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Vietnam is confronted by dangers and opportunities following a stunning rebuke to China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.
An international tribunal in The Hague rejected China’s claim to historic rights over 90 % of the South China Sea, and ruled that its reclaimed islands and outcrops in the Spratlys had no right to a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Vietnam was not party to the legal dispute, which was brought by the Philippines.
Hanoi, however, will receive a major legal and diplomatic boost in its own efforts to resist China’s belligerence in the disputed waters.
The main danger for Vietnam is that China will respond by stepping up its military presence, increasing the danger of hostilities, in an attempt to bolster its severely damaged territorial claims.
China sinks Vietnamese fishing boat
China has described the ruling as “ill-founded”. It has repeated its long held position that it would not be bound by the ruling.
That position could lead to further confrontation with its neighbours and the United States, which has significantly increased its naval presence in the region in recent weeks.
Tensions are already on the rise.
Just before the ruling, Vietnam accused the Chinese coastguard of sinking one of its fishing boats off the coast of central Vietnam.
Vietnamese officials said that Chinese coast guards had forced Vietnamese fishermen off one of two boats operating near the disputed Paracel Islands and then sunk it.
They said the men spent hours in the water before being rescued by the other Vietnamese boat.
The incident is likely to inflame opinion in Vietnam where China is seen as using its economic power and military might to bully a smaller neighbour.
Damage to environment
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague claimed no jurisdiction on the rights to ownership or administration of various outcrops in the disputed waters.
It was clear, however, that under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), China has no claim to EEZs in the Spratly chain.
It also said that China’s far more ambitious but vaguely defined claim to “historic rights” over all the waters within its “nine-dash line” had no legal basis.
China has used the line, drawn up by the KMT government in the 1940s, to push its territorial claim deep into the EEZs of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines.
The tribunal also condemned China for its harassment of Filipino fishermen in areas well outside its territorial waters, and for severely damaging the environment in its construction of man-made islands and potential military bases on partially submerged outcrops.
There was no ruling, however, on the status of waters around the Paracel Islands, the western reaches of which were seized by China from Vietnam in 1974.
The Philippines is not party to that dispute, so did not bring a case against China.
Vietnam must now decide whether to bring its case against China to The Hague in a challenge to Beijing’s control of waters around the Paracels.
The blow to China’s claim to the “nine-dash line” and to waters in the Spratlys, however, will already be seen as a major moral and strategic victory for Vietnam.
Much now depends on how China will react, and how the Philippines, under its unpredictable new president, Rodrigo Duterte, will respond.
Contradictory and confused statements from Philippine officials in recent days have led to severe doubts about how Manila intends to proceed. | <urn:uuid:d225752c-1b6d-4620-afb3-50d66d9f698a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.vietnamrightnow.com/2016/07/vietnam-faces-dilemma-after-stunning-setback-for-china/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573399.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818185216-20220818215216-00075.warc.gz | en | 0.966435 | 740 | 2.5 | 2 |
Come along on a magical journey into Willy Wonka’s world of magic, chocolate and adventure with this newly released children’s book.
Online PR News – 21-July-2012 – Maryville, Tennessee – Just in time for summer fun, the creative team of Valarie Budayr and Roscoe Welply have written an entertaining and educational new children's book The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory http://ultimateguidetocharlie.com/ that will provide hours of fun for kids and parents alike. Based on the beloved story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the boy who wins the golden tickets and enters the magical world of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, this beautifully-illustrated and well-written book entices kids to enter that same magical world and join along in the adventure.
The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is an interactive, adventure-filled delight through the Chocolate Factory, with stops along the way to create, laugh and learn. It reawakens the passion and idea of “jumping” inside the pages of this book with the knowledge that each chapter is a gateway into a magical world. Now available on iTunes, it’s your opportunity to truly experience where art, literature and technology meet allowing you to feel the story like never before.
With over 20 crafts and activities for the entire family, the book brings children and parents together to re-live the wonder and amazement that Charlie experienced during his trip through Willy Wonka’s world of magic and chocolate. While meandering through the factory on the Chocolate River, readers stop to learn where chocolate comes from or how gum is made. They work their way through mazes, puzzles and games, and so more much. The best part is that the adventures can be done at the reader’s own pace, providing family fun throughout the summer and beyond.
By sparking the imagination and helping to develop creative thinking, it’s learning without really trying with education intertwined with entertainment. Valarie Budayr states “When we weave collaborative play into the fabric of our everyday life, we open the door to transform our relationships, our viewpoints and perspectives on creating happiness, and the joy of innovating with our children. I am thrilled to be able to provide a book that brings families together reading and enjoying their imaginations.”
The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is published by Audrey Press http://www.audreypress.com in affiliation with Kite Reader and available at iTunes at http://tinyurl.com/7omgzjk. For media interviews or to join in our blog tour adventure, please contact publicist, Diana Ennen at firstname.lastname@example.org.
About About Audrey Press: The mission of Audrey Press is to inspire children, families, schools and all of our communities, no matter how small or how large, to experience, discover, and create our world together through the power of books. Audrey Press strives to plant the seeds of adventure, magic and togetherness by taking books off shelves and stories off pages. Discover. Inspire. Share. | <urn:uuid:8063a8c3-2126-4705-b653-ff52ef3d86b7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.onlineprnews.com/news/246548-1342826625-family-fun-begins-with-new-childrens-book-the-ultimate-guide-to-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280504.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00142-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915628 | 649 | 1.539063 | 2 |
For 50 hours, the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet and Japanese Coast Guard and naval forces frantically searched for Gas Turbine Systems Technician 3rd Class Peter Mims — a sailor who went missing from the USS Shiloh.
Now, more than a week later, Mims has been found alive, hiding in the engine room, Navy Times first reported on Thursday. How he survived there for seven days is a mystery, but we’re willing to bet MREs and piss bottles were involved.
When they couldn’t find him on June 8, the crew of the USS Shiloh presumed Mims fell overboard and ordered a massive search-and-rescue party.
Aircraft from the USS Ronald Reagan along with destroyers USS John S. McCain and USS McCampbell assisted Shiloh and the Japanese Navy in a comprehensive search of roughly 5,500 square miles of ocean, according to a statement from the 7th Fleet. But the Navy called off the search on June 11 after the mission proved unable in finding Mims.
“We are thankful to have found our missing shipmate and appreciate all the hard work of our Sailors and Japanese partners in searching for him,” Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander, Carrier Strike Group 5 and Task Force 70 said in a statement on Thursday. “I am relieved that this Sailor’s family will not be joining the ranks of Gold Star Families that have sacrificed so much for our country.”
The circumstances by which he managed to hide out in the engine room are now under investigation. The Navy did not divulge Mims’ condition, but he is being flown off the Shiloh for evaluation.
Task & Purpose reached out to the 7th Fleet for a comment. We will update as more information becomes available. | <urn:uuid:ad8f63ed-82d1-438e-a6e3-40e6427e413d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://taskandpurpose.com/news/peter-mims-sailor-thought-fallen-overboard-found-hiding-engine-room-uss-shiloh/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573667.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819100644-20220819130644-00065.warc.gz | en | 0.955765 | 382 | 1.625 | 2 |
October 11, 2013 11:53
Full operational control of South Korean troops should not be handed over to Seoul in haste and out of political considerations, a U.S. academic says.
Michael O'Hanlon, a fellow at the conservative Brookings Institution, made the recommendation in an article titled "Don't Rush the U.S.-Korea Command Change" on Tuesday.
"In Korea, our preeminent concerns need to be unity of command and effectiveness of our combined deterrent against a still very potent North Korean threat," he said. "Ensuring fair burden-sharing is not the principal prism through which this issue should be viewed."
The original decision was a political one, because then-President Roh Moo-hyun was "playing the nationalism card,' O'Hanlon said, and "found a willing accomplice for the transfer plan in U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who wanted a more expeditionary American global footprint and felt that U.S. forces in Korea were too anchored to the peninsula."
But he added the current "command arrangements are a remarkable testament to allied effort over the decades… If it is to be changed, that should happen carefully and as slowly as military leaders on both sides think prudent."
He cited the "tragic failed hostage rescue attempt in Iran in 1980" and "roughly a quarter of all American fatalities" from friendly fire in Iraq in 1991 as examples of a "failure of unified command" and poorly coordinated military operations.
"Command structures that are bifurcated or otherwise ambiguous in certain ways can raise the risk of such tragedies in the future," he added.
- Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com | <urn:uuid:def8f688-73d7-4941-9406-05f08d9170ad> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2013/10/11/2013101101463.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281746.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00282-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960862 | 354 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Operating System Introduction
The operating system is the first thing you will install on a computer after building it. It's what runs all the other softwares you choose to download and install. It also allows the file management and visual interface.
Choosing the right operating system for your 3D project pipeline is crucial. It will determine the efficiency of your workflow and the availability of some creative softwares. If you're working at home, you OS will guide the appreciation of your system, and your ability to use it reliably and with ease.
There are 3 main choices when it comes to OS: Windows, MacOS and Linux. All three are compatible with 3D production software, and equivalents to fill in the missing gaps. However, these operating systems have different advantages, problems, specializations and caveats you may want to be aware of, beforehand. Today, most 3D film and gaming companies use either windows or Linux, but the there is an exception for graphic designers, who generally all work on MacOS.
Microsoft's Windows OS
Today, Windows is still the most commonly used operating system on the market. Most workplaces and laptop sold have Windows installed and the complementary Office Suite (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) even tho it is also offered on Mac. Windows is easy to use and friendly enough, except when debugging is involved. This could be caused either by a software of hardware malfunction, or malware. However, recent versions of windows, like Windows 7 and Windows 10 are very stable and reliable, with the exception of windows 8.
Contrary to MacOS, windows does not include everything, but instead allows a very large ecosystem of software that you can download from the internet, most of them free. For example, you may want to download another browser, such as firefox or chrome. You will also need to download and install some driver software manually for components of your system, which is usually automated on MacOS. If you don't know which OS to choose for your project, go with Windows. This will allow you to keep all your options open, because everything is compatible with it. Additionally, you can take advantage of the best prices, by selecting your own custom PC computer components. Take a look at our computer components buying guide.
- Biggest softwares ecosystem and free programs to download
- Most softwares are compatible with this operating system
- Can be installed both on PC and Apple Hardware, but it is made for PC
- Requires some knowledge to debug technical problems with the OS
- Greater prevalence of virus, malwares and vulneratilities
Apple's Mac OS
Nowadays, who doesn't know about the Macintosh operating system (MacOS)? The Apple logo seems to be everywhere around us these day, but it wasn't always this way. Some time ago, Steve Jobs was fired from Apple, and the proprietary business model almost failed, when he got hired back into the company and launched the iMac and the iPod Brands. This made the company rebound back, better and bigger than ever before. Now, it has reached a cult-like status, with fans across every borders praising it's well conceived designs and user-friendliness.
For 3D work, MacOS is a good option for you if you struggle to solve technical issues with your computer, in general. It comes preinstalled with specific Macintosh hardware and the compatibility has been optimized to work flawlessly. Also, the Apple customer support is amazing, and the stability of the system is very solid.
You can even install the windows operating system, as a dual boot, using bootcamp. You should know that there may be unexpected bugs in some softwares, that would not be present in a native windows on a PC hardware. 2D graphic artists, however, should definitely consider buying a Mac, as it is most prevalent in graphic design studios. If technical working of a computer isn't your thing, go with a MacOS and hardware.
- Very easy to use and stable
- Almost entirely free of technical bugs
- Almost no virus or Malwares
- Can dual boot with MacOS and Windows
- Mostly paid software ecosystem
- Fewer choices in software compatibility
- Tied only to Apple hardware
- Quick Obsolescence
- Final Cut Pro
Last but not least, there is Linux. Linux is a great and underrated open source operating system based on Unix, which is the same base as MacOS. What is less known about Linux is that it is currently used to run most of the internet. Indeed, most online web servers and web hosts use Linux as their day to day operating system. There are multiple distributions available, developed and customized by different companies from the same base. To name a few, here a a few examples, some of which even come free of charge for the full version.
- Fedora and
If you're looking for a distribution to use for 3D work, we would recommend trying either CentOS or Ubuntu, in second place. It can be installed on any PC computer that is able to run windows, and can even dual boot. It can not, however run windows or mac applications.
One of the strong incentives to use Linux is the fact that it's the only free operating system. The other big advantage is that it's open source, which allows you to customize just about everything with a bit of code. On the other hand, Linux not made to be user friendly, it is made to be efficient. It can be considered to be the opposite of MacOS, in that it is not necessarily elegant or easy to use, despite both being based on Unix.
Linux has a steep learning curve, and often requires a fair amount of knowledge in coding to make it work like you want it to. This is true from installing drivers, to finding equivalents to your favorite window's programs. If you're in for some digging through the internet and testing different scripts, then the rewards of making it work are yours to take. Otherwise, you may rather prefer looking at the alternatives, like Windows and MacOS. Linux runs on the same hardware as windows does, so you can benefit from all the same recommendations for all PC hardware components.
- Secure (when properly configured)
- Efficient (in resources, disk usage and code optimization)
- Almost no virus/Malwares
- Many free distributions available
- Difficult to use for non technically oriented people
- A narrower ecosystem for 3D software developments
- Fewest in mainstream software compatibility
- Can Dual boot with Windows or MacOS
Photo-editing software for Linux
Graphic Software Compatibility
Compatible with all 3 Operating systems (Linux, Mac and Windows)
- 3Ds Max
- Mari (CentOS)
- Cinema 4D
- Substance Painter
Windows and Mac Softwares Only
- After effects
Free alternatives to office, compatible with all OS
- Google Docs (writer, sheets)
- Libre Office
- Free Office
Back to the careers Table of Contents Careers in the 3D Animation & Visual FX Industry
- The different 3D Modeling Specializations for the next Digital Age
- Check out our complete Guide on 3D Computer Hardware
- Or just vote for your favorite 3D software
Tell us what you think, we welcome your comments! Did we miss something?
Join the Wombats
Opt-in our occasionnal newsletter to be the first to be informed of our new tutorials series, original content updates, special offers and important announcements! It’s free and spam-free, plus you can unsubscribe at any time. | <urn:uuid:a79cfe0a-6233-4c18-8017-69609fcc4933> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.3dwombat.com/blog/software/best-operating-system-3d-projects/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572021.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814083156-20220814113156-00065.warc.gz | en | 0.930916 | 1,637 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Viewing posts from April, 2014
Our goal is to transfer information securely between a known client (Alice) and a service (Bob) such that Bob and Alice can be certain that only they are privy to the information being exchanged. Once the information is in their hands, they trust each other not to pass it on to anyone else. A spy (Charles) cannot masquerade as either Alice or Bob and he cannot evesdrop on what Alice and Bob are saying to one another.
Nginx is very fast and simple to configure. Getting Python to play nice with it using WSGI is a breeze. PHP is a little tricky.
The example below shows a simple utilisation of the proxy model to securely access an API. The API in question happens to be fairly full secure access to the Django ORM for a substantial business application but it could be any object oriented API.
With GitHub, you can see all of the issues relating to your project at a glance. You can review an issue and drill down as deep as you wish, right to who added and changed what lines of code and when they did it to fix the issue. What is more, this incredible management power comes with features that save your developers time and effort rather than forcing them to 'waste' time preparing reports or updating you.
Any cloud service, whether it is a website, a complex business system or an API is implemented by one or more servers connected to the Internet. Many developers and hosting services keep control of these services which makes it potentially difficult for you to scale up your services, add more developers or change your arrangements.
Australia: 07 3103 2894
International: +61 410 545 357 | <urn:uuid:dbae6f35-0612-4962-87bf-5dda90351551> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://paulwhippconsulting.com/blog/archive/2014/4/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00080-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943883 | 344 | 1.546875 | 2 |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Public Service Company of New Mexico is seeking permission from state regulators to install new pollution controls at the San Juan Generating Station.
The utility is under a mandate by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency to trim haze-causing pollution from the coal-fired power plant in northwestern New Mexico by 2016.
A federal appeals court recently denied a request by PNM and the state to put on hold the mandate so the courts could settle the dispute. However, legal appeals are still pending.
PNM officials argue that selective non-catalytic reduction technology would be a more cost-effective option than what the EPA is requiring. They say they want to keep costs as low as possible for ratepayers.
Environmental groups contend the federal plan would do more to curb emissions from San Juan.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. | <urn:uuid:8a44cace-6c59-4092-9c9e-0bf5cea85314> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://krwg.org/post/pnm-seeks-approval-new-pollution-controls | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282935.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00244-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949498 | 181 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Sunday reflection by Very Reverend Stephen Salocks, Rector of Saint John's Seminary - August 1, 2021
“Give us this day our daily bread.” On the Eighteenth Sunday of the Year, we are reminded how dedicated God is to answering that petition of the Lord’s Prayer. Bread, which is basic and fundamental, symbolically stands for all that may sustain us, and we see this often in the Scriptures when God responds to the hungers and needs of his people. In the First Reading today, we hear the Lord proclaim to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you.” True to his Word, God fed his people in the wilderness and sustained them for their journey to the promised land. Jesus’ feeding of the multitude last week recalled God’s efforts to care for the wilderness generation, but it also previewed something new and even more fundamental to sustain us. The Gospel of John makes it clear that God responds to greater hungers than simply those for physical food, and the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, which is truly a banquet, shows Jesus preparing the people, including all of us, to be fed spiritually.
Today, we hear Jesus help us to raise our perspective beyond that which sustains earthly life to that which gives eternal life. In the Gospel, Jesus knows that those who are drawn to him, who are attracted by his healings, and who have eaten of the loaves and satisfied their immediate hunger, want more food. But those who follow Jesus must think about more than satisfying their physical hunger.
We should work to obtain the food that lasts for eternal life, and that is the bread that Jesus provides. We want to “work” and keep our focus on the one who provides “the food that endures for eternal life.” In reality, it is all about God’s work, which should lead us to faith in Jesus as both the giver of the life-giving bread and the bread of life itself. Believing in Jesus, whom the Father has sent to us, we experience the work of God enabling not only our faith in his Son but also our reception of him as the source of our eternal life.
When the people conversing with Jesus ask for another sign to confirm their faith in him, they refer to the moment of receiving the manna or “the bread from heaven” at the time of Moses. Here is the springboard and catalyst for Jesus to begin his great discourse on the Bread of Life. We hear the echo of today’s First Reading from the 16th chapter of the Book of Exodus, where the Lord tells Moses, “I will now rain down bread from heaven for you,” and where Moses tells the people about the manna: “This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.” The bread from heaven was a genuine gift from God, but it was much less than “the true bread from heaven” that God the Father is now offering in Jesus. The Gospel of John has already made the point that Jesus, the Son of God, came down from heaven. As the conversation continues, it will become clear that Jesus is the “true bread from heaven.”
Having established that God is the one who provides life-giving bread from heaven, Jesus identifies himself as “the bread of life.” The work of God to bring people to salvation finds its fulfillment in Jesus. By identifying himself as the bread of life, Jesus brings together all of the elements of nourishment that God has already bestowed upon his people, namely wisdom and the Law. By promising that “whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst,” Jesus fulfills the Old Testament prophecies about God’s delivery of salvation and relief from all hunger and thirst. The Law was the covenant established by God that set forth the parameters of communion between the people of Israel and their God.
The “first course” of the Bread of Life Discourse is finished, but the banquet will continue. Next week, Jesus will make it clear that we are all invited to the banquet and to receive the Bread of Life as his body and blood in the Eucharist. Today, we give thanks for God’s effort and initiative to call us into a relationship with His Son. We pray that God, our heavenly Father, will grant us the grace to listen to his Son, whom he sent to us as Word made flesh and that, with that grace, we will ever set our hearts on that which endures for eternal life, the true bread from heaven, our Lord, Jesus Christ. | <urn:uuid:b443231f-1487-4c33-8aa3-51c095c8c5b6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.sjs.edu/news/18sunday2021 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573104.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817183340-20220817213340-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.972708 | 969 | 1.890625 | 2 |
How water changes
States of Matter uses simple text vetted by a science curriculum consultant and a reading consultant to introduce beginning readers to these important concepts, in this case, the Water Cycle.
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Library Binding: 24 pages
Publisher: Weekly Reader Early Learning Library (July 2006)
Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 7.1 x 0.3 inches | <urn:uuid:6f216df5-3ea7-4a8e-8598-f179d8502269> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://ekoskola.org.mt/resource/how-water-changes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571538.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812014923-20220812044923-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.747536 | 106 | 2.9375 | 3 |
La Maison de la Radio
Runs Fri., Nov. 8–Thurs., Nov. 14 at Varsity. Not rated. 99 minutes.
If I told you they were making a documentary about NPR, would you line up to see backstage scenes of Scott Simon, Ira Glass, and Terry Gross? (Personally, I’d flee in the other direction.) And what if the radio hosts were all French? The miracle of Radio France, which is something like the BBC, is that it gets to broadcast several specialized channels—news, arts and culture, classical music, etc.—with scant regard for profit or plebeian taste. (The state-supported broadcaster was gradually privatized under Mitterand.) Located in a large circular fortress in Paris, the enterprise is unapologetically highbrow, and director Nicolas Philibert (To Be and To Have) is not one to question that mission. Like Frederick Wiseman, he simply looks at and listens to the hosts, technicians, musicians, and producers.
A workplace documentary is only going to be as interesting as the work, and these people are not lion tamers. Meetings and recording sessions are hardly scintillating to watch, though I have seldom seen so many faces concentrating on the precise sound of words. These people are exacting about every syllable and tweak at the mixing board. And we do occasionally venture outside to record wild sounds or report on a soccer game or the Tour de France. One or two moments are even fictional, as when a host asks us to imagine the sonic landscape of 17th-century Paris. The streets are wooden planks and mud, he explains; there’s livestock in the streets; church bells ring the hours; and no one ventures out at night, when wild animals creep back into the city. And there you might imagine a Victor Hugo story—but written for the ear, not the page. | <urn:uuid:35c080db-4e42-43d7-85fd-66d0aaab9a33> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://archive.seattleweekly.com/film/949702-129/radio-add-captions-france-documentary-hosts | 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 | 0.956382 | 390 | 1.5 | 2 |
One of the first all girl bluegrass bands, it was a real treat to have them at the Freeze-Dried Coffee House. They consisted of Nancy Josephson (bass), Susie Monick (banjo), Carol Siegal (mandolin), Martha Trachtenberg (guitar), and Sue Raines (fiddle).
Here are some items of interest:
Looking Back at the First All-Female Bluegrass Band
Pretty Good for a Girl: Women in Bluegrass
Uncle Pen Used to Be Bill Cheatham Pen I’m Gonna Love You Too Morning Light Swing Low, Sweet Chariot I’d Rather go Home and Watch a Movie Little Maggie Soldier’s Joy Sittin On Top of the World Monument Sally Goodin I’ll Fly Away Amy Red Haired Boy Bluegrass and the Boys Amazing Grass Drowsy Maggie-Blackberry Blossom Old Kentucky Home Beaumont Rag Reason to Believe Foggy Mt Locomotion Theme Time Georgia Piney Woods Can’t Hurry Love Daybroke in Syracuse Somebody Else’s Troubles Devils Dream Old Man at the Mill Hello City Limits Colored Aristocracy Love Come Home Washington Lee Swing Here Comes the Sun Orange Blossom Special Old Joe Clark | <urn:uuid:ced23d92-cd3e-424b-bdc0-73b06ee5f302> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://rogerweiss.com/buffalo-gals-sept-6-1975/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572192.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815145459-20220815175459-00067.warc.gz | en | 0.717509 | 256 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Radiation Therapy Safety
Improving the Quality of Care during Radiation Therapy Planning and Delivery
Radiation therapy is the process of applying carefully calculated doses of radiation directly to tumors or areas with cancer cells to prevent their growth. Recently, there has been media attention to unsafe radiation therapy in some healthcare centers and resulting harm to patients. Some of our patients have been asking what we do at Northwestern Memorial Hospital to ensure that the radiation therapy they are receiving is as safe and effective as possible.
At Northwestern Memorial, we have always recognized that there are risks involved with radiation, and because of those risks, patient safety is and always has been our number one priority. Radiation therapy can be provided safely with proper systems and precautions. Most radiation therapy errors are associated with a lack of quality assurance processes. We believe in creating an environment to allow for the safest possible processes and safety checks.
Steps We Take to Ensure Patient Safety
With the goal of zero preventable errors, we have created a three-part, comprehensive approach to quality and safety of radiation treatment. Following is an outline of the steps we take to ensure patient safety:
Equipment Quality Assurance
- We perform daily, monthly and annual physics calibration and output checks of all radiation equipment
- We gather outside confirmation of radiation levels via a government sponsored institution, the Radiological Physics Center, and clinical trial cooperatives
Patient-Specific Quality Assurance
- We perform primary and secondary calculations to verify the accuracy of the radiation dose
- Medical physicists (specially trained staff with a M.S. and PhD in radiation physics) supervise and approve calculations for all treatment plans
- We perform quality assurance checks of Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) and Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS and SBRT) plans prior to treatment
- Therapist staff reviews plans to verify agreement between the radiation dose in the treatment plan and the treatment machine
- Prior to therapy, we perform a “time-out,” something like a pre-flight checklist on an airplane, to verify the physician's written order, the prescribed dose programmed into the machine, and the patient's identity
Personnel-Specific Quality Assurance
- We conduct audits to ensure that staffing and time-out verifications are appropriate
- First Treatment Timeout Audits
- Daily Treatment Timeout Audits
- We always staff a minimum of two therapists per treatment unit
In addition, we:
- Follow published guidelines from the American Association of Physicists in Medicine about the performance testing of all radiation therapy technology
- Comply with regulatory requirements
- Engage in a radiation oncology peer-review program that includes a focus on quality assurance
How We Developed Our Safety and Quality Process
Our process was developed over a period of years after much research and discussion, and we believe it’s both effective and unique. Since we put the process into place, it has proven its benefit in catching near-miss events and confirming accuracy of treatments.
Radiation therapy is considered a high risk procedure because it is a complex process, involving many steps and several disciplines and because it is a potentially harmful treatment if applied incorrectly. When patients go through the process of radiation therapy, their care is provided by a number of staff members, including:
- Radiation Oncologists
- Radiation Physicists
- Medical Dosimetrists
- Radiation Therapists
- Oncology Nurses
- Social Workers
- Engineers and Informational Technologists
- Administrative Support Personnel
When this many people are involved in providing healthcare, accurate communication is essential.
Another reason that radiation therapy can be risky is that it requires great precision. The smallest calculation error can have huge implications in the delivery of care. Errors in radiation therapy are not common, but they do occur, as highlighted in recent media articles about various hospitals’ experience of radiation errors.
What Northwestern Memorial is Doing to Reduce the Risk
To help prevent future errors, Northwestern Memorial performed a prospective analysis to thoroughly examine our process in order to identify specific causes or factors that could contribute to potential errors at our hospital and others. We analyzed our entire process – from the time patients came in for a consultation until their treatment was completed -- and we identified parts of the process that could be improved.
We combined what we learned through our analysis with recommendations based on The Joint Commission’s Universal Protocol for Preventing Wrong Site, Wrong Procedure and Wrong Person SurgeryTM to assure safe and reliable radiation therapy procedures. We identified four important steps of the process that now aid us in reducing the potential for error. They are:
- A detailed pre-simulation order must be completed and approved by the Radiation Oncologist
- A post-treatment planning “timeout” must occur between the planner and the Radiation Oncologist ensuring review of all parameters (a timeout is a formal step in the process involving the patient and the care team, with a checklist that must be followed to make sure all steps are done in order)
- A pre-initial treatment timeout must occur between Radiation Therapists and the Radiation Oncologist for any new treatment
- A daily pre-treatment delivery timeout must occur between at least two Radiation Therapists to identify correct patient and treatment parameters
Each of these steps is accompanied by a checklist to aid in consistency, quality and efficiency of the timeout. Documentation of the timeouts is done online in our Electronic Medical Record (EMR), which is recorded in the patient’s chart. This allows for real-time auditing of the process, and it assures staff will complete it reliably.
The use of the four checklists has significantly changed the way in which we plan and deliver radiation therapy. Using a standardized routine and pre-procedure process of verifying the patient and the correct site with the patient and sharing accountability among the healthcare team assures us that our system is reliable and safe.
We have found that adhering to the checklists helps in many ways. It:
- Improves communication among the healthcare team by fostering collaboration and cooperation
- Involves the patient in active participation in the pre-procedural process
- Forces busy healthcare workers to slow down and pause for critical verification prior to starting the radiation procedure
The use of checklists breaks down complex tasks to their component parts and ensures that nothing is left out.
Increased Patient Satisfaction
Patient satisfaction is an important part of our goal to deliver exceptional care to every patient every time. Since we implemented our checklists and timeouts, our patient satisfaction scores have increased to 98.4 percent, which is the highest patient satisfaction score in the hospital.
If you have questions about the safety of radiation therapy or the process we use to ensure your safety, please contact us via our patient feedback form. | <urn:uuid:62248ae6-01fa-4a34-abdb-039d616e5ffd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.nmh.org/nm/quality-radiation-safety | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00026-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941184 | 1,389 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Light Board Operator, Theater Salary
A Light Board Operator, Theater earns an average salary of $35,100 per year. Most people with this job move on to other positions after 10 years in this career.
Job Description for Light Board Operator, Theater
Theater light board operators handle theatrical lighting design for their company's productions. They are responsible for maintaining lighting equipment, as well as working collaboratively with theater professionals such as the stage manager and lighting designer to ensure each production runs smoothly. Theater light board operators make sure all equipment is ready and operational before productions. During productions, these operators must use their headset to communicate with the stage directors and make prompt lighting adjustments as necessary. If any lighting elements require repair, the operator needs to communicate this as soon as possible to the theater supervisor or other appropriate point of contact so repairs occur in a timely manner. In some companies, light board operators may also run the sound board, be the lighting designer and/or serve as the stage manager.Read More...
Theater light board operator positions generally require previous experience in a similar role. They must have an advanced knowledge of light boards, as well as the ability to promptly respond to instructions and problems related to lighting during performances. Excellent oral and written communication skills are needed, as is the ability to multitask. Light board operators' hours vary depending on their theater's productions; many shifts occur during evenings and weekends. The number of hours worked varies depending on the theater's schedule and events. | <urn:uuid:3daa1216-a499-4fbd-8c81-2877dcfc1c57> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Light_Board_Operator%2C_Theater/Salary | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280504.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00136-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962314 | 299 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Pandora (1896) - John William Waterhouse
POOR GROVER! All week long, we have seen the noble dreams of this dear puppet crash to bits through multiple means. He has suffered various atrocities when all he wants to do is relax and live a peaceful existence. But once again, someone is standing in his way, and this time, IT IS YOU!
Before we even open the book, the damage is done. Both you and Grover know that there is a monster at the end of this book. All you have to do is walk away and not open it and keep that monster locked away tightly. But you've opened the book now. Aren't you curious to see what comes next? Fortunately, good old Grover is there to set you straight.
But you don't listen. You don't take this sound advice. Something deep within you is forcing you to see this monster. Why? What has Grover ever done to you? Just walk away, there is still time!
Through ropes and boards and bricks, Grover pulls out all of the stops to save your soul. But you are driven to keep on turning. This unnatural urge from within is giving you strength and power to topple down walls. Perhaps, the monster is not at the end of this book, but right here with you, drawing you closer and closer towards evil.
This is it. Your final chance. One turn and it is all over. Humanity will crumble, thousands will perish, millions will suffer. Why do we have this strong desire for closure? Even if we know the end result will be a macabre mess of death and anguish, we cannot turn away. This book is more than a book. It is the entirety of the life experience bound in a dozen or so pages. No other book draws the reader in as much as this one does. You are the main character and, I am sorry to say, you are the villain. Every page you turn has caused more and more destruction. There is no redeeming you if you turn this last page.
At the bottom of Pandora's box, after all of the evils had escaped, and after all of the horrors had caused their great ruckus, at the bottom of the box laid one tiny bird. This bird was Hope. It weakly stumbled to its feet and spread its wings and flew.
Out there, in the now chaotic and unpredictable world, Hope exists. It may be hard to see, hard to find. But it is there and it can show up just when you need it most. So maybe all is not lost. Maybe everything will work out just fine. We do not know what the future has in store for us. We should not fear it. We must face it. It could destroy us or it can make us better. There is only one way to find out.
Let's turn the page....
(This post was inspired by the interaction one man had with his own monster at the end found here.) | <urn:uuid:a50cd1b8-7393-4d47-9b15-be626873a23b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://amuchdeeperlevel.blogspot.com/2011/10/beautiful-pandora-was-created-by-gods.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279489.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00016-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971308 | 611 | 1.546875 | 2 |
The d.light S2 is the world’s best selling high-quality solar LED lantern. This easy-to-use solar powered light provides over four hours of bright, clean light, an integrated solar panel, rugged design, and an estimated product lifetime of over five years. The S2 enables children across the developing world to study during evening hours, improving their grades and creating a brighter future. Parents love the affordability, reliability and opportunity it provides. The d.light S2 is adding hours of light to millions of lives.
Brilliance on a budget: The affordable d.light S2 provides our customers with a great value. The sturdy design of the d.light S2 is built to withstand daily use, with a product lifetime of over five years. The highly efficient solar panel allows it to charge even on cloudy days.
- Renewable Energy: State-of-the-art solar panels that are compact, lightweight and portable
- Rugged Design: for ensuring weather, impact, dust & insect resistance
- Extremely versatile: Can be carried by hand or hung in many settings
- Completely maintenance free Batteries never need replacing, other components maintenance free, tamper-proof screws
- 2 Year Warranty
A portable companion: The d.light S2 goes wherever you do. The adjustable, metal handle allows the solar light to be placed on a table, set on the floor, hung from a wall or on a hook – it is perfect for use inside the home or outdoors.
d.light is a for-profit social enterprise whose purpose is to create new freedoms for customers without access to reliable power so they can enjoy a brighter future. We design, manufacture and distribute solar light and power products throughout the developing world. We aim to empower the lives of at least 100 million people by 2020. d.light serves over 62 countries, through over 12,000 retail outlets, 10 field offices, and five regional hubs. The company employs over 300 people directly, and indirectly employs hundreds more worldwide.
In 2004, during d.light co-founder Sam Goldman’s Peace Corps service in Benin, Africa, his neighbor’s son was badly burned by an overturned kerosene lamp. This incident, along with the knowledge that 2.3 billion people in the world still do not have access to reliable electricity, inspired Sam to participate in a class called Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability at the Stanford Design School, where he met co-founder Ned Tozun. That’s where they developed their initial prototype solar lantern and an ambitious plan to bring safe, bright, and renewable lighting to people around the globe. | <urn:uuid:0ca3d731-a508-4cd5-9d53-787455407dec> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://goodpeople.com/us/d-light-design/s2-solar-focused-task-light-led-rechargeable-orange | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279933.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00124-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924039 | 547 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Good news for everyone who is looking for job opportunities in Dubai because according to media sources new jobs in huge amount are going to be opened in Dubai. Private schools are near to open in Dubai and huge numbers of teachers and supporting staff in these schools.
Dubai which is also called as United Arab Emirates or UAE is well known country in Arab. The population of Dubai is around 2106100. It is one of the most beautiful countries in the world that attracts plenty for foreigners every year. A large number of people come in Dubai for earning their livelihood especially from Asian countries. There are almost every tastes of jobs are available in the Dubai according to their skills and abilities.
Huge number of educational staff is required in Dubai such as teachers, trainers, IT specialist, Physiology, History and science subject specialist and as well as principals. Job opportunities are being offered in popular educational institutions.
Applications for different posts are invited from various institutions therefore it is recommended that if you wanna have good job in Dubai you should submit you CV with full particulars. | <urn:uuid:1568bf52-4ef2-4485-a8b7-f50ac535c829> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://ihelpf9.com/good-news-for-job-seeking-in-dubai | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279189.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00062-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979638 | 211 | 1.5625 | 2 |
American scientists have developed the lightest metal material in the world that can not damage dandelion fluff
this new material is very light, and even if it is pressed on the dandelion, it will not damage dandelion fluff
the twill lattice structure of the new material is very similar to the building structure of the Eiffel Tower in France
how high the lifting device in California can rise; The University of Irvine and Hughes research laboratory recently jointly developed the world's lightest solid metal material, and said that even if this material is pressed on the dandelion, it will not damage the dandelion fluff
99.99% of this new material is air, its weight is 1/100 of polystyrene foam, and its density is only 0.9 mg/cm3. In addition, this material has super pressure resistance, almost completely recovers after being compressed by more than 50%, and has the property of "extremely high energy absorption"
"this new material is made of miniature hollow metal tubes as thin as 1/1000 hair. The metal tubes are cross woven into twill grids, and there are gaps between adjacent grids," Dr. Tobias schedler, who participated in the study, said. In contrast, the structures of other ultralight materials, including silicon aerogel and foam metal, are disordered, which means that their strength, tensile strength, energy absorption and conductivity are worse than those of the raw materials used to manufacture them. This is any combination of the above basic situations
"modern buildings such as the Eiffel Tower in France and the Golden Gate Bridge in the United States, which are built with extremely light materials, have achieved a load-bearing effect that is unexpected because of their unique building structure. We have introduced this concept into nano and micro scales, innovated light materials, and developed this lightest material." William Carter from Hughes research laboratory said
this study has also been published in the latest issue of science for reference to increase the gate size. This new material can be applied to sound insulation, battery electrode, vibration buffer, etc. in the future. The researchers also point out that when the size is reduced to the nanometer range, the properties of these materials will actually become stronger | <urn:uuid:7c5b080a-55b4-43fb-ba6c-2c178dbcef35> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www1.waiyina.com/top/39499.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571869.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813021048-20220813051048-00066.warc.gz | en | 0.956562 | 463 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Six thousand candidates from 80 political entities are vying for seats in Iraq's parliament.
For the first time, voters can vote for the specific candidate and their political movement of choice, as opposed to a system of proportional representation.
Ahead of the March 7 vote that aims to rid Iraq of sectarian divisions, there has been vigorous debate across the country dotted with colourful campaign banners.
Mike Hanna reports.
March 3, 2010.
Source: Al Jazeera | <urn:uuid:2cb9600a-7ccb-4bb1-b325-a8a8a4ade01a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2010/03/2010331925162574.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280730.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00252-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957717 | 92 | 1.539063 | 2 |
MHA file extension - MetaImage medical format
What is mha file? How to open mha files?
File type specification:
The mha file extension is related to MetaImage format, a special medicine image format used in the Insight Segmentation and Registration Toolkit and probably other graphic visualization software used in medicine.
MetaImage is a text-based tagged file format for medical images.
The default software associated to mha file type:
Company or developer:
ITK is an open-source, cross-platform system that provides developers with an extensive suite of software tools for image analysis. Developed through extreme programming methodologies, ITK employs leading-edge algorithms for registering and segmenting multidimensional dat
List of software applications associated to the .mha file extension
Recommended software programs are sorted by OS platform (Windows, Mac OS X etc.) and possible program actions
that can be done with the file: like open mha file, edit mha file, convert mha file, view mha file, play mha file etc. (if exist software for corresponding action in File-Extensions.org's database).
Click on the tab below to simply browse between the application actions, to quickly get a list of recommended software, which is able to perform the specified software action, such as opening, editing or converting of the mha files.
- Open mha file
- Save mha file
- Edit mha file
- View mha file
- Create mha file
Software that open mha file - MetaImage medical format
Click on the link to get more information about Insight Segmentation and Registration Toolkit for open mha file action. | <urn:uuid:23066be1-e78a-466a-ba5d-ef670536a5b3> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.file-extensions.org/mha-file-extension | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285001.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00300-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.809666 | 349 | 1.65625 | 2 |
While potential is thought to be strong for the segment, with innovation including smoothies and juice products fortified with supplementary proteins like whey, there is strong competition in a congested functional market, said the analyst.
In the group’s latest report, public scepticism of some health claims as seen was one of the major challenges facing manufacturers of ready to drink protein beverages. The group stated that besides creating a product with strong taste, evidence backed health benefits were therefore as important to the industry.
Esther Renfrew, who heads dairy market intelligence at Zenith, said that protein drinks had already undergone market developments in recent years in attempts to meet these consumer needs.
“Ready to drink protein beverages have benefited from a number of factors including technological advances and changes in lifestyle as well as improvements in the taste and texture of products,” she stated.
According to Zenith, the potential benefits of supplementary protein to body health, which has been accepted for some time by bodybuilders, is increasingly being backed by some studies suggesting wider impacts.
Although exercise and sports use still dominated the protein beverage market in 2008, holding with a 45 per cent market share, a diverse range of uses was seen in the industry.
Satiety was picked by the analyst as major area that was seeing research into the benefits of supplemented protein, with 20 per cent of sales volumes linked to products targeting weight management.
Clinical products, juices and energy drinks respectively accounted for 12 per cent, eight per cent and five per cent of protein beverage sales during the year, said Zenith.
Of the supplementary proteins used in these drinks, casein, milk, soy, egg whites and legumes were all found in formulations, although whey remained the most popular ingredient.
Zenith suggested in the report that to meet strong potential within the ready to drink protein market, targeting consumer groups such as the elderly, young and hospital patients offered strong growth opportunities.
“The entry of a major player with global distribution and sizeable marketing budgets would help to educate consumers more about the benefits of protein and take the segment to the next level,” stated the analyst. | <urn:uuid:48d57cb3-76bc-4969-a9a1-5cd601727b5f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.dairyreporter.com/Article/2009/03/20/Protein-drinks-expanding-despite-health-scepticism-Zenith | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572870.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817062258-20220817092258-00671.warc.gz | en | 0.97478 | 438 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Get the latest news in local marketing each week.
Yelp: iPhones Offer Greater Location Accuracy Than Androids
Roughly a week ago Yelp offered an interesting post on its blog. The post reveals how Yelp prevents false check-ins or “check-in fraud.” But more importantly it’s about how Yelp matches reported user location with business locations. It’s also a comparison of positioning methods and a discussion of their relative accuracy.
Yelp explains the three ways to locate a mobile device: GPS, cell tower triangulation and/or Wi-Fi positioning. Yelp then compares the accuracy of the systems and the devices that use them: iPhone vs. Android vs. iPod Touch.
Both the iPhone and Android handsets are able to use a hybrid system to locate users: GPS + cell triangulation + Wi-Fi. The iPod Touch doesn’t contain a GPS chip and is not a phone. So it only uses WiFi triangulation. Accordingly Yelp compares the accuracy of WiFi-only positioning vs. hybrid positioning.
Both Apple and Google do their own “in-house” location positioning. Both companies originally used Skyhook Wireless to do this but later developed their own systems. (As an aside, Google and Skyhook are currently in litigation about several issues tied to Google’s methodology and its relationship to the company. There’s also a way that Google’s “Wi-Spy” controversy is indirectly tied into all this too — but that’s a separate discussion.)
Back to the accuracy question: Yelp says that WiFi positioning by itself (used on the iPod Touch) was much less accurate than was the hybrid approach used by iPhones and Android handsets. And between the two it found that the iPhone was more accurate than Androids; however Android handsets typically did a better job of reporting potential location inaccuracy:
Phones consistently have the most accurate positioning, with a fairly small accuracy radius. Android phones are often inaccurate, but reliably reported that inaccuracy. And finally, iPods using Wi-Fi positioning proved the least accurate and usually reported incorrect accuracy radii.
According to Yelp’s analysis just under 60 percent of iPhone check-ins were less than a .1 mile (one-tenth of a mile) from the designated business location. That was true for only 40 percent Android devices by comparison. But because Android devices do a good job reporting the margin of location error, Yelp is able to compensate.
I’m not sure whether Yelp is objectively reporting the limits of location positioning for all iPhone and Android devices or more “subjecitvely” how its app interacts with these devices and location. I’m assuming it’s the former.
At roughly one mile out, Yelp said that 90 percent of iPhones and Android devices are accurate. This is going to be sufficient for most mobile use cases. However it’s potentially problematic for the “around me” or “near me” scenarios. And it also suggests the potential limits of so-called “hyper-local” ad targeting today. | <urn:uuid:c487d4ae-6249-438c-a0b3-80c4b066aad4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://marketingland.com/yelp-iphones-offer-greater-location-accuracy-than-androids-19558 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281331.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00217-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942622 | 652 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Interview: Critical Infrastructure Security Perspectives From Bruce Schneier
A couple weeks ago we asked Bruce Schneier if he would be kind enough to respond to a few questions about security related to critical infrastructures such as the power grid. We are delighted and honored that Mr. Schneier would take the time from his busy schedule to answer our request! Below is a perspective that we are certain you will find interesting and useful in your quests to build and support practical security solutions at your organization.
Q1: There seems to be a great deal of fear and hyperbole about potentially catastrophic cyberattacks against critical infrastructure such as the power grid. How do we clear away the hype and determine what threats realistically exist and what should the industry consider doing about them?
Bruce: With expertise. Like everything else complicated and technological, there is core information buried amongst the hype. The trick is to dig out that information, and that requires expertise in the subject matter.
The national power grid is vulnerable to malicious cyberattack, and also to random mistakes and problems. Many of us believe that a computer worm was one of the causes of the blackout in the northeastern United States in 2003, for example. The worm's authors did not intend to affect the power grid -- and probably couldn't have deliberately done it on a bet -- but the worm affected Windows computers which, in turn, affected power control systems.
More worrisome are targeted attacks. The 'movie-plot threat' everyone talks about are terrorists dropping the power grid with a cyberattack. This is largely hyperbole, but it's still a risk worth paying attention to. But, yes, the hype mostly obscures the real issues.
Q2: In many circles, people continue to look for technological silver bullets (i.e. encryption) to the security risks we face. Can technology alone solve the problem? If not, how do we best make that point, and what is the answer?
Bruce: This is no different than everything else. There is no single answer. There are no silver bullets. And technology alone can't solve anything. But technology is part of every solution, and research into defensive technologies -- like encryption -- resilience technologies, and recovery technologies will together secure critical computer systems like those on the power grid.
Q3: You have some experience in the area of security monitoring. Given the increasing sophistication of attackers, what is required from a monitoring program to effectively detect and respond to attacks before they can do real damage?
Bruce: The answer to this question can fill a book, and there are several books about this topic. Good monitoring is comprehensive and agile. It needs to respond quickly before, as you say, attacks can do real damage. We can argue about whether this is even possible, which is why building resilient systems that can recover from attacks is so important.
Q4: These days, everybody talks about information sharing, but few if any can explain what the term means. How can information sharing improve our cyber security efforts? What type of data needs to be shared, how, and with whom?
Bruce: All of it. Broadly. With everyone. I know: no one wants to hear this. Keeping information confidential is how American business works. But it's counter to good security. Security by obscurity no longer works here; openness is critical. | <urn:uuid:4ac283d9-65e7-4954-9b81-0c273c4f0170> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.schneier.com/news/archives/2013/01/interview_critical_i.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00027-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952621 | 674 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The Vetted Texas Tutor Corps (VTTC) is a program that intends to serve as a resource list and
information hub for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in need of tutoring and tutor staffing
support services to meet student learning acceleration needs, requirements under House Bill
4545 and support the implementation of high-impact tutoring. MindPlay Education has been
approved by TEA as a partial service provider for year two of the VTTC Approved Provider
the program, providing reading support for K-8.
TEA-Approved Providers have been vetted to ensure they meet the research-based
components of high-impact tutoring. The TEA-Approved Provider list may assist LEAs with local
procurement processes (dependent on local board policies), and LEAs may use local ESSR
funding for these programs.
“We are thrilled that our product has been approved by TEA and will be utilized by tutors to
advance their students’ reading needs,” remarked Michael Ritchie, President of MindPlay
Education. “MindPlay is committed to helping educators with learning solutions for their students
that empower and enrich students’ lives. Our programs are adaptive, systematic, data-driven,
and individualized for each student so that they receive exactly the instruction that they need.”
TEA places tutoring providers on the VTTC list based on a variety of criteria related to their
ability to provide high-quality tutoring services to students in Texas. TEA has not entered into
contracts with these providers in connection with their placement on the list.
MindPlay’s reading program has a long history of success helping over seven million students
learn to read. Aligned to the Science of Reading, MindPlay Virtual Reading Coach uses the
Orton-Gillingham structured the literacy approach to delivering powerful reading instruction to students
of all levels. MindPlay’s adaptive technology assesses a student’s skill level and then creates a
personalized learning curriculum that teaches only the lessons they need so the student stays
engaged and achieves mastery.
For over 40 years, MindPlay Education has been providing learning content to educators and
families. They are committed to developing educational software to make learning accessible to
everyone. With every passing year, that commitment has only grown stronger. MindPlay continues to pave the way, transforming learning through cutting-edge, adaptive technology that
creates individualized learning solutions for everyone.
MindPlay Education is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, and was originally founded as a
development company for educational publishers. In 1986, founder Judith Bliss created a self-published line of software called MindPlay, and the company has been focused on delivering
Software as a Service ever since. | <urn:uuid:f35faa25-3f1b-4749-97d3-7353b4864999> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://mindplay.com/mindplay-education-is-now-an-approved-provider-for-the-texas-education-agency-tea-vetted-texas-tutor-corps-vttc/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571190.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810131127-20220810161127-00078.warc.gz | en | 0.945845 | 579 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Anthropometric Characteristics, Somatotyping and Body Composition of Foot Ball and Basketball Players |
The purpose of the study was to compare theanthropometric characteristics and somatotype of the Allahabad University’smale basketball players and Foot Ball players. Sixty three sportspersons (FootBall=36 and basketball=27) of age group 18-25 years were selected fromdifferent colleges affiliated to Allahabad University, U.P., India. All theparticipants were assessed for height, weight, breadths, girths and skin foldthickness. An independent samples t-test revealed that basketball players hadsignificantly higher height (p<0.01), weight (p<0.01) and body surfacearea (p<0.01) as compared to Foot Ball players. The basketball players werealso found to have significantly greater biceps (p<0.01) and suprailliac(p<0.01) skin fold thicknesses, calf circumference (p<0.05), percent bodyfat (p<0.01), total body fat (p<0.01), fat free mass (p<0.05) andendomorphic component (p<0.05) as compared to Foot Ball players. Foot Ballplayers had significantly greater body density (p<0.01) as compared tobasketball players. The basketball and Foot Ball players of this study werefound to have higher percentage body fat with lower body height and body weightthan their international counterparts. Further investigations are needed on theabove studied variables along with fitness and physiological variables toassess relationships among them and with performances in Foot Ball andbasketball. | <urn:uuid:04534b81-c116-40f8-bb37-a42d9888525c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://ignited.in/a/734 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571090.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809215803-20220810005803-00069.warc.gz | en | 0.941662 | 338 | 2.484375 | 2 |
Adding Juicing into your diet
Our busy lifestyles here in the UAE are likely one of the biggest reasons that juicing for health benefits has become so popular. If your lifestyle or job makes it difficult to plan several healthy meals every day, then juicing can help. Green juices can help you get all the vegetables you need with much less effort. Juicing also allows you to enjoy a wider variety of fruits and vegetables than you might normally eat, as it is easy to incorporate them into a single juice blend.
Juicing for Health Benefits
By expanding the number and quantity of vegetables you eat, you make more nutrients available to your body. Diets rich in plants help reduce the risks of major life-threatening diseases, like heart disease and cancer. You’ll also find that if you start juicing for health benefits, you’ll have an easier time managing cravings and fending off illness. By drinking juices full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, you’ll be doing your body a world of good. That will help you feel better on and off the mat.
Juicing and Yoga
How does juicing for health benefits relate to your yoga practice? We practice yoga to strengthen our bodies and minds, flush emotional and environmental toxins, and to improve our overall quality of life. Incorporating juicing into your regimen reinforces all of us this.
Boost your Immune System
If you are getting all the nutrients you need, your energy levels will improve. As a result, you may find yourself spending more time on the mat. When combined with a healthy, balanced diet and a consistent yoga routine, juicing also helps promote weight loss. Because juicing helps promote a strong immune system, you’ll be able to better fend off colds and flus that keep you from exercise.
Cold-pressed juice is tasty, fresh, and full of vital nutrients. Yoga is opening, relaxing, engaging, and activating, creating the perfect environment in the body to introduce these nutrients! It’s a win-win!
Let’s start 2022 off with a bang, grab a cold-press juice from us made locally in Dubai,head to one of the many yoga classes available here in the UAE and start feeling super fresh and renewed! | <urn:uuid:faa4b485-d66e-4824-9d58-ad7192cd46f8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://essentially.ae/can-juicing-enhance-my-yoga-practice/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571869.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813021048-20220813051048-00068.warc.gz | en | 0.941538 | 465 | 1.9375 | 2 |
America witnessed a remarkable and telling legislative showdown this week that revolved around a very simple concept underlying American democracy. That concept is due process. Some were willing to discard it for the sake of politics and the illusion of safety. Others were not.
A series of untenable gun control proposals – some which would have placed your Second Amendment rights at the mercy of bureaucratic fiat, black lists, and secret “evidence” – were defeated.
But the degree to which some were willing to abandon foundational principles for short-term and self-serving political gain should serve as a sobering reminder to all that American freedom is not free and that we should never think our government will simply default to it. The Founders understood that, which is why we have a written Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Proponents of gun control tried to portray the showdown as being over those who wanted terrorists to have guns and those who don’t. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), a gun control standard-bearer, disgraced the dignity of his office by claiming “Republicans have decided to sell weapons to ISIS.”
Think about how ridiculous that statement is.
And it becomes all the more ridiculous in light of how strenuously President Obama, who embodies the values and agenda of Murphy’s politics, tried to deflect the blame for the Orlando terrorist attack away from radical Islamic jihad, the asserted basis of the attacker himself.
Obama loyalists desperately tried to portray NRA and the Second Amendment as the culprits in the Orlando attacks. During a series of publicity stunts – including Murphy’s “filibuster” on the Senate Floor and a “sit-in” by members of Congress on the House Floor – America heard again and again that gun control is now a matter of national security.
During times of fear and crisis, it’s easy to forget what we’re about as a country. It’s natural for opportunistic and ambitious politicians to grab more power for themselves. It’s natural for entrenched authority to demonize opposition and try to suppress dissent. We saw all of that this past week.
But America has always tried to be better than that, which is why the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. It is greater than any individual. It is mightier than any institution. And it states that no person shall be “deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law ….” Whatever else Obama, Murphy, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and their surrogates in the media tried to make this past week’s contentious legislative efforts about, that’s what was at stake.
The government cannot arbitrarily deny or withhold rights. When someone’s life, liberty, or property is at stake, the person has a right to notice and the opportunity to respond, and the government bears the burden of making its case before a neutral decision-maker as to why its actions are justified. Without these simple principles, we are not a country of laws.
But that was too much for Feinstein, Murphy, and their anti-gun Senate colleagues. They would settle for nothing less than giving bureaucrats the authority to deny gun purchases at will, without any proving of their case. They would not stand (literally, in the case of their House counterparts) to require the government, if it were later sued over the deprivation, to have to prove anything other than a basis for its own “reasonable suspicion” against the individual. The want to let the government, in other words, retroactively rationalize its decision to abolish a fundamental right – not by actually proving a person is somehow a public safety risk because of nexus to terrorism – but by demonstrating it was not “unreasonable” in “suspecting” so at the time.
That’s not due process.
Make no mistake, the NRA does not want terrorists to have legal – or illegal – access to firearms. NRA members have fought and died in the war on terror so we take a backseat to no one when it comes to national security.
Freedom endured this week in the U.S. Senate, but it would not have been possible without the dedication of NRA members who were willing to stand up and contact their elected officials in the face of this latest threat. NRA members flooded Congressional switchboards in just a few short days, and it worked. Your continued vigilance has always been what makes the NRA the strongest civil rights organization in the world.
At the same time, our victory would not have been possible without the Second Amendment leadership of Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA). Both senators introduced legislation to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners and worked tirelessly against passage of the gun control legislation introduced by Feinstein, Murphy, and others. We could not have been successful without them.
But let’s be careful to not consider the battle over. The Senate will remain in session this coming week, so your continued pressure is needed. Gun control proposals could go well beyond the amendments that were voted on last week, so please contact your U.S. Senators and your U.S. Representative immediately and let them know you oppose any new gun control measures. You can call your lawmakers at 202-224-3121 or click here to Take Action. | <urn:uuid:38e0e41a-8e4a-4356-a735-946b3acee9c4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.nraila.org/articles/20160624/nra-stood-by-due-process-rule-of-law-in-senate-showdown | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279915.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00276-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972054 | 1,103 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Mosse returns to Languedoc, for a swashbuckler about a purloined inheritance and religious persecution. When a bookseller’s daughter, Minou Joubert, receives a cryptic letter containing only five words, “she knows that you live,” a chain of events is set in motion that includes adventure, betrayal, and romance.
The Burning Chambers is vastly ambitious and in the early chapters the reader may feel dazzled by the sheer number of characters and viewpoints, but Mosse has an instinctive feel for narrative momentum and the pace rarely falters as she moves between the intimate, domestic world, and the jostling for political power that shapes the lives of ordinary men and women ... Mosse weaves historical events and figures seamlessly with her own characters, and wears her considerable research lightly ... The Burning Chambers is a tour de force, a compelling adventure that views the past with insight, compassion and humour, and reminds us of the variety of women’s voices so often forgotten in the official accounts.
...[a] stirring new historical novel ... There’s a pleasingly old-fashioned feel to Mosse’s storytelling, with its chaste lovers, purloined letters, breathless escapes, plotting aristos, plucky youngsters and gruff but lovable soldiers ... If Mosse’s prose can be workmanlike, her plotting and pacing are impeccable. So is her ability to bring to life an extraordinarily complex conflict and era, as well as a vast cast of both fictional and historical figures ... Mosse doesn’t overstate the parallels between the 16th century’s Wars of Religion and our own. She doesn't need to ...[a] deeply satisfying, richly imagined novel...
...[a] meaty historical ... As usual, Mosse infuses the narrative with plenty of authentic historical detail while creating a highly charged atmosphere of intrigue. The mystery, the love story, and the incendiary nature of both setting and plot will keep readers turning the pages and eagerly awaiting the next volume. | <urn:uuid:f949644f-861a-45a4-9b13-5668304540ad> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/the-burning-chambers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571056.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809155137-20220809185137-00667.warc.gz | en | 0.93094 | 422 | 1.78125 | 2 |
As a plank member, you may have a variety of responsibilities. Your responsibilities is setting and communicating you’re able to send eye-sight and quest. You may also become tasked with measuring you can actually performance and setting insurance policy. Regardless of your role, the board really should have a written governance record and be designed for audit when necessary. Listed below are some examples of your roles and responsibilities of the board of directors. These duties vary among organizations, and the panel should consider how your unique position matches the company’s composition and traditions.
Board of directors: With respect to the nature of your organization, the quantity of members differs. Public businesses are legally instructed to have a board of directors, whilst private choices can select to not have one. The objective of the panel is to safeguard the property of the organization, as well as accomplish its fiduciary responsibilities. Directors work with the CEO to determine a company’s spending budget and ensure that proper settings are in place for inbound funds. Furthermore, the aboard also evaluations financial statements for firms.
A board member’s position in charitable governance is important. As a fiduciary, the board’s role is usually to make sure that almost all actions and decisions with the nonprofit business advance the organization’s quest. Plank members should likewise recognize potential conflicts appealing and produce decisions that benefit the nonprofit’s mission. The duty of obedience requires a board member to follow corporate and business purposes and laws. Yet , in many cases, issues of interest could arise between your board affiliate sites as well as the CEO. | <urn:uuid:97e1d840-858e-43fa-ae00-bf68992b21da> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.freshwatersng.com/2022/07/12/the-roles-and-responsibilities-of-a-board-of-directors/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570651.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807150925-20220807180925-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.966711 | 325 | 2.09375 | 2 |
The Innings and Outs of Baseball
- ISBN 13:
- ISBN 10:
- Format: Hardcover
- Copyright: 02/17/2015
- Publisher: Simon Spotlight
Note: Not guaranteed to come with supplemental materials (access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.)
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Did you know that every time you watch a baseball game, you are watching some great examples of physics in action? Why exactly does the amount of spin on a pitch determine how far a ball can be hit? And what’s the scientific reason that using pine tar on the bat makes it easier to grip? Learn all about the science behind America’s favorite pastime in this fun, fact-filled Level 3 Ready-to-Read!
A special section at the back of the book includes Common Core–vetted extras on subjects like anatomy and history, and there’s even a fun quiz so readers can test themselves to see what they’ve learned! | <urn:uuid:2d27a293-60ed-4dda-8de4-24ad95d27c68> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.knetbooks.com/innings-outs-baseball-brown-jordan-d/bk/9781481428620 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280718.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00402-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.843696 | 247 | 2.546875 | 3 |
[Table of Contents]|
Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
Three more of the plagues of Egypt are related in this chapter, I. That of the frogs, which is, 1. Threatened, ver. 1-4. 2. Inflicted, ver. 5, 6. 3. Mimicked by the magicians, ver. 7. 4. Removed, at the humble request of Pharaoh (ver. 8-14), who yet hardens his heart, and, notwithstanding his promise while the plague was upon him (ver. 8), refuses to let Israel go, ver. 15. II. The plague of lice (ver. 16, 17), by which, 1. The magicians were baffled (ver. 18, 19), and yet, 2. Pharaoh was hardened, ver. 19. III. That of flies. 1. Pharaoh is warned of it before (ver. 20, 21), and told that the land of Goshen should be exempt from this plague, ver. 22, 23. 2. The plague is brought, ver. 24. 3. Pharaoh treats with Moses about the release of Israel, and humbles himself, ver. 25-29. 4. The plague is thereupon removed (ver. 31), and Pharaoh's heart hardened, ver. 32.
|The Plagues of Egypt.||B. C. 1491.|
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: 3 And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs: 4 And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants. 5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. 6 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. 7 And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. 8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD. 9 And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only? 10 And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God. 11 And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only. 12 And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. 13 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. 14 And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
Pharaoh is here first threatened and then plagued with frogs, as afterwards, in this chapter, with lice and flies, little despicable inconsiderable animals, and yet by their vast numbers rendered sore plagues to the Egyptians. God could have plagued them with lions, or bears, or wolves, or with vultures or other birds of prey; but he chose to do it by these contemptible instruments. 1. That he might magnify his own power. He is Lord of the hosts of the whole creation, has them all at his beck, and makes what use he pleases of them. Some have thought that the power of God is shown as much in the making of an ant as in the making of an elephant; so is his providence in serving his own purposes by the least creatures as effectually as by the strongest, that the excellency of the power, in judgment as well as mercy, may be of God, and not of the creature. See what reason we have to stand in awe of this God, who, when he pleases, can arm the smallest parts of the creation against us. If God be our enemy, all the creatures are at war with us. 2. That he might humble Pharaoh's pride, and chastise his insolence. What a mortification must it needs be to this haughty monarch to see himself brought to his knees, and forced to submit, by such despicable means! Every child is, ordinarily, able to deal with those invaders, and can triumph over them; yet now so numerous were their troops, and so vigorous their assaults, that Pharaoh, with all his chariots and horsemen, could make no head against them. Thus he poureth contempt upon princes that offer contempt to him and his sovereignty, and makes those who will not own him above them to know that, when he pleases, he can make the meanest creature to insult them and trample upon them. As to the plague of frogs we may observe,
I. How it was threatened. Moses, no doubt, attended the divine Majesty daily for fresh instructions, and (perhaps while the river was yet blood) he is here directed to give notice to Pharaoh of another judgment coming upon him, in case he continue obstinate: If thou refuse to let them go, it is at thy peril, v. 1, 2. Note, God does not punish men for sin unless they persist in it. If he turn not, he will whet his sword (Ps. vii. 12), which implies favour if he turn. So here, If thou refuse, I will smite thy borders, intimating that if Pharaoh complied the controversy should immediately be dropped. The plague threatened, in case of refusal, was formidably extensive. Frogs were to make such an inroad upon them as should make them uneasy in their houses, in their beds, and at their tables; they should not be able to eat, nor drink, nor sleep in quietness, but, wherever they were, should be infested by them, v. 3, 4. Note, 1. God's curse upon a man will pursue him wherever he goes, and lie heavily upon him whatever he does. See Deut. xxviii. 16, &c. 2. There is no avoiding divine judgments when they invade with commission.
II. How it was inflicted. Pharaoh not regarding the alarm, nor being at all inclined to yield to the summons, Aaron is ordered to draw out the forces, and with his outstretched arm and rod to give the signal of battle. Dictum factum--No sooner said then done; the host is mustered, and, under the direction and command of an invisible power, shoals of frogs invade the land, and the Egyptians, with all their art and all their might, cannot check their progress, nor so much as give them a diversion. Compare this with that prophecy of an army of locusts and caterpillars, Joel ii. 2, &c.; and see Isa. xxxiv. 16, 17. Frogs came up, at the divine call, and covered the land. Note, God has many ways of disquieting those that live at ease.
III. How the magicians were permitted to imitate it, v. 7. They also brought up frogs, but could not remove those that God sent. The unclean spirits which came out of the mouth of the dragon are said to be like frogs, which go forth to the kings of the earth, to deceive them (Rev. xvi. 13), which probably alludes to these frogs, for it follows the account of the turning of the waters into blood. The dragon, like the magicians, intended by them to deceive, but God intended by them to destroy those that would be deceived.
IV. How Pharaoh relented under this plague: it was the first time he did so, v. 8. He begs of Moses to intercede for the removal of the frogs, and promises fair that he will let the people go. He that a little while ago had spoken with the utmost disdain both of God and Moses is now glad to be beholden to the mercy of God and the prayers of Moses. Note, Those that bid defiance to God and prayer in a day of extremity will, first or last, be made to see their need of both, and will cry, Lord, Lord, Matt. vii. 22. Those that have bantered prayer have been brought to beg it, as the rich man that had scorned Lazarus courted him for a drop of water.
V. How Moses fixes the time with Pharaoh, and then prevails with God by prayer for the removal of the frogs. Moses, to show that his performances had no dependence upon the conjunctions or oppositions of the planets, or the luckiness of any one hour more than another, bids Pharaoh name his time. Nellum occurrit tempus regi--No time fixed on by the king shall be objected to, v. 9. Have thou this honour over me, tell me against when I shall entreat for thee. This was designed for Pharaoh's conviction, that, if his eyes were not opened by the plague, they might by the removal of it. So various are the methods God takes to bring men to repentance. Pharaoh sets the time for to-morrow, v. 10. And why not immediately? Was he so fond of his guests that he would have them stay another night with him? No, but probably he hoped that they would go away of themselves, and then he should get clear of the plague without being obliged either to God or Moses. However, Moses joins issue with him upon it: "Be it according to thy word, it shall be done just when thou wouldst have it done, that thou mayest know that, whatever the magicians pretend to, there is none like unto the Lord our God. None has such a command as he has over all the creatures, nor is any one so ready to forgive those that humble themselves before him." Note, The great design both of judgments and mercies is to convince us that there is none like the Lord our God, none so wise, so mighty, so good, no enemy so formidable, no friend so desirable, so valuable. Moses, hereupon, applies to God, prays earnestly to him, to remand the frogs, v. 12. Note, We must pray for our enemies and persecutors, even the worst as Christ did. In answer to the prayer of Moses, the frogs that came up one day perished the next, or the next but one. They all died (v. 13), and, that it might appear that they were real frogs, their dead bodies were left to be raked together in heaps, so that the smell of them became offensive, v. 14. Note, The great Sovereign of the world makes what use he pleases of the lives and deaths of his creatures; and he that gives a being, to serve one purpose, may, without wrong to his justice, call for it again immediately, to serve another purpose.
VI. What was the issue of this plague (v. 15): When Pharaoh saw there was a respite, without considering either what he had lately felt or what he had reason to fear, he hardened his heart. Note, 1. Till the heart is renewed by the grace of God, the impressions made by the force of affliction do not abide; the convictions wear off, and the promises that were extorted are forgotten. Till the disposition of the air is changed, what thaws in the sun will freeze again in the shade. 2. God's patience is shamefully abused by impenitent sinners. The respite he gives them, to lead them to repentance, they are hardened by; and while he graciously allows them a truce, in order to the making of their peace, they take that opportunity to rally again the baffled forces of an obstinate infidelity. See Eccl. viii. 11; Ps. lxxviii. 34, &c.
16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. 17 And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. 18 And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. 19 Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
Here is a short account of the plague of lice. It does not appear that any warning was given of it before. Pharaoh's abuse of the respite granted to him might have been a sufficient warning to him to expect another plague: for if the removal of an affliction harden us, and so we lose the benefit of it, we may conclude it goes away with a purpose to return or to make room for a worse. Observe,
I. How this plague of lice was inflicted on the Egyptians, v. 16, 17. The frogs were produced out of the waters, but these live out of the dust of the earth; for out of any part of the creation God can fetch a scourge, with which to correct those that rebel against him. He has many arrows in his quiver. Even the dust of the earth obeys him. "Fear not then, thou worm Jacob, for God can use thee as a threshing instrument, if he please," Isa. xli. 14, 15. These lice, no doubt, were extremely vexatious, as well as scandalous, to the Egyptians. Though they had respite, they had respite but awhile, Rev. xi. 14. The second woe was past, but behold the third woe came very quickly.
II. How the magicians were baffled by it, v. 18. They attempted to imitate it, but they could not. When they failed in this, it should seem they attempted to remove it; for it follows, So there were lice upon man and beast, in spite of them. This forced them to confess themselves overpowered: This is the finger of God (v. 19); that is, "This check and restraint put upon us must needs be from a divine power." Note, 1. God has the devil in a chain, and limits him both as a deceiver and as a destroyer; hitherto he shall come, but no further. The devil's agents when God permitted them, could do great things; but when he laid an embargo upon them, though but with his finger, they could do nothing. The magicians' inability, in this less instance, showed whence they had their ability in the former instances which seemed greater, and that they had no power against Moses but what was given them from above. 2. Sooner or later God will extort, even from his enemies, an acknowledgment of his own sovereignty and over-ruling power. It is certain they must all (as we say) knock under at last, as Julian the apostate did, when his dying lips confessed, Thou hast overcome me, O thou Galilean! God will not only be too hard for all opposers, but will force them to own it.
III. How Pharaoh, notwithstanding this, was made more and more obstinate (v. 19); even those that had deceived him now said enough to undeceive him, and yet he grew more and more obstinate. Even the miracles and the judgments were to him a savour of death unto death. Note, Those that are not made better by God's word and providences are commonly made worse by them.
20 And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 21 Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. 22 And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. 23 And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be. 24 And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies. 25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. 26 And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? 27 We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us. 28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me. 29 And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD. 30 And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD. 31 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one. 32 And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.
Here is the story of the plague of flies, in which we are told,
I. How it was threatened, like that of frogs, before it was inflicted. Moses is directed (v. 20) to rise early in the morning, to meet Pharaoh when he came forth to the water, and there to repeat his demands. Note, 1. Those that would bring great things to pass for God and their generation must rise early, and redeem time in the morning. Pharaoh was early up at his superstitious devotions to the river; and shall we be for more sleep and more slumber when any service is to be done which would pass well in our account in the great day? 2. Those that would approve themselves God's faithful servants must not be afraid of the face of man. Moses must stand before Pharaoh, proud as he was, and tell him that which was in the highest degree humbling, must challenge him (if he refused to release his captives) to engage with any army of flies, which would obey God's orders of Pharaoh would not. See a similar threatening, Isa. vii. 18, The Lord will hiss (or whistle) for the fly and the bee, to come and serve his purposes.
II. How the Egyptians and the Hebrews were to be remarkably distinguished in this plague, v. 22, 23. It is probable that this distinction had not been so manifest and observable in any of the foregoing plagues as it was to be in this. Thus, as the plague of lice was made more convincing than any before it, by its running the magicians aground, so was this, by the distinction made between the Egyptians and the Hebrews. Pharaoh must be made to know that God is the Lord in the midst of the earth; and by this it will be known beyond dispute. 1. Swarms of flies, which seem to us to fly at random, shall be manifestly under the conduct of an intelligent mind, while they are above the direction of any man. "Hither they shall go," says Moses, "and thither they shall not come;" and the performance is punctually according to this appointment, and both, compared, amount to a demonstration that he that said it and he that did it was the same, even a Being of infinite power and wisdom. 2. The servants and worshippers of the great Jehovah shall be preserved from sharing in the common calamities of the place they live in, so that the plague which annoys all their neighbours shall not approach them; and this shall be an incontestable proof that God is the Lord in the midst of the earth. Put both these together, and it appears that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro through the earth, and through the air too, to direct that which to us seems most casual, to serve some great designed end, that he may show himself strong on the behalf of those whose hearts are upright with him, 2 Chron. xvi. 9. Observe how it is repeated: I will put a division between my people and thy people v. 23. Note, The Lord knows those that are his, and will make it appear, perhaps in this world, certainly in the other, that he has set them apart for himself. A day will come when you shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked (Mal. iii. 18), the sheep and the goats (Matt. xxv. 32; Ezek. xxxiv. 17), though now intermixed.
III. How it was inflicted, the day after it was threatened: There came a grievous swarm of flies (v. 24), flies of divers sorts, and such as devoured them, Ps. lxxviii. 45. The prince of the power of the air has gloried in being Beelzebub--the god of flies; but here it is proved that even in that he is a pretender and a usurper, for even with swarms of flies God fights against his kingdom and prevails.
IV. How Pharaoh, upon this attack, sounded a parley, and entered into a treaty with Moses and Aaron about a surrender of his captives: but observe with what reluctance he yields.
1. He is content they should sacrifice to their God, provided they would do it in the land of Egypt, v. 25. Note, God can extort a toleration of his worship, even from those that are really enemies to it. Pharaoh, under the smart of the rod, is content they should do sacrifice, and will allow liberty of conscience to God's Israel, even in his own land. But Moses will not accept his concession; he cannot do it, v. 26. It would be an abomination to God should they offer the Egyptian sacrifices, and an abomination to the Egyptians should they offer to God their own sacrifices, as they ought; so that they could not sacrifice in the land without incurring the displeasure either of their God or of their task-masters; therefore he insists: We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, v. 27. Note, Those that would offer an acceptable sacrifice to God must, (1.) Separate themselves from the wicked and profane; for we cannot have fellowship both with the Father of lights and with the works of darkness, both with Christ and with Belial, 2 Cor. vi. 14, &c.; Ps. xxvi. 4, 6. (2.) They must retire from the distractions of the world, and get as far as may be from the noise of it. Israel cannot keep the feast of the Lord either among the brick-kilns or among the flesh-pots of Egypt; no, We will go into the wilderness, Hos. ii. 14; Cant. vii. 11. (3.) They must observe the divine appointment: "We will sacrifice as God shall command us, and not otherwise." Though they were in the utmost degree of slavery to Pharaoh, yet in the worship of God, they must observe his commands and not Pharaoh's.
2. When this proposal is rejected, he consents for them to go into the wilderness, provided they do not go very far away, not so far but that he might fetch them back again, v. 28. It is probable he had heard of their design upon Canaan, and suspected that if once they left Egypt they would never come back again; and therefore, when he is forced to consent that they shall go (the swarms of flies buzzing the necessity in his ears), yet he is not willing that they should go out of his reach. Thus some sinners who, in a pang of conviction, part with their sins, yet are loth they should go very far away; for, when the fright is over, they will return to them again. We observe here a struggle between Pharaoh's convictions and his corruptions; his convictions said, "Let them go;" his corruptions said, "Yet not very far away:" but he sided with his corruptions against his convictions, and this was his ruin. This proposal Moses so far accepted as that he promised the removal of this plague upon it, v. 29. See here, (1.) How ready God is to accept sinners' submissions. Pharaoh does but say, Entreat for me (though it is with regret that he humbles so far), and Moses promises immediately, I will entreat the Lord for thee, that Pharaoh might see what the design of the plague was, not to bring him to ruin, but to bring him to repentance. With what pleasure did God say (1 Kings xxi. 29), Seest thou how Ahab humbles himself? (2.) What need we have to be admonished that we be sincere in our submission: But let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more. Those that deal deceitfully are justly suspected, and must be cautioned not to return again to folly, after God has once more spoken peace. Be not deceived, God is not mocked; if we think to put a cheat upon God by a counterfeit repentance, and a fraudulent surrender of ourselves to him, we shall prove, in the end, to have put a fatal cheat upon our own souls.
Lastly, The issue of all was that God graciously removed the plague (v. 30, 31), but Pharaoh perfidiously returned to his hardness, and would not let the people go, v. 32. His pride would not let him part with such a flower of his crown as his dominion over Israel was, nor his covetousness with such a branch of his revenue as their labours were. Note, Reigning lusts break through the strongest bounds, and make men impudently presumptuous and scandalously perfidious. Let not sin therefore reign; for, if it do, it will betray and hurry us to the grossest absurdities.
[Table of Contents]|
Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706) | <urn:uuid:ebacb5ce-87e1-4a35-aeb2-1e1375c50e34> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.apostolic-churches.net/bible/mhc/MHC02008.HTM | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721558.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00045-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979145 | 5,824 | 2.296875 | 2 |
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Israel Thursday of committing "massacre and aggression " in the Gaza Strip, and blasted the United Nations Security Council as beholden to U.S. and British influence.
(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Sitting under a large poster bearing a verse from the Quran, Ahmadinejad told reporters the people of Gaza were the victors in the ongoing conflict.
In an unprecedented act, he asked the people of Israel to come into the streets to protest against their country's military operation in the Palestinian territory, as has been seen in other nations across the world.
He also asked Israeli soldiers to disobey their commanders and to not kill women and children in Gaza. "We know that there is discontentment and you have differences with your commanders."
He advised the leaders of Arab countries to set aside their differences and work towards a just peace in Gaza.
Ahmadinejad said he had not heard about a $1.5 million reward offered by an Iranian student group for the head of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
For several days groups of Iranian students staged demonstrations in support of the Palestinians and condemned Egypt for not opening the Rafah crossing to allow aid through to Gaza. One group set the reward for Mubarak's head. These students were also critical of their own government for not permitting them fly to Gaza to fight alongside Hamas, and for Tehran's tolerance toward Egypt.
Ahmadinejad insisted that Iran is against any kind of brutality and genocide. Several times he accused the U.S. and British governments and their allies of supporting the killing of Palestinians in Gaza. He also said these governments were seeking to create discord in the region, but they have not succeeded.
On relations with the new U.S. administration, he said the "sticks and carrots" policy of President Bush was out of date. Ahmadinejad said Iran would wait to see whether President-elect Barack Obama brought real change in policy, based on "justice and friendship."
"The root for all wars and crisis is U.S. interference in different parts of the world. The U.S. should stay within its own territories," Ahmadinejad added.
At the end of his 10th news conference, the Iranian President was asked three times by the same reporter if the Islamic Republic was sending arms to Hamas.
"We do not think Hamas needs weapons, and Iran does not need to do so (arm Hamas). What is really defeating the Zionist Regime is the resistance of the people in Gaza," Ahmadinejad said.
Israel and the West accuse Iran of supporting Hamas with both money weapons. | <urn:uuid:c0f7376d-980c-4411-b8bf-b06e1c13d575> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ahmadinejad-blasts-gaza-massacre/ | 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 | 0.974216 | 536 | 1.632813 | 2 |
The API monetizes the Facebook-owned WhatsApp, and facilitates easier communication between businesses and customers. The WhatsApp Business API allows businesses to respond to customers on the platform for free for up to 24 hours, charging a fixed fee for each message.
Overview of WhatsApp API:
The WhatsApp Business API client offers many of the features provided by the WhatsApp applications you already know from Android, iOS, and Web. The difference is that this application can be deployed on a server, providing a local API that allows you to programmatically send and receive messages and integrate this workflow with your own systems
Benefits of using WhatsAPP API:
Using the WhatsApp Business API helps companies engage customers from one-way notifications like appointment reminders, shipping alerts, payment notifications, verification codes, and boarding passes, to two-way customer support conversations and surveys.
How it Works:
The first step for businesses to communicate with customers on WhatsApp is to create a Whatsapp Business account and set up a line of credit This business account will allow people to easily identify your business and find out more information such as your address, hours of operation, website, and description. Through your account in the whatsapp you will have the ability to create message templates for sending notifications to customers at scale.
WhatsApp message templates and media message templates are specific message formats that businesses use to send out notifications or customer care messages to people that have opted in to notifications. Messages can include appointment reminders, shipping information, issue resolution and payment updates. These are the preferred methods of reaching customers.
Automate conversations with your customers to progress them in the sales funnel, increase online bookings, manage their transactions, and provide timely responses to their queries. chatbot is an artificial intelligence (AI) software that can simulate a conversation (or a chat) with a user in natural language through messaging in whatsapp.
Reasons to use WhatsApp API:
This is exactly why businesses are looking forward to using this completely new and more personalized way of reaching out to their customers. Through WhatsApp API , businesses can now create unique experiences for their customers and effectively engage them. With high levels of competition across all industries on one side and instant messaging apps frequently used by customers on the other, it is time businesses change their communication strategies.
Here are six reasons why WhatsApp Business API is what you need to connect with customers and gain competitive advantage:
2.Stronger customer relations
4.Connect with customers their way
6.Facilitating two-way communication
Businesses can enhance their messaging with seven different types of additions. These seven supported formats of the message include the following:
2.Stronger customer relations
Every Business using WhatsApp as a medium of communication will need to create a unique business profile. This profile will enable them to provide company details such as email, phone number, website/ social media URLs, and more. With such details, businesses can gain the element of trust from their customers, thus enhancing customer loyalty and fostering long-term relationships.
These ‘business profiles’ will be unique to each company and only be made after WhatsApp has verified your business accounts. Moreover, with end-to-end encryption and two-factor authentication (2FA), both businesses and customers are safeguarded.This level of security also means that you will never face bad publicity or be accused of any misconduct because no one else can use your company name to exploit customers. As a result, customers trust you more.
4.Connect with customers their way :
With tons of social media platforms and messaging apps, the last thing customers want is to add a new channel to their list, to allow business communication. Using a customer-preferred channel, like WhatsApp, you can interact with your customers at their convenience. This makes them more likely to see your message, read the content, and further interact with your Business.
You no longer need to use a different communication channel to communicate with customers from different regions. A global messaging application like WhatsApp, which is free for users and has a high global penetration rate, is all you need! Technological advancements and the rise of smartphone usage in Latin America, Asia, Europe, and Africa have further accelerated the growth and popularity of WhatsApp. Therefore, with this universally used platform, businesses don’t have to think twice about their communication strategies while tapping into new markets.
6.Facilitating two-way communication:
Through WhatsApp Businesses API, companies and customers can directly interact with each other. With detailed information available on the internet, customers are more aware of products/services than ever before. Customers now want to reach out to businesses and have genuine conversations. This is very different from trying to communicate with your customers by sending one-way messages or allowing them to call customer support and reach a company representative after a long wait in the queue. With WhatsApp’s two-way messaging, you can have real conversations. With delivery tracking, payment confirmations, contact details, etc., you can keep your customers updated and provide them with all the information they need before they ask you.
For further Details Contact our Website: https://vthinksolution.com/whatsapp-api/ | <urn:uuid:d436c6bf-0d54-4606-8acf-110acdf22f1c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://vthinksolution.com/2020/10/28/professionally-cultivate-one-to-one-customer-service/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571538.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812014923-20220812044923-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.925125 | 1,110 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Dialysis life span for kidney cyst disease is determined by many factors such as age, physical health, severity of symptoms and complication, medical history, etc. Let me explain to you. Any other questions, please email to firstname.lastname@example.org.
Dialysis lifespan of people with kidney cyst
In average, the lifespan is 3 to 5 years. For those who have severe symptoms or complications such as kidney infection, proteinuria or hematuria, high blood pressure, and so on, they may have worse lifespan than others. In rare cases, people die within several weeks or months during dialysis.
Get facts on dialysis
Dialysis is the artificial process of eliminating waste and unwanted water from the blood, by doing parts of work of the kidneys. But you should know that dialysis cannot repair the damaged renal tissues. In other words, even patients are taking dialysis, their kidney function is still reducing. Therefore, the goal of treatment should not only relieving symptoms but also enhancing kidney function.
New treatments for dialysis patients with kidney cyst
-Goal of treatment
Based on nearly 30 years of clinic practices, our experts find that the key of shrinking kidney cyst is to accelerate blood circulation of cyst walls to increase the permeability. Therefore, the fluid can be reabsorbed and wont’ t be secreted any more. Then, the pressure inside the cyst decreases and kidney cyst can be shrunk. As a result, all the symptoms will be completely relieved.
In our hospital, Shijiazhuang Kidney Disease Hospital, have treating kidney cyst disease mainly by Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy. The ingredients of medicines used in this therapy have functions of dilating blood vessels, anti-inflammation, anti-coagulation, and degrading extracellular matrixes. Therefore, blood circulation can be improved so that oxygen and blood can be supplied for the kidneys. Then, the kidneys can repair themselves effectively.
If you are interested in this therapy, you can get free help from our online doctors. | <urn:uuid:55ed4d49-784e-458a-913c-dcea08a2f212> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.kidney-symptom.com/dialysis/802.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280292.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00344-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945686 | 424 | 2.359375 | 2 |
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According to the head of the research field, Rember Martínez Baca, the tiny ship was modified by the archaeological team of the Ministry of Culture to fly over the area.
"It's a 'drone' modified by us, it flies over the structures and takes an approximately 10 pictures per second,".
He further explained that the job is to "control the final product in a three-dimensional reconstruction" of what is in the field. It is in this way that they can save twice the time.
The director of the project located within the sports complex of the Videna, Fernando Herrera Garcia said there are 13 graves found belonging to the Lima Culture (200-700 AD) and Yschma (1100-1400 AD), although two of them has not yet been determined origin.
(EFE). Eleven pre-Inca tombs belonging to the Lima culture (200-700 AD) and Yschma (1100-1400 AD) were located inside the Villa Deportiva Nacional (Videna) in the district of San Luis. The presentation was conducted by a team from the Ministry of Culture that the excavation work began last December.
The archaeological site is made of adobe, a mixture of clay and sand that gives an earthy color to the entire building, and reveals some chambers containing characters inside mummified along with offerings such as ceramics and seeds.
Herrera said in an interview with EFE that was excavated approximately 40% of the Tupac Amaru huaca B and has used technology including aerial imagery.
"What we're doing now is working, take the aerial photo and we will see the projection wall and we follow (...) This has allowed us to know the projection wall, knowing where to go, where are the hits," he said.
Originally posted by Schmidt1989
Guess you guys have never heard of LIDAR? | <urn:uuid:c70a1ded-1c46-4331-bbb8-b460f0f6c596> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread931198/pg1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280292.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00346-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964481 | 444 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Managing an eCommerce infrastructure during the pandemic—lessons learned and best practices
The coronavirus pandemic has had an incredible impact on the global economy. This is one of the aspects of the pandemic that has undeniably dominated public conversations around the world. We certainly can’t deny the fact that most businesses were hit hard. But this past year and a half has also been a time of remarkable change and opportunity for the eCommerce industry.
Mistakes were definitely made. Brick-and-mortar shops were faced with a number of challenges, including the decision to move their business online while choosing the right technologies to do so. You would imagine that existing eCommerce businesses had an easier time adapting to the new reality but this was not always the case as they had to handle an unusual increase in demand and traffic.
One thing is certain, though—we learned a lot over the past year and a half and came out of this situation wiser and stronger. This sentiment is what gave us the inspiration to share with you our thoughts and our experiences.
Without further ado, we are excited to present our latest publication, Managing eCommerce Infrastructures During the Pandemic—How the pandemic affected decision-making around eCommerce infrastructure.
In this paper, we discuss a number of topics, including how the pandemic changed the eCommerce landscape, decision-making on eCommerce infrastructure best practices, and more.
Let’s have a quick look at the key takeaways.
Digital adoption during the pandemic
The digital gap among European countries shrunk significantly during the pandemic with digital adoption jumping from 81% to 94%. European countries launched different initiatives to help small local businesses improve their websites or move their business online.
Some countries already had policies supporting digital adoption, others launched new programs from scratch during the pandemic to help firms move their business online, while others decided to focus on supporting brick-and-mortar businesses instead.
The increased traffic, the mistakes, and the lessons we learned
The data we collected from the Artifakt Platform showed a significant increase in traffic and demand over the second lockdown in France.
However, companies were not well-prepared for this surge in traffic and we had to act quickly to scale the infrastructure.
A lot of companies, not only were not prepared for this new reality, they were not even aware of the important role infrastructure plays in an eCommerce website. With nationwide lockdowns happening all over Europe, businesses were forced to make fast decisions and move their businesses online in a fraction of the time they would normally invest in such a project.
Given the urgency of the situation, a lot of companies did not prioritize their eCommerce infrastructure properly and did not allocate the necessary resources to build up or reinforce it. But when traffic started surging, this is when the real trouble began. In these cases we have observed three scenarios:
- The company has the budget and the knowledge to scale quickly and create a reliable infrastructure (or rely on a provider).
- The website is not able to meet the demand and part of the clientele is lost.
- The website is down, business as well, and the company is at high risk of losing its only revenue channel.
Based on these scenarios, we put together a list of best practices that can help eCommerce businesses avoid the same mistakes, and build scalable and resilient eCommerce platforms. Here’s a quick list:
- Invest in an architecture that is based on the right cloud hosting infrastructure and is able to scale up and down at any moment, following the needs of the business.
- Always have backup servers standing by and duplicate infrastructure services in multiple data centers and regions.
- Choose a cloud hosting provider that offers scalable and unlimited bandwidth.
- Avoid cheap servers and data centers, as well as shared infrastructures.
- Make sure all security components are correctly implemented on a website.
- Create a scalable, resilient, and secure website by proactively adjusting the quantitative components and implementing fail-safe mechanisms.
Get the full paper to learn more on how investing in the right infrastructure can save your business.
Yes, the pandemic caused a lot of setbacks for the industry, and mistakes were made. But we can safely say that the pandemic also drove that evolution in a very positive direction.
Will eCommerce disappear after the pandemic is over, though? We think not. Once the world goes back to normal, we are bound to see a decrease in online traffic and eCommerce demand. We strongly believe, however, that the online traffic is going to pick back up, shortly after countries and physical shops open up.
At this stage, these are only assumptions. But no matter what the next months or years bring, we will make sure to be prepared and serve the needs of the industry to the best of our ability! | <urn:uuid:92882478-7689-4a2e-a03f-66f8c16b12f6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.artifakt.com/blog/ecommerce/managing-ecommerce-infrastructure-during-the-pandemic-best-practices/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571869.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813021048-20220813051048-00065.warc.gz | en | 0.963319 | 1,002 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Drug Rehabilitation is often shortened to drug rehab or referred to as just rehab. It is a catch-all term for the process of identifying, treating and recovering from drug, alcohol or substance addiction.
Drug rehabilitation programs typically address the two major aspects of an addiction, the physical dependency, and the psychological dependency.
Drug Rehabilitation Process
The addiction treatment of the physical dependency involves detox or a detoxification process to help with withdrawal symptoms that result from a regular or prolonged use of an addictive substance. Drug or alcohol use changes the physical makeup of the brain and body, resulting in physical cravings. The body actually needs the substance, and in some cases, it can take the body weeks or even months to return to “normal”. The withdrawal symptoms are directly related to the drug or substance involved in the addiction.
Drug Rehabilitation Treatment Information
The treatment of the psychological addiction is based on teaching or re-learning the addict on how to function and interact in a substance free environment. This treatment is usually behavioral based and examines many of the “causes” of the addiction. Addiction counseling ensures new habits are learned and steps are made to correct damages to personal relationships with friends, family and loved ones.
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TEMPERATURE RANGING UPTO 35 Degree Celcius
Our Commercial Refrigeration solutions go well beyond cabinets, counters and freezers. We offer complete refrigeration systems and controls to help stores of all sizes of seafood, ensure food freshness and safety while reducing environmental impact and annual operating costs.
1. Turnkey coldstorage solutions for frozen fish. ( Export Purpose)
2. Blasting chambers.
3. Ante Room.
4. Pallets and racks.
5. Heating Doors.
6. Digital display’s.
7. Energy saving compressors.
The spoilage of fish due to protein denaturation, fat changes and dehydration can all be slowed down by reducing the storage temperature. Practice for Frozen Fish recommends that frozen fish products should be stored at temperatures appropriate for the species, type of product and intended time of storage.
The recommended storage temperature for all fishery products is -20°C and this temperature has also been adopted throughout globe. Spoilage by bacterial action in any practical sense is completely arrested at this temperature and the rate at which other undesirable changes proceed is greatly reduced. Some products can be stored safely at higher temperatures than the -20°C recommended providing storage is only for a short period. Since it is not always possible to guarantee that a product will stay in storage no longer than originally intended, it is generally safer to use the lower recommended temperature.
Practical storage lives (PLS) of fish products
|Product||Storage life in months|
|– 18°C||– 24°C||– 30°C|
|Fatty fish (glazed)||5||9||> 12|
|Lean fish (fillet)||9||12||24|
Connect With a R.S POLYMERS representative to design your cold storage for fisheries. | <urn:uuid:0ee230c4-1eb7-4dc9-b5c6-63ad09862c9e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.rspolymers.com/cold-storage/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571987.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813202507-20220813232507-00270.warc.gz | en | 0.872929 | 410 | 2 | 2 |
One out of every four women has experienced severe domestic violence at the hands of a romantic partner. Although these women often seek medical treatment due to the severity of their injuries, most do not inform their treatment provider that they are a victim of domestic abuse. There has been a trend in recent years to provide increased support to these women in the medical community.
Alerting Medical Personnel
At the East Los Angeles Women’s Center in California, staff members have been working hard to train doctors, nurses, social workers, and other people to help them identify victims of domestic violence that they may encounter in their practice. Often, when women leave the emergency room after an incident of domestic violence, they have no place to go other than home where conditions are unsafe. This results in a vicious cycle of abuse that usually worsens over time.
Hospitals and clinics are an ideal place to respond to the needs of abused women and inform them of options to seek safety in a shelter. If physicians and other health care providers ignore the signs of abuse, releasing a patient back to her home could be detrimental to her health. Those who are abused suffer more than just immediate injury. Many often suffer from long-term health problems. These problems can include:
- Long term chronic pain
- High rates of suicide
Victims of domestic violence also have much higher healthcare costs than those who have not experienced abuse. Thus, it makes sense from a policy standpoint for healthcare providers to treat victims of domestic violence in a holistic manner, and not turn a blind eye to the cause of their injuries.
The United States Preventive Services Task Force conducted a study that has found that medical intervention could result in reduced rates of domestic violence and abuse, and a decrease long-term health problems associated with domestic abuse. The agency also recommends that all physicians ask female patients whether they are victims of domestic abuse and ask them if they need services such as those provided by a domestic abuse shelter. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association also recommend that physicians screen and counsel patients for possible domestic violence.
In the past, physicians did not feel that they had the time or resources to address these important issues. Although they cannot necessarily treat domestic violence, they can ask questions and provide patients with resources that could help them.
Somerville Domestic Violence Lawyers at Lyons & Associates, P.C. Help Victims of Domestic Violence Obtain Divorce
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, you have choices and we are here to help. To discuss your situation, schedule a confidential consultation with one of the compassionate Somerville domestic violence lawyers at Lyons & Associates, P.C. today by calling us at 908-575-9777 or by filling out an online contact form. We represent clients throughout the state of New Jersey, including Basking Ridge, Bridgewater, Mendham, Morristown, Somerset, Somerville, South Plainfield, Woodbridge, and Somerset County, Morris County, and Union County. | <urn:uuid:5a9499e6-7eef-4c59-bd2f-eba4f1212a5b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.lyonspc.com/2018/05/03/domestic-violence-health-problem-women/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571536.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811224716-20220812014716-00266.warc.gz | en | 0.961123 | 625 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Bashing Trash in Class: A Bad Book Podcast Project
To help counter the increased cognitive fatigue and isolation of my literature students during the pandemic, I wanted to create a collaborative project that would foster more casual interactions between my students. The result was a podcast project where my students had to read “bad” literature and criticize it with their co-hosts. In the end, they read garbage and had a good laugh, all while developing their critical thinking and reviewing literary theory.
What is a bad book podcast?
This project was inspired by I Don’t Even Own a Television(IDEOTV) and The Worst Bestsellers. Those 2 podcasts operate on the premise that the book discussed is “bad” in some manner. Thus, their main focus is not to review the book, but rather to shed light on their problematic aspects in an entertaining manner. The result is a healthy mix of serious conversation and silly tangents and riffs.
The pedagogy of ranting
Fully engaging with bad literature encourages students to understand their own thinking, to develop their critical thinking as they integrate complex literary concepts. The idea is to take them from “I want to throw this book across the room” to “the flat, stereotypical protagonist makes me want to throw this book across the room”.
No improvisation without preparation
Bad book podcasts usually have a semi-scripted, mostly improvisational and casual tone. For this to sound natural, the hosts need to be comfortable with the material. This involves a considerable amount of preparation.
Over a 4-week period, the teams of 3 or 4 students:
- selected what book they wanted to discuss
- read the material and researched any necessary additional information
- met weekly to share notes and check in on their teammates’ progress
- completed a Sparknotes-like web page
- filled in a customizable template
- recorded and edited a podcast
The purpose of the web page was to confirm that the students mastered the basic literary theory studied throughout the semester. It also guaranteed that they would do some basic research on the text studied. I had my students work with Weebly as it offers free web hosting and a simple and intuitive user interface.
The customizable template, based on a standard episode of IDEOTV, included obligatory segments, as well as mix-and-match optional segments. I did not ask for a full script, but rather that they use the template as they would cue cards.
The obligatory segments were:
- Introduction (presentation of the hosts and the book they are going to discuss)
- Plot summary (brief overview of the story, targeted duration is 60 seconds)
- High point and low points (elements of the book that they liked and disliked)
- Recommendations (what would they recommend that I read instead of their bad book?)
The most popular optional segment was “Dramatic Reading” where the hosts read selected excerpts from the book in a theatrical voice.
In the end, the customizable template offers a balance of structure and freedom. It guarantees a minimum degree of depth for the conversation, but also encourages students to choose what elements they want to discuss in more detail.
Customizable template for the podcast
No need to go dumpster-diving to find trash
To help students choose a bad book for their podcast, I made a short, descriptive list of texts that I had readily available. But, I also let my students suggest books or topics that they wanted to explore.
As for actual books and novels, there are various ways to obtain them cheaply and legally.
Many classic bad books have entered the public domain and are available for free online on Project Gutenberg.
For recent terrible bestsellers, second-hand bookstores are a goldmine; no matter where you go, you are almost guaranteed to find a copy of Twilight, Fifty Shades of Grey or The Da Vinci Code for under 5 dollars.
For almost any other book, chances are that it is available on Audible. When you sign up for a free 1-month trial, you receive a credit for 1 audiobook, which can be spent on any book from Audible’s extensive library.
Recording and submitting the podcast
A common fear with any project that involves technology is that you will end up evaluating the students’ ease with technology rather than the targeted course competencies. For that reason, I tried to come up with the simplest method possible to record a podcast at a distance.
To begin, I had the students meet and record themselves using Zoom. I chose it over Teams because Zoom saves the files on your computer rather than on the cloud. Moreover, Zoom always creates 2 versions of any recording: a video, and an audio-only version.
The students then had to take the audio file and edit it in Audacity, a light, free, and open source audio software. Students were only required to remove any extended silences and major mistakes. Nevertheless, some of the more motivated and tech-savvy students managed to normalize audio levels, remove background noise, or even insert theme music for their segments, making for some fairly professional-sounding podcasts!
When everything was to their liking, they had to export their podcast as an MP3 rather than a WAV, Audacity’s default exportation format. While WAV files offer better audio quality, they are also much more voluminous. This can lead to issues with Weebly, Teams, or LÉA as all 3 have rather stingy file-size limitations for uploads.
Finally, I had the students submit their podcast by attaching it to their Weebly page both as audio content and as a downloadable file. Then, I could listen to the podcast online as I browsed through the students’ page. Or, alternatively, I could download the file on my mobile device and listen to it as I did chores around the house for a more authentic podcast-listening experience. It is a great way to get some marking done while keeping on top of the housework!
So, what did they think of it?
Most students’ reaction to the project was overwhelmingly positive. The comment that came back the most often was that they enjoyed the lighter format of the project. Being able to talk, rant, and joke with other students made them feel like they were interacting with friends rather than classmates.
Lastly, the project had some unexpected benefits. One student who had chosen to work on Fifty Shades of Grey told me she ended up reading the trilogy in under a month. Turns out, she loves reading, just not the texts that are usually assigned in school. In my book, anything that manages to get students to read more is a victory, even badly-written and terribly problematic novels.
If you have any questions about this project, are thinking about using podcasts in your classroom, or want to share your experience, you can contact me directly or share your questions and comments in the comments section below. | <urn:uuid:8c12ef37-b3b2-465e-9076-ef53b737caa6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://eductive.ca/en/resource/bashing-trash-in-class-a-bad-book-podcast-project/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572221.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816060335-20220816090335-00069.warc.gz | en | 0.964321 | 1,444 | 2.375 | 2 |
Quarry Bay School
Quarry Bay follows the national curriculum of England and Wales, adapted to its Hong Kong setting and with the addition of Putonghua. Music, drama and information technology are included. As with all ESF primary schools, students are encouraged to become creative, independent learners and the focus is on all-round development. There is a strong arts programme at Quarry Bay, and personal and social education are also emphasised. Pupils transfer to an ESF secondary school after Year 6. Maximum number of students per class is 30. | <urn:uuid:9c236059-1acf-4d61-b321-061508cb8d74> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/directory/arts-culture-education/primary-int-schools/04f549d6-2b3c-4c82-81b4-dc7bfebbe77e/quarry-bay-school/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281151.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00118-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966031 | 112 | 1.851563 | 2 |
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park is a recreational gold mine and communal landmark in Jacksonville, functioning as one of the city's most recognized and visited public parks. Metro Jacksonville explores the park with its more than 447 acres of open use.
Part of what is now Hanna Park was formerly Manhattan Beach, Florida's first beach community for African-Americans during the period of segregation. Manhattan Beach was established around 1900 by blacks working on the Florida East Coast Railway. At its height the beach included amenities such as picnic pavilions, cottages, and an amusement park. It flourished until around 1940, when it was superseded as a day-trip destination by the larger American Beach in nearby Amelia Island. In the 1940s, 5 acres land for the park was donated by Winthrop Bancroft, who required that the land be named for Kathryn Abbey Hanna (November 8, 18951967, a Chicago, Illinois-born educator and author who had settled in Florida and served on the board of Parks and Historical Places.)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanna_Park
The remaining property that eventually became the expanded Hanna Park was purchased after consolidation and during the administration of Mayor Hans Tanzler in the mid-1970s. The first general purpose trail was constructed by Michael Long in 1987 as his Eagle Scout service project. Most of the land has been left in its natural, wooded state. Boardwalks were constructed over the dunes to protect vegetation.
About Hanna Park
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) public beachfront and city park in Atlantic Beach, Florida. It is located at Mayport in the Jacksonville Beaches area. It consists of 447 acres (1.81 km2) of mature coastal hammock, which is increasingly rare to find along Florida's heavily developed Atlantic coast.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanna_Park
Experience Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park with its sandy beach, freshwater lake, wooded camping sites, natural dunes and naturescapes that defy the imagination.http://www.coj.net/Departments/Recreation-and-Community-Services/Recreation-and-Community-Programming/Hanna-Park.aspx
Visitors may enjoy the park's:
1.5 miles of pristine sandy beach
60-acre freshwater lake ideal for fishing, nature observation, kayaks, pedal boats and canoes
kids splash park open Memorial Day through Labor Day for children under 54 inches tall
camping facilities that include RV and tent camping, and rustic cabin rentals
scenic trails designed for both biking and hiking
facilities for cookouts, reunions, retreats or other group
activities (reservations required)
The park is also home to one of Northeast Florida's premiere surfing spots known locally as 'the poles.'
8 a.m. - 8 p.m. daily, April - Oct.
8 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily, Nov. - March
Last entry allowed 30 minutes prior to park closing time.
Early bird passes and annual passes accepted from 7 to 8 a.m.
$1 per person 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., then $3 per car (up to six people) 10 a.m. to close.
Finegan Elementary is located adjacent to the park's entrance.
In addition to the white sand beaches on the Atlantic Ocean, the park offers:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanna_Park
The park has nearly 15 miles (24 km) of off-road cycling trails that range from easy to difficult. For experienced riders, trails named Grunt, Misery, and Tornado Alley offer a challenging workout. This trail wins the award for "Most Difficult Close to the Sea" and was rated four out of five stars on the Trails website.
Almost 300 campsites are nestled in the woods along winding, paved roads for tent camping or RV use, plus there are six small log "cozy cabins".
The park has a beachfront facility that can be rented by groups, with a view of sand dunes and surf.
View from a paddleboat
A former borrow pit for road construction in the park turned into a 40-acre (160,000 m2) freshwater lake which opened in 1978. Activities available include fishing, kayaking, paddle boating, and canoeing; lakeside picnic tables and grills are available and scenic trails surround the lake. A water playground is provided for small children.
North Florida's premiere surfing haven, known locally as "the poles" for its nearby and literal landscape features, is a drive to the edge of the park at the Atlantic Ocean where Naval Station Mayport draws the territorial line with the rest of the beaches.
Visiting The Park
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park is located near the Mayport naval base on 500 Wonderwood Dr., off Mayport Rd. The main entry road stretches throughout the park, with dirt roads and trails branching off, making for distinct areas of the "superpark". It attracts almost half a million visitors a year.
Article and photos by Sarah Gojekian. | <urn:uuid:7c6a6502-737b-4842-b373-935ac7f508e2> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-jan-hanna-park-public-gem- | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718426.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00138-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947679 | 1,075 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Think mystical beauty, think surrealistic ambience, think serenity, or simply think Bhutan! As one of the most stunning destinations in the world, Bhutan offers a mix of rustic beauty and contemporary charm. Most importantly, this unique place happens to be a paradise for globetrotters and fun-lovers. The cultural tour experiences in Bhutan will not only enthrall and excite art connoisseurs but also fill the hearts of general tourists with joy and exuberance.
If you are
planning a trip to one of the most exquisite places in the world, Bhutan
will emerge as the right option for you. The scenic locales, natural
beauty, and picturesque Bumthang valley will help you enter into a
magical world. Not to forget the cultural tour experiences; which
happens to be the perfect icing on the cake.
Check Out the Tour Experiences
it comes to Bhutan, travelers can plan trips to the western, central,
and eastern regions. Although the western region happens to be more
advanced and developed than the other areas, the central and eastern
parts are also accessible. While planning visits to Bhutan, most of the
tourists opt for Bhutan cultural tours as it offers them deep insights
into the cultural practices of the country.
Check out these tour options, if you are already planning a trip to these fascinating 'Land of Thunder Dragon'.
1. Savoring the Richness of Bhutan's Amazing Culture
trip to Bhutan will remain incomplete without a visit to the beautiful
Taktsang Monastery. According to the general beliefs prevalent in the
area, the Taktsand or Tiger Monastery bears a striking resemblance to
Guru Rimpoche's face. Since it's constructed with a cave series, the
monastery resembles a human face.
Situated at an altitude of 2133 meters, the Tiger Monastery is an integral part of Bhutan cultural tours.
2. The Colorful Dzongs
are of huge importance in Bhutan as they comprise of monasteries, part
fortresses, or government offices. The interiors of these Dzongs have
beautiful and intricate paintings that reflect the philosophies and
teachings of Buddhism. These inspirational images will surely fill your
hearts with joy and satisfaction. Paro and Thimpu offer home to some of
the vibrant Dzongs.
3. Festivals of Bhutan
in Bhutan are amongst the special attractions of the cultural tours.
While planning to visit Bhutan, you must not miss the colorful and
vibrant Tshechus. Festivities and celebrations are inseparable parts of
Bhutan cultural tours, and you can travel toThimpu and Paro for the most
4. The Rustic Charm
part of the Bhutanese population happens to be farmers. Plan your trip
with reputed tour operators in Bhutan and they will offer you
once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. You can be a part of the rustic
Bhutanese life, and spend a day or two with the Brokpas.
the warm and cozy farms, assist them in cooking meals, and enjoy the
classic stone bath, all in this beautiful destination.
5. Say 'T' for Trekking
dramatic landscape, picturesque destinations, and exquisite locations
offer the best opportunities for hiking and trekking. An enriching trip
to Bhutan will be incomplete without the trekking tours. | <urn:uuid:9a0a2f3d-38da-4569-bbf2-ae773dd63720> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://eadricorton29.blogspot.com/2017/03/enjoy-top-5-cultural-tour-experiences.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573193.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818094131-20220818124131-00473.warc.gz | en | 0.857983 | 761 | 1.585938 | 2 |
03-30-2009 09:00 AM
03-30-2009 03:04 PM
If there is a cached version of the page on the device then it will always be displayed.
How long are you setting the page to be cached for?
How often do you push to the device?
Are you using parameters on the end of the urls?
03-31-2009 03:11 AM
I'm setting the expiry date using the meta expires tag in the html to be one month from the date of the push.
I'm pushing the file out every day.
The url I'm providing is just the homepage of the firm I work for. Given that the user has a cached page I never intend for this to be displayed, unfortunately the cached page doesn't always work as expected.
03-31-2009 07:07 AM
Are you sure the page is being cached correctly.
Have you tested the cached page with no wireless coverage set on the BB device?
Try setting the cached length using the Expires header -
Expiry of cache content
An application that pushes data to the browser cache can include an expiry time that defines the length of time that the data remains in the cache before it is removed.
The default length of time that push content is stored in cache memory varies with the BlackBerry Browser software version used. In BlackBerry Browser version 3.8 and later, pushed content is removed from the cache after 12 hours. In preceding versions, pushed content expired and was removed from the cache after 29 days.
To increase or decrease the length of time that the cache memory stores the content, specify a date and time in the Expires header in the push request’s HTTP header. The following example stores content in cache until September 10, 2008, at 8 am.
Expires: Wed, 10 Sept 2008 08:00:00 GMT
Note: It is important to maintain the pushed content in a web location that users can go to if the content is not in the cache on the BlackBerry device. Pushed cache content is stored in the persistent or pushed cache and can be removed for a variety of reasons before the time specified in the Expires header. For example, users might delete the cache, or a BlackBerry device can remove items from the pushed cache to free up space if it runs low on memory.
03-31-2009 09:57 AM
There is a difference between using the meta tag and using the headers in the push.
You said "I'm setting the expiry date using the meta expires tag in the html to be one month from the date of the push"
Are you setting this in the Push HTTP Header? In the same way as the Content-Location header?
03-31-2009 10:32 AM
I'm not setting it using the Push http header, mainly because when I was testing this didn't seem to work. Admittedly I tested using older models off BB's (7200's I believe).
The META tag in the html seems to be respected most of the time however, it's only on occasion that the local content is ignored.
I'll give it a go in the Push Header and see how I get on.
04-02-2009 04:58 AM
Ok, I've done a little more investigation of this.
I don't think page expiry is the issue here.
As mentioned I'm pushing out the page which includes the tag:
<meta http-equiv="expires" content="Sat, 2 May 2009 23:59:00 GMT" />
(basically to expire in a month)
Sometimes users see the page that I've pushed, at other times they see the page at the "Content-Location" I've provided.
If they see the URL, I've tried switching off connectivity, and the cached page is displayed. So, evidently it's still in the device.
I've got hold of a BB to test on and will try adding the "Expires" header in the push.
04-02-2009 05:54 AM
Are you able to replicate the problem?
How are the users navigating to the page?
Another thing to think about is:
They have to use a url that is exactly the same as the content-location header.
This is case sensitive, so for example.
if they type in
and you've used www.Google.com in the content-location header, they will not go to the cached page.
If you are using a Channel then it should go to the same location everytime.
Just a thought.
04-02-2009 08:59 AM
Replicating the problem is tricky. Basically if I rerun the push a few times it happens. Expiry definitely isn't the issue here as the cached content won't have the opportunity to reach an age where expiry kicks in.
The URL isn't an issue either. I'm pushing the content as a browser-channel push. On my 8310 it appears as an icon on the desktop. On my boss's 8900 it shows up in here downloaded items. Either way neither of us has to actually type a url into our browser.
>>If you are using a Channel then it should go to the same location everytime
Yep, it *should* always show the cached content, and if that can't be found then it should resolve the URL. That doesn't seem to be happening consistently though. | <urn:uuid:ffe6954a-855a-4da2-81d7-937dbe479cfb> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://supportforums.blackberry.com/t5/Web-and-WebWorks-Development/Browser-Channel-push-issue/m-p/198543/highlight/true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280128.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00391-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910343 | 1,131 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Placental abruption (abruptio placentae) is an uncommon yet serious complication of pregnancy.
The placenta is a structure that develops in the uterus during pregnancy to nourish the growing baby. If the placenta peels away from the inner wall of the uterus before delivery — either partially or completely — it's known as placental abruption. Placental abruption can deprive the baby of oxygen and nutrients and cause heavy bleeding in the mother.
Placental abruption often happens suddenly. Left untreated, placental abruption puts both mother and baby in jeopardy. | <urn:uuid:8d90ca22-5cf9-422e-b394-3ff2abe09a92> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.fortishealthcare.com/india/diseases/placental-abruption-397 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721008.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00118-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913899 | 122 | 2.828125 | 3 |
It was a perfect summer weekend, sunshine with a few puffy clouds dotting the azure sky, a slight breeze and low humidity, ideal for a summer stroll through gardens of colorful flowers, hedge-lined pathways, cascading waterfalls, and arbors with benches for relaxing and taking in the beauty. We visited three gardens in and near Champaign County, Illinois, on that weekend, all only 15 to 30 miles apart. Two of the gardens, Allerton Park and the UI Arboretum, are owned by the University of Illinois, and the Mabery Gelvin Botanical Garden is part of the Champaign County Forest Preserve District.
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Allerton Park & Retreat Center
Once the estate of Robert Henry Allerton, the property was donated to the University of Illinois, along with the income from the 1946 farm crops to establish operating funds. Today the 1500 acre park, one of the seven wonders of Illinois, includes the Georgian Manor house used for events, seven natural setting trails totaling 14 miles, and 14 formal gardens that include extensive plantings and over 100 sculptures and ornaments. Walk down paved pathways lined with Chinese musicians, stroll through the walled garden, or climb the spiral staircase in the House of the Golden Buddahs for a view of the gardens from above.
Allerton Park & Retreat Center is located at 515 Old Timber Road, Monticello, Illinois.
University of Illinois Arboretum
Considered a living laboratory, the UI Arboretum includes plant collections and facilities for teaching, research and public service programs. However, as a non-student, you can simply visit to enjoy the beauty, much of it made possible through donations by generous alumni. Bursts of color in the Idea Garden’s border annuals and the Children’s Garden create a cheerful atmosphere, while the calm serenity of the gardens surrounding the Japan House will leave you feeling tranquil . Development of the 160 acre arboretum property began in the early 1980s. Today 57 acres are developed, leaving plenty of room for further growth.
The University of Illinois Arboretum is located on Lincoln Avenue in Urbana, Illinois. Check the web site for detailed directions.
Mabery Gelvin Botanical Garden
This gem of a small eight-acre garden is tucked behind the Museum of the Grand Prairie in the Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve in Mahomet, Illinois. The garden includes a one-room schoolhouse and a Japanese garden with a waterfall backdrop and a bright red bridge crossing a pond filled with water lilies. Lots of flowers indigenous to Illinois, like the purple coneflower and the yellow daylily are displayed throughout the garden.
While you are there, be sure to visit the museum and the rest of the forest preserve. Our time was limited, but I would have loved to have rented a paddle boat to pedal around the lake. The Mabery Gelvin Botanical Garden is located at 650 N Lombard Street, Mahomet, Illinois.
See more photos of the gardens in the video slideshow:
You can easily visit all three gardens in one day, although we broke it into two days and visited area wineries, too. There is no admission fee for any of the three gardens.
Disclosure: Our visit to the Champaign area was hosted by the Champaign County CVB, but any opinions expressed in this post are my own. Our accommodations were at the Hyatt Place Champaign Hotel.
Thank you for reading Midwest Wanderer. If you enjoyed this post and would like an e-mail notification when other posts are published, enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe. Be sure to click the link when you get the e-mail asking you to confirm. | <urn:uuid:22dd94e7-ecb7-4b7f-9132-0eb3a812a8b7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://midwestwanderer.com/tag/ui-arboretum/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00669.warc.gz | en | 0.937642 | 804 | 1.765625 | 2 |
In this article some of the advantages related to using large format printing services are discussed. . Typical marketing material can provide businessman with standard way of printing, whereas large format prints may be aptly used for creating large flyers, posters, brochures, etc. Following are some of the advantages of applying large format making services. Businessman can unhampered design with huge format prints and may successfully carry out marketing plan. Businessman can gain freedom to show their message from the most attractive method to the target crowd with such solutions.
Subject: Computer | Topics: Article | <urn:uuid:eb95f9e5-686b-491a-8b50-ae98c2f0c4e2> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.assignmentpoint.com/science/computer/significance-using-large-format-printing-services.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279224.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00476-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923523 | 112 | 1.851563 | 2 |
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson has two lingering memories of the Stanley Cup Riot in the hours after drunk hooligans laid waste to his downtown.
One is of walking through deserted streets over broken glass, past looted shops and around derelict, burnt-out cars, the pungent smell of tear gas still lingering in the air. He wondered how his city could descend into such hell, and all around a hockey game, especially when just a year before it had been the toast of the world for its peaceful hosting of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
The other was formed a few hours later as dawn broke. Citizens unexpectedly reclaimed their shattered downtown armed with brooms, dustpans, bags and black felt markers. They swept and cleaned and left messages of hope on an impromptu shrine created from the plywood boarding covering the broken plate-glass windows of The Bay.
In a matter of hours, Robertson had seen Vancouverites go from their worst to their finest.
As the anniversary of the Stanley Cup Riot approaches, Robertson says he still can’t ignore the first memory, but he prefers to focus on the second. And he believes the riot has had a strangely cathartic effect, a recognition that while we can darkly go there in the blink of an eye, we know now what triggers such behaviour and can avoid trouble before it hits.
It’s the modern version of “here be dragons.”
“I think, even for Vancouverites, it shattered the myth that this is some perfect Lotus Land city. Vancouver is a big city now, with real-world problems, and we need to be proactive and strident in protecting what we have here, and that’s what we did,” Robertson said.
In the year after the riot there has been much accounting of the damage done, both physically and psychologically. When alcohol-fuelled hooligans packed into cramped outdoor street venues and rioted over the team’s Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins, they began an evening of mayhem for which the final tally is not yet known.
But so far, we know this: after mounting an unprecedented public identification campaign that even included seizing media images, police have so far recommended 592 charges against 200 rioters, including the overarching and serious charge of participating in a riot. As of this week, Crown counsel has approved 276 charges against 104 people, and a small handful have entered guilty pleas.
Police say at least 112 businesses were looted or vandalized. Some businesses were so trashed they required months of reconstruction.
At least 122 vehicles were damaged or destroyed, a third of which belonged to police.
At least $3.4 million in damage was recorded, and police have spent another $2 million on overtime in the operation of its special Integrated Riot Investigation Team. The in-kind cost of police departments contributing to that team is more than $8 million.
Last year’s riot happened almost exactly 17 years after the 1994 riot, which saw cars and stores vandalized and clashes with police after 70,000 people gathered downtown following the Canucks’ loss to the New York Rangers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The 2011 riot sparked a lot of soul-searching and no less than four reviews, including an independent investigation by former Nova Scotia deputy attorney-general Doug Keefe and former Vancouver Olympic committee boss John Furlong. There were also reviews by the city and two for the police department, including one by Ottawa Police Services, and an internal review by the fire department.
The examinations all stopped short of a formal inquiry, largely, city manager Penny Ballem says, because such a process could have resulted in “swinging the pendulum too far.” The city would have risked going back to its “no-fun” label, she said.
What came out of all this was a clear understanding that the city and its partners miscalculated the potential for violence when more than 150,000 people responded to the call to come downtown to celebrate. There were other operational failures in key places, such as the inability to stop the influx of alcohol and SkyTrain’s contributing factor in dropping thousands of people into a crowded area.
“I think although we had five reviews of this they were all very practical and we were really able to think about where we have gaps in our practice that we needed to buff up a bit,” she said.
As a result of the chaos, at least in Vancouver, public events are now much more scrutinized and regimented. The city created a “City Large Events Oversight Committee” that now reviews all aspects of any public event of significance. Regional police agencies, with Transit Police at the core, also created a regional large-event policing strategy that requires police departments to contribute officers to any enforcement action.
“The big lesson we learned is that we can’t do this by ourselves,” said Insp. Rick McKillican, the operations chief for Transit Police. “We have to cooperate with others and share knowledge and information.”
The propensity for alcohol to fuel violence is no longer overlooked; the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority began a binge drinking education program, and the Canucks began a public campaign using key players to instil pride in the city.
Last year’s Grey Cup was the first major test of CLEOC and the fact it went off without a hitch is held up as validation of the city’s new principles, Ballem said.
But the changes also mean smaller community events are put under a microscope. As is the case whenever a traumatic event takes place, there is potential for bureaucratic over-reaction.
“I do have some concerns that these changes are having a collateral effect on the small festivals that are heavily dependent upon volunteers,” said Coun. Geoff Meggs. He cited the case of Car-Free Vancouver, a non-profit group that annually organizes the temporary closure of several streets to promote community events.
Maddy Kipling, the chairwoman of Car-Free Vancouver, says she understands the city’s need to be vigilant, but believes the new post-riot rules have become a bureaucratic headache. For the first time in seven years of uneventful planning, many members of her board have had to book days off work to complete the new raft of paperwork the city wants before it will issue a permit.
“They gave us a numerous-page, really in-depth emergency plan and it really looked like something for a large uber-conference,” she said. “We’ve had to write many-paged safety plans of the demographics and everything. This is a community festival filled with children and their mothers and fathers and seniors. It is not like a beer-guzzling sports event.”
But Peter Judd, Vancouver’s chief engineer, said it’s only prudent to expect organizers of any event that affects traffic or neighbourhoods — or that involves the provision of alcohol — to know their level of risk and have plans for traffic management and security.
The city isn’t about to put the hundreds of block party applications it gets every year under a microscope, but public events that affect major thoroughfares or business districts must undergo some risk assessment, he said.
Robertson understands Kipling’s concerns and says the city is still in “the learning phase.”
“It’s been a year of developing new approaches and some growing pains are inevitable. We will see this settle down so that we don’t impact smaller groups and organizations. But we do need to take precautions and make sure that events are well-planned,” he said.
Patrick Condon, a University of B.C. professor specializing in livable environments, said it’s likely city bureaucracy will over-react in an effort to prevent another riot. But he doesn’t think it will approach a “Homeland Security mentality.”
“Were an incident like this to happen again, citizens would be right to be entirely outraged at the incapacity of the city, the police, the mayor and the council to learn from their mistakes,” Condon said.
For his part, Robertson believes the city and his administration have already learned that lesson.
“I believe Vancouver is more mature and self-aware coming through [this] series of huge events, from the riot to the groundswell of public support that came right after that and completely countered the chaos of June 15,” he said. “It is an important part of our history that we came through gracefully despite the challenges.” | <urn:uuid:f8ae78c2-5745-4e83-806d-5b72b1651ce4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Broken+glass+messages+hope+What+different+Vancouver+year+later/6752106/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283301.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00512-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970035 | 1,794 | 1.515625 | 2 |
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The Minnesota River flows 318 miles from Big Stone Lake in Ortonville to its confluence with the Mississippi River near Fort Snelling in St. Paul. It is a gentle, placid river, with some portions designated as a Wild and Scenic River.
The valley through which the river flows was carved into the landscape by the glacial River Warren between 11,700 and 9,400 years ago. Paddlers will see a diversity of terrain, ranging from steep granite bluffs to marshy lowlands.
This river was important during the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. Learn more. | <urn:uuid:72ac0bc0-ac7a-458a-af85-2ac65684c2b8> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/watertrails/minnesotariver/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279189.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00058-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96824 | 125 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Administrator: "The violent kids are running the schools. They take up so much time and effort; it's a total diversion from teaching. It can't be done."
School Psychologist: "There are not enough personnel to deal with the behavior problems. We talk to the parents, but there's no follow-through, no discipline in the homes . . . They do stop the other kids from learning."
Teacher: "I've been here 20 years, and I hate to say this, but there is no hope for the Cleveland schools. None."
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Federal Judge Frank Battisti's order to desegregate the Cleveland schools. Evidence brought by the NAACP had proved that racism in the district resulted not only from the city's historic pattern of segregated housing, but from a concerted effort by the school board and administrators to keep individual schools virtually all white or all black.
Battisti's mandated corrections were righteous, severe, and ultimately disastrous. In a series of rulings that reflected a mounting frustration with his inability to reshape the schools by sheer force of will and federal power, Battisti resorted to an ill-conceived philosophy best defined by the infamous Vietnam War-era statement: "We had to destroy the village in order to save it."
Over the next two decades, the system was reduced to rubble -- carpet-bombed by draconian judges, inept administrators, squabbling school boards, drooling bus-company owners, and happy lawyers.
The cost was staggering: hundreds of millions to ship children back and forth; tens of millions in legal fees; countless millions in revenues lost, as parents expressed their rage at the polls, voting down school levies at every opportunity. Sixteen superintendents in 21 years paid with their jobs. And the highest price was paid by Cleveland kids -- an entire generation denied the chance for a decent education.
Finally, in the mid-'90s, a consortium of city leaders and activists resolved to rescue the schools. After successfully campaigning in 1996 for a levy to bail the system out of what State Auditor Jim Petro described as "a financial crisis that is perhaps unprecedented in the history of American education," Mayor Mike White won direct control over the schools. With absolute authority in hand, and a compliant school board of his own choosing, White began a nationwide search for a superintendent to lead the Cleveland Municipal School District out of the wilderness.
Enter Barbara Byrd-Bennett.
She flew into town in 1998, on the wings of the finest résumé and most charismatic presence to be found among the admittedly thin ranks of successful urban-school administrators. She had graduated high school at 16 and earned a college diploma at 19, then a master's degree in English at NYU, and another in education administration at Pace. Over 22 years, she advanced through the ranks of the New York City School District.
She became superintendent of the Chancellor's District, a 10-school subset composed of Manhattan's worst-performing schools. There were dramatic improvements, and she was subsequently named superintendent for the deeply troubled Crown Heights District in Brooklyn. There, she made less classroom progress, but was nonetheless applauded for restoring order and discipline.
In mid-1998, White's staff asked her to help the mayor with the superintendent-selection process. After a few meetings, something clicked. He asked her to stop advising and submit an application. Weeks later, Barbara Byrd-Bennett was named the first CEO in CMSD history.
In short order, Byrd-Bennett became the most revered public official in the region -- and the highest-paid government employee in Ohio. Champion of academia and media darling, she has basked in the warmth of an extended honeymoon with City Hall, school-board members, teachers, parents, taxpayers, and the press. She has been showered with praise, honors, and awards by everyone from Oberlin to Oprah.
But is she any good?
In the fifth year of BBB's reign, after nine full semesters and $4 billion spent, it's time for the CEO's proficiency test and report card.
It is no coincidence that the district chose Success Tech for the site of an interview with Byrd-Bennett. It's the day ninth-graders face the Grim Reaper of public education, the Ohio Proficiency Tests. For years, the test has rendered a harsh verdict on the district: guilty of inadequate education. Guilty of insufficient learning. Guilty of systemwide failure.
But not here. This will be the inaugural proficiency test at Success Tech, and administrators welcome the chance. Here the halls are clean and bright, splashed with the art of talented kids. Here it is tranquil, with panoramic views of blue water and blue skies. Here every student sits at a personal workstation with a new Dell PC, fingers flying over keyboards, eyes riveted on screens, eager to learn. Here there is no fear of proficiencies.
Success Tech is the newest and smallest of 120 schools, with 80 ninth-graders hand-selected from across the city, children clamoring to attend the elite downtown showcase. If all goes as planned, they will be joined by hundreds more in coming years, as these young pioneers become the first graduating class of a full-sized high school, where the academics rival those of the best suburban schools.
Success Tech will serve as a template for others. It won't be long before the whole thing turns into the Cleveland Success School District. At least that's how Byrd-Bennett sees it playing out.
Success Tech may have a future, but progressive downtown schools have a history, too. Just down the Shoreway is Aviation High School, another CMSD innovation. Located adjacent to Burke Airport, this school-ahead-of-its-time offered valuable training in aeronautics and aircraft maintenance.
It was the favorite school of Dr. Frederick Holliday, a respected educator who was appointed superintendent with great fanfare in 1983. But the pressures and frustration of watching helplessly as the Good Ship Public Education went down on his watch took a mortal toll on the good doctor. Holliday entered the building alone on a bleak night in 1985, lingered for an hour, wrote a cryptic note accusing "critics and enemies" on the federal desegregation team of ruining his life, and then shot himself in the heart with a .357 Magnum.
Holliday's death was the symbol of total despair. Reform efforts were abandoned. Community support dissipated. Aviation High School was closed a few years later. The schools hit rock bottom and stayed there for 13 more years.
But Aviation High School and Dr. Holliday are ancient history now. As the CEO takes a seat in a small conference room, she makes that clear, waving off the past 25 years with a single comment: "It's too bad we spent all that money on busing. I know if white people would say that then, they were called racist, and black people, they were called something else, but you can't solve cultural and societal problems by shipping kids around the city every day . . . We could have taken those millions -- 40, then 80, then 100 million and more -- and made the schools equitable."
Financing the Stone
The total annual CMSD budget is a financial hologram that varies according to angles and light. There's the general fund, at $667 million, which is widely understood to be the school budget. It's not. There are six other primary funds that add more than $125 million annually, plus a share of the capital improvement fund, which should tack on another $106 million or more this year alone. The actual grand total is not publicized, but it appears to be in the vicinity of $912 million -- almost as much as the budget for the entire city government.
In a shambles for more than a generation, the district's financial recovery has been spectacular. A $200 million deficit in 1996 has been transformed into an operating surplus of $33 million for fiscal 2002. Chief Financial Officer Erbert Johnson has replaced perennial patronage and incompetence with professionalism and sound accounting principles. State auditors have proclaimed the books as "clean as a whistle."
But trouble is only a semester away.
State money -- the lifeblood of public education -- is fast becoming an oxymoron, as Ohio legislators, faced with hard choices, pick roads and pork over schools. The state has already slashed $7.5 million from the CMSD's annual allowance, with more cuts to come. Last month, the district eliminated 52 assistant principal and 172 teaching positions to close an $11.4 million gap in the budget for the next school year.
The other main artery is local property taxes. Again, the prognosis is not good. There has not been an operating levy for seven years. Most districts hit up residents every two years or less. Without fresh cash, the schools will fall back into the red next year.
Byrd-Bennett spends little time crowing about her financial accomplishments and a lot more fretting about the future. "I'm going to have a shortfall of $25 million in fiscal year 2004," she says with certainty. "And that was before the state started cutting our money . . . You know, these politicians, when they're campaigning, they say, 'Put the schools first,' and after they're elected, they do. When the budget has to be cut, it's the schools first."
A new levy won't be easy. The county's Health and Human Services boost turned into a struggle on the May ballot. The state's $500 million Third Frontier request will be on the November ballot -- and may be accompanied by levies for a new convention center and the arts.
Undaunted, Byrd-Bennett has already begun to bang the drums slowly. "Yes, we are thinking about going back to the voters for more money; we'll have to," she says, then tosses the hot potato to Jane Campbell. "But that's a decision for the mayor to make. I'll make my recommendations, but that's her decision."
The mayor doesn't want to commit in The Year of the Levy. "It has to be considered, yes," she says. "But we haven't made any decision about that yet."
Experts like political patriarch Sam Miller see the prospects as grim. "They can use whatever excuse they want, and Barbara is a magician when it comes to campaigning for the schools," says Miller. "But the voters are in no mood to pass another school levy anytime soon -- it's just not going to happen."
The bottom line is bittersweet: Byrd-Bennett, Johnson, and company have balanced the budget and restored fiscal credibility, to the point of earning Moody's highest bond rating for short-term public-issue notes. But economic malaise and a cold front moving in from Columbus leave forecasts gloomy.
Finance grade: C-
A Mammoth day-care center
Forty-three percent of the district's 74,000 students live in poverty. Many don't receive basic nutrition or health care. Kids don't learn when they're sick or undernourished, when they can't see the blackboard or hear the teacher.
Of course, schools were never meant to be food banks, hospitals, or social service centers. But they are now.
The CMSD served 15 million free meals to students in the 2002-03 academic year. The Universal Meals Program, implemented under Byrd-Bennett in conjunction with a federal program, provides meals to all students, regardless of family income.
A city-sponsored program that provides free vaccinations has raised the level of immunized kids to 98 percent -- 60 percent higher than 1998. More than 40,000 students have been screened for vision problems since 1999, courtesy of corporate angel Cole Eye Care Centers. Thousands have received free glasses. Thousands more get free dental care, thanks to the dental school at Case Western Reserve University. Some 600 corporate, civic, community, and religious groups are directly involved with the schools, offering services, advisors, and money.
But treating so many health and social needs diverts resources from the classroom, leaving the schools in danger of becoming mammoth day-care centers. "In the postmodern era, we have assumed a lot of the responsibility of the parents and the community," notes Associate Superintendent Thandiwe Peeples.
Byrd-Bennett says they have no choice: "If we didn't, many of these kids would be out on the street, looking to take what they feel is their share of America from people in business, workers, people walking by . . . When you judge our schools, keep that in mind."
Health and social services grade: A
Casualties on the front line
"Some of the unsung heroes of Cleveland are the teachers who stayed in that system when it was terrible, just because they loved those kids," says Campbell. "They're still there, and now there are more qualified teachers in every area."
The stats back her up. The number of classroom instructors with certified qualifications has increased to 98 percent of all teachers. They are assisted by 1,000 volunteer tutors, twice as many as in 1998.
Truth is, the teachers were never high on the list of critical problems. They held the fort through the dreary years, often digging into their own pockets to pay for necessities the district didn't provide -- such as chalk. Today, with finances in better shape, the pipeline is open. "They are getting the resources now," says Chief of Academics Myrna Eliott-Lewis.
Part of Byrd-Bennett's strategy has been to avoid union strife. Her relations with the CTU have been cordial and crisis-free. A recent contract extension was amicably negotiated and ratified, but not without a price. Although median teacher pay, at $47,000, is just average for the region, benefits and union safeguards are extraordinary. A teacher cannot be fired or even transferred by a principal.
Complaints or bad evaluations can be added to a teacher's personnel file, and there must be three or more, based on specific offenses or failures, before a principal can even forward a transfer request downtown. The teacher gets a hearing. If the facts are deemed sufficient and serious enough, the teacher gets a year of probationary status. If, at the end of that year, the principal still wants the transfer, there is another hearing. And if the teacher's performance is again found to be clearly inadequate, the administration can mandate a transfer. It is a process so weighted on the side of workers that none of the people interviewed could name a single instance of a teacher being involuntarily transferred.
For those who care to take advantage, the system provides plenty of room for incompetents and hangers-on. "You can write them up, if they're not performing," says one principal, "but that's all. After three years, I haven't had one teacher transferred or fired. It hardly ever happens."
It takes an egregious offense to get a pink slip. The most recent example was a Marion Seltzer Elementary kindergarten teacher who had a jumbo bag of marijuana delivered to her classroom. Fatima Sebeiha pleaded guilty, was promptly relieved of duty, and will soon be sentenced to up to five years in prison. "But you watch," one teacher warns. "The union rules are so strong, she could be back teaching after she gets out."
Teachers may be bullet-proof, but principals are in the line of fire. Under Byrd-Bennett's system, there are substantial bonuses for principals who improve their school's performance, but woe to those who don't. Thandiwe Peeples is associate superintendent for the CEO's District, composed of schools with the worst problems and performance records. Her mission is to get them back on track. "When a principal says, 'It's not my fault,' I say, 'Yes it is.' They have to be accountable," she says.
And they are. The attrition rate is brutal. More than 90 of 120 schools have a different principal from the one they had on the day Byrd-Bennett arrived. Four more were relieved of duty in April, after failing to make sufficient progress.
Is Peeples the hit woman for Byrd-Bennett? "Oh no, she's her own hit woman," says Peeples. "She smiles a lot, but those little robot eyes -- she sees everything, she catches everything, she computes everything."
Juliane Fouse Shepard is principal at Newton D. Baker Elementary, one of the highest-achieving schools in the district. She has no problem with the pressure. "I get worried sometimes, sure," she admits. "I get nervous about test results, but that's what we're here for -- results. Barbara Byrd-Bennett makes it real clear."
Other principals aren't as sanguine about life in the crosshairs. Two former principals claim they were scapegoats, punished for not reaching academic goals they considered impossible, given that their schools were among the most troubled in the district. "You can't get blood from a turnip," says one. "And you can't get these kids to meet academic standards that are totally unrealistic, just because Barbara says so."
The second agrees. "If you crack down, you get a call from Sixth Street (CMSD headquarters): 'Hey, not so many suspensions!' You can't fire a teacher, you can't expel a kid, you can't touch Barbara's people -- so who do you blame, when it doesn't work? Principals."
Teachers and principals grade: C
Safety and security spending for Cleveland schools has tripled since 1998, exceeding $22 million this year. There are 256 full-time security personnel and 28 patrol cars, as well as closed-circuit TVs, portable x-ray machines, and metal detectors. Fights, assaults, gang-related activity, and all types of crimes on school property have decreased.
But, according to a survey made by CWRU, one of every 13 Cleveland high school students had taken a gun, knife, or other weapon to school in the preceding month -- an average of about two weapons per classroom. In 2002, there were more than 2,000 "safety and security incidents" -- the district's euphemism for violence and other crimes -- and 15,000 suspensions. And here's a nasty one: Teachers and staff were assaulted 211 times, an average of more than once a day.
These tallies may be better, per capita, than those in New York, Miami, and Detroit, but they're worse than in Pittsburgh, Boston, and Houston.
Associate Superintendent Peeples isn't too concerned. "I came from the wild, wild West of school systems [New York City], where they were totally off the hook," says Peeples. "So, I think they're pretty safe here."
Then again, comparing favorably to one of the most violent districts in the country offers little in the way of bragging rights. Nor does it comfort teachers, who must deal with the fear factor daily.
"I was punched in the mouth two weeks ago by a fifth grader," says an East Side elementary teacher. "Big kid, big as me, but I'm all right."
After the attack, her young assailant ran away. There was a police report, but no arrest made. "A 10-day suspension, that's all," she shrugs. "My principal said that's the maximum, the most they can do, and I believe him."
Adds a middle school teacher: "It's hard to teach with your hands tied behind your back. The shouting and the obscenities, throwing things and fighting -- some of the teachers come into the lunch room crying. It's very difficult."
All of which leads to education by triage. "A lot of times teachers just say, 'I give up,' and put a few kids who want to learn in the front row, focus on them, and let all the rest do whatever," says a high school teacher.
In April, a gang-related spat among four girls at South High School provided a grim reminder of how hard it is to keep the peace. Smack talk escalated to shoves and slaps. Before school officials could react, allies jumped in. The clash became a brawl, then a flash fire of violence that engulfed the lunchroom and roared through the halls. In minutes, more than 200 students were involved.
Twenty police cars rushed to the scene, and South High went into lockdown mode. Armed officers swept the school, restoring order and making arrests. No classes resumed.
Dr. Teresa Yeldell, a 33-year veteran of seven major school systems, doesn't sugarcoat the problems. "This is not yesterday's school system," she says. "It's not yesterday's society. There is a lack of discipline in the home environment and in the community environment, and that is reflected in the schools."
But despite the fortune spent on security, the district seems at a loss to remedy the situation. Suspensions and expulsions, perceived as signs of failure, are discouraged. The policies are inclusive, noble, and nonjudgmental, and they don't work.
Most schools have what teachers call an "ice room" -- the in-school suspension room. Instead of real suspensions, which must be recorded and included in annual data, kids who act up are sentenced to in-school suspensions, which do not go into the published records. But these are nothing more than time-out rooms, all-day study halls. It's not much of a punishment and has little effect. Worse, there is no procedure for dealing with chronic offenders, who account for a disproportionate share of the problems.
Safety and security grade: D
The problem with Mom and Dad
Among the 47,000 families in the district, nontraditional structures -- single parents, surrogate parents, guardians -- far outnumber the old Mom, Pop, and the kids model. Parental involvement with the schools has slowly but inexorably declined for 40 years.
Are the parents the real problem? Many teachers say yes:
"If you could see how dysfunctional the families are, how much anger there is."
"At our school, we have Report Card Day, and the parents are supposed to come in, pick them up, talk to the teachers. About a third of them never show. A month later, the cards are still there."
"We have one mother, she's 31; she has 11 kids, none of them have a father around. You think they're hard to handle? We have five of them in our school right now. "
"It's single moms and grandmothers -- the grandmothers are the parents. The whole parent-family thing is broken, it's fractured, and the teachers can't make up for that."
A Cleveland cop assigned to school patrols agrees. "I'll tell you what happens most of the time," he says wearily. "We pick up a kid -- fighting, dope, stealing -- we take him home to have a sit-down with the parents. There's nobody there, except maybe Granny and some little kids."
Administrators rush to the parents' defense. "No, the parents are not a problem," says Chief of Staff Lisa Ruda, the district's second-in-command. "The vast majority of parents are good people; they want their kids to do better; they are involved."
Adds Dr. Yeldell: "There are a lot of things parents can't control. Parents can't teach their kids what they themselves don't know, and the impact of that can be greater in an urban setting. I'm not making excuses for them, but there's a reality out there: The parents' experience was not good in this school system. Their kids' experience has not been good yet."
Byrd-Bennett takes the middle ground. "The parents are part of the problem, and they are part of the solution," she says. "The parents are 30 percent -- no, more -- 40 percent of the education process, at least. We can't do it without them. The kids can't do it without them . . . They have to step up."
But will they? Can they? If so, they'd better start right now: More than 2,000 students are already parents themselves.
Parents grade: D
When Barbara Byrd-Bennett arrived, the Cleveland school system ranked last in Ohio for academic performance. It still does. More than 6 of every 10 high school students never made it to graduation. They still don't. The average score citywide on the all-important proficiency test was less than 45 percent, not even within shouting distance of the 75 percent minimum prescribed by the state. It still is.
"Last year was a disappointment," the CEO explains. "But you can't keep improving at the pace we had set."
Poor academic performance is not just a problem. In Cleveland, it's a scholastic tradition, entrenched so deep that many doubt whether it can be undone -- including teachers. "They will never rate on the proficiencies," says one. "Never, never, never."
Another teacher says that students are already doomed by the time they reach kindergarten: "When we get them, they're already way off the pace . . . They don't know the alphabet, they don't know numbers, they don't know colors -- we start in a big hole."
While careful not to dismiss the proficiency tests outright, administrators make it clear that they are an unwelcome burden. "I'm just sad that the proficiency tests were made up by non-educators and non-students," says Byrd-Bennett. "They are important, yes, but they should not be the stand-alone judgment of our schools."
Others are a bit more defensive. "It doesn't tell us what kids know; it is a snapshot for somebody else, who thinks it tells them what they want to know," says Dr. Yeldell. "But we are judged . . ." She pauses, then points a finger. "The media coverage is not great. There's a lot of lip service from the media about saving our schools, helping our schools, but when you get down to it, it's always more about 'Let's go make some news,' instead of 'Let's cover what's really happening.' We have to fight so hard to get one story about something good that happens. But if there's one bad test -- 'Cleveland Schools Fail!' That's not the whole story."
She may be right, but it doesn't change the awful scores. The Cleveland schools can never be declared fully recovered until the proficiency test scores and graduation rates are at least competitive with those of other districts in the state.
It is Byrd-Bennett's most daunting task, yet there are signs of life. Preliminary, unverified test scores released in late June by the Ohio Department of Education indicate improvements over last year -- especially in reading skills -- among fourth- and sixth-graders. Median scores, however, appear to remain below 50 percent.
Academics grade: F
Despite improvements, the district remains on the state's "Academic Emergency" list, meeting only 3 of its 22 performance standards.
Still, Chief of Staff Ruda pleads for support. "It is a better district since Barbara came, much better," she says. "Now, we need belief. Belief, belief, belief, belief. People don't believe the kids can do it, don't believe we will fix up the schools."
And that may never change.
After 16 superintendents in 21 years, Cleveland now has a CEO who's seen as both competent and widely popular. She has made clear improvements in areas such as finance and social services. She has also brought a missionary's zeal to a job that quickly chewed up so many others. "The ultimate goal is to turn it around, get it up to where there is a shiny foundation for real learning, a real education system," she says. "I said it would take five to seven years. And I am telling you, it's so close, you can smell it, you can feel it, you can almost put your arms around it."
One hopes that her prophecies are accurate. But the fact remains that, five years into her crusade, Cleveland ranks last in academic performance in Ohio and still possesses one of the lowest graduation rates of any big-city school system in the country. Moreover, so much is out of Byrd-Bennett's control: the city's poverty and violence, the state's dwindling funds, the generations of Cleveland parents raised on a tradition of scholastic neglect and failure.
No matter how earnest she is, no matter how hard she tries, no matter how much money is spent, Cleveland's schools may never be redeemed. As the CEO herself confirms, there is not an urban district in America that can serve as a worthy example of quality public education in the modern age. "Not by my standards," she says. "Not one."
The Cleveland schools have improved, but they must get better yet. And they will be different from the red-brick schoolhouses back in the day. They will dole out an array of benefits that were never part of the traditional curriculum. They will provide a safe environment and access to resources for the kids who are interested.
With even greater effort, perhaps the schools can become legitimate learning centers, providing the foundation for a better future. For now, tiny returns on massive investments will have to do.
Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox. | <urn:uuid:5a7bad92-474e-404e-abe9-f1a6711de5fd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/proficiency-test/Content?oid=1483066 | 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 | 0.974475 | 6,134 | 1.921875 | 2 |
From its “world famous” Bessie burgers to a clientele that has included neighborhood regulars, longshore workers and leather-clad bikers, Walker’s Cafe has been a legendary piece of San Pedro since the 1940s.
But have its days run out?
No one seems to know, but the place has been locked up and closed through the fall, after being open spottily throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
No one seems to know for sure if the cafe is gone for good, though.
The property, 700 W. Paseo Del Mar, doesn’t appear to be listed for sale. The owner on record, Richard Brummett, could not be reached for comment.
Emma Rault of San Pedro, who is heading up a push to save the cafe, is hoping to get the city of Los Angeles to support the effort.
“I’m advocating for it to remain a cafe, to continue to serve the community as it’s done for nearly a hundred years,” she said. “What I’m hoping is that the city will protect it as a legacy business.”
Rault has launched an online petition — change.org/p/save-walker-s-cafe — to get landmark status for the business. Nearly 700 people have signed, as of Wednesday afternoon. The petition has a goal of 1,000 signatures.
“We’re losing so many parts of our history all over LA,” Rault said, “and it’s easy to see how it could happen here.”
In her introduction to the petition, Rault wrote about her affection for the popular spot.
“It didn’t take me long after first moving to San Pedro to recognize how special Walker’s is,” she wrote. “It is a genuine, unpretentious, homey space where people from all walks of life— longshoremen and fishermen, hikers, bikers, e-cyclists, firefighters, even soldiers stationed at Fort MacArthur — can come together. Walker’s is truly a place where strangers can talk as friends and neighbors — a rare thing these days.”
With real estate bringing high prices — the assessed value is listed at $619,000 — some locals have expressed worry that developers could be hovering.
A cafe makes sense in that location, said Leslie Jones, co-owner of the Omelette and Waffle Shop in San Pedro, who recalls buying ice cream cones and “Bessie burgers” when she was growing up in the 1960s.
But if Walker’s doesn’t reopen, there would be hurdles for a new operator.
Everything from getting a liquor license under today’s tougher rules, especially so close to a city park, to meeting Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, along with any property upgrades, would be challenging.
An added issue more recently centers on what appears to be a hoarding situation in the alley that runs behind the restaurant and has drawn neighborhood complaints.
Walker’s — featured in several films over the years, including Academy Awards best picture nominee “Chinatown” — consists of a 763 square-foot building constructed in 1936 that sits on a 6,144 square-foot lot, according to tax records. It is across the street from Point Fermin Park, one of the town’s most scenic and well-known spots, overlooking the town’s south-facing ocean cliffs and boasting views of Catalina Island.
The building was once part of a turnaround station at the end of the Red Car line on Pacific Avenue, according to a South Bay History column that ran in the Daily Breeze in 2017, though whether it was an official station is being newly researched by Rault. An old photo shows a trolley traveling by Walker’s future location.
An original tavern named Cuddles occupied the site before Walker’s was born, offering a walk-up window to buy a beer. Before that, it appears to have been a neighborhood grocery store.
When Bessie Mae Petersen, a San Pedro waitress, and her husband, sailor Ray Walker, came across the place in 1946, they bought it and expanded it into Walker’s Cafe and Grill, which became a popular hangout for military families stationed at nearby Fort MacArthur.
After Walker died in 1958, Bessie Mae ran the place with her sister, Christine Price, who moved from San Francisco to help out, according to the South Bay History article.
Petersen, born in 1912, and her younger sister originally came to California from Oklahoma with their parents in the 1920s. Petersen had worked as a waitress since she was 18.
Over the years, the place became a popular hangout for motorcyclists, who would take rides around the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Before long, bikes would be lined up on most days in front of the cafe, a sight some longtime patrons in the neighborhood found intimidating.
“Someone steps out of line, I give them the look and they shut up,” Petersen told Daily Breeze columnist John Bogert in 1985. “If they don’t, I walk over and tell them they could be out of here faster than they came in.”
Some of those clientele changes made the cafe less appealing to some over time, said June Burlingame Smith, a longtime neighborhood resident active in community planning.
But Walker’s, with its old-style counter and linoleum floor, remains one of those Pedro mainstays that is part of the town’s lore.
And this isn’t the first time the cafe has closed down.
In 1994, with Petersen in failing health, the sisters decided to shutter it. A “farewell” celebration was held Aug. 7, 1994. But Brummett, a Petersen family member, took the cafe over and reopened it. Petersen died in 1996.
But if the place fails to reopen this time, it will be a piece of San Pedro forever lost.
“It’s going to be a sad day if a sign goes up saying, ‘For Sale,’” Jones said.
“I’m not even a Pedro native originally, and I certainly intend to do whatever I can to champion this cause, because this place is special,” Rault said of her efforts to salvage the place.
“Walker’s has such a rich history and there’s a lot of community love and support for it,” she added. “I definitely don’t think this has to be the end of the Walker’s story.” | <urn:uuid:4bec8f06-0fad-4760-a08c-8e42722562c3> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.dailybreeze.com/2021/11/25/san-pedro-icon-walkers-cafe-may-or-may-not-be-closed-for-good-this-time/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570793.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808092125-20220808122125-00670.warc.gz | en | 0.970682 | 1,416 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Sumdog is an online adaptive learning platform that provides the learning games for kids. It is a useful platform for kids, teachers, and parents.
In this guide, we will discuss this platform, features, functions, how it can be useful for students, parents, and other details.
Suggested Read: ABCya – Fun Learning Educational Games for Kids
What is Sumdog?
Sumdog is an educational platform that is made for kids, teachers, and parents. It provides games with maths, grammar, and spelling questions. So, the main purpose of learning becomes easy with fun. It is free to use, but some games require a premium plan to play. So, In that case, you need a membership.
Sumdog app is also available on the Play Store and App Store. So, It will be easy to access it from anywhere on your phone.
The aim of this program is to make learning in a simple way using game-based learning to engage students. This platform provides learning and practice in numeracy for the kids/students who are aged between 5 to 14 and literacy for the kids/students aged between 5 to 11
It is a helpful application for parents to engage their children in practicing simple math concepts, spelling, and grammar.
Suggested Read: Pearson Realize For Digital Learning
How does it work?
- The working process is simple and the website interface is also easy to understand.
- When the student login to his account, he will be able to see all the assignments given by the teacher to complete.
- Students can access games after the login.
- If someone is new and start playing on slumdog recently, Then this platform determines what level of questions will be appropriate for you.
- The difficulty level increases when you solve the problems correctly.
- As a student, you can compete with your classmates.
- Teachers can use sumdog in three subject areas – Math, Grammar, and spelling. Teachers can assign homework and assignments to their students.
- You can set challenges to engage students and reward them with coins.
- Learning with educational games.
- Maths practice for the students aged between 5 to 14.
- You can check student reports.
- Give work to your student/child such as assignments and challenges.
- Play games based on math, spelling, and grammar.
- Sumdog provides free math tables practice to all.
Suggested Read: Typing Club Review: Type to Learn at Home
For sumdog login, Open the official website, and there at the top, you will see the login button. Click on that to log in to your account. But, If you are new to this website, then you can click on the signup for free button.
How to Use Sumdog?
1. To use this site, The first step is to create an account. So, click on the sign up for free button.
2. Now, you have two options to select. If you are a parent then you can choose to get a free parent account.
In the free account, you will get 6 fun and engaging multiplayer games and personalized practice. Parents can observe their child activity and performance.
3. After when you accounted is created your dashboard will look like this in the image. You can control all the activities from your dashboard.
Now, you can add your children, play with them, check your child report, and assign them challenges, tasks, assignments, etc.
You can play the games alongside with your kid. Guide your kid at the starting and after that assign some work.
Suggested Read: 8 Useful apps – Best Learning apps For Everyone
In our opinion, Sumdog is a good platform to make the learning process in easy way. It will help in math, spelling, and grammar with quick-fire questions. The graphics are not much appealing but overall, the combination of music and graphics is good. | <urn:uuid:09d85057-8e05-45e7-a2f0-7b569d445678> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.usersadvice.com/sumdog/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573623.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819035957-20220819065957-00667.warc.gz | en | 0.93065 | 817 | 2.296875 | 2 |
Professional dog walkers can earn a very decent income. Depending on the city (or even the neighborhood) and time of year, they can really make a nice amount of money for their efforts. The following is a brief analysis of the basic prices that dog walkers can expect to charge their clients. Keep in mind that this is really varies depending on the city where the dog walker works.
A walk that lasts between 15 and 20 minutes usually nets about $15 to $20. A walk that lasts a half hour to 40 minutes can net about $18 to $25. A walk that lasts between 40 minutes and an hour can get $22 to $30. Prices go up if there are more dogs going on the same walk, although prices will go down a bit if the dogs aren’t owned by the same person. The usual price for an add-on dog can range from around $5 to $15, depending on the location. A dog walker can charge an average of $5 more if he is walking the dog in the early morning or late evening.
Some services bill based on the number of walks per week. For example, 5 walks per week may be $15 per walk, while a single walk per week could cost $20. Dog walkers may offer discounts to clients if they walk their dog every day of the week or provide multiple walks per week.
The average dog walker walks typically walks a single dog at a time. Some dog walkers do walk more than one dog, especially those who work for a dog walking service where it’s permitted.
Dog walkers can earn a nice amount of money each year. This is especially true if they consider themselves professional dog walkers and maximize their time dog walking instead of just walking to earn a little extra income on the side if they’re a student or something of that nature. A person can do up twelve visits per day, and each of those visits might just be 30 minutes, and that is a full time job. If each visit nets $15, then that person could make $180 per day. That would be close to $50,000 per year if they work 5 days a week.
The good news it that people need their dogs walked during all seasons, and especially on holidays. Some people don’t like summer weather, and others don’t like winter weather, and a dog walker can make a neat profit playing off of different peoples’ temperaments when it comes to temperature. People are especially busy on holidays and need someone to walk the dogs.
You must keep in mind that this does not take any costs into consideration. Professional dog walkers should have an insurance policy and bonding, which can be expensive. Training programs may also have been expensive, especially if the dog walker is enrolled in continuing education courses to keep up to date on new techniques or things like pet CPR. Also, Many dog walkers need to use a car, train, or the subway to get to clients, and those can be very expensive.
Dog walking may not seem like a lucrative business, but it can be financially rewarding to those who love dogs and want to spend their time with dogs. | <urn:uuid:2cef4182-2b5f-453e-a5f3-1184fc729c80> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.dogwalker.com/how-much-dog-walkers-are-paid/ | 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 | 0.963641 | 654 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Welcome to the Second Edition of the Carnival of Science and Technology. Very interesting posts this time around, from concurrent engineering to reducing your carbon footprints.
GrrlScientist presents New Species of Orchid is World’s Smallest posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “This story discusses the most recent newly discovered species of orchid found in Ecuador. This tiny orchid was accidentally found among the roots of a slightly larger (but still very small) orchid.”
Carbon Footprints presents Meat: Is it really so bad? posted at Go Green or Die, saying, “The carbon – and other greenhouse gas – emissions of the meat industry are staggering. A large part of the problem is the massive subsidies given to the meat industry, and the fastest way to cut consumption is to remove those subsidies.”
[Image courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/e3000/868938656/] | <urn:uuid:ce9b622e-41f7-4471-b575-2f17c0ae68cf> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://theviewspaper.net/carnival-of-nature-conservation-and-science-and-technology/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00469-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.893309 | 196 | 2.203125 | 2 |
As Denny Gibson climbed the Sierra Nevadas a couple days ago he wondered if he should or could access Kings Canyon Road, a sometimes steep climb between Carson City, Nevada, and Lake Tahoe to the west. Once suburban King Street ends, there are 9 miles of westbound climbing. The total gain is 1,800 feet, but the worst of it is the first two miles. Here’s my view of the eastern start:
An 1860s toll road, it became part of the LH in 1913 (improvements led it to be called called Ostermann’s Grade for LHA’s Henry Ostermann). It was bypassed by US 50 and the old road deteriorated; it was in rough shape when people began rediscovering the LH. It’s obviously been improved in recent years as hikers and bikers take to it. ATVs and jeeps share the road but it’s not recommended for regular-clearance vehicles. This article describes the condition: We couldn’t go too far up the mountain though; the road is no longer maintained, and at one point higher in the mountains, the road has washed away. An old truck lays in the valley below as if it had fallen off the cliff.”
As this article says, “Almost all freight, clothing, pots, pans, food stuffs and lumber came to Carson City by way of this road. If you wanted to visit family in California or spend a vacation at the Lake, this was how you went.”
Here’s a site that makes KCR look stunning but, they’re on bikes.
This site says “Climbing from 5400ft above Carson City to 7000ft at Spooner Summit, Kings Canyon is no slouch for elevation gain. Most of the gain takes place in the first 3 miles of the climb, so expect to get the worst over quickly.”
The road is hard-packed dirt and rock, with very few sandy spots along the first 3 miles. During this time, the grade is fairly steep, giving the rider a good aerobic workout. After a couple switchbacks, the road contours along the hillside and makes for a small saddle, which marks the end of the steep climb and the beginning of the longer, easier gradient. The road stays pretty much on contour for the next 5 miles, with very minor dips. A few hundred feet below through the pine trees is Highway 50 to Spooner summit, but traffic noise is almost non-existent. Depending on the season, there are a few sandy spots along this section, but nothing serious. The final mile includes a quick steep climb, and then you pop out just above the NDOT highway maintenance station on Spooner. Note: this road is drivable with a 4WD and high clearance, so don’t be surprised if you run across motorcycles, ATVs, and Jeeps.
Finally, here’s a link to a topo map that can be enlarged even more once yo’re there by clicking a magnifier. | <urn:uuid:2ac31700-070f-42c0-b65e-70a73a4c4c51> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://lincolnhighwaynews.wordpress.com/2009/08/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721387.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00448-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951806 | 634 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Giving birth: After nine months of waiting and anticipating, it will finally happen.
If you want, you can prepare yourself extensively for labour
You can prepare yourself for labour in different ways. You probably want to talk it through with your partner and possibly with friends and family as well. You can also attend antenatal classes. There are lots of websites about it and a great number of shelves could be filled with books about giving birth. So during pregnancy you will probable get your ideas about labour and what's important to you while you’re going through it.
Discuss labour during a consultation
We will of course inform you extensively about childbirth. Prior to discussing your labour, we will have to know more about how your pregnancy is progressing: your blood pressure, how your baby has been growing and its position. This information is important and will be considered during our childbirth consultation. This meeting will therefore only take place at a later stage in your pregnancy; when you are about 34 weeks pregnant. That is when we can potentially also discuss your birth plan. Of course, if you feel you’d like to, you are more than welcome to discuss labour and birth during earlier consultations.
There is a great variety of antenatal classes on offer in Amsterdam. You can take a course in ‘breathing techniques’, yoga, mensendieck, haptonomy, swimming or exercising in the park. Online, alone or together with your partner, in Dutch, English, Turkish or Arabic. Whatever works best for you! We have created a list of courses we and our clients would recommend.
All these different courses have in common is that they provide information about all the physical and mental changes that take place during your pregnancy and during childbirth. You will be taught relaxation techniques that can help you cope with contractions as well. Moreover, this will give you the opportunity to get in touch with other pregnant women.
Information films about the delivery and postpartum period
Previously (in the past, long ago, pre-Corona ....) we organized an information meeting about the delivery once a month. That is no longer safe, but we have a good alternative! We have included the content of the information on 4 videos. We talk about the normal course of the delivery and about how care is organized during the delivery. You will also hear about how to deal with contraction pain, both with and without pain medication. We also tell about the physical and psychological changes during the postpartum period. Around 30 weeks of pregnancy - or earlier on request - we will send you the Vimeo links for the videos by email.
Visiting the maternity ward
Are you considering a hospital birth? You can plan a visit to the OLVG Oost before you are due to give birth. You can sign up for a short tour via this link. You can also visit the Bevalcentrum West in the OLVG West.
At the moment, it is not possible to visit Amsterdam hospitals due to the measures surrounding Corona. Most hospitals do offer an online alternative, please check their websites.
Newborn baby essentials
A newborn baby doesn’t need much: somewhere to sleep, some clothes to wear but most of all a baby needs tender loving care. There are, however, some essential items you will need for both the delivery and care for the baby afterwards, which should be part of your Labour & Birth Box (kraampakket). Please check whether your insurance will send you a Labour & Birth Box well in advance. If they don’t, you can always purchase a pre-packed Labour & Birth Box at your high street chemists’, or order online.
To find out exactly what you need, please download our new arrival essentials checklist. | <urn:uuid:b75299e6-4c29-4db8-b570-67afd95c53c7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://en.verloskundigenoosterpark.nl/voorbereiding | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573699.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819131019-20220819161019-00273.warc.gz | en | 0.948747 | 772 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Could This Huge Invasive Spider be Headed Here to Louisiana?
Louisiana is apparently not just a melting top for all types of diversity in cultures, but apparently we've left the Welcome Sign up for a number of unwanted invasive species as well.
We are obviously mired in the battle with the invasive aquatic weed Salvinia and it would appear it is a losing battle.
We've recently learned that another invasive species of fish, the Lowland Cichlid, has joined the ranks of the Russian boars, Apple Snails and Silver Carp, that daily threaten our ecosystem.
The newest invader comes with eight legs in the form of the Joro spider. In an article from the University of Georgia College of Agriculture, we learn that this Asian spider was first discovered in Georgia eight years ago in 2013.
The palm-sized spider, measuring nearly three inches across, has since established a well-entrenched foot print in Georgia and according to experts, will most likely spread to any area with climate like that in the North Georgia counties.
They're in Georgia. What Makes Experts Think They'll Come to Louisiana?
Guess who's climate is just like that? Yep, we do. So, Louisiana is a likely target for the spread. The biggest drawback to the Joro is its massive webs, some of which measure ten feet in diameter.
In an article from smithsonianmag.com, we get a better perspective about those webs:
"Last year, there were dozens of spiders [on my property], and they began to be something of a nuisance when I was doing yard work," Will Hudson, an entomologist at the University of Georgia, says in the press release. "This year, I have several hundred, and they actually make the place look spooky with all the messy webs—like a scene out of 'Arachnophobia.'"
Is it all bad news? Not so much. Apparently, Joro spiders really don't pose much of a threat to humans.
According to the article from the University of Georgia, Byron Freeman, director of the Georgia Museum of Natural History, says, "All spiders have venom that they use to subdue prey. If you put your hand in front of one and try to make it bite you, it probably will. But they run if you disturb their web. They’re trying to get out of the way."
Just take a look at this video from the University of Georgia and you'll get an idea of what's possibly headed our direction. | <urn:uuid:4831fb39-00d8-4724-9eac-3d8dc0bc410b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://710keel.com/invasive-spider-headed-to-louisiana/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573540.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819005802-20220819035802-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.962377 | 519 | 2.859375 | 3 |
The IPEN initiative was founded in 2014. It supports the creation of engineer groups working on (re)-usable building blocks, design patterns and other tools for selected Internet use cases where privacy is at stake.
IPEN invites participants from different areas such as data protection authorities, academia, open source and business development, and other individuals who are committed to finding engineering solutions to privacy challenges. The objective of the work should be to integrate data protection and privacy into all phases of the development process, from the requirements phase to production, as it is most appropriate for the development model and the application environment.
Our latest newsletter is online now.
What to expect when we inspect - read the new EDPS Factsheet on inspections
An ethical approach to fundamental rights - read the latest blogpost by Giovanni Buttarelli
Breaking the rules: conducting administrative inquiries in the EU institutions - read the latest blogpost by Wojciech Wiewiórowski
An ancient city looking to the future: The 38th International Privacy Conference in Marrakech - read the latest blogpost by Giovanni Buttarelli
Ch@arterClick! Project Workshop, Participation of Giovanni Buttarelli in Interactive Key-Note Panel: Plurality of legal instruments governing data protection – objectives, interactions, added value, Florence, Italy (via a video link)
Giovanni Buttarelli participates in DAPIX meeting, Brussels, Belgium
Giovanni Buttarelli and Wojciech Wiewiórowski meeting with Mrs Mari Sonoda, Secretary-General for PPC Secretariat, Brussels, Belgium
S&D Workshop on Consumers' rights in the digital world, European Parliament, Participation of Giovanni Buttarelli in panel on Relationship between the DCD and the GDPR, Brussels, Belgium
S&D Workshop on Consumers' rights in the digital world, European Parliament, Participation of Wojciech Wiewiórowski, Brussels, Belgium
VUB Data Protection Law Reading Group, Participation of Giovanni Buttarelli and Wojciech Wiewiórowski, Brussels, Belgium
Meeting of the Nordic Data Protection Commissioners, Participation of Wojciech Wiewiórowski, Brussels, Belgium
5th Data Protection Forum with ICO Commissioner Elizabeth Denham, Participation of Giovanni Buttarelli and Wojciech Wiewiórowski, Brussels, Belgium | <urn:uuid:814dbc41-2e14-46ed-bd49-f402a08cc07d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://secure.edps.europa.eu/EDPSWEB/edps/EDPS/IPEN | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282926.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00391-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.807698 | 491 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome is another not uncommon cause of pulsatile tinnitus. The superior semicircular canal is one of three canals found in the vestibular apparatus of the inner ear. The vestibular apparatus helps to maintain equilibrium and balance. In this syndrome, a part of the temporal bone that overlies the superior semicircular canal is abnormally thin or absent. Superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome can affect both hearing and balance to different degrees.
At Sound Relief Hearing Center, we utilize a variety of evidence-based tinnitus treatment options. Most audiologists only offer one solution, hearing aids, which are ineffective in many cases. To treat each unique case of tinnitus, we utilize a variety of innovative technologies and therapies, including Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT). For more information about your tinnitus treatment options, visit our page Tinnitus Treatment. If you’re worried that you won’t ever escape the ringing in your ears, check out our page Tinnitus Success Stories. Finally, follow our Tips from Tinnitus Experts to avoid exacerbating the problem.
Tinnitus (pronounced ti-ni-tis), or ringing in the ears, is the sensation of hearing ringing, buzzing, hissing, chirping, whistling, or other sounds. The noise can be intermittent or continuous, and can vary in loudness. It is often worse when background noise is low, so you may be most aware of it at night when you're trying to fall asleep in a quiet room. In rare cases, the sound beats in sync with your heart (pulsatile tinnitus).
An assessment of hyperacusis, a frequent accompaniment of tinnitus, may also be made. The measured parameter is Loudness Discomfort Level (LDL) in dB, the subjective level of acute discomfort at specified frequencies over the frequency range of hearing. This defines a dynamic range between the hearing threshold at that frequency and the loudnes discomfort level. A compressed dynamic range over a particular frequency range is associated with subjectve hyperacusis. Normal hearing threshold is generally defined as 0–20 decibels (dB). Normal loudness discomfort levels are 85–90+ dB, with some authorities citing 100 dB. A dynamic range of 55 dB or less is indicative of hyperacusis.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT uses techniques such as cognitive restructuring and relaxation to change the way patients think about and respond to tinnitus. Patients usually keep a diary and perform "homework" to help build their coping skills. Therapy is generally short-term — for example, weekly sessions for two to six months. A 2010 review of six studies by the Cochrane Collaboration (an international group of health authorities who evaluate randomized trials) found that after CBT, the sound was no less loud, but it was significantly less bothersome, and patients' quality of life improved.
A diagnosis of tinnitus is based upon identification of characteristic symptoms, a detailed patient history, a thorough clinical evaluation and complete audiologic testing. These steps will help to differentiate rhythmic tinnitus from non-rhythmic tinnitus. It cannot be overemphasized that tinnitus is a symptom of another underlying condition and not a diagnosis in and of itself. Because of the high number of underlying causes of tinnitus, a variety of specialized tests to detect the specific cause may be necessary. Attempting to identify the underlying cause of tinnitus is the first step in evaluating a person with tinnitus.
The researchers paired electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve — a large nerve that runs from the head to the abdomen — with the playing of a tone. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is known to release chemicals that encourage changes in the brain. This technique, the scientists reasoned, might induce brain cells (neurons) to tune to frequencies other than the tinnitus one. For 20 days, 300 times a day, they played a high-pitched tone to 8 rats during VNS.
From amongst the many treatments for tinnitus, you’re certain to find a solution that helps you live a more comfortable life, free of the frustration of tinnitus. Although a definitive cure is not currently available, these tools can help you manage your tinnitus and minimize its influence on your life. If you work closely with an experienced tinnitus specialist, they can help you determine which course of action is best for you.
Tinnitus is a condition in which you hear noises when there is no outside source of the sounds. The noises can have many different forms (ringing, clicking, buzzing, roaring, etc.) and can be soft or loud. Treatment options include hearing aids; tinnitus masking devices; devices that increase background noise levels; coping, relaxation, anxiety control methods; and counseling and retraining therapy.Tinnitus does not typically occur in children.
Miracle-Ear hearing aids come in a wide variety of styles and solutions. Our hearing devices can be custom-molded to fit directly in your ear canal, or designed to fit comfortably behind your ear. Whether you're trying to find the most powerful solution, the most inconspicuous, or are interested in tinnitus treatment, we've got the right solution for you.
As with the first exercise, make sure you’re comfortable and unlikely to be disturbed. Now imagine yourself leaving this room. You walk out of the door and follow a path… at the end of the path is another door. You open that door and inside you see a beautiful garden – you can hear birds singing, children playing somewhere in the distance. You feel a cool breeze on your skin and hear the rustle of leaves through the trees. The colours of the leaves, green, gold, red, all dance across a beautiful pond in the middle… as you walk over to the pond, you feel the soft grass under your bare feet… you dip your toes into the calm, clear pond and stop for a moment – just experiencing the beauty of everything around you…
Tinnitus affects every layer of society, and there has been increasing support for awareness. Recently, musicians who are affected by tinnitus have come together to create awareness for the disorder. Artists including Chris Martin of Coldplay and Black Eyed Peas have created a compilation album to help raise funds towards finding a cure for tinnitus. In the United States, the Department of Defense has invested millions of dollars into investigations of tinnitus sound therapies. In addition, the American Tinnitus Association makes efforts to lobby the US government to provide support for tinnitus sufferers.
Tinnitus is the perception of sound when no actual external noise or sound is present. It is often referred to as “ringing” in the ears. I have even heard some people call it “head noises.” While ringing sounds are very common, many people will describe the sound they hear as buzzing, hissing, whistling, swooshing, and clicking. In some rare cases, tinnitus patients report hearing music. I hear about 2,000 crickets all going at once!
As of 2014 there were no medications effective for idiopathic tinnitus. There is not enough evidence to determine if antidepressants or acamprosate are useful. While there is tentative evidence for benzodiazepines, it is insufficient to support usage. Usefulness of melatonin, as of 2015, is unclear. It is unclear if anticonvulsants are useful for treating tinnitus. Steroid injections into the middle ear also do not seem to be effective.
Exposure to loud noise: Loud noise exposure is a very common cause of tinnitus today, and it often damages hearing as well. Unfortunately, many people are unconcerned about the harmful effects of excessively loud noise from firearms, high intensity music, or other sources. Twenty-six million American adults have suffered noise-induced hearing loss, according to the NIDCD.
A loud work environment. A loud work environment that involves the use of power tools, power saws, drills or other noisy equipment may cause temporary bouts of tinnitus. I know of many tinnitus suffers who have attended rock concerts and left with ringing in their ears that may take hours or even days to subside. The longer a person remains in that loud environment, the better their chances will be of developing the condition permanently. These environments can also cause hearing loss. Always wear earplugs when you are in a loud environment, even if it is only going to be for a short time. Mowing the lawn? Wear earplugs.
The noise heard by people with tinnitus may be a buzzing, ringing, roaring, whistling, or hissing sound and is often associated with hearing loss. Some people hear more complex sounds that may be different at different times. These sounds are more noticeable in a quiet environment and when people are not concentrating on something else. Thus, tinnitus tends to be most disturbing to people when they are trying to sleep. However, the experience of tinnitus is highly individual. Some people are very disturbed by their symptoms, whereas others find them quite bearable.
This study has several strengths. It included a relatively large number of patients, reducing the possibility of bias by “masking” which treatment patients received, classifying participants according to the severity of their tinnitus and using highly standardised interventions. Also, the researchers used established scales to measure the severity of tinnitus and its impact on quality of life.
A wealth of research has gone into understanding the mechanisms of tinnitus due to the increased concern in our ageing and noise exposed society through the support of organizations such as the Tinnitus Research Institute, the American Tinnitus Association and even the US Department of Defense. This research has helped us to understand not only why and how this phantom percept can develop, but also sheds light on why it may sound like a hiss for one person and a high pitched tone for another.7 In addition, neuroscientists have shown connections between the limbic system (where emotions are processed) and the auditory system; it is not uncommon for tinnitus to increase during times of stress or negative emotions.5 As such, the effective tinnitus treatment strategies should be enjoyable and positive, and should account for the variability in what tinnitus sounds like for each patient.
Most people should have a formal hearing test done by either the doctor or a hearing specialist (audiologist). People with tinnitus in only one ear and hearing loss should have gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). People with tinnitus in only one ear and normal hearing should have an MRI if tinnitus lasts more than 6 months. People with pulsatile tinnitus often require magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and sometimes angiography.
The best supported treatment for tinnitus is a type of counseling called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) which can be delivered via the internet or in person. It decreases the amount of stress those with tinnitus feel. These benefits appear to be independent of any effect on depression or anxiety in an individual. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) also shows promise in the treatment of tinnitus. Relaxation techniques may also be useful. A clinical protocol called Progressive Tinnitus Management for treatment of tinnitus has been developed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
Tinnitus is usually described as a ringing in the ears, but it can also sound like clicking, hissing, roaring, or buzzing. Tinnitus involves perceiving sound when no external noise is present. The sound can be very soft or very loud, and high-pitched or low-pitched. Some people hear it in one ear and others hear it in both. People with severe tinnitus may have problems hearing, working, or sleeping.
Note however that tinnitus nearly always consists of fairly simple sounds -- for example, hearing someone talking that no one else can hear would not ordinarily be called tinnitus -- this would be called an auditory hallucination. Musical hallucinations in patients without psychiatric disturbance is most often described in older persons, years after hearing loss.
Most people who suffer from tinnitus also experience hearing loss to some degree. As they often accompany one another, the two conditions may be correlated. In fact, some researchers believe that subjective tinnitus can only occur if the auditory system has been previously damaged (source). The loss of certain sound frequencies due to hearing loss may change how the brain processes sound, causing it to adapt and fill in the gaps with tinnitus. The underlying hearing loss typically results from exposure to loud noises or advanced age:
In Canada, the level of funding or engagement towards tackling the problem of tinnitus is comparably minimal. But with recent headlines about the effects of tinnitus on those in police forces2 and frustration among veterans, this may change. Because of the progress made in tinnitus treatment and management research – including work done right here in Canada – the time is right to offer tinnitus sufferers effective options and the support they need. While many with tinnitus are not yet aware that there are ways to reduce or manage the constant ringing, hissing or buzzing in their ears, as more health care professionals make effective options available, word will spread. In time, tinnitus and its impact on quality of life can be reduced.
CBT involves working with a therapist or counselor, typically once per week, to identify and change negative thought patterns. CBT was initially developed as a treatment for depression and other psychological problems, but it seems to work well for people with tinnitus. Several studies and meta-reviews, including one published in the Korean Journal of Audiology, have found that CBT significantly improves irritation and annoyance that often comes with tinnitus.
Other therapies. Other treatments that have been studied for tinnitus include transcutaneous electrical stimulation of parts of the inner ear by way of electrodes placed on the skin or acupuncture needles, and stimulation of the brain using a powerful magnetic field (a technique called repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, or rTMS). Transcutaneous electrical stimulation has been shown to be no more effective than a placebo. In two small trials, rTMS compared with a sham procedure helped improve the perception of tinnitus in a few patients.
The yearlong Dutch trial gave adults with tinnitus a standard package of care or a programme which added cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to elements of standard therapy for tinnitus. CBT is a type of therapy that challenges people’s negative assumptions and feelings to help them overcome their worries. Compared with those given usual care, the group receiving specialised treatment reported improved quality of life, and reduced severity and impairment caused by tinnitus.
Tinnitus can be extremely disturbing to people who have it. In many cases it is not a serious health problem, but rather a nuisance that may go away. However, some people with tinnitus may require medical or surgical treatment. Sixteen million Americans seek medical treatment each year for tinnitus, and about one-quarter of those experience it so severely it interferes with their daily activities.
Tinnitus (pronounced tih-NITE-us or TIN-ih-tus) is sound in the head with no external source. For many, it's a ringing sound, while for others, it's whistling, buzzing, chirping, hissing, humming, roaring, or even shrieking. The sound may seem to come from one ear or both, from inside the head, or from a distance. It may be constant or intermittent, steady or pulsating. | <urn:uuid:63ec5a82-efe4-4ad9-b9a2-6b46a1b546c1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://banishtinnitus.net/research-into-tinnitus-cure-low-frequency-tinnitus-cure.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573197.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818124424-20220818154424-00678.warc.gz | en | 0.941406 | 3,309 | 2.328125 | 2 |
It's Just This
This morning, I was taking my usual morning walk through a field, beneath a forest canopy. Because it is December, it was still dark outside. I felt something fly into my shoulder, but I couldn’t see what it was.
I felt the impact and imagined it was either a spinning leaf or a large, flying insect.
In that moment, I was acutely aware of my two very different responses to what had happened. Thinking it was an insect, I immediately felt a negative reaction – something resembling fear.
When I considered it might have been a leaf, my reaction was more like meeting an innocent and playful element of nature.
As I continued my walk, I considered these variations of nature, and how similar they are. Both appear to fly from one destination to another. It was my own mind that made the distinction that the insect held some sort of intention that the leaf did not.
I saw the connection between innocence and not having an agenda.
I wondered why I had assumed the leaf was not orchestrated by any sort of intention. Our assumptions about life allow us to draw distinctions that may not be accurate. We may not realize that there is as much intention behind flying tree parts as exists among flying insects.
We imagine some sort of insect intelligence or consciousness that drives the insect to behave as it does. We don’t always recognize the role of interconnectivity insects play in the great web of life, sometimes pollinating, and at other times recycling nutrients or aerating the soil.
We may shift the intention of a flying leaf to the tree. It sheds its leaves so that it can survive during the winter. The tree will bend and expand in a way that will ensure its survival, and yet, we would never say the tree is conscious. Beneath the soil, it is communicating with its offspring and other trees.
If a tree demonstrates survival behavior – why would we say it isn’t conscious?
Nature's interconnectivity may actually be a more accurate version of what life really is. Why is the leaf flying? Because the wind has lifted it in a way that allows it to move away from the tree. Does the wind have the intention of helping the leaf arrive where it needs to be?
The wind is the interaction of warm and cold air masses. These warm and cold air masses are part of a larger atmospheric pattern that is regulating temperatures across the earth. Who’s intention is that? Where does the story begin and where does it end?
Discarded leaves provide nutrients to the soil. But what if it wasn’t a leaf at all? What if it was a large, twirling seedpod? In that case, we might say that nature has designed seed pods with wings as a way of extending a tree's progeny out into a larger environment. The wind and the seedpod are performing something not unlike sexual reproduction.
But if the seedpod will grow into a new tree, who’s intention is that?
The tree, the wind and the seed are all demonstrating a type of intention focused on new growth and expansion. If you were to ask me why – I would say that the ‘just-is-ness’ of life’s expression can only be described as a picture of endless abundance.
I am not sharing all of this to answer any question about why. I am writing this to demonstrate how we tend to search for answers to something that just is. This realization can be a powerful gateway back into the rich innocence of the unfolding moment.
We observe life in its individual parts, and do not appreciate the larger tapestry or flow. Additionally, we weave our own assumptions into what we see.
Intention implies meaning – we can see meaning everywhere when we observe the larger flow. If you were to ask me why you are here – I would tell you that life can’t help but express the best of what it is capable of in any moment.
You are an expression of life’s abundance captured in all that makes you unique.
Like the seedpod, you are a variation of two long lines of genetic expression. You may not think trees sexually reproduce, but male and female varieties are pollinated by birds and insects. The story of the birds and the bees might describe how you arrived here – but the reason why is something deeply personal between you and nature. After all, it designed you.
You will be unique, even among your siblings. Like the wind, life will carry you far from home. This will ensure competition for short supply is minimized in close proximity because you and your siblings will have similar needs. But each of you will be a unique variation of your line.
Since nature's interconnectivity seems to reveal a purpose, wrestling with what you cannot change can be an opportunity to see the just-is-ness unfolding. Acceptance can be a catalyst to look deeper at what may be possible. In this way, a lack of an agenda is the innocence that can lead to success.
As you walk the path into 2022, look beyond appearances and observe the larger flow. Learn to see life’s interconnectivity because your path can become more joyous when you realize how life is guiding you.
When life taps you on the shoulder to remind you that you are not alone – don’t ask why. Celebrate the new and unfamiliar perspective it seeks to awaken in you.
Open to life’s abundance – it is all there is, and always there.
It is just this and it is perfect. | <urn:uuid:677cbcf2-579c-41aa-87a3-1859d5dcef28> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.cafeausoul.com/blog/its-just-this/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571097.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810010059-20220810040059-00273.warc.gz | en | 0.963005 | 1,150 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Lake District marks first year as World Heritage Site09 July 2018
One year on from the momentous day in Krakow when the English Lake District became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the organisations behind the successful bid are celebrating the achievements to date and looking to the opportunities that lie ahead.
On 9 July 2017 the Lake District joined some of the world’s most iconic locations, including Hadrian’s Wall and the Taj Mahal, receiving international acclaim as a world-class cultural landscape. This followed a bid for World Heritage Site (WHS) status which was driven by the 25 organisations that help manage the National Park through the Lake District National Park Partnership.
In the twelve-months that followed, a light has been shone on the Lake District through government and royal visits, new regional schemes and successful funding bids throughout the National Park.
Stephen Henwood, Chair of the Lake District National Park Partnership said: “We’re celebrating a fantastic first year of WHS status. It’s been encouraging to see businesses, farmers and residents starting to embrace the opportunities this inscription brings and seeing the influence it has already had on government funding and regional schemes. It’s just what we hoped for.”
“However, while we’ve set in place some strong foundations for the future, we must not be complacent about the action needed to grasp the potential benefits that World Heritage could bring.
“We need to continue to work collectively to ensure the Lake District retains a greater relevance in the thinking of the UK government, using WHS to argue for support, both financial and policy, ranging from post-Brexit farming to support to the tourism sector.
“I’d also like to see more local businesses and organisations use the new World Heritage brand in their marketing to raise their profile and drive new business. The inscription is not an automatic cash prize; it is an opportunity for us all.”
A timeline of the Lake District World Heritage Site achievements:
• July 2017: The news of the Lake District’s inscription was announced by UNESCO in Krakow and celebrated worldwide. Visitors and residents of the Lake District joined a ‘picnic in the park’ to mark the occasion.
• August 2017: The Lake District National Park and National Trust appointed new farming officers to work with farmers in the World Heritage Site
• Summer 2017: guided bike rides took place across the 13 valleys of the Lake District, helping visitors and locals find out more
• September 2017: Royal Mail launched Lake District World Heritage postmark reaching millions of Royal Mail customers.
• October 2017: The then Arts, Heritage & Tourism minister, John Glen MP, headed to Cumbria to visit the newly designated Lake District World Heritage Site. He said: “World Heritage status was the culmination of years of dedication and it has been fantastic to see how local people and businesses are working together to capitalise on this achievement and raise the profile of the Lakes around the world."
• January 2018: Contemporary arts festival Lakes Ignite announced six specially commissioned artworks in celebration of the Lake District’s designation as a World Heritage Site.
• March 2018: HRH The Prince of Wales visited the Lake District to unveil its official UNESCO World Heritage plaque at the National Trust’s Crow Park in Keswick. His Royal Highness explained: "To me, it is something of a triumph that this traditional land use continues to this day, even in the face of severe social, economic and environmental pressures. As we stand looking out over Derwent Water towards Borrowdale, the importance of the link between human activity and landscape could not be clearer."
• March 2018: a £3.29 million funding was granted for World Heritage Lake District arts project; led by Lakeland Arts and the Wordsworth Trust, following government’s backing for Cumbria Arts projects.
• March 2018: Lake District secured involvement in a pilot grant scheme to provide farmers and land owners funding for historic farm building restoration.
• July 2018: Cumbria Tourism announced the ‘Northern World Heritage Collection’ - a major project to help attract international visitors to World Heritage Sites across the North of England, supported by the UK Government’s £40 million Discover England Fund
Looking ahead, a new English Lake District World Heritage Site brand has been developed collaboratively by the Partnership’s Marketing Group. This will be made available for all organisations, businesses and communities to use to help them make the most of UNESCO World Heritage Site status. It will be made available to the Partnership from July, followed by an official launch in September 2018.
Three themes which underpinned the Lake District’s bid for World Heritage Site status; identity, inspiration and conservation, have been the focus of the Lake District National Park Partnership, the group of 25 organisations who work together to steer the vision of the Lake District.
Research by the county’s tourism body, Cumbria Tourism, has highlighted some of the initial successes generated through the World Heritage Site status and shows the potential for further application of the global status in years to come. The aim is not about attracting just more visitors, but encouraging our current visitors to stay longer and spend more in local businesses.
• By March this year a fifth of tourism businesses (20 per cent) said that the Lake District achieving World Heritage Site Status has already had a positive effect on business.
• Going forward, two thirds of businesses (68 per cent) think that World Heritage Site status will have a positive impact on their business – 59 per cent a slight impact and 8 per cent a significant impact – up from 55 per cent six months ago.
• 54 per cent already plan to use the WHS status to attract visitors.
Businesses and organisations are invited to use the free World Heritage Site brand toolkit at: www.lakesworldheritage.co.uk/toolkit
Photo shows: Ennerdale Valley looking west to the coast of the Irish Sea.
Copyright: Andrew Locking | <urn:uuid:00d074fa-00c2-4260-bdea-78371210bcdb> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://lakesworldheritage.co.uk/blog/2018/lake-district-marks-first-year-as-world-heritage-site/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571987.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813202507-20220813232507-00265.warc.gz | en | 0.931308 | 1,236 | 1.726563 | 2 |
This page uses the technique of ray tracing (via
Povray) to plot algebraic surfaces,
i.e., surfaces defined by implicit algebraic equations.
This technique gives excellent results, but requires a relatively
important amount of time for the computation. You are therefore asked to
be patient, and not to ask for plots of too high quality (size and
fluidity of animation). | <urn:uuid:9e7ce804-9ff3-41eb-8975-f9588726bdfd> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://wims.univ-eiffel.fr/wims.cgi?lang=en&+module=tool%2Fgeometry%2Fpolyray | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570767.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808061828-20220808091828-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.875578 | 82 | 1.546875 | 2 |
4th National India Roads Conference 2011- Road Safety (SafetyIndRdConf2011)
Venue: New Delhi, India
|Event Date/Time: Jun 29, 2011||End Date/Time: Jun 30, 2011|
|Registration Date: Jun 27, 2011|
|Early Registration Date: Jun 01, 2011|
|Abstract Submission Date: May 30, 2011|
|Paper Submission Date: May 30, 2011|
considered from an infrastructure perspective, particularly:
- Technology of road surfaces: striking a balance between cost and safety, comparative analysis of bitumen and concrete from safety parameters
- Design, standards, maintenance contracts, auditing
- Legal and institutional framework for road safety
UN General Assembly has passed a resolution proclaiming a Decade of Action
for Road Safety 2011-2020, which aims to save lives by halting the increasing
trends in road traffic deaths and injuries world-wide.
Mr. Sundar will be the Conference Chair of the 4th National India Roads Conference 2011.
About the conference
4th National India Roads Conference will include the elements in road safety that need to be considered from an infrastructure perspective, particularly:
§ Technology of road surfaces: striking a balance between cost and safety, comparative analysis of bitumen and concrete from safety parameters
§ Design, standards, maintenance contracts, auditing
§ Legal and institutional framework for road safety
Conference Chair: Mr. Sanjivi Sundar
Chairman, Sundar Committee Report on Road Safety
and Traffic Management, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government
§ Distinguished Fellow, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
Former Secretary, Ministry of Surface Transport,
§ Analysis of Sundar Committee Report and Road Safety Bill
§ Strengthening physical infrastructure for road safety
§ Minimum safety standards for design, construction and operation
§ Building safety and efficiency through material, design and construction
§ The implementation syndrome: Applying safety standards
§ Road safety audits
§ Cost-effective solutions in road safety implementation
§ Business opportunities in road safety
§ Role of education and training in building awareness
§ Case studies in building safe road infrastructure
§ Understanding of Road Safety Bill 2010
§ Updates on latest technology in road construction
§ How toplines and bottomlines work in road safety
§ Understanding of trends and current strategies
§ What to expect in policy and regulation
§ International benchmarks
§ Business opportunities in road safety
Our conference will make efforts to address questions that have emerged in road safety;
§ What methods is the government adopting to reduce road accidents?
Agencies like NHTSA in
The 57th WHO Assembly recommended to member states
to explore the possibilities to increase funding for road safety, including
through the creation of a fund. How should
§ The Committee on Infrastructure had decided that one per cent of the cess accruing to the National highways should be employed to create a National Road Safety Fund. How will the funds be utilised? Is one per cent a good enough amount to address safety requirements completely?
§ What quantum of funds would be required for the Road Safety Act to be implemented for engineering, legal, maintenance and awareness purposes?
§ Are our BOT contracts cutting safety corners? What elements would you bring into our contracts to ensure that our accident rate goes down below the current 14 per 10,000?
Are we using the most effective road designs for
our country? What are they? How are they uniquely
§ Do we have risk analysis and assessment of safety impacts mechanisms? What are such mechanisms we should be using?
§ What opportunities are available and emerging in road safety?
Our conference is headed by a Conference Chair, an eminent personality connected with the policymaking sphere relating to the industry. The Chair, along with Session Chairs, leads and summarizes the conference’s key points, and makes recommendations to policymakers and the industry.
ASAPP Conferences believes that interactivity at conferences results in better spread of understanding ground issues as well as in involving our delegates in discussions in regards to operations, technology and policy. Such interactivity also helps in evolving critical issues and taking them further in the form of recommendations. Consequently, the conference is replete with panel discussions, often involving delegate participation, and exhaustive Q&A sessions.
A typical session opens with the Session Chair’s lengthy introduction to the session’s main subject. This is followed by related addresses by the panelists in that session, a panel discussion, and Q&A. The session concludes with a comprehensive summary by the Session Chair.
Our typical conference includes two coffee breaks and a lunch break during the day, allowing plenty of time for business and professional networking opportunities among attendees.
To know more visit www.indiaroadconference.com | <urn:uuid:af1a0297-4436-4e30-9c24-4f18e48710c6> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.allconferences.com/conferences/2011/20110504023241 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280900.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00000-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922651 | 979 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Women with lower incomes often live in fear after the age of 50 and experience increased feelings of vulnerability, says a new study.//
Jan Lovie-Kitchin and colleagues at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, conducted a nationwide study where they studied 2,620 adults over 50 years of age. They looked at how different elements of a person's life contributed to active ageing.
The researchers analysed older women's perceptions of vulnerability and their expressed need to learn to protect themselves against violence, according to a release on the university's website.
Women on lower incomes reported feeling vulnerable when managing their money, accessing transport, and ensuring their homes were safe and secure, the study found.
"Older women might experience feelings of exposure to danger because of their smaller size and lesser strength," Kitchin said.
"But they could also feel vulnerable because of their limited finances and lack of knowledge which might force them to depend on people they don't necessarily trust."
She said some ideas to alleviate women's perceptions of risk and fears of violence included providing them education and information about money management, access to safe transport, and assistance with home security and safety."
"There also needs to be recognition of the influence of media in generating feelings of exposure to danger due to age," she said.
"Sensationalised crimes in the media are often the only form of contact with the outside environment for many older and isolated people. This can heighten their sense of defencelessness," she said.
"While the media may negatively impact on older women's perceptions of violence, it also has the capacity to educate and inform about protective measures for older women."
Source-IANSPage: 1 Related medicine news :1
. Women suffer from sexual dysfunction too2
. Women find difficulty in calling it Quits3
. Women recognise faces better4
. Women more susceptible to brain damage from ecstasy5
. Good News For Women With Gestational Diabetes6
. Unsatisfactory Grade On Womens Health Issues 7
. Risk for Pregnant Women 8
. Womens strong sense of smell9
. Women need to exercise more to prevent obesity10
. Women benefit from consuming fish 11
. Women are at risk with raised cholesterol | <urn:uuid:fb0e25df-ebc6-462f-b0f3-2ae40efdb9c8> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Women-with-Lower-Incomes-Live-in-Fear-15204-1/ | 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 | 0.960619 | 458 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Comment: The claims that regenerative agriculture can create nutrient dense food, develop healthy soils, mitigate climate change and reduce impact on waterways need examining, writes Dr Jacqueline Rowarth.
Regenerative agriculture is being presented globally as the way to create nutrient dense food, develop healthy soils, mitigate climate change and reduce impact on waterways. By avoiding synthetic chemicals life will be better.
• Dr Jacqueline Rowarth: Time to look at food waste
• Dr Jacqueline Rowarth: Is there really a cauliflower crisis?
• Dr Jacqueline Rowarth: The myths around nitrate in drinking water
• Dr Jacqueline Rowarth - A rethink of 'essential'
Pictures of enthusiastic farmers standing in fields of sunflowers are the demonstration that life is good.
While there are undoubtedly benefits that can be achieved through different approaches to production, including regenerative agriculture, the effectiveness of a change often reflects renewed interest by the farmer, and the determination to make a difference.
Whether any one approach can do all that is being promoted by regenerative agriculture advocates deserves examination.
Nutrient dense food, for example, applies to the difference between what leaves the farm, orchard or market garden and what is purchased at the fast food outlet or from the snack aisle at the supermarket.
There is as yet little consistent, scientifically examined data that indicates a significant difference between foods produced on farm (or orchard or market garden) under different production systems.
What makes the difference between organic and conventionally grown fruit and vegetables is cultivar, season and geographical location.
There is evidence to suggest that increased carbon dioxide in the air has allowed plants to increase their carbohydrate content without increasing mineral nutrient content. This applies to all plants whatever the production system. The change is not significant within the context of modern diets.
There is a difference between organically raised meat and milk in comparison with that from grain-fed barn or feedlot animals. The difference reflects access to pasture, which is the norm in New Zealand, whatever the production approach.
Healthy soils are usually associated with the presence of organic matter and soil organisms, which require oxygen and moisture.
Healthy is an emotive term but encompasses many aspects of function which facilitate plant growth and organic matter turnover.
New Zealand researchers and scientists have been investigating soils and pastures for well over a hundred years. Sears and Evans, working at DSIR Grasslands in the 1950s, examined organic matter and the influence of soil fertility on pasture growth.
Pasture management (set stocking or rotational grazing) was also examined, with the benefits of rotational grazing to maintain pasture quality advocated from the 1940s.
Listen to Jamie Mackay interview Dr Jacqueline Rowarth on The Country below
When pastures are maintained at high quality, animal performance is optimum, and pasture debris (litter) is also high quality. This means high quality food for the soil organisms and rapid turnover of organic matter in the soil when conditions are warm and moist.
It is now recognised that turnover rather than quantity leads to soil benefits – aggregation, friability, structure, drainage, porosity, infiltration - all those factors beloved of soil scientists.
The organic matter turnover also results in release of nutrients in an accessible form – ideally use by more soil organisms or uptake by plants, but also to rainwater leaching.
And carbon dioxide is released to the atmosphere during the process of turnover – the organisms respire. This respiration is part of the balance that means pastures are not a carbon sink unless organic matter is increasing.
Organic matter can be increased relatively easily by increasing inputs, such as increasing grass growth by applying nitrogen and other nutrients, or by overcoming a limitation to grass growth such as drought by applying irrigation.
Decreasing stock numbers whilst maintaining nutrients and water will also increase the potential for organic matter increase, but only if inputs are maintained.
Regenerative agriculture involves Adaptive Pasture Management (called rotational grazing in New Zealand) but allowing the pasture to grow longer and leaving more pasture after grazing than New Zealand research recommends.
The result is a decrease in pasture quality, a decrease in efficiency of production, a decrease in organic matter as soil organisms adjust and then a decrease in turnover.
Professor Tony Parsons, now retired from Massey University, has shown that greenhouse gas and nitrate loss per unit of milk or meat produced will be increased under this scenario in comparison with the New Zealand optimised system.
This means more impact on the environment for a given amount of production. Reducing production means less food.
Farmers who understand their soil, climate, animals and markets, supported by the rural professionals and their processing and marketing companies, have chosen different paths towards sustainability; in some countries overseas, their efforts are supported with subsidies.
People in democracies are allowed to have different views, but farmers making decisions about their businesses usually expect to have evidence upon which to make their decisions.
The conventional New Zealand system is built on decades of New Zealand specific research, developing systems, breeding pasture plants, and identifying the most accurate ways of analysing soil so that the appropriate balance of nutrients can be added.
Ongoing analysis and trials continue to make improvements, and New Zealand soils have far more organic matter in them already than regenerative agriculture has achieved on the impoverished soils where the concept was born.
Success along that path towards sustainability depends upon the ability of the farmer, and New Zealand farmers have done well. It is good farming that makes the difference, not what you call it.
- Dr Jacqueline Rowarth CNZM CRSNZ HFNZIAHS has an Agricultural Science degree from Massey University, with honours in Environmental Agriculture. Her PhD in Soil Science examined phosphate cycling in grazed, hill-country pasture and her research has focussed on nitrogen and carbon in the soil-plant-atmosphere. The analysis and conclusions above are her own. email@example.com | <urn:uuid:7b659ae8-d71a-4bae-9060-41bb0a729fd7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/news/dr-jacqueline-rowarth-is-regenerative-agriculture-really-the-way-forward/W2S7AX5QZU64CJTFZYAWG4LPUA/?ref=readmore | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572833.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817001643-20220817031643-00276.warc.gz | en | 0.945547 | 1,218 | 3.484375 | 3 |
1And the Pharisees and Sadducees having come, tempting, did question him, to shew to them a sign from the heaven,
2and he answering said to them, `Evening having come, ye say, Fair weather, for the heaven is red,
3and at morning, Foul weather to-day, for the heaven is red--gloomy; hypocrites, the face of the heavens indeed ye do know to discern, but the signs of the times ye are not able!
4`A generation evil and adulterous doth seek a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet;' and having left them he went away.
5And his disciples having come to the other side, forgot to take loaves,
6and Jesus said to them, `Beware, and take heed of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees;'
7and they were reasoning in themselves, saying, `Because we took no loaves.'
8And Jesus having known, said to them, `Why reason ye in yourselves, ye of little faith, because ye took no loaves?
9do ye not yet understand, nor remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many hand-baskets ye took up?
10nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
11how do ye not understand that I did not speak to you of bread--to take heed of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees?'
12Then they understood that he did not say to take heed of the leaven of the bread, but of the teaching, of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
13And Jesus, having come to the parts of Caesarea Philippi, was asking his disciples, saying, `Who do men say me to be--the Son of Man?'
14and they said, `Some, John the Baptist, and others, Elijah, and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.'
15He saith to them, `And ye--who do ye say me to be?'
16and Simon Peter answering said, `Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.'
17And Jesus answering said to him, `Happy art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood did not reveal [it] to thee, but my Father who is in the heavens.
18`And I also say to thee, that thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build my assembly, and gates of Hades shall not prevail against it;
19and I will give to thee the keys of the reign of the heavens, and whatever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be having been bound in the heavens, and whatever thou mayest loose upon the earth shall be having been loosed in the heavens.'
20Then did he charge his disciples that they may say to no one that he is Jesus the Christ.
21From that time began Jesus to shew to his disciples that it is necessary for him to go away to Jerusalem, and to suffer many things from the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and to be put to death, and the third day to rise.
22And having taken him aside, Peter began to rebuke him, saying, `Be kind to thyself, sir; this shall not be to thee;'
23and he having turned, said to Peter, `Get thee behind me, adversary! thou art a stumbling-block to me, for thou dost not mind the things of God, but the things of men.'
24Then said Jesus to his disciples, `If any one doth will to come after me, let him disown himself, and take up his cross, and follow me,
25for whoever may will to save his life, shall lose it, and whoever may lose his life for my sake shall find it,
26for what is a man profited if he may gain the whole world, but of his life suffer loss? or what shall a man give as an exchange for his life?
27`For, the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father, with his messengers, and then he will reward each, according to his work.
28Verily I say to you, there are certain of those standing here who shall not taste of death till they may see the Son of Man coming in his reign.' | <urn:uuid:e70af531-80ad-481e-9834-c970f8c67701> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.bible.com/en-GB/bible/821/mat.16.ylt98 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720238.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00189-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969573 | 942 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Ride with GPS is a web-based application that lets cyclists plan, find, and share their rides online. Cyclists you use the Garmin Edge range or GPS cycling computers use the website to navigate, keep training logs, and even join competitions. Read on to find out more about the service in our exclusive interview with Zack Ham, one of the founders of Ride with GPS as he tells us a little about the history, how it works, plus their plans for the future.
1. Hi Zack, thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by GPS Bites. Could you tell us how you first came up with the idea for Ride With GPS and a little bit of history about yourselves?
The idea for RWGPS came to me during a Computer Science class at the University of Oregon, which required us to do a term project developing a piece of software we thought someone might find useful. As I’m sure you can imagine, this first version of the site shared very little in common with the site today, but I knew the seed of a good idea was there. The project started in 2006, and in early 2007 I partnered with Cullen King to work on developing the site more seriously.
2. What sets your Ride With GPS website apart from the competition – for example Strava?
We think of Ride with GPS as a comprehensive solution for cyclists. This is embodied in our motto: Plan – Ride – Analyze – Compete. Giving equal focus to all of these components is what sets us apart when looking at the features we offer in comparison to other sites out there.
Our business is also unique relative to our primary competitors in a few ways: we are rooted in cycling-heavy cities in the Pacific Northwest, with employees in Eugene, Portland, and Boulder; also, we have maintained control of the business in order to avoid any investor pressure to move in a direction that isn’t best for our users, such as focusing on an ad-driven revenue stream or pursuing a buyout.
3. Is your site compatible with mobile applications, or do users have to use a Garmin Edge in order to access the functionality?
Our site has features specific to supporting Garmin Edge devices as best as possible, with a focus on handling data from the other components you can attach such as a heart rate monitor, speed/cad sensor, and power meter. We do recognize that there is a real interest in using mobile devices to track data and navigate routes, though, and have been working toward that end.
One of the lesser-known details about our site is that it can be used in conjunction with an iPhone, Android device, and even Blackberry. We have worked with app developers on each platform to implement integrations that offer both navigation and tracking functionality. Also, many of the tracking apps currently available allow you to email a GPX or TCX file after tracking a ride, and if you email it to firstname.lastname@example.org it will process on your account. That being said, we are actively developing our own RWGPS app for the Android and iOS platform that will offer a consistent, supported, and complete experience.
4. What’s your favorite Garmin Cycling GPS from the Edge range and why?
The Garmin Edge 800 is definitely our favorite unit, hands down. The touch screen actually works well, the color screen looks good, and the way it mounts to your bicycle is an enormous improvement over the clip used with the Garmin Edge 305 and Garmin 705 series.
For running, we like the Forerunner 610 primarily because of its small size, being about as big as a regular wristwatch. Also, the wireless activity syncing is a nice plus although it does have some quirks…
5. Have you had a chance to use the new Garmin Vector product yet, and if so what are your impressions on it?
We have not had a chance to use the Vector yet, but are really excited about the next wave of power meters coming out, including the Vector. We were following the Metrigear guys closely and it was no surprise to see that acquisition happen.
We’re crossing our fingers and hoping that the ANT alliance can come together and agree on extensions to support the additional data that the Vector and other similar units will be able to supply – we would love to build some cool pedal stroke visualizations, but need the data to be available first.
6. Do you have any forthcoming new plans and features for the Ride With GPS application that you can tell our readers about?
There are a few upcoming competitions that we will be running that should be a lot of fun, the next one being a Tour de France challenge that will start at the end of June. A good chunk of our roadmap is driven directly from user input, so in that department you can look forward to some great improvements to segments, and more social features so you can easily see what your friends are up to with their riding.
We’re about to release the first phase of a long term project that will be all about events, although I can’t say more about that quite yet!
7. Do you foresee any new advances coming in the future for cyclists in the world of GPS soon? We recently saw this design for Oakley GPS sunglasses which took our eye, but are not convinced of the practicality!
The biggest change that we are seeing right now is that a steadily increasing number of active people are learning that it is possible to track their workouts/rides and then store, share, analyze, and compete with that data on sites like Ride with GPS. Most of these people are getting introduced to this via their mobile phones, and the market of people interested in tracking their workouts is growing rapidly as a result.
The big question is how many of these people will end up wanting a fitness-specific unit, or how many will stick with their smart phone. We are particularly interested to see how devices like the new Motorola MOTOACTV are received by consumers, since it is a fitness device that blurs the line between smart phone and fitness GPS unit.
Want to Know More? For more information on Ride with GPS make sure you visit their excellent website on www.RideWithGPS.com. On the site you can sign up for a free account to start using some of the functionality today. | <urn:uuid:d58e7b83-24ee-4fee-becd-bf382be49a1b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.gpsbites.com/ride-with-gps-interview-with-zack-ham | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00081-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961698 | 1,293 | 1.515625 | 2 |
In order to have a productive and collaborative team, technology is of utmost importance. There are many tools available that can increase your team’s overall performance in this digital age, so make sure to invest in a trusted IT solution provider to equip your organization with the latest advancements that can revamp your team’s productivity. Here are some ways how technology improves productivity in the workplace:
Improves Employees’ Tasks Through Communication Software
Effective communication is essential for improved team productivity, so companies should invest in various software to improve team communication. There are many advanced technological solutions such as video conferencing apps, team messengers, and other solutions that can boost communication and productivity.
Good communication software can also be used to capture important information such as customer concerns, meeting details, and screen activities to be saved and used for future references. It’s also cost-effective for your business as cloud-based communication software products don’t require hardware and can be accessed on computers, smartphones, and tablets.
Some latest trends in communication systems that can make an impact on your processes include virtual reality, chatbots, and WebRTC. Virtual reality can improve professional training and conference calling by creating a realistic environment without the risks. It’s more effective and less dangerous, which is why it’s recommended for most industries.
Chatbots can help provide excellent customer service due to their intelligence in responding to customer queries, making your employees available for more important tasks. Lastly, WebRTC improves real-time communication by supporting many kinds of remote communication such as chat, video, audio, and screen sharing.
Increases Productivity by Using Time Tracking Tools
Time tracking tools improve your employees’ time entries compared to manually logging in their hours. You’ll be able to save thousands of dollars due to lost hours and help your HR manager by avoiding manual edits of time logs. You’ll also have valuable insights on how the workforce spends and allocates their time, allowing you to identify optimization opportunities and productivity leaks.
These tools boost employee efficiency by letting them analyze every productive hour and break they spend to evaluate their work-life balance freely. Also, since these tools allow monitoring of project tasks, meetings, and client feedback sessions, employees can analyze the team workflow and find out if there are any delays that can affect the team’s overall productivity.
Time tracking software also retains the team’s top performers by gaining visibility on how much they have worked and accomplished during a specified time. This will make them more motivated to improve their workplace performance constantly.
They also don’t have to worry about negative impacts on their paycheck like unpaid overtime hours because they have access to calendars and visual reports for verification. This can help retain your top performers and lower the chances of hiring more people, saving more on new hire training fees.
Makes Project Management Seamless
Project management tools promote better collaboration among team members by improving planning, scheduling, task delegation, and more. Project managers can create a good management plan and prioritize tasks that can promote the project’s success.
Since project teams can be composed of members from various departments, they usually have their own responsibilities to handle and can make attending meetings difficult. This can result in a communication gap and create unnecessary delays that waste a lot of resources.
With a project management system, they can all collaborate smoothly and keep all communication in one place. Status updates and timelines can be easily accessed, and important alerts can be quickly sent to relevant parties.
Accomplish Tasks Through Self-service Platforms
Customized self-service platforms let employees easily accomplish tasks on their own instead of going to other departments. For example, they don’t have to get forms from the HR department. They can just access them from their workstations and print them right away, saving more time and allowing them to focus on more relevant tasks.
These web-based tools not only consolidate information in a user-friendly gateway but also improve employee satisfaction levels by avoiding redundant information and improving communication throughout the company. They can also pave the way to their own development by giving them direct access to their training, tasks, and advancement opportunities. The more control they have, the more invested and motivated they become in your company.
These technologically-advanced tools not only get your organization a step ahead of the competition, but they also make tremendous improvements to your employees’ productivity. Investing in these tools will eventually make your business thrive because there’s employee satisfaction, communication improvements, and overall efficiency. | <urn:uuid:779085c6-fa17-4f43-a36e-f865acd9dc8c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.cafeprogressive.com/technology-improves-productivity/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572304.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816120802-20220816150802-00471.warc.gz | en | 0.94603 | 933 | 1.703125 | 2 |
This has been a puzzle to climate scientists because leading models have indicated that over the past 24 million years geological conditions should have caused carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to plummet, possibly leading to runaway "icehouse" conditions. Now researchers writing in the July 2, 2009, Nature report on the missing piece of the puzzle – plants.
"Atmospheric CO2 concentrations have been remarkably stable over the last 20 or 25 million years despite other changes in the environment," says co-author Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology. "We can look to land plants as the primary buffering agent that's held CO2 in such a narrow range during this time."
The research team, led by Mark Pagani of Yale University, found that the critical role of plants in the chemical breakdown and weathering of rocks and soil gave them a strong influence on carbon dioxide levels. It was a link that earlier studies had missed.
Over geologic time, large volumes of carbon dioxide have been released into the atmosphere by volcanoes. This would cause CO2 to build up in the atmosphere were it not for countervailing geologic processes of sedimentation, which bury carbon-containing minerals in the crust, sequestering it from the atmosphere. The overall rate of sedimentation is controlled by the upthrust of mountains and the erosion and chemical breakdown of their rocks. The rise of the Andes, Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau, and mountain ranges in western North America over the past 25 million years would have been expected to have cause faster weathering and erosion, and therefore a faster burial of carbon drawn from the atmosphere. But the stability of carbon dioxide levels indicate that this didn't happen. Why not?
This is where the plants come in. "The rates of weathering reactions are largely controlled by plants. Their roots secrete acids that dissolve minerals, they hold soils, and they increase the amount of carbon dissolved in groundwater," says Caldeira. "But when levels of carbon dioxide get too low, the plants basically suffocate and the weathering slows down. That means less sediment is eroded from the uplands and less carbon can be buried. It's a negative feedback on the system that has kept carbon dioxide levels from dropping too low."
Extremely low carbon dioxide levels would have reduced the atmosphere's ability to retain heat, putting the planet into a deep freeze. "So you could say that by limiting the drawdown of CO2 by chemical weathering and sedimentation, plants saved the planet from freezing over," says Caldeira.
Could plants save us from rising carbon dioxide from human emissions and harmful greenhouse warming? No, says Caldeira. "We are releasing CO2 to the atmosphere about 100 times faster than all the volcanoes in the world put together. While these weathering processes will eventually remove the CO2 we are adding to the atmosphere, they act too slowly to help us avoid dangerous climate change. It will take hundreds of thousands of years for these rock weathering processes to remove our fossil fuel emissions from the atmosphere."
The Carnegie Institution (www.CIW.edu) has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research since 1902. It is a private, nonprofit organization with six research departments throughout the U.S. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science. The Department of Global Ecology, located in Stanford, California, was established in 2002 to help build the scientific foundations for a sustainable future. Its scientists conduct basic research on a wide range of large-scale environmental issues, including climate change, ocean acidification, biological invasions, and changes in biodiversity.
Ken Caldeira | EurekAlert!
New Study Will Help Find the Best Locations for Thermal Power Stations in Iceland
19.01.2017 | University of Gothenburg
Water - as the underlying driver of the Earth’s carbon cycle
17.01.2017 | Max-Planck-Institut für Biogeochemie
An important step towards a completely new experimental access to quantum physics has been made at University of Konstanz. The team of scientists headed by...
Yersiniae cause severe intestinal infections. Studies using Yersinia pseudotuberculosis as a model organism aim to elucidate the infection mechanisms of these...
Researchers from the University of Hamburg in Germany, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, have synthesized a new superconducting material by growing a few layers of an antiferromagnetic transition-metal chalcogenide on a bismuth-based topological insulator, both being non-superconducting materials.
While superconductivity and magnetism are generally believed to be mutually exclusive, surprisingly, in this new material, superconducting correlations...
Laser-driving of semimetals allows creating novel quasiparticle states within condensed matter systems and switching between different states on ultrafast time scales
Studying properties of fundamental particles in condensed matter systems is a promising approach to quantum field theory. Quasiparticles offer the opportunity...
Among the general public, solar thermal energy is currently associated with dark blue, rectangular collectors on building roofs. Technologies are needed for aesthetically high quality architecture which offer the architect more room for manoeuvre when it comes to low- and plus-energy buildings. With the “ArKol” project, researchers at Fraunhofer ISE together with partners are currently developing two façade collectors for solar thermal energy generation, which permit a high degree of design flexibility: a strip collector for opaque façade sections and a solar thermal blind for transparent sections. The current state of the two developments will be presented at the BAU 2017 trade fair.
As part of the “ArKol – development of architecturally highly integrated façade collectors with heat pipes” project, Fraunhofer ISE together with its partners...
19.01.2017 | Event News
10.01.2017 | Event News
09.01.2017 | Event News
20.01.2017 | Awards Funding
20.01.2017 | Materials Sciences
20.01.2017 | Life Sciences | <urn:uuid:359dd2eb-1a15-4963-bc88-d3bea2f5ae2e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/earth-sciences/plants-put-limit-ice-ages-135273.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282202.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00552-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927959 | 1,272 | 4.375 | 4 |
Hubbardton in Rutland County, Vermont — The American Northeast (New England)
Monument Hill Charge
On the morning of July 7th British troops, in hot pursuit of the American forces, climbed this steep slope to the crest of Monument Hill. Hampered by brush and fallen trees, the British, in their bright red coats, made excellent targets for the Americans positioned near a stone wall along the crest. As the British continued their assault up the hill, the Americans eventually were forced back across the field behind you.
Erected by Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Park.
Location. 43° 41.735′ N, 73° 8.455′ W. Marker is in Hubbardton, Vermont, in Rutland County. Marker can be reached from Monument Hill Road, on the left when traveling north. Click for map. Marker is located at the Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site, along the battlefield walking trail. Marker is in this post office area: Castleton VT 05735, United States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the British Flank Near Mt. Zion (within shouting distance of this marker); Dawn Attack (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Welcome to Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Park (about 400 feet away); Germans Arrive, Americans Retreat (about 600 feet away); Hubbardton Battle Monument (about 600 feet away); Battle of Hubbardton (about 700 feet away); The Selleck Cabin (approx. 0.2 miles away); Slate Pencil Manufacturing (approx. 3.2 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Hubbardton.
More about this marker. The left of the marker contains a picture of the Americans atop Monument Hill while British troops charge up the hill.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. This series of markers tell the story of the Battle of Hubbardton.
Also see . . .
1. Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site. Vermont State Historic Sites. (Submitted on September 12, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey.)
2. The Battle of Hubbardton. The American Rebels Stem the Tide. A detailed account of the battle, published by the Vermont Division of Historic Preservation. (Submitted on September 12, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey.)
3. The Battle of Hubbardton, July 7, 1777 at Hubbardton, Vermont (Submitted on September 12, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey.)
Categories. • War, US Revolutionary •
Credits. This page originally submitted on , by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 1,256 times since then and 3 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on , by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. | <urn:uuid:b04ad98a-6935-463b-ad26-45ebee82ed55> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=11407 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280310.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00187-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918999 | 632 | 3.4375 | 3 |
FREEPORT, Ill. — A diverse range of topics from America’s past will be covered in this year’s Lectures in American History Series. Each lecture is held at 7 p.m. at the Freeport Public Library and is open to the public, free of charge. The series is co-sponsored by the Stephenson County Historical Society and the Freeport Public Library Foundation.
The race relations in early Illinois history will be discussed by Mike Banghart Tuesday, Jan. 17. Banghart teaches social studies at Freeport High School.
An examination of how the United States Constitution’s Second Amendment — right to bear arms — has been interpreted over the past 200 years will be the topic of Eric Welch’s presentation Monday, Jan. 23. Welch was the long-time library director at Highland Community College and is now retired.
In honor of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, Dr. Edward Finch will cover the Civil War at sea Tuesday, Jan. 31. Dr. Finch, who is director of the Stephenson County Museum, has presented this program across Illinois and is scheduled to present it in April at the Great Lakes Naval Museum.
Dr. Andy Dvorak of Highland Community College will discuss the changing role of collective bargaining since the passage of the Wagner Act Wednesday, Feb. 8.
A history of Mormons in Illinois will be presented by Jim Phillips Thursday, Feb. 16. Phillips is an instructor of history at Highland Community College.
The famous sculptor Leonard Wells Volk is the topic of a program by George Buss Thursday, Feb. 23. Volk was a cousin of Stephen A. Douglas and widely known for his live mask of Abraham Lincoln.
The series wraps up Tuesday, Feb. 28, with a presentation of American relations with countries in Africa from 1800 to 1945. Dr. Martin Quirk, chairman of the History Department at Rock Valley College, will be the presenter.
All programs will offer time for audience questions and answers. Coffee, tea and cookies will be available before each program. Freeport Public Library is at 100 E. Douglas St., Freeport, Ill. Stephenson County Historical Society Museum is at 1440 S. Carroll Ave., Freeport, Ill., and can be reached at (815) 232-8419.
From the Jan. 11-17, 2012, issue | <urn:uuid:0e34174b-f88e-4a37-883c-f1c92d13ae75> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://rockrivertimes.com/2012/01/11/lectures-in-american-history-series-kicks-off-jan-17-in-freeport/?administer_redirect_49=https%3A%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FFightCollegeInc | 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 | 0.91015 | 483 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Q: What is the difference
between a Ph.D. in mathematics and a large pizza?
A: A large pizza can feed a family of four...
Q: What is the difference between a mathematician and a philosopher?
A: The mathematician only needs paper, pencil, and a trash bin
for his work - the philosopher can do without the trash bin...
Q: What do you get
if you add two apples and three apples?
A: A high school math problem!
Q: What does the
zero say to the the eight?
A: Nice belt!
Q: How does one insult a mathematician?
A: You say: "Your brain is smaller than any >0!"
Q: What does a mathematician
present to his fiancée when he wants to propose?
A: A polynomial ring!
Q: Why do you rarely
find mathematicians spending time at the beach?
A: Because they have sine and cosine to get a tan and don't
need the sun!
Q: Why do mathematicians,
after a dinner at a Chinese restaurant, always insist on taking
the leftovers home?
A: Because they know the Chinese remainder theorem!
Q: What do you get if you divide the cirucmference of a jack-o-lantern
by its diameter?
A: Pumpkin Pi!
can tell me what 7 times 6 is?"
Student: "It's 42!"
Teacher: "Very good! - And who can tell me what 6 times
Same student: "It's 24!"
A mathematician is
flying non-stop from Edmonton to Frankfurt with AirTransat.
The scheduled flying time is nine hours.
Some time after taking off, the pilot announces that one engine
had to be turned off due to mechanical failure: "Don't
worry - we're safe. The only noticeable effect this will have
for us is that our total flying time will be ten hours instead
A few hours into the flight, the pilot informs the passengers
that another engine had to be turned off due to mechanical failure:
"But don't worry - we're still safe. Only our flying time
will go up to twelve hours."
Some time later, a third engine fails and has to be turned off.
But the pilot reassures the passengers: "Don't worry -
even with one engine, we're still perfectly safe. It just means
that it will take sixteen hours total for this plane to arrive
The mathematician remarks to his fellow passengers: "If
the last engine breaks down, too, then we'll be in the air for
twenty-four hours altogether!"
A math student is
pestered by a classmate who wants to copy his homework assignment.
The student hesitates, not only because he thinks it's wrong,
but also because he doesn't want to be sanctioned for aiding
His classmate calms him down: "Nobody will be able to trace
my homework to you: I'll be changing the names of all the constants
and variables: a to b, x to y, and so on."
Not quite convinced, but eager to be left alone, the student
hands his completed assignment to the classmate for copying.
After the deadline, the student asks: "Did you really change
the names of all the variables?"
"Sure!" the classmate replies. "When you called
a function f, I called it g; when you called a variable x, I
renamed it to y; and when you were writing about the log of
x+1, I called it the timber of x+1..."
The chef instructs
his apprentice: "You take two thirds of water, one third
of cream, one third of broth..."
The apprentice: "But that makes four thirds already!"
"Well - just take a larger pot!"
The math teacher
asks his students: "What is 9 times 7?"
He gets several answers - all are either 62 or 65.
"Come one - the correct answer can either be 62 or 65!"
"That math prof's
marriage is falling apart!"
"No wonder! He's into scientific computing - and she's
A woman in a bar
tries to pick up a mathematician.
"How old, do you think, am I?" she asks coyly.
"Well - 18 by that fire in your eyes, 19 by that glow on
your cheeks, 20 by that radiance of your face, and adding that
up is something you can probably do for yourself..."
Theorem. A cat has
Proof. No cat has
eight tails. Since one cat has one more tail than no cat, it
must have nine tails.
farmers: swine and coswine...
Two math students,
a boy and his girlfriend, are going to a fair. They are in line
to ride the ferris wheel when it shuts down.
The boy says: "It's a sin for those people to keep us waiting
The girl replies: "No - it's a cosin, silly!!!"
The math professor
just accepted a new position at a university in another city
and has to move. He and his wife pack all their belongings into
cardboard boxes and have them shipped off to their new home.
To sort out some family matters, the wife stays behind for a
few more days while her husband has already left for their new
The boxes arrive when the wife still hasn't rejoined her husband.
When they talk on the phone in the evening, she asks him to
count the boxes, just to make sure the movers didn't loose any
"Thirty nine boxes altogether", says the prof on the
"That can't be", the wife exclaims. "The movers
picked up forty boxes at our old place."
The prof counts once again, but again his count only reaches
The next morning, the wife calls the moving company and complains.
The company promises to check; a few hours later, someone calls
back and reports that all forty boxes did arrive.
In the evening, when the prof and his wife are on the phone
again, she asks: "I don't understand it. When you count,
you get 39, and when they do, they get 40. That's more than
"Well", the prof says. "This is a cordless phone,
so you can stay on the line and count with me: zero, one, two,
New York (CNN). At
John F. Kennedy International Airport today, a Caucasian male
(later discovered to be a high school mathematics teacher) was
arrested trying to board a flight while in possession of a compass,
a protractor and a graphical calculator.
According to law enforcement officials, he is believed to have
ties to the Al-Gebra network. He will be charged with carrying
weapons of math instruction.
are studying a convergent series.
The first one says: "Do you realize that the series converges
even when all the terms are made positive?"
The second one asks: "Are you sure?"
are so clueless", the math professor complains to a colleague.
"Yesterday, a student came to my office hours and wanted
to know if General Calculus was a Roman war hero..."
It is only two weeks
into the term that, in a calculus class, a student raises his
hand and asks: "Will we ever need this stuff in real life?"
The professor gently smiles at him and says: "Of course
not - if your real life will consist of flipping hamburgers
An investment firm
is hiring mathematicians. After the first round of interviews,
three hopeful recent graduates - a pure mathematician, an applied
mathematician, and a graduate in mathematical finance - are
asked what starting salary they are expecting.
The pure mathematician: "Would $30,000 be too much?"
The applied mathematician: "I think $60,000 would be OK."
The math finance person: "What about $300,000?"
The personnel officer is flabberghasted: "Do you know that
we have a graduate in pure mathematics who is willing to do
the same work for a tenth of what you are demanding!?"
"Well, I thought of $135,000 for me, $135,000 for you -
and $30,000 for the pure mathematician who will do the work."
is hiring mathematicians. Three recent graduates are invited
for an interview: one has a degree in pure mathematics, another
one in applied math, and the third one obtained his B.Sc. in
All three are asked the same question: "What is one third
plus two thirds?"
The pure mathematician: "It's one."
The applied mathematician takes out his pocket calculator, punches
in the numbers, and replies: "It's 0.999999999."
The statistician: "What do you want it to be?"
In a speech to a
gathering of mathematics professors from throughout the United
States, George W. Bush warned the academics not to misuse their
position to force their often extremist political views on young
Americans. "It is my understanding", the president
said, "that you are frequently teaching algebra classes
in which your students learn how to solve equations with the
help of radicals. I can't say that I approve of that..." | <urn:uuid:7b9a462b-4374-446f-92b9-c267001f539b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.jackassjokes.com/math-jokes.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00676.warc.gz | en | 0.956763 | 2,075 | 2.625 | 3 |
Those of us of a certain age always remember where we were on this day 53 years ago. It was a Friday so I was leaving my classroom and found my brother waiting for me, an unusual event. That entire weekend we had the TV and radio on constantly. Two pool reporters were with the Kennedy motorcade in Dallas that day, and it was Merriman Smith of UPI who scooped rival AP by five minutes. Part of the reason he was first is because he understood the value of a newfangled technology - the radiophone. Imagine what it would be like today. Not only could our phones record every second, but a reporter could live feed it. It was a little more complex then, but equally competitive. Bill Sanderson recounts how it all unfolded in a CJR article entitled Jockeying and fisticuffs en route to the greatest scoop in a generation. | <urn:uuid:904189c4-5cfd-4749-a5cc-82eca028bce9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ombudsman.cbc.radio-canada.ca/en/blog/2016/the-scoop-of-a-generation-how-a-upi-reporter-put-out-the-very-first-report-of-the-kennedy-assassination/ | 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 | 0.98564 | 179 | 1.5625 | 2 |
It is not every day you get to build the heart of a blue whale, but creative workshop Human Dynamo is on to its third.
The model-making company, based in the Wellington suburb of Miramar, is now adding the final touches to a full-scale blue whale's heart it has been building for Naturkunde Museum in Munster, Germany.
The workshop first built a heart in 2008 for Te Papa to use in its Whale Tohora exhibition, with plenty of space and cavities allowing for children to get up close and personal with the large organ.
With that organ now travelling with the exhibition's world tour, Te Papa commissioned a second heart to remain in Wellington.
Now onto their third build, the creators and co-owners of Human Dynamo have spent the last three months crafting the 1.8m-tall heart.
With each fibreglass heart bringing its own set of challenges, they had far from perfected the creation of whale hearts, artist Sue Dorrington said.
"We create them to be interactive for kids so that takes a slightly different form each time, much like how a real heart is individual."
Human Dynamo was founded in 1998. Since then, the team's work has included the creation of prehistoric shark jaws for a Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World exhibit, a supersized giant weta for Hukawhai Glacier Centre and work on films such as District 9 and Avatar.
There had been some enquiries from other interested museums, but Te Papa owns the intellectual property rights to the whale heart exhibition, so it would be a matter of reaching an agreement, Ms Dorrington said.
"It's a pretty big project, but the kids have responded really well to it at Te Papa so I'm glad I've been able to get involved."
- The Dominion Post
How soon will you visit the new war memorial park?Related story: War memorial park all but completed | <urn:uuid:fc985da2-8819-4fae-9245-e4ecfb85b2c4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/6719819/Fleshing-out-a-model-of-whale-like-proportions | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280718.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00405-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956833 | 394 | 1.726563 | 2 |
New Hampshire is a New England state with a rich national history. The
area broke off from Great Britain in 1776 and became the first
post-colonial sovereign nation of the Americas. New Hampshire was also
one of the original thirteen states that founded the United States.
They were the ninth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1788. New
Hampshire is the birthplace of one U.S. President, Franklin Pierce.
New Hampshire has the shortest coastline in the U.S., approximately
eighteen miles long. It is also one of the smallest states in the
country, both by area and population. New Hampshire is currently
divided into ten counties, with Hillsborough and Rockingham being the
most populous. The state has no sales or individual income taxes levied
at either the state or local level.
New Hampshire is well known for being the first state to hold primaries
in U.S. presidential elections. State law requires that the Secretary
of State schedule this election at least one week before any "similar
event." Results of New Hampshire primaries have historically been
influential in shaping the outcome of the overall election.
Crime and Punishment
If the absence of sales and income tax doesn't make the state
attractive enough, New Hampshire also has the lowest crime rate in the
United States. It makes sense that the state would also have a low
incarceration rate, which they do, with only 206 per 100,000 residents
incarcerated. This is compared to the United States rate of 502. The
motto "Live Free or Die" is printed on New Hampshire license plates,
which seems fitting in light of these numbers.
Expungement of Criminal Records
If you are convicted of a crime in New Hampshire, the opportunity to
expunge your record is very limited. Felony and misdemeanor offenses in
general cannot be expunged from any record, nor can traffic offenses.
The only exceptions are in the case of prowling and loitering.
If the offender was not given the opportunity to explain their reasons
for loitering or prowling, the record becomes eligible for expungement.
Annulment of Criminal Records
Criminal records in New Hampshire may be eligible for annulment if the
sentence has been served and all the requirements of the court have
been satisfied. Receiving an annulment means that the record cannot be
accessed by law enforcement for general purposes or in civil matters.
The individual with an annulment can legally report that the crime
never happened. If there is a subsequent offense, however, the annulled
record will reappear and is treated as a prior. To receive an annulment
it is necessary to file a petition making a request to the court.
New Hampshire gun laws are pretty laid back as long as you are not an
ex-convict. State law does not require citizens to obtain a license in
order to be in possession of rifles, shotguns and handguns. If you have
been convicted of a felony in the past, however, you are prohibited
from obtaining, owning or using any type of firearm in the state. | <urn:uuid:8a53e9ca-9cbd-4b9a-a522-11fad45aef52> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://countyjail.net/New-Hampshire/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571210.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810191850-20220810221850-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.948098 | 666 | 2.734375 | 3 |
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The author of this page will appreciate comments, corrections and imagery related to the subject. Please contact Anatoly Zak.
Soyuz MS-03 arrives at ISS
In the final manned launch of 2016, the Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft successfully delivered three members of the 50th and 51st expeditions to the International Space Station, ISS. The liftoff took place as scheduled on November 17 and docking completed on Nov. After nearly half a year aboard the station, the same crew will ride Soyuz MS-03 back to Earth on May 16, 2017.
The crew of Soyuz MS-03 during final qualification exams at the Gagarin Training Center in Star City on Oct. 25, 2016, (left to right): Thomas Pesquet, Oleg Novitskiy, Peggy Whitson.
Soyuz MS-03 mission at a glance:
Preparations for flight
The launch of Soyuz MS-03 was initially scheduled for Nov. 30, 2016. Following the Soyuz MS-02 launch delay in September 2016, the mission was rescheduled for Nov. 16, 2016, at 00:05 Moscow Time. On October 28, the State Commission announced that the launch was re-scheduled for Nov. 17, 2016, at 23:20:13 Moscow Time, to enable a two-day rendezvous scenario, rather than a six-hour flight to the station, which was possible in case of the launch on November 16. According to public statement, the two-day scenario was chosen to complete planned tests of the new systems on the Soyuz MS series, however the six-hour rendezvous scheme was hampered by the delay in the completion of the Klen-R ground station near Vostochny, which would be compatible with a brand-new EKTS system onboard Soyuz-MS.
On November 4, RKK Energia announced that Soyuz MS-03 had returned to its processing building at Site 254, after the completion of fueling. Three days later, the spacecraft was integrated with a transfer ring, which will serve as an interface with the launch vehicle. On November 9, engineers conducted final inspection of Soyuz MS-03 and then rolled it inside the protective fairing of its Soyuz-FG rocket. Two days later, the payload section with Soyuz MS-03 was transferred from the spacecraft assembly building at Site 254 to the vehicle assembly building at Site 112 for the final integration with the rocket.
On November 12 and 13, the payload section was integrated with the launch vehicle and the mission management gave green light to the rollout of the Soyuz-FG rocket to the launch pad at Site 1, which took place on the morning of November 14.
Launch of Soyuz MS-03
Propelled by the simultaneous thrust of the four engines of the first stage and the single engine of the second stage, the rocket headed east to align its ascent trajectory with an orbital plane inclined 51.67 degrees toward the Equator. Slightly less than two minutes into the flight, the ship's emergency escape system jettisoned, immediately followed by the separation of the four boosters of the first stage. The second (core) stage of the booster continued firing for less than five minutes into the flight. Almost exactly 40 seconds after the separation of the first stage, the payload fairing protecting the spacecraft in the dense atmosphere split into two halves and fell away. Moments before the second stage completed its firing 4.7 minutes into the flight, the four-chamber engine of the third stage ignited, firing through a lattice structure connecting two boosters. Moments after the separation of the core booster, the tail section of the third stage split into three segments and fell away.
According to the mission control in Korolev, the separation of the Soyuz MS-03 from the third stage of the launch vehicle took place as scheduled at 23:29:01.26 Moscow Time into an orbit with the following parameters:
Without any additional maneuvers, the spacecraft is guaranteed to remain in its initial orbit for around 20 revolutions around the Earth during the next 30 hours, before reentering the Earth's atmosphere due to air friction.
Rendezvous and docking of Soyuz MS-03 at ISS
Upon reaching its planned orbit, Soyuz MS-03 was expected to be 246.2 degrees away and below the ISS, which at the time was circling the planet in the 404.01 by 420.22-kilometer orbit with an inclination 51.63 degrees toward the Equator.
The mission followed a two-day rendezvous profile with the station. According to the Russian mission control in Korolev, the Soyuz was scheduled to perform two orbital maneuvers during the 3rd orbit and another one during the 17th orbit of the flight, which would bring the spacecraft into the vicinity of the station, according to the following planned timeline:
Following its orbit corrections, Soyuz MS-03 was scheduled to begin an autonomous rendezvous with the ISS around 22:40:54 Moscow Time on Nov. 19, 2016, aiming to lock sensors of its Kurs-NA rendezvous system onto the station during the 33rd orbit of the mission.
The final maneuvers, including a flyaround of the ISS, a short station-keeping period and berthing were scheduled to commence at 00:39:53 Moscow Time on November 20.
The docking of the Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft and the ISS took place at 4:58:35 p.m. EST (November 19) over the northeastern coast of Brazil, around three minutes ahead of schedule. (The milestone was originally scheduled on Nov. 20, 2016, at 01:01:46 Moscow Time (5:01 p.m. EST on November 19).
The spacecraft berthed at the nadir (Earth-facing) port of the MIM1 Rassvet module, a part of the Russian segment of the ISS. According to NASA, hooks of the docking mechanism, securing the Soyuz at its docking position were successfully closed at 5:04 p.m. EST.
According to NASA, hatches between the spacecraft and the station were opened at 7:40 p.m. EST on November 19, around five minutes behind schedule. (It was 3:40 a.m. Moscow Time on November 20).
The crew of Soyuz MS-03 is expected to remain onboard the ISS until May 2017.
ISS at the time of Soyuz MS-03's docking on Nov. 19, 2016.
Soyuz MS-03 crew:
Read much more about the history of the Russian space program in a richly illustrated, large-format glossy edition:
Mission patch of the Soyuz MS-03 crew.
Mission patches for Expedition 50 and 51.
Soyuz MS-03 arrives at the spacecraft processing building at Site 254 on Nov. 4, 2016, after the completion of fueling. Click to enlarge. Credit: RKK Energia
Soyuz MS-03 is being integrated with its launch vehicle transfer ring on Nov. 7, 2016. Click to enlarge. Credit: RKK Energia
Soyuz MS-03 is being prepared for integration with its payload fairing on Nov. 9, 2016. Click to enlarge. Credit: RKK Energia
A payload section with the Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft is transferred from the spacecraft processing facility at Site 254 to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Site 112 on Nov. 11, 2016. Click to enlarge. Credit: RKK Energia
Crew of Soyuz MS-03 waves to well wishers before shortly before boarding the ship. Due to a very cold weather in Baikonur, crew members wore winter overcoats on their way to the launch pad, often confused with new spacesuits. The crew would entered Soyuz wearing regular Sokol suits. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA
Soyuz MS-03 lifts off on Nov. 17, 2016. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA | <urn:uuid:fa99d07b-37f2-4e0b-8b00-ce494c135828> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://russianspaceweb.com/soyuz-ms-03.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285001.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00302-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954911 | 1,646 | 1.898438 | 2 |
A “dead man’s switch” (abbreviated here as DMS) is a very useful device for applications where the effect of forgetting to turn something off ranges from a mild annoyance to costly or dangerous consequences. We first learned about the DMS from a locomotive engineer, who explained vividly that an engineer is supposed to press a button every minute to keep the locomotive going, otherwise the machine stops. Less “dramatic” applications include turning off lights or other equipment after a period of time.
The ideal DMS provides several minutes of “on” time, requires no programming, external controls, additional power supplies and no modifications of the existing equipment. In effect, no changes should occur in the standard operating procedures of using the equipment. To reset the timer from “off” back to “on,” it is desirable to either use a button or just cycle the power.
Ironically, a multitude of electronic timers available online or at home improvement retail stores are highly over-engineered. These timers either require programming of specific date-times to be “ON” or have very long pre-sets, require changes in equipment wiring, etc.
This article presents a DMS design that has been tested and currently in use in two different systems. One is controlling a UV source and another is controlling a hydrogen gas line valve. If someone forgets to turn off the UV source, the repairs are costly. When it comes to forgetting to turn off hydrogen, a violent explosion may happen!
The DMS works as follows. First, there are no microcontrollers—just plain physics. Capacitors C1 (bipolar, electrolytic) and C2 make a voltage divider (see Figure 1). Note this timer was originally designed for the European voltage; however, it is very simple to recalculate the capacitor divider for the US voltage.
The voltage is rectified by a bridge and smoothed by C3. The voltage on C3 is approximately 13 V. When the timer is powered on, both capacitors C4 and C5 are quickly charged each to a half of the supply voltage. FET is turned on and relay is engaged. At the same time, the charge begins a slowly redistribution between the capacitors, with C5 discharging via R3 and C4 further charging. Note that diode D1 is not conducting. When C5 is discharged enough, FET is turned off. This causes the relay to disengage. The timer will continue to be in this state as long as the power is provided, because C4 is effectively blocking any current flow. If the power is removed, D1 opens up to discharge C4 via R2. Remember: C5 is already discharged. Thus, the timer is reset to its initial condition. In addition, a manual reset switch S1 is added in case if it is more convenient to reset the timer by pushing a button rather than briefly disconnecting the mains power.
With the indicated components, the “on” time is for approximately 6 minutes. Changing C4 and C5 adjusts the “on” time. Our hydrogen valve control system uses capacitances of 30 µF each, resulting in approximately 25 minutes of “on” time. Note that the capacitances of C4 and C5 must be the same.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Dr. Alexander Pozhitkov has an MS in Chemistry and a PhD in Genetics from Albertus Magnus University in Cologne, Germany. For 12 years he has been involved with interdisciplinary research relating to molecular biology, physical chemistry, software, and electrical engineering. Currently, Dr. Pozhitkov is a researcher at the University of Washington, Seattle. His technical interests include hardware programming, vacuum tubes, and high-voltage electronics.
Hans-Joachim Hamann is a staffer at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology.
Circuit Cellar's editorial team comprises professional engineers, technical editors, and digital media specialists. You can reach the Editorial Department at firstname.lastname@example.org, @circuitcellar, and facebook.com/circuitcellar | <urn:uuid:fbf1260a-0113-4639-b392-0f54cbb5c5b9> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://circuitcellar.com/cc-blog/diy-dead-mans-switch-no-microcontrollers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572833.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817032054-20220817062054-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.930183 | 903 | 2.859375 | 3 |
CGTrader – WW2 Vehicles 3D-Models Bundle
The torpedo boat of the British Navy was used during the Second World War, Vosper Ship.
KV-2 soviet WW2 heavy tank 3D model with textures.
WW2 SOVIET TANK T-34-85 – 3D MODEL
WW2 German Tank PzKpfw IV – 3D Model.
Italian self-propelled artillery installation (SPG) Semovente, the Second World War.
Detailed 3D-copy of the Soviet self-propelled artillery installation (SAU) SU-122.
A very detailed 3d-copy of the SU-100 – a Soviet medium-sized anti-tank self-propelled artillery mount (PT-ACS), which was used during the Second World War.
SdKfz 251, Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251 is a German medium half-track armored personnel carrier of the Second World War period. | <urn:uuid:2fd07e3f-645a-48c7-8779-a7c40286eb75> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://vietrenders.com/tag/ww2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571090.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809215803-20220810005803-00068.warc.gz | en | 0.884895 | 209 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Getting your home appraised is an integral part of the mortgage application process. Just as the lender ensures that the borrower is qualified to repay the loan, it must ensure the home is sufficient collateral to secure the loan. The validity of a home appraisal depends on the lender and the appraiser following certain rules in evaluating and reporting the home's value and condition. Other parties to a real estate transaction have limited participation in the appraisal process.
A home appraisal has two main objectives: estimate the property's fair market value and denote deficiencies that may affect the home's future marketability. A lender must ensure that a home is financially and structurally sound, so the appraisal is intended to benefit the lender rather the buyer who pays for it. When used for a mortgage loan, the lender orders the appraisal through a third-party appraisal management company or directly from the appraiser. Neither the buyer, seller, real estate agent nor mortgage broker have a say in appraiser selection.
Appraiser independence rules prohibit interested parties from influencing an appraiser's opinion. Over-valuation and fraud can occur when a real estate professional, seller or buyer pressures, intimidates or bribes an appraiser to arrive at a certain value or overlook problems with a property to facilitate a transaction. Individuals whose pay depends on the transaction's completion may not hire the appraiser. Other interested parties may only have limited communication with the appraiser. They may provide information requested by the appraiser, facts or data to correct an error on the report or provide other means of facilitating the appraisal process when asked to.
Appraisers must avoid "subjective, racial, or stereotypical terms, phrases, or comments in the appraisal report," according to Fannie Mae. The appraiser must provide a factual, objective and unbiased opinion of the home's favorable and unfavorable characteristics and provide specific data, photos and commentary to back his opinions. An appraiser must be state licensed or certified to practice and possess the knowledge and experience to appraise a specific property type and in a specific market area. An appraiser must also have access to the multiple listing service, public tax and land records and other data sources to accurately complete an appraisal.
Federal Housing Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs loans have more stringent appraisal rules than conventional loans. The government agrees to reimburse lenders if borrowers default, making the low- and no-down payment loans less risky for lenders. The Department of Housing and Urban Development selects qualified applicants to conduct appraisals for the government programs and maintains databases of approved appraisers. They conduct more thorough visual inspections and follow more stringent guidelines. For example, VA and FHA appraisal rules require that defects in a property that affect occupant health and safety or structural soundness undergo repair before the loan is made.
- Brand X Pictures/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images | <urn:uuid:d4dcdd31-a046-4a85-b28b-e130f2c101d7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://oureverydaylife.com/rules-home-appraisal-8409.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00054-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923602 | 566 | 2.171875 | 2 |
It is important that the teaching and learning going on in school is based upon;
- Teachers using a variety of strategies and styles
- Well planned and resourced activities
- Teachers knowing and understanding what is to be taught
- Managing the children’s behaviour
- Creating a stimulating and exciting classroom
Teachers will make sure that the children will understand more and know more each day. This can take place with the willingness and support of the child and parents / carers.
Organisation for learning
As your child moves through the school they will cover all the National Curriculum subjects. These subjects will be taught as separate units of study, or linked together as part of a topic. There will be a mixture of class, group and individual activities planned. For some activities learning is most effective when children work and talk together, for others an individual approach is better.
We recognise that all children have different needs and not everyone learns at the same pace. When a child is not making the progress that might be expected or an additional need is identified, the class teacher or Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) will speak to parents about our concerns. We will closely monitor the child's progress by placing them on the special educational needs (SEN) register. As part of this process we may carry out additional assessments to understand the child’s needs, then set and review individual education targets every term. If the child is in upper key stage 2 we will involve them in the process of identifying the areas of need and ask for their input with target setting. We have many different programmes of work and interventions to accelerate progress and help pupils reach their potential. These may be done in small groups or on an individual basis. In some cases, we may feel a need to seek further advice from outside agencies such as the educational psychology team and speech therapy.
Inclusion and Intervention
The FIT team at Christ the King includes; the school SENCo and Learning Mentors. We all work hard to ensure that Christ the King is an inclusive school. We believe that every single child is entitled to a quality education. To help meet the needs of every child we have a team of dedicated and enthusiastic teachers and learning support assistants who are well trained to assist children in every area of the curriculum as well as all aspects of child welfare. Our learning mentors also support children's behavioural, social and emotional development and helps to prepare our Year 6 children for high school. We pride ourselves on being an approachable and welcoming team who provide children and parents with a friendly face and an abundance of support to help children achieve.
English as an Additional Language (EAL)
At Christ the King we have children whose heritage is from many different countries and therefore children speak many different languages. We welcome and celebrate these different nationalities in our school in many ways. For example, we celebrate Black History Month and we learn about different religious festivals.
Those children with English as an addition language (EAL) are identified as those whose predominant language of choice at home (mother tongue) is one other than English. Those children who speak English fluently are known as ‘advanced bilingual learners’ and those who have been in an English speaking country for less than 2 years are referred to as ‘new to English’.
Our staff receive regular training opportunities which allows us to best support children who may not speak English outside the classroom. Children with EAL undergo an entry level assessment within the first half-term of joining our school. Those children who are identified as ‘new to English’ are supported through regular interventions.
Those who are identified as advanced bilingual learners receive support through first quality teaching in class which develops language acquisition. Teachers use a variety of language structures when teaching to ensure that children with EAL understand how spoken and written English have different uses for different purposes. | <urn:uuid:aff78e6f-1726-4683-83f7-a51179f0d0e9> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://ctkleicester.co.uk/Inclusion/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573197.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818124424-20220818154424-00674.warc.gz | en | 0.966011 | 793 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Friday, February 27, 2009
The GAO has published a new report concerning federal funding of nonprofits (federally tax-exempt organizations, for this purpose). Here is their summary:
The federal government uses a variety of funding mechanisms to achieve national priorities through partnerships with nonprofit organizations, and the relationships are sometimes complex and multidirectional. Nonprofit organizations receive federal grant and contract funds both directly and through other entities, such as states, for performing activities or providing services to particular beneficiaries. Federal funds paid to nonprofit organizations as fees for services follow a somewhat more complex path. Credit through loan and loan guarantee mechanisms facilitate nonprofit organizations’ access to capital. Similarly, some tax policies result in benefits to nonprofit organizations by either reducing their costs or increasing their revenues. With direct federal grants and contracts, and with some loans and loan guarantees, federal agencies generally select the nonprofit participant, directly control the amount of funding provided, and monitor nonprofit performance. With other mechanisms, such as tax expenditures and fee-for service programs, the federal government sets criteria for acceptable recipients but does not directly select or monitor nonprofit performance.
Due to limitations and reliability concerns with tracking systems’ data, the data presently collected provide an incomplete, unreliable picture of the federal government’s funds reaching the nonprofit sector through various mechanisms, although they suggest these funds were significant. No central source tracks federal funds passed through an initial recipient, such as a state, and the nonprofit status of recipients was not reliably identified in FPDS-NG or FAADS. Factors contributing to data limitations include the nonprofit status of recipients being self-reported and no consistent definition of nonprofit across data systems. The development of a system to report funding through subawards, currently underway, may enable more complete estimates of funding to the sector in the future. However, until the accuracy of nonprofit status is improved, accurately determining the extent of federal funds reaching the sector is not possible, leaving policy makers without a clear understanding of the extent of funding to, and importance of, key partners in delivering federal programs and services. Funding data sources identified the following as the approximate amounts of federal funds flowing to nonprofits in 2006 under different mechanisms, although most sources did not reliably classify nonprofit status of recipients:
• $135 billion in fee-for-service payments under Medicare;
• $10 billion in other types of fee-for-service payments;
• $25 billion in grants paid directly to nonprofits;
• $10 billion paid directly to nonprofits for contracts; and
In addition, approximately $2.5 billion in loan guarantees and $450 million in loans were issued to nonprofits, and approximately $50 billion in federal tax revenues were foregone due to tax expenditures related to nonprofits.
(Hat Tip to Harvey Dale) | <urn:uuid:2d600eaa-0de7-4863-aafa-f3afcad1654d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/nonprofit/2009/02/new-gao-report.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 | 0.949062 | 556 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Equivalent to the English suffixes -let in "streamlet," -ule in "globule," "pustule."
I should like to see Buccellini, however, and have a globule of the Elysian essence.
Every globule which fell in darkness from the rock recorded, like the sand grain of an hour-glass, some change in Marianson.
Every circle is as complete in itself, whether rounding a globule or a star.
Copper Glance is distinguished by its color, fumes of sulphur, and globule of copper.
Every drop of rain, every globule of mist must have a nucleus.
Why does any liquid in falling through the air assume the globule form?
A globule of sapphire shone afar, the elfin bubble of her home.
This vapour is a bad conductor of heat, and prevents the rapid conduction of heat from the metal to the globule.
Then the globule of light which had first attracted my attention reappeared.
globule glob·ule (glŏb'yōōl)
A small spherical body, especially a drop of liquid. | <urn:uuid:20b03903-3c55-4ae5-b098-726b22de3a6b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.dictionary.com/browse/globule?qsrc=2446 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281069.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00274-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919434 | 244 | 2.625 | 3 |
There is no doubt that Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations around the world. But you should know that it was a beautiful city hundred of years ago as well. A French man decided to make something unique: he combined historical pictures and new photos of Paris to bring history to life. Let’s go back in time!
Julien Knez from Paris (France) made his dream come true. He found photos of Paris taken between 1871 and 1968, but he wanted to show them to everyone. So he decided to photograph the same site from the same angle. You can explore and find the differences on your own while watching his pictures. Here are some pictures from his new book “Paris, Fenêtres sur l’Histoire”, published by Parigramme.
When historical photographs are inserted into contemporary settings, we open astonishing windows to the past. More than ever, the inquisitive contemporary spectator is plunged into the depths of time, as if given the opportunity to stroll on different stages, at the heart of History in the making.
Tour Eiffel, 1900
The most well-known landmark in Paris was opened in 1889. At the beginning, citizens in Paris couldn’t stand the huge building.
Place de l’Opéra, 1940 | <urn:uuid:563e2802-3317-48b6-9ace-b54c61909cab> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://beautifulplaces-no1.com/i-combined-historical-pictures-and-new-photos-of-paris-to-bring-history-to-life/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279933.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00118-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946544 | 270 | 2.53125 | 3 |
2 Answers | Add Yours
Macbeth has mass appeal, and it does not have to pander to its audiences. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy, half as long as Hamlet. That appeals to everyone.
It's his bloodiest play, by far. The amount of blood imagery is startling to any audience, any generation. That appeals to everyone.
Macbeth portrays the murder of the King, God's holy vessel, the worst crime imaginable to any audience. I do not agree with the former post that a lower class would sympathize with someone murdering a "boss." Regicide and patricide horrifies everyone, regardless of class.
Most of Shakespeare's contemporaries wrote heavily religious text. And yet, the play can be read from a Christian standpoint. This duality is testament to its mass appeal.
The witchcraft scenes were written for James I, not the illiterate lower classes. Again, the witches are great characters who appeal to everyone, rich and poor, young and old, upper and lower classes.
This is a great question, as Shakespeare often structured his plays to appeal to both the lower and upper classes. He often included bawdy jokes or moments of comic relief for the less educated audience members side by side with the more thought-provoking, philosophical monologues. Even the physical structure of the theaters, circular and multi-tiered as they were, allowed the upper classes to attend along with, yet still separate enough from, the peasants.
In the play Macbeth, the lower classes would probably be thrilled by the witches and the idea of fate that they symbolize. I can imagine that they would also sympathize with Macbeth's desire to do away with his boss. The upper classes would also be interested in Macbeth's crime, though they might be more likely to sympathize with Duncan. They would be very interested in the issues of political power and ambition that affect the Macbeth couple.
We’ve answered 319,189 questions. We can answer yours, too.Ask a question | <urn:uuid:473cfe6c-ae4e-403a-969a-b7766355e44e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/explain-how-play-macbeth-would-well-suited-lower-131385 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00034-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968144 | 422 | 2.5625 | 3 |
In recent months, historically low levels of supply coupled with growing demand for corn and other macroeconomic factors have resulted in significantly increased corn futures prices and volatility.
As a result, an increasing number of CBOT corn futures contracts have experienced trading disruptions due to price limits. In light of this volatility – to ensure they provide price discovery and risk management – CME Group is proposing to increase the daily price limits in CBOT corn futures from 30 cents per bushel per day to 40 cents per bushel per day. The price limit in corn futures and options represents the maximum price movement allowed in a single trading day.
Too many corn futures contracts have been hitting their daily price limit resulting in the loss of price discovery, transparency, and risk management in the futures market. Through mid-July 2011 alone, 68 corn contract months have settled at or above the initial price limit of 30 cents, compared to 36 corn contract months settling at or above the initial price limit in all of 2010. At the same time, front-month corn futures settlement prices have reached numerous records, including the current high of $7.87 per bushel set on June 10.
CME Group will hold a meeting on Tuesday (July 19) to discuss the proposed increase to daily corn price limits. All corn industry participants are invited to attend.
The current price limit of 30 cents per bushel is only 4.23 percent of current futures prices, which is historically low, and this is preventing the market from performing its intended functions of price discovery and risk management when trading is halted because of limit price moves. In comparison, initial price limits in soybean futures are just over five percent of current prices and in wheat futures initial price limits are over eight percent of current prices. Consequently, soybean futures have seen only nine contracts settle at or above initial price limits in 2011 and wheat futures have seen only five contracts, compared to 68 in corn futures.
CME Group has received some opposition to the proposed price limit increase. Generally, the argument has been that increasing price limits will result in higher volatility and higher margin requirements. However, a historical look indicates that increased price limits are actually associated with reduced volatility and falling margin requirements – approximately one month after a price limit increase.
We recently published a white paper that explains the situation surrounding corn price volatility and the need to increase daily price limits.
Moreover, when trading is prevented because the daily price limit is hit, the futures contract in question cannot do its job of price discovery. Risk management moves to options and/or OTC markets and price transparency is thus reduced. Essentially, this leads to a less-efficient market, one in which there is far less confidence around prices.
While futures prices have receded slightly in the weeks following the USDA’s June 30 crop report, market participants may see continued volatility throughout the growing season as a result of weather conditions and supply and demand fundamentals. Keeping markets efficient and effective is at the heart of CME Group’s mission, and we remain confident that the proposed price limit increase only stands to help the markets.
Tim Andriesen is the managing director of agricultural commodities and alternative investment products at CME Group. | <urn:uuid:59922fc0-edbe-42da-80b1-d2cb207923ee> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://openmarkets.cmegroup.com/3896/keeping-corn-markets-operating-efficiently | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284352.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00192-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946089 | 644 | 1.609375 | 2 |
18.104.22.168. Carbon Accounting Methods
Various methods have been used to account for GHG mitigation effectiveness
of LULUCF projects. Some of these methods are based on absolute measurements
at a point in time; others take into account the time dimension of carbon sequestration
and storage. These methods are discussed below.
22.214.171.124.1. Stock change method
The method most commonly used to express carbon storage is based on calculating
the difference in carbon stocks between a project and its baseline at a given
point in time. This method is referred to as the stock change method
[previously the flow summation method (Richards and Stokes, 1994)]; measurements
are usually expressed in tons of carbon per hectare. This method is limited,
however, insofar as it provides only a "snapshot" of the carbon fixed: The values
will vary depending on the often arbitrary decision of when to account for the
project's benefits. Furthermore, this method does not differentiate between
projects that earn credits earlier rather than later. For these reasons, this
method does not provide a useful tool for comparison between projects.
For example, Figure 5-2 illustrates a projection of
carbon stored in two hypothetical tree plantation projects with different growth
rates. The arrows illustrate that stock change measurements carried out at time
t1 would provide different results between the two projects, whereas
the same result would be reached if measurements were carried out at time t2.
If measurements were carried out at time t3-after harvesting-an entirely
different result would be reached for both projects in relation to measurements
Figure 5-2: Projection of carbon stored in
two tree plantation projects with different growth rates. For simplicity,
it is assumed that the baseline is zero and that harvesting leads to
an immediate release of all carbon stored. Arrows illustrate the net
carbon storage of the projects at different points in time, calculated
by the stock change method. | <urn:uuid:c7e7b07d-0490-4d0d-b637-1e9efba9b2ae> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/sres/land_use/index.php?idp=273 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280872.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00313-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939792 | 410 | 3 | 3 |
Ten years ago, in November 1999 in Seattle the anti-authoritarian movement manifested itself during demonstrations against a meeting of the WTO. This new phenomena was named the “Anti-globalization movement” by the mainstream media, which resulted in a lot of confusion and unclarity in terms of the perceived goals and methods of the manifold movement.
The insurrection in Greece, which started in December of 2008, and its support around the world proved, that the anarchist and anti-authoritarian movements, which were only one of the many parts of the “Anti-globalization movement” , have now grown and can challenge
the existing order of things on their own.
If the first decade of 21st century was a decade of neo-liberalism, government strategy during the second decade will be reaching for a governable state capitalism, with all the consequences: the strengthening of control mechanisms, and escalation of wars over control of natural resources under the label of the “war against terrorism.” Those leftists who have integrated into the system will hail the increasing role of the state, even if there are no new social benefits to be expected by emptying coffins of the system. However for us, libertarian communists, there is nothing to be happy about. We always knew, that when the good days would end, capital would be screaming for the state to rescue it. Even though the immediate result of the crisis will be increasing repression, we will also see new possibilities emerging before us.
If ten years ago we were few, today in Russia we have numbers comparable to any other oppositional tendency outside the parliamentarian framework. In Belarus and Ukraine, the situation is the same. Besides the increasing independence, inside the anti-authoritarian movement we can see the lines between anarchism and anti-authoritarian marxism vanishing. There are more and more political groups and websites, where anarchist and anti-authoritarian marxist texts are found next to each other, and although differences of appraisal still exist, we believe that we can now talk of a single movement, which we call libertarian communist.
We do not pretend to establish a new theory - it was a widespread mistake amongst theoreticians of the “Anti-globalization movement,” that they pretended to be something very new. The more they claimed, the more they wrote banalities and nonsense. The basic criticism of capitalism is about as old as capitalism itself. But from time to time, we should meet to discuss perspectives of our movement in the framework of global capitalism, evaluate successes and failures of our fight and plan new struggles. For this purpose, we invite you to the “Libertarian communism 2010” forum to be organised in Moscow.
The main themes of the conference
- Uprisings of the 21st century. The end and assessment of the alter-globalist movement. Media-activism and other inheritances of the “anti-globalization movement.” Five years since the uprising against the monetarization of free social benefits in Russia, Russian experience with coordination councils and coordination of the protest movement.
- Modern alternatives to capitalism. Directions and the history of libertarian communism. Assessment of the first year and a half of the global crisis. The coming ecological crisis and libertarian alternatives to it. Experiences from the struggle against climate change and ecological protest camps.
- Migration and work in the 21st century. Struggle for the rights of migrants. Resistance against the old and new right, against racism and fascism. Work in the 21st century, exploitation and oppression.
- The commons of today. Struggle for urban spaces (social centres, urban gardening, struggles against urban development in the former Soviet Union),
- experiences from different countries. The role of the state in the new world order. Experience from the struggle against wars and army, and resistance against state repression. Privatization of education and alternatives to it.
- The role of anti-authoritarian culture and lifestyle “positive or negative”
- Demonstrations of martial arts
Terms of participation to the forum
-The fee will be either 400 rubles (around 9.50 euros) for the whole forum, or 150 rubles (around 3.50 euros) per day, with the exception of the concert. The fee covers lunch on the 6th, 7th and 8th of March.
-We will provide housing in the flats of local activists. We guarantee sleeping places from the 6th to the 8th of March, on the condition that you announce your arrival by the 10th of February 2010.
-Traveling costs can be partially refunded for participants from inside the former Soviet Union. Priority will be given to refunding the travel costs of those who will contribute to the organisation of the forum.
-If you want to organize a lecture, discussion or workshop, you should let us know the topic by the 1st of February 2010. Please also enclose a short thesis. These will be passed to other participations of the forum, so that they can prepare for the discussion in advance. After the forum, the thesis appended with commentaries from the discussion will be published, online or in print. If you want to organise a lecture, we would be happy to receive that as a whole in written form, if possible.
-If you want to come just as a participant, you should register by the 10th of February 2010. Registration also means a commitment to pay a registration fee, and we have to know the exact number of participants in order to make the budget accordingly.
-In case of serious financial difficulties, guests of the forum may have the fee waived (priority will be given to people from the former Soviet Union).
The principles of organisation of the forum
Learning from the experiences of previous similar events in Russia (The Libertarian Forum in Moscow 2006, annual Black Petrograd-festival in St. Petersburg since 2004, annual Deserter Day festival since year 2005), our forum will be organised based on the following principles
During the last several years, there has been a constant growth in the anti-authoritarian movement of the former Soviet Union, but our infrastructure has yet to be adapted to this growth. Before, it was no problem to organise an event with 50-60 participants, whereas now we must expect 200-300 people to join. Until recently a number of events of national scale were either underground or restricted, not due to the elitism of the organisers but due to problems with the infrastructure. This time we will attempt to solve the infrastructure problems, without compromising the openness of the event.
Due to the aforementioned infrastructure problems, recently anti-authoritarian events have become either very costly for the few organisers, or have been organised with some money from outside sources, meaning grants. Due to the crisis, grants are more and more difficult to receive and the scale of our event is becoming so big that it is more and more difficult to find grants to cover all of the costs, and in a few years it will become all together impossible. Thus we should find other ways to finance our events which do not depend on the availability
of outside sources or the salaries of organisers. The budget of the event will be open, it will be announced to participant after the event.
3) An increase in the level of debate
In the last years, the main efforts in the organisation of inter-city events were directed towards the organisation of concerts or actions, thus the theoretical part remained weak. The “Libertarian communism 2010” forum may or may not be accompanied with action(s) or concert(s), but the main focus will be directed towards the organising of discussions, which will be on interesting and actual topics with speakers who have something to say.
4) Approach towards an outcome
In recent years, hundreds of hours during national events on the territory of the former Soviet Union have been wasted on talks which gave no concrete results whatsoever. During “Libertarian Communism 2010,” any discussion should aim to reach some concrete results,
which will be published either on various websites, or printed press such as the “Avtonom” journal. People, who are not ready to work towards that should not ask us to be included in the program. Besides that, discussions and lectures on the concrete problems of organising should not start from zero, but should include an assessment of past results in the field.
5)A non-partisan approach
The “Libertarian communism 2010” forum is initiated by Autonomous Action, but prepared by a group which is not linked to any concrete collective. We wish for participants in the conference to leave their conflicts with other members of the movement outside the event. Our only condition for joining the conference is that we will not accept anysupporters of authoritarian ideas.
Registration form (please send to firstname.lastname@example.org)
- Name (or pseudonym), city, state
- On which days you will participate (forum will take place the 6th, 7th and 8th of March)
- Are you interested in organising a discussion, lecture or other event? If yes, please write us the topic, preferred date and time, how much time you need and if you need some special equipment.
- Do you need sleeping place? If so, for which nights.
- Do you need partial refund of the travel costs? (Only for people joining from the xUSSR).
- Do you need to have your participation fee waived (and on which basis)?
If you need any clarifications, please write to email@example.com
Let the second decade of the 21st century be a decade of libertarian communism! | <urn:uuid:a6013be7-caf0-4b63-854c-25aa0d9241d8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.avtonom.org/en/news/invitation-libertarian-communism-2010-forum-moscow-6th-8th-march-2010 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570651.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807150925-20220807180925-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.95524 | 1,991 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Balance matters in your home.Balance is an important design principle. I was thinking about this the other day because of a project I am working on. This project has odd windows placement making window treatments difficult to implement. I will be suggesting the windows be changed as it would bring a much better sense of balance to the room and the homeowner can get the panels framing the windows he so desires.
Why is balance so important?We all crave it in our lives. Work time, family time, play time... we would like to achieve some sense of balance in our lives. It is no different when designing your home. What is balance when it comes to interior design? Balance is equilibrium both visually and psychologically. Balance pleases our senses and soothes our souls. The example above is balance though symmetry ~ mirror images from a center point. This is considered the most formal type of balance. It is lovely and very pleasing.
What if 'perfect' balance doesn't suit your eye and heart?But what if mirror images simply cannot be done or it feels too formal for the desired outcome. Above is an example of asymmetry ~ optically varying items from a central point to achieve balance. The central point above is the art work. Note the floor vase with a great amount of mass. On the right hand side, the lamp is very similar in height to the vase but clearly doesn't have the mass to balance the vase. The chair adds the needed mass to gain a sense of balance. I used a grouping to balance the vase. The vignette is very pleasing and draws one into the center (the focal point) using asymmetrical balance.
Maybe a little of both will be the secret to happiness.The picture at the top and the one just above are in a master suite. These two forms of balance adds to the harmony, another design principle, in the room. The two types of balance, symmetrical and asymmetrical, adds interest to the room. Clearly the palette unifies; the type of balance adds the variety.
Can we talk?What about this Jay Jeffers' design? This is radial balance ~ equilibrium based on the circle. Stadiums are often based on radial balance as the focal point is at the center. Everyone can see the football game because they are sitting all around it. A round dining table offers radial balance as everyone sitting at the table can see everyone else at the table. This is a type of balance near and dear to my heart. You may know I was a psychotherapist in my past career with a specialty in group psychotherapy. I would arrange the circle perfectly so each member could see the other. This fosters good communication. The focal point really is each other. It is easy to see the radial balance of a stadium and a round dining table but what about real life furniture arranging. Jay did a nice job here. The sectional forms half the circle; the single chairs the other half. There is a fireplace and art as a secondary focal point but I see each other being the primary one in this vignette.
So what type of balance is right for you and your room?It all depends on what you're trying to accomplish and the space you have to work with. Symmetrical can feel more formal; asymmetrical more artistic; and radial more communicative. I have all three represented in my home. That variety is simply pleasing to me. What about you? Do you lean more towards one or the other? | <urn:uuid:739b4f66-40f0-40db-9263-e0313a57bc9d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://paulagracedesigns.blogspot.com/2012/05/balance-sense-of-equilibrium.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281450.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00180-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952359 | 716 | 1.914063 | 2 |
By Darryl Fears
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
The House yesterday apologized to black Americans, more than 140 years after slavery was abolished, for the "fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow" segregation.
The resolution, which passed on a voice vote late in the day, was sponsored by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), a white Jew who represents a majority-black district in Memphis. Cohen tried unsuccessfully to join the Congressional Black Caucus this year.
"I hope that this is part of the beginning of a dialogue that this country needs to engage in, concerning what the effects of slavery and Jim Crow have been," Cohen said. "I think we started it and we're going to continue."
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is considering introducing a companion measure in the Senate, he said.
Cohen faces a tough fight against airline lawyer Nikki Tinker, who is black, in the Democratic primary Aug. 7.
His measure was co-sponsored by 42 members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), the House majority whip; Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee; and Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. None of those caucus members has endorsed his reelection bid.
A total of 120 lawmakers, including two Republicans, co-sponsored the resolution, Cohen said.
In February, the Senate apologized for atrocities committed against Native Americans, and the body apologized in 2005 for standing by during a lynching campaign against African Americans throughout much of the past century. Twenty years ago, Congress apologized for interning Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War II.
Congress has considered a similar apology for the slavery and Jim Crow eras, a gesture long sought by African Americans. Such efforts were always bogged down by concerns that the apology would prompt a greater call for reparations for slavery.
In recent years, black activists seeking reparations for slavery have gotten private companies, such as banks, insurers and railroads, to apologize for playing a role in bankrolling, insuring, capturing and transporting slaves.
In 2005, Wachovia Corp. revealed that one bank it acquired had put thousands of slaves to work on a railroad. That same year, JPMorgan Chase apologized for the role that a subsidiary had played in using 10,000 slaves as collateral and accepting more than 1,000 slaves as payments when owners defaulted on loans.
Several states, including Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Alabama, have issued apologies for slavery.
"They had a greater moral authority on this issue than the United States Congress," Cohen said. "I'm proud we did this as a part of this Congress." | <urn:uuid:361403ae-5283-4d92-a5f3-e3bd88812d6c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/29/AR2008072902279_pf.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00067-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969259 | 584 | 2.265625 | 2 |
This POST might be slightly out of date from time to time. See http://github.com/sidmitra/django_nonrel_testapp.
The Django nonrel project is an attempt to make django work with non relational backends. They’ve also made a Google AppEngine backend for the same. Thus, now you can easily run native django apps on GAE.
Some caveats first, there are some features from Django that are missing(like joins! which is coming) or some that aren’t perfect yet but it’s a good start to port over any existing simple apps that you already have on Django. Something you should keep in mind is that there’s no way to mix the native django models with those that appengine provides. Some of the steps i took to get it running are specified below. In case you are too lazy :–), I have a Github repository for the same at http://github.com/sidmitra/django_nonrel_testapp.**
Getting a simple test app running with nonrel is simple. But you would need to install Mercurial first. Once you have that up and running, they project already provides a sample project to support the dev server. So you can start by cloning all required repositories first.
hg clone http://bitbucket.org/wkornewald/django-nonrel hg clone http://bitbucket.org/wkornewald/django-testapp/ hg clone http://bitbucket.org/wkornewald/djangoappengine/ hg clone http://bitbucket.org/wkornewald/djangotoolbox/ hg clone http://bitbucket.org/wkornewald/django-dbindexer/src
Setting it up
django-nonrel is the main project containing a modified django, and we need djangoappengine, djangotoolbox as further dependencies. django-testapp is the sample app created with custom configuration to make this quicker.
cd django-testapp cp -R ../django-nonrel/django django cp -R ../djangoappengine djangoappengine cp -R ../djangotoolbox/djangotoolbox djangotoolbox cp -R ../django-dbindexer/dbindexer dbindexer python manage.py runserver
And that’s it. Essentially we’ve copied all the dependencies into the project folder. So your directory structure should look something like this.
* django-testapp * django * djangotoolbox * djangoappengine * dbindexer * ...
You can also use links on linux instead of copying the directories. On windows install Link shell extension. You can drop junctions into the common-apps folder. | <urn:uuid:83ad371e-96eb-4bca-8dc5-24a72c308d27> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://blog.sidmitra.com/getting-up-and-running-with-django-nonrel | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721141.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00415-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.790818 | 610 | 1.523438 | 2 |
We deep cleaned and resealed this terracotta floor to its former shine.
We cleaned the dirty grout lines on this terracotta floor and resealed to a lovely shiny finish.
Floor Restorer and Terracotta
Choosing terracotta is straightforward enough but make sure it’s installed by an expert.
We can strip back existing terracotta flooring and re-apply linseed and wax or modern synthetic waxes and finishes.
As some stones and finishes are better suited to high traffic areas, we offer a consultancy service to help you choose the right type of floor for particular parts of your home or business.
History and uses
Terracotta is Italian for “baked earth” and is a type of earthenware, a clay-based ceramic. It has been used throughout history for sculpture and pottery as well as for bricks and roof tiles. In ancient times, terracotta was dried in the sun after being formed. Later, it was placed in the ashes of open hearths to harden, and finally kilns were used.
Very popular on the continent, terracotta tiles are often handmade and square in shape. They come in many different colours and finishes and are hard wearing when maintained correctly, which traditionally was with linseed and beeswax. Untreated terracotta though is notoriously porous and prone to marking. | <urn:uuid:816b9c43-934b-4134-9d58-cddbc0712f85> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.floor-restorer.co.uk/terracotta.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571190.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810131127-20220810161127-00074.warc.gz | en | 0.970328 | 287 | 1.75 | 2 |
In today’s working world, writing skills have become a precious commodity. According to a report from the National Commission on Writing, writing is a “threshold skill” for hiring among salaried employees. At LETU, we know the value of effective communication, and we make sure our English students do too!
However, the Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language and Literature is more than just a “reading and writing” program. English majors at LETU hone the fine art of expressing ideas, of crafting words and phrases, in a way that speaks to other people.
Enjoyment and analysis of good literature remain essential parts of our program at LETU, where our students develop critical reading and thinking skills as they become well acquainted with the writings of significant British, American, and international authors, both classic and modern.
Beyond the classroom, our English students have many other opportunities for academic growth, including:
To learn more about specific course requirements, view the course catalog.
Not quite what you're looking for? Here are a few programs that might interest you: | <urn:uuid:99e9414f-f5e2-498a-b76d-19efd894f478> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.letu.edu/opencms/opencms/_Academics/Arts-Science/english/academics/English_Language_and_Literature.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281331.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00217-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956219 | 223 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Even Yehuda: Washington’s UN ambassador Samantha Power said today that compliance with the Iran nuclear deal was so far “strong”, but warned Tehran was still helping fuel conflict and remained a threat.
“What this deal does if implemented — and so far the implementation has been strong but it’s very early days — is it cuts off the pathways to a nuclear weapon and it gives us much more visibility into Iran’s programme than we had before,” Power told students during a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
She added later that “Iran of course is still a threat. Iran is supporting terrorism. Iran is supporting parties to conflict like the Assad regime (in Syria)”.
Last July’s Vienna agreement between Iran and the permanent five members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5 plus one) sees sanctions lifted in return for Tehran ensuring its nuclear programme remains for civilian use.
Israel strongly opposed the deal with its arch-foe, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning it would not block Iran’s path to nuclear weapons.
He also said lifting sanctions would allow Iran to further back proxy militants in the region, including Israeli enemies such as Hezbollah.
Netanyahu’s outspoken criticism of the accord, particularly in a speech to the US Congress, led to a rift with US President Barack Obama’s administration.
He has since scaled back his rhetoric, and the United States and Netanyahu’s government are currently negotiating a new 10-year defence aid package expected to be an increase over the current USD 3.1 billion Israel receives annually.
Power has met Israeli and Palestinian leaders during her visit, expected to end tomorrow.
She said Washington’s aim was to move the two sides towards “being in a position to restart the negotiations, which is not a position they are in right now”.
Power met Netanyahu earlier today and said they discussed “steps that could be taken to preserve prospects” for a two-state solution.
They also discussed the conflict in Syria and the threat from the Islamic State group, she said.
Power’s visit comes amid a wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks that erupted in October.
Since then, 172 Palestinians and 26 Israelis, as well as an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean have been killed, according to an AFP count.
Most of the Palestinians were killed while carrying out attacks, but others died during clashes and demonstrations. | <urn:uuid:c23d80aa-935c-467d-92f6-0ff686e875c7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.siasat.com/news/iran-deal-compliance-far-strong-us-envoy-917915/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280899.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00577-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971988 | 519 | 1.820313 | 2 |
samipya—to be a personal associate SB 3.29.13
samipya—personal association with the Lord Adi 3.18
samipya—the liberation called samipya Adi 5.30
samipya—of the name samipya Madhya 6.266
samipya—to associate always with the Lord Madhya 6.270
samipya—to always associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead Madhya 9.268
samipya—to live always near the Supreme Lord Antya 3.189
Can't find any compound Sanskrit words containing samipya. | <urn:uuid:1663e902-865c-4059-96a4-1f1fc143ea1c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://sanskritdictionary.org/samipya | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572908.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817122626-20220817152626-00064.warc.gz | en | 0.813068 | 128 | 1.53125 | 2 |
In the Talmud (Pes 87b) one of the ancient sages said: ‘’ Proselytes are beloved by God’ and they are really welcomed by us. Some of the greatest teachers in our history trace their descent from converts including Rabbi Akiva and Meir. And of course, in Jewish tradition the future Messiah will trace their ancestry through Ruth, a convert to Judaism who was the ancestor of no less a person than King David.
Are you thinking about conversion? That’s great, welcome. There are four ingredients for a successful conversion:
- You must become involved in your local Jewish community. It is virtually impossible to be a Jew in isolation. Certainly impossible for a new Jew. You need a community to be with you as you learn, pray and socialise, or if you need help or can offer help to others. Most rabbis like you to have already started coming to services for about three months before they will talk about you becoming Jewish. After all, you must be sure it really is the right step for you to make at this point in your life. You (and your partner if you have one) will be required to attend Shabbat services on a weekly basis and also the major festivals of the year. Unfortunately, if you live far from a community, then it is not possible to convert to Judaism as we are so much a community based religion.
- You need to acquire basic Jewish knowledge. In some communities you can do this in a class, in others through private tuition. The Beit Din requires that you have been in formal tuition for at least a year before you come to a court. In some synagogues, the course can take around 18 months. We do offer an 18 month online programme for those who cannot attend a local course, or whose synagogue does not have an Introduction to Judaism course, but entry to the course can only be made through the sponsorship of an RJ rabbi who will keep contact with you throughout the 18 months. You will still need to have regular contact with a local Jewish community.
- You will need to acquire basic Hebrew skills. It is really useful to be able to read any piece of Hebrew with vowels. Our prayer books have transliteration, but not all prayer books do and if you are abroad, and try to read the transliteration in say a Polish prayer book, you might find that impossible!
You will also be expected to be able:
- To read the main prayers smoothly enough to take part in services,
- To know some of the blessings by heart and
- To have acquired a smattering of Hebrew ritual and community vocabulary.
- You will need to change how you run your home and your daily, weekly and annual routines. Being a Jew does not stop once you leave the synagogue services or classes. Being a Jew does not only happen on Shabbat. You don’t stop being a Jew when you go on holiday. Changing all these aspects of your life takes time, learning, a good sense of humour and commitment. What changes you finally decide to make will of course depend on you, but we hope you will discover the joy that comes with bringing God and Jewish tradition into all aspects of your life.
The cost is variable. You will be required to pay the Beit Din fee, currently in 2021 is £350 for an adult. This fee does not cover the full expenditure of running the Beit Din, we are grateful to the Movement for Reform Judaism who contribute to our costs.
In addition, local synagogues make different charges to cover tuition. If you have a Jewish partner, they are expected to join the synagogue.
Please ask carefully about the expenditure before you start the course. Sometimes rabbis have a discretionary fund that can help with some of the costs.
The time can also be variable. The time from when you start going to a local synagogue to your appearance at a Beit Din usually takes about 18 months to two years. But this is a lifetime choice, so we hope you will find the journey enjoyable and fulfilling.
If you have children under the age of 13, they can convert with their converting parent. Depending on circumstances, children between 13 and 16 can also convert with a parent. Young people over the age of 16 should be expected to convert in their own right.
What about circumcision, brit milah? The Beit Din expects that all uncircumcised males over the age of 16 should be circumcised as this is the traditional gateway into the covenant Baby boys under 6 months should be circumcised as well. Our mohalim (the people who carry out circumcisions) are all fully trained and accredited doctors.
The Beit Din accepts physical and psychological reasons that may debar a male adult from seeking circumcision, but we require a letter preferably from one of our mohalim, or a Jewish doctor, explaining the reasons.
After your appearance at the Beit Din, all candidates are expected to undergo Tevilah (a ritual dip in living water) either in our Mikveh or a body of natural water such as the sea or a lake. For details please read the Mikveh section.
Lost conversion documents….don’t panic! We can provide letters that confirm you have been accepted as Jewish by our Beit Din. We cannot provide replacement documents prior to 2012. However, since that date, duplicate certificates have been kept in the office in case of emergencies.
We can also supply letters that can support your application to make aliyah and move to Israel. The Jewish Agency (Sochnut) often want to know what questions you were asked and which rabbis sat on the court. We have ledgers containing that information in full from around 1957 in full and partially before that date.
Caveat: Unfortunately, you have to understand that a conversion held under the auspices of our Beit Din will be recognised by progressive synagogues worldwide, but unfortunately, not by the Orthodox world. If the convert is male and no brit milah is carried out then the conversion may not be recognised by Masorti Judaism in the UK or many Progressive communities in Europe. | <urn:uuid:e57984ee-4ec1-4d44-9179-d6e5cc5ae0e3> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.reformjudaism.org.uk/conversion-to-judaism/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570868.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808152744-20220808182744-00077.warc.gz | en | 0.959805 | 1,262 | 2.171875 | 2 |
All the recent hubub about our political rhetoric led me to re-read a book by Peter Wood called A Bee in the Mouth: Anger in America Now. It was published in 2006, so at the time Wood focused mainly on the angry political rhetoric of the left. He didn’t claim that political anger was solely a phenomenon of the left, but most of the examples of heated rhetoric came from left-wing sources. (This, by the way, is where I got that quote from Paul Krugman that I cited last week.)
At any rate, Wood concentrates on what he terms “new anger.” He acknowledges that there has always been heated political argumentation, but that stylistically much has changed. People worked hard to suppress anger – witness George Washington’s dedicated attempts to control his quick temper. Now anger is celebrated. It has become something of a performance art in our modern society, and we celebrate expressions of righteous anger. As someone who titles his personal blog (tongue-in-cheekly) the Cranky Conservative, I can see the merits of his argument.
Though Wood makes many decent observations, there are two problems with his book. Continue reading
One of the main problems with politics is that it is complicated. Take, for example, the recently passed health care bill. The bill was over 2,000 pages. I haven’t read it. Neither, I imagine, have most of our readers (indeed, it would not surprise me if no single person has read every word of the bill, though obviously each of the bill’s many provisions has been read by someone).
Of course, even if someone had read every word of the bill, this would not be sufficient to have a truly informed position on it. To have a truly informed position one would have to not only read the bill but understand it. And to do that would require a great deal of knowledge about fields as complicated and diverse as the law, medicine, political science, economics, bureaucratic management, etc.
And, mind you, even if one were somehow able to master and muster all of this information, that would only entitle one to a have a truly informed position on that one bill.
I give an incredulous salute to the liberal Commonweal for publishing a magnificent column by Kenneth Woodward where he discusses the New York Times Magisterium:
No question, the Times’s worldview is secularist and secularizing, and as such it rivals the Catholic worldview. But that is not unusual with newspapers. What makes the Times unique—and what any Catholic bishop ought to understand—is that it is not just the nation’s self-appointed newspaper of record. It is, to paraphrase Chesterton, an institution with the soul of a church. And the church it most resembles in size, organization, internal culture, and international reach is the Roman Catholic Church.
Like the Church of Rome, the Times is a global organization. Even in these reduced economic times, the newspaper’s international network of news bureaus rivals the Vatican’s diplomatic corps. The difference is that Times bureau chiefs are better paid and, in most capitals, more influential. A report from a papal nuncio ends up in a Vatican dossier, but a report from a Times correspondent is published around the world, often with immediate repercussions. With the advent of the Internet, stories from the Times can become other outlets’ news in an ever-ramifying process of global cycling and recycling. That, of course, is exactly what happened with the Times piece on Fr. Murphy, the deceased Wisconsin child molester. The pope speaks twice a year urbi et orbi (to the city and to the world), but the Times does that every day.
Again like the Church of Rome, the Times exercises a powerful magisterium or teaching authority through its editorial board. There is no issue, local or global, on which these (usually anonymous) writers do not pronounce with a papal-like editorial “we.” Like the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the editorial board is there to defend received truth as well as advance the paper’s political, social, and cultural agendas. One can no more imagine a Times editorial opposing any form of abortion—to take just one of that magisterium’s articles of faith—than imagine a papal encyclical in favor.
The Times, of course, does not claim to speak infallibly in its judgments on current events. (Neither does the pope.) But to the truly orthodox believers in the Times, its editorials carry the burden of liberal holy writ. As the paper’s first and most acute public editor, Daniel Okrent, once put it, the editorial page is “so thoroughly saturated in liberal theology that when it occasionally strays from that point of view the shocked yelps from the left overwhelm even the ceaseless rumble of disapproval from the right.” Okrent’s now famous column was published in 2004 under the headline “Is the New York Times a Liberal Newspaper?” and I will cite Okrent more than once because he, too, reached repeatedly for religious metaphors to describe the ambient culture of the paper.
My friend Jay Anderson at Pro Ecclesia takes the clueless David Brooks, a “conservative” commentator who endorsed Obama in 2008, to the verbal woodshed.
… The center has been losing political power pretty much my entire career. But I confess that about 16 months ago I had some hope of a revival. The culture war, which had bitterly divided the country for decades, was winding down. The war war — the fight over Iraq and national security — was also waning.
The country had just elected a man who vowed to move past the old polarities, who valued discussion and who clearly had some sympathy with both the Burkean and Hamiltonian impulses. He staffed his administration with brilliant pragmatists whose views overlapped with mine, who differed only in that they have more faith in technocratic planning.
Yet things have not worked out for those of us in the broad middle. Politics is more polarized than ever. The two parties have drifted further to the extremes. The center is drained and depressed.
History happened. The administration came into power at a time of economic crisis. This led it, in the first bloom of self-confidence, to attempt many big projects all at once. Each of these projects may have been defensible in isolation, but in combination they created the impression of a federal onslaught…
Yeah, that’s it – “History happened”. What a bilious load of vomitous nonsense and absolute crap!
How about this for a REAL explanation, Mr. Pantcrease Admirer:
All the “post-partisan” posing was a lie. You KNEW it was a lie, but WANTED to believe the lie, so you CHOSE to believe it. You then aided and abetted the lie by writing glowingly of the “moderate” credentials of a man who had NEVER exhibited one iota of political centrism in his entire (albeit short and unremarkable) political career, all the while trashing the REAL centrist in the race who, ironically, you had up until then spent the previous 8 years heralding, fellating, and otherwise trying to foist upon the rest of us.
Meanwhile, all us yokels out here in Jesusland saw right through the lie and chose NOT to believe it. For that, you belittled us, called us a “cancer”, questioned our intelligence and intellectual curiosity, and treated us as generally inferior to your more sophisticated and urbane sensibilities. Maybe the “uneducated class” is a whole lot smarter and more politically astute than the coastal elites in the “educated class” give us credit for. At the very least, it appears that the riff-raff are a whole helluva lot smarter than you are.
[Update at the bottom of this post]
Salvete TAC readers!
Here are my Top Picks in the Internet from the world of the Catholic Church and secular culture:
1. The USCCB scandal continues as the U.S. bishops continue to issue denials of wrongdoings.
Mary Ann of Les Femmes blog asks why does the USCCB continue to cooperate with evil.
An interesting twist to this story is how the Boston Globe and New York Times covered the homosexual pedophile abuse scandal in the Church quite vigorously yet not one peep when the USCCB is caught red-handed with direct links to anti-Catholic organizations.
2. A great discussion about the origins of the phrase, “The Dunce Cap“, provided for a clarification by Friar Roderic. He provided a video that explains the steady progression as a Protestant insult, ie, to call Catholic dunces for being aggressive in their Catholic beliefs, to the more secularized version which has turned it into a catch phrase for idiocy.
Here is the State of the Union Speech that will never be delivered:
“Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, Distinguished Guests, my fellow Americans. Each year it is a duty of the President to report on the State of the Union to the Congress. Often these speeches have been mere feel good exercises, frequently containing little of substance. Tonight is going to be different. Tonight it is time for blunt truth.
America is a great and strong nation, but in many ways the State of our Union is troubled. We have the worst economy in the last three decades. Signs of recovery are few. I could attempt to assess some responsibility for this poor economy to my predecessor, but that would be pointless. You, the American people, are not interested in blame. What you are interested in is improving the economy, and so far, under my watch, that has not happened. I, in good faith, attempted to stimulate the economy through a massive stimulus bill. Thus far the results have been meager for the amount of money spent. Time for a course correction. Beginning tomorrow I am going to hold meetings with the Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress. The economy is my number one priority, as it rightly is yours, and I am open to all ideas, from whatever source, to jumpstart the economy and return us to the path to prosperity. If taxcuts and spending cuts are necessary to get the economy moving, so be it. Whatever works is my watchword on this key issue. To quote another President from Illinois, “The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present.” I am a Democrat, by the standards of many Americans a Liberal Democrat. I’m proud of this, but I will not allow my adherence to certain beliefs to stand in the way of improving the economy. Time for us all, past time, Republicans, Democrats and Independents, to work together to get out of this recession. This is my chief concern and I will do whatever it takes to accomplish this task.
[Updates at the bottom of this post as of 1-27-2010 at 4:20pm CST]
Victimhood personified by a modern liberal of the Democratic Party. Where is Harry “the BUCK stops here” Truman?
Symbolic Politics and Liberal Reform, Dec. 15, 1972
“All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling,” wrote Oscar Wilde, and I would like to suggest that the same can be said for bad politics. . . .
It seems to me that the politics of liberal reform, in recent years, shows many of the same characteristics as amateur poetry. It has been more concerned with the kind of symbolic action that gratifies the passions of the reformer rather than with the efficacy of the reforms themselves. Indeed, the outstanding characteristic of what we call “the New Politics” is precisely its insistence on the overwhelming importance of revealing, in the public realm, one’s intense feelings—we must “care,” we must “be concerned,” we must be “committed.” Unsurprisingly, this goes along with an immense indifference to consequences, to positive results or the lack thereof.
I made the mistake of following a link to a Frank Rich column this morning — an activity liable to cause lowed IQ, severe irritation, or in extreme cases, the gnawing off of one’s own arm. In an effort to channel possible side effects into a vaguely positive outlet, I hope that readers will forgive me if I revisit a topic that I already touched on once before: the increasing attempts by Democratic partisans to insist that the only people who could possibly oppose their agenda are evil, racist, gun-toting, potentially-violent freaks.
Like many of Rich’s pieces, this one is wandering and somewhat inarticulate. However, the basic thread is that the right as a whole is made up of violent extremists who should not be a part of the current health care debate in congress. In support of this, he points to the handful of 2nd Amendment activists who have been showing up at Townhall Meetings and other public venues in states that allows the open carry of firearms and exercising that selfsame right. This, he argues, proves that they are just like Timothy McVeigh (after all, one of them quoted Thomas Jefferson, who was also quoted by McVeigh), and to cap it all off some Republicans opposed counter-terrorism bills proposed in the wake of the OKC bombing. Got all that?
A couple things strike me about the unreasonableness of this line of thinking. Continue reading | <urn:uuid:ce8ab57a-ff59-4eaa-874c-66bb86519f21> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://the-american-catholic.com/tag/political-discourse/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721141.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00415-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96113 | 2,834 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Central Buildings facts for kids
Quick facts for kidsCentral Buildings
Central Buildings, 2017
|Location||327 Honour Avenue, Graceville, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia|
|Architectural style(s)||Art Deco|
|Official name: Central Buildings|
|Type||Retailing - Shop/s|
|Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|
The Central Buildings are a heritage-listed series of six shops located at 327 Honour Avenue, Graceville, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. They are located between Verney Road West and Rakeevan Road. They are listed on the Brisbane Heritage Register.
The Central Buildings were constructed in 1924 by local visionary Walter Taylor, a contractor who lived in Graceville.
The buildings are a single story structure constructed of Walter Taylor's signature concrete and demonstrate an art deco suburban commercial premises.
The "Bulk Store" is located on the Rakeevan Street side of the complex and is now used as a garage. Walter Taylor designed and built this to house his office. The front of the building on the side nearest the Graceville railway station contained his desk and the other side had drafting boards and plans. An extensive warehouse was located at the back with a large work bench the full length of the building.
The Indooroopilly Toll Bridge company had their office in the Central Buildings while they gathered investors to construct the Indooroopilly Toll Bridge (later to be renamed the Walter Taylor Bridge).
The Central Buildings were listed on the Brisbane Heritage Register, as they:
- demonstrate the historical commercial development in Graceville
- demonstrate the principal characteristics of a larger suburban interwar commercial premises
- demonstrate the Art Deco style in commercial buildings
- have associations with Walter Taylor, a significant local builder
Images for kids
Central Buildings Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia. | <urn:uuid:0a595854-1233-4367-827d-8f8f3840e831> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://kids.kiddle.co/Central_Buildings | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570879.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808213349-20220809003349-00472.warc.gz | en | 0.939356 | 438 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Managed by the Art From Scrap Green Schools environmental education program, the Watershed Resource Center (WRC) is a community education center, a model of green building, and an HQ for the volunteer-driven Arroyo Burro Beach cleanups that go down starting at noon on the second Sunday of every month. This Sunday’s the day: Bring your own buckets, bags, gloves, and make our shore sparkle! Call 884-0459 x15 or visit artfromscrap.org.
BYOB to Monthly Arroyo Burro Beach Cleanup
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Be succinct, constructive, and relevant to the story. Leaving a comment means you agree to our Discussion Guidelines. We like civilized discourse. We don't like spam, lying, profanity, harassment or personal attacks. | <urn:uuid:383a335e-1014-4d83-8e2d-9be0b6fac093> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.independent.com/news/2012/jan/03/byob-monthly-arroyo-burro-beach-cleanup/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00566-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911648 | 170 | 1.539063 | 2 |
A presentation by Lynn Kaack (Hertie School). This event is part of the Political Economy Lunch Seminar (PELS).
In policy research, large and systematic assessments of documents are often lacking, as analyzing text manually is labor-intensive and costly. Machine learning offers a new set of approaches that can help address this bottleneck. This talk will cover several examples from climate and energy policy, where natural language processing (NLP) techniques from machine learning are used to automatically analyze large bodies of text. Such applications include analyzing the policy design of renewable energy legislation, drawing insights from patent claims about innovation policy, and analyzing climate-related financial disclosures.
Lynn Kaack is Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Public Policy at the Hertie School. Her research and teaching focuses on methods from statistics and machine learning to inform climate mitigation policy across the energy sector, and on climate-related AI policy. She is a co-founder and chair of Climate Change AI, which is an organization to facilitate work at the intersection of machine learning and climate action. Previously she was Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer in the Energy Politics Group at ETH Zürich. She obtained a PhD in Engineering and Public Policy and a Master's in Machine Learning from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as a MS and BS in Physics from the Free University of Berlin. | <urn:uuid:f4ca8536-8292-46c7-a3d5-a1e6150e80a9> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.hertie-school.org/en/events/event-detail/event/using-text-as-data-different-applications-in-climate-policy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570921.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809094531-20220809124531-00277.warc.gz | en | 0.95441 | 272 | 2.21875 | 2 |
1For some scholars, 1983’s Cathedral represents a major shift in Raymond Carver’s sensibility. Marc Chénetier asserts that Cathedral signals “a movement away from threatening ambiguity, a working towards hope rather than horror” (170). According to Ewing Campbell, “Truncations vanish; where once the narrative halted in emotional tumult, the story continues, and equilibrium is restored. Despair becomes redemption; the alienated are reconciled” (9). John Alton asserts that “most strikingly” the tone of Cathedral “seems much more optimistic” (167), while Arthur Brown claims that Carver “leave[s] behind the themes of dissociation and alienation” (126).
2In Technique and Sensibility in the Fiction and Poetry of Raymond Carver, I reject this interpretation as grossly overstating thematic change, agreeing with Arthur Saltzman’s observation that “the majority of the [Cathedral] stories dispute any claim to a fundamental break from the tenor” of the “preceding collections” (124). Published individually in Esquire, Granta, and Guardian in 1999 and 2000 and then collected in Call If You Need Me, an expanded edition of No Heroics, Please, Carver’s posthumously published stories are a different matter, however. Although critics such as Paul Gray see the posthumous stories “set unmistakably in Carver country and populated by Carver people,” this fiction in fact demonstrates an amazingly expanded world with characters much more economically, intellectually, psychologically, socially, and even spiritually capable than what was previously seen in Carver’s work.
3The first chapter of my monograph analyzes unreliable narration in Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?, a technique evident in “Dreams,” whose articulate and compassionate narrator misperceives his and his wife’s lives significantly. Eschewing Carver’s typical avoidance of the sensational, “Dreams” includes heartbreaking references to the deaths of two young children and their mother’s wild torment. That this story with a self-deceived narrator and, more significantly, overt human tragedy is not nearly as bleak as Carver’s typical work is quite telling about the attitudinal shift in the posthumous fiction.
4In “The Bridle,” dreams are pleasing but not obtainable; in the posthumous story, dreams are strange, illustrative of discontent, and menacing. The first dream positions the narrator’s wife, Dotty, as a boy who can start neither a car nor a motorboat. A dog in her second dream, from which she awakes barking, in the third dream, she is burned by cupcakes and frightened by her husband’s silence. After this nightmare, when Dotty tells him that her dreams are getting “pretty weird” (43), he replies, as he has before: “Put it in your book” (43). She thus creates a written narrative, as in the past, yet searches for no meaning, for “[s]he didn’t interpret her dreams” (38). Her next dream occurs the night Mary Rice’s children die of smoke inhalation. In the morning, her husband “didn’t ask her what she’d dreamed, and she didn’t volunteer anything” (46). All the dreams suggest that Dotty both dislikes her life and fears that she cannot improve it. In the first dream, for instance, like Bill Miller before her, she seeks escape through gender transformation, a desire extended in the second dream when she imagines herself as nonhuman. She unconsciously questions her capacity to act, however, thus imagining a failure to start vehicles. Overall, the progression is increasingly negative in its implications about her life and marriage. On a cruise trip in the third dream, unwittingly seeking a sweet escape, she fears her husband, and after the next dream, she devolves from the status of at least telling him her dreams, if not understanding them.
- 1 For more analysis of Carver's use of names, see my article “Carver's ‘Collectors’” and Technique a (...)
5Much impressed by Mary Rice’s singing to her children and by his wife’s dreams, the narrator sees himself as “a rich man” (39), but is he? To earn much needed money after their father deserts them, Mary’s children sell packets of seeds. Although he purchases some, the narrator offers this startlingly bleak description filled with symbolical implications for this childless (and symbolically infertile) man: “We didn’t have a garden, of course not – how could anything grow where we lived?” (40). When Mary finds her children dead, he describes the person who drove her as “a scared-looking kid” with “no right” to “witness Mary Rice’s grief” (45). This cannot be Raymond Carver’s opinion if the powerful theme of comfort wrought by the shared anguish of strangers in “A Small, Good Thing” means anything. In fact, the narrator tries to console Mary, yet the agonized woman snaps, “I don’t know you” and slaps his face (45). The next evening, he sees the event on TV, concluding his narrative of the TV narrative: “Then, as the stretchers are being put into the ambulance, Mary Rice whirls on somebody and screams, ‘What do you want?’” (46). The point is not merely a critique of TV journalism’s nauseating penchant for insensitive close-ups of human grief or its distortion of the reality it purports to represent. The narrator seeing “somebody” on the screen and not himself underscores his lack of self-knowledge. Indeed, his self-myopia is underscored by the tale’s never revealing his name, a point the conclusion emphasizes. Months after the tragedy, Mary accepts his dinner invitation, observing: “I don’t even know your name” (48).1
6So in this story of self-ignorance and devastating personal loss, what factors nonetheless create a reasonably hospitable environment? Cultural reference in “Dreams” is unusually broad for a Carver story, as characters not only know that classical music exists but enjoy it. After her husband deserts her, Mary enrolls in two university correspondence courses to expand her intellectual horizons. Indeed, the posthumous fiction seems to refer more frequently to higher education than all of Carver’s previously published stories combined. For Christmas presents, the narrator receives “a globe” and “a subscription to Smithsonian magazine”(43). Although his voyeuristic tendencies speak to dissatisfaction or yearnings that he does not grasp – a subject analyzed by David Boxer and Cassandra Phillips regarding Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? – at least his bills appear paid and he has a wife to sleep with, if not a soul mate. What is missing is the passionate love that Mary shows her children, whom she typically greeted, “Good morning, children. Good morning, my loved ones” (39). Her howls of anguish upon witnessing their lifeless bodies reinforce not just the tragedy of their deaths but also the depth of their mother’s love. All the children in the posthumous stories are loved, a fact constituting a remarkable change in Carver Country. To a great extent, the stronger, loving bonds between parents and their children explain why this fictive universe is much more generous.
- 2 My article “Raymond Carver’s ‘Wes Hardin: From a Photograph’ and ‘A Small, Good Thing’” addresses (...)
7In its affirmative implications, rivaling the vastly improved familial relations is the posthumous stories’ inclusion of God. “Dreams” is about not only death but also resurrection, perhaps even in a Christian or eternal sense. The mother of the dead children shares the name of Jesus’ mother, while her last name links her with a crop that, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, approximately “one-half of the world population” is “wholly dependent upon”: both literally and symbolically, rice is life. The text refers to the Russian mystical composer Scriabin (42), who, while not Christian, believed in the human return to the Divine. As in several other posthumous stories, the Divine’s aid is consciously sought. Dotty says, “God, that poor, unfortunate woman. God help her. And us, too” (46). Furthermore, Carver again refers conspicuously to three, a number associable with the Holy Trinity and the three-day period involving Christ’s death and resurrection: the Rices moved into the neighborhood “three years ago”; Dotty notices that Mary’s deserting husband has not been home “in three days” (41); three “kids” are in the house when the fire starts, only the babysitter escaping (44); most conspicuously, because the detail is so odd, Mary “always picked” up the phone “on the third ring” (40). Although Carver’s numerical references frequently suggest the Divine’s absence even while elevating human worth2, what is different about “Dreams” is his greater sympathy to a religious sensibility. The deaths’ timing and the story’s closing imagery are clearly associable with resurrection. The narrative refers to Christmas, the mythological birthday of Jesus, whose promise is the gift of eternal life, and then to the children’s deaths, which occur on New Year’s Eve. Correlating the year’s last day to their corporeal death, we are encouraged to associate New Year’s Day with the beginning of their everlasting life – especially when they have a mother named Mary Rice who listens to audio books like Great Expectations. Finally, in the beginning of spring, the season of rebirth, Mary speaks of planting the seeds her children sold the previous year. She may in fact plant them and is, in any event, rebuilding her life; she is one of Carver’s survivors. The conclusion is ambiguous, though, for the narrator speaks of Mary “trying to spade some dirt” (48), never actually says that she plants the seeds, and finishes his tale emphasizing absence: “The next time I looked out, Mary Rice had gone in from her garden” (48).
8After “Dreams” suggests the possibility of renewal, both human and eternal, rising from the ashes of the most devastating of losses, the story immediately following it, “Vandals,” likewise threatens children. The story is strongly comparable to “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” (“WWTA”). Both tales position couples talking, one in Albuquerque, the posthumous story in Aberdeen; each story has a central image – the movement from light to darkness in “WWTA” and fire in “Vandals”; an ex-lover not in the present story factors significantly, as do the subjects of love and alcoholism. “Vandals” proves both more menacing and more affirmative of human potential than the titular story of Carver’s earlier, breakthrough collection.
9The key number in “Vandals” is not three but four. Nick – this repeats the name of one of the four onstage characters in “WWTA” – says of salmon fishing: “[I]f you’re lucky, you’ll land one out of every four fish” (50). This is an apt detail from an apt teller, as Nick is the proverbial odd man out. His wife (Joanne) and the other married couple (Roger and Carol) lived together as graduate students years earlier with Joanne’s husband at that time, Bill Daly, a figurative ghost comparable to Ed in “WWTA.” The second group of four has been getting together every six months for years “never, not once, talk[ing] about Bill Daly in Nick’s presence” (52). The story implicates four vandals: most obviously, unnamed and unseen characters who burn down a house in Nick and Joanne’s neighborhood; terrorists in the Middle East, the paradox of reference to what is societally or globally harmful affirming the positive fact that the posthumous figures live in an expanded world; alcoholism, which in Nick’s case helped to destroy a familial relationship; and Nick himself, who feels accused of vandalizing Joanne’s first marriage.
10In “WWTA,” Mel ponders the change of his feelings for his ex-wife, whom he loved passionately but grew to hate to the point of fantasizing about murdering her. “Vandals” likewise shows that love can change, but here the emotion becomes saner:
Once [Nick] would have killed for her. He loved her still, and she loved him, but he didn’t feel that obsessive now. No, he wouldn’t kill for her now, and he had a hard time understanding how he’d ever felt that way in the first place. He didn’t think that she – or anybody, for that matter – could ever be worth killing somebody for. (54)
11In conjunction with the story’s emphasis on terrorism, Carver implies that terrorists are motivated by excessive love.
12“Vandals” might be Carver’s scariest story. Although “WWTA” references domestic abuse and death in the past, its present action consists of nothing more than couples getting drunk and talking. The posthumous story, conversely, intertwines reference to prior deaths, accidents, or images associable with danger, implicating in the present an immediate threat to life. The tension begins with an edgy discussion of terrorism, with Nick referring to “all those bodies lying in pools of blood in the airports” (53). Jenny (Roger and Carol’s daughter) and a friend say that a neighborhood house is burning, a statement that seems curious, for Nick sees nothing out the window and hears no warning bells or sirens. In response to Nick’s tale of alcohol abuse, Robert observes that his “kid brother” was “nearly killed by a drunk driver” (57), a detail paralleling the old couple in “WWTA” hospitalized by a drunk driver. Nick sees cars passing outside and people hurrying, recalling what the girls had “said about a fire, but for God’s sake, if there were a fire there’d be sirens and engines, right?” (58). If there is no fire, what’s wrong? Nick tells a story involving an alcoholic seizure that left him wearing a “big bandage round [his] head” like “a turban” (58). The reference to “turban” skillfully links alcoholism and Nick’s alcohol-related injury to terrorism, which the American mind strongly associates with turban-wearing Arabs. The next story regarding alcoholism illustrates a familial relationship’s demise. Nick asked to use his brother’s spare house “for a week or two” to sober up, yet the brother refused because an alcohol-related accident “might burn the place down,” and the men “haven’t seen each other in about five years” (60). Immediately after this admission, Joanne asks: “Where are all these people coming from?” still finding the idea of a fire “silly” (60). With fire seemingly ruled out but a problem nevertheless implicated, a post 9-11 American audience petrified by tales of Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction cannot help but fear that terrorists are attacking Aberdeen, and maybe with chemical or biological weapons.
- 3 Jesus is associated with the profession of carpentry, while the fire at the Carpenter house is ind (...)
13The narrative reverses, for, when the couples step outside, they indeed see a fire at the Carpenter house.3 “Why didn’t we hear anything?” Joanne asks. Just as the couples ignored the fire, they have closed their eyes to the problems associable with Nick’s usurpation of Bill’s position. Tension is still great, moreover, because Carol fears that Jenny and her friend “might get too close” to the fire and that “[a]nything could happen” (60). Because the story immediately preceding “Vandals” involves the death of two children, the menace could scarcely be greater.
14In fact, the girls are not harmed, but damage has been revealed, and not just to a vacant house. Much more aware than the typical Carver figure, Nick senses “that Robert, if not Carol, still blamed him for breaking up Joanne’s marriage with Bill and ending their happy foursome” (51). He associates the fire with Robert accusing him: “Robert’s face was flushed, his expression stern, as if everything that had happened – arson, jail, betrayal, and adultery, the overturning of the established order – was Nick’s fault” (62). Unquestionably linked in Nick’s mind with the collapse of Bill and Joanne’s relationship, the burning house does not necessarily adumbrate, however, the eventual failure of his marriage. In a story in which four is so important, the final four paragraphs deserve full quotation, as they illustrate, even while imaging destruction, that Bill and Joanne’s marriage is strong:
“What are you thinking about?” he asked her.
“I was thinking about Bill,” she said.
He went on holding her. She didn’t say any more for a minute, and then she said, “I think about him every now and then, you know. After all, he was the first man I ever loved.”
He kept holding her. She let her head rest on his shoulder and went on staring at the burning house. (62)
15Undoubtedly Joanne feels sorrow over her lost love, yet she is physically connected to her husband, and, more importantly, communicatively connected. Bill Daly had been a taboo subject, but they are now discussing it, while in the gloomier “WWTA,” discussion of Teri’s former loves widens the emotional divide between her and Mel. The burning house seems less correlated to Nick and Joanne’s marriage than to Daly’s figurative ghost, which, though the process is painful, is being exorcised.
16Strongly evocative of “What’s in Alaska?,” “Preservation,” and, to a lesser extent, “A Student’s Wife,” as well as several Where Water Comes Together with Other Water poems, “What Would You Like to See?” is probably the darkest posthumous tale, yet a contrast with the aforementioned works and a few others indicates that, however troubled the lives in this story, Carver Country has illustrated far worse. All the posthumous couples are well above the poverty line; indeed, many are white-collar figures. This story has Phil, the narrator, a college teacher, and Sarah, his wife, a secretary for a university History department. After renting a house for almost a year, they are now splitting, Phil heading east to teach in Vermont, as Raymond Carver himself did at Goddard College in 1978. Like the couples in Where Water’s “Anathema,” “Next Year,” and “Our First House in Sacramento,” Phil and Sarah have “left too many houses in a hurry,” “left them damaged or in shambles,” “left owing rent,” and left “in the middle of the night” (23). Typically, Carver’s fiction suggests a present manifesting decay from a happier past. This story, however, reverses the trend. “[T]his is a switch, isn’t it?” observes Sarah. “Getting invited to dinner instead of having to skip town and hide out somewhere” (25).
17In multiple instances, the posthumous stories refer to actual tragedies that, however terrible, expand the world in which the characters live, preventing the claustrophobic atmosphere often created by Carver’s fiction. With a daughter living on a commune, Phil and Sarah were terrified by the Jonestown massacre, not knowing if she had been there. In fact, she had not but some of her friends were; altogether, this incident, occurring before the story’s present, brought daughter and parents closer through collective sorrow. The story subsequently refers to the Lebanon War. These characters do not live in the typical Carveresque intellectual and cultural enclosure. Although the Lebanese carnage was horrible – for Americans, most notably the loss of 241 Marines in a suicide bombing – Phil at least knows that Lebanon was once “the most beautiful country in the Middle East” (32).
18Pete shows slides of an Alaskan vacation he took with Evelyn, his first, now deceased wife, while Sarah indicates that she and Phil “were all set to go to Alaska” but did not “at the last minute” (33); in “What’s in Alaska?,” Mary has been offered a job located in Fairbanks. In the Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? story, Mary is sleeping with her husband’s best friend; in the posthumous tale, details intimate that Betty and Pete may have had an affair while Evelyn was alive. Betty’s conspicuous blushing reveals her discomfort (24, 25, 31, 32). Although she feels socially inferior to Sarah and Phil, this explanation does not adequately explain why she feels the need to insinuate that her relationship with Pete began after Evelyn’s death. Betty waitressed in Pete’s restaurant while Evelyn was alive and married him only a “few months” after Evelyn’s premature death from heart stoppage (24). Is the manner of death symbolic of a broken heart caused by adultery? The issue of an affair is indeterminate, unlike the certain affair in “What’s in Alaska?”; nevertheless, the vacuity of Pete and Betty’s marriage, despite Phil’s claim that “they were happy” (24), is pronounced. Like Bill Daly, Evelyn is an omnipresent ghost, her presence repeatedly acknowledged by awkward, unintentionally comedic remarks: “That’s Evelyn again”(33); “That’s Evelyn again” (34); “These were taken before Evelyn died” (34). At the very least, the slideshow indicates that, despite their world travels, Betty and Pete live banal lives. At worst, they are uncomfortable because Evelyn’s image rouses guilt for having betrayed her.
19Sarah and Phil “had talked and talked and talked” (27) about their troubled relationship and the sagacity of his solo move East, and while this detail hits a more optimistic note than “A Serious Talk” and its complete absence of serious talk, the discussion does not help much, or enough. Sarah’s drinking after having avoided alcohol “for nearly a year, almost the amount of time” she and Phil “had been living in Pete’s house together” is a menacing turn of events (23). Sarah drinks throughout the evening, first wine and then brandy, Phil doubtlessly worrying even while he suppresses his concerns: “Sarah said she’d have a glass of white wine. I looked at her. I asked for a Coke” (28). As if readers of Raymond Carver needed reminding that alcohol can destroy, Pete observes that both Evelyn’s father and brother died from alcoholism. After dinner, having returned to spend the last evening in the rented house, Sarah invokes the aid of the divine for her daughter, her husband, and herself. She also asks Phil to hold her until she falls asleep, a detail harkening back to the early story “A Student’s Wife” in which Nan asks for similar assistance from her husband and concludes the tale, insomniac, alone, and desperate, imploring the aid of a deity that is, in that story at least, absent. Sarah is so much better off than Nan. Unlike the earlier boor, Phil is compassionate and helpful. More significantly, as in “Dreams,” God seems a possibility with Betty also requesting divine assistance (for her departing tenants) and Pete’s recovery from alcoholism self-characterized as miraculous. Nevertheless, Phil and Sarah’s marriage seems doomed. Natural imagery, which so powerfully adumbrates an improved future for the protagonist of “Kindling,” is quietly ominous here. A threat to life or a harbinger of death in “After the Denim” and the poems “A Squall” and “Late Afternoon, April 8, 1984,” repeated references to wind suggest that danger approaches. In the conclusion, repeating the technique of “Preservation,” a mechanical failure underscores human failure: Pete’s generator breaks, his freezer “shut[s] down,” and much of his meat is “spoiled” (37). Sarah having taken off her wedding ring “in sadness” (26) and resumed drinking, she and Phil associated with leftovers (a doggy bag of fish) and a menacing wind, it seems inescapable that their marriage is shut down and spoiled too.
20Like the couple in “What Would You Like To See?” Nancy and Dan in “Call If You Need Me” are trying to revive a shaky marriage. They have been having affairs, though unlike Eileen of “Fever,” Nancy has not run off with her paramour, one of her husband’s colleagues. After sending their son to his grandmother for the summer and leaving their house with another couple, like Edna and Wes of “Chef’s House,” they drive to a rented house in Eureka to revitalize their relationship. On the way, they see a car whose damaged muffler sparks, scraping against the pavement. A dominant motif in the posthumous stories, here the reference to fire signifies ambiguously: the sparks symbolically parallel the couple’s effort to rekindle their love, yet their relationship, like the car ahead, is damaged. After several weeks of effort, Nancy declares the endeavor a failure. Before she leaves, however, the couple plays with horses on the front lawn (an image clearly evocative of Where I’m Calling From’s “Blackbird Pie”), listens to music, and has sex.
21Despite the marriage’s collapse, in several ways “Call If You Need Me” is more life affirming than the many Carver stories it echoes. In What We TalkAbout’s “Why Don’t You Dance?” a middle-aged man, numbed by the destruction of his marriage and alcoholism, fails to connect with a young couple, the girl with whom he dances considering his gift of records – a symbol of his past and better times – “shit” (WICF 161). The posthumous story has a young couple house-sitting for the protagonists; they are graduate students in math, presumably much more capable of communicating, connecting meaningfully with others, and making sense of their world. Another positive aspect is a grandmother who cares for Nancy and Dan’s college-age son offstage. This loving grandmother is a unique character in Carver’s fiction.
22Dan’s relationship with his son harkens back to the loving bond in Will You Please Be Quiet, Please’s “Bicycles, Muscles, Cigarets,” but neither relationship is typical in Carver. More representative is Cathedral’s “The Compartment,” in which father and son brawl with a knife, sundering their relationship forever, or the poem “On an Old Photograph of My Son,” whose speaker admits that he once desired his son “dead” (All 276). The posthumous story, conversely, has an exceptionally close father-son relationship. Dan communicates honestly and sensitively about the state of his marriage, and then he “embraced” his son and “kissed him on the cheek” (64). In “Bicycles,” the son is a young child; the kiss between men is both more conspicuous and more powerfully suggestive of love.
- 4 “Call If You Need Me” was apparently written before “Blackbird Pie”; in this essay’s conclusion, I (...)
23A contrast of the horse and fog imagery and related character actions and thoughts in “Blackbird Pie” and “Call If You Need Me” further demonstrates the latter’s far greater affirmation of human potential.4 In the formerstory, fog parallels the narrator’s questionable mental state and his obsession with facts yet inability to create out of them a larger, sustaining vision. He describes the horses as if they leap suddenly out of fog and later compares their trailer to “a big portable oven” (WICF 503). Indeed, the horses initially appear to be a hallucination. The encounter with the horses and fog, if it accomplishes anything, helps the narrator see his wife’s importance, yet he realizes this too late to save his marriage, and at least one critic thinks that he might commit suicide (Matsuoka 432, 436). In the posthumous story, their reality never in doubt, the horses are linked both to Nancy’s emotional vulnerability, wounded by her husband’s adultery (“I don’t want to get bitten,” she says ), and to the significant damage created in the wake of their marriage’s dissolution (“There were deep impressions in the grass, and gashes, and there were piles of dung” ). When Nancy overcomes her fear to pet the horses, this act symbolizes her capacity to love again. Fog correlates neither with confusion nor insanity but with a protective barrier that helps the couple to suspend their problems temporarily and “make love” one more time as sunrise nears (73). This phrasing to describe sex occurs repeatedly in the posthumous stories, yet other Carver fiction mentions it only once – in a disturbing juxtaposition to voiding bodily wastes in “Neighbors” (WICF 89). While Arlene Miller is desperately afraid at the end of that squalid tale, Nancy announces: “I’m glad for last night…. Those horses. Our talk. Everything. It helps. We won’t forget that” (74). Sex is part of healing, not violation, a theme Carver had not used in his fiction since the mid-1960’s in “Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?”
24In “Cathedral,” Carver’s narrator quips atheistically at the dinner table, “Pray the phone won’t ring and the food doesn’t get cold” (WICF 364). While the fiction published during Carver’s life suggests an agnostic or atheistic vision, the narrator of “Call If You Need Me,” like so many of the posthumous characters, is a man of faith. Moreover, he recognizes the moral squalor of his and his wife’s lives, understanding their affairs are “tacky”(65) and lamenting that he had rented the house while traveling with his paramour: “I even used the phrase “second honeymoon” to the realtor, God forgive me, while Susan smoked a cigarette and read tourist brochures out in the car” (66). When Nancy boards her plane, Dan thinks: “Go, dearest one,and God be with you” (74). None of the major characters in the fiction published in Carver’s lifetime expresses a religious belief so confidently; the posthumous stories, conversely, repeatedly manifest sincere religious conviction. Undoubtedly, this motif helps to account for why critics such as Toby Mundy see “the possibility of redemption” so conspicuous in these stories.
25“Call If You Need Me” ends ambiguously, the narrator, “without even taking off [his] coat,” dialing his girlfriend’s number (74). Not waiting to remove his coat possibly conveys his eagerness to call Susan and his love for her, or wearing a coat indoors might image constriction suggesting an inability to connect passionately with another. He calls, though; he acts. In the ending of “Where I’m Calling From,” a less decisive narrator wonders whether he should call his wife or paramour. Hopefulness resonates in details as small as Dan’s call or his vision of Nancy’s departing plane as a “speck” (74), which echoes an earlier Nancy and what she thinks people in a passing airplane would see on the ground, only “I Could See the Smallest Things” is a squalid story in which slugs symbolically assess human value.
26Positioned first and the most affirmative of the stories in the posthumous collection, “Kindling” will remind Carver aficionados of “Put Yourself in My Shoes,” one of the more affirmative Will You Please? stories in which Myers overcomes writer’s block through an encounter with a strange academic couple, the Morgans. The Myers of “Shoes” is “between stories” (WICF 96); according to the posthumous story’s first line, Myers is “between lives” (7). If he is the same character, he has degenerated into alcoholism and split with his wife nastily; she “wouldn’t even talk to him, let alone have him anywhere near the house” (7). Ultramarine’s “The Phone Booth” adds likely details omitted:
[…] the phone
begins to shout, “I told you it’s over!
Finished! You can go
to hell as far as I’m concerned!” (All 214)
27Like Myrna in “Mr. Coffee and Mr. Fixit,” the estranged wife has taken up with another drunk. Fresh out of rehab, Myers is struggling with his writing, for in his first night in the room he rents from Sol and Bonnie “he wrote the words Emptiness is the beginning of all things. He stared at this, and then he laughed. Jesus, what rubbish!” (10). The sentence is rubbish because it sentimentalizes; emptiness is emptiness, a fact that Myers tacitly admits with his next entry: “Nothing” (13). One of the affirmative themes for Carver’s fiction here is writing’s therapeutic value. Myers improves himself by writing – or, at the very least, writing illustrates his emotional revival, Carver’s technique and theme, in a vastly more condensed form, reminiscent of Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” in which a writer’s honest mental narratives are rewarded with the illusion of flying to Heaven.
28Precision, honesty, and concreteness in expression are the key values associable with Myers’s better writing. Here are the remaining passages of his writing as they occur in the text:
I would get down on my knees and ask forgiveness if that would help. (15)
I have sawdust in my shirtsleeves tonight.... It’s a sweet smell. (18)
The country I’m in is very exotic. It reminds of someplace I’ve read about but never traveled to before now. Outside my window I can hear a river and in the valley behind the house there is a forest and precipices and mountain peaks covered with snow. Today I saw a wild eagle, and a deer, and I cut and chopped two cords of wood. (20)
29The first passage evokes Where I’m Calling From’s “Intimacy” in which a Raymond-Carver-like narrator kneels in front of his ex-wife, a figure clearly comparable to the author’s first wife, Maryann. Indeed, Myers of “Kindling” is physically similar to Carver: “tall, stooped,…curly headed” with “sad eyes” (11). Although the wife in “Intimacy” experiences a cathartic release, the story’s narrator is not similarly freed, with the closing images of leaves, symbolic of memories, clinging everywhere in the conclusion. More evidence of the posthumous stories’ greater hopefulness is Myers’s clear gain from his experience. The story’s penultimate paragraph, the third and final passage quoted above, is by far the longest of his writings, its very length concretizing a renewal of his writing that is itself a synecdoche illustrating a larger renewal. This passage’s imagery, too, speaks to newness (a place Myers has “never traveled to before”), freedom (“wild eagle”), and great possibilities (“mountain peaks covered with snow”). Echoing a persistent motif, the sound of water, the passage impresses with its vigor and life, while the previously published What We Talk About’s“So Much Water So Close to Home” relentlessly associates water with rape, death, and madness.
- 5 Bonnie’s poor writing describing Myers’s arrival on “onefateful night” (11) echoes Mrs. Morgan’s i (...)
- 6 For more on Carver’s treatment of insomnia, see Ernest Fontana’s “Insomnia in Raymond Carver’s Fic (...)
30Elements of the grotesque in “Kindling” invite comparison to Cathedral’s “Feathers” in which a decidedly odd family thrives, if anything, because of its strangeness. A key point about “Feathers” is that the encounter with the odd family helps the narrator and his wife only temporarily, their marriage degenerating, after their son’s birth, into a loveless stasis. The odd couple in “Kindling” is Myers’s landlords, Bonnie and Sol. As the names imply – bonny with its association with fairness, fineness, and excellence; Sol, a Roman sun god – this is not our typical Carver pair, though to be sure, they have their limitations. A blasting accident in Sol’s youth severed “nerves and cause[d]” his “arm and fingers to wither” (12). A “fat girl,” “fat all over,” “huff[ing] when she breathed” (8), Bonnie reminds us of the obese restaurant patron in “Fat.” In his wedding picture, “Sol’s good strong left arm reached around Bonnie’s waist asfar as it would go” (8; emphasis added), a phrasing tacitly recognizing larger limitations. He might be an insomniac, she can be as trite as Mrs. Morgan,5 and they are childless, a fact Bonnie regrets. Indeed, she is anything but bonny or fair when, despite the hours and hours of free manual labor that Myers performs, she insists, “No refunds on the rent” when he is leaving weeks before the month is up (20). Nevertheless, she is not enslaved like the fat man compelled to eat, while Sol is spared the mental terrors plaguing prior Carver insomniacs such as the narrator of “The Idea,” the cuckolded husband in “What’s in Alaska?,” or Hughes in “Menudo,”6 and they are vastly more alive than the impotent, caricatured academic couple that Myers faces in “Shoes.” Sol explicitly declares his love for Bonnie and that same night “loved her up” and she “loved him back” (12). Although the sexual encounter is not ideal – for instance, Bonnie worries about Myers walking in on them – it is just that, a love encounter exceedingly more affirmative of human potential than, say, the quasi marital rape in “Fat” or a similar misdeed about to occur as the What We Talk About version of “So Much Water So Close to Home” ends.
31Myers has been in a bad way. Evoking the poem “Yesterday, Snow,” he wakes up sweating after a nightmare in which he was about to resume drinking. Just watching Bonnie prepare his bed “almost caused Myers to weep” (9) presumably because of a connection to his own, irretrievably lost marriage. Yet his capacity for feeling and determination to stay sober elevate him above a character like the man in “Why Don’t You Dance?” who lives in an alcoholic-numbed world after his wife’s departure. What is most distinctive in regards to Myers’s optimistic future is that “Kindling” shows him benefiting from manual labor. As Bill Mullen observes, Carver’s fiction rarely refers to characters in the workplace and never creates the impression of them gaining emotionally or psychologically, to say nothing about financially, from labor, this absence or disconnect underscoring their generally disconnected lives. Although the early story “What Do You Do in San Francisco?” mentions work emphatically, Robinson the narrator used work to deaden the pain caused by a Dear John letter, uses it in the present to avoid recognizing his life’s vacuity, and encourages another character, deserted by his life partner, to similarly anesthetize himself. In a much later story, “Menudo,” the insomniac narrator, his life in disarray because of his adultery, is obsessed with raking his neighbors’ lawn, an act symbolizing his desire to order his life. By no means, however, is it clear that Hughes will succeed, since the story defines him as one who will never eat menudo, a Mexican dish associable with restorative powers. In “Kindling,” Myers likewise feels obsessed with a task symbolic of creating order: “He decided that he would cut this wood and split it and stack it before sunset, and that it was a matter of life and death that he do so” (19). What is absurd in “Jerry and Molly and Sam,” Al’s sudden belief that he must find the dog he deserted or his life is ruined, is very earnest here. Al is not rewarded, while Hughes nearly breaks down in front of his neighbors. Conversely, when Bonnie and Sol watch Myers work, all three feel joy: “[Myers] felt good suddenly, and he grinned. Sol and Bonnie were taken by surprise at first. Sol grinned back, and then Bonnie” (18). They are surprised because they have seen their tenant smile for the first time.
- 7 Consider “two sawhorses” (17); repeated references to two pieces of wood after an act of sawing or (...)
32In splitting the wood, Myers is subconsciously coming to terms with an infinitely more important split, his marital separation. By repeatedly referencing two,7 the text links Myers’s labor to his marriage now severed irrevocably. Besides Myers’s assertion that he feels “okay” and the story’s reiteration of this word in the final line (20) – “okay” is, Kirk Nesset has cleverly observed, Carver’s downsizing of Hemingway’s “good” place (35) – natural imagery and an image of openness powerfully intimate that the labor will help. After the first day of cutting, “sweet, cool air poured in” Myers’s room (18), and then, on the second day, having finished the job, he sees “no clouds now, just the moon, and the snowcapped mountains” (20) which are earlier associated with the majesty and freedom of “an eagle soaring” (15). In “Chef’s House,” gathering clouds foreshadow Wes’s recapitulation to his alcoholic demons; in “Kindling,” conversely, the clear view of the mountain speaks to Myers’s much more optimistic prospects. The posthumous story ends, moreover, with a sense of openness, as Myers leaves “the window open” (20), an image reversing the symbolic enclosure evidenced in previously published, far more pessimistic stories such as “Careful” and “Collectors.”
33Raymond Carver’s fiction has so many breakups, which are normally devastating. Each posthumous story, conversely, has at least one functioning marriage, while the breakups (with the exception of “Kindling”) avoid the evisceration of warm feeling. Despite their problems – and in some cases such as Mary Rice’s, the hardships are extreme – the characters are not nearly as pressured, a point neatly illustrated by a contrast of structure. The radical minimalist version of “So Much Water So Close to Home” is shorter than any posthumous story, yet its contents are divided and squeezed into nine terse sections, structure underscoring disconnection and incompletion. “Kindling,” the much longer tale so insistent in reference to water, has only four sections; indeed, the posthumous collection averages just fewer than three sections per story, a structure girding the greater cohesiveness within the minds and hearts of the characters and their greater connectedness to others.
34In his review of Kirk Nesset’s short monograph, Marshall Gentry observes that Nesset “is careful not to claim that the final stories reveal Carver” to be “an optimist” (134), “final stories” encompassing the last seven tales in Where I’m CallingFrom, which was published more than a decade before Call IfYou Need Me. Although I too reject the label “optimist” for Carver, in contrast to his previous collections, the posthumous fiction cogently affirms human capacity for endurance, for friendship, for love, for redemption; indeed, they frequently manifest intellectual and spiritual dimensions rarely seen in his prior books. While the posthumous stories’ quality seems undeniable – Daniel Garret describes them as “mature,” the “work of a man in command of his talent and in touch with his emotions” – they do not prove that Carver was moving toward optimism in his very last years. The distinguished poet Tess Gallagher, Carver’s second wife, reveals in the foreword to Call If You Need Me that the titular story and “What Do You Want To See?” were written in the early 1980s (XII); thus Carver wrote the more affirmative “Call If You Need Me” before the gloomier, related tale “Blackbird Pie.” The compositional time of the other stories is not indicated, and Gallagher clearly insinuates that only some stories in manuscript were published (XI). Besides making money, the posthumous collection seems designed to direct critical attention to that part of Carver’s work more greatly affirming human potential. I believe that Carver stories from both the pool of optimistic tales and the ocean of despair will survive, that future readers will treasure “Cathedral” as well “Why Don’t You Dance?” The stories of Call If You Need Me add silver and gold, emphasizing again that American letters lost a giant far too early. | <urn:uuid:278f3aee-d880-4853-8234-cb13db605deb> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://jsse.revues.org/495 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280310.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00189-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957938 | 10,337 | 1.5 | 2 |
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