lost its force.
Chesterton’s art is soft and fragile in force. His line is simple and direct. Not unlike the early work of Aubrey Beardsley, like this one:
Beardsley was also an illustrator that I am sure Chesterton was aware. Beardsley’s work became popular and crossed the border of illustrator to “artist” on the weight of his Erotic art. . It was 'shocking' after all.
Chesterton refused to go there. He did not have to. And he wrote much on the debasement of spirit. "The new school of art and thought does indeed wear an air of audacity, and breaks out everywhere into blasphemies, as if it required any courage to say a blasphemy. There is only one thing that it requires real courage to say, and that is a truism."
Another polite stab critics make of Chesterton’s art is they call them “sketches” as if his renderings were not a complete thought. Here is a Picasso quote that I think Chesterton would agree with. “I need long idle hours of meditation. It is then that I work most. I let my mind float like a boat on a current until it gets caught on something. It gets precise.”
Picasso’s Femme et enfant:
This process is well laid out in Orthodoxy. Chesterton’s writing and his art has precision.
The art he did for Belloc’s writings, The Postmaster General in particular, are enjoyable on several levels, first because they are works done for a friend so there is love in them but they are also works of simple and direct line. Line done with strength, power with out doubt, but mostly they contain a sense of mirth and joy that can not easily be found in the work of his contemporaries.
I wonder sometimes what would have happened if Chesterton was introduced to sculpture before writing? I think he would have pursued it because Gilbert was one of those rare individuals that had the ability to think in three dimensions. Then again I’m glad he was asked to write that paper and not to pick up a chisel.
On my sandwich board I wrote ‘Art never hurt anybody” on the other hand words have been know to start revolutions. Chesterton’s words are the fuel for the Christian revolution that will lead us out of this Dark Age.
Today, on June 14th, we come at last to the most dolorous end of the journey that was Gilbert Chesterton's life.
Throughout the course of this venture we have seen him in all his glory, and, what is more from a Christian perspective, his shortcomings as well. We have seen him with his God; we have seen him with his People; we have seen him with his Wife. The three most definitive aspects of Gilbert's life were relationships, and in this we can see even the phantom of advice.
The last days were marked by hardship, but also by triumph. Most importantly for his fans, Gilbert finally completed his infamous Autobiography in 1936, the very year of his passing. It is fortunate indeed for us that this analysis of his own life and times should sneak in, as it were, under the wire. But there is a somber aspect to it. Could it be that, having offered up the tale of his life as he saw it, from start to finish, Gilbert came to feel that there were no more chapters left to write? Was the book as much a valediction as it was a summary of all that had passed?
Whatever the case may be, the Autobiography was the last book he was to write, though one would not know it by reading the thing. There is in that text all of the lively energy of a man of thirty (who has lived, it must be granted, somewhat more broadly than most), and it was taken by those who did not know him well that he remained as spritely as ever he was, faculties blazing and heart burning, ready to lead them even further down the road to roundabout in the years that were to come.
But those who knew him best - and by dint of this knowledge were around him frequently - knew that all was not well. Gilbert lived up to the curse of the most powerful intellectuals: an immortal mind trapped in frail, unsuitable flesh. Thomas Aquinas was similarly afflicted; so too, we might say, is Stephen Hawking. Gilbert was always a big man, as you will recall, but his wondrous bigness was fast becoming too much for a man of his age and health to handle. There had already been serious concerns about the ability of his heart to sustain his form, and his feet to move it about; both of these worries now bore miserable fruit.
More tragic still, his latter days - that time of life often called "the second childhood" - were spent in the shadow of the evident moral collapse with regard to Abyssinia of the Italy he had so loved, as well as the rise of Hitler and all of the evils that would attend that name. His friends and colleagues at his magazine, G.K.'S Weekly, did him no favours with their constant infighting about such looming circumstances, and their constant demands that he arbitrate their disputes added heavily to the burdens he already bore. In a time when a man should be at peace, in reflection on all the good that has come to him, it is poor meat indeed for him to be rather assailed, provoked and dismayed by even those closest to him.
1936 was spent in quietude, broken only by a brief tour of France in an attempt to cheer Gilbert up. The voyage certainly lifted his spirits, but did little to restore his health.
The last days found him confined to his home, frequently to bed. The strain of his constant writing and dictating had led to severe fatigue, and he was frequently found asleep at his desk. Fr. Vincent McNabb was at last summoned, and stood by with Frances when the end was upon Gilbert. There are many stories about these final hours, and all of them are touching. Fr. Vincent kissed Gilbert's writing pen, which lay on a nearby table, never to inscribe again. He also intoned the Dominican Salve Regina over Gilbert's prostrate form, an act that Maisie Ward calls a fitting tribute to "the biographer of St. Thomas."
Reports on Gilbert's last words vary, and I confess that I can find no definitive answer as to what they were. The two competing traditions are both of things that were certainly said by him in those final hours, but I do not know which came first, or which came after. The most likely candidate is his light awakening from his final lapse, turning to Frances and saying, "hello, my darling," and turning to his secretary, Dorothy Collins - for whom both he and Frances felt an almost parental affection - and saying, "hello, my dear."
Maisie Ward's biography suggests, alternatively, that the last from those lips was almost a warning: "The issue is quite clear now. It is between light and darkness and every one must choose his side."
For the man who said so much, in so many paradoxes, it is perhaps fitting that there be some ambiguity as to his last testament on this Earth. Whatever his pronouncement was, however, Gilbert Keith Chesterton passed on June 14th, 1936; a Sunday. The funeral was held in Beaconsfield, at the little church that Gilbert and Frances had so generously helped bring into being. Mourners arrived from all over England, Europe, and the United States. The procession passed in a ramshackle way through the small village, passing the local bars and barber shops that were Gilbert's haunts during his long and pleasant time in town.
He was laid to rest in the churchyard; the spot was marked by a monument produced by Eric Gill, a friend of the Chestertons'. Two years later, Frances followed Gilbert to his rest; Dorothy Collins would live on in Beaconsfield until 1988, when she too went to meet her maker. The two are interred at Gilbert's side.
What can be said about Gilbert Chesterton that has not been said already? The time that my colleagues and I have spent in describing his life to you has been, in many ways, a labour of love. A diversity of interests has given us all our own styles and successes, but our unified admiration for Gilbert has brought us together here and now. In him we have found much more than a great man of letters, a gifted apologist and a man consumed by love. We have found almost the friend we never knew.
This unbridgeable gap between us and him is something that we must bear, and is in itself almost an example of tragedy. Gilbert once wrote, in one of my favourite of his essays, that "if ever there was a woman who was manifestly meant, destined, created, and as it were crying aloud to be carried off by Don John of Austria, or some such person, it was Mary Queen of Scots." The two never met, however, and a similar gloom afflicts us now. If ever there were an age that was manifestly designed, as it were, to be put right by Gilbert Chesterton, it is this one.
And we have met him, make no mistake; but he has travelled beyond the silent sea, where we can not follow. And if we did, we should not return.
So I say to you, my friends: raise your glass tonight, wherever you are, in field or forest, concrete womb or wide-open sky. Raise your glass in tribute to Gilbert, and in tribute to the majesty of God's creation. Gilbert was not the new Adam; that position has been taken, and his successor has done him credit. However, there may be something in him being the new Abel.
So burn, then, solemn and reminscent eyes, as you behold what has been wrought by the century that followed in his stead with all of the envy and ravages of Cain.
Tributes and condolences at the time of his death
The Archbishop of Westminster
Edmund Clerihew Bentley
Robert Lynd, of the News Chronicle
Fr. Vincent McNabb
J.K. Prothero (Mrs. Cecil Chesterton)
W. R. Titterton
Walter de la Mare
Pope Pius XI
And so concludes our extended look at the life of Gilbert Keith Chesterton, a gentleman of great sense. We invite you to offer up comments about him and his legacy in the combox below, as well as thoughts about this venture in general, or, really, anything you'd like to say at all. If you've been following along, we want to hear from you!
On behalf of Eric, Lee, Alan, Kyro, Joe and myself, I will close by thanking you for reading, and offering up hopes that we will continue to enjoy your custom in the future. | <urn:uuid:ca79c2ad-1643-4b96-8489-8f086a86b16c> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://chestertonandfriends.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719041.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00169-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977725 | 17,334 | 1.539063 | 2 |
admirable person on the life and times. Usually people admire someone that is related or close to them, I certainly also have my own admirable person that I admire her deeply. The person whom I admire the most famous and historical person in the world is Mother Teresa, the saint of the Gutters. I admire her...
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Mother Teresa has dedicated her life to helping the poor, the sick, and the dying around the world. She is one of the most well known and respected people of the 20th century. The movie that viewed in class displayed it very well. It showed how much she cared about the 'un-cared for' and how she preached...
film: Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Type of film: biography
Setting: India in 1946
Director: Fabrizio Costa
Main actor and actress: Olivia Hussey
Duration: 110 minutes
Date of viewing:30,December
The inspirational portrayal of Mother Teresa, a simple nun who became one of the most significant...
Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She changed her name to Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa was dedicated to taking care of the poor and helping the needy and She devoted her life to taking care of the sick and anyone who needed love. Through her compassion and care, Mother Theresa had a great and lasting influence on...
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A person who I would like to introduce is my neighbour – Alice. She leads a wonderful family life, she is always cheerful and happy. She is 34, she has been married for 10 years and she has a 6-year-old daughter named Margaret.
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Topic: Write about the person whom you admire.
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As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, gives many different aspects of what makes a character a hero and the true definition of what a hero really is. Although there are fifteen different characters in this novel that speak from first persons view, many of these characters can... | <urn:uuid:3c612fc1-122c-48a7-9e3e-28a43b75dfc0> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.brainia.com/topics/the-person-i-admire-most-mother-teresa/0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284352.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00189-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966304 | 4,017 | 1.851563 | 2 |
Here is a compilation of essays on the ‘Theories of Wages’ for class 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on the ‘Theories of Wages’ especially written for school and college students.
Essay on the Theories of Wages
- Essay on the Ricardo’s Iron Law of Wages
- Essay on the Standard of Living Theory
- Essay on Wages Fund Theory
- Essay on Marx’s Surplus Value Theory
- Essay on Residual Claimant Theory
- Essay on the Bargaining Theory of Wages
- Essay on the Welfare Theory of Wages
- Essay on the Behavioural Theory of Wages
- Essay on the Theory of Shadow Wage
- Essay on the Keynesian Theory of Wages
- Essay on the Marginal Productivity Theory of Wage
- Essay on the Keynesian Theory of Wages
1. Essay on the Ricardo’s Iron Law of Wages:
David Ricardo and Physiocrats (French Economists) propounded this theory according to which normal level of wages that is “natural price of labour” always tends to remain at the minimum level of subsistence.
If actual wages that is “market price” as determined by the interaction of demand and supply of labour, exceed this subsistence level, this excess will soon disappear on account of the tendency of population to multiply itself on the basis of Malthusian theory of population.
Thus, there seems to be a natural law which keeps wages fixed at the subsistence level. This theory of wages is also known as Iron Law of Wages or Brazen Law of Wages as propounded by the German economist Lassale.
2. Essay on the Standard of Living Theory:
Some economists propounded the standard of living theory as modified version of subsistence theory in later part of the 19th century. According to this theory, wages are influenced by the Standard of living to which workers in a particular class are accustomed. Higher the standard of living higher the demand for wages.
This theory is based on the following assumptions which are, however, acceptable and plausible:
First, the theory emphasized the standard of living and not subsistence level as the determinant of wages.
Second, the theory takes into account labour productivity and demand function of labour which are related to labour efficiency.
Third, the theory is optimistic and attempts to discredit Malthusian theory of population by putting a limit on population explosion as standard of living tends to check over-populations.
However, the difficulty of the theory is that it is not possible to say definitely whether standard of living influences wages or wages influence standard of living. Though mutually related, the standard of living also is difficult to prescribe in a definite manner for heterogeneous groups of workers.
The theory is a supply theory of labour considering labour as a commodity, which is wrong. The theory is basically pessimistic in approach. It visualizes a grim future of workers as it holds out the perpetuation of wages at subsistence level. Actually, the theory was the reflection of England’s socio-economic conditions of workers during Ricardo’s time.
Subsequent history falsified the pessimistic notion of the theory. Yet, at the same time, it may be said that, in over-populated underdeveloped countries, the empirical evidence of poor workers’ conditions confirm the fact that workers live at subsistence level.
The theory is, however, defective as it does not explain differences in wages assuming labour as homogeneous. The theory is also based on discredited doctrine of Malthusian theory of population, in general. The theory is silent on labour productivity, demand for labour and standard of living.
3. Essay on Wages Fund Theory:
Adam Smith and John S. Mill were associated with this theory according to which, “Wages depend upon the proportion between population and capital” or rather between “The number of labouring class and the aggregate funds consisting of circulating capital spent on labour this stock of capital being wages-fund.”
The theory assumes that the stock of circulating capital is fixed in a country, and therefore total fixed wages fund available to be paid to labourers. If the number of labourers increases, wages rates will decline. And if the number declines, there shall be a rise in wage rate.
The theory has been examined by different economists from two view points. A group of economists like Jevons, Thornton and, in a sense, Mill himself have criticised the theory and have tried to modify. The other group headed by Keynes, Taussig and Cairnes has given qualified support to the theory. The following is the gist of criticism.
It has been contended that rise in wages occurs by increasing wages fund or by a fall in the number of labourers. But the theory does not tell us about the sources of wages fund and the method by which it is estimated.
Further, wages fund is assumed to be stock which is fixed. But, contemporary idea about the capital fund is not stock but flow. This fund is elastic and changes according to the prospects of profits which depend on the productivity of labour and its efficiency.
The theory is based on the wrong supposition, as it considers wage determination according to the size of wages fund, not according to due remuneration of workers. The theory is also defective as it does not explain difference of wages in different occupations.
Keynes, the noted British economist, has, however, sought to modify the theory by contending that, since wages are advances made by capitalists to labourers, the total amount of circulating capital fixes the total amount of real wages payable to labourers.
Keynes also sought to include in the wages fund the total volume of working capital in addition to the existing volume of circulating capital. The wage-fund comprising these two items constitutes the total, out of which all wages must be paid.
Cannon has criticised this Keynesian modification by arguing that fixity of capital fund not only affects labourer, but all other classes of society. So, like wage-fund, there ought to be rent-fund, profit-fund and interest-fund as well.
4. Essay on Marx’s Surplus Value Theory:
Karl Marx, in his famous “Das Capital”, has, propounded this theory, according to which labour creates surplus value in the process of production which is not wholly paid to them as wages. The capitalists exploit labourers by paying less than what they produce. Marx believes that, the price or exchange value of any product is determined by the amount of labour time “socially” necessary to create it.
The excess product or “surplus value” created by labour is appropriated by capitalists which goes to rent, interest and profit. Marx’s value theory is related to Ricardo’s value theory of wages.
But while Ricardo analyses wages in terms of subsistence level, Marx believes that this subsistence level of wages is the creation of capitalists by creating unemployed reserve army as Marx calls it. Thus, workers are paid at subsistence level as a process of exploitation.
Marx’s theory, as is well known, had tremendous impact on labouring class particularly on labour movement throughout the world as a political crusade against capitalism. But, Marx’s theory of communist revolution as absolute international phenomenon has been falsified as reality.
Yet, Marxian approach to the origin of surplus value and labour’s share focuses attention to the basic fact that workers are not compensated according to their productivity.
Marginal productivity theory of labour as explanation of wage determination has much to owe to Marx’s approach though Marxian viewpoint is controversial. Marxian approach is also definitely an improvement on Ricardo and Smith’s position of labour theory of value. Marx has reduced all sorts of labour, skilled and unskilled, into abstract labour power as measuring unit of wage which is a novel feature of Marxian theory.
5. Essay on Residual Claimant Theory:
Walker has propounded this theory on the basis of labour’s claim to national dividend only as a residual claimant. Specifically, this theory advocates that out of four factors of production land, labour, capital and organisation the total product should be distributed as price first to land as rent, to capital as interest, to organisation as profit and wages are to be paid to labour only as the last claimant.
According to Walker, payments are made to land, capital and entrepreneur according to certain formal laws or rules independently. But, since there are no definite rules or laws governing payment of general wage rates, this should be paid to workers only after other payments are made to other three factors of production.
Though this theory has been discarded long ago as outmoded method of wage determination, it has important contribution to the principles of wage differentials on the basis of labour efficiency or labour’s definite claim to output. The main controversy, however, is about labour’s share as residue.
The theory has been subjected to the following main points of criticism:
Walker’s contention that shares of land, capital and entrepreneurship as rent, interest and profit are fixed by economic laws independent of output is not correct. Because, this implies that these payments are of the nature of the fixed or constant prices and that when the output is enlarged, the share going to these factors of production other than labour remains constant is not logically and actually valid.
Further, wage is not paid to labour as residue, but actually it is paid to sale of output along other factors of production on the basis of contract. The theory also ignores supply of labour as the determinant of wages. As a matter of fact, today wages are paid to labour throughout the world as matter of contract, or on the basis of bargaining, or law of the country, not as a residue, but as a first claim to the job.
6. Essay on the Bargaining Theory of Wages:
According to bargaining theory of wages, rates of wages are determined by the respective bargaining powers of unions and employers.
There are two important theories in this respect:
(i) One is Hicks’ approach.
(ii) The other is Edge worth bilateral monopoly approach.
The two theories visualize collective bargaining as the basic method of industrial relations system.
Hicks’ Bargaining Theory of Wages:
Let us first examine Hicks approach to bargaining theory of wages. According to Hicks, rate of wage is determined by the interaction of employers’ concessions and unions’ resistance put forth by unions in the context of collective bargaining and time period of possible strike.
The following diagram explains the basic approach. In the diagram, vertical axis measures wage rate and horizontal axis measures time path of strike period that employers have to face and unions have to demonstrate in the context of collective bargaining.
AA line indicates standard wage rate (OA wage rate) that employers would like to pay to workers assuming absence of union’s bargaining power—that is, this is the competitive wage rate in the labour market without reference to union.
However, E curve indicates employers’ concession curve according to which employer would be agreeable to pay wage rate at higher levels than competitive level A, in the face of lengthening possibility of strike period. This concession after maximum point will decline, that is, employer will not pay higher wages after this point whatever might be the strike period.
U curve indicates union’s resistance curves which shows the minimum that the union would accept starting from preferred maximum point B. That is, union bargains from the preferred wage rate B without a strike. But, union is ready to accept minimum as the strike period (strike cost) buyers to increase along horizontal line.
This minimum declines as the prospective strike becomes longer, and eventually U curve intersects AA, that is, there is some maximum length of strike beyond which the union would prefer simply to accept employer’s terms.
It is evident from the diagram, as Hicks concludes; intersection of two curves at C wage rate is the determinate wage rate which is based on both the parties’ equilibrium bargaining power. This is both union and management would agree to wage C rather than face a strike as S period.
However, Hicks bargaining theory of wage’ determination raises an important question. It is not clear whether Hicks’ approach to wage determination is before or after strike.
If the assumption is that the entire exercise is before a strike, and both management and union know each other’s strategy and intentions of collective bargaining fully well, assuming strike period would last at least S period, then the theory is quite clear.
But this assumption of the process before strike is not plausible enough, as the essence of collective bargaining is uncertainty and deadlock about each other’s strategy and approach during collective bargaining.
If, however, the process is after a strike when negotiations have broken down, Hicks’ approach may be a useful analysis of interpreting wage determination on the basis of bargaining power. Hicks, in fact, recognized this drawback.
He said, “If there is a considerable divergence of opinion between the employer and the union representatives about the length of time, the men will hold out rather than accept a given set of terms, then the union may refuse to go below a certain level. Leaders believe that they can induce the employer to consent to it by refusing to make anything less. The employer may refuse to conclude it, because he does not believe the union can hold out long enough for concession to be worth his while. Under such circumstance, a deadlock is inevitable, and a strike will ensure, but it arises from the divergence of estimates and from no other cause”.
Edgeworth Bilateral Monopoly Approach to Bargaining Theory:
Assuming a situation of bilateral monopoly in labour market, when a single buyer (employer) (monopsony) of a certain kind of labour faces a single union seller (monopoly), Edgeworth provides a model which may be considered as wage-setting process on the basis of bargaining of the union and employers.
In the diagram, D curve is employer’s labour demand curve, S curve is labour supply and MC curve is marginal cost. On the basis of bargaining, we find MC intersects D curve at B, where at E, employment, a possible settlement of wage is possible.
The following diagram may be illustrated:
At E, employment, according to S curve, wage rate is W. Assuming this as low level of wage rate, unacceptable to union, the possible highest wage rate demanded by union may be assumed at W2. But, equilibrium wage rate is W0 at the intersection point of B.
New, Edgeworth contends that, under this situation a determinate wage rate is difficult to fix up, as between the contract zone W1, W2 somewhere wage rate may be fixed up. It is, however, quite likely that W0 wage rate may be a possible solution to stalemate.
7. Essay on the Welfare Theory of Wages:
Legislative or Administered Theory of Wages:
Almost in all countries of the world, both -ill advanced and developing countries (both in capitalistic and socialistic economy), the role of state in administering basic minimum wages, fair wages and welfare benefits is recognised as the promoter of economic welfare. Pigou has analysed the basic tenets of the role of state with regard to wages in his famous treatise, “Economics of Welfare.”
According to Pigou, economic welfare of a country is maximised when private net product (private economic interests) and public net product (public economic interests) are equalized. And economic welfare is dependent on maximization of national dividend (income), which is economic yardstick of economic welfare.
This maximization of economic welfare is ensured when the state plays its positive role in ensuring the administration of minimum and fair wages and industrial peace for optimum industrial efficiency.
Specifically, according to welfare theory of wages, Pigou prescribes the following courses of state interference to maximize economic welfare and wages:
(i) State interference to raise wages where they are unfair,
(ii) State interference to ensure national minimum time-wage, fixed and fluctuating wage rates,
(iii) State interference to effect redistribution of purchasing power from non-labour to labour.
It is, however, difficult to examine in details the implications of Pigou’s approach to wages in the context of above theory. Because, the scope and the context of Pigou’s approach , to national dividend and labour in his famous book is vast and magnificent.
Nevertheless, it is presumed that Pigou’s approach to wage is not necessarily a formal theory of wages, as such. It explains how wage questions are functionally related to economic welfare and the state interference. Probably, Pigou advocated welfare state as witnessed in the U.K. under Labour Government, and welfare capitalism as functioned in the U.S.
In India, one can say, however, that Pigou’s approach is quite relevant to our mixed economic system, where the role of state has assumed positive dimensions since the inauguration of Five Year Plans. This, however, became controversial in India later on.
Relevance of the Theory in India as Welfare State:
Industrial policy of Union Government, 1948 and 1956, firmly established India as a welfare state where co-existence of private sector and public sector has ushered in a planned as well as mixed economy. Russian social economic system, American “Welfare Capitalism” and British Beverage Plan have all recognized the positive role of state as maximize of economic welfare in different forms and under varying conditions.
Pigou’s vision and prescription of welfare maximization have been sought to be experimented under different wage laws and welfare laws in India. But to what extent all these measures have maximised national dividend (income) since the First Plan is a matter of deep regret and controversy.
8. Essay on the Behavioural Theory of Wages:
In recent times, it is being increasingly felt that wage fixation and salary administration cannot be determined always by theories of wages, both classical and modern. There are psycho-social aspects of wages which may be reasonably explained by psychology and sociology.
Recent researches and theories of motivation and organisational behaviour by behavioural scientists’ have given rise to the following main types of behavioural theories of wages which are largely based on psychology and sociology.
According to this theory, wage level is determined by the equilibrium process, or a balance of employee’s productivity to firm and utilities or inducements provided by firm (employer). In other words, wage level is determined by labour productivity as well as the capacity of utilities provided by firm.
Another approach seeks to determine internal wage structure of an organisation not with reference to job evaluation or merit rating process but by certain social norms and prestige that an organisation carries as motivator to their employees. According to this theory, labour markets exert psychological pressures on labour force for certain types of jobs, especially for executives, professionals and craftsmen.
Because of psychological limitations of wage theories, that is, money as motivator, theories of motivation and non-wage incentives are capable of explaining the non-wage factors as the main motivators. This approach is particularly helpful under certain cases where labour supply curve begins to react unfavourably even if wagers are raised sufficiently.
Elliott Jacques in his famous Glacier Project has propounded an integrated wage theory which, while, accepting money as motivate, enunciates a new approach to wage determination with reference to “time span of discretion”.
According to this theory, every job can be measured in terms of “time span of discretion” which means that wage or salary of an employee would be determined by the period of time during which the employee should be able to perform his job according to his discretion without supervision or control.
As a logical corollary, this denotes that lower level jobs— where employees are not required to exercise or have no scope of discretion will be paid lower wages.
Admittedly, this theory and also many others, recently developed by behavioural scientists can explain various complex aspects of job behaviour and enable organisations to determine wage levels, and wage structure more successfully. These approaches, however, are more relevant in advanced countries.
But in a country like India, where workers are poor and educationally backward and national income at low level, money still is a principal motivator. Hence, psycho-social theories probably can more explain job behaviour rather than wage determination and wage fixation at a company level.
Nevertheless, a personnel manager may find these behavioural theories positively helpful as specific guidelines in dealing with union pressures, governmental legislative intervention while confronting with collective bargaining in matter of wage determination.
9. Essay on the Theory of Shadow Wage:
Emerging Pattern in Developing Economy of India:
In recent times, a modern theory known as the theory of shadow wage has emerged.
The shadow wage in the urban sector is not necessarily smaller than the market wage, if the rate of population growth rises with rise in per capita consumption.
The literature on the shadow wage rate (SWR) puts emphasis on its components:
(i) The value of foregone output, and
(ii) The value of foregone investment. Different dynamic models assume a constant rate of population growth and hence their analysis on the second component concentrates on the point that the additional employment in the urban sector reduces investment fund available to the government, and raises consumption and hence social welfare. This keeps the SWR in the urban sector below the market wage rate.
Population growth rate as a positive function of per capita income (consumption) has been considered in the models of low level equilibrium trap. One may not like to defend or criticize the trap models, but it may be pointed out that if the rate of population growth is a positive function of per capita consumption, then the value of SWR should be higher than that considered in the standard analysis.
With increase in employment in the urban sector, rural employment falls due to induced migration. This raises the rural wage rate. But if urban wage rate exceeds the marginal productivity of labour in the rural sector, then per capita consumption rises; and hence the rate of population growth rises.
So the SWR takes a higher value than that obtained in the standard analysis; and may be equal to or even greater than the market wage.
There are two sectors rural and urban; and each of them produces the same commodity with a constant production function using capital and labour as inputs. Capital is measured in terms of the same commodity. The urban sector employs labour at an institutionally fixed wage rate. Each rural worker receives his average productivity of labour. The entire rural output and the urban wage income are consumed.
Surplus of the urban sector is allocated as investment between the urban and the rural sector. Non-shift-ability of capital stock is assumed and the depreciation is ruled out in both the sectors. Rate of population growth is assumed to be a positive function of per capita consumption, and this is the key to the analysis.
This analysis attempts to examine the significance of Keynesian theory of wages and money wages and real wages and then specifically analyses the trends in Indian manufacturing sector in the perspective of a national wage policy.
10. Essay on the Keynesian Theory of Wages:
At the outset, Keynesian theory of money wages which has already been noted should be examined in the context of wage out and employment under Indian conditions. Under the leadership of Pigou, classical theory continued to assume that wage rate flexibility led to self-adjusting mechanism in the economic system and full employment. Keynes denied this proposition as a general theory.
Keynes conceded that, while fall in wages and prices in single industry on a firm might lead to rise in employment under certain conditions, a general wage cut is most likely to reduce employment by adversely affecting aggregate demand. But this situation is to be examined in the context of the proportionality of fall in wage rate and fall in aggregate demand which depends on the situation of non-wage groups.
The greater the possibility of substituting lower price labour for other factors of production, the more will wage falls tend to push non-wage money incomes down in line with money wages. This possibility is likely to drive aggregate demand down in proportion to the fail in money wages. Harrods’ article in Economic Journal, March 1934.
As a matter of fact, wage rates, aggregate outlays and employment are all interdependent complex; one cannot establish a general and unique proposition with regard to wage-cut in employment. Keynes also found no simple answer to the problem of wage reduction and employment.
Traditional analysis considers the aggregate quantity of labour supply to be a function of the real wage rates. Keynes, on the contrary, substitute’s money wages for real wages and assumes that up to a certain point, defined by him as the point of full employment, on particular level of money wages at which the supply of labour is perfectly elastic, and below which no labour can be hired at all.
The deliberate exclusion of the cost of living as a determinant of labour supply makes the latter independent of the level of real wages.
The monetary supply curve of labour is a fundamental postulate of Keynes, in a sense, in which the classical supply curve is not. The money wage rate may be assumed to be entering directly into the worker utility function.
Confronted with a choice between two or more situations in both of which his real income and real effort are the same, but if one of the money wage rates and prices of consumers’ goods are higher than in the capital goods, he would show a definite preference for the former.
The monetary basis of Keynes’ supply curve of labour may also be stressed to the influence of some outside factors, e.g. a minimum wage law. Whatever the shapes of intrinsic or potential supply curve, no worker can be hired in this case at a wage rate which is lower than the legal minimum.
11. Essay on the Marginal Productivity Theory of Wage:
This theory as originally propounded by Wick-steed and Clark and later on developed by J. Robinson, Chamberlain and Hicks, among others, is the most important economic reasoning of wage determination, on the basis of certain assumptions.
This theory is, in fact, an extension on application of general theory of distribution according to which each factor of production (i.e., land, labour, capital and organisation) is paid according to its marginal productivity. However, marginal productivity theory of labour postulates that, in a competitive market, wages tends to be equal to the net product of labour at the margin of employment.
Net product is defined as the net addition to the total value of total product by an extra unit of labour after deduction of extra expenses indirectly related to employment of extra unit of labour.
As long as the net product of labour is greater than the rate of wages, the employer will continue to employ more and more units of labour. Profit will be maximised when wages are equal to the value of the marginal net product of labour.
Managerial Implications of the Theory:
The theory is based on certain assumptions which are discussed subsequently. But some managerial implications are inherent in the theory. The employer endeavors to employ each agent up to that margin at which the net product would no longer exceed the price he would have to pay for it.
The operation of diminishing returns is implicit and the entrepreneur is also supposed to apply the principle of substitution for the determination of the marginal net product of labour.
Prof. Hicks is of opinion that there is a distinction between marginal productivity and net productivity. Net productivity assumes methods of production as fixed; while marginal productivity assumes variability of production process which is a reality. To the employer marginal productivity of labour is equal to marginal physical productivity multiplied by the price per unit of output.
Employer pays wages to all workers at the same rate while a marginal worker is entitled under competitive labour market. If a worker produces more than a marginal worker, employer however, does not pay more, thus he increases his profit. Employer finds it profitable to employ workers till wage costs are at least equal to marginal productivity of worker.
When labour proves costly employer takes recourse to capital intensive production function employing less labourers. Thus, the theory postulates inverse relationship between wage rate and employment on the basis of diminishing marginal productivity. Economists like Keynes thus believe that higher employment is possible only through wage-cut, other things remaining the same.
The theory and its major implications as outlined above are based on the following assumptions:
(1) The labour, as a factor of production, is homogeneous, substitutable, interchangeable and divisible with other factors of production and within units.
(2) Perfect competitions, perfect mobility of labour and capital and full employment are assumed to exist.
(3) Share of wages in the national dividend is assumed to be constant on the basis of Cobb-Douglas production function which again assumes linear homogeneous production function. This means that it yields constant returns to a proportionate increase in the use of all inputs.
(4) If every productive unit is paid according to its marginal product, then logically it is assumed that entire production should be exhausted when the distribution is made fully among factors of production leading to neither surplus nor deficit.
In recent times, the theory has been subjected to a good deal of criticism. At the-same time, it must be noted that the theory has contributed to valuable reasoning of wage determination. Hence evaluation may be made, first, from the standpoint of its main drawbacks.
The basis of foregoing assumptions of the theory is not valid under all circumstances. The labour as a factor of production is not homogeneous, and though substitutable, with capital not divisible, and therefore cannot be apportioned to determine marginal productivity.
The theory specifically deals with demand side neglecting supply side of labour. In fact, modern theory of wages takes into account both demand supply function. The theory cannot explain wage differentials and assumptions of perfect competition, perfect mobility of labour and full employment are not correct.
As regards the assumptions of Cobb-Douglas productions function and constancy of labors’ share in national income, Samuelson has contended that the question of surplus or deficit arising out of the assumption very much depends on market conditions.
In the long run, under perfect competition, little will remain as surplus. On the other hand, under monopolistic market conditions, surplus in the shape of excess projects will emerge in the short run.
A fundamental postulate of the theory is that as the number of labourers employed by a firm increases, their marginal productivity is diminished. This sets limits, if not very narrow, marginal productivity theory cannot be used as the exact determinant of the equilibrium level of wages.
The concept of profit maximization by employers through paying same wage rates to all workers at the rate of marginal labour is not found practicable, especially in many Indian public sector undertakings where social welfare and government subsidy entail running enterprises only on cost basis and statutory limits have been set on declaration of dividends.
Further recent wage legislation and other forms of wage determination including collective bargaining do not always bother about determination of marginal productivity of labour.
Notwithstanding criticisms, the theory, however, has the great merit of focusing our attention on the paramount need, of giving importance to productivity as the determinant of wage, especially in a developing economy of India, where the problems of economic stagnation and inflation persist.
Further, in India, in the context of 21st century technological breakthrough, the significance of computerisation, data processing and automation in some selected industries necessitate labour substitution despite labour surplus economy. This admits of scientific reasoning of the theory which is necessary for the sophistication of wage and salary administration.
Discounted Marginal Productivity Theory of Wages:
Prof. Taussig has propounded a modified version of marginal productivity theory of wages known as discounted marginal productivity/theory. According to this theory, wages cannot be equal to the marginal net product of labour, since there is an interval of time between the payment of wages and the eventual sale of the marginal product of labour.
Wages, therefore, must be equal to the present discounted value of the future marginal net product of labour, discounting taking place at the current rate of interest.
The theory suffers from all the defects to which marginal productivity theory are subjected as discussed previously. Apart from this, Taussing’s theory is vitiated by circular reasoning.
Logically the theory is defective on account of the following flaws:
The rate of interest at which discount is to be made is, according to classical theory, determined by the marginal productivity of capital. But the marginal productivity of capital cannot be known unless the rate of wages is already known.
Thus the theory of wages is assorted to be as, accord- ding to classical theory, determined by the marginal productivity of capital. But the marginal productivity of capital cannot be known unless the rate of wages is already known. Thus the theory of wages is assumed to be known before the rate of interest can be determined.
But in the statement of the discounted marginal productivity theory, it is assumed that the rate of interest is already known before the rate of wages can be determined. Thus, there is the fallacy of circular reasoning.
But Taussig has sought to correct this fallacy of reasoning by introducing Keynesian liquidity preference theory of interest according to which rate of interest can be determined by supply of capital without reference to demand for capital.
Some economists have described this theory as a sort of modern version of residual claimant theory of wages, since it postulates that the rate of interest must be known before the rate of wages can be determined. Hicks have described the theory a kind of modern version of “wage fund” theory.
Because it is assumed that the total volume of circulating capital is fixed. If the period of production is not variable, an increased supply of labour will necessitate some amount of discounting of the marginal product of labour, if all labourers are to be paid out of the existing volume of circulating capital.”
The discounted marginal productivity theory however, fills up an important gap in the reasoning of marginal productivity theory and, thus, contributes to its logical culmination. In the production function, an individual firm is faced with problems of time involved in input- output relationship.
Whenever there is a difference between the time of input and the time of output, the marginal productivity theory must be reinterpreted as discounted marginal productivity. It is only when it is assumed that input and output can take place simultaneously that the doctrine of discounted marginal productivity theory loses its force of reasoning and validity.
Some Recent Trends in Wage and Productivity Theory:
On the basis of perfectly competitive market conditions, marginal productivity theory of wage envisages equality of marginal cost of labour and marginal revenue product of labour.
Thus, under perfect competition, all workers of a particular category will receive uniform wages on the basis of a marginal labour’s (cost) wage and this will also represent average cost of labour; which will again be equal with marginal revenue product of labour.
There might be three possible situations between wage (average cost of labour) and average revenue product of labour.
Firstly, when at a particular level of employment the marginal wage is equal to marginal revenue product of labour, but the average wage, at this level of employment, exceeds average revenue product of labour, resulting in net loss to the firm.
Secondly, at a particular level of employment, when average wage is less than average revenue product of labour resulting in net surplus or excess profit to firm.
Thirdly, at a particular level of employment, a firm will neither earn excess profit, nor incur loss, but will be in perfect equilibrium when average wage is equal to the average revenue product of labour.
Theoretically, however, it is quite possible that in the short period, a firm may face any of the above mentioned situations. But, in the long run, only the third situation will prevail, i.e., the firm will neither earn excess profit, nor incur loss, but will earn only normal profit. This long run equilibrium will prevail because of the following implications.
If the firm faces the first situation, that is, incurs loss by employing a certain amount of labour, when average wage is higher than average revenue product of labour, the firm will stop production as a loss. The demand for labour falling, average wage rate will also decline being equal to average revenue product of labour.
Thus, in the long run, the firm will ‘not face loss. If, however, the firm is earning excess profit by employing a certain amount of labour, when average revenue is higher than average wage cost, other new firms will be attracted to industry leading to rise in demand for labour.
This will raise average wage cost and ultimately, average revenue will be equal to average wage cost. Thus, in the long run, the firm will enjoy only normal profit.
12. Essay on the Keynesian Theory of Wages:
The supply of labour is a function of the real wage. And real wage is function of the number of men who are employed in the wage good industry. Keynes substitute’s money wages for real wages in the supply curve of labour as a general theory.
There are wide variations in the volume of employment without any apparent change either in minimum real demand for labour or in its productivity. Falling money wages and rising real wages are likely to accompany decreasing employment.
Traditional analysis considers the aggregate quantity of labour supplied to be a function of the real wage rates. Keynes, on the contrary, substitute’s money wages for real wages and assumes that, up to a certain point, defined by him as the point of full employment, one particular level of money wages at which the supply of labour is perfectly elastic and below which no labour can be hired at all.
The deliberate exclusion of the cost of living as a determinant of labour supply makes the latter independent of the level of real wages.
The monetary supply curve of labour is a fundamental postulate of Keynes, in a sense, in which the classical supply curve is not. The money wage rate may be assumed to be entering directly into the worker’s utility function.
Confronted with a choice between two or more situation in both of which his real income and real effort are the same, but if one of the money wage rates and prices of consumers’ goods are higher than in the capital goods he would show a definite preference for the former.
From such a monetary utility function, a monetary supply curve for labour can be easily derived. The monetary basis of Keynes’ supply curve of labour may also be stressed to the influence of some outside factors, e.g. a minimum wage law. Whatever, the shape of intrinsic or potential supply curves no workers can be hired in this case at a wage rate which is lower than the legal minimum.
To Keynes, the rate of real wages does not affect the supply of labour which is only influenced by the rate of money wages. At a certain money rate, there will be sane who will offer themselves as workers but will not get jobs.
To classical, there is only voluntary unemployment. Keynes says that at a particular money level, supply of labour is perfectly elastic up to the full employment level. Therefore, everything depends upon the demand curve. Full employment depends on how much the demand curve may be shifted. Keynesian theory is a monetary concept and it introduces certain rigidity (rigid rate-of money wages).
These are fundamental assumptions because their preferences depend on empirical knowledge. Keynes derives his monetary principles from the concept of time lag. Wages always rise later after the prices have risen.
According to classical school, unemployment is incompatible with all equilibrium. The existence of any unemployment will have the effect of lowering wages until all unemployment is removed. So unemployment can persist only if the state or trade union prevents the unemployed from offering their services at lower wages.
Keynes has two objections, viz:
(a) Practical uselessness of this advice and
(b) If money wages are reduced, (this is all that labourers can do) it does not follow that there will be any increase in employment. A general reduction of wages will reduce the marginal cost and therefore the prices of wage goods. Therefore, real wages will remain the same.
There are two contradictory conclusions from mere cost considerations which follow from classical and Keynesian economics. According to Pigou, a cost in money wages means larger employment and the marginal product of labour working with fixed equipment, therefore, becomes less.
Marginal costs are higher relatively to wages; prices are therefore also higher relatively to wages, also that the workers by cutting this money wages have been successful in reducing their real wages.
According to Keynes, however, the marginal cost will fall as much as wages and prices will have to fall in the same proportion at cost, so that there is no change in real wages and therefore there is no increase in employment. | <urn:uuid:a11d78d5-b431-4f7a-b3b9-69574f9965a6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/essays/wages/essay-on-the-theories-of-wages-india-workers-industrial-management/12394 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571210.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810191850-20220810221850-00466.warc.gz | en | 0.945783 | 8,563 | 3.046875 | 3 |
The longstanding ideas of humanism, agnosticism, and atheism have increasingly challenged traditional religious doctrines or practices. Yet reason alone often fails to secure the commitments and values of a healthy personal and communal life; spiritual and emotional life can diminish to the dangerous level of nihilism and despair. Meanwhile, some theologians have challenged the "truth" of any religion with the radical view that all beliefs are equally true. This audio presentation explores how religious commitment can be reconciled with life in a rational, skeptical world.The Religion, Scriptures, and Spirituality series describes the beliefs, religious practices, and the spiritual and moral commitments of the world's great religious traditions. It also describes a religion's way of understanding scripture, identifies its outstanding thinkers, and discusses its attitude and relationship to society.
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A lot has been shared, spoken of or published about Information Risk and Cyber Security. It boils down to Business impacts, what our business suffers or may suffer from those ...
A lot has been shared, spoken of or published in market about Information Risk and Cyber Security. It boils down to the subconscious mind of Business impacts.
A lot has been shared, spoken of or published about Information Risk and Cyber Security. It boils down to Business impacts, what our business suffers or may suffer from those threats before a meaningful conversation can begin.
As a risk management practitioner, Threats & Vulnerabilities are being taught and used as the fundamentals to approach various risk context within our business or organizations, or even used as yard stick to quantify or qualify the probability of exposure. Vulnerabilities may mean nothing, nor being any issue or concern until a known threat exploits it for a non-compliant or illegal purpose, and when carried further Business impact will be the bottom line. Business impact may be what’s needed to be articulated along with a meaningful story that invites business to elaborate themselves. The corresponding measures will then be what business would like to give priority to of their investment.
Typical examples of “risk and business impact” commonly cited; and anyone can elaborate better than I do.
• Business Interruption
• Data Loss/Breach
• Identity theft
• Cyber Extortion and many more…
They are linked one way or another. Start with a simple context to help business think along the line. Business may elaborate with different possibilities and scenario, and they may even take them further to realize more themselves, given their bulk of knowledge and experience.
When company faces attack vectors, internal or external, technical or non-technical, business operation gets interrupted; order fulfillment becomes delayed, customers become upset or the obligation to their end-customers become impacted. Concurrently, Data may be lost to someone's hand who uses it for various reason or purpose that may be detrimental to business, organization, customers or employee at various level of negative effect and influence. And that it leads on to data breaches, which can mean reputation or credibility at stake, potential law-suit or severe penalty from regulatory governing bodies. The loss may be larger than what's outlined here. Data Leak may go beyond the eco-system. One will feel the strongest negative impact when their identity becomes compromised. Classified information related to stolen identity, especially personal record (PII), financial or medical record (PHI) may bring the business to its knees if they belong to their customers or vendor, or someone of significance.
Having known of all the above, what does it mean to the business? Will that make them worried, anxious and become more conscious of the potential threats they may be put to challenged? We can expect different expression and responses, but what cannot be denied is their subconscious "conscience" of the possibilities or the scenario of those that they may run into, as an employee or personally. Those may then be again challenged with multiple external factors that cross their conscious mind and lead them to ask themselves questions such as; “Am I the only potential victim? who is responsible for a larger cause if it happens to us? If others are not worried, any reason I should be? Is this really happening here? There are other priorities that I need to balance with my budget, I am not worried at this moment until it starts to happen, I may not be the target to get hit. How possible that it will happen to us? …“
As a practitioner, we preach to our organizations that we should have - continuous training, risk awareness communication, attitude of always preventing such from happening, if otherwise the ability to detect or pre-empt the situation that it will allow us manage the impact. When that's being shared, and communicated long enough within the company or organization, it will gain some traction. Nevertheless, how much traction gained with the effort and time spent?
Putting the mind of a practitioner into perspective, it's always beneficial to be mindful, think of finding the thin line or Touchpoint to balance between articulation of "risk and threats, or even vulnerability" and that of other business or personal priority. After all that we have preached, it only takes a mindful approach to find that Touchpoints, that connect the dots of the entire story with a flavor of “governance, risk and control”.
Note: The above is in pertinent to advisory and consulting practices of iTGRC Asia | <urn:uuid:35e66b3a-f299-47e8-82b3-ebb4e2311679> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://itgrc.asia/insights/subconscious-mind-of-information-risk-or-cyber-security | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571911.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813081639-20220813111639-00467.warc.gz | en | 0.953357 | 918 | 2.25 | 2 |
Recirculating lubrication is used on different types of machines. In essence the oil is siphoned from the sump, pressurized and put into other places to be used. Some of the points with the pump that are being lubricated are the bearings and gears. You can mount the pump right on the sump oil machine, have the pump on the outside of machine and the sump on the inside of he machine or putting both the pump and sump on the outside in a different place that is kind of hidden away. Just making sure that all the lines lead to the parts that need lubricating.
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Help for tire and rubber manufacturing: Inspection system improves quality
Laser sensor innovations improve tire manufacturing. LMI Technologies explains how. See diagrams.
Tire and rubber manufacturers today are requiring inspection systems to detect small geometric defects wherever they occur on the rubber surface in both final and in-process inspection operations. To increase quality and improve product safety, these smaller areas of dimensional variation or defects must be detected with very high reliability.
To meet these expanding requirements, sensor manufacturers have developed new and very high speed laser line sensors (such as LMI Technologies' Selcom EyeCon) to acquire high density data to detect the smallest defects. These high-speed laser line sensors generate masses of data, requiring a reliable communications network easily implemented by machine builders, without the cost and risk of developing custom communications links. Simplicity of implementation benefits end users with high reliability, low cost and minimum maintenance.
In tire manufacturing, multiple sensors are often implemented in a single station to cover the full surface of the product with high resolution. This adds further complexity requiring tight synchronization of data from all sensors and encoders. The synchronization issue has been resolved by development of a unique platform, providing microsecond synchronization between sensors, and assembling data from all sensors into a single 3D profile map, output to the host over one Gigabit Ethernet cable.
Communicating high data density
A typical inspection application may use multiple laser sensors inspecting different zones of the product, such as calendered rubber, conveyor belts or tread extrusions. An in-process profiling application may use eight or more sensors (half above and half below the conveyor) to provide high data density across the full width of the extrusion. (See the tread extrusion profiling diagram.)
The massive amount of data generated in these applications must be sent to the inspection station's host computer for analysis. For convenient layout of inspection stations, and to simplify the task of the system integrator, it is desirable for the host computer to be remotely located, often at a significant distance from the sensors.
Gigabit Ethernet (GigE), broadly used and easy to apply and implement, provides the optimal communications standard. It provides data rates up to 1000 Mbps, with inexpensive cables running up to 100 meters without repeaters, and power over Ethernet (PoE) providing power over the same cable as data transmission, resulting in only one cable from the host to the sensors.
Multiple sensor data integration
Implementing multiple laser line sensors to cover the full surface of the object creates challenges of synchronizing data from all sensors, and stitching multi-sensor data streams into one file, without requiring the integrator to carry out these complex operations in the host computer. Synchronization insures that data from each sensor is obtained at essentially the same point in time. Otherwise, each sensors data will come from a different position along the length of the surface. Stitching involves combining the synchronized profiles from each sensor into one 3D surface map, transmitted as a single data file to the host.
To simplify the tasks of synchronization and stitching for the system integrator, LMI developed the FireSync platform, designed to accept and integrate data from multiple vision sensors, as well as other local inputs such as encoders and photocells.
This approach simplifies data analysis in the host computer, because profiles output by all sensors are tightly synchronized within the sensor system itself. Each "slice" of data from all sensors is combined into one complete 3D data file, sent from the platform over a single GigE output cable to the host computer. The integrated architecture simplifies installation.
The platform also provides tools for multi-sensor position calibration using an appropriate artifact of known dimensions that is placed in the system measuring area. This process locates each sensors position with respect to a global coordinate system defined relative to the target. Transformation parameters for each sensor in the system are acquired during the system calibration process and are used to transform profile data from the multiple sensors into a single coordinate system.
Final tire inspection example
Typical tire final inspection systems use three high-speed laser line sensors, one inspecting each sidewall and the third inspecting the tread (See tire final inspection system diagram).
Each sensor measures hundreds of points along the laser line, at frame rates of 4 kHz or faster. The LMI FireSync platform provides synchronization and stitching functions for the three sensors.
The application is complicated further by the need for analysis software to remove or filter out all points that relate to raised lettering, bar codes and other acceptable variations in the surface. These sensors employ "dual triangulation" with two cameras viewing the laser line, one on either side of the laser projector. This design eliminated data dropouts caused by shadowing of the laser beam at the edges of raised material on the sidewall surface.
Simpler, faster integration
Today's high-speed laser line sensors provide high-density data to detect and quantify defects and dimensional variations in both in-process and final inspection applications in high volume tire manufacturing. Synchronization and communications issues are simplified by the LMI FireSync platform, with communications to the host computer on a single Gigabit Ethernet cable. The platform is designed to simplify the tasks of system integration, and maximizes reliability for the end user.
Also read, from Control Engineering :
- Sensors for better cow milking: LMI Technologies secures patent (see photo); and
- Machine Vision: Now is the Time , feature article with research results.
Dr. Walter Pastorius is technical marketing adviser for LMI Technologies Inc. He received his doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Windsor. He has more than 30 years of experience in both marketing and research and development in the machine vision industry. Pastorius has authored more than 100 articles and technical presentations in the field of new applications for vision sensors in manufacturing in automotive, aerospace, lumber, road inspection, foundry and other industries, and is co-holder of several patents.
Martin Sanden is market manager, rubber and tire, for LMI Technologies BV. Sanden received his MSc. Mechanical engineering from Chalmers University of Technology; Gothenburg and has more than 20 years of sales, marketing and technical experience in laser measurement technology and applications.
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51 Quick Tips for Business Presentations
Want to leave your audience clapping? Review this list of miscellaneous tips before giving your next business presentation.
51. Love your topic!
50. Decide what you want to achieve during your presentation, before you start creating it.
49. Structure your presentation to achieve your goals.
48. Keep it short.
47. Analyze your audience.
46. Assess your audience’s perceptions.
45. Determine your audience’s goals.
44. Develop key messages.
43. Start on time.
42. Don’t rush.
41. Create a hook, to get your audience listening.
40. Introduce yourself after you ‘hook’ your audience.
39. Use pictures.
38. Tell stories.
37. Show a cartoon.
36. Speak with passion.
35. Alter your tone.
34. Vary the volume.
33. Use silence to emphasize a point.
32. Move with your message.
31. Don’t dance.
30. Use videos.
28. Talk to each person in your audience as if they are the focus of your presentation.
27. Show confidence.
26. Simplify your messages.
25. Repeat key messages.
24. Use a quote.
23. Organize logically.
22. Tell your audience exactly what you want them to do after the presentation.
21. Use an example.
20. Share an analogy.
19. Don’t read word for word from a script (there are exceptions to this comment).
18. Don’t read each bullet point.
17. Avoid words and bullet points entirely, if possible.
16. Use just one message per slide.
15. Use diagrams instead of words.
14. Choose the chart or diagram style that emphasizes your message.
13. Create a consistent template.
12. Make your presentation easy to see.
11. Explain your charts, or simplify them so they don’t need explaining.
10. Use a template that creates the desired perception.
9. Dress in a way that creates your sought after image.
8. Listen to your audience’s body language.
7. Respond to signals from the audience.
6. Show that you care.
5. Use your body to amplify your message.
4. Make sure that your audience has enough time to absorb each key message.
3. Speed up as you build your message.
2. Emphasize your key point by saying each word very slowly.
#1 TIP — Practice, practice, practice!!! Preparing to give a presentation is like preparing for a tennis match. You need the skills, a great coach and lots of practice.
Kimberly VanLandingham is a presentation trainer, public speaking coach, keynote speaker and international business consultant with a masters in communications. Presentation Training Switzerland is part of European Market Link Sàrl, a Swiss limited company, providing presentation training to technical, business, sales and international presenters.
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Kids are physiologically different than adults. Most of our physicians at ENT and Allergy Associates treat the spectrum of common pediatric ENT problems, including Tonsillitis and Adenoiditis, Chronic Ear Problems, Congenital Abnormalities of the Ear, Hearing Loss, Hoarseness and Hypernasal Speech, Otitis Media and Otitis Externa (Swimmer's Ear) as well as other disorders such as neck lumps and masses, nasal deformities and obstruction.
At ENT & Allergy Associates, We are dedicated to providing comprehensive, compassionate and respectful care to every patient and family. We provide information about diagnoses, conditions and treatments, and can work with you, and your family to ensure the best possible outcome for your child and family.
We care for children and infants with:
PARENTS...Pediatric ear, nose, and throat disorders are among the most common reasons children visit a physician. In fact, ear infections are the number one reason!
Please be aware that your kids can choke on things like small household items, disk batteries as well as small foods, including:
Nuts, Seeds, Raw Carrots, Peanut Butter Chunks, Hot Dogs, Whole Grapes, Popcorn, Chewing Gum, Meat and Cheese Chunks, Hard Candy, Fruit Chunks
In many cases, there are common symptoms for both adults and children. Kids can also suffer from chronic acid reflux and sleep apnea, which may require a prompt visit to a specialist for treatment.
Other pediatric Issues include: | <urn:uuid:a99fa175-5b30-43f3-9e6e-fc32ef30e65e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.entandallergy.com/service/peds | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00572-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948716 | 313 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Rutgers Business School and PSEG set example of a public-private partnership to create jobs and solve social problems
NJ Social Innovation Institute trains entrepreneurs to launch businesses to serve their communities
So who wants up to $100,000 to launch a new business venture, one that makes good business sense and helps the community?
This might sound like the premise for a new reality TV show. But it’s actually the basis for a new initiative undertaken by Rutgers Business School in partnership with PSEG that has already produced two dozen detailed business plans and a dramatic competition that culminated in the selection of four winning proposals.
The undertaking is part of a larger initiative from the business school’s New Jersey Social Innovation Institute. The Institute, overseen by the school’s Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development (CUEED), is the first effort of its kind and an opportunity for the center to partner with leading organizations in New Jersey to make a positive contribution to the state’s economy and continue in its mission to serve as a training ground for social innovators and enterprising non-profit organizations.
“This is a great example of a public-private partnership that will lead to job creation and social problem solving,” said Professor Jeffrey Robinson, Assistant Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship and the Center’s founding Assistant Director. “This program is important for the economy and for our community. We believe our efforts with the institute will yield a new class of companies that will inspire others to create entrepreneurial ventures for social purposes.”
Social Entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to PSEG Foundation to win part of $100,000 to get venture started.
The effort began last fall, as the Institute, with support from a federal grant, solicited proposals from nonprofits and entrepreneurs who wanted to start a new business that would help society. The Institute worked with PSEG, along with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the Support Center for Nonprofit Management, a New York-based organization that assists nonprofit organizations.
The Institute received about 50 applications, and then selected 15 teams to participate in a six-month training and mentoring program to help participants consult with potential investors and business leaders and other entrepreneurs while refining their proposals and to focus on job creation. The program included monthly classes at PSEG Headquarters in Newark and one field trip to visit successful businesses, The Greyston Bakery and Ice Stone, a durable surface manufacturer, both in New York.
The program culminated in “Pitch Day” held July 19 at PSEG’s headquarters in Newark, where the participants gathered together to present their final business plans to a panel of judges. From the 15 proposals, the judges selected four finalists, who refined their proposals before making a final presentation to win up to $100,000 from the PSEG Foundation.
The winning proposal, Fathers Now Green Cleaning & Maintenance Services, Inc., received $82,500 for a plan to build a business offering cleaning and maintenance services to companies in Newark using only environmentally conscious, or “green,” products. The plan was submitted by Fathers Now, a social venture being created by the organization Newark Now that helps unemployed fathers in Newark and Essex County, including many who have been in prison and are trying to re-enter the workforce and assume a greater responsibility for their families.
“We were pretty nervous during the presentations. But when we were announced as the winner, it was just awesome,” said Carlyle Adams, a job developer at Fathers Now. “This will help our organization tremendously and give us the momentum we need to assist those who are unemployable. We could not have done it without the assistance we received from Rutgers Business School and all of the other organizations.”
Fathers Now Green Cleaning & Maintenance Services, Inc., received $82,500 for a plan to build a business offering cleaning and maintenance services to companies in Newark using only environmentally conscious, or “green,” products.
The second place winner, The Hub-Health Generator, received $17,500. The group plans to establish a pilot program in Plainfield to prevent obesity in families by providing access to healthy food, fitness activities and lifestyle coaching, working with the YWCA and a Community Supported Agriculture program that allows consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer.
The two other finalists, Foundry Farm, which hopes to redevelop abandoned industrial sites starting in Trenton, and New Brunswick-based Step by Step Baby Coaching and Parent Services, each received commitments from PSEG to connect them with PSEG representatives to help with their business plans.
Unlike some reality television shows, the selection of the winners did not mark the end to the program. The Institute will continue to counsel all 15 teams on their business plans, with quarterly meetings over the next year.
“This was a tremendous success because we got 15 teams from the idea stage to the stage where they have a business model and are developing their ideas,” Robinson said. “If they can continue on this path, they will make a big difference in the communities where they live and work. What’s more, this program demonstrates you can use the principles of business, technology and entrepreneurship to really make a difference in the world.”
- By David Schwab | <urn:uuid:c1464de1-3ca5-4289-8387-f51178086794> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.business.rutgers.edu/news/rutgers-business-school-and-pseg-set-example-public-private-partnership-create-jobs-and-solve-s | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719027.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00302-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962929 | 1,101 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Superfund Site Profile
The Chemical Commodities, Inc. (CCI) Site is a 1.5-acre property located in Olathe, Kansas. Chemical Commodities, Inc., generated and transported chemicals improperly, leading to groundwater and soil contamination. Residents were concerned about public health and the environment because of emanating odors, contaminated rain water runoff and fires. Contaminants of concern include heavy metals, volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and pesticides. Cleanup of the site was completed by responsible parties in 2012. Groundwater monitoring, inspections, and maintenance of ventilation systems in nearby residences are ongoing. | <urn:uuid:4ec21172-bca6-4c16-9d67-00840c4db456> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0700513 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281649.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00440-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918874 | 152 | 2.203125 | 2 |
South Korean para-cyclists participated in the final phase of the international bicycle tour, named ‘One Korea New-Eurasia’, on 16 November to promote Korean reunification.
The trans-national bicycle tour began on 13 August in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, and continued for 100 days, covering 15,000km as it travelled through Poland, three Baltic States, Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, before ending in Seoul, South Korea.
Kim Jong-Kyu, who won the first gold medal for South Korea on home soil at the Incheon 2014 Asian Para Games, and Lee Do-yeon, who won two golds in Incheon, were amongst the group riding the final stretch.
Other para-cyclists included Kim Yong-ki, Jung Su-hwan, Lee Seung-mi and Lee In-je.
The final stretch of the journey began at Seoul’s Nanji Park and finished at the National Assembly, with the cyclists greeted by hordes of spectators.
For more information, visit the Korean Paralympic Committee website. | <urn:uuid:a3d6b641-27a1-465c-a77c-d0638992ae5b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.paralympic.org/news/south-korean-para-cyclists-complete-international-bicycle-tour | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572908.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817122626-20220817152626-00076.warc.gz | en | 0.940252 | 226 | 1.632813 | 2 |
TAP provides a continuum of special education services for students following the completion of four academic years of high school. Each student enrolled in TAP must have completed all academic requirements for graduation.
What is Lake Bark Cafe?
Lake Bark Cafe is a student-centered entrepreneur project to promote community involvement and work skills in an authentic way. Transition creates a "bridge" between school and adult life for students with disabilities.
Visit the Lake Bark Cafe website for more information and an order form: | <urn:uuid:df7bb731-2dfa-4134-b11b-ac812cd258d5> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://lphs.org/Page/254 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279915.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00280-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955971 | 98 | 1.664063 | 2 |
The word conjures up sweaty palms, dry mouth, pounding heart, throat closing, butterflies in the stomach, a light-headed feeling…
Most people have felt some of these symptoms when preparing to speak in public, whether making a presentation, asking a question in a symposium or even offering an opinion in a meeting or a class.
Actors, singers, all types of performers experience some degree of stage fright, often at an opening, sometimes every evening before a performance. Is this a terrible situation? Something to be avoided?
When stage fright becomes handicapping, it becomes a problem. Why? Because it creates body stiffness, reduces vocal intonation, sometimes makes the speaker seem robotic, disinterested or at a minimum, less genuine.
The great Russian dancer, Rudolph Nureyev, used to be overwhelmed by stage fright before every performance. He would spend hours stretching and drinking copious amounts of tea and honey to release his tension.
The legendary jazz singer, Ella Fitzgerald, was supposed to dance during a talent show at the Apollo Theatre but she became so nervous she sang instead — and we’re probably all the beneficiaries of her way of coping with stage fright that night.
How can stage fright be good for you?
When you experience “performance anxiety,” the other name for stage fright, your adrenaline begins to flow and you raise your awareness level. If you focus that awareness and use it as a means of concentration, you can separate the content of what you want to say from the way you deliver your message. In other words, you split your objectives.
Every good speaker monitors his or her delivery while keeping the process of content flowing. If you read a prepared speech, especially if you’ve rehearsed adequately, you can concentrate more on delivery (maintaining vocal features and body language, as I’ve written about in previous articles.) For the most part, however, I advocate well rehearsed, more spontaneous speaking, if possible.
Many of the people I coach concentrate so much on the content of their presentation, they find it difficult to consider how they need to speak . Their attention is wrapped up in the ideas and words, not the dynamics of their voice, eye contact, body language and other important features that are essential in public speaking.
Raising your consciousness and monitoring how you speak will improve your presentation. Without a slight level of anxiety, it is easy to fall into a speech and movement pattern that conveys reduced enthusiasm, even lack of interest — creating a dull presentation.
Using a little “stage fright” to channel and focus your attention, not only on content, but delivery, can become a tool for a better presentation. Coping with stage fright will actually increase your confidence as a good speaker.
So let a small dose of adrenaline improve your performance, not freeze and handicap your speaking.
Check back soon for more thoughts on public speaking, communication skills, and speech pathology. | <urn:uuid:9c6e0f88-c52b-4173-b055-8b65c1dc0f3f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://lazarspeech.com/tag/performance-anxiety/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570871.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808183040-20220808213040-00265.warc.gz | en | 0.945255 | 620 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Unit 10: Energy Challenges // Section 12: Hydrogen Power
As economies develop and mature, they tend to follow an energy path that moves from high carbon/low hydrogen fuels at early stages to fuels with higher hydrogen and lower carbon contents. Typically, nations use wood as their main primary fuel at a pre-industrial stage, shift to coal during industrialization, and then transition to oil and natural gas as their economies mature. This progression takes place because each new fuel is cleaner-burning and easier to distribute and store (once an infrastructure has been built to handle it) than its predecessor. The United States and western Europe are beginning to plan for perhaps the next stage on the decarbonization path—hydrogen—but this transition will require several decades to design and deploy systems for producing, transporting, and using hydrogen fuel.
Although it is sometimes called a "fuel of the future," hydrogen is more accurately described an energy carrier. Like electricity, pure hydrogen does not occur naturally in quantities worth harnessing to meet human energy needs: the main naturally occurring stocks of hydrogen are tied up in chemical compounds, most importantly water molecules (H2O) and hydrocarbons such as coal (approximately CH), oil (approximately CH2), and methane (CH4). Stripping hydrogen from hydrocarbon fuels or obtaining it by splitting water using electricity or heat is not technically difficult, but in any of these approaches, more electricity or primary-fuel energy is used than the resulting hydrogen contains.
The benefit of paying this energy price to get hydrogen comes in the form of hydrogen's portability, storability, amenability to high-efficiency application not only in combustion engines but in fuel cells (discussed below), and low emissions. One application currently under research is the use of hydrogen fuel cells to power cars (Fig. 20).
Figure 20. View under the hood of a fuel cell car
See larger image
Source: © National Renewable Energy Lab.
Today, the oil and chemical industries worldwide use about 50 million tons of hydrogen each year, most of it extracted from natural gas and coal. Deriving hydrogen from fossil fuels emits CO2, so scaling the process up would increase greenhouse gas emissions unless the associated carbon were captured and stored (for more details on carbon capture and sequestration, see Unit 13, "Looking Forward: Our Global Experiment").
Hydrogen can be burned directly to generate energy or used in devices such as fuel cells that combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, with water as a byproduct (Fig. 21).
Figure 21. Hydrogen fuel cell
See larger image
Source: © 2001. Rocky Mountain Institute/www.rmi.org.
Here is how the basic process works:
- Hydrogen and oxygen flow into opposite sides of the cell, separated by a barrier that only allows positively charged ions to pass through.
- An anode (negatively charged pole) strips electrons from the hydrogen atoms, converting them to positively-charged ions that pass through the barrier. The negatively charged electrons flow around the outside of the cell toward the cathode (positively-charged pole), creating an electrical current. Catalysts speed the reactions at each electrode.
- Oxygen enters the cell near the cathode and combines with the hydrogen ions and electrons to form water, which is removed through an exhaust system.
Existing fuel cell technologies can convert as much as 70 percent of hydrogen's energy content to electricity. None of the basic designs in use today are cheap and technically simple enough yet for mass production, although they have been used for applications such as producing power on manned space missions.
Over the past several years, politicians and scientists have endorsed the idea of converting to a hydrogen economy. This transition poses many challenges. In addition to producing hydrogen economically and commercializing fuel cells, it takes seven times as much hydrogen on a volume basis to produce the same amount of energy in a gallon of gasoline. Therefore, adopting hydrogen as a fuel will mean building new energy storage and distribution systems nationwide. The devices that convert hydrogen to energy services—cars, heating systems, and consumer goods—will also have to be converted. Most expert assessments of the timing for a hydrogen economy project that such systems will not start to be deployed on a large scale until 2020 or later, and that making a full transition from fossil fuels to hydrogen in the United States would take until approximately 2050 or later. | <urn:uuid:e89b5415-10fe-41b6-b06a-bd66fc08c83a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://learner.org/courses/envsci/unit/text.php?unit=10&secNum=12 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00571-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943383 | 891 | 3.984375 | 4 |
Patagonia! The word alone evokes an image of adventure. AND Patagonia is quite literally the end of the world! It’s a place where the South American continent peters out into islands, canals, inlets and fjords at a point where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans unite. The region is vast and covers over 60,000 square miles of land in southern Chile and Argentina, most of which is too wild to be inhabited. Untamed open plains, dramatic mountain groups, active volcanoes and colossal glaciers line the horizon.
Furthermore - Patagonia is one of those places that everyone has heard of… yet most folks haven’t gone and here at RawHyde, we’d like to change that because if you’re an Adventure Rider; Patagonia has absolutely everything you could ever ask for. It’s raw and civilized at the same time, it's pristine and has one of the highest percentages of amazing National Parks of any place in the world. It’s also very safe at a time where much of the world is in turmoil.
The culture of the region is fabulous too - South America’s finest wines, tastiest barbecues, wildest rivers and bluest glaciers unite at the continent’s tip as the mainland dwindles into tiny islands. Patagonia is also home to vast estancias (ranches) that continue to serve as the centers of culture and hubs of civilization in the midst of some of the most remote and barren regions on the planet! (We’ll stay at one of these remarkable enclaves as we travel this route.)
Our adventure will begin in Mendoza, Argentina which is in the relaxed center of Argentina’s wine country! From there we’ll ride south along the base of the Andes mountains till we enter Chile, then we’ll head south down the incredible Carretera Austral through the Volcano and Lake districts of Chile before jumping back into Argentina on some of the most incredible dirt trails in the Andes.
We’ll stay at fabulous hotels, (best available) and we’ll enjoy the famous “Parilla’s” of both Argentina and Chile. Parilla is a word that defines a grilled meal, and it is much more than a BarBQ… It’s a celebration of life in a way that only the Patagonians can provide! | <urn:uuid:878632b0-48e7-45ea-a3bf-643cd2ec01a8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.rawhyde-offroad.com/tours/south-america/journey-to-the-end-of-the-world-patagonia | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571234.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811042804-20220811072804-00074.warc.gz | en | 0.922421 | 504 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Nature Screen at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster presents the PBS American Experience Documentary from award-winning director Ric Burns, “The Pilgrims” during Museum hours: Wednesday, November 16th ~ Saturday December 3, 2016. Two showings: 11am-1pm& 1pm – 3pm. *(No showing: Friday 11/25 & Saturday 11/26).
In the early 17th century, a small group of religious radicals embarked from England to establish a separatist religious community across the Atlantic Ocean in the New World. The challenges they faced in making new lives for themselves still resonate almost 400 years later. Who were the men and women who constituted this multifarious band of English Protestants whom we call “the Pilgrims”?
Their narrative has been clouded in myth, embedded in Thanksgiving Day feasts, football, and parades. Now, award-winning filmmaker, Ric Burns, shatters the Pilgrims’ myth through a vivid retelling of the story via acclaimed actor Roger Rees, who portrays William Bradford as he recites in the third person the account of the Pilgrims.
This historical documentary was partially filmed at Plimoth Plantation and is also supported by a number of great writers; including Nantucket’s own Nathaniel Philbrick; author of “Mayflower.”
Free with Museum Admission ~ Museum Hours are Wednesday – Sundays 11am-3pm
Join us every month for compelling, educational and visually stunning nature documentaries that inspire appreciation, curiosity and stewardship of our natural world and its inhabitants. | <urn:uuid:a1461652-71f5-468e-81c1-99424343c4c9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://hyannis.com/hyannis-news/ccmnh-presents-nature-screen-the-pilgrims/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00568-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940077 | 329 | 1.867188 | 2 |
Rinsing beans after cooking is an important step in food preparation. It removes excess starch and debris from the beans, and it also helps to cool them down. Rinsing beans also helps to improve their flavor and texture.
How To Rinse Beans After Cooking
There are a few ways to rinse beans after cooking. One way is to place the beans in a colander and rinse them with cold water. Another way is to place the beans in a pot and cover them with water. The water can be heated and then drained off.
– A colander – A pot – Water
- Place beans in a pot and cover with fresh cold water bring to a boil over high heat reduce heat
- Check for any debris or stones and remove
- Rinse beans with cold water in a strainer
-You may need to rinse the beans after cooking, especially if you plan on using them in a recipe. This will help get rid of any excess starch or cooking liquid. -If you are making a dish that calls for canned beans, you may not need to rinse them. However, it is still a good idea to give them a quick rinse before using them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is It Important To Rinse Beans?
Rinsing beans removes any dirt or debris that may be on the surface of the bean. Rinsing also helps to remove any bacteria that may be on the surface of the bean.
Is It Ok Not To Rinse Dry Beans?
There is no right or wrong answer to this question as it depends on personal preference. Rinsing dried beans before cooking can help remove any dirt or debris, but it is not essential. Some people find that rinsing the beans makes them less prone to gas and bloating, while others prefer not to rinse them in order to retain more flavor.
What Happens If You Don’T Rinse Beans?
If you don’t rinse beans, they will likely taste very muddy and unappetizing. Rinsing beans removes any dirt or debris that may be on the surface, as well as any chemicals or pesticides that may have been used during the growing process.
After cooking, rinse the beans in a strainer with cold water. This will help remove any excess starch or cooking liquid. | <urn:uuid:5faedffa-bcab-4880-a11f-9648f24a65d9> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://mossandgrove.com/how-to-rinse-beans-after-cooking/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573760.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819191655-20220819221655-00667.warc.gz | en | 0.941038 | 474 | 2.359375 | 2 |
High school sports suspended by Catholic and public school boards in London
High school sports at London and regional Catholic schools will stop until after Christmas, the school board has announced.
“We will pause the secondary sports seasons on Monday (December 10th) until after the Christmas Holiday in order to determine next steps,” said Ed DeDecker, superintendent of education for the London District Catholic school board said in a news release Thursday.
Catholic schools compete against schools in the Thames Valley district school board, where teachers have withdrawn from extra-curricular activities, he explained.
Catholic school teams will carry on with practices and exhibition games until the Christmas break.
The Catholic board may consider a modified schedule after the Christmas break, once the extent of the public teachers' job action is clearer, he said.
- - -
Text of school board announcement
Thames Valley District School Board announced this afternoon that high school sports are on hold.
Text of the announcement:
Due to the withdrawal of extra-curricular and voluntary activities by teachers, the secondary school sport season will be delayed by the Thames Valley District School Board.
“We recognize the importance of extra-curricular activities to students and families and we regret that current labour conditions will likely have an impact on sports, concerts and other activities,” says Laura Elliott, Executive Superintendent of Program Services.
“With regard to secondary sports, we will push the pause button on the season on Monday (December 10) until the start of winter holidays (December 21),” adds Elliott.
The decision means all Thames Valley Regional Athletics (TVRA) sports events will be temporarily halted.
The London District Catholic School Board has agreed to pause secondary school sports during the same period in order to determine next steps.
TVRA sports are organized by TVDSB in cooperation with LDCSB and private and French-language schools.
At Thames Valley, we value the leadership our teacher coaches provide, which has been a strength of Thames Valley athletics. Provisions exist currently for community coaches to be involved. In these circumstances, prospective volunteers must meet established guidelines and criteria.
OSSTF has directed teachers to withdraw from all extra-curricular activities. Parents and students should contact their school principal for details about how this job action will affect events and activities at their school. | <urn:uuid:7c95a658-08f6-4b9a-8f98-74527c634b30> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/2012/12/06/high-school-sports-suspended-by-catholic-and-public-school-boards-in-london | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00572-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959356 | 475 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Harold Allan Wilson
(January 21, 1885 – 1916) was an English athlete
. Born in Horncastle, Lincolnshire
, England, he won the silver medal
in the men's 1500 metres
race at the 1908 Summer Olympics
, competing on the Great Britain and Ireland
team. He was a member of the Hallamshire Harriers and the Irish American Athletic Club
He was the first man to run a sub four minute 1,500m, with a time of 3:59.8 in 1905.
In the 1908 Olympic Games
Wilson won his semifinal in the 1500 with a time of 4:11.4; his time in the final was 4:03.6, fractions of a second behind America's premier runner of the day, Melvin Sheppard
of the Irish American Athletic Club
, with a time of 4:03.4. "Wilson won a trial heat in fast time, but in the final had to bow to the superior speed of America's premier runner, Melvin Sheppard
, and in this event forced him to break the record for the distance to win."
The following year, Wilson was in Queens, New York
, competing alongside Sheppard wearing the Winged Fist of the Irish American Athletic Club
. He competed in the U.S. during the 1909 outdoor season, and was considered one of the best mile runners in competition. In 1909 he turned professional and met with a certain amount of success in Canada and South Africa.
He died in France in 1916. | <urn:uuid:3a97ae14-75a6-439e-a241-47a56a197812> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://pages.rediff.com/harold-a--wilson/812762 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281226.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00384-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97062 | 311 | 2.140625 | 2 |
If you remember any part of the Sixties, you’ll remember these. Even if you are younger, you must have run into one of the Big Eyes paintings at various garage sales. Big Eyed Kid paintings used to be everywhere. Along with Big Eyed Cats and Big Eyed Dogs. There may even have been some Big Eyed Clowns. (Or that might have just been one of my nightmares.) I remember one in a neighbor’s garage that showed Big Eyed Kids staring through the barbed wire from a concentration camp. That really freaked me out. For Christmas one year, someone gave me a Big Eyed Kid paint-by-numbers. On black velvet. Which must have been some sort of Pop Culture Kitsch Vortex.
Chances are most of the Big Eyed Kids you might have seen — especially in garage sales — were reproductions or cheap copies. Because apparently the original Big Eyed Kids paintings were selling for a mint at a North Beach gallery during the Sixties and early Seventies.
Turns out, the Big Eyed paintings were the work of a San Francisco artist named Margaret Keane. Her husband, who was the marketing brains behind the duo, built the “brand” into the first mass marketed art phenomenon. To the point where Hollywood celebrities were commissioning Big Eyed pictures of themselves. The rest of us probably got a puzzle or a lunch box or a poster featuring a Big Eyed something.
Unfortunately, Walter Keane’s “promotion” extended to claiming credit for his wife’s work. Credit that was proven to be false in a Federal Court case, where his divorced wife proved she was the real artist by painting a Big Eyed Kid in the judge’s presence. Her husband refused to do the same, claiming a bad shoulder. She won the case.
A little bit of Googling after pondering this bit of “What Ever Happened To…” turned up the interesting fact that there is a movie in the works about Margaret Keane. It’s called, appropriately, Big Eyes. Kate Hudson will play Margaret. Thomas Haden Church will play Walter.
And the real Margaret Keane? She now lives in Napa. Practically a neighbor. I wonder if she’d be interested in painting two Big Eyed Terriers in a vineyard? | <urn:uuid:5160bdfe-c32a-4f38-ad49-59b56eff24dd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://leftcoastcowboys.com/2009/06/11/what-ever-happened-to-those-big-eyed-kids/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280900.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00001-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956905 | 488 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Gaming is becoming more and more immersive. Although games, gaming consoles, and PCs are mostly to blame, peripherals such as gaming headsets aid in maximising the benefits of the most ambitious games.
As we mentioned a few lines ago, gaming headphones are still headgear. Thus the sound quality they provide will be the most important component.
In this sense, they will be good headphones, both for gaming and for other reasons, if they can give a sound that respects the timbre of the instruments, the intricacy of the composition, and spans the range of frequencies perceptible to human ears - roughly between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. Come on, some nice headphones for general use could be beneficial.
On the other hand, Gaming Bluetooth headphones are known for boosting the bass to make them sound more amazing (but less balanced if we use them for other tasks). Although this isn't the only distinction, the gaming versions' distinguishing qualities are primarily their build and inbuilt microphone.
But let's break it down into parts: they must be able to separate us from the outside world so that we can focus on what's going on in our game, and they must be comfortable to use. And the type of headset you use has a lot to do with this. As a result, the circumaural design of gaming Bluetooth headphones in Pakistan that best manages to envelop the ear to isolate it is the most common.
When we consider that we will most likely be spending hours with them on, they must be comfortable, which this design that covers our auditory pavilions does. The pressure is spread evenly across the headband and handsfree in these models.
Because we'll be using them under strain, which means they'll be exposed to falls and bumps, the fact that they're typically sturdy in design makes sense.
A circumaural design aids in delivering immersive sound, although obtaining it isn't always necessary. And there are genres where surround sound is vital, such as shooters, and others where it is less so, such as independent games or 2D platform games.
Action and adventure games, in general, are ideal candidates for enjoying surround sound, and we often see real-time multi-channel sound encoding technologies such as Dolby Atmos in them, like in 'Gears of War 4', 'For Honor', 'Overwatch', or 'Final Fantasy XV'. As you can see, these are high-profile games – and they aren't the only ones – but as time goes on, more and more games rely on sound systems.
A microphone can be found in gaming headphones. The purity and quality of the sound are less significant in this application than they are in musical or studio microphones, but the sound must reach the recipient.
As a result, they must be necessary to catch the sound, even though the top versions have active noise cancellation, which greatly increases pickup. And there's something else: it can be picked up or even dismantled, which has nothing to do with music.
Although we will likely use our gaming Bluetooth handsfree while sitting on the couch or in an office chair, some gamers walk around a lot, and wireless headphones are really useful in this situation. Of course, that comfort comes at a cost since equivalent attributes command a greater price.
DAC – Digital to Analog Converter – will convert the audio data from digital to analogue, which is crucial for excellent sound, whether we bet on gaming headphones with a cable and USB connection or wireless ones.
In this regard, the signal-to-noise ratio, which in the most ambitious models may approach 130 dB in stereo, and total harmonic distortion, which must be as low as possible, are critical.
Unfortunately, manufacturers seldom disclose this information – though if they do, it's a positive indication – this article delves deeper into how these factors impact sound quality.
This tendency has now reached gaming headsets as well. Gaming headsets are first and foremost headphones, with sound being the most significant feature. Dozens of firms offer eye-catching and colourful offers that guarantee an unforgettable experience. Some claim that we will have a significant competitive advantage over our competitors. We trust this information to assist you in locating yours. | <urn:uuid:f0697b18-11b3-4bb1-9df3-fc5478f91306> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.gossip.pk/technology/which-gaming-headset-should-you-buy-buying-advice | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572221.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816060335-20220816090335-00076.warc.gz | en | 0.952959 | 852 | 2 | 2 |
Zucchini blossoms would have to be one of the true blessings of summer. The old saying, that you eat with your eyes first, is so apt for these beauties. The warm colour and soft, tissue-paper texture of the zucchini blossoms makes them so inviting to cook with. I love having them in my kitchen during summer and early autumn.
In Australia, zucchini blossoms fall into that group of specialty produce. However, they are becoming much easier to find. You can get them at most farmers markets during summer and early autumn. This is such a contrast to Greece, where the zucchini blossoms are commonplace fare - found even in the smallest of fruit and vegetable stands and with the sellers who drive around from village to village. This is because any display of zucchini always has the flowers attached, as a tell tale sign of the freshness of the produce. It is such a shame that we don't have the same practice here in Australia, although the specially grown zucchini flowers that you can by here are absolutley wonderful.
In Greece, one of the more common ways if cooking zucchini flowers is by filling them with herbs and rice, and then slow cooking them in the oven in a light tomato and olive oil sauce. If you are interested in trying zucchini blossoms this way, you can find the recipe here from my recent travels in Kefalonia.
Back at home in my Australian kitchen, I was inspired to use my beautiful zucchini blossoms in more of a mezedes style, rather than the traditional Greek baked version. The blossoms were filled with a mix of kefelograveria cheese and ricotta ( in Greece I would probably use a fresh mizyithra cheese instead), the classic Greek flavour - dill and a little anchovy to add a salty balance.
As we are coming towards the last month of summer here, jammy ripe figs are also coming into season, and these made a lovely accompaniment to my little selection of mezedes - along with some olive and rosemary bread and a little hot sopressa. If you want a more vegetarian option, just leave out the sopressa. The figs, bread and zucchini blossoms alone make a wonderful feast - along with, of course, a little ouzo!
Greek style stuffed zucchini flowers (κολοκυθοανθοι γεμιστοί)
8 zucchini blossoms
125g ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated kefelograveria cheese
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh dill
4 finely chopped anchovies
1 clove crushed garlic
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil for frying
1 cup plain flour
1 cup chilled soda water
Juice of 1 lemon
Step1. Combine the two cheeses, dill, anchovies, garlic and breadcrumbs in a medium bowl and mix well.
Step 2. Carefully prise flowers open (removing stamen) and use a small teaspoon to fill each flower with the cheese mixture. Gently twist flower ends together around the cheese filling.
Step 3. Make the batter by whisking the flour, lemon juice and water together in a medium bowl. It should be the consistency of thin cream.
Step 4. In a large pot, preheat vegetable oil.
Step 5. Dip flowers and stem into the batter, drain briefly and gently very carefully drop flowers into hot oil.
Step 6. Shallow fry flowers 3-4 minutes, turning regularly, until batter is crisp and lightly golden brown in colour. Drain on absorbent paper. Serve with figs, hot sopressa and bread to make a small mezedes platter. | <urn:uuid:78033377-3a70-4a52-9fd9-886b788cc3ca> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://mulberrypomegranate.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/greek-style-stuffed-zucchini-blossoms.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280730.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00245-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933317 | 801 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Fears of a new war in the Gaza Strip are growing following two days of “pre-emptive” Israeli airstrikes against a Palestinian militant group.
Israeli warplanes hit a number sites in the region on Friday, part of a surprise operation named “Breaking Dawn” that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said were a preventative measure against planned rocket attacks by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Israel later warned that the bombing campaign could last for a week, after the militants fought back against the operation. The events mark the biggest escalation in tensions for more than 12 months.
Exchanges of fire have continued in the area, with Israel appearing to have broadened the scope of the operation. Palestinian health authorities report 24 deaths so far, with more than 80 people injured.
For its part, Israel claims a stray rocket from Islamic Jihad militants killed multiple children in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on Saturday.
Although it sometimes acts independently, Islamic Jihad is closely aligned with Hamas, the dominant force of militant resistance in the region. Whether the latest confrontation between Israel and Islamic Jihad descends into war depends strongly on how Hamas – deemed a terrorist organization by most of the international community – decides to respond.
The group has denounced the airstrikes, declaring its support for Islamic Jihad. “The resistance, with all its arms and military factions, is united in this campaign and will have the last word,” Hamas officials said in a statement. | <urn:uuid:2287184d-3381-44da-94ca-a466f8120c8e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://thenewsline.net/2022/08/gaza-strip-airstrikes-see-growing-fear-of-war/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573760.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819191655-20220819221655-00667.warc.gz | en | 0.954242 | 294 | 1.640625 | 2 |
The widespread adoption of DevOps approaches has seen organisations working out how to move from legacy processes and embrace the benefits of a more collaborative, lean workflow.
There's often a perception of DevOps as being based around a cultural shift within a business, rather than any practical tooling. While it is true that at its core, DevOps involves real cultural change within an organisation and closer collaboration between dev, test and ops teams, there is a series of services and products that can help guide the process too.
While in many businesses the development team have been following agile approaches and using version control, unit and integration testing, the operations teams are now able to leverage these methodologies due mostly in part to infrastructure that can be defined by code.
What we're seeing recently is that learnings are improving on the ops side and the availability of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its suite of DevOps-focused products allows you to leverage much of this.
Previously, infrastructure has been a static area where capital expenditure was needed to get a new server. Then that server is treated like the proverbial golden child, where you didn't want (and couldn't afford) for that server to go down.
The advent of cloud and AWS has changed this. The response and move to cloud services such as AWS has meant that organisations have in-built flexibility and ruthlessness when they manage their infrastructure.
A common analogy is the ‘pets vs cattle’ idea where cloud users have environments designed and intended to be flexible, scalable and need minimal maintenance. When that server falls over, the idea is that like cattle, it's nameless, faceless and without attachment. We discard rather than try and fix it.
While this approach isn’t great if your applications aren't cloud-native, when you're building something new as an AWS-native application there are better levels of automation that you can apply. Firstly, the application has to be built to accommodate this AWS-native mindset. Then there are the specific technologies that you can call on to facilitate this automation process.
These include AWS Cloud Formation - typically the starting point in an AWS context – which is designed to give developers and system admins the visibility and the capability to manage AWS resources and track changes through the lifetime of the application infrastructure. This means that key personnel are able to provision resources in a structured, logical fashion.
The automation process happens through Cloud Formation and then you can also use other CICD tools such as Ansible and Jenkins to help you control the process. This means that your infrastructure stack will be automated, so you won't physically be touching anything throughout the process.
You could also use Docker, which allows you to define applications on an operating system in a relatable way. Another product often used is AWS Elastic Beanstalk, which is designed to look after the deployment for you.
For example, you may have 100 machines that you want to roll out new software to and using Elastic Beanstalk, you can do this in an intelligent way, doing it 50 per cent at one time, 50 per cent at another time for instance. This means you can manage your environment, while deploying the software out.
The flexibility with AWS means that deployment improves across the organisation. It provides the ability to easily spin up new environments rather than doing an in-place deployment. This facilitates blue-green deployment, whereby you have your production environment running (blue), while in the background you spin up a new stack next to it as a test environment (green).
Then if you've installed updates or made changes on green, you can easily cutover and make that production-ready without missing a beat. You can do this as a hard cutover to the green environment and do it quite rapidly, or you can make changes in the background to gradually send users over to your new environment. If there are problems in this process, you can roll-back with minimal disruption.
A possible example might be if you are working in an organisation that has software running that needs to stay online 99.99 per cent of the time. This means you need access to redundancies and you need an environment that is robust, scalable and secure. The idea might be to turn that software into a fully-scaling, cloud solution using AWS.
This means there are particular things you would need to look at, starting with taking the application platform and getting it into a Docker platform to allow for appropriate control and management. Then you would want to get the Docker platform and application into Elastic Beanstalk, meaning you can run two (or more) servers at any one time.
This means you can use the blue-green approach and roll out a new service at any time, without interruption. This process won't happen overnight - often for organisations with legacy infrastructure and processes, it involves cultural change, where internal dev, test and ops teams may need time to familiarise themselves with taking advantage of cloud and AWS and running it in a lean, Agile, DevOps fashion, using small incremental changes over time.
While for many organisations moving to AWS is a cost-driven exercise, it's often more instructive to think of it as being a benefit-driven process. Cost may be a positive driver in moving to AWS, but for many organisations, the improvements in processes and the significant risk reductions are more noteworthy. This process of DevOps culture and practices using AWS tools also means that you're upskilling your team in the process.
The more regularly you are deploying, the less exposed your business is to downtime, errors and failure. For instance, if you deploy every three months, that may mean there are three months of changes and updates you need to account for, increasing your risk.
The end game should be about reaching a stage as a business where you're deploying as frequently as practical. This helps embed the idea of DevOps culture within your business, while taking advantage of the capabilities of cloud services and products.
Greg Cockburn is principal cloud architect at Bulletproof.
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers. | <urn:uuid:07e2739e-a378-4f2d-9abf-5b82a47639a5> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.cio.com.au/article/598669/what-devops-automation-looks-like-aws/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988717954.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183837-00509-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960668 | 1,259 | 1.648438 | 2 |
It’s a situation we’ve all been in. Contract running out on the current place we’re renting, $5.5m burning an inconvenient and quite uncomfortable hole in our pocket, taste for the high-tech lifestyle… what’re you going to do? The answer, should you ask Sunset magazine, is buy their latest Idea House – once it’s finished as a working exhibit, of course.
Sunset has been building showcase houses since 1998, each of the 14 so far focusing on a different theme like sustainability, zero-energy and universal design. This year the topic is House of Innovation, and to the delight of SlashGear’s tech-loving readers it’s packed with overt and covert technology. Commercially available products like the media-streaming Slingbox and Crestron-controlled multi room music server nestle up next to a “Tech Loft” containing coming-soon gadgets as the Protopulsion Dimension 3-D printer, which can create plastic models from three-dimensional designs, and Microsoft’s home-computing concept.
Even the basic building materials of the house itself are bang up to date. Hardwood floors are built in a factory and shipped, as pre-finished planks, to be snapped together without the need for glue or nails. Walls are delivered already coloured, saving on paints. The home generator uses 95% efficient natural gas and rooftop solar panels to supply the electricity needed to power all the gizmos, and should you need to drive to buy some more you can use the Honda Civic GX – a natural gas burning car which is refuelled by the house’s own FuelMaker Phill Home Refueling Station.
The House of Innovation is open for tours until November 12th, after which it’ll be available to buy for $5.5m.
For Sale: Sunset’s House of Innovation [BusinessWeek Online] | <urn:uuid:e61cdfd9-3260-456b-af10-be8cf0589260> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.slashgear.com/high-tech-home-up-for-grabs-241803/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283008.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00086-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93092 | 403 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Disconnect to Reconnect for the Month of February at Pinot’s PalettePinot's Palette
When it comes to your cell phone or your sweetheart – which one would you choose? If you prefer screen time over true face time, you may be falling in the technology trap. Recent research on cellphones and the impact on romantic relationships signals trouble for couples.
Just in time for Valentine’s, Pinot’s Palette is leading the crusade to encourage couples to disconnect to reconnect and create art for the heart. It’s a month of digital detox date nights and we invite you along to see how couples unplug in the name of love.
Disconnect to Reconnect Month
Pinot’s Palette, a popular local paint and sip studio, is encouraging couples to power down, pick up a brush, and paint their commitment to each other on canvas. Couple’s Night painting classes at Pinot’s Palette during February will take the focus off technology and put it back on togetherness.
- To participate, couples are encouraged to surrender their smartphones when they walk in the studio – placing it in a special no cell phone zone
- They’ll sip on wine and nibble on appetizers while each will work on one side of a painting.
- When they place the canvases next to each other, they create one big masterpiece they can hang in their home for years to come.
Isabella from Pinot’s Palette Boca Raton explains to WPTV-TV, “The cool thing we’re doing on Valentine’s Day though is it’s a date night painting. So a date night painting is when you and your date both the same painting, but you’ll work on one half and your date will do the other half. Then at the end we’ll place them together to create one masterpiece.”
Text Life Hurts the Love Life
Let’s face it — most of us are smitten with our smartphones. In fact, 95 percent of Americans own one. On average, we check our phones 150 to 300 times a day.
And if that isn’t bad enough, results from a recent cell phone use study suggest problems in partner paradise.
- 75% of coupled adults bring their phone to bed with them four night a week
- 55% of people feel cell phones are interfering with quality time with their partner
- 25% say last thing they look at before going to bed is the cell phone, not their partner’s face
See what other studios are doing to encourage people to reconnect this Valentine’s Day:
Pinot’s Palette Ellicott City, MD & WMAR-TV Baltimore, MD – February 5, 2019
Pinot’s Palette Dulles, VA & WJLA-TV Washington, D.C. – February 7, 2019
Pinot’s Palette Montrose, TX & KRIV-TV Houston, TX – February 8, 2019
How Men Can Charm Women with an Intimate Date – MarketWatch – February 14, 2019 | <urn:uuid:71fbcc25-8e9f-4176-8548-0f48cbc6921d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://franchise.pinotspalette.com/updates/disconnect-to-reconnect-february/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811103305-20220811133305-00470.warc.gz | en | 0.89779 | 657 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Over the course of the next several years I will be illustrating a plan for a long lasting, modular refrigeration system which encompasses my values in the realm of design and simplicity. Here I will begin that process by trying to describe these values in a somewhat coherent manner. Writing, or even conversing openly about this project is very difficult, as putting these concepts to words in an easy to understand format is fraught with many mental blocks. Providing the necessary background information to understand the needs of a new direction in refrigeration engineering seems to be my greatest shortfall.
From my perspective, the well crafted machines of the 1920’s and 30’s represent a beauty and simplicity which remains unmatched to this day, in my opinion. I have a nostalgia for appliances from my grandmother’s youth. This is strange to some, considering my age, but I am not alone as there are many collectors of vintage refrigerators, as well as restoration experts, and clueless yuppies willing to fork over a pile of cash for an old looking fridge with modern cooling equipment.
Where I feel I may differ from many of the others, is that I want to bring back some of these technologies which were developed at that time. Engineering problem solving produced modular cooling units that were separate from the ice box and could be swapped when a problem occurs, also detailed service manuals were produced to make repairs. Refrigerants of the day (other than the Freons) were often inexpensive, naturally occurring, or produced by simple chemical synthesis. Many of the most successful insulating materials were again naturally occurring, or produced from a simple industrial process. When implemented well, they were resistant to rot and vermin attack. The structural components of the compressor unit and ice box were common materials like wood, felt, cork, mineral wool, glass, and metal. Time has shown that many of these models were handsome, sturdy, reliable, and long lasting. In retrospect, the scientific community has shown the ecological dangers of the Freon group, adverse health affects of asbestos, lead paint, and mercury. But, they were all good ideas at the time, I guess!
To suggest that a modern refrigerator is superior to these old gals from the 30’s would be erroneous and short sighted. I can certainly appreciate the progress in operating efficiency, superior insulation values, larger storage space, and improved temperature control, but along with that progress we inherited engineered short life spans. This shit is made to break, and it is rarely economical nor desirable to repair it.
There is simply no reason that a refrigerator can’t last more than twenty years and remain as useful and efficient as when it were new. The blow-in insulations, largely urethane with a refrigerant blowing agent, have high R-values when new, but degrade over time. This could be acceptable if they were replaceable and recyclable, but they are neither.
Larger storage space is a no-brainer; simply build larger boxes, but with thicker “integrity planned” insulations. Lifestyles have changed since the 30s, so it is understandable that refrigerators would get larger, but I feel North Americans would survive with a few less cubic feet of fridge space per capita. Just a thought.
The mechanisms that cool a refrigerator have remained mostly static since the 1930’s: Compressor, condenser, filter/drier, capillary tube, and evaporator. Developments surround the use of multiple evaporators, better heat transfer surfaces, and the application of fans and dampers to force air circulation in unnatural ways and keep humidity consistent.. The advent of automatic defrost adds substantially to energy usage and comes standard in all but the most basic model. More advanced features such as individual compartment temperature control, requires integrated circuit controllers and proprietary valves to operate the various evaporator coils.
Serviceability is becoming a thing of the past as increasingly, condensers are placed beneath the skin of the cabinet exterior to radiate heat in a manner that is less sensitive to dirt build-up, but certainly returns a portion of said heat to the cabinet interior, and more to the point, makes repair impossible. The thinner copper used in domestic refrigerator, air conditioners, and dehumidifiers, increases operating efficiency, but makes damage more likely. Also, the placement of the evaporators in an all plastic cabinet interior presents quite the challenge to the repair technician attempting to perform some brazing work.
It seems that I have presented quite a few problems, now I need some solutions. This effort to build something better has to obviously include the technical design, but it also must include the thoughtful rationale for doing so. This is the purpose and drive to move forward; a desire to extend a piece of me out there into the world and on into the future, to say “yes, technology can be evil, but this comes from a well intentioned place”.
I have been busy in my shop, trying to improve upon a modular freezing unit. I will post more about this system as I make progress. For now, it is in a very crude state as I prove some concepts and outline the long-term goals. I have consciously chosen not to pursue cabinet design at this point, as I have neither the space nor the skill necessary. Someday I would love to try my hand at fine woodworking, or even just outsource the task to someone skilled in the art. Also in the future, I would like to attempt a very different cooling technology based on ammonia absorption in water. The system I have in mind would represent my most idealistic version of a long lasting and simple refrigerator. For now, I’ll stick to vapor compression.
Fortunately for me, there is no shortage of useless refrigerator cabinets on this planet. The intended application of this technology is not specific, but the dominant one for now is retrofit of existing cabinets, whether they be industry manufactured, or custom built. By its very nature, a retrofit unit is somewhat modular, so I intend to take that modularity as far as I can by making the installation and removal easy, and the swapping of components for different applications possible. The components are arranged in a manner that not only allows for the user to modify it, but hopes they hack it for their purpose and share the work.
Maybe one day my creations, and the echoes rung back from the user/hackers, will be appreciated as much as I appreciate the refrigerators of my grandmother’s childhood. | <urn:uuid:72d6ad37-dbfc-42af-a67e-f8ae00fb65ae> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://musingsonentropy.com/2016/07/05/a-refrigerator-for-the-ages/?replytocom=5524 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572212.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815205848-20220815235848-00470.warc.gz | en | 0.966324 | 1,337 | 1.703125 | 2 |
What 3 letter word has Z in the middle?
What Scrabble words have Z?
3 letter words that start with z
What letters go with Z in Scrabble?
You may be surprised at the slang found on the tournament SCRABBLE board: BRO, HOMEY, and YO are all accepted words. ZA is the most played word containing the letter Z (and the only playable two-letter word with the letter Z) in tournament SCRABBLE play. via
How many Z words are there?
Another vocabulary puzzle that stumps many is when they need to come up with a word starting with- or even containing- the letter 'z'. 'Z' is often underestimated and underutilized, but truth be told, there are actually around 32,913 words containing the letter 'z'. via
What is a 3 letter word with Q?
3 letter words with the letter q
Is Zaw a word?
(Zero Administration for Windows) An umbrella term from Microsoft for enhanced network administration features such as automatic distribution of new software and upgrades. via
Is Za word in scrabble?
According to Hasbro's official Scrabble dictionary, the definition of "za" is that it is a term for pizza. You can also use the plural, "zas." The Merriam-Webster dictionary agrees and notes that it is a slang term. "Chi" also denotes a letter of the Greek alphabet, so it remains valid in Scrabble. via
Is Ja a scrabble word?
JA is not a valid word in the Scrabble US dictionary. With games that don't differentiate between the US and UK word lists, JA is usually a playable word. via | <urn:uuid:bc68b64a-35ef-43d5-94a9-613f8026d4a1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://gamerquestion.com/what-word-has-a-z-in-the-middle/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571719.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812140019-20220812170019-00264.warc.gz | en | 0.938298 | 367 | 2.109375 | 2 |
"Over the last 30 years the formal definitions for defining clinical depression have expanded into the territory of normal depression, and the real risk is that the milder, more common experiences risk being pathologised."
An example of this is the development of new so-called conditions that are designed by drug companies in their drive to sell more drugs. Shyness has been turned into a mental condition. "Dysmorphic" dis-order applies to women for natural monthly cycle imbalances. Give an SSRI but don't address - or even attempt to discover - the root cause. In most cases the root cause is nutritionally based, an area where medicine has no basis of practice. The doctors don't want to learn about nutrition or more natural and safer approaches.
Another area that has anti-depressants thrown at it, instead of consoling care and counseling, is grief following the death of a loved one. Natural sadness from the loss is not depression, and a pill fails to meed the needs of the person experiencing this process. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross helped some of us learn this in the 60s.
To me it boils down to a scientific method I never learned in all the biology, chemistry, physics and physiology classes I excelled in in high school and college.
One never knows, just be aware.
Too many people are being diagnosed with depression when all they are is unhappy, a leading psychiatrist says.
Professor Gordon Parker claims the threshold for clinical depression is too low and risks treating normal emotional states as illness.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, he calls depression a "catch-all" diagnosis driven by clever marketing.
But another psychiatrist writing in the journal contradicts his views, praising the increased diagnosis of depression.
The milder, more common experiences risk being pathologised.
Professor Ian Hickie writes that an increased diagnosis and treatment of depression has led to a reduction in suicides and removal of the old stigma surrounding mental illness.
Under the current diagnosis guidelines, around one in five adults is thought to suffer depression during their lifetime. This costs the UK economy billions in lost productivity and treatment.
Professor Parker, from the University of New South Wales, in Australia, said the "over-diagnosis" began around 25 years ago.
Study of teachers
The professor, who carried out a 15-year study of 242 teachers, found that more than three-quarters of them met the current criteria for depression.
He writes in the BMJ that almost everyone had symptoms such as "feeling sad, blue or down in the dumps" at some point in their lives - but this was not the same as clinical depression which required treatment.
HAVE YOUR SAY
People get a bit fed up with life and think they have depression, but if they had actually suffered with depression they would know about it Mrs Jackman, Wirral, UK
He said prescribing medication may raise false hopes and might not be effective as there was nothing biologically wrong with the patient.
He said: "Over the last 30 years the formal definitions for defining clinical depression have expanded into the territory of normal depression, and the real risk is that the milder, more common experiences risk being pathologised."
But Professor Hickie said if only the most severe cases were treated, people would die unnecessarily.
Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said: "Depression can be a complex and challenging condition ranging from feeling low to being so disabled that the person may be unable to get out of bed in the morning, sustain relationships or work.
"It is not surprising that with such a wide range of symptoms, identification varies from one doctor to another.
"Sane believes that it is better to risk over diagnosis than to leave depression untreated. One in ten people with severe depression may take their own life."
The number of prescriptions for antidepressants in England hit a record high of more than 31 million prescriptions earlier this year - a 6% rise in two years.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2007/08/17 04:13:39 GMT
© BBC MMVII | <urn:uuid:283a8f80-406c-4095-adb4-b11e21ee606f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2007/08/depression-is-over-diagnosed.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279650.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00428-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955002 | 846 | 2.5 | 2 |
Join the Club is the story of an extraordinarily powerful kind of social change. It has led teens in America to rebel against cigarettes and teens in Africa to protect themselves from AIDS. It has brought worshippers into a closer relationship with God. It has led millions of people to quit drinking and drugs. It has organized a passive and fearful citizenry subjugated by a dictator into the nonviolent army that overthrew him. Through stories drawn from the affluent suburbs of Chicago to the impoverished shanties of rural India, this is a book that will not only revolutionize the way you look at the world, but give you the power to change it.
Feb 23 2011
Since Join the Club was published, readers have written in about more successful strategies to solve problems that depend on positive peer pressure. They are all over the map: from Biggest Loser-style team weight loss competitions to a program of Brazil’s Catholic Church that has saved countless children’s lives. We’re checking them out and here’s some of the best ones so far, along with where to go for more information. Keep those suggestions coming! Email email@example.com or post them on Join the Club’s Facebook page.
Apr 07 2012
By Tina Rosenberg
Cholera is on the rise around the world. Last year, according to Unicef, West and Central Africa had “one of the worst ever” cholera outbreaks. An outbreak in Haiti sickened 1 in 20 Haitians and killed more than 7,000 people. The World Health Organization estimates that there are between three million and five million cases of cholera each year, and between 100,000 and 120,000 deaths. New and more virulent strains are emerging in Asia and Africa, and the W.H.O. says that global warming creates even more hospitable conditions for the disease. | <urn:uuid:ff9c1670-f132-4770-87a2-e39257a92822> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://jointheclub.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719286.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00498-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951893 | 388 | 1.851563 | 2 |
My Twitter colleague Brian Katz (@bmkatz) relayed to me and his other Twitter followers a question asked in various forms at this week's Interop conference: Who owns the phone number for a BYOD item? Who owns the Twitter handle when an employee tweets? My first reaction was, "Why is this even a question? The employee owns the number or handle if it's his or her account." Upon reflection, I'm sticking with that answer.
But the larger issue deserves some exploration: When employees bring their own technology to the table, who owns it? It's a real question for IT, which is charged with managing the security of corporate information no matter where it flows. It should also be a question for HR and the C-suite executives as to where responsibility lies on issues related to company brand, identity, and work process.
[ Understand how to both manage and benefit from the consumerization of IT with InfoWorld's "Consumerization Digital Spotlight" PDF special report. | Subscribe to InfoWorld's Consumerization of IT newsletter today, then join our #CoIT discussion group at LinkedIn. ]
As the consumerization-of-IT phenomenon continues to take root, the old underlying assumption -- what you do at work belongs to the company -- doesn't apply so neatly. For many workers, personal and business are not separated by an iron curtain, as they were until the 1980s. Many of us work at home after hours, few companies provide equipment for home offices any more, almost no company provides employees company cars these days, and most companies have accepted that in return people will do online shopping, make personal calls, and conduct other personal business at the office -- if they even have an office.
The BYOD phenomenon has further muddied those porous boundaries. But companies like that murkiness when it benefits them (no longer having to pay for equipment or having employees available at very flexible hours) and dislike when it may carry a risk (employees saying unpleasant things on Twitter or Facebook or installing personal apps on work equipment).
There's an easy principle, though, that companies should follow: If you want to control it, you need to own and pay for it. If you're willing to let the employee own and pay for it, you cede most of your control.
Most companies already follow these principles, even if they don't know it. For example, when an employer reimburses an employee's mileage, the employer asserts no ownership of the employee's car or how it is managed. Likewise, when an employer reimburses telephone expenses made from a home line, the employer doesn't assert ownership of that number, the choice of service provider, or use of the phone itself.
Why would you treat an iPad, a smartphone, a home PC, a hands-free in-car system, a GPS device, or another employee-owned item and related service differently? You shouldn't. | <urn:uuid:e84a7277-bd1b-40b2-aa32-449e55d050c4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.infoworld.com/article/2617015/byod/who-owns-what-when-employees-use-their-own-tech.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281151.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00113-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963514 | 593 | 1.539063 | 2 |
And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." (Mark 14:32)
Sometimes we picture Jesus far too serene. We imagine him in the garden praying rather stoically, "Not my will, but yours be done." But the mood at Gethsemane was anything but tranquil. Mark 14:33 says Jesus began to be greatly distressed and troubled. Verse 34 says his soul was sorrowful unto death. And in verse 35 Jesus fell flat on the ground. Here is a man with the weight of the world, and heaven and hell, on his shoulders.
Never has a man prayed facing more temptation than Jesus faced in the garden. Never has a man prayed awaiting so much suffering. Never has a man prayed with such emotion and anguish. Luke records that "being in agony he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat become like great drops of blood falling to the ground" (Luke 22:44). It's called hematidrosis: under intense pressure or fear, the blood vessels around the sweat glands contract and then dilate violently, causing them to rupture. Blood then enters the glands and is secreted through the pores of the skin. The endocrine system knew what was coming.
It is impossible to exaggerate the depth of Jesus' anguish in the garden. Imagine knowing your child would die later today or that the planes were going to crash into the Twin Towers or that you'll have a terrible car accident next Friday. That's what Jesus knew was coming, only terribly and eternally worse. Jesus was facing more than death or sadness. He was facing God-forsakeness.
Jesus stared at the worst drink a man could drink–the cup of God's wrath. He gazed into its bitter poison. He thought of draining it down to the dregs. And hoped for another way.
But there was no other way. Upon making his request three times – "Remove this cup from me" – Jesus was not set free from the suffering before him. Just the opposite. After praying in the garden, his closest friends disappoint him (Mark 14:36-41), one of his disciples betray him (14:42-49), and all his companions desert him (14:50). Even the anonymous young man in the background would rather run stark naked through the woods in the middle of the night than be caught next to Jesus.
This is dark Gethsemane where Jesus Christ – the perfectly obedient, perfectly faithful Son of God in perfect relationship with his Father – did not get his request granted. At least not his first one. The cup was not taken from him. The wrath would not be assuaged another way. Jesus could not avoid his infinitely grievous dark weekend of the soul. God's will would be done. Not the way Jesus had hoped. But the way he was willing for it to be.
For us. For joy. For glory.
This article was originally posted here. | <urn:uuid:76e3bcc4-7034-4389-a383-57f1bf1f5162> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.christianpost.com/news/go-to-dark-gethsemane-72781/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719468.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00529-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982464 | 618 | 2.1875 | 2 |
Did you know the day after Christmas is National Candy Cane Day? Here are a few fun candy cane facts:
- Over 1.76 billion candy canes are made every year - how many do YOU eat?
- The red-and-white striped candy canes we know today were first made in 1900.
- The biggest candy cane ever made was 51 feet long!
National Candy Cane DayCelebrate National Candy Cane Day with these easy recipes, fun crafts for kids, and simple kid activity ideas.
10 Candy Cane Recipes
- Candy Cane White Coconut Hot Cocoa from Flour on My Face
- Candy Cane Lollipops from 5 Minutes for Mom
- Candy Cane Bark from Mess for Less
- Candy Cane Pretzel Candy from See Mom Click
- Candy Cane Oreo Santa Hat Cookies from Momma Young at Home
- Candy Cane Peppermint Kiss Cookies from The Gardening Cook
- Candy Cane Cookies from 123 Homeschool 4 Me
- Peppermint Candy Cane Fudge from Crafty Morning
- Candy Cane Swirl Cheesecake from Feels Like Home
- Candy Cane Fudge Recipe from The Jenny Evolution
10 Candy Cane Crafts & Projects
- Candy Cane Place Card Holder from I Love My Disorganized Life
- Salt Dough Candy Cane Ornaments from Fun at Home with Kids
- DIY Candy Cane Vase from The Gardening Cook
- Candy Cane Wrapping Paper Collage from Simple Fun for Kids
- Candy Cane Wreath from Daily DIY Life
- Puzzle Piece Candy Cane Ornament from 123 Homeschool 4 Me
- Scented Marble Candy Cane Craft from Simple Fun for Kids
- Beaded Candy Cane Ornament from Parenting Chaos
- Candy Cane Reindeer from Mom Inspired Life
- Candy Cane Ornaments from Tiny Tots Adventures
10 Candy Cane Activities
- Candy Cane Goo from Science Sparks
- Dissolving Candy Canes from Lemon Lime Adventures
- Candy Cane Foam Dough from Fun at Home with Kids
- Candy Cane Play Gel from The Science Kiddo
- Grow a Candy Cane Activity from 123 Homeschool 4 Me
- Fizzing Candy Canes from Teaching Mama
- Paper Candy Cane Secret Message from Hand Made Kids Art
- Candy Cane Science Experiment from Preschool Powol Packs
- Candy Cane Slime from Little Bins for Little Hands
- Candy Cane Sensory Play from Sow Sprout Play
How will you celebrate National Candy Cane Day?Candy canes are a definite favorite Christmas treat in our house. Leave me a comment and tell me how you plan to celebrate National Candy Cane Day!
Tonia is a homeschooling mom to one daughter, married to her high school sweetheart, and owner of one crazy beagle. She blogs at The Sunny Patch about the life & adventures of a homeschooling family. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, and Instagram. | <urn:uuid:a6ec9a81-649d-4f46-ad28-bc28f6486c92> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.123homeschool4me.com/2015/11/national-candy-cane-day-kids-activities.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284352.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00193-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.874553 | 631 | 2.296875 | 2 |
NEW YORK -- Bottled water sales increased by almost 7% last year, marking the 20th consecutive year that the commodity has shown sales growth, according to a survey conducted by Beverage Marketing Corp. here.
The category's sales last year were fueled by concerns over municipal water supplies and helped by the growth of smaller-size bottles, said the beverage marketing consulting firm in its report.
Americans consumed a record 2.4 billion gallons of bottled water last year, or almost 77 pints for every person in the country, an increase of 6.9% over the previous year. Based upon current growth trends, the survey projects a continuing rise in bottled water sales, with consumption almost doubling to 4.3 billion gallons by the year 2003.
By comparison, soft drinks posted a 2.6% sales increase during the same period. However, soft drinks represent half of all packaged ready-to-drink beverages sold in the United States, while bottled water represents 10%. Beer sales declined 0.5% during the same period, the report said.
The study found that the bottled water industry is comprised largely of regional brands. Expansion is also tied to regional trends, according to the consulting firm. "The fastest growing area for bottled water is the Southwest. Much of the growth has to do with the water quality in that region," Hellen Berry, vice president of marketing at Beverage Marketing, told SN.
Berry added that the Southwest is currently the nation's third-largest water market behind the Pacific Region and the Northeast.
Bottled water had wholesale sales of $2.89 billion in 1993, an increase of 6.3%, and retail water sales grew by 7.9%. Sales weren't broken down by retail channel. | <urn:uuid:08a59d21-aaa9-4635-a131-b6a919d0c418> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.supermarketnews.com/print/archive/bottled-water-volume-bubbles | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279650.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00436-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968419 | 352 | 1.890625 | 2 |
Poul Henningsen (1894–1967) trained as an architect in Copenhagen but specialized in lighting design. Employed by Louis Poulsen in 1924 he developed a three shade lamp known simply as the PH lamp. This hanging lamp, still in production today was joined by table, floor and wall lamps, with the PH lamp becoming a household name and to this day remaining one of the finest incandescent lamps. At his death in 1967 Poul had designed more than 100 lamps including the classic PH5.
These items are not for sale and the descriptions, images and prices are for reference purposes only.
Poul Henningsen (Danish, 1894- 1967), PH 5 Pendant Light, designed c. 1958, manufactured by Louis Poulsen, white, blue and purple spun aluminium shade, retains decal label 'Louis Poulsen, height 26 cm diameter 50 cm. Provenance: From the Collection of
Poul Henningsen (Danish, 1894- 1967), PH Artichoke Lamp, designed c. 1958, manufactured by Louis Poulsen, copper, enamelled aluminium and stainless steel, Labels: Jorstian and Nielsen, Light Years Ahead: The Story of the PH Lamp Louis Poulsen, p. 276-278
Poul Henningsen (Danish, 1894- 1967), Pair of PH 4/3 Pendant Lights, manufactured by Louis Poulsen, white spun aluminium shade, retains decal label 'Louis Poulsen type 117093', one orange globe cover missing (2), height 20 cm diameter 40 cm. Proven
Poul Henningsen (Danish, 1894-1967), PH 4 1/2 - 3 1/2 table lamp, designed 1931, manufactured by Louis Poulsen, polished chrome base and stem with white opal glass shade, marked 'Louis Poulsen PH 4 1/2 - 3 1/2 N. 14530', height 53 cm, width 46 cm,
We do not automatically renew subscriptions, however you will be contacted prior to the expiry date and you may choose to renew if you wish.
We offer library subscriptions at competitive rates for both in-library access via IP address and off-library access through EZproxy software or similar. One subscription covers all libraries in your group. | <urn:uuid:36baf8a1-456b-40e1-ade0-478b6dcbe468> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.carters.com.au/index.cfm/index/6318-henningsen-poul-lighting/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283301.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00505-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.880592 | 483 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Is, as economists would say, that privilege exists along many margins. Of course there are situations where merely having white skin is an edge: gaining membership in the Klu Klux Klan is an obvious example. And there are many others where the legacy of past discrimination has accumulated to white people's advantage. But there are other situations where white skin clearly is not an advantage. For instance, my son played for a few weeks in an elite Brooklyn basketball program. Regularly, he would hear his opponents taunt him with, "Yeah, white boy, I'm gonna..." whatever. (I told him he should at least get them to taunt him correctly, as "Half-white, half-Filipino boy.") After a few weeks he couldn't take any more of this and dropped out.
And there are many, many other aspects to privilege: being beautiful can make you privileged. (Beyonce appears to be in a fairly privileged position to me.) Being the president's kids isn't a bad deal. (The kids of some meth-addled trailer-park mom in Appalachia will no doubt be amused to discover that their "white privilege" gives them an edge over Malia and Natasha Obama.) Being the son of the greatest international reggae superstar is an edge. (Respect due, Ziggy.) Being very tall makes one privileged in some regards: I recently read that well over 10% of males in the US over 7 feet tall and between 20 and 40 years of age are currently in the NBA!
So one problem I see with the idea of white privilege is not that it is total nonsense but that it is a one-sided emphasis on one aspect of privilege amongst many others. But there is a further problem: the whole project of harping on privilege itself seems to assume that we could create a human society in which privilege does not exist. But we have never, ever seen such a society: even in the most egalitarian of hunter-gatherer cultures, being the chief's son was no doubt an advantage. And current efforts to fight one privilege typically just create privilege for a different group: affirmative action has largely benefited the children of upper middle-class blacks, especially black immigrants, so that, say, Nigerians are four times more likely to be doctors in the US then is the average American, while doing very little for the most under-privileged blacks. (Note: this is just what Pareto described. New political projects are forwarded by a rising elite trying to displace an established elite: their non-elitist elements are mere "derivations" created to collect non-elite support for the rising elite.)
A just society can try to ameliorate the effects of privilege. But to try to eliminate those effects is a utopian project, which, when taken to its logical extreme, is likely to result in things like the death of everyone who wears glasses. | <urn:uuid:bfa5510c-01bb-457a-b466-61bf32af55fd> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://gene-callahan.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-problem-with-idea-of-privilege.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721555.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00178-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966083 | 588 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Asma Jahangir, an eagle-eyed lawyer on the frontline of the chief justice's campaign, was apprehensive. "I don't know, I just don't know," she says, her voice trailing away. "I could be surprised, but it looks like there's going to be a compromise." We sat down to lunch, a few discs of unleavened bread and a scoop of dhal.
At five feet tall, Jahangir, 55, is not an imposing figure, but for almost four decades she has towered over Pakistan's human rights war. She has championed battered wives, rescued teenagers from death row, defended people accused of blasphemy, and sought justice for the victims of honour killings. These battles have won her admirers and enemies in great number. But she doesn't care, mocking the mullahs and poking a finger in the face of the barrel-chested generals. In conversations with friends, one word constantly recurs: guts. "Asma is the gutsiest woman that Pakistan has," says Abbas Nasir, editor of Dawn newspaper and a friend. "Whatever she believes in, she has the conviction to say it publicly in a sea of complete intolerance and ignorance. In a country like this, that is fantastic."
News of her courage is spreading abroad. Four years ago Time magazine declared her an "Asian hero"; this week's New Yorker called her Pakistan's answer to Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi. But what matters to Jahangir is what people in Pakistan think. And for them she is just one thing: the woman to call when in trouble. In February, in the port city of Karachi, I met one of those she has saved. Abid Zaidi, a Shia student falsely accused of involvement in a bombing, had been abducted by the intelligence agencies, illegally imprisoned for months and ruthlessly tortured. Word reached Jahangir that he was missing. One day, Zaidi told me, an army officer stood over him in a dirty cell in Lahore, interrogating and berating him. Then he asked a question: "What the hell do you have to do with Asma Jahangir?" A few days later, Zaidi was free.
Jahangir says many others have "disappeared" in Pakistan since 2001. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a collective of lawyers and activists that she helped found in 1986, has recorded hundreds of cases. For her, it is a symptom of the moral corruption of the military dictatorship under General Musharraf, funded and encouraged by his great ally in the "war on terror", the United States. But now, as various crises explode across the country, the house of cards is starting to burn. "The military is not a solution, it's a problem - particularly under Musharraf," she says. "If your people don't really believe or respect you, if you don't have the moral authority to rule, then your goose is cooked. He's trying and his foreign allies are helping him. But there is a big disconnect between him and the people. And that's a very serious problem."
Certainly, Pakistan is entering perilous waters. The siege of the Red Mosque this month turned a corner of the capital, Islamabad, into a war zone. More than 100 people died. Since then Islamist extremists have unleashed a wave of suicide bombs across the country - three on Thursday alone, in which 50 people died. General Musharraf has appealed for unity, something his followers say bleeding-heart liberals such as Jahangir can never achieve in a complex, conflicted country such as Pakistan. The minister of state for information, Tariq Azim Khan, says: "She's a great campaigner but has lost credibility because of her involvement in opposition circles. People like her should keep themselves away from politics."
But Jahangir cannot turn away from injustice. Over lunch she broke off the conversation to catch the ear of a passing clerk. "You know I've been coming here for years yet we still don't have a women's toilet," she admonishes softly. The man spluttered an explanation in Urdu; she cut him off: "I've had to use the men's toilet, you know." The man skulked away.
Being a gadfly is in Jahangir's blood. Her father, Malik Jilani, was a civil servant who resigned in protest after Pakistan's first military coup, in 1958. He entered leftwing, liberal politics, guaranteeing himself countless spells in jail. As a teenager, Jahangir remembers, intelligence men in ill-fitting suits would wait in cars outside the family home in Lahore. When she was 13, the violence came to her door. A journalist and a politician were shot outside her house. One died; Jahangir helped take the other to hospital. "We saw the trail of blood running into the room. That was the first time I saw human bloodshed," she says.
Jahangir launched her own rebellion in 1969 with a women's march to the residence of the governor of Punjab. She trained as a lawyer and in 1980 set up Pakistan's first all-female legal firm with her younger sister Hina and two others. The fundamentalist military dictator General Muhammad Zia Ul Haq had seized power; there was plenty of work for the idealists. Jailed for leading protests against the Hudood ordinances, a harsh set of laws that, among other grotesqueries, denied justice to rape victims, Jahangir befriended a blind woman who had been raped then convicted of "adultery". Since then, she says, she has rarely been able to say "no". "What else can you do? Otherwise you just have to pack up and go home," she says. "But I didn't think women's issues would turn out to be so dangerous - that you take on the case of a 20-year-old who wants to marry, then you have people coming into court trying to kill you."
Unsurprisingly, it's been a dangerous journey. In 1999 a gunman burst into Jahangir's offices and shot dead Samia Imran, a battered wife seeking a divorce. One of the bullets missed her sister Hina by a couple of feet. Some years back a gang of assassins broke into Jahangir's house, but were detected and scared away. Jahangir later discovered they came from a sectarian militant outfit called Sunni Tehrik, but she believes the orders were given by the government. She sent her children, who are now grown up, to boarding school in England after their lives were threatened by militants. "They were very young at the time," she says, pointing across the table at her daughter, now a journalist. "I just couldn't take the tension of them being there."
Slavery-like conditions, honour killings, horrible disfigurements - why does so much bad news come out of Pakistan? "Look, crime takes place in every country," she says. "But it becomes abuse when the state is unwilling and unable to protect the life and honour of its citizens. That is the shocking part of it, and under Musharraf it has got much worse." In corners of Punjab or Sindh, she says, powerful feudal landlords, police chiefs and judges run their personal mafias. "It's very frustrating," she says with a sigh.
There have been victories along the way. This year the Hudood ordinances were repealed, although pressure from religious parties ensured many restrictions remained. Thanks to pressure from the HRCP and other groups, hundreds of "disappeared" people have been freed or accounted for. A list of more than 400 names has been whittled down to 97, she says.
But few victories can have been as sweet as that of yesterday afternoon, a few hours after our interview, when the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the chief justice. General Musharraf's case against him was "illegal"; Mr Chaudhry should be immediately reinstated.
In the courtroom, lawyers punched the air and hugged each other. Some wept. Jahangir beamed like the sun, swept along in a great wave of people that poured out of the courthouse. For once, words escaped her. "Unbelievable. Unbelievable," she cries, struggling to keep her feet. "I'm just speechless. Speechless."
A throng of cameras waited outside. "This is one of the high points of the past 30 years," she says. "People had started to give up. They thought the military was invincible, that nobody could stand up to them. Well, now people have stood up to them, while upholding the rule of law. Today I am a very proud Pakistani." | <urn:uuid:2c781818-698d-41b4-a670-92d213b0cc73> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jul/21/pakistan.declanwalsh | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719027.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00302-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984938 | 1,791 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Reputation is everything.
New Zealand's reputation as a clean, green country could be damaged by the "laggard and impudent" approach of the Government to managing the effects of climate change.
And it is the industries that are being given a free environmental ride that have the most to lose from New Zealand's loss of face.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says emissions need to be reduced by 25 to 40 per cent (from 1990 to 2020), to keep the global temperature increase to 2°C, the widely accepted definition of intolerably dangerous climate change.
The New Zealand Government is committed to reducing its emissions by 10 to 20 per cent, a target labelled as "fair" given New Zealand's "national circumstance".
The Opposition argues this is not good enough and the National Government is unwilling to do its fair share to combat climate change.
"We are expecting the rest of the world to carry the burden. This is breathtakingly impudent," said Dr Kennedy Graham, the Green Party spokesman for climate change.
As the first period of the Kyoto protocol, the binding international agreement on emissions reductions, comes to an end this year, the Government is yet to commit to further reductions under the agreement.
It is instead considering following the United States and China and making non-binding pledges under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change.
The ongoing weakening of New Zealand's emissions trading scheme (ETS) raises further questions over the Government's commitment to its climate change obligations.
The ETS is New Zealand's major mechanism for combating emissions. It was designed to put a price on emissions to incentivise businesses and consumers to a lower their carbon footprint.
But the scheme has been choked, crushed by the twin forces of coalition partner Act, whose confidence and supply agreement included gutting the ETS, and an agriculture industry that produces around 50 per cent of New Zealand's exports and greenhouse gas emissions.
Proposed changes to the scheme, which passed a second reading in Parliament last month (including indefinitely leaving agriculture out), have left the ETS "a shadow of its former self", according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright.
Wright fears New Zealand is not just shirking its responsibility to combating climate change, but also damaging the New Zealand brand.
"Putting climate change aside, there are real risks to New Zealand's reputation," she says. "Our special environment is our competitive advantage."
And it is agriculture that benefits from this advantage.
Last week a report by UK agricultural research organisation CGIAR praised the environmental benefits of New Zealand's lamb, suggesting British consumers should buy Kiwi meat for the sake of the environment.
It comes at the same time as Alliance Group's ability to provide organic lamb won it an exclusive contract to supply high-end UK supermarket Marks and Spencer.
This type of "value enhancement" is the best way to increase the profitability of a small, remote country, says Tim Hazledine, an economics professor at Auckland University.
"Our motto for our land-based industries is that we should be clean, green and expensive," he said.
In the emerging Asian market New Zealand's reputation is vital to its success.
Food safety, integrity and luxury are the growing focus of the Chinese upper-middle class.
"China sees New Zealand as a haven for food safety and believes that New Zealand can be trusted," said Grant Guilford, dean of science at Auckland University.
Guilford recently travelled to China to speak about how better health outcomes for Chinese consumers can result in added value for New Zealand producers.
This has seen companies like Fonterra build a strong reputation in China based on quality and integrity.
And despite cows being one of the country's largest emitters, Fonterra has profited from New Zealand's environmental reputation, including a belief in New Zealand's ethics and sustainability, Guilford said.
"From a science perspective, this comes back to brand NZ. If we don't manage that well, the advantage will be eroded."
The Marianas Group has established itself in China to be the "brand guardian" for high-end New Zealand products that rely on a reputation for purity and quality.
"We can compete through our story," said Alex Worker, the company's Beijing-based director.
"This story is founded on trust - food safety, quality standards, naturalness, delicious product, natural and pure ingredients, our environment."
The New Zealand story is seeing products like Marlborough sauvignon blanc compete with established old world wines in China. But New Zealand is not doing enough to live up to the brand's positioning, says the Sustainability Council of New Zealand.
Agriculture's involvement in a response to climate change would have a number of benefits, said Simon Terry, the council's executive director, including a demonstration the country was acting on climate change, in turn reinforcing the New Zealand brand.
New Zealand producers need to begin leading the reduction of emissions or face losing their advantage in a world increasingly concerned with sustainability, he said.
"New Zealand has to step to meet market requirements, even if it does not believe there is a moral duty to reduce emissions," Terry said.
Meanwhile, New Zealand has the 11th highest level of emissions per capita in the world and an emissions reduction scheme rendered redundant.
"Climate change is everyone's responsibility - every nation, every business, every farm, every household, every individual.
"But New Zealand is one of the highest emitters in the world, per person, so we actually have a special responsibility," Terry said.
And our reputation relies on it.
- Sunday Star Times
Which would you prefer?Related story: Natural burials the way to go
The cost of losing nature | <urn:uuid:6342235c-01ad-4796-8822-9ccdfb93b76e> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/7903874/How-green-should-we-be | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721174.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00281-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952816 | 1,183 | 2.625 | 3 |
Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (Михаи́л Васи́льевич Ломоно́сов) (November 19 [O.S. November 8] 1711 – April 15 [O.S. April 4] 1765) was a Russian writer and polymath who made important contributions to literature, education, and science Among his most important contributions are the founding of Moscow State University, the revision of the Russian literary language, and several important scientific contributions. His scientific studies led to an interest in the technology of mosaics. He established the first factory outside of Italy to produce mosaics, and was responsible for producing forty mosaics, of which more than half still survive. While he lived a century before Pushkin and the great flowering of Russian poetry, Lomonosov was among the finest poets of his day, contributing some of the finest spiritual odes and occasional poetry written during the 18th century. His contributions to Russian society were truly incomparable.
Lomonosov was born in the village of Denisovka (the name of which was afterwards changed to Lomonosovo in honor of the poet), situated on an island not far from Kholmogory, in the Far North of Russia. His father, a fisherman, took the boy when he was ten years of age to assist him in his work, but his eagerness for knowledge was unbounded. The few books accessible to him he almost learned by heart and, seeing that there was no chance of pursuing education at home, he resolved to go by foot to Moscow.
An opportunity occurred when he was seventeen, and through the intervention of friends he obtained admission into the Slavic Greek Latin Academy. There his progress was very rapid, especially in Latin, and in 1734 he was sent from Moscow to Saint Petersburg. There, too, his proficiency, especially in physical science, was marked, and he was one of the young Russians chosen to complete their education in foreign countries.
He accordingly went to the University of Marburg in Hesse, Germany, at that time one of the most important universities in Europe due to the presence of the most eminent German Enlightenment philosopher of his time, Christian Wolff — at a time when universities in general were in some decay. Lomonosov studied with Wolff as one of his personal students; Wolff would remain influential for Lomonosov both philosophically and as a science administrator (another of Wolff's talents).
During his Marburg time, he also began to write poetry, imitating German authors, among whom he is said to have especially admired Johann Christian Günther. His Ode on the Taking of Khotin from the Turks was composed in 1739, attracting a great deal of attention at Saint Petersburg. During his residence in Germany, Lomonosov married a native of that country, and found it difficult to maintain his increasing family on the scanty allowance granted to him by the Russian Academy of Science, which was in any case administered irregularly. His circumstances became desperate, so he resolved to leave the country and to return home to Saint Petersburg. In 1743, his wife moved there, as well.
On his arrival in Russia he rapidly rose to distinction, and was made professor of chemistry in the Saint Petersburg State University, where he ultimately became rector. Eager to improve Russian education, Lomonosov joined his patron Ivan Shuvalov in founding the Moscow State University (later named after him) in 1755. In 1764 Lomonosov was appointed to the position of a secretary of state.
In 1756, he attempted to replicate Robert Boyle's celebrated experiment of 1673, concluding that the phlogiston theory, commonly accepted at the time, is false. Anticipating the discoveries of Antoine Lavoisier, he wrote in his diary: "Today I made an experient in hermetic glass vessels in order to determine whether the mass of metals increases from the action of pure heat. The experiments—of which I append the record in 13 pages—demonstrated that the famous Robert Boyle was deluded, for without access of air from outside the mass of the burnt metal remains the same."
He regarded heat as a form of motion, suggested the wave theory of light, contributed to the formulation of the kinetic theory of gases, and stated the idea of conservation of matter in the following words: "All changes in nature are such that inasmuch is taken from one object insomuch is added to another. So, if the amount of matter decreases in one place, it increases elsewhere. This universal law of nature embraces laws of motion as well, for an object moving others by its own force in fact imparts to another object the force it loses" (first articulated in a letter to Leonhard Euler dated 5 July, 1748, rephrased and published in Lomonosov's dissertation "Reflexion on the solidity and fluidity of bodies," 1760).
Lomonosov was the first person to record the freezing of mercury, and to hypothesize the existence of an atmosphere on Venus based on his observation of the transit of Venus of 1761 in a small observatory near his house in Petersburg. Believing that nature is subject to regular and continuous evolution, he demonstrated the organic origin of soil, peat, coal, petroleum, and amber. In 1745 he published a catalogue of over 3,000 minerals, and in 1760 he explained the formation of icebergs.
Lomonosov was proud to restore the ancient art of mosaics. In 1754 in his letter to Leonard Euler he wrote that his three-year long experimentations on the effects of the chemistry of minerals on their color led to him became very involved in mosaics art. In 1763 he sets up a glass factory that produced the first stained glass mosaics outside of Italy. There were forty mosaics attributed to Lomonosov, only twenty-four of which have survived. Among the best is the portrait of Peter the Great and the Battle of Poltava, measuring 4.8 x 6.4 meters , ,.
In 1755 he wrote a grammar that reformed the Russian literary language by combining Old Church Slavonic with the vernacular tongue. To further his literary theories, he wrote more than 20 solemn ceremonial odes, notably the Evening Meditation on God's Grandeur. To his later poems he applied an idiosyncratic theory that words containing vowel sounds made in the front of the palate (in Russian, E, I, YU) should be used when depicting tender subjects, and those made with the back of the palate (again, in Russian the vowel sounds O, U, Y) to describe things that may cause fear ("like anger, envy, pain, and sorrow"). This theory is a version of what is known as sound symbolism. Lomonosov published his own history of Russia in 1760. Most of his accomplishments, however, were unknown outside Russia until long after his death.
As a poet, Lomonosov displayed the same kind of breadth of interest as he did in the rest of his work. He wrote "emblematic and panegyrical verse for coronations, illuminations, ship launchings, imperial arrivals and departures, name days [of the saint for whom the person was named], birthdays, anniversaries, and other celebrations." (Terras, 128) Like his contemporaries, he also wrote spiritual odes and versions of the Psalms. His spiritual odes are widely considered the best of his generation as was his long, didactic poem, "Epistle on the Usefulness of Glass." (Terras, 130)
Lomonosov died in Saint Petersburg in 1765, leaving no male heirs. Among his female heirs, a granddaughter married the famous General Raevsky. In 1948, the underwater Lomonosov Ridge in the Arctic Ocean was named in his honor. A lunar crater also bears his name.
All links retrieved August 15, 2014.
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Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed. | <urn:uuid:a94127d4-68bd-4c9b-ad88-96c529bf19e8> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Mikhail_Lomonosov | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280718.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00408-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978872 | 1,796 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Caught between an energy crisis and a climate crisis, the Lucky Country has stumbled upon a unique opportunity to solve both problems with one solution – a complete electrification of our homes, saving us money while saving the planet. The amazing Saul Griffith outlines his plan to electrify Austinmer, NSW – and reveals a blueprint for Australia’s future.
Saul Griffith’s new book The Big Switch: Australia’s Electric Future is a must-read. Get it here.
If you’re an aspiring energy geek (like myself), you’ll be interested in Spark Club – a monthly get-together of like-minded people working hard on Australia’s energy transition. Learn more here…
At the start of 2021 I made four big predictions for the year about digital currencies, the transition to a sustainable economy, geopolitics and social media. How did I score? (Hint: I got to grade myself.)
A new series, a new podcast production partner – and a new theme: WORLDCHANGING, bringing together amazing talent, tools, and a driving need change the world in this decade! We’re bringing you WORLDCHANGING stories in series 6 of The Next Billion Seconds.
CHOICE shows you how to identify and switch over to a renewable electricity generator. Switching to a renewable electricity generator does more to lower your carbon emissions than any other single act. Let’s do this!
Inventor Saul Griffith has a radical proposal: electrify everything, saving energy, money, and cutting emissions almost to zero. It simultaneouisly transforms the costs of climate change into enormous opportunities. Co-host Sally Dominguez explores three amazing new battery technologies.
A must-read companion to SUSTAIN:
Saul Griffith’s forthcoming book ELECTRIFY is, well, an electrifying read that makes the clear, and obvious case that electrifying everything (coupled with renewable generation) is the win-win solution for the planet and our economy. Pre-order it here.
Sally Dominguez loves sodium-ion batteries, and here’s a report about why they may come to rival the dominant Lithium-ion batteries we use today…
Sally and I both love ‘structural batteries’ – they’ll allow us to store electricity pretty much everywhere, in pretty much everything. Read about them here.
In 2020, renewables became the cheapest source of electricity – and frequent guest Ramez Naam brings us all the stats about this fully underway transition to solar and wind power. But without cheap storage, renewables will never be able to be the entire solution for a world that looks to need a lot more electricity. Australian startup MGA Thermal may have invented the ideal technology to accelerate our transition from coal to solar.
Read this article about how much wind energy the USA added to the grid in 2020 (a record!)
Prediction: At least half of all passenger vehicles sold by 2030 will be electric, revolutionising transportation – and energy.
Series 5 continues with more bold predictions for the next decade — an era of transition and remediation, as we work across multiple fronts and multiple industries – internationally – to cool the climate.
We saw more change in March & April of 2020 than in the rest of our lives. How has the pandemic accelerated our journey into the future? We ask four guests from series 2 and 3 – John Robb talks about the ‘black swans’ revealed within the pandemic; Fiona Kerr explores the ways we need technology to connect – and the price we’re paying for our lack of physical contact; Ramez Naam looks at how the crash in the price of crude oil has accelerated the transition to a decarbonised economy; and Tiffany Shlain reminds us that in a world where we all want to be connected, a ‘Digital Sabbath’ is more important than ever!
John Robb is the author of “Brave New War” and shares his thoughts on the more-vital-than-ever ‘Global Guerillas‘ blog.
Tesla drove electric vehicles from impractical to inevitable. Powertrains will soon feature a mix of hydrocarbons, hydrogen – and batteries.
Co-host Sally Dominguez toured China in a hydrogen-fueled Mercedes:
The history of the automobile isn’t exactly the history of petrol – even if that’s what Carl Benz used in his internal combustion engine, there have always been lots of alternatives, including the Stanley ‘Steamer’:
The London Electrobus Company pioneered electric public transport over a hundred years ago – promoting itself as the cleaner alternative on London’s dirty streets:
In ‘cooversation’ with a newborn, we explore the year 2100: climate change, intelligent computers, editable biology, new tools — and new trials.
Nothing focuses the mind on the future like a newborn. With a bit of luck, today’s newborns will live until the year 2100 – and possibly well beyond.
Six-day-old Alexandros Corey provided the perfect opportunity for an exploration of the ‘deep’ future – a world three billion seconds away, when we’re facing the full consequences of anthropogenic climate change, we’ve built superintelligent computers, can modify almost any biological process using CRISPR, and manage all of it with an advanced generation of augmented reality tools. | <urn:uuid:24653267-7000-4572-ba4a-860111e5fdeb> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://nextbillionseconds.com/tag/energy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570767.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808061828-20220808091828-00471.warc.gz | en | 0.895154 | 1,125 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Lumberjack vs. Surf Thump
Our two most popular longboard models face off in a head-to-head compare and contrast: Lumberjack vs. Surf Thump
Tails & Turning:
When identifying what the intended use of a longboard is, look first at its tail.
The tail of the Lumberjack is wide and square, which allows for pivot-like turns. A pivot turn is when you step back on the tail of the board—slowing it down—and proceed to swing the board as though the fin were the hinge on a door.
It is important to note that the outline of the Lumberjack is fairly straight through the tail.
Here is Kameron Brown demonstrating a pivot-style turn—utilizing a drop-knee approach to get his back foot as far back on that tail as possible:
In contrast, the Surf Thump has more curve in the outline of the tail, which leads into a narrower "thumb-shaped" tail. All of that extra curve means that the board doesn't need to be stalled and pivoted, the additional curve (when the board is put up on rail for a turn) allows the board to more efficiently maintain speed while arcing through a turn.
Here is Nathan Adams demonstrating a rail-initiated turn on his Sano Special (very similar tail curves to the Surf Thump):
When judging the noseriding ability of a longboard, it is important—once again—to look at the tail. The nose is where your feet are while noseriding, but the tail is what is submerged under water, supporting your weight.
The full, square tail of the Lumberjack offers a tremendous amount of support for the noseride-oriented surfer. Combine that with the necessity to stall off the tail to bottom turn, and you have a board that is already encouraging the surfer to set up their wave in a way that is highly conducive to noseriding.
Both the Lumberjack and the Surf Thump have blended nose concaves, which create additional lift in the nose, without inhibiting the boards' ability to glide effortlessly.
The Surf Thump, because of its tail and slightly narrower nose has a more lively feel overall. It will still noseride very well when you stay in the pocket, but will be less forgiving when you get out into the flatter part of the wave, on the shoulder.
How do you know which is right for you?
In general, I would say if you plan to surf a variety of different waves (sizes, shapes, etc..), I would lean toward the Surf Thump. It combines a lively feel under-foot, with enough classic noseriding to satisfy your hunger for getting perched.
However, if you know that noseriding is your main aim, and you want the board that is going to make the most out of smaller wave conditions and keep you hanging out on the bow as much as possible, the Lumberjack is the board for you. | <urn:uuid:bede6c71-327f-4c92-838f-83626e44caf8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://almondsurfboards.com/en-jp/blogs/news/lumberjack-vs-surf-thump | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571234.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811042804-20220811072804-00077.warc.gz | en | 0.962862 | 631 | 1.648438 | 2 |
My post on the dismal status of the Housing Choice voucher program led off with a call for larger investments in anti-poverty measures that have proved effective. But I didn’t wrap back around to how the vouchers fit in. Just too much, I felt, to cram into a single post.
So here’s the missing piece.
The Coalition on Human Needs, the source of my jumping-off point, draws on the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure for proofs of effectiveness. Many other progressive analysts and advocates do so as well.
As I’ve said before, the Bureau shows the impacts of major social insurance and safety net programs by recalculating poverty rates without their cash value.
The impacts of federally-funded housing subsidies — vouchers and public housing rolled together — seem relatively small, though not negligible when analyzed this way.
Without them, the SPM poverty rate would have been 0.9% higher in 2014. So it would seem they lifted roughly 2.8 million people over the poverty threshold — about 7 million fewer than the refundable tax credits, the top-ranked program one might classify as safety net.
The impact of the housing subsidy programs on the poverty rate has remained about the same ever since the Bureau began issuing its SPM reports in 2010. Small variations, but within the statistical margin of error.
The under-funding I’ve been going on about is one reason the impacts aren’t greater. But it’s not the only reason. Eligibility for housing assistance is another.
An individual or family doesn’t have to be hovering near the poverty threshold to qualify. The cut-off instead is 30% of the median income for the area they live in. That’s often, if not always considerably higher than the applicable poverty threshold.
In the District of Columbia, for example, the cut-off for a couple with with two children last year was about $9,000 higher than the maximum the family could have and still be counted as poor, if renters.
True, the DC Housing Authority exercises preferences when awarding new housing vouchers and public housing units, including one for homeless people, who are likely to be poor. But how many people in poverty actually benefited from such assistance last year is an open question.
More to the point, we can’t assume that what DCHA does reflects housing authority policies generally — except probably its current focus on veterans.
The impact figure is relatively small for a third, important reason. The dollar value of a housing subsidy doesn’t capture its full anti-poverty impact.
The value the SPM attributes to it is the different between the market-rate rent for an apartment, including basic utilities and what the household actually paid. But safe, stable housing is a platform of sorts for rising out of poverty. Or looked at another way, not having it makes rising more difficult.
Shifting around from place to place — or even worse, living in a shelter — makes finding and keeping a job unusually challenging. No permanent address. In some cases, no ready, regular access to a shower or a washing machine and dryer. Limited, if any access to a computer. Negative effects on both physical and mental health.
And if nothing else, time and energy that must be diverted to negotiating yet another temporary housing arrangement, packing and unpacking, figuring out new transit routes to work or training, other services, school and daycare for the kids, if any, etc.
For children, housing instability often has long-term consequences that make poverty in adulthood more likely — these better documented by research than consequences for adults.
Children whose families move around a lot, even if not in and out of a shelter, face higher risks of mental health problems — some manifesting themselves as what experts refer to as behavioral problems.
These help account for academic difficulties, as measured by standardized test scores and grades. So do frequent shifts from one school to another.
The end result is a relatively high dropout rate. And we know what employment and earnings prospects are for folks without at least a high school diploma.
Such effects are hard to convert to dollars that adults, both current and future, would have if stably housed, thanks to vouchers or apartments in public housing.
But I’m sure as can be that enabling low-income people to live in decent housing they can afford reduces poverty more than the SPM shows. | <urn:uuid:ae40c0be-f3da-4ade-9a32-62661201575b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://povertyandpolicy.wordpress.com/2015/10/13/subsidized-housing-cuts-poverty-rate-more-than-census-measure-shows/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280730.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00245-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954107 | 915 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Steeped in mystery and romance, this Grade II listed Georgian mansion lay uninhabited for over a century before The Spitalfields Trust rescued it from being entirely demolished. Dubbed as one of London's 'secret mansions', the property was soon acquired by Tim Knox, director of The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, a landscape gardener. Over a period of ten years the imaginative pair gently restored Malplaquet while enduring rather squalid conditions. As Tim confessed, 'Despite being a complete tip and infested with pigeons, we knew it was full of promise.'
Both passionate collectors, the duo eccentrically furnished Malplaquet with numerous crucifixes, esoteric objects, portraits and taxidermy. Located just off the Mile End Road in Stepney Green the atmospheric building was once occupied by wealthy Jewish merchants, before being divided up into lodgings and later used as storage space for shops. Sitting mere meters away from the hustle and bustle of the Mile End road, enter the wrought iron gates and you are immediately transported to a spellbinding, ethereal world. Now on the market for a cool £3 million, this 5 bedroom house also features a beautiful wild garden filled with filled with ivies, climbing roses, wisteria and jasmine.
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We use data from the military enlistment for a large representative sample of Swedish men to assess the importance of cognitive and noncognitive ability for labor market outcomes. The measure of noncognitive ability is based on a personal interview conducted by a psychologist. Unlike survey-based measures of noncognitive ability, this measure is a substantially stronger predictor of labor market outcomes than cognitive ability. In particular, we find strong evidence that men who fare badly in the labor market ‒ in the sense of long-term unemployment or low annual earnings ‒ lack noncognitive but not cognitive ability. We point to a technological explanation for this result. Noncognitive ability is an important determinant of productivity irrespective of occupation or ability level, though it seems to be of particular importance for workers in a managerial position. In contrast, cognitive ability is valuable only for men in qualified occupations. As a result, noncognitive ability is more important for men at the verge of being priced out of the labor market. | <urn:uuid:78b9708e-8bd0-4d87-817e-584f8b7f8b0d> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.ifn.se/eng/publications/wp/2006-2010/2009_1/794 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718309.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00404-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94702 | 199 | 2.265625 | 2 |
EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — Women Aware, the only agency in Middlesex County providing comprehensive services for all victims of domestic violence and shelter for battered women and children, this week received a $2,500 donation from Verizon Wireless.
Continuing its commitment to domestic violence prevention and awareness, the company's donation was made possible through its HopeLine® Phone Recycling Program. No-longer-used wireless phones, collected at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores throughout the New York Metro area, are refurbished, recycled or sold and the proceeds are donated to domestic violence advocacy groups or used to purchase new phones for victims. Phones that cannot be refurbished are disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.
"This donation is the result of neighbors helping neighbors," said Charles Hand, president of Verizon Wireless' New York Metro Region. "Middlesex County residents and corporations have recognized the devastating impact that domestic violence can have on families and have responded by donating their old cell phones and chargers to this very worthy cause. We thank them for their generosity and encourage them to keep domestic violence survivors in their hearts and minds."
In addition to providing safe housing for women and children, Women Aware has a 24-hour hotline for victims of abusive relationships and provides counseling, job search assistance, housing assistance and transportation. In 2004, 96 women and 85 children received shelter, 6,334 hotline calls were handled and the Women Aware outreach center assisted and counseled 2,447 women in filing complaints, obtaining restraining orders and court preparation.
Domestic violence prevention and education is Verizon Wireless' chief community focus. Verizon Wireless created its HopeLine program 10 years ago to put the company's wireless products and services to work to help victims of domestic violence enhance their safety. In addition to a successful phone recycling program, HopeLine includes free phones, service and voice mailboxes for victims; community and corporate awareness initiatives; and a bilingual "Invest In Yourself" program designed to help survivors re-enter the workforce. For additional information, visit the HopeLine Web site at www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 45.5 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
2005 marks the 10 year anniversary of the Verizon Wireless HopeLine program, which puts wireless products and services to work to combat domestic violence. Today, HopeLine collects wireless phones and accessories from any wireless carrier and refurbishes or recycles them with proceeds benefiting victims of domestic violence. The environmentally friendly HopeLine Program also provides victims with essential communication tools wireless phones and wireless services, including voicemail and pre-paid wireless minutes. Donations are accepted at all 1, 900-plus Verizon Wireless Communications Stores across the country. For additional information, customers can visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline. | <urn:uuid:12a30859-c599-4f33-9e13-fa4d652cd8f4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.verizonwireless.com/news/article/2005/06/pr2005-06-23n.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280128.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00390-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938222 | 672 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Investing in early intervention and universal services for children and families would save the UK economy £486bn over the next 20 years and improve child well-being, it is claimed.
A report published today by Action for Children and think-tank the New Economics Foundation (NEF) said the UK had the poorest record in Europe for almost every preventable social problem due to a failure to invest in preventive services as Denmark, Finland and Sweden do.
£4,000bn cost of social problems over two decades
It predicted the costs of problems such as crime, mental illness, family breakdown and drug abuse would total £4,000bn over the next 20 years.
However, it said investment in a 10-year programme of targeted early interventions for vulnerable children and a 20-year programme of universal childcare and paid parental leave would save at least £486bn over the same period.
This is even accounting for the costs of implementing the new system and raising the money. It proposed that the government borrow money from private investors through a series of annual bond issues with 10-year maturities, rather than raise taxes.
Some of the proposed services would be mandatory, such as early years education for children up to the age of four, while others, such as antenatal care and parenting lessons, would be offered within universal community-based settings, such as children’s centres, to make them accessible.
Funds would also go towards workforce development and improving the evidence base on local needs, through annual local assessments of child and family well-being.
Tackle ‘blame culture’
Maureen Nuttall, Action for Children’s strategy development manager and a former social worker, emphasised the importance of placing targeted provision for vulnerable children and families within universal services “to remove the blame culture, so parents feel more comfortable accepting help”.
The report drew on research gathered at the charity’s children’s centres, where it said improvements had been seen in the well-being of children, young people and their families.
“We have enough research to support long-term national investment. We hope to secure cross-party commitment so every government works towards the same aims,” Nuttall said.
Nicola Steuer, head of NEF’s centre for well-being, said: “We are proposing a more preventive long-term approach which would deliver excellent results for society and save money.”
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You don’t need a degree in physics to figure out how the concept below works. The spiral configurations holds down more ink, simple as that. What’s really a headsratcher is, after decades of having the ballpoint pen around and manufactured in limitless numbers, why didn’t nobody ever think of this?
If a few hipster stylus snobs are poo-pooing (perhaps even pew-pewing) this minor innovation, to heck with them. Ball pens are awesome, whether for jotting down last minute notes or scrawling vulgar graffiti on desks, the ball pen will never go away—until we learn how to write stuff in thin air.
Dubbed the T&T by a supergroup of South Korean designers (South Korea is really catching up, isn’t it?) the only foreseeable concern with this is whether it prevents the dreaded ball pen diarrhea, also known as leakage. You know, like when the pen oozes the icky ink and ruins your crisp office shirt or an innocent pant’s pocket?
Right now the T&T ball pen concept is fighting for its life in the iF concept design competition. Hopefully the idea of a spiral ink container for pens catches on from there.
Here’s a question for the readers. No prizes, no congratulatory email, just smarty pants bragging rights: What year did ball pens change the way we jot down stuff? (Clue: It’s a post World War 2 date.)
Source Yanko Design
Filed Under: Concepts & Design | <urn:uuid:2445cd08-66cd-4e74-859e-8d5dd9ca69ab> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/the-tt-is-a-revolution-waiting-to-happen-23-04-2011/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282202.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00556-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915717 | 330 | 2.25 | 2 |
The Autodesk Gallery at One Market in San Francisco celebrates design — the process of taking a great idea and turning it into a reality. With about 60 different exhibits regularly on display that showcase the innovative work of Autodesk customers, the gallery illustrates the role technology plays in great design and engineering. Autodesk Gallery Ambassadors conduct gallery tours as a sideline to their day jobs. The tours provide employees with opportunities to practice public speaking in front of small groups.
The Vicious Cycle exhibit is an exhibit that you see on the 2nd floor of our One Market office in San Francisco:
While most machines are built to create, this machine, "Vicious Cycle," will in time, put an end to itself. Inspired by "Machine with Concrete," an Exploratorium art installation by Arthur Ganson, this collaboration between Autodesk and the Exploratorium makes visible the invisible; in this case, using interconnected gears to illustrate the unseen but powerful presence of force and time. "Vicious Cycle" is a cascade of gears arranged in a near full circle. The gearing dramatically slows the rapidly spinning motor, making about 30 revolutions per second, such that the cascade's final gear takes about 1.3 years to make a single rotation. The gears' torque — the amount of force that the rotating shaft can apply — increases in an inverse ratio to the speed.
Here are some fun facts about some of the gears that comprise the exhibit:
|6 revs/second||4.8 pounds||a small cat|
|1 rev/4.2 seconds||120 pounds||an average teenager|
|1 rev/1.8 minutes||3,004 pounds||a Prius with 3 passengers|
|1 rev/44 minutes||75,120 pounds||a semi-truck loaded with cargo|
|1 rev/18.3 hours||1,878,000 pounds||two 747 jumbo jets|
|1 rev/19 days||46,950,000 pounds||USS Hornet aircraft carrier|
|1 rev/476 days||1,170,000,000 pounds||the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty|
In other words, the incredibly slow final gear provides enough theoretical torque to lift the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty — together! This final gear is attached to a vise that slowly crushes a glass tube that will eventually fracture from the stress, dropping the motor, and halting the gears. The entire cycle takes about a year, at which time it will be reset for another 12-month run. Talk about self-destructive behavior. Can't wait a full year? With the interactive 3D visualization, you can fast forward through the accumulating stresses in the components to witness the simulated moment of destruction.
The exhibit team used Autodesk Inventor, tools in the Exploratorium's exhibit workshop, and an OMAX waterjet cutter and Objet 3D printers at the Autodesk Pier 9 Technology Center to bring the exhibit to life. The exhibit's stress levels were analyzed with Simulation Mechanical (now Autodesk Nastran In-CAD), and the assembly was then rendered and animated in Autodesk 3ds Max.
An artful exploration of gear ratios, power, and velocity, coupled with stress analysis, Vicious Cycle's gleaming gears belie its self-destructive nature.
Thanks to the Autodesk Gallery team for the descriptive text for this blog post.
The Autodesk Gallery in San Francisco is open to the public on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. There is a guided tour on Wednesdays at 12:30 pm and a self-guided audio tour available anytime. Admission is free. Visit us.
Viciousness is alive in the lab. | <urn:uuid:e728e127-2399-43c6-b749-db5dff5aecf9> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://labs.blogs.com/its_alive_in_the_lab/2017/10/autodesk-gallery-at-one-market-in-san-francisco-exhibit-vicious-cycle.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573533.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818215509-20220819005509-00277.warc.gz | en | 0.908395 | 800 | 2.125 | 2 |
July 4, 2013
Your mind may take the lead today, and you may feel intellectually aroused and stimulated. If you find yourself becoming absorbed by more mental pursuits--especially if you are reading a good book or studying a subject you are passionate about--try not to lose track of time. You may even want to time yourself so that you can stop and tend to the other responsibilities you need to fulfill today. If you establish time constraints, you may find yourself better able to focus and absorb what you take in because your mind won't have the luxury of time to wander aimlessly. Time for absorbing information is just as important as time spent engaging in other activities.
Giving ourselves a set amount of time to focus on mental pursuits allows us to be as productive as possible. It gives us permission to be free from distractions because we know that we will be able to tend to other responsibilities when that scheduled time has ended. This affords us the freedom to concentrate. With our focused attention, we can then absorb and process new information with ease. Our abilities to comprehend and retain information inevitably become enhanced. Arrange and schedule your time so that you're able to focus on your intellectual pursuits today, and you will take in and process a wealth of new information.
This article is printed from DailyOM - Inspirational thoughts for a happy, healthy and fulfilling day.
Register for free at dailyom.com | <urn:uuid:bd438c91-68ff-4576-9b6d-043bf4d2b6f2> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.dailyom.com/cgi-bin/display/printerfriendly.cgi?articleid=39112 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280504.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00139-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950232 | 283 | 1.625 | 2 |
Robert S. Summers is a well-known expert for his work in contracts, commercial law, and jurisprudence and legal theory. His treatise on the Uniform Commercial Code, coauthored with Professor James White, is the most widely cited on the subject. Other influential works by Professor Summers include texts on legal realism, form and substance in the law, and on statutory interpretation.
He has served as official advisor both to the Drafting Commission for the Russian Civil Code and to the Drafting Commission for the Egyptian Civil Code, and he has lectured annually on jurisprudence and legal theory in Britain, Scandinavia, and Europe.
Before retiring in 2010 after a 42 year career at Cornell Law School, Professor Summers taught contracts and American legal theory. | <urn:uuid:e3d81fd9-a41c-4180-aef9-48d9fe531b49> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/faculty/bio.cfm?id=78 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718296.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00538-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96298 | 154 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Atlantis-haunting or Atlantic complex refers to J.R.R. Tolkien's recurring dreams of the city of Atlantis being consumed by the ocean.
- "This legend or myth or dim memory of some ancient history has always troubled me. In sleep I had the dreadful dream of the ineluctable Wave, either coming out of the quiet sea, or coming in towering over the green inlands. It still occurs occasionally, though now exorcized by writing about it. It always ends by surrender, and I awake gasping out of deep water. I used to draw it or write bad poems about it."
- ― J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 257
It was this dream that inspired the story of the Downfall of Númenor. In The Lord of the Rings, the Professor transfers his dream to Faramir who dreams of the Downfall of Númenor. Tolkien believed his dream may have been passed down from his parents as his son, Michael, had similar dreams and Tolkien and never mentioned it to him. | <urn:uuid:138dea90-5f43-46dc-a96b-8987809d8a1c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://tolkiengateway.net/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&oldid=40772 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00574-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963484 | 215 | 2.359375 | 2 |
OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear an assisted suicide and euthanasia case from British Columbia, the so-called Carter case.
The court's decision to hear the case has alarmed disabled Canadians.
"The ongoing efforts to achieve assisted suicide by any means are escalating the level of anxiety experienced by people with disabilities," said Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) chairperson Tony Dolan.
"Imagine the emotional toll it takes on people with disabilities who keep hearing from assisted suicide campaigners that people who experience problems with toileting, feeding and other activities of daily living should have help to die."
CCD and the Canadian Association for Community Living, two of Canada's largest groups advocating on behalf of people with disabilities and their families, wanted the court to deny the appeal.
Though the court did not give a reason for hearing the appeal, it did deny a request from the B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) to expedite the hearing for the sake of ill persons who want an assisted suicide.
The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition has announced it will seek leave to intervene before Canada's highest court.
"In jurisdictions where these practices have been legalized, there have been significant abuses of vulnerable people," said EPC executive director Alex Schadenberg.
"For example, a study in Belgium found that 32 per cent of the people killed under the Belgian euthanasia law were killed without request, a breach of a fundamental condition of that law. Not one of these doctors has been prosecuted."
The family of Kay Carter, who died in 2010 from assisted suicide in Switzerland, launched the suit in 2011, along with BCCLA. Gloria Taylor later joined the suit, though she died of ALS in 2012.
In June 2012, the B.C. Supreme Court struck down Canada's Criminal Code provisions against euthanasia and assisted suicide, saying they violated the constitutional rights of disabled people.
The B.C. Court of Appeal overturned that decision late last year, arguing the lower court did not have the jurisdiction to overturn the Supreme Court of Canada in Rodriguez.
However, the Supreme Court of Canada recently overturned an earlier decision upholding Canada's prostitution laws, saying it does not necessarily see itself bound by its own precedents.
Justice Minister Peter MacKay and Health Minister Rona Ambrose have both said the government has no interest in re-opening debate on euthanasia. | <urn:uuid:3c78d6df-dc1e-464e-b689-e61ce3e74c70> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.wcr.ab.ca/DesktopModules/SunBlog/Handlers/Print.aspx?id=5103 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281069.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00266-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967902 | 487 | 1.890625 | 2 |
Nystatin is an anti-fungal medication available as orally consumed pills or liquids, as a topical cream, and as a cream insertion. Medline Plus notes that nystatin is associated with skin irritation and itching in its cream form, and with diarrhea, nausea and skin rashes as a tablet. As a result, some patients would prefer alternative anti-fungal medications. Exploring some of the top nystatin alternatives can help patients make the right choice.
A popular alternative to nystatin is the anti-fungal and antibiotic agent ketoconazole. It can be absorbed through the skin or ingested. Drugs.com notes that it can be used to treat internal and external fungal infections, and Patient UK notes its presence in creams, specialized scalp shampoos and oral tablets. Ketaconazole may cause upset stomach, headache and dizziness in mild cases, as well as heartbeat changes, fainting and unusual bleeding in severe cases, according to Drugs.com.
Fluconazole is an anti-fungal medication that can be used instead of nystatin to treat vaginal thrush, according to Patient UK. The medication is taken as pills or through intravenous infusion, and RxList notes that in this way it can also be used as an alternative to other vaginal cream treatments on the market.
RxList further notes that fluconazole may be particularly effective at stopping fungal infections in patients who have had bone marrow transplants or radiation therapies. The most common side effects of fluconazole after a single dose are headaches, experienced by about 13% of users, and nausea, experienced by about 7% of users according to RxList.
Terbinafine is an alternative for topically applied nystatin. The medication is most commonly used as a topical cream to treat nail fungus, according to Patient UK, though it has other applications for external use outside the nail area. Net Doctor reports that terbinafine can be used to treat athlete's foot, jock itch and ringworm.
The medication does come with the severe side effect of liver damage. Net Doctor reports that this is a rare but serious side effect of using terbinafine characterized by signs of jaundice, dark urine, abdominal pain, and unexplainable flu-like symptoms. Minor symptoms include headaches, loss of appetite, and skin irritation which may take the form of a rash according to Net Doctor. | <urn:uuid:41e5ac2a-f353-4ed9-a332-c7ae43f4a666> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.livestrong.com/article/261694-nystatin-alternatives/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281151.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00113-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931864 | 508 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Click here to run a scan if you are experiencing issues with this process.
Application using this process: Adobe
Recommended: Scan your system for invalid registry entries.
What is patchw32.dll doing on my computer?
The file patchw32.dll is part of the OOBE (Out-of-box experience) folder of Adobe programs in the Common Files folder. The term OOBE includes the setup process and the initial configuration of a piece of software, as the preparation for the first usage of the product.
Non-system processes like patchw32.dll originate from software you installed on your system. Since most applications store data in your system's registry, it is likely that over time your registry suffers fragmentation and accumulates invalid entries which can affect your PC's performance. It is recommended that you check your registry to identify slowdown issues.
Is patchw32.dll harmful?
Can I stop or remove patchw32.dll?
Is patchw32.dll CPU intensive?
Why is patchw32.dll giving me errors?Process related issues are usually related to problems encountered by the application that runs it. A safe way to stop these errors is to uninstall the application and run a system scan to automatically identify any PC issues.
Why do I have multiple instances of patchw32.dll?
Multiple copies of a process in your task manager may indicate the presence of a virus or Trojan. Make sure you always use an updated antivirus software and perform a full scan to identify any such cases.
patchw32.dll is known to have 2 other instances:
The file patchw32.dll is part of the OOBE (Out-of-box experience) folder of ... read more »
patchw32.dll is a DLL file This process is still being reviewed read more » | <urn:uuid:66f67649-efb2-4629-a922-a1a8fcd8b2a7> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.processlibrary.com/en/directory/files/patchw32/1129/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988725470.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183845-00076-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911806 | 377 | 1.578125 | 2 |
It's not only businesses and organizations that need to worry about protecting their data and legal information. Everyone from individuals to the cybersecurity departments of largest corporations needs to worry about safeguarding sensitive data. Here are five tips for protecting your legal information from hackers.
1. Know What Security Your Computing Programs Require
While there are some omnipresent cybersecurity tools, such as antivirus software and firewalls, there are also some computing programs and systems that require more specialized or powerful tools. Whenever you implement a new program or software solution or an upgrade, be sure to check what its recommended security coverage is and whether you need to add that coverage to your existing cybersecurity infrastructure. For example, cloud computing requires multiple levels of security and you can employ multiple features to achieve proper cloud security, including ransomware defenses, Deep Observability tools and network segmentation.
2. Utilize Strong Authentication
A good rule of thump for protecting your legal information and other sensitive data is to make sure you have the strongest authentication methods possible for every device and account you use. This means utilizing a different, strong password for each account and device, employing multifactor authentication and avoiding using any obvious personal information in your passwords and authentication methods.
3. Update All Cybersecurity Tools Often
It's important to regularly check for updates and patches to your cybersecurity tools and apply those updates and patches as soon as they become available or you become aware of them. It's an unfortunate reality that cybersecurity tools aren't infallible. Sometimes, software will have holes or flaws that can be exploited by cybercriminals and hackers. Even the most airtight security software needs to be updated regularly to continue to compete with hackers, who are constantly improving their skills and finding new ways to circumvent your security. If you ensure your tools have the latest updates, your protection will be far more effective.
4. Regularly Monitor Your Accounts
Most people have many online accounts that may or may not be connected to each other. You should keep an eye on each online account that belongs to you, particularly those that are in any way related to your finances or legal information. These accounts can include retirement funds, online banking, online tax filing, email accounts and ecommerce sites. You can manually monitor your accounts or use a monitoring service, but a combination of both is a good idea. The reason for monitoring these accounts is to check whether there is any strange activity occurring so you can catch it and deal with the cause as soon as possible.
5. Encrypt Your Connections
An incredibly effective method of protecting your entire connection to the internet, including legal and sensitive personal information, is to use an encryption method when connecting to wifi, such as a VPN. A VPN, which stands for Virtual Private Network, is an end-to-end encryption tunnel that keeps hackers and other cybercriminals out of your connection to unsecured wifi. You should use a VPN whenever you access public wifi, particularly public wifi that doesn't require you to submit a password. It's not as necessary to use a VPN when you're connecting to the internet via secured wifi, such as your corporate network or your private home wifi network, but it's a good idea to use it at all times.
There are many strategies and tools you can use to help keep your legal information and other sensitive data safe from cybercriminals. It's a good idea to use multiple tools to create layered security, but you should choose a few security features and strategies you feel comfortable using or ones that make the most sense for your needs. | <urn:uuid:ca5ac84a-ba12-4014-b136-41e7f7863b9f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://dir.curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=2447004 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570913.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809064307-20220809094307-00075.warc.gz | en | 0.937168 | 716 | 1.976563 | 2 |
Dixie's Vapor Shop Vape Wholesale in Turner 97392 OR
Dixie's Vapor Shop Vape Shop near Turner 97392 webpage OR . Shop CBD Patches, ejuice by leading companies such as Solace Made In USA E-liquid, Loaded E-Liquid as well as Silverback Juice Co.
CBD: How Does This Hemp Plant Compound Aid Combat Psoriasis?
Psoriasis is an autoimmune inflammatory disease. In straightforward words, it is described as faster cycle of skin cell development. Normally, individuals with healthy skin, that do not have any type of symptoms of psoriasis, notice mature skin cells appear on their skin as soon as in a month or so. However, those, that have psoriasis, see these skin cells as soon as in every 2 weeks.
There are several treatment options offered for psoriasis, but the most effective ones involve applying topical lotions and lotion to the damaged area. Now, because CBD, the fantastic chemical compound removed from marijuana plant has anti-inflammatory residential properties, scientists are considering it as an effective therapy for psoriasis symptoms.
The evaluations concerning the outcomes of CBD for psoriasis are rather much combined. Despite the fact that there is unscientific evidence suggesting that items like CBD soap as well as oil are valuable for individuals dealing with psoriasis, research studies carried out so much have actually verified to be undetermined.
Using CBD for Psoriasis
Now, when we drop ill, or are weary and also simply stressed out, our body is unable to create enough endocannabinoids. This space can be filled up with the help of phytocannabinoids, which is absolutely nothing however endocannabinoids removed from plants.
Well, CBD is by much among the most effective cannabinoid extracted from the hemp plant. Once again, it is that one phytocannabinoid which can help our body to find equilibrium. The most effective known impact of CBD is its anti-inflammatory activity as well as overall support to the body immune system. Since endocannabinoid system is also a part of our skin, when CBD communicates with endocannabinoid receptors of skin, it certainly has some restorative results.
There are numerous researches which sustain that a prospective as well as reliable phytocannabinoids can and will certainly aid fight skin conditions like psoriasis A research conducted in 2007 found that cannabinoids like CBD minimized the development of skin cells, as well as thereby aided in reducing psoriatic skin rashes. One even more research study performed in 2019 verified that CBD ointments reduced psoriasis signs.
Lots of CBD topical users around the globe record that they are satisfied to see just how efficient CBD has been for their problem. Several individuals successfully alleviated the soreness, itching, peeling off of skin as well as swelling with the help of CBD. Also, some report that they managed to eliminate the signs of psoriasis permanently.
Other advantages of making use of CBD for individuals struggling with psoriasis.
Psoriasis is typically seen to materialize in areas like:
Joints like joints, knees, and so on
. Scalp or the sides of scalp
People suffering from psoriasis additionally deal with a condition called psoriasis arthritis. As the name recommends, a private struggles with chronic body pain in smaller sized joints of feet and also hands. One is expected to experience pain, swelling in joints, as well as rigidity.
Currently, in addition to anti-inflammatory residential or commercial properties, CBD has some impressive discomfort eliminating residential properties as well. This suggests, when individuals utilized CBD to deal with psoriasis, they even treat psoriasis joint inflammation in the process.
In conclusion it can be claimed that there is yet a great deal to find out concerning health and wellness you can try this out benefits of CBD. If you are thinking about the concept of making use of CBD for psoriasis, we recommend you do so after consulting your dermatologist.
Generally, individuals with healthy skin, who do not have any kind of symptoms of psoriasis, notification fully grown skin cells show up on their skin once in a month or so. Those, that have psoriasis, see these skin cells once in every two weeks.
One even more research study conducted in 2019 verified that CBD lotions reduced psoriasis signs.
Several CBD topical users around the world record that they are satisfied to see exactly how effective CBD has actually been for their problem. Individuals enduring from psoriasis additionally experience from a problem known as psoriasis joint inflammation.
“My father was resolute to prevent me and my brother from using tobacco,” recollects controlling Director Olivier Martzel. “In that, As well as in the development in the enterprise, he has become doubly prosperous.
E-liquids labelled Origine France Garantie and certified by AFNOR Certification, made and created in accordance with our commitments regarding buyer overall health and compliance with wellbeing rules at Every phase of manufacturing.
Le propylène glycol a la Decent Juice Co. SALTS propriété de générer de la vapeur. Ce composant également utilisé en pâtisserie, cosmétique ou bien même au sein de nombreux médicaments n'est pas considéré et étiqueté comme un produit toxique pour l'homme et sa santé.
The selection Le French full article Liquide has a formidable arsenal of quality: USP and EP quality elements, pure products and solutions, traceability of every component ... to reassure essentially the most skeptical of people who smoke.
From there, I started off experimenting With all the Ultimo line which can be higher VG and excellent for all those “massive clouds”.
Reviews can't be modified: If a client wishes to change their critique then they can do so by contacting Verified assessments straight to take out the prevailing overview and publish an amended one particular
I have savored their flavors in each the disposables plus the cigalikes, but inside a mod or an Moi design vape, the flavors do occur via with somewhat more kick.
This product may possibly contain nicotine, a chemical acknowledged into the point out of California to trigger beginning defects or other reproductive hurt.
Decent Juice Co. SALTS T-Juice may be the historical e liquid variety on the British maker Cuts Ice, operator of your renowned Halcyon Haze vary. current since 2012 due to T-Juice, Cuts Ice has managed to win the game by specializing during the outsourcing of e liquid manufacturing using the internet marketing and economic evolution on the T-Juice and Halcyon Haze ranges as being a sales argument.
Greedy King e-liquid is on the market with nicotine strengths of 3mg and 6mg; lower strengths supplying a softer throat hit versus a far more coarser come to feel for larger strengths.
Safety continues to be a priority at Alfaliquid Considering that the incredibly beginning. In 2011, the model obtained ISO 8317 certification for its output services, and all processing and steeping is completed in clear rooms that happen to be routinely inspected and consistently monitored.
It satisfies the desire for smoke even though remaining a little refreshing simultaneously. Quite delightful. Definitely truly worth seeking. You can utilize the connection underneath to consider a closer evaluate their selection yourself.
” Didier Martzel was Fortunate that his background in electronics remaining him ideally positioned to find an alternative to a behavior that kills one in two of people who take it up.
Fruity Ice. A Blackcurrant of 3000 meters in Altitude when Decent Juice Co. SALTS the sky turns purple, with this astonishing "return" style. | <urn:uuid:f2017e08-6b44-4996-b992-173f9788a4b1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://bluefootbear.co.uk/dixie-s-vapor-shop-hemp-and-cbd-shop-located-in-turner-97392-or-55814 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571719.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812140019-20220812170019-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.9467 | 1,628 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Keto Diet Can You Have Any Carbs
If you are seeking to drop weight or improve your wellness, keto diet plans could be for you. They are high in healthy protein, low in carbohydrates, as well as filled with vitamins and minerals. You are able to eat all the foods that you like, because they are broken down into ketones. It is an excellent way to slim down and stay healthy. Keto Diet Can You Have Any Carbs
Ketosis is the procedure of using ketones as your primary resource of energy. It mostly functions by decreasing insulin levels, producing ketones, and improving fat loss. There has actually been proof that keto diet plans can aid with fat burning. Keto Diet Can You Have Any Carbs
Keto Diet Can You Have Any Carbs
A keto meal plan can be adapted to fulfill your specific needs. Its major factors for being utilized consist of: To decrease weight as well as maintain a healthy and balanced diet plan. To handle weight-loss. To attain your excellent weight. Keto Diet Can You Have Any Carbs
One of the most important part of a keto meal strategy is eating the best foods at the correct time. This is where the personalized keto diet regimen strategy is available in convenient. It can supply you with a number of approaches to help you reach your weight management objectives. It contains special dishes made just for people attempting to burn fat and also lower their carbs. With a straightforward 8-week custom-made meal strategy, you will certainly discover just how to eat best to melt fat.
Most people do not realize how much food they in fact eat. A diet with a high carb level can be tricky because our body’s main source of gas is glucose, which is discovered in foods like pasta as well as white bread. Ketone levels tend to go down as we age. When you eat smaller sized meals more often, ketone degrees keep up, leading to increased energy and improved fat burning.
Keto dish prepares get rid of all those extras and also require you to think of what you are really consuming rather. For instance, if you were to take a web page from the book “The Atkins Diet”, you would get rid of all foods which contain polished sugar. Instead you might consume great deals of veggies and also fruits, and also starches like wild rice or potatoes. In addition, this diet regimen concentrates on fat burning, not carbohydrate burning.
A correct ketogenic diet regimen is based upon natural ingredients such as unsaturated fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals as well as amino acids. The ketones you shed are the fuel your body needs to work efficiently. By improving your metabolism and also burning fat, the ketones provide you the energy you require to exercise and go on with your day-to-day activities.
You need to remember that any fat burning program requires discipline, uniformity and also normal follow-up. If you do not stay with your plan, you will soon go back to your former state of being overweight. If you intend to lose fat quickly, there are some other techniques you can use. Cut out all the carbs you are presently consuming, as well as enhance your consumption of protein and unsaturated fats instead. These sorts of changes will assist you jumpstart your weight loss process, yet to get long-lasting benefits, these adjustments must be accompanied by routine exercise.
However, our health experts tend to dissuade people from complying with a low-carb diet. They think this diet will promote keto influenza. This is since people who have keto flu feel weak, unsteady, tired, run-down, and typically unable to function appropriately in their every day lives.
However, it is very important to bear in mind that when adhering to any kind of diet, consisting of the keto diet, you require to eat healthy carbs in small amounts. Consuming healthy and balanced carbohydrates does not imply you need to stop consuming pasta and also bread! Instead, healthy carbs been available in various types. For example, you might consume yogurt or cottage cheese rather than regular ice cream, since they are packed with healthy proteins and also vitamins.
When complying with a customized keto diet, it is essential to see to it you eat a wide variety of healthy and balanced foods. By doing this, your body starts to obtain the nutrients it needs in the ideal amounts. As an example, if you are complying with a low carb diet plan, after that you ought to consume great deals of vegetables and fruits. Some other healthy foods you ought to eat consist of lean meats, fish, and also tofu. These sorts of foods aid to cleanse your gastrointestinal system, so they are able to absorb and also utilize nutrients better. Additionally, eating by doing this aids your body starts to shed fat more effectively, because you are utilizing less calories.
As soon as you begin to adhere to a high quality keto diet plan, you’ll see an extreme enhancement in your energy degrees, which will bring about an increase in your general wellness. You may also see that you start to drop weight more conveniently which you have more endurance. Ultimately, keto diet regimens advertise resilient weight loss. If you stick to the strategy and also remember to consume healthy foods, you can anticipate to shed about two pounds a week, on average. With this degree of loss, you’ll never really feel hungry again! | <urn:uuid:2a462c2c-ed58-480f-9982-06cf2820cc20> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://kingstonstation.org/keto-diet-can-you-have-any-carbs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811103305-20220811133305-00472.warc.gz | en | 0.965564 | 1,109 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Barovier & Toso (estb. 1936) is a 20th century Italian glass crafting company established in 1936 as a merger between two glasshouses, Vetreria Artistica Barovier and Ferro Toso. The company incorporates Murano glass crafting tradition and as glassmakers, the history of the Barovier family dates back to 1295 in Venice. During the 1930s, 1940s, and 1960s Ercole Barovier was the chief designer for the company and invented “heat coloring without fusion”. He also created many well-known designs, including Crepuscolo, Brillantati, Zebrati, Acanto, and the ribbed design Cordonato d'Oro, usually made in red glass with gold leaf inclusions. Since 1987, the company has been part of the International Association of “Henokiens”. | <urn:uuid:82f28abc-8447-4bd6-828c-258b1f45cc1e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.lofty.com/collections/barovier-toso | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280718.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00409-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959844 | 182 | 2.125 | 2 |
Miles of traffic. Vehicle accidents. Distracted driving. These scenarios may be part of today’s reality, but we’re working to make them a thing of the past.
We partnered with Contra Costa Transportation Authority to develop a Connected Vehicle (CV) and Autonomous Vehicle (AV) program around GoMentum Station—a 5,000-acre former naval weapons facility. Collaborating with more than 25 private and public sector entities—from auto makers to technology and communications firms—we developed and tested these technologies for future use.
The goal? Transform the way people and goods are moved. First, by CV cars that will seamlessly communicate with each other to maximize safety and mobility, and later by AV cars that can drive themselves.
This will create a safer, more efficient system than human drivers. These technologies will help create jobs and economic opportunities while significantly reducing fuel consumption and emissions—directly benefitting the environment. | <urn:uuid:12f83438-6978-48ac-b11b-a60f8ec5a560> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.stantec.com/our-work/projects/united-states-projects/g/gomentum-station-connected-cv-and-av-program.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00471-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93247 | 192 | 2.3125 | 2 |
Are you learning American English or just need to learn International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) or the way combination of letters are pronounced in a certain situation? This app is for you.
Simple to use app with beautiful interface will help you understand the basics of IPA and will help you learn how certain combination of letters pronounced in a certain word.
Full English IPA with examples:
- IPA symbols and examples which have this sound
- Letters that represent certain sound
- Sound(s) are written in IPA
- Examples with these letters
- April 25, 2012 Initial release
- May 07, 2012 Price decrease: $0.99 -> FREE!
- May 08, 2012 Price increase: FREE! -> $0.99
- May 22, 2012 Price decrease: $0.99 -> FREE!
- May 23, 2012 Price increase: FREE! -> $0.99
- May 27, 2012 Price increase: $0.99 -> $1.99
- May 28, 2012 Price increase: $1.99 -> $4.99
- May 29, 2012 Price decrease: $4.99 -> $0.99 | <urn:uuid:a6210616-9b03-4658-8290-aca020a760dc> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.148apps.com/app/519671473/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00035-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910053 | 236 | 2.875 | 3 |
Marshall Road ES Students Inspire Kindness
The administration at Marshall Road Elementary challenged the entire school to participate in a Kindness project-based learning challenge throughout the month of December. The driving question was, “How can you as Roadrunners, be kind and inspire kindness, in your classroom, our school, your family, and our community?”
Signs were hung outside every classroom for students to read and touch as they entered. Each class and grade level also challenged themselves to spread kindness. One kindergarten class painted kindness rocks and delivered them to support staff and specialists. First graders became kindness ninjas; third graders spread kindness to the community by creating kindness quilts to hang in businesses throughout Vienna. One sixth grade class created a kindness box for the school lobby where students could write kindness notes to one another. In music class, students took popular winter songs and learned how to rewrite the lyrics using a theme of spreading kindness. Teachers continued to model kindness as they participated in a community service project, sharing food, gifts, and joy to those in need. | <urn:uuid:56c1f9dc-c5ca-4d7a-821a-0133f8695ce9> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://marshallroades.fcps.edu/index.php/features/marshall-road-es-students-inspire-kindness | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572163.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815085006-20220815115006-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.969739 | 217 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Talk:Swordfish Documentation: OSGi Configuration Agent
Comment from Volodymyr Zhabiuk:
"There are several mistakes in the description of the OSGi Configuration Agent feature. Will provide my comments inlined into the statements that are incorrect
Current Problem / Pain
Currently the configuration is distributed between multiple Bundles. This makes it inconvenient to administrate configurations.
All the configurations are stored within the org.eclipse.swordfish.core bundle
When a new Plugin/OSGi Bundle is added to Swordfish it can immediately retrieve al necessary configuration from the Configuration Bundle
Provide a Configuration agent, which retrieves configuration from OSGi bundles. One Bundle contains all Swordfish configuration. This can be installed and deployed into Equinox. This enables dynamic re-configuration.
It’s almost done. Only the dynamic reconfiguration feature needs to be tested. The Configuration Agent have been implemented"
Clarification of concept
Question from Joerg Drescher: Is there a better description regarding the "configuration bundle" ?
Volodymyr Zhabiuk wrote:
Configuration bundle contains all Swordfish configuration. It also starts the Configuration Agent, that tracks ConfigurationConsumers and different kinds of ConfigurationSources.
ConfigurationConsumer is basically the configuration listener, that can be subscribed to receive configuration for the specified PID.
ConfigurationSource supplies configuration for the Configuration Agent. As for now there are two types of ConfigurationSources:
- ConfigurationSource that posts OSGI events in case configuration has been changed dynamically | <urn:uuid:50fcf9c0-1c31-4b06-8a30-aa4660eae523> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://wiki.eclipse.org/Talk:Swordfish_Documentation:_OSGi_Configuration_Agent | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00061-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.843331 | 310 | 1.640625 | 2 |
The primary source for this programming guide is a sample that ships with the Windows Portable Devices (WPD) Software Development Kit (SDK). This sample, named WpdApiSample.exe, consists of seven .cpp modules. Six of these modules contain the code that demonstrates 26 tasks that an application can accomplish using the WPD application programming interface (API).
The exceptions to the above are the topics that describe: device service tasks, the context menu and property sheet extensions; these topics were not taken from WpdApiSample. The device service tasks are based on the sample named WpdServiceApiSample. The context menu and property sheet extensions are snippets taken from applications that do not ship with the Windows SDK.
The following sections focus on the tasks accomplished by these samples and explain how each is accomplished using the WPD interfaces and a number of the methods found in these interfaces. | <urn:uuid:372580bd-08fa-4175-b9e4-a85f9f76ec10> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd375708(v=vs.85).aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284352.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00189-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918133 | 181 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Nancy took her daughter Donna to the park. The park had lots of trees. It had lots of squirrels and birds. The squirrels ran up and down the trees. The squirrels chased one another. The squirrels played with one another. The birds flew around. They flew down to the ground. They flew up into the trees. The squirrels and birds were good neighbors. Nancy sat down on a bench. She took a magazine out of her purse. She turned the pages of the magazine. Donna ran over to a squirrel. She tried to catch the squirrel. Then she tried to catch a bird. Donna chased the squirrels and birds. She never caught one squirrel. She never caught one bird. But she had a lot of fun.
Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:431b0600-9357-4c99-a81e-030c948b1927> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.rong-chang.com/supereasy/se/supereasy136.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279489.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00015-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990712 | 162 | 1.632813 | 2 |
All 4 entries tagged Manuel De Landa
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October 22, 2005
I have commented previously on how cognitive science has been dominated, and possibly limited, by a conception of the nature of cognitive tasks that reduced them to being classical problem solving activities. This 'problem solving' ranges from trivial pattern matching to complex strategy formation. In every case, the problem is well stated, along with the conditions that demonstrate the achievement of a solution. Cognitive science has of course existed to a great extent to support development in artificial intelligence, which has itself been skewed towards industrial and military applications (see De Landa's War in the Age of Intelligent Machines for an account of this relationship).
Coming as I do from a very different philosophical background, one that is more interested in artistic and literary creativity, it would be easy for me to dismiss cognitive science for its obsession with such trivia (even considering that the actual problem solving isn't that simple). However, Clark's extended cognition thesis fits neatly with accounts of artistic and literary creativity given by the likes of Deleuze and Guattari. Indeed I plan to explore these links in much more depth. I can see occassions in which it finds a line of escape from the 'cognitive task as problem solving' trap.
In chapter 10 of Being There, Clark describes a recognizable form of 'extended cognition', which he calls the "mangrove effect". The metaphor is this: a mangrove seeds itself in a shallow water, grows roots, traps other roots and particles, forms a network of roots with other mangroves that seed nearby (helped by the first mangrove), and eventually forms a more solid island within the sea. Clark argues that in some cases linguistic elements (both publicly spoken and internally contained) can work in this way. A word is uttered, not to fill a definite space or necessarily solve a well–defined problem, but rather to probe the cognitive and social environment, to see what connections form around it, or even to change the cognitive and social environment. This sounds much closer to the activities of musical and painterly composition described by Deleuze.
That is what Deleuze and Guattari would call "rhizomatic".
Most importantly, we should consider how this model of cognitive task frees us from a theoretical dependency upon a well integrated goal oriented super–subject. During the discussion following Clark's paper, the practical question of how to differentiate cognitive apparatus properly belonging to an agent from those belonging to the environment. I think he responded with an answer that relied upon the existence of such a super–subject (and its plans and goals). My alternative argument (which I think comes from Deleuze) would be that it isn't so much a well–integrated well organised super–subject that provides the drive for the cognitive task, but rather a dissonance producing chaotic attractor, speculatively dispersing fragments of sense into the world in order to simple make things happen. As Deleuze and Guattari say "the machine only works when it breaks down" (spot the double meaning).
So in fact, I argue, the cognitive tasks that drive the "mangrove effect" are closer to artistic creativity – composition, especially poetry. But this is not alien to Clark's thesis. In fact on page 208 he brilliantly identifies poetic composition as a form of thinking that exploits the "mangrove effect".
This leads onto Clark's more recent thoughts on other way in which thought is dependent upon an extended apparatus in a non–trivial way (that is to say, more than just as a means of cognitive off–loading, as in the case of simple note taking and note reading). Gestures and other rhythmic, haptic techniques were discussed. Someone asked if an exercise machine could ever form part of the extended cognitive apparatus (a musician would certainly say yes). Clark did talk briefly about non–linear couplings between mental and extended apparatus. A consideration of rhythmic apparatus could be drawn from there, leading into time and complexity.
At this point I remembered Cezanne's description of how his hands and the paintbrush and the canvas would merge together in the act of painting – what Deleuze called the "diagram" (see my entry on Cezanne Unlocking Sensation ). The act of painting for Cezanne, this merge between mental and external apparatus, rhymthically moving together, is a "mangrove effect". Cezanne:
Our art must shock nature into permanence, together with all the components and manifestations of change. Art must make nature eternal in our imagination.
July 04, 2005
My reading of Germinal Life has reached the third chapter, with Keith's call for a temporary and critical 'suspension' of Deleuze and Guattari's attempted equation 'ethics = ethology'. This suspension opens them up to an awkward but necessary critique.
And at the same time, I have been thinking more in the style of Manuel De Landa, applying his method of 'non-linear' history to the analysis of extremist and terrorist bodies. I am considering their emergence from pre-individual singularities on the machinic phylum to individuated and efficient learning machines. This raises some interesting issues concerning naive readings of the schizoanalytic project.
Consider this: are the various armed groups in Iraq benefiting from the continued presence of the US in a way that a naive schizoanalysis would praise? There were clearly many disparate splinters formed from the explosion of the Sadam Hussein regime of hierarchies, each itself a pre-individual singularity. And in response to the crudely striated tactics of the US military, are these otherwise unconnected singularities finding common currency, points of convergence, catalysts for the creation of their own internal consistency? As with the Nazis, I would say this is likely.
It would seem that the ethology leads to an ethics in which al-Qaeda might be valorized. Clearly there is something wrong, something out-of-order with this. Perhaps it is the same imprecision and confusion of differences that leads to the problem described by Keith in Germinal Life:
the various 'becomings' that characterize 'evolution', and serve to make it nongenealogical and nonfiliative, cannot be treated as if they were all the same, so that, for example, we could move simply but far too quickly, from talking about the transversal movement of the 'C' virus that is connected to both baboon DNA and the DNA of certain domestic cats, so talking about the 'becoming-baboon in the cat', to talking about the becoming molecular-dog of a human being, as if they were of an equivalent order. p.188-189
De Landa's free use of 'abstract machines' made me nervous. But what principle can there be to guide us as to the required level of detail, of specificity?
The answer from Deleuze and Guattari, and which I think Keith is about to give in the next section, is that understanding each deterritorialization's relationship to its own specific Body without Organs, and its passage into the possible constitution of an abstract machine, is the way to understand the appropriateness of that abstract machine to the specific case.
If you have something interesting to contribute to this, please contact me
June 21, 2005
I have just read and greatly enjoyed Manuel De Landa's A Thousand Years of Non-linear History. In fact, i'm so excited by its approach to creating dynamical models of the world, that i'm using it all the time with a wide range of applications. De Landa takes the ethological approach of Deleuze and Guattari, considering how stratified bodies (organic and inorganic) are built up and eroded by the emergent and self-organising expression of network effects (including geological, biological, social and economic netwoks). So here's a few conjectures based on this...
The Nazi's emerged through a meshwork of radical individuals on the periphery of a range of disciplines: mystical, military, medical, commercial, beaurocratic, artistic and the media. Their individual ideas were not particularly innovative, being mostly concerned with the intensification and purification of existing processes. However, it was their intense and fundamental will to application regardless of cost that marked them out in an otherwise consolidating and cautious climate. The meshwork of these diverse forces was consequently drawn together by the combination of their shared peripheral status along and a powerful belief in the necessity (ethical) and certainty (metaphysical, historical) of the foundation of a new world from the traits (in need of purification and authentication) that they could see all around.
Such peripheral forces exist within any large and relatively homogeneous body of individuals. They are the product of its genetic drift, deviations necessary for the existence of adaptive potential. In some cases, selection and replication mechanisms may form that act to single out, purify and intensify traits within the ceaseless drift. And it is not unusual for a small set of such deviations from sometimes very different bodies to become associated through their co-identification as 'outsiders', despite the fact that they may be concerned with quite different traits. An increase in the mobility of such diverse radical agents is often a catalyst for this co-identification. This was certainly a factor in the emergence of the Nazis, with the increase of mobility and resulting inter-connectivity during and following WWI.
But they don't often grow into the kind of wildly abberant monster that was the Nazis. What then might have been the extra condition that catalysed the transformation of the Nazis from fringe to global threat? One way of answering this would be to look at the 'network effects' internal to the Nazi meshwork. De Landa discusses several 'abstract machines' that exploit network effects in different ways. For example, the 'group and grid' model proposed by the anthropologist Mary Douglas. The 'grid' refers to organisations that maintain their identity through an intensity of centralized regulation (typically propogated through hierarchies). The 'group' on the other hand, operates through an intensity of group allegiance (typically propogted through memes, propaganda etc). Most organisations exist with a mix of both group and grid. However, at the extremes, there are some groups that are highly grid structured, having little opportunity to propogate memes (due to external controls). And there are other organisations that have no grid, and propogate via indirect means (memes). We can take this a step further by arguing that any organisation that is able to master all of the combinations, and switch between them as required, will be able to maintain its consistency regardless of external controls.
My conjecture is that the Nazis crystallized around the collapse of a state hierarchy. As the hierarchy collapsed and became less rigid and certain, access to key elements of its operative functions opened up. In response, the Nazis occupied positions of power within the fragmenting hierarchies, and thus formed their own internal grid based hierarchies from them. This resulted in 'immune responses' from the grided hieracrchies of the official organisations that they parasitised, which responded by attacking the emergent grid of the Nazis, who in turn were forced to return to their meme based 'group' roots, until they were again able to consolidate their control of (or just replace) the state hierarchies. This symbiotic relationship continued throughout the 1930's, with the Nazi party gaining increased mastery of the trick of switching modes of operation.
In a very real sense, the Nazis were subjected to a learning process as they were forced between each mode of operation. Perhaps the lesson that should be learnt from this is:
During a time of rapid change and collapsing hierarchies, the auto-immune response of the state to the evolution of networks may actually provide the ideal learning experience for extremist organisations.
It may well be that in response to the expansion of the internet, capitalism and the release of its sedentary populations, China is providing just such a learning experience for a new generation of extremists.
If you have something interesting to contribute to this, please contact me
De Landa's A Thousand Years of Non-linear History left me with a sense that Deleuze and Guattari have the most effective and exciting practical approach to creating active and dynamical models of the world. But that book is one of examples underpinned with a few key concepts. It aims to show how far those concepts can be taken. I suspect that it intentionally leaves unsatisfied philosophical challeneges. A niche that Keith Ansell Pearson's Germinal Life: The Difference and Repetition of Deleuze fills more than adequately. Here's my thoughts on reading the first chapter.
The 'ethical' character of this method of philosophy resides, therefore, in the cultivation of a 'sympathetic communication' that it seeks to establish between the human and the rest of living matter. Ansell Pearson, Germinal Life, 1999, p.33
Keith's emphasis on the 'ethical' dimension of Bergson's method of intuition is very significant (and he notes, few others have made this link). The significance for me follows from the idea that the ethical dimension requires a consideration of something beyond any singular act or entity (as the sufficient reason of the act), but which does not assume any kind of totality or finality. I'm not usually interested in talk of Being (with a capital 'B'), although it is often more effective than counting sheep. But there is something in this angle on it that has made me take it much more seriously. And that something is in the negative ethical implications of thinking becoming without Being.
The argument seems to demonstrate how a concept of Being is an essential precursor to an encounter with duration, the key concept invented by Bergson. These encounters with duration connect us with the temporal problematics that (it is claimed) drives all activity and differentiation: real time or the asymmetrical synthesis of the sensible – that is, the sufficient reason behind the richness of the world.
Importantly, the encounter with duration is not singular and purely metaphysical, to be done in one philosophical-historic-eschatological event (it's not Hegel). Rather it is a pedagogical method that must be re-applied, with the aim of leading us away from conceptual confusions ('badly analyzed composites'), along lines that differentiate but at the same time follow virtual tendencies, to an understanding and acceptance of specific differences in kind – for example, to apprehend historical singularities (as De Landa does so brilliantly).
Even more importantly, we should recognize the active nature of this method. It takes us away from a passive relation between a subject and an object. It is an act of perception, intelligence and consciousness, but one that is always an active operation on and in the world. Keith provides a great sample on this from Bergson:
to percieve consists in condensing enourmous periods of an infinitely diluted existence into a few more differentiated moments of an intenser life, and in this summing up a very long history. To percieve means to immobilize Matter and Memory p.208 cited in _Ansell Pearson, Germinal Life, 1999, p.34
The method of intuition is therefore both a means of leading us to a comprehension of differences in kind and at the same time through its immanence to the world in which it perceives, actively creates new differences in kind. It is a method that places thought absolutely in the world. We should always remember that the return of thought and philosophy [in]to the world is really what Deleuzianisms (or neo-Bergsonisms) are about
But this then raises the big question: why philosophy? – why this tendency towards conceptual activity and the apprehension of differences in kind? – wht this method of intuition? The answer to this varies slightly but importantly between Bergson and Deleuze (but the principle is the same). Philosophy is the perception of nature, or nature’s own perception (later Deleuze will see perception as a property existing beyond the human). Differentiation is never a simple or ontologically foundational act, but rather is already complex. How the world differs from itself is not reducible to a mechanism or dialectic. In each case the actual mode of its differentiation is that which is indeterminate in its differentiation (the radical difference). If it were otherwise, nature would never differ from itself. There could be no asymmetry, no drive to overcome and reconnect, no real time, no elan vital, no life. The indeterminacy introduced by this radical difference is essential:
The crucial element that Bergson wishes to grant to life is not a mysterious force but rather a principle of 'indetermination'. It is this indetermination, and with it the capacity for novel adaption, that he sees as being 'engrafted' onto the necessity of physical forces, so as making possible a 'creative', as opposed to a purely mechanistic or deterministic, evolution. ibid p.48
But at this point we risk losing any connecting principle between the differentiations. Does radical difference leave us with an absolute becoming? In what sense is there anything to differentiate from? The world has lost itself, cannot perceive itself, is inert and lifeless. In Bergson’s terms, the elan vital is gone. Saving us from this undifferentiated becoming, we have the ‘ethical’ turn. It is an ethics that seeks to posit some principle of reconnection beyond the differentiation. Some exchange and interlocking between the differences. Some expression that carries content across between the two differentiated worlds. A principle assumed in both sides (but not itself outside of the world) that acts as a virtuality in which the differentiation is played out: a Being that they assume.
The important point to realise is that it is on the virtual plane that unification is to be sought. The 'whole' is 'pure virtuality'. Moreover, differentiation is only an actualization to the extent that it preseupposes a unity, which is the primordial virtual totality that differentiates itself according to lines of divergence but which still subsists in its unity and totality in each line. ibid p.67
For me this is where Being gets interesting: being virtual. For a virtuality always has a technics, the coding and decoding mechanisms of intelligence. As Keith indicates, a technology is the solution to indeterminacy, a virtuality that operates in parallel to real time. At this point technology, ethics, philosophy and metaphysics conjoin. And most importantly for me, creativity is shown to be underpinned with technology.
The next question is this: to what extent is this virtuality contained within and maintainable by an organism, an internally differentiating germ? And to what extent is it always reliant upon a third term, an externally constituted and relatively autonomus viral plane cutting transversally across? Both are true to an extent in different specific situations. Here Deleuze discovers an ethology of such types of differentiation: abstract machines. From an ethics to an ethology.
And I will coninue reading Germinal Life.
If you have something interesting to contribute to this, please contact me | <urn:uuid:e53d89b1-be92-4150-b290-04713a320bc4> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/rbotoole/tag/manuel_de_landa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572021.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814083156-20220814113156-00074.warc.gz | en | 0.953467 | 4,023 | 1.992188 | 2 |
Browse the cheese aisle of the grocery store today, and your eyes might be drawn to the blue-veined slices. Roquefort, the original blue cheese, is famous for its dappled coloring and distinctive smell, but not everyone is willing to give its notoriously salty slices a taste. Are Roquefort’s eye-catching accent colors merely accessory, and are the rumors true that this popular cheese is made from penicillin?
There’s a surprising history to Roquefort, and we’ll unpack it here. Despite humble origins, the story of Roquefort cheese gives testimony to a culinary region proud of what makes it unique and willing to protect the authenticity of its creations for centuries on end. | <urn:uuid:41cc4765-8b53-41fd-9c2d-a2e85535bcb6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://lydianoyeswriter.com/portfolio/roquefort-cheese-making-mold-a-culinary-mainstay/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572163.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815085006-20220815115006-00677.warc.gz | en | 0.907348 | 155 | 1.835938 | 2 |
A reader, Mary Ellen Quinn, asks: “Why does a state like California have so many ballot initiatives and referenda? Could any one of them throw that state into turmoil the way the Brexit has rocked Britain?”
Short answer: When California voters go to the polls this November, they will have to plow through the longest, fattest ballot they have seen in almost two decades. In addition to the candidates running for office, there will be 17 ballot initiatives — or “propositions,” as California refers to them — for voters to consider. Overwhelmed voters can blame nonvoters, in part, for the time they will spend poring over the proposed policies. That’s because the number of signatures necessary to introduce an initiative is a percentage of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. But there are plenty of other forces at play — read on.
California’s Ballot Initiative System
In California, each proposed measure must address only one subject. And the number of signatures needed to place an initiative on the ballot is calculated as a percentage of the people who voted in the last election for governor: 8 percent for a constitutional amendment and 5 percent for proposing a law or a veto. Because turnout in 2014 reached a record low, it became easier to put proposals on the ballot for 2016.
But don’t expect a “Caliexit” any time soon. It goes against the United States Constitution for a state to withdraw, and civil war is not on California’s sunny horizon. A few years back, there was an initiative to chop the state into “Six Californias” but it never earned the signatures necessary for final consideration.
That said, California voters have been known to get on board with dramatic new policies. In 1978 nearly two-thirds of California’s voters passed Proposition 13 which reduced property taxes by about 57 percent. And in 2003 Californians famously held a referendum to recall Gov. Gray Davis, leading to the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Putting policy questions to the popular vote, in the form of referenda and ballot initiatives, goes back to ancient Rome. A Roman named Tacitus wrote “On matters of minor importance only the chiefs decide; on major matters the whole community decides.”
Today, 24 states and Washington, DC allow citizens to change state law or the state constitution by gathering the required number of signatures to put an initiative on the ballot. There is a national uptick in proposed measures this year, according to Ballotpedia, which tracks federal, state and local elections. In addition to lower thresholds for signatures in some states, such as California, presidential election years often see more ballot measures, and Jennie Bowser, who studied ballot initiatives for the National Conference of State Legislatures, says she has also noticed that ballot initiatives are becoming more and more common in recent years.
The practice in California began in 1911 when Gov. Hiram Johnson pushed for constitutional amendments to give citizens a more powerful voice and a way to bypass the legislature. A progressive, Johnson hoped to curb the influence of the corrupt politicians who were beholden to the powerful railroad companies. Today, it seems, his mission has backfired. Wealthy interests are back in the driver’s seat, steering outrageous sums of money into campaigns meant to influence the outcome of the vote on ballot initiatives that would help corporate bottom lines. This year, some political consultants think the money pouring into California’s ballot initiative industry will top $400 million. And there is no Hiram Johnson plugging for reform. Nonetheless, particularly in western states like California, Oregon, Colorado and Washington, says Bowser, “it is accepted that the initiative is a vibrant part of the political and lawmaking process.”
Electoral Industrial Complex
Ballot initiatives have spawned an entire industry. It is increasingly rare to find volunteers wielding clipboards at shopping malls. Signature gathering firms now pay hired guns anywhere from $2 to $5 for every name that they score. In fact, when the California deadline was extended this year, lengthening the amount of time ballot initiative backers had to harvest signatures, it delayed the migration of the professional signature gatherers to Washington State — leaving some campaigns there scrambling at the last minute to meet the filing deadline. Professionals also draft the proposals, hold the focus groups, fight for the title and summary language and produce the advertising. “It’s no longer the grassroots, volunteer populism that people tend to think it is,” says Bowser.
Fat Cats with Causes
Behind many propositions there are crusading fat cats fighting for a cause. In California, billionaire activist Tom Steyer is backing Proposition 56, a $2-per-pack cigarette tax; Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is putting his weight behind Proposition 63, a gun control measure; and Napster founder Sean Parker is putting almost $3 million into Proposition 64, the marijuana legalization initiative. Proposition 60, a law that makes adult-film actors wear condoms during sex, is backed by a wealthy Los Angeles resident, Michael Weinstein, whose health care foundation has a $1.3 billion budget. Weinstein is also sponsoring Proposition 61 to cap the amount that state agencies pay for drugs.
Then there are the deep-pocketed corporate opponents. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a trade group, has already raised $70 million to try to kill Weinstein’s drug cap. Meanwhile, The American Progressive Bag Alliance, a group of plastics manufacturers, has spent nearly $6 million to trigger a referendum on California’s plastic bag ban.
While it may cost more to make policy through the ballot initiative process, corporations find it easier than lobbying. “You don’t have to build coalitions, you don’t have to compromise, and you can draft the proposition exactly how you want it,” says Bowser, “with a whole lot of organization and money, and a certain amount of luck, you can get it passed.”
The Wild West of Money in Politics
There are no limits, in any states, on how much individuals or corporations can contribute to a ballot issue campaign, or how much the campaign can spend. The Supreme Court has ruled that business interests, labor unions and individuals with causes have a First Amendment right to spend what they like on state and local ballot measures. “That leaves states with disclosure rules,” says Bowser, “and states disclose to wildly different degrees.”
Lessons from Brexit
In the aftermath of the Brexit, the takeaway for Bowser was that many people were poorly informed. They cast their votes, without really knowing what the consequences would be. That should be a concern in the United States as well, she says. “Who reads that big pamphlet the size of a phone book that arrives two to three weeks before an election? I suspect many people do not.” When a proposition is passed in states like California it becomes binding law immediately, unless it is, potentially, unconstitutional, in which case it goes to court. “It is much healthier for our democracy,” Bowser says, “if people take a more critical look beforehand.” | <urn:uuid:858c9a34-6f2e-464e-bb48-86a577914a59> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://billmoyers.com/story/ballot-initiatives-explained/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281424.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00329-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952154 | 1,479 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Nuclear Technology / Volume 182 / Number 2 / May 2013 / Pages 224-234
Regular Technical Paper / Special Issue on the Symposium on Radiation Effects in Ceramic Oxide and Novel LWR Fuels / Radiation Transport and Protection
Surface dose rate distribution over a spent nuclear fuel dry storage cask was realistically evaluated using the MONACO with Automated Variance Reduction using Importance Calculations (MAVRIC) computational sequence in the SCALE6 code system, with special emphasis on the effects of detailed modeling on the source term and cask geometry. The first storage cask in Taiwan has been fabricated and will be ready for loading of the designated spent fuels from Taiwan Power Company's first nuclear power plant. A test run is scheduled for 2013.
Neutron and gamma-ray source terms of the first batch of 56 spent fuels were determined one by one according to their specifications, burnup histories, and cooling times. The geometry of the cask was modeled in detail including the prescribed loading pattern of 56 spent fuels in the canister. MAVRIC was modified to allow specification of the source intensity and the axial distribution for each fuel bundle, and this resulted in a factor of 3 difference in the calculated surface dose rates from fuel gammas. The main purpose for such comprehensive and detailed modeling was to compare the results with a simplified model and to predict a dose rate distribution as realistically as possible in preparation for making a high-quality comparison with field measurements. In addition to checking assumptions adopted in the safety analysis report, the results of this study can provide useful guidance for the preparation of a health physics program during the test run and, more importantly, pave the way for establishing a valuable benchmark problem. | <urn:uuid:abae8e03-a8c4-4e48-8ad7-e3041da42048> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ans.org/pubs/journals/nt/a_16432 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00072-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932039 | 345 | 2.046875 | 2 |
English in My Life
Šim darbam šodien ir īpaša akcijas cena! *
- Parastā cena:
- € 1,99
- Akcijas cena:
- € 1,69
- € 0,30 (15%)
So, it is the widespread use of English which makes it an international language.
To sum up, I believe that knowledge of foreign languages helps to make a person educated and well-rounded. It is not only the language that counts but also the fact that it is a way of getting to know different cultures. You can't broaden your mind if you see the world only from the perspective of your own culture.
E-pasta adrese, uz kuru nosūtīt darba saiti:
Saite uz darbu: | <urn:uuid:7f98883c-bbfd-4990-bf2e-0673f24e0fef> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.atlants.lv/eseja/english-in-my-life/502687/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720737.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00221-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.725434 | 182 | 2.3125 | 2 |
With Government in recess and journalists on the hunt for political stories, the upcoming revaluation of business rates has risen to the top of the news agenda, prompted by opposition to the changes from some of the UK’s biggest employers’ groups.
The impending revaluation is intended to ensure business rates are set at a level which reflects the rental value of the property they occupy. This has a significant bearing on how competitive a business environment cities can offer, and the revenue generated by the tax is crucial for funding local government.
The problem is, however, that the forthcoming revaluation comes two years later than planned and seven years after the last revaluation. This delay has worsened an already dysfunctional business rates system, which increasingly does not work for either businesses or local government for the following reasons:
- It is volatile. The lengthy gap between revaluations creates major shocks to the business rates system for both local government as a revenue stream, and for firms as ratepayers. As a result, businesses across the country are facing dramatic changes in their business rates bill – with many in London and the South East facing significant increase in rates.
- It is not responsive to economic conditions. The current five-year revaluation cycle means that over time businesses are often paying rates based on out of-date valuations. This is the especially the case since the last revaluation, which occurred before the 2008 recession and came into force in 2010. Since 2010 businesses in prosperous areas such as London have been paying less in rates than they should be, while companies in poorer places such as Burnley and Hull have been paying more – hence why London firms are now facing particularly large hikes in their rates.
- It is complex and poorly understood. The long and technical process of valuation, the lack of correlation between the rates and businesses’ ability to pay, and the annual changes in the business rate multipliers, all combine to make the system opaque and hard for businesses to navigate.
- The appeals system creates financial uncertainty for local authorities. The large volume of appeals to the Valuation Office Agency (for example, to raise issues or changes in property valuation), and the delays in solving cases, mean that many places might have to refund several years’ worth of rates to businesses, putting their budget at risk.
- It can reward perverse behaviour. Because the tax is primarily based on growth in commercial floor-space within the revaluation period, the current system rewards space-hungry developments which are often out of town. This can be to the detriment of town and city centres, and the firms based in them. By the same logic, the system does not reward behaviour that supports business and public investment, and economic growth which does not increase net rateable floor space.
With the Government now considering reforms of business rates ahead of the tax being devolved to local authorities in 2020, how can it make the system more effective and ensure it maximises the benefits from devolution? Three things stand out in particular.
Firstly, more frequent revaluations are needed on a yearly or bi-annual basis, to make the system more accurate and timely, reduce volatility, and to maintain the legitimacy of the tax. More frequent revolutions would also have the additional effect of reducing the significance of appeals.
Secondly, the Government should replace the fixed yield with a fixed rate. The current system requires that business rates should generate a fixed yield in revenue irrespective of the state of the overall economy. This both amplifies the volatility in the system and creates distortions which benefits more economically vibrant places. Removing the cap on business rates and moving to a fixed rate system would make it more responsive to the wider economy and the ability of firms to pay.
Finally, extend the period of time between resets of the system. Revenue from business rates is used to fund local government, and the amount of baseline funding places receive is reset every five years to ensure that it broadly reflects their level of need. This creates uncertainty for local authorities towards the end of this period, as they don’t know how much business rate income they will retain after resetting. It also gives places only a small time-period in which to accumulate growth, and therefore less incentive to make this a priority. Carrying out the reset every 10 years instead wouldn’t prevent similar issues arising at the end that period, but would provide authorities with more long-term certainty and greater incentive to grow their economy.
Making these changes will be critical in creating a business rates system that works for both local government and businesses, makes the most of devolution and offers the stability places need to drive local economic growth. | <urn:uuid:82a95747-8c41-4236-bb56-b883f0c2d3f7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.centreforcities.org/blog/five-reasons-business-rates-system-doesnt-work-fix/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570767.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808061828-20220808091828-00468.warc.gz | en | 0.958534 | 947 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Left directions : is there a third way? /
Contributor(s): Bacchi, Carol Lee (ed.)Publisher: Crawley, W.A. University of Western Australia Press 2001Description: vi, [i] 254pISBN: 9781876268640; 1876268646Subject(s): Values | Socialism | Action Research | Social Policy | Right And Left (political Science) | Welfare State | Civil Society | Humanitarianism | Education | Global Economy | Community Services | Feminism | The Third Way | Aboriginal Land Rights | Human Rights | Third SectorDDC classification: 320.5 LEF
Includes a chapter by Nic Frances : 'A third way for welfare' pp.42-50. Contents: Introduction. Socialism and the Third Way/Paul Nursey -- Bray and Carol Lee Bacchi -- I. Presenting the Third Way. In defence of the Third Way/ Mark Latham -- Is there a Third Way?/Geoff Gallop -- A Third Way for Welfare?/ Nicholas Frances -- II. Questioning the Third Way. What directions are left?/ Paul Nursey-Bray -- The Third Way : social project or normal politics? -- Welfare, citizenship and the Third Way/ Clem Macintyre -- Class complexity versus Third Way reductionism -- Dealing with 'difference' : beyond 'multiple subjectivity's'/ Carol Lee Bacchi -- Globalisation and international justice : humanitarian intervention and the 'Third Way'/ Michael Sullivan -- III. Debates on the left. Labour and the left/Carol Johnson -- Rebuilding community : welfare issues and the welfare state/Gael Fraser -- A possessive investment in patriarchal whiteness : nullifying native title/ Aileen Moreton-Robinson --The sound of one hand grasping at straws? Struggles for quality and equity in public school education/ Pat Thomson -- Negotiating difference : debatable feminism/ Chris Beasley. | <urn:uuid:e9dd0613-dc23-4c2b-9805-f34e7fde2eb3> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://library.bsl.org.au/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=12210 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571758.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812200804-20220812230804-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.750672 | 392 | 1.851563 | 2 |
A 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit doesn’t seem like a likely candidate for a Tuner Tuesday nomination, but when Top Gear gets their hands on it, the result is going to be anything but ordinary.
Thus, what you see here is Project Sipster, a car that they wanted to go 0-60 in just 7 seconds, get at least 70 mpg, and cost less than $7,000 to duplicate.
To reach those magic numbers, they yanked the engine out, replaced it with the diesel engine from a 2002 Jetta, and then tuned the engine, body and suspension for a more powerful yet more economical ride.
So did they pull it off?
You’ll just have to watch the video and see:
Who says saving the planet has to be expensive, difficult, and not fun? | <urn:uuid:62ab99db-2300-48be-892b-7764c36cb295> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://didntyouhear.com/tag/project-sipster/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280825.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00199-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962117 | 169 | 1.617188 | 2 |
This project combines a large, raised garden bed with a privacy wall to create a sheltered location for growing plants as well as displaying garden art.
If you want more options for building a raised garden bed, there are good, detailed, free instructions here.
The Benefits of Raised Beds
When you have terrible soil like I do (sand sand sand), raised beds solve a lot of problems. Amongst other benefits, they keep the soil in place, limit how much watering is needed, and prevent good compost from washing away.
The choices for wood vary by region, but this helps narrow down the safest and most-environmentally beneficial options.
Building a Combination Raised Bed and Privacy Wall
Here’s a peak at the final(ish) project:
Here’s a video overview:
After building our new garden pond, I had a bare area next to the pond that was calling out for more plants.
I also had a giant mound of soil leftover from the pond excavation. It’s hard to see in the next photo, but it is piled up behind the plants in the upper, far right side.
Besides a contained planting space and a place to stash the soil, I also wanted a structure that would provide some privacy for a sitting area next to the pond. There’s a lot going on next door most days and it would be nice to have some sense of seclusion, even if it’s mainly imaginary.
When I build things for the garden, as much as possible I like to design to accommodate the lumber sizes so that there are minimal or no off-cuts going to waste.
For this project, I used a lot of 8-foot and 4-foot pieces.
I had to do some calculations to figure out the exact right position for the raised bed so that I would end up with the exact right distance from the patio wall, to accommodate some sort of additional privacy wall and gate.
Trust me, I had to stretch my brain to get this right. Poor me, poor little brain.
So, once I was fairly confident with my calculations, I first built the raised bed and used tall 4x4s for the back corner supports.
The top, horizontal 2×4 needed to be exactly level for this whole thing to look right, so I held off adding the soil (which is heavy and anchors the whole thing) until this part was perfect.
I wanted the whole thing to look professional (i.e. not as if I made it), so I added mitered top pieces to the box, and covered the corners in extra panels to give a nice, finished look.
I use a dual-bevel, compound miter saw and it makes miter cuts really easy to do because the whole thing is designed for this sort of thing.
If the thought of using a power saw has you freaked out, I have some words of encouragement here for you. I used to avoid noisy power tools until I realized some keys to overcoming my discomfort with them.
1. Know how to properly operate all power tools and safely manage any unexpected situations.
2. Wear protective safety gear including glasses, gloves, and ear protectors.
Ear protectors were a game-changer for me. As soon as I tried using them, I realized that my entire disdain for power tools was based on the noise and the fear goes away when you learn how to use the tools properly. Once the noise was cut way down, I felt much more confident and capable. If you can reduce the noise by about 30 decibels, that is perfect so you can still hear but nothing is loud.
Here’s a pretty mitered corner:
The privacy boards are attached to the tall, back corner support 4x4s. I didn’t want the structure to seem like a boxy wall, so I left the lower portion open. This also allows air flow for the plants.
Next, I added more privacy ‘wings’, using 4-foot and 8-foot pieces of wood. I wanted to complete each section one-at-a-time since I wasn’t sure how often I would be able to work on it and didn’t want to leave things looking half-done.
Here it is with all of the wings added. It was quite a challenge to keep everything level while securing it in place, but I managed. Often, I’m working alone so I have to come up with some crazy ways to hold things in place while I’m drilling or securing posts.
Not that anyone in the world will probably ever make this project, but one tip I came up with was to use twine (suspended from one of the posts) to hold the end of a board in place at one end while I drilled the other end into the 4×4. It actually worked very well and meant I didn’t have to wait for someone to help me since patience is one of the virtues I do not wish to pursue.
The pond contains a lot of rock and stone, and, to make it fit the overall look of the garden, I have been adding various stone touches around the yard.
Here I created what I am calling gabion footings around the base of two of the 4×4 supports.
I created tall cylinders using hardware cloth, and held them shut with cable ties (concealed at the back). I then filled them with stones.
It adds very good support to the structure and I really like how they look.
I happened to find an end-of-season sale on espaliered apple trees, so this seemed perfect for the raised bed. After this photo was taken, I added turnbuckles and wire supports for the main branches of the tree.
The raised bed has also proven a good spot for various potted veggies, herbs, and annuals, plus perennials waiting to be planted in the garden. It gets just the right amount of sun now. Prior to having the privacy wall, this part of the garden used to fry in the mid-day sun.
I still need to add some sort of privacy gate at the far left side (not shown). I positioned everything so that the (far left) 4×4 would match up with the patio wall. This will all make sense in a future blog post.
I just have to wait for the right repurposed something-something to appear at the second-hand store. I’m thinking some lightweight metal shutters would be good but we’ll see what shows up and calls my name. One must be patient to heed the call of the thrift shop muse.
The area in front of the raised bed also needs to be levelled and a bit of retaining wall added to create a seating area by the pond.
The privacy aspect has already been excellent. There is a lot of activity that goes on next door and I no longer feel like I’m on display when I’m working in the garden.
Plus, my unintentional old watering can collection now has a nice place to be displayed. | <urn:uuid:7d1c39f4-a06c-4cd3-9903-09fcf06e10bc> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://empressofdirt.net/raised-bed-privacy-wall/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988725470.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183845-00076-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961716 | 1,474 | 1.890625 | 2 |
At the center of a real natural paradise along the border between Italy and Switzerland , Monte Generoso stands out in all its majesty .
For about a century, the rack railway has made it possible to reach the summit at an altitude of 1704 m , starting from Capolago, on Lake Lugano . The route is about 9 km long and passes through a magnificent mountain scenery . From the top you can enjoy a breathtaking view , which embraces the Gran Paradiso chain and the lakes region from above.
This alpine oasis has multiple attractions: it is a perfect destination for those who love regenerating walks in contact with nature, for those with historical interests and for those who want to practice sports (climbing, paragliding, mountain biking)
51 km of trails allow you to explore both sides of Monte Generoso, the Swiss and the Italian one.
The beauty of the mountain landscape is combined with the wealth of botanical treasures . In fact, thanks to the calcareous soil, the flora of Monte Generoso is particularly luxuriant.
There are about 800 plant species , some of which are very rare.
Flowers are the main attraction for visitors. These, in fact, are larger and more vividly colored than those that grow in the plains, due to the high intensity of solar radiation.
As for the fauna , however, the presence of a colony of chamois that does not fear man and can be observed at close range is singular.
This area is also of considerable geological interest . Monte Generoso is, in fact, a karst massif mainly composed of flint limestone from the lower Jurassic. The area is rich in caves and karst phenomena, both superficial and deep.
Bubbles, charcoal pits and snow
Pastoralism and mountain agriculture were, until a few decades ago, the main activities of this place. To continue to carry them out, the mountaineers had to fight against aridity and water scarcity. For this reason, rainwater collection ponds have been built, isolating the bottom of the area with leaves and ashes from chimneys or outbreaks. These are the so-called “ bubbles “, some of which can be visited right on Monte Generoso. There are also some charcoal burners (open spaces where wood charcoal was produced) and some nevere (cylindrical stone constructions, filled with snow by the farmers during the winter, to be able to store the milk during the summer).
Are you planning a stay in the mountains and are you looking for an accommodation that allows you to reach Monte Generoso?
The Campsite ai Colli Fioriti , in the very green Val D’Intelvi, is the solution. The strategic location of the campsite also gives access to many other excursions , from the more challenging trekking to the peaceful walks nearby. | <urn:uuid:dcd84dd2-67eb-4819-ac07-9b64e781e157> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.campingcomolake.com/category/in-evidence/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573623.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819035957-20220819065957-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.94917 | 591 | 1.8125 | 2 |
From July 25 to 29, 2022, the 3rd International Conference on Pesticide Plants (ICCP3) will be held. This year will be the first conference organized in a French-speaking sub-Saharan African country, in Yamoussokro, Ivory Coast.
Promoting pesticide plants to meet the challenges of a healthy and sustainable agriculture. The main objective of this conference is to give a platform to all those who experiment with and/or use plants, in association for example, or their extracts in the fields of different health (plant, animal, public, environmental).
The conference will allow to federate the informal network Pesticide Plants of Africa (PPAf), initiated in June 2015 and the International Society of Pesticide Plants (ISPP). But more broadly, it will allow the rapprochement with the community engaged in organic and ecological agriculture, a community that is the first concerned with the protection of crops and livestock with natural substances (Natural Preparations Low Concern, in France). The general theme of the conference is the promotion of pesticide plants for a sustainable and healthy agriculture.
phone : (+225) 07 48 865 322
email : email@example.com | <urn:uuid:ac87e7f9-0b8d-435d-b121-97d6fe9162b5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.agropolis-fondation.fr/3rd-International-Conference-on-Pesticide-Plants-ICCP3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573876.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20220820012448-20220820042448-00073.warc.gz | en | 0.885899 | 249 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Daniel Carleton Gajdusek
|Daniel Carleton Gajdusek|
Gajdusek in 1997
September 9, 1923|
Yonkers, New York
|Died||December 12, 2008
|Alma mater||University of Rochester, Harvard Medical School|
|Known for||What was later to be discovered to be Prion|
|Notable awards||E. Mead Johnson Award (1963)
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1976)
Daniel Carleton Gajdusek (pronounced GUY-dah-shek [ˈɡɑjdɑʃɛk] September 9, 1923 – December 12, 2008) was an American physician and medical researcher who was the co-recipient (with Baruch S. Blumberg) of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1976 for work on kuru, the second human prion disease demonstrated to be infectious.
In 1996, Gajdusek was charged with child molestation and after being convicted, spent 12 months in prison before entering a self-imposed exile in Europe, where he died a decade later.
Gajdusek's father, Karol Gajdusek, was from Smrdáky, Kingdom of Hungary now in Slovakia and was an ethnic Slovak who was a butcher. His maternal grandparents, ethnic Hungarians of the Calvinist faith, emigrated from Debrecen, Hungary. Gajdusek was born in Yonkers, New York, and graduated in 1943 from the University of Rochester, where he studied physics, biology, chemistry and mathematics. He obtained an M.D. from Harvard University in 1946 and performed postdoctoral research at Columbia University, the California Institute of Technology, and Harvard. In 1951, Gajdusek was drafted into the U.S. Army and assigned as a research virologist at the Walter Reed Army Medical Service Graduate School. In 1954, after his military discharge, he went to work as a visiting investigator at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia. There, he began the work that culminated in the Nobel prize.
Gajdusek's best-known work focused on kuru. This disease was rampant among the South Fore people of New Guinea in the 1950s and 1960s. Gajdusek connected the spread of the disease to the practice of funerary cannibalism by the South Fore. With elimination of cannibalism, kuru disappeared among the South Fore within a generation.
Gajdusek was introduced to the problem of kuru by Vincent Zigas, a district medical officer in the Fore Tribe region of New Guinea. Gajdusek provided the first medical description of this unique neurological disorder, which was miscast in the popular press as the "laughing sickness" because some patients displayed risus sardonicus as a symptom. He lived among the Fore, studied their language and culture, and performed autopsies on kuru victims.
Gajdusek concluded that kuru was transmitted by the ritualistic consumption of the brains of deceased relatives, which was practiced by the Fore. He then proved this hypothesis by successfully transmitting the disease to primates and demonstrating that it had an unusually long incubation period of several years. He did this by drilling holes into chimps' heads and placing pureed brain matter into the cerebellum. These animals then developed symptoms of kuru. This was the first demonstration of the infectious spread of a noninflammatory degenerative disease in humans.
Kuru was shown to have remarkable similarity to scrapie, a disease of sheep and goats caused by an unconventional infectious agent. Subsequently, additional human agents belonging to the same group were discovered. They include sporadic, familial, and variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. Gajdusek recognized that diseases like Kuru and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease were caused by a new infectious agent that had not yet been identified. Further research on the scrapie agent by Stanley Prusiner and others led to the identification of endogenous proteins called prions as the cause of these diseases.
While Gajdusek's work is generally accepted by the medical community, some have questioned whether cannibalism was still practiced at the time of Gajdusek's research. Willam Arens, an anthropologist known for his criticism of reports of learned cannibalism, claims that Gajdusek never actually witnessed cannibalism himself. Researchers who worked with the Fore in the 1950s claimed that cannibalism was suppressed in 1948, almost a decade before Gajdusek arrived in New Guinea. Arens further alleges that the stories presented as evidence of Fore cannibalism often contradict each other and contain elements of sexism and racism. According to Arens, the decline of kuru coincided with the arrival of Europeans in the area in 1961, an event that caused many substantial changes in Fore life and could have led to the improvement in health conditions. The last explanation given by Gajdusek before his death was that women using the grandfather's brain to rub on their children's skin retained scraps of the brain under their nails, and that when they scratched the child's head looking for vermin, they inoculated the disease. Rubbing the skin was not sufficient, according to him, for a transmission of kuru. The decline of kuru is linked to the establishment of schools and medical stations, owing to the pressure exerted by Gajdusek upon the local Australian authorities, and the construction of new villages with more modern amenities, such as running water close to the houses.
In contrast, many other researchers, including Robert Klitzman, S. Lindenbaum, R. Glasse, and kuru field researchers at the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research have documented reports that confirm the practice of cannibalism. Gajdusek became head of the laboratories for virological and neurological research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1958. Fellow laboratory chiefs included Ernst Freese and Marshall Warren Nirenberg. Gajdusek was inducted to the National Academy of Sciences in 1974 in the discipline of microbial biology.
Child molestation allegations
In the course of his research trips in the South Pacific, Gajdusek had brought 56 mostly male children back to live with him in the United States, and provided them with the opportunity to receive high school and college education. He was later accused by one of these, now an adult man, of molesting him as a child.
Gajdusek was charged with child molestation in April 1996, based on incriminating entries in his personal diary and statements from a victim. He pleaded guilty in 1997 and, under a plea bargain, was sentenced to 12 months in jail. After his release in 1998, he was permitted to serve his five-year unsupervised probation in Europe. He never returned to the United States and lived in Amsterdam, Paris—and Tromsø, which has 24 hours of darkness around the winter solstice, whose isolation helped him do more work.
The documentary The Genius and the Boys by Bosse Lindquist, first shown on BBC Four on June 1, 2009, notes that "seven men testified in confidentiality about Gajdusek having had sex with them when they were boys", that four said "the sex was untroubling" while for three of them "the sex was a shaming, abusive and a violation". One of these boys, the son of a friend and now an adult, appears in the film. Furthermore, Gajdusek openly admits to molesting boys and his approval of incest. The film tries to understand not only Gajdusek's sexual mores, but also his deeper motivations for science, exploration and life.
Death and legacy
Hanya Yanagihara's 2013 novel, The People in the Trees, is based on Gajdusek's life, research, and child molestation conviction. The novel centers on a character named A. Norton Perina, inspired by Gajdusek, whose research is conducted on the life-extending properties of turtle meat in Micronesia.
- Acute Infectious Hemorrhagic Fevers and Mycotoxicosis in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1953), Washington, DC: Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Articles and monographs
Daniel C. Gajdusek published hundreds of articles in scientific and medical journals. This is an incomplete list of some of the more cited ones.
- Gajdusek, Daniel Carleton. Unconventional viruses and the origin and disappearance of kuru. National Institutes of Health, 1977.
- Gajdusek; Carleton, Daniel; Gibbs, Clarence J.; Alpers, Mâ (1966). "Experimental transmission of a Kuru-like syndrome to chimpanzees". Nature. 209 (5025): 794–796. Bibcode:1966Natur.209..794G. doi:10.1038/209794a0. PMID 5922150.
- Gajdusek, Daniel Carleton (1957). "Degenerative disease of the central nervous system in New Guinea: the endemic occurrence of" kuru" in the native population". New England Journal of Medicine. 257 (20): 974–978. doi:10.1056/nejm195711142572005. PMID 13483871.
- Gajdusek, Daniel Carleton (1985). "Hypothesis: interference with axonal transport of neurofilament as a common pathogenetic mechanism in certain diseases of the central nervous system". The New England Journal of Medicine. 312 (11): 714–719. doi:10.1056/nejm198503143121110. PMID 2579335.
- Gibbs, Clarence J.; Carleton Gajdusek, Daniel (1969). "Infection as the etiology of spongiform encephalopathy (Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease)". Science. 165 (3897): 1023–1025. Bibcode:1969Sci...165.1023G. doi:10.1126/science.165.3897.1023. PMID 5804726.
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- Joe Holley, "D. Carleton Gajdusek; Controversial Scientist", Washington Post, December 16, 2008, p. B5.
- "D. Carleton Gajdusek Papers 1918-2000". National Library of Medicine.
- Maugh, Thomas (2008-12-18). "D. Carleton Gajdusek dies at 85; Nobel Prize winner identified exotic disease, was unrepentant pedophile". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
- Gajdusek, D. Carleton; Gibbs, Clarence J., Jr.; Alpers, Michael (1967-01-13). "Transmission and passage of experimenal 'kuru' to chimpanzees". Science. 155 (3759): 212–214. Bibcode:1967Sci...155..212C. doi:10.1126/science.155.3759.212 (inactive 2016-08-27). PMID 6015529.
- Kelleher, Colm A. (2004). Brain Trust: The Hidden Connection Between Mad Cow and Misdiagnosed Alzheimer's Disease. Simon & Schuster. p. 53. ISBN 9781416507567.
- "Fatal Infections". New England Anti-Vivisection. 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- Arens, William (1979). The Man-Eating Myth: Anthropology & Anthropophagy. New York: Oxford U Press. ISBN 978-0-19-502793-8. LCCN 78023387.
- Berndt, Ronald M. (1962). Excess and Restraint: Social Control Among a New Guinea Mountain People. Chicago: U Chicago Press. LCCN 62010996.
- Mathews, JD; Glasse, R; Lindenbaum, S (1968). "Kuru and cannibalism". Lancet. 2 (7565): 449–52. PMID 4174170.
- Joe Holley, "D. Carleton Gajdusek; Controversial Scientist", Washington Post, December 16, 2008, p. B5.
- Wojtas, Olga (1998-03-27). "'Racist' Brand loses dismissal appeal". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
- Lindquist, Bosse (2009-06-01). "The Genius and the Boys". Storyville. BBC Four. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
- McNeil, Donald G., Jr. (2008-12-15). "D. Carleton Gajdusek, Who Won Nobel for Work on Brain Disease, Is Dead at 85". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
- Ciuraru, Carmela (2013-09-27). "Bitter Fruit: 'The People in the Trees,' by Hanya Yanagihara". New York Times. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
- Yanagihara, Hanya (2013-08-13). The People in the Trees. Doubleday. ISBN 0385536771.
- Anderson, Warwick (2008). The Collectors of Lost Souls: Turning Kuru Scientists into Whitemen. Baltimore: JHU Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-9040-6. LCCN 2008007840. | <urn:uuid:c23f9cfb-a8b0-4d06-b1c0-e838fd6334b7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Carleton_Gajdusek | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282140.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00133-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911559 | 2,866 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Saudi Arabia Hosts Seminar on Future of Economic Statistics for ESCWA
Saudi Arabia, represented by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), will host tomorrow the Seminar on (the Future of Economic Statistics for ESCWA). The Seminar will be attended by members of organizations, specialists of United Nations, Gulf Statistics Center, and those who are further interested, academics, and representatives of government agencies.
The Seminar discusses a number of topics, such as, “rapid response system related to economic statistics, the future of economic statistics in Saudi Arabia, institutional transformation and new methods. Other topics include: services and roles, and reconstruction of economic statistics in countries emerging from conflict”.
ESCWA is one of the five regional commissions established by the United Nations to achieve economic and social targets that defined by the Charter of the United Nations. This is done through the promotion cooperation and integration among the countries of each region of the world.
ESCWA aims to stimulate economic and social development in member countries, and enhance interaction and cooperation between them. In addition to encourage the exchange of information, good practices and lessons learned. Also, to achieve regional integration between the Arab region and other regions to inform the world about the conditions and needs of region countries.
ESCWA provides a frame to formulate and harmonize policies, a platform for meeting and coordination, a broad base of experience and knowledge, as well as an information observatory. However, it coordinates its activities with main departments and offices of the United Nations, specialized agencies, international organizations, in addition to regional authorities, such as LAS and its subsidiary bodies and Gulf Cooperation Council. | <urn:uuid:79d03f80-c244-435f-84aa-a8d20daa4a4b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/news/370 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571198.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810161541-20220810191541-00267.warc.gz | en | 0.940188 | 335 | 1.625 | 2 |
Democratic Senate leader calls for removal of Trump from office
Steph Deschamps / January 7, 2021
Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday urged Vice President Mike Pence to remove Donald Trump from office after violence perpetrated by his supporters on Capitol Hill, the seat of the US Congress.
What happened on Capitol Hill yesterday was an insurgency against the United States, instigated by the president, wrote Chuck Schumer, calling on Republican Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Constitutional Amendment which authorizes the vice president and a majority of the cabinet to declare the president unfit to exercise his functions, and to remove him from power.
If the vice president and cabinet refuse to do so, Congress should come together to initiate impeachment proceedings against the president, added Chuck Schumer.
This president should not stay in office one more day, he insisted.
According to some American media, ministers of the Republican billionaire discussed the possibility of invoking the 25th amendment to the Constitution as early as Wednesday evening.
If many Democratic voices were quickly raised to demand that Donald Trump be removed from his functions, by this amendment or through an impeachment procedure, the Republicans were rare to do so.
But an elected member of the House of Representatives, already critical of Donald Trump, Adam Kinzinger, also called on Thursday to follow this path unprecedented in American history.
It is with a heavy heart that I call for the 25th Amendment to be invoked for the sake of our democracy, he tweeted, accusing the Republican billionaire of stoking the embers of violence.
Donald Trump has not spoken since the broadcast of a short video in which he called on Wednesday the demonstrators, who had forced the entry of the Capitol during a session of Congress, to return home but where he also declared without evidence that the election had been stolen.
In a brief statement, he has since committed simply to an orderly transfer of power, reaffirming his complete disagreement with the outcome. | <urn:uuid:0bb8ac99-aea5-4282-8782-e010d12d6af1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://networthspace.com/blogs/politics/democratic-senate-leader-calls-for-removal-of-trump-from-office | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570651.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807150925-20220807180925-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.969128 | 389 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Talk With A Ghana Travel and Tour Consultant At Our USA Affiliate Office
215.471.8555 800.683.7731 Or E-mail Usinfo@palacetravel.com
Ghana, West Africa, is one of the best
places in the world to tour. There are many places to see and things to do, and
Ghanaians are known as some of the friendliest people in the world.
A few places to visit during your Ghana Travel :
The Ashante Region houses the largest ethnic group in Ghana, and
one of the few matrilineal communities. Kumasi, the capital city,
is the second largest city in Ghana and is located in the south-central
part of the country. It wasn't until the late 19th century that
gold mining in the Ashanti region began on a large scale. Many festivals
take place in the Ashanti region throughout the year. The most famous
is the Akwasidae, held every six weeks. There is a procession of
royals and their entourages through Kumasi's streets to the palace,
where the king meets and greets his subjects.
The Central Region offers year-round festivals. Panafest is likely
the most famous; a week-long cultural event devoted to Pan-Africanism.
There are plenty of beaches in the Central Region, including Brenu
Beach, Sir Charles Beach, and Gomoa Fetteh Beach. Cape Coast is
the regional capital, and Cape Coast and Elmina Castle are located
here. The Central Region is also known for fishing villages, rain
forests, the Fante people, the architecture of Posuban shrines,
and handcrafted ceramics and woodcarvings.
Ghana National Parks
Kakum National Park is an largely undisturbed rainforest. In it
you will experience tropical plants, wildlife, and a canopy walkway
like none other - it is suspended about 100 feet above the forest
floor for a spectacular view.
Mole National Park is a natural reserve where you can see antelope,
monkeys, buffalo, warthogs, and occasionally lions and elephants.
Tourists can visit this park either on foot or in a 4-wheel drive
Ghana Wildlife Sanctuaries and Reserves
Shai Hills Resource Reserve is filled with granite-covered hills.
Various animals can be seen here, inclucing kob, bushbuck, oribi,
primates, and over 160 species of birds. The most important traditional
shrines of the Shai people are located within the reserve, and numerous
archaeological sites can be visited on the hillsides.
Buabeng Fiema Monkey Sanctuary is home to the endangered Colobus
and Mona monkeys, which live in harmony with the people of the village.
The people of the villages of Boabeng and Fiema revere the monkeys;
this sanctuary was established to help protect them.
Agumatsa Wildlife Sanctuary is on the Ghana-Togo border, in the
Hohoe District. The spectacular Wli falls are located here; the
water cascades over a 400 m (1,300 feet) cliff. A large colony of
bats live in the cliffs of the sanctuary, and they can be seen flying
en masse in the evening.
Ghana Botanical Gardens
Aburi Botanical Garden is dedicated to saving plant diversity,
and maintaining natural reserves. The gardens offer a staggering
array of plants, which attract dozens of beautiful birds and butterflies.
Kumasi Central Market is one of the largest open air markets in
West Africa with over 10,000 vendors. This is the perfect place
to buy just about anything you need, including cloth, wood carvings,
The Centre of National Culture, also known as Arts Centre in Accra,
offers hundreds of vendors, selling wooden carvings, masks, beads,
brass and leather crafts, fabric, drums, African music and paintings
by local artists.
Ghana Historical Sites
Elmina Castle, built in 1482, was the first permanent structure
south of the Sahara built by Europeans, and the first slave castle
to be built along the west coast of Africa. Elmina Fort, or Fort
São Jorge da Mina, was elevated to the status of castle because
it was the seat of authority for the Portuguese. The castle has
been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Cape Coast Castle is one of the most beautiful castles in existence
today. Millions of slaves passed through its walls en route to the
Caribbean and the Americas, and it was the seat of British colonial
administration until 1877. The Cape Coast Castle Museum is now located
here, and it has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
There are many more things to do in Ghana. Select a Ghana
Tour using the links on the left. No matter what you do
in Ghana, it will be a vacation to remember.
Ghana Panafest - Pan African Festival
Panafest is a biennial festival promoting Pan Africanism through Arts and Culture that is held every two years in Ghana - West Africa.
PANAFEST and Emancipation Day * July 23rd to August 1st - 2007 *
Welcome to Ghana and welcome to Panafest 2007, the "Pan-African Historical Theatre Festival". Each year since its inception in 1992, Panafest has adopted a theme. Panafest 2007 marks the 8th Edition of this event. Panafest 2007 is especially significant since it coincides with Ghana's 50th Anniversary of Independence. The Themes for 2007 are: "Re-uniting the African Family", and 50 Years of Independence: Pan-Africanism Revisited - 21st Century Edition. Our Colloquium Theme for 2007 is "Pan-Africanism in the Context of Africa's Political, Economic and Social Development". We welcome you to join us in these exciting celebrations in 2007 in Ghana.
Panafest is a cultural event dedicated to enhancement of the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the development of the African continent. It is organized biennially for Africans and people of African descent as well as all persons committed to the well being of Africans on the Continent and in the Diaspora. It's goals are to establish the truth about the history of Africa and the experiences of the African people, using the vehicle of African arts and culture. Panafest, by it's diverse character, projects a potential of being the most prestigious and indeed the most relevant cultural event on the African continent.
The essential thrust of Panafest is to enhance development. The festival provides a forum to promote unity between Africans on the Continent and in the Diaspora, and affirms the common heritage of African peoples the world over by defining and promoting Africa's contribution to world civilization. Panafest attracts a diverse assembly of people - ranging from political leaders, eminent personalities and intellectuals - to business concerns, investors and tourists. Central to the celebration are major international performing and visual artists from across Africa and the Diaspora. We invite you to join us in July 2007 and become part of the legacy that is Panafest!
Objectives of Panafest:
- To establish the truth about the history of Africa and experience of its people, using the vehicle of African arts and culture.
- To provide a forum to promote unity between Africans on the continent and in the Diaspora.
- To affirm the common heritage of African peoples the world over and define Africa's contribution to world civilization.
- To encourage regular review of Africa's development objectives, strategies and policies.
- To mobilize consensus for the formulation and implementation of potential alternative options for development.
A sample of Panafest activities:
- The Grand Durbar of Chiefs.
- Rites of Passage Programs.
- Slave March Reenactment.
- Midnight Candlelight Vigil at Cape Coast Castle.
- Emancipation Day Commemoration.
- Musical and Dramatic Performances.
About Palace Travel, Ghana Travel Specialists
Since 1991, Palace Travel has arranged for a varied clientele,
tours and safaris to more than thirty African destinations. We specially
craft each travel itinerary to reflect a unique blend of culture,
history, and traditional tourism.
Each traveler is provided with an authentic travel experience filled
with tours, safaris, cultural encounters and interactions which
result in an insiders knowledge of the destination.
Our tours to Ghana may be customized to meet the interests of diverse
groups including religious, fraternal, academic, cultural, professional,
While we continue to serve the needs of individuals, families and
small groups, we are also committed to distribution through the
retail travel professional. | <urn:uuid:0c4b2a11-d202-48b3-93b1-804177f547c7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ghanatravel.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281649.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00442-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92658 | 1,826 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Getting away with economic murder
The question has nagged at the American public since the 2008 market collapse and economic crisis that ushered in the Great Recession. Why did we never see corporate executives being led out in handcuffs to answer to the fraudulent behavior at the root of the disaster?
This lack of prosecution suggested a double-standard. Petty crime could get you in prison. Malfeasance and dishonest behavior on a massive scale could get you a bailout.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the progressive Democratic firebrand from Massachusetts, is again asking the question. But now it is more troubling. It appears the government had a case against the CEOs and declined to act.
For supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, who won eastern Connecticut handily in the Democratic primary even though he lost the state narrowly, Warren’s latest push to question Wall Street and its cozy political ties in Washington only adds to the frustration that Warren chose to stay neutral in the nominating process.
Warren’s ideology was clearly more in line with Sanders’ philosophy, sharing his contention that the big banks remain too big to fail and should be broken up and that the nation remains vulnerable to another fiscal collapse because it has failed to rein in Wall Street abuses.
Warren never pushed Clinton to release the transcripts from the three speeches she delivered to Goldman Sachs executives, starting in 2013, and receiving $675,000. Her neutrality appeared to be a political calculation; Clinton would likely be the nominee and Warren did not want to inflict damage on her.
All of this makes Warren’s new focus on the lack of prosecutions in the wake of the 2008 fiscal crisis all the more curious, in that it does not reflect well on the administration of President Obama — since it was his Justice Department that did not prosecute — and again recalls Clinton’s ties to Wall Street. Clinton made eight speeches to big banks, netting $1.8 million, according to a CNN analysis.
In 2010, the bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, appointed by Congress to investigate the causes of the financial collapse and “refer to the Attorney General … any person that the Commission finds may have violated the laws of the United States in relations to such crisis,” did just that. It sent nine names to the Department of Justice, two implicated twice, for criminal investigation.
The public, however, did not know this at the time, when the pressure to prosecute was the greatest. Instead, those documents were ordered sealed for several years. In March 2016 they became public.
The documents show the commission determined that the big banks informed investors the bundled mortgages they peddled “were of high quality and reasonably secure” when executives knew “a significant number of those mortgages were actually highly risky.”
This, the commission reported, could constitute violations of the Securities Act and “mail and wire fraud.”
It also informed Justice that Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd and Chief Financial Officer Stephen Swad “may have overstated assets, earnings and capital through various accounting improprieties,” another potential violation of law.
It found through emails that “UBS — and possibly other investment banks — received advance notice of potential downgrades (of assets backed securities) by Moody’s.” With this insider information, they were able to unload the trash, over-valued securities to other investors.
The commission alleges that “false representations were made in October 2007” by Citigroup CEO Chuck Prince, Board of Directors Chairman Robert Rubin, and CFO Gary Crittenden. They contended in “statements to the market in 2007 that the company had only $13 billion in subprime mortgage exposure when, in fact, the company ultimately disclosed $55 billion in subprime exposure.” That, the commission suggested to the DOJ, amounted to fraudulent false certifications.
Rubin, who was the Treasury Secretary for President Bill Clinton and an advocate for repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, which had placed a wall between commercial and investment banking. Rubin went straight from his position as Treasury Secretary to the Board of Citigroup.
And the list of allegations from the commission goes on. AIG executives hiding losses of nearly $6 billion. Goldman Sachs’ “deliberate mislead(ing of) the rating agencies.” Merrill Lynch executives hiding their massive exposure to asset-backed collateralized debt obligations. And that “Citigroup knowingly sold Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans that were not underwritten to" government-sponsored enterprises standards.
Warren, whose staff dug through the released records, is asking the Office of Inspector General to find out whatever happened to those investigatory referrals. And she would like a report from FBI Director James Comey on what his agents found, citing the precedent he set in releasing extensive information about the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, even though she was not charged.
I’d like to find out what happened, wouldn’t you? But unlike the Clinton emails, there does not appear to be any outpouring of demands from Washington when it comes to Wall Street. According to OpenSecrets.org, the financial/insurance/real estate sector has contributed $693 million to political campaigns — 40 percent to Democrats, 60 percent to Republicans — this election cycle. In other circles, that’s called hush money.
Paul Choiniere is the editorial page editor. | <urn:uuid:edb5febf-5e36-498d-81fa-4dab69864fad> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.theday.com/columnists/20160925/getting-away-with-economic-murder/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571911.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813081639-20220813111639-00475.warc.gz | en | 0.967274 | 1,109 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Bluetooth was only intended as a placeholder until marketing could come up with something really cool.
Later, when it came time to select a serious name, Bluetooth was to be replaced with either RadioWire or PAN (Personal Area Networking). PAN was the front runner, but an exhaustive search discovered it already had tens of thousands of hits throughout the internet.
Bluetooth's early incorporation into consumer electronics products continued at Vosi Technologies in Costa Mesa, California, USA, initially overseen by founding members Bejan Amini and Tom Davidson. Vosi Technologies had been created by real estate developer Ivano Stegmenga, with United States Patent 608507, for communication between a cellular phone and a vehicle's audio system. At the time, Sony/Ericsson had only a minor market share in the cellular phone market, which was dominated in the US by Nokia and Motorola. Due to ongoing negotiations for an intended licensing agreement with Motorola beginning in the late 1990s, Vosi could not publicly disclose the intention, integration and initial development of other enabled devices which were to be the first "Smart Home" internet connected devices.
Vosi needed a means for the system to communicate without a wired connection from the vehicle to the other devices in the network. Bluetooth was chosen, since Wi-Fi was not yet readily available or supported in the public market. Vosi had begun to develop the Vosi Cello integrated vehicular system and some other internet connected devices, one of which was intended to be a table-top device named the Vosi Symphony, networked with Bluetooth. Through the negotiations with Motorola, Vosi introduced and disclosed its intent to integrate Bluetooth in its devices. In the early 2000s a ensued between Vosi and Motorola, which indefinitely suspended release of the devices. Later, Motorola implemented it in their devices which initiated the significant propagation of Bluetooth in the public market due to its large market share at the time.
A main BR/EDR Bluetooth device can communicate with a maximum of seven devices in a piconet (an ad hoc computer network using Bluetooth technology), though not all devices reach this maximum. The devices can switch roles, by agreement, and the follower can become the main (for example, a headset initiating a connection to a phone necessarily begins as main—as an initiator of the connection—but may subsequently operate as the follower).
The Bluetooth Core Specification provides for the connection of two or more piconets to form a scatternet, in which certain devices simultaneously play the main/leader role in one piconet and the follower role in another.
The effective range varies depending on propagation conditions, material coverage, production sample variations, antenna configurations and battery conditions. Most Bluetooth applications are for indoor conditions, where attenuation of walls and signal fading due to signal reflections make the range far lower than specified line-of-sight ranges of the Bluetooth products.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are to some extent complementary in their applications and usage. Wi-Fi is usually access point-centered, with an asymmetrical client-server connection with all traffic routed through the access point, while Bluetooth is usually symmetrical, between two Bluetooth devices. Bluetooth serves well in simple applications where two devices need to connect with a minimal configuration like a button press, as in headsets and speakers.
The Bluetooth Core Specification Working Group (CSWG) produces mainly 4 kinds of specifications:
Version 2.1 allows various other improvements, including extended inquiry response (EIR), which provides more information during the inquiry procedure to allow better filtering of devices before connection; and sniff subrating, which reduces the power consumption in low-power mode.
Cost-reduced single-mode chips, which enable highly integrated and compact devices, feature a lightweight Link Layer providing ultra-low power idle mode operation, simple device discovery, and reliable point-to-multipoint data transfer with advanced power-save and secure encrypted connections at the lowest possible cost.
General improvements in version 4.0 include the changes necessary to facilitate BLE modes, as well the Generic Attribute Profile (GATT) and Security Manager (SM) services with AES Encryption.
Core Specification Addendum 2 was unveiled in December 2011; it contains improvements to the audio Host Controller Interface and to the High Speed (802.11) Protocol Adaptation Layer.
Core Specification Addendum 3 revision 2 has an adoption date of 24 July 2012.
Core Specification Addendum 4 has an adoption date of 12 February 2013.
Notice that some features were already available in a Core Specification Addendum (CSA) before the release of v4.1.
Released on 2 December 2014, it introduces features for the Internet of Things.
Features Added in Core Specification Addendum (CSA) 6 – Integrated in v5.1:
The following features were removed in this version of the specification:
Seeking to extend the compatibility of Bluetooth devices, the devices that adhere to the standard use an interface called HCI (Host Controller Interface) between the host device (e.g. laptop, phone) and the Bluetooth device (e.g. Bluetooth wireless headset).
High-level protocols such as the SDP (Protocol used to find other Bluetooth devices within the communication range, also responsible for detecting the function of devices in range), RFCOMM (Protocol used to emulate serial port connections) and TCS (Telephony control protocol) interact with the baseband controller through the L2CAP (Logical Link Control and Adaptation Protocol). The L2CAP protocol is responsible for the segmentation and reassembly of the packets.
The hardware that makes up the Bluetooth device is made up of, logically, two parts; which may or may not be physically separate. A radio device, responsible for modulating and transmitting the signal; and a digital controller. The digital controller is likely a CPU, one of whose functions is to run a Link Controller; and interfaces with the host device; but some functions may be delegated to hardware. The Link Controller is responsible for the processing of the baseband and the management of ARQ and physical layer FEC protocols. In addition, it handles the transfer functions (both asynchronous and synchronous), audio coding (e.g. SBC (codec)) and data encryption. The CPU of the device is responsible for attending the instructions related to Bluetooth of the host device, in order to simplify its operation. To do this, the CPU runs software called Link Manager that has the function of communicating with other devices through the LMP protocol.
The Link Manager (LM) is the system that manages establishing the connection between devices. It is responsible for the establishment, authentication and configuration of the link. The Link Manager locates other managers and communicates with them via the management protocol of the LMP link. To perform its function as a service provider, the LM uses the services included in the Link Controller (LC). The Link Manager Protocol basically consists of several PDUs (Protocol Data Units) that are sent from one device to another. The following is a list of supported services:
The Host Controller Interface provides a command interface for the controller and for the link manager, which allows access to the hardware status and control registers. This interface provides an access layer for all Bluetooth devices. The HCI layer of the machine exchanges commands and data with the HCI firmware present in the Bluetooth device. One of the most important HCI tasks that must be performed is the automatic discovery of other Bluetooth devices that are within the coverage radius.
The Logical Link Control and Adaptation Protocol (L2CAP) is used to multiplex multiple logical connections between two devices using different higher level protocols. Provides segmentation and reassembly of on-air packets.
In Retransmission and Flow Control modes, L2CAP can be configured either for isochronous data or reliable data per channel by performing retransmissions and CRC checks.
Bluetooth Core Specification Addendum 1 adds two additional L2CAP modes to the core specification. These modes effectively deprecate original Retransmission and Flow Control modes:
Reliability in any of these modes is optionally and/or additionally guaranteed by the lower layer Bluetooth BDR/EDR air interface by configuring the number of retransmissions and flush timeout (time after which the radio flushes packets). In-order sequencing is guaranteed by the lower layer.
Only L2CAP channels configured in ERTM or SM may be operated over AMP logical links.
RFCOMM provides a simple, reliable, data stream to the user, similar to TCP. It is used directly by many telephony related profiles as a carrier for AT commands, as well as being a transport layer for OBEX over Bluetooth.
Many Bluetooth applications use RFCOMM because of its widespread support and publicly available API on most operating systems. Additionally, applications that used a serial port to communicate can be quickly ported to use RFCOMM.
The Audio/Video Control Transport Protocol (AVCTP) is used by the remote control profile to transfer AV/C commands over an L2CAP channel. The music control buttons on a stereo headset use this protocol to control the music player.
TCS-BIN is only used by the cordless telephony profile, which failed to attract implementers. As such it is only of historical interest.
Adopted protocols are defined by other standards-making organizations and incorporated into Bluetooth's protocol stack, allowing Bluetooth to code protocols only when necessary. The adopted protocols include:
Any Bluetooth device in discoverable mode transmits the following information on demand:
Any device may perform an inquiry to find other devices to connect to, and any device can be configured to respond to such inquiries. However, if the device trying to connect knows the address of the device, it always responds to direct connection requests and transmits the information shown in the list above if requested. Use of a device's services may require pairing or acceptance by its owner, but the connection itself can be initiated by any device and held until it goes out of range. Some devices can be connected to only one device at a time, and connecting to them prevents them from connecting to other devices and appearing in inquiries until they disconnect from the other device.
Every device has a unique 48-bit address. However, these addresses are generally not shown in inquiries. Instead, friendly Bluetooth names are used, which can be set by the user. This name appears when another user scans for devices and in lists of paired devices.
Many services offered over Bluetooth can expose private data or let a connecting party control the Bluetooth device. Security reasons make it necessary to recognize specific devices, and thus enable control over which devices can connect to a given Bluetooth device. At the same time, it is useful for Bluetooth devices to be able to establish a connection without user intervention (for example, as soon as in range).
Pairing often involves some level of user interaction. This user interaction confirms the identity of the devices. When pairing completes, a bond forms between the two devices, enabling those two devices to connect in the future without repeating the pairing process to confirm device identities. When desired, the user can remove the bonding relationship.
Bluetooth services generally require either encryption or authentication and as such require pairing before they let a remote device connect. Some services, such as the Object Push Profile, elect not to explicitly require authentication or encryption so that pairing does not interfere with the user experience associated with the service use-cases.
Pairing mechanisms changed significantly with the introduction of Secure Simple Pairing in Bluetooth v2.1. The following summarizes the pairing mechanisms:
Prior to Bluetooth v2.1, encryption is not required and can be turned off at any time. Moreover, the encryption key is only good for approximately 23.5 hours; using a single encryption key longer than this time allows simple XOR attacks to retrieve the encryption key.
Link keys may be stored on the device file system, not on the Bluetooth chip itself. Many Bluetooth chip manufacturers let link keys be stored on the device—however, if the device is removable, this means that the link key moves with the device.
Bluetooth v2.1 – finalized in 2007 with consumer devices first appearing in 2009 – makes significant changes to Bluetooth's security, including pairing. See the pairing mechanisms section for more about these changes. | <urn:uuid:d307610b-65c8-4297-83ad-5dc2d1b5b035> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://dir.md/wiki/Bluetooth?host=en.wikipedia.org | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570651.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807150925-20220807180925-00468.warc.gz | en | 0.928995 | 2,519 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Black Soldiers in the Union/Federal Army, ca. 1863-64
Joseph T. Wilson, The black phalanx: a history of the Negro soldiers of the United States in the war of 1775-1812, 1861-
Image is in the public domain. Metadata is available under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International.
"Black Soldiers in the Union/Federal Army, ca. 1863-64", Slavery Images: A Visual Record of the African Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Early African Diaspora, accessed August 11, 2022, http://slaveryimages.org/s/slaveryimages/item/817 | <urn:uuid:4cd852e2-a408-470e-b2fb-2e43f75b9e4f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://slaveryimages.org/s/slaveryimages/item/817 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571502.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811194507-20220811224507-00075.warc.gz | en | 0.701497 | 172 | 3.296875 | 3 |
The site of the station and station house of the 1878 Great Northern Railway (Derbyshire Extension). Closed to passenger traffic in 1953 and to goods traffic in 1962. Remains of the platform were still visible in 1986 but are now demolished. (1)
Situated on a hillside above Breadsall village. The line was completely closed by 1967. Two platforms have had the edges removed and are overgrown. The bay platform had been filled in but there was still a substantial block of buildings in the 1970s . Remaining on the platform was a station house, booking office, waiting room and porters' rooms. The buildings were gabled, made of red brick with slate roofs and 3 stacks. (2)
Railway station on the hillside above Breadsall, originally on the Great Northern Railway. It was closed completely in 1967, although buildings remained for a time on one platform. They have now been demolished. (3)
During the establishment of a countryside trail and a route on the National Cycle Network 'the remains of the former Breadsall Station buildings were uncovered and rebuilt to capture the layout of the site. You can take a break on the old platform for a picnic or saunter through the footprints of the former station house, the waiting room, the lavatories, the signal box and the lamp house'. (4)
Bibliographic reference: Fowkes, D. 1986. Derbyshire Industrial Archaeology - A Gazetteer of Sites. Part II - Borough of Erewash. p 7.
Index: Council for British Archaeology (CBA). CBA Industrial Archaeology Report Card. railway station, Breadsall.
Unpublished document: County Treasure Recording Form. 11.1, with photo.
*Internet Web Site: Great Northern Greenway - Derby. www.derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/countryside/access/walking/walks_and_trails. Website viewed 02/08/2012.
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Centred SK 368 394 (136m by 101m) (Approximate)
BREADSALL, EREWASH, DERBYSHIRE
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Do you have any more information about this record? Please feel free to comment with information and photographs, or ask any questions, using the "Disqus" tool below. Comments are moderated, and we aim to respond/publish as soon as possible. | <urn:uuid:92836524-8ba9-44c6-9139-8a5701349342> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://her.derbyshire.gov.uk/Monument/MDR4567 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573533.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818215509-20220819005509-00264.warc.gz | en | 0.942988 | 639 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Thursday, May 31, 2012
High Tech, High Touch
On the one side, we’re moving to more online instruction and more automated or nearly automated processes. The idea is to both increase convenience for students -- especially those with jobs and/or families -- and to improve the economics of the college by increasing enrollments and cutting costs. By going high tech, we hope to get around some of the cost issues that bedevil us when we do what we’ve always done.
On the other side, we’re trying to improve the success rates of students generally -- and of students from underrepresented groups specifically -- by a panoply of “high touch” strategies. Intrusive advisement, mandatory orientation, learning communities, freshman interest groups, and mini-prep classes -- all of which we’re using -- have been shown to help, but do so through increased labor intensity per student. They’re expensive.
Each side makes sense on its own terms. It’s clear that we need to reach a sustainable budgetary equilibrium, and that we can’t count on the state stepping up to do it. And it’s also clear that the social justice side of our mission requires helping students succeed who might otherwise fail, and doing it without lowering standards.
It’s just hard to do both sides at the same time.
Community colleges have bifurcated missions already, trying to handle both academic transfer and workforce development. Now they’re also trying to be both more automated and more personalized. With less money.
To make the conflict concrete, take mandatory orientation. Both national research and our local numbers suggest that students who attend freshman orientation have higher pass rates than students who don’t. As long as orientation is voluntary, it’s hard to disentangle the extent to which that reflects the benefits of orientation, as opposed to a form of self-selection; it may just be that the more conscientious students show up for orientation, so what we’re really seeing is a proxy measure for conscientiousness.
On the theory that it’s worth a shot, we’re moving to making orientation mandatory for new students. The idea is that the students who most need the nudge will probably be the ones who most need the benefit. From a social justice perspective, it’s a no-brainer.
But it conflicts with the idea of lowering barriers to enrollment and serving students at a distance. If the cultural expectations of online students involve instant access, then making them jump through more hoops will violate those expectations. Even if the hoops are intended to be good for them.
I don’t think it’s quite at the level of flooring the accelerator and the brake at the same time, but sometimes it does get a bit jarring. The tension between high tech and high touch is increasing, and we’re only beginning to grasp the source of the confusion.
Wise and worldly readers, have you seen a college find a way to be both high tech and high touch that doesn’t require a bazillion dollar grant to pull off?
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
When Mandates Attack
Broad-brush rules have a way of generating unintended, and even unsupportable, consequences. Most of us know that intuitively when we talk about things like mandatory minimum sentencing, “zero tolerance” policies, or tax loopholes.
The same applies to colleges.
Apparently, California -- I almost feel bad for still picking on it, but sheesh -- has a rule that no more than 50 percent of a college’s budget can be used for “non-instructional” expenses. When combined with a catastrophic budget crunch, that means that colleges can’t hire nearly enough academic advisors to keep up with student demand. Advisors count as “non-instructional,” so hiring a new advisor requires hiring a new professor. If you can’t afford both, you can’t hire the advisor. So now certain community colleges there have over a thousand students per advisor.
This should have been predictable.
Non-instructional costs can include everything from IT and software -- a huge and growing category -- to physical plant, IR staff, financial aid staff, utility costs, library staff and databases, and, yes, administration. Many of these are far more expensive than they were ten years ago, and through nobody’s fault. IT expectations on campus are far beyond what they were ten years ago, both for online courses and for onsite instruction and operations. Gainful employment regs all by themselves require significant staff time, entirely uncompensated by the folks who passed the regs.
When the mandatory -- or effectively mandatory -- expenses grow, and the funding shrinks, the discretionary stuff takes a hit. In California’s case, that means academic advising.
At the root of broad-stroke mandates like the 50 percent rule is distrust of what would happen without the rule. In the absence of mandatory minimum sentencing, the argument goes, liberal judges will let criminals run free. Therefore, the judges must be made iirrelevant. In the absence of zero tolerance policies on drugs, students will shoot up in the hallways; better to force principals to crack down, even if it means giving a kid detention for a Tylenol. And in the absence of a hard budget line, academic administrators will obviously turn California into Vermont -- an all-adjunct faculty -- so they must be stopped.
But tying the hands of the people closer to the situation is not a serious answer. It gives rise to all manner of distortions, simply because they’re prevented from doing what needs to be done.
It’s pretty clear at this point that innovation is the only serious answer. And innovation requires room to move. Managers need to be free to manage, and to experiment. They need their hands untied.
“Aha!” I hear the collective blogosphere exclaim. “This is an administrative power grab, carried out under cover of emergency!” Well, discretion can be misused. As can hard rules. The core of the issue, in my mind, is “as opposed to what?” The status quo is clearly an outsized failure. The California death spiral, it seems to me, is beyond denial at this point. So we can make room to try different things -- some of which might actually work -- or we can just brace for impact.
The rule has to go. Administrations have to be free to try to save their colleges from the death spiral. Some will act wisely, some will not; some will succeed, some will not. But I’d rather take my chance on the discretion of local, invested people who actually understand the issues than die by a broad-stroke rule passed by people who know not what they do.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Thoughts on Romney and Higher Ed
Mitt Romney’s plans for higher education thus far are silly, but not catastrophic. Already that puts him ahead of much of his party.
It was not always thus. There was once a time -- not all that long ago, really -- when Republicans took public higher education seriously. The SUNY system never had a better friend than Nelson Rockefeller, for example. The University of California system even survived two terms of Governor Ronald Reagan, despite occasional snipes about hippies.
And that makes sense. As conservatives, their burden involved squaring arbitrary economic outcomes with a general cultural sense of the value of fair play. Education offered a nice way to thread that political needle. The smart and driven kid who was born poor could work hard in a public system and work his way into the middle class and above. As long as that was true, those on top could plausibly claim that the overall system is fair, even if they just happen to be a whole lot wealthier than everyone else. As long as the economic hierarchy was at least open to something like meritocratic striving, those who were left out could be blamed for their own fate.
Over the past decade or so, though, Republicans -- as opposed to conservatives, which they are not any more in any meaningful sense -- have shifted their position. Now they’re openly hostile to higher education, except in for-profit form. Rick Santorum’s “what a snob!” comment, for all of its artlessness, pretty much encapsulated the id of the party in its current form. (The same could be said of Santorum generally.) Some of that is the lingering residue of hippie-bashing, but the recent surge in stridency can’t be explained that way. (I don’t recall a hippie resurgence in 2010.) I think it goes a little deeper than that.
The higher education landscape in its current form represents a direct disproof of the core of Republican ideology. That’s why they hate it so much. It reminds them of the conservatism they left behind.
According to Republican -- as opposed to conservative -- ideology, anything “public” is inferior to anything “private.” By definition, anything private is supposed to be more efficient, more responsive, and less prone to corruption. Anything public is presumed to be wasteful, sclerotic, and rotten to the core.
That’s a relatively new wrinkle in Republican thought. Back when it was a conservative party, it had a conservative’s respect for institutions. It’s hard to imagine now, but when Senator Bob Dole voted to support affirmative action in colleges and universities -- which he did -- he did so in the name of preserving them. The idea -- perfectly consistent with the conservatism that runs through Burke to Oakeshott -- was that institutions need to bend so they do not break. The classic understanding held that people are inherently flawed, impulsive, selfish, and vain, and that institutions were required to protect them from their own base impulses. Institutions taught restraint, which was necessary to allow a civic culture to co-exist with a predatory economy. This was the conservatism of noblesse oblige and civic endowments. It was the conservatism that sponsored cultural programming on PBS.
(It’s hard to remember now, but in the “culture wars” of the 1980’s, it was the conservatives who preached the virtues of the classics. Allan Bloom became a national figure on the strength of his advocacy of the old “from Plato to NATO” reading list. The conservatives were the partisans of “timeless truths.” They once understood their own roots. Now the closest they come to the classics is Ayn Rand, a sort of lobotomized Nietzsche.)
What’s gone now -- and badly missed -- is that sense of the value, and necessity, of restraint and of the institutions that teach it. The current Republican party has dumbed down its message to “private good, public bad,” and has largely even forgotten why. (On foreign policy, its message has become “war good, peace bad,” for much the same reason: it has mistaken restraint for weakness. And even within the military itself -- once the great exception to the rule about “public bad” -- this is the party that turned over power and resources to private contractors.)
Against that worldview, higher ed in its current form stands as a powerful rebuke. That’s why it drives them around the bend.
In direct contradiction to what their ideology would predict, public colleges, by and large, are cheaper than private ones. For-profit colleges are far more expensive than public colleges and universities, and have nowhere near the respect in the culture of their public competitors. Colleges that “social engineer” their entering classes without apology -- horror! -- do remarkably well at populating the elite, and maintaining the respect of the country as a whole. Community colleges, long the underfunded stepchildren of higher ed, prove repeatedly that a sense of social good and public mission can go a long way towards compensating for a severe lack of money. That’s not supposed to be possible.
Worse, in higher ed, having more money doesn’t always make you right. People who make forty thousand a year feel entitled to pass judgment on people who make hundreds of times more than that, citing nothing more exclusive than “evidence” or “truth.” Deference is given to the best argument, rather than to the highest authority; in the very best sense of the word, it’s irreverent.
And most of its employees -- adjuncts most spectacularly, but pretty much across the board -- forego higher incomes to work in it. For a party that worships wealth, that amounts to apostasy.
Mitt Romney is smarter than many of his compatriots, so he doesn’t go out of his way to attack empirical science, like Senator Santorum, or the very idea of humanistic study, like Governor Scott of Florida. But his policy proposals outlined so far -- see here for a nice summary -- encapsulate handily the failings of Republican thought on higher ed. He proposes getting rid of direct lending and putting banks back in as middlemen on student loans, hoping that nobody will notice that “privatization” of loans actually costs more. He upholds Full Sail University as exemplary, hoping nobody will notice that it’s more expensive, and less respected or successful, than its non-profit counterparts. He proposes deregulating for-profit higher education generally, as if its issues stemmed from too much restraint, as opposed to too little.
Every single one of those policies rests on a failure of Republican ideology to describe how the world works. That’s why he doesn’t like to talk about them much. When efficiency and privatization conflict, as they do in higher ed, we see what the party really values. At this stage of its development, it chooses privatization. And the bad conscience of knowing that privatization actually costs more drives them batty. It makes them angry. And knowing that we know drives them even battier.
The net effect of Romney’s proposals thus far would be to starve the inexpensive public sector and feed both banks and for-profit colleges with the proceeds. On any objective grounds, that’s ridiculous, and unworthy of respect. But by the standards of what the Republican party has allowed itself to become, well, it could be worse. In the meantime, I’ll hold out hope that the party eventually rediscovers its conservative roots. Some things are worth preserving. And if the Republicans would finally re-embrace conservatism, the Democrats could finally let it go, and we could finally have debates worth having.
Monday, May 28, 2012
The Boy at 11
I remember day one. He was born tall for his age; he was the biggest kid in the nursery. He’s still tall for his age, and well on his way to being tall for any age. (He’s five foot five, and growing pretty much every time I turn around. I shudder to think what the adolescent growth spurt will bring.) We still have photos of me holding him in my lap in the hospital, reading him The Runaway Bunny. By the time he was three, we had to hide books under the couch just to get him to do anything else.
He’s a gentle giant. By the standards of an 11 year old, he’s courtly to his sister, and I’m proud that he doesn’t do a lot of the knucklehead crap with girls that his peers do. He plays baseball and basketball and likes to win, but can lose with dignity. He loves Lego League and placed fifth in the town spelling bee. He assembles complicated Lego kits in record time, reads a couple of novels a week, and has announced his intention to attend MIT to become a civil engineer.
I have to admit having been a little scared to try raising a boy. I wasn’t good at most of boy culture as a kid, and I hated the idea of passing my blind spots on to some innocent child. But TB isn’t mini-me; he’s his own person, much more fully realized than I was at that age.
Right now we’re in that glorious bridge phase between labor-intensive young childhood and drama-laden teen years. He’s capable of mowing the lawn, and it hasn’t occurred to him yet to rebel over it. Mom and Dad are still smart and worth listening to. “Having a girlfriend” is still as much an accusation as an aspiration. I know there’s a time limit on that, but I’m trying to enjoy it while it’s here. There’s plenty of time for the other stuff later.
Happy birthday, TB. And enjoy the new Lego kit.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
He suggests -- and I strongly agree -- that rather than a blunt instrument like a law, Connecticut would be better off prodding colleges to experiment with different ways to improve student success and solve the problem of the remedial death march. A host of experiments across the state, with assessment measures built in from the outset, would be much likelier to lead to healthy results.
In our house, we have a strict “no whining” rule. If there’s something you don’t like, you either do something about it or you learn to live with it.
The Wife has decided to apply that same rule to our town, with amazing results.
The public school TG attends has taken some budget cuts over the last few years, and has not been able to invest in classroom technology at the pace it would like. Townwide, the response has been a collective shrug, with some occasional snark.
TW spent the last few months putting together a 5k family run/walk to raise money for technology in our local public elementary school. The run/walk happened last Sunday, and it was a MONSTER hit. They had over 100 runners, and another 100+ walkers, and it looks like the final tally (with sponsorships and raffle proceeds) will be over $20,000. For a first time, that’s pretty darn good.
The weather cooperated, her team was amazing, and just about everything went right. (I walked with TB and TG, and also worked the registration table with TW.) Her team was united and highly functional, the mayor and sponsors were visibly impressed, and now the school will be outfitted several years faster than it would have been otherwise. The Girl will benefit, of course, but so will every other student in the school.
It was wonderful to be able to say to the kids that this is how you do it. When something is important to you, like their schools are, and you see a problem, you put on your big kid pants and do something about it. Well done, TW!
According to the Harvard Business Review, being boring can actually be an important leadership trait.
The idea is that charismatic leadership can become a distraction from the mission of the institution, and maintaining charisma over time can be draining. But leaders who are content to subsume their personal stuff to the larger mission can keep everyone focused on the right things. Sounds right to me...
No matter how long I do this, abrupt resignations always catch me off guard.
Why does everything technological get cheaper except mobile internet?
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
One for the Guidance Counselors
This is the time of year when panicked seniors who either didn’t get into the colleges they wanted, or can’t afford the colleges they wanted, are looking for options.
Some will take a “gap year,” which is a nice gig if you can get it. Some will join the military. Some will go to work. And some just won’t know what to do.
According to this story in Reuters, college dropouts do just as badly in the labor market now as people who never attended college. But two-year graduates do far, far better. It’s much better to do two years at a two year college and emerge with a degree than to do two years at a four year college and emerge with nothing. Cheaper, too.
Which means that for the student who’s panicking, community college can make a lot of sense.
Every time a guidance counselor asks a student “are you looking at two year schools or four year schools,” my teeth grind. For many students, “or” is the wrong word. “And” is the best choice. Go to the two year school first. Get the Gen Eds done cheaply and in small classes. Build a record of college success. Keep the loan balances low.
If the student wants to transfer on from there, that avenue is open. (Admittedly, California is becoming an exception, but still.) Upon transfer, the student will have only two years of the higher tuition to pay, but can still graduate with a four-year degree. But if that’s not going to happen -- if the student’s life is such that a four-year commitment just isn’t in the cards -- then it’s far better to have a degree to show for two years of work than to just drop out.
Which makes sense, if you think about it. To an employer, a two-year degree at least indicates the discipline and ability to complete a program. (Even if the student intended to transfer and didn’t, the degree still indicates success.) Dropping out without anything to show for it doesn’t accomplish quite the same thing.
The community college offers the safer option. If two years is all the student can do, it offers “graduate” status, as opposed to “dropout” status. If the student goes past the two years, she does so with a lighter debt burden. This is not to be dismissed lightly.
I know some high schools like to brag about the percentage of their graduates who go directly to four-year colleges, and some of them even exert internal pressure not to mess with those numbers. But thinking of two-year degrees as terminal is often mistaken. They can be, but they frequently aren’t. And allowing the panicky student to keep her options open on the cheap is nothing to apologize for.
Good luck, counselors. If you doubt the wisdom of any of this, just check the numbers on unemployment rates for two-year grads as opposed to college dropouts, or student loan burdens, or average earnings for high school grads. It’s all there.
Hoping to see many of your charges soon,
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Let’s say the headline reads “Small State Community College Gets $15 Million for Job Training.”
First, the state takes its cut; let’s say a third. That leaves $10 million.
Then the award is divided among the various campuses. To keep the math simple, let’s say there are ten. That means $1 million per campus.
But that’s misleading; it’s a total figure over a set of years. Let’s say it’s a four year grant. At that point, you have $250,000 per year. (For reasons I’ll never understand, this is how the media insist on reporting union contracts. “A nine percent raise over three years” sounds a lot bigger than “annual three percent raises for three years.” People grab the “nine percent” number and get righteously mad. It’s not helpful.)
As a condition of receiving the grant, each campus had to hire a project manager. Figure a salary of $60,000, with another $15,000 for benefits. Assume a small fraction -- let’s say another $15,000 -- for indirect costs of administration, such as grants compliance, IR time, office space, and the like. So now you’re down to $160,000 per year for four years.
You hire a full-time person -- $50,000 plus $12,000 for benefits -- and a part-time assistant, making maybe $20,000. Now you’re down to $78,000. Subtract travel, office equipment, and the like, and you’re probably somewhere around $70,000.
That’s assuming no major technical equipment purchases, proprietary software, or licensing fees. (Admittedly, it’s also assuming that everyone is hired on day one, which typically isn’t the case. There’s usually some breakage there.)
And that’s how a $15 million grant lands with a relative fizzle.
Meanwhile, the faculty are upset at “administrative bloat,” as if the grant money used to hire the project manager and full-timer would otherwise have been available for them. The Feds are upset that you didn’t “move the needle,” and they respond with ever-more-taxing reporting requirements (requiring more IR time and clerical support). And cynics point to the whole mess and conclude that the issue is that some people just aren’t college material.
A few suggestions:
1. An incremental increase in operating funding is more efficient than another grant. That’s because the incremental increase in operating funding doesn’t require all-new hires; people who are already there can manage it. If you don’t want administrative bloat, don’t require a new project manager for each new increment.
2. If you must go the grant route, the best way to do it would be to harness people who are already there. Fund course reassignments, travel, subscriptions, and meetings. Build the capacities of the people who will still be there when the grant expires. (The expiration dates that come with “soft money” make good hiring a real challenge.) Ideally, use the grant to buy time so that people can develop projects, rather than requiring them to develop projects to get the funding. It’s still possible to build in accountability measures, but if you leave enough flexibility for people to make adjustments to their methods when the results dictate, then you’ll eventually get better and more sustainable results.
3. Remember the importance of local control. The more prescriptive the grant, the less likely you are to get significant local support. Again, operating funding is ideal, but if the money must be separate, use it to empower the people who are already there -- and will still be there later -- to achieve goals in their own ways. The grant can -- should -- have goals, but it shouldn’t dictate means. Projects work best when people put their hearts and souls into them, and they’re likelier to do that when the projects were their idea.
4. Let’s have some honesty in the public relations. So many grants have promised the moon and stars over the years that a certain cynicism has set in. Let’s stop lumping multi-year appropriations into single headline numbers, pretending that the equivalent of one percent of a budget will be transformative, and declaring every grant a roaring success.
5. Kill the “supplanting” rule. Many federal grants come with a stipulation that the money is to be used to “supplement, not supplant.” In other words, you aren’t supposed to use grant money to pay for things you otherwise would have paid for with your own money. It’s supposed to be used only for extras. As external funding has moved from operations to grants, we’ve been able to pay for extras but compelled to hollow out the core at the same time. This is madness. And when you combine the “no supplanting” rule with a “sustainability” requirement -- a promise to keep doing those extras after the grant expires -- it becomes madness on stilts.
None of this is to denigrate the intentions of grants, or the real achievements they enable. It’s just to say that if we’re really serious about getting bang for the buck, the first thing to do -- without which we’re just kidding ourselves -- is to support operating budgets. Without that, we’re trapped in the cruel realities of grant math.
Monday, May 21, 2012
The Paradox of Conflict Aversion
The article paints quite a picture.
A math instructor, Helff makes more than $133,000 at the college, where he has worked since 1970. As his dependent, his granddaughter attended Bergen Community College tuition free but, as was customary, was required to pay fees. The report noted that Helff balked at the levying of those fees.Imposing and rumpled, Helff has been a high-profile union president, known for his free-wheeling diatribes against administrators.
Having balked at paying even a reduced rate, Prof. Helff apparently did not balk at getting his granddaughter’s failing grades changed. The previous president of the college tried twice to investigate Helff, eventually getting forced out himself; apparently out of desperation, the college eventually hired a retired judge to report on the case. (To be fair, it would be accurate to describe that president, Jerry Ryan, as “imposing and rumpled,” too.)
The article suggests that BCC has become far too inbred, and that a culture of favors and exceptions has taken hold. It goes on to suggest that a more professional culture is needed.
Well, yes, but that’s like saying that big banks need to be more civic-minded. In the absence of drastic and fundamental changes, it’s not going to happen.
Many years ago, I worked briefly under a vice president in a very similar setting. His way of handling prickly personalities in a setting of minimal turnover was an elaborate system of favors. Conflict was a crisis; anyone who got jumpy was to be either mollified or cast into darkness. When he hired me, he bragged that there had not been a grievance filed in over ten years. I quickly learned why, and it wasn’t because everyone was content.
He practiced conflict aversion in the same sense in which the Pope practices Catholicism. It was the undercurrent of every decision he made.
As a result, by the time I arrived, nearly every statement made on campus was spoken in code. Information was always partial and typically flawed; predictably, people filled in the gaps with their own worst fears. A culture of favor-trading, looking out for your own, and Potemkin processes flourished.
In a setting like that, I can completely understand how someone like Prof. Helff could get his way. He would throw his weight around and intone darkly that we take care of our own. Conflict-averse managers would do the math and take the deal, panicky about what would happen if they didn’t.
The paradox of conflict aversion is that it doesn’t actually avoid conflict. It hides it, distorts it, and allows it to fester. If the squeaky wheel always gets the grease, over time, you should expect a hell of a lot of squeaking. And when Prof. Jones finds out that Prof. Smith got a better deal than he did, as a result of one backdoor deal or another, you can expect that Prof. Jones will be righteously pissed. Pissed-off people talk to each other, sometimes embellishing as they go. Others listen and fill in the gaps with whatever resentments they already had. Before long, you have another, much bigger, problem.
The article notes that Prof. Helff is facing possible revocation of tenure and termination; if the charges are true, I consider those penalties entirely appropriate. That kind of self-dealing is a textbook abuse of very real power, and it needs to be stopped.
But the larger issue is around the strategies used by the administration. You don’t avoid conflict by being conflict averse. In fact, given large numbers of intelligent and independent-minded people, you just don’t avoid conflict at all. The best you can do is keep it from festering by dealing with it directly, and consistently, as it arises. That means avoiding the temptation to appease the blowhard who’s ruining your day, and thereby avoiding the trap of trying to remember every little deal you’ve cut over the years. It means keeping a relatively thick skin, maintaining emotional discipline, and enduring some very unpleasant confrontations. It’s not easy.
The way around conflict is through it. By addressing the real issue, you at least have a chance of preventing the snowballing-bullshit dynamic that happens when angry people talk to each other. If you can keep the conflict to the actual issue, instead of inadvertently triggering a litany of every resentment ever felt, you have a shot at a constructive outcome.
Making that transition -- from a favor-trading culture to a rule-bound one -- isn’t easy in the best of cases. In a deeply inbred setting, it may simply be impossible. But it needs to happen. The alternative is continued corruption until the whole thing collapses in a pile of bloated salaries, backroom deals, and hollow credentials.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Ask the Administrator: Return of the Prodigal Philosopher
I'm writing in the hope that you can share your insights on the reasonableness of earning an M.A. in order to teach at a community college. I'm 45 with a B.A. in philosophy. My career has been spent in non-profit social justice work (mostly with the ACLU), which I considered a good application of my philosophy degree. I am debating now whether to return to school in order to earn my M.A. in order to teach. I love the subject, love pedagogy, and have a particular interest in being part of the community college mission. I am concerned, however, that my non-academic career trajectory will undermine my applications once I start the job hunting process. I imagine my applications will be competing with those of younger applicants with years of teaching experience. I have taught (as a substitute teacher) several Intro to Philosophy classes at a local community college, but otherwise have no classroom teaching experience.My first thought is “don’t do it.” But that’s not terribly helpful, so I’ll try to flesh it out a little, and then ask my wise and worldly readers for their suggestions.
I am aware of the dangers of pursuing an advanced degree in order to teach, particularly in the current economy. My concern is simply my lack of academic experience and my age. Will I be a viable applicant, or am I being dangerously romantic about a career path that is simply no longer open to me?
I wouldn’t worry about age or non-academic experience. At this level, at least, those won’t be held against you. (That may be less true at the research university level, where they’re looking for the next superstar, but you’ve specifically addressed community colleges.) Here, there’s likely to be much more focus on your teaching skills and your knowledge of and desire for the reality of a community college teaching environment.
That’s a little wordy, so I’ll unpack. Some applicants here are clearly taking the “any port in a storm” approach, and obviously would rather be elsewhere. One whiff of that and the candidate is done. Others profess great love for the community college ideal, but show no sign of knowing what’s actually involved. These candidates have been known to accept the job and then back out as soon as they get their first semester’s schedule.
The best candidates at this level aren’t the also-rans for research university positions. They’re the folks who really want to be here, as opposed to there, and who know what that means. Career-changers can be attractive, to the extent that they can convey self-awareness about what they want.
The way that age can matter is from the applicant’s side. An entry-level community college professor’s salary is often far less than someone established in a career expects to make. Don’t expect to be compensated for the extra experience.
That said, though, I can’t help but look at “philosophy professor” and “community college” and think hoo boy, good luck with that. Full-time jobs in philosophy at community colleges are rarer than hens’ teeth, and I don’t see that improving anytime soon. Adjunct jobs are far more common, of course, but the pay there is nowhere near enough to make getting a degree a good idea.
If you decide that this is the only possible way to be happy, then I’d advise getting the cheapest master’s degree you can and stopping there. The marginal advantage of a more prestigious degree (whether a doctorate or a higher-ranked program) is likely to be minimal. Meanwhile, don’t give up the day job. But honestly, if you can think of almost anything else to do, do that. The jobs you’re envisioning are rare, and student loans are expensive. I really don’t like the odds, even without the age penalty you envision.
Good luck with the decision.
Wise and worldly readers, what do you think? Am I just being an Eeyore, or is this a bad idea?
Have a question? Ask the Administrator at deandad (at) gmail (dot) com.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
The concert featured every level of band from the fifth grade through high school. First the fifth graders would play, then the sixth graders, then the junior high, then the high school, then back to the fifth graders for round two. (I’m guessing that was to prevent the fifth grade parents from leaving right after the fifth grade band finished.) A happy side effect of having the other bands sit quietly while one band played was that you got to see them dance in their chairs. When the fifth graders did their version of “Party Rock Anthem,” the high school percussion section started doing the “raise the roof” move. Despite myself, I was thoroughly charmed.
It was also fun to see the kids all dressed up. I helped TB tie his tie, which was a major milestone. Watching uncomfortable ten-year-olds squirm in unaccustomed formal clothes is a parental guilty pleasure.
Forehead Slap of the Day, Part I: Trade Adjustment Act (TAA) funding is available for workers whose jobs are judged to have been sacrificed to free trade. (How that determination is made isn’t clear to me, but that’s another issue.) It lasts for up to 18 months from the date the job is lost.
We’re supposed to use TAA funding to get these displaced workers retrained. Most of the eligible programs offer associate’s degrees. Assuming full-time attendance, no remediation, no course failures, and no stopouts, a degree takes two years.
I know math is hard, but come on...
Meanwhile, ceremony season is in full swing. With both kids, and me, on the academic calendar, the seasonal crescendos keep crashing into each other. At this point, the only thing that makes it manageable is when we get rainouts for the baseball and softball games. I hate rooting for rain, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Forehead Slap of the Day, Part II: I mentioned recently that colleges that offer Federal financial aid will soon lose the ability to admit students under the “ability to benefit” banner. That means that students who don’t have high school diplomas will first have to get GED’s before they can start community college.
Today I heard that Pearson has bought the GED, and that starting in 2014, it will become both significantly more expensive to take, and offered only on computers. That means that students will have to type their essays. (I don’t know if they’ll be robo-graded.)
So now prospective students will not only have to pony up several times more money to take the test -- I thought the private sector was supposed to be more efficient, not less -- but they’ll also have to have decent computer and typing skills. Now, GED preparation will have to include basic typing.
I’ve got nothing against typing, heaven knows, but adding this barrier to the loss of the ability to benefit test starts to look like a pattern.
That said, anyone who doubts what community colleges do should attend a student awards ceremony. Hearing what so many of them went through in life, and what they’ve achieved, is both humbling and cleansing. Ceremony season is tiring, but this one is always worth it.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
I Love This Story
I love this method and this story. Not only does it favor concrete plans over abstract ones, but it makes progress legible on the ground. This is not to be dismissed lightly.
Some progress is glacial: drastic and enormous, but slow. That can be effectively invisible on a day-to-day basis, even as it makes a tremendous difference over time. (It’s sort of like the difference in how a child’s growth looks to a parent who sees her daily, and a cousin who sees her yearly. On a day to day basis, it’s invisible; on a yearly basis, you can’t miss it.) But the invisibility on a daily basis can lead to cynicism on the ground, as people react to a gap between what they hear and what they see. And the cynicism can lead to all sorts of defeatist behavior, with predictable consequences.
Breaking the big issues into smaller, more easily digested tasks allows for the progress that is actually happening to become legible. (Theresa Amabile’s recent book, The Progress Principle, is about exactly that.) When people on the front lines see actual change -- even if the change itself is fairly minor -- it offers reason for hope. It’s hard to be cynical in the face of a series of concrete successes. If anything, a cascading series of wins tends to attract interest.
The real test will happen when the first hundred-day project conspicuously fails.
If they’re doing it right -- and I hope they are -- they’ll manage to avoid giving ammunition to the “I told you so” chorus that assumes that effort is futile and change must mean decay. That will mean avoiding the temptation to overdo “accountability” and start apportioning blame when things go wrong. If they can convey the spirit of experimentation, rather than strategic-planning it to death, they’ll have a chance of making it work.
Off the top of my head, I can imagine several “hundred day” projects that might make sense on my campus. If the direction came down that everyone involved had to make Project X a priority for the next few months, after which another project would take its place, I’m not sure what would happen. (Project selection strikes me as a key variable. How are they chosen, by whom, and by what criteria?) We’d probably need a good bit of cultural prep work just to get to the point where people don’t reduce the hundred-day project to the flavor of the month, and respond accordingly.
But it’s prep work that may be worth doing. Good luck, MCC. I’ll be watching with interest.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Internships, from the Other Side
And sometimes that happens. But the dark side of internships is also clear. When they’re unpaid, as most are, they effectively screen out anyone who doesn’t have family money. Anecdotally, in some areas they’re actually starting to displace paid workers, since cynical firms have figured out that interns provide free labor. And while it’s lovely when interns get exposure to the jobs they thought they wanted, it’s not uncommon to hear of interns banished to photocopying or gofer duty.
Today I heard a different angle, and it gave me pause.
In discussing internships with someone who works for a major local employer, he mentioned that having interns is actually a lot of trouble. He suggested that many interns arrive without the work ethic that employers want, and the lack of a paycheck doesn’t help motivate them. After a few bad experiences, many employers -- especially smallish ones -- just stop participating altogether, judging the whole thing more trouble than it’s worth.
I was so caught up in the “free labor” narrative that I didn’t expect to hear that.
His suggestion was that colleges who want to place large numbers of students in internships over time develop in-house programs to prepare them for the positions. As he put it, he wants students who are “internship-ready.” When I asked what that entailed, he and a counterpart from another local company agreed that it meant things like appropriate dress, consistent and prompt attendance, workplace-appropriate communication skills, and a basic work ethic.
These may not be major issues at, say, the glamorous/exploitative media internships in New York City for which Ivy League grads compete. But at this level, the issues are real.
Those skills are notable mostly by their absence; a couple of bad experiences will overwhelm a host of good ones. But I couldn’t really disagree with him, either. If you count on people to show up and be ready to work, and they let you down repeatedly, the temptation to just wash your hands of them makes sense.
At the same time, I couldn’t help but notice that what we used to call “workplace-ready” is now being called “internship-ready.” It’s getting harder to find places to make rookie mistakes. Minimum wage jobs may teach some level of promptness, but they don’t do much in the way of teaching the kind of communication skills expected in a white-collar workplace. (The break-room banter at the ice factory would have made a sailor blush.) Part of the value of the better internships, I suspect, lay in exposing students to educated, older people who both expect and exemplify professional behavior. That’s hard to fake, and hard to substitute.
And hard to get, now.
Wise and worldly readers, have you seen (or figured out) a way to make internships easier for white-collar employers to provide? Alternately, have you seen or figured out a way to ensure that the students who land the internships will show the soft skills from the outset?
Monday, May 14, 2012
Thoughts on Vouchers
There’s a superficial appeal to the idea. Colleges would have to direct funding more intensively towards the kinds of things that result in higher enrollments or they would suffer cuts. At some level, the locus of power would shift to students, since he who pays the piper calls the tune.
A few thoughts:
-- Under this system, it would no longer be clear what separates a public college from a private one. If they’re both enrollment-driven, and neither gets money from the state, then the difference would be in name only. (The key difference from the for-profits, other than private investment capital, would be the property tax exemption.) Public colleges would have to increase their tuition drastically to avoid terrible cuts, which would probably more than engulf the value of any vouchers.
-- Given the lack of distinction between publics and privates, I’d expect to see the privates start angling for access to the voucher money. To the extent that they succeed, the erstwhile publics will suffer that much more.
-- The value of the vouchers will not come close to keeping up with the cost of providing education.
-- The publics will bifurcate. Those with prestige will survive, as will those with the simplest missions. The nothing-special-comprehensives in the middle will struggle mightily.
-- Any sort of meaningful inter-institutional collaboration will go by the boards, since funding will quickly become a zero-sum game.
-- The adjunct trend will accelerate, and alternatives to tenure will abound. (Once the first financial exigency gets declared, even incumbent holders of tenure won’t be safe.) The tenure system is not sustainable when funding is entirely enrollment-driven and enrollment fluctuates. The combination of high fixed costs and variable revenues is a killer. The only way to survive in that setting is to be able to adjust your labor costs in real time. That’s why for-profits don’t have tenure systems. Some will present that as centralizing power in the administration, but that’s not quite right; it’s centralizing power in the students. The administration will have no more autonomy to buck the market than the faculty will.
-- Admissions offices will grow larger and more powerful on campus. This will come at the expense of other constituencies.
-- As the first round of colleges start to face extinction, I’d expect to see the usual ethical compromises: pressure to pass students at all costs, a collapse of admissions standards, whatever it takes. Desperate people do desperate things.
-- Long-term planning on campuses will become impossible, as decisions come to be made based on the most recent numbers. Over time, this will lead to declines in quality.
The ability to say ‘no’ to short-term market pressures is predicated on a revenue source independent of the market. Lose that revenue, and you lose that autonomy.
I have little faith in Pennsylvania’s political class, but I hope they don’t go down this road. The damage would be done quickly, and would take decades to undo. The superficial appeal just isn’t worth it.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Less of the Same
In my state, as in many, there’s a move afoot at the state level to impose greater “accountability” throughout public higher education, but especially on community colleges. (In the words of Spider-Man’s uncle, “with small appropriations come great responsibility.” No, wait...) A few legislators heard a few anecdotes, and bad ideas are starting to snowball.
Predictably, a countermove is also afoot, with some folks trying to develop a voluntary alternative that would have many of the same effects. The idea is to beat the legislature to the punch, in the name of maintaining some level of control.
I’m starting to doubt the wisdom of this strategy.
That’s not because I have great faith in the wisdom of the legislature. The fact that we’re having these conversations in the first place is a sign that the legislature’s willingness to make rules based on apocryphal anecdote knows little bounds. (“I know someone who knows someone whose nephew...”) Its weird willingness, almost eagerness, to extrapolate from unsubstantiated trivia does not inspire confidence.
But there’s something really unsatisfying about trying to preempt bad ideas with just-barely-less-bad ones, justifying them on the grounds that they’re self-inflicted. It may or may not work in the very short term, but it gives bad ideas political momentum and cover. Over time, it shifts the political center towards bad ideas. “Yes, we agree with every bad thing you say about us, but how about if we agree to get tough on ourselves and feel really, really bad about it?” By agreeing to the spurious charge, even if insincerely, we’d give it political legitimacy. I just don’t think that sniveling cowardice is a viable long-term position.
At some point, it seems like the right move is to confront the issues directly.
There’s some risk involved in doing that, of course. We could lose, a terrible idea could be enacted, and we’d have to live with it. But if the preemptive compromise involves giving up most of what we care about anyway, the marginal downside strikes me as small. And the possible upside is enormous.
Community colleges have nothing to apologize for. You don’t like high unemployment? An educated workforce might help. You don’t like high student loan burdens? Low tuition is always handy. You don’t like palatial dorms with climbing walls, or scandal-ridden football teams? No problem here.
More to the point, if we’re going to improve in significant ways without significant infusions of money -- a tall order in the best of times -- we’ll need the freedom to experiment. That means avoiding any sort of external mandate, whether legislated or “voluntary,” in favor of room to move. Mandates that come with enormous piles of cash might be worthwhile, depending on the specifics, but if the funding is shrinking, I really don’t want to hear it. “Less of the same” is not a serious answer.
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