NASA Releases Timelapse Showing 9 Months of Testing The James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope has successfully finished nine months of testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
In order to get it ready for space, the JWST was placed inside a giant cryogenic vacuum chamber and exposed to extremely cold temperatures, to simulate the conditions it will eventually experience.
As you can see from the video, a lot goes into getting 19 massive hexagonal mirrors ready for seeing into the most distant parts of the universe.
Up next for the James Webb Space Telescope is to undergo even more testing at defense contractor Northrop Grumman’s facility in Redondo Beach, California, the JWST’s primary contractor.
After attaching other pieces and completing the observatory, the telescope will nearly be ready for its 2019 launch.


History of St. Valentine’s Day
Countdown to Valentine’s Day, Day 3. I thought this would be easy explaining who St. Valentine was…a man who shoots magical arrows at unsuspecting people and they then fall madly in love with their soul mate. Nope. Not that easy. Despite searching numerous websites, I found different versions of the story of St. Valentine and the history of Valentine’s Day. The most common thought is that Valentine’s Day, or a form of it, began with the Romans. On February 14 they worshipped Juno, the goddess of women and marriage in hopes of finding their future loves. However, when Christianity began spreading, the church did not want to support a holiday unless is was to worship a Christian and replaced it with a holiday honoring the Christian saint of love, St. Valentine.
Who is St. Valentine? The story behind St. Valentine begins when Emperor Claudius II was in power; he forbid all marriages in hope of making young men fight in his wars. However, according to CBN.com, a Roman priest named Valentine secretly married couples believing in the sanctity of marriage. When Claudius found out he caught and imprisoned Valentine and eventually had him executed.
The stories that surround St. Valentine’s imprisonment also vary, but he is believed to have developed a relationship with the daughter of the jailer, who was ill or blind. Different renditions report that either through prayer or at the time of his execution she was healed. The letters he wrote to her while he was jailed were signed, from your Valentine, inspiring today’s usage of his name.
Another Freebie with inspired St. Valentine activities:


The how and why of buying bitcoin
Clip: 04/12/2018 | 9m 9s
The basic idea of bitcoin is simple: Instead of a financial institution holding a bank ledger, a chain of computers linked through the internet are all using the same software to record and verify every transaction. But how can a cryptocurrency be worth anything in the first place? Economics correspondent Paul Solman reports.
Aired: 04/12/18Video has closed captioning.
The full episode is no longer available for online streaming. Why?
Please continue to enjoy extra(s) from this episode.


Genealogy & Local History Resources
How to get started doing genealogy:
The library owns a number of “how to” books to aid the beginning researcher in uncovering his past. In addition there are books on dating photographs, and even scrapbooking your family tree.
Newspapers on Microfilm
The Baird & Callahan County Star 1888-1935; Cross Plains Review beginning in 1911
Local county histories are an invaluable source for genealogists. They not only relate names but events surrounding our ancestors. We have histories on Texas counties such as Andrews, Eastland, McCulloch, Coleman, Brown, Runnels, Callahan and the community of May, Texas. We are especially pleased to have recently acquired the two volume set of Coleman County Histories. We also have some out of state county histories, such as Anne Arundel & Howard County Missouri and Stafford County, Virginia.
Callahan County Marriage Records from the beginning of the county to 1966 and Cemetery Records for Callahan, Brown & Eastland Counties
Some of the other resources available:
Several volumes of the Robertson’s Colony Papers
Indian Depredations in Texas
Numerous Civil War histories.
Early Tennessee Records of various kinds
Search the online catalog using the keyword “genealogy” for a complete list of genealogy books.


Bronchitis and Asthma Most Commonly Treated Conditions Among Children
AHRQ News and Numbers, December 14, 2011
The five most commonly treated medical conditions among children in 2008 were acute bronchitis, asthma, trauma-related disorders, middle-ear infections, and mental disorders, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
More than 40 percent of the Nation's 74 million children age 17 and younger were treated for at least one of those conditions that year.
The Federal agency also found that of the five most commonly treated conditions among children in 2008:
- Mental disorders represented the fifth most commonly treated condition—5 million children were treated—yet the average expense per child was highest at $2,483.
- Bronchitis was one of the most widely reported ailments, for which 12 million children received medical care, yet of the top five most commonly treated conditions, the cost of treatment was lowest at an average $226 per child.
- Private insurance paid the largest share of treatment costs for bronchitis (55 percent), trauma (62 percent), and middle-ear infections (64 percent), while Medicaid paid the largest share for treatment of asthma (51 percent) and mental disorders (46 percent). Expenses included the costs of office doctor visits, prescription drugs, and hospital care.
The data in this AHRQ News and Numbers summary are taken from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a detailed source of information on the health services used by Americans, the frequency with which they are used, the cost of those services, and how they are paid. For more information, go to Statistical Brief #349: Health Care Expenditures for the Five Most Common Children's Conditions, 2008.
For additional information, or to speak with an AHRQ data expert, please contact Linwood Norman at Linwood.Norman@ahrq.hhs.gov or call (301) 427-1248.


The Statue of Liberty was originally known as Liberty Enlightening the World. It was given to the United States by France to celebrate their alliance during the Revolutionary War. A sculptor by the name of Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue, and Gustave Eiffel (the man who designed the Eiffel Tower) was responsible for the iron framework underneath the copper plating.
The statue was built in Paris and then shipped to the U.S. in 1885. Various parts of the statue were on display throughout Paris as they were completed. Miss Liberty's head was exhibited in the gardens at the Tracadéro, and her torch was on display as well, as you can observe in the images on this page.
Construction began in 1875 and was not completed until 1884. Crews worked round the clock, seven days a week, for nine years to finish the Statue of Liberty. When it was complete in 1885, the statue was disassembled into 350 pieces, shipped to New York City, and reassembled. It took 4 months just to put the Statue of Liberty together again!
The Statue of Liberty was officially dedicated and unveiled on October 28, 1886.
A collection was taken up in France to fund the statue, raising 2,250,000 francs ($250,000 U.S. dollars). It doesn't look like much, but $250,000 in the 19th century would be the same as millions of dollars today. Both the U.S. and France participated in fundraising activities, and it took a very long time to raise enough money to finish construction.


Squalor and hoarding
Understanding neglectful behaviour
When people are living in squalor (filthy conditions) or constantly hoarding items of little value – to the point where their home becomes a health and safety risk – there are often complex reasons for their self-neglect.
Their behaviour may be the result of a number of psychiatric disorders (depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia) or a physical disorder. They may have dementia (or another age-related illness) or be suffering a type of trauma or the effects of substance abuse.
Living in a situation of squalor and hoarding has a huge impact on individuals. They can become even more withdrawn and socially isolated, as personal relationships break down. They may fear eviction from rental properties and be more at risk of health problems. Financial problems are also common.
Neighbours are also at risk as squalor and hoarding situations are fire and health hazards. They can result in vermin and other pest infiltrations too.
Our environmental health specialists have put together a fact sheet on dealing with these issues, available to download below.
If you are concerned for yourself or about a neighbour, please call the City of Sydney.
What the City can do
Our officers will visit the home and assess the conditions and risks. They may then refer the matter to a support service, such as Catholic Healthcare Community Services, which specialises in assessing and intervening in cases of squalor and hoarding.
Our staff will always try to resolve hoarding or squalor issues informally. If they are not successful and conditions pose a risk to public health, the we can issue an order to have the risk abated.
City of Sydney
02 9265 email@example.com
Last updated: Friday, 19 April 2013


It's simply stating a scientific belief that a million years ago, some babies could not recognise their parents' faces and as a result smiled less and were loved less. That made them less likely to survive.
The writer has chosen to use "This would make them ..." instead of "This made them ...". You would have to ask him/her why.
The same can be said for the closing sentence. There is no reason to use "It would seem that ..." instead of "It seems that ..."
It suggests a tiny amount of questionability in the statement perhaps. "It seems that ..." sounds quite certain. "It would seem ..." sounds perhaps a little more hesitant.


This is the old United Nations University website. Visit the new site at http://unu.edu
The United Nations University (UNU) and the University of Tokyoís International Center for Disaster-Mitigation Engineering (INCEDE) are organizing a conference titled the International Symposium on Information Technology Tools for Natural Disaster Risk Management. The symposium will be held in Bangkok at the Asian Institute of Technology from 4 to 6 February 1998.
The purpose of the three-day symposium is to have scientists who are using advanced information technologies in their research share what they have learned with others. Information technology is now routinely used to gather and disseminate data on what is happening with the earth and its environment. This information can help scientists predict, and thereby manage, many of the risks that are often associated with natural disasters. This symposium will focus primarily on the kinds of disasters most likely to occur in Asian countries. Presentations will be given on new developments in the following areas: geographical information systems, remote sensing technology, global positioning systems, communications technologies and database management.
The United Nations has designated the 1990ís as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. The UNU and INCEDE hope that extensive research on natural disasters will help reduce worldwide the loss of life, property and social disruption that they cause.
* * *For more information, please visit the UNUís homepage at: http://archive.unu.edu/env/. Additional information is also available by contacting the UNU Public Affairs Section at:
Tel.: (03) 5467-1243, -1246 Fax: (03) 3406-7346
Return to UNU Homepage


Submitted by: Star awake CBO
Implemented country: Kenya
Title: Enhancing secure and clean water in rural villages, with treatment, solar heating, construction of spring wells, pit latrines, water harvesting and conservation structures.
The project entails, educating local residents in rural villages on water treatment by boiling using solar energy, filtration using cheaply and locally available filter straws and chlorination. Open spring wells and pit latrines are constructed to reduce water contamination during rain season, when faecal matter (human waste) and other wastes are washed down to open springs and other sources. Improved water harvesting is constructed in schools, structures such as weirs, pans, dams across rivers, and fishponds at lower end of wells.


- 4,000,000 years ago (83,000 generations) Postural Stability
After nearly 4 billion years of evolution our DNA figured out it was advantageous to walk upright. With this new development the earth saw the arrival of the first human like apes.
- 200,000 years ago (7,500 generations) Earliest evidence of Homo Sapiens.
If you could time travel this is the farthest back you could go and be able to successfully breed with something else on the planet.
- 12,000 years ago* (500 generations) Emergence of Civilization.
It took 7000 generations of incremental progress but finally we figured out how to live together in groups.
- 5,200 years ago (220 generations) The Birth of Writing.
For the first time we could accurately pass knowledge both laterally across to our contemporaries and vertically down to the generations to come.
- 450 years ago (20 generations) The Scientific Revolution
The application of reason and logic to our understanding of the world we live in.
- 200 years ago (8 generations) The Industrial Revolution
The mass production of goods along with improvements in transportation, energy and communication improved living standards across the world and elevated our productive capabilities.
- 50 years ago (2 generations) The Computer gives rise to the Internet
Networked computation connected our world and gave each person access to all of human knowledge.
We now have a new contender for this list. Be Prepared.


Wilbur Writes To The U.S. Weather Bureau - November 27, 1899
The History: "We have been doing some experimenting with kites, with a view to constructing one capable of sustaining a man. We expect to carry the experiment further next year. In the meantime we wish to obtain if possible a report of the wind velocities of Chicago or vicinity for the months of August, Sept., Oct. and November. Do any of the government publications contain such information? If so where may it be obtained? We would like if possible to obtain the average and maximum velocity of each a day, and chart of the wind fluctuations of the wind in velocities for a short period, say half an hour.
We learn from Mr. Bassler, your Cincinnati forecaster, that the Government has for several years been conducting kite experiments. If the results have been published we would like very much to obtain them." .... Wilbur Wright


Climate change is causing sea levels to rise around the UK and it will have a significant impact on the likelihood of coastal flooding. The latest scientific projections from the Met Office (UKCP18) indicate that mean sea level will continue to increase over the remainder of the century, regardless of mitigation efforts. As mean sea levels rise, the base level on which tides and storm surges are imposed increases, resulting in a greater capacity for extreme water level events. Both the frequency and magnitude of extreme events are expected to increase, leading to a rise in coastal flood risk, particularly across southern regions where net sea level change is expected to be greatest. Using tidal gauge and return period data with the latest Met Office climate projections, EuroTempest has assessed the return period for the extreme water height recorded at Sheerness (north Kent coast) during the 1953 storm surge event. As a result of rising sea levels under the most (RCP2.6) and least (RCP8.5) conservative climate scenarios, we find a decrease in the return period of the observed water height from ~1 in 300 years to ~1 in 50 and ~1 in 10 years respectively. Not only does this finding highlight the changing risk of extreme water levels as sea levels rise, but also exemplifies how the use of return periods is becoming a less appropriate method for describing flood risk. Return periods built on an increasingly unrepresentative historical climatology will become progressively more misleading, as in reality, a ‘1 in x year’ event will represent different water levels as the climate changes.
To read the full report click on the link below:
For more information please email email@example.com. And if you would like to subscribe to our free weather forecasts, seasonal forecasts, weather news or product updates please visit our subscription page.


Parts of the Sentence - Review Nouns/Pronouns/Adjectives
Instructions: Using all the knowledge learned in the previous lessons, find the verb, subjects, predicate nominatives, direct objects, appositives, nouns of address, and adjectives in the following sentences.
1. The diamond is the hardest known mineral.
2. The best student in your class is my sister Marilyn.
3. Drink this lemonade and get some rest.
4. Paul, does Sarah like her new dress and skirt?
5. We have been collecting aluminum cans for many weeks.
--For answers scroll down.
1. is = verb; diamond = subject; mineral = predicate nominative; the, the, hardest, known = adjectives
2. is = verb; student = subject; sister = predicate nominative; Marilyn = appositive; the, best, your, my = adjectives
3. drink/get = verbs; you (understood) = subject; lemonade/rest = direct objects; this, some = adjectives
4. does like = verb; Sarah = subject; dress/skirt = direct objects; Paul = noun of address; her, new = adjectives
5. have been collecting = verb; we = subject; cans = direct object; aluminum, many = adjectives
DAILY GRAMMAR - - - - by Mr. Johanson
Copyright 2014 Word Place, Inc - - All Rights Reserved.
For your convenience, all of our lessons are available on our website in our
lesson archive at http://www.dailygrammar.com/archive.html. Our lessons are
Daily Grammar Lessons Search


He won the Wolf Prize in Medicine in 1999, and the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2000 for describing the physiological basis of memory storage in neurons. Kandel shared the Nobel prize with Arvid Carlsson and Paul Greengard.
Kandel was born in Vienna. He migrated to Brooklyn, New York City in 1939, the year after the Anschluss when Austria was was made part of Nazi Germany. In 1956, he married sociologist Denise Kandel. They have two children.
References[change | change source]


PART 1Mendel’s Principles and Contribution to Modern Biology (200 words max)Mendel used mathematics and experimentation to derive major principles that have helped us understand inheritance. His ideas were totally different than the explanation for passage of characteristics from parents to offspring that was common to his time. Discuss at least two of his principles in detail, providing examples. Describe how each principle contributes to genetic variability. Discuss the significance of Mendel’s discoveries to modern biology.*Nothing extra just answer the questions, no cover or reference page needed*PART 2Our understanding of genetic inheritance and the function of DNA in producing the characteristics of the individual have been developing for more than 150 years.· Consider our current state of knowledge.· Link genetic characteristics to DNA structure.· Describe the steps in the process of protein synthesis.· Explain how DNA through the process of protein synthesis is responsible for the ultimate expression of the characteristics in the organism.· Describe how interference in protein synthesis can result in disruption of cellular and bodily processes?One important class of proteins are enzymes, which control countless processes within our bodies. Considering that the building blocks of proteins are amino acids, explain how poor nutrition can disrupt many important functions in our bodies. (800 WORDS MAX) include references.
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This book offers a whole school approach to the teaching of grammar and punctuation that is fully matched to the demands of the English grammar and punctuation test and the new curriculum. With the shift towards elegant, well-constructed sentences, it offers the busy teacher three simple steps to motivate and engage children, through: • explicit teaching and modelling; • over forty practical games and activities; • application and improvement within editing and proof reading. This book draws on recent research but also is based on many years of classroom practice and a number of case studies. Practical examples develop teachers' understanding of grammatical terms and progression and show how it is possible to have a significant impact on vocabulary, sentence structure and children's writing in general. A balance is found where skills are explicitly taught but within the context of an exciting and interesting curriculum.
Author: Peter Burrows
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Download BOOK »


For this course, students create three main projects. A vehicle, an interior, and an exterior. The interior and the exterior must relate to each other. See the corresponding interior here.
I began with the back wall of the interior. I knew it being an attic, I wanted to capture the same type of space for the outside exterior of the home. Working from the large, chunky beams in the house I decided to work with the Tudor style house. Consider the glorified Germany village from Epcot, this is the style I wanted to create. Here are two concept pieces I worked from to create my design.
I liked the slight arc of the roof, the large beams, and addition to the main structure. Once I began modeling, I realized from a functionality standpoint, the front door would open into the fireplace. Not the best idea, so I moved the chimney to the back wall. I added more arcs and bends to the roofs for a more whimsical feel. Creating the shingles was fun, but originally turned out too clean. I grabbed random pieces and began rotating and transforming them to add age to the house. We try to have our students never create floating 3D models in empty space. The simple ground cylinder starts as a nice base, but the fence really added to the charm of the building and completes the project.


Synthetic marijuana – or spice/K2 – can result in brain alterations similar to the real thing, but with the added danger that many of its chemical components and other ingredients are often unknown.
Spice is a mildly hallucinogenic mix of dried plant material that is laced with synthetic cannabinoids (chemicals similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana). But because the chemical composition of many products sold as spice is unknown, it can contain substances that could cause dramatically different effects than the user might expect.
When it comes to spice or K2, you really don’t know what exactly is in the mix—many different ingredients have been found that have a high potential for abuse. The inconsistency and variability of ingredients can lead to unexpected harm to your body and brain. People taken to emergency rooms have symptoms that include rapid heart rate, vomiting, hypothermia, agitation, confusion and hallucinations. The drug has also been linked to acute kidney injuries, which left untreated, can lead the kidneys to shut down.
Filling your body with unknown substances can have severe consequences. New risks have continued to emerge – including signs of withdrawal and addiction – however, it’s not yet known how the synthetic cannabinoids and other ingredients in spice may affect you down the line.
Above The Influence. February 2016. View Source.


Medical questions & health advice by board certified doctors
"Can my doctor tell me whether I have a healthy BMI?"
I am going to see my doctor and want to know more about BMI. Can he tell me if I'm healhty okay? I am a 25 year old girl.
BMI, or Body Mass Index, is essentially a quantitative measurement of weight in proportion to your height. Obviously a very tall person can have a certain weight and be lean, but the same weight would not be considered healthy for a short person. Body Mass Index is calculated the following formula: BMI = Weight / Height(squared) The weight is in kilograms The Height is in meters Dividing your weight, by a square value of your height in meters would give you your BMI. The following cutoffs are used for BMI values: Less than 18.5 = Underweight 18.5 to 24.9 = Normal weight 25 to 29.9 = Overweight 30 to 39.9 = Obese 40 and up = Extremely Obese. Although BMI is used a lot in healthcare, it has some major pitfalls and is not always accurate. For example, someone who is an athlete or a weight lifter may have a BMI of 27, but be in top physical shape and be healthy. BMI does not account for body fat percentage, muscle mass, bone structure/build, etc. Therefore BMI is not always an accurate assessment of a patient's health and weight. Your doctor should be able to assess if your weight and BMI are appropriate for you. I recommend you speak to your primary care physician regarding your weight and BMI.
Need more info?See a doctor today
Zocdoc Answers is for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor (in the United States) 911 immediately. Always seek the advice of your doctor before starting or changing treatment. Medical professionals who provide responses to health-related questions are intended third party beneficiaries with certain rights under Zocdoc’s Terms of Service.


The Problem of AI Consciousness
Some things in life cannot be offset by a mere net gain in intelligence.
The last few years have seen the widespread recognition that sophisticated AI is under development. Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking, and others warn of the rise of “superintelligent” machines: AIs that outthink the smartest humans in every domain, including common sense reasoning and social skills. Superintelligence could destroy us, they caution. In contrast, Ray Kurzweil, Google’s chief engineer, depicts a technological utopia bringing about the end of disease, poverty and resource scarcity.
Whether sophisticated AI turns out to be friend or foe, we must come to grips with the possibility that as we move further into the 21st Century, the greatest intelligence on the planet may be silicon-based.
It is time to ask: could these vastly smarter beings have conscious experiences – could it feel a certain way to be them? When we experience the warm hues of a sunrise, or hear the scream of an espresso machine, there is a felt quality to our mental lives. We are conscious.
A superintelligent AI could solve problems that even the brightest humans are unable to solve, but being made of a different substrate, would it have conscious experience? Could it feel the burning of curiosity, or the pangs of grief? Let us call this “the problem of AI consciousness.”
If silicon cannot be the basis for consciousness, then superintelligent machines — machines that may outmode us or even supplant us — may exhibit superior intelligence, but they will lack inner experience. Further, just as the breathtaking android in Ex Machina convinced Caleb that she was in love with him, so too, a clever AI may behave as if it is conscious.
In an extreme, horrifying case, humans upload their brains, or slowly replace the —> Read More


One of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.
Something disagreeable to the ear; a very unpleasant noise.
Having sore or deafened ears. Formerly also: deafening, cacophonous.
Late 16th century; earliest use found in Richard Carew (1555–1620), antiquary and poet. From ear + sore, probably after eyesore<br>mid 19th century; earliest use found in Allen's Indian Mail. From ear + sore.
In this article we explore how to impress employers with a spot-on CV.


Pregnancy video: 11 weeks
You are 11 weeks pregnant! See your baby's development, learn when you will hear the heartbeat, and find out why you should exercise during pregnancy.Learn more about your pregnancy at 11 weeks.
11 weeks pregnant: Fast facts
Your fig-size baby is around 1 1/2 inches long.
You can't feel it yet, but your baby is kicking and stretching. Your little one's bones are hardening, and tiny tooth buds are forming under his or her gums.
Exercise boosts your health and your mood. Aim for 20 to 30 minutes of moderate activity most days: Walking, swimming, jogging, dancing, exercise classes, and yoga are good choices.
At your next prenatal visit, you may get to hear your baby's heartbeat! Many moms say it sounds like galloping horses.
Girl or boy – do you want to know? A whopping 85% of BabyCenter moms say yes.
Stressed about being a good mom? It could be a positive sign. As one BabyCenter mom says: "If you're worried about being a good mom, you probably have nothing to worry about."
Video production by SALT Project.


Pew Internet & American Life Project released a new report this week entitled Let the Games Begin: Gaming Technology and Entertainment Among College Students . The report concludes that computer games are “woven into the fabric of everyday life” for college students, and rather than being an isolating social factor in people who would otherwise be called geeks or nerds, it’s a more “social/socializing activity” than many suspected.
70 percent of college students polled by the project reported playing a video, computer or online game “at least once in a while,” while 65 percent of those polled admitted to being “regular or occasional” game players. What’s more, one in five gamers felt “moderately or strongly” than playing games helped them make new friends, or even improve existing friendships.
Game playing among college students is frequent enough that many of them “integrate gaming into their day” by playing between classes, playing games while visiting with friends, or playing as a form of recreation to separate them from the rigors of schoolwork.
That has a downside, however: The report also found that nearly half of those polled said that gaming can keep them from studying “some” or “a lot.” 9 percent of those queried said that avoiding studying was their main motivation in gaming.
The study itself was put together from surveys distributed to college students attending public and private colleges and universities in the continental US. The surveys were distributed at different times in 2002. The report is based on 1,162 surveys.
More details, including the complete 14 page report (in PDF format) are available from the Pew Internet & American Life Project’s Web site.


In this day and age, the most likely expression of gratitude a child may demonstrate is a “like” on their Facebook page or a “favorite” on their Twitter account. What can you do to teach your kids and grandkids about gratitude? A lot! One of the easiest places to start is when an occasion is coming up that they’re likely to receive gifts at. Here are four easy tips to get them started.
- Before opening a gift, always look the giver in the eye and smile. This may seem like a very insignificant gesture, but in fact, it’s extremely important. Eye contact and appreciation before opening a gift shows that the receiver cares more about the giver as a person, no matter what the gift.
- Express thanks before opening a gift. As another pre-opening gesture, saying “Thank you” prior to unwrapping a gift box shows appreciation for the giver’s thoughtfulness, regardless of how large or small the gift may be. This is, in fact, a crucial lesson to teach kids.
- Genuinely express thanks again after opening a gift. This cannot be stressed enough. Even if your child is disappointed in the gift, they should refrain from making any negative facial expressions or comments. Instead, they should graciously thank the giver or tell them it was very thoughtful of them. (The concept of “It’s the thought that counts” will eventually be ingrained into them. Better sooner than later.)
- Write a thank you note. No matter the size or cost of the gift, whether it was liked or not, or whether it was given in person or sent by mail, a handwritten thank you note/card is an absolute must. No ifs, ands, or buts. In the note, be sure your child mentions the name of the gift and something they liked about it or will do with it. The more personal and sincere the note, the better. And the sooner, the better as well.


| Quote #4
yet tending to this cross of ground
Toward the end of the poem, the speaker really starts saying some nice things about religion and spirituality, probably because he needs to make sense of the urge that keeps bringing him back to churches. But on top of that, the speaker feels drawn to religion not just because it gives an outlet to human spiritual yearnings, but because it has done so for such a long time. The speaker can't help but find significance in the fact that religion has been around for so long, because even while he knows that religion is not a permanent thing, it's still been around for an impressive amount of time. By going into a church, the speaker also feels connected to all of the people over the centuries who've found meaning in church, and this gives him a sense of community that modern life doesn't.
| Quote #5
And gravitating with it to this ground,
Larkin chooses to end the poem with a direct reference to human mortality, mentioning all of the dead people who lie around in churchyards all over the world. But he's not just mentioning them because he has some sort of belief in the power of dead bodies. Rather, he's paying homage to the fact that even though he might not find anything compelling about Christianity, he definitely respects the fact that so many people have over the years. One of the things religion does is connect us to the experience of people who came before us by giving us access to all of the same beliefs that governed those people's lives. Larkin doesn't necessarily share these beliefs, but his speaker definitely seems to have a sense of envy for people who really get to feel this sort of connection across time.


Ratios and Equivalent Ratios
In this ratio instructional activity, 6th graders review how to write ratios and how to simplify them. They simplify and write ratios in two different ways in 6 examples. They use equivalent ratios to find the value of the missing terms in each of 6 examples. They answer one word problem.


Many are familiar with the end result of a pole and fishing gear, but what about the before the catch? How much do people know about the life cycles of fish? An upcoming Idaho program will equip students to experience the process from the beginning.
Idaho Fish and Game is inviting teachers to take part in workshops they’re hosting called “WILD about Trout in the Classroom.” The workshops’ design will focus on educating teachers about raising trout, from eggs to fry, in the classroom.
The “Trout in the Classroom” curriculum was developed specifically for Idaho teachers, and focuses on state fish and environmental concerns in addition to meeting content standards. Teachers who participate will receive revised curriculum geared for grades 4-12. The curriculum includes lessons on care of trout, aquarium maintenance, trout biology, stream ecology, and many others.
The workshops will take place at the Fish and Game office in Lewiston. The first will be from 4 to 9 p.m. on November 21, and the second will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on November 22. The cost is $20 and includes the curriculum and supplemental materials. College credit is available for an additional fee.
Idaho Fish and Game are encouraging both new and experienced “Trout in the Classroom” teachers to attend.
For more information about the curriculum or registration, read the Idaho Fish and Game press release here.


The internal medicine specialist stressed the importance of consulting with your family doctor to find out which vaccines should be given according to age.
In an interview with Medicine and Public Health, Doctor Miguel Magraner, Director of Internal Medicine at Damas Hospital, explained the importance of vaccines and illustrates this. Mutations Dependent virus As it happens with him Covid-19It is not a new process and it is a normal part of pathogens.
The Serum It is a process where bacteria, a virus Or toxins in small amounts, allowing the body’s immune system to react and defend itself against infection, the doctor explained.
He stressed the importance of consulting with him Doctor To know which vaccines are recommended to be given according to age.
Thanks to this health technology there Diseases He repeated that it was like tetanus, which was encountered, especially with regard to lethality.
For example, he argued so Serum Against influenza in children from the age of 6 months.
He explained, “This vaccine is available and easily accessible, but those who suffer from Guillain-Barré syndrome should not be vaccinated against influenza.”
On the other hand, the Serum He said herpes zoster, also known as shingles, is very effective and is given in two doses from the age of 50.
The specialist recommends getting the pneumonia vaccine 23 and Prevnar 13 for pneumonia at around 60 years of age to avoid serious complications of pneumococcal disease.
according to Serum From Covid-19, He argued that it was important to get a double dose if it was that of Pfizer and Moderna, so that the body could better respond to the mutation of the variants. This is not new about Mutations In the Diseases As with the flu, which changes every year, “he stressed again.
Despite the global immunization against COVID19, he noted that it is still imperative that societies continue to distance themselves from and use biosecurity elements.


When rain falls in natural areas, the water is absorbed and filtered by soil and plants. In urban areas, the rain water cannot absorb into the ground. This stormwater flows over hard surfaces, picking up pollution and carrying it into nearby waterways.
Green infrastructure uses vegetation, soils, and other elements to restore the natural processes required to manage and clean stormwater.
Traditional stormwater infrastructure, called gray infrastructure, includes storm drains and pipes which concentrate and move stormwater away from the built environment and into streams, untreated.
The City’s oldest stormwater pipes are over 100 years old. This public system consists of approximately 300 miles of pipes.
Crews routinely inspect and rank pipe integrity using closed circuit television (CCTV).
The following lining projects will begin later this Summer. More than one mile of pipe will be repaired.
City of Allentown - 435 Hamilton Street - 610-439-5999


It looks like the Mars Express has produced hiking or "camping" maps of the red planet, highlighting the various elevation paths of the Iani Chaos region.
(Red Orbit) Scientists using data from the HRSC experiment onboard ESA's Mars Express spacecraft have produced the first 'hiker's maps' of Mars. Giving detailed height contours and names of geological features in the Iani Chaos region, the maps could become a standard reference for future Martian research.
The maps are known as topographic maps because they use contour lines to show the heights of the landscape.
The contour lines are superimposed upon high-resolution images of Mars, taken by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) onboard Mars Express. On Earth, such maps are used by hikers and planning authorities.
Creating maps like these give Mars a more "Earthen feel" and perhaps make it more appealing as a future home rather than a distant world. (for more maps, click here)
Note: Maps like these remind me of those Crazy4Mars stories (via 4Frontiers) which center around several families living on the red planet.
Update: Added photo and link towards more maps.
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- 6 x 9.
Add to Cart
- $39.95 U.S.
Robert Frost and the Challenge of Darwin gives us a new and compelling portrait of the poet-thinker as a modern Lucretius—moved to examine the questions raised by Darwin, and willing to challenge his readers with the emerging scientific notions of what it meant to be human.
Combining both intellectual history and detailed analysis of Frost's poems, Robert Faggen shows how Frost's reading of Darwin reflected the significance of science in American culture from Emerson and Thoreau, through James and pragmatism. He provides fresh and provocative readings of many of Frost's shorter lyrics and longer pastoral narratives as they illustrate the impact of Darwinian thought on the concept of nature, with particular exploration of man's relationship to other creatures, the conditions of human equality and racial conflict, the impact of gender and sexual differences, and the survival of religion.
The book shows that Frost was neither a pessimist lamenting the uncertainties of the Darwinian worldview, nor a humanist opposing its power. Faggen draws on Frost's unpublished notebooks to reveal a complex thinker who willingly engaged with the difficult moral and epistemological implications of natural science, and showed their consonance with myths and traditions stretching back to Milton, Lucretius, and the Old Testament. Frost emerges as a thinker for whom poetry was not only artistic expression, but also a forum for the trial of ideas and their impact on humanity.
Robert Frost and the Challenge of Darwin provides a deeper understanding not only of Frost and modern poetry, but of the meaning of Darwin in the modern world, the complex interrelations of literature and science, and the history of American thought.
Robert Faggen is Associate Professor of Literature, Claremont McKenna College and Adjunct Associate Professor, Claremont Graduate School.


The /aɪ/ diphthong is spelled <iCe>, <i>, <y> and <ey> in eye, besides occurring in the letter names I and Y. The /eə/ diphthong is spelled <are>, <air>, <ear> or <eir> in heir.
This is a contrast between two diphthongs with different starting positions and different directions of movement. It is not a problem for learners.
Interesting pairs include:
The density figure is high at 10%. The set makes 55 semantic contrasts giving a loading of 57.3%.
bide bared bine bairn bines bairns buy bare buys bares buy bear buys bears by bare by bear bye bare byes bares bye bear byes bears chide chaired despise despairs die dare dies dares died dared dye dare dyes dares dyed dared eye air eyes airs eye heir eyes heirs eye ere fly flair flies flairs fly flare flies flares glide glared hi hair hi hare hide hared hie hair hies hairs hie hare hies hares hied hared high hair highs hairs high hare highs hares I air I's airs I heir I's heirs I ere I'd aired kine cairn lie lair lies lairs lie layer lies layers lied laird nine Nairn pi pair pi pare pi pear pie pair pied paired pies pairs pie pare pie pares pied pared pie pear pies pears pry prayer pries prayers shy share shied shared shies shares sky scare skied scared skies scares snide snared spy spare spied spared spies spares sty stair sties stairs sty stare sties stares tie tare ties tares tie tear ties tears why ware why wear wide wared wry rare wryly rarely Y ware Y's wares Y wear Y's wears
John Higgins, Shaftesbury, December 2009


One way to get at how media unwittingly became complicit in fulfilling the ambitions of terrorists is to look more closely at how journalists do their jobs and how media outlets operate when they are not dealing with a crisis such as a terrorist attack.
The following films or HBO series are excellent dramatic depictions of issues relevant to journalism and the press in America.
You will watch any of one of the features listed and identify an issue illustrated in the film.
Sample topics might include:
- media as “infotainment” and/or “big business”
- media as watchdog
- issues regarding access to sources and classified information
- the tension between a free press and national security
- “objectivity” in journalism
- unintended consequences of media coverage of events
- adversarial stance of journalists
Discuss what you learned about media watching a film. Think of creating a five paragraph, 500 or so word journal entry. Because this is not an academic essay but a journal, you are encouraged to reflect on your previous thoughts about the media and what you learned watching the film and to connect that to course content.
However, only focusing on your emotions and detailing the plot of the movie will bring down your score on this assignment. Strive to introduce the film and what it is about but then move on to discussing a complex issue or issues that the feature depicts about media in the U.S.
Due: end of Unit 4 as an uploaded word document file.
Good Night, and Good Luck: Good Night, And Good Luck (2005) Official Trailer – George Clooney, David Strathairn Movie HD (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)
Two episodes of the HBO series “The Newsroom”
ULOs Reflected In Assignment
- Identify current issues in journalism (CLO 1, CLO 2, CLO 4)


Recently, I visited my doctor and they took my blood pressure. It measured a tad bit on the high side. Nothing to worry about that because it’s just one measurement, possibly an anomaly. It got me to thinking about what measures one can take to lower blood pressure. Used to be, your doctor would give you a list, but too often now they find it easier to write a prescription. So I researched some things that you might do to try to lower border-line blood pressure. Please be advised: I am not advising that you go against your doctor’s advice. These are just some things to think about to help you control your blood pressure naturally.
- Quit Smoking
- Lose Weight
- Reduce your sodium intake – read your labels. Try to keep it under 2,500 mg / day
- Reduce your caffeine intake
- Increase Aerobic Exercise – go for power walks
The Not So Obvious:
- Insulin can play a role in blood pressure so reduce your intake of sugar and refined or processed foods
- Increase whole grains
- Avoid heavily processed or refined oils
- Consume potassium rich foods – sweet potatoes, nuts, beans, legumes, etc.
- Breathe deeply. Yes, breathe. Take 5 minutes every morning and every evening to breathe deeply.
Photo Courtesy isafmedia via Flickr


“The 2012 list highlights historic places that were once commonly found around Texas and that are almost gone or that represent rare construction types. In each instance these places are integral to the communities where are they located, yet they are in immediate danger of disappearing from the landscape,” said Jim Ray, president of Preservation Texas, Inc., a statewide partner of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Preservation Texas officials announced the selections on the steps of the Texas State Capitol on March 22. Sites in Bandera, Carson, Guadalupe, Hays, Kaufman, Marion, Nueces, San Augustine and Travis Counties Named to 2012 List.
A rare moveable jail cell, a poor farm that provided food for indigent Texans, two historic homesteads that capture the state’s ranching heritage and early settlement, three historic structures poised to play key roles in community revitalization, and two landmarks of our state’s African American heritage are the nine sites that Preservation Texas, Inc. has named to its ninth annual list of Texas’ Most Endangered Historic Places. Click [here] for the press release.
“By calling attention to theses sites now, we want to encourage local action while there’s still time.” said Ray. “It is our hope that inclusion on our list will provide those who care for these sites with the support, expertise and momentum to take their preservation efforts to the next level.”


Parks, Rosa Louise,
1913–2005, American civil-rights activist, b. Tuskegee, Ala., as Rosa Louise McCauley. A seamstress and long-time activist-member of the Montgomery, Ala., chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), she sparked the Montgomery bus boycott with her Dec. 1, 1955, arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a municipal bus to a white man. This successful protest, which lasted just over a year, marked the emergence of Martin Luther King
, Jr., to national prominence as a civil-rights leader and provided the model for future nonviolent movement actions. Fired from her job and unable to find work, Parks moved in 1957 to Detroit, where she remained active in the civil-rights movement and worked (1965–88) as an aide to U.S. Representative John Conyers. She was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress's highest honor, in 1999.
See her autobiography (1992); biography by D. Brinkley (2000) and J. Theoharis (2013).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Social Reformers


Pope Benedict XVI's four-day visit to Germany highlighted two closely connected challenges for the church: how to re-evangelise traditionally Christian countries in the West, and how to regain a credible voice in modern society.
In a sense, the pope's German homeland was a test case for the "new evangelisation" project that has taken center stage in his pontificate.
As the pope pointed out repeatedly during the Sept. 22-25 visit, modern Germany is a highly secularized country where atheism or religious indifference is widespread, where traditional moral values are eroding and where the church's message seems to have less and less impact.
And yet Germany has a native son as pope -- still a point of pride for many Germans -- and a tradition of intellectual debate. At the very least, the pope hoped for a fair hearing, and at some levels, he got one.
The pope also clearly connected with the Catholic faithful who turned out by the tens of thousands for his Masses and prayer services. Praying before a statue of Mary at a shrine in Etzelsbach or kneeling in eucharistic adoration at the Freiburg cathedral, the pope heard behind him the sound of silence -- music to his ears, because it was a sign of intense participation.
His appeal to return to the Christian roots of Germany met with enthusiastic approval from what one woman called his "base" -- the Catholic families who have tried to maintain their religious traditions in the face of decades of communism and more recent years of social fragmentation.
- John Thavis
Trip analysis: In pope's Germany, a test case for 'new evangelization' (Catholic News Service)


The video in this link describes in a simple manner the consequences of the recently announced discovery of Gravitational Waves. Their existence is final proof that Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity is correct. It also potentially gives us a new tool for extending astronomical observations so that we can learn more about our universe.
This discovery of gravitational waves also conclusively proves that Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation, that is used effectively in everyday physics even to this day is only an approximation. This approximation can still be used since it works in almost real life cases that we experience. The application of this law begins to fall apart where there are very large gravitational fields present due to massive objects and short distances between objects. (Approximations are not necessarily a bad thing so long as you recognize them as such, and also recognize their limitations.)
Einstein was the genius who could see things beyond the boundaries of the normal human experiences that are the basis of all of our perceptions. He could then come up with universal laws in this regard, laws that are based on science that can be proved and not simply based on belief. He was an amazing person.
It is fashionable these days in some circles to challenge the scientific approach and scientific results, and to label some of these as beliefs, as if the scientific process is akin to following a religion and a belief system. Such an attitude only shows ignorance, and a laziness when it comes to trying to understand things. This kind of attitude is unfortunately increasing in societies that are supposed to be advanced. Check this comic strip out. (I do not want to reproduce the strip in its entirely here for fear of violating copyright.)


The last of three articles on popular art in the Bolivarian Revolution, originally published by venezuelanalysis.com here. Photos by Silvia Leindecker.
Translations of the Spanish provided where required.
In Caracas, murals decorate the walls of barrios with the sentiments and aspirations of the people. These creations, sometimes elaborate and detailed, sometimes simple and direct, are often the product of a collective effort among neighbors to beautify their living space. In the community spaces as well as the nooks and crannies of the bustling, sprawling city, this art rivals commercial billboards that permeate much of the visual landscape. In many cases the murals pay homage to Latin American heroes who continue to inspire people to fight for freedom and justice. They also tell stories of history, oppression, and resistance.
Click image to see larger version.
‘Constructing Popular Power’ (left), ‘94.7FM Free Radio to the rhythm of 23 [de Enero barrio]’ (centre)
‘The Federal War’ (top), ‘Tremble, oligarchs’ (centre), ‘Free Land and Men’(bottom)
‘Simón Bolívar Coordinator: with Bolívar, with Manuel, with the people to power’
‘Community Strength: Ernesto “Che” Guevara’


Watch out long-legged Scandinavians—a large study shows taller people may have an increased risk of developing cancer than their shorter peers.
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and University of Stockholm examined 5.5 million Swedish men and women and found a correlation between height and cancer. For every 10 centimeters (4 inches) of height, a woman’s risk of developing cancer increased by 18 percent and a man’s by 11 percent, the study showed.
Taller women had a 20 percent greater risk of developing breast cancer than shorter women and both men and women’s risk of suffering melanoma, a type of skin cancer, increased by about 30 percent for every 10 centimeters of height.
The study, presented at the annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology meeting in Barcelona on Friday, proves an association but not a cause-and-effect relationship. Still, researchers say the study—the largest of its kind—adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting a linkage between height and cancer and underscores the importance of identifying why the relationship exits.
“Identifying potential risk factors for cancer can help us understand the mechanisms for how cancer develops and that might be used to develop treatments,” said Dr. Emelie Benyi, a researcher at Karolinska Institutet who led the study.


DEFINITION of 'ZMK (Zambian Kwacha)'
The currency abbreviation for the Zambian kwacha (ZMK), the currency for Zambia. The Zambian kwacha is made up of 100 ngwee and is often presented with the symbol ZK. The name kwacha is based on the word "dawn" in the Nyanja language.
BREAKING DOWN 'ZMK (Zambian Kwacha)'
Until 1968, the British pound was the currency of Zambia, after which the kwacha replaced the pound at a rate of 2 kwacha to 1 pound. At this time, the kwacha was equal to US$1.20, but rampant inflation since that time has significantly devalued the currency.


What Is X-Ray?
An X-ray examination is a medical test that physicians use to diagnose and treat patients' medical conditions. This is the most commonly requested test and often a prerequisite for other higher modality tests. An X-ray is a quick, painless test. It involves exposing the part of the body being examined to a very small dose of ionizing radiation to produce highly accurate pictures of the body.
We frequently depend on X-rays to diagnose pneumonia, lung tumors, heart failure and bone trauma.
X-ray is the first test in evaluating abdominal pain due to bowel obstruction, kidney stones and abnormalities of bones and joints. It is an indispensable tool for fracture detection.
How Is X-Ray Performed?
Conventional radiography (X-ray) is a simple, painless procedure that enables the radiologist to analyze predominantly the bony structures, and to lesser extent the soft tissue anatomy, for initial diagnosis. The average X-ray study takes 10 minutes. X-ray is most commonly used to identify and treat bone fractures and analyze the chest for diseases such as pneumonia, early lung cancer and heart failure.
Fluoroscopy is a real-time X-ray, and consists of an X-ray machine and a fluorescent screen to view the internal organs of the body live in movement. It is especially helpful in diagnosing problems of the esophagus, stomach and small and large bowels. A fluoroscopic exam usually lasts 15 minutes. An orally administered barium solution is usually needed to allow visualization of the area of interest.
Carestream CR Elite digital view system allows full range of views and is able to accommodate wheelchair and stretcher exams for patients up to 400 pounds. All radiographs are reviewed before the patient is released to assure accuracy and high quality. Immediate diagnosis is communicated via eFax to your doctor.


This name, with variant spellings Marchent, Marchand, Marquand, Merchant and Le Marchant, derives from the Old French "marcheant" (Middle English "marchand"), meaning a merchant or trader, and was originally given as an occupational name to a buyer or seller of goods. The ultimate root of the name lies in the Late Latin "mercis", commerce, exchange or merchandise. Job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. The surname was first recorded at the beginning of the 13th Century (see below), and one Roger Marchaunt and a Herueus Merchant were listed as witnesses in the 1219 Assize Court Rolls of Yorkshire.In 1240, Ranulph le Marchand appeared in the Fine Court Rolls of Essex, and a Reginald le Marchant was listed in the 1247 Pipe Rolls of Cambridge. An interesting namebearer was Nathaniel Marchant (1739 - 1816), a gem engraver and medallist, who exhibited at the Royal Academy and was assistant engraver at the mint in 1797. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Roger Marchand, which was dated 1202, in the "Pipe Rolls of Berkshire", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2022


Factories Don't Produce Milk, Cows Do
The front-page article "Wisconsin - America's Dairyland No Longer," May 24, omits important facts necessary to understand the issues raised. Most fluid milk is produced near where it is consumed. Increased milk production in California reflects its burgeoning population. Wisconsin, with a much smaller population, exports much of its milk as cheese and butter. Even if overtaken by California in milk production, Wisconsin would still be America's dairyland, since it supplies a national market, while Califo rnia's dairy industry supplies primarily a local market. Eric J. Klieber, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Letters are welcome. Only a selection can be published, subject to condensation, and none acknowledged. Please fax letters to (617) 450-2317 or address them to "Readers Write," One Norway St., Boston, MA 02115.


This visualization was created to be one of the final shots of a video celebrating the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The camera starts under water off the coast of the Eastern United States showing layers of ocean currents from a computational model called ECCO-2. The camera slowly pulls back revealing the Gulf Stream, one of the most powerful ocean currents on Earth. The camera continues to pull back revealing NASA's Earth observing fleet.
The ocean currents are colored by depth from white (5 meters below the surface) down to dark blue (5906 meters below the surface). The color bar is non-linear; there are more levels near the surface than deeper.
GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation:
Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 220.127.116.11.0


Small, family run flower farm in the heart of California.
One of our favorites, the beautiful Hydrangea.
All About Hydrangeas
Hydrangea is a genus of 70+ species of beautiful flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and the
Americas. The greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea. Most are shrubs 3 – 9 feet tall, but some are small trees. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the widely cultivated temperate species are all deciduous.
Hydrangea flowersare produced from early spring to late autumn; they grow beautiful, large flower heads, usually at the end of producing stems. Typically the flower heads contain two types of flowers: small non-showy flowers in the center or interior of the flower head, and large, showy flowers with large colorful sepals (tepals). These showy flowers are often extended in a ring, or to the exterior of the small flowers. Plants in wild populations typically have few to none of the showy flowers, while cultivated hydrangeas have been bred and selected to have more of the larger type flowers.
There are two flower types in hydrangeas, which includes the commonly grown “bigleaf hydrangea”—Hydrangea macrophylla. Mophead flowers are large round flower heads resembling pom-poms. In contrast, lacecap flowers bear round, flat flower heads with a center core of small flowers surrounded by outer rings of larger flowers having showy sepals or tepals.
Botanical Name: Hydrangea Plant Type: Shrub or Vine Bloom Time: Mid to late Summer Best Location: Sun or light shade Soil: Well-drained, fertile Diseases: Leaf diseases powdery mildew, rust, mold Pests: Slugs, rose chafers Propagation: Layering, cuttings Zone: Varies
All About Hydrangea Flowers
Information about planting and growing hydrangea bushes and flowers
Ground Temp: Plant in fall PH level: Varies depending on what color you want Spacing: 3-10′ apart depending on species Depth: As deep as root ball Time to Bloom: Varies Notes: Hydrangeas need plenty of water


Parts of Speech
Root Word (Etymology)
a primitive root [rather identical with 238 through the idea of scales as if two ears]
TWOT Reference: 58
KJV Translation Count — 1x
The KJV translates Strongs H1 in the following manner: gave good heed (1)
Outline of Biblical Usage
1. (Piel) weigh, test, prove, consider
'azan, aw-zan'; a primitive root (rather identical with 238 through the idea of scales as if two ears); to weigh, i.e. (figuratively) ponder: — give good head.
Concordance Results Using KJV
And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he H239 H239 H239, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.


It is LGBT History Month!
Did you know that October is a month dedicated to celebrating the achievements of 31 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Icons.
In 1994, Rodney Wilson, a Missouri high school teacher, selected October to be the celebration and teaching of gay and lesbian history. Gay and Lesbian History Month was endorsed by GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Education Association and other national organizations.
“LGBT History Month sends an important message to our nation’s teachers, school boards, community leaders, and youth about the vital importance of recognizing and exploring the role of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in American history.”George Chauncey
Samuel Knight Professor of American History and Chair of the History Department, Yale University
To learn more about this year’s featured lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender icons visit https://lgbthistorymonth.com/.


Instructional Technologists and TOSA’s often hear “I want to include technology in my lesson, but I don’t know how to?” It starts with constructing meaning. Think about teaching as being the general contractor at a work site. You have a series of employees that you want to help you build something, let’s say a building.
- What is it that you want to teach? Check for prior or background knowledge. Make sure the foundation of your building is solid before you start construction.
- How would you normally introduce that topic? Look at the blueprint (lesson plan) that you have used in the past.
- What do you want the students to know and or do at the end of the lesson? How should your building look like at the end?
- Find the tech tools to match those needs. You don’t need a chipping hammer to nail wood. If you don’t know which tools to use, Google it, YouTube it, check with your PLN and teacher friends.
- Remember that it’s not about just using technology, but it using it to further the students’ understanding of your subject area. Could you have shown the students a building and told them how it was made? Yes, but would it have the same impact on their learning?
- Add layers to your lesson. Your building will needs various floors, windows, kitchens, doors, etc. The more times you address one topic in different ways, the more likely all students will learn and retain the information. When you only address it once, you are likely to choose an activity that plays to your personal learning style, but how about all the other learning styles in the room?
- Innovate. Don’t just tell students, let them explore the topic for themselves. Let them create and invent a new solution to the problem. Let them get their hands dirty and learn from trial and error.
- Make real-world connections. Use the internet to reach out to professionals in the field that you are learning about.


Global Lentil Production: Constraints and Strategies
Agrawal, Shiv Kumar
MetadataShow full item record
Lentil (Lens culinaris ssp. culinaris) is an important food legume crop with global production of 3.59 million tonnes. The crop suffers substantial yield losses from various biotic and abiotic stresses. Past efforts have been directed towards developing improved varieties with resistance to one or the other biotic stress, improving the seed size and shortening the crop duration to fit lentil in various cropping systems. In the past one decade, production and productivity of lentil have stagnated in the traditional base of South Asia. In order to break the current yield plateau in lentil, there is a need to develop extra short duration varieties for rice-based systems for South Asia, drought and heat tolerant varieties with multiple disease resistance for all the regions, and herbicide-tolerant and machine harvestable varieties for West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region. This requires a comprehensive research for developing strategy involving both the conventional and genomics tool.
- ICARDA


2University of Southampton | Acknowledging knowledge. Anacademicguidetoreferencing
In this guide, we shall work through the processes and rulings that comprise the Modern Humanities
Research Association (MHRA) citation rules. As a result, you will be able to write correct in-text
citations and create corresponding references for bibliographies, relating to a wide range of
resources, including print, multi-media and electronic resources.
Please note that MHRA is only one type of referencing system. There are many others in use, and
different books and journals you read may use these instead. If you are in doubt of which system to
use, check with your supervisor.
1 What are references and bibliographies? 4
1.1 Why are they needed? 4
1.2 When should you include references? 4
1.3 What information is needed for citation and referencing? 4
1.4 Where is the information found? 4
2 Using the MHRA citation rules 5


IBM's Watson artificial intelligence technology has found plenty of white-collar work in places like hospitals and banks, but soon it will be off to get its hands dirty on the factory floor.
Working with ABB, a maker of industrial plant, IBM has developed a new AI assistant to help factory workers spot manufacturing defects on the production line.
Connected to an existing industrial monitoring system, ABB Ability, it will help manufacturers improve speed, yield, and uptime, according to ABB.
The Cognitive Visual Inspection system, as IBM calls it, pipes images from a UHD (ultra-high-definition) camera to an instance of IBM's Watson software that has been trained to detect and classify production faults in real time.
Watson can inspect parts up to five times faster than production line workers and even detect faults not visible to the human eye, according to IBM. Learning fromÂ human classification of defects in images, Watson is able to spot scratches and pinholes.
By using computers to support human quality assurance inspectors, manufacturers can potentially inspect every product coming off the line, rather than random samples, allowing them to reject or rework only faulty products rather than complete batches. In that way, they can increase not only production speed but also production yield.
ABB also hopes to put Watson to work in another of its markets, electricity generation, to predict demand for electricity based on weather patterns.
The ability of software like Watson to learn to identify patterns that it previously took an experienced human to recognize is allowing computers to support staff in a variety of fields.
IBM hopes to have Watson supporting or second-guessing many of our decisions for us over the next five years.


Women are the primary caregivers in the Global South, making them particularly vulnerable to the disparaging effects of global warming. They are responsible for providing their families with food, fuel, and water, yet lack the opportunities to combat climate change and rebound quickly when natural disasters strike. On September 10th, the global debate forum, World Affairs Council, welcomes their members and the public to join the discussion on women's role in climate justice.
'Climate justice' views global warming from an ethical and political lens, rather than purely environmental. With rising sea levels and increasing famine and drought, women are often the most susceptible, yet lack a seat at the table when it comes to environmental policymaking. Climate justice champion, Mary Robinson, and Global Fund for Women CEO, Musimbi Kanyoro, will be leading the conversation on the unique challenges climate change poses for women and how we can achieve a more just and sustainable outcome for all. LEARN MORE


The government has released its monthly unemployment report, and the jobless rate went down for the sixth time in the last seven months. If you go inside those numbers you’ll see that one of the biggest predictors of unemployment is education.
For those with only a high school diploma, the unemployment rate is about the national average. Compare that to those with a college degree. Their unemployment rate is about half the national average. And if you never completed high school, the numbers are bleak: 50 percent higher than the national average. So the message here is clear: If you can manage to get a college degree, your chances of getting a job, and keeping it, are better.
Easier said than done, though. For a host of reasons — economic, social, personal — America’s high school graduation rate ranks 21st out of 28 of the world’s leading economic powers.
Rick Karr reports from Philadelphia on an innovative program designed to bring drop-outs back to school. Our story is a part of “American Graduate,” a public media initiative supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, to help local communities across America find solutions to address the dropout crisis.


The West Virginia. Cyclopedia
The Guyandotte River drains a rugged area of about 1,060 square miles parallel to the Tug Fork and Big Sandy rivers. A tributary of the Ohio River, it rises in the mountains of southern West Virginia
The sources of the Guyandotte River are on Guyandotte Mountain in Raleigh County. Its mouth is on the Ohio River at Huntington, WV, in Cabell County. Much of the river follows a tight and tortuous course through a narrow valley in the rugged Cumberland Mountains.
Topo Map (Mouth)
The lumber trade in West Virginia was among the earliest vocations of the pioneer who settled on navigable or "raftable" streams. The floating of single logs and small rafts of logs was practical from five to six miles below the sources of many streams that fed into the Guyandote.
Logging apparently began in the second quarter of the 1800s. Prior to the 1870s, logging operations were sending down rafts worth $40,000 to $50,000 at a single rise.
Improvements to the Guyandotte were in progress before the Civil War. Dams were built some distance up the stream but were neglected during the war and destroyed by flooding. The Guyandotte Navigation Company was rechartered after the war to make improvements to the stream, but little work was actually performed.
Some sources claim the Guyandotte River was called the "Se-co-nee," by an unidentified Native American tribe, meaning "the narrow-bottom river."
But the origin of the river's name is likely related to the Native American culture group Huron or Wyandot, who referred to themselves as the "Wendat," meaning "island people" or "dwellers on a peninsula." Early white explorers and settlers often spelled the name "Guyandot", which was the French form of "Wyandotte", i.e., the name of the Indian tribe.
Variant Names for Guyandotte River
Arbuckles River, Big Laurel Fork, Guiandotte River, Guyan Dot River, Guyan Dott River, Guyan River, Guyandates Creek, Guyandot Creek, Guyandot River, Guyandott River, La-ke-we-ke-ton, Little Guiandot, Se-co-ne, Se-co-nee, Secone, Seconec


History of Ashen
War memorial on the St. Augustine of Canterbury Church tower, Ashen
© Copyright Tiger contributor to the Geograph Project and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
History of Ashen >> War Memorial
Ashen War Memorial
Rather unusual for a war memorial, the one at Ashen is to be found on the south-west buttress of the tower on St Augustine's Church.
These are the names of those inscribed thereon.
- Thomas Ince
- Albert Peacock
- Walter Swallow
- Ernest Twitchett
- James Twitchett
- Ernest John Bowers
- Percy Harold Peacock
Back to History of Ashen
Find your Ancestors in the Newspapers
Newspaper archives are now a very important source of information for researching your family tree.
Try our example search to help you discover if your ancestors are in the British Newspaper Archive.
Ashen - Cary's New and Correct English Atlas, 1798
Ashen - First Series Ordnance Survey Map 1805
This work is based on data provided through www.VisionofBritain.org.uk and uses historical material which is copyright of the Great Britain Historical GIS Project and the University of Portsmouth. Licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence BY-SA-4.0
25% Discount on DNA Kits
Ancestry.co.uk are offering DNA test kits at a discount of 25%
Offer lasts until 26 April
You can buy a kit for yourself or have one delivered to a relative.
Looking for pictures to add to your family tree album?
Ebay is a good source of old images of Essex towns and villages. If you're looking for pictures to add to your family tree album, then try one of the auctions, or there are several 'Buy It Now' shops offering postcards which have been touched up and improved - so if you're unsure about bidding, try these.
Link below already formatted for Essex and Postcards.


2001: A Space Odyssey vs. The Way West
The "Final Frontier" is something that people all around the world have been seeking out from the beginning of time. As citizens of this planet we like to call Earth, there have always been barriers that we have had to overcome. Be it the invention of the wheel or the innovation of the nuclear reactor, all was thought impossible until completed. Barriers have never stopped us before, but people think we cannot travel through and colonize space, but it is just another barrier we must break through. We cannot overcome this barrier until we believe we can mentally. 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Way West both demonstrate clear examples of this issue. Both have specific barriers to overcome, such as transportation, communication, and the whole mental issue of success. These were overcome, but only after strong mental preparation.
To start off, we'll address the transportation issue. The absurd thought of traveling an enormous distance to the "Oregon Country" was taken as just a bunch of gibberish in the days of the West. Likewise, the thought of being able to traveling far away from the Earth in space was also thought impossible. In both cases, these goals were actually not that absurd, and were achieved. In the western times people had to travel by means of wagon train if they wanted to get anywhere. They relied on stockpiles of preserved foods and their oxen pulling their wagon. Unlike the crude wagons of the West, the astronauts in 2001 traveled in a highly advanced, super-fast space ship, most of them sleeping in cryo-sleep, relying solely on dehydrated or synthesized foods stocked in their enormous "Space Wagon". You may think that these two situations have no differences, but they actually have...


Government of India has approved the Mars voyage of ISRO in the cabinet meeting .
On July ' 2011 , NASA has postponed the space shuttle ' Atlantis ' program . On this issue , the famous magazine , ' The Economist ' published a cover story article mentioning that there was a temporary full stop to America's outer space research program .
As a comment to the headline ' The End Of Space Era ' , the science fiction writer ,
Bruce Sterling , wrote that in the coming days astronauts from India and China would be able to hoist
their national flags on Moon . The Head of Rosetta Lander Mission of European Space Agency , Jean Pierre Bibringh , says that the thinking of the Chinese and Indian scientists are very clear and bright ,
in this regard . Such type of interest has not been noticed by American space mission . But they request
for symbiotic collaboration in stead of mindless competition , in this context .
Just after one year from this event , India declared the proposal to send a manned space ship to Mars . Some critics pointed this move as India's Space Audacity. This manned space program to Mars
will take place from Sriharikota ( Andhra Pradesh ) , towards November' 2013 .
Mars revolves in an elliptical path round the Sun . It has 55 million Km. at it's nearest and 401 million Km. at the farthest point from Earth . So it is not possible to reach Mars any time starting from
here . The oppertunity for us to reach Mars happens in the interval of 26 months . The next opportunity will be towards the end of 2013 . While the time taken for the journey to Moon is less than one week , this will be nearly 300 days for reaching Mars . The budget for the Mars voyage would be around Rs.480 crores .
It is well mentioning here that personalities like Elon Musk of USA and Richard Branson of UK are planning space vacations already .


Sea power analysts surveying the “rise” of China commonly compare this emerging Asian titan to imperial Germany, whose unification upset the European great- power concert ushered in after Waterloo, and for good reason. Naval enthusiasts like Kaiser Wilhelm II and Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, their imaginations fired by the works of Alfred Thayer Mahan, hurled Germany into naval competition with Great Britain, the dominant naval power of the day, with fateful results. References to Mahan are now routine among Chinese strategic thinkers. Will China’s Mahanians prod Beijing onto a similar path to sea power, and will similar results ensue?
Holmes, James R.
"From Mahan to Pearl Harbor:The Imperial Japanese Navy and the United States,"
Naval War College Review: Vol. 60
, Article 14.
Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol60/iss3/14


K.C.S.E Physics Q & A - MODEL 2013PP2QN019
(a) Figure 14 shows an E shaped steel block being magnetized by a current through two coils in series.
On the figure, indicate
(i) the north and south poles of the resulting magnet
(ii) the complete magnetic field pattern between the poles.
(b) Figure 15 shows the permanent magnet made in part (a) above.
A coil wound loosely on the middle limb is connected in series with a low voltage a.c. and a switch. State and explain the observation made on the coil when the switch is closed.
(c) In a simple cell, the zinc plate gets negatively charged and the copper plate gets positively charged.
(i) Name the electrolyte in the cell.
(ii) Explain how:
(I) Zinc gets negatively charged.
(II) Copper gets positively charged
(iii) State what constitutes the current when a wire is used to connect the zinc plate and the copper plate externally.
FORM I - PHYSICS SYLLABUS
FORM II - PHYSICS SYLLABUS
FORM III - PHYSICS SYLLABUS
FORM IV - PHYSICS SYLLABUS
My passion is to see students pass using right methods and locally available resources. My emphasis is STEM courses


Ethiopia is a food insecure country with the second-largest population in sub-Saharan Africa. The country is endowed with a variety of agro-ecological zones and farming systems that differ in terms of food and nutrition supply and income supply and security and potential to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The country is also regarded as center of diversity for several legumes, and their associated nitrogen-fixing rhizobium bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. However, Ethiopia suffers from land degradation and, as a consequence, insufficient food resources. Climate change imposes a new threat to the already fragile environments. Legumes in symbiosis with appropriate microbes provide important ecosystem services. They can replace nitrogen fertilizer and enhance the uptake of phosphorus. Especially in agroforestry systems they can also increase soil organic carbon stocks to mitigate climate change, simultaneously improving soil fertility and food productivity, and their climate-resilience. There are however knowledge gaps in the understanding of the system and its potential to simultaneously support food and nutrition security, income security and mitigation of climate change, and the resources are under-utilized. This project will identify properties of soil, symbiotic microorganisms and agroforestry practices which improve the production of ecosystem services (BNF, AM, C sequestration) for food security in a changing climate. Preconditions for socio-economic feasibility of the management practices will be investigated, and local and scientific knowledge integrated for successful implementation. The consortium encompasses the best available Finnish and African expertise in these fields. Through the consortium collaboration, novel ways of covering important interfaces between basic research and its applications, which is recognized as being in great demand, will be taken into use.


Climate intervention offers some crop benefits, but abruptly ending it may backfire
Geoengineering -- spraying sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere to combat global warming -- would only temporarily and partially benefit apple production in northern India, according to a new study.
Moreover, abruptly ending geoengineering might lead to total crop failure faster than if it were not done at all, according to a U.S. National Science Foundation-supported study published in Climatic Change.
In a climate emergency, society might decide to spray sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere (upper atmosphere) to combat warming. Such geoengineering, or climate intervention, would create a massive cloud that would block some solar radiation and cool the Earth. But if the spraying were to suddenly cease, there would be a major impact on animals and plants, which would be forced to try to move to suitable habitat to survive.
In the new study, scientists studied the impact of climate change and geoengineering on the production of deciduous fruit in Himachal Pradesh, the second-largest apple-producing state in India. The researchers used a climate model to project temperature changes and shifts in suitable habitat for apple orchards under a moderate greenhouse gas emissions scenario and efforts to limit warming.
"We found that climate change would reduce apple production by affecting the winter chill period necessary for the plants," said Alan Robock of Rutgers University. "But geoengineering would have limited benefits and could backfire if it ended suddenly."
Since the study was done with one climate change and geoengineering scenario for one crop in one part of the world, other studies are needed, Robock noted.


Grab these free short o worksheets for your learners!
(This post contains affiliate links.)
Today I’m sharing a printable pack of short o worksheets!
I’ve been teaching my Five to sound out words with a variety of hands-on games and printables.
Have you seen our activities?
- Short o word family houses
- Short o word slider cards
- Short o word family mats
- Short o four-in-a-row games
- Short o roll & read games
We don’t want to overdo the worksheets. But after all of this hands-on learning it’s okay to pull out a few!
Short o worksheet pack
This was a good page to start with because it’s his favorite. (Sorry for the dark pictures! We had to do these in the early evening when my One was – miraculously – not fussy.)
He appreciated how quickly he could do this page. Before he began sorting and gluing, we named all the pictures together.
Truth! My little guy fought me on this one. I’m not entirely sure why – he can read almost all of these words without trouble. But man, he was grumpy.
I mention this as a reminder that you shouldn’t do the entire worksheet pack with your learners. Some of the pages just won’t be a good fit.
This one felt easier. Just one word at a time – whew!
I like to do just one worksheet from each pack that requires my Five to write words. We do very little handwriting practice at home, and I don’t want him to get shocked when kindergarten begins. 😉
Get a total of nine worksheets in the bundle!
Get your free short o worksheets!
YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS WILL LOVE THESE NO-PRINT ACTIVITIES!
Early Reading No-Print Bundle
Your students can complete these activities in Google Slides on a computer or tablet. The activities give them practice with sight words, beginning blends, CVC words, and CVCE words.


April 5, 1933: Issues executive order establishing the Civilian Conservation Corps.
FDR – having lunch while visiting Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp, Co. 350, at Big Meadows, Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. L-r: General Malone, Louis Howe, Harold Ickes, Robert Fechner, FDR, Henry Wallace, Rexford Tugwell.
August 12, 1933
FDR Library Photo Collection. NPx. 54-499.
- Did you know…..
- On April 3, 1939 FDR signed the Administrative Reorganization Act of 1939. This act regrouped many federal agencies which had been formed over the years and eliminated others.
- On April 7, 1941 FDR issued an executive order forming the USO.


The competencies on ecology to three areas: water cycle, waste products and environmental services (climate change, energy transition and environmental education).
- Home supply of drinking water or domestic water supply downstream.
- Purification of water collected for its use.
- Wastewater purification.
- Regeneration of purified wastewater for other uses such as irrigation or aquifers recharging.
- Coordination of water treatment municipal systems, including the planning and integrated management of rainwater and wastewater evacuation, and of the sewage.
- Regulation of the corresponding fees.
- Treatment of municipal waste products and products resulting from works, as well as its recovery (reuse and recycling of paper, metal, plastic and other materials, energy and compost production, etc.) and disposal (controlled discharge of non-recyclable waste products).
- Coordination of municipal collection systems.
- Picking and selection of containers.
- Waste recycling facility, in collaboration with municipalities.
- Coordination and formulation of a Metropolitan Action Plan for environment, health and biodiversity protection, and measures to fight against climate change, and formulation of a metropolitan 21 Agenda.•
- Participation in the production of acoustic capacity and strategic noise maps.
- Issue of environmental reports.
- Collaboration with municipalities in environmental planning policies.
- Development and management of renewable energy facilities.


It would be wise not to anger him.
Cats kill billions of animals yearly, but feeding them a meaty diet and providing lots of playtime can redirect them to less violent pursuits, a new study finds.
The mother of one cat in the study had seen her furry friend wreak havoc:
“We’ve had birds in the bedroom, rats in the paper bin, rabbits in the utility room, and several vermin that have died of fright,” says her owner, Lisa George from Cornwall, U.K.
But redirecting their prey drive to play, plus keeping them sated with meat, greatly reduced the body count:
the high-meat diet and playtime approaches had the most sweeping impacts, slashing all types of animals on the doorstep by 36% and 25%, respectively.
See the full study out today in Current Biology here.
A surprisingly large number of species have a prey drive. Our gerbil stalked, attacked and ate caterpillars, leaving only the legs. He also ripped the head off a cockroach and wisely left the remains for my wife to clean up rather than eating them.
If you found this post interesting, please share it on Twitter/LinkedIn/email using the buttons below. This helps more people find the blog! And please leave a comment at the bottom of the page letting me know what you think and what other information you’re interested in!


The North Thompson River is one of the major river systems in south-central British Columbia, and is named after David Thompson, an explorer,fur-trader and surveyor who mapped over 3.9 million square kilometers of western Canada and the United States, and has been described as the greatest land geographer who ever lived. Among his accomplishments, he was the first white man to navigate the Columbia River from it’s source in the B.C. mountains,all the way to it’s final meeting with the Pacific Ocean.
For anyone who would be interested, there is an excellent story about this remarkable man at :
This photo was taken Sept. 3, 2009, with a Sony DSCF828 camera.


Group Leader: Kae Novak
Students, teachers, administrators, and parents all want to know what students are learning in school, how they match up to other students in the country, and what they need to know next. Yet, there is a huge backlash across the country concerning schools taking weeks out of instructional time to assess student learning level.
Games have the unique ability to monitor player actions and assess student learning as part of gameplay, which would eliminate the need to waste time on additional testing. As an added bonus, the assessments in games are not just on academic skills (math, english), but also on higher level skills (i.e., problem solving, creativity, collaboration, and persistence). Accountability requirements tend to focus on traditional, standardized measures. However, this group will focus on multiple forms of formative and summative assessment, evaluation of soft skills required by games, and analysis that provides evidence of effectiveness as well as providing a comfort with the use of these measures for accountability purposes.
If you’re interested in helping this group, please click here.


What is the strongest material in the world? Is it steel, Kevlar, carbon nanotubes, or something entirely new? NOVA kicks off the four-part series “Making Stuff” with a quest for the world’s strongest substances. Host David Pogue takes a look at what defines strength, examining everything from steel cables to mollusk shells to a toucan’s beak. Pogue travels from the deck of a U.S. naval aircraft carrier to a demolition derby to the country’s top research labs to check in with experts who are re-engineering what nature has given us to create the next generation of strong stuff.
Watch NOVA: Making Stuff Stronger, Wednesday, September 19 at 9:00 p.m. on WCVE PBS / WHTJ PBS.
How small can we go? Could we one day have robots taking “fantastic voyages” in our bodies to kill rogue cells? The triumphs of tiny are seen all around us in the Information Age: transistors, microchips, laptops, cell phones. Now, David Pogue takes NOVA viewers to an even smaller world, examining the latest in high-powered nano-circuits and micro-robots that may one day hold the key to saving lives.
Watch NOVA: Making Stuff Smaller, Wednesday, September 19 at 10:00 p.m. on WCVE PBS / WHTJ PBS.


Next, we’ll want to turn the user’s string into something we can iterate over. A data structure made up of elements all in a line, you say? That sounds like an array!
By calling the
.split method on
text, we can transform it into an array.
Declare a variable called
words and set it equal to the result of calling


A study published today in Science may shed new light on why African American scientists are so rare in biomedical research—and raises troubling questions about possible bias during grant reviews conducted by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The in-depth analysis of NIH grant data finds that black Ph.D. scientists—and not other minorities—were far less likely to receive NIH funding for a research idea than a white scientist from a similar institution with the same research record. The gap was large: A black scientist's chance of winning NIH funding was 10 percentage points lower than that of a white scientist.
The NIH-commissioned analysis, which lifts the lid on confidential grant data, may reflect a series of slight advantages white scientists accumulate over the course of a career, the authors suggest. But the gap could also result from "insidious" bias favoring whites in a peer-review system that supposedly ranks applications only on scientific merit, NIH officials say.
The findings have shaken NIH. "I was deeply dismayed," says Director Francis Collins: "This is simply unacceptable that there are differences in success that can't be explained." With NIH Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak, Collins has authored a response in Science outlining steps the agency will take to address the apparent racial disparity.
See this week's issue of Science's for the full news article on this study. And next week, Science Live will hold an online chat to discuss the study and challenges that minority and women researchers face.


How Madison and Hamilton Wrote the Federalist Papers, Defined the Constitution, and Made Democracy S
This book is available for download with iBooks on your Mac or iOS device, and with iTunes on your computer. Books can be read with iBooks on your Mac or iOS device.
Aside from the Constitution itself, there is no more important document in American politics and law than the Federalist Papers—the series of pamphlets written by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison to explain the meaning of the proposed Constitution to the American people and persuade them of its importance. These papers provide a window into the framers’ thoughts on the most divisive issues of American government—the powers of the President, the dividing line between Congress’s authority and that of the states, the role of the Supreme Court, and the importance of the Bill of Rights. Liberty’s Blueprint offers an essential introduction to how the Federalist Papers were written, the philosophical thinking that shaped the Constitution, how the framers meant the various clauses to be understood, and why they are still vitally important today.


Science Museum of Virginia
The Science Museum of Virginia was formerly Broad Street Station also known as Union Station. It was built in 1917, and served the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, the Norfolk and Western Railroad. It also served Amtrak's Silver Meteor and Silver Star. Passenger service at the Broad Street Station ceased in 1975. It was added to the National REgister of Historic Places in 1972.


Earth may have once looked a little more like Mars: a planet with two moons. It's not the first time the theory has been trotted out by Erik Asphaug, but it's getting new life thanks to an upcoming conference about our natural satellite. The University of California at Santa Cruz professor will share the theory at the September conference, and the Telegraph has a preview. Asphaug says the second moon would have been much tinier—about 1/30th the size of our moon. But after orbiting Earth for a few million years, it would have had quite the impact, literally, on its larger twin.
Asphaug believes that "it would have collided with the moon to leave the one large body we see today." And what PhysOrg terms the "strange terrain" on the moon's far side could very well be the remnants of that little moon, which could have left a layer "tens of kilometers deep" upon impact. A neat factoid from PhysOrg: Mars may one day look more like ... Earth. The bigger of its two moons, Phobos, is expected to crash into the planet sometime in the next 10 million years. (In other moon news, astronomers have named two Pluto moons—and ignored the people's No. 1 choice in the process.)