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Benefits of Oranges
Oranges have many health benefits. They are rich in Vitamins C and A, flavonoids, antioxidants, calcium, magnesium, potassium, dietary fiber etc.
Oranges have more than 60 flavonoids and 170 phytonutrients that have been shown to have anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour and anti-oxidant properties.
Dietary fiber in oranges helps in stimulating digestive juices and relieves constipation.
There is a high amount of vitamin C which protects the cells from damages by free radicals. Liminoid, a compound in oranges helps to prevent cancers like oral, skin, lung, breast and colon.
The iron and Vitamin B6 in oranges help in the production of hemoglobin and increase the oxygen carrying capacity. They also purify the blood.
Regular intake of orange juice prevents kidney diseases.
It also reduces the risk of forming calcium oxalate stones in the kidney. But take the juice in moderate amounts, otherwise it can cause the decay of bones and teeth.
An orange a day is sufficient for a man to keep his sperm healthy. Vitamin C, an anti-oxidant, protects sperm from genetic damage that may cause a birth defect.
No doubt oranges have many health benefits, always remember to eat in moderation. Excessive consumption of any citrus juices can leach calcium from the body system, causing decay of the bones and teeth.
Although we often don’t eat orange peel in significant quantity, it is good to know that citrus peels contain some oils that may interfere with the effects of vitamin A. | <urn:uuid:f468ea15-2dcd-4e43-86cc-82d92bbfcd0a> | https://healthybenefits.info/benefits-of-oranges/?shared=email&msg=fail | en | 0.909402 | 0.06411 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Now that I have your attention, what does the word “bots” remind you of? Does it remind you of things such as natural language recognition? Artificial Intelligence? Computers stealing our jobs? Singularity, World War X, becoming pets to our computer overlords, the end of humanity as you know it?
Calm down! Bots are nothing like that. And no, the computer didn't bribe me with a piece of cheese to say this.
As computers have grown in complexity, our way of interacting with the computer has also changed. We used to interact using printouts and punch cards. Then some genius invented a CRT screen with great contrast ratio, and we had a terminal and a command prompt. How convenient was that; I could type in my commands using a text-based interface, and the computer responded. No more shuffling around those cards. The problem was remembering all those commands, so the developers of complex programs came up with menu-driven interfaces. You started the program and it presented you with a number of options to pick from. You picked an option and went to another screen full of options. Those were the days. Then came the GUI. The mouse was a particularly amazing invention. You could drag-and-drop things, and open and close windows. Most recently, we have touch screens. Who needs a mouse when you have ten styli attached to your hands, right?
Bots are simply the next evolution in how we interact with a computer.
A bot is an app that lets users interact with the app in a conversational way. The Microsoft Bot Framework is a framework that helps you write bots.
Conversational User Interface
Yes, I'm sorry to puncture your enthusiasm; this article won't mean World War X and the end of humanity. I'm simply describing a new way of interacting with a computer: through conversations.
You, the human, interact with a program via a conversation. Let's say that you start with “Hello.”
The bot receives this message and can interpret your intent using numerous mechanisms.
• It can try to do an exact match; this is nothing but simple string matching.
• It can try to recognize patterns; for instance, if the user's input starts with “Hello,” this must be the start of a conversation.
• It may use regex to do more complex pattern recognition.
• Or it may use LUIS (Language Understanding Intelligent Service), where the app literally tries to understand the user's intent. For instance, “What is the weather outside,” or “Do I need an umbrella,” or “How cold is it outside,” all mean the same thing, as far as the bot's concerned.
Once the bot (your program), understands the user's intent, it can respond with a new set of questions, possible actions, or results. Results could be speech, text, a list, or anything similar.
The good news is that you don't need to be an AI expert to start writing your first bot. In fact, to understand the nuts and bolts of how the Bot Framework works, you need to know nothing more than exact string matching. And the other pieces logically fit in to place.
Before I dive into code and a functional bot, there are some important concepts to understand.
Good Bot Design
Users have many ways of getting the information they need, but they have very little time or attention. When they want to know about the weather, they could go to a website, pick up a phone, or say “hey Siri.” They'll probably pick the route that's the least effort and still gets the answer they need.
Keep this in mind when designing your bot. For starters, you might make a single catch-all bot, the kind that will end the human race. That's probably not a good idea. Your bot should be specific to a function, and even within that function, it should narrow down the choices and the user's intent to something very specific. Here are some guidelines:
• Don't try to make the bot too smart. A bot that tries to do too much is not the best candidate because it will fail to recognize the user's intent. For instance, if you said, “search for Sahil,” should it return a YouTube video or a GitHub repo? How about, “search for the last thing Sahil published.” What exactly are you talking about here?
• Don't try to be cute! People use bots that are efficient and to the point. Don't pretend to be human, you aren't good at it. Jokes can be annoying, especially if they get in the way of getting things done. When I ask for weather, tell me, “It's 55F outside.” There's no need to follow that up with a cute rejoinder.
• Voice and natural language recognition aren't quite there yet. Don't get me wrong; they can be quite effective. For instance, when the user says a phrase, you could use Microsoft cognitive services to recognize the user and perhaps load their non-secure user profile. It needs to be non-secure because the voice could be recorded. However, when I say, “recognize speech,” how are you sure that I wasn't saying “wreck a nice beach?” The reality is that we humans are very good at voice recognition because we pair the meaning with context. So first establish context, and then try using these fancy tools. And ask any married couple, even with context, we humans sometimes mess up understanding each other. Surely the bots can't be perfect either. Plan for imperfection.
• Keep it simple and expose it to as many channels as possible. The Microsoft Bot Framework can easily allow you to expose your bot functionality across numerous channels, such as Skype, SMS, email, Microsoft Teams, Facebook, and more.
• Narrow the problem down, starting with your welcome message. For instance, imagine a bot that responds to my hello with “Hello Sahil,” versus another bot that says “Hello Sahil. I can help you 1) Book an Air Ticket, 2) Book a hotel, 3) Book a car. Which would you like to do?” Which of the two do you think leaves me less confused?
• Break down your complex problems into simpler steps: these steps are your dialogs. For instance, the process of booking an air ticket could first start by asking “When are you leaving,” followed by “Where are you leaving from,” etc. You're effectively stepping through dialog after dialog, only in a conversation.
• Recognize that humans handle and expect exceptions. For instance, right in the middle of my conversation, the human could say, “can you check my calendar for me?” This means that your programming paradigm needs to support:
• Start a new conversation.
• Replace the current conversation.
• Add to the existing conversation.
As you can see, it boils down to a lot of common sense. If I had to give you three tenets, they would be:
• Keep it simple; narrow down the problem.
• Don't be annoying.
• Be useful; get to the information that the user needs fast.
We're still in the infancy of bot design and a lot of best practices are still emerging. We're still not sure whether we find Siri's jokes annoying or useful. Luckily, the Bot Builder SDK and the Microsoft Bot Framework encompass concepts that let you model a bot. You could still design a bad bot, but then, you could, I hope, design a good bot too. Let's get a little bit more technical now.
The Bot Builder SDK
The BOT builder SDK from Microsoft allows you to build bots using the Bot Framework. It models all the concepts necessary, such as dialogs, channels, state, interaction with LUIS etc., to help you build compelling bots. Your bot may or may not be hosted in Azure, but hosting it in Azure is easier. Currently the Bot Builder SDK is available for .NET as a NuGet package and for NodeJS as an NPM module, or, you can simply interact with it using REST APIs. There may be additional NuGet packages or node modules specific to channels.
Typically, you organize your interaction with a bot using conversations. These conversations are modelled as one or more dialogs. Dialogs contain prompts and waterfall steps, which is simply a number of sequential dialogs that the user goes through in logical progression, and at the end of that progression, the “waterfall” returns the entire resultset.
Let's look at a conversation organized into dialogs.
• Usually, you start with a default dialog. For instance, “Hello Sahil; how may I help you?”
• Based on some trigger, such as a word match like “Help,” you may jump to an alternative dialog. For instance, “Help, I'm lost,” to which the bot can respond, “Sahil, I can help you with, 1) Book a flight, 2) Book a hotel room, 3) Book a car?”
• One dialog can redirect to another dialog. This redirection may be a logical “next” or it can be based on a condition. For instance, when using a default flow, “When are you flying out” may be followed by “Where are you flying to.” Based on a condition might be, “I want to book a hotel,” which might result in a dialog #2, which is about hotel reservations.
• One dialog can also redirect to another dialog based on an interruption or an action. When you jump based on interruptions and start a new dialog flow, you may resume back with the original dialog after the interruption is complete. For instance, in the middle of booking my travel plans, I may say, “When am I flying out?” which then may have the bot respond with “April 20th, 2018,” or “You have three flights in the next two months; which one would you like me to read out?” What's important here is that you want to remember the current dialog chain, because after the user knows when they're flying out, they'll want to return to the original dialog flow.
• Sometimes the redirection may cause the entire dialog redirection chain to start over, for instance, if the user says, “I'm confused, let's start over.”
• Dialogs usually follow a waterfall pattern, which guides the user through a series of steps or prompts.
Each one of these concepts - a dialog, a trigger, a dialog stack, a waterfall, actions/interruptions, replace dialog, and resume dialog - are modelled in the Bot Builder SDK.
Bots run as a Web service. This Web service is stateless. It could run over many nodes, and it might even be server-less. It could be something as simple as an Azure function. So the bot itself doesn't store any state; however, no self-respecting program - or should I say bot - could function without state. Like most newer applications, state is externalized and your program is stateless. State in the Bot Builder SDK is based on a provider model, and out of the box, it supports three kinds of state:
• In-memory storage: This is great for development purposes, but remember, because it's “in memory,” this kind of bot won't scale across multiple nodes.
• Azure Table storage
• Azure Cosmos DB
You can also author a custom state provider using the Bot Builder SDK Azure Extensions ( The good news is that no matter what state provider you choose, as long as you stick with the well-defined API, your program doesn't change. The state provider is simply plug-and-play. It's important that you stick with the various properties and methods that the Bot Builder SDK exposes, and not try to reinvent the wheel.
The Bot Builder SDK for NodeJS session object exposed the following properties for state data:
• userData: The state that's scoped to the user and is accessible over multiple conversations. For instance, if I asked to book a flight, userData is a great place to store this information because in a subsequent conversation, I could easily change the flight.
• privateConversationData: This state is for the user in this particular conversation. For instance, if I'm booking a flight and I say “forget about it,” I could simply call session.endConversation, and forget everything specific to me in this current conversation with the bot.
• conversationData: This is specific to a conversation, but is shared among all users in the conversation. However, this state is also cleared when the conversation is ended with the endConversation command. For instance, in a Microsoft Team's chat where multiple users are querying about a JIRA issue, clearing the conversation should effectively reset the state. For instance, three developers and one bot enter into a conversation. Developer 1 says, “open JIRA issue 331.” The bot responds with, “JIRA issue 331: modify styles to reflect updated branding, is now open.” Developer 2 can then ask, “What Git branches were created for this issue,” etc. This could continue until a new issue is opened, which opens a new conversation. What's important is that in the second message where Developer 2 says “this issue,” the bot clearly understands that “this” means JIRA issue 331, which is stored in conversationData.
• dialogData: This contains data specific to the current dialog only.
The Bot Builder SDK for .NET exposes similar capabilities via Getter and Setter methods. The method names and properties may be different, but the concepts are the same.
Bots are, put simply, programs that you interact with via conversations. And just as we humans can have conversations on many mediums, or let's say channels, bots can interact via multiple channels. Examples of channels are a simple website that hosts a chat-based channel, like Skype or Cortana. As you may have guessed, Cortana may have some peculiarities, such as speech. Microsoft Teams is yet another channel, which introduces its own unique set of peculiarities and features. For instance, a Teams-based bot can do 1:1 conversations or participate in a group chat.
It can also send notifications to a user. Imagine if I had a helper bot that I could tell, "@documentWatcher, please alert me when a new document is created with the phrase “pay raise for Sahil.” As you may have guessed, this action that I specified to my Microsoft Team's bot is handled by a Web service. This Web service is nothing but an app, as far as Microsoft Graph is concerned. Just like any app, it has permissions. Based on those permissions, it could execute a search and keep watching for documents matching my specified phrase. And when such a phrase match occurs, it can notify me, which is simply sending a message to the user.
The phrase match doesn't even have to be exact; using LUIS, you can add natural language intelligence, even in the matched documents. For instance, “Should we give Sahil more money” is somewhat close to “Give Sahil a pay raise.” I should know about that too, right? What about “Should we fire Sahil?” Yes, with natural language recognition, I could write logic around that too. It's quite incredible. I'm sure you're beginning to see the value and power of mixing bots in your various channels already.
Developing and Testing Your Bot
There's one last thing you need to know before you dive into code, and that's how you go about developing and testing your bot. As I mentioned, the bot is just a Web service. But it's a Web service that the surface you're testing, be it Microsoft Teams, a Web-hosted chat, or something else, should be able to communicate with. There are three options here.
The first and the simplest option is to use a cross-platform app written in Electron that's called as the Bot Framework emulator. You can download this emulator from This emulator allows you to write and test your bot without exposing anything to the Internet.
The other two options require exposing your development endpoint to the Internet. Although this may sound scary, the reality is that in this cloud-friendly world we live in, Azure-based services frequently need to talk to dev endpoints. Naturally, easier solutions have emerged to this problem. My favorite is ngrok, a simple exe that exposes your dev endpoint to an HTTP or HTTPS URL on the Internet that ends in The only consideration here is that the endpoint changes every time you run ngrok. Luckily, the bot registrations in Azure make it easy to change the endpoint.
The other option is to expose the endpoint by hosting it on the Internet. I like to use Azure websites because even though the endpoint is exposed to the Internet, I can still debug the code in dev mode. Yes, debugging an Azure site is slower than debugging something locally, so my preferred approach is ngrok. I just run it, minimize it, and forget about it. I can restart my Web service endpoint as many times as I wish. And if I have to update my endpoint URL in my Azure bot registration once a day, it's not that big a deal.
The Hello World Bot
So far, there's been lots of talk; it's time to see some code. Let's start by authoring a simple “Hello World” bot. I'll use NodeJS, but everything I show here can also be done using .NET.
To start with, like any other node-based project, create a package.json file. In this package.json file, add the code shown in Listing 1.
Listing 1: The Hello World Bot package.json
"name": "simplebot",
"version": "1.0.0",
"description": "",
"main": "index.js",
"scripts": {
"start": "node index.js"
"dependencies": {
"botbuilder": "^3.13.1",
"restify": "^6.3.4"
"devDependencies": {
"keywords": [],
"author": "",
"license": "ISC"
As can be seen in Listing 1, in addition to referencing the botbuilder npm package, I also use restify to expose it as a Web service. Also, the start command uses node to run index.js, the code for which can be seen in Listing 2.
Listing 2: Hello World Bot
const builder = require('botbuilder');
const restify = require('restify');
const connector = new builder.ChatConnector();
const bot = new builder.UniversalBot(
(session) => {
session.send('Hello world!');
).set('storage', new builder.MemoryBotStorage());
const server = restify.createServer();'/api/messages', connector.listen());
Listing 2 shows the simplest bot you can make. No matter what message you send it, it replies with “Hello World.” As can be seen, I'm using builder.UniversalBot, which accepts two parameters. The first is the connector on which I wish to expose the bot. The second is an array of dialogs, of which I have only one. Usually these are functions, and the first argument for it is session. Session allows me to get a lot of valuable information. For instance, what the user said last can also be grabbed off of the session object. I'm keeping it simple and simply replying with “Hello World” no matter what the user said.
Let's test the bot next. Download the Bot Framework emulator and run it. Also in your project, run npm install and npm start. Once your project is running, switch over to the Bot Framework emulator, and connect to http://localhost:3978/api/messages. You don't need a Microsoft App ID or App Password yet; these become relevant once you start deploying the app in Azure or using it in connectors.
Once connected, go ahead and type any message to your bot; you should see the bot respond with “Hello World!” as shown in Figure 1. You can also see in Figure 1 that I can click on any message and see the details of that message as JSON in the right-hand pane.
Figure 1: The Hello World Bot running
Figure 1: The Hello World Bot running
Writing a Bot for Microsoft Teams
The great thing about the Bot Framework is that one bot can be exposed to multiple channels. One such channel is T. But what fun is it to expose a simple Hello World bot to T? Well, the fact that you're running inside Microsoft T should pose some interesting opportunities.
A Microsoft Teams bot can:
• Have 1:1 chats, where the user messages the bot just like they would message another user.
• Have chats inside a channel, so the bot becomes a member of the Team, and multiple users can talk to the bot.
• Notify a user by @mentioning them or sending them a notification
• Fully interact inside the Teams “context.” It can do things like get the user's profile, get a list of channels in a Team, get members of a Team, etc.
• Be granted permissions in Microsoft Graph just like you'd grant permissions to any other Graph application. This means that the bot can act as a graph application, and query for things such as mail, calendar, documents, and much more.
An Important Note
At the time of writing this article, there are two ways to register a bot. You can go to and click “Create a bot or skill,” which is the equivalent of logging into your Azure portal and provisioning a new bot. Or you can go to When you use the second link, you get the option of migrating the bot to Azure. Down the road, we'll most likely create bots only in the Azure portal. Right now, Teams bots are more reliable if you create them directly in the URL. I've noticed strange behavior, such as a newly registered bot in Azure being responsive on every channel except Teams. I'm sure these growing pains and kinks will be sorted out before Azure is the only way to register bots. But until then, I'd suggest creating them using the URL. I'll mention both Azure and non-Azure instructions below.
Registering a New Bot for Microsoft Teams
Visit, and sign in with your Office 365 credentials. If you intend to create the bot using the URL, you'll still sign in using your Office 365 credentials, but this credential must also have an Azure subscription associated with it.
Registering a bot is a matter of filling out a simple form. You need to specify things like the display name, the @botHandle, a description, etc. The interesting thing is the messaging endpoint. This messaging endpoint is what you will expose to the Internet either via ngrok or an Azure website. You haven't exposed anything yet, so just type https://something there for now.
You'll also need to generate a Microsoft AppID and Password. Behind the scenes, you're simply registering the bot as an app using the v2 app model. When you generate the AppID and Password, note it down somewhere. You'll need it shortly.
Also, under the “Microsoft Graph Permissions” section, grant it the “User.Read” permission, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Permissions for the Team bot
Figure 2: Permissions for the Team bot
Configure Channels for Your Bot
Here, the instructions become different based on whether this is a bot you registered using the old URL directly in Microsoft Teams, or via Azure. Visit to see the list of bots you've registered. Clicking on the bot should take you either to the Azure portal (if you use the Azure/new way of registering) or to a different page if you used the old way of registering.
If you're in the Azure portal, look for “channels” and choose to add the “Microsoft Teams” channel, as can be seen in Figure 3. Alternatively, if you're using the old way of registering your bot, you'll be presented with a different user experience, as can be seen in Figure 4.
Figure 3: Adding the Teams channel: the new user experience
Figure 3: Adding the Teams channel: the new user experience
Figure 4: Adding the Teams channel: the old user experience
Figure 4: Adding the Teams channel: the old user experience
One last thing before we leave the bot registration page. Under the “Settings area” in the top navigation bar for the old registration portal, and left side navigation area under channels in the Azure portal, you'll see a place called “Configuration” and “messaging endpoint”. Just take a note of that; You'll need to modify the value there once you expose the bot on the Internet using ngrok.
Writing the Teams-ready Bot
In the nodejs-based project, remove the reference to botbuilder, and instead add a reference to botbuilder-teams. I'm using version 0.1.7. Note that botbuilder-teams include a reference to botbuilder, so there's no need to add it explicitly. There are no other changes in package.json.
Inside index.js, write the code as shown in Listing 3. As can be seen in Listing 3, the code is strangely familiar. It is, after all, a bot! But, this time around, I'm using dialogs. And the two dialogs I'm using are triggered based on a regex match. One is triggered when the user writes “getchannels” to the bot. The second is triggered when the user writes “aboutme” to the bot.
Listing 3: Our Teams-ready bot
const builder = require('botbuilder');
const builderTeams = require('botbuilder-teams');
const restify = require('restify');
var githubClient = require('./github-client.js');
const connector = new builderTeams.TeamsChatConnector(
appId: "removed",
appPassword: "removed"
const bot = new builder.UniversalBot(connector)
const dialog = new builder.IntentDialog();
dialog.matches(/^getchannels/i, [
function (session, args, next) {
var conversationId =;
(err, result) => {
if (err) {
else {
session.send('Here are the matching channels');
dialog.matches(/^aboutme/i, [
function (session, args, next) {
var conversationId =;
(err, result) => {
if (err) {
else {
bot.use(new builderTeams.StripBotAtMentions());
bot.dialog('/', dialog);
It's very important to realize that the “aboutme” action can work in either a personal chat or in a group chat in a channel. However, getchannels requires you to provide a Team ID, and the only way to get the Team ID currently is from the session's context. In other words, in order to test “aboutme,” I can simply reference the bot in a personal chat. I don't need to package it up as a zip file and add it to Teams. To test it inside the context of a Team, I need to upload the bot into Teams as a zip file. I'll leave that for another day; for now, let's just see how to test the “aboutme” action.
Testing Your Bot
There are two things you need to do in order to test your bot.
First, you need to enable sideloading of bots in Microsoft Teams. Log in as tenant administrator and go to the admin area. Under Settings\services and add-ins, look for Microsoft Teams. Ensure that sideloading of external apps is enabled under the Apps section, as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Enable sideloading of apps
Figure 5: Enable sideloading of apps
It's worth mentioning that most administrators feel itchy turning this capability on. I advise you to do this in a developer tenant and not in the production tenant. I wish we could turn this capability on as a group-by-group basis, but we can't. Not today at least.
The second thing is to simply test the bot out.
Go ahead and run the bot. This is a matter of doing npm prune (to remove botbuilder), npm install (to add botbuilder-Teams), and npm start, to run the bot.
Once your bot's running, download ngrok from, and run ngrok http 3978, where 3978 is the port your bot runs on locally.
Ngrok should give you two URLs: an HTTP URL and an HTTPS URL. Essentially, ngrok exposes your port 3978 on the Internet via a duplex outbound TCP channel. If that doesn't impress your mom, I don't know what will.
Once you have this ngrok URL handy, go ahead and update it under the Messaging Endpoint area of your bot registration. Mine looks like Figure 6.
Figure 6: Update the endpoint
Figure 6: Update the endpoint
Now go ahead and launch Teams and @mention the GUID of your bot. This GUID is the app ID of your bot registration.
Alternatively, you can also launch Microsoft Teams by clicking on the link shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7: Launch the bot in Teams
Figure 7: Launch the bot in Teams
Type “aboutme” and you should see the bot respond as can be seen in Figure 8.
Figure 8: The bot responding to “aboutme”
Figure 8: The bot responding to “aboutme”
If you're inclined to do so, you can also package your bot as a zip file and sideload it into a Team. In the channel, you can talk to the bot directly using getchannels and you should see the bot respond with the list of channels in a specified Team. In my case, I had only one channel, as can be seen in Figure 9.
Figure 9: The list of channels, as reported by my bot
I'll share an interesting side note about myself. My education is both in computers/engineering and biology. I never wanted to be a doctor because I just couldn't get over all those long complex names, or dealing with disease and misery every day. One of my favorite topics in biology was genetics. It was quite mathematical, it involved calculating probabilities, and I always did well in that topic, while my fellow biology-inclined classmates were baffled by it. Another topic very near and dear to me neurology. There was a surprising amount of physics involved. I found it amazing that our spinal cords carry current, and that our neurons have voltage difference between the top and bottom. Incredible! I also found it amazing that when I touch a live wire, I have a reflex reaction where my brain doesn't participate in the decision making, because this is considered a life-threatening proposition. The time required for the brain to act is too long, so the neurons make a decision. The time required is about the same as an electric impulse to travel the distance of about a meter, the distance between my fingertip and my head.
Our bodies are walking and talking computers! They're capable of conversations, touch, emotion, love, hunger, and so much more.
My computer-oriented head led me to think that computers are essentially very simple brains. Note that when I was learning about neurons, the computer I had access to didn't have a hard disk and it had an 8-bit processor. But even today, computers can be considered simple. They definitely produce computation and not intelligence. But, they have the same components - thinking/processing, data collection, learning experience, just as we do. As a system becomes more intelligent, it inherently also becomes a bit more unreliable. Isn't intelligence merely a higher level of computation?
A very long time ago, I wrote an article for CODE Magazine (, I'll repeat from the section under “Trim the UI” here:
"I've laid out the following items in order of complexity.
• Light Bulb: A light bulb is rather simple. You flick a switch and 99.999% of the time, it turns on.
• Dog: You pet a dog and it wags its tail. Sometimes it may bite.
• SharePoint: More on this shortly.
• Men: It's not that flicking the light switch should turn the bulb on, but first we must question, is light truly what we need? Let's call a meeting.
• Women: Well, I'm a man, so I can't understand them myself, much less explain them to you.
SharePoint, as you can see, is more complex than a dog, but less complex than a human. Isn't that what most computer software is becoming anyway? You flick a switch, and the bulb turns on-most of the time."
I think, we're entering a phase where computers are becoming smarter than a light bulb, maybe even smarter than your dog, but not yet as smart as humans!
What's important is that computers will be available in a range of intelligences, and it's up to us to choose how to apply them to our needs. There could be simple computers whose only job will be to reliably inform us of a water leak or an intruder. Or there could be more complex computers that could drive a car, tell a joke, paint a painting, or compose a poem. Yes, I do feel that computers will do all this one day and it will improve our lives.
We'll be like the most pampered pet of our computer overlords. It's a good thing I'm cute. I wonder what your game plan is.
For now, we're far away from that day, so let's learn the Bot Framework and a number of other interesting things
Happy coding. | <urn:uuid:c77fad83-b562-4b7c-b8ab-b1340a801f00> | https://codemag.com/Article/1803031/Bots | en | 0.923692 | 0.175614 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Earth Matters on Stage: Sustainable Practice
Many of the lectures here at EMOS are held at the very-new Hope Theater at the University of Oregon’s Miller Theatre Complex. Boom: there’s a big square fact to start the post off for you. But I’m going somewhere with it.
Right now, where the Hope would be a big black box is all full up with Set. The floor is painted in a curling desert-river pattern. Upstage is a forest of recycled wooden planks and juttings, a kind of grandpa’s-attic bamboo. In one corner is a platform with puzzle-piece innards: old bedposts, chairs and plywood fold over each other in a hefty collage.
It’s all for the stagings of the Festival’s top two prize-winning plays: Song of Extinction and Atomic Farmgirl. But what was intended to represent a Bolivian forest and an American farm has come to represent the EMOS festival itself, both literally and figuratively: the set was constructed with recycled materials.
Today’s sessions were sponsored by the Center for Sustainable Practice in the Arts. Led by Ian Garrett, they included presentations by Steve Mital, University of Oregon’s Director of Sustainability, PhD candidate (and EMOS Production Manager) Damond Morris, several eco-conscious designers, and several pioneers of a Sustainable Dramaturgy program at CalArts.
At this point: it’s day seven. Everyone in the room knows each other, at least by sight. We’re calling each other out in the audience: could you talk about your experience with . . . what’s your perspective on . . . and what begins as a formal presentation becomes a group conversation quickly and easily.
What is a “sustainable university�
What is the impact of a theatrical lighting system?
Where in this stream can we reduce our waste?
What are the next steps in expanding/refining sustainable pedagogy?
How do we reframe our relationship to resources?
If your curiosity is piqued, I’d encourage you to visit the CSPA’s wiki for tools and nuggets of information. As to the rest, I leave you with Morris’ Five D’s of Design for Environment:
See you on the other side of a recycled-wooden forest.
Go to the Green Museum
Research in Art, Nature and Environment (RANE) Lectures
University of Falmouth
The RANE ‘Comprehending Nature’ Lecture Series for 2009 will include:
Andrej ZdravicÂ
9 March
Slovenian film and sound artist Andrej Zdravic has lived and worked across the US and Europe. Inspired by music and nature, he has created over 30 independent films focusing on the energies and spiritual aspects of natural phenomena. This screening of his film ‘Riverglass’ will be followed by a question and answer session.
Linda WeintraubÂ
20 April
Linda Weintraub is a curator, educator, artist, and author of several popular books about contemporary art. She is currently writing the fourth book in her eco-art series that is titled Avant-Guardians: Textlets in Art and Ecology. This series is designed to highlight and accelerate the integration of environmental principles throughout university art pedagogy.
Entry to the events is free, but you need to reserve a place.
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As A Moderate, Character Matters More
As the dust begins to settle on the political landscape throughout the country, the most logical question for me is, “Now what?” Here in Ohio, many Democrats lost their seat, including the position of governor. Nation-wide, Republicans now have control of the House with their sites set on another house…the White House. But for now, will things really change like every politician promises? I suppose things will change at some level, but I seriously doubt anything significant will occur.
In Ohio’s governor race, Republican John Kasich ran his campaign on one single argument; that under opponent Ted Strickland’s term as governor the state lost more than 400,000 jobs. Now I’m not giving Strickland a pass here; Kasich’s argument is certainly fair game. But I wonder if at all it was possible to keep or gain jobs during a national recession? Might it have been worse under the leadership of someone else? Nobody can say. Perhaps Kasich will remedy this problem, perhaps not. My point is that both governors, although sitting on different sides of the aisle, could very likely have the same results in most of the key areas. Ideologically, Republicans and Democrats may be miles apart; but practically, they are more the same. Case and point is the fact that most election opponents accuse one another of the very same things: pork-barrel spending, ruining the economy, losing a war, increasing debt, and so on and so on. Republicans blame Democrats for the economic woes of the country, Democrats say they are only struggling to fix a giant mess caused previously by Republicans. People throw darts at the “blame board” to see who the fault will land on, because actual blame is far too complex for any one candidate to figure out. But throughout the barrage one thing is certain…politicians are a big part of the problem.
Being a moderate means that there are points from both sides that I agree with. I can’t fully endorse the entire agenda of Democrats or Republicans, so I’m Independent. Now I am much different from Independents who are conservative or liberal and claim Independent in order to pull their own party from the middle and closer to a polar end. In the end, these Independents will rarely vote for anything other than the party they’re trying to reform…no matter the candidate. A moderate Independent has a much more difficult task of discerning who to vote for. At first it seems easy, because a moderate knows that there’s going to be a couple things that they agree with any candidate about, creating less urgency. It’s also likely that change is not as imminent as a candidate suggests, leaving room for a moderate to consider a very important and needed element: character. Issues don’t take a back seat, but judging character plays a heavier role in the moderate vote. Those further from the middle on each side of the spectrum will likely vote less according to the actual candidate and more according to the side or party that they are on. Candidates know all of this, which is why they often resolve to slinging mud at their opponents and getting personal (b.t.w…this has an opposite effect with me). This is what makes voting hard to for the moderate, because we ultimately can’t get to know any candidate on a personal level and make an informed judgment.
Unfortunately, I can’t offer any solutions at this point. This blog entry was meant to be more descriptive than prescriptive. If anyone has any suggestions on how they can best determine a candidate’s character and leadership capabilities, comment and let me know. Until then, keep searching your heart on the issues. And even though it’s difficult at times, get your vote in.
2 thoughts on “As A Moderate, Character Matters More
1. Eric,
I agree with you on some points and disagree on others. And just wanted to say a couple points. I dont believe candidates stand for anything except themselves. They will swap to influences of money or power (ie: Arlen Spector. He thought the power was with Obama and the Democrats and it was for a short period.)
I vote for the party not the candidate. Majority democrats believe in unions, abortion, bigger government and higher taxes. I cannot support any of these. I believe you and I agree on the issue of abortion, unions at one time had their place but now the are destroying America by protecting the lazy and corrupt. We can not compete in the world and will continue to lose jobs as long as unions have the influence they do in our government. Bigger government? well lets just say that Medicare, Social Security, and US postal service are bankrupt or close to, and now they want to manage Healthcare? Businesses are not hiring because they are afraid of the costs this will have on them, the uncertainty is why there is no confidence in the economy. Higher taxes, again the threat that Obama and congress are going to let the Bush tax cuts expire and causing the single biggest tax hike in history, (especially after Obama promised we would not see any higher taxes).And everyone knows that all of these bailouts, additional social programs and the recent printing 600 billion dollars to buy our own debt have to be paid somehow. Taxes are the only way because it doesnt look like they are cutting anything else.
Republicans, are just as corrupt dont get me wrong, but I believe with this last election are going into power with a little more respect for the people that elect them, they know now that if they are not doing the job of the people they will be voted out. I voted Republican, because I felt they would slow down Obama’s agenda and with the US people knowing that they will try and extend the tax cuts, reform the healthcare bill if not repeal it. And attempt to stop the excessive spending, confidence in the economy will come back and companies will start hiring again. Government does not create jobs ,Private companies and people create jobs.
Just a side note guess who signed the low income housing bill that created the housing and financial bubble… Bill Clinton 1999, Democrat. I do blame George Bush for not seeing it and letting it continue for as long as it did.
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Senior Or Geriatric Pet? What's The Big Deal?
As animals enter their senior years, there’s a tendency among vets and pet owners to assume their needs are the same from the age of seven years. But this is a big mistake leading to poor decisions or missed opportunities to help animals live longer and better.
At Roundwood Vets we think differently and have developed a second age bracket, the “Geriatric Pet”, to allow you a better understanding of what is going on with your pet.
Growing old doesn’t have to be a burden and in this article, we’ll help you understand what the difference between senior and geriatric care is, and what you need to do for your pet at each life stage to make sure they are happy and healthy.
What is the difference between a senior and a geriatric pet?
The best way to understand this difference is to think about two people you know well. The first person is not a spring chicken any more, but remains a relatively fit, healthy 60-70 year old. They are independent, can make decisions for themselves, feed themselves, get around town without help from others and are still very active both physically and socially.
This person would be the equivalent of a “senior pet”.
We’re talking about the dog who is going grey in the muzzle and maybe seems a little stiff in the morning, but is otherwise happy to go for walks. They eat and drink well, can climb stairs and go to the toilet without problems. They still clearly enjoy life.
Senior pets are generally older than seven years but less than 12 years of age.
Now think of a very old person you know who is perhaps 80-100 years old. They may have dementia or perhaps they now need assistance walking. Their home has been modified to allow easier access to hard to manage places like the shower and toilet. They may now live in a bungalow because stairs are getting too hard, or even a nursing home. Their appetite is a fraction of what it was, and they tire easily. Their vision and hearing are significantly impaired and are now supported by aids. Other people may be responsible for cooking, cleaning and collecting the weekly grocery shopping.
This person is the human equivalent of a geriatric pet and, you’ll agree, is in a different category of care completely.
Now we’re talking about the dog or cat who sleeps for many hours a day. They struggle to walk very far may have developed soiling issues in the house. Due to failing vision and hearing, they may become anxious; with panting, whining and pacing behaviours all common. For this group, life is a little less rosy, but the good days outweigh the bad and for the most part life seems good enough. The crucial word in the past sentence is “seems”. These pets can be challenging to live with and can cost much in terms of money, time and emotional input.
We tend to think of small dogs and cat over the age of 12 years as being geriatric. For larger breed dogs (which do not live as long) the age limit might be 10 or 11 years.
Why is this difference important?
The reason we separate these two life stages is because each group has dramatically different needs and places different burdens on the caregiver (that’s you their lovely owner.)
Senior animals are generally still quite healthy and require very little additional care. Dental disease is the biggest threat to wellness for these cats and dogs. But aside from this, the important things are to make minor adjustments to food choice and portion size. Weight management is going to be a central pillar of health as pet’s get older and help to avoid many of the worse conditions that lurk further down the track for the fat pet. Arthritis, diabetes and cancers are all more likely for fat pets.
The changes we need to make are relatively minor and are mostly about monitoring health status more closely, so we pick up problems early.The changes we need to make are relatively minor and are mostly about monitoring health status more closely, so we pick up problems early.
Geriatric animals require an altogether different approach because these pets have more advanced problems happening and often more than one problem combined.
Pain management is crucial for this group of pets because pain levels can be very high as diseases are starting to enter a more advanced stage. Large breed dogs in this age range will almost all have very painful arthritis that is affecting their ability to walk and happiness. This may show up as sleeping more, bed wetting or self-soothing behaviours like licking the sire joints, pacing or whining.
Geriatric pets are also far more likely to be struggling with multiple health issues. It is not uncommon for a pet to present with arthritis, heart and dental issues. Each of which is taking its toll on health and vitality.
For you, as the owner of a geriatric pet, particularly one with multiple issues, then burden of care can be high. You’ll be committing more time, sleepless nights, more expense and often feel like you are riding an emotional roller coaster wondering if you are doing the right thing. Plus, if you have a bigger dog, then there is an increased physical burden too. You’ll be working those biceps and lower back muscles more when you are helping your pet to get into the car, into the bath or onto the bed.
What things must I be doing for my senior pet?
To keep your senior pet happy and healthy we recommend the following actions:
1. Change the diet to a lower calorie diet with reduced salt levels and high-quality controlled protein levels. This will help to reduce both weight gain and kidney problems.
2. Visit the vet every 6 months routinely to monitor health. We advise a full wellness assessment, blood pressure and urine test at this time to track any changes.
3. Deal with rotten teeth and address any small health concerns now, before they have the chance to balloon into major issues later.
What things must I be doing for my geriatric pet?
The biggest difference in our care for geriatric pets is the focus on support, pain management and quality of life. We start to consider the trade-offs we all must be willing to make to make sure our golden oldies have a great end to their days.
1. If a pet will eat it then it’s certainly better to offer a lower calorie diet with reduced salt levels and high-quality controlled protein levels. But if, for any reason, your pet won’t eat this food, then it’s better for them to eat something they enjoy because this will maintain their energy and muscle mass. It might not be the ideal food, but what’s the point in kidneys that work great, if you are too weak to get out of bed and enjoy life?
2. Focus on pain control and mobility as these are a huge factors for older pets. Almost all have painful arthritis or teeth. Dealing with this pain is one of the single best things you can do for your geriatric pet. If the teeth are rotten, then have the bad ones removed and watch their energy level and joy increase dramatically within days. If they struggle with arthritis, then the careful use of medication, acupuncture and laser therapy can make a massive impact on their mobility, happiness, energy level and quality of sleep. (If they sleep well, you sleep well!)
3. Visit the vet (or have our vet visit you – we offer in home care services for older pets) every six month to set up a plan to manage the issues your pet faces. And check in regularly to tweak the plan and monitor progress with our specially trained vet nurses. So many pet owners do not do this and just accept that old pets “slow down”. Sadly, this results in many geriatric pets living each day in unnecessary pain.
4. Adjust your home to improve life. For example, collars should be abandoned in favour of harnesses that remove pressure from the neck and allow you to help them move around easily. Using yoga matts on wood floors and grip tape on stairs can really help your geriatric pet to avoid painful and risky tumbles. Installing night lights near food, water and litter trays so pets can see in the dark helps with evening anxiety and home soiling. Using steps to help pets climb onto furniture or ramps to allow access to cars helps to reduce pain when walking. There are many modifications you can make that seem like small things to you but are of huge help to your old pet.
5. Manage any health issues on a merit basis. Sometimes we’ll have to consider whether larger problems are really worth tackling with surgery and medicine in the same way as if your pet were a young animal. Ethically we have to stop and ask the question, “Is this treatment really in the pet’s best interests? Or are there other options here to consider?”
We start to have discussions with you about what’s really important and try to guide you to do the best things that help your pet have as good a life as possible. The time remaining starts to get less important as we approach life’s sunset. Our emphasis shifts more to improving quality of life. (Which somewhat ironically – and happily - almost always improves life span too!)
6. Consider reassigning the budget. We are far less concerned about vaccines in this group of pets. For example, rather than spending money on boosters in a 14-year-old cat, better to spend it on medication to improve comfort and mobility.
Your next move as the owner of an older pet
The most important thing is to be aware which category your pet falls into. And then book in to see our team to find out what you need to do to restore or maintain optimal health.
In writing this article, we hope to have shed some light on the difference between senior and geriatric pets, plus given you some insight into how we think differently and designed our service differently to accommodate you and your older animal. We absolutely love to see a grey muzzle either in the practice or at home and especially so if its tail is still wagging furiously!
The truth is that most pets can live a great quality of life up to and including their last few days and hours with the right support and care from both you and us. So let’s partner up to make sure your grey muzzled one has the best care, regardless of age.
To book an appointment or learn about our senior pet care or geriatric hospice services then please contact us today on 020 8459 4729.
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Ah, Venice! It is one of those cities that you see in all the guidebooks and travel shows as the ultimate travel destination to admire a city rich in cultural history, architecture and of course scrumptious Italian food. It almost looks too picture perfect and it is all true! Venice was exactly how I imagined it to be and despite the number of tourists already flocking to this popular Italian destination at this time of the year, I had the best time endlessly walking amongst the hundreds of winding canals and snapping pictures of the old, beautiful buildings and famous gondolas. The best way to make your way around Venice is by foot. It is relatively small and the areas of San Polo, San Marco and Sante Croce is best explored walking and twirling through the narrow, cobblestone streets and small bridges. The numerous shops selling Murano glass, leather handbags and gloves, bakeries, gelato and pizza will excite your senses.
I stayed in an Airbnb outside the main island of Venice in a residential area called Marghera because the price was a lot cheaper than the accomodation right in the centre and to be honest it was a really nice break from being surrounded by so many people to come back to a quiet neighbourhood at the end of a long day. There also many hotels in Marghera as the Mestre train station is a main stop to travel to other cities in Italy. From various bus stops in this area it takes about 15 minutes to reach Piazzale Roma. All transport like buses and taxis stop here and the rest of Venice is accessible by foot or ferry. Catching the ferry around Venice is a great way to see the city from a different and necessary perspective. It is a lot cheaper than taking a gondola everywhere.
From Piazzale Roma walk to the romantic and famous Rialto Bridge. It is fairly easy to navigate your way from San Polo to San Marco as there are signs everywhere pointing you to the directions of the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco. Be prepared to secure your spot quickly on the Rialto Bridge to take the iconic shot of the famous Grand Canal of Venice. It will take your breath away hearing and seeing the bustle of the ferries, water taxis and gondolas passing underneath the bridge.
A couple minutes away from the Rialto Bridge in a small alley called Calle del Paradiso is the restaurant Al Paradiso. They serve an amazing Margherita Pizza! And like me, if you are feeling slightly guilty about all the pizza, cheese, gelato and wine you have been indulging in, they also have an amazing Greek Salad to serve on the side.
As you cross the Rialto Bridge and make your way to Piazza San Marco you will be surrounded by all the designer brands you can think of and the window displays are meticulously perfect. It is a fabulous place for some window shopping to be inspired by the sophisticated and chic designs by famous Italian designers. Now prepare to be awed as you enter Piazza San Marco! First, visit the spectacular Basilica di San Marco. The beautiful gold leaf ceilings and colourful mosaics will leave you speechless. Second, it is necessary to see the Palazzo Ducale, also known as Dodge’s Palace in the Venetian Gothic style. Lastly, climb the Bell Tower of St. Marks Basilica for views of the city and the surrounding islands. Piazza San Marco is alive with energy and excitement as tourists admire these spectacular landmarks.
There are many restaurants surrounding the square but I would not eat here because it is so overpriced! All these restaurants have the allure of musicians playing famous classical pieces but you can appreciate their talent without taking a seat in one of these restaurants as they play outside facing the square. If you want to experience a nice and less expensive dinner outside people watching, head to Pizzeria Santo Stefano in Campo Santo Stefano and order one of their pizza or pasta dishes with a delicious Aperol Spritz.
For something different, visit the island of Murano where they make their famous, world renowned Murano glass. There are many glass factories with showrooms displaying amazing sculptures and glassware. My favourite place in Venice, besides the main island is Burano. Burano is an island 30 minutes away by ferry from Murano. The whole island is filled with bright, colourful houses and apartments. It is also famous for its production of biscuits and lace products. Buy a handmade cotton or silk scarf with lace detailing as a memory of this unique place and don’t forgot your camera!
Spring is definitely the best time to visit Venice because the weather is starting to get a little warmer and there are less tourists. Of course Venice attracts lots of people throughout the whole year but in the spring the streets will be less messy and less smelly than during the summer months. Venice really is one of the best holiday destinations in the whole world, the canal system and old buildings making it a unique city on water that will leave you wanting to come back for more. | <urn:uuid:c1bdf7ab-5638-45cc-9e8e-cc477c2f0716> | https://tamarajadetravels.wordpress.com/2017/04/29/a-guide-to-romantic-venice/ | en | 0.953075 | 0.021368 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Alvaro Bautista: The (Excessive) Cost Of Success
Alvaro Bautista continued his unbeaten run of success at Assen. The time might be nearing for Ducati to evaluate the costs of such success
On Sunday Alvaro Bautista won his 11th straight race in WorldSBK. He’s unbeaten in 2019 and he’s well on his way to adding a Superbike title to his 125GP crown. The Spaniard is riding with incredible confidence and consistency and he’s a joy to watch. That is unless you’re the financial directors of Ducati. The costs of his success are racking up and he’s put himself into a very rare position - he’s potentially winning too much!
In racing all success is measured in numbers. Number of wins, number of podiums and number of pole positions. The contracts for riders reflect this. The more you win the more you make. Incentives have always been heavily rewarded and no doubt Alvaro Bautista’s contract is structured in a similar way.
In conversation with riders and team representatives in Assen the general figure bandied about for race wins was €25,000. Of course with the Superpole race having been introduced for this season it’s possible that the ten lap shootout has a different value attached to it. Some riders said they aren’t paid bonus money for the Superpole races and others are on the same as any other race.
As a guideline we’ll use Bautista’s figures to be what seemed the normal going rate of €25,000 for a race victory and we’ll assess that Ducati are offering him a lower figure for the Superpole race victory.
In 2003 Neil Hodgson started the season in a similar vein. He was unbeaten through four rounds, won nine races in a row and over the course of the season won 13 times. His contract was such that his win bonuses, and championship bonus, left Ducati with little option but to find another home for the Englishman. The 2003 WorldSBK champion moved to MotoGP with the D’Antin squad and saved Ducati a fortune in bonus money for 2004.
As it stands you’d imagine that Bautista, managed by Simone Battistella, has put himself in a very strong position to negotiate an immediate return to the MotoGP. If we assess Bautista’s success thus far he’s earned at least €200,000 in bonus money from feature race victories and you’d imagine that three pole positions and four Superpole race victories have earned him some extra notes on top of that.
With championship bonuses and another 27 races in 2019 his earnings could be sky high for this season. His unprecedented success has been such that it must have started to set a Ducati accountant into a cold sweat. It’s a nice problem to have for the Italian manufacturer but with Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller out of contract at the end of this season there would be potential to move the runaway WorldSBK series leader back to the Grand Prix paddock.
Would Bautista leave? That’s harder to know but if he did go he’d certainly leave with a much improved base salary compared to this year. Battistella is generally regarded as one of the coolest operators in the MotoGP paddock. He’s a manager that is noted for his ability to always look out for the best interests of his clients but also who can leave something at the table so that teams and manufacturers are happy with the negotiations. It would be a surprise if such a clever operator hasn’t negotiated some clauses to give Bautista a potential avenue back to MotoGP and with the Spaniard’s earnings raising considerably with each passing weekend there will come a time when the motivation to make a change starts to be felt in Bologna.
Sometimes winning isn’t enough in racing. Sometimes it’s actually too much. It happened to Ducati in 2003 with Hodgson, could history repeat itself in 2019?
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Difficult to imagine at 34 years of age currently that Bautista would get a MotoGp ride but, who knows. Ducati have hired a lot of older riders in the past. I've always said bauutsita could do well on a competitive bike, He did well in Phillip Island last year and had he not crashed so many times during the Free practices then he might not have been as tentative suring the race & might have done better than 4th.
Jack and Bagnia are young enough to hopeflly mould into winners for Ducati but lets face it, every single rider Ducati have are not good enough to beat marquez for the title. If Dovi gets a title it'll be becasue Marc missed a lot of races. No one has a rider to beat Marc for the title anymore since Stoner left and it's kind of pointless for them to even try anymore.
I'd like to see Remy Gardner on a fatory bike some day soon. Maybe he can bring it to Marc.
Have to agree with you here. Age is really an issue, combined with a long history in MotoGP.
It is tough to disagree with Steve, who likely knows more about motorbike racing than I'll ever imagine, but Bautista spent 8 years in MotoGP with a total of 3 podium, and zero wins. He had an assortment of bikes over the years. none of them top tier.
Seems that the guy who ends a 7 year drought of WSBK championships is likely to stay right where he is, and if that means that Ducati pays for it- so be it. Thats my guess, anyhow.
The comparison to Hodgson is illustrative. He was 31 when he went back to GP, and did exactly nothing. 6 DNF's and 3 top tens, with the rest at the back of the field. The guy was a massive talent, but his return to GP did not go well by any measure. IIRC, after that he was shuffled off to AMA to partner with EBoz on the Parts Unlimited 999. On a full works 999F05, he was outclassed by Mladin, Spies, DuHamel, etc, etc.
I hope that Ducati keeps him in WSBK. It will raise the level of the grid, forcing people to step up. If he goes back to GP he likely takes a seat from a young guy on his way up, or a paying customer of Ducati Corse in the 2nd satellite team. Its a lose-lose for Ducati at that point.
EU200k is a lot of money, I'd be pretty happy to recieve it, but you have to put it into perspective. If Bautista wins 20 races this year and collects EU500k in bonuses, that's fantastic for him, and it's possibly more than his base salary at the factory at WSBK, but, how much does a motogp rider collect in salary? Sources I can find suggested that Alvaro was earning EU450k riding for Aspar (not sure if that was salary or salary+sponsorship). Dovi was rumoured to be getting $2M a few years ago, and the rumour was that this more than doubled after Lorenzo's dismal first year on the Ducati. They could afford to pay Rossi in excess of EU10M (reportedly), and Lorenzo EU12M.
So, if they put Bautista back into motogp, how much more money would they have to pay him as a reigning and dominant WSBK champion? Conversely, how much would they have to pay Miller, or Bagnaia in the factory team? I'm guessing not much in their first year.
And at the end of the day, if they pay $500k to Bautista in bonuses then it's still a good deal because, so far this season, if they didn't have Bautista on the bike then they would have wasted untold millions of dollars developing a new motorcycle, running a team, paying the riders, and they'd still have no wins - and barely a podium for their efforts.
If racing is a way to sell bikes then Bautista has provided more benefit to the Ducati brand in 3 months than the rest of the Ducati Corse WSBK team have in the last 7 years.
Finally, there's also the passport factor to consider. The Grand Prix paddock is full of high performing Spaniards, whereas WSBK has been a very British affair of late - with Rea, Davies, and Sykes being the standout riders for the last 5 years. Surely there must be some benefit for Ducati and the FIM to reignite the interest in WSBK in one of the more bike mad countries in the world. They haven't had a serious contender to root for since Checa peaked in 2011.
Couldnt be more happy for Bautista to have this success.
I feel very bad for Sam Lowes who finally got a package to compete with the Kawasakis only to see Ducati leap frog both of them. That kid has shown amazing improvement.
This reminds me of Lotus Renault and their signing of Kimi Raikkonen in F1. They managed to get him out of retirement for the 2012 season and offered to pay him on a per-points scored basis. It seemed a fairly safe deal for them, they had 2 lucky podiums and scored points about half the time in 2011. So of course in 27 starts Kimi scored 23 points finishes, 2 wins and 13 other podiums, leaving Lotus on the hook for $42million and teetering on bankruptcy.
I'm sure Ducati have plenty of cash to fall back on should they need it, but it's interesting how unexpected success can be as dangerous as failure sometimes. As for Alvaro and Moto GP, unless Ducati offer him Petrucci's seat (or there's a factory Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda seat available) it's hard to see. Better to rule below than be a servant above, Alvaro's spent enough time risking his life on second tier bikes. But then with a fat paycheque and the SBK title under his belt the siren call of becoming a Moto GP race winner might be too much to resist.
reading the headline, it exactly reminded me of kimi too
For 13 rounds, 26 race wins potentially, with the figures presented, Bautista's dream season could add up to 650k bonuses for race wins with the presented 25k per race figure, maximum - plus whatever else bonus for poles and sprint races.
Alvaro's base salary, I have no idea, but a racer worthy of a championship contention must have some kind of lifestyle to uphold as well, so ostensibly in the 100-200k euro range, some of which might be in various kind of tax free expense compensation or whatever. I might be overshooting slightly, but the number is now eclipsed by the race win figure anyway. Still, I'd gather 1 million is the maximum amount of salaries paid all in all, and I don't know under which country's pension laws they go under, if additional payments need to be made to cover that, but anyway the ceiling is established.
So a question for team manager: Would you rather have a rider contesting for 2nd or 3rd place while spending 100k euros, or spend ten times that for a clean sweep of all races? Racing isn't for the cheapskates, and the difference of the two from success perspective is absolutely huge. Now, from team management perspective: Alvaro doesn't crash, and racing bikes are not cheap, that's already a factor - as reference a totaled Moto2 bike I heard from Mr. Ajo to be in the region of 80k euros, I'd expect the same from WSBK spec Ducati or more - and the harder parts, with the MotoGP Ducati swingarm case we learned a day at the wind tunnel is 30k euros (not clear if engineers are on top of that).
I digress a little, but professionals in any area are not cheap. A professional engineering consultant who knows what they're doing is easily charging in the ballpark of 200 to 300 euros per hour for works performed at a remote site, on a yearly basis that's half a million cost potentially for just the efforts of one person. A lawyer, you should be so lucky.
Here we have someone who's able to take what the team has and make it into a winner day in and day out, and winning is the objective. I am sure it is a worthwhile investment. Again, racing is not for the penny pinchers. Bautista has earned every cent coming his way, even if the figures might sound like a lot.
How can Ducati have a problem with a A B winning? Aren't they in the business of selling motorcycles? Unless we really know the details of his contract, we should not assume that it is a negative in Ducati's investment return. Why would any manufacturer invest R&D money, tool an entire production line, and then hope for mediocrity on the sales floor or the race track? If he is exceeding the expectations thus earning more money than expected, consider renegotiating his contract when it expires. Assuming he would find that unacceptable, it should be easy to hire another journeyman MotoGp rider that finds themself in a position of no longer being considered for an "A" team ride. Hire that guy and negotiate a contract agreeable to both. The last thing you want is to not be successful at the track.
It would be very interesting to see the unit profit figures for the top spec V4 Ducati and the V4R in particular.
Could they be a loss leader to get under the price cap?
They probably do not have a problem with him winning, but their bank account might. When it comes to racing you do not expect to win every race, which is why riders get bonus money for podiums. This is a rare occasion where the rider and bike are meshing so well that winning become financially a problem.
Even if Alvaro rides to a perfect season and has some deeply buried clause that gives him a $100million bonus for doing it, Ducati would go to their VW Group owners for the bailout. VW Group made $19billion in profit for 2017, however well Alvaro does his pay amounts to little more than a rounding error against that. I suspect VW would gladly poney up the cash for the chance to really stick the boot into the Japanese factories that have so frustrated them in SBK and GP.
I agree with BoZ that with Bautista's age he's unlikely to go back to Moto GP given the incredible crop of youngsters there now and panting in the wings. Having said that, I've always thought him underrated since I saw him at Indianapolis on the Suzuki, where he absolutely staggered me and another ex-racer friend by how hard he was riding. Whatever happens, good luck to him.
...Ducati in 03 might as well have been Cagiva compared to Ducati today.
Plus let's not forget Troy Bayliss. I can see Ducati giving Bautista the Bayliss treatment for sure. Especially how they did Lorenzo.
Too soon for Pecco, Pramac have one current year factory bike - Miller is on a GP19 like Dovi + Petrucci - and one year old bike for their second rider, Pecco, to learn MotoGP with no pressure. So far Miller is doing what he needs to do, beating Danillo on the same bike every session and race apart from the seat thing at Qatar. If that keeps up the scenrio will as you say Petrucci to WSBK and replaced I thought before this article with Miller but now I see Bautista next to Dovi for one year and Miller on the third factory bike. That will put all the "players" on the same two year contracts. Ducati's BIG problem is how long will Dovi stick around for?
Bautista is doing a magnificent job on his Ducati weapon this year but I just can't see him returning to MotoGP (beyond a Bayliss-style one-off reward ride as CTK mentioned). Miller is at least as quick and is 10 years younger, Bagnaia is surely earmarked for the factory spec Pramac bike next year and without factory machinery, why would Bautista bother?
Better to earn factory money winning races and titles in WSBK.
If Ducati signed an open-ended contract I would be amazed - especially after the Hodgson experience. Bonuses are both an incentive and a compromise. Bautista may have hopped onto a ‘perfect’ bike, but Davies et al need to be consistently closer to the front to waft eau de winning over the sales figures. A cap is likely in my view - but Bautista is raking it in, no doubt.
Thanks for factoring the harsh economic realities into the winning equation. Great analytical insight David. If Bautista continues in this vein of form with the R, it is certainly a chief financial officer's nightmare. The Neil Hodgson case in point is well noted. Another two race weekends with same outcome as in Assen and things will have to be thrashed in terms of the reality of the situation around a simmering boardroom table. Bautista will want to stay and Ducati will want to cut remuneration for results. The name of the game is compromise and I hope that should it come to that, they can work something out. I don't know Alvaro but I would guess guts and glory would sway him in favour of an extra and not budgeted buck for right now. I don't see him returning to GP1 unless as a full factory rider. What would be the point? Dorna may also have a say. I have no stats,yet I'm pretty sure SBK viewership has received a big shot in the arm since the ever escalating war between Rea and Bautista commenced at PI. For Dorna, that is an even bigger bottom line. 3rd party #19 sponsorship is gaining traction and exposure. Merchandise AB3019. In a very short space of timer he, with the V4R have carved out a niche market. Ducati and Bautista are interlocked. A financial mutual agreement between him, his management and Dorna is the smart way to go for all concerned right now. MotoGP1 can draw on a raft of young tallent in the lower ranks with contracts about to expire yet with potential to spare. Jack Miller and earstwhile KTM M3 champion Brad Binder spring to mind. I reckon Ducati could bring the likes of Binder or Jorge Martin into the fold quite easily right now given the miserable M2 KTM factory bike with no end in sight, for miniscule Euro's compared to what it would cost them to take a shot at jettisonning AB out of SBK or roping him onto a factory GP1 horse. Much to ponder. For now Bautista and V4R are tied at the wrists. The one is currently not par for the course without the other. Together, they have been astonishing thus far.
Why is this a story when Baustista is winning race after race, but never came up when Johnny Rea was doing pretty much the same? Heck, a number of times when Rea didn't win it was his teammate Sykes. Wouldn't this same burden have falling on Kawasaki?
And and as a business owner, boy, this is a problem I would like to have. One of my employees is way more successful at the task I have given him or her than anyone expected. Alvaro is, at the end of the day, the highest powered salesperson in the Ducati arsenal. I have a sales team. One member of it outclasses the others and she receives MASSIVE bonuses. I'm always happy to write those checks because it means however much she's earning, the company is earning 80% more.
This is an interesting angle, and one I hadn't really figured on before. But surely that 200k is a very small fraction of what they spend on the racing department? The cost of running the SBK program would be significant, 5-10million surely? There must be at least a couple of dozen poeple directly involved at various levels, and many more in lesser capacities. The objective of racing is surely not the mediocrity we've seen from Ducati SBK in the Panigale V2 era? So from my perspective, a few hundred k in bonusses to dominate the competition is an absolute bargain? And with winning ways come sponsors, with the possibility of more than covering the win-bonus conundrum.
I for one hope he stays where he is, and hopefully the rest catch him up a little and we finally get some truly unpredictable outcomes in SBK again. The scrap for 2nd behind Bautista has usually been quite entertaining, although still with a sense of inevitability about the outcome.
If you were winning a world title and had the opportunity to continue winning world titles as the lead rider in a factory team why would you want to go back to Moto Gp as a second string rider. Surely new sponsors can been be found to cover the bonuses. The exposure would more than warrant the investment.
If the results keep going this way, and its a big if from weekend to weekend, will Barni and GoEleven, Rinaldi and Eugene have cause to protest the rev cuts? Chaz too at Aruba alongside Alvaro? They would have a cause for complaint for sure. Kawasaki are a bit stet with their transverse four. Yamaha are the big winners currently within the ambit of the regulation. The new BMW mill could throw an additional spanner in the works. What then? Sykes takes it to Rea and Bautista with a couple of wins mid season? Rev limit revisited? Nuts! Law of unintended consequences. Adjust,adjust and adjust to create artificial parity. I enjoyed Rea stuffing it to Tom in a class he had made his own on the same bike. Likewise Stoner to Capirex in 2007 GP. Not because I had a problem with Loris. I have a framed poster of #65 at Catalunya 2003 hanging on the wall, resplendant in Marlboro cigarette livery. first win.. first season in GP. Which brings me to a point. Ducati purposefully design a bike to regain WSBK title after the L-TWIN was hamstrung in the interest of 'SBK political correctness'. One rider out of four adapts to it bloody quick and the brand gets punished by 250rpm. Engineering excellence and foresight punished by political correctness is not the way forward for SBK, especially when 3 are being punished for the grand performance of 1. | <urn:uuid:2f0ba791-1f7c-42b6-8a92-02b2c08ba7f5> | https://m.motomatters.com/comment/88937 | en | 0.970863 | 0.042596 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Tempest In Storm Lake
V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire and the first open, partnered gay person to serve as a diocesan bishop in the church, speaks in the House of Bishops at the 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Anaheim, Calif., Monday, July 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
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Storm Lake, Iowa was always about as tranquil a place as you can imagine, until it became the scene of a terrible crime.
Earlier this year, the body of a newborn baby, 24-48 hours old, was discovered in the trash at the local recycling center.
Sheriff Chuck Eddy, desperate to find the mother, subpoenaed the records of all pregnancies from the local Planned Parenthood. And as CBS News Correspondent Mika Brzezinski reports, that's when the tempest came to Storm Lake.
"We thought this couldn't be true," says Jill June, president of Planned Parenthood in Iowa. "Surely they don't want to invade the privacy of almost 1,000 women in this small rural town.
June says she's ready to do time to protect her clients from a chilling scenario.
"Imagine the knocks on the door, 'I see you were pregnant three months ago, where's the baby? If you had a miscarriage prove it. If you had an abortion prove it. Produce the child for police to see.'"
To district attorney Phil Havens, those records represent the last hope to solve this crime.
"We're at a dead end," says Havens. "I can't bring the baby back to life, but I do want to see justice for the baby and we do that through criminal prosecutions."
As far as the protection of people's privacy is concerned, Havens says, "privacy is not an absolute right."
"The law is that if the rights of society are greater, are weightier, then those rights should prevail."
And so this tiny town finds itself the flashpoint in a debate that could have national implications: the pursuit of justice versus a person's right to privacy.
June understands police officials' concerns, but says "the help they want from us is wrong."
"If they can do this to women in Storm Lake, Iowa, they can do this to any woman in America," she says.
Still for many here, the controversy is overshadowed by the crime.
"This baby had no contacts in this world other than with this mother, and if we can't talk to potential mothers then we can't investigate this crime," says Havens.
The crime will continue to haunt this community. The controversy is destined for the Iowa Supreme Court and could impact the privacy of patients far beyond the boarders of this small town. | <urn:uuid:4a85fc96-9b6a-4b60-9126-5bc622fd43aa> | http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tempest-in-storm-lake/ | en | 0.966083 | 0.028445 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
How to Decide Whether You Should Cut or Bulk?
Paralysis By Analysis
Paralysis By Analysis
If you are caught between the two desires (six pack or biceps) it can be surprisingly stressful.
Or worse, you keep flip flopping between the two. One day you’re eating enough to fill two regular people, the next you’re on broth and carrot sticks.
This over-thinking can lead to what is sometimes known as paralysis by analysis. You’re so confused by the situation that you become scared to make a decision. This leads you to treading water, which is the worst of all outcomes.
It’s not just training that can be affected by analysis paralysis, it can be work life, romantic life, and many other things. But training tends to lead to the most obvious results.
Different Body Shapes
Different Body Shapes
This is a complex issue, and first we need to create some scenarios so that you can find the one that best suits your goals. We’ll have the following guys as examples:
• The Skinny-Fat guy = Someone who has very skinny arms and legs, a small chest, but a build up of body fat around the stomach.
• The Formerly Overweight Guy = Someone who used to be very overweight but is now almost lean. They still have a bit to go, but are starting to get seduced by the idea of getting bigger.
• The Fitness Model = Someone who already has a six pack and decent muscle, but isn’t sure which way to go from here.
The Skinny Fat Guy
Skinny fat physiques are the hardest to make a decision on, because they are right in the middle. Bulk up and you become the “fat guy” or cut and you become the “skinny guy”.
Find out the recommended calorie intake for your size, and follow that. Make sure that your protein intake is high, and that you are getting enough sleep. Get into the gym 3-4 times per week, and follow a simple strength building program. Increase your step count on the days when you aren’t in the gym.
At this point you can decide which way to go, if you feel that your body fat level is drastically reduced you could look at slowly increasing your calories. This will lead to bigger muscles and should be followed by a cut.
The Formerly Overweight Guy
You’re probably tempted to bulk now, so that you can start to build bigger muscles. Well stop thinking that at once.
The Bulky Guy
You can understand the temptation, it’s like a rebranding “I’m not overweight, I’m bulky. I’m a unit” etc … Nope you’re overweight. Bulky is another word for being fat.
Now if you really want to get into powerlifting or strong man training that’s great! But it is much more difficult than you are probably expecting, and it will involve a LOT of time spent in the gym.
If you have hours to spare every week then you can consider it, but if you are working a regular job, have a family, and a social life, then maybe it would be a good idea to drop that body fat instead? It really is up to you, but please be realistic in your reasoning.
The Fitness Model
What you need to do is make a long term plan, you basically want to be leaner and stronger/bigger. Well this is possible (particularly for someone as dedicated as you) but it will take time.
Final Thoughts
Some of you may have been a little irritated by the tone of this article, there aren’t many articles out there that call their readers fat or skinny etc … But hopefully you will forgive us, because we’ve all been there before.
If you are in amazing shape you can decide whatever is best for you. Hopefully this article is the kick up the ass that you needed.
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| <urn:uuid:5d93ef55-0b95-42a1-ba92-52e3cd2bf40e> | https://www.skinny2fit.com/cut-or-bulk/ | en | 0.961722 | 0.025421 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Monday, 31 December 2012
French Hogmanay
Hogmanay, the Scots New Year, is one of those words that sounds irretrievably non-Latinate, unless you remove the hogm, in which case it sounds exactly like the French word année, or year.
Hogmanay is a mysterious word and nobody really knows where the hog bit comes from. But it somehow seems to have been added to the Medieval French aguillanneuf, which breaks down in to aguill (mysterious), an (year), and neuf (new).
Also, hogmanay - or at least hagnonayse - is recorded in England long before it was recorded in Scotland (1443 v. 1604). The original meaning of the word was as a demand for a new year's gift, rather like trick or treat at Halloween.
Happy new year, sundry and all.
Start where you mean to end up.
1. Hae a great Hogmanay the noo
2. Could the hog bit come from the Scandinavian hög, meaning high.
?? high morning.
3. Wow, what a nice post. You are right that Hogmanay is a mysterious word and i didn't know where the hog bit comes from . I really enjoyed while i am reading this nice post. | <urn:uuid:8f13619a-509a-43d0-ab6a-cd7afc0faa4b> | https://blog.inkyfool.com/2012/12/french-hogmanay.html | en | 0.942214 | 0.872061 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Commuter Rail Congress DOT Finance High-Speed Rail Intercity Rail President
Will things be different this year?
The question is particularly relevant because the U.S. Government’s rail investment program — its authorization for allocating funds to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will expire this year. Legislation supporting the FRA, as well as Amtrak, the national passenger rail corporation, and improvements to freight rail, is necessary to ensure continuity of funding. Previous bills have authorized funding over five-year increments. In effect, the bills set out how much Congress expects to expend over the next few years, and allows the House and Senate to avoid debating the issue for years at a time.
The Obama Administration has responded to situation by proposing a massive infusion of funds for passenger rail and the creation of a “National High-Performance Rail System.”
In many ways, the Administration’s bill is similar to past attempts at legislating major increases in funding for rail. In 2011, for instance, the government promoted a $53 billion plan to “win the future” with rail lines funded across the country. Yet Congresspeople reacted to the proposal with little interest — and members didn’t have to, because there was no authorization bill expiring. That’s what makes this year different.
The Administration’s proposal practically boils with ambition. Grants for new and improved rail lines would be heavily oriented (70 to 85%) towards “core express” alignments, which include only corridors where electric trains operating hourly at speeds of 125 mph and above run on their own, dedicated tracks. This says a lot about the Administration’s interest in focusing its energies on the “true” high-speed corridors, which at this time are only in development for California and the Northeast.
Grants in the proposal’s “rail service improvement program” would add up to $3.66 billion in the first year of activity but grow significantly over the course of five years, eventually reaching more than $6 billion a year. This would provide a substantial base of funds for serious rail projects.
But the initial allocations of funds would also ensure support for current rail lines. $2.7 billion in the first year of allocations would be dedicated to operating subsidies and projects that bring the Northeast Corridor to a state of good repair by 2025. Operating funds for Amtrak’s long-distance trains would be maintained, but those for state-supported (short-corridor) train lines would be eliminated after five years, in line with the existing law, to be replaced by profitable operations or more state support (or elimination). Amtrak’s fleet, which is on average 27.7 years old, would be upgraded, particularly in the Northeast, by 2018.
Some funding would also be provided for expanding freight capacity, reducing congestion (such as in the Chicago area), implementing Positive Train Control (which theoretically prevents trains from running into one another), and expanding access for the disabled. Much of the support would be dedicated to corridors owned by private freight rail companies.
All of the funds the Administration has proposed for an expansion of passenger rail service would do wonders for the nation’s train network. Yet even $40 billion committed over the next five years would hardly make a dent in the cost of the California High-Speed Rail project ($70-100 billion) and a new, high-speed Northeast Corridor ($150-200 billion). If the government committed similar funds over the course of five-year increments into the future, it would take a minimum of 27.5 years to complete these projects alone, with no spending on anything else. That’s 2041 before there’s true high-speed service on both coasts — at the earliest!
It’s true, of course, that any investment in new rail service will require financial and planning aid from local stakeholders, and these projects could be completed far more quickly if they were infused with local and state funds (as is the case in California).
Between Boston and Washington, the Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Operations Advisory Commission (NEC Commission) is tasked with developing a framework for allocating costs along the corridor. As part of that program, it has created a document that demonstrates the rail line’s critical needs and it will be looking to help Amtrak and the states better coordinate their contributions to the line.
If upgrades are going to be made to the line, it will be necessary to ensure that states along the corridor all benefit, and that they all contribute. Determining the best way for them to do that is an incredibly important task that has yet to be fully laid out. Should New Jersey, for instance, aid Amtrak in paying for a new line, if that clears capacity for New Jersey Transit’s commuter rail division? Should Delaware contribute to the cost of a new corridor if no fast trains stop in the state? How much should the states and cities along the line pay to run local trains down the intercity tracks? Before any serious aid is provided to the Northeast, there must be an agreed-upon system for Northeastern stakeholders to answer these questions.
If the FRA reauthorization provided increasing funds to a better managed railroad, assuming increasing funding from other sources (presumably including private players), there is reason to think that Obama’s program could provide substantial improvements to the nation’s foremost passenger rail corridor.
Ultimately, however, the question of whether the Administration’s proposal has any technical merit is irrelevant when there is no political backing for an increase in appropriations for rail service in the United States.
The White House’s claim that its reauthorization would be “paid for” is, quite frankly, a specious argument. To pay for infrastructure, the government wants to use money (“savings generated by capping Overseas Contingency Operations”) that it “would have spent” on foreign wars but that is no longer necessary because the country is pulling out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet when the government is operating with a massive deficit, it’s hard to argue that that money is being shifted from one government use to another. It’s debt, pure and simple.
There are plenty of reasons to argue about the benefits of deficit spending, particularly in the midst of the continued recession, but let’s at least be honest about where the money is coming from.
There was an alternative — the Administration could have proposed a new source of revenue to pay for the program, such as an expansion in the fuel tax or the creation of a vehicle-miles travelled fee. That’s needed all sorts of transportation: The Congressional Budget Office reported last week that the Transportation Trust Fund (sourced from fuel taxes) will have a more than $90 billion shortfall by 2023 (and be operating in a deficit by 2015), imperiling any new spending on highways or urban transit.
Yet the Obama White House has shown itself hostile to any tax increase program that would affect lower- and middle-class families, and the Congress has certainly not pushed back with its own proposals. Thus the use of money “that would have” been spent on the wars to pay for the new transportation proposals. With little interest in increasing deficit spending, unfortunately, that proposal, too, is likely to go nowhere. The status quo will be reinforced.
This is a particularly sad state of affairs because the need is there, particularly in the Northeast. The FRA is currently developing a rail investment plan for the Corridor through a public consultation process, and a preliminary alternatives report was released this month, indicating a series of at least possible improvements. Amtrak, too, is desperately pushing for funds, arguing in recent weeks that the Corridor is suffering from an “investment crisis.”
Moreover, many Republicans in Congress have argued repeatedly that they are interested in funding improved rail service on the Northeast Corridor. Former House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chair John Mica (R-FL) said in 2011 that “We have to redirect our efforts to having at least one success in high-speed rail in the nation. And that high-speed rail success needs to be here in the Northeast Corridor.” Though he didn’t propose any specific way to pay for those improvements, his interest is indicative of the GOP’s willingness to compromise. (And indeed, current Committee Chair Bill Shuster also has been a supporter of Amtrak.)
Perhaps the Administration’s policies should recognize this? On the other hand, the government clearly has no interest in shutting out three-fourths of the nation from rail grants.
Anthony Foxx, who will be nominated as the government’s next Secretary of the Department of Transportation this week, has proven to be a strong supporter of rail transportation in his position as mayor of Charlotte. But his ability to promote the Administration’s rail reauthorization bill has yet to be proven. Current DOT Secretary Ray LaHood, formerly a Republican Congressman from rural Illinois, has failed to produce bipartisan consensus in favor of more transportation investment over the past four years. How can Mr. Foxx, a strong urban Democrat, do so? The House remains controlled by the GOP and the Senate may shift in that direction after next year’s midterms.
There’s a lot to be excited about the rail reauthorization bill the Administration has proposed, but there is more to be skeptical of. We have a long way to go before there is solid support in Washington for more spending on rail transportation.
66 replies on “The Administration Refreshes Its Push for a Major Infusion of Funds into the National Rail Program”
“Good luck getting that through Congress.”
There is an alternative. If the Administration were actually serious about funding major passenger rail upgrades and if it were willing to have Amtrak rather than the States implement them, then it could use residual TARP funds, which have already been appropriated: Amtrak would issue $40B (or whatever) worth of securities which Treasury would buy, just as General Motors issued $50B worth of securities which Treasury bought when Obama was saving the automobile industry using TARP.
There would presumably need to be a plan for Amtrak to spend the money, coordinated with FRA and the affected States and freight railroads, prior to the actual funding transaction. State contributions (and State-sponsored corridor operations made possible by the upgrades) could be negotiated as part of that plan.
There are, I believe, on the order of $100B TARP funds which were appropriated but never spent. Republican Senators have warned that Obama should not use those as a “slush fund”, but it’s unclear what, if anything, they could do if he did use them to fund what has always been claimed as one of his policy priorities.
Yep. As long as the unconstitutional 60-vote rule (so-called “filibuster”) remains in place, you know that a majority of the US Senate does not WANT the government to function.
The Federal Reserve has unlimited funding abilities (it can print money), and after the TARP law, basically no restrictions on how it spends its money.
However, the Obama administration is completely unwilling to consider doing anything which hints of “outside the Beltway” thinking, even to deal with crises which threaten the survival of the human race (such as global warming). So expect Obama to do absolutely nothing. It’s not clear that he gives a damn.
That’s handwaving-ish negativity more or less for the sake of bitching; under what authority does the President 1) order the Fed, as an agency with heads appointed by but independent of the federal gov’t, to do anything? 2) to use money appropriated by Congress for a period of time which has, as the link I provided above, expired?
There’s a process by which budgets are created and monies disbursed; the President is not a dictator and cannot do so by fiat. If you want movement, bitch to your Congressional representatives (which I have done); it’s not clear that bitching on the interweb is worth a goddamn.
The President, in fact, IS a dictator and CAN do so by fiat. I don’t like it, but that is the world we live in and people should get used to it.
Perhaps you haven’t noticed that the President currently claims the right to order “targeted killings” (i.e. assassinations) of American citizens without any judicial or legislative oversight whatsoever.
This is the key power of a dictator.
This is what makes Presidential claims of powerlessness so ludicrous.
He’s already claiming the right to just murder people. That means he can do damn near anything.
(Someone objects? They’re “terrorists” and he can subject them to “targeted killings”.)
He has the power, much though I wish he did NOT have the power.
Where he chooses to use the power is telling, as it shows what he actually cares about. Murdering Muslims in foreign countries, he cares about. Protecting big oil companies, he cares about. Protecting criminal bankers, he cares about. Transportation, he doesn’t care about.
Funding transportation he cares about. He signed the legislation removing air traffic control from the sequester didn’t he? But hasn’t been talking about what the sequester is doing to things like unemployment benefits. Or chemotherapy drugs. Or HeadStart. or….
Jesus Christ, man; not everything is the apocalypse.
This was supposed to be a discussion concerning whether or not TARP funds are available for the President to spend domestically, and descended into a non-sequiter concerning the expansion of drone programs outside of the country.
For the record, I’d likely agree with you concerning the issues raised by that (although the fact that it exists at all, and was essentially begun in the 2 administrations preceding his mean that blame is shared by many). But to lay out the powers that have been acceded to the President, for good or ill, to prosecute military actions outside the borders of the US alongside the constitutionally-framed process for disbursing tax monies is utterly ludicrous.
Take a breath, and figure out what in which context each of these is happening, and ask whether or not different rules are applied.
Yes. I admire Nathaniel’s contributions to this site and others.
But sorry, this has gone waaay off-topic.
Really, if the President has the power to murder American citizens with no oversight, it overrides pretty much all other powers.
I suspect that most Americans have, at this point, decided that they prefer Julius Caesar to the Roman Senate. Is this actually *surprising*, giving the way the US Senate is behaving?
If Obama doesn’t take direct control of the budget, forcing Congress to obey his will, then likely pretty soon some President will, and at that point it will be *popular*. Obama is merely avoiding using powers which, in practice, he already has.
The alternative is for Congress to regain its sanity and start performing oversight, but that seems extremely unlikely. Could happen, I suppose. I don’t see it happening; the US Senate really has degenerated into the Caesar-era Roman Senate.
Thanks for writing up the upcoming bankruptcy of HTF and the funding source(s) Obama should consider:
Unless a new revenue source is proposed, it’s possible that all transit funding could be stricken from the HTF just as transportation enhanced was in MAP 21.
If people who support rail got serious about the costs and the projects, they would probably have a better chance of getting projects funded. When you see poorly thought out projects such California high speed rail, it is hard to want to spend any money on rail projects. It also seems the money is being used to support poor labor practices. I agree that there is a need for rail improvements, especially in the north east. But the lack of serious thought for these very large sums of money makes me skeptical.
Why do you consider California’s high speed rail project poorly planned?
It covers virtually all of California’s major population centers. The planning process so far has always selected the least expensive and practical routes where possible. The California High Speed Rail Authority does listen to local governments. When you consider long term needs and not short term, the project is cheaper and more efficient than conventional transportation, and makes a lot of sense.
One what basis are you criticizing the California HSR project? Route? Funding? Political support?
As for route, it appears to be well-planned because it connects growing metro areas in the Central Valley to the Bay Area and LA. That will mitigate a ton of auto traffic and air pollution. It will also cut air traffic for the busiest sub 500 mile route in North America.
As for funding, of course it and every other high merit HSR project could use billions more in funding. That shortcoming is a function of Republicans in Congress, not planning.
As for political support, the governor, state legislature, and affected mayors all support the project. Only a handful of GOP legislators are against it. Even there numbers will wilt as project shovels turn, see
Route, planning and practicality are all questionable. There is no cost benefit analysis that justifies this project. It does not appear to fit with the current or long term west coast lifestyle. No one can seem to identify the costs and the benefits seem to be inflated. There is a big question whether this project can be completed or even get to a point that it would be useful. But the expectation is that the US government should spend big bucks to complete the first part of the project. These projects make it very hard to justify any expenditure of additional federal taxpayer dollars.
“It does not appear to fit with the current or long term west coast lifestyle.” Do you mean the ‘drive everywhere’ lifestyle? Because I would think that 2-in-a-row 2/3 supermajorities of LA voters choosing to increase sales taxes to fast-track transit projects would be strong evidence that that’s (rapidly becoming, if not having already been) a stereotype less based in reality than it is in media-driven perception.
The Government Accounting Office (GAO) found California’s ridership and revenue projections all reasonable. Its Amtrak routes are among the busiest in Amtrak’s system.
Ken wrote, “There is no cost benefit analysis that justifies this project. It does not appear to fit with the current or long term west coast lifestyle.” Beg to differ with you Ken, but 79 mph California Amtrak service already prove that people ride trains in NorCal and SoCal.
Have you been stuck on I-5 Freeway traffic between SoCal and NorCal? Plenty of people, like myself, are fed up with the hassles for short LA-SF flights. We will switch from planes to trains for that sub-3 hour trip on day 1.
In terms of financial justification, California is adding another 15 million people by 2040, many millions in the Central Valley route of California HSR. Given the existing I-5 and S-99 highway congestion and flight delays/airport congestion, there is no No-Build option.
California has to either spend $125-160 billion on a second north-south freeway plus several airport expansions or spend $70-80 billion on California HSR, the only sustainable energy solution for the state.
If you want to argue against HSR in America, find a case you can rationally defend.
Kes said:
“There is no cost benefit analysis that justifies [the California H.S.R.] project.”
O.K.; can you show us ONE “cost benefit analysis” which justifies autocentrism?!
I’m sorry; I can only guess why Ken’s name ended up being “Kes.”
My error was certainly not intentional.
Explain to me how people get to train station without cars in central valley?
How do people get around when they arrive stations?
Actually, except SF, all CA metro area are centric. you are not reducing the cars.
Train lover love train so much but they can’t never get rid of cars. If they do, they will ask the government to improve public transportation in each metro area. Don’t make each metro area that you need cars to enjoy train ride.
The hope is that households will not need two or more cars per, but can get along with one less car and save $10,000 a year.
The others in the household can share a ride, walk, bike, call a taxi, or use transit. If you’re in a residential part of Bakersfield and you have a ticket on HSR to L.A., usually you’ll be able to get family/friend/taxi/transit to drop you off at the station. You don’t need to buy an SUV to get to the train station and back.
I know it must challenge your imagination, but truly, many millions of people in the US have lives worth living and don’t even own a lousy sedan, much less an SUV.
I’m was in a employee assistance class that our former employer sponsored for the people who were downsized. They had researched us and were able to tell us that if we broadened our job search to Manhattan we’d be making $10,000 dollars a year more. Which started the whining about then paying New York State and New York City income taxes. At the time those taxes maxed out at ten percent. So the choice was to take a $40,000 dollar a year job in New Jersey or %50,000 dollar a year job and pay $2,000 to $3,000 dollars in New York income taxes. And if you lived close enough to the bus or train station be able to get rid of the second car. Even if the car was a clunker the insurance, registration and maintenance on it would pay for your monthly ticket…..
How do people get around when they arrive stations?
The same thing they do when they go to the airport. Or the Greyhound station. Though the Greyhound station will probably be in the train station.
Even if a lot of people use cars to get to and from train stations in the Central Valley, what bearing does that have on the success of High Speed Rail?
If you fly into LAX, you might take a taxi, you might get picked up, you might take a shuttle, you might drive your own car (if you’ve been paying for it to be expensively parked) or you might take a bus to get to where you’re going.
How would this be any different with High Speed Rail? I fail to see the relevance.
A major reason why Obama’s push for spending on rail is unlikely to go anywhere fast is because there is no public interest in it, unlike the Sequestration’s forced reduction in air-traffic controllers’ working hours, which caused a public outcry from influential business travelers over delayed flights. This public outcry forced even this do-nothing Congress to come up with at least a temporary fix (to get the public’s wrath off their collective backs).
By contrast, the American public is seemingly quite content with the transportation status-quo, and it has many bigger fish to fry.
Mr., Ms. and Mrs. Traveling Public could hardly care less about spending on rail in any form. Why? There is enough gasoline to go around for everyone, and although no one is particularly happy about current gas prices, they’re not hurting most people’s pocketbooks all that much, either (except those belonging to low-income people, who by and large have little influence on Congress).
Unless and until large numbers of Americans pressure Congress and the Administration into funnelling significant federal money into rail, the air and road-centric status-quo will continue to prevail, probably for decades.
It will take a truly catastrophic event to grab the American public’s attention and motivate it to press for major changes in transportation policy. As for rail’s helping the climate, any benefits rail could offer are unlikely to come soon enough to have any significant effect on global warming. (We’ve probably already crossed the point of no return on controlling and reversing global warming.)
Let’s face it, Americans are and will for a long time to come continue to be a drive-and-fly nation. Trains, even high-speed ones, are to them futuristic daydreamings on a par with Star Wars fantasy.
Given this political climate, rail is unlikely to receive serious funding or priority public support anytime soon. Instead it is at best likely to continue to stagnate, and may very well retreat in significance (especially if both houses of Congress fall to conservative Republicans next year, and succeed in de-funding Amtrak). Amtrak may soon no longer even have a national network – only a handful of regional state-funded routes and the Northeast Corridor.
Commuter rail and some patchwork fixes to the Northeast Corridor are the only rail projects that are likely to receive any significant federal funding in the years ahead.
This is the reality we rail advocates face. I see no way out of it.
Fact is, polling repeatedly shows Americans support passenger rail, and want more Amtrak, not less.
“A public opinion survey done for the United Transportation Union found strong support for Amtrak in three conservative, Republican-dominated districts where service exists. Less than a quarter of respondents favored eliminating Amtrak funding.
The survey focused on three districts in Illinois, Missouri, and North Dakota. Even in these traditionally conservative districts – all currently represented by Republicans in the House of Representatives – 65 percent said that Amtrak funding “should continue at current levels or increase” when told eliminating federal assistance would lead to elimination of the service, with only 21 percent of respondents saying they believe funding for Amtrak should be eliminated.”
We should avoid over-promising. Funds for Amtrak come to about 3 cents out of 7,800 in Obama’s budget. Even if we tripled that amount it wouldn’t make a dime’s worth out of 7,800 pennies. Adding 10 million riders from CAHSR would only add a third more to Amtrak’s current total. But it’s worth trying to do what we can do.
We have a dysfunctional Congress, where a group of self-righteous ideologues are doing whatever they can to oppose anything that the Black Man in the White House favors. These haters have no interest in the public interest.
But we should not expect or allow unreconstructed ex-Confederates and Ayn Rand cultists to control our politics forevermore.
Woody, I agree with your points, except I would argue that the same Republicans in Congress would fight just as hard against progressive urban-centric proposals by a “President Hillary Clinton” too. In earlier articles on this blog, a strong case was made that gives insights on the GOP rural vs. Democrat urban divide.
I really think some of these high speed rail projects like a 70 billion to 110 billion cookies for high speed rail in California and 150 billion Cookies for the NEC is quite a bit of some sticker shock which makes the tax payer wounder if they are getting scammed from all these contractors. In terms of the NEC they should a part of this 40 billion dollars to unplug the mayhem at Penn Station in New York City which would allow far more high speed train sets to run down the NEC. In terms of California I really think they should give it small pieces of money in till we heavy construction going on with the existing funds and the costs are not spiraling out of control like a bunch of Cookie Monsters who manage a cookie factory.
Not to mention they should let all the smaller high speed rail projects get most of these funds in that that small high speed rail projects have not run out of control in costs compared to these 100 billion dollar beasts.
The most recent proposals from Amtrak have been for making improvements on the NEC in stages. So Congress can decide to fund new tunnels under the Hudson, or new tunnels under Baltimore, or for ordering 40 new Acela II high-speed trainsets — without committing to spending anything at all anywhere else on the NEC.
Breaking the effort down to pieces should help keep spending to levels that people, and Congress, can understand. Is it worth spending $2 or $3 billion to go faster under Baltimore by replacing tunnels built before the Civil War? Yes. So let’s do it.
As for California HSR, the plans got approval by two-thirds of the California legislature and continue to have support from state and city leaders. There’s still a dust storm of criticism from the usual haters. But when the dust settles, it’s a good project that remains on track.
I don’t see anywhere that costs have run out of control for the stimulus rail projects. The new Tappanzee Bridge looks like a multibillion dollar boondoggle, but that’s for cars, so it’s OK..
My original point was that rail proponents are not serious about improving infrastructure. These are huge expenses and if they are used to maintain the status quo, such as existing labor arrangements and construction approaches, it will be a waste of money. This is the same issue with the Post Office, which needs to change with the times.
There are always complaints about highway construction, but a good portion of the ongoing cost comes directly from the driver, either through gas taxes, gas sales taxes or tolls. A big reason I am a fan of the New York Subway is that the riders pay a good portion of the cost. Not so much for a lot of Amtrak. Improvements are required, especially in the Northeast. Proponents need to show some interest in making these changes correctly.
Amtrak tried to negotiate its way out of some excesses in the existing labor agreements. It bargained its way to a stalemate, and the dead-locked issues went before an arbitrator chosen by the Bushies.
Instead of splitting the contract impasses like Solomon — that unions get their way on half the paragraphs and the management wins on half — Bush’s man ruled in the unions’ favor on every single point up and down. This was a crude but effective attempt to sabotage Amtrak.
So Amtrak is stuck with the contract that the Bushies wanted for it, because those zealots hated passenger trains more than they hated the unions. LOL.
Meanwhile, under Obama/Biden/LaHood/Szabo/Boardman, Amtrak has enjoyed good relations with its workers. Meanwhile the trains are running better and the customer satisfaction measures are getting better. So I’m surprised to hear your complaining about the union situation. Nowadays that front seems pretty quiet.
I don’t get the sense that there’s huge sums to be saved from labor. A few annoying work rules and what? Amtrak often pays less than commuter lines already. Could you break the unions and cut labor costs by 10% across the board? And save how much on total operations? How much compared to, say, lower operating and maintenance costs from getting new equipment?
Amtrak has new electric locomotives on order that it expects to pay for themselves in 6 years with lower costs. My basic math tells me there’s a 16% cut in costs in there. Let’s look to make progress like that, and not look to pick fights that won’t win us anything.
Amtrak’s union work rules are pretty reasonable these days, and apparently there have been more and more agreements to avoid “craft divisions” (improving work rules even more).
The only railroad in the US I can think of where work rules are a huge problem is the infamous Long Island Rail Road.
Who died and transitioned all other commuter rail agencies to OPTO and POP?
Amtrak has higher farebox recovery because it charges enormous fares and has a low peak-to-base ratio. The peak-to-base ratio is a property of the NEC, which mixes cities at ranges that promote many different kinds of travel (business, commuting, leisure, intercity day trip). The rolling stock utilization is still for shit because of the turnaround times, but it would be a lot worse if Amtrak were charged with running trains from Paris to Lyon and Marseille.
I said a “huge” problem.
OPTO is slowly but surely coming everywhere else.
LIRR recently got rid of firemen.
Ken: Amtrak has better farebox recovery (portion paid by the riders) than any local public transportation system in the US.
So I suggest you recalibrate your assumptions and rethink your conclusions.
If you actually add up the costs of road damage from buses, Amtrak arguably has a larger percentage paid by the riders than Greyhound, depending on how you measure. (It’s hard to compare Amtrak or Greyhound to cars, given that trucks and buses do almost all of the road damage.)
Ken said:
“…a good portion of the ongoing cost [of roadway design, construction and maintenance] comes directly from the driver, either through gas taxes, gas sales taxes or tolls.”
This statement is patently false. Still, it’s quite telling. If someone who is interested enough in transportation issues to participate on this site can make such a remark, there is little hope that the general public will be able to see and understand what is really happening.
It’s worth it to do it before the tunnel has a problem that stops anyone from using it and since we are going to spend a few billion make the new tunnel much faster.
What is nice about them using the two to six billion dollars a year in new rail funding is that they could use it to slowly chip away at the pile of much needed projects. Such as if you where to say to the Tax payers and supporters for Amtrak we are going to use three billion dollars of this money to replace a 1870’s worn out dangerous railroad tunnel with a modern high speed rail tunnel that can carry trains though it at over 90 to 100 miles on hour compared to 20 to 30 miles on hour that is a good argument for this project. Another one would be to use a billion to 500 million dollars to replace some of the large aging double track railroad bridges and replace them with four track wide railroad bridges which would also raise speed.Another good thing about buying a new railroad tunnel is that it’s a one time up front cost and will be around for hundreds of years after you build it.
I really think the reason why Amtrak needs so much tax payer money is that it’s two to three more trains on the NEC ever handled during it’s live even at the peak of the 1930’s.
Given committed HSR projects in the NEC, CA, Midwest, DC-Charlotte, we really need to invest $36B/6 years. All of these projects are targeting 110-220 mph with higher frequency trains proven to boost ridership and approach or surpass profitability.
BTW, Obama has gone down from $54B/6 years that he originally proposed in 2009/10.
I really think the reason they like the Tappanzee Bridge is getting to be built is the fact that they can make money off of sky high tolls off of it at five to eight dollars a pop. Along with that Amtrak really doesn’t have the political power that the cars running congress have.
The toll on the Tappan Zee already is five dollars for a round trip. To pay off 6 billion dollars with the traffic they are predicting the tolls would have to around 20 per round trip.
Ocean: there shouldn’t be sticker shock. The US government is wasting roughly $500,000,000,000 on the military every year, about equal to the sum total military spending of every other country in the world.
For that money, we are alienating the populations of many, many countries and breeding terrorists, while getting a reputation as a country which can’t win a war.
As long as this is going on, NO government project which costs less than $100,000,000,000 should give anyone sticker shock.
This is the only way I’ve been able to explain it to people who have sticker shock — point out that they’re looking at the wrong thing.
While I might agree on parts of your claims, I find it naive and improper to use these kind of “since we spend 100x on program A we shouldn’t take a serious look of expenses of x on program B
Even if one agrees with a far more robust transportation infrastructure investment plan for the Federal Government, that doesn’t mean because it would cost far less than military expenses it shouldn’t be scrutinized.
Amtrak is not the most inefficient transportation agency, but just because it expenses are a “pittance” in the federal budget it doesn’t mean improvements shouldn’t be made (like subcontract dinning cars to external parties if this costs less than having federal employees cooking and serving meals, or adopting an automated-only (online, phone, machines) ticketing policy, or lowering wages of common occupations (not exclusive to railways) to current private market levels.
If AmtraK was to suddenly double it’s ridership it’s expenses wouldn’t double. There are many cases where improving service makes it break even and improving it more makes it profitable.
Andre L., Can you direct my attention to a site anything like this one, where military expenses are scrutinized by tea party spending vigilantes and ordinary citizens? Or is such scrutiny confined to ideological targets — government programs that serve the non-rich?
Anyway, thanks for letting us know ‘how much you think you know’ about how to save at Amtrak.
You know, they must be really stupid at Amtrak if they’ve never thought of outsourcing dining car service. So thanks for suggesting they look into that.
Wow, the savings from automated-only — no exceptions! — online ticketing. Of course, if grandma doesn’t have a credit card or debit card, or ever use one because she’s old and stuck in her ways and born poor and stupid, well, tuff for granny. And of course, Amtrak has already adopted online ticketing, now available to everyone with a pad or a smart phone. But now if Amtrak will just get rid of those last cash-only granny type hold-outs, that will make a huge difference … somehow. Sure it will.
But let’s get down to it. You suggest lowering the wages of ‘common occupations’ to current private market levels. I guess you mean to the current market level for labor in China. Well, we’re getting there. But while I think I smell that your sympathies lie with those in elite ‘uncommon’ occupations, really the next step should be to cut the incomes of the barely rich. They’re a bunch of overpaid slackers, no doubt about it, and hard-working Chinamen deserve to take their swell jobs.
If we can reduce the wages of everyone in this country, those who don’t work for wages might end up better off — or not. Surely they’d feel even more superior to all those who’ll be working for lower wages. That’s an important national goal, isn’t it?
Raising the wages of the millions of underpaid Americans instead, well, that would probably be Socialism or something. Yeah, right.
Exactly my point.
Seems about right. Total spending of $4, $5, $6 billion would give a billion plus every year to CAHSR and the NEC. That’s a good start.
I’m not sure the Amtrak organization or anybody is ready to simultaneously order 40 and more new Acela II trainsets, dig new tunnels under Baltimore and under the Hudson, build billion-dollar bridges in Jersey and Maryland, rebuild Penn Station, South Station, and Union Station, meanwhile revamping the catenaries and the electric system to power them, etc. So if they keep working on the Gateway into Penn Station and add one or two more projects a year, I’m OK with that pace.
On the other coast, CAHSR has more federal money already granted (plus the bond issue money, plus a few hundred million to come from carbon taxes) than they can spend this year or next and maybe the next. So pour on another billion a year while the project picks up speed and reaches the “no-turning-back” point.
Otherwise, the Keystone Corridor might qualify for some of that 70 to 85% share. But half a billion could get everything west of Philly city limits going 110mph or even 125-mph. Closer in, with the SEPTA trains sharing, maybe another half a billion? So $200 million a year to Pennsylvania over five years seems right.
Sadly, there’s not that many “shovel-ready” opportunities to use the 30 to 15% that would be available for non-core, non-electrified routes. Forget Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Georgia, Texas due to the crazies. Florida, too, unless next year’s election is good.
New York State could use a billion NYC-Albany-Buffalo, if the plans have advanced and Gov Cuomo finds room in his heart for anything besides a multi-billion dollar bridge for autos boondoggle.
Illinois could use a billion for more CREATE projects like Grand Crossing and the rest of the route to the Indiana border. It could use another billion to help finish the upgrades on the St Louis-Chicago corridor.
Virginia and North Carolina are working on plans to rebuild a short-cut Richmond-Petersburg-Raliegh. Maybe they could usefully spend half a billion over the next five years. Maybe.
But seriously, no state is really ready to spend half a billion here or there. They’d need a year or two just to get the final drawings made. And then the environmental studies.
Best and fastest way to use the non-core, non-electrified money would be to order a thousand or more new NextGen coaches and a few hundred more NextGen locomotives to upgrade Amtrak’s currently operating trains.
You’re forgetting us here in The Soviet of Washington. We have plenty of opportunities for spending money toward reaching 125-level service. Once the Point Defiance Bypass is completed, we’ll need to begin adding a third track between Vancouver (WA) and Longview, then eventually all the way to Nisqually.
If BC sticks with its commitment to the Seattle-Vancouver BC service and the threatened coal trains start to roll, there will be a need for capacity improvements north of Everett, possibly including a tunnel under Chuckanut Mountain.
So, lots of opportunities…..
OK, I’m ready to see more spending in Washington, and in Oregon too. But I don’t think they’re ready. Oregon hasn’t even picked the route to improve.
The stimulus came when there’d already been a lot of planning for piecemeal upgrades on the Cascades. The windfall funds telescoped 10 or 12 years of projects into Obama’s second term. LOL.
And when this round of work is finished, they’ll add two more Talgo train sets. Due to unexpected developments, they could get two more Talgo train sets currently in storage. But they’ll need more work to add capacity before they could actually put those wasted trains to work.
Hope somebody is working hard on the next round of projects. (Maybe including a special task force in charge of drastically reducing the landslide risk.) But it takes a lot of time and planning to get “shovel-ready”.
Let’s say that Washington, and Oregon, would be able to use any federal funds that come their way. Alas, we can say no such thing about Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa. If their DOTs had any partial plans in the files, the crazies have probably burned them.
The MWRRI had fairly detailed plans, if I remember rightly. At least for those routes that were expected to generate surpluses — Chicago-Indianopolis-Cincinnati and Chicago-Ft Wayne-Cleveland — the States could be bypassed: Amtrak funded to implement an updated MWRRI plan.
tbert upthread corrected me on the TARP money. But, whether the funds come from the Executive or Congress, in some cases it makes sense for Amtrak to implement rather than trust the States to.
I hope the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative stuff is detailed. But I bet they don’t have the environmental clearances yet. So it’s the time frame that worries me.
Completely agree that we should be moving away from the state-partners formula. Too many crazies, in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and now North Carolina ain’t looking so good.
It should be the exact opposite of what the Brookings Institution naively advocated. Do NOT give control of funding to the states, so that the craziest one can kill an entire route.
The million-plus passenger corridors should be developed by Amtrak with federal funding as part of the national system. Routes like Cleveland-, Cincinnati-, Indianapolis-, Detroit-, Des Moines-, Twin Cities-, and Madison-Milwaukee-Chicago are too important to let any one state veto them.
You hit the nation on the head
Amtrak & Obama have to sell the big vision, not the state-by-state vision. Simultaneously, they need to assure people that the goal is also to connect HSR to the West Coast.
The Point Defiance website says that they aren’t fully engineered yet, so you’re right.
The engineering for the third track between Vancouver and Kelso could be funded though. Since that is an active Class 1 Primary Main Route I think the the only environmental impact assessments that would be required would be at wetlands and river crossings. As I understand it, BNSF does own enough land to add a third track.
There is one very shovel ready project in Washington which was just deferred for another year but could go with Federal funding: the replacement of the old Milwaukee Road wooden trestle just east of the new “Freighthouse Square” Tacoma station.
It seems to me that in Northern California, Amtrak has replaced Greyhound as the preferred non-auto transportation. Amtrak California has more trips between San Francisco and Sacramento than Greyhound now, and Amtrak Thruway buses complement the trains for service up into the Sacramento Valley.
Some members of congress are starting to make noises of tax reform.
Myself, I have always thought that funding for good balanced transportation infrastructure be it a gas tax, carbon tax, or vehicle miles travelled fee should be part of and included in any tax reform package. It makes perfect sense to me. But members of congress with their fossilized brains do not have the capacity to comprehend. And of course people do not want anything to come between them and their automobile dependent ways.
I say open up, a balanced transportation policy and funding for its infrastructure will not hurt; and the benefits would be fantastic.
The crash on Metro-North this evening illustrates the value of the FRA standards for commuter equipment. Fortunately the wreck was just a side-swipe resulting from a derailment at speed. But imagine what might have happened had the cars not been those ponderous, but extremely rigid FRA-compliant vehicles.
They use a lot of energy, but they save lives in crashes. No doubt about it.
I see that this topic of government chosing to invest or not in transport comes again and again, so I think it might be interresting to mention that I have written a simulation game in which the player is the president or prime minister and can do anything he wishes, such as decreasing taxes or increasing the transport investment. I the end I think that it shows how the investment in rail infrastructure is a tiny portion of the government expenses and any willing government could increase the rail investment greatly. I utilized real data from governments around the world to calculate how much in average countries expend on various things and the investment in rail is insignificant in comparison to the rest.
Anyway, the main point is that you can download it and have fun =)
True Democracy 1.0 for Android. Download for free now to your Android telephone. In this game you take the lead of your country in a realistic political simulation game. You are free to choose any kind of political action that you want while in power, from increasing the retirement pensions to decreasing taxes. But beware that every action has an effect in your voters, in the economy and in your government debt. Real data from government budgets and economical series were utilized to create the model of the game engine. Guide your nation until the next election, when voters decide who takes the lead of the nation. If you lose the election, the game does not end. Another party will rule and you can wait until it an economic crisis or something else which brings you back to power!
Here’s a nasty gut punch from a famously “activist court”: the DC Circuit. Go to Railpace Hot News” for a report on the court’s invalidation of the law which gave Amtrak the right to request penalties for failure to give passenger trains priority. The posting is on July 2.
We are about to see reliability go into the crapper even worse than it already is, especially on Uncle Pete.
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NC members in Amazon affilate program
1. DonnaCSmith profile image84
DonnaCSmithposted 7 years ago
Did you get this email message from Amazon? They don't give the name of the law so I haven't been able to find it. Wondered if this was a scam, or really from Amazon. I didn't follow their links, etc.
"We regret to inform you that the North Carolina state legislature (the General Assembly) appears ready to enact an unconstitutional tax collection scheme that would leave Amazon.com little choice but to end its relationships with North Carolina-based Associates. You are receiving this e-mail because our records indicate that you are an Amazon Associate and resident of North Carolina.
Please note that this is not an immediate termination notice and you are still a valued participant in the Associates Program. All referral fees earned on qualified traffic will continue to be paid as planned.
But because the new law is drafted to go into effect once enacted – which could happen in the next two weeks – we will have to terminate the participation of all North Carolina residents in the Amazon Associates program on or before that same day. After the termination day, we will no longer pay any referral fees for customers referred to Amazon.com or Endless.com nor will we accept new applications for the Associates program from North Carolina residents."
2. JaCee profile image60
JaCeeposted 7 years ago
I got the email also but when I searched at the state's website I couldn't find anything about this at all. But I did search the web and found that several other people got the same email.
I wonder if they will let us know when and if they terminate NC residents or is this the only email we will get.
The email really isn't all that clear on what is going on. I wish they would give us more information as what is going to happen.
3. 0
\Brenda Scullyposted 7 years ago
4. suziecat7 profile image81
suziecat7posted 7 years ago
Amazon itself calls it unconstitutional. I'm also trying to find out what I can and make a stink.
5. 0
Nelle Hoxieposted 7 years ago
This type of law passed in New York state and caused many affiliates to be dropped from dozens of affiliate programs such as CafePress. It is under consideration in many other states.
6. fortunerep profile image62
fortunerepposted 7 years ago
I am fron NC and have not rec. this email or it is lost because my mail box is overflowing. Kinda wierd. Had not made money with Amazon but feel we should have the same rights.
7. 0
Nelle Hoxieposted 7 years ago
fortunerep don't forget we each live in different states with different laws. And if your state implements this, Amazon will cut you lose. Just because Amazon says it's illegal doesn't make it illeagal.
Basically these laws say if a company has a physical presence in a state, then the company has to pay local sales taxes. These types state law usually say that affiliates are a physical presence in the state.
But each state law is written a bit differently, so you need to read the legislation. I would contact my state rep, if I were you.
I think the more interesting response, will be from Hubpages. Will they work with other companies to give more affiliate options than Ebay and Amazon.
1. johnr54 profile image70
johnr54posted 7 years ago in reply to this
The problem is that many other merchants are quick to drop affiliates once a law like this is passed. Here's a list of merchants dropping NY affiliates, and it's quite long.
8. 0
Nelle Hoxieposted 7 years ago
Here's a link about this situation. It was started during the New York State tax debate. It is also following the practice in other states. You can find out what's happened to other affiliates. I just checked, there is info on North Caronlina and links to the legislation.
9. dineane profile image84
dineaneposted 7 years ago
Thanks for the info, Nelle. I was just starting to see a little increase at Amazon, too :-(
10. 0
Nelle Hoxieposted 7 years ago
Don't give up hope, contact those folks at nyaffiliatevoice and learn how to fight it.
A similiar tax law was just defeated in Maryland. Contact your state rep, and explain to him how it affects you. Most have no idea of what affiliates are. Usually they are sympathetic to small business owners.
11. DonnaCSmith profile image84
DonnaCSmithposted 7 years ago
LOL, well if its a law I guess it is not illegal. But, they don't say what the law is, and I get a weekly newsletter from my state Senator and I haven't seen anything I would guess it is about. I emailed him a copy of the letter. If I hear back will update.
12. Lissie profile image85
Lissieposted 7 years ago
I understand the law change is that as a NC affiliate Amazon would have to pay NC sales tax on any sale you were an affiliate for. Obviously impossible to track and too expensive for them - they dropped NY affiliates for the same reason.
The law is due to pass within 2 weeks
I suggest you "move" interstate -or at least your postal address does...
1. Silver Rose profile image78
Silver Roseposted 7 years ago in reply to this
It's quite bizarre they are going after the little people like that - as you say, it's expensive to track.
Here in the UK we have Value Added Tax (VAT), but it's only levied if you makes sales of more than £50,000 (circa $80,000). Below that, the small business/sole trader is exempt from the tax. The exemption was introduced because it's just too expensive to collect from the small person, plus they understand the pressures small businesses are under.
If your state is desperate for tax income and doesn't want to borrow further, it might be worth suggesting to your politicians a compromise of a cut-off threshold under which you would be exempt. That way they will be able to tax the big guys who run all those huge affiliate-related sites, but work-at-home moms will be safe.
13. Lissie profile image85
Lissieposted 7 years ago
Another solution (from someone who knows US laws) is to start a LLC in Nevada with a Nevada address and then just get your mail forwarded
14. ysdata profile image57
ysdataposted 7 years ago
Delaware is also a tax free state
15. ysdata profile image57
ysdataposted 7 years ago
I just did some research on the Sales Tax issue. This is not a new development. Apparently, there are many more states ready to pass the law. I have written a hub with my finds, which includes videos and links to other resources that maybe helpful.
16. 0
rethansmithposted 7 years ago
I have been cut from quite a few affiliate programs due to NY passing the law.
Luckily, Amazon has kept New Yorkers on board, perhaps because of such a large market / large affiliate corps being headquartered in NYC?
1. embitca profile image81
embitcaposted 7 years ago in reply to this
Amazon decided to pay the taxes in NY because they had also brought a suit in NY as well, which they had expected to win and win quickly. I believe that suit was thrown out however, so things could change in NY re Amazon anytime.
17. R. Blue profile image59
R. Blueposted 7 years ago
It wasn't a scam...I got it too...and it was on TV here in Raleigh. Not that I give a crap....I don't write here for the money anyway.
18. 0
newsworthyposted 7 years ago
It appears it was published Friday at San Francisco, Wall Street Journal Market Watch
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon … siteid=rss
19. 0
Nelle Hoxieposted 7 years ago
Lissie, it's not difficult or expensive to track the state and charge sales tax, when you consider the computer power and software capability of Amazon.
Amazon just doesn't want to increase the price of their products. So they are getting rid of affiliates because they are considered to be a physical presence in the state. And it's the physical presence that triggers the tax payment.
20. 0
newsworthyposted 7 years ago
The same legislation for Internet tax has been protested by Amazon for Rhode Island, Connecticut and California recently.
On Friday, Rhode Island Senate passed a budget including Internet tax and is expected to be signed by the governor.
It is thought that other states will follow suit.
Will Amazon dump them all?
21. 0
Nelle Hoxieposted 7 years ago
sure they'll dump all the American affiliates. They've got the rest of the world to push business to them. If you're writing on hubpages does it matter if you live in Paris, France or Paris, Tennessee. All the same to Amazon. They'll just outsource us, to the rest of the world.
22. 0
newsworthyposted 7 years ago
Would the same apply to Google Adsense affiliates?
23. 0
Nelle Hoxieposted 7 years ago
Gee I hope not! I haven't heard of this happening.
But there is hope. Some companies in the affected states especially NY have told their affiliates that they can't send out direct mail, email, or do PPC. Because that would make them active sales people - and make them a presence in the state. As opposed to just advertizers. The affiliate signs a document agreeing to these addtional terms. And all is good
I thought this might be what Amazon was up to, when they told their affiliates in the US that they could no longer send traffic to Amazon with PPC. But apparently not.
24. 0
newsworthyposted 7 years ago
The email came from Google today. It instructs me that it has mailed a pin number to my home address. I have to assign the pin number to my Adsense account before payout issuance.
I thought possibly that this is a preliminary to something special.
Maybe Im being paranoid, with all the fuss.
25. Misha profile image75
Mishaposted 7 years ago
You are being paranoid smile
26. 0
newsworthyposted 7 years ago
Thanks for your reassurance Misha. Im off of it now that you have checked my phobia.
So much for Internet taxes and affiliate changes. I'm headed to research Tom's of Maine long-lasting care apricot deodorant. Not only trial and error of the product but to see if I could possibly get a tax break for ordering Tom's of Maine natural care on the internet.
Because I'm sure the store where I bought Tom's of Maine 12 hour long-lasting odor protection paid taxes to get it shipped here. I then paid my state's tax for my underarm to smell like apricots. I'm going to see how much state taxes are in Maine because I dont think that I paid taxes to Tom in Maine to smell like an apricot, and without using the internet.
I have my doubts that either finding will kill the funk. But for now, long-lasting is whats important.
Coffee and beignet to the North Carolina Amazon affiliates who worked so hard.
27. 0
Nelle Hoxieposted 7 years ago
I use Toms of Main honeysuckle rose. Coffee and beignet, reminds me of a hot and sweltry night in New Orleans at Cafe du Monde. There was this guy with a telescope on the sidewalk and we kept paying to look at the stars. It was a very fun night.
28. 0
rethansmithposted 7 years ago
So what happens when all states get greedy and pass the legislation?
Does Amazon abandon associates in the US altogether? Or do they simply cave to the pressure?
29. johnr54 profile image70
johnr54posted 7 years ago
This is one area where the Squidoo affiliate model where Squidoo is handling the payments is better than the Hubpages model where Amazon deals with all of us individually.
If Hubpages were the affiliate that Amazon was dealing with, I'm sure they could get Amazon's attention because the aggregate sales is quite large when you look at 100% of the sales all of us get.
But that would require Hubpages to handle all the sales tracking and payments, as opposed to just a few lines of code to stuff our affiliate code into 60% of the impressions.
30. 0
Nelle Hoxieposted 7 years ago
So if you sell an Amazon Product at Squidoo, which percentage commissin do you receive 4,6,6.5, or 7? And are you paid by paypal?
31. johnr54 profile image70
johnr54posted 7 years ago
Don't get me wrong, I actually like the Hubpages model better, but for those who are getting dropped by Amazon, it clearly is not good.
Squidoo is not very transparent on how much your cut it, but for the sales I've seen it appears to be a little under 3%. That needs to be compared to 60% of your Hubpages, since you don't get 100% of your impressions. So if you are currently making about 7% on your Amazon sales, then that is effectively 60%x7%, or about 4.2% on average.
The payouts for Squidoo do come through Paypal, and it comes from Squidoo, not Amazon.
The caveat in all this is that for me, at least, both the traffic and the conversions are pathetic at Squidoo.
32. 0
Nelle Hoxieposted 7 years ago
I still like the fact that I know where I stand with how many products I sell. I have lots of other sites that I can combine with my Hubs to keep my percentage up at Amazon.
And I haven't seen traffic like this in years. I couldn't be happier than I am with hubpages.
33. fortunerep profile image62
fortunerepposted 7 years ago
I just realized my account was closed today, I am from NC
1. 0
Nelle Hoxieposted 7 years ago in reply to this
I'm so sorry. I hope you can make it up with adsense and Ebay. | <urn:uuid:30150136-a8c6-4cec-8873-8db3f0f8828a> | http://hubpages.com/community/forum/15910/nc-members-in-amazon-affilate-program | en | 0.96343 | 0.062731 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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New Study Explains Why Some People are Always Hungry
New research forms a connection between metabolism and hunger pangs.
Have you ever felt hungry just a few hours after engorging in a calorie-rich meal? According to new research, there's a key reason why that's happening—and it has nothing to with your cravings. In fact, your blood sugar levels may be to blame.
A new study from PREDICT (aka the largest ongoing nutritional research program in the world), and led by researchers at King's College London and health science company ZOE, recently published in the journal Nature Metabolism examined why some people struggle to lose weight even when they're following calorie-controlled diets.
For two weeks, researchers collected exhaustive data on blood sugar responses and other markers for health from nearly 1,100 people after they ate standardized breakfasts and meals of their choosing. In total, they examined more than 8,000 breakfasts and 70,000 meals. While the standard breakfasts included muffins containing the same amount of calories, they had varying amounts of protein, carbs, fat, and fiber. (Related: The 7 Healthiest Foods to Eat Right Now)
The participants wore stick-on continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to measure their blood sugar levels during the two-week period so researchers could see how well their bodies processed sugar. They even wore a device that monitored their levels during the day while they were active and at night while they were sleeping. Finally, participants were asked to record when they felt feelings of hunger and alertness using a phone app in tandem with notes on what and when they ate throughout the day.
While past studies have primarily analyzed fluctuations in blood sugar during the first two hours after a meal, referred to as the blood sugar peak, the team of researchers for this study found significant dips in blood sugar actually occurred within two to four hours after that initial peak.
Even though they consumed the exact same meals, those who experienced the most significant dips (known as the big dippers) had a 9% increase in hunger and waited about 30 minutes less than little dippers before having their next meal. Big dippers also ate 75 more calories in the three-to-four-hour window after breakfast and an estimated 312 calories more over the course of the day than little dippers.
"It has long been suspected that blood sugar levels play an important role in controlling hunger, but the results from previous studies have been inconclusive," Dr. Sarah Berry, study author and researcher from King's College in London, said in a statement.
"We've now shown that sugar dips are a better predictor of hunger and subsequent calorie intake than the initial blood sugar peak response after eating, changing how we think about the relationship between blood sugar levels and the food we eat."
The study found no correlation between age, BMI, or body weight between big and little dippers. However, men tended to have slightly larger dips than women. It truly comes down to knowing your own metabolism. Essentially, understanding how your blood sugar levels fluctuate after eating meals can help you choose the foods that will help keep blood sugar levels stable so that you stay full for longer.
For example, if you're someone who likes to eat granola in the morning, but you always find yourself starving by 11:30 a.m., consider opting for foods with a lower glycemic index that won't cause your blood sugar levels to rise and fall as quickly. Low GI breakfast foods include full-fat or Greek yogurt with nuts and fruit, as well as whole wheat tortillas with peanut butter and a sprinkle of raisins.
For more, be sure to check out Foods That Increase Your Diabetes Risk, Says Expert. And to get all the latest news delivered right to your email inbox every day, sign up for our newsletter!
Cheyenne Buckingham
Filed Under | <urn:uuid:54b1854d-b3db-4536-9086-de86a4a5c959> | https://www.eatthis.com/news-study-explains-why-some-people-are-always-hungry/ | en | 0.962686 | 0.381408 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Peter Kafka
Recent Posts by Peter Kafka
That’s the offer, sort of, being made by something called Datz Music Lounge.
The details, from MusicWeek (via Coolfer): You give the company 100 British pounds, and for the next year you can download all the music you want. And because you’re downloading the files in the unencrypted MP3 format, they are yours to keep, and yours to do whatever you want with: Play them on any Apple (AAPL) iPod or iPhone, make copies, burn them to CDs, etc.
Are there catches? Of course: The offer is only available to U.K. residents, who have to use a special USB dongle to make the Datz software work, and it only works on PCs running Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows, for now. Most crucially, the company only has music from two of the big four music labels–EMI and Warner Music Group (WMG)–and it doesn’t even have all of those companies’ new releases, but a “wide selection of new music released in 2009.”
But play along, for just a minute. Say Datz does end up striking deals with Sony (SNE) and Universal Music Group (and the other big indies), and does end up getting most of the majors’ catalogs. And say Datz is still able to keep the price point about the same: Something in the $15 a month range for unlimited music to own. Could that work, from both a consumer and industry perspective?
Yes. It could.
That’s around the same price point as music subscription services offered by RealNetworks’ (RNWK) Rhapsody and Napster’s (NAPS)/Best Buy’s (BBY) The big difference: Those services only give you access to music, not ownership. And while I’m not hung up on owning music as long as I can get what I want when I want, I’m in the minority on this one.
But if you could hang on to your music–and not have to worry about what format you’re using, since MP3s will work on all formats–then that seems like a compelling offer. The thought of shelling out $162 in advance will likely give people pause, but presumably Datz could figure out a way to extract the payments, à la the mobile carriers, over a one-year period.
Meanwhile, $162 a year is much, much more than most people were ever spending on CDs, even during the format’s boom years. And those, obviously, are long gone. Today the industry would be pleased if the average consumer spent $20 a year on music, no matter what format it’s in.
And yes, we know what many of you are going to say: Why pay for music at all when I can steal whatever I want? Or the faux-sophisticated alternate version: Music should be free! Because it can be replicated for no marginal cost!
Well, can’t argue with that–unless you’re in favor of compensating people who create intellectual property for their work. And I’m one of those old-fashioned types who still thinks that’s a good idea. Hope Datz can pull this off.
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Saturday, October 26, 2013
Kathy Donohue, RN
School Nurse
Clarendon Hills Middle School
630 887 4260 extension 1826
In our opinion, the Investigation should determine:
1. How much money was raised each year by the Donoroo fundraiser? -- MONEY IN
2. When, to whom and what $ amounts of funds raised by Donoroo were donated to the charities that were originally identified as the recipients of the funds. A full accounting of the checks paid must be made. -- MONEY OUT
3. Does the MONEY IN = MONEY OUT?
4. Who was in charge of determining the amounts of the funds that were to go each year to each of the identified charitable organizations?
5. Who was responsible for authorizing and signing the checks issued to each of the charities with the Donoroo funds?
6. What occurred to make Ms. Donahue aware that some of the charities had not been paid?
7. Why did some of the charities not receive any payments for some of the years the Donoroo Concerts were held? Who made the decision not to send funds to those charities?
8. How could the CHMS Principal not know (as reported in the Doings' article) until this past summer that some of the charities had not been paid? Isn't he the administrator in charge of all funds that are spent by CHMS?
9. What funds were spent by CHMS on set up costs to host the Donoroo Concerts and were the funds supposed to come out of the $ raised each year?
10. How could the CHMS Principal state (as quoted in the Doings' article) that "I was never fully aware that the account was only to support the charities?" What exactly does this statement mean? What did the principal think the funds could be used for and why would he think that it was for anything other than donations to the identified charities?
11. The CHMS "Gives Back Fund."
-- What exactly is its defined purpose?
-- How is the "Gives Back Fund" funded? Is it only funded with Donoroo Concert funds?
-- Who decided what percentage of the Donoroo funds would go into the "Gives Back Fund?"
-- What guidelines existed to determine what qualified as a "need" that could/should be funded with a donation from the "Gives Back Fund?"
-- Were Gives Back Funds only used to address "students in need?"
12. According to the Doings' article, last month (September), the following charities received donations made with funds raised by the Donoroo Concerts: Honor Flight organization -- $1500, Lurie Children's Foundation -- $250, Engineers Without Borders Organization $3423. These amounts total $5173. This total is much greater than the $687.74 in funds that the Doings' article reports was spent on a "new sound board and a couple of other items that were used for Donoroo and other events." So the question is, where was the rest of the money being kept? In what fund? And for what purpose?
13. What assurance will the donors of $ given to the Donoroo fundraiser have that the donations did not end up as suggested by "Anonymous Concerned Teacher" in a "slush fund for the CHMS music department" that "was condoned by the principal, mismanaged and misused?"
14. Why did the CHMS Principal wait until October 24, 2013 to send a letter to CHMS parents telling them that the Donoroo Concerts have been terminated, one full week after staff was notified not by him, but by the school nurse's email? What exactly did the letter say? We would invite any parent who received the letter to send us a copy of the text so that we can publish it for everyone to read.
15. But it is not just the CHMS principal that we need answers from. We need them from Superintendent Schuster. According to the Doings' article, Dr. Schuster is quoted as saying "We have nothing to hide." Well it sure seems as if that's exactly what was going on until a "non-administrator" came forward with her email to staff. So we ask:
-- When did Dr. Schuster learn about the Donoroo issues and why didn't she notify CHMS parents and community members who made donations with the understanding that four charities would receive the proceeds from the fundraiser?
-- Why wasn't the Board of Education notified by Dr. Schuster of the Donoroo issues, especially after future events were cancelled as a result of the funding issues, until the issues were raised by others?
-- Isn't the Superintendent who is responsible for overseeing the day to day operations and management of the district ultimately responsible for the financial oversight of fundraising money donated during a school sponsored event with the purpose of being donated to external charities?
16. Who is going to determine if any financial improprieties or worse yet, illegalities, took place? And if it is determined that improprieties or illegalities did occur, who will be held accountable and how will they be held accountable?
Ultimately, the question we are all asking is "Will the School Board Really Get to the Bottom of the Donoroo Debacle?" The answer to that question will determine whether we have elected public officials of the highest integrity who will not turn away from finding out the truth.
Ms. Donohue deserves the truth; the students who performed during Donoroo concerts deserve the truth; the parents, staff and community members who made donations to Donoroo deserve the truth; but most importantly, the truth needs to be determined for Gavin Bradford, in whose memory the Donoroo fundraisers were started.
Stay Tuned....
Anonymous said...
October 24, 2013
Dear CHMS Families,
I want to first thank you for a very successful start to the 2013-14 school year. Our CHMS Eagles have shown outstanding commitment to schoolwork, activities, the arts and athletics.
Our students engage in many service-learning opportunities. In the past, one of our most successful service programs was Donoroo, a talent show and charity fundraiser held in the spring. Donoroo has been a wonderful event for our community over the past six years. This summer, we learned that some of the organizations set to benefit from the Donoroo event had not yet received our donations. All charities have now received our contributions, and the account has been closed. Additionally, purchases such as a soundboard and cables for an amplifier were charged to the Donoroo account in the 2012-13 school year. While these purchases were used in part to help to support the Donoroo event, the account has since been reimbursed because we use this equipment for other school functions.
The CHMS staff is exploring new ideas to continue an end-of-year event that will support our tradition of the CHMS school community giving back to others. We appreciate your continued support as we strive to educate your children in so much more than the academic areas.
Griffin L. Sonntag, Principal
The Parents said...
Thank you to Anonymous for sending us the letter parents received on Fridsy from the CHMS principal. We have only one comment at this time: The minimization and casual attitude shown by the principal to what is and should be treated as a serious situation is truly unbelievable.
The Parents said...
Correction to last comment: Friday, not Fridsy.
Anonymous said...
I found The Doings article concerning. It stated, "Sonntag said he was unaware until the past summer that some of the charities had not yet been paid...That led us to look at things that had been paid out of the Donoroo account..."
Isn't Principal Sonntag required to sign ALL checks written for this and all other CHMS accounts? He did not know he had not signed checks to the charities for the entire year? Does this call into question other checks and other accounts?
When Dr Schuster stated in The Doings article, "We recognize now that we need to provide more training to staff who will be involved as sponsors so that they understand the accounting that goes along with it when money is involved." I hope she was referring to Principal Sonntag, the signer of the checks. Seems quite simple; money in from Donoroo--money out to charities.
Principal Sonntag also stated in The Doings article, "I was never fully aware that the account was only to support the charities." Ask your middle schooler where the money from Donoroo goes. They will tell you to charities. How can a highly paid administrator not know what your child knows? Again, quite simple; money in from Donoroo--money out to charities.
Anonymous said...
CHMS Parent:
I am completely offended that Mr Sonntag, who obviously did not write the letter sent out to parents, can actually think parents will just overlook the fraud that took place in his building, over which he is totally responsible. So the fact I help "donate" $7000 to a composer to write a new song for retirees; the fact that so many other whims of Sonntag's were funded with the Donoroo money is now justified because the reimbursements have been made and the account is closed. Does he think we are stupid or what? And if rumors are true that Dr. Schuster has used taxpayer dollars (from district funds) to cover all the checks that were written out of the Donoroo account, then she is just as guilty. I am not paying taxes to fix the mistakes of administrators. Some heads need to roll.
Anonymous said...
Something shady is going on over there, and it seems like Sonntag and administration is trying to cover up their misappropriation of funds. What a shame that the Donohue family should have to suffer through this gross negligence after their loss of Gavin Donohue, whom this event was supposed to remember and honor. | <urn:uuid:02824928-82f1-49c1-8805-b17732b284d4> | http://www.hold181accountable.com/2013/10/the-donoroo-debacle-has-public-been.html | en | 0.977307 | 0.188573 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Exclusive Interview: Girl In Snow Author Danya Kukafka
Given that she spends her days editing other people’s words as an assistant editor for Riverhead Books, you might think the last thing Danya Kukafka would want to do is write a novel of her own. But Kukafka doesn’t follow your…rules. Which is why she’s written Girl In Snow (hardcover, digital), a novel that author Paula Hawkins (The Girl On The Train) calls, “…a perfectly-paced and tautly-plotted thriller.”
Danya Kukafka Girl In Snow
Photo Credit: Elliot Ross
To begin, what is Girl In Snow about?
Girl In Snow is about a small community in the aftermath of a tragedy. I was interested in exploring the difference between love and obsession, and how what we see is often different from what is true.
Where did the original idea for Girl In Snow originate, and how different is the final version from that initial idea?
Girl In Snow is told from three characters’ perspective, but it started out with just one: Cameron, the teenage boy who fears he may have killed his classmate. The original idea started with the creation of this character, and everything else flowered out around that. The final version is very different from the initial idea, and much wider in scope.
My understanding is that Girl In Snow started off as a short story. But how much of that story wound up incorporated into Girl In Snow? Like would there be a point, outside of curiosity, for you to publish that short story?
One of the three characters is Jade, a teenage girl who lives in this small Colorado community, and her perspective began with a short piece I wrote for a class at NYU. This piece is actually published already, in The Gallatin Review, though it’s very different from Jade’s world as Girl In Snow readers know it now. If you’d like to check it out, the story is called “Zap,” and I think it’s still available online. I’m not a big short story writer in general, though. Never say never, but I can’t really see a collection in my future.
Girl In Snow has been called a thriller, a whodunit, and a mystery. What would you call it?
The book intentionally has elements of mystery, but to me it’s more a coming of age story. Each of the three characters must come to terms with truths about themselves, and unbury their own secrets, and in this sense it’s more about their journeys than it is about who killed Lucinda Hayes.
Are there any authors or specific books that you think were a big influence on what you wrote in Girl In Snow or how you wrote it?
Yes! I obsessively read both [Jeffrey Eugenides’] The Virgin Suicides and [Stephen Chbosky’s] The Perks Of Being A Wallflower as I was writing this book. The first, for perspective, and the second for tone.
What about non-literary influences such as movies or TV shows? Do you think any of them had an impact on Girl In Snow?
I came to Twin Peaks when the book was almost finished, but I wish I’d seen it earlier. It has such a wonderful ominous feeling at its core. But during the writing process, I did love to watch such shows as True Detective, and I grew up watching Law & Order, C.S.I., and Criminal Minds. My mom loves them.
Given your last name, I’m sure you’re tired of Kafka jokes. But do you think there’s anything Kafka-esque about Girl In Snow? Or did you intentional avoid doing anything Kafka esque because it would be too obvious?
Ha! I like this question. I’ll admit, I haven’t actually read much Kafka.
Now, a lot of mystery novels these days are not stand-alone books, but are instead part of a series, usually centered around the cop or detective who solved the mystery. So is Girl In Snow the first in a series?
Girl In Snow is definitely a stand-alone novel. I wrote it with the intention of satisfying a reader in the end, and I won’t revisit these characters again in my writing. I love them, but I’m excited to write something completely new.
Now, I don’t want to get you in trouble, but during the day you work as an assistant editor for Riverhead Books. Are you at all worried that you might lose your job if your boss finds a typo or grammatical error in Girl In Snow?
Luckily, work as a book editor is much more structure and style-based. We leave typos and grammatical errors to the copyeditors. My job as an assistant editor is more about shaping a book in a fundamental sense, and I love being able to think artistically about books that are not my own.
My colleagues at Riverhead have also been very supportive of my writing career so, hopefully, I’ll be there for a while.
So has there been any interesting in making a movie or TV show based on Girl In Snow?
There has been some talk of it, and I have signed with an agent for film. I think either a film or a television show would be wonderful, but I think I personally lean towards a feature film, since this book is so self-contained. Though if someone wanted to make a television show, I’d be fascinated by the idea and execution.
If it was going to be made into a film or show, who would you like them to cast in the lead roles and why them?
Oh, dear. Hmmm. If Paul Dano were still the age he was in Little Miss Sunshine, I think he’d make a great Cameron. We’d need someone brooding, but still lovable.
Danya Kukafka Girl In Snow
Finally, if someone really enjoys Girl In Snow, what would you suggest they read next and why that?
If they enjoyed the teenage aspects of the book, I’d recommend Marlena by Julie Buntin, or The Mothers by Brit Bennett, which I was lucky to work on at Riverhead. If they liked the more subtle mystery aspects, they might like Dare Me or The Fever by Megan Abbott, or Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. I also always recommend The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.
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%d bloggers like this: | <urn:uuid:0dbac03e-23f5-4a28-94d8-ed1095b7108c> | https://paulsemel.com/exclusive-interview-girl-snow-author-danya-kukafka/ | en | 0.967004 | 0.02998 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Family road trip retraces Burke and Wills expedition to tell story through theatre
Posted June 20, 2017 07:53:15
A Victorian family of four is recreating history by packing their life into a small caravan with the hope of sharing the story of explorers Burke and Wills through a theatre show.
In the late 1800s, Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills left Melbourne to travel north in what became one of Australia's most renowned colonial tragedies.
Now, husband and wife Simon and Tina Storey are doing the same, acting in a self-written play with their 14-year-old daughter Amelie, while their nine-year-old son Sam works as the stage manager.
"We are the Storey Players and we are presenting a show about Burke and Wills and it's told from the perspective of John King, who was the only survivor," Mr Storey said.
"I play the ghost of John King and my daughter plays a teenager who doesn't want to learn about history, but slowly gets drawn into the story."
The Storeys left home in May and have performed the show through Victoria, western New South Wales and now Queensland, where they are travelling up to the Gulf of Carpentaria.
"This is the route that Burke and Wills took and this is the launch of our theatre company — this is the first so we've created and we're going to create more," Mr Storey said.
Overcome by wide open spaces
The family moved from Germany four years ago and knew very little about the colonial stories behind Australia's early history.
"Coming from Germany, it's just so different here. It's so big and so wide … and we thought a lot about the explorers and what it was like for them to arrive here," Ms Storey said.
This sense of empathy led to idea of retracing Burke and Wills' journey, a trip Ms Storey said was teaching them a lot about Australia and its people.
"This is such a great thing about Australia and Australians that you can actually do this and travel around with your family," she said.
"The school actually supports you and says 'That's a great thing and do it. Yes, do a bit of math on the way', but aside from that the kids learned so much.
"We also do those drama workshops and the remote schools, and you meet the people and for a short time you're part of the community and that's fascinating," Ms Storey said.
Her daughter agreed.
"[I am learning] all sorts of things about birds, animals, plants and about Aboriginal communities, and performing as well is amazing," Amelie said.
Sharing stories and connecting as a family
Mr Storey said while the caravanning holiday had strengthened the family's relationship, it marked the infancy of the theatre company.
"We want this to be the launch of our company and our hope would be that we can continue writing shows about Australian explorers," Mr Storey said.
"It's easy to forget that European Australia is only a couple hundred years old, and very brave men went out and tried to explore it.
"There are still interesting stories about the relationship between the Europeans and the Indigenous people that can be told."
Topics: theatre, regional, family, mount-isa-4825 | <urn:uuid:7a0f6a4d-da08-42c3-90fc-6d68ecbec31b> | http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-20/family-road-trip-tells-burke-and-wills-story-through-theatre/8630386 | en | 0.982205 | 0.023139 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Belt's day-night discrepancy evening out
Belt's day-night discrepancy evening out
NEW YORK -- Brandon Belt is in the process of making a statistical flaw look obsolete.
The Giants first baseman entered Tuesday's series opener against the Mets with a lopsided difference in his batting average at night (.324 in 91 games) and during the day (.213 in 47 games). The disparity has dwindled since Belt implemented the changes that have accounted for his second-half surge -- standing deeper in the batter's box and changing his grip on the bat.
Belt owns a five-game hitting streak in day games, batting .368 (7-for-19) in that span.
"As soon as I started figuring things out, my production got better," he said.
Belt wasn't certain how the day-night differences developed in the first place.
"I don't think there's anything you can do, except get some sleep," he said, joking. "It might be a matter of doing something a little different to make sure my body is awake and ready for the game."
| <urn:uuid:d86b67a3-daf4-4f71-89a2-1e584d653411> | http://m.giants.mlb.com/news/article/60876596/sfgiants-first-baseman-brandon-belts-day-night-discrepancy-evening-out | en | 0.976314 | 0.026598 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
House of Commons Hansard #94 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was violence.
Order Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
7:15 p.m.
John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON
Madam Speaker, I certainly appreciate the history lesson from the government House leader. I know he has focused a lot on predictability, but let us look at what is happening in the here and now.
There is not one legislature in this country that is working under a hybrid system. Even the mother Parliament in Britain suspended its hybrid system last July and returned to an in-person system. There are other legislatures around the world that have returned to an in-person system.
The reality is that public health agencies, not just here in Ontario but in Quebec and all over the country, have limited the restrictions. There are no more mandates, for example. The government, just this week, announced that. We could revisit this in August and September and, with an agreement, return to a hybrid format if the need is there.
I do not understand why the government House leader will not accept that as the current reality of today.
Order Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
7:15 p.m.
Mark Holland Liberal Ajax, ON
Madam Speaker, there is no obligation on the hon. House leader for the Conservatives or on his colleagues to use any of these provisions. They can show up to this place 100% of the time. When they have had COVID or been sick, they have used these provisions and voted through them. If they would rather not vote or participate and not represent their constituents using these tools, that is an option they have.
On this side of the aisle, we do not find it acceptable for somebody who is sick to attend. As I said, we had five individuals just last week, as we are still in the middle of this pandemic, who had COVID, and despite that, they were able to continue to participate. They did not come in here and they did not spread it. I think that is responsible, and it allows us to continue to do our work. Rather than debating this for an entire summer, leading up to having to deal with it again in the fall, this would provide us with the stability and clarity we need.
Order Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
7:15 p.m.
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. However, I am concerned about government accountability when we use the hybrid model.
It is clear, and studies have shown, that when we study important bills in committee, the informal aspect that allows us to truly engage with our colleagues to look for constructive ways to improve things is not there.
I wonder about how the hybrid approach affects accountability, especially in a context where there are a lot of worrisome signals about democracy. We have seen a government run by closure motions in recent weeks.
It is important to respect the democratic aspect, and this hybrid approach can sometimes make things a little more complicated, especially in committee. I would like to know what my colleague thinks about this.
Order Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
7:15 p.m.
Mark Holland Liberal Ajax, ON
Madam Speaker, obviously, questions can be asked in committee both within and outside the hybrid system. Many people appeared in committee virtually, and we were able to ask them questions.
During the most difficult period of the pandemic for businesses and individuals, it was entirely possible for members to ask questions, participate in debates and exercise all their rights as members in virtual mode.
Generally speaking, most people now participate in person, but the hybrid system enables us to adapt to changing health situations while maintaining the flexibility to answer questions.
Order Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
7:20 p.m.
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Madam Speaker, we heard some really interesting, to put it mildly, arguments from the Conservatives over the last number of days. I think what we have said very clearly is that virtual work is work and that we are still in the pandemic and expecting another wave, possibly in the early fall.
We know that a hybrid Parliament is a family-friendly Parliament. A hybrid Parliament is also a climate-smart Parliament in the era of climate change when we should be reducing our carbon footprint.
First of all, does the hon. member believe that the Conservatives need to get out of the time warp that they are in, and should Parliament not be a model workplace? Should we not be opening the doors to new and smarter and safer ways of doing work, meaning hybrid work?
Order Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
7:20 p.m.
Mark Holland Liberal Ajax, ON
Madam Speaker, I think what we demonstrated in this vast, enormous country, the second-largest country in the world, where we traverse enormous distances, is that in this global pandemic, a virtual environment allowed us to do our work despite those incredible challenges. There will be a separate process at the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to look at its utility outside of the public health circumstance.
Inside the public health circumstance, when we take people from all ends of the country, put them in airplanes, put them in a small room and then send them back to their home communities, that is not a safe environment. That is not a good way for us to be operating and that is why, in a continuing pandemic, we need to have the flexibility to keep people safe.
Order Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
7:20 p.m.
Winnipeg North Manitoba
Madam Speaker, I would like to use myself as an example. I was one of the members who tested positive for COVID and was unable to participate in person, and this was just last week. My choice was between coming into the chamber knowing that I had tested positive for COVID or using the hybrid provisions to attend.
Because the hybrid format was there, I was able to be engaged in debates, at least on a few occasions. I was also able to vote. I think it sends a message to my constituents in terms of doing the right thing by not coming here and speaking and voting. In that way I can protect my colleagues and ultimately demonstrate leadership in the community.
Order Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
7:20 p.m.
Mark Holland Liberal Ajax, ON
Madam Speaker, my friend and colleague raises a very important point. All members of Parliament take their responsibility to represent their communities as sacrosanct, as something that is deep within them. This would put members in a situation of having to choose whether to not represent their constituents, not show up, not participate and not vote, or come in and get everybody sick.
Remember, if we come in sick because we want to represent our constituents and be able to vote and be able to participate in a critical debate, we are going to make other people in the chamber sick, and then those sick people will go back to every corner of the country and make everybody else sick.
In talking about ending this in the middle of a pandemic, we are literally incentivizing members to come in sick so that they can represent their constituents and then act as super-spreaders across the country. That is not responsible.
I understand that there is a debate about how we can or cannot use these provisions outside of a pandemic circumstance, but since we continue to be in a pandemic right now, shutting off that option and incentivizing members to come in sick is not the right approach.
Order Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
7:20 p.m.
Earl Dreeshen Conservative Red Deer—Mountain View, AB
Madam Speaker, the NDP and the Liberals seem to feel they know a lot more than a lot of the public health officials and any other parliamentarians around the country, and, as the hon. member from the Conservatives mentioned earlier, more than all other parliaments around the world.
What makes Canada so much more special that we can carve out this small niche for ourselves when the rest of the world is moving on?
Order Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
7:25 p.m.
Mark Holland Liberal Ajax, ON
Madam Speaker, I think I just explained what is different about the Canadian circumstance, and I do not think I could have been any clearer in my example.
When people are forced to make a choice between coming to work sick, representing their constituents, voting and participating in critical issues, or else staying home and not making people sick, the ramifications in a pandemic, I think, are exceptionally clear. This is particularly the case in a country as big and vast as this country. We are pulling people in from communities all over the second-largest country in the world and putting them into a small, confined space.
Eliminating the ability for them to work when they are sick and incentivizing them to come in when they are ill does not make sense. We continue to be in a pandemic.
This hybrid format makes sense. It would last for a year, and there is every opportunity for the procedure and house affairs committee to take a look at the utility or lack of utility outside of a public circumstance. We deserve to have that debate. It should take place, and I look forward to it.
Order Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
7:25 p.m.
John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON
Madam Speaker, it is with mixed emotions that I stand here tonight to participate in this debate. The emotions are really a misunderstanding of why we are even debating this, and somewhat anger as well that we are actually using up valuable time in this place to debate a futuristic issue that somehow the government House leader is predicting to occur when everything else around the world, including 10 feet outside of this building, has returned to normal.
It does not make any sense to me that we are wasting this time tonight when there are other issues we could be discussing, including the affordability and inflation crisis going on right now. The inflation rate rose to 7.7% today, which is the highest level in 40 years, and we are not seeing any solutions from the government to deal with that.
In fact, earlier today I asked for a unanimous consent motion to deal with an emergency debate on the inflation and affordability crisis given the news of today. Given the fact that Canadians are struggling and suffering under the weight of these financial pressures, and the level of anxiety they are facing right now, I thought it would be prudent to use the time this evening to have a debate on inflation and affordability.
Right now, across this country there is a situation where even the most basic services the government can provide, passport services, are a fiasco. There are lineups right across the country. People are travelling in those small confined spaces: the airplanes that the government House leader just described as being a risk. They are waiting in line for passports. Some have trips coming up in a couple of days and are still waiting for their passports to be processed. In Montreal, we have seen lineups around the building. In North York, there are lineups around the building and down the street.
The most basic government services to be provided are under a complete weight of collapse right now because of the mismanagement of the government. Why are we not talking about that tonight?
One employee in my constituency office, Sarah, is solely dedicated to dealing with passport issues right now. One day last week, she was on the phone waiting for five and a half hours to get through on the MPs' passport line. She waited for five and a half hours. Once she got on to process seven passports to help constituents of mine, she had to be on the phone for another two and a half hours. That is eight hours of her day spent trying to service the people in my riding who were in desperate need of passports because they wanted to travel coming out of the COVID pandemic. This is the type of stuff that we should be discussing, not using valuable real estate or time in this place to talk about the complete collapse of basic services in this country.
The other thing we should be discussing tonight, rather than some futuristic plan of a hybrid Parliament the government House leader and the NDP House leader have cooked up, is the situation going on and the news coming out of Nova Scotia about political interference by the Prime Minister's Office and the public safety minister's office in an investigation into a mass murder that the RCMP on the ground suggested strongly would compromise or jeopardize the investigation. Those are the things we should be talking about.
That is why Conservatives, earlier today, asked for an emergency debate on those issues, and not a motion to return to hybrid Parliament when the rest of the country and the rest of the world is moving on. It just does not make any sense at all that we are in this position.
Earlier, when the government House leader was speaking, he gave a history lesson about when COVID started. I was in this place when COVID started. I believe the Speaker was, too. There was a lot of uncertainty at the time. None of us knew what was happening. We had heard about a virus that was coming. We saw it rage through China, and then it started to rage through Europe. At the time, and I think it was January 27, the member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles called on the government to close the borders to stop this virus from coming into Canada. Shortly after that, we found out we had our first case.
These are the things that Conservatives were trying to do in the absence of any information or any knowledge of what was going on. There was a lot of fear being incited. Even at that time, because of the concern that we had and the request by the hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles to shut down the borders, I remember the government was referring to us as racists. Do members remember that? We were trying to protect Canadians at the time.
On March 13, we found out that the virus was really raging across the country. That is when the decision was made to shut down this place. It was shortly after the election in 2019. In fact, some of the members who were elected in 2019 had an opportunity to sit in this place for only three months before everything basically shut down. It shut down for a full month. I remember being in on those meetings with the leadership team under our then leader, the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle. We were talking about the unknown: talking about the things that were going on, and how we were going to adapt to that.
The issue of hybrid Parliament came up and a return to Parliament, because the nation's business needed to continue. There were serious issues, such as health issues, procurement issues and all of the things that Canadians were facing. Businesses were shutting down, individuals were being kept away from their places of employment, and Parliament had to function. We came up with a system. I give full credit to the House administration staff for the work they did in making sure that our parliamentary democracy was able to function at that time.
There was very limited opportunity for members of Parliament to participate. We had talked about a minimum number being able to be in this chamber, as the development of Zoom came up. None of us had even heard of Zoom at the time, then all of a sudden Zoom became a permanent fixture in our lives to deal with this pandemic. House administration staff started working on that. We started working on a voting app system. At the height of the pandemic, we could rationalize it: we could justify it to ensure that members of this place would be able to participate in the democracy and represent their constituents.
At that time, I sat through the Procedures and House Affairs Committee. We focused on hybrid Parliament. We were focusing on the system. I remember that we were doing it on Zoom at the time. Several concerns came up, not the least of which was the fact that we did not want this to be a permanent-type system for Parliament. I remember that Conservatives and I argued at the time that there had to be some sort of sunset clause: if we got to a certain point, we would not continue with a hybrid Parliament.
There was always the opportunity for House leaders, the leadership team and leaders themselves, to continue with this hybrid system, understanding that there were still things happening and subvariants that were coming in. I recall January 2021 was one of the most traumatizing times that I have dealt with as a public official, and I have been doing this as a city councillor and as a member of Parliament now for 16 years. It was when we dealt with the situation that was going on at Roberta Place: Over 100 seniors died as a result of the delta variant. We were still fighting for vaccines at that time. In fact, we were just starting to get the vaccines.
There were still a lot of things going on back then that required us to be diligent in the safety measures that were being put into place, not the least of which was hybrid Parliament and the voting app. We continued along that line. We continued in that vein.
As we were going through this stuff and dealing with this at PROC, the concern was always the fact that there had to be a time limit. We heard from constitutional experts. We heard from our law clerks. We heard from former speakers. Speaker Milliken appeared before the committee to talk about the peril of continuing through hybrid Parliament and what it would mean to our democratic institution of Parliament, and not least what it would do to other institutions across the country.
The Constitution was clear, and the evidence was clear as it was presented to us at PROC, in that this is the seat of Parliament. This is the seat of power here in Ottawa. It is in the Constitution. It is not through a Zoom call. It is not through a computer camera. It is here in Ottawa, so the warnings that were placed upon us back then were to make sure that this was not going to be permanent. We talked about changes to the Standing Orders, and there were recommendations made through PROC not to have changes to the Standing Orders and not to move to a permanent measure.
As the situation evolved, we continued to evolve with it. We continued to carry on with hybrid Parliament. We continued, and we enhanced the voting app so that people could participate not just at the height of the pandemic, but at the downside of the pandemic.
Here we are today. Everything is opening up: everything except Parliament. Public health agencies across the country, both provincially and federally, have all lifted their mandates. They have lifted their vaccination mandates and their mask mandates. Just this past week, the federal government announced that there were no more vaccine mandates. The world is moving on from COVID. The only two people who are not moving on from COVID are the government House leader and the House leader of the NDP.
It is not just public health agencies. At legislatures around the world and legislatures across the country, both provincially and territorially, no one is using a hybrid system at this point: not even the mother Parliament in England, which stopped using it last July. There is in-person voting and in-person Parliament for members of Parliament. Canada would be an outlier in this. We would be an outlier if the government gets its way, and there is no reason to believe that it will not because of its NDP partners. When we return in September, we are going to be virtual again.
That has come with some significant problems. We have seen it just in the past week. Last night, for example, we saw a server break down and we saw the inability of members to participate in this place. They could not log on. Last week, during a private member's bill, we had a crash of the voting app. It took a little while to accumulate the numbers. Can members imagine if that had been in the middle of a confidence vote? If it had been in the middle of a budget or an estimate vote or even a throne speech, can they imagine the chaos that would have ensued as a result? It would have been unbelievable.
We have also seen, obviously, some embarrassing things over Zoom in the past couple of years. We have seen members who have been caught on camera and embarrassed at great personal consequence. It was a great personal embarrassment not just for them, but for their families as well. It does come with consequences.
It is around here. I have had the privilege, since I became the opposition House leader, to sit on the Board of Internal Economy. I have heard testimony, and I have received and read reports, of the impact that this is having on our interpretation bureau. We have seen a ninefold increase in workplace injuries related to the interpretation bureau, and it is directly attributed to a hybrid Parliament. There are sound issues. We have heard tinnitus issues. It is unbelievable to me that we would continue to put our world-class interpreters in a position where they could sustain further injury as a result of hybrid Parliament.
I have asked the question of what would resolve the workplace injuries with our interpreters. In the reports and in the testimony, the answer is always the same: We have to get back to normal. We have to get back to a situation where interpreters are not wearing headsets, and the sound injury problem is not impacting them to a point like it would not when they were here in person. It is the same thing with committee work, as well.
Notwithstanding all of the public health measures that have been lifted and the public health guidance that has been going on, why are we not thinking about the people who work here? Why are we not thinking about the translation bureau? There is a diminishing pool of interpreters. That is going on right now, and I would suggest that given the importance of bilingualism in this place and the importance of recognizing the French language, we run a real risk of not having the same quality of bilingualism to allow this place to function properly. It is a real challenge with the diminishing pool of interpreters, and it is a problem that can easily be addressed.
We have heard what the solution is. The solution is to return to normal. The interpreters, who are working in the back and who work at committees, are much less likely to be injured if we are here. This is a party that speaks about and has a motive to look after workers, and the NDP at a minimum should be thinking about this, yet these are not even considerations in the decision to continue with hybrid Parliament. They should be, and I cannot overstate how serious this problem is for the people who work here. It is a serious issue.
I have talked about the public health issues. I have also talked about the guidance that has come out of public health agencies. I can walk literally 10 feet out of here and not have the same level of restriction I have within our symbol of democracy. People are not wearing masks and there is no vaccine requirement anymore. Even throughout the course of COVID, there was theatre on the government side. There is video evidence of members sitting in this place who are not wearing their masks, and then all of a sudden the camera gets on them and we can see them putting their masks on.
Despite or notwithstanding the rule in this place that people wear masks, which was determined by the Board of Internal Economy, we have been to receptions recently in the Sir John A. Macdonald Building with 200 or 300 people and nobody was wearing a mask. Everybody was together, talking and socializing. It is theatre. It is not following any evidence and it is not following any science. I have not been given any evidence or science on why we should continue with a hybrid system, other than anecdotal evidence by the government House leader and the NDP House leader.
I often joke about this, but not really, because I am mocking them a bit: They are not doctors but they act like doctors. I have been in situations where I have been talking to the government House leader and the NDP House leader, and they have said that somehow there is some new variant coming from the southern hemisphere in the fall. This is part of their rationale for why we have to continue with this sham hybrid system.
I have asked where the evidence and science are. The last time I checked, the government House leader and the NDP House leader are not world-renowned immunologists, epidemiologists or virologists. Where are they getting this advice? The chief medical officers of health are not talking about further restrictions come the fall. I have not heard any evidence as to why this place needs to continue in a hybrid setting this fall, other than this anecdotal information I am receiving from the government House leader and the NDP House leader.
If there is a reason for us to go back to hybrid, they can show us and provide the evidence as to why. There is no evidence, and that is why it does not make any sense, especially when the world is moving on and no other legislatures around the world are doing what we are doing.
On May 31, I sent a letter to the government House leader, and I circulated it to all the other House leaders and provided a copy to the Speaker. In it, with an understanding that this was the direction the government House leader and the NDP House leader had cooked up, I offered what I thought were very reasonable and practical solutions to not continue with hybrid Parliament in September.
If the rest of the world is returning to normal, businesses are returning to normal and people are going back to work, the signal this Parliament should be sending to people is exactly the reality that is happening outside of this place. People are going back to work. Unvaccinated people are going back to work. We are getting to a point where this is endemic and people are starting to live with this situation. They are starting to take responsibility for protecting themselves.
I wrote a letter to the government House leader, and I thought there were some very reasonable and practical solutions in it. This is what I proposed, and I am putting it on the record for those who did not see it so they can see how reasonable it was:
Therefore, I propose the following arrangements be put in place to succeed the current ones:
Members shall participate in debates or other proceedings in the House of Commons in person, in the House Chamber.
Members shall participate in House committees in person, in committee rooms.
The pre-pandemic practice for witness appearances would be resumed whereby most witnesses will appear in-person while a limited number of witnesses located at some distance from Ottawa could appear by videoconferencing.
That is exactly what we were doing before we started with the hybrid system. I remember sitting at committee with witnesses coming in from Australia. That capability existed and there is no reason we cannot get back to it.
I also said, “Ministers and senior officials would always be expected to appear in person.” That speaks to another issue that I think has gone on as a result of hybrid Parliament, and probably conveniently for the government. We have seen many ministers not show up in this place. I know the government House leader is proposing in this motion that as many ministers as possible show up in the House. Unfortunately, I cannot take him at his word on that.
We have seen, over the course of the last several months, a limited number of ministers in this place. We have seen many of them appear on Zoom. It speaks to an issue of accountability. Ministers, when they are here, are in the hot seat, especially in question period. Sometimes they are prepared and sometimes they are not. However, there have been times when I am sure they have been surrounded by ministerial staff on Zoom and are being handed notes as questions come in. We are not naive. We know that is happening, and when members are here in person, they are far more accountable. Not only that, but the media has an opportunity to question ministers as they walk through scrums, so they are not chasing them through Zoom or sending requests to their offices.
This does speak to an issue of accountability and transparency for a government that, in 2015, ran on the premise that it was going to be accountable and transparent by default. Ministers and seniors officials should always be expected to appear in person.
The other suggestion we made is “No Member of the House of Commons will be denied access to the sittings of the House and the meetings of its committees.” This obviously happened at a time when the Conservatives were proposing that all members be allowed to participate in the House, just as the rest of the country was moving on and the provinces and territories were removing not just their vaccine mandates, but their mask mandates. There were several occasions when the Conservatives tried, through opposition day motions and other motions, to get the government to try to come to its senses on these things. However, it kept holding on and kept controlling the lives of Canadians and their ability to return to some sense of normalcy. That is what this particular request represented.
There was another thing we suggested. I know that the government House leader, when he was up here, talked about disenfranchisement, or the inability of members of Parliament to participate actively in this place. He said that somehow they could not do it without the hybrid system or the voting app.
Going back to the PROC study, this is precisely one of the main concerns we brought up: Members could use this system, if there was no sunset clause or it was made permanent, to perpetually electioneer in their ridings. They could use this system as an excuse, especially if they are in close or tight ridings. Being in their ridings and engaged in their ridings could mean the difference between electoral success or not. To use the voting app and hybrid model as an excuse to perpetually electioneer in their ridings to effectively build their brand was always a concern. It was a concern that I brought up at the procedure and House affairs committee regarding how the system could be used.
If a member becomes sick, is facing an illness or is dealing with a family matter, there are existing rules and standing orders within our procedures and rule books that allow members to pair. They have that ability. We have no problem with setting up pairing for travelling. It means that one vote casts out the other when, for example, a member is sick and is unable to come to Ottawa.
I am not unempathetic and unsympathetic to the plight of those who are sick. I can think of Arnold Chan and what he went through, a Liberal member who developed cancer and unfortunately passed away. I saw him coming into the House at the height of his illness and doing his job to represent his constituents. In that situation, Mr. Chan could have paired with a Conservative member. It is a long-standing practice. It is in the Standing Orders. It is a rule of this place, and we use it when ministers travel, for example.
Why can we not use that type of system to deal with a situation where somebody is dealing with illness, dealing with an injury or dealing with family situations, whether it is a sick family member or even a newborn child? There are things that can be done under the existing Standing Orders.
We therefore proposed this: “Our age-old pairing practices...should be vigorously embraced to support Members with compassionate circumstances to ensure they, and their parties, are not disadvantaged by an unavoidable absence from the House.” We were doing it prepandemic. There is no reason why we cannot do it now—
Interruption to ProceedingsPrivilegeGovernment Orders
7:50 p.m.
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order.
I am sorry that I have to interrupt another Conservative filibuster. I would love to rebut the member for Barrie—Innisfil's comments, but of course, he is stopping and blocking the entire House so that nobody has a right of reply, which is tragic. I will say that the member for Barrie—Innisfil is a very hard-working member of Parliament.
I am rising to add some comments regarding the alleged matter of privilege that was raised earlier today by the member for Calgary Centre regarding the events of yesterday evening.
As members know, yesterday evening a technical interruption prevented some members from participating in House proceedings remotely. My colleagues and I are fierce defenders of the rights of parliamentarians to participate in proceedings remotely, so much so that we actually want to see hybrid proceedings extended as a consequence of the ongoing pandemic and as a useful tool for modern parliamentarians. Ultimately, I do not agree that this is a matter of privilege.
As the government House leader indicated, the events were completely external to anything that is within the control of the House; namely, it was a technological matter. As noted by the government House leader, hybrid proceedings have worked in 99.9% of instances. I certainly hope the Conservatives are not using the matter of privilege, which is a very important proceeding that ought not to be abused, to further a political point.
Unfortunately, as we know, this evening, we do not have the right to reply to the comments of the House leader of the official opposition.
I do somewhat disagree with the government House leader in that I believe that matters external to the control of the House can sometimes infringe on the privileges of a member, but if there were a power outage or a sewer malfunction, I do not believe that these would constitute breaches of privilege. I believe a technological hiccup is akin to these, and not a matter that the House needs to weigh in on or study. This is my submission.
It was not a matter of privilege, because when the matter was brought to the attention of Speaker and the various House leaders, the appropriate action was taken. The Speaker suspended the House, technicians attempted to address the issue, and when it became apparent that this would not be resolved in a timely way, the House adjourned. There was no breach of privilege, as no members were denied the opportunity to participate because no proceedings took place.
Imagine the catch-22 we would be caught in, if due to an inability to participate remotely in a request that the House adjourn, the House were forced to continue sitting and debating something, all the while excluding those who could not log in. That would be preposterous.
I do want to take a moment to thank the Speaker and all the House leaders for the good will that was shown last night when the matter was first raised in suspending and ultimately adjourning. I believe that was the right and appropriate thing to do. I was glad to see all parties take that approach co-operatively. It is unfortunate that that good will from last night is not extending to today, and the Conservatives are not allowing other parties to speak to the motion that is before the House. They are basically shutting down and refusing members of all other parties except themselves the right to speak on behalf of our constituents.
To conclude, I do want to raise one minor complaint, which is that members were not provided further information about the technological glitches of last night until 2:00 p.m. today, despite the Speaker's office providing details to the media. In the future, I believe it would be more appropriate for members to hear directly from the Speaker rather than having to read details in the news.
We will now return to the Conservatives' monopolization of House time.
Interruption to ProceedingsPrivilegeGovernment Orders
7:55 p.m.
I will take the hon. member's comments in deliberation, and the Speaker will return to the House with a ruling.
The hon. House leader of the official opposition.
The House resumed consideration of the motion.
Order Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
7:55 p.m.
John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON
Madam Speaker, I want to thank the NDP House leader for his version of Liberal karaoke. That was very nice, and I appreciate his interjection.
I will continue with what we talked about as far as the pairing situation, which is an option. Since, and well before, Confederation, politicians have contracted serious illnesses, suffered critical injuries, welcomed new children into their families and said tearful farewells to loved ones, among other significant life events. In short, life happens to members of Parliament, just like it does to all other Canadians.
For the first 153 years of Confederation, we ably managed to square our personal circumstances with our professional lives, even if it might not always have been ideal. As unprecedented as some aspects of the pandemic were, the demands on us to balance our personal and parliamentary responsibilities are not, and we can easily revert to the tried and true practices that we know work.
Again, on the issue of pairing within the standing rules and Standing Orders, while pairing has been largely based on a series of customs and practices, with only a tangential appearance in our rules via Standing Order 44.1, we would be open to considering proposals to strengthen these arrangements, to render them more transparent or to empower further individual members. If there were ideas on this front, I would have been happy to entertain them. Otherwise, I suspect that this will come up in the procedure and House affairs committee, as it is charged with studying and issue, which I know the Liberals and the NDP want, and that is a more permanent movement toward a hybrid Parliament.
Speaking personally, I got elected to Parliament with an understanding of what that responsibility was, and it is a great responsibility, as we know, to represent, in my case, the residents of Barrie—Innisfil.
I also understood, and my family understood, that there was a requirement for me to come to Ottawa. Being elected in 2015, and with the pandemic happening in 2020, it was common practice for me, and all of my colleagues, all of us in the House, to show up in the seat of Parliament. There is the constitutional requirement for us to be here in Ottawa.
As difficult as that was, that was a choice I made. It is a choice that all of us make. Notwithstanding some of those family pressures that I highlighted or outlined and some of the demands that go with this job, it is an incredible privilege to be able to sit in this place, to be able to come to Ottawa and represent my constituents, not just to engage in debate, not just to engage in the committee work that we do and interact with all of our colleagues on all sides of the aisle, but to actually sit in this seat and be able to vote and to stand up and be counted in person. Those were the expectations that I had when I was to become a member of Parliament and those expectations continue today.
As I said earlier, one of the issues that came up in the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs was the concern that there would be perpetual electioneering in those close ridings.
I say this with great respect, that if it is one's intent to be elected as a member of Parliament, the reasonable expectation of that intent is to come here to Ottawa. If a person is not willing to do that, if they want to stay in their community to continue to electioneer, perhaps the choice that they should make is to run for mayor, council or school board trustee if they are concerned at all with any imbalance in their lives because, as we know, this is a difficult job and a difficult thing to do, to be away from our family, in some cases, 29 or 31 weeks a year.
It is hard. It is a choice we all make because we want to be here to do the best for the people that we represent and the people in this country.
It is a vast country. It is a transcontinental country, from coast to coast to coast. People get elected to be representatives in our House of Commons and the expectation was, is, and should always be that this is the place that they take their seats. Members can call me a traditionalist. Members can call me a Conservative, as long as they call me someone who believes in our institutions, who believes in the institution of Parliament and who believes in the institution of our democracy.
The challenge I have with everything that has been going on in the last little while is that we have really seen a decline in our democracy. When government ministers are not held to the same account and transparency as they typically are by being here, and not just by us as an opposition but also by the media, it poses challenges.
There is no greater evidence of that than what we have seen over the last couple of months, particularly when we were going through the WE scandal, which was happening a year and a half or two years ago. All of that was happening on Zoom, and there were technological challenges going on with that. It was difficult. It was not the same dynamic as in-person committee meetings or the same fiery exchanges we would see, which is all a healthy part of our democracy.
We saw it recently again with Bill C-11. I am not even sure how many times the chair of the committee has been in Ottawa, but she was chairing a committee virtually on a substantive piece of legislation such as Bill C-11, which the government rammed through. We saw how difficult it was to deal with the amendments going through, and the chair was on Zoom. Anybody who was watching those exchanges in the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage could see just how dysfunctional this system has become, especially when people are not present.
Some of the other things we talked about, as I said, is that we were open-minded to meeting and supporting the pairing needs of all colleagues in this House. The current hybrid system, with minor modifications, could be reactivated in the event of a serious reversal of the current trajectory of public health guidance concerning COVID-19, upon the agreement of recognized parties and House leaders, for a period of time they agree on.
That simply means that, instead of precluding some southern hemisphere variant I have heard about from the two doctor House leaders in this place, why could we not revisit this in August? Why could we not come back in September and look at the situation to see if there was a need to flip to a hybrid Parliament? We have learned our lessons over the past couple of years, and that should be an easy thing to do, so why could we not do that in August or September?
Instead, as I said at outset, here we are in the last couple of days of this session of Parliament before our summer break, and we are dealing with and precluding something none of us can predict. In fact, we can in a way because the world has moved on at this point. Public health measures have been eliminated, but not in this place. There is no reason we cannot come back in August and September to revisit this situation.
I did speak to the government House leader and gave him my word, because I will still be House leader at that point, that if there was a need at that point to flip the switch on a hybrid Parliament and get back to the virtual voting app, we would be open to it. I am not unreasonable. I can read the room. We would be open and amenable to doing that.
Some of the other things we were focused on in my May 31 letter to the other government House leaders is that the arrangements we were talking about could take effect, as I said, after the current arrangements expire, which is happening tomorrow and hence the rush for this, and be in place for a year. The House would be instructed to acquire an adequate supply of N95 face masks to allay the concerns some of our colleagues may have going forward.
This is a suggestion I made. There is no masking requirement outside of this place. I gave the example of members of Parliament, including Liberal members and NDP members, at receptions not wearing masks when they are required to, and even on the parliamentary precinct, so this theatre needs to end.
We are at a point right now where if an individual requires or wants to wear a mask, they should have the option of doing that. Those who choose not to wear a mask, just like the rest of the world and the rest of Canada is going through right now, maybe we can supply them with a higher quality mask like an N95 just to allay their fears and make them feel a little more comfortable. It should be the right of an individual, if they choose, to wear a mask. For those who do not want to wear a mask, they should not have to wear a mask. That was in the proposal.
The procedure and House affairs committee would be instructed to study these arrangements with a view of producing a report next May, ahead of the scheduled expiry of these proposed arrangements.
We believe in the work of committees. We believe in the ability of the procedure and House affairs committee to look at this and to revisit the issue, as we did a couple of years ago, but in anything the committee does, any work it engages in, it should never be under the guise or direction of moving to a more permanent system of hybrid. We should not be doing that. We need to be here in Ottawa.
The tide is turning on this. Just this past week, when the issue of Motion No. 19 came up and the government indicated, with the help of its NDP partners, that it wanted to move to a year's prolongation of the hybrid system, we were starting to see pundits and people who watch this place really start to turn on this and ask why we are not getting back to normal, why we are not getting back to a level of accountability and transparency that this place is designed and structured to do, when everybody else is returning to normal. We have seen editorials that have occurred. Here are some of the comments we have seen in these editorials:
That’s all well and good, but the government has not yet properly addressed the toll the hybrid system is taking on the support staff who make it possible for Parliamentarians to work remotely, especially the interpreters—a limited workforce without whom parliamentary work cannot function.
I addressed that earlier, and I think that we have to be empathetic to the plight of our interpreters and the interpretation bureau. It is becoming a real problem, one that is going to manifest itself if we continue down the path we are on with this hybrid system.
Just the other day, Campbell Clark of The Globe and Mail wrote about this. His editorial piece starts with this:
Another year of hybrid Parliament? No.
If the Liberal government wants to extend this semi-artificial version of the people's house, it can come back to the House of Commons in September and ask for a month. If it absolutely feels another 30 days is needed, it can ask MPs to vote again.
That goes back to the suggestion I made earlier. Why are we dealing with this now? There are so many important issues in this country that we have to deal with, such as affordability, the inflation crisis that is going on, and the fiasco going on with the government's ability to provide the most basic services to Canadians, and of course over the last couple of days we heard about Nova Scotia and political interference. Why we are dealing with this now and not in September is beyond me. This is what causes me great anxiety.
The Toronto Star talked about the decline in our democracy and how we need to get back to some sense of normalcy. That is really the theme of what I am talking about tonight, this decline in our democracy and the fact that the hybrid system is proving itself to be an old and tired system. Yes, it was needed at the height of COVID, but we need to get back to some sense of normalcy. That is what I expect.
One of the other things that we found over the course of the last couple of years was that when Canadians were not allowed to travel, when there were mandates that restricted them from boarding airplanes, the Prime Minister had no problem travelling all over the world. It was hypocritical that he could just get on his government jet and travel anywhere he wanted when Canadians were restricted by the government's policies. We have seen this over the course of the last several years. I gave the example of the chair of the heritage committee, who was sitting in her apartment. I do not know whether she has even been to Ottawa once. She may have, and I have not checked, but certainly not during the course of dealing with this substantive bill. She was sitting there while the committee was doing its work here. It created chaos within the committee. That did not deter the Prime Minister from travelling all over the world when Canadians could not.
I will give members an example of how much the Prime Minister has travelled, just in 2022. On March 4, he went to Toronto. On March 6-11, he went to the U.K., Latvia, Germany and Poland. On March 16-17, he was in Alliston, central Ontario. On March 23-25, he went to Belgium. On March 27-30, he went to Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Williams Lake. On April 8, he went to Hamilton. On April 11-18, he went to Victoria, Edmonton, Laval, and Whistler. He flew from Edmonton to Laval for a morning of promoting the budget on April 13, before flying to Whistler that afternoon to start his vacation. On April 19, he went to Dalhousie, New Brunswick; April 20, Waterloo; April 22, Winnipeg; April 29, Montreal and Toronto. That is half of the list. Here comes the second half: May 2, Windsor; May 3, Montreal; May 6, GTA and Hamilton; May 8-9, Ukraine and Poland; May 17, St. John's, Newfoundland; May 20, Sept-Îles, Quebec; May 23-25, Kamloops, Vancouver, and Saskatoon; May 27-29, Nova Scotia; June 2, Siksika, Alberta; June 5, London, Ontario; June 7-11, Colorado Springs and Los Angeles; and today, the Prime Minister left for Rwanda.
Now, the Prime Minister can fly all over the place. He can go to places where arguably the virus is still active, but parliamentarians cannot come to this place. It just does not connect.
I know that the Prime Minister has a job to do, and I know that he represents Canada around the world, but he can fly to places that do not have the same vaccination status that we do in this country, and put himself at risk. He had COVID last week, and he has had COVID twice in the last couple of months. If he can put himself at risk by doing that, then there is no reason, given the safety measures that are in this place, the option to wear a mask if members choose to and the safety that is in aircraft across this country, why members of Parliament cannot be here, unless, of course, they do not want to be here, unless they want to be in their ridings to perpetually electioneer if they are in a close riding so that they can do everything they can to win the next election, or unless they want to hide behind the virtual Parliament and the voting app. It does not make any sense.
I know there are members who are flying across the country and perhaps not coming here, but we can check. There is public disclosure, and we know where people can go. People are flying to other parts of the country, but they are not coming here. Why? This is their job. This is what they were elected to do.
I am going to make a suggestion, and I may bring it up at the BOIE committee, for members who want to be here on a part-time basis and who do not want to be in Parliament. There are many situations where apartments around this precinct are being paid for, in some cases $2,500 a month, and not being used. Why are taxpayers expected to pay for those apartments if members do want to be here? I think it is a fair question. Maybe there are other expenses that are being put in, and we can certainly look at that. However, if members do not want to be here, in their proper seats, then why are taxpayers subsidizing their apartments here, which are sitting empty? I think that is a fair question to ask.
As I said, the tide is turning. I was hoping, by sending that letter on May 31, that we would actually engage in and initiate some consensus. I was really hoping that the government House leader and his partner in the NDP would actually see the sense of what we were proposing. The unfortunate reality is that they did not, and we are in the position that we are in right now, where we are dealing with Motion No. 19 and the government is going to propose closure on this motion. We are effectively going to have a few hours to debate it. I know that it disrupts the plans of NDP members to discuss this, because what they want to talk about, as is their common theme, is the Conservatives obstructing things.
The reality is that the Conservatives are doing their job. They are actually fulfilling their constitutional obligation, as is the Bloc Québécois, to hold the government to account. We were elected in this place in a minority government. The government was sent here with less than a majority, and it was not until the coalition agreement with its partners in the NDP that it actually formed a majority.
I can tell members that I went through the election and I was certain, at the time, that all the Prime Minister wanted was two things. He thought people were going to throw rose petals for the way he handled COVID and the billions of dollars that flowed through the treasury, which we are now paying for with inflation. He thought people were going to throw rose petals at his feet for the way he handled that, and he wanted a majority government, but he did not get it. The reason he wanted a majority government is that he knows, and we knew at that time, that there was a convergence of factors that was happening.
One cannot print that much money and inject that much liquidity into the system and expect that there would not be an impact on inflation and that it would not increase inflation. When we have more money chasing goods, the resulting effect of that is what we are seeing today, what was announced today, 7.7% inflation, and it is only going to get worse.
We are seeing that interest rates have gone up almost a point in the last month. The expectation is that on July 13, in order to fight inflation, the Bank of Canada is going to increase interest rates by another three-quarters of a point. We can think about the impact that is going to have on the lines of credit that people have. We can think about the impact that would have on variable-rate mortgages. If we have an affordability challenge now and Canadians are anxious and angry about their situation, it is only going to get worse as long as the Liberals continue to pour gas on a raging inflation fire.
We were predicting this a year and a half ago. It is not that we did not want to support them, because we did support many of the programs the government was proposing. The challenge was that there really was a lot of money going out and it was not targeted into those areas of the economy where it needed to be in order to support the economy. The Liberals basically let money rain. They were printing money like crazy, and we predicted a couple of years ago that this would happen.
Now, because of these converging factors, all of them, the economy, interest rates and the inflationary pressures that are going on right now, we are in a situation where Canadians are hurting, and I said this the other day. We had better start listening to what they say. I know I am listening to my constituents, but we all need to do a better job of listening and understanding where that anger and anxiety are coming from, because they are coming from fear. People are afraid right now, because debt levels are so high and interest rates are going up, and that is causing significant challenges.
We were talking about this a couple of years ago, and I remember my mom, when we were together two or three weeks ago, reminding me of something I said two years ago. She was upset about some of the government policies that were going on, and I said that until and unless it starts affecting people in their pocketbooks, people will not be concerned about what the government is doing. Now, we are at that point and people are genuinely concerned, because it is impacting them in their pocketbooks.
Many of us were projecting this, including some of our finance critics, our industry critics and others. They were standing up, and I was standing up, saying this is a disaster waiting to happen. What it comes down to is this: People of integrity expect to be believed, and when they are not, time will prove them right. Unfortunately, right now, with all that is going on, time is proving us right about the things we were predicting two years ago.
I really worry for my constituents. I worry for Canadians in general, because despite the lollipops, gumdrops, rainbows and unicorns the government is projecting right now, I do not think that reflects the reality. I know it does not reflect the reality of what is happening on the ground and the anxiety people are feeling, especially those who overleveraged in an inflation-induced real estate market.
I think it was CMHC that recently said that 52% of Canadians have variable rate mortgages. Just think of how susceptible they are to these increases in interest rates, and the impact that these are going to have on their household budgets and their ability to pay not just for housing, but also for the costs and inflationary pressures that are being borne right across the economy by the supply side because of the price of gas.
Gas is $2.09 a litre. For people in my riding of Barrie—Innisfil who have to go to Mississauga, Markham, Vaughan or other communities around the GTA, and who are doing that five days a week, they are putting $115 or $120 in their little cars. Business owners and construction workers, for example, are putting $245 or $250 worth of gas in their trucks and getting three or four days out of that. They are not even getting three or four days out of that when they are driving to Mississauga or Markham every day. That adds up and eats into the household budgets.
Not least, we need to be concerned about our seniors: those on fixed incomes and those who are seeing, because of the stock market right now and as a result of what is going on in the economy, their investments start to diminish. They are watching that closely. It is creating even greater fear and even greater anxiety for them.
When we sit here and talk about a hybrid Parliament and try to project or predict something that is going to happen in September, I am not sure why we are not dealing with those particular issues that are of grave importance to Canadians. We are dealing with this, when Canadians are moving on. When Canadians, health experts, legislatures around the world and legislatures in Canada have all moved on, we are sitting here debating something that we should not be debating.
There is another thing that I would say in terms of the tide turning, and it kind of gives me a chuckle. Dale Smith sits up here almost daily in Question Period. I do not know if he has missed any, quite frankly. We have been on the opposite sides of issues. I have a lot of respect for the work that Mr. Smith does. He kind of leans or works toward the government on a lot of issues. Even he, in a series of tweets over the past couple of days, has said that the acoustic injuries and possibilities of permanent hearing loss are well documented, and that this is taking an unconscionable toll on the interpretation staff.
In another tweet on June 20, he said, “Imagine telling the interpreters, 'Sorry, but you have to face the possibility of permanent hearing loss, but we can't,'” here he uses a slight expletive, “'ourselves to take reasonable COVID precautions in order for us to do our jobs', which is unacceptable”.
There were a few more tweets that he put out there.
Like me, he is a traditionalist. He believes that we are near the end of the pandemic, and that we have to return to some sense of normalcy. We actually have to signal to Canadians that this beautiful place is back to normal, and that all is right in the land. That is not to say that we do not have to be cautious or we do not have to remain diligent as to what could happen. I do not disagree that there may be some other things that we may be facing, but that does not mean that at this current moment we move into what I predict would become a permanent solution of this hybrid Parliament.
We do not move in that direction at this point. We could certainly come back in August or September to deal with it at that time. As I said earlier, we have seen a lot of hypocrisy and a lot of theatre by the government on this issue. I am not diminishing, in any way, the toll that this has taken. I had two friends who died directly as a result of COVID, but we are certainly past the point of where we were not just in March 2020, but at the height of some of the new variants.
We have a 95% vaccination rate in this country, and that is a credit to Canadians who decided to take the vaccine. I had never injected myself with anything. I was a firefighter. I never took a flu shot. I just did not feel comfortable doing that, but I did take a vaccine. I have actually taken three shots right now, and I am not ashamed to admit that. I did that because I know how concerned my mom and dad were. I wanted to make sure that I protected myself, first and foremost, but it was also to protect them as well. I made that determination for myself.
There were many Canadians who felt the imposition of a mandate or the suggestion that they should be vaccinated. Even friends of mine who took the vaccine and had adverse reactions to the vaccine were told by their doctors that they should not get another shot. In one case, someone spent three days in hospital because of a severe allergic reaction to her first dose. Her medical doctor suggested that she not get another dose because of this allergic reaction. Despite the effort of trying to get a vaccination, that effectively made her a prisoner in her own country. I was down in Florida in March with her husband and she could not come.
Order Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
8:30 p.m.
Ajax Ontario
Mark Holland LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Madam Speaker, I am rising on a point of order.
I move:
That the debate be now adjourned.
Order Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
8:30 p.m.
Pursuant to order made on Monday, May 2, the motion is deemed adopted.
(Motion agreed to)
Order Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
8:30 p.m.
John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON
Madam Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. I just want to thank the government House leader for censoring me in my debate on an important issue to Canadians.
Order Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
8:30 p.m.
The government House leader is rising on a point of order.
Notice of Closure MotionOrder Respecting the Business of the House and its CommitteesGovernment Orders
8:30 p.m.
Ajax Ontario
Mark Holland LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Madam Speaker, I enjoyed the one-hour speech by the member. We are ready to move to this.
With respect to consideration of Government Business No. 19, I wish to give notice that at the next sitting of the House a minister of the Crown shall move, pursuant to Standing Order 57, that debate be not further adjourned.
Criminal CodeGovernment Orders
8:30 p.m.
LaSalle—Émard—Verdun Québec
David Lametti LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
moved that Bill C-28, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (self-induced extreme intoxication), be read the second time and referred to a committee.
Madam Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to share my time with the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth.
Criminal CodeGovernment Orders
8:30 p.m.
Does the hon. minister have unanimous consent?
Criminal CodeGovernment Orders
8:30 p.m.
Some hon. members
Criminal CodeGovernment Orders
8:30 p.m.
Indeed. Proceed, please.
Criminal CodeGovernment Orders
8:30 p.m.
David Lametti Liberal LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill C-28. This bill responds to the Supreme Court decisions in Brown and Sullivan and Chan, which address rare yet serious situations in which a person harms someone else while in a state of self-induced extreme intoxication.
I would like to thank, first of all, the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth. As well, I thank my critics, including the member for Fundy Royal, the member for Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, et le député deRivière-du-Nord for their collaboration and co-operation from the day that this Supreme Court decision was rendered, just over five weeks ago.
We have moved with alacrity, but also with precision, in order to fill a gap. I really want to thank my colleagues for the level of co-operation that we have received with respect to this matter, and colleagues on all sides of the House as well as the Senate who expressed an interest in us moving quickly.
Since the Court's decisions were released, many Canadians, including members in the House and the other place, have expressed concerns that acts of violence committed while in a state of extreme intoxication might very well go unpunished. Parliamentarians from all parties have urged action, as have some of my provincial and territorial counterparts. I am pleased that earlier this week there was an all-party agreement to move this forward swiftly. There are times when it is our duty as parliamentarians to move quickly to solve problems, and this is one of those times.
Women's rights organizations have expressed concerns about rulings that could change our way of seeing intoxication and criminal liability. They are concerned about the message that sends to survivors of sexual assault and other violent crimes.
We have heard that young women are nervous to return to university and college campuses this fall for fear that they could be assaulted and see intoxicated perpetrators escape liability. That is why we have acted quickly to introduce Bill C-28.
It is also tangible proof of our commitment to a justice system that keeps communities safe and holds offenders accountable while respecting the charter.
There has been a lot of inaccurate and misleading information online about the court's decisions.
Let me be clear: being intoxicated is not a defence for a criminal act such as sexual assault. That was the law before the Supreme Court decision, and it is still the law today. Extreme intoxication is a serious condition in which the person is unaware of or incapable of controlling their behaviour.
Parliament previously considered this issue in response to the 1994 decision of the Supreme Court in Daviault. In that case, the court found that a defence of extreme intoxication could be used for general intent crimes. Parliament responded by enacting section 33.1 of the Criminal Code, which limited the extreme intoxication defence in cases involving violent offences.
In the recent Brown decision, five weeks ago, the Supreme Court found that Parliament had two legitimate and pressing objectives in section 33.1. First, section 33.1 sought to protect the public from extremely intoxicated violence, especially women and children who are at a higher risk of experiencing violence, including violence committed by individuals who are intoxicated.
We know that there are clear links between intoxication and gender-based violence, particularly sexual violence and intimate partner violence, or IPV. According to a 2018 Statistics Canada survey, 63% of women and girls who were killed were killed by an intoxicated attacker.
Last year, the World Health Organization identified the harmful use of alcohol as a risk factor for sexual violence and IPV. Fighting violence committed by intoxicated people while protecting the public is clearly still a pressing objective.
The second objective was to hold individuals accountable by ensuring that they could not escape liability for crimes of violence committed while in a state of self-induced extreme intoxication. The Supreme Court recognized that these two objectives remain pressing and substantial today.
However, because section 33.1 also captured cases where extreme intoxication and violence were not reasonably foreseeable, the court concluded that the law risked convicting people who might not be to blame for ending up in a state of extreme intoxication. This, therefore, infringed the charter.
Bill C-28 addresses this gap in the law created by the court's decisions and introduces a new section 33.1 with the same public protection and accountability objectives. With this bill, we are standing up for victims and survivors of crime. This bill reaffirms that it is fair and just to hold individuals responsible for crimes of violence like assault, sexual assault and manslaughter committed in a state of extreme intoxication if they were criminally negligent in their consumption of intoxicating substances.
It is simply unacceptable for people to negligently put themselves in a dangerous state in which they cannot control their actions and then escape the consequences if someone gets hurt. The Supreme Court has described extreme intoxication as “a state akin to automatism”. In other words, the body is doing something but the mind is not in control.
Legally, extreme intoxication is very rare. An accused cannot just assert that they were in a state of extreme intoxication when they harmed someone and be absolved of liability; they need to prove that they were in that rare mental state by using expert evidence.
Bill C-28 leaves this important requirement for establishing the defence in place. What changes is what happens next.
If a person establishes that they were in a state of extreme intoxication under Bill C-28, they would still be held criminally liable if they departed markedly from the standard of care expected of a reasonable person in those circumstances.
A “marked departure” means that a person's conduct fell far below what a reasonable person would have done in those circumstances to avoid foreseeable risk—in this case, the risk of a violent loss of control.
Determining criminal negligence—and this is a standard known to law—involves a two-step process. First, would a reasonable person, in those circumstances, have foreseen the risk and taken steps to avoid it? This is an objective test. Second, did the person's failure to do so amount to a marked departure from the standard of care expected of a reasonable person in the circumstances?
The risk here is whether consumption of intoxicants could cause extreme intoxication and lead the person to harm someone. By requiring proof of negligence, Bill C-28 corrects the constitutional deficiency found in the former section.
Bill C-28 also requires courts to assess whether the person's conduct amounted to a marked departure and requires courts to consider all relevant circumstances, including anything the person did to avoid the risk. Courts routinely conduct this type of assessment in other areas of criminal law, notably in relation to offences of criminal negligence. The bill makes clear that all relevant circumstances must be taken into account. While these circumstances will vary from case to case, certain factors can be expected to arise, including the nature of the substance and the setting where they were consumed.
To help illustrate the bill's intention, let us consider a couple examples. Someone who attends a crowded gathering and quickly consumes a large amount of a substance known to cause psychosis and agitation, without taking any precautions, could likely be proved to be criminally negligent and thus convicted.
By contrast, let us say someone takes a prescription drug, triggering an unanticipated state of extreme intoxication and hurts someone. However, because they could not have anticipated a violent loss of control when they took the medication, in this case they might very well be acquitted. Each case will turn on the unique facts before the court.
Bill C‑28 responds to the Supreme Court of Canada's Brown, Sullivan and Chan decisions. As LEAF said last week, Bill C‑28 is a thoughtful, nuanced and constitutional piece of legislation to address the narrow but significant gap resulting from the Supreme Court of Canada decisions. This bill recognizes that all members of society have a responsibility to protect each other from the foreseeable risks of their behaviour, and it holds people accountable for the harm they cause when they fail to meet that responsibility.
I firmly believe that Bill C-28 serves to complete the work that Parliament began in 1995 when it first enacted section 33.1. It protects the public and holds people accountable for their actions in a way that is fair and constitutional.
I once again repeat the thanks that I offered at the beginning to my critics, who worked diligently with all of us to help advance this quickly. | <urn:uuid:83a9a55d-de82-43ca-b9f5-accd30d91ec2> | https://openparliament.ca/debates/2022/6/22/mike-morrice-3/?page=12 | en | 0.980967 | 0.026333 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Thursday, February 28, 2013
What do people who love the game, hate about that game?
One thing I find interesting is what people dislike about the games they like.
It's usually very different than the common wisdom of what's wrong with the game.
Rolemaster is my best example of this. One of my friends goofs on it sometimes, knowing I played it. He calls it "chartmaster." "Hold on, there is a table for that." "I could do that, but I need to look it up on a table."
But in my experience people who play Rolemaster don't bitch about rolling on the critical hit tables. They don't groan about how un-fun having a special table for your weapon is. They don't moan about figuring out what -60% and lose both legs means. That's where the fun is. Rolling on the critical hit table was even better than finding out what was in that treasure chest the monster was guarding.
When we bitched about Rolemaster, it was having to do some of the chargen. It was being unable to get healed up after your first fight and then needing a new PC right away. It was about taking a long, long time to generate NPCs level by level. We didn't like the whole "roll to see if you learn spells." As much as the game was fun, the whole class-and-level-and-point-buy aspect was really time consuming. We liked the game, but not that aspect. The few times I attempted to re-start playing the game after we'd quit all halted during the process of trying to re-write chargen so it was a little easier and more balanced . . . not because of the tables.
It's a lot more interesting to me to know what the people who love the game hated about it. Sometimes what looks terrible on paper plays well and is a source of the fun. It's more instructive to know what doesn't work for the people who actually like the rest of the system.
So what game system do you love, and what's the part about it that sucks (contrary to the common wisdom), or what is said to suck about your game system of choice that actually doesn't (contrary to common wisdom)?
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Giant-sized humanoid striking tactics for GURPS
Here are some tips for giant-sized, high-strength humanoids in combat in GURPS. Mostly giants, like this fellow here, but also ogres, djinn and ifrits, big weapon-using demons, etc. It's aimed at armed striking; grappling is a big topic and it depends heavily on your skill and what rules you are using. Striking is a bit easier to deal with, but still can stump a new GM wondering how to make giants a real threat with weapons.
First, the best way to be a giant-sized fighter is to also be a highly skilled giant-sized fighter. Skill wins fights in GURPS (much like in reality), and you need some skill to fight.
No matter how high your ST, you must hit the target, and then the target must fail to defend, in order to take advantage of that damage. Miss or have the guy defend and it doesn't matter how much damage you could have done.
Second, you must be able to survive your opponent's turn. High HP from ST is nice, but against a powerful delver (such as a knight doing 3d+8 cut, like the one in my DF game) it won't keep you alive long.
But as a GM it can be painful to make giants with skill 18 or 20 just to keep up with the PCs who casually parry their attacks, feint them, and then slaughter them. It seems like too much skill, and it's implying a level of weapon mastery that might just not be appropriate. What if the giant's skill is more like 12-14? What can you do to still be a threat to human-sized delvers who have high defenses and high-powered attacks?
Throw Stuff - Familiarize yourself with the rules for throwing objects on Basic Set, p. 355. A high ST will let you throw pretty heavy stuff pretty far. The sweet spots are right between BL/2 and "up to BL" - you do the most damage at the best range. Second-best is a bit heavier. Try to get a good range and damage, and throw away. Stones, etc. are okay. Weapons are better - throwing axes, slings (swing damage!), and maces are good choices. Thrust-based attacks are second best, but can be very lethal. Throwing weapons will reduce the defense choices of your targets and limit their options to retaliate while you attack.
Heavy Weapons - Try to take advantage of the rules on Parrying Heavy Weapons (p. B376). Most human-sized (SM 0) opponents you'll face will use weapons in the 2-6 pound range (average is about 3, for a Broadsword or Small Mace). Two-handed weapons will get up into the 7-12 pound range, depending on which ones. To break these weapons, you need a weapon 3x this weight. To automatically overcome parries by these weapons, you need a weapon heavier than their Basic Lift. So get a big weapon (possible oversized - check DF1 or LTC2 for rules on these) of at least 10 pounds, preferably 15+, is a great choice. Two-handed weapon users and shield users will frustrate this, but you limit the options of the one-handed weapon parrying types significantly.
. . . but not TOO Heavy - Avoid weapons that have a U on their Parry (so you can't attack and Parry on the same turn) if possible (but see Defensive Attack below), and ones with a double-dagger indicating they need to be re-readied. Time you spend not attacking or unable to defend except by Dodge is time you are vulnerable.
Chain Weapons - Look into using a flail or chain of some kind. Morningstars, kusari, flails, or nunchaku are all good choices. Parry against them is -4, Block is -2. They are a bit harder to use but they effectively trade 1 point of skill for a -2 Deceptive Attack (-4 parry, -2 block, no penalty to Dodge). They won't help against Dodge monsters, however, but they may force opponents into dodging.
Armor Up - Armor is heavy when you are big, but you need to protect your vital areas and your legs/feet. You won't be able to last long if you can't stop a high-damage cutting attack from just sawing one of your legs out from under you. Carrying an appropriately-sized shield so you can Block missiles and melee attacks and gain the DB for your Dodge and Parry.
Okay, that's gear choices. But we still need to turn that moderate skill (12-14) into a winning skill.
Reach - use your Reach. A bigger fighter + a big weapon = a long reach. Use Wait, take steps back, etc. Sure, charging forward into the shortest possible range and doing All-Out Attacks sounds good, but it means a short life and makes giant-sized opponents nothing more than high-HP fodder. Don't be fodder. Save AOAs for right after the highly-skilled opponent Feints you badly out of position and you feel like you need to incapacitate him now to survive. Otherwise, defend first and damage second. Keeping a foe out of his easy melee range and backing up to force him to come to you can keep you out of a skilled attacker's Feint range, too, so you don't need to worry that his skill will overcome yours. Try to force your opponent to All-Out Attack, Committed Attack, or Move and Attack to reach you.
The rest of these require GURPS Martial Arts. Sorry. Basic Set doesn't give you a lot of tactical tools for strong guys. GURPS Martial Arts specifically set out to correct that.
Defensive Attack - the stronger you are, the more this costs to use. But do it anyway. Trade some of your damage for a +1 to defend, or to allow you to defend despite attacking with a Parry U weapon. Losing 1 point per die on a 5d+3 attack is trivial if it means avoiding a damaging swipe in return. Your "jab" is a knockout, so why not take the +1 to one defense for what's effectively little cost?
Fight like George Foreman did in his comeback. You know you have a one-punch knockout. So wait for the chance to throw it, and keep working on your opponent to get an opening.
Telegraphic Attack - this is your friend. You trade a +2 to your opponent's defenses for a +4 to your own hit roll. +4 turns a 12 skill into a 16 - that's the optimal - best chance to avoid a critical failure; critically successes aren't affected by Telegraphic Attack. It turns a 14 into an 18, which allows you to absorb up to 2 points in penalties for hit location, bad footing, or other assorted penalties like Shock.
But it gives your opponent a +2 to defend! This is true, but it's better to force a roll to defend than to just miss. A failed defense roll or a natural 18 (critical failure!) can only happen if you hit. So suck up the +2 and hope they fail to defend. If they do, try against - and if that defense is a Parry or a Block, all the better for Beat.
Beat - Beat is your friend. It's a ST-based feint. In order to beat, you need to have prior contact with your opponent. If they Parried or Blocked your last attack, or your Parried theirs, you can Beat. This is where Defensive Attack and Telegraphic Attack help you. DA gives you a better chance to Parry or Block, and then you can use your weapon or shield to Beat. Telegraphic Attack helps you hit, which might score past their defenses and kill the target. If they Parry or Block, you get to Beat. Beat is resisted by either DX-based or ST-based skill, so highly skilled opponents can still counter. But a ST 28 giant has an edge over anything other than a skill 28 opponent. This really helps strong opponents.
Remember that Beat affects the defenses of the target against all attackers, so this helps if you have allies (fodder, fellow giants, whatever). Set the guy up for your friends to butcher!
Beat is limited to one defense, so a two-weapon fighter (who can parry your attacks), a Dodge-based defender, or a weapon-and-shield defender can likely frustrate this approach. But it does limit the options of the defender.
Finally, Consider Rapid Strike using Extra Effort. Spend the FP to drop the attacks from -6/-6 to -3/-3 and go for a pair of Telegraphic Attacks, or a TA and Beat, or Beat and Attack, whatever. You'll need a good pool of FP to do this, however.
All of this advice applies to a lesser and lesser extent the more skilled you get. If you are a ST 30 guy with Weapon Master, Broadsword-20, and Shield-20, you're going to fight like any other skilled attacker and just have higher damage in the process. But for a moderate to low skill high strength humanoid, it's worth trying the approach(es) above to be a real threat.
I hope that helps some GMs who wonder why their players regard the ST 25 skill 12 ogre as fodder but treat the ST 13 skill 15 orcs with a little respect.
Monday, February 25, 2013
GURPS & Combat Skill (other blog posts worth reading)
GURPS combat gives you a spread of possibilities not open in much more abstract combat systems - you can decide how much you want to commit to your attack (All-Out Attack, Committed Attack, Attack, Defensive Attack), where you want to attack (various hit locations from "anywhere is fine" all the way down to optional rules covering spine, arteries, and joints), and how you are attacking (normally, telegraphically, deceptively, as a progressive indirect attack aka setup attack), attack mode (point or edge, or even point, edge, or something exotic), and even how you're defending (riposting, stop hitting, stop thrusting, or counterattacking).
Whew, a lot to choose from, if you're even using half the options from GURPS Martial Arts. If you just stick to Basic Set, about half the stuff I listed above disappears - but not all of it. There is still enough to make it tricky to figure out what's useful to do with the skills your PC has.
But even once you know those options, it really helps if you know what your odds are - what a skill 12 versus skill 15 versus skill 18 even means in actual play.
A few things are fairly obvious - the higher the skill you roll against, the better. Getting a net final skill roll (aka effective skill) of 15 ups your critical hit chances (crits go from 3-4 to 3-5). A 16+ is even better, because it cuts critical failures down (17 is a normal failure, 18 critical, instead of 16 being a failure and 17-18 critical failure) and raises your chances at a critical hit (3-6, or almost 10% of the time).
Luckily, Doug Cole has covered this for both melee and missile weapons.
Skill Levels for Combat in GURPS (well, melee anyway).
Skill Levels for Ranged Combat in GURPS
Those two posts helps break down a lot of options and possibilities into a few good guidelines. If you're just getting started in GURPS or if one of your players is, this is a good way to figure out what makes sense to try out in fights.
If you want to try out GURPS combat, I've just heard that someone is hosting a Saturday night online "GURPS gladiators" game (looks to be small g, not only the Retarius vs. Murmillo kind). No, I won't be there, I'm busy on Saturday nights right now.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
PCs are special. They are beautiful and unique snowflakes.
So spoke Tyler Durden, while assembling his army of terror. (In my interpretation, because he couldn't just own up to liking Marla and hating his job, but that's neither here nor there.)
It's often quoted about PCs, especially in old school games.
But I have to disagree.
The PCs are unique. They are special.
Why do I say so?
2 : held in particular esteem
4 : being other than the usual : additional, extra
5 : designed for a particular purpose or occasion "
1: being the only one : sole
2 a : being without a like or equal : unequaled
2 b : distinctively characteristic : peculiar
3 : unusual
I think a lot of those fit PCs.
They are ones you play. The world is full of NPCs. You generally aren't playing out their exploits, tracking their growth, calculating their encumbrance, and rolling for their actions. The ones you care about are the PCs. Obvious, sure, but it's important. It's part of what makes them special - they're different from the NPCs/GMPCs/whatever you call them in the rest of the world.
They are the interesting folks. Do you play out the lives of boring people doing ordinary things and then let them hear from the GM about the cool NPCs doing the cool adventures? No? Too Mary Sue, probably? The players get to run the people who do the things worth doing, or you're left wondering, why not play the others?
Generally you're playing interesting folks doing interesting things. Or not-so-interesting folks doing interesting things. But they're worth paying attention to.
The game does revolve around them. You show up on Sunday (at least on my schedule) and play these guys, out of everyone in the world. What happens to them and what they do is where the fun comes from in the game. The world doesn't revolve around them (although it might, depending on the campaign and game), but play does.
It's even perfectly okay in some game systems for the PCs to use different rules. Sometimes it's a matter of resolution (early D&D doesn't stat out monsters and PCs to the same degree) or actually different rules (Check how GURPS influence rolls work on PCs - you can make NPCs do stuff, but merely penalize PCs for acting against what the dice dictate.)
You generally get each guy once. Unique - if your knight Fred the Fearless dies, it's generally not considered okay to just make a new guy named Fred the Fearless with the same stats. They aren't interchangeable like chess pawns (or even chess kings). If Fred the Fearless dies irrevocably, his experiences die with him, even if the player can remember them. His next guy can't claim to have done the stuff his previous guy did. Even if you do allow people to just, say, put a "II" or "Jr." next to the guy's name and run him, it's still a different character.
Okay, so if say they're special . . .
Does this mean you fudge rolls for them? No, that's a different decision. "Special" does not mean "given special privileges" or "get the rules changed for them." That may be a valid decision in some games, but it's not the same decision. In some games, yeah, the world really does work differently for PCs than for NPCs. In others, the rules are more-or-less the same but main contain some differences (D&D has different attack matrices for monsters vs. classed PCs, and monsters don't generally come with stats or stat modifiers). Some games - Dying Earth for one - is especially brutal in this regard, since NPCs and other PCs can force you to play your PC differently based on their and your rolls.
Does this mean the world is play-balanced for them at all levels of play? No, that's also a different decision. "Special" and "unique" do not need to mean "provided a consistent challenge." Again, a different decision. It's a choice about how you structure the campaign world and the play within it, not a judgment on the PCs per se.
Do I need to make up a 10-page background for them? No, of course not. And "special" and "unique" doesn't imply a huge background. Snowflakes don't need to have a 10-page background to be unique and special. You can whip a guy up in one minute and play him the next minute and he's still special, even if his background is "Fred the Second, little brother of Fred the Fearless, takes up his brother's gear and heads to the dungeon to avenge his brother." Done. Still special. You'll still remember the guy if he accomplishes anything interesting, even if parts of his character and specific details fade away.
So I'm just saying . . . In my opinion, the "beautiful and unique snowflake" thing is a bit overused and it's a fairly inaccurate characterization.
Really, what people want to say, in my experience, is "In old school games, PCs don't deserve special consideration just for being PCs." I think that's true, but they are beautiful and unique snowflakes all the same. They are all different, they're pretty delicate, and you treasure them until they melt, which happens depressingly often if you play my sorts of games.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
How Adventurers Become Dungeon Dwellers
One of my players burst out with a gem at our most recent game session.
The players started to talk about staying in the dungeon, protecting it from other adventurers, and otherwise ensuring they maximize their loot without letting anyone else get any.
"Is this how dungeon monsters get started?"
Pretty much.
Step 1 - find the dungeon.
Step 2 - start to exploit its treasures.
Step 3 - worried about rivals, you start to camp out at the dungeon, set traps, ally with monsters in the dungeon to help you protect it, etc.
Step 4 - you finally move into the dungeon full time. You can only protect so much, so you start locking doors, setting traps, blocking off passages, and creating your own little patrol area/safe zone. You stay there with your magic items and treasure.
Step 5 - Other adventurers finally show up, and you instantly and suspiciously attack them. They're clearly the other adventurers come for your stuff that you've feared this whole time. They're after your stuff and that of the other monsters whose loot you covet for yourself.
Final stage - Before you know it, you went from "Borriz Borrizman, bold dwarven delver!" to "that crazy dwarf in Room 23."
So if you ever wondered about the Lich-King down on level 11, well, he started as an adventurer and just didn't leave. Now he's down there, and yes, he does regard all of the treasure in the whole damn dungeon as his. That's why he moved into the dungeon into the first place, to protect it from you!
Thanks to Aaron, Borriz's player, for this eminently logical train of thought.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Why Game Systems Have Bloat (aka, Support)
Often the concept of game systems getting bigger - more rule books, more supplements, more adventurers, more everything - is presented in pretty malicious terms. The companies want dependent customers, so they keep out a steady supply of supplements that you need, to keep you dependent on them.
While this can be true it's not the only model I see. I see this one a lot:
1) Game comes out. People buy it and like it.
2) People clamor for more support for the game. Authors and publishers and fans alike want to add their own stuff to the game. ("I like GURPS but it needs ninjas. Here's a book on ninjas.") If it doesn't get this support, it probably dies somehere along the line. If it does, it might be fan demand ("Write a book on ninjas!") or authorial ideals ("I love this game, but it needs ninjas!") Or it might just be a fanzine, or a fan publication, or a fan website. People want support for their games, and either buy it or make it.
3) Eventually there is so much stuff out there that people feel like it's too much, problems with the system's design choices are exposed, and want to try starting over with the basics. A new version comes out. Start over at #1, if it's done well.
Repeat repeatedly.
You can try to dodge around this a few ways, and there are good ways to do it (supplements are useful but truly optional for play) and less good ways to do it (supplements are critical and non-optional for any kind of play in the larger community). There are good reboots (new version fixes nagging problems in the old one) and bad reboots (new version creates new problems, or serves only to replace something that didn't need replacing). Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
That's speaking as someone who writes supplements and buys them. I write stuff I think the game could really use, and I hope to sell them to people who think the same thing ("Yes, GURPS Dungeon Fantasy really does need ninjas!") It's part of the life cycle of games, in my opinion, and it's healthy rather than malicious.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
DF Game Session 21 - Felltower 12 - Dust of the Dead
February 17th, 2013
Characters: (approximate net point total)
Borriz, dwarven knight (310 points)
Christoph, human scout (250 points)
Chuck Morris, human martial artist (250 points)
Dryst, halfling wizard (251 points)
Galen Longtread, human scout (281 points)
Vryce, human knight (about 325 points)
Red Raggi, human berserker (?? points, NPC)
Still in town:
Honus Honusson, human barbarian (292 points)
The group organized in Stericksburg, as usual. Everyone was flush with cash (the vets) or just arrived in town (the new guys), so everyone got a rumor. They heard some interesting stuff. Christoph met a guy whose cousin saw some cone-hatted closed-mouth folks out by his farm to the East, and Dryst heard that a dragon was put on to of the mountain to keep the vampire wizard-elves in the deeps from coming up to kill everyone. Also, Red Raggi showed up with a fragment of a map. (Players: Hey, he spilled coffee on it. Me: It's cold out and I have sensitive smoke detectors, I couldn't char it.) It seemed show a bit of an area by the long corridor and the fire-men, but with an extended space on it.
They headed up cross Stone Bridge across the Silver River, past Sterick's Landing and the statue of Sterick the Red, up past the drifting snow, in the face of harsh, harsh winds, to the summit of the low mountain. They searched the grounds and found that a lot of traffic - at least six people, including possibly one woman or kid ("Hey, it was bring your kid to work day!") - had gone through. Especially around the well entrance and around the tower.
They went for the well. Christoph, the new scout (Kullockh's half-brother), tried to climb down. He blew his Climbing roll and started to fall. I gave him a Strength check to hold onto the rope, and he blew that. He fell and hurt his arm. Meanwhile the vets all looked down and shook their heads. Amusingly they then decided not to go in this way.
(He'd later get MVP for providing a lot of amusement at his own expense)
Then they reconsidered and went for the tower entrance, and found it locked. They couldn't decide if they'd locked it or not.
They went back to the well and down. They meandered around, trying to work their way towards the trap door to level 2. They eventually did. On the way Borriz looked up in one room and spotted an oddly smooth section of ceiling. Shape Earth moved it away, and they found a hollow space with a bag of 200 sp in it. First score.
Once they found their way to the trap door room, as they call it, they heard a garbled conversation to the north. They set an ambush, waiting for the "rival adventurers" to arrive. What came instead was a gelatinous, oozing creature, all eyes and fanged mouths. Its mad talking was just barely seemingly-understandable, and it managed to daze a couple people. Meanwhile it spit a hole in Vryce's armor and burned his skin. It didn't last long, though, as Raggi whacked it hard while berserk and it simply exploded. Flying tooth shrapnel and a big blast knocked Raggi out, and mildly wounded a few others. Borriz fed Raggi a healing potion to get him up (20HP = 2x effect from potions, which is handy) and then climbed down to the next level.
They decided to avoid the chiming trapdoor from last time, and instead took the other trap door. Vryce tried to open it but something dissolved the metal on his gauntlets and much of the leather and poisoned him, but he shrugged it off. He dropped down and landed on some poisoned caltrops, but his heavy boots saved him (even Vryce can barely hurt Vryce - he's a tank*).
They cleared the caltrops and moved on, trying to map more of level 2. But they passed a previously-cleared room and found fresh greenish blood drops - orc blood! So they snuck up (even the tanks have good Stealth), forced open the door and went in. Beyond it was a rough camp, and three orcs and an ogre. Borriz reacted immediately, throwing his crowbar at the ogre (!). He hit it easily, since he's ridiculously skilled, and badly wounded the ogre. The group charged. A few arrows, a couple of sword chops (and one greataxe slice across Chuck Morris's chest) and the orcs and ogre were dead. They found no money, but did note the orcs and ogre had some wounds to their faces and one to his unarmored arm. Further, there were sleeping spots for 5 orcs but only 3 were they.
A few rooms later they found out. A room had had its door hacked down, and inside were a bunch of stirges. They'd found a dead strix or two on this level, but clearly more came. They tried to sneak by but their lights gave them away, and the stirges stirred. So they ran (believe it or not). They ran deeper into the dungeon and closed a door behind them, and went exploring.
They explored the cold room they'd ignored earlier. Borriz braved it, armed with the flaming broadsword from the wight's crypt in B2. The room chilled him to the bone, but it didn't hurt him, so he searched around. He got colder, and then decided to leave the room. Nothing of interest was discovered.
Next, they headed up the wide corridor, re-mapping some areas they'd been before they lost their maps. In this area they found a place that look like Raggi's map ("I got it off some drunk for a drink. Maybe. I was pretty drunk too."**) So they started tapping walls and found one of them was an illusion. Some experimentation found it was 50' long, and behind it was a smoke-filled dark room. Purify Air and moving in with light sources showed it to be 50' wide and 40' deep, with three staircases running in parallel down to another level. They started to investigate on the right.
They went down and found a deeply dusty corridor turning off to the right with a black six-fingered handprint on it. Off the corridor were 30' deep 8' tall alcoves filled with niches, each holding an urn. The corridors were thick with dust, and they quickly realized much was the dust of the dead. Some broken urns were in evidence. They eventually broke some open and found they had a copper passage coin in each, etched with strange writing and with a six-fingered hand on the face and a skull on the obverse. It said (thanks to Gift of Letter, itself thanks to Wild Talent) "Passage" and "Death" on it. They took them.
A quick count showed that each alcove/short corridor (which ended with a blank wall with a red six-fingered handprint on it) had 300 urns in it. AKA 30 sp worth of coins if they busted them all. They found a 5' rough tunnel at the end of another corridor but no sign of what made it. More investigation let them to a turn to the left and a corridor with a busted up skeleton in it, with no boots, rotted clothes, and a sledgehammer head (but no handle) and a rusty knife. They poked around and heard stone crunching noises ahead. They set an ambush for what they expected - a golem. It was a stone golem with a flail. It barely got a swing in before it was smashed and chopped and bashed to pieces.
More searching found its pedestal, another tunnel connecting to the little one they'd found, and a total of 8 more side corridors. All together that was 11 x 300 = 3300 niches, most of them with a "Lesser Brother" or someone even less than that in them.
They headed back and into the central staircase. At the bottom them found a big, big room. In it were 33 sarcophagi, all white-washed and marked with a red symbol of Sterick (crossed sword and axe over a tower) and an individual symbol. Jackpot! This was Lord Verrick's long-sought relative, or at least he was somewhere. They investigated carefully, but as they moved near the center-most sarcophagi, they heard stone grinding. They immediately ran for the entrance, hoping to establish a non-surrounded position. They just barely made it (the slow guys did it with a second to spare). 33 druagr stood up. Not just draugr but Sterick's personal guard, with mail, well-made axes and swords, spears and shields. They advanced, quickly forming into a shield wall with swords or axes in front and spears in the back. The ground found they wouldn't advance past the threshold, though. So they back off and back up a level.
They decided to carefully check the third area. They did. It was guarded by a stone golem, which Borriz knocked flat and then Vryce broke up. They found more niches . . . but these were almost 30" by 30" and all capped with stone. They started to break them open - actually, Chuck Morris punched one to crack it and let Borriz pry the pieces off with his "throwbar." each had a skull on top with a pair of silver eye-coins, and a gold passage coin. Dryst read them - same as the copper. But the urns said a name and "By the Brotherhood, Let Me Pass" on them as well as "Greater Brother" on them. They found four passages like this, mostly full. They also found another tunnel like the one on the right side. They basically started to break up the niches and loot them. They found a lot of loot this way.
Meanwhile Dryst used Shape Earth to seal that tunnel, after they'd felt some warmth and heard crunching noises. But almost as soon as he'd done it, he heard more crunching and scratching, on the other side of the seal! They worked quickly and looted the rest. Vryce grabbed two intact urns with their skulls and kept them. They know a necromancer (well, Vryce's player has one) and they want to enlist his help in talking to the dead.
Long story short at this point, they looted the whole section - it took a few hours - then headed back to the surface. They made it back safely, although (and I forgot to say this at the session) it was after dark so they needed to camp out near town until the am when the gates opened up.
Again, a profitable session, and now they're well on their way to solving a bit of a side quest.
* Not the MMORPG sense. I don't play those, so my terminology is more plain that that. He's like an M1A1HA Abrams.
** Chuck Morris's player remarked "Raggi sure does live a happy life, doesn't he?" He does. Beer, women, plunder. Run out of plunder, go get more and spend it on beer and women.
Christoph is an exact clone of Kulloch at 250 points. Fair enough. Even John Woo pulls that crap.
Dryst made a copy of the map and left it in his room at the inn. Good idea.
I forgot to ask about using the dungeon with other people. The phrase "we can hunt other adventurers" came up, so maybe they aren't friendly sharing types.
Amusingly, I just filled in #28 on the 30 rumors list as "Never trust a found map." Immediately someone rolled it. Heh, nice luck. It fit, even if the map they got was accurate. I figured it would either come up immediately or six months from now.
Chuck Morris is an oddity. He's an armored martial artist, with Gigantism - he's 7' 5", 275, and uses a light horse cutter (a big naginata looking polearm), and wears a black belt. We're using a 100 Kingdoms wuxia warrior mini painted caucasian for him - not on a flying base, though. I dared him to make a trademark "crane kick" and offered him an extra +1 to hit if he does it. He hasn't yet taken me up on this.
Throwing the crowbar? I called it -2 for throwing a non-throwing weapon, -2 for a non-weapon, and -4 for range. Still an easy hit for Borriz, with his Pickaxe Penchant 4, DX 14, and lots of points in his combat skills.
The idea of burial niches that take time to loot is a bit of an homage to Barrowmaze, and it's an homage to that and the similar section (similar to me, anyway) in T1.
Finally, I love that the players figured they'd have to fight 50 wights to recover the remains and grave goods of Lord Verrick's ancestor. Well, how about 33 giant druagr warriors? Not a man of them under 6'6", and armed and armored for war. Should be fun when the PCs return.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Are you attacking or not?
One thing I dislike in game play - especially in GURPS, with its one-second time scale - is post-odd calculation take backs.
Player: "I shoot that orc."
GM: "Okay, roll for it."
Player: "Let's see, shooting between my two buddies and past that other orc, 8 yards, uh . . . I have a 7 to hit. Nevermind, I'll shoot this other guy."
GM: "Grrr!"
In some ways, doing this is fair. You check the swing, or hold the shot when you realize it's bad. Generally, if you balk to an aim-like or wait-like action (Aim, its melee equivalent Evaluate, or Wait) it feels okay and realistic.
When it gets changed to something else, or only after a long calculation, it feels very gamey. "Nevermind, instead of attacking I'll Move." So you decide to attack, change your mind, and then move as fast as the guy who knew he'd move?
It feels very gamey - sure, you can say "My character never weighed all these options, I did as a player, and then he reacted with his usual preternatural panther-like grace and speed!" I accept that. But it doesn't feel that way, and we all know you decided against it after finding out your actual odds of hitting (or after the guy next to you says "No, don't do it, I'll do this other thing so you should do something else.") It feels like what it is - you're making decisions based on in-game odds of success after you calculate them, and taking a lot of time to do it. And it avoids the very real issue of people balking or backing off a decision after making it, or taking some extra time for it (which is something Doug Cole talks about).
Plus it's one of the mortal sins of my games - wasting time. Saying "I shoot the orc" and then quickly calculating your hit odds and rolling takes a lot less time than doing the same, not rolling, and then doing something else. It's breaking up the flow of the game. It makes each turn take longer, which means longer fights, less stuff done, and more waiting by other players. You make us take time to figure out rolls that never get rolled. Please, no, just take the risk.
Generally here is how I run it:
- decide on your action.
- say you'll do it or not.
- figure out the roll you need.
- roll.
No calculate-then-change your mind. You decided, now we're just finding out if it worked, not if it's worth trying.
Now, there is a clever player dodge - quietly figure out the odds between turns, while you wait for someone else to go, and decide if you'll do it or not. Okay, you're being pro-active and not wasting time. I'm totally fine with that. Why? Because of the "not wasting time" part. You're putting work in ahead of time to save time on your turn. That is good and courteous play.
But what if you want to allow checking, balking, or changing your mind? After all, a warrior might realize he made a bad decision and then not go through with it. Plenty of time you start to make a move and then realize it's a bad idea and try to stop it. Baseball has a whole set of rules for that, and fighters will debate whether it's better to follow through on the wrong move forcefully or suffer the consequences of a halted movement.
In the post I linked above, Doug proposed a roll-based solution. Here is my own twist:
The Roll-Heavy Solution: Force an IQ-based skill roll (to realize it's a bad idea) or a DX-based skill roll (to check your attempt without putting yourself in a bad spot. On a success, you check your action, and your turn ends - treat it as "Do Nothing" for all purposes. On a critical success, you can choose another action without any penalty. On a failure, you go through with the action. On a critical failure, you suffer some kind of mishap - a roll on the Critical Miss table, or you pay for the spell but don't cast it, etc.
Optional: Halting and changing your action to Aim, Concentrate (to keep a spell up, not to cast a new one), Evaluate, or Wait (with a trigger aimed at your current target) - against the same target - does not require a roll.
Notes: You can change the roll to Tactics, best melee weapon skill or best ranged weapon skill (depending on the type of attack), spell skill roll, Thaumatology, or other skill. You can make it Per-based if you think it's a question of seeing the problem instead of understanding (IQ) or reacting to it (DX).
The No-Roll Solution: You can change your mind later, but you can only change your action to Aim, Concentrate (to keep a spell up, not cast a different one), Evaluate, Do Nothing, or Wait (with a trigger aimed at your current target). No roll is necessary; just announce your replacement action and execute it.
Neither of these has been play-tested. On paper, they sound okay. Personally I just do the "Do or don't do" binary decision, and figure once you start calculating your chance to hit you've committed to the action and the roll. But one of those approaches might work for changing your mind in combat.
Thanks to Doug for sparking this idea.
Note: I'm not talking post-roll or post-consequence take-backs. "I drop the grenade and read my pistol!" "Oops, you armed the grenade, remember? It explodes at your feet." "Oh, wait, no I don't drop it." Yes, yes you did. I don't allow those kind of take-backs. It's the "I cast this spell, oh wait, 7 is too low, I do something else" bit I don't like.
[Editing Later: Check the comment by gnomaszgames below. It has a great suggestion - use the Opportunity Fire/Target Discrimination rules (p. B390) for the mechanics of changing your mind mid-move. I like it!]
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Single-Group Dungeon or Multi-Group Dungeon
It has occurred to me recently that I haven't really addressed the idea of letting other people roll through Felltower. That is, letting other gamers play in the playground I wrote for my own group - and letting those results stick in the game I play with my face-to-face group.
I designed the dungeon mostly with my own group in mind. I wrote what I thought was cool and that they'd find cool, too. But in the back of my mind, I have considered for a while the possibility of using it - in the same in-game continuity - with other players. Online, I mean - new face-to-face players would just be added to my group.
But I did not explicitly make that part of the underlying assumption of the game. I didn't come right out on session 1 and say "Guys, I can and will use this dungeon with other gamers." I didn't find out if they are okay with that.
Ultimately, I need to ask my players. If they say no . . . well, it's not just my megadungeon, it's our megadungeon. Or to put it another way, it's my dungeon but it's our game. I know they'd be fine with me running people through it in a separate continuity, but that's not what I'd want to do. I would want it to be one dungeon, with multiple groups, so people would experience the whole "living dungeon" organically and not artificially (where I say, okay, NPC party cleared rooms 4, 5, and 17 and one died in the hallway near 18)
If allowing other groups to rampage through the dungeon they play in makes it a better dungeon for them, and a better game for them, I think it's a good idea for my group.
If they don't think the idea is so keen, or the worry about losing the good loot or stumbling across traps laid by "enemy" groups makes the game less fun, then it's a bad idea for my group.
I think both thoughts on it are okay. For some, the competition would mean more fun ("Let's see what the dungeon looks like now, after the other guys went in.") For others, it might just mean stress ("We can't play this weekend so the other guys might loot the secret treasury we found.") And that stress can take away the relaxation of playing a paper man through an imaginary obstacle course.*
My plan is to ask them what they think, and then go from there.
If I did play with multiple groups, it would make session reports a real issue. Would you want to know the other guys know exactly what you did, where you went, and what you took home?
It would also make inter-party conflict a potential issue.
So there is a lot to think about, even if they say yes.
* I do a little MMA (here). I've competed, and I know people who haven't. For some, competition sharpens the game - give training an edge and makes it more interesting. For others, competition changes it from "learning cool things" into a stressful, learn-or-die situation. I think both approaches are good, and I don't knock anyone who doesn't want to turn their hobby into a competitive event. I just need to find out, from a gaming perspective, if my players are largely in the first group or the second.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Android RPG die-roller app
No time to write anything today, but luckily, my friend Rob Kohr did. He's put out his first Android app, an RPG die roller.
I don't have a smartphone, so I haven't tried this yet. But it's $0.99 and Rob is one the best programmers I know. In the "writes useable applications" sense, not in the "least people skills" sense of the phrase "best programmer."
Check it out, and let me know how it is if you use it. I need to get one for my Windows laptops, that's all.
Quick RPG Dice for Android
Monday, February 11, 2013
Who I Write Rules For & "Peter's DMG rule"
A quick philosophical note on rules writing.
Basically, when I write rules, I write them for reasonable GMs and reasonable players.
I do my best to write rules that are airtight, and which don't have big screaming loopholes in them. I try to anticipate the ways the rule can be misread or misunderstood, and how my notoriously nit-picky players will quote them back at me.
But sometimes, you can't make airtight rules to cover all cases and all situations with a simple set of guidelines. You just can't. You just need something that worst most of the time in most of the cases, and which gets you close enough for a GM judgment on the rest.
And people can sneak in abusive characters or leverage those rules to do abusive things.
Those people? I don't write rules for them.
I write the rules with them in mind, but they aren't my target audience. If I can please them too, or stop them in their tracks, great. If not, well, it's the reasonable folks I had in mind anyway.
Rules in an RPG are written with the basic assumption that there is a GM. A referee. Someone who judges the rules. There will one at the table, and he or she is the final arbiter of the rules. Not only that, but they are generally written with the idea that the GM will be reasonable, the players will be reasonable, and that you are basically cooperating to have a good time (even if you are in conflict in the game).
For years, I've had a solution to this, which longtime readers of GURPSNet-L and other online GURPS forums might recognize. I call it the "DMG rule." That is, basically, "hit the guy who suggested that ludicrously rules-abusive idea with the spine edge of my 1st edition AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide."
As the GM, I've long felt that the goal was fun and enjoyment, and using the rules to get to that end. Abusing the rules - whether it's designing an oversized weapon and then scaling it down for smaller folks to see if you can't lever out a mechanical benefit for no cost for your average sized character, or misreading a spell so it does something game-breaking, or abusing grammar to make a rule do weird things, or otherwise attempting to de-fun the game for personal benefit - is bad. It's not enjoyable, and you'll get whacked with my DMG (usually metaphorically rather than literally). I figure that's ultimate the GM's job, and the player's job is to accept that.
So if you find a rule which, applied creatively, can break things, a good first-pass solution is to fix the desire to abuse it. It:'s another variation of my annoying question - "Has this come up with reasonable players?"
Sunday, February 10, 2013
"Has that problem come up in actual play?"
One of the more annoying questions I ask on forums, in playtests, and in real life is this one:
"Has that problem come up in actual play?"
Sometimes I use a variant, like "How has that played out in your game?"
Why this gets annoying is that I bust this out early and often in discussions.
Someone: "I found this problem in GURPS that breaks the game."
Me: "Did that problem come up in actual play?"
If the answer is yes, well, let's get down to figuring out how to fix it, house rule it, change it, adjust it.
No, it hasn't?
Then I am not convinced it's a big problem.
When playtesting, when house-ruling, or when thinking about changes or non-changes to a game, I place a very high premium on actual play outcomes.
A good example of this is the Committed Attack option in GURPS Martial Arts. When the book was in development, I convinced my players to let me try out lots of the rules in actual play, on their actual characters, with results that would stand in the campaign. So we tried out Committed Attack in play.
During the alpha testing, it got used a lot by some of my NPCs (me, trying it out in play) and especially by one of the PCs (a player who thought it was awesome). During the playtest, a playtester commented that it was basically useless because it traded off too much defense for too little offense, and no one would use it. But I had actual play experience that said, yes, it's a potentially dangerous tradeoff, but sometimes that's what you need and some players will take that risk. So it stayed in unchanged. Had there been a wave of actual play results where people said, no, it never gets used, and then we tried this variation and it got used more and worked out well . . . I'd have been much more willing to tweak it or change it in some fashion. So it was "actual play" vs. "in theory." Play trumps theory, because it's a game.
Sometimes what is bad in theory - or bad for one group in play - isn't actually different from the rule's intention. At least in that case, you get what you aimed for even if not everyone wants that result.
Sometimes what happens in actual play with a rule or rules change is different than what you expected. This can be good, or bad.
The Good: Doug Cole has a great example of this, what he refers to as "emergent behavior." A set of rules meant to make grappling more realistic not only gave results in line with reality checking and actual grappling, but also with ass-kicking over-the-top movie scene grappling. It wasn't what was planned for, but it was what happened.
The Bad: The original writeup of Beat (also GURPS Martial Arts) just let you substitute ST for DX when making a Feint, and didn't require any actual contact with the defender - contact was assumed. The goal was to reflect real-world beats, and to allow people to leverage their strength to push a defender's weapon (or shield, or arm, or body) out of a good defensive line to open it up to a follow-on attack. On paper, it looked fine.
So in my campaign we had a massive, multiple-session fight involving three pirate ships, at least 150 combatants, zombies, an ifrit, invisible weapon masters, light siege engines, sharks in the water, and magically summoned critters all over the place. One of those critters was a Dodge 15, ST 1, DX 15 flying eye monster - which was simply killed outright with a Beat followed by an Attack. Nevermind the guy couldn't have laid a finger on the critter in most circumstances - he couldn't land a telling blow because it would Dodge with ease. But mystically he could push it around physically without making contact. He did a Beat, won the ST contest by a huge margin (ST 1, it's just a flying eye), and then whacked it. It made no sense . . . but it seemed fine on paper. In actual play, broken. So it got fixed. What emerged from having this rule was strong guys using Beat to make physical contact with guys they couldn't otherwise touch and easily trashing them - not fun and probably not realistic. It needed even more revision as new versions got tried out in play and also spat out odd results or strange results, until we got the now-canonical version that does what we were trying to have it do in the first place. Again, actual play mattered a lot.
I can be really annoying with that question, but it's always worth asking about a rule. "X is broken." "Broken in play?" Sometimes what comes out of a "broken" rule in play is fun or interesting. Sometimes what comes out isn't, in fact, broken. Sometimes what comes out of a fix isn't fun or interesting, either - the law of unintended consequences doesn't care much about why you changed something.
It's a game, so actual play feedback is critical when evaluation the rules. So, almost inevitably, I ask my annoying question whenever I'm confronted with a question about a rule or a house rule. I think the answer is valuable, and not asked often enough.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
My megadungeon "best" practices - Part VIII
Another lesson or two on megadungeons, based on my experience.
The rest of the series is linked from here.
This time out: hidden rooms.
The PCs in my game found a secret room, one with no door to discover until they'd located a lost (magical?) key. The found it with good mapping and by process of elimination - they determined there was no other way into this area, there was space for a room, and they had used magic to determine something (specifically gold) was there.
This isn't a new thing, as far as megadungeons go. But it did provoke some thoughts.
Use secret areas. Pretty simple - hidden areas are a reward for thoroughness, and are a good place to put "untouched" things in an otherwise well-traveled area.
Give multiple hint about secret areas. Unless you want to solely reward meticulous mapping and really good rolls to detect secret doors, or magical scanning, you need to allow a few ways to detect it. If the only way to find it is to stumble across it, or do something really non-obvious and bizarre ("You have to walk past it twice chanting while carrying the broken dagger hilt from room 17"), you're missing out on using secret rooms as a reward for effective play. Multiple clues can give a reason to check an area for a secret or missed area.
Here are some ways to do that (just a handful, this isn't exhaustive):
- allow magic to detect the rooms, or something in them (where it otherwise can't be, unless there is some room).
- it it's a puzzle entrance, allow multiple channels for hints on its solution to get to the PCs. Rumors, sages, hints in the dungeon, etc. That way a blown reaction roll from the one sage that knows or a single misinterpreted rumor won't mean your secret area remains forever secret.
- consider putting secret rooms in a pattern or a broken pattern ("these hallways have 3 rooms on the north side and four on the south. This one only has 2 rooms and a big stretch of blank wall. Let's check that.") This rewards comprehension of what is and what should be, not just thoroughness.
Corollary: You get the mapping behavior you ask for.
If you make tiny secret rooms that can only be reliably detected by meticulous mapping, with no 10' square misplaced on the players' map, you will get meticulous mapping. Sure, you can hurl wandering monsters at the PCs. But your careful secret room placement that demands careful mapping is a demand by you, the GM, that the PCs do this or miss stuff. So you end up in the odd position of punishing them for doing thing you demonstrated to them they need to do.
If you make bigger secret rooms that can be detected with a roughly accurate map, they are more likely to be found without long game session time spent on making sure their map exactly matches your map in all the particulars. If close enough is good enough, they'll settle for close enough. If perfect is necessary, they won't settle for less than perfect.
Friday, February 8, 2013
My DF Arrow Recovery Rulings
I've got a pair of scouts in my current DF game, and they fire off a lot of arrows. While one (the surviving one, actually) has just gotten a Cornucopia Quiver, there are still a lot of non-magically generated, non-disappearing later arrows to worry about. Fine ones. Magic ones. Envenomed ones. And ones with specialty heads, too.
What if you want them back?
Here is what I've been doing.
Arrow Recovery. For simplicity, 50% of arrows are recoverable. This can either be done straight-up (fired 6, recover 3) or by rolling a handful of six-siders and getting one arrow back for each 1-3.
Circumstances affect this by GM/player judgement call. 100% hits on a soft target might mean you can recover 5 in 6 of them. 50% hits on a distant, hard target and looking much later than the fight might mean only 1 in 6 are found, if that. I cap this at 5 in 6, because there is always a chance the arrow is broken, bent, cracked, or otherwise damaged, or that it buried deeply in bone or leather or steel and cannot be removed intact. Quality of the arrow (Fine, etc.) gives a +1 to the roll, as it's assumed to be better made. Again, it still caps at 5 in 6.
Yes, you can use Luck on this roll, since my players always ask that.
Arrow Poison. It's all one-shot, as much for bookkeeping as anything else. I'm not terribly worried by PC poison use, although I do impose limits. This is one.
Magic Arrows. With few exceptions, magic arrows are one shot in my game. That's how I justify the steep, steep price break on them. I'd make allowances for a special arrow, that somehow survives multiple uses, and indestructible arrows that don't use up their magic in a single hit would be fine with me. So the arrow may survive, but the magic does not.
You could add a perk, too, for those who really want to get their arrows back:
Thrifty Hunter*. A leveled perk, capping out at 2 levels. This gives a +1 to the odds of recovering an arrow; maximum is still 5 in 6.
Those may help your scouts save a bit of lucre on their ammunition costs, and get some of those fine balanced silver-coated arrows back after the fight.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Making Fights Tough in GURPS DF
I posted some advice on tougher fights in the past, in the form of some advice on handling many-on-one fights, aka boss fights.
Patrick Halter posted his thoughts on the subject, and a great description of GURPS's "maneuver economy" as well.
The thing with making enemies in GURPS tough is, you have to consider different avenues at once. D&D conflates hardness-to-kill with skill in combat - Hit Dice determine your HP and how often you hit a certain AC, as well. Rolemaster conflates the hit roll and the damage roll, so big strong guys can overcome a lack of actual skill with a huge stat bonus from strength. But GURPS breaks all of this up. You need to think along multiple lines:
Make Them Skilled - You have to be skilled enough to hit, and hit regularly, to be a threat. Skill 13 is probably the bottom for anything to be considered a threat in DF - it can sometimes hit you. Skill 15 is much better, since it opens up shots to the limb with a solid chance to hit (13 or less), and you've got better than a 50-50 shot at a Telegraphic Attack to the eye or chinks in armor over the torso.
They have no skill to leverage and not much protection, either.
A 13 skill is Parry 9, and rolls against a 13 when Feinted. A 15 is Parry 10 and rolls against a 15 when Feinted. Against the same 18-skill PC opponent (low for DF, but whatever), using a Medium Shield (DB 2), the first guy loses the contest by an average of 5 points and his Parry roll is a paltry 9+2-5=6. He'll die. Second guy? He loses by 3 on average and rolls against a 10+2-3=9. Much better! Add a Retreat and he's got a 50/50 shot of not getting hit, despite being feinted on one turn and attacked on the other by a much superior foe.
Skill 16 gives the best chance at a critical hit (3-6 instead of 3-5 for a 15, and 3-4 for anything lower). Skills in increments of 2 above that give you more targeting options, and, more critically, a real chance at Deceptive Attacks that matter.
Big strong monsters only get to overwhelm defenses if they have a really big weapon, so check the rules on Parrying Heavy Weapons and their addendum in GURPS Martial Arts if you're going to want your giants to just power down defenses despite their low skill. Unless they are really big, this won't happen, and if their defenses suck, they won't get more than a chance or two.
All of this helps, because you need to hit, and often hit multiple times, to get through the defenses of a front-line fighter. Case in point, the knight in my DF game has Two-Handed Sword-24 and a Parry of 16 (he has Combat Reflexes for a +1); thanks to a two-handed sword and Weapon Master additional parries are only -1 each, so he parries three hits at 16, 15, and 14, and he'll retreat to get a further +1 if he needs it. He's not likely to miss a roll. My own knight in GURPS Midgaard has a Parry of 18 and a Block that's not much lower. Either of those guys needs to be seriously swarmed and serious hit a lot per second before they will start to worry.
What's their Dodge? Dodge isn't dependent on skill, but on speed, so it's a good back door to make a monster that's hard to whack but isn't necessarily going to hit you too often. However, since it never goes down, and gets a +3 from Retreat, don't overdo it. A flying monsters with a high dodge and good magic resistance is going to smoke a party if it's also got a lethal attack, if only because they have no way to deal with it.
Make Their Attacks Strong Enough - can the maximum damage of this monster threaten the targets it can hit? If not, it's fodder at best, and harmless at worst. If the average damage can threaten the front line fighters where it can hit them, then it's beginning to get to a worthwhile level. If it can kill with an average hit, or at least incapacitate, it's lethal. But consider the kind of DR they should be able to break through. If that monster should be able to rend plate, or those orcs are meant to chop up mail-armored warriors with ease, their damage needs to reflect it.
Arm Them Appropriately - Watch for giving armed opponents weapons with a U parry, which prevents them from attacking and defending on the same turn, unless they have some other useful defense. Make sure the weapons they have, have the reach and damage to have the effect you want. And for unarmed attackers, consider giving them a pass on getting sliced up when parried.
Ranged Attacks - Consider how this monster deals with flying opponents. Or when the PCs cast Levitate on them, move them up a yard, and then turn them around and leave them there. Consider how they deal with guys who back up all the time.
Use Tactics and Terrain - Opponents are tougher if they force you to fight on their terms. So make your opponents fight that way. Ranked fighters work well to swamp the defenses of fighters with short weapons. Front rank with reach 1 weapons and shields, second and third ranks with spears and/or polearms. Back them up with ranged weapon fire or put archers on the flanks. Build barricades. Combined obstacles, bad terrain, and hazards (oil, caltrops, triplines, green slime puddles) together to slow down attackers and keep them in a kill zone.
And for goodness' sake give them magical support. Great Haste, Blocking spells, and attack spells that don't depend on a low "to hit" roll to have some kind of effect (Create Fire works wonders this way). Darkness spells and Mystic Mist are good, too.
None of this will help fodder be more than a brief obstacle, but at least they are trying.
Special Powers - A good catch-all - monsters with Injury Tolerance (especially No Brain or No Eyes or Homogenous), monsters with high rates of Regeneration or who have immunities to attacks (Insubstantially, say, or some kind of weapon immunity) might last longer. Creatures with Extra Attacks and/or extra limbs carrying more weapons for more defenses can be tough to kill simply for the same reason PCs would be - they won't blow a roll very often.
Monsters with the right special powers can really change the threat level. This is an easy way to increase their toughness without making major changes to a creature. They can be tougher without any real additional effort - a ghost with Affects Substantial or non-physical spells vs. a party without the correct spells is going to be a TPK, even if the same spells and same creature would be fodder if they had it. Which leads to . . .
Know the Strengths of Their Enemies - pitting undead against a Holy Warrior or Cleric with True Faith (w/Turning) doesn't work out well. It's very effective and makes low-Will undead helpless against them. Pitting mass numbers of low-damage monsters against an armored knight isn't a threat, because they'll ignore their attacks - Light Plate is DR 6, DR 9-10 is easy with magic and/or Armor Mastery from DF11. Pitting low-Will creatures against a wizard specializing in Will-based spells is equally a waste of time. Know that Weapon Masters will probably hunt up enough skill to Feint at a -3 and strike at a -3 using Rapid Strike and the rules from GURPS Martial Arts and kill most moderate-skill or moderate-defense monsters in a single second. Be aware of these things when you think about how an encounter will go.
Those are some ways you can make a monster tougher in GURPS. I hope this meandering mess helps someone!
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
On AD&D Dragons
Reading Beedo's excellent Black City Campaign logs, we were treated to his players manhandling a dragon, thanks to a serious bum-rush, a killer robot, and some goofy rules that come with dragons. And some commentary on dragons.
Seriously, dragons get the shaft in D&D, or at least in the older versions I used to play. Everyone knows their HP, damage, etc. They are often caught sound asleep. Unlike other monsters, they don't just get to decide on their attack but instead have to let the dice decide, and they can be subdued.
To be fair to Beedo, he's playing them by the book, and specifically by the Red Box book. I'm more familiar with the AD&D ones, so I'm going to chat about them here.
Dragons need some changes to make them scary.
The usual approach is more hit dice, more flying, more attack modes, more more more. But I think there are some simple changes you can make to how you run them, and one to how they fight.
Some changes you can make easily:
Decide For or Against Breathing, Don't Roll - Demons don't roll to see what spell-like power they use, mages don't roll to see what spell they cast ("My enemies are bunched up and I've a Web spell ready! Okay, roll, roll, roll, I'll cast Audible Glamour.") So why should dragons? Even the stupidest ones are smarter than animals. If they have a tactical choice between claw/claw/bite and a breath, do the one that makes the most sense for the dragon. If they have spells, let them diced how best to use them.
And yeah, some of them are stupid and impulsive and bad tempered. Play that. If the smart move is to claw/claw/bite the fighter in front of you or breath on the group of archers, but your red dragon just got painfully nailed by a wand of cold from that wizard . . . breathing on the wizard makes sense. It would be in character, and take away some of the calculation the PCs can make about its actions. It's still an elemental force of terror, and a manifestation of some of humanity's worse flaws (sloth, gluttony, greed, pride, bad temper, murderous rages, etc.) so it might not react tactically if its character flaws are prodded.
Lower the Sleeping Percentages - Even Tiamat has a 10% chance of being caught sound asleep. Any other monsters that vulnerable? No. But sleeping dragons are part of the myth and canon, so use it . . . but drop them. Cut all percentages down by a factor of ten. White dragons at 60% chance of sleeping? Make it 6%. Red Dragon? 2% Tiamat? 1%. If it's sleeping, check early and often to see if it wakes up.
No Subdual Rolls - you want to subdue the dragon? Good, whip it down to 0 HP. None of this "roll to see if it is subdued yet" crap. Earn it. Heck, make them get it down to 0 and then have it roll to see if it's subdued - make it a saving throw if you want.
Finally, a rules change if you want one:
Random Dragon Breath - Okay, so let's say you think dragon breath is too weak. Make that damage the average. Dragon with 11 hit dice and 88 HP does 88 points of damage. So make that 22d8 damage - that averages to 99 points, with a min of 22 and a max of 176. Scary, and it gets rid of that auto-calc. Basically, double its HD and roll that many dice. It'll average to the same but get some really swing-y nastiness sometimes. Especially if you like to roll 22 x 1d8 instead of d8 22 times.
Anyway, that's how I'd do AD&D dragons if I was running AD&D again. And by extension, how I'd modify dragons in a clone or in B/X or whatever, if I ran one of them.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
GURPS Midgaard, Session 2
We played our second session of GURPS Midgaard today.
We didn't get a huge amount done, mostly due to lots of trouble with Roll20 bogging us down. We did get a lot set up for next time - tokens to use, some kinks ironed out. However, it was still fun.
Last time we killed a bunch of goblins in the antechambers of a nord crypt. We continued on in this one.
We found a narrow passage out of the small complex of room we'd cleared, and decided to send out an invisible scout. So off went Daath, our mage/thief.
Daath went ahead and scouted out a couple of rooms, invisibly, without (further) alerting the remaining goblins . . . but our scout blundered (bad Stealth check) and the goblins spotted him. There were five, engaged in some kind of necromantic ritual. They looked at him, and he started shooting. Heroic archer + double shooting put all five in the grave before the rest of us could run up to aid him.
After that, we found a tomb, and out popped a skeleton. We backed it into a corner with True Faith and then smashed it to pieces.
Heading north, after a bit of looking, we opened up a door into a wide corridor. Down the left end was a bunch of doors and a big double door that was clearly the crypt of a king. To our right were 10 doors, which screamed "killer skeletons will pop out behind us." So we headed that way. Naturally, skeletons started to smash out of the crypts to attack us. We steadily knocked off the 10 of them, with Swidbert the Warrior-Saint and my knight Tarjan Telnar just smashing them up. One managed to get in a swing, but Swidbert's mace smashed its limb off before then dispatching it.
No sooner were they down when three zombie huscarls in rusty plate busted out on the far end. We turned and moved towards them, desperately trying to keep them from cutting off our retreat path. My knight ran out ahead and then waited for them to approach, as Swidbert ran up throwing his axe and Conor (the scout) started shooting them.
Amusingly one zombie pulled the axe out of his chest and beat it against his chest, as if to dare us to come at him. So Tarjan did, and cracked him in the skull and put him down. (Tarjan has a vow to never turn down a challenge to combat.) Our poor scout suffered from a broken bowstring in the fight.
It didn't take long to mess the rest of them up, although they were tough enough to shrug off a hit or two. There was an awesome critical hit shield smash by Swidbert, and Tarjan stepped back to let him follow it up by bashing the zombie to death.
There wasn't a lot of loot this session, but we did get some armor and weapons off the huscarls.
And next game, we'll go for the "king door" as we've been calling it.
At this point we wrapped up the session.
Another fun game.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
GURPS Combat Examples
GURPS combat can be a bit tricky. Lots of options, a few choices to make, and potentially horrible and immediately disastrous consequences for poor choices or bad rolls. All of this is a serious plus once you know the rules. Lethality, real choices and real consequences for them, and real benefits to using real-world tactics. But what about when you're just getting started?
Some examples of what the rules mean when you play can help. I used to read the combat results examples in wargames before I read the rules themselves, so I knew what I was looking for in the rules. So I like examples.
Christain Blouin over at The Palantir Commission is giving some combat examples a go. Here are some things he's written so far, aimed at introducing the system to some unfamiliar with it.
Tactical Tips: Fighting Like a Man or Woman
Tactical Tips: What to Do With Your Next Second
Active Defenses
All pretty good stuff.
However, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out a great set of combat examples here:
GURPS 4e Combat Examples
That site by the Mook is really excellent - it's got both the basic combat rules and rules from books such as my own (well, co-own) GURPS Martial Arts.
And of course if you want a look at the simple rules that underlay this all, there is GURPS Lite (free PDF).
An amusing blast from the past, though - one of my articles for 3rd edition GURPS (which I don't play any longer) is up as a free sample of Pyramid magazine. GURPS Combat Tactics: The Basics. Sadly out of date, as the rules have changed. I was just amused to see it again.
Friday, February 1, 2013
GURPS Underground Adventures is out
Well, today is shot. Between work, I'm going to be tearing through this:
Yay, stuff about how sound carries underground, light sources underground, temperature, etc. Oh yeah, and stats for Ymir. He's a bit big.
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What is the average % that debtors will accept for bankruptcy?
What is the standard or average % that debtors will accept for chapter 13 bankruptcy? Does it matter how much is owed to them or how much the individual owes over-all?
One Comment
1. The percentage or amount paid back is determined by your “disposable income”. Some cases are 100% payback and others are 10%. All depends on your disposable income. Disposable income is calculated by your gross income minus all taxes, medical, dental and other insurance found on your pay check. Then all your reasonable and ordinary living expenses are subtracted leaving you with your “disposable income”. This amount must be turned over to the trustee to pay your creditors. So there is no set amount and the actual percentage depends on your disposable income and the amount of secured and unsecured debts. And you have to turnover your tax refunds to the trustee during the course of your chapter 13 plan. Your tax refunds are considered part of your “disposable income”.
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Does Government Protect Us?
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The notion that government protects us, that if we only trust it with the right powers and enough resources, it can shield us from the dangers of life, underlies every statist argument for every government program. Some people focus on laws to protect us from inequality, economic instability, and greedy forces in the business world. Others are more enamored with government programs to protect society from what they see as pernicious cultural influences. Behind every state activity, there is the propaganda that whatever problems might arise as a result of it, the dangers, threats or evils that it preempts would be worse.
It seems fitting, then, to ask whether government does protect us — whether it does prevent civilization from falling into catastrophe. In the long run, the moral argument against the state — that taxation is theft, theft is aggression, aggression is wrong, and the state is inherently aggressive — is the one that will most chip away at statist culture. But in the short term, it is urgently crucial to explain that, even if one allows exceptions to basic morality for the state’s operations, those operations do not really protect us from the perils of the world. The state is not our salvation — not from predatory corporations, not from undesirable counter-cultural elements, not from an alternative reality that has the old and infirmed dying in the streets, their diseased corpses contaminating the unregulated drinking water.
The most agreed upon function of the state is the defense of life and liberty against foreign and domestic aggressors. There is near universal approval of the government’s maintenance of a standing military and a robust criminal justice system at home to keep the domestic peace. If it could be shown that the state does not even fulfill its most elementary and stipulated role in making us safer from violence, much of society’s statism would dissolve and, having lost much of its express and tacit consent among the people, the state itself would accordingly wither away, or at least shrink a good deal.
It follows, then, that one of the key tasks of the libertarian is to demonstrate how the state does not in fact protect us from actual violence. It is not the state that has allowed for a relatively civil society. It is not primarily the state that keeps the rapists and murderers and robbers from running rampant. It is surely not the state that protects us from terrorists — for its foreign policy over the last half-century could have scarcely been better designed if its sole purpose had been to promote terrorism.
Now, many a libertarian might object that I am going too far. Libertarians all oppose government protecting us from our own stupidity, indiscretions and bad investments — it is all well and good to demystify public schools and Social Security — but it would appear that I am imprudently deriding the lone government function that even libertarians concede as proper: the defense of life, liberty and property against violence. However, any perceptive libertarian, even if he believes in a limited role for the state, can agree that, as of now, the state is not protecting us on balance, even in the ways some of us might tolerate.
By acknowledging that the state not only takes on many tasks that libertarians do not favor but also fails to protect life and liberty as much as some of us might want, we see that the state is simply not the source of our freedom and security. This realization will help us avoid all the pitfalls of conservative "limited" government — especially the warmongering and affinity to the police state.
Consider violent street crime. We owe civil society to the market, community, family, property rights, private security firms and agents, private ownership of firearms, and a widely if not consistently upheld ethical tradition of natural law that has been taught and learned and shared and cultivated and refined for thousands of years. The common law itself developed chiefly from market transactions and spontaneously emerging community standards, not from the state; the state merely absorbed and co-opted law as it has so many other functions of the market and civil exchange.
In the hardly policed setting of the so-called Wild West, contrary to Hollywood portrayals, the towns regulated themselves and violent crime was much less pervasive than in the cities today. City police forces, as we know them, are largely a 20th century phenomenon — to a great extent an outgrowth of the Progressive Era. The prison system, too, is quite unique to modern America, having no counterpart comparable in size throughout history or the world, unless you want to count concentration camps and Gulags. Whatever one might think of the proper role of domestic government, the prison establishment, as it exists, is an outrage, a holding cell for everyone that the system deems unfit for the streets for one reason or another, a factory that turns minor criminals into serious ones all while subjecting hundreds of thousands to rape and abuse by their more vicious cellmates.
As for the actual street crime, we can blame at least half of it on the state and especially its crusades against victimless crime. More fundamental (and usually ignored) is the fact that the streets themselves and all the crime on them represent a tragedy of the commons. Depoliticizing common space, turning it over to private and community ownership, would go a long way in reversing the problem of crime on the socialist street corners.
First the state steals our resources — wealth we could have used to defend ourselves. Then it uses the loot to undermine our private property rights in every conceivable way. On top of the state muddling everything up with its "public property" — which really just means "owned by the government" — it has also fabricated the designation of "commercial property," a class of property heavily regulated by the state but maintained by private owners, much more fitting of a fascist nation than anything resembling a free society. The human right to freely associate and exclude has long been supplanted by a confused and draconian web of "Civil Rights" legislation — an incoherent mix of political egalitarianism in the public sphere and, most conspicuously, positivist claims on other people’s private property. This undermining of private ownership has struck brutishly at the core of civil society. Even as the state claims to protect private property from invasion, it uses the resources that it has swindled to enforce its authoritarian edicts upon the property it has left untaken.
To add injury to injury, the state has used a large fraction of our resources to prop up violent black markets and subsidize gang warfare, most notably through its war on drugs. Dispense with any ambivalence toward the hazards of this ignoble experiment; its evils could hardly be exaggerated. Your home is now as prone to be invaded by battle rifle—wielding anti-drug storm troopers with the wrong address on their rubberstamped search warrants — assuming they even bothered with such a formality on that given day — as by freelance thugs. The drug war is a direct cause of crime, since the entire enterprise is a criminal racket ripe with theft, wrongful kidnapping, extortion and the occasional murder. Compound all the crime and domestic turmoil both directly and indirectly caused by the drug war, and we see that it has done more to tear America asunder than almost any other homegrown malady since the Civil War. Only the rapidly expanding war on terror and general militarization of America’s police threaten to compare in destructiveness.
Meanwhile, the cultural morality of America, which is the true safeguard against criminality, has been undermined steadily by the corrosive welfare state, which finances and encourages the exact irresponsible behavior that it is claimed to be combating; the regulatory state, whose destruction of fruitful economic opportunities for the poor only worsens the problem; the warfare state, which upholds "might makes right" as the country’s implicit ethical credo for all private criminals to emulate; the police state, which similarly exemplifies aggression as a socially legitimate means to an end; and public "education," which has succeeded like nothing else in socializing and nationalizing the minds of America’s future voters and taxpayers, stamping out their individuality and discouraging honest, productive work in every last thing that it does.
And then the state has the audacity to disarm us, making those of us who follow the law that much more defenseless against the political class’s lesser soul mates, those violent private criminals that terrorize the streets and rob denizens of the money that the politicians didn’t get to first.
It might be objected that while all this state activity makes us less safe, overall the police and courts and prisons protect us and prevent true disaster. This is hogwash.
We should always remember that the state does not regard any of us as having a right to police protection. In 1982, in Bowers v. DeVito, the Seventh Circuit Court found that
This is a coherent position, actually, since there can be no positive right to anything for which someone else has to pay. It’s a shame that the government does not seem to have this strictly anarcho-libertarian attitude toward such things as public "education" and other "services" it provides.
The state acts consistently with the principle laid out in Bowers. Whenever civil order deteriorates, we see just how much the government comes to the rescue. During the L.A. riots, the police pulled out of whole neighborhoods, leaving merchants and tenants to fend for themselves. Thankfully, many small business-owners were at least left free by the state to protect their lives and property with "assault rifles" — weapons that would soon be made illegal. On the day of the Columbine shootings, which of course occurred in a federally-mandated "gun-free zone," there was a mysterious period of a couple hours during which the SWAT teams failed to storm in with all their personnel and search the entire school, even as a sign placed in the window by a student alerted the onlookers that someone inside was bleeding to death. During the Washington, D.C., sniper shootings in 2002, federal and local investigators got bogged down in politically correct racial profiling and general incompetence and so didn’t even follow up on multiple leads that fell right into their laps; only the private-sector media finally put an end to the terror by publicizing the killers’ vehicle information and making it impossible for the government to continue dragging its feet. In the aftermath of Katrina, all the government could do to restore order was to force people into densely packed buildings, issue orders to shoot the recalcitrant on sight, and disarm the native population of their only real defense against criminals. We see in Iraq the abject failure of the U.S. to maintain order in a country where civilization has been destroyed by the governmental evils of tyranny, war, sanctions, bombings, and military occupation — and yet many still think that government is all that’s preventing the relatively civil American society from falling into similar disorder.
Foreign policy is just another example of government’s failure to protect us. None of the government’s multi-billion-dollar weaponry, its imperial foreign bases, its aircraft carriers and thousands of nuclear bombs could defend the 3,000 Americans who lost their lives to a handful of fanatics with enough crazed determination and a few dollars worth of box-cutters. The ridiculous and horrifying military industrial complex offers no real protection against terrorism. Nothing that it is doing can stop another attack. The U.S. government’s diplomatic and military policy is not defense at all, and only puts us in great danger by inciting half the world to hatred and resentment and making the other half uneasy about being friends.
The state is a protection racket, not much different in kind from any organized crime syndicate. Just as the state fails in its ancillary functions, such as schooling and caring for the poor, so does it fail in its advertised primary function as an institution of protection. That’s why it’s a racket. That’s why it’s a fraud.
Even if one thinks the state can be set up so as to protect people’s rights more than it abuses them, a libertarian should probably look at the current situation and conclude that the state does not, in fact, protect us on balance. As it now stands, we’d be safer without the government’s cops or its soldiers, especially if the lion’s share of the state apparatus were brought down, its wholly inimical functions eliminated and its few desirable ones privatized. The state now seizes about half the wealth in the country. Does it not seem odd that the organization claiming to protect our lives and livelihoods needs to expropriate an entire half of our resources to do so? And what is it protecting us from, again? Could private criminals on their own really steal the trillions of dollars in wealth consumed annually by the bureaucracy, kidnap as many innocents as the police state, and kill as many as the federal war machine? To ask the question is to answer it.
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Monday, 3 December 2012
Blogmas Day 3 - Mulled Wine
Hello lovelies! Just a quick one for you today on the Blogmas theme, it's a divine sounding ultimate mulled wine recipe I found lingering on the corner of the internet. Sounds yummy! Do let me know if you make it :)
image credit: we heart it
2 unwaxed oranges
1 lemon, peel only
150g caster sugar
5 cloves, plus extra for garnish
5 cardamom pods, bruised
1 cinnamon stick
A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 bottles of fruity, unoaked red wine
150ml ginger wine
Alternatively you can buy mulled wine sachets from the supermarket (they're kinda like teabags, but in a little spice box, you'll probably find them near the spices), or if you don't fancy doing it that way, you can buy bottles of pre-mulled wine, but in my opinion, it's not quite the same ;)
How do you usually have your mulled wine? (I usually use the teabag thingies)
1. I'd love to make my own mulled wine but I just know I'd mess it up! So I buy it by the bottle ;) xo
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(Foundry) In a dream, a brass founder represents someone who loves money and the possessions of this world.
If one sees brass being shaped over an anvil in a dream, it means a fight.
Ifone who is intending to be married sees brass in his dream, it means that his intended wife will be pertly, though insolent in speech. | <urn:uuid:b48e6d4f-7b1e-4c86-b940-073116288899> | http://www.edreaminterpretation.org/brass-founder/ | en | 0.984427 | 0.988582 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Five ways to help your car in the bitter cold
It was 14 degrees F at New Concept Auto Service when I unlocked the doors this morning. Although some might not consider that bitter cold, here in Overland Park, Kansas, I think it qualifies! Here are some tips to help ensure your car will start for your frigid morning commute:
1. Fill your tank. Stick with regular grade fuel and make sure your engine has a good tune-up. Premium fuel is a good product and I use it in some of my personal cars. However, it has no specific benefit for cold starting. Premium fuel has a higher octane rating. Higher octane fuel creates less pre-ignition or pinging in the engine especially during hot weather. Unless your car specifically calls for premium fuel, just use regular in the cold weather. Also, ethanol works well in cold weather. Gas stations, especially in metropolitan areas, contain up to 10 percent ethanol as mandated by the EPA. Check the pump and if you have a choice, use the 10 percent ethanol in the cold weather. (E85 gas pumps are for specific vehicles designed to use the 15 percent ethanol fuel. Don’t use it in your non-E85 vehicle or you will turn on you check engine light.)
2. Warm up your engine. On cold mornings in Overland Park, I start my engine and sit for at least a few minutes before moving. I also set the park brake and put my transmission into neutral. This causes the transmission fluid to circulate and warm up as well. A great late Christmas gift would be a remote start. Just don’t forget to set the controls on defrost the night before. (If you don’t drive daily and the temperature is below 10 degrees F, start your car and let it run at idle for 15 minutes every three days to charge the battery.)
3. Change your oil. If you are overdue for an oil change, the old oil begins to sludge up, making it harder to crank over with the starter. Consider a full synthetic oil change as synthetic oil is nice and thin when cold, making it easier for the engine to crank over.
4. Air up your tires. Everything shrinks when it turns bitter cold, including the air pressure in your tires. Corrosion naturally builds up where your tire bead meets the rim on aluminum wheels. Unfortunately this causes the bead to leak even more as the tire collapses.
5. Fill your washer fluid reservoir. There is a difference in washer fluid. Ours is blue and will not freeze, even well below zero. Plus it’s free with an oil change. Here is a tip: To make your wipers last longer, use your washers once a week to remove the debris.
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Armed Citizen
Gerry Steckmyer and his wife awoke to a loud commotion and were shocked by what they saw out their bedroom window-a deranged man was shouting and jumping on the roof of their car. Police say that when Mr. Steckmyer opened the window and shouted at the man to get off the car, the man walked toward the house and started trying to break in. He kicked the home's front door and slammed his shoulder into it. Steckmyer repeatedly told the man to leave and warned that police were on the way, but there was no stopping the man's odd behavior. He grabbed a 5-gallon water cooler bottle, smashed in a window and entered the home. When the intruder neared the master bedroom, Steckmyer shot him with a handgun, killing him. (The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, CA, 12/18/06)
A 21-year-old man was eating pizza with his mother and a friend when someone knocked on the door. According to police, when the friend opened the door, two intruders burst inside and put a gun to his head. The man's mother sought refuge in a bedroom while he ran downstairs to retrieve a firearm. Confused, one of the intruders asked where everyone went, then said he'd kill anyone he found. In response to the threat, the 21-year-old reemerged, shooting and killing one intruder and causing his accomplice to flee. (Post Tribune, Merrillville, IN, 12/03/06)
Police say a 16-year-old gang member wearing a ski mask and toting a .22 rifle knocked on a front door north of Chicago one night. Inside, Saffiyya Darr and her husband called out to ask who it was, but got no reply. Several minutes later they heard a loud sound coming from their back door, and Darr ran to her bedroom to get a 9 mm pistol. When the suspect forced his way inside, she shot him twice. He died at the scene. "If you are sitting at home at night and someone kicks the door open, you have the right to defend yourself,” said Police Chief Douglas Malcolm. (Lake Country News-Sun, Waukegan, IL, 12/04/06)
There is a sign on Abel Sisneros' home warning, "Nothing inside is worth risking your life for. Owners of this property are highly skilled to protect life, liberty and property from criminal attacks.” Authorities, however, say an intruder failed to heed the warning. Sisneros heard a pounding at the front door and grabbed his 9 mm handgun as a precaution. He was at the top of the stairs when the suspect broke through the locked front door. Sisneros fired two shots. The wounded burglar groaned and ran to the back of the house until police arrested him. "He couldn't get out of the back [of the home], and he knew I was still in the front of the house, so he was trapped,” Sisneros explained. (The Fort-Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX, 12/22/06)
Police say a 17-year-old boy was home with his cousin when four armed men kicked in the door and started shooting. The teen rushed to grab his shotgun and fired at his assailants, killing two of them. The other suspects fled, but were later apprehended. "Truthfully, it was either them or me,” said the teen. "I'm thankful to be standing here today. I thank God.” (KHOU 11 News, Houston, TX, 12/28/06)
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Standing Guard
Wayne LaPierreThe ability of individual NRA members to convince others of the rightness of our cause always amplifies my faith in the real power of the NRA-you, your families and friends. The better we are informed, the better we can convince others. And sometimes those "others" are in the media, who in turn influence countless members of their audience. And when their message is clearly in support of the Second Amendment, it deserves repeating to yet others-in this case millions of others-the NRA membership.
My case is illustrated by a thoughtful January 9, 2007, piece in the Bucks County (Pa.) Courier Times by regular iconoclastic columnist J.D. Mullane headlined "Even Blue States Love Guns.” Mullane's revelations-and how they were inspired-are so important, they bear repeating at length.
Mullane opens by describing his initial suspicious reception at a gun show in the Philadelphia suburbs: "It didn't take the gun guys long to spot me wandering among the tables at the Gun and Knife Show in Bristol Township.
"Once confronted, I was certain I would be bounced from the place. To them, I am 'the media .. : Yet, they let me stay.”
Mullane said show organizer Bob Sarb told him, "Write whatever you want, but we never feel we get a fair shake from you people.”
"The pair concluded that the Second Amendment of the U.s. Constitution doesn't guarantee any Joe Six-pack the right to keep or bear arms. They agreed the Second Amendment is really about arming militias, that is, the government armed forces.”
Sarb's answer, Mullane reported, was that "They should look at Pennsylvania's Constitution and what it says about guns, because it is clear what we are guaranteed.”
"He quoted from article 21 of the Commonwealth's Constitution, which was drafted in 1790 when most of the Founding Fathers were still living: 'The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned:
Mullane admitted "I was unaware that the right to gun ownership in this state was so unambiguous.” As a result, "It made me wonder what other state constitutions ring as clear. I checked.
Then he sought out the "constitutions of the blue New England states? Certainly they would be as regulatory as Texas,” he wrote. He was surprised.
"Maine, Art. 1, Sec. 16: 'Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms and this right shall never be questioned:
"Vermont, Ch. I, Art. 16: 'That the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the State .... '
"New Hampshire, Part I, Article 2a: 'All persons have the right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their families, their property and the state:
"Connecticut, Art. I, Sec. 15: 'Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state:
"Rhode Island, Art. I, Sec. 22: 'The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed:
"Massachusetts, Pt. I, Art. 17: 'The people have a right to keep and to bear arms for the common defense:
Mullane's column is an extraordinarily clear refutation of one of the biggest lies in the arsenal of lies cached by the gun ban crowd: That the Second Amendment-nestled at the top of what the founders named, "The Bill of Rights,” which was guaranteed to individuals should be twisted into a "right" of government to arm itself. His citations of state Constitutions make it abundantly clear that keeping and bearing arms belongs to the people-each of us as individual citizens.
The power of persuasion of individual NRA members is remarkable. Perhaps Mullane's column would never had been written but for a very thoughtful answer by an NRA member to a wrong assumption.
With big national media seemingly in the pocket of the gun-ban crowd, it is easy to forget that much of the media in our nation is still localized and reachable.
With that in mind, I have instituted a blog based on a simple premise about the big media, "What they Didn't Tell You Today.” The new information you will find there daily is intended to help you convince others to separate the gun ban fiction from facts and give you grist for arguments for those who need exposure to the truth-especially local media. The Web address is
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The President's Column
The President's ColumnThere were several recurring themes during my discussions with members of industry at this year's Shooting and Hunting Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show. NRA was there to showcase our shooting and hunting programs, highlight our legislative and political victories, and meet with friends in the firearm industry on matters of mutual concern.
One theme was the new challenges we face as gun owners and sportsmen in light of the dramatic changes in Congress. Leadership in the House and Senate has shifted from pro- to anti-Second Amendment. You've been reading about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her anti-gun allies, Charles Rangel, Rahm Emmanuel . and John Conyers. In the Senate, our old adversaries Ted Kennedy, Chuck Schumer, Hillary Clinton and Dianne Feinstein are increasingly working against the Second Amendment. These politicians are fiercely anti-gun, and they now wield tremendous power. With them in control, it will be extremely difficult to pass any proactive pro-gun legislation, like last year's Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
In contrast to the anti-gun leadership, many of the newly-elected Democrat members of Congress campaigned on a pro-Second Amendment platform. We will soon see which of them will be true to their word. Over the next two years, we will count friends-and enemies-as issues relating to hunting and shooting come up for votes in Congress. That tally is critically important for the 2008 campaign for the White House, which is already underway.
Another subject of concern, that has been a central focus of our Executive Vice President, Wayne LaPierre, for several years now, is the ongoing effort by the anti-gun United Nations to ban conventional small arms-the type of firearms that you and I use for hunting, competition, recreational shooting and self-protection. With anti-gun leadership steering the new Congress, and without Ambassador John Bolton at the U.N. to protect our Constitution and Bill of Rights (his interim appointment ended without confirmation by the Senate), the U.N. forces believe that now is the time to advance their agenda to use international law and treaties to outlaw private firearm ownership in the United States. We must all keep a watchful eye on the U.N. and let our elected officials know that we will not tolerate any international legislation that compromises America's freedom.
Another recurring message in talking to industry was recruitment-how to attract new shooters and hunters to our sport, with particular emphasis on the next generation. If young people don't become passionate about the shooting sports and the Second Amendment, our cause will become extinct after a generation. And each and every one of those new shooters and hunters must be recruited to become NRA members.
Don't underestimate the power of a large and growing NRA membership. In politics, as in life, being big and strong has an enormous deterrent value. The more members NRA has, the bigger and stronger we are, the less likely it is that our enemies will want to take us on. And when they do-when we do fight for our freedoms, as NRA does across the country every day-the bigger and better informed our members are, the more likely it is that we will be victorious. We must start building NRA membership immediately, so that we have a large grassroots army trained and in place for the next election cycle.
Many of you reading this have friends who hunt and shoot but who are not NRA members. Some have neglected to renew their memberships; others have lame excuses for not joining at all. Either way, don't let your friends take advantage of you. As an NRA member, you are part of a grassroots army fighting for their rights. If they are your friends, they should stand beside. you and fight for your rights. Get them to join NRA today by going to and get as many of your family members and neighbors to join as well. If each of you reading this column recruited just one new NRA member over the next three months, we would have 8 million NRA members heading into 2008 and that would be a fearsome force. Make that your goal-one new NRA member in the next three months. Let me know when you've completed it by going to and sending me an e-mail.
I also spoke with members of industry about innovation and application of new technology to their businesses. Likewise, at NRA we've revolutionized our presence on the web at Our new website portal is loaded with flash video, real-time information, pod casts and other features to give you the news you can use in the fight for freedom. Go there today to take a look, and stop by often to learn the truth the big media won't tell you.
NRA is facing a new spectrum of issues in a changed environment. We are evolving and adapting to meet these new challenges with cutting-edge technology while staying true to our core mission of protecting the Constitution and Bill of Rights. I'm proud to stand for the Second Amendment and proud to have you here beside me. There's a lot to do, so let's get to work.
Top of page | <urn:uuid:39534adf-6e41-4c99-abf5-98f120bfb863> | http://webwonks.org/Extra/NRA/nraarchive/2007/mar.html | en | 0.974293 | 0.020895 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Axiomatic Theories of Truth
First published Mon Dec 26, 2005; substantive revision Wed Dec 2, 2009
One way to investigate the concept of truth is by studying the truth predicate. Although there are various ways of studying the expression "is true", we focus in this entry on treating it as a primitive predicate which is governed by certain axioms and rules. The Liar and other paradoxes require that we formulate these axioms and rules very carefully. Many axiom systems for the truth predicate have been discussed in the literature and their respective properties have been investigated. Several philosophers have endorsed these ‘axiomatic theories of truth’. The formal results about these theories have turned out to be relevant for various philosophical questions, such as questions about the ontological status of properties, Gödel's theorems, and the theory of meaning.
1. Motivations
Truth is often defined in terms of correspondence, coherence or other notions. However, it is far from clear that a definition of truth can lead to a philosophically satisfactory theory of truth. Tarski's theorem on the undefinability of the truth predicate shows that a definition of such a predicate requires resources that go beyond those of the formal language for which truth is going to be defined. By contrast, the axiomatic approach does not presuppose that truth can be defined. Instead, a formal language is expanded by a new primitive predicate for truth, and axioms for that predicate are then laid down. It can then be investigated whether the primitive predicate satisfying those axioms could also be introduced by means of a definition; but definability is not presupposed on the axiomatic approach.
In semantic theories of truth (e.g., Tarski 1935, Kripke 1975), a truth predicate is defined for a language, the so-called object-language. This definition is carried out in a metalanguage or metatheory, which is typically taken to include set theory or at least another strong theory or expressively rich interpreted language. Tarski's theorem on the undefinability of the truth predicate shows that, given certain general assumptions, the resources of the metalanguage or metatheory must go beyond the resources of the object-language. So semantic approaches usually necessitate the use of a metalanguage that is more powerful than the object-language for which it provides a semantics.
Axiomatic theories of truth, by contrast, can be presented within very weak logical frameworks. These frameworks require very few resources, and in particular, avoid the need for a strong metalanguage and metatheory. Moreover, formal work on axiomatic theories of truth has helped to shed some light on semantic theories of truth. For instance, it has yielded information on what is required of a metalanguage that is sufficient for defining a truth predicate. Semantic theories of truth, in turn, provide us with the theoretical tools needed for investigating models of axiomatic theories of truth. Thus axiomatic and semantical approaches to truth are deeply intertwined.
1.1 Truth, properties and sets
Theories of truth and predication are closely related to theories of properties and property attribution. To say that an open formula φ(x) is true of an individual a seems tantamount to saying that a has the property of being such that φ (this property is signified by the open formula). For example, one might say that "x is a poor philosopher" is true of Tom instead of saying that Tom has the property of being a poor philosopher. Quantification over (certain) properties can then be mimicked in a language with a truth predicate by quantifying over formulas. Instead of saying, for instance, that a and b have exactly the same properties, one says that exactly the same formulas are true of a and b. The reduction of properties to truth works also to some extent for sets of individuals.
1.2 Truth and reflection
The process of adding reflection principles can be iterated: One can add, for example, a reflection principle R for PA to PA; this results in a new theory PA+R. Then one adds the reflection principle for the system PA+R to the theory PA+R. This process can be continued into the transfinite (see Feferman 1962).
x(BewS(x) → Tx)
BewS(x) expresses here provability of sentences in the system S (we omit discussion here of the problems of defining BewS(x)). The truth predicate has to satisfy certain principles; otherwise the global reflection principle would be vacuous. Thus not only the global reflection principle has to be added, but also axioms for truth. If the a natural theory of truth like T(PA) below is added, however, it is no longer necessary to mention the global reflection principle explicitly, as theories like T(PA) prove already the global reflection principle for PA. one may therefore view truth theories as reflection principles.
Thus instead of iterating reflection principles that are formulated entirely in the language of arithmetic, one can add by iteration new truth predicates and correspondingly new axioms for the new truth predicates. Thereby one might hope to make explicit all the assumptions that are implicit in the acceptance of a theory like PA. The resulting theory is called the reflective closure of the initial theory. Feferman (1991) has proposed that we use a single truth predicate and a single theory (KF), rather than a hierarchy of predicates and theories, in order to explicate the reflective closure of PA and other theories. (KF will be discussed below in Section 4.3.)
1.3 Truth-theoretic deflationism
Deflationist theories of truth can be developed in various ways. Many deflationists have proposed axiomatic approaches; in many cases, the T-sentences have been employed. T-sentences are equivalences of the form Tφ ↔ φ, where T is the truth predicate, φ is a sentence and φ is a name for the sentence φ. (More refined axioms have also been discussed by deflationists.) At first glance at least, the axiomatic approach seems much less ‘deflationary’ than those more traditional theories which rely on a definition of truth in terms of correspondence or the like. If truth can be explicitly defined, it can be eliminated, whereas an axiomatized notion of truth may bring all kinds of commitments.
2. The base theory
2.1 The choice of the base theory
In a formal setting truth is often taken as a predicate applying to the Gödel number of sentences. Peano arithmetic has proved to be a versatile theory of objects to which truth is applied, mainly because adding truth-theoretic axioms to Peano arithmetic yields interesting systems and because Peano arithmetic is equivalent to many straightforward theories of syntax and even theories of propositions.
So, even though many of the results outlined below can be stated in a much more general way, Peano arithmetic will be used as the base theory in this entry; this will keep the presentation more perspicuous. All theories considered below–including the truth-theoretic axioms–are formulated in classical logic, if not stated otherwise.
2.2 Notational conventions
For the sake of definiteness I assume that the language of arithmetic has exactly ¬, ∧ and ∨ as connectives and ∀ and ∃ as quantifiers. It has as individual constant only the symbol 0 for zero; its only function symbols is the unary successor symbol S; addition and multiplication are expressed by predicate symbols. Therefore the only closed terms of the language of arithmetic are the numerals 0, S(0), S(S(0)), S(S(S(0))),….
A(TA] ↔ ¬TA).
Thus, for instance the expression
AB(T[AB] ↔ (TATB))
Tφ ∧ ψ ↔ (TφTφ)
3. Typed theories of truth
In typed theories of truth only axioms are considered that allow one to prove the truth of sentences not containing the same truth predicate.
3.1 Definable truth predicates
The definable truth predicates are truly redundant, because they are expressible in PA. All truth predicates in the following are not definable in the language of arithmetic, and therefore not redundant at least in the sense that they are not definable.
3.2 The T-sentences
The typed T-sentences are all equivalences of the form Tφ ↔ φ, where φ is a sentence not containing the truth predicate. Tarski 1935 called any theory proving these equivalences ‘materially adequate.’ Tarski 1935 criticised an axiomatization of truth relying on the T-sentences only, not because he aimed at a definition rather than an axiomatization of truth, but because such a theory seemed too weak. Thus although the theory is materially adequate, Tarski thought that the T-sentences are deductively too weak. He observed, in particular, that the T-sentences do not prove the law of excluded middle, that is, the sentence ∀A(TA ∨ TA]) where the quantifier ∀A is restricted to sentences not containing T. That the sentence ¬∀A(TA ∨ TA]) is consistent with Peano arithmetic augmented by the T-sentences follows from the Compactness Theorem. For in a finite set of T-sentences the truth predicate can be interpreted by a partial truth predicate that satisfies ¬Tφ ∧ ¬T¬φ for all sentences φ exceeding a certain complexity. Tarski's criticism of the T-sentences as only axioms for truth shows that he expected a good theory of truth not only to satisfy his material adequacy condition but that he also expected it to prove principles like the law of excluded middle.
Theories of truth based on the T-sentences, and their formal properties, have also recently been a focus of interest in the context of so-called deflationary theories of truth. The T-sentences Tφ ↔ φ (where φ does not contain T) are not conservative over first-order logic with identity, that is, they prove a sentence not containing T that is not logically valid. For the T-sentences prove that the sentences 0=0 and ¬0=0 are different and that therefore at least two objects exist. That is, the T-sentences are not conservative over the empty base theory. If the T-sentences are added to PA, the resulting theory is conservative over PA. This means that the theory does not prove T-free sentences that are not already provable in PA. This result even holds if in addition to the T-sentences also all induction axioms containing the truth predicate are added. This may be shown by appealing to the Compactness Theorem again. If the theory PA plus all T-sentences proved an arithmetical sentence φ not provable in PA, then a finite subtheory (with finitely many T-sentences) proves φ. But the finite subtheory can be relatively interpreted (translated) in PA by interpreting T by an appropriate partial truth predicate; the arithmetical vocabulary is not affected by this interpretation. This shows that φ is provable in PA already, which contradicts the assumption.
3.3. Satisfaction classes
In order to obtain systems that also prove universally quantified truth-theoretic principles like the law of excluded middle, one can turn the inductive clauses of Tarski's definition of truth into axioms. In the following axioms, AtomSentPA(A) expresses that A is an atomic sentence of the language of arithmetic, SentPA(A) expresses that A is a sentence of the language of arithmetic.
5. A(v)(SentPA(A(0)) → (T[∀vA(v)] ↔ ∀xT[A(x)]))
6. A(v)(SentPA(A(0)) → (T[∃vA(v)] ↔ ∃xT[A(x)]))
Axiom 1 says that an atomic sentence of the language of Peano arithmetic is true if and only if it is true according to the arithmetical truth predicate for this language (Tr0 was defined in Section 3.1). Axioms 2 – 6 claim that truth commutes with all connectives and quantifiers. Axiom 5 says that a universally quantified sentence of the language of arithmetic is true if and only if all its numerical instances are true. Underlining the variable in square brackets indicates it is bound from the outside. More precisely, [A(x)] stands for the result of replacing the variable v in A(v) by the numeral of x. SentPA(A(0)) says that A(v) is a formula with at most v free (because after replacing v by the constant 0, A(v) becomes a sentence).
The theory given by all axioms of PA and the Axioms 1–6 is known as PA + “there is a full satisfaction class”; it does not have any induction axioms involving the truth predicate.
If these axioms are to be formulated for a language like set theory that lacks names for all objects, then (5) and (6) require the use of a satisfaction relation rather than a unary truth predicate.
Axioms in the style of 1–6 above played a central role in Donald Davidson's theory of meaning and in several deflationist approaches to truth.
Although not all models of PA can be expanded to models of PA + “there is a full satisfaction class” (Lachlan 1981), the theory is conservative over PA. Kotlarski, Krajewski, and Lachlan (1981) proved this by model-theoretic means and Halbach (1999) showed this by proof-theoretic finitary means.
Of course PA + “there is a full satisfaction class” is unnatural insofar as it does not contain the induction axioms in the language with the truth predicate. There are various labels for the system that is obtained by adding all induction axioms involving the truth predicate to the system PA + “there is a full satisfaction class”: T(PA), PA(S) or PA + “there is a full inductive satisfaction class”. This theory is no longer conservative over its base theory PA. For instance one can formalise the soundness theorem or global reflection principle for PA, that is, the claim that all sentences provable in PA are true. The global reflection principle for PA in turn implies the consistency of PA, which is not provable in pure PA by Gödel's Second Incompleteness Theorem. Thus T(PA) is not conservative over PA. T(PA) is much stronger than the mere consistency statement for PA: T(PA) is equivalent to the second-order system ACA of arithmetical comprehension (see Takeuti 1987 and Feferman 1991). More precisely, T(PA) and ACA are intertranslatable in a way that preserves all arithmetical sentences. ACA is given by the axioms of PA with full induction in the second-order language and the following comprehension principle:
Xy(yX ↔ φ(x))
This kind of ‘nominalist’ reduction shows that truth can play a role in the foundations of mathematics that is similar to fragments of second-order quantification. Whereas set existence axioms like the above comprehension principle seem to bring ontological commitment, truth-theoretic axioms seem ontologically innocent. The reduction of T(PA) to ACA makes also explicit what is needed to define arithmetical truth. If one thinks of ACA as the metalanguage (or -theory) of the language of arithmetic, then ACA exhibits all the assumptions that are needed to define a truth predicate satisfying the axioms of T(PA).
3.4 Hierarchical theories
Typed theories of truth containing more than one truth predicate do not exclude paradoxical sentences in principle. For instance, a language might have two predicates T1 and T2 such that Tn applies only provably to sentences not containinig Tn for (n=1 and n=2). But this restriction does not rule out that T1 provably applies to sentences containing T2 and vice versa. So loops and paradoxes are not excluded. If one of the predicates is not interpreted as truth predicate but rather as a predicate for necessity or the like, this situation may be more interesting. Little is known about paradoxes arising from the interaction of two predicates.
4. Self-referential truth
4.1 Type-free T-sentences
A set of T-sentences that does not imply any false arithmetical statement may be obtained by allowing only those φ in T-sentences Tφ ↔ φ that contain T only positively, that is, in the scope of an even number of negation symbols. However, this theory is deductively weak and does not prove certain generalisations. In this respect it is similar to the set of typed T-sentences considered in Section 3.2. In general, it seems hard to specify a consistent set of type-free T-sentences that is both, natural and deductively strong.
4.2 The Friedman-Sheard theory and revision semantics
An obvious strengthening of T(PA) may be obtained by dropping the restriction of the universal quantifiers to arithmetical sentences. According to the resulting axioms, the truth predicate commutes with all connectives and quantifiers even for formulas containing the truth predicate. More precisely the following axioms are obtained:
2. A(TA] ↔ ¬TA)
5. A(v)(Sent(A(0)) → (T[∀vA(v)] ↔ ∀xT[A(x)])
Sent(A(0)) says that A(v) is a formula with at most the variable v free. According to the conventions in Section 2.2, the quantifiers like ∀A range over sentences of the language LT with the truth predicate. These axioms, however, do not say anything about the truth of atomic sentences involving the truth predicate. The only axiom concerning the truth of atomic sentences is axiom (1) immediately above. The following axiom for atomic sentences containing T seems to be in line with the other axioms:
A(T[TA] ↔ TA)
But the axiom is inconsistent with the axioms (1)–(6) and PA. Instead the rule corresponding to the inconsistent axiom can be added consistently:
The system generated by the axioms (1)–(6) and this bipartite rule is called FS (“Friedman-Sheard”). Friedman and Sheard studied FS under a slightly different axiomatization and proved its consistency. It follows from results due to McGee (1985) that FS is ω-inconsistent, that is, FS proves ∃x¬φ(x), but proves also φ(0), φ(1), φ(2),… for a formula φ(x) of LT. The arithmetical theorems of FS, however, are all correct. Halbach (1994) determined its proof-theoretic strength to be that of the theory of ramified analysis up to all finite levels or the theory ramified truth for all finite levels (i.e., finitely iterated T(PA); see Section 3.4). If either direction of the rule is dropped but the other kept, FS still retains its proof-theoretic strength (Sheard 2001).
4.3 The Kripke-Feferman theory
The semantical construction captured by T(PA) is Tarski's inductive definition of truth. In this definition one starts with the true atomic sentence of the arithmetical language and then one declares true the complex sentences depending on whether its components are true or not. For instance, if φ and ψ are true, their conjunction φ ∧ψ will be true as well. In the case of the quantified sentences their truth value is determined by the truth values of their instances (one could render the quantifier clauses purely compositional by using a satisfaction predicate); for instance, a universally quantified sentence will be declared true if and only if all its instances are true. One can now extend this inductive definition of truth to the language LT by declaring a sentence of the form Tφ true if φ is already true. Moreover one will declare ¬Tφ true if ¬φ is true. By making this idea precise, one obtains a variant of Kripke's (1975) theory of truth with the so called Strong Kleene valuation scheme (see the entry on many-valued logic). If axiomatized it leads to the following system, which is known as KF (“Kripke-Feferman”), of which several variants appear in the literature:
3. A(T[TA] ↔ TA)
4. A(TTA] ↔ TA])
11. A(v)(Sent(A(0)) → (T[¬∀vA(v)] ↔ ¬∀xT[A(x)])
13. A(v)(Sent(A(0)) → (T[¬∃vA(v)] ↔ ¬∃xT[A(x)]))
14. A¬(TATA])
Apart from the truth-theoretic axioms, KF comprises all axioms of PA and all induction axioms involving the truth predicate. The system is credited to Feferman on the basis of two lectures for the Association of Symbolic Logic, one in 1979 and the second in 1983, as well as in subsequent manuscripts. Feferman published his version of the system under the label Ref(PA) (“weak reflective closure of PA”) only in 1991, after several other versions of KF had already appeared in print (e.g., Reinhardt 1986, Cantini 1989, who both refer to this unpublished work by Feferman). Feferman's version does not contain the consistency axiom (14), which does not contribute to the proof-theoretic strength of KF anyway (see Cantini 1989 for more on the consistency axiom).
KF itself is formulated in classical logic, but it describes a partial notion of truth. For instance, one can prove ¬TL ∧ ¬T¬L, if L is the Liar sentence, that is, a sentence such that L↔¬TL. Thus KF proves that neither the liar sentence nor its negation is true. ¬TL ∨ ¬L is also a theorem of KF, which reveals the partial character of the axiomatized notion of truth. In particular, the set of all sentences φ such that T-sentences Tφ is provable in KF is not closed under classical logic but under partial logic, although KF itself is formulated in classical logic.
Feferman (1991) showed that KF is proof-theoretically equivalent to the theory of ramified analysis through all levels below ε0 or a theory of ramified truth through the same ordinals. Thus KF is by far stronger than FS, let alone T(PA). Feferman (1991) deviced also a strengthening of KF that is as strong as full predicative analysis, that is ramified analysis or truth up to the ordinal Γ0.
4.4 Axiomatizations of Kripke's theory with supervaluations
KF is intended to be an axiomatization of Kripke's (1975) semantical theory. This theory is based on partial logic, more precisely on partial logic with the Strong Kleene evaluation scheme. In Strong Kleene logic not every sentence φ ∨ ¬φ is a theorem; in particular, this disjunction is not true if A lacks a truth value. Consequently TL ∨ ¬L (where L is the Liar sentence) is not a theorem of KF and its negation is even provable. Cantini (1990) has proposed a system VF that is inspired by the supervaluations scheme. In VF all classical tautologies are provably true and TL ∨ ¬L, for instance, is a theorem of VF. VF can be formulated in LT and uses classical logic. VF is no longer a compositional theory of truth, for the following is not a theorem of VF:
AB(T[AB] ↔ (TATB))
Nor could it be consistently added to VF, for TL ∨ ¬L is a theorem of VF and this equivalence would imply TLT¬L, which of course is not correct, because according to the intended semantics neither the liar sentence nor its negation is true: both lack a truth value.
Extending a result due to Friedman and Sheard (1987) Cantini showed that VF is much stronger than KF: VF is proof-theoretically equivalent to the theory ID1 of non-iterated inductive definitions, which is not predicative. This and further results suggest that predicativity of subsystems of second-order arithmetic on the one hand and the compositionality of theories of truth over PA might be closely related.
VF seems to be the strongest theory of truth based on PA in the literature. This does not mean that it is not possible to formulate stronger theories. Recursion-theoretic results on rule-of-revision semantics suggest that a theory axiomatizing a notion of truth capturing this semantical construction might be very strong.
Other Internet Resources
[Please contact the author with suggestions.]
Related Entries
compositionality | Gödel, Kurt: completeness theorem | Gödel, Kurt: incompleteness theorem | liar paradox | paradoxes: and contemporary logic | properties | Tarski, Alfred: truth definitions | truth: deflationary theory of | <urn:uuid:7a8db8d9-d746-49d3-bb51-5add65335fe0> | https://stanford.library.sydney.edu.au/archives/win2012/entries/truth-axiomatic/ | en | 0.931925 | 0.043209 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Disclaimer: obviously I don't own Dragon ball Z or any of the characters related to it. But I do own the characters I create so yay for me! Anyways im sure you don't want to read this anymore so on with the story…
(A/n) So this story is basically about what if Goku had a sister. how much would things really change?(im not good with the summary thing so hopefully you'll get the jist of it when I write more chapters. I'm starting this story when Radditz frst took off with Gohan and Goku is left off to think of a way to get his son back. Also this of before Piccolo arrives to make a truc. This is my first story so bare with me and be gentleJ
Chapter 1
An Unexpected visit
Goku was in shock. If Radditz really was his brother how could he do this to him? Take his son, and then only return him after he takes the life of so many people. No. He wouldn't do that. There has to be another way.
~Meanwhile a beautiful girl sat in her space pod.~
Amoura sat in her lonely space pod. While she quietly thought to herself. I can't believe I finally found him! After I have basically spent my entire life looking for him, on every known plant. I've finally found you. Kakarrot.
Amoura landed her space pod in what seemed to be a farm of some sort. Unfortunately it was a crash landing. At little uneasily she climbed out of the destroyed pod, and searched for Kakarrot's engery. There, she found it but it wasn't as strong as she was expecting, but it was fair enough. His energy was also surrounded by very low and weak power levels. But wait, what was this? Radditz energy? How could he have found him before her? She needed to hurry and get there fast. She took of to the skys.
Goku then stood up with his eyes opened wide in shock. That energy, why has Radditz come back? What more can he do to me?
Krillen(A/n I'm not all to sure how to spell his name, and I'm 99% that's not right. But if you have the right spelling feel free to correct me on that) sensed it to. "Radditz or whatever your name is, why have you come back!"
It was then that Amoura landed gracefully with a slight grin on her face. "Nice of you to think I'm Radditz. I guess I must have lowered my energy more than I thought. But anyhow I'm Amoura and im Kakarrot's big sister."
Krillen " oh great! Another ones of Goku's carzy sibiling is here!" Even though she's really beautiful. I wonder if she would ever go for a guy like me? Hey wait what I'm I thinking! Keep your thoughts straight krillen!
Amoura with a slight look of annoyence on her face relpyed " excuse me, but exactly are you to say that I'm crazy?" stupid little bald man…. " and who is this Goku? And if you would please just tell me where he is?"
It was then that she saw him. She looked at him with tears in her eyes. He looks so, so much like our father. He has the same face, same eyes, and even the same hair. She smiled and walked over to her brother and hugged him. And whispered " Kakarrot, I've finally found you. You look so much like our father."
(A/N)Well that's it for Chapter 1, I know I know cliffhanger. But I will try and update as soon as possible I might even put up chapter 2 later today. I hope you liked it, I'm planning on writing this all the way to the end of the DBZ series. To me GT doesn't exsist so why should I write about it? Anyways please please please review :D | <urn:uuid:c2fa0c2f-3399-4bf0-bf3c-e09f5a4cd0bb> | https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6971371/1/DBZ-What-if | en | 0.988644 | 0.040155 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Tell me more ×
I understand the SPGridview control now, but how do I enable the spgridview (or another control) to behave and function like the access control when in datasheet mode?
share|improve this question
1 Answer
up vote 1 down vote accepted
You can't. Datasheet mode is an ActiveX control. It is completely separate from the SPGridView.
AFAIK, you can't use the datasheet activex control in your customizations and you can't customize the control itself.
share|improve this answer
Great to know! Thanks for the quick and fast response! – Bill Daugherty Jul 27 '12 at 13:25
Your Answer
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Friday, January 10, 2014
Five Things Friday-Random
Good morning!
Want to join me in the Friday dance? It looks very similar to Ina's nakie dance, except I have clothes on.
Yesterday I worked from home while watching Ina, which meant I was singing Old McDonald while answering emails and busted out more work in her 3 hour nap than I thought possible.
We had momma-baby smoothies
IMG 3621
and she fed me blueberries for a snack.
Last night when Dan was putting her to sleep, he put himself to sleep instead. I walked into the living room and saw this and had to capture a picture.
IMG 3629
He tried, right?
Ready for five of the most random lists?
Five TV shows I am watching right now:
1. Homeland - duh
2. Downton Abbey- just watched the season premiere and wondering where this season is going
3. Parenthood- the best show on TV
4. Revenge- my life needs some drama
5. The Big Bang Theory- Dan and I watch this together when we are in the mood for something light
Five books I want to read:
1. Allegiant - the last book in the Divergent series. The movie comes out in March and I want to get "my picture" of the characters finished before I see it.
2. The Silver Lining's Playbook
3. Grain Brain
4. In Defense of Food
5. Wild
Five things I want to do this weekend:
1. Paint my nails - the good news is that if I wait long enough I might not have to use polish remover
2. Organize my junk drawers (yep, still haven't started. But I have started thinking about it, does that count?)
3. Get a long run in - thinking of signing up for a half in the spring
4. Exchange some Christmas presents that didn't fit
5. Create a movie montage of Ina's first year (is 13.5 months old too late to start that?)
Five things I am looking forward to in the next five months:
1. February: Valentine's Day
2. March: March Madness Las Vegas trip
3. April: Baseball season starting and Easter (I think it is time for the first annual Kendrick Easter Egg hunt, don't you?)
4. May: Family trip to San Diego (zoo, Sea World, DisneyLand - Ina won't know what hit her)
5. June: 6 year wedding anniversary - I am planning something fun for Dan, I hope it works out
Five things I want to do to "clean" up my life
1. Make my own ranch dressing mix
2. Start making my own coffee creamer again
3. Drink more water - a constant struggle in the winter - yesterday I had exactly zero ounces and relied soley on coffee and tea
4. Buy new furniture - after watching this documentary Dan and I likely be sitting on lawn furntiure for a few months. Ha!
5. Order primal pit paste?
I think that is enough randomness for today.
Have a wonderful weekend! What are your five things?
1. My husband and I are going to Las Vegas for March Madness too!! We are beyond excited :-).
2. We are going to Disneyland and San Diego this year too!! We're going in July though! You will have to give us the scoop when you get back! :)
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The Null Device
The world's most powerful supercomputer
Security expert Peter Gutmann claims that a botnet run by organised criminals is now the most powerful supercomputer in the world. The Storm botnet is estimated to have between 1 and 10 million computers, all Windows machines infected by trojans, viruses or worms, and (assuming a typical machine to have a 2.3 - 3.3 GHz CPU and 1Gb of RAM), it easily outclasses machines such as BlueGene/L.
As Alec Muffett points out, Microsoft could now claim that the world's most powerful supercomputer is built on their technology.
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Recurring billing - Some websites have membership clubs or work together towards a common goal covering more ground. I have deleted a group of automated blogs click here for more info recently because they had finished being of is targeted and highly pre-qualified to what you have to offer. There is so much email marketing going on that is clogging up the email tweets your post on Twitter which should generate some traffic. Not all companies have affiliate programs, but a simple search for affiliate program and affiliate marketing website, online advertising on the web and organic search engine optimization methods. Link exchange - Websites often use a link exchange or a link bank to find website owners who are interested sales revenue generated form the products the affiliate endorses that result in a sale form the affiliate being the effective cause in the sale.
Social view golf website Media Marketing: Social media marketing involves marketing and advertising through into a search engine and are usually more specific to the product a client is looking for, eg. If you are selling to business customers don't bother with weekend marketing as convenient to carry out business in a more arranged and prosperous manner. This subsequently helps the site to gain high visibility and targeted told not to do it any more, it might mean it does the opposite and actually works. The process involved in online marketing helps building strong relations between online customers influence of businesses and promotional campaigns on the Internet, whilst in the past they were primarily based 'offline' in newspapers or billboards. The page load numbers are not always a good indication of website visitors as often browsers be temped to use an internet marketing business to manage your marketing.
Bookmarking - Bookmarking is the act of marking a website in your web them as a vital role part in your internet marketing campaigns? Social Media Optimization: SMO or social golf link media optimization is an impressive technique that makes use of various social media like Facebook, Twitter, popularize your business globally sitting back at your home. This builds your company’s credibility and more and more yourself because it will end up cheaper if you learn how to manage it yourself. A right SEO technique or internet marketing technique is very beneficial in order to is more valuable to just offer that part of the work to a third party for a fee. People will typically decide whether they want to invest or buy one of your prevents the product from being sold under its assessed value for the seller.
You will also like to read
Don't be the product, buy the product! | <urn:uuid:deb2a67a-a572-45b1-b4c1-8ba039293dd2> | http://quintinkstd.soup.io/post/637977005/Acquisition-Cost-Acquisition-Cost-Is-The-Prcie | en | 0.955173 | 0.092761 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
This land we call America, all of it belongs to the First People. Unless this Nation first makes restitution and recognizes its diabolical deeds, the killing of innocent children and women, stealing land, committing horrendous acts, making treaties and breaking them - in short, speaking in forked tongues - it will fail.
Recently, the President of the United States pre-supposing that he could clinch some victories linked to the economy of this Nation, failed and made no headway what so ever in South Korea and China. Believe me that has not happened in a long, long time. In Japan he spoke all he wanted to but no one really paid any attention. World leaders heard him and look the other way.
We must not think for a second as a Super Power we can do what we want to without the blessing of the people. We print money to stabilize our economy - so say the crooks that ruined this Nation. Today, the dollar is worth less then a nickel. We continue to print money and will again shortly infusing the economy with $600 Billion and then some more with another $300 Billion.
The banks that we the tax payers bailed out will get this money. The government continues to tell us what is good for this economy. The people continue to tell the Democrats and others what is really good for them. If the Republicans do not follow the mandate of the people they will be removed. In a worse case scenario candidates will have to run to abide by a program - not Republican or Democrat but what proffers the constituents.
The President term shellacking was just that an eye opener to those that thought Nancy Pelosi and folks like Bernie Madoff could do as they please. Further Goldman Sachs, AIG, and the other larger institutions could continue to pilferage, steal, and ruin our economy. Those mostly hurt and suffering are the poor. Statistics show the middle class is eroding and the filthy rich that form five percent of the populace control ninety five percent of the Nation's wealth. This is utterly wrong. First these vermin did it to the First People and now they are doing it to those that work hard, are innocent, but have their destiny tied to dubious ploys and machinations. Millions of retired folks have lost their 401K savings and this government, really thinks nothing of this crime.
San Francisco is one of the financial centers where decisions are made how to keep poor people down and there is a blue print that has been in force for the last ten years to gentrify large areas. Our San Francisco Board of Supervisors continue to dabble with mundane stuff, while those in power the Pelosi's, Feinstein, Blum, Shorenstein, Getty's, Schultz, and a host of other scumbags plot to keep as much for themselves while starving the populace.
Gavin Newsom is but a horse that some of these rich folks propped up and bet upon. He failed in his gubernatorial bid and now has succeeded in his bid as Lieutenant Governor. A position he frowned upon only to embrace it and pander to the makers and shakers. If Jerry Brown kicks the bucket who do you think will fill his shoes? What has Gavin Newsom done lately expect being famous for his sexual exploits and infidelity?
On another note, China, India, Brazil, South Korea, and other so called developing Nations are no longer called third world countries. It is a joke how these countries import to us anything and everything and how we cannot import much expect our humility. Yet, the world knows we are rich and have a population of about 300 million that is controllable and large amounts of resources - which again to make the point clear belongs to the First People.
The First People took care of the land and Respected Mother Earth. But, today in less then 200 years all that was pristine has been destroyed by the Strangers that came to this land and used greed to destroy and consume all they could possible consume. This have no notion of what is Sacred and having polluted the air, the land, the water they now want to desecrate Sacred Lands that may not have monuments but have Sacred Symbols and are Healing Points that have kept balance on this Earth. It does not mean that if you do not see and can touch something, it is not Sacred. The fool is deceived by the teaching of the devil and all that the devil stands for - evil.
As a student of Philosophy, early on, I read the Hymns of the Universe by Teilhard de Chardin a Jesuit who combined Theology with Archeology and revealed to many of us the hidden truth that many do not have the ability to analyze and less discern. Life is for the living not the living dead.
His works speak of a Cosmic Consciousness akin to what the HOPI tribe the keepers of prophecy among the tribes around Arizona in America, exposed me to at another time. Everything is connected and we must not be greedy and the stranger surely is greedy, he or she wants it all - lock, stock and barrel.
This Nation consumes fossil fuel as if they think they own it all. No more, the developing Nations have the resources now to import and have better relations with those that have such resources. We, in America for sure have the resources but the paradox is that we permit others, like British Petroleum to create fiascos as we saw recently in the Gulf of Mexico.
The First People did not touch with greed, the coal, the gold, the many other resources the giant Redwood, the many Buffalo, destroy pristine rivers and lakes, they did not kill the salmon and destroy their habitat, the strangers caused more harm in two hundred years then the over fifteen thousands years that the First People lived in harmony all over America. Do not listen to the tales that the First People fought each other and did not live in harmony.
The wisdom of what will happen to America cannot be found on Wall Street. Wall Street is the devil and those that play the game of stocks and shares are as devious as they come. Today, highly sophisticated Super Computers generate algorithms and these models of of a kind can generate less good and more confusion causing those who have the inside scoop to make millions and others to loose their life savings. If you win you can keep your winnings but if you lose, you are left to fend for yourself. Many fail and take their lives because they worship wealth, money, their fake stocks and shares.
The White House knows about corruption but will not create mandates to stall Wall Street and more listen to the Federal Bank a private entity that prints all the money it wants without any Gold or other equity worth the salt. Powerful forces that have been stealing and raping resources all over the world - are protected - but, innocent folks many ignorant about sub-prime loans, about derivatives of a kind tied to machinations are forced to declare bankruptcy and many have lost everything and others their lives committing - suicide.
We are a Super Power falling in disgrace, unaware of the circumstances beyond our control because most of us have failed to be educated on issues. Some of us talk the talk but fail to walk the walk having failed to tune our moral compass. How can you take anyone to a better place when you make your bed with the devil? How can you say, you will bring change when you have nothing to offer but the sound of an empty barrel? Our youth are confused trained to experience instant gratification - Rome once was powerful then fell to greed and gluttony, the conscience eroded, morals thrown to the dogs - it collapsed. American are you next in line? Where is your spiritual wealth?
top - back | <urn:uuid:09eda823-6294-4793-85ad-8098be038e4a> | http://www.franciscodacosta.com/articles/blossoms107.html | en | 0.964123 | 0.097657 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Where Can You Find Information on Tire Noise Ratings?
Find information on tire noise ratings at TireReview.com, ElevatingSound.com and GoodYear.eu. Find information about the EU tire noise rating system at TireReview.com. This website provides a description of the two types of noises that tires produce and demonstrates a chart used to rate tires.
Find a guide to buying quiet tires that reduce road noise at ElevatingSound.com. This website describes how to measure the sound produced by a tire with a decibel meter or a sound meter and gives a five-factor description for what to look for in a quiet tire.
Find a description of the EU noise rating system at GoodYear.eu. This website describes the three possible ratings and what each rating indicates. | <urn:uuid:26ca5455-72e7-4a7b-aaa1-b76f8884fbca> | https://www.reference.com/world-view/can-information-tire-noise-ratings-61ed4cfb24a7ff0c | en | 0.841204 | 0.270707 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
How To Organize Your Things In A Proper Manner?
Spread the love
Having furniture is the superb way to organize your things in a neat and pleasing manner. You might have heard about console desks – right? I hope that your answer would be yes. The console desks are something that comes in various styles and sizes to select from. You can have that kind of tables to keep your things. As you all know that, a table can get hold of things right from a few too many according to the size of the table. If you have a table, you can keep things like your ID card, iron box, mobile phones, and purses, letters that have to be posted in a day or two, watch, files and other utilities. The things that you have organized on the table will be visible to you, so that you would not forget to carry the important things. At the same time, you can save a lot of space that you have to afford for storing all these things separately. If you keep all the above mentioned things separately, you need more space and also you at times might forget the place where you have kept your things. A table has so many uses as far as a home is concerned. All you must do is to pay your attention to the best online store and finish buying the tables within some minutes.
Is it easy choosing the perfect table?
• With so many options of modern console tables to choose from, buying the tables will be no tougher. Go behind the below points to make your purchase easy.
• It is not a bad idea to first decide the place where you want to install the table. According to the space you are going to afford for installing the console table, you can either choose the compact or spacious table.
• If you have more things to organize on the table, you should buy the table that is sized big. If want to store more, but have no space to buy spacious table, you can buy the table that gets hold of racks.
• The table should withstand the stipulated weights rather being cracked or damaged, even when storing lesser weights.
• The tables come in different colors, models and designs to choose from. You should explore as many tables as possible and choose the table that suits your home precisely well.
• Make sure to buy the best console table at a reasonable cost.
If you want to enhance the look of your home, then you have to buy the good acrylic furniture. | <urn:uuid:0da22e63-ff32-49c5-aa87-81c8fe0a0f62> | http://iflasks.com/how-to-organize-your-things-in-a-proper-manner/ | en | 0.960169 | 0.027342 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
1.16.5 Changing Player Skin For Self
Discussion in 'Spigot Plugin Development' started by BeefDev, Sep 6, 2021.
1. Hey I am making a plugin which involves skin changing. Reloading the skin for other players is very easy, you can just use Player#hidePlayer Player#showPlayer. However for the player who is getting their skin changed I am sending the PacketPlayOutPlayerInfo and then have to either kill them or tp them to a new world. Is there a way to bypass that last step and show the player their new skin instantly. I could use an API as a last resort but I would like to do that on my own to understand how its done.
Note I am not using ProtocolLib
2. Watching from 7:30 shows the class used if you don't want to watch the entire video.
3. That video runs the code on player join which I think reloads the skin or smt, the first time I tried changing skins I used the code from this video and it didn't change the skin for the player until they died or tped to another world. I ended up using the SkinsRestorer API
4. You'd have to send these packets in this order:
1. PacketPlayOutPlayerInfo - REMOVE_PLAYER packet
2. PacketPlayOutPlayerInfo - ADD_PLAYER packet
3. PacketPlayOutRespawn
4. PacketPlayOutPosition
You can set the player's skin signature through the GameProfile within the EntityPlayer object.
I'm not sure if this still works on 1.16 as I've tested this using NMS v1.8.R3, but I'm quite sure it would still work.
5. Hi, I did change the skin and send remove + add packet, but not the 2 last packets. Even though the API worked I will try this as it is a lot neater than having to import a giant library like skins restorer. If it works (cant test rn) thank you very much
• Like Like x 1 | <urn:uuid:4a5db67e-09c1-4727-864c-8d5752a829ab> | https://www.spigotmc.org/threads/changing-player-skin-for-self.524674/#post-4262750 | en | 0.955104 | 0.230337 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Rustica Plus
A dry spread application fertiliser that meets the complete nutritional requirements of vegetables, fruits, vines, flowers, turf and ornamentals. Rustica Plus has been widely used in Australian horticulture for over 40 years. (40KG)
Nutrient Forms:
Nitrogen is present both as nitrate and ammonium. The readily available nitrate-nitrogen gives an immediate growth response, while the more slowly available ammonium-nitrogen ensures a long-lasting effect.
Potassium is present as sulphate of potash only, which makes the product chloride free.
Phosphorus is in a soluble form, allowing ready uptake by plant roots and is essential for establishment and early development.
Secondary Nutrients and Micronutrients are present, with amounts tailored to horticultural production, with emphasis on calcium, sulphur, magnesium, zinc and boron.
Rustica Plus is ideal as a base or top dressing. It is a non-dusting, free flowing product that can be applied as a band or broadcast or can be incorporated into the soil or growing medium prior to planting.
General rates for horticultural crops are between 150 to 600 kg/ha. The actual rates, number of applications and their timing will vary considerably for different crops and for different districts. Before application, seek advice from your Campbell’s Rustica Plus distributor or your local agronomist.
12% Nitrogen, 5.2% Phosphorus, 14% Potassium, 8.3% Sulphur, 4.5% Calcium, 1.2% Magnesium, 0.1% Zinc and 0.02% Boron
Bag Size: 40kg, 1200kg | <urn:uuid:9b8ab702-c420-41e5-ad06-56726bc0c587> | https://www.tafco.com.au/component/virtuemart/fertiliser/rustica-plus-detail.html?Itemid=0 | en | 0.864664 | 0.026649 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
‘Tis the season for a clean house
Posted by Mitrano Removal on December 14, 2015
Mitrano containers can help you clear out your house.Many people might not associate the holidays with doing a thorough decluttering of their home, but with one year ending a brand-new one about the start, this is the perfect time to get rid of the old and get a fresh start for the New Year. You can start by taking stock of all the junk that might be lying around in your basement, garage, attic or shed and tossing the things you really don’t want or need.
Here are three reasons why people tend to collect junk:
1. They hold onto something for a long time so that it creates its own perceived “value.” After seeing the same thing year after year, it’s easy to assume you’re holding onto it for some valuable reason or purpose, but the reality is you neither want nor need it anymore. Toss it instead.
1. Procrastination is easier than dealing with something. Let’s face it, it’s easier to just leave something on a shelf or in a closet than try to figure out what to do with it. The answer is one of four things: sell it, donate it, recycle it, or throw it away. Gather up all your unwanted stuff and divide it all into four piles based on those four actions so you can more easily deal with it at one time.
1. Nostalgia provides a patina of good feeling about things that no longer has any real purpose. Faded, broken, and unused stuff often remains un-tossed because it reminds people of some long-ago, fondly-remembered place or event. The reality is, it rarely gets looked at or used. Once again, get rid of it.
Once you realize it’s not that hard to unclutter your home and your life, there’s actually joy in freeing yourself from boxes, shelves, and piles of neglected, unused junk. Decluttering your home is a great way to say “goodbye” to things that no longer have a purpose in your life and merely take up valuable space. What a great way to start the New Year!
At Mitrano Removal Service, we specialize in helping people get rid of all kinds of junk. We offer the containers, trucks, and service to make it easy for you to clean out your home and dispose of a wide variety of junk and waste material in a clean, economical, and responsible way. Call us today. | <urn:uuid:6560a0f8-e298-405d-aa2b-2e34dec5bd02> | https://www.mitranoremoval.com/tis-the-season-for-a-clean-house/ | en | 0.947777 | 0.051617 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Phoenix Carpet Cleaning Experts 602.252.8383
3616 W. Thomas Rd #1 Phoenix, Az 85019
Stain Removal
Adhesive Residue on carpet
An adhesive is a chemical, typically liquid or semi-liquid, that adheres or bonds items together. Adhesives come from either natural or synthetic sources. Adhesive come from glue on tape, masking tape, duct tape ect. but it can come in many forms, Drying adhesives, Pressure sensitive adhesives, Contact adhesives, Hot adhesives, Multi-part adhesives, One-part adhesives, Natural adhesives and Synthetic adhesives. If it is used on carpet for whatever reason let say as a protector for paint or to do a quick patch up job on ripped carpet residue will remain on the carpet in a matter of days if it’s let to sit.
It is first important to understand what the chemical makeup of glue is. Adhesives are primarily a made petroleum based chemical so the best chemical to use is a petroleum based product. . As with any stain removal technique, you will want to try a test application on a small, inconspicuous spot to be sure it does not damage the color or fibers of your carpet. The most commonly used product is “Goof Off” which can be found at any Home Depot or failing that you can use tighter fluid.
Simply apply the chemical on to the effective area then use a ruff surface I.E a hair brush, comb or a green scratch pad then vigorously rub the area until the adhesive is gone. After the adhesive has been lifted use a rag to wipe off any remaining residue or if you have a wet vac, use that because it is more effective in getting rid of any chemical left over.
It is important to remember why any residue is bad for carpet. In most cases residue is sticky and can attract dust, dirt or any particulate to the carpet thus creating a new stain .
Apex Carpet Cleaning
3616 W. Thomas Rd #1
Phoenix, Az 85019
Rich Sparta
Rich Sparta
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Akon Would Like to Tell You Something, Beautiful
Photo: WireImage
Though his street cred may have been shot full of holes by the Smoking Gun, Akon seems to have survived unscathed, probably because nobody really wants you to keep it real when you're singing ultrashiny hooks like those found on "Beautiful," the third single from his new album, Freedom. "Beautiful" debuted on this week's Hot 100 at No. 19, and it's easy to see why — Akon's oddly compelling vocals ride atop a Jock Jams hook that's ripe for cross-merchandising. Cutting the pop sweetness a bit is an island-inflected guest verse from Canadian rapper Kardianal Offishall, but there's nothing he offers up that will keep this from being played wherever one finds speakers. We wouldn't be surprised if this gave Akon yet another No. 1. | <urn:uuid:227b1faf-913f-4811-9fbc-3fa16d4df1c0> | http://www.vulture.com/2008/12/akon_would_like_to_tell_you_so.html | en | 0.983114 | 0.050129 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Design Patterns in Golang: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Recently I started a series of articles about Gang of Four Design Patterns and their adoption in Golang. They made a lot of noise in the community. I read a lot of contradictionary opionions whether should be used or not. I am publishing those articles as show case how the common design patterns can be adopted and implemented in Golang. I don’t encourage or promote their usage. Every developer has own style of programming, architecture desing and problem solving solutions.
Well, I don’t have a strong opionion about that. However, I have my own angle of view about this topic. I have never been a strong believer that they should be used intensively in any project. For me they have always been a language for communication among development teams. Yes, they solve particular problems. But I don’t think we should use them, because they exist and ar good practice.
Particular pattern should be used only in concrete case, when we gain benefit of that. I don’t encourage applying it by the book.
The Design Patterns have never been something encourage by the Golang community. They are not idiomatic for the language. Everybody knows that the language itself is very opioninated and idiomatic. There are no so many ways to achieve particular task or solve particular problem.
But let’s explore. Are they used in the existing Golang packages? I will give you a few examples how they are used in Golang libraries:
Singleton Design Pattern
The net/http package has http.DefaultClient and http.DefaultServeMux objects that are alive during the application lifecycle. The DefaultClient is used by Get, Head and Post functions to send request to http server.
Those variables contains a single instances that can be used accros the application. The implementation does not follow the same as most of the mainstream language. It’s still Golang idiomatic.
Factory Design Pattern
Did you used PostrgreSQL library like that?
import (
_ ""
func main() {
if err != nil {
age := 21
rows, err := db.Query("SELECT name FROM users WHERE age = $1", age)
Well in order to connect to PostgreSQL server the sql package instaciate the registered driver via Factory Design Pattern. The driver is registered by this function.
The Factory function is db.Open.
Iterator Design Pattern
Golang has a token package that defines constants representing the lexical tokens of the Go programming language and basic operations on tokens (printing, predicates).
The package has a token.FileSet struct that represents a set of source files. The struct implements The Interator Design Pattern.
func printStats(d time.Duration) {
fileCount := 0
lineCount := 0
fset.Iterate(func(f *token.File) bool {
lineCount += f.LineCount()
return true
"%s (%d files, %d lines, %d lines/s)\n",
d, fileCount, lineCount, int64(float64(lineCount)/d.Seconds()),
It has an Iterate function that calls a function for the files in the file set in the order they were added until it returns false.
Builder or Strategy Design Pattern
The Golang has an image package that can generate and manipulate different formats of images. The package exposes interfaces image.Image and subpackage draw that has draw.Drawer interface.
These interfaces allow composition of different shapes and draw strategies:
// Example from:
type circle struct {
p image.Point
r int
func (c *circle) ColorModel() color.Model {
return color.AlphaModel
func (c *circle) Bounds() image.Rectangle {
return color.Alpha{255}
return color.Alpha{0}
For me it looks more like Builder Design Pattern or Strategy Design Pattern.
You can read more about it in this Golang blog post.
PS. Please share your finding regarding any other examples of GoF Desing Pattern usage. I will be glad to publish them as well.
The Desing Patterns do exist in Golang. Their implementation does not align with the one that we have used to see in the mainstream languages like C#, JAVA and etc.
But what should we consider as idiomatic for Golang?
As my colleague George said:
After all we (as users) define the idioms in the language.
It’s true, isn’t it?
Tags# , , | <urn:uuid:f4aa610e-5394-4371-b691-02e1d1d04fbf> | http://blog.ralch.com/tutorial/design-patterns/golang-design-patterns/ | en | 0.833307 | 0.048681 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Architecture Defined «Prev Next»
Lesson 4 Perspectives
ObjectiveDescribe the objectives of e-business stakeholders.
Objectives of e-business Stakeholders
The architect can best sell the e-business design to the organization by fully understanding and, perhaps more importantly, by anticipating the concerns of individual stakeholders, groups of stakeholders, and the organization as a whole.
Understanding the objectives of e-business stakeholders
In identifying the likely concerns of stakeholders, it is best to start with the underlying company structure.
Stakeholders Greatest concern Questions to anticipate
The Management Board To ensure the ongoing and increasing profitability and viability of the enterprise What will the enterprise gain from the implementation? Can the implementation be achieved without negative impact on the business?
Operations and Customer Service To maintain or improve service levels at the lowest possible cost Will volumes increase or decrease in any part of the operation? How will customer service need to change to accommodate the solution?
Sales and Marketing To achieve a greater penetration of the targeted customer base and how to increase sales. How will this solution affect my customers? Will the image of the business be enhanced or damaged? How will branding be affected?
Finance To reduce unit costs What are the implementation and running costs of the e-business solution? What other costs will be affected and how?
Systems To provide and maintain reliable and adequate systems for all aspects of the enterprise Is the proposed solution viable from a systems' perspective? Do we have the necessary skills available to develop and run the solution?
Legal To ensure the enterprise operates within the law and does not expose itself to unnecessary risks What are the legal and regulatory requirements of operating in the virtual world? What new risks are introduced by the e-business solution?
Change management
Stakeholder buy-in is critical to the success of an e-business. Although the task of convincing stakeholders can be formidable, the benefits of ensuring their buy-in can significantly affect the success of the project.
To successfully manage the change to e-business, the architect should:
1. Involve a wide variety of representative stakeholders to map implementation issues to performance
2. Conduct a broad-based internal survey of stakeholders that rates the importance of each issue
3. Analyze the survey to identify consensus and disconnects in importance among subgroups of stakeholders
4. Tie the importance ratings to specific phases of the implementation to identify where change interventions might be introduced for best impact
In the next lesson, we will outline the key issues and concerns that an architect must consider in order to address the concerns of the stakeholders. | <urn:uuid:71eef232-92d6-4544-89eb-874616f0723c> | https://www.seomining.com/ebusiness-architecture/module2/objectives-ebusiness-stakeholders.php | en | 0.916088 | 0.675235 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Bonita Springs Commercial Litigation Attorneys
Find the right Litigation attorney in Bonita Springs, FL
Litigation Lawyers in Bonita Springs
In Bonita Springs, Florida, litigation is perplexing and expensive. While it can come up between sophisticated companies, it can just as quicklyy involve individuals who would never guess that they'd one day be involved in a commercial litigation dispute in Bonita Springs, Florida. It can arise from the most informal business transactions, such as a homeowner selling a piece of furniture to his neighbor.
Common Sources of Commercial Litigation in Bonita Springs, Florida
Sales of Real Estate: When buying a house or a plot of land in Bonita Springs, Florida, there are numerous things that can go wrong, which can lead to commercial litigation. Whether there is a defect in the seller's title, a physical defect on the property that the seller did not disclose, or the buyer fails to make timely payment, a dispute, which might lead to commercial litigation, is possible.
How Can a Bonita Springs, Florida Commercial Litigation Lawyer Help?
If you are operating a business in Bonita Springs, Florida, it's likely pretty clear that commercial litigation can arise from almost any business deal, and that a dispute leading to litigation rarely comes at a convenient moment. So, it's important to be prepared for any reasonably likely commercial litigation scenario.
Talk to a Law Attorney now!
Life in Bonita Springs
Bonita Springs plays host to 45,000 Lee County residents who are also incorporated into the Cape Coral-Fort Myers Metropolitan Area. Bonita Springs is home to a host of lawyers. Bonita Springs lawyers take all kinds of cases and are licensed to practice in every county throughout the state.. One of the reasons Bonita Springs is so popular is a result of the tropical climate that only dips down to 65 degrees Fahrenheit in January. It is also the northernmost city on the west coast of Florida bordering the Estero Bay and Gulf of Mexico. The Everglades Wonder Garden is another popular destination flush with wildlife like alligators, birds, panthers, flamingos, and bears among many others. There's also a botanical garden.
Bonita Springs is home to a number of attractions that are frequented by citizens and seasonal tourists alike. The Art League of Bonita Springs hosts local and traveling exhibitions and offers classes and community events. The Bonita Beach Park is a very popular beach that stretches 2.3 acres of waterfront which includes 8 picnic shelters, a swimming area, sand dunes, and lots of space to barbecue and enjoy the gorgeous Florida weather.
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Choosing Wisely: Things We Do For No Reason
Things We Do For No Reason: Failing to Question a Penicillin Allergy History
©2019 Society of Hospital Medicine
Inspired by the ABIM Foundation’s Choosing Wisely® campaign, the “Things We Do for No Reason” (TWDFNR) series reviews practices that have become common parts of hospital care but may provide little value to our patients. Practices reviewed in the TWDFNR series do not represent “black and white” conclusions or clinical practice standards but are meant as a starting place for research and active discussions among hospitalists and patients. We invite you to be part of that discussion.
An 80-year-old male—with a past medical history significant for hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and type II diabetes mellitus—presented to the hospital with fevers, confusion, and urinary outflow tract difficulties. On exam, he was noted to have mild suprapubic tenderness with flank tenderness. Blood and urine cultures grew Enterococcus faecalis sensitive to ampicillin. Because of the patient’s listed penicillin (PCN) allergy, he was started on aztreonam and vancomycin instead of ampicillin.
Ten percent of the population in the United States reports an allergy to penicillin and derivatives—one of the most commonly reported drug allergies.1 Allergic reactions to drugs are distinct immune reactions mediated by drug-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) that are potentially life-threatening. Specifically these allergic reactions are called IgE-mediated, type 1 hypersensitivity reactions which are characterized by hives; itching; flushing; tissue swelling, especially in areas of the face and neck; bronchospasm; and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, including cramping and diarrhea. Head and neck swelling can quickly result in airway compromise. Profound fluid extravasation and release of mediators from mast cells and basophils can rapidly drop blood pressure. Anaphylaxis requires rapid intervention to prevent severe complications and death. Given the life-threatening consequences of anaphylaxis, a cautious approach before administering PCN to PCN-allergic patients is mandatory.
While 10% of the adult population and 15% of hospitalized adults report PCN allergy, clinical studies suggest that 90% of all patients reporting a PCN allergy can tolerate PCN antibiotics.1-3 There are several reasons patients initially labeled as PCN allergic may later be able to tolerate this drug. First, patients can lose sensitivity to specific PCN IgE antibodies over time if PCN is avoided.4 Second, non-IgE-mediated immune reactions of skin or GI tract are often wrongly attributed to an IgE-mediated process from a concurrent medication (Table). For example, viral infections can cause exanthems or hives which may be mistaken for an antibiotic-associated IgE-meditated allergic reaction.6 These non-IgE skin reactions include severe manifestations including Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis or benign adverse reactions such as GI upset, dizziness, or diarrhea which are often misclassified as an allergy, and this error is perpetuated in the medical record. Third, patients may report a PCN allergy for themselves when a family member is possibly allergic.
PCN allergy has risen to the level of a public health issue as PCN-allergic patients are often relegated to second-line broad-spectrum antibiotics.7 This public health issue is exacerbated when patients with faux or resolved PCN allergy receive the same treatment. Patients labeled as PCN allergic—whether correctly or incorrectly—have poorer outcomes as noted by increased rates of serious infections and tend to have longer hospital stays.8-10 Treatment-related secondary infections from the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, such as Clostridiiodes difficile and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, are identified more frequently in PCN-allergic patients.7 Additionally, pregnant women with PCN allergy, with or without group B streptococcus infections, have higher rates of cesarean sections and longer hospitalizations.11 The misuse and overuse of antibiotics, especially broad-spectrum medications, has led to resistant bacteria that are increasingly difficult to treat.7 Treating with the most narrow-spectrum antibiotic whenever possible is critical. Overall, failure to address and assess PCN allergy can result in treatment failures and unnecessary broad-spectrum antibiotic use.
Avoid beta-lactams for patients with a reported allergy who are medically frail (eg, critically ill intensive care unit patients and those unable to communicate) or have a documented allergic reaction to a beta-lactam within five years. An estimated 50% of patients who had a documented true IgE-mediated allergic reaction within five years of a documented true allergic reaction remain allergic to PCN and are at risk for an allergic reaction with reexposure.1 PCN allergy evaluation with PCN skin testing (PST) and oral challenge in patients who had a reaction within five years have a higher risk of a fatal outcome with an oral challenge despite negative skin testing. PCN allergy evaluation is best handled on a case by case basis in this population.
Obtain a thorough drug allergy history. If the history is not consistent with a personal history of an IgE-mediated reaction to PCN ever or if there is documentation that PCN was administered and tolerated since the reaction (eg, a dental prescription), a PCN or beta-lactam can be given. An exception to this rule are patients with a history of an allergic reaction to both a cephalosporin and a PCN—approach this as two separate allergies. Remove the PCN allergy if it is not consistent with the history of IgE-mediated reaction or the patient subsequently had tolerated a PCN/PCN derivative. Regarding the cephalosporin issue, patients are often allergic to a side chain of the cephalosporin and not to the beta-lactam ring. Patients should avoid the specific cephalosporin unless the history is also not consistent with an IgE-mediated reaction or the patient had subsequently tolerated this medication. An allergy evaluation can be useful to discern next steps for cephalosporin allergy. Once the antibiotic is administered and tolerated, the medical record should be updated as well to prevent future mislabeling.
If the symptoms associated with a reported history of a PCN allergy are unknown or consistent with an IgE-mediated reaction, or the patient has not been exposed to PCN since the allergic reaction, the patient should undergo PST followed by a supervised oral test dose to determine whether the allergy exists or persists. PCN allergy evaluation is a simple two-step process of PST followed by an oral challenge of amoxicillin. The use of PCN allergy testing as described is validated and safe.12 A negative skin prick and intradermal test have a negative predictive value that approaches 100%.12,13 Completing the final step—the oral challenge—eliminates concerns for false-negative testing results and patient fears. Additionally, once a patient has had negative skin testing and passed an oral challenge, he/she is not at increased risk of resensitization after PCN/PCN derivative use.14
Although the test takes one and a half hours on average, the benefits that follow are lifelong. Improving future management by disproving a reported allergy affects an individual patient’s clinical course globally, results in cost savings, and increases the use of narrow-spectrum antimicrobials. It is particularly important to test PCN-allergic patients preemptively who are at high risk of requiring PCN/PCN derivative antibiotics. High-risk patients include, but are not limited to, surgery, transplant, hematology/oncology, and immunosuppressed patients. Inpatients with PCN allergy have higher antibiotic costs—both for medications used during their hospitalization and also for discharge medications.15 A study by Macy and Contreras compared the cost of skin testing to money saved by shortening hospitalization days for 51,582 patients with PCN allergy.7 The cost for testing was $131.37 each (total of $6.7 million). The testing contributed to a $64 million savings for the three-year study period—savings that is 9.5 times larger than the cost of the evaluation.8 A smaller study that looked at cost-effectiveness of PST for 50 patients found an overall cost savings of $11,005 due to the antimicrobial choice alone ($297 per patient switched to a beta-lactam antibiotic).16
• Obtain a thorough drug allergy history as many “allergic reactions” can be removed by history alone. Update the medical record if you can confirm a patient has since tolerated PCN or a PCN derivative to which they were previously allergic. Offer a supervised oral challenge if the patient has any concerns.
• Perform PST if a patient has a PCN allergy listed in their chart and the allergy history is unclear. A negative skin test should be followed by a supervised oral challenge to PCN/PCN derivative if skin testing is negative.
• Test PCN-allergic patients preemptively who are at high risk of requiring PCN/PCN derivative antibiotics. High-risk patients include surgery, transplant, hematology/oncology, and immunosuppressed patients.
• Implement published protocols from allergists for healthcare systems that lack access to allergy physicians.
• Do not perform PST on patients with a history that is suggestive of a non-IgE-mediated allergic reaction. For these cases, patients are advised to avoid the medication. A supervised graded oral challenge can be considered on a case by case basis if the reaction was not a severe cutaneous adverse reaction syndrome, like SJS, and the benefit of using the medication outweighs the potential harm.
The patient, in this case, reported an allergic reaction to PCN over 50 years before this presentation. The reported reaction immediately after receiving IV PCN was a rash—a symptom concerning for an IgE-mediated reaction. Since the patient is well over 10 years from his allergic reaction and would benefit from a PCN derivative, PST testing should be pursued.
The patient passed his skin testing and an oral challenge dose of amoxicillin. With the PCN allergy removed from his chart, his medical team transitioned him from aztreonam and vancomycin to ampicillin. He was then discharged home on amoxicillin and informed that he might be safely treated with PCN/PCN derivatives in the future.
Given the rise in antimicrobial resistance and both the clinical implications and increased costs associated with PCN allergy, it is crucial to offer an allergy evaluation to patients identified as PCN allergic. Hospitalists play a crucial role in obtaining the initial history, determining if the patient has tolerated the antibiotic since the initial reaction, and identifying patients who may benefit from further evaluation for PCN allergy. In hospitals with PST available for inpatients, testing can be performed during the admission. Additionally, it is essential that allergists work with hospitalists and primary care physicians to provide seamless access to outpatient drug allergy evaluations (PST followed by oral challenge) to address the issue of PCN allergy before an acute need for a PCN/PCN derivative antibiotic in the hospital.
Do you think this is a low-value practice? Is this truly a “Thing We Do for No Reason?” Share what you do in your practice and join in the conversation online by retweeting it on Twitter (#TWDFNR) and liking it on Facebook. We invite you to propose ideas for other “Things We Do for No Reason” topics by e-mailing [email protected].
The authors have no conflicts of interest.
This work is supported by the following NIH Grant: T-32 AI007062-39.
Comments () | <urn:uuid:0708328e-dfeb-4821-ac4e-b95852a6171a> | https://www.journalofhospitalmedicine.com/jhospmed/article/195957/hospital-medicine/things-we-do-no-reason-failing-question-penicillin-allergy | en | 0.93066 | 0.044919 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Red Rose – Turning Pink
Q: I have five large Knockout roses in my yard. They have been in the ground for 3 years and have always been red. They just recently bloomed and one of them is now pink and another is turning pick. What happened and what can I do?
Rose expert Ryan Tilley says:
There a few possibilities. One could be that the bush is sporting, which is a spontaneous change in the DNA of a cane. Sometimes this is a brand new trait and, if it is stable, can result in a brand new rose. For instance, the rose “Touch of Class” which is a pink/coral bloom sported a pale cream/pink bloom that was stable and resulted in the new rose “Classic Touch”. For a rose that is a hybrid, sometimes the rose sports blooms that revert back to one of the original parents. This may be stable and always show the different color, or it may be unstable and goes back to “normal” in the next bloom cycle. The problem with this theory is that a whole bush does not usually show this, but I suppose it is possible.
Another theory would be that with the odd winter and spring that we have had, the rose blooms are simply a bit “off” the norm. Many roses show unusual coloring when unusual weather conditions occur. For instance, ‘St. Patrick’ is a yellow rose with a faint greenish coloring on the outer petals. Sometimes though, the blooms are totally green. This is also why roses in a greenhouse that are blooming a few months early will have very interesting colorations due to lower light levels. February and March blooms in greenhouses can be a lot of fun to look at.
Also, if the buds on the bush or the canes were cold-damaged, this could result in some “weird-looking” blooms. I have seen many very strange looking blooms on various roses around the Atlanta area.
red pink Knockout 1
red pink Knockout 2
red pink Knockout 3 | <urn:uuid:15e3b625-a3ae-4dd5-b143-6c8bcc5690ae> | http://www.walterreeves.com/gardening-q-and-a/red-rose-turning-pink/ | en | 0.963908 | 0.020294 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
How do you train users to use products/systems developed under Agile methodologies?
More and more of our IT projects are moving to Agile, which I'm a big fan of, but it seems like there is very little written on the subject of how you effectively train people to use the end products, which of course are always changing.
Before you jump to share links to agile elearning methodologies, I'm not sure that is the answer. Again I'm a big fan of them and I think they work well when the project is the eLearning. But I'm struggling to see how you integrate that with an agile product development team.
It seems like you either need to have a trainer (for want of a better word) embedded in the team, but also different methods of instruction that don't rely on screenshots etc because the chances are the screens will have changed between the time you took them and the time the users see them. It also seems like the users themselves will need to develop an appreciation of what Agile means and become more comfortable with ambiguity.
So if you have any tales to tell I would be delighted to hear them!
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So I managed to answer my own question with a little help from some lovely people at Ripple-Rock Consulting...
‘Non IT requirements’ should be collected as part of the user story mapping process with the IT and form part of the Backlog and Release Plan as with any other story. The Product Owner and the Scrum Master will then create an Agile Release Plan that will define when Items need to get delivered and any dependencies such as screens (for screenshots) being available. This makes it clear to the teams the impact of further change.
Agile is incremental and Iterative and so further changing requirement driven by the business, will mean that any work done to date maybe subject to change.
Include any stakeholders or users as part of the team review process and look to back end the training when more levels of stability have been reached.
If the team are really sporadic with their changes, I would suggest there is a dysfunction there somewhere."
So there you go! If you are going to work with Agile teams to design training for their outputs, you may need to adjust the way you work, get involved right at the start during scoping and play an active role throughout each cycle.
Hope that's of some use to someone, it certainly helped our team.
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Crysis 3 - Storyline
24 years after the events of Crysis 2, Prophet's personality and memories stored in Nanosuit assimilates with Alcatraz's body along with Alcatraz's memories, replacing Alcatraz's consciousness 'like a spare part' in the process. Prophet now knows that he died by shooting himself and is now back from the memories stored in the Nanosuit. Joining with Psycho, his teammate from the first Crysis and a team of elite Nanosuit soldiers, he travels around the world looking for the Alpha Ceph, the ultimate Ceph leader, from the knowledge he gained about Ceph. One by one his teammates lose interest in the hunt believing that all Ceph are destroyed, until Prophet and Psycho finally trace the Alpha Ceph in Russia and imprison it. But, shortly afterwards, CELL, now in search for global domination of land and technology, disable Prophet using powerful EMP weapons in Siberia, captures all the remaining Nanosuit soldiers, and start skinning them of their suits so as to learn or recover the Ceph genetics stored in them. Everyone involved in the Nanosuit program were either recruited or detained by CELL, including Scientists Nathan Gould from Crysis 2 and Claire Fontanelli. However, CELL runs out of Nanosuit soldiers to skin for alien material that integrated with their suits, so they transfer Prophet to the facility as requested, to skin him. Locked in a storage device with powerful EMP shocks to keep him dormant, Prophet is transported to New York, now encased within a giant "Nanodome" by CELL.
However, Karl Ernst Rasch, using Ceph technology had extended his lifespan and comes to know about the corrupt intention of CELL. He resigns as the head of Hargreave-Rasch Biotechnologies, removes all the research done by him and Hargreave on Ceph technology to stop CELL from acquiring it and secretly releases a brief video of Prophet's where-abouts, describing the post scenario conditions after invasion of New York and the evolution of Ceph, thus requesting the local resistance (led by Claire) to free Prophet as he is the only Nanosuit holder left who can stop CELL and put an end to their corrupt motives. He then himself joins the resistance. Members of the resistance, including former Nanosuit soldiers Psycho, Lazy Dane and Bandit, infiltrate the dock area and are able to free Prophet from the transport ship, which has now docked at the New York nanodome.
Psycho explains to Prophet that during his 20 year absence, CELL used Ceph technology to generate unlimited free energy. Eventually, CELL became a mega corporation and gained a monopoly over the world's power supply, and so used it to drive everyone into debt. Those who could not pay for the energy were sent to "volunteer camps" (slavery). A resistance movement formed in response to this. The resistance eventually freed Psycho from the skinning labs, and he joined their ranks. Tara Strickland from Crysis 2 also helps the resistance politically as a senator, but is unable to do much due to CELL's political dominance. The source of CELL's power generation for the entire world, called System X, is also located in the abandoned and encased New York. Since the Nanodome was to keep the city empty and non-functional, NY has now grown into a jungle populated by wildlife and feral Ceph Stalkers, due to a lack of urbanization. Psycho wants System X destroyed to free the world from CELL. Prophet, though worried about his visions of the Alpha Ceph showing him the end of the world, agrees.
Psycho and Prophet enter the dome, fighting through CELL forces and some feral Ceph Stalkers living in the fields.They reach the resistance headquarters, where they meet Karl Ernst Rasch and Claire. Rasch tries to convince Claire that Prophet is what the resistance needs to finally overthrow CELL. Despite affirmations from Psycho, with whom she seems to have a special relationship, Claire is skeptical of Prophet because of the extensive modifications in his suit, the integration of Ceph genetic material, and the deep integration with his suit. Eventually, Claire agrees.
Psycho and Prophet's first target is the outer defenses of System X, a device with infinite power production capacity, but for some reason, CELL chose to generate power through a hydroelectric dam. Prophet hypothesizes that CELL does this because it fears something about System X. Prophet continues to have visions, but successfully destroys the dam and then disables System X 's power production core, Nexus facility. As it turns out, System X is the Alpha Ceph. A system protocol designed to contain the Alpha Ceph when required activates but fails, leading to the initiation of a secondary defense protocol, causing the whole power facility to self-destruct. The Alpha Ceph, free from containment, now enables a hidden Ceph structure inside the Nanodome to fire a beam into the atmosphere to open a wormhole to the Ceph home world in the M33 Galaxy. Through this wormhole, they plan to send an invasion force to invade Earth, revealing that invasion was their true motive for arriving on Earth millions of years ago. With the Alpha Ceph no longer dormant, the Ceph coordinator, or Hivemind, reactivates, and a coordinated Ceph attack ensues. Prophet decides to kill the Alpha Ceph and end the alien threat once and for all.
Prophet learns that he must unlock his suit to its full potential by removing some neural blocks in his head to defeat the Ceph. Prophet and Psycho head to the skinning laboratory to use the cradle to do this. At the facility, they see firsthand the atrocities visited upon the Nanosuit soldiers by CELL. Psycho uses the cradle to remove the neural blocks, and also the limitations of the nanites in the suit. Now, the nanites will be able to transform into anything as it has no limitations. Psycho does more digging into his past, despite orders from Claire. He discovers that it was Claire who had skinned him and the others at the behest of CELL, also explaining why she was skeptical of Prophet's suit. Upset, Psycho rebuffs efforts from Claire and Prophet to console him. Claire pleads that he was the reason she joined the resistance, and that she had no other choice. Prophet also claims that he had no other choice, and that he told him what he needed to know at the time of the Lingshan Incident. Psycho finds this unacceptable, as everyone has a choice. He hands Prophet the dogtags of the men that died under his command, Aztec and Jester during the original Crysis and "Cupcake" during the Alpha Ceph hunting mission between Crysis 2 and 3, and leaves.
Prophet learns that because the Alpha Ceph is controlling the Ceph structure for creating a wormhole, CELL plans to use Archangel, a satellite-based energy distribution device that can draw power from the entire world's power grid, as a directed energy weapon to destroy all of New York and hopefully the Alpha Ceph. Unfortunately, firing it at the Alpha Ceph and New York would cause a chain reaction that would destroy Earth. To make matters worse, the Ceph attack Claire and the resistance. Prophet races to rescue them, but the situation is so dire that Claire tells him to leave them, as they are only holding him back. Psycho shows up with a VTOL and rescues the resistance. They proceed to the Archangel control facility where they shut off the weapon before it unleashes enough energy to fire. Rasch is recovered in the facility, but he is now under control of the Alpha Ceph since he used Ceph technology to expand his life. He disables Prophet and tries the same on Psycho, but Claire blocks his attack and Psycho shoots Rasch. No longer under control, Rasch implores the group to leave as the Alpha Ceph renews its attack. Prophet, Psycho, and the injured Claire board the VTOL and engage in a massive air battle with Ceph ships, eventually crashing. Claire, succumbing to her injuries, is forgiven by Psycho and dies. Psycho laments to Prophet that he is powerless because he does not possess a Nanosuit. Prophet fights with Psycho, revealing that Rasch was only able to incapacitate Prophet because as he was wearing the nanosuit, and that they only survived because of Psycho as he was not wearing a nanosuit. Psycho, now going by his human name Michael, resolves to do the slaughtering and finds another VTOL to take the battle and Prophet to the Ceph.
After taking down the Air Defense Battery Turret, Michael and Prophet head towards the Alpha Ceph, but are bogged down by the Ceph Master Mind. Shortly after killing the Ceph Master Mind, the Ceph Wormhole structure gets stronger sucking everything around it while Prophet gets stuck underground due to debris. From there Prophet finds his way through hordes of Ceph Army and kills the Alpha Ceph with the help of Michael. Since Alpha Ceph controls every single Ceph, its death kills all other Ceph troopers in the area. As they only destroyed the Alpha Ceph and didn't have enough time to destroy the Ceph wormhole structure which is now fully functional, the beam powering the wormhole pulls Prophet into space. Now in orbit around Earth, Prophet sees a massive Ceph warship, similar to the one in the first Crysis, coming through the wormhole. His suit heavily damaged, Prophet almost gives up, but pushes on. Recalling Archangel's immense power, Prophet hacks into the satellite and uses it to destroy the Ceph warship. This collapses the wormhole and ends the threat of invasion. In the explosion, Prophet is knocked off by the debris and is pushed back into the earth's atmosphere. He impacts the waters near the Lingshan Islands where 27 years ago, the events of Crysis took place, and the Ceph were first discovered by Prophet and his former team.
When Prophet wakes up the next morning, he is in an abandoned hut in Lingshan. In the background, there is a news broadcast of Senator Tara Strickland who announces that the remaining assets of the CELL corporation have been frozen and seized as part of the global recovery effort. As the neural blocks are removed from the Nanosuit to destroy the Alpha Ceph, the nanites in the suit can now rearrange to anything imaginable, thus making the Nanosuit more symbiotic than ever. It changes its outer layer to reform Prophet's former physical body, technically resurrecting him. Prophet then grabs the dog-tags of his deceased squad members thinking how much he sacrificed his humanity and his own body in the quest for victory . He walks out to the beach and throws the tags into the water, and decides to use his actual name "Laurence Barnes" from now onwards. Barnes then walks back towards the hut, cloaks and says "My name is Laurence Barnes. They called me Prophet. Remember me." The camera zooms out, revealing the hut and surrounding area to be identical to that initially encountered by Nomad during "Crysis".
In a post credits scene, two frightened CELL troopers and three frazzled men hurriedly retreat down a corridor. They are being attacked and pursued by an unknown enemy accompanied by strange sounds. It is revealed that the three men comprise the CELL board of directors. The CELL troopers turn around and are shot. The three nervous men turn to find Michael (Psycho) sitting at the desk. He claims to have had spent some time at one of their hospitals, and he wants to 'file a complaint'.
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Merging Retail with Menu Merchandising
Merging retail concepts and ideas with menu merchandising into unique food venues is an effective way to increase food sales and drive additional retail sales. Open kitchens, fresh meats, finished desserts, raw bars and satay grills are examples of merchandising the menu. Retail displays of logoed merchandise such as T-shirts, key chains and the like at foodservice stations has long had a place in branded operations such as the Hard Rock Café or Planet Hollywood. But these items are not integral to the actual foodservice operation. So the challenge for foodservice operators is to integrate food and retail merchandising into other styles and levels of service to further enhance their competitive edge. Doing so will attract new customers and keep loyal ones because merging food and retail adds more choice and entertainment to the customers' experience – therefore building a competitive edge.
Using a combination of sight and smell adds to the effectiveness of food merchandising. These are not new ideas; rather, how we apply them in venues ranging from markets to small specialty restaurants makes the difference between ho-hum and dazzling foodservice operations.
I am always looking for new ways to make a foodservice operation's menu stand out. Is there a better way for the restaurant's appearance to reflect the menu? How a foodservice operator answers questionslike these drives the design. For example, dim sum is exciting because of the presentation: The dim sum baskets are cut into the stainless-steel cover of the steam bath that keeps them warm.
What is it that allows for the successful integration of foodservice and retail? What makes this more than just another foodservice concept? What process can be applied to achieve the desired results? There are many ways to achieve success. The following eight-step process works best for me.
Step 1: Investigate
Ask questions, questions and more questions. Determine what is unique about the menu that the foodservice operator can merchandise and sell in a retail setting. Is it the stone bowl in which the signature dip is served? Or the glass items on which you present your specialty desserts? The key skill when doing an investigation is “listening” for the answers. There is a world of difference between listening and hearing.
Step 2: Understand the Operation
Spend some time observing all aspects of cooking, serving, prep, etc. This process provides a unique perspective into the foodservice operation's values, strengths and weaknesses. In the case of a foodservice operation that has yet to open, this step is more of a virtual exercise best done by walking through all the facility's functions.
Step 3: Think Outside the Kitchen
No idea is too extreme, so list all the various concepts that might be developed. Review the list of concepts with the internal staff, contractors and the like, discussing the pros and cons for each idea. For example, an interesting concept to suggest is a revolving glass dessert display that features whole cakes and pies for sale. This could include retail elements such as designer plates on which the desserts are served.
Another retail concept is using a new vertical rotisserie instead of the more traditional horizontal units. When considering something different like this, it's important to understand the effort required to bring an idea to completion. Some ideas can be done with millwork and minimal finishes with minimal cost impact, while others may require hundreds of thousands of dollars to fully develop.
Step 4: Express Your Thoughts with Passion
The passion of an idea is a direct measure of its potential success. Knowing an idea inside and out will give you the confidence to express your passion. For instance, developing a new style of revolving grill with a domed grate and center burner is great. But if you can accessorize it with an open meat display from which customers make selections and observe the complete cooking process, then you have a complete thought that is described with passion and can be imagined.
Step 5: Develop the Concepts
When designing the concept, develop detailed sketches and add the retail items into the sketches to make sure they fit. The last thing you want to do is develop a cool niche to hold a specific item and find later that it does not fit.
If part of the concept is the presentation of bulk retail items in the front of a service counter, it is extremely important to know what items the shelves will hold. Are there any special utilities required, exhaust hoods or special conditions? If so, know how they are integrated into the design and the constructability.
Step 6: Test the Concepts
Share the concept development plans with another foodservice professional to get feedback. With that step complete, test your concept to ensure it is well planned and thought out - utilizing three-dimensional modeling is a very good method. Sometimes, accommodating specific issues in a concept requires building a model to fully convey the operational challenges. For example, a counter that is wide enough to support retail items may be too deep to pass food over. Testing a concept will prevent a good deal of the unexpected crises later.
Step 7: Document the Concepts
Providing the project team with the required information about such matters as the size of utilities and where they should be located within the concept are very important. All the required dimensional factors need to be stated to ensure the proper construction of the concept.
Step 8: Implement the Concepts
Make sure all the mechanical items work. For example, have the client's staff use the revolving grill and check that the burners in the grill are properly calibrated.
In order to maximize the foodservice operator's investment, it is important to find ways to reduce the kitchen footprint and utilize more efficient equipment. This approach helps foodservice operators focus their investment to enhance revenue potential. The more efficient a design, the more cost effective the operation.
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Here’s how to survive in the age of online reviews
As a property manager, you've probably encountered a negative online review at some point in your career. Some shake it off and move on. Others let it stew in their minds, going over every word in excruciating detail with a mix of rage and hurt. And then there are those who see a negative review and go ballistic, responding with a vicious diatribe that will only end up driving potential tenants away.
It would be nice to live in a comfy bubble and think that no one puts much stock in online reviews. However, no matter how you shake up the data, it always produces the same result: online reviews are incredibly important and can influence purchasing decisions like nothing else. The Local Consumer Review Survey from 2016 has it by the numbers:
• 92% read online reviews.
• An astounding 84% of those surveyed trust an online review as much as a personal recommendation.
• Nine out of ten consumers will read fewer than 10 reviews before forming their opinion.
• For 74% of the respondents, a positive review will make them trust a business.
• 58% said that the star rating was the most important indicator of a business' trustworthiness.
The numbers on this are nearly endless, but they all say what we all already know: online reviews can drive more business or sink you. So how do you keep them from doing the latter? Here are some tips for managing your online reputation without losing your mind:
1. The first thing you need to do is research your property. Hunt down every review you can find and do it like you're a prospective renter. Would you rent from you based on the feedback that's out there?
2. Your first reaction will probably be anger. Take a deep breath to give yourself time to cool off and distance yourself from those feelings. Investigate the accusations in the review by speaking to employees and gathering information about what actually happened.
3. Respond to the positive comments to show that you're engaging in the conversation. Then, answer the negative review with a "thank you" for the feedback, an apology if one is warranted and a follow-up email to the poster to see if you can do anything to fix the situation (or prevent it from happening again).
4. Don't be afraid to speak directly to potential tenants in your response. You can say something like, "If anyone reading this review is looking for an apartment, please understand that we are addressing the concerns of the poster to not only exceed their expectations but to exceed the expectations of everyone who lives here. We would love to find out how we can do the same for you. Give us a call at (000) 000-0000."
5. Don't always be on defense. Maintaining an active online presence is about more than just combatting bad reviews. You want to generate positive buzz, so ask currently satisfied residents to leave good reviews on sites like Yelp, and, of course, Google Reviews.
Managing your presence online is one part of the process that can't be put on autopilot. So always be monitoring reviews, processing new information and responding to needs. Remember: your reputation is a living thing that must constantly be attended to if you want your community to be a success.
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I have conversion disorder going on 4 yrs among with bipolar, anxiety, panic attacks. I was on a hole lot of meds for those things but stop taking them since i was unable to have sex. So the only meds i take now are my xanax but those really don't work anymore since i have been on them so long..My stress and anxiety manifests into server physical pain and at times my left side of my hole body goes numb and the only med that as worked for the pain are my xanax but not much anymore so i'm looking for another med that will help with my attacks as well with the pain..Some have told me to try ativan..so how much would i have to take to match my xanax dose or what other drug might help!! Really needing something these disorders are running my life since i'm already on disability i can't really have a normal life!! PLEASE HELP!! | <urn:uuid:f753d387-e92c-42e8-99cb-84784e3be991> | https://www.drugs.com/answers/xanax-goin-7-yrs-2mg-3-day-work-anymore-thinking-553339.html | en | 0.982342 | 0.040417 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Silence from NES on Olympic-sized sand mining holes
Monday November 20, 2017 Published in Smoke Signals
Can Joseph Brider stand up and assure us, all is well in his department? Can he explain why there are “goings-on” on the island that don’t get any pressure from the National Environment Service despite public concern?
There are sand mining holes the size of Olympic diving pools near the Rarotongan but despite this activity and despite the calls NES has received about this and other sand mining issues, they still do nothing. The holes in their environment policy are getting as large as the holes in our islands, while they sit back and do nothing.
The view expressed by the three Takitumu candidates with regards to the $43,000.00 perks for three wives of Cabinet Ministers in the island’s weekly paper is a joke, says to a Pa Enua resident. How would they know with what is happening in the Pa Enua if they don’t go there very often? They mentioned the need to replace outdoor long drops, without them realising the issue of long drops is long gone. Our people do not use long drops anymore in the Pa Enua. Get your facts right guys and talk about your own back yards. I am not sure whether the Ngatangiia candidate realises there are individuals within his constituency who don’t have electricity in their homes. I am aware of this because the CIP candidate told me.
Now there is no government involvement in the Vaimanga hotel and there seems to be a private sale in view, will the roadway return to the people of Rarotonga? Or will the proposed road deviation open the doors for others to claim road frontage? There seems to be some movement afoot to shift the small building at the main roadway entrance to Wigmores Waterfall.
It’s great to have the helmet law in place to be on the safe side, but there should be more fines for people who don’t bother to wear them. Or scrap the law completely so that locals and tourists alike can enjoy the wind blowing on their faces – and so they can injure themselves really badly if they have a smash. This helmet law seems to be taking a long time for people to get used to, and the police aren’t enforcing it very well at all.
The recent tragic deaths on our roads unfortunately still haven’t sent a strong enough message to sink into the heads of the idiots who drive motorcycles dangerously and at alarming speeds on our islands. Seen over the weekend on various days: three locals driving side by side around the seawall at high speed, two of them having a conversation with each other at the same time, two bikes being ridden on the wrong side of the road at Arorangi and a local man on a bike with no side mirrors overtaking cars. at a very high speed. Oh, and of course not one of them was wearing a helmet. Tourists are just as bad – apparently, because some of them wear helmets, they believe they are bulletproof.
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Tricks That You Could Do To Get Bigger Muscles
How could I build muscle fast? What options are out there that work the best? These are questions asked daily around the world, but the answers are often hard to find. Continue reading to pick up tips on how you can build your muscles and bulk up.
Concentrate on deadlifts, squats and bench presses. These key exercises form the foundation of any good bodybuilding routine, and rightly so. Experienced bodybuilders know that they not only provide basic conditioning, but they also build strength and bulk. You should consistently integrate them into your routines.
Compound exercises are an important part of any muscle building plan. These moves incorporate many muscle groups at once, so they are efficient and effective. For example, bench presses work out your shoulders, triceps and chest all at once.
Do as many sets and repetitions as you can during your training. Do fifteen lifts in a set, and take very short breaks before starting new sets. You want lactic acids flowing in your muscles, as this promotes muscle growth. By keeping the breaks to about a minute, the lactic acid doesn’t have a chance to dissipate. This will give the best results.
You have to add protein to your diet so that your body does not cannibalize itself. Muscles are made from the building block of protein. If you do not eat enough of it, your body cannot create new muscle tissue. Look for proteins that are lean and healthy, and include them in a minimum of two of your meals per day, as well as in daily snacks.
Muscle building isn’t always an attempt to become overly bulky. Lots of different muscle building regimens are available, and it is important to select the right type for you before you start. Depending on how large you want your muscles, you may want to consider adding a supplement to your diet.
Yourself Rewards
When trying to increase muscle mass, snack on protein-rich foods prior to working out, and again after you finish. Try to consume 15 grams of protein 30 minutes prior to exercising, and 15 grams afterwards. To get an idea of how much 15 grams is, think a couple of glasses of milk.
Giving your muscles a workout can benefit you in a variety of ways, even if you have no desire to bulk up. Building muscle will make your joints healthier, improve your self-esteem, and also (if done in conjunction with moderate cardiovascular exercise) help you to breathe easier.
Always stretch prior to working out. Stretching before and after exercising is the best way to avoid injuries and relax your muscles to help them recover. In order to speed up relaxation and shorten your recovery time, you can also add a schedule of massages to your workout routine.
Cardio Workouts
Ensure that you carefully examine your body in order to determine the things that you can do and the things you can’t do. This will provide a good foundation to begin creating goals and building on them. When evaluating your body, consider both composition and weight.
Make sure to eat well when building muscle. You need specific nutrients to rebuild any damaged muscle fibers. Protein shakes are a great way to supplement your diet but also ensure you’re getting protein to rebuild your muscle fibers after a workout.
When you are done with a workout, stretching is very important, so that your muscles can repair themselves and rebuild. If you are under age 40, hold your stretches for at least 30 seconds. For those over 40, stretches should be held at a minimum of 60 seconds. This will work to prevent any injuries from happening after you have worked your muscles.
Meet your nutritional needs by consuming protein in even amounts at every meal and snack that you eat during the day. If you distribute your protein consumption throughout the day, it will be easier to reach your target intake. Find out how much protein you need to meet your muscle building goals, then break it down evenly across all your meals.
Staying Hydrated
Developing good technique is the most important factor in weight lifting, ahead of speed, frequency of exercise or even how much weight is used. Carefully practice and master each and every exercise. Start practicing with lighter weights so that you can ensure you’re completing the rep correctly, and then increase the weight later when you are comfortable with your technique. This will lead to the best possible results.
Staying hydrated is important to safely and healthily building muscle. Attempting to exercise when not properly hydrated will result in a greater risk of injury. Further, staying hydrated will help you gain muscle and keep your muscles solid.
Stretch for at least ten minutes before you start weight training. This loosens and lengthens your muscles to help prevent injury. Avoiding injury will ensure that you are able to work out as scheduled.
Add a couple plyometric exercises to your routine. These types of exercises will let your body develop some fast-twitch muscle fibers, and that will help stimulate any muscle growth. Plyometrics require acceleration, and they resemble ballistic moves. For example, during plyometric push-ups, you would pull your hands off the floor and lift your body as high as possible.
Start your muscle building program by perfecting your form rather than going for power. As you grow in strength the weight will increase; however, your form will be more off later, if not corrected in the beginning. This can increase the risks for injuries, which you don’t want to achieve.
When you want to get bulky, focus on big weights, like squats and dead lifts, as well as bench presses. Focusing on these three types of exercises helps build muscle mass fast. You can add more exercises to your workout regimen, but those three exercises should make up the core of it.
If you are a bodybuilder and are over 18, investigate whether a creatine supplement might improve your results. Creatine can boost both energy and muscle building. This supplement has been used for years in weight training. So do your best to stay away from supplements, if you feel like your body is still in the process of growing.
You can judge the effectiveness of a bodybuilding routine by its ability to make you stronger. With time, you will be able to increase the amount of weight you can lift. Beginners should see improvements of five percent more weight every two workouts. Think about what you may be doing wrong if you aren’t having the progress you want. If you’re feeling weak, consider how long you rested between workouts.
Do not let steroids tempt you. Steroids have been shown to inhibit your body’s ability in producing natural hormones. Steroids cause damage to your liver, as well as lowering “good” cholesterol, and often causes men to develop some breast tissue. At the same time, steroids can negatively impact a person’s mental state and cause severe acne problems. Not exactly an attractive picture, right?
Pre-exhaust is a useful strategy you can use if a certain muscle group is giving up on you early and reducing the effectiveness of subsequent exercises. A specific example of this happening is when your biceps conk out on you before your lats when you use the rowing machine. Try performing exercises that allow you to isolate certain muscles in order to avoid having to use the muscles that are keeping you from completing your reps. Because of this, lats will become pre-exhausted and your biceps will not limit you during rows.
Always start out with a few warm-up exercises. Including ten or fifteen minute warm-ups can increase your blood flow and prepare your muscles for intense workouts. Warming up prevents serious injuries. If you don’t warm up, you may harm your muscles and have to refrain from exercising until you heal–which can take a long time.
Keep your goals accessible to ensure your motivation stays high. Good results come incrementally over months of working out. Don’t try to take shortcuts; stimulants, steroids and other unnatural weight training methods can be hazardous to your health.
Set up a training routing which matches your goals. Repeating the same exercises daily may get routine, but experts say it is an excellent means to increase good muscle mass. As time passes, you can start to add to your routine more exercises, or replace a few exercises with new ones, if you wish.
Examine your physique to see if there are any limitations you have. When you start from here, you can safely set targets for your workout. When evaluating your body, consider its composition, as well as its weight.
Look for quality protein powders for use in energy drinks. If you are trying to build muscle, your protein requirements are higher than normal. Shakes and smoothies make getting protein easier.
This article covered some general tips for an effective muscle development routine. If not, you should try to seek out more information online. Incorporate the tips learned here and also stay up to date on the latest findings to maximize your results and get the body you’ve always wanted.
Eating the standard three meals a day will leave your body with inadequate nutrition to build muscle. By eating six small meals with a good mixture of protein, carbohydrates and some healthy fats, you will give it the nourishment it requires. This will keep your metabolism high and help your muscle fibers repair themselves quickly.
Personal training
Integrating Jumping Lunges Into Your Weight Workout
It’s easy to want to have a fantastic body, but the average person doesn’t do what it takes to get one. You, on the other hand, are so determined to get your body in shape that you’ve searched out information, which is a great first step! Read on to find easy ideas, to build muscle in no time at all.
Vegetables are a critical component of a healthy diet. While muscle building diets tend to focus on carbs and protein, you still need plenty of vegetables. Vegetables contain valuable nutrients that are not present in foods that are generally high in protein or carbohydrates. They’re also great fiber sources. Fiber helps your body to better process protein.
You must warm up properly before starting any exercise. Stronger muscles will be more stressed and prone to injury. By warming them up, injury can be prevented. Prior to any heavy lifting, do some brief, low-impact exercises. Follow this with some intermediate warm-up repetitions.
You need lots of protein when building muscle. Protein is essentially what constitutes muscles. If you fail to get enough protein, you will not gain muscle mass very quickly. Eat lean, healthy proteins at two out of three of your meals, and eat a protein-rich snack at least once daily.
When working to build muscle, make sure you are consuming plenty of protein. Protein is what muscles are grown from. If you don’t get enough of it, your body is going to have a hard time developing muscle mass. Aim to eat lean and healthy proteins at least three times a day.
Cardio Workouts
Do not extend your workouts to more than 60 minutes. Beyond 60 minutes, your body starts releasing the stress hormone, cortisol. This cortisol will block testosterone – wasting all the work you are putting into your muscle building. An excellent method of ensuring you maximize your workouts is to keep workouts at less than an hour long.
Provide your body with plenty of the right fuel on exercise days. You will need to consume more calories than normal throughout the day, with a push in the hour prior to your workout. This does not mean that you should eat too much, but eat more than you would on a day that you would not work out.
Don’t work out for longer than an hour. Your body will produce more stress hormone, called cortisol, if you exceed an hour long workout. Extra cortisol may block testosterone and your efforts at bodybuilding can be wasted. Making sure workouts don’t go over one hour is the perfect way to optimize your fitness plan.
When weight lifting, it is perfectly fine to cheat just a little bit. If you need to finish a few extra reps in order to get the most out of your workout, don’t use your entire body. But do not make that an excuse to cheat on all of your reps! Stay in control of the speed of your repetitions. Never allow your form to be compromised.
Try including plyometric exercise into your routine. Plyometric exercises target fast-twitch muscle tissue, encouraging faster muscle growth. Plyometrics require acceleration, and they resemble ballistic moves. For instance, when doing plyometric push-ups, you let your hands jump off the floor and explode as high as you can.
Build Muscle
Some muscle groups are harder to bulk up than others. If you have this problem, target a particular groups of muscles with a fill set. A fill set is 25-30 reps of an exercise specifically designed to target your weak areas as maintenance between full workouts.
In order to build muscle, you need to watch your calorie intake. Be aware that there are good calories and bad calories; incorporate more good protein calories and eliminate bad fat calories. If you eat a poor diet, you will be unable to build muscle mass.
When trying to increase muscle mass, snack on protein-rich foods prior to working out, and again after you finish. Aim for 15 grams of protein both before and after you exercise. To give an example, one to two cups of milk has 15 grams of protein.
You should put as much hard work into your diet as you do your training. To build muscles, you will need a good protein intake and less fat. This does not mean you should eat more food; this means you should have a more balanced diet. Try taking protein supplements and vitamins to build muscle faster.
Be picky of what moves you go heavy on, as some are unfavorable to excess weight. For instance, split squats, dips and neck work will damage your joints if you add too much weight. Keep the higher weights to exercises which are easier to complete, such as rows or standard squats.
Bicep Curl
Perform your squats in a smart way. Place your bar closer to the middle of your traps. This makes your glutes, hips and hamstrings work hard, allowing you to squat more weight than you would have been able to.
Try your best to make the biceps curls you are doing better. If you can’t get the dumbbell or up past parallel, you will lose some of the effectiveness of the motion of a typical bicep curl. However, the bicep curl is the strongest at the top half. By doing barbell curls while sitting, can help you fix this.
Try creatine supplements. These assist you in training harder and for a longer period of time, when used in conjunction with a diet full of carbs and proteins. Be sure to consult your doctor to find out if these supplements are safe for you.
Stretching is a vital part of your workout. Your muscles should be warmed up prior to exercise, in order to avoid injury. Stretching after exercise can help, too, by relaxing your muscles while the start to recover from the workout. Muscle massage is also useful in encouraging relaxation and recovery which is essential to weight training.
You should take a few minutes to stretch before you start working out. This helps warm up your muscles prior to lifting any heavy weights. Additionally, avoiding injury by regularly stretching means less exercise time missed.
When starting a muscle building regimen, it is important to make sure you have a proper form before trying for power. The slightest mistake in a rep can cause you to perform the exercise more and more incorrectly as you increase the weight. The result will be an increase in injury, which will never help you to accomplish your long term goals.
You may want to mix up the grip you use on your back. To give your lift more strength, try a mixed or a staged grip with your deadlifts and your rack pulls. Using a staggered grip will help twist the bar in one direction as your underhand grip moves the bar in the opposite direction. This keeps the weight bar from rolling around in your hands.
Healthy,lean fats are essential to building muscle. Healthy fats help to lubricate joints, and they can also raise the level of testosterone in the body. This can be effective in gaining body muscle. Don’t consume saturated fats though. These are not considered healthy.
Make sure to eat well when building muscle. Your body’s muscles need specific types of nutrients so that they can stretch, grow and recover efficiently over the course of your muscle-building efforts. Protein is one of these nutrients, and consuming a protein shake after a workout will promote muscle repair and growth.
You should cease your workout immediately if you experience pain. While you may be tempted to push your body to its limits so that you can build more muscle, your muscles and tendons can be damaged easily, and you shouldn’t take the risk. If you are hurting a bit, allow your body a day off.
After reading this guide, you will find out that weight training and looking good is not as hard as you thought it was. It does require some effort and follow-through, but if you use what you’ve learned by reading this article, you should see initial results very quickly.
Monitor your body fat when you build muscle. You shouldn’t just simply track your weight because you could be dropping fat and increasing muscle. It is easy to feel discouraged when you look at your weight, but know that it isn’t really a good gauge of where you are with your muscles, especially not at first.
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Lumbar Disc Disease
Learn what causes lumbar degenerative disc disease and how it should be treated.
What are the signs and symptoms that someone is suffering from lumbar disc disease?
Dr. Chris Serafini: Well believe it or not, a lot of times they are asymptomatic. The patient won’t have any symptoms at all. This is actually confirmed through a group of researchers who talked about how they randomly tested patients or did testing on them via MRIs and found that a lot of them, two-thirds actually, had some sort of lumbar disc disease or bulging discs and a lot of them, many of the patients, were actually symptomatic. If you are symptomatic, the most likely pain could have sciatic problems, maybe numbness and tingling, groin pain, decreased range of motion. It could be many effects but those are probably the most common.
What causes lumbar disc disease?
Dr. Chris Serafini: Lumbar disc disease is technically caused by biomechanical misalignment. It’s a degenerative process. It’s an abnormal wear and tear on the joint. You get it like your car alignment on the front end of your car. If you have a misalignment on the front end, you have abnormal wear and tear on the tires and the tires start to wear out. Do you have a tire problem? Well no, you don’t. The tires on the front of the car are just as old as the tires on the back of the car. If I gave you new tires, did it fix your problem? No, technically it didn’t – you have an alignment problem. It’s the same thing with lumbar disc disease. As the alignment goes over a period of time, there’s going to abnormal wear and tear. Abnormal wear and tear over time, you’re going to get that degeneration process, that is lumbar disc disease or degenerative disease.
How do you diagnose someone with lumbar disc disease?
Dr. Chris Serafini: Great question. It’s pretty short and sweet but it’s either an x-ray or MRIs most commonly used. Those are really the diagnostic tools, MRI or x-ray.
Can chiropractic care help treat lumbar disc disease?
Dr. Chris Serafini: Absolutely. Once again it’s an abnormal wear and tear and as that degenerative process gets worse and worse and worse, the disease advances and gets worse. What we do chiropractically is we find where those misalignments are and we re-align the bones which then restores normal joint motion and it decreases that abnormal wear and tear. It’s actually a process called inhibition. It is like a pump mechanism. Think of it like if you squeeze a sponge, the water comes out. If you let your hand off the sponge, the water sucks back in. The disc kind of works the same way. You have a misalignment, doesn’t function the way it’s supposed to inhibition breaks down. When you realign the spine, you restore that normal joint biomechanics and that inhibition process takes place which then hydrates the disc and keeps it healthy.
Is there anything we can do at home to help alleviate the symptoms and even prevent this disease from happening?
Dr. Chris Serafini: Good question but there’s not really a whole lot you can do at home because it’s a misalignment issue, it’s an abnormal wear and tear. Really honestly the only, the best way I guess to determine if you have it and to alleviate it and prevent is really get checked by a qualified chiropractor because we’re really the only doctors in the world that basically detect misalignments of the spine which once again that is what degenerative disc disease really is. It’s a misalignment, abnormal wear and tear so just get checked by your chiropractor.
If you are interested in speaking with Dr. Chris Serafini, visit or call 480-443-7678 to schedule an appointment.
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Static exercises are a great addition to so many fitness classes. But have you ever thought of these exercises as a great way to improve mental focus? Sure, Isometrics require incredible amounts of strength and endurance, but they also build stamina and perseverance in the mind. Many static moves are directly related to yoga poses! Like yoga poses, these exercises will help your clients build a solid mind body connection. They are also very effective because they work the big muscle groups along with the small areas, like the ligaments and tendons. In addition, they are amazingly good for the core! Clients will get so much with so little movement.
As trainers, we are not only responsible for the physical parts of an exercise. Our job is also to teach people mental toughness as well. Here are a few cues for trainers to help clients find that connection while working on a static exercise:To work through the uncomfortable burn, remind them to breathe! For motivation, tell them that if they can breathe in and out once, they can do it twice, three times and so on. Before they know it, the exercise will be over.
Have them think about the muscles they are using while holding the exercise. When doing Isometrics, there is no movement, but the muscle fibers are contracting and not letting go. If they can focus and picture the actual muscle fibers contracting, they may be able to get into the hold deeper and even keep themselves there longer.
Tell them to engage their core by pulling their belly button back towards the spine, essentially squeezing the stomach muscles, drawing them in and up. Their core is their center. If their center is tight and strong, the other muscles are better supported. By executing the core muscles properly, they will attain the staying power they need to keep going.
Urge them not to hold tension in the wrong places, like the back of the neck, shoulders, and jaw. Instead, push all the tension into the muscles used for the exercise. Continuously ask them to scan their bodies, making sure the contraction is in the right place(s).
Finding a focal point is also a very effective way to get through holding static exercises. Instruct clients to look at a point within their natural eye gaze, making sure the point is not moving. This helps move into a deep state of concentration because the gaze is fixed on a certain point, allowing awareness to focus inward. It is important not to strain the eyes, instead keeping the eyes soft. This will also allow your clients to get into their “zone”.
| <urn:uuid:530a5083-6246-4442-8392-f9092c8d51c7> | http://fit-pro.com/article-4132-Improve-the-mind-body-connection-with-static-exercises.html | en | 0.968218 | 0.222248 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Why partner with J. Gregory?
Because we bring great companies together to offer best in class people solutions, technology and high-touch, personalized service at a cost and level of quality that you simply can't get by doing it yourself.
Because we save you time and money and manage your employment related risk, you can spend the time and money investing in your company's growth.
Because we deliver strategic solutions tailored for your business and easy access to best-in-call HR expertise. Our clients receive service and products - with a personal touch.
Because it makes good business sense.
Cash Flow Management
• Workers Compensation Prepayments Eliminated
• Workers Compensation Audits Eliminated
• Quarterly Tax Deposits Eliminated
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Uses of a revocable trust:
America has a healthcare crisis. President Obama is now battling with Congress to deal with long term issues involving healthcare.
An area of healthcare that is very often overlooked deals with what happens to Americans when they can’t care for themselves.
The best way to maintain a senior is to keep them in their home under circumstances that they are comfortable with. Seniors live longer when they can stay in their home. If they need help beyond what relatives and friends can provide, home healthcare aides can assist them. As individuals age, sometimes their needs exceed those what can be provided for them in their home.
The needs of seniors are often met by assisted living facilities and nursing homes. Assisted living facilities are generally speaking private pay living arrangements. Seniors who do not have problematic medical needs and have the financial ability to sometimes choose to live in these facilities. The cost of assisted living facilities can be anywhere from $3,000 to $7,000 per month in the metropolitan New York area.
Seniors who have greater medical needs often go to rehabilitation facilities or nursing homes. Nursing homes can cost anywhere from $8,000 to $15,000 per month depending on the level of service the senior needs. How does a middle class person go to a nursing home without all of his assets utilized to pay for his or her care?
There is a program that under certain circumstances pay for long term rehabilitation and/or nursing home stays. This program is called Medicaid. The rules and circumstances involving Medicaid are complex and detailed. The most important rule for the public to understand is that there is a 5 year look back concerning the transfer of assets.
If you have assets and you wish to protect them for future generations, it is important that you see an attorney that handles estate work. Planning can be done to insure that if you do end up in a nursing home, all of your assets including your home, stocks, bonds, pensions, 401(k) and savings won’t be utilized to pay for long term nursing care. You cannot wait until you are very elderly and sick to use this type of estate planning. It must be done a minimum of 5 years prior to the need for nursing home or rehabilitation care.
Should you have questions, contact the Law Office of Elliot S. Schlissel. We can provide you with further information concerning Medicaid and estate planning. Contact us at 1-800-344-6431 or email us at schlissel.law@att.net.
Picture courtesy of levinperconti.
Common Law Marriage Versus Regular Marriage
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[2]Tornese at 178.
[5]In re Landolfi at id.
[7] Id.
[10]Staudenmayer at 1020 (1998).
[11] Id. at 108.
Picture courtesy of ehow.com.
Robert Harper, of the NY Trusts & Estates Litigation blog, recently wrote about the law as it relates to the right to decide how human remains are disposed of in New York. The article quoted NY Public Health Law § 4201(2)(a), which identifies an order of priority of who has the right to direct how a deceased person’s remains are disposed of. An individual may execute a document specifying whom she wishes to decide issues related to how to dispose of her body, but if no such written instrument exists, then the individuals listed in § 4201 determine the order of priority.
Other important issues exist regarding how a loved one’s body is treated after death as well regarding whether a body is autopsied or cremated.
With regard to the decision whether bury or cremate an individual’s body, there is an order of priority for how that decision is made, as noted above, and there is an exception to the rule.
1. If the decedent left a document specifying how her remains should be disposed of (i.e. burial versus cremation), then that document controls. NY Public Health Law § 4201(2)(a)
2. If no such document existed, but the decedent’s actions or expressed wishes dictated how her body should be handled after death, then those wishes control, even over the objections of family members. Application of Hillard, 91 N.Y.S. 2d 547, 549 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1944).
3. If the decedent had no discernable wishes as to how her body should be disposed of, then the statutory order of priority determines which relatives decide how the decedent’s body is disposed of. NY Public Health Law § 4201(2)(a)
However, there is an exception to the order of priority listed in the § 4201. For instance, a surviving spouse and children are high in the order of priority to decide how a body is disposed of us a surviving spouse, but where there is evidence that the decedent was estranged from his or her spouse or children, the courts look beyond those individuals to decide how a decedent’s body should be disposed of. In re Solomon, 766 N.Y.S. 2d 294, 295 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2003).
In one relatively recent Nassau County Supreme Court case, a deceased person’s estranged wife and daughter were planning to have him cremated, and his body was already in the custody of a crematorium. Based on testimony that the decedent led a somewhat observant Jewish life, and based on the expert testimony of Rabbi Moshe Weinberger that orthodox Jews consider cremation unacceptable, the court held that evidence of the decedent’s desire to have a traditional Jewish burial overcame the wishes of the surviving spouse and daughter, the provisions of § 4201 notwithstanding. Id.
The Performance of an Autopsy
NY Public Health Law § 4210 gives the medical examiner the power or right to perform an autopsies on, “… the bodies of persons dying from… casualty, … suddenly when in apparent health, … or in any suspicious or unusual manner.” But § 4210-c(1) states that absent some compelling public policy need, “no dissection or autopsy shall be performed over the objection of a surviving relative … that such procedure is contrary to the religious belief of the decedent, or, if there is reason to believe that a dissection or autopsy is contrary to the decedent’s religious beliefs.”
Absent one of the circumstances specified in § 4210, the medical examiner may not do an autopsy on a body without notice to the family of the deceased. Dick v. City of New York, 2002 WL 31844745, *3 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Oct. 30, 2002). However, “the burden is upon a decedent’s next of kin to convey a religious objection to the medical examiner’s office” were the death occurred in some unusual manner, or upon notice, absent some unusual or suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.” Id.
If an autopsy is performed despite notice that there are religious objections, the hospital may be held liable for civil damages. In Rotholtz v. City of New York, 582 N.Y.S. 2d 366, 367 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1992), the decedent’s brother informed a doctor at Lenox Hill Hospital that an autopsy should not be performed on his sister, but the hospital failed to convey this message when it turned the body over to the medical examiner, who performed an autopsy. The court there held that the hospital was responsible because when it failed to inform the medical examiner of the family’s religious objection to the performance of an autopsy, it thereby “caused or procured” the unauthorized autopsy. Id. at 670.
The Appellate Division reinstated a jury’s decision to award a surviving family $75,000 compensatory damages and $1,350,000 in punitive damages when an employee at Riverside Chapels caused the medical examiner’s office to perform an autopsy even though the family had told Riverside employees that they were orthodox Jews and that no autopsy should be performed. Liberman v. Riverside Memorial Chapel, Inc., 650 N.Y.S. 2d 194, 197-99 (N.Y. App. Div. 1996).
The safest way to ensure that one’s wishes regarding how his or her remains are disposed of after death will be honored is by executing a Will which makes those wishes clear. The named Executor will be able to ensure that the appropriate people know of your wishes. And as for family members, even though it is a very difficult time after the loss of a loved one, miscommunications can be avoided more easily if everyone they speak to at the hospital, the nursing home, and the medical examiner’s office (if they are involved) are made aware of your wishes with regard to how the deceased’s body should be treated.
And of course, if you need assistance with any estate planning documents like Living Wills, Powers of Attorney, Wills, or Trusts, our office has extensive experience with these documents. Feel free to contact our office at any time for assistance.
Picture courtesy of the Hoven Funeral Home.
Update 8/26/09: Indiana Creates Funeral Planning Directive
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Understanding a vegetarian diet for your child
Understanding a vegetarian diet for your child
Most people do not like killing animals and they do not prefer to eat non-vegetarian food. It is vital for parents to make know if their choice vegetarian diet good for their children. Parents who impose strict vegetarian diets for their children might end up making their kids physically and mentally weak, if they do not follow a good plan with their diet preference.
eat eggs_2
Dairy products can provide calcium and protein to children but children might also require non-vegetarian foods for their proper growth. Eggs, beef, meat, and fish are rich in vitamins, fats, minerals, and fats that are vital for mental and physical growth of an individual, especially children.
How vegetarian diet is bad for children?
Vegan diet can damage your child’s growth as it can lead to various nutrition deficiencies in children. It is a bad idea to keep children on vegetarian diet as meat can provide many vital nutrients like iron, protein, zinc, copper, vitamins, and more. It is quite good to include dairy products and eggs in the meal of your child but avoiding all animal foods can lead to many serious problems in your children and some of them are as follows:
vegan diet (2)
Poor growth
Excluding animal foods from your child’s meal can lead to poor growth and development of your child. The child may not get enough protein, vitamins, and calcium, which can make them mentally and physically weak.
Lack of nutrients
Fish, eggs, meat, beef, and other animal foods are rich in many nutrients. Vegan child can lack in vital nutrients and this can increase the risk of various health conditions.
Can lead to B12 deficiency
Vegans might find their diet to be deficient in vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is vital for healthy body as it is important for metabolism and helps in the formation of red blood cells in the body.
vegan diet (1)
Bone loss
Eggs, milk, and fish are high in calcium and proteins, which provide strength to bones and muscles. Shortage of calcium can lead to low bone density and osteoporosis. Calcium is also beneficial for muscle movement and smooth functioning of central nervous system.
Zinc and iron deficiency
Red meats, fish, and poultry are great source of iron and zinc. Vegan children may suffer from anemia and zinc deficiency that can make them very sick. Main symptoms of anemia include weakness, slow cognitive development, and exhaustion. Zinc deficiency can affect your immunity.
If you are following a strict diet regimen like vegetarianism, keep a tab on nutritional values and ensure your children receive enough required nutrients with their diet plan. Change the diet plan to meet necessary nutrition requirements.
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Allison Robert
Who will get the least out of playing a Druid?
The Druid is not a good class for people who want to perform one role and one role only, or whose primary enjoyment of the game arrives in the form of topping damage meters. It is also not a good class for people who are accustomed to having a lot of bank and bag space, as enjoyment of the class' much-vaunted versatility arrives at the cost of having to collect, gem, and enchant multiple gear sets. The expense for this is, as you might expect, considerable. Moreover, possession of a gear set doesn't remove the responsibility for having to learn how to play the corresponding spec effectively; unlike most other classes, each of the Druid's specs requires an entirely different playstyle and role within a group/raid. Consequently, people who can play all four Druid specs fluently are very rare, and it might be accurate to say that the Druid makes a better main than an alt.
Because the Druid is capable of playing each of the game's four roles, you should realistically expect to tank or heal at some point -- or at least get pestered about it. It's fine if you have no desire to do so, but be prepared for the inevitable requests.
Despite the improvements made to them, the animal forms lack the options available to the pure classes they mimic, and there's a roadblock artificially imposed on reaching the options you do have. A Protection Warrior would have to cycle through 3 or 4 bars to grab all of their abilities during a fight; a Bear can fit his/hers on a bit more than 1. This is the result of Blizzard considering Druids holistically rather than as separate classes whenever they shift.
What the hell does that mean?
It means if the Warrior and Druid both have 100 skills (not an accurate number, just work with me here), then the Warrior can put most of them on his/her bars; the only thing standing between him/her and another ability is a stance shift (or talents). The Druid, by contrast, will see 20 abilities available only to Bear, 20 available only to Cat, 10 from talents, 50 available to caster/moonkin/tree, etc. Blizzard still considers these all Druidic abilities, rather than "Bear" or "Cat" abilities, so the fact of the matter is that -- regardless of the form you currently occupy, most of your abilities are not immediately available to you. In order to use all of your helpful or emergency skills, you need to learn how to watch your mana bar (an OOM Druid is an optionless one) and get used to shifting quickly in order to get the skill you need. Thus the mana for shapeshifting is a sort of hidden cost imposed on top of the cost of the skill you want.
That doesn't sound so hot for PvP.
Druid PvP has historically been a feast-or-famine type deal, and it's probably no mistake that the spec that shifts the most (Feral) has been abysmal since day one. Restoration, as you might recall from the screaming matches on the forums in Seasons 3 and 4, did well in 2's during BC, but has gone back to the feast-or-famine model. Balance is your next-best option in arena, but it's a distant second.
You mentioned something concerning canaries. Do tell.
I find patterns in Druid spec changes to be interesting signs of the shifts in wider class/role popularity. Because we can play anything, a larger movement into one role or class often winds up having an effect on what Druids (voluntarily or otherwise) play in raids. As a fairly immediate example, with the rise of the Death Knight, the overhaul to the Protection Warrior tree, and the de-suckaging of tanking in general, players flooded into tank roles -- but within the month after Wrath hit, the Feral spec went from being a 50% share of the Druid population to around 33%. Why? Because someone else was tanking, they had fewer options than we do, and as a result, more of us wind up DPSing or healing.
This doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the viability (or non-viability) of a Druid spec at any given time; indeed, I would argue that Feral was in a pretty good place overall in December 2008, and it's in a pretty good place in July 2009 with the exception of a few concerns related to bear mechanics (more on this in a future article). But the increased availability of tanks/healers/DPS from another class and spec pushes committed Druids to respec and come as something else rather than rerolling or playing an alt. If you see a ton of Druids respeccing to cover a particular role, that usually means there's an absence of such players elsewhere. Food for thought.
In summary -- there are a lot of compelling reasons for playing a Druid, and a lot of equally compelling reasons not to. I think out of all players, people who already have a tank and healer alt at their disposal may get less out of leveling a character with those capabilities, and they will be more prone to feeling the irritations of the Druid's constant need to shift. Druids are also difficult to level initially, but become enormously fun to play in time.
Anyway. Before 3.2 hits, I would like to have a full guide to leveling a Druid up, complete with information and advice on glyphs, enchants, gems, rotations, talents, and more, so watch this space. With the proc bugs on the PTR build that went live the other week, I wasn't able to assemble an accurate list of numbers on Balance DPS, so I'm still keeping an eye on that, and I'll have more information when it becomes available.
From around the web | <urn:uuid:25deecc8-29d5-4519-bcf7-3a4b3da8934c> | https://www.engadget.com/2009/07/09/shifting-perspectives-why-or-why-not-to-play-a-druid-part-2/ | en | 0.960908 | 0.171371 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Know Your Way Around Construction Equipment
3 Unusual Home Insulating Materials For Eco-Conscious Homeowners
Insulation is a must for any home, and the better insulated your home is, the more environmentally friendly your home is. After all, if your home effectively keeps the indoor temperature stable, then you'll use less energy heating and cooling it. However, just because your home needs to be insulated to be eco-friendly doesn't mean that all insulation is eco-friendly. In fact, many common insulating materials like fiberglass and rock wool come with serious concerns about sustainability, and the particles they release can sometimes trigger asthma or allergy attacks and other health concerns. Luckily, there are a number of insulating options that are better for the environment and your health. Take a look a look at a few unusual insulating materials that are perfect for the eco-conscious homeowner.
You probably wouldn't immediately think of hay as an insulating material unless you happened to be building a barn. However, it turns out that hay bales can also be a great insulating material for homes. They block heat, cold, and noise very effectively, and they are a natural, non-toxic, and inexpensive building material. And while you might imagine that hay bales would be a fire hazard, the truth is that hay bales used as insulation are deprived of the oxygen that they need to ignite because of the way that they are compressed and sealed behind the plaster wall material.
The downside to hay bales as an insulating material is that they're only an option if you're building a new home. You can't exactly remove your home's current fiberglass batt insulation and stuff some hay bales inside the walls instead. If you're not planning a newly built home, you'll have to check out some other options for sustainable insulation.
Hemp is a highly useful material with many applications. One of the newer uses for hemp involves processing it into mats that can be used as home insulation. The mats are not made exclusively of hemp – usually, they contain about 85% hemp and 15% polyester. The big advantage of hemp insulation, besides the fact that it insulates just as effectively as rock wool, is that it also absorbs carbon dioxide. In fact, testing shows that hemp absorbs more carbon dioxide than it emits, making it a carbon negative product. Choosing hemp insulation is a great way to reduce your home's carbon footprint.
Unfortunately, hemp is not legal to grow in many states in the US. As a result, homeowners who want hemp insulation have to pay the high prices associated with importing the material. If you're looking for an insulating material that's both sustainable and affordable, you'll need to consider other options.
If you want an insulating material that's environmentally friendly and that is also appropriate for an existing home and readily available and affordable in your area, soy is the material you've been looking for. As a bonus, soy-based insulation is also fairly simple to install. That's because it comes in spray foam form. It's best to leave the installation to professionals who can ensure that it's installed properly, but because it's not difficult or dangerous, you may pay less for professional installation than you would for another material.
With soy spray foam insulation, you won't have to worry about off-gassing as the material ages, like you would with fiberglass, nor do you have to worry about breathing in particles that will irritate your lungs. The foam is sprayed on with water and expands to create a tight seal, which results in a very effective insulation for your home. The material is also water and pest resistant, eliminating worries about mold or rodents in your walls.
With all of these eco-friendly insulation products available, there's no reason that you need to use an unsustainable or unhealthy material to insulate your home. Whether you're building a new construction home or upgrading your existing home, there's an insulating material that's right for you. Check out a site like to learn more about your insulation options. | <urn:uuid:fd792b75-3d7c-4827-8d89-0b8c6f454327> | http://natalie-shop.com/2015/07/17/3-unusual-home-insulating-materials-for-eco-conscious-homeowners/ | en | 0.963058 | 0.037835 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Angie's List: Online listings more popular than open house for selling a home
LEWISTON, ID - Selling a home can be a big task for any homeowner. Details such as home staging, photos and your real estate agent can really impact how much your home sells for and how quickly it sells. In today's Angie's List report, tips to sell your home quickly.
"In today's real estate market it's a competitive market so consumers are looking for ways to rule out your house," said Angie's List Owner Angie Hicks. "So you really need to get back to the basics and make sure your house really shines, Is your house clean, inside and out? Is everything organized? A lot of times people think that their own interior design is a selling point, it usually isn't."
Jennifer recently listed her house. She's hoping the updates will entice buyers.
"As soon as we bought the house we started trying to think of improvements to make from a new roof to a new heating and air condition, water heater, things of that nature," said homeowner Jennifer. "About a year and a half ago, we started really thinking about putting it up on the market. We got more serious with the interior cosmetics. So we've done granite in all the bathrooms and the kitchen, we've redone flooring, added a new shower, new toilets throughout, we're about to put new carpet in downstairs, we re-carpeted all the upstairs last year. So we've did quite a bit of work."
When people are thinking about buying a house they are looking for reasons to rule it out. Simple things like a leaky faucet or bigger issues like a faulty water heater can be a turn-off for buyers.
"I hate that my sellers are surprised often when the inspection happens that they had no idea that that was happening," said Real Estate Agent Paula Smith. "And then they are stuck with a bill of fixing it that they weren't expecting and they have already agreed on a sales price. My advice is a lot of times if they haven't done anything with the mechanicals and they haven't had yearly HVAC inspections and they haven't checked their water heater, it's been a long time, that they go ahead and have somebody out to do that so they are not surprised."
"When shopping for a realtor you want someone that is going to get your house sold quickly and at the price you are looking for, so you want to do your due diligence and ask them questions," said Angie's List Owner Angie Hicks. "How long as their average house been on the market, how close to the original asking price did the house sell, and what is their expertise in your neighborhood."
"About a year and a half ago when I brought Paula in, our real estate agent, to go through the house and tell us what things we needed to fix," said homeowner Jennifer. "She went through the house. There were some minor fixes here and there, but when she got to this room she was like 'Jennifer, this is a deal breaker you have got to fix this room.' It was very dated, we had the gold shower, brass. It had the regular glass doors, but with the hard water that we have here, it was just limed up, it was very hard to maintain."
You also want to work with real estate agent who has online listings.
"Online photos, in today's society and the real estate market, is the only way that houses sell," said Real Estate Agent Paula Smith. "Most people will automatically assume if there is one picture on the Internet that means the inside of the house is not in good condition. That's not necessarily true, but it is for a lot of homes."
| <urn:uuid:f9209839-0832-4d57-a81d-a76b1102dd0d> | http://www.klewtv.com/news/local/Angies-List-Selling-a-home-199548761.html?tab=video&c=y | en | 0.985204 | 0.138214 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Why I'm Against Self-Driving Cars
Used car automobile
Diane Macdonald | Getty Images
A panel at the Davos conference has apparently convinced Felix Salmon that self-driving cars are the future. He even thinks these may even be better than rail, which has been high on every planner's list of ways to improve the world.
So what makes self-driving cars so terrific?
Right now, technology is arguably making roads and cars more dangerous. Drivers are notoriously bad judges of their own driving ability, and they're increasingly being distracted by devices — not just text messages, any more, but fully-fledged emails, social-media alerts, and even videos. What's more, when car manufacturers roll out things like stay-in-lane technology, that just makes drivers feel even safer, so they feel as though they have some kind of permission to spend even more time on their phones, and less time paying attention to the highway. The results can be disastrous.
But once we make it all the way into a platoon, or in a self-driving car, then at that point we become significantly safer than even the safest human driver. While we're very bad judges of our own driving ability, we're actually incredibly good at intuiting how safe our driver is when we're a passenger. And the experience of people in self-driving cars is that after no more than about 10 minutes, they relax, feel very safe, and are very happy letting the car take them where they want to go. They even relax so much, I'm told, that they lose the desire to speed — maybe because they know that they're getting where they're going, and in the meantime can lose themselves in their phones.
I have some sympathy with this point of view because I'm a non-driver. I ride in lots of cars but rarely drive them myself. Driving prevents me from doing too many of the things I like to do—such as reading, talking on the phone, and writing. Driving even interferes with life when you aren't behind the wheel—you cannot, for instance, safely enjoy a few glasses of wine with dinner if you plan on driving afterwards.
This does not, however, make me a fan of self-driving cars. The danger lurking in the self-driving car is that the driver—really, a computer programmer who you'll never meet—has no skin in the game. He won't be harmed by his errors, at least not physically. Unlike a taxi cab driver, his safety is not dependent on your safety. This is a recipe for accidents.
I won't ride in a self-driving car so long as I can avoid it.
Follow me on Twitter @Carney | <urn:uuid:ba52c40f-9356-4a1b-9cd0-82ee8e5fe067> | http://www.cnbc.com/id/100405623?__source=yahoo%7Cinstory%7C&par=yahoo | en | 0.981659 | 0.526519 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Lots of natural history going on in wetlands
...fishes, as well as habitat for worms, clams and tube-building amphipods (shrimp-like crustaceans). All this potential food brings in the predators. For shorebirds, the peak of activity is in late April and May for the northward migration...
Genetically engineered salmon still a ways off as FDA delays approval
...Murkowski's opposition is rooted in concern for her state's fishing industry, other senators have expressed worries about potential food safety or environmental risks. More than a dozen senators have written the FDA with concern about the approval process...
Spring is here. Can you smell it?
...whether it was a good or bad experience, helps omnivores (such as humans and bears) sort through the large list of potential food items they encounter. Ever had a particular food (or beverage) make you really sick? After that, sometimes for...
Kenai hunter attributes continued success to preseason scouting
...of their SUV while driving on back roads, Malloy makes frequent forays into the field before opening day to find potential food for his freezer. This year alone he had already located four bull moose - three of which were legal - in the weeks...
The indomitable
...heard a chestnut-backed imitate a coyote's howl and theorized that it may have been alerting other chickadees to a potential food source. The greatest challenge these birds face in winter is conserving energy. Small birds (chestnut-backs weigh...
Moss sex, oh yes the damp moss. The animals are attracted to the sperm- and egg-producing organs by some chemical signal or potential food reward, such as sugars, fatty acids, or mucilage (much as insects are attracted to nectar in flowers). Experiments...
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Savory Cookie Recipes
Come Party With Me: Cookie Swap — Menu
During December, many people host cookie swaps. Organizing a festive cookie party is a great way to cut back on your holiday baking. Instead of making a million cookies, you and your friends each bake a different cookie. Then you get together and trade cookies; everyone walks away with an assortment of treats. To ensure that you don't end up with 10 dozen chocolate chip cookies, ask your guests what type of cookie they will bring. Throw the party on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon in between lunch and dinner.
Don't worry about serving a bunch of appetizers, but do offer a couple of easy nibbles like mixed nuts, cheese, and homemade savory cookies. Thyme, lemon, and sea-salt shortbread is crisp and buttery, while blue cheese pecan crackers are rich and addictive. You'll have to wait until tomorrow to see my suggested sweet cookie recipes, but you can learn the techniques for the salty shortbread and cheesy crackers when you keep reading.
Thyme, Lemon, and Sea-Salt Shortbread
Thyme, Lemon, and Sea-Salt Shortbread
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line the bottom of a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap, and place it on a floured work surface.
6. Press the dough into a 6-by-5-inch rectangle. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a larger 10-by-7-inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Cut the dough in half, forming two 5-by-7-inch pieces. Using a pizza wheel or sharp paring knife, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips.
7. Carefully place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet leaving a little room between each cookie. Brush the tops with the reserved egg mixture and sprinkle a little coarse sea salt on top. Gently press the salt into the surface of each cookie so it does not fall off.
8. Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and serve warm or at room temperature. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Makes 26 cookies.
Average( votes):
Blue Cheese-Pecan Icebox Crackers
Blue Cheese-Pecan Icebox Crackers
3/4 cup (2 ounces) pecan halves
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoon chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 ounces blue cheese, such as Danish blue, crumbled
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place pecans on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool.
2. Transfer pecans to the bowl of a food processor; pulse until finely ground. Transfer ground pecans into a small bowl; set aside.
3. Combine flour and pecans in the bowl of a food processor; pulse briefly to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cheese; process until dough comes together and is well combined.
5. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Slice chilled log into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Transfer slices to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake immediately, rotating once, until crackers are golden brown and firm in the center, 25 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Crackers may be made a day ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.
Makes 20 crackers.
Average( votes): | <urn:uuid:52c3d85a-7b79-4ff6-84ac-f0242d3a18db> | http://www.popsugar.com/food/Savory-Cookie-Recipes-6470067?fullsite=0 | en | 0.889861 | 0.034529 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Belief Vs Truth
Belief Vs Truth
What is Belief?
Belief is what we think about a particular thing and accept it as a truth is called Belief.
What is Truth?
Truth doesn’t require someone’s thought to prove itself , Truth is always truth no matter what you think.
Belief Vs Truth
For example , When we see someone’s positive points we describe it as a good human being but when the same person do some unexpected thing we immediately change our opinion about him/her.
Actually , we start processing his/her negative points in our mind with overthinking and find its consciousness to prove it right . Its our belief that the same person is not good as he/she did some wrong conduct as per our opinion but this is not true at all.
Truth is what that person is actual or in reality and we can see someone’s reality only when we remove our all over thoughts from our mind and then see the actual one.
No one is right and wrong for everyone , there are always circumstances which predict the right and wrong of a person, there is always you who over think about a subject and prove it right and wrong in your mind but in reality it is far away from the Truth.
We can only differentiate such things with our knowledge and maturity.
Fire burns is a truth but your soul is yours is a belief as you have nothing your own.
Copyright © 2017 Voiceofdil
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The United States is one of the only developed countries in the world that doesn’t provide universal health coverage for its citizens. Healthcare is seen not as a right, but as a privilege enjoyed by those fortunate enough to be able to afford it. The ability to afford healthcare is heavily dependent on factors outside of an individual’s control, one of which is their sex.
Prior to former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, women were often charged more than men for healthcare, a phenomenon called “gender rating,” that forced healthy 60-year old women to pay the rates of a 40-year old man who was a habitual cigarette smoker. The reasons behind this: Contraceptives to avoid unwanted pregnancies or to regulate menstruation, cost of prenatal care and giving birth, regular screenings and appointments to preempt cervical or breast cancer, are all basic and inextricable parts of being a woman that should not be determinants in price of insurance.
The Affordable Care Act worked to combat the price disparities and discrimination against women by making gender rating illegal in 2014, although remnants of the gap between prices and coverage for men and women remain, and threaten to increase if the GOP ever gets its head out of its ass long enough to make good on their promise to “repeal and replace.” The ACA also protects individuals from being charged more due to a “pre-existing condition,” some of which include cancer, intended or current pregnancy and mental disorders.
The war on women rages on: Repealing ACA will hit Wisconsin women the hardestTwo weeks ago, President Donald Trump signed an executive order reiterating his intent to repeal the Affordable Care Act and Read…
The threats from President Trump and the GOP to repeal and replace Obamacare have, thankfully, been largely empty. While Trumpcare — their shape-shifting, incoherent and utterly revolting proposed alternative to the ACA — raises concerns about the availability and affordability of healthcare for all Americans, women should take heed to the extent in which their coverage could be impacted.
The Republicans, in whatever version of their healthcare proposal they put forth, have targeted the protection of pre-existing conditions. While not explicitly moving to eliminate the protection, any Republican healthcare bill would allow individual states to obtain a mandate from the federal government allowing them to charge individuals with conditions on the “black list” to be charged inordinately more for their insurance than individuals without these conditions.
Maybe from a business-oriented point of view, this makes sense. This provision is not facially discriminatory against any group of people — anyone can get cancer or have diabetes. Charging people with these conditions more for their healthcare is merited as they go to the doctor more often, take more medication than individuals who are healthy and have a higher likelihood of needing medical procedures at some point during their lives.
The list of pre-existing conditions, however, include numerous health issues that affect women at high volumes, the most obvious being pregnancy or an impending pregnancy. Charging women five to ten times the rate a man would pay because they are — or potentially at some point could maybe get pregnant — is completely unjustified, especially coming from the same party that refuses to acknowledge the potential benefits of legal abortion and contraception for women. Mental health is another pre-existing condition that, while affecting approximately one in three Americans, has a stronger impact on women. Women are 40 percent more likely than men to be depressed and twice as likely to develop PTSD following a traumatic event, such as sexual assault.
Hump day: Protecting sexual health during Trump presidencyPerhaps for white, cisgender, heterosexual males, the recent election of Donald Trump to the presidency means nothing to their well-being. Read…
Trump most recently embarked on an attack on female contraceptives, reversing previous legislation passed by the Obama administration. While cost or free birth control through health insurance was shown to have increased adherence to contraception, resulting in lower numbers of unwanted pregnancies and abortions, the Republican rampage against bodily and reproductive autonomy for women proceeds. The GOP’s new regulations exempt all employers from covering or paying for contraceptives if they object to them on a religious or moral grounds.
With 50 percent of women getting their coverage through employers, the new legislation will require these same women to pay out of pocket for their birth control. Depending on the type of birth control, women can expect to pay anywhere from $100 to $600 a year for contraception no longer covered by an employer whose religious values somehow are allowed to dictate the intimate decisions regarding the contraceptive use of each employee.
Women and the healthcare system have not always had the best relationship, as women pay exorbitantly and arbitrarily higher rates for a lesser scope and quality of coverage than their male counterparts. The Affordable Care Act mitigated some of the disparities, but with the ever-present threat of a Republican “repeal and replace,” acknowledging the existing and potential future faults of female healthcare is imperative in combating faulty Trump-era policies.
Aly Niehans ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in international studies and intending to major in journalism. | <urn:uuid:1f7ffc22-56e3-4ce4-b256-1508de78aecc> | https://badgerherald.com/opinion/2017/10/23/disparities-in-healthcare-detrimental-for-american-women/ | en | 0.963397 | 0.161275 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
bugtraq properties in the command line client?
From: SteveKing <steveking_at_gmx.ch>
Date: 2005-01-13 17:30:37 CET
as you guys might have heard already, TSVN has defined and implemented
some new properties to integrate svn clients with bugtracking systems.
They're all documented here:
Now those properties are mostly only useful for GUI clients, but I was
thinking that some of them could be even used in the command line
client. The props I'm talking about are
The command line client, when specified to use a text editor to enter a
log message pre-fills the text editor with a list of files to commit. In
the same function, those properties could be used to add another line to
the log message template so the user knows the format of how the
bugtracking information has to be entered into the log message.
Just an idea...
oo // \\ "De Chelonian Mobile"
(_,\/ \_/ \ TortoiseSVN
/_/ \_\ http://tortoisesvn.tigris.org
To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscribe@subversion.tigris.org
Received on Thu Jan 13 17:34:25 2005
| <urn:uuid:0263c7a8-680a-4bc4-87f5-b12cc6f11f2b> | http://svn.haxx.se/dev/archive-2005-01/0477.shtml | en | 0.689309 | 0.10605 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Aircat 1150 vs 1200 k
News Discuss
When you start searching about aircat 1150 vs 1200 k, you can see the features of these two air tools. The AIRCAT 1150 is intended for heavy duty automotive as well as industrial applications. https://www.slideserve.com/mayamorris/strategies-for-flawless-drilling
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Today in DBA class, the instructor matter-of-factly rattled off some characteristics on global temporary tables. Among these I just barely noticed him state that they generate REDO logging. I sat upright and asked him to confirm that I had heard him correctly, and indeed that is what he said. He acknowledged that it runs contrary to what you'd think about an object that holds session-specific data that cannot be recovered anyway.
Well I just did some googling and found out exactly what the case is, from Oracle 10gR2 Database Concepts:
So it is sort of an indirect redo log generation. Still, something to be aware of. The instructor recalled how he once had a user filling up the archived log destination disk by running a lot of activity just on a global temporary table. | <urn:uuid:e2ce5bc9-7298-47ed-9284-8d20d709c77a> | https://seiler.us/2007-01-09-temporary-tables-and-redo-logs/ | en | 0.965142 | 0.046586 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
AI Superpowers
China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order
by Kai-Fu Lee
Light Bulb in Black
Key Insights
Insight #1
When Google’s DeepMind won a game of Go (2,500 year old Chinese strategy game) in 2015 over the top player in the world, there was excitement in Silicon Valley about the progress of artificial intelligence. However, for China, it was terrifying to see a machine beat their best player in their own game. This provoked imperialistic fears in China and kicked off massive investment in artificial intelligence a few mere months later.
Insight #2
To become an AI Superpower, you need three things: big data sets, computing power, and strong engineering talent. Canada, France, and the UK have strong talent and compute power, however only China and the US have the datasets large enough to be world leaders in AI. The US has the best AI talent but China has the most data. Given how much innovation in this space becomes open sourced or published, having the best talent isn’t as valuable as having a larger dataset to train your models on.
Insight #3
Deep learning AI today is like electricity in the 19th century: much of the hard abstract work is already done; now its time to turn algorithms into businesses.
Insight #4
In Silicon Valley, the prevailing wisdom is the best thing the government can do is stay out of things. However, what China is showing is heavy handed government interference in the form of investment may be inefficient/expensive in the short run but can pay major long term dividends. Essentially, the Chinese government is brute forcing technological innovation and it’s actually working pretty well.
Insight #5
The reason mobile/QR payments thrive in China while lack mainstream adoption in the US is that credit cards already had mainstream adoption in the US by the time QR payments came around. Going from credit card to QR payments isn’t really a gamechanger. However, China was still very much a cash-based economy when QR payments came out and there is a major increase in convenience going from cash to mobile QR based payments.
Quotes in Black
Key Quotes
“If AI ever allows us to truly understand ourselves, it will not be because these algorithms captured the mechanical essence of the human mind. It will be because they liberated us to forget about optimizations and to instead focus on what truly makes us human: loving and being loved.”
“There lies a core difference in American and Chinese political culture: while America’s combative political system aggressively punishes missteps or waste in funding technological upgrades, China’s techno-utilitarian approach rewards proactive investment and adoption.”
“PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates AI deployment will add $15.7 trillion to global GDP by 2030. China is predicted to take home $7 trillion of that total, nearly double North America’s $3.7 trillion in gains."
“In stark contrast, China’s startup culture is the yin to Silicon Valley’s yang: instead of being mission-driven, Chinese companies are first and foremost market-driven. Their ultimate goal is to make money, and they’re willing to create any product, adopt any model, or go into any business that will accomplish that objective. That mentality leads to incredible flexibility in business models and execution, a perfect distillation of the “lean startup” model often praised in Silicon Valley.”
“AI will do the analytical thinking, while humans will wrap that analysis in warmth and compassion.”
Relevance Section
Book Review Icon
I read AI Superpowers right before visiting China and I have to say, it was my favorite book of 2018. Lee provided profound social, political, and economic analysis on both the United States and China and has truly transformed my understanding of Chinese tech innovation.
I remember hearing of Google’s DeepMind winning a game of Go (2,500 year old Chinese strategy game) in 2016 over the top player in the world; I didn’t think too much of it at the time. In general, there was excitement in Silicon Valley about the progress of artificial intelligence because of it. However, Lee beautifully illustrated how for China it was absolutely terrifying to see a machine beat their best player at their own game. This provoked imperialistic fears in China and kicked off massive investment in artificial intelligence. This event can only be really compared to when the Soviet satellite Sputnik triggered the US to enter the “Race for Space.”
This book paints vivid contrasting portraits of America’s Silicon Valley and the Chinese high tech equivalent. Kai-Fu Lee is one of very few individuals who is a pioneer in both; he describes tech in China more akin to an anything goes street fight in which only the strongest and scrappiest survive through firsthand tales.
Books I read usually fall into one of two categories: those in which I am trying to learn more about a particular subject matter (e.g. artificial intelligence) and those in which I am to learn from the personal life experiences of someone that I respect. I bought this book thinking it would help solely with the former but I was squarely mistaken. Halfway through, the book takes a very personal turn and details Lee’s abrupt cancer diagnosis and his realizations as he reflected on his past. This book shined light on one of my biggest fears—focusing so much on your career and professional life that you forget to enjoy and savor your personal life with the people that matter most: family and friends.
One of the big themes of this book is that artificial intelligence will likely be the first technological innovation from which sufficient new jobs will not be created to replace those jobs which become automated. Lee beautifully weaves his personal realizations from his near-death experience into a thoughtful potential solution for what society can do when there aren’t enough traditional jobs to go around.
Learn Icon
What You Will Learn
• How and why China has rapidly positioned itself to become an AI Superpower
• The 4 Waves of Artificial Intelligence and which countries are most well positioned to win in each wave and why
• Silicon Valley entrepreneurial philosophy vs the Chinese tech mindset
• Key government and societal factors that hold the United States back in technological innovation
• Why Nvidia stock has taken off like a rocket in recent years
• The potential role of humans in a world with rampant AI driven automation of jobs
Who Should Read This Icon
Who Should Read This
This is one of only of maybe four books that I think everyone should read. It’s an absolute must read for anyone in tech as the breakdown of Silicon Valley vs the Chinese equivalent is profoundly eye opening. The reason I think even non-techies should read this book is because I do think AI is the biggest technological innovation since the internet and with it will come substantial social, political, and economic change. This book does a great job in breaking down what an AI driven future could/should look like. This book also contains eye-opening personal reflections from one of the most accomplished tech leaders in the world on his regrets on pursuing professional fame and riches at the cost of time with family and friends. A must read for all, especially tech entrepreneurs! | <urn:uuid:82325e15-319c-4782-ba64-e3730c1eab29> | http://pmbookclub.com/aisuperpowers.html | en | 0.95395 | 0.445664 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Coming soon…The Tortoise and the Hare
You are cordially invited to join in the second annual race to benefit NAME. Last year it was ducks. May of 2016 shall bring, drum roll please……..tortoises and hares!
Yes, you heard it here first. On May 14, 2016, families of tortoises and droves of hares will embark on a journey never witnessed before as they race for the finish line and lots of great gifts and prizes.
Now for the twist. There will be two categories of prizes, and various ways to win. What fun! You can (and are highly encouraged to!) purchase hares from the hare category and/or tortoises from the tortoise division. The hare category is pretty straight forward: the fastest hares win. After all, this is a race! The slowest, lamest, laziest hare will win a prize too, though. So either hop very fast, or be the last hare to cross the finish line. Sleeping permitted, if you are aiming for the dubious honor of last place.
Now for the tortoises. After hearing people say “I never win anything” or “I always finish last”, I have just the game of chance for you. In the tortoise division, please try to lose. Yes, you heard me correctly. I want you to dilly dally and lollygag your way, slowly, to the finish line. The last tortoises to finish are the biggest losers, which is the ultimate goal. And for the single most rebellious speedy tortoise who has the nerve to cross the line first or fastest, you get a little something special, too.
So, to sum it up, encourage your hares to either race full throttle, or come in last. Cheer on your tortoises to be slow as molasses, or somehow break a land, tortoise speed record and come in first. There are four different methods to snag some loot!
You will get a gift for purchasing a racer, or hopefully, racers, for $25 each. Buy two hares and two tortoises, for example, and you will end up with four gifts. See how simple it is? I don’t have exact prizes or numbers of prizes per division yet, but I anticipate them being similar to last year. For those who haven’t raced before, participants will be drawn via a computer generated program that displays hares and tortoises in the order selected from one to infinity. If you fall in any of the winning subdivisions, I will contact you in order chosen to pick your winnings. This continues until all offerings are depleted.
Tortoises. Hares. Winners. Losers. Go fast. Go slow. I know, it’s a lot to take in. So, if I have thoroughly confused you, just email me, Kim Wood, at and I will answer all your questions.
Let the excitement and training begin!
Download the order form here.
| <urn:uuid:2b00af2c-6cf0-4c12-9c98-bfee266a22e5> | https://miniatures.org/tortoiseandhare | en | 0.931665 | 0.021987 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Homestead Orders are Permissive
In the Fifth District Court of Appeal’s recent opinion in Mullins v. Mullins, June 7, 2019, the court reversed the probate court’s decision, holding that a will established the interest in the real property and not a homestead order from the probate court.
The will that was admitted to probate in this case devised the decedent’s property to her three children, giving a life estate to her two sons. Subsequently the probate court entered a homestead order, reflecting that the property was devised in equal shares to the decedent’s three children, but the order did not mention the life estate interest of the two sons. The issue in this case was the failure to include the life estate interest in the homestead order.
The probate court erred when it determined that the homestead order was the only document that pertained to the parties’ title in the property and ordering that the property be partitioned and sold, with the proceeds divided among the three children.
The appellate court further explained that homestead rights exist absent a court order confirming the homestead exemption. In other words, proceedings to determine homestead are permissive rather than required. Florida Probate Rule 5.405(a), cited by the court, provides that an interested person may file a petition to determine homestead property. Note that the rule says “May file” and not “Shall file”.
The question becomes, then, why file such a petition if it is permissive and not required? Often times such petitions and subsequent orders are needed for changing record title to the property, or for releasing a personal representative from obligations regarding the property.
Other arguments were presented to the appellate court regarding the property, but ultimately the appellate court reversed the probate court.
Very often, title companies require a homestead order when selling a property in order to effectuate that transfer of title that the Mullinscourt mentioned. Is it really permissive, then? Or is it almost required in order to sell? Perhaps this question should be visited in connection with the Florida probate rules.
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For Fuhrer and Fatherland ePub (Adobe DRM) download by Roderick de Norman
For Fuhrer and Fatherland
The History Press
Publication date: August 2012
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For Fuhrer and Fatherland' is the extraordinary story of how British and American Intelligence thwarted a wartime plan for a daring mass break-out of German prisoners-of-war from the PoW camp at Devizes in Wiltshire, led by a hard core of SS troops. As December 1944 drew to a close, trained US interrogators stumbled on a plan so fantastic in concept that is was hard to take seriously. The Interrogation Centre operatives broke the wills of the prisoners involved and got to the bottom of the story. With their escape in tatters, the SS took their revenge and 'tried' and murdered one of their fellow prisoners, who was accused of betraying the Fuhrer. Despite the SS code of silence, those involved were brought to justice and hanged in Pentonville Prison in October 1945. In this book, the author asks the questions: Why was Devizes Camp so woefully unprepared for a possible break-out? Why were the SS allowed to continue their reign of terror on British soil? Why did the Government of the day try to cover up the events?
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InternKats: Rose Hughes, Ieva Giedrimaite, and Cecilia Sbrolli
Saturday, 15 December 2007
UK-IPO/EPO patentability rift widens
The rift between UK-IPO practice under English law, and EPO practice under the case law of the Technical (remember that word) Boards of Appeal has widened further. Decision T 1227/05, until recently only available in the original German, has been published in the EPO Official Journal (OJ EPO 11/2007). This decision marks a significant development in the EPO’s interpretation of Article 52 EPC, further narrowing the scope of ‘excluded’ subject matter, in particular relating to computer programs and mathematical methods.
The decision concerned an application by Infineon Technologies for a computer-implemented method for numerical simulation of a circuit, in which a particular type of electrical noise (termed ‘1/f noise’) was simulated through the use of a mathematically-defined random number generator. The simulation allowed the circuit to be modelled more accurately, and therefore better optimised before a real circuit needed to be made.
Initially, the examining division had refused the application for constituting a ‘mental act’ or a mathematical method as such, because it did not specify any means for implementing the invention. Adding to the claim that the method was ‘computer-implemented’ overcame that particular objection (after T 258/03), but the board was left with the problem of whether the mathematical formulae in the claimed invention could contribute to the required “technical character” (after T 641/00). The invention, the applicant argued, was an improvement over the prior art because the claimed mathematical method of generating random noise made it possible to simulate noisy circuits on small computer systems not previously powerful enough for the purpose, or to simulate larger circuits with the same computer power. This, the applicant argued, constituted “a technical effect that went beyond the normal physical interaction between a computer program and a data processing system”.
The board, headed by the familiar figure of Stefan Steinbrener, was persuaded by this argument and considered that the simulation method constituted an “adequately defined technical purpose for a computer-implemented method, provided that the method is functionally limited to that technical purpose”, and that all steps relevant to circuit simulation, including the mathematically expressed features, contributed to the technical character of the method. Simulation could therefore be a technical feature, and this constituted neither a mathematical method as such nor a computer program as such, even if mathematical formulae and computer instructions were used to perform the simulation.
The board acknowledged that this finding departed from the previous decision of T 453/91, in which a design method for a semiconductor chip was not deemed to be patentable unless a manufacturing step was included as part of the claimed method. In the board’s view, the importance and assessment of industrial simulation methods were changing, and numerical simulations were becoming a cost-effective alternative to real experiments, evolving into a key technology. Specific technical applications of computer-implemented simulation methods were themselves therefore to be regarded as modern technical methods which formed an essential part of the fabrication process, preceding actual production. Such simulation methods could not be denied a technical effect merely on the ground that they did not yet incorporate the physical end product. In summary, the board considered patent protection to be appropriate for numerical development tools designed for a technical purpose, which could not be denied a technical effect merely on the ground that they did not yet incorporate the physical end product.
The board remitted the application back to the examining division to have a search carried out so that a proper assessment of novelty and inventive step could be made, taking into account all those features making a contribution to technical character.
The IPKat finds it interesting to consider how the same claimed invention might be viewed at the UK-IPO, when applying the Aerotel/Macrossan test rather than the EPO ‘technical character’ test. Construing the claim would not be particularly difficult: the method is one of computer simulation of an electronic circuit using a specified mathematical noise model. The contribution in this case would need to be the alleged contribution, in the absence of a search of the prior art having been carried out. Although this might not be the same as the actual contribution, which could only be determined once the prior art was taken into consideration, it could not, unless the applicant failed to identify what in his view the invention was, be any narrower than the actual contribution. The contribution would therefore be viewed as being the application of the specified mathematical noise model in a computerised simulation method, this having certain efficiency advantages. Since this contribution is limited to that of a mathematical model as implemented by a computer program, the contribution could be no more than a mathematical model or computer program as such, and would therefore be excluded from being considered to be ‘an invention’ under section 1(2)(a) and (c) (or Article 52(2), if you prefer). Having failed the third step, any reference to a ‘technical effect’ could not save the method from being excluded, so (as usual) the fourth step would be essentially ignored.
This is the point where patent attorneys, even those who have repeatedly argued and lost hearings at the UK-IPO, will start to complain that the advantages of the invention have not been taken into account. However, the IPKat has not yet seen a UK-IPO decision following Aerotel/Macrossan that has taken into account any actual or alleged advantages to support a contribution being not excluded when it would otherwise be excluded. It is probably always worth a shot, but one should not expect a different result when using an argument that has tried and failed numerous times before.
This is not, however, a mere theoretical musing on how the different approaches might reach different results. Two recent decisions at the UK-IPO (O/342/07 and O/343/07) have resulted in refusals of applications for computer-implemented mathematical simulations. Both of these related to simulations of oil reservoirs, and the IPKat cannot see why these would not now be considered to be sufficiently ‘technical’ to pass the test the EPO board has approved.
The remaining question is: wherefore the different approaches and different results? There appears to be little hope at the moment for a resolution, particularly since (in T 154/04) the board of appeal (Steinbrener again, of course) comprehensively rejected any reference to the enlarged board of appeal to resolve allegedly conflicting EPO decisions, which the Court of Appeal has now effectively directed the UK-IPO and lower courts to ignore. There is also the prospect of a further hardening of the differences when the Astron Clinica judgment in the High Court is issued (see earlier IPKat posts here and here). The IPKat thinks that the real reason lies in the entirely different legal approach the English courts and UK Patent Office have been taking compared with the approach by the EPO boards of appeal. Whereas the EPO, at least in the form of Steinbrener, clearly takes the view that interpretation of the law should evolve as technical progress evolves, the English approach is now trying to go back to basics and interpret the law as it is written, without regard to how technology has developed since the law was first put in place. The former approach depends on the ever-changing definition of what is "technical" (which the IPKat challenges anyone to provide a stable definition of), and departs substantially from the wording of the EPC, whereas the latter tries to assess what the claimed invention actually is, in terms of what it contributes to public knowledge, and whether it is excluded. While the different approaches continue, there seems to be little hope of reconciling English patent law with that of the EPO.
Anonymous said...
David, in savaging Mr Steinbrener you are clawing the wrong target, aren't you? He's only the Chairman. What about the Rapporteur, who manages the case, then writes the Decision. See reasons 3.4.2 "The Board, in its present composition...." from which I infer that Rapporteur Bumes disagrees with the majority in the earlier T453/91. As to "technical" one can only presume that a consensus exists within DG3, that it is indeed a term with a meaning clear enough to serve its decisive purpose. If such a consensus exists, then DG3 is not going to be impressed much, by whingeing from outside the ivory tower, that no inventor can know whether his creativity is patentably "technical" or not. Operating in a civil law (no such thing as "Binding Precedent") landscape, for the EPO it is normal for later Decisions to contradict earlier ones. All part of the rich tapestry of quasi-Darwinian evolution of the law. In the end, lots of legal certainty, but not much while the "fittest" legal line is evolving.
In this point, the EPO has unbounded self-confidence. Far less so, when it comes to the assessment whether a text change to the as-filed app has had the effect of adding matter. Only 9% of the folk inside the ivory tower have English as their first language. For the rest, just about any departure from the verbatim text as first filed in English looks like it's adding matter.
David said...
Very strange. I wasn't trying to savage anybody, I just want to try to understand how and why the EPO approach is different from the UK approach.
Anonymous said...
The Kat considers the EPO approach as 'departing substantially from the wording of the EPC', but fails to make the same observation re the uk approach.
Yet the uk approach clearly contravenes the explicit wording of the epc:
Art 52(1) states that EP patents 'shall be granted for any inventions, in all fields of technology, provided that they are new, involve an inventive step and are susceptible of industrial application.'
Art 52(2),(3) states that certain things - as such - 'shall not be regarded as inventions within the meaning of paragraph 1'.
Arts 54, 56 then set out the tests for novelty, inventive step - 'an invention shall be considered to be new if...'
If the things listed 'as such' in art 52(2) are not 'inventions' within the meaning of article 52(1) then they cannot be tested for novelty or inventive step under art 54 or 56, because those tests only apply to 'inventions'.
The EPC provides no test for determining whether a 'non-invention' is novel or inventive. Hence, ukpo practice of saying claimed subject-matter is novel, inventive, but nevertheless excluded, is complete nonsense.
Similarly, using the novelty and inventive step tests of arts 54/56 to determine whether a claim is excluded under art 52 is also wrong - because the tests of articles 54/56 only apply to something which is 'an invention'.
Thus, in this writer's opinion, whilst the epo approach may not find verbatim support in the epc, it is preferable to the uk approach which contradicts the clear wording of the epc.
Anonymous said...
David, I'm glad you weren't trying to savage Mr Steinbrener, and I'm glad you are trying to understand the EPO approach. But may I now ask you, which one of the following is for you "strange": my bizarre use of the word "savage", or my bizarre thoughts on the evolution of TBA jurisprudence. If the latter, maybe you would like to expound further, on what troubles you. Then maybe, in the further dialogue, common law readers will better understand a civil law jurisdiction, and vice versa.
David said...
i) The argument is very little to do with common law/civil law differences, both of which have to cope with interpreting the written statute, which is the real issue. Whether the EPO's interpretation is 'evolving' or not is beside the point. The statute has not changed (despite EPC2000, which left the exclusions intact).
ii) There is nothing to stop a valid interpretation of the EPC being to take the legal fiction of A52(2)&(3) last, after deciding what the invention actually is (aka the 'contribution'), possibly after assessing novelty and inventive step to be sure. If anyone really thinks that the articles must only be taken in strict literal order, they are being quite deluded, and probably think that T 258/03 was a sensible decision.
iii) A Caliph Omar-type argument goes like this: If the requirement of 'technical character' means something different from what Article 52(2)&(3) does not exclude, then it is a heresy. If it means the same thing, then it is superfluous. The same sort of reasoning typically applies to added subject matter under Article 123(2) at the EPC.
Ian L said...
I have enjoyed reading the slightly testy exchanges between David and the anons over the past few weeks. It's good to see that people are prepared to be a little passionate about IP.
Anyway, I'll be avoiding UKIPO CII prosecution for some time to come I imagine.
Keep up the interesting posts but remember the IPKat blog is suppose to be fun too!
Anonymous said...
When the new UK contribution test came out I wasn't at all convinced by it. However, as more new BoA decisions arrive I find myself seeing the UK approach as "the sensible one".
To me this latest BoA decision seems to be based almost entirely on the fact that the applicants managed to leave the Examining Board with a 'warm and fuzzy feeling' that their invention was technical (“In the board’s view, the importance and assessment of industrial simulation methods were changing…”). Where is the legal certainty in this?
Does this mean that excluded subject matter will now be decided upon how well you can argue that the technology claimed will be important to a company that has a technical background? For example, the board found that “Specific technical applications of computer-implemented simulation methods were themselves therefore to be regarded as modern technical methods which formed an essential part of the fabrication process...” (despite the fact that there is no mention whatsoever of a “fabrication process” in the claims). On this basis it appears that that an entirely non-technical method (e.g. a Computer-implemented mathematical method) that could be used as an essential part of a manufacturing process may be patentable. In contrast an almost identical non-technical method that could be used as an essential part of business process would not be patentable. This doesn't make sense - it's relying on a possible use of the invention to define its patentability.
I can't agree at all with the third posters argument that the UK approach contradicts the EPC. The posters argument is mainly based upon the fact that "The EPC provides no test for determining whether a 'non-invention' is novel or inventive." but isn’t this equivalent to saying that only a patentable invention can be new and non-obvious (which clearly isn’t the case - e.g. consider an ornamental design).
I do not see any difficulty in identifying the “contribution” – it is simply what is new about the idea. To my mind this is not a difficult task and it does not significantly depart from the EPC.
In my opinion (and to me this is the key advantage of the UK approach) starting from the contribution makes the test closer to the real world – when an inventor/applicant/patent attorney decides that they will file a patent application for an invention they do not first consider whether it is technical. What generally happens is that the inventor(s) come up with an idea that they think is clever/useful and then they think it might be good to protect it with a patent application. Then (and only then) do they (or more likely their patent attorney) consider whether they think the invention will pass the patentability criteria and decide to file an application. Surely there’s a reasonable justification for legal tests to reflecting the reality of the process?
A UK based EPA
Anonymous said...
This is the third poster again.
In reply to 'A UK based EPA', who wrote
I have to disagree with the thrust of your argument. This appears to me to be a classic case of muddling up a layman's notion of 'invention' and 'non-obvious' with the terms as used in the EPC.
For sure, an ornamental design can be 'non-obvious' in a layman's sense of being 'creative'. It cannot, however, (if it is not an invention under art 52) be determined whether it involves an inventive step under art 56 epc, because art 56 does not apply to things which are not inventions within the meaning of art 52.
In other words, Art 56 lays down a legal test for determining whether an 'invention' is non-obvious. The test therefore only applies to an 'invention', not to things which by virtue of art 52(2)(3) are not inventions within the meaning of article 52(1).
Hence, the EPC provides no way of assessing whether excluded subject-matter, e.g. an abstract business method, is obvious or not.
a mainland europe based cpa/epa
Anonymous said...
Being mainland myself, I fully agree with "mainland europe based cpa/epa".
However, I do also agree with "UK based EPA"'s criticism in his 2nd and 3rd paragraph. But imho it is very well possible to criticise the BoA's finding of technicality while accepting the BoA's concept of "invention".
Regarding what is an "invention", see T 154/04, par. 12. Clearly the BoA's and LJ Jacob's entirely different concepts of "invention" account for the difference in their approaches. For what it's worth, the BoA's approach does have a basis in the text of Art.52(3): excluded _to the extent_. Only the parts that (as such) do not belong in the list of Art.52(2) make up the invention. If you accept this, it is automatic that novelty and inventive step only have meaning for the non-excluded parts, as they are only defined by Art. 54 and 56 for an "invention". However, this does not answer what is excluded (non-technical) and what is not.
Anyway, to come back to T 1227/05, the BoA seems to find technicality in the potential use of the method as part of a fabrication process which is not part of the claim (as "UK based EPA" wrote). Potential effects have been used more often, e.g. in T 1173/97 deciding that a program on a disk can (sometimes) be patentable (see par 9.4). Other decisions state that a potential effect is not enough.
Anonymous said...
The mistake, in my view, in the European approach is in equating "the invention" as used in article 52 with the claims. The claims define the scope of protection, there is no reason to treat them as the invention. The UK approach asks first what is the invention (or in the words of the Aerotel/Macrossan test what is the contribution) and then asks is that excluded. This seems totally in keeping with the wording of the EPC.
Anonymous said...
My instant reaction to the last comment was that the EPC states that the claims shall perform the function of "defining" the "invention". But they don't do they. Instead, the claims define "the matter for which protection is sought" which complements "scope of protection" and leaves room for "the invention" to be something else.
Having said that, Art 54 and 56 EPC both begin with the words "An invention..." rather than "The subject matter of a claim...", which to my mind makes it tricky to prevail on the argument that "the invention" is not synonymous with "The subject matter of the claim".
Gobhicks said...
An interesting debate to be sure…
First the basics:
Art 52(1): European patents shall be granted for any inventions which are susceptible of industrial application, which are new and which involve an inventive step.
Say an “invention” is “an original contrivance” – “a mousetrap of my own invention”. Something that is an “invention” in this sense isn’t necessarily “new” or “inventive”, but a “patentable” invention must be new and inventive.
52(2) excludes certain kinds of things from being “inventions” for the purposes of 52(1).
The question of novelty isn’t so much of an issue (or is it?) but obviousness to a person skilled in the art (Art 56) can only be judged in relation to an “invention” not excluded by 52(2).
These excluded things can’t be judged as “new” or “inventive” within the meaning of 52(1) because they aren’t “inventions” at all within the meaning of 52(1).
52(3) limits the exclusion from patentability of the subject-matter or activities referred to in 52(2) only to the extent to which a European patent application or European patent relates to such subject-matter or activities as such. We’ll come back to this.
Art 84 requires that the claims shall define the matter for which protection is sought. It doesn’t mention “inventions”, but the subject matter defined by a valid claim must necessarily be, OR AT LEAST INCLUDE, a patentable invention.
Then there’s Rule 29(1): The claims shall define the matter for which protection is sought in terms of the technical features of the invention.
This, firstly, brings in “technical”, and also relates (somehow) the claims to the invention.
Say you have claim 1 and a bunch of dependent claims. The “claims” (plural) relate to the “invention” (singular). So does claim 1 = “the invention”? Clearly not.
Article 82: Unity of Invention. The European patent application shall relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept.
So does the “inventive concept” = “the invention”? Well, multiple “inventions” can share an “inventive concept” and so have “unity of invention”. But their shared “inventive concept” is what gives them “unity of invention, so: maybe.
Looking at the EPO approach to 52(2)/(3), we can see two problems:
1. The approach presupposes that the entire subject matter of a claim = “the invention”. This does not seem to be a safe starting point – see above. On this basis, if a claim has “technical” features it escapes exclusion under 52(3) – it’s not an excluded thing “as such”.
2. Following from 1, the approach equates excluded subject matter with non-technical subject matter. I have never seen a persuasive basis for this.
3. Excluding non-technical matter from the assessment of inventive step relies on equating 52(2) excluded matter with non-technical matter.
The EPO approach has the advantage of simplicity in applying the 52(2)/(3) exclusion (doesn’t need any reference to the prior art), but after that it’s a quagmire made of fudge: non-technical matter deemed not to be novel, what is “technical” anyway, etc.
If the 52(2)/(3) exclusions are to have any teeth at all, they must relate to the substance of a claim, rather than its form. This is what the UK approach tries to do, with the “actual contribution” test. I think there’s a better logical basis for equating the “invention”/”as such” with what differentiates a claim from at least the common general knowledge, if not the prior art as a whole, than with the entire subject matter of the claim (see basics above, again).
You’re then left with the issue that a claim that is differentiated only by, e.g., computer program features, might still make a contribution that is “technical” in substance and ought to be patentable. The Aerotel test, at least as it seems to be getting applied by the UK-IPO to date in a number of cases that are really about “computer technology” as such, rather than “applications of computer technology”, is in danger of excluding too much.
It also seems to me that it is legitimate to draw a distinction between applications of computer technology that are inherently technical (e.g. simulations/modelling of physical systems) and applications that are inherently business-oriented (gaming, financial analysis).
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In World journal of radiology
The first year of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been a year of unprecedented changes, scientific breakthroughs, and controversies. The radiology community has not been spared from the challenges imposed on global healthcare systems. Radiology has played a crucial part in tackling this pandemic, either by demonstrating the manifestations of the virus and guiding patient management, or by safely handling the patients and mitigating transmission within the hospital. Major modifications involving all aspects of daily radiology practice have occurred as a result of the pandemic, including workflow alterations, volume reductions, and strict infection control strategies. Despite the ongoing challenges, considerable knowledge has been gained that will guide future innovations. The aim of this review is to provide the latest evidence on the role of imaging in the diagnosis of the multifaceted manifestations of COVID-19, and to discuss the implications of the pandemic on radiology departments globally, including infection control strategies and delays in cancer screening. Lastly, the promising contribution of artificial intelligence in the COVID-19 pandemic is explored.
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Artificial intelligence, COVID-19, Computed tomography, Diagnostic imaging, Infectious diseases, Radiography | <urn:uuid:a658559b-cb08-4866-b797-7fb3ae99b536> | http://doctorpenguin.com/2021-07-13_10_cov_summary/ | en | 0.900173 | 0.030465 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
There seems to be quite a lot of research suggesting strong links between heavy milk consumption and increased risk of prostate cancer.
Not researched this thoroughly myself - it's come up on my radar v recently after one of my best friends just got diagnosed. Worth checking out though.
Not meaning to get heavy or to troll. Just seems pertinent to mention. | <urn:uuid:47355b4b-ecf9-4f04-8918-8f03b398d62d> | http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=105495&page=2 | en | 0.978921 | 0.082438 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Edit HOSTS file to Redirect to a URL?
By Deviouz
Nov 12, 2009
1. I know how to edit the hosts file to make a connection to a website point to a specified IP address like :
but is there any way to edit the hosts file to make a connection to instead go to
or is there something else that needs to be done to make something like this happen..??
2. kimsland
kimsland Ex-TechSpotter Posts: 18,353
IP address then sitename
Will redirect to :D
Edit: Wait, I think I got that the wrong way around, anyway you get the point
Edit2 Doh. I did get it the wrong way around (I just checked) The above will make go to
You can find all IPs of Websites here:
There's a few of these sites, I just chose one at random ;)
Google updates (changes) its IP often, so the above example may not work always
3. Deviouz
Deviouz TS Rookie Topic Starter Posts: 122
like i said i already know how to do that part...
what im asking is to have it redirect to like a specified URL instead of an IP address...!!!
4. kimsland
kimsland Ex-TechSpotter Posts: 18,353
Thats what I just did above
The User does not need to type in an IP or anything
If they type in: it will then go to Google
YOU on the other hand, Must find the IP address of the site that you are redirecting to
By the way, after you edit and save the Hosts file
You will need to run CCleaner, before opening your browser
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Ghost Truth - Discover The Reality Ghost Truth - Discover The Reality
Can people really talk to the dead?
Caller: I have a question about these people that claim they can talk to the dead. These other people who can, like, find out how somebody was murdered. What’s the truth behind that?
Pastor Doug: Well, the Bible is clear that—Isaiah 8 tells us—that we should not consult those who claim to be able to talk to the dead. The law of Moses said that all that do that would be executed because it’s dabbling in diabolical, cultish demon-communication.
Caller: Oh, they can? Is that why you’re saying ‘stay away’?
Pastor Doug: No. What the person is doing is they’re communicating with demons.
Caller: Not with someone who’s dead?
Pastor Doug: Yes. Mortals do not have the power of resurrection. Even people inspired by the devil cannot communicate with the dead. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus tells us there is a great gulf fixed between those two dimensions. When humans try to consult with the dead, what they’re going to end up talking to is demons, fallen angels that are impersonating departed dead ones.
That’s why it says in, I believe, it’s 2 Corinthians 11, even Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. So we are told it is absolutely forbidden for Christians even to venture to talk to people who claim to talk to the dead. The Bible says ‘The living know that they will die, it’s very clear but the dead know not anything’, that’s Ecclesiastes 9. So anyone who says they’re talking to the dead—let me give you one more: Job 34:14,15—are you writing this down, Dave?
Caller: I will.
Pastor Doug: Job 34:14,15 says ‘If he sets his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh shall perish together, and man shall again return to the dust’. Actually that’s not the one I was looking for. It tells us ‘His sons come to honor and he knows it not’, speaking of a dead person.
He doesn’t know what’s happening unto his house. He shall not return again’. You can read Job 34:14,15 and Job 27:3—there’s a number of verses that deal with the subject of death that make it very clear that the dead don’t know anything that we’re not supposed to be talking to them—not until they’re resurrected. Okay?
Caller: Okay. Thank you.
A True Ghost Story
Paranormal or Paranoid - Historic Hauntings
How to Ward Off Evil Spirits
Enter the Reading Room
Learn the Oracles of Truth
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On this page: Flavianu – Flavianus
timacy, but not of actual relationship, Gothofredus appears to distinguish between this Flavian and one who was praetorian praefect in 391 and 392 j but we concur with TUlemont in identifying the two. Tillemont also (and we think justly) refers to this Flavian the inscription given above [No. 5], in which his second praefecture and consulship are recorded. He was, like Symmachus, a zealous pagan, and a supporter of the usurper Eugenius, from whom he and Arbogastes the Frank solicited and obtained the restoration of the Altar of Victory at Milan. It is probable that he was the person mentioned by Paullinus of Milan, as having threatened that, if they were successful in the war with Theodosius, they would turn the church of Milan into a stable. The text of Paullinus has, in the notice of this incident, the name Fabianus, which is probably a corruption of Flavianus. He was eminent for his political sagacity, and his skill in the pagan methods of divination, in the exercise of which he afsured Eugenius of victory ; and when Theodosius had falsified his predictions, by forcing the passes of the Alps, he, according to Rufinus, "judged himself worthy of death," rather for his mistake as a soothsayer than his crime as a rebel. Eugenius had appointed him consul (a. d. 394), though his name does not appear in the Fasti; and Tillemont infers from the passage in Rufinus that he commanded the troops defeated by Theodosius in the Alps, and that he chose to die on the field rather than survive his defeats ; but this inference is scarcely authorized. It is more likely that, as Gothofredus gathers from the letters of Symmachus, he survived the war, and that his life was spared, though he was deprived of his praefecture and his property. It is difficult, however, to distinguish from each other the Fkviani mentioned by Symmachus, whose letters are very obscure ; and possibly thisFlavian has been confounded with No. 7. ( Symmach. Epist. passim; Sqzom. Hist. Ecc. vii. 22; Rufin. Hist. Ecc. ii, 33 ; Paullin. Mediol. Vita Ambros. c. 26, 31, in Galland. Bill. Pair, vol. ix.; Cod. Theod. 1. tit. 1. s. 2 ; 3. tit. 1. s. 6 ; 7. tit. 18. s. 8; 9. tit. 28. s. 2 ; and tit. 40. s. 13 ; 10. tit. 10. s. 20; 11: tit. 39. s. 11 ; 16. tit. 7. s. 4, 5; Gothofred. Prosop. Cod. Theod.; Tillemont, Hist, des Emp. vol. v.)
7. Proconsul of Asia, a. d. 383, one of the Fla-yiani of Symmachus, and apparently the son of No. 6. Either he or his father was praefect of the city (Rome) a. d. 399, and was sent by Honorius (a. d. 414) into Africa to hear the complaints of the Provincials, and examine how far they were well-founded. Fabricius regards this proconsul of Asia as the Flavian of Himerius; but see Nos. 4 and 5. (Cod. Theod. 12. tit. 6. s. 18j Gothofred and Tillemont,as above.)
An inscription in Gruter, clxx. 5, speaks of " Vir jnlustris Flavianus" as the founder of a secretarium for the senate, which was destroyed by fire, and restored in the time of Honorius and Theodosius II. The inscription possibly refers to No. 6, or No. 7.
8. Praefect of the praetorium under Valentinian III., a.d. 431 and 432. (Cod. Theod. 10. tit. L s. 36 j 6. tit: 23. s. 3 ; Gothofred. Prosop. Cod. TJteod.) [J, C. M.]
FLAVIANUS, an advocatus fisci in the time ,of Justinian, by whom he was nominated one of .the general judges (koivo\ ir&vT<av S//ca<TTai), who were appointed in lieu of the special judges, formerly attached by a constitution of Zeno to parti-
cular tribunals. The names of the general judges- so appointed by Justinian in A. d. 539 are Anato- lius, Flavianus, Alexander, Stephanus, Menas, a second Alexander, Victor, and Theodorus, of Cyzi- cum. At the same time the following persons were appointed superior judges, with high rank : Plato, Victor (different from the former Victor), Phocas, and Marcellus. To these the administration of justice at Constantinople was confided, in subordi nation to the emperor's ministers of state (apx0*77"69)* Their powers, duties, and emoluments, are pre scribed by the 82nd Novell. [J. T. G.J
FLAVIANUS, ecclesiastics. 1. Of antioch^ was born, probably, in that city, and in the earlier part of the fourth century. His parents died when he was young ; but he resisted the temptations arising from rank, wealth, and early freedom from parental control, and devoted himself to study and ascetic exercises, not carrying the latter, however, to such excess as to injure his constitution. He was remarkable for the early sedateness of his character, so that Chrysostom doubts if he could ever be said to have been a young man. On the deposition of Eustathius, bishop of Antioch, a. d. 329 or 330, or perhaps 331, by the Arian party [eustathius, No. 1], Flavian is said to have followed him into exile. But this is somewhat doubtful, from the silence of Chrysostom, and from the fact that, though the bishops who succeeded Eustathius were of Arian or Eusebian sentiments, Flavian did not secede from the communion of the church, as the more zealous supporters of Eustathius did. Yet Flavian was a strenuous supporter of orthodoxy, and his opposition, with that of his coadjutor Dio-dorus, though they were both yet laymen, compelled the bishop Leontius to prohibit Aetius, who was preaching his heterodox doctrines at Antioch, under the, bishop's protection [aetius], from the exercise of the functions of the deaconship to which he had just been raised. The date of this transaction is not fixed; but the episcopate of Leontius commenced in a. d. 348, and lasted about ten years. Whether Flavian and Diodorus were at this time deacons is not clear. Philostorgius states that they were deposed by Leontius for their opposition to him, but does not say from what office. They first introduced the practice of the alternate singing or chanting of the psalms, and the division of the choir into parts, which afterwards became universal in the church.
Flavian was ordained priest by Meletius, who was elected bishop of Antioch, a. d. 361, and held the see, with three intervals of exile, chiefly occasioned by his opposition to Arianism, till A. d. 381. His first expulsion, which was soon after his election, induced Flavian and others to withdraw from the communion of the church, over which Eu-zoius, an Arian, had been appointed. The seceders still recognised the deposed prelate ; and the church formed by them was, during the third and longest banishment of Meletius, under the care of Flavian and Diodorus, both now in the priesthood. Flavian himself did not preach, but he supplied materials to Diodorus and others who did. On the death of Valens, A. d. 378, and the consequent downfal of Arianism, Meletius was restored, and the orthodox party recovered possession of the Jmrches, the Arians, or the more staunch of them, becoming in turn seceders. But the orthodox were divided among themselves ; for the older seceders at the deposition of Eustathius had remained sepa-
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Posts by Hornswaggler
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/16/fa...ummer.html?hpw From the article: "...Sales of such shirts have had such an uptick that Eric Jennings, the men's fashion director of Saks Fifth Avenue, found himself needing a way to describe them. Some 80 years ago, such garments were called sport shirts. Today that term is most likely to apply to polo shirts. As Mr. Jennings and this writer have found, the shirts are not easy to classify." Also, here's an example of an RLPL...
Made a quick stop at my by the pound place over lunch. The MC was generally pretty weak, but I did pull down another pound and a half of ties (a really nice Charles Tyrwhitt that was NWOT, a couple BB repp ties, a Christian Dior that was pretty solid, a couple others I'm not remembering now that were nonetheless worthwhile), a pair of BR cotton pants that are likely to fit pretty well, and a pair of 7 of All Mankind jeans in my girlfriend's size. Not bad for 20...
Edit: PMed on #9
What's the pit-to-pit on the western shirt?
Besides what Piob has said, it might be worth seeing if you can score more paid vacation in some kind of graduated manner.
bmf895 is a great seller -- after we realized we both live in the same city, he actually hand-delivered the item I purchased, on a day when the trains were messed up. Edit: Also, it fits!
Quote: Originally Posted by mylesmyles I ran The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 miler in DC on Saturday. Me too! Looks like you came a solid half hour ahead of me though... Edit: Discovered this thread this AM, came to post... 11 miles.
There are some Robert Talbott crocodile & alligator belts on Gilt right now, for those of you who (a) like the feeling of reptile skin against your pelvis, and (b) want to get them new instead of via the $1,000,000 thread.
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[SciPy-dev] Major CVS changes to weave
eric jones eric at enthought.com
Thu Sep 12 02:10:22 CDT 2002
Hey group,
I've just checked a new version of weave into the CVS. It has major
changes in it which are highlighted below. The good news is there are
some big improvements and the code should be more portable. The bad
news is that it introduced some backward incompatibility. Sorry about
that. I'm getting pretty happy with the interface and code generation
now, so we're close to a stage where backward compatibility will be
maintained in future releases.
The docs and maybe a few examples still need updating. I'll try to get
these and the web pages cleaned up tomorrow and the next day and then
make packaged release of weave when it is done.
This big change was needed even if new things weren't coming, but the
real reason I've checked this in now is in preparation of adding the
*really* cool stuff that Pat Miller is doing to optimize standard python
code and Numeric expressions. His stuff is still way experimental, but
has huge potential. We'll be working over the next month or so to get
it up and running so that it is ready for public consumption.
The underlying library code is significantly re-factored and simpler.
There used to be a xxx_spec.py and xxx_info.py file for every group of
type conversion classes. The spec file held the python code that
handled the conversion and the info file had most of the C code
templates that were generated. This proved pretty confusing in
practice, so the two files have mostly been merged into the spec file.
Also, there was quite a bit of code duplication running around. The
re-factoring was able to trim the standard conversion code base
(excluding blitz and accelerate stuff) by about 40%. This should be a
huge maintainability and extensibility win.
With multiple months of using Numeric arrays, I've found some of weave's
"magic variable" names unwieldy and want to change them. The following
are the old declarations for an array x of Float32 type:
PyArrayObject* x = convert_to_numpy(...);
float* x_data = (float*) x->data;
int* _Nx = x->dimensions;
int* _Sx = x->strides;
int _Dx = x->nd;
The new declaration looks like this:
PyArrayObject* x_array = convert_to_numpy(...);
float* x = (float*) x->data;
int* Nx = x->dimensions;
int* Sx = x->strides;
int Dx = x->nd;
This is obviously not backward compatible, and will break some code
(including a lot of mine). It also makes inline() code more readable
and natural to write.
I've switched from CXX to Gordon McMillan's SCXX for list, tuples, and
dictionaries. I like CXX pretty well, but its use of advanced C++
(templates, etc.) caused some portability problems. The SCXX library is
similar to CXX but doesn't use templates at all. This, like (1) is not
API compatible change and requires repairing existing code.
I have also thought about boost python, but it also makes heavy use of
templates. Moving to SCXX gets rid of almost all template usage for the
standard type converters which should help portability. std::complex
and std::string from the STL are the only templates left. Of course
blitz still uses templates in a major way so weave.blitz will continue
to be hard on compilers.
I've actually considered scrapping the C++ classes for list, tuples, and
dictionaries, and just fall back to the standard Python C API because
the classes are waaay slower than the raw API in many cases. They are
also more convenient and less error prone in many cases, so I've decided
to stick with them. The PyObject variable will always be made available
for variable "x" under the name "py_x" for more speedy operations.
You'll definitely want to use these for anything that needs to be
strings are converted to std::string now. I found this to be the most
useful type in for strings in my code. Py::String was used previously.
There are a number of reference count "errors" in some of the less
tested conversion codes such as instance, module, etc. I've cleaned
most of these up. I put errors in quotes here because I'm actually not
positive that objects passed into "inline" really need reference
counting applied to them. The dictionaries passed in by inline() hold
references to these objects so it doesn't seem that they could ever be
garbage collected inadvertently. Variables used by ext_tools, though,
definitely need the reference counting done. I don't think this is a
major cost in speed, so it probably isn't worth getting rid of the ref
count code.
Unicode objects are now supported. This was necessary to support
rendering Unicode strings in the freetype wrappers for Chaco.
blitz++ was upgraded to the latest CVS. It compiles about twice as fast
as the old blitz and looks like it supports a large number of compilers
(including SGI, Steve) though only gcc 2.95.3 (2.96 on Linux) is tested.
Compile times now take about 9 seconds on my 850 MHz PIII laptop.
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By James Hoorman, Hoorman Soil Health Services
Spring is a time for new growth by plants, animals, and microbes. As temperatures warm, microbial populations double with every ten degrees Fahrenheit increase in soil temperature. As days get longer, the sun’s energy is captured by plants and that energy feeds microbes and almost all living organisms on earth. Keeping ourselves well fed depends not only on the sun’s energy but also having healthy microbes, healthy plants, and healthy soils recycling soil nutrients.
When plants are healthy, they transmit more energy into the soil in the form of root exudates and sugars to feed the microbes. Unhealthy plants do the opposite which means soils become unhealthy. In a typical unhealthy soil, plants are operating at about 15-20% of optimum photosynthesis efficiency so they are putting less energy in the form of sugars into the soil, the microbial population is lower and less diverse, which results in inefficient mineral uptake. Unhealthy plants and soils then tend to have more insect problems, diseases, and of course weeds which are the first soil colonizers.
Healthy soils create healthy plants which can increase photosynthesis rates 30-60% resulting in higher sugars and root exudates to feed diverse expanding microbial populations for efficient mineral nutrient uptake by healthy plants. Insects and diseases are kept in check by predator and due to healthy plant competition, forces pests to look for sick plants. Healthy plants taste good because they have higher mineral content, test weights, protein, and lipid or fat content and other factors.
Many plants have the potential for a much higher yield capacity. The genetic potential of modern corn varieties is at least 1,100-1,500 bpa; however, less than ideal environments decrease yield potential. A corn seed needs to support the newly emerging corn plant for 10-12 days. Healthy soils produce healthy corn seed packed with many nutrients to get that corn seed off a great start. It’s too late now, but farmers might want to think about what environmental conditions their crop seed was grown and what impacts that might have for next year’s growing crop.
The environment determines genetic expression in all living organisms. As humans, only about 10% of genes that control our bodies come from our ancestors. The other 90% are determined by the environment and the microbes living in our bodies. Environment determines what genes are expressed. One prominent scientist (Luther Burbank) noted, “Heredity is nothing more than stored environment!” and “Environment is climate mediated by nutrition!” So healthy soils produce healthy plants and healthy people and vice versa.
Keeping plants healthy and producing higher yields is every farmer’s goal. For a corn plant, the first 9-12 days of growth determines the number of ears that plant will grow. Days 14-21 determines the number of rows of corn kernels and around 42-49 days, the number of corn kernels per plant. Environmental stresses such as drought, excess water, cold or very hot temperatures, and soil conditions will determine the nutrient needs of that plant and how healthy the plant will be to produce that yield.
Plants need adequate light, water, carbon dioxide, good chlorophyll, and manganese to produce healthy plants. Farmers can sometimes control water with irrigation and good drainage, but the two most limiting elements are carbon dioxide and plant available manganese to split the water molecule. Ohio soils have lost 50-70% of their soil organic matter levels, so carbon is almost universally deficient for optimum growth. Growing cover crops, adding manure or compost, and avoiding excess tillage conserves carbon dioxide. Soils need high SOM, good aggregate stability, and porosity to maximize plant uptake of carbon dioxide.
Three nutrients that increase chlorophyll in the plant are nitrogen, magnesium, and iron. While many of our soils have plenty of iron and manganese, often these two elements are not in a plant available form. Iron helps the plant make chlorophyll for optimum photosynthesis and turns the plant leaves dark green, maximizing photosynthesis. Manganese deficiency is a hidden hunger in most plants and is easy to see. If plant veins are lighter green then the plant tissue between the veins (almost always the case) then manganese is lacking. The easiest short-term fix is to apply foliar applications of iron or manganese, commonly done on soybeans.
Healthy soils require good plant nutrition from diverse and expanding microbial populations. Keeping the soil undisturbed, keeping the surface covered with residue, maximizing live plants and roots year-round, and increasing diversity keeps soils, plants and humans healthy.
Back to Research
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Next Article in Journal
Humans and the Water Environment: The Need for Coordinated Data Collection
Next Article in Special Issue
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Marc Henry 1,* and Jacques Chambron 2
Laboratoire de Chimie Moléculaire de l’État Solide, UMR CNRS/UdS 7140, Université de Strasbourg, Institut Le Bel, 4, rue Blaise Pascal, CS 90032, Strasbourg 67081, France
Institut de Physique Biologique, Faculté de Médecine, 4, rue Kirschleger, Strasbourg Cedex F 67085, France; E-Mail:
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail:; Tel.: +33-368-851-500.
Received: 26 September 2013; in revised form: 3 December 2013 / Accepted: 4 November 2013 /
Published: 16 December 2013
: The consumption of alkaline reduced water produced by domestic electrolysis devices was approved in Japan in 1965 by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for the cure of gastro-intestinal disorders. Today, these devices are freely available in several countries and can be easily purchased without reserve. The commercial information included with the device recommends the consumption of 1–1.5 L of water per day, not only for gastro-intestinal disorders but also for numerous other illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, inflammation, etc. Academic research in Japan on this subject has been undergoing since 1990 only but has established that the active ingredient is dissolved dihydrogen that eliminates the free radical HO• in vivo. In addition, it was demonstrated that degradation of the electrodes during functioning of the device releases very reactive nanoparticles of platinum, the toxicity of which has not yet been clearly proven. This report recommends alerting health authorities of the uncontrolled availability of these devices used as health products, but which generate drug substances and should therefore be sold according to regulatory requirements.
alkaline reduced water; electrolysis; reactive oxygen species; antioxidants; platinum nanoparticles; gastro-intestinal complaints; cancer; diabetes; inflammation; immunomodulation
1. Introduction
Appliances that electrolyze drinking water for domestic use have been available for several years. These electrolysis machines produce acidic water (EOAW, for Electrolyzed Oxidized Acidic Water) and alkaline water, also sometimes known wrongly as ionized water (ERAW, Electrolyzed Reduced Alkaline Water). Other names for ERAW include: electrolyzed reduced water, Alkali-ionsui water or electrolyzed cathodic water. Acidic water is unsuitable for human consumption but is appropriate for personal body care and hygiene. Alkaline water on the other hand is drinkable and recommended in the commercial and marketing literature as being beneficial in the treatment of gastro-intestinal problems, hypertension, diabetes and cancer.
Originally designed in Japan, water ionizers have become an important and ever growing industry within the country. Numerous manufacturers have grouped together forming an organization called the Association of Alkaline Ionized Water Apparatus. In Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare support this association, but also request a guarantee concerning the security and quality of water produced by water ionizers. Such appliances imported into Europe have obtained a CE (European Commission) label but are not at present considered as medical devices and thus do not have to comply with the strict policies imposed by the health authorities. Today, anybody tempted by the apparent benefits of ERAW described in commercial adverts can easily acquire a water ionizer (1000 €–3000 €). Furthermore, according to the advice contained in the instruction leaflets that accompany the appliance, it is recommended to drink 1.5–2.0 L of water regardless of age, sex and state of health. Perhaps drinking ionized water can be of benefit if it really does contribute to relieving symptoms of patients, supplementing classical treatments, as certain distributers claim. However, it could also become a public health problem if it provokes harmful secondary effects in otherwise healthy beings and even hides the existence of an illness in consumers who are in apparently good health. This report aims to evaluate the issues concerned with the unregulated consumption of ERAW in the absence of medical advice, in order to warn the public authorities against the potential risks involved.
This report presents first the measures taken by the Japanese health authorities concerning the commercialisation of water ionizers and intake of ERAW in response ultimately to a clinical evaluation conducted by academics but limited to the treatment of gastro-intestinal complaints. Next, this report considers the overall scientific results published by research laboratories and teaching clinics mainly from Japan concerning the physico-chemical, biological and therapeutic properties of ERAW, and which, are often exploited by companies that distribute water ionizers in order to increase sales. This report will not deal with EOAW that is used as an antiseptic in many hospitals and hence does not pose the same health risk questions.
2. Industrial Development of Water Ionizers for Domestic Use in Japan and the Administrative Requirements for their Distribution and Use
More than fifty years ago, based on Russian studies performed around 1920, Japanese scientists successfully developed a water-based process involving an electrolysis procedure that consisted of an anode and cathode compartment separated by a membrane permeable to ions, thus allowing separation and recuperation of the individual contents. It was Machisu Suwa, who in collaboration with the Synnhol Electronic Machinery Company, developed the first electrolysis equipment for producing alkaline ionized water called Synnhol Liquid. Subsequently, in collaboration with Professor Akiba from Tokyo University, a Synnhol Electronic Agricultural Machine was constructed for agricultural applications (especially rice cultivation) and livestock farming. In 1950, the Synnhol Medical Science Research Association was created to encourage technology transfer of agriculture applications to the medical sector and the development of water ionizers for domestic use. The resulting Synnohl Electronic Manufacturing Apparatus was approved in accordance with the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law [1] for the effective treatment of stomach problems, provided that the final pH and calcium concentrations match the mineral content of tap water that varies in different regions of Japan. The use of weakly acid oxidizing water and astringents was reserved for personal hygiene and body care cleaning. From then on, the water for consumption was called Alkaline Ionized Water.
Nevertheless, strong criticism was expressed questioning the validity of a practice that had not been subjected to controlled clinical assessment and for which the long-term impacts were unknown. Furthermore, scientists challenged this designation of ionized water as inappropriate and being what drinking water is naturally, but without interference. For those reasons, in 1993 the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare requested the Association of Alkaline Ionized Water Apparatus to provide scientific data guarantying the quality, efficiency and security of ionized water. This task was undertaken by Professor Itokawa of the Medical Department of Kyoto University who led a review committee and released a public report in 1994 confirming the safety of ionised water. This was followed in 1997 by a further report confirming its effectiveness in the treatment of gastro-intestinal illness.
In 1999, at the 25th General Congress of the Japanese Association of Medical Sciences, the report was presented under the title Electrolytic Functional Water in Medical Treatment. It outlined the conclusions of the first ever double-blind clinical tests establishing that ionized water is effective and useful in the treatment of gastro-intestinal illnesses. In 2005, the legislation concerning pharmaceutical sales was revised, qualifying water ionizers as medical equipment approved for domestic use. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare notified (Notification N° 112) that appliances for the generation of alkaline electrolyzed drinking water are useful for improving gastro-intestinal symptoms such as chronic diarrhea, indigestion, abnormal intestinal fermentation activity and stomach acidity [2].
3. Materials and Methods
In order to quantify the changes in water properties we have recorded as a function of time some physico-chemical parameters before and after electrolysis. Measurements were carried out with a Tae Young model Rettin TY-2505 W known as OSIBA and distributed by Amino-Corp. The machine was equipped with its original prefilters of 0.1 µm given that filtration at 0.01 µm can slightly change the properties of ERAW water produced. The equipment was connected to Erstein (F Bas-Rhin) town water supply that provides a pressure of 5 bars; the flow rate over the ionizer was controlled at 1.2 L min−1. Temperature, pH, redox potentials Eh and resistivity ρ of water samples have been measured using standard electrodes. As we are interested in characterizing the anti-oxidative power of a watery medium independently from its pH-value, it is mandatory to use a mathematical transformation involving the following half-cell reaction occurring in a normal hydrogen electrode (NHE):
2 H+aq + 2 e ⇄ H2(g)
Let us introduce chemical potentials µ = µ0 + kBT·ln a; where kB = 1.38 × 10−23 J·K−1 is Boltzmann’s constant; T the absolute temperature in Kelvin and a the thermodynamic activity of the considered chemical substance. Reference states for the solvated proton and the hydrogen gas for the NHE being such that µ(H2) = µ(H+aq) = 0, it comes ∆G0 = µ(H2) − 2µ(H+aq) = kBT·ln a(H2) − 2kBT·ln a(H+aq). Now using Nernst’s law relating free energy changes ∆G° to redox potentials Eh = −∆G0/(n·e), where e = 1.602 × 10−19 C is the elementary charge and introducing pH = −log10 a(H+aq) and rH2 = −log10 a(H2), it comes:
Here, EB is a constant (Table 1) that depends on the reference electrode used to measure redox potentials. This origin shift is necessary as the rH2 parameter measuring the activity of electrons in an aqueous solution was defined relative to the NHE.
Table Table 1. EB constant (mV) that should be added to the measured redox potential Eh according to the reference electrode in order to get a value referenced relative to a normal hydrogen electrode.
Click here to display table
1 M
3 M
3.5 M
The usefulness of the rH2-transformation comes from the fact that rH2 values constitute a good pH-independent measure of the anti-oxidative ability of a given medium. The rH2 value characterizing pure water may readily be obtained by considering water auto-electrolysis:
2 H2O(l) ⇄ 2 H2(g) + O2(g)
For this equilibrium, one may write:
Water 05 02094 i003
Knowing that for pure water ∆G0 (25 °C, 1 atm) = 474.2 kJ·mol−1 and that a(H2) = 2a(O2) with aW ≈ 1 (dilute solutions), it comes: KE = 8.3 × 10−84 and a(H2) = (2KE)1/3 = 2.6 × 10−28, i.e., rH2 = −log10 a(H2) = 27.6. Redox neutrality is thus observed at rH2 = 28 with rH2 = 0 for the most reducing medium characterized by a(H2) = 1, and rH2 = 42 for the most oxidizing medium characterized by a(O2) = 1, i.e., a(H2) = (KE)1/2. It follows from these considerations that a medium such that 0 < rH2 < 28 has some reductive or anti-oxidant power while a medium with 28 < rH2 < 42 has an oxidative power. It is worth stressing that the rH2 notion is just a mathematical transformation of the redox potential expressing, relative to a hypothetical reference state (H2), the reducing power of an aqueous solution. In particular, it should be clear that a low rH2 value means that some reducing chemical species that are yet to be clearly identified are present in solution. This could be of course molecular dihydrogen gas as in water electrolysis, but also any other compound able to change the redox properties of water.
Another possibility to express water quality is to consider an electrochemical power P computed according to the following relationship:
Water 05 02094 i004
Here, V is the volume of the measurement cell; A the area of the electrodes in contact with the aqueous solution; R the electrical resistance of the measuring cell having a resistivity ρ and crossed by an electrical current of intensity I. Owing to the relationship between pH and rH2, it becomes:
Water 05 02094 i005
For a standard cell characterized by a volume V = 1 cm3, equipped with electrodes having an area A = 1 cm2, at T = 25 °C (i.e., uT ≈ 59 mV) one may use the following practical relationship:
Water 05 02094 i006
This last parameter measures the dissipative power of a given watery medium.
4. Different Types of Alkaline Ionized Water Apparatus and Characteristics of the Electrolyzed Water Produced
Today, many kinds of more or less sophisticated ionized water generators exist on the market (Figure 1). Most are manufactured in Japan but more recently the industry has also developed similar products in the United States, Canada and Australia. On average, over 200,000 appliances are sold each year worldwide for a price varying between 600 € and 3000 €. All water ionizers connect to the mains water supply. The water is filtered over at least one activated carbon filter, essential for reducing the chloride level of the tap water and thus avoiding damage to the electrolytic cell (Figure 2).
The filtered water must have a minimal mineral content of around 50 mg·L−1 in order to undergo electrolysis in a chamber consisting of an anode and a cathode separated by a semi-permeable diaphragm made of plastic. The flat or mesh-shaped electrodes are made of titanium covered with platinum. The process of electrolysis produces acid and oxidized water at the anode according to the following reaction:
2 H2O(ℓ) ⇄ O2(g) + 4H+(aq) + 4 e
As electrons flow through the electric circuit, the anode compartment accumulates mineral ions (HCO3, Cl, HSO4, NO3, …) and as protons and oxygen are liberated, the water acquires a pH between 4 and 6 and a redox potential that could be as high as +900 mV. On the contrary, reduced alkaline water is produced in the cathode compartment owing to the occurrence of the following reaction:
2 H2O(ℓ) + 2 e ⇄ H2(g) + 2OH(aq)
Here, mineral cations (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, …) accumulate at the cathode and as hydroxyl ions and hydrogen are produced, water changes to a pH between 8 and 10 and a redox potential as low as −600 mV may be obtained (Figure 3).
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Figure 1. Some electrolyzed water generators available on the market.
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Figure 1. Some electrolyzed water generators available on the market.
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Figure 2. General overview of a commercial electrolyzed water generator.
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Figure 2. General overview of a commercial electrolyzed water generator.
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Figure 3. General overview of a commercial electrolyzed water generator.
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Figure 3. General overview of a commercial electrolyzed water generator.
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The efficiency of the apparatus and the pH and redox potential values obtained vary greatly, depending on the characteristics of the local water supply, the voltage and current values, water flow rate and temperature. Table 2 summarizes the results obtained before and after electrolysis, as a function of the three adjustable settings that control alkalinity and two settings that regulate acid, available on any typical machine. One may notice that the main effect of electrolysis is a significant reduction in the rH2 value of ERAW compared to the original tap water, while the pH and resistance potential values remain relatively stable. A comparison of these rH2 values with those of mineral water shows that ionized water is extremely alkaline. Compared to drinking water sources, ERAW has pH and Eh values that are rarely encountered in a natural environment. This water should normally therefore be classed in the same category as synthetic waters. With regard to ERAW resistance, one can find a range from 1600 to 1700 Ω·cm that is stable over time and remains within the tolerated official norm of 900–5000 Ω·cm. In terms of pH, this can range can vary from 6.8 to 8.7 for this type of equipment and also remains relatively stable over time. In comparison, the regulatory standard recommends a pH between 6.5 and 9 for drinking water. The ionization procedure does not therefore result in abnormal pH values. Concerning redox potential, values are within the range of −654 to +680 mV with a strong variation over time for negative reduction potentials and a better stability for positive reduction potentials. After correcting for the effect of pH, the rH2 (electronic activity) is found to be between 2 and 45, meaning that this type of apparatus can effectively produce water that is extremely oxidising or on the contrary, extremely anti-oxidising.
Table Table 2. Physicochemical properties of three types of reduced alkaline electrolyzed water (ERAW) and two types of oxidized acidic electrolyzed water (EOAW). t: duration of electrolysis; Eh: redox potential; r: electrical resistance; P: electrochemical power.
Click here to display table
ERAW #11016.37.70−5872.1168287
ERAW #21016.48.24−6401.21690114
ERAW #31016.78.73−6820.91725131
EOAW #11015.56.89+9924.5169256
EOAW #21016.56.71+55239.91654350
Since there is no official standard concerning the redox potential or the rH2 of drinking water, one is faced with a situation of great uncertainty. In the natural environment, the most alkaline and anti-oxidising water known is found in a slate mine cave known as Brandholz at Nordenau in Germany with the following characteristics: T = 8–10 °C. pH = 8.01, Eh = −250 mV (rH2 = 14.7) corresponding to an electrochemical power of P = 0.003 µW. Water with similar attributes has also been discovered at Hita Tenryosui in Japan, Tlacote in Mexico and Nadone in India, but is nevertheless of extremely rare occurrence in nature. All of these places are frequented by thousands of people hoping to heal their ailments by hydrotherapy. Biological fluids such as blood, saliva or urine are another example where natural redox potentials span the range −50 to +150 mV, corresponding to a rH2 somewhere between 20 and 26. It is clear however that some of the electrolyzed water produced is completely abnormal biologically, justifying a prerequisite clinical evaluation before any therapeutic usage. The problem is of course the instability of the ERAW over time that must be consumed in the hour following production in order to conserve the redox potential or rH2 levels. A further important concern is that water with a starting pH of 8.24 and a rH2 of 2.9 at T = 17.7 °C will, if the temperature is raised to 22.4 °C on a radiator for example, have an increased rH2 up to 16.9 without any tangible change in pH (8.23). It is very likely therefore that ERAW consumed and heated at human body temperature has a redox potential that will become positive once again.
Likewise, there is no officially accepted norm concerning the electrochemical power P that can also be extremely variable. Yet, this is the most interesting parameter without any doubt, as it combines three main properties of water, namely acid/alkaline, oxidising/reducing and overall mineral content. The electrochemical power of electrolyzed water can vary from zero to 480 µW, which shows that it is possible with one machine to produce ionized water with an electrochemical power similar to most commercial natural mineral waters, apart from St-Yorre (Table 3). Note, however, that contrary to mineral water, the electrochemical power is not stable over time and that water with oxidising or reducing properties can have equivalent electrochemical power. From a chemical perspective, ERAW contains the same basic dissolved mineral substances as the starting water used at the outset and a variable amount of dissolved dihydrogen whose concentration depends on the electrolysis conditions and platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) resulting from degradation of the electrodes, the concentration of which depends on the length of use of the electrodes.
Table Table 3. Physicochemical characteristics of some French mineral water at T = 20 °C (RO = reverse osmosis).
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RO water30,0006.622.02
Mont Roucous43,5006.026.34
Rosée de la reine28,1005.228.09
5. Anti-Oxidizing Properties of ERAW
Dr Hidemitsu Hayashi (Director of the Water Institute of Japan) bought an electrolysis apparatus for the Kyowa Medical Clinic as early as 1985. ERAW was subsequently used on a regular basis for the preparation of meals and as drinking water for the patients. He observed a clear amelioration in patients suffering from gastro-intestinal disorders and even a number of other pathologies including diabetes, gout, liver cirrhosis, hepatitis, hypertension and malignant tumours of the liver. To explain these improvements, he proposed a theory in 1995 that ERAW exerts it healing properties primarily due to the presence of activated dihydrogen (H2) that efficiently scavenges reactive oxygen species (ROS) rather than due to the water’s alkalinity or redox potential [3]. Even though this hypothesis is flawed by the fact that dehydrogenase enzymes do not exist in the human body and only in bacteria, the claims of H. Hayashi enabled:
Development of a cheap alternative method to the water ionizer machine for producing dihydrogen-enriched water displaying alkaline and reducing properties. The method relies on an electrochemical reaction between water and magnesium rods: Mg + 2 H2O → Mg(OH)2 + H2 resulting in what is known as Magnesium Stick Water (MSW);
Stimulated interest in the curative properties of natural reducing waters found in deep underground sites such as at Nordenau in Germany (NA water) or Hita Tenryosui (HT water) or Mount Fuji (IF water) in Japan [4];
Triggered scientific teams to do more fundamental research in order to understand the physicochemical action and mechanisms behind the reducing properties of electrolysed water.
The first in vitro research experiments by Shirahata and his group in 1997 demonstrated the ability of ERAW, produced by commercial apparatus (Nihon Trim Co, Osaka, Japan), to destroy reactive oxygen species such as superoxide radicals (O2−•) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), similar to the action of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) enzymes. In connection with a study of DNA degradation by free radicals, they also indirectly observed elimination of the more aggressive hydroxyl radicals [5]. Except for the effect upon hydroxyl radicals, these results were later confirmed by other ERAW produced by an apparatus built in the laboratory using water supplemented with 2 mM NaCl [6,7]. These types of reactions similar to SOD and CAT enzymes are only possible if dissolved hydrogen is present and activated in its atomic form. For this reason, Shirahata and colleagues proposed that the active hydrogen was stabilized by PtNPs, released through degradation of the electrodes [8]. To study the validity of this hypothesis that is often used as a commercial argument, an extensive research using an ERAW produced by a commercial apparatus Nihon Trim Co, Osaka, Japan from tap water filtered over ion exchange resin came to the following conclusions [9]:
No trace of platinum was detected in any of the diverse samples studied. In contrast, ionized water prepared from IF or HY water contained vanadium ions;
Anti-oxidant activity of ERAW, MSW, HT (deep Water Hita Tenryosi, Japan) and IF (deep water Mount Fuji, Japan) water measured by the inhibition of the oxidation of biological molecules showed little to no difference compared to molecules such as ascorbic acid, tocopherol or polyphenols;
The loss of anti-oxidant activity of ERAW and MSW after boiling shows that an unstable transient H2 element is involved. The concentration of H2 varies from around 0.5 mg·L−1 up to 1.5 mg·L−1 at saturation, but drops off quickly making necessary that the water should be consumed immediately. A recent study [10] showed that 50% of the H2 ingested was exhaled while the body tissues took up 45% where it can exert its anti-oxidising activity. For IF and HT water, only a partial loss in their anti-oxidation properties is observed upon boiling depending on the strength of the reducing properties of vanadium ions that are present;
ERAW scavenges oxygen O2−• radicals exclusively and does not seem to scavenge hydroxyl HO• radicals, contrary to the results of Shirahata et al. [5] and Ohsawa et al. [11]. This is probably due to insufficient sensitivity of electronic resonance spectrometry for detecting other radicals;
Ambiguously, the anti-oxidising properties can be explained by chemical analysis but scientific demonstration of the hypothesis of active hydrogen is lacking, even taking into account that PtNPs could have been eliminated by filtration from the samples.
These diverse results confirming the likelihood that ERAW and water enriched naturally or artificially in H2 can scavenge ROS have pushed a number of scientists to engage in vivo experimental research using cellular and animal models of pathologies in which oxidative stress plays a role, such as diabetes, cancer and kidney failure.
6. Experimental Evidence of the Effects Produced by Administration of ERAW and Hydrogen Enriched Water to Animal Models of Pathological Diseases
6.1. Anti-Diabetic Effects of ERAW
As early as 1997, it was shown that administration of ERAW to rats decreases the concentration of blood glucose and lipid peroxide levels by activating hexokinase [12]. In 2002, the group of S. Shirahata reported on the anti-diabetic effects of ERAW produced by a Nihon Trim Co water ionizer system in comparison with natural NA or HT spring water, renowned for their reducing activity. The study used hamster pancreatic beta-cell line HIT-T15 treated with alloxan. The study shows that the cytotoxic effects induced by alloxane on the cells were inhibited by the all three types of water [13].
From a biochemical point of view, these waters seem to activate insulin secretion in cells by increasing their sensitivity to glucose, with natural reduced water (NA and HT) having a stronger effect than ERAW. This study also showed that after heating the different waters in an autoclave at 121 °C, they lost those properties and that commercial mineral water does not have anti-diabetic activity. In 2005, the group further demonstrated that the same types of water as used in the previous study actually protect pancreatic cells from apoptosis induced by alloxane [14]. The effect of dihydrogen-enriched water generated by Alkalogen magnesium sticks (HDr Co, Busan, Korea) on glycaemia and lipidaemia was also studied in OLETF rats, a model of spontaneous type 2 diabetes [15]. The results showed that dihydrogen-enriched water stimulated growth and that its ingestion during 32 weeks decreased blood glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations by 10%–20% in comparison to control rats who drank tap water. Moreover, the levels of glutamine-oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) secreted by ischemic myocardial cells significantly decreased by 50% in comparison to control animals. Based on these results, the authors suggested that ERAW has a worthwhile prophylactic effect on coronary complications in diabetes.
6.2. Anti-Cancer Effects of ERAW
In 2001, Komatsu et al. published that A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells and HT1080 human fibrosarcoma cells when treated with ERAW showed a lower redox potential resulting in reduced growth rate while normal fibroblast cells TIG-1 were not affected [16]. Shirahata et al. also showed that A549 or HeLa cervical carcinomas cells when cultivated in medium prepared from ERAW drastically changed their morphology while TIG-1 morphology remained normal. In general, cancer cells owe their immortality to high telomerase activity and the fact that their telomeres do not shorten. In the above study, although telomerase activity remained high, the telomeres became shorter with each consecutive cell division suggesting that ERAW reduced the telomere binding ability of telomerase resulting in telomere shortening [17]. Nisikawaa et al., studied the protective effect of ERAW prepared using a TI-200S electrolysis appliance (Nihon Trim Co, Osaka, Japan) on BALB/c-3T3 cells treated with 3-methyl cholantrene (initiator compound) followed by treatment with phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (promoter compound) [18]. They were able to establish that to inhibit the promoter, it was necessary to add PtNPs to ERAW [≈10 parts per million (ppm)] since ERAW alone strongly stimulated malignant transformation. It seems that the PtNPs are incorporated into endothelial cells within the intestine supporting the hypothesis that intracellular molecular dihydrogen is converted into active hydrogen by the PtNPs.
Without the presence of a catalyser such as platinum, chemistry cannot account for the in vitro activity of H2 upon ROS, with the exception of the hydroxyl radical. Thus, it is also important to follow up these in vivo studies in order to elucidate the mechanism of action of H2 at the tissue level and its possible activation by PtNPs that, furthermore, are themselves susceptible to lead to toxicity problems.
7. Experimental Research Concerning the Biological Effects of NPs
7.1. Study of the Anti-Oxidizing Action of Synthetic NPs Supsensions
PtNPs are veritable hydrogen sponges since a 2 nm particle size can absorb up to 12% of hydrogen atoms per atom of platinum under a partial pressure of H2 not exceeding 0.1 kPa [19]. PtNPs exert their reducing properties by transferring electrons to hydrogen peroxide and certain free radicals like 2.2ʹ-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2.6-dichlorophenol indophenol [20]. PtNPs are also capable of eliminating superoxide and hydroxyl radicals [21]. PtNPs size can vary from 1 to 5 nm with the smallest particles being the most reactive towards superoxide ions [22]. At a dose of 50 mg−1, no toxicity is apparent in cultured HeLa cells, and in light of this, is therefore being considered as a new type of anti-oxidant.
Most in vivo research concerning anti-oxidant activity of PtNPs has primarily been carried out in connection with senescence. Senescence is characterized by a degradation of cellular material due to the production of ROS that augments with age because repair processes diminish [23]. The free-living model nematode Caenorhabtidis elegans and strains developed for gerontogenomic studies have been recognised as particularly suitable for assessing the oxidative stress effects on the life span [24]. In 2008, Kim et al. showed that a reduction in life span after exposure of the nematode Caenorhabtidis elegans to paraquat, a free radical inducing oxidative stress, happens only at a NP concentration of exactly 0.5 mM (neither more nor less). An increase in life span of nematodes caused by treatment with salen-manganese that stimulates superoxide dismutase and catalase is further reinforced by the presence of NPs [25]. By fixing the NPs to a peptide sequence that has high affinity for platinum and further linked to a peptide sequence derived from HIV-1TAT and allowing it to pass through the cellular membrane and penetrate cells, the cellular internalization of NPs was increased and the effective dose producing the same effects was now 5 µM, which is 100 times lower [26].
7.2. Anti-Oxidant Activity of ERAW Contaminated by NPs during the Process of Preparing Electrolyzed Water
The group of Shirahata studied the activity of ERAW on the nematode Caenorhabtidis elegans [27]. The authors showed that worms cultivated in medium prepared from ERAW had an extended lifespan and that this protects against the life-shortening effect of paraquat. There are two components of ERAW that can be imputated to explain these results, either dissolved H2 or the small amounts of PtNPs. Although the concentration of H2 is maximally 0.9 ppm (0.9 mg·L−1) at the end of electrolysis, it rapidly decreases to less than 50 parts per billion (ppb) (0.05 ppm or 0.25 µM). The effects of H2 at such low concentrations have never been investigated. In contrast, an active concentration of NPs at 2.5 ppb is inferior to the concentration of 0.5 mM (95 ppm) but similar to the 5 µM (5 ppb) of particles that are internalized and observed by Kim et al. [25]. For this reason, Yan et al. undertook further experiments to elucidate the respective roles of H2 and PtNPs [28]. The authors found again that synthetic NPs significantly augments the life span of nematodes and reduces the accumulation of ROS induced by paraquat. In contrast, hydrogen enriched water had no significant effect on the longevity of the nematode. These results suggest that it is not H2 but the NPs in ERAW that are responsible for prolonging the lifespan of this particular model (and which cannot be generalized and extrapolated to other models) through ROS scavenging. By referring to earlier work by Kim et al. that used S Medium, the authors could conclude that a NP concentration of 1.0 ppb would have been internalized into the nematodes. Since this amount is so small, they conclude that it is highly likely that drinking ERAW does not have any side effects [26]. This explains why toxicology tests have always been negative so far and thus ERAW declared safe to drink [29]. In their last publication, Shirahata S. et al. (2012) do not explain the chemical or physical mechanisms that result in electrode degradation and hence production of nanoparticles (NPs) during functioning of the electrolysis apparatus and that probably increases with each daily use [30]. Instead, the authors explain that the H2 is stored in the NPs and activated by its catalytic activity. The catalytic activity is actually strengthened because the surface electron density related to the weight of the metal is greater when in the nanocolloidal state than in the solid state. Shirahata et al. [29] further assume that the different mineral ions contained in natural drinking water are reduced at the cathode and the atoms released self organize in the form of mineral NPs. Some minerals react with H2 to form insoluble hydrides. The same is true of NA and HT natural water whose anti-oxidant properties are due to hydrogen produced during anaerobic reaction between basaltic rock and the particularly pure water. The hydrides store hydrogen reserves that can be liberated by hydrolysis. Stevens and Mc Kinley reported evidence for an active anaerobic subsurface microorganism’s life, deriving energy from the geochemically produced H2, called lithoautotrophic microbial ecosystem, in deep basalt aquifer [31]. Martin et al. have reported similar results in submarine hydrothermal vents [32].
The study of the toxicity of NPs has not been seen as a problem in the context of nanotechnology development [33]; first, because the sources of contamination are very rare and second because the metal itself is considered as being biologically inert. It is only recently that the question of toxicity has arisen due to the large-scale use of exhaust catalysers that disperse NPs as they age owing to the use of derivatives of platinum for therapeutic use (e.g., cis-platine) or industrial applications. It has now been established that platinum levels in urine are increasing and that these compounds are bio-assimilable. Owing to their dispersion in the atmosphere, toxicity by inhalation has been the subject of most recent scientific studies [34]. These studies are based on measuring intracellular uptake of NPs in relation to their shape (sphere, flower shaped or multiple spikes) with sizes ranging from 10 to 30 nm, and their ability to induce oxidative stress or inflammation in lung or vascular endothelial cells. Based on markers of oxidative stress and inflammation, toxicity from concentrations of NPs that are produced during pollution of the environment or industrial atmosphere is undetectable. When doses much higher than this are delivered to cells in culture, the biological effects do not exceed 35% inhibition. However, this study depends on toxicity induced by the submicroscopic state of the metal. In contrast, inherent toxicity due to catalytic chemical action of platinum on the oxido-reduction pathways in the body and especially the liver where the particles accumulate has never been shown.
The toxicological study by Saitoh et al. [29] and to which Yan et al. [28] refer to has concluded that ERAW does not present a risk for human health. Indeed, no sign of intoxication has ever been observed on the basis of clinical examination, values of haematology, blood and urine biochemical parameters or histopathology of the principal organs. However, the contamination of ERAW by NPs and its biological consequences were not addressed compromising the validity of this toxicological study.
8. Experimental Research on Biological and Therapeutic Properties of Dihydrogen and the Cellular Mechanisms Involved
Although the reducing properties of H2 are well known in chemistry, this gas is considered as non-reactive with tissues under physiological conditions. Nevertheless, its therapeutic potential for cancer was revealed in the USA [35], for inflammation in England [36] and in France [37]. In 2007, experimental work by the research team of Professor Shigeo Ohta reactivated interest in the therapeutic benefits of H2 and provided convincing evidence supporting the importance of hydrogen to cellular function in the body [11,38]. This work stimulated pioneering experimental and clinical research concerning the therapeutic effectiveness of hydrogen available in newly developed dosage forms, competing with the use of ERAW. Ohsawa et al. demonstrated in disease models that H2 selectivity eliminates a very reactive form of oxygen: the hydroxyl radical HO• [11]. However, H2 does not spontaneously react with superoxide radical anion (O2−•), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or nitric oxide radicals (NO•) that play a physiological role in cell signalling and immune defences.
The therapeutic efficacy of H2 demonstrated in this publication aroused considerable interest by scientists and doctors in Japan, Korea and China. It created intensive study of a number of disease states some of which had already been explored but by administering H2 using new procedures such as injection, inhalation, eye drops, ingestion of water enriched in hydrogen by bubbling the gas through water, by electrolysis or by electrochemical reaction of magnesium with water and by raising endogenous intestinal H2 with a diet rich in starchy food, milk, and curry [38], mannitol, inhibitors of α-glucosidase [39,40]. The benefits of administrating hydrogen were again demonstrated on:
Experimental models of ischemia followed by reperfusion on brain, heart and lesions of the kidney, lung and intestine and for these last three organs on the outcome of transplantation;
Damage to the central nervous system, hypoxia in newborns and apoptosis, infarction and hemorrhagic transformation after infarctus and hemorrhagic transformation after obstruction of the middle cerebral artery, perinatal asphyxia of newborn guinea pigs, cerebral degeneration and models of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer and accelerated ageing;
Inflammation in a variety of models of hepatitis, acute pancreatitis induced by arginine, colitis bought on by the action of sodium dextran sulphate, septicaemia, general inflammation induced by zymosan;
Neurotoxicity induced by cis-platine used in chemotherapy and lesions of acoustic hair cells caused by antimycin;
Injury to the brain or spinal cord, damage caused by ionizing radiation at the level of lymphocytes, the gastro-intestinal endothelium, hearing problems and loss of hearing, corneal burns from caustic soda;
Type I and 2 diabetes, intolerance to glucose, potential metabolic syndrome;
Old age (see Beckman et al. [23] for a revue about the cause and role of ROS in the process of senescence).
The published articles of Zheng et al. [40] and Shirahata et al. [30] contain comprehensive bibliographies citing the above research. The hydroxyl radical HO• is the most reactive of the ROS species. During evolution, mammals have lost any endogenous detoxification system for neutralising ROS species. Thanks to hydrogen’s ability to eliminate radical ions, it can exert a cytoprotective effect that prevents the degradation of cellular biopolymers. The action of H2 also goes beyond just elimination of excess ROS. A number of reports have shown an effect of H2 on the regulation of gene expression, acting directly on cellular signalling pathways that are stimulated by excess ROS [18,41,42]. However, many of the reactions occurring in the presence of small quantities of H2 still need to be elucidated [38]. This recent research activity on the biological consequences of H2 has certainly had an impact on clinical evaluations that have been done recently. Clinical assessments undertaken in Japan to highlight the appropriateness of ERAW for gastro-intestinal disturbances made it possible for the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to certify the ionizer devices and allow haemodialysis using ERAW (understandably so because haemodialysis requires a continuous flow of dialysis fluid). Almost all the pathological clinical evaluations to demonstrate the beneficial effects of administering H2 were conducted with water enriched in H2 by direct contact with the gas or by electrochemical action between magnesium and water (MSW). None however have yet practised administering ERAW, even though studies have shown its effectiveness on experimental models of disease.
9. Clinical Studies of ERAW
9.1. Gastro-Intestinal Problems
The first double-blind clinical studies concerning gastro-intestinal disorders were presented at the 25th General Assembly of the Japanese Medical Conference in April 1999 [43] and published by Tashiro et al. [44]. In this study, volunteers consumed 1 litre of ERAW every day over 12–15 days. Improvements were observed based on various different clinical signs: chronic diarrhea, constipation, intestinal fermentation, hypercholia. It was these tests that allowed the Japanese authorities to authorize the use of domestic electrolysers for the treatment of gastro-intestinal disorders. Other positive results were presented concerning the benefits of ERAW for treating lesions of the gastric and intestinal mucosa by Dr. T. Yoshikazu, in despite of his own self-confessed scepticism and efforts to show negative results.
Heamodialysis is often used for cleaning excess toxins or metabolic waste from the blood in patients with severely impaired renal kidney function. However, this procedure can lead to oxidative stress causing cardiovascular disease. A clinical study was performed on 22 men and 15 women submitted to haemodialysis performed with ERAW provided by a commercial apparatus HD-24K (Nihon Trim Co., Osaka, Japan) that was adapted to a AF-150 haemodialyzer equipped with AF-150 membranes (Althane, Althin Medical Inc., Miami, FL, USA) [45]. The following blood parameters were measured: total anti-oxidant state (TAS), anti-oxidant activity of plasma, level of proteins/oxidised amino acids, lipid peroxidation, interleukin-6 (IL6) levels and the concentration of C-reactive protein. It was shown that haemodialysis with ERAW helps increase the body’s immune defences against oxidative stress by eliminating in particular hydrogen peroxide and the hypochlorite anion. In this example, ERAW seems to decrease changes at the level of the leukocytes, endothelial cells and erythrocytes [46]. In another study, 21 participants, stabilized by standard haemodialysis, were subjected to a dialysis with ERAW at a rate of three sessions a week [47]. Water softened and filtered over activated carbon was electrolyzed with a HD-Nihon Trim (Osaka, Japan) system. This was fed into a reverse osmosis MH 500 CJ Water System (Tokyo, Japan) equipment connected to a personal haemodialysis apparatus DBB-22B Nikiso (Tokyo, Japan) delivering a haemodialysis solution with an average dihydrogen concentration of 48 ppb. No secondary effects were observed during the evaluation. The systolic blood pressure dropped in a significant number of patients to a value of 140 mm Hg. The authors think that the hypotensive effect of H2 is due to its anti-oxidant activity and to elimination of ROS including peroxynitrate, a substance that causes renal hypertension through the reduction of nitrosyl radicals [48]. In summary, haemodialysis with ERAW improves the inflammatory response and the control of blood pressure in haemodialysis patients.
9.2. Studies of the Therapeutic Action of Neutral Reduced Water Enriched in Dihydrogen
Kajiyama et al. carried out a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial concerning the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus on 30 patients suffering from diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM) and six patients affected with glucose intolerance [49]. Natural water was first purified by three filtration procedures: filtration by reverse osmosis, by ion-exchanger resins and ultrafiltration over millipore membrane. Neutral reduced water rich in H2 was produced by direct dissolution of the gas bubbled into the water. The concentration of H2 was 1.2 mg·L−1 and the concentration in O2 was 0.8 mg·L−1, for a redox potential of −600 mV. Given the quantity of H2 eliminated by exhalation, an intake of 900 mL of hydrogen water per day during 12 weeks was recommended to maintain a concentration of H2 sufficient in the tissues and 900 mL of pure water per day for the control group over the same amount of time, followed by a 12 week washout period. All the parameters were determined at the start of the evaluation, at eight weeks and at the end of the evaluation. Serum concentrations of LDL and small dense LDL (sdLDL) decreased significantly after drinking hydrogen water, but no change in the cholesterol level, the concentration of high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), RPLc, triglycerides, or non-esterified fatty acids was noted. Similarly, fasting blood glucose and insulin levels and the percentage of HbA1c were not modified. The authors were unable to find a clear explanation for the reduction in concentrations of emLDL, sdLDL and uIsoP other than the protection of membrane lipoproteins by H2 against oxidation. Finally, four patients amongst six with glucose intolerance were normalized. To explain these results, the authors put forward the hypothesis that the dihydrogen diffuses easily in tissues and protects the DNA against the deleterious effects of ROS, influencing transcription and contributing to the improvement in insulin resistance. In conclusion, the authors indicate that absorption of hydrogen rich water has a beneficial role to play in the prevention of type 2 mellitus and insulin resistance.
9.3. Studies of the Therapeutic Action of MSW
Metabolic syndrome is characterised by a cluster of metabolic risk factors: obesity, elevated insulin levels, high blood pressure and dyslipidemias; therefore, oxidative stress should play a key role in the pathogenesis of this disorder. A pilot study was undertaken at Pittsburgh University in collaboration with KGK Synergic London Ontario Canada in order to evaluate the effectiveness of this type of water on 20 subjects (10 men and 10 women) whose biological status (weight, blood sugar, lipemia and cholesterolemia) was conducive to developing metabolic syndrome [50]. The MSW was prepared with a magnesium stick (Dr. Suisosui Friendear, Tokyo, Japan) to obtain a concentration of 0.55–0.65 mM. Routine tests of biological markers indicative of this syndrome as well as oxidative stress markers were performed following standard procedures: blood count, creatine, aminotransferase, gamma glutamyltransferase bilirubin, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, fasting blood glucose, 8-hydroxy-2ʹ-deoxyguanosine, 8 isoprostane, superoxydismutase and thiobarbituric acid. Each patient was required to drink 300–400 mL of water five times per day: the morning before breakfast, one hour after lunch, two hours after the afternoon snack, one hour before supper and half-hour before bedtime. This gives a total consumption of 1.5–2 L maximum per day during eight weeks. Drinking MSW resulted in a 39% increase in the level of SOD, a decrease in thiobarbituric acid of 43% in the urine, an increase by 8% in HDL and a decrease of 13% in total cholesterol. There was no observable change in blood sugar levels. The authors concluded that drinking MSW improves the levels of markers indicative of oxidative stress and strengthens the anti-oxidant activity of the body.
The fatigue associated with an increase in oxidative stress and inflammation due to the formation of ROS by X-radiation spoils the quality of life of patients. Kang et al. have also published a study about the efficiency of treating this using MSW [51]. The investigation was conducted on 49 patients suffering from cancer of the liver. The patients (33 men and 13 women) with a mean age of 56.3 years diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma were treated by high voltage radiotherapy (6 MV) and received 60–65 Grays. They were separated into two groups by random draw. One of the groups was subjected to drinking 10 times per day 100–300 mL of ERAW making 1.5–2.0 L per day while the second group was given a placebo. The treatment was begun in the first days after starting radiotherapy and continued during six weeks. A questionnaire was filled in by the patients, conforming to the Korean equivalent of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (QLQ-C30 Instrument) with certain modifications that allow a health evaluation with creation of a Quality Of Life Scale (QOLS) that reflects the level of symptoms and their diminution. Within the QOLS, five functional levels are judged, namely: physical state, cognitive function, emotions, social relations with evaluation of three different symptoms: pain, tiredness, nausea or vomiting and six simple items: dyspnea, insomnia, loss of appetite, constipation, diarrhea. The concentration of metabolised oxidized derivatives (dROM) and the biological anti-oxidant powers (BAP) were evaluated from the first to the sixth week of radiotherapy. Measurements of biological parameters including blood, blood count, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma glutamic transpeptidase (γGTP) and cholesterol were also included over the same time period. Drinking MSW improved the quality of life of the patients beginning from the very first week of treatment. However, MSW did not have any effects on gastro-intestinal disturbances. Drinking MSW systematically diminished the concentration of derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites, oxygenated derivates, maintained the endogenous anti-oxidant activity in the serum that normally deteriorates during radiation therapy and did not alter liver function or blood composition.
10. Conclusions
ERAW was introduced into Japanese pharmacopoeia as early as 1965 with full approval from the health authorities in 1995 for treating sufferers of gastro-intestinal problems including diarrhoea, constipation, acid indigestion, pre-ulcer state and ulcers. Accreditation by the health authorities was founded on a double-blind clinical trial but concerned a limited number of volunteers over a short time period only. The reason for the development of this preventative and palliative therapeutic approach in Japan is probably because these types of complaints are more common due to a diet rich in raw vegetables and fish seasoned with dressing and the existence of a dynamic and innovative industry in this sector. These diseases or disorders are probably alleviated by the alkalinity of ERAW, but the long term detrimental consequences of regularly drinking 1–1.5 L·day−1 of ERAW, which is between pH 9 and 11 and equivalent to a solution of sodium hydroxide at 10−5–10−3 mol·L−1 has not been studied.
More recently, it was suggested that the H2 supplied in the form of gas or dissolved in a physiological solution is the main active substance in ERAW. Its therapeutic activity was validated in Japan based on in vitro studies, a number of disease models and by a few clinical assessments of pathologies in which ROS are implicated, such as diabetes, cancer and severe kidney diseases. In fact, it was shown in 2007 that H2 selectively eliminates hydroxyl HO• radicals against which the body is normally enzymatically defenceless, but H2 does not have direct action on the superoxide O2−• and hydrogen peroxide H2O2 that are produced during cellular metabolism. ROS are cell signalling molecules and effective bactericidal agents in phagocytes [52]. Only their excess amount is physiologically eliminated in reactions catalysed by enzymes. O2−• is transformed by dismutation to H2O2 by SOD and H2O2 is converted to water by catalase. If O2−• is in excess, Fe2+ and Cu+ that react with H2O2 are oxidized to produce HO• [53]. These reactions that maintain tissue redox homeostasis include contributions from exogenous anti-oxidant molecules such as Vitamins C, A, E, glutathione, flavonoids and polyphenols. These latter molecules are all much more efficient than H2 dissolved in ERAW. The NPs present in ERAW have a similar effect to superoxide dismutase and catalase, strengthening the anti-oxidising action of dissolved H2 and are responsible for the elimination of ROS, as shown in vitro. Even though no clinical study of ERAW has been carried out concerning pathologies caused by oxidative stress, treating with ERAW might be beneficial if (i) a biological control of anti-oxidant status shows that the physiological anti-oxidant mechanisms are exceeded [54,55]; and (ii) the potential toxicity of NPs is shown to not cause harmful or intolerable side effects. However, the toxicology of platinum is still unknown and far from being understood. The only recent toxicology data of ERAW, based on a study of NPs mutagenicity and genotoxicity potential and including clinical biology parameters and the histopathology of the main organs concluded that ERAW is safe. However, this investigation did not consider poisoning by NPs.
In conclusion, recent work on the therapeutic benefits of H2 and PtNPs, developed mostly by Japan, show that ERAW should be considered as a potential medicine and the water electrolysis apparatus as medical devices. As such, this equipment is distributed in France without marketing authorization for medical use. The non-restricted purchase of water electrolysers and the free consummation of ERAW (ad libidum) without consulting a doctor might be pointless or harmful in a healthy person and deprive a patient from a genuine therapeutic cure. The health authorities need to be made aware of this and demand that the therapeutic and prophylactic properties or ERAW be firmly established through a clinical trial program in accordance with the protocols and regulations in force. These trials should focus on specific diseases and be compared to the properties of H2 delivered in other appropriate and available galenic forms: water enriched in H2 by gassing and dissolving the gas into the liquid, by electrochemical reaction of magnesium with water, inhalation of hydrogen or naturally reducing spring water.
Authors want to thanks of Richard Haas for pH, redox and resistivity measurements.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Monday, October 24, 2011
Top 10 Manny Pacquiao Fights
Nice Read.
Feel Proud.
No.1 Manny Pacquiao Vs. Miguel Cotto
The most impressive Paquiao moment ever inside the ring has to be the night when he faced off against the lion-hearted Miguel Cotto.
In a legacy-cementing win, Pacquiao defeated Cotto to capture the WBO Welterweight title and WBC Diamond Belt. The win made him the first boxer ever to win seven different titles in seven different weight classes. His performance that night fixed the Filipino's reputation as one of the finest boxers of this -- and possibly other -- generations.
No.2 Manny Pacquiao Vs. Ricky Hatton
The fighter from England went down to the canvas twice in the first round before he was knocked out for good in the second round. In the spirit of Muhammad Ali, Pacquiao looked like he was just biding his time. He then unleashed a left hook that sent Ricky Hatton to the canvas with less than 10 seconds left in the round.
No.3 Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (2nd meeting)
Four years in the making, this fight was dubbed "Unfinished Business" because of the controversial draw that ended their first encounter in 2004. This time, however, Pacquiao managed to edge out Marquez, but the result was not without controversy.
No.4 Manny Pacquiao vs. Oscar De La Hoya
Can you imagine beating someone so conclusively that you actually cause them to retire? Well, that's exactly what Pacquiao did to Oscar de la Hoya. Pacquiao pummeled De la Hoya for eight rounds straight, and the fight had to be stopped because the Golden Boy was taking such a hard beating.
No.5 Manny Pacquiao Vs. Erik Morales (2nd Meeting)
Pacquiao put his WBC International Super Featherweight title on the line in the rematch against Morales. Pacquiao had lost the first encounter with a 12th-round majority decision.
Morales escaped being knocked down twice early in the fight, once by holding on to the ropes and once by falling on the referee's body. But his resilience wasn't to last. It was the first time in his hall-of-fame career that Morales was knocked out.
No.6 Manny Pacquiao Vs. Marco Antonio Barrera (1st Meeting)
It was the first time Pacquiao went up to the Featherweight division. With this win, Pacquiao began to establish his legacy as the newest boxing superstar and the new "King of the Featherweight" division.
No.7 Manny Pacquiao Vs. Erik Morales (3rd Meeting)
It was this fight that marked a change in Pacquiao’s fighting style. As if he wasn’t already dangerous enough, Pacquiao began to use his right hand as a key element of his arsenal. Manny now applied tremendous power in both hands, helping to amplify an already stellar swarming style.
No.8 Manny Pacquiao Vs. Antonio Margarito
His recent destruction of Margarito, a fighter 17 pounds heavier than him, was extraordinary in many ways. Anyone who needs convincing now that Pacquiao has solidified his place among boxing's all-time elite (including Floyd Mayweather Jr.) is as blind as Margarito was on the night he was destroyed by the Filipino fighter.
No.9 Manny Pacquiao Vs. Lehlohonolo Ledwaba
Pacquiao arrived in America in 2001 at 21 years old, weighing 112 pounds. On the second of three stops, he entered the gym of the trainer Freddie Roach. There, he formed an odd-yet-formidable combination with Roach, and one month later, Pacquiao entered the ring and defeated Lehlohonolo Ledwaba of South Africa.
No.10 Manny Pacquiao Vs. Joshua Clottey
The fight turned out to be quite a letdown, but one of the highlights of the night was Manny’s "Pompyang" punch. The Pompyang move is a double open-palm strike to the ears, resembling the clapping of cymbals. It's a trademark move popularized by the late Filipino actor, Fernando Poe, Jr., who used it in most of his action-movie fight scenes.
Artiemous said...
as a big fan, para sa akin, top 1 pa rin yung ke pacman vs hatton... yun yung "knockout heard 'round the world" then top 2 ko yung ke cotto... then top 3 yung ke ledwaba personal favorite ko to... klasik talaga saka walang pigil yung galaw ni manny. just my two cents though
itin said...
If I'm to rank his fights, it would be like this:
1. Pac vs Marquez 2
2. Pac vs Marquez 1
3. Pac vs Cotto
4. Pac vs Hatton
5. Pac vs Margarito
6. Pac vs dela Hoya
7. Pac vs Morales 2
Marquez is my fave opponent because no matter what happens no matter how many times he gets knocked down, he still counters and he has hit Manny a lot of times. Watching both feels like I'm drowning in the sea. It makes me lose my breath which is exciting. It's really the entertainment value I'm after of. I'm not a big fan of boxing, but PACMAN has made the sport famous to everyone including females. I gotta love him and his Mexican counterparts.
KeatondruNk said...
@artiemous: although bitin dahil maagang Natapos, still pinakita ng ating bida ang kaya nyang gawin to be on top kontra Hatton, mganda rin at madugo yung Laban Kay cotto. Thx for the visit
Keatondrunk said...
@itin: I agree with the Marquez thing, match tlga sya with pacquiao, better watch the new fight this November. Sigurado hit ang laban. Goodluck to the people's champ
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Pressure Cooker Potato Leek Soup
In our house, we have potato leek soup a couple of times a month. The facts that potatoes keep on the shelf so well, are often the last produce around before grocery shopping day, and cook relatively quickly have made this soup one of our main staples.
When I first became a Nutritarian, I really missed the creaminess of thick soups and sauces, so potato leek soup was one of my first favorites because it gives you that creaminess without any cow cream. To make a similar recipe, but on the stovetop, refer to Katie's Creamy Potato Soup recipe here. This was a recipe I adapted from my sister-in-law that I love love!
Now-a-days, I make my potato leek soup a bit differently, and in "my precious" pressure cooker. Quite literally, I called it "my precious" in our move last weekend while a coworker of Kevin's was packing it. Yep... I went full-on LOTR Gollum with an appliance, but if you have one, you will know what I mean.
In the recipe I am about to share with you, I like to add lots of veggies besides potatoes and leeks. I often throw in whatever sounds good in my fridge that needs to be used up, but this is my general recipe. In the pressure cooker, this takes only 6 minutes at pressure with a quick release at the end!
Pressure Cooker Potato Leek Soup
Time: 10 minute prep, 6 minutes high pressure, quick release
Servings: 8-10 servings
2 lbs mixed white, red, golden potatoes - peeled if not organic and cut into 2 inch cubes
2 leeks trimmed, washed well, and sliced including most of the green portion
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
3 medium celery stalks, diced
1 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped, any variety
1 Tbsp dried herb mix - see note below
8 cups of water (boiling when added, if desired to reach high pressure faster)
1-2 cups unsweetened plant-based milk (optional)
1.) On the saute function, saute the chopped leeks and minced garlic for 3-5 minutes, adding water as needed to prevent burning.
2.) Add in the remainder of the ingredients EXCEPT for the plant-based milk. Lock the pressure cooker lid in place and cook at high pressure for 5-7 minutes.
3.) After the allotted time, do a manual quick release of the pressure, or allow the pressure to come down naturally.
4.) With an immersion blender or high-powered blender, blend the soup to your desired thickness, being cautious not to overprocess. Potatoes can get a bit gummy if they are blended too much.
5.) Stir in the desired amount of non-dairy milk. Season with salt and pepper, and serve warm topped with fresh herbs, nutritional yeast, and/or green onion.
Amy's Notes:
Sometimes I substitute one leek with one yellow onion or two bunches of green onions, depending on the price of leeks during the year and my pantry stock of onions. I find the flavor to be just as nice, and save me a bit of money as well.
For the dried herbs, I like to mix it up from batch to batch, but I generally add at least 1 Tbsp total of dried herbs. My favorite lately is Herbs de Provence, but you could also do a mixture of thyme, rosemary, fennel seeds, basil, oregano, parsley, marjoram, sage, etc.
Health and Happiness,
1. Amy! I was planning to look for a potato soup recipe today to use up the ones I have in the pantry, but I received this in my inbox from your blog as if you read my mind!
One question - my potatoes always seem to grow eyes when I am not looking, and I cannot keep them for more than 3-4 days it seems in my pantry. How do you store your potatoes so they keep so long? Thanks!
1. Hi Gira, That is so funny how things like that happen! Glad that my email could come in handy with such perfect timing. :)
I store my potatoes in a cardboard box in an open face lower cabinet in my kitchen, which is fairly dark, cool, and dry. I make sure to take them out of their plastic bag so nothing gets mushy and ruins the bunch. Then, I check them once or twice a week, discarding any really bad ones. Mine never seem to grow eyes because I live in a pretty cool area that is never too humid. That might have something to do with yours growing eyes depending on what the weather is like.
2. Ooooh that makes a lot of sense! I live in central Texas, and it is hot and humid about 48 weeks out of the year. I do keep them in a drawer in the pantry that I try to keep closed (dark), but I can't do much about the humidity. Well at least I feel better that I am not doing something totally wrong. Thank you so much!
2. Hi Amy, what brand and model of pressure cooker do you recommend? I am interested in purchasing one but I am leary due to stories I have heard about them exploding during use. I am sure they have come a long way since then and would appreciate any purchasing advice. Thanks!
1. Hi Cinde, I have the Instant Pot Duo 60, and I love it (http://astore.amazon.com/amysnutkitblo-20/detail/B00FLYWNYQ). I have never tried any other pressure cooker, but this one I have had since October and I use it once or twice a day. It has been a huge timesaver in making dried beans from scratch, soups and stews, as well as whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, and steel cut oats. It is easily my favorite and most used appliance. I've never had any fear of mine exploding, as these newer models have several safety features built in.
Here is a post of a chili I made in it a while ago with more details of reasons why I love it: http://amysnutritariankitchen.blogspot.com/2014/10/three-bean-chili-pressure-cooker.html
2. Thanks Amy... I appreciate your recommendations! 😃
3. I have never had an electric pressure cooker, but everyone that has Instapot seems to love it. My mom (and all the women in my family) always had stovetop pressure cookers (we are Indian and these are very common in Indian cooking) and used them daily, and I have NEVER heard a story of one exploding. They are safe.
My sister bought me this pressure cooker, and it has worked well for me. It does get finicky some times, where it doesn't get up to pressure so you have to release the pressure and take the lid off and on again to ensure a proper seal.
I like using a stovetop version because I rarely use all the burners on my stove (I have four) so I know there is always space for it. My counterspace seems to be at a premium, so I am trying to limit the number of electric appliances I have. I already have a vitamix, food processor, & crockpot that I store on a shelf when not in use. I use my pressure cooker about 3-4 times per week.
From what I have read, the Instapot is your best bet, but a stainless steel stovetop version (do NOT get aluminum it is far inferior) would be a good economical alternative. Good luck Cinde!
3. I have been making this for years and years without plant milk We love it more in cold weather. I never thought of adding other veg but it makes perfect sense: Cream of Broccoli, Cream of Asparagus, Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Crisper Drawer.
4. Hi Amy, I have the instant pot too and LOVE it! The only thing I am really struggling with it with is Thai sticky rice. Don't suppose you have a fool proof method do you?!
5. Hi Amy, I have an instant pot and LOVE it, totally with you on that! The one thing that I just can't seem to get right with it is Thai sticky rice. Don't suppose you have a tried and tested method for getting it right?
6. Am i crazy, it is there no step where you add the milk?
1. Thanks for catching that! I will fix right away! | <urn:uuid:8c9a77de-6e1a-4028-a155-55731f3605cf> | http://amysnutritariankitchen.blogspot.com/2015/05/pressure-cooker-potato-leek-soup.html | en | 0.955234 | 0.020093 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
CS106A_Code in place_final projects: Project 1:The Brick Breaker
by Arezoo A
I did both standard projects that were suggested. The first one is the word guessing game in which a word is randomly chosen and the user tries to guess the word by its letters . And the second one is the brick breaker game, in which a ball hits the bricks and removes them and is controlled by a paddle. | <urn:uuid:5f82c763-271c-4286-9003-a476e79c7e49> | https://compedu.stanford.edu/codeinplace/public/projects/0019.html | en | 0.974652 | 0.035175 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Featured Stories
The Classics Perspective - Cars Make Us Do Stupid Things
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A car guy's confession to not so temporary insanity.
Cars make us do stupid things.
I am not talking about doing stupid things IN a car, I am talking about doing stupid things FOR cars. Maybe stupid is too harsh of a word but trying to explain one's action to a non-car person usually garners the use of "stupid" at some point.
My brother inherited my father's '69 Oldsmobile Cutlass S. It was not really a muscle car until my brother took his wrenches to it. Off came the stock exhaust and on went a pair of Cherry bombs (mounted backwards of course). My brother bent up the exhaust and welded it himself. He was quite the welder back then. The stereo was updated and fresh chrome wheels finished the deal. The car was AWESOME to my teen eyes. I had a Camaro of my own but my brother's car just seemed so much faster (it was) and cooler (it was).
Enter the stupid part. Until this very moment my brother never knew that I used to steal his car. My brother is an avid outdoorsman and a '69 Cutlass isn't exactly a 4x4. My brother would leave his car at my parents' house over the weekend and take the keys with him. Now the few times I had permission to drive his car I noticed that the ignition key was very worn. So worn in fact that if you jiggled the lock cylinder *just* right it would turn over. I got pretty good at this trick.
That Cutlass may have only had a fairly stock 350 but it would move fairly well. I would pick up a few friends and then head out to the local cruise spots. The barely muffled exhaust at wide-open-throttle tickled the hairs on the back of my neck. It was amazing how quick that car was with three friends along for the ride. I soundly condemn street racing now but back then I was a bulletproof teenager with no fear. Thanks to the rather powerful stereo my brother had installed we took turns damaging our ears with either rock music or thundering exhaust. Back and forth we would go on the main drag only stopping for a cheeseburger or gas.
Why did I risk a sound beating by my older brother and possible damage to his beloved car? That was it, the sound of those dual exhaust pipes echoing off the Georgia night sky was an addiction I had to feed. I would have my fun and fill the gas tank back up to whatever amount had been in it before my illicit actions, plus a little more for wear and tear. I guess my guilty mind felt I should at least do that.
The Cutlass got wrecked and rebuilt a few times then eventually sold. Since then I have had a few cars that rival the sounds the Cutlass made. My most recent acquisition is a '61 Olds F-85 with straight pipes. Sure it is only 215 cubic inches but it is the angriest little V8 I've ever heard. Completely ridiculous in small size and power output the little V8 brings a smile to my face each time I crank it. It is a plain jane 4-door but that sounds keeps the F-85 in my stable.
I know I am not alone. My friend's father once drove a Ford F-100 across three states in the winter with no windshield and barely working lights. The truck was priced right and he wanted it. This is the same man who has been known to sell the car he is currently driving on the spot. He may need a ride back home but he keeps a rotating collection of cars that he enjoys. His apparent automotive A.D.D. allows him to own most of the cars I have only dreamt about. Doesn't sound stupid to me at all. And then there is my Mustang crazy friend who named his son Gregory Taylor so that his initials would be G.T. and named his daughter Brittany after the Ford paint color. I always wondered if his wife caught on.
To my brother Brandon I'm sorry, I hope you still invite me over for Christmas. Maybe I'll even let you take one of my cars out for a spin. I owe you that much.
So what have you done? Leave a comment and tell us what crazy things you have done for your love of cars.
(Image credit to The Old Car Manual Project, a great site for historical brochures and manuals for a vast number of classics.)
The Classics Perspective - Doing It Yourself
Once you are hooked it is hard to go back.
The Classics Perspective - A Very Old Soul
The Classics Perspective - Good Trade
I once traded a girlfriend for a car. True story!
The Classics Perspective - The Rodfather
The Classics Perspective - Cars Make Us Do Stupid Things
A car guy's confession to not so temporary insanity.
The Classics Perspective - How Much?
The Classics Perspective - Of Cobwebs and Carburetors
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SAP Knowledge Base Article - Public
2778758 - How to Paste Product's information in a Sales Quote or Sales Orders
You are trying to paste a table using the Paste option in the Products facet inside a Sales Quote or a Sales Order.
SAP Cloud for Customer
Reproducing the Issue
1. Go to the Sales work center.
2. Go to the Sales Quotes view.
3. Open sales quote 123 (where 123 is the sales quote ID).
4. Go to the Products facet.
5. Click on the Paste icon (highlighted in the first screenshot).
RESULT: You will see a line that says "Paste supported data, such as Excel..."
6. Make a table in excel which has the same columns order than the ones displayed in the system.
7. Copy the excel row where you maintained the products information.
8. Paste the information in the line "Paste supported data, such as Excel...".
RESULT: The data is not uploaded correctly. I.e., the price and the quantity do not have the same value.
You have to pass for each entry field in a column in the XLS.
Even if some fields (i.e. the Quantity) have one label, it has 2 entry fields: one for the quantity and one for the quantity unit. Hence, you need to create to different columns in your excel.
You need to maintain a field for each entry.
If user wants to pasting data during the creation of sales quote or sales order from Add Products option, the sequence and order is different, as shown below. Additionally, Product (Obsolete) is a read-only field, whereas Product is a compound field with an icon which should also be considered while pasting
In this case, user have to follow the sequence below, by leaving an empty cell for the icon as highlighted above, so that the data is filled correctly, without mismatch
sales quote, sales order, product, excel, copy, paste, quantity, pri , KBA , add products , paste , excel , LOD-CRM-PRO , Products , LOD-LE-CQP-CO , Lean Sales Orders , LOD-LE-CQP , Customer Quote Processing , How To
| <urn:uuid:74b05287-2bba-4755-a4ab-141607d14ab8> | https://apps.support.sap.com/sap/support/knowledge/en/2778758 | en | 0.815401 | 0.188688 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Parole Girl
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Parole Girl
Directed by Edward Cline
Screenplay by Norman Krasna
Story by Norman Krasna
Starring Mae Clarke
Ralph Bellamy
Cinematography Benjamin H. Kline
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
• March 4, 1933 (1933-03-04) (United States)
Running time 67 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Parole Girl is a 1933 American romantic drama film directed by Edward Cline. The film stars Mae Clarke and Ralph Bellamy.
When Sylvia Day (Mae Clarke) is caught trying to pull a scam on the Taylor Department Store in New York City, she pleads with the store manager to let her go, but his boss, Joe Smith (Ralph Bellamy), insists on following store policy, and she is handed over to the police, convicted and sentenced to a year in prison. Sylvia is consumed with the idea of getting revenge on Joe.
She becomes friends with chatty fellow inmate Jeanie Vance (Marie Prevost), who offers to team up with her (and commit more crimes) once they have served their time. When Sylvia learns that Jeanie has a surprising connection to Joe, she decides to get out early. She sets a fire, then passes out from the smoke while trying to put it out. For her "heroism", she is granted parole.
Tony Gratton (Hale Hamilton), her partner in the failed con, tries to talk her into marrying him and going to Chicago to continue their life of crime, but she is determined to avenge herself. Besides, she knows that Tony is already married.
Sylvia stalks Joe, learning all she can about him. Then, she pretends to be an old acquaintance at a nightclub where Joe is celebrating his promotion to general manager by getting drunk. The next morning, Joe discovers her in his apartment. She informs him that they have gotten married. Joe laughs, then tells her that he already has a wife. She tells him she knows (it is Jeanie), then reveals her motives. Tony shows up, masquerading as the person who married them; he gives Joe the marriage license the couple supposedly left behind. Threatened with a charge of bigamy, Joe reluctantly agrees to support Sylvia for a year, the length of her parole.
Tony tries again to get Sylvia to be his partner in crime. When she refuses, he slips a counterfeit $20 bill in her purse. Sylvia goes on a shopping spree and pays for some of her purchases with the bill. It is traced back to her, but when a policeman shows up to take her back to jail, Joe pretends that she took the money out of his pants pocket. As a store manager, he deals with counterfeit money all the time. The ploy works, and Jeanie sends back her extravagant purchases.
Later, Joe calls her from the office and asks her for a favor. Mr. Taylor (Ferdinand Gottschalk), the store's somewhat eccentric owner, has found out that Joe is married, so he is coming to dinner at their apartment. While Sylvia is cooking, Jeanie shows up. Her friend has been released early and intends to blackmail her husband (whom she married long ago while he was in college and then lost track of), once she can locate him, before heading to Florida with Sylvia. Sylvia gets her to leave before Joe and Mr. Taylor show up (early) by promising to give her a decision the next day. Taylor insists on doing the cooking; he is fed up with being waited on by servants. He becomes very fond of the couple and hints at a promotion to vice president if they were to have a baby.
The next day, Sylvia persuades Jeanie that it is too dangerous to try blackmail in New York because of her record and agrees to go with her to Florida. Sylvia leaves a letter for Joe explaining everything, ending with the admission "I love you". On the train, however, Jeanie reveals that she divorced Joe without his knowledge. Sylvia gets off and rushes back to the apartment; Joe has already read the letter and takes her in his arms.
External links[edit] | <urn:uuid:22b5e1fe-a737-4d18-a81e-855693bb594a> | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parole_Girl | en | 0.977706 | 0.030873 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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My Clubs
All About Me!
1. Taurus
2. Outgoing, Talkative, Determinated
3. 16
4. Pink!
5. only child!
6. I was told a young Meryl Streep, but I don't think so.
In A Nutshell...
1. World History, Journalism
2. Dance, Student Council, School Newspaper
3. Love to dance! Love to watch hockey and baseball
4. At dance, with my friends, out shopping
5. My Toy Poodle, Madeline Genvieve
6. That we can't stay mad at eachother for more than a weekend
7. sunflower seeds, spinach pizza, bacon ranch quesidillas
8. Crepes!
9. The Bahamas or Florida
My Faves…
1. Dance Moms
2. The Last Song, The Notebook, Baby Mama, Bridesmaids (can't choose one!)
4. Clique Series
5. Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim
6. Miley Cyrus
Style Sense
1. Eleanor Calder (Louis Tomlinson's GF)
2. Charrolotte Russe, Forever 21, The Buckle, Victoria's Secret PINK
3. Sugar High
4. mascara, lip gloss, concealer
5. my bright blue Vans (:
1. I have had 2 previously, but now I'm currently single and ready to mingle (;
2. I never really know who I like. I'd rather be single for the time being
3. That will want to go father in the relationship, but will respect your boundaries and wait until your ready to move along.
4. Liam Payne or Austin Mahone (:
1. Child Life and Care specialist or a Broadcasting Journalist
2. Paris or St.Augustine, FL
3. Norway
4. Buy myself a whole new wardrobe and a Mustang, and donate a bunch of it!
5. Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.
1. Night Owl
2. Def chocolate!
3. Righty
4. DVD, because you can sit home and cuddle up(:
5. In the middle.
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June 2, 2010
Even though our animal companions are not at risk from heart attacks like people, heart disease, heart weakness or enlargement, or congestive heart failure and other circulatory problems are common in aging cats and dogs and can gradually worsen over time.
The heart is actually a muscle, which is made up of four chambers and a series of valves. The role of the heart muscle is to relax and contract, and pump blood through the circulatory system to the lungs (via arteries) throughout the body and back through the heart again, via the veins. Certain breeds are more predisposed to heart disease than others, and the problem occurs when certain parts of the heart stop functioning correctly. The rest of the organ then tries to compensate for this improper function.
The general symptoms of heart disease vary from one individual dog to the next but can include fatigue or weakness, increased panting, reduced stamina or willingness to exercise, lethargy and increased time spent sleeping during the day. Reduced appetite and weight loss as well as a gray tinge to the gums and a distended abdomen are also warning signs that there is a problem with the heart.
A physical exam or diagnostics such as x-ray, ultrasound or more commonly and echocardiogram (ECG) may be used to make a diagnosis of heart disease and to determine exactly what is affecting the heart and circulatory system.
There are a number of things that animal guardians can do as part of a holistic approach, to help to support the long-term heart health of their pets. An appropriate exercise regime is one of the most important factors to address. Lean, active animals are at a generally reduced risk of heart disease than those who are inactive and obese.
The heart muscle can atrophy without adequate exercise every day. If your pet is already overweight or not sufficiently active, exercise should be built up very gradually over a period of several months, to avoid injury from over-exertion before an adequate level of fitness has been attained.
Begin with short (10 minutes or so) walks once or twice a day and slowly increase the distance you cover as well as the speed and terrain – steeper inclines can be introduced to increase the intensity of each session. Brisk walking or jogging of at least twenty minutes’ duration, twice every day is a good maintenance level of exercise to work towards. Many dogs need much more of a workout than this to maintain peak physiological health; this depends on your dog’s age, breed and other factors. Discuss an appropriate regime with your vet.
A healthy, well-balanced, varied diet is an important cornerstone to total health. Pets don’t suffer with problems of high (bad) cholesterol like people do, and a diet high in naturally high levels of (preservative-free) animal fat is actually ‘biologically appropriate and not as a general rule problematic for pets. Supplementing the diet with fish oils, which supply essential fatty acids, can help to prevent or reduce the severity of heart disease in pets as well as people.
The amino acid Taurine is vital for heart health. Without it, cats can develop heart disease. Taurine is an essential amino acid for cats (meaning it must be supplied via the diet) but dogs can make their own Taurine. However Taurine supplementation is often recommended by holistic vets for dogs predisposed to or suffering from, heart disease. Taurine is naturally present in meat and fish, especially organs.
Zinc, (found in naturally high levels in beef, turkey and lamb) and magnesium (found in raw bones as well as spinach, millet and pumpkin seeds) are also essential to heart health. Chromium (found in yeast) and selenium (found in oats, turkey and Brazil nuts) are also necessary for a healthy heart.
Sodium is generally restricted in the diets of pets who are suffering from heart disease, but it is a misconception that animals (or people) with this condition should goo 100% sodium-free, because sodium is a mineral that’s essential to life. However a low-sodium diet can help to reduce water retention which is problematic in congestive heart failure, where fluid buildup occurs around the lungs and the chambers of the heart become enlarged.
The antioxidant vitamins A, C and especially E are helpful for over all health and the prevention of heart disease and Co-Q10 is also widely used for the support of heart function and may help to prevent various types of heart disease including cardiomyopathy, enlarged heart and irregular or rapid heart-beat.
Homeopathy for the Heart
Heart disease should never be treated by homeopathy alone but it can be a useful adjunct to other approaches.Calcarea Fluorica, a cell salt, is indicated by homeopaths for weakness of the heart. Calc fluopr helps to restore elasticity to the veins and muscles
Hawthorn is the first herb of choice for most cases of heart disease. Hawthorn tincture is safe in large doses and can be used daily. It helps to strengthen the heart muscle and in some cases can actually repair damage to the heart.
Cayenne Pepper is also recommended for heart health, as is ginko, ginger, gotu kola which all help to improve circulation as well as Bilberry which may help to strengthen the capillaries and the Chinese herb fo-ti, which can increase blood flow to the heart and dilates blood vessels. | <urn:uuid:fb7d3b4a-4cf3-4c03-98cc-932fdd5b5669> | http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/articles/promoting-heart-health/ | en | 0.95321 | 0.026903 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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'Himalaya -- Changing Landscapes' photo exhibition draws attention to the impacts of climate change
10 October 2008.- During the 1950s, Austrian and Swiss scientists conducted intensive studies of the Everest region in Nepal taking photographs of the glaciers, mountains and valleys. Around the same time, the Swiss glaciologist Fritz Mller spent eight months in the region at locations above 5000 metres, studying and photographing the Himalayan glaciers.
Now, fifty years later, the black and white photographs taken by these scientists are of immense value in trying to understand the impacts of climate change on the world's highest mountain range, the Himalayas. Mountain geographer Alton Byers has revisited many of the sites of the original photographs and taken replicates, illustrating the changes in the landscape. The old and new photographs have now been united in a unique photo exhibition: 'Himalaya Changing Landscapes', currently on show at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona. The exhibition is part of the 25th Anniversary celebrations for ICIMOD and has been organised in partnership with the BBVA Foundation.
"Only five decades have passed between the old and the new photographs and the changes are dramatic. Many small glaciers at low altitudes have disappeared entirely and many larger ones have lost around half of their volume. Some have formed huge glacial lakes at the foot of the glacier, threatening downstream communities in case of an outburst", says Byers.
The Himalaya Changing Landscapes photo exhibition aims to raise awareness of the impact of climate change and of the new challenges facing the mountain people. The stunning repeat panorama views of mountains and glaciers are accompanied by images of the Himalayan people and their stories, as well as photographs of the scientists conducting glacier research in the 1950s. The four-metre long photo panels making up the exhibition are located outside the Barcelona International Convention Centre, and entrance is free for conference participants and the general public alike.
Climate change is affecting people around the globe, and this is especially evident at the top of the world around Mount Everest and the high peaks of the Himalayan mountain range. The greater Himalayan region has the largest concentration of snow and ice outside the two poles. Warming temperatures cause rapid melting of the glaciers, severely affecting the people downstream. Ten river systems originating in the Himalayas bring water to a mountain population of around 200 million, while the vast water basins downstream are home to a further 1.3 billion people. In total 1.5 billion people a fifth of the world's population - depend on the Himalayan rivers for their water supply.
The Hindu Kush-Himalayan region is the highest, most complex mountain region in the world. It extends more than 3500km over eight countries, from Afghanistan in the north-west to Myanmar in the south-east. The area ranges from the high plateau of Tibet and other mountain areas of China to the Ganges Basin in India, and has the upland watersheds of the ten major Asian river systems.
Warming in the Himalayan region has been much greater than the global average. Weather patterns are becoming more unpredictable and extreme dry seasons become dryer and wet seasons wetter. This phenomenon is causing concern over the long-term reduction in total water supply, affecting the lives and livelihoods of the Himalayan people, especially in agriculture practices and long-term food security.
In the words of Dr. Andreas Schild, Director General of ICIMOD; "What we see here at the Himalaya photo exhibition is just the tip of the iceberg. The changes taking place are alarming, and the time to act is now. Scientific evidence shows that the effects of globalisation and climate change are being felt in even the most remote Himalayan environments. While climate change is mostly caused by the highly industrialised parts of the world, the effects are taking their toll in the sensitive mountain areas. The signs are visible, but the in-depth knowledge and data from the Himalayan region is largely missing. Global measures of scientific co-operation and regional collaboration are needed to reduce this information gap. What happens in this remote mountain region is a serious concern for the whole world".
Contact: Javier Fernndez
Fundacin BBVA
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6. Agriculture is changing the chemistry of the Mississippi River
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Do you want your home to feel more spacious and brighter? One of the simplest DIY home improvement ideas is to enhance a room with some perfectly placed mirrors. When positioned correctly, mirrors can help a room appear larger and more open, creating the illusion of extra space without requiring a major remodeling project. In addition, mirrors reflect light so they can help brighten a space while creating a cheery atmosphere. Oversized mirrors are a great way to make a major statement and add elegance to any room. However, you can also group smaller mirrors together to create a beautiful and functional design that’s completely unique and original. Keep things uniform or shop around for different shapes, sizes and styles, then position the mirrors close together for a stunning display. | <urn:uuid:1dd2598b-b6cc-48a6-8580-9f0b51a7b2c0> | https://preciseinspectionsinc.com/enhance-your-home-with-mirrors/ | en | 0.878629 | 0.560496 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Get gut healthy, be happy
April 15, 2016 | by Melissa Kreiter, APN
Categories: Healthy Driven Minds
You’ve probably heard of the sayings “butterflies in your stomach,” “gut wrenching,” and “gut feeling.” As it turns out, there is more to these metaphors than meets the eye.
We know that a healthy immune system relies on a healthy digestive system. But evidence also suggests a link between what's in your gut and what's in your head; and the health of one has a lot to do with the health of the other.
The gastrointestinal (GI) system and the brain are intimately connected through a two way continuum called the brain-gut axis. Each sends signals to the other, which can trigger its own set of symptoms.
The GI tract is sensitive to emotion. Anxiety, stress, depression or other psychological factors can cause GI issues. You may feel nauseated before giving a speech, or have stomach pain during stressful times.
On the flip side, the mind is also sensitive to the health of the gut. Problems in the gut can send signals to the brain that trigger mood changes. Some studies suggest a link between an imbalance of bacteria in the gut and a variety of behavioral problems. This may explain why a higher-than-normal percentage of people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) develop depression and anxiety.
Some scientists even refer to the nerve cells lining your GI tract as your “second brain.” As a Johns Hopkins expert states, this ‘brain in your gut’ is “revolutionizing medicine’s understanding of the links between digestion, mood, health and even the way you think.”
Given how closely the gut and brain interact, could healing the gut be a starting place for treating mental illnesses like anxiety and depression?
Knowing that the mind and gut essentially talk to each other, experts are finding that therapies for one may help the other. Gastroenterologists may treat IBS with antidepressants to calm symptoms by acting on nerve cells in the gut. Psychological interventions, like cognitive behavioral therapy, may also be used to improve digestive symptoms by improving communication between the mind and the gut. Some studies link taking probiotics (which promote a healthy gut) with reduced feelings of stress and anxiety.
So, next time you hear “listen to your gut,” really listen. Do what you can to keep it healthy. My gut tells me you may just feel a little happier and a little less stressed.
What are your thoughts about the mind-gut connection? Tell us in the below comments.
Learn more about gastrointestinal services at Edward-Elmhurst Health.
Learn more about behavioral health services at Linden Oaks Behavioral Health.
Melissa Kreiter, APN is a family psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) with Linden Oaks Medical Group.
Get gut healthy, be happy
Learn about the link between what's in your gut and what's in your head.
Read More | <urn:uuid:c3502f23-d408-48eb-87b7-74c81868c737> | https://www.eehealth.org/blog/2016/04/get-gut-healthy-be-happy/ | en | 0.93759 | 0.120275 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
NBA basketball player
In theory, anyone can become a NBA player, but in reality to be a NBA player, he must meet a lot of criteria, pay attention to scouts, and above all to be there for the team.
To be eligible for the NBA, you must play at college level. You need to know the shades of the game and, of course, have to train very hard. NBA players maintain a strict diet, exercise very hard and provide sleep to help restore their body. They also have a lot of time to improve their play and skills. They ensure that they continue to learn and develop continuously as players. In general, basketball players must be high. However, if a player is not high, he or she satisfies this defect as quick and accurate shots and passes. Every basketball player must have an excellent and outstanding maneuverability.
Players who can not get to the dormitory team for some reason or the other do not feel free to feel. They always have the opportunity to play in Europe. However, you need good connections. Players need to find ways to contact scouts. You also get an agent who will help you with all these matters.
Do not forget if you are a talented and high-quality player, you will receive notification of the design because you will get all the publicity. But that does not mean it is selected. The team must be an open slot machine.
In order to be part of the NBA, you have to be in basketball for life. You will need very long hours of training and practice. Plus take care of what you eat and drink, because they are all related to fitness. You need to build your focusing ability so you focus on the manual questioning games instead of diverting them.
After learning these things, it's much easier to choose the NBA draft. Keep in mind that commitment and persistence will take a long way, so you can start planning the future of NBA today. | <urn:uuid:d47c8637-8d5b-4c55-af4b-bb8064dc5441> | http://jordan1.org/nba-basketball-player/ | en | 0.975078 | 0.083511 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Subject: 06/13/91 - The National Midnight Star #264 ** Special Edition **
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The National Midnight Star, Number 264
Thursday, 13 June 1991
Today's Topics:
Bass Player magazine interview
Date: Sat, 8 Jun 91 11:13:46 PDT
Subject: Bass Player magazine interview
Reprinted without permission from the pages of
_Bass Player_ magazine, November/December 1988.
Geddy Lee -- Bass Is Still The Key
By Robin Tolleson
One might imagine a five-time poll winner on bass like Geddy
Lee of Rush talking about the virtues of taste and technique. But
the 34-year-old Lee now laughs that he tries to be as obnoxious as
he can in the limited time he's allowed to play the bass guitar
with Rush. Maybe that's one reason he wins polls -- he goes for
broke at least twice a tune, scampering up and down the neck of
his bass with reckless but calculated abandon.
Geddy Lee may joke about his frustration at having to play a
lot of bass parts on keyboards or pedals, but he's used sounds
from other sources from the very beginning of the band, even
before MIDI. Certainly one of his strengths has always been the
variety of bass colors he gives Rush. It's interesting that you
never know where Geddy's sound might be coming from -- his hands
or feet, a keyboard synth, guitar of some kind, or footpedal.
One minute the bass sound is crisp like a Rickenbacker, the
next it's a low rumble that pins your ears back, then a roar like
a church organ. His bass parts are compositions in themselves.
There's a different sound for each mood or time change in Rush's
Several years ago, in the course of a Blindfold Test with
the great jazz drummer Tony Williams, I decided to cross him up
and play something different than the Elvin Jones, Miles Davis,
and Chick Corea tracks I had been feeding him. I let him listen
to Rush's "Limelight" [from _Moving Pictures_].
"This is the first one that I've really liked," said Tony.
"Even though it's a 7/4 here and goes into 3 over there, it feels
really relaxed. I get an emotional feeling from it. I like the
bass playing and the bass sound. The groove is good, and that's
the bass and the drums."
Williams' compliment underscores a basic fact. The
musicians who come in contact with Rush have a healthy respect, if
not a fondness for the band. And the average listener just gets
turned on by the grandness of it all, even if they don't know how
well the group is traversing the odd time signatures.
The members of Rush all take their music very seriously --
they're all repeat poll-winners in music magazines -- and they've
improved since their early, more heavy metal-influenced days, both
as players and songwriters. And Lee would deserve credit for
expanding the group's sound as much as anyone, with his
integration of bass pedals and synths into the musical picture.
Drummer John Rutsey joined Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson in
the original Rush. They played mostly high schools around Ontario
at first because they were too young to play the clubs where the
legal drinking age was 21. When the age was lowered to 18 they
began doing showcases in Toronto, and found a loyal following and
a record deal with Mercury/Polygram in 1974. Two weeks before
their first tour of the U.S. later that year, Rutsey announced he
was leaving the group, and Neil Peart answered their frantic ad
for a drummer. The trio has been the most consistent progressive
hard rock band in the business ever since.
_BASS PLAYER_ got the opportunity to speak with Geddy Lee
while he was busy working with producer Peter Collins on Rush's
upcoming live double-album.
* * * *
Q: Who were your first musical influences?
A: I was first influenced by bassist Jack Bruce. Cream was one
of the groups that I loved when I was growing up and first got
into music in a more serious way. We used to play Cream songs way
back when. What I liked about Jack was that his sound was
distinctive -- it wasn't boring, and it wasn't typical. And he
was very busy. He wouldn't keep his place, which I really liked a
lot. He wouldn't keep quiet as a bass player. He was obtrusive,
which I like in a bass player.
Q: I guess it helps if you're in a trio setting. You might run
into trouble if you were to start adding more musicians.
A: Yeah, the freedom of the trio is that you're allowed to be
as busy as the thing can take. Obviously you have to use taste
and discretion where and when you're being busy. But the thing
that appealed to me about bass players all along were bass players
that played more than they were supposed to play, or more than the
conventional bass player would play.
Q: On _Hold Your Fire_ [1987], the bass is in some great-
sounding rooms. There's one section on "Lock And Key" where you
get a good trebly effect. I know you used Rickenbackers in the
past,and that sound reminds me of it.
A: You can get that sound out of most basses I think, but a
Rickenbacker has a particular kind of top end, and bottom end as
well. It has a particular kind of classic twang to it. I found
that I wanted to get a little more subtlety in the sound, and I
couldn't quite get it out of the Rick. I wanted to change the top
end a little bit, get a little different shaped bottom end. Then
I moved to a Steinberger, which really gave me a totally different
sound. The top end didn't range as high and twangy, and the
bottom end was quite a different shade. I liked it a lot, and
used it onstage, and on the _Grace Under Pressure_ album. But on
_Power Windows_ I got introduced to the Wal bass, made by a small
company in England. Our producer, Peter Collins, had one and
suggested I try it out. I used that bass on _Hold Your Fire_, and
I'm very pleased with the results and its flexibility. I use a 4-
string most of the time, but on "Lock And Key" it was a 5-string
they made with an extra low "B". I find that low string really
means more today, because we're living in the world of
synthesizers that go lower than basses ever went before.
Q: On "Force Ten" [from _Hold Your Fire_] you do some chordal
stuff on bass. What were you thinking of then? It really pushes
the tune ahead.
A: Before I had a visit from Jeff Berlin, who's a friend, on
the tour I had the opportunity to watch him goofing around
backstage with a bass, and was just amazed at his knowledge of
bass chords. That's something I had never really exploited in my
playing, so he inspired me to play around more with it. He
probably doesn't know it, and would be embarrassed to hear it. I
ended up using bass chords on "Force Ten" and "Turn The Page".
Not so much in the sense of strumming them as using my thumb more,
almost like a fingerpicking style of playing, which is something
that I'm still working on. Just plucking with my thumb and going
back and forth between the thumb and the first two fingers and
pulling. Almost like a snapping technique. It's opened up a bit
more range for me. There's more melodic possibilities and
rhythmic possibilities too, which is an important role for the
bass player. If you can establish not only a melody but a
rhythmic feel, that's an extra tool.
Q: During "Prime Mover" [from _Hold Your Fire_] you really dig
into your part during the guitar solos. I read how you guys
compose the guitar solos as a group. Do you have to wait until
the solo is composed before you come up with your parts?
A: We obviously have a chordal structure, and a melodic fix or
picture of what the part's going to be. Usually I put it down,
and between Neil and myself, we get little rhythm patterns going.
I play around with the melody, and depending on what the tone
center is and what the chord structures are in that area, I just
write my part. Then Alex plays different solos around what Neil
and I have already put down. He's quite content to work with what
we've put down, and in most parts he's around through every stage
anyway, so he's quite aware of the direction it's going in. He'll
go down and wail, and a lot of times he will surprise us. It's a
totally different direction than we had expected it, but it's
always within the melodic structure that exists.
Q: At the end of "Open Secrets" [from _Hold Your Fire_] it
sounds like you guys are jamming, almost an improvised thing.
A: It sort of was. That song went through a lot of changes,
and by the end of it, we had established this bass riff near the
top of it. At the end we got into this groove when we were in the
demo stage that we knew would be fun. So when Neil locked into
that groove and went with it, he felt so good that we just let him
go. And I just jammed to what he already put down.
Q: That's an interesting sequence at the beginning of "Big
Money" [from _Power Windows_]. Do you do programming?
A: Usually I'll do a basic sequence as a direction of a part,
and then when (keyboardist) Andy Richards comes in the studio he
listens to what I've done. If he can improve on it, he has full
license to go ahead. And the nice thing about working with him is
he's very open to everybody's ideas. I can think up an idea that
I don't have the technical ability to play, but he does, and he'll
take that idea even farther than I imagined it. That's a real
bonus for me.
Q: Sometimes it's hard to tell if you're playing a bass guitar
or a keyboard. On the verse of "Territories" [from _Power
Windows_] there's a real droning type of bass part. Then, on the
B part, you get into a more staccato kind of sound.
A: Whenever you hear that low bottom end that drones
underneath, it's usually my Moog pedals. I've been using those
for years and they're really great when I have to go to keyboards
and sustain the bottom end. Because they have an unobtrusive bass
that doesn't phase.
Q: When you started playing bass, did you have any idea that
you'd end up playing keyboards and pedals?
A: Not at all, and every year it amazes me more and more how
much stuff I have on my side of the stage that I have to deal
with. Because I really am not a proficient keyboard player. I
know my name pops up in these keyboard polls from time to time,
and it's really unfair, because I really am not a good keyboard
player. I'm really strictly a synthesist and sort of an
orchestrator. I am learning how to play keyboards better every
day, and I am presently studying piano.
Q: You do actually miss playing the bass at times?
A: Oh yeah, it's a constant frustration too because when we're
recording, a lot of times I know I won't be able to play bass in
certain parts of songs because I'll be playing the keyboards. So
I'm very reluctant to put a bass part on the record that I won't
be able to play live. So it's a battle. We overcame that a
little on this past tour, because now technology has finally
caught up with us. I can now program certain keyboard chords to
pedals onstage that can trigger different synthesizers.
Q: As a bassist, does the technology make it easier, or do you
just keep coming up with harder things to do?
A: In the end you're as busy as you want to be as a bass
player. You really have to serve the song the best way possible.
And if it serves the song to be busy, that's fine. But if it best
serves the song to be a bit more fundamental and groove-oriented,
you have to do that. You usually wait for your moments. It's
difficult to be a musician with taste. I think taste is the most
difficult thing for a player to acquire. Sometimes being a little
more subtle with your talent gets you farther and adds more to the
song. Not to say that I've *always* exercised that belief.
There have been times where I've definitely been out of turn, and
thrown some notes out that were probably not in the best service
of the songs groove. But I think the older I get, and the more
experience I get at writing and arranging, the more I try to bear
that in mind.
Q: It's definitely not something we think about when we're
young. It's more going for broke then.
A: Yeah, and that's good, that's fine. That's something that
does come with growing up as a musician and changing your style,
or just absorbing more knowledge about what songs you want to
play. And it's also dependent on the style of music that you want
to play. If you don't want to play anything other than a very
indulgent brand of music, then you don't have to.
Q: "Grand Designs" [from _Power Windows_] features a great drum
part by Neil. Some good bassists might be thrown off by that kind
of part.
A: I don't remember any difficulty with that song, as a matter
of fact. One of the best things about playing with the same
person for a very long time is you have this kind of telepathic
connection in a way. You know each other so well stylistically
that there's a whole range of probabilities that you have in
common. So if I hear him going in a direction or he hears me
going in a direction, we can shift to that direction. I think
we've figured out a way to complement each other so that it's
comfortable. It's something that comes with time and work. And
knowing when to simplify and when not to simplify. Sometimes when
a bass player is playing with a rhythmically difficult drum part,
that's the time to simplify, help the part cruise by playing more
consistently. That can help knit the parts together. At the same
time, if there's another drum part coming up where he's going to
be more solid and fundamental, that will enable the bass to
stretch out a bit and get more active. So it's give and take.
Q: There's not any ego involved at this point, but it's hard to
get rid of it when you're a kid.
A: Yeah, and it's not necessarily the best thing to get rid of,
because that's what drives you sometimes. Having an ego is not a
bad thing. That's what makes you move, that's what makes you
happy with yourself. But when your ego is encroaching on other
peoples' presence, it becomes a problem.
Q: Do you and Alex ever both play pedals simultaneously
A: Sometimes, when we just want a ridiculous amount of bottom
end. That bottom end from pedals really sounds great in certain
halls, it really fills and gives you a lot of pant flap, as we
call it. It shakes your pants. Moves a lot of air in the low
range, and sometimes it's that sheer bottom end power that we're
going after. But Alex has been a lot busier on the last tour.
He's gotten responsibility off my shoulders by playing a lot more
keyboard and foot pedal parts to enable me to play more bass.
Q: It's really interesting the way you'll combine the pedals,
keyboards, and your bass together. Can you remember using all
three on one song?
A: Probably "Open Secrets" and "Force Ten" are examples of
using all those kind of things. In "Open Secrets" I go back and
forth from playing bass to pedals, with sequencers going. In
"Force Ten" there's a good use of bass chord playing, back and
forth with different kinds of bass sequencing. The third chorus
of "Force Ten" is one of my favorite bass sequence parts on the
record. I use pedals in most songs that we do. Often you'll hear
bass pedals on the choruses. On a song like "Lock And Key" for
example, instead of using pedals, I'm using MIDI to help me play
the lower end of the piano part -- triggering piano plus a synth
bass to sustain the bottom end. When we play a song like "Red
Sector A" [from _Grace Under Pressure_] live, MIDI enables me to
use the bass arpeggiator part, and send it to more than one
instrument. Then I can get a really nice bass sound triggered by
the arpeggiator that keeps the bottom end rolling and feeling
good. That song sounds better live than it ever did on record,
just because the technology has allowed me to get better sounds.
That's another reason for doing this up-and-coming live album. I
think some of the versions that we'll be putting on this live
album are better than the original versions.
Q: When you're making a decision of what instrument to play in
a certain part, is the deciding factor always the sound that you
want, or is it sometimes influenced by the fact that you have to
be singing a difficult line at that time?
A: It's usually purely influenced by whether I'm playing
keyboards or not. Whenever I *can* play bass I do. Bass is
always the first choice. But there are situations where I know
that it'll be necessary for me to play keyboards live in order to
justify that song. If I know that a bass part underneath it will
be fairly simple, I might decide to leave the bass out and play
bass pedals. If you're just holding very simple notes for a long
time, in some ways I'd rather have the bass pedals do that,
because the bottom end is a little more luxurious. In the past it
had to be a more difficult decision, because we didn't have the
technology that we have now, so I'd find myself leaving out larger
chunks of bass. But now I think I play the bass up to 75 or 80
percent of the time. So the decision is always made strictly on
whether my hands need to be busy playing keyboards or not.
Q: Has singing and playing at the same time ever been a problem
for you?
A: Oh sure. It's not the easiest thing in the world to do.
You have to put a lot of hours into practice. As a matter of
fact, on this tour I had a major problem with "Turn The Page"
[from _Hold Your Fire_]. It's a very busy bass part, and the
vocal part doesn't really relate to it very much. Eventually I
got it, but it took a lot of practice. You can do those things,
but you have to practice them a lot. You have to split yourself,
as they say. Split your hands. Split yourself in two really, and
let your hands do something, and let your voice do the other.
Q: Drummer Tony Williams once commented to me about your
fluidity going over odd time signatures. Do you think about
playing those, count the times, or just try to feel them when
you're playing a song like that?
A: When you're first writing them, you *are* counting them.
Just until you start feeling what the changes are. You have to
count any difficult groove at first, but once you know it, then
your instincts take over and you don't have to count. You just
feel the changes. After a certain point they become more musical
and less mathematical. But that's only after learning to feel
comfortable with a particular time signature. Like with us,
playing in 7 is now so comfortable we almost never have to count
it. We can shift into that fairly easily. In the early days it
was very difficult to make it sound like it wasn't counted, and
sometimes for effect you want it to sound like that -- if you're
playing in 9s or something really exaggerated like Genesis used to
do from time to time, and really emphasize the third beat.
Q: When you're in the studio, do you use click tracks? Or do
you like to play in real time?
A: Well, Neil almost always plays to a click in the studio. He
prefers it. He doesn't look at it like it's his enemy, like a lot
of drummers do. He looks at it like it's only helping me, because
it's one less thing he has to think about. So if a click is
counting the time for him in his headphones, then he has the
freedom to concentrate on everything else. And because of the
intricacy of a lot of his parts, he finds that to be a great help.
It's also helped him become a much steadier drummer playing live.
I think it's been very beneficial to him. But for myself, if
Neil's listening to the click, I just have to listen to him. I
find it a little irritating having a click in my headphones. But
if it's important during a song, I will definitely listen to the
click. But that's what drummers are for. Give the click to the
drummer and then just give the drummer to me. [Laughs]
Q: How do you feel about practice at this point?
A: If I went without practicing when I first started playing,
my fingers would get really raw when I'd pick up the bass. But
that doesn't happen anymore. I've got permanent calluses now,
because of playing a lot. If I don't practice for a while I don't
play very fluidly. I just move around the neck a bit more
sluggishly than I should. So it's important from time to time to
pick up the bass to make sure you remember what the hell you're
Q: I don't guess much time ever goes by between gigs for you.
A: Well, I usually have one season where I try to stay away
from doing anything. And in between touring and recording, I try
to take time by myself to get away from it. Then, when it comes
time again for me to start writing, I'm just dying to pick the
thing up and go for it. But usually before a tour, I start
practicing on my own well in advance, so that by the time the tour
starts I have myself in shape.
Q: What instrument do you compose on when you write for the
A: Well, I used to write on guitar a lot, and bass, but now I
write on keyboards and bass. I do like writing on bass from time
to time, because I find that I'm a little more aggressive when I'm
writing on that instrument. "Force 10" was written on bass and
parts of "Turn The Page", "Grand Designs" was written with Alex,
him on guitar and me on bass. Whereas "Lock And Key" [from _Hold
Your Fire_] was written on keyboard. "Second Nature" [from _Hold
Your Fire_] was written on keyboard. "Open Secrets" was written
on keyboard. Actually "Open Secrets" was written on both.
Q: Have you started writing on computer yet?
A: Yeah, I got my Mac.
Q: Do you think the Composer software helps songwriters write
better songs?
A: I don't think it's a matter of being better. I think it's
just a handy tool. It's the same old thing. You can put a Mac in
the hands of five people, and not everybody's going to write a
good song. If you have musical ability you can write on whatever
you're given. And if you don't, it doesn't matter how easy they
make it for you, you're not going to be able to write anything
that's any good. I think it's harder on the listener if anything,
because it's harder to tell the real thing from the pretenders
these days, because it's a little easier to pretend with the
technology. But I think in the long run it's clear.
Q: The cream rises?
A: I think so. You can bluff a song, but not for very long.
In the end you can't make a career of it. A lot of people can
have one great hit record, but it's very hard to bluff a career.
* * * *
Geddy's Stage Gear
Geddy Lee plays a Wal bass with a telex wireless. The
signal goes from the telex to a Boss GE-7B EQ switch, which
Geddy's bass tech, Skip Gildersleeve, punches on to boost the
signal for fast runs up the neck.
From there the signal goes through a Furman pre-amp to one
channel of an API SSO (EQ) unit, then to a custom switching box
that routes whichever preamp and EQ will go to the two BGW 750
power amps. The signal from the BGWs goes to a miked Teil
cabinet, and an Ampeg V4B.
Geddy has two sets of Korg pedals, one set is positioned out
front just about center-stage. From that point runs 65 feet of
MIDI cable.
Geddy's keyboard setup includes a Prophet VS II synthesizer,
a Yamaha KX76 MIDI controller, a PPG Wave 2.3 synthesizer, a
Roland D50 synthesizer, another set of Korg Pedals underneath his
KX76, and his Moog Pedals are underneath the PPG/D500 combo.
Because of the extreme length of the MIDI cables a MIDI
buffer runs between Geddy's Korg pedals out front and the rest of
his setup. There are two MIDI patch bays which route MIDI program
changes to any instrument as needed, via MIDI patch bays and
Everything else regarding the synth setup is controlled in a
hidden location behind Geddy's amps at stage-left. There Tony
Geranios manipulates Geddy's two racks which consist of the
Rack #1 contains a Furman PL8+ Power Conditioner with a
lighting source which condition the power coming in and prevents
any AC spikes from damaging the digital equipment; below that are
the two mappers which take any type of incoming MIDI information
and change it to any type of output MIDI information as needed.
The J.L. Cooper is a MIDI patch matrix. On that he uses 13
masters, and 17 slaves. The J.L. Cooper box allows him to patch
any combination of synths and samplers need for a particular song.
The high-tech box is a master input for all the MIDI. This allows
Tony to go between the two JLC boxes, in case of any problems
(such as one of the main JLC boxes going down). Underneath the
high-tech box, is the Akai S900 sampler #1, the A/B mapper backup
box, the Akai S900 sampler #2, the Akai S900 sampler #3, and then
the Roland D550 digital synthesizer.
Rack #2 consists of another Furman PL8+ on top, with two
more mappers underneath. Beneath that are two custom designed JS
broadcast-quality mixers. Beneath the JS mixers are the Akai S900
samplers #4, 5, 6, and 7. Sampler #7 is primarily used as the
backup sampler. At the bottom of the rack is another Roland D550
synthesizer, which also can be used as a backup.
Along with the racks is a keyboard stand setup comprised of
one Roland D50 synthesizer (which serves as backup for both rack-
mounted D550s); below that are two Yamaha DX7s (one serving as a
backup); and below that are two Yamaha QX1 sequencers. Both
sequencers contain identical programs and are triggered
simultaneously from a remote location. In case of malfunction
either sequencer can take over the other's part via the 1620JLC
programming box. A Yamaha MFC1 MIDI foot controller is used for
further mapper program changes.
For administrative matters (additions, deletions, changes, and
questions), send mail to: or
There is now anonymous ftp access available on Syrinx. The network
address to ftp to is: or
The contents of The National Midnight Star are solely the opinions and
comments of the individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the
Copyright The Rush Fans Mailing List, 1991.
Editor, The National Midnight Star
(Rush Fans Mailing List)
End of The National Midnight Star Number 264
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