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You knew it had to happen at some point: a couple of economics professors at UC Davis have done an “event study” of the Tiger Woods news cycle, and concluded that
In the days beginning with Tiger Woods’ recent car accident and ending with his announced “indefinite leave” from golf, shareholders of companies that Mr. Woods endorses lost $5-14 billion in wealth.
This is silly stuff, of course: not only are the error bars larger than the estimated losses, but a huge proportion of those multi-billions comes from the decline of the share price of enormous companies like P&G, which had just one exposure to Tiger Woods through its Gillette subsidiary. Drawing a causal relationship between the Tiger Woods scandal and fluctuations in P&G’s share price is simply impossible.
What’s more interesting to me is that the numbers got weirdly changed when the UC Davis PR department got its hands on them and led not with the $5 billion to $14 billion range, nor with the $14 billion maximum figure, but rather with this:
Tiger Woods Scandal Cost Shareholders up to $12 Billion
I have no idea where the $12 billion number came from, as distinct from the $14 billion number in the study. But that’s the number that the WSJ’s Stephen Grocer decided to go with as well.
And how do the authors explain away the inconvenient fact that Tiger’s highest-profile sponsor, Accenture, saw no losses at all? You’re going to love this one:
Economic theory predicts that Mr. Woods should be able to capture nearly all of the excess profit generated by his endorsement of a firm like Accenture. For Tiger Woods, having Accenture as a sponsor probably does not increase the overall value of ‘the Tiger brand’ all that much. Mr. Woods should therefore have a lot of bargaining power when negotiating that deal, and may be able to extract a payment very close to Accenture’s incremental profit from the relationship. And if Accenture is paying Mr. Woods something very close to its extra profit from his endorsement, it is not much worse off without him than with him. Indeed, our estimates show no ill effect at all for Accenture after the accident.
This is completely bonkers. For one thing, the authors — Christopher Knittel and Victor Stango — have already pegged the value of the Accenture contract at $20 million a year — the same amount as the Gatorade contract, and less than the Nike contract. They then go on to say that the harm to Accenture of losing Tiger is unlikely to be much more than the $20 million that Accenture was paying him. Which might make some sense, if it wasn’t for the fact that they’re pegging the harm to everybody else of losing Tiger at $12 billion. (Or $5 billion, or $14 billion, or, well, just pull a number out of thin air, really.)
Accenture is clearly the biggest loser from the whole Tiger affair: it has to scrap its entire global marketing strategy and start from scratch. What’s more, Accenture’s total Tiger-related marketing spend is vastly greater than the $20 million a year it’s paying Tiger personally. The company has run into a large unexpected tail event, in a way that Nike and Gatorade haven’t. Those companies sponsor lots of athletes: one more or less has an affect at the margin, but that’s about it. If the Tiger scandal had no visible effect on the Accenture share price, you can be sure it had no effect elsewhere.
Update: Mike Konczal finds the real reason why P&G stock fell after Tiger Woods scandal erupted. Nothing to do with Tiger, and everything to do with revised earnings estimates.
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Welcome to my little world of art nouveau," said a beaming Ernest Marza as he swung open the door to his lavishly decorated apartment in downtown Victoria.
The 89-year-old Transylvania-born painter, sculptor, frame-maker and restoration expert, came to Canada after being imprisoned in a German labour camp. He brought with him not only a strong will to live a long and healthy life, but a passion for art nouveau.
It's an art form that sprang to prominence in the late 1890s through 1920, as a reaction to the rigidity of Victorian design - and it fascinates Marza. He is drawn to the spirals, arabesques, wave patterns, whiplashes and the many imaginative flourishes that are fleshed out in vines, flowers and sinuous bodies of young females.
Unlike art deco, which came later and presented a more hard-edged, masculine and geometric look, the nouveau forerunner is a fantasy of lilies and orchids, vines, palm fronds, exotic papyrus, seaweed, dragonflies and swans.
Marza may have trained as a nautical engineer, but he is an unabashed romantic. Stepping into his home, with its eye-popping explosion of visual embellishments, is like walking into a scene from the Arabian Nights.
Certainly the dozens of lamps in this home are worthy of study in themselves. They make up just a fraction of the interior landscape. Other highlights include more than 20 statues in his living room alone. The same room holds 14 tables and plinths displaying works of art.
Around the corner in his bedroom, the walls display 30 of his own paintings.
He reserves the living room for works by other painters from other centuries, a fine collection that he has accumulated over the decades from artists living as far away as Europe and South America.
A large part of the appeal is the ingenious way he displays his remarkable collection. For one thing, he has made almost all the frames himself.
"I used to carve them but I found it was much easier with a sand blaster," said the artist, who is a long time friend of Mel Bolen. He designed and decorated her bookstore when she moved it into Hillside Centre in 1996.
"Ernest is one of the kindest and most interesting people I have ever met," Mel's daughter Samantha Bolen said this week
Marza, she said, also did all the sign design in the store and made all the giant wooden signs - "every painting on every pillar. He also designed the stained glass for all the chandeliers. People don't comment too much anymore because they see it every day, but when we opened the store they went berserk."
'Ernest is so talented, intelligent, insightful - a truly happy person, and an important part of my life for almost 30 years. He has left my whole family and many more with a great legacy, through what he has taught us about art and beauty," Bolen said.
"And his place is incredible, an art oasis. It's not just his paintings, which are unbelievable, it's the fact he can do everything - because he's an artist and an engineer."
When Marza was in the bookstore a few months ago, Bolen mentioned a design problem she was having.
"He was back the next day with the solution. In one day, he'd solved something I'd been thinking about for six months."
He also recently created a set of tiles for her new bathroom.
Rogers Chocolates has used his paintings to decorate their chocolate boxes, and a local firm has used one of his paintings on a puzzle.
In 1984, he painted a Chemainus mural called Chinese Bull Gang, depicting 23 men bending their backs to move a huge log through a lumberyard to a sailing vessel.
Since moving to Victoria from Transylvania in 1956, Marza has studied art restoration and conservation in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and in Sonoma, California.
He surrounds himself with art - bronzes from England, silk lampshades from France, sculptures of nymphs reclining on rocks trailing their arms in pools of water.
One of his favourite creations is a series of 20 faces he made in terra cotta and mounted around the tops of several rooms, as well as over doorways. Several are also in Bolen Books.
"I saw one like it in a Gaudi building in Barcelona once, and copied it to use on some of my furniture, as well as two lamps," he said. (Architect and artist Antoni Gaudi lived and worked in Spain from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s.)
Apart from a beaded curtain he found in Egypt that screens his small, modern kitchen, Ernest made every other curtain in his home.
"I found the fabric at Charles Rupert. They also have many wonderful wallpapers, which I used to have to import from Europe, but they now carry."
Some of his most exceptional pieces include:
- two gargoyle-like statues
of jesters made in bronze by celebrated American Richard MacDonald
- a bowl of glass Pâtedeverre (paste) grapes handmade by French designer Jean Daum
- a dining-room chandelier by French art nouveau glassmaker Muller Frères
- several tables by French artist Louis Majorelle, "one of the greatest furniture designers of the period"
- a medieval-style painting of a girl looking at a shield painted by W. H. Margetson
Why does he have such a passion for art nouveau?
"Because I grew up with it. At home, we had this kind of art everywhere. It was contemporary at that time," he said.
The dreamy painting over his sofa reminds him of his parents on the day they met in a Vienna café.
"That's how it was when I grew up. It was romantic, elegant. It was a different life.
"On Sunday, people dressed up. Here they dress down."
Marza is constantly honing his art nouveau collection -"whenever I discover something new, I let something go" - partly because his space is limited.
"When I was married and had a family, we lived in three houses," said the widower, whose two daughters live up-Island.
'But I like a smaller place now. This is compact. I have a studio that I live in - I keep my easel on the balcony and paint in my bedroom."
The European gentleman still paints every day, usually from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., depending on the light, and typically breaks for a midday meal by walking downtown for lunch.
He credits his good health to the fact he doesn't have a doctor, takes no pills and has never been overnight in a hospital.
"The secret is no stress," Marza said.
"I don't think about the war, the labour camp - those experiences during the war. The human body has a way of overcoming pressures and tensions. I don't think about the bad things and I surround myself with beauty."
His interior-design philosophy is equally simple and it applies to everything - vessels, sculptures, paintings, tea services, trays, picture frames, bowls or sculpture. "I don't think of design. I think of objects, and if you concentrate on something, it all fits."
His favourite subject in his own painting is the tango.
"I love the tango, the music. I have every recording and I love women. I grew up with dancing in Europe," he said with a twinkle, adding he used to travel every year to Buenos Aires to dance and enjoy the art. Barcelona is his favourite city, a place where he can revel in the art of Gaudi.
Marza has enjoyed much success as a painter. He sold three works to a doctor just last week. His paintings are on display at the Oak Bay Gallery.
Gallery owner Dale Shaw said Marza is "really something.
"He's a charming man who takes you back in time. I call him our resident genius because he can do everything and his home is amazing - I don't think there is anything in there that's from this century.
"And he is always busy, always creating. He says there is no time to waste."
A CELEBRATION OF STYLE ON THE HOME FRONT
Writer Grania Litwin and photographer Frances Litman are known for their sense of style and knowledge of outstanding design. They tour homes around the south Island, talking to homeowners, interior designers, architects and artists who influence the way we live.
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U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today announced the introduction of the Trade Enforcement Priorities Act of 2009, legislation that would give the federal government more authority to address trade barriers that undermine American workers and domestic manufacturing. Sens. Russ Feingold (D-WI), Carl Levin (D-MI), and Arlen Specter (D-PA) are original cosponsors of the bill. This announcement comes as Secretary of Commerce Gray Locke, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk address key U.S. trade and economic priorities at the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade in China this week.
"This bill will hold countries accountable for violating our trade rules. This saves American jobs and supports our businesses here at home," Stabenow said. "We know our workforce can compete with anyone if we have a level playing field. Unfortunately, other countries have put our manufacturers and businesses at a competitive disadvantage through unfair trade practices. I have been working on trade enforcement since my start in the Senate and this legislation complements my Trade Prosecutor bill by identifying and prosecuting countries that cheat and opening up foreign markets for our American-made products. I am pleased to join my colleague Senator Brown to cosponsor this important legislation."
"This bill is about requiring our trading partners to live up to their obligations so that trade agreements benefit American workers and businesses instead of shortchanging them," Brown said. "For too long, our government has shirked its responsibility of enforcing the rules written to prevent lopsided trade agreements, at the expense of American businesses and workers. When U.S. companies abide by the rules and foreign companies don't, that's not trade -- it's a foreign jobs program. Reviving Super 301, with an emphasis on fixing unfair trade practices that cost American jobs, will promote exports and economic growth. The U.S. Trade Representative must be an advocate for American workers and businesses, not an apologist for trading partners who aren't playing by the rules."
"We need to restore the Super 301 trade law so that we have stronger tools to fight back against the unfair trade policies that put American workers at a disadvantage," Levin said. "This legislation will require our trade representative to specifically look at countries with which we have large trade deficits to make sure they are playing fairly. American workers and companies can compete with anyone in the world as long as it is on a level playing field. It is our government's responsibility to ensure the playing field is level."
"Too many of the trade agreements into which the U.S. has entered over the last two decades have been deeply flawed," Feingold said. "At the very least, our businesses, workers, and consumers deserve energetic enforcement of the laws we still have to protect against unfair trade practices. I am pleased to join Senators Brown, Stabenow and Levin in cosponsoring this measure that will help to improve current trade law enforcement."
"This is about job retention and job creation. Strict enforcement of our trade laws is critical to ensuring that our domestic manufacturers have a fair shot at competing with foreign exporters," Specter said. "This legislation will help hold foreign exporters accountable and support American manufacturing so we can continue to be among the most innovative, skilled, and efficient producers in the world."
Over past decade, the U.S. has lost more than five million manufacturing jobs. The employment situation has been exacerbated by trade barriers -- including currency manipulation, restriction of American products, or unfair subsidies -- used by some of our country's trading partners.
Sections 301-310 of the Trade Act of 1974 address trade barriers that violate U.S. rights under a trade agreement or represent discriminatory practices that undermine U.S. Commerce. Section 310 of the act, also known as "Super 301," requires the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to examine and report on the most egregious trade barriers that adversely affect American exports. If the USTR identifies a measure as a "priority foreign country practice," it is required to initiate a full Section 301 investigation. Super 301 is intended to promote U.S. exports and to signal to our trading partners that certain actions which adversely affect U.S. commerce will warrant immediate action.
Despite these laws, the USTR has largely ignored its enforcement responsibilities over the past eight years, failing to issue a Super 301 since 2001. The Trade Enforcement Priorities Act of 2009 would require the USTR to analyze trade barriers in the National Trade Estimates Report to determine which have the most adverse effect on U.S. exports and employment. Under the bill, the USTR -- in consultation with other relevant agencies and Congress -- would be required to prioritize its enforcement strategy and work with those countries that have a pattern of unfair trade practices. If the USTR identifies a practice occurring in a country that has a signed a trade agreement with the U.S., previously agreed-to methods of addressing disputes would be used. For example, if an unfair practice is addressed under the WTO Agreement, USTR would be required to seek consultation under the dispute settlement process. If the practice is occurring in a country that does not have an agreement with the U.S., bilateral consultations would be required until an appropriate remedy is identified.
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European leaders earlier this month announced a plan that, on the face of it, was pure nonsense.
Faced with a crisis that is mainly about the balance of payments,with fiscal crisis as a secondary consequence, they supposedly committed everyone to severe fiscal austerity, which would guarantee a recession while leaving the real problem unaddressed.
But all this was supposed to work, according to many observers — and, briefly, the market — because the pain would provide the cover the European Central Bank needed to step in and buy lots of Italian and Spanish bonds. In effect, the plan is supposed to rely on a Draghi ex machina, which turns contractionary policies expansionary.
It’s actually quite remarkable how many sensible people base their analyses on the presumption that the E.C.B. will do what has to be done. Barry Eichengreen, the economist who is a genuine expert on all things euro, starts his analysis of prospects for 2012 with the confident assertion that Mario Draghi, the president of the E.C.B., will ride to the rescue.
“The collapse of the euro zone would, of course, be an economic and financial calamity,” Mr. Eichengreen wrote in a recent column for Project Syndicate.
“But that is precisely why the European Central Bank will overcome its reluctance and intervene in the Italian and Spanish bond markets, and why the Italian and Spanish governments will, in the end, use that breathing space to complete the reforms that the E.C.B. requires as a quid pro quo.”
But as far as anyone can tell, the monetary cavalry aren’t coming. And the bond market has figured this out.
What Anglo-Saxon economists need to understand is that the Germans and the E.C.B. really, really don’t share our worldview; they really do believe that austerity is all you need. And all indications are that they will cling to that belief, even as the euro falls apart — an event they will insist was caused by debtors’ fecklessness.
Given a choice between saving Europe and remaining righteous, they’ll choose the latter.
The E.C.B.’s Reverse F.D.R.
Ryan Avent, The Economist’s economics correspondent, recently joined the chorus of those suggesting that the European Central Bank’s decision last spring to start raising rates — a decision that seemed crazy then, and looks even crazier now — was the point at which everything started to fall apart.
“Maybe the single currency will survive. It will certainly be disastrous if it doesn’t,” Mr. Avent wrote in an online article on Nov. 28. “But if the E.C.B. manages to rescue the euro zone with a life-saving infusion of cash delivered via massive bond purchases, we shouldn’t forget that it was the E.C.B. that nearly killed it in the first place.”
But how could what were, in the end, relatively small rate hikes have done large damage? As Mr. Avent says, here is where the expectations channel may have been crucial.
One way to look at it is as a reverse F.D.R. A few years ago Gauti Eggertsson, an assistant vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, published a persuasive analysis of the big economic recovery of 1933-1937 in the American Economic Review; he argued that it had a lot to do with changed expectations of future monetary policy. Specifically, by taking America off the gold standard — a shocking move at the time — and explicitly calling for a return to pre-Depression price levels, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created an expectation of rising prices that had a salutary effect on demand.
So what happened in spring 2011? The E.C.B. raised rates even though there was no sign of underlying inflationary pressure beyond a commodity blip, and even though the needed price adjustment in the periphery clearly required a reasonably high inflation target.
Jean-Claude Trichet, the E.C.B. president at the time, might as well have gone on T.V. and announced, “My colleagues and I are determined to make the debt problems of southern Europe insoluble.”
And they’ve succeeded.
Truthout has licensed this content. It may not be reproduced by any other source and is not covered by our Creative Commons license.
Paul Krugman joined The New York Times in 1999 as a columnist on the Op-Ed page and continues as a professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University. He was awarded the Nobel in economic science in 2008.
Mr Krugman is the author or editor of 20 books and more than 200 papers in professional journals and edited volumes, including "The Return of Depression Economics" (2008) and "The Conscience of a Liberal" (2007).
Copyright 2011 The New York Times.
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Supermarkets are gradually realizing the value of e-mail marketing as a promotional tool and as a way of communicating with customers.
Many large supermarket chains are sending e-mail coupons to customers through third-party companies, while others are handling e-mail marketing in-house. Although supermarkets with on-line shopping services have a greater incentive to communicate with on-line users, experts say all retailers should be using e-mail to drive traffic to their Web sites and into their stores.
Among the creative ways to drive on-line users into stores are contests requiring shoppers to print out vouchers to take into the store to claim a prize, or on-line children's coloring contests, in which kids can print out pictures to color from the Web site, then take them into the store to win prizes.
Chains also are using e-mail to provide helpful information. For example, the Web site of Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, N.Y., allows consumers to sign up for the "Pet Gazette," a weekly advice newsletter authored by a veterinarian that contains no Wegmans advertising. Giant Eagle, Pittsburgh, uses opt-in e-mail for an array of promotions based on interests expressed on sign-up. These include updates on the latest video-rental releases, product news and contests. Giant Eagle will send e-mail receipts to those who order prescriptions on-line.
Some e-mail marketing programs are already advancing to a more targeted approach. Chandler, Ariz.-based Bashas' Groceries on the Go division, for example, already e-mails a monthly newsletter and coupons to shoppers who opt in to its mailing list, but e-mails will soon be more customized.
"If you want recipes, we'll give you that. If you buy dog food, we'll let you do that [with an e-mail coupon]," said Mike Gardner, director of Bashas' Groceries on the Go.
Gardner explained that Bashas' wants to distance itself from other marketers, who "spam" on-line users with unsolicited e-mail. "Our concept is that we want to develop a relationship, based on giving them the information they want."
Lifestyle and demographics will be taken into account in the new, customized e-mail program. For example, Bashas' might send a list of time-saving tips or a coupon for diapers to a new mother. "We'll develop more content because it's all part of that relationship. That's what a good friend would do, and Bashas' slogan has always been 'Where You Have a Friend,"' Gardner said.
Shoppers are willing to share lifestyle and demographic information about themselves and their values as long as they can see that there is a value in providing the information, he said. "This is just a concept, but customers we've talked to say they are fine with it," Gardner said. Already, the regular monthly newsletters have been well-received because they are infrequent, and provide advice for using the Web site and on-line shopping service. "We've discovered that this is a brand new way for people to shop. Sometimes it makes sense to them and sometimes it doesn't," Gardner said.
E-mail also can be used to simply communicate with customers, not just to sell products, experts point out. Although Dorothy Lane Market in Dayton, Ohio, sends a monthly e-mail newsletter to shoppers, its primary use of e-mail is responding to questions and special requests submitted daily on its Web site.
"Marketing should not be confused with just selling stuff," said Norman Mayne, owner of Dorothy Lane Market.
Bob's Produce, Fridley, Minn., a retail outlet and on-line mail-order business, sends new product and promotional e-mail to all customers who have opted in, but doesn't schedule them regularly. "They're going to start throwing it away if they get it every week," said Mike Schroer, one of the owners. The e-mail is an effective way to communicate with Bob's Produce's primarily out-of-state customers, who order the retailer's regional items on-line or through a toll-free phone number.
The mail-order business touts Minnesota and regional foods, such as Hedge apples, and Old Dutch Foods' snacks, along with fruit baskets and boxes shipped nationwide. Bob's Produce Ranch private-label salad dressings and steak and barbecue sauces are included in the mail-order offerings, and the retailer also sells select nonfood products, such as Toybox Creations' beanbag and its exclusive plush fruit and vegetable characters.
Bob's Produce e-mail messages are text files that include links back to its site and they are personalized, with the recipient's name at the top. "I think that is very important: It gives a personal aspect, so it's not just a generic letter you get at home," Schroer said.
"Personalization can mean the big difference in whether the e-mails get read or deleted," noted an industry source.
While some retailers have been proactive, Internet analysts are urging companies to target on-line users where they are most often: their e-mail boxes. On-line users spend 91% of their time sending and receiving e-mail, according to Jupiter Communications, New York.
Jupiter notes that the commercial e-mail market will grow to about $7.3 billion in 2005 and cannibalize direct-mail revenues by 13%. Research shows that U.S. consumers will see an estimated 40-fold increase in e-mail volume in that time span, so Jupiter advises that businesses improve their outreach by integrating messages across media channels, growing house lists, and incorporating feedback for improved targeting or risk increasing opt-out rates. According to Jupiter, 65% of companies are spending between 1% and 5% of their marketing budgets on e-mail marketing; an additional 22% are now spending more than 5%.
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Much of course depends on what you might say, but one UK Apple employee with surname Crisp suffered the ultimate consequence after writing a comment on Facebook critical of his employer, as People Management reports.
[...] Crisp, who worked in an Apple Store, posted derogatory statements on Facebook about Apple and its products. The posts were made on a “private” Facebook page and outside of working hours. One of his colleagues, who happened to be a Facebook “friend”, saw the comments, printed the posts and passed them to the store manager. Crisp was subsequently dismissed for gross misconduct.
The employment tribunal rejected Crisp’s claim for unfair dismissal. Key to the tribunal’s decision was the fact that Apple had a clear social media policy in place and had made it absolutely plain throughout the induction process that commentary on Apple products, or critical remarks about the brand, were strictly prohibited. Interestingly the tribunal took into account that such comments would be particularly damaging for Apple as image is so central to its success.
In fact, the story has received widespread media coverage, social and mainstream.
Two elements to this story stand out to me:
- Apple has a clear social media policy in place, says People Management’s report – it would be great to see it although I doubt it’s Apple’s style to publicly share it – and “had made it absolutely plain throughout the induction process that commentary on Apple products, or critical remarks about the brand, were strictly prohibited.”
- The employment tribunal cited that fact as central to its decision to reject a claim for unfair dismissal.
Equally interesting is use of the word “commentary.” It doesn’t say “negative commentary” or “critical commentary,” just “commentary.” So I presume that is literal: any commentary about Apple or its products is not allowed. I assume the social media policy sets out the consequences if an employee doesn’t abide by the policy which, I assume again, can mean dismissal as happened to employee Crisp.
Whatever you may think of any company that has such a forbidding policy in place, if it is in place, and explained and communicated to all employees, and an employee then goes and does something plainly against the policy, well, there are consequences. Should that surprise anyone?
In Apple’s case, it’s no secret that the company rigidly enforces control over who can say what publicly, certainly at Apple itself and clearly also in its retail store operations. This case reminds me of a report a few years ago that I wrote about quoting a feature about Steve Jobs and Apple written by Times journalist Bryan Appleyard, which included this text:
[...] secrecy is one of Apple’s signature products. A cult of corporate omerta – the mafia code of silence – is ruthlessly enforced, with employees sacked for leaks and careless talk. Executives feed deliberate misinformation into one part of the company so that any leak can be traced back to its source. Workers on sensitive projects have to pass through many layers of security. Once at their desks or benches, they are monitored by cameras and they must cover up devices with black cloaks and turn on red warning lights when they are uncovered.
It sounds extreme, doesn’t it? Yet wholly believable if you are an observer of Apple. Indeed, I’m reading Steve Jobs’ biography and such a story rings very true indeed as it is illustrative of Jobs’ control freakery and the iron grip over communication he wielded at the company and of which there’s no indication of any change since Jobs’ death last month.
Who’s to say which is right and which is wrong? Yet I know which kind of company I’d prefer to work for.
[Later] I posted this story on Google+. There are some insightful and interesting comments there.
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From left, U.S. Sen. John Boozman, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Chancellor Dan Rahn and U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor talk Friday at the grand opening of two new cancer research labs at UAMS. Arkansas News Bureau/John Lyon
LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences held a grand opening Friday for two new cancer research labs built with funding from the 2009 federal stimulus.
U.S. Sens. John Boozman, R-Ark., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark., were on hand to celebrate the opening of the labs on the ninth and 11th floors of UAMS’ Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.
Construction of the labs was funded by a $10.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, with funding for the grant provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Boozman voted against the act and Pryor voted for it.
“I want to thank the stimulus funding for helping us get these research laboratories designed and built,” said Dr. Peter Emmanuel, director of the cancer institute and professor of medicine at the UAMS College of Medicine. “Many of our current UAMS researchers are already starting to benefit from this space, but more importantly it gives us the space and opportunities to recruit in new researchers and new physician-scientists to UAMS.”
The labs add 33,660 square feet of research space at the institute. Types of cancer studied in the labs will include multiple myeloma, leukemia, lymphoma, solid tumors and brain, skin, breast and cervical cancers.
Boozman and Pryor said they were honored to support the project.
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* Gov't trying to force users off streets into treatment
* Big market for narcotics as Brazil's economy expands
* Action comes ahead of World Cup and Summer Olympics
By Rodrigo Viga Gaier
RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 10 (Reuters) - A 10-year-old Brazilian boy was hit by a car and killed on Thursday as he fled a drug sweep by police and social workers, reigniting debate over the government's tough response to a surge in crack cocaine use.
The incident occurred around 4 a.m. on one of the main thoroughfares in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's main tourist destination, the city's social welfare department said in a statement.
The boy, whose name was not released, was part of a large cluster of crack users who scattered as police and social workers approached.
Such clusters are known in Brazil as cracolandias or "cracklands," and dozens have proliferated in big cities such as Rio and Sao Paulo in recent years. Brazil borders the world's top three cocaine-producing countries and has become a huge market for narcotics as its economy expands.
The boy had left home nine days earlier, the welfare department said. His father was dead, and his mother was also a drug user, it said. The boy's 14-year-old brother had found him on Wednesday and failed to convince him to come home.
"Crack is a very violent and cruel drug, and we have to keep working against it," Rodrigo Abel, Rio's undersecretary for social protection, told reporters.
In response to "cracklands" that sometimes see hundreds of people gather to smoke the drug in broad daylight, Rio in 2011 began staging large-scale sweeps to remove addicts from the street.
They are offered drug treatment, although many refuse and quickly go back to using.
Unlike adults, minors are sometimes held for treatment against their will - a practice that has stirred controversy. Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes said last year he would support forced treatment of adults as well.
The sweeps come as Brazil prepares to host the World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in Rio in 2016.
Twitter and other social media exploded with debate after the boy's death was announced.
"Social cleansing. Police are chasing these crack-using kids as if they were criminals," tweeted Ariel Castro Alves, a Brazilian lawyer specializing in human rights and youth issues.
Emmanuel Fortes, a psychiatrist and vice president of Brazil's Federal Council of Medicine, said the child's death was a tragedy but that the state had little choice but to press ahead given the widespread problem.
"It's a tragedy also to see an entire generation fall victim to this drug epidemic. I understand people are upset by what happened today, but is it correct to leave a 10-year-old on the street to consume drugs?" Fortes told Reuters.
The crisis has led President Dilma Rousseff to massively increase the presence of police and military patrols and even stage drone flights on its borders to halt drug trafficking.
However, Brazil has 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) of borders - five times the length of the U.S.-Mexico border - running through Amazon jungle and huge swamps, making it extremely difficult to secure.
Rio's welfare department said it would provide psychological assistance to the boy's family and money for his funeral.
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Does this make sense?
I went to Tiskilwa last Wednesday and was appalled to see this sign;
TISKILWA COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION PROTECT YOUR FUTURE “INVEST” IN GUNS & AMMO
GOD BLESS AMERICA
While I understand this sign has since been changed ... This, a month after 26 people — 20 of them little 6- and 7-year-old children — were slaughtered in Sandy Hook Elementary School. Who is “Tiskilwa Community Association?” Do they represent the majority of their town’s people with this sign? Do they realize 12 little girls’ and eight little boys’ bodies were riddled with bullets (all 26 victims had from three to 11 bullets in their bodies). It is inhumane, unchristian and immoral to allow weapons that can do this in less than one minute to be possessed by anyone other than the military, and Tiskilwa is now actually promoting it with this sign.
I support the Second Amendment and know there are rules and regulations that can greatly reduce what has happened at Columbine, Virginia Tech, Tucson, Aurora and now Newtown without infringing on my right to own guns. We, as a civil society, have established rules for driving vehicles along with countless other activities to reduce bad outcomes. There are even regulations governing the stuffing that goes into a Teddy bear to protect our children, while we have zero regulations on the manufacturers of guns or the buyers of guns if purchased at a gun show or through the Internet. You can legally sue any company in this country if you have a reason to unless they are a gun manufacturer, since they got Congress to pass a law exempting them from suits.
I suggest that anyone cannot purchase a firearm without filling out an application proving they are mentally stable, have not been convicted of a crime (or charged with spousal abuse), and have a reasonable need to own a gun (including hunting). This application would go through a verification process, and if passed, a permit card would be issued so you can show it for purchasing a gun and ammunition. It is well past time to stand up to the gun industry and their “front organization” (NRA), as they are only interested in their huge profits, not our safety. Their main tactic is to promote the paranoia the government will come to confiscate your guns, but most of us are not paranoid and realize we are the government, and we will not do this.
Most Recent Comment
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Mindy McAdams, Knight chair at the University of Florida, requires students in her Reporting and Writing for Online Media course to blog on a single topic for 12 weeks. She shares some student examples and her grading criteria.
David Warlick, who manages The Landmark Project, a resource site for educators, shares his tips for evaluating student blogs in his 2¢ worth blog. For example: "What did the author read in order to write this blog? What did he or she already know and where did that knowledge come from?"
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1 On that day they read in the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and it was found written in it that an Ammonite and a Moabite should not enter into the assembly of God forever, 2 because they didn’t meet the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, to curse them; however our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 It came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.
4 Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the rooms of the house of our God, being allied to Tobiah, 5 had prepared for him a great room, where before they laid the meal offerings, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, the singers, and the porters; and the wave offerings for the priests. 6 But in all this, I was not at Jerusalem; for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king; and after some days I asked leave of the king, 7 and I came to Jerusalem, and understood the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing him a room in the courts of God’s house. 8 It grieved me severely. Therefore I threw all Tobiah’s household stuff out of the room. 9 Then I commanded, and they cleansed the rooms. I brought into them the vessels of God’s house, with the meal offerings and the frankincense again.
10 I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them; so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had each fled to his field. 11 Then I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is God’s house forsaken?” I gathered them together, and set them in their place. 12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, the new wine, and the oil to the treasuries. 13 I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah: and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were counted faithful, and their business was to distribute to their brothers.
14 Remember me, my God, concerning this, and don’t wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its observances.
15 In those days saw I in Judah some men treading wine presses on the Sabbath, bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys; also with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; and I testified against them in the day in which they sold food. 16 Some men of Tyre also lived there, who brought in fish and all kinds of wares, and sold on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, and profane the Sabbath day? 18 Didn’t your fathers do thus, and didn’t our God bring all this evil on us, and on this city? Yet you bring more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
19 It came to pass that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. I set some of my servants over the gates, so that no burden should be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 So the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares camped outside of Jerusalem once or twice. 21 Then I testified against them, and said to them, “Why do you stay around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on, they didn’t come on the Sabbath. 22 I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember to me, my God, this also, and spare me according to the greatness of your loving kindness.
23 In those days I also saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab; 24 and their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language, but according to the language of each people. 25 I contended with them, and cursed them, and struck certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons, or for yourselves. 26 Didn’t Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations was there no king like him, and he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless foreign women caused even him to sin. 27 Shall we then listen to you to do all this great evil, to trespass against our God in marrying foreign women?”
28 One of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite; therefore I chased him from me. 29 Remember them, my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.
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Innovation and the frequency, at which new product development occurs, is key to competing in today's market. Food companies increasingly select their ingredient suppliers on their ability to innovate and to assist them with developing new food concepts, which support a healthier lifestyle.
Effective innovation is based on intensive discussions with customers and is driven by regional preferences and cultures. Therefore, Unimills adopted the open innovation model, and recently formed a strong new product development (NPD) team with an extensive knowledge of oils and fats physics, chemistry and processing. Our product developers lead our innovation projects, which are selected and monitored by a strict stage-gate process.
The Sime Darby Unimills stage-gate process allows effective assessment and monitoring of all innovation projects on both commercial and technical criteria. Global collaboration exists between the our NPD-team and the more than 200 colleagues of the Sime Darby R&D centre and the Sime Darby Academy in Malaysia with a strong track record in sustainable plantation science and oil processing R&D.
Our open innovation model is also based on a close collaboration with the famous food application expertise and facilities at NIZO food research and Netherlands Bakery Centre in the Dutch Food Valley.
This innovative power leads to shorter lead times than ever before and the highest possible success rate, which are key elements to rapidly enable our customers to bring new products to the market.
To develop new oil formulations, which support a healthier lifestyle, we are facing the challenge of how to make the transition from trans to trans-free and from high saturated fat to high-unsaturated fat formulations, without losing product integrity and maintaining excellent taste perception.
Fundamental understanding of fat physics and chemistry is essential. Crystallization behaviour of fats has a significant impact on applicability in food products.
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Gordon graduated from high school to his bedroom. As a big man of few words, he was alone in life and the world outside his home seemed to hold no place for him. But with the support of his father, Chuck, and PLAN, an organization Chuck helped found, Gordon's life unfolded in a very different way than once imagined...
As one of the pioneers of PLAN in British Columbia, Gordon's story has been shared with countless families. Although Gordon sadly passed away last year, his story lives on - and continues to offer hope to those who are struggling to envision a meaningful, secure future for their loved one with a disability.
Video Length: 8 minutes, 51 seconds
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With only six days left before Christmas, holiday shoppers are flooding the malls and local stores.
Nearly half of shoppers have not finished their Christmas shopping yet, and the traditional biggest shopping days -- Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Green Monday -- are all behind us. The outlook seems to be that it's shaping to be a robust season for the economy.
Experts say this year consumers have the upper hand, as stores opened for extended hours and online vendors offered major discounts, some even with free shipping.
Some stores called Saturday, Dec. 17 "Super Saturday," even though that name is usually reserved for the last Saturday before Christmas. The deals came early this year because Christmas Eve is actually the last Saturday before Christmas. Retailers offered the better deals earlier to get more shoppers into their stores than they would if they had waited until Dec. 24.
Frenzied shoppers hit the stores Saturday to take advantage of the kind of deals that retailers usually only offer at the last minute. Major chains including Macy's, Sears, and J.C. Penny cast out the bait, offering shoppers major discounts with up to 60 percent off some merchandise for a limited time.
"The holiday season this year favors the consumer," Ellen Davis of the National Retail Federation told ABC News. "Retailers have been very promotional, they know that the average shopper is still looking for a deal, spending on a budget, is very focused on small, discretionary items, basics and necessities."
Holiday Shopping Impact on Economy?
Increased holiday shopping hours, including on Thanksgiving, extended free shipping offers and more shipping days contributed to the rise in sales.
The National Retail Federation revised its holiday sales forecast upwards from 2.8 percent (which it had forecast in October) to 3.8 percent, for a record $469.1 billion.
Now while this is still below the 5.2 percent for 2010, it's above average for the past decade, and holiday shopping isn't even over.
One survey conducted by the National Retail Federation found consumers had completed less than half of their holiday shopping as of the second week in December, boosting retailers hopes.
Experts say that despite the tough job market and the weak stock and house prices, Christmas is shaping up to be surprisingly strong for retailers.
"Households are spending with some gusto," said Mark Zandi, Chief Economist for Moody's Analytics.
Zandi told ABC that increased confidence is helping both low and high income households finally start spending after long holding off, them decreasing the amount they're saving and putting that money back out in the economy.
"A solid Christmas buying season will set a very positive tone for the economy going into 2012," Zandi said.
Trish Regan, business analyst and journalist, reports that more shoppers are also using credit cards at a rate of 7.4 percent more than last year. Debit card purchases are up 3.4 percent over last year as well.
This is partly due to the increase in online shopping, since you can't pay cash online, but another reason is that people may not want to spend a lot of cash just yet, but they don't want to pass up on a good deal, Regan said.
Consumers may feel optimistic enough to buy on credit and worry about paying their debts after the new year, she said.
When it comes to the deals, though, experts warn, this may be as good as it gets.
"We are not expecting on the 23rd and 24th of December for there to be a lot of huge mark-downs," Davis said. "This is really when the prices are going to be very good, so if you're a shopper, this is the time to go out and buy."
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Joyce Bone's blog
"There falls a shadow, between the conception and the creation. "- T.S. Eliot
I talk to LOTS of budding entrepreneurs. They are always so full of enthusiasm. I love that! What I don't love is when I check in six months later they are still, "sitting and spinning" with little or no momentum. That sucks. It sucks for them and for the world that could benefit from their products or services. Everyone gets cheated.
If you want to overcome fear and gain courage the easiest way to do it is to always remember that your life is but a quick blip on the radar of time. It is such a gift to be here. Don't waste it being scared of your shadow!
I just read Steve Job's biography. It's fascinating. He gave Stanford's commencement address. The final story he shared was how his thinking and awareness changed after his cancer diagnosis. At the time he thought he had beat it.
I am constantly asked, "How do you do it all Joyce?" There are several layers to that answer but the top three ways I manage to run multiple businesses, raise three boys, stay fit and all the dozens of other "to do's" is (1) I prioritize using the Pareto Principle (2) I have an accountability partner and (3) I delegate or delay as much work as possible.
Seven Steps to Developing a New Habit
First, make a decision. Decide clearly that you are going to begin acting in a specific way 100% of the time, whenever that that behavior is required. For example, if you decide to arise early and exercise each morning, set your clock for a specific time, and when the alarm goes off, immediately get up, put on your exercise clothes and begin your exercise session.
* List all your debts, total owed, payment amount, and percent of interest charged. Start with the one you owe the least on and concentrate on paying it off. After you have paid it off, add that payment to the payment on the next debt in sequence and watch your debt disappear.
Here is an email I sent today to an inventor who was looking for an investor. These words hold true for anyone looking to fund a business. Here is what I wrote. I hope you find some value in it too.
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|1.||Leather Couch Disease|
noun. also known as LCD. it's the state of fatigue, or the feeling of being disoriented after sleeping on a leather couch.
guy #2: hey you want to go for a run?
guy #1: sorry bro, i got a bad case of Leather Couch Disease...
mom: chuck! i told you to unload the dishwater 30 minutes ago!
chuck: mom, when you told me that i was under the influence of some serious LCD.
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Long-service awards are getting scarcer in today’s workplace where longevity is more often measured in months but at Roberts Mart & Co. Ltd, a leading flexible packaging and printing business, an employee has just clocked up more than 40 years service.
Alan Wintersgill has been with Roberts Mart all his working life since walking through the doors of its Bank Mills factory in Leeds in 1970 as a nervous fresh-faced 16-year-old ready to start his first day as an apprentice.
Since then he has experienced several economic downturns and upturns, the three-day week, the effects of different political ‘isms’, modernisation, the computer age and the upheaval of moving from a traditional factory site to a spanking new state-of-art facility – and he says he wouldn’t have missed a minute of it!
Over four decades, through thick and thin, his life has been linked with the fortunes of Roberts Mart and he still shows tremendous enthusiasm, loyalty and respect for the company he joined straight from school.
“I was just a boy when I was taken on. In those days apprenticeships were still a popular route into work for kids leaving school at that age – I was one of a procession at Roberts Mart but I must admit never did I think all that time ago that I would still be here 40 years later,” he says.
Alan, who was rewarded with a watch after completing 25 years at Roberts Mart back in 1995, believes his early days learning on the job were the perfect launch pad for his career at the company.
“It’s a shame that apprenticeships fell out of fashion,” he says. “I suppose unions saw them as cheap labour, while companies baulked at the cost of training up young people only to risk their investment disappearing for a better-paid job elsewhere.
“I’m glad that today apprentices are making a comeback and at Roberts Mart we run two-year in-house apprenticeship courses. I think learning advocates can inspire loyalty and continuation.”
His mentor was chairman John Roberts, who last year celebrated 45 years at the company by handing over the day-to-day management to his two sons Ben and William – the sixth generation of the Roberts family to be in charge.
Alan thinks it is the “family atmosphere” encouraged by the company which inspires loyalty from its staff. He says: “Whoever you are, whatever your role people matter at Roberts Mart and that does make for a dedicated workforce who will rally around when the going does get tough – and I should know having survived four recessions!
“I also think it says a lot about John Roberts and the family. He has been brilliant. He has been the driving force at the company. He employed me as a junior and has encouraged me all the way through my career. I like to think of him as a friend as well as my boss.”
Alan is now Print Supervisor and the changes on the factory floor he has witnessed have left a lasting impression on the 56-year-old. “When I joined it was very labour intensive and physically demanding,” he says. “But new technology and health and safety legislation have changed the environment in the workplace.
“With any machinery you still have to be aware of what’s going on around you, but the technological advances that have taken place have been unbelievable and Roberts Mart has never been afraid to change with the times.
“Forty years ago we were basically making paper bags. Then In the late 70s the company were among the pioneers for printing on polythene and invested in a four-colour flexographic printer which was quite radical for the time. Next were six-colour printers, converting machines and slitter rewinders. Now we can print in 10 colours and can turn out around 500,000m of printed film a day.
“Customer expectations are also higher. Back in the old days the artwork was very basic but computers have changed all that and designs come in all sorts of formats. Clients want more attractive packaging so that it stands out on shelves but are also much more knowledgeable and have more input than they did before.”
A significant sea change came in 2004 when Roberts Mart uprooted from its landmark site of 76 years at Bank Mills on the Leeds waterfront, a place that still holds fond memories for Alan, to a new modern facility on the outskirts of the city at Thornes Farm Way.
“In the last six years the company has taken huge strides forward and invested where other companies haven’t. Recently we purchased a Fischer & Krecke 14S press which features ‘smartGPS’, a graphic positioning system with automatic registration – a far cry from the days of levers and gears!”
Alan has taken all the changes in his stride and he was delighted to be given a large framed print of the former site at Banks Mill by John Roberts at the presentation to mark his milestone.
Sales Director Ben Roberts and Chairman John Roberts led the tributes to Alan, saying: “He has been a real stalwart at Roberts Mart and his type is the backbone of any company. To complete 40 years service at one place is a remarkable achievement and we hope he will continue to play a part in our success for years to come.
“Innovation is at the heart of our business as is a continued investment programme which has resulted in one of the best, most modern equipped flexographic facilities in the UK. But ultimately we are only as good as the people we employ and Alan is testament to that.”
Roberts Mart has spent almost £13million over the last six years as part of an ongoing expansion programme to meet growing demand for its film printing and packaging services.
Established in 1852, Roberts Mart is a major player in the printed collation shrink sector and is continually developing specialised high performance films for a variety of sectors which deliver full operational characteristics, in terms of clarity, gloss and strength, whilst minimising gauge.
From its humble beginnings as a paper merchant, Roberts Mart is at the forefront of flexible printing and packaging, helped by loyal staff such as Alan Wintersgill who best summed up the company’s progress and his own part in it by saying: “It’s been a long road but it has gone very fast.”
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en
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Last Updated: 11:25 AM, January 6, 2013
Posted: 11:25 AM, January 6, 2013
ALBANY — Several state senators say new gun safety measures will be a priority when they return to Albany this week following the school shooting in Connecticut that left 20 children dead.
Senate Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Sen. Catharine Young, a Republican from Olean, say any legislative agreement should include a stronger version of Kendra's Law, authorizing court-ordered mental health treatment for individuals who won't seek help but are deemed to be a safety threat.
Sen. Jeff Klein, a Bronx Democrat who heads the Independent Democratic Conference, says after meeting with Gov. Andrew Cuomo they are in agreement they need "to do everything possible to ban assault weapons in New York," as well as ban high-capacity magazines and make sure people with serious mental health issues don't possess guns.
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Doxey Alfonzo Wilkerson had a A.D. Degree in English from the University of Kansas. He came to Virginia State in 1927. He was the acting director of the high school and professor secondary education in 1929.
African American; Educator; Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute
He was the first science teacher at the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute now Virginia State University. Mr. Colson was an 1883 graduate of Dartmouth College. He served as acting principal in 1885 replacing the first principal James...
College presidents – Washington (D.C.) -- District of Columbia Teachers College;
District Of Columbia Teachers College;
District Of Columbia Teachers College – Presidents
Dr. Paul P. Cooke, was the third president of DCTC and served from 1966 through 1974.
Dr. Cooke has lived in the District of Columbia since 1921, when his family moved from Harlem, New York. He graduated from Dunbar High School. He earned a BA...
Elgy Johnson served as acting president of Federal City College, He served from 1972 through 1974. Upon the appointment of Dr. Russell as President, Dr. Johnson resumed his position as Chairman of the Mathematics Department. He received his BS from...
College presidents -- Washington (D.C.) -- Miner Teacher College
Clark, Eugene A.
Miner Normal School
Miner Teachers College -- Presidents
school principals -- Washington (D.C.) -- Miner Normal School
Eugene A. Clark (1883-1962) was the last principal of Miner Normal School and the first president of Miner Teachers College. Born in Washington DC, he received his degrees from Williams College and Miner Teachers College (1908). He taught in the DC...
Washington Technical Institute;
Washington Technical Institute -- Presidents.
Dr. Cleveland Leon Dennard (1929-1992) was the founding president of the Washington Technical institute, a predecessor to UDC. Dennard was appointed to the post by president Lyndon B. Johnson at a time when the city’s government functions were...
College presidents; Programs; College administrators; Teachers; Universities & colleges;
Surprise Chapel Program Honoring President Walter S. Davis, May 7, 1951 Upon His Return From Chicago Where He Received the Fifth Annual Robert S. Abbatl Memorial Award on Saturday, May 5, 1951. Left to Right: Mrs. Alma Dunn Jones Presented Dr....
Pinchback, Pinckney Benton Stewart, b. 1837 d. 1921; Governors--Louisiana
Founder and sponsor of the relocation of Southern University. Pinchback served as Senator in the Louisiana State Senate in 1867, Lieutenant Governor in 1871 and Governor of Louisiana from December 9, 1872 to January 13, 1873 [35 days].
The bulletin of Atlanta University was a publication sent to faculty, friends and alumni of the institution; Telling of the institution's progress and present needs. This issue is December 1896, no. 78.
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Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore has hailed a new phase in Europe's economic relations with the United States.
The foreign affairs minister insisted Ireland would make the most of its close relationship with the US after President Barack Obama revealed he is to launch talks on a comprehensive trade agreement with the European Union.
"Securing a negotiating mandate for a comprehensive free-trade agreement with the US was a top priority for the Government when we established the jobs and growth agenda for the Irish presidency of the EU," Mr Gilmore said.
"Coming on the back of last week's agreement on the multi-annual financial framework, where the EU made significant progress on its own governance, this now opens up enormous untapped potential for a new phase in Europe's economic relations with the US."
The partnership could eventually boost business in Ireland and create jobs in the US.
The Tanaiste said the negotiations would begin during Ireland's term as EU president.
"And we will of course make the most of Ireland's close relationship with the US to get talks off to a good start," Mr Gilmore said.
"I look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue with our US colleagues as we begin working on this together."
In the first state of the union speech of his second term as US president, Mr Obama said his focus would be jobs, growth and boosting trade. However, he also called for tougher controls on the country's controversial gun laws.
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SURPRISE, Ariz. - Renee Coplan played racquetball for 28 years, but had to give it up as she got older and chasing a ball around a large court became too much.
Just when she thought her days of playing court games were over, someone suggested she give pickleball a try.
Her reaction was about what you'd expect from someone who had never heard of a sport named after a garnish.
"They said pickleball and I said, 'Excuse me, pickleball?'" Coplan said. "But then I tried it and I absolutely loved it."
Created on the whim of a U.S. Congressman (more on that later), pickleball has become a big hit in senior communities around the country, and is gaining steam with younger players and at schools, too.
A hybrid of tennis, badminton and table tennis, pickleball is played on a court a quarter the size of a tennis court, with hard rackets and a variety of whiffle ball.
The smaller area and slower pace are perfect for seniors who want to stay active — much easier on the joints and lungs than tennis. It's an easy sport to pick up for novices, and fun enough that kids and their grandparents can play on the same court.
Pickleball also can be challenging, requiring quick reactions as players trade rapid-fire shots at the net.
For those who have discovered the game, the familiar sound of the ball off the racket becomes intoxicating.
"You get up in the morning and hear that pick-pock, pick-pock and it's addictive," said Keith Darrow, who lives in the same Sun City Grand retirement community as Coplan. "You just tell the wife: 'I gotta go.'"
Here's the basics:
— There's usually four players — two each side on a team — playing over a net slightly lower than in tennis.
— Players swing rackets that look like a beefed-up version of a beach paddleball paddle and hit a whiffle ball that's slightly harder than the play-in-the-streets variety.
— The serve is underhanded and goes diagonally like in tennis, but the ball must bounce once on each side before players are allowed to hit a volley (out of the air).
— Inside "The Kitchen," a 7-foot zone on both sides of the net, volleying is not allowed; players have to let the ball bounce once if they're in that area.
— Teams only score when they're serving, and each player gets a turn before the other side gets a shot.
There are a few more rules, but the main thing is that pickleball is a blast.
"It's really easy to learn, it's a lot of fun and it's a very social game because you're in a small area with a lot of interaction," said Bill Booth, president of the USA Pickleball Association.
OK, so what's with the name?
That's up for debate, sort of.
The sport was hatched in 1965, in the backyard of Joel Pritchard, a Congressman for the state of Washington. Bored after a round of golf, Pritchard and a friend lowered the badminton net on the property of his Bainbridge Island home and cut two paddles out of plywood. After trying several balls that didn't work, they started hitting a neighbour's whiffle ball back and forth. They came up with rules and the sport was born.
Joan Pritchard, Joel's wife, said she told the guys that the game reminded her of the pickle boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats.
Over the years, however, a story circulated that the game was named after the family's dog, Pickles, who would chase after the ball. According to Joan Pritchard, Pickles the canine came years after pickle the game, but the ball-chasing-dog legend grew over the years, blurring the truth.
"We kind of go with named-after-the-dog because it's cute and a legend, but take your pick — it doesn't really matter," Booth said. "It's like, how did squash get its name? That's a vegetable too."
Pickleball spread to Pritchard's Bainbridge Island neighbours, who started building their own courts, and gradually across the United States and Canada. About a decade ago, it started to gain steam in senior communities, with courts popping up all over.
The USAPA estimates now there are 100,000 to 150,000 pickleball players in the United States, and pickleball associations have started up in places like India and China. Arizona and Florida, with their huge retirement populations, have become hotbeds for the sport, including an estimated 10,000 players hitting the courts in The Villages near Orlando.
Kids, too, have started, uh, pickling it up. Schools around the country have started adding pickleball to physical education programs and a few leagues for younger players have started up.
In retirement communities, pickleball is often the first thing the grandkids ask about.
"I talk to my grandson on Skype and the first thing he says is: 'I want to play pickleball, Pop,'" Darrow said. "He just loves it."
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If you hold the idea that it’s ‘wrong’ to do to form cash together with your musical skills, don’t browse any further…simply shut this page currently.For those of you WHO have set to continue reading…welcome. Fact is, the bulk of musicians need to possess a career in music. However, these musicians conjointly doubt their skills to form sensible cash in music, and worry that they’re going to not be able to support themselves. sadly, these individuals find yourself following non-music jobs wherever they work full time and disdain when they are going to put down. this is often all done out of the concept that a ‘normal job’ is safe and secure, whereas a music connected career is extremely risky with very little security.
This is often one amongst the terribly commonest misconceptions that I see ALL THE TIME whereas coaching musicians to reach their careers!In truth, achieving nice money success whereas acting on your music career isn’t as tough as you may suppose. additionally, you do not ought to be a giant time vocaliser to form sensible cash within the music business. However, so as to become financially free in your music career, you may ought to take a really totally different approach than the one that’s taken by most musicians. you may ought to approach your music career as each a “musical artist” AND as a man of affairs (or woman). you need to run your career as a business, wherever your primary goal is to feature the maximum amount worth as potential to your fans, different bands, music company officers, and others within the business of music.
Most musicians don’t knowledge to treat their music career in an exceedingly skilled, business-like manner. this is often why such a large amount of of} of those individuals struggle to form a lot of cash within the music business
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Paul Sakuma, AP
Though Facebook users disclose pretty much any personal information an advertiser could ever want, the company can’t profit from it, according to CNN.
A couple of NYU professors are proposing a new strategy to pay users for the right to sell their information to advertisers.
While the idea seems a little absurd, it could help Facebook become the world’s leading market research company. Advertisers would have targeted access to clients who are actually interested in their products, and users would get paid to see advertisements they would want to buy.
"This way, Facebook's intent becomes clear," Vasant Dhar, a professor at NYU's Stern School of Business, told CNN. "If users aren't making a conscious choice about what happens with their data, they end up feeling violated."
The concept of buying user data is an old concept that hasn’t happened before because consumers are so willing to change companies. Facebook users see few to no alternatives to the social networking site.
"Facebook's current ad model is at odds with its mission," Arun Sundararajan, another professor at NYU's Stern School of Business, told CNN. "People are unhappy about it."
Sundarajan feels that the majority of Facebook advertisements aren’t effective.
Giving users control over their data with an incentive to do so would not only generate revenue but it would build more trust among its users, according to CNN.
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Gel effective for women with overactive bladder
CHICAGO (Reuters Health) - Applying a gel containing the anti-spasmodic agent oxybutynin to the skin is safe and effective for women with overactive bladder, according to a study reported here at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association.
Overactive bladder can be disabling and is associated with a marked decrease in health-related quality of life as well as higher rates of depression, Dr. Roger Dmochowski noted. The condition affects both men and women, but women experience more severe symptoms earlier in life than men.
The gel, which goes by the brand name Gelnique, is applied "once daily to rotating sites on the abdomen, upper arm/shoulders and thigh." Dmochowski of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and others tested it in some 700 women with symptoms of overactive bladder.
The women were randomly assigned to treatment with the oxybutynin gel or an inactive placebo, which they applied once a day for 12 weeks.
By the end of the study period, 27 percent of the women treated with oxybutynin gel achieved complete continence compared with 15.6 percent treated with placebo.
The average daily number of mean urinary episodes dropped by 2.8 episodes with active treatment compared with 2.0 episodes with placebo.
There was also a greater reduction in incontinence, which dropped by 3.0 episodes a day with oxybutynin and by 2.5 episodes a day with placebo.
There were no serious treatment-related adverse events. The most common side effect with oxybutynin gel was dry mouth, occurring in 7.4 percent of the women compared with 2.8 percent with placebo. Itchiness occurred at the application site in 2.3 percent of the study group and 0.9 percent of the placebo group.
The results confirm that the oxybutynin gel "is a novel treatment approach with strong efficacy and excellent tolerability" for women with overactive bladder, Dmochowski commented during the presentation of his team's findings.
"Women with overactive bladder often experience severe symptoms at a young age, so it's important that we have an effective treatment that is both well tolerated and convenient for our female patients," he said.
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|« Back to Article|
Rise in Texas personal income beats U.S. average
By L.M. Sixel | December 19, 2012 | Updated: December 19, 2012 6:53pm
Personal income grew faster in Texas than the national average during the third quarter, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Wednesday.
The state's total personal income grew 0.8 percent from the second to the third quarter compared to 0.5 percent nationally. Personal income includes wages, property and payments such as Social Security, food stamps and unemployment benefits.
Texas' income growth rate was seventh in the nation during the third quarter, according to the bureau. North Dakota's was highest at 1.4 percent, while South Dakota's dropped by 1.6 percent, worst among the states.
Nationwide, personal income didn't grow as quickly during the third quarter as it did during the second quarter when it increased by 0.7 percent.
The bureau also measures business earnings and reported that earnings rose in 19 of the 24 industries it tracks. The biggest percentage increase was in farming - which went up by 5.8 percent - largely reflecting insurance settlements stemming from the 2012 summer drought, according to the bureau. Excluding those payments, farm income would have fallen by 4.9 percent during the third quarter.
The largest contributors to earnings growth were professional services and construction.
The bulk of the increase in construction-related income came from building surges in Texas and Oklahoma, the bureau said, with the two states representing more than half of the nation's earnings growth in that sector.
Earnings for mining and oil and gas exploration and production, which are calculated together, fell in most states, including major energy producers Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Wyoming, Alaska and West Virginia.
A big exception was North Dakota, which continued to expand with a 1.6 percent increase in mining-related earnings.
In Texas, mining earnings dipped 1.5 percent in the third quarter.
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See the world! (Some travel required.)
- Do you want to explore the world and be paid for it?
- Would you love to see your name in print?
- Does your idea of stamp collecting involve a passport and
a customs official?
- Want to find out how to write a travel story that editors will
want to publish?
- Keen to learn tips, tricks and how to have your adventures fully funded?
- If you answered YES to any or all of these, we’ve got just the ticket…
Globe jotting ...
Travel writing has come a long way in the past few decades. Once the
realm of only the hardiest hardiest souls, nowadays newspapers and
magazines are brimming with stories from all four corners of the planet (and the non-pointy bits in between). If you have a penchant for travel and love telling stories, then travel writing is for you!
Good news travels fast
In 5 short weeks, you’ll learn a blueprint on how to become a travel writer. That’s right…we’ve distilled what would normally take years to figure out on your own so that you can get published now!
Ever wondered WHO gets those writing gigs that say “X was a guest of Fancy Resort” at the end of the article? We’ll show you a step-by-step process on how to become a writer funded by resorts, tourism bodies and airlines. You’ll also be given templates, scripts, and insider information on how to deal professionally with editors.
YES! Please send me an outline for this course
VIDEO: What will you learn in the Travel Writing Course?
Broaden your mind
- About the different types of travel articles and why they suit different markets.
- How to speak the language – understanding the industry lingo.
- How to develop the right angle for your travel story so it doesn’t resemble a six hour holiday slideshow.
- Structuring your articles, using photos and trip notes effectively.
- How to research travel stories, plan your itineraries and find interview subjects on the road.
- Write without ever getting on a plane – discovering your hometown or state.
- How to stay out of trouble by following travel writing ethics.
- The best way to approach editors and pitch your story to perfection.
- and MUCH more!
This 5-week course is suitable for first-time writers or anyone who
wants to explore the wonderful world of travel writing. If you’ve
already completed our Introduction to Travel Writing seminar or even our Magazine and Newspaper Writing course, you’ll find in-depth instruction on travel writing and completely fresh material.
Your guide on this journey is prolific travel writer Sue White.
She travels the globe regularly – all in the name of a good story. This
means you’ll get up-to-date answers to all your questions about the
travel writing industry and how to make a hobby or career out of it.
The best travel writers can turn a trip to the post office into an
adventure for the ages. The principles of good travel writing – and how
to approach editors – apply to almost every publication in the
So what are you waiting for? Now’s the time to stamp your mark on the
travel-writing world (and maybe stamp your passport too). Your journey
of a thousand miles begins with this first step!
Course content and outcomes are consistent, regardless of whether you learn at the Centre or online
We are sticklers for consistency and quality in our courses, so you’ll achieve the same outcomes regardless of which presenter you have. Naturally, each presenter brings their own insight to the course, but you can be assured that the content is consistent across the board.
You’ll also achieve the same outcomes regardless of whether you enrol in our online or face-to-face course!
Your online classroom
You can attend the online classroom any time, any day of the week. This way, you can fit your learning into your schedule and lifestyle. You do not have to commit to a set time each week. However, you MUST
complete each module during the week specified, or you won't get the most out of the course. Each week builds on the one before and you have the opportunity to ask questions and make comments about the topics we discuss each week. To sample a taste of how this will work, click here.
How much time should you commit each week?
You need to commit a minimum of 2 to 3 hours a week. The audio program
itself is around 2 hours a week. Beyond that, we recommend that you put
into practice what you have learnt that week. While you are expected to
commit to a minimum of 2 to 3 hours a week, we won't hold you back if
you are super keen and want to spend much more time than that on your
About the course
Robyn Box talks about
the online course:
Rave reviews about
“Relevant information that enabled me to be guided through every step of the way. I feel totally motivated to pursue my goals relating to travel writing. Sue was extremely professional and offered constructive feedback. She was very inspirational and I could really relate to her even in an online environment.”
- Jocelyn Pride
“Living in Perth I only have access to the online courses but I have recommended these to friends as an extremely easy and convenient way to learn. With the practical exercises and Sue's feedback you find out exactly where you are going wrong and how to correct it.”
- Pam Lynch
“Absolutely super. Organised, relaxed, honest.”
- Gillian Perrett
"I loved the online classroom. The best thing is that you can ‘attend’ class at your convenience. The course was fun, convenient and there was heaps of practical advice and information given! I feel motivated to pitch some travel articles now."
- Jennifer Morton
"I thought the structure of the course was fantastic. It's one of the best online courses that I've done. I loved that the tutor actually had industry experience and was able to share insight into the industry. I cannot speak highly enough of the online travel writing course."
- Michelle Crutcher
Learn from the best
|Freelance writer Sue White has lost count of the number
of countries she’s visited for work and play. As a travel writer, she
has written about everything from the Golden Temple (Amritsar, India) to
Gianni Versace’s 24-carat gold toilet (Miami, USA) while indulging her
own itchy feet.
In the last few years, Sue has done everything from trek through the jungle in Belize for Vogue Entertaining + Travel to rock climbing for Women’s Health. As a travel writer, she quickly learned how to compress a lifetime’s worth of adventure activities (rafting, jet-boating and learning to fly), into an itinerary that also includes romantic bath-houses, spa treatments and fine dining. She now balances travel writing with her regular feature writing commitments for the SMH and The Age. She is often found mentally composing sentences while standing on one leg, part of her work writing up yoga retreats for Australian Yoga Journal or her smartphone app Yoga Holidays Worldwide. ... read more
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When men and women get distracted, their eyes meander in distinctly different ways.
Men, when focused on a person being interviewed, park their eyes on the speaker’s mouth. They tend to be most distracted by distinctive movement behind the interview subjects, report researchers from University of Southern California.
Full story at Futurity.
More research news from top universities.
Photo credit: Dietmar Quistorf/USC
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Calcutta, Oct. 27: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will inaugurate Calcutta airport's much-delayed integrated terminal in "end-January", though with inadequate aerobridges.
Five of the 18 aerobridges commissioned arrived from Indonesia yesterday.
"Now that the aerobridges have arrived, the new terminal will be inaugurated in the last week of January. The exact date will be fixed soon but the end-January opening is confirmed," AAI chairman V.P. Agrawal told The Telegraph today.
The AAI, which is executing the Rs 2,300-crore airport modernisation project, has missed four deadlines ' August 2011, December 2011, March 2012 and October 2012.
The five aerobridges, the first lot of the 18 manufactured by Indonesian firm PT Bukaka Teknik Utama, had been loaded onto a ship that left Jakarta on October 15. "The installation of the aerobridges will start next week. We are expecting the remaining 13 to arrive by December," airport director B.P. Sharma said this evening.
The delay in the arrival of the aerobridges was one of the main reasons why the pre-Puja deadline was missed, Agrawal said. "This won't happen again and we will meet our target and present Calcutta a modern airport."
Some aviation experts said 18 aerobridges would be "grossly inadequate" for the modern terminal that aims at catering to 20 million passengers annually. Now, the airport handles around five million passengers every year.
"There is no provision in the design to increase the number of aerobridges. If the authorities are planning to cater to 20 million passengers, there is something wrong (with the plan). Modern airports need a much higher number of aerobridges," an expert said.
Mumbai is preparing to handle 40 million passengers by next year with 72 aerobridges. Delhi's terminal 3, which handles 35 million passengers annually, has 78 aerobridges. The new terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport has 66 aerobridges for a projected annual traffic of 43 million passengers.
"Although 18 aerobridges will make a difference to operations, pressure will build up during peak hours. The number of passengers at Calcutta airport is growing at 10-15 per cent annually and 18 aerobridges will become even more inadequate as traffic increases," a senior airport official said.
According to sources, 90 per cent of passengers at the new terminal will have to use the aerobridges.
Calcutta airport now has four aerobridges, three of them for domestic operations and one for the international terminal. But these can't be used at the new terminal.Airport director Sharma said operations at the new facility would start with "an international airline that operates wide-body aircraft".
Airlines that use wide-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 747 and 777 series and the Airbus 330, include Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways and Thai Airways.
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People's History of Sports
Dave Zirin talks about his book The People's History of Sports. It's packed with insights and little known history about sports in the
Dave is a radical sports editor, writer and columnist for Nation.com, and a columnist for SportsIllustrated.com, the Progressive and other media.
He is author of What's My Name Fool?, The Muhammad Ali Handbook and Welcome to the Terrordome. His columns and articles can be found at www.edgeofsports.com.
Howard Zinn said of Zirin, "It is so refreshing to have a sports writer who writes with such verve and intelligence, who also has a social conscience, and who refuses to keep those parts of his life separate."
Socialism 2008 was sponsored by the Center for Economic Research and Social Change, publisher of International Socialist Review and Haymarket Books. It was co-sponsored by the International Socialist Organization, publisher of Socialist Worker and Obrero Socialista. For more information on Socialism 2008, see http://www.socialismconference.org
Videography and video editing by Charles Jenks.
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Verlander takes place in Detroit history
Right-hander becomes sixth Tiger to toss no-hitter
DETROIT -- The Tigers have had one of the longest stays as a Major League franchise. But, surprisingly, their list of no-hitters is relatively brief.The Tigers have had just five no-hitters since they became an official team in 1901. That is, they had just five no-hitters until Justin Verlander made history on Tuesday against the Brewers. Verlander threw the sixth no-hitter in Tigers history on Tuesday and the first since Jack Morris didn't allow a hit on April 7, 1984, at Comiskey Park against the White Sox. "Well, it just doesn't happen very often," manager Jim Leyland said after the game. "A lot of things go through your mind when something like this happens." Verlander didn't have a chance for a perfect game when he walked Bill Hall with one out in the fourth. He would go on to walk four batters in the game, including all three times he faced Hall. There were tense moments for Verlander, including a sliding catch from Magglio Ordonez in the seventh, but no runner ever advanced past first base. Morris had even more tense moments during his no-hitter. Morris walked the bases loaded with no outs in the fourth inning of his no-hitter. He worked out of the jam with a double play and a strikeout. Morris walked six in that game but didn't allow a run in a 4-0 Tigers win. While Tigers fans had to wait 23 years between no-hitters, there was almost an equal amount of time between no-no's before '84. Twenty-six years passed after Jim Bunning threw a no-hitter on July 20, 1958, against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Bunning struck out twelve and walked two in his game against a Red Sox lineup that featured Ted Williams. Williams went 0-for-4 against Bunning, who went on to finish the year at 14-12. While Bunning's record in '58 may be considered mediocre for a pitcher that completed a no-hitter, he was downright stellar compared to the bizarre season Virgil Trucks had in 1952 when he threw two no-hitters in 1952. Trucks threw a pair of no-hitters in '52, though it was one of the worst seasons of his career. He went 5-19 that season for a Tigers team that finished with a 50-104 record. Both of his no-hitters were 1-0 wins, with the first coming on May 15 against Washington at Briggs Stadium. It was the last time a Tigers pitcher had thrown a no-hitter in Detroit.
The second no-hitter for Trucks came over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 25. The Yankees had a lineup that featured Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Phil Rizzuto.It was the worst season statistically for Trucks in his career, though he would finish fifth in the American League Most Valuable Player voting one year later with a 20-10 record and 2.93 ERA. The first no-hitter in Tigers history came on July 14, 1912. George Mullin defeated St. Louis, 7-0, in that game at Navin Field. Forty years would pass before Trucks threw his no-hitter in 1952. While the no-hitters have been sparse for the Tigers, they have been no-hit 12 times. The last one came on June 2, 1990, at the Kingdome against the Mariners' Randy Johnson, who was in just his third year as a pro. No Tigers pitcher ever threw a no-hitter in the history of Tiger Stadium, though they were no-hit twice by opposing pitchers at Tiger Stadium.
Tim Kirby is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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The Switchblade Kid: The Life and Death of Sal Mineo
On Top of the World
Rebel Without a Cause struck a cord among American teens. During the 1950s, juvenile delinquency was a major concern for parents and law enforcement agencies across the country. Many feared that aggressive teenage rebellion would lead to the eventual disintegration of traditional norms, values and of society as a whole.
The movie also depicted for the first time on film a blatant homosexual desire between James Dean and Sal Mineo. Dean, who was an admitted bisexual, encouraged Mineo to express homosexual feelings toward him during the filming in an attempt to add more depth and realism to the characters. It was believed that a relationship developed between the two off screen, but the rumor was never substantiated. Yet, there was no doubt that there was chemistry between the two actors on screen.
Years later, Sal would admit he was also bisexual but that he didn't realize his interest in men until several years after the movie's completion. According to Jeffers, when Sal was asked if he had a relationship with James Dean he was quoted as saying that if he "understood back then that a guy could be in love with another one, it would have happened. But I didn't come to that realization for a few more years, and then it was too late for Jimmy and me".
James Dean befriended Sal and Natalie Wood during the months of filming. The three were often seen together speeding away in James Dean's car to some unknown destination.
James acted as a kind of guardian to Sal and Natalie, who in turn saw him as a kind of hero. At 24, he had more years and experience in the trade and they learned a great deal from him. Sal and James were particularly close and after the movie was completed, James helped him to get his next role.
Shortly before the release of Rebel Without a Cause, Sal signed a contract to play the part of Angel Obregon II in the upcoming movie Giant, starring James Dean, Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor. Filming began several weeks after the signing, in a small Texas town called Marfa. During the making of Giant, Sal acted in only a few scenes, most of which ended up on the cutting room floor. However, his disappointment with being cut out of most of the movie ended when he delightedly signed a contract with MGM to star in another film with James Dean called Somebody Up There Likes Me.
On September 30, 1955, several weeks following the completion of Giant, James Dean was killed in a car accident. Sal was devastated by the loss of his confidant and hero, and the death changed his life. Sal began taking up hobbies in which James Dean had expressed interest, including boxing, drums and weightlifting. Jeffers states that he even changed his style of acting to emulate the techniques practiced by James, popularly known as 'The Method.'
Sal was able to apply his new style of acting, which involved incorporating life experiences into the stage character's personality, in the movie Somebody Up There Likes Me. Hollywood newcomer Paul Newman played the main character, Rocky Graziano, the role that was originally designated for James Dean. According to an interview Boze Hadleigh had with Sal years later, he and Newman didn't get along during the making of the movie, although he agreed that he had the talent and looks to make it to movie stardom.
While he was filming Somebody Up There Likes Me, Sal learned that he had been nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role of Plato in Rebel Without a Cause. Sal became one of the youngest performers to have ever been nominated for an Oscar for the best supporting actor. His reputation and popularity among young Americans soared to new heights after the movie was released. Moreover, critics around the country raved about his splendid performance, calling him "sensational" and "brilliant." Nevertheless, he was passed over for an Oscar at the 28th Academy Awards.
But he refused to let this loss deter his ambition to become a great actor. By the end of 1956, he starred in more than six television dramas, including one called Dino, for which he earned an Emmy nomination. He also starred in the movie Crime in the Streets, for which he received the nickname 'The Switchblade Kid' for his performance as a bitter criminal.
The beginning of 1957 saw a different side to the teenager who usually played tough street kids on the silver screen. With the increasing popularity of rock-'n'-roll, Sal turned his attention to singing. In the summer of 1957, he appeared in a television production by Kraft Television Theater, where he performed for the first time a new song titled "Start Movin' (In My Direction)."
It wasn't long before the single became an instant hit among teenage fans. It was quickly followed by another hit single entitled "Lasting Love," which made it into the Top 40s for several weeks. However, the more popular "Start Movin'" stayed in the Top 40s and for more than 13 weeks and reached the number nine position. The albums that Sal recorded with Epic Records sold more than one million copies.
Over the years, he had several more hits with Epic Records, including, "Sal," "The Words That I Whisper," "Love Affair," "Little Pigeon," "Party Time" and "You Shouldn't Do That." Much like his acting, Sal had an undeniable talent for singing. His emotion-filled voice, which made many teenage girls swoon, made for a successful singing career. However, Sal began to miss doing what he most loved, acting.
In late 1957, Sal appeared in a couple of television programs and several popular movies, including a movie version of Dino. In the movie, Sal portrayed a bitter teenager seeking love, acceptance and revenge. His emotionally charged portrayal of the title character earned him praise from critics and movie audiences alike, which further boosted his reputation as a serious actor.
Between 1957 and 1959, Sal added five more movies and six theatrical television appearances to his growing list of credits. The movies included The Young Don't Cry, Rock Pretty Baby, Tonka, A Private's Affair and The Gene Krupa Story. During the late 1950s, Sal was reported to have earned more than $200,000 a year. It was a far cry from the $65 a week he was earning less than a decade earlier.
Although many adored the public figure Sal had become, few really knew him behind the scenes. Contrary to the hardened street kid image he often portrayed, Sal was a gentle and fun-loving person who maintained a close relationship with his family. In fact, his family helped him make decisions about his career. Throughout much of his youth, Sal's mother Josephine managed his career with the assistance of the other three siblings.
According to Jeffers, Sal's brothers Mike and Victor performed numerous jobs for him, including handling and negotiating contracts, guardians and personal assistants. Sal's little sister Sarina often helped with the flood of fans letters. However, it was Sal's mother who ran the show behind the scenes, making sure that her son took the "right" contracts for usually large sums of money.
Sal understood that he probably would not have achieved as much as he had in such a short period of time without his family. At the age of 18, he could afford to buy his family a luxurious home that stood along the shores of Long Island Sound in Mamaronek, New York. He also bought himself an apartment in New York City and rented a large house in Beverly Hills, where he often entertained the "who's who" of Hollywood.
Sal enjoyed all the good things life offered him. When he wasn't performing, he often threw himself into one or more of his many hobbies, which included waterskiing, painting, working on cars, weightlifting, racing his speed boat and playing the drums. Sal also spent a great deal of his time goofing off with his friends.
In 1960, the work pace picked up again. He signed a contract to star in what would be one of his most acclaimed roles, in the film Exodus. The movie, directed by Otto Preminger, was a screen rendition of the novel by Leon Uris about the Jewish people's struggle for the liberation of Palestine following World War II.
Sal starred as the Dov Landau, a Polish Jew on route to Palestine to create a Jewish homeland after having survived the horrors of the Nazi run Auschwitz concentration camp, only to be diverted and imprisoned by the British. Exodus was filmed almost entirely in Israel andboasted an all-star cast including Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Richardson, Peter Lawford and Jill Hawthorn, who played Sal Mineo's love interest.
During the making of Exodus, Sal Mineo was rumored to have fallen in love with 15-year-old actress Jill Haworth, who played the role of Karen Hansen. Suspicions were confirmed when the starlet moved into his Beverly Hills home after the movie was finished.
However, the relationship was short-lived. Haworth eventually moved on to bigger roles elsewhere, leaving behind Sal. Although the relationship was brief, the two remained close friends for many years afterwards.
Following the release of Exodus, Sal's hard work was acknowledged by the excellent reviews he received. Once again, critics raved about 21-year-old Mineo's passionate performance, which earned him a second Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. He was the only actor in the all-star cast of the movie to have been nominated for an award. Sal had achieved some of his best work in the making of the film and he was confident that he would win. Yet fate would prove otherwise.
Sal's hopes were dashed when he was passed over for an Oscar a second time. He knew that it was unlikely he would be nominated a third time. After Exodus, Sal's career, which had always been moving steadily upward, began to change course.
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|Date of birth||First Age|
|Date of death||F.A. 472|
Ulwarth was one of Ulfang the Black's sons.
After entering Beleriand at Morgoth's bidding, Ulfang and his sons joined the service of Caranthir. Their purpose was to eventually betray the Elves, which they did in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. They turned against their allies, attacking them in the rear. Ulwarth was slain by the sons of Bór, who had stayed loyal to the sons of Fëanor.
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Photo: Red Hill.
In late 1993 the Conner CFS210A was an impresive new drive from an impressive new factory. 210MB wasn't a big drive by then — the CFS210A was one of the last new drives released in that size range — the market was already moving on to 340MB and 420MB
For many years, hard drives had mainly been manufactured in countries with highly-trained workforces and ample infrastructure: notably the United States, Japan, and in particular Singapore. These new Conner drives with the neat-looking blue labels came from Conner's new plant in China.
Nobody knew quite what to expect from them to start with, but the blue-label Conners soon developed a bad name in the trade — the Chinese build quality just wasn't the same, people said.
Perhaps Conner sorted out the rough spots in their big new plant before too long, perhaps the Chinese workforce got up to speed after a while, or perhaps there hadn't been too much wrong with the drives in the first place, it's hard to say. We did see quite a few of them fail, particularly early ones, but there have been worse drives.
In its favour, the CFS210A was noticably faster than most Conner drives and faster than most other 200MB-class competitors too — compare the performance figure below with other drives from the same period.
|Data rate||32 Mbit/sec||Spin rate||3600 RPM|
|Actuator||voice coil||Form||3½" 1/3 height>|
|CFS-210A||213.4MB||2 thin-film heads||**|
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It has been an interesting week for connoisseurs of decline and fall. As I’m sure all my readers are aware by now, a small volcano in Iceland managed to chuck a sizable monkey wrench into the gears of business as usual across Europe by filling the upper atmosphere with a massive plume of what amounts to finely ground glass: just the thing you want to put into the intake of your favorite jet engine.
Most volcanic eruptions don’t do this, but Eyjafjallajokull – say that three times very fast – happens to be under a glacier. (It is located in a country called Iceland, after all.) Or, rather, it used to be under a glacier; bring molten lava into contact with a glacier and you don’t have a glacier for long. What you have instead is what volcanologists call a phreatic eruption and the rest of us call a steam explosion. Rinse (with lava) and repeat, and you get two things. The first is a stratosphere full of fine sandpaper grit; the second is most of a continent flailing helplessly as one of its transportation networks shuts down for several days.
The human reaction was instructive. One of my regular readers commented that his wife, who works in the travel industry, has been deluged by calls from irate travelers who seem convinced that she can make the ash go away with a couple of phone calls. An EU commissioner was caught in public saying that long distance tourism was an inalienable human right, while airlines demanded that governments compensate them for the closure of the skies; at least they had the grace not to demand the money from Iceland. Meanwhile Great Britain, which gets most of its fruit and much of its vegetables from the Third World by air, was facing the prospect of bare shelves in the grocery stores for the first time since the aftermath of the Second World War.
It’s been a while since we’ve had so clear a reminder that the intricate and fragile clockwork of industrial society depends so completely on Nature’s whims, but as usual, most people managed not to get the memo. Me, I didn’t give it much thought, since I was reading a different and more familiar memo, the one brought every spring by lengthening days and the waning risk of frost. I was out in the garden planting bush beans, dwarf peas, and Danvers carrots, since the weather was warm and the Moon was in a fertile sign.
Yes, I plant by the signs. I originally learned that habit out in the Pacific Northwest, where very few people do it, and it’s ironic that I ended up moving to the Appalachians, where most gardeners keep an eye on the almanac when choosing planting dates. Do I think it works? A lot depends on what’s meant by that rather facile question. It certainly doesn’t do any harm; my gardens get good results at least as reliably as those of my neighbors, and it’s no particular inconvenience to check the signs when deciding when to plant the next round of seeds. I don’t know for a fact that it helps, but then the same thing could be said for many other things I do in the garden. (I’m more interesting in growing vegetables than in proving a point, so I don’t deprive part of my garden of compost, say, to find out whether putting my kitchen wastes in the compost bin rather than a landfill makes as much difference as it seems.) Besides, planting by the signs has entertainment value: I’ve come to enjoy the theatrics the habit attracts from rationalists who get incensed by anything they consider superstitious.
Of course they’re quite correct that planting by the signs is a superstition, but that word has a subtler meaning than most people remember these days. A superstition is literally something “standing over” (in Latin, super stitio) from a previous age; more precisely, it’s an observance that has become detached from its meaning over time. A great many of today’s superstitions thus descend from the religious observances of archaic faiths. When my wife’s Welsh grandmother set a dish of milk outside the back door for luck, for example, she likely had no idea that her pagan ancestors did the same thing as an offering to the local tutelary spirits.
Yet there’s often a remarkable substrate of ecological common sense interwoven with such rites. If your livelihood depends on the fields around your hut, for example, and rodents are among the major threats you face, a ritual that will attract cats and other small predators to the vicinity of your back door night after night is not exactly foolish. The Japanese country folk who consider foxes the messengers of Inari the rice god, and put out offerings of fried tofu to attract them, are mixing agricultural ecology with folk religion in exactly the same way.
There’s a lot of this sort of thing in the world of superstition. I have long since lost the reference, but many years ago I read an ecological study of human hunting practices, which pointed out that nearly all cultures that get much of their food from the hunt use divination to decide where to hunt on any given day. The authors pointed out that according to game theory, the best strategy in any competition has to include a random element in order to keep the other side guessing. Most prey animals are quite clever enough to figure out a nonrandom pattern of hunting – there’s a reason why deer across America head into suburbs and towns, where hunting isn’t allowed, as soon as hunting season opens each year – so inserting a random factor into hunting strategy will pay off in increased kills over time. As far as we know, humans are the only animals that make decisions with the aid of horoscopes, tarot cards, yarrow stalks and the like, and it’s intriguing to think that this habit may have had a significant role in our evolutionary success.
Is this all there is to the practice of superstition? It’s a good question, and one that’s effectively impossible to answer. For all I know, all those ancient civilizations that built vast piles of stone to the honor of their gods may have been right to say that Marduk, Osiris, Kukulcan et al. were well pleased by having big temples erected in their honor, and reciprocated by granting peace and prosperity to their worshippers. It may just be a coincidence that channeling the boisterous energy of young men into some channel more constructive than civil war is a significant social problem in most civilizations, and giving them big blocks of stone to haul around in teams, in hot competition with other teams, seems to do the trick; it may also be a coincidence that convincing the very rich to spend their wealth employing huge numbers of laborers on vanity buildings provides a steady boost to even the simplest urban economy. Maybe this is how Kukulcan shows that he’s well pleased.
Still, there’s a wild card in the deck, because it’s possible for even the most useful superstition to become a major source of problems when conditions change. When the Mayan civilization overshot the carrying capacity of its fragile environment, the Mayan elite responded to the rising spiral of crisis by building more and bigger temples. That had worked in the past, but it failed to work this time, because the situation was different; the problem had stopped being one of managing social stresses within Mayan society, and turned into one of managing the collapsing relationship between Mayan society and the natural systems that supported it. This turned what had been an adaptive strategy into a disastrously maladaptive one, as resources and labor that might have been put to use in the struggle to maintain a failing agricultural system went instead to a final spasm of massive construction projects. This time, Kukulcan was not pleased, and Mayan civilization came apart in a rolling collapse that turned a proud civilization into crumbling ruins.
Rationalists might suggest that this is what happens to a civilization that tries to manage its economic affairs by means of superstitions. That may be so, but the habit in question didn’t die out with the classic Mayan civilization; it’s alive and well today, with a slight difference. Ancient cultures built huge pyramids of stone; we build even vaster pyramids of money.
In Cardano’s Cosmos, a thoughtful study of the life and times of the great Renaissance astrologer Girolamo Cardano, historian Anthony Grafton tried to explain the role of astrologers as advisers to Renaissance governments by comparing them to economists in today’s world. Plausible as this comparison may seem at first glance, I have to say that it is deeply unfair to astrologers. Whether or not astrology works as advertised – a question I don’t propose to address here – no competent astrologer claims that the Sun will rise in the west or that Jupiter will swing between the Earth and the Moon. By contrast, it’s not hard to find economists blithely insisting, as many did during the recent housing bubble, that a speculative frenzy can keep on inflating forever, or claiming, as many are doing right now, that a nation can make itself prosperous by running up mountains of debt.
Economics is our modern superstition – well, one of them, at any rate, and one of the most popular among the political class of today’s industrial societies. Like any other superstition, it has a core of pragmatic wisdom to it, but that core has been overlaid with a great deal of somewhat questionable logic. My wife’s Welsh ancestors believed that the bowl of milk on the back stoop pleased the fairies, and that’s why the rats stayed away from the kitchen garden; the economists of the twentieth century believed that expanding the money supply pleased – well, the prosperity fairies, or something not too dissimilar – and that’s why depressions stayed away from the United States.
In both cases it’s arguable that something very different was going on. The gargantuan economic boom that made America the world’s largest economy had plenty of causes; the accident of political geography that kept its industrial hinterlands from becoming war zones, while most other industrial nations got the stuffing pounded out of them, had more than a little to do with the matter; but the crucial point, one too often neglected in studies of twentieth century history, was the simple fact that the United States at midcentury produced more petroleum than all the other countries on Earth put together. The oceans of black gold on which the US floated to victory in two world wars defined the economic reality of an epoch. As a result, most of what passed for economic policy in the last sixty years or so amounted to attempts to figure out how to make use of unparalleled abundance.
That’s still what today’s economists are trying to do, using pretty much the same habits they adopted during the zenith of the age of oil. The problem is that this is no longer what economists need to be doing. With the coming of peak oil and the first slow slippages in worldwide conventional petroleum production, the challenge facing today’s industrial societies is managing the end of abundance. The age of cheap abundant energy now ending was a dramatic anomaly in historical terms, though not quite unprecedented; every so often, but rarely, it happens that a human society finds itself free from natural limits to prosperity and expansion – for a time. That time always ends, and the society has to relearn the lessons of more normal and less genial times. This is what we need to do now.
This is exactly what today’s economics is unprepared to do, however. Like the Mayan elite at the beginning of what archeologists call the Terminal Classic period, our political classes are trying to meet unfamiliar problems with overfamiliar solutions. The results have not been good. Repeated attempts to overcome economic stagnation by expanding access to credit have produced a series of destructive speculative bubbles and crashes, and efforts to maintain an inflated standard of living in the face of a slowly contracting real economy have heaped up gargantuan debts. These measures haven’t worked; the one significant attempt to do something different, the neoconservative project to invade Iraq and put its oil reserves in American hands, was even less successful; and at this point fingerpointing and frantic pedaling in place seems to have replaced any more constructive response to a situation that is becoming more dangerous by the day.
Are there constructive things that could be done? Of course, but every one of them flies in the face of the currently accepted economic superstitions, and most of them also involve requiring the people who benefit disproportionately from the current state of things to give up some of their perquisites – not exactly a winning bet at a time when political power has become so diffuse in most industrial nations that some pressure group or other can be counted on to veto any attempt at systemic change. I’ve already suggested several possible steps in this blog – replacing income and sales taxes with resource and interest taxes; making corporations subject to nonfinancial penalties for criminal acts; reinventing urban and suburban agriculture; tilting tax policy to encourage single-income families; rebuilding the household economy, and more – but I’ve done so in the full awareness that none of these things are going to be discussed in the corridors of government any time soon. Those that will happen at all, will happen because they can be set in motion by individuals, families, and local communities; those that can’t be pursued on that level – well, let’s just say I’m not holding my breath.
The act of faith that leads policy makers today to think that policies that failed last year will succeed next year is only part of the problem, of course. The superstitions that lead so many intelligent people to think that our problems can be solved by pursuing a flotilla of new and expensive technological projects are another part. There are technologies that can help us right now, granted, but they’re on the other end of the spectrum from the fusion reactors and solar satellites and plans to turn all of Nevada into one big algae farm that get so much attention today. Local, resilient, sustainable, and cheap: those should be our keywords just now; there are plenty of technological solutions that answer to that description, but again, our superstitions stand in the way.
The widespread reaction to the Eyjafjallajokull eruption, for that matter, points up what may just be the most deeply rooted of our superstitions, the belief that Nature can be ignored with impunity. It’s only fair to point out that for most people in the industrial world, for most of a century now, this has been true more often than not; the same exuberant abundance that produced ski slopes in Dubai and fresh strawberries in British supermarkets in January made it reasonable, for a while, to act as though whatever Nature tossed our way could be brushed aside. In the emerging postabundance age, though, this may be the most dangerous superstition of all. The tide of cheap abundant energy that has defined our attitudes as much as our technologies is ebbing now, and we are rapidly losing the margin of error that made our former arrogance possible.
As that change unfolds, it might be worth suggesting that it’s time to discard our current superstitions concerning economics, energy, and nature, and replace them with some more functional approach to these things. A superstition, once again, is an observance that has become detached from its meaning, and one of the more drastic ways this detachment can take place is a change in the circumstances that make that meaning relevant. This has arguably happened to our economic convictions, and to a great many more of the commonplaces of modern thought; and it’s simply our bad luck, so to speak, that the consequences of pursuing those superstitions in the emerging world of scarcity and contraction are likely to be considerably more destructive than those of planting by the signs or leaving a dish of milk on the back step.
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"And we're soon going to have a new NASA Administrator. I can't disclose it to you, because I've got to have hoopla on the announcement back here on Earth," Obama told the Atlantis crew. "But I can assure you that it's a high priority of mine to restore that sense of wonder that space can provide and to make sure that we've got a strong sense of mission, not just within NASA but for the country as a whole."
Obama met with former astronaut and retired U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden on Tuesday about the NASA administrator job. So far, both the president and Bolden have not spoke about details concerning the meeting. Bolden is a Vietnam War veteran and has logged 680 hours in space on four shuttle missions.
To listen to the call go here: http://www.nasa.gov/mp3/350162main_125_whitehouse_call.mp3
To read a transcript of the call go here: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/125_whitehouse_call.html
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Earlier this year, I said educators should try eliminating grade-level courses in high school and move everyone into honors or AP courses. Did I think anyone would actually do that? No.
Wrong again. As some upset e-mailers have been telling me, the Anne Arundel County schools are going ahead with such a plan, in a slapdash way made worse by not preparing parents for the change.
Karen Colburn, who has a seventh-grader at Central Middle School in Edgewater, said her advanced-track son found himself in mixed math and English classes slowed to a crawl so non-honors students could catch up. “Kids are repeating things they learned in elementary school,” Colburn said. “Also, supports are not in place for special education children and some standard-level children.”
Anne Arundel Schools Superintendent Kevin Maxwell, in his monthly newspaper column this week, acknowledged “some missteps in the communication of some of these initiatives” but said “our goal remains to raise the achievement of every single child.” He and his school district have a good record on that. Anne Arundel has significantly raised participation in college-level high school courses such as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate.
At Annapolis High School, with the county’s highest high school poverty rate (35 percent), the portion of students from low-income families meeting federal learning targets has jumped from 26.5 percent in 2006 to 69.2 percent this year. Among students at that school receiving special education services, the portion reaching the federal standard has gone from 24.3 percent to 76.7 percent in that same period.
Annapolis High delayed its own honors-for-all plan after parents and the city-appointed Annapolis Education Commission objected to the speed with which it was being implemented. I think Central Middle and other county schools should also slow down. They haven’t devoted enough time to training teachers and educating parents in how this can succeed.
Colburn’s son, for instance, finds that his Algebra I course, usually for the most accelerated seventh-graders, this year has students who did not take pre-algebra in sixth grade, as he did. My next book, “The War Against Dummy Math,” is about a national pilot program in the 1990s that required all students to take Algebra I. But it dealt with ninth-graders, not seventh-graders, and had success only because teachers had intense summer training and parents were given detailed briefings.
My May 30 proposal for an end to regular courses in Fairfax County applied only to some courses, and only for 11th- and 12th-graders. Fairfax has opened its high school honors courses to all students who wanted to enroll since 1998. But that means only those who think they are ready to jump in, whereas Anne Arundel wants to include everyone, whether they want to or not.
I am glad Anne Arundel honors parents are getting a taste of the thin gruel that has been standard fare for non-honors students. One parent was shocked to see, when she observed her daughter’s new English class full of regular kids, that it included 25 minutes of silent reading and review of an elementary school lesson. As Maxwell knows, many non-honors students are ready for more and deserve to get it.
A volunteer for the Annapolis Education Commission told me that two teachers in the group that studied the honors-for-all plan at Annapolis High think it could work. A commission majority, however, wanted it tried in a few small classes first. The school district, he said, has tentatively backed off its plan to put all ninth-graders into honors English but is still keen on honors science and social studies for all ninth-graders next year.
The commission noted the success Annapolis High has had with changes already made. Why jeopardize them, and alienate parents, by moving too fast? The principals of all the schools pushing honors-for-all have the right intentions but ought to be clear about what they are doing and be careful to do it right.
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My 14 year-old daughter is a little chubby – not obese but on the plump side. Some of the kids at school tease her (not her good friends) and I know it causes her pain. But she doesn’t seem to do anything about it. I try to have some healthy alternatives in the house but she heads straight for the cookies. Should I be more direct and confront her on the issue?
Her Pain is My Pain
Dear Empathic Mom,
Someone will perhaps suggest that having the cookies in the house is not a good idea, that if you really want your daughter to lose weight you should purge your home of sweets. That is not a philosophy I agree with for many reasons. Since she is no longer a small child, her access to fattening foods is not restricted to your home. If you ban it from the home, she will simply buy it herself and eat it a friend’s.
I have also seen, not infrequently, that children raised in homes with no sweets have less self-control when they are available than children allowed treats in moderation. My friend told me her own story of hiding in the closet to eat cookies and I’ll never forget the kids (now middle-aged parents themselves) who used to grab six chocolates at a time from the candy dish my mother put out for guests. Not only is it an ineffective strategy but it is not the lesson we want our children to learn.
If the teasing of her peers doesn’t motivate her, your gentle suggestions or even nagging, certainly won’t.
I am heartened by the fact that your daughter does have good friends and therefore even more convinced that you need to keep your mouth shut. She is obviously aware of her situation. If the teasing of her peers (whose opinion really counts right now!) doesn’t motivate her, your gentle suggestions or even nagging, certainly won’t.
She will have to decide on her own when and if to make some changes. She will have to find the inner will power and discipline. You cannot give that to her.
In the meantime, however, you can continue to provide healthy options and lots of love and encouragement. It is easier to make positive choices when you feel good about yourself than when you don’t. If she feels loved, supported and confident, that is much more important for her well-being.
Although you certainly want her to be fit and attractive, since you began by mentioning that she is plump and not obese, I would try to concentrate more on appreciating internal qualities and developing those rather than the external ones. This is a chance for both of you to focus on where her beauty truly lies.
I am the parent of four children, 3 boys ages 21, 24 and 30, and one daughter, 28. The two older boys are married to lovely Jewish girls (I even have two granddaughters!) but my daughter is having a very hard time meeting “the right guy.” Not only does she get discouraged about it but I have a hard time bolstering her spirits because I get down also. Do you have any uplifting words of inspiration for me?
Typical Jewish Mom
Dear Typical Jewish Mom,
I think all mothers everywhere can empathize with your situation. There are some things we want so badly for our children (and ourselves!) that we just can’t make happen. Therein, however, lies the comfort. Whether one's daughter is religiously observant and meets her potential spouse via a matchmaker or whether she is more secular and is fixed up by friends or meets in a social setting, the ultimate answer remains the same. It is in the Almighty’s hands. You can ask all your friends for ideas, you can arrange the meeting with a boy who sounds just right, but whether they will click or not, whether they will be able to envision a future together, is out of our hands. That is the Almighty’s job. It is something only He can engineer. That’s why one of the seven blessings recited under the chupah states that the Almighty creates gladness and joy, the bride and the groom
Repeat this over and over to yourself: whatever happens is for your daughter's best.
Their connection, their happiness, is the Almighty’s creation. This is the ultimate comfort (and sometimes the ultimate frustration); it is not in our hands. We can’t make it happen, however much we would like to. Of course we need be responsible and put in our requisite effort. And if it doesn’t happen exactly when we would like it to, it follows that this too is the Almighty’s doing, that this too is good.
God has our daughter’s best interests more in mind than we do (as hard as that is to believe!) and whatever happens is for the best – for you and your daughter. It is helpful to repeat this over and over – and over – to yourself.
I live in a mid-sized American city where there are no school buses for day school children. I have to schlep back and forth 45 minutes to an hour in the morning and afternoon every day, depending on the traffic. I feel very resentful of the time and end up snapping at my kids. I need to get out of my funk. Any suggestions?
Dear Behind the Driver’s Seat,
I heard a nice story on a marriage tape once that I think could be applied here. There was a certain place that this couple had to drive to frequently. Every time they went there, the wife complained that her husband took the longest way possible. Her husband was seemingly oblivious to her comments since he never changed his route.
Finally she decided to change her attitude. Instead of feeling frustrated, she would focus on enjoying spending the extra time with her spouse. That changed the whole experience from one she dreaded to one she eagerly anticipated.
I don’t know if I can get you to eagerly anticipate carpool but I do think it’s possible to view it in a more positive light.
We can begin by being grateful for the option of Jewish day schools for our children. This has not always been the case. In many times and still in many communities they don’t exist. We should also appreciate that we have the wherewithal to send our children there. Not everyone that wants to, can.
But most of all we can approach carpool as an opportunity to spend time with our children. It is a rare moment in time when they are a “captive audience” and we can share thoughts with them or hear about their days. Once they get in the house, they tend to disperse rapidly.
Carpool in the morning gives us a chance to send them off with our ideas, words and love ringing in their ears.
The longer they spend in school, they less time they are with us. Carpool in the morning gives us a chance to send them off with our ideas, words and love ringing in their ears. At the end of the day, we get a recap and a chance to hug them, either figuratively or literally before homework, dinner, bedtime – the mad drill – begins.
And you’d be surprised by what you can learn about your children, their friends, their teachers, their viewpoints, if you are just quiet and patient.
Yes, a school bus would be easier – but that’s more time away from you, your influence, your values, and less time to enjoy your family.
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Jeff Waugh recently announce that GNOME.org now use WordPress MU for blogs. What looks like a smart move is indeed not very smart. Why? It was decided to use a new CMS for gnome.org – if Drupal would have chosen it would have been a matter of minutes to create a subdomain will blog functionality. And there still is the GNOME planet. GNOME has not solved the main problem the site has for years now, which is:
- Content is outdated.
- Many new are not present on the main page
People are working for years now on this front page. The way one should have done it from my perspective is:
- Use Drupal as a good base
- Start with the main page www.gnome.org and link to old content.
- Replace content to be part of Drupal slowly one by one.
- Focus on new stuff like news – integrate Planet and Blogs – so make a selection of most interesting blog posts – seperate content into user, developer and general public.
- Enable projects to make their own pages (replace /projects)
- Focus on user logins. So if you log in – you can comment in blogs, participate in projects, access hidden parts and get more rights to add content.
With a given layout and some work one would have been able to replace the main page in less than a week. One could have started in trying to move that page 1:1 into a CMS (an so have a theme which represents the current status).
It is unfortunate that the switch to a new CMS has taken so long. My help for guadec.org was not accepted (but it looks good) and also shows Drupals great flexibility. In may not be the greatest CMS – where Drupal is to get things done – and that I think is most important. I am tired of outdated sites or sites that never get done.
In the WGO (www.gnome.org) decision cycle one of the errors that have been made is that everybody could add some requirements – and that then after that a specification was set up. Drupal was dismissed by Quim Gil because of the following reasons:
- Localization: although the i18n module has done a lot of progress, it’s still miles away from our requirements. If wgo would be just in one language I would probably bet on Drupal (as I have done consistently in the past). But thinking in a scenario of wgo translated into +20 languages in one year I see a lot of risk around Drupal. Either we would need to develop a lot of hacks and additional features or either we
should design a fragile workflow
- not convincing the i18n team and/or
- with a high probability of ending up in a low quality mess and a lot of improductive work. Drupal is conscious of its weakness in the multilingual field and they are putting slowly a remedy (see the recent thread at http://drupal.org/node/88417 ) but this process will take long and we need a multilingual wgo before.
- Look&Feel. We would get what we want.
- Learning curve. It’s easy to get from 0 to an editor level. It’s not difficult to get from intermediate admin/hacker level to advanced. It would be appropriated to our needs, I think.
- Security and upgrades. Vulnerabilities are quickly found and generally quickly fixes with maintenance releases. The upgrades are made with scripts and currently it’s a quite straightforward process. There are not big problems with the core CMS, but the maintenance of the contributed modules is another story (i.e. the diff module was abandoned by the maintainers and now we would need to port it ourselves in order to use it in the last versions, these kind of stories are not that rare).
- User management. Permission levels are more fine grained than before and there is an LDAP feature. It would do the work although I believe other candidates are much more stronger in this field. But well, we don’t expect to have complex permissions policies in wgo either. It would probably do the job.
- Contributors around. Definitely the best asset. Over the past months many Drupal fans got interested in GNOME, and/or the other way round. Many GNOME related sites are using Drupal and there is some expertise around. However, we have also experienced difficulties getting real commitment in our Drupal sites when we have needed them and I have to say that the level of complexity of these websites is not extremely high either. These are two reasons that make me think that although we might have many potential volunteers around, at the end I’m not sure if we would find the resources needed to hack a Drupal installation to the levels we want to achieve.
Here are the reasons to choose Plone in the end.
if one looks back i think the most underestimated thing is the learning curve and Quim did not see that from my perspective Plone sure has the highest learning curve of all CMSes that I have looked at. And I know many projects who say the same. And as we did not have a new CMS on 2.18.0 , 2.18.1 and still not at 2.18.2 one can and should say that people where not able to move quickly enough to a new CMS with Plone. So to choose Plone was clearly the wrong decision as the goal to have a new CMS ready not later than 2.18.0 release. may experience is that Drupal does not do everything perfectly but it provides all important tools and one can quickly start to put content in. Abut the lack of really good localisation – if I look at the situation right now – we still do not have localized pages – and are far from new pages. And Drupal also moves forward and gets better – so i guess at the point that localisation would have been a real issue Drupal would have supported it better – and also one could have won some people working on it to help GNOME.org. Its more easy to fix one module as to fix a whole CMS concept (Plone will never be easy to use!). Its sad to say that GNOME.org is stuck now and to see that exactly happened what i feared – and even worse.
Personally i would welcome to see more self criticism in that sense. its not a bad thing – everybody makes errors – but if people ignore their own errors they will repeat them. I fear most of the people who made this decision will not admit that this was not the right decision. Actually it turned away some people from participating.
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In one presentation, Alexander Sotirov, a reverse engineer on the security research team at Redwood City, Calif.-based vulnerability protection firm Determina Inc., said third-party patching provides another security option for IT shops that need to block exploits before an official patch is developed, and that those patches are easy to uninstall after an official patch is released.
Sotirov did acknowledge that there are some disadvantages to third-party patching: There's limited support for multiple operating system versions and languages, and some vulnerabilities require extensive changes or redesign of the affected application and simply can't be hotpatched.
While some organisations might not hesitate to use a third-party fix if a threat is dire enough, IT professionals interviewed by SearchSecurity.com after Black Hat said they would never deploy one in their own environments.
"Third-party patching is potentially another area of vulnerability in my opinion," said Jessica Lynne Verzi, information security manager for ESL Federal Credit Union, a financial institution with 550 employees, 17 branches and numerous ATM locations in the Rochester, N.Y.-area. "It's very reactive and very dangerous to install one."
Third-party patches were released for two different Microsoft threats earlier this year.
In March, Determina and Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based eEye Digital Security Inc. released third-party patches for the createTextRange flaw involving Internet Explorer, which Microsoft patched in its April security bulletins.
In both cases, reaction was mixed in the information security community. With WMF and, to a lesser extent, createTextRange being widely exploited, some argued a third-party fix was better than nothing. Others warned that patches can never be fully trusted unless they come straight from the vendor of the affected product.
Verzi didn't lose any sleep over those threats because she said ESL Federal Credit Union utilises a variety of security measures that would make it very difficult for attackers to successfully target an organisation using those flaws.
Verzi said enterprises that practice so-called defence in-depth have the necessary security in place to mitigate threats that exploit zero-day flaws and can therefore afford to wait for the official patch.
Craig Hunter, IT manager for the City of North Vancouver, said organisations that have such a security program can afford to wait a few weeks for an official patch.
"Third-party patching is more trouble than it's worth," he said, agreeing with Verzi that it can potentially introduce more vulnerabilities to the network. "Using a mitigation strategy like blocking certain ports or shutting certain programs is the better solution. The user may have to go without a feature for a week, but it's better than taking a risk with a third-party fix that you then have to go and uninstall before installing the real patch."
Keith Gosselin, IT officer for Biddeford Savings Bank in Biddeford, Maine, is also concerned about how his applications would work if he ever tried to install a third-party patch.
"Applications are so finicky, I'd be worried about an application exploding in my face," said Gosselin, whose company has 70 employees and three bank branches, with a fourth opening in September.
Like the others, Gosselin preaches the virtues of a well-rounded defence, and said he makes a point of educating employees on the potential consequences of their computing habits.
"I do spend a lot of time keeping track of zero-day threats so I'm aware of out-of-cycle fixes," he said. "I want to know when there's an exploit so I can email users and warn them to be careful."
He supplements urgent warnings with routine emails about every other month that ask people to be careful when opening attachments. "If you get a file from someone you know that you weren't expecting, I tell them to call that person before opening the attachment," he said.
With these practices in place, he said, there's never a need to use a third-party patch.
To those who argue that patches can't be trusted unless they come from the vendor of the affected program, Determina's Sotirov told his Black Hat audience, "Most software vendors have a long record of shipping vulnerable software. If we trust them, there is no reason not to trust a third-party patch from a well-known security expert or a security company."
Furthermore, he said, "Third-party patches are ideal for situations where the risk of a system compromise outweighs the risk of interoperability issues."
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Monday November 19, 2012
Myanmar frees political prisoners on day of historic Obama visit
YANGON - Myanmar's government began releasing dozens of political prisoners on Monday as Barack Obama arrived for the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to the former dictatorship.
Sixty-six prisoners were scheduled to be freed, two-thirds of them dissidents, according to prison officials and activists.
They included prominent figures such as Myint Aye, a senior Prison Department official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A third of those released were former military intelligence personnel who fell foul of the junta, according to the 88 Generation Students political group.
Myint Aye is arguably the most prominent dissident left in Myanmar's gulag. He was one of dozens of activists arrested on what Amnesty International says were trumped-up charges and convicted in secret courts on flimsy evidence or confessions extracted under torture.
A former member of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, he was arrested for the ninth time in August 2008 for his alleged role in the bombing of an office belonging to a junta-backed political organisation.
Myint Aye confessed to the bombing after military intelligence officers forced him to watch the torture of his co-accused, said his lawyer.
"I know they freed us just because of President Obama's trip," Yan Shwe, who was convicted with Myint Aye, told Reuters in a telephone interview shortly after his release from Kale Prison in northwest Myanmar.
"I thank him for this but frankly speaking we shouldn't have been sent to prison all along since all these were false accusations."
Four political prisoners were released from Kale Prison, but about half a dozen more remain inside, said Yan Shwe.
International human rights groups accused President Obama of ignoring abuses in Myanmar and Cambodia while honouring them with his first presidential visit since his re-election.
Obama denied his visit to Myanmar was an endorsement of the country's government, but rather an acknowledgement of the progress made towards democratisation and abandoning its pariah status earned during 49 years of military rule, he said during a news conference in Thailand on Sunday.
In a further sign of reform, the government will also permit the International Committee of the Red Cross to resume prisoner visits within the country, said a Myanmar government press release issued late on Sunday.
The government also plans to "devise a transparent mechanism to review remaining prisoner cases of concern by the end of December 2012." - Reuters
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Latourell Falls is an exciting waterfall to see, as Latourell Creek plunges 214 ft. over a rocky cliff. From the parking area, you can either walk a short distance up the trail to a viewpoint. Or you can also walk about 0.1 miles to the base of the falls to get a close-up look.
It had been quite a few years since I had been here first, and I had forgotten how stunningly beautiful Latourell Falls was. With so many great waterfalls to see in the Gorge, and usually not very much time to see them, Latourell Falls was usually the one I cut out. This last time, however, I made it back, finally, and I was in awe. It is such a towering waterfall, the yellow colored lichen cliff walls are so amazing, and the gorge seems so huge and remote (even though it is quite a popular place).
Commonly cited as being 249 ft. high, my measurement came to 214 ft., not quite as high as the official measurement. Others have measured it around 224 ft. This leads me to believe it is not 249 ft. as officially noted, but is quite a bit smaller.
Get Google Maps directions to trailhead
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A note in a previous post gave me pause and I thought I'd solicit some advice. We've designed and am building a 20' day sailer (no cabin - large cockput and small storage area under the deck fwd of the mast . It's designed to be self draining (i.e. cockpit floor is above the waterline and drains out holes in the transom). This means that there is around 5 inches of bilge below the cockpit floor that will be more or less sealed. There is a crummy picture of it at: http://media18.hypernet.com/mywb/scr...ail&boatid=538
The previous post mentioned that this single most important point in preventing rot was ventilation. However, with a self bailing floor, if I ventilate the bilge area I'll be inviting water into an area where is has little or no chance of escaping. I was hoping to fill the bilge area with that expanding foam stuff and then seal the whole thing up. Now I'm wondering if that's a dumb idea. Any opinions?
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Take Charge of Your Work Life
Don't take work personally.
It's difficult not to take work slights -- real or perceived -- to heart. Watching your coworkers go out for a planning lunch without you or hearing someone shoot down your idea hurts. But ruminating on office politics only keeps you from focusing on what's most important: your job. "While you let things fester, everyone else has returned to work, leaving you in their dust," says Black. And no matter how tough things get, don't ever let them see you cry at the office. It's a sign to everyone else -- and yourself -- that you've lost your cool. Next time your eyes well up over some criticism or comment, ask yourself if it's really worth your tears. Just disappear for a while instead to pull yourself together, says Black, and then move on with your day.
Value your experience and your time.
"Many women are so concerned with being liked and wanting to please," says Black, "that they don't speak up and ask for a raise for fear they'll be rejected." Don't make this mistake! Get smart about your worth. Black suggests meeting with your human resources department to discuss where you fit in on your company's pay scale. Also check out online job boards to determine what the average salary is for someone with your education, experience, job responsibilities, and title. Then schedule a meeting with your boss. "Lay out your case carefully and listen closely to her feedback," says Black. "If you've presented a persuasive argument, she'll be impressed by your research and drive -- and will probably consider your proposal."
Don't try to have it all.
Just because women can do anything doesn't mean we should do everything. Over-promising at work and at home will likely result in under-delivering -- and not only will you disappoint your boss, your kids, or your husband, you'll also feel guilty and be less productive. Instead, be honest about your priorities. Do you want to be the captain or can you feel good about being a valuable team player? Do you want to be an ever-present parent or will you feel better contributing to the family income? "Keep reevaluating your life," says Black. "Ask yourself, What kind of life do I want?" Being candid with yourself and those you love is the only way to carve out the work-life balance that's right for you.
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Our first trip to Ireland was a frenetic long weekend in Dublin where we proceeded to run about the city in order to see and do as much as possible. We weren’t able to explore the Irish countryside like we had wanted, so we planned a brief day trip outside of Dublin to get a taste of the famed Irish countryside.
Malahide Castle sites on 250 acres of land just outside the seaside town of Malahide, which is less than ten miles from Dublin. As you approach the castle, it looks exactly like a castle should. In fact, it looked a little too much like a Disney version and I was worried that it was all a reproduction. Luckily, as I would learn through the tour, it was not.
The castle itself dates back to the 12th century and was in the Talbot family until the 1970s, when the building was sold to Ireland, thus ending 800 years of family ownership. Today many of the rooms in the castle have been restored and furniture added that give the visitor an idea of what it was like to live in this impressive building.
The tour lasted about thirty minutes or so and was a great primer not only on the castle and the Talbot family, but also of Irish history. After the tour we browsed around the gift shop before walking back to the train station.
We visited the castle in late November, but had we been there in the summer we also would have been able to visit the Fry Model Railway. The railway is apparently a huge working model railroad from the 1920s and frankly would have been really great to see, but alas, it was not to be. We’re not much into gardens and flowers and such, but if you are then the grounds surrounding the castle are a treat and include several hectares of plants and lawns.
While not the most impressive castle in Ireland, a visit to Malahide Castle is a great way to spend an afternoon and is a very easy trip to make from Dublin. The train ride out to the castle was almost as enjoyable for me as was the building itself.
Getting there: You can certainly drive to the castle, as it is only 10 miles from Dublin, but train is extremely convenient. We took the Dublin DART train from the Connolly Station to the Malahide stop, which cost a little over 4 Euro roundtrip, per person. After we arrived in Malahide, there were signs directing visitors to the castle, which included a lovely walk through the castle grounds.
Castle Tours: The Castle is open year round from 10:00AM – 5:00PM, with some exceptions. The tour fee for an adult is 7.50 Euro and 4.70 Euro for children. The castle is also part of the Dublin Pass program.
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I know what you’re thinking – “a handbook?” Yep. Veterans enrolled in the health care system of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have begun to receive personalized booklets that explain their health care benefits as well as other useful information.
The new booklet, called a Health Benefits Handbook, will provide a personalized listing of health benefits based on each Veteran’s specific eligibility.
According to the release, the handbook will also have contact information for their local VA medical facilities, appointment scheduling information, guidelines for communicating with their clinical team and information about copays, if applicable.
Distribution of the handbooks began in February, with all 8.5 million Veterans enrolled in VA’s health care system scheduled to receive their handbooks by 2013. Veterans will receive updates to their handbook to reflect changes to their benefits or eligibility.
While the intention is good, the VA should embrace VAPP – the mobile and web-app that matches veterans to the right benefits and services based on their location and profile…a handbook is a bit old school – but hey, we’ll give them a salute for good intentions.
For more information about the Health Benefits Handbook, visit http://www.va.gov/healthbenefits/vhbh or call VA’s toll-free number at 1-877-222-VETS (8387).
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JERUSALEM — Lifting a nearly 25-year veil of secrecy, Israel acknowledged Thursday that it killed the deputy of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in a 1988 seaborne raid in Tunisia.
Two of those involved in the operation now hold high political office — Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Vice Premier Moshe Yaalon. At the time, Barak was deputy military chief, and Yaalon was head of the Sayeret Matkal unit. Their precise roles in the operation were not divulged, and both men’s offices declined comment.
Israel has long been suspected of assassinating Khalil al-Wazir, who was better known by his nom de guerre Abu Jihad. But only now has the country’s military censor cleared the Yediot Ahronot daily to publish the information, including an interview with the commando who killed him, at least 12 years after the newspaper obtained the information.
“I shot him with a long burst of fire,” the now-deceased commando Nahum Lev told Yediot. “I was careful not to hurt his wife, who had showed up there. He died,” Lev told Yediot prior to his death in a motorcycle accident in 2000. “Abu Jihad was involved in horrible acts against civilians. He was a dead man walking. I shot him without hesitation.”
Dozens of similar operations have been attributed to Israel over the decades. But Israel rarely takes responsibility, and this public acknowledgement gives a rare glimpse into its covert operations.
Abu Jihad founded the Palestine Liberation Organization with Arafat and was blamed for a series of deadly attacks against Israelis. Among them, he masterminded a 1978 attack on an Israeli bus that killed 38 Israelis. Later, he organized the first Palestinian uprising against Israel, which began in December 1987.
The following April, Israel killed him.
According to the Yediot report, the operation was a joint effort by the Mossad secret service and the elite commando unit Sayeret Matkal.
At the time of the raid, the Palestine Liberation Organization, headed by Arafat, was based in Tunisia.
From a command post on an Israeli boat in the Mediterranean Sea, 26 Israeli commandos reached the shores of the North African nation of Tunisia on rubber boats.
Lev, the commando, approached Abu Jihad’s home in the capital Tunis with another soldier who was dressed as a woman. The two pretended to be a vacationing couple, with Lev carrying what appeared to be a large box of chocolates. Inside the box, however, was a gun fitted with a silencer.
Upon encountering the first of Abu Jihad’s bodyguards, Lev drew his weapon and shot the man in the head. Another team killed a separate bodyguard and a gardener before entering the expansive villa. Lev’s partner was the first to fire at the Palestinian leader. When Lev noticed Abu Jihad reaching for a weapon he shot and killed him.
It was not clear why Israel’s military censor permitted publication of the report now, at least 12 years after the paper got the interview with the commando. The censor has authority to block publication of material deemed a threat to national security.
The Palestinians have long accused Israel of being behind the assassination. Nonetheless, Abbas Zaki, a top official in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement, said the Palestinians and Tunisia should now “work to bring Israel to justice.” Fatah is the dominant faction in the PLO.
Wazir’s son, Jihad al-Wazir, who currently heads the Palestinian central bank, said the family had no comment.
Big Data is now being used by advertisers to test the efficacy of traditional and digital media campaigns, but can it be considered a panacea?
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A federal appeals court panel is considering whether photos of Osama bin Laden's body should be released.
Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group, argued Thursday before a three-judge panel that the Freedom of Information Act requires the government to release the pictures or better explain why the release of specific images would damage national security.
The judges, with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, did not say how soon they may rule.
Judicial Watch attorney Michael Bekesha said government records indicate there are 52 images of bin Laden taken just after his death or when his body was aboard the USS Carl Vinson and then buried at sea. During the court hearing, Bekesha argued the shots of the burial at sea could be released without fear of harming national security, but he did not make that claim about the more gruesome images taken just after bin Laden was shot at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The government has said that there are sensitivities concerning the death of bin Laden and that releasing the pictures could lead to violence against Americans.
"This was the mastermind of 9/11," Bekesha said. "This was the most wanted terrorist in the world."
The government has said bin Laden's body was cleaned in accordance with Islamic practices, then wrapped respectfully and buried at sea, he said. Bekesha said the government has not said how releasing those images would be harmful.
The judges took issue with that and said government officials had provided information about previous incidents that led to violence in the Arab world or provided terrorists with fuel for propaganda. Among the examples were the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and reports that Americans had desecrated Qurans.
"Why should we not defer to that?" asked Judge Merrick Garland, who was appointed to the court by President Bill Clinton. "We are told there is a risk ... that Americans could die if the pictures are released."
Robert Loeb, arguing for the government, noted that al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri made statements that bin Laden's body was not treated in accordance with Muslim traditions in an effort to "inflame tensions."
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The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking. – John Kenneth Galbraith
Learning to think for your self requires that you first un-learn how society and the world taught you to think.
Since we are so enmeshed in our own world of thinking and beliefs it isn’t a straight forward process. It is further complicated by the fact that you only have at your disposal your current thinking process to figure out how to dissolve your thinking.
You can not be sitting in your current belief system and use it to get our of the belief system you are in.
This is one of the reasons why the Nagual (Guide to the Spirit) provides the minimal chance for a Spiritual Warriors personal freedom.
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'Ecologist's dream' puts Fraser Island in front as one of the world's best beaches
- From: The Courier-Mail
- June 02, 2012
FRASER Island grabbed international attention with National Geographic naming it one of the world's best beaches.
Ranked seventh in the top 10, Fraser was the only Australian location to make the list despite places like Bondi, Cable Beach and Whitehaven having far higher profiles.
It's apparent the magazine ranked regions rather than a specific beach and the quality of surf or safety of the beach was not an issue.
The magazine said the World Heritage-listed Fraser Island was "an ecologist's dream".
"Rain forests with 1000-year-old trees sprout from the sand. Lodgings here accommodate a wide range of tourists, from the backpacking ecology lover to pampered resort fans."
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I couldn't find a reference in this topic area to the special exhibit at the Harvard Theatre Collection: George Balanchine - A Life's Journey in Ballet. It only runs until May 28 so there isn't much time left to see it. The HTC is open 1:00-4:45 Monday - Friday.
The exhibit includes some fascinating letters and telegrams describing Balanchines interactions with Lincoln Kirstein, composers, dancers, and many other people as Mr. B. came to the US, developed his school and company, negotiated for music and dancers, info about the Ford Foundation grant, etc. There are also many photographs, programs and brochures, posters, and some costumes and toe shoes. It took us about an hour to go through it.
It is worth the time for those in the Boston area.
Harvard Theatre Collection exhibit
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Four Pinocchios: small business tax cut will ‘create 100,000 jobs a year’ (Part 2 on claims about the bill)
“According to a study, the small business tax cut act will help create more than 100,000 new jobs a year once fully in place.”
“Mr. Speaker, while we continue to work toward tax reform that broadens the base, brings down the rates for everybody, and gets rid of loopholes, Washington assumes the role of picking winners and losers. We need to take incremental steps to give job creators tax relief right away. This Small Business Tax Cut Act is a step in that right direction.”
— House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), arguing in support of the Small Business Tax Cut Act during a House floor debate, April 19, 2012
In a previous column, we awarded three Pinocchios to Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) for saying that the “rich and famous” would receive the lion’s share of the savings from the Small Business Tax Cut Act, which would reduce taxes by 20 percent for firms with fewer than 500 employees. Now it’s time to take a look at a claim from Rep. Cantor, who sponsored the bill.
From the way Cantor described it, this policy would provide a boost to jobs numbers every year. Let’s examine that claim in detail.
(Readers can listen to this mp3 from C-SPAN Radio to hear Cantor’s comments, which begin at about the 3:30 mark.)
We’re always suspicious when someone cites “a study” without providing attribution. Cantor’s office backed up the congressman’s claim by pointing to an analysis by Fiscal Associates, the same group that analyzed former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain’s “999” tax proposal and said it would be revenue-neutral.
Fiscal Associates is a two-person operation consisting of former Treasury Department tax expert Gary Robbins and his wife.
The tax-cut report was commissioned by the YG Network, a political advocacy group that champions policies nearly identical to those of the so-called “Young Guns,” a handful of rising Republican lawmakers including Cantor, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
It’s worth noting that Congress’s non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation analyzed the legislation and concluded that “the effects of the bill on economic activity are so small as to be incalculable within the context of a model of the aggregate economy.” In other words, the economic impacts would be too small to measure.
Cantor said the tax-cut bill would “help create more than 100,000 new jobs a year once fully in place.” This line appears almost verbatim in the report from Fiscal Associates. The sixth bullet point in the summary reads as follows: “
“Once fully implemented, over time the 20% small business tax cut will create more than an average of 100,000 jobs per year.”
We asked Robbins about that sentence, and he said he didn’t write it. That surprised us, because the analysis is entirely attributed to him.
YG Network senior adviser Brad Dayspring, a former top aide to Cantor, clarified that he had suggested the line, and that Robbins said it would make sense. Here’s the e-mail exchange:
Dayspring: Am I reading this correctly: Can we say that it creates 39K in year one, but once fully implemented over time it creates an average of 100K jobs per year.
Robbins: You have it right.
Dayspring declined to say who copied and pasted the sentence into the executive summary.
Let’s review. Cantor cited a line that was apparently inserted into the report from a political advocacy group that supports him, and for which his former aide is a senior adviser. That was around the same time the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation determined that the economic impact of the tax cut would be too insignificant to measure. Nevertheless, a spokeswoman for Cantor says his staff only learned about the study after they read about it in Politico.
Putting this aside, let’s examine Cantor’s quote. The congressman said his proposed tax cut “will help create more than 100,000 new jobs a year once fully in place.” We think that most ordinary listeners would think Cantor is saying the bill would create an average of 100,000 jobs per year, although Cantor’s staff disputes this interpretation. We’ll address that later.
The first problem with Cantor’s statement is that the existing bill only provides for a one-year tax cut. Table 2 of the Fiscal Associates report shows that the impact after one year would be just 39,000 new jobs. According to the Joint Tax Committee, that increase in employment would come at a cost of $40 billion to the federal Treasury, .
A Cantor spokeswoman told us that the congressman was referring to the long-term impact of the proposed tax cut, in the event that Congress decided to extend it one day. Cantor’s spokeswoman said this should have been obvious when he mentioned “fully implemented,” although that phrase could just as easily mean “once the one-year bill has run its one-year course.”
Cantor did indeed talk about the need for long-term tax reform during his remarks on the floor, but he referred specifically to his bill and not to long-term policy when he mentioned the 100,000 jobs number.
Talking with the author of the report only added to the confusion. Robbins had this to say about the line that was inserted into the executive summary: “I would not have put that in there...because I wanted them to know that temporary changes wouldn’t raise employment like that.” Yet he also said that Cantor’s statement could be correct depending on the the way one looks at the numbers.
To clear things up, we asked Robbins to simply send a breakdown of how many jobs he projected each year for a permanent 20-percent small-business tax cut. Here are the numbers he provided:
Year One: 49,000 new jobs
Year Two: 27,000 new jobs
Year Three: 27,000 new jobs
Year Four: 32,000 new jobs
Year Five: 32,000 new jobs
Year Six: 11,000 new jobs
Year Seven: 11,000 new jobs
Total jobs added over seven years: 189,000
Average for years one through seven: 27,000 new jobs per year
(Note: the report says 39,000 jobs in the first year but Robbins gave the figure of 49,000 when providing this breakdown.)
These numbers suggested that Cantor’s claim was well off the mark, but his spokeswoman argued that we’re once again misinterpreting the congressman’s comments. She said the quote was meant to suggest this: The policy, once fully implemented, would result in the average number of jobs beyond the baseline each year exceeding 100,000.
How was that figured? Cantor added up the total number of new jobs that supposedly would have been added by the end of each year — since the start of the tax cut — and then divided by the number of years. This is how his calculation worked:
Year One: 49,000
Year Two: 76,000
Year Three: 103,000
Year Four: 135,000
Year Five: 167,000
Year Six: 177,000
Year Seven: 189,000
Total jobs added over seven years: 189,000
Average above baseline for years one through seven: 128,000 jobs a year
Cantor’s staff is essentially arguing that the economy would march forward every year with the average power of at least 100,000 additional jobs under its belt once the tax cut has been in place for five years, assuming you believed the results of this study commissioned by Cantor’s allies. But none of the economists we talked to interpreted his remarks that way.
“The clearer way to say it is that this [policy] would add 188,000 jobs, and that’s it,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody Analytics and an adviser for both Democrats and Republicans.
Zandi’s take on the numbers doesn’t sound nearly as impressive as Cantor’s assertion that the tax cut would “help create more than 100,000 new jobs a year once fully in place,” especially when you consider that the policy would put a dent of at least $40 billion in the federal budget every year.
For good measure, we asked Zandi — who is known for his predictions of how many jobs would be created by various tax and spending policies — whether he had the same read as Cantor on the Fiscal Associates report. Would the tax cut help create 100,000 jobs per year at the seven-year mark?
“That’s not what it’s doing,” Zandi said. “It’s actually creating 27,000 jobs per year.”
Indeed, that sort of average appears relatively common in analyses of the impact of tax cuts. Allen Sinai, noted for his economic models, once examined the impact of a capital gains tax cut on the economy. His report, on page 26, states clearly that the average number of jobs created per year was similar to way Zandi expressed it, not Cantor.
Beyond any issues with the clarity of Cantor’s message, the congressman’s phrasing still doesn’t support the notion that the tax cut “will help create 100,000 new jobs a year.” The bottom line is that this policy wouldn’t come close to producing that many new jobs in a single year. Not ever, no matter how long you implement it. And that’s according to the study that Cantor used.
In fact, the Fiscal Associates report says that the change in jobs after 10 years would be 194,000 (see page 2). Cantor would have been on much safer ground using that figure, but instead he chose to use a number derived from a formula that would make little sense to the average listener.
The Pinocchio Test
We struggled with whether this was worth Three or Four Pinocchios, which is reserved for whoppers. So here’s our reasoning.
Cantor quoted almost verbatim from a line that one of his former aides asked to insert into an outside analysis commissioned by a group that backs Cantor’s policies. The sequence of events here seems awfully strange.
So Cantor already loses points for relying on a study ginned up by his political allies, rather than the more sober analysis provided by the official tax score-keeper of Congress.
We also evaluate claims based on how an average listener would interpret them. We are not going to quibble with Cantor’s methodology, except to note that when we read his statement to economists, they thought he was saying something different from what his staff claimed he said.
For most people we consulted, Cantor’s remarks suggested that his proposed tax cut would produce 100,000 jobs per year. The one-year reduction in taxes would do no such thing. The report from Fiscal Associates shows that it would produce only 39,000 jobs without an extension.
As Zandi said, the clearer thing to say is that the tax cut, if made permanent, would produce a total of 188,000 jobs in seven years, period.
All those things, combined, tipped the scales toward Four Pinocchios.
Check out our candidate Pinocchio Tracker
Track each presidential candidate's campaign ads
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Congestion Pricing Plan Includes a “Livable Streets Lock Box”
There is a nice surprise for City Council, neighborhood groups and transportation reformers in the congestion pricing plan approved by the Traffic Mitigation Commission yesterday. On page 8 of the plan, in a section called "Securing of parking revenues," the commission proposes dedicating all revenue raised within the congestion pricing zone from additional parking meter fees, a taxi surcharge and parking garage taxes to a new, New York City DOT fund for street and transit improvements.
While congestion pricing revenue will go to the MTA "lock box," this much smaller fund would be used by DOT for bike, pedestrian, traffic calming, parking and BRT improvements that would be approved each year by City Council. This DOT fund is potentially a big deal. It's a major change, and would be the first time the city created a dedicated funding stream for bicycle, pedestrian, and parking improvements, and other transportation projects. Call it the "Livable Streets Lock Box:"
Securing of parking revenues: All funds from increased on-street parking rates and the elimination of the resident parking tax exemption within the zone should be dedicated by the City of New York to additional transit, pedestrian, bicycle, and parking management improvements, including, but not limited to, expanded ferry service, bus signalization, BRT investments, bicycle facilities, and pedestrian enhancements. NYCDOT should submit an annual plan to the City Council for approval on the use of these funds and shall report on the actual expenditures of such a plan.
New York City currently funds almost all of its bicycle, pedestrian and non-automobile transportation work with federal funds. Until now, it has been a fundamental principal of the mayor's powerful Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that the city will not dedicate funding raised from transportation sources to transportation projects. Previously, the city has rejected the idea proposed by Transportation Alternatives and neighborhood groups like CHEKPEDS to "return" parking meter revenue to Parking Improvement or Business Improvement Districts for local streetscape improvements. In Los Angeles and San Diego, such "revenue return" has been a huge incentive for adopting smart curbside parking policies using vacancy targets and variable pricing.
The new DOT fund should appeal to council members because it is a new funding stream for highly visible pedestrian and bicycle improvements to their districts. That's a lot of ribbon cuttings for projects people love, like Safe Streets for Seniors and Safe Routes for Schools.
Much can happen as the council drafts authorizing legislation for the congestion pricing plan. Skeptics will point out that this funding may simply substitute --- not add to --- existing city transportation funding. But since the city spends very little on cyclists and pedestrians, any new funding stream, especially one tied closely to council districts and neighborhood projects, has to be seen as a major gain for the livable streets movement.
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Summary: Up to 40% of precious testing time is wasted while users engage in nonessential activities. Far better to focus on watching users perform tasks with the target interface design.
Most design teams spend appallingly little time observing their users' actual behavior. Of course, most companies never perform user testing at all, but even those that do log very few hours of behavioral observation.
The ideal is to designate one day per week -- say, Wednesdays -- as "user day" and bring in four users. New users, of course. It's one of the guidelines for recruiting test users to use fresh users for each test (actually, it's seven guidelines, because the general rule has a few exceptions where it's OK to reuse participants).
With a steady stream of new users coming through, you can observe people using all of your design features, have them test out wild ideas in paper prototype form, and see how they use your competitors' designs. With weekly testing and careful observation, you'll make very few design decisions that aren't grounded in users' real needs and behavior.
Although weekly testing is the best, it's almost never done. I know of only a handful of projects that have kept up this pace, and some of those are my own :-(
In most companies, it's a rare and wonderful experience to have actual customers show up to use the design. You should obviously make the most of this opportunity, but companies often waste too much of their precious time with users.
Top Time Wasters
The typical user test is 60-90 minutes. After that, users get tired, and it's difficult to run usability sessions that last more than two hours. (It's possible to run multi-day studies, but doing so requires a different technique and happens rarely in my experience.)
So, what should you do with the 60-90 minutes of user time? Focus on having the users behave naturally while interacting with your interface. That's the unique contribution of user testing: we get to see what people actually do , as opposed to what they say .
Sadly, many companies waste minute after minute trying to get test users to voice opinions rather than perform tasks. There are many great methods besides user testing for collecting commentary and opinions -- focus groups and surveys are two of the more common ones. Most likely, your company already collects lots of opinion data from many more customers than you'll ever have in one-on-one user testing situations. Use each method for what it's good at.
Common time wasters include:
- Starting the session with an extensive demographic survey. It's better to collect this data using an online website survey. For test participants, make do with the data collected during the up-front screening process and refrain from asking additional questions during the test.
- Asking users for subjective satisfaction ratings after each task. Subjective ratings are weak data in the first place. Research projects aside, overly fine-grained ratings are rarely worth the time required to collect them.
- Using a satisfaction questionnaire with dozens of questions instead of a single overall satisfaction score. It's stupid to ask users to rate, for example, how much they like the graphics. If people have strong feelings about how something looks -- whether it be pleasing, ugly, or inappropriate -- they'll voice those feelings during the task. The one thing a questionnaire should ask users about is overall satisfaction. Detailed issues are much more valid if you assess them based on users' behavior while performing tasks, rather than asking for a retrospective rating.
- Ending the session with a long discussion about how users might feel about potential new product developments. Again, focus groups are better for this. Also, users' reactions to prototype designs while performing tasks are much more valid than people's hypothetical speculations about what they might like. Spend your time collecting valid data rather than speculative data, even if doing so requires you to mock up a few more pages.
Each of these wasteful steps takes only a few minutes. Together, however, they can amount to users spending as much as 30 minutes filling in questionnaires rather than performing tasks.
Some overhead is inevitable in any test situation: you've got to welcome users, have them read and sign a consent form (ideally, a short one), and then debrief them and hand out incentives when the test is over. Try to keep such overhead to five minutes, then budget maybe another five minutes for collecting the most necessary subjective satisfaction ratings. By doing so, you'll waste no more than 11% of a 90-minute session.
If you spend 30 minutes on focus-group-style data and 10 minutes on general overhead (courtesy of endless bureaucratic forms or the like), you'll waste 44% of a 90-minute session.
Make a budget for your user testing time and ensure that you devote the bulk of it to observing users as they perform interactive tasks with your design. This is your project's best use of testing resources: the most valid and actionable usability insights come from observing behavior. It's also better for your career development. To increase expertise in the usability field , you must observe the widest possible range of user behavior.
How many hours per year do you spend observing actual users performing tasks with your designs? If it's less than 20 hours, you need to do more user testing. You should probably also reprioritize the time budget for the test sessions you do run so that they'll generate more behavioral data.
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Each Season has its Own Style
Québec City is a sought-after tourist destination throughout the year. The changing of the seasons is marked by a new palette of vibrant colours and a slate of different activities. The spring features an impressive outburst of greenery as the region casts off its wintry cloak. To take advantage of the warm summer days, people flock to sidewalk cafés, parks, outdoor concerts and bustling streets. The fall is heralded by a bracing breeze that rustles the leaves in vivid hues of yellow, orange and red. But winter in Québec City, with its abundant snowfall and landscape of crystalline beauty, is something truly special.
Several festivals and celebrations are held during the winter months. The Québec Winter Carnival is one of the world's largest winter carnivals, featuring two night parades hosted by the jovial Carnival spokesnowman, Bonhomme Carnaval; a canoe race over the icy St. Lawrence River; an ice castle in Old Québec; snow and ice sculptures; dogsled races; and a multitude of games and activities for the whole family. The Québec Winter Carnival embodies the magic and spirit of winter in the Greater Québec City area.
Spending Christmas in Québec City is like giving yourself a present. Every year, the region is blanketed in snow in time for the Holidays, prompting local residents and visitors to gather in Old Québec to celebrate this festive season with family and friends. Several parts of the city are bedecked in colourful lights and decorations from early December to mid-February.
The Magic of Winter
Fun in the snow is guaranteed in the Greater Québec City area every winter. Skiers and snowboarders appreciate the first-rate conditions at the four major resorts located on the outskirts of the city. Cross-country ski trails and outdoor skating rinks can be found across the region, from the downtown core to the outlying communities.
Thrill-seekers of all ages can go sledding on the Plains of Abraham. Choose from among a wide range of outdoor activities, including snowshoeing, ice climbing, dogsledding and snowmobiling. The Greater Québec City area is linked to the Trans-Québec snowmobile network that comprises 30,000 km (18,000 miles) of groomed trails..
Many competitive sporting events are held here in the winter. Cross-country skiers can participate in the Loppet Mont-Sainte-Anne, which consists of three races: 5 km, 25 km and 50 km. Every year, Québec City hosts the LG Snowboard FIS World Cup. X-treme athletes can test their mettle during Grand défi des glaces, an ice canoe race where competitors must make three trips across the St. Lawrence River. Shortly after the Québec Winter Carnival ends in February, young hockey players from several countries come to take part in the International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament.
Come visit the Ice Hotel to experience a contemporary expression of Northern life. This combination igloo and enchanted castle is a fascinating display of human ingenuity and the majesty of Mother Nature.
Located only 10 minutes from the Old Québec, the Ice Hotel is a fairytale setting where the very décor is sculpted from ice and snow. There are 36 themed rooms and suites, some of which have a fireplace. Among the things to see and do include the Icy Café, chapel, art gallery, Ice Bar where cocktails are served in glasses made of ice and indoor ice slide.
Now you can appreciate the joys of winter in every part of the city
Merging one's existence with the winter dates back to the founding of the city over four centuries ago. Local residents have integrated the year's coldest season into their way of life, shaped it in their image and made it part of their culture. You are hereby invited to discover the wonders of this time of the year at the many enchanting sites, exciting festivals and thrilling athletic events in the capital of snow, ice and joie-de-vivre!
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Funding announced to retrain 'older workers' in Comox Valley
The Canadian and B.C. governments are combining to help unemployed older workers in the Comox Valley.
Up to 60 unemployed older workers will receive help to improve their skills and re-enter the workforce through the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers (TIOW).
Together, the governments of Canada and B.C. are investing over $515,000 in the Creative Employment Access Society’s Vintage Advantage project to improve participants’ employability and get them back to work.
Participants will be able to tailor the training to their needs, opting for work experience with a local employer, individualized skills development and job search assistance, or self-employment. After graduating from the program, participating older workers will continue to have access to job coaching and ongoing support.
The announcement was made by John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and Vancouver Island North MP and Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour for British Columbia.
“Our government’s top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity,” said Duncan. “Through the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers, we are helping unemployed older workers in British Columbia develop new skills so they can make the transition to new jobs.”
“By working with the federal government on programs like the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers, we are leveraging an important resource in our economy: older workers,” said Bell. “Using labour market programs like the TIOW and those provided under the Canada–B.C. Labour Market Agreement helps British Columbia capitalize on the human resources we already have in this province so we get the right people the right skills to fill the over one million jobs we expect in B.C. by 2020.”
“This TIOW funding will enable us to resume offering employment services tailored to the needs of older workers in the Comox Valley,” said Bruce Brautigan, executive director of the Creative Employment Access Society in the Comox Valley. “Our Vintage Advantage project has been highly successful in helping older workers find suitable jobs or launch their own business and we are very pleased that it will be continuing.”
To date, the TIOW has targeted more than 25 000 unemployed older workers across Canada, including more than 4,000 in B.C. The initiative provides retraining for new careers and supports the Government of Canada’s broader strategy to create an educated, skilled and flexible workforce.
The federal-provincial/territorial cost-shared initiative provides people with employment assistance services, such as resumé writing and counseling, and employability improvement activities, such as skills upgrading and work experience.
The TIOW assists unemployed older workers, aged 55 to 64 years, who live in a city or town with a population of 250,000 or fewer that is experiencing high unemployment, significant downsizing or closures.
The Government of Canada launched the TIOW in fall 2006 and has since contributed $270 million in funding and extended the initiative until March 31, 2014.
The TIOW launched with a commitment of $70 million for programming to March 31, 2009. Budget 2008 invested another $90 million to extend the initiative for three years, to March 2012.
Canada’s Economic Action Plan (EAP) 2009 provided an additional $60 million over that same period. In 2011, the TIOW was extended to March 31, 2014 with a further $50 million, and EAP 2012 reiterated this commitment.
— Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
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In the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, many radio stations have pulled Foster the People's 2011 hit single "Pumped Up Kicks," in which frontman Mark Foster sings about a school shooting.
Foster, told CNN he was inspired by teenage mental illness when he wrote the song, with lyrics like, "You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun ... you'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet."
Read Foster's full statement below:
I wrote 'Pumped Up Kicks' when I began to read about the growing trend in teenage mental illness. I wanted to understand the psychology behind it because it was foreign to me. It was terrifying how mental illness among youth had skyrocketed in the last decade. I was scared to see where the pattern was headed if we didn't start changing the way we were bringing up the next generation.
I wrote that song three years ago. A lot has changed since then, and a lot has stayed the same.
For the past few years I've been an advocate for stricter gun control regulations and have been passionate about reforming our laws so this country would be safer. So my little brothers could go to school and I wouldn't have to worry about them. So people wouldn't have access to weapons that were capable of large-scale destruction ie: AR-15's with 30 round magazines.
This song was written as a way to create ongoing dialogue for an issue that was being talked about, but when it came to government intervention, was largely being ignored.
Now, this topic is finally at the forefront of major discussion and will hopefully lead to some big changes in policy that will prevent these acts of violence from happening in the future. That being said, I respect people's decision to press pause. And if that becomes a catalyst for a bigger conversation that could lead to positive change moving forward, then I absolutely support it.
My heart goes out to Newtown and anyone that's ever been affected directly or indirectly by gun violence. The only way we're going to be able to change this, is to raise a loud, booming, unified voice and not let politics get in the way of humanity. We're all neighbors and this is in our back yard. It's only going to stay there if we let it. Peace and love.
Cubbie Fink, who plays bass in the band, told CNN that "the whole youth violence thing hit pretty close to me" because his cousin was present during the Columbine shooting in 1999.
"I actually flew out to be with her the day after it happened ... and saw how affected she was by it," Fink said. "She is as close as a sister so obviously it affected me deeply. So to be able to have a song to talk about this stuff has been good for us."
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http://www.news8000.com/entertainment/Band-talks-about-Pumped-Up-Kicks/-/332/17868554/-/fny2sz/-/index.html
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COLORADO SPRINGS — Denver's seven-member school board and superintendent spent nine hours Thursday with a psychologist, learning how to better communicate and work together.
The word "Kumbaya" was, indeed, uttered, and board members participated in various relationship-building exercises as they were coached on how to build trust and cohesion using constructive language, listening skills and empathy.
"This is skill-building," said Susan Heitler, the Denver psychologist and marital therapist hired for $2,400 to lead the session. "It's basically the same (as marriage counseling). The main difference is it's eight people rather than two."
The meeting, scheduled weeks ago, took on greater importance after Monday's fiery board meeting, when several contentious reforms were approved and one new board member made a controversial move to insert herself into the vote.
Board member Andrea Merida had herself sworn in hours before the meeting, allowing her to vote on the reforms, but the move ousted longtime board member Michelle Moss and led to tears and outrage.
The board, with three new members, including Merida, appeared to be at odds, split over the reforms and other issues.
Thursday's meeting focused on how to move past hurt feelings, how to defuse negative language and how to build trust.
"These were people who were furious at each other," Heitler said. "We converted it from a disaster to a blessing."
The meeting was held in a small room at the swanky Broadmoor hotel, in advance of the Colorado Association of School Boards' annual convention. Representatives from 152 Colorado school districts are expected to attend the weekend sessions at the hotel, which has been the venue for the convention for decades.
Denver Public Schools board members said they felt they made progress in the counseling session.
"I think we can now move on, treat each other with respect and listen," said board member Jeannie Kaplan. "We still have a lot of work to do."
Coached by the facilitator, board members pressed Superintendent Tom Boasberg on some major issues, using their newfound skills. Some issues, such as lack of communication between the administration and board, were smoothed out with the new techniques.
Merida said she entered the meeting understanding there were some lingering raw feelings after Monday's events.
"You couldn't have walked away from Monday night without feeling that tension," she said. "But this gave me the opportunity to explain where I was coming from. I feel like now we can move forward."
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or firstname.lastname@example.org
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Investors tend to focus heavily on their home country when allocating their assets, as this has several advantageous factors in terms of familiarity with the markets, comfort with the legal and financial environment, and association with future liabilities, such as retirement cost for individual investors, and labour, and management costs, or dividend and distribution expectations for institutional investors such as pension funds.
A cautious approach is recommended by the Association of American Individual Investors, who's most aggressive portfolio allocation has 60% in U.S. stocks, 20% in non-U.S. stocks, and 10% in Emerging market stocks, while the moderate risk and conservative risk profiles have almost no emerging market exposures. The AAII website has 3 risk profiles in their allocation section.
This however, does potentially forgo some significant opportunity for returns, and does run the risk of over-correlation of the portfolio, when compared with investing more actively in overseas markets. There are three specific sectors that are currently worth serious consideration for a more adventurous allocation strategy, either in the short/medium terms given the current U.S. market situation, or in the longer term. These would be emerging markets for growth, targeted high-yield markets such as Australia, and Europe for scalable diversification.
In fact, as economic globalization continues, mutual funds and institutional investors have been extending allocations into other regions more actively, with IMF research (pdf) showing that between 2005 and 2010 institutional investors reduced their allocation of equity portfolios to the G7 countries from 88% to 77%.
|Geographical allocation on Equities|
|Asia ex G7||10%||6%||9%||5%|
|Non G7 advanced||7%||8%||8%||5%|
|Source - IMF|
While hard data isn't available indicating the U.S. exposure individually, a survey of fund managers in the report indicates that pension funds weighted 50.3% to their own countries, and asset managers a more aggressive 44.8%. This demonstrates a clear trend toward a more global risk profile, and specifically to emerging markets, with 16% in markets categorized as "non advanced," compared with the AAII's most aggressive recommended emerging markets allocation of 11.11% .
Benefits and risks of overseas equity allocation
The IMF survey also explores the rationale behind this, which is predominantly around the diversification, growth and increased yield opportunities available in international markets. To this we should also add value, as recently there has been some significant regional divergence in the price of equities
On the risk side, the main concerns in the IMF survey are country risk, liquidity and volatility, and there is in addition the challenge of lower levels of corporate governance in some markets and a significant currency risk, which needs to be actively managed for international investments. On the currency topic, the current environment is clearly highly influenced by the impact of the Fed's QE activities.
Top Five Factors Considered in Cross-Border Investment
(Ranked by scores)
Asset Managers Pension Funds
- Diversification Diversification
- Growth prospects Growth prospects
- Yield Yield
- Country risk Range of investments
- Market liquidity Volatility
Source: IMF Survey on Global Asset Allocation
As an investor living in Australia, and working primarily in the Asian and European region, I see many opportunities and specific countries outside the U.S., which the U.S. investor might avoid due to this home bias. In this article I will explore some of these at the high level, consider some of the risk factors, and how to mitigate these, and in future articles will drill down into some specific opportunities, generally touching on individual countries as I physically visit the locations.
Emerging Markets for growth
Any growth-oriented investor will struggle to keep up with global growth rates without a significant allocation to emerging market equities. While currently the emerging markets story centers around very impressive growth rates, the scale of EM economies is still small compared with the developed world - totaling around 37% of the global GDP in 2010, and as a share of emerging markets business is captured by global companies, those based in the emerging markets accounted for only about 31% of market capitalisation and a mere 13% of the MSCI world index.
Projections made by the IMF show the dramatic impact of scalable growth in the emerging markets, with EM's accounting for nearly 60% of both GDP and market capitalisation by 2030. Nevertheless, the relatively smaller size and large number of EM stocks is anticipated to generate 31% of the MSCI world index by that time.
This means that investors who wish to take advantage of the current growth phase of these markets need to gain exposure through direct access to target markets, rather than to try to gain emerging market exposure through companies from developed markets that have a strong EM focus.
International equities for yield
While many U.S. companies have started to respond to shareholders' appetite for dividend income in the current-low yield environment, there is still a significant difference between dividend policies between U.S. companies and those in other markets. Part of this is driven by corporate fashion, and in some cases by different taxation treatment. In Asia, investors in general seek to see income generated from their investments in addition to paper value growth. This is significantly influenced by a past environment of intransparent accounting regimes and poor corporate governance - the investor sees a real and regular return from investments in addition to paper profits. In other markets, such as Australia, there are tax differences that influence payout rates. In Australia a dividend imputation system, which generates tax credits for investors, enables investors paying tax in Australia to avoid double tax on dividend profits. While the "franking credits" of dividends is not available to U.S. taxpayers, this treatment encourages a more progressive dividend policy.
To have some idea of recent dividend yields for example, the Australian MSCI market equivalent (EAFE) tm yield is 5.47%, and on a broad regional basis, consider the yield from Wisdom Tree, Asia Pacific Ex Japan Fund (AXJL) at 3.42%. These do look attractive compared with S&P 500 yields such as SPY, although the yields on pure EM ETFs such as EEM haven't recently outperformed SPY.
As identified above, one of the main considerations stated by asset managers for allocations to international equities is diversification. While there has been considerable convergence of market performance between U.S. and international markets, there remains significant diversification benefit to an international portfolio.
Those wary of international equities will be drawn to the fact that U.S. equities have generally outperformed both European and Emerging market stocks over the recent past, but the diversification impact is the issue to illustrate here. The valuations of many European and EM stocks now look quite attractive compared with the U.S.
The bottom line
Institutional investors are re-weighting their portfolios with a lower allocation to U.S. equities compared with international, especially seeking the growth and dividend income from emerging market stock, coupled with diversification. The individual investor should seriously consider whether this would also be appropriate for them. If so, the risks need to be carefully managed through country, currency and stock selection. Hedging of currency risk is an important consideration. ETFs can play a useful role here, but as these gravitate toward the larger existing stocks, broad ETFs such as EEM could be underweight to the real growth opportunities, and overweight to the existing large players.
With U.S. equities at all-time highs, and significant value gaps to other international markets, 2013 could be a strong window of opportunity to look outside of U.S. equities.
Disclosure: I am long EEM.
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://seekingalpha.com/article/1103311-growth-income-and-diversification-3-reasons-to-increase-international-equity-weightings
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You must read the disclaimer before downloading.
From the Authors:
The goal of the GazeTalk project is to develop an eye-tracking based ACC system that supports several languages, facilitates fast text entry, and is both sufficiently feature-complete to be deployed as the primary AAC tool for users, yet sufficiently flexible and technically advanced to be used for research purposes. The system is designed for several target languages, initially Danish, English, Italian, German and Japanese.
- web – browser
- Multimedia – player
- PDF – reader
- letter and word prediction, and word completion
- speech output
- can be operated by gaze, headtracking, mouse, joystick, or any other pointing device
- supports step-scanning (new!)
- supports users with low precision in their movements, or trackers with low accuracy
- allows the user to use Dasher inside GazeTalk and to transfer the text written in Dasher back to GazeTalk
This may also be a useful predictive communication system for literate people who use a mouse to access the computer (as well as eye-gaze).
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<urn:uuid:bd4ded37-88c8-4d67-8150-faff4a177daf>
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http://www.oatsoft.org/Software/gaze-talk/psc_project_view
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I love computer animation and ever since I had a BBC B 32K computer in the early 1980s I’ve been trying to teach myself how to make my own short films. What surprised me is that computer animation doesn’t seem to be any quicker than traditional hand-drawn methods. You would think it should be. Whereas traditional Disney animators had to draw every frame of Mickey Mouse standing up, all a computer animator has to do is set the first pose and the last and let the machine do the bits in-between. If only it were that easy. For example if you’re animating a spaceship taking off you have to design and build the model, texture it, set the scene with cameras and lights, do the particles for the jets, set the keyframes and so on and so on… To give you an idea – this is what a traditional animator starts with:
And this is what I see when I fire up my copy of Houdini, one of the top-level studio animation programs. See what I mean?
So after several years of learning I’ve managed to animate a robot doing a fairly wobbly walk and produce a bunch of models I’m quite proud of. Terry Gilliam once said that animating was like having sex with an elephant. You had to be mad to try it and would get crushed in the process. I can see what he means, but I don’t give up easily, so on with the tutorials.
Anyway, having said that I’m not a huge fan of the big 3d animation blockbusters, though I loved Wall-E and The Incredibles. I prefer the short 3D films from independent studios, especially in Eastern Europe. Without the commercial pressure from a big studio, and often just the product of one person labouring away on a particular idea, they can be bizarre, witty and often disturbing. Here’s a little selection of my favourites so you can see what people can achieve in just a few minutes of film:
Fallen Art by Tomek Baginksi. Probably my favourite. A very clever little film. Typically Eastern European with its absurdist view on authority and the military in particular. Baginski also did The Cathedral, which is a more straight-forward fantasy/sf short but still beautiful to watch.
L’Enfant de la Haute Mer. Haunting and mysterious. A little girl lives alone in a flooded town and dreams of her father who is lost at sea. The textures were deliberately made to look like watercolours and the feel of the piece is light years away from the bright plastic artificial colour schemes of a lot of the big studio movies.
She who measures. This one won a load of awards. Don’t ask. Utterly bizarre. I can see what the animators were getting at (they’re from Croatia). Basically modern life is an endless round of petty consumption force-fed to us by insane leaders in an incomprehensible universe. But I’m not sure why everyone is wearing a rubber willy or what happens to the little rebellious guy at the end. Nevertheless you have to admire the sheer barminess of it all.
Fifty-percent grey. A bit more conventional this one, at least as far as 3D animation shorts go. I like the way the soldier is modelled and the idea is very simple.
grain.S This one has a lovely grainy black and white visual feel to it. Again it’s a simple, funny story with great characterisation. The link takes you to the website where you can download the movie itself.
If you are interested in getting into computer animation then the best guide book is Inspired 3d Short Film Production by Jeremy Cantor and Pepe Valencia. It covers every aspect of movie production and will give you a sense of the amount of work involved, but also the limitless possibilities that 3D films afford someone who’s got the time and dedication. 3D animation software can be expensive, but the open source program Blender is free and has everything anyone could possibly need. I’m learning Houdini, which is a program used by the major studios for most of their 3D effects work. A full licence is $9,995 but they have a starving artist version for $99, and it’s identical to the studio one!
Update: Shortly after I posted this to the blog it got a comment from someone purporting to sell a low price fully-fledged 3d piece of software called Illusion Mage. This is a scam. The software this guy is ‘selling’ at a very low price is the open source program Blender, which is available completely free from here, and which has simply been renamed by someone seeking to make a quick buck from unsuspecting beginners.
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|Alden Marsh Bioethics Institute|
Presentation at The Future of Bioethics in a Divided Democracy conference, organized by the Alden March Bioethics Institute, Albany, NY, July 13-14, 2006.
My organization, the Center for Genetics and Society, was founded because of the recognition at the end of the 1990s that liberal and progressive civil society voices were almost completely missing from ongoing discussions among policy makers, bioethicists, and others about the social meanings of human biotechnologies - discussions that were quickly growing more urgent as the pace of technological development accelerated. We called this situation a "civil society deficit," and began working to remedy it.
I'm going to
- first say a few words about how CGS got its start and what we've learned about that civil society deficit
- second, talk just a bit about how it is beginning to change, as liberal and progressive constituencies become involved in human biotech debates, and
- third, of particular interest at a conference aimed at exploring the divide between liberal and conservative bioethics, talk about some important differences and tensions that are becoming apparent among liberals and progressives on human biotechnology issues
CGS and the civil society deficit
Before the formal establishment of the Center for Genetics and Society, we convened a series of meetings. We brought together several multi-disciplinary groups of people who were knowledgeable and concerned about the social and political implications of new reproductive and genetic technologies, and who were committed to social, economic, and racial justice; to reproductive rights; and to socially responsible science and environmental protection.
At those meetings, we discussed
- the speed with which human biotechnologies were developing,
- the inadequacy of the rules and regulations in place to guide their development and use,
- the increasingly commercialized environment in which these developments were taking place, and
- the fact that both the technical and policy situation were not on the radar of the general public, opinion leaders, or policy makers.
There was general agreement that some human biotechnologies were likely to yield beneficial applications in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, and that we wanted to support these. But we were also concerned about the potential of these technologies to greatly exacerbate human inequality, both through increasing our already shameful global health disparities; and depending on how the techniques developed, through the potential use of new human genetic and reproductive technologies for eugenic purposes.
We were already seeing that the prospect of powerful new reproductive and genetic technologies was triggering a revival of eugenic ideologies by a small but disturbing number of influential scientists and others, including some bioethicists. This was a vision of "better breeding" not through government mandate or authoritarian decree, but as a supposedly inevitable technical advance and the natural play of free markets.
When we set up CGS in 2001, we defined our mission as one of "working to encourage responsible uses and effective societal governance of the new human genetic and reproductive technologies." A large part of our work has been aimed at increasing the participation of civil society constituencies in public and policy debates about biomedical, genetic, and reproductive technologies. Toward that end, we have organized or participated in hundreds of conferences, workshops, meetings and briefings, the majority of them with liberal and progressive individuals and organizations, including those working for women's health and reproductive rights; GLBT and disability rights; racial justice and civil rights; environmental protection and animal welfare; consumer advocacy and good government.
In nearly all these encounters, we've found a keen interest in the issues raised by human biotechnologies, but uncertainty about how to participate in shaping them, and deep concern that developments are moving at a pace and in a manner that leaves the great majority of people excluded from the debate.
[Bioethicists, civil society, inclusion]
On the topic of exclusion: I can't help but remark on the demographic imbalances of this conference. I appreciate the organizers for bringing together people across the left-right political spectrum, but it's disappointing to see the lack of diversity and balance among the plenary speakers. The roster of invited speakers is pretty overwhelmingly dominated by - not to put too fine a point on it - white men from academia. I'd thought we were well past the days of counting, but I confess to comparing the numbers of women and people of color among the plenary speakers to the numbers in George Bush's cabinet. By that measure, it doesn't look good for the bioethicists.
It's obviously important to address lack of racial and gender balance wherever it occurs. There also seems to be an imbalance here in the types of expertise represented. Most of us are technical or academic experts, but there are many other types of relevant expertise, including social constituency expertise.
Given that an important part of the project of bioethics consists of setting the rules for the development and use of powerful, future-shaping technologies, it's clearly important to be as inclusive and democratic as possible. Bioethicists have often functioned as surrogates for democratic participation in decisions about biotechnologies, and in so doing have perhaps perpetuated the civil society deficit on the issues. Though bioethicists typically present themselves as experts rather than as spokespeople, there is a tendency to believe that they are minding the store for the rest of us - which they may or may not be doing, and which of course they have no mandate to do.
Bioethical expertise is in some ways a peculiar kind of expertise. Here's what I mean: Think about the kind of involvement we have come to expect in the politics of other powerful technologies. Think, for example, about controversies over what kind of energy technologies to develop - should we emphasize nuclear power or solar power? Should we build large hydro-electric dams? Should we drill for oil in the Arctic?
On these issues, we don't consult energy ethicists. We consult academic and policy experts, yes. And we also recognize these as political issues, as decisions that will transform the way many people live and work, that will create winners and losers, that involve some people making decisions that will shape the lives and life chances of others, perhaps on the other side of the world or in future generations.
We expect, at the beginning of the 21st century, that these issues will be widely debated, that environmental, consumer protection, and human rights groups are likely to weigh in, sometimes quite vociferously, that these civil society actors will be cited in the media and participate in conferences, that they will be included in policy debates and decisions.
We need similar robust debate, democratic participation, and broad inclusiveness of civil society constituencies in decisions about human biotechnologies. This is a crucial endeavor, but a challenging one. Our democratic processes are imperfect; the mechanisms by which civil society constituencies assert themselves are often messy, we are operating in a politically polarized environment that makes thoughtful deliberation about human biotechnologies difficult, and the combined power of techno-science and the market is daunting.
The overall trends are sobering. But the increasing involvement of civil society organizations and opinion leaders in the politics of human biotechnology is a hopeful sign. I'll just mention a few of the constituencies that are beginning to weigh in on these issues.
Liberals and progressives in the politics of human biotech
First, women's health and reproductive rights advocates. The fact that many human biotechnologies involve reproduction, and that the most controversial biomedical technologies involve human embryos, means that women's health and reproductive rights are inescapably affected by biopolitics. The first impulse of some mainstream feminists has been to embrace these technologies, but this has been far from stable and far from uniform.
In 2004, CGS, OBOS and CWPE held a meeting at the Ford Foundation that gathered together 65 women and a few men to discuss the full array of the new reproductive and genetic technologies and their impact on women and communities of color. This meeting connected academics to advocates, and feminist, disability rights and social justice organizations. Many attendees went on to lead their groups to become more involved on these issues.
Another example is the California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom's recently established Reproductive Technologies subcommittee, set up as a safe space for CA leaders to debate and explore these issues. One more: CGS worked with PPFA and Smith College on their Reproductive Justice for All Conference so that one of the four major topics of focus was Assisted Reproductive and Genetic Technologies. About 100 people spent two days discussing and debating politics and policies in this area.
Stem cells in California. CGS was one of a small number of progressive or liberal groups in California that support ESCR but opposed Proposition 71, the $3 billion stem cell initiative of 2004.
The other progressive organizations that opposed Prop 71 were an ad hoc network of women's health and reproductive rights advocates working under the name Pro-Choice Alliance Against Prop 71, and the California Nurses Association - an important ally, with 65,000 members in the state and a public approval rating that consistently stays above 80%.
At first it was pretty lonely, and our positions were often misunderstood. But within weeks of the initiative passing, a buyers' remorse began to develop. Now, almost two years later, our criticisms of Prop 71 and its implementation have been not just reported on but editorially echoed in every major newspaper in the state. We've worked with women's health groups and a Democratic state senator on a bill to ensure that women who provide eggs for research are treated as research subjects, and not compensated beyond direct expenses so as to avoid creating a market in eggs. We've worked with good government groups including Common Cause and CalPIRG, with racial justice groups including the Greenlining Institute, with consumer protection groups including the Foundation for Taxpayers and Consumers Rights, and others.
Others: Disability rights groups have been out in front on these issues, acutely aware of the history of eugenic targeting of people with disabilities, and concerned that norms of "perfection" could all too easily displace values of care and respect. We co-sponsored a series of events at the New York GLBT Center. Environmentalists have opposed portrayals of efforts to clone endangered species as conservation measures. Animal welfare advocates including the Human Society of America have sharply criticized pet cloning.
Liberal values and human biotechnologies
As liberals and progressives begin to consider human biotech issues and become involved, differences among them have started to become apparent. These differences or tensions turn on the different emphases they place in three areas:
- balancing personal liberty and individual autonomy with social justice and the common good;
- determining the kind and amount of enthusiasm or caution appropriate to various genetic, reproductive, and biomedical technologies;
- deciding whether regulation in these areas is best centered in government or market mechanisms.
None of these are absolutes - each requires a balancing act. And these differences are not exclusively about biotechnologies or biopolitics - they crop up in other areas as well. Sometimes, they are tensions not just among those of us to the left of center, but within ourselves.
However - the United States is a place where the combination of techno-science and the market is especially powerful, where the commitment to perpetual progress - defined as technological progress - is strong, and where the emphasis is on individual and market-based solutions to social problems. Add to this the polarized politics that have developed as the religious Right stakes out a ground of absolutism around protecting human embryos, and liberals and progressives react, sometimes reflexively, to defend freedom on inquiry. Under these conditions, the skewed and incomplete conversation that has developed around human biotechnology is perhaps no surprise. As Dan Sarewitz puts it:
The result is a highly restricted domain of permissible conversation, and an increasing willingness to stake the future of humanity not on our admittedly imperfect processes of negotiating competing values and interests in light of our moral foundations, but instead on the accelerating capacity of science and technology to remake the world in any and every way that it can.
All this conspires to create a situation in which social justice, a precautionary sensibility, and a commitment to crafting government regulation and oversight tend to be slighted. I'll conclude with a very few brief remarks about what each of these values counsels on issues of responsible development and use of human biotechnology.
Social justice and personal liberty. To promote social justice in the gene age, we need ways to apply needed brakes on two very slippery slopes: one that leads to "designer medicine" and the other that leads to "designer babies."
By designer medicine, we mean high-tech therapeutics that will almost certainly be unaffordable except for the very wealthy - for example, the kind of treatments envisioned in the notion of "personal repair kits" that has been used to promote stem cell and cloning research.
One problem here comes down to the allocation of the significant resources-talent and money, much of it public funds-that high-tech enhancement would entail. Budgeting is not a zero-sum game, but oughtn't we be prioritizing clean drinking water for the third of the world's population that doesn't have it, or health insurance for the 46 million Americans who don't have that?
By designer babies, we mean inheritable genetic modification - the production of children who are genetically "enhanced." This is another kind of procedure that, if successfully developed, would almost certainly be disproportionately available to the wealthy, and would create increased social division, discrimination, and conflict.
However far off the technical accomplishments that would permit such experiments, we're faced now with the impact of the stories we tell ourselves about how to improve the human condition. We can tell ourselves, and encourage politically engaged people to believe, that we should be expending our efforts to the production of children with wings and gills and superior intelligence. Or we can commit ourselves to creating social conditions that will improve the life chances of children: clean air to breathe, vaccinations for infectious illnesses, good educations. I believe that the transhumanist story of a glittery techno-utopianism reflects the tragic withering of our collective confidence in human improvement through social change, and makes that withering worse.
Techno-enthusiasm vs "critical optimism." The way I understand it, honest skepticism is in fact a hallmark of good science; and I would argue that careful assessment is a hallmark of good technology.
It is of course largely meaningless to declare oneself either "for" or "against" technology. Instead, we need to understand and shape how technologies are used, who they benefit, who controls them and whom they control, and, upstream, how they are developed - because social relations are actually built into many technologies.
Of course, we enjoy the benefits of many biotechnologies - my eyeglasses, my kid's protection against many infectious diseases, my friends' knee replacements. We also live with the knowledge of the great civilizations that have collapsed because of misuse of contemporaneous technologies, in the shadow of Hiroshima, with severe environmental degradation in many parts of the world, and with the prospect of catastrophic climate change.
Human biotechnologies give us - or some of us - the capacity to change our own bodies at a molecular level. Doesn't it make sense to try very hard to get the balance right between progress and precaution?
That's not what we're seeing. In the case of stem cell research, we have far too many researchers and their supporters, echoed by politicians and the media, indulging in a level of hype and over-promising that is scientifically embarrassing and ethically irresponsible. In the case of advocates of genetic enhancement and tanshumanism, we have glib dismissal of risks. In his, Introduction to Transhumanism, for example, Nick Bostrom writes this about enhancement technologies, "It would be tragic if the potential benefits failed to materialize because of technophobia and unnecessary prohibitions.
On the other hand, it would also be tragic if intelligent life went extinct because of some disaster or war involving advanced technologies."
Government regulation versus market mechanisms or voluntary guidelines.
How do we react to the fact that human biotechnologies are increasingly being developed in an intensely commercial environment?
Fifty years ago, Jonas Salk became famous for developing the polio vaccine that put an end to a horrible disease that caused enormous suffering. When news broke that the field trials of the vaccine had been successful, Salk was interviewed by Edward R. Murrow on "See It Now." "Who owns the patent on this vaccine?" Murrow asked. Salk replied: "Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?"
That was then. But even 15 or 20 years ago, scientists were far less likely than they are today to be involved with private industry as consultants, stakeholders, founders. We're now seeing the first generation of biomedical science that's being developed by a cadre of researchers with anything like this level of direct interest in profit-making and corporate gain. This has created a raft of widely acknowledged problem: conflicts of interest, adverse reactions unreported because of proprietary concerns, patent blockages, and most important, a serious under-representation of the public interest.
Most scientists remain ethical, responsible, and devoted to expanding knowledge and developing tools to benefit humanity. But in an age of corporate biotechnology, we need to confront conflicts of interest forthrightly. We need to acknowledge that biomedicine is a business, that assisted reproduction is a business, and that progressives historically have championed government oversight and regulation as a necessary means of protecting the public interest. The idea that scientists can regulate themselves doesn't hold up.
We have a far greater chance of reaping the benefits of human biotechnologies and avoiding their risks if we strengthen our commitments to social justice and the common good, to a precautionary optimism and what Jonathan Moreno calls "critical optimism," and to responsible government regulation. Whether or not we manage to do this is one of the most consequential questions we face.
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Aggiungi un commento
Here's a roundup of stories on fannish technologies in the news that might be of interest to fans:
- The new site WorldCosplay is making an effort to connect cosplayers across the globe. "Though still in beta, the network already comes in an impressive 12 languages." WorldCosplay has some differences from existing sites. "There are already three big social network players in the cosplay community: the American based Cosplay.com, the Japanese Cure, and the general art site Deviant Art. Since the first two focus on their home countries and the third was never designed to be a cosplay community, Botea said WorldCosplay might have a chance to become the cosplayer’s social network of choice."
- Apple's recent effort to promote textbook publishing for the iPad prompted this discussion of the need to simplify epublishing. "Ebooks have blown open that world of exclusivity — but the ease of use still isn’t there. There’s a long list of tools that try to make ebook creation easier, from big names (Apple’s Pages, Adobe’s InDesign) to smaller ones (Scrivener) to open source alternatives like calibre. But it’s still a complicated enough business that there’s a healthy ecosystem of companies offering ebook conversion services." Indeed the growing simplicity of online posting and content hosting sites helped fan fiction's distribution grow enormously, but few sites replicate the print book experience. "But if publishing is dirt simple...how would publishers (book, news, and otherwise) respond to an even greater flood of competing content than the ebook world has already produced?"
- YouTube was also a milestone, not just in the distribution of video content, but in its revealing look at the diversity of fan-created visual works. However the site is moving away from the amateur creator. As YouTube increasingly promotes partnerships with professional producers "what will happen to the “little guy,” those who make content to share with people—not for profit?" Various critical reactions have sprung up. "“I don't want my TV to invade YouTube,” commented Porcelanesa on the promo video. “I came here because it was YOUtube, people talking to people and sharing their lives, videos of their kids, their pets, something exciting that happened during the day they wanted to share with someone else. Normal people, like you and me.”"
We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!
Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.
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Yesterday I spotted a Coyote on Antelope Island, it was down a slope near a herd of Pronghorn and not in the best of light. I noticed almost right away that the Coyote was limping rather badly. I can’t guess as to how the Coyote sustained its injury but I hope that it will be okay.
Then I saw a second paler Coyote that had just crossed the road to the other side and realized that I had photographed this pair recently and that this was the female to the pale male I wrote about here. The female did not have an injured leg when I photographed them at the end of January.
There was another car in the area and two people jumped out to photograph the pale male Coyote on the west side of the road which unsettled the Pronghorn herd. It is easy to see when that happens because they raise the light patches of hair on their rear ends. The female Coyote wasn’t bothering them at all as she struggled to walk in the snow, the Pronghorns were much more concerned about the people. The Coyotes were separated because of the road and also because the female wasn’t going to get close to the couple who had gotten out of their vehicle. The female Coyote then laid down in the snow and rested.
The pale male stood on a rock some times gazing towards where the female laid down and at other times just looked around.
After the couple got back in their vehicle and left the male Coyote found what appeared to be a section of bones from the wing of a large bird behind the rock on the right side of this frame and it gnawed on those bones.
After the pale male Coyote was done gnawing on the bones it stood back up and looked around.
He was keeping an eye on his mate. As he slowly started to make his way up the hill we left because we didn’t want to keep them separated because of our presence. I’m sure the female will catch back up to the pale male or that he will circle back to rejoin her.
It is the policy of the park to allow nature to take its course so I didn’t report the injured Coyote to the park rangers, that is a policy I believe in and stand behind even when seeing an injury in an animal that tugs at my heart. And it does.
She may just have something lodged in the pad of her foot, I am just not sure. I’ll be looking for this pair of Coyotes in the future though.
More Coyote images
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Get flash to fully experience Pearltrees
iversal Recognition of Inalienable Right to Self-Determination Most Effective Way of Guaranteeing Fundamental Freedoms, Third Committee ToldSixty-seventh General Assembly Third Committee 30 th & 31 st Meeting (AM & PM)
Global P.O.V Orgs
Over the past four years, I’ve had a lot of success in building global movements, which is a fancy way of saying that I’m good at getting people to believe in an idea that’s important enough to get them up off their couches to go do something to help. I have a skill set that people in the nonprofit world desperately need, but no matter how many times they’ve asked me to come work for them, I’ve turned them down. Here’s why:
org watch & review
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia These are lists of organizations .
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A supraorganization is an organization whose members or stakeholders are organizations rather than individuals. Some organizations may have membership of both organizations and individuals; these should not be included here. These are often described as "federations"; "coalition", "network", "confederation", and "union" are also terms that are sometimes used, although these are just as frequently used to refer to organizations composed of individuals.
Connecting Change Agents...
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An unattended pot of french fries in boiling oil is to blame for a $250,000 fire in a Tecumseh bungalow Monday.
And the Tecumseh fire department got a chance to again use its oxygen mask for pets to help out a cat.
Crews were called to a home in the 150 block of Arlington Boulevard at 11:20 a.m. and found the home filled with thick black smoke.
Bob Hamilton, assistant fire chief of fire prevention, said a man was cooking french fries in oil in a pot on a gas stove.
“He just went to go watch TV and it got away from him,” said Hamilton.
“It heated up. The oil heated up and caught fire.”
The man, a tenant in the home, and a four-year-old child, escaped the blaze unharmed. A woman and another child were not home at the time.
Firefighters also located the family cat.
“The cat was OK, what we did was just provide it some oxygen, because what can happen is they can breathe in smoke and it can get into their lungs,” said Hamilton.
It was the second time in just over a month that Tecumseh fire have used a specialized pet breathing apparatus on a cat.
Hamilton said the fire was contained to the kitchen, but there was heavy smoke damage throughout, with soot on the walls down to a metre above the floor.
“It had actually gone through the ceiling and was heading towards the attic, but the guys got it out pretty quick,” said Hamilton.
About 20 firefighters responded to the call.
Both the tenant family and the landlord had insurance, Hamilton said.
Hamilton said french fries should only be cooked in appliances made for that purpose.
“It just keeps on burning because there’s no temperature guide to hold it,” said Hamilton.
“If you’re going to cook french fries, cook them in the proper appliances. The message there is don’t leave your cooking, stay with it, and if you’re cooking fries make sure it’s in an appliance that’s made for cooking fries.”Find Windsor Star on Facebook
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Four Billion Years Later
The heat and stench were as inescapable as the cell itself. The thick stone and clay walls of the former pioneer fort trapped warmth like a kiln, and the small, stoutly barred window providing the only ventilation opened out almost directly onto the row of latrines at one side of the prison’s central courtyard.
Fort Helena. Hell on earth for those unfortunates imprisoned within by the country’s despotic regime.
A bearded man sat statue-like in one dirty corner of the gloomy cell; his stillness partly because of the cloying heat, and partly because each movement brought pain. He had been delivered to the prison a day earlier, and as a welcoming gift given a beating by a group of guards before being taken to a dark room where a grinning man had provided him with a hands-on demonstration of some of the numerous instruments of torture at his disposal. Just a sample, he had been promised. A full show would soon follow.
Someone else was in the torture chamber now, screams echoing through the passages. The guards had made a point of dragging the victim past the bearded man’s cell so that he would hear the desperate pleas for mercy. Another sample, a demonstration. You’re next.
A new sound, this from outside. A rising mechanical thrum—an approaching helicopter.
The man stirred, painfully levering himself upright and going to the little window. He ignored the foul smell from the latrines, narrowing his eyes against the harsh daylight as he watched uniformed men hurry into the courtyard to form an honor guard. Behind them came the prison’s governor, a squat, toad-faced man in small gold-rimmed glasses. From his look of apprehension, it was clear that the new arrival was important.
The prisoner tensed. He knew who was aboard the helicopter.
Someone with very good reasons to hate him.
Dust and grit swirled as the helicopter descended. It was an elderly aircraft, a French-built Alouette III light utility chopper converted to what was known as “G-Car” specification by the addition of a pair of machine guns. A veteran of the civil war that led to Rhodesia’s becoming Zimbabwe in 1980 . . . now being used as VIP transport for a man who fought in that war as a youth, gaining a nickname that he retained with pride to this day.
Gamba Boodu. “The Butcher.”
A guard opened the cabin door and Boodu stepped out, head high as if daring the still-whirling rotor blades above him to strike. Despite the baking temperatures, he wore a long black greatcoat over an immaculately fitted suit, the coat’s hem flapping in the downdraft as he strode across the courtyard to the governor. Sunlight glinted off gold: a large ring on the middle finger of his right hand, inset with a sparkling emerald. That same hand held an object that he swung like a walking stick, its end stabbing into the ground with each step.
A machete, its handle decorated with lines of gold.
The bearded man remembered the weapon well. Some years earlier, he had wrested it from the militia leader and used it against him. The result was a deep, V-shaped line of pink against the Zimbabwean’s dark skin, the scar the aftermath of a blow that had hacked clean through flesh to leave a bloody hole in his cheek like a second mouth.
He smiled, very faintly. The injury was only a fraction of what a murderer and sadist like Boodu deserved, but among his many unpleasant characteristics was vanity: Every look in the mirror would provide some punishment.
The smile disappeared as, formalities quickly over, Boodu and the governor marched into the prison buildings. They would soon come to the cell. The man returned to his filthy corner.
Footsteps over the screams. The wooden cover of the peephole slid back; then came the clatter and rasp of a key in the lock. The heavy door swung open. A guard entered first, pistol aimed at the still figure, who responded with nothing more than a fractional raising of his eyes. Next came the governor, broad mouth curled into a smirk, and finally Boodu himself. The machete’s tip clinked down on the stone floor.
“What a pleasant surprise,” said Boodu, his deep voice filled with gloating satisfaction. “Eddie Chase.”
The balding Englishman lifted his head. “Ay up,” he said in a broad Yorkshire accent. “How’s the face?”
The line of the scar shifted as Boodu’s expression tightened. “It has healed.”
“So who’d you use as your plastic surgeon? Dr. Frankenstein?”
The governor angrily clicked his fingers, and the guard booted Eddie hard in the side. He was about to deliver another blow when Boodu stopped him. “Leave him for me,” the Zimbabwean rumbled. He ground the machete’s point over the floor, the sound as unpleasant as nails on a blackboard. “I’m going to have some fun with him.”
Eddie clutched his aching ribs. “You’re throwing us a big party with cakes and jelly?”
“The only thing that will be thrown is your corpse, into a pit,” said Boodu. He rasped the blade over the flagstones again. “You caused me a lot of pain, Chase—professional and personal. Getting those criminals across the border made me look very bad in front of the president. It took me a long time to get back into his favor.”
“Leaving the country ’cause you don’t want to have your family raped and murdered doesn’t make you a criminal.”
Boodu snorted sarcastically. “If you oppose the president, you are a criminal. And my country has far too many of these criminals—this prison is full of them. They must be dealt with. Firmly.” He paused to listen to a shriek from the torture chamber. “Like your friend Strutter. A dog of war, spreading sedition, arranging for mercenaries to work for criminals. Mercenaries like you, Chase.”
“Not anymore, mate. I had a career change.”
“Yes, I heard. We do still get the international news here in Zimbabwe, even if it is filled with lies about our country. You married an American, no? I’m very sorry.” He laughed. “But I also heard that you got into some trouble, hey? You are wanted for murdering an Interpol officer! I was almost tempted to turn you over to them. But then”—he turned his face to display his mangled cheek to the prisoner—“I remembered that you gave me this.”
“My pleasure,” Eddie said with a sardonic grin.
“It will soon be my pleasure.” Boodu advanced, tapping the machete on the floor. He nodded to the guard. “Hold him.”
Eddie was kicked again, harder than before. While the Yorkshireman gasped for breath, the guard hauled him up and shoved him against the wall.
“Here,” said Boodu, mouth somewhere between a smile and a snarl. He brought up the blade and sliced through one of Eddie’s dirty, ragged sleeves—and the skin beneath. Dark blood blossomed on the fabric.
Eddie choked back a growl of pain. “You fucking cockwipe!”
“When I was told you had been arrested, I had it sharpened. Just for you.”
“Hope you had it sterilized too,” said Eddie as the guard released him. “Wouldn’t want to catch anything.” He examined the cut. Boodu had been right about the machete’s sharpness; the African’s sweep had only been light, but still enough to open up a stinging gash in his arm.
Boodu laughed again. “I’m disappointed in you, Chase. You knew you were a dead man if you ever came back to Zimbabwe—so I congratulate you on your bravery, at least—but you were a fool to be so open about it. We were watching all of Strutter’s contacts. Did you really think we had forgotten you?” He gestured at Eddie’s face. “A beard! That was your disguise? Very stupid. You must have spent too long in America, with all the comforts of marriage—you forgot how the world really works.”
“I didn’t forget,” said Eddie. Boodu was about to say something else when a prison official appeared at the door and indicated that he wished to speak to the governor. The two men exchanged muttered words, eyeing Eddie suspiciously, before the militia leader went over to join in the sotto voce discussion.
Before long, Boodu let out a sharp “Ha!” and, swinging the machete almost nonchalantly, turned back to Eddie. “Where is it, Chase?”
“Where’s what?” Eddie replied, face a portrait of innocence.
“You have a radio transmitter. My pilot picked it up and then used the prison’s own receiver to triangulate its position. This cell.”
The governor was already defensive. “We searched him when he was brought here.”
“Not well enough,” said Boodu, his look suggesting there would be repercussions for the oversight. “So that’s why you were so open about coming here to rescue Strutter. You thought a homing beacon would help your friends rescue you if you got into trouble.” He shook his head. “Not from here, Chase. Not from Fort Helena. Now, where is it? Or will I have to cut you apart to find it?” He raised the machete again.
With a defeated look, Eddie unfastened his trousers. “Don’t get all excited, lads,” he said as he reached into the back of his underwear and, straining in discomfort, extracted a small tubular object from where the sun didn’t shine. “Ow! Christ, you’ve no idea how uncomfy that was. Made my eyes water.”
Boodu was about to take it from Eddie when he noticed the unsavory coating on its metal surface and instructed the guard to hold it instead. With an expression of great distaste, the man held it up for his superiors to examine. It was around three inches long and a little over an inch in diameter, one end rounded off. A red LED blinked at the other, flat end, a tiny switch beside it. “Does the switch turn it off?” Boodu asked Eddie. The Englishman nodded.
Boodu gestured to the guard, who clicked the switch with a thumbnail. The LED went dark. Chuckling, he regarded Eddie again. “You shouldn’t have set it to transmit on a military frequency, Chase. A stupid mistake.”
“Oh, I dunno,” said Eddie. A sudden confidence in his voice was accompanied by distant sounds from outside, a series of flat thuds. Boodu stiffened, realizing that the situation had somehow changed. “It wasn’t to tell my mates I was here.” A broad smile exposed the gap between his front teeth. “It was to tell ’em you were here.”
He dropped and shielded his head—
A rising high-pitched whine told Boodu what was happening—but too late to do anything about it as mortar shells struck the prison.
A hole exploded in the corridor’s ceiling, shrapnel ripping into the head and back of the prison official. The governor was also hit, the blast flinging him into the cell. Both Boodu and the guard were thrown off their feet as more detonations tore through the building.
Eddie lifted his head as the first round of shelling ceased. As planned, the bombs had been fired to impact in a pattern around his cell as soon as the beacon was switched off. Risky, but he’d had confidence in his collaborators’ aim. The mortars were just over the top of a small ridge almost a mile from the fort, set up and sighted on his position by surreptitious use of a laser rangefinder during the early hours of the morning. So far, they were on target. The door hung off its hinges, the wall beside it smashed. A shaft of sunlight cut through the swirling dust from a hole in the roof.
He jumped up. The guard was closest to him, breaking out of his daze as he saw the prisoner move and standing clumsily, raising his gun—
Eddie grabbed his arm and wrenched it up behind his back as he fired. The bullet smacked against the door.
The sound shocked the governor back to life. He fumbled for his own holstered weapon, broad face contorted in panic and fury.
Eddie twisted the guard’s arm even harder, jamming the gun’s muzzle into his lower back—and his own index finger on top of his captive’s. Four shots burst gorily through the guard’s abdomen. Even mangled and smashed by their passage, the rounds still had enough force to tear into the governor’s flesh. He screamed, gun forgotten as he writhed in agony from the mortal wounds.
Pulling the gun from the dead guard’s hand, Eddie dropped the corpse and whirled to face Boodu. The Zimbabwean was on his hands and knees. As he squinted in pain and disorientation, his gaze fell upon his machete, the ornate handle just inches away. He grabbed it—
Eddie’s foot stamped down on the blade.
Boodu looked up to find the smoking, blood-dripping gun pointed right at him. “All right, face-ache,” Eddie growled. “Let go.” Boodu withdrew his hand and backed away. The Englishman bent to retrieve the machete. Outside, an alarm bell started ringing—just as another round of far-off thumps reached the prison. “Oh, and if I were you, I’d duck.”
Boodu shielded his head as another round of mortar shells struck their targets. These explosions were farther away, but still shook dust from the ceiling as guard towers were blasted into fragments and the prefabricated administration block blew apart, the remains collapsing on top of the prison staff inside.
Eddie jabbed Boodu with the machete. Another noise rose: the helicopter, its pilot desperately trying to take off. “Okay, get up. Get up!” He gestured with the gun toward the broken door. “Move.”
Boodu had no choice but to obey, though his voice seethed with defiance. “Where are you taking me?”
“Long term? Botswana. Short term,” Eddie went on as the other man responded with confusion, “we’re going to do what I came here for—get Strutter. Lead the way.”
“You can’t get out of here,” Boodu spat as they exited the cell. Through the hole in the ceiling, they heard the Alouette’s roar as it left the ground. “The main gate is shut, and mortars won’t break it—I know, I attacked this place during the war. You need a tank. And you don’t have one.”
“Let me worry about that,” said Eddie. He prodded him again, far from gently, with the machete’s point. “Come on, shift your arse.”
Making an angry sound, Boodu stepped over the rubble littering the floor and moved down the passage, Eddie a few paces behind. Another explosion outside: a secondary detonation, one of the vehicles inside the compound. There would be a last round of shelling, then after that everything depended on getting the main gate open . . .
Frantic yelling and thumping came from a cell as they passed it, a man inside begging in the Shona language. Eddie checked the door, but it needed a key. Shit! He should have taken the set from the dead guard—
-- Emily Kitt Scribe Inc. www.scribenet.com
main telephone: 215.336.5094 facsimile: 215.336.5094
7540 Windsor Drive Suite 200B Allentown PA 18195
842 South Second Street Philadelphia PA 19147
233 North Federal Highway Suites 61-3 Dania Beach FL 33004
Excerpted from Return to Atlantis by Andy McDermott. Copyright © 2012 by Andy McDermott. Excerpted by permission of Bantam, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Duke Energy Economic Development Rider 58
Duke Energy believes in creating programs that will strengthen the communities they serve and promote long-term economic growth in Indiana. It has developed three incentive riders to enhance economic development through reductions in electric rates for use of unoccupied buildings, brownfield sites, major expansions and new businesses. Click here to download a pdf of these incentives.
Fees/Permits Waivers & Reductions
The City of Terre Haute and Vigo County offer a wide variety of incentive programs to businesses that are expanding their operations and of those establishing a new one in our community. The THEDC works closely with local and state officials to develop customized packages that meet the needs of business and the interests of the community. Qualification is generally based on project merit, number and type of new jobs created or retained in Indiana, and new capitol investment added to the community.
Various business assistance programs cover project grants, low interests loans, job-training grants, state income tax credits, and real or personal property tax.
The THEDC helps facilitate business requests in Vigo County for assistance programs.All information required for qualification remains confidential.
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Shel wrote:It's commonly understood that anti-religious thought is driven by fear of irrationality, rather than fear of freedom. Why would religion particularly be a target for expressing fear of freedom?
This is based on the responses of those who defend the 'scientific materialist' view. Of course many such persons don't like the term 'scientific materialist' but that is nevertheless the view they defend. If you were to go to Philosophy Forum or sites such as Why Evolution is True, you will find many contributors who are very hostile to anything religious - but they draw that term with a very broad brush. It doesn't only include Christian fundamentalism, for instance, but even much traditional, that is, pre-European Enlightenment philosophy, and anything vaguely spiritual whatever. Even the idealist aspects of Western philosophy. They are very strident in their view that the fundamental basis of reality is something that can only be understood through scientific analysis. Anything else, they classify as 'woo' or 'supernatural'. And anything 'supernatural' is of course the target of much scorn and even outrage. I know this from experience. (I will admit to posting somewhat provocative statements on those sites, I'm a bit of a trouble-maker.)
I think anyone who has spent serious time in meditation learns to be at home with a sense of 'what I don't know'. This doesn't mean wandering around in a daze - in my case, whilst I have learned that aspect of the mind through meditation, I also have a very technical occupation which demands skill and concentration. So I think meditators become acquainted with those deeper aspects of mind, which are pre-linguistic and pre-conscious, beyond the scope of discursive reason. My feeling about many people who are really hostile to anything spiritual, is that they are actually frightened by those aspects of their own being. So they use science to defend their sense of ego, which is very much intertwined with the modern individualist view of life. Here we are, holding aloft the candle of reason in the dark, sorrounded by mysterious forces, which are inanimate and mostly dumb, which we can subdue through science and engineering. So everything has to be understood through the lens of science - whether it be evolutionary, or neurobiological, or sociological, or whatever. It's a mind-set.
He that knows it, knows it not.
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When most women gaze in the mirror, they may bemoan a blemish here or a wrinkle there. Imagine staring at your reflection for over two hours and hating your face so much that you never leave the house. Dr. Phil's guests say they are prisoners to body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a preoccupation with a real or imagined physical defect.
Monster in the Mirror?
Diana, 28, has suffered from BDD for over 13 years. She's undergone over 50 permanent make-up procedures, and didn't leave her home for two years because she thought she was hideous. Her mom and sister say it's painful to watch Diana deteriorate before their eyes.
What really caused Diana to loathe her looks? Her mother, Guadalupe, says she remembers the moment everything changed.
Appalled by Her Appearance
Seventeen-year-old Cheyenne used to win beauty pageants, but now believes that she's an ugly, overweight girl with thunder thighs. Her mom, Bobette, wonders if she's the cause of her daughter's bad feelings.
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Desert Sands to Issue Teacher Layoff Notices
Desert Sands Unified School District will issue 82 layoff notices to teachers in classes K through 12 to balance their budget. Video by kmir6.comvideo
Desert Sands Unified School District will issue 82 layoff notices to teachers in classes K through 12 to balance their budget.
Parents and teachers packed the school board Tuesday tonight, many worried about possible cuts to teacher and pre-school and what that means to the children.
Parents brought signs that said children who attend preschool are more likely to graduate.
Students and parents brought their pleas for education to the meeting.
"It upset me a bit because eduation is a really strong point for kids especially around four or five years old, they can go into preschool, or any type of program and they can learn a lot and it prepares them for what they will be learning later on," said Luis Sosa, whose son goes to Jackson preschool.
A school counselor took the podium and said increasing classrooms sizes makes teachers become babysitters, "You're not only cutting teacher's jobs, but you are increasing the average real classroom sizes between 42 and 50 kids per teacher. This is no longer real teaching and learning, but truly is nothing more than glorified babysitting."
The teacher's association president, Mona Davidson, sayid bigger classroom sizes means less student/teacher interaction.
"It's really difficult for teacher's to make the connections that they need to make with students, which all statistics prove that kids aren't test scores, they are connections, they remember the connections they make with a teacher, they don't remember a score on the test," said Davidson.
The president said almost all the teacher's on the layoff list last year got their jobs back or found other jobs.
"We're hoping depending on the number of people who are retiring that this number is going to go down, she works very hard to bring people back as quickly as she can," said Davidson.
Still, many people, even students, worry what more cuts will mean to education.
"State preschool should remain open to educate the youth of America, and prepare them for their elementary years," said Indio High School sophomore, Victor Gomez.
California Teacher's Association is endorsing Governor Brown's tax initiative, hoping that means less cuts to public education.
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The future of automation
By Mike Caliel
Attempting to define the “future of automation” is a real challenge, especially considering the complexity of today’s industrial operations and automation systems. Nonetheless, emerging trends are already beginning to have an impact on manufacturing, framing the future of how our customers will operate in the years ahead. This is an exciting time for an exciting field, and I am enthusiastic about the possibilities and opportunities the future presents.
For years, industry has focused too heavily on technology, rather than on the solutions the technology provides and the issues they solve. But that is going to change. Good technology is essential, but only if it is being used to extract value from the industrial operation it controls. When considering the future of automation, therefore, we must take into account three fundamental aspects of the plant: technology platforms; how those platforms are applied; and the personnel who will use those applications.
In the 1980s, most distributed control systems were vendor designed and proprietary. Now companies need open platforms that help them unite and operate their disparate systems, including open-platform control systems. The net result is automation systems will have more standards-based and commercial off-the-shelf technology, as well as components that enable a more open approach. This is critically important. Automation systems must provide a single, real-time view into the full enterprise, including all their plants and the full supply and demand chain—the value chain. These open real-time information and control systems are the key to improving business performance.
Many of today’s industrial business variables, e.g., the cost of energy, are fluctuating like never before, sometimes by the minute or even more frequently. As a result, executives need visibility into their fleet of assets so they can manage them as a unified business portfolio. They also need their value chain to drive real-time operational agility, despite these rapidly changing business variables. This will require comprehensive enterprise control systems, which industrial automation suppliers are in the best position to provide.
Over the years, the scope of automation platforms has continually increased as the technology developed. In the 1970s, most industrial automation systems controlled process units or areas. But in the last 20 years or so, some leading systems began to help control entire plants. Today, broader scope real-time enterprise control systems are essential; first to manage interrelated industrial assets as the single business entity they are and also to extract optimal value from those assets. As we move into the future, operators will need to understand the dynamics of their material and energy supply chains, and they will need to manage client orders in a similar manner. Confining the scope of operations to their own business domain will no longer suffice. Real-time enterprise control systems will be needed to drive business optimization.
Concurring with the transition to open, federated value-chain automation systems will be new emphasis on applications and solutions that improve operational and business performance. Over the last few decades, industrial automation has emphasized technology that drives results more than the technologies themselves. As technology begins to enable business improvements, the industry will start to reemphasize and build on solutions that drive real-time, measureable performance at every point in the value chain.
Because business variables are fluctuating so rapidly, traditional approaches to managing business just do not work—managers, operators, and engineers will have to apply real-time control theory to improve results. This is becoming even more important, and it requires a new breed of engineer focused not merely on process control, but on asset performance, product quality, safety, the environment, and of course, profitability.
The industrial automation industry was shaped by highly talented engineers, such as Greg Shinskey and Carroll Ryskamp, who understood how to utilize technology to drive results. And did they ever drive results! The control engineer of the future will apply skills similar to those used by their predecessors, but they will be measuring the performance of assets, plants, and enterprises in real time and then using those measurements to help control critical business variables.
Traditionally, an experienced control engineer was one of the most valuable resources in the plant. Those days are not behind us, but along with applying control theory to manufacturing and production processes, they will apply the science of control to manage real-time business dynamics. Over time, control engineers will become operations and business engineers, using applications and solutions that address specific dynamic business issues throughout the industrial operation. With real-time business measurements in place, the value of each of these solutions will be readily discernible.
Industrial automation has more potential to drive measureable, real-time performance improvements than almost any investment a company can make. To do so, the technology must be applied correctly and effectively. This has always been the case, and it will be even more evidently the case as we enter a new era for industry. That is why I say this is an exciting time for an exciting field. We are committed to driving value for our customers—there is and will be no better way to generate measureable performance improvements than through the effective application of real-time industrial automation technologies.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mike Caliel is the president and chief executive officer of the Invensys Operations Management. He has more than 25 years of industry experience, most recently as the chief executive officer of Houston, Tex.-based Integrated Electrical Services, Inc. He rejoined Invensys in January 2012, having served as the president of Invensys Process Systems from 2001 to 2006. Prior to his chief executive role at IPS, Caliel was president of the company’s North America, Europe, and Middle East regions, as well as president of the company’s Americas region and vice president, North America Operations. He came to Invensys in 1993, initially as the Southwest regional manager, before assuming the position of vice president of sales in 1995. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Distribution from Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y.
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IOU: The Grub-Stake (1923)
Who I owe: Poet and Musician John "Jack" Hayes from Robert Frost's Banjo and I met March of last year. We had breakfast in Concord, MA and during breakfast John told me about a silent film that he and Eberle composed and performed the music for. The movie was The Grub-Stake (1923). He also told me a lot about Nell Shipman and sent me a copy of The Nell Shipman Collection Volume 3 which contained The Grub-Stake. I had the film in my to-watch stack for too long. Way too long. Now I'm making amends and discovering how wonderful Nell Shipman, the movie and the music all were. Thanks John!
In John's Words: Eberle Umbach and I composed the music to Nell Shipman’s “The Grub-Stake” in 2005-2006, following our first silent film score, for Shipman’s “Back to God’s Country,” which we composed in 2004-2005. The late Tom Trusky, director of the Idaho Film Collection, commissioned our score for the release of Shipman’s complete existing works in a DVD collection. Mr Trusky was a wonderful man, a Shipman scholar and largely responsible for the re-discovery of her work, and he was very kind and supportive of our music.
The score uses 18 instruments, from the very familiar, like the guitar and the flute, to the more obscure, like the zither, melodica, slide whistle and marimba, as well as variations on common instruments, such as the tenor guitar, toy piano and the plectrum banjo. Eberle and I wrote the score so that it could be performed live as written, so there were a lot of instrument switches! But at least one of us keeps a steady background of music going throughout the entire film, and we play as a duo the majority of the time.
We incorporated a number of different musical genres in the score—from ragtime to bossa nova, and with a number of other musical gestures in between. Eberle in particular strove to capture an old-time Americana feel in much of the music. When we scored and performed these silent films, we did so under the name of the Bijou Orchestrette.
Review: First of all, let's talk about Nell Shipman. Wow. What a woman. Hailing from Canada, Nell Shipman was a one-woman movie making machine. She founded the Shipman Curwood Producing Company as well as the Nell Shipman Productions. Nell Shipman wrote, acted, directed, produced, marketing, funded and cast her acting crew. And this is in the 1910s and 1920s! Early film history has a severe deficit of female directors. So for Nell Shipman to be able to do what she did is amazing. She was independent, a business woman and creative to boot. Also, she shot a lot of her films on location, in the wild and did a lot of "stunts" herself. She was also an animal trainer and used some of her animals in The Grub-Stake. Wow! I'm so impressed by her. I'm also hypnotized by Nell. She wasn't a gorgeous woman but she has a very inviting face and a curvaceous figure. I couldn't help but be mesmerized by her on screen.
The Grub-Stake (1923) was one of Shipman's biggest pictures. With a $180,000 budget, she shot the film on location in Washington State and Idaho (even though the plot mostly takes place in Alaska). Unfortunately, the distributor of the film went under so the film never made it out to theaters. And it also bankrupted Nell Shipman's production company. She couldn't take care of her animals financially after that either and had to send them to the San Diego Zoo. A sad ending to a good project.
The film follows the story of Faith Diggs, a small town girl whose father is in poor health. She takes on odd jobs (and even sells her to make ends meet and to help her dad out but it isn't enough. So Faith grub-stakes an older businessman. What does the term grub-stake mean?
Basically, she promises to work for the man, and then accepts his proposal of marriage, in exchange for his help. The man brings Faith and her father to Alaska. But turns out the man has sold Faith to a brothel! And he's already married! What's a girl to do? She escapes with a friend, her father and a bunch of sled dogs and finds refuge in the wilds of the Klondike. She gets separated from her father for a while, befriending some bears and other wild animals. And the drama continues as she falls in love with another man and her "husband" sends out a bounty hunter for her (and the dogs she stole). The film moves at a steady pace but doesn't have that many dull moments. Nell Shipman really milked the ending though, which could have been much shorter than it was.
I think John and Eberle did a wonderful job with the music. The different instruments suited the plot which was very varied itself. I loved the American folk feel to it and it's pretty cool that a film from Idaho has music played by residents of that state! I'm sure composing music for a silent film is no easy task so kudos to John and Eberle for doing such a fantastic job giving sound to such a vibrant film.
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"For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.'" Galatians 3:10 (New American Standard Version)
Have you ever thought yourself to be under a curse? If you were born a human being, then you are. At least that is what the Bible tells us in Galatians 3:10, and that "curse" was the focus of the message brought by Dr. Chuck Quarles during Louisiana College's first chapel service of the fall semester for 2012.
"What if I told you that there is only one person who can break this curse?" Quarles said. "One who demands of you your life and your very soul."
Quarles was referring, of course, to the Lord Jesus Christ whom, as Galatians later states, "...redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us." (Galatians 3:13).
In relation to this curse, Quarles laid out four "great truths":
1. No one can be right before God by attempting to keep the law.
"You think you will be declared righteous in judgment because you have done your best to keep the Ten Commandments," Quarles said. "Do you realize that is the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches? There is not a person in this room who can attain that standard."
2. Those who fail to keep His law perfectly, they are under His curse.
"These are curses that never end - that we will suffer for eternity," Quarles said. "But praise God, (the Apostle) Paul gives us the good news."
3. Jesus rescued us from the curse by bearing our curse in our place.
"He died under God's curse - not because He deserved it," Quarles said. "He died on the cross because he was bearing the curse we deserved.
"He did not deserve it, but He took the guilt and punishment our sins deserved."
4. We escape the curse through faith in Jesus Christ.
"You will not escape God's curse apart from faith in the Lord Jesus," Quarles said. "We must believe that Jesus is God - God in human form.
"Jesus died for what cannot do for yourself."
Watch this week's chapel service here:
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This is why I despair of some pagans.
‘Blood Witch’ - What a load of bollocks. There is no such thing - energy and magic is available to anyone. Just because your granny used to make herbal tea, and had a cat with a gammy eye does not mean there is a magical lineage, or that you are any more entitled to practice witchcraft than any other.
Blood witch? Pfft.
‘How ever my ancestors practice The Olde Ways which began in Druid days ,this is how far we have been able to trace our Olde Ways path.I am a follower of Egyptian pantheons and Celtic Ways ,this knowledge has been passed from generation to generation’
There are a number of things wrong here.
Olde. THERE IS NO EXTRA ‘E’.
Druid days. I will assume she means the celtic Druidry, of which actually have very little information, bar they were blood thirsty murderers and charlatan priests, not the tree-hugging Stonehenge goers of today.
trace our Olde Ways path thus, she has the ability to trace back over 2000 years of her personal family history when professional genealogists have difficulty past 400 years due to deterioration of records and lack of documentation… (I know that because my cousin is one)
Egyptian pantheons and Celtic WaysLOLWUT. But you know, all those Druids worshipped Isis. /sarcasm
unlike wicca we hold our learning and teachings under a strict code You mean the Wicca which has a two circle system - inner and outer - and what happens in the circle stays in the circle. No actual Wiccan writings or teachings have ever been published - the tenets of Inner Circle Wicca prevent it. Outer circle is open, Inner Circle? In some covens you don’t even get to see the faces of other members in case you spill the truth. Because that isn’t strict at all.
Mystic Moondancer THE NAME SAYS IT ALL.
People like her are why people think we are all crazy. And people BELIEVE HER.
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Are you ready for your close up? If not, you should be, because your next job interview for that dream graduate job may be a video interview.
Video interviews are becoming an increasingly popular way for companies to shortlist candidates and perhaps even select the successful candidate.
Why are employers choosing this interview method?
Difficult economic conditions have forced businesses to examine their budgets and one way for them to cut their budget is to conduct video interviews. They cut the time and costs involved in the hiring process. It also also allows companies to meet a greater number of candidates in a shorter space of time than traditional face to face interviews allow.
Video conferencing allows employers to be consistent and it also allows the interview to be reviewed and replayed, so interviewees can be directly compared without needing notes, or the memories of the interviewers.
How does it work?
If you are looking to work abroad then your interview may be carried out by using software like video conferencing by Lifesize. The interview may take place at an office or other off-site company location or perhaps even at your own home. If they don’t already have the necessary setup, the company may send you a webcam and the appropriate software. An interview appointment will then be scheduled and you will receive instructions on how to use the software.
The process may be one-way, with a pre-determined list of questions and software taking the place of the interviewer, or two-way, where you and interviewer will speak using the software in real time.
Essential Video Interview Tips
If you are not comfortable being in front of a camera then a good way to feel at ease is to practise the interview with a friend or family member via webcam. This way, you will hopefully gain more confidence and gain feedback from you friend or family member, which can be used to your advantage when you’ve got the real video interview.
Prepare yourself ahead of time
As you are not meeting your employer face to face, you should send the interviewer your CV and any other applicable document prior to the day of the interview. Two days before is the best time to send all the relevant papers.
Background and light
If the video interview is held in your own home then make sure you test the software and also prepare your background with the appropriate lightning. If the sun is shining, the light often blocks out the screen so make sure that that doesn’t happen by checking everything first.
Look in the camera
You may be tempted to look at yourself when you have the video interview but it is very important that you look into the webcam and not the screen so it will seem like you are maintaining eye contact with the interviewer. This will also give the impression that you are very confident!
Can a Video Interview Increase my chances of getting the Job?
The great news is that a video interview, if approached correctly, can help you be successful in your job search. If you perform at your best in a video interview, you’ll show that you’re at ease with technology. You’ll also have the chance to practise with the software until you’re comfortable. If
you have picture-in-picture during the interview, you’ll be able to see how you’re coming across to your interviewers and adjust if necessary, something you don’t get the chance to do in a traditional interview format.
If you prepare thoroughly for your video interview and ensure you give a good impression of yourself, you might be able to secure that dream job without ever leaving your house!
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Building Our Capability
To support the development of our staff the Ministry has adopted a People Strategy which strives to provide a working environment that attracts, engages and retains good staff. All Ministry staff are also expected to make an ongoing investment in their skill development and growth.
Developing strong leaders is an important priority for the Ministry. To build capability in this area a Leadership Development Programme (LDP), utilising Lominger competency models, began in 2008. The overarching objective is to develop and maintain a critical mass of leadership capability to help meet the Ministry’s long-term objectives.
In 2008/09 the focus was on knowledge and skills. The LDP has been very useful in the Ministry’s development of its staff and will continue to be taken up in 2009/10 and beyond.
The Ministry also has a management development programme, which began in 2007. It consists of a series of skills-based modules available to managers and staff aspiring to managerial roles.
Following the completion of the Ministry’s first Gallup Q12 Engagement Survey a series of actions was undertaken in 2008/09 to improve the level of staff engagement and make the Ministry a more attractive place to work. A further survey will be undertaken in 2010.
Toward better performance management
During the past financial year the Ministry implemented the performance development model of the new human resource information system (HRIS). The HRIS is designed to improve human resource capability reporting and help managers and staff to manage team and staff development and performance.
Over 2009/10 it is intended to implement the training management, recruitment, and health and safety modules of the HRIS.
The document and records management system is now fully operational across the organisation. The Ministry is also making steady progress with the ongoing alignment of its paper and electronic file systems.
The Starfish education pack for teachers and students in years 7 to 10 was redeveloped and launched by the Minister in July 2008. The resource and its accompanying website contain fact sheets and activities to help children learn about the role that they can play in ensuring there are fish for the future.
An additional fact sheet providing information about the capture of the world’s largest squid, the colossal squid, and its eventual display at Te Papa Tongarewa, was included in the pack in April 2009.
In June 2009 the Ministry developed a fact sheet on the New Zealand longfin eel – its biology, status of the stocks, and current management issues. The fact sheet was made available though the Ministry’s website.
Feedback and complaints
The Ministry operates a process intended to provide a formal means of capturing and addressing feedback and complaints made by stakeholders. This process is governed by the Feedback and Complaints policy that sets out what should be classed as feedback and complaints, and the process that should be followed when feedback is received.
In the 2008/09 financial year the Ministry received 49 individual feedback and complaint items. Just over one-third of these were complaints about the commercial sector. The figure is similar to that of the 2006/07 and 2007/08 financial years.
A periodic review of the information from the Feedback and Complaints system is conducted by the Ministry’s Strategic Leadership Team in order to identify and address any emerging trends and issues.
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Click below to listen to the Rock History Report:
1965 - The Beatles’ film Help began shooting in the Bahamas.
1970 - Led Zeppelin played a show at Sweden’s Goteborg Courthouse. During the instrumental “White Summer,” a fan decided to accompany Jimmy Page with a shrill harmonica, prompting the vexed Zep guitarist to spit on the fan after the song.
1993 - Toy Caldwell, guitarist in The Marshall Tucker Band, died in Spartansburg, South Carolina.
1998 - Bob Dylan won three Grammys, including Best Album, for his album, Time out of Mind. During a performance, Dylan was interrupted by a protester with the words “Soy Bomb” painted on his chest.
2003 - Paul McCartney and his band collected $1 million for playing at the 50th birthday of a fan in California. McCartney donated his fee to the Adopt-a-Minefield charity.
2006 - Sex Pistols singer John Lydon announced on his Web site that his band would not attend their induction ceremony to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “We’re not coming,” he wrote. “You’re not paying attention.”
2009 - President Obama awarded Stevie Wonder with the Library of Congress' Gershwin prize at the White House. Wonder's song "Signed, Sealed, Delivered: had become a theme of the Obama Presidential campaign.
1943 George Harrison of The Beatles
1957 Stuart 'Woody' Wood of the Bay City Rollers
1959 Mike Peters of The Alarm
© 2013 Cumulus Media
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Patent Pirates Would Shame Even Blackbeard
Jan 14th 2013 6:45PM
Updated Jan 14th 2013 8:15PM
Throughout history, there's been a fine line between being categorized as a pirate or a privateer, but it usually came down to whether the government is getting a cut of the booty. Indeed, the U.S. Constitution lists issuing letters of marque and reprisal -- essentially the hiring of pirates to serve as privateers -- as one of the enumerated powers of Congress, and throughout the Civil War they were used with great effect on both sides.
While subsequent international treaties eventually outlawed the practice, there's a modern-day version being used to harry corporations over intellectual property. Colorful characters like Captain Kidd were gibbeted over the River Thames as a warning to others against acting as privateers, but today major corporations such as Microsoft and Nokia are employing them to attack their rivals and gain through the courts what they couldn't win in the marketplace.
A recent Reuters story highlights the growing practice of intellectual-property privateering. Since there's great risk and cost associated with waging a protracted battle against an Apple or Samsung, rivals are hiring others to do the dirty work for them, with an agreement to split the proceeds afterwards.
Nokia, for example, transferred the rights to certain patents to MobileMedia Ideas, which then sued Apple, Research In Motion , and HTC for violating them. Had Nokia chosen to get its hands dirty itself, it may have resulted in a similar situation as occurred previously, when Apple countersued the handset maker. By having an intermediary launch the attack, Nokia is once removed from responsibility, even though it may share in the proceeds down the road.
The licensing company also owns patents transferred from Sony and a company that is the license administrator for a patent pool, MPEG LA. Nokia, Sony, and MPEG all have a stake in MobileMedia. It may very well have been that Nokia's experience in going up against Apple several years ago was what launched the current wave of privateers plying the world's IP oceans.
Alcatel-Lucent formed MultiMedia Patent Trust to harass rivals such as Apple and LG Electronics, though a jury sided with the defense last month. Mosaid Technologies flies the Jolly Roger on behalf of Nokia and Microsoft, while Suffolk Technologies' black flag was hoisted on behalf of Goldman Sachs, P/E firm Atlantic General, and consulting shop Boston Consulting using patents from British Telecom.
To coin a phrase
The value of patents, which has always been important, took on a new dimension after a consortium of companies bought IP from the portfolio of bankrupt Nortel Networks, followed by Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. It seemed anyone with a substantial stock of patents was suddenly in play. InterDigital, VirnetX Holdings, and even Eastman Kodak thought their IP treasure trove would be worth a king's ransom.
That none panned out suggests that while valuable patents are not the end-all, be-all once thought. Kodak was even driven into bankruptcy after no one wanted to fork over the billions it sought and had to sell a passel of them for a song merely to secure exit financing.
One wonders whether sound specialist Dolby Labs might want to engage in some privateering on its own, as it faces questions over the expiration of some of its key patents. It operates Via Licensing, a licensing pool similar to MPEG LA. Where the latter holds key patents covering important digital video standards like MPEG 2 and MPEG-4, the former administers patent pools for mandated, de facto, and emerging standards in the audio, broadcast, wireless, and automotive markets.
Patent enforcement is a tricky business these days, particularly because the U.S. Patent Office has made a mess of things by issuing patents for things that probably shouldn't be patented. I like to point to Amazon.com's one-click checkout and MercExchange's wrangling $35 million out of eBay for its "Buy It Now" feature.
Then you have the patent trolls out there who merely exist to hold on to patents without ever working to develop them -- and sue anyone who comes along and does. Now you have corporations employing hired guns to do the blood work for them.
Obviously, we've come a long way from the perhaps apocryphal quote by patent office commissioner Charles Duell, who reportedly said, "Everything that can be invented has been invented," and there is some utility in granting protection to ideas. Yet when we muddle the waters by obscuring who owns what and whether those bringing actions actually have standing, it becomes clear the time for patent reform is essential.
Worth a second look?
Nokia's been struggling in a world of Apple and Android smartphone dominance. However, the company has banked its future on its next generation of Windows smartphones. Motley Fool analyst Charly Travers has created a new premium report that digs into both the opportunities and risks facing Nokia to help investors decide if the company is a buy or sell. To get started, simply click here now.
The article Patent Pirates Would Shame Even Blackbeard originally appeared on Fool.com.Fool contributor Rich Duprey owns shares of Apple, Alcatel-Lucent, and Dolby Laboratories. The Motley Fool recommends Amazon.com, Apple, Dolby Laboratories, eBay, Goldman Sachs, and Google; owns shares of Amazon.com, Apple, eBay, Google, and Microsoft; and is short Sony. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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Policy Review, Summer 2011
July 1, 2011
by Ann Marlowe
In the days before he was forced into retirement by scandal, General Stanley McChrystal was fond of referring to the Afghan theater he commanded as a "war of perceptions." In February he spoke to the Washington Post:
"This is all a war of perceptions," McChrystal said on the eve of the Marja offensive. "This is all in the minds of the participants. Part of what we've had to do is convince ourselves and our Afghan partners that we can do this."
McChrystal's phrase — which, we will see, is a superficial interpretation of counterinsurgency theory — aligns regrettably well with the zeitgeist, particularly with what I will call "perspectival culture."
Counterinsurgency theory, or coin, represents the extension to warfare of the same validation of the "eye of the beholder" that has characterized the arts and even aspects of the social sciences in the 20th century. This shift marks a departure from and constitutes a critique of an older, classical understanding of what it means to win or lose a battle or a war — indeed, about the nature of reality itself as externally given and immutable fact, as opposed to a social construction built of competing and shared "perceptions." Although the critique has ample merit, as we shall see, it also poses underappreciated difficulties of its own.
I will argue that perspectival culture is so dominant today that it has led to a nearly uncritical embrace of "perception" as the heart of coin theory. The essential problem of COIN theory, at least in its crude form (such as General McChrystal voices it), is its nonfalsifiability, the impossibility of phrasing it in ways which can be tested and disproved. . . .
Ann Marlowe is a Visiting Fellow at Hudson Institute.
Home | Learn About Hudson | Hudson Scholars | Find an Expert | Support Hudson | Contact Information | Site Map
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Hudson Institute, Inc. 1015 15th Street, N.W. 6th Floor Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202.974.2400 Fax: 202.974.2410 Email the Webmaster
© Copyright 2013 Hudson Institute, Inc.
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CHULA VISTA, CA (KNSD/NBC) - One dog is dead and two others are clinging to life in California after thousands of bees attacked them.
Carissa Musaraca Avenue says she went outside just before 2 p.m. after hearing her dogs making a noise. She says her dogs were covered in "thousands and thousands" of bees.
"It looked like a tornado of bees. I couldn't even see the backyard at all. The dogs were covered in coats of bees," Musaraca said.
An estimated 4,000 to 6,000 bees swarmed from 50 pounds of honeycomb at about 2 p.m., according to firefighters.
"I wish I could've saved them. I couldn't. They wouldn't let me back there. I was just watching them suffer," Musaraca said.
Faith had a seizure and died.
The other two dogs, Girl and Boomer, are hooked up to IVs at Otay Pet Vets animal hospital, and one may not make it.
Musaraca was stung several times in the head and hands. Several other people were also stung, but no one had serious injuries.
Chula Vista firefighters used foam to kill the bees, which came from a hive behind a backyard fence.
"The bigger the hive gets the more aggressive and more territorial the bees will be," said Michael Zito from Anthony's Bee Removal Service.
Zito said the swarm was likely Africanized bee. He says it's late in the year for a big attack, but Africanized bees can withstand the change of seasons.
"We're seeing more and more activity during fall and winter months now, it seems like every year, and it's probably going to continue to increase that way," Zito said.
Africanized bees account for 80 percent of San Diego County's bee population.
Copyright 2011 KNSD via NBC. All rights reserved.
1115 Mt. Auburn Road
Closed Captioning Contact:
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A few months ago we posted a very popular piece on this forum about Dragon Board (April 9, 2009), a drywall substitute that has many environmental, structural, and economic advantages. We christened it almost too good to be true. Let me quickly say that I stand by that statement.
But, in the course of researching that article we ran across a reference to Chinese gypsum, another drywall substitute, that was giving the Dragon Board people fits as customers confused their quality product with an import that was anything but green. We rather off-handedly mentioned the confusion in our article. Let me state again - Chinese gypsum has nothing to do with Dragon Board!
Since then the negative news about Chinese gypsum, now commonly called Chinese dry wall, has exploded.
While use of the product has been primarily limited to the American south, everywhere it has been used it has created incredible nightmares for homeowners.
Our goal in this space is to write about the good in green, but it is worthwhile to occasionally mention its antithesis, and that appears to be Chinese drywall - in spades!
CPSC has received 1,897 reports of problems with the drywall from residents in 30 states, the District of Colombia, and Puerto Rico, but the product was most widely used in Florida where it is estimated that as many as 35,000 homes may contain the product, and Louisiana. Those two areas were rebuilding after devastating hurricanes so many of those storm victims have now been hit with a double whammy. The drywall was also used extensively in new construction, especially in 2005 and 2006.
Reports of the problems caused by the stuff read like a horror movie.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has been investigating
these reports and nothing conclusive has been proven, but the lawyers
have been lining up for months, suits have been filed, and homeowner
insurance companies are scrambling for ways to deny damage claims.
The drywall is said to emit toxic sulfur fumes. While many homeowners report smelling the characteristic "rotten egg" odor, often at intolerable levels, others report health and structural problems but no odor. Symptoms of exposure include sinus problems, nose bleeds, respiratory problems, and headaches. The house itself often suffers even more. The fumes are reported to corrode metal, especially copper, causing electrical, plumbing, appliances, and especially air conditioning systems to fail. Many metals blacken, even jewelry.
Many people have moved out of their homes until the drywall can be removed; others who cannot afford to pay for temporary lodging and/or repairs have either been forced to stay put and endure the problems or have lost their homes to foreclosure. Remediation is said to cost $75,000 and up.
The Florida insurance commissioner recently ruled that damages caused by the drywall are not recoverable under standard homeowner insurance policies. Commissioner Kevin McCarty said that this is a malfcuntion "based upon a defective material that was installed in the building. And that historically has been excluded from a homeowner's policy." There is also the possiility that homeowners could lose coverage altogether if they move out for an extended period leaving the home vacant.
But homeowners are already finding that their insurance companies weren't waiting around for a legal ruling. Claims have been rejected and then policies canceled simply because a claim was submitted.
A number of lawsuits have been filed, both individual and class action, against the Chinese manufacturers, one of which is owned by the Chinese government. It will be interesting to see how that works out.
No Chinese drywall has been imported into the U.S. in 2009, at least not legally. The Border Patrol is working with CPSC to make sure that it doesn't come in through the back door but there are apparently still stockpiles of the material in U.S. warehouses.
In the meantime, CPSC is actively studying the problem. In late October it released the results of three preliminary studies of the differences between Chinese and non-Chinese drywall. The results of the two laboratory studies indicated that the Chinese product contained elemental sulfur and emits higher concentrations of volaile sulfur compounds than the non-Chinese drywall. It also contains higher concentrations of strontium. The Commission states that the strontium does not pose a radiological risk.
The third study took place in ten Florida and Louisiana homes. Researchers found that sulfur gases were either not present or were present in only limited or occasional concentrations and then only where outdoor levels were also elevated. The study, however, did detect concentrations of acetaldehyde and formaldehyde, both known irritants.
So, nothings scientifally damning so far. Yet people continue to suffer both economically and health wise.
This story has a long way to go.
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This week I moderated a panel on tablet computers at the Freescale Technology Forum with tablet and eBook specialist Stewart Wolpin, Chuong Nguyen, and In-Stat's Stephanie Ether. We discussed why non-iPad tablets weren't selling, the fight between ARM and x86 for the future of computing, and whether Android or Windows 8 would have a chance in what is being termed the post-PC era.
Beating the iPad
The issue with competing with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL ) is that Apple monetizes their entire eco-system, designs products to be marketed, and out-spends and out executes their competitors by a factor of anywhere from 2x to more than 10x. Companies that try to compete with them tend to under-resource their efforts, which is why Apple dominated the iPod market and dominates the iPad market. Apple also crafts an entire experience, where most others do just one part. The result is that the product that comes out of this process appears to be much better for most buyers than what the competition offers. In combination with Apple's talent to create demand, the company is nearly unbeatable.
Until a vendor is willing to step up to this level of competition, the only way to compete effectively with Apple is to either create products that go where Apple doesn't want to go geographically or sharpen the product focus. Dell, for instance, is focusing on China first where Apple is weak, and Lenovo and Panasonic are focusing on business first where Apple is weak as well. Panasonic, in particular, is adding outdoor capability and heavy hardening so their tablet can be used in weather or simply outside.
ARM vs. x86
The sense is that consumers just don't want to care about the technology that is in their products. They buy an experience (which is, coincidently, what Apple sells). The panel made fun of current ads that focused on the number of cores in a tablet or the wireless technology that is in them rather than the experience, because it showcases that many tablet builders/marketers simply don't understand the market.
The trend is toward ARM for this new class of devices, but ARM as a platform is divided between competing vendors that don't supply enough cash to effectively co-fund the marketing for the devices they create. Intel has historically been much better funded and they, along with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT ) and Apple, fund most of the PC marketing in the world. Intel could reverse the current ARM trend, if it can bring an ability to create demand to acceptably competitive products.
Android vs. Windows 8 vs. iOS
As mentioned above, Apple is both focused and well-funded. Google (Nasdaq: GOOG ) and Microsoft both have the capability to fund at Apple levels, but Microsoft has a history of starving the marketing of their own groups and Google of not funding marketing much at all. This is all about capturing the hearts and minds of people who increasingly believe that Apple is the only real choice. The longer Apple dominates tablets, the more expensive it will be to effectively challenge this dominance. Google is in the market now, but with three versions of Android on tablets and ChromeOS trying to enter the market at the same time. They are the exact opposite of Apple's focus and that, coupled with the severe lack of marketing, would suggest they are simply not willing to step up and compete at even a fraction of the level that is needed.
Microsoft is vastly more focused and potentially stronger, but they won't really enter the segment until late 2012, which gives Apple a significant period of time to consolidate and lock in the market. By waiting as long as they are they have, they significantly increased the cost of breaking Apple's market lock-in, but are unlikely to match their marketing budget to that requirement. They have one of the strongest marketing teams on the planet, but it is under resourced or otherwise constrained against a better funded and less constrained dominant vendor. Their odds are better than Android's long-term chances (unless Google takes this more seriously), but they aren't especially great either, at least not for tablets.
Tablets vs. eBooks
In-Stat just completed a survey with some interesting results. It showcased that, as you would expect, eBooks like the Kindle are bought and beloved by heavy readers, while tablets are bought by those wanting a better multi-media experience. A Kindle buyer is willing to pay over $500 for a tablet while a non-Kindle buyer was highly resistant to prices over $300. This suggests that a Kindle is actually a strong bridge to a tablet and that buyers use both devices, but for different reasons. In effect, the Kindle and the iPad, far from being the competitors we have always thought they were, are actually complimentary. These results suggest that if Apple brought out a successful eBook reader, it would be additive and complimentary to the iPad, particularly if the two would sync in the iCloud. Apple doesn't normally miss opportunities like this.
There was an overall sense that this tablet market is still very young and that different sizes and form factor products may eventually eclipse the iPad, but not without a better investment in marketing and the overall user experience than what currently exists in the market. There wasn't a lot of love for RIM or HP, the two vendors with their own platforms, because neither vendor has demonstrated the ability to step up to the huge burden of going against Apple alone. We all saw some amazing hardware designs that differentiate well against the iPad at Freescale's Forum, but we are waiting for a vendor to step up to the other requirements that would result in a device that would sell like an iPad.
More from ConceivablyTech:
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Released: December 15, 2011
Frustration with Congress Could Hurt Republican Incumbents
GOP Base Critical of Party's Washington Leadership
Public discontent with Congress has reached record levels, and the implications for incumbents in next year’s elections could be stark. Two-in-three voters say most members of Congress should be voted out of office in 2012 – the highest on record. And the number who say their own member should be replaced matches the all-time high recorded in 2010, when fully 58 members of Congress lost reelection bids – the most in any election since 1948.
The Republican Party is taking more of the blame than the Democrats for a do-nothing Congress. A record-high 50% say that the current Congress has accomplished less than other recent Congresses, and by nearly two-to-one (40% to 23%) more blame Republican leaders than Democratic leaders for this. By wide margins, the GOP is seen as the party that is more extreme in its positions, less willing to work with the other side to get things done, and less honest and ethical in the way it governs. And for the first time in over two years, the Democratic Party has gained the edge as the party better able to manage the federal government.
To be sure, neither party’s leadership is viewed positively right now. Just 31% approve of how Democratic congressional leaders have performed. But even fewer (21%) approve of the job Republican leaders have done. And a good deal of this criticism is coming from within the GOP base. While Democrats approve of the job their party’s leaders are doing by a 60% to 31% margin, only 49% of Republicans approve of the GOP leaders in Congress are doing, while 44% disapprove.
The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Dec. 7-11, 2011 among 1,521 adults, finds that Republicans are as eager to see big changes in Congress as they were two years ago. Despite their party’s majority status in the House of Representatives, seven-in-ten Republicans say most members of Congress should be replaced, as do 73% of independents and 60% of Democrats. This stands in stark contrast to the last several election cycles, when voters from the party with a House majority have said most members should keep their jobs.
In fact, one of the few areas of bipartisan agreement when it comes to views of Congress is that the problem with the institution is the members themselves, not the political system. In assessing Congress, 55% of the public says they think the system can work fine, it’s the members that are the problem. Just 32% say they think most members have good intentions but the political system is broken. The balance of opinion is virtually identical across party lines.
Independents, who have expressed great frustration with Washington gridlock over the course of the past year, are particularly critical of the Republican Party. By a 54% to 30% margin they say the Republican Party, not the Democratic Party, is more extreme in its positions, and they are twice as likely to label the Republicans than the Democrats as the less honest and ethical party (42% vs. 21%).
Yet independents have few positive things to say about the Democratic Party either. Both parties’ leaders get poor approval ratings from independents (14% approve of GOP leaders in Congress, 23% of Democratic leaders). And when independents are asked which party can best handle the most important problem facing the nation, as many volunteer “neither” as say the Democrats or the Republicans.
As a result, entering the 2012 election cycle independents are expressing more hostility toward congressional incumbents than usual. For the first time in nearly twenty years of polling, more than seven in ten (73%) independents want most members of Congress replaced next year. And just 37% think their own member should be returned to office, while 43% say he or she should be voted out.
Views of Occupy Wall Street
The arguments and concerns of the Occupy Wall Street movement are supported by many Americans, but most continue to reject the core conclusion that America is divided into a nation of “haves” and “have-nots.” Moreover, while the Occupy Wall Street movement draws more support than opposition, its tactics are criticized, with far more saying they disapprove than approve of the way the protests have been carried out.
By a 44% to 35% margin, more Americans support than oppose the Occupy Wall Street movement overall, and by 48% to 30%, more say they agree than disagree with the concerns the protests have raised. But when it comes to the way the protests are being conducted, significantly more disapprove (49%) than approve (29%).
Many of the themes of the Occupy Wall Street protests resonate with the public. About half (51%) say that Wall Street hurts the American economy more than it helps it; 36% are of the view that Wall Street helps more than it hurts. A 61% majority say the economic system in this country unfairly favors the wealthy, while 36% say it is generally fair to most Americans. And fully 77% say that a few rich people and corporations have too much power in this country. While still a minority view, the current survey finds 40% saying that hard work and determination are no guarantee of success, higher than in any other survey conducted over the past 17 years.
But at the same time, most Americans (58%) continue to reject the notion that American society is divided into two groups, the “haves” and the “have-nots.” And when pressed to choose, more Americans describe themselves as part of the “haves” (46%) than the “have-nots” (39%).
Economic Outlook Remains Gloomy
Public assessments of the American economy remain gloomy – about nine-in-ten say the economy is in only fair (38%) or poor (53%) shape. Looking forward, most say things will either be the same (50%) or worse (18%) a year from now. These assessments remain unchanged from August despite the impression that economic news is less uniformly bad than it was over the summer. (See “Many Fewer Hearing Mostly Bad Economic News,” Dec. 7, 2011.)
About three-quarters (76%) see the size of the national debt as a major threat to the economic well being of the United States, the highest of five issues tested. A smaller majority (59%) sees economic competition from China as a major threat, and about as many (56%) say the same about the power of financial institutions and banks. Only about half (46%) say the economic problems in Europe pose a major threat to the U.S. economy, and 44% see government regulation of business as a major threat.
Most Important Problem
Most Americans (55%) continue to cite economic issues as the most important problem facing the country. But the percentage citing any economic issue has fallen 13 points since May, from 68%. At the same time, an increasing number cite problems with government, including dissatisfaction with government and politics, partisanship and lack of political leadership. Currently 15% mention a problem associated with government and politics, up from only 4% in May.
About one-in-five (21%) say that unemployment is the biggest problem facing the country, the top economic issue cited. About one-in-ten (9%) volunteer the debt or deficit, little changed since May (10%). Other economic issues, such as inequality (2%) and problems with Wall Street and banks (1%), receive very few mentions.
Nearly four-in-ten (38%) say the Democratic Party can do a better job of handling the issue they point to as the top national problem; 32% say the Republicans can better handle this problem. One-in-five (20%) say neither party can better handle the issue.
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This profile considers publisher Robert Maxwell.
It covers -
- early history
Robert Maxwell, aka the Bouncing Czech, demonstrated that you can have a lot of fun in publishing ... especially if you are using other people's money and are not inhibited by ethics or concern about legality.
Ian Robert Maxwell was born in Czechoslovakia in 1923 as Jan Ludwik Hoch. He moved to the UK in 1940 and fought with the British during the 1939-45 War, changing his name at that time.
During the occupation of Germany he became the sole UK and US distributor for the Springer Verlag scientific publications. In 1951 he paid £13,000 for Pergamon Press, a publisher of textbooks and scientific journals that had been established in 1948 as a joint venture by Springer Verlag (later part of the Bertelsmann empire and the heart of what is now Springer Science+Business Media) and Butterworths.
Maxwell was elected to the UK Parliament in 1964 as a Labour member. In 1969 he was severely censured by the English High Court as unfit to run a public company after a failed attempt to sell Pergamon to US finance group Leasco. He did not stand at the next election and lost control of Pergamon.
In 1973 a report by the UK Department of Trade & Industry declared that he was "not a person who can be relied on to exercise proper stewardship of a publicly quoted company". He was thwarted his attempt to buy the News of the World, which instead went to Rupert Murdoch.
Bizarrely, he was able to borrow enough money to repurchase Pergamon in 1974.
Pergamon is often regarded as the prototype scientific journal publisher that pays authors nothing, pays editors a pittance and increases prices at a significantly greater rate than the cost of living.
In 1980, using borrowed funds, he acquired the British Printing Corporation (BPC), subsequently renamed Maxwell Communications Corporation.
In 1984 he bought Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) - owner of the tabloid Daily Mirror - from Reed International, taking them downmarket in an unsuccessful war with Murdoch's News group.
In 1988 he bought the US book publishing group Macmillan Inc (independent of the UK Macmillan headed by former UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and later acquired by Holtzbrinck). In the following year he sold his childrens' book publishing interests.
His BPC and MGN holdings by then included -
- the Mirror group of national and regional newspapers (including the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record, Sunday Mail, The People and Sporting Life)
- the UK's second-largest printer
- Nimbus Records
- Maxwell Directories, including Official Airline Guide (bought from from Dun & Bradstreet and later sold to Thomson)
- Prentice Hall Information Services
- Macmillan Inc (including Collier books)
- the Berlitz language schools
- Pergamon Press
- 50% of MTV in Europe
- 20% of UK Central TV
- 12% of the French TFI television station
- Maxwell Cable TV
- Maxwell Entertainment, a major provider of European television programming
The late eighties saw a giddy purchase and disposal of stakes in other media groups, paper producers, printers, banks, insurance and leasing companies and even Christian Dior. It is unclear whether the 'churn' generated substantial profits and whether it was driven by Maxwell's ego rather than speculative gains.
During 1991 he sold Pergamon and Maxwell Directories to Elsevier for £440 million, floated MGN as public company and bought the tabloid New York Daily News.
In October 1990, as his new European newspaper bled money, an investigative journalist had explored apparent manipulation of the pension schemes run by Maxwell’s businesses.
Despite letters from concerned scheme members, there was no action by UK or US financial regulators. During May 1991 it was reported that Maxwell companies and pension schemes were failing to meet statutory reporting obligations.
Maxwell died while cruising off the Canary Islands, found floating in the ocean. His death has variously been attributed to natural causes, suicide, covert action by the secret services of sundry agencies and even aliens. In the weeks prior to his death he was being investigated by Scotland Yard's war crimes unit, under the War Crimes Act 1991, for allegedly killed unarmed German civilians in cold blood in 1945.
Maxwell's shareholders presumably wished that he'd stuck round. It was belatedly discovered that hundreds of millions of dollars had been looted from the group to finance a lavish lifestyle and unsuccessful corporate expansion.
Maxwell's companies filed for bankruptcy protection in 1992. His son Kevin went bankrupt in 1991 with debts of £400 million.
Mirror subsequently merged with the Trinity group, becoming the UK's second largest regional and national newspaper operator.
In 1995 Kevin Maxwell, Ian Maxwell and two former directors went on trial in one of the UK's largest fraud cases. The sons were acquitted in 1996. Kevin Maxwell was accused. in the 2001 Department of Trade & Industry report on the collapse, of acting "inexcusably".
He had chaired dot-com telco Telemonde, which went into Chapter 11 in 2002 with debts of £105 million after claims that it was worth £1 billion
For a detailed account of misappropriation, expansion and churn see the 382 page Mirror Group Newspapers PLC report by UK Department of Trade & Industry in 1995.
Most of the literature on Maxwell has centred on his colourful lifestyle and death - including speculation about a KGB, Mossad or mafia 'hit' - rather than serious study of how the empire operated, why the watchdogs slept and why financiers handed over the cash. Two examples are Robert Davies' Foreign Body: The Secret Life of Robert Maxwell (London: Bloomsbury 1995) and From Bevan To Blair: 50 Years' Reporting from the Political Front Line (London: Pluto Press 2003) by Geoffrey Goodman.
Tom Bower's Maxwell: The Outsider (1992) and Maxwell: The Final Verdict (London: HarperCollins 1996) and Roy Greenslade's Maxwell's Fall (New York, Simon & Schuster 1992) are serviceable acounts. Maxwell: A Portrait of Power (London: Corgi 1988) by Peter Thompson & Anthony Delgado is uncritical but more detailed than Nicholas Coleridge's chatty Paper Tigers (London: Heinemann 1993).
Joe Haines' Maxwell (London: Macdonald 1988) was an 'authorised' biography. Brian Cox's 2002 'The Pergamon phenomenon 1951-1991: Robert Maxwell & scientific publishing' in Learned Publishing is - for us - similarly indulgent.
A Mind of My Own (London: Sidgwick & Jackson 1994) by his widow Elizabeth Maxwell is self-serving; we suggest instead Flash! Splash! Crash! All At Sea with Cap'n Bob: My Astonishing Adventures with Robert Maxwell (London: Mainstream 1996) by Mike Maloney & William Hall or Nicholas Davies' The Unknown Maxwell (London: Pan 1992). The Assassination of Robert Maxwell (London: Robson 2002) by Gordon Thomas & Martin Dillon suggests that Bad Bob was murdered by an Israeli government agency; one of our clients blames the CIA or creatures from outer space.
For the Mirror see Hugh Cudlipp's Walking in The Water (1976), Cecil King's Strictly Personal (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1969) and Ruth Dudley Edwards' Newspapermen: Hugh Cudlipp, Cecil Harmsworth King & the Glory Days of Fleet Street (London: Secker & Warburg 2003). There is a broader account in Charles Wintour's The Rise & Fall of Fleet Street (London: Hutchinson 1989), Northcliffe's Legacy: Aspects of the British Popular Press 1896-1996 (New York: St Martins 2000) edited by Peter Catterall & Colin Seymour-Ure, The Mirror: A Political History (London: Hamilton 1966) by Maurice Edelman and The Market For Glory (London: Faber 1986) by Simon Jenkins.
Kevin Maxwell was prematurely lauded in Forbes Great Success Stories: Twelve Tales of Victory Wrested From Defeat (New York: Wiley 2000) by Alan Farnham.
For Springer Verlag - unrelated to the Axel Springer group - see Sarkowski and Götze's two volume Springer-Verlag: History of a Scientific Publishing House (Berlin: Springer 1996) and other works highlighted in the profile on Springer Science+Business Media.
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Mel Bay's Play the Bowed Psaltery, DVD/BK. Featured on numerous television and cable programs, recording artists Jan and John Hagerman lead you from beginning through advanced psaltery playing techniques as well as how to care for and maintain your instrument. Covers how to hold your instrument and bow, basic bowing techniques, what to do if you don't read music, how to change a string, playing with two bows, playing with other instruments, and more.
Follow Along Music Book included. Music book covers over a dozen songs, including: Ode to Joy, Garryowen, Scarborough Fair, Amazing Grace, and more.
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The recent popularity and growth of Linux Mint Debian Edition as well as the migration and planned migration of some of the alternate desktop environment based editions (Fluxbox and XFCE so far) has strummed up questions about the future of the main Linux Mint edition which is based on Ubuntu and Gnome.
To help answer these growing questions, Linux Mint’s founder and project lead, Clement Lefebvre has created an easy to miss F.A.Q. nestled at the end of the Linux Mint XFCE announcement.
Some of the provided answers in the F.A.Q. include how to quickly distinguish Debian Testing based versus Ubuntu based Linux Mint editions. Ubuntu based editions are fixed and thus have a version number (Linux Mint 10, Linux Mint 10 LXDE). Debian Testing based editions are rolling releases and have no such version number (Linux Mint Debian Edition, Linux Mint XFCE).
The big news is that the Main edition will continue to be based on Gnome (without Gnome Shell) and Ubuntu and will continue to be the flagship edition for the Linux Mint project. With Ubuntu switching from Gnome to Unity, and eventually pushing for Wayland over X, as well as the Gnome project’s releasing of Gnome Shell, Linux Mint will have some definite hurdles to overcome in the future. However, it seems to be their intention to maintain a consistent Gnome and Ubuntu based platform as their main edition unless some insurmountable circumstance comes about.
With that said, Linux Mint is a community based edition. The Linux Mint team recently polled their user base with a large survey and as a direct result of the data they collected through that, the decision to switch XFCE to a Debian Testing basis was made. If you have questions or concerns about the future of Linux Mint, be sure to follow the Linux Mint Blog (RSS) to keep apprised of any future surveys or other opportunities to provide feedback to the project leaders!
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Maersk Supply Service’s fleet consists of three types of vessels: Field and Subsea Support Vessels, Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessels and Platform Supply Vessels. Field and Subsea Support Vessels are fitted with sub-sea cranes or A-frames. This particular type of vessel is very flexible.
Therefore, it is able to perform sub-sea work as well as conventional supply and anchor handling duties for the offshore construction industry.
Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessels are capable of performing anchor handling for semi-submersible drilling rigs and other offshore equipment. Focus is specifically on deep-water work.
Platform Supply Vessels perform transport of various cargoes, pipes and stores for rigs and platforms.
Maersk Supply Service has ordered 10 new anchor handling tug supply vessels at STX Europe. The vessels are designed to minimize the impact on the environment and are marked with the DNV Class notation “CLEAN DESIGN”. The levels of emission of this label are more stringent than the levels that IMO or Flag State requires.
Low levels of Nox and Sox emission into the air are achieved by more efficient engine combustion. Other ship systems with a high risk of causing emissions, such as ship fire fighting and refrigeration, use agents that cause less harm to the environment. The most important step to prevent the vessels from polluting, is the truly double hull design: oil and other potential pollutants are in tanks within the main hull and not in double bottom or side tanks.
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photo by Teri Bernstein This snack display is actually a "find" from the "dorm-ster diving" outing of my younger daughter and her friends in Davis, California. The situation? Students moving out of the dormitories at the end of the school year often find it easier to discard items in the dumpsters behind their dorms than to move them home or ship them home. Others, who might call themselves " freegans ," take advantage of others' willingness to discard usable goods. My younger daughter, who just graduated from Davis in Sustainable Agriculture, is one of these "freegans." Their motivation is more sustainability-based than need-based, but their actions still have a minor impact on the economy. My daughter and her housemates have some rules for "dorm-ster" diving: Only inspect goods in sealed plastic bags. Unopened items within the sealed plastic bags are the best. Items that still have price tags or gift boxes are also top picks. Cleaning supplies--usually unopened--have very high cost/benefit. Shampoo, conditioner, and other health and beauty aids in plastic screw-top containers are a good bet. Always wear plastic gloves, boots, and bring plenty of hand sanitizer. Some of the items retrieved from this Spring's dumpster-diving included unworn shoes, 2013 calendars, laundry detergent, toilet bowl cleaner, packs of sponges, packs of pens, packs of pencils, at least 15 unused spiral notebooks still in plastic, a leather briefcase, books worth over $1000, sealed packs of trail mix and almonds from Trader Joe's, and several sealed boxes of packaged snack foods, such as those pictured above. I recognize the snack foods pictured above, because the University of California at Davis encouraged me, as a dorm parent a few years ago, to send my daughter an "exam week rescue pack." These were the contents. Hmmm... Sources: " Survival Guide to Dumpster Diving ," by Bill Maher, YouTube, May 31, 2013. " All in a Day's Dumpster Dive ," by Rebecca et. al., NBCnews.com, June 19, 2013. Follow up: Google "hippie Christmas" and "freegan". What "meetup" events are in your neighborhood? Why does Rebecca dumpster-dive? (NBC video) What does this say about the economic conditions of the lower-middle-class? Would you ever dumpster dive? Why or why not? Is dumpster-diving a good thing or not? Is it legal? Is it ethical? Estimate the "profit" from dumpster diving for one hour, based on the list of found items above. Factor in the time that would be spent re-selling items, if you wish. What is the "hourly wage" of these dumpster divers?
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Uganda Parliament Set to Pass ’Kill the Gays’
Uganda’s government officials could pass an anti-gay legislation, known as the "kill the gays bill," by Christmas as the East African country’s parliament is set to debate the issue, the (U.K.) Guardian reports.
Rebecca Kadaga, Uganda’s parliament speaker, announced that lawmakers would discuss the legislation soon and they are committed to passing it by the end of the year. But LGBT activists in Uganda are urging civil rights organizations around the world to take notice. They and activists abroad fear that the controversial bill could even be passed by the end of the week. According to Radio Netherlands Worldwide, the proposed bill could be up for debate in the next few days.
The Associated Press reported earlier this month that Kadaga said the legislation will become law in 2012. She claims that Uganda citizens "are demanding it" and that gay men and woman are a "serious threat" to children in the country. AP points out that some Christian clerics who met in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, have urged Kadaga to pass the law as "a Christmas gift."
Originally, the bill called for the death penalty for some gay acts, but it was revised and now aims to "prohibit and penalize homosexual behavior and related practices in Uganda as they constitute a threat to the traditional family."
Both gay marriage and any form of same-sex relationship are illegal in Uganda; the country’s penal code criminalizes homosexuality. In 2009, lawmaker David Bahati wanted stronger laws to "protect" Uganda’s children from LGBT people and introduced the controversial bill that same year. Gay men and lesbians in the country can be sent to prison up to 14 years for their orientation. The new bill would make the current legislation even stricter.
Although there has been some confusion about what would happen if the legislation goes into law, the Box Turtle Bulletin reports that even if the death penalty provision is removed, there are still 18 other clauses that call for "barbaric regression for Uganda’s human rights record."
California-based anti-gay pastor Scott Lively, who championed the "kill the gays" bill and even visited Uganda in 2009 to help create the legislation, is quoted in a piece for the ultra-conservative Christian website World Net Daily and says he "supports the nation’s strong stance against homosexual behavior." It seems as though he was so ecstatic about the news in Uganda that he even took to his own blog to comment on the issue.
"This is a huge blessing for Uganda and for me personally after having been vilified globally (and falsely) for two years by the leftist media as the accused mastermind of the death penalty provision," he wrote.
Lively is currently being sued by Sexual Minorities of Uganda, which claims that he encouraged the murders of LGBT activists in the country while he was there on missionary work.
LGBT groups from the West have condemned the proposed bill since its creation and now are calling for Uganda’s government to dismiss the bill.
"Death and imprisonment are sentences that should be reserved for only the worst crimes, not for living openly and loving who you choose," Andre Banks, All Out’s executive director said in a statement. "Ugandans are calling upon their government to put an end to the ’Kill the Gays’ bill once and for all. All Out members from all over the world have stood with Ugandans before, and today they have take up that call again. We will not rest until this bill is deposited in the waste bin of history."
GLAAD President Herndon Graddick said in a statement that the bill "flies in the face of all decent human decency by punishing and murdering people simply for who they are" and urges supports to voice their concerns.
"As Americans pause to be grateful for their family and friends on Thanksgiving, our thoughts are with those brave people in Uganda working to fight this hateful law," he added.
Additionally, Sexual Minorities of Uganda also spoke out against the legislation. "This bill won’t stop us," the group’s executive director, Frank Mugisha, said. "We will continue to fight until we are free of this legislation. We cannot have oppression forever."
Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has spoken out against the bill and has praised LGBT groups in Uganda. Britain’s Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron has gone a step further, and has tied foreign aid to the African country to passage of the bill.
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To serve God and Christ faithfully in the midst of a pagan society that exalts power, wealth, and pleasure is the tenor of the prophetic summons to the church in the book of Revelation. Unfortunately, this simple message, as potent today as it was at the end of the first century, is often obscured by misguided, if sincere, interpreters. The present book explores the background issues and lays out the principles that inform a sound approach to this enigmatic writing: its historical and cultural setting, its literary structure, its symbolic code, its core theological concepts, its scheme of last things, and its preachable and teachable points. In dialogue with dispensationalism on the one hand and with the skeptical criticism of it on the other, The Pith of the Apocalypse derives clues for cracking the Apocalypse from the book itself, viewed against the sweep of the biblical prophetic tradition that flowed into it, through the lens of methods widely accepted in mainstream New Testament scholarship. Readers will return to the book of Revelation itself with enhanced confidence, penetration, and understanding.
Customer Questions & Answers:
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Primarily, Dalel Serda teaches. A pupil recently asked her to help define the soul. It was an especially jarring question at six in the morning when she read his email. He gave her a deadline: nine. He did not know, she surmised, she taught from eight o’clock to noon. She sat in the dark after a morning shower and considered the question. Considered the deadline. Considered the lack of professionalism of his request and the unyielding passing of time with its tick-tock, fated
increments whispering from her wall clock. At that hour when the sun had yet to break, the question moved her; she wrote:
For me, the soul is the relationship–our crystalline-liquid and black mud-filled core—between our brain, heart, and stomach: In other words, it is the lovechild of our intellect, emotions, and instincts. It is what loosely binds us to other mammals, as I see it, but also what sets us apart because our soul is fueled (equally?) by these three, distinct entities. In order to acquire greatness, we must allow our soul to move through life with attention to its three parts; this causes our philosophical dissonances… which are the root of our fallible human nature. Therefore, our soul is our ability to both rise and fall.
It is our ability to personify contradiction.
When she teaches, travels, and writes, she chases the human longing to satisfy its soul. Thus, Ms. Serda is a college teacher, traveler, and creative non-fiction writer who earned her MFA at the University of Texas-Pan American because it brought her home to el Valle where her Chicanismo hid in the slim shade of our palms and mesquites. She aims to surround herself with the under-represented and chronicle moments of their lives and consequently, of hers.
Currently, she teaches rhetoric, literature, and research at College of the Mainland in Texas City
Dalel Serda Curriculum Vitae
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The Institute of Biomedical Studies at Baylor University offers a interdisciplinary program in biomedically-related areas of science leading to the PhD Degree. This program benefits from the participation of an extremely diverse faculty who are actively involved in basic as well as translational research, on the home campus of Baylor University in Waco, at the Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, and at Mary Crowley Medical Research Center in Dallas.
Students typically begin the program with a customized didactic program on the Waco campus. After rotating through several laboratories in order to explore the variety of research opportunities, the student selects a faculty member to supervise their dissertation research. Research projects in areas such as Virology, Immunology, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, and Bioengineering are directed by faculty housed in Departments at Baylor University (Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Neuroscience, Engineering, and HHPR) and Research Institutes in Dallas (Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, the Institute for Metabolic Disease, the Sammons Cancer Center, Mary Crowley Medical Research Center).
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To be clear, standby mode is already a very low-power mode, so completely shutting off the power to the unit isn't going to save you much money. How much energy a component burns in standby mode varies from device to device. The general rule of thumb is: the newer the device, the more efficient the standby mode will be. We calculated the cost savings for the average LCD or plasma TV for the year and it came in at around 75 cents based on having the TV on for 5 hours a day and in standby mode for 19 (energy consumption costs are higher in certain states). If you own a PS3, you should save $1.13; an Xbox 360, $2.16 (yes, the Xbox 360 is a standby hog, relatively speaking). You might save more with other items, like paper shredders and printers, which potentially suck more energy in standby mode. Still, you probably lose more change in various people's couches over the course of a year than you might save here.
So, how long will the Conserve take to pay for itself? As we said, that depends what type and the number of components you have plugged into it. But you're probably looking at three to five years.
The protector does have a few small downsides. For starters, there are no ports for protecting phone or networking lines from surges. Also, the Conserves lack some of the features found on Belkin's other surge protectors. For instance, some Belkin models feature an outlet that's compatible with powerline Ethernet adapters. Likewise, we like the hideaway aspect of Belkin's Conceal protectors. However, this model looks like your basic double-wide surge protector with a little cord-control accessory attached at one end. There's no way to cover your ungainly power plugs and AC adapters.
All in all, however, the Conserve is a good concept for surge protectors--and good for the environment in a very small way. You may pay a bit of premium for the extra "conserve" feature, but you should make up that dough in due time. Hopefully, Belkin will combine some of the features (e.g. a cover for concealment and powerline compatibility) of its other protectors in the next version of the Conserve. But that's more a wish than a major gripe.
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October 10, 2008 The Express
Studio: Universal Pictures Rating: PG for thematic content, violence and language involving racism, and for brief sensuality.
The difficult journey of college football's first African-American winner of the Heisman Trophy is now being told onscreen.
Ernie Davis is one of the greatest football players you may not have heard of.
Rob Brown plays the gridiron hero in "The Express." Davis was an outstanding player at Syracuse University, but he died of leukemia before getting the chance to play professionally. That's part of the reason his tremendous achievements got a bit lost over the passage of time.
Dennis Quaid portrays Syracuse coach Ben Schwartzwalder, the man who convinces Davis to play for the Orangeman.
Of course, Davis becomes a great player and leads Syracuse to victory after victory. But football is just a part of his story. Both on and off the field, Davis is constantly reminded of his race and the prejudice of others.
With a claim that's it's based on true events, "The Express" does a decent job of telling Davis' story and portraying it in an entertaining manner. The performances of the lead actors are solid and the football action is well-staged and compelling.
But as we all know after watching "We Are Marshall," Hollywood takes dramatic license when it comes to these types of movies.
One pivotal scene involves a Syracuse game against West Virginia University in Morgantown, where a bunch of racist hillbillies go wild because a black man has the audacity to help a team beat their beloved Mountaineers. It's an understatement to say West Virginians aren't portrayed in a very positive light. In fact, things get so bad that Coach Schwartzwalder, who was a former WVU football star, worries a riot's going to break. Trash and racist slurs come flying out of the stands at a rapid pace.
There's only one problem.
It never happened.
The game supposedly played in Morgantown was actually contested at Syracuse. The racist West Virginia crowd is a Hollywood invention.
I'm not saying Davis didn't encounter racism. Of course he did. But he didn't on that day in Morgantown. Mainly because he wasn't even in Morgantown on that day. If it was a small thing I would let it slide, after all this isn't a documentary. But it's a major part of the story. It's a pivotal moment. It's designed to make you feel a certain way as you watch what unfolds and it sets up the movie's finale.
But it is also a lie, plain and simple.
The people who were on the Syracuse and West Virginia teams in 1959 and again in 1960 when the Orangeman really did play in Morgantown say nothing like what's portrayed in the movie took place.
But the lying doesn't stop there.
The movie also takes a shot at Schwartzwalder. He wasn't just a WVU grad, he was also a West Virginia native from Point Pleasant.
People who knew him and who played for him say Schwartzwalder was no racist. But you won't get that fact from this movie. Unfortunately, Schwartzwalder is no longer around to defend himself. The Hall of Fame coach died in 1993.
Despite its many positive qualities I can't recommend "The Express." For me, when a film presenting itself as being based on fact uses despicable fiction to tell its story, that's a deal breaker.
No thanks. Reality can be ugly enough without writers, producers and directors reinventing history.
On my rating scale, "The Express" Strikes Out. This is not a reflection on Ernie Davis the man or the player. It's a call about a very poorly made film.
MLB BASEBALL Tonight at 7:00 PM
From Citi Field in Flushing, N.Y
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Slaughter, who represents western New York and is the chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, has been a critic of the Senate bill from the left, arguing that it subsidized the private insurance market, and pushing for the public option. She got attention yesterday for talking about a constituent of hers who was forced to wear her dead sister's dentures because she couldn't afford her own, but the rest of her remarks are also worth attention, including these:
I believe that all Americans should be treated the same. Let me give you a little history on that. Eight states have declared that domestic violence is a pre-existing condition on the grounds, I assume, that if you're unlucky enough to get yourself beat up once, you might go around and do it again. 48% is the higher cost for women who, in many cases, have to go buy their own insurance. Believe you me, that is really discriminatory. In 1991, women were not included in any of the trials at the NIH because we had hormones. It wasn't until we had a critical mass of women here [Congress] that we said, "This will not do for more than half the population of the United States who pay taxes." That we made certain that diseases like osteoporosis, mainly a women's disease, cervical cancer, only a women's disease, uterine cancer and others were really looked at. Up to that point, 1991, all research at the Institutes of Health were done on white males. Now think about that for a minute if you will. We couldn't do that because we just said, "Now, kindly stop doing that." It took legislation.
Of course, one Rush Limbaugh had nothing but gracious things to say about Slaughter's harrowing example of the constituent in her dead sister's dentures.
You know I'm getting so many people, this Louise Slaughter comment on the dentures? I'm getting so many people, this is big, I mean, that gets a one-time mention for a laugh, but there are people out there that think this is huge because it's so stupid. I mean for example, well what's wrong with using a dead person's teeth? Aren't the Democrats big into recycling? Save the planet? And so what? So if you don't have any teeth, so what? What's applesauce for? Isn't that why they make applesauce? [Big sigh]
That's it! Let them eat applesauce. Problem solved.
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7. Travel at home. Many families in current economic times can't afford to travel to remote destinations. However, being a tourist in our own home town or city is a playful and easy way to engage in your community.
Post a local map in the kids' playroom or wherever you spend more of your time as a family at home and paint, draw, or post suggestions on places to visit with your kids and as a couple. Put travel dates on your calendar and commit to new adventures. Travel expands our world-view. Both your children and your relationship will benefit. —Mary Alice Long
More from YourTango: Learned Helplessness: Are You Doing Too Much for Your Child?
8. Plan weekly play dates. The most common response I hear when I ask "How are you?" is "Busy!" Posting playdates on your calendar intermingled throughout the week in short bursts or making a once-a-week commitment to both your kids and your relationship to play together shows a heart-based commitment to bringing more joy into your life as a family and as a couple. —Mary Alice Long
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Salvation Army Responds to Waldo Canyon Fire
In response to the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs on June 23, 2012, The Salvation Army is assessing the needs of disaster survivors and The Salvation Army’s ability to respond to those needs – both immediately and for the longer term.
At the Cheyenne Mountain High School evacuee shelter, The Salvation Army’s local Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) unit is providing for survivors’ immediate needs, such as food, water, comfort, and counseling. At this time, The Salvation Army is preparing breakfast for 250 evacuees.
An appeal is being made for financial assistance to fund the relief work in Colorado Springs. Those who wish to support The Salvation Army’s disaster response may do so by sending a check earmarked “Disaster Relief” to their local Salvation Army office, or by donating online at www.imsalvationarmy.org, or by making a credit card donation at 1-800-SAL-ARMY.
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Initial testing of two of four family members in Lusby, three of whom have died, suggests that that the serious lung infection suffered by all four was a complication of seasonal flu. A fourth family member remains hospitalized at Washington Hospital Center and is improving.
Samples have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for further testing.
These cases of serious lung infection were isolated to a single family and there are currently no other affected individuals. Local healthcare providers are not reporting any significant increase in patients with flu-like symptoms.
The illnesses in these family members began with an 81-year-old Lusby woman who developed respiratory symptoms at her home beginning on or about February 23, 2012. She was cared for at home by three of her children, a son and two daughters. The caregivers developed similar respiratory symptoms on or about February 28, 2012. The mother died at home on March 1, 2012. Following her death the three children were hospitalized. Subsequently the 58-year-old son and a 56-year-old daughter died.
As always, we recommend that everyone take routine precautions to prevent the spread of respiratory infections including hand washing and limiting contact with sick individuals. Those with flu-like symptoms, who develop cough, fever or sore throat, should be evaluated by their healthcare provider. Residents who have not received a seasonal flu vaccine are urged to get one from their healthcare provider or by calling Calvert County Health Department at 410-535-5400, ext. 349.
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I discuss from: "De Civitatis Of The" of St. August
Quality of the punishments it
It will be completed therefore complete what God announced for its profit by the way dell' eternal torture of the damned: "Their worm not moral and the their fire do not will be extinguished" (cf Rom 11,17-24) "Who suffers scandal without that I burns?" (2Cor 11,29). Writer is "Like the moth gnaws the garment and the I be worm-eaten the wood, so the sadness gnaws the heart of the man" (Prov 25,20). It is read in fact in the Writings dell' Ancient Will: "The fire and the worm will punish the meat dell' wicked" (Eccl 7,17). Perhaps the Sacred Writing wanted to say that will punish the meat, because man the fault will be punished of to be lived according to the meat, and so will undergo the second death meant Apostle when said: "If you will live according to the meat will die" (Rom 8,13).
The fire is able of the Gahanna, if is physical, to burn the malicious spirits that are incorporeal?
If the fire will be not incorporeal like the is the pain of the soul, but bodily, fatal to the touch so as to be able to torture the bodies, how will be able to serve from punishments also for the malicious spirits? The same fire in fact will be assigned like torture to the men and to the devils because the Christ said: "Via from me, cursed, in the eternal fire gotten ready for the devil and for the angels its" (Mt 25,41).
I would say, send other that these spirits will graze without some body, so how burnt hell that rich when exclaimed: "I burn in this flame" (Lc 16,24). That Gahanna, called also "Pond of sculpture and fire", (Ap 20.10) will be a bodily fire and will torment the bodies of the damned, is the solid bodies of the men is those airplanes of the devils... Sole in fact it will be the fire for the unit and for the other, how the same Truth said. (Cf Mt 25,41).
The justice demands proportionate punishments to the malice, not to the duration of the sin.
Some they retain unjust that because of the sins, for how much serious, committed in a relatively short time, l' man is sentenced to an eternal trouble; like if the justice of the lecterns should demand that everyone is punished in a proportionate time to that employee in the to commit the sin...
It will be judged perhaps that one to should be much time in prison how much employed to commit of it the crime for that comes imprisoned? And it was not yourselves ever know that it retained that the torments of the guilty that should last same space of time employed from you are to commit a murder, an adultery, a sacrilege or any other crime, that instead should be punished, not based on the duration of the time in which was committed, but based on the seriousness dell' action.
Now, if the men come excluded from this deadly town with the torture of the before dead one, is just that come excluded from the eternal town with the torture of the second death. And like the lecterns of this town cannot make yes that a person killed returns, so not even the lecterns of quell' other town can allow that a sentenced to the second death is recalled to the eternal life.
Seriousness for that an eternal trouble is had to.
The eternal trouble seems hard and unjust to the human feeling, because in the misery of this deadly life we left that sense of pure and high wisdom that does to include us the seriousness of the sin committed in the first one abuse of power. So no it this escapes just and deserved punishment, if not for pity and charm do not had to; and the mankind is divided so as to appear how much is able in some the merciful charm and how much in the other the right revenge. Perhaps the damned they will be more numerous of the taken pleasure, so that, in all manners, it is clear what all we would have deserved.
Some they believe that no trouble will be eternal.
Some they do not admit that it will be yourselves an eternal trouble for those who the just judge will judge worthy of the torture of the Gahanna; but retain that they will be freed after a certain time, more or except for long, according to the seriousness of their erred. The most merciful one to this resolution was Origen which believed that even the devil and its angels, after serious and long proportionate tortures to the their erred, will be freed from those you suffer and associated to the holy angels. (Origin, for its doctrinal mistakes was condemned from the Church).
We have to first of all to ask us because the Church did not be able to accept the opinion of those who promise the purification and the forgiveness also of the devil, is too after long and serious punishments.
It believes that it cannot be canceled invalidated the sentence that the same Mister it declared of to utter in the judgment: "Via from me cursed, in the eternal fire, gotten ready for the devil and for the angels its" (Mt 25,41). With these words demonstrate that the devil and its angels will burn in the eternal fire. Can be canceled what knell is written Apocalypse: "The devil that seduced was hurled them in the pond of the fire and of the sculpture, where had been hurled also the animal and the fake prophet; and had been tormented day and night for the centuries of the centuries" (Ap 20,9-10).
In the first step it is had eternal, in the second, for the centuries of the centuries: two expressions that in the divine writing mean endless.
Jesus said "So these will go all' eternal torture, and the just to the eternal life", so to say that the eternal life will be endless and the eternal torture will have fine is absurd. So, since the eternal life of the holy will be endless, also the eternal torture, for those that will fall, will be certainly endless.
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A recently released study confirms what we moms have long known - that the "baby brain" attributed to sleep deprivation is a very, very real thing. Although the study was conducted with frequently-woken mice, sleep researchers say that it's not too big of a leap to extend the findings to humans, who experience a mental fog that undermines our ability to think clearly when we have not gotten enough sleep.
When my oldest was born, I remember being shocked at how little sleep I required to function. Those first few weeks of wakings every 1-3 hours were brutal, but I was lucky that each of my little ones fell into decent 4-hour stretches by about one month. For the most part, I found that if was able to get 5 consecutive hours of sleep and a gallon of caffeine a day, I was good to go. Sure, I'd get tired, but when the occasional bout of infant illness or teething tossed me back into 2-hour sleep cycles, I was once again grateful for the pathetic 5-hour stretch.
As it turned out, becoming a mom has changed my sleep cycle permanently. Never a "night owl", I found that I was able to stay up later post-baby and now my most productive hours are between 8 pm (once the kids are down) and 1 am. As a hyper Type-A personality, I've frequently felt that sleeping, along with eating, are two of life's biggest time wasters, so I was thrilled to discover that the (lack of) sleep training I received from having 3 babies in 5 years has translated to increased productivity. I can now function on 5 hours of sleep a night instead of 8, a time savings that translates into an extra 21 hours a week! I can do this for exactly 3 consecutive weeks - and then I crash.
Instead of cluing in to how BAD this is for my body, I'm content to function in 3-week cycles for the sake of squeezing more work, volunteering, blogging (sometimes), and chores into my days. Never mind the fact that my memory for details is shot, half the time I call my kids by each other's names, and I can frequently be found driving down my street with a forgotten travel coffee mug on the roof of my van. To each their own, I say.
How has becoming a mom changed your sleep needs, for better or for worse?
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