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Dean developed a booklet that guided students in their vocational paths. Students chose paths in automobile mechanics, carpentry, electricity, machine shop, printing or sheet metal work.
Dean transformed Holyoke Trade from a vocational school, sans degree, into a school on par academically with Holyoke High School. He led the state in vocational training and innovation.
"The booklet gave great insight into my grandfather's education philosophy, and the kind of teacher and person he was," Hall said.
She added, "His focus was to develop well-rounded students who entered the workforce with a marketable skill and had the social skills and competence to get along with people in the workplace."
Mayor Alex B. Morse, School Committee Vice Chairman Devin Sheehan and Stephen Mahoney, executive principal of the Holyoke High School North and Dean campuses, praised Dean's accomplishments.
Morse said Dean's legacy is "still making a difference in 2018 and for years to come." The plaque reminds the community why the school should maintain the Dean name, he said.
The mayor said the Dean Campus represents the last school built in Holyoke. The building opened in 1989. Holyoke expects to build two new middle schools in the coming years.
"What was relevant in 1989, it's even more relevant today in 2018," Morse said. He added the need for vocational training continues to grow as baby boomers enter retirement, leaving scores of jobs open nationwide.
Sheehan said Dean transformed Holyoke Trade into a degree-earning school, unheard of at the time. "That is one of the largest legacies. He helped level the playing field," Sheehan said.
Dean also introduced a free-breakfast program for students, another first. The free-breakfast program reaches all students daily in Holyoke. "It's remarkable to say that we set the tone for educational policy and for helping students in poverty and need right here in the city of Holyoke," Sheehan said.
Dinn Bros. Trophies cast the plaque, which features Dean's image and history.
Perhaps the Magic Restroom Cafe is magical in part because it has done something other restaurants have yet to do: require patrons to sit on a toilet while they dine. According to the restaurant’s owner, Yo Yo Li, restroom-themed restaurants have been a hit so far in her native China and Taiwan. Their surprising success influenced her decision to open the Magic Restroom Cafe in City of Industry, California – just east of Los Angeles – on October 11.
The Magic Restroom Cafe‘s tables are outfitted with actual toilets (never used, not hooked up) as seats. But the restroom theme doesn’t stop there. The restaurant’s lobby showcases both urinals and toilets. The cafe’s signature dish is called “golden poop” rice. They also serve dishes with titles like “black poop,” “smells-like-poop,” “bloody number two,” and “constipation.” The food itself arrives to the table in a miniature version of a floor toilet.
So this all begs the question: would you pay to eat bowel-movement-themed food while sitting on a toilet?
The Dreamliner hasn’t been such a dream thus far. Problems have been popping up with the Dreamliner since its first flight. The latest problem occurred with a Japan Airlines flight departing from Moscow. The plane had to turn around mid-flight today because of a problem in the plane’s bathroom. The plane experienced a toilet malfunction, which is said to have been caused by an electrical glitch, according to Reuters. It’s unclear what the exact nature of the toilet malfunction was, but I think we can take it for granted that the toilet wasn’t working and that a nobody wants to be on a flight with a broken toilet.
They say traveling together will either bring you closer together or destroy your relationship, and the latest hotel design movement is certainly putting that concept to the test.
According to The Guardian, open-plan bathrooms are a growing trend in luxury hotels. Instead of hiding in a separate room, showers, baths and even toilets are now being placed right inside the bedroom. Occasionally, you’ll find walls separating the wet areas from the bedroom — although see-through glass does little to shield you from the eyes of your travel companion.A few hotels that have embraced this concept include the Lloyd Hotel in Amsterdam, the Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel and the Ecclestone Square Hotel in London (though at least here you can flip a switch to turn the glass walls opaque).
While some couples might get a kick out of the less-than-private baths or showers, the placement of the toilet leaves a lot to be desired. After all, no matter how close you are with your partner, do you really want to be in on each other’s bowel movements? And what exactly do you do if you’re traveling with a relative, friend or business partner?
Making matters worse is the fact that some of these open-plan bathrooms are not just “open” to your roommate, but also to the public. At The Standard Hotel in New York, one suite features a floor-to-ceiling glass wall in the bathroom that faces out onto the street. And yes, people are watching. One hotel specialist told The Guardian that while staying at a different hotel in New York with a glass wall that faced the outside, she “could see a guy standing in a building looking at me having a shower.” Creepy or what?
Would you stay in a hotel with an open plan bathroom?
We all know that the Japanese make many products we Americans covet, including cars and electronics. But did you know that they also make the world’s fanciest toilet?
The Washlet S300 by Toto is the preferred Japanese toilet of choice, and discerning tushies can find this particular porcelain throne at The Kitano, New York City’s only Japanese-owned hotel.
The Kitano is the first hotel in the city with a Washlet S300 in each of their 149 guestrooms. While Washlets are commonplace in Japan, they are often considered indulgences in the U.S. and are often only installed in major hotel suites or penthouses.
What exactly does this super fancy waste-gatherer do? It features five warm water cleansing modes; a warm air dryer; an adjustable cleansing wand; a wireless remote; a heated SoftClose® seat; and an automatic air purifier.
Don’t think you can live without one of these babies in your home? It will set you back between $800 and $900. That’s a three-night stay in a Superior King Room, by comparison.
We would caution, however, that this isn’t the world’s most expensive commode – that honor belongs to a solid gold model in Hong Kong.
So what would you rather have? A weekend in New York or a super fancy toilet? Weigh in in the comments.
Back in 2009, the Pew Research Center and the American Association for the Advancement of Science released a survey that I’ll never forget.
“Public Praises Scientists; Scientists Fault Public, Media,” it was entitled. And it was revolutionary, because it went so dramatically against the grain for these kinds of reports.
But in 2009, Pew and AAAS dared to treat the problem as two-sided. They surveyed scientists, not just citizens — members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, no less. And they found that, hey, it takes two to tango in the science-society relationship, and scientists might, if anything, be more down on the public than the public actually was on them!
I recall all this now because a long-awaited successor to this classic report has now come out. Same game plan, same structure. Except for one thing — the overall framing seems to have subtly shifted back toward the old “public doesn’t know stuff” presentation. Perhaps not intentionally, but that’s how I suspect the report is going to be interpreted (whether its authors intend it or not).
So let’s discuss this. You will not be shocked to learn that scientists accept climate change and evolution much more than do average Americans. Or that scientists are more supportive of nuclear power.
You might be a bit more surprised to find that the biggest gap of all exists over GMO safety — I was, it’s stunningly big. But in general, we know this stuff already. We know that people deny a lot of science when they really shouldn’t.
So I feel that with this report now out, it’s actually important to reemphasize a key implication of the old report: namely, that scientists have also traditionally disengaged from the public and sometimes blamed the public over findings like these, while failing to understand the root causes of science resistance — and that what they really need is to engage the public if they ever want the situation to change.
Granted, since 2009, there’s been a great deal of that happening. A public communication wave has swept the world of science. You can’t go to a big scientific meeting without wading through session after session on communication.
That’s to the good. But the observation still really matters — and to show as much, let’s just go through two of the issues above and briefly try to explain why there’s really such a gap between science and the public.
Evolution. Basically, a lot of people are afraid that if they accept the science of evolution, life becomes meaningless, morality collapses, and death becomes just the end. (Yeah, it’s really that big of a deal for them.) To address this fear, scientists need to show how religious believers (like Pope Francis) actually have no problem with the theory of evolution. Some have adopted this wise strategy, but many have instead opted to slam religion, which, obviously, is likely to backfire.
Climate Change. Here, resistance to the science is driven by an ideology and an identity called individualism, which centers on the belief that a fair society is one in which a person succeeds on his or her own merits. What does that have to do with the climate, you ask? Well, nothing obvious — except that libertarian individualists think that the climate issue is a way of clamping down on something they hold in very high regard indeed: the free market. Scientists can try to explain the facts here till they’re blue in the face, but if they don’t disarm the concerns rooted in ideology, they’ll never disarm the resistance.
In both of these cases, if you just call the public dumb, and try to set them straight about the facts, and don’t understand where the resistance actually comes from….well, then, the truth is that you’re not being so perceptive yourself.
The point is, we have a lot of problems at the interface between science and society. But none of them are simple, and when people disagree with scientists, there’s often a lot more going on than mere scientific illiteracy.
In fact, in many cases, scientists’ opponents are deeply ideological and deeply dedicated — and, yes, smart. That’s the real science-society problem, and it’s one that we’re still only beginning to grapple with.
This post is part of our new Energy and Environment coverage. If you like it, please bookmark our page, follow us on Twitter, sign up for our online newsletter — and come back often!
Earlier this year, Lyft spotted an opportunity.
Its biggest rival, Uber, was under pressure from investors to turn a profit, but was spread thin by global ambitions. Uber had committed to spending $1 billion to expand in India, and to losing another $1 billion a year on operations in China.
That was all before Monday, when Uber announced its China division was merging with Didi Chuxing, the dominant ride-hailing company in China. In a striking reversal, the biggest strain on Uber’s finances has been lifted, and its fiercest competitor turned into something of an ally. Suddenly, Uber finds itself in a post-China world, its vast firepower free to use against other opponents. In the US, that means Lyft.
Lyft’s position in the global ride-hailing schema is complicated by the Uber-Didi deal, which includes a $1 billion investment by Didi into Uber Global. Last September, Lyft took a $100 million investment from Didi as part of a partnership that would also let Didi riders use its app to summon Lyft cars in the US. The move was widely seen as part of a global “anti-Uber alliance” and a way for Lyft, which hadn’t expanded internationally, to better compete with Uber’s global footprint. Didi’s ride exchange with Lyft went live in April.
But the real consequence of the Uber-Didi merger for Lyft has little to do with these entanglements. It’s simply that Uber now has billions more to work with, and may well decide to invest it in the US.
Ceding China to Didi wasn’t a complete loss for Uber, but it might now want a clearcut victory to reassert its strength. The US is a natural target. Uber already claims to be profitable in North America and, as of July, said it was doing 62 million monthly trips. Lyft said its monthly ride tally stood at 12 million in June. City-by-city, Uber’s market share is also consistently greater, though both companies dispute the exact breakdown.
To the typical US consumer, Uber and Lyft are essentially indistinguishable. They operate in most of the same markets (200-plus cities for Lyft, 220-plus for Uber) and they offer the same variety of rides and services. Where Uber has surge pricing, Lyft has Prime Time. Where Uber has Pool, Lyft has Line. After Uber cut fares in January, Lyft did the same a week later. When Lyft introduced scheduled rides in May, Uber followed suit in early June.
The result is that most riders have little loyalty to one company over another—they’re simply looking for the best deal. And so the supposedly “asset-light” business of ride-hailing has nonetheless proven incredibly cash-intensive.
Uber has always had the advantage here, with its hefty war chest (now more than $13 billion, thanks to the Didi deal), but China took a toll. Now, the resources it once dedicated to the Middle Kingdom are unfettered. Uber could refocus its energies on other international markets—Europe, South America, Southeast Asia—but it could just as easily go after an easy and decisive win on its home turf. Should it choose the latter, Lyft had better look out.
A new event has combined these pleasures by offering cycling in the South Shore together with locally crafted food and drink. On May 20 in Mahone Bay, organizers from Atlantica Oak Island Resort, Salt Box Brewing Company and Sweet Ride Cycling invite cyclists to gather for the South Shore Sip, Savour and Cycle Tour.
“Mahone Bay, Lunenburg and the surrounding communities offer some of the best cycling routes in the province with the Rum Runners Trail and scenic coastal byways, creating a cycling haven for recreational and dedicated riders alike,” says Rose MacEachen of Sweet Ride Cycling, one of the event sponsors.
Those registered for the event can choose between four self-guided routes, ranging from 25km to 104km, giving riders the level of cycling challenge they want, whether they are casual or avid cyclists.
Mid-ride, everyone will meet to enjoy a light lunch at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, with time to explore Lunenburg, a UNESCO world heritage site. After an afternoon of cycling, riders will attend a fun wrap-up event hosted by local restaurants and businesses in Mahone Bay.
Cyclists have the opportunity to decided between the 25km scenic shoreline road to Lunenburg, returning along the Bay to Bay Trail, or the 60km road route, offering scenic ocean views for the entire length of the route.
So far, participants include those from across mainland Nova Scotia, as well as a few visiting friends and relatives from Ontario who decided to make the trip, including the new South Shore Sip, Savour and Cycle event as part of their itinerary.
Many cyclists love to have predetermined routes that have been “tested and proven” to be safe and enjoyable.
The event’s organizers were intent on making this a very inclusive event that will appeal to avid cyclists, recreational cyclists and casual cyclists alike. It’s low stress, with no training required — an enjoyable ride that includes great food, juices, coffee, tea and spirits all crafted in the region.
As for what you need to bring, many participants will use their own bikes but rentals are available from Sweet Ride Cycling in Mahone Bay or Rhumb Line Cycling in Lunenburg. To see event details, including the four routes or to register, visit http://sweetridecycling.com and begin your sip, savour and cycle adventure!
In a new tweet, the ever reliable, ever mysterious, feline-loving leaker Ice Universe reveals Samsung actually took one surprising step backward from the Note 8 with the Galaxy Note 9: its bezels.
Yes, going against all industry trends, Samsung actually fitted the Galaxy Note 9 with thicker side bezels than the Galaxy Note 8. They are also significantly thicker the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ which the company released in February.
Interestingly, this change is well hidden in Samsung’s marketing images. Look closely and the use of light reflections and predominantly back wallpapers make it impossible to make out this added thickness. You can see an example of this in the image below.
Despite this, it is worth noting there are worse offenders. Google’s upcoming Pixel 3XL, in particular, has both the largest notch seen on a smartphone and couples that with a larger bottom bezel than the Galaxy Note 9.
That said, higher standards have been set elsewhere. Notably, smaller Chinese brands like Vivo and Oppo have managed to release the NEX and Find X this year which are both bezel-less and notch-less. They also come with cutting-edge specifications and lower price tags than the Galaxy Note 9. So it is the biggest companies which need to catch up.
The Defense Intelligence Agency issued Sept. 14 its much-talked about solicitation to consolidate about 30 contracts into one indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity type for intelligence analysis support.
The five-year contract with a ceiling of $1 billion will provide the Defense Department's intelligence community with contractor support in 29 areas, including computer network operations, emerging and disruptive technologies, military research and development, weapons of mass destruction, and supporting infrastructure.
Responses to the RFP are due Oct. 16.
DIA said in the RFP that vendors should have top-secret facility clearance when submitting proposals, and each task order will specify the type of clearance needed at that time.
DIA issued a pre-RFP in late August, but it took more than a month than planned to issue the RFP.
The intent of the SIA contract vehicle is to streamline the acquisition of contractor augmentation for the Defense Intelligence Enterprise, the RFP states.
He's tall (six feet, four inches), he giggles and he's slightly overwhelmed at his sudden fame. Until the recent announcement by NBC that he would replace the network's departing "Late Night" star, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien toiled in relative obscurity as a comedy writer.
That obscurity was probably one of the reasons NBC executives were attracted to the 30-year-old unknown. It's not that he -- and they -- have less to lose than a better-known comic; late-night revenues are not something that NBC can play around with idly. The network is betting that the choice will draw a new generation to late-night entertainment on NBC.
We suspect they also recognize the power of the unknown: the thrill of discovery, the lure of a new face, the attraction of a fresh, young, hip voice. Those same factors could also give the show a boost among more established audiences. It's too easy to tune out the familiar. An unknown? Who knows, even those tired, aging Baby Boomers may have to stay up to give this guy a chance.
Hardtalk speaks to Yasser Abed Rabbo, Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's Executive Committee. Where does the Palestinian quest for statehood stand?
Hardtalk is in the West Bank to talk to Yasser Abed Rabbo, the Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's Executive Committee. He was a senior member of the Palestinian negotiating team in the years after the Oslo Peace Accords were signed with Israel. In wake of 50 day conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, where does the Palestinian quest for statehood stand?
A fantastic one story with 4 bedrooms plus a study! Designer touches are everywhere in this home...beautiful wood floors, 11 foot ceilings in the living areas and plantation shutters on every window. The abundance of counter space in the kitchen is perfect for the buffet at a gathering of family and friends. The open floorplan allows you flexibility make the house perfect for your family. The upgraded master bath has a frameless shower enclosure and granite counters. The backyard has an open patio and landscaping with plenty of room to plant your spring garden or the kids to run and play. Walking distance to Shores Pool, Tennis and Golf course. Search address on YouTube for VIDEO!
Did you lose your car keys in Bicester Village?
Police are trying to trace the owner of a Ford car who may have lost their car keys while visiting Bicester Village last weekend.
At around 12.16pm on Saturday February 13 a man was seen acting suspiciously in the car park of the shopping village in Pingle Drive, Bicester.
He appeared to be attempting to locate a vehicle with a key fob.
A 17-year-old man from Coventry has been arrested on suspicion of going equipped to steal a motor vehicle and he has been bailed until February 25.
Investigating officer PC Matt Acland said: “Tracing the owner of the key fob, which is for a Ford car, is pivotal to this investigation.
PARIS, France (AFP) — The International Energy Agency said Thursday that the global oil supply could grow faster than demand in the early part of 2018, but the market could balance out later in the year.
"On our current outlook, 2018 may not necessarily be a happy New Year for those who would like to see a tighter market. Total supply growth could exceed demand growth," the IEA wrote in its latest monthly oil market report.
"A lot could change in the next few months but it looks as if the producers' hopes for a happy New Year... may not be fulfilled," the report said.
Nevertheless, looking at the year as a whole, there could be "a closely balanced market," the IEA added.
At the end of November, 24 nations that account for around 60 per cent of the world's oil supply agreed at a meeting in Vienna to keep a lid on output for all of 2018 in order to push up prices.
The aim of the deal — struck between the OPEC cartel and non-member countries such as Russia — is to reduce a global excess in supply that has pushed oil prices lower and left a huge hole in the finances of producer nations, despite making life easier for buyers of crude.
But increased production in the United States is driving faster growth in the global supply of oil, the IEA said.
"Just as the OPEC oil ministers were sitting down in Vienna, our colleagues in the US" released data showing that crude oil output in the US increased to its highest monthly average since April 2015, the IEA said.
The closure this week of the Forties pipeline network in the North Sea, which had been found to be leaking, “added momentum to Brent crude oil prices that have settled above $US60 (per barrel) since the end of October," the IEA said.
"After the initial surge that understandably accompanies such a major supply disruption, the market has settled down again and, unless another dramatic event occurs in what remains of 2017, it looks as if the Brent crude price will average about $US54 (per barrel) for the year, an increase of 20 per cent on 2016," the IEA said.
"For the producers at least, 2017 has been encouraging."
On Wednesday, OPEC had predicted in its own monthly market report that supply and demand were likely to balance out by the end of 2018 thanks to a pick-up in demand, notably from the transport sector.
Wheeler’s claim is based in a lack of faith in the free market. He assumes that the modems that were developed after telecom regulation were necessary for the Internet to emerge, and he speculates that some other form of communication device would not, could not, have been developed in the absence of that regulation. The free market answer to that is that the Internet would have simply evolved differently. Other technology would have been invented to make the connections needed for people to access the Internet. The modems that he claims required government intrusion into private-sector business simply would not have been needed because there would have been something else that did not require government intrusion. The best evidence of that is that the Internet has continued to evolve by using newer technology. Not many people are using dial-up modems anymore.
The truth is, even without telecom regulation requiring telephone companies to allow open access for Internet modems, “companies such as AOL” would likely have found another way to get the job done. That’s just how free market innovation works.
I personally learned the importance of open networks the hard way. In the mid-1980s I was president of a startup, NABU: The Home Computer Network. My company was using new technology to deliver high-speed data to home computers over cable television lines. Across town Steve Case was starting what became AOL. NABU was delivering service at the then-blazing speed of 1.5 megabits per second — hundreds of times faster than Case’s company. “We used to worry about you a lot,” Case told me years later.
• NABU’s network operated primarily in Ottawa, Canada, whereas AOL (which was known as Quantum Computer Services until 1991) was based in New York and covered the United States. Consequently, Quantum/AOL had a larger base from which to attract subscribers.
• NABU’s Internet service required the purchase of a very expensive specialized computer (made by NABU) to connect to its network. Quantum/AOL was designed (at first) to work on the very popular Commodore 64. Quantum/AOL later expanded its software and network to support other popular computers as the market changed.

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