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Pest control has never looked so sweet. Scientists have found that a simple derivative of sugar can shut down the immune defenses of ravaging termites, thus leaving the insects open to attacks from bacteria and fungus. Says lead researcher Ram Sasisekharan: “When you have an immune system that is compromised, you have a variety of opportunistic infections that take over…. You give these microbes sort of a leg up to attacking more seriously” [The Scientist].
As termites cause an estimated $30 billion in crop and building damages each year, and most current methods used to combat them rely on toxins that disrupt the termites’ nervous systems. These new findings could give rise to a whole new class of safer pest-control treatments, the authors say. “We wanted something environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and [that] does not play a toxic role” [National Geographic News], says Sasisekharan.
In the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers note that the termites’ immune systems rely on proteins called pattern-recognition receptors, which can spot microbes that should not be present.Such receptors come under a class of ‘gram-negative bacteria binding proteins’, or GNBPs [Chemistry World]. The termites have these proteins in their cells, and also secrete the protein in their saliva, which they paint onto their nests to prevent bacterial and fungal invasions. Based on the structure of GNBP, the researchers deduced that a simple sugar derivative known as GDL would inhibit the enzyme. When 24 termites ate GDL-treated filter paper before exposure to a fungal pathogen, all of them died within 5 days. In contrast, groups with intact GNBP activity hung on 4 days longer [ScienceNOW Daily News].
GDL is cheap and nontoxic–it’s even used as a food additive–and the researchers are looking for ways to formulate it into paints, wood, or baits to make termites sickly [ScienceNOW Daily News]. The researchers also note that roaches and locusts have similar immune systems to termites, raising the possibility that GDL could be effective against those bugs as well.
80beats: Termite Queens Are Doin’ It For Themselves
Image: Wikimedia Commons
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Looking for a good book? Try one of these sites.
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new books to read!
East Providence Public Library
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Detectives will send youngsters into almost 2000 pubs, clubs, corner shops and supermarkets, as part of a "test purchasing" scheme.
It is part of a major crackdown aimed at
violent criminals, gangs and serious and organised crime groups, which gets under way today.
Operation Relay, which starts in the Govan and Craigton, will see officers in the Greater Glasgow division take part in two months of intense action in an attempt to
reduce crime at every level.
The blitz was launched by two of Glasgow's most senior officers, Superintendents Thom McLoughlin and Brian McInulty.
Mr McLoughlin said the project, which has taken months to plan, is about "early intervention" to prevent crime.
He said: "We always see a crime spike at this time of year, but we plan to target crime right at the heart, where it starts, rather than reacting.
"Throughout Operation Relay, we will be tackling the causes of crime and focusing on long-term solutions by having the right people, in the right place, at the right time.
"People will see an
increase in the number of police officers on the streets and at transport hubs throughout Operation Relay."
Senior officers believe targeting "low-level"
offending, such as street drinking, anti-social
behaviour and disorder, can reduce the number of violent incidents.
Test purchase operations, the scheme under which underage teenagers see if they can buy booze, are part of that.
"We are doing everything we can to stop children getting alcohol", said Mr McInulty.
"Local policing officers have delivered letters to every licensed premises across the division.
"We have told licence holders that test purchase agents will be sent to their premises and if the premises fail the test, they will be reported."
Operations are just part of an increasing drive to stop youngsters getting their hands on alcohol.
As well as tackling
violence, disorder, and anti-social behaviour,
Operation Relay will see officers targeting serious and organised crime gangs.
Asked if he had a message for Glasgow's gangsters, Superintendent McLoughlin warned:
"Expect a knock on your door. It might be during the day, it might be at night, but it will happen.
"We will not tolerate crime, including drug dealing, at any level."
Both superintendents said they would use Proceeds Of Crime laws to disrupt the activity of organised criminals. Police and prosecutors can use these laws to seize huge sums of cash from gangsters.
Mr McLoughlin said:
"Operation Relay is a sustained attack on criminality.
"It is about early intervention, targeting and disrupting criminal activities and taking away any crime assets using legislation."
"Criminals will be targeted right across the division."
Operation Relay runs from today until May 31.
As well as stamping out violence and disrupting organised crime, officers want to make communities safer. Reassuring the public will be a key part of the initiative.
Extra resources will be drafted in and every available officer will be involved in the operation.
Superintendent McInulty said: "If people have any concerns, tell us about them, we need to know."
Police will also be working with British Transport Police and deploying high-visibility patrols around Glasgow's transport hubs.
Central Station, Queen Street Station and
Buchanan Bus Station will be focus points during
The intelligence-led operation is aimed at reducing levels of violence, disorder, gang related activity, anti-social behaviour, road traffic and drug offences.
Mr McLoughlin added: "What works for one division might not work for another, so we have devised specific policing plans.
"We will be working with our partners, like HM Revenue & Customs, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and UK Border Agency, as part of a massive plan to improve communities.
"It is about targeting the offenders who cause the most harm to people and their communities.
"For me, there is a clear line in the sand and we will stop at nothing to protect you. But if you cross that line, we will stop at nothing to bring you to justice."
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The Mississippi Association of Supervisors finished its fall workshop Wednesday in Meridian.
Supervisors took part in an educational session in the morning before packing up and going back to their respective counties.
About 300 supervisors from all over the state attended the meeting to share information on combating common problems. One of them is cogongrass.
"The further south and east you go in Mississippi, the more prevalent these populations are," said Dr. John Byrd, MSU weed control specialist. "And in fact you get down in the southeast corners of the counties in Mississippi, you'll find entire fields that are covered with this invasive weed."
Byrd said cogongrass is such a problem because it increases the danger for wildfires, in addition to having no usable purpose.
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Ninth lord if in mruduswabhava rasi or in aspect or association of Jupiter ,the native will have Gurubhakti . if associated with malefics the native will go against Guru .
Ninth lord in navasmsa if placed well , the navamsa lord if aspected by jupiter , the person will be endowed with guru bhakti , if afflicted the person will offend his preceptors.
- Ekalavya is known for the Guru bhakti in the popular history,
- His story has been celebrated as cruelty on part of Guru Dronacharya
- Also Ekalavya has been portrayed as that of being a victim to the partiality of Acharya Drona ,for his love towards Arjun.
- Ekalavya is supposed to have learnt everything all by himself .
- Ekalvya is portrayed as one from lower caste and untouchable.
- Ekalavya is seen as another victim of Pandav favoritism ,just like Karna
- Incidently Ekalavya is brother-in law of Karna .
Contrary to the above popular belief let me give you the real facts to uncover the myth about EKALAVYA .
Before venturing into the character named Ekalavya ,it is important to know the greatness of Acharya Drona .
- Dronacharya was a man without desires ,he used to live on shillonch vrutti [ that which prohibits one to ask anything from anyone ]
- He was taught astra Vidya By Lord Parshurama [ not different from Krishna] .
- He was very devoted to Lord and his Guru .
- He was true to his profession of teaching and to his employers and kept his words always.
- Arjuna had promised to caryy his mission [ to conquer Drupad] ,and thus HE had promised Arjun to make him the greatest Archer .
- Archery consists of plain skill of holding bow and relieving arrows + knowledge of astras [missiles]
- Without knowledge of missiles plain archery is of limited use.
- Astras involve usage of vedic techniques .[these can be learnt only from Guru ]
Now let us move to Ekalavya ,
- Ekalavya was not a lower caste , He was nishada prince [ a son of nishad king].
- Nishada is a caste sprung from the intermixing of bramhins and sudras[ parasava + kshatra] . These are tribes that dwell in forests and are adept in various skills from hunting to boating . They form an important part of forest life and governance in general , as they are cheitains overwhich a kingdom stands.
- Ekalavya and his father etc were in the service of Kashi raja .
- Ekalavya had a inherent hate towards Lord Krishna .
- Ekalavya was the incarnation of demon MAnimanta .
- He had gone into deep forest to learn astras from Pisachas .[ Paisaach vidya and paisaach astras]
- He had used them against Krishna but could not succeed ,thus he understood that he should acquire Deva astras .
- Only Guru Drona could impart such Knowledge .
- Thus he Approached Drona
- Drona knew he was inherently a hater of Lord Srikrishna [ His Guru not diffrent from Parashurama]
- Entertaining him would be to go against his Guru .
- Secondly By then Guru Drona was in the service of teaching Princes of Hastinapur.
- School where Princes are taught ordinary citizens are not allowed to learn by their side.
- Only Royals and bramhins in Royal service could enroll themselves in such schools.
- This is the reason why even Karna was rejected .
- Those were the days when Governance itself was beased on a caste .
- Hence an outcaste could not have dared to go to a bramhin [ A Royal servicemenin the service of Monarch of the world] to teach him if it were against rules .So Ekalavya was not an outcaste . neither a low born because astra vidya could be taught to only higher caste warriors.
- This gave him profound mastery in archery .
- This is not the greatness of Ekalavya but greatness of Dronacharya himself ,that even worshipping his idol too gave extraordinary brilliance in the vidya. If this was not so , then Ekalavya could have practised all by himself without the idol . But He knew the greatness of Drona and thus resorted to this form of Practise.
- This shows extreme determination of Ekalvya to gain the vidya [ determination to kill Krishna] .
- But all daitya [rakshasas ,demons] are known to have done tapasya earlier and gained boons from Shiva and others , this is just another example of Ekalavya doing tapasya to Dronacharya.
- When in the forst ,royal dog was stopped from barking by Ekalavya [without hurting the dog , ekalavya had gagged the dog with the arrows]
- This created a concern in the mind of Arjun and asked whether Drona was true to his words.
- Drona to keep his words and to prevent Ekalavya from going against his guru [ Lord] and principles , asked for his right Thumb as Gurudakshina .
- because , he knew refusing Gurudaksina would render his Vidya useless [ just as Karna had suffered] thus it is better to give up the thumb rather than risking curse.
- Dronacharya was divine from the fact that he restored The THUMB equivalent to Arjun in plain archery and less stiff when using astras .
- This way Acharya Drona fulfilled his words and also kept his duty .
Equipped with the Astra Vidya ,
- Ekalavya along with Paundraka Vaasudeva [ another son of Vasudev from the diti ] attacked Dwaraka in the night .
- Krishna had gone to Kailash to beget a son .
- Satyaki and Balaraam alongwith the army fought with the Ekalavya and Paundraka Vaasudeva their army with lamps.
- Ekalavya and others extinguished all the lamps .
- So Balaraam went to back to bring additional Lamps
- Satyaki kept at bay both Ekalvya and Paundraka .
- Just then Krishna returned , he cut all the weapons of Ekalavya and Paundraka and destroyed their chariots.
- Balaraam then happy at the return of Krishna , with full vigour raised his musal and attacked Ekalavya .
- Ekalvya afraid of furious Balraam , started running away .
- HE ran and fell in the ocean .
- Balaram stood near the banks , but ekalavya fearing and assuming Balraam is chasing , swam 80 yojanas and reached an island . there he looked back and seeing Balraam at the banks relieved a sigh .
- Then Ekalavya undervent tapasya to Shiva to get the boon of being defeatless . ever victorious .
- Shiva granted him the boon .
- Now with much more pride and strength Ekalavya attacked Krishna again and used all the astras given by Drona and Shiva but Krishna cut all the astras and finally with his Sudarshan cut his head off .
Story of Ekalavya is the portrayal of greatness of Dronacharya as how when in dilemma a man should act and yet uphold the Dharma ,and duty towards society , king , Guru and pupils and finally towards GOD .
Gurubhakti is not in showing histrionics before GURU , Guru bhakti is in total surrender to teacher , obeying his everyword , upholding his every value and treading the path shown by him. Ekalavya only showed histrionics and acted contrarily to his guru’s views , loyalties and culture and principles.This is GURU DROHA , thus finally he achieved nothing and met with death at a young age at the hands of Lord SRIKRISHNA .
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Imagine how things might have turned out had the Neanderthals or Denisovans survived alongside Homo sapiens. What kind of cultures, societies and political structures would have emerged in a world where several different human species coexisted? How, for example, would religious faiths have unfolded? Would the book of Genesis have declared that Neanderthals descend from Adam and Eve, would Jesus have died for the sins of the Denisovans, and would the Qur’an have reserved seats in heaven for all righteous humans, whatever their species? Would Neanderthals have been able to serve in the Roman legions, or in the sprawling bureaucracy of imperial China? Would the American Declaration of Independence hold as a self-evident truth that all members of the genus Homo are created equal? Would Karl Marx have urged workers of all species to unite?
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Common Wealth and the 'Entirely Self-Made' Myth
Every year since 1982 Forbes magazine has published a list of the 400 richest Americans. Anyone who wants to attach names and faces to the abstract notion of a "ruling class" should pick up a copy of the October 8, 2007, special issue. In profiling these richest of the rich, Forbes serves its self-proclaimed function as a "capitalist tool" -- not by offering advice on management strategies but by helping to manage popular consciousness.
Such management is necessary in a country where 1% of the population owns nearly 40% of the wealth. Lest this egregiously skewed distribution of resources evoke too many moral qualms, Forbes assures us, issue after issue, that economic inequality is the result of a fair game in which the smartest and hardest-working naturally rise to the top. Forbes tells us, for instance, that of those 400 richest Americans, 270, or about two-thirds, are "entirely self-made."
Yes, they say "entirely."
This doesn't mean, as one might think, that these fortunate folks came from abject poverty and fought their way up. In fact, most of those whom Forbes calls "entirely self-made" came from what working-class Americans would see as country club backgrounds. Typically, these billionaires (it takes $1.3 billion just to get on the list) came from homes with abundant resources and well-educated parents, and they went to top schools themselves. They are nearly all white.
What Forbes means by "entirely self-made" is that the fortunes were not inherited but derived from business activity. Does this make the Forbes definition of "entirely self-made" reasonable? After all, if someone starts with modest resources, does well in business, and makes a fortune, isn't it fair to attribute that wealth to individual merit? Not really, though Forbes would like us to think so.
To see what's wrong with this idea, it's easiest to start with criteria that ought to disqualify a person from claiming to be "entirely self-made." After we've applied these criteria, we can see who's left in the pool. So, then, let us scratch from the list of the self-made anyone whose accumulation of wealth has been aided by any of the following:
• Laws concerning property or contracts, and the public agencies that enforce such laws • Public schools or employees educated in public schools • Employees or customers who rely on public transportation • Roads, bridges, airports, sewers, water treatment plants, harbors, or other utilities built and maintained at public expense • Mail systems built and operated at public expense • Public hospitals and government-licensed physicians • Health and safety regulations created and enforced at public expense • Police and fire protection provided at public expense • Public libraries and parks • Any public amenities that add value to commercial or residential real estate • Government contracts • Government-provided business incentives • Regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission or the Securities and Exchange Commission, that sustain trust in the stock market • A government-granted license permitting the exclusive use of a broadcast channel • The Internet • A form of currency legitimated and backed by a stable government • Social welfare programs that keep the poor from rebelling • The U.S. military
If we use these criteria to determine who can legitimately claim to be "entirely self-made," the Forbes number drops dramatically. It's not 270 out of 400. In fact, it's precisely zero.
If not for the legal and political arrangements that we create and maintain as a society -- with contributions from us all, costs to us all, and benefits to us all -- and if not for what we call "the public infrastructure," nobody could accumulate wealth. In short, there can be no private wealth without common wealth.
Forbes and the economic class it represents would like us to forget that wealth always depends on collective effort. Why? Because of what the "entirely self-made" myth implies: If I have amassed a fortune solely through my individual talent and hard work, then it is wrong for the government to take any of it away. By further implication, taxation is wrong, and progressive taxation is really wrong.
Casting "the government" as an evil entity that confiscates the fruits of one's labors also serves the interests of the Forbes class. Working-class and middle-class people who embrace this view are less likely to take an interest in government as a means to build, protect, and fairly employ the nation's common wealth. By helping to portray government as the enemy of individual initiative and prosperity, the "entirely self-made" myth thus also saps the spirit of democracy, leaving government ever more in the control of the wealthy.
In a competitive, individualistic society like the U.S., the "entirely self-made" myth is seductive. It gives us the pleasure of taking credit for our successes. It also mitigates the guilt that can come from recognizing our own class privilege. The "entirely self-made" myth is handy for both self-congratulation as for self-absolution.
But we should reject the myth -- not just because it's wrong, but because, unlike many other comforting myths about American society, this one has especially pernicious consequences for democracy and community. At worst, it can make us feel that we have no right to democratic control of our common wealth.
If we recognize that all private wealth depends on our common wealth, then we incur two obligations. One is to contribute our fair share -- and the bigger the rewards we derive from society, the bigger that share should be. The other obligation is to participate in protecting our common wealth and determining how it is used. We should not let those decisions be made only by those who sell us a self-serving myth and then laugh all the way to the bank.
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Twenty Seventh February 1882 Age: 21 years [est birth year: 1861].
Registration District: Poole Union 1863 Sub-district: Poole County: Dorset Date: 7th March 1863 Place: Parkstone Name: William Frederick Wareham, boy Father: Francis Wareham, Potters Labourer Mother: Sarah Wareham formerly Kent Informant: Francis Wareham, Father, Parkstone Registered: 6th April 1863 Regsitrar: H B Smith.
Groom: Frederick William Wareham.
Bride: Mary Ann Smale.
Twenty Seventh February 1882 Age: 23 years [est birth year: 1859].
1882 Marriage solemnized at the Register Office in the District of Poole in the County of Dorset Twenty Seventh February 1882 Groom: Frederick William Wareham, Age: 21 years, Bachelor, Profession: Market Gardener Groom's Father: Frances Wareham, Gardener Bride: Mary Ann Smale, Age: 23 years, Spinster Bride's Father: William Smale (deceased), Farm Labourer Residence (both): Parkstone, Dorset Married in the Register Office by Certificate before me Charles H Rolfs? Registrar, L Slade Supt Reg This marriage was solemnized between us X The Mark of Frederick William Wareham Mary Ann Smale in the Presence of us, Harry Brown Annie Lydia Brown.
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Local Cultural Centers
Fengyuan Museum of Lacquer Art, Taichung City
No. 1-1, Shuiyuan Rd., Fengyuan Dist., Taichung City
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The reason for founding the Fengyuan Museum of Lacquer Art stems from Fengyuan’s lacquerware culture dating back to the Japanese era. Ever fond of lacquerware, the Japanese planted lacquer trees extensively in Taiwan, and the Daxueshan and Baxianshan forest reserves within the city of Taichung provided ample raw materials for lacquerware manufacture. The number of lacquerware artists grew as the Japanese attentively fostered the lacquerware industry in central Taiwan, helped by geographic conditions and popular support. The lacquerware factories were mostly clustered around Fengyuan, spurring the blossoming Taichung lacquerware industry. Back then, the Fengyuan area was once the production region par excellence of lacquerware, producing large quantities for export worldwide.
The Fengyuan Museum of Lacquer Art was opened on May 26, 2002, under the joint efforts of the Taichung City Government, Taichung City Cultural Affairs Bureau, and Fengyuan District Office, with the aim of taking a fresh look at the splendor of traditional lacquer art, and giving this art the chance for revitalization, development and innovation. Currently the first and second floors provide space for exhibitions, classes, recreation and the formation of a community cultural living space.
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Because of her family’s status as members of the local gentry, Martha was able to acquire the values and behavior that would enable her to marry well. She imbibed the fine points of etiquette, learned to dance, and mastered the art of horseback riding.
Martha Dandridge left behind no diaries or letters from her early years. She never wrote a memoir or autobiography. Although this makes it impossible to recover specific details from Martha’s childhood, general information about the lives of Virginia planters and their children makes it possible to understand the overall contours of Martha’s early life.
Martha Dandridge was the eldest child, and oldest daughter, among the eight children born to Frances Jones and John Dandridge. As members of the local gentry in New Kent County, the Dandridges lived a comfortable, though not lavish, life at Chestnut Grove, a two-story frame house situated on the Pamunkey River.
Religion and Education
Martha grew up learning from her parents how to navigate in the society of eighteenth century Virginia. Her father insured that she was a member in good standing of the Church of England, the Virginia colony’s official state religion. Baptized as a child, she attended religious services at the local Anglican parish, St. Peter’s Church.
Her mother probably taught her to read. Unlike the majority of women in Virginia at this time who were not literate, Martha learned both to read and write at an early age. Throughout her entire life, Martha found pleasure and solace in reading. She read the Bible and other devotional literature for religious edification and novels and magazines for entertainment and instruction. Although only a small fraction of her letters survive, she was also a voluminous correspondent.
Household Tasks and Skills
Her mother also instructed Martha in the skills she would eventually need to know to become mistress of her own household. Except among the wealthiest Virginia families, who had domestic servants and slaves to help them, the female members of the family were responsible for performing all household tasks. These tasks included cleaning the house, washing the clothes, planting a vegetable garden, caring for small domestic animals, preparing the meals, and caring for the children. In an era with few trained doctors, mothers were also supposed to be proficient in the healing arts. Martha’s mother would have taught her folk remedies and the preparation of medicinal herbs to treat common illnesses.
Sewing was among a woman’s most important tasks. The mistress of the household had the primary responsibility for clothing the entire family. Although the wealthiest Virginia planters might import textiles from Britain, most colonists still spun their own thread, wove their own cloth, and sewed their own garments. As an adult, Martha remained fond of needlework, including darning, embroidering, and knitting, and was known for her excellent handiwork.
Like most women of her social class, it is likely that Martha always envisioned her future in terms of being a wife and a mother. Because of her family’s status as members of the local gentry, Martha was able to acquire the values and behavior that would enable her to marry well. She imbibed the fine points of etiquette, learned to dance, and mastered the art of horseback riding. She knew how to deport herself in public and converse with men. Martha’s mastery of these skills would hold her in good stead, first in her role as a planter’s wife—and then, as a wealthy widow.
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Versinthe La Blanche Absinthe is produced at La Liquoristerie de Provence. White absinthe is the only alcohol in the world to be vacuum distilled at a low temperature (just 48 degrees Celsius). The same technique used in the perfume industry, this helps to keep some very delicate aromas. A blend of 20 plants, this can be served straight from the freezer or with sugar.
A verte absinthe from Versinthe, better known for their Blanche which has been on the market in various guises since before the repeal of the French absinthe ban. An intense and decently bitter absinthe.
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I kept coming across reports from hillwalkers of a 'small Newgrange like' tomb on Two Rock Mountain and was mystified. I knew for a fact that the cairn on Two Rocks was indistinguishable from a cairn as the passage is now hidden by fallen cairn rubble.
After some digging about I finally found out that they were referring to Tibradden the hill on the opposite side of Two Rocks to Three Rocks. The one report said that it contained a bee-hive chamber and passage, but I could find no reference to it on any megalithic web site. I was also given a piece of text detailing that in fact the round chamber was actually built to allow easy access to the kist burial within in the 1850 excavation.
Obviously, I decided that a visit was in order. The walk up from the car park is fairly easy, except for the last 400m or so where you are actually walking along a rocky water course, which must be pretty nasty to walk up after heavy rain.
The cairn itself is mainly intact rising some 3m above ground level and is about 25m in diameter. Before I knew the truth about the passage and round chamber I would have been quite excited by them. The passage appears to have a very close summer solstice alignment.
The walls of the chamber rise to about 1.5m and offer great and welcome shelter from the howling wind that was whipping the snow fall (yes - snow!) into flurries all around me.
Lying on the floor of the chamber is a spiral carved stone (see subsite).

The views alone make this a great place to come. The cairn on Two Rocks, Howth, Montpelier and the Wicklows to the south are a sight to feast upon.
Is it really four years since I came up here? Wow! It doesn't seem that long. At least it wasn't snowing this time - just intermittent hail and lightning!
It really was great to come back and take a good look around. The visibility was not very good last time, but today the light was very good and the air clear. Looking across past the west side of Montpelier (County Dublin), I noticed that Athgoe Hill sits nicely in the gap betwen it and Saggart Hill. Another nice alignment from this spot.
Looking southeast along the ridge the views to The Great Sugarloaf Mountain are stunning. Once again I searched the vertical faces of the rockfall below the cairn for the cross and carved figure, but couldn't find them.
From Glencullen take the R116 north west for around 6km until you reach the car park clearly marked Tibradden on the right hand side of the road. Be warned this car park gets locked at 4pm. From there basically keep walking upwards and south around the winding track. Go to the first bend and double back, miss out the next left track and then shortly after the next left angle turn right. You should be walking in between the plantation on your right and a fence on your left after about 200m. Keep on walking along this rocky path and it will take you straight to the cairn.
There is a burial urn in Dublin National Museum that was taken from this cairn.
Regarded as a passage-tomb it contains a circular roofless chamber of dry-walled construction 10 and a half feet in diameter, with a lintelled passage leading in from the NE. When opened in 1849 the
cairn apparently covered only a central kist which was found to contain cremated bones and a food vessel. A secondary urn-burial was also found, but the account makes no reference to the existing chamber. Conservation work undertaken in 1956 confirmed the suspicion that the chamber and passage were constructed circa 1850 to give access to the kist, which occupies the centre of the chamber.
from Estyn Evans: PREHISTORIC AND EARLY CHRISTIAN IRELAND - A FIELD GUIDE
Fame awaits, but out of context. This site gets a mention in Robert Graves' "The White Goddess" as being a passage tomb. A factoid we now know to be incorrect.
This is an explanation of (and a bit of a disclaimer for) the coordinates I provide.
Where a GPS figure is given this is the master for all other coordinates. According to my Garmin these are quite accurate.
Where there is no GPS figure the 6 figure grid reference is master for the others. This may not be very accurate as it could have come from the OS maps and could have been read by eye. Consequently, all other cordinates are going to have inaccuracies.
The calculation of Longitude and Latitude uses an algorithm that is not 100% accurate. The long/lat figures are used as a basis for calculating the UTM & ITM coordinates. Consequently, UTM & ITM coordinates are slightly out.
UTM is a global coordinate system - Universal Transverse Mercator - that is at the core of the GPS system.
ITM is the new coordinate system - Irish Transverse Mercator - that is more accurate and more GPS friendly than the Irish Grid Reference system. This will be used on the next generation of Irish OS maps.
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JVM has constant pool of string objects.that's why "Java"=="Java" always evaluates to true. is the same case with wrapper objects? Integer i=3; Integer j=3; i==j ?
posted 8 years ago
Not for all values.
This is from the Java Language Specification, 5.1.7.
If the value p being boxed is true, false, a byte, a char in the range \u0000 to \u007f, or an int or short number between -128 and 127, then let r1 and r2 be the results of any two boxing conversions of p. It is always the case that r1 == r2.
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According to Western diplomats and policy experts, the State Department's recent remarks on human rights violations in the Baloch region of Pakistan are as far as the U.S. Government and Obama Administration are willing to go in support of Baloch separatism. Absent a complete rupture in U.S.-Pakistan relations, the Baloch's best option to secure American support now rests with Congress. If the Baloch can tie their cause to the larger Congressional efforts to undermine U.S. aid to Pakistan, they could force the Administration to re-evaluate its current policy approach. Organized outreach to think tanks, non-governmental organizations, universities, interest groups, and media outlets would support such efforts. The Baloch are quick to point out that they are making progress on these fronts, such as Congressman Gohmert's statement in support of Balochistan's independence following the State of the Union. But, experts point out that a successful lobbying campaign will require the Baloch diaspora to rally around stronger leadership and demonstrate a deeper financial commitment. Until they can take on such responsibility, experts do not believe they can fully capitalize on anti-Pakistani sentiment in Congress and secure stronger American support for their cause.
Assessing State's Commitment
Since 2004, the Baloch have been engaged in an ongoing insurgency against the Pakistani government. This is the fifth insurgency since the partition of India and many Baloch now appear unwilling to accept anything short of independence. Their cause has gone largely unnoticed in the West; overshadowed by the war in Afghanistan, the conflict in the North-West Frontier Province, the lingering Kashmir situation, the Pakistani and Iranian nuclear programs, and the larger War on Terrorism. But, in the last year, the Baloch diaspora have rallied around two actions by the U.S. State Department which they believe demonstrate increasing U.S. support for their cause. The first is the ongoing effort by the U.S. State Department to open a consulate in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. The second is U.S. State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland's public remarks on Balochistan on January 13, 2012.
While the opening of the U.S. consulate would enhance U.S. engagement in Balochistan and Ms. Nuland's remarks are a clear acknowledgement of U.S. concerns over the human rights situation in the region, Western diplomats and policy experts caution the Baloch not to misinterpret the State Department's commitment to their cause. The State Department has not expressed concerns for genocide in Balochistan, as that would have legal consequences. Furthermore, from the perspective of Andrew Eiva, an experienced Washington lobbyist, there is still no "movement toward supporting Baloch independence at the State Department. Like Sudan, there is instead a strategy of piecemeal negotiations to divide the resistance, maintain the policy of stability, and oppose regime change." In his view, even the consulate push for Quetta should be interpreted as an attempt "to temper Baloch aspirations" rather than buoy them.
Eiva is not alone in this opinion. When asked to comment, a senior Western diplomat formerly based in Pakistan reinforced these views: "Ultimately, the Baloch are looking to weaken the Pakistani state. I don't think the United States is looking to weaken the Pakistani state. If anything, they want to make it stronger. The whole Holbrooke effort was to help the Pakistani state become more effective at governing their country."
While some Baloch might harbor hope that the souring of relations between the U.S. and Pakistan could give impetus to support for Baloch independence, the Western diplomat downplays such notions: "Pakistan is still an ally of the United States. The Americans are going to work with Islamabad on what is going to happen in Balochistan. Go back to Ms. Nuland's statement. That's as far as the Americans are going to go with this."
In fact, the Western diplomat believes that the current low in U.S.-Pakistan relations will further undercut support for the Baloch cause in the Obama Administration: "The Americans have enough on their plate with Pakistan as it is without Balochistan. Especially now that relations are at a low point, the American focus is on getting that relationship back on track not on making things more difficult. President Obama has been clear on what U.S. interests are in Pakistan and number one is getting al-Qaeda. The Americans are not looking to weaken that effort and everything in Pakistan must be viewed through that lens."
The Baloch diaspora is not without voices who share these concerns. Malik Siraj Akbar, a Baloch journalist in the United States, is one of them. He argues that "the Baloch community is blowing State Department comments out of proportion. They think there has been a U-Turn on U.S. policy but there hasn't been one. As this point, the U.S. might be concerned about human rights but they do not support independence. I don't think there has been a policy shift."
Exploring Congressional Options
While the Administration and the State Department might not be willing to serve as stronger advocates of Boloch interests, the community is not without options. In speaking with prominent members of the Baloch diaspora in the United States, a variety of alternatives appear under consideration. Perhaps the most promising is Congressional outreach.
Dr. Wahid Baloch, President of the Baloch Society of North America, believes that the Baloch have made significant progress on this front in the last two years. In addition to his personal outreach to Vice President Joe Biden, late-Senator Ted Kennedy, Congressmen Gary Ackerman, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, Brad Sherman and Russ Feingold, Dr. Baloch cites recent comments by Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) as examples of increasing support for the Baloch cause. According to Dr. Baloch, the community is even "working to create Congressional Caucus on Balochistan within the next year. I believe it will be bi-partisan and help to advance our case even more."
One of the strongest proponents of the Congressional option is Eiva. Given the growing discontent within Congress over the Pakistani aid, he believes that the Congress could be persuaded to take up the Baloch cause if for no other reason than to undermine the continued flow of aid to Pakistan: "There are 40-50 Congressmen who are sympathetic to such causes. Some have (already) called our South Asian policy an upside down policy. Even though Pakistani aid is now locked in for a five year run, there have been sparks of rebellion. Pakistani aid is vulnerable." In his view, it is unfortunate that thus far the Baloch have not taken advantage of the improving conditions in Congress to further their cause.
If the Baloch diaspora is serious about effecting a shift in U.S. policy, Eva stresses that they need to raise the funds necessary to introduce legislation in Congress that would tie their cause to larger U.S. foreign policy interests in the region: "The Baloch need to pull together 2-3 times more money than they have already raised. They then need to hire a professional lobbyist and draft a legislative mechanism that ties the Baloch cause to five or six other American interests in South Asia. These interests could include the prevention of genocide, stopping the spread of Islamic extremism, promoting an independent and economically viable Afghanistan, mitigating the threat of the Pakistan nuclear program, and countering Pakistani efforts which undermine counter-terrorism cooperation."
Once the Baloch diaspora marshal the funds necessary to get individual Congressmen behind such a bill, Eiva believes they could be successful: "Congress might consider legislation that says the U.S. should be on the side of freedom and that Pakistan has not supported American interests in the region. Friends of the Baloch could lead such an effort with the backing of influential members of the diaspora and link it with other efforts aimed at cutting Pakistani aid. The argument that American jets, gunships, and bullets have been used in the genocide against the Baloch would help get us to the tipping point."
Other Policy Alternatives
Outside of political mechanisms, the Baloch in the United States are promoting a number of other policy and non-policy initiatives in support of their cause. While the Baloch diaspora does not appear united and mobilized around these initiatives right now, prominent Baloch in the American diaspora claim that there are efforts underway to do so. Ultimately, their success almost certainly will hinge on whether the Baloch can organize around these issues and garner the requisite funding and support to advance them with external stakeholders.
Ahmar Mustikhan, a vocal Baloch activist, is an advocate of a number of the most prominent policy alternatives: "Despite the budgetary crunch, the minimum the U.S. can do in its own long-term interests is to launch the Voice of America Balochi Service, re-start the USAID program, open its consulate in Quetta, talk with Baloch leaders when it comes to Balochistan, and help the Baloch escaping persecution in both Western (Iranian) and Eastern (Pakistani) Balochistan."
Unfortunately for Baloch activists, experts point out that the majority of these alternatives still require active support from the U.S. Government. While there is the possibility that some of these efforts will eventually succeed, the Western diplomat that I spoke with does not think that the Baloch should expect U.S. government backing anytime soon: "I don't see why the Americans would support those ideas. There has to be a motivation. The exile groups might think that these should be done by the Americans and Europeans should do these things to support their cause. But, I am at a loss as to why they think the Americans and others would be motivated to do them. Just look at Ms. Nuland's statement." Furthermore, experts suggest that even the initiatives that can be achieved will have to be implemented in a way to minimize blowback from the Pakistani government.
Even U.S. Government participation in conferences supporting the Baloch cause appears off limits at this time. According to a former senior American defense official with direct knowledge of the U.S. State Department's current policy approach on Baloch affairs, the Department of State is unlikely to allow U.S. government officials to participate in an upcoming Baloch conference in the United States this summer without a complete reconfiguring of the conference agenda to eliminate any ties to the Baloch separatist movement and internal-Pakistani politics.
For these reasons, experts suggest that non-government initiatives are far more viable for promoting the Baloch cause. Such efforts could include setting up new Baloch programs at Western and Indian think tanks, adding Baloch courses offered by South Asian Studies departments, starting private Balochi language media outlets, reaching out to U.S. and foreign media, and promoting Baloch cultural programs and exchanges. Some of these efforts may be in the planning stage but few have been implemented.
That said, the Baloch diaspora point out that their cause already is garnering increased recognition by international non-governmental organizations and think tanks. Dr. Baloch points out that the former U.S. diplomat Chris Mason on the Center for Advanced Defense Studies recently called for an independent Balochistan. The human rights violations in Balochistan also have been raised by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Asia Society. All of these efforts are helping to generate increased awareness for the Baloch cause, which the Baloch diaspora hopes will eventually put external pressure on the State Department and Obama Administration to take stronger action in support of Baloch interests.
Ultimately, experts assert that the success of the Baloch diaspora to garner U.S. support for their cause will depend upon whether the movement can unify, mobilize, and act in a coordinated manner to achieve a prioritized set of high-impact policy objectives and non-government initiatives. According to many observers, including Malik, this will require stronger leadership and organization within the diaspora: "The Baloch in the West do not have people who are willing to take responsibility for the movement. The problem is that the self-proclaimed 'leaders' in the United States have very few followers and the Baloch abroad do not accept them as leaders."
Baloch journalist Muatasim Qazi argues that the diaspora's success may also hinge on the Baloch leadership in Pakistan, Europe, and the Gulf recognizing that their cause ultimately depends on Western support: "The Baloch leadership should concentrate their efforts in lobbying for their cause in Washington if they want to succeed in their movement. They need to convince US lawmakers how an independent Balochistan would defend U.S. interests in the region." He was not alone in voicing this concern.
When asked to share his outlook on whether the Baloch will overcome these challenges and gain U.S. backing for their cause, Eiva puts the odds at 40%. But, he stresses that number would have been just 20% before the United States and European Union were successful in their intervention in Libya last year. He also points out that the odds would rise to over 50% if there stronger leadership emerged within the U.S.-based diaspora.
But, others do not share Eiva's optimism. In the words of the Western diplomat, "There seems to be a tremendous effort by the expatriates to bring in outside forces. But, if you look at Ms. Nuland's statement, this is an internal issue for the Pakistanis to resolve. The U.S. is going to deal with Islamabad on this. There is no reason for the U.S. to go off that path given the current direction of that relationship. ... The Americans are not looking to be the world's policeman. It is not a priority like the bilateral relationship with Pakistan or all of the issues with Iran. The exile groups are looking for a place in there but I am not sure that they are going to get it. They are trying to draw the West into issues that the West is not looking to get into."
This raises an interesting question: Has the current U.S. policy approach in effect given Pakistan the green light to violently suppress the Baloch without fear of reprisal? The Western diplomat says no; arguing instead that the State Department appears to be signaling that the U.S. views the Baloch issue is simply an internal issue for Pakistan to resolve. However, when pressed on the issue and asked what level of violence would force U.S. Government intervention, the response is far less reassuring: "I don't know what that line would be because there are such bigger issues for the United States in Pakistan."
In the face of such odds, it is not surprising that Baloch diaspora are resigned to a long, drawn-out campaign. In my conversations with the Baloch diaspora in the United States, Miran Gichki probably articulated this best when he said, "One must understand that the Baloch cause cannot be achieved in the next ten years - it will take a lifetime." His comments reflect the depth of the Baloch nationalist commitment, which was not lost on the British over a century ago and should not be lost on the Americans and Pakistanis today.
Eddie Walsh is a senior foreign correspondent who covers Africa and Asia-Pacific. He also serves as a non-resident fellow at CSIS and as vice chair of the International Correspondents Committee at the National Press Club.
Follow him on Twitter: @ASEANReporting
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Although males reaching close to 3500 pounds have been documented, the estimated average range is between 12-15 feet (3.7-4.6m) and 1600-2500 pounds in weight. Females are slightly smaller than the males with an average length of 11-13 feet and weight of 1100-2000 pounds. Calves at birth are approximately 5 feet in length and weigh about 150 pounds.
Beluga whales are found solely in the Northern Hemisphere and inhabit the cold waters of the Arctic Ocean and the subarctic regions. Belugas can be found in areas of Russia, Canada, Norway, Greenland, and Alaska.
Born a light brown to grey, the beluga’s white color does not appear until they reach maturity. A thick blubber layer creates a rounded body center which tapers towards the head and tail. On their distinctive head, belugas have a bulging melon located above the upper jaw and in front of the blowhole. They are able to change the shape of their melon at will which is used to create a variety of vocalizations. Beluga whales lack a dorsal fin on their back but instead have a dorsal ridge which assists in breaking ice.
Belugas can easily navigate shallow river mouths, enter estuaries (an area where fresh and salt water meet and mix) during molting seasons or dive to depths of 2600ft. However, they will typically follow the pack ice as it melts and freezes throughout the seasons.
Depending on prey availability, season, and the region, belugas have a varied diet that includes fish, squid, octopus, shrimp, crab, marine worms and large zooplankton. The gathered lips of the beluga allow the animal to spit a burst of water to uncover and suction prey. The peg like teeth of the beluga is used to capture prey to swallow whole, not to chew.
Natural predators of beluga whales include orcas (killer whales) and polar bears but the greatest threat is human impact.
A female beluga whale will become sexually mature around 5-7 years of age while a male is a little later at 8-9 years. Most breeding occurs from April to May but may start as early as February and end as late as June in some regions. Females are pregnant for approximately 15-16 months, with most calving occurring in late spring and early summer. The young beluga will be nursed for 2 years and a female will give birth every 2-4 years.
One of Mystic Aquarium's Beluga whale trainers answers some questions about the whales at Mystic and what it is like to work with them every day. Make sure to check out more about working with belugas under the video tab.
Q: How many whales are currently at Mystic Aquarium?
A: “There are currently three beluga whales in the Arctic Coast exhibit. One female, Kela and two males, Juno and Naluark."
Q: Can you tell the whales apart just by looking at them?
A: “Absolutely! Kela is the smallest whale and has dark gray markings along her sides and dorsal ridge. Juno, the youngest of the group, is lighter gray throughout his body and his melon sits further back on his head, has dark circles around his eyes and a notch on his mouth ”
Q: How can you tell the age of a beluga whale?
A: "Unless you know the date the animal was born, there is not an easy way to tell the age of a live animal. However, if you were to have the tooth of a beluga, you could slice it in half and count the rings. Scientists aren't exactly sure if it is one or two rings per year but it will give you a minimum age."
Q: What is the typical day of a beluga whale trainer?
A: “There is no such thing as a typical day. The fun thing about beluga whales is that you never know what your day is going to bring. You will start your day by preparing diets, cleaning exhibit, checking the animals, conducting training sessions and developing new training projects. But you are also responsible for naintaining behaviors, conducting programs for the public (like the train a whale program, whales up close and meet a beluga whale). You even have to make sure that the whales have plenty of enrichment by doing anything to alter their environment… dancing, playing music, using toys and trainer interaction. The end of every day is a recap of the beginning. On top of all that, staff will dive in the exhibit a couple of times per week just to make sure that the exhibit is as clean as it can be."
Q: What kind of behaviors can you teach the whales?
A: "We teach the whales a variety of behaviors for many reasons. We have husbandry behaviors like presenting their tail and lying still for a blood draw or keeping their mouths open so we can brush their teeth. There are educational behaviors to help the public learn more about the whales and their adaptations, something like a vocalization. We even have behaviors just for their physical and mental stimulation.”
Q: Do the belugas have different vocalizations for communication?
A: “The belugas have a variety of different vocalizations, that is how they earned their name of the sea canary. There are different sounds during breeding season, before a feed, when they are playing, or when they are echolocating.”
Born July 6, 2002 at Marineland Canada in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Juno traveled to Sea World in 2006 where he lived until headed north to Mystic Aquarium in 2012 as part of a breeding loan program.
Juno is 11 feet long and as of January 2013 weighed close to 1600 pounds and is differentiated from his three exhibit mates by the gray circles around his eyes.
As one of the Aquarium’s most inquisitive and engaging animals, Juno is often seen interacting with visitors at the underwater viewing windows. In fact, most mornings before the aquarium opens members of the Whale Enrichment Team use a variety of enrichment items (artificial kelp, hula hoops, balls, etc.) to engage the whales. Below is Juno and Naluark checking out shark pool toy.
Species of the Month Podcast: How does a Beluga whale survive in the Arctic?
Join Mystic Aquarium's Kelly Matis and MaryEllen Mateleska for a fun five minutes devoted to February's featured species: the Beluga whale! In this podcast they discuss how the beluga whale can survive in the Arctic waters.
Kelly and MaryEllen want to hear from you! Send questions, comments and suggestions for future podcast topics to email@example.com.
Scientific Name: Delphinapterus leucas
Size: African penguins range from 18 to 25 inches tall and weigh up to 11 pounds
Range/Distribution: The only penguin to breed in Africa, the African penguin ranges from Namibia to South Africa. Young penguins have been known to migrate north and west along the coastline and are found between Southern Angola, Namibia, and sometimes found off Gabon, Congo, and Mozambique, but generally reside in South Africa.
Appearance: The African penguin has a robust, torpedo-shaped body with black feathers on their back, flippers, and head while white feathers cover their front with the exception of horseshoe-shaped black stripe on the chest. Following the penguin’s first few molts a white stripe will develop around its cheek and throat. These birds have a bare patch above their eyes to assist with regulating their body temperature.
Habitat: When not hunting for food in the water, African penguins are found along rocky shores or brushy coastal areas.
Prey: African penguins feed on 25 species of fish, such as sardine and anchovy but also prey on squid and krill. A penguin may eat up to one pound of food or up to 14% of their weight.
Predators: African penguins face predation by gulls, feral cats and mongoose while nesting on land, while sharks and fur seals hunt African penguins in the water.
Life Span: The African penguin may live up to late 30 years in an aquarium or zoo but averages of 15-20 years are seen in the wild populations.
Mating Behaviors: There are no set breeding seasons for African penguins, however, most penguin pairs are monogamous and will remain together over several breeding years. The male will prepare a nest by digging a shallow burrow in sand or in brush using guano (penguin waste) and any materials nearby to complete the nest for the female to lay two eggs. Both the male and female share the nesting and chick duties, keeping the young safe from predators and warm temperatures. The chicks will hatch between 38 and 42 days and will leave the nest when they are between 60 to 130 days of age.
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By now, employers and business owners are very familiar with California’s Assembly Bill 5 and the new – and highly controversial – rules for classifying whether workers are employees or independent contractors. Regardless of what an employer’s feelings are about these new guidelines, they are a reality for California employers.
Challenges and disputes over this new law continue to arise. September 2020 brought a new bill that added even more exemptions to this rule in response to these challenges. However, many businesses face yet another concern regarding this law.
FRANCHISEES CONCERNED ABOUT EFFECTS OF AB5
Several franchise organizations have filed a lawsuit challenging AB5’s effects. These organizations do not necessarily oppose AB5’s guidelines or the ABC test in general, but they are concerned that the law:
- Conflicts directly with federal franchise laws and organizational structure
- Affects the franchisee’s place in the business world
- Impacts the business relationship between franchisees and franchisors
The organization of franchises is unique in the business world, and owners are concerned that the language of AB5 would jeopardize the franchisee’s place – essentially defining them as the franchisor’s employee.
SHOULD BUSINESS OWNERS BE CONCERNED?
Franchisees are small business owners in their own right. After all, a franchise is generally considered a joint venture.
These business owners simply have the license to operate under a larger company’s trademark and with their business model. While they do have to protect the brand and adhere to specific rules of the larger company, they are independent. However, that does not classify them as an employee or independent contractor.
State lawmakers have been quite responsive to the concerns over AB5. Additionally, federal law already clearly defines franchise regulations and rules. Therefore, business owners involved with franchises should not worry, but they should monitor this lawsuit and take measures to protect their business.
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Cover your nose.
Perhaps the biggest mistake that many folks are making with face masks — besides not wearing them in public at all — is pulling the facial coverings down so that the nose is exposed.
Amid the ongoing debate over when and where people should wear masks, and the mixed messaging behind that, what’s perhaps been lost in the din is the correct way to put on a mask to actually help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the first place.
The CDC guidelines call for wearing a mask that covers both your nose and your mouth, with the mask secured under your chin. It should fit snugly against your face. There should not be large openings or gaps around your nose, mouth and the sides of your face.
width: 100% !important;
But as summer temperatures have scorched the U.S. — and, let’s face it, some social distancing fatigue has set in as the pandemic continues — health officials have had to remind people that pulling their masks down below their noses or their chins renders the mask basically useless.
That’s because you can still inhale the virus through your nose, or exhale viral particles and spread them to other people through your nose — even if you don’t feel sick. In fact, a recent study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that the SARS-CoV-2 — the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 — infects the cells in your nose much more easily than the cells in your throat or your lungs. Once the virus has established itself in your nose, it can then be aspirated into your lungs and cause more serious problems.
What’s more, the study suggests that people are probably releasing a higher concentration of the COVID-19 virus when breathing out of their noses, rather than exhaling out of their mouths.
“If the nose is the dominant initial site from which lung infections are seeded, then the widespread use of masks to protect the nasal passages, as well as any therapeutic strategies that reduce virus in the nose, such as nasal irrigation or antiviral nasal sprays, could be beneficial,” said study co-senior author Dr. Richard Boucher in a statement.
Wearing masks “really is a two-fer,” he further explained to the News & Observer. “You’re protecting yourself, and you’re protecting somebody else from you transmitting something in an asymptomatic phase.”
But you have to wear the mask properly.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently took sloppy mask behavior to task while warning protesters and police alike to wear the coverings properly last month.
“This is a mask,” he said, pulling one up to cover his nose, mouth and chin.
Then he pulled it down below his chin. “This is a chin guard,” he said, noting that wearing a mask this way “accomplishes nothing.”
“Nobody told you to wear a chin guard. Wear a mask,” he said.
More than 4 million Americans have tested positive for COVID-19, and 143,967 have died as of Friday morning. Dr. Anthony Fauci says, “I certainly don’t think we’re near the end of this” in a new interview with MarketWatch. President Donald Trump has at times also struck a more somber tone over the pandemic that has infected more than 15.3 million globally — and even begun calling on Americans to wear masks this week.
“Nobody told you to wear a chin guard. Wear a mask.”
But individuals can make a major impact in the battle against this global crisis by taking three simple steps: washing their hands regularly, keeping their distance from other people — and wearing masks. That’s according to a study out of the Netherlands that was published on Tuesday. “A large epidemic can be prevented if the efficacy of these measures exceeds 50%,” the researchers wrote. In other words, “SARS-CoV-2 will not cause a large outbreak in a country where 90% of the population adopts handwashing and social distancing that are 25% efficacious (i.e., reduce susceptibility and contact rate by 25%, respectively).”
Indeed, at least 230,000 cases of the coronavirus may have been prevented due to government orders requiring face masks in 15 states and the District of Columbia between April and mid-May, according to a recent study by two University of Iowa professors. Another study suggests that nearly 45,000 U.S. deaths from coronavirus could be prevented by November if 95% of the population wore masks.
But gender, political affiliation, race, income and geography all appear to play a role when it comes to whether individuals choose to wear a mask or not.
There are also many myths and misconceptions surrounding masks, such as that people only need to wear one if they’re showing symptoms, or that wearing a mask will reduce your oxygen level. Neither of these is true.
Read more:Here are the 5 biggest mask myths
Apart from making sure that your mask covers your nose and mouth, make sure it consists of two or three layers, which is best in preventing viral droplets spreading from your nose and mouth. An observational study published in the medical journal Thorax on Thursday found that a two-layer facial covering reduced the number of droplets spreading from coughing and sneezing better than a single layer of fabric. A three-ply surgical mask was the most effective. Still, even one layer is better than nothing.
And while you’re staying vigilant about washing your hands, don’t forget to wash your reusable face masks every day. You should also store them in a paper bag or re-sealable plastic bag to prevent them from becoming contaminated, rather than tossing them on your dresser or in your car. Here’s the best way to clean your face mask.
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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The Department of Environmental Conservation is planning its 16th CleanSweepNY program in western New York.
The program gives an opportunity for businesses, farms and schools to properly dispose of unwanted or obsolete pesticides and other chemicals. Empty, triple-rinsed plastic pesticide containers will be accepted for recycling.
The event the week of April 28 includes Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara and Wyoming counties. It’s designed for professional pesticide applicators, schools, golf courses, cemeteries and marinas. The services are not available to homeowners.
Last fall, DEC collected a record-breaking 138,000 pounds of chemicals from 11 counties in the Western Finger Lakes region.
Preregistration is required by April 25 at www.cleansweepny.org
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HAZRAT NASIR MOHAMMED FAKIR SOOFI ALQADRI
“Choose a master, for without him this journey is full of tribulations, fear and dangers. With no escort, you would be lost on a road you would have already taken. Do not travel alone on the Path. - Rumi
Sainiji, as he was popularly known as, was a devout Sufi who saw Allah in all creatures. As a child, he was timid and quiet and focused all his energies in trying to see Allah. He often daydreamed that he saw a Divine Being with a crown like a cap and even saw Him flying on horseback.
When He was a child, the area was affected with serious famine and many people died of starvation. Sainiji,however, due to divine intervention found two watermelons in the desert which would last Him the whole day. This continued everyday till the famine ended. When he turned 16, Sainji went to earn wages for his family. But due to being weak, he was unable to carry heavy weights and was given only 12 paisa whereas all the other labourers were given 25 paisa each. However, He never failed to call on Dastagir Badshah Pir who He felt could spare Him this hard physical labour. His request was granted and as winter approached, the work was stopped.
One day, He saw a boat coming along a canal which had no water. In the boat, Sainiji saw a heavenly light which appeared to be coming from five Divine Souls and Dastagir Badshah Pir. They bestowed great affection on him and instructed him to get his Divine Nam from Hazrat Abdul Sattar of Dargah Jhok Sharif.
Due to being poor, Sainiji could not travel to Jhok Sharif as the distance was too far and there were no trains at that time. However, a relative informed that Hazrat Abdul Sattar was expected there that day. Sainiji was elated. On seeing him, Hazrat Abdul Sattar told Him that he had received the message from Hazrat Nabi Karim (PBUH), and so He had come there only to give Him Nam.
Sainiji spent many years in the service of his Murshid Sahib( Spiritual Teacher) at Dargah Jhok Sharif. Daily, He washed utensils, swept the floors, milked the cows and cleant the stables of His Murshid’s mare. He performed various austerities by sitting in meditation continuously sometimes for 10 days( Daha), or 20 days( Ekihas) , or even for 40 days(Chalihas).He would consume only neem leaves and some water which would be His food for the whole day. After such hard penance He would feel so light when He walked as if He was flying. His mother often worried about his absences.
Sainiji then traveled to the Dargah of Lal Qalander Shahbaz where he was received affectionately. After he had been there for a few days, a spiritual being from Dargah Jhok Sharif appeared to Sainij to tell Him that He should now leave. When Sainiji reached Jhok Sharif, He was received by His Murshid whose entire being radiated love and affection for Sainiji. He then told Him to recount his experiences to all those who were assembled before. Sainiji glanced around at all the people present. His Murshid told him not to worry about the others. Sainiji then narrated all his experiences, while others were engrossed in their conversations. Saniji had so much love for his Murshid that out of respect he never uttered His name. Whenever He talked about His Murshid, He would be overcome with emotion and would not be able to talk further. Sainiji’s Murshid treated Him like His own son and often told others that whatever sprirtual experiences Sainiji had in one evening, others did not have after even a year’s time.
Sainji had so much love for His Murshid that out of respect He never uttered His name. Whenever He talked about His Murshid sahib, His emotions would not let Him talk further. Sometimes, He would sing Shah Latif’s kalaam in a low, soft and sweet sound: " Aaryani Ayhan Na Ditho, Jeki Ditho Ho Moon ", with tears in His eyes.
Once when Sainji got up from meditation at Roza Sharif, He saw His Murshid coming to Him with another person besides Him. His Murshid said to initiate the person and give him Nam. Sainji replied with great helplessness that He had not attained salvation Himself and He did not deem Himself capable of taking other people’s burden. After His Murshid persisted, Sainji initiated the person with tears in His eyes and said “By your order, I have initiated this man, but he is truly entrusted to Your care". Thereupon His Murshid Sahib took Sainji by His arm and came at the door of Hazrat Shah Shahid’s Roza and said “Oh, Sain Shah Shahid Sain, I have brought this child to your door. His murid’s are yours". Then, He took Sainji to chowkandi Sharif and said “Oh, Shah Qalander Data Pir, I have brought this child to your door. His murid’s are yours". Then He told Sainji to go on initiating people, entrusting them to Shah Shahid Sain and Shah Qalander Data Pir. After this, Sainji used to write in His letters to His murid’s “You are not my murid’s, but Theirs".
Sainji always stood tall and the Divine Light shining in His eyes highlighted His appearance. He had a broad ësoonheri’ (beard) with some black hair in the center. In His youth, He wore green clothes. In His later years, He wore a white long kurta and shalwar. He never wore a new shoe or a new coat. He wore a home made cap made from cotton in winter and a turban of saffron color when He went outside. He had a black ëkhathi’ (blanket) with Him with which He used to cover Himself while meditating. He walked with a simple wooden stick in His hand. He always sat with His back straight. His daily routine was very simple. From midnight till about 8 a.m. and from 5.30 p.m. till sunset, He sat in meditation on the floor. He went to sleep fairly early in the evening. When He was making rehan (discourse), His tone and manner of speech resembled a grandfather talking to his grandchildren. There was no pomp or show, no kalaams were sung and no book was read. He did not like to talk about worldly things but maintained a spiritual content. All during the day He was heard saying “Allah-e-Allah" or "Allah-Hoo".
Sainiji suffered from urinary tract and asthma due to which He was brought to Karachi for treatment. On 15th December, 1960, He underwent a prostrate operation. At midnight, He woke up and wanted to do meditation. On being told that it was still early, He said that almost half the night had passed and that He couldn’t sleep after midnight. On 16th December, 1960, He was cheerful and embraced Sain Mohammed Waris( His Murshid’grandson) who was just returning to Jhok Sharif to attend the anniversary of Shah Qalander Data Pir. Sainiji felt that indeed it was a sacred day and that He too would be going there soon. Before He passed away, He gave the necessary instructions to His four sons, telling them not to allow anyone to weep over his death and to keep away the kalaams from his burial site. He also told them to recite the Qu’ran Sharif near his tomb.
Sainiji breathed his last at 10 pm on 16th December, 1960. At 5.am, His body was taken with great dignity to Jalalani Sharif where people from all around the area had gathered to pay their last respects to Sainiji. Before sunset, His holy body was put to rest.
- Speak as little as possible so as to utilize dams (breaths) with Nam.
- Reduce sleep, food and other activities.
- Avoid using alcoholic drinks.
- Be frugal. Do not waste money, food, water etc. Water should be drunk slowly and while sitting.
- Be kind to all, even helpless tiny creatures like the ant.
- Never send back a needy and hungry person who comes to your door, even at an odd hour without giving them food or water.
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Fun Facts on the Light Bulb
Wild and wacky truths you probably didn't know about light bulbs
So far we've indulged you with a history of the light bulb, the kind of lighting best for romantic encounters and the best choices in the market for automotive headlamps. Want to learn more? Here are a few unexpected and widely unknown tidbits of information.
Fun Fact #1
Sure, everyone knows that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, right? Well, not the British. In many schools across the pond, children are taught that Joseph Wilson Swan is the true inventor of the light bulb. He patented a way to bring a filament to a white-hot state without causing a fire at least one year ahead of Edison (in 1878). So, who do you have to thank for not sitting in a dark room right now? The answer just might depend on which side of the Atlantic you call home.
Fun Fact #2
The average elephant weighs about 6 tons, or 12,000 pounds. Sounds like a lot, right? Do you know how many greenhouse gases we could keep out of the air if we all switched just five of our household fixtures to energy-efficient bulbs? You might be surprised to hear that if every American home changed five lamps from traditional incandescent light bulbs to energy-efficient CFL bulbs, the country could prevent one trillion pounds of greenhouse gases from polluting our air. That's about 83 million elephants.
Fun Fact #3
Energy-efficient light bulbs don't just save the environment and your wallet. They also prevent your house from becoming an oven (especially in the summer) by drastically reducing heat emissions. The average energy-saving bulb emits 70 percent less heat than the incandescent kind.
Fun Fact #4
A little bit goes a long way. If one in every 110 million Americans replaced a standard 60-watt bulb with a super-efficient CFL bulb, the power saved would be enough to electrify a city of 1.5 million people. Now that's brilliant.
Fun Fact #5
Need a few extra bucks? If every household in the United States switched just five of its lighting fixtures from incandescent bulbs to those of the energy-saving variety, a startling $6 billion could be saved collectively every year by Americans. With the current U.S. population at 295,734,134, the potential savings for every American is over 20 dollars. Andrew Jackson would be proud.
Fun Fact #6
Think the fluorescent light bulb is a new technology? It seems that an early ancestor of the fluorescent bulb actually predates Edison's or Swan's patent. In 1856, Heinrich Geissler contained a blue-hued gas by sealing it within a tube, and then excited the gas with an induction coil. Looks like Geissler's invention was just taking its sweet time!
Fun Fact #7
Those sneaky Canadians! Thomas Edison was so worried about owning the rights to the incandescent light bulb that he patented the technology in both the United States and Canada . The reason? A pair of Toronto scientists developed a light bulb using a carbon structure with nitrogen gas in 1874, and soon after attempted to commercialize the product. Although it failed, Edison deemed their efforts worth purchasing.
Fun Fact #8
Talk about an unfair race. Not only do light-emitting diodes (LEDs) require far less energy than incandescent light bulbs, but they're also much faster to physically light up. An LED can electrify in 0.01 seconds, or 10 times faster than the average incandescent light bulb (which takes 0.1 seconds to glow). The traditional bulb is just a moment slower, but it's yet another reason that LEDs might be worth the upgrade.
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Illegal ivory trade booms during Egypt's Arab Spring
The new report, Illegal ivory sales in Egypt, published in the latest issue of the TRAFFIC Bulletin states “Egypt remains one of Africa’s largest markets for illegal ivory items,” adding “No ivory items—old or new—can be sold legally in Egypt without a special permit, and none has ever been issued.”
According to senior government officials interviewed by the report’s authors, Esmond Martin and Lucy Vigne, since 2009, only two ivory seizures had taken place in Egypt, both at Cairo airport, while there had been no confiscations of ivory items from retail outlets since 2003.
During the latest survey carried out in March and April 2011, the authors counted 8343 ivory items openly for sale in Cairo, a city described as the “carving centre of the country”.
Despite the recent political unrest almost all outlets and workshops were open in the old market—Khan al-Khalili—Cairo’s main centre for the manufacture and retail sale of ivory products. A further 918 ivory items were seen in Luxor.
3000 of the ivory pieces were estimated to have been produced in the last five years, the rest mostly carved in Egypt in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Previous TRAFFIC surveys of Cairo and Luxor, the two main Egyptian ivory markets, in 1998 and 2005 found an overall 43% reduction in the combined number of ivory objects for sale, but this figure had only dropped by a further 10% in the 2011 survey, mostly in Luxor.
“The encouraging demise of Egypt’s illegal ivory markets between 1998 and 2005 has now lost all momentum. Government regulators have faltered and Egypt retains its unenviable position as a leading ivory retailing offender,” said Tom Milliken, TRAFFIC’s ivory trade expert, who commissioned the study.
“Tourists buying ivory are potentiating this illegal trade, making a mockery of CITES and fuelling the poaching of Africa’s elephants.”
The report found that while Spanish, Italians and Americans were the main buyers in 2005, more Egyptians and Gulf Arabs were now buying ivory rosaries and walking sticks, but the Chinese have become the principal buyers, reportedly purchasing over half of all worked ivory sold.
One ivory vendor told the investigators that Chinese buyers would sometimes spend USD50,000 on ivory during one bargaining session.
Others claimed there was no problem in bringing ivory out of Egypt, with some even offering to write a receipt indicating that a piece was an antique or made of camel bone.
The Egyptian Wildlife Service is mandated to prevent illegal wildlife products from coming into and out of the country and from being displayed in shops, but there have been few ivory seizures since 2005, while inspections of retail outlets have failed to find ivory.
Meanwhile, ivory continues to be openly carved and displayed in Cairo’s markets without any prosecution ensuing.
In May 2010, the Egyptian Management Authority for CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) held seven training courses involving wildlife officers, Customs, police officers and tourist workers, to identify products from endangered species, and produced posters to help officials identify elephant tusks.
“It is time these newly learned skills were employed to confiscate raw and worked ivory, in order to bring this flagrant trade to an end,” said Esmond Martin, the lead author on the report.
TRAFFIC is a joint programme of WWF and IUCN.
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Jurema Action Plant
an interactive bio-machine by Ivan Henriques
Jurema Action Plant aims to empower plants by enabling them to
use similar technologies as humans use. It is also explores new ways of
communication and co-relation between humans, living organism and a
machine. The Jurema Action Plant responds to human touch and you can't
help but wonder if it has feelings, memory, consciousness?
Ivan Henriques is
a multidisciplinary artist and researcher working in multimedia
installations examining different perceptions of time, memory and
environment. He create in his works exploring hybrids of nature and
(technological) culture creating new forms of communication between
humans and other living organisms.
Ivan won several prizes for his
work, among them for Jurema Action Plant and EME (Estúdio M óvel
Experimental) - Experimental Mobile Studio from 2008 till 2010, a
project selected and funded by the Secretaria de Cultura do Estado do
Rio de Janeiro and Conexões Artes Visuais, Brazil. Lately he
exhibited his works internationally, participating in festivals,
residencies, talks and exhibitions. Recently he finished his MA in
ArtScience Interfaculty at the Royal Academy of Arts and Royal
Conservatoire of Music, The Hague/NL.
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The Storyteller : on essays by Walter Benjamin and Dale Peck (5 December 2003)
"To write a novel is to take to the extreme that which is incommensurable in the representation of human existence. In the midst of life's fullness and through the representation of this fullness, the novel gives evidence of the profound perplexity of the living."
This is a passage from part five of Walter Benjamin's magnificent essay The Storyteller: Observations on the Works of Nikolai Leskov (published in 1936, from Illuminations and also volume three of his Selected Writings. I quote it because I like the idea of taking a novel to that extreme.
Benjamin makes the claim that there was a decline in storytelling in the 20th Century; a decline very much in progress when he was writing. Nowadays, it is axiomatic that storytelling is a good thing; something to be cherished. I'm reminded of the final pages of Peter Handke's great novel Repetition (Die Wiederholung, 1986) in which the narrator rounds off his journey, with an reordering, I suppose, of the invocation to the muse at the beginning of an Epic:
"Storytelling, there is nothing more worldly than you, nothing more just, my holy of holies. Storytelling, patron saint of long-range combat, my lady. Storytelling, most spacious of all vehicles, heavenly chariot. Eye of my story, reflect me, for you alone know me and appreciate me. Blue of heaven, descend into the plain, thanks to my storytelling. Storytelling, music of sympathy, forgive us, forgive and dedicate us. Story, give the letters another shake, blow trough the word sequences, order yourself into script, and give us, through your particular pattern, our common pattern." (translated by Ralph Manheim).
The sweet excess here has often been quoted approvingly: 'our common pattern' is taken as the goal of storytelling; the 'decline' is therefore seen negatively. Presumably, with the loss of narrative goes the loss of community. More generally, any hint of narrative seduction is hailed as 'a return to storytelling'; the promise of innocence. Benjamin, however, says that the decline is due not to the excessive knowingness of modern times but that 'the epic side of truth wisdom is dying out'. This wisdom takes the form of 'counsel'. It is a fact that an 'orientation toward practical matters is characteristic of many born storytellers'. The current lack of counsel is due, he says, to the increasing incommunicability of experience. The loss of such wisdom rather works against the strain of high fantasy in most of the novels were told appeal to older traditions.
Benjamin also sees the rise of the novel and its 'dependence on the book' as evidence of the decline of storytelling. The whole thing is 'concomitant of the secular productive forces of history a symptom that has quite gradually removed narrative from the realm of living speech and at the same time is making it possible to find a new beauty in what is vanishing'.
One might see this beauty in the flourishing of modernism. But I don't know what narrative in 'the realm of living speech' means exactly. Perhaps this is conclusive proof not only of storytelling's decline but its absence. And if that is so, it is causing cultural havoc.
While Benjamins essay is beyond my scope to discuss in full here, it does prompt an excuse to post a link to an article by Dale Peck, current scourge of polite literary discourse. We might see it as an attempt to deal with that decline in communicability, but it communicates very little of worth.
He explains why he has chosen to
become a review hachet merchant: he claims that 'the very process of literary
analysis legitimizes a body of work that I feel is unworthy of such attention'.
It is a curious piece. He tells us his hands are shaking as he types his 'heresy'
in excising from the canon, 'or at least the demotion in status,
Joyce, half of Faulkner and Nabokov, nearly all of Gaddis, Pynchon, and DeLillo,
not to mention the general dumping of their contemporary heirs'. In general, it
seems, he despises modernism. He says 'we have been far, far too busy celebrating
our Pyrrhic victories to examine our much greater failures' which these writers
represent. The celebration is 'esoteric and exclusionary, falsely intellectual
and alienating to the mass of readers, and just as falsely comforting to those
in the club.' It is a non-experience. So, presumably, we need a return to older
However, rather than pick the line of least resistance, Peck ends the essay with a theoretical flourish that, to me, is a reasonable restatement of Benjamin's at the beginning, as well as a plausible definition of modernism.
"Semiotically, syntactically, at the level of the sign and the level of the sentence, from which all narrative proceeds, language waters the seeds of its own failure. Not just its inability to be what it names, but the immense difficulty of measuring the gap between. Of distance? Of closeness? It depends whether you see the cup as half full or half empty. But only after a work of literature has accepted its own failure - has, as it were, elegized its stillborn self - can it begin the complex series of contextual manipulations by which meaning is created and we locate ourselves as surely as the ancient navigators fixed their positions between stars. [ ] Contemporary novels have either counterfeited reality or forfeited it. In their stead we need a new materialism."
Putting aside what the 'mass of readers' might make of this, I want to know what 'a new materialism' means. Any ideas?
And what does he make of the more representative modernist writers who have dealt with such failure: Proust, Kafka, Beckett, Bernhard, and Handke too?
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The active use of civilian drones to drop small-caliber ammunition on the enemy, which has become a traditional tool of fire impact on the enemy for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has become a catalyst for work on this topic for the USA and China as well.
Each of these countries has demonstrated its own 'development' features. In particular, the American armed forces first decided to check how effective such a weapon could actually be. Although it seems that after the astronomical number of videos from the front line in Ukraine, where improvised bombs and hand grenades dropped from civilian Mavic-type quadcopters destroy manpower, vehicles, light and even heavy armored vehicles, it is surprising that such questions appear at all.
Read more: Ukraine’s Ground Forces Commander Says Defense Forces Aware of Enemy’s Plans in Bakhmut Front
In the USA:
A separate project was created for testing. According to the press service of the US Ministry of Defense, it is implemented under the auspices of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities and Development Command (DEVCOM). The DEVCOM Armament Center and units of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions participated in the tests themselves. During the tests, which lasted from February 22 to 24, a hand grenade was successfully dropped from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.
For this, the RQ-28A quadrocopter by Skydio was used, with a dropping mechanism specially developed by the DEVCOM engineering team. Dropping a grenade from a quadcopter was entrusted to a soldier assigned to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. It is noted that this was the first time that the American military carried out such an operation.
As a result of the tests in the USA, the possibility of such a combat use of the RQ-28A drone and the general viability of the concept were proven.
At the same time, somewhere in China:
One of the enterprises started serial equipping of agricultural multicopters for dropping mortar mines. Each such a drone is equipped with a device for dropping 8 mines, which most likely correspond to 82-mm caliber.
For such drones, the corresponding software has already been created, which works with a dropping mechanism itself. In addition, this software may even work out certain external data for more accurate aiming.
At the same time, it should be noted that these multicopters are equipped with an internal combustion engine, which has a rather characteristic sound, which is a significant unmasking factor.
But in general, the Chinese approach simply impresses with its massiveness and willingness to really respond to market requests as quickly as possible.
As Defense Express reported, Ukraine Started to Use Mysterious And Highly Effective Kamikaze Drones. We also wrote, that the U.S. Air Force Confirmed Successful Use of JDAM-ER by Ukraine
Read more: Ukrainian Marines Sent "Hello" to russian Tank from Drone, While Paratroopers Reminded Occupiers How Javelin Works (Video)
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Hundreds of Mongolians in Taiwan, including those who followed the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime as it fled across the Taiwan Strait in 1949, as well as Mongolian students yesterday paid their tribute to the Mongol Empire founder, Genghis Khan, at a ceremony in Taipei organized by the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission.
However, many said the ceremony was not authentic.
Presenting incense, liquor and khata — a silk scarf used by Mongolians to show respect — hundreds of Mongolians, as well as commission Minister Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪), paid their respects to the former ruler.
Following the rituals, music and dance performances were held by troupes from China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
In the seating area of the ritual venue, several Mongolian students took pictures and recorded videos with their smartphones.
“This [ritual] is different from what we do in Mongolia,” said Anir, a 23-year-old Mongolian master’s student in business administration at Ming Chuan University.
“It’s also a little strange to see a foreign government hosting a ritual to pay respects to our national hero,” Anir said. “I guess they’re doing it for those Mongolians who came to Taiwan with [former president] Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石).”
Another Mongolian student, studying at National Taipei University of Technology, who declined to give her name, said there was also a ritual to honor Genghis Khan in Mongolia, but it takes place in July.
“Because that’s when Genghis Khan created the Mongol Empire,” she said.
Luo said that yesterday, which was the 21st day of the third month of the lunar calendar, is the day when Mongolians traditionally gather at Genghis Khan’s tomb in Inner Mongolia.
“The ceremony, which takes place once every year, is conducted in accordance with traditional Mongolian customs,” Luo said.
Eighty-three-year-old Gechitul, who was born in Inner Mongolia and followed the KMT regime to Taiwan, served as one of the chief celebrants at the ceremony. He said the offerings used in the ritual were not exactly what they would traditionally use.
“The ceremony should take place on the 21st day of the third lunar month — the date is correct, but the offerings are a little different,” he said.
Mongolians would either pay their respects to Genghis Khan as a group in public or at home, he said.
“When you do it at home, the ritual is more simple, but the offerings would usually include cheese, milk, liquor and butter,” he said. “When you do it in public and in a group, it’s more formal and offerings would include the ‘nine whites,’” which include a white goat, white goat fur, a white bull, a white camel, a white horse, milk, yogurt and a white khata.
“But of course, most of the ‘nine whites’ are not available in Taiwan and thus some alternatives are acceptable,” he said.
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Suppose that the marketing manager for the Famous Retail Appliance Store proposes a sale. Customers can buy now but donít have to pay for their appliance purchases for eighteen months. From a time value of money perspective, selling appliances at full price with payment in eighteen months is equivalent to selling appliances at a sale, or discounted, price with immediate payment. Suppose that the interest rate is 12 percent per year (APR) with monthly compounding. What is the equivalent sale price today of a $2,392.29 washer/dryer combo when the customer takes the full eighteen months to pay for it?
FV_18months=2392.29 PV=FV/(1+0.12/12)^18=2392.29/(1.01)^18 =1999.995861 = 2000.00
Therefore the equivalent sale price today is $2000.00.
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When you buy a business, you should make sure that the seller is caught up on paying state taxes. If you don’t, you might find yourself stuck with the bill after closing. Worse yet, you might find that your shiny new business is encumbered by a tax lien.
In every state I’m aware of, the law allows state taxing authorities to assess the buyer of a business for unpaid taxes of the seller — even if the transaction is structured as an asset sale. Tax obligations follow the business assets, even if the purchase agreement says that the buyer isn’t taking on those liabilities.
Protection against unpaid taxes
There are a number of ways buyers can protect themselves. First, as always, buyers can perform due diligence, such as reviewing tax returns and comparing the amount of taxes paid with the expected tax liability based on financial performance as recorded in the financial statements.
Second, the purchase agreement should state that the seller retains responsibility for pre-closing tax liabilities. It should also contain a representation by the seller that all taxes have been paid, and it should contain an indemnification obligation that requires the seller to foot the bill for any taxes that the buyer is assessed post-closing. These protections are standard and won’t be controversial for most deals.
If there’s seller financing, the buyer can negotiate a set-off right to permit the buyer to withhold amounts paid after closing for the seller’s tax obligations from future payments owed to the seller under the seller note. As another protection the buyer can pay a portion of the purchase price into an escrow account to be held until the buyer’s risk of being assessed for the seller’s taxes has abated. These two protections are less standard, but still perfectly reasonable requests in most cases.
What is tax clearance?
But the best protection is to obtain a tax clearance certificate. A tax clearance certificate is a document issued by a state taxing authority that confirms that a company is current on its tax obligations. Some states refer to the process as a “bulk sale” (not to be confused with bulk sale laws under Article 6 of the Uniform Commercial Code that protect trade creditors, which have been repealed in many states). Some states don’t have a tax clearance process, but if a tax clearance process is available, it’s usually advisable to comply.
First, a couple of downsides: In some states a tax clearance request can trigger an audit of the seller by the taxing authorities. Also, the tax clearance process usually takes a week or longer, so waiting for a certificate could slow down the deal. I’ve seen certificates delayed beyond the normal processing time for minor administrative reasons even when the company didn’t owe any taxes. Not the sort of delay you want to see on the final stretch to closing. Finally, states often require money to be paid into escrow or withheld by the buyer, which delays payment to the seller. For these reasons, it’s not unusual for buyers and sellers to forego the tax clearance procedure.
How tax clearance works
The tax clearance process varies from state to state. But to illustrate, I’ll describe the process in Missouri, which is where many of my deals take place. First, a bit about the law. Here’s a short summary:
Under RSMo § 144.150 (for sales and use taxes) and § 143.241 (for withholding taxes) sellers are required to file a final tax return within 15 days after the sale of their business. They are also required to provide the buyer before closing with a statement from the director of revenue of the amount of taxes that the seller owes or a certificate stating that no taxes are due. If the seller fails to do this, the seller will be assessed a penalty in the amount of 25% of the tax delinquency. This penalty can’t be passed on to the buyer.
Upon request by the seller, the director of revenue is required to provide, within 15 business days of receiving the request, a statement of the amount of taxes that are due or a certificate stating that no taxes are due.
The buyer is required to withhold from the purchase price enough money to cover the seller’s unpaid taxes. If the buyer doesn’t withhold the funds, the buyer is liable for the seller’s unpaid taxes. Like I said, the seller’s unpaid taxes are the buyer’s problem no matter how the transaction is structured.
The request for a statement of the amount of taxes due or a certificate that no taxes are due is made by filing a Form 943, Request for Tax Clearance, with the Department of Revenue. The simple one-page form can be mailed or faxed. Here’s a screenshot of the form:
- Through the tax clearance process, buyers of businesses can protect themselves from the seller’s unpaid state sales, use, and income taxes.
- The seller must submit a Form 943, Request for Tax Clearance before closing.
- The director of revenue is required to provide, within 15 business days, a statement of the amount of taxes due or a certificate that no taxes are due.
- If taxes are owed, the buyer must withhold the appropriate amount from the purchase price.
- If the buyer doesn’t follow the tax clearance process, the buyer will be assessed with the seller’s unpaid taxes.
- If the seller doesn’t follow the tax clearance process, the seller will owe an additional penalty of 25% of the tax arrearage.
Image credit: Shutterstock. Image may not be copied or downloaded.
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Laguna, Philippines — Government information officers, journalists and members of the ASEAN Heritage Parks (AHP) Committee from the ten ASEAN Member States will meet in Surabaya, Indonesia on November 19-21 for an international meeting-workshop on promoting public awareness of the role of taxonomy in biodiversity conservation. In partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) of Indonesia and the Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH)-Surabaya, the event is funded by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund through the Expanded Taxonomic Capacity Building and Governance for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity Project.
Mr. Demetrio L. Ignacio, Jr., Acting Executive Director of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and concurrently Undersecretary of the Philippines' Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said that although ASEAN is home to key biodiversity regions in the world, with three of the world's 17 mega-diverse countries (Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines) found in the region, the lack of trained human resources and inadequate capacities on taxonomy has been stressed as one of the obstacles in the implementation of Convention on Biological Diversity commitments, especially in Southeast Asia.
"Human activities, the driving force behind the regional growth, threaten biological resources. Access to scientific information on biodiversity in this region, however, is a crucial issue in the assessment and prediction of biodiversity changes, caused mainly by inadequate taxonomic capacity in data collection and analysis. This is further compounded by the lack of awareness by the media sector that there exists such a treasure trove of information, although they have a big role in its dissemination.
"Adequate taxonomy is one of the necessary fundamental tools required for the global community to be able to implement the Millennium Development Goals and the development targets from the World Summit for Sustainable Development. Without adequate long-term investment in the human, infrastructural (including, important biological collections) and information resources necessary to underpin the science of taxonomy, the now well-recognized taxonomic impediment will continue to prevent adequate implementation of sound, scientifically-based sustainable, environmental management and development policies," Mr. Ignacio explained.
Dr. Filiberto Pollisco, Jr., coordinator of the ACB-JAIF project and programme management specialist at ACB, added that the challenge is the relative low level of awareness with policy and decision-makers and media practitioners to pay adequate attention to this mounting problem which is leading to insufficient human, financial and institutional resources.
"The level of awareness and skills must be high, particularly in the management of protected areas and critical conservation areas. The evolving problem of other environmental issues, such as climate change, land use changes, and pollution, requires constant bombardment of communication, education and public awareness (CEPA) campaigns and materials. An integrated national programme covering public awareness, skills training, research and information sharing must be developed to manage these concerns," Dr. Pollisco explained.
Rolando Inciong, head of ACB's Communication and Public Affairs, said the international meeting-workshop aims to build capacity of ASEAN Member States to address the lack of awareness on issues relating to biodiversity conservation.
"We will be introducing the role of taxonomy in biodiversity conservation to media in Southeast Asia and upgrade the participants' skills in crafting CEPA strategies which they can use in their respective countries to promote public awareness of the importance of taxonomy in the sustainable management of our biodiversity.
"The event's expected outputs are: clear understanding by the participants of the importance of taxonomy in biodiversity conservation; familiarity of the participants with the AHP Programme; upgraded skills of the participants in developing a CEPA strategy and action plan and promoting taxonomy and the ASEAN Heritage Parks; draft of CEPA strategy and action plan per country, including next steps; and a network of media practitioners who will promote taxonomy and biodiversity conservation and the AHPs," Mr. Inciong said.
Resource persons are: Rolando A. Inciong, Head, Communication and Public Affairs Unit of ACB; Dr. Filiberto Pollisco, Jr., GTI-JAIF Project Coordinator; Programme Management Specialist, ACB; Dr. Monina T. Uriarte, Capacity Building Specialist, ACB; Ms. Sahlee Barrer, Communication Consultant, ACB; Mr. Guillermo Santos, Professor of Journalism, Lyceum of the Philippines and Former Publisher, Journal Group of Companies; Ms. Olivia Sylvia Inciong, External Relations Officer for GMS, Asian Development Bank; and Prof. Rochelle Divinagracia, UPH-Surabaya.
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The knowledge factor, in a security context, is a category of authentication credentials consisting of information that the user possesses, such as a personal identification number (PIN), a user name, a password or the answer to a secret question.
User authentication is the verification of an active human-to-machine transfer of credentials required for confirmation of a user’s authenticity; the term contrasts with machine authentication, which involves automated processes that do not require user input.
Which tips, tutorials and opinion pieces on VMware caught the eye of many of our visitors? Our top 10 list for 2014 makes it easy to consume them all in one place.
I am fed up of Outlook crashing and losing my emails on Mac. I have used outlook windows in past and never experienced any kind of issues. So, would like to move from Mac to Windows but I have a lot of emails stored in Mac and would require those when moving onto windows. Is there any specific...
SAP Service Desk was a weak, late entrant to the market, according to one expert, who says that’s slowly changing due to enhancements in the latest version of Solution Manager 7.1.
In this segment of his Storage Decisions presentation, Dennis Martin of Demartek discusses the benefits of using SSD as cache.
Learn the advantages and disadvantages of using Open Authorization for Web application authentication.
Outgoing TechTarget News Director Shamus McGillicuddy reflects on his time covering the networking industry.
There's no point in choosing between DevOps and SDN. SDN is actually the perfect toolset for DevOps, with its unified vision and control over the entire network. Meanwhile, DevOps lends itself to the kind of hybridized IT model necessary for SDN.
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Dreaming of moving to Florida for your retirement? How about Hawaii? What if you could do this by the age of 40? It may just be well in reach if you start putting measures in place early and have laser-like focus toward that goal.
Early Retirement By the Numbers
According to Statistics Canada, since 2009 the average retirement age has risen slowly but steadily, reaching 62.3 in 2011. In the United States, the average adult retires at 61, according to a Gallup poll. In Australia, men retiring within the last five years were 61.5 to 63.3, on average, and women were 59.6, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Whereas in Japan, the average worker retires at 69.1, and in Luxembourg, the average retirement age is 57.6, according to the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Based on those averages, financial experts consider an early retirement age to be under 55, and typically between the ages of 50 and 55. But in some countries, like India, for instance, where two-thirds of the population is 35 or younger, this, more youthful working population has its goal set to retire even earlier. Here are some tips on making it happen:
What will you need to do: Dropping out of the workforce years before everyone else, means you have to be completely debt free, and have a solid foundation, with savings equal to about 25 times the income you wish to achieve in retirement, taking any government pensions or payments into account.
Most people will need 70 percent to 80 percent of their pre-retirement income in order to maintain their standard of living during retirement, by which time they will have ideally paid off home mortgages and any other major debt, according to advisors.
1. Pay Off Significant Debt
Most financial experts agree that paying down debt like mortgages, car loans and other significant obligations is key for early retirement.
The latest mortgage market survey from the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals shows that 15 per cent of homeowners have been increasing the amount of their payments in recent years, down from 19 per cent in the 1990s and early 2000s. Instead, owners are increasingly paying down their mortgages with lump-sum amounts. Sixteen per cent of owners did this in recent years, a rate that has crept higher since the 1990s.
However striking a balance with paying down debt and saving for retirement is just as important. Just as you get the biggest benefit from mortgage prepayment in your early years of home ownership, so do your retirement savings profit from contributions made when you’re young. So if retirement by 40 is your goal – then striking a balance between paying down debt and savings for retirement is necessary.
3. The 4% Rule
A basic financial rule of thumb maintains that you can withdraw about 4% from a retirement portfolio per year — or 1/25th of the balance. That means you should be able to safely withdraw about $40,000 per year from a $1,000,000 retirement portfolio — added to whatever you might be receiving (or expecting to receive later) from the government. Earnings and interest will presumably make up the difference annually, making it possible to withdraw 4% a year indefinitely. (Market fluctuations may affect this, of course.)
However this rule is based on the assumption that the retirement fund will need to last only three decades. For those who want to retire by 40 – Most advisors now advice withdrawing with a 3% rule instead. By withdrawing 1% less each year early retirees should have enough funds to last four decades.
3. Use Tax-Free Savings and Investment Instruments to Help you with Retirement Goals
In a recent article on Aspire-Canada, we explored how Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSA’s) could make you a millionaire. Part of the reason is the tax free benefits and the ability to build up a significant retirement fund. Asset allocation will be key is this strategy as a limited savings account yielding 2% will not be sufficient to get you moving towards this goal.
Tax free accounts are even more important as anticipated rates of return and inflation are wild cards. Taxes are also a big consideration for early retirees, given that many people save most of their money in retirement accounts that are taxable, which levy penalties for withdrawals before a certain age.
Living for an additional 50 years in retirement puts an onerous amount of pressure any portfolio to keep pace with inflation. This means that a comprehensive approach that works in tax strategy to save an investment is key for those who want to retire early.
4. Retirement Doesn’t Mean You need to completely stop working
You can still earn a solid income from working from home on the projects you enjoy. Ideally, at this young age its important to stay active and occupied. Many people use this time to work on hobbies and still get paid to do the things they love. Whether its doing additional consulting work, tutoring or renting out extra space, having an additional cash boost every month can help keep you afloat in early retirement. Put this extra income boost as one of your early retirement goals to protect you from swings in investment income and rising inflation.
Those who retire in their 40s will have to wait decades, until at least 60, before they are eligible for benefits like the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, or the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and they are likely to collect less in benefits than Canadians who pay into the system for a longer time. They may also need their money to last for an additional 40 to 50 years.
Many people underestimate how much money they will need, because spending on leisure activities, such as travel, often increases immediately after retirement. For those who retire in their 60s, spending on leisure activities tends to trail off after a decade or so, but that is when health-care costs generally pick up. In addition to good government-based healthcare plans additional health coverage to cover any gaps that may exist is also a good idea.
A solid approach is key towards building up a sizeable fund for early retirement. Think you are on track? Send us your comments.
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Report of General Robert E. Lee, C. S. Army, commanding Army of Northern Virginia.
Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia,
April 18, 1863.
General S. Cooper,
Adjutant and Inspector General, C. S. Army, Richmond, Va.:
General: I respectfully submit herewith my report of the operations of this army from the battles before Richmond* to and including the battle of Cedar Mountain. The accompanying documents comprising reports of subordinate commanders, &c., are designated in the schedule attached to my report. Continue reading “No. 26. General Robert E. Lee.”
Reports of Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson, C.S. Army, commanding Valley District, with congratulations from General R. E. Lee.
Near Locust Dale, August 9, 1862.
General: I am not making much progress. The enemy’s cavalry yesterday and last night also threatened my train. Eight of their number, including 3 officers, were captured by Colonel Flournoy yesterday. None were captured last night so far as heard. Continue reading “No. 28. Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson.”
Report of Maj. Gen. Ambrose P. Hill, C. S. Army, commanding Light Division.
Headquarters Light Division,
Camp Gregg, March 8, 1863.
Colonel: I have the honor to submit the following report of the part taken by the Light Division, under my command, at the battle of Cedar Run: Continue reading “No. 50. Maj. Gen. Ambrose P. Hill.”
Report of Brig. Gen. Edward L. Thomas, C. S. Army, commanding Third Brigade.
Headquarters Third Brigade, Light Division,
October 25, 1862.
Major: I have the honor to report that this brigade on August 9 was, by order of General Hill, turned from the line of march to the right of the road and ordered to report to General Jackson. Continue reading “No. 53. Brig. Gen. Edward L. Thomas.”
Report of Captain Samuel Thomas Player, Forty-ninth Georgia, of the Battle of Cedar Mountain, Virginia, August 9, 1862.
I have the honor to submit the following report of the part taken by the Forty-ninth Regiment, Georgia Volunteers, in the battle at Cedar Run on August 9. Continue reading “Capt. Samuel Thomas Player.”
Report of Brig. Gen. L. O’B. Branch, C. S. Army, commanding ____ Brigade,
with extracts from his journal.
Hdqrs. Branch’s Brigade, A. P. Hill’s Division,
August 18, 1862.
Sir: I have the honor to report that on Saturday, August 9, while on the march toward Culpeper Court-House, I was ordered to halt my brigade and form it in line of battle on the left of and at right angles to the road. Continue reading “No. 55. Brig. Gen. L. O’Bryan Branch.”
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Several technologically superior equipments are utilised by the dentist to discover out the dental defect. A number of exams are carried out by the dentist to locate out the root cause of your dental issue. Soon after all the tests, the dentist will prescribe you about the treatment options that will do to your tooth.
Cosmetic dentist is one particular who can enable you to get a attractive smile. Wanting good and eye-catching can support you to get accomplishment in their lifestyle. It is mentioned that a gorgeous smile can make your working day, your smile is priceless and you really should do every doable factor to get make it best. Right now, cosmetic dentist has quite a few new and state-of-the-art technologies that can make your enamel and gums nutritious. The ailments associated to enamel can turn out to be critical and for this an personal can visit a cosmetic dentist New York. This dentist can get rid of any form of dental illnesses. Beauty dentistry is a department of dentistry that transpires to give you a stunning smile employing porcelain veneers, bridges, crowns, dental implants, restorative dentistry, and enamel whitening, and bonding systems. All these are component of dentistry that can remove any variety of dental problems.
For individuals who can't pay for large-charge dental treatment, there are a amount of avenues open for them in New York. Different dental options and group solutions are in operation so that the poor are not deprived of required remedy.
Just take for occasion the NYU College of Dentistry. The school offers almost 230,000 visits yearly to the most multiethnic, multicultural and desperately lousy affected individual population in the United States. They incorporate a substantial quantities of Medicaid recipients who account for roughly 60,000 affected person visits annually. A lot of other people are dealt with free of charge of charge because they are not able to pay for care, uninsured, or ineligible for Medicaid. The University gives more than $30 million per year in absolutely free care.
Dentist! Does the really term tends to make you frightened? If of course, then you require to experience this to have the perfect dental wellness. Overcome your worry of the dentist, his office and the dentist's chair if you actually want to have powerful and healthier tooth. If you take place to be residing in New York then you have an exceptional likelihood to get expert services from the best dentist in New York. This is straightforward since New York dentists are entirely able of performing what is required for perfecting and correcting the dental heath of men and women. So uncover out the very best dentist in New York if you are encountering any sort of dental problems.
Dental problems can be of various varieties. So if you want to discover out precisely what type of ailment ails your tooth, the dentist is the greatest person who can assist you out of this situation. There are a lot of technologically sophisticated kinds of tools that are utilized by dentists to discover out the precise lead to of a dental defect. The dentist will conduct various checks to decide and discover out the specific problem of your dental well being. dentists new york city
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The Russia-Ukraine war is exacerbating international food price volatility
- Impact Area
The IFPRI Food Security Portal’s Excessive Food Price Variability Early Warning System is showing excessive levels of price volatility in the four major food commodities: Wheat, maize, rice, and soybeans, as well as for cotton. Markets for hard and soft wheat and soybeans had already been more volatile than normal since late 2021, well ahead of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24. That conflict, coming on top of the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, has already contributed to spiking food prices, with possible major consequences for global food security.
Rising price volatility poses a distinct threat, as it induces greater market uncertainty, which affects production decisions, and can spur speculative behavior. Both would fan further food price inflation. What is driving the current price volatility, and what are its implications for markets and food security?
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The Battle of Antietam (also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the South), fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with almost 23,000 casualties. More Americans were killed in this one-day campaign than in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Spanish-American War, and Mexican War combined.
After pursuing Confederate General Robert E. Lee into Maryland, Union Army Major General George B. McClellan launched attacks against Lee's army, in defensive positions behind Antietam Creek. At dawn on September 17, Major General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker's corps mounted a powerful assault on Lee's left flank. Attacks and counterattacks swept across Miller's cornfield and fighting swirled around the Dunker Church which was situated atop a small flat-topped hill. Union assaults against the Sunken Road eventually pierced the Confederate center, but the Federal advantage was not followed up. Late in the day, Major General Ambrose Burnside's corps finally got into action, crossing the stone bridge over Antietam Creek and rolling up the Confederate right. At a crucial moment, Major General Ambrose Pierce Hill's division arrived from Harpers Ferry and counterattacked, driving back Burnside and saving the day. Although outnumbered two-to-one, Lee committed his entire force, while McClellan sent in less than three-quarters of his army, enabling Lee to fight the Federals to a standstill. During the night, both armies consolidated their lines. In spite of crippling casualties, Lee continued to skirmish with McClellan throughout September 18, while removing his wounded south of the river.
Despite having superiority of numbers, McClellan's attacks failed to achieve concentration of mass, allowing Lee to counter by shifting forces to meet each challenge and outraging President Lincoln back in Washington. Despite ample reserve forces that could have been deployed to exploit localized successes, McClellan failed to destroy Lee's army. Nevertheless, Lee's invasion of Maryland was ended, and he was able to withdraw his army back to Virginia without interference from the cautious McClellan. Although the battle was tactically inconclusive, it had unique significance as enough of a victory to give President Abraham Lincoln the confidence to announce his Emancipation Proclamation. It also discouraged major European powers such as France and England from supporting the Confederacy and perhaps altered the course of the war.
Lee's Army of Northern Virginia—45,000 men—had entered the state of Maryland following their recent victory at Second Bull Run. Lee's strategy was to seek new supplies and recruits from the border, slave state of Maryland, which had considerable pockets of Confederate sympathizers, and to affect public opinion prior to the upcoming elections in the North. (As it turned out, the social impact of Lee's actions was otherwise mixed; Marylanders were not as thoroughly won over by the sounds of Maryland, My Maryland from the bands of the Army of Northern Virginia as Lee would have hoped, and the weak strategic victory of the Army of the Potomac at Antietam diminished any successes Lee may have had in winning the hearts and minds of the people of Maryland). Lee sought to raid in the North to boost his army’s resources. Some Confederate politicians, including Jefferson Davis, believed the prospect of foreign recognition for the Confederacy would be made stronger by a military victory on Northern soil; such a victory might gain recognition and financial support from Great Britain and France, although there is no evidence that Lee thought the South should base its military plans on this possibility. McClellan moved alongside Lee to protect the Union capital from invasion.
While McClellan's 90,000-man Army of the Potomac was moving to intercept Lee, Union soldiers (Corporal Barton W. Mitchell and First Sergeant John M. Bloss of the 27th Indiana Volunteer Infantry) discovered a mislaid copy of the detailed battle plans of Lee's army—Special Order 191—near Fredericksburg, Maryland wrapped around three cigars. The order indicated that Lee had divided his army and dispersed portions geographically (to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia to secure the gun factory and rail lines, and Hagerstown, Maryland to ensure that railways here where also safely controlled), thus making each subject to isolation and defeat in detail if McClellan could move quickly enough. McClellan waited about 18 hours before deciding to take advantage of this intelligence and position his forces based on it, thus squandering an opportunity to defeat Lee decisively. Again he had estimated his enemy to be far more numerous than it actually was, albeit with Lee's full battle plans in hand.
There were two significant engagements in the Maryland campaign prior to the major battle of Antietam: Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's capture of Harpers Ferry and McClellan's assault through the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Battle of South Mountain. The former was significant because a large portion of Lee's army was absent from the start of the battle of Antietam, attending to the surrender of the Union garrison; the latter because stout Confederate defenses at two passes through the mountains delayed McClellan's advance enough for Lee to concentrate the remainder of his army at Sharpsburg after he tried to close in on the Confederate army on September 14.
General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was organized into two large infantry corps.
The First Corps, under Maj. Gen. James Longstreet, consisted of the divisions of:
The Second Corps, under Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, consisted of the divisions of:
The remaining units were the Cavalry Corps, under Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, and the reserve artillery, commanded by Brig. Gen. William N. Pendleton. The Second Corps was organized with artillery attached to each division, in contrast to the First Corps, which reserved its artillery at the corps level.
Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac, bolstered by units absorbed from John Pope's Army of Virginia, included six infantry corps.
The I Corps, under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, consisted of the divisions of:
The II Corps, under Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner, consisted of the divisions of:
The V Corps, under Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter, consisted of the divisions of:
The VI Corps, under Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin, consisted of the divisions of:
The IX Corps, under Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, consisted of the divisions of:
The XII Corps, under Maj. Gen. Joseph K. Mansfield, consisted of the divisions of:
Near the town of Sharpsburg, Lee deployed his available forces behind Antietam Creek along a low ridge, starting on September 15. It was an effective defensive position, although not an impregnable one. The terrain provided excellent cover for infantrymen, with rail and stone fences, outcroppings of limestone, and little hollows and swales. The creek to their front was only a minor barrier, ranging from 60 to 100 feet (18-30 m) in width, and was fordable in places and crossed by three stone bridges each a mile (1.5 km) apart. It was also a precarious position because the Confederate rear was blocked by the Potomac River and only a single crossing point, Boteler's Ford, was available should retreat be necessary. And on September 15, the force under Lee's immediate command consisted of no more than 18,000 men, only a third the size of the Federal army.
The first two Union divisions arrived on the afternoon of September 15 and the bulk of the remainder of the army late that evening. Although an immediate Union attack on the morning of September 16 would have had an overwhelming advantage in numbers, McClellan's trademark caution and his belief that Lee had over 100,000 men caused him to delay his attack for a day. This gave the Confederates more time to prepare defensive positions and allowed Longstreet's corps to arrive from Hagerstown and Jackson's corps, minus A.P. Hill's division, to arrive from Harpers Ferry. Jackson defended the left (northern) flank, anchored on the Potomac, Longstreet the right (southern) flank, anchored on the Antietam, a line that was about 4 miles (6 km) long. (As the battle progressed and Lee shifted units, these corps boundaries overlapped considerably.)
On the evening of September 16, McClellan ordered Hooker's I Corps to cross Antietam Creek and probe the enemy positions. Meade's division cautiously attacked the Confederates under Hood near the East Woods. After darkness, artillery fire continued as McClellan continued to position his troops. McClellan's plan was to overwhelm the enemy's left flank. He arrived at this decision because of the configuration of bridges over the Antietam. The lower bridge (which would soon be named Burnside Bridge) was dominated by Confederate positions on the bluffs overlooking it. The middle bridge, on the road from Boonsboro, was subject to artillery fire from the heights near Sharpsburg. But the upper bridge was 2 miles (3 km) east of the Confederate guns and could be crossed safely. McClellan planned to commit more than half his army to the assault, starting with two corps, supported by a third, and if necessary a fourth. He intended to launch a simultaneous diversionary attack against the Confederate right with a fifth corps, and he was prepared to strike the center with his reserves if either attack succeeded. The skirmish in the East Woods served to signal McClellan's intentions to Lee, who prepared his defenses accordingly. He shifted men to his left flank and sent urgent messages to his two commanders who had not yet arrived on the battlefield: Lafayette McLaws with two divisions and A.P. Hill with one division.
McClellan's plans were ill-coordinated and executed poorly. He issued to each of his subordinate commanders only the orders for his own corps, not general orders describing the entire battle plan. The terrain of the battlefield made it difficult for those commanders to monitor events outside of their sectors, and McClellan's headquarters were more than a mile in the rear (at the Philip Pry house, east of the creek), making it difficult for him to control the separate corps. Therefore, the battle progressed the next day as essentially three separate, mostly uncoordinated battles: Morning in the northern end of the battlefield, mid-day in the center, and afternoon in the south. This lack of coordination and concentration of McClellan's forces almost completely nullified the two-to-one advantage the Union enjoyed and allowed Lee to shift his defensive forces to meet each offensive, in effect producing a number of stalemates between the two armies on the battlefield.
The battle opened at dawn (about 5:30 a.m.) on September 17 with an attack down the Hagerstown Turnpike by the Union I Corps under Joseph Hooker. Hooker's objective was the plateau on which the Dunker Church sat, a modest whitewashed building belonging to a local sect of German Baptists. Hooker had approximately 8,600 men, little more than the 7,700 defenders under Stonewall Jackson, and this slight disparity was more than offset by the Confederates' strong defensive positions. Abner Doubleday's division moved on Hooker's right, James Ricketts's moved on the left into the East Woods, and George Meade's Pennsylvania Reserves division deployed in the center and slightly to the rear. Jackson's defense consisted of the divisions under Alexander Lawton and John R. Jones in line from the West Woods, across the Turnpike, and along the southern end of the Miller Cornfield. Four brigades were held in reserve inside the West Woods.
As the first Union men emerged from the North Woods and into the Cornfield, an artillery duel erupted. Confederate fire was from the horse artillery batteries under Jeb Stuart to the west and four batteries under Col. Stephen D. Lee on the high ground across the pike from the Dunker Church to the south. Union return fire was from nine batteries on the ridge behind the North Woods and four batteries of 20-pounder Parrott rifles, 2 miles (3 km) east of Antietam Creek. The conflagration caused heavy casualties on both sides and was described by Col. Lee as "artillery Hell."
Seeing the glint of Confederate bayonets concealed in the Cornfield, Hooker halted his infantry and brought up four batteries of artillery, which fired shell and canister over the heads of the Federal infantry, covering the field. The artillery and rifle fire from both sides acted like a scythe, cutting down cornstalks and men alike.
Meade's 1st Brigade of Pennsylvanians, under Brig. Gen. Truman Seymour, began advancing through the East Woods and exchanged fire with Colonel James Walker's brigade of Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina troops. As Walker's men forced Seymour's back, aided by Lee's artillery fire, Ricketts's division entered the Cornfield, also to be torn up by artillery. Brig. Gen. Abram Duryée's brigade marched directly into volleys from Colonel Marcellus Douglass's Georgia brigade. Enduring heavy fire from a range of 250 yards and gaining no advantage because of a lack of reinforcements, Duryée ordered a withdrawal.
The reinforcements that Duryée had expected—brigades under Brig. Gen. George L. Hartsuff and Col. William A. Christian—had difficulties reaching the scene. Hartsuff was wounded by a shell, and Christian dismounted and fled to the rear in terror. When the men were rallied and advanced into the Cornfield, they met the same artillery and infantry fire as their predecessors. As the superior Union numbers began to tell, the Louisiana "Tiger" Brigade under Harry Hays entered the fray and forced the Union men back to the East Woods. The casualties received by the 12th Massachusetts Infantry, 67 percent, were the highest of any unit that day. The Tigers were beaten back eventually when the Federals brought up a battery of 3-inch ordnance rifles and rolled them directly into the Cornfield, point-blank fire that slaughtered the Tigers, who lost 323 of their 500 men.
|…the most deadly fire of the war. Rifles are shot to pieces in the hands of the soldiers, canteens and haversacks are riddled with bullets, the dead and wounded go down in scores.
—Captain Benjamin F. Cook of the 12th Massachusetts Infantry, on the attack by the Louisiana Tigers at the Cornfield
While the Cornfield remained mired in a bloody stalemate, Federal advances a few hundred yards to the west were more successful. Brig. Gen. John Gibbon's 4th Brigade of Doubleday's division (recently named the Iron Brigade) advanced down the turnpike, pushing aside Jackson's men. They were halted by a charge of 1,150 men from Starke's brigade, leveling heavy fire from 30 yards away. After Starke was mortally wounded and exposed to fierce return fire from the Iron Brigade, the Confederate brigade withdrew. The Union advance on the Dunker Church resumed and cut a large gap in Jackson's defensive line, which teetered near collapse. Although the cost was steep, Hooker's corps was making steady progress.
Confederate reinforcements arrived just after 7 a.m. The divisions under McLaws and Richard H. Anderson arrived following a night march from Harpers Ferry. Around 7:15, General Lee moved George T. Anderson's Georgia brigade from the right flank of the army to aid Jackson.
At 7 a.m., Hood's division of 2,300 men advanced through the West Woods and pushed the Union troops back through the Cornfield again. The Texans attacked with particular ferocity because as they were called from their reserve position they were forced to interrupt the first hot breakfast they had had in days. They were aided by three brigades of D.H. Hill's division arriving from the Mumma Farm, southeast of the Cornfield, and by Jubal Early's brigade, pushing through the West Woods from the Nicodemus Farm, where they had been supporting Jeb Stuart's horse artillery. Hood's men bore the brunt of the fighting, however, and paid a heavy price—60 percent casualties—but they were able to prevent the defensive line from crumbling and held off the I Corps. When asked by a fellow officer where his division was, Hood replied, "Dead on the field."
Hooker's men had also paid heavily but without achieving their objectives. After two hours and 2,500 casualties, they were back where they started. The Cornfield, an area about 250 yards deep and 400 yards wide, was a scene of indescribable destruction. It was estimated that the Cornfield changed hands no fewer than 15 times in the course of the morning. Hooker called for support from the 7,200 men of Mansfield's XII Corps.
|… every stalk of corn in the northern and greater part of the field was cut as closely as could have been done with a knife, and the [Confederates] slain lay in rows precisely as they had stood in their ranks a few moments before.
—Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker
Half of Mansfield's men were raw recruits, and Mansfield was also inexperienced, having taken command only two days before. Although he was a veteran of 40 years' service, he had never led large numbers of soldiers in combat. Concerned that his men would bolt under fire, he marched them in a formation that was known as "column of companies, closed in mass," a bunched-up formation in which a regiment was arrayed ten ranks deep instead of the normal two. As his men entered the East Woods, they presented an excellent artillery target, "almost as good a target as a barn." Mansfield himself was felled by a sniper's bullet and died later in the day. Alpheus Williams assumed temporary command of the XII Corps.
The new recruits of Mansfield's 1st Division made no progress against Hood's line, which was reinforced by D.H. Hill's divisions under Colquitt and McRae. The 2nd Division of the XII Corps, under George Sears Greene, however, broke through McRae's men, who fled under the mistaken belief that they were about to be trapped by a flanking attack. This breach of the line forced Hood and his men, outnumbered, to regroup in the West Woods, where they had started the day. Greene was able to reach the Dunker Church, Hooker's original objective, and drove off Stephen Lee's batteries. Federal forces held most of the ground to the east of the turnpike.
Hooker attempted to gather the scattered remnants of his I Corps to continue the assault, but a Confederate sharpshooter spotted the general's conspicuous white horse and shot Hooker through the foot. Command of his I Corps fell to General Meade, since Hooker's senior subordinate, James B. Ricketts, had also been wounded. But with Hooker removed from the field, there was no general left with the authority to rally the men of the I and XII Corps. Greene's men came under heavy fire from the West Woods and withdrew from the Dunker Church.
In an effort to turn the Confederate left flank and relieve the pressure on Mansfield's men, Sumner's II Corps was ordered at 7:20 a.m. to send two divisions into battle. Sedgwick's division of 5,400 men was the first to ford the Antietam, and they entered the East Woods with the intention of turning left and forcing the Confederates south into Ambrose Burnside's IX Corps. But the plan went awry. They became separated from William H. French's division, and at 9 a.m. Sumner recklessly launched the division attack en masse without adequate reconnaissance. They were assaulted from three sides, and in less than half an hour their momentum was stopped with over 2,200 casualties.
The final actions in the morning phase of the battle were around 10 a.m., when two regiments of the XII Corps advanced, only to be confronted by the division of John G. Walker, newly arrived from the Confederate right. They fought in the area between the Cornfield in the West Woods, but soon Walker's men were forced back by two brigades of Greene's division, and the Federal troops seized some ground in the West Woods.
After only five hours of fighting, the morning phase ended with casualties on both sides of almost 13,000, including two Union corps commanders.
By mid-day, the action shifted to the center of the Confederate line. Sumner had accompanied the morning attack of Sedgwick's division, but another of his divisions, under French, lost contact with Sumner and Sedgwick and inexplicably headed south. Eager for an opportunity to see combat, French found skirmishers in his path and ordered his men forward. By this time, Sumner's aide (and son) located French, described the terrible fighting in the West Woods and relayed an order for him to divert Confederate attention by attacking their center.
French confronted D.H. Hill's division. Hill commanded about 2,500 men, less than half the number under French, and three of his five brigades had been torn up during the morning combat. This sector of Longstreet's line was theoretically the weakest. But Hill's men were in a strong defensive position, atop a gradual ridge, in a sunken road worn down by years of wagon traffic, which formed a natural trench.
French launched a series of brigade-sized assaults against Hill's improvised breastworks at around 9:30 a.m. The first brigade to attack, mostly inexperienced troops commanded by Brig. Gen. Max Weber, was quickly cut down by heavy rifle fire (neither side deployed artillery at this point). The second attack, more raw recruits under Col. Dwight Morris, was also subjected to heavy fire but managed to beat back a counterattack by the Alabama Brigade of Robert Rodes. The third, under Brig. Gen. Nathan Kimball, included three veteran regiments, but they also fell to fire from the sunken road. French's division suffered 1,750 casualties (of his 5,700 men) in under an hour.
Reinforcements were arriving on both sides, and by 10:30 a.m. Robert E. Lee sent his final reserve division—some 3,400 men under Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson—to bolster Hill's line and extend it to the right, preparing an attack that would envelop French's left flank. But at the same time, the 4,000 men of Maj. Gen. Israel B. Richardson's division arrived on French's left. This was the last of Sumner's three divisions, which had been held up in the rear by McClellan as he organized his reserve forces. Richardson's fresh troops struck the first blow.
Leading off the fourth attack of the day against the sunken road was the Irish Brigade of Brig. Gen. Thomas F. Meagher. As they advanced with emerald green flags snapping in the breeze, a regimental chaplain, Father William Corby, rode back and forth across the front of the formation shouting words of conditional absolution prescribed by the Roman Catholic Church for those who were about to die. (Corby performed a similar service at Gettysburg in 1863.) The mostly Irish immigrants lost 540 men to heavy volleys before they were ordered to withdraw.
Gen. Richardson personally dispatched the brigade of Brig. Gen. John C. Caldwell into battle around noon (after being told that Caldwell was in the rear, behind a haystack), and finally the tide turned. Anderson's Confederate division had been little help to the defenders after Gen. Anderson was wounded early in the fighting. Other key leaders were lost as well, including George B. Anderson (no relation) and General John B. Gordon of the 6th Alabama. (Gordon received four serious wounds in the fight, one of which ripped through his cheeks. He lay unconscious, face down in his cap, and later told colleagues that he should have smothered in his own blood, except for the act of an unidentified Yankee, who had earlier shot a hole in his cap, which allowed the blood to drain.) Rodes was wounded in the thigh but was still on the field. These losses contributed directly to the confusion of the following events.
|We were shooting them like sheep in a pen. If a bullet missed the mark at first it was liable to strike the further bank, angle back, and take them secondarily.
—Sergeant of the 61st New York
As Caldwell's brigade advanced around the right flank of the Confederates, Col. Francis C. Barlow and 350 men of the 61st and 64th New York saw a weak point in the line and seized a knoll commanding the sunken road. This allowed them to get enfilade fire into the Confederate line, turning it into a deadly trap. In attempting to wheel around to meet this threat, a command from Gen. Rodes was misunderstood by Lt. Col. James N. Lightfoot, who had succeeded the unconscious John Gordon. Lightfoot ordered his men to about-face and march away, an order that all five regiments of the brigade thought applied to them as well. Confederate troops streamed toward Sharpsburg, their line lost.
Richardson's men were in hot pursuit when massed artillery hastily assembled by Gen. Longstreet drove them back. A counterattack with 200 men led by D.H. Hill got around the Federal left flank near the sunken road, and although they were driven back by a fierce charge of the 5th New Hampshire, this stemmed the collapse of the center. Reluctantly, Richardson ordered his division to fall back to north of the ridge facing the sunken road. His division lost about 1,000 men. Col. Barlow was severely wounded, and Richardson mortally wounded. Winfield S. Hancock assumed division command. Although Hancock would have an excellent future reputation as a division and corps commander, the unexpected change of command sapped the momentum of the Federal advance.
The carnage from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the sunken road gave it the name Bloody Lane, leaving about 5,600 casualties (Union 3,000, Confederate 2,600) along the 800-yard road. And yet a great opportunity presented itself. If this broken sector of the Confederate line were exploited, Lee's army would have been divided in half and possibly defeated. There were ample forces available to do so. There was a reserve of 3,500 cavalry and the 10,300 infantrymen of Gen. Porter's V Corps, waiting near the middle bridge, a mile away. The VI Corps had just arrived with 12,000 men. Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin of the VI Corps was ready to exploit this breakthrough, but Sumner, the senior corps commander, ordered him not to advance. Franklin appealed to McClellan, who left his headquarters in the rear to hear both arguments but backed Sumner's decision, ordering Gens. Franklin and Hancock to hold their positions.
Later in the day, the commander of the other reserve unit near the center, the V Corps, Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter, heard recommendations from Maj. Gen. George Sykes, commanding his 2nd Division, that another attack be made in the center, an idea that intrigued McClellan. However, Porter is said to have told McClellan, "Remember, General, I command the last reserve of the last Army of the Republic." McClellan demurred and another opportunity was lost, an action not out of character given McClellan's trademark hesitancy to commit reinforcements to battle. This allowed Lee's army to regroup and form a new line.
The action moved to the southern end of the battlefield. McClellan's plan called for Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside and the IX Corps to conduct a diversionary attack in support of Hooker's I Corps, hoping to draw Confederate attention away from the intended main attack in the north. However, Burnside was instructed to wait for explicit orders before launching his attack, and those orders did not reach him until 10 a.m. Burnside was strangely passive during preparations for the battle. He was disgruntled that McClellan had abandoned the previous arrangement of "wing" commanders reporting to him. Previously, Burnside had commanded a wing that included both the I and IX Corps and now he was responsible only for the IX Corps. Implicitly refusing to give up his higher authority, Burnside treated first Maj. Gen. Jesse L. Reno (killed at South Mountain) and then Brig. Gen. Jacob D. Cox of the Kanawha Division as the corps commander, funneling orders to the corps through him.
Burnside had four divisions (12,500 troops) and 50 guns east of Antietam Creek. Facing him was a force that had been greatly depleted by Lee's movement of units to bolster the Confederate left flank. At dawn, the divisions of Brig. Gens. David R. Jones and John G. Walker stood in defense, but by 10 a.m. all of Walker's men and Col. George T. Anderson's Georgia brigade had been removed. Gen. Jones had only about 3,000 men and 12 guns available to meet Burnside. Four thin brigades guarded the ridges near Sharpsburg, primarily a low plateau known as Cemetery Hill. The remaining 400 men—the 2nd and 20th Georgia regiments, under the command of Brig. Gen. Robert Toombs, with two artillery batteries—defended Rohrbach's Bridge, a three-span, 125-foot (38 m) stone structure that was the southernmost crossing of the Antietam. It would become known to history as Burnside's Bridge because of the notoriety of the coming battle. The bridge was a difficult objective. The road leading to it ran parallel to the creek and was exposed to enemy fire. The bridge was dominated by a 100-foot (30 m) high wooded bluff on the west bank, strewn with boulders from an old quarry, making infantry and sharpshooter fire from good covered positions a dangerous impediment to crossing.
But Burnside had not performed ample reconnaissance. Antietam Creek in this sector was seldom more than 50 feet (15 m) wide, and several stretches were only waist deep and out of Confederate range. He concentrated his plan instead on storming the bridge and crossing a ford McClellan's engineers had identified a half mile (1 km) downstream, but when Burnside's men reached it, they found the banks too high to negotiate. While Col. George Crook's Ohio brigade prepared to attack the bridge with the support of Brig. Gen. Samuel Sturgis's division, the rest of the Kanawha Division and Brig. Gen. Isaac Rodman's division struggled through thick brush trying to locate Snavely's Ford, 2 miles (3 km) downstream, intending to flank the Confederates.
Crook's assault on the bridge was led by skirmishers from the 11th Connecticut who were ordered to clear the bridge for the Ohioans to cross and assault the bluff. After receiving punishing fire for 15 minutes, the Connecticut men withdrew with 139 casualties, one third of their strength, including their commander, Col. Henry W. Kingsbury, who was fatally wounded. Crook's main assault went awry when his unfamiliarity with the terrain caused his men to reach the creek a quarter mile (400 m) upstream from the bridge, where they exchanged volleys with Confederate skirmishers for the next few hours.
While Rodman's division was out of touch, slogging toward Snavely's Ford, Burnside and Cox directed a second assault at the bridge by one of Sturgis's brigades, led by the 2nd Maryland and 6th New Hampshire. They also fell prey to the Confederate sharpshooters and artillery, and their attack fell apart. By this time it was noon, and McClellan was losing patience. He sent a succession of couriers to motivate Burnside to move forward. He ordered one aide, "Tell him if it costs 10,000 men he must go now." He increased the pressure by sending his inspector general, Col. Delos B. Sackett, to confront Burnside, who reacted indignantly: "McClellan appears to think I am not trying my best to carry this bridge; you are the third or fourth one who has been to me this morning with similar orders."
The third attempt to take the bridge was at 12:30 p.m. by Sturgis's other brigade, commanded by Brig. Gen. Edward Ferrero. It was led by the 51st New York and the 51st Pennsylvania, who, with adequate artillery support and a promise that a recently canceled whiskey ration would be restored if they were successful, charged downhill and took up positions on the east bank. Maneuvering a captured light howitzer into position, they fired double canister down the bridge and got within 25 yards of the enemy. By 1 p.m., Confederate ammunition was running low, and word reached Toombs that Rodman's men were crossing Snavely's Ford on their flank. He ordered a withdrawal after holding off around 13,000 Yankees. His Georgians had cost the Federals more than 500 casualties, giving up fewer than 160 themselves. And they had stalled Burnside's assault on the southern flank for more than three hours.
Burnside's assault stalled again on its own. His officers had neglected to transport ammunition across the bridge, which was itself becoming a bottleneck for soldiers, artillery, and wagons. This represented another two-hour delay. Gen. Lee used this time to bolster his right flank with reinforcements. He ordered up every available artillery unit, although he made no attempt to strengthen Gen. Jones's badly outnumbered force with infantry units from the left. Instead, he counted on the arrival of A.P. Hill's Light Division, currently embarked on an exhausting 17 mile (27 km) march from Harpers Ferry. By 2 p.m., Hill's men had reached Boteler's Ford, and Hill was able to confer with the relieved Lee at 2:30, who ordered him to bring up his men to the right of Jones.
The Federals were completely unaware that 3,000 new men would be facing them. Burnside's plan was to move around the weakened Confederate right flank, converge on Sharpsburg, and cut Lee's army off from Boteler's Ford, their only escape route across the Potomac and back into Virginia. At 3 p.m., Burnside left Sturgis's division in reserve on the west bank and moved west with over 8,000 troops (most of them fresh) and 22 guns for close support.
An initial assault led by the 79th New York "Cameron Highlanders" succeeded against Jones's outnumbered division, which was pushed back past Cemetery Hill and to within 200 yards of Sharpsburg. Farther to the left, Rodman's division advanced toward Harpers Ferry Road. Its lead brigade, under Col. Harrison Fairchild, containing several colorful Zouaves of the 9th New York, came under heavy shellfire from a dozen enemy guns mounted on a ridge to their front, but they kept pushing forward. There was panic in the streets of Sharpsburg, clogged with retreating Confederates. Of the five brigades in Jones's division, only Toombs's brigade was still intact, but he had only 700 men.
A. P. Hill's division arrived at 3:30 p.m. Hill divided his column, with two brigades moving southeast to guard his flank and the other three, about 2,000 men, moving to the right of Toombs's brigade and preparing for a counterattack. At 3:40 p.m., Brig. Gen. Maxcy Gregg's brigade of South Carolinians attacked the 16th Connecticut on Rodman's left flank in the cornfield of farmer John Otto. The Connecticut men had been in service for only three weeks, and their line disintegrated with 185 casualties. The 4th Rhode Island came up on the right, but the poor visibility amid the high stalks of corn, and they were disoriented because many of the Confederates were wearing Union uniforms captured at Harpers Ferry. They also broke and ran, leaving the 8th Connecticut far out in advance and isolated. They were enveloped and driven down the hills toward Antietam Creek. A counterattack by regiments from the Kanawha Division fell short.
The IX Corps had suffered casualties of about 20 percent but still possessed twice the number of Confederates confronting them. Unnerved by the collapse of his flank, Burnside ordered his men all the way back across the bridge to the west bank of the Antietam, where he urgently requested more men and guns. McClellan was able to provide just one battery. He said, "I can do nothing more. I have no infantry." In fact, however, McClellan had two fresh corps in reserve, Porter's V and Franklin's VI, but he was too cautious as usual, concerned about an imminent massive counterstrike by Lee. Burnside's men spent the rest of the day guarding the bridge they had suffered so much to capture. Stalemate again characterized the battlefield.
The battle was over by 5:30 p.m. Losses for the day were heavy on both sides. About 6,000 men had been killed and 17,000 more were wounded. The Union had 12,401 casualties with 2,108 dead. Confederate casualties were 10,318 with 1,546 dead. This represented 25 percent of the Federal force and 31 percent of the Confederate. More Americans died on September 17, 1862, than on any other day in the nation's military history, including World War II's D-Day and the terrorist assaults of September 11, 2001. On the morning of September 18, Lee's army prepared to defend against a Federal assault that never came. After an improvised truce for both sides to recover and exchange their wounded, Lee's forces began withdrawing across the Potomac that evening to return to Virginia. This was not a forced retreat, Lee chose to withdrawal.
McClellan proclaimed a great Union victory to Washington, but President Lincoln was disappointed in McClellan's performance. He believed that McClellan's cautious and poorly coordinated actions in the field had forced the battle to a draw rather than a crippling Confederate defeat that may have foreshadowed a quick end to the war. Historian Stephen Sears agrees.
In making his battle against great odds to save the Republic, General McClellan had committed barely 50,000 infantry and artillerymen to the contest. A third of his army did not fire a shot. Even at that, his men repeatedly drove the Army of Northern Virginia to the brink of disaster, feats of valor entirely lost on a commander thinking of little beyond staving off his own defeat (Stephen W. Sears).
The president was even more astonished that from September 17 to October 26, despite repeated entreaties from the War Department and the president himself, McClellan declined to pursue Lee across the Potomac, citing shortages of equipment and the fear of overextending his forces rather than attempting to forcefully crush his greatly weakened enemy. General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck wrote in his official report, "The long inactivity of so large an army in the face of a defeated foe, and during the most favorable season for rapid movements and a vigorous campaign, was a matter of great disappointment and regret." Lincoln relieved McClellan of his command of the Army of the Potomac on November 7, effectively ending the general's military career.
Some students of history question the designation of "strategic victory" for the Union. After all, McClellan performed poorly in the campaign and the battle itself, and Lee displayed great generalship in holding his own in battle against an army that greatly outnumbered him. Casualties were comparable on both sides, although Lee lost a higher percentage of his army. Lee withdrew from the battlefield first, the technical definition of the tactical loser in a Civil War battle. However, in a strategic sense, despite being a tactical draw, Antietam is considered a turning point of the war and a victory for the Union because it ended Lee's strategic campaign (his first invasion of the North) and it allowed President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, which took effect on January 1, 1863and now actively advanced the end of slavery as a war aim. Although Lincoln had intended to do so earlier, he was advised by his Cabinet to make this announcement after a Union victory to avoid the perception that it was issued out of desperation. The Union victory and Lincoln's proclamation played a considerable role in dissuading the governments of France and Britain from recognizing the Confederacy; some suspected they were planning to do so in the aftermath of another Union defeat. When the issue of emancipation was linked to the progress of the war, neither government had the political will to oppose the United States, especially after Lee had suffered his first defeat. Historian James M. McPherson summed up the importance of Antietam in his Crossroads of Freedom:
No other campaign and battle in the war had such momentous, multiple consequences as Antietam. In July 1863 the dual Union triumphs at Gettysburg and Vicksburg struck another blow that blunted a renewed Confederate offensive in the East and cut off the western third of the Confederacy from the rest. In September 1864 Sherman's capture of Atlanta reversed another decline in Northern morale and set the stage for the final drive to Union victory. These also were pivotal moments. But they would never have happened if the triple Confederate offensives in Mississippi, Kentucky, and most of all Maryland had not been defeated in the fall of 1862 (James M. McPherson).
The battle is commemorated at Antietam National Battlefield.
All links retrieved May 16, 2016.
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The Puente de la Mujer (Spanish for "Woman's Bridge") is a footbridge in the Puerto Madero district of Buenos Aires, Argentina that spans dock 3 (dique 3). It is of the Cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge type and is also a swing bridge, but somewhat unique in its asymmetrical arrangement. It has a single mast with cables suspending a portion of the bridge which rotates 90 degrees in order to allow water traffic to pass. When it swings to allow watercraft passage the far end comes to a resting point on a stabilizing pylon.
It was designed by Santiago Calatrava and is similar to his Puente del Alamillo and Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, but with a forward, rather than a reverse angled cantilever, as is seen in those bridges. The footbridge was donated by Alberto L. González to the City of Buenos Aires in gratitude for 60 years of work in the country. Started in 1998, it was completed on December 20, 2001.
A number of streets in the district have woman's names, thus giving the bridge its name.
Dedication plaque (English translation)
Woman's bridge<br>Artistic donation to the city of Buenos Aires<br>In remuneration for 60 years of work in this country<br>Lorenzo Alberto Gonzalez Foundation
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References to the works of Evelyn Whitaker in current scholarship:
Laddie is cited as the descriptor of the Victorian ideal of manhood by John C. Spurlock and Cynthia
A. Magistro: "Dreams never to be realized": the emotional culture and phenomenology of emotion.
J. Social History 28:2, winter 1994, note 42.
Link to article by Spurlock & Magistro.
Citations from 19th & early 20th Centuries:
Cleveland Medical Gazette by Albert Rufus Baker, Samuel Walter Kelley. v. 2 no. 6 1887 p. 214 digitized by Google.
Have you read 'Miss Toosey's Mission,' ' Laddie" and 'Tip Cat ' ? If not, secure them at once. I do not know the name
of the author. They are not long volumes. You can read any of them in a little while. You can carry one in your pocket and
read it in odd moments, but I fancy you will not be able to turn from the pages until you have read every line. ' Laddie '
is especially interesting to physicians. It takes them through the hospital wards and to the bedside of the sick and dying.
It seems to me that no one can read these little books and not be better by reason thereof.
David and His Friends: a series of revival sermons by Louis Albert Banks. Funk & Wagnalls, 1900. p. 227 digitized by Google.
Lippincott's Magazine, v. 34 July - December 1884. p. 320 digitized by Google.
...those great professors of verbosity our female novelists...
The commonplace English novel has much declined in interest since the advent of Eesthet- icism : if commonplace
is to be, -we prefer it in the shape of good hearty little tracts like " Miss Toosey's Mission" and " Laddie," rather than
on the subject of Greek plays, high art, etc. For these two little stories, evidently gathered from the pages of some English
Sunday magazine to be bound together in this pretty shape, are simple and pleasant in the extreme, and will rouse the sympathy
and refresh the heart of many a reader.
Miss Ellis's Mission by Mary Prudence Wells Smith. Boston: American Unitarian Assoc. 1886 p. 1-2 digitized by Google.
...a little booklet for the instruction of Post Office Mission Workers ? Can you not make it something as touching
as ' Miss Toosey,' and far more practical, — that is, for our own little household of faith ? We do not want it primarily
as a missionary tool, but as a wee fragment of the spiritual history of the world, — something that will lift and touch
the soul of everybody.In short, give us an enlightened Miss Toosey ; her
mission being as much stronger as Sallie Ellis
was more rational and mature than the original 'Miss Toosey ' ! No one knowing Miss Ellis could read the touching little story
of " Miss Toosey's Mission "
without being struck by a resemblance in the characters, though a resemblance with a markeddifference.
As one said, " I never saw her going up the church aisle Sundays, with her audiphone, her little satchel, her bundle of books
and papers, and her hymn-book, without thinking of Miss Toosey." In both lives a seemingly powerless and insignificant personality,
through the force of a great yearning to do a bit of God's work in the world, achieved its longing far beyond its fondest
Literary News, Christmas Number, December 1903 digitized by Google. page 368
"...while new fiction is enriched by a new story, called "Gay," by the author of Miss Toosey's Mission who now appears
under her real name of Evelyn Whitaker, full of pathos and humor, and giving graphic pictures of English life."
The American Catalogue...July 1, 1876 - December 31, 1910 by Frederick Leypoldt. page 279
"The name of the author of Miss Toosey's Mission so long kept a secret is now admitted to by Evleyn Whitaker.
Gay is the first title published by her under her real name..."
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In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex was assaulted by something no one could believe: a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance. The real-life maritime disaster would inspire Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. But that told only half the story. "In the Heart of the Sea" reveals the encounter's harrowing aftermath, as the ship's surviving crew is pushed to their limits and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive. Braving storms, starvation, panic and despair, the men will call into question their deepest beliefs, from the value of their lives to the morality of their trade, as their captain searches for direction on the open sea and his first mate still seeks to bring the great whale down.
The title of the movie can be found in the biblical account of the prophet Jonah (Jonah 2:3) who was swallowed by a great fish (usually understood to be a whale). See more »
At the end of the movie, as the survivors are returning to Nantucket, the caption says the month is June, yet everyone is dressed in heavy clothing, and the breaths of the actors are clearly visible. Nantucket is cool in the summer but not that cool, suggesting the scene was filmed at another time of the year. See more »
[in his letter]
How does one come to know the unknowable? What faculties must a man possess? Since it was discovered that whale oil could light our cities in ways never achieved before, it created global demand. It has pushed man to venture further and further into the deep blue unknown. We know not its depths, nor the host of creatures that live there. Monsters. Are they real?
[a huge whale passes]
Or do the stories exist only to make us respect the sea's dark secrets?
[...] See more »
In the Heart of the Sea tells the true story of the Essex, a whaling ship. In 1820, while first mate Owen Chase(Chris Hemsworth), captain George Pollard(Benjamin Walker) & the rest of the crew were searching for whales in the middle of the ocean, they encounter a gigantic sperm whale. This gigantic whale causes the Essex to sink. Now, it is up to Owen Chase & the rest of his crew to somehow survive the harsh conditions at sea. They will also have to be alert for the return of the whale. The true story of this movie, inspired Herman Melville's(Ben Whishaw) famous novel, Moby Dick.
In the Heart of the Sea is a spectacular film. The CGI is perfect & the whales in the movie look extremely realistic & intimidating. The 3D works really well in all the scenes involving the whales & the chaos & destruction set pieces. However, it is unnecessary for the emotional scenes of the movie. Director Ron Howard perfectly captures the suffering of all the crew members of the Essex. He makes sure that the movie is not just about the special effects & adventure but, also adds dramatic set pieces. One flaw of the movie is the lack of character development. Despite everything they go through, you don't genuinely care about the fate of all the characters in the movie. You only care about, Chris Hemsworth's character, Tom Holland's character, Cillian Murphy's character & to a certain extent, Benjamin Walker's character. At the end of the day, this is not a major flaw because, you can't give each & every character a detailed back-story. This would have unnecessarily elongated the duration of the movie. Chris Hemsworth has given the best performance of his career, as Owen Chase. Hemsworth's dramatic weight loss for the film, shows the dedication & hard work he has put in for his role. Benjamin Walker is great as George Pollard. Cillian Murphy is brilliant as Matthew Joy. Brendan Gleeson is good as Tom Nickerson. Ben Whishaw is wonderful as Herman Melville. Tom Holland is outstanding as Thomas Nickerson. Frank Dillane is superb as Owen Coffin. The supporting characters are impressive too. In the Heart of the Sea is a must watch. Go for it!
32 of 49 people found this review helpful.
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I believe the correct thickness factor is 0.1266. I ran your numbers (baker's percents, pan size, total dough weight, dough depth, and 1/4-inch dough thickness) through my spreadsheet and got the above thickness factor number, which seems more in line with the thickness factors I have seen and used for deep-dish. Since I am still testing my spreadsheet for errors, I decided to do the calculations the old-fashioned way to see if the numbers match.
The total surface area of a deep-dish pan is equal the the sum of the surface area of the bottom of the pan plus the surface area of the side of the pan (I am assuming a straight side). Since the dough on the bottom of the pan uses up part of the depth of the side of the pan, by about 1/4-inch, that 1/4-inch should be subtracted from the depth of the pan or, in your case, from the depth of the dough in your pan (1.5 in.). So, if my premises and math are correct, this is what we get:
Surface area of the bottom of the pan = 3.14159 x 6 x 6 = 113.09616 sq. in. [This is pi times radius squared]
Surface area of the side of the pan = (3.14159 x 12) x (1.5 - 1/4) = 47.1234 sq. in. [This is pi times diameter--i.e., circumference--times adjusted depth of pan or, in your case, the dough]
Total surface area = 113.09616 + 47.1234 = 160.21956
Total dough weight = 575 g. = 20.282186 oz. [This is weight in grams divided by 28.35]
Thickness factor = 20.282186/160.21956 = 0.1265899
I left all the decimal places in so that your calculator will produce the same numbers. Of course, if the side of a pan is sloped, or if the pan depth (or dough depth) is different, the numbers will change. For example, if the side of the pan is sloped, then you have to calculate the surface area of a trapezoid--which is the shape of the side if it is laid out flat--plus tweak the answer to compensate for the 1/4-inch factor. Since my spreadsheet doesn't deal with sloping sides, I would have to use the old-fashioned brute force approach.
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The City of Tampa, located in Hillsborough County in Florida, has a population of 352,000 residents in 2013, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. Hillsborough County, at just under 1.3 million people, is the third-largest population center in the state of Florida, behind Jacksonville and Miami.
There were 844,040 cars and trucks registered in Hillsborough County in September of 2014, the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Department reports. Tampa's mechanics and service technicians play a pivotal role in the region's transportation industry by keeping cars and trucks rolling smoothly.
Automobile mechanics in Tampa are available for wide variety of service and repair duties. They use sophisticated computer diagnostic equipment to determine mechanical problems and propose repair solutions to customers. They also perform more routine tasks, such as engine tuneups to optimize performance, rotating tires or replacing worn-out parts. Some auto mechanics in Tampa specialize in one particular area of repair or on a certain manufacturer's vehicles.
With the increasing complexity of cars and trucks and increasing prevalence of alternative-fuel systems, auto mechanics often are required to complete formal education programs to gain employment at Tampa-area automobile dealerships and repair centers.
Auto Mechanic Schools in Tampa
Depending on where students choose to study, length of auto mechanic schools in Tampa can vary from about six months to two years, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Vocational and trade-school programs that culminate in a certificate typically are much shorter than community college programs that culminate in an Associate's of Applied Science degree.
Auto mechanic schools in Tampa teach students how to work on the following areas of service and repair:
- Engine performance and repair
- Electrical systems
- Fuel systems
- Drivetrains and transaxles
- Air conditioning and heating systems
- Braking and steering systems
- Automotive technology
Tampa has many options for study in automotive repair, including 16 schools accredited by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation, an independent body that certifies the quality of automotive schools and instructions throughout the nation.
Salary Expectations and Career Outlook for Mechanics in Tampa
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were 5,850 mechanics and service technicians working in the greater Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan region in May of 2013. Mean annual wages were $36,740, below the national figure of $39,450, according to BLS figures. The top 10 percent of mechanics working in the region earned more than $57,000 annually, while the bottom 10 percent took home just over $20,000.
Nationally, the field of automotive service and repair is expected to grow by 9 percent from 2012 through 2022, slower than all other occupations combined, the BLS states. Job prospects for mechanics who graduate from auto mechanic schools in Tampa are expected to be better than for mechanics lacking formal education, the BLS reports. Mechanics can improve their chances for employment even more by earning ASE certification from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence.
- "Orlando moves past St. Petersburg to become Florida's fourth-largest city", Orlando Sentinel, http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2014-06-05/news/os-orlando-fourth-largest-city-20140604_1_orlando-mayor-buddy-dyer-pinellas-county-population
- Registered vehicles by county, Florida Department of Transportation, http://flhsmv.gov/html/reports_and_statistics/cvr/14-15/cvr-09-2014.pdf
- Hillsborough County, Florida, U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/12057.html
- NATEF-accredited schools, Tampa, www.natef.org/NATEF-and-You/Students-Parents/Find-Accredited-Schools.aspx?Address=tampa%2c+florida&d=50&t=0&e=1
- Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics, May 2013, www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes493023.htm
- Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/automotive-service-technicians-and-mechanics.htm
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Office 2007 (Office 12) is just available and Microsoft is already releasing some details about the next version, which will be codenamed Office 14. Just like many other companies Microsoft wants to prevent bad luck by skipping the "13th" version.
As stated, the codename for the upcoming release of Office, currently slated for a 2009/2010 release timeframe, is Office “14.” Extending on the mention of superstition in the description of this article, in response to a comment regarding “Office 13” in a TechNet radio chat in December of 2006, Eric Vigesaa, Program Manager for Office system client applications, stated “[w]ell, 13 is unlucky, so we’re calling it Office 14,” so the next time someone wants to question Microsoft’s belief in superstition, one need not question any further. Naturally, with the beginning of a project comes planning… and in the world Microsoft lives in, it takes money to make the planning come alive; LOTS of it, so just how much is Microsoft committing to spend on Office “14?” ~20% MORE in R&D funding than Office “12” with total R&D expenditure expected to be around $930 million PER YEAR!
Learn more about Office 14 at AeroXP. Office 14 is expected by 2009 or 2010.
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When MS impairs your mobility more and more, exercise can pose yet one more challenge. For some the word “exercise” conjures up negative feelings or nervousness while for others, exercise represents ‘me time’, empowerment, a feeling of wellness, accomplishment, and taking care of yourself.
There are adaptations that can be helpful. Some will argue that there’s nothing that Velcro and duct tape can’t adapt. There are a variety of low tech and hi tech options. Not to plug our professions, but it’s highly recommended that you seek advice from a PT or OT before purchasing any equipment in order to spend your insurance money more wisely.
A comprehensive exercise program should address your flexibility, strength, balance and cardio or endurance. Be sure to include all of these because “IF YOU DON’T USE IT, YOU LOSE IT!”
Flexibility is important as we age as our muscles are innately less flexible. Also, inactivity means less opportunity to naturally stretch through mobility activities.
Some tricks we recommend for stretching are to use a belt, Thera-band stretching strap or a towel. If you’re in a power wheelchair, request power elevating leg rests.
Improving your overall strength will allow you to be more independent and also help your balance. Strength training can be as simple as a Thera-band attached to a doorknob or other fixtures to more expensive options that can provide strength training and cardio training simultaneously.
A Swiss workout ball or Wii can provide balance training. There aren’t rules against sitting on the Wii platform if needed. You can also look for recreational activities that provide fitness opportunities e.g. cycling/ hand-cycling, yoga, swimming, or even sit skiing. Swimming can be great options because the water buoyancy can accommodate impairments and cool water helps keep your body temperature down.
Occupational therapy can be a terrific tool in your arsenal when difficulties or challenges present themselves in your daily life. I am continually amazed at the clever inventiveness of people and how they can solve a problem. Whether challenges face you in mobility, meal preparation/eating, dressing, bathing, balance, stair-climbing, walking, exercise or work activities, someone has invented a tool or figured out a posture that alleviates or eases the problem. Occupational therapists are the consultants that can help you match your needs with these clever tools/equipment.
Often, the biggest challenge lies in identifying whether you should be using a tool or adaptive equipment yet. Many people have told me they feel using adaptive equipment means they are conceding to MS and they have “given in” to the disease. In these instances it is important to consult with an occupational therapist to evaluate your specific situation. Many times a simple adjustment to your posture can mean greater ease and independence in an activity. At other times the application of adaptive equipment/tools can free up precious energy and time you might wish to use elsewhere in your day. Sometimes, the application of equipment or a tool can mean independence instead of dependence to complete an activity. The choices are many and the results can be dramatic! Be sure to investigate adaptive equipment/tool options!
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Serial killer PYTHONS stalk Florida's Everglades
Rapacious reptiles scoff mammal population
Pesky pythons are wiping out mammals and birds – some of which are protected species – in Florida's Everglades National Park, according to a new study.
What's for dinner? Credit: Mannes Fotos (GNU license)
Non-native Burmese pythons are chowing down on the local populace to such an extent that observations of many animals have declined by 99 per cent in the last eight years, and the poor old bunny rabbit hasn't been seen at all.
"Road surveys totaling 56,971 km from 2003–2011 documented a 99.3 per cent decrease in the frequency of raccoon observations, decreases of 98.9 per cent and 87.5 per cent for opossum and bobcat observations, respectively, and failed to detect rabbits," the study, published in the journal for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), said.
The researchers also found that more mammals were missing in areas where the snakes were well-established than in places where they had only been seen recently.
The Burmese python had been sighted intermittently in the Park for around 20 years until 2000, when nature-loving boffins first recognised it as an established species. Since then, the number of pythons removed from the park every year has risen dramatically, from just a few in 2001 to over 350 in 2009.
The study focused on animals like rabbits, possums and foxes because their populations are easy to monitor and they tend to come close enough to roads to be spotted. But the biology boffins are also concerned about the species being conserved in the National Park, which are harder to keep an eye on because there's less of them and they tend to be unevenly distributed.
"Pythons have been reported to consume leopards in their native range, and thus even top predators, such as the Florida panther, may be at risk," the study said.
"Approximately 25 per cent of all pythons found in the Park contain bird remains, and although quantifying impacts on birds is difficult, species such as rails, limpkins, grebes, herons, egrets, and the federally endangered wood stork may be particularly vulnerable to python predation."
The US has already taken steps against rapacious reptiles in the country, including the Burmese python.
Earlier this month, the US Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, announced a ban on the importation and inter-state transportation of four non-indigenous constrictor snakes because of the threat they represent to existing ecosystems.
"Thanks to the work of our scientists, Senator Bill Nelson, and others, there is a large and growing understanding of the real and immediate threat that the Burmese python and other invasive snakes pose to the Everglades and other ecosystems in the United States," Salazar said in a canned statement.
"The Burmese python has already gained a foothold in the Florida Everglades, and we must do all we can to battle its spread and to prevent further human contributions of invasive snakes that cause economic and environmental damage."
The yellow anaconda and the northern and southern African pythons are the other three snakes being listed as sinister serpents on the "injurious wildlife" list.
Salazar said that millions of dollars had been spent in the Everglades alone trying to combat pythons.
Nobody is sure exactly how the snakes were introduced to American ecosystems, although it's likely that many of the species arrived as pets and then escaped or were released into the wild.
Any American who currently owns one of the newly restricted species of snakes will be allowed to keep them, but they won't be able to sell them or send them across state lines.
The Burmese python is one of the six largest snakes in the world and can reach up to 7m (23ft) in length and a weight of up to 90 kilos (198lb).
When it's young, it hangs out in trees, but as it matures and becomes too heavy for tree-climbing, it moves down a floor and becomes ground-dwelling. It's also semi-aquatic, and is an excellent swimmer. The Burmese python is able to stay under water for up to 30 minutes before it needs to come up for air. ®
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This thesis builds a bridge between singularity theory and computer algebra. To an isolated hypersurface singularity one can associate a regular meromorphic connection, the Gauß-Manin connection, containing a lattice, the Brieskorn lattice. The leading terms of the Brieskorn lattice with respect to the weight and V-filtration of the Gauß-Manin connection define the spectral pairs. They correspond to the Hodge numbers of the mixed Hodge structure on the cohomology of the Milnor fibre and belong to the finest known invariants of isolated hypersurface singularities. The differential structure of the Brieskorn lattice can be described by two complex endomorphisms A0 and A1 containing even more information than the spectral pairs. In this thesis, an algorithmic approach to the Brieskorn lattice in the Gauß-Manin connection is presented. It leads to algorithms to compute the complex monodromy, the spectral pairs, and the differential structure of the Brieskorn lattice. These algorithms are implemented in the computer algebra system Singular.
In the present work, we investigated how to correct the questionable normality, linear and quadratic assumptions underlying existing Value-at-Risk methodologies. In order to take also into account the skewness, the heavy tailedness and the stochastic feature of the volatility of the market values of financial instruments, the constant volatility hypothesis widely used by existing Value-at-Risk appproches has also been investigated and corrected and the tails of the financial returns distributions have been handled via Generalized Pareto or Extreme Value Distributions. Artificial Neural Networks have been combined by Extreme Value Theory in order to build consistent and nonparametric Value-at-Risk measures without the need to make any of the questionable assumption specified above. For that, either autoregressive models (AR-GARCH) have been used or the direct characterization of conditional quantiles due to Bassett, Koenker and Smith . In order to build consistent and nonparametric Value-at-Risk estimates, we have proved some new results extending White Artificial Neural Network denseness results to unbounded random variables and provide a generalisation of the Bernstein inequality, which is needed to establish the consistency of our new Value-at-Risk estimates. For an accurate estimation of the quantile of the unexpected returns, Generalized Pareto and Extreme Value Distributions have been used. The new Artificial Neural Networks denseness results enable to build consistent, asymptotically normal and nonparametric estimates of conditional means and stochastic volatilities. The denseness results uses the Sobolev metric space L^m (my) for some m >= 1 and some probability measure my and which holds for a certain subclass of square integrable functions. The Fourier transform, the new extension of the Bernstein inequality for unbounded random variables from stationary alpha-mixing processes combined with the new generalization of a result of White and Wooldrige have been the main tool to establich the extension of White's neural network denseness results. To illustrate the goodness and level of accuracy of the new denseness results, we were able to demonstrate the applicability of the new Value-at-Risk approaches by means of three examples with real financial data mainly from the banking sector traded on the Frankfort Stock Exchange.
In this work we present and estimate an explanatory model with a predefined system of explanatory equations, a so called lag dependent model. We present a locally optimal, on blocked neural network based lag estimator and theorems about consistensy. We define the change points in context of lag dependent model, and present a powerfull algorithm for change point detection in high dimensional high dynamical systems. We present a special kind of bootstrap for approximating the distribution of statistics of interest in dependent processes.
One crucial assumption of continuous financial mathematics is that the portfolio can be rebalanced continuously and that there are no transaction costs. In reality, this of course does not work. On the one hand, continuous rebalancing is impossible, on the other hand, each transaction causes costs which have to be subtracted from the wealth. Therefore, we focus on trading strategies which are based on discrete rebalancing - in random or equidistant times - and where transaction costs are considered. These strategies are considered for various utility functions and are compared with the optimal ones of continuous trading.
The immiscible lattice BGK method for solving the two-phase incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is analysed in great detail. Equivalent moment analysis and local differential geometry are applied to examine how interface motion is determined and how surface tension effects can be included such that consistency to the two-phase incompressible Navier-Stokes equations can be expected. The results obtained from theoretical analysis are verified by numerical experiments. Since the intrinsic interface tracking scheme of immiscible lattice BGK is found to produce unsatisfactory results in two-dimensional simulations several approaches to improving it are discussed but all of them turn out to yield no substantial improvement. Furthermore, the intrinsic interface tracking scheme of immiscible lattice BGK is found to be closely connected to the well-known conservative volume tracking method. This result suggests to couple the conservative volume tracking method for determining interface motion with the Navier-Stokes solver of immiscible lattice BGK. Applied to simple flow fields, this coupled method yields much better results than plain immiscible lattice BGK.
Different aspects of geomagnetic field modelling from satellite data are examined in the framework of modern multiscale approximation. The thesis is mostly concerned with wavelet techniques, i.e. multiscale methods based on certain classes of kernel functions which are able to realize a multiscale analysis of the funtion (data) space under consideration. It is thus possible to break up complicated functions like the geomagnetic field, electric current densities or geopotentials into different pieces and study these pieces separately. Based on a general approach to scalar and vectorial multiscale methods, topics include multiscale denoising, crustal field approximation and downward continuation, wavelet-parametrizations of the magnetic field in Mie-representation as well as multiscale-methods for the analysis of time-dependent spherical vector fields. For each subject the necessary theoretical framework is established and numerical applications examine and illustrate the practical aspects.
Radiative transfer in scattering media is usually described by the radiative transfer equation, an integro-differential equation which describes the propagation of the radiative intensity along a ray. The high dimensionality of the equation leads to a very large number of unknowns when discretizing the equation. This is the major difficulty in its numerical solution. In case of isotropic scattering and diffuse boundaries, the radiative transfer equation can be reformulated into a system of integral equations of the second kind, where the position is the only independent variable. By employing the so-called momentum equation, we derive an integral equation, which is also valid in case of linear anisotropic scattering. This equation is very similar to the equation for the isotropic case: no additional unknowns are introduced and the integral operators involved have very similar mapping properties. The discretization of an integral operator leads to a full matrix. Therefore, due to the large dimension of the matrix in practical applcation, it is not feasible to assemble and store the entire matrix. The so-called matrix compression methods circumvent the assembly of the matrix. Instead, the matrix-vector multiplications needed by iterative solvers are performed only approximately, thus, reducing, the computational complexity tremendously. The kernels of the integral equation describing the radiative transfer are very similar to the kernels of the integral equations occuring in the boundary element method. Therefore, with only slight modifications, the matrix compression methods, developed for the latter are readily applicable to the former. As apposed to the boundary element method, the integral kernels for radiative transfer in absorbing and scattering media involve an exponential decay term. We examine how this decay influences the efficiency of the matrix compression methods. Further, a comparison with the discrete ordinate method shows that discretizing the integral equation may lead to reductions in CPU time and to an improved accuracy especially in case of small absorption and scattering coefficients or if local sources are present.
The dissertation is concerned with the numerical solution of Fokker-Planck equations in high dimensions arising in the study of dynamics of polymeric liquids. Traditional methods based on tensor product structure are not applicable in high dimensions for the number of nodes required to yield a fixed accuracy increases exponentially with the dimension; a phenomenon often referred to as the curse of dimension. Particle methods or finite point set methods are known to break the curse of dimension. The Monte Carlo method (MCM) applied to such problems are 1/sqrt(N) accurate, where N is the cardinality of the point set considered, independent of the dimension. Deterministic version of the Monte Carlo method called the quasi Monte Carlo method (QMC) are quite effective in integration problems and accuracy of the order of 1/N can be achieved, up to a logarithmic factor. However, such a replacement cannot be carried over to particle simulations due to the correlation among the quasi-random points. The method proposed by Lecot (C.Lecot and F.E.Khettabi, Quasi-Monte Carlo simulation of diffusion, Journal of Complexity, 15 (1999), pp.342-359) is the only known QMC approach, but it not only leads to large particle numbers but also the proven order of convergence is 1/N^(2s) in dimension s. We modify the method presented there, in such a way that the new method works with reasonable particle numbers even in high dimensions and has better order of convergence. Though the provable order of convergence is 1/sqrt(N), the results show less variance and thus the proposed method still slightly outperforms standard MCM.
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St. Sarkis the Warrior and His Son, St. Mardiros
The feast day honoring St. Sarkis is movable. It occurs between January 11th and February 15th. Each year it follows the five-day Fast of Catechumens.
Sarkis was a Greek from the area of Cappadocia on the Anatolian plain. He was a proud, brave Christian and served as a Roman army officer during the reign of Emperor Constantine (roughly 337 A.D.). Sarkis' valor, strength, and bravery earned him the rank of general.
Sarkis used his position of power for spiritual growth, going from town to town purging the land of pagan idols, teaching the Gospel, and building churches where pagan temples once stood. Sarkis had a good model in the piety of the Emperor Constantine.
When Constantine died, Christianity throughout the region came under attack from the new Roman leader, Julian the Apostate. Under his leadership, pagans set about destroying churches and persecuting Christians.
Seeing this, Sarkis prayed. Jesus appeared to him and said, "It is time for you to leave your country and your clan, as did Abraham the Patriarch, and go to a country which I will show you. There you will receive the crown of righteousness prepared for you."
Sarkis left behind his noble title and power and headed with his son, Mardiros, to Armenia, where they were welcomed by King Diran, grandson of King Drtad.
While Sarkis and Mardiros were in Armenia, the Emperor Julian, attempting to take over the known world, continued to move eastward toward Antioch in Syria. Whenever the Roman army came upon Christians, they were instantly killed. Many people fled the invading armies. King Diran urged Sarkis to escape and seek refuge among the Persians.
When Sarkis and his son arrived in Persia, King Shapur, hearing of his bravery, appointed him a commander of the Persian military. As he continued to be victorious in battle, Sarkis also continued to give the credit to God.
When Julian's troops started raiding lands near King Shapur's kingdom, Sarkis was sent to defend the territory. Outnumbered by the Greek and Roman forces, Sarkis' troops were frightened. He told them that if they believed in the Creator of heaven and earth, their hearts would never be shaken. Many of his soldiers were baptized by the priests traveling with the army, and they succeeded in fending off a Roman attack.
Some of Sarkis' soldiers, who had not been baptized, went to King Shapur and told him that Sarkis was rebelling against the Persian ruler by preaching belief in Jesus. The king called Sarkis back to the palace, where he, his son, and the newly-baptized soldiers were expected to attend a feast honoring the pagan gods.
At the temple, the king asked Sarkis to offer a sacrifice to the pagan gods. Sarkis refused, saying he would only worship the one, true God. The king began to criticize Sarkis and his faith. But Sarkis could not tolerate such talk, so he spat in the king's face and knocked down the temple idols. The king and his followers were enraged by Sarkis' actions, so they killed his son, Mardiros, before his eyes.
The king then ordered Sarkis imprisoned. In prison Sarkis was strengthened by his relationship with the Lord. King Shapur heard of this and ordered Sarkis' execution.
At his execution, Sarkis began to pray. An angel descended from heaven and told him, "Be strong. Do not fear the killers of your body; for the gate of the Kingdom of Heaven is open for you." Upon seeing the angel and understanding the power of everlasting life, many of the pagans who had gathered for the execution became Christians.
Sarkis made one last passionate plea for people to accept Jesus Christ, and then was killed.
His loyal Christian soldiers retrieved Sarkis' body and wrapped it in clean linen with the intention of burying his body honorably. When King Shapur heard of this reverence, he ordered the soldiers killed as well. Eventually, Christians found Sarkis' body and it was sent to Assyria, where it remained until the fifth century, when Mesrob Mashdots received his remains and moved them to Armenia.
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Tougher sentencing laws over the last several decades have resulted in fewer criminal cases going to trial. Instead, defendants are choosing plea bargains, rather than going to court and facing the possibility of harsher, lengthier sentences. The New York Times article below gives a good overview of the sentencing shift since the 1980s and how this shift gives “new leverage to prosecutors.” MW
By Richard A. Oppel Jr.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — After decades of new laws to toughen sentencing for criminals, prosecutors have gained greater leverage to extract guilty pleas from defendants and reduce the number of cases that go to trial, often by using the threat of more serious charges with mandatory sentences or other harsher penalties.
“We now have an incredible concentration of power in the hands of prosecutors,” said Richard E. Myers II, a former assistant United States attorney who is now an associate professor of law at the University of North Carolina. He said that so much influence now resides with prosecutors that “in the wrong hands, the criminal justice system can be held hostage.”
One crucial, if unheralded, effect of this shift is now coming into sharper view, according to academics who study the issue. Growing prosecutorial power is a significant reason that the percentage of felony cases that go to trial has dropped sharply in many places.
Plea bargains have been common for more than a century, but lately they have begun to put the trial system out of business in some courtrooms. By one count, fewer than one in 40 felony cases now make it to trial, according to data from nine states that have published such records since the 1970s, when the ratio was about one in 12. The decline has been even steeper in federal district courts.
Cases like Florida v. Shane Guthrie help explain why. After Mr. Guthrie, 24, was arrested here last year, accused of beating his girlfriend and threatening her with a knife, the prosecutor offered him a deal for two years in prison plus probation.
Mr. Guthrie rejected that, and a later offer of five years, because he believed that he was not guilty, his lawyer said. But the prosecutor’s response was severe: he filed a more serious charge that would mean life imprisonment if Mr. Guthrie is convicted later this year.
Because of a state law that increased punishments for people who had recently been in prison, like Mr. Guthrie, the sentence would be mandatory. So what he could have resolved for a two-year term could keep him locked up for 50 years or more.
The decrease in trials has also been a consequence of underfinanced public defense lawyers who can try only a handful of their cases, as well as, prosecutors say, the rise ofdrug courts and other alternative resolutions.
The overloaded court system has also seen comparatively little expansion in many places, making a huge increase in plea bargains a cheap and easy way to handle a near-tripling in felony cases over the past generation.
But many researchers say the most important force in driving down the trial rate has been state and federal legislative overhauls that imposed mandatory sentences and other harsher and more certain penalties for many felonies, especially those involving guns, drugs, violent crimes and repeat offenders.
Stiffer punishments were also put in place for specific crimes, like peddling drugs near a school or wearing a mask in certain circumstances. And legislators added reams of new felony statutes, vastly expanding the range of actions considered illegal.
These tougher penalties, by many accounts, have contributed to the nation’s steep drop in crime the past two decades. They have also swelled the prison population to levels that lawmakers in some states say they can no longer afford, and a few have rolled back some laws.
The ‘Trial Penalty’
In the courtroom and during plea negotiations, the impact of these stricter laws is exerted through what academics call the “trial penalty.” The phrase refers to the fact that the sentences for people who go to trial have grown harsher relative to sentences for those who agree to a plea.
In some jurisdictions, this gap has widened so much it has become coercive and is used to punish defendants for exercising their right to trial, some legal experts say.
“Legislators want to make it easy for prosecutors to get the conviction without having to go to trial,” said Rachel Barkow, a professor of law at New York University who studies how prosecutors use their power. “And prosecutors who are starved for resources want to use that leverage. And so now everyone acts with the assumption that the case should end with a plea.”
“When you have that attitude,” she said, “you penalize people who have the nerve to go to trial.”
Prosecutors say they are giving defendants options and are merely charging them based on what is allowed under the law for those who turn down pleas.
While legal experts say the effect is clear in persuading more defendants to forgo trials, the trial penalty is hard to quantify without examining individual cases and negotiations between prosecutors and defense lawyers.
That is because threats of harsher charges against defendants who reject plea deals often are the most influential factor in the outcome of a case, but this interplay is never reflected in official data.
“How many times is a mandatory sentence used as a chip in order to coerce a plea? They don’t keep records,” said Senior Judge John L. Kane Jr. of United States District Court in Denver, who believes that prosecutors have grown more powerful than judges. But it is very common, he added. “That’s what the public doesn’t see, and where the statistics become meaningless.”
But one result is obvious, he said: “We hardly have trials anymore.”
In 1977, the year Judge Kane was appointed to the bench, the ratio of guilty pleas to criminal trial verdicts in federal district courts was a little more than four to one; by last year, it was almost 32 to one.
Here in Florida, which has greatly toughened sentencing since the 1990s, felony defendants who opt for trial now routinely face the prospect of higher charges that mean prison terms 2, 5, or even 20 times as long as if they had pleaded guilty. In many cases, the process is reversed, and stiffer charges are dismissed in return for a plea.
Before new sentencing laws, the gap was narrower, and trials less risky, veteran lawyers here say. The first thing Denis deVlaming, a prominent Florida criminal defense lawyer, does with a new client is pull out a calculator to tally all the additional punishments the prosecutor can add to figure the likely sentence if the client is convicted at trial.
“They think I’m ready to charge them a fee, but I’m not,” he said. “I tell them in Florida, it’s justice by mathematics.”
No matter how strongly defendants believe they are innocent, he said, they could be taking dangerous risks by, for example, turning down a one-year plea bargain when the prosecutor threatens additional charges that carry a mandatory sentence 10 times as long.
A Power Shift
The transfer of power to prosecutors from judges has been so profound that an important trial ritual has become in some measure a lie, Mr. deVlaming said — the instructions judges read stating that the jury determines guilt or innocence, and the judge a proper sentence. The latter part is no longer true when mandatory minimums and, in many cases, sentencing guidelines apply, but jurors often do not know that.
Legal scholars like Paul Cassell, a conservative former federal judge and prosecutor who is now a law professor at the University of Utah, describe the power shift as a zero-sum game.
“Judges have lost discretion, and that discretion has accumulated in the hands of prosecutors, who now have the ultimate ability to shape the outcome,” Mr. Cassell said. “With mandatory minimums and other sentencing enhancements out there, prosecutors can often dictate the sentence that will be imposed.”
Without question, plea bargains benefit many defendants who have committed crimes and receive lighter sentences than they might after trial. It also limits cases that require considerable time and expense in court.
But many defendants who opt for trial effectively face more prison time for rejecting a plea than for committing the alleged crime.
In Mr. Guthrie’s case, he was initially charged with aggravated battery on a pregnant woman and false imprisonment. But after he rejected the plea bargains, the prosecutor, more than a year later, filed the more serious charge of first-degree felony kidnapping, based on the girlfriend’s accusation that he pulled her by the arm inside her home and, once outside, grabbed her hair and pulled her on her feet the distance of several parking spaces.
Nobody is suggesting that Mr. Guthrie, previously incarcerated for 18 months on gun, assault and drug charges, is a sympathetic figure. According to a police report, he punched and kicked his girlfriend, left her with a bruised and bloody nose and a face that “appeared to be swollen,” and threatened to cut her stomach with a knife.
The assistant state attorney handling the case, Frank Slavichak, did not return calls. The chief investigator for the office, Spencer Mann, said Mr. Guthrie’s choices dictated the course of the case.
But his lawyer, Craig DeThomasis, hired after the plea rejections, said he was “plainly being punished for exercising his right to trial.” According to Mr. Guthrie’s mother, Claudia Guthrie, the prosecutor told her son at a hearing this spring that if he did not plead guilty and take a five-year sentence, higher charges would be filed that mean “you’re going to get life.” Mr. Mann did not dispute that some sort of warning of new charges was presented.
Mr. DeThomasis said that there was no evidence the girlfriend was pregnant, and that she started the altercation by hitting him in the forehead with a pipe, landing him in the jail infirmary for a week. He pointed out that she was arrested in 2009 for attacking Mr. Guthrie after telling the police he had struck her, leading police to say in a report that she had “changed her story several times and could not explain her actions.” He also said she had a history of involuntary hospitalizations, which she declined to address in a 110-page sworn deposition in February.
Mr. Mann declined to comment on the girlfriend’s background but said none of it affected the credibility of the case.
Judges in many cases can set aside verdicts that they believe are unsupported by the evidence, but they generally have no power in mandatory-minimum cases to reduce punishments below levels established through legislation.
While the Guthrie case may be a particularly stark example of how much power one prosecutor can have over a defendant’s fate, many places have given district attorneys similar influence.
“There have been so many laws passed in the various states that just about always there is some enhancement available to the prosecutor that can be used as leverage in negotiations,” said Scott Burns, executive director of the National District Attorneys Association.
Mr. Burns, a former Utah prosecutor, did not dispute that sentencing-law changes had made trial riskier for defendants and helped drive down the percentage of cases taken to a verdict. He also acknowledged that the plea-bargain process “clearly is coercive” when defendants face harsher or more numerous charges for rejecting deals.
But he said plea bargains were also “extremely lenient in many instances because prosecutors are taking several criminal acts off the table.” He emphasized that lawmakers time and again have given prosecutors more leverage and said it was “grossly unrealistic” to criticize district attorneys for enforcing laws that they are duty-bound to uphold — even those that are ill-advised.
“There are a lot of criminal laws that are passed that we all kind of roll our eyes at,” he said. “Sometimes they are just repetitive; sometimes they are knee-jerk responses to some high-profile case, and therefore politically motivated.”
Though national statistics are not readily available, the trend toward lower trial rates is evident in a number of places.
The National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg, Va., found that the percentage of felonies taken to trial in nine states with available data fell to 2.3 percent in 2009, from 8 percent in 1976.
The number of jury trials rose slightly, while nonjury trials, where a judge decides guilt or innocence, fell sharply — all while caseloads nearly tripled. The states account for more than a third of the American population, and most have mandatory minimums or sentencing guidelines or have passed toughened sentencing laws.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics, after studying partial data on state-court felony prosecutions nationwide, found that from 1986 to 2006 the ratio of pleas to trials nearly doubled.
The shift has been clearer in federal district courts. After tougher sentencing laws were enacted in the 1980s, the percentage of criminal cases taken to trial fell to less than 3 percent last year, from almost 15 percent, according to data from the State University at Albany’s Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics. The explosion of immigrationprosecutions, where trials are rare, skews the numbers, but the trend is evident even when those cases are not included.
Nearly nine of every 10 cases ended in pleas last year, the federal data show, while one in 12 were dismissed (the percentage of dismissed cases was substantially higher a generation ago).
The number of acquittals dropped even further. Last year, there was only one acquittal for every 212 guilty pleas or trial convictions in federal district courts. Thirty years ago, the ratio was one for every 22.
More Plea Bargaining
Experts like Ronald Wright, a former federal prosecutor and now a professor of law at Wake Forest University, say they fear that the steep decline in acquittals stems partly from more defendants, who might have winnable cases, deciding not to risk trials and reluctantly accepting plea bargains instead.
Some federal prosecutors worried that their power would be weakened by a 2005 Supreme Court ruling that made sentencing guidelines advisory only. But academics say the ruling had much less effect than what some predicted as many judges still largely follow the guidelines, and the ruling did not affect other laws that have given prosecutors more power.
While sentencing changes allowed legislators in this state to take credit for being tough on crime, they have also worked against their goal of trimming prison costs, leaving prosecutors caught in the middle.
“There is a big disconnect,” said Bill Cervone, the state attorney in Gainesville and the chief prosecutor in six counties that make up Florida’s Eighth Judicial Circuit. “There is subtle and not so subtle pressure” to reduce the numbers sent to prison.
Mr. Cervone, who was head of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association, added, “Our position is, ‘Please don’t pass any new crime laws while you are also cutting our budgets.’ ” His budget has been cut 20 percent in four years.
The fiscal strains extend to judges, who face pressure to keep dockets moving. Some do not appreciate defendants who refuse pleas and then lose a time-consuming trial, he and other lawyers say.
“There are some judges who will punish you for going to trial,” Mr. Cervone said. “Legally, you cannot impose a longer sentence on someone because they exercised their right to trial,” he said, speaking of judges. “Factually, there are ways to do it.”
In some cases, he added, he wished judges had more discretion, instead of having to automatically impose an inflexible punishment.
So, too, do many judges faced with cases where legislatively mandated penalties do not square with their idea of justice.
Like the one in Polk County, Fla. that began when Orville Wollard said he fired his registered handgun into his living room wall to scare his daughter’s boyfriend out of the house after he repeatedly threatened his family.
In Mr. Wollard’s view, he was protecting his family and did not try to hurt the boyfriend, who was not hit, though the judge said the bullet missed him by inches. But after Mr. Wollard turned down a plea offer of five years of felony probation, prosecutors won a conviction two years ago for aggravated assault with a firearm. Because the gun was fired, a mandatory-minimum law required a 20-year term.
At his sentencing, Mr. Wollard said he felt as if he were in “some banana republic” and described the boyfriend as a violent drug dealer. But prosecutors said the judge had “no discretion” because of the state law.
Reluctantly, the judge agreed. “If it weren’t for the mandatory minimum aspect of this, I would use my discretion and impose some separate sentence,” he told Mr. Wollard, adding that he was “duty bound” to impose 20 years.
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As the preceding post might suggest, French was a fascinating man. But he lived at a time when few New Englanders wrote memoirs, or were celebrated in an individual way. We are lucky that the Rev. Timothy Alden felt French’s life was sufficiently important to merit any biography at all, however brief.
I won’t say this text was almost lost to history, but that wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration. It took me three weeks of looking to locate it.
The first version of Alden’s text is cited below; it is the original, which is next to impossible to find outside of an academic library:
Memoirs of the late Rev. Jonathan French, A.M. of Andover, in Massachusetts, who departed this life suddenly, 28th July, 1809.–Æt. 70.
by Timothy Alden, publ. 1810
A WorldCat library citation is available here.
The second version is actually from an anthology of sorts of Alden’s writings, but is more readily available:
A collection of American epitaphs and inscriptions, with occasional notes
by Timothy Alden, publ. 1814
This can be read here.
I’ll lead off with an OCR/ digital version of the text. So that search engines can find it, and young students doing research for a school paper, etc., can have something to copy and paste from.
I have also included, though, at the end, the images of the original document.
As I said, this man deserves to be remembered, and I want to do as much as I can to help that happen.
[Editorial Note: I have very lightly edited this for clarity, and 21st century expectations regarding capitalization, etc. Thus I have change mr. to Mr., friday to Friday, but left words like honour and physick as is.–LSL]
BY REV. TIMOTHY ALDEN, A. M.
HONORARY MEMBER OF THE MASSACHUSETTS AND
OF THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETIES,
MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN ANTQUA
RIAN SOCIETY, ETC.
PENTADE I. VOL.II.
TOMUM. SECUNDUM. OPERIS.
SUMMA. CUM. OBSERVANTIA.
[The first edition of the first volume of this Collection was printed, in four numbers, in 1812. A variety of circumstances, not of sufficient importance to be mentioned in this notice, has retarded the completion of this series, which is to consist of five volumes, any former intimation to the contrary notwithstanding. It is now thought adviseable not to continue a division of the work into numbers, as the captions of those numbers would, in the aggregate, exclude several pages of matter. Should this series meet with a favourable reception, it is probable that, a few years hence, Deo volente a second may make its appearance, with a greater proportion of biographical and historical details, in reference to characters and events in the southern and western parts of the United States, than is to be found in the first pentade.
It having been occasionally suggested, in the first volume of this Collection, that its author was preparing a History of the state of New-Jersey, it is deemed proper here to add, that he has abandoned that work for want of encouragement.
New-York, 20 June, 1814.]
A COLLECTION OF AMERICAN EPITAPHS AND INSCRIPTIONS WITH OCCASIONAL NOTES, BY REV. TIMOTHY ALDEN.
Article 286. Mat. 7. 7. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Sacred to the memory of the Rev. Jonathan French, ordained pastor of the church and congregation in the south parish in Andover, 23 September, 1772, died, 20 July, 1809, aetat. 70. Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord. They rest from their labours and their works do follow them.
Note— A family, by the name of French, came td New-England, probably, in the latter part of the seventeenth century. The christian names of the heads of this family the writer of these memoirs has not been able to ascertain. They brought with them three sons, Samuel, John, and Thomas. Another was born to them, on their passage across the Atlantick, whom, in grateful acknowledgment of the good providence of God, on whose protection and favour they depended in removing to this distant country, they named Dependeuce. Thomas settled in Braintree, near Boston, as did also his son Moses.
In the maternal line, the ancestors of the Rev. Mr. French are traced to the honourable John Alden, one of the pilgrims of Leyden, who came to Plymouth, in 1620, who was assistant to all the governours of the Old Colony, except the first, and who died at Duxborough, in 1688, at the age of about eighty-nine years. John Bass, of Braintree, now Quincy, married Ruth, one of the daughters of John Alden. Sarah, a daughter of Mr. Bass, was the wife of Ephraim Thayer. This happy couple, another Zecharias and Elizabeth, as to their life and conversation, were blessed with a numerous family of children, remarkable for their piety. They were indulged the peculiar satisfaction of living to see fourteen children arrive at years of maturity, enter a family state, and, unanimously, make the noble resolution of Joshua; as for me and my house, ice will serve the Lord. On one communion occasion, they enjoyed the singular felicity of presenting themselves, with the fourteen children, God had graciously given them, at the table of the Lord, to receive the emblems of redeeming love! A similar instance has seldom been found in the annals of the christian church.
Esther, the ninth of these children, was the wife of Moses French, before named, who died, 19 September, 1768, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. She survived her husband to the 15 of December, 1800, having entered upon her ninety-sixth year.They were both eminent for their uniformly pious deportment.
The eldest son of Moses and Esther French was Moses, who died at Braintree, 19 January, 130T, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. He was, for a long time, deacon of the church in that place, and was employed in several of the useful and important, though not elevated, departments of publick life. He was noted for his attachment to evangelical truth, for the sanctity of his deportment, and for the integrity, with which he discharged the various trusts with which he v/as honoured. Elisha, the second son, with a taste for reading, which he has advantageously indulged amid his agricultural and mechanical pursuits, and a mind early impressed with the reality and the importance of religion, is passing the evening of his life in the humble shades of retirement. There were three daughters; Esther, the eldest, who was the wife of Richard Thayer, of Braintree; Deliverance, the youngest, who was the first wife of Rev. Dr. Emmons, of Franklin; and another, who died unmarried. Jonathan, the youngest son, and the youngest of the family, except Mrs. Emmons, is the subject of these memoirs.
The reverend Jonathan French, descended from ancestors eminent for that evangelical faith and practice, which distinguished many of the fathers of New-England, was born at Braintree, on the 30 of January, 1740. He lived with his parents, following the occupation of his father, who was a farmer, till he was about seventeen years old. At this time he enlisted as a private soldier, in the army employed against the French and Indians, and in March, 1757 repaired to Fort Edward. In August following, he was taken with the small-pox, and on his recovery from that disorder, being seized with the fever and ague, he was unable to perform duty, obtained a discharge, and returned home in October.
The tumult and temptations of the camp did not obliterate the serious instructions, which he had received from his pious parents. It appears from his journal, that he was observant of religious duties, and that he gladly improved every opportunity to attend publick worship. He constantly made a memorandum of the texts, which were used by the chaplains, and other ministers, who occasionally visited the army.
Soon after his return, he was stationed at Castle William, in the capacity of a sergeant. As the superior officers were often absent, the chief care of the garrison in such case, devolved upon Mr. French; so that the office he sustained was then of considerable importance to so young a man. He had also the charge of the sutler’s store.
Twice, during his residence on this island, his life was in great jeopardy.
An Indian, who was a servant at the castle, applied to him at the store, on a certain time, for some rum, which he refused to let him have; supposing, from his appearance, that he had already drank more than was proper. A few days after, as he was walking alone, he met the Indian, who advanced towards him in a menacing attitude, with a drawn knife. There being no way to avoid an encounter, hs took what advantage he could of the ground, which was sloping, and, by a sudden and vigorous stroke with his foot against the heels, and his hand against the neck of the Indian, brought him to the earth. Seizing a loop-pole, whlch providentially, lay near, he threatened the Indian’s life, unless he would solemnly promise to conduct well for the future. The Indian seemed to be overwhelmed with astonishment that he should, on any condition, spare him, and ever after, with the liveliest gratitude, as if he owed his life to Mr. French, was ready, on all occasions, to do him any service in his power.
In the other instance, an Indian prisoner had found means to escape from confinement; but, not being able to get clear of the guard, which pursued him, he resorted to a narrow passage in the castle, and, having previously armed himself with a large club, swore he would kill any one, who should attempt to take him. Mr. French was directed to conduct a file of men to the place and seize him; but none of the soldiers had courage to approach him under such circumstances. Mr. French, being at that time small of stature, was not eyed with so much fear by the Indian, as were his soldiers. While he was talking to his men, and giving them directions, he watched for an opportunity, which he presently had, when the Indian’s attention was somewhat diverted, and, springing, with much agility, a number of feet, caught hold of the club, and, in a moment, with the assistance of his soldiers, secured the prisoner.
While at the castle, he was honoured with the acquaintance and friendship of many literary and other respectable characters in Boston and its vicinity. From childhood he had a fondness for books, and sedulously improved in this situation the advantages, which refined society, and his opportunities for reading, afforded. For mathematical and philosophical researches he had a natural propensity. He, however, devoted his leisure principally to the study of physick and surgery; contemplating the healing art, for a considerable time, as the profession he was to follow in life. To this the benevolent bias of his mind strongly urged him, and his station at the garrison was favourable for gaining the necessary instruction. Under the direction ol’ the surgeon of this post, an English gentleman, by the name of Crosier, if the writer mistake not, and the friendly aid of doctors Whitworth and Jeffries, he soon made such proficiency in the acquirement of medical knowledge, and had so much the confidence of the faculty, that the medicines and care of the sick were often intrusted solely to him. He was ever a man of great resolution and perseverance; and it was always a maxim with him in every station of life, to do what was to be done, as soon as he consistently could. No small difficulties nor dangers ever deterred him from the discharge of duty. The following anecdote is offered as an exemplification of this trait in his character.
A man belonging to the garrison was afflicted with a dangerous ulcer. Mr, French, on examining it, found there were appearances of a mortification. He repaired to the medicine chest; but, on searching, could find no such dressings as he thought the case required. The surgeon, who had been expected, was unable to come by reason of a sudden change in the weather, which had so frozen the water in Boston harbour, as to prevent the passing of a boat, but not so as to make it safe for any one on foot. Mr. French not being able to procure a man, who was willing to venture over, in his zeal, furnished himself with a pole, and, holding it horizontally, that it might facilitate his getting out if he should fall through the ice, travelled to Boston, though often in great danger; procured the necessary articles, returned, and was undoubtedly the instrument, under providence, of saving the patient’s life.
The physicians before mentioned, particularly, recommended it to him to pursue the profession he had contemplated, and promised to afford him every aid in their power towards his establishment in Boston. They considered him as having peculiar talents for eminence in that line; but the great Head of the church had other purposes respecting him. He had even so far listened to the advice of friends, as to determine upon a settlement in the practice of phytick, and to enter into a family state; having, for about four years, formed an acquaintance with a view to marriage, with the lady, who afterwards became the companion of his life.
About this time, however, he received such encouragement from several literary friends, as led him to resolve upon a collegiate education. The lady, to whom he was engaged, concurred with him in the plan, and urged him to perseverance in it, as she thought it afforded a prospect of his greater usefulness in life.
Messrs. Davis and Phillips, who were chaplains at the castle, assisted him in his studies preparatory for admission into the college. Several gentlemen, and particularly Mr. Bernard, son of the governour, furnished him with books for the purpose.
He continued at Castle William, discharging the duties of his station, till ready to commence his residence at college. On the last day of his service at the garrison, he waited on the governour and other company, as commanding officer for the day, gave up his commission, presented his sword to his successor, repaired to Harvard university, became subject to authority, and, in the evening, rung the bell as butler’s freshman.
Being considerably advanced in years, he was indulged with greater intimacy with the officers of college, and other gentlemen of Cambridge, than is usual for under-graduates, and he possessed, in an uncommon degree, the confidence and friendship of his instructers and fellow-students. While a member of this institution, he took great satisfaction in visiting the clergy of the vicinity. He also associated much with persons of piety, and especially with the serious young gentlemen of the college, for the purposes of devotion and religious improvement.
He often remarked, that, having had the command of others, he was much impressed with a sense of the necessity of order and subordination ; and no one ever set a better example of obedience to the government of a college. He was distinguished, not only for conformity to the laws of the seminary, and for a diligent attention to study, but was subject to no fine nor censure during his collegiate life.
He was graduated, in 1771, but still continued at Cambridge, where he devoted himself to the study of divinity. He now resided in the family of mrs. Holyoke, who honoured him with her friendship, as her husband, the president, in his life, had also done.
While an undergraduate, Mr. French was one of the most active and most skilful members of a private anatomical society, which was in existence for many years previous to the present respectable establishment, which is under the direction of dr. John Warren. This society is said to have been destroyed about the year, 1784.
His name also appears among the projectors of a once private literary society, within the walls of Harvard, which was of advantage to many, be-fore the professorship of rhetorick and oratory was founded.
Mr. French’s prospects would have been flattering, as to this world, if he had finally determined on the profession, which he originally had in view. But having, by the kindness of heaven, obtained a publick education, and given himself up to his divine Lord and Master, he glowed with zeal to be employed in his service for the good of precious and immortal souls. No worldly emoluments could have satisfied him, like the ministry of the cross. This was the darling object of his heart; and, for distinguished usefulness in his noble and important, but arduous and self-humbling employment, he was eminently qualified.
His desire and intention were to have spent his life, as a missionary among the poor natives of the wilderness; but solicitations from Andover, and other places, to preach as a candidate, induced him to relinquish that purpose. After preaching for some time in the south parish of Andover, he received the united invitation of the church and congregation to take the pastoral oversight of them; and was, accordingly, ordained, on the 22 of September, 1772.
Having entered on the duties of his parochial charge, he was married to miss Abigail Richards, 26 August, 1773. Her father, Benjamin Richards, was a physician, in Weymouth, adjoining Braintree, who was eminent for his skill in the treatment of the throat distemper ; a disorder, which first appeared in New-England, in 1735. Her mother was Abigail, the youngest of the children of Ephraim Thayer, of whose family some account has already been given. The parents of Mrs. French, like those of her excellent husband, were esteemed, in their day, as patterns of piety. The children of Mr. French were Sarah, who died in infancy; Abigail, the consort of Rev. Samuel Stearns, of Bedford, in Massachusetts; Jonathan, the pastor of the church and congregation of North-Hampton, in New-Hampshire; and Maria Holyoke, the consort of Rev. Ebenezer P. Sperry of Dunstable.
Mr. French’s ministry was laborious, as his parish was extensive ; and, unless prevented by ill health, he was assiduous in the performance of duty, both publick and private. His sermons were usually written at large, though he sometimes extemporized; and his chirography was better in the latter, than in the former part of his ministry. He wrote more discourses, than the generality of his cotemporaries, but did not number them after he had completed a thousand. For many years he was in the habit of writing and delivering an exposition upon the chapters, which he read, from sabbath to sabbath, to his congregation. This was ever a very acceptable source of instruction to his hearers. His occasional publications were respectable productions ; but his great object in preparing to address his people, was to be useful rather than elegant J and to offer the plain and momentous truths ol the gospel in a language, which all might understand. His time was ever too much occupied about the numerous and pressing duties of his station, to be very particular as to the embellishments of style. His manner of preaching was serious, solemn, and impressive. He had a strong, pleasant, and piercing voice, which he well knew how to manage. He was strongly solicited, some years since, to furnish for the press, a volume of his sermons ; but a multiplicity of cares precluded him the opportunity.
The baptisms during his ministry amounted to 1444; and the admissions into his church, including forty-seven from other churches, to 506. The greatest number admitted in one year was thirty-five, in 1773, besides eleven from sister churches.
He annually catechised the children in the seven school districts, into which his parish was divided; and always used the Assembly’s Catechism, which he preferred before any other. His discourse to the lambs of his flock, on such occasions, was remarkably appropriate and impressive, and, in several instances, had considerable effect, not only on the children, but on their parents, from the account of it which they gave to their parents There were some instances of persons, who dated their awakenings from this source.
Twice a year, he formally visited all the schools in his parish. His ardent supplications to the throne of grace, and his tender addresses to these little nurseries of science, made an impression upon many, which will never be forgotten. He frequently preached lectures in various places among the people of his charge, and to the young gentlemen of Phillips’ academy. Of this highly respectable seminary he was, from its establishment to the day of his death, one of the trustees, and also the clerk of the board.
He was serviceable to his people as a physician, especially in the early periods of his ministry, when there were not many of this profession in that part of the country. His attentions, however, in this character, and his medicines, were always gratuitous. Seldom was any minister ever more universally beloved, esteemed, and venerated by his parishioners, than was Mr. French. They constantly applied to him for counsel in all their difficulties, temporal as well as spiritual.
He was one of the founders of the society in Massachusetts, for promoting christian knowledge. He began to record remarks on the weather from the time he went into the army. His thermometrical and meteorological register, kept with great care for many years, would be a valuable acquisition to the cabinet of any philosophical association and is to be deposited in the archives of the New-York Historical Society.
Having in early life taken the sword in defence, and to secure the rights, he was ever an ardent friend of his country. During the revolutionary war, he exerted his influence, and did much to encourage his people in the noble cause of liberty and independence. On hearing of the battle, as it is commonly called, of Bunker’s Hill, he immediately get off with his gun and surgical instruments for the array. Although he did not reach the heights of Charlestown soon enough so use the former; yet for the latter, he was in season to have occasion, and was of much assistance in dressing and binding up the wounds of those, who had bled in that severe engagement.
The Rev. Samuel Phillips, the first pastor of the south parish in Andover, was his immediate predecessor. He departed this life, 5 June, 1771, in the eighty-second year of his age, after a faithful ministry of sixty years’ continuance. He was the progenitor of those distinguished worthies, hearing the same family name, who have merited the gratitude of the present and future generations, by their uncommon munificence for the promotion of literature, science, and religion, in this western world.
Mr. French had one encouragement in his ministry, which many of the faithful servants of the Redeemer have not. The leading characters in his parish were persons of exemplary piety. They strengthened his hands by their liberal bestowments upon him and his family ; and they gave him, and the cause, in which he was embarked, the Weight of their influence.
His salary was small; he, however, had the use of a valuable parsonage, and he availed himself of some aid by boarding a number of young gentlemen of the academy. He had many pious friends in Boston and other places, of whose kindly deeds he often spoke with gratitude. Among the living it would be improper to particularize; but it would be inexcusable not to mention, in these memoirs, the name of the late Lieut. Governour Samuel Phillips, a grandson of his venerable predecessor. This gentleman was one of the truly excellent of the earth, and his praise will long be in the churches of New-England, he was his class-mate at college, his parishioner, benefactor, and intimate friend. With his confidence Mr. French was always honoured, and with him he often took sweet counsel respecting the things, which pertained to his best interests of his country, the advancement of the most useful science, and the promoting of the Redeemer’s kingdom.
No minister was ever more given to hospitality, than was the subject of these memoirs. His social and friendly disposition endeared him to all his acquaintances. Though, from his situation, and the lively interest he took in the literary and religious institutions within the limits of his parish, his life was a continued scene of fatigue ; yet at almost all Seasons he was remarkably cheerful, entertaining, and instructive. His company was eagerly sought by the young and the old, and his house was the abode of friendship, harmony, and love. All, who resorted to his hospitable mansion, were certain of a most cordial welcome.
“He lov’d his friends with such a warmth of heart. So clear of interest, so devoid of art ; Such generous freedom, such unshaken zeal— No words can speak it, but our tears may tell.”
Mr. French was also much esteemed by the churches of New-England, as a wise, prudent, and judicious counsellor, and was often instrumental of settling unhappy ecclesiastical difficulties. During his ministry, he received seventy eight letters missive, inviting him to attend ordaining and other councils. Many young gentlemen, preparing for the gospel ministry, had the benefit of his instructions and the use of his library; and these were, in every instance, gratuitous. With respect to the ministry, it was an opinion with him, which he often expressed, that all candidates for it, in a manner, had very inadequate ideas of its arduous duties, and great trials ; that they, who entered it with a view to promote Christ’s kingdom and the good of souls, would be willing, relying on the sufficiency of divine grace, to bear its trials ; and that they, who engaged in it with a view merely to a subsistence and to worldly ease, would deserve, as they might expect, to find themselves under a great mistake.
In religious sentiment, he was decidedly such a Calvinist as the first fathers of New-England. “Watts and Doddridge were his favourite authors. Though he was never fond of controversy, and had charity for many, who differed from him in opinion ; yet he was much averse from those extremes, which have divided the christian world. In a particular manner, he viewed, with painful emotions, that laxity of sentiment, which has, of late years, made such an alarming progress.
On the mysteriuos subjects of the gospel, he thought it Wrong to attempt to be wise above what is written. What God had declared, he maintained, was to be implicitly believed, notwithstanding it might not be comprehended by finite minds.
He sought instruction and improvement from the. best sources he could find. It appears, by some letters, discovered among his papers, that he was favoured with an epistolary correspondence, on religious subjects, with the late president Edwards.
He had a happy faculty of silencing the cavils of the censorious and supercilious. A person of this character, once interrogating him, with a captious spirit, about some of the most abstruse points in religion, he said to the in inquirerer, do not the scriptures explain these great truths to your satisfaction? to which he replied, they do not. Surely then, said Mr. French, you cannot suppose that I am able to explain them. These are the revealed truths of God’s word; and, as such, are to be received and believed, though neither you nor I may hope fully to understand them in this world.
His different situations and occupations in life, were conducive to his acquiring a more, than ordinary knowledge of human nature.
His temper was naturally quick, but he was enabled, by the gracious influence of the gospel upon his heart, to exhibit, on the most trying occasions, great self-possession. His sensibilities were uncommonly keen. Whenever called so scenes of distress, his sympathy was instantly awake: yet he ever had so far a self-command, that he was able, like a workman, who needeth not to be ashamed, in the most kindly manner, to administer the balm of consolation.
When addressing his beloved church, at the communion table ; when speaking to the sons and daughters of affliction; or, when preaching upon some of the most interesting truths of the gospel, he often remarked, that it was with the greatest difficulty he could, in his own apprehension, attempt to utter a word, so tenderly was he affected ; yet, he would express himself in a manner, so happily adapted to the occasion, that he seemed like one inspired. His words were like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
On the evening before his death, he agreed with professor Woods, that the conference meetings of the young gentlemen of the Theological seminary, and those among his parishioners, should be united as there was already a hopeful and increasing attention to religion in the place, and as they mutually thought greater benefit would result from such a union. Thus, so long as he had the power, he spent his life in the service of his Master.
On the morning after this conversation, he was suddenly attacked with a paralytick affection. During the day he was able to say but little, which could be understood ; but, at some lucid intervals, had so far the exercise of his reason and speech, as to give testimony to the truth of the gospel he had preached, and to express a becoming resignation to the will of God. Doctor Griffin prayed with him a little before the last scene, for which he expressed his thanks, in broken language, to the professor, and fell asleep in Jesus.
He died on Friday, the 28 of July, 1809, in the seventieth year of his age, and the thirty seventh of his ministry. His funeral was attended on the Monday following, by a numerous concourse of people, in whose countenances it was plainly depicted how greatly they sorrowed, that they should hang upon his lips, that they should profit by his instructions, and that they should see his face no more. A sermon was delivered on the occasion, from John 14. 28, by the Rev. Eliab Stone, of Reading, the senior minister of the Andover Association.
Lastly, for archival purposes, here’s the PDF.
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Forewarned, Forearmed: Self Background Checks Named “Trend” for 2012
With the unemployment rate hovering between 8 and 9 percent, job seekers still face a lot of competition for every opening. At a time when you need to pull out all the stops to impress potential employers and stand out from the crowd, don’t get caught off-guard by a nasty surprise in your background check.
- Self background checks one of “top ten trends” for 2012
- Three out of four employers check applicants’ backgrounds
- What to do if your background check has inaccurate information
More Than Just Navel Gazing
Self background checks by people applying for jobs has made the list of top ten trends in background checks for 2012, compiled by Employment Screening Resources, a Bay Area firm that provides various background checking resources to employers.
“If [job seekers] have to undergo a background check, it would be in their best interest to make sure the information found on the background check is accurate, up-to-date, and complete,” ESR Founder and CEO Les Rosen wrote in a press release. “As a result, some jobseekers are taking matters in their own hands by proactively conducting ‘self’ background checks on themselves to verify the accuracy of their public information.”
There are various ways you can get a sneak-peek at what employers might see when they check you out:
- Google yourself, and check out social media sites that might have information about you posted.
- Use background check apps and websites—but be cautious, the information provided by these programs may not be entirely accurate or match what a professional background check will turn up.
- Check your credit—by law you can get one free report from each of the three credit ratings agencies once per year.
- Engage a professional background check service, such as that offered by ESR.
Wait, I Didn’t Sign Up for that Credit Card . . .
According to a 2010 survey, three quarters of businesses in the United States background check their applicants, including checking references, criminal records, and to a lesser extent, credit reports.
In that kind of environment, the last thing you want is to miss out on a dream job because of inaccurate information found in your background check. ESR lists a host of reasons that a background check could sink applicants who think they have squeaky-clean records:
- A job seeker is the victim of identity theft.
- Someone with the same name as a job seeker has committed a crime.
- Some minor or old criminal matter that the job seeker thought was judicially set aside or was too old to matter still pops up.
- Some past employer or school does not have the job seeker’s record under the proper name so that a background check may be inaccurate.
- A school may have a job seeker under a different name, or may not have given the job seeker the degree due to not paying a final bill and the school did not officially give the degree.
- A driving record check may reveal an old ticket that the job seeker thought was taken care of but went to a warrant for failure to appear.
If you find there is inaccurate information on your official background check, there are several steps you can take:
- Alert potential employers in advance of the error
- Request the background screening firm double check and correct their information
- If necessary, consult a lawyer or law enforcement in cases of identity theft or other fraud
Aaron Kase is a news reporter for Lawyers.com.
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MASON COUNTY — Western Washington's largest wildfire of the summer was reduced to a smolder over the weekend.
The Haven Lake Fire burned about 168 acres on steep, rugged terrain about 10 miles northwest of Shelton before firefighters contained its progress. Fire officials Monday downgraded an earlier estimate of 186 acres. Much of the burned area was confined to lands managed by the state Department of Natural Resources. No buildings were damaged.
The blaze is 91 percent contained behind fire lines constructed by about 320 firefighters. Crews came from the surrounding area, Oregon and Colorado.
On Saturday, explosives crews blasted fire lines along the fire's northwest flank, where the landscape is especially steep. Crews were finishing mop up duties Sunday. The potential for the fire to spread is very low, according to the Nathan Rabe, the fire's incident commander.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
As of Monday, the cost of suppressing the fire totaled $1.4 million.
Last week's heavy rainfall helped curtail the fire's spread. Now that dry conditions and warm temperatures have returned to the region, DNR fire officials are warning of heightened fire danger.
A campfire ban was lifted Friday on state lands in Western Washington.
The ban remains in Eastern Washington, where four large fires continue to burn. More than 370,00 acres in the state have burned this summer.
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As snow blankets the traditional Appalachian Mountains, most of the area’s inhabitants come collectively to have a good time the vacation season, with traditions and time-honored recipes on the forefront of those festivities.
The Appalachian area is well-known for its delicacies, developed from a melting pot of Native American Cherokee, Italian, Celtic, African American and German influences, and is usually characterised by strategies of meals preservation, recreation meat and foraged substances.
Whereas iconic meals like pepperoni rolls, cornbread, pawpaw fruit and buckwheat desserts are synonymous with Appalachian tradition, the area’s vacation dishes are equally noteworthy and nostalgic. Traditionally rooted in looking, foraging, cultivation and preservation, Appalachian cooking prioritized reasonably priced, long-lasting meals, particularly throughout the winter months in rural areas.
One such instance is the Appalachian apple stack cake, typically referred to as “the poor man’s fruit cake.” Sometimes product of pancake-like layers unfold with spiced apple filling, the dessert’s composition various based mostly on accessible substances. Key options embrace a dough with sorghum and a filling with dried apples, ginger and nutmeg. Spices had been costly and sometimes reserved for particular events, making this dessert a vacation spotlight for a lot of Appalachians. Due partially to the well being advantages of some substances and the spirituality of the vacation season, it was broadly believed that apple stack cake contained therapeutic qualities and sharing this dessert invited luck for the 12 months forward.
Different staples of historic Appalachian Christmas meals embrace gingerbread, regionally crafted moonshine, homegrown cooked greens, country-style ham, and the particular deal with of oranges, nuts and sweet tucked into youngsters’s Christmas stockings. A lot of this meals was not solely loved on Christmas Day, however preserved to be loved all through the winter season. This was as a consequence of a reliance on provisions throughout the chilly months, in addition to prolonging the joyful spirit that lingered from Christmas. The vacation’s meals and desserts had been tucked away to be loved later and act as a reminder of the day’s radiance on lengthy winter days.
Within the tough winters of the mountainous area, meals was not solely a way of survival but additionally a supply of hope. Gathering with family members to organize meals, share the uncommon deal with and alternate dialog — past the recipes of the area, these treasured moments fashioned the true coronary heart and core of Appalachian cooking.
As one other vacation season passes, drifting farther from the enduring traditions of the previous and thru the model new traditions creating in every passing second, the Appalachian spirit of perseverance, resourcefulness, neighborhood and gratitude is alive in every heat reminiscence shared with family and friends, every pale recipe scrawled on yellowing pocket book paper and properly needs between neighbors.
Appalachian recipes will be discovered on-line, in books reminiscent of The Foxfire Ebook of Appalachian Cookery or by discussing with buddies, household or neighbors.
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SCB4010T: Biology (2013-2014)
CURRICULUM PROGRAM: Virtual School Program
COURSE TITLE: Biology
CALENDAR YEAR: 2013-2014
GRADE LEVEL: 9-12
COURSE LENGTH: 36 weeks
This course is an introduction to general biology and scientific inquiry. It will include the fundamental principles of living organisms, including physical and chemical properties of life, cellular organization and function, the transfer of energy through metabolic systems, cellular reproduction, the classification of living things, and the six kingdoms of life. The main focus is to present biological information in an understandable and straightforward way that will capture the students’ interest and deal with current issues and concepts.
DoDEA Biology Standards
Upon completion of Biology, students should be able to:
- Engage in full and partial scientific inquiries to design, conduct, and communicate scientific investigations to explore ideas about the natural world.
- Use scientific inquiry to design and conduct scientific investigations to meet a human need, make a decision, solve a human problem, or develop a product.
- Recognize and describe the interrelationship between science and technology.
- Apply the tools of technology (e.g., computers) in scientific endeavors.
- Identify qualities inherent in scientific behavior (e.g., reasoning, insight, energy, skill, and creativity).
- Discuss contributions of men and women of various social and ethnic backgrounds to science and technology.
- Apply science concepts to make decisions (weighing risks and benefits) about students' personal health and well-being.
- Understand that the cell is the basic unit of structure and function in living organisms.
- Know that characteristics of organisms are specified in DNA, and changes in DNA lead to variation.
- Explain that species evolve over time through the process of natural selection.
- Describe how ecosystems are interactions of organisms with biotic and abiotic factors in the environment.
- Identify that living organisms are complex and highly organized, requiring energy and matter to maintain this organization.
Course Outline First Semester
THE NATURE OF SCIENCE & BIOLOGY
- Section 1: Introduction to Biology
- Section 2: The Chemistry of Life
- Section 1: Biochemical Reactions: Energy and Enzymes
- Section 2: Photosynthesis
- Section 3: Cellular Respiration
- Section 1: Cell Structure
- Section 2: The Cell Membrane
- Section 3: Chromosomes and Cell Reproduction
- Section 4: Meiosis and Sexual Reproduction
- Section 1: Mendel and Heredity
- Section 2: The Chromosome Theory of Inheritance
- Section 3: Human Genetic Traits
- Section 4: DNA
- Section 5: Protein Synthesis
- Section 6: Biotechnology and the Genetics Revolution
- Section 1: Descent with Modification
- Section 2: Population Genetics
Course Outline Second Semester
HISTORY OF LIFE
- Section 1 – Fossils and The Geologic Time Scale
- Section 2 – The Precambrian
- Section 3 – The Paleozoic Era: The Time of Ancient Life
- Section 4 - The Mesozoic Era: The Age of Dinosaurs
- Section 5 - The Cenozoic Era: The Age of Mammals and Birds
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY & CLASSIFICATION
- Section 1 – Taxonomy
- Section 2 – Prokaryotes
- Section 3 – The Protista
- Section 4 – The Plant Kingdom
- Section 5 - Kingdom Fungi
- Section 6 & 7 - Kingdom Animalia
- Section 1 – Plant Organs, Tissues, and Cells
- Section 2 – Flowering Plant Reproduction
- Section 3 – Plant Hormones, Nutrition, and Transport
- Section 1 – Animal Tissues
- Section 2 – Animal Organ Systems and Homeostasis
- Section 3 – The Integumentary System: Protection & Senses
- Section 4 – The Circulatory System: Transport of Materials within the Body
- Section 5 – The Lymphatic System and Immunity: The Body's Defense
- Section 6 - The Digestive System: Getting Food and Nutrients into the Body
- Section 7 - The Nervous and Endocrine Systems: Control of the Body
- Section 8 - The Muscular and Skeletal Systems
- Section 9 - The Respiratory and Excretory Systems: Exchange of Materials
- Section 10 - The Reproductive System and Human Development
- Section 1 – Population Growth
- Section 2 – Community & Ecosystem Dynamics
- Section 3 – The Biosphere and Mass Extinctions
- Stephen Nowicki
- Houghton Mifflin 2012
- ISBN: 0547687796
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When the angry young Beats became the jazzy Beatniks, pop culture found something to dig, writes Barry Divola.
In the beginning there was Beat. Jack Kerouac's On the Road, Allen Ginsberg's Howl, William Burroughs's Naked Lunch. Here were writers who took the same words everyone else had at the time and used them in new ways, much like the bebop jazz players of the '40s who had the same notes at their disposal on their saxophones and trumpets and pianos but played the music as if it was a different form altogether. The Beats wrote like those jazz guys played, and were about pushing the boundaries and not accepting the status quo. Kerouac defined the Beat generation as "a swinging group of new American men intent on joy".
But by the late '50s, as with any radical new movement, the whole thing started trickling down from its spiritual homes in New York's Greenwich Village, San Francisco's North Beach and Los Angeles's Venice Beach into the world at large. It was the birth of the Beatnik, a term coined by the San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen in 1958. And a caricature was born - guys in striped T-shirts and goatees, and girls in capri pants and sweatshirts, hanging out in coffee houses, playing bongos, reciting bad poetry and dropping out of straight society. They lived in pads. They dug things or they got bummed out. They said "like, man" and "woah, daddy-o" all the time.
It's this era, when Beat became Beatnik, that is the subject of Beatsville, a book and exhibition put together by Outre Gallery in Melbourne. One wonders what the original Beats would make of such a celebration of Beatniks, the popular-culture version of the original.
"The Beats had a sense of humour and I think they'd realise that this is celebrating something that is knowingly funny," says Domenic Priore, a Los Angeles-based writer who penned the introductory essay to Beatsville. "We all appreciate the Beat generation as such, but this is really entertaining, too, especially when you look at the cartoon and animation realm, where the Beatniks wear berets and goatees, and look more like French artists than real Beats. None of the Beats went around looking like that."
Like hippies, punks and grunge kids after them, the Beatniks were lampooned as middle-class white kids who were all about laziness, drugs, sexual promiscuity and bad art. And, as with all those groups, the older generation recommended a haircut, a bath and a job, to set them back on the straight and narrow.
But what starts out as criticism and parody eventually becomes beloved pop culture, and that's what's happened with the Beatnik era. The images from that time have taken on their own cool cachet. The pulpy paperbacks that cashed in on the notoriety of On the Road have lurid covers and titles such as My Life and Loves in Greenwich Village, Pads Are for Passion and Like Crazy, Man. A stack of rock'n'roll singles was released to exploit the craze, all bearing variations on the words "beatnik", "bongo" and "man" in their titles. And just about every television show of the time - Rocky & Bullwinkle, The Munsters, My Three Sons, Beanie and Cecil, The Beverly Hillbillies, Alfred Hitchcock Presents - featured a Beatnik episode. Route 66 (1960-64) was a TV producer's popularised version of On the Road, with two guys travelling cross-country in a Corvette looking for kicks. 77 Sunset Strip (1958-1964) spawned popular break-out character Kookie, played by Edd Byrnes. He spoke in hipster jargon and coined phrases such as "piling up the Zs" (taking a nap), "play like a pigeon" (deliver a message) and "a dark seven" (a depressing week).
The archetypal mass-market image of the Beatnik was undoubtedly Maynard G. Krebs on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959-63), played by Bob Denver, who would later become even better known on Gilligan's Island. Movie director John Waters (Hairspray, Polyester) admitted in his biography that when he took on the affectations of a Beatnik as a teenager, "none of it was done from any deep social conviction, but in homage to my favourite Beatnik TV character, Maynard G. Krebs".
When did the Beatniks go the way of the dinosaur? Priore can name the year, and places their demise at the sandaled feet of the hippies. "Beat was all about the angry young man," he says. "By the end of 1966, when the hippies really came in, that was lost, because the hippies were basically a drop-out culture. In my opinion, the last good year for just about everything from popular culture was 1966."
Many present-day artists and designers agree, and alongside the original art and artefacts, their homages to the Beatnik era are also represented in Beatsville, featuring a modern, nostalgic take on the clean, angular design and jazzy images of more than 40 years ago. Something old, something new. You dig? Cool, daddy-o. Let's split.
The Beatsville exhibition opens at Outre Gallery, 249 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, on October 31. Beatsville, edited by Martin McIntosh, is published by Outre Gallery Press on October 31, $49.95.
|text | handheld (how to)||
Copyright © 2003. The Sydney Morning Herald.
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False Discovery Rate and Audience Segments
In this article on Optimizely's StatsEngine it notes, "Because of false discovery rate control, you can now test as many goals and variations in an experiment as you want, without increasing your chance of statistical error."
Beyond goals and variations, are audience segments accounted for under false discovery rate control?
Solved! Go to Solution.
This is a great question. In creating stats engine for A/B Testing we decided not to include audience segments in false discovery rate control. Here’s why:
On the one hand, it would be reasonable to include audiences in an experiment’s false discovery rate calculation. Each audience segment adds another layer of tests to your experiment, meaning if you were testing 5 variations on 2 goals, and looked at results on 2 audiences, you are now running 20 A/B tests. If you used a testing procedure with a 5% chance of a false positive on each one, your chance of seeing at least one spurious result is now a much higher 64%. Including all audiences, variations and goals in a false discovery rate calculation would protect you from this increased chance of a false discovery by instead directly reporting the chance of any winning / losing result being false among all audience segments.
On the other hand, adding a third dimension to the number of tests in false discovery rate calculations could make it take a long time to see conclusive results. If one was not careful, adding 10 segments now increases the number of A/B tests to 100, meaning it would take quite a few visitors to have enough information to be confident in a low false discovery rate. What’s more, since segments are only a fraction of your overall site’s traffic, it would take even longer to achieve the same number of unique visitors in each segments with more, smaller segments.
Since the current A/B Testing platform does not currently expose this tradeoff in a clear way, we decided to silo false discovery rate calculations to goals and variations within an audience segment.
My advice for addressing the multiple testing problem associated with many audience segments is to first take a little time to think in advance of the segments that will be most interesting to you for your experiment. This will help remove audience segments that you didn’t believe would be interesting in the first place. Second, be aware that the statistical significance calculations are siloed for each segment and what the means. It means that if you are calling winners at a 90% significance level, then less than 10% of your winners and losers for audience segment 1 are false, less than 10% of your winners and losers for audience segment 2 are false, and so forth. This does not mean that less than 10% of all your winners and losers are false. What this means practically is that you should try to interpret results from each audience segment separately.
As a final note, multiple audiences will be a big part of our new personalization product that was just announced at Opticon 2015, and we do plan to take audiences into account in false discovery rate calculations in a clear and transparent way, exactly as you suggest.
Hope this helps.
Statistician at Optimizely
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I am subject to the noise of hammering and the dragging of furniture in the unit above mine between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. A director of our condo board spent two nights in my unit and confirmed the noise. But the board refuses to act and says they are not acoustic engineers. Is there anything I can do?
If the board refuses to enforce provisions in the declaration or rules prohibiting such noise or nuisance, you could require mediation with the corporation in accordance with the Condominium Act. You and the board must agree on a mediator who will act as a conciliator in order to encourage the parties to solve the dispute by agreement.
If you and the condo do not agree on a mediator within 60 days of your request, or if the mediator is appointed but determines that the parties are unable to agree to a resolution, the disagreement will proceed to binding arbitration in accordance with the Arbitrations Act.
We are continuously receiving second-hand smoke from the unit below. Our condo rules say that this is a non-smoking building. The board is not acting upon our complaints. What can we do?
The board is obligated, under the Condominium Act, to enforce the act and the declaration, bylaws and rules. Section 117 of the act specifies that no person will do anything in a unit or on the common elements that is likely to damage the property or cause injury to an individual.
There is ample scientific evidence of the injury to an individual’s health caused by second-hand smoke. If the board refuses to act an owner may make a court application for a compliance order requiring the owner of the unit below to comply with the act or requiring the board to enforce compliance with the act.
Can owners collect proxies to remove a director who votes against the interests of the condominium without calling an owners’ meeting? Can I photocopy an old proxy, change the date and go door to door to get signatures?
If the documents stipulate that the proxy is to vote for the director’s removal at a meeting called for that purpose, the proxies will constitute votes for removal at the owners’ meeting. But there must be a meeting.
While regulations under the Condominium Act set out samples of proxies, those samples are not obligatory. Any owner can produce another form of proxy, provided it contains the necessary information.
Some of us wish to nominate a new owner for election to the board at the annual meeting. Can owners who will not attend the meeting give proxy instruments, instructing the proxy to vote for this candidate? Can we distribute or post this candidate’s qualifications to owners? The corporation’s rules prohibit canvassing.
A proxy instrument may specify that the proxy will vote for a particular candidate to be nominated from the floor and may even instruct the proxy to nominate the candidate. The anti-canvassing provision can prevent door-to-door approaches to owners. But it likely cannot prevent information about the candidate being mailed. Nor is it likely to stop the distribution of the material at the start of the owners’ meeting.
The corporation is required to include in the notice of the meeting the name of each individual who has notified the board in writing as of the fourth day before the notice is sent of his or her intention to be a candidate.
Lawyer Gerry Hyman is a former president of the Canadian Condominium Institute and author of Condominium Handbook. Send questions to
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First look: Space shuttle Enterprise exhibit opening in New York City
Photos credit: collectSPACE.com / Ben Cooper / Katie Darby / Robert Z. Pearlman
"We have designed this specifically so visitors and students can get as up-close and personal to [space shuttle Enterprise] as possible," Intrepid's president Susan Marenoff-Zausner said. "You can get so close to her nose, it is really incredible."
Most of Enterprise's flight deck instruments were stripped out decades ago, but as seen through a window, some of the switch panels are still installed. Visitors cannot enter the shuttle, though conservators do have access to the closed crew cabin and payload bay.
Astronaut Fred Haise, who flew on Apollo 13 in April 1970 before commanding five out of space shuttle Enterprise's eight piloted approach and landing tests in 1977, is seen with his former prototype spacecraft at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City.
The gallery ends here... to return to the first page, click here.
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European Economic and Social Committee
|European Economic and
|Represents||Employers, employees and various interest groups|
|Seat||Jacques Delors building, 99 Rue Belliard, Brussels|
This article is part of a series on the
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a consultative body of the European Union (EU) established in 1958. It is an advisory assembly composed of "social partners", namely: employers (employers' organisations), employees (trade unions) and representatives of various other interests. Its seat, which it shares with the Committee of the Regions, is the Jacques Delors building on 99 Rue Belliard in Brussels. Once known by the acronym "EcoSoc", the body is now referred to as the "EESC", to avoid confusions with the United Nations ECOSOC.
It was established by the Treaty of Rome of 1957 in order to unite different economic interest groups to establish a Single Market. The creation of this committee gave them an institution to allow their voices to be heard by the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament. The EESC declares itself to be "a bridge between Europe and organised civil society".
It is mandatory for the Committee to be consulted on those issues stipulated in the Treaties and in all cases where the institutions deem it appropriate. The Treaty of Maastricht considerably enlarged the Committee's domain. Its influence now extends to matters such as social policy, social and economic cohesion, environment, education, health, customers protection, industry, Trans-European Networks, indirect taxation and structural funds. On certain issues the EESC works in partnership with the Committee of the Regions.
In latest years the Committee has taken up the challenge of civil society, opening up its forum to representatives of all sectors, developing two complementary missions:
- Involving civil society organisations more in the European venture, at both national and European level,
- Boosting the role of civil society organisations in non-member countries or country groupings where the Committee is furthering structured dialogue with civil society organisations, and promoting the creation of consultative structures based on its experiences, not least in the countries applying for EU membership, the Mediterranean partner countries, African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, India, China, Latin America (Mercosur) and Brazil.
As said, it is mandatory for the Committee to be consulted on those issues stipulated in the Treaties and in all cases where the institutions deem it appropriate. The EESC may also be consulted on an exploratory basis by one of the other institutions, and may issue opinions on its own initiative (around 15% of its opinions are own-initiative opinions).
Own-initiative and exploratory opinions often raise the awareness of decision-making bodies, and of the Commission in particular, about subjects which have hitherto barely attracted their attention, if at all. Exploratory opinions drawn up at the request of other institutions before the Commission has even drafted its proposals enable the various components of organised civil society represented within the EESC to express the expectations, concerns and needs of grassroots stakeholders.
The Committee adopts on average 170 opinions a year on a wide range of subjects concerning European integration. It therefore plays an active role in the processes of shaping Community policies and preparing Community decisions.
Currently, EESC membership numbers 353 (same as the Committee of the Regions). The number of members per EU state varies according to the population of each state (see table below for state-by-state membership figures; the breakdown is the same for the Committee of the Regions). Members of the EESC are divided into three groups of equal number, employers, employees and a third group of various other changing interests such as: farmers, consumer groups, professional associations and so on.
Members are appointed by the Council (by qualified majority) following nominations made by the government of the respective Member State. However, once appointed, the members are completely independent of their governments. They have a renewable term of office of five years. The President of the EESC, elected for a 2 1⁄2-year term, is Henri Malosse (since April 2013) and the Secretary-General is Luis Planas Puchades (since 1 March 2014).
|24||Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom|
|12||Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungary|
|9||Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, Croatia, Slovakia|
|7||Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia|
Critique of the EESC
In a report reviewing 50 years of the EESC, C.S. Dimitrioulas cited Jacques Delors as saying that EESC contributions from 1958 to 2008 on civil and social matters were "remarkable ". Dimitrioulas commented: "Thanks to its membership and unique role in the EU’s institutional framework, the Committee will in future have special responsibility for making a reality of participatory democracy and for working towards the development of structured dialogue between organised civil society and Union institutions."
Critics observed that while the EESC has undoubtedly performed good works in its time, it has now outlived its usefulness and should be dismantled. The modern EU is replete with advisors: Commissioners have their DGs, MEPs have their own researchers, and the ad hoc national ministers attending the Council of Ministers have both their own advisors and the services of COREPER.
The vice president of the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, Derk Jan Eppink declared, “Over the last eight years, the budgets of the EESC and CoR will have increased by some 50 percent, reaching €130 million and €86.5 million, respectively. There are around 50 officials at each committee with a minimum salary of €123.890, and six officials at each committee earning over €180,000 ” He stated that there is no information on whether or how the COR and the EESC opinions had influenced legislation, adding that neither Committee had been successful in fulfilling its mandate to "engage participation" from citizens.
The EESC has fought such criticism with arguments of its own. Staffan Nilsson (then EESC president) said “It's very strange that Liberals, who also ask for transparency and for the development of society, would try to discuss the idea of cancelling the only body that is for people who are not politicians.”
Far from being sidelined as critics hoped, the EESC has been reinvigorated by the Lisbon Treaty, which has confirmed the EESC's role and influence. According to proponents of the EESC: "Indeed, significant prospects for the development of participatory democracy are opened through Article 11 of the new Treaty on the European Union, which lays the foundations for the future establishment of a genuine structured civil dialogue at European level alongside the political dialogue between the EU and its Member States and the social dialogue with the social partners, thereby ensuring sustainable participation of organised civil society in the European political process. In this context, the EESC has a particular responsibility in bringing participatory democracy to life. In view of its membership and role, as laid down in the Treaties, and in partnership with the other institutions, the Committee's purpose is to be even more in the future the means of developing participatory democracy and civil dialogue at Union level."
- European Trade Union Confederation
- European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest
- United Nations Economic and Social Council
- "The President - EESC". Retrieved 2014-04-22.
- "EESC Secretary-General: Luis Planas Puchades". Retrieved 2014-04-22.
- The European Economic and Social Committee 50 years of participatory democracy, C.S. Dimitrioulas Scientific Direction, European Economic and Social Committee Brussels 2008
- Official website
- website of the EESC President
- List of Members
- Historical archives of the European Economic and Social Committee are at the Historical Archives of the EU in Florence
- MCE European NAvigator, Economic and social committee
- Group I Employers Group of the Economic and social committee
- Group II Employees Group of the Economic and social committee
- Group III Various Interests Group of the Economic and social committee
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My post on Henry Porter’s article about privacy concerns emanating from the development of technology garnered a lot more comment than most. And I was reminded of that post when reading Anna Minton’s article on the SBD award:
Not long ago, I was shown around an award-winning housing estate in east London, which was the proud recipient of a Secured by Design (SBD) award. The housing on the gated estate had small windows, reinforced steel doors and grey, aluminium, military-style roofs. The overall effect was oppressive.
I wonder if it would have been felt to be ‘oppressive’ by the residents on the night of the riots?
High levels of security have come to characterise our public buildings. This is because security has become a prerequisite of planning permission as a result of SBD, which is a design policy that has the blessing of the police.
Not actually ‘the police’, though. More the unaccountable private company that runs them.
Administered by the Association of Chief Police Officers, SBD is funded by the 480 security companies that sell the goods needed to meet the required standards. The unintended effects that this approach has had on fear and trust in communities are the subject of my forthcoming report, Fortress Britain, from the New Economics Foundation thinktank.
Ah. Is there anyone writing in the ‘Guardian’ who doesn’t have a book or a play to plug?
SBD has its roots in the idea of “defensible space”, created by the American architect and town planner Oscar Newman in the early 1970s, as a result of research he carried out in three deprived New York housing projects. His main finding was that “territoriality” created space that could defend itself. By marking out boundaries clearly, residents would feel a sense of ownership over communal spaces and would discourage strangers and opportunistic criminals from entering.
I seem to recall some of the same thinking – that ownership conveys pride and therefore safekeeping – was behind the sell-off of council housing in the 80s.
As always, it didn’t quite work out as planned. But Anna’s issue with this isn’t just with that concept, it’s with a more insidious ‘attack’ on what she sees as the role of the state:
Both in the US and in Britain the idea of defensible space was very popular because it provided a simple solution: rather than engaging with complex social relations as the underlying causes of crime, SBD promoted the idea that environmental design was the biggest influence on behaviour.
And despite the designs being mostly common sense security measures, it seems they weren’t welcomed.
Many of the recommendations, such as the need to provide good locks on windows and doors, are sensible. But the blanket application of SBD standards tends to create a threatening environment, particularly in poorer areas.
According to whom? Well, they’ve run surveys.
What we found independently was that, although increased security, and in particular CCTV, was often very popular with residents, it did not necessarily lead to feelings of increased safety, with residents reporting that the presence of CCTV could instead increase anxiety.
Security measures including gates and internal doors elicited a similar response, with residents illustrating that “defensible space” can increase fear of strangers. “Because of the doors, if you see someone you don’t know, there is an element of ‘Who is this?’” one resident commented.
Well, yes. That’s understandable.
But is it because of the doors themselves, or because of the sort of tenants selected for these schemes who might be at the door?
Incidents of actual crime were barely mentioned. By far the biggest problem was young people hanging around late into the night in the courtyard of the estate, which is surrounded by housing. On a number of occasions the play area had been vandalised. Because the young people in question were either residents or friends of residents, barring access to the estate through the use of gates did not seem sensible. The study suggested that high security was offered as a technical response to a complex social problem, which required a different kind of solution. It was clear that residents felt that “knowing people”, whether it be caretakers, youth workers or each other, was the key to creating trust.
But they clearly ‘know’ the youths who vandalised the play area, and it didn’t help!
Focus groups of residents and practitioners were given a fantasy budget to create a safe and trusting community. Both chose security features, but they decided to allocate the largest portion of the budget to “people on the ground”, including caretakers. This was a small study but clear conclusions emerged about the links between fear and trust, and the removal of caretakers, who were seen to provide “social glue” in communities.
Or, rather, were seen to provide the ‘someone else’ who would do things for the tenants. Heaven forbid a little personal responsibility would ever be taken!
Arguably, the problems at Peabody Avenue, which can also be found in countless estates around the country, could best be tackled by talented youth and community workers who command the respect of young people.
In other words, by employing more people to baby these tenants along.
Maybe it’s me, but I think the security features provided by the SBD standards might be cheaper and, in the long run, a lot more beneficial. Maybe, on this aspect alone, ACPO have it right?
And I wonder if Anna has a burglar alarm?
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-are one of the ethnicities who came and stayed in
- Some sources state that they are quite nice and
-The physical appearance of most Filipinos could
also be traced to the Malays.
- it is believed that the Malays are trained
seafarers—ones who could brave the oceans where
land bridges used to stand.
Japan conquered the Philippines
for only a few years and was
never truly embraced by the
country. Historians point to the
fact that unlike Spain they were
only here for a few years and
unlike the Americans, they were
very harsh on the Filipinos. As a
result, people did not want to be
like them and their influence has
- One of the most important influences of
the Spanish is Christianity where most
Filipinos had peacefully accepted the
- the Spanish also changed our
surnames and in 1849, Governor
General Narciso Claveris implemented a
systematic distribution of our surnames
and a Spanish naming system. Thus,
majority of Filipino surnames sound like
-the Spanish also influenced our cuisine.
Because of this, Philippine cuisine has
become a flavorful and unique
- Through the church, many Filipinos were
also trained in agriculture, language, and
the arts. They brought western
architecture and facilitated the
construction of baroque churches where
Filipinos were able to express their
- the Spanish taught us some of the little
pleasures in life such as
procrastination—also known as the
mañana habit—and the joys of having
- as if they were saving us from another country (first
the Spanish, then the Japanese), we easily loved the
Americans and we embraced their culture quite well.
- Western influence further entered our culture
especially with the spread of education. Filipinos
were taught the English language and we were able to
learn and adapt it easily.
-But perhaps one of the most evident influences that
they have imparted on us is democracy
-Americans basically made the country
look like a mini-US. Today, the
Philippines is very much “westernized”
or Americanized. For the longest time,
products would sell better if it were
called “stateside” and “imported”.
-Filipinos love a lot of things
about American culture such as fast
food, sitcoms and music.
-Furthermore, most Filipinos can
speak a little bit of
English making it very easy to
for foreigners. Hollywood movi
are flocked, Starbucks is always
filled to the brim and the
latest fashion is followed or
- China got intoPhilippine culture by way of
- In terms of food, Filipinos love Chinese food such
as siopao, siomai, taho and hopia.
- Filipinos also follow some aspects of Chinese
culture such as feng shui, dragon dances and
even Chinese New Year.- Business .
- One of the most important virtues that they have imparted on
us is our close-knit family relationships. This can be
seen by a strong patriarchal power in homes and a close
relationship with extended families.
HOW COLONIAL MENTALITY AFFECTS FILIPINO IDENTITY
the North has
thinks only of
media with images
full of artificiality,
The culture being
alien in language,
Constantino once declared that
“the only true Filipino is the decolonized
But producing a decolonized Filipino is perhaps an
impossible task. Even more than “Filipino
nationalism”, “decolonized Filipino” is a
contradiction in terms.
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A Short History of Boat Anchors
There are two basic theories floating around as far as the history of anchors is concerned. One must picture early men learning one floating log can assist in crossing a river or stream. Two logs lashed together was much more stable and did not roll over on the captain, and ultimately could be guided with a pole, however there were times it was nice to stop the water craft, such as it was, to fish or just float in one place for security purposes, and anchors were born....
The other theory or theories tell stories of the gods and how they gave us the technology we use to this very day, including seamanship. I am of the opinion it was a little of both going on way back in time, but in any case some of the earliest anchors we have recognized and found come from the Sea of Galilee... When Jesus proclaimed "I am the anchor..." he knew just exactly how important one was. It seems he had sailed for his uncle Joseph who was the Onasis of his day, according to ancient records now in public domain, and so Christ knew the value of these life saving mooring devices.
Stone was the medium of choice as it had weight, could be drilled for a mooring line, and if chaffed off nothing was really lost as there were many stones around. Metal was far too precious to use for mooring purposes because of such risky odds governing losses. The ropes used in those days was of the hemp variety, and sea water as well as sun and just weather rotted the line, especially immersed all the time. It did not take man long to discover treating the hemp with bitumen or petroleum products, if you prefer, extended the life of the anchor "cable". The Near East was full of oil seeps and the bitumen was used for everything man could think of, for men before Christ knew as much about the classes of petroleum such as asphalts, mineral oils, paraffin based oils and the napthas as we do today. In short, petroleum was used to preserve many items in those days, and hemp was one of them. (Tarred Hemp) As far as the mooring device itself, metal still was too precious to use for this marine purpose however, but the anchor stones took on the form of stone disks, wheel like, with a hole in the middle that a line could be passed through and in some cases, detached or slipped through the weight and leave it on the bottom, recovering the precious line.
At some point a windlass was invented to
provide mechanical advantage to retrieving the ship anchor, which
in turn allowed for more efficient anchor design or size, and
allowed vessels to anchor where they would have been too exposed
or possibly fighting too much current before the changes. Try
to pull anchors by hand is no easy task and the vessels were for
the most part under 100 feet long and carried small crews. This
windlass seems to have come about sometime before Christ, however
wide spread use was after the death of Jesus when the idea caught
on in the Roman Empire. On the Pacific side during this time the
Chinese went through much of the same engineering process, and
the sea worthiness of Chinese junks is world renown.
In olden times a Sea Peoples merchant ship would load several of the large stone disks and use them as ballast as well as mooring devices, as the vessels made their ports of call as far away as the English Isles of Tin. There are areas of the Med that were ports at one time and some still are, and the bottom of the harbors reflect this from all the old stone anchors. Spare mooring devices and extra line was a must for the old vessels, and this practice still applies to a large degree today. People lose their boat anchors quite often, mostly through neglect of the cable ( or string), shackles or winch... A smart mariner always carries a spare anchor of some sort.
To make anchors work one starts with the line, or "string" as some have jokingly called any mooring line which is not made of steel. From plant fiber to chain, from hemp to cable and synthetic fibers, and for the anchor: from stone to wood and metal to just plain metal, was the cycle as we know of it. Different ideas and styles of anchors merged through the years, many for select purposes. Have you ever seen photos or real sailing ship anchors at museums, and merely took some time to look around to see what has replaced them? Though the principles have never changed, the relative efficiency of the boat anchoring hardware has, and the Forfjord Safety boat anchor manufactured in Seattle, WA USA, is famous for its superiority in this area. It is often called a Navy type anchor because of its general shape but it actually has twice the holding power because of its unique design. In short, efficiency through refined engineering by way of thousands of years of accumulated sea experience...
The types of anchors best known for actual sea duty are the Navy, Danforth, Plow, and Mushroom style. The Nordhill type of anchor is based off of what the old sailing ships used so the individual boatman has a very good choice this day and age at choosing the style of anchor which suits them best for the waters they frequent. When drifting at night, parachute type sea anchors are employed to slow the vessel wind drift. There are good folding anchors for small sail craft such as sailboats limited to storage space. The metal alloys in a premium anchor are not inexpensive, so watch out for cheap imitations of the above styles of mooring devices, as they do abound, and not all of the imitations originate out of the Orient. Think of a good anchor as you would an insurance policy. Bad insurance never pays off, and bad anchors destroy vessels and crews of all sizes, something the ancient Sea People knew only too well. Always keep in mind sailing any vessel without a good anchor is the same as driving a car or truck without brakes...
By using a shackle and chain (In some cases line or cable) which is properly sized for the your anchor, and making sure your winch or windlass is of proper size and well mounted, protects your vessel and its crew when anchoring in weather. To assure this use a chain or cable length about 5 times the depth of the water from 20-100 feet. Use 4 times the depth of the water from 100-200 feet of water under the vessel keel if high winds are forecast. This is a general good rule of thumb implemented by those mariners using Forfjord Safety Anchors. For the rest of the styles, more chain may be used and a heavier anchor employed (Normally twice the size).
Always try know what kind of bottom you have chosen to drop the mooring device onto. Most charts have the type of bottom (such as sand or clay) displayed in the various areas and bays used for anchoring your vessel. Learn to read your charts. If you are new to vessel ownership, the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary has classes to assist the small boat owner. Buying a boat or a ship is like buying a car and it brings with it the same responsibilities found on the road. There are rules and laws governing vessel conduct on water and many good instruction manuals are on the book market which will assist your learning. Boating safety equipment is a must and your anchor is one of the items...
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Amazon’s cloud web hosting service is the backbone for much of the Internet these days, from websites to apps. Last week, an Amazon employee accidentally took down several of the company’s cloud servers, leaving many businesses offline for hours. In October, some of the most Internet’s most popular services such as Twitter, Shopify and Spotify went down due to an attack on their DNS provider. If you rely on social media and your website to promote your business, these outages are just the latest reminder that you can’t rely on any one way for customers to reach you online.
Even if you don’t sell products or services directly on your website, you still need one as a resource for current and potential customers to learn what you have to offer and to be able to find and contact you. If your website goes down because of an outage at your web server, DNS provider or any number of other reasons, your customers still need to be able to find you.
Are you listed on Google and other search engines? Are you listed on Yelp, Angie’s List or other review sites? Are you on social media? More importantly, are your listings and profiles updated with all of your basic information? Any one of these will help, but ideally your information is spread across as many touchpoints as is appropriate for your business and industry.
“We’re just going to focus on Facebook.”
Here’s a scenario we’ve seen before: a business has limited their online presence to a single, but well-trafficked Facebook Business Page, and that page gets either “hacked”* or suspended. How will you communicate with your customers?
*The term “hacked” is thrown around far too easily when people lose ownership of their Facebook page. Since Pages are tied to individual accounts, and can only be administered by them, the only way your Page could be “hacked” is if you personal account was hacked. In that case, Facebook does provide tools to help you get your personal account back. If this is not the case, the only other possibility is that one of the other admins removed you, which they can do at any time (and Facebook doesn’t tell you who exactly did so). That’s not hacking–that’s poor planning.
If you’re relying solely on your Facebook Page, remember that just because you are on the biggest, most influential social media network doesn’t mean anyone can find you! If your page isn’t verified, you haven’t set a username or you haven’t properly adjusted one of the dozens of other settings available to you, your business might not come up on Facebook searches the way you might expect.
Don’t Forget About SEO
Besides possible outages or account issues, you also need more than one way for customers to reach you online for the sake of SEO (search engine optimization). It’s easier for your customers and clients to find you on search engines if you have multiple touchpoints. For example, Google searches on mobile prioritize local results. If you haven’t set up your Google My Business listing, your lonely website or Facebook page might not be enough to ensure that you come up when someone searches for your products or services on their smartphones. However, if you have a website, a few active social media accounts, a Google My Business page and a Yelp listing–all of which have at least basic information about what your business does–you’ll be much more likely to show up in that same smartphone search.
How does your business avoid being virtually invisible or knocked offline completely? Here’s a simple plan to follow, ideally when you are first getting your business online:
- First, you need a website. We encounter far too many businesses that start with Facebook and do everything else later. Your website should come first, even if it’s a temporary “coming soon” landing page to start.
- If that’s taken care of, connect with Google’s key services (your Google My Business listing, connecting your website to Search Console and Google Analytics) next. Google rules search, and taking advantage of their services will obviously help your business be more visible in search results.
- Your social media accounts come next–you don’t need to be on every network, but you should be on more than one. Pick a few that make the most sense for your business.
- Add your website and business profile to other search engines (Bing, Yahoo, etc) and recommendation/review sites (Yelp, Angie’s List, etc). There are some pricey services that will do this for you, but with a modest time investment you can add your own business to a handful of web listings that make sense for your brand and industry.
- Once you’re somewhat established online, focus on content. Ideally, you should regularly add new content to your website and social media accounts, as this will help with SEO.
- Finally, when things change–anything from contact information and business hours to the products and services you offer–make sure to update your website and other online accounts with the new information.
This is just a very basic overview, of course, as each of these steps could be (and likely will be) detailed blog posts of their own, but this is the direction your business should head in.
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Are you developing a Mobile Health App? Please look to this Mobile Health Apps Interactive Tool for the scoop on what laws you’ll need to abide by!
The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) decided to pioneer the mobile health app service sphere. This new web-based tool has been designed to aidcreators of mobile health apps in their continued understanding of which federal laws will apply to them. The FTC built the interactive tool in team with the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR), the HHS Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The interactive tool addressesapp creators with a series of “high-level” queries. These will be on the nature of their app, its function, the data it collects, and the services it provides to users. Then, depending on the responses to different questions the developer will receive a list of information regarding which laws should be abided by. These laws include the FTC Act, the FTC’s Health Breach Notification Rule, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act (FD&C Act).
OCR want developers to ask questions to ensure HIPAA Security and Privacy compliance
OCR, has recently released a statement about the tremendously large influx of health information technology. This statement outlines the results of the increase of technology as well.
“We are experiencing an explosion of technology using data about the health of individuals in innovative ways to improve health outcomes. Building privacy and security protections into technology products enhances their value by providing some assurance to users that the information is safe and secure and will be used and disclosed only as approved or expected.”
It is in the spirit of this message that the app was created to ensure abidance to federal and state laws, including the HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Rules. However a large number of health information technology developers are not aware of the relationship that HIPAA law has on their app.
OCR has also created a site to answer users who want to submit questions, offer comments on other submissions or vote on how relevant the topic is will sign in using their email address. The site will also carry various safeguards for the users, including complete anonymity when questions were asked. OCR will use the information received through this site to better strengthen its resolve and direction.
OCR has also made it very clear that posting or commenting on a question will not subject anyone to law enforcement action unless a threat has been made. While OCR will be monitoring for the site for “appropriateness” it cannot ensure the accuracy of answered question. OCR stated, “While we cannot respond individually to questions, we will try to post links to existing relevant resources when we can. We appreciate input from stakeholders and will consider comments as we develop our priorities for additional guidance and technical assistance.”
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- This event has passed.
Children and Traumatic Stress
June 16, 2015
Child traumatic stress refers to the physical and emotional responses of a child to events that threaten the life of the child or of someone critically important to the child. Those who work with children, caregivers and/or students preparing to become social workers, teachers, counselors or who plan to work with children in other ways are invited to participate in this informative, interactive education program about trauma-informed care and what it means for the health and well-being of children. This educational program was developed and tested in collaboration with FIU College of Education and based on materials from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
- Participants will understand the impact of trauma on the development and behavior of children and their adult caregivers.
- Participants will articulate trauma-informed intervention strategies.
- Participants will address the safety and well-being of the children they serve.
Space is limited, Eventbrite RSVP is required here.
There is parking at the lot on which Kristi House sits; it is controlled by Miami-Dade County and parking is $10 per car. For more information, please contact:
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Can you imagine being yanked out of your family social structure in the ocean where you swim 100 miles a day, being put in a tank, and fed frozen fish? Can you imagine being afflicted with all kinds of physical and psychological illnesses which will reduce your live to an average of only 5.8 years!?
Well, this is exactly what happens to dolphins and whales (and other marine mammals) in captivity.
And what about the animals in zoos? Can you imagine what it looks like to live in cruel jails, on bare cement floors, in isolation, filth and facing frequent brutal vandalism from the public and from inside by "caretakers" who neglect and abuse you?
"Zoos" magnificent animals become mere shadows of their true selves. They are stripped of everything that makes life worth living: family, community, the freedom to choose how to spend time, the ability to lead their own lives - even if these lives aren't always easy.
Please, read the following articles and once you learn what is hidden behind the captive smile and iron bars, make a decision and boycott dolphinariums, aquariums and zoos.
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Objective: To describe the relationships among sedation, stability in physiological status, and comfort during a 24-hour period in patients receiving mechanical ventilation. Methods: Data from 169 patients monitored continuously for 24 hours were recorded at least every 12 seconds, including sedation levels, physiological status (heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry), and comfort (movement of arms and legs as measured by actigraphy). Generalized linear mixed-effect models were used to estimate the distribution of time spent at various heart and respiratory rates and oxygen saturation and actigraphy intervals overall and as a function of level of sedation and to compare the percentage of time in these intervals between the sedation states. Results: Patients were from various intensive care units: medical respiratory (52%), surgical trauma (35%), and cardiac surgery (13%). They spent 42% of the time in deep sedation, 38% in mild/moderate sedation, and 20% awake/alert. Distributions of physiological measures did not differ during levels of sedation (deep, mild/moderate, or awake/alert: heart rate, P = .44; respirations, P = .32; oxygen saturation, P = .51). Actigraphy findings differed with level of sedation (arm, P <.001; leg, P = .01), with less movement associated with greater levels of sedation, even though patients spent the vast majority of time with no arm movement or leg movement. Conclusions: Level of sedation most likely does not affect the stability of physiological status but does have an effect on comfort.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Critical Care
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Ofelia has been using Tachyon Energy devices since 2008 and as a result, has personally experienced significant improvements in health and spiritual development. Since then, she's helped others improve specific health issues and overall well-being through the use of Tachyon Energy healing, health coaching and yoga teachings.
Tachyons are sub-atomic particles that move faster than light due to their tremendous energy. They offer the potential to create an improved energy field in any living being and restore functionality.
Birth of tachyonization
Through the years there have been dozens of research programs demonstrating the profound affects of Tachyonized material. In 2010 a US patent was issued providing the only patented Tachyonized Material Testing Method. This led to the exposure of companies who have claimed to provide Tachyonized materials.
Tachyonization was Invented in 1990. Through the search for free energy, researchers postulated — and then indirectly proved — Tachyon Energy’s existence. In 1966, Gerald Feinberg defined Tachyon Energy as a “faster-than-light, subatomic particle”. Those who have benefited from its use are grateful to the various scientists who have provided the foundation for this new era and thus paved the way for the Tachyon revolution.
The problem is no longer in proving the existence of Tachyon Energy; the challenge is in harnessing the energy. Many distinguished scientists have worked in this field with mixed results. What these scientists were and are trying to accomplish is the conversion of Tachyon Energy into usable electrical energy.
David Wagner is globally celebrated as the father of Tachyonization and founder of Advanced Tachyon Technologies. Wagner had a broader vision of the potential benefits of Tachyon Energy. He believed that the planet’s growing crisis wasn't so much a crisis of energy as it is a crisis of consciousness, and the conversion of Tachyon Energy into usable electrical energy could solve.
Wagner theorized that everything evolves from the Tachyon field, and his breakthroughs in applied physics are directly responsible for the Tachyonization™ process. Tachyonization restructures certain natural materials at the sub-molecular level, creating permanent Tachyon antennas. Wagner’s ability to harness Tachyon Energy, and the scientific world’s ability to prove the outcome, are directly responsible for the Tachyon revolution that is taking place in over 93 countries. The Tachyonization breakthrough harnesses the infinite potential of Tachyon Energy in ways that benefit life on Earth and aid in elevating consciousness.
Wagner recognized his responsibility to increase the global awareness of Tachyon Energy. He developed The Quality of One™ seminar, which has been changing the way hundreds of thousands of people view and experience life.
The Tachyonization process developed by Wagner is 100% patentable, however, after much deliberation, he decided to keep the process proprietary, saving millions of dollars in patent infringement lawsuits, and keeping the cost of goods as low as possible. Because the Tachyonization process is proprietary, there's a limit to what can be discussed. Although we cannot disclose how the Tachyonization process functions, how it does not function can be shared.
Visit Ofelia's Tachyon Store
The tachyonization process
A Tachyon healing session is non-invasive. It consists of 50 minutes of intensive recharging and rebalancing of energy points in the body to help you improve physical and spiritual aspects of your life. The use of Tachyonized products may result in:
Contact Ofelia today to schedule your personalized Tachyon Energy healing session.
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Author Eliza Suggs in 1906. New York Public Library Digital Collections
“My father and mother were slaves,” began Eliza Sugg’s remarkable autobiography, Shadow and Sunshine. In this 1906 publication, she recounted for readers the story of her parents.
The first Suggs referenced in the book is a Mississippi slave owner. “A slave had no real name of his own, but was called by the name of his master; and whenever he was sold and changed masters, his name was changed to that of the new master.”
Eliza’s father James Suggs was trained as a blacksmith, a highly valuable skill. According to Eliza, “Mr. Suggs was a kind master.” He permitted her father work for himself after his tasks were done, which allowed James to sell a few things and make a little money.
Her mother Malinda had come from significantly less gentle enslavement; in Alabama, she’d witnessed her own mother’s brutal beating and disfigurement for the minor infraction of falling asleep and failing to keep the fire lit when the owner’s sons stayed out drinking until dawn.
Both James and Malinda had learned to read, a precious—and often illegal—skill among enslaved people. James, who grew up in North Carolina before being sold to the Suggs, gathered knowledge from the white schoolboys who would show off what they’d learned that day. Though they mocked his illiteracy, James remembered and practiced the letters they dared him to write. “Father said he had to ‘pick up’ what education he got,” Eliza said, “much as a rabbit might be supposed to pick up some tender morsel with the greyhounds hot in pursuit.”
Malinda, however, was deliberately taught to read. After the death of the first slave owner, Malinda and her mother fell to the ownership of one of his sons, but his excessive drinking soon left him in debt. He sold mother and daughter to a Mrs. Fillbrick. “Mrs. Fillbrick was a good Christian woman,” Eliza wrote, “and took a great deal of interest in her little slave girl. She taught her to read and was always kind to her.”
As a girl, Malinda knew that Mrs. Fillbrick was intensely disliked by her neighbors. Only later would she understand that it was because she vocally opposed slavery. “Speaking almost prophetically, she would sometimes tell mother that some day the slaves would all be free,” Eliza wrote. “Soon this woman left the south, and of course, had to sell her slave.” Left unspoken, perhaps, is that Mrs. Fillbrick also could have freed her.
When Mr. Suggs purchased a young woman named Malinda from Mrs. Fillbrick, James took notice. Malinda, in turn, took a liking to the spirited, educated young blacksmith on the Mississippi plantation. Eliza said, “After they were married they were never torn from each other and sold to different masters; for Mr. Suggs said he did not believe in separating husband and wife. Thus God dealt very tenderly with my parents and spared them the horrors and heartaches which were the common lot of most slaves.”
The couple had heartaches of their own, however. In 1864, during the height of the Civil War, James was away from the plantation on a task when he ran into Union soldiers. James had heard tales of enslaved men joining the fight and finding freedom with their wives and children. He hoped to do the same. “[F]ather fondly hoped he could get some soldiers to come back with him to get mother and the four children. He knew but little of army life and discipline, and so was bitterly disappointed in never getting back.”
Eliza's mother Malinda. New York Public Library Digital Collections
Indeed, it was over three years before Malinda saw her husband again. The Suggs blamed Malinda for what they thought was James’s desertion, and their treatment of her and her children grew considerably less lenient. They insulted and berated her. Her two oldest children were taken to Georgia and kept away from her. The ongoing Civil War had disrupted the regular business of the plantations—in her book, Eliza referenced stories of slaves just walking off, even under the eyes of their taskmasters—so “comparatively kind” Mr. Suggs separated the family to prevent their easy escape.
Then, in “the lull before the bursting of the thunderbolt,” believing the war to be almost over with a Confederate victory, Mr. Suggs and many other plantation owners ordered their slaves returned. Malinda was reunited with her oldest children, and less than two months later, the Confederate army instead declared defeat. In this, too, Malinda was one of the lucky ones. Had her children “been left in Georgia until the close of the war, it is very doubtful, humanly speaking, as to whether she would ever have seen them again,” Eliza said. “And for this reason: So long as the slaves were considered property, each owner naturally looked after his own belongings and kept them together. After the slaves were freed, however, no one cared what became of them.”
James, who had been injured soon after enlistment, sent for Malinda. Finally, here was proof her husband was still alive. She and the four children traveled north to join him. “My father said that seeing he was now a free man, he wanted to be married like other free people,” Eliza wrote. “So on the fifth day of June, in 1866, father and mother were married again according to the Christian rites, or according to the white man's law.”
Though they’d survived slavery, life was still brutal for those freed. Eliza recounted that, “Of these four children born in slavery, Ellen is the only one now surviving, Lucinda died with typhoid fever at the age of eight. Calvin took quick consumption from exposure in Michigan, and died at the age of nineteen. Franklin grew to manhood and was married. Three months after his marriage, he was drowned in a lake near Elgin, Illinois.”
James and Malinda Suggs settled in Illinois. James took up work as a blacksmith once again, until he felt called to become a preacher. He and Malinda had four more children, all girls this time: “Sarah Matilda, Katharine Isabel, Lenora Ethridge, and the writer, Eliza Gertrude.”
Eliza was born Dec. 11, 1876. She appeared healthy until about a month after birth. Seeing her baby in pain, Malinda discovered the little girl had a broken bone. No sooner had that bone healed than another would break. Eliza had osteogenesis imperfecta, more widely known as brittle bone disease. “And thus my bones would break, one after another, for six long years. Whenever I was moved, it caused me great suffering ... I knew nothing of the pleasures of childhood. I could not play as other children, but had to sit still in the house and look out at the other children; and part of the time was not even able to sit up.”
Eliza was not expected to survive to adulthood. Today, the life expectancy of individuals with osteogenesis imperfecta is similar to that of the general population; in the 1870s, however, the condition was far less understood. They prepared burial clothes for fragile baby Eliza, but “God saw fit to let me live.” At the time of writing her autobiography, Eliza listed herself as 28 years old, weighing 55 pounds at a height of 33 inches.
As she aged, her bones became less delicate and she enthusiastically took to schooling. “It did not hurt me to sit in school,” she wrote. She first learned at home until 1889 when, at age 13, a friend paid her tuition to attend a seminary school. “So every day I was wheeled to school in my invalid chair ... and was carried up the steps to the school room by mother or [sister] Katie, and placed at my desk, where I sat until lessons were over and they came for me at noon and night.”
The parenthetical commentary of writer Daisy Holder in Eliza Suggs: Early #disabledsnark at its finest intimates that Eliza’s struggles are still frustratingly familiar. “(This sounds harsh because I know it’s a different time and there were financial aspects but it’s kinda annoying it took this long [for her to get a wheelchair].) The chair was donated, and Eliza was carried up the stairs each morning (ACCESSIBILITY) by her sister or mother, and back again at the end of the day.”
With her health more stable, Eliza began to attend school regularly and participate in social life. The public did not always respond to her presence with compassion. As Daisy noted, “Eliza in her pram was quite an unusual sight at the time, but depressingly her story shows that attitudes haven’t changed all that much since, even though the sight of a disabled person isn’t all that unusual.”
In 1904, Eliza wrote,
“I am quite a curiosity to strangers. I have often been amused when people would crowd around me and ask mother or Sister Katie questions about me, such as, ‘Can she talk?’ ‘Is she smart?’ ‘How old is the baby?’ ‘Has she got feet?’ ‘Can she use her hands?’ ‘Oh what a big baby!’ One lady on the train, not long ago, came up to me and began to talk baby talk. ‘Hello, sir! Hello, sir! Boo!’ This was indeed amusing to me. It drew the attention of every one in the car. Of course, the baby did not respond in the way she expected, she supposing it would laugh and crow. When I was explained to her she was somewhat taken back.”
Reading this in 2019, Daisy recognized the scenarios described. “[M]any of us know from similar interactions,” she said, “the shock of a stranger who has assumed she would get a smile or a gurgle who actually got a lecture on disability. Goals.”
In addition to these invasive questions, strangers also frequently commented that the family could display Eliza in circuses or traveling shows to make extra money. “There have been persons who would say to my mother, ‘Why don't you take her to the show or museum? That wouldn't be any harm and you could make your living easily,’” Eliza recalled in her book. “Others would say, ‘There is a fortune in that girl.’ Quite recently a gentleman said to my niece, as he saw me for the first time, ‘There is ready money.’”
Eliza’s answer to these queries was a simple one: “[D]ear reader, God did not create me for this purpose.”
Christianity was central in Eliza’s life. Her disability, she believed, had brought her closer to God. In a poem titled “Perfect Through Suffering,” she wrote:
“So He sends you the blinding darkness,
And the furnace of seven-fold heat;
'Tis the only way, believe me,
To keep you close to His feet,
For 'tis always so easy to wander
When our lives are glad and sweet.”
“Some wonder how I can be happy in my condition,” she shared in her narrative. “It is the sunlight of God in my soul that makes me happy. It would be hard to live without the Lord. I get much pleasure from the reading of good books. I enjoy looking at the beautiful things in nature and in art. I love to listen to the singing of the birds and to sweet music.”
“She tried to explain this, at the time, radical idea that it was possible to be both happy and disabled,” Daisy commented, “that while she has restrictions she can hear and read and speak and see just fine, her hands work and despite the attitudes of ableds, she has achieved more than many of them have. She’s a badass is what I’m getting at.”
Like Mary A. McCurdy before her, Eliza’s faith led her to the temperance movement that agitated for the prohibition of alcohol. Temperance activists, often women without other political power, grasped at alcohol as an ill in their communities that they could remedy.
“America’s most vocal prohibitionists weren’t privileged white evangelicals, but its most marginalized and disenfranchised communities: women, Native Americans and African Americans. Indeed, temperance and prohibitionism worked hand-in-glove with other freedom movements—abolitionism and suffragism—that fought against the entrenched system of domination and subordination,” wrote political science professor Mark Lawrence in “The Forgotten History of Black Prohibitionism” for Politico. In her temperance work, Eliza was in agreement with the greatest leaders of the age. “[N]early every major Black abolitionist and civil rights leader before World War I—from Frederick Douglass, Martin Delany and Sojourner Truth to F.E.W. Harper, Ida B. Wells, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Booker T. Washington—endorsed temperance and prohibition.”
In Eliza’s view, the destructive quality of alcohol was akin to that of chattel slavery itself. “The Drink Demon's slave is held with an ever tightening grip in life, and is ruined, body and soul, in death. Shall we see the curse of strong drink wiped out even as we have seen the curse of slavery? Shall we have an Emancipation Proclamation for the defenceless millions over whom drink is now tyranizing?”
Eliza, (left) with her sisters in 1906. New York Public Library Digital Collections
Eliza dreamt of proselytizing in Africa, in China and India. When Christian missionary friends would travel, she eagerly exchanged letters with them. Her health never permitted her to travel more widely herself. “I esteem it a great privilege to help hold the ropes in this country, and to pray for and encourage those who go,” she said.
She ends Shadow and Sunshine with a collection of “Incidents of Slavery.” The importance of these accounts, and this book itself, is difficult to overstate. As PBS noted, “[Sl]ave narratives provided the most powerful voices contradicting the slaveholders' favorable claims concerning slavery. By their very existence, the narratives demonstrated that African Americans were people with mastery of language and the ability to write their own history.” This rings doubly true for a disabled Black woman like Eliza.
“Eliza is a very unusual case, as a disabled person at this time who was actively taking control of her own narrative,” Daisy said. Just two years after the publishing of Shadow and Sunshine, Eliza died at age 31 on Jan. 29, 1908, in Orleans, Nebraska.
Like so many disabled women of color before and after her, her story could have been left behind in history. What we know of Eliza Suggs and her parents is entirely because Eliza herself was determined to share it.
Shadow and Sunshine by Eliza Suggs
Disability History Snapshots: Eliza Suggs: Early #disabledsnark at its finest
Politico: The Forgotten History of Black Prohibitionism
New York Public Library Digital Collections: Photos of Eliza and family
PBS Resource Bank: Slave narratives and Uncle Tom's Cabin
Wikipedia: Eliza Suggs
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iTunes home sharing on iPad
If you have iOS 4.3 on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch you can easily stream media from iTunes on your computer. You will also need iTunes 10.2 or later on your Mac or PC.
Of course, your computer and iOS device will need to be on the same Wi-Fi network. Using this feature to stream media can conserve room of your mobile device for other content.
If you haven’t already turned on home sharing in iTunes, you will need to do so.
To enable home sharing in iTunes;
- Open iTunes on your computer.
- Go to Advanced, then select “Turn On Home Sharing”.
- Enter your Apple ID and password.
After home sharing is turned on in iTunes, you will need to activate it on your iOS device.
To enable home sharing on the iPad;
- Go to the Settings App.
- Select iPod.
- Enter the same Apple ID and password you used to enable home sharing on your computers.
Now home sharing is active on your iPad, you can open the Video App, select “Shared” and stream rentals, movies, TV shows and podcasts from your computer.
To stream music, open the iPod app, tap “Library” and choose your library.
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My "Watzit Say?" programs are similar to the famous TV game, Wheel of Fortune, but with some rule changes. The purpose of each game is to determine an unknown phrase. Students chose letters as the teacher makes them appear on the screen. The first player or team to identify the phrase wins the round. A game consists of either 16 rounds (4 categories) or 25 rounds (5 categories). There is a feature that allows for scores to be maintained for up to 12 players or teams. A Presenter's Guide is included that provides step-by-step instructions. The algorithms that make the features of the game possible involve the use of "macros," which are small subroutines written in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming. This language is an integral part of all Microsoft Office applications. There are malware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet that have been found to use macros. Therefore, some schools prevent programs that include macros from running on school-owned computers. You can adjust the settings on your computer to allow macros to run with the permission of your employer. Directions concerning how to do this are included with every game. I have provided a free evaluation version of each game that can be downloaded so that you can examine how the games work and how the macros function. Please download and test the evaluation version before considering the purchase of any Watzit Say? game. Macros must be allowed to run for the evaluation versions, too. Since these games run within your PowerPoint application, you do NOT need to install anything new on your PC. The games have been tested on PowerPoint 2013 and 2016 (Windows PC's only.) Your comments, questions and suggestions are welcome (email@example.com).
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Are you drowning in a sea of paperwork? Invoices, receipts, notes, business cards and bills are just a few documents that come to mind. You can’t throw them away, but you don’t want them cluttering up your house.
Leaving paper documents lying around not only clutters up your workspace, but if they contain personal or sensitive information it can lead to identity and credit-card fraud.
CamScanner is an app that may best be defined as a document management solution for mobile devices, starting from capturing information precisely to storing, sharing, annotating and managing documents for different purposes. It not only creates images of the item you scan, but it also lets you enhance the scan result and auto-crop scanned photos. Unlike taking a simple picture of a document, CamScanner will eliminate the unwanted “border” around a picture or document that typically shows in any image taken with a camera. You end up with just the desired document or picture, nothing more.
CamScanner also makes the contents easily-accessed and organized and allows efficient collaboration. The digital images are easily saved to “the cloud,” where you can keep them private or optionally share them with others. You can add passwords so that documents are available only to selected individuals, And you can send the documents and pictures to others via email or FAX or by printing them.
CamScanner lets you save document scans in PDF or JPG formats. You can edit and manage documents anywhere an Internet connection is available, using a handheld device or a Windows, Macintosh, or Linux computer. Notes can be added to a document, and OCR scanning is also available free of charge. Documents saved in the CamScanner cloud can be quickly searched, even if thousands of items are stored there.
With CamScanner, any documents you see in the real world can be digitized and saved right away with your mobile phone. Just take a photo, and CamScanner takes care of the rest. Here are the main features of CamScanner as described on its website:
- Scan any kind of document in seconds, texts or graphics.
- Scan multi-page documents
- Batch scan documents
- Auto-crop scanned photos
- Smart-enhance the scan results
- Several Enhance Modes available
- Save scan results to system album
- Create PDF files for scans
- Add customizable watermarks to selected documents
- Customize PDF page size: 10 page size options (Letter, A4, B5 and etc.)
Having an app that allows you to scan documents and convert them into PDFs is always handy. It is far better than taking pictures using your phone and sending them across, especially if you want to send documents for official purposes. These apps use the phone’s camera to take a picture of your document, crop, edit, create a PDF, and then easily share it. They also provide additional options like merging files, adding password protection, watermarks, etc. There are several apps that allow you to do this and here’s the CamScanner, which is packed with features and is quite popular.
CamScanner helps you scan, store, sync and collaborate on various contents across smartphones, tablets and computers.
Use your phone camera to scan receipts, notes, invoices, whiteboard discussions, business cards, certificates, etc.
*Optimize Scan Quality
Smart cropping and auto enhancing make the texts and graphics look clear and sharp
By entering any keyword, you’ll see a list of docs with the word in their titles, notes or images (Registrants only)
*Extract Texts from Image
OCR (optical character recognition) extracts texts inside single page for further editing or .txt sharing. (Licensed only)
*Share PDF/JPEG Files
Easily share docs in PDF or JPEG format with others via social media, email attachment or sending the doc link
*Print & Fax
Instantly print out docs in CamScanner with nearby printer; directly fax docs to over 30 countries right from the app
Invite friends or colleagues to view and comment on your scans in a group. (Registrants only)
Making annotations or adding customized watermark on docs are made available for you
*Secure Important Docs
Set passcode for viewing important docs; meanwhile, when sending doc link, you can set password to protect it
*Sync across Platforms
Sign up to sync documents on the go. Just sign in to any smartphone, tablet or computer (visit www.camscanner.com) you own and you can view, edit and share any document. (Registrants only)
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Ideas for Administering the Staff Climate
An important ingredient in a successful school is a staff whose members
believe they are valued, clear about their role, and have adequate resources
to do their job. The WINSS Staff Climate Survey is a tool to help assess
the confidence and morale of all staff members in a school or district.
Consider the following ideas to make your survey project most effective.
Survey all staff.
This survey is appropriate for anyone employed by a school or district.
Don't limit your survey takers to just teaching staff and administrators.
Every staff member makes a unique contribution to helping students succeed.
Be sure to include aides, volunteers, clerical staff, pupil services
personnel, food service, and janitorial staff in your survey.
Be flexible in the survey methods.
Don't assume that all staff members are comfortable completing a survey
on the computer. Provide a paper copy of the survey as well as information
about where to find the survey online.
The survey program will not display results of any individual respondents'
answers. Survey data can not be disaggregated if the number in a given
group is five or fewer. Project managers want honest feedback and this
confidentiality feature will help encourage survey takers to be candid.
Explain the precautions to ensure confidentiality when you ask staff
to take the survey.
Stress the importance of the data and explain how you will
School improvement teams need as much data as is possible to gather
about the effectiveness of their schools. Climate surveys are a measure
of how people feel about being and working in your school. Clarify that
the survey is not a evaluation of work performance but rather an assessment
of the perceived strengths and needs of the school climate. If you are
assessing needs in order to make things better, relate suggested improvements
to your survey results.
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Surface EMG, biceps, electrode 'scope'
BOYDJ at QUCDN.QueensU.CA
Thu Mar 11 22:45:00 EST 1993
(Sorry if this appears twice, I made a formatting error when I sent it
the first time and I don't think it was successfully sent.)
A question has arisen in a MUAP simulation I'm running. If I define the
'scope' of an electrode to be the maximum number of motor units whose
activity can be detected by it during heavy exertion, what might a rough
estimate be for that maximum number for the biceps? I've read that the
biceps normally has 750-800 motor units, and I'm wondering what the scope
of a 5mm surface disk electrode might be.
More information about the Neur-sci
| 132,503
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There's More to Love in Puppy Linux 5.2.5
Back in January I wrote about some of the features of Puppy Linux that make it particularly suitable for use on old and slow computers, but over the weekend a new version of the open source operating system was released with even more reasons to check it out.
Launched on Saturday, version 5.2.5 of the flagship Lucid Puppy Linux distribution--also known as "Lupu"--improves upon the release from early this year with a raft of updates and new features, making it "the most leading-edge Lucid ever," in the project's own words.
Now included in the easy-to-use software, for example, is version 4.1.0 of the Bash shell, replacing the previous version's Bash 3. Version 4.03 of the Syslinux bootloader replaces Syslinux 3, while the window manager JWM 500 has replaced JWM 493. The included Gnumeric spreadsheet software, meanwhile, has been updated to version 1.10.13.
More themes are available in Lucid Puppy 5.2.5, and more programs are now available through the Puppy Package Manager. Also notable are improvements to the new release's sound capabilities.
9th Most Popular
Though it's based primarily on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS "Lucid Lynx," Lucid Puppy 5.2.5 now includes version 1.41.14 of the e2fsprogs filesystem utilities, which are the latest from Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal."
Lucid Puppy 5.2.5 was also built using a more recent version of the Woof build system than the previous version was. Under the hood, it includes version 18.104.22.168 of the Linux kernel, according to a report on The H.
A Bloat-Free Alternative
Indeed, Puppy's diminutive size is one of the distribution's most endearing characteristics, as is the fact that it loads into RAM, making it extraordinarily fast. On most systems, in fact, boot time is just 30 to 40 seconds. Bootable from media including LiveCDs, zip disks, USB drives and hard drives, Puppy also automatically detects most hardware.
Like Damn Small Linux (DSL), Puppy Linux is a particularly good choice for any low-resources computing environment. Given the continuous updates and improvements to the software, however, it's increasingly a good option for anyone seeking a powerful, highly secure, easily customizable and bloat-free operating system.
Did I mention that it's free? There's also no commitment to try it out. Why not take this latest puppy for a tour around the block?
Follow Katherine Noyes on Twitter: @Noyesk .
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Believe it or not, some people still use Windows 98. Microsoft abandoned Windows 98 to the wolves in 2006 and no longer fixes known bugs or known security flaws in Windows 98. Yet some folk still use Windows 98. There may be a business reason such as a critical hardware controller that is built on Windows 98 for a manufacturing system that cost millions of dollars. Upgrading such systems can be very expensive so businesses usually keep them around for a very long time before upgrading. Other reasons may be personal. For example the user who is happy with Windows 98 because it does what she wants, her five year old PC she upgraded to in 2004 and had Windows 98 installed on is still running and she sees no reason to upgrade again.
However, hardware moves on. Most, if not all, new hardware no longer has Windows 98 drivers. When the critical system or the personal system hardware begins to fail then the user with Windows 98 may find that the new hardware will not work with Windows 98 due to lack of drivers. In such cases upgrading the hardware and reinstalling Windows 98 will likely be problematic to impossible. The option then is to get Microsoft Vista on a new PC, a huge, painful and possibly costly leap from Windows 98 if one wants a PC that will run Vista well. Upgrading a Windows 98 based control system for manufacturing or other critical business system may be impossible or very costly to do if one’s only choice is Microsoft XP or Microsoft Vista and new hardware for the production line or whatnot. One valid option is to go with a Linux distribution and a virtual machine like Sun Microsystems’ VirtualBox.
VirtualBox, also known as “vbox”, is another open source software project by Sun Microsystems, Inc. like their openSolaris, OpenOffice and other Sun OSS projects. What VirtualBox provides in layman’s terms is an emulated computer in memory on your real computer. The emulated computer is called a virtual machine or VM. The operating system that runs VirtualBox is called the host while the operating system running inside a VM is called the guest. The hardware on the host can be “virtualized” for sharing with the guest. In many cases where business control systems are involved this means the serial port would be shared with the guest for controlling the systems needing one’s old Windows 98 controller. All input and output through a serial port can then go to the control software running on the guest Windows 98 in the VM.
I have installed a Windows 98 guest in VirtualBox on my SOHO personal / business computer to try it out for this article. My first impression, once I got all the parts in place, was that it runs quite slow. I installed the SeaMonkey integrated browser to get a modern web browser on the VM but it loads and runs so slowly I found it to be unbearable to use. I searched for information on running Windows 98 under VirtualBox to see if there are “tweaks” one can do to speed it up. On my own I increased the VM RAM from 128MB to 256MB and the VM video memory from 8MB to 16MB. This seemed to help a little, but not much.
One should definitely read this if considering running a Windows 98 guest in a VirtualBox VM: http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/User_FAQ#Windows98guests The slowness may or may not matter for a control system that largely gets set then runs unattended. However, it would be impractical for a user wanting to use the Windows 98 VM interactively. Other than a much faster CPU than my 1.5GHz AMD processor there appears to be little one can do as a user to speed it up. The developers apparently know about the slowness with Windows 98 VMs under VirtualBox but are not motivated to work on the problem since Windows 98 is so outdated. Unless someone wanted to invest a lot of money to get VirtualBox code tweaked to run Windows 98 there is little likelihood this will be fixed.
See the video of my Windows 98 virtual machine here: linux_vbox_w98.ogv
(OGG Theora video, 62,262,193 bytes, about 13 minutes or so in length. Get a player that can show OGG Theora videos here http://www.videolan.org/vlc/.)
During a conversation in the VirtualBox #vbox channel on the Freenode IRC Network a channel operater going by the nickname “klaus-vb” had this to say when I asked about speeding up a Windows 98 VM with a multi-core CPU: “… Multi-core doesn’t help much. clock speed helps, and what potentially also helps a lot (didn’t try win9x in a long time) is enabling hardware virtualization. [One] will of course require a cpu capable of this, and a bios which allows [one] to enable it. Just a few facts: 1 VM = 1 process, and in that process one of the threads executes the guest code. there are other threads in a VM process, and they can benefit from extra cores, but the thread which executes the VM code doesn’t get much faster usually. From this it should be obvious why higher clock speed increases the speed of a VM, but not necessarily increasing the core count. the latter of course helps if you run a lot of VMs. The fact that hw virtualization speeds up things would need to be checked. it does speed up real mode code, but win9x is doing weird things, so better check.” Unfortunately I do not have a computer with hardware virtualization available to check this as klaus-vb recommended, so caveat emptor.
Other open source virtual machines one may consider are Bochs and QEMU. For closed source virtual machines one might consider VMware. One of these might be a better option for running Windows 98. I will try them in the future and see.
This article has been accessed this many times:
Edit Thu Jun 25 08:10:28 CDT 2009: Add URL for VLC video player.
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The following appeared in the May/June issue of International Educator magazine.
Josh Kessler, a student at Middlebury College, describes his sustainable education abroad experience, as told to IE.
I had some previous experience with sustainability projects but this was the first time that I would be leading an effort to promote sustainability. But once I talked to the director of the school and a chemistry professor, the project evolved into the idea that we would build an organic garden that could supplement the science curriculum by teaching the students about chemistry, the environment, and sustainability. The environmental and sustainability aspects of the project would be particularly important due to the fact that in Chile, especially in public schools, there is little emphasis placed on environmental education.
The garden was completed in phases. At the beginning of the project, I gave some presentations to the students that taught them about some of the scientific elements that we would encounter in the garden (such as the greenhouse effect and the compost system). Afterward we cleared the area of weeds and trash, dug the compost hole, collected organic material, and placed it into the hole. The students would monitor the compost hole over several weeks making sure that the appropriate nitrogen and carbon levels were being maintained. Then we began the construction of the frame for the greenhouse and planted the seeds in little pots. When the frame and compost pile were both ready, we transferred the plants into a hole inside the greenhouse with the composted material. This area would serve as the primary garden, where students would tend to the plants year round.
This project changed my perspective on sustainability because in the same way that the students were learning about how composting works, and the effects of greenhouse gases, I was learning about these topics at a deeper level than I previously had. I really had to research how these processes happened so that I could explain it to the students clearly and answer any potential questions that they would have. With respect to the garden, I had never grown plants or made compost on that type of scale. When I got to see that we could take organic waste and teach with it, I became really interested in sustainability. And not only did we teach with it, but we also ended up making the school environment a little more aesthetically pleasing. So I’ve come away with a great appreciation for sustainability and sustainability practices. In fact, I’m trying to work with some type of organization that promotes sustainability this summer. Sustainability projects and practices can solve a lot of problems that our society is currently facing. I also think that some sustainable practices will become necessary in our daily lives, so it will be important to educate young people as soon as possible.
Read the rest of “Leaving Light Footprints,” the feature article on sustainability in education abroad.
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To tell someone about this page, just click the "Tell a Friend" link below the video.
How is a piano built?
This video shows how a Mason & Hamlin Grand piano is built.
JOIN the Piano Forums...Join our 71,000+
piano community members today. (It's FREE)
If you've always wondered how they build a high-end hand-crafted grand piano, watch this video.
If you would like to join our piano forums members for a live tour of the Mason & Hamlin factory, just join our piano forums and watch for news about upcoming tours.
Details about our 2007 Mason & Hamlin Factory Tour
For more information about our piano forums, see This Page
If you liked this video, you might also enjoy ...
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| 138,782
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Skin Necrosis w/ Dermal Filler - How Rare is It?
- Asked by DeniJ
- 2 years ago
I cannot find the overall statistics for the chance of skin necrosis while receiving a dermal filler. I know this is "rare", that is all I hear, but HOW RARE? Does anyone have overall statistics? Also WHY is this so rare to happen? (also very concerned it will be injected into blood vessel resulting in a heart attack, etc...WHY is this rare and how rare?
Skin necrosis with dermal filler
The necrosis is due to direct injection into an artery or compression of an artery by the filler preventing blood flow. This is the only reference I could find "The most serious side effect is localized tissue necrosis, which is induced by mechanical interruption of local vascularity, though it occurs very rarely (nine in 10,000 patients who underwent collagen implantation)". This was a review of collagen fillers done some years ago. When injected with proper technique the incidence should be zero. Certain areas like the area between the eyebrows are at higher risk because of the architectural layout of the blood vessels under the skin. The incidence of heart attack from injection of a skin filler should be close to zero.
The most import thing besides proper injection technique is that if you experience inappropriate pain after filler injection and/or see significant skin discoloration beyond a little bruising your doctor needs to go into emergency mode. That could involve application of nitropaste to the skin surface, application of warmth, injection of a filler dissovling agent, hyperbaric oxygen etc. All of these modalities will minimize the amount of skin necrosis.
Recent Injectable Fillers Reviews
Injectable Fillers Photos
These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.
| 138,808
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|Type of record:||Monument|
|Name:||World War Two pillbox|
An extant World War Two pillbox and a destroyed weapons pit are visible on aerial photographs.
Images - none
|Grid Reference:||TG 3446 3374|
|Parish:||BACTON, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK|
Pill box. On New Road (Mill Lane).
Brick, octagonal, chamfered concrete loopholes.
Original information from Pillbox Survey.
Accurately located by E. Rose (NAU), 4 February 1981.
See record form in file by source , who adds:
Common type 22C pillbox with cast concrete loops, unusual for this area. Date 1940.
Survey No. H1-17.
D.Walker (NLA),August 1996.
November 2004. Norfolk NMP.
A World War Two hexagonal pillbox and weapons pit are visible on aerial photographs (S2 to 5). The grid reference for this pillbox has been adjusted from TG 3444 3378 to TG 3445 3374. It appears to be under construction on 16 August 1940 aerial photographs (S2) and is still extant (S5). A weapons pit is visible 20m to the east of the pillbox on the opposite side of the road on 1940 and 1941 aerial photographs (S2 to 4).
(S2 to 5)
J. Albone (NMP), 26 November 2004
- PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/22) (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- PILLBOX (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- WEAPONS PIT (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
Associated Finds - none
Protected Status - none
Sources and further reading
|<S1>||Secondary File: Secondary file. |
|<S2>||Oblique Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1940. NMR TG 3433/49 (MSO 31015 2A/BR14/5 3648) 16-AUG-1940. |
|<S3>||Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1941. RAF S/358 12-3 30-JUL-1941 (NMR). |
|<S4>||Oblique Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1941. NMR TG 3433/52 (MSO 31255 S378/H50 74) 07-AUG-1941. |
|<S5>||Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A.. 1986. NHER TG 3433AR-AS (NLA 184/DCU29-30) 29-JUL-1986. |
Related records - none
Find out more...
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ISSUED: 10 November 2014
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — More than 140 nurses from the region attended the 6th annual nursing research conference “Leading Change Through Evidence-Based Practice” on Thursday, November 6 at Shepherd University’s Erma Ora Byrd Hall. The day-long event, sponsored by the Department of Nursing Education and the Martinsburg Veterans Affairs Medical center, included sessions covering a variety of topics, a display of posters highlighting research, the awarding of scholarships, and a presentation by a Shepherd nursing student of research she conducted.
Margaret Kenny, a senior nursing student from Lynchburg, Virginia, presented “Current Perceptions on the Barriers Existing for Homeless Individuals Accessing Health Care.” Kenny worked with Shenandoah Valley Medical Systems to study the difficulties the homeless have in accessing health care and complying with treatment.
Kenny conducted a qualitative research study where she surveyed nurses and staff who work with the area’s homeless population about their experiences and perceptions. Kenny also spent time at local shelters and food pantries.
“Ultimately the conclusion that I came to was that it takes an incredibly unique, multi-dimensional system of care to provide what this population really needs,” Kenny said. “What I found was a lot of times these individuals will come into a health care facility and they’ll get treated and then they’ll leave. There’s no continuity of care, there’s no follow-up with those patients.”
Kenny pointed out the homeless are dealing with a variety of factors that include adverse social situations, habits, and environmental factors that impact their daily lives. She also concludes that homeless patients often feel unwelcome in the healthcare system and that discourages them from seeking and following through with treatment.
“I really came to the conclusion that it’s our job as health care professionals to remember those things, that not everybody is on the same literacy level, education level, communication level,” Kenny said.
Dr. Laura Clayton, professor of nursing, said the conference gives nursing students like Kenny the opportunity to network with professionals in the field, as well as learn the importance of evidence-based practice.
“It’s helping them learn to be the leaders and how to share the information they’ve gathered with other people. It also gives them good presentation skills,” Clayton said.
Other students were able to present their research work during the conference on poster displays that were set up throughout the lobby and hallways of the nursing building.
The best poster displays were also chosen. The winners were: Karalee Collage, Short Gap; Christopher Fogle, Martinsburg; Cynthia Starner, Hedgesville; Rebekah Swick, Moorefield; Andreia Hara, Ashburn, Virginia; Kendra Miller, Martinsburg; Roxann Rosendale, BSN, RN, Meritus Medical Center; Crystal Propst, Bunker Hill; Clint Chipinski, Shepherdstown; Katelyn Shaffer, Hedgesville; Jessica Quinn, Martinsburg; and Kelly Hare, Winchester, Virginia.
Two Shepherd nursing students, Michael Gonzalez of Harpers Ferry and Katherine Hovatter of Martinsburg, were each awarded a $300 scholarship during the conference for excellence in scholastic achievement in nursing.
Listen to the interview with Margaret Kenny and Dr. Laura Clayton HERE.
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Not all frozen foods are created equal; there are plenty of healthy options in the freezer aisle.
Gone are the days from our childhood microwavable TV dinners of mushy mac ‘n’ cheese and unidentifiable meats. A wholesome meal is always touted the best meal, but when we’re crunched for time, it’s easy to pick up a quick-fix meal. But not all frozen foods are bad for you. In fact, some foods, like frozen produce, are picked and packed at their peak nutritional value and ripeness.
Below, registered dietitian Tara Gidus gives tips on how to navigate the frozen food aisle and discover the healthiest finds for your grocery cart.
Inspect The Packaging
Check for ice crystals because if you see or feel them, it probably means the contents inside were thawed and refrozen. Large crystals can cause the cells in foods to rupture and create a mushy texture when thawed and eaten.
One of the most important things to look at is the fat content of the meals. Aim for meals that have 10-15 grams of fat or less per serving; otherwise, try to keep the fat content to less than 35 percent of calories coming from fat. Make sure you also check how many servings are in a meal. Some look like they are packaged for one serving, but there may be two or three in the entire box or bag.
Also, check the sodium per serving, as many frozen foods have a high sodium content. The recommended daily intake is 2,300 milligrams, so it’s best to look for meals that have between 500 to 1,000 milligrams or less per serving. You don’t want to take in all your sodium in a single meal.
The steam technology that frozen foods use is great, as it keeps the food more crisp instead of leaving it soggy.
Shop for your frozen foods last when going through your grocery list — this is especially important as the weather warms up. Another thing to be sure of is that you’re not leaving them in the hot car, which will allow them to defrost. Defrosting them will affect taste, texture, and may even affect cooking time. Also, try to avoid putting food on the freezer door because it’s the warmest part of the freezer’s space.
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Addiction can be the biggest obstacle to treatment. Family and friends can find it difficult. Due to the damaging nature of addiction, family support may be able to help an individual. In some cases, families don’t really know how to approach the subject of drug and alcohol addiction. Instead of bringing it up to their loved one they ignore the matter out of fear. The concerns that family members have are valid. It is important to be supportive and gentle when approaching loved ones. However, people often seek out treatment because of the positive involvement from their families click resources.
Prior to Substance Abuse Treatment/Intervention
It will be different from family to family how you involve them in your addiction therapy. Specially trained counsellors are available in your region to work with families and patients addicted to alcohol or drugs. These counsellors can help with mediation. Some families, however, prefer to approach family members or close friends without friction to urge them to seek addiction treatment. Understand that no matter how you approach the problem, family dynamics are very powerful. First, you need to address a unhealthy communication imbalance. A positive approach to family life may even encourage your entire household to take a healing journey and discover their own self.
Substance Abuse Therapy – What can you expect?
If there is an intervention then it would be ideal if the person who has a substance abuse problem was forced into either an outpatient program for rehab or an inpatient center. Inpatient and outpatient programs can be beneficial to patients and their family members depending on the resources and needs. A program that is outpatient allows patients to attend classes close to home, they don’t have their families separated and can continue treatment. Residents (inpatients) are required to travel into a facility in order to undergo a detoxification/recovery program lasting 28-30 days. Since they cannot leave, patients can’t escape from the facility. It is not important to forget about the family. Inpatient rehab programs often encourage family members and friends to visit frequently.
A substance abuse inpatient treatment program is a great option for patients with different addiction needs. It allows them to receive the therapy they need while being removed from the environment that made the addiction possible. Families and friends can also benefit from this program, as it helps them better understand the addiction of a loved one. The family is encouraged to hold periodic meetings with the drug-abuse treatment center patient. After a while, they can step back to see patterns in behavior. Well-meaning friends and family who engage in a pattern or codependency before beginning addiction treatment. Family members can often contribute unintentionally towards the patient’s addiction to drugs when they ignore an issue. Family members may be afraid to confront an issue, fearing that it will anger loved one or worsen their addiction. While the person in need of therapy is in therapy, the family can take action to break the addictive cycle.
Not at all. The patients’ families and loved ones are still present. Inpatient substance abuse treatment centers are designed with the same focus on recovering the physical and mental well-being of an addict. The treatment of addiction is greatly supported by positive and frequent family involvement. The family should be supportive of the patient’s recovery. Families can help by participating in educational workshops, participation sessions and other activities.
Al Anon and Nar Anon groups are available to any family member or friend of someone in residential substance abuse treatment. A free program that is offered across the United States to assist family and friend members of those addicted to drugs or alcohol. You’ll be taught in the meetings how to find help for an addicted friend or family member. In addition to helping your loved ones overcome drug and alcohol dependence, addiction treatment will strengthen families, help yourself, as well the person addicted. Families are vital to the success of these programs. They support family and friends during and after treatment.
Substance Abuse Programs
In the case of drug and alcohol addiction, there is no “end” to the treatment. Families dealing with an addiction in a loved one should continue to go to Al Anon/Nar Anon sessions regularly (or maybe both). This will provide them with a program of support and education. It is important that the family be actively involved in helping those with addictions to drugs or alcohol. The family should be involved in the meetings, both during and after treatment. Not only are the meetings a good way to inform people about drugs or alcohol abuse so they can be supportive of others, but it also gives friends and families emotional support during a tough time. Families and friends can fully benefit from an addiction treatment if they continue to attend Al Anon/Nar Anon.
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Brook Watts announced that he is pulling out of the 2022 UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, come January, and will not serve as the race organizer. He also bowed out of the Fayetteville World Cup.
“The situation in Arkansas remains problematic,” he stated. “And I don’t see any satisfactory solution...I remain dedicated to continuing to use my position of influence in the cyclo-cross community to fight for equity in racing, and to ensure that the sport is accepting and welcoming to all.”
But where we are right now, cycling is none of those things.
This announcement comes weeks after Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson signed a law banning trans girls and women from participating in school sports according to their gender identity.
Just days later, that same governor, Asa Hutchinson, signed into law legislation allowing medical workers to refuse treatment to LGBTQ+ people or anyone else because of religious or moral objections.
Similar discriminatory bills are being considered in Texas, Tennessee and various other US states as well.
With Arkansas set to host several national and UCI-sanctioned cycling events, including the 2022 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, some riders responded with outrage, calling upon USA Cycling to host their events in states that aren’t blatantly discriminatory.
Unfortunately, the initial response from USA Cycling’s CEO Rob DeMartini — "It would be different if our athletes were going to be affected, but we don't believe they will be.” — the subsequent “Inclusion Summit” and statement denouncing Arkansas’ anti-transgender laws, have fallen short.
Once again, the cycling world struggles with genuine inclusivity and fails to recognise the seriousness of the situation.
The political climate in the US is growing increasingly hostile, and civil rights — like being in control of our own bodies, getting medical treatment, being protected against hate crimes and even to play sports — are under threat.
No matter what DeMartini might believe, these social hostilities are very much present in cycling and impacts all of us. While still tremendously lacking in visibility, LGBTQ+ folks ride bikes! They’re in pro peloton, in your local midweek crit, on your club ride. They’re your colleagues, your neighbors, your family.
Of course they are, because the bike and outdoor industries are mere microcosms of the societies that surround it — the good and the bad. Cycling and bike racing doesn’t happen in isolation. It crosses country, state and city borders. It beautifully unites the world through the universally enjoyed activity of riding a bike. It also has never been free of politics, and it certainly has never been a safe, egalitarian and welcoming space for all.
How many decades have we been calling for more opportunities for women in this sport? How many openly gay men can you name in the pro peloton? How welcomed did Veronica Ivy, formerly known as Rachel McKinnon, feel after winning her masters track title? How many LGBTQ+ cyclists are going to be competing in Fayetteville in the next year and will not feel safe to do so? Unprotected against hate crimes and discrimination, and unsure if you’d receive the proper medical care should you need it - would you feel safe and welcomed?
Choosing Arkansas as the host of a premier international sporting event is about more than a venue. Among the various duties the cycling governing bodies are charged and entrusted with, is the safety of its members. All of them. If the host city, region, or country of your event blatantly discriminates against your members, and you therefore cannot guarantee the safety of your riders, then that venue should simply be deemed unacceptable and boycotted.
Inaction from USA Cycling or the UCI here, to me, is a clear message of unwelcome or disregard to LGBTQ+ riders everywhere.
The bike industry keeps saying it wants to inspire, empower and welcome more women, more people of color, more underserved communities to hop on a bike. Well, the time has come to stop talking and take action.
Yes, it will be uncomfortable. It will mean making those tough decisions, last- minute changes and probably cost more money. It will mean doing things differently, welcoming new perspectives and listening to your stakeholders — especially those who have often gone unheard. But that is good governance. That is, to quote UCI’s values, “uniting people thanks to cycling and make it the inclusive and universal activity of tomorrow.”
Don’t just say “everyone is welcome.” Show us.
What you, the reader, can do:
- Don’t renew your USA Cycling licence until they take action and move their major events out of the states that don’t align with their stated values.
- Write to USA Cycling and make your voice heard.
- Write to the UCI or your national governing body while you’re at it.
- Bike companies like Allied, Rapha, Orbea and more are all based in Arkansas. Write to your favorite brands and ask them for a response like LIV just did.
- Educate yourself on what it means to be trans or part of the LQBTQ community, and gain some empathy.
- Start grass roots: What’s happening in your local community? If you’re a parent, find out what’s going on in your kid’s sporting community. Are all kids allowed to partake?
- Speak up and start conversations.
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Out-of-Pocket Medicare Costs: What’s the Limit?Posted by Medicare Made Clear
In order to plan your budget, you may be trying to predict what you’ll spend on upcoming Medicare health care costs. One question you may have is about cost limits. What you spend on your health care is called your “out-of-pocket” cost, because it refers to money that comes out of your pocket (or wallet, or pocketbook).
What are the limits on how much you can be charged for your out-of-pocket health care costs? What you may find is that it all depends on what kind of Medicare plan you have.
A Quick Cost-Sharing Overview
With most Medicare plans, you have to pay some portion of your health care costs. This is called cost-sharing, since you and your health plan are sharing costs. Cost-sharing can include premiums, copays, coinsurance and deductibles.
- Premium: The amount you have to pay to be a part of a plan. Most premiums are paid monthly.
- Deductible: The amount you have to pay before your plan will begin to pay its portion of your health care costs.
- Copay: The amount you pay every time you use a service.
- Coinsurance: The act of splitting costs with your plan on a percentage basis. For example, you might pay 20% of the cost of a doctor’s visit, and your plan pays the remaining 80%.
Now that we’ve got the terms down, let’s take a look at how different out-of-pocket cost limits figure in to different types of Medicare plans.
Original Medicare is a benefit offered by the federal government. With Original Medicare, there are no limits on your out-of-pocket spending for cost-sharing. Most people can predict how much they’ll pay in Part B premiums (and Part A, if applicable). But if you use a large number of health care services within a given plan year, you may need to keep paying copays and coinsurance for all of those services.
What you may pay in a given plan year depends on the cost of the health care services you use. To see a complete breakdown of costs for plan year 2012 for Original Medicare, go to Medicare Plans and Cost Sharing: How to Compare Out-of-Pocket Costs.
Some people with Original Medicare choose to add a Medicare supplement insurance plan. These private plans help pay some of the costs that Original Medicare doesn’t pay.
Each Medicare supplement insurance plan has its own cost-sharing terms. Not all types of plans are available in all states.
Original Medicare does not include prescription drug coverage. So many people purchase it separately. Like Medicare supplement insurance plans, Part D plans are offered by private companies. The plan premiums depend on the type of coverage you choose.
Medicare Part D has different levels of cost-sharing until you have spent to a certain out-of-pocket limit for drugs that are covered by the plan. In 2012, the Part D out-of-pocket cost limit is $4,700.
Medicare Advantage plans are health plan options that offer an alternative to Original Medicare. They combine the coverage of Part A and Part B, and are offered by private insurance companies approved by Medicare. Most also include prescription drug coverage and may offer extra benefits like wellness programs, and vision, dental and hearing care.
With a Medicare Advantage plan, you continue to pay your Part B premium to Medicare. Your plan may or may not charge an additional premium. Your deductibles, copays and coinsurances will depend on the terms of the plan you choose.
All Medicare Advantage plans must provide an out-of-pocket cost limit. With any Medicare Advantage plan, the out-of-pocket cost limit in 2012 is $6,700.
Just One Piece of the Puzzle
Out-of-pocket cost limits are only one element of how much your total health care costs will be for a given year. In order to decide what the best Medicare coverage options are for you, make sure to look at the entire picture of which health care services each option covers, and what the cost of that coverage is.
For more information, contact the Medicare helpline 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), TTY 1-877-486-2048. If you have questions about Medicare Made Clear, call 1-877-619-5582, TTY 711, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. local time, seven days a week.
2012 Medicare Costs – Medicare.gov
Medicare Plan Finder – Medicare.gov
How Much Does Medicare Cost? – MedicareMadeClear.com
Y0066_120521_204046 File & Use 06092012
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Last month an international team of paleontologists lifted the veil on one of the most spectacular fossils ever discovered; a 47-million-year-old primate they named Darwinius masillae. It was a major event, but not everything went as planned. This fossil, popularly known as “Ida”, immediately sparked a controversy about the relationship between science and the media, the ethics of buying fossils from private collectors, and what our distant primate ancestors were like.
Indeed, the media blitz promoting Ida was matched by widespread criticism in newspapers, on the radio, and around the science blogohedron. I have written quite a bit about Ida myself (see here, here, here, here, and here), but here I have attempted to collect just a small portion of what has been written about her to place this controversy in proper context.
Here are the submissions sent in over the last week. Many thanks to everyone who contributed:
- Is all this talk about Ida making you scratch your head? Check out BioData’s brief summary to get up to speed.
- Mark Henderson, science editor of the Times has written extensively about Ida and the various aspects of the entire kerfuffle. Of particular note, though, is his round up of tweets made in response to the BBC’s documentary “Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor.”
- Alison Campbell of BioBlog not only covers the hubbub over Ida, but she also reviews some of the really interesting science in the PLoS One paper.
- Nature Network blogger Barry Hudson provides a point-by-point explanation of some of the main points of contention surrounding Ida. This is another must-read for those who, as Barry says, have been “quite literally living under a sedimentary rock stratum” for the last few weeks.
- Martin Robbins, aka “The Lay Scientist”, reviews the BBC’s “Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor.” His verdict? A sense of sadness that “the normally excellent Sir David Attenborough and the Natural History Unit were sucked into the mythology of Ida.”
- One of the co-authors of the paper describing Ida, University of Michigan paleontologist Philip Gingerich, sent in a link explaining his hypothesis about the importance of Darwinius to our ancestry. While the evolutionary relationships of Darwinius are controversial, Gingerich’s page is a good primer for the scientific debate over Ida that is just beginning and features pdf downloads of many of Gingerich’s papers about early primates.
- Mo Hassan celebrates his 100th blog post with a semi-technical piece covering the scientific debate over Ida and the environment Ida once lived in.
- Richard Carter, FCD presents a measured response to the BBC’s documentary on Darwinius. Was it really all that bad, or was the hype just so overblown that it just made us all irritable? Check the Red Notebook to see Richard’s answer.
- One of the major claims at the center of this controversy is that Darwinius is one of our direct ancestors. Karen James aptly shows why this just isn’t so. Still, Karen emphasizes how the hype is all the more irksome given that Ida really is a wonderful fossil, and you can even pick up some neat science apparel designed by Karen featuring Darwinius. (Proceeds go to help The Beagle Project.)
- Speaking of Darwinius-inspired products, Bora has cataloged a number of Ida’s appearances outside news reports and scientific papers. No doubt we’ll see a few more in the future.
- Why was Ida so exceptionally preserved? Cryology and Co provides an overview of exceptional fossil preservation.
- For anyone who can read Dutch, the blog Evolutiebiologie has two posts going over the technical details of Darwinius.
- Neurologica blog covers some of the over-the-top media coverage about Ida and the response of scientists to it. Despite the splash Ida made, the conversation over her place in the primate family tree has only just begun.
- Will the hype over Ida give ammunition to creationists? See this post at That Shallow Fellow.
- Two posts from A Primate of Modern Aspect allow us a look at thoughts about Ida before she made her public debut and after. If you really want to get at the science behind the controversy, these posts are a good place to start.
- The Ohio State University blog On Research… raises some important questions about the description of Darwinius and the influence of Atlantic Productions, the company responsible for the media circus. The scientists who described Ida declared no competing interests in their paper, but is this right?
- And finally, some of the most important posts written during this entire ordeal were authored by Carl Zimmer. His posts on the uncertainty over whether Darwinius can be regarded as a valid name for the fossil and how science was “held hostage” before Ida’s unveiling are required reading for anyone interested in this controversy.
Many thanks, again, to everyone who contributed. I have no doubt that we will be talking about Darwinius for some time to come, but for now the posts listed above provide plenty of food for thought.
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Federal Hiring Boom Would Benefit Washington Region
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
If projections bear out that the federal government will hire up to 120,000 people for jobs in the region over the next few years, the Washington area economy could be on its way to a rebound faster than most of the nation.
Such a hiring boom would have widespread benefits, economists who study the region's employment and housing patterns said. It could reduce the region's unemployment rate, now at 6.2 percent, if jobless people here are hired, and it could revive stagnant home sales if people outside the area are hired. Moreover, as agencies expand to accommodate more workers, they could opt to lease space, boosting the moribund commercial office market.
Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit that helps find candidates for federal jobs, released a report last week that listed projected hires for hundreds of agencies between now and 2012. In total, the government is expected to hire 600,000 people, including 19,071 nurses at the Department of Veterans Affairs, 9,800 Border Patrol agents, 3,774 criminal investigators for the Labor Department, 6,282 contract representatives at the Treasury Department, and 3,500 claims assistants and examiners at the Social Security Administration.
The report, called "Where the Jobs Are," focuses on 273,000 "critical needs" positions that are necessary for the operation of the agencies -- 45,000 of which would be located in the Washington area. Federal spending represents 33 percent of the region's economy, and a surge in hiring "is important for the economic foundation of this area," said Max Stier, president and chief executive of the partnership.
The hiring is intended to replace retiring employees and fill positions created as agencies expand to oversee new initiatives, such as economic stimulus programs.
Even before the report was published, some experts were projecting that employment in the region would pick up next year, with net job losses becoming net job gains.
By the end of the year, the area is expected to experience a net loss of 21,000 jobs, said John McClain, senior fellow at the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University. But in the next few years, McClain added, the region is expected to see net gains in jobs: 23,900 in 2010; 34,900 in 2011; 42,000 in 2012; 47,600 in 2013; and 53,300 in 2014.
"We will recover somewhat in 2010," McClain said, adding that his forecast does not take into account the dramatic hiring projected by the report. "In 2012 and '13, we're back to our long-term average growth."
"Our metropolitan economy will be first for having positive job growth. We will recover before the rest of the country," he said, adding that he thinks the federal government will hire less than 120,000 because it doesn't have the infrastructure for such mass hiring.
To what extent the hiring boom benefits the region depends on whether a substantial proportion of new jobs would be created and whether many of them would be filled by jobless people in the region, scenarios that would reduce the unemployment rate. Officials at some of the agencies said they are recruiting in the region and around the world. But even an influx of hires relocating here could help by spurring demand for houses and apartments.
Officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development said they plan to hire 1,690 people over the next few years, 550 of whom would work at the Washington headquarters. Most of the overseas and local positions are new, officials said, as the agency is doubling its foreign service staff who work on construction and diplomacy in developing countries.
In addition to the civil service staff in Washington, "one-third of our foreign service workforce is stationed in Washington at any given time" for three years, said Ron Daniels, special projects officer for the agency. Many, he said, would be in the rental market "in short-term or long-term leases."
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to fill more than 459 positions, largely to replace workers expected to retire in the next few years, said Miriam Cohen, deputy director of the agency's human resources department. The bulk of the hires, she said, would be made for jobs at the agency's headquarters in Rockville and a satellite office in Bethesda.
"We need engineers who would be involved in the construction of new reactors," Cohen said.
Analysts said they expect the new jobs to drive demand for housing in the region, accelerating recovery of the market. July housing sales in the region were up 12.6 percent from the same month in 2008, according to the Center for Regional Analysis, and inventory shrank to 6.2 months in July from 11.5 months in January.
"The job growth in D.C. will bring new people into the labor force and drive demand for apartments and houses," said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac. "That will have a ripple effect in [boosting interest in new houses] and creating construction jobs."
Gregory H. Leisch, chief executive of Delta Associates, a real estate and economic research firm in Alexandria, said several agencies, including the Justice and Treasury departments, have recently signed leases in the commercial office market to accommodate growth. He said he expects that trend to accelerate with the federal hiring, which could reduce the 47 million square feet of vacant space in the region.
The hiring "will translate into 2 to 3 million square feet of office absorption" by the federal government, he said.
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18 August 2004
Volume 13 - 2004 Issue 33 (17 Aug. 2004)
IFEX members are calling for an end to a "culture of impunity" in the Philippines in which dozens of journalists have been killed in the past two decades without anyone being brought to justice. In the past two weeks, four alone have been murdered and a fifth one shot.
In the ongoing armed conflict between government forces and Maoist rebels in Nepal, an increasing number of journalists covering the civil war are being targeted, report the Center for Human Rights and Democratic Studies (CEHURDES), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
IFEX members are putting Indonesia's harsh defamation laws under the international spotlight, urging the government to bring them in line with international standards on freedom of expression. The attention comes as three journalists face charges that could land them in jail for allegedly libeling a well-known Indonesian businessman.
Kandasamy Iyer Balanadarajah, a journalist and media spokesperson for the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP), was gunned down on 16 August 2004 by two unidentified assailants, report Free Media Movement and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontierès, RSF). He became the second journalist killed in Sri Lanka this year.
IFEX members are renewing concerns over safety conditions for journalists in Iraq, following the killing of a freelance reporter and the abduction of three journalists in the past week.
Adil Soz and the National Association of Independent Mass Media of Tajikistan (NANSMIT) are calling attention to increasing threats against journalists in Tajikistan in recent months, where 12 have been targeted since January 2004.
The Columbia Graduate School of Journalism will honour journalists from Romania and Zimbabwe for courageous reporting in October when it presents the 2004 Kurt Schork Awards for International Journalism.
A Sierra Leonean journalist who has spent the last decade promoting freedom of expression and helping rebuild his country's media has been honoured with an award from the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA).
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Nail artist Robert Nguyen lends his 3-D nail artistry to this month’s Lunar New Year-themed cover to help us welcome the Year of the Dragon.
The winner of VietSALON Magazine's dragon nail art mural contest, nail artist Robert Nguyen lent his 3-D nail artistry to this month’s Lunar New Year-themed issue to help us welcome the Year of the Dragon.
Here’s how Robert created these dragon nails:
1. Prep nails and apply OPI "Free Form" forms. Sculpt a thin stiletto foundation and build the shape of a stiletto nail using OPI Absolute Crystal Clear.
2. File nails using OPI 150 Edge.
3. Paint the nails a navy blue color using DNA paint.
4. Brush on clear overlay gel over the entire nail and cure.
5. Remove sticky residue using NAS 99.
6. Glue on the dragons head.* Reinforce with OPI Absolute perfect white.
7. Sculpt the body, belly, and spine.
8. Sculpt the waves.
9. Paint everything using DNA paint and DNA Brushes (dynailart.com
*Making the head: Robert made a soft mold for the dragonhead so he could easily manipulate it rather than fix hard acrylic. Fill the mold with acrylic and remove it once it has dried. Use a drill and an underside bit to sharpen any lines in the dragons face.
Video: Dragon Stiletto Nails — Click here to see a video of Nguyen in action.
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Write it down! The notation will help you.
Are we getting anywhere?
The question is:
If the volume of the sphere doubles, what is the ratio of the surface area of the new, larger sphere to the old, smaller sphere? The answer is 2^(2/3). A good method for tackling these types of problems would be great. Should I just plug in numbers and work that way, or is there a more methodical way of doing it?
2. Now calculate the ratio of the surfaces:
Sub in the term for :
3. Cancel equal factors and re-write the cube-root term as a power.
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First Lecture Drawing on academic literature, lectures, panel discussions and films, Conceptual Foundations of International Politics examines many of the central concepts, theories, and analytical tools used in contemporary social science to understand and explain international politics. The theoretical literature is drawn from different fields in the social science, including comparative politics, international relations, political sociology, and economics. The course is designed to enhance students’ abilities to think critically and analytically about current problems and challenges in international politics.
The course is composed of several introductory sessions followed by two-week modules on International Political Economy; States, Regimes and Rights; War and Peace; Culture and Identities. The weekly requirements, including the reading assignments, the plenary session and seminar-style sections form an integral whole. All students are required to attend the Monday plenary sessions and to do the assigned readings before their (6804) section each week because the readings and lectures, films and panels form the basis of the sections. For each module there will be an assignment that will constitute one quarter of the final grade; the remaining quarter will be based on participation in section.
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Why do we avoid difficult conversations? At some point, many of us have had to deliver the dreaded line, “We need to talk.” And this often precedes an argument rather than any conversation.
How do you disentangle difficult conversations? Some conversations are so difficult that we’ll do anything to avoid them. This is possibly because:
- We are stuck between what we feel and knowing what we really shouldn’t say.
- We are distracted by our internal thoughts and uncertain about what to share.
- There’s so much going on in the relationship with the other person, it’s confusing.
If you didn’t care on some level about your relationship with the other person, you wouldn’t struggle with this in the first place. But avoiding the conversation allows things to build up to the boiling point. When we finally have no choice but to confront the issue, we end up damaging the relationship with the other person.
Holly Weeks, author of an article in Harvard Business Review, “Failure to Communicate,” describes a familiar “difficult conversation” scenario:
“Your stomach’s churning; you’re hyperventilating – you’re in a badly deteriorating conversation at work. Such exchanges, which run the gamut from firing subordinates to parrying verbal attacks from colleagues, are so loaded with anger, confusion, and fear that most people handle them poorly: they avoid them, clamp down, or give in. But dodging issues, appeasing difficult people, and mishandling tough encounters all carry a high price for managers and companies – in the form of damaged relationships, ruined careers, and intensified problems.”
Emotional Hijacking Inside the Brain
Whenever emotions are involved, conversations get tricky. Emotions are generated in the part of the brain called the amygdala – a more primitive part of the brain. When stimulated, it calls the body into fight or flight mode. Humans are genetically hard-wired to react to emotional triggers by either fighting, freezing, or fleeing – actions which, during cavemen times, had huge survival benefits.
Are we much different now than our ancestors? Genetically, no. We still have impulses to blast someone or clam up and avoid them altogether. We are not actually hard-wired to sit down and talk it over with someone when there’s a problem.
In our work with leaders around the world, I hear about these problems all the time. People experience an emotional hijacking in the brain. What starts out to be a conversation breaks down and emotions derail the best of intentions. Our Cultivating Winning Relationships program provides the tools and resources to reduce the stress of difficult conversations and increase your confidence in raising difficult topics.
In my next post, I’ll share some tips for how to retrain your brain to get conversations back on track and gain beneficial results for both parties.
In the meantime, what happens to you when a difficult conversation goes awry? I’d love to hear from you
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- Historic Sites
A Spanish Colonial Christmas
Traditions nearly five hundred years old underlie San Antonio’s month-long celebration
December 1997 | Volume 48, Issue 8
I know I get sentimental about the holiday for which I was named, but I could have sworn that the stuffed “Pancho Claus” on a balcony above San Antonio’s lovely River Walk winked at me. It wore the familiar red-and-white suit over its pudgy belly and shiny boots, but there all recognition ended. This Santa had a decidedly brown and beardless face with a toothy grin and a slick black mustache. Under the weight of a crooked golden sombrero, its head nodded forward as if to both assert the culture of Tejanos (Texans of Mexican or Spanish descent) and command a better view of the soectacle below.
It is hard not to become transfixed. The River Walk, or Paseo del Rio, as it is called in Spanish, is radiant during the Christmas season, which runs from late November through January 4, Three Kings Day. Downtown the waterway around which the city grew is bordered by twenty-one commercial blocks of cobblestone walks, little bridges, and majestic cypresses, all of them decked out with thousands of colored lights. Decorated water taxis carry visitors and carolers over the black water, which shines like quicksilver. And the air smells gloriously of pine.
San Antonians’ long relationship with their part of the 180-mile San Antonio River has been both intimate and sometimes troubled. By the 1870s city directories were listing addresses by their distance from its banks. And until 1878 most everyone bathed in it; then pipes were finally laid, and the first bathtubs were installed.
The river had its dangers. Manufacturers dumped in it, and it took its revenge by soaking the town ten times between 1819 and 1921. Panicked city leaders planned to fill a section of it with concrete after a flash flood in 1921 killed fifty people and destroyed millions of dollars in property. In 1924 two preservationists, Rena Maverick Green and Emily Edwards, organized what would become the San Antonio Conservation Society and successfully lobbied the mayor to find another solution. The issue caught the attention of Franklin Roosevelt’s Work Projects Administration, which joined with the city to reverse the destruction and also preserve San Antonio’s five dilapidated Spanish missions along the river, which together would eventually become a historical park. Those missions are the oldest part of San Antonio; the earliest, San Antonio de Valero—better known for its later history as the Alamo—goes back to 1718.
Tonight the missions’ religious heritage is omnipresent. The Conservation Society has organized the annual Las Posadas, a public procession that mixes Catholic custom with sixteenth-century Mexican pagan ritual. Hundreds of locals and visiting pilgrims like myself have gathered to re-enact Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter on the way to Bethlehem. Each of us holds a candle, and thousands more candles covered in paper sacks—they are called luminarias —have been placed along the river to mark the way.
As the parade begins, a trumpeter hidden in a mariachi band pierces the silence with the opening notes of a Spanish Las Posadas carol. On one bank the mournful request for shelter goes out; then on the other side, no less than thirty feet away, singers voice the rejection. Tonight the band wears formal black. Their snug pants and matching bolero jackets are decorated with silver studs and intricate white lace patterns. Red neckties set off their white shirts—the whole outfit a romantic reminder of the music’s south-of-the-border origin.
Behind the band march community leaders and the four Franciscan padres who minister at the four working mission parishes (the Alamo is, of course, no longer a church). A dozen children play cherubs, and the crowd—the “congregation”—follows behind. Several adults have roles as poncho-clad shepherds. A costumed Joseph walks next to Mary, who rides a donkey.
En route we pass people eating at outdoor tables at fancy restaurants along the River Walk. Others watch from hotel balconies and the low bridges. A few make the sign of the cross, furthering a sense of our being in an outdoor cathedral. Nearly half an hour later the crowd settles into the Arneson River Theater to watch the pageant of the three kings’ arrival at the manger. The theater was designed so that the river separates the stage from the audience and boats can float by.
After the Christmas play, Las Posadas ends next door in the National Historic District, La Villita (the little village), which is near the Alamo and up against the river. La Villita is yet another treasure saved by WPA dollars, this time with the help of the National Youth Administration. On the site of a former Native American village, it represents two hundred years of continuous residence in what has alternatively been a slum and fashionable neighborhood, first for early Mexican and Spanish settlers and later for German ones. People are chatting about Christmas shopping just steps from the Cos House, the district’s oldest building, named after the brother-in-law of the Mexican dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna. In December 1835 Gen. Martin Perfecto de Cos signed papers there surrendering the Alamo to Gen. Stephen F. Austin; the Alamo’s defenders were martyred when Santa Anna fought to recover it two months later.
Watching the re-enactment of Joseph and Mary’s journey was like being in an outdoor cathedral.
“The river, our landmarks, and our architecture are so important to us,” says Sally Buchanan, president of the San Antonio Conservation Society. “This night is one way that we share and express our cultural heritage.”
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Boston — The 32 members of the Boston-based Mandala Folk Dance Ensemble spend what appears to be three-quarters of their time in rehearsal and performance, with the other half is spent in jobs as computer specialists, teachers, and engineers to support their dancing habit.
If the mathematics sounds impossible, it is necessary to sustain a professional company's long and demanding schedule.
Now in its 15th season, Mandala has evolved from its origins as a recreational outlet for a group of highly paced "technies" from Massachusetts Institute of Technology to a polished troupe giving 30 performances yearly. Although the transition has meant some changes in company management, the original structure continues, with the members meeting weekly to decide policy.
In addition to performing, various members act as suite directors, costume designers, and choreographers, although many of the dances are set by outside specialists in the national styles. In keeping with the collective spirit, dancers and musicians are not credited in the program, even for the most virtuoso solos. Except for two staff people who arrange business details, the members of Mandala are not paid.
Costumes are the main investment for Mandala. The members do most of their own sewing, often using one authentic costume to make patterns and suggest fabrics and colors. The costumes are ablaze with colorful embroidery, appliqued flowers, and weaving, copied by Mandala in testament to the homecraft skills practiced in villages around the world. Shoes -- such as the Yugoslavian "opanci" (soft leather shoes with pointy toes) -- are ordered from the various countries.
Another unique attribute of Mandala is the quality of the music, both in songs and instruments. Nearly all of the dancers double as musicians or singers. Many may play a banjo or flute in one number, then dance in the next.
The variety of instruments is astonishing, adding a special texture to the projection of a national image. Castanets punctuate the Spanish jota, a Russian balalaika throbs the melody for the Moscow quadrille, and there is even a washboard and spoons as accompaniment for an Appalachian square dance. The company has imported such exotic instruments as tamburitza from Croatia; a tupan , the large drum from Bulgaria; and a middle- Eastern dumbek. Ethnic songs by the performers progress from the hard consonants of middle Europe to the languid syllables of Central and South American languages.
The Mandala repertoire is taken from a large part of the collective heritage of the United States. A recent addition to the program is a series of country dance figures from Ireland. Bright green cloaks complete the women's costumes and serve to complement the fancy footwork of the jigs and reels. "Los Viejitos ," a dance from Mexico imitating old men's movements, is an amusing combination of vaudeville pratfalls and stamping feet similar to American tap dancing. The performers wear dark red masks and hobble around in bent-over position with knobby canes for support. Since the dance is done traditionally by young men, the continuity of the generations underlies the humor.
My favorite is the "Vrlicko Kolo," from the Dalmatian coast of Yugoslavia. This mysterious, somber dance for a circle of men and women in accompanied only by their own singing, the noise of shuffling feet, and the jingling of coins on their costumes.
These dances, and others in the repertoire, have in common the patterns of the circle and straigt line, suggesting the community of experiences shared by men and women who dance out their joys and fears. There is more than a hint of magic in the recurring circle as protection against the unknown.
Another similarity is the frequent use of the green bough, either as costume ornamentation or prop, which is central to the choreography. The presence of the vegetation is reminder of an earlier time when the manifestations of nature were integrated into daily life.
As the years have passed in Mandala's development, the staging has become more theatrical. A suite of dances, rather than one example, is arranged to tell a story. In the Appalachian grouping, a sewing circle of women sits around a quilting frame as one sweet voice warbles a mountain song. When their work is done, the frame is set aside and the women are joined by the men for a rousing square dance.
Next fall Mandala will perform in Vermont, Connecticut, and New York, and the following spring, 1982, in the "Tribute to American Dance" series at Brooklyn College Center for the Performing Arts.
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A CDC Prevention Research Center
The Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center (PRC) is part of the Yale University School of Public Health, based in New Haven CT, and housed about 10 miles from New Haven at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Connecticut.
Our center was established in 1998 through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). We are part of the CDC’s Prevention Research Centers network of 26 academic research centers based in 24 states across the U.S. Each PRC represents an academic/community partnership in collaboration with community partners, federal, state, and local health and education agencies, and other universities. PRCs work with community partners to develop, implement, and evaluate community-based approaches to help prevent and control chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. They also share their approaches and findings in a national database so that other PRCs and public health partners can benefit from this knowledge.
In addition to our community-based research funded by the CDC and other sources, the Yale-Griffin PRC also conducts clinical research to investigate the role of nutrition in promoting health and preventing chronic diseases.
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Webmaster here. Last time we talked about the format of the file. Assuming you know that now. Lets move on to creating one.
**Note: The images below are not the actual templates used. They have been scaled way down for this post. I may post the actual templates at some point later, but for now these are just examples**
**Note again, I am not an expert. Do not take me as such. I know experts and they are probably cringing at me right now**
So anyway, if you are doing it yourself, or sending your print off somewhere it is good to lay out the whole page. Here are the advantages of doing the layout yourself:
- You know you are getting exactly what you want.
- You can easily print more than one image on a page
- This allows you to order more copies if someone else is printing them for you, reducing costs
- It also allows you to quickly and easily work up sets for projects requiring multiple prints.
- It also helps prevent wasting tons of paper by printing something tiny in the middle of a big, expensive, piece of paper. (and at $2/page, that adds up)
The project Laura has been working on is sizing out to a 5×7 print (8×10 matted) so the calculations have mostly been around that.
If you plan on matting an image, and you should if you want it hung on a wall, you need to allow for some additional space around your image so you can’t see the edges of the paper inside your mat. In theory your mat’s opening is slightly smaller than the selected size. In practice, if you don’t have enough material past the opening it becomes very hard to mount the image, and it does not stay flat. So in my templates I am allowing at least a 1/4 inch of space on each side for things like mounting tape, and allowances for mediocre cutting on my part.
Starting with an standard sized letter paper (what I can most easily get my hand on for home printing) I figure I can get 2 images per sheet. I created a 5″x7″ 1200dpi image in photoshop and painted the whole thing white. Then I expanded the canvas to 8.25″x5.5″ to create an empty area for the non-printed area I selected this area, made a new layer, and painted it green. I then created a 8.5×11 document, and copied over these two layers twice, so I have two complete copies. I moved on to the left, and one to the right, and drew a line down the middle of the page in black for a cut line on it’s own layer. After all that work it gives me a template like this:
Now I can just paste in a 5×7 1200dpi image to it’s own layer, and position it as I please. When I like where the images are placed, I hide the green layer, and it is ready to print.
Then looking at the site of the printer I was using, they had a very good price break at a 12″x16″ sheet of paper, so I did essentially the same thing and it gave me this:
For my initial stock this will have four different images on one page. This means getting in my initial stock will be much cheaper since I can have them run off 4 copies of this sheet instead of 1 copy of 4 individual designs to get the same effect. In future orders it might get switched up if something becomes popular, but it is easy enough to do once you have a template.
Then when someone suggested they wanted bookmarks, I had to look up what size a bookmark was, settling on 2″x6″, I did the above tricks and ended up with this:I have to do a bunch more playing with images to make them fit in the window properly, but when I am done, I know exactly what will be on the print. The lined to cut along are clearly marked, making final assembly a bit easier.
Now, I promised to talk about bleed. Depending on your final image’s destination, you want your image to print beyond the area where you are going to cut, so if there is a slight deviation in one direction or another in cutting, or printing, there is not some blank space at the edge of the image. Since the current project I have been doing does not have backgrounds, my templates don’t really have a bleed to them. If I needed a bleed, then I would need to modify the templates so every image had it’s own cut line (rather than sharing as seen above), and make my images go into the green whitespace area.
Well, that is how to make some basic templates. Hopefully it is enough to get you started printing your own work. It takes a bit of tinkering to get the templates the way you wan them, but once you have them it can save you hours getting future are ready to send off.
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Declines in Hungary’s exports and imports slowed in May after plunging during a lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus in April, and the trade balance returned to a surplus, data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Thursday show.
Declines in trade volume remained in the double digits in May but still showed improvement from April.
Exports fell by 28.9 percent to 6.758 billion euros and imports dropped by 25.5 percent to 6.602 billion euros.
In April, exports fell by more than 37 percent and imports dropped over 29 percent.
Hungary had a 155 million euro trade surplus in May, after a sizable 561 million euro deficit in April.
For the period January-May, Hungary’s exports fell by an annual 13.2 percent to 40.097 billion euros and imports dropped by 11.2 percent to 38.647 billion euros. The trade surplus for the period came to 1.449 billion euros.
Read alsoAustria eyes reopening trade, tourism with “safe countries”
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There are a limited number of magazines that focus on the Autism Spectrum or issues that also pertain to those within the Autism Spectrum. This is a compilation of those I am aware of.
If you are a member of the Autism Society of America you receive The Advocate that is published four times a year and reaches over 50,000 subscribers. This is now available online for subscribers. I have saved every issue of The Advocate. Issues include the creative corner, ASA News, letters to the Editor and Book Reviews, along with articles on related topics. Issues contain about 35 pages. You can join or renew online. The fees range from $15 for a student membership, $30 for Individuals, $40 for Families, Outside of US for $50, Professional Membership at $100. You also have the option of joining a local chapter.
I also subscribe to the Autism Spectrum Quarterly, which also publishes four times a year. The issues are February, May, August and November. Departments include Research Briefs, Research Newsdesk, Reviews, Cutting Edge. The articles cover everything from Autism Tissue Donation, Sexuality, Curriculum and Preparing for the College Experience. Issues contain about 50 pages. I enjoy reading the Bios for the columnists with my favorite being Common Stories from an Uncommon Parent. Alyson Beytein is the mother to three sons with autism, as well as being a poular speaker and parent/teacher trainer.
She is also the creator/moderator of the DVD "Family to Family: A Guide to Living Life When a Child is Diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder" published by Starfish Specialty Press.
Autism Spectrum Quarterly is $29.95 plus $5.00 for shipping and handling. International rates vary, but this is available in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the UK. subscription information that includes a PDF file with the order form to mail in. The label does not indicate when the subscription expires so I always have to send an email. Their covers are the nicest of all the magazines.
The Autism Perspective TAP Magazine is published four times a year. Starting with the Fall 2007 issue you can now read an eEdition online for free. The whole process is very easy and fast. You can still order previous issues at ten dollars each, going back to the first issue in 2005.
I bought an issue at the CAN walkathon and resource fair, Winter 2006 issue, which has 82 pages. This magazine has more content than the others and is published in Toluca Lake, California. There is a rate for Canada, Asia and Europe for back issues and yearly subscriptions.
There is a cover story, features and regular columns. Stephen Shore and William Stillman are contributing columnists. This issue I have includes an article on successful older people by Temple Grandin, sibling articles, programs for students within LAUSD, what are friends for, empathy, mentor network and the Miller method.
Spectrum Publications consists of six issues at $29.95 per year. The one downside is they have lots of personalities on their cover and not children, plus I cannot tell by the label when my subscription expires. In October/November 2006 for example the Spectrum magazine has Senator Santorum on the cover. That same issue for The Addvocate ran a cover issue of the Senator as well. Previous cover celebrities for Spectrum include Didi Conn, Chaka Khan, John Schneider, Gary Cole, Athletes against autism and the actors from The Shield. I would like to see more child friendly cover photos.
Spectrum is published out of New York and has several pages at the end for their Classified section. This is a great idea, but the majority of these advertisements and job openings are located in the New York Metro area.
I like how Spectrum has a toy and media section as well as a cooking section that has recipes. In every issue you will find the Calendar of Events that are often courtesy of Lenny Schafer Autism Report and the recipes are from a number of sources. These include gluten free pantry and simply vibrant foods.
Articles include travel tips using assistive technology, pop opera following the lives of autistic families, finding the best therapy, book reviews, living with Aspergrers by Stephen Shore, Susan Dey at the Heartspring School and Kim Coles and her nephew on the autism spectrum.
A quarterly newsletter for Familes of More Advanced Individuals with Autism, Asperger Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder/Not Otherwise Specified is known as the MAAP. There are four volumes to the print newsletter that costs $22.00 per year. Parents, family members and those on the Autism Spectrum receive as part of their subscription The MAAP Networking Directory. This is a wonderful resource! MAAP has been around for over 20 years.
Back issues of MAAP are available at $8.00, an information packet for either Autism or Asperger's Syndrome is available for $5.00. Subscription Form for MAAP. You will find in each newsletter reviews, mailbox letters, FYI and conference information.
The 2008 Conference is being held in Indianapolis, Indiana on Wednesday and Thursday, October 1 and October 2, 2008, and is co-sponsored with the Indiana Resource Center for Autism a wonderful resource for articles and the first place I contacted when the diagnosis of autism was received in 1998. I still have many of those booklets and have given others to families over the years.
Exceptional Parent Magazine covers all special needs, has many regular departments like the Editor's desk, my favorite being Search & Respond, book notes, familiar faces, ask the Doctor, new products and special reports. Exceptional Parent is published monthly with the Resource Guide published each January.
Each issue contains two cards for products and services represented in the issue. I often have used this resource to learn about new products. The parent perspective is a great section to check out monthly as well. Subscriptions vary for International, Canada and US. You have the option for one or two year subscriptions.
I wrote a Review on Exceptional Parent seven years ago. The rates have not changed too much over the years. Subscriber information for magazine and resource guide.
Sensory Integration Focus is an International magazine dedicated to improving sensory integration. S.I. Focus is published four times a year. A one-year subscription is $28.00. The international rate for one year is $40.00. Back issues with the premier issue from Winter 2004 costs $7.00 each. The price is a bit steep for me so I purchased a single issue.
Issues contain a professional forum, from the bookshelf, home sweet home, stories of hope, the mother load and feedback. There is also the option to read Sample articles in PDF format.
Autism/Asperger's Digest is another publication I subscribe to. This is a division of Future Horizons, Inc. A subscription covers six issues at $49.95 in the US. A single issue can be purchased at $9.00. I highly recommend the May-June 2007 issue. I shared this specific issue with the Developmental Pediatrician when she was here for a home visit. I had her read through the interview Karyn Seroussi had with Dr. Arthur Krigsman on Gastrointestinal Issues in Autism and gave her a copy of the article. The Developmental Pediatrician was also interested in the cover story entitled, Toilet Training the Older Child. They offer a Trial Subscription for three issues at $24.95.
The International trial of three issues costs $29.95, a one-year subscription is $59.95. Renewal prices were lowered in 2007 for US & Canadian Subscribers. One year renewal is now only $34.94 for 1 year or 2 years at $69.95. In Canada one year renewal is 59.95 or 2 yers at 99.95.
The Autism Asperger's Digest Magazine has regular features each issue in the Newsbites that covers sensory smarts, aspie to aspie, sib talk, diet & nutrition. Two departments worth reading each issue are Autism: The Way I See It by Temple Grandin and Postcards from the Road Less Traveled by Ellen Notbohm.
Some of the articles have included - Find the perfect Speech Therapist, Which Intervention method is best, Hidden Helpers at School, Traveling with a Spectrum Child, Ten Tips for Teachers and Doing Your Social Best.
The Autism Asperger Publishing Company has great books and a newsletter. They have Events all over the country.
Lookup up Autism is an International Monthly 40-page Newsletter.
Use Visual Strategies - Workshops and newsletter
A print publication entitled Tools for Inclusion from Institute of Community Inclusion and The Inclusion Notebook are resources I have saved.
Different Roads to Learning
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
Beach Center on Disability at the University of Kansas
NJ Center for Outreach and Services for the Autism Community
I highly recommend parents to do a search on Ebay for autism magazines to try out a single issue beforehand on any magazine. I have sold Exceptional Parent magazines from years past to newly diagnosed families. You might also try subscribing to magazines with a few other parents to share the burden of the cost. Support groups could do the same thing and make issues available for all members.
Promoting Autism Awareness
Toys to consider for Christmas
Educational Autism Tips for Families 71 page resourceful ebook for families entering the school system with a recent autism diagnosis. Find out what issues take place over the course of a school day and meet these challenges head on.
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In an interview with Israeli daily Globes (April 19, 2012), the father of Holocaust Museum industry, Elie Wiesel, 83, has cautioned Israeli propagandists to avoid comparing Iranian threat to the Zionist regime with the Zionist patent ‘Holocaust’.
In response to the question that Benji Netanyahu has frequently compared the Holocaust
to the (non-existent) threat the Zionist regime is facing from Iran – Elie Wiesel said: “Iran is a danger, but to claim that it is creating a second Auschwitz? I compare nothing to the Holocaust
Wiesel also told the Globes: “Only Auschwitz was Auschwitz
” – and that no other (non-Jewish) human tragedy or genocide can be compared with Auschwitz.Thanks to Zionist-controlled mainstream media – Wiesel have successfully surronded hiself as a Holocaust survivor and humanitarian with myths and lies. He was even awarded a Nobel Peace Prize
in 1986 – even though he never uttered a single word in support of nine million native Muslim and Christian Palestinians being treated worse than Jews under Nazis by Elie Wiesel’s fellow European Jews.
|“Only Auschwitz was Auschwitz”
So what is Elie Wiesel? Dr. Norman Finkelstein, whose both father and mother were Holocaust survivors – called Wiesel “a liar” in his famous book, ‘The Holocaust Industry’. World renowned Jewish academic and a Crypto Zionist, Dr. Noam Chomsky called Wiesel “a terrible fraud”. Jewish magazine Tikun Olam called Wiesel “the Master propagandist – Any political movement would give its eye teeth to have him on its side“.
Wiesel made a fool of himself on several occasions by asserting that the name Jerusalem appears more than 600 times in the Bible while it doesn’t appear at all in Koran. Wiesel has never felt ashamed to tell his listeners that while Jerusalem is the most holy city for Jews – it’s only the third holiest city for Muslims, therefore, Israel should exclusively control it as an eternal part of Israel.
Wiesel’s fellow Jewish writer, Israel Shamir
slammed Weisel for misinterpreting Jewish scripture
. Shamir claimed the name of Jerusalem is not mentioned even once in the Jewish Holy Book, the Torah. He also said that Jews were not even mentioned in the Jewish Bible. None of the great and legendary men Wiesel named, from King David to the prophets, were not called ‘the Jews’. This ethnonym appears the first and only time in the Bible in the Persian story of the very late Book of Esther. Persian Queen Esther was the force behind the first Persian Holocaust (Purim)
during which militant Jews killed nearly 75,000 non-Jewish Persians, over 2,000 years ago.
For more on Elie Wiesel’s double standards – read Professor Daniel A. McGowan’s 2005 article here.
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Why Parents Decide on a Home School Education
Progressively more young boys and girls these days happen to be experiencing a home school education. The motives for electing the option to homeschool their kids differs from family to family however you will find three primary explanation why parents happen to be extracting their kids from the public school system and consequently providing them with a home school education.
The first motive is the fact that public education system nationally happens to be battling to make available a suitable education for the country’s children with outdated text books, shabby school buildings as well as substandard equipment. Provision associated with a home school education makes it possible for the parents to acquire control over the quality and standard of the academic materials utilized by their children along with the basic environments through which they may be educated.
Another factor to consider is the fact that parents would like to assume additional control over the influences their kids will undoubtedly be subjected to. This is usually based on religious grounds however, most of the time, it is merely due to the fact that a home school education will guarantee the child learns the values, ideals and beliefs upheld by the family unit and furthermore is going to be educated from an early age precisely what behaviour and conduct is aacepatable and appropriate. The fact is that, a large number of open public schools have a relatively negative track record of instilling good discipline in students. This more often than not leads to poorly behaved children disrupting classes and furthermore preventing their colleagues from receiving the complete benefit of instructional classes. Discipline as well as the maintaining of suitable standards of conduct is an integral part of a home school education.
The third explanation numerous mothers and fathers elect to provide their kids a home school education is without a doubt concern for their health and safety. Violence, both physical and emotional, is on the rise just about everywhere and the public school system has not steered clear of this trend. Violence within the public education system is actually getting more severe and in addition the individual acts of violence tend to be more serious. There have been numerous tragedies within our public school education involving firearms and knives where teachers and students ended up being injured, killed or even sexually assaulted. A home school education guarantees the safety of children who would undoubtedly generally be seriously vulnerable to harm.
The Disadvantages of Choosing Home schooling
Offering a home school education is not necessarily a matter of parental choice. In many instances the departmant of education of the province or state where the family resides will likely need to consent to a decision to offer a child a home school education. The individual agreeing to the responsibility of home schooling ought to be certified or licensed to be a home teacher, the actual curriculum is required to follow the state curriculum, and in addition the text books along with other educational materials to be utilized will have to be authorized by the state. Even though this may very well appear to be just like excessive interference in what is often a question of personal choice, the state has a responsibility and obligation to make certain that all children be given an acceptable standard of education and in addition inspections will probably be undertaken in order to make certain that any child being kept away from public school is being adequately educated.
A home school education may possibly mean that a child is missing out on a number of options that would have most certainly been accessible within the public school system. There could possibly be complications when it comes to providing facilities for athletic children to achieve their potential. Musically gifted children may very well be in a similar fashion disadvantaged. In certain states there exists provision for children receiving a home school education to participate in amenities for instance having the ability to attend sporting activities and sign up for after-school clubs. Having said that, the degree and quality of support made available to homeschooling parents is simply not consistent and varies a lot depending on location.
The last possible drawback to have an impact on children receiving a home school education is the fact that they are not going to develop the social skills that will be essential as they develop. Social interaction with their peers along with adults outside the family is crucial if a child is going to mature with a suitably balanced personality along with a reasonable degree of social skills. These types of developmental concerns may very well be very easily overcome if for example your child resides within a region where by homeschooling parents are provided help and support in addition to the child receiving a home school education may be accepted into classes and extra-curricular activities.
The choice to keep a child out of the public education system is not one any parent would make lightly and just about any weighing up of the advantages and disadvantages will need to take under consideration the degree of help and support the state can provide. In spite of this, in the event the public school system continues to deteriorate, the quantity of children getting a home school education is likely to increase.
Source: Tammy Carter, hslda.org, homeschool.com, thestir.cafemom.com, questar.org
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2013 ORS § 757.600¹
Definitions for ORS 757.600 to 757.689
As used in ORS 757.600 (Definitions for ORS 757.600 to 757.689) to 757.689 (Recovery of costs of energy conservation measures in rates of electric company), unless the context requires otherwise:
(1) Aggregate means combining retail electricity consumers into a buying group for the purchase of electricity and related services.
(2) Ancillary services means services necessary or incidental to the transmission and delivery of electricity from generating facilities to retail electricity consumers, including but not limited to scheduling, load shaping, reactive power, voltage control and energy balancing services.
(3) Commission means the Public Utility Commission.
(4) Consumer-owned utility means a municipal electric utility, a peoples utility district or an electric cooperative.
(5) Default supplier means an electricity service supplier or electric company that has a legal obligation to provide electricity services to a consumer, as determined by the commission.
(6) Direct access means the ability of a retail electricity consumer to purchase electricity and certain ancillary services, as determined by the commission for an electric company or the governing body of a consumer-owned utility, directly from an entity other than the distribution utility.
(7) Direct service industrial consumer means an end user of electricity that obtains electricity directly from the transmission grid and not through a distribution utility.
(8) Distribution means the delivery of electricity to retail electricity consumers through a distribution system consisting of local area power poles, transformers, conductors, meters, substations and other equipment.
(9) Distribution utility means an electric utility that owns and operates a distribution system connecting the transmission grid to the retail electricity consumer.
(10) Economic utility investment means all electric company investments, including plants and equipment and contractual or other legal obligations, properly dedicated to generation or conservation, that were prudent at the time the obligations were assumed but the full benefits of which are no longer available to consumers as a direct result of ORS 757.600 (Definitions for ORS 757.600 to 757.689) to 757.667 (City authority over rights of way), absent transition credits. Economic utility investment does not include costs or expenses disallowed by the commission in a prudence review or other proceeding, to the extent of such disallowance, and does not include fines or penalties authorized and imposed under state or federal law.
(11) Electric company means an entity engaged in the business of distributing electricity to retail electricity consumers in this state, but does not include a consumer-owned utility.
(12) Electric cooperative means an electric cooperative corporation organized under ORS chapter 62 or under the laws of another state if the service territory of the electric cooperative includes a portion of this state.
(13) Electric utility means an electric company or consumer-owned utility that is engaged in the business of distributing electricity to retail electricity consumers in this state.
(14) Electricity means electric energy, measured in kilowatt-hours, or electric capacity, measured in kilowatts, or both.
(15) Electricity services means electricity distribution, transmission, generation or generation-related services.
(16) Electricity service supplier means a person or entity that offers to sell electricity services available pursuant to direct access to more than one retail electricity consumer. Electricity service supplier does not include an electric utility selling electricity to retail electricity consumers in its own service territory.
(17) Governing body means the board of directors or the commissioners of an electric cooperative or peoples utility district, or the council or board of a city with respect to a municipal electric utility.
(18) Load means the amount of electricity delivered to or required by a retail electricity consumer at a specific point of delivery.
(19) Low-income weatherization means repairs, weatherization and installation of energy efficient appliances and fixtures for low-income residences for the purpose of enhancing energy efficiency.
(20) Municipal electric utility means an electric distribution utility owned and operated by or on behalf of a city.
(21) New renewable energy resource means a renewable energy resource project, or a new addition to an existing renewable energy resource project, or the electricity produced by the project, that is not in operation on July 23, 1999. New renewable energy resource does not include any portion of a renewable energy resource project under contract to the Bonneville Power Administration on or before July 23, 1999.
(22) One average megawatt means 8,760,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.
(23) Peoples utility district has the meaning given that term in ORS 261.010 (Definitions).
(24) Portfolio access means the ability of a retail electricity consumer to choose from a set of product and pricing options for electricity determined by the governing board of a consumer-owned utility and may include product and pricing options offered by the utility or by an electricity service supplier.
(25) Power generation company means a company engaged in the production and sale of electricity to wholesale customers, including but not limited to independent power producers, affiliated generation companies, municipal and state authorities, provided the company is not regulated by the commission.
(26) Qualifying expenditures means those expenditures for energy conservation measures that have a simple payback period of not less than one year and not more than 10 years, and expenditures for the above-market costs of new renewable energy resources, provided that the State Department of Energy by rule may establish a limit on the maximum above-market cost for renewable energy that is allowed as a credit.
(27) Renewable energy resources means:
(a) Electricity generation facilities fueled by wind, waste, solar or geothermal power or by low-emission nontoxic biomass based on solid organic fuels from wood, forest and field residues.
(b) Dedicated energy crops available on a renewable basis.
(c) Landfill gas and digester gas.
(d) Hydroelectric facilities located outside protected areas as defined by federal law in effect on July 23, 1999.
(28) Residential electricity consumer means an electricity consumer who resides at a dwelling primarily used for residential purposes. Residential electricity consumer does not include retail electricity consumers in a dwelling typically used for residency periods of less than 30 days, including hotels, motels, camps, lodges and clubs. As used in this subsection, dwelling includes but is not limited to single family dwellings, separately metered apartments, adult foster homes, manufactured dwellings, recreational vehicles and floating homes.
(29) Retail electricity consumer means the end user of electricity for specific purposes such as heating, lighting or operating equipment, and includes all end users of electricity served through the distribution system of an electric utility on or after July 23, 1999, whether or not each end user purchases the electricity from the electric utility.
(30) Site means a single contiguous area of land containing buildings or other structures that are separated by not more than 1,000 feet, or buildings and related structures that are interconnected by facilities owned by a single retail electricity consumer and that are served through a single electric meter.
(31) Transition charge means a charge or fee that recovers all or a portion of an uneconomic utility investment.
(32) Transition credit means a credit that returns to consumers all or a portion of the benefits from an economic utility investment.
(33) Transmission facility means the plant and equipment used to transmit electricity in interstate commerce.
(34) Undue market power means the unfair or improper exercise of influence to increase or decrease the availability or price of a service or product in a manner inconsistent with competitive markets.
(35) Uneconomic utility investment means all electric company investments, including plants and equipment and contractual or other legal obligations, properly dedicated to generation, conservation and workforce commitments, that were prudent at the time the obligations were assumed but the full costs of which are no longer recoverable as a direct result of ORS 757.600 (Definitions for ORS 757.600 to 757.689) to 757.667 (City authority over rights of way), absent transition charges. Uneconomic utility investment does not include costs or expenses disallowed by the commission in a prudence review or other proceeding, to the extent of such disallowance, and does not include fines or penalties as authorized by state or federal law. [1999 c.865 §1; 2001 c.134 §8; 2003 c.186 §75]
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What treatment can be used to stop bleeding, due to a flare up from Crohn's Disease in a 14yr. old?
He is currently on, Omeprazole, Prednisone, Flagyl, 6MP, Pentasa, and iron tablets.
At the moment, he is having a bad flare up with, a lot of bloody diarrhea, his potassium level is very low, and he is lethargic as well. He also has a very poor appetite and when he eats he gets bad stomach pains. His doctor has mentioned the possibility of inserting a central line for a feeding tube.
We are Jehovah's Witnesses and so we of course do not allow for blood transfusions. His doctor today, mentioned the possibility of a blood transfusion and then remembering we were Jehovah's Witnesses, said to never mind and forget she said that ( Though of course we can't, knowing that she could very well have a transfusion in the back of her mind ).
Does anyone have any suggestions/therapies that could be used to successfully treat bleeding from crohn's disease?
Thanks, Caleb Nelson.
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The early weeks of pregnancy are fragile—and confusing. Here, the answers to your questions.
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You may have noticed something besides your belly growing during pregnancy: your breasts. In fact, it’s not uncommon for, ahem, the girls, to grow up to two cup sizes, especially if this is your first pregnancy. This new growth is a good sign that your breasts are getting ready, all by themselves, to provide milk for your baby after delivery. But, as an expectant mom, is there anything else you can do now to help get your breasts ready for nursing? Well, yes and no.
Here, your top five breast questions get expert answers.
A: Yes—but not until close to delivery. “I usually recommend waiting until the last month of pregnancy to use breast shells— plastic dome-shaped devices with a central opening that are worn over the nipples to help draw them out,” says pediatrician and breastfeeding expert Marianne Neifert, M.D., aka Dr. Mom, author of Great Expectations: The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding (Sterling). “Breast shells aren’t recommended earlier in pregnancy because stimulating the nipples can cause uterine contractions and possibly trigger preterm labor.” If you do opt to use breast shells, be sure to work with a lactation consultant.
Using a breast pump after your baby is born is also highly effective. “Pumping just before latching on the baby can help your nipples protrude and start your milk flowing,” she adds. Also, even if you have inverted or flat nipples now, they will become more erect as your baby draws them out while breastfeeding, Neifert explains.
A: Nope. Not only is it unnecessary, but, as mentioned above, doing so may trigger pre-term labor. Plus, as Neifert notes: “Nipple skin is not callus-forming tissue, so you can’t really toughen nipples; you might even damage the sensitive skin and make breastfeeding uncomfortable.” If you want to feel like you’re doing something to prepare, use ultra-pure medical grade lanolin on your nipples to keep the skin supple.
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Best Water Filters
Best Home Water Filters Available In the Market
Water is the source of all life but the sad truth is that not all water is clean. Having a water filter system installed in your home is very important as this could potentially save you and your family from any water borne diseases. However, finding the right water filter system can be daunting as there are a lot of water filter systems available in the market. It is also not a guarantee that buying bottled water is also safe in spite of how much it costs. Having your own water filter system at home does not only improve safe drinking water but it also keep you family safe.
The best water filter system usually cost a lot of money and that I can tell you honestly. A lot of people simply look down on them but the water pitcher filter happens to provide better filtering that most of the expensive water filters available in the market today. Check this out!
This water pitcher filter is best installed in apartments because they do not have the right to install permanent water filter system in the unit. This is also best for home owners who are not quite keen on installations because this is a simple filter and comes very handy. The only problem with this type of filter is that it requires frequent filter change. To learn more about water filters, you can visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_filter#Point-of-use_filters.
There are also faucet mounted filter systems and as the name implies, this filter system is connected directly to your tap which you are given the choice to use the tap directly of have it filtered before you even use it. Both homeowners and apartment dwellers that does not need to install or not keen in installing water filter choose to have these water filter system. This types of water filtering system is also great because they do not cost as much as the other water filter available in the market and they do not require professional to install it. Same as the other water filter system mentioned above, the down side is that you have to replace the filter often.
If you opt to have a water filter system that is installed under your sink, then these types of filtering system is more expensive but they do great in filtering your water. For apartment dwellers, these types of water filtration system are not suitable for them because it requires a lot of space for installation. For those homeowners who want to have these types of water filter system installed, they should also bear the cost and that it needs a professional to install the product. Go here if you want to learn more!
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