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The etree.org music community was created in the summer of 1998 to circulate high-quality live concert recordings. Etree.org members trade music electronically. Files are compressed using LosslessEncoding schemes to shorten transfers enough so that anyone with a broadband connection can participate. Our founding principles for circulating music are *((SoftwareYouNeed|Large Scale Electronic Distribution)) *((SeedingGuidelines|High Quality)) *TradeFriendly Only Etree.org owns nothing. It is not a corporation and there certainly are no corporate offices. All work is volunteer, and all servers are independently owned and operated. The common thread is a belief among its members that music which bands permit to be traded, ''should'' be freely traded. Not all music is available through etree.org. This biggest difference between etree.org and other online music sites is that '''Etree.org deals exclusively with legally tradeable music'''. We only deal with live recordings by artists that allow taping and/or free trading of their performances. The list of TradeFriendly bands grows daily. Trading music by artists who '''don't''' permit it could shut etree.org down faster than you can say Napster. For that reason, and more importantly out of respect to those who create this music for us, we prohibit people from using this community to exchange music unless the artist permits doing so. Breaking this rule will get you banished from our community -- we take this very seriously. This prohibition extends to almost all commercial recordings, live performances by non-taper/trader friendly bands, and even certain shows that taper/trader-friendly bands ask us to not trade (most often because the band has released it for sale to the public). The idea of trading high-quality audio files over the Internet was first discussed in 1996. It was initally dismissed due to the large file sizes involved in lossless compression, as opposed to much smaller, but lossy, .mp3 files. Enter etree.org and the advent of broadband. The community was formed as an offshoot of two highly regarded online trading communities: [http://sugarmegs.org Sugarmegs Audio] and [http://pcp.gridpoint.com/ People for a Clearer Phish]. Starting with 10 people, etree.org has enjoyed ever-increasing growth and popularity. As of early 2002, there were over 12,000 users and almost 300 independently-operated file (FTP) servers. ''Need to update numbers here'' Thanks to the hard work and dedication of everyone in our community, etree.org continues to set the standard in lossless digital audio distribution via the Internet! '''WANT TO HELP?''' Etree.org is run by a hardworking community of volunteers, and we enthusiastically welcome all help. People who 'work' on etree.org include FTP server operators, mailing list administrators, web site designers, ShnDatabase administrators and countless other people who record and seed music to the community. If you'd like to lend a hand, please read the [http://etree.org/faq_full.html FAQ], join our MailingLists or visit our [http://forums.etree.org forums] to see where you fit in. ''See also: EtreeOrgHonors''
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Cadernos de Saúde Pública
On-line version ISSN 1678-4464
Print version ISSN 0102-311X
ASSUNCAO, Paula Lisiane et al. Factors associated with preterm birth in Campina Grande, Paraíba State, Brazil: a case-control study. Cad. Saúde Pública [online]. 2012, vol.28, n.6, pp.1078-1090. ISSN 1678-4464. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2012000600007.
A case-control study (2008-2009) analyzed risk factors for preterm birth in the city of Campina Grande, Paraíba State, Brazil. A total of 341 preterm births and 424 controls were included. A multiple logistic regression model was used. Risk factors for preterm birth were: previous history of preterm birth (OR = 2.32; 95%CI: 1.25-4.29), maternal age (OR = 2.00; 95%CI: 1.00-4.03), inadequate prenatal care (OR = 2.15; 95%CI: 1.40-3.27), inadequate maternal weight gain (OR = 2.33; 95%CI: 1.45-3.75), maternal physical injury (OR = 2.10; 95%CI: 1.22-3.60), hypertension with eclampsia (OR = 17.08; 95%CI: 3.67-79.43) and without eclampsia (OR = 6.42; 95%CI: 3.50-11.76), hospitalization (OR = 5.64; 95%CI: 3.47-9.15), altered amniotic fluid volume (OR = 2.28; 95%CI: 1.32-3.95), vaginal bleeding (OR = 1.54; 95%CI: 1.01-2.34), and multiple gestation (OR = 22.65; 95%CI: 6.22-82.46). High and homogeneous prevalence of poverty and low maternal schooling among both cases and controls may have contributed to the fact that socioeconomic variables did not remain significantly associated with preterm birth.
Keywords : Premature Birth; Risk Factors; Socioeconomic Factors.
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Rabbi Nachman KahanaRabbi Nachman Kahana is an Orthodox Rabbinic Scholar, Rav of Chazon Yechezkel Synagogue – Young Israel of the Old City of Jerusalem, Founder and Director of the Center for Kohanim, and Author of the 14-volume “Mei Menuchot” series on Tosefot, “With All Your Might: The Torah of Eretz Yisrael in the Weekly Parashah”, as well as weekly parasha commentary available where he blogs at http://NachmanKahana.com
Starting with the "Three Weeks" we pounded the Hamas wing of Amalek from the air, from the ground and from the sea. The damage to their infrastructure and manpower is horrific, despite their demented, hallucinatory claims to the contrary.
When the leadership comes up from the tunnels in which they are hiding and see the devastation that has been wrought upon them by the "Yahud," in addition to the abject failure of their missiles, rockets and invasion tunnels to do more than minimal damage, their hate will increase, their insanity will grow exponentially, as they realize in their heart of hearts that the God of Israel is real, while their allah is buried deep in their illusions.
In this period, with special emphasis on the "Nine Days" (from the beginning of the month of Av to Tisha B’Av), we witnessed not just a rare historic phenomena, but a game changing one which could have been programmed only by Hashem.
The United States, the Security Council of the UN, and other champions of human rights were begging, beseeching, threatening etc., the Jewish state to stop pounding the goyim. History was turned on its head, for historically, this nine day period has been a devastating one for us.
But now we have arisen from the ravages of our 2000 year exile to return home to create a remarkable society. A society which is the envy of the enlightened world. A society which engulfs a multitude of opinions and philosophies so baffling to the stranger, yet we become like one heart and one man in fraternity, love and devotion in times of war and stress. From out of this society we have forged the most lethal and effective military machine for its size in the world. But also the most moral.
The gentile cannot unravel the age old puzzle called "the Jew". And here is where the hate begins. For contrary to the popular adage "If you can’t beat them - join them," when it comes to the Jews the goy believes "Since we cannot join them - let’s beat them". And in the final analysis every one of all the world’s infamous anti-Semites did not "join us" nor were they able to "beat us".
The haters of God’s chosen people are like the ocean waves, where each one rushes to inundate the land, and crashes down on arrival, but is followed by another wave which is certain that it will succeed in overwhelming the land, and it too crashes into the sands of time.
However we have a problem.
The establishment of the state was a giant step forward towards the final redemption of the Jewish nation. The miracles of the Six Day War and Yom Kippur War were further evidence that Hashem is now involved in returning His children home. However, it appears that we are in a period of semi-stagnation, where the previous fast forward movements have stalled.
Where are today’s Jews, the descendants of the millions who for 2000 years prayed daily for our return home?
The answer can be found in the history of the date on which I am writing these words - the 15th of Menachem Av.
The Mishna in Tractate Ta'anit states: "There were no happier days (yamim tovim) than Yom Kippur and the 15th of Av."
In Tractate Ta’anit of the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds our sages state that the reason Yom Kippur is a yom tov (holiday) is obvious, for on this day our sins are eradicated. However, they ask, what transpired on the 15th of Av to elevate it to the level of happiness of Yom Kippur?
The Gemara explains that on this day Hoshea ben Ela, King of the Northern tribes of Israel, rescinded the edict prohibiting the Jews of the northern tribes to go up to Yerushalayim.
In order to fully appreciate what this meant, we have to go back 300 years prior to the time of Hoshea ben Ela.
The arch-evil Yeravam ben Nevat incited the people of the northern tribes to secede from the union that had begun with King Saul, followed by King David, King Solomon and the then king Rechav’am, son of King Solomon.
In order to complete the secession, Yeravam began interpreting the Torah to suit his purposes, thereby creating the first reform movement; however, the formal act of secession was accomplished by closing the roads to Yerushalayim. Yeravam created two substitute spiritual centers, in Bet El and Dan in the north, knowing that as long as the connection to Yerushalayim existed, his breakaway nation would not endure. Yeravam imposed a harsh prohibition on going to Yerushalayim, and placed police along the entire border. This situation continued for over 300 years, during which time the Jews of the north were severed from Yerushalayim and the Holy Temple.
Upon ascending the throne, Hoshea ben Ela withdrew the border guards and opened the way to Yerushalayim-- and this happened on the 15th of Av. Indeed, this was a day to parallel Yom Kippur, for now the Jews would be able to bring offerings in the Temple, the Mikdash, and achieve atonement for their sins.
After this explanation in the Talmud, Rav Kahana asks: If Hoshea ben Ela was such a great man, how did Hashem permit the Assyrians to invade the northern tribes in his time and exile all the northern Jews? The Talmud answers that Hoshea ben Ela opened the way to Yerushalayim - BUT NO ONE CAME. The people were punished for not renewing their covenant with the Holy City, and Hoshea ben Ela was punished because he did not use his authority to coerce his subjects to do so.
The Gemara explains that in the 300 years when pilgrimage to the Holy City was prohibited by the various kings, the heavenly court could not accuse the people of the north of neglecting their responsibilities to Yerushalayim. However, now that the King opened the way, the people no longer had an excuse for not going. It was as if Hashem was saying, "You did not come to My house, so I will eject you from your houses."
Many societies establish specific days for paying homage to outstanding events or people. There is Fathers’ Day, Mothers’ Day, Presidents’ Day, etc. I would humbly suggest adding one more such day, to be called "Rabbis’ Day."
It would be a time when congregations could express their gratitude to their dedicated, hardworking rabbis and rebbetzins, and for convening of conventions to discuss issues of mutual interest for the advancement of their rabbinic duties.
I even have a date for this annual event - the above mentioned Tu B’Av (15th of Av).
My reason for choosing this date is as follows:
In Jewish life, the number 15 is ionic in nature (a term used to describe a radical atom or molecule which aspires for stability by attaching itself to another radical atom or molecule). For the number 15 seeks to connect to another 15, in order to achieve stability.
Within the Holy Temple, there were 15 steps leading up from the Ezrat Nashim (the Women’s Court) to the area called Ezrat Yisrael (the Court of Israel), where the sacrificial rites commenced. On the holiday of Succot, during the simchat bet hashoeva ceremony, the Levites stood on these 15 steps and sang the 15 chapters of Tehillim, Psalms, each one beginning with the words Shir Ha’ma’alot -- "the song of the steps (ascent)."
Pesach falls out on the 15th of Nisan and matches with Succot, exactly six months later on the 15th of Tishrei.
The 15th of Shvat (tu b’shvat), yom hadin (day of judgment) for the trees of the world (which will thrive, and which will fall) matches six months later with the 15th of Menachem Av which marks the final day of the year when firewood could be collected for the altar. The 15th of Shvat is a day in the period between the first of Shvat until the 7th of Adar, which was the time when Moshe (Moses), our rabbi and leader, voiced his farewell address to the people. And since every rabbi after Moshe Rabbeinu should see himself as continuing Moshe’s life’s work, it would be appropriate to dedicate the 15th of Av as Rabbis’ Day, which fall exactly 6 months after the 15th of Shvat.
Moreover, this day is most appropriate for the rabbis in the various galuyot exiles, to declare Rabbis’ Day, because they continue in the tradition of Hoshea ben Ela by not utilizing their authority and influence on their congregations to leave the exile and return home.
When was the last time your rabbi stood at the pulpit and banged his fist on the lectern demanding that the congregation "all go up to Zion. Now?"
Peel Away Our World and You Will Find Its Soul
The Torah declares that the land of Eretz Yisrael is kadosh -– sanctified. What is the kedusha of Eretz Yisrael?
Kedusha is defined as that which is "close" to Hashem, not in spacial terms but in essence. So how close is the Land of Israel to Hashem?
Our parsha provides the answer, hidden away in an "innocent" verse, as are all secrets pertaining to the spiritual world - Devarim 8,8:
"A land of wheat and barley and vine and figs and pomegranate; a land of oil olive and honey dates."
The Talmud (Eruvin 4:a) states that each species mentioned in this verse comes to teach a specific halakha.
"Wheat" serves to teach that one who enters a house which was struck with a nega (blemish) is immediately rendered tamei (impure), but the clothing he wears becomes tamei only if he lingers there for the duration of the measure of time it takes to eat the volume equal to three eggs of bread made of wheat.
"Barley" teaches that a bone from a corpse of a Jew makes one who touches it tamei if the bone is at least the size of a grain of barley.
"Wine" teaches that the volume of wine which renders a nazir (one who has taken a Nazarite vow) liable is a revi’it (86 grams).
"Fig" is the volume of food which makes a person liable for punishment if he carries it from the private domain to the public one, and vice versa, on Shabbat.
"Pomegranate" teaches that a vessel which has a hole in it large enough for a pomegranate to pass through is no longer considered a "vessel" in terms of the laws of tuma and tahara.
"Zayit" (olive) is the standard size for which eating most prohibited foods becomes a punishable act.
"Honey Date" is the volume of food which renders one punishable for eating on Yom Kippur.
One cannot overestimate the significance of this verse and what is deduced from it.
Let me explain.
Rashi and Tosafot commentaries explain and expound upon the Talmud.
The Talmud explains and expounds the Mishna.
The Mishna explains and expounds the Written Torah.
But unlike the beliefs of most people, the Torah is not the ultimate stop, for it too comes to explain and expound a hidden entity. The written Torah is the instruction manual of how to live in and "use" Eretz Yisrael.
And Eretz Yisrael itself, through its topography and flora and fauna, comes to reveal the hidden secrets of Gan Eden.
Harav Chaim of Volozhin, disciple of the Vilna Gaon, authored a classic work on the relation between body and soul, called "Nefesh Ha’Chaim." Among other things, this sefer tells us that the totality of creation can be likened to a many-layered object, like a head of cabbage or an onion, which can be peeled away layer by layer.
In God’s creation, each inner world serves as the neshama of the one more external to it. Peel away our world and you will find its soul; peel that one away and you will finds its soul, and so it goes until we reach the ultimate neshama of all things -- Hashem.
The Talmud is the neshama (soul) or the giver of life for the Rashi and Tosafot commentaries.
The Mishna is the neshama of the Talmud. The Torah is the neshama of the Mishna. Eretz Yisrael is the neshama of the written Torah, and Gan Eden is what gives life and reality to Eretz Yisrael.
We were given the Land of Eretz Yisrael, but we need the Torah to explain how we must live and work the Land. The laws of the Sabbatical year; and in the other years, how to plow, how to plant, how to give the tithes, etc. So it continues with every verse in the Torah: the Land and the Halakha. For the Land is the neshama and the Torah as appears in our world is its body, its Rashi and Tosefot.
That is what the great Ramban referred to when he wrote in his commentary to Vayikra 18:25:
One is required to keep the mitzvot even in the exile, such as tefilin and mezuza, so that the mitzvot will not be forgotten when we return to Eretz Yisrael; because the mizvot were given essentially for those who reside in Eretz Yisrael. It is for this reason that our rabbis stated (Sifrei Devarim chapter 80) that to reside in Eretz Yisrael is equal to all the other mitzvot of the Torah.
In the blessing before learning Torah we recite:
Blessed... who has chosen us above all the nations and has given us His Torah
Hashem prepared us for nationhood by promising Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel, to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov for the future Jewish people, because the major condition for nationality is a specific land area which defines the nation. And as stated in the blessing, only after choosing the Jewish people were we given the Torah.
One who studies or teaches Torah outside the Land is compared to one who reads the instructions for an appliance without having it, or learning Rashi and Tosefot without knowing the Talmud, or reading the commentary of the great Ha’Ari Hakadosh of Tzfat without ever seeing the Zohar.
As I stated above, Eretz Yisrael is the commentary and explanation of the more internal Gan Eden, which is closer to Hashem.
This is what Ibn Ezra meant when he wrote in his commentary to the verse in B’reshiet 33:19, which informs us that Ya’akov Avinu purchased land near the city of Shechem:
The Torah records (the purchase) in order to inform us of the virtue of Eretz Yisrael, that whoever owns a part of it is considered to own a part of the next world.
Were we able to decipher the external topography of the Land, we would have an understanding of the heavenly Gan Eden. An example of this is the startling fact that seen from a plane or a good topographic map, the hills and valleys near the city of Bet El, north of Yerushalayim, form the four letters of Hashem’s name, Yud - Hei- Vav - Hei
The Jews who are now protecting Eretz Yisrael by battling the present-day Amalek, are fulfilling all the mitzvot of the Torah. And those who give their lives for the people in the Land ascend to a place of glory in the neshama of Eretz Yisrael.
Let us all pray for peace in Eretz Yisrael; for the awakening of our religious leaders in the galut to the centrality of Eretz Yisrael in Hashem’s world. Let us pray that these religious leaders should be blessed with at least one percent of the courage of our sons and brothers in Tzahal, and lead their followers home to the land called by King David (Psalms 142:6) when he had to flee Eretz Yisrael:
I cried out to you Hashem my protector to return me to the Land of Life (Eretz Yisrael).
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Based on a true story, this is the love affair between a Lithuanian genius and the woman and the country he adored. Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis was born into a Lithuanian peasant family in 1875. Despite his lowly origins he soon revealed himself to be a child prodigy able to both paint and compose music of startling and often frightening intensity. Soon after he was struck down by a mysterious mental illness, which would plague him for the rest of his life. During his short lifetime, Ciurlionis produced over 300 paintings and 300 musical compositions. Supporting him throughout his short and painful life was his beloved wife, Sofija Kymantaite, a journalist and political activist.
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This case involved judicial review of conditions in Salmon Farm licences on the Pacific Coast that allowed the transfer of diseased smolts from hatcheries to fish farms if, amongst other things, the fish farm’s veterinarian deems the transfer to be of low risk. After a lengthy analysis, the court granted an order declaring that the impugned licence conditions were of no force and effect on the grounds that:
(1) They were inconsistent with the regulatory pre-conditions imposed on the Minister of Fisheries by s. 56 of the Fishery (General) Regulations and the precautionery principle; and
(2) There was an improper subdelegation of the Minister’s authority becase (a) it conferred unlimited discrition upon the sub-delagate without any standards or criteria for the exercise of discritions and (b) the Minister did not retain supervisory control.
After an interesting analysis of the use of conditions in licences by the Minster, the Court concluded by noting that since the scope of regulation is constrained by its enabling legislation, "so too are licences".
Editor’s note: Since many charges under the federal Fisheries Act are for breaches of license conditions, as opposed to breaches of regulations, this case could be useful in defending fisheries prosecutions.
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Gulf War And Health: Volume 5: Infectious Diseases
by Institute of Medicine /
2007 / English / PDF
1.7 MB Download
Infectious diseases have been a problem for military personnel throughout history. The consequences in previous conflicts have ranged from frequent illnesses disrupting daily activities and readiness to widespread deaths. Preventive measures, early diagnosis, and treatment greatly limit the exposures and acute illnesses of troops today in comparison with those in armies of the past, but infections and consequent acute illnesses still occur. Thousands of US veterans of the Persian Gulf War have reported an array of unexplained illnesses since the war ended in 1991. Many veterans have believed that the illnesses were associated with their military service in southwest Asia during the war. This volume of Gulf War and Health evaluates the scientific literature on chemical, biologic, and physical agents to which military personnel in the gulf were potentially exposed and possible long-term adverse health outcomes.
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Colorado Senate Bill 13-013, working its way through the state legislature would give the United States Secret Service “Peace Officer” authority in the state. More than being a solution in search of a problem, this bill is a terrible intrusion of Federal power into local law enforcement by an agency with expanding powers and a track record of abusing free speech rights of Americans. This bill will come before the Colorado house this week prior to a final stop for the Governor’s signature. The Republican Liberty Caucus of Colorado urges you to contact your state representative and tell them to vote “NO on SB-13”.
You may envision the Secret Service as the guys in black suits ready to take a bullet for the President. In Fact, the Secret Service employs approximately 3,200 special agents, 1,300 Uniformed Division officers, and more than 2,000 other technical, professional and administrative support personnel.
In a post 9/11 world there is much more to the agency than serving as presidential body guards. In fact expanding the use of “peace officer” authority in various states is part of an organized effort to give the Secret Service another tool in the kit of powers used to restrict the voice of peaceful protest near the President, foreign visitors and major national events.
The Secret Service has too much power over citizens already! Beginning in 2002 the Secret Service has been used to limit protest speech to which federal and foreign officials are subject. The agency repeatedly directed local law enforcement to place protesters opposed to administration policies out of sight and away from cameras and press, while those supporting the President or neutral, are placed in prime locations. This practice continued at the Republican and Democratic National conventions of 2008 and 2012.
This is a basic first amendment violation. “The Secret Service’s directives, which have the effect of deciding which messages are to be afforded favorable treatment, are completely at odds with our Constitution’s guarantees of free speech and rights of protest,” ACLU Legal Director Stefan Presser said.
The Patriot Act of 2006 again expanded the powers of the Secret Service by creating, for the first time, a Uniformed Service division, essentially a uniformed federal police. The act also allows the president in his sole discretion to designate an event as “a special event of national significance” and deploy the Secret Service to oversee security at the event and its perimeter.
In response to large scale protests at federal facilities by Tea Party and Occupy groups, even more power was granted the Secret Service in 2011 with the passage of the “Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act.” The law, signed by President Obama, expands an existing statute by making your presence around these areas a criminal act even if you are not “willfully” committing a crime!
Couple this track record of legislation with a recent Supreme court decision granting immunity from civil litigation to the Secret Service and the potential for abuses is obvious. The case originated in Colorado when a man in at a mall in Beaver Creek touched the Vice President and uttered some unkind words about the war in Iraq. He was subsequently arrested. His lawsuit was dismissed by the court and immunity from such suits now shields the agency.
Who would want to grant this agency additional powers in Colorado? There can be no doubt that this bill came from outside! It is part a similar push in other states, most recently in Connecticut. In that state some most Republicans and a few Democrats questioned the bills intent:
“We cannot just assume that everything is going to be OK because they are highly skilled and highly trained,” Connecticut Republican Rep Sean Williams said. “We don’t know the reason why we are doing this bill. We don’t know what problem we are solving.”
Lets hope Colorado Republicans are willing to demand answers to the same questions and vote “NO” on Senate Bill 13. Contact your Rep and tell them you want a NO vote.
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In a close contest, polling data interpreted by AP-Yahoo News suggest that Barack Obama could lose because of racial prejudice.
"There are a lot fewer bigots than there were 50 years ago, but that doesn't mean there's only a few bigots," said Stanford political scientist Paul Sniderman who helped analyze the survey.
The poll suggests that Obama's support would be as much as 6 percentage higher if there were not white racial prejudice.
Most blacks won't be surprised by the poll. Obama could wash the feet of lepers and some whites, like John Clouse, 57, who was quoted in the AP story, would still not vote for him. "We still don't like black people," Clouse told an AP reporter.
What's interesting is that Obama really isn't a black man. His mother was white. Apparently, no matter how often he talks about his white mother and white relatives, some whites aren't willing to look past his brown skin.
The number of whites who won't vote for Obama simply because he is black is probably a lot higher than the poll suggests because people have a difficult time owning up to their biases.
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Story Telling in Reception
National Story Telling Week
This week is National Story Telling week and in Reception we decided to have a go at telling our own stories. As a class we talked about characters, setting and story plots and discussed some super ideas with our talk partners. We then had a go at drawing our own story maps to help us tell our stories to the class. Miss Pope made a stage in the classroom and we shared some of our stories using our friends to act out the story.
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Somalia’s largest militant Islamic organization rose to power in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Siad Barre regime. Its aims to establish an Islamic regime in Somalia and force the secession of the Ogaden region of Ethiopia have largely been abandoned. Some elements associated with AIAI maintain ties to al-Qaida.
The group is believed to be responsible for a series of bomb attacks in public places in Addis Ababa in 1996 and 1997 as well as the kidnapping of several relief workers in 1998. AIAI sponsors Islamic social programs, such as orphanages and schools, and provides pockets of security in Somalia.
Estimated membership is roughly 2,000 persons, of which a small percentage is considered militant. During the 1990s, AIAI sustained significant losses at the hands of the Ethiopian military, from which the group never fully recovered. Members now operate in small cells or groups.
Location/Area of Operation
Primarily in Somalia, with limited presence in Ethiopia and Kenya.
Receives funds from Middle East financiers and Western diaspora remittances and suspected of receiving training in Afghanistan in the past. Past weapons deliveries via Sudan and Eritrea.
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(PRWEB) October 15, 2013
Penrickton Center for Blind Children offers their thanks to the Omidi brothers and Civic Duty for supporting the Active Learning Conference. The two day event in early November will instruct parents, caregivers and educators how to employ Active Learning techniques with special needs children.
“We are extremely pleased by the Omidi brothers’ support of this conference, which we expect to be both exciting and enlightening,” says Kurt Sebaly, Executive Director of the Penrickton Center. “Given the opportunity and the right circumstances, all children can learn. This conference will demonstrate to teachers, caregivers, and parents alike that all children can be empowered to live full lives.”
Blind children with multiple impairments often become passive, waiting for adults to initiate learning. Active Learning techniques are focused on creating a diverse learning space that encourages children to become “active learners.” The Penrickton Center for Blind Children has used the Active Learning approach and curriculum for more than 20 years and the conference will feature lectures and demonstrations by the Center’s Assistant Director, Patricia Obrzut, M.S., O.T.R/L.
The Penrickton Center Active Learning Conference will be held at:
The Holiday Inn in Southgate, Michigan
November 5-6, 2013
For registration information, is available at: http://www.penrickton.com/events.
The Active Learning philosophy was created 40 years ago by Danish psychologist Dr. Lilli Nielsen. She is the author of numerous books and papers and the inventor of such Active Learning aides as the Little Room, Support Bench, and HOPSA-dress. The two-day conference will discuss Active Learning techniques that employ play and activity as tools for developing critical motor skills, spatial relations, social comfort, and basic life skills. Active Learning equipment and materials will be on display throughout this conference.
Penrickton Center for Blind Children (http://www.penrickton.com) is a non-profit agency providing five-day residential, day care, and consultation/evaluation services to blind, multi-disabled children ages one through twelve. Penrickton programs are especially designed to provide developmentally-compromised children the ability to cope with independent living. It serves not only the blind, but also children with cerebral palsy, brain damage, deafness, developmental delay, and epilepsy. Penrickton Center uses occupational therapy, active learning, music/dance/movement therapy, and developmental programming to support child and family development.
Civic Duty (http://www.civicduty.org) is dedicated to mankind’s search for meaning and promotes the values of its founders, philanthropists Julian Omidi and his brother Dr. Michael Omidi. The organization’s mission is to inspire creative outreach, community service, and volunteerism through the stories of every-day people who are making an extraordinary difference in the world. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow men.” To get involved and help make a difference, send us a message using the website’s Contact Us function. More information about Civic Duty can be found on Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and Twitter.
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The Food and Drug Administration is poised to announce a virtual ban of alcoholic energy drinks on Wednesday, even as a leading manufacturer is pulling its products off the market.
The FDA is expected to say that caffeine is an unsafe food additive to alcoholic drinks, a move that would effectively ban them from sale. College students have been hospitalized after drinking the beverages, including the popular Four Loko, and four states have banned the drinks.
Phusion Projects, which manufactures Four Loko, announced late Tuesday that it would reformulate its drinks, removing caffeine. While there is little known medical evidence that the drinks are less safe than other alcoholic drinks, public health advocates say they can make people feel more alert and able to handle risky tasks like driving.
The company's statement said it was removing caffeine from the drinks after unsuccessfully trying to deal with "a difficult and politically-charged regulatory environment at both the state and federal levels."
"We have repeatedly contended -- and still believe, as do many people throughout the country -- that the combination of alcohol and caffeine is safe," said Chris Hunter, Jeff Wright and Jaisen Freeman, who identify themselves as Phusion's three co-founders and current managing partners.
The statement did not mention several recent incidents in which college students were hospitalized after drinking the beverage. In response to such incidents, four states -- Washington, Michigan, Utah and Oklahoma -- have banned the beverages. Other states are considering similar action.
Four Loko comes in several varieties, including fruit punch and blue raspberry. A 23.5-ounce can sells for about $2.50 and has an alcohol content of 12 percent, comparable to four beers, according to the company's website.
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Charged up by what I know about batteries
When Benjamin Franklin needed a name for his device for storing electricity, he borrowed a military term.
So far, the most interesting etymological factoid of my week is that the one who first called a device for storing electricity a battery was none other than the American statesman and scientist Benjamin Franklin.
But factoid may not be the right word here. Norman Mailer is widely credited with having coined it to mean “a piece of information that becomes accepted as a fact even though it’s not actually true, or an invented fact believed to be true because it appears in print,” as Time magazine explained a couple of years ago. Later, the CNN Headline News TV channel appropriated factoid to mean “a brief, somewhat interesting fact,” a usage some authorities have come to accept, albeit not without a sniff of regret.
Some point out that the -oid suffix indicates that which resembles a thing but is not that thing: A humanoid is not a human. One alternative is factlet. But that’s a lot of consonants piled up together. English-speakers aren’t like Russians, for instance, chewing through sounds like so much black bread. Is there another term? Factette? Factino? Factillo? The Romance languages are better at this kind of thing. But I digress.
Back to battery: Franklin’s “electrical battery” was a handsome wooden box, somewhat bigger than today’s plastic milk crates, containing a collection of Leyden jars. A Leyden jar, an early capacitor, “stores” static electricity between two electrodes on the inside and outside of a glass jar.
It appears that two different people came up with the idea about 1745: a German cleric named Ewald Georg von Kleist, off in a remote corner of Prussia, now part of Poland, and a Dutch scientist named Pieter van Musschenbroek, of Leiden, then commonly spelled Leyden. There’s a reason we call these things Leyden jars, and not, say, Kleist-Musschenbroek jars. Franklin and others used them in some of the important early experiments with electricity, and they are still used today to teach electrostatics.
When Franklin called his collection of jars a “battery,” he drew on a military metaphor: Battery was a term for weapons functioning together.
The Online Etymology Dictionary notes that battery came into English in the 1530s meaning the “action of battering.” The dictionary continues: “Meaning shifted in Middle French from ‘bombardment’ (‘heavy blows’ upon city walls or fortresses) to ‘unit of artillery’ (a sense recorded in English from 1550s).” The word that originally referred to the action came to mean the thing that produced
The dictionary dates Franklin’s appropriation of battery to the field of electricity to 1748 and speculates that it comes “perhaps from the artillery sense via notion of ‘discharges’ of electricity.”
Franklin was as inventive with words as he was with things. And his useful adaptation of a military term to the field of electricity is another example of how words left lying around the vocabulary workshop get picked up and pressed into service to meet new needs.
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B vitamins slow progression of Alzheimer’s: Study
It was an advertisement for Activate vitamin drinks. aWe just launched a marketing campaign to stop vitamin cruelty,a said Kaska Komosinski , Activateas New York marketing manager, without a hint of irony. aVitamins deteriorate when added to water, and we want to make sure they donat get wasted.a (Click through slideshow to the right to see a demo of the Activate product.) The companyas website cites aproprietary researcha that shows vitamins A, B5, B12, and C alose their potency sitting in water.a In a way it strikes me as kind of brilliant. The girls playing the role of protesters seemed genuinely worked up, shouting with an intensity Iad never seen before in a marketing campaign, aStop vitamin cruelty!a The reason the protest model is so perfect for a marketing campaign is because protests come with a long history of anger and injustice, of movements we support, and movements we despise. No matter what I was saw when I arrived at the scene, the shouts of protest, the sight of young people exercising their right to assemble, set the stage for me to have an emotional, memorable responseaeither for or against. So when I first came through the crowd and saw the scantily clad girls I briefly thought it might be a PG version of a fur protest, the only other protests Iave ever seen that revealed so much skin. By the time I realized it was a marketing campaign I felt tricked, and a little uneasy about using the constitutional right to protest as a way to tell me about the fruit punch, blueberry, and pomegranate flavored vitamins that release into the water when I twist the bottlecap.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/how-to/marketing/2013/07/activate-vitamins-protest-style-campaign.html
The new findings came from a reanalysis of data originally collected in 2010 from 271 older adults suffering from mild cognitive impairment, a form of memory loss considered a potential precursor to Alzheimer’s disease. Although the brain naturally shrinks as we get older (about 0.5 percent per year), in people with mild cognitive impairment this shrinkage takes place twice as fast as usual. In Alzheimer’s patients, shrinkage takes place four times as fast as usual. The researchers assigned participants to take either a placebo pill or a high daily dose of three B vitamins – folic acid (0.8 mg), vitamin B6 (20 mg) and vitamin B12 (0.5 mg) – over the course of two years. They found that memory loss halted in those who took the B vitamins, but not in those who took the placebo. The vitamins also slowed brain shrinkage by 50 percent compared to the placebo, but only in patients with higher-than-normal blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.naturalnews.com/040787_B_vitamins_Alzheimers_dementia.html
Get your vitamins from your plate!
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For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/get-your-vitamins-from-your-plate-1.1569505
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As the world’s leader in wetlands and waterfowl conservation, Ducks Unlimited is drawing attention to this month’s milestone 9th Annual World Water Day. World Water Day is held annually on March 22 to focus attention on the importance of fresh water and to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. This year’s theme is Water and Food Security.
“Water is our greatest natural resource,” said DU CEO Dale Hall. “Unfortunately, it is often the one most taken for granted. Recognizing the importance of water to all of us is a critical first step in guaranteeing sufficient water quality and quantity around the world.”
Freshwater supplies are already a limited resource in some places, as Texans dealing with water restrictions following last year’s record drought can attest. As the world population grows from the current 7 billion to a projected 9 billion by 2050, water resources will be further strained. Conservation and restoration of wetland habitats will continue to be keys to ensuring a sufficient and usable water supply for future generations of people and wildlife.
“In addition to tremendous recreational and wildlife values, wetlands provide crucial ecological functions such as storm surge protection, flood water absorption, groundwater recharge, aquifer replenishment and water filtration,” Hall said. “Ducks Unlimited conserves these vital habitats for waterfowl, but the broader benefits of wetlands conservation to society should not be overlooked.”
Wetlands help recharge the underground aquifers that store 97 percent of the world’s unfrozen fresh water. Many Americans rely on groundwater for their drinking water, and with 17 percent of the world’s croplands being irrigated heavy demand exists for uses beyond potable water. This makes the groundwater recharge ability of wetlands especially valuable. As an example, a 550,000-acre swamp in Florida has been valued at $25 million per year for its role in storing water and recharging the local aquifer.
Texas Mid-Coast rice producers can vouch for the importance of water availability. With the Lower Colorado River Authority’s decision not to release water from the Highland Lakes for rice crops this year, the $374.3-million industry in three of Texas’ poorest counties is feeling the strain of insufficient water supplies to meet all stakeholder needs.
As important as the water quantity functions of wetlands are, their role in improving and protecting water quality is equally vital. Plants and soils in wetlands play a significant role in purifying water, removing high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus and, in some cases, toxic chemicals. As Texas increases water re-use to help address its water shortages, the filtration and cleaning functions naturally provided by wetlands will be even more important.
“Ducks Unlimited is committed to conserving wetland habitats for future generations of waterfowl and people,” Hall said. “We’re celebrating 75 years of conservation accomplishments this year, and we intend to continue delivering our mission of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.”
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Foods that keep you warm
The temperature seems to be dropping everyday as we approach winters. You can bundle up heavy sweaters and sit by a fire, but if you really want to stay warm this winter, start with the foods you are eating.
You probably already crave hot meals during the winter months due to their warming powers, but if you pick warm foods and beverages as well as those that can also raise your body temperature, then you’ll have a double defense to the cold this winter.
Herbal tea is a great antioxidant and helps in relaxation. It improves immunity and flushes down your system if you have a cold. Green tea is powerful to fight infection. Soups are also a great warming food item. It’s a good idea to get some raw foods and have them in the afternoon when your body is at its warmest. In the evening, a hearty soup or stew with lots of well-cooked root vegetables and spices will warm you up right to your frozen toes. Lamb and chicken foot soups are
also great to have to keep yourself warm.
You can also add a lot of garlic. It is not only effective as a cholesterol-lowering agent, but also as a warming food. Winter is a bad time for people with bronchitis and asthma, so just add some fresh garlic to your soup and enjoy it.
Widely used as a herbal remedy for a number of conditions, including those involving the digestive tract, headaches and nausea – the pungent principles of ginger also have thermogenic properties that can keep you warm.
Ashish Massey, corporate chef of Aanch, Rajouri Garden, says, “We serve sarso ka saag and makki ki roti which are warm food items. Gajar ka halwa is also a warm food item. One should also add a lot of palak to keep themselves warm.”
Peanuts and walnuts are also helpful in keeping you warm during winters. One should have more oranges and apples as they are high in fibre and a source of vitamin C. One should also eat more meat during winter. Red meat contains iron that triggers the thyroid hormone to stimulate heat production.
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It is difficult to predict which of all the emerging technologies will prevail in the future. First, because many of them are complementary to or a consequence of other existing technologies and, second, their rapid evolution. The only thing that can be said is where things seem to be going at the moment and some business opportunities around them.
1. 5G and total connectivity
Essential to undertake the transformation of Industry 4.0. as well as for the evolution of emerging technologies, such as Virtual and Augmented Reality or the IoT of intelligent cities. None of this makes much sense without the massive implementation of the fifth generation of wireless communication technologies and standards. The new mobile technology will expand bandwidth by increasing the speed of connections and exponentially multiplying the number of connected devices.
Another of its advantages is that it will reduce latency to a minimum, which is essential for an optimal connection and for the machine to respond almost in real-time from when you issue an order remotely until it is carried out.
As the total connection increases, cybersecurity solutions will gain weight. Here we are not talking about a trend but about a real growing need, which is why, at the moment, it represents one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, given that it is one of the natural consequences of digitization.
3. Artificial intelligence
Also very transversal and applicable, practically, to all industries. In reality, more companies talk about introducing artificial intelligence in their solutions than those developing it. There are honourable exceptions, such as IBM, Pay Thunder, or Sherpa Ai, that, at the same time that they investigate in this field, enable the necessary security measures in terms of data or compliance with the protocols of all regulated industries.
But the reality is that its implementation in Spanish SMEs continues below. However, according to the consulting firm Gartner, in 2025, the use of AI will be widespread, leading to technological investment by companies.
4. The data centres
For technologies such as Artificial Intelligence or Big Data to develop in all their splendour, data and its storage are, of course, necessary. The more these are fed into the machines, the more their intelligence grows. So, to the same extent that technology in the cloud or 5G, among others, advances, the need for Data Centres is increasing as the necessary infrastructure to host all the information poured. The problem is the high energy consumption involved in the maintenance of these centres and their location in places far from the production centres, which hinders latency.
This is how the success of solutions such as Summer is understood, where they advocate for smaller and closer data centres and, in addition, with a new immersion cooling system for equipment that is much cheaper, more sustainable, and more efficient. They also allow companies to have their turnkey solution for a fully integrated plug-and-play data centre.
5. El cloud computing
The pandemic and remote work encouraged many companies to increase spending on the cloud to host all digital content in it instead of having it scattered across different servers and devices. Forecasts suggest that this trend will continue to rise in any sector, even considering the return to work in the office. For the consulting firm Gartner, the big boost will come from the distributed cloud, that is, the distribution of public cloud services in different physical locations, also following the path that the data centres referred to above are taking.
6. Goodbye to the keyboard, welcome to the voice
It is already becoming a reality. We type less and less and talk more about the success of virtual assistants, chatbots, smart speakers, or voice identification systems, among others. Some say that the voice revolution, voice tech, has only just begun with expectations that funds allocated to the voice business will triple by 2025.
7. Invisible payments
The world of fintech says goodbye to money, at least the one that is touched. Today it isn’t easy to find a young man with 5 euros in his wallet. They opt for electronic payment via mobile. Solutions as successful as Stripe or the new model of physical stores created by Amazon have found their business opportunity in this trend.
8. All monitored
The behaviour of the elderly who reside at home, the irrigation of the crops, the evolution of a patient, the factory’s productivity, the performance of a soccer player… today, practically everything can be monitored in real-time and by remote control. Several technologies facilitate monitoring, from installing sensors within the IoT to cameras, Bluetooth, or the cloud.
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The end of analog transmission via satellite
On 30 April 2012 all television broadcasters in Germany ceased analog transmission via satellite ASTRA 19.2°E. Since then all programs transmitted by satellite are only available in digital form.
If you are using an analog receiver and are seeing the following German-language notice: “Liebe Zuschauerinnen und Zuschauer! Seit dem 30. April übertragen die deutschen Fernsehsender ihre Programme über ASTRA Satellit nur noch digital. Mit Ihrem analogen Satelliten-Receiver können Sie die Sender nicht mehr empfangen. …“, then you'll need to change to digital reception.
To receive digital broadcasting, you'll need either a digital-ready receiver (known as a set-top box) or a TV with an integrated DVB-S receiver (IDTV) and a universal LNB in the center of the satellite dish. Analog programs were broadcast using the so-called low band range (10.7-11.75 GHz), and older LNBs (12+ years) can only receive signals from that frequency band. Digital programs are primarily transmitted on the high-band range (11.8 - 12.75 GHz). For this reason a universal LNB capable of receiving both frequency bands is required to receive digital programming.
If you want to receive HDTV programming you'll also need a corresponding HDTV-compatible satellite receiver. Newer televisions with integrated DVB-S receivers are typically already HDTV-compatible.
klardigital 2012 is an initiative of the Federal State Media Authorities in cooperation with ARD, Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, VPRT and ZDF.
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Volume 48, Issue 3- March 2013
As building information modeling (BIM) technology develops and matures, more members of the construction industry are adopting it. According to an October 2012 McGraw-Hill Construction SmartMarket Report, industry-wide adoption of BIM surged from 28 percent in 2007 to 49 percent in 2009 to 71 percent in 2012. For the first time in its usage history, the number of contractors using BIM—74 percent—surpassed the number of architects—67 percent—using the software, the report states.
Given the rapidly increasing usage of BIM, major glass and glazing companies are investigating the best way to incorporate glass color and performance utilizing BIM technology. Despite the increasingly wide use of the software in the architectural and engineering industry, BIM content for manufactured glass is typically only available for standard glass makeups, and accurate color rendering for the glass may still be only guessed at by the user.
It would be beneficial for glass and glazing companies to create BIM content that represents that extra level of detail. Recent software programs offer the ability to render accurately and also provide thermal and structural properties. This allows users to create content that benefits architects and lets them look at the details of the curtainwall and how they relate to the surrounding materials, while also providing glaziers, mechanical engineers and energy modelers with the performance data that is embedded into the BIM content.
To ensure that the glass content can be analyzed and used appropriately, the glass BIM information would have to be fully renderable, detailed and loaded with optical and thermal properties that aid in generating specifications. Due to the unique nature of glazing make-ups, there can be a distinct advantage to supplying project specific custom content. It should be more detailed and utilize the material analytics that are nested within software programs used by architects.
It is important to consider that the vast majority of accredited architectural schools in the country are teaching some form of BIM. The next generation of architects is likely to embrace this technology and accelerate its adoption and use in commercial building design. The glass and glazing industry has an opportunity to develop tools and software that truly caters to the needs of the architects. It is as clear as glass: the use of BIM is not a fad or a trend, but is rapidly becoming the way buildings are being designed.
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“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 4:10 NIV)
| ||You are a manager of the gifts God has given to you. They may be great or small in your eyes, but they matter to God. "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful" (1 Corinthians 4:2 NIV). || |
God has given you unique abilities, talents, and gifts. At Saddleback Church, we say they represent a person’s SHAPE — Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences. This bundle of talents is the thing God has given you that makes you who you are and sets you apart from other people.
If you think your talents are simply for you to make a lot of money, retire, and die, you’ve missed the point of your life. God gave you talents to benefit others, not yourself. And God gave other people talents that benefit you.
We’re all a part of the body of Christ, and each part matters. There are no insignificant people in the family of God. You are shaped to serve God, and he is testing you to see how you are going to use the talents he gave you.
Whether you are a musician or an accountant, a teacher or a cook, God gave you those abilities to serve others. Today’s verse says, “Each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10 NIV).
You are a manager of the gifts God has given to you. They may be great or small in your eyes, but they matter to God. “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2 NIV). When God made you, he made an investment in you, and he expects a return on that investment.
Are you using what He’s given you for the benefit of others to make the world a better place? Or are you just using those talents to benefit yourself?
When God gives you a talent, he expects you to use it. It’s like a muscle. If you use it, it will grow. If you don’t, you’ll lose it. If you have a talent but are afraid to use it, or if you get lazy and don’t use it to benefit others, you’re going to lose it. Like the parable of the ten talents in Luke 19, if you don’t use what God has given you, he will take it away and give it to someone else who will.
But if you use your talents wisely, God will give you more. If you use your time wisely, God will give you more time. If you use your energy wisely, God will give you more energy. If you use your influence wisely, God will increase your influence. God will bless your level of faithfulness.
Saddleback Resources offers a small group Bible study related to these devotionals: The Invisible War-Winning the Battle of Temptation.
© Copyright 2011 Rick Warren. Used by permission.
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For many Jewish children, the idea of charity often means dropping change into a bright-blue tzedakah box. Sure, the collected money goes to charitable organizations, but how do you measure whether the kids’ own efforts have any noticeable effect?
Now, one group of students is getting the opportunity to see its money at work.
During the last school year, seventh graders at Milwaukee Jewish Day School took on a challenge to help underprivileged children in Africa. Thirty-four students, with help from their teacher, Brian King, developed and worked on Voice of the Children, a charity they formed to help raise awareness of child-welfare problems and underprivileged Jewish communities abroad. By the end of May, Voice of the Children had raised enough money to construct a new school building in rural Kenya.
The project began after King attended a conference in November 2008 and heard a speech by Craig Kielburger, the co-founder of Free the Children, a youth organization that has built 500 schools around the globe for underprivileged kids. Because Kielburger began Free the Children when he was just 12, it made sense to King to start a charity with his own students. He came up with the idea of Voice of the Children.
“Listening to his story, I was like, hey, I’ve got seventh graders… I’ve got a world studies curriculum that focuses on Africa and Asia that really needs a jolt. Why can’t we do this, too?’” King said.
Two weeks after the conference, King introduced the idea to the administration at his school, including MJDS’s head of school, Judy Miller.
“I was delighted,” Miller said. “We know the children learn by doing, and this is really bringing [the school’s] mission to light.”
When King told his class, the students were immediately on board.
“It was amazing to me because I have heard of organizations like this, but it was different because it was a class project rather than one kid doing it,” said 14-year-old Sam Sinykin.
Before winter break, the students split into groups to brainstorm a mission statement and ways to raise money.
“[My statement] was saying how our goal was to really help other children like us, to understand their problems and to not take for granted everything we have,” seventh-grader Amy Lieberman said.
Her statement wasn’t too far from the final version, which concentrated on assisting underprivileged children in Africa, Asia and Jewish communities around the world, with the focus this year geared mostly toward Africa.
With the mission statement in place, the students began crafting a Web site while researching issues such as AIDS and malnutrition. Their findings resulted in fact sheets and PowerPoint presentations posted on the Web site, along with a blog, a news section and a page to make donations.
King spent the rest of the year weaving Voice of the Children in and out of the original class curriculum. Some days, students learned about such countries as Kenya; other days, they worked exclusively on the charity, and sometimes they did both.
As the school year went on, the charity began to gain momentum. The original plan for raising money was to sell used items the students owned, such as iPods, DVDs and textbooks. This worked well from the start.
But as word got around about the charity, online donations began pouring in from all over the country.
“People started sending us money, and we didn’t even know them. They weren’t even family,” said student Andrea Heffez, who sold an iPod to help raise funds for Voice of the Children.
The money the class made selling castoffs ended up being only about 35% of the total revnue raised.
Despite the economic recession, the class was able to blow past King’s original fundraising goal of $5,000.
By the end of the school year, Voice of the Children had raised about $7,000 in donations and from the sale. Adding to the organization’s success was a promise from a family at MJDS to double whatever money the students raised, bringing the grand total to $14,594.
In May, the students needed to select a charity to which they would donate the proceeds.
They looked for an existing, high-quality charity with an established track record of efficiency.
Once again, the class split into groups, this time to research charities dealing with children’s issues in Africa. They presented their findings to their families and to the entire middle school. The class voted for Kielburger’s Free the Children. King’s idea had come full circle.
The ultimate payoff for the students was that the money they donated to Free the Children was sufficient to create a new school building in Kenya. Construction will begin in the next few months.
“I am still kind of in shock that an entire school is going to be built from the money we raised,” Amy said.
The seventh graders at MJDS ultimately learned more than how to set up a charity and a Web site; they were able to connect with the Jewish values of tzedakah and* tikkun olam* — repairing the world — and in the process, they were able to aid underprivileged children in Africa.
“We actually made it happen,” Sam said.
Contact Alex Suskind at firstname.lastname@example.org
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From the dawn of humans on earth we have sought to decorate. This is true from the early cave paintings that have been discovered in France and Spain and Malaysia. For the most part it seems that our prehistoric ancestors were very keen to record how they lived their lives almost as a way of trying to tell us future generations how they lived, which appears to be mainly hunting Mammoth’s. What was the first kind of paint they used to record this?
In modern times we’d look to get some Cheltenham Painters in, armed with an assortment of brushes to do the job but for ancient humans it was more of a hands on kind of affair. Hand stencils were very popular and on one site in Mexico there features a wall with nothing but left hands.. The ancients used a mixture of animal fats and iron oxides along with the colour ochre from pots to make a simple paint that lasts. Due to its nature this is why almost all of the paints are of red and brown in colour.
For the most part the scenes are of hunting and gathering and there are also lots of figures of young women. It’s thought that as the population was mostly young males at the time it’s no surprise the themes are quite macho. There is evidence that women drew some of the paintings as well.
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Secondary students have returned to school stronger, more resilient and more confident after an extraordinary CAS Week.
The past week has been a time of incredible growth, with students working together to achieve physical challenges, and combat emotional ones.
All of our trips and projects were designed to push them to the limits of their capacities in ways that regular school is not able to do.
They figured out solutions to tasks and problems, worked together to complete objectives, and supported one another – developing the critical skills of collaboration, problem solving and decision-making.
School is abuzz with stories about their experiences, and it has been a pleasure to witness the transformation in so many.
Congratulations to all our students on their achievements and thanks to our inspirational teachers for guiding them through a life-changing week.
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DENVER — Crowds were serenaded by live music as they waited for the nation’s first legal recreational pot shops to open. They ate doughnuts and funnel cakes as a glass-blower made smoking pipes. Some tourists even rode around in a limo, eager to try weed but not so eager to be seen buying it.
And when the sales began, those who bought the drug emerged from the stores, receipt held high and carrying sealed shopping bags, to cheers.
“I’m going to frame the receipt when I go home, to remind myself of what might be possible: Legal everywhere,” said musician James Aaron Ramsey, 28, who did some time in jail for pot possession in Missouri and played folk tunes with his guitar for those in line.
Activists hope he’s right, and that the experiment in Colorado will prove to be a better alternative to the costly American-led drug war, produce the kind of revenue that state officials hope and save the government costs in locking up drug offenders.
Just on the first day, prices in some places rose to more than $500 an ounce, and some shops announced midafternoon they would close early because of short supply. It’s too soon to say whether the price spikes and long lines will persist.
Washington state will open its pot industry later this year. Both states’ programs will be watched closely not just by officials in other states, but by activists and governments in other countries because the industries will be the first to regulate the production and sale of the drug.
Some countries have decriminalized the drug, and the Netherlands lets people buy and sell it, but it’s illegal to grow or process it.
Just as shops opened Wednesday, the Denver Police Department tweeted, “Do you know the law?” and linked to city websites on state and local laws that include bans on public consumption, driving under the influence, taking marijuana out of state and giving pot to anyone under 21.
Denver police said one person was issued a summons for public consumption. The Colorado State Patrol reported no pot-related incidents. No pot-related incidents were reported at Denver International Airport, where signs warned travelers that they can’t take the drug home.
At least 24 pot shops in eight towns opened. In Denver, pot users welcomed the new year and the new industry by firing up bongs and cheering in a cloud of marijuana smoke at a 1920s-themed “Prohibition Is Over” party — a reference to the 1930s-era law that outlawed marijuana.
Shopper Jacob Elliott said he wrote reports in college about the need to end pot prohibition, but never thought it could happen in his lifetime.
“This breaks that barrier,” said Elliott, who traveled to Colorado from Leesburg, Va., to be among the first to buy legal weed.
Preparation for the retail market started more than a year ago, soon after Colorado and Washington voters in 2012 approved legal pot industries. Uruguay passed a law in December to become the first nation to regulate pot, but regulatory system isn’t in place yet.
Pot advocates, who had long pushed legalization as an alternative to the drug war, had argued it would generate revenue for state coffers — and in Colorado’s case to support education — and save money by not locking up low-level drug offenders.
“I feel good about it. The money’s going to schools,” said shopper Joseph Torres of Denver.
The price for high-quality weed at some shops was around $400 an ounce. That’s about four times what smokers are paying on the black market in Colorado, according to crowd-sourced Internet surveys. Much of the extra cost was attributed to state and local taxes in excess of 25 percent.
People who were waiting in line shared their pot incarceration stories over coffee and funnel cakes.
“Trafficking conviction. Nineteen years old. For a plant, how stupid,” said 24-year-old Brandon Harris, who drove 20 hours from Blanchester, Ohio.
Colorado set up an elaborate plant-tracking system to try to keep the drug away from the black market, and regulators set up packaging, labeling and testing requirements, along with potency limits for edible pot.
The U.S. Justice Department outlined an eight-point slate of priorities for pot regulation, requiring states to keep the drug away from minors, criminal cartels, federal property and other states in order to avoid a federal crackdown.
With the additional police patrols, the airport warnings and various other measures, officials hoped they have enough safeguards in place to avoid predictions of public health and safety harm from the opening of the pot shops.
A group of addiction counselors and physicians said they’re seeing more marijuana addiction problems, especially in youths, and that wider pot availability will exacerbate the problem.
“This is just throwing gas on the fire,” said Ben Cort of the Colorado Center for Dependency, Addiction & Rehabilitation at the University of Colorado Hospital.
Some medical marijuana patients groups say they’re worried about supply. That’s because the retail inventory for recreational use is coming entirely from the preexisting medical inventory. Many in the industry warned patients to stock up before the sales began.
It was too soon to tell whether prices for medical marijuana patients were going up.
For now, they should have plenty of places to shop. Most of Colorado’s 500 or so medical marijuana shops haven’t applied to sell recreational pot, and many that have plan to serve both recreational and medical patients
The industry has not just given rise to shops, but a whole line of other businesses, including tours.
Addison Morris, owner of Rocky Mountain Mile High Tours, had 10 clients waiting inside a limo who paid $295 for three hours of chauffeuring by a “marijuana concierge” who would help them choose strains and edible pot products.
Morris said she’s booked through the end of February with out-of-state clients, who get samples in designer bags. And for the tours, guests are asked to leave cameras at home. She said she’s selling discretion.
“We’re your grandmother’s pot connection,” the 63-year-old said.
Kristen Wyatt can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/APkristenwyatt . Associated Press writer Jim Anderson contributed to this report.
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Probability density in phase space
Dynamic systems can be interpreted qualitatively by describing their phase spaces in terms of the type, order, and number of attractors (or areas of stability) that are traced out as the system evolves through time. Some systems may be described by a number of disjoint Lyapunov-stable areas (LSA), each separated in phase space by a separatrix (Kauffman, 1993). At any given time, the state of the system occupies only one such LSA, so that their number therefore constitutes the total number of alternative long-term behaviors, or equilibrium states, of the system.
Since an LSA is likely to be smaller than the total allowable range of states, the system tends to become boxed into an LSA unless it is subjected to external forcing. When the state approaches a separatrix, small perturbations can trigger a change to a nearby state, which can result in chaotic changes in the evolution of the system.
An important goal, then, is showing the presence of LSAs. But how do we show them?
Here is the original data--one million years of a proxy record for global ice volume (from Shackleton et al., 1990).
And here is a 2-D reconstructed state space of the last 500 thousand years of the above data set.
This is a mess. There is too much detail.
An approach I tried in Gipp (2001) (also appearing in Gipp, 2010) is to take a phase space reconstruction and smooth it out by calculating the probability density over some window of time (most recently I have been using windows of 270,000 years, but used windows of about 750,000 years in the 2001 paper).
There are two advantages to this approach: 1) simplification, making the portraits easier to characterize; and 2) reducing the impact of noise and dating errors, as the nature of the plot smoothes each point evenly over a region in phase space.
Regions of high probability may result from multiple visits to the same region of phase space, or by a drop the rate of evolution of the system (i.e., several consecutive states occupy the same general region of phase space). In either case, the region of higher probability can be interpreted as representing a region of stability, although whether it is asymptotically stable or Lyapunov-stable cannot be determined.
The method is straightforward, but computationally intensive.
Consider the following plot.
The plot represents the 2-D phase space from 130,000 years before present to 9,000 years before present. Yellow dots are plotted at 10,000-year intervals. The drop from 130 (thousand years ago) to 120 (thousand years ago) represents rapid deglaciation, to a global condition similar to that of the present. The interglacial lasted until about 70 (thousand years ago) whereupon global ice volume increased in two stages, reaching a maximum at about 20 (thousand years ago). It has been downhill ever since (the cores from which this data set are taken did not record the last 9,000 years of data--but we are reasonably sure from other sources that global ice volume has declined since then.
We take an area the size of the green square, and superimpose it over each of the evenly spaced red dots, and for each dot calculate the length of time the state space occupies the green square that is centred there. For instance, in the image above, the time spent in the green box is zero (at least over the interval observed above.
If we were to place the green box on the dot with coordinates (3.9, 3.9), we would find that the state space occupied the box for nearly 40,000 years. By contrast, the box placed at (4.0, 4.4) would be occupied for only about 3,000 years.
Here is what the intermediate plot might look like:
This data is actually from Raymo et al. (2004) and is a 2-D reconstruction of a 30 thousand year interval of the 13-C isotopic record of a deep-sea core.
The length of time between each blot is 3,000 years. The large numbers are the length of time that the state (the plot) spent within the 2x2 box centred on the number.
The 16.5 near the bottom left tells us that the function spent 16.5 thousand years in the 2x2 square centred on that number 16.5.
In order to come up with one set of contourable probability densities, I would string together nine of these plots (totalling 270 thousand years), sum them up, and contour the results, which would look something like this:
The regions in phase space labelled A2, A3, etc. all represent regions in phase space with a high probability of being occupied by a system state at a randomly selected time, over the interval from 729 thousand years ago until 459 thousand years ago. In practical terms it means that most of the time, the ice volume was either near A2 (interglacial), A3 (weak glacial), A4, A5, or A6 (all of which are fairly strong glacial conditions). Each of these labelled regions is a region of stability.
The stability most likely occurs because the system dynamics lead to negative feedbacks dominating while within the areas of stability, and positive feedbacks dominate while the system is evolving from one region of stability to another.
Therefore we would state that in the interval (or window) from 729-459 thousand years ago, there were five areas of stability in the global ice volume 2-D state. In particular, there were five particular global ice volumes (likely there were five global configurations for the ice volume) which were metastable.
But the best is still to come . . .
Gipp, M. R., 2010. Epsilon machine computation in paleoclimate proxy data: Implications for testing climate models. Geocanada 2010 Proceedings.
Gipp, M. R., 2001. Interpretation of climate dynamics from phase space portraits: Is the climate system strange or just different? Paleoceanography, 16: 335-351.
Kauffman, S., 1993. The Origins of Order: Self-Organization and Selection in Evolution, Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 734 p.
Raymo, M.E., D.W. Oppo, B.P. Flower, D.A. Hodell, J. McManus, K.A. Venz, K.F. Kleiven, and K. McIntyre, 2004. Stability of North Atlantic water masses in face of pronounced climate variability during the Pleistocene. Paleoceanography, 19, PA2008, doi:10.1029/2003PA000921.
Shackleton, N. J., A. Berger and W. R. Peltier, 1990. An alternative astronomical calibration of the Lower Pleistocene timescale based on ODP site 677. Trans. Royal Soc. Edinb. Earth Sci., 81, 251-261.
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When I start working with students embarking on the road to college, they often have one big fear: “What if I don’t get in anywhere?”
They rarely believe me when I tell them the real question is going to end up being: “Which of these admission offers should I accept?”
However, that’s exactly the question many seniors are pondering right now. May 1 is the deadline to accept an offer of enrollment. So if you’ve been fortunate enough to be accepted by more than one great school — and many students are — it’s time to make that decision.
For many students, the choice is clear-cut. What if it’s not? Here’s some help to guide you through the process.
Tally up the pros and cons. Yes, get out a sheet of paper — or sit down with your laptop or iPad — and create a pro-con list for each school you’re considering. Seeing the advantages and disadvantages in black and white often makes the decision crystal clear.
Compare financial aid packages. The cost of college may have seemed very abstract during the application process, but now that you’ve gained admission, you should have a clearer idea of each school’s costs — and the amount of financial aid and scholarships you can expect from each. So crunch the numbers. Maybe that private school will end up costing the same as that public university thanks to the aid you qualify for. Or maybe the lower tuition of the public school makes it an irresistible bargain. Think beyond just the first year, too. Try to estimate your total debt by the time you’ll get your degree. Would you rather end up with $25,000 or $100,000 in student loans?
Reconsider your intended major. You may have applied to a school with a great engineering school because you wanted to pursue electrical engineering. But in the past few months, maybe you’ve gotten more interested in business. Look carefully at the program you’ll likely enroll in.
Revisit any nearby contenders. If any of your schools are close enough to visit again, plan a quick trip — especially if you never visited or only did so once. While you’re there, make sure you do things you didn’t do on previous visits: Check out student hangouts, eat in a dorm or talk to some current students. Sometimes, just being on campus will make the decision for you.
Consult your parents. The choice must ultimately be your decision. But remember, your parents probably know you better than anyone — and they may help you focus on details that you’re overlooking.
Go with your gut. When all else fails, go to a quiet place and just think about your choices. Can you really see yourself on a certain campus? How do you feel when you tell friends and family where you’re headed in the fall? Are you leaning toward one school because you think it’s the “right” or “expected” choice? In the end, you need to choose the school that’s right for you — not the school that someone else might think you should attend, or that is more prestigious or more expensive. Trust your instincts and you’ll end up in the right place.
Donna Spann is CEO of Capstone College and Career Advising in Tyler. A college adviser for 11 years, Donna leads a team of professionals who take a personal approach to advising that helps students navigate through career and college exploration, admissions, financial aid, and find the college that’s right for them. Have a question for Donna? Send it to email@example.com. You just may see your question answered in a future column.
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A beautiful book of extinct and endangered creatures, and a hopeful look at the futureShine a spotlight on animal species throughout history and the ones alive today in Animals Lost and Found, through beautiful illustrations and interesting facts. Children will learn about animals lost to extinction, animals we thought we'd lost but have found, and animals that are the focus of conservation efforts all over the world. This educational book for children aged 7+ is packed with intriguing information about extinction and the different possible causes of it.
Children can learn about how natural and unnatural extinction relates to the world we live in today, in a clear and easy way. Animals Lost and Found features:- A very positive outlook on conservation efforts and success stories from around the world- Focus pages on extinct and endangered animals - as well as one or two, who it turns out, never were!- Beautiful illustrations by award-winning wildlife illustrator Jonathan Woodward - Incredible conservation work that has been done around the world, like the reintroduction of Red Kites to Britain, and the effect the wolves had to the ecosystem of Yellowstone National Park- A global look at success stories and what it can do for the planetAnimals Lost and Found is not just about lost species, but also teaches children the incredible work that is happening around the world to prevent any further loss of species and looks at animals saved from extinction like the Blue Iguana! Learn the incredible stories of uncovering species thought to have been gone, reintroduction of species, and what we as humans are doing and can continue to do to help.
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Feeding, painting and beading with Chile’s less fortunate
Aspen Chile demonstrated our ongoing caring spirit by reaching out to three beneficiaries.
Casa Caridad Don Orione is an NGO that supports 56 children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities and whose rights have been violated. Fundación Las Rosas accommodates 45 underprivileged adults who are subjected to poverty and Coanil is a center that promotes the inclusion of 15 adolescents afflicted with intellectual disabilities.
A range of activities were hosted for the beneficiaries in relation to their needs and their availability. A dreary wall at Casa Caridad Don Orione was painted in bright green symbolizing growth, life and hope; donations of equipment were made to Coanil’s adolescents; and the elderly received toiletries, diapers and other hygiene products.
Our biggest donation was our love, and, most especially, the time that we shared making bracelets with the girls of Casa Caridad Don Orione as well as serving dinner to the elderly residents at Fundación Las Rosas.
The team experienced a deep sense of humility and satisfaction by caring for those who are less fortunate, and we look forward to being caring ambassadors for Aspen again in 2020 through our Mandela Day activities.
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|Structure: KV 32
Location: Valley of the Kings, East Valley, Thebes West Bank, Thebes
Site type: Tomb
Description: KV 32 is located in the south branch of the southwest wadi. This unfinished and roughly cut tomb consists of an entryway (A), two sloping corridors (B and D) with a stairwell (C) between that leads to an unfinished burial chamber (J) with a broken pillar in the center and a side chamber (Ja) to the south. Rubble is scattered on the floor throughout the tomb, and the rear chamber is partly filled with flood debris. Its general plan resembles KV 21.
Noteworthy features: This tomb features a central pillar in burial chamber J. It is an example of a tomb accidentally broken into during the construction of another tomb (KV 47).
Axis in degrees: 263.51
Axis orientation: West
Latitude: 25.44 N
Longitude: 32.36 E
Elevation: 191.99 msl
JOG map reference: NG 36-10
Modern governorate: Qena (Qina)
Ancient nome: 4th Upper Egypt
Surveyed by TMP: Yes
Maximum height: 6.11 m
Mininum width: 1.03 m
Maximum width: 6.17 m
Total length: 39.67 m
Total area: 106.3 m²
Total volume: 312.42 m³
Entrance location: Base of sheer cliff
Owner type: Queen
Entrance type: Staircase
Interior layout: Corridors and chambers
Axis type: Straight
KV 32 was never finished, and was not decorated. It has been excavated by the MISR Project: Mission Siptah-Ramses X of the University of Basel. The mission recently discovered a canopic chest of Queen Tia'a, wife of Amenhetep II and mother of Thutmes IV, thus allowing the tomb owner to be identified.
This site was used during the following period(s):
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, Amenhetep II
Loret, Victor (1898): Discovery (made for the Service des Antiquités)
Loret, Victor (1898): Excavation (conducted for the Service des Antiquités)
MISR Project: Mission Siptah-Ramses X (2000-2001): Excavation
Conservation history: The Supreme Council of Antiquities has recently built a concrete shelter around the entryway of the tomb.
Site condition: The tomb has not been fully excavated. It is currently under excavation by the MISR Project: Mission Siptah-Ramses X of the University of Basel.
Printable Tomb Drawings
Launch this site in the KV Atlas
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Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS) and Progressive Muscular Atrophy (PMA) are two rare variants of the disease ALS. Normally, ALS affects the upper motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, as well as the lower motor neurons that send signals from the spinal cord directly to muscles. PLS and PMA are different because PLS only affects the upper motor neurons, and PMA only affects the lower motor neurons. It’s an important distinction for patients to be told about because the prognosis is less severe in these conditions. On average, survival in ALS is typically reported to be 2-5 years, whereas for patients with PMA it’s more like 5-10 years and for PLS it’s even longer (often several decades).
ALS itself is a rare condition, affecting some 30,000 people in the United States at any one time. PLS and PMA each represent approximately 5% of the overall ALS community, so there’s approximately 1,500 patients with each condition in the U.S at any given time. In April 2008, PatientsLikeMe added the ability for members of our ALS community to change their diagnosis to these rare conditions. To date, we now have 182 patients with PLS and 270 with PMA. This is truly exciting because even the largest studies in the literature have only examined 40 or so PLS patients and a similar number of PMA patients. One of our most useful features on our site for people with ALS is the percentile curves, which we display as a backdrop on their profiles to put each individual’s rate of progression into context. However, as you can see in the figure below, when you compare the progression curves of ALS patients on our site with those of a typical PLS patient, the PLS patient progression deviates significantly from the ALS curves.
With so many PLS and PMA patients sharing such valuable information about their disease on PatientsLikeMe, we had enough information to generate a new set of percentile curves for each of those communities. To do this, we used self-report ALSFRS-R (ALS functional rating score – revised) data from 104 PLS patients and 59 PMA patients that met our criteria for data quality. We have good data for the first 4-5 years of disease after onset, and after that point we rely on linear extrapolation to make the plots. Here we see the value of openness in action. When you see the potential value in contributing your data, it drives a virtuous cycle: the more data you enter, the more value you get, so you enter more data!
As any of our patients in these communities will tell you, being diagnosed with a rare disease can be a frustrating experience. Aside from dealing with the condition itself, there’s the lack of public awareness, a lack of research investigating your condition, and a sense that you are being “lumped in” with a similar disease because your community doesn’t have the critical mass to merit its own attention. These new percentile curves for PLS and PMA patients demonstrate the value and power of openness. By sharing their health data in an open fashion, patients are providing new insights that are changing how we think and act when it comes to these very rare conditions.
Note: A potential limitation of these curves is that they represent the outcomes for patients that are members of PatientsLikeMe and may not be generalizable to the entire population; we are working hard to better understand and correct for the biases in our population and data. As the size and longevity of each community increases, we will be in a better position to address these issues.
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Bush goes on the defensive and claims the US government is not “mining or trolling through the personal lives of innocent Americansâ€. But he qualifies it with “Our efforts are focused on Al Qaeda and their known associates.†Who are Al Qaeda’s known associates? Other terrorist organizations? How does Bush and the White House define terrorist organizations?
If you’re a conservative American you might think the ACLU and the Democratic Party is a “known associateâ€. If you are a moderate or a conservative you might think Greenpeace, PETA, and the School of the Americas Watch are “known associatesâ€. We know for a fact that those last three groups are under investigation by the FBI. How many more groups are being investigated by the US government or their corporate spying companies? How many people are suspected to be known associates or are suspected of aiding and abetting the enemy?
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Still life photography is not a dead art. It is fun and exciting ! Here are some helpful tips on Still life Photography:
My wife and I were out taking pictures the other day of the fall leaves, the beautiful scenery, and we couldn’t help but think that you could grab a bunch of fall leaves, put them together in a special grouping of such, and create a great “still life photo”. You know, still life photography is a wonderful art that is a fun thing to do. You don’t have to worry about making people smile just right, and you have time to work on lighting, etc. This can be a real fun art in photography. Here are some ideas of “Still Life Photography” that is something to think about:
Wait a minute….. take a look at the many calendars that are out there. Look at the many photographic images of food you see on Social media every day. How about product images you see every day? Huh? Are we getting the picture now? So, still life can pay big money if you know how to make it work right.
Oh, you mean food falls in the category of still photography? Yes it does! Well then, that makes sense to talk about this. There are a lot of photographers making money at taking pictures of food. Here is another one that is considered still photography that you can make a lot of money at as a good still photographer:
Commercial products for manufactures. Can you get the lighting just right? Placement of product to show it off? Do you realize how important it is to get this angle right, and the lighting right, and to make it look so good that people will want to buy it just because you made it look so good in your photography? That is what Still photography can do for you. There is an ART to Still photography. It is used everyday in the real world. And I wanted to address this in great detail. Here is an article by a professional photographer, who makes money at doing this all the time and we can learn a great deal from this photographer. Let me introduce: AUTUMN LOCKWOOD. Autumn will introduce to us her article about taking still photos. And thanks to PictureCorrect for the use of this article:
STILL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS AND TECHNIQUES:
Still life photography has many uses. Perhaps you want to take a picture of a beautiful shell or perhaps take a picture of a product that you’re selling on eBay. Other reasons for learning still life photography may include selling still life photograph downloads at stock photography sites or to food magazines. No matter what your reason, still life photography is a great skill to learn.
photo by Rick Harris
Unless you’re photographing specific products or pictures for a magazine assignment, the subjects for your still life photography are endless. Despite common belief, still life photography isn’t limited to just pictures of apples and grapes. Even something like artfully arranged spools of thread can be interesting and visually appealing. Microstock sites like Shutterstock and iStock that cater to commercial users have a high demand for all sorts of still life, often of very simple objects, like a cup of coffee or a key.
photo by C_osett
People often times think of still life photography as a lot easier than other types of photography like sports or landscape photography. With stills, you often have full control over the composition and can arrange the inanimate objects exactly how you want them.
And sometimes, good quality still life pictures can be even more challenging to photograph. That’s because they are close up so it’s easy to spot imperfections like a blemish on a piece of fruit that would usually pass unnoticed.
photo by Samantha Durfee
Despite the challenges, using basic photography skills and the following tips, you can create quality still life pictures.
LIGHTING FOR STILL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY:
Professional photographers usually use a soft box or a light box to shoot their still lifes. Although soft boxes can help out a lot, they still aren’t absolutely necessary to get good results as you’ll see shortly. However, if you do want one, you can find a softbox online or you can easily make one using instructions you find online. The purpose of these lighting tools is to provide even light on the subject.
You can also get a good quality of light by setting up your photo shoot outside. A high overcast or bright sky can create a natural soft box effect without having any of the harsh shadows.
COMPOSING STILL LIFE PHOTOS:
When composing your photograph, you need to arrange the objects in a pleasing composition. You should consider using classical composition techniques like the “Rule of Thirds,” “Leading Lines” or “Frame within a Frame” for ideas of how to best compose your pictures.
photo by Olga Filonenko
Artfully arrange the objects, and use your imagination. For example, if you’re taking a picture of an apple try taking a bite out of it to give it some added interest.
FILL THE FRAME WITH YOUR STILL LIFE SUBJECT:
When taking still life pictures, always remember that your subject should be the only thing that you see in your viewfinder or LCD screen. You need to remove any distractions or clutter from the background so you can have a clean and up close image.
photo by aotaro
If you have a backdrop or background you don’t like don’t worry about it because it can be easily solved. The light box or soft box will solve this problem, but if you’re taking pictures outside and have a distracting background simply place a piece of white foam board behind your subject and you’ll be all set. If you want a sharp image, make sure to use macro mode or you can end up with a fuzzy image.
LOOK FOR A GOOD ANGLE:
Instead of shooting from your height, hold the camera so that it is level with your subject. You should also try shooting from a variety of different angles. Hopefully you can start applying these still life photography tips immediately so you can start seeing a difference in the quality of your still life images.
About the Author Autumn Lockwood is a writer for Your Picture Frames. .
Entertainment & learning for the photographer
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One of the most interesting publicly-available resources on wine trends is the California Grape Acreage Report, prepared and released annually by the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service California Field Office. In it, you can find a complete data set by grape and by county going back to 1971 with what grapes were in production or newly planted, and where. It's really an amazing collection, and I've used it to write some of my favorite blogs, including all of the Grapes of the Rhone Valley series and maybe my favorite blog ever, A Tale of Two Grenaches, which uses this information to show how Grenache can be reaching new highs in quality and visibility even as overall Grenache acres have declined to a level one-fifth of what they were at their peak in 1974. (Here's what happened: about 2,000 acres of new high quality Grenache plantings went into coastal and mountain AVAs at the same time as roughy 18,000 of the 20,000 acres of bulk Grenache, no longer needed for jug wines, have been pulled out of the Central Valley.)
Syrah's story is similar, in that there are multiple trends going on at the same time, each affecting the grape's narrative. Let's take a look first at, overall, what's happened to Syrah since 1970. Essentially, there have been five eras.
1970-1988: Planting the First Few Seeds
Despite growing interest in the wines of the Rhone Valley, there really wasn't much going on with Syrah planting in California. From a base of four pre-1970 acres in the initial acreage report, there were some years where no Syrah was planted, others where a little was planted: an average of about 10 acres a year. The 24 acres planted in 1975 was the first significant addition to the state's total, planted by Gary Eberle at Estrella River Winery. This is the source of the famous Estrella Clone of Syrah, purportedly from Chapoutier cuttings, whose descendants populate most of the state's Syrah vineyards today. But by 1988 there were still just 167 acres of Syrah in total.
1989-1994: The Wave Builds
In the April 15th, 1989 issue of the Wine Spectator, Bonny Doon's Randall Grahm posed in Lone Ranger gear next to a horse to accompany a cover article on "The Rhone Ranger," and a category title was born. That year, California vineyard owners planted 72 acres of Syrah, more than double the largest previous yearly total. In 1990 that total jumped to 278, more than doubling the state's total to date. And the grape was off. The next five years saw an average of 213 acres of Syrah per year planted, bringing the state's total to 1308 by 1994. That put it on the map, but it was still a tiny percentage, 30th in that year's acreage report, its total eclipsed by grapes including Burger, French Colombard, Carnelian, and Alicante Bouschet. But this was the era in which Rhone wines started to get the press's attention. And it was the era where the importation of new clones (first, but not only, by us) began to open up options for the state's winemakers.
Fast forward just eight years from 1994 and Syrah leapt from 30th in the state's plantings to 7th, trailing only the "big 5" grapes of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel, plus the declining but still plentiful French Colombard. Plantings averaged 2,210 acres per year, peaking at 3,515 acres in 1997. It went in everywhere, with 100+ acres in 19 different California counties. Eight counties had more than a thousand acres. Those counties could be found all over the state, and included Sonoma, all three Central Coast counties (Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara), and four Central Valley counties (Fresno, Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Madera). Napa and Mendocino just missed, with 995 and 674 acres respectively. What do those counties have in common? Not much, other than that grapes are grown in all of them. And that, plus the sheer math of the number of grapes hitting the marketplace, sowed the seeds for a problem.
2003-2013: Recognition Comes, but Not Mass Market Sales
Unlike the earlier periods, it's hard to put firm dates on the beginning and end of this category, and some aspects of it remain in play today. But this period saw Syrah gain a reputation for being very hard to sell at the same time as the category got unprecedented praise from wine writers and saw the rise of the "cult" Rhone producer, many located in Paso Robles.
I feel like this era of recognition started with Robert Parker's first article on "California's Rhone Rangers", in February of 2002. In his introduction, he writes:
The noble Syrah grape has done so well so quickly in California that it is surely going to find a permanent place among California wine lovers. Remarkably adaptable, it has shown positive results in the cool hillside climates of the Sonoma Coast, the western hillsides of Paso Robles, and in exceptionally hot areas such as the valley floors of Napa, Sonoma, and Paso Robles. In both Santa Barbara and even the cooler satellite district of Santa Ynez, it has also done exceptionally well provided crop levels are modest. Syrah is capable of producing anything from a Beaujolais-like, bubble gum, fruity style of wine with light tannin, low acidity, and obvious pleasure and appeal, to more formidably concentrated, massive wines with high tannin, great intensity, and potential longevity.
Stories followed in other publications. The Wine Spectator began doing an annual review of California Rhones. More producers, and better wines, meant more high scores. Through the 2000 vintage, the Wine Spectator had given 143 California Syrahs 90+ ratings, and only one (the amazing 2000 Alban Pandora) hit 95 points. In the next decade, 1064 California Syrahs got 90+ ratings, and 69 were 95 or higher. A number of Rhone specialist wineries, most notably Alban, Saxum, and Sine Qua Non, used this recognition to build allocation-only mailing lists with long waiting lists, and dozens of other wineries, many of them our neighbors, followed the style and business model.
But the sheer volumes of Syrah were never all going to be absorbed by a few (or even a few dozen) cult winemakers and their mailing lists. And by 2003, there was 2,360% more acreage in production than there had been a decade earlier. That increase was even more staggering in volume. In 1993 there were 1,905 tons of Syrah harvested in California. That's enough to produce about 120,000 cases of wine. In 2003, that total had grown to 110,249 tons, an increase of 5,687%. That tonnage, if all vinified into varietal bottlings, would produce nearly seven million cases of wine.
Did you notice something else interesting about that math? The tonnage grew faster than the acreage. In 1993, figuring that vineyards planted in 1991 and earlier would be in production, those 708 acres averaged 2.69 tons of fruit per acre. In 2003, and again figuring that any acreage planted 2001 or earlier would be producing, growers harvested an average of 6.60 tons of Syrah off of 16,694 acres.
And Syrah's reputation took a hit. Inventories built up. Steve Heimoff, the Wine Enthusiast's California specialist at the time, asked What's the Problem with Syrah in 2009, where he reported hearing that selling it in the wholesale market was "like trench warfare". James Laube published a Wine Spectator article Why Isn't Syrah More Popular in 2010. Eric Asimov wrote that same year in the New York Times Is there still hope for Syrah? with the opening line: "There's a joke going around West Coast wine circles: What’s the difference between a case of syrah and a case of pneumonia? You can get rid of the pneumonia." The Rhone Rangers, doing their best to make lemons out of lemonade, turned the punch line into benefit tastings for global pneumonia prevention in New York and San Francisco, called Pneumonia's Last Syrah.
So, what caused this glut? There wasn't much new Syrah planting in this era, averaging just 250 cases per year statewide. And because some vineyards started to be pulled out or grafted over, there were only about 1,000 more Syrah acres in California vineyards in 2013 than there were a decade before. Sure, there were the challenges that Syrah is a flexible, adaptable grape and tastes different depending on where it's grown and the winemaker's preference. The entry into the American marketplace in this era of lots of cheap Australian Shiraz probably didn't help. And because it was so widely planted, it didn't have a signature region whose name was synonymous with the grape the way that Napa is with Cabernet. But those explanations all feel incomplete to me, not least because you can make many of the same critiques about a range of other successful grapes.
No, I think it came down to a simple question of math. There was so much more wine in a decade that the American Syrah market would have to have grown 50% per year, every year, compounded, to absorb all the extra production. Not even the dry rosé market, the success story of the last decade, has done that. The grape also suffered a little bad luck, in that right as Syrah seemed poised to take off in the fall of 2004, the movie Sideways came out, launching Pinot Noir sales into the stratosphere. Merlot is often mentioned as the main casualty of Pinot Noir's rise, but I think Syrah was equally a victim, as Pinot sucked all the promotional air out of the room.
The net result was that although Syrah sales rose rapidly through the 2000's, they had an impossible task to keep up with production, and inventory built up. How impossible a task? Look at the exponential math. If Syrah sales had grown by 30% per year, compounded over a decade, they would have ended up just under fourteen times what they were at the beginning of that decade. That would have absorbed just one quarter of the growth in production coming from all those new Syrah acres. Plus, it's not like there was this massive global production of Syrah that this American production could displace or be absorbed into. In 1990, there were only about 80,000 acres of Syrah worldwide, compared to 700,000 acres of Grenache, 300,000 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, or 380,000 acres of Merlot. The increases in Syrah were always going to be harder to find homes for. Really, it was never going to be possible.
2014-2019: An Under-the-Radar Renaissance
The last half-decade or so has seen California acreage of Syrah decline by about 20%, as growers who planted it in the Syrah wave move on to the next popular grape. But Syrah is still being planted. Over the last six years, California has averaged 716 acres of Syrah pulled out, and just under 100 new acres planted, per year. As of 2019, there are 15,458 acres of Syrah in the state. Last year, those acres produced 82,846 tons of fruit. That's 5.36 tons per acre, a meaningful decline of about 20% from that 6.60 tons/acre at the tail end of the planting boom.
What is happening now is complex, and still evolving, but it appears to me that the Syrah is coming out of places it probably shouldn't be anyway. There are about 1,300 fewer acres of Syrah in the Central Valley than there were in 2013. That's almost all low quality, high production acreage. And while this evidence is mostly anecdotal, in coastal and mountain appellations, it has mostly been pulled out of the vineyards of generalists rather than Rhone specialists. The producers that we speak to who are growing their own Syrah for their own programs aren't pulling vines out. It's vineyards that are producing grapes for the open market. Are there some negative implications for less inexpensive Syrah up for grabs in the state? Sure. But I think the positives outweigh them.
I also think that the state of California Syrah has never been stronger. And who doesn't love a good comeback story? Eric Asimov wrote about A New Chapter for California Syrah last year. Matt Kettmann, who has taken over reviewing the wines of the Central Coast for Wine Enthusiast in recent years, has been at the forefront, not least because he tastes so many great Syrahs. I'll let him have the last word, from a podcast interview he recorded in 2018, which more or less mirrors my own thoughts.
The one thing I will say, though, is that Syrah, and especially cool climate Syrah is kind of a favorite wine for many winemakers, for many sommeliers, for many wine professionals. People can’t get enough of it. So as the American wine customer gets more and more educated over the years, I wouldn’t be surprised if you see them shift in that direction too.
We're not yet at "Syrah is back!" phase. But with it increasingly being planted in the right places, by people who are Rhone specialists or at least Rhone lovers, with most of the vines now getting to 20+ years old, making some of California's most highly-rated and most sought-after wines, and with some of the pressure being released by 20% less acreage in production and another decade for the market to develop, I feel like Syrah can finally get past its reputation as a failed "California's next big thing" and go back to doing what it's always done best: appealing to those of us who want meat, and spice, and wildness in our wines just as much as we want fruit and tannin. That may not be a mainstream flavor profile, but at 3.2% of the state's total acreage, that's OK. It doesn't need to be.
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We Americans have a clear and definite legal duty to investigate and prosecute the crime of torture. Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions , each party is “under the obligation to search for persons alleged to have committed or to have ordered to be committed, such grave breaches [of the duty not to torture], and shall bring such persons, regardless of their nationality, before its own courts.”
Similarly, the 1984 Convention Against Torture requires each party to “ensure that its competent authorities proceed to a prompt and impartial investigation, wherever there is reasonable ground to believe that an act of torture has been committed in any territory under its jurisdiction.”
Our nation is a party to these and other treaties prohibiting torture and mandating investigation and prosecution.
We know that high officials in the Bush administration violated these treaties. We have unimpeachable documents confirming that individuals taken into custody since Sept. 11, 2001, were waterboarded and worse. The controversy over whether waterboarding is torture is entirely specious. In fact, the United States has prosecuted Japanese military personnel at the end of World War II, American soldiers during the Philippine Insurrection, (1902–13) and others for waterboarding.
Investigating and prosecuting such crimes is obligatory; it is not a “witch hunt,” as some charge. Nor is it something optional—a matter of “prosecutorial discretion”—that the president may choose to forgo.
The only issue is whether the Obama administration will follow the violations of the Bush administration by a violation of its own.
Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, proposes a truth commission to look into the scandal. We should praise him for his courage. But a truth commission will not meet our obligations as a nation, which are to hold violators judicially accountable.
Some think that recent domestic legislation prevents the United States from fulfilling its obligations in the aftermath of torture. The presence or absence of specific domestic legislation is, however, irrelevant to our nation’s duty. After World War II, during the trials in Nuremberg and Tokyo, the United States prosecuted individuals for what the United States judged to be wrong, even if arguably authorized by German or Japanese law.
We also hear that torture committed since 2001 by U.S. personnel is not illegal because it violates “only” international law. Treaty obligations are, however, part of the law of the United States. The Constitution specifically provides that treaties are the “supreme” law of the land. International law prohibitions on torture are the law of the United States. Moreover, the prohibition on torture is a peremptory norm of international law—a higher norm that cannot be changed by merely changing a treaty. The concept of peremptory norms owes much to Catholic natural law scholars, including St. Thomas Aquinas.
Government lawyers produced thousands of pages of legal memoranda on the subject of torture and international law, ironically demonstrating how serious these international law obligations are. Some now—incredibly—contend that prosecution is not possible because of the existence of these same memos.
In fact, officials who act in reasonable and good faith reliance on legal advice may be immune from prosecution. The advice in the memos, however, is anything but reasonable. The memos are full of basic errors. They do not focus on what the law requires of interrogators but rather on how to avoid prosecution; as such, judges are unlikely to permit the memos as evidence at trial. The lawyers who prepared the memos cannot credibly contend that they acted in good faith in their preparation. Nor do the memos address what should be our greatest concern: the liability of superiors who authorized the use of torture or failed to prevent it.
Former officials insist that “harsh interrogation” produced essential intelligence, but such advocacy cannot change the fact that torture is morally and legally wrong. When judges and jurors see the techniques at issue demonstrated, they will recognize them for what they are. No president can change these facts.
Finally, some argue that even if the use of torture is wrong, interrogators may rely on an affirmative defense of “necessity.” The Geneva Conventions and the Convention Against Torture, however, reject necessity as a defense for torture.
America’s obligation to investigate and prosecute is clear. Other countries are obligated to prosecute if ours does not. Some cases are already under way. But this is fundamentally our nation’s duty. If we Americans do not prosecute our own perpetrators, in addition to compounding our wrongdoing, we weaken our right to demand that others end a practice that our church rightly teaches is intrinsically evil.
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Nestled along West Friendly Avenue lies a natural treasure that has been the backdrop to generations of families: majestic trees, each over a century old, standing as silent witnesses to the passage of time. These towering sentinels, with their sprawling canopies, have not only provided lush greenery but have also been a cornerstone of the area’s serene and picturesque charm, making it an idyllic place for families to grow and thrive. However, this tranquil haven faces an impending threat. Glenn Drew’s plans to erect high-density townhomes pose a dire risk to this cherished landscape. His proposal, starkly out of sync with the area’s character, could lead to the destruction of these ancient trees, irreparably altering the neighborhood’s unique aesthetic. The introduction of these incongruous structures threatens to disrupt the harmonious blend of nature and community, potentially turning a once serene residential haven into just another congested area, stripping away the essence that has made West Friendly Avenue a beloved family-friendly locale for so many years.
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Learn how you create a report, and try it yourself with a step-by-step example.
🌱 There are more than 30 standard reports available in the system, this is just one example so you can get an understanding of the principles behind creating a report.
This is how you create a report
- Navigate to the Reports group located in the Navigation bar and click on the Reports screen.
- You create the report by giving selection criteria and customising your report output. To enter a selection criterion, check the Use field, select Operator and specify the Value you will be searching for.
- Click on View... to view the result or click Export... if you want to save the data to file. The report can be exported to different formats such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Acrobat PDF etc.
Try it yourself
Generate a report showing all accessions made in 2009.
- Navigate to the Reports screen in the Reports menu group.
- Click + of 01 Accession objects to expand the report collection and select Obj01 Accession catalogue.
- Click + on Accession and check the Acc. year box. Ensure that the Operator field is ‘Equal’ and in Value field, type ‘2009’.
- Click on View... to view the result.
This appears in a new window. In this example it opens Microsoft Word.
When you are done, close the window.
- Click Export... to save the data to file.
⏭ The article on Advanced Search terms is useful when creating reports (and using Advanced Search).
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Photo: Hurricane Ingrid Mexico
Hurricane Ingrid lost intensity and was downgraded to a tropical storm before making landfall Monday near La Pesca, a town on Mexico’s Gulf coast, weather forecasters said.
The storm was located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from La Pesca and had maximum sustained winds of 95 kph (60 mph) at 1500 GMT, the U.S. National Hurricane Center, or NHC, said.
ngrid is moving west-northwest at 13 kph (8 mph), the NHC said.
The Mexican government has discontinued the tropical storm warning south of La Cruz, but it remains in effect from La Cruz north to the San Fernando River.
The storm is expected to move inland and become a tropical depression later in the day, dissipating on Tuesday.
Ingrid, which was the second hurricane of the 2013 Atlantic season, could create dangerous conditions as it moves inland.
“Rains are likely to result in life-threatening flash floods and mudslides,” the NHC said.
Tropical Storm Manuel, a system that affected Mexico’s Pacific region over the weekend, has broken up.
“Satellite images and surface observations indicate that Manuel has dissipated over west-central Mexico,” the NHC said.
The storm’s remnants are expected to produce heavy rains in sections of the southern state of Guerrero and the western state of Michoacan, forecasters said.
Ingrid and Manuel killed at least 22 people in Mexico over the weekend, the Government Secretariat said Monday.
Fifteen people died in Guerrero, three in Hidalgo, three in Puebla and one in Oaxaca, the secretariat said.
About 238,000 people have been affected in Guerrero, located on Mexico’s Pacific coast, by Manuel, national emergency management office chief Luis Felipe Puente said.
About 1 million people have been affected by the simultaneous storms, Puente said.
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The Map has been the penultimate membership port of call for candidates since 1999, but it is not a condition for accession, and Washington and its allies believe reform itself is more important than the body under which it happens.
Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, who is taking part in her last Nato meeting, leads a group of allies who believe that the Nato-Georgia commission and Nato-Ukraine commission are the best forums under which reforms can take place.
Arriving for the talks at Nato's headquarters in the Belgian capital, Franco Frattini, Italy's foreign minister, said: "We have now two new instruments that are the new commissions. If we decide through the two newly established commissions it is much better than insisting on Map, where there are some disagreements.
"The first point is to avoid in any case disagreements and divisions among our membership, otherwise we would give a very bad message to the outside world."
One European Nato diplomat, who wished to remain anonymous, described the two commissions as "very useful vehicles for taking this forward".
Meanwhile, David Miliband, the British foreign secretary, said Georgia and Ukraine "want practical help".
"They know that the immediate issue is actually not a decision today on membership," he said.
"The issue today is a decision on how we help those countries upgrade and develop their own armed forces so that they are able to be a positive presence and a positive force for stability."
However, Germany and France lead a bloc of half a dozen European allies taking an increasingly tougher line against the entry of Georgia and Ukraine.
A key factor is Nato's relations with Russia, which deteriorated badly after the war, but are now steadily improving.
Ministers will discuss whether high-level meetings with Moscow, which were frozen over the conflict, can now resume.
The Europeans are particularly keen to foster better ties with Moscow, given its dominant role in providing energy to the continent, and are wary of the US tactic to try to by-pass the Map process.
A member of one European delegation, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "Half the motivation of the United States is to punish Russia."
On Monday, a German government spokesman underlined that while Russia should have no veto over their hopes, Nato leaders had pledged in April that the accession of new members "would indeed be co-ordinated with Russia".
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I would highly recommend that you take this new global monkeypox outbreak very seriously. On May 6th, there was one case. Now it has spread to 78 countries and there are 14,945 cases. In nation after nation we have seen monkeypox cases take off at an exponential rate, and that includes the United States. Monkeypox cases have now been confirmed in 45 U.S. states, and the total number of U.S. cases has jumped to 2,102. Any chance of containing this disease is gone, and that is really bad news.
Many have pointed out to me that this virus has been spreading primarily among those that are engaged in certain types of risky sexual activity, but that is not the only way that it spreads.
A bartender in Dallas named Luke Shannahan recently got monkeypox, and he is not quite sure how he contracted it…
He’s not sure exactly how he got it, but Luke was contacted by the Dallas Health Department who told him he may have been exposed to monkeypox.
“I was at bars. I was going to pool parties. I did attend a music event over the weekend and recently all of those people have been becoming positive,” Luke said. “Apparently it was a contact tracing phone call.”
It is entirely possible that he was engaged in sexual activity that he is not admitting.
But if it is true that a lot of people that were at the same music event ended up contracting monkeypox, that would suggest that it is spreading fairly easily even in casual settings.
After the call from the Dallas Health Department, he was given a monkeypox vaccine, but that didn’t prevent what came next…
Shannahan was administered a monkeypox vaccine after he was diagnosed, but still became bedridden for two days and felt so ill he feared for his life.
I keep making the same point, but most people out there still don’t seem to get it.
This is not the same monkeypox that we have dealt with before.
Scientists are telling us that there are approximately 50 key mutations that set this virus apart from previous strains of monkeypox…
But in the new study, when microbial genomics researcher João Paulo Gomes of Portugal’s National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA) and his colleagues compared 15 virus samples from the current outbreak with viruses isolated from people who traveled to West Africa in 2018 and 2019, they found that the present-day virus had mutated about 50 times in just four years.
So the truth is that we may be starting from square one because this virus is radically different from anything that we have previously faced.
And as I have warned in previous articles, this is a virus that you definitely do not want to catch.
According to Shannahan, any time that one of the sores on his skin touched something, it felt like “someone is taking a potato peeler to your skin”…
Revealing his illness, Shannahan told KHOU 11: ‘It’s just the most traumatic experience I’ve ever had. It’s the worst sick I’ve ever been.
‘You have these blisters that are inflamed and anytime it grazes something or touches something, it literally feels like someone is taking a potato peeler to your skin.’
It turns out that Shannahan has also had COVID, but he says that monkeypox is “100 times worse”…
‘The pain and tenderness was constant,’ he said.
Asked whether it was like Covid, he said: ‘Oh, 100 times worse. this was a totally different level of extreme fatigue.’
If the number of cases continues to rise at an exponential rate, it won’t be too long before monkeypox is literally everywhere.
So what will we do then?
If it can spread among people gathered at a music festival, then it can also spread at a church, at a store or at a school.
Will health authorities ultimately decide that extended lockdowns are necessary?
And will the general public start clamoring for such lockdowns?
Let’s hope not. Personally, I don’t want to see lockdowns in the United States ever again for any reason.
But once people start to understand the sort of pain this virus causes, there will be a lot of panic among the general public. Shannahan says that during his worst days it was as if “someone took a ball of needles and kept on stabbing you with it”…
“The pain and tenderness was constant,” Shannahan said. “It’s like if someone took a ball of needles and kept on stabbing you with it.”
Of course Shannahan is not the only victim that is speaking out.
Another victim named Gabriel Morales says that he spent eight days alone in his apartment in “excruciating pain” after he contracted the virus…
Although he was covered with lesions, it took four hours of phone calls, and then five hours in a Harlem emergency room, for Gabriel Morales to be tested for the monkeypox virus earlier this month. And that was just the beginning of his wait.
Mr. Morales was sent home and told the Department of Health would call with his results in less than a week. The call never came.
He spent the next eight days alone in his apartment in what he described as excruciating pain, trying to find someone to prescribe him pain medication and a hard-to-access antiviral drug.
Doesn’t that sound fun?
If this virus is not contained, we could soon have millions upon millions of victims suffering through the most intense pain that they have ever experienced in their entire lives.
And just about everyone else could be in a state of full-blown panic because they are so fearful of catching the virus themselves.
There is a very real possibility that this plague could cause even more panic than COVID, and so it is absolutely imperative that authorities get this thing under control.
Unfortunately, many experts are now entirely convinced that it will be impossible to do so…
It has been a mere nine weeks since the United Kingdom announced it had detected four cases of monkeypox, a virus endemic only in West and Central Africa. In that time, the number of cases has mushroomed to nearly 13,000 in over 60 countries throughout Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, new parts of Africa, South Asia, and Australia.
The growth in cases and the geographic spread has been rapid and relentless.
Now, even as global health officials race to curb spread of the virus, most experts polled by STAT said they don’t believe it will be possible to contain it.
For the record, I specifically warned that something just like this would happen.
Now that day has arrived.
I am still hoping that the numbers will start to level off and that this crisis will start to fade.
But I have been closely watching the numbers each week and so far that has not happened.
In fact, I believe that the WHO will soon officially declare that we have another global pandemic on our hands.
An era of great pestilences is here, and none of our lives will ever be the same again.
About the Author: My name is Michael and my brand new book entitled “7 Year Apocalypse” is now available on Amazon.com. In addition to my new book I have written five other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, “Get Prepared Now”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned) When you purchase any of these books you help to support the work that I am doing, and one way that you can really help is by sending digital copies as gifts through Amazon to family and friends. Time is short, and I need help getting these warnings into the hands of as many people as possible. I have published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but I also ask that they include this “About the Author” section with each article. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, I strongly urge you to ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior today.
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Climate change and fluvial flood risk in the UK: More of the same?
2008 (English)In: Hydrological Processes, ISSN 0885-6087, E-ISSN 1099-1085, Vol. 22, no 14, 2511-2523 p.Article, review/survey (Refereed) Published
The potential impact of climate change on fluvial flooding is receiving considerable scientific and political interest thanks to evidence from climate model projections and a widely held belief that flood risk may be increasing at European levels. This review compares published work on historical trends in UK rainfall and river flow records with high-resolution regional climate change projections, and attempts to reconcile apparent differences between the two. Attention is focused on the techniques used for climate change detection and attribution, as well as the potential confounding effects of land-use change. International and domestic efforts to build adaptive capacity rest on improved quantification of uncertainty in flood risk at very local, catchment and regional scales. This will involve further research to better integrate climate and land-management interactions, to understand changes in the dependence between different flood generating mechanisms, and to improve the characterization and communication of uncertainty at all stages of analysis. Resources are also needed to ensure that latest, but still uncertain, science is presented in an appropriate form to underpin policy development and is translated into sensible guidance for practitioners.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2008. Vol. 22, no 14, 2511-2523 p.
climate change, flood risk, detection, land use, adaptation, uncertainty
Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
IdentifiersURN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-15412DOI: 10.1002/hyp.6847ISI: 000257954400011OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-15412DiVA: diva2:43183
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A virtual server, sometimes called a virtual host, is an object that allows the same physical server to host multiple Internet domain names. All virtual servers hosted on the same physical server share the IP address of that physical server. A virtual server associates a domain name for a server (such as www.aaa.com) with the particular server on which GlassFish Server is running. Each virtual server must be registered with the DNS server for your network.
Do not confuse an Internet domain with the administrative domain of GlassFish Server.
For example, assume that you want to host the following domains on your physical server: www.aaa.com, www.bbb.com, and www.ccc.com. Assume that these domains are respectively associated with web modules web1, web2, and web3. This means that the following URLs are handled by your physical server:
http://www.aaa.com:8080/web1 http://www.bbb.com:8080/web2 http://www.ccc.com:8080/web3
The first URL is mapped to virtual server www.aaa.com, the second URL is mapped to virtual server www.bbb.com, and the third is mapped to virtual server www.ccc.com. For this mapping to work, www.aaa.com, www.bbb.com, and www.ccc.com must all resolve to your physical server’s IP address and each virtual server must be registered with the DNS server for your network. In addition, on a UNIX system, add these domains to your /etc/hosts file (if the setting for hosts in your /etc/nsswitch.conf file includes files).
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Return to Transcripts main page
STARTING POINT WITH SOLEDAD O'BRIEN
Witnesses Videotape Escape From Captivity; Interview with Maria Castro-Montes; Escape From Captivity; Bizarre Behavior At Ariel's House; Mother's Day Parade Shooting; Leila Fowler's Brother Under Arrest; O.J.'s Fight For Freedom; Police Officer's Act Of Kindness
Aired May 13, 2013 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to STARTING POINT, everyone. I'm John Berman.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: Two women who thought they were about to get in trouble with police wound up as witnesses to history. They happened to be driving on Seymour Avenue in Cleveland, last week, at the very same time that officers were about to storm suspected kidnapper Ariel Castro's home.
At first, they thought they were being pulled over by cops. Once they realized what was happening they broke out a cell phone camera and they began rolling on the final moments of that ten-year horror story.
ROMANS: Also, an interview you'll only see on CNN, Pedro and Onil Castro breaking their silence about their brother, Ariel. The unspeakable crimes he allegedly committed and the effect it's having on their own lives. They're going to tell our Martin Savidge they're feeling very much like victims, too, even though they were quickly cleared by police shortly after their arrest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ONIL CASTRO, KIDNAPPING SUSPECT'S BROTHER: I want this to be true. Like I said earlier I want to wake up out of this nightmare.
PEDRO CASTRO, KIDNAPPING SUSPECT'S BROTHER: I want to say that I don't want to be hunted down like a dog for a crime that I did not commit. I don't want to be locked up in my house because somebody out there is going to do harm to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Joining us now is Maria Castro Montes. She is a cousin of Ariel, Onil, and Pedro Castro. Her father is brothers with their father. Thank you for joining us this morning. It's so nice to see you. When you hear that, when you hear those two cousins, your cousins talking about being hunted down for a crime that they did not commit, tell me what's happenin0g with your family, and how your family feels about, I guess the public perceptions there.
MARIA CASTRO-MONTES, COUSIN OF OHIO KIDNAPPER, ARIEL CASTRO: Right. You know, it's very difficult, first of all, because we did, you know, the media was making it look, and the police did make it look like it was all three. So there was certainly a great sense of relief when we found out that the two had been found innocent.
You know, I should hope, one of my initial statements was to please not judge an entire family based on one person's actions, and here then became a perfect example. You know, these poor men have also fallen victim to the horrible things that their brother did.
And I should hope that people remain rational and realize that the reason that they were let go is because the girls themselves have made these statements to the police that there was no one else involved specifically, these two brothers.
So they have to accept that and move on and realize that they're totally innocent. And so please, just not retaliate against these two brothers or their mother.
ROMANS: What's your reaction to their interview? I mean, they said they wanted to, they sat down with CNN so they could really clear the air, and make sure people knew that they, they are disgusted by the alleged actions of their brother, that they don't want the family to be pointed in the same light.
MONTES: Right. Right, exactly. And I mean, it's painful, as well. You know, in watching his daughter's interview. It's obvious that he fooled everyone. You know, he obviously lived two separate lives. And you know, everyone thought that he was the good person, that we all at some point in our lives had thought him to be. And now all of these things are coming to light, and it's got to be horrifying.
It's horrifying for me, and I'm just a cousin. These are the people that lived their lives with him daily. I can't even imagine what they're thinking and what they're going through.
ROMANS: What are your -- you and your family members talking about? I mean, are you all sort of going through your memory, going through history and trying to find tell told telltale signs or any kind of red flags in hindsight. I mean, it must be I can only imagine everyone's wracking their brains trying to figure out what did we miss?
MONTES: Right. Well, we -- we have wracked our brains, unfortunately, not about what we missed about this case, because there certainly could have been anything that we missed. None of us had been in the house and there weren't any signs with him and we didn't see him that often, more recently.
What we've wracked our brains about is, is when we did know him, and interacted with him in such happy times. I think back now to what point in his life made him change? At what point in his life when I was looking at him, even in younger days, did he already have some evil heart. At what point was there a turning point? That's what I'm finding difficult also to come to grips with.
ROMANS: I want to play a little bit of sound from that interview, so many fascinating, fascinating responses from Onil and Pedro, but in particular unusual behavior about the house. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
P. CASTRO: He would let me in, not past the kitchen.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Could you see anything beyond the kitchen?
P. CASTRO: No, because there's curtains.
SAVIDGE: He had the house blocked off with curtains?
P. CASTRO: Yes.
SAVIDGE: And what about, could you hear anything in the home?
P. CASTRO: No. The radio was playing all the time.
SAVIDGE: He would play music all the time?
P. CASTRO: Yes. If not the radio, the TV, something had to be on at all time in the kitchen.
ROMANS: Such odd behavior. But he really, people didn't really go to his house very often. People in the family really didn't go there very much, did they?
MONTES: Right. Right. I mean when you think about it, he was a bachelor, and you know, most bachelors don't entertain. And as far as the music, you know, obviously in hindsight we look at it back now and say, he was trying to muffle sounds and that kind of thing.
But he was a musician, and, you know, being Hispanic we love our music. I blast my music in my car. Most people do or in my home when I'm cleaning or cooking or doing my daily chores. So, the sound of music isn't anything for people to have found as strange.
ROMANS: All right, well, Maria, thank you for coming and sharing your story with us this morning. And again, just I can't imagine how the family must be just going over every little detail over the years, just such a shocking, shocking turn of events. Thank you.
BERMAN: Another major story we're following this morning, new developments in New Orleans, where police are asking for the public's help to track down the suspect behind a shooting at a Mother's Day parade that wounded 19 people including two children. They're now offering a $10,000 reward for help.
CNN's Alina Machado is live in New Orleans for us. Alina, the New Orleans Police Department released surveillance photos brand-new this morning. Tell us about these.
ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we want to actually show you those photographs. It's a series of photographs that were released by the New Orleans Police Department and in them we see a man with a white shirt, he seems to walk toward a crowd and starts shooting. It looks like he's shooting into the crowd and then he sees -- he seems to be taking off, running away from the scene.
The New Orleans Police Department tells us this man is a suspect in this case. They are trying to figure out exactly who he is and they are asking for the public's help in doing just that. Now this shooting happened in the Seventh Ward yesterday afternoon around 1:30. The Seventh Ward, that neighborhood where it happened, is just a few minutes from LSU Medical Center.
This is where several victims were brought for treatment, and this shooting happened during a parade. There were hundreds of people outside during the shooting. They were out enjoying the parade, celebrating Mother's Day. Here are two eyewitness accounts we have for you. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody started running and running and running and we weren't sure what's going on and they're shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just opened my door today and two guys just collapse right there on my steps. You know, me and my daughter did the best thing we can to revive them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACHADO: Again, 19 people were wounded in this shooting, and most of these wounds are not considered to be life threatening. Police say most of the wounds were graze wounds. Two children were hurt in the shooting, the ages of those children 10 years old. Of course, police continue investigating and trying to figure out exactly what happened -- John.
BERMAN: Trying to find the identity of that suspect in the white T- shirt. Thank you, Alina Machado for bringing us the new video and all the new developments this morning from New Orleans.
ROMANS: New developments in the murder of 8-year-old California girl Leila Fowler:12-year-old brother under arrest for allegedly killing his sister. Their stepmother Crystal Walters posted a message on Facebook saying quote, "Thank you for those who are standing by us in this devastating time for our family. Thank you for respecting our privacy during this time. We need a little space. Happy Mother's day to all."
CNN's Dan Simon live in Valley Springs, California. Good morning, Dan.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. For two weeks this community was absolutely terrified and on the lookout for a killer. Someone they believed randomly barged into a home and targeted an 8-year-old girl. Well, now the sheriff says this was far from random.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SIMON (voice-over): In the days after her killing, an emotional candle light vigil to remember 8-year-old Leila Fowler, known for her bubbly personality.
AMY HASSELWANDER, PRINCIPAL, JENNY LIND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Leila was beautiful and strong. She was kind. I remembered that Leila liked purple.
SIMON: Leila's family among the mourners, seen here was her 12-year- old brother, the one who had told police that an intruder stabbed his sister while they were home alone, and their parents were at a Little League baseball game. A story authorities now say was a lie.
GARY KUNTZ, CALAVERAS COUNTY SHERIFF: At 5:10 p.m. detectives arrested Leila's 12-year-old brother at the Valley Springs Station and -- on charges of homicide. These types of cases require a certain amount of time and it was our commitment to make sure that we did a thorough job as possible.
SIMON: The family remained visible throughout the investigation. Leila's mother spoke about the closeness between her son and daughter.
CRYSTAL WALTERS, LEILA FOWLER'S STEPMOTHER: He never like pushed her around like big brothers and sisters do. He never like was ever was mean to her.
SIMON: In the immediate aftermath of the killing two weeks ago, this usually serene Northern California community of 7,500 went into a near frenzy, as nervous residents believed a killer was at large, and wondered whether there would be more victims.
PATRICIA CAMBELL, RESTAURANT OWNER: I've lived here 33 years. I've never seen anything like this happen. We've had bad things happen in our community, but never like this to a little child.
SIMON: Patricia Cambell owns a popular diner in town. She and everyone else we talked to her were shocked at the turn of events.
CAMBELL: It's bad enough to lose one of your own children. I can't imagine losing one, too by the hand of one of my own. I couldn't imagine that.
HENRY KING, VALLEY SPRINGS RESIDENT: It was surprising, but I kind of had a feeling that it might be him, you know. A lot of people don't want to look at it that way, you know, but it seems like family, you got to look at the family first, for me.
SIMON: Well, authorities are not releasing the brother's name because he is, in fact, a minor. Christine, the main question today is why and what ultimately made investigators suspicious? Back to you.
ROMANS: All right, Dan Simon in California. Thanks, Dan.
Ahead on STARTING POINT, O.J. Simpson wants a new trial claiming bad legal advice put him behind bars. Could he get his way? A live report on that next.
BERMAN: And then this is not what you expect to see when you open your front door especially on Mother's Day. One family discovers an eight-foot alligator outside their house. The whole story and how they survived right after the break. You're watching STARTING POINT.
BERMAN: Welcome back to STARTING POINT, everyone. So his trial of the century was actually in the last century, but this morning, O.J. Simpson will be back in court. Simpson is currently serving prison time for armed robbery. Now, he wants a new trial claiming his lawyers did such a bad job that his conviction from 2008 should be thrown out.
CNN's Paul Vercammen is live in Las Vegas with the details on this. Good morning, Paul.
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. O.J. Simpson is now 65 years old, almost 66. He'll walk into the courtroom in his prison uniform and there's a legal fight going on right now to try to get the handcuffs also removed.
VERCAMMEN (voice-over): These are the last images of O.J. Simpson in public, being led out of a Las Vegas courtroom to prison in late 2008. Simpson was convicted of kidnapping and armed robbery for leading armed men into a hotel room to try to settle a dispute over sports memorabilia he wanted back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were just robbed at gunpoint by O.J. Simpson.
VERCAMMEN: Simpson was secretly recorded during the confrontation, which became part of the 2008 trial testimony.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Still -- out here.
VERCAMMEN: Simpson's new lawyers will argue their client was so horribly represented in that kidnapping trial. He deserves a new trial and freedom.
PATRICIA PALMS, SIMPSON LEAD DEFENSE ATTORNEY: We firmly believe he did not get a fair trial. I think that's going to bear out during the hearing. We want the judge to take a fresh look at this, what should have been presented, what wasn't presented, what was said, what wasn't said.
VERCAMMEN: Simpson is expected to take the witness stand this week, something he never did in the Las Vegas kidnapping trial, or his sensational televised trial in 1995, where he was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Other witnesses expected this week are now retired prosecutors in the Las Vegas case, and Yale Gallanter, he was Simpson's lead attorney in the kidnap trial, and a former ally. (on camera): Simpson's new lawyers will argue that Gallanter had a conflict of interest in part because of his business dealings with the football star.
(voice-over): Simpson has been housed at the Lovelock Correctional Center in northern Nevada. His lawyers call him a model inmate.
PALMS: It's common in the prison for there to be different factions that don't get along with each other, and because of his status as a celebrity, and his personality, he's sometimes mediates between different groups when they're having conflicts.
VERCAMMEN: Simpson is now hoping his new legal team will spring him from prison for good.
VERCAMMEN: and Simpson is serving a 9 to 33-year sentence. His new lawyer's going to argue that that sentence was too harsh. Back to you now, John, Christine.
BERMAN: This will be interesting, Paul. It's been a long time since we've seen O.J. Simpson. Paul Vercammen is in Las Vegas. Thanks so much.
ROMANS: All right, this is Berman's favorite story of the day. A family in Parkland, Florida, got this. Yes, a scaly Mother's Day surprise. Waking up to find an eight-foot alligator right on their front porch.
BERMAN: At first the mother thought it was some kind of elaborate Mother's Day prank. But seriously, this was no joke. What they did is they called in the famous gator boys to remove the alligator.
ROMANS: They bagged it and took it back to Holiday Park in the Florida everglades. Coming up at 8:30, we're going to hear from one of the gator boys.
BERMAN: Yes, it doesn't look like it was easy here. You know, Paul will explain how he captured take alligator, I assume the answer is very carefully, my goodness.
ROMANS: Also ahead on STARTING POINT this morning, after a police officer meet a teen walking home from work, she decides to give him the gift that keeps on giving. Their amazing story next. You're watching STARTING POINT.
ROMANS: It became the ride of a teenager's life. Phoenix Police Sergeant Natalie Simonick spotted 18-year-old Christian Felix was walking along a late at night and thought he might be breaking curfew.
BERMAN: It turns out that he missed the bus after work so he had to walk nine miles to get home. Christian explained to the officer that he did not have a bike and never learned to ride one. So Sergeant Simonick was so impressed with the young man, she gave him a bike and with the help of her squad, taught Christian how to ride it.
Sergeant Simonick and Christian Felix join us now live from Phoenix. It's great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for being with us.
SGT. NATALIE SIMONICK, PHOENIX POLICE DEPARTMENT: Thank you. Good morning.
BERMAN: Let me ask you, sergeant, what went through your head when you saw Christian walking that night?
SIMONICK: Well, it was late at night about, 11:00 and I saw this young juvenile walking. And it was a desolate area, so I was thinking maybe he's violating curfew or possibly a runaway. So I pulled up next to him and I asked him what he was doing. He said that he had missed the bus and that he was walking home, and he had a long way to walk.
BERMAN: And Christian, you're thinking you're in big trouble here. So you go from thinking, gosh, I'm in big trouble to getting a bike and bike lessons. What's that been like?
CHRISTIAN FELIX, RECEIVED BIKE FROM POLICE OFFICER: It's been -- it's unbelievable. I didn't think anything like this would happen from just walking late at night and then somebody just says a kindness like that for you. It's crazy.
ROMANS: And you work at a McDonald's, so sometimes you work different shifts. If you miss the bus, it's hard get being back and forth. How has the bike changed things and how was to learn to ride the bike?
FELIX: Well, at first it was kind of embarrassing because I'm 18 and all my friends, they kind of messed with me, give me a hard time. Like Christian is 18, doesn't know how to ride a bike. Then they said don't worry about age, you're doing fine. So thanks, dude.
BERMAN: Sergeant, you could have just given him a ride home and said goodbye. What made you decide to get more involved here?
SIMONICK: Well, on the ride home, I was talking to him and he said that he never knew how to ride a bike and I was shocked over this because, you know, all the kids I know how to ride a bike. And when I brought him home, his mom was so thankful that I had given him a ride home. They actually had been texting each other, she was making sure he was OK as he was walking.
So I just noticed the great relationship between him and his mother and she said he was a really good kid, never been arrested before, doesn't drink, do drugs, and he has a job. And I just thought that was great. You know, good person. And so then I went home and I started thinking about it and I'll like I have an extra bike at home, why not teach this person, Christian, how to ride a bike.
BERMAN: It sounds like you're both pretty good people based on the evidenced we're seeing here. Sergeant Simonick, Christian Felix, thank you so much for being with us. Good luck riding, Christian. We know you can do it. FELIX: Thanks.
BERMAN: All right, ahead on STARTING POINT, Onil and Pedro Castro, they break their silence exclusively to CNN. Why the brothers of kidnapping suspect Ariel Castro say they now feel like victims, too.
ROMANS: And in California, the older brother of murdered 8-year-old Leila Fowler taken into custody by police. You're watching STARTING POINT.
ROMANS: Welcome back. Good morning. I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: And I'm John Berman. Our STARTING POINT this morning, the brothers of the Cleveland man accused of kidnapping three women and holding them in horrific conditions for 10 years, the brothers speak exclusively to CNN.
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Malaysia Airliner Communications Shut Down Separately, US Officials Say
That Indicates it may have been an deliberate act, expert says.
March 13, 2014— -- Two U.S. officials tell ABC News the U.S. believes that the shutdown of two communication systems happened separately on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. One source said this indicates the plane did not come out of the sky because of a catastrophic failure.
The data reporting system, they believe, was shut down at 1:07 a.m. The transponder -- which transmits location and altitude -- shut down at 1:21 a.m.
This indicates it may well have been a deliberate act, ABC News aviation consultant John Nance said.
U.S. investigators told ABC News that the two modes of communication were "systematically shut down."
That means the U.S. team "is convinced that there was manual intervention," a source said, which means it was likely not an accident or catastrophic malfunction that took the plane out of the sky.
U.S. officials said earlier that they have an "indication" the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner may have crashed in the Indian Ocean and is moving the USS Kidd to the area to begin searching.
It's not clear what the indication was, but senior administration officials told ABC News the missing Malaysian flight continued to "ping" a satellite on an hourly basis after it lost contact with radar. The Boeing 777 jetliners are equipped with what is called the Airplane Health Management system in which they ping a satellite every hour. The number of pings would indicate how long the plane stayed aloft.
It's not clear, however, whether the satellite pings also indicate the plane's location.
The new information has greatly expanded the potential search area into the Indian Ocean.
"We have an indication the plane went down in the Indian Ocean," the senior Pentagon official said.
The official initially said there were indications that the plane flew four or five hours after disappearing from radar and that they believe it went into the water. Officials later said the plane likely did not fly four or five hours, but did not specify how long it may have been airborne.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said, “It's my understanding that based on some new information that's not necessarily conclusive, but new information, an additional search area may be opened in the Indian Ocean, and we are consulting with international partners about the appropriate assets to deploy.”
Carney did not specify the nature of the “new information.”
Pentagon officials said that the destroyer USS Kidd was being moved to the western part of the strait of Malacca at the request of Malaysia and is heading towards an area where the Indian Ocean and the Andaman Sea meet. The ship has helicopters aboard that can scour the area.
The U.S. action came hours after Malaysian officials said they had extended their search into the Andaman Sea and had requested help from India in the search for the missing plane and its 239 passengers.
Investigators also said today that U.S. officials gave them reasons to keep searching the waters west of Malaysia, far from the flight path of the Malaysia Airlines plane.
Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that the search’s “main focus has always been in the South China Sea,” which is east of Malaysia and along the plane’s route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
But the search was extended earlier this week to include water far to the west on the other side of Malaysia.
“We are working very closely with the FAA and the NTSB on the issue of a possible air turn back,” Hishammuddin said, referring to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.
“They have indicated to us that based on the information given by the Malaysian authorities, they — being the FAA and NTSB — the U.S. team was of the view that there was reasonable ground for the Malaysian authorities to deploy resources to conduct search on the western side of the peninsula of Malaysia. Under the circumstances, it is appropriate to conduct the search even if the evidence suggests there is a possibility of finding a minor evidence to suggest that ... the aircraft would have been there.”
Hishammuddin said it was possible the plane kept flying after dropping off of radar. "Of course, this is why we have extended the search," he said.
The Malaysians spent much of today's news conference dismissing earlier leads.
ABC News Live
24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events
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The real danger that lurks among stocks on the market
Published: Monday, October 21, 2013 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, October 19, 2013 at 5:00 p.m.
While all stocks have risk, are there some that are more dangerous to hold than others? If there are, are there warning signs a typical investor can use to identify them?
Some investors have come to believe that all stocks are dangerous investments. That is because some investors equate price volatility with danger. While all stocks are volatile, that doesn't necessarily mean they are all dangerous or equally dangerous.
The stock market is by nature volatile. It and individual stocks are subject to uncertainty and unpredictable events. These are the prime causes of volatility.
The more critical danger in investing comes from stocks that have a high probability of an irrecoverable price drop.
How can investors recognize such dangerous stocks? One way is that these stocks tend to have astronomical price-to-earning ratios, or P/E's and they don't pay dividends or have records of consistent positive earnings growth.
Since these stocks lack a history of earnings and dividends, their share prices are often based solely on hope and hype, which often generate unrealistic investor expectations.
These stocks are essentially "priced for perfection;" that is, essentially everything possible would have to go exactly right for their price to be justified. In the current political and economic climate, this perfection is unlikely.
And when the inevitable earnings disappointment appears, an astronomically high P/E can no longer be sustained and the stock price plummets.
Over the years, I've warned readers about dozens of dangerous stocks. As a further warning, I construct from them the "Living Dangerously Portfolio" and report on it quarterly.
In 2008, I started a new portfolio with all the dangerous stocks reviewed in this column from 2007- '08. I assumed a $10,000 investment in each stock at the price in the column when it was reviewed.
How has did portfolio of six stocks do for the first nine months of 2013?
It turned $94,285 into $155,972, for a return of about 65 percent.
This appears quite impressive when compared with the Nasdaq's return of 24.9 percent and the more conservative S&P 500 index's return of 17.9 percent.
But almost all of this return is due to Baidu.com, a Chinese Web services company which returned about 55 percent this year. Without this stock's return, the portfolio would've been up only 15.7 percent.
As I said, the important thing to remember about dangerous stocks is not that they might decline in price, it's that if they decline in price, they may never recover.
As I've written many times, and several of the stocks in the portfolio demonstrate, in essence their behavior is akin to lottery tickets. For example, there are two stocks that have lost most of their value and three that have at least doubled.
Let's take a closer look at the stocks.
In March 2007, Align Technologies, (symbol ALGN) was reviewed; its price was $17.50. Its closing third-quarter price was $48.10. It markets a system to treat the misalignment of teeth.
In June 2007, Jones Soda, (JSDA) was reviewed; its price was $15.00. Its closing third-quarter price was 67 cents. It markets premium sodas in the U.S. and Canada.
In September 2007, Baidu.com, (BIDU) was reviewed when its price was $21.40. Its closing third-quarter price was $155.18. (These prices are adjusted for a 10-for-one stock split.) It's the leading Chinese-language Internet search provider.
In November 2007, Concur Technologies (CNQR) was reviewed; its price was $31.63. Its closing third-quarter price was $110.50. It provides corporate travel and expense management software.
Xenoport, (XNPT) was reviewed in February 2008, when its price was $59.00. Its closing third-quarter price was $5.68. It's a biopharmaceutical company that works to improve the efficacy of drugs.
In May 2008, when Biomarin Pharmaceutical, (BMRN) was reviewed, its price was $36.77. Its closing third-quarter price was $72.17. It's a biopharmaceutical company that develops drugs for serious medical conditions.
For more, follow me on Twitter @logicalinvestor.
Send comments and questions to Robert Stepleman, Business News, Herald-Tribune, 1741 Main St., Sarasota, FL 34236, or firstname.lastname@example.org.
This story appeared in print on page D12
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English schools in Europe
Bulgaria - Sofia
School:Gannon & Gannon Language School <firstname.lastname@example.org>
Our American English course is designed to be 50 classroom hours, but can be lengthened or shortened based on the needs of the group or each individual. In order to facilitate student centered instruction, we use a variety of teaching strategies. At Gannon & Gannon we teach people from 5 to 105 years old since there is no limit for people's hunger for knowledge. There is no reason for the learning process to be stiffer or harder than it is, that's why we make your classes fun and educational at the same time. In numerous activities, in-class or outdoors students learn to use the real American English.
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Like a roving picaresque novel, the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables have been released since November in chapters, focusing on specific countries and distinct themes. When the anti-secrecy organization turned its focus to Cambodia last week dumping nearly 800 missives from the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh online in 24 hours the public was at last treated to a candid record of U.S. efforts to grapple with the rising influence of China here and by extension in Southeast Asia as a whole.
When the Obama Administration took office in 2009, it was keen not to present itself as China's direct strategic adversary. Instead, officials said they were reviving American diplomacy in Asia while maintaining an aversion to "competition and rivalry" which could thwart cooperation with Beijing thirty years after it normalized relations with the U.S. But if it isn't competition and rivalry on display in the cables disclosed last week, it is something very near to it. Though the picture offered by the WikiLeaks archive is incomplete, with the bulk of material generated since 2006, the dispatches show a growing anxiety among U.S. officials about the inroads that Beijing is making in Cambodia.
Beginning in 2006, the embassy began paying increasingly detailed attention to Beijing's relations with Phnom Penh. In April that year, the embassy was irked when Prime Minister Hun Sen praised a $600 million Chinese aid package announced during a visit by Chinese premier Wen Jiabao as coming "without strings." According to an unclassified cable, this was "a slap" at other aid donors, who, unlike China, placed conditions of accountability, reform and transparency on aid. "Despite all the hoopla... much of the assistance is old news and announced more than a year ago," said the cable. (Hun Sen has repeated this view in the years since.)
Four months later, the embassy briefed the State Department's human trafficking office after sending a Chinese-speaking intern and an official of Asian descent from its political/economic section to pose as customers at "sex establishments catering to the Chinese" where they queried managers, staff and Chinese businessmen. "Prices range from USD 20 to USD 150 depending on the type of service and ethnicity of the girl," a cable said. "At one bar, the manager tried to sell her daughter to" embassy officials.
By 2008, celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of Cambodia's diplomatic relations with the People's Republic really caught the U.S. Embassy's attention. In late December, less than a month before President Barack Obama took office, the embassy cabled Washington with a breathless inventory of Chinese activities here. Describing a crescendo of lavish attention and warmth, the cable said China was set to achieve a "new apogee" in relations with Cambodia and the region: "Cambodia's 'Year of China' looks to become its 'Century of China.'"
That year, King Norodom Sihamoni attended the Beijing Olympics and the Chinese Embassy hosted a royal banquet. China pledged $256 million in aid, mostly in soft loans, "the highest single-donor-country contribution to Cambodia ever." Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi had visited in February, announcing $55 million in aid and $1 billion in pledged commercial investment. New Chinese roads and dams proliferated, with China as the leading planner and financier of Cambodia's ambitious hydropower program that will have potentially devastating environmental consequences.
Though Hun Sen had claimed China's beneficence came with "no strings," it became clear in 2009 that the Chinese could call in extraordinary favors. That year, the Americans watched in dismay as, under heavy pressure from Beijing, Cambodian authorities flagrantly violated international law by wresting 20 ethnic Uihgur asylum seekers out of the U.N.'s hands and bundling them off to China where the faced execution for deadly riots in China's Xinjiang region. Within 48 hours, China had pledged $1.2 billion in assistance to Phnom Penh as an apparent reward. The U.S. Embassy swung into high gear, recording minute-by-minute the movements of Cambodian police, the apparent failures of the local and regional U.N. refugee agency officials and private confrontations with the Cambodian government.
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Visitors to the Oakland Zoo are enjoying a new baby eland this week.
The eland, which looks like a deer, was born in late April and is making her debut in the African Veldt at the zoo this week.
The animal's birth came as a huge surprise to zookeepers. Some are calling it an immaculate conception because all of the elands at the zoo are female.
The zoo got Etana, the mother, last fall and said she soon showed signed that she was expecting. They say she must have come to Oakland already with a bun in the oven.
Etana had a daughter, which they named Bali -- she's already 4-feet tall. Mother and daughter have been kept out of the public eye to bond for a few weeks. Next, they will be slowly introduced to the African Veldt exhibit where the public can now see them each day.
It’s been nearly 30 years since the Oakland Zoo has experienced an eland birth.
Little known fact: Eland milk is twice as fattening than milk from domestic cattle.
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"It's about telling someone, 'You can do that,' when they don't think they can," says Gilroy.
By the time you get out of bed, she's trained 1,200 midshipmen.
__Margaret Gilroy, 21
United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.; systems engineering major__
Gilroy is always on the run. As the lone brigade training sergeant in charge of freshmen, she hops out of bed at 5:25 A.M. to oversee 1,000 sailors- and Marines-to-be in their workout and inspections. And that's just her warm-up: The captain of the women's marathon team, she runs up to 20 miles daily and has 10 marathons under her belt. She's also cofounder of her local Girls on the Run program. "To elementary kids, a 5K is like a marathon," she says. "To see them destroy this challenge is unbelievable."
Her goal: To be among the Navy's first female submariners and complete 100 marathons.
Her tip: Push yourself—and others. "It's all about telling someone, You can do that,' when they don't think they can," she says.
__See all of this year's Top 10 College Women winners » __
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Josquin Desprez or Des Prés (both: zhōsˈkăN dāprāˈ) [key], c.1440–1521, Flemish composer, b. Hainaut, regarded by his contemporaries as the greatest of his age. Luther spoke highly of Desprez, who may have instructed Erasmus in music. He was in Milan from 1459 to 1479, and he sang in the papal choir intermittently from 1486 to 1494. After brief service under the duke of Ferrara, he ended his days as provost of the Collegiate Church of Condé. His earlier works exhibit a preoccupation with contrapuntal skills, while his later works are more chordal. He wrote masses and miscellaneous Italian pieces, but he was particularly noted for his chansons and motets.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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Verizon Thinkfinity offers thousands of free K-12 educational resources across seven disciplines for use in and out of school.
Our lesson plans are written and reviewed by educators using current research and the best instructional practices and are aligned to state and national standards. Choose from hundreds of topics and strategies.
Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals.
Teacher Resources by Grade
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Developing Persuasive Writing Strategies
|Grades||6 – 12|
|Strategy Guide Series||Teaching Writing|
This strategy guide describes the techniques used in effective persuasive writing and shares activities you can use to help students understand and use persuasion in their writing and critical thinking.
Effective persuasion depends upon attention to the audience throughout the writing process. Simply following a traditional formula will not necessarily result in good persuasive writing. Students need to investigate how audience and purpose affect persuasive writing to arrive at persuasive strategies that work. Formulas are only part of the process. Fran Claggett explains, “We must not depend on artificial structures that ultimately reduce the act of composition to formulaic practices” (3). Persuasion requires a wider understanding of how to use a formula as a guide, modifying it strategically to fit the needs of the audience and purpose.
Claggett, Fran. Teaching Writing: Craft, Art, Genre. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 2005.
Strategy in Practice
Persuasion is the process of one person trying to convince someone to do something. A writer might try to persuade someone to take an action, to support a cause, or to change a habit. Regardless of the purpose, the general process for writing a persuasive text begins with thinking about determining the reader’s feelings on the topic and then deciding what it will take to convince that reader to act. Here are some strategies you can use to help students become effective persuasive writers:
- Analyze persuasive texts from your class textbook or other media like political speeches and letters to the editor. Ask students to identify the audience and purpose for the text. The Purpose and Audience Analysis sheet includes some questions that you can use as part of your analysis.
- Choose authentic writing assignments that give students a real-world audience to communicate with and a real-world goal to work toward. The more concrete and real an assignment is, the better. Such authentic writing activities help students write more effectively because their intended readers are real people whom they can identify and their goals are real things that they hope to accomplish.
- Ask students to analyze the audience and purpose for their persuasive writing. Use the Basic Questions about Audience and/or the Purpose and Audience Analysis sheet to guide students’ analyses. Challenge students to identify specific details about their readers and to think carefully about how characteristics of those readers relate to their purpose.
- Review the general structure for persuasive writing, using the Persuasion Map Planning Sheet.
- Students can use the Persuasion Map to organize and expand their ideas. Explain that the tool may not fit every persuasive text that they will write. For some audiences and purposes, they will have more reasons than will fit in the tool. Other times, they may have fewer reasons. Remind them that the tool helps them gather their notes and does not have to be a strict outline.
- Incorporate peer review activities. Have students explain whom their readers are and what goals they want to accomplish. Ask peer reviewers to think about how convincing the text will be for the intended readers and goal. If appropriate for the assignment, you can use the Letter to the Editor Peer Review Questions or the Endorsement Letter Peer Review Questions to guide students’ review.
- Publish students’ work. Deliver students’ texts to their intended readers, when possible. If students have written letters to the editor of the school newspaper, for example, send them on to the newspaper. Seeing their writing actually persuade someone gives students a better understanding of the power of persuasion. Likewise, if they see that their writing fails to convince their readers, they can be motivated to work harder to identify the characteristics of their audience and to ensure that their text is more effective.
Encourage students to pay attention to the persuasion that they encounter in their daily lives—from commercials and ads to passages from the literature they read in and out of class. Bring this range and variety to the assignments you use as well. If students recognize the power of effective persuasive writing in and out of the classroom, they will better understand why learning to build persuasive arguments is valuable.
Grades 3 – 12 | Student Interactive | Organizing & Summarizing
The Persuasion Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to map out their arguments for a persuasive essay or debate.
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"Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States."This idea seems to be closely associated with that of Term Limits. That one is basically that current voter wisdom, as demonstrated by the qualifications of political candidates who have currently been elected by them, is so overwhelmingly superior to that of any possible subsequent constituency that it should be imposed by law on all future generations, forever. I see no good reason rationally to attempt to dissuade anyone who is so out of touch with reality that he or she holds that view.
The 28th Amendment is such an incredibly bad idea that even its proponents feel the need to justify it. The justifications I've seen are the following:
Instead of dealing with these one at a time, it might be appropriate to make a few observations:
The Constitution of the United States may be the greatest achievement of mankind ever, perhaps the greatest that ever can be. Our Constitution is so good, it has been imitated by virtually every modern nation on the face of the earth. The first ten Amendments, the Bill of Rights, were not so much changes as they were additions, kind of an "Article VIII" that didn't fit conveniently into the other seven Articles. In spite of the fact that the Bill of Rights has had unforeseen consequences, it has generally turned out well.
Not so with the other Amendments. The 12th Amendment contained a serious flaw that required another Amendment, the 20th, to rectify; and an oversight that was finally resolved only by the 25th Amendment 163 years later. The 13th Amendment, with the best of intentions, created a permanently destitute subclass of citizens that has never demonstrated either the intention or, in fact, the capability to become integrated into mainstream society. The 14th Amendment created an avenue to citizenship for foreign nationals who have no other connection with the United States other than that their mothers happened to be on US soil when they gave birth. The 15th Amendment gave voting rights to citizens who hadn't a clue about what they were doing, and the 16th Amendment repudiated the Constitution's prohibition on penalizing industry and inventiveness and instead subsidized sloth and complacency. It created the "benefits" of the IRS and Income Tax.
The 18th Amendment was so bad it was repealed in its entirety by the 21st Amendment, which in turn did nothing to address the original underlying problems of manufacture, sale and abuse of addicting, debilitating drugs. The 19th Amendment gave women the same right to vote as men without requiring an equal commitment to industry, economic development, or national defense, with predictable results. The 24th Amendment guaranteed voting rights to citizens so unable to earn a living that they couldn't even pay poll tax, and the 26th Amendment gave voting rights to 1/7 of all citizen children who, as a group, are well below even the mediocre median wage-earning and educational achievement levels of other voters in every single state! Finally, the 27th Amendment failed to achieve the specific intention for which it was passed, which is the main purpose of the proposed 28th Amendment as well, to eliminate the ability of members of Congress to determine their own compensation!
How many failed Amendments for this purpose do these people think we should have, anyway?
These historical considerations demonstrate that changing the Constitution should be done with the greatest caution, and then only to meet an overwhelming need that can be met no other way. None of the "justifications" for a 28th Amendment demonstrate that a need exists, that it is overwhelming, or that it could not be met otherwise.
The 28th Amendment, as worded, would not address any of the justifications for its passage. There is no compelling evidence that it would resolve public apathy about Congress. It would leave intact existing laws regarding pay, benefits, exemptions, privileges or rights of either existing or future members of Congress or the general public. In addition, it would create, at the most fundamental level, a truly terrifying power of Congress (far in excess of what it has now) to control the most intimate details of the lives of private citizens by the simple expedient of passing legislation which would otherwise affect at most 535 Government employees who are already subject to removal or immediate recall, for any reason (or, in fact, none at all), by the people they represent.
Imagine the impact, under the proposed Amendment, of the following bill:
"No member of Congress shall be paid or accept public funds or benefits of any kind except as stipulated compensation for service for which he or she personally is or previously has been employed."Then recognize that such a law would automatically exempt illegal aliens. Would this be a good law? Think about it!
Regardless of whether the public is apathetic about Congress or whether this constitutes a problem, the issue could be fully resolved by schools and local school boards providing more education about the workings of Congress. The Congressional Record, C-SPAN, C-SPAN2 and C-SPAN3 already provide the most extensive coverage, should anyone wish to take advantage of it, of government operations of any country in the world.
Members of Congress are the director employees of the largest economic corporate entity in history, the United States of America. Compared to the volume of its business, they are compensated less than any major corporation ever. The economic benefits paid to members of Congress, like the compensation of executives of other corporations, is intended to attract the most competent people, reward them for superlative performance, protect them from hazards unique to their professional responsibilities, and insure that their interests and energies are not distracted by providing for their retirement years.
The Founding Fathers thoughtfully included in the Preamble to the Constitution the (only) six functions for which they established it: to form a more perfect Union; establish justice; insure domestic tranquility; provide for the common defense; promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty for themselves and their posterity. None of these functions is served or advanced by making ordinary citizens hostages to what members of Congress might choose to accept for themselves.
Any person over the age of 25 who has been a citizen of the United States since age 18 can receive the same benefits as members of Congress, without regard to race, creed, color, gender, experience, residence, disability, previous income, veteran status, educational level, demonstrated aptitude, national origin, sexual orientation, or previous condition of servitude. All he or she has to do is get elected; it's the most equal employment opportunity plan on the planet by far. The proposed 28th Amendment, in contrast, is a conspiracy to create a constantly expanding class of automatic welfare recipients, who need do nothing at all worthwhile for the taxpayers whom they would coerce to support them.
The most compelling reason that this is a bad idea is rooted in the very concept of the rule of law. In the United States, laws are creations of The People, through their elected officials. Congress, on the other hand, is itself a creation of law and could, in theory, be modified or even abolished any time; a creation of law simply cannot be above it. To make ordinary citizens subject to all laws affecting Congress makes the creator (The People) the servant of the law, instead of the other way around. Laws are limitations of freedom. We need less of them, not more.
This proposed 28th Amendment would be the most stupid Amendment in the history of the Constitution, and that's saying a lot!
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Nutrition, Health and Wellbeing Course - Dublin
At BFEI, located in Blackrock village, Co.Dublin we offer a one year QQI Level 5 Nutrition, Health and Wellbeing course.
Are you interested in diet, nutrition and all things health related? Do you have a desire to connect with people and help them understand their relationship with food? Interested in learning how to promote healthy eating by blogging and using social media forums?
This course offers you the opportunity to learn about diet and nutrition while also exploring how our behaviour can motivate and empower lifestyle choices. Studies show that we are facing an obesity crisis of enormous proportions. Addressing this crisis is a Government priority, and this course will help you take advantage of emerging opportunities in this area.
As a graduate of this course, you can pursue careers in a range of areas including:
- Nutritional Advisor
- Health Food Stores
- Food/Healthy Living Blogger
- Self-employed Food Related Business
- Trainer in the area of Healthy Eating and Lifestyle
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This fully revised and expanded second edition is an ideal text for students in sport facility and event management courses as well as an invaluable reference for managers and industry professionals. Written by a team of recognised scholars in the sport management field, the new edition provides readers with both the theoretical foundations and practical applications for understanding the sporting event industry. The authors have organised and presented a wealth of information surrounding sport and entertainment events, their risks, and the facilities in which events take place. The clear and concise style of writing is further supplemented with photographs, industry examples, chapter summaries, and study questions to assist students in gaining an overall understanding of the sporting event industry.
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Rent Sport Facility Management 2nd edition today, or search our site for Robin textbooks. Every textbook comes with a 21-day "Any Reason" guarantee. Published by Fitness Information Technology, Incorporated.
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A Wonderful Place to Work
History: Founded in 1855, Elmira College is a private, coeducational, liberal arts college.
Location: Elmira, a city of 35,000, is located in the beautiful Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York.
Campus: 55 historic acres; 7 classroom buildings, 11 dormitories, 2 administrative office buildings, library, computer lab facilities, health center, campus center, President's Home, and Mark Twain Study. A major athletic facility completes the total campus. Eight college buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Academic calendar: Two twelve-week terms followed in April and May by a unique six-week Term III devoted to travel, field experience, research, independent study, and innovative courses.
Enrollment: 1,200 students, thirteen percent of whom are valedictorians or salutatorians of their high schools or prep schools, from 35 states and 31 foreign countries.
Faculty: 98% have earned the Ph.D. or the highest degree in their field required for undergraduate instruction; 12:1 student faculty ratio. No classes are taught by teaching assistants.
Average Class Size: 16 students per class; 90% of all offerings have 25 or fewer students; 35% have fewer than 12 students. Elmira ranks in the Top Five colleges in the eleven Northern states for small class size.
Library Facilities: Our library houses over 250,000 books, a state-of-the-art computer lab facility, more than 25,000 print and e-journals, as well as comprehensive collection of cds and DVDs.
National Honor Societies: Phi Beta Kappa, Psi Chi, Kappa Delta Pi, Phi Eta Sigma, Phi Alpha Theta, Alpha Phi Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa, Beta Beta Beta, Sigma Beta Delta, Lambda Iota Tau, National Residence Hall Honorary, Pi Sigma Alpha, Sigma Theta Tau, Lambda Alpha, Pi Gamma Mu, and Alpha Sigma Lambda.
Athletics: NCAA Division III in men's and women's intercollegiate sports. Member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference, United Volleyball Conference, and the Empire 8 Conference.
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Posted by: Chris Barylick
Date: Tuesday, August 30th, 2011, 04:18
Category: iOS, News, Software
If Mac OS X 10.7 (“Lion”) was starting to look like Windows 7 (or vice versa), this might be reassuring.
Per a blog entry by Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft’s president of its Windows Division, indicates that one key element of Windows 8 will take the new release in a very different direction than Apple’s outline for Mac OS X.
Sinofsky detailed his thinking behind changes planned for Windows Explorer, which is roughly analogous to Mac OS X’s Finder.
The Windows file system manager originally appeared as “MS DOS Executive,” which exposed DOS commands in a graphical environment with little similarity to the icon-centric Mac desktop.
As Windows began to grow in popularity, Microsoft created an embellished graphical representation of the file system with File Manager. Then, as web browsing became popular, Microsoft brought a browser-like interface to the file system, renaming File Manager as Windows Explorer, complete with a URL-like address bar and prominent back button.
Microsoft has incrementally incorporated Mac-like interface elements in Windows Explorer, with icon-centric file browsing that links documents to their preferred application. Particularly since the release of Mac OS X, Microsoft has incorporated a similar user environment focus that presents the user’s documents, pictures, music and videos rather than just a raw window into the root file system.
Microsoft’s biggest changes in Windows 8 will be an Office-like Ribbon that presents all the major functions in a tall, window-wide control bar. This marks a radical change in thinking compared to Apple’s increasingly minimalistic interface in the Finder, which limits the default buttons to a grouping of view options, a new sorting feature in Mac OS X Lion, a Quick View button, an Action button, and a search field.
Microsoft’s Windows 8 Explorer presents 19 visible buttons in five categories, and that’s just the Home tab. The Ribbon also supplies four other tabs, which function similar to the Mac’s main Menu Bar. Sinofsky explains, “The Home tab is the heart of our new, much more streamlined Explorer experience. The commands that make up 84% of what customers do in Explorer are now all available on this one tab.”
Outside of the graphical interface, Microsoft’s design goals for Windows 8 also mark a new era of computing centered around mobile devices such as tablets. Existing Windows 7 apps won’t run on future ARM-based tablets, but a new secondary environment of web-based apps will, something Microsoft hopes will enable Windows to remain relevant even as the conventional PC market has plateaued and begun to shrink globally.
Apple’s design direction for Mac OS X has opted to incorporate a variety of design elements originally created for iPad, including a simplified, window-less Full Screen mode for apps; limited and simplified control buttons in toolbars; an increasing use of touchpad gestures; and a new security model that encapsulates apps and their documents in a private sandbox.
Apple’s iOS originally appeared on the iPhone without any “file browser,” and even the latest version works hard to avoid any exposure of the underlying file system, despite supporting document-centric apps like iWork. Apps on iOS simply can not present a global view of the underlying filesystem, because all they can see is their own sandbox.
Apple’s iCloud similarly reduces the exposure of file system, replacing MobileMe’s iDisk with a new Documents and Data feature that secures an app’s files and data from access by malware while making the user’s files (and any changes) easier to manage across various devices.
Future versions of Mac OS X will likely continue along the same path, focusing upon self contained apps that create files, rather than a wide open file system (and the security issues related with having any piece of user-level software capable of accessing or wiping out any files in the local user folder).
Yes, the Ribbon shall rule the day after you boot up your Windows partiion either via Boot Camp or your virtualization app of choice.
All hail the Ribbon!!!
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Snakes on a Plane- The Sequel
Though the movie Snakes On a Plane with Samuel L Jackson was largely considered to be a flop, it appears there has been a sequel, albeit one with a lot less star-power and Hollywood special effects. The sequel starred an actual Quantas flight and a 10-foot long scrub python that found made its way onto the plane.
On a recent Quantas flight between Cairns, Australia and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, a 10-foot long scrub python snuck past all sterile areas, past security check points and found a cheap seat on the wing of the plane. Scrub pythons are renowned for their ability to hide in enclosed spaces. Paul Cousins of the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association said in an article for the BBC that the snake likely made his way up through the landing bay and eventually made his way to the trailing ledge flap assembly.
Unfortunately, the snake found its way on to the wing during the flight, likely seeking heat. The cold temperatures and high wind speeds did the snake in, though it managed to cling to the wing for the duration of the flight.
This is not the first time a snake has made its way onto a real plane in Australia either. In April 2012, on an Air Frontier flight from Darwin to a remote settlement, a snake popped its head out from behind the instrument panel of a plane a few times before slithering his way down the pilot’s leg. The pilot of that plane was forced to return to Darwin where they found a tree frog also in the plane, likely what the snake was going after in the first place.
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Definition of the market on which it wants to conduct competitive fight has to become one of the first strategic decisions made by firm. This choice of the basic market means breakdown of the market on the parts consisting of consumers with similar requirements and behavioural or motivational characteristics and creating favorable marketing opportunities for firm.
Formation of the range – the marketing administrative process demanding special attention from employees of the tourist company and for this reason, the constant analysis of the services is the main task of the organization.
The main criterion of quality of structure of rounds and programs of service is an interest of tourists. The main thing that each round corresponded to interests of those tourists for whom it is designed that the program of service gave them pleasure and rounds were in demand.
Saturation of the market of tourism by various tourist services, bitter competitive struggle of travel companies for preferences of consumers, possibility of businessmen independently to define the purposes, strategy, administrative structures caused need and possibility of use of marketing for the sphere of tourism. Marketing as active process solves a number of the problems necessary for accurate functioning of the company in the conditions of market economy. It that to us is better known under concept the analysis of the market, statement of the purposes and tasks, development of strategy, planning of activity and control.
After a choice of a target segment the company has to solve, what position to it should be taken in each of the chosen segments. Importance of this decision consists that it will serve as a clue at development of the marketing program. Positioning determines nature of perception of firm by target buyers.
That tourist industry succeeded in conditions of high-speed changes, the range has to change with the same speed or even to go on an advancing. Constantly concepts of the population about the best types of rest change, the fashion on prestigious vacation spots changes, there are new resort areas, new clients come with new inquiries.
Having chosen the new formula of tourist business focused on achievement of commercial success by development of the relations with certain types of consumers and increase of the range and quality of services on providing with their special potrebitelny cost, the tourist firm successfully realizes the business idea.
If in a number of the tourist companies business - process was in the center a tourist product and step-by-step technology of its production, at the moment some progressive firms come to a formula of management: the client – his requirements – business.
Anyway the tour operator has to analyse for himself efficiency of the taken place exhibition, having compared degree of the interest in the stand of the operator shown by visitors and level of its costs of participation in exhibition activity.
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The 10 Kinds Of Twitter Hashtaggers [infographics]
Hashtags on Twitter signify a lot of things, but above all, using them signifies a seasoned Twitter user. Still haven’t figured out how to deploy the pound sign with a bunch of words behind it in a way that makes sense? Maybe this taxonomy of the ten kinds of hashtaggers will help.
Way back in ye olde aught seven, a humble man named Chris Messina proposed a convention for nerds to organize at events: The pound sign, making groups easily searchable. Lo and behold, the #hashtag was born. Today, events like SXSWi now tell people exactly which hashtags to use to organize the outbound flow of thousands of tweets.
The beauty of hashtagged events is that you don’t even need to physically be there to participate. Have you been to another talk by that speaker? Add your thoughts with the hashtag! Do you think it would be funny to say the scheduled speaker was arrested just before they went on stage? Add your thoughts with the hashtag! Remember, the most important thing is what YOU think.
Do you remember back when you would turn on the TV and it would just be a picture? Just whatever show you wanted to watch and nothing else? Me neither. Network logos stuck on screen at all times have been popular for the better part of a decade. Over the past few years we’ve seen the rise of in-show pop-up ads, often with graphics and sound, as an advertisement for other shows on the network. And now, over the past few months, we’ve seen the rise of hashtags being displayed throughout the entirety of the show.
So not only is the TV telling you what channel you’re watching, and what TV show to watch next, it’s now telling you how to talk about the TV show you’re watching right now — what a great way for fans to connect over a TV show. Just think of all the meaningful things you can pack into 140 characters when half of it is taken up by a gigantic hashtag. (No really, start thinking! It’s hard.)
With Twitter, what may seem like one small tweet for a man can turn out to be a giant tweet for mankind.
Alyouka was the first person to tweet #jan25, the hashtag which ended up becoming a Twitter rallying cry for the Egyptian revolution. Since then Tunisia, Syria and America have started using Twitter for their revolutions with up to 100,000 different hashtags being used for the #Occupy movement.
If you hate protesters, hashtags are great for you too: Since the conversation is centralized you can flood the hashtag with spam to drown out dissidents. Everybody wins. Or loses.
If you’re a corporation you’re gonna want to promote your tweets. It doesn’t really matter which ones — you just gotta become part of the conversation. Take your cue from a company like Blockbuster who promoted the below tweet in an attempt to lure those savvy consumers searching the #Oscars hashtag a month after the Oscars aired.
But maybe that’s not enough. If you want your PR flotsam to really float to the top of the stream, then you should try to get a celebrity to use your hashtag.
Getting paid to sponsor products isn’t new for celebrities, with some getting thousands of dollars per tweet.
If you want to hashtag like your favorite celebrity, BE MUNDANE! Because anything they say will become popular, celebrities tend to be the most boring hashtaggers.
A few weeks ago, Justin Bieber tricked his followers into becoming the loudest, most boring clock in the world by having them countdown to the release of his newest single.
Are you a narcissist? OMG ME TOO. It’s like Twitter was made for us? (Was it? It probably was.)
I’m not sure many people have what it takes to step up to Kimora’s level of #all #hashtagging #all #the #time.
Another method she demonstrates is using the #fb hashtag to way to tell her Twitter followers, “I finally have something important to say and I want to share it with my real friends on Facebook.”
Remember those chain letters where you would answer random personal questions and then you’d foward them on to a friend?
Weren’t they a totally awesome artificial construct designed to let you share arbitrary personal thoughts about yourself with a handful of friends and whoever else they wanted to reshare them with?
On Twitter, like in life, you don’t have to be a celebrity or even say anything particularly interesting to become popular. The tweet above has been retweeted over 3,000 times and was prominently featured in Twitter’s trending topics.
Or if you’re a company you can just shoehorn your product in with amazing results.
Other people take popular hashtags that they see as objectionable and redirect their focus.
For some people, the only time they use hashtags on Twitter is for hashtag games where people make jokes on a theme. They’re a great way for funny people to be funny and for not funny people to think they’re funny.
Perhaps you were one of the 6 million people who saw that video of a guy supposedly flying by flapping his kitewing-affixed arms. There was a lot of speculation about whether this video was faked by people weighing in with science.
But anyone who knows about Twitter hashtags could tell that it was fake without even watching the video, just look at the tweet.
Who is doing a search for #bird? Or #flying for that matter. No one. If you really did something that incredible you wouldn’t have to try to grab the attention of the extremely bored or stupid people doing a Twitter search for #bird.
If all of Twitter’s a stage then all the men and women are merely players & the hashtag is our modern aside, a superliminal peek into the tweeter’s state of mind.
If you’re insecure, you should employ this convention heavily. No joke should be unremarked on and no sentiment left ambiguious. #jk #nobutseriously #seewhatididthere
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100 percent homemade healthy, affordable, and microwave-friendly meals.
Growing up I was poor. I'm 28 now and I recognize my childhood taught me a lot about what is necessary and what isn't. I was a pariah in school -- always the "new kid." Luckily, the bad crowd didn't want the unattractive, awkward Chinese girl who didn't know TLC stopped being cool two years ago.
My parents were always busy; both of them were usually away from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. That's what poverty is -- adults struggle every day to make ends meet. My parents sacrificed a lot of things, including spending time with me, but a good diet was not one of those things.
So when people say to me "Poor people can't eat healthy because they don't have the time or money to cook. Fast food is the only option," I say "BULLSHIT!" Is it more difficult? Sure it is, everything is more difficult when you're poor. Is it completely doable? Yes, it absolutely is because my mom did it.
My mom wasn't a nutritionist, she thought pizza was healthy and there was a solid month where I ate Costco pre-made frozen cheeseburgers for dinner. However, she did a great job pre-making a ton of stuff so I could microwave it when she wasn't around. Along with the Costco cheeseburger, I ate around a cup of cooked leafy greens.
I've never been overweight, I performed well academically (athletically was another story), and I love vegetables because it was delicious food not "healthy food." The foundation of microwaveable meals pre-made with love by my mom gave me a great start despite being poor.
Here are five ways to cook and eat delicious and healthy food when you're poor and overwhelmed.
1. Cook food that is microwave-friendly or can be easily assembled later on.
Avoid making things that won't taste good when reheated or the next day (crispy food, salads, and food with bread). For the vegetarian banh mi pictured above, you can pre-make most of the stuff and just fry an egg and assemble when you're ready to eat. Every meal pictured can be microwaved later on or quickly assembled so you get a delicious, hot meal fast! This doesn't mean you're limited to only soups and stews, you can see the variety of microwave-friendly foods I like to make!
2. Buy whatever vegetables are on sale and find out what grocery stores have cheap fresh produce.
It's nice to buy organic, local produce. It's also expensive and tough to find. What's more important to you and your family: Being full on inexpensive, healthy foods; being hungry on expensive, organic foods; or being full on inexpensive, unhealthy foods? My parents chose full, inexpensive, and healthy.
We need to stop equating healthy food to organic food because all it does is put healthy eating out of reach for many people. You can buy kale for $0.99/lb. at Kroger for most of the year or you can pay $2.99/lb. at Whole Foods or your local farmers market.
Also, take a bit of time to figure out which store is cheaper and has fresher veggies, don't make assumptions. We have a Compare Foods in Durham and surprisingly, their produce is pricier and less fresh than Kroger! Spending a couple of hours one day to compare different grocery stores in your area will result in big savings immediately.
3. Go to Asian grocery stores for cheap spices and produce.
Whenever I go to a Western grocery store I am shocked at the high price and limited variety of leafy green vegetables, rice, and spices. Along the lines of #2 about spending a bit of time to find cheap grocery stores, I'll save you some time by letting you in on a secret: Large Asian (Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Indian) supermarkets usually have a huge selection of produce, brown rice, and spices at unbeatable prices.
Smaller mom and pop shops may not have as many good deals on produce, but spices and rice should still be much cheaper! I buy 10lb bags of jasmine brown rice at my local Chinese supermarket and save 50 percent compared to if I bought small bags of it at a Western supermarket. I also buy most of my spices from Chinese or Indian stores and use them over a long time.
4. Buy cheap proteins (eggs, cheaper cuts of pork and chicken, etc.). Eat more vegetables than meat.
A lot of people say that eating meat and animal protein isn't important and you can get all your nutrients from tofu versions. I think it lacks variety, is often more expensive, and isn't very healthy as a lot of the tofu substitutes are heavily processed.
Eggs are a super cheap protein and iron source for growing kids and hardworking adults. My mom scoured the grocery stores for the cheap cuts of meat and made them delicious. But don't make meat the bulk of the meal!
The rule of thumb for my family is: The amount of vegetables you eat should be more than the amount of meat. Guaranteed if you eat a pound of vegetables first, you won't have room for a pound of steak! Easy rule of thumb to build the foundation of a healthy lifestyle.
5. Buy canned goods, frozen fruit, and boxed dry goods -- watch out for sodium! Look for sales and buy in bulk!
I use canned beans and tomatoes all the time, buy frozen blueberries for an easy, healthy dessert, and buy bulk brown rice, couscous, and quinoa when on sale. You don't have to worry about food going bad or weekly shopping like you do with fresh produce.
Be careful about sodium when buying canned items. Look for canned goods that are NOT pre-spiced and find the lowest sodium level. I buy canned tomatoes that have no salt or spices added and I rinse all my canned beans before cooking to wash away the salt. Stick to frozen fruit to avoid syrupy canned fruit. Don't bother with the small Dole bags meant for smoothies, they're overpriced. I buy the large 1kg, resealable bags and mix and match as desired.
Susan writes regularly at spusan.com
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In 1891, Paul Gauguin, the friend and sometime rival of Vincent Van Gogh, traveled to Tahiti and began to create the famous paintings that evoke visions of exotic natural beauty and mysterious island culture. Yet from February to June, for four months before Gauguin arrived, two Americans sought to explore the “real” Tahiti, to experience its landscape and understand its history. One was a wealthy intellectual, the other a painter.
Henry Adams (1838-1918), grandson of President John Quincy Adams, was a prolific historian and writer, perhaps best known for his memoir The Education of Henry Adams (1918). Adams loved to travel, and the stay on Tahiti was part of an extensive journey through the South Pacific and Asia. He was inspired by earlier accounts of the island, such as the journals of Captain James Cook and Herman Melville’s novels Typee and Omoo, as well as the popular romance, The Marriage of Loti, by Pierre Loti. Although Adams did not find the tropical paradise he expected, he was soon drawn into the local culture much more deeply than a regular tourist. He befriended several indigenous leaders and conducted ethnographic investigations, which resulted in a publication on the Salmon/Brander family of the Teva clan and their venerable queen, Arii Taimai, in 1901.
John La Farge (1835-1910) accompanied Adams on his travels, the latter paying for his expenses. La Farge had distinguished himself as a muralist and stained glass artist through works in numerous churches and public buildings of the United States. He was an erudite, academically trained painter, influenced by the romantic scenes of English Pre-Raphaelites and, more recently, the asymmetrical landscape compositions of Japanese prints. As Elizabeth Childs writes in her book, Vanishing Paradise: Art and Exoticism in Colonial Tahiti (2013), La Farge experienced Tahiti physically and visually, by walking, hiking, and canoeing, all the while sketching and painting watercolors. More surprising, she discovered that he also relied heavily on colonial photographs he had purchased to compose a series of South Seas paintings, idyllic views that brought him acclaim at home after his return. Employing glowing colors, La Farge’s genteel and idealized works express what Childs terms his “nostalgic regret.” They offer a far different vision of Tahiti than Gauguin’s images – hard-edged, raw, and avant-garde – with bright flat colors that reveal the textured burlap canvas.
Childs concludes that both Americans were inspired by their Tahitian experience, but not in the way they had originally expected. She analyzes the multi-layered opinions about place, history, and culture that these “elite ethnotourists” imposed on the island. In their notes and letters, Adams and La Farge observed a melancholy and listlessness pervading the island population that they found dispiriting. They lamented the disappearance of what they considered an authentic and ancient culture and landscape, threatened by encroaching modernity. Through their writings and art works Adams and La Farge sought to retain and visualize what they perceived as a vanishing paradise.
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Ask a Sampling of 100 lifters what muscle group they train their traps with and probably 50 will say back while the other 50 will say shoulders. That pretty much sums up the typical disagreement on the issue, but it would be a mistake to conclude that it doesn’t really matter. The truth is, it does.
3 Different Muscles
The traps, though thought of as one muscle, really function as three different muscles with different movements.
“The upper traps, which make up the most mass of the overall muscle, primarily lift and rotate the shoulder blades upward, as when shrugging the shoulders,” says Jim Stoppani, Ph.D, M&F senior science editor and author of Encyclopedia of Muscle & Strength (Human Kinetics, 2006). “The middle traps primarily pull the shoulder blades together, and the lower traps rotate the shoulder blades downward.”
Although trapezius training can be paired with either your shoulder or back workouts, Stoppani points out that most bodybuilders train their traps after shoulders because their primary interest is in developing the upper portion of the traps, and this area is already involved in most shoulder exercises. Following that logic, it makes sense to train them after shoulders, since they’re warmed up and ready to go. Conversely, only the middle traps are involved in back exercises. For that reason, doing shrugs (upper traps) on back day might not be the wisest choice since they won’t be warmed up.
But all in all, if you want to make the best possible choice between training traps with shoulders or back, go with shoulders, Stoppani advises. Or if you want to take a slightly more complex route, divide your trap training between the two: Do shrugging moves with shoulders, and on back day (or in a separate stand-alone workout) hit your middle traps with rows or incline dumbbell shrugs and your lower traps with lying dumbbell Y-raises or overhead barbell raises to the front (which is like a front raise for delts, except you raise the bar completely overhead). We don’t need a poll to know that’s a great solution.
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2010 Student Prize Finalist
Barry Kudrowitz is a Ph.D. candidate in the Mechanical Engineering Department at MIT, studying the relationships between humor and creativity to develop better idea generation tools for designers. Barry designs playful tools and opportunities that spark the imagination. Some tools are physical items that inspire creativity, such as a whiteboard table for collaborative brainstorming and a guitar that untrained musicians can play. Others are less tangible idea generation tools and games intended for use by students and designers. In addition to designing playful tools, he also designs playful products. Barry co-designed a Nerf® toy that is currently on the market, an elevator simulator that is in operation at the International Spy Museum in Washington DC, and a ketchup dispensing robot that was featured on the Martha Stewart Show.
Barry’s greatest passion is teaching design. He is course instructor and creator of a project-based class at MIT, Toy Product Design (2.00b), where he uses play as a means of getting students excited about engineering and product design. In the class, teams of students take their own toy ideas from concept to alpha prototype with the help of interdisciplinary mentors and industry representatives. This class is currently the highest enrolled non-required course in the MIT Mechanical Engineering department. Several of the student projects have continued on after the class to the point of filing for patents and starting ventures. The toy prototypes from the past two years are currently on display at the MIT Museum. For more information on Toy Product Design, please visit the course website: http://web.mit.edu/2.00b/www.
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As Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have become commonplace in personal and professional lives, the dangers of social networking for businesses have also grown. And even IT professionals who should know better may be putting their organizations at risk.
We wrote recently about the dangers of social networking sites such as Facebook and how hackers can use social media to steal passwords and other data from companies’ employees. In particular, high profile executives may be targeted, since they are the most visible and have access to the most sensitive information.
Many IT departments try to avoid those risks by training employees and company leaders on the dangers of social networking and making them aware of what pitfalls to avoid.
But it isn’t just careless non-technical employees and executives that may fall for the latest social networking scams. IT professionals and others with information security expertise can be fooled, too.
That’s the message behind a recent experiment conducted by Aamir Lakhani and Joseph Muniz, security experts with Texas-based World Wide Technology. Their research was conducted as a sanctioned security test involving a US government agency that specializes in cyber security, the Daily Mail reports.
Fooled by fake profile
The researchers created profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn and other sites for an attractive, intelligent and completely fictional person named Emily Williams. The profiles claimed the character was a 28-year-old MIT graduate with 10 years of experience in IT. Lakhani and Muniz got permission from a Hooters waitress to use her photos for the profile.
Once the profiles were created, the researchers set about contacting employees within the targeted agency. Within 15 hours, they were able to make 60 Facebook and 55 LinkedIn connections from the organization and its contractors, and the numbers soon grew to the hundreds.
Over the following three months, they were able to steal a lot of highly sensitive information. In one attack, several staff members clicked on a malicious e-card sent from Williams’ email address which installed a virus that Lakhani and Muniz used to steal passwords, domain credentials and other information. Using that data, the researchers were able to give Williams her own VPN account with access to the agency’s network.
Keys to avoid social networking risks
Lakhani and Muniz have conducted the same test for other organizations, including financial institutions, healthcare firms and others. In all cases, the results have been the same, they said in a presentation at the recent RSA Europe 2013 conference.
One of the keys, according to Lakhani and Muniz, is that sex sells, or at least that people are more trusting of women than men. When a similar experiment was conducted with a male character, they couldn’t even make the initial social media connections.
A big danger of social networking is that a lot of information needed to conduct scams is out in the open for everyone to see. When the researchers got questions asking how Williams knew a target, they responded using information taken from the person’s profile — for example, that they met at a conference he or she had recently written about attending.
Here are some the steps IT departments can take to keep their own organizations safe from the new dangers of social networking:
- Train everyone, including IT staff and others who should know better. Training should be frequent and come in many forms. Most importantly, tell people never to share sensitive information with anyone online.
- Ask people to share suspicious behavior they see with IT, so that the rest of the organization can be warned.
- Take down information from personal and professional social networking profiles that could be used to help hackers launch their attacks. That may include employee names and job titles, email addresses, internal project names, and organizational structures.
- Segment networks so that if one user is compromised, it doesn’t affect the rest of the network.
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Lossless Codec Quick Survey
I use intermediary video files all the time in my editing workflow. An "intermediary" is when you render out a part of a project (or even a whole project) to be rendered later to a different format (or a number of different formats). There are many reasons to do this. For example, if you create a video in another application (like a 3D app or a compositing app) to bring into your project, you'll want to render out of that app to a format that is losslessly perfect. Or you might want to render out to a lossless master and then dump that into a batch compression utility to create distribution formats for DVD-Video, Blu-ray and multiple bit rates for the Internet. Or you might have a sticky painful section of a project that you want to render to speed things up. Or you might be collaborating with other folks using other programs and need to pass off your work to them, again, in a perfectly lossless format. Or you might be wondering: What's the absolute best format for pristine archives? You get the idea: lossless compression is good.
So the problem is: Which lossless codec do you use? Over the past dozen years, I've used different ones, depending on whim and compatibility (for example, choosing QuickTime when collaborating with someone using a Mac). Occasionally, I've even run some render tests to assess speed vs. file size, but I haven't done so recently. Well, until just this morning. And so, without further ado, I present to you the results of my (almost) 2010 Lossless Video Format Render tests for Windows. It should be noted that these aren't rigorous, scientific tests (at least not as rigorous as these guys from 2007), but they are fair and pragmatic and you will definitely be able to use all of these codecs in your editing software of choice and I am confident you will see similar numbers.
I rendered the same raw file from my camcorder (AVCHD 1080i) four times with each codec in a handful of applications. The "Render Time" is an arbitrary, but standardized rating based on renders through a number of different applications (including Adobe, Sony, Sorenson and a few others). On my system, (a three year old 3.0 GHz quad core - go buy one of my publications if you would like to see these tests updated on a modern system) you could consider it a realtime multiplier. If you are running a new 8-core Nehalem system, you'd see faster numbers, but as a relative rating, you'd see similar results. There was nothing special about the footage and it actually had rather a lot of camera motion (yes, I sadistically enjoy abusing codecs, so I picked footage with not only camera motion, but a bunch of trees with leaves blowing around in the background), so it was not trivial to encode for codecs that attempted to compress the size (e.g., Lagarith, PNG).
|Codec||File Format||Speed*||Size per Second (MB)|
|Sony YUV (4:2:2)||AVI||1.9||121.5|
|Sony YUV (10-bit)||AVI||2.9||162.0|
|Animation ("mostly lossless")||QuickTime||6.1||174.7|
On a Windows machine, I think we have two obvious choices in terms of file size + render speed: HuffYUV (faster!) and Lagarith (smaller files!), with the edge going to the venerable HuffYUV (38% faster than Lagarith, while the file size is only +11%). Yes, the Sony YUV codec is blindingly fast and I would certainly consider it, but it's not (by design) entirely lossless, since it operates in a 4:2:2 color space. Now, will anyone be able to tell the difference between the Sony YUV and a truly lossless format? Not without PQR software they won't and even then the codec is likely nearly lossless under many situations. Furthermore, the file size efficiency of the lossless HuffYUV and Lagarith are far better than the Sony "mostly lossless" YUV. Personally, I am not terribly bothered by longer render times if I can be assured I'm getting the best quality I can.
Well, unless that render time is twice what it should be, so, no more QuickTime for me. And no more PNG. Trust me, my rebel nature and love of all things open source and free pre-disposes me to root for Apple and do everything in my power to make the PNG codec look good, but, frankly, as implemented in QuickTime, it's slow as molasses on a January morn in Wisconsin and there's no way to look at these numbers without concluding that it is simply broken.
Finally, I had wanted to test the QuickTime ProRes codec, but couldn't do so: Stupid Apple does not make it available for rendering on Windows. (Alternatively: Smart Apple does not make it available for rendering on Windows and, therefore, you should go out and buy a Mac.) And while it has different implementations, it is often used as a 4:2:2 codec, so maybe it's sour grapes, but it's probably as lossless as Sony's YUV codec anyhow (which is to say "mostly lossless"). One brutal conclusion of my little experiment is that QuickTime is crippled on Windows machines. Once again, I'd love to get my rant on and smack Mr. Jobs upside the head and tell him to get with it and play nice and slam Mr. Gates for this sad state of affairs, but such is life. It's just the way it is and when the economic equations pit compatibility vs. profit, profit wins every time. Thanks, guys, but in my case, I'd spend MORE money on your products if I didn't have to deal with these quirks all the time. Instead, fortunately, there are open sauce folks that create algorithms that are better than your crippled codecs anyhow: thank you Ben Rudiak-Gould (HuffYUV) and Ben Greenwood (Lagarith)! Go download the HuffYUV and Lagarith codecs and toss these gentlemen each $10 as a donation. Honestly, these codecs are each worth $30, in my opinion, and probably worth the $69 that Apple is charging for its ProRes codec. Which doesn't work on Windows anyhow. Yea. Thanks. At least I have an extra $69, I suppose.
- Lossless Video Codecs Comparison 2007
- HuffYUV codec download (free, and you can support Ben here)
- Lagarith codec download (free, but you should also toss "the other Ben" a tenner, too!)
- ffdshow codecs (free!)
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posted on Aug, 14 2004 @ 10:52 PM
A system was observed in use by the D.E.A. which creates near perfect invisibility without Cameras or LCD tape. The system utilizes the mirror-like
properties of UV range Ionization in sunlight.
In July, 1993 we were collecting evidence for a federal law suit against a persistent group of trespassers. We finally caught them using Generation-2
Starlight equipment. The morning after, just before dawn we observed a team down on a flat rooftop setting up a pyramid shaped tent frame about 6
feet tall and 8 feet wide. Next they pitched a tarp over it which looked like the bright side of Tin-Foil and had a UV (Blacklight) colored band
around it about 2/3 the way up from it's base. It was readily seen in the ambient range during the darkness with the unaided eye, but as the sun came
up we saw only what was behind it and the surrounding area.
This was part of a stealth system that works only in sunlight. The device is an optical reflector with it's primary emission in the UV range and
apparently is also a capacitor which is charged by the energy in sunlight, then discharges and recharges at a near infinite rate in full sunlight.
When viewed directly, the personnel interacting with this system are noted only by a heat mirage-type wavering like on a road on a hot day. They
are however plainly viewed via reflections on plate glass windows -not mirrors. We knew that the key to understanding the function of this system lied
in understanding the reason why reflections appeared on plate glass and not on mirrors. We spent months researching this and at the 18 month point had
a plausible theory; The system functions somewhat like HF radio skip propagation works. The sun charges particles in the ionosphere, causing them to
become mirror-like and both electrically & optically conductive. [As a ham operator I can put a few watts on the other side of the world with stations
in Africa and Europe coming in in the morning, Hawaii in the afternoon and Australia as the sun sets]. Charged ionosphere particles particles are both
electrically and optically conductive. This UV Pyramid device -which works only in sunlight- generates a massive excess of charged UV-range particles
in the immediate area. Their personnel have some simple device which gives them an opposite charge -attracting these charged particles to their
bodies. So when a viewer looks at them, these mirror-like ionized particles predominate in the sight picture and he viewer sees what's behind them
and the surrounding area. It works both with personnel and vehicles.
Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
The Image is DISPLACED in the sight picture...
A mirror or a car bumper has a chromium backing which is both optically AND electrically conductive. Any electrically conductive substance "keeps
the image moving" almost like it's too slick to hang on to. Plate glass is optically conductive, but NOT electrically conductive and razor sharp
images of these personnel are plainly viewed. We formally sent a F.O.I.A. to the D.E.A. and the FBI and have certified that this information in
non-classified and authorized for dissemination.
[edit on 15-8-2004 by John bull 1]
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Published in Blood Weekly, January 20th, 2000
Current treatment strategies for percutaneous coronary revascularization and acute coronary syndromes incorporate thrombin inhibition with either unfractionated or fractionated heparin. The peptide bivalirudin (Hirulog) is a direct thrombin inhibitor whose pharmacological properties differ from those of heparin, noted D.F. Kong and colleagues.
Kong et al. conducted a systematic overview (meta-analysis) to assess the effect of bivalirudin on four end points: death, myocardial infarction, major...
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NewsRx also is available at LexisNexis, Gale, ProQuest, Factiva, Dialog, Thomson Reuters, NewsEdge, and Dow Jones.
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Impact of eliminating government interventions on China's rice sector
China's economy has undergone fundamental changes since 1978. Agriculture, industry and services are being transformed into market economies. Marketing and domestic trade have also been reformed to take into account regional comparative advantages. The government, however, still controls input supply and output procurement to some extent. China is currently negotiating with the GATT in regard to gaining membership. Conditions for China's reentering the GATT are to eliminate the government interventions on domestic production and consumption, and international trade. This may affect China's comparative advantages in international markets, and therefore may result in changes in the structure of imports and exports. Will China continue to export rice or will it start to import rice under free trade, and if China continues to export, how much will China export? This paper attempts to model the potential effects of eliminating all government interventions on China's rice sector. We construct a rice industry model to facilitate our analysis. The model has three components, i.e., supply, demand, and price linkages. The estimated results are consistent with theory and are evaluated using several techniques. Results from model validation indicate that both static and dynamic models are reasonable and can be used to simulate effects of various government policies. Simulations are conducted to project China's rice economy to the year 2000. Two scenarios are compared: (1) continued current policy and (2) elimination of all government interventions. Eliminating all government interventions would increase production, stocks, and exports. Domestic consumption would decline due to the higher domestic prices from eliminating government subsidies on rice consumption. China would export more than 1.6 million metric tonnes of milled rice if there were no government interventions in the year 2000.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Huang, Jikun & David, Cristina C., 1993.
"Demand for cereal grains in Asia: the effect of urbanization,"
Agricultural Economics of Agricultural Economists,
International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 8(2), February.
- Huang, Jikun & David, Cristina C., 1993. "Demand for cereal grains in Asia: The effect of urbanization," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 8(2), pages 107-124, February.
- Anderson, Kym, 1983. "Economic Growth, Comparative Advantage and Agricultural Trade of Pacific Rim Countries," Review of Marketing and Agricultural Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 51(03), December.
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Have you ever taken a moment to think about how your vehicle's tires are made? Probably not, yet doing so may help you better understand what goes into our tire repair service. More than just a few inches of thick rubber, your tires are actually made from layer after layer of fabric cords called plies. These plies sit atop steel belts that help to reinforce both the sidewall and the treads, which is formed from several layers of synthetic rubber. Steel cable loops called beads give the tire the strength needed to stay seated on the rim. Once those components are placed together, they are run through a curing machine which cuts the tread pattern and bonds all the components together. To learn more about tires, including tire repair cost, visit Meineke #1944 in Alexandria, VA today.
Keeping your tires in optimal condition is important for a myriad of reasons. First of all, well-maintained tires handle better on slick and uneven surfaces. Their ability to handle these surfaces means that you and your passengers are less likely to be involved in a collision. Tires also have a significant impact on your suspension system, and if they are not rotated periodically, you may have difficulty steering your vehicle. Tires are frequently overlooked by drivers, but the better your tires perform, the better your entire vehicle will perform. Stop by our Alexandria, VA, Meineke #1944 store for a comprehensive inspection today.
What are some signs that you need your tires or wheels repaired? Some may seem fairly obvious. A puncture or blowout will typically have you on the computer or phone researching all of your "flat tire repair near me" options. However, there are other, less subtle signs that your wheels or tires are in need of service. One may be if you experience issues with your vehicle's performance, such as a noticeable shaking in the steering wheel or the entire vehicle whenever you go above 40 mph. Another may be uneven wear across the tread of each of your vehicle's tires. A quick balance or tire rotation service done at Meineke #1944 in Alexandria, VA can help you avoid ending up getting stranded on the side of the road.
Have you ever noticed how well your vehicle's different component systems work together? Unfortunately, they tend to deteriorate together, as well. You'd be amazed at how trying to avoid a simple tire repair cost can result in extensive damage to your vehicle. That's because unbalanced tires lead to increased wear on certain wheels as they try to support extra weight. Not only does this speed up their wear, but it also can affect your vehicle's suspension as it tries to compensate for this imbalance. Rather than allowing this to happen, research your "tire repair near me" options to find Meineke #1944 in Alexandria, VA.
If you're in need of new tires, you probably have concerns about the actual cost of tire replacement. While worn tires increase your risk of performance and stability issues on the road, that doesn't make affording new tires any easier. Fortunately, we at Meineke in Alexandria, VA can. Once you have your new tires, be sure to make frequent visit to our Meineke #1944 web page. We frequently post repair and tire rotation coupons there. This is our way of rewarding the trust you place in us.
Schedule this service today!Schedule appointment
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The first thing to know is that Steve McQueen, noted cinematic cool guy, loved cars. Loved 'em to pieces. One of the jewels of his collection was a Porsche 908 race car, which the actor drove to a second-place finish on one of the world's great endurance courses, the 12 Hours of Sebring race in Florida. This race, historically, has often been viewed as the best preparation for the most intense, notorious endurance race in the world: the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, a grueling test of an automobile's ability to withstand nonstop driving. And indeed, McQueen had some hope that he would himself be able to race at Le Mans, and managed to build a whole motion picture around that dream. Though insurance concerns meant that McQueen himself could not drive in the race (though rumours persist...), his 908 did, taking 9th place in the 1970 Le Mans event, which was filmed with documentarylike precision (by cameras mounted in McQueen's 908, among other camera cars) and released under the simple title of Le Mans in 1971.
I am no Steve McQueen, no matter what you may have heard to the contrary, and certainly I do not love cars, but even so I must concede that Le Mans is an inordinately fascinating motion picture. "Documentarylike" I said but a few lines ago, and yet the film blurs the line between documentary and fiction in ways that would make Werner Herzog nod in appreciation. The race at Le Mans on display in the film, after all, is the real and actual race that occured on June 13-14, 1971; and in a wild bit of serendipity, the same model which the screenplay called out to win (the Porsche 917; McQueen was a Porsche man, though and through) just so happened to win the actual race, though in life it was not a movie actor driving the victorious car. This is however nothing but a nifty bit of trivia, and should not get in the way of the film's greater triumph: Le Man presents what may very well be the most direct representation of a car race in cinema history. It is, at any rate, the most impressive race movie I've ever seen, though there are not many of them. It is not likely that you have heard of the film's director, Lee H. Katzin (he replaced the better-known John Sturges after that man had a fight with McQueen), nor of its two cinematographers or three editors, but the filmmakers nevertheless achieved, in this instant, absolute greatness: they captured the Le Mans race from angles almost inconceivable to mortal man, and then assembled it in an unfussy way that results in one of the most wholly coherent races ever put on screen.
A good thing that the race is so very easy to follow, because there really isn't anything else to the movie. It opens as the racers arrive; it ends moments after the first-place winner is crowned. In between, there is the rudiments of a plot involving McQueen as Michael Delaney, driving on the Porsche team, his friendly rivalry with Erich Stahler (Siegfried Rauch), driving for Ferrari, and his guilt over his part in an accident from the year prior that left a good friend dead, leaving behind a widow, Lisa (Elga Andersen), whom Delaney feels responsible for. If I say that none of this plays out in the way that you would probably anticipate, that is not a sign that the film is eager to bust open clichés - it is rather that the film is eager to abandon its narrative at every available moment.
Instead of thinking of Le Mans as a routine sports movie, with underdogs and arcs and villains and triumphs, it's better perhaps to view it as a visual poem about cars in motion. Not a poem, maybe. A concerto. For Le Mans is a remarkably musical film, both in the sense of the 1920s French idea that cinema editing is an inherently musical process, and in the sense that it has an especially wonderful score by Michel Legrand, arguably the finest composer in the history of motion picture soundtracks. There are moments in the film, primarily in its first third, where the combination of music and speeding cars blend into an abstraction that places the movie squarely in the company of something like Koyaanisqatsi, rather than The Fast and the Furious.
In fact, for something whose appeal is theoretically limited primarily towards gearheads - I use the term affectionately, or at least I mean to - whose knowledge of film esoterica is probably limited, Le Mans proves to have a remarkably artsy construction. The essential lack of a plot or character hooks - i.e. drama - I have already mentioned; but there is also the film's insane opening gambit, which places it squarely in territory marked, in 1971, primarily by Tarkovsky and 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the first 37 minutes of Le Man, there is not one single line of dialogue, and none of the characters are defined in any way other than their flashbacks to the 1969 crash. Oh, there are a few announcements over the Le Mans public address system, but I'd hardly count them as "dialogue". Which means, for those keeping score at home, that the first 35% of the film is practically a silent movie (albeit a silent movie with a brilliant score and a very well-designed race car soundscape). And as I reflect on that, it occurs to me that 2001 nor the corpus of Tarkovsky can boast any films with a solid 35% stretch of their running time entirely without dialogue.
It's no coincidence that the opening is the best part of the movie, the part where it is devoted entirely to the passion for speeding metal that led McQueen to spearhead the project in the first place (the auteurist in me can't help but regard this in every respect as his movie, though he neither directed, wrote, nor produced). Racing is reduced to an abstraction, but an eminently physical abstraction, if that makes sense; we never forget that the cars are massive objects, but they cease to seem like cars, e.g. metal boxes that carry people about. The phrase "poetry in motion" springs to mind, although that's probably not what the phrase was coined to describe.
At any rate, the film spends most of its time at the beginning and the end dedicated to such visions, but the middle is absolutely prosaic and forgettable. Frankly, McQueen himself is palpably disinterested in the middling dramatics; his interest in the project begins and ends with the spectacle of the race itself, and damn the rest. I do not blame him, really; the racing sequences in Le Mans are unadulterated Art, while the plotty bits couldn't have worked even if the lead actor committed himself body and soul to the drama. So let us not be harsh on the film's flaws, for its successes are great, and to my experience, unique in all the annals of car movies for their on-the-ground immediacy.
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Virtual Reality (VR) and 360-degree video are reshaping the media landscape, creating a fertile business environment.
In 2016 many new 360-degree cameras and VR headsets entered the consumer market. Distribution platforms are being established and new production studios are emerging. VR is a hot topic in research and industry, and many new and exciting interactive VR content and experiences are emerging.
The biggest gap we see in these experiences is the lack of social and shared aspects of VR usage, as today’s VR applications tend to be an isolated endeavour. In this paper, we present TogetherVR, a web-based framework for the creation and evaluation of social and shared VR experiences in which users can communicate with a high degree of presence and in photo-realistic video quality.
We further elaborate on three multi-user VR cases: watching TV together in VR, social collaboration in VR, and social VR conferencing in a mixed reality setting.
The last few years have seen a major uptake of virtual reality technology, enabling the creation of immersive videogames and training applications, but also paving the way for new forms of video entertainment.
Major sports events are being broadcast in 360-degree video, offering consumers new levels of immersion and to experience an event like never before. Also, Hollywood is experimenting with VR as a promotional tool with recent releases of VR movie tie-ins such as Ghost in the Shell VR2. Unfortunately, many VR experiences are still an isolated experience.
People wearing VR Head Mounted Displays (HMD) can sometimes feel like being in a different place and do not see or hear their physical surroundings. However, isolation is not a necessary consequence of new media formats: people can and do feel like being in another place with others ‘Slater et al.’. Multi-user VR experiences do exist, but these tend to focus on creating artificial experiences, in which users meet in a rendered VR environment, and the users are portrayed by avatars ‘Thomas et al.’.
Avatar-based approaches however may be too restrictive for interactions in many use cases where non-verbal communication is important, such as video conferencing, presentations, watching 360-degree videos together, and many more. In this paper, we present our ongoing efforts towards the creation of social and shared VR experiences in which users can communicate with a high degree of presence and in photo-realistic video quality.
For this purpose, we leverage the web browser as a VRenabled application platform by utilising emerging web technologies for audio-visual communications and currently available off-the-shelf hardware. The goal is an easy deployment as well as easy access in the home for interactive shared VR applications.
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Symzonia; Voyage of Discovery, by Adam Seaborn (pseud. John Cleves Symmes?), , at sacred-texts.com
The Author discovers the south extremity of Seaborn's Land, which he names Cape Worldsend.—The compass becomes useless.—He states the manner in which he obviated the difficulty occasioned thereby.—He enters the internal world: describes the phenomena which occur.—Discovers Token Island.—Occurrences at that Island.
I proceeded along the coast to the S. S. E. November 21st, 1817, the sun's altitude corrected for refraction placed us in a more northern latitude than we had left, which my officers considered as evidence of our having passed the pole and made some progress northward, and they accordingly congratulated me on the occasion. I knew better, and was perfectly aware that if the poles were open, of which I had no doubt, we must necessarily change our apparent latitude by observation very fast; and on turning the edge of the opening have a vertical sun, an equal division of day and night, and all the phenomena of the equator.
To be prepared for this untried region, I calculated all the changes of the apparent
altitude of the sun in all degrees of declination, as they must necessarily occur, assuming the form of the earth to be at the openings as stated by Capt. Symmes in his sublime theory; and formed tables that I might be able at any time to ascertain the ship's place without difficulty or delay.
We had thus far found the land to trend S. S. E. and S. Soon after noon this day we reached a cape, from which the land turned short round to the W. N. W. and continued in that direction as far as could be seen from the mast head. This being apparently the most extreme southern land of the external world, I named it Worlds-end Cape. I felt no disposition to follow the coast to the N. W. although it might be found to turn again to the south. The most prudent course appeared to be to keep sight of the land, that we might certainly find our way back again to Mr. Boneto's station. But a round about way to the internal world was not in accordance with my impatient feelings; and yet the indulgence of my desire required that I should manage with great circumspection.
The compass was now of no manner of use; the card turned round and round on the slightest agitation of the box, and the needle pointed sometimes one way and sometimes another, changing its position every five minutes. I had frequently heard Slim muttering his apprehensions, and even Albicore said to me, 'I hope we shall not have any bad weather, or lose sight of the land.' My best seamen appeared confounded at the loss of the compass, and a degree of alarm pervaded the whole ship's company. I had foreseen the difficulty that might take place when I proposed to leave the land, and to avoid it had placed Slim on the larboard watch with Albicore, by which arrangement the charge of my watch (the starboard) when I was off deck, devolved on Will Mackerel, assisted by Jack Whiffle. This was mortifying to Slim, but he was aware that he deserved it.
I kept near Cape Worldsend, taking its bearings in a variety of positions, for the ostensible purpose of ascertaining its exact position, until four o'clock, when the larboard watch went below. I saw that both Albicore and Slim turned in to get some sleep, and immediately ordered Mackerel
to keep the vessel on a course corresponding to south, and to press with both steam and canvass to the utmost. The wind was about N. W., fresh and very steady, which served as a guide, the helmsman being directed to keep the wind four points on the quarter. We ran at the rate of 16 knots. I gave strict orders that Albicore and Slim should not be disturbed at the usual hour of calling the dog watch; and when they came on deck at 10 P. M. there was no land in sight. The sun to their astonishment was just setting in the bosom of the ocean: they stared at one another, and looked at me, but said nothing. They were perfectly bewildered; they knew not which way was north, south, east or west. Had they now undertaken to direct the course of the vessel, they would have been more likely to run from the land than towards it. Mackerel was delighted to see the sun set once more; it seemed like old times; and the weather had been for some days so hot that a little night was very desirable.
I told them all to be perfectly at ease, for that I knew what I was about; that I could calculate every point of the compass,
as well as if that instrument performed its office; that we would heave to for the night, the occurrence of which was no more than I had calculated on; and finally, to give them confidence in my skill, told them, that if we did not find the sun directly over head at noon, within two days, provided no land impeded our progress, I would give up the command to Albicore, and show him the way back to Seaborn's Land.
Albicore and Slim both earnestly entreated that I would instruct them how to calculate the points of the compass, if I possessed that important knowledge, so that they might be enabled to find their way back again in case any accident should befal me. I begged to be excused, choosing to keep the staff in my own hands.
The truth was, having three excellent chronometers, one set to the time at Washington, one to that of Greenwich, and the other to that of Rio de Janeiro, and also an excellent watch daily regulated, which gave me the ship's diurnal time accurately, I could easily calculate my longitude, and the point on which the sun ought to hear every hour in the 24. With these
calculations before me, I had but to look at my watch and the sun to determine my course. Thus in the longitude of Greenwich, when the chronometer set to Greenwich time stood at 12 o'clock noon, wherever the sun was, was north; and when that chronometer stood at midnight, wherever the sun was, was south—on the external southern hemisphere, south of the degree of the sun's declination.
The re-appearance of the stars, and the refreshing coolness of the night air delighted my people. At daylight we made sail, and set the paddles in motion. At noon we had the sun nearly overhead, and the declination being 20° 5´ S. Slim was positive that we were in latitude 28° S. and wondered why the compass would not traverse. The next day we had a vertical sun, as I had predicted, and the weather as warm as I had ever known it at sea, with a fine breeze. No one knew which way we were steering but myself; and Slim's opinion confidently expressed that we were near the equator, and must soon make the continent of Asia, Africa, America, or the Asiatic islands, served to quiet the apprehensions of the men for their own
safety, and at the same time to awaken their solicitude for the situation of Mr. Boneto's party, whom they said I had barbarously left to perish by the frosts of a polar winter, on Seaborn's Land.
The next day we observed the sun to the south of us, and nearly over head, and the compass began to traverse imperfectly. We had a regular recurrence of day and night, though the latter was very short, which I knew was occasioned by the rays of the sun being obstructed by the rim of the earth, when the external side of the part we were on turned towards the sun. The nights were not dark, when no clouds intervened to obstruct the rays of the sun, reflected from the opposite rim, and from a large luminous body northward, in the internal heavens, which reflected the sun as our moon does, and which I judged to be the second concentric sphere, according to Capt. Symmes. This gave us very pleasant nights, but not quite clear enough to render sailing through untried seas entirely safe.
We continued running due north, interned, three days, when the compass became pretty regular; but instead of the N. and
[paragraph continues] S. points corresponding to the N. and S. points on the external world, as Capt. Symmes supposed it would do, the needle turned fairly end for end; the south end pointing directly into the globe towards the north pole, with some variation from the true north. But of this matter, I shall say very little, for sundry important reasons, and especially because intend to publish my theory of longitude in due season, and give the courses and bearings, corrected to true north and south, as understood by the externals.
On the 28th of November, 1817, we discovered land, just at sunset, and immediately hove to, to keep a good offing until day-light. I walked the deck all night, and was very impatient for the morning of that day which was to disclose to me the wonders of the internal world, and probably to decide the question whether it was or was not inhabited by rational beings.
Happily, day soon appeared, and we ran in with the land, keeping a good look-out, and the leads constantly going. On nearing the coast, we found the shore to be low and sandy. The body of the land, however, was high, with one towering peak far
inland, Near the sea it appeared to be extremely barren, but some miles hack, scattered clumps of trees, and some appearances of verdure, afforded a more cheering prospect. We explored the coast of this island, for such it proved to be, for two days, before we found anchorage, or a safe landing place. A very heavy surf rolled on shore, and broke high on the shoals, which were frequent, and in some places three miles off the coast, so as to make it dangerous to approach. At length we found a safe road, sheltered by a sand bank above water, about two miles long, and lying parallel with the shore, half a league from it. There was a fair passage in, with 15 fathoms water, and good holding ground. Here we moored to the great joy of all on board, who, seeing firm land with living things of some kind moving about upon it, felt satisfied that they were still in the sublunary world, and complained of nothing but the excessive heat. It was near night when we came to anchor; all further research was therefore deferred until the next day.
On the 1st December, I landed for the first time on terra firma of the internal
world, but was greatly disappointed, I must confess, to find no indications of any other inhabitants than turtles, terrapins of a monstrous size, some few seals, penguins, and numerous sea fowl. The great number of turtles was satisfactory evidence to my mind, that there were no human beings on the island; and, after a short walk on the burning sand, I returned on board, quite dejected.
The day was passed in fishing, and in collecting turtles and terrapins, for sea stock. In the evening, Mr. Slim, who was wide awake to his interest, suggested to me that we might obtain a good quantity of tortoise shell from this island, as the turtles brought on board were of the hawksbill kind, the shell of which sells for a high price. I gave him permission to land the following day, with ten men, and see what he could do in that way.
The next morning I was quite sick, in consequence of the heat, and of my disappointment in not finding an inhabited country, after encountering so many hazards, and exerting so much enterprise and perseverance. Being thus compelled to remain on board, I permitted Albicore to land
with four men, to ramble along shore, and see if he could make any discoveries. In the evening Slim reported that he had not been able to effect much, owing to the excessive heat, which compelled him, with his party, to take refuge under an awning, formed with the boats’ sails, for full half the day. Albicore stated that he had been eight or ten miles along the shore, but had seen nothing strange.
The following morning, when I had given orders to prepare for getting under weigh, having determined to remain no longer in a place where there was great danger of the yellow fever making its appearance amongst my people, without intercourse with vessels from the West Indies, Albicore mentioned incidentally as we sat at breakfast, and as a matter of no sort of moment, that he had seen, during his walk on the beach, about five miles from where we lay, something which looked like part of a wreck of some outlandish vessel. The worthy man, who considered nothing that did not pertain to the strict line of his duty as deserving a thought, was astonished to see me spring up from my seat at table, order the boats manned, and make ready for an immediate
expedition. It never occurred to his mind that if there were ships in those seas, there must also be men to build and sail them. To me the information he had given was both food and medicine: it revived my hopes, and fired my curiosity. I felt no desire to complete my repast. I was restored to health and good spirits, and was soon marching over the sand, with Albicore for my guide.
After two hours we reached the place which Mr. Albicore had spoken of, where I found part of the frame of a vessel of some sort, of about one hundred tons burthen, the form of which satisfied me that it was no drift from the external world. The stern raked inwards, instead of out, as we construct them, giving the forward part of the vessel the form of a double ploughshare; while the broad bulging sides were admirably adapted to make the vessel sit firm on the water, and prevent her oversetting. But the most singular part was a piece of planking, which remained attached to the frame, and which was actually sewed on with a white elastic wire, resembling in appearance platina, more than any metal known to us. I extracted
some small pieces of this singular metal, and with it fired the imagination of my people, by representing to them the enormous wealth we should acquire, could we obtain a cargo of it to carry to our country, where it would be more valuable than silver; and that the use to which it was applied was sufficient evidence of its being abundant where this vessel was built.
I named this island, which was in 81° 20´ internal south latitude, Token Island, considering its discovery as a token or premonition of some great things to come.
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No one would describe the countryside around
the San Joaquin Valley town of Madera as beautiful. It is a working landscape in the most fundamental sense: a patchwork of almond orchards, vineyards, alfalfa fields, and dairy farms. The terrain is flat. On clear days you can see the looming mass of the Sierra Nevada to the east, and the less precipitous Diablo Range to the west. Most days, however, are not clear; the air is murky with dust, copious emissions from the endless lines of traffic on Highway 99 and Interstate 5, and urban smog blown down from the Bay Area.
Still, the farmers and ranchers who live here are proud of their vocations and community, and they prosper in a measured way. In a typical year, Madera County generates more than $1.5 billion in agricultural revenue. Maderans are thus not anxious for change - and therefore have shown great resistance to California's ambitious high-speed rail project. The proposed route would plow a broad right-of-way through the county's cropland, ultimately permitting trains that reach speeds up to 220 miles per hour to shuttle nearly 25 million people a year between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
"It will utterly change our way of life here, and not for the better," says Anja Raudabaugh, the executive director of the Madera County Farm Bureau. Raudabaugh hardly looks the part of a ramrod for the local growers. Tall, blond, and city-smart, she spent seven years in Washington, D.C., as an agricultural adviser - including three years as a legislative assistant to former Rep. Douglas Ose (R-Sacramento) and two at the Office of Management and Budget. But her rural street cred is impeccable: She grew up just east of Madera on an 8,000-acre ranch homesteaded by her ancestors in 1856.
"I met my husband in Washington, and at a certain point, we were ready to get out," she says. "Coming back here was natural. We recently had a baby. This is where I want him to grow up."
Raudabaugh took the farm bureau job in 2011 and quickly came to blows with the California High-Speed Rail Authority (HSRA), established in 1996 to direct the project's development. In order to secure federal funding, the authority was required to begin construction in the Central Valley. So in 2010, flush with a $3.5 billion federal grant and $9 billion in state bonds, HSRA announced plans to build the first 65-mile leg of the system from Merced to Fresno.
According to Raudabaugh, the authority has compelling reasons to build such a "railroad to nowhere." First, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-5) requires all federal project funds to be spent by the end of September 2017 - a deadline that couldn't be met if construction were to start in densely populated urban areas. Second, land is cheap in the Central Valley. Dollar for dollar, more momentum could be generated for the project there than at the urban ends of the line. But the clock is running on project completion - and HSRA is acutely aware of every tick.
"The authority also figured there wouldn't be any legal issues," Raudabaugh adds. "In L.A. or the Bay Area, they knew they'd be hit with lawsuits. I don't think they expected much trouble here."
How wrong they were. Last June, plaintiffs - including Madera and Merced counties, their local farm bureaus, the City of Chowchilla, four corporate property owners, and several highly irritated individual farmers - filed a trio of lawsuits against HSRA. (County of Madera v. Cal. High Speed Rail Auth.
, No. 34-2012-80001165 (Sacramento Super. Ct., filed June 1, 2012); City of Chowchilla v. Cal. High Speed Rail Auth.
, No. 2012-80001166 (Sacramento Super. Ct., filed June 1, 2012); and Timeless Inv. Inc. v. Cal. High Speed Rail Auth.
, No. 2012-80001168 (Sacramento Super. Ct., filed June 4, 2012).)
plaintiffs alleged that a significant portion of the project would "deviate from existing transportation corridors," resulting in the destruction of or interference with "thousands of acres of farmland, wildlife habitat, hundreds of homes, many businesses, commercial properties and industrial facilities, existing roads and water delivery facilities."
The plaintiffs further alleged that the final environmental impact report (EIR) for the first phase was faulty, and improperly defers analysis and mitigation. The suit was filed under provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), enacted by the Legislature in 1970. (Cal. Pub. Res. Code §§ 21000-21189.3) A state analogue to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. §§ 4321-4370h), CEQA is the more comprehensive statute, applying not only to public projects but also to private projects that require sanction from state or local agencies.
There's a certain irony here, Raudabaugh acknowledges. Typically, farmers and ranchers loathe CEQA, viewing it as a hobble to efficient, profitable enterprises. But she says the growers' experience with CEQA taught them that the statute "provided rights and opportunities" - and perhaps a chance to sidetrack high-speed rail before the first train leaves the station.
Late last year Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley consolidated the three CEQA cases against HSRA, but he refused to impose a preliminary injunction to halt all work on the Merced-Fresno section. In February the property owners withdrew their suit, and the Chowchilla
plaintiffs settled with the agency for a promise to consider alternative routes and $300,000 in attorneys fees. That left the Madera
case, which was scheduled for a hearing on the merits in April.
"At this point, we need all the help we can get," Raudabaugh says. "The route will destroy many farms outright because the line will bisect properties, making it impossible to maintain functional operations. It will close 56 overpasses over Highway 99 in Madera County alone - and that will shut down many of our rural school districts. If the buses can't get the kids to the school, the schools lose their public funding."
From a broader standpoint, she continues, Madera's bucolic way of life will collapse. High-speed rail will make it possible for people to commute from Fresno to San Francisco in an hour and 20 minutes. The short ride, Raudabaugh says, "will spur massive residential and commercial growth around here. Even discounting the impacts to water, air, carbon emissions, and traffic, that kind of development is incompatible with commercial agriculture."
If that sounds like a public policy argument, Raudabaugh isn't shy about declaring her intent. "We've never made it a secret that delaying construction was part of our strategy," she says. "We don't have a lot of money, and we had to retain a Cadillac law firm to fight this. We want to win."
That Cadillac firm is Fitzgerald Abbott & Beardsley, based in Oakland. Lead plaintiffs counsel Barry H. Epstein acknowledges that he has represented developers battling CEQA more often than citizens groups invoking the act to fight a project.
"The fundamental objections my clients have are all about the routing," Epstein says. "As the route stands, it will devastate agriculture and communities. Not all CEQA cases can be settled for additional mitigation." Epstein took that argument all the way to the courthouse steps.
To proponents of high-speed rail,
Madera County's CEQA challenge was just the latest example of invoking the statute to frustrate economic development.
"High-speed rail is the kind of project California really needs," says Gary L. Toebben, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. "CEQA has an impact on thousands of projects in the state each year," he continues. "Much of the impact is positive, but there are far too many cases where businesses are using CEQA to block competition, and neighbors are using it to block transit and affordable housing. These suits run up the costs of projects astronomically and impose time delays that are measured in years - or even decades."
High-speed rail advocates in the Legislature anticipated CEQA suits from the project's opponents and sought to preempt them. Last June, then-state Senator Michael Rubio (D-Shafter) introduced SB 317 to exempt the first phase of the project from CEQA mandates. But Rubio's bill met with fierce opposition and was quickly shelved.
"It basically would've gutted CEQA," says Tom Adams, the former board president of the California League of Conservation Voters. "Even the proponents of the bill now acknowledge it was poorly drafted, and that withdrawing it was the only reasonable course. The problems facing high-speed rail have more to do with poor decisions by agency managers than any putative burdens imposed by CEQA."
California Senate President pro tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) admits SB 317 wasn't ready for prime time. "Senator Rubio agreed with me that the proposal, with wide-ranging implications and little time for careful deliberation, wasn't ready to be introduced in bill form," Steinberg responded by email. "I said at the time that CEQA is too important a law to rewrite hastily in the final days of the legislative session."
Steinberg adds, "I also said that we need to be open to looking at ways to improve the law without undermining its fundamental purposes of public transparency and participation, feasible mitigation, and environmental protection."
At the opening of its 2013-14 session, the Legislature was poised for Rubio to introduce a modified version of last year's bill. But in February he abruptly resigned to take a governmental affairs job with Chevron Corporation, leaving a pro-development coalition called the CEQA Working Group in limbo.
Steinberg himself quickly introduced a less drastic measure (SB 731) that promised to "expedite" CEQA review for transportation and alternative energy projects, set new thresholds for environmental impacts, and simplify the process for resolving disputes that fall under the act.
But whatever plan there had been to promote the bill evaporated as lawmakers from both parties introduced more than two dozen competing measures by the end of the filing deadline for new legislation. Many of these aim to strengthen CEQA rather than streamline or curtail it. Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), for instance, proposes tougher environmental reviews (SB 617) and, in a companion measure (SB 754), more aggressive enforcement of mitigation measures. Other bills viewed favorably by CEQA originalists include SB 436, SB 633, and AB 823.
Opposing bills take their lead from Rubio's withdrawn measure. Senator Tom Berryhill (R-Modesto) introduced a near facsimile of it (SB 787); Senator Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) would exempt high-speed rail and light-rail projects from CEQA review altogether (SB 525); and Assemblyman Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo) seeks a similar exemption for landfills that use organic waste to generate green energy (AB 794).
Two bills propose methods for speeding CEQA challenges through the courts. Assemblyman Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) suggests creating special CEQA courts with limited appellate review (AB 515); Senator Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro) would create an environmental division within the superior courts (SB 123). But the Judicial Council - which objects to specialty courts on policy grounds - quickly voted to oppose both bills.
The flurry of proposed legislation promises a free-for-all over changes to CEQA that could facilitate or stymie such major statewide projects as high-speed rail, huge tunnels drilled into the Sacramento River Delta for transporting water to the Southland, and fracking operations in the San Joaquin basin.
The central charge leveled against CEQA
by its diverse critics is that it has succumbed to mission creep. Though they disagree about proposed changes, they share a belief that the statute has expanded well beyond its purview of reviewing projects, and proposing either mitigation or alternatives to environmental impacts. Now, they say, CEQA too often is used to stop development - solar and wind farms, for example, along with new freeways and strip malls.
Jennifer L. Hernandez, a partner in the San Francisco office of Holland & Knight and co-chair of the firm's national environmental practice, says case law is replete with examples of CEQA abuse. She cites the petition for a writ of mandate filed by opponents of a transportation plan that regional governments in San Diego had proposed. (Cleveland Nat'l Forest Found. v. San Diego Ass'n of Gov'ts (SANDAG)
, No. 37-2011-00101593 (San Diego Super. Ct. filed Nov. 28, 2011).)
The plaintiffs in that case contended that SANDAG's plan for meeting state carbon emission targets in 2020 and 2035 - required by an air quality measure known as SB 375 - was inadequate because it didn't project emissions beyond 2035. In December, Superior Court Judge Timothy B. Taylor set aside the EIR, finding that SANDAG had engaged in a prejudicial abuse of discretion in preparing the report.
"The problem here is that SANDAG met its targets as required, and was still sued," says Hernandez, who represented the defendants. "Now [the San Diego region] has a great emission reduction plan, but billions of dollars in transportation matching funds are at risk for no legitimate reason. The fact is, we can't establish carbon reduction targets beyond 2035 because we have no way to accurately forecast growth past that point. Any 'plan' would be guesswork."
Hernandez says she conducted an in-house study of all published opinions for the past 15 years in which CEQA plaintiffs appealed adverse EIR rulings. Despite claims that the statute is used to fight industrial pollution, her report concluded that less than 11 percent of the appellate cases involved industrial development. Most cases concerned infrastructure and mixed-use projects, followed by residential and commercial development.
"Twenty or thirty years ago, if you got your EIR you knew you'd survive in court - assuming you told the truth," Hernandez says. "The point was to take a hard look, provide disclosure, determine mitigation; then you were done. Now, it has all been upended. Things have expanded to the point that 'environmental view-sheds' - what you see from your kitchen window, for example - can be grounds for a CEQA suit against environmentally sound in-fill development. People will sue simply because they don't like the way a project looks. That wasn't the original intention of the act."
Hernandez adds that even good projects that fully comply with CEQA run a significant risk of losing court challenges. She noted in her report that E. Clement Shute Jr. - a leading plaintiffs lawyer and founding partner at San Francisco's Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger - asserted at a recent law school conference that CEQA compliance challenges had succeeded in 43 percent of appellate cases published in the 40-some years since the law was enacted. That figure, Hernandez wrote in her study, "is a remarkable statistical anomaly in administrative law litigation. ... In lawsuits pursued [under NEPA], the national equivalent and model for CEQA, the United States Supreme Court has upheld the adequacy of agency NEPA compliance in 100 percent of cases, nearly all the time in unanimous rulings."
But Rachel B. Hooper, managing partner of Shute Mihaly and lead plaintiffs counsel in the SANDAG
case, disputes Hernandez's figures. "Over the past decade, the rate of CEQA litigation has essentially stayed the same - about 200 cases a year," Hooper says. "Of all the state projects subject to CEQA, only about 1 percent end up in court. Hernandez based her report on the published
CEQA decisions; she didn't look at the vast majority of trial court decisions that were never appealed, and therefore not published."
Other CEQA critics agree that the statute has become a weapon for plaintiffs with hidden agendas. "We see a great law being abused for purposes that have nothing to do with the environment," says Carl Guardino, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group in San Jose and co-chair of the CEQA Working Group. "Our organization is hardly resistant to progressive environmental policies," he says. "We've led the transit sales tax measure for Silicon Valley, and we supported the 16-mile BART extension to the region."
Guardino claims he's witnessed particularly egregious examples of CEQA abuse while working on the BART light rail extension. "The project had [labor unions] suing the contracted developer of the Milpitas Station under CEQA over project labor agreements," he says. "It had nothing to do with environmental quality and everything to do with economic advantage. Months and months were lost because of that suit, and it increased project costs dramatically."
Hernandez at Holland & Knight adds, "We've seen a landfill company sue a competitor under CEQA to stop it from getting a contract. Again, the motivating factor had nothing to do with the impacts of the landfill project. It was a matter of gaining economic advantage, not environmental concern."
Conservation activist Adams, however, feels that allegations of greenmail are spurious, based more on sour grapes than on actual misuse of the statute. He cites San Francisco's Center for Biological Diversity as an undeserving target of CEQA critics who condemn some of the center's high-profile settlements in cases filed to protect endangered species and their habitats.
"The center is a real
environmental group, not a shell organization with a hidden agenda," Adams says. "Those settlements are approved by the courts, and the center's assets are irrevocably dedicated to charitable purposes, as enforced by the state Attorney General. The business community has a problem with the center because it wins cases."
Parsing through the competing CEQA bills before
the Legislature, a few central themes emerge. Rubio and his pro-development successors favor a "standards" approach to ameliorate what they consider the statute's weaknesses. In short, they contend that if a project satisfies rigorous environmental statutes and local zoning regulations, it should be spared the ruinous rounds of EIR challenges that could ultimately kill it.
"In the years since CEQA, we've passed a great many laws that have been very effective in protecting the environment," Rubio says. "Think of the federal and California Clean Water Acts, the federal Clean Air Act, the federal and state Endangered Species Act, AB 32 [stipulating dramatically reduced atmospheric carbon emissions], and SB 375 [requiring regional land use and transportation plans to meet AB 32's goals]. The problem is that a project - including truly green projects like high-speed rail, solar, and wind farms - must satisfy these statutes, and then they're still
subject to CEQA litigation."
Rubio posits an example. "Say you have a plan that reduces parking, thereby encouraging mass transit. This helps meet required AB 32 and SB 375 goals. But the plan can still be challenged under CEQA because plaintiffs can claim drivers will keep circling for parking places - thereby increasing emissions.
"So under the existing statute," he concludes, "there is no security, no safe harbor, no way to reconcile conflicts. By allowing projects to proceed if they meet relevant and existing standards, we'll be able to protect our environment, build sustainable projects, and avoid a great deal of judicial gridlock."
Steinberg's bill, SB 731, doesn't stipulate a standards mechanism, but it does establish thresholds for specific categories of environmental impacts. Still, those thresholds, says Shute Mihaly's Hooper, could eventually translate into a de facto standards approach. She worries that replacing CEQA with a standards process would give developers a means to ram through destructive projects.
Citing the defendants' argument in SANDAG
, Hooper notes that their regional transportation plan proposed to meet SB 375's greenhouse gas standards by constructing new freeways to reduce congestion and idling traffic on surface streets. "But we showed that emissions thereafter would have skyrocketed, because of growth induced by freeway expansion," she says. "The trial court ruled in our favor. Under a standards approach, the project would have gone forward."
But some environmental lawyers say the real issue isn't standards, but how they are applied. Nicholas C. Yost - a partner in the San Francisco office of SNR Denton, lead drafter of NEPA, and a lead drafter of CEQA - takes a generally positive view of the standards approach. "Every CEQA and NEPA case either ditches a project or allows it with extensive mitigation," Yost says. "If the Legislature decides to impose standards in lieu of mitigation, I see nothing inherently obnoxious about it. But at that point, the terms
of the standards and mitigations are the critical issue."
Yost notes that CEQA has been amended many times, and that its reach has expanded through case law. "The people who are now saying CEQA is cumbersome have a point," he says. "But at the same time, we must remember CEQA and NEPA are strong laws that have served the public exceedingly well."
The CEQA Working Group, Guardino says,
is determined to graft a standards approach onto the statute. And he wants well-conceived local and regional land use plans to be given more credence in environmental reviews. "If you have a plan that has been updated to satisfy SB 375, for example, that has to mean something," he says. "As it stands, you can have a great plan, the project meets all the requirements, and in the final analysis it counts for nothing."
Guardino also feels that CEQA should require greater transparency from organizations filing suit. Presently, the act assures anonymity to many plaintiffs. Unincorporated associations, for instance, are not required to reveal their memberships. "We keep seeing these 'Friends of ...' groups filing suits, and we have no idea who they are or what their real motives might be," he says. "The irony here is that CEQA was designed to improve transparency in the courts and government - and it's had the opposite effect."
Guardino claims he just wants to return CEQA to its original purpose: determining and reviewing impacts, and providing for mitigation. "It was never meant to kill projects, and that's often what it's used for today," he says. "This isn't a matter of developers versus environmentalists - the argument can't be framed that way anymore."
Hooper, however, is adamant that CEQA doesn't need an overhaul - at least not to the degree Guardino's group wants. "My colleagues and I are open to revisions that would help the law work better," she says. "But we don't want to see it dismantled - and that's what's being proposed."
She adds, "There is absolutely no evidence that CEQA is harming the economy. CEQA has existed through both good and bad economic cycles. The 'evidence' of harm our opponents are dredging up is anecdotal and ultimately fallacious."
As for the demand for increased transparency, Hooper views it as disingenuous - and ultimately dangerous. Motivation for filing a suit, she observes, has no legal bearing on access to the courts; what matters is whether a statute has been violated. "Demanding 'more transparency' could have a very chilling effect on citizen lawsuits. And I think that's a legitimate fear."
Hooper maintains that most of the revisions proposed for CEQA would cut out the statute's core justification: citizen access to the levers of power. "There is no state bureaucracy tasked with enforcing CEQA," she says. "It's designed to be enforced by citizens through the courts. We have to protect that."
Clearly, Governor Jerry Brown and many state legislators want to revamp CEQA - but in different ways and for different reasons. "One thing that strikes me as you look at the debate over CEQA is that both [developers and environmentalists] could use more certainty" about what is permissible, observes Michael H. Zischke, a partner at the San Francisco office of Cox, Castle & Nicholson and author of a leading treatise on CEQA practice.
"It's true that one person's NIMBY is another person's cause-of-the-day," he says. "But California has the most ambiguous rules of any state. There were times and places where CEQA has gone astray. When you have a project with obvious environmental benefits - such as high-speed rail - the object shouldn't be to block it. It should be to disclose impacts, identify appropriate mitigation, and make the process predictable."
Two days before the Madera hearing date
last month, the plaintiffs reached a settlement with the High Speed Rail Authority. In a major concession, the authority agreed to add 25-foot buffer strips on each side of the right-of-way, allowing farmers turn-around areas for the behemoth machinery used in commercial agriculture. "It may seem like a technicality, but it's not a small thing," says Raudabaugh. "If you can't maneuver your machinery, you can't farm." (County of Madera v. Cal. High Speed Rail Auth.
, No. 34-2012-80001165 (stipulated judgment entered April 18, 2013).)
The authority also agreed to purchase remnant parcels created by the alignment. These relatively small plots will be offered to farmers with adjoining acreage, or will be employed as agricultural mitigation banks - basically, permanent agricultural preserves.
In addition, the pact gives the farm bureau and its four partners in the lawsuit $5 million to establish agricultural mitigation banks. And HSRA will cover nearly $1 million in attorneys fees and costs for Epstein's firm.
On the face of it, the settlement seems like a pretty good deal for farmers. But Raudabaugh isn't celebrating. If the railway goes through Madera County, its impacts will still be profound - buffer strips and mitigation banks notwithstanding. Development will most certainly burgeon all along the corridor, and that will make farming problematic. No matter how you cut it, she says, it's going to be tough for Madera farmers when the trains start running.
"We were willing to take a swing and a miss on this thing because our backs were against the wall, but we also realized that even under the best-case scenario, the most we could expect would be a rewrite of the EIR," she says.
The litigants were also mindful of Governor Brown's determination to see the project through. "The governor is so invested in this," Raudabaugh observes. "In this kind of political environment, we were in danger of being run over by the train - literally. We just concluded we couldn't stop it with this suit."
In recent weeks, however, the governor's expectations for quickly changing CEQA seem diminished. "The appetite for CEQA reform is much stronger outside the state Capitol than it is inside," he told reporters accompanying him on a trade mission to China. "This is not something you get done in a year."
Could the Madera settlement thus encourage opponents of high-speed rail to use CEQA for leverage? Epstein is certain that the statute will continue to be invoked to challenge every leg and phase of the project.
"When you have a linear project like this, the potential for wreaking havoc and upsetting lives is tremendous," he says. "This was just Madera County. There have already been challenges in the Bay Area, and there'll be more, not to mention Los Angeles and the Fresno-Bakersfield corridor. This is by no means the end."
Glen Martin is a freelance environmental writer based in Santa Rosa.
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[puh-noo-chee] /pəˈnu tʃi/
Also, panocha. Northern, North Midland, and Western U.S. a fudgelike candy made of brown sugar, butter, and milk, usually with nuts.
a variant of panocha
[pee-nuhk-uh l] /ˈpi nʌk əl/ noun 1. . [pee-nuhk-uh l, -nok-] /ˈpi nʌk əl, -nɒk-/ noun 1. a popular card game played by two, three, or four persons, with a 48-card deck. 2. a meld of the queen of spades and the jack of diamonds in this game. /ˈpiːnʌkəl/ noun 1. less common spellings of […]
[pee-nuhk-uh l] /ˈpi nʌk əl/ noun 1. . /ˈpiːnʌkəl/ noun 1. less common spellings of pinochle
[pee-nuhlt, pi-nuhlt] /ˈpi nʌlt, pɪˈnʌlt/ noun 1. the next to the last syllable in a word. /ˈpɛnʌlt; pɪˈnʌlt/ noun 1. the last syllable but one in a word adj. “last but one,” 1530s, abbreviation of penultima. As a noun from 1570s.
face of God, a place not far from Succoth, on the east of the Jordan and north of the river Jabbok. It is also called “Peniel.” Here Jacob wrestled (Gen. 32:24-32) “with a man” (“the angel”, Hos. 12:4. Jacob says of him, “I have seen God face to face”) “till the break of day.” A […]
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Boeing Satellite Development Center
|This article does not cite any references or sources. (January 2011)|
The Boeing Satellite Development Center is a major business unit of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. It brought together Boeing satellite operations with that of GM Hughes Electronics' Space and Communications division.
- Hughes Space and Communications Group
- Hughes Space Systems Division
In 1953 the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) was formed, and Hughes Aircraft reformed as a subsidiary of the foundation. The charity status of the foundation allowed Hughes Aircraft to avoid taxes on its huge income. In 1961 the two Aerospace Group divisions were reformed as Hughes Space and Communications Company.
Hughes Space and Communications Company launched the first geosynchronous communications satellite, Syncom, in 1963.
On April 5, 1976 Howard Hughes died at the age of 70, leaving no will. In 1984 the Delaware Court of Chancery appointed eight trustees of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, who decided to sell Hughes Aircraft to General Motors for $5.2 billion — this transaction was completed in 1985. GM merged Hughes Aircraft with its Delco Electronics unit to form Hughes Electronics. This group then consisted of:
- Delco Electronics Corporation
- Hughes Aircraft Company
- Hughes Space and Communications Company
- Hughes Network Systems
In 1995 Hughes Space and Communications Company became the world's biggest supplier of commercial satellites. In 1997 GM transferred Delco Electronics from Hughes Electronics to its Delphi Automotive Systems and later in the year sold the aerospace and defense operations of Hughes Electronics (Hughes Aircraft) to Raytheon.
Hughes Space and Communications Company remained independent until 2000, when it was purchased by Boeing and became Boeing Satellite Development Center.
In 2005 Boeing Satellite Systems sold Boeing Electron Dynamic Devices to L3 communications.
Hughes added the following to Boeing's portfolio:
- HS-376 — MEASAT, Marcopolo, and others.
- HS-601 — ProtoStar II, and others.
- HS-702, now the Boeing 702
- US Navy UHF replacement- Military version of HS601
- NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellites — Communications with Space Shuttle and International Space Station.
- NASA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites.
- HSGEO Mobile — Based on the 702 bus, for Thuraya Satellite Communications, United Arab Emirates, and soon for SkyTerra.
The purchase of Hughes Space and Communications Company in 2000 gave Boeing an impressive range of products for design, manufacture, launch and support of satellites. This was in addition to Boeing Integrated Defense Systems' other space assets, e.g. Delta launch vehicles, older-generation GPS satellites, and Rocketdyne and Rockwell's space operations (which include much of the hardware used in NASA's manned space program, such as the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, rocket engines, etc.)
Currently projects at the Boeing Satellite Development Center (spacecraft being designed, built, tested, or prepared for launch) are satellites made for XM (satellite radio), DirecTV (satellite television), MSV (satellite mobile telephony), Spaceway (data networks), GPS (satellite navigation), and for the Wideband Global SATCOM system and TSAT projects (military communications). Designs for ISAT (military orbital radar demonstrator), for additional GOES satellites (meteorology), and for other spacecraft, are currently being developed and proposed.
- Spectrolab — world's leading manufacturer of space solar cells and panels
- Electron Dynamic Devices - sold to L3 communications in 2005.
- Boeing Satellite Development Center
- Complete list of past satellites and space probes from Boeing Satellite Systems
- Complete list of current navigation and communications satellites projects at Boeing Satellite Systems
- Complete list of satellites built on the 376, 601, and 702 platforms (almost every BSS satellite is an adaptation of one of these three designs)
- Boeing contributions to space exploration projects, past (e.g. X-15, Apollo) and current (e.g. Shuttle, ISS) - includes the work of companies since acquired by Boeing, such as Rockwell International and North American Aviation.
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PubPub is a platform for open reading, writing, and publishing.
PubPub is open to all and available at www.pubpub.org
For more details, see http://www.pubpub.org/pub/about.
PubPub can be run on your own local machines or controlled servers. There are a few external dependencies which must first be configured. See /api/config.sample.js to configure these services. We strive to make PubPub completely independent from any external proprietary services, but our team is still small, so for the moment it is necessary.
Once the services are configured, run the following commands to install packages and run the dev server. Note, you will need https://nodejs.org/en/download/ installed on your machine:
npm install npm run dev
PubPub is built with react, redux, node, express, and mongoose. For great react/redux testing, we use https://github.com/gaearon/redux-devtools. We suggest installing the https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/redux-devtools/lmhkpmbekcpmknklioeibfkpmmfibljd for a less popup-y dev environment.
For document collaboration to work the https://github.com/pubpub/collab server needs to be running and the url and secret need to be added to
Building and Running Production Server
npm run build npm run start
Deploying to Heroku
For testing or production services, PubPub deploys easily to Heroku. A few config variables must be set:
heroku create heroku config:set NODE_ENV=production heroku config:set NODE_PATH=./src heroku config:set NPM_CONFIG_PRODUCTION=false heroku config:set mongoURI=<MONGOURI> git push heroku master heroku ps:scale web=1
Most documentation is spread throughout the project alongside the code it is describing.
DOCUMENTATION.md aggregates those READMEs for easy navigation.
Updates and Roadmap
CHANGELOG.md documents changes to the project and future features.
We welcome contributions to PubPub in the form of feedback, bug reports, feature ideas, and code!
CONTRIBUTING.md documents contributing guidelines.
Tests run using Mocha. All test files follow the pattern
To run tests:
npm install npm run test # test client and server code with mocha
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A painter rests in front of a huge portrait of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on a wall near a university, 2012. (Morteza Nikoubazl / Courtesy Iran)
In normal presidential elections, it is only the candidates and their platforms that matter. Not so in Iran. There, the key player in the upcoming presidential elections is the septuagenarian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is constitutionally barred from running for the office. He recognizes that the election result will have a profound impact on his own rule and on the stability of the Islamic Republic. So behind the scenes, he has been doing everything in his power to make sure that the election serves his interests. But the eleventh-hour declarations of candidacy by Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran's president between 1989 and 1997, and by Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff and close confidant, have made his task more difficult.
The first part of Khamenei’s four-pronged strategy is to conduct an orderly election. The nightmare scenario for Khamenei is a repeat of the June 2009 presidential election, in which allegations that Ahmadinejad had stolen victory from his challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi, led to massive demonstrations and the birth of the popular reformist Green Movement.
Khamenei could have stayed above the fray, as elites expected him to do. Instead, he lost credibility as a neutral arbiter when he sided with Ahmadinejad, rejected all allegations of fraud, and blamed Ahmadinejad’s opponents for inciting violence. His offer of public support for the president opened a fissure among the elites that has never quite healed. It also preceded a massive crackdown on activists who were castigated as American stooges and arrested. Even more, the disputed election alienated millions who felt truly robbed of their voices.
Given that history, Khamenei has made a concerted effort this time around to discredit potential protesters before they take to the streets. The Revolutionary Guards and security forces have launched a propaganda campaign to link any interruption on election day or after to the
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By Melissa Ford
Talking to your teen about drug and alcohol abuse can be difficult for parents. How do you start up a conversation without feeling awkward or fearful your child will shut you down? Can you have an open dialogue with your teen about choices and consequences rather than lecture him or her?
Oak Park River Forest High School and IM.P.A.C.T is offering you the perfect opportunity to keep those lines of communication open by attending Stay Sharp, a high energy drug prevention presentation, on Tuesday, October 18th from 7 - 8 p.m. at the OPRF High School’s Little Theatre. This same presentation will be offered to many OPRF students during the school day on Friday, October 21st, providing parents with a unique chance to watch first hand what their teen will be viewing.
Stay Sharp is designed to educate students on drug and alcohol abuse as well as the consequences of their choices. Throughout the video portion of this presentation, which addresses the facts, lies, and costs of addiction, eight young speakers will share personal stories of their introduction to drugs and the consequences of their choices.
One of these speakers is an OPRFHS alum who is eager to share his story in hopes of helping other students understand the reality of their choices. In addition, his parents will discuss their experience of being parents of a child with an addiction. The evening will close with an overview of resources available to OPRF community members, empowering parents to connect with local agencies as well as providing them with the means to get further support or information.
According to Dana Horowitz, OPRF’s Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator, “Since your teen will be seeing a similar presentation at the high school, we are hoping this event will make it easier for parents to have an open conversation about drugs and alcohol. It’s a wonderful opportunity to talk to your child about what they are learning, the decisions they are making, and how they are feeling during the upcoming Red Ribbon Week and National Drug Fact Week.” Both week-long events aim to educate teens about choices and consequences as well as empower them to take a stand against alcohol, tobacco,and other drugs.
Take advantage of this informative, interactive event and then talk to your child about choices and consequences around drugs and alcohol.
Event: Stay Sharp - Think About It!
When: October 18th, 7 - 8 p.m.
Where: Oak Park River Forest High School, Little Theatre, 201 N Scoville Ave, Oak Park
Why: Helping you keep the lines of communication open with your teen about drug and alcohol abuse
Visit: www.staysharp.us - for more information
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This is one part of the EDGE of Existence Project, promoting awareness of and implementing conservation projects for Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered amphibian species, many of which are currently overlooked.
Carly aids in co-ordination of this project and its assimilation within the whole EDGE programme.
This project supports in-country EDGE Fellows to help conserve relevant EDGE species
1. Increase knowledge of wild salamander distribution, population and ecology;
2. Improve disease diagnostic and research capacity;
3. Develop a conservation genetics database;
4. Develop a conservation breeding centre
To identify the conservation status and key threats facing Attenborough’s echidna so that appropriate conservation action can be taken.
The slender loris is characterised by its enormous eyes and extremely thin limbs.
My name is Lv Jingcai, I come from China and I am focusing on amphibians and reptiles.
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Now let's see another way to control the
frequency. Get two number box, one integer and the other
the palette and put on the patcher window. Connect with a cycle~
connect the cycle~ with a dac~.
Note that I don't write a frequency value on the cycle~. This
that the cycle~ will start using its default frequency that is
don't play until a valid frequency value is received from the
Add the usual start and stop messages to the dac~ as in figure
to play mode.
In play mode, click on the integer number box and drag the mouse
high. You'll see the value in the box rapidly changing. When the
will reach an audible frequency (e.g. 20-30, but could be more,
depending on the quality of your speakers; remember that the
computer speakers often don't work at all under 100 Hz), you
to hear a glissato moving from low to high frequencies.
Now, you see, the number box don't act as button, like messages.
works as a slider that you can control dragging the mouse up and
Now try the floating point number. This one works as the former,
little difference: if you click on the left part of the box
little triangle) only the integer part of the number change; if
click on the right, the fractional part also change. So clicking
left you have a coarse control and clicking on the left you get
You can also change the box dimension to be sure to see all the
in edit mode, move the mouse near the lower right corner of the
until the cursor become a cross, then click and drag.
it is very
that you are always aware of the
patch data flow.
You must be able to figure in your mind how and when
the data flow in a Max/MSP patch.
It could be a little difficult for beginners, but only by this
the more complex patches.
So let's stop just a moment to understand exactly what's
- When the number changes (and only when the number
a message start from the number box, runs through the wire
the cycle~. This number is not a frequency, it's a
Its only meaning are its value and its format (integer or
- The cycle~ receive this number in its left inlet and uses
frequency value only because on the left inlet a frequency
expected. If you connect the number box to the
you'll hear no frequency change because on the right inlet a
value (not frequency) is expected.
- So it's the cycle~ that gives the number a meaning,
depending on the inlet the number reach. Note that the
mind about the number format because a frequency can be
way (with or without fractional part), but, with other
right format also is requested by some inlet. On the
number 50 is different from the number 50.0 so the right
the wrong format could be seen as an error.
The Floating Inspector
As you see, while dragging on a number box, you can go up and
no limits. You can also output negative numbers. Of course,
minimum and maximum to some meaningful value should be better.
To do so, go to edit mode, select the number object and click
Windows → Show Floating Inspector.
This dialog allows you to set many options for the current
object. Note that the floating inspector options are not the
all objects, because any object has its own distinctive
objects have no floating inspector at all.
For number box, integer or floating, the most important feature
range. Here you can set minimum and maximum values.
Now we are using this number to control a frequency, so set the
to reasonable values in Hertz e.g. min 20-30, max 4000-5000 (the
note on the piano is 27.5 Hz, the higher is 4186 Hz). Be sure
Min” and “No Max” check boxes are unchecked. Now you can freely
By the floating inspector you can also set the colors of the
object, the display format and a bunch of options:
- Bold: display the value in bold
- Draw Triangle: display/hide the little triangle on the
the number box
- Output Only on Mouse-Up: this is an important option (try
you check it, you'll hear no glissato while changing the
value with the
mouse. The value will change only when you leave the mouse
means that, while playing, you can change a number with no
effect until you reach the right value.
- Can't Change: make the number box read only. Useful when
used only to show a number (r.g. the result of a
- Transparent: hide the box displaying the number only.
The cycle~ has no amplitude control in itself. It always output
wave at the maximum amplitude value.
To control the sound amplitude we must insert an amplifier
signal generator (the cycle~ in our example) and the dac~.
To understand how an amplifier works on a digital signal,
a digital sound wave is a stream of number running at SR speed
44100 numbers per second). Each number is an amplitude sample
the sound wave. So the wave in this figure
is in fact a stream of numbers like this one
0 72 144 215 285 352 417 479 538
593 644 690 732 769 801 828 849 865
875 880 879 873 862 846 825 799 769 736 699 659 616 571 524
476 426 377
327 278 229 182 136 92 51 12 -23 -56 -85 -111 -133 -151 -165
-184 -184 -179 -171 -161 -147 -131 -113 -92 -71 -48 -24 0 24
48 71 92
113 131 147 161 171 179 184 184 182 175 165 151 133 111 85
56 23 -12
-51 -92 -136 -182 -229 -278 -327 -377 -426 -476 -524 -571
-699 -736 -769 -799 -825 -846 -862 -873 -879 -880 -875 -865
-801 -769 -732 -690 -644 -593 -538 -479 -417 -352 -285 -215
-144 -72 0
72 144 215 285 352 417 479 538 593 644 690 732 769 801 828
849 865 875
880 879 873 862 846 825 799 769 736 699 659 616 571 524 476
426 377 327
278 229 182 136 92 51 12 -23 -56 -85 -111 -133 -151 -165
-175 -182 -184
-184 -179 -171 -161 -147 -131 -113 -92 -71 -48 -24 0 24 48
71 92 113
131 147 161 171 179 184 184 182 175 165 151 133 111 85 56 23
-92 -136 -182 -229 -278 -327 -377 -426 -476 -524 -571 -616
-736 -769 -799 -825 -846 -862 -873 -879 -880 -875 -865 -849
-769 -732 -690 -644 -593 -538 -479 -417 -352 -285 -215 -144
-72 0 72
144 215 285 352 417 479 538 593 644 690 732 769 801 828 849
865 875 880
879 873 862 846 825 799 769 736 699 659 616 571 524 476 426
377 327 278
where each number represent the amplitude of the wave at a
like a graph with the time on x-axis and the
So, to change the wave's amplitude we can simply multiply each
for a given value. If that value is greater that 1, the
increase. If it is lower that 1, the amplitude decrease. In the
following image, a plotted digital wave (red) is multiplied by
(blue) and by 0.5
(yellow). Here is the result. You can clearly see that only
control to a signal
To apply amplitude control to a signal we only need a multiplier
between the signal generator(s) and the dac~ (see patch on the
Be sure to pick the MSP multiplier (with tilde: *~) from the MSP
Operators group, not the Max multiplier (with no tilde).
To set the amplitude value we can use a floating point number.
must set the range of the amplitude control.
In MSP, the maximum amplitude a dac~ can handle is 1, that is,
reaching the dac~, a wave must run between ±1 to avoid clipping
distortion. Of course a zero amplitude is no signal.
The cycle~ generator already output a wave at maximum amplitude,
amplifier is in fact a damper and will have the range 0 - 1
reason we must use a floating point number).
If the amplitude control would reach a value greater that 1, a
with range > ±1 would reach the dac~ and be clipped: you
no amplitude increment, but harmonic distortion (try a value
Measuring the amplitude of an incoming signal could be very
when you work with external signals. Now we'll see different
ways to do
it using standard Max/MSP objects.
To make it simple, we'll apply the measurement to the cycle~
for now. Look at the the patch 03.
Here you can see and try different ways to evaluate a signal's
|This is not a real
Here we convert the given amplitude value to dB for
only and see if the real evaluations match.
By the way, here you can find the atodb object that
convert a number to
deciBels. It is taken from the Max "Math" section on the
The atodb output is connected to a number object to show
dB. The number object is made read-only (check the
option in the
|Here is the first real
You can find the peakamp~ object on the "MSP Analysis"
object accept a signal in its left inlet and output the
absolute amplitude every k milliseconds, where k is the
in figure). You can also control the k value sending an
to the right inlet.
The peakamp~ object is very accurate and it's a good and
simple way to
evaluate the peak amplitude of a signal.
|In the palette you can
graphic objects to evaluate and show a signal amplitude.
|The peak level meter
signal in its left inlet and display the amplitude by
the usual led
line. It also output the evaluated absolute amplitude.
The object appearance can be fully edited using the
Running the patch you'll see that when the input signal
has a low
frequency (set the frequency control to 50 Hz or lower)
the result is
rapidly changing. This is not a bug. It does not happens
sounds. Here it happens because:
This object's MSP name is meter~. If you to know more
about it search
for meter~ on the MSP Reference manual.
- The peak level meter has a little buffer. When the
frequency is low it see only a section of the wave
cycle, but, more
- Here we supply a single sine wave without
nature the signals have harmonics whose frequencies
are higher than the
fundamental, so the wave is more complex and the
peak amplitude can be
evaluated also with a little buffer.
|This level meter seems
previous one, with needle in place of leds, but it has
It is not a peak level meter. It computes the RMS
the signal's amplitude. This is very important because
the peak value
is meaningful with a simple harmonic wave, but it makes
little sense to
talk about a peak
amplitude when describing a complex sound (e.g. a drum
stroke) or a
noise. This is because there are many peak
amplitudes and any one is not representative of the
So, how should we measure the amplitude of a complex
signal? We can't
take the average of the instantaneous amplitudes since
values always cancel yielding an average value of zero.
this we square each amplitude making all values
positive. We then take
square root of the average of the squared values to get
back to an
measure. The resultant measure is referred to as the
amplitude. The RMS amplitude is a more commonly accepted
because it applies to periodic sounds like sinusoids as
well as to
This object output the RMS amplitude value in dB, so
there is no need
of the atodb object.
This object's MSP name is levelmeter~. If you to know
more about it
search for levelmeter~ on the MSP Reference manual.
Now that you know more about the amplitude, you can set 0 dB on
If you connect Max/MSP to a professional mixer with measurement
input and output, you can easily set the 0 dB. On the computer,
test frequency (about 1000 Hz). Then set the
board output to the maximum (or the level you normally use, but
board should work well at the maximum with no distortion). Then
amplitude control of the patch to the maximum (i.e. 1.0). This
MSP 0 dB (you should see 0 dB on all the meters).
On the mixer, set the input slider to 0 dB and turn the input
sensitivity control (if any) until the input signal level show 0
the same for the mixer output.
Why the dac~ maximum amplitude is 1?
It's a good question. Why 1 and not 100 or 1000 or a power of 2,
1024 or the real amplitude of the sound board? Is there some
reason to set the range to 0 - 1? The answer lead us to the
computer arithmetic, so it could be a little complex business.
notes are for more
advanced (or curious) users.
- Max/MSP must work with many different sound
boards and the sound boards currently on the market can have
dac types, typically 16 or 24 bit. Maximum values are 32767
for 16 bit
(2(16-1) - 1)
and 8388607 for 24 bit (2(24-1) - 1).
But the software can't work with absolute amplitude values
because the patches you make, must work with all the sound
if you change machine or the board itself. So a conventional
amplitude value has to be set. When sending sound data to
board all values will be scaled according to the maximum
- MSP works with 32 bit floating point
numbers. This is a very accurate way to make calculations on
because 32 bit floating point numbers can hold until 18
the decimal point.
Floating point is more accurate than 24 or 32 bit integer
often think that every operations on digital signals are
with integer arithmetic it's not really true. A very
example: suppose you are working with 24 bit integer
arithmetic on a
digital wave with amplitude 8388607 (the maximum). Now
suppose you are
mixing, and this signal's amplitude is lowered multiplying
by, say, a
0.731 factor. The resulting amplitude is 6132071.717. OK:
where do you
think this 0.717 goes? It get lost because this is integer
and by this way every multiply you make creates a very
An experienced digital user can argue that with integer
never multiply by floating point numbers. You multiply by an
number creating a double precision result that will be
simple precision, but it's the same because here are the
that get lost.
The meaning of the story is: always try to work with 32 bit
point when making computations on digital signals. You can't
final rounding error, when data are sent to the board's dac
written on audio CD in the usual format (44100, 16 bit,
stereo), but at
least you save the accumulation of little sampling errors.
debate is about 48 bit integer versus 32 bit floating
James A. Moorer's paper), but under the 48 bit integer
32 bit float is surely better.
- But why 0 - 1? Even with floating point arithmetic, a
conventional amplitude of, say, 1000 could be easiest to
Because of the problem of floating point arithmetic: while
increase, you lose precision after the decimal point. This
business on real world. If someone owes you $10.95 all the
significant, but if someone owes you $100000.95 you could
discount and save the $0.95.
So, to hold the maximum accuracy, MSP choose to work with
A useful patch: Hear the Fletcher/Munson Effect
to hear the Fletcher/Munson effect you
with hi-fi speakers. This is because this effect is evident at
frequencies (under 100 Hz) and the little computer speakers are
effective at this frequencies. You can use haedphones but be
Never turn on a patch without controlling its loudness or the
your equipment. Set amplitude/loudness to 0, turn on the patch
raise the volume.
Let's do this trial.
- Return to patch 02 (single cycle~ with frequency and
- Set the frequency at (about) 1000 Hz.
- Be sure to
turn off the loudness control of your amplifier (if any) and
equalizer (if any; remember that many mixers have filters).
frequency response of your equipment must be flat
(as much as
- Set the amplitude control to 0 (no sound).
- Turn on the patch and set a suitable amplitude (not
Now begins to lower the frequency (click on the left part of the
control box to change the integer part only, going down faster).
change the amplitude. Move down the frequency only.
Under 500 Hz, the loudness will be a little lower. About and
Hz the loudness will be very low. Very low frequencies (60 Hz
lower) will be barely audible even if the amplitude is the
Why? It's your speakers? Maybe, but the real answer is that the
ear frequency response (or better, the ear\brain combination
the same for whole audible area. The ear works better
approximately from 500 to 5000 Hz. Outside this area it needs
amplitude to hear equal loudness.
This effect has been first studied
in 1937 by Fletcher
Munson who traced the human ear response curves. In 1956
& Dadson refined the Fletcher/Munson curves and today the
Robinson/Dadson curves are generally preferred over the
curves owing to their more reliable measurement results. The
International Standards Organization agreed and adapted the
Robinson/Dadson curves as the basis for ISO 226:1987; Normal
Level Contours (ELLC) (see image on the left; the MAF line is
Minimum Audible Field).
This chart say that humans don't hear all frequencies at the
same level. That is, our ears are more sensitive to some
and less sensitive to other frequencies. Not only that, but the
sensitivity changes with the sound pressure level (SPL), too.
look at the chart. You'll notice it's marked horizontally with a
denoting the frequency of sound. Vertically it's marked in SPL.
chart are a number of curved lines, each with a number (loudness
Let's begin by looking at the lowest solid line marked with a
level of 10 phons. (The loudness level in phons is a subjective
sensation--this is the level we perceive the sound to be at.)
about 500Hz to roughly 1,500Hz the line is flat on the 10dB
means that for us to perceive the sound being a loudness level
10 phons, (the overall curved line), frequencies from 500Hz to
must be 10dB. Make sense so far? OK, now look further into the
frequencies, say 5,000Hz. Notice the line dips here--this says
perceive 5,000Hz to be 10 phons when the source is actually only
To perceive 10,000Hz at the same level (10 phons), it would need
about 20dB. From this we can clearly see the ear is more
the 2,000Hz to 5,000Hz range, yet not nearly as sensitive in the
6,000Hz and up range.
Lets take a look down at the lower frequencies now, say 100Hz.
to perceive 100Hz as loud as we do 1,000Hz (when the source is
10dB), the 100Hz source must be at 30dB–that's 20dB higher than
1,000Hz signal! Looking even farther down, a 20Hz signal must be
75dB (65dB higher than the 1,000Hz signal)! We can clearly see
are not very sensitive to the lower frequencies, even more so at
Why is this? A simply physical explanation is that resonance in
ear-canal amplifies frequencies between 1500 Hz and 5000
Hz with a peak around 3000 Hz. In addition, the response in the
between 500 and 1500 is flat. All other frequencies are damped.
that the main communication
area lies in the range 500 - 5000. In this range we find human
animal voices and in the upper part of this range we find the
Now you know why the double-bass sound box is so big. Looking at
musical instruments construction, we can see many ways to
the Fletcher/Munson effect. For instance, the mechanical device
piano lower keys is adjusted to struck the string a little
respect to medium and high registers. So the player can achieve
the same loudness using the same force.
OK. We heard the Fletcher/Munson effect and we also know what is
why it happens. But now we can also measure it. Load the
Here you can see two versions of the Fletcher patch. Now look at
simplest and not hidden (left). There is a reference frequency
1000 Hz on right channel and a second cycle~ that can be set to
frequencies (8ve distance) on the left channel.
To measure the Fletcher/Munson effect you must choose a
the left, then move the amplitude control of the 1000 Hz (up on
right), until you hear the two frequencies have equal loudness.
you read the amplitude difference in dB in the read-only number
down on the right.
The atodb object convert the amplitude from absolute value to dB
This value is negative because it say how much the 1000 Hz must
damped to hear equal loudness.
The second patch version is the same with a more pleasant user
interface, but two main differences:
- it uses a slider as amplitude control: note that the
is 0-100 (set by the floating inspector); then is multiplied
by 0.01 to
achieve the 0-1 range. This is because the slider object
floating point numbers (integers only). This kind of number
common on Max. We'll see more on the next lesson.
- the converted dB value is multiplied by -1 to see a
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ISAAC Regional Council is urging residents to remember the three P's this year to help ease the strain on the region's sewerage system.
Wet wipes and other 'flushable' toiletry products wreak havoc on sewerage systems with blockages a common, and increasing problem.
Council is asking homeowners to stick to sending the three P's - pee, poo and paper - down the toilet, and dispose of all other products in the bin.
Wet wipes are very stretchy and do not disintegrate the way toilet paper does.
This leads to blockages in both the pipe network and in the equipment at the region's sewer treatment plants.
The issue is a state-wide concern with approximately 120 tonnes of wet wipes pulled from the sewerage network annually, which if stretched end to end would span the distance between Australia and New Zealand.
Council asks residents to keep the three P's in mind during 2016 and help play a part in cleaning up sewerage networks throughout Isaac and the state.
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Soule's medal an historic feat
It was a day of firsts for U.S. biathlete Andy Soule (Pearland, Texas). On the first day of competition, at his first Paralympic Games, Soule won his first Paralympic medal, the first medal of the Games for the United States. Soule's bronze medal in the 2.4km pursuit is also the first biathlon medal won by an American in the either the Olympic or the Paralympic Winter Games.
"Andy Soule made history today," said Max Cobb, executive director of US Biathlon. "Andy did an amazing job today, coming from behind in the last loop, even with one penalty. It was a spectacular performance and I couldn't be more proud of him."
Three hours after his historic biathlon podium Soule still had not been given a chance to catch his breath. Ducking through the athlete village, everyone he passed wanted to talk to him and congratulate him.
Soule came a long way to help break the US out of its medal drought. He began cross-country skiing in 2005, when he was introduced to the sport at a camp in Sun Valley, Idaho, but he did not become serious about biathlon until 2008.
"He's come an enormous way," said US biathlon coach James Upham.
Upham first began working with Soule at a 2008 biathlon camp in Utah. Soule was a decent skier and had raw shooting ability and comfort with a rifle from his time serving in the U.S. Army, but his technique needed to be changed to better fit the biathlon.
"He had the ability, we just had to focus him on specific biathlon shooting," Upham said.
Historically, American Paralympic biathletes have always been strong skiers, where they have struggled has been with shooting.
Two years ago, US Biathlon began administering Paralympic biathlon and the focus of the program shifted slightly.
"It's more of a focus on shooting and more of a premium on biathlon racing for some athletes that can do well, like Andy," Upham said.
This year it all clicked. Soule finished the 2009-10 world cup season having registered his first world cup victory and narrowly missed the overall world cup podium. Soule entered the Games skiing better than he ever had before and was considered a medal contender in the 12.5km event.
The 2.4km pursuit is a much harder race to predict.
"This race you're not sure what's going to happen," Upham said. "If you make any mistakes at all you're going to be off the podium for sure."
Soule did not make any mistakes. He hit 19 of 20 shots and came from behind, picking off one racer after another with his strong finishing kick.
"It felt just incredible," Soule said. "I've had World Cup wins and World Cup podiums before, but there's nothing quite like this, in this atmosphere, in front of a crowd here with everyone watching."
Having broken the biathlon drought, Soule will race in the 15km on March 14 and the 12.5km biathlon on March 17. If he continues to ski and shoot at this level, Soule will have to wait until Closing Ceremonies to catch his breath.
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New American Standard Bible
And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
King James Bible
His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
Darby Bible Translation
And his look was as lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
World English Bible
His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
Young's Literal Translation
and his countenance was as lightning, and his clothing white as snow,
Matthew 28:3 Parallel
CommentaryBarnes' Notes on the Bible
His countenance - In our language the word "countenance" refers to the "face only;" in the original it refers to his "whole person." His "general aspect, or the appearance of the angel himself," was, etc.
Like lightning - Peculiarly bright and shining.
His raiment white as snow - Celestial beings are usually represented as clothed in white, Acts 1:10; Daniel 7:9; Revelation 3:4-5; Revelation 4:4; Revelation 7:13-14. White, among the Jews, was the symbol of "purity or innocence."
LibraryAugust 16. "I am with You Alway" (Matt. xxviii. 20).
"I am with you alway" (Matt. xxviii. 20). Oh, how it helps and comforts us in the plod of life to know that we have with us the Christ who spent the first thirty years of His life in the carpenter shop at Nazareth, swinging the hammer, covered with sweat and grimy dust, physically weary as we often are, and able to understand all our experiences of drudgery and labor! and One who still loves to share our common tasks and equip us for our difficult undertakings of hand and brain! Yes, humble sister, …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth
The Risen Lord's Greetings and Gifts
Some of the Guards Report to the Jewish Rulers.
The Great Commission Given.
"I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire.
His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult.
The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.
and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.
And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.
Jump to PreviousAppearance Clothes Clothing Countenance Form Lightning Raiment Shining Snow White
Jump to NextAppearance Clothes Clothing Countenance Form Lightning Raiment Shining Snow White
LinksMatthew 28:3 NIV
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Matthew 28:3 Commentaries
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|Name: _________________________||Period: ___________________|
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. Who turned in Greg's camera?
2. How did Greg go into the second half of the game against Carver?
3. Why was Derek depressed?
4. Why was Grandma sent home from the hospital?
5. What did Derek do after the game?
Short Essay Questions
1. How does Greg feel about visiting his former school?
2. What are Greg's plans for the evening, and how does he feel about them?
3. What did Mtisha think of Greg's struggles with schoolwork?
4. How did Greg get his camera back?
5. How does Coach Nipper feel about how the team is playing against Carver by halftime?
6. What was Ducky like out on the court, and how did Greg help him?
7. Who is Brothers, and how does Greg deal with him?
8. What happens when Derek loses the video camera?
9. How does the second half of the game go, especially between Ice and Greg?
10. How does Ice betray Greg?
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Explain Ice's actions and their great impact on Greg. How did Ice's actions change Greg in life and on the court?
Essay Topic 2
Greg comes off really tough to most of his teammates, but he has a different relationship with Ducky. Describe his friendship with Ducky in great detail and explain how he helps Ducky.
Essay Topic 3
How does Greg's school and his mother want to help him with his grades? How does he respond to their ideas?
This section contains 519 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page)
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Albert I of Belgium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|Reign||23 December 1909 – 17 February 1934|
|Spouse||Elisabeth of Bavaria|
|King Leopold III of the Belgians
Prince Charles, Count of Flanders
Marie-José, Queen of Italy
|House||House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|
|Father||Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders|
|Mother||Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen|
|Born||8 April 1875
|Died||17 February 1934
Albert I (April 8, 1875 – February 17, 1934) reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 to 1934. This was an eventful period in the history of Belgium. It included the period of World War I (1914-1918).
References[change | change source]
- Carlo Bronne. Albert 1er: le roi sans terre.
- Evelyn Graham. Albert, King of the Belgians.
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This document represents the final report of project R7180, 'Options for use of power tillers and draught animals for primary cultivation on small farms in Bangladesh'. The report describes project activities and outputs, including the documentation of farm power use and the impact of mechanised cultivation on agronomic, farming system and socio-economic practices, the examination of policy options and the development of recommendations for extension services.
Adam, M.G. 2001. Options for use of power tillers and draught animals for primary cultivation on small farms in Bangladesh. Final Technical Report for project R7180. Chatham: Natural Resources Institute, UK, 27 pp.
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Good morning Cyberweek 2009 Participants,
As the title for today says, I am today offering you how the scenario was worked out for all those concerned. This scenario is based upon a real expereince, yet I have changed the names and a few recognizable details.
I had shared with you earlier this week the fact that the core of each culture is its values, seen on a daily basis through the practices of each member of that culture. Values have been described by Geert and Geert Jan Hofstede through the dimensions of culture, as I shared with you also this week. In brief the four initial dimensions that Hofstede used to measurably describe a culture are: 1. Power Distance (an individual's relationship to power and its source); 2. The value of the individual in a society and the value of the society (the individual vs collectivism); 3. Masculinity vs Femininity (assertiveness versus "modesty"); 4. Uncertainty avoidance and how ambiguity is handled.
In applying this information to our scenario, Henrik was surrised that the people who worked with him did not accept his and marta's invitation. Note that his thought was that he "worked with" these people. Even though he was their leader, their boss, in his mind they all worked together. He made time to talk with each Indinesian employee personally, on a face to face basis. With this private time, each employee revealed their own reasons for not accepting. The employees all expressed one common thought and that was that he is their leader, their manager. He is the expert in all things and they are all very loyal to him. They all had a low comfort level though in being close physically and socially to Henrik and to his family in the Johnson home. They were not comfortable with being close to what they saw as their "source of power".
As Henrik continued his face to face talks, during the course of work, with each person who had been invited to the dinner in the Johnson, Henrik learned the differing perspectives of the Indonesian individuals. Henrik valued the individual and was from one of the most individualist cultures in the world.
He also took the time to notice the differing approach to life in Jakarta. Henrik also learnead that huis own approach to "power" was with ease and tht he was very confortable with the sources of power in his work, community and personal life. He was very comfortable in having power close to him. He noticed too from his conversations with the Indonesian employees that they did not have the same approach to power. They were more used to having power at a distance and to a long distance relationship with the sources of power in their lives.
Another observation that Henrik made was that in his work while living in Sweden he was accumstomoed to having a working relationship with his superiors, meaning that his immediate superior in his company was a facilitator for Henrik and for all those who reported to her. She was not a source of all of the answers byt she worked hard to guide Henrik in his career where to get the answers he needed and to be self motivated. In comparing his work experiencde with that of the Indonesians with whom he now worked he noted many differences. First of all, there were no women managers in the Jakarta branch of the organization for which all of them worked. Secondly he noticed that the managers with whom he worked in Indonesia were more like experts for each of their employees who worked for them. This observation gave Henrik the understandings that an invitation to his and Marta's home was not in keeping with the more what expert type of relationship that existed among the Indonesian individuals, superior and employee.
These observations that Henrik made, both about himself and his working style and values and that of the people with whom he was now working in Indonesia allowed him to adjust how he worked with each of the area managers in Indonesia. Eventually Henrik had been a teaching superior for all of the Indonesian employees of the tea growing, processing, manufacturing and shipping organization for which all of them worked. The Indonesians had taught Henrik and his family how to live in a way that demonstrated honor and respect for the Indonesian individuals. Henrik had set an example of allowing the Indonesians to respect and honor him and his differing background. Henrik and his family lived and worked in jakarta for four years, before moving to trheir next assignment within the same multinational corporation.
Can you see how Hofstede's dimensions that desdribe how to understand a culture were discoverd by Henrik? Application of the dimensions along with work on learning self assessment allows for a potentially successful cross cultural global work experience.
It was a joy to write this blog this week as part of Cyberweek 2009 in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
If you have any questions or thoughts to share, please contact me as I would enjoy blogging with you at any time. Also if you have not done so please experience the simulation and send the scores to me. I look forward to writing a personal note inreturn, giving some insights into your score set.
Jane E. Smith, Esq.
LiSimba Consulting Services, Inc.
Building Relationships for International Business Success
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What, by all that is sane, are book hacks?
(Firstly, you assumed sanity. Shame on you. Secondly, allow me to explain.)
I've been a bookworm for a long time. And I've learned a lot of things. Not just about reading books, but storing them, using them, buying them, even remembering them.
If you are a bookworm too, you might know some of these. But most of them I thought on my own, so I just wanted to share.
Basically A Post For Random Tips And Tricks Related to Books.
Buying New Books:
When you happen to go to a new book store (somewhere like Barnes & Noble that is NOT a used store) and you see a book you want, STOP RIGHT THERE. Immediately look the book up on Amazon. Chances are, it's going to be way cheaper. Go home and order the book, and you'll thank yourself for saving the money later.
Needless to say, new books are overpriced.
How to Remember What You Think of a Book:
Do you ever have trouble remembering which of your books you liked? Or say you just finished a book, and it's really good, but you don't feel like writing a whole review online (or don't have enough thoughts to do so)? How are you going to remember what you think of it?
I have a method for this. As soon as you are finished with the book (if it belongs to you), get a little sticky note and write 1 or 2 sentences about it, and how you like it or dislike it.
"Not my favorite story. It had some good parts [insert a few page numbers here, perhaps], but most of the time I was bored. 2/5 stars."
"Probably one of my favorite books! The writing was good, the plot was twisty and amazing, and I was falling in love with the characters. Would recommend to anyone! 5/5 stars."
Put the sticky note on the inside cover, and you have an easy reference that you can glance at.
This also helps if a friend asks you if you have any books to recommend, you can just glace at your sticky notes instead of searching around online to find a review.
How to Cover up a Swear Word in a Book (Without Damaging the Pages!):
I used this method of covering up cuss words in The Book Thief (if you've read that one, you know what i'm talking about). Some people like to just mark it out with a Sharpie, but that bleeds onto the other side of the page and makes the book all messy!
And if you are marking out for children, a Sharpie won't work because they can easily hold the page up to the light and see what you marked out.
But I figured out this method so that NO ONE can see what you marked out.
I'll put it in steps to make it easier.
1. Take a regular ink pen and scribble over the language.
2. Cut a small strip of Scotch tape the size of the marked out spot, and place it over the scribbles.
3. Take a Sharpie marker, and make little dots ON TOP OF THE TAPE STRIP that you have placed on the page.
~No one will be able to read through it, and because you put the tape down first, the Sharpie won't bleed through and ruin the page.
When You're Out of Shelf Space But You Can't Afford Another Shelf:
Don't panic if your shelf is full and there's nowhere else to put your books. The solution is quite simple, really. Just decorate your room or space with them.
Is there a vase on top of your bookshelf? Put a stack of 4 or 5 books underneath to give it some lift. I also keep stacks underneath my alarm clock, on top of a vintage hat box on my vanity, and I even put some on top of my shelf, under a wooden birdhouse. Just be creative, and don't worry about buying a new shelf (of course, if you can find a cheap on at the thrift store in good condition, by all means, buy it).
Don't Get Rid of Books You Hate:
Suppose someone gave you a book (they were trying to be nice and all), but you HATE IT (yes, I hate some books too...)? What do you do? You COULD give it away, or you could use/recycle it!
Even books that are in bad condition can be used for all sorts of crafts!
Here are a few of my favorites:
- Paper roll-up flowers
- You could Mod Podge the book pages onto anything: A box, the side of your shelf, your wall even.
- Paper dolls! Bring 'em back from the Little House on the Prairie days!
- Art- you could draw or paint something (such as a rose) over the words on the pages and make a really neat mixed media collage
- Bookmarks - just cut a book page into a rectangle, put a ribbon at the top and you're good to go!
- Birdcage lining (if you have a bird)
- Here's something random: If you're the type of person who likes to make gift baskets, you could make a book-themed basket, and use shredded book pages for filling
- And lots of other crafts!
Used books at the thrift store are usually super cheap, and I have found early edition books as well as brand new books at super-low prices at lots of different thrift stores! At one place I like go, their books are 15 cents AN INCH. I got a ton of books last time for like $1.00.
Just because a book might be used, doesn't mean that you will not enjoy it. Chances are the person who gave their books to the used store just finished them and wanted to pass them on. They are not necessarily bad books.
How to Remember Who You Lend Your Books to:
I've seen this hack on Pinterest before, but for those of you who haven't, a good way to remember who is borrowing what books (or even movies) from you is to take a picture of the borrower holding the item you are loaning them. Every time you see the picture, you'll be reminded that they have your book or movie (or whatever). It's a great reminder, especially when you're sorting through your phone pictures months later and you realize they haven't returned it yet.
When Reading A Book: Give Every Book The 'Two 'Chapter Test':
I think it's fair enough to say that not every good book has a great beginning. Some books start off downright boring. This is how I felt about Elizabeth George Speare's books. I don't think her books start off very well. But I couldn't close her books just because I don't like the beginning, because the rest of the book is great!
That's why I give every book I read what I call the 'two chapter test'. It basically means 'don't give up on a book until you've read at least two chapters', because that gives the book a chance to redeem itself. It might be a good book, after all.
If the story still hasn't interested you by the time you've given it two chapters, chances are the entire book is the same.
|Photo Credit: ME|
(Or crafting. Or book shopping. Or recycling. Or decorating. You know.)
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Candidates for upcoming legislative elections in Indonesia have been busy appealing to voters by plastering cities in campaign paraphernalia. Posters with their pictures, slogans and number on the ballot hang from every available poll, fence and street sign. Party flags fly along highways and at traffic roundabouts.
After more than two months spent on promotions, candidates now have just five more days before the campaign period ends ahead of April 9 elections.
To ensure order and fairness, Indonesia’s general elections commission, or KPU, updated a code of conduct last August that candidates are directed to follow. Commission officials say it serves more as guidance, but those who disobey the rules are subject to sanctions based on degree of violation. Those proven to have handed out money to win votes, for instance, could be prevented from accepting office.
Most of the 11 main rules are fairly standard and include prohibitions against violence and disturbing public order.
But some candidates find the following ground rules particularly hard to obey.
Don’t hang posters on trees and public service areas: These include places of worship, hospitals, schools, government-owned buildings and toll roads. Environmental activists have accused candidates who still put their posters on trees of causing environmental destruction.
Make sure those posters aren’t too big please: The maximum size, says the KPU, is no bigger than 1.5 x 7 meters, about the size of a standard highway billboard. Only one poster is allowed in each campaign zone.
Never offend other candidates: By insulting their religion, race or ethnicity. Nelson Simanjuntak, a member of Indonesia’s Elections Supervisory Board, said that not only offending but spreading false information that might affect the electability of a certain political party or candidate could also be considered a violation.
Definitely no money politics: All political parties and candidates are prohibited from giving out money to potential voters in return for their vote. They’ve often gotten around this by handing out freebies such as boxed lunches, t-shirts or free medical treatments.
No children at campaign events: That means anyone under 17 years of age who is not married. Mr. Simanjuntak said the rule, which prohibits parents from taking their children with them to campaign rallies, was created to protect children from circumstances that could affect their physical and psychological health. “Political parties usually hold campaigns in open spaces, so it’s hot,” he said. “It’s not good for children.” Youth are also not allowed to model in campaign advertisements.
Clean up after yourself: All political parties and candidates are obligated to rid the streets of their campaign materials before election day. This includes all party flags and candidate posters. Mr. Simanjuntak said political parties and candidates have a track record of not obeying this particular regulation. “That is why we have set up a national movement on April 7,” he said. On that day members of the Elections Supervisory Board across Indonesia will work together with political parties to clean the streets.
The complete regulations in the Indonesian language can be accessed here.
For the latest news and analysis, follow @WSJAsia
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Smooth Fox Terrier
The Fox Terrier was bred to run with the hounds and horses, then to go to ground and pursue the quarry...
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Your own library of articles, blogs, and favorite pet names
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Sometimes physically compared to a cheetah, this unique dog breed is built with natural agility and speed. The Sloughi is an ancient breed that originated somewhere in North Africa and spread to Europe and then America, though it is still a fairly rare breed in the United States.
This medium-sized dog breed weighs anywhere from 50 to 65 pounds at a height of 24 to 29 inches. The Sloughi has a uniquely long head with floppy ears and has a short and smooth coat that comes in a range of colors — from a light cream color to a red fawn coloring or, less often, a nearly black color.
The Sloughi has a unique personality that can sometimes be compared to a cat as it can seem detached and aloof. Although enthusiasts of this breed call the Sloughi a loving and loyal dog, this breed may do best as a one-person dog. The Sloughi can do well with children and other animals if it is socialized early enough.
The Sloughi requires little grooming and a good amount of daily exercise with plenty of space to run.
Considered a generally healthy dog breed, the Sloughi lives an average life span of 12 to 15 years. Health concerns with this breed include progressive retinal atrophy and sensitivity to vaccines, anesthesia and other medicines.
The exact date and origin of the Sloughi is unknown; however, the dog breed is believed to have developed in North Africa in the thirteenth century if not earlier. One of two African Sighthound breeds, the Sloughi was used to hunt desert game such as foxes, deer, gazelles and more.
The Sloughi reached Europe in the late nineteenth century and became popular in France. As with other dog breeds, the World Wars nearly brought extinction to the Sloughi. However, dedicated dog breeders were able to save, but not fully revive the Sloughi population.
Although the Sloughi was introduced to the United States in 1973, it remains a relatively unpopular dog breed in America.
The wasting away of certain tissues; a medical condition that occurs when tissues fail to grow.
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BISMARCK The North Dakota Department of Health has identified the 47th case in the Minot hepatitis C outbreak investigation.
The 46th and 47th cases are residents of Somerset Court in Minot and have not been residents of ManorCare Health Services-Minot. The first 45 cases all occurred in current or former residents of ManorCare.
Following the discovery of the 46th case, the Health Department conducted additional testing in Minot, which led to the identification of the 47th case. The Health Department will be contacting additional people for testing in the Minot area. The Health Department and Somerset Court are working closely together to determine how and when these cases occurred.
"The presence of this strain of hepatitis C outside of ManorCare indicates that the outbreak is not confined to that facility, and that is a concern for the North Dakota Department of Health," said Kirby Kruger, director of the Health Department's Disease Control.
"We need to do additional testing to better determine the parameters of the outbreak and ensure infection control procedures are in place to help stop the transmission of the virus," Kruger added.
In December 2013, the Health Department released its preliminary findings, which stated that statistical information suggested that having hepatitis C may be associated with receipt of: (1) podiatry and phlebotomy (blood draw) services through contractual agreements with Trinity Health; and (2) nail care services by ManorCare. So far in the investigation, the two new cases fit within the original findings without the exposure to ManorCare.
When the outbreak was first identified, the Health Department worked with ManorCare to review and reinforce infection control policies and procedures. In February, a consultant hired by the Health Department worked with the facility to further review infection control procedures. Ongoing testing has not identified any new cases at ManorCare.
The Health Department urges anyone contacted as a part of the outbreak investigation to have the requested blood test. Those who test positive for hepatitis C should seek additional care from their medical provider. Testing results, both positive and negative, can provide valuable information in the investigation.
Hepatitis C is a viral infection that can cause serious liver disease. People with hepatitis C should work with their healthcare provider on a care plan for their infection. Hepatitis C is primarily transmitted through blood-to-blood contact. The hepatitis C virus is not spread by sharing eating utensils, hugging, kissing, holding hands, coughing, or sneezing, and it is not spread through food or water.
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According to the CPT Surgery Guidelines, what is the code for the following unlisted procedures: Unlisted laparoscopic procedure, liver?
According to the CPT Surgery Guidelines, what is the code for the following unlisted procedures: Unlisted procedure, neck or thorax?
If a coder is unable to locate a code that describes the exact service provided, it is acceptable to use a code that approximates the service provided. (True or False)
False, You would use an unlisted procedure
What modifier would you use if you were coding only for the professional component of a diagnostic procedure?
Modifier -25, significant, separately identifiable E/M service by the same physician on the same day of the procedure or other service, is used to report an E/M service that was:
Provided on the same day as a minor procedure performed by the same physician.
Modifier -59, distinct procedure service, is used to indicate that:
Services that are usually bundled into one payment were provided as separate services.
A new patient presents to the physician's office at which time the physician provides a comprehensive history and exam with a high complexity MDM.
What are the three key components that are present in every patient case, except counseling encounters or time-based codes, and enable the coder to choose the appropriate level of service?
history, examination, medical decision making
Modifier _____ is used to indicate that a separately identifiable E/M service was performed by the physician on the same day as the preventive medicine service.
Assign a CPT anesthesia code and applicable modifiers for anesthesia services for an 81-year-old patient with mild systemic disease who receives anesthesia for revision of total hip arthroplasty.
Assign a CPT anesthesia code and applicable modifiers for anesthesia services for a 9- month-old normal child who received anesthesia for hernia repair in the lower abdomen
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Supporting multiple hardware platforms gives Microsoft an obivious advantage but also brings us users some excellent benefits. Imagine being able to pick up a device and have the same user interface and smarts at your disposal.
The image below shows a view of Windows 10 running on a Smart Phone next to a Laptop/Desktop PC.
Microsoft were quick to point out these benefits but also wanted to under pin them with some over arching principles:
- Mobility of Experience
- Natural Interaction (Voice; Pen; Gesture)
The term “Windows as a Service” was I feel at the heart of Microsoft’s vision, and me being rather cynical beleive that this is absolutly the driving force behind a lot of the core developments in Windows 10. Microsoft have been shifting from the traditional licensing models in preference of more Pay-As-You-Go or pay for what you consume models.
Microsoft has been moving more and more service offerings into the Cloud and allowing users and Businesses alike access to these through subscriptions. A key player for Windows 10 will be it’s OneDrive Cloud Storage Service which will store a user’s “profile” in the Cloud to allow all the Windows 10 supported devices to store and retrieve your user settings as you roam from device to device.
As a society we are seeing more and more now, applications that are free at point of purchase but contain IAPs (in App purchases) that allow you to build on and enhance features. Not surprising then that Windows 10 will be free to upgrade to in the first year. If you currently have windows 8.1 or Windows 7. I suspect this will be the platform upon which “Windows as a Service” will be founded.
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Building Your Winning TEAM
The first step in this process is to understand the meaning and importance of a good team. “T.E.A.M means that Together Everyone Achieves More.”
The difference between a mediocre team and a winning team is often in the details, and those seemingly small or insignificant details are not to be minimised or discounted.
Otherwise, business owners can wind up underestimating and devaluing their own business and its profits. The building blocks of any business team are, in other words, also the foundation and the core of the business model.
Building a Better TEAM with ActionCOACH Ireland
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Jun 28, 2023 2:37:11 PM
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A handful of apps purporting to specialize in virus detection and malware scanning were recently removed from Google’s Play marketplace and Amazon after being deemed fake.
Security researchers at FireEye discovered five apps in particular that accounted for up to 50,000 downloads and essentially did nothing outside of taking users’ money and leaving them with a false sense of security.
Jinjian Zhai, Jimmy Su and Humayun Ajmal said that paid versions of the apps were available on Google Play for customers outside of the US or UK, but that customers inside the US or UK could download free versions of the apps that came with options to upgrade in-app.
The apps, some free, some which retailed for up to $3.99, were all uploaded to Play and Amazon by a developer with the name Mina Adib according to FireEye.
The apps all boasted that they’d be able to protect mobile devices from hackers in one way or another – most through a virus scanner. In actuality the apps, with names like Anti-Hacker PLUS, Me Web Secure and JU AntiVirus Pro, were nothing more than a “façade of images and progress bars.”
As Shai, Su and Ajmal point out in looking at the other apps’ code, none of them actually scanned anything – they all just featured a superfluous progress bar that moved from left to right.
It appears that at least one of Mina Adib’s apps, The Teacher, is still available on Amazon – but that particular app wasn’t mentioned in FireEye’s research.
It’s the latest work from the FireEye researchers who mostly specialize in analyzing Android code. In March Su and Zhai, aided by Tao Wei, investigated exactly how much information – users’ age, gender, etc. – the Android version of the popular game Angry Birds collects and shares with third parties. As it turns out the app mines quite a bit of user information, then “transmits it to other advertising clouds.”
Bogus apps, especially those of the Android variety, are nothing new.
Earlier this year more than 10,000 Android users were duped into downloading the $3.99 Virus Shield, another fake app, before Google was forced to take it offline, refund users’ money and offer those tricked into downloading it an extra $5 promotional credit.
The app, which at one point even found itself atop Google Play’s Top Charts list, claimed to offer “one-click virus protection” but did nothing of the sort — but that didn’t stop it from catching on like wildfire.
If nothing else the fake apps should highlight the persistent vigilance that needs to be exercised when it comes to downloading applications from app stores, even official storefronts like Google Play.
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Do you have trouble hearing your television? Maybe you can't understand conversations when people are speaking low. You may need to visit a local audiologist from Bremer Hearing & Audiology in Rome or New Hartford, New York. Our team has extensive education on the ears and the process of hearing. We can assess your problem and propose effective treatment options, tailored to you.
When it comes to your health, finding a well-qualified and attentive doctor is important. Many people of all ages come to us for hearing loss treatment because:
You can trust that you're in good hands when you get treatment from our team. Our focus is always on providing top-quality products and treatments for our clients. Meet with a local audiologist from Bremer Hearing & Audiology in Rome or New Hartford, New York today.
Losing your hearing can be frightening-especially when it happens in your 50s or 60s. You may think that you're too young to need hearing aids or to visit a hearing doctor for checkups. Hearing loss can occur at any age for a variety of reasons. Our team can perform an otoscopic examination or audiometry test to determine the root of your problem. You can then receive customized treatment.
Find out more about our testing and treatment options now by calling 315-735-3536 for our New Hartford location and 315-337-0654 for our Rome location.
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The development of new science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge
B.Sc. (Hons), P.G.C.E. University of Birmingham, U.K.
M.Ed., Ed.D., University of Massachusetts Lowell-Mathematics and Science Education
Anita Greenwood received her bachelor’s degree in biology with honors from the University of Birmingham, UK, as well as a post-graduate certificate of education. She worked as a science teacher in England before moving to the United States with her husband. Greenwood joined the University of Lowell as a graduate student in 1983 and later worked as a lecturer, supervising preservice science teachers. In 1992, Greenwood became the first person to receive an Ed.D. in Mathematics and Science Education from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Upon appointment to the faculty, Greenwood oversaw the Initial Teacher Preparation program in addition to her teaching and research responsibilities. Throughout her career, Greenwood has been heavily involved in teacher professional development. She has conducted numerous workshops for elementary and middle school teachers and made several televised programs for science teachers in collaboration with the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics ߝ; Science Media Group. These programs can be seen on educational television and as streamed videos on the Annenberg Media site.
Greenwood’s research interests focus on science teachers’ development of pedagogical knowledge, especially those teachers who enter the profession after pursuing another career. She has received several grants to enhance the teaching of science and most recently collaborated with colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to deliver science education courses online.
After serving as the department chairperson of the Graduate School of Education for five years, Greenwood was appointed to the position of interim dean. Following a national search, Dr. Anita Greenwood was appointed Dean of the Graduate School of Education (GSE) in April, 2012. As dean she works closely with faculty to examine degree programs and build enrollment. She continues to teach at least one course a year as she values greatly the opportunity to interact with and guide students’ learning. She hopes to continue to teach for as long as her administrative commitments allow. Greenwood is a recipient of the University of Massachusetts Lowell Francis Cabot Lowell Young Alumna award, the Graduate Student Association teaching award and she has twice received her college’s teaching award.
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Why does probability-neglect happen? It's partly a psychological thing; imagining something happening and how we would feel about it is easy, natural, intuitive, but thinking about probability is difficult, mathematical, unfamiliar. And it's also partly a media problem; we have much more news reporting now than we did, say, thirty years ago. There were no 24-hour news channels then, only a small number of TV channels, and no internet. The news machine is voracious, and so when there is an accident or a disaster or any sort of human tragedy, it is reported and analysed endlessly. This makes us think that events which are actually very rare happen frequently, and perversely, events which are relatively common are under-reported precisely because they're not news.
Quiz: What's the safest way to travel? How much safer do you think it is to travel by car than to walk? A bit? A lot? Is a train safer than a plane? The best numbers I could find were fatalities per billion passenger kilometres for 1999:
Mode of Travel
Deaths Per Billion Passenger Km
Motor cycle 112
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Some call them detectives. Others call them sleuths. Still others call them gumshoes, private eyes, beagles, flatfoots or skip tracers. But whatever else they might be called, here in Utah, they’re simply called private investigators.
Whenever lost evidence needs to be found; whenever a forgotten witness needs to be interviewed; whenever a background check needs to be made; whenever a little information might go a long way – all of these occasions call for a private investigator. These resourceful professionals often prove indispensable in cases with criminal charges, domestic disputes or even personal reassurance. It is not unheard of for a case to be cracked wide open thanks to the efforts of a private investigator, and there’s probably nothing quite so satisfying as catching someone red-handed. So how do they do it?
Experience, as they say, teaches, and there are few better educated in the ways of investigation than private investigators. Most if not all private investigators have had training with law enforcement agencies and police departments, and as such they have had access to all contacts, resources and training that goes with it. In fact, Utah Law requires that private investigators have at least 2,000 hours of experience doing investigatory work before they will can even be issued a license. By the time they arrive in the private sector, these wily watchers are more than a match for their counterparts in public agencies.
2) Tools of the Trade
For all the experience a private investigator might have, it does them little good without access to some high-tech gear. From SIM card readers to GPS tracking devices; from high-powered cameras to microphones – a good private investigator has it all. Combined with their knowledge of what to look for, these tools help a private investigator to scrape up any evidence that may have been missed or even deliberately overlooked.
3) Legal Protection
While you might think that just anyone can pick up a camera and go follow a given target, you’d be wrong: that’s what those in the business refer to as stalking. Licensed private investigators, on the other hand, have a special section of the Utah Code set out which grants them the authority to do things other people might not be able to do (Utah Code Chapter 53-9). For instance, while a private investigator might have the authority to tag someone’s vehicle with a GPS tracking device, an unlicensed civilian could be risking some pretty serious criminal charges for doing the same. Unsurprisingly, it often improves a private investigator’s effectiveness when they aren’t being chased by the police!
Almost as important as protecting the private investigator, however, the same Utah Code protects their clients. Confidentiality is key in the world of private investigators, and the results of their work are the property of the client and the client alone. In fact, if a private investigator was to pass along information they obtained while working for you, they’d actually be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
When taken together, the experience, tools and legal protection that private investigators both enjoy and provide can be of great benefit to any case – criminal, civil or otherwise. And though they may not always come cheap – good things cost money! – it is certainly worth consulting with one whenever you think their particular talents might come in handy.
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Academic Honesty Statement
Las Positas College Faculty Senate
Las Positas College promotes student success by providing high quality instruction and learning resources. The primary factor in student success, however, is the student's devotion of considerable time and energy to the learning process. A high grade in a Las Positas College course is, therefore, something of which both the college and the student can be proud. It indicates mastery of the material achieved through hard work.
Any form of academic dishonesty, whether cheating or plagiarism, undermines the value of grades for the entire student body and the College as a whole. It is an affront to every student who has labored to achieve success honestly and a threat to the College's reputation for academic excellence. For these reasons, the College does not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty. Any student attempting to gain an unfair advantage in a course will be severely penalized, up to and including suspension from classes. The actions taken against the student will also be permanently entered into the student's record in the case of repeated, flagrant, or serious incidents.
For purposes of this policy, the following definitions apply:
Cheating is defined as fraud, deceit, or dishonesty in an academic assignment. It may involve:
- Copying or attempting to copy from others during an examination or for an assignment;
- Communicating examination information to, or receiving such information from, another person during an examination;
- Preprogramming a calculator or computer to contain answers or other unauthorized information for examinations;
- Using, attempting to use, or assisting others in using materials that are prohibited or inappropriate in the context of the academic assignment or examination in question, such as: books, Web sites, prepared answers, written notes, or concealed information;
- Allowing others to do one's assignment or a portion of one's assignment or using a commercial term paper service;
- Allowing someone else access to your secure online classroom to complete assignments or portions of assignments;
- Gaining unauthorized access to another student’s online classroom account;
- Altering examination answers after an assignment has been completed or altering recorded grades; and
- Resubmitting a previously written assignment for a new course without the permission of the instructor.
Plagiarism is defined as using another's work (whether printed, electronic, or spoken) without crediting him or her. Whereas cheating is almost always intentional, students sometimes plagiarize accidentally. It is vital, therefore, for students to understand the many different kinds of actions that constitute plagiarism:
- Submitting the whole of another's work as one's own (see the definition of "cheating" above: this includes submitting another student's paper or a paper obtained from a commercial term paper service as one's own);
- Using the exact wording of a source without putting that wording in quotation marks and citing it;
- Paraphrasing the wording of a source without citing it;
- Inadequately paraphrasing the wording of a source (not only the words, but the sentence structure of the original must be changed);
- Summarizing the ideas of a source without citing it; and
- Overusing the ideas of a source, so that those ideas make up the majority of one's work.
From discipline to discipline and course to course, students will find that instructors will sometimes use teaching tools like modeling (in which the student is asked to "model" his or her writing after another's) or collaboration (in which students co-write or share ideas for an assignment) that seem very close to plagiarism. In cases like these, the instructor will be very careful to emphasize that the "use of another's work" is occurring within the specific parameters of the assignment. Such use should not occur in other contexts or without the supervision and consent of an instructor.
Definition of plagiarism influenced in part by the academic honesty policies of Ohlone College, Fremont California and Hamilton College, Clinton New York; by "What is Plagiarism," Turnitin.com Oakland: iParadigms, 2003. 10 Feb. 2004 ; and by Robert A. Harris, The Plagiarism Handbook (Los Angeles: Pyrczak Publishing, 2001)
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