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Happy Mother's Day! How are you celebrating?
Or should we celebrate mothers and that nurturing/mothering part inside each of us EVERY day?
I couldn't agree more with Ms. Onassis on this topic and as older parents, our primary purpose in life is to create heaven on earth together and raise one child well.
When we each give our best to our child, we help create a better world.
I almost didn't get this miracle of motherhood, so feel blessed even for those years of struggle/loss and all it taught me about the great privilege of being a mother.
Once Mozart was here, I just didn't want to miss a minute of my miracle baby, this most prayed for gift that I<|fim_middle|> of mothering!
What do you celebrate about mothering and what have you learned in the process?
For mothers day, I made pancakes for my mom and I drew her a card. Every year, my brother signs my card, although he doesn't take any part in drawing or writing it. LOL:) I don't mind it that much, though. Happy Mother's Day!
Thanks so much for your prayers Abby! ♥ I do believe in the power of prayer and I am grateful for all the prayers we got from our church and people on FB who prayed for my cousin and twins.
You should see the photos..they are adorable! Please keep them in your prayers this month as they are hooked up to a lot of tubes to give them support. | named more than a decade before she was born ( given to me in meditation) and it was part of our wedding vows and reason for marriage.
We sacrificed much, gave up things like our dream home, to have more TIME with her. By giving to her, we all gained immensely.
I feel our relationship began long before I got pregnant and she looks exactly like she appeared in my dreams decades ago.
As I write this, my dear sweet younger cousin ( who was named after me and the flower girl at our wedding in a forest 23 years ago) has had quite the struggle on her journey to motherhood and will deliver her twins 4 weeks early on Monday morning, May 12th.
Her mother ( who lost her mother at 7 and then her step-mother at 12) is one of the most loving people on the planet and is like an older sister to me. She just retired as a nurse, so has been able to be a great support to her youngest daughter through this process.
She is the youngest of 7 kids in a close knit family and my mother is the oldest and we grew up a block apart. Nuturiing and caregiving is part of our family legacy, as four of my aunts are nurses and I was too. This was the aunt who God sent to my mother on the night her beloved husband passed away from cancer and she with another dear aunt nursed a brother who had a stroke for years (on top of their full time jobs and families).
She was one of my first teachers about the stength of loving, compassion and the healing affect of laughter and joy. So many happy memories of her in my childhood and then visiting with her creative girls, loving playing and talking with them over the years.
Her eldest daughter got married when Mozart was 4 and it was her first wedding, so she addored it and it has become part of our RTW life as watching that video on home movie nights keeps us all connected to extended family.
Or waving to them via Skype video when they visit my mom on holidays.
We have a family prayer list going, as my cousin has been in the hospital and bedridden for most of this pregnancy and I have put them on our church prayer list regularly as well as keeping them in our daily prayers.
I am a big believer in the power of prayer and positive visualization, so hope you can join in sending some blessings and sweet vibes to this new mother-to-be and family about to enter into the sacred journey of motherhood and family via the preemie road and NICU ( scheduled for at least a month) route. May it be filled with Grace!
I salute all you wonderful mothers out there and all the struggles you have surmounted on your motherhood journeys.
I give great gratitude and praise that I come from a long line of good, strong mothers that passed that loving torch down through the ages with a legacy of love that sustains us. DaVinci has that on his side as well with the typical Spanish focus on the importance of family.
The strength of our little family and the loving mothering forces from our extended family at home, is what has allowed us to live this travel lifestyle.
Already, I see that strength and loving/nurturing ability in Mozart, as she works with her students or plays with kids around the world, so I know that loving strength will continue long after I pass. Nothing is more reassuring to a mom.
My baby is growing fast, so I hope to make the most out of these teen years | 715 |
Tulsa employees and their kids learn about STE<|fim_middle|> volunteer as part of the Tulsa office STEAM Fair."
For coverage of the event on KTUL-TV, click here. #WilliamsSTEAMfair
Working at Williams | AM
Performers from Arts Alliance Tulsa entertained during STEAM Fair.
To the sounds of youth actors performing selections from a Broadway play, hundreds of Tulsa employees and their kids enjoyed the first Williams STEAM Volunteer Fair, held this week in our headquarters building.
STEAM is an acronym that refers to support for Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Math.
As the performers sang selections from Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, attendees petted a snake from the Tulsa Zoo and caught basketballs thrown from a robot built by a high school robotics club. In all, 20 nonprofit agencies showcased their missions and recruited Williams employees as community volunteers.
Teams of kids built windmills during an activity led by Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance.
Earlier that morning, 86 students participated in Williams' Take Your Kids to Work Day, which included a team-building engineering activity led by representatives from the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance. The alliance, along with Arts Alliance Tulsa, helped arrange for the various exhibitors at the lunchtime event – from science museums to theatrical groups, along with two high school robotics clubs.
"This event was important for our employees and the community to know that Williams remains committed to giving back with company resources and employee volunteers," says Rob Hatley, vice president of Communications and Strategic Outreach. "Wherever we operate, Williams employees support their communities and we were pleased to see more than 35 additional commitments made to | 286 |
You wanna let your personal style shine. You wanna enjoy your limited sartorial freedom. You wanna celebrate the season! For many of us, the office holiday party is the one time of year where our coworkers see us outside the norm—outside a uniform, a suit, or any of our other fashion restrictions. Toeing the line between showing off your personal style and remaining appropriate for a work fete can take a little investigative work and savvy navigation.
Asking veterans can be a great place to begin your ensemble search, but like anything work related, we'd suggest you err on the side of caution. The notorious no-brainers<|fim_middle|> front, wide leg or tailored, a jumpsuit throws everyone for a chic loop with a one-piece ensemble that's equally as appropriate as it is contemporary. | include minding your hem and necklines, as well as avoiding anything that requires tape, petals or backless bras—save it for New Years.
For an office party outfit that's talked about for all the right reasons, read on.
If below the knee feels a bit too stuffy for the celebratory spirit, try adding a polished blazer over shorter numbers. Showing a little (keyword: little) leg never hurt anybody, but to balance it out, a tailored tux jacket with satin lapels, velvet texture or festive print up top keeps the sophistication factor solid.
Who says a mini is the only path to glamour? Drop the length to the floor and go for a maxi to glide through the cocktail hour with unexpected grace. We love the idea of kimono and sleeved styles to help ward off winter's chill.
Maintain your edge with a trendy dress alternative—the jumpsuit. Wrap | 181 |
The Next Cinematic Universe Is Going to Be 'Call of Duty'
Back in 2015, Activision created Activision Blizzard Studios, which was in charge of coming up with ideas for how to turn their "vast library of intellectual property" into<|fim_middle|> their six.
Activision Creates Studio to Make 'Call of Duty' Films and TV Shows
Source: The Next Cinematic Universe Is Going to Be 'Call of Duty'
Filed Under: Call of Duty | films and TV shows. It's an ambitious undertaking, given the vast amount of video game content they have at their disposal, and now, after almost two years, a team of writers has planned out a Call of Duty cinematic universe.
The team, Activision Blizzard Studios co-presidents Stacey Sher and Nick van Dyk, have been hard at work outlining a multi-film franchise that'll have the feel of the Call of Duty games without basically recycling their plots, according to The Guardian. Each film will be set in a Call of Duty era, like Vietnam or Modern Warfare's modern day of drones and surveillance, and the first could open as early as 2018.
We have plotted out many years. We put together this group of writers to talk about where we were going. There'll be a film that feels more like Black Ops, the story behind the story. The Modern Warfare series looks at what it's like to fight a war with the eyes of the world on you. And then maybe something that is more of a hybrid, where you are looking at private, covert operations, while a public operation is going on.
Sher has produced a number of great movies, including Pulp Fiction, The Hateful Eight, and Gattaca, and Van Dyk was a senior executive at Disney, overlooking the Marvel and Star Wars brands, so these two definitely know exactly what they're doing. And even aside from Call of Duty, Blizzard has a wealth of material to draw from. The promotional campaign for their recent sensation Overwatch, for one thing, contains animated shorts introducing key playable characters that would be the prefect basis for feature films all on their own.
Call of Duty, in particular, has drawn some Hollywood A-listers for its own promotional campaign, with the likes of Chris Evans, Kevin Spacey, and Cara Delevingne lending their faces and voices to commercials. And it's pretty much one of the most, if not the most, popular game series of all time. Marvel had better watch | 407 |
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Jul-Aug 2009 Issue
Preparing Your Office for an Infectious Disease Epidemic
If your practice doesn't have a written preparedness plan, now is the time to develop one.
Charles W. Mackett III, MD, FAAFP
Fam Pract Manag. 2009 Jul-Aug;16(4):11-14.
This content conforms to AAFP CME criteria. See FPM CME Quiz.
Plan for success
Pandemic influenza is potentially the most catastrophic infectious disease epidemic family physicians may face. For years, World Health Organization experts worried about the pandemic risk of the resurgent H5N1 avian influenza, but the recent outbreak of H1N1 influenza (swine flu) in Mexico and the United States reinforced the need for family physicians to be prepared.1 A repeat of the Great Pandemic of 1918 ("Spanish Flu"), in which the CDC estimates that 50 million people died, would overwhelm every family physician's office. Potentially effective viral neuraminidase inhibitors such as oseltamivir and zanamivir are already in short supply, and pre-pandemic vaccines are not yet commercially available. Production of a pandemic vaccine, if needed, would take six to nine months. Critical shortages of equipment, supplies and oxygen would be likely in our "just-in-time" and financially ailing global economy, and transportation and essential services could be severely limited.
Family physicians play a critical role in the detection, prevention and management of an infectious disease epidemic. If you don't have a detailed plan for responding to a complex medical emergency of this magnitude, now is the time to develop one. Fortunately, the underlying preparedness principles are the same regardless of whether a practice is preparing for pandemic influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB) or bioterrorism. The purpose of this article is to help you prepare your office to function effectively through an infectious disease<|fim_middle|> JL. Telephone triage of patients with influenza. Am Fam Phys. 2009;79:943–945. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2009/0601/p943.html. Accessed June 15, 2009.
3. Temte JL. Preparing for an influenza pandemic: vaccine prioritization. Fam Pract Manag. January2006:32–34. https://www.aafp.org/fpm/20060100/32prep.html. Accessed June 15, 2009.
This content is owned by the AAFP. A person viewing it online may make one printout of the material and may use that printout only for his or her personal, non-commercial reference. This material may not otherwise be downloaded, copied, printed, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any medium, whether now known or later invented, except as authorized in writing by the AAFP. Contact fpmserv@aafp.org for copyright questions and/or permission requests.
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You, Your Public Health Department and the Next Flu Pandemic
Preparing for an Influenza Pandemic: Vaccine Prioritization
Influenza Pandemic: Preparing for the Unpredictable
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About FPM | epidemic. Numerous resources are available to help you develop an office preparedness plan (see "Online resources"). Your plan should address the following issues in writing so that it can be easily shared with others in the practice and accessed when and where the information is needed:
Education and training for patients and staff,
Systems to triage, cohort, diagnose and treat patients,
Availability of equipment and supplies,
Protection of staff, non-epidemic patients and families,
Communication with staff, patients and consultants,
Coordination with local and state public health authorities,
Business continuity,
Recovery and reconstitution of the office practice.
In the end, all preparedness plans must be flexible because no one can predict with certainty which infectious disease epidemics will confront us, let alone the clinical epidemiology, societal upheaval and unique challenges to patients those epidemics will bring. In the case of pandemic influenza, family medicine offices will need to prepare for successive waves of illness lasting up to three years. Experts fully expect H1N1 influenza to resurface later this fall.
As you begin to formulate your plan, these are among the issues you should consider:
Be informed. Family physicians must regularly monitor news outlets and public health web sites to stay aware of potential infectious threats. Epidemic surveillance and detection requires that family physicians familiarize themselves, their staffs and their patients with the case definitions and the travel and exposure histories of suspected emerging pathogens. This means actively monitoring or signing up for e-mail delivery of federal, state and local alerts regarding potential natural or man-made epidemics.
Be vigilant. Ultimately, you and your staff must maintain a high index of suspicion when evaluating all patients who present with acute respiratory illness. Every effort should be made to halt the spread of infection. Early identification, triage and isolation (physical or by mask) of patients with acute respiratory illness offers the best protection for staff and non-infected patients. Scrupulous infection control, cough etiquette, respiratory and hand hygiene, and the appropriate immunization and treatment of patients and office staff are essential if offices are to avoid accelerating the epidemic, as happened with SARS in 2003. Staff should routinely "wash in and wash out" of every patient encounter; ensure the proper use of masks, personal protective equipment and standard precautions; and provide "flu bags" (a mask, disposable facial tissues and hand sanitizer) to all potentially infected patients.
As much as possible, you should separate epidemic patients from other patients. This may mean modifying standard scheduling practices or patient flow routines. Staff, equipment and disposable supplies should be dedicated for use with these patients, and their contacts should be monitored and isolated appropriately. Offices must be thoroughly familiar with indicated diagnostic tests and the safe collection, handling and transport of specimens to appropriate laboratory facilities. More frequent cleaning and the adequate disposal of hazardous waste will be critical.
Begin planning now.
Master the detection, prevention and management of seasonal influenza and community acquired pneumonia.
Practice scrupulous infection control – "wash in and wash out."
Communicate at all levels, and coordinate with public health agencies.
Focus on staff management and business continuity. You can't treat patients if you go out of business.
Be ready. The importance of business continuity planning, and staff management in particular, cannot be overemphasized and must be addressed early in the planning process. First, establish clear expectations that staff will work during the crisis; the epidemic cannot be controlled if able-bodied health care workers stay home. Commitments to protect staff and non-punitive, supportive sick leave policies may mitigate absenteeism. This may involve developing a mechanism to diagnose, treat and support exposed employees and establishing return-to-work guidelines and screening. You may need to cross-train staff to perform and maintain essential functions. Plan to use recovered staff and volunteers, possibly retirees, if needed to keep the office open. Contact vendors to ensure the availability of critical equipment and supplies, and identify alternative suppliers that you can call on as necessary. Work with health plans, insurers, banks and creditors to streamline billing processes, ensure cash flow and continue the timely payment of employees. Anticipate the need for behavioral health services among patients, staff and their families.
Be accessible. You must also take steps to meet the potentially enormous surge in demand that an infectious disease epidemic could create. These might involve contacting patients to reschedule or postpone routine services, such as annual physicals, blood pressure checks and screening lab work. Calls from the "worried well" may inundate the practice in advance of the actual epidemic; this happened in India in early 2006 when H5N1 avian influenza was first reported in local poultry populations. Plan to use telephone triage and electronic communication as much as possible to ensure that appointments are available for the patients who need them most.2 Be prepared to prioritize distribution of appropriate anti-viral medications, antibiotics and vaccines if and when they are made available.3 Close coordination with local and state public health authorities will ensure timely referral of patients to designated alternate care sites and to community points of distribution for medications and vaccines.
Many epidemic patients may be better treated at home. Public health officials may mandate patient isolation, contact quarantine and social distancing. Offices must anticipate the need to track, monitor, treat, visit and potentially refer home-bound patients to higher levels of care. Coordinate with colleagues and public health officials to ensure that special populations, including those who are chronically or critically ill and may not have access to clinics or hospitals during an epidemic, are not forgotten. Work with insurers to relax prior authorization and other requirements as needed to ensure timely delivery of services and medications for patients being treated at home.
Be proactive. Communication at every level will be critical. Be prepared to report suspected epidemic cases to public health authorities and to consult infectious disease experts when necessary. Language-appropriate signage, instructions and patient education materials should alert patients to report symptoms, use appropriate cough etiquette and provide basic care for themselves and their families. Encourage insurers or central offices to open patient hotlines and nurse advice lines. Participate in community or regional planning exercises and designate a practice spokesperson to interface with the community and the media if necessary. Plan to provide input to local and regional ethics panels that may need to make difficult resource allocation decisions.
Be ready for "business as usual." Finally, your planning should also focus on office recovery and reconstitution once the epidemic subsides. It may take weeks or months but eventually the practice will return to normal. Bills must be collected, and equipment and supplies must be replenished. Patients whose appointments were postponed will need to be rescheduled.
The AAFP's online resources on H1N1 flu (https://www.aafp.org/about/make-a-difference/disasters.html) include information about the outbreak as well as links to tools for pandemic preparedness planning, such as the AAFP's "Checklist to Prepare Doctors' Offices for Pandemic Influenza" and "Business Planning Checklist to Prepare Family Medicine Offices for Pandemic Influenza."
Additional resources are available at these web sites:
https://www.aafp.org/about/make-a-difference/disasters.html
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/h1n1flu
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/healthcare/medical.html
http://www.ready.gov/
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/en/
Preparing for an infectious disease epidemic is a seemingly daunting challenge. Family medicine offices that are systematic in their efforts to detect, prevent and manage seasonal influenza, pneumonia and other respiratory pathogens are likely to be better prepared. However, the fundamental tasks required for responding effectively to an epidemic are those that most offices perform every day – triage, prioritization, diagnosis, prevention, patient-centered treatment of chronic illness and infectious disease, communication with patients and outside agencies, education and training, staff management, business continuity and psychosocial support. Numerous resources are available to help you prepare. With forethought and diligent planning, you will be ready, particularly if H1N1 influenza returns with a vengeance later this year.
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Dr. Mackett is an associate professor and executive vice chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. Author disclosure: nothing to disclose.
Send comments to fpmedit@aafp.org.
1. Temte JL. Basic rules of influenza: how to combat the H1N1 influenza (swine flu) virus. Am Fam Phys. 2009;79:938–939. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2009/0601/p938.html. Accessed June 15, 2009.
2. Temte | 1,796 |
JIM JOHNSON - NOVEMBER 7, 1942 - MAY 4, 2021
It is with great sadness the family of Jim Johnson announces his<|fim_middle|> for their efforts. A private family interment will take place. At a later date a celebration of Jimmy's life will be held. In lieu of flowers, those who so desire may make a memorial donation in memory of Jim to the Kyle Johnson Memorial Foundation at The Winnipeg Foundation.
Family and friends may sign a book of condolence at www.glenlawn.ca. | sudden passing on Tuesday, May 4, 2021.
Jim will be lovingly remembered by his wife Marlys, and his children, Shellie (Jim) Anderson, Jay (Deanna), and Tara (Greg) Smith. Bub will be fondly remembered and incredibly missed by his grandchildren, Owen and Aubrey. He will also be missed by his grandchildren in California, Jason and Keeley and their families, by his sisters, Mary (John) Hydomako, Audrey (Tony) Gmitrowski, Ruth Neskar and Kathy Smolinski. Jim will also be forever remembered by his numerous nieces and nephews, extended family, and dear friends.
Jim was predeceased by his parents (Norman and Thelma), and numerous aunts and uncles, and members of his hockey community. In 2000, Jim lost his youngest son, Kyle, in a tragic accident at the age of 19. Jim has spent the years since with his family by his side honouring Kyle's memory by giving back to the Transcona Community. The family takes comfort knowing Jimmy and Kyle are finally together again.
Besides his family and friends, Jim's other love was hockey. Even though he grew up in Tyndall, he often could be seen hitchhiking his way to his games in Winnipeg. Jimmy's professional hockey career began in the New York Rangers system in 1962. He toiled between the NHL, CPHL and AHL until he made his debut with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1967, and he never looked back. He finished his NHL playing days with LA Kings in the 1971-72 season, and began his WHA career in 1972 where he played for the next three years for he Minnesota Fighting Saints, and ended his playing days with the Indianapolis Racers.
After his playing days, he returned to Transcona and opened his first sporting goods store on Bond at Melrose Street. Jim Johnson's Sports Centre became a staple in Transcona with its most notable location on Pandora Ave. Jimmy's love of hockey continued from playing to coaching where he spent many years pacing hockey benches, teaching and mentoring many young and old hockey players and parents.
After selling his store he started up Jim Johnson's Trucking, where family thinks he spent more time visiting than actual business. After 30 years he officially retired. In his later years you could always find Jimmy at East End Arena watching his grandchildren play the game he loved and offering advice to anyone that asked.
The family would like to thank the Winnipeg Fire and Paramedics, and St. Boniface Hospital | 544 |
That means that I have got another 70.65<|fim_middle|> I am not one for green things usually but it looks so appertising. | miles to go. So, fingers crossed if I carry on as I am I should get my 100 miles by the end of October!
Now onto this weeks meal plan. At the moment my go to cook book is Jamie Oliver's fabulous 5 Ingredients. I love it! The book is full of delicious recipes that are perfect for mid week meals. This week I am featuring one and adapting one of the recipes.
As soon as I saw this recipe on the television I knew I had to make it. Jamie's Green spaghetti is a fantastic way to get some extra goodness into your diet. In his recipe he uses just cavolo nero but I am adding even more green veg to the mix! I am also going to be using a lovely fresh pasta that was on offer this week.
This is another Jamie Oliver based meal that I am going to adapt so that it includes some lovely oily fish products from John West.
Carbonara is a favourite here but we love the traditional, egg based carbonara. When made with smoked lardons and mushrooms we know that we are in for a treat!
We have not had a pie in such a long time so when I saw a chicken and asparagus pie I could not resist!
I think it'll be a treat night, at the moment I honestly do not have a clue, but it will be something easy!
We all love fish pie and it is always a winner here!
Why not share your meal plan with the #MealPlanningMonday blog hop!
That salad looks amazing! | 309 |
Q: PHP ldap_connect to multiple hosts in case of one beeing not reachable A co-worker suggested that we use multiple hosts for a website where<|fim_middle|> connection.');
}
}
| authentication
is based on LDAP in case one host is currently down. Now I know you can do something like
$LDAP_SERVERS = "10.101.01.1 10.100.10.2";
$ldap = ldap_connect($LDAP_SERVERS);
But I'm using an config file:
return [
'domain_controller' => ['10.101.01.1', '10.100.10.2'],
'base_dn' => 'OU=foo,DC=example,DC=local',
'ssl' => false,
...
];
Whereas my connection is done via
$protocol = $this->ssl ? $this::PROTOCOL_SSL : $this::PROTOCOL;
$port = $this->ssl ? $this::PORT_SSL : $this::PORT;
return $this->connection = ldap_connect($protocol . $hostname, $port);
As the co-worker suggested it might be possible that our LDAP hosts will run via SSL in the future, how can I make this multiple hosts work for this? Above it's working with the hostname only, but that's because it's non-ssl based. Given SSL you need the ldaps:// protocol and the portnumber, right?
Therefore it would not work with the hostname only and I'm not sure if you can do something as simple that the connection looks like
ldap_connect('ldaps://' . '10.101.01.1 10.100.10.2', 123);
(supposed both servers run the same port for ssl based ldap)
EDIT: Got it working by using ldap_connect('ldaps://hostnameone ldaps://hostnametwo, 636'); As a reddit user said: "Notice they are still separated by spaces, and should be tried in order of appearance.."
A: You should be able to do something like this:
ldap_connect("ldaps://example.com:389 ldap://example.com:389")
But beware: This will on starting the connection (which is not on calling ldap_connect) try the first server and after a timeout try the next server and so on. This might cause an unwanted delay!
A: PHPs ldap_connect() will return false if the connection can not be made.
More on ldap_connect()
Try something like this:
if(!$ldap_conn = ldap_connect($adhost1)) {
if(!$ldap_conn = ldap_connect($adhost2)) {
die('Unable to establish LDAP | 538 |
A minority stake is defined as a shareholding<|fim_middle|> minority stakes in other legal entities. | in a legal entity which does not provide the investor with sufficient voting rights to protect their interests. This is usually the case where the investor has less than a quarter of the total voting rights.
A society is entitled to invest some of its general reserves in other legal entities, as long as it acts within its rules and the amount invested should not be so large as to adversely affect its own liquidity or solvency, should the legal entity encounter financial difficulties. It should seek to invest in a way that best serves the business interests of the society, typically in the form of secured loans, bonds or debenture. Shares should only be purchased if the legal entity is listed on a stock market, the shares are redeemable or withdrawable, or there is some other arrangement in place to allow the society to sell its investment.
A society should not raise share capital to acquire | 174 |
A guide to: berries
Nothing says summer like berries – Sarah La Touche looks at how to get the best from these seasonal delights.
Story by Sarah La Touche
From Dish #33 , page 61
It would be hard to imagine a summer without berries; little jewels of intense colour, ripe flavour and delicate perfume, they shout health and festivity.
Their true seasons are spring through to summer, but berries can be found year round now frozen and dried or occasionally freeze-dried. Some respond better than others to different preserving methods. Cranberries, for example, freeze and dry well because they contain high levels of phenolic compounds that help give the fruit its distinctive colour, flavour and perfume. Their level of acidity and antimicrobial qualities help too. Raspberries and strawberries on the other hand, although high in acidity and phenols are plumped up with water because of their different cell structure, making them far more fragile and susceptible to damage.
These different structural qualities, flavour profiles and textures are the very things that tell us how to use berries in our cooking.
Blackberries – with needle-sharp thorns and clusters of plump black fruit, blackberries ripen at the height of summer, following on from raspberries. They grow in drupelets, (the individual parts which form the fleshy aggregate fruit), similar to raspberries, with both unripe and ripe fruit appearing in the same bunch. The wild blackberry is often the sweetest and most perfumed but there are many hybrid and thornless varieties available now for keen gardeners. Blackberries are best eaten freshly picked, still warm from the sun and with fresh pouring cream. They make excellent jams or conserves, sweet pies and tarts, toppings for meringues or pavlovas, and delicious wine, cordial or Ratafia (a type of aperitif liqueur), as well as tasty purées. They are high in vitamin C, dietary fibre and packed with antioxidants. If you collect wild blackberries, know your hedgerows – check with the local council
to be sure they haven't been sprayed.
Blackberries won't keep fresh for long and as with most berries are susceptible to mould. They do freeze well but will go mushy when thawed so are best for jams, jellies and coulis. Lay them on a tray lined with baking paper to freeze then transfer to an airtight plastic bag and store for three to six months.
Blueberries – this small bluish-black berry with its appealing mix of sweet and tart is an edible delight. Blueberries will keep for about ten days in the refrigerator and freeze beautifully, holding their shape thanks to their firm skins. They are a plentiful source of antioxidants and great for snacking on or popping into school lunchboxes. They are delicious in tarts, served with ricotta or plain pancakes, mixed with plain yoghurt or with other berries for breakfast, and dressed up for dessert with mascarpone, ricotta or cream. Watch out for changes in colour and staining when making muffins or cakes using baking soda.
Boysenberries – a hybrid developed in the USA when the blackberry, loganberry, and it is believed, the raspberry were crossed. At its best between December and February, this slightly elongated fruit has a vibrant, deep purple hue and delicate velvet texture. When ripe it is sweet and succulent and, like blackberries, raspberries and strawberries, doesn't keep for long but can be frozen and used for making jams, sauces, ice cream, sorbet, and in flavouring egg custards or panna cotta.
Cranberries – cranberries go bright red when ripe and can be harvested wet or dry from late summer through to autumn. In recent years they were best known as
a traditional American accompaniment to roast turkey at Thanksgiving. Now they are widely available dried, to eat as is or to add to a range of baking, sweet and savoury foods. Sweetened cranberry juice has also become popular<|fim_middle|> heat will encourage spoilage so keep your berries in the lower part of the refrigerator uncovered, and rinse them just prior to using them. Strawberries and blueberries in particular retain high levels of chemical sprays so opt for organically grown berries where possible and always wash them carefully before eating them.
To freeze – wash and dry the berries carefully straight after harvesting. Arrange them in a single layer on a tray lined with baking paper or paper towels to take up any extra moisture. Freeze as quickly as possible until they are solid before transferring them to a freezer bag or box for storage. Most berries will keep for three to six months.
Freeze-dried – most berries can be freeze-dried, a process where the fruit is dehydrated in stages by removing their water content under pressure. It is a complicated process but effective. The fruit can then be stored at room temperature and reconstituted when required. Freeze-dried berries are used in many breakfast cereals or ground to a powder for use in commercial foods like biscuits, cakes, ice creams and confectionery. As with normal freezing, the berries' vitamins and nutrients are retained along with the colour and aromas.
Dehydrating – berries also can be dried in a slow oven moderately successfully at home, and also in a domestic dehydrator. Once dried, they do need to be kept airtight to avoid spoilage from mould. Add them to homemade breakfast cereals, muffins and cakes or ice creams and sorbets, bavarois and mousses.
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A guide to: raw milk cheeses | , especially when added to cocktails and punch. Cranberries are very tart, containing almost as much acidity as lemons and limes and are high in pectin. This is why cranberry sauce thickens so rapidly even with minimal cooking. It also means the fruit lasts well dried, making them a perfect choice to add to muesli, snack bars and baked goods. Try adding a cup of dried cranberries to your Christmas cake or pudding along with currants and taste the difference. They are rich in a natural preservative called benzoic acid, often found in prepared foods these days, used to prolong shelf life. Other attributes include antimicrobial properties making the unsweetened juice an effective, proven deterrent for warding off urinary tract infections.
Currants – these tiny berries grow in a variety of colours: red, white and black, and depending on the variety, are harvested from October through to March. Traditionally they are used dried in fruitcakes, Christmas puddings and mince tarts, providing a deliciously intense, spicy sweetness so synonymous with Christmas baking. When fresh they are loaded with pectin and deep, rich flavour – excellent qualities for making jellies, jams and coulis for topping cakes or desserts. They pack an impressive punch sweetened and made into sorbet, ice cream or granita served on a hot summer day. Blackcurrants have long been used to make vitamin C-rich cordials, and in Europe, they are used to flavour wines and liqueurs like the famous Crème de Cassis from Bourgogne. With their plump, ripe skins they are ideal for freezing: simply wash and spread on a tray to freeze, then pack into containers once frozen. They will last for up to six months.
Elderberries – these tiny, dark berries grow on the elder bush, or tree, which boasts sprays of pretty white flowers in spring. The flowers are delicious steeped and made into cordial, aperitif wine or that famous English summer tipple, Elderflower Champagne. They make an original dessert too, dipped in a light batter then briskly deep-fried, drained and sprinkled with castor sugar. The French refer to this as a 'beignet' and they must be eaten straight away, warm and crisp. The aromatic berries contain lectins, sugar-binding proteins that inhibit nutrients from being absorbed during digestion, so the berries are best cooked to break these down before the highly perfumed juice is turned into syrups, cordials or wine. Elderberries make fine jam or jelly too.
Gooseberries – a cousin to the currant, gooseberries fell out of fashion for many years, possibly because they are so tart, but are now making a comeback. With their attractive, green to blush-pink translucent fruit they make beautiful jams and tarts. They can be picked green for extra punch, or stewed lightly with sweet apples or other berries for filling buttery pastry to create an extraordinary tart. Once ripened they have an attractive pinkish tinge – poach them gently with sugar or honey and serve them simply as is, or fold through some sweetened vanilla-flavoured whipped cream to make Gooseberry Fool. Gooseberries will freeze and hold their shape well, but are best cooked or made into conserve once thawed. Cape Gooseberries (also known as Physalis, or ground berries) may have a similar name, but are a totally different fruit. A native of South America, they grow like a weed in milder regions of New Zealand. The berry itself is sunshine yellow and smooth skinned, encased in a veined parchment-like lantern, which turns from green to papery, pale yellow once ripe. The fruit is delicious fresh: tangy, sweet-tart and perfumed. Poaching or stewing with apples or pears enhances its delicate fragrance. Honey and ginger are natural partners and this fruit makes fine jam.
Loganberries – a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry, although they look more like an elongated, dark red blackberry. Like blackberries, raspberries and boysenberries these are a member of the caneberry or bramble family. We don't see them a lot in New Zealand, but they are deliciously sweet and succulent, and occasionally you will find them around Christmas time. If so, pop them in the Christmas trifle or fruit salad. They don't need cooking but will make scrumptious crumbles, pies and syrups. In North America they are made into a popular juice similar to cranberry juice.
Mulberries – a hard-to-find berry in New Zealand, but well worth looking out for. Mulberries grow on a handsome tree which, when mature, makes a beautiful shade tree. The fruit is most commonly dark black-red but can also be white or red. White Mulberry trees were cultivated extensively in Southern Europe in the 18th century to feed silk worms for the silk trade. The fruit resembles a boysenberry with their elongated shape and juicy flesh – sweet, soft, and aromatic. A cold climate lover, they will fruit from December through to February and make a fruit tart worth walking miles for. Rich in vitamins, magnesium, iron and fibre they won't keep for more than a few days and even freezing is tenuous as they are so delicate and turn to mush easily. Eat them straight from the tree if you can, juice them, make purées
for spooning over ice cream or custard, flans or charlottes, and jam. Be sure to wear gloves while preparing the fruit as it stains everything.
Raspberries – possibly the Queen of all berries and easy to grow in your own garden. Raspberries are another of the caneberries and can fruit as early as October through to April depending on the variety. Firm, plump and fragile, the fruit may be dark ruby-red, yellowy-golden and slightly rounder, or most commonly, conical-shaped and a true framboise, pinky-red.
Raspberries exude a sweet, heady scent with a sweet flavour. The tiny European wild version is even more delicate. The berries perish easily and are susceptible to mould so eat them as fresh as possible. Use for decorating cakes or desserts, or make them into a fragrant sauce to serve with pastries. Raspberries make splendid jam, unbeatable for serving with fresh scones, warm croissants or pancakes. Arrange them on tarts over crème pâtissière, make delicious purées to construct a charlotte set with sponge fingers or to enjoy with egg custards like crème anglaise or crème brulée. They make excellent syrups, compotes for the breakfast table and work wonderfully with all kinds of chocolate creations. Raspberries can be frozen but will turn mushy on thawing.
Strawberries – the most popular and accessible of all the berry fruits, with a season that spans October to March thanks to the abundant varieties grown here like Tioga, Red Gauntlet and Camarosa. Strawberries can be grown in pots on your deck or in the garden. They are immensely rewarding and fun, especially for children with green fingers. The biggest problem is making sure you get to them before the birds do. Pick them as soon as they ripen and are fragrant, and eat fresh with rich cream, using the imperfect fruit for
making jam.
Refrigerating strawberries will lengthen their shelf life, but diminish their flavour and perfume, so always serve them at room temperature when fresh.
Strawberries make a great addition to fruit salad, or can be cooked to a sauce for Summer Pudding, cooled and mixed with other fresh berries like raspberries, boysenberries and small whole strawberries. Strawberry purées can be folded into crème anglaise to flavour ice cream or made into syrup to create a delicious fresh sorbet. They reign supreme on a light, fluffy sponge or pavlova, or with numerous other desserts, cakes and pastries. They don't freeze well, and will go mushy when thawed, but will retain their flavour. If you want to keep them whole for freezing, try dipping them in water, then sugar before placing them on a tray to snap freeze. Once frozen place them in a freezer container with firm sides so they keep their shape. Alternatively, you can make a pulp with the fruit before freezing it.
Storing Berries
Always choose berries that are plump and richly coloured. Unlike other fruits and vegetables, berries don't continue to ripen once picked. Avoid any fruit that is crushed, bruised or showing any signs of mould, and always smell them. Distinct fragrance is an excellent sign of freshness.
Any kind of moisture and | 1,786 |
Now Reading : IDEAS: the Magazine of the Aspen Institute Winter 2018/2019
Around the Institute
Welcome Letter Winter 2018/2019
It should go without saying but somehow it doesn't: the range of people the Institute draws in, and who are drawn to the Institute, is year to year a source of constant surprise.
BY Corby Kummer
By the Numbers Winter 2018/2019
If every American Talent Initiative school enrolled 40 more low- and moderate-income community college transfer students as juniors each year, ATI would be halfway to reaching its 50,000-BY-2025 goal.
BY Institute Staff
"Taking action to protect our ocean," Earle says, "is still the best hope for maintaining the integrity of our human existence."
Urban Innovation
Big Talk in the Big Easy
In October, the Socrates Program and the New Orleans Business Alliance partnered for a special Socrates Salon, "Change and Opportunity: The Future of Work and Learning."
For societies to thrive, they must share a set of common values that undergird social and governmental interactions.
What to Read this Winter
Aspen Words will welcome authors at the height of their careers to discuss their work at the 22nd annual Winter Words series in Aspen. Even if you can't make it to Aspen, here are seven titles to add to your reading list.
Making the Most of Motor City
The Institute along with The Atlantic and Bloomberg Philanthropies hosted the sixth annual CityLab: Urban Solutions to Global Challenges, a forum to highlight innovative urban strategies and leadership.
Duty to Warn?
"Duty to warn" is when a doctor has a relationship with a patient and he or she has good reason to think that patient will harm a third party—the duty is to inform that third party and/or officials. To say that it extends to people or figures who are not your patient?
10 Years of First Movers
The planet's biggest challenges will not be solved without business<|fim_middle|> helped the commissioners to develop a plan to liberate the FDA.
BY Ruth J. Katz
Stake Your Claim
By allowing people to own a piece of the company that employs them, capital share strategies are changing how Americans work and businesses earn—and everyone's a winner.
BY Maureen Conway
Voice of Europe
Nationalist ferver is spreading across the Western world, threatening democratic values. Mircea Geoana explains why the Institute's European branches must activate their leadership networks and map out a more inclusive continent.
BY Mircea Geoana | at the table. That means tapping into business's experts and social innovators.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Honored
At the sixth annual Madeleine K. Albright Global Development Lecture on November 7, 2018, the Aspen Global Innovators Group honored Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Laureate and the former president of the Republic of Liberia.
A Shot in the Arm for Vaccines
Over the last few years, vaccines have made headlines. Polio is on the cusp of global eradication, advances in technology offer the promise of new vaccines, and social media have contributed to the spread of pseudoscience and conspiracy theories.
Tech in the City
An event hosted by the Institute's Center for Urban Innovation explored how digitalization and automation encourages new approaches to city governance.
Meet the 2018 McNulty Prize Winner & Laureates
Every year, the John P. McNulty Prize celebrates leaders tackling critical challenges across the globe.
The Aspen Initiative for Europe, with leadership from Aspen Institute España and Institut Aspen France, hosted the second edition of its Seminar for Young European Leaders this September in Ronda, Spain.
Latinos Mean Business
After working on Latino economic advancement by producing events, reports, and other programming for more than a year, the Institute's Latinos and Society Program knows that Latinos are essential to the US economy.
Play Favorites
At the Institute's 2018 Project Play Summit, the NBA's Kobe Bryant urged adults to "get out of the way" and allow children to enjoy less-structured sports.
Conversations by the Bay
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Institute's Morris Series on Leadership and Innovation. Made possible by trustee Diane L. Morris, the series brings the Institute to San Francisco and introduces the Bay Area to the Institute's programs.
The Heart of Universal Health
Across the world, 3.7 billion people lack access to affordable health care, and those who live in vulnerable and remote areas continue to bear the burden of preventable disease and death.
For the first time, the Institute is entering into an agreement to license intellectual property for an innovative new tool: software that measures job quality and employee diversity.
What does it mean to be an American?
he Institute's Citizenship and American Identity Program recently published Immigration & Civics: What Every American Should Know, which explores immigrant perspectives on US civic culture.
Finance and Assets
High-Tech and Highly Inclusive
To lay out a comprehensive vision for how consumer research, innovation, and smart regulations can transform financial services—and better assist the 70 percent of Americans facing everyday monetary challenges.
Criminal Law and Justice
Appealing to Better Judgment
Fourteen judges from the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and its trial courts recently headed to the Institute's Wye River campus for the third Justice and Society Program custom seminar for the federal courts.
US Education Policy
The Institute's National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development will release a report highlighting how communities across the country are finding success by focusing on the whole learner. Treating students holistically is the key to ensuring that young people thrive in school, in their careers, and in life.
Words in the Wild
Aspen Words teamed up with Aspen Film to present a screening of the new movie Leave No Trace, followed by a "From Book to Big Screen" discussion featuring producer Linda Reisman and novelist Peter Rock, author of My Abandonment, the award-winning novel from which the film is adapted.
Aspen Libris
Four authors step onto the Institute stage to discuss their latest books. Stuart Eizenstat remembers working with Jimmy Carter, Doris Kearns Goodwin rediscovers the presidency, Arne Duncan looks at the future of education, and David Sanger warns of rising cyber insecurity.
As Heard At: Space Corps
The Case for Space
Garrett Graff, of the Institute's Cyber & Technology Program, speaks with US Representatives Mike Rogers and Jim Cooper about a space corps to address rising geopolitical threats in outer space.
As Heard At: Sports Betting
Hedge Your Bets
It's projected that sports betting will be legalized in most states by 2023. As part of its Future of Sports series, the Institute's Sports & Society Program decided to take a closer look.
The Write Way
Four authors find their paths with Aspen Words.
Ranji Nagaswami knew the finance industry could be a compelling force for good with more effective and enlightened leaders as part of the equation. So she looked to her own experiences at the Institute—and created the Finance Leaders Fellowship.
BY Jennifer Simpson
The Institute's seminars are unique: they rely on great texts and superlative moderators who infuse the room with intellectual rigor and trust. Nicole Corea discovers that just as the Aspen seminar can be life-changing for participants, it can be transcendant for the moderator.
BY Nicole Corea
Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Sitting Bull, and Geronimo all made an appearance in the imaginations of Society of Fellows guests at a symposium on 19th-century America. Catherine Lutz tagged along as historians examined a re-created Western town as well as the nation's storied past.
BY Catherine Lutz
Left, Right, & Center
The Congressional Program helps elected officials to form relationships across the aisle and find common ground. In other words, it shows them how they can work together.
BY Carrie Rowell
The Aspen Journal of Ideas
Six former FDA heads met at Spotlight Health and agreed the FDA should be an independent agency. But how would that work? The Health, Medicine and Society Program | 1,142 |
Meet Ashot Barseghyan | Entrepreneur & Digital Marketer
September 12, 2022 September 1, 2022 Leave a reply
We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashot Barseghyan and we've shared our conversation below.
Hi Ashot, we'd love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I have moved to Los Angeles about 10 years ago from Russia. I have moved into a new country with no English knowledge, and no money in my bank account, but what I had was passion in Marketing and a dream to have my own successful business in that field. I knew that I have come to the best place for that, and I wanted to pursue my American Dream and I knew that if I have worked hard enough it would have been possible. And now, 10 years later, here we are. We have just opened our 3rd location in Santa Clarita, first being in Glendale and second in Beverly HIlls. We have over 25 employees, and worked with 1000+ clients over these 10 years.
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
What sets up apart is that we treat everyone like family. Everyone that joins AB Media, they don't just become a client; they become a member of the AB Media Family. We put our time and effort into making sure everyone gets the results they want and meets their expectations. We always go the extra mile to build businesses that last for long, and almost all of our cases are long-term clients with that we have worked since the beginning. It wasn't easy getting this far, as we had a lot of ups and downs, but the most important thing in the business is your team. We had an amazing team over these years, and they just kept us going through the hard times, and we just kept growing and growing. The most difficult time was during COVID time when a lot of businesses closed down. Still, we have actually grown over that time, as we have managed to think of new strategies that would require businesses to survive the quarantine period. As all in person purchases were impossible, it was crucial for every business to enter the e-commerce market. As we understood it was a hard time for businesses, we have made discounts to support our local community businesses to survive, and we would contact them to offer help to keep them going. Overall we have helped many businesses just to keep going through that hard time.
Some of the lessons we have learned are that there is always a<|fim_middle|>.com/abmediausa
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/abmediausa/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/abmediausa
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abmediausa
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ab-media-usa-glendale
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-gscdFUps1itnOWjx-tfQ
Other: https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/glendale/profile/digital-marketing/ab-media-usa-1216-1533881
Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it's how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Meet Lucas Bakker | Film Composer, Songwriter, Music Producer & Teacher
Kiok Kang | Publicist & CEO
Meet Rūta Kuzmickas | Musician, Artist, Poet
Meet Heaven Williams | Entrepreneur and Mental Health Advocate
Meet Nick Casalini | Podcaster & Animator
Guyla J | Hairstylist & Marketing Specialist
Meet Abby Ahlgrim | Owner & Creator Surf Gems
Meet Edwin Joseph | Performer, Writer and Entrepreneur | solution, even in the worst time where everything seems impossible. It was very stressful times for the business during the quarantine period, but we have proved that even in that hard time, we have managed to grow significantly.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As we are living in Los Angeles, which is the best place to live here, as you can ski in the morning and be tanning in the afternoon, I would take them to the beautiful beaches and also to Big Bear for some skiing or skateboarding. There are a lot of nice restaurants too in LA, so I cannot name one but definitely some of the Beverly HIlls restaurants.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I also want to mention about my best friend of 20+ years, Arman Gevorgyan, who currently the COO and Creative Director of AB Media USA. At one point in my journey, Arman has joined me and brought his creative vision into the company. Having his own interior designing and event planning company, Designs By Arman, made the company more creative and helped us to keep and maintain the creative side of the company to always be on top.
Website: abmediausa.com
Instagram: https://instagram | 272 |
Recently Paige, a 12-year-old school girl, went on an evening walk. She felt dizziness and fell down in the park. When referred to a doctor, she was told that she is weak physically and lack in her daily nutrition need. She asked a doctor for the suggested ways to improve on her health. Then the doctor handed over her with a daily nutrition booklet to stay healthy. The doctor also explained to her that why she should focus on gaining a balanced diet. Doctor pulled her hand softly and explained her like this: 'Paige, your palm is a good reflection of the daily nutrients need and its quantity, to be taken daily. The tallest finger in your palm is protein, means you need to provide your body with a major supplement of proteins, then the next on this list is vitamins which are indicated by your ring finger. Your index finger tells you about your carbohydrate need and amount while your little finger indicates fats or better say good fats. The thumb, which is slightly thicker than the fingers indicates water and mineral requirement of your body. It means from your daily nutrition, you need protein in the maximum amount than others, then vitamins and carbohydrates, then good fats and lastly in the highest amount and in a balancing manner, water and minerals.' When Paige went back home she told this to all her family members in excitement. She was happy and started following doctor's diet list. Within 20 days she was declared fit.
Protein contributes to building muscle mass and strong immune system.
Vitamins, as the name suggests, are vital for regulating body processes.
Carbohydrates are known to provide with energy and strength.
Fats contribute to cellular structure in our body and to function as the energy reservoir to fulfill your needs at the time of scarcity.
Minerals take part in metabolism and also builds up body tissues.
Water acts as a medium for all reactions and processes to occur smoothly in our body.
The very next time the response comes to be positive. As and when you hear this word, you make a picture in your mind that he or she is bulky and eating in a controlled manner. But dieting is defined clearly as a practice of regulated and supervised eating to decrease, maintain or increase body weight.
Through dieting, you are able to lose weight and gain weight too. It is just a way to bring a calculated amount of daily nutrients into your plate as per the requirement.
When you are dieting, you are controlling yourself from hogging extra of your favorite food. It should never be misunderstood that you should be hungry for hours. Actually, you should never miss your breakfast if you are planning to either loose or gain weight.
Again, if you are panicking about your daily nutrition and calorie intake, then this should be stopped there only. On the off chance, you should check on taking and sticking to eating a balanced meal all the time.
An excess amount of sugar and fats have brought world's population to a state, where diseases like diabetes and obesity have become like life-threatening diseases. You need sugar and fats both but again a controlled amount.
If you have a habit of eating a bulk of food at one time and then not eating for hours thereafter, then you should instantly take action to overcome this dangerous mindset. As this is the sole reason for the increase of being overweight, you should eat raw or boiled food items but with a break of 2 – 2.5 hours and not more than that. And then nothing negative takes place.
Eat green leafy vegetables and more of colored fruits at least 2 times a day.
Bulk up your diet with fibers. As per the famous saying 'more natural and unprocessed the food, the higher it is in fiber.' You need to eat fibrous food in every meal.
Reduce sugar intake by avoiding processed or packed foods. Apart from candies and dessert being a direct source of bountiful sugar, you will find it in your regular foodstuffs too. These may be in cereal flours, bread, canned soups, pasta sauce, margarine, mashed potatoes, frozen dinners, low-fat meals, fast food, and ketchup. Try to eat them in less quantity.
Eat in moderation and try to balance your hunger with fruits and vegetables.
Avoid refined oils and food products. Read the food labels<|fim_middle|> long time. The other positive effects of eating healthy foods can be counted too. It helps to reduce aging, boosts fertility, and combats stress. It also makes pregnancy process easier and ease symptoms of menopause in women. | to stay healthy forever.
Start your day with an oatmeal.
Cut down on caffeine intake. Reduce tea, coffee, and even cold drinks, packed juices or energy drinks. Instead upon relying upon fresh juice, soup, boiled vegetables.
Include healthy fats or good fats from sources like dry fruits, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, and fish oils. At the same time remove unhealthy or bad fats like hydrogenated oil, ghee, fried foods, baked foods, margarine etc.
Replace excess salt usage with flavor enhancing herbs like garlic, black pepper, and curry powder.
A balanced diet is only healthy in a way that 'you are eating right food in right amount.' This needful will satisfy your daily nutrition needs and will not make up for any harm to your body. Also to note here that, healthy diet gives you energy, maintains your weight, supports your mood, maintains your weight, and improves your immunity. Then you are able to retain your best look for a | 199 |
In the present vast and complex economic world, people seek to find ways to assure their present and future potential in the area of building wealth for themselves. Sparks Corporation recognizes this need and has worked with hundreds of clients in providing a range of investment solutions to overcome the challenges and obstacles in today's volatile economic climate. We provide bespoke investment structures over a wide, top-rated class of investments covering central global markets and asset types.
We commit a team of financial experts who will closely collaborate with our clients -- working with them with a common set of values and helping them attain and even surpass the performance expectations our clients often expect of us. Invariably, we treat every investment challenge put before us as a natural process within the recognized dynamic investment culture we have come to embrace. Doing so, we allow our team of experts to work with the parameters that determine the viability of investments while focusing on risk-mitigation steps to assure a positive performance. Rarely do we take anything by chance; rather, we make well-researched decisions which our clients can understand and trust.
We apply a proactive approach which explore and bypass market inefficiencies.
We invest in value-based potentials to attain sustainable productivity.
We do intensive research and make viable decisions which incorporate micro and macro insights.
Sparks Corporation has developed a team of globally-experienced investment professionals capable of working in various financial management fields. Individually, each professional has extensive experience in one's field of expertise while, as a group, they all contribute to a vast wealth of practical and intuitive knowledge on how to achieve the right solutions. Hence, working as one cohesive unit, our team can pass around insights in an innovative and results-oriented environment, producing working conditions that enhance performance and delivering positive results for our clients.
Our team of Sparks Corporation professionals is well-prepared and<|fim_middle|> customized investment program.
Sparks Corporation's vast experience as a global provider of asset management and investment services has helped our professionals to deliver research-driven strategies to investment decision-making. They base these solutions on a rigorous comprehension of actual market dynamics and real-world economic variables. We undertake fundamental analysis of markets by targeting investment potentials, thereby, preparing our professionals to pinpoint the factors that determine the direction of positive capital flow. Experience, in every way, is the primary resource Sparks Corporation provides to its clients. There is no shortcut to investment knowledge and insight but a well-laid-out road which we have pioneered and which we have allowed our many satisfied clients to see and experience.
We feel responsible for the financial welfare of our clients. As such, we hold ourselves accountable for the decisions we make on behalf of our clients' investments. Sparks Corporation has, therefore, managed risk to assure our clients that their assets are managed consistent with their investment goals and that they are investing within their allowable range of risk-tolerance. Our clients can rest easy every moment, knowing they were a part of the decision-making and that each decision was made with well-researched evaluation of all risk factors. | confident in working as a unit over a wide scope of financial disciplines and localities. We pride ourselves of being able to develop and visualize relevant insights and solutions pertaining to the specific circumstances of every client, hence, allowing our experts to apply the tools needed to provide a | 53 |
Brief Gardens
Home / Activities / Brief Gardens
Brief Gardens are the architectural landscaping masterpiece of Bevis Bawa, the brother of iconic Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa. Although often overshadowed by Lunuganga, the country house and gardens designed by Geoffrey, Brief Gardens are spectacular and are a wonderful place to spend a morning or afternoon if you fancy a change from the beach.
Brief Gardens are just 10km inland from Bentota. Visit the old house, which has an eclectic range of artwork on display, including a mural of traditional Sri Lankan life in the style of Marc Chagall and a variety of pieces painted by local artists. After seeing the house, explore the beautiful Japanese-style gardens, a mesmerising, barely-controlled riot of tropical splendour which spreads across two acres. Australian artist Donald Friend famously came to Brief for one week, but stayed for six years as he believed he had discovered paradise.
Bawa Architecture
The late Geoffrey Bawa, Sri Lanka's most influential architect, was responsible for linking the ancient architecture of this island with that of the modern world.
Bogoda Wooden Bridge
Badulla, Sri Lanka
Bogoda Wooden Bridge is the oldest surviving wooden bridge in Sri Lanka, dating back to the 16th century. Of particular note are the striking roof tiles which have Kandyan artistic influence.
Dhowa Rock Temple
Dowa Rajamaha Viharaya දෝව රජමහා විහාරය, A16, Bandarawela, Sri Lanka
Believed to have been the refuge for King Walagama in the 1st century BC, Dhowa Rock Temple is a lesser-known hill country attraction which boasts a stupendous, albeit incomplete, statue of Buddha.
Dutch Reformed Church
Dutch Reformed Church, Galle,<|fim_middle|> Bawa's Country Estate, Bentota, Sri Lanka
The late Geoffrey Bawa, Sri Lanka's most influential architect, came up with his own style of 'tropical modernism' to create unconventional living spaces.
Kandy City Walking Tour
Kandy, Sri Lanka
Discover Kandy's rich history which includes incredible art and architecture, Buddhism, British colonial rule, and its vibrant multicultural present.
Kandy Temple and City Walk
Delve into the most revered temple in the island as your host takes you through the Kandy city and the Temple of the Tooth, then head to the local market for a final feast for your senses.
Nine Arch Bridge
Nine Arch Bridge, Ella - Passara Road, Ella, Sri Lanka
Located in Ella, the Nine Arch Bridge is one of the most iconic bridges in Sri Lanka and is a stunning example of the incredible engineering prowess behind the island's railway system.
The Life of Geoffrey Bawa
Number 11 - Geoffery Bawa's Home, 33rd Lane, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Geoffrey Bawa is Sri Lanka's most iconic architect. Go on a guided tour of his Colombo house and studio and browse through some of his old designs before visiting the beautiful floating temple at Beira Lake.
Colombo Fort and Pettah Architecture
Now the commercial centre of Sri Lanka, Colombo's Fort was first built by the Portuguese in the 16th century, before being further changed by the Dutch and British colonisers.
Guided Walk of Galle Fort History and Architecture
Galle Fort, Galle, Sri Lanka
Explore the enchanting streets of 17th century Galle Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with a guide who has a deep knowledge of the Fort's complex colonial past and the architecture which remains. | Sri Lanka
The Dutch Reformed Church was finished in 1755, built on the site of a destroyed Portuguese convent. It has interesting architectural features, such as a gabled roof on the eastern and western walls.
Geoffrey Bawa's Lunuganga
Lunuganga Geoffrey | 61 |
Guess Who Won NYPA's Picture Story of the<|fim_middle|> onto the path of healing. | Year?
As Nepal reels under the 7.8-magnitude earthquake and its subsequent aftershocks, I couldn't help but flashback to the days I spent exploring Kathmandu's rutted, dusty streets.
The pictures of destruction starkly contrast the images I captured of hardscrabble, but thriving streets and neighborhoods. Seeing the latest photos remind me of life's fragility. How life can change in a second.
Durbar Square, the epicenter of Kathmandu and draw for tourists and locals alike looks mauled, reduced to piles of bricks. Its hundreds of years old temples I once stood upon transformed into mounds of rubble.
Years ago I was in India during the tsunami of 2004. I traveled to Tamil Nadu, the area devastated by waves, to document the aftermath and help rebuild lives. I built shelters, gave paper and markers for children and adults to draw and shared a supportive smile. I was compelled to act and to help. Today, thousands of miles away from Nepal, I still want to help and hope you will as well.
The New York Times has compiled a list of relief organizations working in Nepal. Please check out the list to contribute and together we'll help lift Nepal | 247 |
We search far and wide to find beautiful one off rugs. Some are vintage and second hand other are one offs made by artisan's in remote villages all over the world. These flat-weave rugs display bold abstract designs that are both invigorating and modern thanks to their tribal motifs, composition and exceptional colour from natural dyes.
This beautiful rug has a tribal motif that look like cross stitch. The soft mix of colours create a blue grey base which allows the patterns are in stunning colours both rich and pastel. The underside of the rug has the lose woollen threads from the woven pattern making it very soft and cosy under foot. All these rugs are made by skilled tribesmen as one offs in the Moroccan Atlas mountains and have small imperfections due to the nature of its age and origin. It would look equally beautiful<|fim_middle|> mainland, International orders please enquire with customer services for shipping cost before placing your order. | as a wall hanging.
Free delivery to UK | 9 |
A South Longboat Key Waterfront Estate Sells for $7.9 Million
The all-cash deal was the highest price year-to-date for a single-family home in the Sarasota County portion of that exclusive island.
By Ilene Denton 8/5/2020 at 1:50pm
15 Lighthouse Point Drive, Longboat Key
Image: Courtesy Photo
Another sign that our area's luxury market is booming: A 9,000-plus-square-foot home in the Lighthouse Cove enclave on the south tip of Longboat Key sold this week in an all-cash transaction for $7.9 million. It's the highest priced sale year-to-date for a single-family home in the Sarasota County portion of that exclusive island.
Nicknamed "The White House," the five-bedroom, eight-bath home sits on an acre-and-a-quarter behind the gates of the Longboat Key<|fim_middle|>0.5 Million
Take a Look at This Curvy New Vacation Retreat on Longboat Key | Club. It has 450 feet of waterfront overlooking New Pass. "The property is spectacular; it's really, really one of a kind," says Janet Coughlin of Bright Realty, who represented the buyer. The Ackerman Group of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate was the listing agent.
Coughlin says the buyers are a Boston couple with two teenagers who had a part-time home in Naples for quite some time and were looking to buy a more permanent residence there. "They drove up here [to Sarasota] for dinner for the first time, looked around, and they said, 'this place is interesting,'" she says. They contacted her about a Lido Shores property but fell in love with this home when she showed it to them. Sarasota real estate "is a bargain" compared to Naples, Coughlin says. "The same house there would easily be $12 million or more."
The Ackerman Group listed the home at $8.2 million, then dropped it to $7.9 million. "As soon as that happened, people were coming out of the woodwork" to view it, says Coughlin. "We ended up in a multiple bid situation with four total offers. My buyers had fallen in love with the property; they didn't want to lose it."
longboat key real estate
Longboat Key Estate Breaks MLS Residential Sale Record at $16.5 Million
Five Notable Residential Sales of 2020
Longboat Key Beachfront Estate, Villa del Sogno, Sells for $1 | 323 |
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Alameda's Spite House
What's the craziest thing you've done when someone made you angry? Most people would probably answer that they've said something out of spite, but could anyone make you angry enough to build a house out of spite? That's exactly what happened with a home in Alameda in 1938. From Admirals Cove, you're a quick trip away from this rare oddity.
What is a "Spite House?"
A house of spite refers to fences or just houses themselves that a land owner built with malice, or spite, against a neighbor. The home is constructed as a weapon, one that is meant to forever annoy the other party. It's supposed to be an eyesore, a thorn in their side, and an all-around nuisance.
Sometimes these homes are built to annoy city officials or simply block a neighbor's sunlight. Because of these spiteful reasons for building them, they often aren't the most practical looking homes in the world.
While these homes aren't incredibly common (people tend to build fences out of spite, not homes), you can find them around the world standing as a testament to the sour nature of their former owners. There's one right here in the San Francisco Bay at Alameda.
The History of the Spite House
This awkwardly placed home was built for two reasons. First, the owner wanted to harass the city of Alameda for taking a chuck of his land away to accommodate for expansion. With the intention of building a new street, Alameda removes some of Mr. Charles Froling's property. He was, clearly, less than thrilled.
Before the shift in property ownership, Froling had recently inherited the land from a deceased relative. His plans were to build the home of his dreams on the property, having a place to live the rest of his life right here in the bay. When that fell through, he was determined to fight the city. However, he needed help.
Froling turned to his neighbor but found no sympathy. No one else's plans for houses would be affected, so the neighborhood cared little about this loss of land or his thwarted dream. So, Froling did the only rational thing he could think of. He decided to get revenge.
Using the small amount of land left to him by Alameda, he constructed a nightmare home out of spite for the community. Froling got to work, building a home 20 feet high, 54 feet long, and a mere ten feet wide.
The end result is a beautiful green home that looks as though it was cut in half. It sets as close as possible to the house behind it, nearly blocking the front door and stopping any sunlight from entering that side of the building.
The home is, otherwise, gorgeous. Its accents and design make for an adorable and welcoming appearance when viewing the building from the front. Froling put a lot of hard work into making his street view of the home look as nice as possible (and as close to the sidewalk as legally allowed).
Froling spent an equal amount of time ensuring the dimensions for his home would be as problematic as possible for the city of Alameda and his unsympathetic neighbor, though. This building brushes up on the hair-thin property lines in every direction. Today, however, the house is less about Froling's spite and more of a hidden treasure.
The Spite House Today
You won't find a home like this built anymore. Modern zoning and construction codes imply forbid it, but the Spite House stands as a testament to what angry people were capable of in a time not so long ago.
Today, people come by the spite house with a smile on their faces as they hold back a laugh at how ridiculous the dimensions and spacing of this building look. The building has been grandfathered into the city, allowing it to remain in-tact as the oddity it is and was in 1938.
<|fim_middle|> Square for a shipping trip, or entertain your neighbors with a few rounds of bocce on acres of manicured green. Hang out with friends in your own backyard as you take advantage of a carefully curated selection of amenities designed to elevate your sense of living.
Complete with modern finishes in every home, your return to relaxation is encompassed in envious designs that wrap you in the comforts of a contemporary home. Step outside your front door to find the vibrant, coveted community of Alameda along with Oakland just minutes away. With easy commutes for work and play, San Francisco and beyond are all within your reach.
Around Admirals Cove
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© All rights reserved 2020, Admirals Cove. | Believe it or not, the home is still occupied to this day. The home is rented out like any other residence in the area, though it has been sold as a home in the past. It last sold in 2011 for $380,000 despite only covering 1,316 square feet. It does, however, have two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Sharing Spite
Alameda's angry little house isn't the only one of its kind. Boston's Skinny House is another popular spite-filled building. It sits squeezed between two apartment buildings, standing from one brother's angry attempt to block the light entering the other's home.
Alexandria, Virginia has a similar home to the one in Boston. It sits between two homes now, but was initially constructed in 1830 to block foot and horse traffic that kept the owner awake at night in his adjacent home.
In Kensington, London, a homeowner's renovation plans were rejected. Here revenge was simple, she painted her house in candy cane stripes to annoy everyone on the block. The worst part is that she left the final stripe incomplete to really get on people's nerves. While spite homes are rare, they aren't as uncommon as you might think.
There are no odd dimensions or spite here. Admirals Cove is your launch and landing point in the Bay Area. Whether you're heading out for the day or anchoring yourself comfortably at home, you'll discover the charm of open living with space to relax and a place to roam.
Hop on a ferry to enjoy a bistro lunch at Fisherman's Wharf, ride the rails to Jack London | 335 |
We need your help flag community! This week we received a letter from Marlene out of Charleston, South Carolina. She has been packaging stars from American-made flags to distribute to veterans in her son Kevin's memory, a Desert Storm Army vet who past in December<|fim_middle|>. If this applies to your flag, please take the time to send your stars to Marlene. Is it okay to cut my flag? Flag Etiquette experts advise that one may respectfully cut the flag in this manner, as these are old flags that would be retired and burned. This is a transplant of the love and respect that the flag represents and giving our Troops and Veterans special recognition for what they are doing or have done for our country. | . The Stars For Our Troops project takes your worn, used American Flags and turns them into a prized possession for our Armed Forces & Veterans. Due to declining health Marlene has recently become incapable of continuing her previous volunteer work but changed her life to help the community and honor Kevin's military service.
It's time to check your flag. Spring is right around the corner and after the harsh Winter in most parts of the country many flags will need to be retired | 92 |
Bill Burr narrates clip of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, says what we're all thinking — watch
"I will sit here, and I will watch this horseshit."
by Lyndsey Havens
Bill Burr's comedic genius rests in his ability to point out the absurd in the everyday. Take, for example, this new video in which he narrates over a scene from Keeping Up With the Kardashians. The clip comes from an episode where Khole is driving Kylie, Kim, and Kim's child with Kanye West, North, through less than ideal conditions in Wyoming. As a truck passes her, she loses control of the SUV she's driving and skids off the side of the road.
Drama is meant to ensue, but Burr sees it differently. Referring to the sisters by nicknames of his own creation — Power Forward (Khloe), the Meerkat (Kylie), and Sploogie (Kim) — he details how the whole situation is really just Khloe being an idiot.
"The big one, Captain fuckin' Kirk took no responsibility whatsoever and was actually mad at old Sploogie back there because she was upset with her," Burr says<|fim_middle|> more evidence that she's currently winning the popularity contest with Taylor Swift.
Whether Burr was bored or just has a personal disdain towards the Kardashians and all they represent, we may never know. (But let's be real, it's probably the latter.) Either way, a thank you is in order.
Watch the clip above.
The Roots share two new tracks designed to make Stella Artois taste better — listen
The Collapse of Music Dealers and Music Licensing's "Race to the Bottom" | before jumping into valley-girl like impersonations. He's actually completely on Sploogie's Kim's side on this one, which is just | 28 |
Industry mourns loss of Web innovator
Florida broker Lois Hekker dies at age 66
Lois M. Hekker, a Florida real estate broker who was very involved in the state's real estate industry, died Saturday, July 30, at the age of 66.
Hekker was broker/owner of Buyer's Agents International Realty in Sarasota. Her son William C. Bohack of Siesta Key, Fla., will now run the business.
She was very active in her Florida community and local affairs, and was a pioneer in the real estate industry.
"Lois was an early innovator on the Web, using e-mail and news groups to stir it up, promote change and get in<|fim_middle|>-state area, making mugs and ceramics from her company, the Lady Mugger.
The family has arranged visitation for Friday, Aug. 5, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Wiegand Brothers Funeral Home, 7454 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Fla.
Send tips or a Letter to the Editor to jessica@inman.com or call (510) 658-9252, ext. 133. | the faces of the real estate establishment," said Bradley Inman, publisher of Inman News. "She helped improve our industry."
Hekker sought change in the industry and her local market. In November 2004, she filed a lawsuit against the Sarasota Association of Realtors alleging the trade group committed antitrust violations by requiring real estate professionals to join the association to receive certain services related to lockboxes and information on sold properties that had been listed in the Multiple Listing Service.
The suit was dismissed last month due to Hekker's poor health. But the case could be brought back to court at a later date.
Hekker was born in Rutherford, N.J., on Sept. 13, 1938. She was a schoolteacher in Oakhurst and moved on to become one of the first women marketing directors in New York City with Ted Bates Advertising Co.
She later resided in Wall, N.J., on the Jersey Shore for 20 years, where she was very involved with the fire and rescue industry in the tri | 217 |
3 If you want your kids to appreciate theater when they grow up, you have to start them early. That's a bit easier with an event like the Chicago Shakespeare Theater Family Gala, which starts with a performance of the CST's production of "Disney's Little Mermaid" (what, you were expecting "Coriolanus"?) and includes a photo booth, face-painting, stage combat demonstrations and more. Think of<|fim_middle|>, 1115 W. Berwyn Ave.
5 Is a garden walk too sedate to be your weekend activity? Is a music festival too crowded, without the quiet contemplation you need to decompress from the week? Fine. The Sheffield Music Festival and Garden Walk gives you both. More than 100 gardens are open for viewing, and master landscapers have chosen special tours of select gardens. Architectural tours require advance registration and fill up fast. Chicago jazz-funk fusion group Liquid Soul, rockers Miles Nielsen & the Rusted Hearts and Sister Hazel, and several tribute bands, including Talking Heads tribute band Start Making Sense will perform. July 18–19. Donation $7, $10 after 3 p.m. Webster and Sheffield Aves.
6 At Thodos Dance Chicago, encouraging members of the ensemble to create new work is baked into the company mission. Every year they present a New Dances program showcasing new choreography by members of the ensemble. This weekend you can see nine (!) new pieces on one bill. July 18–19. $12–$40. Athenaeum Theater, 2936 N. Southport Ave.
9 If you prefer your mix of food and nature on solid ground, Lincoln Park Zoo's Wine & Wildflowers evening might be just the thing. Guests can explore the zoo's gardens while nibbling and sipping on food and wine pairings tied to the theme of the four classical elements of nature: air, fire, water and earth. There's also live music to keep things interesting. July 29, 6–8:30 p.m. $75, zoo members $65 (Tickets must be purchased by July 24). Lincoln Park Zoo, 2001 N. Clark St.
Event schedules and availability change; phone ahead. Send your weekend tips in an email (without attachments) with the date in the subject line to [email protected]. | it as the gateway drug to grown-up theater. July 18, 11 a.m. Adult $85, child $45, 4-pack family ticket $250. Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave.
4 Twisty and inventive, the new play "Brilliant Adventures" crosses kitchen-sink realism (it's set in an apartment in a run-down housing estate in one of Britain's most blighted areas) and science fiction (there's a time machine!). Luke (an excellent Curtis Edward Jackson), a stuttering, guarded young genius, is trying to balance his experiments and inventions with a messy living situation involving his older brother Rob (Ryan McBride), a drug dealing tough so vicious he keeps their drug-addled father on a leash. If you can accept the premise of a working time machine made using cardboard boxes and whatever supplies one can find on an impoverished estate (and the sometimes shaky British accents), you'll get a kick out of seeing from moment to moment how the power dynamics shift. Through Aug. 15. $25–$35. Steep Theatre | 235 |
Polite, professional, charming and courteous team. The best haircut I have ever had! Simon was full of crack, was more than happy to suggest the best cut for me and he even offered a free beverage - what more could I want?!
Antonella has put together an amazing, wonderful, talented and thoughtful team of stylists! I love the treatment I get when I come to Hair couture… everyone takes care of each other's clients not just their own, which makes me feel so pampered and cared for. And I love the lattes and snacks!
I find the staff at Hair couture to be extremely professional and not only do they meet my expectations but exceed them! They are always on time and give my delicate hair all the attention it needs… I cannot say enough good things<|fim_middle|> I'd never dream of going anywhere else. The professional service and attention to detail given to their clients is second to none! And I love the atmosphere!
I truly love the salon experience… and it's not all about looks. They have fused their focus on great styling and masterful coloring with a conscientious choice of environmental products, best in class techniques and giving back to the community.
All the staff make me feel very welcome everytime I visit. I enjoy the friendly atmosphere, the funky salon and I am always happy with the services. My hair always feels and looks very healthy. I will recommend them to anyone who asks who does my hair. | about them.
I have been with Denise for over fifteen years for my hair extensions; | 17 |
Promotional material designed for a music event I co-ordinate with a friend.
Designed for a media consultancy Stormcrowd for which I also designed the logo.
An electronic cd cover design and logo I designed for new breaks artists Dropworx and their first single.
This self-directed brief addresses a concept for a set of mix albums containing three different genres of music. The inner sleeve design is also different for each album. It is a geometric representation of the mix. 1° of the circle represents a set proportion of time, which will differ from one album to another. I mapped out each song's starting point and finishing point, including when the songs overlap, to create the unique geometric shape to the whole mix.
I designed this website for my events company. Looking forward to balancing the two differnet lines of work!!
Website design for a new form of audience engagement software.
A website I designed for a record label Weaponsgrade to be launched later this year. Logo design by Henry Buckle of "Conspicuous designs"
This website was designed by myself and developed by Henry Buckle of "Conspicuous Designs" for a very good restaurant Morello, based in Matfield, Kent.
The Doris logo was produced for an online information service for the NHS. Doris acts as an assistant for employees within a General Practice. It enables them to retreive details or fill out relevant documents relevant to a particular task at hand.
Avatar logo design for "Stormcrowd"
The Dupe logo is still subject to some minor tweaks but wil be used as a new logo for the music artist that is Dropworx.
A project I headed with a fellow student Chris Wharton in Bath. We developed a modular advertising scheme for the Bath 08 music festival that surrounded the new Southgate development in the South of the city. The design below is my contribution to one of ten designs featured in the advertisement that Chris Wharton and I co-ordinated.
A flyer I produced with Joe Holbrook, who is a very good illustrator and fine artist!
The 'Mini-chair flyer' was designed in response to being asked to promote a chair exhibition called 'Legs,' devised by Joyanne Horscroft and Julie Wilkinson. It was handed out in town in its flat business card format to pedestrians and shops and included instructions on the back so people could make their own mini-chair.
Since graduating from Bath Spa University with a first class honours<|fim_middle|> and Flash scripting. I am an enthusiastic, positive and inspiring designer who likes to work hard and get a job done well. | in Graphic Design I have been keeping myself busy with a steady stream of freelance work. My work explores an extensive range of design disciplines, which has expanded my imagination and approach towards finding appropriate and exciting design solutions.
I work across a broad range of design, from identity, print and typographic design to interactive and website design. I have competent computer skills in Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop. I also know basic After Affects | 85 |
Australian origin likely for iconic New Zealand tree
Ancestors of the iconic New Zealand Christmas Tree<|fim_middle|> here," he says. "The question still remains as to why they became extinct in Australia."
Mr Tarran's research has been supervised by Professor Bob Hill, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Adelaide, and Dr Peter Wilson, a Principal Research Scientist at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, in collaboration with Associate Professor Greg Jordan, University of Tasmania, and Honorary Associate Professor Mike Macphail, Australian National University.
Read more about these fossil discoveries here. Story credit: University of Adelaide newsroom.
Research to cast light on our natural heritage is only possible if we support our universities. To keep Australia clever, please sign the petition below.
Slow and steady wins the tortoise conservation race at University of WA | , Pōhutukawa, may have originated in Australia, new research from the University of Adelaide suggests.
Two new fossil species of Metrosideros, the scientific name for Pōhutukawa and related species, have been found near St Helens, Tasmania. The fossils are about 25 million years old.
Researcher Mylall Tarran, PhD candidate in the University of Adelaide's School of Biological Sciences, says the Pōhutukawa is one of New Zealand's most iconic flowering plants and is of particular significance in Maori culture.
"It is also one of, if not the, most widely spread flowering plant groups in the Pacific. It grows in Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Tahiti, the Bonin Islands near Japan, on sub-Antarctic islands, and many other islands in between, as well as having single representatives in Africa and South America," he says.
But surprisingly, considering the species' unique and highly effective seed dispersal biology, Pōhutukawa is not found in Australia.
In fact, Australia is the only major vegetated landmass in the Southern Hemisphere where Metrosideros does not occur today, although previous work has shown that the genus did occur here some 35-40 million years ago.
"This new research, which identifies two new fossil species of Metrosideros from Tasmania from about 25 million years ago, shows that a diversity of the trees once grew in Australia," Mr Tarran says.
"But these more recent fossils belong to a subgenus of Metrosideros that is less widely distributed than the earlier fossils, mainly in areas that were part of the great supercontinent Gondwana.
"These species may not have been as well adapted for long-distance dispersal as those other species, and so it is likely that they originated | 381 |
Effort is the portion of time spent on a particular activity, expressed as a percentage of the individual's total activity for the institution. Total effort must equal 100%,<|fim_middle|>.
For a complete list of tasks and due dates related to effort reporting, see the 2017-18 Effort Reporting Calendar. | no matter how many hours were worked.
Effort reporting is the method of certifying to the federal granting agencies that the effort required as a condition of the award has actually been completed. Effort reporting is required by OMB Circular A-21 which requires certification of effort spent by all employees whose salaries are charged directly to federal and federal flow-through funds, as well as for reporting committed cost sharing (but not uncommitted cost sharing).
Effort reporting periods match the federal fiscal year of October 1 through September 30 each year. Effort Reports are issued approximately 45 days after the end of each reporting period, on or around November 15, and reports must be certified within 120 days of the end of the reporting period, on January 28 each year | 161 |
The Blind Confidential Archive
Just another ChrisHofstader.com Sites site
Science, Skepticism and Disability
Model T Syndrome Continued
The "Model T" Syndrome
Airport Follies
Chris Brown on Science, Skepticism and Disability
john on Science, Skepticism and Disability
Leo Guardian on Science, Skepticism and Disability
mr t on The Minds of Florida Nazi Groups
Anonymous on Model T Syndrome Continued
Grannies Get Off!
I'm still very busy and my hands hurt from typing too much earlier in the week so today's Blind Confidential will be another republishing of an article I got from Blind News. Sunday is also the last day of snook season so I'll be on the water a lot in the next 48 hours (weather permitting). Although they have a legal season, I rarely take a snook home for dinner because, this far north, they are pressured and their habitat is threatened by million dollar condominiums with a lovely view of a mud flat. I wonder if the realtors only show these places at high tide as on a full moon, very low tide, and these mud flats have a certain primordial aroma which one needs to learn to appreciate to avoid feeling disgusted.
Those very low tides present some of the most productive times to fish. The large predator species that we outdoors types target cannot move very far and tend to bunch up in deep holes during low tides. If you know where the holes lie, which is pretty important if you are walking across a mud flat at low tide so as to avoid falling in, you can toss your lure to the far edge of the hole, reel up your slack, "pop" your lure so it jumps like a real shrimp or acts like the phony rubber creature you have on the end of your line, let it fall into the hole only using your reel to keep the line tight, when you feel it hit bottom, twitch it a little so it looks alive, reel in a little, twitch and so on. When you feel the tell tale strike of a game fish, reel hard to set the hook, let the fish run a bit and enjoy the fight.
So many people who come to Florida and claim to have an interest in fishing freak out at the mucky bottom you need to walk across and the smells at low tide and have no idea what they miss. Typically, birds of prey do their fishing on low tide, pretty much for the same reasons many humans do; the fish have less water into which they can escape. Thus, humans enjoy a much higher probability of seeing a bald eagle at work on a low tide. Also, the filter feeding birds, including the beautiful pink spoonbill, come wading out at low tide. Scientists say that the spoonbill gets its bright pink coloring from the billions of microscopic shrimp it sucks in from puddles on tidal flats. Even the most optimistic environmentalists gave the spoonbill, still on the endangered list, little chance of surviving when they surveyed the population back in 1970. Although people had stopped hunting them for their feathers (they were quite a fashionable accessory to a lady's hat at one point) the DDT that ran off into their eateries killed the species slowly. Today, while they haven't fully recovered, one can enjoy their company fairly frequently. For us blinks, they make distinct sounds and our sighted friends enjoy their pretty colors.
As you could probably tell from the headline, our favorite grannies were acquitted. The following is the story from the New York Times about the event:
'Grannies' Charged in Peace Protest Are Acquitted
By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS
They came, they hobbled, and they conquered.
Eighteen "grannies" who were swept up by New York City police, handcuffed and jailed for four and a half hours were acquitted today of charges that they blocked the entrance to the military recruitment center in Times Square when they tried to enlist.
After six days of a non-jury trial, the grannies – who said they wanted to offer their lives for those of younger soldiers in Iraq – and dozens of supporters filled a cramped courtroom today in Manhattan Criminal Court to hear whether they would be found guilty of two counts of disorderly conduct for refusing to move, which could have put them in jail for 15 days.
The 18 women – gray haired, some carrying canes, one legally blind, one with a walker – listened gravely and in obvious suspense as Judge Neil Ross delivered a carefully worded 15-minute speech in which he said that his verdict was not a referendum on the Police Department, the anti-war message of the grannies, or, indeed, their very grandmotherhood.
But, he said, there was credible evidence that the grandmothers had left room for people to enter the recruitment center, had they wanted to, and that therefore, they had been wrongly arrested. He then pronounced them not guilty, concluding: "The defendants are discharged."
The women, sitting in the jury box at the invitation of the judge, to make it easier for them to see and hear, let out a collective "Oh!" and burst into applause, rushing forward, as quickly as elderly women could rush, to hug and kiss their lawyers, Norman Siegel, the former head of the New York Civil Liberties Union, and Earl Ward.
"Listen to your granny, she knows best!" crowed Joan Wile, a retired cabaret singer and jingle writer who was one of the defendants.
Outside the courthouse minutes later, the women burst into their unofficial anthem, "God Help America," composed by Kay Sather, a member of a sister group, the Raging Grannies of Tucson, Ariz., which goes, "God help America, We need you bad. Cause our leaders, are cheaters, and they're making the world really mad."
The trial was extraordinary, if only because it gave 18 impassioned women – some of whom dated their political activism to the execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg – a chance to testify at some length about their anti-war sentiments and their commitment to free speech and dissent in a courtroom that attracted reporters from as far away as France and Germany.
Despite the judge's protestations to the contrary, the verdict was a rare victory for protesters at a time when they have faced uphill battles in other forums. Hundreds of people who were arrested and detained for demonstrating at the 2004 Republican Convention are still embroiled in federal litigation charging the police with false arrest and violating their civil liberties. And the police continue to arrest bicycle riders on charges of disorderly conduct when they participate in monthly group rides called Critical Mass.
"I was sure we were sunk," said Lillian Rydell, an 86-year-old defendant. "I love everybody!"
Essentially, Judge Ross had found himself with grandmotherhood on trial for seven days in his courtroom.
The defendants were on trial for, as Judge Ross put it in a casual aside, "protesting," and more specifically, protesting the war in Iraq, by sitting outside the Times Square military recruiting center last October.
But the defense tried to portray the trial as a referendum on grandmotherhood itself, and milked that all-American concept to the hilt, almost as deftly as the defense in "Miracle on 34th Street," the 1947 feel-good chestnut, milked the American belief in Santa Claus.
The prosecution's case consisted of testimony from police officers about how the women blocked the door of the recruiting center, impeding entry for anyone who wanted to sign up, although the evidence suggested that the only people who wanted to enlist on the afternoon of Oct. 17, 2005, were the women themselves, who said they wanted to give their lives for those of younger soldiers. But they were not allowed in.
The defense consisted of putting the 18 women on the witness stand, one after the other, to explain just what they thought they were doing that day in Times Square. Their lawyers, Earl Ward and Norman Siegel, former director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, carefully asked a series of questions intended to elicit what Mr. Ward called the credentials of each defendant.
Mainly, these credentials consisted of the women's ages and the number of children and grandchildren they have. Only one, Vinie Burrows Harrison, an actress, took the Fifth on the question of her age.
Carol Husten's reply was, "Seventy-four. Two kids."
Judy Lear's was 62, with "three adult children and two granddaughters."
Diane Dreyfus answered "Fifty-nine and three-quarters," with "one stepchild, no grandchildren."
And so forth, up to Marie Runyon, who is 91, with one daughter, two grandchildren.
But even without the cold hard numbers, the granny-ness of the defendants was hard to miss. They were not resort grannies, with dyed hair and manicures. For the most part, they had let their hair go gracefully, defiantly gray. Some carried canes; others used walkers. Ms. Runyon, whom the judge allowed to sit next to the witness box so she could hear, wielded the white cane of the blind.
They were also women of accomplishment. Ms. Husten testified that she had a master's degree in guidance, plus 60 credits, from Hofstra, and had worked as a guidance counselor "for truant and dropout children" at James Madison High School in Brooklyn.
"I was very, very rarely a truant, Ms. Husten," Judge Ross interjected. Then he added sheepishly, his face reddening: "For the record, I was not a student at James Madison High School."
Ms. Rydell testified that she graduated from high school in 1936, and that instead of college, "went to the school of hard knocks," to which Judge Ross observed: "I see that your education in that school is ongoing?"
Judge Ross frequently looked mortified, squirming in his seat as if wondering how in the world he, of all judges, had the bad luck to be chosen to rule on the grannies' fate.
Like the unfortunate Judge Harper in "Miracle on 34th Street," Judge Ross clearly recognized that ruling against grandmothers – like ruling against Kris Kringle – could be political suicide, or at the very least make him a villain to grandchildren everywhere.
The prosecution was represented by two fresh-faced assistant district attorneys, Amy Miller and Artie McConnell, who, unlike the grannies, declined to give their ages. They have been taking cues from a supervisor in the front row.
To the prosecution, this was a case of disorderly conduct. To the defendants, it was a test of the constitutional right to free speech, and the morality of war. One of them, Ms. Wile, testified on Wednesday that her group had even had a demonstration permit, although she had not noticed, until Mr. McConnell pointed it out, that the permit was for Duffy Square, two blocks north.
In the end, it came down to more prosaic questions, like whether the grannies had been inches or feet from the recruitment center door.
Isn't it true they were blocking traffic? Ms. Miller asked, cross-examining Ms. Lear. Ms. Lear replied that if someone had wanted to go through, she would have moved over. "I'm a very polite person," she said.
"I'm sure you are," Ms. Miller agreed.
Wasn't their real objective to get publicity by being arrested? "Did you personally believe you were going to be allowed to enlist?" Mr. McConnell asked Ms. Dreyfus.
"I wasn't sure," she replied. "I do have a skill set." She is a facilities manager and "could be used to deploy equipment," she said.
But, the prosecutor insisted, was she prepared to go to war?
"Yes," Ms. Dreyfus replied. "I was totally prepared. I had just recently gotten divorced. I was ready."
The grannies burst out laughing, and a red blush spread, once more, over Judge Ross's face.
"The defense rests," Mr. Siegel said Wednesday after the last defendant testified, and the grannies seemed to collectively sigh.
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Posted on April 28, 2006 3 Comments on Grannies Get Off!
Tourist Season Ends Monday
I have a hectic week with a handful of deadlines coming due, a new project kicking off and, finally, next Monday is the official end of tourist season and I haven't bagged my limit yet. So, to make up for my poor progress during this season, I think I will pack my 12 gauge and Glock 9 and head over to Orlando with a spotter to take a few shots at whackos wearing floppy eared, Goofy hats and stupid smiles on their sunburned faces. I might go for a few with those dopey mouse ears or duck bills too.
Orlando, Florida, owned by the mouse and corrupt politicians always provides one with plenty of targets during tourist season. These people come to our state, drive gas guzzling SUV type trucks that both pollute and destroy the view, they use up our fresh water, and the only people who profit from their activities are the mouse and his stockholders. Sure, the resorts employ a lot of people but mostly at crappy wages and dead end jobs. I would venture a bet that most people employed due to the mouse's attraction can qualify for the earned income tax credit.
The corrupt politicians who made room in Central Florida for the giant mouse hole didn't tell America that the jobs it would create pay minimum wage and provide little or no health benefits. Most employees involved with the resort itself and the surrounding hotels, restaurants and junk stores are never seen by the tourists. These aren't the pretty, smiling white people who take tickets or entertain on Main Street USA but, rather, the dark skinned people who haunt the catacombs beneath the theme parks, collecting trash from below or, on occasion, popping out among the tourists to wipe up some snot nosed brat's puke caused by over stimulation on Space Mountain. The people lucky enough to have the crappy jobs at the resort itself do much better than the poor people who need to work in the cheap motels that line the highways approaching it as these people are probably not documented and are, therefore subject to all kinds of abuses.
Anyway, if you are a Floridian, remember, the season ends on Monday so go out and get your limit.
Posted on April 27, 2006 Leave a comment on Tourist Season Ends Monday
Grannies in Court
I have an especially busy schedule for the rest of this week and my RSI problems make my hands and shoulder ache a bit so I will avoid typing too much to let the body rest and so I can complete other items on my task list. Recently, I published three items about people with vision impairments taking matters into their own hands and standing for their beliefs.
In Blind News this morning, I received an article from the New York Daily News titled, "Grannies are grand on stand" that describes some of the highlights from the item I posted called, "Grannies With Guts."
The short article quotes Marie Runyon, the<|fim_middle|> Sitting in a cube and listening to a ball bounce around you demonstrates that I can make API calls and do a little arithmetic but has little practical value to anyone but me who will use the learning experience in other more useful tasks in the future. Taking input and sending feedback to a joystick is equally simple and, unless applied to an actual task, is pretty useless.
I believe I am pretty creative for a hacker/engineer/management type so, when I hear of a mainstream technology, I put on my blink patrol hat and try to figure out how it can be applied in a manner useful for people with vision impairments. I do not, however, have the capability of thinking up every possible idea. Nor do the ideas I have always please others. I feel strongly, though, that the enormous supply of electronics products, appliances, software, hardware and the panoply of SDK and APIs available for use by Windows hackers, not to mention the ability to configure JAWS extensively, opens up a vast number of possibilities for creative use by people in our community.
So, the DIY in me pours out this morning. I consider anything under $100 "cheap" when it comes to products that a blink can use for some positive purpose. I also believe that "free" (as in "without cost" rather than "as in freedom") makes the choice of the Microsoft Express line of development tools a favorite for creative hacking on the Windows platform. Finally, most of the SDK and API software from third parties provide demos that you can use until you distribute anything you make at which time you need to pay royalties, so making prototypes has only a minimal cost burden.
I can't speak to Window-Eyes or screen readers other than JAWS where it comes to making configurations to make the hopelessly inaccessible somewhat to entirely useful, but, JAWS users have a ton of flexibility to create a custom world that provides access to all kinds of devices, software, hardware, etc. available to our community. Mobile Speak Pocket also has the Lua language at its core and can also be highly customized to make applications and devices more accessible on mainstream PDA units.
I, therefore, toss down the accessibility gauntlet and challenge the hackers among us to come up with the coolest application of a mainstream device (appliance, consumer electronic, toy, video game controller or other product not traditionally considered accessible), write a Microsoft Windows or Windows Mobile program (I use the term "program" very loosely and include JAWS and MSP scripts in the category) or, for those who are technically savvy but aren't actual hackers, write up a practical proposal that someone else can follow to make a program that solves this same problem.
In the coming week, I will think up prizes for a few different categories. Maybe, best proposal, best compiled program and best script or configuration set, will do it. I'll try to come up with worthwhile prizes (donations will be graciously accepted by any kind souls out there who want to participate in this little contest) and I'll try to come up with a team of judges who agree that the technology transfer idea is basically a good one but who will also bring perspectives that differ from my own. Once we post a deadline, the first Blind Confidential Technology Transfer Slam will commence.
I'll develop and post a set of rules fairly soon. People interested in becoming judges should send me an email. Anyone interested in entering can start hacking today as I don't think the rules will govern their programming activities too tightly but should also email their idea to me so we can use a time/date stamp to judge a tie if an excellent idea comes from two separate entrants and results in software of a very similar quality.
Any participants should be aware of the following (incomplete) rules of the contest:
The purpose of this contest is to evaluate a creative use of an item that is not designed for use by blind people nor has an existing analogue in the AT world today. Thus, OCR, bar code, GPS and other programs that have already come to market are not acceptable unless used in a more complex and new manner.
All entries should work with a device that costs less than $200.
No current employees of any blindness related AT companies can participate without a note from the CEO of the company for whom they work. We don't want anyone getting themselves in trouble with their boss nor do we want to find BC under legal attack from a company claiming ownership of a technology entered in this contest.
Regarding rule 3: all entries are the responsibility of the person who enters them and, in the event that someone else claims ownership, it is up to the contest entrant to fight the power.
The $200 limit on the appliance to be put to use for a person with a vision impairment does not include the cost of a PC or PDA or any "standard" peripheral. Bar code scanners and thermometers are examples of non-standard peripherals. A PDA camera or WiFi on a PC are examples of standard peripherals.
I'm sure there will be a few other rules and we'll let the panel of judges serve as the rules committee. Bribing the judges, especially me, is highly encouraged.
So, be creative. Write a program or describe one that can be practically written and enjoy the slam.
Posted on April 25, 2006 2 Comments on The 1st Annual BC T2 Hacker Slam
Gifts of Blindness
Throughout the years since losing my vision, I have gathered a number of advantages that that having a vision impairment provides. Today, I will share some of them with you:
When I first moved to Florida, I had a neighbor from the UK named Eleanor. She drank cheap wine to excess but, otherwise, she spoke with great intellect, wit and, even when thoroughly intoxicated, she maintained a level of dignity (until, of course, she passed out). One day, Eleanor and I walked across the street from our apartment complex to the local Win Dixie grocery store. In her very British manner, she said, "Day-glo running shorts, lime green halter top, three hundred fifty pounds, you Americans have no shame."
While her description made me cringe, I did realize the benefit of not seeing this myself and, perhaps, living with the psychological scars forever.
So, advantage one: Blind people do not need to see the really ugly people in the world. This comes in handy more often than one would think as, especially at beaches that fill up with tourists raised on junk food; one never needs to see anyone named Max who, although massively overweight, chooses to wear a Speedo with his belly hanging over it and about a dozen gold chains to adorn his extraordinarily hairy chest. If Max has a date, undoubtedly, the first thought that crosses one's mind is, "Money can buy anything…"
Blind people never need to insult their significant others by answering those difficult questions like, "How do I look in this outfit?" By choice, everyone in my world (unless described by a sightie who just insists on ruining my picture of the world) is good looking. All of the women are pretty and the men are all looking sharp.
Blind people have far greater opportunities to grope and fondle people whom they find attractive. We have a built in excuse for bumping into people, accidentally placing our hands on parts of another's body that our society insists we avoid and, when we say, with some false shock in our voices, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean too…" the typical response tends to tell us not to apologize and, when we're especially lucky, we get a laugh and encouragement to continue groping.
Sighted people, especially men, very rarely avoid being slapped for such actions. In this case, I think such behavior is actually part of leveling the playing field. Sighted people, men and women, gay and straight, married or single, look and sometimes even leer and drool at others whom they find attractive. I think, therefore, it is our right as blinks to receive an accessible, tactile view of those whom our sighted friends might leer at. I also think that "adult entertainment centers," should be tested for accessibility to ensure their blind patrons are receiving the full Braille version of the content their sighted counterparts are getting. Nudie bars are, after all, places of public accommodation.
Following the concept in item two, blind people never need to say that a bride, baby, child or puppy looks as truly hideous as anyone but their mother or owner whose opinion, colored by unconditional love, cannot perceive what the rest of the world thinks.
I once attended a wedding in Westchester County between the daughter of some very rich guy and the friend of the woman who brought me as her date. We of course, sat in the groom's side of the room.
The invitations for this wedding, sent out by the bride's family, engraved clear Lucite plaques with a silk rose attached, the most extravagant party invitation I can imagine, was received by what seemed like a thousand people.
The menu, which came along with the invitation, in case any of the guests, may have dietary restrictions, started with fresh strawberries in Dom. The meal grew more elaborate from there. I couldn't refuse this date as I really wanted to witness an event of such overt decadence.
After the ceremony, outdoors and brief, performed by a local Rabbi, we went under the tent to our assigned seats. The people seated with us had also come from the groom's side of the pair and none had previously met the bride. The gentleman, maybe named Max, seated beside me said, through a very Jewish/New York accent, "No wonder he's spending so much, he had to buy the bride's gown at a camping supply store. Damn, that girl could get a job working at the carnival."
I could say that I thought the bride was beautiful and didn't have to lie.
Sometimes, a person, out of unnecessary charity, will do something nice for a blind person that also benefits the people around him. Last night, for instance, my wife and I went to hear Chick Corea at a local theater. The usher, noticing I carried a white cane and looking up at the long staircase to the seats in the back we had that our tickets said belonged to us, decided, instead, to bring us into the seats held for guests, right down in front. I could have enjoyed the music from any part of the room but Susan got to enjoy a great view too, just because of the bizarre belief that some sighted people have that blindness effects one's feet as well as our eyes.
A friend of mine described an evening when he had drunk a lot of beer at an Atlanta nightclub. As will happen to anyone who has consumed a large volume of a fluid, he had to pee really bad. When he entered the men's room, a two seater, and discovered that both the stall and urinal had patrons already, he realized he couldn't wait any longer and started to pee in the sink. As the other two guys started to emerge, one started to say something but was silenced by his buddy with, "It's ok, he's blind."
Hence, we can do things that others cannot because they don't understand us at all. It's kind of like having the "Get Out of Jail Free" card when playing Monopoly.
Blind people get lots of cool stuff for free. If you go to your local public library and compare its catalogue to that of NLS, RFBD or other audio books for the blind organizations, one, unless they live in the Boston area or use the main branch of the New York Public Library, will find that our selection is much larger and, unlike our sighted friends, the tapes will be delivered right to our front door and we can mail them back for free. To one who loves literature, this service seems incredible and, often, especially here in Florida, I find that my library access is often the envy of my friends.
8. I don't know if this practice only happens at the Empire State Building but the last time I entered the great edifice, my friend Steve and I were there as purely tourists. The employee n charge of running the place wouldn't let us pay for tickets, brought us straight to the front of the line and sent us to the top. I couldn't see the view but Steve got a free ride and had no complaints. Actually, this happened to me at the United Nations too. Maybe it's a New York thing.
One perk I appreciate greatly is that often, just because I am blind, airport personnel let me wait in the first class lounge where I can enjoy free beverages, snacks and Wi Fi and, often, if there is an available seat, bump me up to the first class section on the flight. This is really nice if I am flying to India or Singapore or some other really distant part of the planet. They also encourage me to board before everyone else so I can get extra pillows and blankets, if you have a boney white ass like mine and you will be in the air for many hours, the extra padding saves one from days of feeling numb from the buttocks down. The extra blankets are nice as I always find I feel cold while flying and, for no reason apparent to me, airline blankets seem to have been designed for dwarfs.
Although I do not drink nor use illicit drugs anymore, no one ever asks me to be the designated driver. In fact, no one ever asks any blink to stay sober so his friends can party down while they sit forlorn, drinking diet cokes and listen to his friends get increasingly stupid as the night goes on. I can only imagine that "designated drivers" get bored when the old argument about natural versus artificial turf and its relative effects on the game of baseball comes up for the millionth time. I guess, though, that the designated driver is far less likely to end up with his head shaved or with a tattoo the following day but one can only assume that avoiding such hazards cannot possibly make up for the boredom of sitting with one's intoxicated friends.
So, this is the top ten list I came up with this morning. Please send me your favorite gifts of blindness so we can assemble a comprehensive list.
Posted on April 23, 2006 4 Comments on Gifts of Blindness
The End of the World: Right, Center and Left
As always, I have spent some of my leisure time recently in the company of audio books. My last two selections from audible.com discuss politics and provide very gloomy visions for the future. One, from the centrist Kevin Phillips, "American Theocracy" describes how the United states has entered its period of decline because of the peek oil theory, the overwhelming influence of evangelical, fundamentalist and Pentecostal religions on the White House and that the nation, its citizens and businesses carry so much debt that the economy can no longer handle the burden. The second book, "Failed States," by Noam Chomsky, a leftist, one of my all-time heroes and, according to two recent international surveys, the world's leading intellectual, describes, using mostly government documents as source material, how the US due to its arrogant foreign policy and economical hegemony has lost the following it once had outside our borders and, like many empires before, will soon crumble.
From the religious right, we have the "Left Behind" series which have been described by no less than the influential Reverend Jerry Falwell himself as, "The most important books published since the Bible." These novels, very popular among the Pentecostal, evangelical and fundamentalist community have sold more than 65 million copies in the US alone. Their author takes the relatively difficult and cryptic reading of the Bible out of its ancient and arcane language, moves the prophecies (as he interprets them) to our current era and, in a manner watered down so Wal-Mart shoppers can understand him, describes Armageddon and the Rapture set in the 21st century United States. I haven't read any of these novels, not due to lack of interest but because the handful of passages I have seen didn't approach the literary standard I require as a minimum.
So, are there any optimists left? While I will sometimes use Blind Confidential as a forum to describe problems we blinks endure, I also suggest things like rallies, leadership and organization and, hopefully, don't project too much of a dark future. I understand that the people who believe in the rapture concept actually see the End Times as a positive but, as the prophecy suggests, no one can know if they appear in God's book and will, therefore, rise into heaven to join Jesus as the war between good and evil takes its toll on those left behind.
Garrison Keeler, a practicing Lutheran, once ponder the question, "What if the rapture comes and God only lifts up the Unitarians?" He answers his own question, "Well, there will be piles of organic clothing, Birkenstock sandals, coffee pots and Volvos and a lot of very angry Christians left behind."
At least the apocalyptical descriptions professed by the fundamentalist, evangelical and Pentecostal faithful affords a possibility of escape and also tells us that the war between good and evil will end in a decade after which Jesus will return to Earth to rule the world in peace and happiness for the next millennium. I don't adhere to any of these religions but I do have many friends who do and respect the commitment they have for their belief system, faith and spirituality.
Kevin Phillips, if you don't know of him, started his career as a political advisor to Richard Nixon. Phillips invented the Republican southern strategy by correctly recognizing that the secular humanist liberals, in the fifties and sixties, had completely underestimated the average Americans' commitment to their religion. In the 1968 election, he could use George Wallace as the foil for the hard-line, racist, segregationists throughout the south and by appealing to the more traditional values of the church going faithful and traditionally Democratic preachers who felt the Civil War had yet to end, that Nixon could wrench a few southern states and win the election against the very liberal, northern liberal Hubert Humphrey.
In "American Theocracy," a seventeen hour talking book that, due to Phillip's excellent scholarship and citation of references, is choppy and goes beyond "dry" into downright "arid," he seems to apologize for his version of "Prometheus Unbound" without going so far as accepting blame for the economic and strategic mess he feels that our nation is in. Phillips states the thesis that the downfall of the American "empire" will result from the same kinds of events that brought down the British just after World War I and the Dutch a century or so earlier. He assembles the three factors, citing many events from the historical record, as: the loss of a dominance over the primary source of energy, the financial transition from building and selling actual goods and a philosophic drifting from scientific, fact based, empirical, enlightened thought to one based in religion.
The Dutch dominated the trade in whale oil, and the use of hydro and wind power for energy. Whale oil cost far more per gram than petroleum has ever been and when coal became the fuel of choice and factories run by air and water power could no longer compete with the more efficient fossil fuel, a major portion of their economy collapsed. Simultaneously, the Dutch economic system moved from one based upon trade and manufacturing to one centered in finance, they became the bankers to the world as the empire crumbled and the majority of their nation fell into a long period of poverty. Finally, as their empire crumbled, the Dutch turned toward their version of nationalist Protestantism which ensured them of their superiority and, therefore, permanent dominance of the world's economy.
Then, with the advent of coal burning machines and their ample supply of coal mines, the British, bent on rising to primacy in the global economy and unhappy with their dependency on foreign sources for many of the goods they enjoyed, started the first fossil fuel based economy, built countless factories, kicked off the industrial revolution, dominated the oceans and global trade and rose to the position of most powerful empire in the world. The Brits, according to Phillips, rode this success for quite a long time but, as they grew fat and happy, they lost their manufacturing sector to the hard working, immigrant filled United States who, slowly but surely, had taken the lead and, by 1900, housed the worlds largest economy. Meanwhile, the British financial services industry grew in size and wealth beyond its manufacturing sector and London became the paper shuffling capital of the world. Finally, like their Dutch cousins, the English moved to an increasingly nationalist form of Christianity and, from the pulpits of the Church of England, congregations throughout their land learned that God would save the king and that there would always be an England.
With this religious fueled assumption that the hegemony of the British Empire could not be challenged, ""Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition, for God is on our side," became a popular hymn as the young soldiers marched into the greatest destruction the world would have witnessed in its previous history.
When WWI came to a virtual stalemate and God's chosen British military could do no more than kill, be killed and never move in either direction, they called upon their cousins from across the pond and the now oil fueled, manufacturing based United States came to the rescue.
Thus, Phillips shows us two very distinct examples from history and then describes the current state of our nation. He demonstrates that, following Dr. Humphrey's theory of "peak oil" that the US based oil supply peaked in the 1970s and production has dropped ever since. He shows , citing oil company reports that the untapped oil in US held territory is actually very small and will be very expensive to extract. Finally, he cites geologists from oil companies and academia as saying that the Saudi oil fields are depleting rapidly and that Iraq probably sits atop the largest untapped oil supply remaining on Earth. Coincidence, Phillips thinks not.
Phillips then brings us to the language used by leaders of the religious right in the US. Saddam Hussein, a bad guy in everybody's book, has appeared in widely distributed Christian publications as the antichrist and, in some, if he isn't the actual antichrist, he's on his payroll. They continue with Biblical references to ancient Babylon and Saddam's intention of building a resort for himself and his inner circle on the spot of the ancient city. Finally, he cites references to the constant war between Israel and its neighbors as they appear in fundamentalist literature as being the kick off to Armageddon.
Finally, Phillips shows us that the year 2004, for the first time in American history, the financial services industry had become the largest in America, passing both manufacturing and technology. He also demonstrates that in 2005, the financial sector's lead grew faster than ever before and now outpaces all others in both size and growth as percentage of GDP. His last real stab at American civilization as we know it comes in the form of a little publicized fact that appeared in a report issued by Alan Greenspan and the Fed, in 2005, also for the first time in our nation's history, our citizens spent more than we saved.
Phillips, through a very well researched and detailed text, doesn't see much of a light at the end of the tunnel that doesn't require radical action and the collapse of the American global hegemony. Near the conclusion, Phillips reminds us of the old Harry Truman quote, "The only new things are the history we haven't learned."
Having lived through the malaise of the seventies and emerged pretty well, I have difficulty accepting that all is doom and gloom.
Then, of course, I went ahead and read Chomsky's latest, "Failed States." Phillips, having come out of that whacko liberal Richard Nixon's shadow, tends toward the center much more than the leftist linguist from MIT. People who love Chomsky, People who hate Chomsky and the few that fall between the two poles, agree that his scholarship and intellect are beyond question. For those who don't know of Noam Chomsky, he first entered the eye of the academic world when, as a graduate student, he published the short but profoundly influential, "Semantic Transformations." This little book changed the life of the intellectual community and, by proxy, almost everyone else nearly overnight. Virtually everything humans understood about linguistics and how language and our brains work went away. Chomsky had handed us the keys to the future. When he is not working as the world's most influential linguist at MIT, he writes and speaks on topics of social criticism and his latest book falls into this category. [Author's Note: Although I respect Chomsky and place him on the short list of my intellectual heroes, I cannot read any of his books on linguistics published after the ground breaking first entry in the fifties. I'm sure that linguists and other scholars who work in closely related fields can understand them but I simply do not have the education in that field and cannot, therefore, grasp those works.]
In an interview on Amy Goodman's very left wing "Democracy Now!" Radio program, Chomsky said that "failed Nations" was one of the simplest writing endeavors he ever sought to do. He explained that virtually all of his citations came from Bush Administration, US Federal Government documents. Some of the others came from official publications of the British government during the Blair regime and recent official publications released by the Israeli government.
While also somewhat dry and choppy (due to all of its citations) "Failed States," seems like a romp in the park after reading Phillips' long and arduously detailed text. Chomsky, who makes no secret of his leftist leanings, comes to conclusions nearly identical to those of Kevin Phillips.
To me, one who has spent his life following politics the same way others follow sports, one who has read most of the important texts on political economy of historical significance ranging from Marx to Smith and Weber to Keynes to Friedman, one who has read many important works of religious significance from the Bible to the Gita to Lao Tse and students of the Buddha Gauthama (I admit, my knowledge of the Koran is sorely lacking), to works of political and military philosophy from the ancients to Gandhi to Malcolm to Martin to Mandela to Abbie Hoffman to Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, Malcolm Forbes, various generals, civil war historians, Russian Revolution historians (from works like, "100 Days That Shook the World," to "Gulag Archipelago") and all sorts of other works from this category, I still cannot claim to be an expert in the humanities or social sciences. I am a very well read dilettante with a blog where I express my opinions.
This morning my opinion is one of shock, Kevin Phillips, architect of the Republican Southern strategy that has led the GOP to its dominance of all three branches of government and Noam Chomsky, the outspoken, white tower citizen of the People's Republic of Cambridge, anti-war, left wing activist and philosopher have published books within a few weeks of each other that reach the same conclusion. Nixon philosophy and Chomsky agree? Dare to think the unthinkable.
Intellectually, taking this train of thought a step further, we have the liberal Nixon people siding with the leftist Chomsky and Howard Zinn types in agreement and, from the Christian right, we see stories of end times, Armageddon, Apocalypse and rapture. Am I the only person who finds that it feels pretty weird hearing the left, center and right, all with radically divergent sources (Phillips draws heavily on history and financial information, Chomsky draws on many official documents published by governments around the world and the "Left Behind" series draws from the Bible, faith and theology), coming to the same conclusion?
Whether socialist like Chomsky, center/right like Phillips and far right like Falwell, Robertson, et al, all of our leaders seem to agree that the end is approaching fast. They, of course, have different conclusions on how to prepare for such an inevitability but they all seem to agree that the poop will hit the fan any day now and there is little other than divine intervention or extremely radical action that can offer a way out.
So, where have the optimists gone? Where is the Clinton "Bridge to the Future," the feel great to be an Americanism of the Reagan years, Carter's certainty that good would prevail, Ford's belief that we could whip inflation now, Nixon's courage to support the "silent majority" and, when his time came, to resign rather than disgrace the nation, Johnson's hope for a "Great Society," Kennedy's near legendary presidency of hope, youth and future, Eisenhower's baby boom never say die America of the fifties, Harry Truman's courage to say , "I would rather be right than president," FDR's belief that, "we have nothing to fear but fear itself" and Hoover's "chicken in every pot." I stop my walk backward through history as I don't think I can think of anything Calvin Coolidge did other than be born in Vermont, Warren Harding only seems famous for his scandals and I know little of his message. But, before them, Presidents like Wilson with is dream of world peace and a League of Nations, Teddy Roosevelt's continuous optimism and certainty that Americans could go where others have failed (Panama Canal for instance) and the general optimism of his youthful presidency. Going back to our founding fathers, great intellects like John Adams, Samuel Adams and John Hancock actually participated in acts like the Boston Tea Party and were present and holding fire arms when the "shot heard around the world" was fired. These patriot founding fathers had the confidence and optimism to take on the most powerful military on Earth with a band of untrained farmers with guns, a band of pirates as their navy and the philosophy of the enlightenment.
I must have been asleep or working too hard the day that America lost its optimism somewhere since Y2K. All of the presidents I mention above felt that America could and should be fearless. Now, as I said above, our leaders, from every wing of the socio-political spectrum, describe doom and gloom. I have tickets to hear Chick Corea play live tomorrow night, maybe his piano will play a hopeful message.
What does this have to do with blindness? Well, two thirds of it comes from audio books. Hell, it's my blog and I can cry if I want to.
Also, in the text above, I state that Noam Chomsky is a citizen of the "people's Republic of Cambridge," perhaps, the most liberal/left city in the nation and certainly the capital of the intellectual world. This is not, in fact, true. Chomsky works in Cambridge at MIT and, unlike Alan Dershowitz, his Harvard, cross-town, less smart rival, he doesn't actually live there. Noam lives in a lovely neighborhood in Brookline, Massachusetts (which tries to go as far to the left as Cambridge but never seems to succeed), often opens his home for fundraising events for all sorts of causes and rides the Green Line to Park Street where he switches to the Red Line to get to work.
I think the "leftier than thou race" between Cambridge and Brookline ended about ten years ago. Brookline was first with a woman mayor, Cambridge was first with a black woman mayor, Brookline was first with a gay mayor and Cambridge pulled out the trump card, a gay, black mayor. Cambridge was also first to require that all bar rooms open to the public must have coin operated vending machines that sell latex condoms in the rest rooms. Brookline would follow a couple of years later with its own condom ordinance but, by then, they had fallen too far behind to truly catch up.
One night, while in a drunken stupor, my friend Steve and I stole the condom machine from the men's room at the Cambridge Brewing Company. We brought it to my house. My wife looked at it with wonder. I returned it the following day as I couldn't come up with a reason for having such a device in my living room.
Posted on April 21, 2006 3 Comments on The End of the World: Right, Center and Left
Blind African Student Causes Trouble
It still hasn't rained here on the Gulf Coast of Florida so, while I continue to enjoy the lovely aromatic orange, grapefruit and jacaranda trees, I continue to suffer from exploding skull syndrome. In addition to the feeling that pressurized air pumps into my head through some invisible hose, I also feel as though someone has inserted a Buck knife just above my left eye. So, I have few, if any creative thoughts this morning and, like yesterday, will republish an article that came across Blind News about a troublemaker.
An article that ran in Allafrica.com, titled, "Ghana: Student Politics At Legon: Blind Student Stirs Up Controversy," describes the efforts of a blind student to get himself elected to a student government office. I think the article demonstrates how far the "troublemaking" of an individual can go to raise awareness and of the value of proportional rather than winner-take-all balloting. The run-off election was to occur yesterday and I haven't seen anything about the results yet but, whether he won his race or not, he has certainly educated a university. Also, I feel that any blink with the nickname "wicked scorpion" should be a friend of mine.
Ghana: Student Politics At Legon: Blind Student Stirs Up Controversy
By Sulemana Braimah
Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)
"I WANT to prove to all that disability does not mean inability." This has been the crusading philosophy of Mr. Jacob Adongo, a blind third year Political Science student of the University of Ghana, Legon, who is leaving no stone unturned to capture a key student leadership position for the next academic year.
Controversial as he may be, the blind student put himself up to democratically battle against two able-bodied ladies and a male, for no other position than that of Secretary to the Students' Representative Council (SRC).
When he launched his campaign for the position, many students described him as a joker since, they wondered how he could dream of becoming a secretary while he was still completely blind.
But after a few days of campaigning to students from lecture hall to lecture hall and from one residential hall to the other, his oratorical skills, confidence and exposition of visionary policies for the enhancement of students' welfare, caught the hearts and admiration of numerous students.
Sooner than one could fathom, Mr. Adongo, known among his supporters as "Wicked scorpion" had become the sweetheart of many and virtually a student political czar.
To many, it therefore came as no surprise when, after the counting of ballots on Wednesday evening, it emerged that the Wicked scorpion had dribbled and displaced two of his competitors, a male and a female and denied the leading contender, Pearl Adaku Asomaning, a long-time crusader for the position, of the mandatory 50% plus one vote, that she required to snatch the position, thus forcing the election into a run-off.
Pearl, as Adongo's competitor is popularly called, is an affable third year student of Mensah Sarbah Hall, who maintains that she is the right material for the job and has intensified her campaigning. She is riding on her campaigns and the near-win support that she garnered for the first round.
Mr. Adongo told The Chronicle yesterday that he loved to be presented with an opportunity to cause surprises and prove a point. He said he was glad that his competitor for the second round of polls, slated for tomorrow, got more votes than him in the first round since the situation has created an opportunity for him to cause a surprise by, as he put it, "snatch it from her."
"I have had the opportunity to get my message clear to the students since I had a very short time to campaign during the first round. I have now been able to clear all misconceptions and doubts that people had about my capabilities to do the work of a secretary," he confidently told the paper.
Asked about what he had done differently from his campaigns for the first round, he said he was now going to prove the cynics wrong by practically demonstrating from lecture hall to lecture hall, how the computer can be used to take minutes of meetings.
"In fact, I told them in my campaigns that I will be resorting to the modern technology of using the computer to take minutes but many were those who thought it is not possible. Thanks to the run-off, I have had time to prove it. In fact, on Tuesday (today), I will be demonstrating that from lecture hall to lecture hall to the students free of charge. You can also cease the opportunity to witness and watch my exclusive, free-of-charge demonstration of the usefulness of modern technology," he boldly said and comically added, " you don't need any special shades like the eclipse shades to watch my wonders, my brother."
He again pointed out that, apart from proving to all, his ability to take minutes or write for that matter, he had also referred students to Article 22 of the SRC constitution.
This article, as we found out, mandates the Executive Officers of the SRC, that is the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer, to appoint a vice secretary at the first meeting of the General Assembly (Students' Parliament) whose responsibilities shall include taking of all minutes of meetings, being in charge of all internal correspondence of the SRC, writing letters to invite members of the General Assembly for all meetings and acting in the absence of the secretary.
Mr. Adongo's message has caught up with most students who have now been certain about his ability to do the work. Most students who spoke to the paper said they did not vote in the first round but they would be voting tomorrow because of Adongo.
"In fact, we will want to prove that as an intellectual community, we respect the rights and abilities of the disabled in society. We will also want to be the first to set this record of showing respect for the disabled in consonance with our status as the premier University of Ghana," most students suggested in their comments.
Mr. Adongo was the boys' prefect of Wa Methodist Junior Secondary School, Entertainment prefect at Wenchi Senior Secondary School and a member of the Committee that drafted the National Youth Policy in 2003.
Last semester, he contested for the position of Organizing Secretary of the Junior Common Room (JCR) of the Akuafo hall of the University and lost narrowly. Later on, the JCR awarded him for being the most active participant in student activities of the hall.
Meanwhile, the race for the presidency was also forced to a second round after the young and diplomatic Sammuel Awuku of Commonwealth Hall managed to deny the popular and politically experienced Lord Hamah also of the same Hall, the opportunity to have a first round victory.
Other two contestants from the Commonwealth Hall and another two from the Legon Hall were thrown out of the race in the first round.
Mr. Hammah, who rode on the wheels of justice to get himself back to the institution after an Accra High Court nullified his dismissal from the University, appears to be ahead of his counterpart with his philosophy of radicalism as opposed to diplomacy being preached by Awuku.
Rumours about attempts by "some powers that be" do disqualify Hamah from the race have generated some concerns among students but the real interest is in the race between Adongo, the blind positivist and Pear, the optimist.
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Posted on April 20, 2006 Leave a comment on Blind African Student Causes Trouble
Grannies With Guts
Springtime in Florida brings out a broad collection of colorful and fragrant flowers. Just taking a walk around our neighborhood, I can enjoy the heady perfume that comes directly from the reproductive systems of our local flora. For the most part, the sensations of spring delight the senses; the aromas and weather seem perfect. This year, though, the rain seems to avoid us so St. Petersburg seems more like a desert oasis than a sub-tropical sandbar. The tourists love years without April showers, we locals, though, would like rain for our lawns, trees and to help our general shortage of drinking water. Those of us, like me, who suffer from pollen related allergies feel the effects two or even three times as badly as in typical spring seasons. One must take the bad with the good and the springtime pleasures of Florida do remind me of the parts of Cambridge that I will never miss but the fact that my head feels like someone has inserted a hose and pressurized air pumps in to keep it inflated to double its normal size is the payment for enjoying our pleasures.
Thus, with my cranium feeling like it might explode at any moment, I bring you an article that came across Blind News this morning from the Village Voice (once my neighborhood weekly newspaper with the terrific pedigree of having been founded by Norman Mailer) called, "Grandmothers of Invention." The Voice, to those of you who grew up with it, has gone through very significant changes lately, mostly in reaction to competition from the Internet. The print edition of the paper is now free and supported entirely by advertisements and the web site has become the paper's primary presence.
Most of the writers who made The Voice so famous (Nat Henthoff, Alex Cockburn, Mark Alan Stamatey and others whose name cannot find there way through my headache), including Mailer himself, have moved onto other publications or have started their own. The Voice still presents a somewhat alternative view of the city but challenges authority much less vigorously than before. Their investigative work has almost no funding and they seem very cautious about not offending advertisers. If you read the Voice twenty years ago, you would remember that the advertisements alone would offend the readers of some of the more prudish New Yorkers and now the content feels a bit watered down.
Nonetheless, I liked this article and I think it makes a good follow up to the "Fight the Power!" piece I published on Monday. I found two of the grannies particularly inspiring. One, a woman with a vision impairment, walked with two canes from her home in Harlem all the way to Times Square (no less than sixty city blocks if she lives right on Central Park North which, due to its recent fashionable status and appeal to the rich and famous, doesn't seem likely). The other, a woman who uses a walker to get around, strolled all the way from the Lower East Side (my old neighborhood that today is usually called the fashionable East Village), no less than sixty blocks north and five blocks east of Times Square to attend a civil disobedience action at the midtown military recruiting center. These grannies, with their varying disabilities, show real guts and, whether you agree with them on this particular issue or not, you have to give them credit for taking to the streets, getting their message out and not worrying about going to jail. These women inspire me as I would probably have taken the RR line from the Lower East Side or the A train down from Harlem to attend a protest in midtown or, even more likely, would have taken a cab. Any person with low vision who needs two canes to walk and is willing to go more than sixty blocks to end up getting arrested definitely fits my definition of courageous.
Grandmothers of Invention
By Kristen Lombardi
Older is bitter-when it comes to the war in Iraq. A peek inside the granny-power movement.
Two weeks before going to trial in Manhattan Criminal Court for disorderly conduct, Joan Wile was stirring things up again. The founder of Grandmothers Against the War-better known for being one of 18 grandmas who got arrested last October after trying to enter the Times Square Recruitment Office-Wile had just taken center stage at a recent luncheon for 1199/SEIU retirees.
Dozens of retired union members, most grandma types themselves, had come to hear Wile speak about the plight of the New York anti-war grannies, who face prosecution this week. But Wile, a former TV jingles writer, didn't do much talking. Instead, she seized a piano, tickling the keys and belting out a tune.
"Grandmas, get offa your tush," she sang, her glasses perched on her nose so she could read the lyrics she'd written for her own anthem to anti-war grand-mothers. "We've got to go after Bush."
"That's right!" someone yelled, instantly lightening the mood. The retirees stomped their feet and clapped their hands to the snappy beat. Wile, meanwhile, let loose:
Grandmas, let's unite
While we are still upright
Let's protest that parasite
Watch out! We've just begun to fiiiiiiiiiight!
At 74, Wile still moved like a spring chicken, working the crowd, winning converts. The room erupted in applause, with audience members calling for an encore. Instead, Wile announced her next gig.
"We're going to trial on April 20," she told her newfound fans, who listened as she relayed how she and her 17 aging colleagues tried to enlist on October 17. How they were arrested and hauled off to jail. How the Manhattan district attorney's office has yet to drop their disorderly- conduct charges.
"We would like to pack the courtroom," she added, "so if you can come, please do."
One person requested a flyer so she could remember the date. Another asked if she should wear her union T-shirt to court. And from the back of the room came this show of support: "I'm with you! See you there!"
It's the kind of response that Wile and friends have become accustomed to these days. City prosecutors may think it's worth pressing their case against 18 gray-haired women who range in age from 50 to 91. But the eclectic bunch-women accomplished in their own right, who've worked as counselors, teachers, actresses, politicians, and therapists, and who still keep busy with all kinds of activism-has already triumphed in some quarters.
Wile is savvy enough to know how the word grandma plays in the court of public opinion-indeed, she has even encouraged the New York anti-war grannies to hand out cookies on the street. She first got the idea to organize older women against the Iraq war back in the fall of 2003, when the death toll among U.S. troops and Iraqi citizens began rising. "Grandmother struck me as a powerful word," she says, thinking that someone seen as wise, nurturing, and loving could appeal to people's consciences like no one else. So, as Wile explains, "I thought that to see grandmothers on the street would impress people with the gravity of the situation."
At the very least, the anti-war grandmas are getting noticed in ways that younger protesters aren't. On a recent Wednesday afternoon, some 20 Grandmothers Against the War stood on Fifth Avenue outside of Rockefeller Center, where they gather for a weekly vigil. They displayed the standard messages-the signs that read, "Thousands of Iraqi children are victims of this war," the pins that said, "Bush lies." They shouted the standard lines-"Bring the troops home now!" Plenty of passersby didn't give the grandmas the time of day. But plenty of others did. Tourists snapped photographs of them. Shoppers stopped and stared. Even those who support the war were nonplussed. One middle-aged man walked along the vigil line, shaking his head but smiling as he told the grandmas, "God bless you! I disagree with you, but God bless you for getting out here."
These grandmothers may be filling a void in the anti-war movement. Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of U.S. history at New York University, notes that campuses have yet to become the epicenter of the anti-war scene as they did during the Vietnam War. One reason is obvious. "The draft created an imminent and urgent reason for young people to protest the Vietnam War," Zimmerman says. Most of his students oppose the war, he says, but none of them are in danger of being sent to Iraq or even know people who are there now.
The Granny Peace Brigade, as the 18 grannies now call themselves, has captured attention far beyond New York, generating buzz on the Internet, on progressive websites and political listservs. Media outlets have covered the grannies with fawning fascination, playing up the images of little old ladies clutching their walkers and hanging onto their flowered hats, flanked by beefy cops. Carol Huston, a veteran peace activist and granny brigade member, tried to enlist at the Times Square recruiting center to protest the Iraq war three years ago. Not one reporter showed up. This time, as she puts it, "the press went nuts over us like I've never seen before and all of a sudden-zoom!-this action takes off."
Similar granny groups have popped up across the country, staging their own protests at military recruiting centers, fueling the larger anti-war movement. Now there are as many as 38 anti-war granny groups in the United States, from Pittsburgh to Detroit, Berkeley to Sarasota. Just last month, three of the New York grandmas flew to Berlin, where they gave speeches to hundreds of people on why they've hit the streets to protest the Iraq war.
Canadian filmmaker Magnus Isacsson calls the trend "granny power." At least, that's the title of his current documentary, which will feature the local grandmas on trial. "It's an idea that spreads like a contagion," he says.
But the idea isn't new-indeed, Isacsson focuses his film on the Canada-born Raging Grannies, a decades-old grassroots group promoting peace and social justice. Likewise, the Grandmothers for Peace have existed for 24 years, boasting members all over the world, including in New York.
Still, it didn't take hold in this country until last July, when a feisty bunch of grandmas in Tucson, Arizona, arrived at a local recruitment center. The Tucson Raging Grannies had been marching outside the center since the start of the Iraq war. But they took a different tack on July 13. Inspired by their Canadian counterparts, eight grannies marched into the facility and demanded to enlist.
"We read our statement of how we want to change the world," Pat Birnie, 76, the head granny, recalls. She and her colleagues were promptly arrested. The charges were later dropped, but not before the grannies made international headlines.
When Wile, a Manhattan grandma of five, heard about the Tucson event, she grew inspired. By then, she had formed Grandmothers Against the War and had organized the Rockefeller Center vigils. Yet the attempted enlistment seemed fresh, provocative, the kind of protest the average person would notice.
"It was obviously the thing to do," says Corrine Willinger, 78, a local Raging Granny who heard about Tucson through the grapevine and who attended Wile's vigils.
Willinger and Wile got cracking, sending out word to the Gray Panthers, the Raging Grannies, and Code Pink, calling any activist in their Rolodexes. To grandmas all over, they made their pitch to enlist, thus symbolizing a desire to spare kids-their grandkids-from a senseless war. It wasn't an especially tough sell.
"I said, 'Sure, see you there,' " recounts Marie Runyon, the oldest of the New York brigade at 91. Runyon is legally blind and walks with two canes, yet she trekked from Harlem to Times Square. "I thought it was a great idea to get the message through to that son of a bitch in the White House," she explains. "Our men are dying and the Iraqi people are dying and for what-for that idiot Bush!"
Betty Brassell, 76, of the Lower East Side, decided to shuffle uptown with her walker after spotting a leaflet on the enlistment. She didn't know the grandmas who would become her fellow defendants. Simply put, she says in a soft Southern lilt, "the flyer said Grandmothers Against the War and I'm strongly against this war."
By October 17, 18 grandmas had committed to enlist. They convened in Times Square across the street from the recruiting center, where they met their attorney, veteran New York civil liberties lawyer Norman Siegel, who was serving as a witness, not to mention dozens of senior supporters draped in "RAGING GRANNIES" signs and signature floppy hats.
When the anti-war grannies approached the station, the door was locked. No one appeared inside, though Wile says she saw someone peek from behind a desk. Evidently, the military had foiled the grannies' plan, so they improvised what occurred next. "I was so angry," Runyon recalls with a chuckle, "I started banging on the door, singing, 'If I had a hammmerrrr!' "
The grandmas took over a building ramp near the station door and, one by one, crouched to the ground. "That was the hardest part," Wile confides, "all these old, beat-up broads with arthritic problems getting down on the ground."
Eventually, a police officer warned the grannies to disperse or face arrest. Minutes later, a half-dozen cops were gingerly escorting them to a midtown precinct, where the grandmas remained for four hours.
For the granny brigade, the entire action lasted six hours. Their court proceedings, by contrast, have dragged on for six months. City prosecutors tried to offer the grannies a plea-no arrests for six months and the charges would be dropped. But these anti-war protesters didn't want to stay silent and off the streets. In court, Siegel has tried to argue for dismissal, to no avail.
"I never thought we would go to trial," Siegel observes. After all, he has represented thousands of peaceful demonstrators who, like the grannies, cooperated with the police. He argues that the 18 grandmas didn't do anything illegal-they sat outside the recruiting center, he notes, not in the street or in front of the doorway. In these instances, he says, things rarely make it this far.
"I don't know why the district attorney's office is prosecuting grandmothers," he adds.
Calls by the Voice to the Manhattan D.A.'s office were not returned by press time. In any event, these grandmas are having a whale of a time, using the trial as a chance to highlight their continued opposition to the war. Many have already prepared statements to read to reporters, friends, and anyone else who will listen to them during breaks. They've sent out a flurry of alerts to allies in attempts to pack the courtroom, even securing a promise from Cindy Sheehan to be there.
"I'm not too worried about the trial," Wile says confidently.
Jail time doesn't faze some of the more experienced types. Huston, 74, of Brooklyn, has decided she'd rather spend time behind bars than accept any other form of punishment-such as community service or a $250 fine.
"Oh hell!" says Runyon. "I would go to jail if I had to just to make the goddamn point! You've got to make a statement."
Of course, the New York grannies have done more than make a statement. They've sparked something of a movement. When Marjorie Lasky, 66, of Berkeley, read the headlines about the local grannies, she recalls, "I said to myself and to a group of women friends, 'We could do this.' "
By November, she and dozens of other grandmas had formed the Bay Area Grandmothers Against the War, in honor of their New York counterparts. By February, they had designated Valentine's Day a national enlistment action day, prompting 15 anti-war granny groups to try to enlist in 15 cities from Oakland to Cleveland and Baltimore to Barre, Vermont. Last Monday, the Bay Area group spearheaded another action around tax day, with anti-war grannies hitting the streets in Philadelphia, Madison, Detroit, and naturally, New York City.
"Our numbers are growing," Lasky says. Her group has plans to host a national gathering of anti-war granny groups some day. "Cool, huh?" Lasky enthuses. "Isn't it cool?"
So why are all these little old ladies taking to the streets? Simple, says NYU's Zimmerman. "These grandmothers come out of a political context in which vivid and loud protest was the norm," he notes. Ask the grannies, and they will likely tell you that they took to the streets to end the Vietnam War and segregation and a myriad of other causes that defined the 1960s and '70s. By contrast, Zimmerman says, "it seems to me that young people haven't engaged in that kind of mass protest. It isn't part of their political experience."
Maybe that's why the 18 members of the Granny Peace Brigade remind their own lawyer of the good old protest days. As Siegel has it, "The grannies remind me of the whole 'We Shall Overcome' movement. They're very positive and upbeat and warm. Recently in New York, I have not found that spirit."
Posted on April 19, 2006 Leave a comment on Grannies With Guts
Fight the Power!
I've heard complaints from blind people about the lack of political activism, too much activism and almost any point on the spectrum between these two points. Some folks take a radical, Malcolm X approach, others a more moderate Martin Luther King view and still others a "work within the system" Thurgood Marshall set of tactics to affecting civil rights improvements for people with vision impairments. I still don't know if the BPP is real or a hoax so there might even exist a group even more radical than the Malcolm types.
I'm not sure where I fall on the spectrum. I like to think of creative ways of protest like purchasing a few shares of stock in a business that has a horrible accessibility record (Intuit comes to mind) and then showing up with a bunch of loud mouthed blinks at their annual stockholders meeting. I sort of like the "Hall of Shame" that the Jodi awards people have started to list really offending inaccessible web sites but, on other days, I feel that blame and shame might just cause organizations to take a defensive stance rather than taking action to make improvements. One thing, of which I am absolutely certain, though, is that Thurgood Marshall was able to use existing law to win Brown v. Board of Education and, throughout the fifties, more and more Constitutional matters were settled in the courts. Then, in the sixties, Presidents Kennedy and Johnson had the will to enforce the laws on the books and, in spite of Governors like George Wallace of Alabama ("segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever,") and Lester Maddox of Georgia, public institutions started to open up to minorities.
For people with disabilities, the story changes quite a lot. As a group, we with disabilities do not have full Constitutional rights. Officially, we have had our Fifth Amendment right to due process taken away and, unlike any other minority group, cannot, in many cases, take legal action to fight discrimination. While many states have passed and enforce ADA and 508 like legislation, others do not. Alabama, for instance, sued the Federal government stating that ADA does not apply to state agencies as it takes away one of the state's rights. About 146 years ago, Alabama took more radical action because they saw human bondage as a state's right so things haven't changed much deep in the heart of Dixie.
Now, we have a President who either lacks the courage of Kennedy and Johnson to enforce laws like ADA, 255 and 508 or, perhaps courage isn't the issue, maybe he and his Justice Department prefer working against the rights of people with disabilities. The Ashcroft/Gonzalez track record certainly suggests that the latter holds true as, in their five plus years in office, the US Attorney General's office has, in cases which it chose to participate, supported the defendant in all ADA cases. Justice O's record on the Federal Circuit Court in cases involving people with disabilities is even worse so I doubt this administration will do much for us anytime soon so, perhaps, more creative measures will be required to achieve our goals.
In early March, in a land far, far away, blind people took to the streets to demand their rights. The March 5 edition of the Katmandu based Nepal News ran an article titled, "Over 100 arrested from visually-impaired persons' rally in Katmandu, Nepal." If this headline suggested that 100 anarchists were arrested in Seattle, 100 migrants were arrested in San Antonio or 100 peace activists were arrested in London, I'd not have thought twice about the matter. Anarchists, migrants and peace activists have historically rallied to their causes and, on many occasions, have spent time in jailhouses for their actions. Blind people, though, may act and talk angry but never seem to have the will, even here in the land of the free and home of the brave, to participate in direct, civilly disobedient actions. Nepal, a nation known for having an oppressive royal family that kills demonstrators seems even less likely a location for such an event to occur.
The article starts, "More than 100 visually-impaired persons were arrested and several others injured as police intervened into their protest rally, demanding employment, in Katmandu on Sunday."
"The group has been demanding that the government offer jobs to 500 visually-impaired persons at the earliest and provide a monthly 'unemployment allowance' of Rs.2000 to others." I can't even remember the name of the Nepalese currency but I can't imagine this even approaches a lot of money. Also, in today's Nepal, begging and prostitution are the most likely professions for blind people so any kind of job that can take them off of the streets or pension that can let them live with dignity will be a major step forward.
I can only imagine the courage these people must have as the article continues, "Police ruthlessly beat up the demonstrators, injuring a number of participants. Two injured persons – Bhakta Gautam and Pratibha Lama – have been taken to a nearby hospital for treatment." I am more neurotic than most but I know that many blind people, including me, grow highly anxious when a crowded situation gets overly chaotic. Now, imagine being surrounded by your blind brethren in a huge crowd as police reminiscent of those Martin faced in Alabama swam into the crowd, swung sticks and beat your comrades. Would you have returned the following day?
The March 7 edition of The Himalayan Times, also English language and based in Nepal's capital city, featured an article, "Visually impaired hold rally" that simply states, "Blind people, protesting against the recent police intervention in the capital, staged a plate rally in Pokhara on Tuesday. The rally, organized by Blind Unemployed Struggle Committee (Kaski), started from the gate of Prithvi Narayan College and converged into a corner assembly at Mahendrapul chowk." To me, this demonstrates a level of dedication to a cause that, in the US, I've only witnessed as a child when Martin and Malcolm still led their movement and, as an adult, among the pro-life people fighting to end abortion. I have difficulty imagining a large crowd of blinks gathering in Washington to rally for our civil rights and I find it beyond any reasonable fantasy that American blinks, after getting beaten down by the boys in blue, would gather again two days later to continue their calls for employment, civil rights and dignity.
On March 10, in an article titled, "Protests by visually impaired continue," The Himalayan Times reported, "After an inconclusive meeting between the State Minister for Labour and Transportation Rabindra Khanal and the joint front of the Nepal Association of the Blind (NAB) and National Self-Help Organization of the Blind yesterday, the visually impaired groups continued their protest programmes today." I cannot count the number of times that I've heard about one or another group of US citizens with disabilities holding "high level talks" with government agencies, corporate leaders and transportation departments only to walk away and lamely state, "Well, at least they listened to our issues."
Let's recap: This is the United States, a nation which rarely injures protestors and almost never kills one. The people in Nepal, a few days after being brutally attacked by the police, sat down with a government official and, unsatisfied with his response, took to the streets again in a country where the police will shoot live ammunition into a crowd. Is Nepal truly the home of the brave and are we US based blinks, with a few minor exceptions, a bunch of cowards?
Reminding me of the demonstrations against the Viet Nam War the article continues, "Protest programmes included a rally from Baneshwore to Maiti Ghar, burning of the Disability certificates issued to them by the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare." Americans have burned draft cards, ostensibly have burned bras and, on the nasty side of our country, have burned crosses but have you ever heard of a blind person burning his social security card in protest over the 70% unemployment rate among blind people in the US?
The article concludes, "They demanded the government fulfill their demands regarding employment and urged human right activists, National Human Rights Commission, journalists, teachers, civil society, professionals, political parties to back them. Protest will continue till March 12."
I go through every article posted on the Blind News (link above) list every day. This means up to twenty articles about all topics related to blindness and vision impairment from all around the globe. Most of the articles from US publications describe heart warming stories about how some blink got a new guide dog who is now his best friend or how some blind person inspired an audience by playing the piano nicely. These articles sometimes can be so sweet that you want to puke. My role in this life is not to make sighted people feel warm and fuzzy and say things like, "Look at BlindChristian, he can play blues harmonica and is working toward a PhD at the same time." I'm inspired by these highly impoverished Nepalese blinks tossing safety to the wind in order to stand up for their rights and of the other blind people in Nepal who didn't come to the rally. I'm doubly inspired that they didn't walk away smiling after a bogus meeting with a government official.
About two years ago, the RERC on Wireless Communication at Georgia Tech. featured a short speech and question and answer period with some schmuck from the FCC. I sat beside two friends from the AFB and, when the questions started, Janina, who the previous day sat on a panel with me, jumped straight in and asked why, after the law has been on the books for a number of years that the FCC, then chaired by "Fat Boy" Powell Jr., had done absolutely no enforcement of Section 255. This was, after all, a disability and rehabilitation conference so the FCC spokesman should have been ready for the question.
He replied with the most condescending voice tone stating that they had done a lot of research into the matter and would take action when appropriate at some undisclosed time in the future. Janina, not a person to take lightly, fired back, "Then how come you were so quick to react to Janet Jackson's tit?"
Unscathed, the bureaucrat responded, "We had over 250,000 calls about the unfortunate Super Bowl incident."
Janina, "What about the more than a million people who cannot properly access cell phones, caller ID and most features of home and office telephony devices?"
FCC: "As I said, we are researching the accessibility issues. The Super Bowl had a greater sense of urgency." He then moved onto another, friendlier, questioner.
During the coffee break after the FCC fellow gave his bogus presentation, I asked him if he knew how long Janet Jackson's breast had been on the screens of the beer swilling, loudmouth, American football fans who have never before seen that portion of a woman's anatomy? He said he didn't know. Then I asked him to the name the performer who came on two acts before Ms Jackson. He said he couldn't. I can't remember the performer's name either but I can say that he is a gangster rapper who refers to himself as, "The greatest white pimp in America." I asked him if he felt that a couple of seconds of a breast is more harmful to family values than a three minute internationally broadcasted hip hop tune by a guy who does rhymes about selling women and killing people. He walked away.
Thus, I got to talk to an FCC official, state my position supporting Janina's line of questioning and, like the rest of we soft Americans, I felt a bit of anger and returned to Florida, went to work the next day and let it slide. If blinks in Nepal have the courage to stand up to a dictatorship, why don't I have the wherewithal to try to organize a rally at the FCC, Department of Transportation, Justice Department or any other government agency that is charged with enforcing laws and regulations to protect my rights and those of other people with disabilities? Beyond that, why do so few people in advocacy roles ever call for such action, I'm a nerd, not an organizer or leader.
Sometime today, I am going to disable anonymous comments on Blind Confidential. At first, I had it set to entirely unmoderated and started receiving spam posts. Then, I switched to moderated but continued permitting anonymous posts. Yesterday, I finally got to the point that I had received more emails from spammers trying to post to this blog than about anything else, something like fifty or so. I can't dismiss the anonymous posts automatically without throwing away actual comments that people want to post anonymously. Fortunately, few real comments are made anonymously so I think we can live with this new rule. Of course, anyone can create a Blogger name whenever they like with near total anonymity so this shouldn't prevent anyone from making a statement they don't want attributed to them.
Posted on April 17, 2006 2 Comments on Fight the Power!
Sex and Drugs and Explosives and Florida Blinks
Many of the most bizarre events that occur anywhere in the world, on any given day, happen in Florida, the state where I live. Someone told me of a radio program which has a daily trivia question where the host reads a really strange story from the news and the listener has to guess whether the event happened in Florida or Germany. I've detailed a few of these strange events in Blind Confidential (the Nazis who couldn't even agree on who they were trying to kill and other stories). Blind Floridians do not behave any less strangely than the sighted population so, today, I thought I'd write a few Florida anecdotes, mostly about strangeness involving blinks.
The first story, however, involves a sighted DEA agent. I found this story so funny when I heard it on NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" that I just had to write it down. A video of the event accompanies the story on the NPR web site; follow the links to "Wait, Wait" and you should have no problem finding it. This DEA agent gave a talk to an auditorium filled with school children. His topic, gun safety, something in which he had some expertise and, just as he said, "I'm probably the only person in this room who knows how to properly handle this weapon," he shot himself in the leg. Really, his weapon discharged and he shot himself, right there, on a stage while giving a talk about gun safety. This is part of what makes Florida so fun, any day the news, local, statewide or national may contain a bit about one of our residents doing something really strange.
Because of the position I held at FS and from various other events, I know quite a lot of blind people. Thus, when I heard that Howard Stern's show had hosted a "Blind Girls Show Their Breasts," beauty contest on his program, I gave it a laugh and thought little more about it. I don't get the satellite radio system from which Stern broadcasts but a friend of mine and I went out for lunch and he told me about the program. It didn't surprise me to learn that I knew of the woman who came in second place as, as I said, I have met a lot of blinks. It did, however, surprise me that I didn't just know her but that we had worked together and that I got to know her a bit. Few things feel stranger than learning that a past colleague had participated in a radio topless contest. Again, I assume that it has to do with Florida.
When I first moved here, I lived on the first floor of a building in a large apartment complex. A young blind couple lived upstairs from me and I often shared taxi rides with the male of the pair. Two things struck me as strange about him. First, he would brag about having sex with his own wife. I can see bragging about having an affair with Liv Tyler but marital bliss should stay in the home.
Secondly, this couple, both blind from birth, seemed to hold the irrational belief that because they had no vision they must, therefore, also be invisible. Thus, they took the concept of "public display of affection" quite a few steps past what the vast majority of reasonably sober adults would find acceptable. So, one day, when the husband and I rode in a taxi together somewhere, he started bragging about the sex he had with his wife the night before. I tried to tune him out until he said, "Yeah, we did it in the apartment complex hot tub…"
"The public hot tub over by the pool," I asked, somewhat in disbelief.
"Yes and we're going back tonight," he replied with great pride in his voice.
I know the chlorine in the hot tub should keep it relatively sanitized but the thought of relaxing my back in a tub where this couple shared bodily fluids disgusted me. So, in the name of cleanliness and for the sake of my neighbors and me, a bottle of Joy dishwashing detergent seemed in order.
The following night an O&M instructor with whom I had grown friendly burst into my apartment, laughing hysterically while I was watching Lou Dobbs. I asked her what had amused her so. After about five minutes of her trying to calm down, she said, "I know you did it!"
"Did what?" I asked with my most innocent look on my face.
"Soaped up the hot tub. The couple upstairs said they went to use it last night and there was a four foot high mountain of bubbles atop it," she continued breaking into laughter between words. "They said some teenager did it but I know it was you."
I insisted that I had nothing to do with such a childish prank. So, I lied to my friend. We'll let this blog entry serve as my public apology for the dishonesty and I'll assume that the apartment complex won't hunt me down for the cost of cleaning the mess up.
Blind people shouldn't, in my personal opinion, work too close to explosives. Blind people who smoke a few packs of cigarettes per day really shouldn't keep explosives in their home. Remember, though, we are talking about Florida. As in many other states, Florida has a vender program in which blind people can set up a kiosk and sell various items to earn a living better than just SSI. Some blind people sell more than just the inventory they buy from the state in order to make some additional money. Most of these people sell legal items like greeting cards, candies and other nice things that one might purchase when in a hurry. Others, however, see greater profit potential in contraband (you have to credit them for the initiative) and sell marijuana and other high profit items to supplement their income.
One of the more entrepreneurial types, a very heavy smoker, got hold of a large supply of the sort of explosive firecrackers that can blow off a limb. The Fourth of July was approaching so he figured selling explosives from his kiosk would do him rather well. To recap: we have a blind person who smokes sixty cigarettes per day walking around a house filled with quarter sticks of dynamite. Another happening that would only go on in Florida.
I know of at least two blind guys in the marijuana business. I'm not talking about nickel and dime dealers but, rather, experts in horticulture, cultivation and wholesale distribution. One grows the hydroponic chronic with a regional reputation for having the greatest potency in the land. The other has about a dozen greenhouses and has done his own cross breeding to come up with a well known (among certain circles) brand name reefer known for very special properties that its consumers enjoy.
I just wonder a bit about these guys, how do they know if their customers (not known as the most honest people in the world) have given them actual money or some random paper that feels like it? Do they keep a copy of OpenBook and BuckScan nearby just to check that they're holding real legal tender? How do they know if the person with whom they are talking is holding a weapon and may be prepared to kill them for the enormous value of their inventory? How do they defend themselves against rival dope dealers? How can they tell if the police have arrived? Wholesale drug dealing is a dangerous profession for anyone but it seems like it would present problems for blinks that may be impossible to overcome. But, Florida is the land of sunshine and opportunity and these guys seem willing to take the risks to achieve the American Dream.
I'm actually happy to hear some of these stories. While weird, they do show that some adventurous Floridian blinks have moved beyond the stereotypical behaviors and into areas previously unforeseen as things blinks might do. Lewd, lascivious public nudity, big time pot dealing, stripping on the radio and selling explosives show great progress for our community, previously thought to be so reserved.
I do not recommend any of the behaviors mentioned above. These people are professionals and such actions should not be tried at home. I wonder, though, if someone could start a web site about "Alternative Professions for Blinks," that include some of these and other non-traditional career choices and where one can find training to pursue such vocations.
Posted on April 16, 2006 3 Comments on Sex and Drugs and Explosives and Florida Blinks | 91 year old granny who walks with two canes and has a vision impairment, who walked all the way from Harlem to Times Square to participate in this peace rally. With dedication like that, she may have become my favorite elder and I've never actually met her.
The article follows:
Grannies are grand on stand
By HELEN PETERSON, STAFF WRITER
They may have trouble seeing, hearing and walking, but three grandmothers on trial for an anti-war protest had no problem standing their ground in a Manhattan courtroom yesterday.
The members of the so-called Granny Peace Brigade – who have more than 250 years of life experience among them – testified in their own defense and against the war in Iraq.
Molly Klopot, 87, of Brooklyn had a pretty good excuse for not being able to estimate her distance from the door of a Times Square military recruiting center she and the others are charged with blocking.
"I'm legally blind, so I'm not going to be too good at that," said Klopot, a retired social worker, mother of two and grandmother of four.
Marie Runyon, 91, testified she tried to get inside the locked recruiting center to enlist, but said she would not have physically blocked any aspiring soldiers.
"I wouldn't trip anyone or punch anyone," she said. "I banged on the door for a while and carried on. I've been known to do things like that."
Actress Vinie Burrows Harrison, 77, who has three great-grandchildren, admitted she heard the police order to disperse and ignored it.
"I felt very strongly that my being there was saying something about how deeply I felt that our invasion and occupation of Iraq was wrong," Harrison said.
I will try to follow up on this and the other stories of blind activists as I receive information about them.
Posted on April 26, 2006 1 Comment on Grannies in Court
The 1st Annual BC T2 Hacker Slam
The concept of technology transfer, one of the recurring themes in Blind Confidential articles about electronics, continues to excite me and remain at the core of many of the ideas that I come up with for products that we blinks can use in the future. Recently, I visited our local Circuit City and Best Buy and did a bunch of Internet searches regarding various consumer electronics products that might have some future value for people with vision impairments.
A lot of truly excellent pan-disability work on technology transfer happens at U. Buffalo, home of the T2 RERC. One should check their web site for many of the best ideas to emerge from the theory that using mainstream products for people with disabilities will both cut costs and increase the speed at which technology advances. Fundamentally, this is the theoretical boundary between using a screen reader versus proprietary, blind guy ghetto software.
Recently, in addition to buying some cool toys like a LinkSys Wireless G Music Bridge to attach to my stereo, a pair of $70 Blue Tooth GPS receivers for some of the PPO projects currently going on and a really cool Logitech "Force Feedback," flight simulator joystick, I have been dabbling with writing some actual prototype programs using the free "Express" series of compilers from MS and realizing that making accessible tools using off-the-shelf consumer electronics products is actually a lot easier than I had previously thought.
My first experiment in this area included finding and downloading the Visual C# Express and the Visual C++ Express systems from the Microsoft web site. I had gone to the MS web site in hopes that they might have a demo but, much better, their "programming for fun" section provides lightweight but very usable versions of their development environment and compilers. Including the not insignificant amount of time it took to download the Express editions of C#, C/C++, Windows 32 SDK, MSDN and Direct X, I was able to put together a development system that included all of these parts and, within a couple of hours, write a C# program that could access Direct Sound and made a little simulation of a ball bouncing around a cube with the auditory point of reference at the center of the big box. Not to boast but I had never looked at the C# programming language before that afternoon so learning the language (not hard) and a bit about Direct Sound (very well documented) well enough to make a little program went far more smoothly than I could have guessed.
Since then, I've accessed the joystick and taken input from it as well as sent tactile feedback to it. I've received GPS information through Blue Tooth and was able to compare the results and calculate things like the direction (North, South, etc.) between two points or average out a trend of a bunch of points into a straight line. The GPS stuff is essential to PPO but, whether I'm just screwing around with an API or doing something of moderate practicality, I find all of this to be pretty darn cool.
I think the biggest boundary between many inaccessible items and their convenient use by people with vision impairments might just be a general lack of creativity and an overall assumption that we cannot do something because we've never been able to do it and we probably never will be able to do it. In the case of my LinkSys Music Bridge, my sighted wife helped me through an installation routine where JAWS only says, "graphic," and we attached it to our stereo. Then, I fired up the controller application and found it was totally inaccessible. This shouldn't be too hard. The desktop application only lets you select which Wireless Music Bridge you want to address (how many of these items does LinkSys expect to sell per household?) and whether it should be "connected" or to use the PC speaker for output. After "connecting" the device, one then uses Windows Media Player, Real Audio, WinAmp or whatever media player you favor and, instead of coming from your PC speakers or headphones, the audio comes out of your stereo. I think this item is very cool as it gives me access to almost every radio station on Earth and an enormous amount of audio content played through my Bose stereo rather than my laptop squeakers.
To make the desktop application accessible, I sat with my wife, asked her to place the mouse pointer on the control of interest, got its X, Y coordinates and wrote very, very simple JAWS scripts that would click in the appropriate spots. I have keystrokes for connecting, disconnecting, raising or lowering the volume and shifting the balance. All of the scripts took a combined fifteen minutes to write (they are all virtually identical except for the coordinates, their name and keystroke. Thus, with a little help from a sightie, I could make an otherwise unusable piece of hardware entirely accessible in a single sitting.
The thing that makes this device especially useful is that the LinkSys Wireless G Music Bridge has no user interface on the hardware itself. It does, I am told, have three LEDs that inform a sighted user whether it is powered up, whether it has an Ethernet connection or whether it is attached to a wireless network. In our house, the power and wireless lights are always on, shining but ignored. Most other products in this category require some fiddling about with a touch screen or remote control that does something with a front panel user interface which is, of course, completely inaccessible.
With the LinkSys Music Bridge and my handful of JAWS scripts (write to me if you'd like a copy) I can, with total independence, play almost any digital audio accessible to my home network through my stereo. This is pretty damn cool if you ask me.
The other projects I've been doing are less practical in the short term. | 1,565 |
<|fim_middle|> one of my role models. We will all miss her so. | I could read Nora Ephron all day. When her book, I Feel Bad About My Neck, came out, I stood in the bookstore, reading it out loud to James. In a few seconds, I looked up and he had wandered over to another aisle. Four women had gathered in his place and were listening to me. When I stopped reading and said I was reading to my husband, they just said, "Don't stop."
Last Summer I saw "Love, Loss and What I Wore." I know how they felt because when it was over, I wanted to say, "Don't stop."
She was so funny, so honest and and an unfailing ability to speak those things the rest of us kept to ourselves.
Wasn't that just SO powerful!!! Yes, she had such a gift for speaking the truth, the ugliness and not offending people in the process.
I saw a few interviews last night and for FIVE years no one knew... not ONE single friend. Just her husband and her boys. They were truly in shock and in tears trying to get through the interview.
Nora Ephron was so way ahead of her time, AnneMarie. Yes, so much of what she had to say then, in 1972, really applies today.
I was in awe as I read that piece. It's as timely today for us as it was 40 years ago. Truly a trailblazer and someone whose voice will be missed. Hope all is well with you!
I just love Nora Ephron. I've been listening to rebroadcasts of radio interviews with her. The ability to laugh at oneself and our culture in the pursuit of honesty is one of her greatest legacies. She taught us all a lot. As a writer, she's definitely | 364 |
How the IAB Plans to Head Off Mobile-Privacy Qualms
November 30, 2011 | By Jack Marshall
As the mobile media and marketing industry picks up, so too do the privacy concerns that surround it. The highly personal nature of smartphone and tablet devices, coupled with their ability to pinpoint users' exact locations, has caught<|fim_middle|>, the app or another party?
Are the self-regulatory efforts by bodies such as the IAB and the DAA doing enough to stave off formal legislation of the mobile media space? Should the industry have moved more quickly?
When you're talking about self-regulation, you can never say victory and stop what you're doing; it has to continuously improve. Regulators have really helped us shape our program to meet a lot of their concerns, but there's always room for improvement, and the area will continue to evolve. I think we're marching in time with the marketplace. If we'd have come out too quickly with a set of principles, we might not have addressed some of the issues correctly. I actually think we're in a great position right now to both protect consumer choice and preserve innovation. The market is growing but still very nascent, and the fact is that a lot of the technologies that we read about do exist but aren't really being put into practice.
https://digiday.com/?p=1783 | the attention of both privacy advocates and regulators over the past year. With many regulators already on top of the industry for behavioral advertising practices, they are likely to scrutinize practices in mobile. Sarah Hudgins, the Interactive Advertising Bureau's public policy director, spoke to Digiday about the issues facing the mobile media industry and the trade body's regulatory work with the Digital Advertising Alliance.
What are the biggest privacy issues the mobile media industry faces?
The whole privacy debate often fluctuates with the media story of the day. It's often very reactive in the sense that a major company will change a privacy policy or do something that triggers a chain of media stories, and the discussion reacts to that. Location became a really big issue in over the past year because of several high profile cases, for example. When we're talking about privacy, though, it's really about understanding how data is collected and how it's used. It's not so much an issue of specific technologies or issues; it comes down to expectations, and that's where our focus has been with our work with the DAA program.
What should the mobile industry be doing to address privacy concerns?
It's about educating consumers, regulators and the industry. We're currently working on the consumer education piece with the DAA, for example, which will include rolling out the AdChoices icon to mobile. In mobile there's also somewhat of a gap between consumers' understanding of what it is they're using and how it relates to their data. They need to be given both notice and choice around that. For example, if you talk about location tracking out of context, it makes people uncomfortable, but when you talk about it in the context of a mobile application, it's a different situation. The second part is working with regulators. If you read a story in a newspaper, that can create a lot of confusion and concern for both consumers and regulators. It's about sitting down with policy makers and talking about what the technology actually is and what's being done.
What are the privacy implications of emerging tracking technologies such as device fingerprinting?
I'm only familiar with a handful of companies trying to use it right now. It's a very small percentage of the market. As of right now, I don't see that it will take off in any particular direction, but even if it does, those companies would still be subject to the DAA program. If they're deploying device fingerprinting, they would have to match up the tech with the principles in order to comply. We'll keep seeing evolution in that space, and Apple's deprecation of UDIDs has companies looking elsewhere. But again, we want to talk about the policy and good practices, not the technology itself. The marketplace is moving so rapidly that if we focus on the specific technologies we're going to be constantly reviewing the program.
What about location-based services and advertising?
I think there's a pretty strong consensus now that that information can be pretty sensitive and has to be treated more like personally identifiable information. The next question is how exactly you treat it, though. There are also differences within geolocation itself. For example there are differences between one-time use and long-term use, so what should the notice and consent procedures be for each? I think we all agree that there has to be notice and consent around location data, but the biggest question is who controls that. Is it the operating system | 684 |
The Grammar Purist
I am a college journalism educator and college media adviser with more than 30 years of professional media experience. These posts reflect my years of experience and are meant to serve as assistance for those working in mass media and media education.
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Board work session transcript
The Rutherford County School Board met Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 5 p.m. for its regular work session meeting to discuss items on the agenda for its regular meeting set for 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13. The majority of the time was spent discussing the admissions policy for Central Academic Middle School. Below is the transcript of that discussion. Members of the public were not allowed to speak at the work session, but may speak for a maximum of three minutes at Thursday's meeting. My next blog post will be my interpretation of this work session.
Rutherford County School Board Work Session
Dr. Mark Byrnes, Rutherford County School Board Chairman
Mr. Wayne R. Blair, School Board member
Mr. Grant Kelley, School Board member
Mr. Terry Hodge, School Board member
Mr. Harry Gill, Superintendent of Rutherford County Schools
Mr. Rick Wise, School Board member
Mr. Dorris Jernigan Sr., School Board member
Mr. Donald Jernigan, School Board member
Mr. Jeff Reed, School Board attorney
Byrnes: If you want to speak on Thursday night, you are certainly free to do that. I've talked to different people on different sides of this debate. I am pretty certain we know what the issues are and the sides are, so I'm not sure it's going to be incredibly useful for 25 people to get up and say anything. But you have that right and you can certainly do that, but you need to keep your discussions to three minutes if you do that.
We welcome your presence here, but this is not a rally. Do not cheer, boo or hiss. That is not welcome here.
There's been a lot of communication about this issue and we're all for the public being involved, but what I'm hearing second hand is that some miscommunication has taken place. First on the city-county issue and how McFadden's admission policy figures into this debate. In this issue I don't see how it's particularly relevant. Our GIS person plugged the McFadden enrollment numbers into his database and found 206 city students and 195 outside the city. When you consider Murfreesboro residents only make up 40 percent of the population, then they are overrepresented, so this argument doesn't work.
Another miscommunication is that the committee who did this was comprised of McFadden parents. They were employees who just happened to be McFadden parents. Could we have done a better job with that committee, probably. But it wasn't unfairly loaded with McFadden parents.
The proposed grandfather clause is the middle school only. No proposal before the board that said the proposal would grandfather the kids through high school. Doesn't say that now. Never has. I will close with this comment: We've heard a lot of arguments, and 90 percent of them say we need to do what the fair thing is. The problem is all sides have a different idea of what fairness is. Screaming that is not much of an argument. I think most board members recognize there is some reasonable case to be made on both sides, and our job Thursday night will be to decide what is most fair. I understand it's a passionate issue. You're talking about your kids. We're all parents up here, we fully understand the passions involved. I think we need a little less passion and a little more rationality on this.
Full disclosure I am a McFadden parent, and I will not vote on Thursday, but I will not give up my right to say what I think.
GILL: There weren't any backroom politics. No deals were struck with anybody. I think the policy is fair, but if you are a parent at Discovery, you probably don't. It's a fair recommendation from my perspective, so I'm going to propose to the board to approve the policy as it was presented to the board.
BYRNES: Slightly edited. New version is on the Web site.
DORRIS JERNIGAN: This only applies to the kids in sixth, seventh and eight at McFadden, right?
GILL: No, every child at McFadden.
HODGE: Are we discriminating?
REED: The question has come up if you establish a grandfather clause is that discriminatory. You have to identify a class. Under this policy, there's no evidence of that in this case. Not race, gender or anything. This is just the board setting its own admissions policy in terms of this school. Under state law, local school boards are given broad policy to determine the admission criteria of the new magnet school. It's not like you are trying to do any profiling. No discrimination based upon this policy.
DORRIS JERNIGAN: I received an e-mail that talked about a contract. I'm not sure there was a contract. There's been discussion about there being a contract with McFadden parents about that school. A contract can be written, implied, or verbal, by someone who has the authority to make that agreement. In my seven years on the board we've never made such an agreement with a McFadden parent their child could go all the way through the eighth grade. We have moved kids from one school to another school, which we are going to do next fall, so I just have a problem thinking there's been a contract.
REED: There's been no contract. Zone lines can be changed at any time, admission standards can be changed at any time. That's all at the discretion of the board. There's been no written contact with parents of McFadden School and you can't guarantee zone lines with admission to certain schools.
GILL: We tested out, and we're here eight years or nice years, and we think it's a fair thing to do to move all the McFadden kids over to the new magnet school. I think we kind of addressed that. We wanted this magnet school to be a school that challenged kids. We want this to be recognized as a high achievement school.
BYRNES: I haven't heard anyone argue there's a legal contract, but there is a commitment. One of the reason government is not trusted is they keep going back on their commitment.
WISE: When Discovery School moved, didn't they move those kids from one school to the other? Isn't that the same issue? I'm not taking a stand one way or the other, I'm just making a statement on that issue.
DORRIS JERNIGAN: The word contract keeps coming up, and we don't have a contract. My daughter told me we were set on zone lines, and I told her don't count on it. The way things are in the community change is going to happen. Change is going to have to happen.
HODGE: I've struggled with this from the get-go. It's not moving from one school to the other. I know people think this is unfair. Time will tell when they get there. If they don't pass, they'll have to go someplace else. In my opinion sixth, seventh and eighth grade ought to be able to go, but K-5, I don't know.
BLAIR: It came down to two questions for me: Do we move sixth, seventh and eighth, just move them over. and the other question was do we work out a compromise that students who come into this highly academic program be challenged and have a chance to be successful. I think we have a responsibility to these McFadden students and parents. I think your staff put together as fair a compromise as you could, and I'm going to support it.
DONALD JERNIGAN: When did we set upon the sixth through 12?
GILL: It's been a year and half that we've been trying to have this magnet school concept approved. It was about 18 months ago that we settled in on a grade structure.
DONALD JERNIGAN: That's a date that students at that particular time are there. But after that, people knew what was going on. The sibling rule, you say we dropped that, or it changed. Would you please explain that change to me, Mr. Gill?
GILL: As it is, kids who are in K-8 right now would be grandfathered into the school. We recommended we drop that altogether. Total drop.
DONALD JERNIGAN: I have two grandchildren at McFadden. One is an eighth grader this year and one a first grader. I thought about this a lot from that standpoint. From first grade to the sixth grade there might be some changes there. Grandfathering him in? I don't know. Giving him an opportunity, yes. Grandfathering? I'm not so sure.
I would hate to see a child who's been in McFadden all these years, K-8 situation, if they are a rising sixth grader, and then to say or seventh grade, look, you can't go to the new school, because of whatever, you're down the list. Your scores are good, but you're down the list, in a middle school somewhere else in the county. I think we can be prudent with that child, but the kids who are in K-5 or K-6 schools in the county or in the city, they know they are going to change, they've known that all the time. I think we have to, in my mind, we have to protect these kids that fall in that category.
There will be a lot of interest in this school. But just because there's a lot of interest doesn't mean a lot commitment. But when it comes to those who express interest and those who are committed. That number will dwindle.
GILL: When we started a discussion of a magnet school, we wanted a school with an accelerated curriculum. There are people in McFadden and Discovery School who scored in the 50th or 60th percentile. We talking about a significant disparity in how they are scoring. We're not going to win this in whatever direction we go. If kids have to go to Rockvale, or whatever, these are great schools, and it's not like they're going to be left out of a good education. I think we start discriminating when we say you don't have to meet the minimum standards to get in.
DONALD JERNIGAN: The seventh grade is going to be the one who loses out here. If you don't give them some flexibility, you are sending them out and you are automatically categorizing them. They didn't make it. The only reason they didn't go is they didn't make it. You are throwing the red flag up on them. For that middle school group, it's a difficult time, and we're saying you've got a seventh grader, and going to be an eighth grader next year, to say she had to go to Christiana Middle School, she went to McFadden all those years but couldn't make the grade for Central, I just have a hard time with that.
Byrnes: Gosh, you say going to McFadden all these years, then have to go to a different school in eighth and then a differnet one in 9th, walking a fine line here. There are those at McFadden who aregue that any sort of qualification is inappropriate because it's not required now. We really need to think about that.
Blair: I'm sympathetic and I've struggled with it and I continue to support the director's recommendation because I want to make certain the kids are equipped and ready for that sort of challenge. That challenge is coming. The academic curriculum.
Wise: If you do this all the wya down to K you are going to be dealing with this for a long time. For the 6, 7 and 8, I can understan d, but if you do it all the way down to K, it's going to keep coming back "we did it for this one, we did it for this one." I'm leary of that.
DONALD JERNIGAN: That's why I started it out about the date.
BYRNE: We need to look back before Thursday to see when that was set.
DORRIS JERNIGAN: I sat down this morning, and made some notes, and these are my thoughts. We need to get it right. It will change even in the second year. This is a one step, two step, three step process. These kids will come from the city, the county, private schools and maybe even home schools. And where will home schools come up with these grades that we are dictating to be these requirements. Transfers? How can you have a transfer? There are county children who are going to schools outside this county who may decide to transfer back when this school goes into effect. I don't want to rule out kids from Eagleville, Smyrna or LaVergne. I am worried we are underestimating people. If I see it as a battle between McFadden and Discovery, I'm not going to get in that mess. I want as many to step forward and make application to attend the Magnet School. I have a concern about the sixth grade student in the Murfreesboro School System. If they wait to apply to come to the Magnet School in seventh grade, are they at risk? Yes, we'll have 2<|fim_middle|> never follow through.
BYRNE: None of this is final until we vote it that way Thursday night.
Posted by Steven Chappell at 7:07 PM
Labels: CAMS, Discovery School, f, McFadden, Rutherford County School Board
The only way to make this fair is to have 6th grade, 7th grade and 8th grade test. Once you have tested in the 6th grade you don't have to test anymore you can continue at the middle school, but the only fair way to do this is to have all students tested. No grandfathering into the program. We want this to be an academically elite school and the only way to do this is to have everyone test. The way it stands now someone at McFadden can have a lower score and get into the middle school verses a student at another school with a higher test score and grade average.
roop January 7, 2010 at 7:51 AM
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My response to the Rutherford County School Board
Machiavelli, meet the Rutherford County School Boa... | 5 more in the seventh grade than in the sixth grade, but I have a concern for the child who will be a sixth grader next year. They are already having a number of sixth graders coming out of the City schools to go into the County system. They are losing money. Dollars the state provides that goes to the county system. I understand dollars drive our concern.
Do we only accept just the top scorers? We have a baseline here, but does that limit diversity? Free and reduced lunch students. Are we going to say because you don't meet the top scores, you don't come to this school? We need diversity in this program. I don't want to limit it only to the top, top scores.
I think we delay the vote to survey all the schools, city and county, to determine the interest. we can't assure the sixth grader out of the city system there will be magnet seat when they reach the seventh grade.
Finally, sports, we have in place a program in the county, if your school does not offer this sports program you can do sports at another school. Can magnet school kids go to their zoned school and participate in sports?
GILL: We will offer all sports but wresting and football. But we've got those bases covered.
DONALD JERNIGAN: We've talked about a lot of things, but until we take a vote and a commitment, that's what it is, talk.
DORRIS JERNIGAN: It's easy to express an interest, it's more difficult to make a commitment. I think if you take a survey, you throw out a third of them, because they will | 342 |
info:fedora/grinnell:phpp-community (x)
info:fedora/grinnell:postcards (x)
info:fedora/grinnell:soviet-graphic-art (x)
German (x)
Education (x)
1127 Park Street
<|fim_middle|>5) + -
Grinnell College Buildings (3) + -
Kleinschmidt Architectural History (2) + -
Grinnell Historical Museum (7) + -
Early College History (5) + -
Poweshiek History Preservation Project, Grinnell Historical Museum (5) + -
Davis Projects for Peace (2) + - | Photograph of the frame building at 1127 Park Street. It was originally constructed in 1888. Owned by H. G. Little followed by Mrs. E. D. Rand. Originally had verandas on the south, north, and east. Served at various times as a hospital, a college club, and a college administration building.
The house at 1303 Park Street was built by and for David R. Warburton, owner of the Warburton, Richardson, and Phelps lumberyard, about 1900. The Grinnell Herald of Jan 1, 1901, cited it as the "handsomest house built this past season...and one of the prettiest Grinnell affords and...certainly a model of attractive interior"
Administration Bldg., Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa -- 9
Postcard view of the administration building (Chicago Hall) at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. Postcard published by E.C. Kropp Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Drake Community Library (Grinnell, Iowa) Archives. Miscellaneous photographs. Collection #17-3, Grinnell College.
Alumni Hall Entrance, Grinnell, Iowa C-374
Postcard view of an entrance to Alumni Recitation Hall on the Grinnell College campus in Grinnell, Iowa. Postcard was published by L.L. Cook Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Drake Community Library (Grinnell, Iowa) Archives. Miscellaneous photographs. Collection #17-3, Grinnell College.
Alumni Hall, Grinnell College, 751
Postcard view of Grinnell College's Alumni Recitation Hall (ARH) on the southeast corner of Park Street and 8th Avenue in Grinnell, Iowa. Drake Community Library (Grinnell, Iowa) Archives. McNally photographs. Collection #1, Series #1-1.
Alumni Recitation Hall, Grinnell, Iowa
Postcard view of Alumni Recitation Hall (ARH) on the Grinnell College campus in Grinnell, Iowa. The view is of the east side of the building looking from the south. Postcard published by E.C. Kropp Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Drake Community Library (Grinnell, Iowa) Archives. Miscellaneous photographs. Collection #17-3, Grinnell College.
Another View of Grinnell Junior High School
View of the south face of the Grinnell Junior High School building looking over the Veterans Memorial Building. Originally built to serve as the community high school, the building later became the junior high school and in 1980 was converted into the Grinnell Community Center. Drake Community Library (Grinnell, Iowa) Archives. Miscellaneous photographs. Collection 20, Grinnell Schools.
Blair Hall, Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa
Color postcard view of Blair Hall on the Grinnell College campus in Grinnell, Iowa. Goodnow Hall is visible in the background to the left. Drake Community Library (Grinnell, Iowa) Archives. McNally photographs. Collection #1, Series #1-1.
Blair Hall, Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa -- 15
Postcard view of Blair Hall on the Grinnell College campus in Grinnell, Iowa. Postcard published by E.C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Drake Community Library (Grinnell, Iowa) Archives. Miscellaneous photographs. Collection #17-3, Grinnell College.
Burling Library
View of the south balcony of Burling Library on the Grinnell College campus in Grinnell, Iowa. Burling was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and was built in 1959. Drake Community Library (Grinnell, Iowa) Archives. Miscellaneous photographs. Collection #17-3, Grinnell College.
Imagine Grinnell (Grinnell, Iowa) (Supporting host) (4) + -
C.U. Williams Photoette (author) (3) + -
Ge, Lily '17 (editor) (2) + -
Simmer, Lian '18 (editor) (2) + -
Anderson, Lois (author) (1) + -
Battista, Emiliano, 1973- (interviewer) (1) + -
Battista, Emiliano, 1973- (transcriber) (1) + -
Bauman, Don (author) (1) + -
Bauman, Matilda (author) (1) + -
Rural schools -- Iowa (24) + -
Image (43) + -
sound recording-nonmusical (6) + -
Presentation (1) + -
Nineteen twenties (6) + -
Sheridan (Poweshiek County, Iowa : Township) (5) + -
Chester (Poweshiek County, Iowa : Township) (4) + -
Grant (Poweshiek County, Iowa : Township) (4) + -
Twentieth century (4) + -
Republic, 1912-1949 (3) + -
Rock Creek (Iowa : Township) (3) + -
PHPP Oral Histories (6) + -
Grinnell In China ( | 1,128 |
Queen Elizabeth Passes Down New Royal Patronage to Duchess Kate Right Before the Holidays
Dec 4, 2019 <|fim_middle|> all do together! | 9:49 am·
By Joyann Jeffrey
Just when we thought Duchess Kate couldn't possibly do any more good in the world, we were wrong! On Wednesday, December 4, Queen Elizabeth passed down her royal duty as the patron of Family Action to the Duchess of Cambridge. Kate's new role requires her to look after the London-based charity, which focuses on helping families in need.
Duchess Kate and Prince William Are the Proud Parents of 3 Kids! Meet Them
The queen previously received the patronage from Queen Mary in 1953 and now it's Kate's job to make sure everything runs smoothly. She immediately jumped into her new role when she visited Peterley Manor Farm in Buckinghamshire, England. There, she met with some of the local kids and families who support Family Action.
For the outing, Kate wore a red puffy coat, skinny blue jeans, and a green sweater she paired with matching socks and brown hiking boots. Needless to say, Kate looked like she was ready to meet the organizations supporters and do Christmas-themed activities with them thanks to all those festive colors.
As for her holiday plans, she plans on dividing her time evenly at Queen Elizabeth's Sandringham estate with her family and then with her parents — dad Michael and mom Carole Middleton — at their home.
See Photos of Queen Elizabeth Doing Totally Normal Things
"The family is spending time with Michael and Carole over the holidays. William's incredibly close to Kate's parents, especially her dad, and is looking forward to catching up with him over a beer," an insider recently shared to Closer Weekly. "But Christmas Day will be spent at Sandringham with [Queen Elizabeth]."
Kate even plans on making something special for her loved ones. "Even though the royal chefs cook for the family, Kate always brings something homemade to show her appreciation," the source added. "This year she's talking about whipping up a chocolate Yule log — she's letting the kids help make it too."
While Prince Louis is still to young to assist his mom, Princess Charlotte and Prince George already love helping Kate out in the kitchen, so it will be a great activity for them to | 442 |
The Structure of the Sun: The Convection Zone and the Photosphere.
By Peter Foukal
Nearer the Sun's visible surface, as the weight of overlying gas diminishes, the gas pressure and thus the density and temperature required to support this layer in hydrostatic equilibrium decrease rapidly. At a distance of about two-thirds the solar radius from the center, where the temperature has dropped to about 1 million K, the hydrogen and helium are no longer completely ionized. The neutral atoms absorb radiation moving outward from the central nuclear burning regions. In this region the heating and consequent expansion of parcels of the fluid cause them to rise because of their lower densities and transport their heat upward. The net upward flux of heat carried by the resulting pattern of up- and down-flowing convection is the dominant mode of energy transport in the outer third of the Sun. Convection continues to be efficient in transporting heat until layers are reached where the density is so low that radiation from the hot up-flowing gas can escape directly into space. This layer is the visible surface of the Sun, known as the photosphere.
Direct evidence for the size scales, velocities,<|fim_middle|> of the solar light shows a bright background continuum traversed by many dark absorption lines. The continuum radiation that is visible to the eye, roughly between 4000 A and 7000 A, is emitted when electrons released from the relatively easily ionized heavy elements are captured by neutral hydrogen atoms. The dark Fraunhofer lines, such as the H and K lines of ionized calcium, are formed when light of certain discrete wavelengths is preferentially scattered by the particular species of neutral atoms or ions that are abundant at the density and temperature of the photosphere. The light emerging through the photosphere at these wavelengths is changed in frequency by multiple scattering of the photons from atoms and rapidly moving electrons, and is emitted instead in the continuum. | and shapes of solar convective scales can be deduced from observations of convectionlike cellular motions at the photosphere. Small-scale cells called granules are about 1,000 km (620 mi) in diameter and are formed by hot up-flowing gases, surrounded by cooler down-flowing gases, moving about 1 km/sec (2,200 mph). Supergranules form a larger set of polygonal cells, of diameter roughly 30,000 km (18,600 mi), detected by their horizontal velocities of about 0.5 km/sec (1,100 mph).
In addition to transporting heat, convective motions of the Sun's gases are also thought to have important consequences for solar rotation, solar magnetism, and for the structure of the Sun's outer layers above the photosphere. Convection may help to explain the observation that the gases of the solar photosphere do not rotate rigidly - the angular rate at the equator is some 50% higher than the rate at latitudes of ± 75 degrees. Although a satisfactory theory of this basic solar property does not yet exist, models of the fluid mechanics of rotating, convecting shells indicate that such velocity differences might result from the forces exerted upon rising and falling convecting gases as the Sun rotates about its axis at the observed sidereal rate of about 25 days at the solar equator. The angular rotation rate also appears to increase inward, at least immediately below the photosphere, at a rate of 5% in the first 15,000 km (9,300 mi).
The Sun's magnetic field, observed at the photosphere, does not have the basic north-south dipole symmetry observed in the terrestrial magnetic field at the Earth's surface. The solar field lines seem to be wound around the Sun's rotation axis and roughly follow lines of constant latitude, rather than longitude. This property is inferred from the observed alternation of magnetic polarity in bipolar sunspot groups. The magnetic dipole axes of such groups tend to be oriented east-west, and within a given hemisphere (above or below the solar equator) the western half of all dipoles is generally of the same magnetic polarity. The polarity of dipoles in the northern and southern hemispheres is opposite. This law of alternation of polarities is called the Hale-Nicholson law.
The plasma of the solar convection zone is about as good a conductor as copper wire under room-temperature conditions. When a large volume of this material moves through a magnetic field, as in solar convection, it induces a large electric current that deforms the original field so as to displace it along with the motion. The mutual influence of magnetic fields and moving plasmas is known as magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). MHD studies show that the Sun's differential rotation will tend to stretch and pull out magnetic-field lines into the observed toroidal geometry.
Near the photosphere the known temperature, the mean molecular weight, and the acceleration of solar gravity indicate that the density decreases hydrostatically at the rapid rate of a factor of ten roughly every 1,000 km (620 mi) radially outward. This rapid decrease explains the sharp edge or limb of the Sun, even when seen with telescopes, because the shell in which the gas passes from being opaque to transparent is less than 1,000 km (620 mi) thick and subtends less than 1 arc second as viewed from the Earth. When looking at the center of the Sun's disk, it is possible to see deeper into the absorbing solar atmosphere than when looking toward the limb, where the line of sight is more nearly tangent to the photosphere. Because the temperature increases inward below the photosphere, the line of sight toward the center of the disk sees hotter, and thus brighter, layers. This phenomenon explains the prominent limb darkening seen in pictures of the photosphere.
A spectrogram | 824 |
It's a new year and you may be thinking of doing those things you never had time for<|fim_middle|> of finding the right adult drum lessons, is that of being consistent in the classes. It is important to set aside time in your schedule to make it to every class you have.
When you start cancelling classes then you get out of the routine, and you stop practicing. Eventually you stop taking those drummer classes you were so interested in.
Try to avoid the challenges in learning to play the drums by choosing the appropriate drum set, choosing the right teacher, and being constant in taking those classes and in practicing. This will allow you to quickly become an excellent drummer. | or never got a chance to do. One of those activities on that list may be learning to play the drums. Although picking up a musical instrument and learning to play it as an adult can be rewarding, it also implies certain challenges.
Not that you should allow you to let these challenges deter you but you do need to be aware of them so you know how to deal with them.
Your first challenge when learning to play the drums as an adult will be in finding the instrument. You have to really be honest with yourself here. Ask yourself the following questions before you go to the music store and buy the most expensive set of drums.
·Do I really know that I will enjoy this that much?
·Do I know that I will stick to the drum classes?
·How much can I afford on a set of drums?
These are questions you need to answer for yourself, and buying the best set of drums may not be your best solution. You may just want to start with a beginner set of drums and work your way up to better instruments as your classes progress.
Your next challenge will be in finding the right type of adult drum classes. Will you be taking a traditional "in person" class or an Online class. Both are great options and the choice you make really depends on your personal life, and your schedule. An "in person" class will allow you to meet other drummers, and people that are interested in learning music. This will get you out of your normal routine but an online class can also be helpful.
In an adult drum lesson, you sit right up close to the teacher and can ask any question you want. You can either decide to take group or individual classes, and the price will vary according to the type of class you take.
Just be sure you get a good drummer teacher. You can do this by asking pertinent questions before enrolling in the class. For instance, you should ask about the experience the teacher has, how long he has been teaching, and what teaching method he uses.
You should also know that a great teacher is not necessarily a great player, and vice versa, a great player does not necessarily make a great teacher.
One of the biggest challenges that adult learners have, after that | 448 |
American General Killed in Afghanistan Insider Attack
By Claudette Roulo<|fim_middle|>. We need to let it proceed before speculating about any specific circumstances." |
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2014 - An American general was killed today in Kabul, Afghanistan, when an individual believed to be a member of the Afghan security forces fired into a group of coalition troops, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters.
The coalition troops were on a routine site visit to the Marshal Fahim National Defense University, the Afghan army's commissioned and noncommissioned officer academy, Kirby said during a news briefing today.
"There are a number of casualties as a result of the shooting, perhaps up to 15, to include some Americans," he said. "Many were seriously wounded. Others received only minor injuries. The assailant was killed."
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel extends his heartfelt condolences to the family of the fallen general on behalf of the men and women of the department, Kirby said.
The family notification process is not yet complete, the admiral said, and no further information will be released until that process finishes.
"I'm sure you can understand that we want to respect the notification process and the family's privacy at this time," he said.
Hagel received an update on the incident this morning from Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the International Security Assistance Force commander, Kirby said.
"And he pledged to General Dunford whatever support he and this department could provide with respect to the investigation," he added.
"The incident will be jointly investigated by Afghan and ISAF authorities," Kirby said. "That investigation is just now getting underway | 314 |
Have you made Camarones En Escabeche?
1. Saute the shrimp, a few at a time, in a little of the olive oil until lightly brown, adding more oil as needed.
2. Place in a covered dish or jar. In a saucepan, combine the remaining oil with the bay leaf, cumin, nutmeg, garlic, paprika, vinegar, onions, chiles, salt, and pepper to taste.
3<|fim_middle|>ulfites, Garlic, Shrimp, Hot Pepper, Vinegar, Onion, Olive Oil allergies. | . Bring to a boil slowly and simmer until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Pour the vinegar mixture over the shrimp. Chill overnight.
5. Serve on Romaine leaves, garnished with radishes and green olives.
This recipe is high in Vitamin A with 109% of your daily recommended intake per serving. This recipe is high in Vitamin C with 40% of your daily recommended intake per serving. This recipe is a good source of Vitamin E with 15% of your daily recommended intake per serving.
This recipe contains potential food allergens and will effect people with Lemon, Shellfish, S | 132 |
Recruiting Training
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At Delta Hire, we believe that building strong, lasting relationships with our clients and candidates is the key to success. Our team is comprised of experienced recruiters who have a deep understanding of the industries they serve, and are constantly seeking out top talent to match with the unique needs of our clients. We are dedicated to creating real change for both companies and candidates, and strive to find the perfect fit for all parties involved. With a focus on building relationships based on trust and mutual understanding, we are committed to helping our clients and candidates achieve their goals and succeed in their respective industries.
Noelle Federico
A lifelong learner, Noelle has dedicated the majority of her professional life to becoming a leader, a professional coach, and a seasoned results strategist. A published author and Professional Certified Coach, Noelle is the CEO of Delta Hire LLC. She is a certified Practitioner in Wiley Everything DiSC and The 5 Behaviors, a member of The John Maxwell Team and Dare to Lead trained. She is also the founder of A Generous Heart, a non-profit organization that supports youth literacy programs in local communities. Additionally, she is a member of the FORBES HR Council.
She has more than three decades of executive experience across a variety of industries including corporate finance, operations, and communications. She hosts a weekly social media live stream, The Coffee Chat Show on Saturday mornings and is the creator of The Working Warrior Mom brand which has a collective reach of over 2.2 million people per month. Outside of work, Noelle can be found spending time drinking coffee and reading.
Josh Kerner
A people person through and through, Josh has always found the recruiting industry to be a natural fit for his personality. When the pandemic hit in 2020 and turned corporate culture on its head, Josh was already searching for the next big step in his career. Enter, Delta Hire: a newly emerging boutique recruiting firm looking for an experienced staffing professional to lead the charge. Josh made the leap and joined Delta Hire as President, ushering the company into a period of fast-paced growth and expansion. A devoted husband and father of three, Josh spends his free time with his family or making music with his friends as a self-proclaimed jam band enthusiast.
Matthew Orfely
A seasoned sales professional, Matt spent the majority of his career working in sales before a former boss casually mentioned that he would have a knack for recruiting. That's all it took for Matt to consider a career change and turn his attention to work in a new industry. Matt quickly found his stride as a recruiter and began to learn the market, master the ins and outs of the business, and find fulfilling career opportunities for the candidates he was working with. In 2020, Matt found Delta Hire and joined the team as Director of External Recruiting. When he's not placing qualified candidates in his work at Delta Hire, Matt is soaking up time with his family and immersing himself in any and all things sports.
Steven Waudby
A former professional basketball player and a lifelong networker, Steven found fast success in the staffing industry after transitioning from the world of professional sports. In 2021, Steven joined the Delta Hire team as a Senior Recruiter, attracting top-performing candidates with his consultative approach and unwavering commitment to results. In his role, Steven also serves as a mentor and leader to the others on his team and dedicates a great deal of his time to training new employees. Outside of his work at Delta Hire, Steven can be found biking around his home state of Michigan, hiking, and spending as much time as possible with his family and his four-legged companion, Teddy.
Karen Siegel
A former New Yorker, Karen cut her teeth working in the fast-paced world of PR and Marketing. A fast learner who quickly thrived, Karen spent time working at some of the top agencies in the city representing brands including The Ritz-Carlton and Estée Lauder, along with various other luxury lifestyle brands. In 2020, Karen turned her attention to HR and Recruiting, spending two navigating the ever-changing landscape of COVID corporate culture. Now, Karen joins the fast-growing team at Delta Hire as the newest member of the company's Business Development department. As a new resident of Florida, Karen spends her spare time at the beach with her beagle puppy named Bagel or mentoring young women who are newly entering the corporate world.
Bryant Miller
Executive Recruiter
The staffing industry wasn't initially on Bryant's radar and he spent nearly 10 years working in front office operations for a local law office in South Carolina. After realizing that he had climbed the corporate ladder as high as he could go with his company, Bryant decided to set his sights on a career path with more upward mobility. Recruiting caught his eye and Bryant quickly accepted a job with Delta Hire. With his people-first approach and self-starter attitude, Bryant has found rapid success in his role while building long-term relationships with clients and candidates alike. When he's not screening candidates for Delta Hire, Bryant is soaking up as much time as possible with his son.
Javier Pena
Senior Legal Recruiter
Starting his career as a professional dancer, Javi was forced to change directions after an injury abruptly called him into retirement. Holding a BA in business and a JM degree in law, both of which he earned while working as a dancer, he turned his attention to law school. However, Javi's plans were sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic which ultimately put his law school dreams on hold. Not looking to wait any longer to start building a career for himself, Javi accepted a job with a staffing and consulting solutions firm. He worked there for a year as a recruiter before joining Delta Hire in May 2022.
Alistair Gollner
After years working in the corporate world at Randstad, Alistair still wasn't sold on the lifestyle. Looking into alternate career paths, he set his sights on the hospitality industry with plans to enter hotel management. However, after much contemplation, Alistair realized that recruiting was more in line with his skillset and would provide more support for his lifestyle and, in 2020, Alistair joined the team at Delta Hire as an Executive Recruiter. His decision proved to be a fruitful one as the COVID-19 pandemi took a huge toll on the<|fim_middle|> will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
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Terms of Use / Privacy Policy / Site Map | hospitality industry worldwide while the demand for thid-party staffers hit an all-time high. When he's not interviewing candidates or placing top-quality talent, Alistair can be found at the gym or pursuing his new favorite hobby: thrifting, in his home city of New Orleans.
Steve Lentini
A serial entrepreneur, Steve has dipped his toe in just about every industry imaginable. A published author, movie producer, business owner, and more, Steve was carving out a lucrative career for himself before a near-death experience in 2002 caused him to completely re-evaluate his life. After spending 100 days in the hospital, Steve vowed to slow down, bask in the moment, and revel in the joys of his life. Steve dedicated himself to professional development and leadership training and founded his own company which specializes in sales and customer service training. Now, at Delta Hire, Steve will be working with the fast-growing recruiting team on leadership development and sales training.
Erin Lockwood
A constant student, Erin has dedicated her career to learning about people in all forms. After earning her undergraduate degree in Family Studies and a Master's Degree in Organizational Leadership, Erin went on to work as an academic advisor at Southern New Hampshire University for seven years before teaching an introductory course for upcoming freshmen. Now, as head of the Training Division at Delta Hire, Erin is creating a detailed course for the Delta Hire team, focusing heavily on building customer service skills while also providing professional development sessions and group coaching. When she's not teaching, coaching, or counseling, Erin is recharging by being outside, doing yoga, or spending time with close family and friends.
Michael Tzavlas
A former college athlete and coach, Michael dedicated the first portion of his life to soccer. In 2020, Michael decided that it was time to build a career for himself outside of soccer and joined a program to teach English in China. Unfortunately, Michael's plans coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and his trip was canceled. From there, Michael was looking for opportunities to move away from North Carolina and to New York City and he accepted a position with a contingency-based firm in the city. After a few months, Michael made the jump to the recruiting industry, working for a technology-focused consulting company before joining Delta Hire as a recruiter in September 2022. When he's not placing candidates, Michael can be found riding his bike around Central Park or watching soccer with his friends.
Esther Moreinis
Working the past few years as an Internal Recruiter for one of the top healthcare brokerages in South Florida, and previously in the advertising industry as a sales and marketing specialist; Esther wanted a company she could grow with and continue to sharpen her skillset. By joining Delta Hire, Esther has the opportunity to utilize her impactful people skills and can-do attitude to develop long-term relationships with candidates and clients. In her free time, Esther cheers on her alma mater Florida State University and spends time in Fort Lauderdale with her french bulldog.
Carly Goldman
Originally from Long Island, NY, Carly moved to Florida a few years ago to pursue a Bachelor's of Criminal Justice from Florida Atlantic University. She finds value in seeking the perfect candidate for the perfect opportunity and fulfilling challenging roles. In Carly's free time, she likes to volunteer with nonprofit organizations that help the community with hurricane disaster relief. She loves to travel and learn about new cultures.
We're proud of our team at Delta Hire and the dedication they have in helping our clients and candidates find the perfect fit. We believe in creating real change in the industries we serve and strive to be professional networkers and relationship builders. If you have any questions or would like to speak with one of our recruiters, please reach out to us at info@deltahire.com. Thank you for taking the time to get to know us!
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Delta Hire is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer that provides equal consideration to all qualified applicants, regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, genetic information, registered domestic partner status, marital status, status as a crime victim, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Delta Hire also considers qualified applicants with criminal histories in accordance with applicable laws. The company is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you need special assistance or an accommodation while seeking employment, please email support@deltahire.com and your request | 986 |
Home/Internet/Team develops a fairer ranking system that diversifies search results
Team develops a fairer ranking system that diversifies search results
You Are Watching : Team develops a fairer ranking system that diversifies search results At Zliu.info
You are interested in Team develops<|fim_middle|> square with the social media platform's reality
"We redefined fairness in ranking completely," Saito said. "It can be applied to any type of two-sided ranking system."
If employed on YouTube, for example, the recommender system would present a more varied stream of videos, potentially distributing earnings more evenly to content creators. "We want to satisfy the users of the platform, of course, but we should also be fair to the video creators, to sustain their long-term diversity," Saito said.
In online hiring platforms, the fairer system would diversify the search results, instead of showing the same top candidates to all employers.
Additionally, the researchers point out that this type of recommender system could also help viewers discover new movies to watch online, enable scientists to find relevant presentations at conferences and provide a more balanced selection of news stories to consumers.
Conclusion: So above is the Team develops a fairer ranking system that diversifies search results article. Hopefully with this article you can help you in life, always follow and read our good articles on the website: Zliu.info
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A system for stable simultaneous communication among thousands of IoT devices | a fairer ranking system that diversifies search results right? So let's go together Zliu.info look forward to seeing this article right here!
Cornell researchers have developed a fairer system for search recommendations—from hotels to jobs to videos—so a few top hits don't get all the exposure.
The new ranking system still provides relevant options, but divides user attention more equitably across search results. It can be applied to online markets such as travel sites, hiring platforms and news aggregators.
Yuta Saito, a doctoral student in the field of computer science and Thorsten Joachims, professor of computer science and information science in the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, described their new system in "Fair Ranking as Fair Division: Impact-Based Individual Fairness in Ranking," published in the Proceedings of the 28th ACM SIGKDD Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining.
"In recommender systems and search engines, whoever gets ranked high draws a lot of benefit from that," Joachims said. "The user's attention is a limited resource and we need to distribute it fairly among the items."
Conventional recommender systems attempt to rank items purely according to what users want to see, but many items receive unfairly low spots in the order. Items with similar merit can end up far apart in the rankings, and for some items, the odds of being discovered on a platform are worse than random chance.
To correct this issue, Saito developed an improved ranking system based on ideas borrowed from economics. He applied principles of "fair division"—how to allocate a limited resource, such as food, fairly among members of a group.
Saito and Joachims demonstrated the feasibility of the ranking system using synthetic and real-world data. They found it offers viable search results for the user, while fulfilling three fair division criteria: Every item's benefit from being ranked on the platform is better than being discovered at random; no item's impact, such as revenue, can easily be improved; and no item would gain an advantage by switching how it is ranked compared to other items in a series of searches.
See also Elon Musk's comments about Twitter don't | 442 |
Looks<|fim_middle|> Matthew's frequent co-star, Kate Hudson. The two stopped by two days after Levi's arrival with a gift — somewhat — in hand. The seven-time Tour de France winner offered to teach Levi how to ride a bike, the source adds.
But first things first, Levi will settle down with his parents at home. | like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
With a buff surfing aficionado for a dad and a Brazilian model as a mom, Levi Alves McConaughey was bound to get his parents Matthew McConaughey's and Camila Alves' good genes, and that in fact he did.
"Levi looks just like Matthew," a friend of the couple tells OK!, adding that the tyke, born July 7 as OK! exclusively reported, has his dad's curls and his mom's dark hair.
Another thing Levi got from his parents? Their famous friends! Among the first people to visit little Levi were Matthew's close buddies, fellow Austinite Lance Armstrong and his gal pal and | 143 |
ECMS Academic Team Wins Region 5 Governor's Cup Championship
Wildcats Are Back-To-Back Regional Champs
ECMS claimed the Region 5 Governer's Cup competition championship Feb. 3, 2018.
Edmonson Voice Staff Report: photos courtesy of Robin Grey:
Members of the Edmonson County Middle School competed in the Region 5 Governor's Cup competition, which was held at South Warren High School earlier today.
"The ECMS Team performed at a tremendously high level in all areas, earning them the overall<|fim_middle|> Place Language Arts Testing (Brody Johnson)
2nd Place Language Arts Testing (Meredith Hennion)
1st Place Social Studies (Jonas Miller)
1st Place Art and Humanities (Brody Johnson)
3rd Place Arts and Humanities (Jonas Miller)
"Congratulations to coaches Mr. Greg Grey, Mrs. Robin Grey, Mr. Nick Skaggs, Mr. Alan Florence, and the ECMS Academic Team members on this wonderful accomplishment," Prunty said.
Coach Grey said he was looking forward to what he believes will be a solid performance in the state competition.
"Our overall quick recall record of 63-3, our back-to-back future problem solving victories, and the strengths of our state test takers should lead us to great success at the Governor's Cup State Finals in Louisville in March," he added.
Hoppy Decker link
Congratulations ,job well done.Great kids and coaches | Region 5 championship," said middle school Principal Brandon Prunty.
The win makes the second year in a row that Edmonson County has won the trophy. Coach Greg Grey talked about the performance from the team.
"Our academic team turned in an outstanding overall performance in one of the most competitive Governor's Cup regions in the state," he said. "Our team excelled in future problem solving, quick recall, and written assessment. ECMS continued its superior tournament play by placing first overall for the fifth time this season."
L-R: Coach Robin Grey, Jonas Miller, Coach Greg Grey, Brody Johnson, Meredith Hennion, Coach Nick Skaggs. These students won first and second place individual honors.
As a result, the team with be competing in the state Governor's Cup competition next month. Highlights from today include:
1st Place Overall
1st Place Quick Recall (Defeated Glasgow MS, South Warren MS, and Bowling Green Junior High)
1st Place Future Problem Solving
1st | 204 |
This beautiful and unique Celtic spiral necklace will be hand-carved for you, or a loved one, in my studio on the West of Ireland.
Enc<|fim_middle|> groove, this intricate Celtic spiral necklace features an piece of rosewood (palissandre), recycled from musical instruments constructed by a local luthier. As a musician myself, I take enormous satisfaction in creating a piece of jewellery whose inherent wood has previously featured in a beautiful hand-made guitar. Also, part of rosewood's attractiveness is its durability and ability to stand the test of time and of course the beauty of its grain and color.
The oldest symbol in Celtic culture, the spiral was also used to represent the sun and is, to this day a symbol honoring our connection with Nature.
This unique Celtic spiral necklace is the perfect gift for anyone with Irish heritage or for someone who resonates with the Celtic myths and traditions of the natural world. | ircled with a sterling silver ring into a side | 10 |
Black Entrepreneur Receives $1 Million Investment From Jay-Z's Venture Capital Fund
Partake Foods is dedicated to creating health-conscious food options.
NewsOne Staff
Source: Matt Dutile / Getty
Hip hop mogul Jay-Z doesn't only preach about the importance of entrepreneurship and ownership in the Black community; it's something that he<|fim_middle|> The leadership team at MVP is excited to invest in Partake Foods. "Partake has the ingredients to build a mass market brand: compelling values, a great tasting product, and a tenacious and experienced operator," said MVP co-founder Larry Marcus.
News about Jay-Z's investment comes shortly after it was announced that he was named hip hop's first billionaire by Forbes.
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Black Entrepreneur Receives $1 Million Investment From Jay-Z's Venture Capital Fund was originally published on newsone.com
cookies , Jay-Z , vegan | practices. The Brooklyn-bred rapper is investing in the futures of African American entrepreneurs. According to Black Enterprise, he recently invested $1 million in a Black-owned vegan cookie company.
The brand—dubbed Partake Foods—was created by Denise Woodard. She founded the company after she struggled to find healthy snacks for her daughter who had several food allergies. Woodard realized that there was a larger need for more health-conscious food options and decided to move forward with launching her business. She funded her company through a Kickstarter campaign and as it grew, she left her corporate job at Coca-Cola to put all of her time into Partake Foods. Woodard started out selling cookies from her car and later received investments from venture capital firms that included Arlan Hamilton's Backstage Capital, The Factory, SoFi Venture, and Chuck Muth who is on the leadership team at Beyond Meat; a company that provides plant-based food options.
Text "ERICA" to 52140 to join the Get Up! Mornings w/ Erica Campbell mobile club for exclusive news. (Terms and conditions).
Jay-Z's investment was made through his venture capital firm Marcy Venture Capital Partners. "We are so excited to collaborate with the MVP and Factory teams, as they both bring a wealth of knowledge in brand building and scaling consumer companies," Woodard said in a statement. Her products can be found in over 300 stores including Wegmans and Whole Foods. | 296 |
Dawn Spacecraft Slightly Damaged
By Keith Cowing on June 13, 2007 9:00 PM.
Editor's Update: According to NASA Associate Administrator for Space Science Alan Stern, when contacted for comment: "DAWN was slightly damaged Monday by<|fim_middle|>This page contains a single entry by Keith Cowing published on June 13, 2007 9:00 PM.
Astrium's Space Tourism Spacecraft was the previous entry in this blog.
ISS Computer Problems Persist is the next entry in this blog. | a tech's tool. The damage was to the back side of a solar array. It affects a tiny area and looks like it can be repaired without delaying the 7 July LRD. This is an exciting NASA science mission that promises to unlock new details about the origin of the asteroid belt and dwarf planets. We are pressing forward to launch, ever vigilant as we go forward."
Dawn Media Opportunity Rescheduled to June 20
"The media opportunity for Dawn scheduled for Thursday, June 14, at Astrotech in Titusville has been rescheduled to Wednesday, June 20, to allow spacecraft spin test activities to be completed. Media access to Astrotech on Wednesday morning will begin at 10:15 a.m. and the event will start at 10:30 a.m."
Editor's Update: There are rumors on space chat boards that there was some damage to the Dawn spacecraft in the past 24 hours. Yet when I ask NASA SMD PAO about this - repeatedly prior to making a posting - I don't get an answer. I just sent an email to JPL PAO to see if they know what is going on. If there is no substance to these rumors - why doesn't PAO let me know? Stay tuned.
Dawn spacecraft damaged but still set for launch, New Scientist
"NASA managers got a scare this week when a wayward wrench damaged the Dawn spacecraft. But the mission's chief scientist says the damage can be fixed in time for the spacecraft's planned 7 July launch."
Editor's Update: Finally - and answer - but not from NASA. I guess NASA is talking to some media today. Oh well, I guess that asking questions of SMD's PAO in such circumstances is just a waste of my time.
Editor's Update: According to NASA Associate Administrator for Space Science Alan Stern, when contacted for comment: \"DAWN was slightly damaged Monday by a tech's tool. The damage was to the back side of a solar array. It affects a tiny area and looks like it can be repaired without delaying the 7 July LRD. This is an exciting NASA science mission that promises to unlock new details about the origin of the asteroid belt and dwarf planets. We are pressing forward to launch, ever vigilant as we go forward.\"
| 472 |
Hi there! My name's Christian, and I guess you<|fim_middle|> from the knowledge and practice of Maths. Without these skills, I never would have turned to teaching, opened a wonderful business that gives me the opportunity to work with dozens of students every week while loving what I do. | 're reading this because you have quite an interest in what I do here at Simply Maths Tutoring! I started working as a tutor because I'm obsessed with maths. Honestly, obsessed. Everything I do usually comes back to it. It's a way of life for me. I can't help but analyse and run calculations on everything I see. I've always had a fascination with how things work, and I love knowing more about the mechanics of, well, everything. Everything from building construction to physics to the design of this very website, I love knowing how things tick. And, usually, maths is the doorway to that knowledge. But there's more to it than that. A simply fact that makes it so easy for me.
I think maths is beautiful.
Which sounds weird to most people, but the reality is it's true. Everything about maths is beautifully structured and works to perfection. The simplicity and symmetry of it always catches me off guard. The ability to view a seemingly impossible problem and manipulate it from something utterly convoluted to something beautifully simple is something that I find incredibly rewarding. Not to mention the millions of examples in nature of pure mathematics and natural phenomena. This is the passion I work to pass on to students all around me. I would love nothing more than to show others this joy and wonder that lives in my eyes every day. And through tutoring, I can achieve that.
I've been tutoring now for just under five years, in that time I have worked personally with well over fifty different students and have organised tutors for more than sixty others. For every single student, I am always working to find out what is going to work best for them. It might be a particular personality in a tutor, a certain teaching style, or simply a different approach or explanation.
My approach is pretty simple. If someone doesn't understand what I am teaching, it means that I need to change the way I teach it. So that's what I do. I spend time working with all my students to figure out exactly what works best for them, and when I look for new tutors to join the team I make sure they're able to do the same. There is always another way to show someone how with Maths, and every single student learns just a little bit differently. It makes for a bit of variety in teaching! I am constantly looking for (and finding) ways of teaching concepts that puts a new spin or twist on that hasn't been heard before. It's the best way to make sure my students are always learning, and helps me learn as well!
Teaching lets me learn too!
I am constantly looking for (and finding) ways of teaching concepts that puts a new spin or twist on that hasn't been heard before. It's the best way to make sure my students are always learning, and helps me learn as well!
I'm continuing to work to spread my passion and interest in Maths, especially when I can see how the tools learnt in Maths can carry on throughout all aspects of life, whether you choose a career that involves Maths or not. The analytical problem-solving skills that I and countless others employ every day stem | 632 |
Game categories are displayed in the header area of each Playing for Life activity<|fim_middle|> activity cards can be applied to teach the skills of sports including (but not limited to) Golf, Lawn Bowls and Tenpin Bowling. | card as displayed above.
Select a game category from the list below to view all the activity cards in that category. You can also download a pdf of all the activities in a category by clicking the links below each game category list.
Cooperative play activities allow children to develop their problem solving skills by working together to achieve a goal. Activities like these allow children to play whilst developing their physical, emotional, social, and cognitive abilities.
Energiser games are short, simple games, designed to re-focus and stimulate the group. You can use these activity cards at the start, during or towards the end of a session as required.
Group management games are short, simple games, designed to engage participants and keep them on task. They can also be used to transition your group into pairs or groups ready for the next activity.
Games play an important part in all cultures, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Games were and still are a way to bring people together, sharpen life skills (such as hunting), induct young men and women into the traditions of their culture and simply have fun.
These games allow students the opportunity to participate in traditional and contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander activities, helping to deliver the Australian F-10 cross-curriculum priority - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures.
Invasion games include any sport where one team is invading the territory of the other team. These activity cards can be applied to teach the skills of sports including (but not limited to) Hockey, Soccer, AFL, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Touch Football, Water Polo, Basketball and Netball.
Movement exploration games help children develop coordination, sequencing, imagination, memory, spatial awareness, strength, coordination and balance. These activity cards can be applied to teach the skills of sports including (but not limited to) Gymnastics, Martial Arts and dance based movement.
Net and court games are simply activities suited to teaching the skills of sports that involve a net stretched across a court. These activity cards can be applied to teach the skills of sports including (but not limited to) Badminton, Squash, Tennis, Table Tennis and Volleyball.
Striking and fielding games involve games that use a bat to strike a ball, while stationary, out into a field of players from the opposing team. There is usually a batting team and a fielding team. These activity cards can be applied to teach the skills of sports including (but not limited to) Baseball, Softball and Cricket.
Target games involve games where a players have to project and object to hit a target. The key focus of target games is accuracy. These | 529 |
A one bedroom second floor flat situated in this modern McCarthy and Stone development in Bexhill town centre. Notable features of this house managed apartment include; kitchen with built in appliances, double bedroom with built in wardrobes, attractive double aspect living room, well kept communal gardens, car park for the residents and a number of other communal facilities.
With stairs and lift to second floor landing, private front door with security peephole leading to private entrance hall.
With security intercom phone, large built in storage cupboard with shelving and housing hot water tank.
16' 7" x 10' 8" (5.05m x 3.25m) With feature fireplace with inset real flame<|fim_middle|> shower cubicle with chrome shower and hand grip, wash hand basin with storage cupboards below, low level WC, tiling to walls, wall mounted electric heater, shaver point, extractor fan, heated towel rail.
The flat is set within well kept communal gardens with a very pleasant lawned area at the rear of the block and a good sized communal car park also to the rear.
The development has the benefit of a house manager. For times when the house manager is off duty, there is a 24 hour emergency careline response system. All residents benefit from an attractive communal lounge overlooking the rear gardens, a guest room and laundry facilities. It is a condition of purchase that residents be over the age of 60 years.
We have been verbally advised that the property is held on a 125 year lease from 2006. The maintenance charge includes water and sewerage, window cleaning, buildings insurance, garden maintenance and use of all the communal facilities and a contribution into a reserve fund is approx. - £975.08 per half year. The ground rent charge is £212 every half year. | effect electric fire, dimplex electric heater, telephone point, TV aerial point, enjoying a double aspect with two double glazed windows one facing in a southerly direction and the other facing to the east, glazed double doors leading to kitchen.
7' 4" x 5' 8" (2.24m x 1.73m) With range of modern fittings comprising; single drainer stainless steel sink unit with mixer taps and cupboards under, further range of cupboards and drawers with working surfaces over, range of matching wall mounted cupboards, part tiling to walls, built in electric oven with cupboards above and below, four ring ceramic hob with extractor fan over, built in concealed fridge and freezer, wall mounted dimplex electric heater, double glazed window with southerly aspect.
13' 3" x 9' 1" (4.04m x 2.77m) With range of fitted drawers and dressing table, dimplex electric heater, telephone point, built in double wardrobe with mirror fronted doors, double glazed window with easterly aspect.
Fully tiled | 230 |
Halfords, the car parts and cycle retailer, expects its profits to be in line with expectations for the year<|fim_middle|> with 12 centres opening in the period. Like-for-like sales at the retailer's travel solutions arm fell 5.5% despite a reduced demand for outdoor products being partly mitigated by sales of snow chains and shovels.
Online retail sales climbed 13.4% boosted by a 24.7% increase in Sat Nav revenues.
Matt Davies, chief executive, said: "This was a robust performance demonstrating how the balance of our business can offset some variations in the weather. Car Maintenance sales were strong as we helped motorists cope with the freezing conditions and this endorses our strategy of investment in our unique wefit offer. Cycling and Travel Solutions were impacted in the period but we have a strong offer ready for the spring and summer periods.
"We are focused on significantly improving the service we offer customers and this emphasis will be central to our future investments. I look forward to outlining our plans to secure sustainable revenue growth through our three-pillared strategy at our preliminary results on 23 May." | to end March despite the prolonged winter weather impacting sales in some of its categories.
The retailer said it anticipates group pre-tax profit for the year will "remain in line with prior assumptions" within the range of £68-72 million.
In the 11 weeks to 29 March, group total sales rose by 1.7% as retail sales edged up 0.5% and sales at the autocentres business climbed 7.8%.
On a like-for-like basis, group sales were up 0.4% in the period. Like-for-like retail sales increased by 0.3%, boosted by a 10.4% rise in car maintenance sales. Car enhancement sales fell by 4% as growth in audio and flat Sat Nav sales were not enough to offset a decline in car cleaning sales.
Cycle sales fell by 8.8% on a like-for-like basis as the new cycling season was delayed due to the extended winter weather. However, sales of premium cycle sales were resilient while online parts, accessory and clothing sales increased by 26.5% ahead of a full-scale online launch this year.
Sales at autocentres rose by 0.8% on a like-for-like basis | 255 |
Luddy School of
Informatics, Computing, and Engineering
Making the Red Planet Crimson
Computer science alumnus is taking a leading role in NASA's effort to reach Mars
Mike Bolger stepped out of his Oxford, Ohio, home, said goodbye to his family and friends, pulled onto the road, and began driving toward Mars.
There have been a couple of stops along the way.
It was 1982, and Bolger had just finished high school. He was interested in computer science<|fim_middle|> a really long-lasting difference for the space center and for NASA, and even for the nation," Bolger says. "We're going to continue human exploration beyond this planet with the goal of making humans an interplanetary species. We want to be in more than one place: The Earth, the Moon, and, eventually, Mars. The idea that I can be a part of making all that happen is really rewarding to me.
Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering resources and social media channels | , and he took a hard look at Ohio State. The in-state school was closer, but he felt IU was simply a better fit for him.
Bloomington it was.
"When I was 11 years old, I wanted to do two things," Bolger says. "I either wanted to work at NASA, or I wanted to be a major league baseball player. It didn't take long for me to figure out I didn't have the talent for one of those occupations."
But during his sophomore year at IU, Bolger had the opportunity to intern with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA. Specifically, Bolger would work at the Kennedy Space Center.
"It was February in Bloomington, and it was cold and rainy," Bolger remembers. "And here they were telling me 'Come to Cocoa Beach, Florida,' and it sounded really, really good. Ultimately, I decided I needed to go down there."
It was the right decision.
Bolger has since spent more than 30 years at NASA and is currently the manager of the Exploration Ground Systems program at the Kennedy Space Center. He is responsible for leading the government and contractor team that is preparing the ground systems, infrastructure, facilities and processes required to support NASA's next-generation space launch systems and spacecraft.
But back in the mid-1980s, his first priority was to finish school. During his final three years at IU, he alternated between the IU Bloomington campus and working at the Kennedy Space Center, and he graduated in 1987 with a degree in computer science and a minor in mathematics.
His first job after graduation saw him working in the shuttle engineering directorate.
"At the time, they didn't have a position called 'computer scientist' or 'programmer,' " Bolger says. "Really, what I liked the most was programming. That's the thing that drew me to computer science. I really enjoyed that during my time at IU. NASA did work with software, so they categorized me as a computer engineer, which was a brand new categorization. That was a little different than what I really was, but NASA has fairly strict criteria on STEM classes people have to take, and since I had so much computer science and math, I had the right background to get in as an engineer."
He worked on software for the test and check of the various space shuttle systems, from the main propulsion system to the environmental control and life support system. For each system, engineers would sit in the firing room at the launch control center and test the vehicle's systems prior to launch using the software. Over time, he was promoted to the team that worked on the ground launch software, such as the countdown software.
He spent eight years in that capacity during a time when NASA was transitioning away from in-house work to contractors. Bolger moved away from hands-on programming and more to an oversight role, and he also managed to earn an M.B.A. from the University of Central Florida. He spent a few years working on a program that was ultimately cancelled, and he filled a role overseeing base operations at the Kennedy Space Center along the way.
Bolger then became the chief information officer at Kennedy, a position that once again called on his skills as a computer scientist. He spent six years in that job—he also spent a few months as the deputy director of the Kennedy Space Center in an interim role—but it's his latest position that will help push NASA farther than it has ever been.
As the manager of the Exploration Ground Systems program, Bolger is tasked with the launch infrastructure modernization and upgrades necessary for what NASA is calling the Artemis mission. Artemis is the agency's next lunar exploration program, one that will use innovative new technologies and systems to explore more of the Moon than ever before. The project will use a powerful new rocket, dubbed the Space Launch System, to send the next man and the first woman to the Moon by 2024.
But you can't get to the Moon without getting off the ground, and that's where Bolger and his team come in.
"We had to construct a mobile launcher, which is a launch platform and launch tower, and all of the ground support equipment that we use to service the rocket when it gets here," Bolger says. "We need to be able to fill it with fuel—we fill it with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. We do that through the mobile launcher, and my team is responsible for developing it. The same goes for all of the software and for the firing rooms. I'm responsible for building the plans, advocating for the budget, executing the schedule, and ultimately delivering the ground infrastructure we use, and, of course, launching the rocket."
The ultimate destination for Artemis is Mars. One of the goals of the Artemis Moon missions are to prove the technologies needed to travel to the Red Planet, missions that will take up to three years roundtrip. Those Mars missions, however, are years away, and NASA is going to need innovative minds with unique backgrounds to make the Mars dream a reality.
"I'm a bit of a one-off at Kennedy in that almost everyone here my age that are in the leadership positions are engineers," Bolger says. "When I went to IU, we didn't have an engineering program. I wouldn't have gotten into engineering if they had because I wanted to be involved in computer science. But for people who dream like I did of working for NASA, there are a number of paths to follow.
"Get a STEM education. Get involved in computer science or the engineering program. Pursue internships with NASA at the Kennedy Space Center, the John Glenn Research Center in Ohio, the Lyndon Johnson Space Center in Houston. We have 10 field centers, and we hire a lot of people through the NASA internship program. It's a great opportunity for us to test-drive our prospective hires."
Thanks to the vast web of contractors employed by NASA, opportunities abound throughout the tech world to work on NASA-related jobs. Bolger has built his career around taking advantage of opportunities as they have come before him, and he hopes others will follow his example.
I feel like I have an opportunity to make | 1,259 |
I have Lillet to make Vespers. I have Gordon's gin to make Vespers. After all, Bond is pretty specific when he calls for Lillet and Gordon's, so I figure I should use the ingredients he stipulates. I had always considered that the Lillet<|fim_middle|> contained a lot of quinine, and Kina is the plant from whence comes the malaria medicine) was supposedly much sweeter and syrupy, and this is the stuff that James Bond called for in his Vesper. The original recipe was also more bitter because it contained more quinine. After all, the aperitif category itself was developed partly as a way to combat malaria (here's looking at you, Dubonnet!), so it had a lot more quinine back when it was first made. By 1986, when the recipe was changed, I guess the quinine content wasn't as necessary.
The more refined version that exists today is a good, sweet wine that works perfectly with appetizers, anytime before a meal, or even on its own as a nice, outdoor, summer drink. Alcohol Reviews assessment of Lillet is right on except I think it overstates the amount of bitterness in the drink. The bitterness comes from herbs (kind of like the alcoholic additive known as bitters), so it's a very subtle kind of bitterness that turns immediately to honey. If you're not careful, it's as if the bitterness isn't even there, and it is merely the taste of honey and orange that takes over.
What I do agree with is his assessment that this is a good aperitif wine that deserves to be drunk on its own. | was like vermouth and wouldn't be good to drink on its own.
But for our Valentine's dinner this year, I cooked a three course meal for my wife, and served the first course with glasses of Lillet on ice. Lillet is actually a wonderful aperitif wine that is sweet and fruity. With a slice of orange in it, it has an amazing orange nose that goes well with salad. We had a shrimp and avocado salad with a light mayonnaise dressing, and the Lillet complemented it perfectly.
On ice, the Lillet became watered down a bit, but I don't think it hurt the drink. In fact, it may have made it better. The original Kina Lillet (so-called because it | 152 |
Colors are posted prior to the annual Veterans Day Tribute at Southern Arkansas University.
The sacrifices of military men and women, as well as those of their families, were honored at a special ceremony<|fim_middle|> | Wednesday, Nov. 8, in Grand Hall at the Reynolds Center at Southern Arkansas University.
Members of all branches of service were individually recognized at the annual Veterans Day Tribute. Special music was performed to honor each branch. Dr. Trey Berry, president of SAU, gave a stirring speech on the importance of a volunteer citizen fighting force.
According to the Press Release, Kelsie Madison, Miss SAU, read the poem, "Veterans Day," by Cheryl Dyson, and SAU Encore performed the song, "God Bless the USA." SAU Brass Quintet played an "Armed Forces Salute," including marches for the U.S. Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard.
The welcome and invocation were delivered by Associate Dean for Multiculturalism and Diversity Cledis Stuart. "It is an honor to recognize your service and sacrifice," Stuart told the assemblage. He asked the audience to also recognize local first responders in attendance.
In his speech, Berry told of the War of 1812, and how a ragtag group of volunteers defended the still-fledgling United States against a powerful invading British Army.
The U.S. learned that Britain planned to seize control of the Mississippi River and divide the nation in half. To accomplish this, the British Army would have to take control of New Orleans. "We had no army in New Orleans," Berry said.
Andrew Jackson, who would become the seventh President of the United States, was then a judge in Tennessee. He led the Battle of New Orleans, recruiting elderly veterans of the Revolutionary War, Native Americans, and even pirates to defend New Orleans – which lacked even a fort. Using "anybody who could hold a gun," a fort built of mud and weapons both borrowed and improvised, Jackson and his forces repelled the invaders at New Orleans. Their efforts exemplify the value of citizen soldiers, he said.
"Our country survived because volunteers came forward to serve. I thank you for your service, and SAU thanks you, every day. We could not be more proud of you," Berry said.
The National Guard from Hope, Arkansas performed the Posting and Retiring of Colors. The program was hosted by the SAU Veteran's Resource Center.
Dr. Trey Berry, president of Southern Arkansas University, speaks on the importance of a volunteer citizen fighting force.
Deana Taylor allows veterans to introduce themselves during the annual Veterans Day Tribute at Southern Arkansas University. | 496 |
It's a Manx World
by Mark Jenkins December 11th, 1998 August 29th, 2020
Waking Ned Devine, the first feature from English director Kirk Jones, turned into a Celtic-world tour. It was inspired by a newspaper article from South Wales, which Jones used to write a script set in Ireland, which then became a film shot on the Isle of<|fim_middle|> one person who didn't think it could ever happen. In fact, everybody I spoke to would say, 'You know what? There was something very similar that happened a few years ago.' I began to believe it could happen myself."
The director is now back in Britain making commercials. "I don't have to rush into my next project," he says. "I can do the ads to make some money, which we all need to do. So I can take the time to make sure that I'm as proud of the next film as I am of Waking Ned."
Jones never had a master plan for becoming a feature director, but now that he's made the transition, he enjoys "a real sense of freedom" that comes with telling a story rather selling a product. "I love making commercials," he maintains, "but when you get asked if you want a telephone on the table or a bowl of fruit, you make your choice. Then you say to the writer, to the art director, to the creative director, the clients hanging around, 'I just said that we should have a thing of fruit on here. Is that all right?' And they say, 'Oh, should we? What do you think, Bob?' Whereas with film, it's just me. Completely on my own. Fruit. Bowl of fruit. That's it. And you move on to more interesting things.'"
The buzz on Waking Ned Devine, which was well-received at the Cannes and Toronto film festivals, has channeled some mainstream scripts in Jones' direction. But he's decided to write his next film rather than take a chance on one of the screenplays rejected by such British commercial-turned-feature directors as Alan Parker and Ridley and Tony Scott.
"I don't think I could [accept someone else's script], to be honest," Jones protests. "I think I'd be useless." Then he laughs. "You'll probably meet me in about a year's time and I'll be saying, 'I'm not doing anything under $50 million. And I'm doing the sequel, Devine II.'"—Mark Jenkins | Man.
"I was really interested in getting the story right, just getting the bones of the story," remembers the London-based Jones, looking rather Californian in sandals, shoulder-length hair, and a purple shirt. "I didn't set it anywhere to begin with. Then, when things started to get more serious, I thought, 'Well, I've got to set this somewhere now.'
"I did think of Wales, and I also thought of Ireland and Scotland," he says of his comic tale of a remote village whose residents contrive to claim the massive lottery jackpot of a man who died without claiming it. "I wasn't convinced it could work in England. I don't believe there
are any tiny communities that don't have buses running to them every day. I just sensed that Ireland is even more removed."
Jones, who's made his living directing TV commercials for most of the last decade, originally conceived the project as a short. "I discovered a newspaper clipping that said in South Wales, a postmistress put a sign in her window which said, 'No I have not won the lottery.' The locals said she had won, but that she was so tightfisted that she'd never tell anybody. I thought that was a really neat idea: someone in a small town winning a huge amount of money. That was a 10-minute script, which finished with them finding the guy who had won, and he was dead in his bed. He'd died from the shock of the win."
When Jones showed the script to some colleagues, they suggested it contained the germ of a feature. "So then I took some time off and developed the script. I went to Ireland for three months, and suddenly it all came together. It was actually the first time I went to Ireland. I'd always meant to get there. Now that I've been there, I can't believe I won't go there every year or every other year for the rest of my life."
By the time the script was completed, Waking Ned Devine was firmly rooted in Ireland, which made Jones a little nervous. "I was very aware that I was an English writer and director going to make an Irish project. But when I started to cast and I talked to the actors, not only did they think I was Irish when they read the script, which was a great start, but they said if anyone's going to make a film about a tiny community like this, it should be an outsider. When an Irish writer-director gets involved, he can't really see the eccentricities of the characters. I was really encouraged by that."
There was one problem with Ireland. It didn't seem to contain what Jones calls "the village in my mind—that was set on a hill, in the middle of nowhere."
Nonetheless, he says, "as far as I was concerned, we were going to shoot in Ireland. The financing started to come together, and the producers looked at Ireland. There are some great tax breaks there. But oddly enough, it doesn't make an incredible amount of sense to shoot in Ireland unless you've got a Braveheart. If you've got a 20-million-pound movie, you can save yourself a lot of money. If you've got a 1-million-pound film, which is what ours was, it works out to be more expensive to shoot there.
"We were approached at that point by the Isle of Man," he continues, "which, in mythology, is supposed to be part of Ireland. This giant, Finn McCool, took a whole chunk of Ireland and threw it into the sea. And there's a lake in Ireland that's the same shape and size as the Isle of Man. So whenever I'm pressed, I say, 'Well, it used to be Ireland.'"
The Isle of Man, anxious to establish itself as a cinematic location, didn't just offer financial breaks. "It also allowed me to use the English crew that I was used to working with," the director notes. "For my first film, I thought, that's quite important. In Ireland, if you took advantage of the tax breaks, you'd have to use an Irish crew."
Then Jones found that his new domain had more than a welcoming attitude. "Within a couple of hours, I discovered the village. I came over the brow of the hill and thought, 'There it is.' It was like a set. It just felt so perfect. More perfect when we realized that it was a working museum owned by the government. And the government were very keen for us to shoot there. Rather than knock on 80 doors and say, 'Can we shoot in your village?' we just had to go to one guy. It seemed too good to be true."
Later, Jones discovered that another director had been there before him: Alfred Hitchcock, who shot The Manxman in 1928. "The two main locations I chose, unknowingly, were the same two he chose as well," the director says. "So it all got a bit spooky there."
Jones tried to win over the people living in the chosen village. "We invited them for sandwiches and a glass of wine," he recalls. "They all stood there, just staring at me. They looked unhappy, and unsure of us being there at all. So I started to tell the story of the film, and fortunately they liked it and they laughed at all the right points."
The director even enlisted some of the initially skeptical locals as extras: "I like it when the extras are slightly wooden," he says. "It actually gives it a little bit of an edge."
While some critics have suggested that the film's scenario is altogether too whimsical, the director says that, when he was in Ireland, "I would sort of pitch the story to these old guys, and I didn't meet | 1,192 |
The Book Club's current list of must-reads
Looking for a list pf worthwhile reads? Here aref the titles that members of the Revelstoke Book Club are perusing this year:
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (2008). Over 150 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, this funny and moving novel has some eye-opening insights into the human condition.
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (2008). Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this wonderful collection of short stories (the recurring characters, especial the protagonist Olive Kitteridge, link the stories together) take place in a small New England town where the drama happens within the residents' personal lives.
Road Ends by Mary Lawson (2013). A compelling historical story about a woman torn between staying or leaving a fictional small town in northern Ontario during the <|fim_middle|>Nora Webster by Colm Toibin (2015). Toibin (3-time Man Booker Prize nominee) masterfully creates a wonderful story of the intricate details of a young widow's life and relationships in small town Ireland in the 1960's. | 1960's with references to the early 1903 silver rush.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (2009). The bestselling novel about a unique friendship between a Chinese American boy and a Japanese American girl during the World War II internment of the Japanese.
The Illegal by Lawrence Hill (2015). Winner of this year's Canada Reads competition (Hill's second win after The Book of Negroes) The Illegal is about the timely dilemma of immigration and the tragic plight of the "have-nots" who are simply seeking refuge in places where they are not wanted.
419 by Will Ferguson (2012). Winner of the Canadian Scotiabank Giller Prize this novel is named for the section of the Nigerian criminal code covering acts of fraud; a crime which leaves the protagonist's family destitute and without a just resolution.
The Little Red Chairs by Edna O'Brien (2015). Renowned Irish author Edna O'Brien's 20th novel is about love in a small Irish town and evil in the form of a war criminal involved in the 1992 siege of Sarajevo (where 11,541 red chairs were set out to commemorate the siege's victims in 2012).
The Beauty of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb (2010). Set in modern day Vietnam, the story forays into Vietnam's interesting history, especially it's repressed "beauty of humanity movement" of the 1950's which the octogenarian protagonist hopes to revive through food and friendship.
100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Marcia Marquez (1967). Nobel Prize winning author Marquez reinvents his beloved Columbia and it's chaotic history through the creation of the fictional and utopic town Macondo which tragically fails as history unstoppably repeats itself.
| 398 |
The kick off for the 2018 and third edition of the Delta State Principals' Cup organized for all secondary schools in the state and sponsored by Zenith Bank Plc has been slated for next week.
According to the organisers, the preliminaries of the revived annual 'catch-them-young' initiative will start on October 31.
The competition which has been grounded for many years came back to life courtesy of Zenith Bank and will be competed for by over 1,200 private secondary schools and 446 public government secondary schools in the state.
On November 1, the preliminaries will start in all the 25 Local Governments in the state with all registered schools competing for just a single slot in each LG.
Commissioner for basic and Secondary Education in Delta State, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, is expected to play a supervisory role to ensure the smooth-running of the competition which is very dear the heart of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Peter Amangbo, has assured that the competition this time would be an improvement<|fim_middle|>29. | on the last edition.
Amangbo stated that the bank was always elated to contribute to the development of the youth in the various endevours in the country.
"This is youth football competition but we do much more than that. We are also into other sports and we try to bring out talents for the country and also to engage the youth positively in their various areas of competence.
Already, the media conference to herald the competition will take place on Monday October | 93 |
The PCP Milestone Tool is a user-friendly, web-based resource that helps<|fim_middle|> to integrate with PCP's energy and emissions quantification protocols.
This presentation introduces the new tool.
Contact the PCP Secretariat to access the tool — free for PCP members. | local governments to prepare greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventories, and monitor and manage emissions generated at the local level. It supports PCP members working toward Milestone One (creating inventories) and Milestone Two (target setting). In 2019, the tool will be configured for Milestones 3-5.
Corporate operations and services, such as municipal buildings and facilities, fleet vehicles, streetlights and traffic signals, water and wastewater infrastructure.
Community sources, including residences, businesses, transportation and waste.
Developed by FCM and ICLEI Canada-Local Governments for Sustainability, the tool builds on PCP's other emissions management resources. ICLEI offers free technical support to help you get started and learn | 148 |
A cult hero, king of the roads, three contenders and other storylines to watch on NASCAR weekend at Road America
The Xfinity Series CTech 180 is set for 2 p.m. Saturday on the 4-mile course in Elkhart Lake. Here are some storylines heading into the weekend.
A cult hero, king of the roads, three contenders and other storylines to watch on NASCAR weekend at Road America The Xfinity Series CTech 180 is set for 2 p.m. Saturday on the 4-mile course in Elkhart Lake. Here are some storylines heading into the weekend. Check out this story on jsonline.com: https<|fim_middle|> CT Aug. 20, 2019
This weekend the NASCAR Xfinity Series makes its 10th trip to Road America in Elkhart Lake and will be joined by the SCCA Pro Racing Trans Am Series, the Stadium Super Trucks series and F3 Americas Championship.
The CTech Manufacturing 180 is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at the 4-mile, 14-turn course, with TV coverage on NBCSN. Xfinity practices are set for 12:35 p.m. and 2:35 p.m. Friday and qualifying for 10:40 a.m. Saturday.
Here are some of the top storylines to watch:
Matt DiBenedetto went from hard-working journeyman to sympathetic figure to a 28-year-old cult hero in a span of a couple of days last week.
DiBenedetto, who has been scrapping since 2009, helped Leavine Family Racing make great strides this season in the Cup Series but was caught up in the Toyota numbers game and announced Thursday he'd been told he wouldn't be back. Then Saturday he came within 0.502 of a second of his first national-level victory after losing the lead at Bristol to Denny Hamlin with 12 laps to go.
Now on a weekend off for Cup, DiBenedetto is scheduled for his first Xfinity race since 2016, a start that has the feel of consolation prize. DiBenedetto's best finish in three tries at Road America has been 11th, and his best Cup finish before Sunday came on the Sonoma Raceway road course.
Road America has yet to have a driver hoist an Xfinity Series trophy more than once. Three previous winners are entered: Justin Allgaier (2018), Jeremy Clements (2017) and A.J. Allmendinger (2013).
In four cases, the Road America winner was making his first trip to victory lane on the NASCAR national level: Nelson Piquet Jr. (2012), Allmendinger (2013), Michael McDowell (2016) and Clements.
King of the roads
Twenty-year-old Austin Cindric waited 54 races for his first Xfinity Series win and just one for his second, taking back-to-back road races at Watkins Glen and Mid-Ohio.
Cindric has run two Xfinity races at Road America, qualifying on the pole in his series debut in 2017 and leading two laps before an engine failure knocked him out last year. His team, Penske Racing, which has won once, finished second twice and placed seventh or better in seven Road America events.
Championship flair
With four races to go before the start of the Xfinity playoffs, Tyler Reddick is gaining a tighter grip on the points lead, 54 ahead of Christopher Bell and 85 ahead of Cole Custer.
They're the series' big three this season. Reddick's win Friday in Bristol, Tennessee, gave him four victories, and Bell and Custer each have won five races.
None of them has a road-course victory to his credit, though. The next three in points, Allgaier, Cindric and Chase Briscoe, all do.
Josh Bilicki of Richfield has thousands of laps around Road America, so the race will provide his best chance for his first NASCAR top-10 finish. Bilicki's second full-time season in the Xfinity Series has included more DNFs than he'd prefer, given a lack of funding for him in the second RSS Racing Chevrolet. He has finished just one of his three starts at the track.
Nic Hammann of Elkhart Lake is out to make his fourth start in the series and third at Road America. All have come with low-budget teams. His only finish was 29th, one lap down, at Road America in 2017, his most recent Xfinity race.
Dick Karth, 66, of Grafton, plans to make his Xfinity debut with MBM Motorsports. A club and vintage racer, Karth has made three ARCA starts, one at Road America.
The Trans Am Series' Ryan Companies Road America Classic (11:40 a.m. Saturday) will include a handful of state drivers, including Cliff Ebben of Appleton, who won at Road America in 2016 at age 64; and NASCAR Truck Series driver Natalie Decker of Eagle River.
Three Xfinity Series drivers also are scheduled to compete in Trans Am's TA2 division, giving them more than 2 hours of available testing and practice time, a qualifying session and a full race on the track before they even qualify for the CTech 180.
They are: Bell, Justin Haley (ninth) and Brandon Jones (11th). A year ago, Xfinity drivers took three of the top four positions. The TA2 race – run separately from the TA/TA3/TA4 event – is first on the race-day schedule at 8 a.m.
The Speed Energy Stadium Super Trucks brought a whole new type of entertainment when they joined the show a year ago. Although the series does tend to have some drivers you've heard of – including Robby Gordon, the former NASCAR/Indy-car racer who owns and promotes it – it's not so much about the people competing or who wins the race.
Off-road-style vehicles leaping off jumps, running on two wheels, drifting and sometimes rolling pumps up a crowd no matter what else is going on. Matthew Brabham, a graduate of the Mazda Road to Indy open-wheel ladder, won the championship and leads the standings over Gordon heading into the doubleheader weekend. Practice and qualifying are scheduled for Friday; races are 12:50 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. Saturday.
Former Brewers pitcher Fiers facing backlash over blowing whistle on Astros
Duke recruit Jalen Johnson returning to Nicolet
Star-studded matchup: Giannis' brother vs. LeBron's, Wade's sons
'No-harvest' walleye fishing likely for sixth year on Minocqua Chain
Bucks 128, Celtics 123: Big lead nearly slips away
Marquette 84, Georgetown 80: Howard scores 42 points | ://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/motor/2019/08/19/nascar-xfinity-series-road-america-seven-storylines-watch/2049048001/
Dave Kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Published 11:30 a.m. CT Aug. 19, 2019 | Updated 4:39 p.m. | 86 |
As a team we have always created Scratch projects to complement our scheme of work, or to provide activities on a certain theme for schools. I decided I wanted to create a collection that would be useful<|fim_middle|> can read more about here.
This resource will continue to grow, and the hope is to provide a set of worksheets to accompany the projects soon, for example containing sample code and teaching points. | to teachers in primary schools, and also specifically for those working with students with special educational needs. The result of this can be found at http://sheffieldclc.net/scratch/.
Sequence – simple programs using a sequence of commands, for example to make a sprite move, to play a tune or to tell a joke.
Input – these projects use a number of different inputs to control sprites using the Events blocks, e.g. when green flag clicked, when this sprite clicked, when space bar clicked.
Repetition – all the projects in this section contain a simple example of repeat or forever loops, e.g. to draw a square, or create a screensaver.
Selection – these projects use the if…then…else… blocks to add conditions to the code, for example, if the sprite touches the walls of a maze it returns to the beginning.
Variables – these programs contain simple variables, e.g. to add a score or lives in a game.
Other – a collection of projects to extend learning, e.g. using procedures, operators, or simply more complex combinations of code.
Explore the code, predict what it does, identify key concepts, run the code and see what happens. Add code to an existing project to finish it or add more options. Put the code blocks in the correct order to complete the program. Change the existing code to make your own version, e.g. change how far a sprite moves, or add a background. Identify and correct errors in a program to make it work.
This provides pupils with different ways of interacting with the code, which will help when scaffolding learning for pupils with different abilities, and encourage discussion around programming. It fits in with the PRIMM approach to programming, which you | 348 |
In many areas of production often products will be collected together onto a wide central conveyor from a number of different input conveyors. However, these products will tend to arrive on the central large conveyor in a random manner.
Generally products need<|fim_middle|>, passed to one side, down the output conveyor, nicely aligned and read to be stamped prior to being packaged. | to be centralised or guided to one side of the conveyor so that they can be fed onto a single outfeed conveyor. To achieve this, on this project, we designed the conveyor to incorporate an Activated Roller Belt.
What Does an Activated Roller Belt Do?
On an Activated Roller Belt the products rest on free spinning angled rollers rather than on the belt surface. These rollers extend above and below the belt surface and are positioned at an angle in relation to the direction the belt travels.
The activated rollers move the products across the direction of the roller orientation rather than just along the conveyor. An Activated Roller Belt can change the direction, location, speed and alignment of items without using rails or other complicated mechanical controls.
Have a look at the video below showing one of the Active Roller Belt Conveyors we installed for a client. The products in this example are gathered on the centralised conveyor | 180 |
GOP Leaders Deciding Which Members Will Serve On Key Committees; House GOP Create Select Committee To Investigate "Weaponization" Of DOJ; Garland Weighs Next Steps Over Biden Classified Documents; Storms Continue To Pummel Northern California Today; Fight For Eastern Ukrainian Town Appears To Be In Final Stages; Psychologists Warn Of App's Threat To Young People's Mental Health. Aired 4-5p ET
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: So, that's great. I mean, it seems like they fixed some of their problems.
VICTOR BLACKWELL,<|fim_middle|> girls had experienced clinical depression according to Twenge.
TWENGE: Pro-anorexia videos, videos to instruct people how to cut themselves. What the algorithms trying to do is get people able to use the app for longer because that's how the company makes more money.
YURKEVICH: TikTok in a statement said, quote: One of our most important commitments is supporting the safety and well-being of teens and we recognize this work is never finished. We continue to focus on robust safety protections for our community while also empowering parents with additional controls for their teen's account through TikTok family pairing.
Users of TikTok spent an average of an hour and a half a day on the app last year, more than any other social platform.
What is it that keeps you scrolling even if you know maybe you've spent one two hours on it?
EMERALD GOLDBAUM, SOPHOMORE, UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO: Once you watch the one video, you're like, well, time to watch another. So you just keep doing it's like a cycle you don't realize that the time is passing.
YURKEVICH: That's exactly what happened to Jerome Yankey.
JEROME YANKEY, DELETED TIKTOK IN 2021: I've definitely done all- nighters on TikTok before I had just been scrolling until the sun came up.
YURKEVICH: He says he lost sleep. His grades suffered. He lost touch with his friends. He lost his sense of self. In 2021, he deleted the app.
YANKEY: Getting disappointed by my own life is never something I want to be doing, especially when I have the power to change it, but I just wasn't because I was spending hours on this app.
HANNAH WILLIAMS, CREATOR, SALARY TRANSPARENT STREET: We have like a lot of cool resources that we give to our audience for free.
YURKEVICH: But Hannah Williams proves the positive side of TikTok, allowing her to create a business, Salary Transparent Street, providing paid transparency to her new nearly million followers.
WILLIAMS: I think TikTok definitely helped just because they have such audience reach potential.
YURKEVICH: She hopes TikTok's algorithm works in her favor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Helping people in marginalized communities is the only reason I am doing this. It's my entire mission.
YURKEVICH (on camera): And there are so many other people around the world that have launched entire careers off of TikTok making money for them and their families and there are studies that show the positive sides of social media. According to pew research one in ten teens report they feel more connected to friends on social media and about 70 percent, Jake, of teens say they feel like they're more creative when they're on social media -- Jake.
TAPPER: Vanessa, the Chinese version of TikTok built in time limits for Chinese kids. The American version does not. Is TikTok going to do anything to help teens cut back on screen time here in the U.S.?
YURKEVICH: Exactly, there is no natural shutoff of the app here in the United States. However, TikTok does say that they have screen time management tools and testing a sleep feature where you can set the app to tell you when it's time to turn off and go to bed.
But, of course, Jake, you know that for you section very well. It's -- the algorithm is so smart it gives teens and everyone they want what they want to see and that is time consuming about this app, leading to lack of sleep, lack of interaction with friends and that's ultimately what cycles into depression -- Jake.
TAPPER: Yeah, the Chinese version doesn't have these problems because it encourages positive things as opposed to what we get here in the U.S.
Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you so much.
Coming up next, the nationwide ground stop not seen since 9/11.
What caused the massive airlines meltdown system and could it happen again?
This hour, will freshman Republican Congressman George Santos be able to escape the web of lies? A growing number of fellow Republicans are calling for his resignation.
Plus, students return to the campus of the University of Idaho since the arrest of a suspect in those horrific murders of four students. This as the accused mass murderer is set to return to court. And leading this hour, flights throughout the United States are slowly
getting back on schedule after an FAA system outage early this morning, forced every plane in the U.S. to be grounded for 90 minutes. | CNN HOST: Yeah, they fixed some of them. I thought it was a great show. I enjoyed it. I watched it. I watched the Golden Globe, like sat down and looked at the screen.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You actually stayed up and watched?
BLACKWELL: I did. You know, that's new for me. But I did. I did watch it. I enjoyed it.
ELAM: New Victor, new you.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
CAMEROTA: New Year, new you.
BLACKWELL: Thank you, Stephanie.
CAMEROTA: Stephanie, thanks a lot.
BLACKWELL: THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER starts right now.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Can't blame Southwest for this one.
THE LEAD starts right now.
System meltdown. The FAA tries to get flight backs on track after a pilot notification system failed colossally. What caused the massive outage that led to massive delays and cancellations?
And the dangers of TikTok. Beyond suspicions that the Chinese government can use it to access your data, this time, how according to one study the addictive content puts teenagers, particularly teen girls at risk of depression.
But first, Republicans rolling out committee chairmanships and assignments with some interesting and provocative picks, while the notorious Congressman George Santos is denied his first choice for committee seat while his fellow Republicans begin to call for his resignation.
TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.
We start today with our politics lead, major decisions underway right now on Capitol Hill. Republican lawmakers say their party's steering committee is meeting today to decide which Republican members will sit on the most powerful committees in the House of Representatives. And it is giving us all new insights into the deal set now Speaker Kevin McCarthy may have made with his hard-line opponents to get their votes and secure the gavel, as four of the previous holdouts who voted against McCarthy on valid after ballot, today's scored committed committee seats.
Also on Capitol Hill today, the new leader of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee is setting his sights on bank accounts of members of the Biden family accused of cashing in on their last name. We'll have more on that in just a moment.
We're going to start with CNN's chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju, who has a closer look in McCarthy's strategy as he chooses which Republicans to reward.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): House Republicans behind the scenes crafting their strategy for the next two years.
And working to implement the deals Kevin McCarthy had to cut to win the speakership. To win over his holdouts, McCarthy agreed to name more members of the hard rate freedom caucus to serve on the most powerful committees in the House, giving them more sway to shape their party's agenda, including two who flipped the GOP leader, Andrew Clyde, and Michael Cloud, to serve on the committee that funds the government.
REP. BARRY LOUDERMIL (R-GA): We are looking at the different ideas and philosophies and ideologies, and make sure that asked the bills come out of committee they already reflect the entire conference.
RAJU: McCarthy, planning to reward some of his allies, including fire-brand Marjorie Taylor Greene who lost her spots in 2021 when Democrats punished her over her past controversies.
And they can give you that assurance to be on the Oversight?
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Well, I have assurance to be on committees, but I haven't been promised any committees. RAJU: As McCarthy is already selected his committee chairman, and
perhaps an aggressive investigative agenda, his biggest test could be navigating another key aspects of his deal, funding the federal government and raising the national debt limit.
REP. DUSTY JORDAN (R-SD): That is going to mean some tension with the Senate. That is going to be some tension with the other party. But I'm not concerned about the tension. What I am concerned about is a country that has been engaged in financial irresponsibility for so long.
RAJU: According to a slide obtained by CNN, McCarthy deal says the House GOP will reject any negotiations with the Senate and funding the government if the levels are above GOP demands, and saying that the House will not agree to raise a debt limit to avoid a debt default without commensurate physical reforms, setting up a major showdown with the White House.
REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): And if you are going to ask for an increase in the limit, at some point in time, you got to sit down and say, why are we hitting the limit?
RAJU: As all GOP leaders grappling with a major headache. Freshman Congressman George Santos, facing GOP calls back home to resign, after lying about his past. But if he steps aside, it would set up a special election in a New York district that Democrats could flip.
McCarthy, for now, siding with Santos.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: But right now, the voters have a voice in this decision. It's not what people pick and choose based upon somebody's (INAUDIBLE). So he will continue to serve.
RAJU (on camera): George Santos wanted a seat on the House Financial Services Committee but he did not get that, but McCarthy indicating that he would get other lower profile committees. Now, we're also learning, Jake, about some of the rewards he gave to some members of the House Freedom Caucus. That is that hard right groups. We are learning that 16 members of the House Freedom Caucus got spots on the four of the top committees.
That includes six of the holdouts who initially voted against McCarthy. But now they are being rewarded for seats on the Appropriations Committee, Financial Services Committee, as the other major panels will also be decided in the days ahead. They will be represented there, as well -- Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Manu Raju on Capitol Hill for us, thanks so much.
Also in our politics lead today, the new chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee wants some of the financial records of members of the Biden family.
Congressman James Comer of Kentucky asked the Treasury Department to turn over bank information for President Biden's son Hunter, as well as the president's businessman brother James, known as Jimmy, and several other family associates who are accused of profiting off the Biden family name and connections.
As CNN's Sara Murray reports for us now, Republicans now claimed some of those deals could potentially compromise President Biden.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): House Oversight Chair James Comer wasting no time launching his long promised probe into the Biden family.
REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): I want to be clear. This is an investigation of Joe Biden. And that's where the committee will focus.
MURRAY: Comer demanding financial records from the U.S. Treasury Department, and public testimony from former Twitter executives after the social media company temporarily suppressed a story about Hunter Biden and his laptop in 2020. The letters call for bank activity reports for President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, the president's brother, James Biden, and a handful of associates and related companies, as well as any communications between the White House and Treasury.
The Kentucky Republican trying to make a case that foreign business deals by Biden family members could compromise the president.
COMER: What is the Biden family business? I would argue it's influence peddling. And Joe Biden was not truthful with the American people during the presidential campaign when he said he had no idea what his family was involved in.
MURRAY: But that is merely an allegation, one the newly minted chairman has yet to prove. And Joe Biden has denied playing any role in his son's overseas deals.
JOE BIDEN, THEN-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings.
MURRAY: The bank reports known as suspicious activity reports Comer is clamoring for don't necessarily indicate wrongdoing. Financial institutions filed millions annually, and few lead to law enforcement inquiries.
A White House spokesman dismissed the GOP moves as political stunts driven by the most extreme MAGA members of their caucus in an effort to get attention on Fox News.
As Republicans flex their new investigative powers, they've also established a new select subcommittee focused on the, quote, weaponization of the federal government, and particularly DOJ and the FBI. REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): There is going to be a select subcommittee
that is going to focus on that. We've got 14 whistleblowers come talk to us about how political that places become.
MURRAY: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pointing to the panel as a vehicle to delve into the classified records recently found in President Joe Biden's former private office.
MCCARTHY: Why does his Department of Justice treat people differently? Every time we find something that comes out before the election dealing with Biden's family, it is pushed under the rug. It's called a lie.
MURRAY (on camera): Now, Jake, we are still waiting to see who else is going to end up on the oversight committee, as well as the subcommittee on the weaponization of government. But we are hearing today from Jamie Raskin who is the top Democrat on oversight. He is slamming James Comer already for pursuing debunked and hyper-partisan conspiracy theories on the Biden family -- Jake.
TAPPER: All right, Sara Murray, thanks so much.
Let's bring in CNN senior legal analyst, Elie Honig.
Elie, let's start this new select committee designed to investigate what they call, the Republicans call, the weaponization of the Justice Department and the FBI. Is this a legitimate line of inquiry, do you think?
ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: No, I don't think it is, Jake. I reject the underlying premise that DOJ has been weaponized.
First of all, is DOJ investigating Donald Trump? You bet. As Donald Trump engaged in conduct that requires investigation? Absolutely.
And by the way, you know who else DOJ is investigating right now? Joe Biden. You know who else they're investigating right now? Hunter Biden.
Now, look, the attorney general is a political appointee of the president. But when it gets vetted through the Senate, the main thing he's being vetted for as well as person maintained a political independence. But I think it is really important keep in mind, the vast majority of people who work at DOJ do not care about politics. I was there, for public administration, Democratic administration. It made zero difference what so ever into the way we went about our cases.
So I reject the basic premise that there has been a weaponization to begin with.
TAPPER: What happens if Attorney General Garland or others at the Justice Department including the FBI just refused to cooperate with this committee? HONIG: First of all, I think Merrick Garland can, should, and must refuse to cooperate if he is asked about specific pending criminal investigations. If he crosses that line, he will jeopardize those investigations, and he will jeopardize the reputation of the people who are being investigated. They are entitled to a presumption of innocence.
If Merrick Garland refuses, then this new committee can hold him in contempt of Congress. That committee would have to vote for it, then the full house without a vote for it. The catch is, it would then go where for prosecution? To the Department Justice. So it is only going to be symbolic.
And, Jake, there is some history here.
We manage to go 230 some years in our history without ever having an attorney general held in contempt. However, Eric Holder was then held in contempt in 2012. Bill Barr was held in contempt in 2019. Of course, they're never prosecuted. But we will see if Merrick Garland was willing to have his name added to that list.
TAPPER: How much do you think -- I mean, do you not think that there's anything worth investigating here when it comes to potentially shady deals or ethically questionable ones by Hunter Biden, by Jimmy Biden who's made a lot of money, you know, while his brother was becoming a very prominent politician? Or do you think it's purely politics?
HONIG: No, I think there's absolutely a good faith basis to investigate. But I think the investigations need to be kept separate.
First of all, DOJ has every right to investigate Hunter Biden for his business dealings. They are doing that. They have been doing that for several years now. That case is ongoing in the district of Delaware.
Congress is free to investigate as well. I believe in broad oversight powers of Congress. But what they are not free to do in my view, and I think constitutionally in terms of separation of powers is dragged in the attorney general and say, okay, Mr. Attorney General, where are you in your criminal mastication? Open up your books. Tell us about that. That I think is a line that can be crossed.
TAPPER: All right. Elie Honig, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Coming up next, the request from the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee after classified documents were found at Joe Biden's private office.
Plus, a temporary break in the rain out west. But the damage is mounting. The moment one west coaster said felt like an earthquake during the storm.
Stay with us.
TAPPER: And we are back with our politics lead.
Attorney General Merrick Garland is now weighing whether to open a full blown criminal investigation after 10 classified documents were inappropriately transferred and then found in a private office used by Joe Biden after he served as vice president and before he launched his 2020 campaign. We do not know who had access to these classified documents for the six years they were in that private office.
CNN's senior justice correspondent Evan Perez joins me now live.
Evan, what do we know about any next steps here?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, one of the big questions that hangs over this is whether the attorney general should order a full scale investigation, a full blown investigation of this now that the initial preliminary work review was being -- that was being done by John Lausch, the Trump appointee, U.S. attorney in Chicago. Now that that has been completed, Lausch has briefed the attorney general and the leadership of the DOJ.
And so now, the attorney general has to the side what are the next steps. And those of course could include just launching a new full scale investigation. It also could be to appoint a special counsel to look at this, Jake. And you know, of course, there's already a special counsel looking at the handling of classified documents, the investigations of Donald Trump.
There's still John Durham out there. We are starting to joke that the Department of Justice is the department of special counsels. So this is something obviously that is a very big concern for the White House. They do not want to see a special counsel in this. They like to see this wrapped up instead.
TAPPER: And, Evan, the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Democrat and Republican, had sent a letter to the director of national intelligence asking for access to these documents, a bipartisan request. Is that normal procedure?
PEREZ: It is normal procedure. I mean, you certainly saw that I think on the Senate side during the Trump administration. You saw an effort to try to be bipartisan in investigating the handling of things like this.
What you often see, Jake, a different story in the House. And what you might see here is that the intelligence community is involved with this effort to see whether any sources or methods may have been exposed or damaged as a result of the handling of these documents. Of course, Jake, you know that putting these documents in a place where there weren't necessarily up to the standards of security and a private office here in Washington is something that is very, very concerning to the intelligence community. So, before this is wrapped up, the FBI, the intelligence community,
will want to know who might have had access to those offices. Also, are there any documents anywhere else that Joe Biden has not accounted for?
TAPPER: All right, Evan Perez, thank you so much.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins is here to discuss.
And, Kaitlan, how does the Biden White House see all of this? Especially the possibility you just heard Evan discuss of a new special counsel, specifically about him?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: Well, they don't want to special counsel. They don't think awards special counsel. They have been working basically 24/7 since this came out to draw the distinction between what's happening in the Trump case and what is happening here. Mainly in the number of documents, and also in the efforts that Trump took to resist the efforts to get them back into the possession of the federal government.
Now, as Evan noted, it's really important that we fully don't know what it is when it comes to the numbers and what the content is of these documents when it comes to President Biden and what he took when he left office. And so, the White House is working to draw that distinction. But it is not up to them if they have a special counsel, it is up to the attorney general and you can already see he is trying to make clear that this is not political by putting the U.S. attorney appointed by Trump in charge of this review.
And so, it's still a big question, even for them, if this does ultimately lead to a special counsel. It would be a headache for that because it would kind of make it look more similar to the Trump case because it would both have a special counsel.
TAPPER: Of course, Republicans are seizing on this. They're criticizing Biden for this. But you also spoke with a Democrat, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey. She also had some concerns. Let's play that.
COLLINS: Does it concern you that this happened though the day before the midterm elections? That is when these documents were found and we are just now finding out about it?
REP. MIKIE SHERRILL (D-NJ): It does. I will have to look as to when they were discovered, and why we are just finding out now. That does concern me. This has to be a very transparent process to ensure again that we are handling the classified secrets of this country very, very carefully.
TAPPER: Again, this is different in many important ways than the Trump documents case. [16:20:01]
But, do you think it is also a bigger problem than the White House is publicly acknowledging?
COLLINS: Well, it's definitely different. And we will make that clear day in and day out of the -- what it is here or not, you know, allow people to muddy the waters on this. But when it comes to the White House, there are a lot of questions that we still don't know. And the timing there is a big one, which is that, these were discovered the day before the midterm elections. Obviously it would have been a significant story. We don't know the outcome or effect that it would have had, if any, on the midterm elections. But it is definitely something that people are drawing questions about.
And the White House hasn't fully answered why it wasn't publicly disclosed. Of course, whether or not there are more documents in more locations. You know, are they going to carry out any kind of audit to see any other location that President Biden has and his house in Wilmington, one at home, if there are more documents.
Those are the questions that the White House hasn't answered. I think that is why you are seeing Democrats who said, the Trump case draws a big questions about the handling of classified information, and what could potentially be out there in unsecured locations. That's the big question that they have.
TAPPER: Also, who had access to those documents for six years? In that office here in D.C.?
COLLINS: Yeah.
TAPPER: And you have been reporting on how President Trump and his team view this.
COLLINS: They viewed it as huge for them. They think it's going to benefit them in a big way. We don't actually know that. This is just their point of view because, of course, legally, they are dealing with the fact that Trump's fought so hard when it came to the justice storm trying to get and the federal government trying to get these documents back in their possession. That led to an FBI search of his home.
But they believe that it helped because they have been making this argument that it is easier than people think perform present and former leaders to take the classified materials with them when they go. Now, the numbers here are very different, obviously.
TAPPER: Ten documents versus several boxes worth.
COLLINS: And not just. That they said hey you've got these documents, former President Trump, we need them back and he resisted those efforts. And then even after they went and got them, remember we reported there were more documents that Trump had found at another location.
So, that is a distinction that is John there. Obviously, it is clear to everyone else. But Trump's team does believe that this helps them. Politically, they believe it helps them, legally, they think it may help them. We don't ultimately know that it will, but they do believe that this is something that is beneficial to their case.
TAPPER: Yeah. Well, who knows? We'll see. We'll see. It's obviously not the exact same thing.
COLLINS: Of course.
TAPPER: Very, very different. Kaitlan Collins, appreciate it.
Next, an influential Republican facing sexual assault allegations, and new text messages that may corroborate the claims.
TAPPER: Our politics lead, now CNN has obtained some new contemporaneous evidence that would seem to back the sexual assault allegations made by a male Republican strategist. Last week, you might recall, Matt Schlapp, a prominent and influential Republican activist and lobbyist with close ties to Donald Trump, was accused of unwanted groping and fondling by that male staffer, who at the time works for the campaign of Herschel Walker. Walker, of course, the Republican who lost that hotly contended U.S. Senate race in Georgia.
Matt Schlapp chairs the American Conservative Union, best known perhaps for hosting the annual CPAC conference. Schlapp also works with the lobbying firm, Cove Strategies. Schlapp was also very active pushing Trump's 2020 election lies.
His wife, Mercedes Schlapp, was communications director in Donald Trump's White House for sometime.
Let's bring in CNN's Jamie Gangel.
Jamie, first, the allegations. What is this male staffer alleging happened?
JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: So, let's walk through this. The Republican strategist alleges that Matt Schlapp made unwanted sexual advances that he groped and fondled his groin as the staffer drove Schlapp on October 19th from two bars they had been at back to Schlapp's hotel.
Just to be, clear the staffer had been assigned to drive slapped during events there. The staffer said that when they got to the hotel, Schlapp invited him up to his hotel room, the staffer declined, and then a few hours later, he informed top campaign officials.
TAPPER: At the Walker campaign.
GANGEL: At the Walker campaign. Schlapp, through his attorney, denies the claim. This is the statement. The attack is false and Mr. Schlapp denies any improper behavior. We are evaluating legal options for response.
TAPPER: And, Jamie, you have obtained some text messages sent between parties involved. What they reveal?
GANGEL: So, CNN has reviewed text messages, phone records, that show that the staffer reached out to friends and acquaintances in real time that night.
TAPPER: Back in October?
GANGEL: Back in October that same night. The text revealed that he was upset, there is also -- there are video recordings he actually made that we have also reviewed in which he memorializes what happened.
In addition, we spoke to top campaign officials who spoke to the staffer in real time and described him as being quote, angry, and mortified. And they instructed the staff or not to drive Schlapp the next day. They provided him with a car service.
There is an exchange between the staffer and Schlapp night, which I wanted to show you. The staffer text Schlapp to inform him he's not going to drive him. He says, I did want to say I was uncomfortable with what happened last night.
The campaign does have a driver who is available to get you to Macon and back to the airport.
According to phone records we've reviewed, Schlapp tries to call him a couple of times. Then, a few hours later, he sends the following text message: If you could see it in your heart to call me at the end of the day, I would appreciate it. If not, I wish you luck on the campaign and hope you keep up the good work.
We also obtained a brand-new text message exchange that's being made public for the first time. This is the staffer texted a friend who is in politics. Sort of telling him what happened, allegedly, but also asking for advice about how to tell the campaign. The staffer tells this political friend, quote: He's pissed I didn't follow him to his hotel room.
Then later, the friend responds, I'm sorry, man, what an f-ing creep. A little later the staffer texts, I don't know how to say it to my superiors that their surrogate fondled my junk without my consent.
TAPPER: Why is he going public with this now three months later? Did he report this assault to the police?
GANGEL: So, he says that he didn't want to come forward initially because the election was a couple of weeks away.
TAPPER: Sure.
GANGEL: He didn't want it to be a distraction. He says he is coming forward now because he doesn't want someone else to be victimized. I do want to say that the Walker campaign and -- the staffer says this -- was completely supportive during this process, offered him a lawyer, offered if he wanted to go to the police.
He is leaving his legal options open for now. I do want to add, we should mention that the American Conservative Union put out a statement saying the board of directors is standing behind Schlapp and his leadership.
TAPPER: All right. Jamie Gangel, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
A historic string of storms, at least 17 lives lost, neighborhoods look like lakes, sewage with floodwater. And to make matters worse, more rain is on the way. We're going out west.
TAPPER: In our national lead, parts of California are getting a break today from the heavy downpour that has left widespread damage allowing some communities to begin the cleanup process. Well, other communities are still dealing with dangerous conditions.
But as CNN's Veronica Miracle reports for us now, the recent parade of storms that have claimed the lives of at least 17 people is set to make another round.
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The cleanup from a series of deadly unprecedented storms continues across California.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It felt like an earthquake. The dog came running in. We could hear glass shattering.
MIRACLE: Heavy rainfall trigger flash flooding.
CAITLIN CLANCY, FLOODING VICTIM: So, it was shocking. It was really unreal seeing the water come surging up.
MIRACLE: In San Francisco, lightning and hailstorms. Trees falling, power lines downed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They saw sparks everywhere around me.
MIRACLE: At least 17 people have died in the storms.
LT. GOV. ELENI KOUNALAKIS, CALIFORNIA: That's more than we have lost in the last go years in wildfires. This is a very significant emergency. CLANCY: If we flood more and more, it's not manageable.
MIRACLE: And in San Francisco and other parts of northern California, the rain continues to fall. Some 5 million people are under flood watches in northern California, while parts of central and southern California getting a much needed break from downpours, flooding and mudslides.
DREW LANDERS, SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC WORKS: The ground is so wet. The water is pooling up. I would say this is like the worst winter I have seen in this short amount of time.
MIRACLE: In the sierra, one to three feet of snow has blanketed several ski resorts in the last several days. The snow closed a major thoroughfare in the state overnight, delaying shipments as trucks waited to pass.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got to get this stuff where it's supposed to go.
MIRACLE: The snowpack offers some relief to lingering drought conditions in California.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our streams and rivers and creeks are pretty high.
MIRACLE: And the rainfall is filling up some of the state's largest reservoirs.
KOUNALAKIS: We've never really seen anything like this. The state has been experiencing drought for the last four years. And now, we have storm upon storm.
MIRACLE: The benefit of so much rain falling so fast.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We wanted rain. We got it.
MIRACLE: Six storms in the last two weeks, and there's more to come. After almost 20 inches of rain in the last three days, even southern California's brief respite from the deluge will soon end. Another round of heavy rainfall is due this weekend with two more major storms to follow.
MIRACLE (on camera): And officials are warning people to stay home if at all possible when these conditions arise so that you can avoid situations like this landslide right here.
Back to you, Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Veronica Miracle in San Francisco, thanks so much.
Turning now to the ongoing investigation into the suspicious disappearance of a Massachusetts mother. Police continue to look into the bloodied evidence found so far. Law enforcement sources say a hacksaw, torn up cloth and apparent blood stains were found in a trash transfer site. They say that might be linked to 39-year-old Ana Walshe's disappearance.
CNN's Jason Carroll is in coastal town of Cohasset, Massachusetts, where Walshe is from.
And, Jason, what more do we know about Ana Walshe's husband Brian Walshe who has been arrested for misleading investigators about this case?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, Jake. It turns out, before this case that you were talking about, before the case where he pleaded guilty to selling fake Warhols, there were allegations he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from his father. This was uncovered in court documents we found. He was also referred to as a, quote, sociopath.
Again, these are court documents which show that he was estranged from his father for many, many years and that's basically of some sort of a legal entanglement that he had gotten into with him over a real estate deal. It got so bad at what point that his father actually, according to these court documents, cut Walshe out of his will.
His father ended up dying back in 2018. That didn't stop him, even though he was cut from the will, from contesting the will, trying to go after his estate. That was unsuccessful. A judge did not side with him.
One of the points that we found here in all of the court documents that really stood out, Jake, and I want to read part of it to you. This comes from a friend of Walshe's father that said this about Brian. He said the following: Brian is not only a sociopath, but also a very angry and physically violent person. I want nothing to do with him.
That was back in 2019. Very chilling words considering now Walshe's wife is missing -- Jake.
TAPPER: And can we expect any changes or any adjustment to the charges against Brian Walshe?
CARROLL: I think that's the big question a lot of people out here are asking. That's really going to depend upon some of the items that were found at that trash facility that you talked about, the hacksaw, the cloth material, which appeared to have blood on it. They will run tests, see if they can make a connection between what they found there and -- if they can make connections, then legal experts that we talked to say expect some charges to be coming in terms of timing, hard to say at this point.
TAPPER: All right. Jason Carroll in Cohasset, Massachusetts, thanks so much.
Let's turn now to our world lead. Russia has appointed a new commander to lead its war in Ukraine. This is second new leader for Putin's war in just three months. A move so significant, former U.S. national security advisor John Bolton tells me it would be as if we moved the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Mark Milley, to the job.
The move comes as a major battle is underway for the town of Soledar, in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian forces claim Russia is close to capturing the town. Those claims by Russia are false.
But as CNN's Ben Wedeman reports for Ukraine is struggling in this fight.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Medics load a wounded soldier onto an ambulance, another casualty from the embattled town of Soledar.
It varies depending on the number of casualties on the front lines.
Russian forces, mostly troops from the Wagner group, the private military company, claim to have control of the entire Soledar territory.
The battle for Soledar may be in its final stages, and it doesn't appear to be going well for the Ukrainians. And if indeed the Russians do emerge victorious, the villages around it may be the next to fall.
Ukraine's helicopters still flying sorties, its forces aren't giving ground easily. One soldier says it's difficult but we're hanging in there.
Despite the fighting, Irina is staying put with her pigs and cows in her home in a nearby village.
We won't leave, she says. You can only die once. I will not abandon my house.
Her 81-year-old mother Ludmila has lived here for more than 40 years.
We had a good life here, she says.
Sergei Goskov (ph), head of the Soledar military administration. I'm delivering aid, he says, and reminding people they need to evacuate before it's too late.
Svitlana says she will heed his call. Everyone is tired, she tells me. We can't take it any longer.
As Soledar burns, there is little time to waste.
WEDEMAN (on camera): And the picture that is emerging from inside Soledar is one of a Ukrainian army desperately struggling to keep its positions. Now, as we were leaving that area, we did see Ukrainian forces -- rather Ukrainian reinforcements coming in. It wasn't clear if they were preparing for a counterattack or to cover a retreat -- Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Ben Wedeman in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, thank you so much.
Coming up, the new warning about TikTok. This time it's not just your data at risk that's cause for alarm. Parents, you're going to want to listen up on this one.
TAPPER: This just in. The White House physician says that surgery today revealed a lesion on the face of First Lady Jill Biden. They say it was basil cell sarcoma. Dr. Kevin O'Connor issued a letter moments ago, saying the procedure lasted several hours today, and also revealed an area of concern on the left side of the first lady's chest which that lesion was removed and confirmed to be cancerous. Dr. O'Connor says the first lady is experiencing facial swelling and bruising but is in good spirits.
In our tech lead, the U.S. government says TikTok, the social media app that comes from China, is a national security threat because the government may be able to access user's data.
TikTok denies that, but the app has been banned from federal workers' devices.
Now, however, some psychologists are warning about another problem. TikTok's impact on young people's mental health.
CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich looked into why they are concerned.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS REPORTER (voice-over): In just five years, TikTok has amassed more than one billion global users.
Eyeballs around the world glued to the endless content and viral videos.
How long do you think you spend on TikTok every day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two to three hours.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three to four hours.
YURKEVICH: But last month, the U.S. government, along with more than a dozen states, banned TikTok on most federal devices, citing national security concerns over its Chinese parent company and the possibility it could pressure TikTok to hand over personal data. There is no public evidence the Chinese government has done that but
there is evidence of another risk, social media's impact on mental health particularly among Gen Z.
DR. JEAN TWENGE, PSYCHOLOGIST: Teen depression started to rise after 2012. So did self-harm and suicide.
YURKEVICH: Dr. Gene Twenge says as smartphones and social media grew, so did the rate of depression among teens, nearly doubling between 2004 and 2019. By that year, one in four U.S. teen | 7,947 |
I. CALL TO ORDER: Jim Carlson called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m. at the Waverly Town Hall. Commissioners present at the meeting were: Carlson, Dave Krell and Tom Pottratz. Also present was Kynda Browning, Secretary, Cindy Carlson, EMS Director, and Josh Evans, Chief.
Browning swore in David Krell as commissioner.
II. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES: The minutes from the February 20, 2019 commissioner meeting were presented. Tom Pottratz made a motion to approve the commissioner meeting minutes as presented. Dave Krell seconded the motion; all commissioners voted yes.
III. PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS, APPLICATIONS, APPEALS, COMMUNICATIONS, ETC: There was none.
~There have only been a few calls for the last few months.
~There was discussion about a fireman's fund to purchase items. Josh Evans will look into it.
Cindy Carlson wondered if Ryan Wilson and Devin Billington passed the EMT class. Browning reported Ryan Wilson turned in his paperwork.
Cindy Carlson said she would like it if the EMTS could have a fund raiser. There was discussion about having something with the Waverly Community Yard Sale.
A. AIRPACKS: Josh Evans said they are purchasing 14 packs at $500.00 for a total of $7,000.00, 14 bottles at $1,135.00 for $15,890.00, and bags to hold the masks for $297.50 from Curtis Tools for a total of $25,065.0<|fim_middle|> adjourn the meeting at 7:39 p.m. Dave Krell seconded the motion; all commissioners voted yes. | 0. This was approved at the February meeting.
B. TURNOUTS: Josh Evans said he will work with Curtis Tools on this.
A. APPROVE KURT SCHAFER AS VOLUNTEER FIREMAN: Tom Pottratz made a motion to accept Kurt Schafer as a firefighter. Dave Krell seconded the motion; all commissioners voted yes.
VII. PRESENTATION OF VOUCHERS, WARRANTS, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND REPORTS: Payroll voucher numbers 22268 and 22258 totaling $456.24 and voucher numbers 22259 through 22267 totaling $3,448.15 were presented to the Commissioners for approval. Tom Pottratz made a motion to approve the bills as presented. Dave Krell seconded the motion; all commissioners voted yes.
VIII. ADJOURNMENT: Tom Pottratz made a motion to | 200 |
Mumbai, Oct 26 (IANS) Actor Govinda says "Rangeela Raja" is typically his brand of film, complete<|fim_middle|> a negative character. I haven't got an opportunity to appear as a hero in a film from a very long time. Therefore, I produced 'Aa Gaya Hero' but it didn't do well because of demonetisation at that time.
"My last released film 'FryDay' did well. So, I hope that I keep getting success with my upcoming films." | with dances and songs.
Govinda was interacting with the media at the music launch of "Rangeela Raja" along with his co-actors Shakti Kapoor, producer Pahlaj Nihalani and director Sikander Bharti here on Thursday.
Nihalani and Govinda have together given Bollywood films like "Ilzaam", "Shola Aur Shabnam" and "Aankhen". The duo is joining forces again after over 25 years for "Rangeela Raja".
Govinda, who plays a double role in the movie, said: "I started working with Pahlaj sir in 'Ilzaam' and after that, we both delivered number of hit films like 'Shola Aur Shabnam' and 'Aankhen'. I am feeling like a newcomer who has started his career. There are lots of surprises in the film.
"I would like to say that it's a typical Govinda film in which the audience will be able to see dance and songs throughout the film. I feel that this film will touch the heart of the audience because in every household, there are people like Rangeela Raja. We have also tried to give a really nice message through the film."
Govinda hasn't been able to deliver a hit film as a solo lead from very long time.
Talking about his struggling period in the Hindi film industry, he said: "I am thankful to Pahlaj sir for giving me the opportunity to work in his film. I hope we would continue our past record of hit films with this one as well.
"Since past 9 years, I wasn't getting an opportunity to do substantial roles of my choice. I did comedy in 'Happy Ending' and in 'Kill Dil', I played | 356 |
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History - Pistachio Origins
Pistachio trees have grown in the Middle East for thousands of years. Pistachios have always been a desired delicacy in this region. Pistachios are mentioned in the Old Testament (Genesis 43:11).
In Persia (modern day Iran), pistachio trade and ownership of pistachio groves meant riches and high status. Legend has it that pistachios were a favorite of the Queen of Sheba, who demanded all her land's production for herself and her court. Through the conquests of Alexander the Great (334-323 BC), the nut reached Greece. Later, under the rule of the Roman Emperor Tiberius (First Century AD), the nut was also introduced into Italy and Spain.
Traded Goods between the Orient and Europe
The cultivation area of the pistachio expanded further with the spread of Islam and the resulting Arab expansion. Alongside the Crusades, the Levant trade in the Middle Ages was also widespread. The Venetian<|fim_middle|> machines installed in underground train stations, bars, restaurants and other common locations. "A dozen for a nickel" soon developed into a familiar slogan.
In Search of the Perfect Pistachio for America
It was recognized that California's Central Valley – due to its fertile soil, hot, dry climate and moderately cold winters – offered the ideal growing conditions for the nut. In 1929, American botanist, William E. Whitehouse, journeyed to Persia (modern day Iran) to collect pistachios. This pursuit came to a close in 1930, when he returned to the USA with a collection of approximately 20 pounds (10 kilograms) of individually selected nuts.
Within a year, the first test plots had been planted. However, pistachio trees take seven to ten years to mature, so it was almost a decade before Whitehouse knew what he had gathered.
Of all the nuts Whitehouse collected, only one proved useful. Unfortunately, he never saw the tree from which it originated. He had picked the nut out of a pile of drying nuts in the orchards of the Agah family, who were prominent pistachio growers at Rafsanjan, in Iran's central plateau. Whitehouse named the tree "Kerman" after the famous carpet-making city near Rafsanjan. Scientists propagated and strengthened the Kerman by budding it to heartier rootstock varieties.
After many years of experimenting, the concept of the American pistachio industry was becoming a reality. Word of the new crop spread, and plantings emerged throughout California in the 1960s and later in Arizona and New Mexico. Yet, many facets of the new crop remained a challenge to these adventurous Americans. Pistachios are wind pollinated, as opposed to bee pollinated. Just one male tree is required to pollinate up to 30 female trees.
Commercial Cultivation of American Pistachios
The story of the U.S. pistachio industry has been one with unparalleled success. From its first commercial crop of 1.5 million pounds (680 tons), in 1976 to the record 2016 crop of over 900 million pounds (408,233 metric tons), success has built upon success. This increase in total crop has been mirrored by increasing production per acre, from 1,468 pounds per acre, in 1982, to over 3,806 pounds per acre in 2010. Consequently, the industry has gone from barely providing for the domestic market to exporting the majority of its production to countries all over the world.
The American Pistachio Industry Today
Today, the states of California, Arizona and New Mexico represent 100 percent of the U.S. commercial pistachio production. California comprises 99 percent of the total, with over 312,000 acres planted throughout 22 counties. There are 950 producers in the United States, and the annual "farm gate value"* of pistachios represents more than $1.6 billion to the California economy and more than $16 million to the states of Arizona and New Mexico.
*Commonly defined in agriculture as the net value of the product when it leaves the farm, after marketing costs have been subtracted.
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Copyright © 2017 American Pistachio Growers. All Rights Reserved. | Republic, in particular, had close trade ties with Syria, one of the main cultivation areas for the pistachio. The goods reached northern and central Italy via the sea trade routes.
Pistachios Cross
North of the Alps, the pistachio remained unknown for a long time. Upon reaching central Europe, it was called the "Latin Penny Nut" because of its introduction from the Italian sales route, over the Alpine passes.
While the pistachio was used early on, in various ways for cooking in Italy, north of the Alps it was used primarily as an expensive addition to baked goods. Only after World War II did the pistachio image gradually change from an expensive baking additive to a popular snack.
The Historical Development of American Pistachios
During the 1880s, imported pistachios were popular in the USA, especially with Middle Eastern immigrants. The pistachio received further distribution through vending | 188 |
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Epithalamium Redux Redux
Living la Muerte de Lorca
[Ainadamar, Long Beach Opera]
Something in the Air Besides the Atmosphere
[Hilary Hahn and Hauschka : Silfra]
Silfra could have gone wrong down any number of regrettable paths, most of them leading to the dreary nether zone populated by the chittering shades of purposeless "Classical Crossover" recordings. But it did not. Rather, by dint of superior skill or rigorous commitment or perhaps just good fortune, Silfra emerges as a unique and rewarding creation, a lapidary melding of sound and idea that deserves extended and repeated attention.
The story has it that in 2008 violinist Hilary Hahn was introduced to the Düsseldorf-based composer/prepared-pianist Volker Bertelmann, who records and performs as Hauschka, by folk musician Tom Brosseau. Brosseau had collaborated with Hahn, and he was a label mate of Hauschka's on Fat Cat Records. A few weeks later, Hahn joined in a 5-minute improvised performance with Hauschka at the end of a Brosseau show in San Francisco. By the end of those five minutes a slow growing creative seed had been planted.
Hahn contributed a violin part to "Girls," a track on Hauschka's 2011 Salon Des Amateurs , but there was no public indication that the two were at work on anything larger until March of this year, when Hahn's label, Deutsche Grammophon, announced the forthcoming release of Silfra. In fact, at about the time that Salon des Amateurs was being released, Hahn and Hauschka were in Reykjavik's Greenhouse Studios, where they recorded Silfra over ten days in May 2011, after two years of planning and long-distance rehearsal.
While Hilary Hahn will be the best known participant in this project for most listeners, I am far more familiar with Hauschka's previous work—and for that matter more familiar with the work of co-producer Valgeir Sigurðsson—than I am with Ms. Hahn, who is known to me only by reputation. The music of Silfra was for the most part created on the spot through the two musicians improvising an initial track together, then jointly or individually improvising further in response to it. The use of a variously prepared piano for Hauschka's parts added a further layer of the unexpected to each performance.
Much of Hauschka's work here is of a piece with the range of styles and tactics he has displayed in his own releases. That said, this is arguably the best version yet of those styles and tactics. "Bounce Bounce"—the 'single' of sorts, since it comes with a lovely hand-animated submaritime video—is in many ways a quintessential Hauschka number, violin and piano each setting their own insistent percussive counterrhythms as they slew across one another. Similarly, the stately dance rhythms and frayed and faded over<|fim_middle|> Stage (95)
Art and Museums (76)
Arts and Culture At Large (40)
Double Dactyls (29)
Education and Homeschooling (17)
History (Personal and Otherwise) (33)
Legalisms (94)
Miscellany (130)
Moose and Squirrel (23)
Music - Wagner (14)
TW3 (12)
Utter Nonsense (92)
a fool in the forest • | coat moodiness of "Kraków" would slip easily in to, say, Ferndorf . Stepping away from his prior work, however, Hauschka also explores a more abstracted, atmospheric approach on several Silfra tracks, laying a ground over which the violin can rummage for a path.
Hilary Hahn meanwhile, freed from the set expectations and more regimented milieu of the symphony hall and the Classical repertoire, has taken the opportunity to press and stress her instrument to see just how much she can command from it—and given her acknowledged technical prowess, she is able to command a great deal. Her explorations and discoveries in these pieces have less to do with unexpected notes or chords than with exploring of the range of tone and color and feel that her violin can produce. Silfra is in part an extended meditation on how the violin can sound, without venturing too far over the line toward distortion, and how it can be recorded. This is particularly the case in the album's long central piece, "Godot," a 12+ minute single take during much of which the piano takes on the role of contemporary percussion ensemble while the violin enters and recedes with snatches, drones, twitches and wails, until the two parts subside at the last to a resigned trudge of quiet chords beneath a fragmentary, plaintive melody.
Will Robin earlier this week posted an insightful piece on Silfra on his blog, Seated Ovation, in which he speculates persuasively on the extent to which Valgeir Sigurðsson, as engineer and co-producer, is almost a third performer in bringing Silfra to its final form. Sigurðsson today strikes me as the heir to Brian Eno's seminal work as a producer/musician in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with a clear willingness to embrace happenstance as opportunity, and to treat the recording studio as an additional instrument of sorts. In the case of Silfra, the fortuitous combination of Sigurðsson, Hahn and Hauschka yields music that is well-wrought at its center while shading intriguingly at its edges toward an unresolved horizon.
Some video.
First, DG may call it an Electronic Press Kit, but I call it a Coming Attractions trailer. Pretty good whate'er its name, with glimpses of the Hahn/Hauschka/Sigurðsson triumvirate at work:
Second, Hilary Hahn vids and chats up Volker Bertelmann as he Prepares his Piano:
And . . . Silfra.
Silfra is scheduled for release May 22. This post is based on a requested review copy of the CD.
Photo: Silfra Fissure near Lake Þingvallavatn, Þingvellir National Park, Iceland, via Wikimedia Commons. The album title refers to this rift or fissure outside of Reykjavik, filled with glacial melt water of near perfect clarity and marking the point where the North American and European tectonic plates meet.
Posted at 09:41 AM in Music | Permalink | Comments (3)
Hey George, great review, and I agree with Will's statements as well.
I'm writing my own review of the record as well (Thanks NPR), so be on the lookout for that! :)
Posted by: Chris McGovern | May 18, 2012 at 10:21 AM
Hell of a review, all the more excitable the record, cheers.
Posted by: Jonathan | May 19, 2012 at 05:15 AM
I do find this an interesting project, no question, and enjoyed both yours and Robin's takes on it. Puts me in mind of a post by Andrew Lee at I Care If You Listen, about performers as co-composers. I do like the concept (after all, I was brought up on jazz), and I certainly can understand the desire of classical performers to break out of the traditional box. On the other hand, I'll have to confess that I have a fondness for hearing an individual composer's vision. This is not to say there can't be room for both. I'm in a wait and see mode, I think: it'll be interesting to see what develops.
Posted by: Susan Scheid | May 22, 2012 at 06:31 PM
a fool in the forest
The personal & cultural web journal of George M. Wallace, an attorney practicing in Pasadena, California.
An Index of Enthusiasms.
Epigraphs
A fool, a fool! I met a fool i' the
forest,
A motley fool; a miserable world!
As I do live by food, I met a fool
Who laid him down and bask'd him
in the sun,
And rail'd on Lady Fortune in good
terms,
In good set terms and yet a motley
fool.
As You Like It,
Act II, Scene 7
L'homme y passe à travers des
forêts de symboles
Qui l'observent avec des regards
familiers.
Les Fleurs du Mal,
[T]here is almost no subject-matter, and what little one can disentangle is foolish....
One would call the style verbose, except that by definition verbosity is the use of words in excess of the occasion, and there seems to be no occasion.
Yvor Winters,
Forms of Discovery, Ch. 7
Listening Listfully 2022:a simulacrum of an outline of a catalogue
Listening Listfully 2021
Michelin Stars of Alderaan [work in progress]
Old Pappy Know-Good's Almanac
Eurydice: Takes Upon the Mystery of Things
Dionysian Hymn
The Feral Parrots Fly in Pairs
"The Kissed Mouth": Words, for an Unrealized Song Cycle
Administrative (48)
All the World's a | 1,255 |
What Happens When the Patient Becomes the Boss?
Dr. Eric Topol, Founder and Director, Scripps Translational Science Institute, Christi Shaw, President, Lilly Bio-Medicines, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, President and Dean, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Beth Kowitt, Senior Writer and Co-chair, MP<|fim_middle|> the following his knee surgery when his physician couldn't figure out what was wrong (his wife ultimately diagnosed him after spending some time combing the Internet for answers).
But there's also the benefit of having more control. Christi Shaw, the president of Lilly Bio-Medicines, talked about becoming the caregiver for her sister with multiple myeloma, a cancer that forms in plasma cells. Though doctors told Shaw they were out of treatment options for her sister, Shaw contacted other medical experts and learned about a study of an un-approved drug in that could work. Her sister's doctor was open to trying it, and it ultimately reduced her sister's cancer significantly within one month, according to Shaw. Without her own research and persistence, her sister's medical team wouldn't have known about the drug in the first place.
"The science is exploding and it's coming so fast at us, and we need to figure out how to harness it," Shaw said.
Not all physicians may be ready for patients to take more ownership of their health and treatment plans, but the panelists agreed that medicine is moving in the direction of more educated and empowered patients. One way patients can improve their own treatment experiences, Shaw suggests, is by studying up before their doctors appointments and bringing their physicians specific questions to discuss during short appointments. One day, they may even be able to present doctors with data from wearable devices like fitness trackers and smartwatches, too.
"We need to embrace and cultivate that [people] are taking more charge of their care," said Topol.
Tony Robbins: 'You Have to Fail to Be Successful' | W Next Gen, Fortune at Fortune Brainstorm Health 2018.
Photograph by Stuart Isett for F—Photograph by Stuart Isett for F
By Alexandra Sifferlin
March 20, 2018 2:28 PM EDT
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif.—Patients today have access to tools that allow them to know much more about their personal health than ever before—for better or for worse. Whether it's the ability to look up clinical trials and new research or use wearable devices that track everything from steps to sleep quality, men and women can gather more information and bring more informed questions to their doctor. But is the medical community ready for it?
At Fortune magazine's Brainstorm Health conference, medical leaders talked about how patients can become more empowered, and the obstacles they still face. "I would say the patient is not yet in the driver's seat, but should be in the driver's seat," says Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, the president and dean, of Morehouse School of Medicine. "Right now the disease is in the driver's seat."
Part of the reason for this, Rice says, is that doctors are not necessarily as well educated in the technology aspects of their job, and the ability to use multiple data sources to make decisions—even if patients are ready for that kind of care. To improve the modern doctor-patient relationship, more may need to be done to educate physicians. Rice says Morehouse is working to make sure physicians are exposed to technology much earlier, starting in medical school. Students right way learn how to use electronic medical records (which Rice says are in desperate need of an update) as well as how to embrace technology in their jobs—from basic electronics like laptops to social media. "We need them to be comfortable using technology," she says.
Even medical professionals have learned about the need to take medical care into their own hands as patients. Dr. Eric Topol, the founder and director of Scripps Translational Science Institute, told the audience about the "nightmare-ish course" that happened to him in | 424 |
Bitumen is delivered hot and therefore precise procedures are needed in order to minimise safety risks such as burn injuries. Safety is something on which the transport company Kördel maintains a constant focus.
Kördel has delivered bitumen<|fim_middle|> out more than 10 000 accidentfree loadings from Harburg.
Over the years, Kördel has developed a well-structured safety model. For example, all drivers must check their road tankers after every stop in accordance with standardised checklists, which are then examined. This ensures that both the vehicle and the driver's personal protective equipment (PPE) are in order.
The automatic systems make sure that drivers can take care of loading themselves. Before a tanker is allowed access, the driver must undergo an induction process and answer a number of questions to show that he or she has understood all the safety procedures. The driver then enters an order number to start the loading process. The facility is also equipped with a number of safety devices, for example overfill protection, which is in turn linked to a database for documentation and control.
"We maintain a continuous dialogue with Nynas. It's a sharing of experience that's important for keeping safety awareness at a constant high level. During preparatory work for the new loading facility in Harburg, we also took part in a number of meetings with Nynas to contribute our experiences," says General Manager Heike Kördel-Klipp.
But it's not enough for staff at Nynas depots and Kördel's drivers to have a high level of safety awareness. Every part of the chain must work and that includes the customer plants where the bitumen is delivered.
"Successful safety work is based on the supplier, transport provider and asphalt plant cooperating continuously by sharing information and proactively solving problems before an incident occurs. This is a key factor in making sure that safety is always a priority," emphasises Anna Schott, QHSSE Manager at Kördel.
All new drivers that Kördel hires undergo a customised training programme. As well as accompanying an experienced driver, it also includes overview of the usage of correct personal protective equipment as well as the safe loading and unloading of bitumen. Depending on previous experience, the induction process takes 1-4 weeks.
Kördel also has three specially experienced drivers, whose job it is to make sure that all the company's employees follow all procedures to the letter when loading and making deliveries at depots and asphalt plants.
"This means, among other things, checking that drivers are using their personal protective equipment and in general complying with the safety procedures, as well as acting professionally towards the customers. Knowledgeable staff are the key to our success," concludes Anna Schott. | for Nynas for more than 15 years, and during the last five years naphthenic specialty oils as well. When the new bitumen loading facility at the Harburg refinery opened in 2016, it was therefore natural for Kördel to be given the main responsibility for loading operations at the site. Since autumn 2016, they have carried | 79 |
The full view of parcels and property taxes within C146 are for Cityscape Pro and Cityscape Permits members only.
This area is bounded on the north by Lake St., on the south by Columbus Park, and on the west by the neighboring village of Oak Park. The terriain is flat and the area is about 100% built up. There is heavy traffic along Lake St., Washington Blvd. Madison St., Austin Ave. (the western boundary) and Central Ave. (the eastern boundary). High schools, grammar schools, and churches are convenient. Residents shop at fine shopping center in Oak Park. There are also numerouss small stores along Lake St., and along Madison St. There are many large apartment buildings along the boulevards above mentioned, and these are largely occupied by Hebrew tenants. As<|fim_middle|>146? Order a Zoning Report instantly from MAP Strategies.
Show a map of all the Places that overlap C146, including ZIP codes, Census tracts, legislative districts, and TIF districts (this may take awhile if C146 has a large area). | a whole the area would probably be 20-25% Jewish. Some of this migration is coming from Lawndale and from the southwest side of Chicago. Land values are quite high due to the fact that the area is zoned for apartment buildings. This penalizes single family occupancy because of high taxes based on exclusive land values, which are from $60-80 a front foot, altho one authority estimates them at $100 a front foot. An example of this is shown where HOLC had a house on Mason St. exposed for sale over a (over) period of two years at prices beginning at $6,000 and going down to $4,500. it was finally sold for $3,800. The land alone is taxed based on a valuation exceeding that amount. This area is favored by good transportation and by proximity to a good Catholic Church and parochial school. There are a few scattered two flats in which units rent for about $55. Columbus Park on the south affords exceptional recreational advantages. The Hawthorne Building & Loan, Bell Savings Building & Loan, and Prairie State Bank have loaned in this area, without the FHA insurance provision. The amounts are stated to be up to 50% and in some cases 60%, of current appraisals. Age, slow infiltration, and rather indifferent maintenance have been considered in grading this area "C".
You're free to use our static map of C146, but please attribute Chicago Cityscape and link to this page.
The area of C146 is 0.3173 square miles.
Want to know what you're allowed to build in C | 351 |
Home > Local Weather Forecast > Egypt > Jirja > Climate Profile
Jirja Climate History
Past weather including monthly averages for Jirja
Country Overview For Egypt
The climate in Egypt is typically desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters. The terrain: vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta. For Cairo in January the daily average maximum temperatures is 19°C with the average minimum 9°C, while in June the average maximum is 34°C with a minimum of 21°C. The wettest month for Cairo<|fim_middle|>0.0mm falling.
The information presented below gives detailed historical monthly average weather conditions along with exceptional weather occurrences. To maintain relevance to current weather trends the displayed information has been calculated using data collected over the past two decades. The climate profile is taken from closest available data source to Jirja.
Throughout the month of January daytime temperatures will generally reach highs of around 23°C that's about 73°F. At night the average minimum temperature drops down to around 7°C, that's 44°F.
In recent times the highest recorded temperature in January has been 31°C that's 89°F, with the lowest recorded temperature -1°C, about 30°F.
The average monthly amount of precipitation has been recorded at around 2 mm, that's 0 inches.
The average daily wind speed in January has been around 7 km/h, that's the equivalent to about 4 mph, or 4 knots. In recent years the maximum sustained wind speed has reached 63 km/h, that's the equivalent of around 39 mph, or 34 knots.
On average the month of January is not affected by foggy conditions. | is March with an average of 13.3mm of precipitation falling while the driest month is September with | 24 |
Favourite Ransome Quotations
This is a list of favourite quotations from Arthur Ransome, mostly from the Swallows and Amazons series. These quotations have been posted as favourites by participants on TarBoard, the Arthur Ransome Discussion Forum, at one time or another. If you have a particular favourite which isn't listed, please let us know at contact ATR.
The quotations are presented as they are<|fim_middle|> as money does go, before they had done any of the things that in their first moment of wealth they had planned. Ch.1
Bohemia In London
Of all kinds of bondage, vagabondage is the most cruel, and the hardest from which to escape. Introductory Chapter
Racundra's First Cruise
Houses, are but badly built boats so firmly aground that you cannot think of moving them. Ch.1
Back to the Literary Pages | in the books. Material not in quotation marks is Ransome writing directly to the reader, e.g. Softly, at first, as if it hardly meant it, the snow began to fall. Material is presented in quotes when Ransome puts it in quotes, generally because a character is speaking or quoted e.g. "A pigeon a day keeps the natives away."
The quotations are organized by book and chapter; however, here is the overall favourite:
Softly, at first, as if it hardly meant it, the snow began to fall. WH, Ch.5
Swallows and Amazons
The island had come to seem one of those places seen from the train that belong to a life in which we shall never take part. Ch.1
BETTER DROWNED THAN DUFFERS IF NOT DUFFERS WONT DROWN Ch.1
Peter Duck
"Rot screw steamers," he burst out fiercely, "driving vessels like her off the seas where they belong!" Ch.17
Swallowdale
They found, like many explorers before them, that somehow, in their absence, they had got into trouble at home. Ch.5
As Nancy Blackett always said, one of the best things about her Uncle Jim was that he never asked you why you tumbled down. Ch.7
"When a thing's done, it's done, and if it's not done right, do it differently next time. Worrying never made a sailor." Ch.8
"We're all duffers sometimes, but it's only now and then we get found out." Ch.8
"Pouf!" said Susan, raking the sticks together in the fireplace. "Isn't it a blessing to get home?" Ch. 36
"What? What? Oh, it's you, Dot. You did give me a jump." "Well, you ought to hang out a notice when you're not there." Ch.2
"Dark at tea-time and sleeping indoors: nothing ever happens in the winter holidays." Ch.3
Softly, at first, as if it hardly meant it, the snow began to fall. Ch.5
He was not angry. Nobody ever was angry with Dorothea. Ch.21
And the little sledge, roaring as it rushed over the ice, flew northwards in the storm. Ch 24
Coot Club
The klop, klop of water under the bows of a small boat will cure most troubles in this world. Ch.11
Pigeon Post
""It's Nancy...She's beginning something already." Ch.1
"A pigeon a day keeps the natives away." Ch.4
We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea
...this happy place where almost everybody wore sea-boots, and land, in comparison with water, seemed hardly to matter at all. Ch.1
"Grab a chance and you won't be sorry for a might-have-been." Ch.2
Secret Water
The explorers, crowded aboard her, looked astern and saw the islands of the Secret Archipelago merge once more into a long unbroken line on the horizon. Ch.31
The Big Six
They all went out together into sunshine that seemed extraordinarily friendly. A light breeze was stirring the river and they could see the water sparkling through the trees. "Come on," said Tom. "Let's all go sailing." Ch.32
"Poor lads," said the old man. "Poor lads....So young and with nothing left to live for." Postscript
Missee Lee
"She's got a rum job, but she knows how to do it, and to have a job and know how to do it is one of the best things in this life." Ch.26
The Picts And The Martyrs
A smell of new-mown hay drifted from the meadows on the further side of the river. "There isn't a lovelier place in all the world," thought Dorothea. London last night, and now Beckfoot. The summer holidays had begun. Ch.2
He wanted to be safe from help of any kind. Ch.16
"Tommy Jolys," the Great Aunt interrupted him, "am I right in supposing that you are the leading spirit in this foolery?" Ch.29
Great Northern?
"What's hit's history: what's missed's mystery." Ch.9
Coots In The North
The Death and Glory was very much as she had been the year before. The money her owners had earned by the catch of the enormous pike had somehow gone, | 968 |
RGC1404
Former coach says he has left RGC in 'safe hands' following exit
Mark Jones stepped down earlier this week for family reasons
North Wales Live
Wales interim coach for summer tour, Robin McBride (centre) with Mark Jones, head coach of RGC (right)
Mark Jones believes he has left RGC in safe hands after three years in the Principality Premiership.
The 2005 Grand Slam winner joined the North Wales Development Region as RGC head coach on the back of their promotion into the top flight of Welsh club rugby.
He took on the mantle after the significant progress made by previous coaches Clive Griffiths, Chris Horsman, Damian McGrath and Phil Davies with the side, which was launched a decade ago and entered the National Leagues in 2012.
Jones and his coaching team steered the side to an historic cup win and Principality Premiership play-off semi-final in the first Premiership season, they finished in fourth place last season and maintained a respectable mid table 8th position this season, comfortably securing their place in the Premiership with a young squad and producing an attacking and entertaining brand of rugby.
Jones' proudest achievement is bringing on an array of North Wales talent and creating an environment in which young players can<|fim_middle|> person.
Cross Keys 24 RGC 82: Gogs score 14 tries in record Premiership win
"The North Wales Development Region remains a priority for us as a Union.
"It is vital that wherever you live in Wales, that there's a pathway to fulfil your rugby potential, be it as a male or female player, coach, referee or volunteer.
"We will continue to help and support RGC as they prepare for the next stage in their journey."
WaitroseThe hilarious middle class conversations we overheard at North Wales' only Waitrose storeCustomers at the Menai Bridge supermarket were rejoicing at the return of the goji berry - but turned their noses up at reduced price cous cous
GwyneddOne in hospital after Gwynedd house fireFirefighters tackled the flames which had spread from the garden to the property | continue to thrive after his departure.
"Clearly the cup win will stay long in the memories of everyone involved, from the players to the supporters. However, what I'm most pleased about is creating a sustainable model for RGC which gives the people of North Wales the highest possible level of rugby.
RGC 63 Cardiff 24: Gogs finish season with nine-try rout
"We came in at a time of real transition after an established side had secured a dream promotion but many of those players were either nearing the end of their careers or keen to gain new rugby experiences. Our challenge was to build a solid foundation on which to build momentum and I'm proud of what we've done.
RGC celebrate winning the WRU National Cup
"We've created an environment which is as professional as possible and we deliberately favour working with younger players as they tend to have more flexible lifestyles which frees them up for extra conditioning or skills sessions earlier in the day."
Jones, who is leaving Parc Eirias for family reasons and to challenge himself further as a coach , added: "I'm so proud of helping to develop numerous players who've gone on to play at a higher level, either representing Wales at age grade or sevens, going on to gain professional regional contracts or moving on to clubs outside Wales.
"I hope I've done what was asked of me - and more in many ways as we felt we had a duty to help raise the standard of rugby all over North Wales.
Merthyr 28 RGC 24: Late heartbreak for RGC as hosts clinch title
"We measure ourselves on player development and I'm delighted we stayed up as it's key that RGC delivers the best level of rugby for the people of North Wales - both in terms of young, aspiring players and the supporters - and RGC is certainly one of the most well-supported sides in the Premiership.
"Despite not finishing as high as previous two seasons, we are reasonably happy with our season. Year three was very much a transition year for us, the average age of our players is 21 and yet we continued to play an attractive style of rugby. We had the most bonus point victories in the league and also the most losing bonus points.
When we lost - as we did at the end of our penultimate game at Merthyr - the players learned important lessons – and put those to practice as they did against Cardiff last weekend, bouncing back with a convincing performance. You can't ask for more than that.
Watch: Fans at Wales vs RGC
"I believe I've left the set-up in a good place for the next head coach to be able to continue fairly seamlessly. The players know what is expected of them and the systems and structures are in place."
Jones leaves his post at the end of June until which time he will continue to help with the hand-over ahead of next season.
Former RGC head coach Mark Jones at Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay
North Wales academy manager Josh Leach and regional community manager Marc Roberts continue to lead the performance and participation elements of rugby in North Wales.
WRU community director Geraint John added, "We are grateful for all the hard work and dedication Mark Jones has shown to his role over the last three years.
"He has developed as a head coach in that time and made a huge impact in the development of North Wales players.
"He has gone above and beyond his role as head coach in helping to develop players and coaches across the region. He is respected as a coach but above all as a | 720 |
Home Religion Sisters of Our Lady of the Angels Offer Spiritual Retreat
Sisters of Our Lady of the Angels Offer Spiritual Retreat
Michael Marshall
Mother Kathy Ullrich, Sr. Barbara Smickel and Sr. Jan McCoy. Photo: Michael Marshall.
It's been a year since the Cistercian nuns at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery consecrated their new church, a bittersweet milestone since it coincided with the death of one of their original number, Sister Mary David DeFeo, who had come to the monastery when it opened in 1987. She now occupies the first plot in the monastery's small cemetery adjoining the church.
Since then the sisters have added one new nun, Sr. Jacqueline Melendez, from Venezuela, as well as a postulant, some one discerning whether the life of a cloistered nun is her destiny, Eve Marie Aragona. They now number 13.
Our Lady of the Angels Monastery. Photo: Michael Marshall.
"I wouldn't change a thing in it," said Sr. Barbara Smickel of how the new sanctuary is working out in practice. The tiny chapel area that formerly served as the church—the sisters dubbed it the "holy shoebox"—is now renovated to serve as the business office for the sisters' Gouda cheese-making business, which supports the monastery.
"We do the maximum we can do [making the cheese] to support ourselves and give alms and still live as we must as a community," Sr. Barbara said.
"We're up on a hill, removed from the flow of life in town. We're apart not for the sake of being apart, but to do our part for the beacon of peace. Anyone, whether Catholic or not, is welcome [to visit us]. Our guest cottages are virtually always in use."
The monastery includes two small houses, situated on a small pond at a secluded distance from the main buildings, that they offer as retreat accommodations to those seeking spiritual renewal<|fim_middle|> and David Collyer
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Religion News: July 2022 | . The cabins, named for the archangels Michael and Gabriel, are offered for private retreats for as long as a week at a time. First-time guests should have a recommendation from their pastor. The cabins are not available in the winter months from Thanksgiving to Easter.
Cabin Michael and Our Lady of the Angels Monastery. Photo: Michael Marshall.
"It's a ministry of hospitality. We do not try to generate income from the cottages. I think people do feel welcome. It sounds corny or clichéd, but we are here for people."
"We consider ourselves part of the local community," added Sr. Jan McCoy. "We invite people to pray in the church. We provide a place of silence and we offer our spiritual life as an asset for the community. It's like a green space." That observation came as she was standing on the sisters' cloistered flower garden and alluded as well to the sisters' expanded gardening efforts as they raise more and more of the vegetables they eat.
She was quick to add that the sisters do not offer personal spiritual direction.
"We do pray sincerely for the prayer intentions that are left in our book," said Sr. Barbara. "We take them to heart. It's a huge outreach. We're very often stopped and asked to pray for someone. That's the biggest thing we offer."
Meanwhile the sisters are also trying to promote their vocation to other women. Sr. Maria Garcia, who joined the monastery from Madrid, Spain, six years ago, has offered a retreat for girls in the Diocese of Arlington and has visited James Madison University to talk about Cisterian life.
"We try to make ourselves known," said Sr. Barbara. "You really can't recruit for it." Their website, olamonastery.org, offers a practical discernment guide for the curious. They are hosting a come-and-see weekend September 22-23.
"It's an extraordinary life—a Christian vocation—but we ourselves are ordinary."
"We are trying to live as simply as we can," added Mother Kathy Ullrich.
Cabin Gabriel and Our Lady of the Angels Monastery. Photo: Michael Marshall.
"The diversity of our origins"—the sisters come from states across the U.S. and countries such as India, Haiti, Brazil and Venezuela—"is very enriching," she said. "You feel like you're in a place where you can try to excel at the spiritual life. Sister Jan was not a Catholic when she made her first visit."
"It was a scary and welcome realization," said Sr. Jan, who made her first visit in 1988 and joined the community in 1993. "I didn't know what it was, but it was driving me mad."
"Can we really believe in love?" said Sr. Barbara, to try to express the crux question. "Is there a trustworthy love out there? If so, why would it love me? We will be really surprised when we meet real love."
Mother Kathy had had a 15-year career in the Air Force and was about to be assigned to an important job in the Pentagon when she made the leap. "I had an inkling in college. I came to the monastery on a retreat. I was kind of spinning my wheels. I read a brochure they sent me. There was a pickup and a dog in a picture. A cloistered monastery was not on my radar. I think it was God saying, 'Make a move.'" She joined in 2001 after visiting monasteries in Ecuador and Honduras as well and was elected Mother in 2016 after the retirement at age 75 of former Mother Marian Rissetto.
"It's the best-kept secret in the world, but we don't want to it to be a secret."
The public is invited to Mass at 8 a.m. on Sundays and to evening vespers at 5:30 p.m. The monastery is at 3365 Monastery Drive, off Clark Road, about 15 minutes from downtown Crozet.
Cheese is available at the monastery 9-11 a.m. or 2-4 p.m., except Sundays. A two-pound wheel costs $28.
Our Lady of the Angels Monastery
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Religion News: Grateful Congregation Gives Thanks for Susan | 928 |
Celiac Disease<|fim_middle|> of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: "Definition and Facts for Celiac Disease."
Celiac Disease Foundation: "Understanding Celiac Disease." | - What Is Celiac Disease?
When the villi are injured, the small intestine can't properly absorb nutrients from food. Eventually, this can lead to malnourishment, as well as loss of bone density, miscarriages, infertility -- even to the start of neurological diseases, or certain cancers.
Celiac disease isn't the same thing as a food allergy, so the symptoms will differ.
If you're allergic to wheat, you may have itchy or watery eyes or a hard time breathing if you eat something that has wheat in it.
Not everyone with celiac disease will have these symptoms. And some people have no problems at all, which makes diagnosis very difficult.
Most people with celiac disease never know they have it. Researchers think as few as 20% of people with the disease ever get a proper diagnosis. The damage to the intestine is very slow, and symptoms are so varied, that it can be years before someone gets a diagnosis.
If you're already on a gluten-free diet, you'll need to come off it before having the antibody test so the results will be accurate.
If the blood test shows you might have celiac disease, you'll probably need to have endoscopy done. This is a procedure in which your doctor can look at your small intestine and take a little bit of tissue to see if it's damaged.
There are no drugs that treat celiac disease. You'll need to go on a strict gluten-free diet. In addition to staying away from bread, cake, and other baked goods, you'll also need to avoid beer, pasta, cereals, and even some toothpastes, medications, and other products that contain gluten.
If you have a severe nutritional deficiency, your doctor may have you take gluten-free vitamins and mineral supplements and will prescribe medication if you have a skin rash.
After you've been on a gluten-free diet for a few weeks, you should start to feel better, as your small intestine begins to heal.
Celiac disease tends to run in families, as it is a genetic disorder. If you have a parent, child, brother, or sister who has celiac disease, you have a 1 in 10 chance of getting it yourself. But having the genes for celiac disease doesn't automatically mean you'll get it.
Sometimes, a stressful event such as a viral infection, surgery, or some emotional trauma can trigger it. It could also happen after pregnancy. Of course, you would need to be eating foods with gluten for any harm to happen.
The disease is most common among Caucasians and people who have had other diseases like Down syndrome, type 1 diabetes, Turner syndrome (a condition where a female is missing an X chromosome), Addison's disease, or rheumatoid arthritis.
Beyond Celiac: "What is Celiac Disease?"
National Institute | 574 |
Sure. To illustrate the point, I'm going to describe a simple manual method for inserting an image into a 1D shape to insert into an IT equipment rack. You can use the same technique for any other kind of assembly. Why might you want to do this? Because 1D shapes glue strongly to connection points to facilitate drawings of parts assembled into systems.
First, draw a line. Open the Size & Position window in the View menu and enter the length of the line as 1.9 inches. This is 19" at a 1:10 scale that is typical for good network equipment shapes. Let's leave the issue of scale for a future discussion topic.
Now enter a height of .175" into the Size & Position box. This represents 1RU (Rack Unit) at 1/10 scale.
Select the shape and Group it using the Shape menu. This places a group around the line and the group defaults to 2D behavior.
Convert it to 1d using the menu Format > Behavior and check Line 1D for the Interaction style.
When we close the Group window, we can see the image inside the group.
The last step is to move the 1D endpoints down to the lower left and right corners of the shape so that the shape snaps properly onto a rack. To do this, open the ShapeSheet with the menu Window > Open ShapeSheet. Click on the LocPinY cell and enter "0" then close the ShapeSheet. The result is a 1D shape that will snap into a rack properly.
At Visimation where we produced thousands of network equipment shapes, we have automation programs that perform similar steps, as well as many other behavioral modifications, on a device drawing. The result is a Visio equipment shape that eases the drawing process and looks great. Again, you can download free equipment shapes at our ShapeSource online store.
© 2010, Visimation. All rights reserved.
I love this tutorial, really useful for making rack equipment shapes. I was having difficulty figuring out how to apply the 1D shape 'handles' (?) to the bottom so that it aligned properly in the rack, but this tutorial made it easy.
I did experience one issue, when going to resize the shape, it expands on the X plane, but doesn't keep the ratio in the Y plane, even though I've set the Protection on the Aspect Ratio. The shape in question is a metafile, as described in another tutorial on this site.
Yes, Visio 1D shapes don't seem to obey aspect ratio protection as one would expect. To force it into the behavior you want, you need a ShapeSheet formula. I may need to post an article about this since pictures would help but let's see if I can explain this clearly enough in words.
BTW, keep in mind that Microsoft's original spec for Visio equipment shapes was that they would be at a scale of 1:10. So, if you drop a shape that complies with this spec onto an unscaled Visio page, a 19″ wide device will show as 1.9″ in "length" because it's a 1D shape. I'll assume we're working with this kind of device shape.
I'm going to explain how to lock the ratio of width to height, so first, calculate the ratio of width to height of your device. For a 1RU device it would be 1.75″/19″=.092. Open the ShapeSheet for your device shape. In the Shape Transform section, in the Height cell, enter "GUARD(Width*.092)". This will set the Height as a function of the width. Now, when you drag a 1D endpoint the aspect ratio will remain constant.
Many thanks for this info. I've searched the web for several days to find out how to do this. Your tutorial is great.
This was a very helpful post! Thank you.
Absolutely a great article. For those using Visio 2010, in order to convert to 1d you will need to enable the developer tab under "customize ribbon", since the "Behavior" option has moved out of the menu format options. Do a search for "What Happened to the Behavior Dialog in Visio 2010?" for more detail.
This is a GREAT article! Thank you very much. I've been building rack diagrams and we use some components for which manufacturer stencils are not available. I take photos and then try to convert to stencils, but I couldn't get them to 'latch onto' the rack connectors.
One issue I had was in the step where you say "We'll add several simple boxes and delete the original line". Whenever I deleted the line, it killed my group. I ended up formatting the line to use a pattern of NONE, but there's obviously still space allocated for the line. What am I missing?
I think you may be missing a couple of important factors. After you draw the line, size it to 1.9″ long, and then Group it, you have a group with just that line<|fim_middle|> an explanatory image and question to info@visimation.com if you would like us to take a look at the specific task you are trying to address. | inside of it. It's the group that you will be modifying to create the 1D behavior you want. When you delete the line, you must be in the "Open Group" mode so that you are essentially working inside the group envelope. In that state, deleting the line only affects the geometry inside the group, not the group's behavior at all.
By the way, in case you want to try this, I just went through the exercise of inserting an image into the group instead of drawn geometry. If you insert, say, a 1U Cisco 3750 image when you are inside the group, you can resize it to fit properly. First, select the image and set it's protection on for aspect ratio. Then, move the shape handles so that it's about 1.75″ wide if it has no mounting ears, and 1.9″ if it does have ears. Close the group and perform the described operation to open the group's ShapeSheet and set the LocPinY cell to 0″. Now you have a realistic image inside the group and the shape will snap into a rack. I also suggest that you open the Group Behavior dialog again as shown in the article, and set the Selection field at the lower right to "Group only". This will prevent you from accidentally "sub selecting" the image inside of the group and moving it out of position. Note that the contents of a group can be moved outside of the boundaries of the group envelope… which you typically don't want to do although there are exceptions.
This is a good technique for creating a shape in an emergency if you can get the image from the web. However, shapes with pixel images in them will not perform as well as those drawn in Visio geometry and converted to metafiles as we do (that's another topic).
These steps are perfect and very easy to follow. However, they seem to only really work with rectangles and squares. I have an elliptical shape that has no corners and won't work well with corner or central anchor points. Is there a tutorial about how to anchor non-rectangular stencils in Visio?
I'm not clear on what you are trying to do. You can insert an image of any type into the group as described here but if you want the line's endpoints to appear at a certain location on a non-rectilinear object, we'd need to understand what the object is and how you want it to behave. Feel free to send | 507 |
Q: If AND OR nested Function with multiple answers I having issues with a fairly complex nested IF/AND/OR formula to manage a sales incentive where there is a payout gate and multiple payout caps.
Rules are:
*
*Salesrep earn 1$ for every product sold if his/her "rate" is over 30%.
*Payout is capped at 250$ if Rate is between 30-35%
*Payout is capped at 350$ if Rate is between 35-40%
*Payout is capped at 500$ if Rate<|fim_middle|>250,IF(C2<=0.4,350,IF(C2<=0.45,500,IF(C2>0.45,750,0)))),0)
An explanation:
If C2>0.3 then
If C2<=0.35 then
250
Else
If C2<=0.4 then
350
Else
If C2 <=0.45 then
500
Else
If C2>0.45 then
750
Else
0
End If
End If
End If
End If
Else
0
End If
On cell F2 put: =IF(D2>E2,E2,D2) and that's the final result.
A: You can do this without a lot of complicated nesting using MIN, INDEX, and MATCH. Place the following in E2 and fill down.
=MIN(D2,INDEX({0,250,350,500,750},MATCH(C2,{0,0.3,0.35,0.4,0.45},1)))
How this works:
MATCH(C2,{0,0.3,0.35,0.4,0.45},1) compares the percentage in C2 to the array of lower bounds for the payout cap ranges. The MATCH function will return where in the array C2 falls. For example, if C2 is 10%, the function will find that 10% is between 0% and 30%, so it will return 1 because it falls in the first range. If C2 were 33%, it would return 2 because 33% falls in the second range, between 30% and 35%.
The value returned by the MATCH function is then used by the INDEX function to return a value from the same position in the array of payout caps. So, for example, if MATCH returns 1, then INDEX will return the first number from the array, 0. If MATCH returns 4, INDEX will return the fourth number from the array, 500. Together, MATCH and INDEX work like a lookup table.
The last step is the MIN function, which compares the uncapped value in D2 to the cap returned by the INDEX function. It returns the lesser of the two values, just as the cap rule dictates.
A: Like most things in Excel, there's more than one way to tackle a problem. You asked specifically about solving it with IF logic, and jcbermu's answer does that. Another method is to do it with a lookup table:
It gives you a simpler formula for this kind of problem. The formula in E2, which you can copy down the column as needed, is:
=MIN(B2,VLOOKUP(C2,G$2:H$6,2))
Instead of defining min and max of each range, you would see how the rate compares to the minimum of each range. Rates below the minimum qualifying 30% have a cap of $0.
VLOOKUP finds the largest rate in the table that doesn't exceed the value in column C and returns the associated cap. The MIN function returns the smaller of the raw payout calculation (since that's 1 times the column B value, I'm just using the column B value), or the cap.
| is between 40-45%,
*Payout is capped at 750$ if Rate is over 45%
The picture shows a basic example of an excel sheet to give you a clearer idea of what I am trying to do. I just can't figure out the formula to fill in columns E2:E5 in yellow.
Any help would be more than helpful. I've tried separating out the formulas into several extra columns, but just can't get to the right end result.
Many thanks.
A: You have to put this on cell E2:
=IF(C2>0.3,IF(C2<=0.35, | 137 |
This monograph describes the South Slavic dialect of a village which is located about 6 km. south of the Greek-Yugoslav border and 10 km. from the town of Lerin (Florina). The author of this study, who is a professor of Slavic linguistics at the University of Hamburg, had the unique opportunity of living with speakers of the dialect for extended periods of time. This is the first exhaustive and authentic study of any microdialect in the Lerin region and is thus a major contribution to South Slavic dialectology. The book begins with a description of the locale, the circumstances of the work that led to the book, a discussion of the theoretical bases of the work, and some historical data. Following chapters cover phonology, stress, inflection and derivation, and syntax. The treatment of syntax, in particular, includes much more material than is usual in such studies. After this are four texts in transcription (mostly IPA) with interlinear translation, and then four letters written in Latin script by a native speaker who did not know Cyrillic. These letters are accompanied by interlinear transcription and translation. There is an 80-page lexicon with over 2200 items and an 8-page bibliography. Professor Hill's book offers a description of the micro-dialect of Gorno Kalenik as spoken in the middle of the twentieth century. The description is synchronic and structuralist, although sociolinguistic questions and variation theory have not been disregarded. The work on this micro-dialect has confirmed once again that Lyons and others are right to speak of `the fiction of homogeneity.' In addition to the study which forms the main part of the book, a brief classification of the Lerin dialect and its subdivisions is offered. Since dialectological and sociological work on Slavic is not permitted in the Greek part of Macedonia, little has been published on the dialect of Lerin, and what has been published often presents material of doubtful<|fim_middle|> South Slavic languages, but also to Slavists in general, as well as sociolinguists. | authenticity in a theoretically unsatisfactory framework. Professor Hill's book will be of interest not only to specialists in the | 23 |
Far, fans as well as competition organizers have actually taken pleasure in an extremely effective Pro Kabaddi League. Who would have thought about bringing splendor as well as glamour to an event like Kabaddi? The organizers of PKL have actually provided their ideal initiatives and also thoughts. There were issues regarding the practicality of the league as it was not clear just how numerous seasons the fans would certainly see. PKL has actually managed to keep its followers very well. Here is a listing of<|fim_middle|> greatest and also most recognized figures in the PKL is Maninder Singh, a man whose name appears in the top three of many listings. Ordinary blitz score, most successful strike, so a strike device that constantly creates a great deal of problems. Astonishingly, despite missing the 2nd, fourth as well as 3rd seasons of the PKL due to injury, he still covers these checklists, which is a remarkable success. Maninder is now a player for the Bengal Warriors. | the top 5 ideal players in the Pro Kabaddi League 2022.
Rahul Chaudhari
Sandeep Narwal
Naveen Kumar
Rohit Kumar is taken into consideration to be one of the best raiders the Pro Kabaddi League has ever before seen. In this post, we will see the most effective gamers in the organization as well as just how much they have aided the team. In his third season, he made his launching in this remarkable organization.
Right out of eviction he racked up 102 blitzes in 12 games. Rohit Kumar was the initial vital factor in the Patna Pirates' three-peat this period.
Rohit was awarded the "Most Valuable Player of the Season". He then moved to Bangalore Bulls and also had a wonderful time there also, racking up 568 strike factors in simply 79 games. His existing team is the Telugu Titans.
Rahul Chaudhari is probably the most widely known name when it comes to the most popular as well as highly regarded Kabaddi players in PKL. He has actually been a terrific gamer for PKL teams and the Indian National Kabaddi team. He was the very first PKL raider as well as player to rack up more than 700 points.
Surprisingly, he began as a defender yet as a result of perseverance he ended up being an effective raider. Rahul racked up a total of 1040 raid factors in 139 games and also in the very same number of games he scored 97 deal with factors in defense.
After a couple of successful periods with Tamil Thalaivas and also Telugu Titans, he currently plays for Puneri Paltan.
It reveals how great a player he is. Sandeep has actually gone from being a corner back to one of the best all-rounders PKL has ever seen. In enhancement, he was part of the Indian delegation that won the gold medal at the 2016 South Oriental Games.
Naveen Kumar made his PKL debut only three seasons earlier, so he is still reasonably new to the sport. This man has actually established himself in the PKL, although it is relatively new. He is agile and also very fast, making it challenging for protectors to take care of him.
He led the Dabondry group with 177 factors in his first period. He won one of the most Valuable Player honor the complying with period. Naveen is the fastest player in league history to rack up 600 points.
In his 8th season in the PKL, he was able to win the MVP despite injuries. For him, Dabang Delhi's initial PKL title was a lot more important than winning the MVP award.
One of the | 585 |
The KICKER® DS coaxial fits nearly any vehicle door for an enormous improvement over factory sound<|fim_middle|>Extended Voice Coil) technology, for the best sonic quality.
Speaker produces Power Range: handles up to 60 watts RMS (240 watts peak power) Frequency range: 40-20,000 Hz at 4 ohms.
These DS speakers work best with 60 watts of recommended power. See below for more details.
*Warranty: 90 Days Manufacturer warranty. | . With stiff polypropylene cones and ribbed, UV-treated foam surrounds these drivers give you the realism and power you've always wanted.
Don't drill holes in your door. KICKER DS speakers will fit nearly every vehicle on the road today, right out of the box.
The high-sensitivity DS motor is made to deliver increased volume, whether you use a factory head unit or high power KICKER DX Amplifier.
The zero protrusion PEI dome tweeters play clean, crisp music without getting in the way of factory grilles and window motors.
The DS 6-1/2-Inch Coaxial Speakers are the ideal upgrade for your car doors. Using zero protrusion PEI tweeters ensures you get every bit of clarity you need, without interfering with factory grilles.
A stamped steel framework supports a ribbed, UV-treated foam surround and rigid polypropylene cone with EVC™ ( | 186 |
I love what I call spring 'bonus days'. You know the days where it is a nice day outside. One of the first, of the season. You want to be outside, but it's too early to do any true gardening.
Plus, it's waaaayyyy to early to even think of planting. We had one of those recently so I spent a couple of hours outside doing some early spring garden chores. Every hour you can do some of these chores, lets you get to the fun part of gardening when it is actual nice enough to start planting.
1. Pick up any garbage snagged on any plants or shrubs. Who wants garbage in their yard?
And, it's an AWESOME time to start cutting back some of those grasses you left in the fall. The ones<|fim_middle|>. Just keeping it real : ).
Oh, and my autumn sedum. I LOVE this plant. Here is what it looked like in the summer, last year.
Along a fence line. It offers contrast and softens the hard line of the black fence.
Here is some in another location in early spring. It is another plant I like leaving up for some winter interest in my landscaping.
Once you cut these down, you can also see they start growing early. Don't clear off too much of the stuff that keeps the new growth insulated. Especially if you are still likely to get some more cold weather.
Oh, and don't forget to give your spring flowers a little helping hand. My crocus' are blooming! I truly feel joy when I see them. I can't understand why everyone doesn't plant some in the fall! After a long winter, I LOVE seeing their cheerful blooms.
Sometimes, the mulch they push their way through, is a little clumpy. Just help these guys out a little!
Again, just move the mulch around a bit so that your spring flowers have an easier time showing you their glorious flowers. But, don't clean it up too much because some of this mulch is insulation. And, we are still not guaranteed consistent warmth yet.
I have some perennial geraniums, which I totally love. They bloom all summer long and even into the fall. But they are so leafy! If I were to cut them down in the fall, they would be a real pain to dispose of.
The plant looks like this. Sorry, for some reason I don't have a picture so you can see how big this plant is. Honestly, I'm guessing I'm was trying to take a picture of the bee? Not one of my better flower pictures!
I usually clean it up in the spring. After the winter, it's easy. I literally roll it up!
See how it rolls into a nice bundle?
And lastly, take a walk around and just tidy up anything on your plants. Things like leaves or stones.
Your plants will thank you for it!
By doing a little at a time, it's not so overwhelming! Gardening is a lot of work. And takes a ton of time. So, just do a little when it's starting to warm up. You know, when it's a treat to be outside!
Do you have any early spring chores that you do? Please share!
« Help your strawberries last longer! | that added some visual interest in the winter.
The reason it's good to do this in the early spring is that the grasses start growing early. I like to cut the dead grasses down and not clip the new grass. See, once you cut some of the dead grass down, you can see the new growth already. And, the tulips aren't even up yet!
An fyi, I'm guessing that will be one of the last gardening pictures with nicely manicured nails | 98 |
Mobile ticketing to be launched on Airport Express buses in Madrid
EMT Madrid will offer multi-language mobile ticketing for passengers and scanning hardware on buses in collaboration with Mastercard, Santander and Masabi.
Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Madrid (EMT Madrid) has announced its launch of a mobile ticketing pilot project on the Airport Express bus, connecting central Madrid with Barajas International Airport.
The system will allow passengers to download an EMT-branded app and purchase tickets which are displayed on screen as a dynamic and encrypted barcode. These tickets are then scanned using readers which will be deployed on the buses. The app will be available both in English and Spanish.
"Mobile ticketing makes buying tickets quick and easy for passengers and saves the cost and hassle of having to handle cash onboard our buses," said Enrique Diego, CTO of EMT Madrid. "In addition, ticket digitisation in the airport line will allow us to open new sales channels so that we can attract additional riders to use our service. This project and its technological developments are very relevant to EMT and our users."
The pilot will help EMT Madrid reduce cash handling onboard buses as well enabling a shift towards a digitised mobility experience. The system will use the Justride platform from Masabi, together with Mastercard's payment technology and Santander, who will be the acquiring bank for the deployment.
"Mastercard is working with the world's leading cities and industry partners to remove the friction that slows down how people move around them," said Paloma Real, Spain Country Manager at MasterCard. "The introduction of mobile ticketing in Madrid will make riding the bus as simple as possible for residents and visitors and we are excited to be working with Masabi and Santander to make this a reality."
The system is set to go live during the first quarter of 2019 and will run for an initial 12-month period before being evaluated.
"This launch in Madrid marks yet another capital city with a Masabi deployment," said Brian Zanghi, CEO of Mas<|fim_middle|> Diego, Paloma Real
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By Barry Dorgan - National Transport Authority of Ireland | abi. "Around the world we are seeing more and more major cities adopting mobile ticketing and SaaS-based fare collection and reaping the benefits of customer satisfaction, cost savings and continual innovation."
Fleet Management & Maintenance, Passenger Experience, Ticketing & Payments
Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Madrid (EMT Madrid), Masabi, Mastercard, Santander
Brian Zanghi, Enrique | 80 |
No need to wait in line at the desk- simply go to an open kiosk.
All you will need is your drivers license and insurance card.
Debit and credit cards can be processed at the kiosk.
Staff will be nearby to assist you.
A better patient experience for our patients.
Reduces redundant clipboards of paperwork.
Real-time information regarding copays, deductibles, and insurance.
More time spent taking care of you, less time on paperwork.
patient - and making the healthcare experience easier and better for you.<|fim_middle|> what is important – you. Because of this system we are going to be less stressed. We are going to enjoy our work more because the office will run smoother than before. We are excited about these changes, and while change is sometimes difficult, we believe you will find it very beneficial after you check in a few times.
allowing us to protect it even more securely than ever before. | We believe the kiosk helps us to achieve this goal.
You are more than welcome to check in at the desk. One of the great things about the kiosk is that it allows for shorter waiting room times. We think this is a great benefit to you. If you need help with checking in, we are available to help you.
jobs are secure. In fact our jobs have just changed a little bit so that we can truly focus on | 89 |
The three Volcanological and Seismological Observatories of the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP) are situated in the overseas French departments. Martinique and Guadeloupe obervatories are in the Lesser Antilles and La Reunion Island is in the Indian Ocean. Their main missions are to monitoring active French volcanoes and to conduct scientific research. For that, they operate networks of permanent instruments and process and analyse continuously acquired data. More information on IPGP and these three observatories in particular can be obtained by following the link http://www.ipgp.fr.
These three observatories are responsible for alerting civil protection authorities when abnormal activity is recorded. For that, they operate and maintain networks of permanent instruments to eventually proccess and analyse data acquired continuously.
The main goal of<|fim_middle|> "Data Description" part of the portal.
To get more information about VOLOBSIS data or about the portal, please contact VOLOBSIS Support. | the VOLOBSIS portal is to distribute to the national and international communities the data acquired by the IPGP Volcanological and Seismological Observatories.
The geophysical and geochemical data are available after a delay required for their validation and transmission to the database in the IPGP Data Center. The date of the most recent data available varies according data type. The real-time data are available as detailed in the | 83 |
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN edged out Michael Smith 7-5, while Chris Dobey earned a 6-6 draw with Mensur Suljovic<|fim_middle|> the PDC's broadcast partners, and through PDCTV-HD for Rest of the World Subscribers.
Night Two will see Van Gerwen take on Suljovic, while three-time Lakeside Champion Glen Durrant makes his Premier League debut against Gurney. | on a highly-entertaining opening night of the 2019 Unibet Premier League in Newcastle.
A repeat of the 2018 Premier League and 2018/19 World Championship finals saw reigning champion Van Gerwen begin his campaign with a narrow victory as the road to Play-Offs night at The O2 began at the Utilita Arena.
A hard-fought contest saw Smith land the first blow with a 93 checkout to break throw in the opening leg, only for Van Gerwen to break straight back with a 12-dart leg.
The Dutchman, who ended the match with a 104.98 average, doubled his advantage with another break to go 4-2 up, but Smith replied in kind immediately to make it 4-3 and then landed a spectacular 150 finish to level it up at 4-4.
"Even without Gary Anderson this is going to be a very tough season and to beat a great player in Michael in my first game is the best way to start."
Local favourite Dobey was the first Contender to take to the stage and he fought his way to a 6-6 draw against Mensur Suljovic in a spine-tingling atmosphere.
Grand Slam of Darts quarter-finalist Dobey's Premier League debut got off to a dream start as he raced into a 5-1 lead, landing a 113 finish in the first leg.
World Matchplay finalist Suljovic battled back, winning five successive legs to go within a leg of victory, only for Dobey to find a crucial double 16 with his last dart in hand to ensure the roller-coaster tie would end in a tie.
"It was a dream come true to play in front of that crowd tonight, I felt like Alan Shearer at one point!" said Dobey.
Grand Slam of Darts Champion Gerwyn Price claimed his first Premier League victory with a 7-4 triumph over Daryl Gurney.
Price suffered a torrid debut campaign in 2018 ending in an early elimination, and the Welshman once again seemed to be struggling adapt to the Premier League stage as he found himself 2-0 down to Gurney.
However, Price ran off five legs in a row to take control of the match, and after Players Champion Gurney missed two darts at double 18 to take the match to a 12th and final leg, Price found his favourite double top to secure a satisfying win.
"Last year was a daunting experience for me, so this year I needed to get off to a good start,"said Price, who averaged 104.11 and landed six 180s.
"To play the way I did today, with the crowd on my back and everything that's gone on I'm proud of myself and I hope this can be the start of a good campaign for me."
Former World Champion Rob Cross and world number three Peter Wright shared the spoils as the night ended with a 6-6 draw.
A sluggish start from Wright saw Cross take a 2-0 advantage, before the Scot sparked into life and landed an 11-darter to make it 3-3.
Wright took out 88 on the bullseye to lead for the first time, though neither player was able to land the killer break of throw to win a top-class encounter which saw averages of well over 100 from both.
The opening match of the 2019 campaign saw James Wade get the better of Raymond van Barneveld 7-4 in the battle of the former champions.
A high-quality opening saw six consecutive holds of throw before Van Barneveld, playing in his final Premier League campaign before retirement, struck the first break with a 14-dart leg to go 4-3 up.
That was as good as it got for the Dutchman, as Wade, who kicked off the season with a 180, reeled off four legs thanks to some clinical finishing, ending the contest with a 124 checkout on the bull to make a winning return to the Premier League.
"I was so nervous tonight, it felt like my first day at school all over again," said Wade.
"I'm happy with the result and a lot of how I played, I felt a bit unlucky to be a break down but I came on strong at the end and it's nice to get off to a winning start."
Darts' widest-reaching tournament continues in Glasgow on Thursday February 14 live on Sky Sports, worldwide through | 951 |
Østergård, H. and Backes, G. (2006) Changes in variety composition in spring barley mixtures over years. In: Østergård, H<|fim_middle|> each mixture were estimated.
Four of the six mixtures could be successfully described by the markers chosen. In all cases, changes from the 1:1:1 proportions were found after two years of natural selection and competition between the components of each mixture. For one mixture, changes between locations were revealed whereas for the remaining three mixtures, changes in similar direction were found for all locations. The latter may to some extend be a consequence of the removal of small seeds before sowing; this would give a disadvantage to components with the low TGW which also was indicated by the results. In conclusion, among the four mixtures considered, only in one mixture an interaction with the environment was observed indicating local adaptation of this mixture. In this mixture one of the varieties had very high weed suppression ability and at the same time being very susceptible to netblotch. The environment where the decrease in that component was pronounced had much netbloch and the component increased slightly in frequency in the two other environments. Further analyses of the relation between changes in frequencies of components and characteristics of the components and the environments are in progress. | . and Fontaine, L. (Eds.) Proceedings of COST SUSVAR workshop on cereal crop diversity: Implications for production and products., ITAB, France, p. 69.
In a variety mixture, competition between component varieties as well as differences in performance of the components may lead to changes in the proportion of component varieties between seed sown and seed harvested. This will imply that farm saved seeds of variety mixtures will constitute an evolving population. How much changes are found over a short period of years and in different environments?
In 2002, six 3-component variety mixtures of spring barley were constructed based on altogether 14 mostly high-yielding varieties. The six mixtures and derivatives of these were included in the large Danish BAR-OF variety trials in the years 2002-2005 (Østergård et al. 2005). Here, a subset of this material is considered: only trials from 2003 and 2004 at the sites Flakkebjerg, Foulum and Jyndevad with organic growing conditions. In 2003, the mixtures were composed of seeds from conventional multiplication of the component varieties in equal weight proportions taking into account differences in seed germination. Seeds harvested from the mixtures were in 2004 sown at the same location, resembling the use of farm saved seeds. The smallest seeds were removed before sowing to descrease the load of seed borne diseses. By means of DNA markers, changes in the proportions of the different components in | 329 |
TUESDAY JANUARY 26: Today in Thornhill, several Glencolton farmshare member were interviewed by a television crew for an upcoming program on TV Ontario (photo below). TVO will also be sending a camera crew to cover the Raw Milk Symposium in Guelph this Saturday, January 30th.
TVO producer Liane Kotler interviews farmshare members at "The Blue Bus".
Mark McAfee flew in from<|fim_middle|> McAfee, Alice Jongerden, Michael Schmidt, Halyley LaPalme, Karen Selick, Jason Gratl. Tasty local food will be served. To register call 604-306-7720 or visit freshmilkfoodpolitics.com.
"In a bombshell revelation of the depth of the food police state that now exists in LA County, California, NaturalNews has learned that the LA County health department has unleashed door-to-door raw milk confiscation teams to threaten and intimidate raw dairy customers into surrendering raw milk products they legally purchased and own.
The table is set for guests at Windy Acres Farm in Oregon.
It was a moment of surprise for Mark McAfee and me as we drove into the lane of Windy Acres farm.
We weren't blown away from the wind at Windy Acres Farm, we were blown away by the size, the complexity and diversity. This farm was run not by one or two or three men. This farm was managed by just one modest woman ready to take on the world for the" Right to Choose". | California to Canada this week for the Raw Milk Symposium this coming Saturday and stopped by to chat today with the farmshare members as well. That's Mark, in the photo below, signing the food rights declaration on the side of the Glencolton Farms truck. Mark met with the farmshare members together with his wife Blaine who will also be presenting at this weekend's Symposium. Thanks to David Pickett for the photo.
Mark runs a large raw milk farm and dairy in California and has been active in helping establish standards for raw milk production in the U.S. through the RAWMI organization.
Four Raw Milk Heroes at the Vancouver Real Milk Food Politics forum on April 6, 2013. Great conference . Sold out . The energy is high. ( Right to Left) Alice Jongerden former agister of Home on the Range Farms, Jason Gratl ,(Lawyer for Our Cows , Chilliwack), Michael Schmidt , and Mark McAfee (largest legal raw dairy operation in California). Click image for more photos on Facebook.
Michael Schmidt at yesterday's "Fresh Milk, Food Rights". Click image for more photos.
Fresh Milk, Food Politics, a one day conference, will take place on Saturday, April 6, 2013 8:45am -5:00pm at the Ukrainian Cathedral in Vancouver, British Columbia. Speakers and exhibits will cover a wide range of food issues. Speakers include: Mark | 296 |
Jiva Ayurveda to offer free consultation across India during theJiva Health Week
The seven the dition of Jiva Health Week by Jiva Ayurveda will take place across all its 80 clinics in India from July 5 to 15. More than, 10 thousand patients are expected to benefit during the health week. Jiva Ayurveda, which has one crore successful consultations to its credit is giving free consultation and benefits of up to Rs 350 including discounts on wellness products and treatment packs.
Dr Partap Chauhan, Director Jiva Ayurveda, said: "Every year, Jiva Ayurveda organizes the Jiva Health Week to provide high-quality treatment through free consultations. We have seen a very good response from people across villages and cities in our all previous health weeks, and I am confident people will come out of their homes and get the benefit of Jiva Health Week this time too."
JivaAyurveda has treated thousands of patients for lifestyle, chronic and season-related disorders with personalized medicines along with customized diet and lifestyle recommendations that are uniquely prepared for each patient, which contributes to treating diseases from the root, rather than just treating it symptomatically.
Jiva Ayurveda over the years has empowered Ayurveda with technological innovations while keeping its ancient principles intact. Jiva'sAyunique™ is one of the innovations. Ayunique™ is a proprietary approach pioneered by Jiva Ayurveda that empowers Ayurvedic doctors to diagnose and treat patients effectively. This brings together the best<|fim_middle|> research centres and 80+ Clinics across India. The Jiva Medical and Research Centre, Faridabad, Haryana is a first-of-its-kind health centre in the world with more than 500 Ayurvedic doctors and support professionals providing telephonic consultations to patients across 1,800 cities and towns in India. The company also has its own HACCP and GMP certified manufacturing facility which produces more than 600 classical and proprietary formulations in medicines and products. Jivagram Centre for Wellbeing is a unique residential facility in Faridabad where guests can rejuvenate with holistic healing treatments and therapies like Panchakarma, Reflexology, Music and Colour therapy. | of traditional Ayurveda, modern scientific research and findings. Through seamless integration of technology, Ayunique™ delivers holistic, precise, personalized treatment and care.
About Jiva Ayurveda
Jiva Ayurveda focuses on delivering high quality, personalized Ayurvedic treatment for chronic and lifestyle diseases. Jiva Ayurveda consults more than 8,000 patients every day through its three medical and | 83 |
Bone Health Center
Your skeleton may hold one of the main keys to a long, healthy life. Weak bones put you at risk of slips, falls, and fractures, which can have shockingly devastating consequences. (After a hip fracture, just 15%<|fim_middle|>. You can get your recommended intake of these from a combination of a regular multivitamin and a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
What bone tests do I need?
Bone density test. The 10- to 30-minute procedure uses an x-ray machine, known as DXA, that exposes you to a very low level of radiation. Having low bone density does not mean you will get osteoporosis, but it does mean you have a greater chance of developing it if you lose bone density in the future, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Sometimes osteoporosis medications are prescribed for people with low bone density. Your doctor will weigh factors such as medical history (including whether you have broken bones in the past), lifestyle, and your risk of falling to determine whether the drugs are right for you. Research suggests the drugs may become less effective over time. Ask your doctor about getting tested if you have a family history of the disease, have broken a bone as an adult, are Caucasian or Asian, have a small frame, take certain medications, or have a condition that increases risk, such as inflammatory bowel disease or multiple sclerosis.
FRAX score. The World Health Organization unveiled a risk assessment calculator, called FRAX, that goes beyond bone density to consider 11 other crucial factors in bone health, such as family history or taking skeleton-sapping medications. "It gives a much better sense of a woman's true risk of getting a fracture, and it provides guidance about who needs treatment—and when," says Watts. The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends medication for postmenopausal women if they have osteopenia and their FRAX shows a 10-year fracture risk above 20%. Ask your doctor to calculate your FRAX score, or go online and crunch the numbers yourself at shef.ac.uk/frax (click on "Calculation Tool," then "US" and your ethnicity).
How do I treat osteoporosis?
Apart from upping your calcium and vitamin D levels and doing weight-bearing exercise, your doctor may also prescribe you meds to prevent further bone loss. To stop menopause-related bone loss, ask your doctor about drugs such as bisphosphonate, calcitonin, or raloxifene. There is also hormone therapy using estrogen to help maintain bone density.
Where can I go to find out more?
National Osteoporosis Foundation
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Best Exercises For Bone Health | of patients can walk across a room without help after 6 months; 25% require long-term care and may become disabled.) Osteoporosis, a bone-thinning condition that causes deadly fractures and primarily affects women after menopause, develops over decades without causing overt symptoms. One US study of more than 200,000 postmenopausal women ages 50 and older, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that nearly half had thinning bones and didn't know it.
The good news is that there's plenty you can do—no matter how old you are—to bolster your bones and prevent osteoporosis.
Why should women worry about bone health?
A strong skeleton provides the foundation for an active lifestyle, essential to your ability to bike through wine country, tend your vegetables, and romp with your grandkids. Out of the million Americans who have osteoporosis, 80% are women. Throughout your life, bone cells called osteoblasts are continually adding new bone to your skeleton while cells called osteoclasts demolish old bone in order to supply the rest of your body with much-needed calcium. After bone mass peaks around age 30, you start to lose 1 to 2% of bone a year; the pace accelerates to 3 or 4% annually in the first 5 to 7 years after menopause, when declining estrogen offers less protection against the osteoclasts that break down bone. Moreover, osteoporosis is incredibly common. Your risk of developing it rises with age, especially in the first 5 to 7 years after menopause, when drops in estrogen may result in a 20% loss of bone mass. For women 50 years and older, the risk of suffering an osteoporosis-related bone fracture at some point is about 50%.
What are the symptoms of osteoporosis?
One of the scary things about osteoporosis is that it doesn't have any obvious symptoms. It doesn't hurt. But year after year, the bones get progressively weaker. You won't suspect there's a problem until you actually fracture a wrist, hip, or spinal bone or notice a substantial decrease in your height. While it's normal to shrink about an inch in later adulthood, losing more height could be a sign of osteoporosis. In a study of more than 2,100 women, researchers at Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus found that those who had shrunk 2 to 3 inches were five times more likely to have osteoporosis of the hip than those who had lost less than an inch. Women who had lost 3 or more inches were 10 times more likely to have the disease. Ask your doctor to start tracking your height yearly in your 40s, so you don't miss a big clue.
What causes osteoporosis?
"Osteoporosis is a disease of heredity and lifestyle," says Bess Dawson-Hughes, M.D., director of the calcium and bone metabolism laboratory at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston. Estrogen deficiency in premenopausal women is a significant risk factor for bone loss, and once a woman reaches menopause, declines in the body's estrogen cause the bones to lose calcium and break down at an accelerated rate. "Whether you get enough calcium and build adequate bone mass early in life or not, your body will start reabsorbing bone from your skeleton during your perimenopausal and postmenopausal years, which can lead to osteoporosis," says Ethel Siris, M.D., director of the Toni Stabile Center for Osteoporosis at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. The good news? Even if you have risk factors for osteoporosis—such as a family history of the disease, a thin or small-framed body, a history of irregular or skipped periods, smoking or drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, not getting enough calcium, being inactive, or having taken steroids or other bone-thinning medications—the odds for preventing it can be very much in your favor.
So what can I do to protect my bones?
Do weight-bearing exercise. Walking, dancing, stair-climbing, skiing—any activity that forces your skeleton to support your weight speeds the work of bone-building osteoblast cells. Just a half hour of brisk walking boosted two measures of bone growth, according to one study. But avoid high-impact moves such as running or jumping if you already have osteoporosis or you risk fractures.
Practice tai chi. Postmenopausal women who've practiced the slow, graceful movements of this exercise for years have denser bones—and even beginners slow bone loss as soon as they start, according to a research review at Harvard.
Strengthen and tone your muscles. The stronger you are, the less likely you'll be injured in a fall and break a bone. What's more, lifting weights as little as twice a week reverses loss of mitochondria, giving you and your muscles extra energy, according to a study at the Buck Institute for Age Research in Novato, CA. A 16-week strength-training program has also been shown to cut arthritis pain by 43%. Bonus benefit: Muscle workouts boost your metabolic rate as much as 15%, so you burn more calories even when you're inactive.
Get enough calcium. This mineral is the main component of bone, and women need at least 1,000 mg a day—1,200 after menopause. Yet 64% of us don't get enough, especially after age 50, when adult intake averages just 784 mg a day. Eat calcium-rich dairy foods and consider taking two 500 mg supplements a day. "Take doses separately--for example, one at breakfast and one at dinner," says Kimberly Templeton, MD, an associate professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center. "The body can absorb only about 500 mg at a time." Additional food sources include fat-free milk, which provides a third of the daily value for calcium, ready-to-eat cereals, and broccoli." Other components in food: phytic acid and oxalic acid, found naturally in some plants, bind to calcium and can inhibit its absorption. Foods with high levels of oxalic acid include spinach, collard greens, sweet potatoes, rhubarb, and beans. Among the foods high in phytic acid are fiber-containing whole-grain products and wheat bran, beans, seeds, nuts, and soy isolates. The extent to which these compounds affect calcium absorption varies. Research shows, for example, that eating spinach and milk at the same time reduces absorption of the calcium in milk.
Take a test. Also crucial is getting screened for osteoporosis, because one of the scariest things about this bone-thinning condition is that it doesn't cause symptoms and takes decades to develop. Ask your doctor when you need a bone mineral density test (some recommend them at age 65, some at menopause, and some even earlier if you're at an increased risk). Common risk factors include a family history, broken bones as an adult, being Caucasian or Asian, a small frame, certain medications, or conditions that increases risk, such as inflammatory bowel disease or multiple sclerosis.
What are some other natural remedies to boost bone health?
Try yoga for better bone density. Yoga poses that strengthen the areas most likely to suffer from osteporosis-the hips, spine, and wrists - can help maintain bone density, says Lori Rubenstein, a senior instructor at the Yoga Therapy Rx program at Loyola Marymount University. Poses that focus on the spine can also help improve posture, preventing the hunched back that is typical in older osteoporosis sufferers. Good poses to try include the chair pose and cobra. Women who have small frames or family histories of osteoporosis are more prone to the disease—so if your mother or grandmother has been diagnosed, be doubly sure to add these poses to your repertoire.
Go for a jog. When various activities were tested for their ability to stimulate bone growth, running scored three times higher than walking and other nonimpact exercises such as stairclimbing and stationary cycling, which had almost no effect. Hate running? Then try jumping jacks, tennis, swing dance, step aerobics-anything that's higher impact than you're used to and that varies your routine. However, women who have already been diagnosed with osteoporosis or who have a family history of the disease should consult their doctors before starting a high-impact exercise routine because the activity may increase their risk of fractures.
Eat like a Greek. Omega-3s and monounsaturated fats are good for our hearts, but might they also strengthen our spines? Researchers from Athens, Greece, studied the diets of 220 Greek women and found that those who followed key components of the Mediterranean diet—they ate plenty of fish and olive oil and minimal red meat—had the greatest bone density. To eat like the Greeks, try replacing your regular fats and oils with 8 to 10 teaspoons of olive oil per day, incorporate 2 or 3 servings of fish (2 to 3 ounces each) per week, and limit weekly red meat consumption to 1 to 3 ounces (or 1 serving).
Take your vitamins. Unless you get adequate vitamin D, about half the calcium you take ends up down the toilet. The vitamin helps your body better absorb calcium from food. Most people don't get enough D from sources such as food and sunlight, and supplements are necessary (the vitamin is also linked to numerous other health benefits, including preventing cancer and heart problems). How much you need is up for debate, though; many experts advise that the currently recommended levels of 600 IU daily are too low and that we need 1,000 IU or more for optimal health. In addition, vitamin C, magnesium, vitamin K, potassium, and phosphorus are each linked to better bone health | 2,067 |
Basketball Game Grades: Illinois
Story posted January 29, 2017 in CommRadio, Sports by Brian McLaughlin
Penn State jumped out to an early 20-point lead the first half from some major firepower on offense. But in the second half the offense faltered and Illinois climbed back into the game. The Nittany Lions were able to hang onto the victory behind some clutch shots in the second half from Tony Carr, desperately clinging to the four-point lead as the buzzer sounded.
Offense: B
The first half of this game may arguably have been Penn State's best half offensively of the season so far. Peyton Banks led the way with 14 first half points and some great three-point shooting led the way for Penn State. Shep Garner had one of his best overall complete games on offense finishing with 18 points and shooting just under 50 percent from the field. But in the second half Penn State went away from Banks, who only scored three second half points. Moving the ball around the perimeter without any dribble penetration was not working and they often settled for poor shots. Josh Reaves specifically was not at his best on offense, turning the ball over a miserable five times. Multiple times late in the shot clock Tony Carr bailed out his teammates with a spectacular finish in the lane. Overall this was not a bad performance from the offense because they did shoot 50 percent from three and 49 percent from the field. But the lack of production and too many turnovers in the second half almost gave the game away.
Defense: A-
It was a similar story for Penn State's defense who played an outstanding first half, holding the Illini to only 25 points, most of which came from star player Malcolm Hill. On many possessions late in the first half, Josh Reaves and Peyton Banks did a great job denying the ball from Hill. This performance would clearly be hard to replicate in the second half although Hill actually scored less in the second half then the first. It was the other players that beat Penn State in the second. This was something coming into the game Pat Chambers would live with. The goal is to take the star player out of the game forcing supporting cast to make big shots. The defense did this for the most part the offense was just unable to score enough to pull away.
Coaching: B
Chambers did a good job forcing other players on Illinois to beat the Nittany Lions, but Malcolm Hill still had a solid game. It was also pleasing to see Chambers get extremely agitated multiple times in the second half during Illinois' big run and his team usually responded well. Penn State is still a young team and is mistake prone. I'm hoping someday soon this young group can put a full game together with all the players at their best. Lamar Stevens is clearly in a funk lately missing mid-range jumpers he normally<|fim_middle|>caster for the Kalamazoo Growlers of the Northwoods League. He has also interned with the Altoona Curve, the Double-A Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. To contact him please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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Audio/Story posted 21 hours ago in CommRadio, Sports by Matthew McClure | knocks down. Stevens also was a reliable rebounder early in the season but only pulled down two boards against Illinois. If he can start scoring around 10 points a game to go along with Garner and Banks from three Penn State has a dangerous offense. Chambers has to find a way to get all the players clicking at once soon in Big Ten play if he wants to be playing late in March.
Brian McLaughlin is a freshman Majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him email bxm48@psu.edu.
commradio , game grades , illinois basketball , penn state , penn state basketball
Brian McLaughlin is a Senior in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications and one of two student General Managers for CommRadio. He is a Play-by-Play voice for many Penn State sports for CommRadio. Recently he has worked as a Play by Play broadcaster for the Y-D Red Sox in the Cape Cod Baseball League. Previously, he has also worked as a Play by Play Broad | 204 |
This summer I'm<|fim_middle|>! | participating in a joint blog tour with two other women who have also written memoirs about love, life, and finding home in Asia. Tracy Slater and Leza Lowitz have fascinating stories about their lives and loves in Japan, and I'm excited to offer Year of Fire Dragons alongside their books. We are holding a huge giveaway for all three titles (two paperbacks and one hardback). To enter, use the Rafflecopter below.
Each title offers a unique take on expat life, with common refrains that I think you'll enjoy. Here is a bit more about each book and where to find it.
By Tracy Slater The Good Shufu is a true story of multicultural love, marriage, and mixups. When Tracy Slater, a highly independent American academic, falls head-over-heels in love with the least likely person in the world--a traditional Japanese salaryman who barely speaks English--she must choose between the existence she'd meticulously planned in the US and life as an illiterate housewife in Osaka. Rather than an ordinary travel memoir, this is a book about building a whole life in a language you don't speak and a land you can barely navigate, and yet somehow finding a truer sense of home and meaning than ever before. A Summer '15 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection, The Good Shufu is a celebration of the life least expected: messy, overwhelming, and deeply enriching in its complications.
In 2010, bookish 22-year-old Shannon follows her Eurasian boyfriend to Hong Kong, eager to forge a new love story in his hometown. She thinks their long distance romance is over, but a month later his company sends him to London. Shannon embarks on a wide-eyed newcomer's journey through Hong Kong—alone. She teaches in a local school as the only foreigner, explores Asia with other young expats, and discovers a family history of her own in Hong Kong. The city enchants her, forcing her to question her plans. Soon, she must make a choice between her new life and the love that first brought her to Asia.
Susan Blumberg-Kason, author of Good Chinese Wife, has called Year of Fire Dragons "a riveting coming of age story" and "a testament to the distance people will travel for love."
This week I'll also be sharing my reviews of The Good Shufu and Here Comes the Sun. Stay tuned!
Enter the giveaway below. You can earn up to 4 entries by tweeting and commenting on this post. I'd love for you to comment with your favorite memoir by a female author or your favorite expat story!
Can you please tell me if this is open to US residents?
Yes, the giveaway is open worldwide!
Unfortunately I have never been outside the states.
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the anthology!
Year of Fire Dragons is out on Kindle | 590 |
If you know us at all, you know we're major fans of a certain magical place where princesses roam and tuxedo sporting mice sing and dance on parade down Main Street twice a day. Both Michael and I were born and raised in Southern California, and we were fed a steady diet of Disneyland and Disney films and merchandise throughout our formative years.
As I've grown up and moved all over the globe, one of the most shocking things I've learned is that this Disney DNA is not something everyone, everywhere, shares with me. In fact, there are actual American citizens that have never set foot in a Disney theme park! Just over a year ago I had the supreme privilege of spending the day at Disneyland with one of these rarest of non-initiated creatures (someone my own age!). Introducing her to the magic of the Happiest Place on Earth easily rests in my top ten Disney experiences.
Of course, the Disney marketing juggernaut of the last decade ensures that all children in most nations are as familiar with Mickey Mouse as they are with the sun that rises each morning in the east. The merchandise of my childhood was a tiny drop of rain compared to the hurricane of modern Disney options that have infiltrated the marketplace (Disney toilet brush anyone?). Having only boys, we've escaped the pink Princess tsunami that other female-filled families have succumbed to, but we do have our share of Disney stuff filling the cupboards and shelves.
Disney theme parks have a special place in our hearts. My first date with Michael was at Disneyland in California. Part of our honeymoon was spent at Walt Disney World in Florida. Our first act as new residents of Japan in 2001 was to take our then-11 week old baby Nathan to snowy Tokyo Disneyland (He visited Disneyland in CA at 10 days old). My husband's blood, sweat, and tears went into bringing Tokyo DisneySea from a patch of reclaimed land into a fully functioning theme park filled with interesting and exciting entertainment venues. And six years ago, Michael built a theatre from the ground up that has spent the last several years enticing people to cheer the hero and sigh over the romance in a show at Hong Kong Disneyland. The only currently operating Disney theme park we haven't visited is in Paris, and maybe we can knock that off the list in the next couple of years.
No Disney hotel is complete without a touch of the characters... Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel has a subtle Seven Dwarfs theme. Here's the basket of amenities. I did make off with two of the sewing kits for my friend Dr. Lori, who collects all things Doc!
We were starving after our long day of travel from Macau followed by the junk trip, so we went to one of the hotel's two restaurants, The Enchanted Garden, for dinner. It was an all-you-can-eat buffet, which was very appealing in our famished state. What we didn't know is that the price of dinner included a visit from Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto! Bonus!
We all passed out shortly after dinner, and woke up in the morning with growling stomachs. Not wanting to pay a premium for a Character breakfast, we decided to try the other hotel restaurant, a traditional Chinese restaurant called the Crystal Lotus. It was such a beautiful place to start the morning! Of course, there was almost nothing in the buffet that we are used to eating for breakfast! Lots of steamed vegetables, fried noodles, and a few steamed buns filled with onion. So we loaded up on pastries and cheese from the cheese platter and called it good.
And then we boarded the hotel shuttle for Hong Kong Disneyland. As soon as we walked up and saw the entrance, I started doing that weird half-cry, half-laugh thing that signals I'm overwhelmed with emotion. The last time we were there, we were tearfully hugging friends goodbye, and our boys were two and four, just babies really. And now, we're back, joyfully hugging friends hello and reflecting in wonder at the circumstances that led us back to this part of the world once again.
No visit to any Disney theme park is complete for us without a Castle shot!
You can see how hot it was by our red faces and squinting children!
Every time I'm in Hong Kong Disneyland and see the hills of Lantau Island peeking up behind the Castle I get a little jolt. In just about every other way, this area is identical to California, so I get lulled into believing it's the same place.
The Pixar film Cars 2 just came out in Hong Kong this month, but the boys saw it months ago when Auntie Holly took them off my hands for a couple hours so I could pack in peace. There was a big scavenger hunt going on in the park, where you had to find these big postcards and do a secret mission at each location. Once you completed the mission, you got a special photo with the Car of your choice.
We went on every attraction and saw the parade plus Michael's old show, The Golden Mickeys.
The boys, my cousin Josh, and I all appear in a<|fim_middle|>I love disney!! Our first date was at Bakers Square. But our 2nd (and where the magic happened) was as Disneyland!
A little trivia: I went to 3 different disney parks within 12 months -Disneyland, Disney World, and Tokyo Disneyland. All thanks to you guys. 2001 was a good year. | blink-and-you'll-miss us portion of the opening video sequence of the show, which was filmed on an unrelentingly hot day prior to the grand opening back in 2005.
The day was so much fun, and one that we really needed as a family.
Good to know that the Disney magic is still intact on this side of the planet!
What is the 5 for on the castle for?
| 86 |
City to Hire 10,000 New Yorkers to Remove Graffiti, Clean Parks and Sidewalks
(Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)
April 6, 2021 By Allie Griffin
The city plans to employ 10,000 New Yorkers to remove graffiti and clean city parks, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday.
The city will hire <|fim_middle|> price tag for the overall program.
"We want to take some of that stimulus money and do something special here in New York City, that's going to employ 10,000 New Yorkers, give them an opportunity to get back on their feet, do something great for the city, [and] also help the city as a whole recover," de Blasio said.
The workers will be tasked with removing graffiti, cleaning parks and maintaining streets that are part of the city's Open Streets program.
The workers will also power-wash sidewalks, create community murals, tend to community gardens, beautify public spaces and work with community-based organizations to clean local neighborhoods.
"Having a dedicated group of New Yorkers who are going to go out there [to] make this city shine, that's going to speed the recovery," de Blasio said.
The clean up crews will focus on neighborhoods hit hard by the pandemic, as well as business districts and commercial corridors.
"We're also going to focus on business districts, commercial streets, places where we depend on our economic recovery to happen," de Blasio said. "We want to beautify them. We want to show New York City is open for business and moving forward."
The city will also identify areas in need of cleaning via feedback from local elected officials and community leaders.
The first 500 jobs have already been posted online at nyc.gov/ccc and another 500 will be posted throughout April.
Scot Beane June 5th, 2021
It will obviously be an on going process regardless of the fact they will return to deface peoples personal property.People who argue they will only return to deface more buildings have a weak argument…Its like saying why pick up the trash there will only be more the falling week.Why not provide them with free spray paint like we supply the heroin addicts with free needles.I think the tatters might realise why put forth such an effort if there work will only be removed shortly. | 10,000 people by July and will post the first 1,000 job openings this month as part of its new "City Cleanup Corps" initiative.
De Blasio said the effort will help New Yorkers left jobless by the COVID-19 pandemic, while also beautifying neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs.
"10,000 jobs — that that's going to help a lot of families," he said during a morning press briefing.
The jobs will pay $15-an-hour and the city will fund the program with money from the federal stimulus. The mayor did not provide an official | 125 |
On a hill, in the middle of Tuscany, suddenly seems to enter the Middle Ages. This is what happens if you visit Casale Marittimo, a small village that lies near Cecina, in the province of Pisa. This village is not by the sea, but it is about six miles from the coast. Between the stone streets that hang around the historic center, the silence is reigned, guarded by the castle, the heart of the city, where the terraces offer a spectacular view to the sea. On clear days you can see the islands of the Tuscan archipelago: Elba, Capraia and Gorgona<|fim_middle|> part of the Etruscan Coast's Wine Road, which tells a territory characterized by Etruscan-Roman remains and medieval villages, wooded hills, fields and rivers grown from landscapes that marry the green of the vegetation with the blue of the sea and offer a natural and tasty food.
Looking for accomodation in Casale Marittimo? | . Although the holidays at Casale Marittimo are perfect for "doing nothing", there are many things to see. Obviously the Castle is one of the most important attractions, of which today you can only admire some remnants of the walls. To see the Camarlingo house, which is in the defensive walls, is one of the oldest buildings in the city, because the camarlingo was a kind of tax collector and appointed directly by the feudal lord.
Among the buildings of interest are the Palazzo Rocca, the Church of Sant'Andrea, born on the ruins of the ancient church, and the eighteenth-century Santa Maria delle Grazie. On the permission of the pastor you can enter the canonical, where other finds from the Roman villa, including a mosaic floor, are collected. Wine lovers will find here an excellent haven, because Casale Marittima is | 177 |
Daily Poll: Who is the Phoenix Suns 6th Man?
By Seth Pollack@sethpo Mar 19, 2010, 9:20am MST
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The Suns bench has been a big lift for the team this year but who's the MVBP? (Photo by Max Simbron)
Yesterday on the radio, Gambo and Ash from 620 Sports posed this question: Who is the Suns' 6th Man?
In other words, who is the Most Valuable Bench Player for the Suns. The MVBP.
In the past the answer was easy, Barbosa was the man. But this year, the Suns bench is deep and multi-faceted.
The easy answer is that there's isn't one MVBP, but that's no fun.
Coach Gentry on the radio said it was Frye. Dan Majerle gave Dragic the slight edge over Dudley.
I am going with Goran as well for the same reason Thunder Dan gave - giving Nash the ability to rest is huge. Dudley is a close second, though, with his ability to defend two positions and hit the open three.
Goran Dragic is bringing solid play backing up Nash. We no longer see huge drop offs when Nash sits and, as a result, he's able to rest longer. Steve's minutes per game haven't been this low since the 02/03 season, which is extremely important. The team has confidence in Dragic to sustain and even expand leads while Nash rests.
Goran's numbers don't jump off the page, but his impact has changed the team.
Channing Frye coming off the bench provides a big lift on the offensive end. When he's hot he can come in and stretch the floor with his range. When he's not hot, he's still enough of a threat to create space for Amare in the lane. The ability for the Suns to go with completely differently looks in Lopez and Frye has created all kinds of problems for teams.
Frye's defense has been a bit unfairly maligned as well. He's not big enough to truly battle the bigger centers but he uses his length well and plays hard and smart. Most importantly, since moving from the starting line up to the bench, Frye is playing 10 fewer minutes but only scoring 2 fewer points per game: 10.3 ppg / 21.5 mpg off the bench vs. 12.2 ppg / 31 mpg as a starter. He's shooting 45% from three in his new role, which is a 1.8% improvement.
Jared Dudley is the ultimate glue-guy. He brings hustle, intensity and smart play to the floor. The Suns typically will bring him off the bench first, which allows Grant to sub in with Goran and provide his leadership to the second unit. Rarely do you see a drop off in team performance with Dudley comes in.
JD hits open threes at a high rate (44%) but doesn't force his offense when he's on the floor with the starters. He's a guy that always does the little things that don't show up in the box score. Defense. Extra possessions. Energy and he's a great teammate that guys love playing with.
Jared leads the bench with 24.5 minutes per game off the bench because he's versatile enough to play multiple positions. We see him playing the 2 against bigger shooting guards, his natural small forward position or even the 4 when the Suns go small. He even got minutes as the back-up PG when the Suns were thin due to injuries.
Leandro Barbosa has had an off year. He came into the season with his wrist bothering him and never was able to really get on track, leading to his surgery in late January. His shooting numbers are down about 5% this season and well below his career average, but we've yet to see a fully healthy LB. Suns and NBA fans know what his guy can bring, though. LB can and likely will go off for 20+ points off<|fim_middle|> West. The Suns have done a great job developing all these guys and the rotations take advantage their unique skill sets. | the bench and provides a different look and change in pace to the Suns.
Louis Amundson is the team's hard nose frontcourt guy. He's tough and smart and plays above his size. There's a reason the fans scream "Loooouuu!!!" when he comes in the game and it's not because of his free throw shooting.
Lou's always been an above average rebounder and shot blocker, but his field goal percentage is at a career high 54.2%. He's not only getting garbage points, he's now starting to score as the roll man on pick and rolls.
You can make the case that the Dragic, Barbosa, Dudley, Amundson, Frye bench unit is the best bench in the | 152 |
4 Personality Types You Need to Know as a Manager
Rachel Lefkowitz
If you can figure out what drives people—what really makes them tick—you'll bring out their best. And more often than not, what motivates someone is based on core personality traits.
"To be a great motivator of people you need to adapt to the different personalities that you're dealing with," explains writer and speaker Chris Croft in his course Leadership: Practical Skills.
Whether you're a manager or just curious what category you fall into, when you understand these four personality types<|fim_middle|> change the world in both big and small ways.
To effectively manage the controller, you need to empower him with opportunities that will lead to the satisfaction of success. Identify a stretch project or challenging task that maps to both his skill set and his values. Communicate that you trust him with this important work, and off he'll go!
#3 The Enthusiast
The enthusiast is the creative engine of your team. She'll put her energy, excitement, and hard work towards whatever she's passionate about.
The trick to managing enthusiasts is to give them leeway to come up with and execute on their own creative approaches to projects. Let them loose with their own passionate energy, but have tools ready to keep them on track. It's important to provide resources and support to help them with tasks that may not come easily, like budgeting and reporting. (Bring in your analytical team member for that!)
To keep enthusiasts engaged, continually present an exciting vision of the future and ask for their take on how to get there. You can also loop them in to cross-team projects, like when you need a spark of inspiration for a stalled initiative.
#4 The Amiable
An amiable employee is driven by a sense of belonging and will thrive in a team setting. He wants to feel like he's taken care of and that people care.
A good manager for amiable people is someone who is nurturing. Take the time to check in often, ask how he's feeling, and actively listen. Communication is key: explain what you're asking of him and why, which will make him feel like you're invested in his well-being.
As Croft explains, "If you're the boss, your time is valuable and it's appreciated by the people who work for you, so to spend a bit of time with your employees makes them feel important."
Understanding what motivates these different personality types will help you create an environment where everyone—including you!—can flourish.
Some other LinkedIn Learning courses you might be interested in are:
Be A Better Manager by Motivating Your Teams
Management Tips (weekly series)
Coaching and Developing Employees
For more on managing different types of personalities, check out:
Four Difficult People to Manage—And How to Manage Them
The #1 Quality People Want in a Manager Is…
6 Ways to Be an Inclusive Manager in a Diverse Workforce | , you'll be well equipped to help people reach their full potential.
Chris Croft explains the four types of people to help managers better motivate employees.
Understand These 4 Personality Types to be a Better Manager
#1 The Analytical
The analytical employee likes systems. She is logical, cautious and sensible, most comfortable when she has everything organized and clear rules in place to know where she stands. As a thoughtful planner, she also seeks big picture context, like insight into the company's vision for future growth.
Someone with the analytical personality needs a fair work environment and intellectual challenges to thrive. Use these strategies to help her feel fulfilled:
Set up one-on-one meetings to set clear boundaries and communicate expectations.
Assign her projects to research and own so that she can become an expert in a particular area.
Encourage her to set her own objectives.
#2 The Controller
If the controller had a mantra, it would be full steam ahead! This makes the controller difficult to manage, yet easy to motivate, says Croft.
Extremely driven, controllers want a job and they want to get on with getting it done. They are risk takers, able to solve problems on the fly. And they also tend to want to make a difference—to | 251 |
Amateur Showcase: Koch Is Proving You Can Have It All (Views: 3190)
By: Natalie Voss
"You can't have it all."
It's a sentiment that often comes up when discussing whether a woman can successfully balance her personal and professional lives without sacrificing mightily in either category. Dr. Karley Koch says she has often heard the same sentiment when she tells people she's juggling riding with her second year as a medical resident at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
"Throughout my whole life people have been telling me that I can't ride and be a doctor, that I won't make it through medical school and have time to ride," said Koch, 27, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. "I'm happy to say I've kind of proven these people wrong."
In fact, Koch has owned her 10-year-old Holsteiner Silvia through much of her pursuit of becoming a family medicine physician. After flipping a few off-track Thoroughbreds, she was able to save enough money to buy Silvia as a 3-year-old while she was an undergraduate at Oklahoma State University.
Dr. Karley Koch is working hard at her profession and riding. Ben Koch Photo
As a pre-med student Koch lived above a barn, taught beginner lessons, and braided at horse shows to work off board, before deciding to lease Silvia out for her first two years of medical school. It was tough to watch other riders succeed in the show ring with her horse, but she knew Silvia was receiving exemplary care. After two years, one of the leasees offered to buy Silvia, presenting Koch with a dilemma.
By this time, Koch had a sense of how special Silvia was. She grew up begging her parents for riding lessons and eventually owned a series of free or inexpensive horses who taught her the ropes. Silvia was already proving to be more talented than any other horse Koch had worked with, and her sweet, willing personality had improved Koch's riding, too.
"It would have made a lot of sense financially to sell her at that point," she said. "I was actually talking to my mom about it, and I kept asking 'What do I do? Do I give this up?' My mom was the one who said, 'This is what you've worked for your whole life. You've dreamt of having a horse like this. You're never going to have another one like her. Don't give it up. Go for it.' She's been my dream horse, really. She is so sweet, so loving, so kind. She jumps her heart out for me."
Karley Koch competes in the jumpers with Silvia. Shawn McMillen Photography Photo
Though it hasn't been easy, as first-year residents often work 80-hour weeks in shifts ranging from 12 to 24 hours with just one day off, Koch decided it was worth a shot. Sufficient sleep is rare, but for Koch, being without horses was more damaging to her well-being than a few lost hours of shut-eye.
"Looking back, when I leased Silvia those first two years of medical school, I don't think<|fim_middle|> Jumps Back... | I really realized just how miserable I was and how hard I was making things on myself," she said. "I didn't have an avenue for exercise or anything for my mental health during that time, and it was really hard."
The mental downtime from a couple of hours at the barn also renews her energy for her work. As demanding as the field is, Koch says she loves it and some time away helps her keep perspective.
"This is what has allowed me to stay passionate; it's what's allowed me to be a good doctor and be there for my patients," she said. "Riding is what helped me live through medical school and now residency. I'm able to handle all the bad outcomes and all the uncomfortable conversations, angry patients, grueling hours, everything; I'm able to live through that because I just got to spend an hour with my horse."
Riding Silvia helped Karley Koch during the most stressful times as she studied to become a doctor. Ben Koch Photo
Silvia isn't always an easy ride. Koch said she's a typical mare in that she has a lot of opinions and working with her means you have to pick your battles.
"Sometimes she can be a fire-breathing dragon, and I say, 'It's OK. I have these days, too,' and on those days, I let her be a fire-breathing dragon, and tomorrow we'll come back and try again."
Overall, though, Silvia's scope and kind heart have strengthened Koch's confidence. After solid performances in the high adult jumpers, they're looking to move up to 1.20-meter classes, something Koch never imagined would be in the cards. Due to her work schedule, she doesn't have much time for showing. She gets three weeks off per year and has restrictions on what time of year she can use her vacation time. She gives her schedule to trainer Sarah Trepagnier at Arcadia Hills Equestrian, and they hunt for shows that can fit into those weeks. It means Koch doesn't have any time for beach vacations, but extra afternoons with Silvia and catching up with barn friends work just as well for her as a Caribbean cruise.
Koch says it wouldn't be possible for her to keep up with her professional and riding lives if not for the support of her husband, Ben Koch. While he doesn't ride, he's always there for shows and as many lessons as possible as her videographer.
"He always knows to get Silvia carrots every time he goes to the grocery store. He knows how to pick out the feet and bring her in from the pasture, so he's embraced the horse show husband life," she said.
Karley has two pieces of advice for other equestrians questioning whether they can, or should, try to keep one foot in the barn and one in their chosen career path. First of all, never take the bond with your horse for granted, and second, don't give them up without a fight.
"I really think you should never stop doing the thing that makes you happy," she said. "Sometimes you have to put things on hold, and sometimes it does not work out the way we'd dreamed it would. I thought I'd be at the Olympics by now when I was a kid, but don't stop doing what makes you happy. Do the thing that you can't stop thinking about. Do the thing that makes you smile like a child."
Categories: Amateur Showcase, Horse Shows, U.S. Show Jumping
Tags: Amateur Showcase, Karley Koch, Silvia
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Beyond 2021
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Day Two @ BEYOND 2020: Convergence – exploring new types of experiences
Day two at BEYOND took the theme of Convergence to look at the disruption that is already happening in the Creative Industries, the genres and disciplines converging to produce new types of experiences and the opportunities they present for audiences, creators, technologists and researchers.
Reflecting back on Tuesday's programme, there were so many exciting insights and discoveries, with debate around the success, challenges and future of virtual production in a lively conversation with film director Hasraf Dulull and Jason Kingsley OBE, founder of Rebellion Games, including a screening of their short film Percival.
The day highlighted lots of new and innovative ways to engage with new experiences from home. The speed at which technologies have converged through lockdown has made things far more accessible, bringing new experiences into audience's living rooms, at a speed no one expected. This is something that Annette Mees from Royal Opera House touched on in the Deep Dive: Current, Rising session, with Figment Productions' Simon Reveley.
Ham The Illustrator gave attendees an energetic and compelling insight into the creative process and the story behind Munkination, his latest project with the Royal Opera House, blending hip-hop and opera, live performance and animation. He talked about how the project has helped to bridge the gap between young people and audiences not typically attracted to opera. Munkination: Second Chance is a great example of the increasing hybridisation and convergence taking place in the Creative Industries; using VR to create pop-up immersive installations that teleport small groups into a provocative adventure exploring climate change.
His session highlighted convergence and collaboration, and the impact that this has had on the creative industries, when researchers, creatives and investors all come together – a great reminder of how we can all use our own art and creative expression to understand how to work with others and shine a light on important issues, such as climate change.
The Future of Festivals panel revealed the level of detail, thought and planning that goes into events and how producers of large scale events have adapted to meet changing audience desires and motivations. Gabrielle Jenks explained how the rise of virtual tourism and in-game experiences has informed the journey they have developed for Manchester International Festival goers online, especially when it comes to building experiences and facilitating a co-presence between attendees so they can be visible to each other, not just a passive experience. Gabrielle was joined by Hugh Forrest (SXSW), Mair Morel (Boomtown Festival) and Nicola Osborne (University of Edinburgh).
Continuing this<|fim_middle|>YOND: ON-DEMAND
The overview above doesn't cover half of the jam-packed programme, but delegates can catch up on all the day two session videos (published as they are available) at https://beyondconference.org/ondemand/, including:
Future of Festivals + Q&A
Exploring the future of festivals with Gabrielle Jenks (Manchester International Festival), Mair Morel (Boomtown Festival) Hugh Forrest (SXSW) and Nicola Osborne (University of Edinburgh).
In Conversation: Percival with Q&A
Digital Catapult's CEO Jeremy Silver asks Rebellion Games founder Jason Kingsley why he built a film studio, and talks with Jason Kingsley OBE and director HaZ Dulull about their work together.
Virtual Production: Beyond the Mandalorian
A unique introduction to the potential of virtual production technology, exploring its strengths and cutting-edge applications from three distinct perspectives. With speakers Yassmine Najime, Finn Ross and Hasraf Dulull
There's still time to grab a ticket, to access the BEYOND on-demand videos and catch the rest of the live conference, running from 30 November – 3 December 2020. You can also follow all the action via #BEYONDConf on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
← Day One @ BEYOND 2020: Divergence - normal programming has been interrupted Shows From the Small Screen: Latest Research Considers 'Audiences at a Time of Pandemic' →
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#BeyondConf
© 2017 – 2023 Beyond Conference Limited. All Rights Reserved | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Code of Conduct | theme, the Next Moves for Visitor Experiences panel explored how Covid19 has impacted the visitor experience economy with a look at new, exciting experiences using augmented and mixed reality. John Cassy (Factory 42), Caroline Scarles, (University of Surrey), Sam Smit, (Eden International) and Susan Cummings (Fictioneers) looked at how new technology is being used to extend the reach of the visitor, with different ways of engaging an audience and the use of immersive storytelling. The session highlighted how technology is breaking down geographical barriers and audiences are able to have new experiences wherever they are in the world.
Delegates joined the talent behind the R&D projects in the Immersive Futures Lab and poster exhibition, for the Meet the Researchers and Makers sessions on the main stage, getting a chance to quiz them in more detail.
A key thread through the whole day was how much audiences still yearn for human interaction, now more than ever in the face of social restrictions this year. Delegates discussed how the creative technology and projects showcased at BEYOND have adapted and transformed to help enable, enhance and bring new elements to the art of storytelling.
DAY TWO @ BE | 238 |
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PERC Releases Online Resource for Business Owners Interested in Propane Equipment
Home/Pages/Industry News/Business/Combilift sets the benchmark for mass customization with its new production plant
Combilift sets the benchmark for mass customization with its new production plant
Combilift has set the benchmark for mass production of customized innovative products according to Martin McVicar, managing director. Mr. McVicar was speaking at the official opening of the new Combilift global headquarters.
Built at a cost of $50 million the new 500,000 sq.ft (46,500 sq. m) global headquarters and new manufacturing facility will allow Combilift to double production.
Established in 1998, Combilift currently exports 98% of its products to 85 countries through its 250-strong international dealer network. Combilift is celebrating its 20th year anniversary of lifting innovation.
McVicar attributes the company's impressive growth to mass customization. -Mass customization is the new frontier for both the customer and the manufacturer. Increasingly customers are expecting products to be tailored to meet their needs. Forklift producers that offer customized products generally produce low volume, but Combilift is setting the benchmark by offering the mass production of tailored products, resulting in a strategic advantage for our customers. Traditional forklift manufacturers focus on high volume mass production of the same products. We evolve with our clients, producing new products each year.-
Since 1998 Combilift has been manufacturing customized products tailored to suit client requirements. -The flexibility in our new facility means that Combilift can continue to accommodate any customer request for a customized material handling solution,- says McVicar -Customer requirements are our standard. The new factory enables us to double production and remain focused on the needs of our customers and dealers. We have become much more than a forklift manufacturer and are transforming the transport and logistics sector with our innovative, space-spacing products.-
Combilift offers a free logistic and warehouse design service. Combi-Connect allows the customer to see the benefit a Combilift product will bring to their business. -Our engineers proactively design, plan and produce solutions in collaboration with our customers by offering material flow analysis and 3D animations. We work with customers to produce warehouse designs to visualise the capacity potential as well as the optimum flow of materials on their site.- says McVicar.
The Combilift approach is one of listening to its global network of customers. -We work closely with our customers and dealers to identify solutions that best match their individual specific needs. Combilift invests 7% of its annual turnover (revenue) in Research and Development (R & D) to enhance its customization capability. We are intensifying the collaboration with our customers in the warehouse and material handling sectors. The intention is to maximize return on revenue (ROI).-
Growth of Combilift
Established by Martin McVicar and Robert Moffett, technical director, in 1998, Combilift is a privately held and fully capitalized company. It developed the world's first multidirectional all-wheel drive IC engine powered forklift in 1998. In its first year of operation, Combilift produced 18 units, 17 of which were exported. The company has more than doubled in the last five years and now has 40,000 units in operation in over 85 countries.
Combilift's product portfolio has expanded way beyond its first multidirectional Combilift, with innovative product development and customization being a cornerstone of the company's ethos according to McVicar. -As a company, Combilift has always focused on a number of niche market segments and has a proven track record of launching one to two new products annually. In the first 10 years Combilift concentrated on the long load material handling sector. The Combilift multi-directional forklift revolutionized the handling of long materials as it allowed customers to handle long products in less space more safely. Between 2008 and 2018 Combilift diversified its product ranged by developing a number of innovative space saving warehouse and heavy load handling products; the Aisle Master articulated truck and the Straddle Carrier (Combi-SC) respectively. Combilift entered the pedestrian forklift market with the introduction a number of unique products (Combi-WR and Combi-CS) in the last five years, which benefit from its patented multi-positional operator tiller arm technology.
Combilift sees a growing demand for pedestrian trucks, driven by safety concerns where customers and/or employees are in the vicinity of operating forklifts according to McVicar. -It is Combilift's intention to significantly expand its pedestrian forklift range as can be seen with the launch of the high lift capacity Combilift Powered Pallet Truck (Combi-PPT).-
Increase in jobs
Combilift is also investing in its workforce, adding a considerable number of high-level employment opportunities, for skilled technicians, design engineers, logistics and supply chain specialists and those with mechanical and electrical mechatronics skills.
-The investment in people will enable Combilift to meet its ambitious growth plans,- says McVicar. We have employed an additional 230 people since we announced our plans for this factory in 2015. The combination of this state of the art production plant and a skilled workforce will allow us to double production within the next five years.-
New factory
The new 500,000 sq.ft (46,500 sq. m) purpose-"built factory is set on a 100-acre site with room for expansion. With 11 acres of roof space, it is one of the largest manufacturing operations under one single roof in the Republic of Ireland.
Incorporating the latest manufacturing processes with a focus on sustainability, the new factory will enable Combilift to double its output in a single shift across all production lines. Four 90 meter moving assembly lines produce a finished truck every 15 minutes.
30% of its roof space is covered in skyl<|fim_middle|>More than 50 truckloads of finished products are dispatched to 85 countries each week. Spare parts are also shipped across the world from Monaghan to the dealer network.
Certified to international quality and safety management standards, the new headquarters and manufacturing facility has been awarded ISO 9001 international quality management system, ISO 14001 Environment Management and OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series.
Pop-up skate wheel system from OMTEC improves 90-degree conveyor transfers
Material handling equipment market will hit $190bn, with 5.5% growth till 2024 | ights enabling staff to work in natural daylight without the assistance of artificial lighting. Lighting is provided through 1100 LED light with individual PIR sensors. Solar panels supply 185 kW of energy with a 1 MW Biomass plant fueled by recycled wood (pallets etc.) to heat the spraying boots and assembly area. 110,000 liters of rain water is harvested for use throughout the facility.
| 89 |
We departed San Diego at 8:30pm on British Airways bound for London, England. The flight takes approximately ten hours, arriving in London at about 2:45pm the following day. Once we had cleared immigration control and collected our bags we made our way from Heathrow Airport to Victoria Station in downtown London on the Underground. We had to<|fim_middle|> to bed early. | change trains once to reach our destination but the two trains were on the same platform so it was fairly easy.
Our hotel for the next four nights was a Best Western Hotel located a few blocks from Victoria Station. We set out on foot with a map and suitcases in tow, dodging traffic and many pedestrians on the small narrow sidewalks. Our room was small as is common in Europe, but not as small as some rooms we have had. The bathroom was so small that it was not possible to sit on the toilet without your knees hitting the wall in front of the toilet.
After settling into our hotel, we headed to a pub near Victoria Station for a dinner of fish and chips and sausages before going | 143 |
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Jets suspend Sal Alosi indefinitely
Rich CiminiESPN Staff Writer
Longtime Jets beat writer for New York Daily News
Syracuse University graduate
The New York Jets have suspended Sal Alosi indefinitely after the team got "new information" that the strength and conditioning coach "instructed" five players to stand in a wall before he tripped Dolphins player Nolan Carroll on Sunday.
Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum announced the punishment after Alosi was suspended for the rest of the season and fined $25,000 on Monday.
"Over the last day as we continued our investigation we discovered some new information," Tannenbaum said. "The players at the Miami game were instructed by Sal to stand where they were forcing the gunner in the game to run around them. Based on that new information we've suspended Sal indefinitely, pending further review."
NFL vice president of football operations Ray Anderson has reviewed the play and he said what Alosi ordered was illegal. At the owners meetings in Fort Worth, Texas, he cited two NFL rules about where players, coaches and support staff are supposed to stand.
When asked if they were in violation of the rules, Anderson said: "Yes."
This isn't the first time Alosi has ordered players to line up either, according to a player who was on the wall on Sunday.
"We've been doing that since the beginning of the year, standing right there. Sunday was not the first time that we'd been doing that," Jets tight end Jeff Cumberland said.
"I mean, throughout the season you know things are going to happen but you never expect this to happen."
Cumberland said Alosi didn't explain to the players why they were lined up.
"He never really just gave a reason," Cumberland said. "He just said during punt return, 'You just stand right here by this line, everybody just stand right here.' There wasn't really a reason why. But we kinda figured just in case somebody ran over here."
Tannenbaum said as soon as the team learned the new information, the Jets contacted Anderson.
"They support this initial decision that we presented to them," Tannenbaum said. "The league is going to look into this as well, as well they should. Once we get all the information we'll make a final determination."
Tannenbaum added that not only what Alosi did affected his punishment but how he handled the fallout. The general manager said Alosi wasn't forthright when the team spoke to him on Monday.
"It's really for the totality of the situation -- the unsportsmanlike act," Tannenbaum said. "We didn't have all of the information on Monday. Over the course of the next few days more information came out and that really doesn't sit well with us, and that's why we felt this additional step was necessary."
Tannenbaum was clear in what happened on the sideline Sunday.
"Specifically, when Miami was punting they were asked to stand there by him," he said.
Tannenbaum said Alosi acted alone, he wasn't told by anyone in the organization to instruct players to stand in a line. Addressing the media Monday, Alosi claimed he wasn't instructed by anyone to<|fim_middle|>. "He admitted it to me, like a man. He was sorry."
Rich Cimini covers the Jets for ESPNNewYork.com. You can follow him on Twitter. Information from ESPNNewYork.com's Jane McManus, ESPNDallas.com's Calvin Watkins and The Associated Press was used in this report. | create a human wall.
Cumberland backed that stance when asked if anyone else asked him to stand in the line. "Just Sal," he said.
Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan said Monday the players aren't coached to do that.
Tannenbaum said the team looked at game film of the play and "it looked to me like it was unusual for them to be standing that way." The Jets interviewed the players who were standing near Alosi, but will not take any action against them.
"This is just about Sal," Tannenbaum said.
Could Alosi be fired for the move?
"All options are certainly on the table. We're going to complete the review and get all the information," Tannenbaum said. "[Special-teams coach] Mike Westhoff was not involved, Rex Ryan was not involved, but we just want to be thorough and get all the information."
Westhoff told ESPNNewYork.com on Wednesday that he was not teaching players to line up in formations to impede play. He said that he would never condone being in a position to injure a player from the sidelines.
"You'd have to be a sick individual to have that in mind," Westhoff said.
He added that he felt bad for Alosi, who he said had a lapse in judgment.
"I think the whole thing is silly," Westhoff said. "I don't see a purpose served. I truly don't. I just don't see an advantage."
Westhoff said in a Wednesday visit with the Waddle & Silvy Show on ESPN 1000 in Chicago that he didn't know what Alosi was doing.
"I had nothing to do with it, just to be honest with you," Westhoff said. "I didn't even know we were doing it. There was some organization to it."
But he also said he's noticed the Jets aren't the only team lining up on the sidelines during punts. The Patriots engage in similar tactics, he said.
"A number of teams do it," Westhoff said. "There is a pretty good team up north that lines their whole defense up when they do it, so it's something that just kind of happened."
Asked if he's saying the Patriots line up players to impede punt coverage teams, Westhoff elaborated: "Well, if you watch them, their defense when the opponents' punt team is out there, they're up there pretty close to the line, so it looks like they are trying to do it. Now are they doing anything illegal? Are they tripping anybody, heck no. I'm not saying that. That's not the point. But, yeah, they're lined up there. Is it making a difference? I don't know. I really don't know, because to tell you the truth, before this happened I never really looked at anybody's sideline in all my years."
The league is trying to formulate a standard for plays along the sideline.
"Ray Anderson and his staff are reviewing and clarifying sideline protocols with the teams at today's league meeting in Fort Worth and will follow up with a memo to the clubs this week," NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello said in an e-mail.
Player sentiment was united behind Alosi. Quarterback Mark Sanchez and linebacker Bart Scott referred to their strength and conditioning coach as a teammate.
"I'm sure, maybe in his way, he was doing what he could to help the team win," Scott said. "He's paying a hefty price. But, like with all things, he's like a teammate. He's no different from Braylon [Edwards] who had his adversity or Santonio [Holmes] or anybody. You stand behind your teammate. Hopefully he gets through it."
Wide receiver Brad Smith said he has been in Carroll's shoes.
"I've been the flier," he said. "I didn't know if you see a wall necessarily, but nobody's really going to move to get out of the way if you're running on the sideline. It happens every now and again, not necessarily hitting a guy, but people are there and you have to avoid them."
He said that it can be hazardous.
"Sometimes they try to push them into a kicking net or whatever obstacle is on the sideline," Smith said. "They're taught to just get the guy and slow him down in any kind of way."
Former Miami Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas had accused the Jets on Tuesday of deliberately forming a wall on their sideline to influence the Dolphins' gunner.
Thomas is part of a growing faction that believes Alosi wasn't acting alone.
"They had to be ordered to stand there because they're foot to foot," Thomas said Tuesday on Miami radio station WQAM. "There's four of them, side to side -- five of them, I mean -- on the edge of the coaches' zone. They're only out there to restrict the space of the gunner.
"But there's more to it because I'm telling you, the only thing [Alosi] did wrong was intentionally put that knee out there. If he just stood there, there would never have been a problem, even if the guy got tripped. But there's more to this. He was ordered to stand there. No one is foot to foot on the sideline in the coaches' box."
There was a six-man line, starting with Alosi and defensive lineman Marcus Dixon (inactive). It's believed the other four also were inactive players. They were in a tight formation, almost like soccer players preparing to defend a direct kick. Their toes were right up against the boundary, with Alosi positioned in the corner of the coaches' box.
Westhoff said he spoke to Thomas about his comments Tuesday that it was obvious the Jets had set up a wall. Westhoff said they are very close and that those comments made him look culpable:
"The fact that it's associated with teams, then it comes back to me."
Carroll said Wednesday he has found it difficult to get away from replays of the tripping episode.
He said he has seen the replay on TV more times than he can count.
"The past couple of days it has been continuous, every channel I turn to," he said, shaking his head. "I'm just trying to watch TV. I can't get away from it."
The contact of the trip did cause a muscle spasm in Carroll's right leg, which he broke last year, but he later returned to the game.
The Dolphins reserve said he has received lots of text messages and phone calls from concerned friends in the wake of the incident. He's trying to put the incident behind him and isn't worried about what the Jets do to Alosi.
"It's their problem," Carroll said. "It's not my problem. I've moved on from it. What they do in New York, they've got to deal with that."
Shortly after the game, Alosi apologized by phone to Carroll and Dolphins coach Tony Sparano.
"I'm glad he called me," Carroll said | 1,433 |
F.A. Trophy 3rd Round
Rigoglioso (37)
Danny Harvey
W L D W W W W W L L
Leigh Genesis (A) 7.2.09
Hednesford bowed out of this season's F.A. Trophy at the last sixteen stage this afternoon, with a first-half goal from Blue Square Premier side Forest Green Rovers enough to see them move into the quarter-final stage of the competition
Manager Dean Edwards was forced to shuffle the pack again, with Rapinder Gill and Luke Edwards cup-tied. This saw Curtis Ujah and Dale Anderson - who had returned to Keys Park this week ten years after he last played for the club - were brought into the starting XI. Ross Dyer's injury meant he was only amongst the substitutes, joining a strong-looking bench that included Sam Hall, Mark Briggs and Adam Burley
Step one Rovers were struggling for form in the Blue Square Premier, sitting just above the relegation zone currently after a run of winless form in the league that had seen fail to win any of their last five games; progress in the Trophy had come courtesy of a 5-0 win over Redditch United earlier in the month to set up today's game. Manager Jim Harvey made four changes to the side that had drawn 2-2 at Salisbury City in their last game as Richard Robinson, Les Afful, Conal Platt and Adrian Rigoglioso all came into the starting XI at the expense of Terry Burton, Simon Clist, Alex Lawless and Curtis McDonald
The away side, having beaten two sides from step two in the competition already this term, were keen to test themselves against the highest level of opposition to see how far they had come. They made a good start, with Elliott Durrell bright and breezy with his passing and movement in midfield
The Pitmen's first real opportunity came from a set-piece after eight minutes. A Chad Sheppard corner was headed towards goal by Danny Harvey, but the referee blew for a foul on goalkeeper Ryan Robinson as the two went up to challenge for the ball
There had been little in the way of an attacking threat from the home side in the first fifteen minutes, with danger man Adriano Rigoglioso well shackled by the improving Curtis Ujah
Top scorer Tyrone Barnett was next to trouble the Blue Square Premier side's defence, pouncing on a Durrell free-kick before firing across the face of goal and away from the oncoming Anderson
Rigoglioso was starting to find his feet up front and tested the reflexes of Stuart Brock by firing a rising shot narrowly over the Hednesford keeper's crossbar on thirteen minutes
The Pitmen continued to give as good as they got, with Tom Marshall going agonisingly close with a header midway through the half that cleared the crossbar
The visitors suffered a blow on the half-hour mark, as Brock collided with Forest Green striker Andy Mangan as they both went for the ball. After winning the ball, Brock came off worst in the challenge and received lengthy treatment that left him limping
Forest Green took advantage of the Pitmen's insecurities at the back to grab what was to be the winner eight minutes before half-time. Hednesford failed to spot the warning signs as Forest Green built from the halfway line and steadily moved towards the penalty area. The ball found Mangan, just inside the area, whose attempted shot was well blocked by Ujah. Rigoglioso seized upon the loose ball and fired past Brock into the far corner of the net
Despite the blow, Hednesford continued to press, although a number of simple balls from the back were easily cut out by Forest Green's midfielders, who looked to punish simple errors on the break
The early stages of the second half saw Hednesford back on the front foot, with the words of Edwards no doubt ringing in their ears. Anthony Maguire whipped in an early cross that failed to find either Anderson or Barnett as they<|fim_middle|> change things, with Sam Hall making an appearance at right-back in place of Sean Platt. He also made a switch in midfield a few moments later, with the cultured passing of Mark Briggs joining the game in favour of skipper Sheppard
Only a few moments after the wave of tactical changes, Edwards was forced into a final change as Barnett pulled up with what appeared to be an injury to his groin. Ross Dyer, himself only just back from a similar injury, replaced him
Dyer's pace and trickery immediately gave the Pitmen a different look, as he linked up well with fellow sub Hall to play in Durrell, whose shot was blocked by a Forest Green defender
Rigoglioso had another go at killing the Pitmen off twelve minutes from time, but his twenty-yard effort was deflected away from goal for a corner kick
Briggs was next to go close for the Pitmen on eighty-one minutes, collecting a pass from Ross Draper before firing a weak shot straight at the giant Robinson
Two minutes later, the away side thought they had grabbed the equaliser their efforts deserved; Maguire swung in an inch-perfect cross towards the penalty spot, finding the head of Marshall, who lopped the ball over the onrushing Robinson and into the net. The joy was short-lived as the assistant referee had raised his flag, much to the bemusement and anger of the Pitmen as Marshall came from an onside position and had not made contact with Robinson
The Pitmen's late efforts came to nothing, and their F.A. Trophy dream comes to an end at the last sixteen stage - no mean feat for a UniBond Premier League, but now there are no excuses or cup distractions when it comes to the title challenge from now on. A first-ever trip to Leigh Sports Village is next up for the Pitmen as they travel up the M6 to face crisis club Leigh Genesis at their new home
Forest Green Rovers: Robinson; Lawless, Gill, Preece, Stonehouse, Afful, Fowler, Smith, Platt; Rigoglioso (McDonald 86), Mangan (Symons 64) Subs Unused: Ashford, Burton
Hednesford Town: Brock; Harvey, Ujah, Marshall; Platt (Hall 58), Sheppard (Briggs 64), Durrell, Draper ©, Maguire, Barnett (Dyer 70), Anderson Subs Unused: Burley, Harbutt | moved into the penalty area
At the other end, Rigoglioso tested the injured Brock with a stubbed shot that the Hednesford number one easily fielded low down
On fifty-four minutes, Durrell had a great chance to put the Pitmen level as he latched onto a ball from Anderson but fired over the bar from sixteen yards out
Back came Rovers, and Conal Platt played in the ever-willing Rigoglioso. On this occasion, the former Morecambe and Lancaster player could not divert the ball home, as his flick flew wide of goal
Edwards decided to | 125 |
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