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We are all different; as our faces differ so does everything about us. This is also true with regard to the different temptations that would draw us away from fellowship with the Lord Jesus. Temptation that may draw one person will have little attraction for another. However, one thing is common to every Christian and that is we are all subject to temptation every day, no matter how long we have been a Christian. Our enemy, Satan and his messengers, use our everyday world and the things in it to appeal to our unchanged old nature, exploiting our particular weakness, and so at times every Christian is in danger of falling into sin.
It is spiritual warfare; the enemy is very active, and we need to be constantly on our guard. It was in the garden of Gethsemane that Matthew tells us how the Lord coming to the disciples, found them asleep and said to Peter, 'What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.' Matt. 26. 40, 41. Shortly after this the temptation to which He referred came and the disciples failed the Lord because they were unprepared.
When Satan tempted the Lord, he was rebuked by scriptures quoted by the Lord<|fim_middle|>iquity', 2 Tim. 2. 19. | from Deuteronomy chapters 6 to 8. These scriptures would probably have been on one scroll and the Lord used them to silence and defeat him. We will not be in a state of readiness spiritually unless we read the bible each day and feed our minds with Christ.
The promise in Romans 6. 14 is made to all believers, 'Sin shall not have dominion over you'. How is this standard to be met in our individual lives? Certainly it will not be in the energy of the flesh, that is our natural ability to resist evil, see Romans chapter 7. There will need to be a different kind of strength altogether and this we derive from the Holy Spirit who indwells each believer. 'There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death', Rom 8. 1, 2 NKJV.
Provision is made for the spiritual protection of every aspect of our lives, minds and hearts from satanic attack, see Eph. 6. 11- 18. Once we have learnt to put them in place we are able to defeat the enemy and serve the Lord unhindered. Again, as the Lord told the disciples in the garden, so here in Ephesians 6, we are finally exhorted to pray and be in a constant state of watchfulness.
Finally, if we do fall to temptation and become aware of defilement, we need to repair the damage and receive the forgiveness that is available through God's infinite grace. We must meet the conditions of confession and repentance according to 1 John 1. 9. Failure to do this will mean communion with God is suspended and will result in further movement away from the Lord.
Finally let us realize that this issue is serious and essential and as scripture exhorts us, 'Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from in | 419 |
July 23rd<|fim_middle|> but I'm sure that Batman was featured in "Reefer Madness."
A good weekend to you, sir.
He still looks good for a fellow that is 75. What is this "Reefer Madness" that you speak of? One of Batman's old foes? Does he use smoke to confuse his victims?
I did not realize the special occasion. I spent most of the 23rd in transit from Colorado. A Batplane would have been handy.
Thanks for sharing the goodies! I think the very last one is my favorite - says it all.
Batman is always prepared. His contingency plans have contingencies.
So Sorry! I lost your comment in purgatory somehow!
Feel free to plug your shirts here anytime!
I wasn't aware of Batman day. It sounded pretty cool, though. Love the Batman suit!
With Comic-Con going on there is a lot more Batman than usual. | was a celebration of 75 years of Batman!
Here are a few things I saw, and some I have shared before.
New pictures of Ben Affleck's Batman suit!!
Pictures are from this years Comic-Con.
Batman: The Animated Series is included in the movie category for Mask of the Phantasm that was in the theaters in 1993. In my opinion it is the best representation of Batman on the big screen.
The picture at Digital Spy is interactive so click on the link to check that out.
Some how I don't think Batman is too happy with this.
Jeremy Hawkins at Being Retro has shared this Batman shirt, and a groovy video.
The Geek Twins Shared 6 Reasons We Never Got A Third Tim Burton BATMAN Movie. Great stuff give them a click.
Did you celebrate Batman Day?
I downloaded the free release from yesterday. Otherwise I forgot that maybe I should have watched a movie, too.
I didn't even realize there was such a thing, but my brother and nieces apparently did some stuff.
Hey thanks for the link! He is Batman. He wins. Mask of the Phantasm was awesome and really is the best animated movie they've made.
you could give Green Lantern a run for his money!
DC is doing the same thing it did with Superman. I guess it couldn't hurt being that the movie is still far away.
I still remember getting chills in the theater at the opening music!
As Maurice says: MASK OF THE PHANTASM was the best Batman movie of them all, animated or live. I loved the Gothic Fairy Tale. You are a wonder for finding all this stuff. Thanks!
I've always been a Batman fan, so thanks for this post.
It's a great time to be a fan!
I suspect--but I could be wrong--that he's a little like the Dread Pirate Roberts. He retired long ago and passed down the Batman name to others... just a sneaking suspicion.
I forgot to celebrate, but now I've visited your blog, so it's all good. I still can't see Ben Affleck as Batman. That Lego graphic is priceless.
Is it for Iron Man or Robert Downey Jr.!
This pic came out today....he so looks the part in this one.
I had a belated celebration of Batman Day. I might say I remember the very beginning way back 75 years ago. I might say that. Such a comprehensive post on all things, Batman. I'm might of been a bit out of it at the time, | 517 |
Tekejeu Bass - Rocheleau Technosoft<|fim_middle|> to sing over the song (requires headset).
- Reset to original settings. | Inc.
Description Tekejeu Bass is an intelligent Electric Bass for learning music purpose.
Tekejeu Bass detects chords and tonality / key. Chords extraction may be transposed or exported to pdf file.
A real time automation may be set to overdub the electric bass fully synchronized with the playing song.
You can set Tekejeu to "AutoBass" and the app will play the bass track of the song of your library.
Chords to speech function allows you to learn chords sequence of the song by ear without display.
TAP TO PLAY: Tap anywhere on the screen and the instrument will play the right note based on the automatic detection function.
AUTO BASS: App is playing the bass track on a virtual 3D bass using pitch tracking.
AUTO DRUM: App is decoding of drum track and play it.
AUTOMATIC BEAT DETECTION: App is detecting the beat of the song.
AUTOMATIC CHORDS DETECTION: App is detecting chords of the song.
AUTOMATIC KEY DETECTION:App detects key of song.
CHORDS2SPEECH: App tells the chord vocally while the song is playing.
NOTES DISPLAY: App rolls musical notes from right to left from the pitch tracking.
NOTES TRANSPOSITION: App transposes key and chords.
-7 PRESETS OF INSTRUMENTS: Bass China, Guitar USA, Bass Quebec, Guitar UK, Cello France, Bass Canada, Organ Japan, Flute Africa.
- 3 differents views of the instrument.
- Song Master volume knob.
- Your iPod library is reached by a custom picker capable to manage one playlist.
- Library songs may be sorted and filtered by group, song name or artist.
- Capable to reorder song items in your playlist .
- Capable to add and/or delete song in the playlist.
- Export chord chart to pdf file using email.
- Mic allows you | 389 |
It's that time again…. for Anne and Crystal's Christmas Extravaganza!!! (we call it ACCE, cause that's a mouthful… a delightful mouthful).
If you are in or around the Maui area on October 12, we would love to have you join us for this year's ACCE. We have three exciting classes to offer.
You will be making 4 full sized cards and 4 3×3 cards. These are designed simply to be reproduced in bulk, should you decide to recreate some for your own Christmas card list. This class will run from 9-11. The cost will be $10 and include the supplies needed (but bring your own preferred adhesive).
Here you will make 2 boxes, 2 gift card holders and a super cute Santa bag. These are perfect for all of your little gifties for your friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Also designed so that you could reproduce if you wanted more… The cost of this class is $20. It will run from 11:30-2. And, supplies are included, with the exception of your preferred adhesive.
And, introducing a new, exciting art form to ACCE: MIXED MEDIA. In this class, you will expand your crafting skills, learn how to use stamps and inks in other ways than just on paper making cards.
You will create this delightful home accent piece to enliven your space during the holiday season. All supplies will be included. The cost of the class is $25 and it will run from 2:30-4:30.
This year's Halloween DSP, Witches Brew, is absolutely fabulous. This is a Summer Starfruit piece from the pack. The I wanted the girlie-ness from that piece of paper to liven up the card. Its 4.5″ square… but I trimmed off a portion of the front and scalloped the edge. I textured with chevron and stamped with the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set And the Illuminate ink. On the eggplant, it comes out a pretty silver. Thus the hint of brushed silver paper.
Now, I knew I wanted to glitter the hat with our black glitter. And I swear I had some of the heat and stick powder. But I think in efforts to simplify my life, I must have gotten rid of it. So. I had to stamp the image and then trace over it with crystal effects. But the result is still the same.
A few rhinestones and we are all "off to see the wizard".
When I saw the owl in the tree in this set, I just knew I had to make a window card with the sponging and all that business. So… off to figure that out.
I used the window framelits die and cut the window out of the layer of DSP that is on the front. Then I placed it where I wanted it to be on the card and marked the insides so I knew where to line it all up.
Remove the DSP and with the help of the exceptionally wonderful magnetic platform, my window got cut out of the card base exactly where I needed it to be.
I put a piece of vanilla paper on the inside and then marked the window from the front of the card. This is so I would know where to line up the mask for my stamping and sponging. I cut then same size window out of a scrap of paper and used it<|fim_middle|> a mask to keep the start fruit clean as I sponged smokey slate, basic gray, and black.
Like my piece of Washi as a way to hold the mask down?? Its perfect for that cause it is removable. And here is the finished sponge job.
Well. Thanks for stopping by for this month's Best Of… you're off to see what Deb Leigh has in store. And here's to a day of defying gravity. Plug that song in and go around singing it. I dare ya….
So, I'm not going to go into too many details of how to make them because you can come to a class and get to make one or both of them FOR YOUR VERY OWN!! I will have all the supplies, so all you need to do is come!
In order to take the pictures, I wasn't able to put them up on the string… but the kit will come with the twine that you string them on and hang them with.
Anyway, I'll be sure to have Christmas music blaring. So you can get ready for Christmas. In September. | to mask the area. I stamped the owl/tree stamp and then sponged summer start fruit for the moon.
After stmping and sponging summer start fruit, I used the 1″ c ircle to make | 46 |
Software-defined wide area networks, or SD-WANs, optimize network traffic in distributed environments that often comprise multiple branch locations. These solutions allocate a company's bandwidth, enabling the delivery of high-priority data traffic with greater reliability and consistent performance. Among the different data types that require consistent performance are unified communications services utilizing voice. These services are fundamental in any business environment, but are most critical in customer engagement scenarios, where prompt, efficient, and comprehensive service can make or break a company.
SD-WAN adoption is<|fim_middle|> voice.
Voice traffic is far more susceptible to inferior performance in instances of overburdened bandwidth. We've all experienced calls plagued with everything from tinniness to abject call failure. This interference frustrates callers and directly impacts customer service — a far worse transgression than a fractional-second lag in the loading of a web page.
Even when voice traffic receives top priority in an SD-WAN environment, the impact on data performance is negligible. The prioritization of voice doesn't consume any more bandwidth than the network already supports. In fact, most companies have access to far more bandwidth than they'll ever require. Poor voice performance is typically the result of a lack of optimization. This is why companies that never perceive an appreciable data issue still tend to suffer problems with voice quality.
Aside from delivering better technology, the sale of a truly optimized SD-WAN solution gives channel resellers an opportunity to deepen their relationship with customers, add enhanced value, and really differentiate their capabilities and insights in a competitive market. Superior optimization helps position the reseller as a trusted IT partner, one whose expertise solves real-world problems. The end-user, in turn, will differentiate their business through a more consistent and satisfying communications engagement experience for their constituents, free from many of the irritating distractions of poor voice transmissions.
The question remains, then: Why aren't more companies delivering optimization this way? For the most part, the larger players in the marketplace have been data providers, and voice traffic was either carried over a separate network (PSTN or SIP Trunks), or used as justification for buying a bigger WAN pipe. With the greater dependence on VoIP for business-critical communications, combined with economical access to significantly more bandwidth, businesses now have more options at their disposal. Further, SD-WAN solutions, unlike IP, are not a defined standard, which means suppliers implement their solution as they see fit. To date, the majority have been focused on data and not voice.
Data latency was a major concern when companies were dependent on low-end cable and DSL transport, which was rife with challenges for a business-grade network. Yet, in this age of large wide-area pipes, bandwidth is rarely lacking.
Here's our favorite optimization analogy: If you want your car to move faster, you don't buy a new road. You make sure your car is performing properly. Businesses want to move faster, become more agile, and increase their bottom line through greater customer satisfaction. Sometimes, companies purchase more bandwidth instead of optimizing what they have. Even with a fatter bandwidth pipe, unless the network is optimized with a voice-centric SD-WAN approach, voice quality will continue to be middling, creating a frustrating and potentially detrimental experience for callers.
Buying more bandwidth is akin to buying more road. You're on wider pavement, but you're still not going any faster. A voice-oriented approach to SD-WAN is a far more effective strategy for your business customers. It allows companies to fine-tune what they already have, giving them the ability to maximize performance and keep their stakeholders happy. This should be the ultimate consideration in selecting any network solution.
For the latest updates on SD-WAN implementations, strategies, and use cases, as well as the biggest trends impacting managed service providers, don't miss the exciting programs on tap at SD-WAN Expo and MSP Expo in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, taking place January 30-February 1, 2019.
About the author: Don Nawrocki serves as CoreDial's (News - Alert) Chief Technology Officer and is responsible for overseeing key technical aspects of the company, including software development, quality assurance, infrastructure and IT operations. Don focuses on inspiring and leading team members, helping to attract and retain top talent, and implementing scalable and repeatable best practice technologies and procedures.
Don is an award-winning, experienced technology leader who helped build many of the Philadelphia region's high-tech successes. Don was honored with the 2016 Philadelphia Tech Disruptor Award and the first-annual Timmy Award for 2016 Best Technology Manager in Philadelphia, both awarded by Philadelphia Business Journal. Prior to CoreDial, Don served as CTO of PeopleLinx, Chief Architect at GSI Commerce (now Radial), Director of Development and Quality Assurance at Procurian (now Accenture (News - Alert)), and CIO at Neat. Don earned a BSE in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
CoreDial is the leading UCaaS platform and business model focused on driving channel success and empowering over 800 partners to deliver cloud communications solutions The company offers a unique SD WAN offering developed along with VeloCloud, ensuring the highest quality voice traffic. | gaining momentum: Gartner's (News - Alert) recent Market Guide for WAN Edge Infrastructure report predicts that 25 percent of companies will adopt one form of an SD-WAN solution in the next two years. This represents a notable opportunity for MSPs and resellers. However, when proposing solutions in this market, it's important to assess the use model and traffic types a business employs. If voice makes up any part of the data stream, a voice-centric SD-WAN solution is critical to stakeholder satisfaction.
So, why do many companies already utilizing these bandwidth optimization capabilities still report sub-par quality on voice calls, including distortion, reduced intelligibility, and even dropped calls — despite an SD-WAN environment?
The reason is simple: Unfortunately, in most SD-WAN deployments, voice is often lumped in with other functions, such as business applications, email, web, and messaging data, which often minimizes call quality.
Most SD-WAN networks have been configured with a broad focus on data optimization, placing little emphasis on voice traffic. Companies that employ data-centric optimization are doing themselves a disservice, considering that a significant percentage of business communications — and particularly customer service — still depends on voice. When bandwidth becomes constricted from high traffic loads or factors in the network for those businesses utilizing VoIP, these services suffer the most perceptible degradation. This creates a tangible impact on a business' ability to communicate effectively with customers, partners, and other stakeholders.
This dynamic needs to change, as most every business recognizes the higher value of voice communications.
The reseller needs to approach bandwidth optimization from a voice-centric perspective to ensure not just optimal network operations, but also clear and consistent voice communication for customers. The voice-centric approach not only manages bandwidth utilization through prioritization of voice packets, but also looks beyond the network endpoints. For voice traffic, the SD-WAN service should proactively assess network performance, and when delays are detected, make adjustments to ensure the best voice quality. Included among these proactive measures are packet duplication and alternate routing to provide higher probability of on-time receipt, with lower jitter and latency.
If a company's bandwidth capacity is strained, data-centric applications, such as email, web browsing, and platforms like Salesforce.com and Microsoft (News - Alert) Office, continue to function with a latency that is barely distinguishable to the user. Most companies don't struggle to access applications like Salesforce.com, HubSpot (News - Alert), or NetSuite. They do, however, frequently experience jitter and other challenges with their voice applications. When considering an SD-WAN solution, MSPs must prioritize what matters most to their end-users and address those applications that are more vulnerable to compromise when bandwidth is constrained. Don't go where your clients don't need you to go. Prioritize | 562 |
• Michelle Gibson and Kerry Spokes are both opening cafes in Fish Creek.
KERRY Spokes and Michelle Gibson both have grand plans for cafes in Fish Creek.
This is great news for so many reasons.
There will be jobs for locals and somewhere to go to have breakfast,<|fim_middle|> want to live in the world.
These two forces of nature are embarking on a journey that will not only enrich their own lives but the lives of all who come to their cafes.
Gecko's café should be up and running by the end of August and Gibson's opening is planned for August 1st. | lunch and afternoon teas.
"We will complement one another," says Kerry.
She owns Gecko Gallery with her partner Michael Lester.
Their grand plan is to open a café, which will seat 20 people and serve cakes and coffee.
It will operate down the right hand side of the existing business and will be a wonderful addition to what is already a popular Gallery.
Michelle has taken over the Flying Cow, which will now be called Gibson's.
Both women started out as locals then left the area before returning. They both came back and forward a couple of times. Kerry returned in the late 80's and Michelle about 5 years ago.
The two feisty women have known each other since the 70's and have both lived full and interesting lives.
Kerry left Fish Creek straight after high school and went travelling. She then attended art school in the La Trobe Valley before heading off to travel again before finally settling in Fish Creek.
She and Michael have recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of Gecko Gallery.
Michelle's background is in catering. When a makeup artist came into her work and said they needed a caterer on the film shoot she was working on, Michelle put her hand up.
The first film she worked on was a cracker of a film called Death in Brunswick.
She went on to do the catering for countless Australian films and TV shows.
Michelle says it's all about how you | 284 |
Q: How to randomly place <|fim_middle|>ardon the pun) left for another asteroid.
An alternative would be to store a data structure of all possible positions that are left that an asteroid can fit in to. This would be like a list of locations and would start as the full list. Eg if you had a simple 3 x 3 grid the start list would have 9 locations. You then choose a random item from the list and use it, then remove it and any other locations that have now become invalidated by that new asteroid. That way you can tell when you have no space left.
Maybe overkill but an interesting problem i thought - good luck!
A: Simple solution:
for i = 1 to 10
{
X = rand();
Y = rand();
drawCircle(X,Y, radius);
}
Complex solution:
You'll have to give us more to go on.
| 2D asteroids so they don't overlap with each other? What is a good way to generate 2D asteroids (top down) that don't overlap with each other? If you can provide code in any language similar to C# or JAVA I'd be thankful.
A: I believe what you're looking for is 2D Collision Detection. Here's a good article about it with working sample code.
EDIT: Based on what you've described, if you had each asteroid represented as a Rectangle, then you could simply check for Intersection:
*
*Generate an asteroid that's represented as a Rectangle.
*Check against a list of existing asteroids to see if it Intersects.
*If it Intersects, go to 1, otherwise add it to the list.
Obviously this isn't perfect since there could be corners that should be allowed to overlap, but it would be a fairly quick way of generating what you'd want (depending on how many asteroids you wanted to place).
EDIT 2: If you just want the code that checks for rectangular overlap, it can be found here.
A: Depends how complex you need and want to make the solution. If you want to place lots of objects then iterating and hit testing each time could get you into an infinite loop if there is no space (p | 261 |
Alex Hornstein told us he had just been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and wanted to synthesize his own insulin, DIY-style. Would we help? Hell yes! A grad student from Harvard who had dropped in pointed out that the Registry of Standard Biological Parts already has an insulin-generating biobrick. Alex and the grad student went off to talk.This is radical self-actualized DIY theraputics. Extremely controversial.
A variety of brave souls volunteered to start writing for the (so far, low-volume) blog at diybio.org in an attempt to amplify the signal that inevitably gets lost in the noise on the diybio mailing list and in the DIYbio ecosystem of blogs. Want to help? Email contact@diybio.org for an account.
volunteers from each DIYbio region present (Ellen from NYC, Tito from SF, Paul from MIT & myself from Boston) thought it would be useful to describe the organizational blueprint for the local group in a central place, perhaps on the new forums, for comparisons sake and to help new groups bootstrap more intelligently and more quickly.
Alec Nielsen, myself, Jason Bobe, David Thompson, and iGEM volunteer from MSU, and the DIYbio-NYC folks all were excited about developing a standard DIY-friendly DNA barcoding protocol. 16s<|fim_middle|> for that? | rDNA sequencing of soil microbes was the initial suggestion, followed by interest in plant barcoding, in which sample collection and genome isolation may potentially be easier (using the COI gene).
I announced the Boston Open Source Science Lab, a volunteer research center where PhDs and amateurs can work together to develop and document low-cost, low-waste "open source" tools and techniques for biotechnology and synthetic biology. 12-month goal: build and distribute one unencumbered (IP-free or freely-licensed) BioBrick under the new BioBrick Public Agreement to the DIYbio community, preferably a device with an obvious and fun phenotype. In the process develop comprehensive and practical resources and protocols for DIY biobrick creation and use that bridge the gap between high-school and PhD-level lab instructional material. Along the way, we'll figure out how to make it all financially sustainable with a combination of workshop tuition, membership fees, donations, and grants. We might even be able to put together some DIY kits.
Wow – some very impressive projects getting started here! Particularly interesting is the Boston Open Sources Science Lab. It reminds me of the mobile fab lab. I'm in the process of gathering support for an iGEM 2010 team at my home institution, and I have to say that it would be wonderful/inspiring to see something like BOSSlab compete at iGEM. Are there any pictures of the actual container Mac, or is it too early in the project | 302 |
Beauty & Style - X
The skinny on snail facials
Sep 23, 2013 at 9:00 am EDT
Image: Oleg Shipov/Getty Images
Snail facials have been crawling into the beauty world, and lots of ladies are shelling out loads of cash to give the treatment a try. But what does it do — and does it work?
The snail facial all started in a Tokyo spa. During the procedure, an esthetician places live snails on the face of the client, whereby they distribute their mucus to remove dead skin cells and, somehow, improve the skin's ability to hydrate.
Gross, right? But does it work?
"Claims that snail slime will repair and soften skin seem tenuous, but not out of the question," says Marta Wohrle, creator of Truth in Aging. "The science is a bit vague, but fairly supportive. There is one study — seemingly independent — that looked at the mollusk secretions, cryptomphalus aspersa (SCA). The study found that it contained antioxidants and stimulated fibroblast proliferation and rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton."
Dr. Jessica Krant, M.D., M.P.H., a board-certified dermatologist and founder of Art of Dermatology says the benefits of this new treatment might have been exaggerated: "The snail slime skinny is that much like the exciting, titillating 'piranha pedicure' that hit the news for a short period, it's mainly a great marketing ploy for spas, coming out of Japan."
More: 10 WTF beauty rituals.
The proof is in the slime (err… pudding)
The experts seem to agree there is no real research proof that snail slime does anything special for the face beyond what enriched moisturizers do. The way these facials are performed thus far is by combining the application of the snails with a nice facial massage and also electrical micro-current stimulation, which theoretically temporarily opens cell pathways to allow larger molecules in so they can penetrate the surface.
"The hyaluronan molecule that is the basis of the slime (cousin of hyaluronic acid that we already use in dermal fillers and topical moisturizers) is too large to fit through these openings anyway, and serves as a surface humectant, which absorbs and captures moisture from the air and sits on top of the skin to plump up outer dry cells and make fine lines less visible," explains Krant.
There are also antioxidants in the mix but it's unknown what their true effects are. It may be the massage and moisturizing that is doing the bulk of the work, but hey, who doesn't want a few snails on her face once in a while?
"Supposedly, the specific breed of African snails used is not plucked straight from the dirt but is kept in a clean environment and fed only organic vegetables to keep them fresh and healthy. Apparently, there is a Japanese myth about snails, too, in which snails turn into women when they have survived living in a shell for 30 years, as a reward for suffering so long. Perhaps this new beauty treatment is just a way of communing with old buddies?" muses Krant.
Tell us: Would you get a snail facial? Why or why not? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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NEWCASTLE United's Massadio Haidara is likely to be sidelined until May – leaving John Carver desperately short of numbers at the back.
Haidara suffered a knee injury against Manchester United early this month, and the club has not put a date on Haidara's comeback.
Carver is focused on ending Sunderland's four-game derby winning streak with what he has available.
Head coach Carver hopes to have midfielder Mehdi Abeid back for the Wear-Tyne derby on April 5, and winger Rolando Aarons could also return from long-term injury next month.
Aarons has been sidelined with<|fim_middle|> left-back against his former club Sunderland.
And utility Ryan Taylor – who scored Newcastle's last derby-winning goal in August, 2011 – is likely to continue at right-back, where he was fielded in last weekend's 2-1 home defeat to Arsenal.
Abeid returned to training this week ahead of the derby.
The 22-year-old has been sidelined since early this month with a thigh problem.
Janmaat, meanwhile, is on international duty with Holland along with goalkeeper Tim Krul, and Carver faces an anxious few days waiting to see if they come through unscathed given their importance to his derby plans. | hamstring and thigh problems since November.
Haidara – who has what Carver describes as an "ongoing issue" with his knee – isn't expected to be available in the "near future" as his problem is further assessed.
"There's no sign of anyone coming back in the near future, other than Mehdi," said Carver.
Left-back Haidara's absence – and the need to switch right-back Daryl Janmaat to central defence with captain Fabricio Coloccini suspended – has left Carver with a patched-up back four.
But the club remains hopeful that Haidara will return late in the campaign.
Carver, for his part, is focused on ending Sunderland's four-game derby winning streak with what he has available.
Midfielder Jack Colback could again be asked to play at | 165 |
One of the easiest things you can do to optimize a web page is to write a better title for it. Aside from writing great content, learning how to write better titles is the best thing you can do for your web page. I'll start with the basics of a page title and then move into more advanced discussion.
What is a web page title?
If you look at the top of your browser window, above the address bar and the menus, you will see "Writing Better Titles – Social Patterns". That is the page title of this page.
The title of a web page is specified by the title element aka the <title> tag.
Why is the page title important?
Page titles influence search engine rankings.
Naturally, search engines rank pages with relevant titles higher than web pages without relevant titles. The basic idea is that you are helping the search engine understand your web page through the page title.
The page title is often used as the heading for your site listing in search engines.
Not only does your web page need to rank well, but it needs to attract people to it. Search users will quickly overlook a web page with a lackluster or unrelated page title.
Page titles are the default label for browser bookmarks.
One of the best ways to attract repeat visits is to have someone bookmark your web page. Almost every web browser assigns the page title as the label for the bookmarked web page. If your page title is not descriptive or missing, most people will not remember why they bookmarked your site in the first place.
Page titles are stored in browser history lists.
Similar to bookmarks, browsers by default use page titles to label pages in the browser's history. There are plenty of times I've wanted to find a page in my history but could never find it because the page had a non descriptive title.
RSS generators and content management systems use page titles to create headlines.
For example, any site powered by WordPress (like mine) will generate RSS headlines from page titles by default.
Most people link to web pages using the page title for anchor text.
This is important for two reasons. Search engines place high importance on relevant anchor text – so when someone links to your web page with the same anchor text as your page title, your ranking for words found in your page title will get boosted. The other reason is that your page title will be the call to action on someone else's page. A weak page title makes for weak anchor text. Without a strong call to action, no one will want to leave the current page they are on.
The most important thing to remember when writing web page titles is that web page titles are almost always read out of context. Normally there is nothing else except for the title to tell people what your site is about (especially with regards to a search engine listing).
Google cuts off its display of titles at around 64 characters. Although Yahoo and MSN display more characters, I'd recommend keeping it under 64 characters. Keep it short and precise.
Do not use the same title for all your web pages.
This makes it hard to distinguish between pages. Why make it tougher on the search engines and your visitors? If you need to always include something in your titles, such as a company name or a web site title – place it at the end.
Focus your keywords at the front.
Place the most relevant keywords at the front. Make sure those keywords are on topic, precise, and summarize your content. Search engines gauge word proximity, so always place the keywords that matter at the beginning and close together. Keywords phrases that are split up and too far apart won't be considered as related.
People skim over titles. So any high flown language or clever text<|fim_middle|> would be accepted in a title. Thank for the other great info.
search engine optimization is a tedious if not lengthy process ,".
Amazing blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog shine. Please let me know where you got your theme.
Hello there! We have found your site to be tremendously interesting.
I have been enjoying seo tactics and I have learnt so much about it. It is comparatively cheaper than PPC and other advertising. It does take longer but ultimately it helps the bottom line in the long term.
This article is great for reference when optimizing the webpage for seo.
article? I'd really love to be a part of group where I can get suggestions from other knowledgeable people that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Thanks! | will be disregarded. Speak to your readers the way you would like to be spoken to. Try and avoid too much search engine marketing speak – keep it simple and honest.
Avoid unclear titles with more than one meaning.
Since titles typically lack context, ambiguous titles will generate untargeted traffic and waste your bandwidth. Be as descriptive as you need to. If your web page is about brown furry dogs, don't just title your page "dog". That title could mean anything. Title it "Brown Furry Dogs".
Some people like adding extra information in their title tags like article date, site section, or the URL. My advice is to remove anything that does not need to be there (for example: "Click here to head to My Page" could be reduced to "My Page"). If your page title is descriptive enough, there is no reason to add anything else.
Plenty of beginning SEOs like to stuff all their keywords into the title. Please don't do this. Focus on a couple and create more pages for the keywords you still want to target. There is no reason to keyword spam.
Use separators instead of words like "and" or "also".
Search engines ignore widely used words like "and", "a", "the"…etc. These ignored words are called stop words. Instead of stop words, use separators like "-" or "|". This will save you title space and allow you to put more information into your title if needed.
These are a set of tips that can help you write better titles for your readers and for the search engines. Of course there are always exceptions, but hopefully this article provided you with some basic guidelines and gets you thinking on how you can improve your titles.
If you have any tips of your own, leave a comment!
I just discovered using the | symbol instead of words. I've been using that in my writing for a long time: just didn't realize it | 387 |
Shock compaction heating and collisional processes in the production of type 3 ordinary chondrites: Lessons from the (nearly) unique L3 chondrite melt breccia Northwest Africa 8709*
Ruzicka, Alex C.; Friedrich, Jon M.; Hutson, Melinda L.; Strasser, Juliette W.; Macke, Robert J.; Rivers, Mark L.; Greenwood, Richard C.; Ziegler, Karen and Pugh, Richard N. (2020). Shock compaction heating and collisional processes in the production of type 3 ordinary chondrites: Lessons from the (nearly) unique L3 chondrite melt breccia Northwest Africa 8709*. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 55(9) pp. 2117–2140.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13567
Northwest Africa (NWA) 8709 is a rare example of a type 3 ordinary chondrite melt breccia and provides critical information for the shock compaction histories of chondrites. An L3 protolith for NWA 8709 is inferred on the basis of oxygen<|fim_middle|> at the Open University ST/L000776/1 STFC (Science & Technology Facilities Council)
© 2020 The Meteoritical Society (MET) | isotope composition, elemental composition, diverse mineral chemistry, and overall texture. NWA 8709 is among the most strongly shocked type 3 chondrites known, and experienced complete melting of the matrix and partial melting of chondrules. Unmelted phases underwent FeO reduction and partial homogenization, with reduction possibly occurring by reaction of olivine and low‐Ca pyroxene with an S‐bearing gas that was produced by vaporization. Chondrules and metal grains became foliated by uniaxial compaction, and during compression, chondrules and fragments became attached to form larger clumps. This process, and possibly also melt incorporation into chondrules to cause "inflation," may have contributed to anomalously large chondrule sizes in NWA 8709. The melt breccia character is attributed to strong shock affecting a porous precursor. Data‐model comparisons suggest that a precursor with 23% porosity that was impacted by a 3 km/s projectile could have produced the meteorite. The rarity of other type 3 ordinary chondrite melt breccias implies that the immediate precursors to such chondrites were lower in porosity than the NWA 8709 precursor, or experienced weaker shocks. Altogether, the data imply a predominantly "quiet" dynamical environment to form most type 3 ordinary chondrites, with compaction occurring in a series of relatively weak shock events.
Astronomy and Planetary Sciences | 308 |
Con Updates: 'The Simpsons' Go to D23 Expo, Warner Bros TV Announces Comic-Con Line-Up
Posted on Monday, June 24th, 2019 by Chris Evangelista
Calling all convention lovers: two big con announcements have just dropped to get you more excited about plunking down some cash and jetting somewhere to stand in line. Now that Disney owns Fox, The Simpsons will make their first appearance at the D23 Expo (well, not literally; they're cartoons). Meanwhile, Warner Bros. TV just announced what they're bringing to San Diego Comic-Con – a line-up that includes a farewell to the long-running series Supernatural.
The Simpsons at D23
D23, Disney's biennial expo, is back this year, and it's bringing The Simpsons along with it. The mega Fox-Disney merger put the animated family from Springfield within the grip of the House of Mouse, and Disney wants everyone to know it. Per D23, "Creator Matt Groening, Executive Producer Al Jean, Executive Producer Matt Selman, Supervising Director Mike B. Anderson, and stars Nancy Cartwright and Yeardley Smith will all be in attendance, and you can expect lots of surprises, including an exclusive Simpsons collectible item for everyone in attendance."
This will be part of a panel talking about upcoming season on Saturday, August 24, at 10 a.m. in the D23 Expo Arena. Also, if you head to the convention floor, "you'll have the opportunity to get close and personal with Bart, Lisa, and the rest of The Simpsons family." Again, since these are fictional cartoon characters, I guess this means they're going to have some poor saps walking around in big, bulk Simpsons costumes. Please be nice to them, they're just trying to entertain.
Matt Groening and the rest of the panelists will also take part in a one-hour autograph signing session after the panel.
Warner Bros TV at SDCC
Disney realized that they didn't need Comic-Con when they could have their own big conventions. But other studios aren't so lucky. Like Warner Bros. – or at least, Warner<|fim_middle|>oth.
Signings: Autograph signings will take place in the WB/DC booth #4545. WBTVG follows Comic-Con's ticket drawing/wristband distribution procedure for all signings. Visithttps://www.comic-con.org/cci/autographs for more info.
The full line-up, including dates and times, can be viewed here.
San Diego Comic-Con Will Stay in San Diego Through at Least 2024
The Russo Brothers Will Have a Hall H Panel at This Year's Comic-Con
POTD: 'The Simpsons', 'Stranger Things', and 'Friends' Living Rooms Recreated with IKEA Furniture
Warner Bros. Won't Have a Hall H Panel at Comic-Con, But 'IT Chapter Two' is Coming to ScareDiego
20th Century Fox, Animation, Comic Conventions, Comic-Con, D23 Expo, Disney/Pixar, Television, Warner Brothers, d23, San Diego Comic Con, The-Simpsons | Bros. TV (Warner Bros. movies are going to be surprisingly absent at SDCC this year). Warner Bros. TV will have a lot to crow about this year, including farewells for both Supernatural and Arrow, as well as panels featuring Batwoman, Doom Patrol, The Flash, Pennyworth, Riverdale, Supergirl, Veronica Mars and more. Here are the highlights.
Farewell to Arrow and Supernatural: Fans attending Comic-Con will have their last chance to celebrate long-running hit series Arrow and Supernatural as they make their final appearances at SDCC: Arrow on Saturday in Ballroom 20 and Supernatural in its traditional Sunday slot in Hall H.
Preview Night/World Premieres of Batwoman, Pennyworth and More: SDCC will be the place for world premiere screenings of the Arrow-verse's newest DC Super Hero dramaBatwoman (in advance of its Sunday, October 6, premiere at 8/7c on The CW) and DC origin story Pennyworth (prior to its Sunday, July 28, debut at 10/9c on EPIX) on preview night, Wednesday, July 17. WBTVG will also feature an advance sneak peek of the pilot episode for the highly anticipated FOX dramatic thriller Prodigal Son, starring Tom Payne and Michael Sheen. And for those of you who like your Super Heroes a little more animated, we have something for you as well, with the world premiere of the upcoming DC UNIVERSE animated comedy series Harley Quinn, as well as a never-before-seen episode of the hit Cartoon Network series Teen Titans GO!, and more.
World Premiere of Veronica Mars: The cult favorite returns after 10 years with Veronica (series star Kristen Bell) drawn into an epic eight-episode mystery as a series of bombs terrorize spring breakers in Neptune. Fans attending the show's Friday panel will get to see the show's first episode a week prior to its July 26 debut on Hulu.
DC UNIVERSE Saturday Night: DC UNIVERSE fans can enjoy an evening of sneak peeks, first looks and breaking news for Titans, Doom Patrol, the second half of Young Justice: Outsiders and the upcoming animated comedy series Harley Quinn during a special two-hour event on Saturday night.
Panels: Returning Comic-Con essentials Arrow, Black Lightning, DC Super Hero Girls, The Flash, Legacies, Riverdale, Supergirl, Supernatural, Teen Titans GO!, Veronica Mars andYoung Justice: Outsiders are all back in San Diego, along with Batwoman, Doom Patrol, Harley Quinn, Pennyworth and Titans making their SDCC debuts.
Warner Bros./DC Booth: The Studio's massive multi-level booth #4545 will now more than ever become a must-visit destination on the convention floor, when Warner Bros. teams up with DC for an awesome mega-bo | 589 |
A scientist's opinion : Interview with Dr Akira Endo about clusters &<|fim_middle|> cluster, covid-19, interview, superspreading, vaccine
Contributors: Gareth Willmer
Scientists: Akira Endo | superspreading
© Olivier Le Moal / Adobe stock
Interview with Dr Akira Endo in the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Is it still beneficial to look into combining backward with forward contact tracing, as you describe in your recent paper, following the recent developments with COVID vaccines?
It's very good news about the vaccines, though there's still a need to make sure their estimated effectiveness is actually the case. But at the moment, it doesn't invalidate the importance of backward tracing straight away, because even if there are vaccines, it takes a lot of time to disseminate them to the population until coverage exceeds a certain threshold for herd immunity. And if people are concerned about risks, that will be more difficult.
So in that time, we can combine these methods to suppress the infection, making vaccines, contact tracing and other measures complementary with each other.
One possibility with this would also be arranging some sort of "ring vaccination"– targeting vaccination to high-risk people, especially those who are in contact with cases. That was useful in the recent Ebola outbreak [in the Democratic Republic of the Congo]. However, it requires further assessment of whether ring vaccination could also be effective for COVID-19 because success in part relies on how quickly vaccines can induce protective immunity.
Looking into these methods has also been a good learning point for public health. In our study, we saw the relationship between the effectiveness of backward tracing and superspreading – or overdispersion – so I believe the information will be used in future outbreaks with similarly high overdispersion patterns.
Can this idea of combining the types of tracing, looking at both the R and k numbers, really take off in Europe during this pandemic?
The problem recently is that many European countries have had lots of cases, so the public health capacity to implement that kind of intense backward tracing has been lost. Contact tracing is basically most effective when the number of cases is low. If the number of cases goes very high, then even if you implement intense contact tracing, it would consist of only a small proportion of all cases – meaning the reproduction number will not reduce sufficiently.
Once the number gets low again, backward tracing could work as an alternative strategy to lockdowns – which have a large amount of detrimental effects – while vaccine programmes are being rolled out. More countries are now trying to design and prepare such tracing. Half a year ago, many public health guidelines for contact tracing only focused on forward tracing, but now many are changing so they can also focus on backward tracing.
What are the other challenges in implementing this kind of strategy, and are there technologies that can improve its success?
Backward tracing is kind of resource-intensive. Currently, much of this [in countries where it runs] is manually based: public health officials get in contact with cases and potential source cases, and interview them. That's the main reason it cannot be rolled out easily and it's limited to situations where the number of cases is low.
There are also technical and privacy issues, and if you want to use it for a wider range of countries there's some cap on resources. However, with the development in ideas, countries could consider incorporating some backward-tracing functions into apps – but it may take some more development and discussion of whether it's ethical or feasible within its functions.
Maybe an easier step before it's implemented in an app is standardised electronic survey forms, instead of making phone calls to interview cases.
For an app, given the difficulties and that we're still learning many intervention strategies, it may be more about preparation for the next pandemic rather than this one. It will be better if we can use backward tracing from the outset rather than developing it during an outbreak.
Tags: | 756 |
Sunrise at River Road
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About Sunrise at River Road
Community & Location Highlights:
Award-winning assisted living, memory care and short-term stays in Tucson, AZ, near the eclectic downtown area and a variety of outdoor destinations
Located east of I-10 at the base of the Santa Catalina Foothills on the northwest side of town, at the corner of River Road and North First Avenue
Medical support from nearby Northwest Medical Center, Tuscan Medical Center and University of Arizona Medical Center, along with regular visits from physicians, nurse practitioners, podiatrists, and physical, occupational and speech therapists
Close to the Tucson Mall, Desert Diamond Casino, Old Tucson Studios, Tucson Convention Center, Arizona Theater Company, The Tucson Padres and the University of Arizona
Awards include "Food Service: 100%" rating from the Pima County Health Department and "Going for the Gold Medal Award" from Crandall in 2012
At Sunrise of River Road in Tucson, AZ, each and every team member contributes to the success of our senior living community. Led by a compassionate Sunrise Senior Living executive director, our team goes above and beyond mere job descriptions. Not only do we provide our residents and their families with the best possible care, but our community also helps to improve the broader Tucson, AZ, community's awareness of seniors' unique needs, local assisted living options and overall memory care support. Sometimes, our team members' work includes fundraising for Alzheimer's walks, organizing senior center holiday celebrations and partnering<|fim_middle|> enjoy outings to shopping malls, theaters, convention centers as well as fine dining right in our very own dining room.
Contact us about booking a tour. We look forward to speaking with you!
*Does not include care level or medication management.
Sunrise complies with applicable federal and state civil rights laws and does not discriminate against, exclude, or treat people differently on the basis of national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or disability. Sunrise will provide reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing. If you require an accommodation of any kind, please contact Sunrise staff.
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Sunrise of Scottsdale (104.7mi.) | with local organizations to provide education and outreach. Other times, our team's job calls for simple acts of love and caring, such as giving a resident a hug. But regardless of the amount of time invested, our team's every act is performed with one goal in mind-to help every senior experience the joy of every day. Our seniors | 67 |
2005-06Regular SeasonRound 3
Union Olimpija 70
Tau Ceramica Vitoria-Gasteiz 87
November 16, 2005 CET: 20:45
Local time: 20:45 TIVOLI ARENA
Tau Ceramica bounced back from its first Group A loss by downing Union Olimpija 70-87 on the road in Ljubljana, Slovenia on Wednesday. Tau first road win raised its record to 2-1, while Olimpija dropped to 0-3. Predrag Drobnjak led the winners with 21 points on 10-for-15 shooting and 8 rebounds. Tiago Splitter had 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting. Luis Scola added 12 points and Kornel David 10 as Tau's big men combined for 61 points total. Jimmy Oliver of Olimpija scored 25 points while making 7 of 13 three-pointers and Teemu Rannikko had 14 for the hosts. Tau used its strength in the paint to get a 16-25 lead after 10 minutes, while Drobnjak shined in the second quarter to keep a 39-46 margin at halftime. Oliver nailed 4 triples in the third quarter to bring Olimpija within 58-61, but Tau's defense allowed 2 points in the opening 6 minutes of the fourth quarter, enough to assure a victory.
Olimpija coach Pino Grdovic placed Toni Dijan in the starting lineup and it immediately paid off, as he followed Oliver's opening shot, a three-pointer, with a putback basket for a 5-0 lead. David got Tau going with a basket in close as the guests adjusted their man-to-man defense. Prigioni fed Scola with a behind-the-back assist and then found Hansen for a corner three-pointer for Tau's first lead, 5-7. Olimpija struggled to score now, while Prigioni's third assist found Scola underneath. Dijan slashed for a layup and Josko Poljak scored in the paint, but Scola immediately matched both baskets for a 9-13 Tau lead. Teemu Rannikko stepped up with a three-point play that drew Scola's<|fim_middle|> get into a new positive streak. The game was very important, we started with maximum concentration and we all played great during 40 minutes. We controlled their best players and only Oliver surpassed our expectations."
REGULAR SEASON TOP 16 PLAYOFFS FINAL FOUR
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Round 8 Round 9 Round 10 Round 11 Round 12 Round 13 Round 14
November 16 20:45 CET LIVE FINAL
AEK Athens 80
Zalgiris 65
GHP Bamberg 73
Benetton Basket 94
Climamio Bologna 84
Winterthur FC Barcelona 91
Lietuvos Rytas 97
AJ Milano 71
Prokom Trefl Sopot 92
Olympiacos 75
Efes Pilsen 78
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv 83
Cibona VIP 74
Unicaja 63
Montepaschi Siena 78
Panathinaikos 82
Ulker 87
Pau-Orthez 55
Partizan 63 | third foul and sent him to the benc. But Tau kept looking inside, where Kornel David followed a jumper with free throws, while Drobnjak added a three-point play for a 14-20 margin. Rannikko shined with a floating bank shot, but Hansen answered from downtown as Tau was ahead 16-25 after 10 minutes.
Drobnjak opened the second quarter with a long jumper. Olimpija did not find answers on offense until Halperin scored from downtown to make it 19-28. He then followed Hasan Rizvic's tip-in with a driving layup, while Oliver capped a 10-2 run with a corner triple that cut the difference to 26-30, forcing a Tau timeout. Drobnjak stepped up again for the guests with a layup, but an unsportman foul by Jordi Grimau helped Rannikko and Evtimov to bring Olimpija within 29-32 midway through the second quarter. An unstoppable Drobnjak made another long jumper and Sergi Vidal nailed a triple to give Tau some breathing room again, at 29-37. But Olimpija fired back as Rizvic made a four-meter shot and Oliver scored from downtown for a 34-40 scoreboard. It took yet another triple by the red-hot Oliver to keep Tau's advantage down to 39-46 at halftime.
Scola came back after the break and immediately nailed a jumper to which David added a layup for a 39-50 Tau lead. Halperin hit a driving layup and Rannikko a big three, but Casey Jacobsen matched it for Tau. A low post basket by Rizvic and Oliver's fourth three-pointer kept Olimpija close 48-55. Oliver kept shooting and hitting triples, and two more of them with Evtimov's bsket inside soon ahd the difference down to just 3 points, 58-61, after 27 minutes. Splitter came to the rescue for Tau with a three-point play that Drobnjak followed with consecutive layups, forcing an Olimpija timeout at 58-68. When Oliver made another three and Halperin a six-meter jumper, Ukic beat the buzzer with his own triple as Tau held onto a 63-73 edge after 30 minutes.
Rannikko tried to get Olimpija back into the game with a tip-in and a big offensive rebound, but Tau was fully in charge. As Drobnjak made a mid-range jumper and Ukic free throws, Tau's defense did the rest. Olimpija went scoreless for 5 long minutes, while Hansen buried a corner three to make it a 15-point game, 65-80, after a 0-7 run. Olimpija called timeout but Tau kept its game plan: strong defense and inside offense. Scola made a layup and Drobnjak dunked to seal the outcome, a well-deserved Tau victory that left Olimpija at the bottom of the Group A standings.
Referees: KOUKOULEKIDIS, STELIOS; RYZHYK, BORYS; MATTIOLI, GIANLUCA; REINBACHER, HARALD
Union Olimpija 16 23 24 7
Tau Ceramica Vitoria-Gasteiz 25 21 27 14
Union Olimpija 16 39 63 70
Union Olimpija
5 POLJAK, JOSKO 10:45 2 1/2 1 2 3 1 1 4 1 1
7 SZEWCZYK, SZYMON 14:30 3 1/6 0/1 1/2 2 2 2 1 1 3 4 1
8 RIZVIC, HASAN 33:45 8 4/9 4 5 9 2 4 1 4 1 8
9 RANNIKKO, TEEMU 36:30 14 4/9 1/6 3/3 2 2 4 4 4 4 12
10 MOROVIC, VEDRAN 3:30 1 1
12 DIJAN, TONI 8:00 6 3/3 2 2 8
14 DROBNJAK, DRAGISA 3:45 0/2 -2
15 VAN DE HARE, REMON 3:00 1 1 2 1 1 2
21 HALPERIN, YOTAM 32:00 9 3/4 1/4 3 2 2 1 7
24 OLIVER, JIMMY 40:00 25 2/5 7/12 1 2 1 1 2 20
32 EVTIMOV, VASSIL 14:15 3 1/5 1/2 3 3 1 2 2 2
33 ZORIC, LUKA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team 1 -1
Totals 200:00 70 19/45 9/23 5/7 13 12 25 8 10 10 2 0 20 16 59
Head coach: GRDOVIC, JOSIP
Tau Ceramica Vitoria-Gasteiz
4 SCOLA, LUIS 14:45 12 6/7 1 1 1 2 4 4 11
5 PRIGIONI, PABLO 26:45 2 1/1 0/1 1 1 10 2 1 4 13
6 HANSEN, TRAVIS 29:00 9 3/8 1 2 3 2 1 1 7
9 VIDAL, SERGI 25:00 3 0/1 1/1 2 4 6 3 2 1 10
10 UKIC, ROKO 13:15 9 2/3 1/1 2/2 1 1 2 3 2 2 1 14
14 DROBNJAK, PREDRAG 27:00 21 10/15 1/1 8 8 1 1 2 2 22
15 GRIMAU, JORDI 2:00 1 -1
16 GARCIA, OSCAR DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
18 DAVID, KORNEL 18:45 10 4/5 2/3 6 6 2 2 3 13
21 SPLITTER, TIAGO 19:30 18 7/8 4/7 2 2 1 1 1 1 4 18
23 JACOBSEN, CASEY 24:00 3 0/3 1/2 1 2 3 1 2 1
Team 1 1
Totals 200:00 87 30/43 6/13 9/13 7 25 32 19 4 12 0 2 16 20 108
Head coach: MARTINEZ, PEDRO
This game has no play by play yet
GRDOVIC, JOSIP
"All the defeats hurt, some more than others. This is one of the worse ones. Tau Ceramica is the Eur4opean subchampion and they showed it tonight at the Tivoli Pavillion. My players saw it and the fans saw it. They were better throughout the 40 minutes and we were never able to come back. My players didn't follow the instructions we told them before the game. The fans have all the right to think what they want."
"After a bad streak we had to win to raise the spirits. This win is very important because Union Olimpija was always a tough rival in their arena. We played well and dominated throughout the 40 minutes and we managed to stop Oliver in the last quarter."
DROBNJAK, DRAGISA
"We never had an option to win. Tau was better in all aspects of the game and they deserved the win all the time. With this play they can go far and for me, they are clear favorites for the Final Four."
EVTIMOV, VASSIL
"It's difficult to talk about the game after such a defeat. There was no doubt about who the winner had to be."
UKIC, ROKO
"We played like we said in the lockerrooms before the game and everything turned out right for us. The important thing is to follow this path."
DROBNJAK, PREDRAG
"After three defeats the most important thing is to | 2,072 |
My name is Michael. I am 20 years old. I began writing poetry in middle school. The reactions I received from teachers and others let me know that they enjoyed my work. My writing was interrupted when I was in an auto accident in 2003. I was in a coma for 4-5 months. My condition is called Traumatic Brain Injury. It has taken me three years to regain my interest and my skills: writing, speaking, walking. I continue to work on my physical recovery today. Recovering from such a serious accident takes a long time. I am<|fim_middle|> wrote before my accident. The rest is a collaberative work of Mary's and mine. Writing has been an integral part of my recovery. It helps me realize what can be accomplished even from someone in a wheelchair! | happy I was able to regain the ability to talk and write within the first two years of my rehabilitation. Along with my tutor, Ms. Mary Cantwell, we have continued to write poetry and express the feelings I have inside of me. The first part of this book contains the poetry I | 58 |
The American worker - Paul Romano and Ria Stone
An extensive two-part article on factory workers in the US in 1947. In the first half, auto worker Phil Singer (using the pen name, Paul Romano) vividly describes factory life, and in the second, Grace Lee Boggs (using the pseudonym, Ria Stone) outlines a Marxist analysis.
by Paul Romano and Ria Stone (1947)
Introduction by Martin Glaberman
LIFE IN THE FACTORY
I. THE EFFECTS OF PRODUCTION
II. A LIFE-TIME TRANSFORMED INTO WORKING TIME
III. SINCE THE WAR ENDED
IV. THE INEFFlCIENCY OF THE COMPANY
V. MANAGEMENT'S ORGANlZATION AND THE WORKERS' ORGANIZATION
VI. STRATA AMONG THE WORKERS
VII. THE CONTRADICTION IN THE FACTORY
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF SOCIETY
I. THE PERMANENT REVOLUTION IN THE PROCESS OF PRODUCTION
II. THE HUMAN NATURE OF INDUSTRY
III. CLASS INDIVIDUAL AND THE SOCIAL INDIVIDUAL
IV. IN SOCIETY WITH OTHER MEN
V. THE CRISIS OF THE CAPITALISTS
VI. THE WORKERS CRITIQUE OF POLITICS
The American Worker was first published in 1947, a quarter of a century ago. Its continued relevance is indicated by the fact that the section on life in the factory has been reprinted in several places in the last few years. It was written by a young worker in a General Motors plant in the East. For the auto industry in the immediate post--World War II years it was a rather small plant, employing only about 800 production workers. Yet so sensitive was Paul Romano's observation of life in production that it exposed social relations and physical facts that are still evident and still relevant.
A few years after The American Worker was written, the auto industry entered upon an intense period of automation (foreseen in this pamphlet) which altered many things in the way the industry (and work) was organized. Yet the basic conditions remain the same. Romano wrote (page 2) that "the factory worker lives and breathes dirt and oil. As machines are speeded up, the noise becomes greater, the strain greater, the labor greater, even though the process is simplified." After twenty-five years more of the UAW, its contracts, and its grievance procedure, those conditions remain essentially the same. On May 6, 1971, the Detroit Free Press reported testimony in the trial of James Johnson, a worker at the Eldon Ave. Axle Plant of the Chrysler Corporation, who was charged with killing two foremen and a worker at the plant. A union steward, John Moffett, "told of dangerous greasy floors, unprotected conveyors and dangerous aisles crowded with workers and hi-low trucks at the same time."
Romano says, "The machinery is speeded up to a high degree. As a result there are continuous breakdowns and a large crew of maintenance men is needed. The wanton use of machinery is everywhere apparent." (Page 12).
Writing of the problems that General Motors faced in its new Vega plant in Lordstown, Ohio, the Wall Street Journal noted on January 31, 1972: " 'If there was any one miscalculation in this plant, it would have to be the 100-car-per-hour speed,' says Mr. Anderson (a GM executive)... Equipment that works fine in other auto plants at speeds of 50 cars or 60 cars an hour tends to destroy itself at the faster pace here."
With renewed and growing interest in working class organizing, there is a special interest in Romano's perceptions of the attitude of workers to activists and radicals. "Most of these workers," he says (page 22), "feel that the union activist is in there for some reason. Union activity is out of the run of the average workers preoccupation. He believes, therefore, that anyone who engages in it more than the rest has a reason. He is distrustful, and would like to know what that reason is."
"Workers view radical parties this way: Members of a radical organization through various means acquire positions of union leadership. There they agitate, etc. The conception is that it all comes from above. As a result, a gulf arises between the professional radical workers and the rank and file." (Page 32.)
These perceptions have infinitely more validity today.
The pamphlet appears as two contributions side by side -- that of a worker and that of an intellectual. This was viewed at the time that the pamphlet was first published as a necessary weakness. The fusion of worker and intellectual into one totality (as in a popular working class press) had not been achieved by any Marxist group. But at the same time that The American Worker was evidence of that separation, it was also evidence of the attempt to overcome that separation, if only in the formal placing of two articles side by side.
Fundamental to The American Worker is the dialectical relationship between the two parts. Without the theoretical conceptions of Part II, there would not have been a Part I. Ria Stone wrote that "Today it is the American working class which provides the foundation for an analysis of the economic transition from capitalism to socialism, or the concrete demonstration of the new society developing within the old." (Page 43.) This was the view that led a Marxist group to seek out, to help record, and to publish the experience of a young worker with an acute perception of the world around him.
This was not done to provide justification for a party line or illustrations of the ideas of intellectuals. It was done because "That is what Marx conceived as socialism -- the actual appropriation by the workers in the productive material life, of their human capacities." (Page 65.) Neither essay stands alone. Neither is cause, neither is effect. They depend on each other. A theoretical framework to free the worker to express his deepest needs. The experience of workers to provide the basis for the continuing expansion and development of theory, that is, of the continuing analysis of capitalist society and the socialist revolution being created within it.
The original publishing group that produced The American Worker was the Johnson-Forest Tendency, a group deriving from the theoretical conceptions of the West Indian Marxist, C. L. R. James. In its later forms as the Correspondence Publishing Committee and as Facing Reality, this tendency has for thirty years made a continuing contribution to the development of a viable Marxism relevant to revolutionaries in American society.
Although Facing Reality was dissolved in 1970, this reprint is being undertaken to make this material available to those who continue to be concerned with a fundamental aspect of the modern industrial world.
Martin Glaberman
This little pamphlet concerns itself with the life of the working class in the process of production. Its purpose is to understand what the workers are thinking and doing while actually at work on the bench or on the line.
Romano, himself a factory worker, has contributed greatly to such an understanding by his description, based upon years of study and observation, of the life of workers in modern mass production. The profundity of Romano's contribution lies not in making any new discovery but rather in seeing the obvious-the constant and daily raging of the workers against the degrading and oppressive conditions of their life in the factory; and at the same time, their creative and elemental drive to reconstruct society on a new and higher level. Many have seen the manifestations of revolt in the workers' actions but have failed to analyze them and draw the conclusions. On the basis of Romano' s report, Ria Stone is able to probe the problems of modern society and to see in the struggle of the men in production not only the struggle against the cancerous and destructive weight upon them of capitalist production, but also the basis for the emancipation of all humanity.
The ideas and experiences related in this pamphlet correspond closely to my observations as a worker, as a trade unionist, and as a union committee-man in Detroit for many years.
The two most fundamental questions of importance to workers are the amount of production and the regularity of employment. Few things will arouse workers to strike action like speed-up. A strike against a speed-up invariably draws the enthusiastic support of non-production workers.
Most of the spontaneous sit-downs in the early days of the union were against the speed-up and for the right of the men to determine the speed of the line. It is important to note that not the wage demands were primary to the auto and rubber workers in the formation of their unions but rather the right to determine the conditions of their employment through instruments of their own. It is further important to note that the standard of living of the workers has either improved very little or actually deteriorated since the rise of the CIO. Yet the burning problems in the shops today are centered not around wages so much as around the bitter hostility of the workers to their role in production.
In the process of developing the means of production, the capitalist mode of production also developed the force that would one day successfully challenge it. One chief characteristic that runs like a red thread through the whole history of capitalism is the constant series of revolts and rebellions against the mode of production itself. These revolts and rebellions were not serious challenges to American capitalism so long as they were not able to find expression outside the factory, due to peculiar historical factors. The explosion of the CIO in the mid-thirties was the first decisive social organization of this historic tendency of revolts and rebellions against life in the factory. Until the coming of the CIO, the American capitalist class held undisputed sway, politically, socially and economically.
The workers in building their unions thought that they were creating instruments of organizing and controlling production in their interest. The capitalists, aware of this, insisted that the unions recognize the capitalist mode of production. This is the basic conflict. It is this conflict that the labor leadership is unable to resolve. This is the dilemma that destroys innumerable leaders who have risen out of the working class. This conflict arises constantly in many different forms. It plagues the union leader on the local level constantly.
Production schedules are rarely constant. The workers are very hostile whenever standards are revised upwards and severely castigate the union if it doesn't have a say in this matter. I have heard hundreds of workers complain: "If the union doesn't have something to say about how much we produce, what's the use of having a union?"
Whenever jobs are time-studied, the men are always dismayed when they learn that the union doesn't have the right to decide with the company the standards of production. When the company raises the number of units to be produced on a given line, the demand the workers immediately make of the committee-man is: "What is the union going to do about this? Does the company have the right to change production like this?" Whenever changes in production methods are made and they result in the use of fewer workers, the first thing the men want to know is: "Why don't we benefit from this as well as the company?"
The men expect the committee-man to perform his function of defending their interests on the job. On the basis of the contract, this is sometimes extremely difficult. Unless the committee-man is very cautious, he may end up by helping the company to maintain order, efficiency and uninterrupted production at the expense of the men.
For example, a production standard is established. The man assigned to the job refuses to perform according to standards. He is sent to the Labor Relations office where he is disciplined, docked for time off the job and ordered to produce as required. The committee-man who is there to represent the man can only chime in and tell the worker that on the basis of the contract, he must produce according to production standards or face discharge.
Another example: Production is set for a whole line of, say, 200 men. The men protest the production that is set and are ready to strike. Either the company or the men call the committee-man. He tells the men that on the whole the production set is correct; that the company has the right to set the production; that it is illegal to strike; and that the men should accept the standard. He tells them, finally, that in individual cases where the standard might be excessive, corrections will be made. Meanwhile, production must continue without interruption.
The company establishes a series of rules and regulations to enforce discipline, order and to maintain uninterrupted production. These the union must accept or at least accept the company's right to discipline the men. So if a man or some men are violating some rule, say, loitering, smoking, showing "disrespect', to supervision, or refusing to do some disagreeable task, the foreman, in order to appear to be a good guy, calls in the committee-man to caution the workers to respect whatever rule is being violated. The committee-man in one form or another must comply.
The higher levels of the leadership try to solve this dilemma by fighting for concessions outside the process of production. They give the impression of social workers in and out of the plant. The workers in the shop are aware of this. Here is an illustration of how they react. One day a worker was protesting a speed-up and said to me: "What are you guys going to do about it? I know, nothing as usual. What good is the union? Now don't tell me about the local's grocery store or about us being able to get women's clothes cheaper. Do something about the speed-up." The unions have devised elaborate systems of seniority to guarantee certain rights in regularity of employment, overtime, layoffs, recall and job rights. Yet in large plants, as for example the one in which I work, only a very small fraction of the workers attend union meetings. Whenever I have approached workers and asked why they didn't attend union meetings, they invariably answered: "They never talk about our conditions in the shop." As a matter of fact, workers prefer departmental meetings where they can bring up and discuss problems that pressingly affect them on the job.
The attitude of the workers in the shop to the union varies. The majority of the workers support the union and would defend it. A large section of the workers, although in favor of the union, are hostile to the union bureaucracy. On the one hand, they are aware of the powerful social role played by men like Lewis, Murray and Green. On the other, they see how little these men intervene in the process of production in the interests of the workers.
The apparent contradictions in the workers and the stresses pulling the committee-man in opposing directions, are precisely the contradictions and stresses of capitalist production itself. The capitalists are primarily interested in uninterrupted production. The worker wants to produce under conditions where he can decide what is to be produced and how it is to be produced, where he can do the work he likes, and most important of all, where he has the knowledge that his worth is recognized and that he is playing an important and necessary role. Under present conditions, the most powerful and at the same time the most frustrating tendency of the workers is to produce and to cooperate for production as little as possible. The workers realize that a certain minimum of production on their part is necessary in their own interest. They also realize that they must not produce above the minimum. They therefore agree among themselves to set such production quotas as will subject them to as little exploitation as possible. Anyone who violates these quotas is bitterly resented.
These contradictions demonstrate the necessity of basing the working class struggle and the reconstruction of society on the fundamental opposition of the workers to the capitalist process of production. It is not for more to eat nor for the right to vote for one bourgeois politician against another, but rather to tear himself loose from the oppressive conditions of capitalist production that the worker is willing to wage battle. This incessant revolutionary struggle will be unabated as long as capitalism lasts. So long as the problems of the workers remain, the problems of society remain. The problems of society can be understood only by understanding the basis of society-the working class. They can be solved only by the working class organization of the productive forces on a socialist basis.
J. H.
I am a young worker in my late twenties. The past several years have found me in the productive apparatus of the most highly industrialized country in the world. Most of my working years have been spent in mass production industries among hundreds and thousands of other workers. Their feelings, anxieties, exhilaration, boredom, exhaustion, anger, have all been mine to one extent or another. By "their feelings" I mean those which are the direct reactions to modern high-speed production. The present finds me still in a factory-one of the giant corporations in the country.
This pamphlet is directed to the rank and file worker and its intention is to express those innermost thoughts which the worker rarely talks about even to his fellow-workers. In keeping a diary, so to speak, of the day-to-day reactions to factory life, I hoped to uncover the reasons for the worker's deep dissatisfaction which has reached its peak in recent years and has expressed itself in the latest strikes and spontaneous walkouts.
The rough draft of this pamphlet was given to workers across the country. Their reaction was as one. They were surprised and gratified to see in print the experiences and thoughts which they have rarely put into words. Workers arrive home from the factory too exhausted to read more than the daily comics. Yet most of the workers who read the pamphlet stayed up well into the night to finish the reading once they had started.
In direct contrast was the attitude of the intellectuals who are detached from the working class. To them it was a repetition of an oft-written story. They felt cheated. There was too much dirt and noise. They could not see the content for the words. The best expression of what they had to say was: "So what?" It was to be expected, for how could those so removed from the daily experiences of the laboring masses of the country expect to understand the life of the worker as only the worker can understand it.
I am not writing in order to gain the approval or sympathy of these intellectuals for the workers' actions. I want instead to illustrate to the workers themselves that sometimes when their conditions seem everlasting and hopeless, they are in actuality revealing by their every-day reactions and expressions that they are the road to a far-reaching change.
THE EFFECTS OF PRODUCTION
You've Got to Live
The worker has to work. There is no alternative but to produce in order to provide even the bare necessities of life. The greater part of his waking hours are spent in the factory. It is here that he, as a worker, must think and act. No matter what the conditions of life are in the factory, he has got to make a living. That is one of the strongest motivations governing the attitude of the worker in the modern productive system. He may not think of ever being anything but a worker, but that does not prevent the thousand and one pressures of factory life from leaving deep impressions upon him.
The worker is compelled on the job to perform a task which can only make him rebel: the monotony; the getting up every morning, the day by day drudgery which takes its toll. He labors under forced conditions. Not only that, but there is the fact that he compels himself to accept these conditions. Home, family, economics make him a slave to this routine. Theoretically, he is a free wage earner. Realistically, he cannot maintain such a policy and exist. In other words, he thinks he has the right not to accept his condition, but clearly realizes he must. These two pressures tend to foment a subterranean frustration within him.
The Shop's Hard on the Body
The factory worker lives and breathes dirt and oil. As machines are speeded up, the noise becomes greater, the strain greater, the labor greater, even though the process is simplified. Most steel cutting and grinding machines of today require a lubricant to facilitate machining the material. It is commonplace to put on a clean set of clothes in the morning and by noon to be soaked, literally, with oil. Most workers in my department have oil pimples, rashes and sores on their arms and legs. The shoes become soaked and the result is a steady case of athlete's foot. Blackheads fill the pores. It is an extremely aggravating set of effects. We speak often of sitting and soaking in a hot tub of water to loosen the dirt and ease the infectious blackheads.
In most factories the worker freezes in the winter, sweats in the summer and often does not have hot water to wash the day's grime from his body. How many thousands of workers have ridden the bus home with sweat and grime from the shop still covering their bodies. Even if the facilities are there, the desire to get home and away from the shop is so strong that workers often will not even bother to change out of their work clothes. On the other hand, some workers deliberately scrub themselves and take showers before leaving the factory. They attempt to leave every last taint of the day's work on the inside of the plant gate. A new set of clothes and they are on the way home feeling a little relaxed from the day's grind.
X is a laborer. He pulls chips from the machines; fills the machines with cutting oil and helps stock up. Since a number of laborers were laid off, his job has increased in intensity. He has more machines to tend. As a result, he, like the others, begins sweating profusely. The bad part is this. Upon filling the cart with chips, he pushes the cart outside of the plant. The constant change of temperature combined with the sweating gives many of these laborers colds and bone troubles (arthritis, etc.).
However, they have discovered that if they wear a heavy sweatshirt, the perspiration will be absorbed. Of course, they are continually uncomfortable.
Factory lighting as I have known it has never approached daylight in being able to ease the strain on the eyes. Most often in the shops it is of a yellow hue. To illustrate the results of this, it is best to repeat what other workers have said on this score. A worker coming off the shift steps out into the sunlight. He blinks his eyes and says: "I feel as if I have just come up out of the coal mines."
Sometimes workers who do not even know each other, greet each other in passing. One day a worker whom I did not at all know, walked by me and in a brief statement and a gesture of his hand towards the earth announced: "Down into the salt mines again."
Lunch time on the cafeteria veranda, an ex-GI says: "These goddamn factories are prisons. You are cooped up without a chance to get a decent breath of fresh air."
The plant is generally filled with a heavy smoke from the carburizing- and heat treating departments. It fills the nose and throat. Some one wrote the following on the locker room bulletin board: "Why don't some one do something about this smoke hell-hole?" It remained there for a few days and then the following was written: "The union is no good, the smoke is still here,"
In the various shops in which I worked, I used to notice that most old-timers chewed tobacco. Now there is a definite reason for this. To be exact:
1. It was one way to substitute for smoking on the job.
2. It seemed to absorb the fumes, dust and steel fragments that floated around.
I have noticed several young workers doing it now. I asked one why, He said that every night when he got home, his throat is coated and also his nostrils with the dust of the shop. He said it is a lung protection. Many of the workers have discolored teeth as a result. Snuff is also used.
I have made these observations of other jobs.
Foundry workers have the soles of their feet cooked on the job. It is a hot, filthy, smoky job and the feet ache from toasting. There is the ever--present danger of being burned by molten metal.
Crane operators inhale all fumes, dust, gas, heat, etc., which rise to the ceiling. In one shop, the crane men used to complain bitterly that they had to urinate in buckets because they we re not allowed to leave the crane.
Production welding is also bad. The mask is over the head for long hours. It is a stifling job. The flash of a welding torch can blind a worker. Many such accidents happened during the war.
The factory routine often causes the worker physical discomfort and irritation of a very intimate kind. In the morning he faces the question: should he relieve himself by moving his bowels before he leaves the house, which will mean rushing in order to get to work on time; or should he be uncomfortable until he can relieve himself in the plant? On the other hand, in the plant he may not be able to leave his machine at the time he has the impulse to go to the men's room because of the production demands made on him. Sometimes in such a situation, he shuts down his machine in anger and says: "To hell with this. When you gotta go, you gotta go." No matter what course he follows, the result is that what should be a simple, personal routine, becomes a matter of pain, irritation and conflict.
There are times when a worker will cut himself badly. Although the company continually states that the hospital facilities are there for the use of the men, and that even the most minor cut or bruise should be reported to the hospital, the men do not report for treatment often. The reason for this is that they are afraid that they will receive a black mark on their record which might classify them as careless workers in this or any other factory where they might be working.
One day workers in one end of the shop are freezing from the cold. They get up a delegation and go into the front office. They say: "Either we get heat or we go home."
Monday morning on a dreary, cold, winter day: Workers are dressing and changing clothes. A worker comes in and in one word expresses the philosophical outlook and feelings of each worker present. In a frustrated, definitive, angry tone, he says, "Horse S" Everyone understands and says to himself, "You can say that again for me, brother."
And Harder on the Mind
There are times when a worker suffers a nervous and mental breakdown as a result of attending machines for long hours over a period of months and years. It takes a period of sustained exposure to result in such a climax. In one shop where I was steward, I happened one day to look over at a machine where one of the workers was sitting. He had his head in his hands. It was immediately discernible that something was wrong. I went over to him. He told me if he didn't walk out that instant, he would break. I hurried him into the locker room and he left the building. A couple of days later he told me that was the closest he ever came to a physical and mental breakdown. In the same department I knew one worker who suffered a nervous break-down after parts of his machine had showered him when the power was on and something went wrong. Home difficulties, combined with the machine often produce terribly nervous individuals.
On the job, as a result of constantly handling steel chips, the fingernails are torn away. Sometimes it is painful, but always irritating and annoying. Many accidents happen because of simple forgetfulness. The most usual is that of getting a cut by grabbing a chip coming off the machine. Many machines require a constant repetition of routine actions on the part of the worker. With the foot he steps on a lever while his hands are engaged in putting a piece of work in the machine and pushing other levers. The week in and week out repetition of these movements at certain times produces a sort of dullness or dizziness. The result is that one day the worker will put his hand in the machine instead of the piece of work. After such an accident, the operator asks himself, "Why did I do that?"
The militancy of the American worker is something of a sporadic nature. Now fierce, now subtle, now quiet. He may go for months without a violent outward expression. Even years. This does not belie the fact that continually within him is an ever-pressing force which drives towards eruption. Such an explosion at a particular time seizes any reason at hand as the basis for its manifestation.
A worker walks in and sits down in my aisle of lockers at the beginning of work. He is a veteran, was wounded overseas. He suddenly exclaims in a loud voice, "Let's go out on strike." I look at him and ask, "What brings this on?" He replies, "I can't stand it." "Stand what?" I ask. He answers: "The incessant pounding in my head. The goddamn bang-bang-bang of the machine is driving me nuts. It is driving me crazy. Back and forth, back and forth."
The machine he operates is a cold header. It chops off half-inch pieces of steel about one-half inch in diameter from a large roll of steel. It takes great pressure and is done without heat so that the result is a steady pounding noise, with the feeding arm going back and forth. I myself worked next to these machines for several weeks. When you leave work, there still remains the continued booming in your head.
I asked one worker how old he was. His reply was "30." I then said, "Well, you are as old as you feel in body and spirit." He replied, "Then here am I, an old man."
One young worker I know spoke of the fact that he was always under a strain because the boss was constantly yelling at him. As a result, when-ever he sees the boss approach, he hides. In arguments with the boss, on the other hand, he suddenly becomes angry and threatens to quit.
There is the worker who arrives every morning in the locker room with, "Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die."
The worker's attitude is: "All that the company is interested in is production and more production." This is his way of protesting against the complete disregard of the individual human element. This is also evidenced by such statements as: "What do they think we are, pieces of steel?"
A LIFE-TIME TRANSFORMED INTO WORKING-TIME
I Work All Week for Friday Night
The life of a worker is transformed into working-time. He does not know how to play. After working hours, in the company of other workers, the conversation invariably returns to the shop. It is like a drug that will not release his mind. The worker thinks of pay day and the end of the week. His off-hours are always conditioned by, "I can't stay up late as I have to go to work tomorrow." When Sunday night arrives, he thinks dejectedly of returning to work on Monday morning. The incessant process continually repeats itself. He looks longingly for week-ends and they disappear before he has a real chance to absorb them. He says, "I work all week for Friday night."
There are times when the worker has several days off in a row. The knowledge of this almost immediately begins to loosen the psychological strain. After a few days, he begins to acquire rest and peace of mind. The work takes on a lighter aspect. He has the opportunity to look out of his limited sphere. The pressure of work temporarily leaves him. Oddly enough however, during fleeting moments of this period, a sense of unexplainable guilt for not being at work suddenly will come over him. The return to work is difficult. The first few hours back in the shop still finds the worker imbued with the spirit of his sojourn. Then comes the end of the day. The appearance and feeling of the worker are exactly what they were before the break occurred.
Effects of production are of a very insidious nature. Some of the cumulative effects reach heights of bursting power. There are days when some workers will go home early or not come in to work at all.
The worker often has to fool himself in order to keep working the whole week. On Tuesday he will promise himself a day off the following day. When Wednesday rolls around, he will say to himself: "I'll work today and take off on Thursday instead." He does this until Friday comes along and then he says: "I might as well finish the week. Another eight hours won't kill me."
One of the workers won $50 on a bet. When he learned of it in the plant, he worked 4 hours and then took off.
Now and then, the plant has a fire drill. The workers march out of the plant for five minutes. Everyone seizes the opportunity to smoke. Remarks of this kind can be heard: "I'd like to go right home," or "I wish we would stay out till quitting time."
Ten workers from my department are settled around the table at lunch time. As the half hour period ends, one worker states adamantly: "Let's stay here (cafeteria) and not go down to work. We work hard. What can they do to us if we stay?"
There is an old popular phrase used on payday, "Another day, another dollar".
When payday comes, the locker-room buzzes as though a faucet was turned on. This one day of the week, there is whistling, chattering, and lively activity. The thing for which the workers have struggled all week has arrived, so it is natural that they should justify their suffering by the "good old pay check."
On the other hand, there is at certain times in the worker a psychological drive to remain in the plant. As we know, a worker spends most of his waking hours in the plant or at his labor. His life, therefore, revolves around this activity. His subconscious becomes overwhelmed with facts and thoughts concerning machine, workers, bosses, regularity of work hours, and incessant repetition. When out of the shop, he breathes a little more like a man. His home is more like the expression of his life. When the break occurs in the work and he has his weekend, for a fleeting moment he has loosened himself from the effects of the shop. Then crash! He must reorient himself back on Monday to the same old routine. The mental strain at many times is immense. This was much more so during the war when in many instances the work day was 12 hours, 6 and 7 days a week. As a result, having become acclimated to the shop, there were times he would rather remain than leave. The longer hours a worker puts in, the easier it is to drag him still further in the work day. There is a converse to this. As the work day shortens, and the work week correspondingly, the worker then begins to want a still shorter working period.
Once we were going back to a 40 hour week. I have heard many comments on this. The greater part of them are statements to the effect that these workers are very happy about it. They hate to lose the overtime pay (as they need it badly) but since the initiative was not theirs, they feel that they are not cutting their own throats. As I have heard it: "I won't ask for overtime. If the company gives it to me, I will work, but I hope there is no overtime." Speaking of overtime, workers sometimes resent other workers refusing overtime, because they are afraid that it will jeopardize their own overtime. They do not want overtime but are forced to take it by economic necessity.
Then I have heard rambling conversations. One worker says, "Let's work 6 hours a day, 5 days." Another says: "While you are wanting, how about 2 hours a day, 4 days a week?"
There Must Be a Better Way of Making a Living Than This
There exists today in the factory an attitude which was not apparent before the war. As stated by the workers, it goes, "There must be a better way of making a living than this." It is a distinct change. Several business suggestions have been bandied back and forth. Opening a tavern, ice cream parlor, launderette, etc. No one of the workers could finance it alone, so for a while they spoke about partnerships, but then gave that up. They feel the closeness of their economic position.
I have noticed the trend amongst the workers to speak more and more in terms of security. How it can be gotten, etc. There is a strong attitude prevalent to the effect that the worker gets pushed around too much on the job. They think in terms of a year or two at the present job. "When production really gets under way it will be a short time before the ware-houses are flooded." In short, they expect bust. Every time a four day work week is scheduled, the workers speak as if the depression is already here. On the other hand, when they are sure of a full week's work, some workers will take a day off.
The married worker with a family feels that the single worker who supports himself only, cannot be too responsible. He arrives at this conclusion this way. Factory life is drudgery. Anyone who is not forced by necessity to endure it, is one who will at any moment up and leave or be irresponsible on the job. It is not uncommon to hear one worker say to another, "Why do you stay in the factory? If I was single, I would be out of here long ago."
One of the inspectors told me he is going into business. Day after day he gets up at the same time, goes through the same routine, and comes home. He says he refuses to take it any longer. This monotonous procedure is getting him down. He does not want to spend his life this way. He had best make a break before he gets old. He does not care if he loses all his savings, at least he will be free for a while. He was in the marines and did picket duty during the strike. I told him he was doomed to the factory and he became very upset. He took a month's leave of absence, failed, and then came back.
Workers often change jobs in the hope of finding conditions better in another situation. Often they will even take less pay if a certain job appears to offer peace of mind. It is apparent now though that conditions of work everywhere are the same. A change of jobs may bring a novelty, but it wears off in a week or so.
The Wife and Kids
The worker cannot express even to himself the real meaning of his suffering. When he arrives home, he finds that his wife, after a hard day' s work in the home, often does not show any interest in his problems. His realization of this makes him at times resent the fact that he cannot even unburden himself to his wife. He often talks to his kids about his work though. Not so they will understand, but as a release for himself.
At other times, his wife is the only one to whom the worker can unburden himself. Many workers' wives know as much about the factory their husband is employed in as do workers in the shop. Over the supper table the many pressures which fell on the worker that day come out. Perhaps a fight with the foreman, some spoiled work, or trouble with the machine. If during the day the worker has made some creative work or found himself able to deal with some troublesome problem on the machine, he will report it to his wife in glowing terms.
Many times the worker awakens on a non-work day with the impression that it is a working day. Saturday or Sunday for instance. He wakes up with a start, not having set the alarm and frantically realizes he is late. The shop is ever in his subconscious.
About getting up in the morning, there is a technique which most workers use against being late. The dock is set and placed about 5 or 10 feet away. To shut it off, it is necessary to get out of bed and walk, stumble, and what have you, to the dock. This process insures the workers waking enough to realize it is time to get up. When the dock is placed next to the bedside, it is a common occurrence to reach out, stop the alarm, rest a few minutes and then wake up late for work. This provokes haste and nervous stomach, upset in the family, etc.
Often the wife must do the waking up at five or six in the morning. This adds to the trials of her day as she has to wake up a short time later for the kids. Many times home life is disrupted by this series of events. It results in early morning quarrels and arguments with the husband leaving for work without his lunch pail. Also a cause of this disruption in family life is the shift work. The third shift from 12 :00 to 7 :00 A.M. is the worst. Some call it the nightmare shift. The family can rarely get together and looks longingly for weekends. The worker gets home at the beginning of day and tries to sleep with the kids running around. He gets irritated at the kids and yells at his wife for not keeping them quiet. He works hard all night to come home to this.
Both second and third shifts prevent the husband and wife from sharing in a rational and human manner the normal intimacies of life.
Many young workers think of a new baby in the family in terms of support, or will they make enough to take care of it. If a slip occurs, the chain grows tighter. Many workers resort to having abortions for their wives. I know one such case in the shop where the woman became critically ill as a result and still suffers from the effects. This family already has two children. They like infants. The only apparent reason for the abortion was economic insecurity.
After supper, sitting in the living room, it is a matter of minutes before falling off in an exhausted sleep on the parlor chair. Here is the way it is told. "I put the radio on. I heard the announcer state the 'Lux radio for the evening,' and that is all. I woke up a few hours later. Stiff neck and backache and flopped into bed."
Here are some other aspects of home life. Many workers say, "I've already got my ice-box filled with beer. I generally drink a half a dozen bottles before going to bed." Or, "Relaxing with a bottle of beer."
Taking a ride on non-work days, a worker many times will deliberately avoid those streets which lead him to work. He comes to dislike all those buildings and landmarks which line the route to the factory. Or he will many times deliberately ride this circuit up to the plant and past, precisely because he is free to do so on this one day.
On the other hand, workers have often made it a point to bring their whole family down to the plant site on a Sunday. There they explain to the family what section of the plant is their working area.
The worker tries to bring a bit of his home into the factory, so he often shows to other workers the pictures which he carries in his wallet of his children. Sometimes it is the home in which he lives. It is not unusual for snapshots of all kinds to be on the inside cover of a worker's toolbox. One fellow had a snapshot of a filling station which he once owned, and another of his automobile.
In spite of the fact that workers continually go on strike, during periods when such is not the case, the attitude prevailing is one which would seemingly prevent a strike. Workers continually refer to the fact that they have a wife and kids and have responsibilities. They say, "I can't afford to be out of work or go on strike. If you were married, you would know and understand."
It is very difficult to reach workers at certain periods. To picture this point clearly we can say that the workers have drawn back into themselves to think things out. Events as they unfold are the lever which periodically brings forth these thoughts into actions. The average worker has too much responsibility to be persuaded by words alone.
SINCE THE WAR ENDED
The Speed-Up
At the time of the telephone strike, in the spring of 1947, we got an eleven and a half cents raise. Machines have been speeded up again to get it back. Most workers said when we got the raise that the company would take it out of our hide.
The worker used to be able to smoke more often. Now he has to spend all day watching, changing and cleaning tools. The interludes are briefer. The end of the day produces a more exhausted worker, mentally and physically. The moments of relaxation are continually diminishing.
On the other hand, the more the machine is speeded up, the more times the worker seeks to leave his machine even though this increases the chances of the machine' s cracking up.
Workers in many departments now run 3 and 4 machines where previously a worker ran one. This keeps a worker jumping and on his toes. Invariably during every day someone will speak of his exhaustion.
A worker on a high speed automatic machine said: "I am geared up at a high speed pitch to run a fast machine. Kept busy piling up the work, loading and putting new tools in. If I was to be put on a slower machine, I couldn't stand the change of pace. At the same time it would be a vacation compared to the fast one I run."
I Dropped Dead
The shop has the incentive system. The company appears to cheat workers here and there out of parts of their bonus. Many ask "Why do they do this?" The computations of the bonus become complicated especially when time cards are given to workers. The company is often accused of ripping up time cards that were given to workers.
One worker went into a long, heated talk against the incentive system. Spoke of how a man has to exhaust himself to reach or go over the established norm. Also a normal day's work would relieve tension and is enough to expect from a worker. He stated vehemently that he would like to throttle the inventor of the bonus or incentive system.
When the operators fail to make bonus by the end of the day, they climax it with the expression, "I dropped dead." The essence is that the worker exhausted himself to no avail.
To Produce or Not to Produce
The machines are speeded up about 40%. The workers are caught in a contradiction. To continue to produce at that rate might soon put them out of work. The workers are divided on the subject. Some think that it matters little, and that when the big bust comes, it will hit them anyway. Others quietly begin to lower their production per day. The work, intensifying in pressure, also drives more workers to reduce their daily quota. To produce or not to produce under these conditions is the question. The cost of living soars upward, compelling the worker to produce in order to make extra money on incentive with which to meet his daily needs.
When time-study men are about, the worker will find a multitude of reasons for shutting the machine down. A resentment of large proportions grows as he sees the man from the office with the dock in his hand. It is then that he uses all the tricks he knows to slow down the machine and also his own action. The time-study man is unwanted in the shop. Everywhere he goes, resentment-filled eyes follow him. He is aware of this, and many times is almost apologetic, at other times surly.
The Company Checks Up
Relations between checker and worker have always been a strained affair. The worker always attempting to cheat, the checker always feels sure the worker is putting something over on him. Of course, the checker' s personality becomes molded to his job and he becomes more or less of a "bastard" to the workers. He counts their work to see that they are not cheating, which they resent. However, the workers cheat at every opportunity by stealing work after collection or by deliberate miscount to the checker. Stealing pans of work from the company is an art which many practice. The worker in the morning will steal a pan of work. If in the afternoon, the checker accidentally should give him a miscount on a few pieces, he gets angry and demands the few pieces, even though they mean little.
On some machines, counters were placed to determine whether the worker was stealing work, and to determine the amount of cycles the machine made. A cycle is equivalent to one finished piece of work. It is clear that every means will be used to get the utmost out of the men.
The company is now checking the usage of electric power the last 15 minutes before quitting time. Many workers having reached their quota by then, shut down. It appears as though the company wants to determine the amount of labor they are not receiving.
The Worker Double Checks
The worker becomes a bookkeeper and carefully calculates his day's percentage, checking it against company receipts to see that he is not cheated. He does the same with his paycheck every week. He is consumed with anger if the company has shorted him.
The plant took inventory this week. Many workers including laborers, machinists, heat-treat, grinders, etc., participated. For the past several months workers have been stealing pans of work to fill their bonus needs. Obviously, there will be a shortage of tens of thousands of pieces in inventory. The workers found the situation quite humorous.
We are on production in our department. One hundred percent is the norm you are told to achieve. It takes all day to reach that. It is generally in the last three quarters of an hour that you make your bonus. What has happened is this. The checker comes around to close the worker out just about then. Many lose their bonus because the checker comes too early. There have been some violent flare-ups on this score. Once a worker came around and told the others not to turn in their work until quitting time. However, there is a contradiction involved. The workers are told to shut down early but yet hate to lose their bonus. Here is how the workers get around this: After the checker has gone, they let the machines run for the next guy, so that when he comes in, lying in the pan will be the work he would normally lose at the end of day. The next man does the same for him.
Some workers spend the last half hour making work for the next fellow. However, there are many workers who don't do so. Caught in the contradictions of company inefficiency, high piece-work rates and the desire to make bonus, the end of the day finds them too exhausted to change tools or to make extra work for the incoming worker. The desire to shut down the machine as soon as possible and to get away from it is always present.
In our shop there is a set of company rules. If any are broken, it means a violation. Three violations give the company the right to fire you. This can readily be used by the company when seeking to fire someone. One worker once told me, "They can fire you anytime. All they have to do is say your work is scrapped three times or catch you smoking, or coming in late." (However, this is dependent on the strength of the union.)
The company every once in a while sends a superintendent into the washrooms to catch workers smoking or sitting down. Badge numbers are taken down and a black mark put against your record. The worker resents these sneaky tactics.
Workers have been restricted to machines till the bell rings. Formerly, they were able to go up five minutes or so earlier to the lunch room or at quitting time to the locker room. There is also to be no more eating of lunch at the machines. However, the men are already breaking it down. Violations are given out by the company. The plant superintendent complains that no sooner is the restriction announced than he catches a worker eating a sandwich. He says the worker has the gall to offer him a bite too. One worker was hauled in and threatened with a violation. His reply was, "I will eat three sandwiches and you can give me the three violations and try to fire me."
One worker I know has two violations. He is bitter over such treatment of workers. That is no way to treat your fellow men, he says. I asked him why he signed the violation when he should have fought it with the union. He says that while he was in the office, he was raging inwardly, but it could not be noticed outwardly. He signed it to show the company he was not afraid of them.
The company tries not to antagonize workers who are trouble-makers. Their attitude seems to be that if such a worker is irritated by the company, he will prove to be a greater source of aggravation for the company. Therefore, they attempt wherever possible to placate such workers.
The company has the right to fire workers who have been given violations. That is, for stealing work, making scrap, being caught smoking etc. Although that is the law, so to speak, the company rarely invokes it. They could not in actuality enforce it. Instead they attempt to irritate the worker into obeying the law.
A worker once was caught stealing a pan of work to make up his bonus needs for the day. Upon being called into the office, he demanded that they should give him his final pay, and if they did not like his work, he would go elsewhere. The company declined to do this, but in order to penalize him, gave him a few days off.
Plant supervision has attempted several times to prevent men from using their half hour lunch to doze off in the locker room stretched out on benches. I used to do this in other plants. The idea is to eat your lunch surreptitiously before the bell and then escape into sleep for one-half hour. The awakening is only that much worse though.
The men often say: "If they were to fire us for all the violations that are committed, there would be no one working in the plant."
No Use Giving the Company Something for Nothing
The worker does not give freely of his fullest abilities. When he deems it necessary, he will cut his production. If he can't make out on the job, he will make sure he goes well under for the week. "No use giving the company something for nothing, as that is what they are looking for," he says. "You're here to work for yourself, not for the company."
There are days when a worker has become particularly irritated at the Company. He vents his anger by putting out less work than usual. Other times, when the company speeds up the machine and increases the norm, a section of workers will tacitly agree to begin a slow down. Such a situation is occurring now in one department. In order to compel the company to reduce the rate, the workers are at present engaged in a daily reduction of their percentage. Since the company has refused by arbitration to reduce the rate, the men are relying on their own actions to compel a change.
The workers feel that strikes merely for wages do not get them anywhere. There is a direct, distinct and often openly voiced sentiment against another strike. However, it is easy to see from day to day, that as a result of the speed-up in the machinery and the increased exploitation, no excuse of wages will be needed for strike justification when the saturation point is reached.
THE INEFFICIENCY OF THE COMPANY
The plant I work in is part of a giant corporation. The network is country-wide. It is a high degree of capitalist organization in industry. However, the bureaucratic supervision of work results in inefficiency on a tremendous scale in view of the effort involved. It appears that the company is sacrificing all for production. It is not so. More production could be gotten in a different manner. The intent is more at the subjugation and control of the laborer.
Wanton Use of Machinery
The machinery is speeded up to a high degree. As a result there are continuous breakdowns and a large crew of maintenance men is needed. The wanton use of the machinery is everywhere apparent.
A cam will be put in the machine to reduce cutting time. The tools as a result hit at high speed and both burn and break up. As a result of excessive speeds, bearings in the machines bum out, and some machines are always in repair. Such machine speeds induce the worker to say: "Some day these damn machines will take off and fly away."
The machines are geared to certain types of metal. Often the steel put at the machine is of a temper harder than that required. This once again causes burned up and broken tools.
For weeks on end, necessary repairs will not be made. A new hole needs to be tapped in a fixture to keep it secure. A slipping clutch or brake threatens the cracking up of the machine at any time with the added danger to the operator. Nothing is done.
The company is not interested in how many tools are burned up, or how often the men must change them. They are primarily interested in getting the machines to run at maximum speed and then it will be up to the operators to keep up with them.
"If I Had the Money Spent on This..."
The company continually attempts to cut down on the expense departments, that is, the non-productive departments. The production departments suffer by this and are constantly irritated by having to do incidental errands.
The grinding department has blueprints from which they calculate how to grind up the tools. The worker in his daily experience finds that the blue-print is no good and he asks the grinder to do it his way. The grinder says "okay," and for a while he cooperates with the machine operator. Management hears of this. A big argument takes place. The grinder is told that he is to take orders only from management and to follow the blueprint. He then says: "You're the boss," and does as instructed. What follows would be somewhat funny if it did not add to the troubles of the worker in the shop. The worker is then compelled to go to the crib, get the tool, find the foreman, tell him a change must be made in the tool, get a requisition from the foreman, go to the grinding room, and request the grinder to stop whatever he is doing to grind up the tool he needs. It should be remembered that from the moment the worker goes to the crib for the tool, it has already been ground up once.
A huge conveyor belt has recently been installed throughout the plant. It goes from department to department. Hundreds of steel girders and steel baskets comprise its make-up. The cost ran into thousands of dollars. As far as the workers are concerned it is at this date a failure. The workers are constantly hurting themselves on it. It is in the middle of the machinery and serves as a hazard. The workers are becoming increasingly angry about it.
Whereas before the machine operator stacked up his work in pans and placed them on the floor for a laborer to pick up later, now the men are ordered to place the work on the conveyor. The laborer is now eliminated in this respect. The company had tried to institute this once before, but failed. Many of the workers rebelled at the new system, claiming it was out of their classification, etc. For some days there was a disturbance. Although the new system has proved in some ways more satisfactory, the fact that the men were not consulted and the company arbitrarily instituted it, brought on the revolt.
At this time, a layoff numbering into hundreds has been taking place. The workers contrast the cost of the conveyor and its waste of money and space to this layoff and say that the expense involved could easily have kept all these workers on the job. Many say, "If I had the money spent on this, I could retire for life." The layoffs have brought on increased labor on the part of those still remaining. The workers all understand and state openly and consistently that the company is trying to cut overhead and expense. These layoffs have affected all but the production departments, i.e., laborers, inspectors, tool room, maintenance, and other non-production.
An incident happened in the shop one day. There was a shortage of laborers due to the layoff. Consequently when the checker came around, he asked the machine operators to load the work onto the conveyor. There was a rebellion expressed thus; "Give them an inch and they want a mile." As a result, a number of the operators refused to load. The laborers were put back on the job. It is obvious that the company is trying to get the machine operators to do the work of the chip-pullers and laborers as well.
A worker put in a suggestion, asking that the recently installed conveyor be used to carry tools to the machines. The company turned it down. The workers thought it was a good idea, but would fail because there never are enough tools anyway and most of them would be gone before half of the machines had been reached.
Management Complains
Management complains continually that the workers do not cooperate. They don't clean the machines or sweep the floor. There are seventy accidents in one month in one department. Safety meetings are held once a month for one half hour following lunch. At the meetings, management attempts to superimpose the company's safety staff as a counter to the union apparatus. The workers are exhorted to bring their complaints to this safety committee. To stimulate worker's participation they appoint three shop workers as the first rung of the safety committee. Thereafter the committee consists of the company engineers and personnel.
The safety meetings are conducted by the company. A speech is generally given by the foreman for most of the allotted half hour. The last few minutes are left open for discussion by the ranks. If a worker or two speaks about something unimportant, they are patiently listened to. If, however, the men are in an uproar and begin jumping up to complain about this, that, or the other thing and the meeting runs away, it is immediately adjourned, and the company says: "Back to the machines, men, we have work to do."
These are some of the reactions of the workers to the safety committee meetings.
1. "Oh boy, another half hour to rest."
2. "What kind of safety meeting is this? All they did was yell at the porters."
3. Some doze off during meetings.
4. The foreman and superintendent always say: "The men are negligent and don't cooperate with the safety committee."
5. You are told to get enough sleep, not to drink, and to eat the right foods.
6. The men snicker sometimes.
7. The company maintains they are doing everything to help the men.
At one meeting the company stated: "We now have enough laborers to keep the plant clean, now do your part." Not long after, half the laborers were laid off. It seems to the workers that the company doesn't know its plans from one week to the next.
Why Such Inefficiency?
One grievance condition in the plant has existed for over a year. Heavy smoke from the heat-treating furnaces periodically covers the plant. This has been brought up in almost every committee meeting. The condition still exists. One worker says: "Someday, we are going to do something about this."
One day a worker is hauled into the office for making a pile of scrap work. They want to know why. His reply is this: "The lighting is poor. Those bulbs on the machine become coated with oil and I can't see. My eyes become strained looking into the machine and it was impossible to see what I was doing."
Inefficiency and red tape on the part of the company often drive the worker to the point of a combination of tears and anger. A shortage of tools at a critical moment, an improperly ground tool, a faulty machine left unrepaired and endangering the worker, help not around when needed, stock for the machines left not at the machine for which it is needed but ten machines down where it is not needed; passing the buck down the line when something goes wrong all contribute to the aggravating situation.
Workers often say:
"Why such inefficiency?"
"The company lost a day's work because of a lack of a piece of chain costing about 75 cents."
"Why are there no washers? Can't the company afford it?"
"It is getting so that supervision don't give a damn about anything." Many workers become angry because of the fact that suggestions which they put in are ignored. These suggestions would add to efficiency and also increase production as well as save money.
There is a general tendency in all strata of the working class to work in as efficient a manner as possible. Also, workers feel pride when a plant is operated efficiently. The more complex and efficient the plant, the greater pride the worker experiences. The more conservative workers, i.e., the ones on higher paying and better jobs, those who have a perspective of going out on their own, or those who feel there is a chance for advancement, constantly seek and strive to make for more efficient operation. On the other hand, the majority of the workers face a frustrating contradiction. They feel their oppressed status and consciously and unconsciously struggle against it. They realize that any increase in efficiency is a further exploitation and oppression. As a result, they constantly have to struggle to maintain a balance between good and efficient workmanship and their class interests.
The company tries to increase production by every mechanical means. Management talks much about the human factor in production but it cannot conceive that the human factor lies in the collective capacities of the workers themselves.
The Violent Reaction of the Worker
The conditions of life in the factory often drive the worker into a fury. If windows supplying vital ventilation are closed, he will like as not pick up a piece of steel and break the window. That is the way I have seen it time and again.
In the toilets, water will deliberately be left running at full force when no one is using the sink. Fixtures are dismantled and doors broken.
I have seen workers methodically tear apart sections of machinery lying about and throw them away.
The conveyor has large steel baskets which hang from the chain belt. Periodically a dozen or so must be repaired. It seems that the workers twist the baskets as they go by, swing them back and forth, and in general mutilate them.
I have heard workers say that they wish that their machine would break up mechanically so that they would not have to run it.
There is the destructive fury manifested by the worker throwing a piece of work at the machine when it does not function properly. He bitterly curses the "God dam machine."
Another worker slipped with his wrench and cut himself. He hurled the wrench on the floor in anger. This same worker during the same day had machine trouble. His anger reached new heights. He cursed the machine, the company, the foreman and kept shouting he was going to quit.
Going off the shift, a worker spits at his machine and curses the company and anybody in earshot.
A "Hammer Merchant" is a worker who uses a sledge hammer to adjust the fixtures on his machine. Instead of loosening the bolts keeping the fixture tight, he resorts to such activity as using the hammer in order to save him time on production. Over a period of time the machinery becomes mutilated. Many workers resent such a destruction of the machine and it causes arguments among them.
I once had trouble with a machine and said to the worker next to me, "If I owned this machine, I'd break it up." I was very irritated at the time. He replied, "Don't break your own machine but break this one, it belongs to the company."
The Dilemma of the Foreman
The position of the foreman is an extremely tenuous one. He is caught between two fires. He has to force the worker to produce as his job hinges on it. The pressure upon him from above is very heavy. An important slip on his part would mean his being broken. Those who are above him deliberately divorce themselves as much as possible from daily contact with the workers. This task they place upon the foreman and the first rank of supervisory help. Any difficulty the foreman has with workers is taken out on him. At the same time, there is the immense amount of red-tape and buck passing of responsibility which finally puts the whole burden of something not done upon the worker himself. In the words of the worker, "Before you get something done around here you could drop dead."
All this, having its effect upon the foreman, produces a tense and strained individual. If he is at all sensitive, he is a mental wreck, always transmitting his unstable position to the worker.
I am acquainted at first hand with the situation concerning one foreman who had to take several weeks off as he was on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
Many foremen, in order to ease the pressure on themselves, will cultivate a shell of indifference. They vow to themselves that no matter what happens, it will not get the best of them. Then when trouble arises in the shop, the foreman will shrug his shoulders, and intimating there is nothing he can do about it, walk away, leaving those involved to figure it out for themselves.
Such situations sometimes develop into "hot potatoes." No one in the supervision will take responsibility. So from top management on down, the "buck" is passed. So confused does the issue get, that even the various layers of supervision wind up contradicting each other. No one will take the authority to give a decisive statement on the matter.
I once spent several months as a foreman over a few workers. I learned through this and experience as a worker in production that the supervisory help, i.e. the foremen, become irritated by the fact that they feel the workers are deliberately holding back on the job. The men are not producing as they could. They express it: "The men don't want to work, they are lazy." This feeling presses on the foreman and drives him to driving the worker.
On the other hand, many foremen are close to the workers. Some workers will even stop other workers from irritating a particular foreman. The men feel that these foremen are in a tough spot and are subject to discipline and firing as are other workers.
From a Detroit worker I learned that during the foremen's strike the workers felt a mixture of guilt at going back to work and not sticking with the foremen, and of satisfaction because of the chance to show how well they could work without supervision.
MANAGEMENT'S ORGANIZATION AND THE WORKERS' ORGANIZATION
The company for which I work is a gigantic industrial concern which employs hundreds of thousands of workers. From all accounts its assembly lines everywhere are vicious in their exploitation of the individual. Its technique is high speed production. On the other side we have the U.A.W., the most advanced union in the country. The class struggle has tripled in intensity and the workers speak in new terms and thoughts.
Management's Organization
It is clear to me that the reactions of the individual to production are of such a nature that they cannot be checked by the present-day utilization of the means of production. There is only one course open to the ruling class. It is to channelize, to corrupt, to disrupt, to coerce, to prevent any extreme expression from taking root or form with a view to change.
With this in mind, I shall proceed to discuss the manner in which this is done in the shop, the means used, and the divisions created.
1. The Probation System [i]
The rebelliousness of the worker takes many forms. It is the conscious organization of this rebelliousness which the factory owners attempt to prevent. For example, the company in which I work insists on a six month probation period for a new worker. Exactly why? First let us get clear the fact that it takes but a month or two, more often a few weeks, to determine the ability and worth of the worker. Why then six months of probation? This six months period is the longest I have ever heard of in any union contract. Usually it is one month or two.
The six months period is a time in which new workers are provoked into revealing what their attitudes are. If such workers are stamped dangerous, out they go.
In certain departments, the company hires and fires en masse. Out of say, 40 laid off, a select few will be called back. By this means, during a trial period, the company can select more reliable elements. Then a mass lay-off to avoid charges of discrimination. Then quietly, individuals are called back to work. The company is not bound to these temporary employees as there exists the six month probation period.
[i] 2. The Rumor System
The company tries to keep the workers in a constant state of agitation and uncertainty by spreading rumors. Whenever a change is about to take place, a dozen rumors flood the shop. This is skillfully done. The workers never know what is coming next. First it is: we will work seven days a week, 12 hours a day. Then, three shifts at 8 hours. Then, two shifts at 9 hours. Then, no Saturday work or there will be Saturday work. There will be a big lay-off in everybody's department, etc. The workers have a rapid grape-vine over which flows information with an amazing speed. These rumors are spread by the company which then hits with a 5 day week, 8 hour day. That is the general idea. The conditions of employment are continually in flux. Finally the worker gets disgusted and says: "The hell with it, let them do what they want," or when angry, "What the hell are they up to now?"
3. The Kind Master
The company tries to make the workers believe that it is looking out for their best interests. It sponsors all sorts of clubs. 25 year club, bowling clubs, gun clubs, and fishing clubs. It goes in for paternalism, family circles. It likes to have members of the same family working in the shop. The company tries to imitate the workers' own tendency to organization.
Many times the company will deliberately issue sales of stock to employees in order to simulate part ownership. This however cannot counteract the miserable life of the worker in production.
The workers are not fooled any more by this sort of thing.
The company sponsors a nation wide contest among all its employees. It is called "MJC," the "My Job Contest." The workers are exhorted to write letters as to why they like their jobs and especially why they like to work for this company. Over a hundred and fifty thousand dollars are being spent on the pushing of this contest. The factory walls are covered with signs advertising it. To induce the workers further, the prizes to be given away are brought to the plant. There are autos, refrigerators, washing machines, ovens, and the like. To date, 30% of my plant have made entries and on a nation-wide basis, about 100,000 have entered. The workers joke and laugh about the contest. Their remarks vary from: "The biggest liar will win," to "The winners are already picked out." Others say: "I like my job because I can feed my family", "I like my job because I want to win a new Cadillac," "I like my job because I want to keep my job," etc. Some workers at a loss for what to say ask their children. One worker's child said "because you buy me pretty clothes, Dad." When he asked his wife, she said: "Why don't they give you a steady day job?" The company is pressuring the workers to enter the contest. The foreman and plant superintendents have been going around trying to coerce workers into entering. One long employed worker was in the office about it. He noticed that the boss had a mark next to his name. He became furious and had an argument with him. He said that he would write a letter only if he himself decided. So far he had decided not to and no one was going to compel him.
The contest seems more to have stimulated workers to thinking about what they do not like about their jobs. Many are entering in spite of their hatred of the job. They feel that there are things which a worker likes. The company will accept letters in any language and will translate. They want the letters above all to be in the language of the worker and they stress this very much.
4. Company Men
There is a general feeling of insecurity throughout the plant. It is clear to me that the company is aggressively preparing for the next strike wave, or labor trouble, by building up a stratum of company men, or as it were, a labor aristocracy of a sort. These workers make it a practice to go out drinking and visiting other workers with a view to building up personal relations, and then to draw them into their circle.
a. Stool Pigeons Are Made, Not Born
When the bosses find a worker they want to corral, a certain type of treatment is employed. This treatment is of a most ingratiating nature. The worker is treated with kid gloves. In many instances the foreman will go out of his way for you. It places some workers under a tremendous mental strain to combat it.
In the past several months of my employment in this factory, I have been approached more than a dozen times by various workers who have attempted to bring me under the ideology of the company.
I have had discussions with various of these company men. It is necessary to lead these workers on in order to draw out the information. The point at which I was considered safe was the point at which a bolder approach could be used. So one quite bluntly tells me where the bosses drink on off days and then casually invites me to come down to the tavern and meet them over a few drinks.
Other workers use a different approach. There has been an undercurrent of propaganda for an independent union. The aim being to throw out the existing CIO, busting all seniority as it exists and giving preference to company men. This was broached to me quite frankly by one worker. He intimated in these very words, "Suppose the company has a network of stooges through-out the plant powerful enough to break this union, would you come along?" He received an appropriate answer from me as a result of which he determined it safer not to broach the subject to me again.
Still another such worker recently quite frankly explained to me I was "busting my head against a stone wall. Why not play smart? Look out for yourself. A smart guy can go places if he looks out for himself." He went on to explain how the union is no good and is made up of bureaucrats approaching gangsters. This worker is a set-up man in the shop and the other workers know he is trying to get ahead.
The company stooge tries to draw out other workers by anti-company talk such as, "The damn company tries to get the best of you," etc. The unwise or unsuspecting worker finds himself out of a job in no time at all. The last shop I was in, I saw fifteen workers go by the board in four months because of one stool whom I immediately recognized after my experience in several other shops.
One day in the ear with another worker, we had a conversation with a stooge. After dropping the latter off, the worker says, "I can't understand it. This guy never says anything about the union and yet he talks against the company the way he does."
b. The Dilemma of the Company Stooge
The untenable economic situation pressing upon the working class brings certain sections to the point where they turn informer and betrayer of their fellow workmen. Combined with this is the drudgery and monotony of factory work as a whole from which these elements hope to escape by advancing themselves through their activity. As a result of their efforts in behalf of the company, many of these workers become foremen, set-up men, and in instances rise to even higher positions. At any rate, it is much easier for them to secure more financial benefits in their pay envelopes.
Another reason why such workers turn to such activity is the fact that they find the union incapable of satisfying their needs. At the same time the role of the union bureaucrat fills them with disgust. The anger at these fakers gives them some of their moral support.
There are many drives in back of a worker turned stooge. Home, wife, children provide his first impulse. At any rate that is his first conscious expression of what he is doing. In defense of these, he justifies all his actions and develops the attitude of: "The hell with everyone else. Everyman for himself. Nobody does anything for you but yourself."
Some of these workers become fawning and servile, lose all self-respect. Others are decent men who are well-liked and who labor under a terrific mental strain as a result of the gulf which must be created between them and other workers. In general any self-respecting worker has a disdain and disgust, bordering at times on hatred, for the company stooges.
Self-seeking workers, e.g. company stooges etc. will denounce each other to get ahead. They will inform on each other to higher-ups on being inefficient, etc.
The stooge in production today is more clever than most of his counter-parts in years gone by. At all times he skillfully will try to cover his own tracks. He attempts to understand all the backward prejudices that workers have and use them against the worker. I have seen stooges brazenly condemn the existence of such workers as themselves to other workers.
These worker stooges are caught like other workers in the maelstrom of capitalist production. In seeking a way out, they choose to perform as they do, no other means appearing to them.
c. Infiltration into the Union
The company's network of stool-pigeons and plants operates into the very heart of the union. Many times these agents employ a militant union exterior for their purpose, the betrayal of the workers for the sake of their own promotion.
In order to create anti-union sentiment, company stooges will infiltrate into union positions and then deliberately betray the workers. This infuriates the workers against the union inasmuch as they are unaware of what has happened.
At a recent union meeting, something of interest came to light. The chairman of the shop committee spoke of what transpired at union-management conferences. He stated that the company had no faith or trust in workers who would never join the union. In fact, their greatest satisfaction was to break away a fighting militant from the union and reward him with a good supervisory job. This type of worker the company felt it could trust. This same chairman had mentioned on several instances that the company had continually tried and still was trying to reach him.
In many instances, the company will attempt to demoralize a new committee-man or steward by ignoring him and not recognizing him. This was standard practice in other factories in which I have worked. This straightens out over a period of time depending in the main on the shop and the ability of the man involved.
In my plant it is well known that stewards and former militant union men get special treatment if they are amenable. Better jobs, more money, etc. At union meetings, it is not a rare thing for a rank and filer to take the floor and point-blank accuse various union representatives of being out and out company men. Such a rank and filer is immediately marked down as one to be approached by stooges. Recently one such rank and filer immediately got transferred from an unskilled job to one on a machine with an increase in pay.
It is interesting to note that this type of worker, in many instances, bands together with others in the shop in attempts to influence and maintain control of the union. This they do because they never fully trust the company and wish to have at hand the union as a counterweight should the company double--cross them. Of course, in achieving some sort of influence, they resort to bureaucratic tricks and scheming of all kinds to get their men in.
At a recent union meeting the local's president spoke of the company stooges and how they were trying to bust the union. He said that the plant was infiltrated with them and that the company was on the offensive. The union is invoking an old statute and will expel or exclude from membership any one who they discover is a company man. At the same time, it was announced that proceedings had been started against such an individual in one of the departments. The union chairman always warns that fifteen minutes after the meeting is over, the company will know exactly what took place during the meeting.
The company men constitute the minority of the workers in the shop, but during a period of quiet, they can give the impression that the company is strong and its eyes and ears are everywhere. Any worker who has had a few factory jobs throughout several years knows of the existence of these company men. In a new plant he learns to keep his mouth shut for a safe period of time. Many months pass before the gap is bridged between the new worker and his fellow workman. He takes no sides. In answer to involving questions, he will answer with a nod or a knowing wink. What goes on about him does not escape him although to all appearances he has the aspect of disinterest. First impressions are almost always voided. Real trust is usually placed only in individuals with whom he has become more intimately acquainted through social intercourse outside the pressures of the factory.
This situation becomes completely altered during a critical period when the workers are in action. Then a new cohesion is established among the workers, and the company men seem to run for cover, while the workers speak their minds freely.
The Workers' Organization
I arrived in the plant two weeks after the "Big Strike" had ended. Things were tense for several weeks. Newcomers were eyed with suspicion by both workers and company so soon after the strike. My first day in the plant found me waiting in one of the departments for the foreman. A worker sauntered over to me. In a very brief discussion, he tried to determine my attitude towards unions. I shook him off and he walked away. His speech made it clear that he was anti-union. Union men made themselves conspicuous by their avoidance of newcomers.
1. The Average Union Man
The average union man in my shop rarely talks about the union except to complain that it doesn't do enough for the workers. Nevertheless, he definitely feels he must have the union. The company would ride all over the workers without the union. In spite of his antagonism at the way the union is run, he still holds to this belief. He attributes the small attendance at meetings to several factors. One, the meeting hall is too far away from his home and the workers live all over. He says: "Why must they always hold it on a Sunday? A man likes to take his family and go for a ride or picnic on that day. A fellow works all week and should be with his family sometime." However, even when the meetings are called after work, the attendance is small. The workers reluctantly show up at a meeting. Most of the workers recognize this, but say: "Look how everyone turns out on a strike ballot, contract negotiation or election," They do not leave it to the leadership to decide crucial issues as they do not trust their decisions. The rest of the year, the ranks abstain almost completely from union activity, and angrily criticize the manner in which the leadership operates. They believe more could be done.
In spite of all this, the workers carefully watch developments in other unions throughout the country. When, in Pittsburgh, a union president was put in jail by the government, the ranks were in sympathy with the call of a general strike in that city to free him.
When shop meetings are held in the plant locker room, the ranks will come. They straggle, but they come. Only a few talk. The rest watch carefully what developments take place. If the union representative is under attack, they watch him squirm, and when a rank and filer speaks up, he generally voices the sentiments of the rest of the ranks. Although most of the workers appear uninterested, they are not. They absorb everything
They may nod in agreement or disagreement at something which is said, and carry away their opinions with themselves.
Most of these workers feel that the union activist is in there for some reason. Union activity is out of the run of the average workers preoccupation. He believes, therefore, that anyone who engages in it more than the rest has a reason. He is distrustful, and would like to know what that reason is.
The ranks feel that new elections liven up the union and keep union representatives on their toes.
Recently an election was held for delegates to a convention. Various programs were put forth. One nominee had in his program, the slogan for a Labor Party. The union executive board distributed a leaflet at the gate stating that the local had voted against the Labor Party. If the ranks had to be informed that the local had voted such a way, it was clear that only a handful had been present at the passing of such a resolution. And that is the way it is most of the time, with twenty to thirty union members deciding on issues affecting the whole body of the membership of 800.
At the first union meeting I attended in this factory many subjects came up. There was a motion condemning the Army Courts-Martial System. Much information also about the economic system, happenings in the country, and blasts at the industrialists.
2. The Union Leadership
Many union representatives are sincere in their desires to lead, and to fight for, the workers, but most of the union leaders that I have seen, although they work on the machine or on the bench, do not react to most situations as the rank and file does. It is not rare for a committee man to attempt to persuade a worker not to put in a grievance.
The rank and file do not hesitate to demand departmental meetings when issues arise that directly affect them on the job. They do not trust these to the union leadership. They want to be there and to decide what action is to be taken. The workers go up and down the aisles saying: "We want a departmental meeting. If the committee man doesn't call one, we'll hold it ourselves."
The Taft-Hartley bill hung over the nation for some months. One day Congress made it into law. The next day I listened carefully for comment. One fellow says: "Those guys are really out to put chains on us." Another says: "Labor all over the country should walk out." A third says: "This will fix those union leaders."
As a member of the rank and file, I approach an official of the union, an executive-committee member. I demand that a plant-wide emergency meeting be immediately held in view of the situation. He refuses point--blank and says: "The usual monthly meeting will be held in two weeks." I talk to several workers. They say that they have heard rumors that the plant will walk out at twelve o'clock. The chairman of the shop committee then comes up to me. I demand an emergency meeting where the ranks can express themselves. He tells me; "You are going off half-cocked. Next week the C.I.O. is holding a National meeting in Washington on the subject and we must wait."
Several weeks after the initial crisis has passed, the leadership finally calls an after-work meeting on the anti-labor bill. A handful of workers shows up and the leadership rages on this point: "Such vicious attacks are being made on labor and when we call a meeting on this vital subject, the ranks don't show up."
The union leadership has a great deal of ridicule for the ranks. They constantly make fun of the fact that the ranks don't give a damn, and don't attend meetings. Their attitude is one of: "Here we are trying to do everything for them and they don't give a damn."
The union leadership is very much afraid of rank and file action. Recently a grievance of a serious nature came up. It was clear that to stop the company would require clear-cut action on the part of the workers. Just the presentation of a grievance on the matter was viewed with alarm by the bureaucracy. Their advice was: "Don't do anything rash." "Keep cool, and think it over." etc. The leadership is constantly on the defensive with the ranks.
Many times the leadership will agree to certain new proposals of the company which will have an effect on the rank and file. They do not notify the ranks of their agreement as they do not want trouble. This happened recently. It is apparent that "company security clauses" are also frightening some union leaders. It would take rank and file action of a decisive nature to reverse the trend. At a recent meeting one worker arose and asked why the men in the shop were not consulted by the company when a change affecting them was being made.
One day several workers are discussing the union contract with a union representative. The subject is the speed-up. The union official maintains that the workers must abide by the contract. He says, "Any change in the machinery which the company maintains is a change in method, gives them the right to raise the number of pieces per hour." At another time he reiterates that the union contract is binding. A rank and filer states: "It is binding just so long as we let it be."
The president walks about the plant with an aloofness almost comparable to that of the plant superintendent.
Even at a union dance there is this kind of separation. The union leaders have a central table at which they all sit with their friends. They have full bottles of liquor and other drinks. They engage in a cloistered bit of revelry. Some wear "Tuxs" and most all wear white flowers in their lapels. They are somewhat boisterous at times. The atmosphere is not one of workers' comradeship. There appears to be a high degree of formality pervading the dance as a whole. A worker easily felt more at ease in the shop than he did at the dance.
The most disgusting sight is that of the company superintendent sitting at their table. They are all very friendly. There appears to be more friendliness than between the ranks and the union leaders.
What is the company superintendent doing at the workers dance? He circulates around amongst those present, acting very friendly and trying to develop new friends in the ranks. Those workers who ignore him make it felt.
There are some 800 workers in the union but only about 150 attend the dance.
3. The Union Election
An election is about to take place. In the 8 months I have been in the plant, this is the first time things are beginning to move intra-union. Factions and groupings are everywhere. Suspicion, mistrust, conniving, deals, etc. are the rule. Each group tries to gather to itself any rank and file support it sees. Cliques are continually working under cover preparing for the elections. The ranks barely participate in the elections. One hundred out of 800 members show up for the nominations. Everything is fluid as groups and individuals vie for positions. The rank and file voice is noticeably absent. What takes place is obviously the work of a handful of maneuverers. At the meeting is mentioned the fact that some of the company's foremen were formerly the best union militants. I have never seen a union election as completely confused as this. There are no programs open to the rank and filer. Nothing is solid. During the nominating, it is obvious that blocs are forming right on the floor. One worker tells me he feels that all international officers should be elected by a popular vote.
Company stooges are everywhere. They will wind up in every group. They can't lose that way. A certain number of company men have already been elected to office.
Unless the average militant is careful, he must inevitably be drawn into the mess of scheming. The ranks are basically hostile to what takes place and view it all with disgust.
In the shop, printed campaign tickets appear. Each candidate claims more experience than his opponent. Much effort and talking is put out by those seeking office.
The Negro vote was fairly decisive in the election. Among the Negroes, one campaign was carried out, while the opposite was carried out with the whites.
The elections brought to the surface many bitter battles and prejudices. Most viciously used was the Negro issue. Inasmuch as the sentiment in the shop tends toward Jim-Crow, the various groups attempted to accuse the others of close association with the Negro workers and then smear them as a result. There were rumors and mouth-to-mouth slanders of all sorts on this score circulating throughout the plant.
One Sunday in the union office, before the elections started, I listened to a discussion between the union leaders. They were discussing why they run for office. There seemed to be some confusion as to exactly why. One spoke this way: "We sit down pre-election and plot and plan how to win. When we win it, we say, 'Why are we saddling ourselves with this all over again?"
4. The Hostility of the Rank and File
The failure of the ranks to control the union in all periods leaves the road open to bureaucracy and unprincipled factionalism, both of which weaken the union. The section of workers which always attends union meetings is made up of a various assortment of workers. Among them are militants, professional radicals, bureaucrats, union-apparatus men, career seekers, company stooges, and a number of serious non-partisan rank and filers. If any group wishes to pass a motion at any meeting, it is not unusual to understand that it was all planned beforehand. In the union audience, proponents of a certain motion will be strategically dispersed, to speak up at any moment.
The American worker has become thoroughly aware of, and is disgusted with, bureaucracy, both union and governmental. Civil life gives him this outlook even before entering the factory. Upon finding it first hand in the union where it affects him directly, it produces a positive resentment within him. The American way of life has instilled in him the picture of cross and doublecross. He trusts no leaders. That is why a good and sincere committee-man must sooner or later run into trouble with the ranks. It is known in a union that the first defeat or mistake of a union representative brings down the wrath of the ranks upon him. The rank and filer almost automatically searches for examples of betrayal.
During the fourth of July week, the plant was shut down. It was a paid holiday for the workers. Theoretically no one was supposed to be working that day. Some weeks later, a report of the union committee meeting with the management is distributed to the workers at the gate. One of the grievances mentioned is that of our shop committee man, who, it appears, worked on the holiday. He claims that he was not paid on the basis of an operator's pay, but rather on a laborer's rate for that day. It comes as a surprise to the men that he worked that day and they are disgusted with him for having done so when the others didn't. They think it pretty stupid to have bothered to put in a complaint and thereby bring it to the attention of the men. Worker Z says to me very sarcastically: "And that is the union about which you have been shooting off your mouth."
The worker looks for the first mistake of the leadership. He seizes upon this one error so that he can justify his antagonism towards the leader concept. Many good militants have lost faith in unions as a result of being the center of such a situation. Those whom they daily tried to defend suddenly turned on them at the first, faint sign of a betrayal.
In the U.A.W. handbook entitled, "How to Win for the Union," a warning is given to the stewards, committee-men, etc. as to what to expect on this score.
It is interesting to note that many workers lose money each week on lotteries and pools or horses. However, when a raise in union dues is put forth, a howl immediately goes up. The union is castigated, the conception of the union being the bureaucrats. Some of the ranks feel that some phony somewhere will cash in on the deal. Nevertheless the assessment is received.
In spite of the worker's dislike of the bureaucracy, they would positively defend their union against an attempt to bust it. As one worker put it; "Any union is better than no union."
The worker has many apparently contradictory reactions to a labor Party. He looks at Great Britain and says: "It is doing no good there. How could it help us to have one?" One worker says: "It's Communist." Others say: "Some cliques, groups, or bureaucrats will get a hold of it and use it to their own interest." The workers are afraid that a labor Party will be run the way the union is run today.
One worker seemed to think the labor Party was a good idea but he couldn't understand why the labor leaders didn't make one right away. He stated that the workers should have more immediate control over the leaders of such a party, and agreed that if representation was direct from the factory and right of recall by the rank and file was a first principle, the leaders would have to toe the line. He remarked: "Why any one of us could be sent to represent the men in such a situation." Another worker said to me: "The capitalists aren't going to allow a labor Party. What do you want? A revolution?"
One day, I spoke to a worker about a labor Party abstractly. The reaction was this; "What good would it do? Somebody would slip the leaders 10,000 dollars and the workers would be left in the dust."
STRATA AMONG THE WORKERS
The last few years have been eventful ones. Many of the workers of whom I now write, entered the factory just prior to the entry of this country into the war. Some came from small businesses which they owned. They often refer to the fact that they were their own boss then. Others entered the factory then but after a few years were drawn into the armed forces. There are large sections of Italian, German, and Polish workers. In spite of the fact that most of them are native-born, events which take place in their parents' countries are followed with the greatest of interest.
Today in the factory, there are workers from all walks of life. E.g.: ex-school teachers, former coal miners, workers who had small businesses such as a garage, grocery store, candy store, trucking business, fur raising farm (mink), land farming, odd jobs business, salesmen, ex-insurance salesmen, house-painters, and lawyers. There were many more. Each of those I have mentioned was the former vocation of one or more workers whom I now know in the shop.
The Negro in the Shop
The Negro question in the plant is of a vital nature. In the main, Negro workers have been quiet, reserved, but deeply moved by their position in the plant.
The average Negro worker sizes up the workers in his shop. He knows who is okay and who is not. He has a keen ability to detect falseness. Towards bosses and stooges, he puts on an act of extreme stupidity. When the boss tries to pull something over on him, he assumes an air of ignorance and incomprehension.
1. The New Negro
There is in the factory today a generation of new, young Negroes. youth who have gone through the war but have spent comparatively no time in a factory. They chafe under the indignities which they receive. They are not a depression product, but youth who have returned recently from service and who have matured in the last six years.
The past several years they have been filled with war propaganda: equality, democracy, and freedom from fear. They want it and are ready for a fight if they don't get it. They have gone through grammar and high school and show a high degree of intelligence. They are anti-Uncle Tom.
Most of the Negro workers in the plant are veterans. Many have seen active fighting and have toured the U.S. and foreign countries. What they have seen has left a deep impression on them. Their readiness to fight at the drop of a hat is evident.
2. The Negro Worker and the Machine
The Negro worker looks longingly at the machine. If he is on a job he does not like, he will skillfully try to give the company as little of his labor as possible. In the factory, the Negro is confined primarily to the dirty, unskilled laboring jobs. He is never hired outright as a machine operator. He must get in the plant and then fight his way up. One Negro worker told me he ran automatic screw machines during the war. The company which hired him now would only give him a laborer's job.
If the Negro does succeed by his efforts in finally getting on a machine, the company and many white workers will make it extremely difficult for him. He will often be driven to quit the plant rather than suffer the indignities.
Only a few Negroes are on machines. The others resent new workers being hired and given jobs that they feel they have a right to. There is much discrimination in this respect. Often now at union meetings, these young workers take the floor and denounce the discrimination and demand equal opportunity in upgrading.
I have heard Negro workers threaten to quit the union if it does not do something for them.
If two machinists, one white and one Negro, apply at the personnel office for an opening, the white will get the job.
A Negro worker has to do a better job than the white worker in order to keep his position. The competition is fierce in such instances, and the Negro is sure to be let go if he does not out-do the white.
And then there are white workers who resent a Negro getting good pay for a job, and would like to take the job for themselves.
There are many Negroes in the plant who have pride in their work. They are serious in their desires to give their best and to help their fellow workers. But the same pressures which drive workers as a whole apart, react doubly so on them. They deeply resent the humiliation which they suffer in production, and the failure on the part of society to give them an even break produces a negation of the qualities which workers as a whole admire. It confuses, distorts, and upsets them. They yearn for integration into the social process. They desire to be one with their fellow men. I have seen Negro workers deliberately turn their backs on a white worker. At another moment they have given of their best. The Negro's slacking on the job is directly traceable to his resentment at the restricted role he plays in production. Between these two tendencies the Negro is torn apart.
The Negro worker today watches keenly when one of his race hits the professional headlines. He desires so much to have the abilities and the talents of his people given a chance that when Jackie Robinson hits a home run, he applauds with a vigor and excitement which bursts out all over.
Negro workers have the amazing ability to be able to determine on sight the model, make, and year of most any car. In the shop, the laborers who handle the chips from the machine know more about the quality of steel being used on various machines, and the piece numbers being run on different machines than most of the operators. They are able to distinguish on sight the part number of a score or more types of work. I have been told that in Detroit the best auto drivers, recognized as such by the workers as a whole, are the Negroes.
The day the Negro has the opportunity to unfold all his talents will be the day when the community as a whole will benefit.
3. The Negro and the White Worker
The workers have many confused and contradictory reactions. In relation to the Negro, it manifests itself in many ways. The Negro as a result is under a terrible pressure in the shop. He does not know when or where he will suddenly hear some degrading remark. Some examples of those Jim Crow expressions are given here with the notation that the same worker could make the same statements in one day. E.g.: "The Niggers buy the best of everything when they buy. The best cars and furnishings and clothes." Then the opposite: "The Niggers never have brakes or windows on their cars." Also: "The Niggers bring down rents and they are dirty."
In the plant, the white and Negro workers eat in the same cafeteria. Outside the factory, when some of these same white workers go into a restaurant where the same Negro workers are eating, they walk out.
When something is lost or stolen, the first people thought of are the colored porters and laborers. When things are missing, you can be sure it either dropped into the oil, or another machine operator appropriated it. However, the white worker instantly thinks the Negro took it. Vicious anti-Negro elements capitalize on these instances for the company and try to drive a deeper wedge between the workers.
Racial tension reaches a climax at various times. Once it exploded in a battle between a Negro and a white worker. The white taunted the Negro. The two went outside and the Negro was beat up. Back in the plant the white worker continued taunting and chasing the Negro. Suddenly the Negro stopped, picked a bar of iron up, and floored the white worker. Later, in an inquiry, the white worker took full blame and absolved the Negro. Company stooges used the incident to bring out every backward prejudice of white workers.
The following is an example of how these contradictions manifest themselves in the union. A union dance was organized. The dance committee chairman deliberately tried to arrange a Jim Crow dance by distortedly citing a local law, (which was unconstitutional anyway) to the effect that there could be no mixed dancing. It was made clear to the Negro workers that they were not wanted. Several workers take the floor and condemn the dance stating it's all or nobody. They demand that the issue be fought out at the dance hall with everyone in attendance. One Negro seems to have an Uncle Tom attitude. He does not wish to battle it out, but requests that the dance be held elsewhere with the union taking a loss. He is willing to pay assessment of 5 dollars to other members' 2 dollars, to make up the deposit loss. An F.E.P.C. is proposed to prevent such occurrences. Other Negroes speak up against discrimination on the job. The one Negro with the Uncle Tom attitude has a favored position in the plant. He is one of the handful of Negroes who is doing a skilled machine job, and he fought his way up during the war.
Only one Negro girl attends the dance but leaves soon after, being completely isolated. The Negro workers deliberately shunned this dance. It was their way of keeping their self-respect.
The white unionist feels that every man in the shop has his job to do. He is hired for a certain job, and that is what he should do. He thinks that the Negro worker should carry on in the same way. He does not however realize that it is precisely the fact that the Negro has his job to do and no other, which angers the Negro.
4. Negro Leadership
In spite of the overwhelming Jim-Crow attitude in the plant, a Negro ran for vice-president. This worker was to some degree set off from the other Negro workers because of the fact that he was one of the few who during the war was upgraded. His being on a job of a somewhat skilled nature developed in him what some of the other Negroes called a superiority complex which they resented. In spite of this, their desire for representation was so strong that he received the bulk of the Negro vote. This I learned from a number of Negro workers themselves.
A young Negro worker in the shop told me he used to be a leader in the Young Communist league but resigned. He resented the Communist Party putting up puppet leaders. He is against a third party and for a distinct labor party. He says that all the capitalist Negro organizations are no good. The Negro will never gain his freedom under capitalism. He belongs to the N.A.A.C.P.1 He says that the capitalists absorb militant Negroes when they break through the surface. He has utter contempt for those Negroes who have been selling out their people. He claims that the Negro aristocracy thrives on segregation and directly continues to promote it for themselves. He says it is up to the Negroes to lead themselves. The distrust of the whites has left no alternative.
The Negro attendance at union meetings is small. It seems that the Negro worker feels that the union is incapable of solving his larger problems of equality and universal freedom. This was graphically illustrated one day in a discussion between me, a friend and several Negro workers. My friend tried to keep the discussion on the trade union level, but the Negro workers continually broke this down and attempted to discuss the general social problems in relation to them and the new ideas and experiences they have gained as a result of the war.
From my observations of the shop in respect to the Negro workers, it is clear that some dynamic leaders from their ranks are needed. They have little respect for the white trade unionists and feel they are being used. Leaders must come from their ranks with a far-reaching program.
There is a tremendous ferment among the Negro workers. White workers know this. There is an intimation of fear among some white workers as to what the Negro may do. At the same time many white workers respect and understand the position of the Negro in the factory as well as the Negro himself. The Negro worker feels the impending depression. He burns fiercely within. He knows he will be the first to be put on the chopping block. He feels that now is the only opportunity he has to strike back somehow, some way, in the organized labor movement. The threat of impending strikes is welcomed by him. He less than others can afford the loss of pay, but he first of all will vote strike.
The Attitude of the Conservative Worker
There is in the factory today a stratum of workers which over a period of years has accumulated a high seniority. That is, these workers have spent several years in the same industrial plants. During this time they have observed and experienced various union regimes. More so than transitory workers, they have seen union leaderships develop into various patterns and effects. They are aware of the class collaborationist activities of the union bureaucrats. Bureaucratism has left a mark on them. This group of workers which represents a large section of the American labor movement, is acutely aware of the rottenness of present day society. They harbor a deep and abiding hatred of the industrial ruling class. They are wise to its maneuvers, tricks and abuses of the workers. At the same time, not having a fundamental grasp of the economic laws governing society, many believe that the capitalist class is all-powerful. They lean more to this conclusion as they see the trade union bureaucracies continually capitulate.
One old seniority worker said that the old workers were against the strike. Many claimed that the union leadership in the International had juggled the votes and called out the men when they should not have. One such worker claimed that, "those who were for the strike were the new War workers who had never been in industry before. They did not know what our conditions of work were before the war. I was not against a strike as a strike, but against it being called when it was called. The company was being reconverted and was getting back tax refunds from the government. We were licked before we started. We used up all our savings in the strike and many of us had to go back into debt. It was tough enough getting out of debt from the pre-war years. I would not be against a strike now as the Company needs production and is no longer getting tax refunds. No one broke the picket lines because the company itself after a while shut down the plants. Had they remained open, there would have been violence and workers would have attempted to bust the picket lines. As it was, very few workers from the plant manned the picket lines."
It should be stated here, that from the accounts of the strike ballots taken during the 1946 strike wave, the majority of workers overwhelmingly voted strike.
1. "If I worked here as long as you have..."
Throughout the years the process of production has steadily been working on these old workers and has produced an explosive latent force in them. More than all the other sections of the workers, they have been subjected to a steady and uninterrupted education and development by capitalist production. All the contradictions are there.
Their years of service in one factory have created in them a feeling or attitude of having a vested interest in the plant. This is expressed by other workers thus, "If I worked here as long as you have, I would want to own the factory." The manner in which these workers move about the factory indicates an attitude of ownership. The assuredness with which they move from department to department can be seen even in the way in which they walk.
The apparent inability of the union to solve their problems, the seemingly tremendous power of the boss, have contributed to making these workers cynical and conservative. Many sections of them become out and out company men. The company is forced to be lenient in one respect or another towards these workers because they know the ins and outs of the plant thoroughly. However, this does not prevent periodic explosions.
One worker with the company 25 years collided head on with an overhead guard. In a blaze of fury he got a hack-saw and began to saw it down. In his anger he was shouting, "Let them fire me." Then followed a string of invective and abuse at the company. It is odd because he is a company man.
On one particularly hot evening, another worker with ten years seniority says to a group of fellows, "Let's f- them all and not go back into the plant." He then says decisively, "What the hell can they do to us?" Immediately following his statement an extremely funny scene occurred. The assembled workers began to imitate the foreman pleading with them to get back to work. One of them, assuming the identity of the foreman says, "Please, fellows. Please go back to work, Please," The other workers immediately burst out into loud laughter.
2. "Fellows like me know plenty"
I would like to illustrate concretely the development of some of these long time seniority workers as I have seen and heard it. "Z" is a worker employed 20 years by the company. In the past few months he has come out with some revealing statements. It is clear that through the years he has given many worthwhile suggestions for production to the company, but has not been rewarded satisfactorily for them. One evening during the lunch period he tells a dozen or so workers from the department the following, "I have an idea now that would stop those machines from cracking up. But those sons of -- ain't going to get it for a measly fifty bucks. Either they give me a thousand bucks or they can go f- themselves."
At another time, the same worker angrily says, "While we are sweating our heads off, those bastard bosses are in Florida sunning themselves." He goes on to say, "The plant Super went out at seven and comes back at eleven all tanked up. Now if that son of a bitch said anything to me while I was taking a shower upstairs at eleven-thirty, I would let him have it."
One day a copy of a daily newspaper was lying on one of the work benches. One of the columns concerned itself with the Marshall Plan which is being furthered by the U.S.. A worker with several years seniority was reading it. On the basis of that we got into a discussion of the European problem. These are his approximate words: "It is easy to see that Europe must be united on some sort of plan. These countries fighting with each other for so many years has only brought wars and destruction. They were crazy for trying to destroy German industry. The German workers are some of the most skilled and mechanically minded people in the world. Europe will never recuperate if they don't put the German workers back into the factories."
From there we got into a discussion of our factory. I asked him about the efficiency in our factory and what he and the others with long years of experience about machinery could do if they had the opportunity to put their ideas into practice freely. He replied, "Fellows like me and workers "X", "Y", and "Z" know plenty. What do they, (the company), know about production. They get more in our way than anything. Those engineers, who sit in the office, try to plan out things complicated so that they can keep their jobs. They've got to eat too, you know."
3. "Sure, all that stuff is true"
The "Saturday Evening Post" of July 19, 1947, carried an article entitled: "The Union That Dared To Be Different." The article deals with a factory which was on the verge of bankruptcy. In order to forestall the lay-off of hundreds of workers, the union and the company came to an agreement whereby the workers would have the full run of the shop to develop production to a point where the company would be able to remain in business. Not only did production increase, but absenteeism fell off almost entirely, and waste almost disappeared. I gave the magazine to one of the shop workers to read. He has been a worker for over fifteen years.
He was particularly struck by the manner in which the workers increased production when they were given a free hand. I present in the following an approximate account of his comments on this article.
"This guy has a lot of common sense. One shop I worked in I was set-up man. I used to stand at the machine and constantly try to devise new adaptations. I had hundreds of ideas. I have lots of them now, but what's the use of trying them out. The next guy would come in and change what I had done. I know ways of grinding tools now which I am positive would make the job easier and more efficient, but if I tried them out as things are everything would get more confused. What those workers have done is pretty good but I don't think we could do the same in our plant. Those engineers don't hold a candle to the guy on the machine. How can they know what we know when we spend hours right on the machine? There are things which it is impossible to learn unless you work at it every day over a period of years." He ended up with an indication that the writer of the article might be a communist.
On January 1, 1947, immediately following the big post-war strike wave, "Collier's Weekly" appeared with an article by Peter Drucker entitled, "What to do About Strikes." I brought the issue into the shop and asked a worker who had been with the company over the past ten years to read it. He had been in the preceding strike and was in a position to understand what Drucker had to say.
He agreed that strikes were "essentially revolts." That the workers were psychologically unemployed in the midst of employment. He had gone through the depression years and remembered well.
"Sure. All that stuff is true," he told me. The deep penetrating unrest that upsets all workers he knew about.
The Attitude Toward Radical Workers
Workers view radical parties this way: Members of a radical organization through various means acquire positions of union leadership. There they agitate, etc. The conception is that it all comes from above. As a result, a gulf arises between the professional radical workers and the rank and file.
During the election, accusations went around that one side was using "Red" tactics in consolidating the Negro vote. Red-baiting has risen to new heights in the past year.
I have often heard workers speak of communists this way. "Communists are guys who don't want to work."
The average worker thinks communism means regimentation. Everybody lives in the same house and wears the same clothes. He says there is no chance for individuality in such a set-up. And, besides, how can a fellow make a million bucks if he wants to. The worker also thinks that the communist wants half of whatever you've got. Half of your cigarette, and half of any and all your possessions.
In spite of this, the worker immediately recognizes the fullest control by the workers as communism.
One day in speaking to the steward, I proposed that departmental meetings be held throughout the plant. I explained that this would give the fullest opportunity to all the sections of the plant to discuss the problems closest to them. This would also make it possible for all conditions and decisions affecting the workers to be subject to the closest control by them. He became furious and said that it was communistic. "You can't let the ranks decide everything like that."
Joe Worker today is an educated individual in that he has usually gone through at least twelve years of grammar and high schools. He has a wide sphere of knowledge and can talk about machinery, autos, polities, government, movies, etc. Enough so as to offer an opinion on any subject which may arise for discussion.
I sat with a group of workers. The discussion went as follows: An ex-G.I. said, "America needs socialized medicine. The army provided medical care for millions. Why not in peacetime? The health of the nation is all-important. All doctors should be conscripted for the health of the nation. They should be paid on the merit system. That is, the most skilled get the most money."
One worker says, "That is communism," The speaker says, "But there is good and bad in all systems and forms of politics, There is much good in communism."
A comparison was made as follows, "If the government can supply police protection, it should also give health protection." The discussion was fully participated in by all the workers at the table. They came to the conclusion that what the young G.I. was talking about was pretty true.
The Veteran in the Shop
Veterans in the shop are now beginning to rehash their wartime experiences. For almost a year they have spoken little about their experiences. Now the past is once more coming to the fore and re-evaluations are made. Men kid each other as war heroes as they tell of incidents. Many tragic happenings are also unfolded. The regimentation of the army was greatly hated by the men. The first acts on the part of the company which are of a regimental nature are immediately compared to the army. The phrase, "I thought I was out of the army," is used.
The veterans have come back into the factory with their experiences having left deep impressions on them. Navy veterans attempt to strike up acquaintances with other Navy veterans. The same for the army G.I.. The bulk of them still wear their service clothes in the shop. The reason they give is: "They are good work uniforms." It appears that there is more than that to it. It seems to serve as a link by which they continue the bond between them. Often G.I. terms are used in describing the factory. The regimentation of the armed forces is compared with that of the factory. Battle fatigue is called machine fatigue or "Acme" fatigue (the Acme is a type of automatic machine). Sounds of the shop are compared with those they have heard in service. When the plant siren goes off, it becomes an air raid. Dinner time and pay time become the moment to whistle bugle calls for mess and pay-time as it is done in the service.
The antagonisms towards the officer caste are transmitted back into the factory towards the boss and supervision.
The factory is called a steel jungle to be compared some way or other to the islands of the Pacific.
The Women in the Shop
The outbreak of the war brought many women into the factory. I have seen many women operate machines which I have run. In one factory, they were employed as crane operators. The job required a great degree of sensitivity in the lifting of huge sections of steel throughout the factory. Women proved to be particularly able in this. I have seen them swing a heavy load of steel down the length of the factory and skillfully place it exactly where it was wanted. There were many women on grinding machines in this factory during the war. Today I know of but one or two.
The factory seems to have given a sort of assuredness to many of the women workers. The shop counteracts to some degree the unequal status between men and women in society generally. Although very few women attend union meetings, those who do show a surging desire to express themselves. Some think the union is the affair of the men and are afraid to interfere. Others think that the women don't stick together like the men. I had a talk with a woman worker in the shop one day. She was extremely scornful of the men in the factories of the Eastern states. She claimed: "they are all puny, no doubt from factory life, and do not compare with the healthy men of the Southwestern states and the wide open country. What's more, I'll equal and double anything any of you men do. I have held down three jobs at one time already." She was belligerent in trying to establish an equal status with the men.
The relations between the sexes are completely distorted by capitalism. Certain women in the shop are labeled as women who can be slept with. Whenever a woman goes down the aisle, whistles, cat-calls and phrases fly down after her.
At the time of the telephone strike, the workers were amazed at the militancy of the girls in that strike. Accounts of the picket line struggles were widely read by the workers. Their comments were: "Those girls sure have plenty of guts. Why they are fighting every one from the company to the State and local governments. It sure is a surprise to me."
THE CONTRADICTION IN THE FACTORY
Lowered Productivity of Labor
I had discussions with several workers on the lowered productivity of labor.
Worker "R" agrees. Especially concerning the assembly lines. Says workers do not want to exist as slaves. Says production could be upped 20% or 30% if workers were given a free hand. Complains of the insuperable number of obstacles which a worker encounters during the day. Says if all red tape and annoying supervisory help were eliminated, and if workers ingenuity were allowed full play, production could be considerably upped. He says it is very difficult to know what the individual worker thinks as he isolates himself mentally in many respects from his fellow worker. He does not often say what he thinks. He says workers hold back on their production and never give their fullest.
Just Putting in Time
I spoke with two other workers on the same subject. One worker says production could be doubled. The other is in doubt. Seems to think it means more work for the workers. I approached the subject on the basis of a 4 hour day, 5 day week and asked if that goal was possible. I tried to impress them with a plant-wide conception of cooperation. I explained what was in reality workers' control. One said that during the war in his section of the plant, the fellows used to knock out work fast deliberately and then spend a few hours in horse-play. They enjoyed themselves and at the same time got the work out. He claims the mental attitude was entirely different then. Now the monotony is extremely evident. It is just a question of putting in time. He resents the pressure of the foreman when the production norm is completed and he is kidding around. The foreman, it seems, cannot stand workers being idle even though the norm has been filled. (The other worker in reference to this noted that the miners had not been paid for a full days work in their walk-out, although the production quota for the day had been filled.) He spoke of the many skilful tricks applied by workers during the war.
The steel gang distributes steel wherever it is needed throughout the plant. This job often consists of several workers pushing about large skids of steel. It is plain to see that the foreman over that groups feels that these workers are holding back. He constantly, in moments of impatience, lends his own strength to pushing the skids. The workers distinctly resent this. They do not mind when I, another worker, help them. When I add my weight, the skid of steel rolls smoothly. This may mean that only another worker is needed. But from the look on the faces of the steel gang, it might also seem that they had adjusted their strength to keeping the skid moving at a slow pace.
A laborer one day confided in me the following: "You know, kid, being a laborer is really an art. The idea is not to be around when you are needed. There is a way to time all this, and the clever laborer need not exhaust himself."
I will add that this may have been much more true during the war. It appears that since some have been laid off, the laborers must work harder. But when the opportunity presents itself, the laborer will still seize it to lighten his load.
As the tempo of work increases and the oppression of the worker becomes greater, at a certain point in the process a change comes over the worker. At the moment the machine is inflicting its greatest damage on him, and when he is reaching the bottom depths of his despair, a sudden sense of defiance and then freedom envelopes him. This happens at rare moments but leads inevitably to lowering the productivity of labor as it exists under the present factory setup.
On the other hand, I have seen workers almost wear themselves into the ground trying to put out an extra number of pieces purely from the desire to see how much they could do. In these instances, there was no extra money involved. In contradiction to this, workers will deliberately burn out tools in the machine at quitting time, by turning off the lubricant. Sometimes this is done to chastize the incoming worker for something ill-natured he has done.
The Division of Labor
The worker labors under contradictions. He may often wish to help another worker in some task, but because of the classifications and the fear of risking the resentment of his fellow workers, he refrains from doing so.
At the same time there is the ever present threat of the company using the worker's action against him in attempts to further the amount of work a man must do.
The wage scales and classifications in the shop are extremely numerous. It is a continual battle to reach a higher classification and more money, with one worker competing against another. Much anger is generated between workers and against the company over upgrading or promotions to new jobs. Every time a new job is open, a bitter wrangle takes place. It is not predominantly a question of the nickel raise involved, as it may seem on the surface, but a desire for recognition and a chance for exploitation of one's own capabilities.
In factories where different classifications of work are set up, workers confine themselves to their own classifications. For example, a machine operator runs the machine, the laborer sweeps and cleans, lifts, etc. This is usually the case. I have noticed, however, the distinct tendency on the part of workers to break these classifications by doing work not in their jurisdiction, so to speak. An operator does some laboring work, etc. This infraction of the rules is done on the workers' own initiative. That is, they take on the added tasks as long as they do it of their own accord. If the company orders them to do these things, immediately the men rebel and refuse. It is almost impossible to stop them when they decide of themselves.
Seniority regulations of the union very often prevent workers with real qualifications from getting ahead. For instance there are workers with a few years of experience who have outdistanced old time workers in ability and imagination. This is traced fundamentally to the type of technical and academic training they have received in the modern school system. I have heard even workers with seniority talk about how the seniority system is a brake on production. At the same time they would fight against the company's trying to override seniority. They are in a contradiction because they realize that workers need seniority as a defense and yet feel that such defensive measures do not allow the best productive talents of the workers to emerge. The workers say that if they had the opportunity in the ranks to decide who should be upgraded, they would be able to make better choices.
The last several months have shown signs of a swift development in the workers. They are stirred and moved by a deep unrest. They want a better life in the factory. Their desire to solve the frustrating contradictions of production can be seen everywhere. For example the worker who, sick to his stomach from the stench of his machine, shuts it down and shouts "To hell with my classification. I can't stand it. I am going to clean out this goddamn machine."
The Creativity of the Workers
When a worker has the opportunity to sneak away, he investigates the other sections of the plant. Rarely does this happen. The longing to vision the whole of which he is a part is never satisfied. He does not get to know the routine and full mechanics of the next departments. When he can, the worker will stop at a machine which intrigues him, pick up a piece of work and comment on it. He will question the operator about it. An exceptional yearning can be seen in the watchful eyes of those whose job it is to perform some sort of laboring or unskilled manual task. It is not uncommon to hear one worker say to another, "Boy, that job's a good one to have."
However, when a worker is upgraded, the new job soon becomes routine and once again he feels the same dissatisfaction. Many workers express the hope to get into the tool room, but even in the tool room the work has been broken down into routine operations. One of the highest skilled men in my department is a set-up man. He does a variety of jobs in the course of the day, changing set-ups, devising fixtures, etc. Yet he is bored with his work. He says: "If you think this is such a good job you can have it. I'm fed up with it."
During the war, there arose a type of worker creativity known as a "Government Job." I don't think there is a worker who at some time or another has not made a "Government Job." It was always natural to observe a worker making something for himself during working hours. Hundreds of thousands have made rings, lockets, tools, and knick-knacks. If the foreman or boss would come over and ask "what are you doing?", the reply was "a Government Job." Many beautiful things were made and the workers used to show them to each other. This has carried over and it appears that it will remain. The term applies to anything the worker makes for himself on company time. But it also appears that the workers today don't have as much patience for this type of work and something more is needed.
The worker doesn't want to know how to do many things just for the sake of doing them. One worker will refer to another as a good all-round man. He would also like to be one but even that is not enough.
At lunch time, workers will often discuss how a job could be done more efficiently from beginning to end. They will talk about what stock to use, how to machine it, how to do certain operations on various machines with various set-ups. But they never get a chance to decide how and why things should be one. However, if they can't use all they know, they try to use some of it.
In order to make production, many workers devise ingenious adaptations. Some change gears when the foreman is not about. Some make special tools and fixtures for their machines to make it easier for themselves. They keep these improvements secret so the company doesn't benefit. At times they help each other and at other times they do not.
The other day the worker on the next machine devised something of skilled nature to better his machine performance. He insisted on showing it to me and explaining to me what he had done. He was pleased with his accomplishment but was frustrated that there were no others he could show it to.
Operators on steel-cutting machines have desires to speed up R.P.M.'s on them and then increase the feed to the maximum cut to see how far they can go. This is characteristic on lathes, boring mills, etc. I've done the same myself many times. Although destruction may result, the workers seek in this way, completely to master the machine.
Since the workers are unable, in the shop, to express fully their creative instincts, outside the factory and in the home, they seek to give free rein to these instincts.
Many workers seek relief from tension of the shop on their off hours by working on their cars. Cleaning and polishing them. Tinkering with the motor and other parts. Workers continually paint and fix up their own homes.
But here too they feel that something is missing. They may interrupt such a project for weeks because they have lost interest and, unless they force themselves to finish, it remains undone. Many workers say to their friends in the shop: "When I finish a day's work here I have to go home and do the same thing there."
When a worker sees a new piece of machinery he eyes it with professional skill. "What a piece of machinery that is," he says. His appreciation is not based on a monetary calculation of the machine, but on its performance under his own command.
The Community of Labor
The miserable life in the factory is universal, so when some workers whine and continually complain to their fellow workers, it antagonizes them. Gripers are not liked and wherever possible avoided. The workers say to a griper: "Don't complain to me. Go tell it to the boss."
The average capable worker respects another good worker. It is his way of building up respect among his fellow workers in recognition of his capabilities. The community of labor brings this forth as part of an unstated code.
Workers have ways of testing each other. Sometimes a whole day will be spent plaguing a worker; for example, putting bluing on his machine, stopping his machine continually, upsetting his tool box, hiding his tools, etc... This is to determine if the worker will squeal to the boss and also to determine if he has a sense of humor and is a good guy.
Often a worker takes satisfaction out of coming to work on a very hazardous day. The initiative is his and he chooses to come as this is one day he is not expected to come to work. Those workers who do come that day find a certain enjoyment out of having arrived, especially if there are workers absent. There is then a certain camaraderie or light-heartedness apparent.
Workers in each department visit the toilet for a smoke and rest at certain periods during the day. No one has set the time, but in my department, we have set a custom of our own. The day is divided into sections. First smoke is at 10:00 A.M., second is at 2:00 P.M. At these specific times, some of the other workers will be there and there is company to talk with.
When a worker moves from one factory to another, a temporary feeling of being lost seizes him, and unsureness of whether he will be able to make good on the next job. One day in the new plant among the workers again and his confidence in himself and his ability immediately returns.
When tragedy befalls a worker, death in the family, illness, or some such personal sorrow, the workers express deep sympathy. Often it is difficult to console such a worker in words, so in order to show his sympathy, the average worker will attempt some way in the day' s work to aid the bereaved worker. When tragedy strikes a worker, he finds some relief back in the factory away from the sorrow at home.
As Though They Were Somebody
At lunch, one day, workers were discussing and lamenting the fact that there is so little real friendship amongst people. One was speaking in terms of what really amounted to comradeship. He remarked that it was tragic that relations between men were not harmonious.
All employees are numbered. Badge numbers are systematically re-placing names of individual workers. Pay envelopes, work charts, etc., are all figured on the basis of number. Even workers begin to refer to each other as numbers. "No. 402 worked on my machine last night."
There are many workers in the shop who search for some expression of their importance as individuals. The company, knowing this, institutes a certain type of uniform. It is in the form of a smock or light work coat with the company insignia on it, usually worn by set-up men, inspectors, etc. I took care to notice the effects of this rose on a few workers. For the first few days, they seemed to adopt a self-important air as though now they were somebody. After a few days, the coat was dirty, and added to this, from the very beginning the other workers ignored the new distinction which those who wore the coats seemed to think they had. The novelty soon wore off as no change was brought to their status and work continued in the same monotonous manner as before.
Workers now and then wear their names on their shirts. Many workers become identified by the distinct type and color of the clothing they wear.
I described above the conveyor system and the hostility of the workers to it. There are some other aspects to this situation. Previously, the checkers came to the workers' machines and in a relationship exchanged receipts for the work which the operator created. Now the worker places his work on a conveyor from whence it travels to a central pay point. At various intervals during the week he receives his receipts. The old relationship no longer exists of contact between worker and checker. (This is very satisfactory to the checker.) The old system gave the worker a feeling of individual contact with the recipients of his work. The worker is angry at the new system and demands that the old relation be established. He insists that he be paid for his work at his machine. His reason is that otherwise he is cheated of some of his day's work. But this is no more the case than usual. The company goes to extremes to see no one is cheated. The new system as stated proves in many respects more satisfactory than before. But the worker, not understanding himself or his reason, is angry because he becoming further divorced from, and automatized in, his work. He attempts to protect his individuality and resents the regimentation of his labor into a sterile path. So he protests not the fact that he is required to lift the work onto the conveyor, but the further divorce of himself, from the end result and the receivers of his efforts.
Production as it exists today in the shop seeks to divide the white from black, Jew from Gentile, worker from worker. But the shattering of the division can take place right at the point of production. As I have stated previously, workers have a basic respect of other good workers. The comunity of labor establishes a pride in this type of activity which is deeply rooted in the worker. No matter how much modern production distorts the worker, this instinct remains always there. This becomes a universal trait and cuts through barriers of race, creed, and religion. But there is no way for the worker to express this trait today in any productive manner. The result is that it appears in other ways.
At times, a wonderful camaraderie develops in the shop amongst the workers. Usually this is discernible in some sort of horseplay. Many times workers will sing songs together to lighten the day' s work. Or many will talk everlastingly of the baseball teams, their standings and who is playing. Specific detail is given to individual players and many know very exact information on some of the players and their health. Workers will use any subject as a means of maintaining a bond of interest between them, e.g. baseball, betting, women.
A good worker always likes to keep his place of work clean. The conflict of classifications often prevents him from doing so.
One day the floor along the row of machines has become soaked with oil. Sawdust has been thrown down to absorb it. The result is a thick, heavy mess on the floor. Although this condition almost always exists, this one day the operators find a broom and clean about their machines. Then systematically the broom is passed on down the line. The company always exhorts the men to do this, but very rare are the times when they do, although they want very much to keep their places of work clean.
One day the temperature soared to the top of the thermometer. The plant is stifling. The top row of windows in the plant is closed. The chain has broken and has not been fixed. Workers up and down the shop complain continuously to the foremen. They are helpless for some reason and are not able to get the windows opened. No one puts in a grievance. I look for the committee-man, but he has not come in. I approach one worker and say, "Let's open the goddam windows ourselves. If we wait for the company to do it nothing will be done." He says, "Come on." I mentioned it to a few workers and they agree. Two of us went up to the bathroom window which was suspended from the ceiling and looked over the situation. It was impossible to fix it from there. We went back down and had to return to our machines. What had become crystal clear to me was the fact that a half-dozen workers would instantaneously have responded to a call to get a ladder ourselves and go up and fix the window.
The workers are ready to act together to better their life in the factory.
The basic machine in production is the lathe. It was on the basis of the first crude lathe that the advanced machinery of modern production has developed. Almost all machinery is a modification of the lathe e.g. the huge boring mills, or of the drill press, e.g. the thread-cutting machine, or of the lathe and the drill press. Most every worker who understands machinery knows this. The point which I wish to make is this: The mastery of any of these machines automatically prepares the worker to gain mastery easily over the others. I have seen this hundreds of times in the last 7 years. I as well as other workers have at some time or other, been put on machines which we had never run. Most often it took about a half hour to be able to run them satisfactorily. This is a frequent occurrence in most factories. When work runs out on one machine, the worker is often put on another. I see it every day in the factory. In my present plant, during the first two months, I ran a drill press, air-chuck lathe, automatic-screw, foot press, etc. Two of these machines I had never run before.
I recall that during the war this was much more so. Another fact shown by the war was the ease with which newcomers to machinery could learn in a comparatively short space of time. This was proved to me by the fact that in the first three years of the war, I alone trained some twenty-odd workers, white and Negro, ranging in age from 17 to 50, in running engine and turret lathes.
It is clear, then, that the present-day organization of production itself develops certain strata of workers in a multiplicity of abilities. But this multiplicity of abilities the worker can never develop to its fullest in the factory as it is today.
The worker uses his five senses in the day-to-day labor in the factory. Every one of them is distorted and mutilated. The terrible frustration which is the product of years of exposure to an inhuman production apparatus drives relentlessly toward the overthrow of that apparatus and its replacement by a productive system which will enable the worker to give fullest expression to his senses.
In modern production, the worker is isolated on an island in the midst of men and machines. So divorced has the worker become from himself that he is divorced from his fellow worker. He cannot stand the chattering of men in the cafeteria, and can find ease better, alone at his machine. The anxiety of the worker is due to the fact that he is forever caught between the contradiction of wanting to let his instinct, to do a good job and be close to his fellow workers, have its way, and then having to reverse himself.
The deep undercurrent of protest which exists in the factory is slowly but surely beginning to concretize itself. The deepest hostility exists everywhere. It can be seen in the slumped shoulders of a worker trudging down the length of the factory; in the way in which a worker walks up to a drinking fountain and wearily bends over to meet the rising stream of water; and in the set lips and drawn features of the worker towards midnight on the second shift. What more profound expression of all this can be given than the words of worker X who, in speaking to his foreman, says, "thought Lincoln freed the slaves." Later in the company of several shopmates, he mentioned something to the effect that it was time that someone came and freed us from the machines.
What the Worker Wants
Life, as he lives it in the factory and as it corrodes his home life, builds up this tremendous hatred in the workers. He struggles blindly to throw off the weight of a distorted factory system. His exasperation at the lack of efficiency is always apparent and is deeply rooted in him. It impedes him and tears at him internally. Day by day he attempts to circumvent the bureaucratic methods and orders from above. He takes note of all defects in the utilization of labor-power that result from the improper utilization of technical resources or from unsatisfactory administration. He attempts in vain to carry on a struggle against red tape, laxity and bureaucracy.
He wants every participant in production to understand the need for and expediency of the production tasks he is carrying out, and for every participant in production to take an intelligent part in remedying all technical and organizational defects in the sphere of production.
The worker expresses his hatred of the incentive system by saying he should write the union contract. This is no less than saying that the existing production relations must be overthrown. It is also much more. It means that he wants to arrange his life in the factory in such a way that it satisfies his instincts for doing a good job, knowing that it is worthwhile, and living in harmony with his fellow men. It is deeply rooted in the worker that work is the foundation of his life. To make his work a meaningful part of life, an expression of his overall individuality, is what he would attempt to put into reality.
It is because I feel all this and see it around me in the factory that I am a revolutionary socialist. Socialism is not merely an ideal to be wished for. It must grow out of the daily lives and strivings of the workers, and it must bring a new life to them in that which is closest to them and to society - their work.
It is not for today's leaders of society to solve this problem. They have shown inside the factory as outside it how helpless they are. It is from the workers that will come the men and women who will lead and guide the tremendous upheavals to come. Today they are being processed and prepared in the factory for a new reorganization based on the freed capacities of men in the labor process.
A powerful force is today preparing the socialist reality of tomorrow. I am a part of that, as a worker and as a revolutionary socialist. It is because of this that I have learned to see clarity in confusion. I see that in socialism the workers will gain the dignity which capitalism cannot give, and as a revolutionary socialist I have been able to clarify for myself and for other workers the coming revolution by which the workers will create a new world for themselves and for the rest of humanity.
Paul Romano
by Ria Stone (1947)
The crisis of contemporary society, the barbarism and chaos which govern the daily existence and immediate perspectives of men from one end of the earth to another, have provoked in all layers of society a probing into the ultimate perspectives of humanity. This probing, haltingly begun during the years of the depression, was momentarily suspended in the holocaust of the Second World War. But in the war also, the myth of salvation through the Roosevelt New Deal was exploded and with it the last barrier to the most relentless questions. The desperate efforts of the Wallace-ites and the Stalinists to perpetuate the Roosevelt myth, while condemning its contemporary international embodiment in the Marshall Plan, only make more pathetic the gulf between the memories of one dead man and the profound yearnings of two billion living ones. Today, in all strata of society, a search is going on for the way to create a world, one world, in which men can live as social and creative individuals, where they can live as all-round men and not just as average men. Out of this search a new philosophy of life is being created. Neither the Christian Revolution nor the Protestant Reformation, the only comparable milestones in the history of Western civilization, can parallel in depth and scope the process of evaluation and re-evaluation now going on in the activity and in the thoughts of men.
This report by Romano, a worker, of the life of a worker in the United States today, is a fundamental contribution to this evaluation. Un-like the writings of intellectuals and statesmen, it is a social document describing in essence the real existence of the hundreds of millions who constitute the basis of our society. The cultural life and philosophy of every society has always been determined by the life of the working class at its base. But except in periods of revolution, the world is wont to forget this. Nothing shows more clearly how close the social revolution is to the surface than the fact that today, wherever political and industrial statesmen meet to try to resolve the crisis of modern society, one problem haunts their minds - how to develop the productivity of the workers. Never has the attitude of the workers to their work meant more to society. In every country whatever the social denomination, the ability and willingness of the workers to produce is regarded as the foundation of national and international policy. If, as we believe, this is a problem actually resolvable only by placing the control of production into the hands and heads of the workers, it is also a problem which can be fundamentally understood only by penetrating into what the workers are doing and thinking as they work at their benches and at their machines.
Only by understanding the actual conditions of life and the actual strivings of an actual working class at a certain stage of its development, can the problems of humanity as a whole be understood. Those seeking in the modern barbarism for a unifying principle by which to understand the past and build the future, must turn their attention to the daily degradation of the individual and the concrete struggle for liberation which is developing in the working class.
We make our analysis of the American working class, not because it is the working class which we know best but also because it is the most powerful, the most advanced in the world in social productive powers. In the nineteenth century Marx made British capitalism the foundation for his economic analysis of capitalism. Today it is the American working class which provides the foundation for an analysis of the economic transition from capitalism to socialism, or the concrete demonstration of the new society developing with in the old.
THE PERMANENT REVOLUTION IN THE PROCESS OF PRODUCTION
The semi-skilled workers of mass production are today the vanguard of the workers in the United States. Between 1921 and the present day, particularly after the 1929 depression and during the second world war, American industry underwent an industrial revolution which, for depth and extent, has an antecedent only in the industrial developments of the early nineteenth century. As those developments erupted in the Chartist movement, the 1848 revolutions in Western Europe, and the Civil War in the United States, so the industrial revolution after the first world war has been preparing a world-wide social revolution.
Between 1899 and 1919 electric power had been utilized mainly to drive the old type machines. Between 1923 and 1929 new type machinery was introduced to exploit this electric power. On the basis of this new machinery and the centralization of capital resulting from the 1929 depression, production was then expanded and concentrated into enormous factories exceeding in size most of the towns of the world. These factories attracted into the ranks of the working class individuals from all sections of the country and from a multiplicity of former occupations. Farmers from the dust belt, white collar workers, the student youth who dreamed of professions and the old folks who had given up all hopes of a useful social existence; Negroes but lately tied to the plantations of the South, women whose lives had been confined to husbands and children - all these were sucked into the maw of the machine and had now to reconcile their previous mode of social existence with the new reality of work at the bench or on the line. Those who did not enter the newly developed productive apparatus between 1934 and 1939 were torn from their traditional moorings by the depression, and were available, at the beginning of the war for a stampede into the shipyards, the aircraft factories and the radio shops of the "arsenal of democracy." The industrial reserve army of seventeen million unemployed merged with the millions already at the bench and created the largest and most powerful industrial working class that the world has ever known.
The Contradiction of Semi-Skilled Labor
If these workers had but recently been carrying on their social existence within the confines of family, church and village, they were now part of an Industrial community. If they had but recently come actually or in prospect from occupations in which they controlled their pace of work or lack of it, they now found their lives completely dominated by the schedule of the time-clock, the machine and the assembly line. By the very nature of the new semi-skilled Labor, which on the one hand, necessitated the rapid learning of skills and on the other, degraded the worker to the monotonous repetition of certain operations, these workers were from the very beginning caught in a contradiction. They were neither the skilled artisans of the old aristocracy of labor nor were they the common laborers whose chief asset was their strength. The more each became lit for a variety of labors, the more, he as an individual, became replaceable. The skill of each was not expendable but it was not a monopoly so that the man, if not the skill, was expendable. Out of this contradiction the CIO had exploded in 1936--1937. It represented the instinctive striving of the American working class to tear itself loose from the contradiction between, on the one hand, its degradation by the machine into detailed labor, and, on the other hand, what Marx eighty years ago called the necessity inherent in modem industry for "variation of labor, fluency of function and universal mobility." Deepened and expanded by the war, this contradiction has become a cancer systematically eating away at the vitals of American bourgeois society.
If this contradiction pervaded the roots of the industrial community on the home front, it was even more sharply present in the army. Fourteen million men and women, irrespective of their former occupations, found themselves assigned to functions not only in combat but in transport, ordnance, office and hospital. A farmboy was transformed into a signal corps specialist; a clerk in a shoe store became a combat medic among whose functions was the administration of morphine or plasma to the wounded in accordance with his judgment of the nature of their injuries and the possibility of their recovery. All this was part of the routine experience of every enlisted man. And equally routine but more dramatic was the expendability of any one of them.
To Face With Sober Senses
For millions of workers, therefore, the industrial revolution of the last two decades has meant a combined and concentrated development of the history of modem capitalism. From farm to assembly line, from the home to the shop, from the desk to the machine, from the village to the metropolis, from Texas to Paris, they have experienced within a few short years the infinite variety of the modem world along with the deadly monotony of the labor process, the social insecurity and the circumscribed opportunities of capitalism.
What Marx described one hundred years ago as the essential movement of bourgeois society has come to life for sixty million workers:
"Constant revolutionizing of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainty and agitation distinguish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones. All fixed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away, all new-formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify. All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned and man is at last - compelled to face with sober senses his real conditions of life and his relations with his kind."
The American worker today is facing "his real conditions of life and his relations with his kind." The post-war strikes were the first empirical eruption of this evaluation. Following upon the great wave of strikes, individual workers and groups of workers, in their attempt to explain their actions to themselves, have been carrying on a restless search within their own thoughts, in conversations at the bench and at the bar, and wherever they meet and talk. The suddenness with which millions of workers have had their lives revolutionized by production against the background of capitalist depressions and wars, has transformed the American worker from an easy-going practical empiricist into a thoughtful, questioning, investigator into the realities of the society around him. Whether he goes on strike himself or only reads of others striking, whether he wins or loses his demands, the same question haunts the worker--where is all this leading to? The American workers are today trying to create a conception of social history out of their shattering disillusionment with the promise of the American way of life and the new appreciation of productive powers which they have gained by their experiences in industry and in the army.
Nowhere more than in the United States do the workers, in putting forward their claims as workers, also put forward their claims as human beings. For geographical and historical reasons, based on the absence of feudal restrictions in the United States, the outlet of the frontier and the continual replenishment of the labor force through immigration, the expansion of the country has proceeded uninterruptedly through the expansion of the productive forces of men. The natural riches of the country have been taken for granted. The social wealth, prestige and power of the country is, and has been recognized to be, the result of industry which, robbed of its capitalist integument, is no more than human productive powers. In an impoverished agricultural region like Southern Italy, or on a small island like England which must maintain its empire by maneuverist alliances, the intervention of God or the political genius of statesmen may have been regarded as the decisive factor in the nation's history. The United States, on the other hand, although in general it lacks social thinking, has been dominated by the idea that the universe around us has been created through human energy and foresight. The result is the conviction pervading the thinking of the workers that work has or should have a positive and creative value.
It is not the right to vote which has endeared the American way of life to the American worker, but the opportunity for individual freedom and mobility. The democratic dream which is the ideological fabric of the United States, has never been the dream of political democracy. It has been the conviction, nourished by the actual opportunities in the country for over a hundred years, that every man, the common man, could test his capacities in a variety of ways. To the American workers freedom has been an economic force. The hope, always present although with every year less frequently realized, was that every man could be his "own boss." By which was meant not that he could become a boss over others but that he could in his own little shop or farm, regulate his own hours, put his own ideas into operation. Yesterday, millions of workers actually became their "own boss" in a tavern, an ice cream parlor, a gasoline station, a radio shop. Today the workers in the shop torture themselves with the thought of the impossibility of ever escaping from the factory prison. To the entrenched big bourgeoisie, "free enterprise" meant the right to extort surplus labor from the workers; to the workers "free enterprise" meant freedom from the necessity to sell their labor power to the boss and freedom from control by a boss over their productive hours.
The workers today have lost the sense of economic freedom and look upon their work as a form of bondage. Work has become to them just "labor," just "putting in time." It is to them neither the expression of their own humanity, a means to the development of humanity in general, nor a preparation for eventual freedom. It is only for "the company," and will always be only for "the company." The company is interested only in production for the sake of production. The worker, created by the development of the productive forces, is interested in producing as a human being. The worker enjoys work. On his days off from the auto assembly line, he is as likely as not to spend his time tinkering with his car. Thereby, he expresses in his "free" time the characteristic distinguishing the human species from the animal species. But the difference between free working time and wage working time is never absent from his mind, either in retrospect or in prospect.
It is this much more than the unequal distribution of wealth in the United States which has convinced the American workers of the class character of capitalism. The alienated, non-creative character of his productive activity keeps the American worker in a constant turmoil and questioning regarding the perspectives of such activity. The economist sees unemployment and lack of purchasing power for the workers as the basis of the social crisis and thinks he can resolve the question by "full employment," (e.g. sixty million wage-earning jobs) and higher or guaranteed annual wages. It is a typically bourgeois illusion. The workers today are, as one bourgeois analyst has described it, psychologically unemployed. 2 Working or not working, they are constantly haunted by a feeling of frustration and a fear that they are doomed to remain victims of the attraction and repulsion of capital.
Precisely because American capitalism has been the most revolutionary and progressive of all capitalisms in the sense of unlocking the mysteries of production, there is organic to the American workers a conviction that any social order to which they give their devotion must be revolutionary and progressive in the same sense. It is therefore precisely the previous vigor of American capitalism which is today its greatest weakness in the face of the American working class.
The Alienation of the Workers
The American worker today makes in practice the distinction which Marx made nearly a hundred years ago in theory - the distinction between abstract labor for value and concrete labor for human needs. Marx denied that the essence of value production was the search for profits by the individual capitalists. He specifically denounced the bourgeois political economists who could see the law of motion of capitalist economy only in the greed of individuals. Marx was concerned with the activity of the workers. By value production, he meant production which expanded itself through degradation and dehumanization of the worker to a fragment of a man. The essence of capitalist production is that it is a dynamically developing relation by which the dead labor in the machine, created by the workers, oppresses and degrades to abstract labor the living worker which it employs. Abstract labor is alienated labor, labor in which the worker "develops no free physical and spiritual energy but mortifies his body and ruins his spirit."3 Concrete labor for needs, on the other hand, is not merely nor even essentially the labor which produces butter rather than guns. It is the labor in which man realizes his basic human need for exercising his natural and acquired powers.
Marx described abstract labor in human terms which penetrate to the very roots of the psychological and social reality of today. Alienated labor, he said, "is external to the worker, does not belong to his essence. Therefore, he does not affirm himself in his labor but negates himself. He does not feel contented but dissatisfied... The worker therefore feels himself to be himself away from labor and in labor he feels remote from himself. He is at home when he does not work and when he works, he is not at home. His labor is therefore not free but coerced, forced labor. Labor is therefore not the satisfaction of a need but is only the means to satisfy the needs outside of it."
To read Romano's description of the life in the factory is to realize with shocking clarity how deeply the alienation of labor pervades the very foundations of our society. All the preoccupation of the intellectuals with their own souls and with economic programs for "full employment" and a higher standard of living, fade into insignificance in the face of the oppressive reality of the lifetime of every worker. The importance of Romano's document is that it never for a single moment permits the reader to forget that the contradictions in the process of production make life an agony of toil for the worker, be his payment high or low.
The new society must bring about a revolutionary transformation in the lives of the workers in the shop. That was the axis of Marx's thinking.
Socialist relations of production, he said, are those in which "labor becomes not merely a means to live but is itself the first necessity of living. The powers of production have also increased and all the springs of cooperative wealth are gushing more freely together with the all-around development of the individual."
By the powers of production, Marx meant the fully developed productive powers of the individual workers, freely associated with their fellow workers. Such universality in the workers was the only means for developing universality in the rest of society. Without the universality of the workers, the dehumanization of the whole of society was inevitable.
The capacity and the desire for universality are created by capitalism itself and nowhere more than in the United States. The American worker has little sense of the political history of the country except insofar as it is embodied in a few great names, but the daily experiences of his conscious years give him a conception of the revolutions in production which constitute industrial history. He is therefore in constant revolt against the attempts of bourgeois society to give a mystical character to capital in the process of production by confining him to certain detailed operations. Outside of his working hours, the worker drives a car, a new model every few years, a process which demands from him confident control over the machine and the spontaneous adjustment to a variety of signals. Electrical appliances, the press with its variety of subjects, the movies and television surround him and stimulate his human appreciations. The American worker, and particularly the young worker, is the most mobile in the world. During the course of one year, he may fulfill the technical requirements of a half-dozen jobs as he wanders from factory to factory seeking to escape from the factory altogether. The potentiality of such productive powers forced into the regimen of their limited exercise in the factory is a source of constant frustration to the workers, intensifying their hatred of their work and their anxiety to find another mode of expressing their humanity.
THE HUMAN NATURE OF INDUSTRY
Not only does the potentiality of such productive powers exist in the workers; the means of production themselves have been developed to the stage where only through the free exercise of the workers' productive powers can the machines themselves be employed. Abstract labor reaches its most inhuman depths in machine production. But at the same time, it is only machine production which lays the basis for the fullest human development of concrete labor.
The Social Development of Machinery
For over one hundred years the development of the means of production has been through the transference from the worker of all his skills, capacities and sensitivities. First, by division of labor and the perfection of the detailed operations of the workers under manufacture, the technical basis for the machine was created. Then the machine itself emerged as the embodiment of these detailed operations. The machine had a strictly capitalist use. It was the basis for extracting more surplus labor from the workers by means of its greater regularity, intensity and uniformity. Hence, every incorporation of human powers into the machine was a corresponding dehumanization of the worker. However, at a certain stage of its development, the machine itself began to become so valuable, not only in terms of the capital invested in it but also in terms of the complexity of operations which it embodied, that new qualities were demanded from the workers. At first, it was primarily physical energy which was demanded from the workers. Then with the technical development of the machine, the irregular energy supplied by the workers became insufficient, and first steam power, then electric power became the source of energy. With the substitution of the electric motor in the late nineteenth century, and the increased mobility and flexibility of the machinery, the basic requirements from the workers became training and discipline. What was demanded from the workers was manual dexterity and control, combined with complete subordination to the management in assignment of tasks. This combination, euphemistically known as efficiency, gave birth to a new pattern of thought known as Taylorism. The machine was semi-automatic and demanded a semi-skilled worker, a worker capable of certain manual skills and control but with no intellectual skills or over-all conception of the production process. All such skills and responsibilities became the province of engineers and technicians. Today, the knowledge, science, etc., of the means of production have reached a new stage. With the development of electric power and electronics, completely automatic production is possible and necessary. The units of production can now incorporate complete flexibility, power, precision, freedom of movement and ease of control. But what is required from the workers on such production units is equal flexibility, precision, freedom of movement and ease of control. The workers must themselves become complete masters of the productive powers developed in the instruments of production.
The universality which is embodied in the machines must also be developed in them. What is required in each worker is not only manual but technical knowledge. Even more important, the objectification of all-around human activities in the machine demands the creation of a comparable human sensitivity. The semi-skilled worker is not sufficient, nor is the specialized technician. As the objective world more and more incorporates the human sensitivities of man, man himself must increasingly assimilate the acuteness in perception which characterizes the operations of the objective world.
The Appropriation of Human Nature
"Within the capitalist system all methods for raising the social productiveness of labor are brought about at the cost of the individual laborer; all means for the development of production estrange from him the intellectual potentialities of the labor-process in the same proportion as science is incorporated in it as an independent power." Yet not theory but life shows us that at a certain stage, the increased transference of human science, skills and sensitivities to the machine demands a corresponding integration of the same science, skills and sensitivities in the workers employing the machine. This is the dialectical process so sneered at by the intellectuals. Without a dialectical transformation in which the worker is enriched in human capacities in the same proportion as the means of production, the productive forces inherent in the means of production themselves can not be unleashed.
This dialectical transformation is the essential content of the appropriation by the workers of the means of production. This is the new production relation which the social revolution must introduce a production relation in which the productive forces inherent in both machines and men are unleashed. This production relation is therefore also a new human relation of men to nature and of nature to man.
The workers described by Romano who wander about the plant, hungrily eyeing different machines and different operations, are seeking to make this appropriation and create this new human and natural relation. Their absorption in popular science magazines, startling science stories, museums of industry and art, is also part of this desire for re-integration. To the intellectual, smug in his contempt for the labor process, Marx's social program for the human appropriation of the social productive powers may seem abstract. But the worker who ingeniously devises new tools or carefully thinks through various setups, although in a fit of despair he would as easily break up the machine which dominates him, would have no difficulty in understanding that the new relations of production must be based upon the "free development, intellectual and social, of the individual." No other relations of production could break through the contradiction tearing at the workers in their daily life in the factory.
There may be vulgar materialists whose conception of completely automatic production provides only for robot operators. They betray the typical empiricism and naive realism of those intellectuals who have only contemplated the world and are therefore unable to understand that the world develops through the practical activity of man. Let them ponder the description of the actual design of "machines without men" developed by bourgeois engineers. 4
We must begin by reaffirming the fact that the social and historical essence of the machine, stripped of its capitalist employment, is that it embodies human activities. This social essence has been lost sight of in bourgeois society which in its irrepressible need to expand surplus value by deve1oping ever more powerful machines to exploit the workers, has increasingly designed the machine in terms of end product rather than of operation.
Automatic production requires that the machines be designed in terms of operation rather than of the end product. The new machine is made up of many small units plugged together. Each unit is capable of performing one function, and several plugged together will be capable of doing all the operations required to build a given part. A great number of units linked electrically and by conveyors will produce and assemble a complete product. The complete machine will be highly adaptable and can be rearranged at any time to build a completely different product.
The basic units of the fully automatic factory will perform the following functions: l) To give and receive information, 2) To control through collation 3) To operate on materials.
All these can be performed automatically. The giving and receiving of information can be done through electronic detection devices such as the photoelectric cell; the carrying of information by devices such as the electric circuit; the recording of this information by devices such as the dictaphone and film; and the calculating of such information by devices such as the new electronic-tube counter.
The collation and control device is a system of electronic tubes and circuits that accepts information fed into it by information units and in turn feeds controlled power to the operation units in accordance with this information. The actual operation on materials - transport, fabrication and holding - can all be done by adaptations of familiar machinery.
The Need for Social Man
When Marx analysed the instruments of production as essentially "social objects," he was anticipating just such automatic machinery. A social object contains the totality of human activities as perfected by the previous industrial history of man. Fifty years ago, even twenty years ago, it might have been possible not to understand what Marx had in mind. But the actual inclusion of human sensitivities in the automatic machines being designed today dramatically reveals the essentially human nature of industry.
A social object requires for its control men who embody this human nature in themselves, the social man. Without this social man, the social object has no sense. "Just as for unmusical ears the most beautiful music makes no sense."5 The completely automatic production unit is social also in the sense that it requires the most complete continuity of operations. If at any stage in the process, there is a loss of time, then the whole process is interrupted. Each man, therefore, in control of any particular stage of the process must be aware of the relation of his role in production to that of every other man. That is the essence of planning. Not coordination from above of pieces of steel, or inanimate chess men. Planning, as control from below, is an economic necessity based upon the enormous scope and variety of modern industry. Without the inclusion of this scope and variety in the worker, there is no planning within production but only blueprints for production. The bourgeoisie can conceive and introduce "planning" only in the sense of blueprints because its mental horizon is fettered by the class conception of workers as cogs in a machine, a conception as outmoded in the modern world as the mode of production out of which it developed. In this question -- so critical for national and world economics today -- the Stafford Crippses, for all their selfless devotion, are bound by the same fetters. Administration for the masses is no substitute for administration by the masses.
The yearning of the workers for universality today is no mere desire to acquire skills in a host of interesting jobs or to imitate the skilled craftsmen of an earlier age. The workers conceive of their mastery of the machine as a mastery of the process of large-scale production, and hence as an all-embracing integration of the workers' activity and judgment in a network of complex operations. It is associated humanity which will control production, and it is this control which will make of each man not an isolate individual doing one job or many jobs but a social individual participating in a social project.
Moreover, only arising from the exercise of their human capacities can there exist in the workers the willing cooperation and self-discipline without which the employment of the completely automatic unit is impossible. Without what has been called by Polakov6 a "discipline of mind complying with the laws of nature," life, limb, product, plant and perhaps the whole neighborhood are in serious jeopardy. The example of an airplane crew can give an indication in microcosm of what is necessary on a social scale. The bourgeoisie during the war had to train each member of an air crew in a multiplicity of operations and a knowledge of the sciences embodied in flying. Most, if not all of the crew had to know something about the operations of the others, perhaps not as expertly as the operator, but well enough to take over in case of emergency. Equally important were the sensitivities of the individual members of the crew not only to new conditions but to each other. The human nature of the men was decisive for the functioning of the mechanism. What is true for the plane isolated in the air is even more true of automatic production on a community scale. Unless the workers as individuals and as a social unit are completely aware of the laws of nature as they apply to production, unless their mastery of production is the basis of social organization, unless they are using all their human senses, unless they have appropriated the capacities of the machines, unless they have a human social relation to one another, the mechanism is not only useless to them but a danger to the whole of society.
The Need for Universality
It is this economic need for universality on the part of the workers which makes it so difficult for the capitalists today to introduce completely automatic machinery. The semi-skilled worker of today is a worker within the transition process from semi-automatic machine production to completely automatic power production. His contradictions and frustrations are the contradiction and frustration of a class society which cannot complete the revolutionizing of the instruments of production. The bourgeoisie uses the most advanced techniques and completely automatic processes, to propagandize the worker as to the advantages of capitalism in advertisements, gadgets, means of consumption, but it cannot use them in production because that would require a complete destruction of the class relations of bourgeois society.
The economic necessity for new production relations for fully automatic production is recognized even by bourgeois consultants. Leaver and Brown in the article which we have cited, write:
"The whole trend of present automatic controls and devices applied to present production machines is to degrade the worker into an unskiIled and tradeless non-entity. The development of completely automatic production lines would reverse this by demanding a skilled force of technicians and operators. The astonishingly rapid development of new skills and occupations under the pressures of war shows that men are up to it."
Even more dramatically, Polakov wrote a dozen years ago:
"With the advent of the Power Age, the tendency toward specialized men and universalized machines is gradually changing toward special single-purpose machines and all-around 'universalized' mechanics."
"What the Power Age requires of workers is something altogether different from the qualifications of the Machine Age or the pre-machine era workers."
"The Power Age worker's new requirements--his mental alertness, general intelligence, 'polytechnic literacy' and loyal dependability--are making him less and less a 'beast of burden', a mere 'machine hand', and more and more an intelligent human being, an all-around educated man, defining 'educated man' as 'those who can do everything that others do.' (Hegel)"7
Under Penalty of Death
But it was Marx who eighty years ago in Capital posed the problem with the most dramatic sharpness:
"Modern Industry, through its catastrophes, imposes the necessity of recognizing as a fundamental law of production, variation of work, consequently fitness of the laborer for varied work, consequently the greatest possible development of his varied aptitudes. It becomes a question of life and death for society to adapt the mode of production to the normal functioning of this law. Modern Industry, indeed, compels society, under penalty of death, to replace the detail-worker of today, crippled by life-long repetition of one and the same trivial operation, and thus reduced to a fragment of a man, by the fully developed individual, fit for a variety of labors, ready to face any change of production, and to whom the different social functions he performs, are but so many modes of giving free scope to his own natural and acquired powers."
Modern Industry, contemporary industry, has proved the scientific character of Marx's prognosis. It was no abstract philosophy regarding the universality of men nor sympathy for the degraded detail workers which enabled Marx to write with such penetration and foresight. Because he recognized that the essence of the machine was not its employment of mechanical powers, but rather its human nature, not what it produced but how it produced, he was able to anticipate that in time all human sensitivities would be embodied in machinery and that this, the human nature of industry, would be meaningless to men unless their human capacities were developed correspondingly. As he wrote in 1844:
"On the one hand, therefore, inasmuch as everywhere for man in society, objective actuality becomes the actuality of human essential capacities, human actuality and thus the actuality of his own essential capacities, all objects become for him the objectification of himself; objects affirming and realizing his individuality, his objects, he himself becomes object... Not only in thought but with all his senses, man is thus affirmed in the objective world."
"On the other hand, from the subjective point of view, an object has sense for me only insofar as my essential capacity is subjective capacity for itself, because the sense of an object for me... goes just so far as my sensitivity goes."8
The bourgeoisie today flounders about helplessly in the face of the social ruin which its rule has created. Never have the means of production been so highly developed, yet never have they seemed so inadequate to the task of elementary economic reconstruction. The penalty of death hangs over all humanity. The concrete alternatives are a continuation of the existing barbarism or the rebuilding of society by the enrichment of the human capacities of the workers.
This is one of the deepest aspects of Marx' s concept of historical materialism which has been concretely disclosed by the development of modern society with all its wealth in productive machinery and its poverty in social relations. The class relations of bourgeois production, by being a fetter upon the productive powers of the workers, are also a fetter upon the development of the means of production. The yearning and capacity of the masses for universality is only the concrete proof that the emancipation of society rests with them. The key to increased productivity and the reconstruction of society is the development of the humanity of the workers. It is this perspective of human freedom which the socialist revolution opens up before modern man.
CLASS INDIVIDUAL AND THE SOCIAL INDIVIDUAL
Marx did not write lightly of the penalty of death which faces modern society. The problem of revolutionizing the social relations to conform to the development of the productive forces is so critical for capitalist society, and particularly for American capitalist society, that the bourgeoisie has been forced to take cognizance of it in an organized fashion. At Harvard, for example, under the direction of Professor Elton Mayo, the intellectual servants of the bourgeoisie have advised it that "economic logic" and "technical invention" go hand in hand with an increasing social disintegration.
So hostile is the working class to existing social relations that it carries on an incessant revolt in the labor process itself, not only against any attempts to increase its productivity but also and essentially against any attempt to maintain productivity at all. As early as 1919, Herbert Hoover, head of the European Relief Commission, reported that what was holding up the reconstruction of Europe was "demoralized productivity." Today, the demoralized productivity is so deep-going, so pervasive, that without the destruction of class production relations and the development of universality in the workers, what society faces is the common ruin of the contending classes.
Mayo's researches, carried on in the factories, have led him to the conclusion that the workers function as a group and not as individuals. He writes:
"In every department that continues to operate, the workers have, whether aware of it or not, formed themselves into a group with appropriate customs, duties, routines, even rituals; and management succeeds (or fails) in proportion as it is accepted without reservation by the group as authority and leader."
The bourgeoisie is deeply disturbed at the attitudes of this working group. Nor is their concern only with the workers' hostility to the foreman, supervisor or boss. According to Mayo, the workers govern their activity in the shop by a social code which includes four axioms:
"You should not turn out too much work; if you do, you are a 'ratebuster.'"
"You should not turn out too little work; if you do, you are a chiseler."
"You should not say anything to a supervisor which would react to the detriment of one of your associates."
"You should not be too officious; that is, if you are an inspector, you should not act like one."
Disintegration of Old Social Ties
These four "don'ts" are the expression of the worker's alienation from any social purpose beyond those of the protection of his working group. They symbolize the disintegration of the old social ties of bourgeois society. A disintegration going on apace at its very core. The workers create a new social tie, their class solidarity. But precisely because the class does not find within the given, the capitalist society, any expression of social needs, precisely because it instinctively realizes that the existing social needs are the class needs of an alien class, this new social tie is expressed in a negative manner, creative only in devising means to oppose the given society.
Mayo goes on to say:
"Insistence upon a merely economic logic of production, especially if the logic is frequently changed, interferes with the development of... a code [of human collaboration ] and consequently gives rise in the group to a sense of defeat. This human defeat results in the formation of a social code at a lower level and in opposition to the economic logic."
Mayo does not know how profound are his observations. The workers today, pressing toward the revolution in the productive forces which require their classless universality or existence as social individuals, are instead forced by the production relations of capitalism into a class community. They create new social ties negatively because capitalist production relations prevent them from creating them positively. Their discipline, unity and organization as created by large-scale capitalism, are exercised in the service of their class, and class existence is not social existence but alien existence.
So long, therefore, as class existence is necessary, the workers cannot exercise their complete human capacities. They belong to the community "only as average individuals, only insofar as they live within the conditions of existence of their class... a relationship in which they participate not as individuals but as members of a class." (Marx, German Ideology.) The desire of the workers, and the economic and human necessity of society, is that the workers exist as social individuals. The oppressive weight of bourgeois relations forces them to exist only as average class individuals. "The lower social code" by which they govern themselves is their only protection against the enemy class.
The capitalists fear this "lower social code" because it impedes their need for surplus value and they seek to undermine it by destroying the unity of the workers, creating company men, etc. The workers hate this code because it conflicts with their natural human desire to do a good job and forces them to subordinate their individual personalities to the defensive needs of the class. Nowhere more than in the United States is there such a sharp division "within the life of each individual so far as it is personal and insofar as it is determined by some brand of labor and the conditions pertaining to it." (German Ideology.) The U.S. working class is hostile to class existence because it is a comparatively new working class without the European revolutionary tradition of opposition to the feudal aristocracy and the bourgeoisie. The American workers must struggle as a class and yet they and their confinement to a class position continually oppressive.
Degraded to badge numbers, the individual workers seek to distinguish themselves by their clothing, their knowledge of baseball players, movie stars, etc. They are pressing against the conditions of life of class society. The Negroes, the most oppressed layer and therefore the layer of society most confined to average existence in contemporary society, are the ones who reveal most deadly this contradiction between the human need for individual expression and the class need for uniformity. They hate being regarded as Negroes and yet are determined that society should recognize their growing revolutionary mobilization as Negroes. Each individual Negro may seek individual distinction in dress etc., but the individual distinction immediately becomes a uniformity of the race.
The Fully-Developed Individual
The bourgeoisie seeks to inculcate into the workers the idea that under the new socialist society their individuality will be destroyed. Sceptical tho they are of bourgeois propaganda in general, the workers are not un-receptive to this propaganda. Yet it is the class relations of bourgeois society which regiment the workers at the machine and impose average uniform existence upon their social lives. At every point in production, the workers are deprived of any opportunity for creative individuality. Any positive exercise of inventiveness in productivity would only react to the detriment of their class. "With the community of revolutionary proletarians, on the other hand, who take their conditions of existence and those of all members of society under their control, it is just the reverse; it is as individuals that the individuals participate in it." (German Ideology.)
Marx never wrote of the new socialist society without specifically emphasizing the fully developed individual who would be the basis of such a society. But the essence of individuality for Marx was the expression of self- activity in relation to the development of the productive forces and therefore a historical and not an abstract reality. To be an individual at any stage of society's development, the person must embody the previous gains of the species and the multiplicity of talents which these have made possible.
For nearly a century, capitalism, with its fetishism of commodities, has so dulled man's understanding of himself that he has believed individualism to be indistinguishable from personal aggrandizement and competition with others. Yet, when the bourgeoisie was revolutionary, i.e., could speak in the name of society, the essential characteristic of the successful capitalist was not his increase of his private coffers at the expense of others, but rather his "enterprise" which tore apart the mysteries in which the feudal guilds had surrounded production and destroyed the local barriers separating men from one another. Because the bourgeois revolutions destroyed the feudal fetters on man's self-activity, the bourgeois individual was essentially a co-worker with other individuals, expanding the horizon of society. He was in this sense a social individual. For this reason, the bourgeois individual not only expanded his wealth but also his physical and mental capacities, creating the most vibrant, energetic and cosmopolitan individual that society had ever known. 9
This concept of the social individual has been lost in bourgeois society precisely because the bourgeoisie is no longer self-active, but has become the victim itself of the system which accumulates wealth at one pole while accumulating misery, agony of toil, slavery, ignorance, brutality and degradation at the opposite pole, i.e. on the side of the class that produces its own product in the form of capital. As Marx was the first to point out:
"Private property has made us so stupid and one-sided that an object is ours only when we have it, when it exists for us as capital, or when we possess it directly, eat it, drink it, wear it on our body, in short, use it... For all the physical and spiritual senses, therefore, the sense of possession which is the simple alienation of all these senses, has been substituted." ("Private Property and Communism.")
Hence, with the decline of bourgeois society, or the development of its production relations into fetters upon the self-activity of individuals, the essence of the bourgeois individual becomes ruthless competition and accumulation in antagonism to the rest of society. To get there the "fastest with the mostest," the bourgeois individual must deprive all men, including himself, of all the human senses. Not he but value becomes the subject. He becomes respectable only as personified capital, i.e. to the degree that he serves the self-expansion of capital.
The Creation of New Social Ties
In opposition to the ruthless antagonistic competition of the bourgeoisie, the working class exercises all its ingenuity to devise means of suppressing its productive energies, at the expense not only of the bourgeoisie but even of the working class itself. In many shops what tires the workers out is not chiefly the physical exertions of their labor but the constant attention needed not to give the company a "fair day's work," because the worker refuses to be measured in terms of a "fair day's pay." Since man's essence is to exercise his self-activity and all his senses in a socially productive way, the slowdown, the self-imposed discipline against making suggestions for improving production, the deliberate neglect of the machine, are a constant source of frustration to the workers themselves.
It is only when the routine daily struggle of the class explodes into violent activity against the bourgeoisie (the throwing of a foreman out of the window, the conflict with the police on the mass picket line, etc.), activities which require an overt exercise of their creative energies, that the workers feel themselves as human. As a result, the return from the picket line to the covert class struggle is even more frustrating than if the strike had never taken place. The molecular development of these offensives and retreats can only explode in the revolution which will enable the working class to employ its creative energies not only in smashing the old relations of production but also in establishing new social ties of a positive and creative character.
The solidarity of the working class in its struggle against the capitalist class is only one side of the concept of socialized labor, a side which even the AFL bureaucrat can understand. It does not by any means begin to exhaust or even approximate the profound concept of the new social ties which Marx saw as the essence of socialism. Marx knew well the vulgar Communists of his day with their crude conception of levelling, and he answered them with a history sweep which has been amply justified by the development of the instruments of production.
"Social activity and social spirit by no means exist merely in the form of direct community activity and direct community spirit." However "community activity and spirit, i.e. activity and spirit which are expressed and asserted directly in actual society with other men, are to be found where--ever such an immediate expression of sociality is based on the essential content of the activity and are suited to its nature."
The essential content of productive activity today is the cooperative form of the labor process, the conscious technical application of science, the methodical cultivation of the soil, the transformation of the instruments of labor into instruments of labor only usable in common, the economising of all means of production by their use as the means of production of combined, socialized labor, the entanglement of all peoples in the net of the world-market, and this, the international character of the capitalist regime.
The bourgeoisie maintains a fetter on this essentially social activity by isolating individuals from one another through competition, by separating the intellectual powers of production from the manual labor, by suppressing the creative organizational talents of the broad masses, by dividing the world up into spheres of influence.
This conflict between the invading socialist society and the bourgeois fetters preventing its emergence is part of the daily experience of every worker.
The worker who longs for an overall conception of his production and its relation to others, who walks about speaking to other workers about their work, who emphatically goes through the motions of his co-workers, who sees in the skill of the German workers the key to rebuilding Europe, will understand what Marx meant by social activity because it is precisely this which he is constantly seeking to substitute for the isolation, estrangement and provincialism of bourgeois social relations.
The bourgeoisie in its revolutionary days could exist as social individuals only because it unleashed the creative capacity of human forces. Today, both the material and the human forces can become truly social. The unleashing of these more developed forces today by the proletarian revolution will make the workers into really social individuals who will be more inclusive of society and more representative of the gains of the species than the bourgeoisie was even in its heyday.
IN SOCIETY WITH OTHER MEN
The worker in the modern factory is constantly torn between his human desire to cooperate with his fellow workers and the restricted relation to other men to which he is confined as a detail laborer. The development of all-sided universal man in the productive process is the key to the establishment of human relations between man and man. "That man is alienated from his species-essence means that one man is alienated from another and every man is alienated from human essence." ("Alienated Labor") Conversely, only when man becomes all-round universal man within the process of production, can he have human relations to other men first inside and then outside the process of production. This is the key to the sterility of the petty-bourgeois intellectuals and it is the key to the abolition of the alienated relations between the sexes and the antagonistic relations between the races.
The Intellectuals and the Quest for Universality
The petty-bourgeois intellectuals, today, are seeking for universality but in an alienated fashion because they are themselves the product of the division between manual and mental labor which is the climax of class relations. This division of labor is the culminating point of the inhumanity of class relations because it deprives both poles of the division of one essential aspect of human existence necessary to develop even their economic functions. To the degrading alienation of the manual worker from the intellectual processes of his production, there corresponds the debilitating alienation of the brain worker from the manual application of his ideas. The army aphorism that every officer needed a group of enlisted men to take care of him illustrates the impotence to which even the ruling class is condemned by this division of labor. Corresponding and arising from the monotonous repetition of certain manual tasks by the worker at the machine is the specialization in various detailed phases of technical production by the brain worker. In the oil refining industry, for example, one technician is confined to designing the cooling towers, another to fractionating towers, a third to piping and a fourth to chemical processes. In the rest of society, the same fragmentation develops. To the nurse whose daily existence is haunted by the thermometer and the bed pan, there corresponds at the other pole the eye, ear and nose specialist who performs fifty routine tonsilectomies in a working day. Schoolteachers are compelled to act as drillmasters and policemen to recalcitrant pupils, dissatisfied with an outmoded academic regimen.
If the workers feel their incomplete humanity and struggle against it, the intellectuals and technicians are even more restless because more inclined to introspection, more isolated from one another and therefore without the means for struggle which capitalist production creates for socialized labor. Being more facile and less confined by the immediate needs of their work and with a deep-seated conviction, nourished by their status in society, that they should be universal men, they develop hobbies, create fantastic dreams of a new world or escape to the "sweet monotony of toil" close to the earth.
With the decline of every society and with the consequent inability of the individuals of the ruling class to express any more the social essence of humanity, the petty-bourgeois moralists, horrified by the barbarism and decay, begin to get lost in the philosophic jungle of counterposing the individual as representative of individuality to society as representative of totality. As Marx pointed out, in exposing the idealism of the True Socialists, "Society is abstracted from these individuals, it is made independent, it relapses into savagery on its own, and the individual suffers only as a result of this relapse." (German ldeology) That is how the Existentialists are thinking today. They would rescue the individual from society ("Hell is other people" - Sartre).
Workers' Activity -- the Key
By contrast, Marx, with his eye on the development of social activity and social objects in the process of production, specifically warned: "We should especially avoid re-establishing society as an abstraction opposed to the individual. The individual is the social essence. His expression of life, although it may not appear in the direct form of a communal-type life carried out simultaneously with others, is therefore an expression and assertion of social living. The individual and the species life of man are not distinct." ("Private Property and Communism")
The basic philosophic reason for the incapacity of the petty-bourgeois intellectuals to develop the concept of the social individual is their confinement within the vulgar materialism and uncritical idealism of defining bourgeois society. This is a reflection in thought of the division in class society between manual and mental labor. In its revolutionary days, the bourgeois ideologists could see the basis of society in the productive activity of individual men. (Adam Smith - Labor is the source of all wealth.) Thus the basic class conception of the division of labor between leisure activities and productive activities was for a brief period subordinated in the vigorous industrial development. But with the increasing class differentiation of bourgeois society, productive activity becomes a symbol of degradation.
Industry is not "regarded in connection with the essence of man" but "only in terms of the external relations of utility." Although the products of industry are in reality the "objectified essential capacities of man," they are regarded only as "useful objects in ordinary material industry." Correspondingly, the true universality of men is sought not in the productive process but only in intellectual pursuits like art, science, religion, etc. The more the productive activity of the worker becomes degraded, the more the intellectual takes the "dirt" of labor for granted and seeks salvation in a realm of ideas and programs as remote as possible from the process of production. The petty-bourgeoisie today seeks to build its own philosophic community where ideas hold sway and what is important is not what men think but the fact that they think. Such a Platonic conclusion follows inevitably from the incapacity to see in the misery of the workers anything but misery.
Marx never took his eyes off the workers' activity in production because he never lost sight of the revolution which would transform labor into a human activity. Conversely, because he always had this revolution in mind, his main concern was always the actual life of the workers. As he insisted: "If you proceed from production, you necessarily concern yourself with the real conditions of production and with the productive activity of men. But if you proceed from consumption, you merely declare that consumption is not at present 'human,' that it is necessary to cultivate true consumption and so on. Content with this, you can afford to ignore the real living conditions and the activity of men." (German ldeology.)
The petty-bourgeois economists of the New Deal variety, who seek to alleviate the ills of bourgeois society, follow this pattern precisely. They think always in terms of the underconsumption or inhuman consumption of society. The agitation around atomic energy, for example, is always in terms of its inhuman use and not in terms of the objectified human capacities which it represents and can develop. When a depression threatens, the only solution the economist can find is increased purchasing power for the workers. When automatic production is recommended, the alarm is immediately set up that it will throw men out of work and therefore leave no market. This is the typical petty-bourgeois indifference to the worker' s productive life and therefore to the essential activity of man.
Not only is this so. It cannot be otherwise so long as the degradation of the activity of the worker is the means whereby production is expanded, i.e. so long as the proletariat remains proletariat. All the concentration of the economists and the reformists upon increasing consumption is only a reflection of this essential disregard, inherent in bourgeois society, of the activity of the producers. The problems of consumption will never be re-solved until the release of the human capacities of the producers resolves the problems of production. That is why the proletarian revolution which will release these capacities will bring about such a profound social change. By releasing the productive forces of the producers themselves, it will also release society from the preoccupation with the end-product and the accumulation and distribution of this end product. Men's thoughts can then be turned to the development of man's humanity in the process of production itself.
The Emancipation of Women
The development of man's humanity in the process of production is the only basis for establishing a human relation between men and women. Under the conditions of class society, the relationship of man to woman develops primarily as a sexual relationship and not as a relationship between human beings. "Because man is alienated in the productive process he feels himself more at home in his animal functions, eating, drinking, procreating, while in his human functions he feels more like an animal." ("Alienated Labor" )
The more man feels alienated from his humanity in production, the more he is driven to try to find his humanity, that is, to realize himself, as a man, in consumption, and particularly, in the sexual relation. This is true of the genus Man, i.e. both men and women. The more women are drawn by capitalism out of the division of labor between the sexes in the domestic sphere and into the alienated labor of production in the factory, the more they also feel at home not in their productive activity but in their sexual relations to men. For both, the sexual relation is what Marx called an animal relation because it is abstracted "from the rest of the range of human activity." (ibid) The greater the alienation in production, the greater the necessity to intensify and glorify the sexual relation with romance, etc. In the United States, this glorification has achieved its purest expression because in the United States, without feudal hangovers and with advanced industrial production, the relationship between men and women is a product of the alienated activity of both in the process of production. Within this framework the equality of the sexes is the equality of alienated man and alienated woman. Within the framework of class society, therefore, the emancipation of women is an emancipation of them as females and not as human beings. In order for the sexual relation to become a human relation, i.e. for eating, drinking, and procreating which are also human functions, to become human relations, it is necessary that the genus Man be emancipated from alienated labor. This is not to deny the importance of women struggling as women for emancipation. The workers must assert themselves as a class in order to achieve recognition as human beings and in order to recognize their own strength as human beings. Their class struggle is "the necessary form and energetic principle of the immediate future but it is not as such the goal of human development and the form of human society." ("Private Property and Communism.") Analogously, in order for women not to have to assert themselves as women in order to achieve recognition, it is necessary that the genus Man not be driven to seek in the opposite sex what Marx called his "common needs" rather than his "human needs."
A revolution in the relations between men and women requires a revolution in the mode of production according to the development of the wealth of human capacities contained in industry and hence also in man. "The restricted relation of men to nature determines their restricted relation to one another." (German Ideology.) Today, the basis for overcoming this restricted relation of men to nature lies in the appropriation of the productive powers by man. There can thus be built a new economic foundation for a human rather than a restricted relation between the sexes. In no sphere of human relations will the new social ties be more obvious. For the first time both men and women will be emancipated from the preoccupation with the sexual relation in its biological or romanticized form.
The Human Relation Between the Races
The antagonisms between the races will also find its final resolution only through the development of all-sided universal man in the process of production. The Negro is forced by the oppression of his race in the existing, i.e. capitalist society, to fight as a Negro. This nationalistic revolt continually shakes the stability of the existing society and is therefore one of the most important contributing factors to the success of the proletarian revolution.
It is however, in the social community, created in the heat of the class struggle, e.g., in the sitdown strikes which built the CIO, that the relations between white and Negro workers are the relations between revolutionary men, i.e. men who feel themselves bound in a social cause and therefore instinctively recognize themselves and each other as universal men, social individuals. The pattern laid in this self-mobilization is the pattern which will be created in the process of production itself by the social revolution. A completely new mode of production will be created which will develop the men of both races as universal all-sided men who can have human relations rather than race relations with one another.
So long as each man has an exclusive sphere of activity which is forced upon him and from which he can not escape, he must have an alienated relation to other men and particularly to those men from whom an easy distinction can be made on superficial characteristics. The inhumanity of man to man is the result of the inhumanity of every man in his specifically human, i.e. productive functions. The increasing frustration of man in production drives him to an increasing alienation from his fellow men outside the process of production. Only through the development of all-sided men will this process be reversed. The alternative is a police state to hold together the men alienated from one another in society.
Thus, all problems of social relations in the crisis of contemporary society, the alienation of the manual and mental workers, the family, the state, race tensions--all drive us back to the one essential problem--how to release the humanity of man in the process of production. It was by keeping his eye on the process of production that Marx was able to develop a truly social philosophy in which all men, of both sexes, of all races and of all occupations, were viewed as all-round human beings. This philosophy he called "humanistic naturalism" or "naturalistic humanism." Civilization has never known and could never have known a more human philosophy because civilization has never known a situation where the developed existence of industry and of human psychology can be what Marx called "the opened book of human capacities." The bourgeoisie must keep this book closed. The proletarian revolution will force it open and release all those imprisoned within the alienation and fragmentation of bourgeois society.
THE CRISIS OF THE CAPITALISTS
No ruling class has ever been able to maintain itself for long in the face of contempt from the masses as to its economic powers. The workers today have lost respect for the bourgeoisie as technical administrators. They do not so much hate the bourgeoisie as despise it. The workers every-where say: "It is getting so that supervision don't give a damn about anything." The war brought this contempt to a head when the workers found that, despite the propaganda about the boys at the front, they had to loaf on the job because profits had been guaranteed by cost-plus. The workers recognize that the bourgeoisie's only respectability remains its right to hire and fire, and in strike after strike in the post-war wave, they have defied this cherished prerogative.
Knowing that its economic logic has carried it to this impasse and terrified by the production revolts of the workers, the bourgeoisie is seeking today to resolve its crisis by teaching the bosses to be social administrators rather than technical administrators. Listen to Elton Mayo:
"We do not lack an able administrative elite but the elite of the several civilized powers is at present insufficiently posted in the biological and social facts involved in social organization and control."
"If at all critical posts in communal activity we had intelligent persons capable of analyzing an individual or group attitude in terms of, first the degree of logical misunderstanding manifest; second, the non-logic of social codes in action, and third, the irrational exasperation symptomatic of conflict and baffled effort; if we had an elite capable of such analysis, many of our difficulties would dwindle to vanishing point."
This is the idealism which if organized into political form would be nothing less than Fascism. The big bourgeoisie of Germany created Hitlerism for precisely these ends.
Organic to bourgeois society is the concept that the masses must be administered. If technical administration does not keep them quiet, then social administration must be introduced. If social administration by private capitalists does not succeed in obtaining the collaboration of the workers, then there must be organized social administration of the masses by the state.
Every solution to the discontent of the workers can be tried by the bourgeoisie except the one solution which would get at the roots of the discontent, namely, the appropriation by the workers of all the knowledge, science and control which is incorporated in industry.
The Recourse to Mass Psychiatry
The bourgeoisie is unable to surrender to the workers the human nature of industry. They must therefore construct a theory that the psychological illness of the workers constitutes the human nature of the workers. Compare with this Marx's conception of human psychology as the "opened book of human capacities!" The gap between the psychological conceptions of man as ill and of man as striving toward a complete humanity is not only a theoretical one. It is firmly rooted in the class relations. Because the workers can no longer adapt themselves to the existing, i.e., capitalist society, bourgeois thought can only believe that the fault is with the workers and not with existing society.
Unable to open the book of human capacities, the bourgeoisie seeks to console the workers through the agency of a mediator. The class basis for this mediator was analyzed by Marx one hundred years ago.
"Every self-alienation of man from himself and from nature appears in the relationship by which he surrenders himself and nature to another man differentiated from him. Thus religious self-alienation necessarily appears in the relationship of the layman to the priest, or also, since it is here a question of the intellectual world, to a mediator. In the practical actual world, self-alienation can only appear through the practical actual relation to another man." ("Alienated Labor.")
The bourgeoisie thinks that by listening sympathetically to the personal troubles of the workers, they will thereby give dignity to labor and personality to the workers. This is the confessional of the personnel office, Mr. Anthony in the shop. It is the modern version of the priestly confessional. Stemming from the attitude to the workers in the shop, it is today running riot through all spheres of society, and particularly American society, as is evidenced in the post-war movies.
The Catholic Church was developed to mediate between man and God, who according to the Christian doctrine was only the human nature of man (Christ). In the same way, today, an elite of psychiatrists is to be developed to mediate between the workers and their human nature embodied in industry. The elite is to become man' s priestly nature.
But unlike the priests of the Catholic Church, today's mediators between the workers and their human nature must exercise a total control over the workers precisely because of the striving for totality and universality in the workers. If total control of the productive process is not exercised by the workers, then the mediators must exercise total control of all aspects of the workers' lives. If the social productive powers of the workers are not enriched, then the knowledge by the administrators of the physiology, psychology and sociology of the workers must be thoroughly organized. The solution proposed by Mayo can arise only out of the contempt for the working class so organic to the bourgeoisie and its hired prize-fighters. But for precisely this reason this contempt is not to be dismissed lightly. When challenged, it passes very easily over into fear and desperate counter-revolutionary measures. One year after the defeat of Hitler in Europe, Mayo's book originally written in 1933, was reprinted by Harvard University. It is a warning not only to the workers but also to the petty-bourgeoisie which continues to bury its soul in individual psychiatry when the bourgeoisie is laying a base for mass psychiatry.
The consultants to the bourgeoisie today offer the same solution to the class antagonism as Hegel offered in his time to the Prussian state. What they are calling for are wiser men, better administrators, men who have a consciousness of the new "psychological reality of 1947." As Hegel, viewing the extreme opposition of classes demanded that a universal class be adapted to the task of mediation (Philosophy of Right), so the bourgeois consultants today seek to embody universal knowledge in the administrative elite. In 1819, Hegel began only with the idealism of the intellectuals and their rear of the masses. He had to end with the concept of the totalitarian state. There was no other alternative. Any attempt to make the masses object rather than subject, any attempt to take the initiative way from them at a time when their objective and subjective need is to assume the complete initiative, can only end by stamping out all their initiative. Fascist Germany has given us living proof that as soon as this occurs, barbarism for the rest of the nation follows immediately.
But if this is the perspective today without the social revolution, it is also a guide to the all-sided development of man which the proletarian revolution must introduce. The only effective struggle against Fascism is the revolutionary struggle for universal man. The Lutheran revolution destroyed the priest as mediator and permitted man to become his own interpreter of human nature in God. The proletarian revolution must destroy every barrier which mediates between the workers and the objectively unfolded wealth of their human nature.
THE WORKERS' CRITIQUE OF POLITICS
The rise of Fascism and the impotence of political democracy as a weapon against it have robbed the petty-bourgeoisie of the illusion that its arguments and ideas were the locomotive of history. But the crisis of the petty-bourgeoisie is the crisis of politics and here as always, the instinctive attitudes of the working class must be our guide. The modern American worker is supremely indifferent to politics. Three hundred and sixty-five days in the year, it matters little or nothing to him whether a Democrat or a Republican holds office. And on the three hundred and sixty-sixth day, he usually cares only if it is a presidential year. This lack of political interest has its roots in the American development. The experience of the workers has been that Democratic or Republican, whatever the differences or lack of difference in the platform, successful candidates acted according to the needs of the American capitalist economy.
Because different political parties have made so little difference to the actual development of the American economy, politics has been mainly a competition between groups of capitalists, organized into political machines, to cut for themselves bigger slices of the American pie. The pie was enormous and the politicians were begrudged their cuts only occasionally. Particularly in the cities where the political machines ruled during the invasion of immigrants from Europe, there was complete candor between the machine and the voters as to the code governing elections. Politics was an exchange of votes for the very real if inexpensive favors on the many problems that beset the foreign-born worker in a confusing new environment. However with the integration of the immigrant workers and the passing of the political machine, the machinery of politics has been exposed in all its nakedness. The result has been that the American workers are beginning to make their own profound critique of bourgeois politics as a fraud and a deception making no difference to their actual life.
The Illusory Political Community
In this, the American workers express with unerring instinct the same truth at which Marx arrived by his thoughtful study of the French Revolution. Politics, Marx said, was profoundly and essentially bourgeois. Its basis is the domination of one class over another and its consolation is that it provides the individual who is actually alienated in his material life with the illusion that he is participating in a social community. In their striving for complete emancipation, men go through the stage of political emancipation because it represents a progressive step over the domination of men by the opiate of religion. Religion gives men the illusion of democracy only in the heavenly kingdom. Political democracy at least brings the kingdom closer to earth.
But "political emancipation is the reduction of man, on the one side, to the member of bourgeois society, to the egoistic independent individual, on the other side, to the citizen, to the moral person." The more man is alienated from his true humanity in the process of production as a worker, the stronger must be the opiate that he is a social individual in his political relationships as a citizen. Hence, the necessity for the Fascist state. But "not until the real individual man is identical with the citizen and has become a generic being in his empirical life, in his individual work, in his individual relationships, not until man has recognized and organized his own capacities as social capacities and consequently the social force is no longer divided by the political power, not until then will human emancipation be achieved."
That is what Marx conceived as socialism--the actual appropriation by the workers in their productive material life, of their human capacities. Politics and the state would wither away, because it would no longer be necessary to maintain the illusory political community.
The analysis which Marx made of politics applies not only to bourgeois politics but to all attempts to substitute the political community for the actual community of emancipated man in the labor process. Thus, what dominates the life of the United States today is not the bourgeois parliament in Washington, which is at this moment beginning to appear as little more than an investigations committee, but what has been wisely called the "economic parliaments" of the trade union councils and conventions. It is the trade unions which today form the political community for millions of workers and to which therefore must be applied the Marxist criticism of politics.
The Industrial Organization of Labor
The American worker today has transferred his cynicism regarding bourgeois politics to trade union politics. In the trade union hall and at trade union meetings, he sees different caucuses vying for power and for the administration of the union. In creating the industrial union movement the workers felt that they were creating an instrument for their social emancipation. Now, however, the union appears only as an arena for opposing political groupings. The worker wonders why the labor leaders whom he has created should behave as they do. The answer to his question must be sought in the actual development of the capitalist mode of production. Thereby, we cannot only explain the labor bureaucracy to the workers but also to itself.
A labor union like the United Steel Workers of America embraces close to a million workers and includes not only steel foundries but iron-ore mines of the Mesabi, the aluminum rolling mills of Alcoa, Tennessee, the locomotive shops of Schenectady and the can factories of San Francisco. The structure of such a union is an industrial government with branches and divisions, not only parallelling those of the steel monopolies but even rivalling those of the national government. There is a legal department, a research and engineering department, a contract department, an accounting department, and a legislative department. The trade union machinery corresponds department for department, plant for plant, company for company, city for city, state for state to the machinery of the bourgeoisie.
The overall operations of such a union are the means whereby unity and continuity of production is maintained for different industrial units all the way from the mining of ore to the finishing of steam shovels. The United Steel Workers Union has been aptly termed U.S.A. The petty-bourgeoisie rants about the control which such giant unions have over the country. The big bourgeoisie knows<|fim_middle|> in desperation toward the panacea of a totalitarian state which will destroy the unions and force the workers to produce. Within this stratum today, there are significant numbers who are aware that the whip-hand of Fascism would not spare them. These would rejoice to see the workers establish a new social order based on the release of human productive forces. But while uncomfortably conscious that the present critical situation cannot long endure, they remain skeptical that the working class has the strength and determination necessary to revolutionize society. To stifle in this stratum its deeply-rooted preference for productivity based upon self-discipline and self-development, a Fascist movement would have to resort to monstrous lies, deceptions and force on a scale hitherto unknown.
Steven.
Dec 28 2009 18:32
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about | donate | help out | submitting content | other languages | a-z | contact us | site notes | that without these unions, it would be virtually impossible for it to keep production going for more than a few days. Modern society has reached the point where what is decisive is not the interlocking of financial wealth or directorates but the interlocking of production. For this the union or some kind of organization of labor is absolutely essential.
The union contract which is the constitution of this industrial government is the modus operandi of the actual process of production. It contains the analysis, breakdown and codification of the actual labor process of the millions of workers engaged in these industries. The most important features of the union contract are not the wage rates nor even the hours, but rather the unending rules and regulations regarding classifications of work, conditions of labor, piece-rates, etc.
These classifications and rulings are the classifications and rulings of the alienated, fragmented activity of the workers. They are the modern analogue of the old guild restrictions of feudal society. But whereas the guild restrictions were a barrier to the division of labor necessary to unlock the mysteries of production, today's codifications of alienated labor are a barrier to the reintegration and synthesis necessary to revolutionize the process of production. The revolutionary potentialities inherent in the productive forces, both material and human, have reached the point where the codification of the alienated labor process is a restriction on the economic necessities and actual yearnings of the workers for universality and reintegration.
The union contract governs the life of the worker from morning to night, during every minute of his working hours. The petty-bourgeois concept of the "social contract" was the myth of isolated individuals in which each counted only as one in forming the political community. The union contract is the actual reality of the fragmented individual in the labor process. The workers defend the union contract as a weapon against the bourgeoisie given the present relations of production. Not to defend the contract would intensify their exploitation because it would enable the bourgeoisie to force upon them a quantitative increase in alienated labor of the same quality. Moreover, and even more important, is the fact that the workers have won the contract through class warfare and see it as a symbol of victories won against the bourgeoisie. At the same time, instinctively, the workers feel that the classifications only codify their alienation. The workers fight hard for better contracts, they demand that the labor leaders get better contracts for them. But when the contract is won, the workers sense immediately that it represents a new shackle on them and an added responsibility for continuous production. Hence, they snort at the contract and console themselves that their struggle at least brought them a raise. It is a demonstration of the fact that the reforms of better contracts remain within the framework of alienated labor and only decrease its quantity.
The Dilemma of the Labor Leadership
The labor leader of today has no special privileges or skills to protect as did the organized workers of the old craft unions. More often than not, he has but recently come from the bench, and in actual salary and standard of living does not exceed the workers whom he represents. What corrupts the labor leadership is its role in the process of production itself. The labor leadership is the administrator of the union contract.
Because the labor bureaucracy represents the divisions of labor within the capitalist mode of production, its representation of the ranks must turn into an administration of the ranks. The labor bureaucracy is the agent of the workers but it is the agent of the alienated, i.e. semi-skilled workers. It is not, like the old Social-Democracy, an agent of the capitalists but it is a representative of the capitalist mode of production. The labor bureaucrat sits down with the capitalists and works out time-studies and classifications, not because he is collaborating with them as individuals but because they both represent the capitalist mode of production. That is why there is practically no difference between the time-study provisions of the union, the company and the labor relations board. And that is why, also, every committee man has at some time or other had misgivings about sending an aggrieved worker back to his bench on the basis of such provisions.
The wildcat strikes which have dotted the American landscape since the middle of the war are an expression of the hostility of groups of workers in isolated departments here and there against the alienated character of their labor. Once begun, they become the signal for other workers in other departments to revolt against the general alienation. The sharp words of a foreman, 90° heat, a new division of labor, any one of these can bring about a wildcat strike which erupts in the midst of the interlocking "socialized production" between the various industrial plants. It is precisely for this reason that the labor bureaucracy is so hostile to the wildcat strikes. The union bureaucracy represents the unification and stabilization of alienated labor. On the other hand, the wildcat strikes represent a revolt against alienated labor. The union bureaucracy pledges union responsibility in exchange for union security, but it cannot deliver because union responsibility depends on the ranks, and the ranks do not regard the stabilization of the status quo in production as their mission. The bureaucracy prefers well-organized national strikes to wildcats. Production is paralyzed as a whole, there is no disruption of the interlocking of production, and with everything shut down, there is no necessity for the mass picket lines which can erupt into conflicts with the state.
But the trade unions are not merely a structuralization of the existing mode of production. They are also the fruit of the expanding unity of the workers, a unity expanding along with the cooperative form of the labor process and exploding in the strikes which organize the union in opposition to the bourgeoisie. In this sense, they are schools of communism for the workers and have an intrinsically political character whether or not they take political expression on the parliamentary arena. It is this aspect of the trade union movement, the fact that they threaten a political movement of the working class against the bourgeoisie, which the capitalists fear most and which they are always seeking to undermine. Similarly it is this aspect of the trade unions which the workers are most prepared to defend against any attempts of the bourgeois state to destroy their organized strength.
In the same way, the labor leadership is not only the representative of the bourgeois mode of production but also the militant leadership thrown up by the mass movement. In this sense, the labor leadership represents the social movement of the masses against their alienated labor, represents their creative unity in action, and their need to appropriate the instruments of production in the all-sided way which, as we have shown, is only possible with a completely new mode of production.
The trade union leadership therefore has a dual character. It is the administrator for the capitalist mode of production but it maintains its hold on the masses only through the social, political and economic gains which it represents to the masses as a result of past struggles and as a promise of the future.
The Roman Emperors could not develop a mode of production which would give employment to the proletariat who had known free labor. They had therefore to give them bread and circuses and a political empire in which they could serve as overlords. In the modern world the New Deal bestowed respectability on the system of public works. The union bureaucrats try to avoid this pitfall. But they cannot satisfy the much more deeply rooted yearnings of the modern proletariat for a mode of production in which it can freely exercise its natural and acquired powers. They must therefore attempt by all forms of social programs, e.g., the health, educational and recreational programs of the ILGWU, the political programs of the CIO-PAC, the program for "wage increases without price increases" of Reuther, the welfare funds of Lewis, to justify their leadership of the workers. All the secondary aspects of the misery of the proletariat, the labor leadership can tackle, all material needs it can seek to satisfy, but the basic human need in the proletariat to appropriate the social productive powers in the labor process itself, that the trade union leadership cannot tackle so long as it functions as an integral part of the trade union machinery built on the existing mode of production.
We have treated above the misconception of class society that the real universality of men is not to be found in the labor process but in pursuits outside of it, in religion, art, politics, literature, etc.
Inherent in the wage labor on which capitalist production is built is the ideology that productive activity is merely a means to existence rather than the first necessity of human existence. Productive activity, in other words, is considered in bourgeois society to be labor, a means to satisfaction of needs and not a human need. The shortening of the working day, a fundamental premise for the new socialist relations of production, has been regarded as a means whereby the worker could have more hours to himself outside of production rather than as a means whereby his productive hours could become more human. Yet productive activity is the distinguishing characteristic of the human species, and to unleash such productive activity by developing the all-sided individual in the process of production is the objective of the socialist revolution.
The labor bureaucracy cannot tackle the essential question of the in-human activity of man in the labor process, because to do that it would have to represent a more human and therefore more productive mode of labor. In other words, it would have to pose the social revolution to the workers, not only as ridding society of the capitalist exploiters, but also as the solution of all concrete day-to-day problems arising from their life in the factory in a revolutionary manner. Unless it does this, it must remain confined within the bourgeois ideology of wealth and poverty in material terms.
The Yearning for Social Change
The trade union leadership of today degenerates into rival political machines like the capitalist parties of yesterday because the necessary revolutionary development of production which is now on the order of the day, rests not with it but with the objective needs of the economy rooted in the workers at the bench. Except for a political caucus which represents the movement of the workers toward a revolutionary solution for their life in the factory, each new leadership only administers the alien mode of production as did its predecessors, since each is the prisoner of this framework.
But there is one big difference between the capitalist politicians and the labor politicians. The workers to whom the trade union politicians must appeal are not the immigrants and dispersed artisans, mechanics and laborers of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Rather they are highly concentrated, organized, disciplined by production, and have a deep yearning for social change. Therefore, to capture the allegiance and votes not only of the workers in his own industry but throughout the nation, and also to woo the petty-bourgeoisie, a labor politician like Reuther must put forward a comprehensive program for a New Deal as did the bourgeois politician Roosevelt in an earlier period. Reuther is perfectly aware that the whole movement of industry is in the direction of more extreme centralization of capital and socialization of labor. He is playing his political cards with this in mind. But as Marx pointed out in his analysis of Napoleon III, what appears in one period as tragedy, must appear in its imitation as farce. The American workers have gotten over the shock of the 1929 depression and the confused restlessness which could be appeased by Roosevelt's New Deal. Reuther may stop half-way. The American workers will not. Any movement which would place Reuther or one of the national labor figures at the head of the nation would be the result of such a self-mobilization of the nation's workers and such an attempt to rid themselves of the whole alienation of capitalist production that the labor bureaucracy would either be forced into a counter-revolutionary dictatorship against them or such a fumbling and confusion as would make the impotence of Attlee in Britain look like superb statesmanship.
Into the Realm of Freedom
So sharp is the contradiction within the trade union activist between his role as representative of the social movement of the proletariat and his duties as representative of the alien mode of production, that it is not uncommon for the trade union militants who helped form the CIO in 1936-37 to be returning to their benches or to shop stewardships, relinquishing their posts to ex-AFofL leaders, professional labor leaders, lawyers, etc. They are some of the material from which the revolutionary leadership of the next period will come. The theoretical answer to their dilemma, as it is the answer to the dilemma of all layers of society, is in the understanding of the social movement which brought them to leadership in the mass strikes of 1936-37.
Every major struggle by the workers is a struggle to leap from the realm of necessity into the realm of freedom. When the struggle is over, and the gains have been crystallized in higher wages, shorter hours and union security, it appears that the essence of the movement was not the creative energies of the masses bursting the seams of capitalist society but rather the concrete ends achieved. The CIO, however, coming in a period when, particularly in the United States, an industrial revolution was taking place, when the whole world was agitated by the barbarisms of capitalism and when new deals and new social orders were part of the mental environment of every worker, still retains its revolutionary content in the memories of the workers who participated in its formation. Their hostility to the labor bureaucracy is an expression of their determination not to allow the CIO to become a routine appendage to the capitalist mode of production. As the bourgeois analyst, Peter Drucker, has pointed out, it is this revolutionary content to their unions which makes the workers today press upon their leaders to fight it out rather than to negotiate. In essence, the CIO was a social crusade, an attempt on the part of the American workers to rise to their historic destiny and reconstruct society on new beginnings.
Since World War II new millions have joined this crusade and acquired an organic awareness of the inter-relatedness of production between one department and another, from coal mine to assembly line; between town and country, from continent to continent. For the same reason that they derive a genuine satisfaction from the intricate functioning of this productive mechanism, they are today, more than ever before, seriously disturbed by the constant disruptions and threats of disruptions inseparable from its capitalist administration.
The American bourgeoisie is organically incapable of assuring any perspective of economic and social stability and progress on the one-world scale axiomatic in our time. Already its political front, which had seemed so imposing, is beginning to show signs of great strain. Today, more and more workers say, with that simple directness which requires no proof:
"Sure, we could do it better." In these words, there is contained the workers' recognition of the enormous scope of their natural and acquired powers, and the distorted and wasteful abuse of these powers within the existing society. In these words is contained also the overwhelming anger of the workers against the capitalist barriers stifling their energies and hence victimizing the whole world. Never has society so needed the direct intervention of the workers. Never have the workers been so ready to come to grips with the fundamental problems of society. The destinies of the two are indissolubly united. When the workers take their fate into their own hands, when they seize the power and begin their reconstruction of society, all of mankind will leap from the realm of necessity into the realm of freedom.
Ria Stone
Text from www.prole.info, slightly edited by libcom.org for accuracy
1. National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People
2. "What to Do About Strikes" by Peter Drucker, Colliers, January 1, 1947.
3. "Alienated Labor" from the 1844 Economic-Philosophical Manuscripts of Marx, translated into English and published by the Johnson-Forest tendency, 1947.
4. Summarized from an article entitled "Machines Without Men" by E. W. Leaver and J. J. Brown, Fortune, November 1946
5. "Private property and Communism" from the 1844 Economic-Philosophical Manuscripts of Marx, op. cit.
6. "The Power Age" by Walter N.Polakov, Convici-Friede Publishers, New York, 1933. Who«s Who in America lists Polakov as president of Walter N. Polakov, Inc., Industrial Consultants. He has been an engineer for the Supreme Economic Council in the U. S. S. R. and for the Tennesse Valley Authority.
7. The reference to hegel is in Polakov's text.
8. "Private property and Communism" op. cit.
9. There exists within the United States today a stratum of small businessmen who still remember with pride the years of wage-earning apprenticeship by which they prepared themselves for setting up their own enterprises. With comparatively little capital investment in machinery to discipline the workers, these employers are dependent for their profits almost entirely upon the "cooperation" and willingness to work of their "helpers." The latter, however, have made their own appraisal of the obsolescence of small-scale production by rejecting the handicraft concept of skill or the substitution of tedious hand work for precision machinery. The demoralized productivity of the new generation of workers has created an ominous contradiction in these small capitalists. On the one hand, they constantly recall the energy and initiative by which they got to their present position and fervently wish that the workers of today could develop from within themselves comparable incentives to hard work and increase of skills in the old manner. As they express it, "the workers today have no ambition." On the other hand, sensing that new methods of production and the existing society do not stimulate such "ambition," and driven by the capitalist necessity to expand surplus-value, they look | 3,649 |
Let's Celebrate your Environmental Project!
We want to shine a light on your sustainability/environmental projects as part of '150 ways Schools show Climate Leadership', our celebration of Canada's 150th. Add a leaf to our climate leadership 'tree' by submitting your class or school's environmental stewardship actions or learning activities/projects.
Any teacher that enters will be entered in a draw for a $50 MEC Gift Card - we will be drawing 5 names. We'll invite 20 teachers and some of their students to the celebration on November 4, 2017.
Learn more and submit your project here. Deadline is October 2, 2017.
If you have any questions, please contact Christina at christina@abcee.org.
ACEE has helped arrange for George Marshall to deliver an engaging, interactive workshop - "Talking Climate: How to engage your audiences in conversations about climate change".
Talking Climate has been offered by the Alberta Council for Environmental Education, Alberta Ecotrust and the Pembina Institute, with support from the Calgary Foundation, the City of Edmonton, City of Calgary and Government of Alberta. Through their generous support, the workshops are offered free of charge. George is the author of "Don't Even Think About It - Why our brains are wired to ignore climate change".
These workshops mark the beginning of our program to help build your capacity to increase climate literacy in Alberta through the programs you deliver to students, adults, families and communities. Stay tuned for more information and learn more<|fim_middle|> by the Pembina Institute — the event for innovative thinking and knowledge sharing on energy and climate in Alberta. This year's event will showcase the innovation and opportunities around clean energy that are already underway in Alberta.
The event will bring together 500+ thought leaders from industry, government, environmental NGOs, and community stakeholders to learn from success stories, identify opportunities and challenges, and explore solutions related to Alberta's clean energy future. Learn more here. | about the program here.
This Edutopia article offers a list of real-world learning applications using student collaboration with their peers from around the world. It includes the good work of Edmonton Public teacher Terry Godwaldt and the Centre for Global Education.
Civic Ecology Lab at Cornell University is offering a 5 week on-line environmental education course beginning September 12.
Learn about environmental education foundations and approaches—including place-based education, nature and adventure education, climate change education, and environmental action in schools and non-formal settings—through pre-recorded lectures, readings, and case studies.
The suggested course fee is just $50! This is a great opportunity to dive deeper into the theory underlying environmental education.
This year is the 3rd annual Alberta Climate Summit hosted | 154 |
Namajunas vs Andrade: Athleticism is<|fim_middle|>ora and Marlon Tapales | cheating
On May 15, 2019 May 15, 2019 By fightnewsA-riza
By Connor Ruebusch@BoxingBusch
Bloodyelbow.com
At UFC 237, Rose Namajunas put on one of the finest performances of her career. It lasted almost eight minutes, and ended suddenly when, clinging to a figure-four grip on her opponent's arm, Thug Rose's head was violently introduced to the floor. Like Joanna Jedrzejczyk before her, Namajunas outmaneuvered and outboxed Jessica Andrade, and she did so with more than her predecessor's power. But then Andrade picked her up, and slammed her head against the canvas, and the plywood underneath it.
UFC 237 'Namajunas vs Andrade' – The 6th Round Post-Fight Show by Bloody Elbow Presents
To some in the online fight world, the outcome was more than a mere twist of fate: it was unfair. Namajunas was busy demonstrating all of the skills she had picked up over the course of a six-year career, when along came Andrade to rudely interrupt her. The Brazilian was clearly on the wrong side of a vast skill gap, and yet she was leather tough and bull strong, and the champion was not. When the former bantamweight got her hands on her, none of Rose's careful positioning mattered.
Personally, I saw something different at UFC 237. I saw Andrade weather a brutally difficult first round before upping her pace in round two, dragging Namajunas inexorably toward a hard, exhausting fight, and then suddenly knocking her out before the plan could fully mature. But perhaps I only saw things this way because that was how I expected the fight to unfold. In either case, I sympathize with the feelings of those heartbroken by Namajunas' defeat. When I compare her subtle boxing to the crude clubbing of Andrade, it's easy to see why some sense a shade of injustice in the result.
In the words of my Heavy Hands co-host Phil Mackenzie, I too have often complained that "athleticism is cheating." Some people are simply stronger and faster than others, and that means they can get away with a lot that the lesser athletes can't.
This feeling underlies my hearty appreciation for journeymen and mid-roster fighters. For every Jose Aldo in my personal MMA pantheon, there are two John Makdessis and a Chris Camozzi. Men and women at this level are frequently lacking the kind of ability that separates them from the cream of the crop. While the elite can easily pick up new skills at random and break the rules whenever it suits them, the journeymen must be clever and work hard to develop their craft. Without the room for error that athletic ability grants, their skillsets tend to grow like canyons, narrow but deep.
It's a painful business, following these fighters. When you prize technique and skill, how do you watch Alex Oliveira smashing Tim Means without cringing? How do you endure Evan Dunham getting his liver torn out by Edson Barboza without cursing the gods?
Forget athleticism, specifically. Talent is cheating. Attributes are cheating. How far would Conor McGregor's skills have gotten him without his frame? How great would Demetrious Johnson be if he were only 20 percent slower? Robbie Lawler without power? Jon Jones without height? Carlos Condit with a glass jaw?
Youth is cheating. Or do you think Jared Cannonier would've fared just as well against Anderson Silva at 36 as he did at 44?
Unfairness is, however, the reality of the sport. The saying goes, "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard." In a sport as unpredictable as MMA, this credo carries a lot of weight. Yet we might tack on another clause to clarify things. "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard—but hard-working talent is another story."
And sometimes, talent just wins anyway.
From one perspective, this is a tragic truth of the fight game. A natural law, harsh and cruel. But it's also part of what makes the sport of MMA so fascinating. In some sense, it's baked right in. After all, the difference between a footrace and a fistfight is that the man in last place could win at any moment. Doesn't a comeback KO in the final round sometimes feel like cheating? Whether it's pure skill or raw athleticism at play, it's not exactly just when the losing fighter undoes the winner's hard work in a single, fortunate second.
All of the best games marry chance with skill, just like this. A fighting career is nothing but one long, drawn out game of spades. How you play the cards you're given matters, but the cards you're given matter, too.
It's important to keep in mind that even Rose Namajunas benefits from this reality. She may lack Jessica Andrade's brute strength and staying power, but she has exceptional reach for her division, and unusual speed. A mid-tier strawweight like Angela Hill will never possess Rose's power, nor her dynamism. She will never strike and grapple as well as Namajunas can, not in a single lifetime. Yet Angela Hill went three rounds with Andrade, and beat her in the clinch.
And that's why you root for the little guys. Even when the way is not opened for them, they make whatever path they can manage. In a world where the odds are all too often stacked against you, how do you not valorize the ones who persevere? Especially in a game that tests for will as well as talent, it's comforting to believe that the odds are never too steep for sheer determination to overcome. Usually, the better athlete wins, and you go to sleep with a feeling of righteous indignation; but every once in a while, an aging Michael Bisping comes along and wipes the smirk off destiny's face.
So don't give up hope on Rose Namajunas. If she continues her fighting career, she has more than the outcome of this fight to think on. After all, up to the knockout, she was undeniably winning. Who's to say whether, in a year or two, she can't keep that flow going for another two or three rounds? The way Rose was tattooing Andrade's face, she might not even need that much time. And if all she had to do was let go of Andrade's arm and grab the fence to survive and win, the same fans lamenting her fate today would applaud her, then. In a game this treacherous, even real cheating doesn't always feel like cheating.
This is MMA, a brutal microcosm of our own world. It's unpredictable, it's cruel, and it's unfair—and that's why we love it. Because when you win in this game, it matters.
MMANamajunas vs. Andrade
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A Life with Purpose Brings Happiness
Joey Concepcion Founders Corners June 28, 2018
PHOTO CAPTION: PA Joey Concepcion with wife, Marissa.
Life is a process. From the moment we open our eyes to learn our ABCs and 123s, up to our current endeavors, our lives are a combination of learnings, faults, and successes. Apart from this, we must identify our life's passion and purpose.
Last June 23, I celebrated a milestone year in my life, my 60th birthday. I was with my family and some of our friends and we enjoyed a meaningful bash. I was overwhelmed by all those who greeted me, most especially those in the Go Negosyo Viber groups who are all part of the advocacy.
But among the numerous greetings, there are some which are very special to me. For one, my father JoeCon, despite his memory lapses, greeted me in a video. He cannot believe that I am already<|fim_middle|>And of course the role of the private sector, all of you in the Go Negosyo network, provide the mentorship, money, and market that help to give our micro and small entrepreneurs the chance to succeed.
This is the birthday wish I have for our country. It has always been the greatest wish that I hope to fulfil in my lifetime.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our Go Negosyantes – from our trustees who helped realize the advocacy, to our sponsors and partners who continuously support our programs, to Imee Madarang and Mon Lopez as our former executive directors, to our mentors who are passionately offering their time, effort and expertise, to our mentees who also believe that Go Negosyo can help them achieve growth and success, to the Go Negosyo team who have worked tirelessly for this advocacy, and to all others who are part of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. The past 13 years of Go Negosyo could have not been successful without these people.
I believe that a life with purpose will give us true happiness. So let us all live up to our life's mission. | 60 years old. He said, "Wow, you are getting older like your father." Another favorite message was from my youngest daughter, Isabella. In her Instagram post (a millennial thing), she shared:
"Happy Birthday Pa. Thank you for loving me for who I am. I wish you a long lasting life and good health. Thank you for everything you have done for me. I couldn't be where I am now without you. Words cannot express how much I love you… I would never ask for a better dad. Love you."
We had a small dinner in a restaurant where friends and family shared a few messages and greetings. Isabella confessed that she only gave a five-second message as she was about to cry. She was touched by the messages of other people. She added, "I was bursting of tears. I am so happy that a lot of people support and love you."
In my personal reflection, I realized that if we are to divide our life similar to a basketball game which has four quarters, most of us, or those in my age group are either in the 3rd or 4th quarter of our lives. And we can only hope that the game goes into an extension. An overtime would mean more time to fulfil more goals and aspirations. Good thing, with the advances in medical technology and good genes, an extension is very much possible.
But then what is life without substance and purpose? Longevity is empty. For the past 13 years, I have many people who are now part of Go Negosyo and have supported this advocacy of helping others help themselves. We are all successful in what we do, but we all have decided that it is time to help others become like us by giving those who want it the most a chance to succeed.
This started when PGMA appointed me as presidential adviser for entrepreneurship back in 2005. It started the entrepreneurship advocacy and actively rallied for a change of mindset among Filipinos. What are the odds that in President Duterte's administration, I was asked to be the secretary of trade, but it personally felt that the more capable one was Mon Lopez, Go Negosyo's former executive director. Today, I am proud that Mon is the first secretary of trade who is putting more attention to helping our micro and small entrepreneurs. I am honored to support MSME development as the presidential adviser for entrepreneurship once again, uniting members of the private sector to support the development programs of the government.
Together, this has put greater focus on the needs of our micro and small entrepreneurs. Having senators like Migz Zubiri, Bam Aquino, Grace Poe, Sonny Angara, and Cynthia Villar among those who actively push for greater support to our MSMEs is indeed a plus!
| 563 |
Solstice Soundscapes By Les The DJ
Les Talusan is Les<|fim_middle|> Solstice Saturday at AIB. | the DJ, formerly known as The Pinstriped Rebel. Les has a vast and eclectic collection of pop, indie, and underground hits, as well as obscure gems that can help customize a uniquely personal sound for your event. Les also maintains utmost control across a freeform blend of soul, funk, boogie, disco, and old school hip-hop.
With over 20 years worth of experience, Les is known for her perfectly crafted mixes and commitment to artistic excellence. She also has a long history of supporting organizations that empower AAPI and LGBT communities, women, and youth. Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, Les fell in love with music at a young age, DJing at local clubs and playing in bands. Since moving to DC at age 20, she has continued to develop her talents, performing behind the decks in the U.S. and abroad.
Les hosts the DJ nights Punk Soul Sisters, C'est Chic, Hong Kong Garden, Scorpio Nights, and Taking the P*ss at venues such as Showtime, Slash Run, and Marx Cafe. She also has a weekly radio show, Bahala Na Radio, at Eaton Workshop. Les has DJed for the National League of Cities, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and the National Geographic Channel. Les has been featured in media outlets such as the Washington Post and Refinery29.
June 22 9pm- 11pm
Smithsonian's Arts + Industries Building
Join Les the DJ, formerly The Pinstriped Rebel, as she spins a evening of eclectic hits and obscure musical gems in a freeform blend of sounds as part of | 338 |
Unfortunately, that doesn't tell the entire story. Voters do like the idea of "protections for people with pre-existing conditions" in the abstract. But when pressed, they express significant qualms about the very real trade-offs.
On its face, the poll results might give some conservatives looking to repeal Obamacare's insurance regulations pause. "Continuing protections for people with pre-existing health conditions" was cited as a very important or the most important factor in determining their vote by two-thirds (66 percent) of voters, the highest percentage of all health care issues surveyed.
Moreover, large majorities of voters said it was "very important" to retain provisions "prohibiting health insurance companies from denying coverage because of a person's medical history" (76 percent) and "charging sick people more" (72 percent). Smaller but still sizable majorities of Republicans (58 percent in both cases) supported each issue.
The poll looked at views about pre-existing conditions in a vacuum and did not attempt to examine trade-offs of the policy, or whether individuals valued one policy over another. For instance, among Republicans, repealing Obamacare proved more popular than preserving the pre-existing condition provisions.
Nine percent of Republicans considered Obamacare repeal the "single most important factor" in their vote, with another 49 percent calling it a "very important factor." Compared to that combined 58 percent support, pre-existing condition provisions won 51 percent support, with 8 percent calling them the most important factor, and 43 percent calling them very important.
Unfortunately, the poll did not ask voters whether they preferred Obamacare repeal or preserving the pre-existing condition provisions. I have previously written about the binary choice Republicans face—they can keep the status quo on pre-existing conditions, or they can keep their promise to repeal Obamacare. Framing a survey question in that manner would have provided interesting insights on Americans' (and particularly Republicans') relative priorities on health care. Kaiser did not ask the question.
Initially, voters approved of "requir[ing] insurance companies [to] cover anyone who applies for health insurance, including those who have a pre-existing medical condition" by a whopping 77-20 percent margin.
But when asked if they would approve of such a requirement "if it caused the cost of your health insurance to go up," voters disapproved of this provision by a 35-60 percent margin. If the pre-existing condition provisions raised premiums, support declined by 42 percentage points, and opposition rose by 40 percentage points.
Voters likewise initially approved of the Obamacare provision "that prohibits health insurance companies from charging some customers higher premiums based on pre-existing conditions" by a 63-33 percent margin.
Here again, however, if charging all individuals the same rates meant "the cost of your health insurance would go up," support dropped by 24 points (from 63 percent to 39 percent), while opposition rose by 22 points (from 33 percent to 55 percent). Opposition also rose dramatically if voters thought the pre-existing condition provisions would cause taxes to rise, or the quality of care provided to decrease.
Is This Merely Biased Polling?
I asked Kaiser why they included these types of "malleability" questions regarding single-payer but not pre-existing conditions. Ashley Kirzinger, a Kaiser researcher who worked on the poll, said they were gauging general public responses on the issue. She said Kaiser might study the trade-offs associated with the pre-existing condition policy in the future, but didn't definitively commit to doing so.
That said, a conservative might highlight Kaiser's liberal ideology as another possible explanation why they might not ask voters whether they would support Obamacare's pre-existing condition provisions despite costly trade-offs. For instance, the organization has consistently used the phrase "Affordable Care Act" rather than "Obamacare" to describe the 2010 health care law—and as even a supporter of the law like Jimmy Kimmel found out, the two terms prompt sharply different reactions.
For years, when Obamacare's overall poll ratings remained underwater, liberals loved to argue that "Obamacare is unpopular even though most of its major provisions are highly popular." They could only make that argument because, with the exception of the individual mandate, Kaiser surveyed voter support on the "popular" elements of the law. Kaiser didn't survey public support for all of the other tax increases, nor on the law's effects—premiums going up, people losing coverage, and so forth.
Conservatives have a compelling case to make on the harm that Obamacare's pre-existing condition provisions have wrought—if they have the courage to make it. Thankfully, politicians like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) are doing so, and in the unlikeliest of places: a pickup charity basketball game with Jimmy Kimmel.
Conservatives do have other alternatives to Obamacare's premium-raising requirements that address individuals with pre-existing conditions. For instance, they could revive and reform high-risk pools in place prior to the law. The Heritage Foundation last year proposed regulatory changes to provide continuity of coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. While the Heritage proposal has its flaws, it would likely work better than Obamacare currently does, thereby lowering premiums in the process.
But to advance these other proposals, conservatives must first make the argument that the status quo on pre-existing conditions amounts to a tax increase on millions of Americans who buy individual health insurance. They have the facts on their side—and Kaiser's incomplete survey notwithstanding, those facts may bring the American people to their side as well.
Did Orrin Hatch Call the Wrong Party "Stupid" Over Obamacare?
Hatch ended up apologizing for his comment, but the question remains: If the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee considers Obamacare the "stupidest, dumbass" law on earth, then why on earth are his fellow Republicans so desperate to bail it out?
As I noted back in June, most Republican efforts at a "stability" package appear less designed to arrive at a policy solution than to solve a political problem. Staff seem focused on one metric, and one metric only: lowering health insurance premiums — both in time for the midterm elections this fall, and through the 2020 presidential election. Republicans could easily lower health insurance premiums by repealing the regulations in Obamacare that caused premiums to more than double from 2013 through 2017.
But of course, that approach would involve actually repealing Obamacare. And instead of solving the underlying problem, by repealing the regulations that led premiums to increase, Republicans want to throw money at the problem, giving insurance companies corporate welfare payments hand-over-fist in the hope that these efforts will mitigate ever-rising premiums.
<|fim_middle|> payments in 2017, the agreement would effectively subsidize their flawed assumptions. Some conservatives may be concerned that action to continue the flow of payments would solidify the principle that Obamacare, and therefore insurers, are "too big to fail," which could only encourage further risky behavior by insurers in the future. Moreover, some conservatives may be concerned that, absent Hyde Amendment protections, these payments would subsidize federal insurance plans covering abortion.
State Waiver Substance: On the substance of innovation waivers, the bill would regulatory guidance issued by the Obama Administration in December 2015. Among other actions, that guidance prevented states from using savings from an Obamacare/Exchange waiver to offset higher costs to Medicaid, and vice versa. While supporting the concept of greater flexibility for states, some conservatives may note that, as this guidance was not enacted pursuant to notice-and-comment, the Trump Administration can revoke it at any time—indeed, should have revoked it months ago.
Catastrophic Plans: The bill would allow all individuals to purchase "catastrophic" health plans, and keep those plans in a single risk pool with other Obamacare plans. However, this provision would not apply until 2019—i.e., not for the upcoming plan year.
Outreach Funding: The bill requires HHS to obligate $105.8 million in Exchange user fees to states for "enrollment and outreach activities" for the 2018 and 2019 plan years. Currently, the federal Exchange (healthcare.gov) assesses a user fee of 3.5 percent of premiums on insurers, who ultimately pass these fees on to consumers. In a rule released last December, the outgoing Obama Administration admitted that the Exchange is "gaining economies of scale from functions with fixed costs"—in part because maintaining the Exchange costs less per year than creating one did in 2013-14. However, the Obama Administration rejected any attempt to lower those fees, instead deciding to spend them on outreach efforts. The agreement would re-direct portions of the fees to states for enrollment outreach.
Cross-State Purchasing: Requires HHS to issue regulations (in consultations with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners) within one year regarding health care choice compacts under Obamacare. Such compacts would allow individuals to purchase coverage across state lines. However, because states can already establish health care compacts amongst themselves, and because Obamacare's regulatory mandates would still apply to any such coverage purchased through said compacts, some conservatives may view such language as insufficient and not adding to consumers' affordable coverage options. | This strategy does seem like a "dumbass" approach for several reasons. First, it does not repeal Obamacare. Numerous studies have demonstrated that Obamacare's regulations have raised premiums. Occam's Razor concludes that, if Congress wants to solve the problem of higher premiums, it should start by fixing the underlying reason for those higher premiums.
Second, this approach not only does not repeal Obamacare, it also entrenches it by making it the federal government's business to "lower" health insurance premiums. The federal government has no more business dictating the price of health insurance than it does the price of homes, or food, or shoes. But by throwing more money at the Exchanges, Republicans will make it the business of the federal government — and federal taxpayers — to "lower" health insurance premiums.
If the federal government takes political responsibility for health insurance premiums, the "stability" fund would soon turn into a perpetual — and perpetually expanding — money pit. Even with a theoretical expiration date, Congress would face pressure to renew the fund, lest premiums increase if it lapses. And if premiums continue to rise, politicians would propose even greater corporate welfare payments, to "stabilize" the markets with yet more taxpayer dollars.
That scenario leads to the third problem, which Margaret Thatcher famously described four decades ago: Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people's money.
That quote, coupled with our existing $20 trillion in federal debt, explains why, in their attempts to micro-manage the health insurance system from Washington, the Republican-Socialists who wish to bail out Obamacare have proposed much the same kind of "dumbass" policies as Hatch himself criticized.
Liberals Suddenly Rediscover Federalism — Will Conservatives?
On Thursday, a series of liberal groups sent a letter to the nation's insurance departments, asking them to effectively undermine President Trump's October executive order on health care. In so doing, the Left suddenly rediscovered the virtues of federalism in setting an independent policy course from Washington, particularly when governed by an executive of the opposite party.
Unfortunately, however, because Congress has yet to repeal Obamacare's federally imposed regulations—as I noted just yesterday—legislators in conservative states will have little such recourse to seek freedom from Obamacare unless and until Congress takes action.
The letter, signed by the liberal Center for Budget and Policy Priorities and Families USA along with patient groups and insurer trade associations, asked states to thwart Trump's efforts to broaden insurance offerings.
For instance, the Trump administration likely will revoke an Obama administration rule prohibiting short-term insurance policies—which need not comply with any of Obamacare's statutory requirements—from offering plans of longer than 90 days in duration. In such a circumstance, the liberal groups want states to "act swiftly if the federal rulemaking allows these plans to last beyond a reasonable 'short term'"—in other words, reimpose the 90-day limit on short-term plans, currently codified via federal regulations, on the state level.
In this case, as in most cases with liberal groups, "consumer protection" means protecting individuals from becoming consumers—preventing them from buying insurance plans that liberals do not approve of.
As a supporter of the Tenth Amendment, while I might not agree with state actions designed to prevent the sale of more affordable insurance options, I respect the rights of states to take such measures. Likewise, if Congress repeals Obamacare's mandate to purchase insurance, and states wish to reimpose such a requirement at the state level, they absolutely should have the ability to do so.
Unfortunately, however, Congress' failure to repeal Obamacare's regulations has created a one-way federalism ratchet. Liberal areas can re-impose Obamacare's regime at the state level, by blocking the sale of more affordable insurance plans, or re-imposing a mandate to purchase insurance. But because Congress has left all of Obamacare's federally set regulations in place, conservative states cannot de-impose Obamacare at the state level, to allow more affordable coverage that does not meet all of the law's requirements.
Admittedly, by not thwarting Trump's regulatory actions, conservative states can allow the sale of more affordable insurance products—for now. However, those executive actions have real limits when compared to statutory changes.
Moreover, another president could—and in the case of a Democratic president, almost certainly would—undo those actions, collapsing what little freedom the executive order might infuse into the market. Regardless, states will remain hostage to actions in Washington to determine control of their health insurance marketplaces.
This dynamic brings no small amount of irony: Liberal groups have suddenly discovered the benefits of federalism to "resist" a Trump administration initiative, even as Republican senators like Louisiana's Bill Cassidy, by keeping the federally imposed pre-existing condition mandate in place, want to dictate to other states how their insurance markets should function.
At the risk of sounding like an apostate, liberals are on to something—not with respect to their policy recommendations, but to federalism as a means of achieving them. Perhaps one day, the party that purports to believe in the Tenth Amendment will follow suit, by getting rid of Obamacare's federal regulations once and for all.
Cost-Sharing Reduction Payments: The bill appropriates roughly $25-30 billion in cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers, which offset their costs for providing discounts on deductibles and co-payments to certain low-income individuals enrolled on insurance Exchanges. Late last Thursday, President Trump announced he would halt the payments to insurers, concluding the Administration did not have authority to do so under the Constitution. As a result, the bill includes an explicit appropriation, totaling roughly $3-4 billion for the rest of this calendar year, and $10-11 billion for each of years 2018 and 2019, based on Congressional Budget Office spending estimates.
For 2018 only, the bill includes language allowing states to decline the cost-sharing reduction payments—if they previously approved premium increases that assumed said payments would not be made. If states do not decline the payments, they must certify that said payments will "provide a direct financial benefit to consumers"—that is, they will result in lower premium rates, and/or rebates to consumers. The bill also includes clarifying language regarding the interactions between any such rebates and premium tax credit levels under Obamacare.
Some conservatives may be concerned that, because insurers understood for well over a year that a new Administration could terminate these | 1,310 |
Plymouth State vs Maritime (N.Y.) (Mar 10, 2012)
Plymouth State at Maritime (N.Y.) (Game 2)
Mar 10, 2012 at Throggs Neck, N.Y. (Reinhart Field)
Ben Cronin 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Luke Merrill dh/p 3 1 1 3 1 1 0 1 1
Jeff Runnals rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3
David Tammaro c 3 1 2 0 0 0 7 1 0
Jonathan Bishop p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Joe Hudson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Maritime (N.Y.) 3 (4-2)
J. Proscia 1b 3 1 0 0 1 3 8 0 0
M. Sollin c 3 0 1 2 0 1 6 1 0
J. Longo 2b 3 0 1 0 0 1 2 2 1
J. Semler cf 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1
N. Galli rf 2 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0
M. Jernegan lf 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
M. Dillon dh 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
T. Bauer ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0
P. Kirk 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
T. Cannella p 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0
M. Staropoli p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Castagnaro p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Totals 23 3 4 3 3 8 21 10 4
Maritime (N.Y.)..... 002 100 0 - 3 4 0
E - D.Tammaro. DP - Maritime 1. LOB - Plymouth St. 7; Maritime 4. 2B - S.Beard; R.Wilson; D.Tammaro; M. Sollin. HR - L.Merrill. HBP - M.Cappiello. SH - R.McIntosh 2; T.Regan; T. Bauer. SF - N. Galli. SB - J. Longo; J. Semler.
Jonathan Bishop 5.0 4 3 3 3 7 2 0 0 0 17 22 6 2
Joe Hudson W,1-0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 2
Luke Merrill S,1 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 1
Maritime (N.Y.) ip h r er bb so wp bk hbp ibb ab bf fo go
T. Cannella 6.0 7 2 2 3 5 0 0 0 1 22 27 5 7
M. Staropoli L,0-1 0.1 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 1
Castagnaro 0.2 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 1
Win - J.Hudson (1-0). Loss - M. Staropoli (0-1). Save - L.Merrill (1). WP - J.B<|fim_middle|>agnaro to p for M. Staropoli. D.Foote pinch ran for M.Cappiello. L.Merrill homered, 3 RBI; D.Foote scored; S.Beard scored. R.Wilson struck out swinging. J.Runnals grounded out to p. 3 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Maritime (N.Y.) 7th - B.Cronin to 1b for D.Foote. / for J.Hudson. L.Merrill to p. T. Bauer flied out to cf. P. Kirk grounded out to p. J. Proscia struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Plymouth State 5, Maritime (N.Y.) 3 (Mar 10, 2012 at Throggs Neck, N.Y.) (Game 2)
Maritime (N.Y.)..... 002 100 0 - 3 4 0 (4-2)
Pitchers: Plymouth State - Jonathan Bishop; Joe Hudson(6); Luke Merrill(7). Maritime (N.Y.) -
T. Cannella; M. Staropoli(7); Castagnaro(7).
Win-Joe Hudson(1-0) Save-Luke Merrill(1) Loss-M. Staropoli(0-1) T-2:00 A-50
HR PSU - Luke Merrill. | ishop 2. HBP - by M. Staropoli (M.Cappiello). PB - M. Sollin.
Umpires - HP: Ken McGuire 1B: Dennis Horne
Start: 1:45 p.m Time: 2:00 Attendance: 50
Plymouth State starters: 1/lf S.Beard; 21/2b R.McIntosh; 16/1b M.Cappiello; 8/dh L.Merrill; 17/3b R.Wilson; 11/rf J.Runnals; 27/c D.Tammaro; 15/cf P.Reny; 5/ss T.Regan; 14/p J.Bishop;
Maritime (N.Y.) starters: 51/1b J. Proscia; 24/c M. Sollin; 13/2b J. Longo; 25/cf J. Semler; 8/rf N. Galli; 19/lf M. Jernegan; 28/dh M. Dillon; 2/ss T. Bauer; 21/3b P. Kirk; 11/p T. Cannella;
Plymouth State 1st - S.Beard popped up to p. R.McIntosh grounded out to ss. M.Cappiello singled. L.Merrill flied out to rf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Maritime (N.Y.) 1st - J. Proscia struck out looking. M. Sollin flied out to lf. J. Longo struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Plymouth State 2nd - R.Wilson doubled. J.Runnals grounded out to p; R.Wilson advanced to third. R.Wilson scored on a passed ball. D.Tammaro grounded out to 2b. P.Reny singled. T.Regan struck out swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Maritime (N.Y.) 2nd - J. Semler flied out to cf. N. Galli struck out swinging. M. Jernegan struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Plymouth State 3rd - S.Beard doubled. R.McIntosh grounded out to c, bunt, SAC; S.Beard advanced to third. M.Cappiello intentionally walked. L.Merrill walked; M.Cappiello advanced to second. R.Wilson struck out swinging. J.Runnals flied out to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Maritime (N.Y.) 3rd - M. Dillon singled. M. Dillon advanced to second on a wild pitch. T. Bauer out at first p to 2b, bunt, SAC; M. Dillon advanced to third. P. Kirk struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. J. Proscia walked. M. Sollin doubled, 2 RBI; J. Proscia scored; M. Dillon scored. J. Longo popped up to 1b. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Plymouth State 4th - D.Tammaro doubled. P.Reny walked. T.Regan out at first p to 2b, bunt, SAC; P.Reny advanced to second; D.Tammaro advanced to third. S.Beard singled, RBI; P.Reny advanced to third; D.Tammaro scored. R.McIntosh grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b; S.Beard out on the play. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Maritime (N.Y.) 4th - J. Semler walked. J. Semler stole second, advanced to third on an error by c. N. Galli flied out to lf, SF, RBI; J. Semler scored. M. Jernegan singled. M. Jernegan advanced to second on a wild pitch. M. Dillon walked. T. Bauer flied out to rf. P. Kirk grounded out to 3b. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Plymouth State 5th - M.Cappiello grounded out to p. L.Merrill struck out looking. R.Wilson struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Maritime (N.Y.) 5th - J. Proscia struck out looking. M. Sollin struck out looking. J. Longo singled. J. Longo stole second. J. Semler flied out to rf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Plymouth State 6th - J.Runnals flied out to cf. D.Tammaro singled. P.Reny struck out looking. T.Regan popped up to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Maritime (N.Y.) 6th - J.Hudson to p for J.Bishop. No play. N. Galli grounded out to 2b. M. Jernegan popped up to 1b. M. Dillon grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Plymouth State 7th - M. Staropoli to p for T. Cannella. S.Beard walked. R.McIntosh grounded out to p, bunt, SAC; S.Beard advanced to second. M.Cappiello hit by pitch. Cast | 1,289 |
How Phones Compromise Our Ability To Connect
BY THE GREATER GOOD SCIENCE CENTER
A new<|fim_middle|> Workplace Leadership
What Will the Theme of Your Life Be in the Next... | study shows that when people are on their phones, they smile less, affecting their ability to connect with others.
Mobile phones are ubiquitous. Stand in line at any grocery store or sit in any hospital waiting room, and you see people staring at their phones, presumably catching up on news or work or just relieving their boredom. This seems innocuous enough. But could being on our phones affect our ability to connect with the people around us? A new study aimed to answer that question.
People with phones exhibited fewer smiles overall (and fewer genuine smiles), and spent 30 percent less of the time smiling than people who didn't have their phones with them, signaling less interest in connecting with others.
Researcher Kostadin Kushlev and his colleagues asked pairs of college students, who were strangers to each other, to come into a small lab waiting room—either with or without their phones. They were given no other instructions, but were told the researchers were running a bit late and they needed to wait. While waiting, their faces were secretly videotaped. Afterwards, the students reported how they felt and how much they interacted with the other participant, if at all. Independent coders studied videotapes of the faces of pairs who interacted, measuring how often they smiled, how genuine the smiles were, and how much of the time they spent smiling during their wait. The results? People with phones exhibited fewer smiles overall (and fewer genuine smiles), and spent 30 percent less of the time smiling than people who didn't have their phones with them, signaling less interest in connecting with others. "Smiling is a really powerful social lubricant. When somebody smiles at you, that indicates approachability," says Kushlev. "Our research suggests that phones might actually be impeding this very important approach-related behavior that serves to create new social ties."
What a smile does
Why would people smile less when they have their phones? Kushlev isn't sure, but his prior research has found that people with phones find their interactions less enjoyable and less meaningful. The same may have been true in this situation, though the participants didn't report feeling significantly worse off after their waiting period was over—maybe not a surprise, given that the wait was only 10 minutes. Still, smiling is an unbiased, measurable indicator of happiness, perhaps more reliable than filling out a survey.
Besides indicating happiness, a smile also communicates to others that you're interested in them and trustworthy. So, if phones make us smile less when we're out and about in public, it could thwart our ability to form "weak ties"—connections with neighbors, colleagues, and other non-intimates in our community—that have been shown to have a profound effect on our health and happiness. "Phones might actually have an effect on well-being because we know that interacting, even with strangers, and just having random interactions improves our well-being and makes us feel more connected," says Kushlev.
Though his experiment was designed only to analyze smiling in pairs, Kushlev and his colleagues also noted that thirty-two participants with phones didn't interact at all in the waiting room—while only six people without phones didn't interact. That lends credence to the hypothesis that there's something about having a phone with you that impedes connection with strangers overall.
This is not the first study to find that phones have pernicious impact on social interactions. Indeed, some past research has shown that phones interfere with social conversation and our capacity to engage in activities requiring cognitive focus, which could affect our motivation to engage. Kushlev believes that looking down at our phones could be what explains these results, because looking down sends a signal of disinterest and stalls conversations. Or, he says, it could be that cell phone use drains our cognitive capacity so that we're less able to follow conversations or to interpret others' social signals.
How phones are changing our relationships
Does this mean we should eschew our phones whenever we're out and about? Maybe not, says Kushlev. "There's lots of research that shows phones can help people meet basic psychological needs, maybe make you feel competent, and that can be good for well-being," he says. In his study, he argues, people might have chosen to talk to a friend or to read an article that could have made them happier, if they'd known how long they'd be waiting.
He's not advocating that phones are bad or social impediments, in general. In fact, he says, they can sometimes help us form and improve social ties, like when we use dating apps like Tinder to meet people or when we use them to connect with family who are far away. But he does think that pulling out your phone in public can often be a cop-out, done to avoid any potential awkwardness that can occur in socializing with strangers. "It's this intermittent use of cell phones that can be a problem—where you look at your phone, the conversation doesn't go anywhere, and you're sending a signal that there are more important things to do than to talk to someone else," he says.
Instead of relying on your phone to distract you from discomfort, he suggests turning off notifications or using apps that determine what messages you see when you're out in public. That way, you don't miss out on what's going on around you or on making new connections. You can still use cell phones wisely, he argues, if you better understand their upsides and downsides and take steps to manage them better.
"The point isn't that phones are ruining our lives," he says. "The point is that phones are changing the ways that humans have met and created relationships and formed new social bonds throughout evolution. And that's important to know."
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Home Entertainment Kristen Wiig, from "The Martian" to "Ghostbusters"
Kristen Wiig, from "The Martian" to "Ghostbusters"
Coming off an acclaimed turn in the Oscar-nominated "The Martian," top American comedienne Kristen Wiig stars as Erin Gilbert, a particle physicist, academic firebrand and<|fim_middle|>Erin grew up believing in ghosts – she actually saw a ghost when she was a child, and no one believed her, except Melissa McCarthy's character, Abby," says Wiig. "That really scarred her. She wanted to live a life where she wasn't the weird one, so she left the paranormal world behind and went into academia, becoming a professor at Columbia University. Of course, she finds Abby again and meets Holtzmann and Patty. As it turns out, they're these four misfits that find each other. I love that kind of story."
Wiig relished the chance to do stunts for the film. "It was unlike anything I've ever done before. We couldn't wait to get into the stunt rehearsals."
Wiig was similarly thrilled by the chemistry between the four Ghostbusters. "It's always a great experience when you can find that right project to work with your friends and people that you love," she says. "I've known Melissa for many, many years – we knew each other for almost 10 years before 'Bridesmaids.' She's just really, really fun to work with and we laugh all the time, so it was so nice to be together again. Leslie makes me laugh so hard with everything she does – every time Leslie said something, I would just lose it. It's a very funny character, but I don't even have words for what she does with every line – she's so specific and it comes directly from her. And Kate – Kate's the best. I find her so interesting. She's so fearless – she takes chances every scene. She does the unexpected, and it's always funny. I love watching her."
"Ghostbusters is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.
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8Th Wonder Of The World Revealed In "Kung Fu Panda 3" | spectral warrior in Columbia Pictures' new action-adventure "Ghostbusters" (coming to Philippine cinemas July 15).
"Ghostbusters" makes its long-awaited return, rebooted with a cast of hilarious new characters. Thirty years after the beloved original franchise took the world by storm, director Paul Feig brings his fresh take to the supernatural comedy, joined by some of the funniest actors working today – Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Chris Hemsworth. This July, they're here to save the world!
When it came to casting the role of Erin, director Paul Feig says "Kristen's name just kept coming up, but I didn't even know if she'd want to do it, because she's been showing what a great actress she is in so many dramas lately. Then, out of the blue, my wife was talking to Kristen and she said, 'Oh, I know Paul's doing `Ghostbusters,' and if he'd ever want me to do any little part in it, I'd love to.' That was music to my ears, because Kristen would be so good in this role. She's really one of the funniest people in the world – she makes me laugh and always has."
Wiig's character, Erin Gilbert, believed in ghosts as a child, but as her physics career grew, she realized that her fascination with the paranormal was holding her back and hurting her credibility. She determines to put that old life behind her and forge a new career as a legitimate scientist… until her past comes back to haunt her.
" | 323 |
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03/04/2017 Back to list
Update on AFC Energy's project with De Nora
AFC Energy, the industrial fuel cell power company, is pleased to provide an update to the market on the status of the Company's Joint Development Agreement with De Nora targeting technological enhancements to AFC Energy's fuel cell system.
AFC Energy (AIM: AFC), the industrial fuel cell power company, is pleased to provide an update to the market on the status of the Company's Joint Development Agreement ("JDA") with Industrie De Nora S.p.A. ("De Nora").
Extensive programme of 145 variant fuel cell tests conducted by AFC Energy under the JDA with De Nora
Material improvements in fuel cell longevity and degradation rates achieved vs the successful Gen2 baseline data
Growing confidence at AFC Energy that commercial life expectancy of fuel cell stack may exceed initial target of twelve months within the targeted cost levels
Improvements in fuel cell longevity has potential to materially reduce operating costs and improve the profitability of projects for AFC Energy due to improved operating cost levels
Lower cost of fuel cell operation further increases size of AFC Energy's market opportunity
All testing at AFC Energy now conducted with lower industrial grade (<|fim_middle|> the JDA. The collaboration has been first class and with the direction of travel we are now pursuing and advances made, particularly in the area of cell longevity, I'm confident that the results we are seeing will materially support our conversations with commercial project partners during the coming 12 months."
About AFC Energy
AFC Energy plc has developed and successfully demonstrated an alkaline fuel cell system, which converts hydrogen into "clean" electricity. AFC Energy's key project POWER-UP demonstrated the world's largest operational alkaline fuel cell system at Air Products' industrial gas plant in Stade, Germany in January 2016. The Company is now looking to build upon an already established pipeline of commercial opportunities and drive the findings from the development phase of the technology into a technically optimised and commercially relevant fuel cell system. For further information, please visit our website: ww.afcenergy.com
About De Nora
De Nora is an Italian multinational leader in sustainable technologies that offers energy saving products and water treatment solutions. Globally De Nora is a pioneer of electrodes for electrochemical processes (Chlorine & Caustic, Electronics & Surface Finishing, Pool Electrochlorination, water electrolysis, fuel cells and specialties) and is among the leaders in technologies and processes for the filtration and disinfection of water (industrial use, municipal water and wastewater, marine and offshore oil and gas). The Company has grown organically by continuous innovation and externally through major acquisitions in the USA, Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy. It serves clients in 119 countries and has a physical presence in 11 countries worldwide with 29 offices, including 13 manufacturing facilities, and three research & development centers in Italy, the USA and Japan. The Group intellectual property portfolio currently contains 356 patent families with more than 2,000 territorial extensions.
Industrie De Nora S.p.A.
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AFC Energy press release
De Nora signs JDA with AFC Energy
采购条款
法律通告 | and therefore lower cost) hydrogen without affecting the expected lifetime of the fuel cell system - increases further potential economic market size for the Company's fuel cells
De Nora, a multinational leader in sustainable technologies, and the largest producer of commercial electrodes for all major industrial electrochemical applications internationally, has been a key technology partner to AFC Energy since the second half of 2016. The JDA collaboration, announced to the market in August 2016, was intended to target accelerated technological enhancements to AFC Energy's fuel cell system, lower their cost of production and operation, and further progress the commercialisation of AFC Energy's fuel cell technology platform.
AFC Energy has now performed more than 145 tests with De Nora using several configurations and different system specifications at our Dunsfold facilities, targeting specific variations to aspects of the fuel cell system design, utilising De Nora's experience in the water electrolysis and chlor-alkali industry. An expert team from De Nora, including recognised experts in electro-chemistry from Japan and Europe, have collaborated with AFC Energy's team to deliver a number of material improvements to the AFC Energy fuel cell system.
As a result of these extensive tests, the Company is increasingly confident that it is possible for AFC Energy fuel cells to exceed the Company's commercial lifetime target of 12 months. Several iterations of the fuel cells have shown a robust performance over extended period of time with a materially lower rate of degradation than previously experienced relative to the Gen2 system.
Importantly, based on the results obtained under the JDA, AFC Energy is now targeting a commercial life expectancy well in excess of 12 months and at a lower cost of delivery than earlier generations of its fuel cell. This increase in longevity is expected to materially reduce the cost of power produced and consequently, increase the potential market size of the AFC Energy fuel cell.
The improvements in longevity seen in the JDA tests are being integrated into the Company's current fuel cell stack design and AFC Energy plans to execute further longevity trials confirming the enhancements shortly. These latest design modifications, revised stack engineering and the ability of AFC Energy's fuel cells to use a lower grade hydrogen demonstrates the commercial progression of the AFC Energy fuel cell system with which the Company will be able to penetrate its target markets. The Board believe that a material improvement in longevity, and associated reduction in cost of power will materially support a very competitive "total ownership cost" to AFC Energy's partners and projects
Adam Bond, AFC Energy's Chief Executive Officer, said: "I've been delighted with the progress both companies have made in progressing the respective work packages under | 525 |
Designed to prowl the backcountry, the WeirWolf is the go-to choice for extreme trail riding. Fast rolling center knobs keep pedaling efficient while the razor-like cornering knobs grab the trail (and shake it up like a fuzzy bunny).
Fast roiling when upright, seats easily on reynolds rims and seals up with Stans.
On the rear I found that 26psi was the sweet spot. A few PSI less and it was wobbly and felt like it was going to<|fim_middle|> fast and maneuverable tank that doesn't mind clocking air time. Their pressure is kept a little low to help with climbing, but I've not yet had a pinch flat.
At first, the grip was a bit overwhelming. Others have mentioned a slick spot between the central and external knobs, which is noticeable, but once passed, the tires can be leaned deep into the corners. There is potential for sliding in that gap but the tires hook up quickly after. It just takes a slight adjustment of riding style.
BC's winters offer rain and slippery trails, but these tires did surprisingly well in crawling up slick roots, logs, ladder bridges and boulders, and finding grip in deep, muddy corners. In Missouri,the tires managed to punch through the wet oak leaves (most of the time...) and find purchase in the soil below. The only time that I've had issues was while biking through clay.
Finally, the WeirWolfs are fast. They will get you rolling or bring you to a stop you as fast as you like, and with the large traction patch of the 2.3s, even loose gravel can be treated aggressively. I not only would, but have recommend these to friends, just as they were recommended to me. Cheers and good riding.
- So much grip under normal circumstances. Like the way they bite through angled corners. Never had a XC tire which I could trust on high speed taken trails.
- Rolls also quite fast on tarmac and produces almost no sound at all.
- Far too heavy for an XC riding use (have the AM TCS 2.3). More according to what WTB says.
- You feel the weight in climbs. Tire rolls heavy at low speeds in the dirt when climbing. They grap too much.
Rails corners, even when cutting through fall debris (acorns and wet leaves), but when it comes time to hammer and climb hills, they grab hard!. Great braking traction Yet, On pavement tires roll Smooooth! This really helps when you want to rip some smooth hardpack singletrack, Stopped my Pinchflat problem!
My front feels as if it is a little more floatly and drifty in wet, It doesn't feel as "planted" through the rough stuff, Its not that it becomes unpredictable, Learning curve was steep, it took me a couple rides with a spill or two to adapt. And it was for the better!
Got the Race Compounded 2.3" tire, hard in middle, soft knobby outside! I used to have Nevegals front and rear on my Teocali, I liked them for there awesome traction on rocks and climbing power. I was not a fan of their mud tire like rolling resistance... now I'm running two of these tires and I'm really liking them. You have to lean the bike enough so that the "claws" on the edges are in the dirt...These tires can rail corners! you can whip the rear nice and hard into it, and then just feel the tire plant and grab...Awesome! On climbs, and when getting through mud, these tires like to power through, They will clean out in mud, you just gotta spin them, Clipless help with that! Also since I am running them in the lower pressures, they grab rock nicely enough for me to try bigger and bigger rollers.
Fast rolling tire that does it all and looks great while doing it!!
This is the best tire I've ever used. I've raced it in XC races and done some downhill riding with it. The tire handles whatever you throw at it. It also is a confidence builder. Before you know it youll be railing through corners at high speeds and climbing hills that would normally have you walking the bike.
I put one of these on the front of my bike.
Wow, this thing really hooks in, their marketing is no joke.. It responds incredibly well to outside pedal pressure and it hooks enough to really pull your rear end through the turn, allowing you to tap the breaks and slide around corners in a big cloud of dust. Its fast rolling, climbs great and wants to go fast.
I am using the new version (post 2010) TCS and its a solid tire. Rolls well, can be pointed at anything and just takes it.
Did I mention it corners like its on rails? You feel the transition as a bit of an 'uh oh, here we go' and instead of going down you go THROUGH. Its fantastic.
Beyond that it truly is an all mountain tire. You can hit anything with this. Big downs? No problem. Huge ruts? Ride the edges. Uh oh, high face end to the gully? Cleared it, no problem. Jump ahead, Look out! No problem, hits, sails and lands with confidence, pulling the bike into alignment as you make contact with the earth again.
Really digging this tire. Combined with my Kenda Small Block 8 in the back its an awesome climbing setup that descends like a demon with enough control to not go over and enough drift to really have an amazing time.
Its heavy, like 2x heavy then a normal XC racing tire (800g-1000g, these things vary). Its big, it holds a lot of air. Its not a true 2.3, more like a 2.1 on steroids (not a negative for me but some may be surprised).
Expensive! Like 2x any other similar tire expensive. I bought my at my LBS (I like to support them), probably could have done a lot better at Amazon or one of the online retailers but heck, its like making a $20 donation to the Small Local Bike Shop fund. I'm into that.
Fast and furious. Really enjoying it and it pulls my entire bike through things. I tend to ride dry soft over hard and it locks into it and loves it.
If I was not enjoying the speed and flexibility of my rear Small Block 8 I'd put a 2.1 version of this back there. That may be to close to the Tron Light Cycles though..
4 chilis value, its expensive. But worth it.
love this tire now that i have ridden for a while, good cornering, tacky on rocks, soft cushy feel but fast go figure.
great tire now that i compared it to others.
velociraptors, prowlers on front also good, kenda dart & smoke, vriedstein tiger rear. | wash out. Wore quite quickly, knobs lost their sharp corners, traction was noticeably less, especially on steep delicate sections over rocks. On the front, at 28psi it always felt like it was about to let go in the corner, less and it felt really horrible. I had a few low side washouts probably a combination of the tire and me. Never felt comfortable pushing in to flat corners. It could be that the rim section was too narrow, reynolds carbon ~19mm internal I think. I changed to Maxis and the front feels so much more secure. Oh yea, don't use it in muddy condition you will get no where.
- Grip, lots of grip, at almost any angle.
- Work well on gravel, sand, hardpack, (most) mud, leaves, roots, and plain old dirt.
- Heavier than your standard cross country tire, but not unusually so.
- Gums up in mud with a high clay content.
I've been riding these tires for most of the past year and they do virtually everything asked of them. I have run them briefly on a 2002 Giant Rainier (clearance issues) and predominately on a Barracuda A2F with a rigid fork. They seem to have been made for the latter bike. The tires do a great job of smoothing over the smaller bumps and giving the control to hop or climb over the big ones. It's kind of like riding a tank. A very | 305 |
We've written previously about the possible futures of endpoint security, but about the present? What is the current state of endpoint security? What are the biggest threats facing enterprises' IT perimeters? And are enterprises aware of the lurking threat of unmanaged devices connecting to their networks?
Solutions Review: In your professional opinion, what is the current state of endpoint security?
Sandeep Kumar: As part of today's digital transformation, there is exponential growth in the number and diversity of devices connecting to corporate networks. The rise in unmanaged network-connected devices increases the attack surface of enterprises and allows cybercriminals to capitalize on the weakest link to gain a foothold on your network, which is often the user endpoint.
It is more critical than ever for enterprises to strengthen their endpoint defense and to continuously monitor their network to effectively reduce risk and keep threats out. If compromised devices on the network go undetected, they can be used as launch pads to target higher-value assets, gain access to sensitive information, and cause significant business impact.
SR: Where do you see endpoint protection platforms going in the near future? What capabilities will receive more attention or innovation in the future? Do you feel that this future is the best possible course for cybersecurity?
SK: While there is no shortage of endpoint security products, traditional malware detection technologies are no longer sufficient given today's threat landscape. Many endpoint vendors realize that and are evolving their products into the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) products. In addition, orchestration with endpoint compliance, network threat hunting, and network containment technologies is key to mitigating the impact on other uncompromised endpoints on the network. The solutions that will be successful against today's sophisticated hackers are those that combine next-generation endpoint detection, proactive threat hunting, and automated incident response.
Analysts have noted that the endpoint protection marketing is rapidly evolving. In the future, we can expect to see endpoint protection solutions expand their advanced prevention capabilities with technologies such as machine learning and AI to help keep organizations secure and malicious actors out.
SR: What should enterprises look for in their endpoint security solutions?
SK: According to a recent SANS survey, traditional antivirus solutions are only able to<|fim_middle|> To combat this growing threat, it is critical that organizations have clear visibility into their enterprise networks to monitor devices and reduce risk. After all, organizations' IT staff cannot protect devices of which they aren't aware, and having a complete asset inventory of all devices on the network is a critical foundation for an effective security solution.
SR: What is the most common area of neglect in cybersecurity that you see?
SK: Endpoint visibility is critical for cybersecurity success, yet organizations lack that visibility into all the devices on their network. You cannot protect what you cannot see, and in the age of connected devices, this can be the difference between a data breach and secure network.
It is not only managed endpoints that need protecting but more and more IoT and OT devices are connecting to enterprise networks. A company that protects 99 percent of their devices needs to understand that a bad actor only needs to compromise a single device to penetrate an enterprise network. Recent high-profile breaches are living proof that a skilled attacker can move laterally, or east-west, once inside the network to gain access to confidential business and mission-critical data.
Thank you Sandeep Kumar of ForeScout for your time and expertise! | detect endpoint compromises 47 percent of the time, indicating that signature-based defenses are no longer sufficient in protecting modern enterprises. The most prevalent attacks target traditional corporate endpoints and unmanaged IoT devices. The vast majority exploit known software vulnerabilities and basic configuration errors, so it is important to have a unified endpoint protection strategy across managed and unmanaged devices.
When implementing an endpoint protection strategy, decision-makers must consider what offerings are the right fit for their organization; these solutions are not one-size-fits-all. Enterprises with more limited resources may need more automated tools to adequately manage all their endpoints. In either case, organizations should look at solutions that combine next-gen endpoint protection, proactive threat hunting, and automated incident response.
SR: Apart from selecting the solution that best fits their needs, what can enterprises do to manage their digital risks and improve their cybersecurity posture?
SK: Device visibility must be the foundation of any good cybersecurity strategy. By 2020, the number of network-connected devices will increase to more than 27 billion. Unfortunately, most traditional security solutions aren't capable of protecting or even detecting these devices, since many cannot support security agents. | 231 |
Kristin Beers
Kristin Beers founded Save the Strays Schuylkill, a cat rescue for stray and feral cats. The rescue practices humane trapping and neutering and then returns the cats or puts them up for adoption.
Beers recently rescued 27 cats from poor conditions in Valley View despite the high veterinary bill.
The rescue has helped the community by relieving areas overwhelmed by stray cats, offering services to families who could not afford to neuter their cats, and finding new homes for surrendered cats.
Zachary Chowansky
Zachary Chowansky is a North Schuylkill High School graduate and Millersville University student.
Last year, he participated in the Big 26 Baseball Classic series, which features a buddy program pairing high school players with individuals who have an intellectual or physical disability.
During one of the games, Chowansky hit a home run and gave the ball to his buddy, Aidan, who has autism.
"He went above and beyond in making our Aidan feel special," the nominator said. "I can't say enough about him, except we need clones of guys like this!"
Chowansky said the moment was long lasting.
"Since then, we've been almost like best friends," he said.
Jeffrey Dunkel
Jeffrey Dunkel, of Palo Alto, was nominated for his work in collecting food donations from local businesses. The donations were used to provide free meals to Pottsville Area students.
Dunkel reached out to businesses through social media to help local children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Local heroes helping local kids!" the nominator said in praising Dunkel and other volunteers.
Judy Epting
Judy Epting is an EMT for Auburn Ambulance. She runs the Auburn Ambulance Red Cross blood drives every two months and has sub sales once a month in the winter.
Epting also drives an ambulance during the Memorial Day parade and helps with other community activities.
Bradley Harris
Envoy Bradley Harris is the administrator at the Pottsville Salvation Army. He was nominated for his longtime service to those in need in Pottsville. Harris and the Salvation Army provide access to clothing, food, toys and more.
Kristen Krusnoski
Kristen Krusnoski has been a licensed practical nurse at The Gardens of York Terrace in Pottsville for more than 20 years. Krusnoski is said to go above and beyond her required duties, helping out whenever needed without complaint.
Cindy Lubinsky
Dr. Cindy Lubinsky is a family physician with Integrated Medical Group. She has been posting information daily to keep her patients and the public informed about coronavirus infections in Schuylkill County.
H<|fim_middle|>us
Edward Yarashus is a retired school teacher and caseworker, as well as a dedicated father and husband.
Yarashus was nominated for a heroic act in which he stopped a truck from hitting a child running across the street in August.
"If he would not have reacted so quickly, the consequences could have been deadly," the nominator wrote. | olly Pritiskutch
Holly Pritiskutch is the assistant director for Intensive Behavioral Health Services at Access Services in Orwigsburg.
Pritiskutch was nominated for her consistent trauma informed care throughout the pandemic despite the challenges and restrictions. She has provided support and guidance to other therapists at the agency.
Scott Rarick
Scott Rarick is the assistant fire chief of the Orwigsburg Fire Department. Rarick, known as "Spark," is said to always be on duty, prepared to respond to a tree down in the middle of the night or a fire during the day.
Born and raised in Orwigsburg, Rarick was nominated for his commitment to his hometown, not only through the fire department, but his daily interactions with others.
"Scott Rarick has lived his life giving to others," the nominator said.
Alicia Rathosky
Alicia Rathosky works as an adult counselor at the Sexual Assault Resource & Counseling Center. Rathosky works with survivors at local, state and federal prisons, mental health, drug and alcohol facilities and the SARCC office in Pottsville.
Rathosky has worked with local police and the district attorney during sexual violence investigations and court hearings, developing strong relationships within the community and increasing outreach efforts to support victims.
Edward Yarash | 275 |
But don't worry! We have 2081 available vehicles in your area. Keep shopping or visit us to purchase your dream car today.
Drive away in<|fim_middle|> input, third row, keyless entry, cruise ctrl and many more features that can be found above.
This car is a car you can't miss! The white exterior color on this 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan SE really shines and pairs well with its gray interior seats, which comfortably seats 7 people. When it comes to performance, this 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan SE's 175 hp 6 cyl engine has plenty of power to get you on your way. The automatic transmission in this car shifts silky smooth, and delivers power to this van's 16 inch wheels.
We only stock vans that pass a multi-point inspection*. So, whether you decide to drive this 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan SE off the lot, or another one of our vehicles, you'll have peace of mind.
DriveTime in Cincinnati is your dealership with financing options. This 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan SE, could be yours, just call or visit the DriveTime Cincinnati dealership for financing details, or to test drive this 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan SE. | this 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan SE today located at our DriveTime dealership in Cincinnati, Ohio. This 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan SE in Cincinnati offers several great features including aux | 42 |
The HS Compact Hand<|fim_middle|> technology may be found at www.cipherlinx.com. | held RF transmitter is ideal for remote control and command applications that require the highest level of security. As a part of our HS encoder-based OEM family, it has been pre-certified for FCC Part 15, Industry Canada, and European CE (433MHz only) compliance, reducing costs and time to market. Available in 315, 418 (standard), or 433.92MHz, this compact remote uses an internal antenna element and is capable of transmitting over distances of up to 750 feet when combined with the LR Series RF receiver. The transmitter unit can be configured with 1 to 8 buttons and the keypad and labeling can be modified to meet specific OEM customer requirements. Security is dramatically enhanced by the on-board HS Series encoder, which uses CipherLinx technology, a high-security encryption algorithm and wireless protocol. When paired with an HS Series decoder, transmitter identity can be determined and button permissions established. The unit uses a single 3V CR2032 lithium button cell. CipherLinx is a highly secure, encrypted remote control technology is based on a core algorithm called Skipjack. Developed by the United States National Security Agency (NSA), this algorithm is widely considered to be one of the most secure encryption algorithms available. CipherLinx technology never sends or accepts the same packet twice, and changes codes with every packet sent, not just every button press. Furthermore, it offers a large number of data lines, individual "button level" user permissions, optional encoder PIN, encoder identity output. More details on this | 320 |
'Armenian Affairs' available on Amazon
Eileen Keledjian's novel "Armenian Affairs" has been published through Amazon's Createspace platform.
"It's my love story with the King of Armenian Love Songs," Keledjian said.
Here is how the book is premised:
"Eileen is a beautiful Armenian girl who at the age of eighteen emigrates from Egypt to Los Angeles, California and encounters the King of Armenian<|fim_middle|>) 50 10 81,[email protected]
Advertising dep.: +374 (99) 18 19 87,[email protected][email protected] | love songs, Paul Baghdadlian. It is love at first sight. They fall madly in love, but their unconditional love story is short lived when unexpectedly Paul Baghdadlian's family orchestrates an arranged marriage for him. Heartbroken, Paul Baghdadlian attempts to reunite with Eileen, to no avail. Years later, when Eileen joyfully locates Paul once again, they both realize their passionate love has not subsided and decide to resume their flammable love story -- but yet again, their dream ends tragically. "Armenian Affairs, Paul Baghdadlian, and his Eileen," chronicles the rollercoaster ride of joy and torment the two star-crossed lovers experience as they navigate their lives and careers."
"Armenian Affairs" is also available for sale at Kindle.com, in Hollywood, California, at Parseghian Photo & Records, and in Glendale California, at Artisia, Berj Bookstore, Abril Bookstore and Sardarabad Bookstore.
To promote the book, Keledjian has started an international marketing campaign. Proceeds from the sale will be used to create the film "Armenian Affairs."
Yerevan Productions, 80 Aram str., 0002, Yerevan,Phone: +374 (10 | 266 |
By Newgirl48 on 1/7/2019 at 9:43 PM. Helped by Mary Abram.
Everyone was so awesome. Very helpful and kind. Thanks so much to Mary Abram she's great, go see her. Thanks to everyone else<|fim_middle|> our trade in and avoided the back and forth games that some dealerships play. Would go back again in a heartbeat.
By Bill48 on 2/3/2016 at 5:03 PM. Helped by Marty.
By Dalenkeisha on 12/17/2015 at 3:25 AM. Helped by Avanta Canady.
The customer service was different from other dealers, which was demonstrated in the need of the customer. The service was so great that I'm sold making Priority Nissan of Williamsburg the only place I would purchase another vehicle.
EXCELLANT SERVICE AND AVONTA CANADY.
By newvehman on 11/9/2015 at 10:51 PM. Helped by Avonta Canady.
I JUST LEFT FORD DEALERSHIP AND TRIED PRIORITY. WHAT A CHANGE. AVONTA CANADY SOLD ME ON THE CAR I WANTED. SIMPLY A PLEASURE WORKING WITH.
By LuvNissan on 11/7/2015 at 4:00 PM. Helped by Kevin, Todd Teal.
By Donna on 6/2/2015 at 10:49 PM. Helped by Avonta Canady.
This is by far one of the best experiences I have had when purchasign a new vehicle. My sales consultant was very cordial, knowledgeable and honest. He did not try to just sale me a new car but took time to see what best met my needs in a new vehicle. The general manager took time to introduce himself to me personally and offered to be of any assistance. I think that goes a long way. | i meet, great teamwork.
By Jwglem on 1/5/2019 at 12:03 PM. Helped by Cole Norwood.
Cole was very knowledgeable to vehicles. Great asset to your team. You need more Coles on your staff, he was great Cole worked with me to get what I needed.
By Iampeter on 8/11/2018 at 7:08 PM. Helped by Charles Ingram.
Easy to work with. In and out quickly. The salesman, manager and finance manager were great to work with. Great finance rates too. Highly recommend.
By Brian Aufderheide on 7/13/2018 at 12:31 AM. Helped by Beth.
Went there to replace an air bag that was recalled for my Nissan Versa. Customer waiting area is fine with free Starbucks coffee from a machine. But for my 8:30 am appointment I did not get out till over two hours later for a relatively straightforward replacement that I was told would take thirty minutes. Upon leaving the place, I noticed that my presets for my radio were screwed up and my AC was now dead... like zilch nada. I called from the highway and told them what had happened. I was told that I would have to talk to the head of service and that I would need to bring the car back in. Brought the car back in did not talk to the manager, he had left message with service rep for the car that they would look at it. Waited another hour and a half. Told that the procedure did not affect the AC (battery was disconnected and that caused problems on radio presets) and so would not be taking care of it. It was very annoying cause you could have simply said that over the phone saving me a trip. And yes I get that changing an air bag will not be affecting the AC belt or the refrigerant lines. However it did die and you obviously were in area of wiring harness in the steering wheel. Problem was electrical not mechanical. Informed her that I would not ever be coming back and that I would be posting reviews to that effect. Did not matter... so now I have to find a car electrician to fix problem they caused.
By Berthebb1957 on 5/10/2018 at 12:00 AM. Helped by Joe Kevin Ben Danny and the rest !.
By nicoles7218 on 4/24/2018 at 10:32 PM. Helped by Kevin Fox.
By far the best experience I have ever had and could ever ask for with having my car serviced! I usually go to places like Jiffy Lube or Goodyear, but I seem to be consistently disappointed and my car tends to be worse off than when I dropped it off. Everyone at Priority Nissan was extremely helpful, honest, and friendly throughout the whole process. I had major mechanical issues that needed to be fixed, and they emailed me a thorough vehicle health inspection report with quoted prices for everything. Not only did they provide excellent results for the services I requested (my car is back to how it was when I first bought it!), but they also replaced recalled parts without charge, did a complimentary car wash, and reduced the labor charged for fixing things that were in the same area. I never write reviews, but I had to take a moment to commend these amazing individuals for the quality works they do and their excellent customer service skills. Thank you so much, Priority Nissan!
By Pathfinder service on 1/10/2018 at 5:31 PM. Helped by Patrisha.
Easy to schedule. Able to wait for oil change. Work completed as committed. Very professional, knowledgeable staff. Kept me posted on progress. Comfortable, clean waiting area.
By A_C on 11/22/2017 at 10:02 PM. Helped by Avonta Canady.
Bought a used vehicle at this dealership. Found out 2 days later from the salesman that there were 3 outstanding factory recalls that needed to be performed. Since the vehicle was a Ford and not a Nissan, I was told I had to take the vehicle to the Ford dealership. They should of had these recalls performed before they sold the vehicle. Very inconvenient and had to take time out of my schedule to have them completed. I was told a CarFax report had been run on the vehicle but I never received it. Called back and was told that since the car was sold, they no longer had access to the report, would have to pay for it out of my pocket. Not happy with this dealership and I would not recommend this dealership to family or friends if they were in the market to purchase a vehicle.
By Pgasparac on 4/28/2017 at 4:29 PM. Helped by Avonte.
I have bought three vehicles from the Nissan I Williamsburg. The first vehicle I'm still waiting for tags for that that's been over 60 days. The second vehicle would like a lemon and we had to take it back do you to the engine light coming on had a major leak on the inside of the engine and they try to sell it to us. But their vehicle with my daughters soon as I got in the vehicle I knew there was something wrong with the back tire had to take it back and it took a couple days to get that fixed. It's always something with Nissan!!!!!
By Allen on 11/29/2016 at 6:53 PM. Helped by Todd.
By lawrence hayes on 9/4/2016 at 3:42 AM. Helped by Patrisha Querubin andd others doinlt remember all the names.
The service department was very helpful. I, was on a tight schedule they got me in very fast. They service Advisor , Patrisha Querubin, who took care of me , was great . Took care of everything quick. Very nice people in the department.
By Chatty Cathy on 7/3/2016 at 7:05 PM. Helped by Lonnie (?), Royce.
Stopped in to see what was available. The salesman was thorough and knew what I was looking for. I didn't expect to buy that day, but I couldn't refuse their offer. I would highly recommend this dealership.
By Summer fun in a drop top on 3/23/2016 at 1:10 AM. Helped by Annie Sears, Randall Plaxa.
I found a Mazda Miata advertised on rhe Priority website and asked about it via an email to Annie Sears. I came in to ask about it and apparently it had been sold. Annie introduced me to Randall Plaxa and he showed me a Volkswagen EOS convertible hardtop. I went home with an awesome car from an awesome deal and dealer.
By figglets on 3/8/2016 at 1:35 AM. Helped by Randall Plaxa, Avanta, Annie Sears, Russ Beach.
Went to the dealership expecting to look at an Armada; ended up purchasing a Ford Expedition. Randall Plaxa and the entire staff could not have been more helpful. They were extremely fair with | 1,540 |
South Asian Forum of Employers || SAFE :: Summary & Draft Report of last meeting at Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2nd & 3rd October 2012
Subject :Report part 01 - Introduction.. 09-01-2013 02:17:44
The sessions commenced with the welcome address delivered by Mr. Gotabaya Dasanayaka, Senior Specialist – Employers' Activities, ILO/DWT – New Delhi. Welcoming participants to the 2nd meeting of the South Asian Forum of Employers, Mr. Dasanayaka stated that this was an initiative of the Dutch Employers' Cooperation Programme (DECP) in collaboration with the Employers' Activities Bureau of the ILO (International Training Center Turin). Recalling the first meeting of this group held in October 2011, he highlightd the objectives of the initiative : To enable through knowledge and information sharing representative and effective National Employers' Organizational support, business growth and socio economis stability within and among the South Asian Nations and also to focus on effective Employers' Organizations at National level and their collaborative engagement at sub-regional level.
In his address<|fim_middle|> to fora such as this, and also that sub regional corporation is vital for the application and interpretation of labour standards. He stressed that all members of this forum should echo one single collective voice on issues of importance to the region as a whole.
Mr. Jan Karel Bout, Special Advisor of DECP also addressed the gathering. The DEC, he said, was a public/private partnership between the Dutch Government and the Employers' Organizations in the Netherlands which is focused on promoting private enterprise through the constructive engagement of the private sector with the Government in socio-economic policy making and implementation. He echoed the thoughts of the previous speakers that the world is ever dynamic and fast changing; however, despite the recent slumps of the economy, signs of economic revival can be seen in some quarters. This, he said, will and should be a process which brings nations together, as we are all in the process of convergence of regions of the world. He further stressed that the private sector must urge their Governments and that the challenge will be to explain governments the importance of striking a balance between the priorities of all stakeholders in the interest of sustainable economic growth. He said that SAFE must be a 'club' of employers' organizations which work together to improve economic conditions within their respective countries and also the region, and that SAFE can also act as a knowledge sharing base towards this end. He reiterated the importance for SAFE to work further on strengthening its collective role.
Mr. Arnout De Koster, Manager Employers' Activities Unit, ITC ILO stated that the focus of the workshop is on South Asian economies in both the national as well as global contexts, and to equip employers' organizations to meet the new challenges in the areas of internal processes, membership, mandates, services etc.
Recap– main conclusions of the 2011 Workshop and achievements of SAFE in the past year – Mr. Gotabaya Dassanayaka
Whereas Asia has made significant economic progress in recent years more needs to be done and achieved to improve the investment/ business climate particularly in the South Asian sub region.
The sub region with a combined population of approximately 1.4 billion has enormous yet untapped economic potential.
Employers' Organizations have a key role to play in influencing National Policy in relaxation to labour and employment in the context of overall National competiveness in the global market.
EOs need to expand the scope of activities to encompass trade and business aspects in a holistic manner for which coordination with other business organizations is critical.
EOs have a particularly important role to play in providing leadership and guidance to business on labour issues related to trade to facilitate trade competitiveness in the global market.
EOs need to focus on their lobby/advocacy role and develop/provide relevant services to members and business in general to facilitate investment and sustainable enterprises.
EOs in the sub region should work towards greater sub regional corporation in the mutual interest of the EOs and the sub region as a whole.
Last Edited On: 09-01-2013 05:40:11 By Webmaster for the Reason | , Mr. Donglin Lee ILO Country Director in Sri Lanka noted that the title of the 2nd meeting is highly relevant and timely and that the future is much about creating employment opportunities amidst fast global changes. He stated that approximately 75 million youth are unemployed and that the worst affected among them are women. He also stated that almost half of the world's working population lack social security and that problems such as child labour are still in existence. He further elaborated that youth unemployment is a global issue and that it is of vital importance that solutions should be developed to confront these challenges, and thereby strengthen the future of the private sector.
Chairman of the Employers' Federation of Ceylon, Mr. Rajan Britto speaking at the inauguration noted that the sharing of experiences among regional employers' organizations had already begun, thanks | 168 |
[Commlist] Head of School, School of Creative Arts and Industries, Canterbury Christ Church University
Tue Jun 18 16:33:30 GMT 2019
*Job title*Head of School, School of Creative Arts and Industries
*Application closing date*09/07/2019
*Location*Canterbury
*Competitive Salary and benefits package*
*The University is being supported in this appointment by the executive search firm, Berwick Partners. All direct and third party applications should be made through them.*
Canterbury Christ Church University is a modern, dynamic University with some 17,000 students. Our vision is to pursue excellence in higher education by transforming the lives of individuals, enriching communities and creating a University that is an inspiring place to work and where everyone's contribution is equally valued.
The University is currently undergoing rapid change as we consolidate and develop our campus presence in Canterbury whilst investing in new subject areas through the joint School of Medicine and the School of Engineering, Technology and Design. Alongside these investments we are currently seeking an inaugural Head to lead the newly created School of Creative Arts and Industries. The School brings together our existing strengths across Music, Performing Arts, Media, Art and<|fim_middle|> cross-faculty working. The appointed candidate will be genuinely passionate about the mission, values and culture nurtured at Canterbury Christ Church University.
Interviews for this position will be held on the 18th and 19th July.
For further information and to apply for this position please follow the below link
https://www.berwickpartners.co.uk/opportunities/assignment/70704/
Head of School, School of Creative Arts and Industries, Canterbury Christ Church University, Competitive Salary - Berwick Partners <https://www.berwickpartners.co.uk/opportunities/assignment/70704/>
www.berwickpartners.co.uk
Canterbury Christ Church University is a modern, dynamic University with some 17,000 students. Our vision is to pursue excellence in higher education by transforming the lives of individuals, enriching communities and creating a University that is an inspiring place to work and where everyone's contribution is equally valued. | Design, and creates new space for interdisciplinary subject exploration and enhancement to support and strengthen the creative and digital economy in Kent, the South East and beyond. The School will build further on a long-established record of arts and culture partnership work with external stakeholders, and strengthen the enterprise and business engagement agendas.
The School occupies our new state-of-the-art, GBP 12 million Daphne Oram building, a bespoke and specialist creative arts teaching facility which provides collaborative work areas, dark rooms, print room, recording studios, and practice and performance spaces. The versatility of the building opens up exciting possibilities to innovate in programme and module design at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and to achieve new forms of student experience and co-creative engagements.
We are seeking an experienced strategic leader who will provide the overall academic and professional leadership of the School's work, developing a culture that values individuals' contributions whilst raising achievement and increasing innovative, enhancing, interdisciplinary and | 187 |
The term scrim tape may not sound familiar to you, but it is one of the commonly used plastering supplies. It comes in different sizes to suit different needs. It is an inexpensive type of tape with specific applications.
What sizes can i expect the scrim tape come in?
Scrim tapes are self-adhesive tapes made of a firm open-weave fabric. They look like a slightly thicker gauze used in medicine or a fine-mesh net but with an adhesive side. They are very long strips with a consistent width rolled in circles just like how most other adhesive tapes appear. They are typically from 48mm to 100mm wide. You can also find scrim tapes that are 200mm wide. Their lengths, on the other hand, can be from 90 meters to 200 meters.
What is scrim tape used for?
The main purpose of scrim tapes is to ensure the seamless and strong connection of plasterboards. Installing plasterboards inevitably creates gaps between two adjacent sheets. Even the most precise installers cannot eliminate these gaps. You can't find plasterboards that are wide enough to completely cover an entire wall that you don't have to worry about the gaps.
When the boards are consequently plastered sans the scrim tapes, the gaps become weak spots that can easily lead to cracks. Scrim tapes are applied to address this problem with crack-prone weak points. They work literally "behind the scenes" as the plaster eventually covers them.
Certainly, the open-weave design of scrim tapes is not an aimless differentiation. It appears as an adhesive fine-mesh strip of the net because of a specific purpose, particularly in construction. This design allows the tape to attach to both edges of the adjacent plasterboards and secure in place the plaster coat applied on and around the gaps between connecting plasterboards.
What surfaces does scrim tape work best on<|fim_middle|> time and eliminating the need for pre-plastering. It comes in sizes 48mm x 90mm and 100mm x 90mm. it's manufacturer is the UK's largest of its kind, manufacturing sealants, adhesives, fillers and building chemicals. It's perfect for use on drywalls, plastered walls and ceilings. | ?
Scrim tapes are not meant to stick to a surface strongly. Their adhesiveness does not have to be as strong as those of glues used to connect wood, glass, or metal. They only need to be adhesive enough to stick to the plasterboard so the plaster coat can be applied properly and evenly. Their primary role is to prevent the plaster coating from falling off and facilitate proper curing.
Designed for plasterboards and other similar surfaces, scrim tapes works with smooth to slightly rough surfaces. Adhesiveness depends on the extent of the surface the adhesive tape sticks onto. That's why scrim tapes work better with smooth surfaces than with very rough surfaces. With uneven surfaces such as unfinished or partially finished concrete, the scrim tape only attaches to a limited surface area. This limited surface for bonding results in a weak adhesion.
Be sure to choose high-quality scrim tapes and plastering supplies to achieve the best plastering results. Also, be properly acquainted with the right ways of using scrim tapes.
Plasterers 1 Stop Shop offer a great range of high quality and affordable scrim tapes. We focus on quality and the ability to get the job done and that is why we have chosen the selected products to stock. With a variety of different sizes, we are certain that we have the size and type of scrim tape to suit your needs at affordable prices.
Everyone's scrim tape needs will vary depending on the themselves, their project and their preferences so it can be quite tricky to land on the scrim tape that's right for you. We suggest you sit down and assess your own situation, think of your needs as a person, as an individual practitioner and as a business, then do some research around our products and make an informed decision. If you haven't got time and you're not sure, give us a call and we'll be extremely happy to help.
Our Catnic Scrim Tape is self-adhesive with fiberglass mesh. It's the perfect combination of thin and light and extremely strong and easy to use. It greatly increases joint strength and durability for less cracking. It comes in the size 50mm by 90mm. The Catnic Scrim Tape is high quality and used by construction workers across the United Kingdom and Europe. It can be used for reinforcing joints and making repairs on plasterboard.
Catnic is the UK's leading manufacturer of steel construction products for the residential sector and are a Welsh company based in Caerphilly. They are a Tata Steel Enterprise and brought steel lintel into the construction industry in the 1960s. Many professionals around the world rely on Catnic products to get the job done and for its technical expertise to make sure that their projects are completed to the highest possible standards. Their stock is distributed throughout Europe and the Middle East through their network of builders, contractors etc. which is constantly expanding. Catnic's product-range is ever-expanding and we are extremely proud to be able to supply their scrim tape.
The second scrim tape that we provide is Euroscrim. This is premium quality and is quick and easy to apply. It used a quality high-tack adhesive and an open mesh that does not blister or bubble, creating perfect joints every single | 646 |
Our partners are critical to the success of the Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC's) Conservation Volunteers (CV) program. In addition to individual volunteers who actively contribute to conservation work, our partners include local community groups, special interest organizations, colleges and universities, corporations, foundations and many others.
CV events wouldn't be possible without<|fim_middle|> organizing and assisting on the ground within significant natural areas.
To learn more about partnership opportunities, contact national@conservationvolunteers.ca. | funding partners to support the planning, organization and implementation of our on-the-ground activities.
Equally important are our sponsors and active partners across the country who help support local CV events, giving our volunteers a chance to get outside and make a valuable contribution to nature! Support comes in a variety of ways, including financing, recruiting, | 65 |
Valentines Day can be extremely lonely for some people. We like to go around passing out packets with Valentines day candy and an outreach<|fim_middle|> out around midnight on valentines night last year and gave out brownies to those having to work. He said this created a big splash in the community. You can read about that here: Brazos Meadow's Church Valentine's Outreach Recap. Love that idea.
Interested in getting Kindness Outreach started in your community?
We train churches all around the nation through what we call a Kindness Explosion.
10:00-11:30am Send teams from church out to show God's love in practical ways in your community.
12:00pm Downloading and share time.
We have found that churches respond to this type of hands on, simple training and is a great way to get Kindness Outreach started at a church. | card packed in them to businesses to let people know that God loves and cares for them in a practical way. We usually simply tell people what we are doing, thank them for working on a holiday, and after we give out the candy packs we ask if we can say a quick 10 second prayer for those we are serving.
One lady that we met on this outreach reached out to us and said that she actually threw away the candy due to her diet, but she remembered the kindness and 10 second prayer.
This is a profound statement. Many people are reminded that they are alone on valentines day, but when we step out to love through simple acts of kindness done with no strings attached, even if those we are serving aren't wanting what we are materially offering, God's kindness and love moves through us to reach those that are hurting and lonely.
A friend of mine that has been doing Kindness Outreach around Waco, Texas lead a group that went | 196 |
Rose garden marshmallows are so easy to make and give for Valentine's Day.
"EASY" is in all-caps to truly impress upon you how very super duper easy these rose garden marshmallows are to make. Marshmallows, lollipop sticks and a few edible writers and you're on your way to a cute Valentine's Day treat. If you can draw a dot and some lines, you can draw these. And they are so very simple and pretty.
The edible writers I used here are two different brands. The pink and green are Americolor Gourmet Writers and the red is a fine line Foodoodler. I like the fine line for the detail. But unless you already own two different brands, you can draw these with any edible writers, including those found at the craft store. So don't feel you need to spend a fortune on edible writers. One pack is just fine. If the writer is a little thick, just press lightly when you do the details, and use only the tip.
This 40-second video gives you the step-by-step how-tos, but I've also included them below if you'd like to go the old-fashioned route. At the end of this post, you'll find links to supplies. And don't forget to check out my post all about edible writers if you want to learn more about this magical decorating tool.
And now, here's the non-video version.
*Find lollipop sticks and edible writers at the craft store. The craft store will likely have the Wilton brand. Shown here are the Americolor Gourmet Writers (green and pink) and the red fine-line Foodoodler, both of which are available online. See below for more information.
Skewer marshmallows with lollipop sticks. To draw the roses: First, draw pink circles. Then, draw 3 or 4 thin, curved lines in red on top of the pink circles. Use<|fim_middle|> That's it!
Great craft work you have done on these valentine special lollipop sticks.I am sure that your loved one will sure like these.
I made these and they turned out so pretty ! My kids enjoyed them and gobbled them up!
I also made these without the sticks. What I did was dipped the bottoms into green melting chocolate and the tops I use pink melting chocolate and swirled it on top of the marshmallows. I placed them in mini cupcake liners for a pretty presentation for a Valentine's Day party !
I also decorated a rose frosted cupcake with a rose garden marshmallow (- the stick ) and it turned out so pretty!
Thanks for sharing and love the helpful video!
Love love love it!! Mary!! I'm so glad it worked. Phew. And thank you so much for letting me know!! | the green writer to draw stems and leaves. | 9 |
Although Thursday night was a school night for most of the attendees at Club Nokia, it didn't stop them from getting row<|fim_middle|> song...I don't have a voice today.
The Crowd: People who were in high school ten years ago, and people who are in high school now. | dy for Taking Back Sunday. The New York-based pop-punkers 2002 debut, Tell All Your Friends has become somewhat legendary to many people in their twenties (or younger), making this tenth anniversary tour a kind of big deal.
"TBS, TBS, TBS," the audience chanted before Adam Lazzara, John Nolan and the rest of the gang took stage.
The guys have put on some pounds over the years, which must be a bit hard to carry considering the amount of energy and exertion that goes into a typical Taking Back Sunday show. (You know, the "I got the mic and you've got the mosh pit," that sort of thing).
The band used the first half of its set as a sort of "warm up," playing selections off the Tell All Your Friends's four successors and surprising the audience with an on-point cover of Straylight Run's "Existentialism On Prom Night," which featured Michelle DaRosa. At the end of "Act One," the lights dimmed and while the rockers prepared to do TAYF in its entirety.
Lazzara jumped into "You Know How I Do," and as soon as he began to sing, the audience chimed in so loud it was hard to hear the band. DaRosa joined the quintet during "Bike Scene" (fun fact: the record features her vocals on that track, as well as on "Ghost Man On Third,") and halfway through the song he stopped the music and decided then was a good time for explanations and introductions. After announcing that the show was a celebration of sorts, he asked, "Where were we?" And just like that, the band picked up in the epic breakdown.
Though Lazzara may not have had the looks he possessed ten years ago, he still had the moves, flailing around the stage, swinging the microphone cord to great heights and wrapping it around his neck. But the front man's greatest feat of the night was during "Timberwolves At New Jersey." All of a sudden, the denim-vest-clad singer disappeared from the stage and the crowd contracted, forming an amoeba-like shape. He was on the floor, in the middle of the pit. With a microphone cord trailing behind him, he trudged through the entire crowd, circling the venue as fans snapped photos and tried to grab at him. This adventure lasted through "The Blue Channel," and "You're So Last Summer," before Lazzara made it back to the stage.
After running through the album, Taking Back Sunday ended its set with two rare songs that were written during the TAYF era but never made the cut. But the crowd still knew the words.
Personal Bias: Tell All Your Friends was my favorite album the year it came out and I sang screamed every word to every | 580 |
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12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. CT
In every state in the United States, except Utah, it is illegal per se (i.e., no other evidence needed) for adults to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or greater, for drivers younger than age 21 to drive with any positive alcohol concentration (BAC>.02), and for commercial drivers (trucks, buses, taxis, etc.) to drive with a BAC of .04 or greater. The World Medical Association, the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization and the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM) all have policies supporting a .05 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) or lower as the illegal limit per se for drivers aged 21 and older. At least 114 countries around the world have adopted a BAC limit lower than .08 g/dL. The rationale behind adopting a .05 BAC law include:
Virtually all drivers are impaired with regard to driving performance at .05 BAC.
The risk of being involved in a crash increases significantly at .05 BAC.
<|fim_middle|> the Criminal Division of the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office. Since being admitted to the Utah State Bar, he has practiced as both a defense attorney at the Utah County Public Defender Association and also as a prosecutor for Salt Lake City and as the Unit Chief for the City of West Jordan.
Major Steven Winward was hired by the Utah Highway Patrol in April of 1993. He started his career as a trooper in Salt Lake County. He became active in impaired driving enforcement. This desire to remove impaired drivers from the road continued in his career as he promoted to several ranks and took on a variety of assignments in the Department. During the time working as a trooper and a supervisor he continued his education culminating in getting a Master's degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Weber State University in 2017. He is a graduate of the 274th session of the FBI National Academy. Major Winward is currently assigned as the Assistant Superintendent of the Utah Highway Patrol.
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Copyright © 2016 - 2020 Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine | Lowering the illegal per se limit to .05 BAC is a proven effective countermeasure which has reduced alcohol-related traffic fatalities in other countries, most notably, Australia.
A .05 BAC is a reasonable standard to set.
The public supports levels below .08 BAC.
Further progress is needed in reducing alcohol-impaired driving. Progress in reducing impaired driving has stalled over the past 20 years. Lowering the BAC limit from .08 to .05 will serve as a general deterrent to all those who drink and drive. Such legislation typically reduces drinking drivers in fatal crashes at all BAC levels (BACs>.01; BACs>.05; BACs>.08; BACs>.15).
To date, only Utah has adopted this criminal per se statute in the United States and it took effect on December 31, 2018. A recent study conducted under a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) found from a meta-analysis of studies around the world that lowering the BAC limit to .05 or lower was associated with an 11% decrease in alcohol-impaired driving fatal crashes.
In this Webinar, you will learn more about the rationale behind a .05 BAC law, the level of impairment in driving performance at a .05 BAC, the recent experience with a .05 BAC law in Utah, and how the law is being enforced in Utah.
This webinar is available to AAAM Members (all member types) at no cost. There is a charge of $50 (USD) for non-members. Pre-registration is required.
JAMES C. FELL is currently a Principal Research Scientist with the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago in the Bethesda, Maryland office. Mr. Fell worked at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) from 1969 to 1999 and has over 50 years of traffic safety and alcohol policy research experience. While at NORC, Mr. Fell has completed an evaluation of a special DUI enforcement program for the Maryland Highway Safety Office, a comprehensive analysis of DUI in crashes, drinking drivers in roadside surveys, DUI arrests and focus groups with police and prosecutors in Miami-Dade County for the Miami Foundation and a survey of the public support for underutilized strategies that reduce traffic fatalities for the National Safety Council (NSC). He is currently involved in research projects on recreational marijuana legalization, the incidence of alcohol and drugs in traffic crash victims, graduated driver licensing for young drivers and alcohol monitoring of convicted driving under the influence (DUI) offenders. He has authored or coauthored over 170 publications in book chapters, scientific journals and conference proceedings.
He has both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Human Factors Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is a long-time member of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM)(since 1969), including as past-president (1988), Board of Directors (1974-76; 1982-84; 2009-2011), Scientific Program Chairman (1976), Membership Chairman (1981), Treasurer (1985-86); Fellow (1994); three-time Best Scientific Paper award winner (1979, 1983 and 2010), recipient in 2016 of the Donald F. Huelke Lifetime Membership Award, and given the Award of Merit in 2019. Mr. Fell is currently President-Elect of the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs, and Traffic Safety (ICADTS) and the 2013 recipient of the ICADTS Widmark Award and the 2019 recipient of the ICADTS Haddon Award. He is a member of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA), the Society for Prevention Research (SPR) and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES).
In 2015, Mr. Fell received the James J. Howard Highway Safety Trailblazer Award from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) for sustained outstanding leadership in endeavors that significantly improve highway safety and the Kevin Quinlan Advocacy Award from the Maryland Highway Safety Office.
Dary Fiorentino's professional interests are grouped in three broad categories: conducting research, teaching, and providing expert testimony in legal cases.
His primary research areas of interest include 1) the effects of age on a variety of physiological, sensory, perceptual, and cognitive dimensions, 2) standardized field sobriety tests, 3) alcohol pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, 4) cultural differences in drinking and drinking and driving, 5) fitness-for-duty and workplace alcohol and drug testing, and 6) life satisfaction and human flourishing, including life-workplace balance.
He is the author of several published articles and reports. He is the developer of the seated battery of sobriety tests that has been adopted by the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators to aid law enforcement officers detect boaters with impairment caused by blood alcohol concentrations of .08% and above. He helped develop The Virtual Bar, an internet application aimed at educating college students on how different factors—including age, gender, height, weight, and food—affect blood alcohol concentration.
He teaches classes in research methods and statistics. He particularly enjoys teaching topics in multiple regression, moderation and mediation, and structural equation modeling. Dr. Fiorentino has a profound belief in the usefulness of the scientific method to explore human issues, and that psychologists are uniquely equipped to study and positively affect many aspects of the human experience, provided they have the methodological and analytical skills to do so. He takes pride in providing some of those skills to his students.
Dr. Fiorentino provides expert testimony in legal cases in which alcohol and/or some drugs are suspected to have contributed to one or more adverse events. His testimony usually focuses on the relationships between alcohol dose and blood alcohol concentration (BAC), BAC and driving impairment, and driving impairment and crash risk.
He earned a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Human Factors, both from California State University Northridge, and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Claremont Graduate University.
Tyson Skeen works for the Utah Prosecution Council as the Utah Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP). He has been in this position since January 2016. As the TSRP, he is a subject matter expert and he trains and works as a resource for other prosecutors and law enforcement on impaired driving cases. Tyson received his bachelor's degree from Utah Valley University and is a graduate from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. During law school, he clerked for the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office-District of Utah and | 1,448 |
The first step<|fim_middle|> ditch, culvert or other low-lying area and cover you head with your arms and hands. Do not remain in a vehicle during a tornado. Immediately get out and lie flat in the lowest nearby area, protecting your head with your arms and hands. | to surviving a tornado is to listen for tornado watches and warnings. A tornado watch means that conditions are favorable for a tornado to form. A tornado warning means there is immediate danger of a tornado.
Local radio and television stations serve a great purpose in notifying us of severe weather, but are not always available or turned on. Outdoor warning sirens are also good warning devices.
But the best way to hear tornado warnings in your home is a NOAA weather radio, which picks up around-the-clock broadcasts from the National Weather Service and sounds a loud alarm in the event a warning is issued.
Choose a safe place. Practice being prepared.
Pick out a safe place in your home and make sure all family members, especially children, know to go there in the event of a tornado warning. Conduct periodic tornado drills, so everyone remembers what to do when a tornado is approaching. Stress the importance of staying calm.
If you live in a home.
The safest place in your home in the event of a tornado is on the lowest level, preferably the basement, if you have one. Choose a small room away from windows, such as a closet, hallway or bathroom. Stay near the center of the house to put as many walls as possible between you and a tornado. Close any doors in the room. If your safest room is the first-floor bathroom, grab a mattress or some cushions, get in the tub and put the mattress or cushions over your head for protection.
If you live in a mobile home.
Pick a nearby shelter to go to in the event of a severe weather threat. Should a tornado warning sound, get out immediately and head for safety in a nearby shelter or the basement of a nearby building. If there is no time to get to a shelter, lie flat in a ditch, culvert or other low-lying area and cover your head with your arms and hands. Do not try to flee a tornado in a vehicle.
Know what to do if you are caught outdoors.
If you're caught outdoors, hurry to the basement of a nearby sturdy structure or building. Or lie flat in a | 418 |
or a romantic getaway to enjoy the<|fim_middle|>el & Scuba Adventures (new windows will open up for both). | sun and sandy beaches that are Catalina!!
A Catalina Island vacation is only an hour away from San Pedro by boat, sitting 26 miles off the California coast. Many come over on the Catalina Express not far from Ports O" Call Village. A popular destination spot is Avalon, which has a number of unique shops and restaurants to help while away the day.
Catalina Island tours are available for those that want to see more of the island, and beaches for those that want to stay put.
There is so much history here, that the tours would be quite useful. The day we went, we toured Avalon on foot and were able to see a lot, but could have seen much more.
Pictured is the Catalina Casino. It was built in 1929 and is actually an entertainment hall, not a gambling hall as one would think.
It was host to the Big Bands of the 1930s and 1940's and still used for celebrations of all sorts today.
With its deco style it makes for a unique wedding location and is a very popular spot for this and other events.
Pictured below is Avalon Harbor where all the sailboats, cabin cruisers, and yachts coming into Avalon dock.
What a sight... hundreds of boats of all kinds in such a pristine setting!!
It is the perfect place to go for a short trip across the Pacific but feel like you are going to another side of the world.
Even though I have only gone on day trips to Avalon, I have friends who love to sail there for a weekend and camp on the beaches located on the other side of the island.
My daughter recently sailed over in a friends boat, and had as escorts the entire way, this school of dolphins.
How much fun is that?... Leisurely sailing along observing marine life at its best!!
People like to go on this side of the island to camp, hike, and try to spot the North American bison or buffalo that roam the hills.
Whether it is Avalon or Two Harbors, there is so much to do in Catalina. Aside from the normal beach activities, you can take a Catalina Island cruise, or take the Glass-bottom Boat to view our underwater marine world.
Scuba diving and snorkeling are popular recreation and programs are offered for both the novice and the experienced.
Snorkeling Catalina Island is a real adventure! Learn how to snorkel while coming face to face with the underwater wonders of the world!
While in the island or for reservations, contact the Catalina Dive Shop or Catalina Snork | 531 |
What a video game designer does and how you can become one
Everything you need to know about becoming a video game designer including responsibilities, advice, and salary information.
Class Summary: What Does a Video Game Designer Do?
Remember that amazing feeling you got seeing your favourite video game location for the first time? Or perhaps you remember the emotion washing over you at a pivotal moment in your favorite game's story? Whether it was walking through Markarth (Skyrim) for the first time, exploring Rapture (Bioshock), or learning the truth about Darth Revan (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic), video game designers were the people behind those feelings.
A video game designer conceptualizes and creates the storyline, characters, dialogue, and rules for a game. They will work with artists, sound engineers, and developers to set the visual feel, the audible ambience, and the mechanics of the obstacles players will encounter.
If you are interested in video game design as a career, read on. We have spoken with several industry professionals to bring you some great tips to get ahead of the game and find your ideal role.
Your Primary Quest
Video game designers can wear many different hats day-to-day, often depending on the size of the game studio they work at. In a large studio, they may focus on a specific area of design, for instance narrative or level design.
At an indie studio, however, they will probably cover several of these roles, maybe even dipping their toes into certain art duties as part of their responsibilities. Patrick Casey, Associate Designer at Poorly Timed Games, explains, "I am at an indie company, so it involves wearing a few different hats. Some days I have a design hat on and am bouncing between meetings and editing documentation. Other days I am making videos for a pitch and playtesting builds."
Above all, the game designer's main goal is to create an exciting, fun, atmospheric video game experience for the players, and they will use a wide variety of tools and skills to achieve this.
Shax Wahid, Level Designer for Rebellion, told us what a typical day can look like: "Sometimes there's fires to put out or sometimes new tasks arrive that will need prioritizing. I'll grab the latest edits on Perforce (Software Configuration Management System) and then attend the level design daily stand-up meeting where we discuss what we will be working on that day so the team is informed on what everyone is up to. From there I could be spending the day whiteboxing my level, scripting gameplay or objectives, populating the level with AI, or working closely with my artists replacing whitebox sections with art (and that's only a handful of usual tasks!)."
In order to become a video game designer, you should look to hone some of the skills listed here, where we've broken down what's required at the junior, intermediate, and senior levels of your career.
The main skills you are going to need to succeed as a video game designer are heavily creativity-based. You'll need to be a natural storyteller,<|fim_middle|>.
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Networking in video games and esports: online and in-person
Switching from an outside industry into video games: our advice
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Making your job search easier with recruiters: our advice
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Types of programming jobs in gaming in 2022
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Hitmarker CV walkthrough | able to understand what makes a compelling narrative, and how that translates into the game world. You'll need to be able to take design ideas and turn them into crafted experiences that players are going to love.
You will also need to be analytical, with a superb eye for detail. You'll need to be able to critique your own ideas, as well as other's, and identify potential challenges, or problems. This means you will also need to be able to effectively communicate feedback to your team, as well as accept feedback on your own ideas without taking it personally. Shax reinforced the importance of this by explaining, "Another great skill to have is being able to constructively discuss and critique your own designs with team members in order to get the best out of your work."
Although to start out in video game design you won't need to know how to code games, as your career progresses you may find it helpful to learn one or two programming languages. "While you might eventually need to learn some languages, you can do an alarming amount of work on a game without ever touching a line of code," Patrick says. "You definitely should learn python or another simple language though."
Seeing as you're still reading this article, you're probably still interested in starting a career in video game design. In that case, you'll need to build your character profile to give yourself the best chances of success.
Don't skip the tutorial!
Patrick gave us his thoughts on formal training for a game design career, "For design, I don't think a degree is entirely necessary. I did go to school and got a BS in Photography, but I am pretty much only using theory and critique in my day to day job."
Shax reiterates this point, saying, "You don't need a degree to break into the games industry, however taking time out to learn the craft is a must. Gaining a degree would show skills such as people skills and being able to work successfully towards a deadline, however it's not necessary. There's so much game development information out there on the internet at the moment it's practically on the doorstep. There are really useful YouTube tutorials for game design, games art, etcetera. Unity and Unreal Engine are free to use and they are perfect for learning how to create games."
Here are some places you can find game design learning resources completely free:
Unreal Engine (through its own tutorials)
If you're looking for some more refined guidance in learning the basics of video game design, you can find in-depth courses on Skillshare.
Do your dailies
While tutorials are great to help you learn the basics of how to play the game, nothing beats the regular EXP grind. As Patrick told us, "For design and other creative disciplines, what matters is that you are making stuff. Constantly be creating."
Practicing regularly will not only help you to continually sharpen your skills, but will also give you great material for your portfolio. (More on this later)
Clearing up myths
Don't be fooled, working as a video game designer isn't all play and no work. You won't be spending all day, every day playing games. You'll be in design meetings, collaborating with your team on new features and fighting fires when they go wrong.
When you do get to play through the games you are working on, you'll be focused on how to improve it, what works, and what needs to change. "When we play through our levels, we are always thinking of ways we can improve the level, how we can optimise the level better, and how certain changes could cause a knock on effect in other parts of the level if we were to make certain changes," Shax told us.
Loadout Tips
As always, you won't want to embark on this quest unprepared. You're going to need the correct equipment, and we're here to make sure your gear is min/maxed to perfection!
Skins mean wins (Make your portfolio stand out)
You wouldn't dream of hopping into Fortnite in a default skin, would you? You want to stand out from the pack, and how better to do that than with the classic Peely, or Tomato-Head? In similar fashion, you'll need to make sure your application stands out from the rest, and there's no better way to do this than with a kick-ass portfolio.
In any creative role, your portfolio will be one of your most valuable pieces of equipment, and you should make sure yours is levelled up to legendary status. "Keep working on your portfolio — keep it clean, clear, and straight to the point," Shax advises. "Remember you don't always have to develop first person shooters! Sometimes it's refreshing seeing a different kind of project."
Pack the right tools
Game design can require such a wide range of skills, you'll need to have the right tools to do each job. Try to have demonstrable skills in a few of the following:
Drawboard PDF
Quest Rewards
What's the best thing about being a video game designer?
So now you understand what a game designer does and what skills are needed to excel in this field. But why would you want to be a video game designer? What can you look forward to if you decide to follow this career path?
For Patrick, it's the endless scope of what his creations will resemble. "One of my favorite things about design is that whatever I am working on becomes a confluence of things that I have enjoyed. You never know what piece of media or craft will become an inspiration to your work."
Shax also values the creative aspect of the job. "I love creating environments and scripting so naturally I fell into a level design role. Being able to create a world and give it meaning is really cool, especially when working alongside talented artists, animators, audio designers, and more. Seeing the joy on people's faces as they play your game makes everything worth it. Also I can't find the right emotions that describe how you feel during a project launch — it's just bloody amazing."
So if you want a varied, exciting career where you'll constantly be creating and putting smiles on gamer's faces, video game design could be the perfect career choice for you.
Video Game Designer Salary
If you've read through this whole article, and have decided that video game design is the career for you, a logical question is what can you expect to earn in this job?
An entry-level game designer with less than a year's experience in the industry can expect to earn a base salary of around $40-50k per year, with salaries heading north of $100k for the most senior positions. On average, a game designer earns approximately $66k per year in the USA, according to payscale.com.
If this sounds like your dream career, don't waste another minute. Head on over to our jobs pages, and take a look at all the game design jobs we have to offer here.
Good luck, and remember that we're always here to help.
You can find Patrick's photography portfolio here: https://www.patrickcaseyphoto.com | 1,449 |
Changing pace can be a good thing. Every once in awhile<|fim_middle|> eager to get back up to Rocky and my more comfortable surroundings.
Posted in Beaches and Oceans, New York, Photography, The Hamptons on August 14, 2012 by Tom Mangan. | it's nice to get out of your set routines, break from the mold a bit and photograph something different. I personally finds it helps the creative process to break from the familiar and get out into different environs.
I spend last week on a whirlwind tour of New York State visiting in-laws and relatives. The trip back east was more about visiting family and catching up with old friends then it was about photography. Of course, there was no way I was going to be able to keep my camera in the bag the entire time.
While spending the end of the week out on the east end of Long Island, I was able to get up early a few mornings and catch sunrise along the beach. While I had a good sunrise this particular morning at Dune Beach in Southampton, the humidity, sand and sea spray where all things I've gotten used to not having to deal with here in Colorado. The trip was great, but I'm | 190 |
Don't Miss Our Silver & Blue Event Happening This Month!
Cody has made more progress on his journey on the Appalachian Trail. He has arrived at Mount Katahd<|fim_middle|> Appalachian Trail with his adorable boxer, Molly. Cody has reached New Hampshire and is enjoying the cool mountain air. Stay tuned for more updates as he reaches Maine!
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Cody is making great progress on hike on the Appalachian Trail! He's reached the Mason-Dixon line and also visited the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Check back for more updates on Cody's journey!
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Love it. Love it, not. Tattoo Regret? | in, the highest mountain in the state of Maine! Cody posed with the sign and is seen below with our Gallaher Plastic Surgery logo. We are so proud of you, Cody!
We're excited to get another update from Cody as he hikes the | 51 |
Global Sign, a<|fim_middle|>meen Hafeez, Seba Kaakeh and Heya Kaakeh previously won first place in the social entrepreneurship category in the Burton D. Morgan Business Model Competition. Their company works to encourage governments, schools and companies to make their video content more accessible through the use of sign language.
"The Schurz Communications Innovation Challenge is an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students at Purdue to test their creativity and skills in the area of online and mobile media technology," said Arnold Chen, managing director of the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, in a news release. | student-run Purdue University startup has won the eighth annual Schurz Communications Innovation Challenge. The team operates a platform that uses sign language to make video content more accessible to those with hearing impairments.
The winners were determined by a panel of five judges. Global Sign team members Yas | 55 |
Global Crossing expands video play with Genesis Networks acquisition
Nov 1, 2010 11:11am
Global Crossing's (Nasdaq: GLBC) move to acquire Genesis Networks, a video transmission services provider, illustrates that video service is yet another key piece of its invest and grow strategy.
Under the terms of the agreement, Global Crossing will acquire Genesis for $27 million<|fim_middle|> and 3D video will soon outstrip the capacities of legacy technologies, making media-centric global fiber optic networks like ours the most viable option for broadcasters, producers and distributors," said John Legere, chief executive officer of Global Crossing.
In acquiring Genesis Networks, Global Crossing will get a purpose-built network that reaches 70 cities on five continents with 225 on-net locations. Global Crossing will be able to extend Genesis' video services to various vertical market segments including healthcare, cinema, music, gaming, government and distance learning to over 700 cities in addition to Latin America.
Among its many highlights, Genesis Networks provided media services for high profile events such as the Olympics, World Cup, international auto racing, Grand Slam tennis tournaments, major golf tournaments, the U.S. Presidential elections, and the G8 and G-20 Summits.
When the acquisition is complete, Global Crossing will run Genesis as a separate business unit inside of the company. Current Genesis Networks president and CEO Mike Antonovich of Genesis Network will become managing director of the new unit.
- see the release
Global Crossing extends IP network into Eastern Europe
Global Crossing continues invest/grow strategy, sees value in industry consolidation
Global Crossing heats up its Latin American VoIP network with Veraz Networks
Global Crossing upgrades submarine network routes
Global Crossing Grows Latin America
Global Crossing expands global Ethernet product suite | including $15 million in debt.
While not a novice in the video transport business, Global Crossing wants to get a bigger piece of the video services business--one that Infonetics Research forecasts will top $250 billion in 2014.
"The proliferation of HD | 57 |
Today I'm sharing a Mixed Media Card Tutorial using using the eBrush, along with products from Bella BLVD, Sharpie Markers and a Julie Nutting Doll Stamp.
Using scissors, cut the flowers from the Just Add Color paper collection that you would like to add color to. Place the flowers onto a Silhouette Mat so that they don't move when you add the color. Then using the eBrush, SP-01 Adapter and Sharpie Markers add color to the flowers. Repeat with additional colors until you have all your flowers colored.
Using your fingers, apply Gesso to flowers to tone down the colors. Lay onto pattern paper to find placement.
Once you are happy with placement of your flowers, adhere<|fim_middle|> use as desired.
To finish my card, I stamped the Julie Nutting Doll image onto White card stock, then paper pieced her dress with Bella BLVD Just Add Color Daily Details pattern paper. As you can see, I used the eBrush to add color to the pattern paper. The shoes and bow were paper pieced from the flower scraps. The sentiments are from the Bella BLVD Just Add Color Trinkets Black and White Stickers Collection. | with Decou-Page.
Trim excess flower petals from edges, layer onto card panel, | 18 |
It has been a rough year for Asia-Pacific airlines<|fim_middle|> intense and yields are deteriorating." | but next year looks a bit brighter.
A global airline body said yesterday the carriers can expect falling profits this year after being hardest hit by the sluggish cargo market and operating in an environment where significant injection of capacity has kept yields down.
In its latest forecast yesterday, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said Asia-Pacific carriers are expected to post a collective profit of US$3.2 billion (S$4billion) this year.
This will be the third straight year of declining earnings.
The good news is that things should improve next year with a US$4.1 billion profit projection.
A big challenge for Asian carriers, the largest players in global cargo markets with a market share of nearly 40 per cent, is poor demand and falling yields.
Globally, airlines are expected to fare better. The latest estimate is for a collective profit of US$12.9 billion this year.
The projection for next year is even better at US$19.7 billion.
The numbers are an improvement from three months ago.
In September, Iata which speaks for more than 230 global carriers had an US$11.7 billion profit forecast for the year.
Before that in June, the earnings estimate was US$12.7 billion.
The recent upward revision reflects lower jet fuel prices over the forecast period, as well as improvements to the industry's structure and efficiency, said Iata director-general and chief executive officer Tony Tyler.
"Overall, the industry's fortunes are moving in the right direction. Jet fuel prices remain high, but below their 2012 peak," he said.
Passenger demand is expanding in the 5 to 6 per cent range, which is in line with the historical trend.
Efficiencies gained through mergers and joint ventures are delivering value to both passengers and shareholders.
And product innovations are growing ancillary revenues, he added.
Still, challenges lie ahead, Mr Tyler said.
"We must temper our optimism with an appropriate dose of caution," he said.
Citing the cargo sector, he noted that volumes have not grown since 2010 and cargo revenues are back at 2007 levels.
Mr Tyler said: "It's a tough environment in which to run an airline. Competition is | 461 |
How New Media is Transforming Storytelling: A New Video Series
Kurt Reinhard from the Institut für Theorie, Zurich University of Applied Sciences and Arts, recently posted on Vimeo a fascinating series of short videos on the future of storytelling. The videos juxtapose the perspectives of some key thinkers in this space, including Clay Shirkey (NYU), Joshua Green (UCSB), Ian Condry and Nick Montfort (MIT), Dean Jansen from the Participatory Culture Foundation, Joe Lambert from the Center for Digital Storytelling, and, hmm, Henry Jenkins (USC), among others. Each video is between five and ten minutes long and tackles some of the ways that shifts in the media environment are changing the nature of stories and storytelling. This opening installment sets the stage with a broad overview of the nature of media change.
Storytelling Part 1: Change of Storytelling from ith storytelling on Vimeo.
Here's a segment that deals specifically with the issues around transmedia storytelling and entertainment.
Storytelling Part 3: Transmedia from ith storytelling on Vimeo.
This one deals with storytelling in relation to social networks.
Storytelling Part 4: Potential of Social Media from ith storytelling on Vimeo.
Another explores collaborative production of stories through processes like crowdsourcing.
Storytelling Part 5: Collective Storytelling from ith storytelling on Vimeo.
And this one explores issues of motivation within participatory culture.
Storytelling Part 8: Motivation to Participate from ith storytelling on Vimeo.
I certainly intend to use these videos in my own teaching. Indeed, I am using segment one to launch my Medium Specificity course later today. There's a real power in hearing the voices of people who are so passionate and thoughtful about the nature of media change and its impact on the kinds of experiences we are able to share with each other.
The<|fim_middle|> Applied Sciences and Arts, Jörg Huber
* coUNDco Online Marketing Agency Zurich, Florian Wieser
branded entertainment, Comparative Media Studies, fan culture, globalization watch, interviews, transmedia entertainment, University of Southern...
Games, New Media and Learning in ...
Comics and the City: An Interview ... | video series is intended to call attention to the launch of a new collaboration between European institutions to explore the processes, practices, and literacies surrounding stories and storytelling. Beyond Reinhard's own people at Zurich, he says that the following other researchers are going to be contributing to this project:
* Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, Verena Kuni
* European Institute for Participatory Media Berlin, Jasminko Novak
* Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Axel Vogelsang
* University of Zurich, Chair of Marketing and Market Research, Wolfgang Kotowski
* Zurich University of | 122 |
February 3, 2020 January 29, 2020 365holidaysayear
Four Chaplains Day
On February 3, 1943 four chaplains from four different denominations gave their lives to save others during the sinking their ship the SS Dorchester. They helped other soldiers board lifeboats and gave up their own life jackets when the supply ran out. The chaplains joined arms, said prayers, and sang hymns as they went down with the ship. The four chaplains were Methodist Reverend George L. Fox, Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, Roman Catholic Priest John P. Washington, and the Reformed Church in America Reverend Clark V. Poling.
The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation was established on February 3, 1951to impart the principles of selfless service to humanity without regard to race, creed, ethnicity, or religious beliefs.
"The chaplains were honored with a commemorative stamp that was issued in<|fim_middle|> stamp is highly unusual, because until 2011, U.S. stamps were not normally issued in honor of someone other than a President of the United States until at least ten years after his or her death."
Previous World Wetlands Day
Next Independence Day in Sri Lanka | 1948, and was designed by Louis Schwimmer, the head of the Art Department of the New York branch of the U.S. Post Office Department (now called the USPD). This | 41 |
Tag: Hawkeye
TAG – GOOFY MOVIE GIVES GOOD ADVICE
Based loosely on the real life camaraderie amongst 10 friends who have been playing the same game of Tag one month a year for 30 years, the movie Tag focuses on a representative five, plus one wife, a fiancee, and a reporter from the Wall Street Journal who breaks the story to the world.
Not for kids. Young adults and up only. The language and topics discussed are often raw and juvenilely crude and graphic. And the stunts these men are shown to pull are dangerous even under the supervision of stunt men, as Jeremy Renner found out. You would not want young impressionable kids trying to imitate them. UNLESS you want to show them clips and this photo to make the point – DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!!!
"You do not stop playing games because you grow old, you grow old because you stop playing games." This rather wise saying by George Bernard Shaw is the avowed, often repeated, theme of the movie Tag.
I have often advised my girls and teased my husband and sons that I do not believe men ever really get beyond the age of 13. Be they the Pope, your husband, your 80 year old grandfather, your investment broker, or your doctor, they hit puberty and that's — that. The only difference amongst them is their ability to hide it. It's one of the things that is most charming about them and used properly is a superpower.
And for anyone who does not believe me, you should see Tag, the movie, based on a real group of ten men, written up in a 2013 Wall Street Journal article by Russell Adams.. Back row, from left to right: Mike Konesky, Bill Akers, Patrick Shultheis, Mark Mengert, Chris Ammann and Brian Dennehy. Front row, from left to right: Father Sean Raftis, Joey Tambari, Joe Caferro and Rick Bruya. (Courtesy of Father Sean Raftis ) These men, from all walks of life, one a priest, met at a Catholic school and have been playing the same game of Tag, on and off, for THIRTY years. The Tag Brothers as they call themselves, particpate in this childlike joyous event for one month every year as a way to keep in touch —- literally — with each other. They have played despite and sometimes because of: births, deaths, weddings, illness and distances. They have tagged each other, in real life, by their own admission: in disguise, after flying hundreds of miles, appearing at family events, and even breaking into each others' HOMES! It's a wonder none of them have shot the other yet. One got tagged during his father's funeral – the taggee acknowledging it was a form of comfort and condolence and that his father, a big supporter of their game, would have thought funny. The group collected to support one of them when his wife was undergoing chemo and tagged him there. They have tagged each other when wives were in labor, and even when those children were being conceived!! (I do NOT even want to IMAGINE that one!) It is the way these men have chosen to stay friends.
As funny as this premise is you'd think it would be a one trick pony, perhaps documentary worthy but not enough to carry a movie. But you'd be wrong. The screenwriters, Rob McKittrich and Mark Steilen, have rather cleverly condensed the reality and formed it into an analogy for what keeps people together.
Obviously an ensemble cast, to introduce them in rough order of appearance: Ed Helms as Hoagie, a successful veterinarian married to Isla Fisher's extremely competitive Anna. Jon Hamm plays Bob, a wealthy CEO of a drug manufacturing company. Annabelle Willis is Rebecca, the reporter who embeds herself into the group. Jake Johnson is "Chili," the loser friend, stuck in his hippie, weed smoking, teenaged days. Hannibal Buress is Sable, an air-heady sweet guy who sees life existentially. And then there is Jerry – Jeremy "Hawkeye" and "Bourne" Renner – waxing and waning with the group as they pursue him during his wedding preparations. He is the main target this year because, in thirty years of playing tag with these same four friends, he has NEVER —- BEEN —– TAGGED, and rumor has it he will retire at the end of the month. And there is almost no lengths to which these men will go – physically, legally or in mental gamesmanship – in order to avoid being the last "it" – or to end the game without Jerry beng tagged at least once.
The personalities in the story are composites. There are no comparable individuals who are directly represented in the movie, but the premise and inspiration which ignited this crazy story did and does continue. The game, as it were, is STILL a foot!
WSJ also published the Tag Agreement drafted and signed as young adults by the Tag Brothers, based upon the rules they followed as children.
I normally consider profanity in movies largely a lack of creativity. But I have to admit on some level it is appropriate in Tag. Once the game is on, the men revert to the crude one-upsman language of adolescent teenagers – comparing and hitting genitalia, awkwardly throwing out "cuss" words, and using profanity as though they are trying to win a secondary competition for the most vulgarity. But this is what little boys do. They play rough and crash headlong in and through windows, businesses, private homes, yards and garbage cans during the chases. So energetic were the scenes as filmed that during one failed stunt involving a stack of chairs Jeremy Renner broke bones in both arms. The rest of the movie was filmed having to CGI around the "green screen" casts he had to wear.
But what was most charming about Tag was the moral to the story. Jerry, the all time champion who had never been tagged, knew everything about his friends. He knew how they thought, acted, what they did for a living, the strengthes and weaknesses of their personalities and could thereby anticipate any schemes to trap him. This, and his almost superhuman running speed, has kept him the reigning champion for 30 years. Ironically, but in hindsight predictably, his friends knew very little about him. They didn't know he was getting married or to whom. They didn't know he had a drinking problem or that he was in AA – until they bribe one of Jerry's own employees to rat out Jerry's location. Jerry may have been the Olympic Tag gold medalist but the cost was not spending any time with his friends during the one month the rest were together scheming to get him. Tag deals with the 30 years resolution to this conundrum.
It is the heart to this goofy movie which helps ratchet up Tag above its threadbare premise.
Another clever and memorable aspect to Tag are the homages to other movie genres. A number of schemes are attempted to tag Jerry. One plays out like a classic monster movie as the group moves through a foggy forest. Another scenario includes Jerry's internal POV as a voice over describing his analysis of their attacks and how he plans to countermand them – much like Downey, Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes. Other scenes give nods to Renner's stint as the Bourne Legacy character Aaron Cross as he uses everything from tablecloths to donuts and a walker to thwart his friends and leaps chairs, through windows and around staircases with an agility that his own Hawkeye would have admired.
As ridiculous as this movie is, I could not help but smile at the irresistable charm of grown men letting loose in a spirit of genuine fun with their friends. If the quote by Shaw is right, the Tag Brothers will remain eternally young as they keep their bonds of friendship alive. And that is a game worth playing.
Posted on June 21, 2018 July 2, 2018 Tags 30 years, adolescent, Annabelle Willis, Bourne, children, comedy, don't stop playing games, Ed Helms, game, George Bernard Shaw, grow old because you stop playing games, Hannibal Burress, Hawkeye, homage, home, homeschool, Isla Fisher, Jake Johnson, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Mark Steilen, movie, movie review, playing game, review, Rob McKittrick, Robert Downey, school, Shaw quote, Sherlock Holmes, spoiler, Tag, Tag Brothers, Wall Street Journal, warningLeave a comment on TAG – GOOFY MOVIE GIVES GOOD ADVICE
FORGET TEAM CAP VERSUS TEAM IRON MAN – ARE YOU TEAM AVENGERS OR…TEAM THANOS?
Amazing Part One of the two part Marvel culmination of 10 years, 19 movies, and 3.5 BILLION dollars spent exploring the Superhero Universe.
Anyone old enough to have seen the previous Marvel movies. There is no inappropriate sexual activity and the language is kept to a few mild profanities – with the exception of a "reference" to a raw word and "only" the first part of Samuel L Jackson's now "signature" choice of obscenity. There is a LOT of cartoon violence, with some sudden and brutal deaths of humanoids but without any graphic displays of gore. There ARE some gory deaths but of monster "critters". So roughly, "tweens" and up – but parents, please, check it out yourself before taking the younger and those especially sensitive to emotional scenes.
First, did you know that EVERYONE on the planet could live in Texas? If you want to know why I ask that, read through to the latter part of this review.
SPOILER FREE PORTION:
The premise is that all of the super heroes from the Marvel Universe assemble to fight a Universe-sized threat, Thanos, played by Josh Brolin. Brolin's villain gives as good as he gets. His is not a caricature but a legitimate character with his own motivations and goals. Brolin is an excellent actor, featuring not only here but as Cable in another upcoming Marvel movie, Deadpool 2, from what has been "dubbed" the R (for R rated) Marvel division. Just for the record, my favorite of Brolin's roles has nothing to do with Marvel, but is a Cohen Brothers movie – Hail Caeser!, the loving homage comedy about the '50's and '60's era Hollywood. In Hail, Caesar! Brolin plays a faith filled decent man simply trying his desperate best to keep the studio for which he works from self destructing. In Infinity War Brolin's role is quite the opposite on all points.
Avengers: Infinity War is NOT your average Marvel movie. This is an extraordinary achievement and a unique historic cinematic accomplishment. This studio has invested ten years, and billions of dollars to fund 19 movies all revolving, like a galaxy unto itself, around this centerpoint in which most every major hero and several villains who have graced a Marvel movie appears.
Because I am a BIG fan of superheroes, I could never tell which was Marvel and which DC. My kids were constantly chiding me for getting them confused. Not any more. Aside from Antman and Hawkeye, who are signed up for Avengers 4, pretty much every major and medium Marvel superhero you've seen in the last 18 movies is in this one. So if they are not in Infinity War, they are not Marvel.
This is also probably the most spoiler vulnerable movie I have ever reviewed – if not ever SEEN. Tom Holland, who plays the most recent and the absolutely best incarnation of Spiderman, is notorious for giving away spoilers, so they had to send Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Strange) with him on the interview circuit to verbally intercept. The interview I heard demonstrated this, as the interviewer asked Holland what it was like to work with the Guardians of the Galaxy group. As Holland opened his mouth, Cumberbatch jumped in with a good natured and comical set of static imitations and Holland snapped quiet immediately. You see, Infinity War takes place all OVER the galaxy. Different planets, different locales with different groups, so even saying whether or not you were part of a group or made it to a particular planet could give away CRUCIAL details you don't want to know before watching.
The special effects are spectacular. From the brightly lit super technology of Wakanda, to the dark interiors of Thor's Asgardian ship, from the humorous "body language" of Dr. Strange's cape to the viciously feral attack "dogs" brought by Thanos' henchmen, the details are lovingly layered and conveyed to manifest a beautiful, frightening, stunning and very believable world.
The acting is terrific. These characters, even and especially those who are later versions – like Ruffalo's Banner/Hulk and Holland's Spiderman – have truly made these characters their own. Newbies to the group like Boseman's T'Challa and Gillian's Nebula have fit in seamlessly.<|fim_middle|> reasons that to allow half of the universe to live with "full bellies" and to keep the worlds from being over harvested, over mined, over used – half of everyone should be randomly chosen to die. He claims to have saved Gamora's planet by doing this and that his planet of Titan was reduced to a lifeless waste because this was not done. He sees himself as a hero who the Universe will later thank.
If this idea sounds familiar, it is because it should. It is in the mission statement of every population control, zero population growth, global warming, and pro-abortion organization that has crept in out of the cracks in our moral fabric over the last 100 years. The likes of The Sierra Club, Green Peace, Planned Parenthood, Zero Population Growth, many of the U.N. proposals, Stop Population Growth Now, Church of Euthanasia (shockingly it really is a thing), Center for Biologic Diversity, Captain Planet, and hundreds of others, were all either conceived or co-opted by people who would align themselves with the evilly misconceived (if you'll excuse the pun) idea that ……human life is bad.
If you swallow the propaganda that there are "too many" people, then the logical conclusion would be to have fewer of them. This means either ones here should die (assisted suicide and Dr. Kevorkian), those that are sick or disabled should be denied assistance that would prolong their lives (eugenics/Hitler's Holocaust, "death with dignity," Terry Schiavo, Charlie Gard, Isaiah Haastrup, and Alfie Evans – the latter four all murdered in either the U.S. or U.K. against their parents' wishes because they were assessed by the courts as too inconvenient to live), or that future generations should be deliberately truncated (abortion and birth control).
If you believe there are "too many" people on Earth, then you have to side with Thanos – so put on your subservient face and get your lottery ticket from him.
Thanos never considers the possibility that, even were what he says is true now, that the creativity and intelligence and energy of the amazing minds against whom he fights could be better used to find ways to feed and comfort multiple times the number of people in existence. The technology available a thousand years ago could feed and clothe and shelter only a tiny fraction of those we can feed and clothe and shelter now using the same resources. Everything from antibiotics to sprinkler systems to knowledge of crop rotation and hydroponics makes increased production a no brainer.
This, of course, begs the question that every human life is a valuable, irreplacable gift from God which must not be discarded no matter the rationalization for it. That the moral imperative of humans should be that innocent life must be protected.
This also disregards the fact that what has been proposed by these population control advocates is merely a global sized pile of what Harry Truman might only refer to in polite company as….manure.
But did you know that everyone on Earth could fit into Texas?
I'm going to throw some numbers at you to demonstrate this, but to give you an aim to where I am headed: Everyone on the entire planet Earth could theoretically live in families of four in houses four times as large as the average house in England and ALL still fit into the State of Texas?
The current Earth population is 7.6 billion. The State of Texas land mass is roughly 7.5 TRILLION square feet. If you placed the world population into groups of four people each, this would give you 1.9 billion groups. If you assigned the square feet out evenly amongst those groups, each group could have a minimum of 3,947 square feet to call their own.
The average sized plot of land on which a British home rests is the same size. The average home in England is only 915 square feet. The average New York apartment high rise contains only 750 square feet. But without having to endure cramped high rise life, everyone could, theoretically, live in a Harry Potter-type suburban area like this real one shown here from a satellite photo of Barton Le Clay.
Support areas such as roads, hospitals, schools, stores, business areas, even recreation centers such as parks, hotels, restaurants, ice cream parlors, old fashioned libraries and community swimming pools could GENEROUSLY be accommodated by about nine times the area needed to accommodate the homes.
The tally of the world's only needed suburban area plus the support structures could handily be fit into 2.7 million square miles. There are 2.9 million square miles just in the lower 48 states of the United states.
The world's only suburb could be fit into Texas. The world's only city could fit over the contiguous portions of the U.S.A. with considerable room to spare.
Keep in mind, were this to happen, the rest of the world would be completely and totally people free. India – uninhabited, China – zero, Russia – vacant, Europe – no one, England – empty, Australia – deserted.
This doesn't EVEN take into account the possibility of ingeniously designed floating cities.
Of course, no one is suggesting we all move into the confines of the US. But to offer perspective, this World City could be fit into but HALF of Europe. Or less than a third of Russia. Or Australia, which is about the same size as the contiguous part of the U.S., WITH room to spare. And note how incredibly much land mass is left in the world – laughably vast stretches of thereby uninhabited areas would remain "people free" if we all just suburbed ourselves to Australia in neat little homes and their support buildings. The room we take up would be about 2.7 million square miles. The planet's surface is 196 MILLION SQUARE MILES! 57 million is land mass.
So – those who propose to eliminate any of our human brethren for the sake of global overpopulation are planning genocide on bad information.
A profound question arises from a bunch of comic book characters in a brilliant analogy to a real life monstrous philosophy seeking to crush out human life – all for the sake of a lie.
So I ask you again as you go to see this brilliant best that Marvel has to offer – Are you Team Avengers or…. Team Thanos?
Posted on April 30, 2018 Tags abortion, Antman, Avengers, Black Widow, Boseman, Captain America, Chris Evans, chris pratt, Cumberbatch, downey, Dr. Strange, Fury, genocide, Gillian, Groot, Guardians of the Galaxy, Hawkeye, Infinity War, Josh Brolin, Mankus, Marvel, mass murder, McFeely, population control, Ruffalo, Samuel L Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Schiavo, Spiderman, spoiler, T'Challa, Team Cap, Team Iron Man, Thanos, Titan, Tom HollandLeave a comment on FORGET TEAM CAP VERSUS TEAM IRON MAN – ARE YOU TEAM AVENGERS OR…TEAM THANOS? | Others, like Johannson's Black Widow and Evans' Captain America, move in these skins so comfortably that, on screen, they ARE those characters – irreplacably …… at least for the next generation or two. Most of these actors have been working on these Marvel films together for over 10 years. So when I say the chemistry amongst them comes very naturally and it seems as though they have known each other for a very long time, it is because they HAVE.
Downey's Stark and Jackson's Fury, for example, go all the way back to the very first Marvel Easter egg in 2008's Iron Man.
The interplay of emotions between the different dramatis personae have such long and complexly interwoven backstories that the actors now have the theatrical palette to approach every conversation with subtle intimacy of long acquaintance – like old married couples or childhood friends, college roommates or combat buddies – even if the couples have divorced or the friends have had a falling out.
It's not surprising that the quality of the writing is excellent because Christopher Mankus and Stephen McFeely's pedigrees, between the two of them, include all three Captain Americas and the Narnia movies. These are writers who know how to work with a large ensemble of characters, using intelligent, even heightened, language with humor and a core sense of morality, instilling in their creations' dialogues an irrefutable understanding of what is right and what is wrong.
And since I have mentioned it – one of the things I think shines out beautifully in this script is the unspoken, undiscussed assumption that there IS a right and a wrong. There are some points on which there IS no gray area – nor should be. The heros in Infinity War do not really care about Thanos' motivations, nor do they care to engage in an intellectually elite roundtable discussion on the pros and cons of his plan. They do not even care if Thanos is correct. All they know is that what Thanos is DOING is WRONG and evil. That there IS a good and bad in the Universe and that no amount of situational ethics or moral relativity can justify it. What Thanos wants to do is BAD, end of debate. And they will do everything in their power to stop him. Because what he is trying to do is, prima facie, EVIL. They don't even need to talk about it and it is not even brought up, but the rightness of the cause for which the heros fight is a constant background hum against which they measure their every conversation and every plan.
Some condemn super hero movies as formulaic or repetitive. But the moral compass with which these extraordinary and idealized men and women sail NEEDS to be reiterated, especially, now, as often as we have breath.
And, again, without spoilers, it shines through in our heroes. Revelations are to be had about Thanos' plans and reasons behind them. He is made an understandable, if not sympathetic character and his reasons, to him, seem logical. And if you want to know what they are and what Texas has to do with it – continue reading.
SPOILER – BUT ONLY OF THANOS' MOTIVATION
Did you know that everyone on the planet could live in Texas?
To explain this I need to warn you of one spoiler – but ONLY A SPOILER OF MOTIVATION – not of what happens to anyone.
The battle plans of Thanos, the big blue bad guy hovering on a throne since the Easter Egg at the end of 2011's Thor, should be no surprise anyway – his very name means DEATH. Thanos plans to kill half of every sentient creature in the Universe. Why?! Because – he actually says – he thinks the Universe has finite resources. Therefore, he | 780 |
Slice of Good Ol Boy Life
About the Life
Sports<|fim_middle|> day ago
Zippadee Doo Da Done. twitter.com/WDWNT/status/1… 3 days ago
I can now add holding the rope line for @Globies autographs to the list of amazing experiences in my life. #Blessed #Service 3 days ago
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PCNH
SFGN
Street Roots
Back on Stage with Ed
Interviewing Ed
The summer trumpets have sounded. Into the autumn we go. Noise of political campaigns consume much of my days and nights — my reporting automatic at this point. I can see what is coming and avoiding danger, drama and becoming a jaded, bitter journalist is what keeps me on guard.
I have joined a monthly writer's group separate from my two main employers. This gives me hope. At our first meeting, they ripped up my writing style pretty good. Call it an intervention on my addiction to clichés. My writing needs more description, they say. More color. More flavor.
Well, here we go.
When I shook Ed Asner's hand I was surprised at its strength. It was a firm grip from a meaty hook. We were in Orlando, at the Doubletree Resort at a conference for mature people. Asner is 85 and he doesn't forget easily. The legendary actor remains ever vigilant in the causes he holds dear. Fighting for the disadvantaged and working poor.
"For so many of us he embodied what being a man was all about," said Tomcat, the conference organizer.
At this conference, I was the moderator on a panel of two — Asner and moi. My chief concern was not embarassing this Hollywood legend. Asner was cranky and cut me off on several occasions, much to the audience's delight. My youthful inexperience during the program seemed to be part of the draw. I told the audience this was a first for me — sharing the stage with a Hollywood legend.
But it was not my first time standing before a crowd.
Flashback to 2010 and the race for the Florida House.
On an early Friday morning on the campus of Florida State University, candidates gathered to give speeches to the business community. This chamber of commerce function was attended by all levels — local, state and federal.
I dressed in a suit with pin-strip black pants. During this campaign I was intent on demonstrating an air of worldliness. I knew — we all knew — I would be defeated so I might as well go down in style.
Introduced to the audience by the former Speaker of the House, I spoke atop a wooden structure called a "stump" that had been placed on the stage. It was my desire to deliver words that would make my campaign stand out. I wanted to be remembered and I knew that the issues I was championing would not be a big hit in this room. Panama City, once a stronghold of Democratic values, had been flipped, like much of the South to represent Republican positions.
I was not speaking to the choir — and that was part of the fun.
And so from atop a staged stump, wearing Wall Street threads (Even mentioned to the audience, I was wearing Prada label shoes) I basically for all intents and purposes told those assembled to fuck off.
"Let me close with these words," I said — slowly and softly — into the microphone. "It is a complicated world out there and only the naive see it in black and white."
Later in the campaign, the Democratic Party chairwoman would say that speech was a turning point. The Republicans began to fight my message even harder.
"You scared them, John," she said.
Five years later, I was on a stage in Orlando with labor activist and screen titan, Mr. Ed Asner. This manly man, as his admirers describe, fought the establishment many times in his career and lived to tell about it. I felt rejuvenated by his side and ready for the fight once more. Asner was blacklisted by the Reagan administration. I was by the local GOP good ol' boys.
Common ground, through adveristy, was forged.
Tags: EdAsner, Hollywood, Panama City
Categories : Panama City, Politics
Leaving Los Angeles just a Shadow of Myself
I almost missed the train back to Arizona. "John, what time is your train?," Normen asked as Joel and I browsed the sales racks at the Gap store in Hollywood.
"Oh yeah, the train," I realized, pulling out my iPhone to check the time. I had one hour till departure. "We better go."
And we did, briskly walking through the heavy crowds of people gathered on the sidewalks outside the Chinese Theater and down Hollywood Boulevard to where we had parked the car. On the windshield, a parking ticket courtesy of the City of Los Angeles greeted us. Union Station wasn't that far away, but the traffic was thick and it was almost five o'clock. We would never make it, I thought.
Normen gives the victory sign, as Cheng Yew and Jastine figure out the parking meter.
Crowds packed Hollywood Boulevard.
The guys were staying a few extra days in LA before driving up to San Francisco then flying across country to New York before departing back to Singapore. It would be one of those trips they would remember for the rest of their lives. I had made a similar journey to Europe as a teenager and those memories are still very much alive. I was thankful to have been a small part of their American experience.
Somehow we made it to Union Station with a few minutes to spare. Jastine and Cheng Yew accompanied me to tracks, where we said our goodbyes and had our hugs. They asked me to visit Singapore one day and promised to show me around. I said I would and thanked them for our friendship — a friendship developed over the course of living and working together for the past 10 weeks in the isolated, desert climate that is Grand Canyon. I would miss them. A lot.
The ride back to the Canyon was depressing. I was alone again — with still two months of work to go. Despite a nearly full train, I was the only one who made late dinner reservations in the dining car. The food was fair, the rolls hard as rocks, but the service was super. I enjoyed chatting with the Amtrak employees and conductors. They all were approachable and friendly, unlike those stuffy 50-something flight attendants often pushing the drink cart on a Delta plane. Most of the crew were in for the long haul to Chicago. One of the conductors asked me where I was from. "Florida," I said and then he grinned and replied, "Interesting Governor you got there."
Elected in 2010 during the Tea Party wave that swept me and many other Democrats out to sea, Florida Governor Rick Scott made a name for himself as an ideologue, hellbent on fighting the Obama Administration every step of the way. So when the federal government offered funds to the states to construct a high speed rail network, Scott refused the program and the money went elsewhere.
"They're building a new connection from LA to San Francisco with your money," the conductor gleefully said. "It's projected to be the fastest route in America."
"I'm sure it will be," I replied, adding just a tinge of sardonic wit.
Florida was very much on my mind during those last months I spent working at the Canyon. I knew it would be a battleground state in the upcoming Presidential election and polls were showing Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee, to be leading in the Sunshine State. My break from politics had been refreshing and reinvigorating. Nature had truly heeled a lot of old wounds and now I was ready to return to the game.
I spent the remainder of my time at Grand Canyon hanging out with my roommate Brian, who was eagerly anticipating the start of the college and pro football season. We traveled down to Flagstaff on one scorching Saturday afternoon to attend Arizona Cardinals training camp. The crowds were enormous that day and it was quite clear the people of the desert southwest were starved for a good NFL team.
Arizona Cardinals training camp in Flagstaff.
When I wasn't working or hanging out with Brian, I would go to the employee recreation center to lift weights, write, read the New York Times and visit with the international workers. I had gotten fairly close to a few of the Turks. One, a shaggy haired teenager named Ozgur, had become my table tennis buddy. He was quite gifted with the paddle. His English speaking skills were another story. I helped Ozgur with his English and he, in turn, taught me a few key phrases in Turkish. I would learn to say "Merhaba" and "Arkadas" with an Istanbul accent. Ozgur wanted to come to Florida with me after his work was finished. I really didn't know what to say to this request, afraid he would not be able to understand my world back home.
I had not been entirely honest with my co-workers and friends from the Grand Canyon about circumstances involving my being there. But September was on the horizon and I would soon be stepping out of the shadows.
Tags: Amtrak, ChengYew, Hollywood, Jastine, Joel, Normen
Categories : California, Football, Los Angeles, Politics, Sports, The Train, Travel
Behind the scenes soccer
The next morning, still a bit fuzzy from the Kush, we collected ourselves and made a day of it at Universal Studios Hollywood. I think Joel was slightly aggravated about the rest of us toking up. The lingering effects sure made the rides at Universal fun. Most of the rides were stationary, three dimensional experiences as opposed to high flying roller coasters and were themed around popular movie franchises — Transformers, The Simpsons, The Mummy, and so on and so on. For me, the highlight was the studio back lot tour where you board a tram for a behind-the-scenes glimpse of famed Hollywood movie sets.
And ingenious works in progress. Amazing how well the lens can fool you.
Later that night, Jastine, Cheng Yew and I took in a Dodgers game. This was a sentimental stop for me, having grown up an Atlanta Braves fan and watching many a battle with Los Angeles' boys in blue.
California fossil
Dodger Stadium is one of the older ones in Major League Baseball, its tall swaying palm trees a familiar sight from years watching Ted Turner's superstation. Just being in the stands on a clear and cool night in Chavez Ravine, munching on a Dodger dog was pretty damn awesome. The game not so much. A pitcher's duel won by the visiting Philadelphia Phillies. I hate the Phillies.
On my final day in LA, we soaked up the syrup at Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles before visiting the La Brea Tar Pits. Roscoe's was a homage to Southern cuisine and would be the closest my Singaporean friends would get to a Dixie fried delicacy during their American tour. Best I could tell, they enjoyed it, despite still not budging on the tipping procedure. At the tar pits — another lasting image of Los Angeles seared into my memory by the entertainment industrial complex — we got a tour of the grounds given, surprisingly enough, by a recent Auburn University graduate. It was here, that I learned California's state fossil is indeed the saber toothed cat.
After the tar pits, we returned to Hollywood for one last meal together and shopping before I had to catch the train back to Arizona. Large crowds were gathered outside the Chinese Theater for a premiere of the dance movie "Step Up Revolution." No one in our group seemed interested. We ate at a sports themed restaurant. SEC football media days were on the TV sets. I explained to Joel this was the dominant college football conference. Winners played on those teams, I said.
"Your football makes no sense, John," Joel observed. "All that stop and go. Stop and go. It's boring."
Joel loved soccer as did Jastine. And Desmond, my hiking buddy.
I watched the Singaporeans join with the Turks to beat the French, Bulgarians and Americans — beat them badly — at the Grand Canyon Recreation Center's annual East vs. West match. The French group came out to the Canyon in mid summer and the women reinforced every negative stereotype I could imagine. The guys were actually very cool and I learned quite a bit about Parisian culture, particularly from this one Moroccan. More on him, later.
The Turks were aggressive on the field — the exact same field that would be transformed, later that night, into grazing grounds for a herd of elk. The elk were a constant reminder of our wild living conditions, far from the streets of Paris. One of the Bulgarians nearly broke his leg that day. The Turks were relentless and not even a stout American goalie could stop enough of their advances. The match would become the subject of much conversation at the employee cafeteria. Soccer was all the rage during the summer of 2012. It was not entirely foreign to me. I played the sport as a grade school kid in the Orlando suburbs. I recall being self conscious about my shin guards being bigger than my legs. Quite the challenge being the smallest one in your class or on the team.
Easy prey for bullies.
Grand Canyon Kicks
Elk on the field
Tags: Baseball, Dodgers, Hollywood, Joel, Soccer
Categories : California, Grand Canyon, Los Angeles, Sports
Kushed Out in Hollywood
I do admit to leading a pretty charmed life. Sure, there have been highs and lows throughout, but the summer of 2012 has to be one of the best ever. I was high in every sense of the word that mid July night, sitting rooftop of our Hollywood apartment. We all were, having just gamed the California medical system by scoring some marijuana during our visit to Venice Beach. I was amazed at how easy it was and how openly corrupt the entire process appeared.
Marijuana doctors on duty in Venice Beach, California.
But as we shared a puff of premium grade OG Kush, one thing was for sure. Nobody was hurting.
The view from the roof was amazing at night. Smog circles drifting overhead, the lights of Griffith Observatory shining from the nearby hills and in the opposite direction stood the skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles. Normen, Cheng Yew, Jastine and I went up to the top — with joints and beers — to indulge in our vices. Joel stayed in the apartment. Someone, after all, had to remain responsible. As twin brothers go, Normen and Jastine could not be more opposite. Jastine the steady, calculating planner, Normen the fashionable performing artist. I had gotten to know Jastine much better as we spent time discovering the Grand Canyon while he recuperated from a collapsed lung suffered upon arriving in America. I guess you could say we bonded over adversity. I, wounded ego, in self-imposed political exile and he a wounded stranger in a strange land.
Normen worked at a different location so we rarely hung out, but he had the same job only at a much higher volume store. His shop, at Bright Angel Lodge, was right on the rim and he would work eight hour shifts — sometimes never stepping away from the cash register. Meanwhile, further into the village at Maswik Lodge, Cheng Yew and I would go hours without recording a sale. Based on those negotiating skills and his hipster looks, Normen became our point man for securing the weed.
"That doctor was a joke," he said, emerging from the Venice Beach "Green Doctors" office with prescription in hand. There were more medical marijuana operations in Southern California than McDonald's, or at least it seemed. Green crosses, denoting clinics and dispensaries, were everywhere you turned. For a hick from North Florida and exchange students from Singapore, this was indeed a whole new world.
Jastine pressed his brother for answers, "What did the doctor ask you?"
"What I needed marijuana for," Normen replied.
Keep in mind, Normen is a picture of health. Young, firmly built and agile. He would never be mistaken for a cancer stricken patient or someone suffering from AIDS. The week before arriving in LA, he had hiked the Canyon, rim to rim during the height of the summer's scorching heat.
"And what did you tell him?," Jastine asked.
"That I had insomnia," said Normen. "And then he wrote me a prescription."
Just like that. We were all amazed. Of course, there was a catch. You paid forty bucks up front for the initial evaluation and after the doc cleared you, the next hurdle was finding the right pharmacy. As Normen quickly found, everyone had a hand out along the way. The dispensaries were protected like banks, only with meaner looking security. We all waited patiently as Normen went inside to select his "medicine." He ended up with the OG Kush and Sativa and after dinner on our first night in LA, we passed the joint around and marveled at our surroundings.
Our headquarters in Hollywood, California across the street from Paramount Pictures.
The weed certainly helped my sunburn. I had gotten roasted pretty good at the beach, but the more I toked up the less pain I felt. This had been the first time in a long time, I had smoked marijuana. It was, without a doubt, available in the Canyon, but I never pursued it. I was intent on projecting leadership and didn't want to fall in with the stoner crowd. But here, on a mini vaca in California, it was time to experiment.
With each puff, I found the kush to make me a tad over analytical. Were those helicopters in the distance coming for us? Were they even there?? The kush hit Cheng Yew like a ton of bricks, so much so that Normen had to help him down the narrow flight of stairs back to the apartment. Jastine and I followed and eventually we all passed out. Insomnia cured.
Tags: ChengYew, Hollywood, Jastine, Joel, Normen, Weed
Categories : California, Los Angeles, Singapore, Weed
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From "the" Associated Press twitter.com/apstylebook/st… 2 hours ago
Getting pretty good at these reels. 13 hours ago
We thought COVID would unite the country, turns out Ticketmaster is doing it. 1 | 4,264 |
The chicken here was slippery, slightly waxy and bouncy - probably poached in a rich consomme of sorts. It was very good, and best out of the three I tried this trip, but it wasn't the best chicken I've ever had. In fact, I've never had Hainanese chicken that has really knocked my socks off. Maybe I'm just spoilt by the intense flavours of steamed Chinese free-range chicken, or simply more used to it. Food has such a classical cultural conditioning component to<|fim_middle|> Nanxiang has a branch on Tanjong Katong Rd, which is nearly another great chicken rice joint in the basement of Katong Shopping Centre. Convenient if you are on a chicken rice eating spree.
The chicken part of Hainanese Chicken Rice equation, to me, is not as important as the rice. Not a big fan of bland white boiled chicken. Some do make it better than others, e.g Tian Tian's chicken > Nanxiang's. But it's the overall combination of chicken, rice and a good chili sauce that will hit the spot for me.
Five Star, Boon Tong Kee... bleh.
i'm salivating reading this post. i usually go to boon tong kee which is good, but largely over rated. grew up in serangoon gardens, so grew up on the famous pow sing chicken rice, and i also like tientien chicken rice from maxwell. Although it's the giant curry puffs I really dig from maxwell market!!!
There's another variation of ginger chicken rice @ soup restaurant, it's a samsui woman recipe. you eat it wrapped in a lettuce, but the chicken is really really tender and good.
ironically, i have never tried any of the 3 places u've been, so shame on me and will go there next trip home! | it that we all seem to forget when we're talking up "best" lists and the like. Anyway, I digress (way too early in the post!).
Standard sauces and a disappointing barley drink (weird syrupy taste).
Decent rice and soup, nothing much to say - neither were bad but there was nothing standout about them.
This is their white chicken - if you like fat & jelly, this is for you. Perhaps this was what kept it more hydrated than the Yet Con chicken. This was more a wet & slippery variety (I personally prefer a greater "chew" factor), but quite tasty nonetheless. Something makes me think this was also a frozen chicken though, or at least not a free range one that sat around and got horribly fleshy and fat.
Then again, I know a lot of people appreciate fleshy chicken and think chicken should be fleshy. Each to their own. I like bones and I think less flesh means more flavour (for simplicity's sake, let's say the "amount" of flavour per chicken is constant, so if you increase mass, you'll decrease flavour per bite/cubic cm - of course flavour isn't constant, but if you know of a big fleshy chicken absolutely packed with flavour, we need to talk).
The roast factor makes everything more intense and interesting for the palate I suppose. This was good, same wet quality as the white chicken.
Grated ginger rather than a sauce - I don't know what's 'authentic', but anything that maximises ginger content is good by me. The chilli was relatively fluid, similar to Yet Con's.
Rice - alarmingly large grains! But other than size, little to report. Deeper soup than the usual savoury dishwater variety.
Pretty decent barley water. A bit too sweet for me still. For the record, the best I had this trip was a Founder bak kut teh.
It was at Nanxiang that I started to wonder what really matters in a chicken rice. I was always under the impression that fantastic chicken was a prerequisite in a chicken rice - and only after that do you go on and ponder the rice, sauces and soup. I'm not afraid to say that this chicken was a limp, chalky, tasteless mass of protein (not the sauce, the quality of the chicken itself). With rice so exemplary, it was a real shame that this chicken was so below average, yet Nanxiang is often considered one of Singapore's best. So I guess I had my priorities all wrong...?
As I said, the rice was terrific. Fluffy and dry, and almost crisp (like the bits stuck on the edges of claypot rice) and al dente, with a good toss of ginger. The chilli was also superb - I think they blended it with some lime juice.
After these 3 chicken rices, my ideal would be Yet Con chicken + Nan Xiang rice and sauces + Wee Nam Kee's soup. That said, the only thing that truly knocked my socks off was Nanxiang's rice & condiments. YC's chicken was better than the rest, but still not wow.
I have a feeling Singaporeans/Malaysians are probably quite different to us Hong Kongers when it comes to chicken rice preferences too!
Wud love to know what they think as well! Reminds me of HK vs Japanese ramen expectations. Hard to judge!
Fleshy flavourful chicken are creatures of fantasy...like unicorns.
thanks for the info on the claypot rice!
Stumbled upon your blog. Love your take on food and your writing style.
Didn't spend more time looking on your blog but surprised if you have not had Tian Tian @ Maxwell Food Centre. Great rice. In the same tier as Nanxiang. Decent chicken, good chilli sauce. A winning overall combination. | 790 |
On the SugarCube v2 wiki, it says that when creating widgets, the passage should have a widget tag and that widgets should never<|fim_middle|> would know how best to do things. Just because something appears to be working correctly doesn't mean it is. | be used in special passages. What is the reason for this? I've tested it and it seems to work fine.
WARNING: Widgets should always be defined within their own separate widget-tagged passage—any widgets that are not may be lost on page reload. Do not add a widget tag to any of the specially named passages and attempt to define your widgets there.
There is a certain order in which passages are being parsed and ran.
First, everything in the script and widget passages is being processed (and the stylesheet ones too, but those shouldn't contain any active code anyway). This ensures their contents are available before any actual game passage which might use them.
Then comes some special passages like StoryInterface and possibly StoryAuthor, StoryBanner, StorySubtitle and so on. Those define the UI elements and their contents and shouldn't do anything else.
Then, if and only if you start the game anew, comes StoryInit. If you're already mid-game and hit the browser's "reload" button, this passage isn't run and nothing you put in there will be used.
And then your starting passage is run, along with all the task object code and their corresponding special passages.
You want your widgets and macros to be defined as early as possible and you want them to be defined no matter what the player does with the game, so you should put them in the widget and script tagged passages.
That said ... if you need a macro (doesn't work with widget as well from what I saw) in just a single passage, you can also define it right there. Just make sure you do so before you use it.
The main problem with defining macros and/or widgets within normal passages is how the history and saves interact—which is a topic I've no intention of getting into here. Save yourself a future headache and just don't do it.
Additionally, it appars the "Widget" passage is deleted when the widgets have been defined. Try making a widget-tagged passage called widget, and then putting "<<goto "Widget">>" inside the first passage. It returns an error (passage dos not exist).
Adding commentary to a eight month old question that was already answered is not helpful, especially when your comment is factually incorrect.
Widget passages are not deleted. You cannot cannot navigate to a widget passage because you're not supposed to be able to do that. Like script and stylesheet passages (depending on the compiler), they are meant only to define code. They are kept completely separate from the normal passage store.
The warning you quoted explains a reason you don't define widgets in specially named passages, because under certain conditions the macros they define may not be re-created if the page is reloaded.
Different special passage types are validated and stored differently, and the different special passage types are executed in a particular order with StoryInit being one of the last special passages to be executed.
But the main reason you don't define widgets within the StoryInit special passage is because the developer's documentation tells you not to, and you would think that the person designing the story format | 615 |
In Lavell the wife issued a subpoena to produce documents to the husband's accountancy firm. The wife paid $43 by way of conduct money. The husband's accountant sought reimbursement of $4000 for "substantial loss and expense" incurred as a result of compliance with the subpoena pursuant to Regulation 15.23(3) of the Family Law Rules.
Under Regulation 15.23(3) of the Family Law Rules a "named person" may be reimbursed if they incur a substantial loss or expense that is greater than the amount of the conduct money payable. The court stated that a loss is "substantial" where it is "unusual in the sense of requiring normal activity to be stopped; or it must cause an unfair inconvenience having regard to the fact that the recipient has nothing to do with the litigation".
The court held that the expenses of the accounting firm in this case were "substantial" and hence it was entitled to reimbursement.
Regulation 15.23(3) gives the "named person" an entitlement to be paid the "<|fim_middle|> expense incurred by the accounting firm as a result of its compliance with the wife's subpoena. | reasonable expenses" of complying with the subpoena. The court held that in calculating the reasonable expenses under this rule what the firm would have charged for the work involved is only relevant as a guide. The focus is on balancing the "interests of the administration of justice" and the inconvenience caused to the firm.
The court held that $1000 was adequate recompense for the | 77 |
Can't say I really like the term kaizen. It reminds me too much of work, where management try and get you to do more, whilst they reap the benefits, and you should be grateful for improving your job security. Where brown nosers are saying yes, to climb up the ladder, on the backs of those who will have to spend their life implementing the changes. It reminds me of those Japanese factory workers who are transformed into robots for the benefits of the company. I prefer the tradesman mentality, the cottage industry approach, where you benefit from your own skills, as well as the pride in the quality of your own work as an individual, and also the pride in the achievement of any apprentice that you steer in the right direction. Never the less, continuous improvement<|fim_middle|> that I will fill in for my journalling and my announcement calendar analysis, and Monday morning I will be at my charts set up for 06:00am gmt, after a good nights sleep, for an improved week of observations. | is what all individuals or groups need, to succeed in our ever global economy. None more so than the aspiring discretionary trader. Currency trading is a truly global industry, and to succeed we need to keep improving enough to find our tipping point to success. Then to keep on improving, to keep up with its ever changing nature and to keep control of the cycles of our own performance, to above the level of our previously attained tipping point.
It really doesn't matter about the content of that previous rant. What matters is me and my improvement. This week I sat down with the charts, to put on my trendlines, my support and resistance and then to watch what happened. I wanted to see my lines being acted upon by price in the future, as opposed to retro fitting lines on past charts and kidding myself that it would work in the real life future. Really this week, I was only playing at it. I didn't keep to any routine, it was all haphazard, a load of notes that I wrote up everyday on my blog, but anyone can do that with little consequence to the outcome.
However it was a start. I was thinking about this before I read the latest of James Clears weekly posts, http://jamesclear.com/inside-cuts and realised I've made an excellent, if slow and lazy start. Previously when starting things, I've dived in head first with huge amounts of enthusiasm. I did this when I first got into forex with forextrainingworks.com and then later at theforextradinginsitute.com, both times giving up when the enthusiasm died and realism of the struggle kicked in. This time I almost feel like there is something wrong, it is lethargic, almost boring. But I'm going to slowly build on my process, without the dreams of success interfering, as at the moment I feel like they have almost been knocked out of me.
I am basing my plan on LR Thomas's High ROI Scalping method, but developing my own entry, during the trade and exit strategies based on various things that have resonated with me from various sources. I am veering towards entering right on my lines, with no post bounce price action confirmation. I need to improve my charting and concentrate on the best support and resistance with confluence of trendlines and 50, 62 0r 76 fibs. I need to know how to deal with a zone as well as a line of support. I need to know the influence of the announcements on my barriers. I need to know by how far my barriers are normally pierced, so as to place the most effective stops. The times of day when they work best. How fast the price should be travelling and from how far away before they hit. When a squeeze on my line is occuring. Of course the effects will differ for each pair. With eight pairs to look at this appears to be quite a task, for each will have its own influences and outcomes. I'm loath to cut the number down, but I know it will come. Some traders only end up trading one pair. Maybe I'll get rid of the loonie or the eurgbp cross, both of which spent a lot of time in small ranges. Maybe I should get rid of the aud or jpy pairs that move during the Asian session, or maybe I should have a mixed bag that don't correlate or focus on certain groups that do?
This week I've had a few days off work to look after my daughter for the school half term holidays. I've been relegated to the laptop whilst my desktop has been commandeered for Minecraft and Skyping school mates. She's with her Mum today, but I've only made a quick analysis of my charts. I'm in for one day shift on Sunday then I'm off for four not going back until Friday night. It is only once in a while it works out like this ,so I better make the most of it. I need my charts updated before Monday morning. I've got a few ideas of proforma paper work | 828 |
Q: Excel function that will search column, pick out arrays, and sum their respective totals I need a function to search my spreadsheet for which there will be multiple arrays. I need the search to include all the cells in between two specific headers throughout the spreadsheet but only sum certain cells between these headers from respective data.
{'A':['dog','cat','dog','dog'],
'B':[4,2,1,2],
'C':['dog'],
'D':[3],
}
Per this example, I need the function to search the 1st column for any cells located in between header "A" and "B<|fim_middle|> I need the function to pick out the cells named "dog" and sum the totals (7).
A: SUMIFS(sum_range, criteria_range1, criteria1, [criteria_range2,
criteria2], …)
can let you do this if you specify what ranges to sum and what ranges contain the criteria and what that criteria is.
If you have the following,
A B C D
Dog 4 dog 3
cat 2
dog 1
dog 2
=SUMIFS(B:B,A:A,"dog")
| ". Then | 2 |
It's common knowledge that certain types of tea offer health benefits, including weight loss, anxiety relief, and help with pesky menopause symptoms. But according to research, your tea might actually be dangerous to your health if it's too hot.
A recent study published in the International Journal of Cancer linked the consumption of very hot tea with an increased risk of esophageal cancer. Researchers followed 50,045 people over 10 years and found that drinking 700 ml of tea that is too hot per day was associated with a 90 percent higher risk of esophageal cancer when compared to the consumption of less tea at a cooler temperature.
So, how hot is too hot? In this study, the danger zone was defined as 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) or higher. But as you can probably guess, most people don't measure the temperature of their tea — or any hot beverage — before they take a sip. Fortunately, there is an easier way to tell if tea is too scalding to drink. According to Science Alert, "Most of us will start to experience discomfort when we touch a surface that's approaching 50 degrees Celsius<|fim_middle|> words, if you feel uncomfortable at all while drinking your tea, wait it out before taking a second sip. Don't try to "push through it," no matter how much of a rush you're in. It's not worth putting your health at risk! Plus, isn't tea more enjoyable when it's not burning your tongue anyway? | ."
In other | 3 |
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From:£1,985
South Korea group tour
Dates, prices & availability
11 Days excluding flights
More info:Price includes accommodation on twin/double basis, airport transfers (except final day transfer), touring with English-speaking Guide, entry fees and meals as stated (B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner). Sgl supp: £765pp Maximum group size: 20.
Check dates, prices & availability
Description of South Korea group tour
South Korea has a rich cultural heritage which contrasts sharply with its ultra modern image of bright lights, big cities and industrial and technological advances. This 11-day classic group tour takes in the highlights of this intriguing country which many people will find pleasantly surprising.
Explore the bustling metropolis of Seoul with its high rise buildings and super efficient subway juxtaposed with the serenity of sites such as the grounds around what remains of the Gyeongbok Palace. Explore the impressive reproduction of local life in the Korean Folk Village which teaches you a little about Korean culture in the 18th and 19th centuries and enjoy panoramic views of the city from atop Seoul Tower.
Explore scenic Songnisan National Park, known for its excellent walking trails, and the famous Beopjusa temple which is home to a number of golden Buddhas and the largest Buddha in Korea standing at 33 metres high. Drive to Gyeongju, the 'museum without walls', an area of important archaeological interest where relics are being unearthed on a regular basis.
Discover the Tripitaka Koreana, a set of complete Buddhist scriptures in Haeinsa temple, a UNESCO registered site of historical importance and take a boat trip on Chungju Lake before departing for Samhwasa Temple for an authentic overnight stay. Dress the part and partake in the evening Buddhist ceremonies of bell-ringing and chanting mass and enjoy meals from the organic garden. Rise early for morning mass and to enjoy the remote sunrise vistas before heading to the DMZ for views into North Korea.
Return to Seoul via Mount Seorak National Park for a cable car ride to visit the Shinhuengsa Temple and choose to enjoy the relaxing hot springs. This interesting and varied group tour explores remote national parks, historical temples and bustling cities to give an excellent all-round South Korean experience.
Day-by-day experiences
Day 1 Land in Seoul and transfer to the hotel for the next two nights. The remainder of the day is at leisure.
Day 2 Start a half-day city tour. Visit the National Museum of Korea which was built in 2005 and boasts a fantastic collection of Korean art and relics. From here head to Changdeok Palace & Huwon (Secret Garden) both UNESCO World Heritage sites. End the day with a visit to Seoul Tower on Mt. Namsan to enjoy a bird's eye view of the metropolitan city of Seoul and the chance to explore Gwangjang Market. (B)
Day 3 Transfer to the Korean Folk Village located just outside Seoul. Discover the tastefully reconstructed traditional Korean village before continuing on to pretty Songnisan National Park which offers excellent walking trails. Visit the Beopjusa Temple which is regarded as one of the largest and most impressive temples in the country. After time here drive to Daegu via the expressway. (B)
Day 4 This morning explore the Daegu Yangnyeongsi Museum of Oriental Medicine and the Seomun Market which is steeped in history. Drive to Gyeongju which was the capital of the Silla Kingdom for almost 1,000 years, a truly impressive statistic. Explore Gyeongju with visits to the Cheomseongdae Astr<|fim_middle|>a Temple and the Seokguram Grotto, established in the 8th century on the slopes of Mt. Toham. The grotto contains a monumental statue of a sitting Buddha looking out to sea and it is considered a masterpiece of Far East Buddhist art. Drive along the pretty coastline to Guryongpo Port. (B)
Day 6 Check out and transfer to Unmoonsa Temple (Buddhist Nun's temple) before proceeding to Busan, the second largest city in South Korea. Enjoy a half-day tour taking in Busan Tower on Mt Yongdusan with its observation deck offering stunning views of the city and beyond, the interesting Jagalchi Fishery Market and Nampodong Street. (B)
Day 7 Drive to Mt Gayasan National Park and visit Haeinsa Temple which has an important Korean cultural treasure called Tripikata Koreana. Proceed to Andong, the best-preserved village in the country, visit Hahoe Village and proceed to Chungju Lake. (B)
Day 8 Board a sightseeing boat and head out on the lake. Afterwards drive to Woljeongsa Temple for a unique temple stay experience. Upon arrival don your temple uniform and this evening attend the bell-beating ceremony along with chanting mass and a meditation course. Spend the night in a shared Korean-style room. There are no 'phones/TV's and bathroom facilities are separated for men and women. No alcohol is allowed. Overnight at the temple (there is a private room in the monastery OR a hotel option available for a supplement). (B)
Day 9 There is the option to wake up at 3am for morning worship and to enjoy sunrise. After breakfast, transfer to Pine City Gangneung to visit the Chamsori Gramophone & Audio Museum. Transfer to Mt. Seorak National Park and enjoy a cable car ride to Gwongeumseong Fortress and a visit the Sinheungsa Temple. (B)
Day 10 After breakfast transfer to Yanggu and visit the War Memorial Museum built to commemorate the sacrifice and heroism of those who fought in the Korean War. Explore the 4th infiltration tunnel dug by the North Korean Army and discovered in 1990 and the Eulji Observatory which sits about 1km from the military demarcation line. Transfer to Gapyeong to visit the Garden of Morning Calm Flower and Tree Park, which displays unique Korean Wild Flowers and trees in the garden located in a mountain valley. Return to Seoul for the afternoon at leisure, why not try a spot of shopping at Itaewon shopping District. (B)
Day 11 Today is at leisure until you return to the airport for your onward flight (departure transfer not included). (B)
Travel Team
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Responsible tourism: South Korea group tour
South Korea is a country where 'green' policies and principles are only slowly making inroads into the country so it's all about the little things adding up to slowly start to make a difference. The very nature of this tour as a shared transport, group tour helps to minimise the environmental impact of visitors compared to many individual travellers using separate vehicles. Many of the hotels used on the tour are locally owned and staffed and, while some of them may be larger properties, all are important employers of local people from hospitality staff right up to management level.
We are always talking to our local ground agents about the need to stress to clients the importance of basic responsible principles such as appropriate waste disposal, not to waste water, turning off lights on leaving the room in hotels, not replacing towels and bedding daily etc.
As a company we have introduced responsible practices in our UK office including paper, cardboard, aluminium and plastic recycling. We also support local UK charities including the RNIB and various charities around the world. 50% of our office staff use public transport (bus and train) and cycle to work. Management encourages this with their introduction of the cycle to work scheme which offers subsidised cycle ownership.
On our South Korea holidays all services are provided by local Korean people which includes your local English-speaking group guides, the drivers, local guides at various monuments/sites (such as the DMZ) and hotel staff. All staff are paid a fair wage for South Korea and all wages are kept within the local communities thereby supporting local people. Furthermore, by visiting these hotels and sites additional income is brought into the region, further helping to develop the local area. All meals are included on the itinerary and food is sourced locally whether it is served in the hotels or a local restaurant.
The holiday includes a stay in a traditional Buddhist temple which offers an insight into local Buddhist life with the participation in their ceremonies and meditation classes. This overnight stay is an inportant source of income for the temple with the payment for each guest but also with the purchase by the group operator of all food from the temple's on-site organic garden.
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Holidays that you view will be shown here. If you'd like any help contact us. | onomic Observatory and the Royal Tumuli Park with its Royal tombs. There is the chance to enter one of the excavated tombs to see the Royal Kings burial chambers. (B)
Day 5 After breakfast, start a full day tour of Gyeongju. Visit Bulguks | 60 |
Partnering for a Thriving Central Valley
Partnering for a Thriving Central…
Our recent Embodying Equity<|fim_middle|> from the state in initiatives like Fresno DRIVE that promote locally sustainable economies.
As a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Community Vision serves as a bridge between government, community planning, financial institutions and local community-based organizations and businesses. With opportunities growing in the region, these types of partnerships become even more meaningful in achieving real impact.
Our partnership with BBVA, for example, demonstrates how Community Vision collaborates for strategic impact in the Central Valley.
BBVA is committed to responsible banking and investing and has received recognition for their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) investments. With locations along the 99, including one in Fresno and another in Clovis, BBVA's geographic focus is aligned with Community Vision's. For more than ten years, BBVA has been an institutional investor in Community Vision and an active part of our organization. John Chan, BBVA Senior Vice President, is a board member and a member of our Central Valley Advisory Group.
BBVA's investment in Community Vision leverages our respective institutional resources for enhanced impact in the Central Valley. Along with our lending services, our Consulting team is especially active in the Fresno region. Through workshops and technical assistance, Consulting staff work with nonprofits and entrepreneurs to build up their financial and real estate readiness to access and manage loan capital from institutions like BBVA and Community Vision.
Population and industry growth are projected to continue throughout the Central Valley in the foreseeable future. It's critical that economic and community development is driven by principles of economic and racial equity to ensure that future and current projects don't further perpetuate the injustices of the past. All Californians, and the country more broadly, benefits from a thriving, healthy, and sustainable Central Valley given the region's impact on our state and national economies. We look forward to continuing our role as a key partner in these communities.
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Cultivating Change for an Inclusive Economy
Community Vision Receives $2.2 million Award from CDFI Fund
[Fresno Workshop Series] Real Estate Readiness
Community Vision Updates | blog series features a piece on our work in the Central Valley where we share about our approach to beginning and expanding our work in the region. For more than a decade we've built partnerships and deployed capital for a range of community development projects throughout the Central Valley including affordable housing developments, art and culture organizations, multi-tenant nonprofit facilities, and equitable food access. And we are only able to do this work because of the partnerships that we've cultivated and continue to build throughout the Valley.
Spanning over 450 miles, from the Tehachapi Mountain ranges just south of Bakersfield to the Cascade Range north of Redding, the Central Valley is home to nearly 6.5 million people; a population larger than that of most U.S. states. Comprised of two valleys, the Sacramento and the San Joaquin, the Central Valley is known as the bread basket of the world. The region grows 230 different crops and one-third of all produce grown in the United States, including crops indigenous crops to Mexico and Southeast Asia.
California's agriculture industry contributes approximately $50 billion annually to the State's economy, about $20 billion of which is generated by five of the seven San Joaquin Valley counties. The San Joaquin Valley is also home to large dairy and cattle operations, oil production, and various food processing and manufacturing companies; all of which contributes additional billions of dollars to California's economy. Unfortunately, this economic abundance does not translate into reinvestment or economic benefits to the local communities in the Valley. The typical Central Valley resident is not cultivating wealth by working in or living near these industries.
It is true that the Central Valley, and its major cities like Fresno, have a relatively low cost of living compared to California's larger coastal regions like the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego. However, the region is not necessarily a more affordable place to live. For instance, the median household income in counties throughout the Valley ranges from mid-$40,000 to $60,000 annually, compared to the median household income for California overall which is $82,000. Even within the same city, there are wide socioeconomic disparities. In Fresno, for example, between the North Fresno and Southwest Fresno neighborhoods there is a $15,000 difference in household income.
Influenced by many factors, development in Fresno has occurred along race and class lines creating social, economic, and environmental disparities. Fresno was built up around a railroad station that was established in 1899. The first general plan was developed in 1918 by Charles Henry Cheney and is known as the Cheney Plan. This plan codified race and class segregation in Fresno and set the stage for future development injustices as the city grew throughout the decades. While it called for a separation of land for industrial use and land for residential use, it also noted that employees of the trades and industries should be located near their places of work.
"The problem of congestion of population is closely related to the location of the trades and industries. Employees working long hours at low wages can neither afford the time nor the money to live far from work. Fresno wants no slums and cannot afford to put any hampering influences on industries; but this zone ordinance can provide adequate housing areas adjacent to the factory areas." (Cheney 1918)
Economic inequities in communities like Fresno are compounded by environmental burdens that plague the San Joaquin Valley. Along with being big money makers for the State, agriculture and dairy, oil, transportation, and manufacturing industries are also major polluters of the soil, water, and air.
Home to four of the most polluted cities in the country, the San Joaquin Valley's air quality has dangerously high levels of particulate pollution. The 2016 American Lung Association's State of the Air Report found that one in six children living in the region suffers from asthma, some of the highest rates across the state and country. Major health risks are associated with particulate pollution such as heart attacks, stroke, cancer, as well as negative impacts on neurological and reproductive systems.
Fresno experienced major investment and development in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, primarily through government urban renewal programs, as well as some private investment. Post-war revitalization through urban renewal was touted as an opportunity to improve housing in "blighted" or "slum" neighborhoods.
What this translated to in practice was large-scale demolition that forcefully displaced communities of color, immigrant communities, and low-income people from their homes. The construction of Highway 99 plowed directly through black business corridors and raised more than 20 blocks of housing. Because the freeway runs north and south, it also physically cut off the western neighborhoods from the economic development of the northeastern communities. Affordable housing projects constructed in the 1960s were concentrated in areas with heavy truck traffic and various manufacturing and animal waste industries. Private investment that came to the city in the 1970s was largely focused northwest of the downtown area, where economic development resources continue to be concentrated.
"The Central Valley has a legacy of disinvestment. This includes philanthropy and every type of financial investment. This legacy continues to this day with the exception of a few notable institutions that are leading the way showing that Valley communities not only deserve investment, but that they need to be smart investments."
– Kiel Lopez-Schmidt, Community Vision's Central Valley Regional Manager
There is a growing focus in the San Joaquin Valley's community development with new industries slowly navigating there, a focus on transportation oriented development, and the promise of deeper investment | 1,169 |
Stop Calling Me A Fool - President Mahama
President Mahama has called for a stop to criticisms of insult and vilification in the country. He says constructive criticism is the way to go instead of just raining insults and sometimes unjustified wild allegations. �If you want to criticize the President, do so, but it makes it easier for the President to ingest your criticism if you don�t say the President is �aboa<|fim_middle|> media is to serve as the society, but President Mahama was not too sure if the media in Ghana as on this trajectory. �The media must help to make society go forward and not make it go back�, he opined. | � or �kwasia� meaning animal or fool. Criticize politely and civilly�. The President said this at a special Presidential Thanksgiving Service held in his honour at the Cedar Mountain Chapel, a branch of Assemblies of God, Ghana. The occasion was to celebrate the goodness of God for the election petition victory and the peace in the country. According to the first gentleman of the land, constructive criticism rather tends to get people like himself to understand and may be agree with the perspective of the critic. �Indeed you win a person over when you criticize him in a way that makes the criticism easy to ingest,� he observed. One of the roles of the | 135 |
225: Thanks for making Text Size Changeable.
230: There seems to be no need for changes. Very nice commenting on the site I like the code.
230: The colors are very nice.
229: Graphic text is pixelated and difficult to read in toolbar on all page. Should be antialiased for best results.
230: Pictures seem clear and appropriately sized.
227: Sash bar on Chapter pages, nice.
228: Guestbook is ok to a<|fim_middle|> like the links on the bottom of the page to help navigate the site.
225: Navigation Scheme works well.
228: It was hard to find the links page; add a link to links to the menu, it was buried too deep.
230: Very nice organization to the site.
227: Very good, easy to get around in.
229: Header and footer take up a large percentage of available page and could easily be reduced in size.
228: great to see a current site.
225: Consider adding more info about the lodge, the service it provides and how it is an integral part of the council.
228: Could add link to council site to links page.
229: Links to other lodges but not to council on the resources page.
230: You have the links button which makes it easy.
228: Nice link to calendar page on menu.
230: I like the calendar link. that makes it easy for your members to look a the complete calendar.
226: You might want to use the event names as links to additional information and consistently have more detail. Some useful info might be location, time of day, contact names, costs, directions, etc.
228: good info on upcoming events.
230: You have a great way of informating your members about this. Great job!
229: Page sizes appropriately and looks correct in print preview mode.
225: An excellent site with a lot of great content and useable simple scheme. Continue to add more information, especially about lodge events.
226: Great site with lots to offer. You have great content that other lodges should emulate.
227: Very nice, good site.
229: Graphics are very loud and the pixelated nature makes the site look less professional than it could be.
230: Good looking site might want to work on some of the color and make the red a little less prevalent.
We don't show ALT on any of our yearbook pictures - that's a choice since the only info of value would be whose in it which is not within the guidelines. | point, is there someone who moderates it? If there is an obscene posting can someone edit it or remove it?
225: The dictionary is awesome!
227: For Lodge and the Chapters as well.
229: Calendar has an updated list of events on it.
230: Information was easy to find and has a useful layout.
225: Not a whole lot of information is included.
230: Information is there but limited.
228: May want to make a home link on menu, not everyone will know to hit lodge patch.
229: Common toolbar on every page for this link.
230: I | 138 |
Two weeks winter recess, two weeks spring recess and all state and federal holidays.
Our Before School Program offers a service for which students may be dropped off at the school before the school day begins. The program is offered on a daily, drop-in basis for $5 and is open at 7:00 a.m.
Our After School Program offers a variety of mixed-age group activities and outdoor play. The program is supervised by part-time and full-time staff members who are committed to providing a fun, caring, and safe setting. This program is held each school day between 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
The maximum student to teacher ratio is 1:10. Each classroom has a lead teacher and an assistant teacher. Other staff include a music teacher, a physical education teacher, Japanese Culture teacher, and Dance Exploration teacher.
Students may bring<|fim_middle|> is offered once a week. Our Creative Movement Class was created not only to "get the children moving" but also help them grow in their knowledge of our world, by teaching them about different places, cultures, music and dance. | home lunch or purchase catered lunch through En Fuego for an additional fee. All menus are monitored by a licensed dietician. The school provides an afternoon snack and beverage for students enrolled in our After School Program.
St. Clement's is an Episcopal School. The students attend chapel services three times a week. The Rector of the Parish serves as the school chaplain.
PE is offered twice a week. During PE, children work on gross motor manipulative skills such as throwing and catching a ball and locomotor skills like running, hopping, skipping and jumping. The children also practice coordination and movement through activities such as parachute play and yoga.
Music classes are offered three times a week. It is a time for our students to participate in various musical activities that foster concentration and cooperation along with exploring musical instruments and practicing rhythm.
Creative Movement | 168 |
NHL CBA Negotiations: Zenon Konopka Present At Friday's Informal Meetings
By Jordan Sargent Sep <|fim_middle|> news hub.
NHL Lockout Is Upon Us And, Unfortunately, There's No End In Sight
NHL cancels games through Nov. 1
NHL Lockout Would Still Allow Wild Players To Play In AHL | 7, 2012, 8:53pm CDT
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Representatives for the NHL and NHLPA met informally on Friday night to discuss the league's CBA, which expires on Sept. 15. Minnesota Wild center Zenon Konopka attended the meetings, which he said were for "educational purposes."
"We're getting down to the nitty gritty here, and we're trying to understand the league's proposal to the best of our ability and we're trying to explain ours to them. We're trying to find some common ground and something to build off.
"It's a good sign that we're sitting down in the same room. That can be taken as a positive, I guess. We, as players, are trying to do everything we can to get a deal done."
(via TwinCities.com)
If the two sides don't reach an agreement by Sept. 15, the league will lock the players out for the second time in a decade. No progress was reported to have been made at Friday night's meeting.
For more on the Wild, check out Hockey Wilderness or stick with SB Nation Minnesota. For more news, notes and analysis from around the NHL, head over to SB nation's hockey | 277 |
This past fall I made the huge decision to move from the Portland, Maine area to Pittsburgh PA! As I write this I am surrounded by the scene of Home Depot boxes piled to the ceiling because moving week is officially here! I can't believe how quickly February arrived!
Last<|fim_middle|> an absolute treasure. This was SUCH a special session, and I am so excited to share more about it when the film scans return!
While I am currently booking maternity, newborn, and family portrait sessions in the Pittsburgh area, I will also be traveling to New England and the Coast of Maine a few times this year. Availability during my New England trips will be limited, so be sure to reach out early if you would like a session in Maine, Connecticut, or Boston this year. | week I had the honor of photographing this in home newborn session. Stacia is the professional hair and makeup artist who I work with for the majority of my clients here in Maine, and she is | 40 |
Thirsty Pilgrim: In 2009, Drink a Beer with Your Lunch.
In a half-awake, half-slumbering state on New Year's morning, I was thinking about the<|fim_middle|>. This one deserved a really good name. I declared to the Woman that Aught-Nacho had arrived. I still don't know if it's a good name, but it's too late to take it back. It is written.
Now, what will Aught-Nacho have in store for us?
There is some chatter going on here and here and probably elsewhere about drinkers, anti-drinkers, moderation and the lack thereof. To unfairly abbreviate it, this eventually leads somewhat logically into calls, again, for lighter-alcohol beers. A few right-minded people would love to see 'o9 be the year of the session beer. Works for me.
It would be a mistake to think more session beers would lead to more moderation – could be quite the opposite. In fact most of the strong-beer drinkers I know also tend to be best at self-moderating – for whatever reason. Maybe because they are drinking for taste and not just to drink. Meanwhile most of the drunkenness I see at home and abroad is the sort where someone is drinking a long series of 4 to 5 percent beers. Usually lager.
Still, the year of the session beer? I'll support it. If nothing else comes of it, maybe more of my fellow Americans would get the stones to have a single beer with lunch. In my opinion that's one of the simplest ways to improve productivity and quality of life. Possibly even health.
Pictured above is a glass of Dupont Biolégère, known as Avril when exported. Note my careful and possibly pretentious use of accents. It's easy once you learn how to type them. This was enjoyed at a rustic lunch place here called Fous du Terroir. The Biolégère is a true session beer at 3.5 percent strength, a more faithful descendant of the old saisons given to farm workers. | "aughts." Since Aught-One I have been saying "aught." It's much quicker than saying, "in the year of our Lord two-thousand-and-one," for example. My time is valuable. So is yours.
All the aughts since then have sort of flown by, from Aught-Deuce to Aught-Ocho. Many good times therein. So yesterday morning, still sort of dreaming, I realized that we had reached the last of the aughts. That saddened me | 105 |
I just finished eating roasted turkey, dressing, corn, mashed potatoes and . . . now I'm going to have to get another plate. So while we are feeding ourselves this Thanksgiving Day, I want to offer you a plate of theology to enjoy on this great holiday. There is much to learn from the Scriptures about thanksgiving, that is, giving thanks. We're going to glean from Psalm 100, and see a couple of principles to use while we give thanks not only today, but in our daily lives.
In Psalm 100, we have what you might call a manual for thanksgiving. In this chapter, the people of Israel were called to give thanks to the Lord. It serves as both a song and instruction on giving thanks. The Israelites would gather for worship, and this would be one of the things they would sing. This psalm/hymn was likely sung during one of their many festivals. The Israelites had a ton of festivals, and this was one of the psalms that was likely sung during one of those. This Psalm will show us how we should give thanks to the Lord, and why we should do so.
So let's begin by reading it together.
"A Psalm for giving thanks.
Giving thanks should be expressed in song/gladness.
Here, a joyful song is to be sung to the Lord. When the Israelites would gather for worship, this is one of the many ways they would express their worship of God. They used several instruments in their worship (Psalm 150:3-5). So according to this psalm, one way that we can express our thanksgiving to the Lord is by a song. Do you ever sing to the Lord? You don't have to sing aloud to the Lord, because a song can also be in your heart.
We are also called to serve the Lord with gladness. Gladness is a feeling of joy or pleasure, to be delighted in serving the Lord. Since we are approaching the Christmas season, I want you to think back with me to Christmas when you were a kid. Now remember that gift you really, really wanted as a kid. Remember the Christmas when you actually got it? You were probably like me, and deserved coal from Santa or a bag of switches. But anyway, man opening that gift you really wanted was a joy wasn't it? It was what you asked for, and when you opened it up, your heart was full of gladness and delight. That's how worshiping and giving thanks to the Lord should be. We should have that same kind of gladness when we think of all the gifts God has given us.
Giving thanks should be intimate.
We've already seen that giving thanks should be expressed in song, and in this verse we see that giving thanks should be intimate. The psalmist writes, "Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture" (v. 3). As we give thanks with joyful song, we are called to know the Lord. This only makes sense, for giving thanks to the Lord can only be done if we know Him. Giving thanks to the Lord includes knowing the Lord we worship. You can't properly worship Him without knowing Him—that is, in a personal relationship.
That's exactly what the author of this psalm is trying to say. In fact, the Hebrew word for "know" here is yada, which means to know intimately, or to have a deep intimacy. Much like the intimacy between a husband and a wife. Isn't it interesting that the term knew is how Genesis describes Adam and Eve's intimate relations? In Genesis 4:1, it says that "Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain." If you've ever heard someone ramble on and say yada, yada, yada, in actuality they're saying know intimately, know intimately, know intimately!
Our relationship with the Lord is that way. In fact, the New Testament describes our relationship with Him in terms of a Bridegroom, who is Jesus, and the Bride, the Church (Matt. 25:1-13; Eph. 5:25-27; Rev. 19:6-10). So the idea here in this psalm is that we must have an intimate relationship with the Lord, and our giving thanks to Him should be personal, ongoing, and one-on-one. Our giving thanks to Him needs to be something we do in our private lives. When we get an A on a test, we should thank Him in our hearts. When we wake up, we should thank Him. When we're about to go to bed, we should thank Him. When we read His word we should thank Him. It's one-on-one.
Not only must we know the Lord, we also must know that we are accountable to Him: He created us, He owns us, we are His people, and we are His sheep. The psalmist talks about the ownership of God, saying that He created us, we are His, we are His people, and we are the "sheep of his pasture." He tends to us like a faithful shepherd. These are terms that describe, once again, our closeness to the Lord. We must know Him, and because we know Him, we are His completely. So when you give thanks to the Lord, is it weak and heart<|fim_middle|> other gathering of people? That is the reality. If we do not praise God in His sanctuary, then we are no different from any other gathering of people.
The psalmist also says that God is to be praised "in his mighty heavens." This is a reference to His heavenly sanctuary in glory. Redeemed saints and elect everywhere, whether on earth below or heaven above. There is an ongoing, eternal worship that surrounds the throne of God. Isaiah describes this beautifully (Isaiah 6:1-5). Also, the cosmos are included so that the heavens and earth are to join together and become one in praising Him (see Ps. 148 "praise him sun and moon," etc.). There is no place where praise is out of place.
Having called for praise in every place, reason is now given for this worship. God is to be praised "for his mighty deeds" and "according to his excellent greatness." The Israelites knew well of God's "mighty deeds." Take a look through Israel's history. They knew of how God lead them by the "pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night" as Pharaoh let them go (Ex. 13:17-22). They could recall the parting of the Red Sea (Ex. 14), the manna from heaven (Ex. 16), the water from the rock (Ex. 17:1-7), and the freedom from slavery and oppression in Egypt (Ex. 12:33—15:27). They knew of when "Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. . .[and] the whole mountain trembled greatly" (Ex. 19:18). They could recall to memory the countless victories they had been granted (see Joshua & Judges). Recall when David had slain Goliath "with a sling and with a stone" (1 Sam. 17:50)? The Israelites knew God was faithful.
In addition, praise is to be rendered to God "according to his excellent greatness." The Israelites weren't blind to this either. They knew God was holy, sovereign and righteous. The psalmist here says that everything about God is to be praised, both for His acts and His attributes.
God is infinite yet intimate. He exists outside our realm thus, we cannot categorize Him. We are to praise God for who He is, not only for what He has done. He is the mighty King. He is the eternal God. He is filed with holiness, justice, trustworthiness, and covenant-love. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the beginning and the end. Worship this great God! John Calvin writes concerning this part of the verse, "If we would have our minds kindled . . . let us meditate on his power and greatness, which will speedily dispel all such insensibility. Though our minds can never take in this immensity, the mere taste of it will deeply affect us. And God will not reject such praises we offer according to our capacity." You see, our motives for praise are twofold: we are to praise God for what He has done and we are to praise Him for who He is!
Having said where God is to be praised and why He is to be praised, the psalmist now tells how He is to be praised. The author of this psalm gives instruction regarding the manner in which God is to be praised. Both musical instruments (vv. 3-5) and human voices (v. 6) are to be employed. The trumpet, a shofar, or ram's horn is to be sounded. The lute and harp, were also to be used. Both wind and string instruments are listed here in praising God. Also, God is to be praised with tambourine and dance. These two often went together, the former used by women when they danced after God-given victories (Ex. 15:20). Moreover, God is to be worshiped with strings, a general term for all kinds of stringed instruments. Finally in v. 5, God is to be praised with sounding cymbals, instruments usually made of either brass or silver. These were the smaller and higher pitched kind. Loud clashing cymbals were also to be used in God's sanctuary and they were larger and louder, making a more crashing sound.
Those who should praise the Lord encompasses "everything that has breath." This includes all the redeemed who gather at God's house. Everyone in God's house is to sing praise to God, supported by the playing of instruments by the priests and people, men and women. Finally, this psalm concludes with the dramatic declaration Praise the LORD.
Today we could legitimately add our own musical instruments to the list. Everything that evokes praise or expresses praise is a legitimate instrument of praise and therefore relevant for the culture and the people using it. The issue is not what instruments we use; the issue is why we use them and how we use them. Millions have been told of the "excellent greatness" of God through K-LOVE Radio just as they have been through the Gaither Vocal Band. God will continue to be praised through Bluegrass Gospel as He will through Lecrae (Christian Rap/Hip Hop).
Will You Answer the Psalmist's Call to Worship?
Will you bring your wholehearted praise to God? This requires the total response of your entire life. Worship is a lifestyle, not an isolated act, never to be segmented from the whole of your life. Worship must be a passionate life pursuit of rendering praise to God, a deepening reality that should permeate your entire existence. If God is real in your life, then you should be praising Him with all of your being. This, of course, includes times involving the corporate gathering of God's people when they come together to sing His praises. May you give to God the praise He so rightfully deserves in the midst of the great congregation. | less, or is it passionate and intimate? Do you understand your relationship with Him like that?
Giving thanks should be corporate/together.
We've already seen that thanksgiving should be expressed to the Lord in song, and that our thanksgiving should be intimate with the Lord, but notice also that our thanksgiving should be expressed together—it should be corporate. This is another call to praise, like vv. 1-2 above. The psalmist says, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!" (v. 4). Notice the terms gates and courts here. This is clearly referring to corporate worship that would take place in the Old Testament temple. It is an invitation to community worship. It is a call to enter the temple of God with an attitude of thanksgiving—to enter his courts with worship and praise. This was the purpose of the Israelites' gathering—to give thanks to the Lord. They were to give thanks as they prayed, as they read the Scriptures, as they sacrificed, and as they gave. Even Jesus did this, as we see recorded in Luke 4. Luke writes there, "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read" (v. 16). He went to the Jewish place of worship on the Sabbath day and took part in the service by reading the scroll of Isaiah (see v. 17). Basically, Jesus went to church. He valued corporate worship, and so should we.
It bothers me when people say, "I'm a devoted Christian, but I don't go to church because I don't believe in it." Corporate worship is laced throughout the whole of Scripture; Jesus attended corporate worship; it is how we grow in our faith and are equipped to do God's will (Eph. 4:12-16); and the local church is the representation of the worldwide church of God scattered throughout the earth. When we gather for worship in our local churches, our services should be saturated with thanksgiving. We are to enter our sanctuary doors with thanksgiving, and as we fellowship, sing, and learn from God's word, we are to do so in His courts with praise and thanksgiving.
Giving thanks should be done because of God.
So we know that our thanksgiving should be expressed in song, it should be intimate, and it should be corporate. Finally, we see in this manual of thanksgiving that our giving thanks should be done because of God and who He is. The psalmist writes, "For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations" (v. 5). Three reasons are given for giving thanks to the Lord. First, we are to give thanks because "the LORD is good." I love the old saying, "God is good all the time, and all the time God is good." There is so much truth in that statement. God is completely good in His nature and everything He does. We are to give thanks because He is a good God. Second, we are to give thanks because "his steadfast love endures forever." Because He is a good God, His love for us endures forever. It is a constant love that never ends. That should definitely be a reason to give thanks to the Lord! He loves you with an eternal love! Finally, we are to give thanks because "his faithfulness [extends] to all generations." God's faithfulness never runs out, they are in fact new every morning (Lam. 3:23-33).
We've seen in this Psalm that our thanksgiving should be expressed in song and gladness. It should also be intimate, one-on-one with the Lord. It should be corporately expressed, together as we gather for worship. And it should be done because of our good, loving, and faithful God.
If you're like me, every time I get new tech, I always throw away the manual. Heck, I can figure it out for myself . . . until there's a problem. Then I have to go to the professionals and have them check it out. And most of the time it's a simple problem that could've been resolved easily if I had only read the manual! Well, let us not make the same mistake in our thanksgiving lives. We have in this Psalm the very manual for thanksgiving, instructions on how to give thanks. So let us use it, cherish it, and use these principles in our lives so that our thanksgiving won't need to be fixed or repaired.
There is nothing boring about worship. There is nothing boring about God, the object of our worship. And we have a collection of prayers, poems, and hymns that focus on worship. This collection is the Book of Psalms. One of my reformer heroes, Charles Spurgeon, called the Psalms "the treasury of David" and similarly John Calvin said that the Psalms are a "treasure for the use of all the people of God." The Book of Psalms served as a hymnbook for the early church and for centuries, the Book of Psalms has played a leading role in shaping the spiritual life of the church.
How do we know this? Within the context you can easily identify a change of grammar. Look at your Bibles and notice the change from "Praise God in. . ." (v. 1) to "Praise Him for. . ." (v. 2) and to "Praise Him with. . ." (vv. 3-5).
This verse doesn't imply that the only place we are to worship God is in the church 'sanctuary,' because at it has been well said before, never build walls around the church. When we praise God, we are to praise Him before our feet hit the floor in the morning, we are to praise Him in the home, we are to praise Him when driving to work, we are to praise Him in the workplace, we are to praise Him indoors and outdoors, and we are to praise Him everywhere! I know this psalmist would agree that we are not to 'build walls around the church.' Our giving isn't limited to church walls, our studying of Scripture isn't limited to church walls, our prayers aren't limited to church walls, and our witnessing/evangelism isn't limited to the church walls. Because if our giving, praying, witnessing, and especially our worship is limited to these walls, then no wonder we may be lukewarm and half-hearted in our worship! If you eat up to three meals daily, but then come to God's sanctuary for one dose of the Word, the fellowship, and worship, you are setting yourself up to be spiritually malnourished! If you wonder why you are not becoming like Christ, then maybe you're not getting enough of the Word of God in your life. Jesus said "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17), and to be in this process of sanctification means being in the process of becoming more and more like Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. Who inspired the Bible and uses it not only for our information but for our transformation? You guessed it. The Holy Spirit.
The implication of this verse is not that we need to limit our worship to the sanctuary, but rather when God's people assemble together, this is what we are to do. When we "meet together" (Heb. 10:25), and when we devote our selves "to. . . teaching and the fellowship" (Acts 2:42), we are to lift God's name on high! Because if we don't proclaim that we are redeemed, worship as a result of our changed life and faith, and shout that we are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession" (1 Peter 2:9) and if we don't worship, worship, worship, then what makes us different from any | 1,686 |
Between animals utilized in examine, educating and trying out, mice at the moment are widely known because the most crucial version for human illnesses and issues. They<|fim_middle|> to people and crops. | contain nearly all of all experimental mammals and have a tendency to be the version of selection used for learn into many diseases/disorders together with melanoma, center ailment, bronchial asthma, Alzheimer's, Down syndrome, deafness, osteoporosis, weight problems, diabetes or even psychological future health learn.
As weather switch keeps to dominate the foreign environmental schedule, phenology – the examine of the timing of routine organic occasions – has got expanding study awareness, resulting in an rising consensus that phenology will be considered as an �early caution process' for weather swap effect.
It truly is mentioned melanoma stem mobile is a kind inside of a tumor that possesses the potential of self-renewal and will supply upward push to the heterogeneous lineages of melanoma cells, which include the tumor. it's emphasised targeted characteristic of melanoma stem cells is that, even if traditional chemotherapy kills such a lot cells in a tumor, melanoma stem cells stay intact.
RNA processing performs a serious function in knowing the complete strength of a given genome. One technique of reaching protein variety is thru RNA enhancing. a various array of enhancing occasions has been characterised, affecting gene expression in organisms from viruses and unmarried mobile parasites | 243 |
Captivating views from 11th floor penthouse. Stunning sunsets and spectacular beach and Gulf views plus expansive Bay vistas are enjoyed from this 11th floor Water Club Building 2 location. Two underground parking spaces are included with this penthouse. This luxurious two bedroom three bath plus den condo can easily be converted to a three bedroom. Your private elevator opens to great beach and water views as you step across the beautiful marble floors. Other features include a cook's gourmet eat-in kitchen with custom cabinetry. The private, spacious master bedroom wing has a wonderfully appointed bath with duel sinks, jetted tub and large custom closet space. Sliding glass doors off the master open to a private terrace. The split floorpan offers privacy for the master and second bedroom suite. Water Club amenities include a 17,000 Sq..Ft. clubhouse that features a library, fitness room, treatment rooms, large catering Kitchen and Ballroom plus sunset bar and other business rooms. There are four Har- tru tennis courts plus a magnificent Gulfside pool. There is 24 security at the gated entrance plus concierge service.
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You are viewing the MLS property details of the home for sale at 1281 Gulf Of Mexico Drive #ph1106 Longboat Key, FL 34228, which includes 2 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and has approximately 2665 sq.ft. of living area. | , FL 34228 with the MLS Number A4415505 is currently listed at $1,795,000 and has been on the Longboat Key market for 194 days | 49 |
History Of The European Championship Trophy
The trophy all the European nations will be competing for later this year during Euro 2020 is one of the most coveted on the<|fim_middle|>, but the updated prize is testament to his enduring legacy, maintaining its classic style."
The West Germans posing with the older version of the trophy (Getty Images)
This trophy was used every four years for the tournament before another trophy was manufactured by Apsrey London. This was done so because UEFA wanted to improve the quality of the trophy as well as the scale. They felt the original was too small to achieve this.
As a result the new trophy is 18cm higher and 2kg heavier than the original and made of sterling silver. Additionally the silver base has been enlarged to make it more stable and the winning countries have been engraved on the back of the trophy.
It has retained the same name and the first captain to hold it aloft was Iker Casillas in 2008 when Spain beat Germany 1-0.
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Follow our Euro 2020 homepage which we update regularly with news and features.
Also make sure you know about the Fixtures, Groups, Venues and TV Coverage.
Finally, don't forget to follow World Soccer on Facebook and Twitter.
Euro Golden Boot Winners
Euro 2020 Groups | planet with possibly the FIFA World Cup the only one that surpasses it. But how much do you actually know about it?
What is the trophies name? What is it made of? Has it changed over time? We take a look below.
The European Championship trophy was originally designed by the Arthus-Bertrand company in 1960 and named after Henri Delaunay, former president of the French Football Federation UEFA's first general secretary.
According to the UEFA website; "The responsibility for creating the original silverware went to Pierre Delaunay, son of Henri, the visionary behind the competition. Henri Delaunay died in 1955 before seeing his idea come to fruition | 144 |
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Xingyuan Chen
Watershed & Ecosystem Science
MSIN: K9-24
Dr. Xingyuan Chen is an earth scientist with extensive research experience in groundwater flow and transport modeling, stochastic inverse modeling, data assimilation, geostatistics, and ecohydrology. Since joining PNNL in 2010, Dr. Chen has applied various Bayesian data assimilation techniques to characterize the heterogeneous aquifer properties of the Hanford 300 Area by integrating multi-scale and multi-type lab and field experimental data available at the site. In her research, Dr. Chen has leveraged high performance computing resources, e.g., community flow and transport code PFLOTRAN and the supercomputers at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) and Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF), to enable increasingly mechanistic non-linear forward simulations for a complex system within the stochastic data assimilation framework.
Uncertainty quantification and data assimilation
Subsurface flow and transport modeling
Watershed hydrologic and biogeochemical modeling
Spatial-temporal data analysis using machine learning
Ecohydrology
Education and Credentials
Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, 2009
M.A., Statistics, University of California at Berkeley, 2007
M.Phil., Civil Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2002
B.E., Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 2000
Affiliations and Professional Service
Member of American Geophysical Union (AGU)
PNNL Publications
Xiao Y., J.M. Sloan, C. Hepworth, M. Fradera-Soler, A. Mathers, R. Thorley, and A. Baillie, et al. 2023. "Defining the scope for altering rice leaf anatomy to improve photosynthesis: A modelling approach." New Phytologist 237, no. 2:441-453. PNNL-SA-177158. doi:10.1111/nph.18564
Chen K., X. Chen, X. Song, M. Briggs, P. Jiang, P. Shuai, and G.E. Hammond, et al. 2022. "Using Ensemble Data Assimilation to Estimate Transient Hydrologic Exchange Flow under Highly Dynamic Flow Conditions." Water Resources Research 58, no. 5:Art. No. e2021WR030735. PNNL-SA-165451. doi:10.1029/2021WR030735
Dwivedi D., C.I. Steefel, B. Arora, J.F. Banfield, J.R. Bargar, J.R. Bargar, and M.I. Boyanov, et al. 2022. "From Legacy Contamination to Watershed Systems Science: A Review of Scientific Insights and Technologies Developed through DOE-Supported Research in Water and Energy Security." Environmental Research Letters 17, no. 4:Art. No. 043004. PNNL-SA-161347. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac59a9
Jiang P., X. Chen, J.E. Missik, Z. Gao, H. Liu, and B.A. Verbeke. 2022. "Encoding Diel Hysteresis and the Birch Effect in Dryland Soil Respiration Models through Knowledge-Guided Deep Learning." Frontiers in Environmental Science 10. PNNL-SA-179483. doi:10.3389/fenvs.2022.1035540
Mudunuru M., E. Cromwell, H. Wang, and X. Chen. 2022. "Deep Learning to Estimate Permeability using Geophysical Data." Advances in Water Resources 167. PNNL-SA-175440. doi:10.1016/j.advwatres.2022.104272
Mudunuru M., K. Son, P. Jiang, G.E. Hammond, and X. Chen. 2022. "Scalable Deep Learning for Watershed Model Calibration." Frontiers in Earth Science 10. PNNL-SA-176859. doi:10.3389/feart.2022.1026479
Ren H., E. Cromwell, B.S. Kravitz, and X. Chen. 2022. "Technical note: Using Long Short-term Memory Models to Fill Data Gaps in Hydrological Monitoring Networks." Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 26, no. 7:1727-1743. PNNL-SA-161724. doi:10.5194/hess-26-1727-2022
Shuai P., X. Chen, U. Mital, E. Coon, and D. Dwivedi. 2022. "The Effects of Spatial and Temporal Resolution of Gridded Meteorological Forcing on Watershed Hydrological Responses." Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 26, no. 8:2245-2276. PNNL-SA-167101. doi:10.5194/hess-26-2245-2022
Son K., Y. Fang, J.D. Gomez Velez, and X. Chen. 2022. "Spatial microbial respiration variations in the hyporheic zones within the Columbia River Basin." Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 127, no. 11:Art. No. e2021JG006654. PNNL-SA-178479. doi:10.1029/2021JG006654
Son K., Y. Fang, J.D. Gomez Velez, K. Byun, and X. Chen. 2022. "Combined effects of stream hydrology and land use on basin-scale hyporheic zone denitrification in the Columbia River Basin." Water Resources Research 58, no. 12:Art. No. e2021WR031131. PNNL-SA-165887. doi:10.1029/2021WR031131
Sun A., P. Jiang, Z. Yang, Y. Xie, and X. Chen. 2022. "A graph neural network (GNN) approach to basin-scale river network learning: The role of physics-based connectivity and data fusion." Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 26, no. 19:5163-5184. PNNL-SA-177141. doi:10.5194/hess-26-5163-2022
Yao J., W. Yuan, Z. Gao, H. Liu, X. Chen, Y. Ma, and E.V. Arntzen, et al. 2022. "Impact of shifts in vegetation phenology on the carbon balance of a semiarid sagebrush ecosystem." Remote Sensing 14, no. 23:Art. No. 5924. PNNL-SA-179255. doi:10.3390/rs14235924
Chen X., R.M. Lee, D. Dwivedi, K. Son, Y. Fang, X. Zhang, and E.B. Graham, et al. "Integrating Field Observations and Reactive Transport Modeling to Predict Watershed Water Quality under Environmental Perturbations."
Chen X., R.M. Lee, D. Dwivedi, K. Son, Y. Fang, X. Zhang, and E.B. Graham, et al. 2021. "Integrating Field Observations and Process-based Modeling to Predict Watershed Water Quality under Environmental Perturbations." Journal of Hydrology 602. PNNL-SA-148272. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125762
Chu H., X.R. Luo, Z. Ouyang, W.S. Chan, S. Dengel, S. Biraud, and M.S. Torn, et al. 2021. "Representativeness of Eddy-Covariance flux footprints for areas surrounding AmeriFlux sites." Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 301. PNNL-SA-157254. doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2021.108350
Conner A., M. Gooseff, X. Chen, E.V. Arntzen, and V.A. Garayburu-Caruso. 2021. "Groundwater Inflows to the Columbia River Along the Hanford Reach and Associated Nitrate Concentrations." Frontiers in Water 3. PNNL-SA-161403. doi:10.3389/frwa.2021.574684
Cromwell E., P. Shuai, P. Jiang, E. Coon, S.L. Painter, D. Moulton, and Y. Lin, et al. 2021. "Estimating Watershed Subsurface Permeability From Stream Discharge Data using Deep Neural Networks." Frontiers in Earth Science 9. PNNL-SA-156876. doi:10.3389/feart.2021.613011
Hou Z., H. Ren, C.J. Murray, X. Song, Y. Fang, E.V. Arntzen, and X. Chen, et al. 2021. "A Novel Construct for Scaling Groundwater-River Interactions Based on Machine-Guided Hydromorphic Classification." Environmental Research Letters 16, no. 10:104016. PNNL-SA-151112. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac24ce
Jiang P., X. Chen, K. Chen, J. Anderson, N. Collins, and M. Gharamti. 2021. "DART-PFLOTRAN: An Ensemble-based Data Assimilation System for Estimating Subsurface Flow and Transport Model Parameters." Environmental Modelling & Software 142. PNNL-SA-160802. doi:10.1016/j.envsoft.2021.105074
Missik J.E., H. Liu, Z. Gao, M. Huang, X. Chen, E.V. Arntzen, and D.P. McFarland, et al. 2021. "Groundwater regulates interannual variations in evapotranspiration in a riparian semiarid ecosystem." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 126, no. 7:Article No. e2020JD033078. PNNL-SA-153611. doi:10.1029/2020jd033078
Moghaddam M., T.P. Ferre, X. Chen, K. Chen, X. Song, and G. Hammond. 2021. "Can Simple Machine Learning Tools Extend and Improve Temperature-Based Methods to Infer Streambed Flux?." Water 13, no. 20:Art. No. 2837. PNNL-SA-151168. doi:10.3390/w13202837
Wu R., X. Chen, G.E. Hammond, G. Bisht, X. Song, M. Huang, and G. Niu, et al. 2021. "Coupling Surface Flow with High-performance Subsurface Reactive Flow and Transport Code PFLOTRAN." Environmental Modelling & Software 137. PNNL-SA-156109. doi:10.1016/j.envsoft.2021.104959
Xiao Y., J.M. Sloan, C. Hepworth, C.P. Osborne, A.J. Flemming, X. Chen, and X. Zhu. 2021. "Estimating uncertainty: A Bayesian approach to modelling photosynthesis in C3 leaves." Plant, Cell & Environment 44, no. 5:1436-1450. PNNL-SA-161702. doi:10.1111/pce.13995
Zhang Y., D. Zhou, W. Wei, J.M. Frame, H. Sun, A. Sun, and X. Chen. 2021. "Hierarchical Fractional Advection-Dispersion Equation (FADE) to Quantify Anomalous Transport in River Corridor over a Broad Spectrum of Scales: Theory and Applications." Mathematics 9, no. 7:790. PNNL-SA-160334. doi:10.3390/math9070790
Zhu B., M. Huang, Y. Cheng, X. Xie, Y. Liu, G. Bisht, and X. Chen. 2021. "Impact of vegetation physiology and phenology on watershed hydrology in a semiarid watershed in the Pacific Northwest in a changing climate." Water Resources Research 57, no. 3:e2020WR028394. PNNL-SA-154491. doi:10.1029/2020WR028394
Chen X., J.M. Zachara, V.R. Vermeul, G. Hammond, M.D. Freshley, and Y. Fang. 2020. "Understanding Contaminant Migration within a Dynamic River Corridor through Field Experiments and Reactive Transport Modeling." Frontiers in Water 2. PNNL-SA-151389. doi:10.3389/frwa.2020.533796
Fang Y., X. Chen, J.D. Gomez Velez, X. Zhang, Z. Duan, G. Hammond, and A.E. Goldman, et al. 2020. "A multirate mass transfer model to represent the interaction of multicomponent biogeochemical processes between surface water and hyporheic zones (SWAT-MRMT-R 1.0)." Geoscientific Model Development 13, no. 8:3553-3569. PNNL-SA-148784. doi:10.5194/gmd-13-3553-2020
Fang Y., X. Song, H. Ren, W.A. Perkins, P. Shuai, M.C. Richmond, and Z. Hou, et al. 2020. "High-performance simulation of dynamic hydrologic exchange and implications for surrogate flow and reactive transport modeling in a large river corridor." Frontiers in Water 2. PNNL-SA-153319. doi:10.3389/frwa.2020.564211
Gao Z., H. Liu, E.V. Arntzen, D.P. McFarland, X. Chen, and M. Huang. 2020. "Uncertainties in turbulent statistics and fluxes of CO2 associated with density effect corrections." Geophysical Research Letters 47, no. 15:Article No. e2020GL088859. PNNL-SA-153577. doi:10.1029/2020GL088859
Gao Z., H. Liu, X. Chen, M. Huang, J.E. Missik, J. Yao, and E.V. Arntzen, et al. 2020. "Enlarged Nonclosure of Surface Energy Balance With Increasing Atmospheric Instabilities Linked to Changes in Coherent Structures." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 125, no. 14:Article No. e2020JD032889. PNNL-SA-151292. doi:10.1029/2020JD032889
Li B., X. Liu, M.H. Kaufman, A. Turetcaia, X. Chen, and M.B. Cardenas. 2020. "Flexible and Modular Simultaneous Modeling of Flow and Reactive Transport in Rivers and Hyporheic Zones." Water Resources Research 56, no. 2:e2019WR026528. PNNL-SA-153132. doi:10.102<|fim_middle|>-dimensional rhizosphere modeling capability to study the effect of root system architecture on soil water and reactive transport." Plant and Soil 441, no. 1-2:33-48. PNNL-SA-138450. doi:10.1007/s11104-019-04068-z
Gao Z., H. Liu, J.E. Missik, J. Yao, M. Huang, X. Chen, and E.V. Arntzen, et al. 2019. "Mechanistic links between underestimated CO2 fluxes and non-closure of the surface energy balance in a semi-arid sagebrush ecosystem." Environmental Research Letters 14, no. 4:Article Number 044016. PNNL-SA-142139. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ab082d
Graham E.B., J.C. Stegen, M. Huang, X. Chen, and T.D. Scheibe. 2019. "Subsurface biogeochemistry is a missing link between ecology and hydrology in dam-impacted river corridors." Science of the Total Environment 657. PNNL-SA-132468. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.414
Missik J.E., H. Liu, Z. Gao, M. Huang, X. Chen, E.V. Arntzen, and D.P. McFarland, et al. 2019. "Groundwater-River Water Exchange Enhances Growing Season Evapotranspiration and Carbon Uptake in a Semiarid Riparian Ecosystem." Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 124, no. 1:99-114. PNNL-SA-142097. doi:10.1029/2018JG004666
Rockhold M.L., X. Song, and X. Chen. 2019. "Complex Sources and Impacts on Remediation and Monitoring Approaches." In WM SYMPOSIA (WM 2019), March 3-7, 2019, Phoenix, AZ, Paper No. 19058. Tempe, Arizona:WM Symposia, Inc. PNNL-SA-139412.
Shuai P., X. Chen, X. Song, G. Hammond, J.M. Zachara, P.D. Royer, and H. Ren, et al. 2019. "Dam Operations and Subsurface Hydrogeology Control Dynamics of Hydrologic Exchange Flows in a Regulated River Reach." Water Resources Research 55, no. 4:2593-2612. PNNL-SA-138598. doi:10.1029/2018WR024193
Song X., X. Chen, M. Ye, Z. Dai, G.E. Hammond, and J.M. Zachara. 2019. "Delineating Facies Spatial Distribution by Integrating Ensemble Data Assimilation and Indicator Geostatistics with Level-Set Transformation." Water Resources Research 55, no. 4:2652-2671. PNNL-SA-141921. doi:10.1029/2018WR023262
Yang Q., X. Zhang, J.E. Almendinger, M. Huang, X. Chen, G. Leng, and Y. Zhou, et al. 2019. "Climate change will pose challenges to water quality management in the St. Croix River basin." Environmental Pollution 251. PNNL-SA-143598. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2019.04.129
Freedman V.L., P.D. Royer, X. Chen, S.A. Montgomery, and J.J. Garza. 2018. "ATLAS: Story Maps for Communicating Groundwater Cleanup Status - 18510." In Proceedings of the 44th Annual Waste Management Conference (WM2018): Nuclear and Industrial Robotics, Remote Systems and Other Emerging Technology, March 18-22, 2018, Phoenix, AZ, 8, 5530-5538. Tempe, Arizona:Waste Management Symposia, Inc. PNNL-SA-130420.
Gao M., H. Li, D. Liu, J. Tang, X. Chen, X. Chen, and G. Bloschl, et al. 2018. "Identifying the Dominant Controls on Macropore Flow Velocity in Soils: A Meta-analysis." Journal of Hydrology 567. PNNL-SA-139024. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.10.044
Rockhold M.L., X. Song, J.D. Tagestad, P.D. Thorne, G.D. Tartakovsky, and X. Chen. 2018. Sensitivity Analysis of Contaminant Transport from Vadose Zone Sources to Groundwater. PNNL-28065. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Sensitivity Analysis of Contaminant Transport from Vadose Zone Sources to Groundwater
Song X., X. Chen, J.C. Stegen, G. Hammond, H. Song, H. Dai, and E.B. Graham, et al. 2018. "Drought Conditions Maximize the Impact of High-Frequency Flow Variations on Thermal Regimes and Biogeochemical Function in the Hyporheic Zone." Water Resources Research 54, no. 10:7361-7382. PNNL-SA-123922. doi:10.1029/2018WR022586
Yang Q., J.E. Almendinger, X. Zhang, M. Huang, X. Chen, G. Leng, and Y. Zhou, et al. 2018. "Enhancing SWAT simulation of forest ecosystems for water resource assessment: A case study in the St. Croix River basin." Ecological Engineering 120. PNNL-SA-128496. doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2018.06.020
Zhou T., J. Bao, M. Huang, Z. Hou, E.V. Arntzen, X. Song, and S.F. Harding, et al. 2018. "Riverbed Hydrologic Exchange Dynamics in a Large Regulated River Reach." Water Resources Research 54, no. 4:2715-2730. PNNL-SA-123666. doi:10.1002/2017WR020508
Bisht G., M. Huang, T. Zhou, X. Chen, H. Dai, G. Hammond, and W. Riley, et al. 2017. "Coupling a Three-Dimensional Subsurface Flow and Transport Model with a Land Surface Model to Simulate Stream-Aquifer-Land Interactions (CP v1.0)." Geoscientific Model Development 10, no. 12:4539-4562. PNNL-SA-123895. doi:10.5194/gmd-10-4539-2017
Dai H., M. Ye, A.P. Walker, and X. Chen. 2017. "A new process sensitivity index to identify important system processes under process model and parametric uncertainty." Water Resources Research 53, no. 4:3476-3490. PNNL-SA-120642. doi:10.1002/2016WR019715
Gao Z., E. Russell, J.E. Missik, M. Huang, X. Chen, C.E. Strickland, and R.E. Clayton, et al. 2017. "A novel approach to evaluate soil heat flux calculation: An analytical review of nine methods." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 122, no. 13:6934-3649. PNNL-SA-127368. doi:10.1002/2017JD027160
Johnson T.C., G. Hammond, and X. Chen. 2017. "PFLOTRAN-E4D: A parallel open source PFLOTRAN module for simulating time-lapse electrical resistivity data." Computers & Geosciences 99. PNNL-SA-113670. doi:10.1016/j.cageo.2016.09.006
Song H., D.G. Thomas, J.C. Stegen, M. Li, C. Liu, X. Song, and X. Chen, et al. 2017. "Regulation-structured dynamic metabolic model provides a potential mechanism for delayed enzyme response in denitrification process." Frontiers in Microbiology 8. PNNL-SA-129317. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2017.01866
Stegen J.C., C.G. Anderson, B. Bond-Lamberty, A.R. Crump, X. Chen, and N.J. Hess. 2017. "Soil respiration across a permafrost transition zone: spatial structure and environmental correlates." Biogeosciences 14, no. 18:4341-4354. PNNL-SA-122396. doi:10.5194/bg-14-4341-2017
Wan H., K. Zhang, P.J. Rasch, B. Singh, X. Chen, and J. Edwards. 2017. "A new and inexpensive non-bit-for-bit solution reproducibility test based on time step convergence (TSC1.0)." Geoscientific Model Development 10, no. 2:537-552. PNNL-SA-118076. doi:10.5194/gmd-10-537-2017
Stegen J.C., A.H. Hurlbert, B. Bond-Lamberty, X. Chen, C.G. Anderson, R.K. Chu, and F. Dini-Andreote, et al. 2016. "Aligning the Measurement of Microbial Diversity with Macroecological Theory." Frontiers in Microbiology 7. PNNL-SA-122085. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2016.01487
Zachara J.M., X. Chen, C.J. Murray, and G. Hammond. 2016. "River Stage Influences on Uranium Transport in a Hydrologically Dynamic Groundwater-Surface Water Transition Zone." Water Resources Research 52, no. 3:1568-1590. PNNL-SA-112480. doi:10.1002/2015WR018009
Johnson T.C., R. Versteeg, J.N. Thomle, G.E. Hammond, X. Chen, and J.M. Zachara. 2015. "Four-dimensional electrical conductivity monitoring of stage-driven river water intrusion: Accounting for water table effects using a transient mesh boundary and conditional inversion constraints." Water Resources Research 51, no. 8:6177-6196. PNNL-SA-103949. doi:10.1002/2014WR016129
Scheibe T.D., E.M. Murphy, X. Chen, A.K. Rice, K.C. Carroll, B.J. Palmer, and A.M. Tartakovsky, et al. 2015. "An Analysis Platform for Multiscale Hydrogeologic Modeling with Emphasis on Hybrid Multiscale Methods." Groundwater 53, no. 1:38-56. PNNL-SA-93006. doi:10.1111/gwat.12179
Scheibe T.D., X. Yang, X. Chen, and G.E. Hammond. 2015. "A Hybrid Multiscale Framework for Subsurface Flow and Transport Simulations." Procedia Computer Science 51. PNNL-SA-107927. doi:10.1016/j.procs.2015.05.276
Freedman V.L., X. Chen, S.A. Finsterle, M.D. Freshley, I. Gorton, L.J. Gosink, and E. Keating, et al. 2014. "A high-performance workflow system for subsurface simulation." Environmental Modelling & Software 55. PNNL-SA-92680. doi:10.1016/j.envsoft.2014.01.030
Chen X., G.E. Hammond, C.J. Murray, M.L. Rockhold, V.R. Vermeul, and J.M. Zachara. 2013. "Applications of Ensemble-based Data Assimilation Techniques for Aquifer Characterization using Tracer Data at Hanford 300 Area." Water Resources Research 49. PNNL-SA-91954. doi:10.1002/2012WR013285
Over M., Y. Yang, X. Chen, and Y. Rubin. 2013. "A strategy for improved computational efficiency of the method of anchored distributions." Water Resources Research 49, no. 6:3257-3275. PNNL-SA-90988. doi:10.1002/wrcr.20182
Stegen J.C., X. Lin, J.K. Fredrickson, X. Chen, D.W. Kennedy, C.J. Murray, and M.L. Rockhold, et al. 2013. "Quantifying Community Assembly Processes and Identifying Features that Impose Them." The ISME Journal 7. PNNL-SA-86535. doi:10.1038/ismej.2013.93
Chen X., G.R. Miller, Y. Rubin, and D. Baldocchi. 2012. "A statistical method for estimating wood thermal diffusivity and probe geometry using in situ heat response curves from sap flow measurements." Tree Physiology 32, no. 12:1458-1470. PNNL-SA-78550. doi:10.1093/treephys/tps100
Chen X., H. Murakami, H. Murakami, M.S. Hahn, G.E. Hammond, M.L. Rockhold, and J.M. Zachara, et al. 2012. "Three-Dimensional Bayesian Geostatistical Aquifer Characterization at the Hanford 300 Area using Tracer Test Data." Water Resources Research 48. PNNL-SA-78432. doi:10.1029/2011WR010675
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Rizzo C., X. Song, F. De Barros, and X. Chen. 2020. "Temporal flow variations interact with spatial physical heterogeneity to impact solute transport in managed river corridors." Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 235. PNNL-SA-153233. doi:10.1016/j.jconhyd.2020.103713
Song H., J.C. Stegen, E.B. Graham, J. Lee, V.A. Garayburu-Caruso, W.C. Nelson, and X. Chen, et al. 2020. "Representing Organic Matter Thermodynamics in Biogeochemical Reactions via Substrate-Explicit Modeling." Frontiers in Microbiology 11. PNNL-SA-151734. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2020.531756
Song X., X. Chen, J.M. Zachara, J. Gomez-Velez, P. Shuai, H. Ren, and G.E. Hammond. 2020. "River Dynamics Control Transit Time Distributions and Biogeochemical Reactions in a Dam-Regulated River Corridor." Water Resources Research 56, no. 9:Article No. e2019WR026470. PNNL-SA-146640. doi:10.1029/2019WR026470
Tso C., T.C. Johnson, X. Song, X. Chen, O. Kuras, P. Wilkinson, and S. Uhlemann, et al. 2020. "Integrated hydrogeophysical modelling and data assimilation for geoelectrical leak detection." Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 234. PNNL-SA-152552. doi:10.1016/j.jconhyd.2020.103679
Villa J.A., G. Smith, Y. Ju, L. Renteria, J.C. Angle, E.V. Arntzen, and S.F. Harding, et al. 2020. "Methane and nitrous oxide porewater concentrations and surface fluxes of a regulated river." Science of the Total Environment 715. PNNL-SA-149661. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136920
Yabusaki S.B., A.N. Myers-Pigg, N.D. Ward, S.R. Waichler, A. Sengupta, Z. Hou, and X. Chen, et al. 2020. "Floodplain inundation and salinization from a recently restored first-order tidal stream." Water Resources Research 56, no. 7:Article No. e2019WR026850. PNNL-SA-149723. doi:10.1029/2019WR026850
Yao J., H. Liu, J. Huang, Z. Gao, G. Wang, D. Li, and H. Yu, et al. 2020. "Accelerated dryland expansion regulates future variability in dryland gross primary production." Nature Communications 11, no. 1:1665. PNNL-SA-151970. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-15515-2
Zachara J.M., X. Chen, X. Song, P. Shuai, C.J. Murray, and C.T. Resch. 2020. "Kilometer-scale hydrologic exchange flows in a gravel bed river corridor and their implications to solute migration." Water Resources Research 56, no. 2:Article NO. e2019WR025258. PNNL-SA-137616. doi:10.1029/2019WR025258
Zhu B., M. Huang, Y. Cheng, X. Xie, Y. Liu, X. Zhang, and G. Bisht, et al. 2020. "Effects of irrigation on water, carbon, and nitrogen budgets in a semi-arid watershed in the Pacific Northwest: A modelling study." Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems 12, no. 9:Article No. e2019MS001953. PNNL-SA-149346. doi:10.1029/2019MS001953
Dai H., M. Ye, B.X. Hu, A.W. Niedoroda, X. Zhang, X. Chen, and X. Song, et al. 2019. "Hierarchical sensitivity analysis for simulating barrier island geomorphologic responses to future storms and sea-level rise." Theoretical and Applied Climatology 136, no. 3-4:1495-1511. PNNL-SA-142865. doi:10.1007/s00704-018-2700-5
Dai H., X. Chen, M. Ye, X. Song, G. Hammond, B.X. Hu, and J.M. Zachara. 2019. "Using Bayesian Networks for Sensitivity Analysis of Complex Biogeochemical Models." Water Resources Research 55, no. 4:3541-3555. PNNL-SA-141922. doi:10.1029/2018WR023589
Fang Y., S.B. Yabusaki, A. Ahkami, X. Chen, and T.D. Scheibe. 2019. "An efficient three | 1,356 |
Native Plant Society of New Mexico > Events > Las Cruces > Wednesday, November 9, 2022: 6:30 p.m. social and 7 p.m. meeting: "Trends in sustainable agriculture, providing an overview of alternatives to conventional agricultural practices, including hydroponics/aquaponics, ocean farming, agrivoltaics, sustainable protein and meat production, agroforestry, and urban farming," with Rachel Gioannini
Wednesday November 9, 2022 6:30 pm
3080 Williams Street, Las Cruces Get Directions
Wednesday, November 9, 2022: 6:30 p.m. social and 7 p.m. meeting: "Trends in sustainable agriculture, providing an overview of alternatives to conventional agricultural practices, including hydroponics/aquaponics, ocean farming, agrivoltaics, sustainable protein and meat production, agroforestry, and urban farming," with Rachel Gioannini
Time: 6:30 pm. Social half-hour with refreshments. Refreshments will also be available after the meeting.
7:00 pm. Meeting and presentation
Place: The NMSU Herbarium on campus in the Biology Annex near intersection of Stewart & Williams Streets (3080 Williams Street, Las Cruces). Free parking north and south of the annex after 4:30 p.m. Enter via the Williams Street door which will be unlocked at 6:30. Do not use the entrance from the steps on the north side of the building. It<|fim_middle|> areas of expertise are ornamental plants and landscape design, and she also teaches courses in hydroponics, forestry and introductory plant science. Prior to teaching, Rachel was owner/designer of a residential landscape design firm in Tucson, Arizona and Las Cruces, New Mexico. Rachel is a member of the American Society for Horticultural Science, the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, and the Native Plant Society of New Mexico. She and her husband share their lives with two dogs and three cats and a turtle. In her spare time, she likes to mountain bike, crochet, cook, read and travel.
Her presentation will be "Trends in sustainable agriculture, providing an overview of alternatives to conventional agricultural practices, including hydroponics/aquaponics, ocean farming, agrivoltaics, sustainable protein and meat production, agroforestry, and urban farming,"
Zoom: If you are participating via Zoom, your video will be turned off and your audio will be muted. If you have questions at the end of the presentation, you may submit them via the Chat tool. When you sign on to Zoom, you will be placed in the waiting room until the host or co-host admits you to the meeting. You will not be admitted until 7:00 pm. The Zoom link is below:
2022-11-09 18:30 2022-11-09 20:30 UTC Wednesday, November 9, 2022: 6:30 p.m. social and 7 p.m. meeting: "Trends in sustainable agriculture, providing an overview of alternatives to conventional agricultural practices, including hydroponics/aquaponics, ocean farming, agrivoltaics, sustainable protein and meat production, agroforestry, and urban farming," with Rachel Gioannini
Time: 6:30 pm. Social half-hour with refreshments. Refreshments will also be available after the meeting. 7:00 pm. Meeting and presentation Place: The NMSU Herbarium on campus in the Biology Annex near intersection of Stewart & Williams Streets (3080 Williams Street, Las Cruces). Free parking north and south of the annex after 4:30 p.m. Enter via […]
Register for Event: Wednesday, November 9, 2022: 6:30 p.m. social and 7 p.m. meeting: "Trends in sustainable agriculture, providing an overview of alternatives to conventional agricultural practices, including hydroponics/aquaponics, ocean farming, agrivoltaics, sustainable protein and meat production, agroforestry, and urban farming," with Rachel Gioannini | will not be unlocked.
Presentation: The November 9th Meeting of the Las Cruces Chapter of the Native Plant Society will be presented by Rachel Gioannini. Rachel is Assistant Professor in horticulture in the Plant and Environmental Sciences Department at NMSU. She received her MS from NMSU in December 2017 and joined the faculty in August 2018. Her | 81 |
Regarding to a fresh research led by Weill Cornell Medication investigators.
« After several supplements tested positive for salmonella<|fim_middle|>The bigger the CAC rating, the greater the chance for future cardiovascular disease. The CAC check out can detect cardiovascular disease actually decades prior to the symptoms of cardiovascular disease may 1st appear, said the study's business lead writer, Alan Rozanski, MD, main academic official and director from the cardiology fellowship training curriculum for the department of cardiology at Support Sinai St. Lukes Medical center in NY. Additionally, using current state-of-the-art scanners, CAC scans are connected with only suprisingly low rays exposure, similar compared to that of the mammogram, and they're less expensive than all the types of imaging. | .
Three-pronged approach is key to precision medicine Merging genetic information from a patient's tumor cells with three-dimensional cell cultures harvested from these tumors and rapidly testing approved drugs can easily identify the very best treatment approaches in patients for whom multiple therapies possess failed, regarding to a fresh research led by Weill Cornell Medication investigators. Released March 22 in Cancer Discovery, the scholarly research brings researchers 1 step nearer to satisfying the promise of precision medicine, which aims to supply targeted, individualized treatment predicated on each patient's hereditary profile. Our goal is by using precision medicine to boost just how clinicians consider cancer therapies instead of choosing the therapy that may possibly not be suited to that patient's cancers, said older author Dr plendil.net/plendil-vs-amilodipine.htm .
| 162 |
Lee Valley Regional Park is a long linear park, much of it green spaces, running through the northeast of Greater London, Essex and Hertfordshire from the River Thames to Ware, through areas such as Stratford, Clapton, Tottenham, En<|fim_middle|> Abbey, Cheshunt, Broxbourne and Hoddesdon in an area generally known as the Lea Valley. Greater London's largest park, Lee Valley Park is more than four times the size of Richmond Park, extending beyond Greater London's borders into the neighbouring counties of Hertfordshire and Essex.
The park follows the course of the River Lea (Lee) along the Lea Valley from Ware in Hertfordshire through Essex and the north east of Greater London, through the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to East India Docks Basin on the River Thames. The park is managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority and is made up of a diverse mix of countryside areas, urban green spaces, heritage sites, country parks, nature reserves and lakes and riverside trails, as well as leading sports centres covering an area of over . It is crossed by a number of roads and railways.
There are major reservoirs and water courses (rivers and canals) within Lee Valley Park, both to carry the river flow, and provide navigable waterways and flood relief channels.
London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
From London's Olympic bid success in summer 2005 until summer 2012, much of the southern half of the Lee Valley Park was developed to form the Olympic Park for the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics. Lee Valley Park was extended through the Olympic Park down to the River Thames, adding a further 2 miles (3 km) of open space.
Lee Valley Regional Park Authority owns 35% of the Olympic Park. It funds, manages and owns three venues following the London 2012 Games – Lee Valley White Water Centre in Hertfordshire, Lee Valley VeloPark and the Eton Manor hockey and tennis centres located at the northernmost end of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The park is working with a range of partners including the Olympic Delivery Authority, London Development Agency and the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation to deliver a major linear park at the heart of a new urban district in the Lower Lea Valley. These venues will join the existing centres the Regional Park currently owns including Lee Valley Athletics Centre, Lee Valley Riding Centre and Lee Valley Ice Centre.
Notable parts of the park include: Myddelton House Gardens, Temple Mills, Hackney Marshes, Walthamstow Marshes, Tottenham Marshes, River Lee Country Park, Bow Creek Ecology Park and Lee Valley Reservoir Chain.
See also
Lea Valley Walk
Gallery
References
External links
Ramblers Association
Linear parks
Long-distance footpaths in England
Parks and open spaces in Essex
Parks and open spaces in Hertfordshire
Parks and open spaces in London
Walking in London | field, Walthamstow, Waltham | 11 |
Ma nessuno poteva immaginare che<|fim_middle|> boat drivers that took me where I needed to be.
I don t imagine I will see waves like that again in Oz, but I can only hope . | ci potessero essere onde ancora piu' grosse, a quanto pare si sbagliavano. Dopo un attento studio delle previsioni meteo il gruppo si e' recato nello stesso spot che la settimana precedente aveva prodotto onde superiori ai 5mt, e il premio per il duro lavoro sono state onde superiori ai 7 mt.
Dopo la session Phil MacDonald commenta cosi': I thought last week was huge but this was on an entirely different level, The whole ocean seemed to rise up on the reef, I have never experienced surfing monster waves like those, it was just so much fun I was that excited to get out there I didn t even have time to strap myself in!
Justin Gane commenta cosi': I love it when a plan comes together. All the elements just came together in one of those rare moments that one would wish to experience just once in their life.
I haven t felt this excited since last filming Shipstern and this session is one I will cherish forever. I have never seen waves that size before, especially that close, thanks to our great | 234 |
Around Leadership
Leidinggeven, coachen
Academia Press
?After years of intensive literature review, Patrick Vermeren has astonishingly managed to bring a very ambitious project to a successful conclusion. Few academics can resist the pressure to publish and therefore rarely succeed outside their ivory towers. Conversely, few consultants take the time to delve into the scientific literature for new developments. Consequently, when they emerge from their training, academics and consultants areeach in their own way 'unworldly. ' With this book, consultant Patrick Vermeren builds the much-needed bridge between these two worlds and dares to question both himself and the scientific literature while warning against confirmation bias. In a smooth, highly entertaining, and scientifically sound manner, Patrick Vermeren communicates knowledge through this book that will excite both consultants and academics. What is a good leadership style? How do executives key in on employee motivation? These are the central questions in the book that will no doubt be a source of inspiration for managers who want to optimise their leadership style.Patrick Vermeren is an HR professional who is fully committed to evidence-based HR. He specializes in leadership development, individual coaching, and group facilitation.<|fim_middle|> (Leading Differently; 2009), and Rond Communicatie: De Mens als Social Dier (Around Communication: Man as a Social Animal; 2013).A look at the contentPart I: The Leadership CircumplexPart II: The eight leadership styles in practicePart III: Decision making, holding meetings, and entrusting tasksPart IV: Motivation and certain management practicesPart V: Leading differentlyPart VI: Learning leadership
Rond leiderschap
De brug tussen wetenschap en praktijk
Rond Communicatie
De mens als sociaal dier | Patrick Vermeren started his career as an executive in the banking and automotive industries. He developed a passion for learning and science, with particular interest in psychology, behavioural biology, and neurobiology. He is very committed to the balance between the interests of business and the well-being of employees. In addition to reviewing various theories of leadership and integrating them with the Leadership Circumplex, this book provides practical advice. Based on the clear vision that reliable knowledge should be shared as much as possible, he published (in Dutch) De HRBallon: 10 Populaire Praktijken Doorprikt (The HR Balloon: 10 Popular Practices Punctured; third revised edition 2009), Anders Leiden | 147 |
Can Panel Compel Kelly, Stepien to Release Bridgegate Emails?
Mark J. Magyar | March 12, 2014 | Politics
Judge with extensive background in OPRA cases signals that legislative committee has stronger case in demanding emails from Kelly than from Stepien
Credit: philly.com
Bridget Kelly, former deputy chief of staff for Gov. Chris Christie.
The future of the Legislature's Bridgegate investigation is in the hands of a Superior Court judge who will decide whether Bridget Kelly and Bill Stepien, the deputy chief of staff and campaign operative who are the only two staffers Gov. Chris Christie has fired, must turn over emails and<|fim_middle|> hearing, Wisniewski said he expected her to issue her decision at the end of March or early in April.
"We will continue to move forward with the work of the committee in receiving documents under a number of other subpoenas and continuing to analyze the material to decide how the committee will move forward," Wisniewski said.
He added that the committee would release additional documents as witnesses are called to testify before the panel, but said he did not expect to convene any committee meetings to hear testimony until after Jacobson issues her ruling.
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Booker Drops Out, Pledges Support for Dems' Eventual Presidential Candidate
Watch Gov. Phil Murphy's State of the State Address
Redistricting 2020: Lawmakers Mull Change in How Inmates Are Counted | other communications related to the infamous George Washington Bridge lane closures.
Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) and Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), the cochairs of the Joint Select Committee on Investigations, had reason to be pleased that the ruling will be issued by Mercer County Superior Court Assignment Judge Mary Jacobson, who frequently rules on state government open public records cases.
In a case that pits Kelly's and Stepien's Fifth Amendment right against the legislative committee's right to subpoena documents as part of a duly constituted investigation, Jacobson zeroed in on the fact that public employees like Kelly know they have an obligation to preserve and produce public records, including private emails, related to public business.
She also signaled that she was inclined to agree with the legislative committee's contention that it had sufficient reason to believe that Kelly, more so than Stepien, possessed additional emails concerning the Bridgegate lane closures.
"'Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee' didn't come out of thin air," Jacobson said, quoting the August 13 email from Kelly to David Wildstein, Christie's top political operative at the Port Authority, that linked the scandal directly to the governor's office and resulted in Kelly being fired. "There is reasonable suspicion there were emails prior to that."
A Question of Contempt
Jacobson's ruling on the legislative committee's request to hold Kelly and Stepien in contempt and compel them to turn over all relevant emails, text messages, phone records, and other communications is critical to the investigation by the Wisniewski-Weinberg panel.
The committee already has "many" more emails to and from Kelly and Stepien pertaining to Bridgegate. They have been submitted over the past month by some of the 20 state government, Port Authority, and campaign officials whose communications were subpoenaed by the panel, Weinberg and Wisniewski said, confirming special counsel Reid Schar's disclosure during the three-hour court hearing.
Getting Kelly's and Stepien's private communications is critical to uncovering the genesis of the Bridgegate lane closures because the most important emails are not likely to be obtained through the subpoena the committee issued to the governor's office and other high-ranking officials, Schar said.
"There seems to have been a concerted effort every time an e-mail of substance came in to take that e-mail, forward it to a personal email account so it was no longer going to be maintained on the servers of the governor and then e-mail back and forth," Schar said, referring to the apparent tendency of Kelly, Wildstein and others to try to hide their communications on Bridgegate.
Obtaining these confidential communications is critical for the committee because Michael Critchley and Kevin Marino, the attorneys representing Kelly and Stepien, made it clear yesterday not only that their clients are affirming their innocence, but also that they would invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination – as Wildstein did in January – if called to testify publicly.
Like Wildstein lawyer Alan Zegas, both Critchley and Marino suggested yesterday that the best way for the committee to get the documents it wanted was to grant their clients immunity against prosecution – a step that the legislative committee is reluctant to take.
In fact, Critchley suggested that Schar had already reached a private agreement with U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman on how their two investigations would proceed that might affect any immunity considerations.
An Ongoing Probe
It is the ongoing probe by the U.S. Attorney's Office — which has sought unsuccessfully to interview Kelly and Stepien, as well as their relatives and friends – that Critchley and Marino said clearly established that their clients had a reasonable expectation that they are targets of a criminal investigation. It is for that reason that they should assert their rights against self-incrimination.
Critchley, in particular, asserted that the production of the "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee" email, for example, would "authenticate" the email that Wildstein provided to the committee in response to a December subpoena, and suggested that he would challenge the email's authenticity if the case ever went to court.
He also implied that Kelly had a right to destroy private emails — an assertion that raised questions among reporters about whether she still had the emails to produce and prompted Jacobson to demand incredulously if Critchley was indeed claiming that "there is discretion to destroy documents and not to testify on public issues."
Jacobson made it clear in her questioning of Schar, Marino and Critchley that she felt the legislative committee was on firmer footing demanding the release of emails and text messages from Kelly than from Stepien.
First, Kelly was serving as Christie's deputy chief of staff and therefore was a state employee both before, during, and after the September 9-13 George Washington Bridge lane closures. That makes her subject to the requirement that public employees provide access to both public and private communications pertaining to public matters. Stepien was working for Christie's reelection as his campaign manager when he was sending and receiving emails pertaining to Bridgegate, so he was not subject to the same requirement.
Second, Marino seemed to make headway with Jacobson with his argument that the five Stepien emails cited by the committee did not establish as a "foregone conclusion" that other Stepien emails pertaining to Bridgegate existed. As Jacobson told Critchley, "in terms of Ms. Kelly, many more emails were cited. In terms of 'foregone conclusion' of further emails," she said, "it may be a different analysis (for Kelly) than there was with Mr. Stepien."
Close to Tears
Kelly, who appeared in court yesterday, bit her lip and looked worried and near to tears as Critchley defended her innocence at a press conference held outside the Mercer County Criminal Courthouse following the hearing.
"She is a 42-year-old single mom with four children, trying to make do through a difficult time," Critchley said. "She is unemployed and looking for work."
Critchley, who answered all questions directed to the silent Kelly, chided the press corps for rushing to judgment about Kelly's guilt based on the "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee" email provided by Wildstein to the legislative committee, an email whose authenticity he challenged yesterday.
"She is not someone running away and living the life of a hermit," Critchley said, explaining that Kelly decided to attend the hearing because "her life has been affected dramatically and the court was going to discuss an issue of significance that affected her life, and she wanted to be here to show it was important."
Marino said Stepien decided not to attend the hearing, noting that he was not required to appear for yesterday's legal arguments. He said Stepien is "an innocent man who has been ensnared by ambiguous circumstances." Evidently, he was referring to Stepien's inclusion on email chains from Wildstein, Kelly, and former Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni pertaining to Bridgegate. "Mr.Stepien has had his life upended."
Like Critchley, Marino asserted that the fundamental Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination — which is just as important to the innocent as it is to the guilty — outweighs the interests of any legislative committee investigating a scandal.
Politics and Partisanship
"When all of the politics and all of the partisanship gets stripped away," Marino said, this case is about the fundamental right to resist "the ability of government to compel someone to bear witness against himself."
Schar suggested in court that if Jacobson did not require Kelly and Stepien to provide the documents required, it would severely undermine the ability of legislative investigatory committees throughout the country to probe public corruption and malfeasance.
But Schar also seemed to recognize that the committee's subpoenas could be considered overly broad — what Marino dismissed as a "fishing expedition." He acknowledged that the panel was able to meet the "reasonable specificity" standard required for subpoenas more easily in its demand for emails and text messages from Kelly and Stepien because it already had many in its possession. But he admitted that this was not the case in the committee's quest for cellphone records, calendars and especially diaries or other written communications of which it had no direct knowledge.
Jacobson questioned Schar's suggestion that she determine which parts of the subpoena should be enforced – a position that might ultimately require Schar and the committee to redraft their subpoenas if Jacobson declines to do so.
She also questioned whether she had jurisdiction to hold Kelly and Stepien in contempt to enforce the subpoenas, and whether that was within the power of the legislative committee. Schar said the committee lacked the power to hold Kelly and Stepien in contempt because of the way the panel was constituted by separate Senate and Assembly resolutions.
Based on Jacobson's comments at the conclusion of the | 1,821 |
Explore the causes of limited transparency in social science research, and tools to make your own work more open and reproducible. Demand is growing for evidence-based policy making, but<|fim_middle|> open and available; visualizing data in ways that are honest and effective. The course has been developed by the Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (BITSS, bitss.org). Headquartered at UC Berkeley, BITSS has been leading the social science research transparency movement since 2012.
For moe information, contact staff at the Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (bitss.org). | there is growing recognition in the social science community that limited transparency and openness in research have contributed to widespread problems. Explore transparency issues in social science research – and how to solve them. In this free online course, we will discuss the major transparency and reproducibility issues across the social sciences today, including the problems of fraud, publication bias and data mining. We will also discuss many of the emerging solutions to these problems, including: pre-registering studies and writing pre-analysis plans; performing replications; conducting meta-analyses; making data | 108 |
Broker Perspective
Geo-Political
IB Talk<|fim_middle|> to measure, but can have longer lasting effects on profitability. A 2018 global study by Frost and Sullivan for CA Technologies found that 48% of consumers stopped trusting and using a company's services due to a data breach. Chinese consumers were the most unforgiving, with almost eight in 10 respondents saying that they stopped using a company's services after learning that it was hit by a data breach.
"This brings us back to being cyber resilient across people, processes, and technology, and ensuring your company is prepared in the event of a cyber incident," she said. "Aiming to only prevent and detect cyberattacks will not guard companies against cyber security threats, and so ensuring consistent and tested incident response and business continuity plans are in place will ensure your organisation can sufficiently respond when an event occurs.
"No company can say they are completely immune to cyber incidents, and effective crisis management will ensure that customers feel confident that the organisation is competent in reducing the impact accordingly."
The role of regulators
On the other hand, addressing cyber risk is also the responsibility of regulators, due to the interconnectedness of the digital economy.
Wright noted that market regulators in Asia have taken differing approaches to cyber regulation.
"Vietnam and China have used the global increase in cyber and privacy concerns to allow further political oversight, while regulations in other regions such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia are more focused on protecting the privacy of their citizens and the security of critical infrastructure," she said.
"To date, the enforcement of such regulation continues to be low in most regions due to the apparent lack of a fully-resourced regulator, but we are seeing some changes in more mature areas such as Hong Kong and Singapore," she said.
Singapore is expected to introduce mandatory notification requirements in late 2019 or early 2020 and the Cybersecurity Act will govern increased compliance requirements for critical infrastructure companies in Singapore. These legislative changes, along with various high-profile events, have stirred an increased interest in insurance from clients, with the insurability of fines and penalties usually being front of mind.
"While there is nothing in the legislation which expressly prevents fines from being insured, Willis Towers Watson has been trying to move the focus towards the importance of being prepared for cyber incidents via people, processes, and technology, along with the costs associated with actually responding to a regulatory investigation," Wright said.
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What does the cyber risk landscape look like today?
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Professional Risks
Going beyond technology to address cyber risk
by Gabriel Olano 04 Sep 2019
Going beyond technology to address cyber risk | Insurance Business
Cyber has emerged as one of the most salient risks for businesses today, given the world economy's ever-growing reliance on digital technology. However, many businesses end up committing errors when managing this critical risk because of a misguided approach, according to a regional cyber and risk management leader.
Jessica Wright (pictured), cyber leader for Asia, corporate risk & broking, at Willis Towers Watson, said that many businesses, especially in Asia, continue to see cybersecurity as an IT issue, managed solely through technological defences such as virus protection and firewalls.
But the data says otherwise. According to Wright, 61% of all Willis Towers Watson's cyber insurance claims arose as a result of human error or malicious activity. This means that even companies with the best IT security could find themselves financially exposed to cyber incidents.
"Many organizations miss the mark on assessing their security posture because they do not consider the full spectrum of their company's cybersecurity outside of technology," Wright told Corporate Risk and Insurance. "Human resources, operations, finance, and IT should all be involved in the mitigation of cyber risk, and it is the responsibility of the board to ensure that this exposure is being looked at holistically. The directors and officers of a company may otherwise find themselves exposed to personal liability if there is a privacy or security breach, with general oversight of risk management clearly falling within their fiduciary duties."
She added that in the event of a cyber incident, the board must be able to demonstrate to regulators, customers, and shareholders that the company has adequately addressed cyber risk and that its people, processes, and technologies are of a reasonable standard.
A survey conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Willis Towers Watson, revealed that companies in Asia had the lowest percentage globally of board expertise on cyber, with only 17% of companies having a high-level of cyber-expertise and only 9% of companies feeling it was critical enough to be a board-level issue.
"We are encouraging all companies to take a more holistic view of cyber resilience, and to put cyber on the board agenda before it becomes the agenda," Wright said.
The consequences of cyber incidents
According to Wright, the costs associated with a cyber incident can be catastrophic, regardless of the size of the organization. Incident response expenses such as legal, IT & forensics, and public relations can have a tremendous impact on a company's balance sheet. According to Willis Towers Watson's claims data, such expenses account for approximately 61% of the insurance coverages implicated in a cyber incident.
Furthermore, the reputational damage suffered by a company is harder | 570 |
Heeeeeelllooooo friends! This semester one of my resolutions was to explore LA more. With only 3 semesters left (OMG WHAT?! I know) I realized I have yet to explore some of the best areas of LA so these past weekends I have made it a goal to get out and explore more.
The first week back, a few of my friends from freshman year and I went to Melrose. We got brunch and afterwards we went to the Melrose Trading Post. On the walk between brunch and the Trading Post we stopped at some of Los Angeles very famous murals to take pictures because you can't not embrace some of the LA trends.
That same weekend my roommates from Viterbi Abroad (Rome-ies if you will) went to Eataly for<|fim_middle|> Boba (or Bubble Tea) as a fun food break. We sang 90s songs in the car and debated getting Boba or mochi ice cream.
This weekend I'm planning on going out to one of the museums in the area because its free this Sunday! Keep up with my LA adventures on Instagram and give me suggestions on where else I should go.
Vanessa is a junior studying Chemical Engineering. Lover of eggs benedict, traveling and facetiming her dog. Click above to find out more. | some yummy italian food and of course gelato in an attempt to relive our glory days in Rome last summer.
Another day a couple of girls in my sorority and I went to Little Tokyo to get | 42 |
'We are going to crush this lady': Six former eBay employees charged in<|fim_middle|>. It's just a very, very unfortunate, very tragic set of circumstances."
The other defendants' lawyers either declined to comment or couldn't be reached. They will make initial appearances in federal court in Boston at a later date.
According to prosecutors, two eBay officials, identified as Executive 1 and Executive 2, followed the couple's newsletter closely. In April 2019, Executive 2 told Executive 1 via text, "We are going to crush this lady," the complaint said.
Executive 2 included a link to the newsletter's coverage of Executive 1′s compensation, records show. The following month, Executive 1 told Executive 2 in a text message, 'Take her down,' " the complaint said.
On Aug. 1, the newsletter ran an article headlined "eBay RICO Lawsuit Meant to Curb Seller Exodus to Amazon?" According to prosecutors, the article stated that Executive 1 "has been unable to stop a decline in market sales, but trying to dissuade sellers from turning to Amazon (and trying to get Amazon to stop recruiting sellers) may not be the best tactic."
The couple had previously noted that eBay had built a replica of a popular Manhattan bar on its campus.
"It's probably news to sellers (and shareholders?) that eBay has a pub-like lounge on campus — especially one built with what appears to be no-expenses spared," the article said, according to court papers.
On Twitter, someone posted a link to that article, calling the bar "a throwback to Internet and gaming company CEO's lavish overspending on 'legacy' facilities and landmarks," the complaint said.
Prosecutors did not identify the Natick couple.
The alleged harassment of the couple began in early August. On Aug. 7, the wife received a private Twitter message from an account she didn't recognize. On Aug. 10, the couple started receiving home deliveries they hadn't ordered, and they believed the person controlling the account was involved, according to court records.
When the bloody pig mask arrived at the couple's home, the account sent the wife a message that read, "DO I HAVE UR ATTENTION NOW????" prosecutors said.
On Aug. 15, surveillance of the couple intensified. That night around 11:30 p.m., Baugh and Harville "approached the victims' home, planning to install a GPS device on the couple's car, prosecutors said. They couldn't because the car was locked.
Lelling's office said the former employees also tried to obstruct the police investigation into the matter.
"Aware that the police were investigating, the defendants allegedly sought to interfere with the investigation by lying to the police about eBay's involvement while pretending to offer the company's assistance with the harassment, as well as by lying to eBay's lawyers about their involvement," Lelling's office said.
After the defendants had allegedly tormented the couple, Gilbert contacted the wife, feigning concern about their harassment, prosecutors said.
He identified himself as an eBay employee and "claimed that the company had seen and was concerned by the online harassment of the victims, and offered eBay's help," the filing said.
In an e-mail that Executive 2 sent Baugh at one point, the employee voiced frustration about the newsletter.
"I am utterly vexed by this!" Executive 2 wrote, according to the complaint. "I genuinely believe these people are acting out of malice and ANYTHING we can do to solve it should be explored. Somewhere, at some point, someone chose to let this slide. It has grown to a point that is absolutely unacceptable. It's the 'blind eye toward graffiti that turns into mayhem' syndrome and I'm sick about it. Whatever. It. Takes."
In its statement, eBay said it examined what role, if any, former chief executive Devin Wenig may have had in the alleged plot. The company announced in September 2019 that he had left eBay. He has not been charged.
"The internal investigation found that, while Mr. Wenig's communications were inappropriate, there was no evidence that he knew in advance about or authorized the actions that were later directed toward the blogger and her husband," eBay said. "However, as the company previously announced, there were a number of considerations leading to his departure."
Baugh and Harville are charged with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses, and the remaining defendants are each charged with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses, prosecutors said.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe. | federal cyberstalking case targeting Natick couple
By Travis Andersen Globe Staff,Updated June 15, 2020, 11:55 a.m.
The alleged deliveries to a Natick couple included a Halloween mask featuring a bloody pig face and the book "Grief Diaries: Surviving the Loss of a Spouse." ebay cyberstalkingHandout via FBI Boston
It was a modest newsletter published by a suburban couple, hardly something that seemed likely to draw the ire of a Fortune 500 company. But eBay executives were growing weary of the bloggers' pointed criticism, federal prosecutors said Monday, and they vowed reprisal.
"We're going to crush this lady," one eBay executive texted another in April 2019, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Boston that alleged a bizarre intimidation campaign against a Natick couple by the online juggernaut.
Six former eBay employees are accused of harassing and cyberstalking the husband-and-wife team, sending a host of disturbing items that included fly larvae, live spiders, and a bloody pig mask to their home and traveling to Massachusetts to surveil the couple to make them stop publishing a newsletter critical of the online retailer, federal prosecutors said.
It was a "systematic campaign fueled by the resources of a Fortune 500 company to emotionally and psychologically terrorize this middle-aged couple in Natick," US Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said at a news conference.
Stay up-to-date with important news developments, delivered right to your inbox.
That campaign included "anonymous and disturbing deliveries to the victims' home, including . . . a bloody pig Halloween mask, a funeral wreath, a book on surviving the loss of a spouse," and pornography sent to neighbors but addressed to the husband.
Some executives allegedly "sent private Twitter messages and public tweets criticizing the newsletter's content and threatening to visit the victims in Natick," prosecutors said. Some defendants also tried to install a GPS tracker in the couple's vehicle.
In a statement, eBay said it launched a "comprehensive investigation" of the matter with outside legal counsel once law enforcement informed them of the alleged harassment in August 2019.
An independent committee formed by eBay's board of directors found that the company "took these allegations very seriously from the outset. Upon learning of them, eBay moved quickly to investigate thoroughly and take appropriate action," the company said.
"eBay apologizes to the affected individuals and is sorry that they were subjected to this. eBay holds its employees to high standards of conduct and ethics and will continue to take appropriate action to ensure these standards are followed," the company said in the statement.
The employees were terminated. Lelling said Monday that eBay has cooperated with federal investigators.
Prosecutors identified the defendants as James Baugh, 45, of San Jose, Calif., eBay's former senior director of safety and security; David Harville, 48, of New York City, eBay's former director of global resiliency; Stephanie Popp, 32, of San Jose, eBay's former senior manager of global intelligence; Stephanie Stockwell, 26, of Redwood City, Calif., former manager of eBay's Global Intelligence Center; Veronica Zea, 26, of San Jose, a former eBay contractor who worked in the center; and Brian Gilbert, 51, of San Jose, a former senior manager of special operations for eBay's global security team who served previously as a Santa Clara police captain.
Zea's attorney, Frank Ubhas, said his client "went along" with the plan and that more culpable people have not been charged.
"She was a young analyst at eBay, and the government's view" is that she could have walked away, Ubhas said. "Our view is that she couldn't have. But here we are | 788 |
PRAISE: Alex Trebek Is Done with Chemo and Back at 'Jeopardy!'
Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images
Beloved "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek has completed the last round of his chemotherapy treatment and is ready to get back to work five months after announcing his diagnosis with pancreatic cancer.
"I've gone through a lot of chemotherapy, and thankfully, that is now over<|fim_middle|> recovery to the number of people praying for his healing.
'Jeopardy!' Host Alex Trebek Reveals 'Mind-Boggling' Cancer Update
"I told the doctors, 'This has to be more than just the chemo,' and they agreed it could very well be an important part of this," he said. "I've got a lot of love out there headed in my direction and a lot of prayer, and I will never, ever minimize the value of that."
Trebek was, for a season, struggling with "deep sadness," but now things are looking up for the beloved entertainment icon. | ," Trebek said in a video posted Thursday to the show's social media accounts. "I'm on the mend, and that's all I can hope for right now."
Alex is back in action! Join him on September 9 for the premiere of Season 36. pic.twitter.com/Vdv9t9vxDE
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) August 29, 2019
Production for season 36 of the popular trivia show is now underway, according to a report from CNN. Episodes are slated to begin airing on local TV stations Sept. 9.
"Let me tell you," Trebek said, "it's going to be a good year."
'Jeopardy!' Host Alex Trebek Calls For Prayer After Announcing Stage Four Cancer Diagnosis
The 79-year-old TV personality revealed in March he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer . At the time, he vowed to fight the disease "with the love and support of my family and friends, and with the help of your prayers."
Then, in late May, Trebek shared what he described as a "mind-boggling" update, crediting his speedy | 243 |
Don't do something to artificially boost growth: Congress slams BJP on 'data revamp' reports
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday expressed apprehension over the government's reported bid to revamp official statistics to account for the unorganised sector, saying no attempt should be made<|fim_middle|> autopsies for a decent burial
PLA Militant Also Injured in Manipur Ambush That Killed 7, Outfit Planning More… | to "artificially boost" the rate of growth.
The government has suddenly expressed alarm and a "revamp of official statistics" is being proposed because it believes unorganised sector has not been looked at, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said at a press conference.
"We have no problem if it is a constructive exercise. Please don't do something where you cannot do inter-generational comparisons. Please, don't do something, where you artificially boost your 4.9 per cent official rate of growth, which your own CEA (Arvind Subramanian) believes, may be 2 to 2.5 per cent less than what is projected and stated," he said.
The government does not have a clue about how to control this "wild horse of a runaway economic distress", Singhvi claimed.
"This government is desperate to find quick-fix solutions, jumla solutions, misleading solutions, to find sleight of hand solutions, to avoid substance, to avoid the real meat of the matter and give a misleading new issue to digress and divert attention," he alleged.
The Congress leader also hit out at the government over the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data that an average 35 unemployed and 36 self-employed people ended their lives every day in 2018, with the two categories together accounting for 26,085 suicide deaths during the year.
"That figure is 10,349 more than the deaths caused by farm distress, which is an altogether different, also a very sad, but a different category," he said.
"What is the reality behind this? The reality is jumlas like 'Make in India' along with the clueless finance minister, prime minister, home minister. no idea what to do? An enemy a day, an issue a day, a potboiler a day, keeps all these issues away and will solve the economy is the approach of this government," he alleged.
"We need less of issues which are non-productive and irrelevant, like the NRC, CAA. We need lesser issues of pure political rhetoric," Singhvi said.
Three arrested for attack on West Bengal's Visva-Bharati campus students
Will boycott Centre's CAA-NRC study tour to Northeast: TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar
Islands In Andamans Renamed "Only To Gain Popularity": Mamata Banerjee
Retired teacher's bank account hacked by cybercriminals in Andhra; Rs 21 lakh looted
Kerala High Court asks state to provide infra for night | 531 |
Intelligence agency GCHQ, the NSA equivalent in Great Britain, is being targeted in an ample legal action for use of "Nosey Smurf", "Gumfish" and "Foggybottom" hacking tools to spy on people's personal and private data. The action was issued at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in London by the civil rights group Privacy International, claiming that GCHQ's use of thesetools is "incompatible with democratic principles and human rights standards".
NSA contractor Edward Snowden was the one who leaked the documents that revealed details of the operations conducted by GCHQ at the same time with those of the NSA. The documents showed how the agencies used malware in order to intercept the communications of everybody.
Nosey Smurf allows them to intercept a computer's microphone and record conversations happening in the coverage area of the device.
Gumfish does essentially the same thing but this time is using the device's webcam,<|fim_middle|>urf knows about the geographical position of the user.
Grok keeps a log with the keys pressed when the user uses the computer.
Privacy International warned that the data collected could include "location, age, gender, marital status, finances, health information, ethnicity, sexual orientation, education, family relationships, private communications, and potentially, their most intimate thoughts", adding up to the fact that the tools permitted GCHQ to be "invasive" in the technology user's privacy.
Launching the legal challenge, Eric King, Deputy Director of Privacy International, said: "The hacking programmes being undertaken by GCHQ are the modern equivalent of the government entering your house, rummaging through your filing cabinets, diaries, journals and correspondence, before planting bugs in every room you enter.
GCHQ refused to comment in any way regarding the accusations or about the legal action issued against them. | filming and taking photos.
Foggybottom records Internet browsing histories and collects login details.
Tracker Sm | 20 |
Welcome Hudson Valley Gamer Con to Albany!
Join The Albany Capital Center (ACC) along with the Center for Economic Growth (CEG), Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in welcoming the largest Northeast collegiate Esports event to-date to the Capital Region next spring.
The conference and expo will feature the ECAC Esports Championships presenting three popular game titles. The Expo will showcase regional game development studios, Empire State Development's<|fim_middle|>0 for all you Gamer Cons. Enjoy!
Get an insider's introduction to one of the oldest churches in New York and discover where some of the famous congregants sat. See if you can find all the Nipper statues and how they are connected to this legacy city. | Digital Game Hubs at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and New York University, college programs focused on games and Esports, local artists, independent developers and other Esports lifestyle brands, hands-on gameplay, retail vendors and more.
We are certain your gaming tournament experience will be interactive, competitive and fun. When your team is not competing you will have the opportunity to experience an array of eclectic restaurants, distilleries, pubs, trivia competitions, arts/entertainment and much more in downtown. Albany has it all for you to experience!
For a complete schedule and ticket information - please CLICK HERE.
If there is anything we can do prior to the tournament and while you are here, please contact Debby Goedeke, Convention Services Manager at 1-800-258-3582 x 100. Enjoy your stay and come back soon!
The brand new Hudson Valley Gamer Con will be the Northeast's largest collegiate Esports event to date. It is expected to draw hundreds of gaming fans to the region as well as local Esports enthusiasts.
Be sure to check out www.meetup.com and see some of the gaming groups that are established right here in the capital region.
Locally, Siena College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and St. Rose College all have Esports teams.
Click here to read a great article about a local Esports student!
While attending the tournament, be sure to take advantage of the discounted sleeping rooms that are currently available. Please book early as we anticipate they will sell out.
To make reservations you may call 1-518-465-8811, please mention HV Gamer Con 2019.
To make reservations you may call 1-518-453-1300, please mention ESports Tournament and Code EST18.
To make reservations you may call 1-866-910-6230, please mention the Hudson Valley Gamer Conference and Code HVG.
To make reservations you may call 1-518-783-6161, please mention the 2019 HV Gamer Con and Code GMR.
To make reservations you may call 1-518-704-4010 , please mention the ESports Tournament.
PLEASE NOTE: The Costumer Has a Special Offer For You!
The Costumer, located in Colonie, New York is offering 30% off in store ALL Licensed Video Game Merchandise, including Zelda, Mario, Halo and more. The sale will run through March 3 | 544 |
Coordination, Mapping and Referral
SEL and PSS Measurement and Assessment Tools in Education in Emergencies: Identifying, Analyzing, and Mapping Tools to Global Guidance Documents
This document covers programmatic measurement approaches, global measurement frameworks, assessment tools, and monitoring and results frameworks. It aims to map what constitutes quality and equitable education in emergencies and how it can<|fim_middle|> case managers faced with the challenge of navigating between sectors to find the best solution for individual children and families. The guide links child protection to Camp Coordination and Camp Management, Education in Emergencies, Gender-based violence, Health, Mine Action, Nutrition and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.
Author: Child Protection AoR | be assessed at the program and individual learning levels. It also aims to inform on the linkages between measurement at the programme or national level and global measurement frameworks. It includes a set of profiles of measurement and assessment tools; a summary table for looking across measurement and assessment tools and guidance documents; and a set of profiles on programmatic approaches to SEL and PSS.
Type: Toolkit
Author: INEE, EASEL Lab and Harvard Graduate School of Education
Field Handbook on Unaccompanied and Separated Children
This handbook provides operational guidance for child protection staff and other actors working on prevention and response to family separation in emergencies. It sets out to ensure that responses meet agreed inter-agency standards and are appropriate to the particular situation of individual unaccompanied and separated children, emphasizing the importance of working with affected communities, including children themselves. It accompanies the Toolkit (see Linked Resources section). The handbook is divided into a summary guidance section, which collates all the essential actions and tools covered in the handbook and acts as a quick reference guide for practitioners. Detailed guidance on each topic can be found within corresponding chapters in sections one and Two. Section one provides an overview of the legal framework and organizational mandates related to unaccompanied and separated children (UASC), characterizes family separation in emergencies, describes the causes of separation, outlines how to prepare for and prevent separation in emergencies, and how to undertake coordination and assessment. It also covers the basics of UASC programming, case management and information management. Section two provides detailed guidance on immediate needs in emergencies and detailed information on identification, documentation, alternative care, family tracing, verification, reunification, reintegration and cross-sector coordination.
Type: Guidance / StandardPractitioner Tool
Author: The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action
Toolkit on Unaccompanied and Separated Children
The toolkit was produced by the Inter-Agency Working Group on Unaccompanied and Separated Children (UASC) to provide technical guidance to support the implementation of the core principles for working with these children. It highlights key international instruments and guidelines relating to unaccompanied and separated children, including a series of tools and sample documents for use in programming. It accompanies the Field Handbook (see Linked Resources section).
Type: Practitioner ToolToolkitGuidance / Standard
Guidance Note for Teacher Wellbeing in Emergency Settings
The Guidance Note for Teacher Wellbeing in Emergency Settings provides information on how to support teacher wellbeing in the five domains of INEE's (2010) Minimum Standards. It explains how to: promote mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) for teachers; create more enabling work environments for teachers; and enhance teacher voice, agency, and leadership in crises. The guidance note offers resources and tools and examples of these standards in action. The guidance note is for people who work in all humanitarian and development sectors that impact the lives of teachers both at work and out of work in their homes and communities. Elevating the importance of teacher wellbeing emphasizes the critical role it plays in strengthening humanitarian-development coherence and improving the resiliency of education systems.
Type: Guidance / Standard
Author: INEE
Published: 2022 ·2 translations
Helping Adolescents Thrive Toolkit
The Helping Adolescents Thrive toolkit, developed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, provides programmatic guidance, based on evidence-based guidelines, for people working in the health, social services and education sectors on how to implement mental health promotive and preventive interventions that are appropriate to local needs and the contexts where adolescents live. The toolkit covers the legal foundations required for such programmes to succeed, the features of environments that are conducive to the well-being of adolescents, what support should be provided to parents and other caregivers, and psychosocial interventions that work.
Type: Guidance / StandardToolkit
Author: World Health Organization
The Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Minimum Services Package
The MHPSS MSP is a resource for humanitarian actors who plan, support, coordinate, implement and evaluate activities within and across sectors. These include government actors, MHPSS Technical Working Groups (TWGs), national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society and other advocacy groups, Red Cross and Red Crescent networks, UN agencies, coordinators of sectors/clusters/AoRs and donors. The MHPSS MSP informs the development and implementation of humanitarian response planning processes and documents including Humanitarian Needs Overviews, Humanitarian Response Plans, Refugee Response Plans, cluster strategy development and specific donor funding calls and mechanisms. The MSP builds on existing MHPSS standards and tools to create a single, easy-to-follow intersectoral package. It encompasses a wide range of activities that can be implemented by staff and volunteers with diverse backgrounds, qualifications and levels of experience. While standards, guidelines and tools for MHPSS have been developed, there is a recognized need for an intersectoral costed package to operationalize these guidelines and standards.
Type: Guidance / StandardPractitioner ToolActivity ResourceAdvocacy Resource
Author: WHO & UNICEF
Working with Other Sectors to Enhance Outcomes of MHPSS of Child Protection: An Introductory Guide for Child Protection Practitioners (Field Test Version 1.0)
The Working with Other Sectors to Enhance Outcomes of MHPSS of Child Protection guide is intended to help child protection practitioners to advocate for the best interests of the child in all arenas and seek out ways in which all sectors can contribute to the protection and well-being of children. The guide is a helpful tool for facilitating productive conversations with colleagues from different sectors and may also be useful for | 1,141 |
Dysons report on innovating Britain revealed
Jason Hesse -
The report, "Ingenious Britain", calls for an overhaul of start-up funding, a re-routing of the R&D tax credits, and fresh funding for science and technology in education.
Dyson's report was commissioned by David Cameron, who has pledged to look at each recommendation with a view to adopting them as policy if the Conservatives win the general election.
"There is a real opportunity to set a new vision for our economy," writes Sir Dyson. "To do this, a new government must take immediate action to put science and engineering at the centre of its thinking – in business, industry, education, and, crucially, in public culture."
Financing start-ups
There is not enough entrepreneurial finance available to fund innovative UK companies. This has been exacerbated by the global recession. Government must use the power of government guarantees to encourage lenders to extend credit to small, inventive businesses.
Supporting high-tech companies
If the UK is to compete and prosper as Europe's leading technology exporter, we need to increase R&D investment. Tax credits must be refocused onto high-tech companies, small businesses and new start-ups in order to stimulate a new wave of technology. When the public finances allow, the<|fim_middle|>ued and misunderstood. Government can change attitudes through encouraging research, delivering skills and backing significant infrastructure projects. It must make early and bold decisions on large-scale engineering projects to demonstrate Britain's high-tech ability.
Science, design and technology in schools have been marginalised and the UK is not producing enough scientists and engineers. We need to encourage more people to take up these subjects – and produce the best teachers to inspire them. Government should make teacher recruitment more flexible and encourage independent schools to share their expertise and experience with state schools.
Globally, the UK excels at university based research, but a disjointed system means that little of our blue skis research is shared or used commercially by UK companies. Government should seek to reform how universities are funded and assessed to give them the flexibility to provide what students and companies want – such as shorter courses with industry experience.
Commenting on the report, Conservative leader Cameron says: "Dyson is one of Britain's biggest success stories, and Dyson knows better than any bureaucrat how you start a business, build it up and start selling to the world – and he's put that knowledge into this blueprint for creating a generation of innovation and enterprise.
"I'm excited about this future and I'm impatient to make it happen. From day one of a Conservative government, we'll encourage the entrepreneurs who will start the businesses which will drive the industries which will create the high-paying jobs this country needs."
We applaud Dysons attempt to bring Britain back on track – no matter who wins the forthcoming general election, Britain needs to encourage and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Tagged Innovation, News
Workplace innovation: Unlocking the power of introverts
pCloud: Why Zero-Knowledge cloud storage security matters
Sustainable IT solutions
Essential software for the home office
8 ways to reduce your IT costs
The coronavirus comeback: Online tools are the secret weapon for small businesses, says Google director | rate should be increased to 200 per cent. The claim process must also be streamlined. These changes need not necessary lead to a higher overall cost to the Exchequer.
The UK's science, engineering and manufacturing base has been neglected for decades. As a result they are underval | 59 |
VALLEY RANCH TOWN CENTER WELCOMES FIVE BELOW
Northeast Houston continues to see strong retail growth with Five Below joining the exceptional lineup of retailers at The Signorelli Company's Valley Ranch Town Center, a 1.5 million square foot best-in-class mixed-use development located at the northwest corner of the Grand Parkway and Interstate 69 North, just weeks after MOD Pizza's opening.
As one of the fastest growing value retailers, Five Below saw immense value in joining this thriving destination in the Valley Ranch Community, becoming the second new tenant to open this month. "We are excited Five Below has opened ahead of schedule in Valley Ranch Town Center. The Town Center has seen three of the hottest retailers and restaurants join the lineup in the 4th Quarter of 2020, including Five Below which held their grand opening this past Friday, MOD Pizza which opened on October 12th, and Chipotle slated to open next month. We continue to seek out the best options for our area shoppers and we believe Five Below is a great addition to this standard and expect them to find great success here" said Brody Farris, Vice President of Retail at the Signorelli Company.
Five Below occupies 11,500 square feet between PetSmart and Burlington, joining over 56 shopping, dining and entertainment destinations in Valley Ranch Town Center, completing this section of the center.
With the development of the last 200,000 square foot phase of the Town Center underway there is limited availability of retail space and pad sites in this best in class mixed-use development. For more information on opportunities in Valley Ranch, email leasing@signorellicompany.com.
Five below was represented by Jeff Hayes at Newquest Properties and Brody Farris represented The Signorelli Company in this deal.
For over twenty-five years, The Signorelli Company, founded by Danny Signorelli, has developed and built the finest places where families can live, work, shop and play. Diversified in all aspects of real estate, from single-family and multi-family to retail<|fim_middle|> know life is way better when you're free to "let go & have fun" in an amazing experience filled with unlimited possibilities, which makes it easy to say "YES!" to the newest, coolest stuff across 8 awesome Five Below worlds: Tech, Create, Play, Candy, Room, Style, Party, New & Now. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Five Below today has 950+ stores in 38 states. For more information, please visit www.fivebelow.com and a store! | , commercial, land development, and mixed-use projects, The Signorelli Company is recognized as a leader in Texas and Oklahoma, and is one of the largest privately held development companies in the State of Texas. The company is headquartered in The Woodlands, TX. For more information about The Signorelli Company, visit www.signorellicompany.com or follow the brand via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.
Valley Ranch
Valley Ranch is a 1,400-acre master-planned community in New Caney, TX. Since 1999, the Signorelli Company has developed over 700 acres and delivered approximately 2,000 single family homes, 850,000 square feet of restaurants and retail, approximately 750 apartment units, nearly 240 acres of lakes, parks, trails and greenspace, along with civic components including New Caney ISD's 8,500 seat stadium, a 35,000 square-foot natatorium and little league baseball fields, all adding a significant community draw to the Valley Ranch Town Center retail component of the community. For more information about Valley Ranch, visit www.valley-ranch.com
Five Below is one of the fastest growing value retailers on the planet, offering high-quality products loved by tweens, teens and more, with extreme $1-$5 value, plus some incredible finds that go beyond $5. We | 301 |
Folk: Traditional Folk Moods: Mood: Fun
The Company of Friends
Linda's folk music for kids and their families includes songs about children, birds and other animals, and, of course, friends. Linda's music features her always superb backup band and their assortment of instruments.
1. The Company of Friends
2. Willie's Song
3. Big Tall Lady
4. Phoebe and Blue Jay
5.<|fim_middle|> for kids. In fact, parents may be her biggest fans, and young adults who grew up with her music still request songs from her early albums that they heard while growing up.
Her songs are rich with wordplay and language. "I love the poetry of songwriting," she says, "and I love the economy. It's a challenge to tell a story and take an audience somewhere in their collective imagination in just a four-minute song, and then take them somewhere else in the next."
Why does she write children's music?
"Much of my creativity comes from a childlike place that I can tap into, and it seems to resonate with kids and their parents. My songs for and about children are the result," Linda says. "I write a lot of music about animals and the environment, and kids are interested in those. And some of my songs are pretty goofy, which appeals to their senses of humor.
"I also really like children. I am intrigued by them. "They are more knowledgeable about things than many adults give them credit for."
Linda doesn't think she writes just for kids.
"I just write, and it's the writing that I love," she says. "All my children's albums have a few songs that could be considered 'grown-up,' and THE COMPANY OF FRIENDS, has several songs that are like that, like
"Gualala Waltz," which I wrote about one of my favorite places on the Mendocino Coast in California, and "I Can't Get Wyoming Out of My Mind," which I wrote about a stay near the Tetons.
Beyond that, there are songs about kids I've known, like "Willie's Song," and "Angel, Gillian, and Jonathan," plus my usual large number of animal tunes.
Lacy, age 16
We Love this CD!
My family and I saw Linda Book in concert when she was getting ready to make this album and it is so neat to hear her songs she sang than. I was probally only 9 years old or so and I still remember the story she told about the Hummingbird song. In the Company of Friends is a wonderful CD. I think it may be our new favorite. We recently bought all 4 of her CDs, 2 that we had on cassette and 2 we hadn't owned yet. It seems that this CD is the one that everyone in our family keeps putting in the player to listen too. I hope she makes No More Animals and Upside Down on CD too! | The Hummingbird Song
6. Red-tailed Hawk
7. Live and Let Live
8. Sun Goin' Down On the Ocean
9. White Owl On a Night Sky
10. Angel, Gillian, and Jonathan
11. I Can't Get Wyoming Out of My Mind
12. The Queen and the Cockroach
13. Sunflowers
14. A Heaven for Hamsters
15. Gualala Waltz
16. Boston Bound
Linda Book's THE COMPANY OF FRIENDS is a wonderful collection of original songs for kids and grownups.
Joining Linda on her album is her long-time backup band, The Dog-Eared Pages. Band members are Robert Armstrong on accordion, banjo, guitar, and ukulele; Jan Peters on guitar, harmonica, mandolin, piano, violin, and background vocals; Jeff Simons on electric bass, and fretless electric bass, and guitar; and Steve Book on drums and percussion.
Linda Book has been performing her music for twenty years, entertaining families with her views about childhood and parenthood, and life in general. Her songs run the gamut from wacky and nonsensical to tender and thoughtful, and her insight about children is right on target.
But her music is not just | 268 |
When you're struggling with breakouts, it's no secret that you may try just about anything to clear your skin up. From expensive dermatologist-recommended treatments to hormonal birth control<|fim_middle|> they've already got at home, and baking soda used for things like DIY toothpaste, it potentially makes sense, right?
Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is often used by people in the kitchen when whipping up pancakes, breads, and other delicious baked goods, but it also has plenty of other uses, too. It acts as a mild disinfectant and is even used to kill cockroaches…which means it's pretty potent stuff. But should baking soda be used as an acne treatment?
Dr, Jaishree Sharad, a dermatologist based in Mumbai, is skeptical, telling us "there is no scientific research" on the use of baking soda for acne, nor is it FDA approved. But she adds that it may work as a home remedy depending on your skin type.
So basically, baking soda might help with exfoliating, but there are still products out there specifically designed for use on skin that will very likely work better for that purpose. Le sigh. We guess we haven't found the acne-fighting holy grail just yet.
And as always, always consult with a dermatologist before putting anything questionable on your face! | methods, there's no shortage of stuff on the market to battle breakouts. But if you're done with pills and creams, what about nontraditional home remedies like baking soda to get rid of pimples?
We know, it sounds a bit crazy to reach into your pantry and pull out baking soda to use on your face, but it's definitely a remedy we've heard in the past. With more people trying to cure acne with things | 88 |
Robert Ricks's Katrina story: The author's telephone conversations and e-mail exchanges with Ricks in the spring of 2006; Brian Williams, NBC Nightly News story.
Ricks's warning text: NOAA archive.
Times of Katrina watches and warnings: The National Hurricane Center archived Katrina advisories and graphics.
Katrina news stories: Original and later coverage of Katrina, the New Orleans Times–Picayune and NOLA.com archive.
The 1935 Labor Day hurricane: Bob Sheets and Jack Williams, Hurricane Watch: Forecasting the Deadliest Storms on Earth (New York: Vintage, 2001), 85–88.
Pre-Katrina warnings of the consequences of a major New Orleans hurricane: Washing Away series, New Orleans Times–Picayune (2002).
Jeff Rosenfeld, "The Mourning after Katrina," Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) 86 (November 2005): 1555–1566.
Weather economics: Roger Pielke, Jr., and R. E. Carbone, "Weather Impacts, Forecasts, and Policy: An Integrated Perspective" BAMS 83 (March 2002): 394–403; Economic Statistics for NOAA (PDF file), (NOAA, 2006); Fair Weather: Effective Partnerships in Weather and Climate Services (Washington, DC: The National Academy of Sciences, 2003); NOAA Economics Web site; Air Transport Association: State of the Airline Industry: A Report on Recent Trends for U.S. Air Carriers (Washington, DC: Air Transport Association, 2002).
U.S. government weather-related activities: Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology Web site.
Private meteorology: David B. Spiegler "The Private Sector in Meteorology—An Update (PDF file)," AMS Web site (June 2007).
Discrepancies in weather-deaths statistics: P. G. Dixon, D. M. Brommer, B. C. Hedquist, A. J. Kalkstein, G. B. Goodrich, J. C. Walter, C. C. Dickerson IV, S. J. Penny, and R. S. Cerveny, "Heat Mortality versus Cold Mortality," BAMS 86 (July 2005): 937–943.
Direct or indirect weather deaths: Gib Parrish, "Impact of Weather on Health," Workshop on the Social and Economic Impacts of Weather, University of Colorado (April 1997).
Weather deaths: "Weather Fatalities," National Weather Service (NWS) Web site.
Theological meteorology: David Laskin, Braving the Elements: The Stormy History of American Weather (New York: Doubleday, 1996), 57–58.
Weather folklore: R. E. Spencer, "Weather Proverbs Often Don't Work," Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin (published online by USATODAY.com), (December 27, 1954); Candace Pollock, "Woolly Bear Winter Prediction Not Science, But Fun," Ohio State University Extension Web site (October 21, 2002).
Quote from Richard Hamblyn, The Invention of Clouds (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001), 36.
History of rainbow theories: Raymond L. Lee, Jr., and Alistair B. Fraser, The Rainbow Bridge: Rainbows in Art, Myth, and Science (University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2001), 102–205; Carl B. Boyer, The Rainbow: From Myth to Mathematics (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1987).
Graphic: Robert Greenler, Rainbows, Halos, and Glories (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980), 1–21; About Rainbows Web page, University Cooperation for Atmospheric<|fim_middle|> Atmospheric Halos, 5. Frequent Halos Web page, Atmospheric Optics Web site; Greenler, Rainbows, Halos, and Glories, 23–26; e-mail exchanges with Walter Tape and Ken Tape.
January 11, 1999, South Pole halo display: Author's interviews with the three Finnish scientists studying halos at the South Pole on January 17, 1999; e-mail exchanges with Mary Hanson of the National Science Foundation.
Sun pillars graphic: Greenler, Rainbows, Halos, and Glories, 72; "An Introduction to Sun Pillars and Related Phenomena," The Weather Doctor Web site.
New halo discoveries likely: Tape and Moilanen, Atmospheric Halos, vii.
Blue sky—Rayleigh's electromagnetic scattering discovery: Peter Pesic, Sky in a Bottle (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005), 112–119.
Blue sky and atomic hypothesis: Pesic, Sky in a Bottle, 119–128.
The profile of Bob and Joanne Simpson is based primarily on the author's interviews with the Simpsons, both individually and together at various times from 1991 through 2005, and information supplied by Dr. Robert Sheets when he and the author were writing Hurricane Watch in 2000–01. Other information came from "From Clouds to Hurricanes: A Tribute to Bob and Joanne Simpson," University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Web site and W. K. Taoa, et al., "Summary of the October 2000 Symposium on Cloud Systems, Hurricanes, and TRMM: Celebration of Dr. Joanne Simpson's Career—The First Fifty Years," BAMS 81 (October 2000): 2463–2474. | Research (UCAR); Rainbows Web page, The Weather World 2010 Project (WW2010) Web site; Rainbows Web page, Atmospheric Optics Web site.
Measuring the angle of a halo from the sun: Walter Tape and Jarmo Moilanen, Atmospheric Halos and the Search for Angle X (Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union, 2006), 2.
History of halo science and frequency of halo appearances: Tape and Moilanen, Atmospheric Halos, 20–29; Greenler, Rainbows, Halos, and Glories, 23–40; e-mail exchanges with Walter Tape.
Newton on rainbow colors: Lee and Fraser, The Rainbow Bridge, 214.
Halo graphic: Tape and Moilanen, | 171 |
Now, he is trying to hold his boss accountable — for busting him back to the patrol division.
Hudson testified Wednesday on the first day of his whistleblower case against Police Chief Pete Demnitz, who demoted him in 2015– about a year after Hudson and Officer Eric Petr brought questions about the chief's side jobs to the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.
<|fim_middle|> shooting on Lincoln Street. Testimony is expected to explore whether Hudson was disciplined for allegedly yelling at a superior officer at the crime scene.
Morristown police, members of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, mental health experts and an economist are among probable witnesses.
Hudson's lawyer produced a cardboard enlargement of records detailing 62 freelance jobs, spanning 43 dates between January and July of 2014, worked by Demnitz, who joined the department in 1983 and became chief in 2004.
Petr, who is not a party to the lawsuit, took photos of the log book at night to avoid tipping off the chief to their investigation, Hudson testified.
The officer never made eye contact with Demnitz, who watched him impassively from the defense table.
Morristown police have a rotating system for choosing off-duty freelance work, providing traffic control for companies such as JCP&L, PSE&G and Verizon, and security services for the Morristown & Township Library, the Morristown Neighborhood House and Morristown Medical Center, Hudson explained to the jury.
Hourly rates in 2014 were $45 for nonprofits and $56 for commercial customers; nights and weekends could fetch time-and-a-half or double-time.
The chief got first crack at these jobs, a practice that subsequently has been eliminated.
Hudson, who was hired in 2005, said he sometimes saw Demnitz at side gigs on weekdays, raising suspicions of official misconduct, theft and records-tampering.
However, the officer conceded he was unfamiliar with terms of the chief's contract, or whether Demnitz was working during vacations or sick days.
"There's no 'there' there," said Davis.
Although town officials responded to the situation by asking Demnitz to limit his off-duty jobs to weekends, "nobody found any wrong-doing, and that was the end of that," the attorney said. | "My concern was the chief was double-dipping and committing theft, by working all these extra-duty jobs during the work week, while being paid by the town of Morristown," Hudson told the eight-person jury, before Superior Court Judge Louis Sceusi in Morristown.
The town denies Hudson's contentions, and intends to prove that the animus belonged to the officer. "He doesn't like the chief," and schemed unsuccessfully to get him removed, said Brent Davis, the town's counsel.
Suing under the state's Conscientious Employee Protection Act, Hudson seeks reinstatement as a detective.
He also wants restoration of lost stipends that could affect his pension, and damages for the "humiliation, embarrassment, anxiety and loss of esteem" caused by the demotion, an act of "retaliation" by the chief, said Hudson's lawyer, Jeffrey Catrambone.
The civil trial, anticipated to take up to three weeks, will prove Hudson was demoted for performance issues, Davis said.
'THERE'S NO 'THERE' THERE,' said Brent Davis, standing, representing Police Chief Pete Demnitz and the town of Morristown. Whistleblowing Officer Keith Hudson is in the foreground; Superior Court Judge Louis Sceusi is to his left. Photo by Kevin Coughlin, May 16, 2018.
Two incidents may loom large. When the Secret Service nabbed an armed man at Headquarters Plaza in July 2015, Detective Hudson wanted to punt the investigation to the federal agency, Davis contended.
Another episode in the winter of 2014 involved an investigation of a drug deal and possible | 343 |
Gunnison County begins COVID-19 vaccinations
Priorities outlined but process will take several months
[ By Mark Reaman ]
Two local doctors and a resident of the Gunnison County Senior Care Center were slated to be the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Gunnison County late Wednesday afternoon at the Fred Field Western Heritage Center at the county fairgrounds.
Dr. Lor-Anne Gibans, geriatric physician for the nursing home residents; Dr. Shay Krier, Emergency Department physician and medical director of EMS, who also won the Colorado EMS director award for 2020; and Lucy Hudgeons, a resident at the Senior Care Center, were the first to roll up their sleeves and receive the first of two injections of the newly approved vaccine. They will each have to get a second dose in three weeks.
"These are some of the highest risk and frontline folks dealing with the coronavirus," explained Gunnison County public information officer Andrew Sandstrom. "Part of the reason they were selected to be the first ones in the county to get the vaccine is to show it is safe and set an example for the community."
The vaccine arrived at the county Health and Human Services building on Spruce Street in Gunnison about 1 o'clock on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 15. The 300 doses allocated to Gunnison County came via FedEx and were packed in dry ice to keep the vaccine extremely cold. It was then transferred to one of the county's ultra-cold –80°F freezers. The plan was to distribute the first doses of the vaccine at the Fred Field Center Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. in order to catch local health care workers either leaving their shift or coming on to their evening shift.
The county's vaccine distribution plan has several tiers.<|fim_middle|> same location they received the first one," said Sandstrom. "That will help everyone keep things straight."
While this first batch that arrived Tuesday is from Pfizer, the Moderna vaccine is expected to get federal approval this week and Gunnison County should see a delivery of that vaccine during Christmas week. The expectation is to receive between 600 and 800 doses that would then be administered either the week between Christmas and New Year's or shortly after New Year's.
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Next Light in the dark days | The first group prioritized to receive the vaccines is health care workers on the front lines of the pandemic, along with those living in senior housing. The hope is that a state program organized with Walgreens will take care of the vaccinations for those in Colorado's senior care facilities. But if that doesn't happen in a timely fashion, the county will include those local people in the priority group. Not including the senior care residents, there are 420 individuals expected to get the vaccine as soon as possible.
The second priority group will be other health care workers in the valley who have less regular direct contact with coronavirus cases. That would include first responders and medical office personnel, for example. That group is estimated to have between 800 and 1,000 people.
From there, higher risk individuals and those with underlying conditions; people over the age of 65; and those with diabetes, for example, would be next in line. School staff and other workers with a lot of public contact such as employees of grocery stores would be next, followed by the general public.
As far as timing, Sandstrom said that depends on the regularity of the vaccine shipments. The hope is to have the first group vaccinated this winter, the second group this spring and everyone else sometime this summer.
Because both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines take two does to be complete, the federal government will hold back the second doses and send them at the appropriate time for the second shot. "We ask people to get their second dose at the | 310 |
Your people will be my people…….
Aggie (named after the adorable baby in Nanny McPhee) Ruth (as we are her people) Ann (after my amazing mother)……sort of snuck into our lives. There were many crazy things going on all around us when I got the call asking if we would take her in. We had just moved into a new<|fim_middle|> you! God bless you all!
So AMAZING!!! Miss hearing more about your journey….understand you are obviously busy!!! | house the previous month, we had a one year old who was mobile and into everything, a 3 year old who desperately wanted to be with her bio mother and acted out accordingly (and justifiably), a 5 year old who suffers from major Post Traumatic Stress (and Autism, but we didn't have a definitive diagnosis of that yet), a 17 year old homeschooler, a 19 year old starting out in the career world, and 2 dogs. Life was hectic! Yet, we knew that we were where God wanted us to be so we answered the call.
Aggie was born full term at only 4 pounds, addicted to meth, heroine and Adderall, and stopped breathing on the second day of her life.
We all went to the hospital to pick her up (except DJ, because he was working) and the little ones were so excited. I was most anxious to get to her…….the agency had called me soon after she was born, but because I would not be the official foster mom until we could physically take her home, the hospital wouldn't let me visit her…..so I had been sick with worry the 6 days that she lay in that hospital alone!
I remember snuggling her hoping that I could love away the hurt.
Casey went into the nursery with me to meet her and get her ready to bring home. As our family ministry, we felt this would be a huge life experience for her to see what drugs can do to a young person's life and the life of an innocent baby. Aggie was born drug exposed and weighed only 4 pounds even though she was full term. Although I brought Casey with me so that she could gain insight into a tragic lifestyle, I myself was not prepared for what Aggie looked like.
We had to run out and buy tons of preemie outfits and hats, as nothing we had fit her. She stayed in preemie outfits for 2 solid months.
She simply looked starved. All of those gut-wrenching commercials that you see of the kids who are starving in third world countries…..she looked just like them. She shook like JoJo did when he was born, but instead of the plump and soft body that he possessed, Aggie was all bones and skin stretched too tight. Casey tried to keep her face neutral, but I could see that she was scared to death. We both were. Oh gracious God, here we go again…..but with His strength, we were ready to step up to the task.
For the next 2 months we lived in fear……not of Aggie being taken from us by birth parents or relatives, but of Aggie's fragile health. It took hours and hours to feed her, and no sooner than she finally finished a bottle, she was starving for another. It took all of her energy to eat, she barely slept, she threw up almost everything she ate, she had fits of reflux that would cause her to turn as red as a tomato and quit breathing. She couldn't take being held closely or being swaddled. Holding her was like holding a glass baby, one who cried out in pain and agony. I wore her whenever I could get her comfortable enough, but she was only at peace when she fell into an exhausted sleep. Dave would help with feedings throughout the night and in the mornings, Casey would help with some of the daytime feedings, and even DJ would help feed her when he was home. Our peds nurse, Jenn, and our family friend who is a NICU nurse, Jackie, was our lifeline to sanity in her feedings and medical care…..I am not sure we could have survived without their constant guidance and support!
At 2 months old she flipped out of her Moses basket which was resting on our ottoman……babies that age normally don't do that……and soon after, she was rolling over constantly. The throwing up, gagging and gasping for air caused her to have high muscle tone and she was incredibly strong. Her little body was always ridged and tense so when the pain came she could lift her head, flip over, and lift up on her arms. It was a scary sight to see such a tiny baby do those sort of physical feats so young, yet she could barely lift her limbs otherwise. Physical therapy began as she was developmentally delayed physically and had to be taught how to sit up, to grasp, to crawl, to stand and to walk. What comes naturally for other babies, our sweetling had to be trained to do. It was agonizing to watch her have to go through all of this.
At 8 months old we had to lay her down in the grocery cart because she still couldn't coordinate holding her head and body up by herself.
But eventually she got it and was sitting up by 9 months!
Yet, therein lies the shining beauty in the terrible mess that her birth mother's choices created. At three months, she smiled. Through all the horrible things we had witnessed this child endure, one day she just smiled……and has never stop smiling since. Even after hours of crying and vomiting and gagging, she would smile up at me when the anti-spam meds and breathing treatments would kick in. Her smile is infectious. Her will to overcome and to achieve is monumental. She couldn't sit up until she was almost 10 months old, but she would try over and over again until she finally mastered it…..same with all of her delayed milestones. She has cleared every hurdle with a determination that gives us a glimpse of the grace and love that Jesus has for His children.
She got most excited when she learned how to pull up and stand…….she would always laugh and squeal every time she succeeded!
She was destined to be determined. She is a walking, babbling, drooling and smiling testament of God's Will be done. There is really no other reason that this little cherub survived the repeated attempts to abort her, the addiction to drugs, the consequences of those drugs in her ill-equipped system. God meant for her to live, to survive, and eventually thrive.
Around 6 months old the nasty, stinky special formula that Jenn prescribed her finally paid off, and Aggie began to fill out and look healthy.
And thrive she has……as a matter of fact, if you looked up 'thrive' in the dictionary, there would be a picture of our little Aggie Ruth-Anne.
The visits with her family softly faded away after Aggie was 9 months. We are still in contact with her aunt who genuinely cares for her, but could only take in Aggie's older brother (who is only a year older). Unlike Aiden and JoJo's adoption, there was no last minute fanfare of worrying and wondering……her adoption was quietly completed in November. Aggie's mother had expressed from the very beginning that she wanted us to adopt her, and although she is in jail now, I can only pray that she is at peace that we did.
Even though Aggie's biological mother made her mistakes during the pregnancy, there was definitely a sense of regret……I believe that when Aggie was finally born her mother grew to love her and was always gentle in her care during supervised visitations.
Aggie's Mama……..yeah, I loved her the moment I laid eyes on her, as did her Daddy and siblings. She is our sweet precious angel.
So, our quiver has another arrow, one more shot to glorify God and bring His light into the world. We now have 3 amazing sons and 2 beautiful daughters……Praise God. These last 5 years have been some of the most brilliant and darkest days of our lives, yet through it all we came out of it with precious gems. I can honestly say from the bottom of our hearts that fostering children is one of the hardest jobs in the entire world, but if that is true, actually being a foster child and being children who share their homes with foster children has to be harder. Through great loss from their families and from the children themselves, we have gained 2 more sons and another daughter……our two biological children have also shared their parents, their home and their lives in order to make room for these babies……to say that we are honored to be all of their parents just doesn't seem to say enough.
Welcome to the family sweet girl……….and thank you Jesus for the strength and grace we have needed on this journey.
December 2016……Dave and Kat, DJ age 20, Casey age 19, Aiden age 7, JoJo age 2, and Aggie baby age 1.
Love hearing from | 1,774 |
Well It's Official - Advertising And Marketing Agencies Still Like A Drink
Simply The Best: Our Top 5 Ads
New Films News
By - CTL
By Jen Brewster.
Holy Mother of Dragons…I'm breathless after a couple of weeks of amazing Games of Thrones episodes. I wont go into detail, as the last time I mentioned a tiny thing, our Editor got a wave of emails from some whinging babies screaming about spoilers. Anyway, I was on holiday last week. Did you miss your favourite section, where we highlight the best ads we've seen over the past wee while?
Proctor & Gamble – The Talk
Wow….this packs a punch. A beautifully made multi-generational tale that shows us some key points in our recent history, proving that while some things look a little different, other things never change.
This has already garnered quite a reaction in the USA.
Royal Mail – Heist
This is engaging, to say the least. A drama filled spot that is gripping from start to finish, and a stern warning in the era of digital fraud and identity theft. Nice work from M&C Saatchi in London.
Brahma – Gif
If you don't get what the fuss is about with this ad, then get with the program, Grandad. An animated GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) file is a graphic image on a Web page that moves – for example, a twirling icon or a banner with a hand that waves or a man getting kicked in the face by a horse, over, and over, and over….unless of course, the actors within that Gif decide that their time is up and they should go something less boring instead.
'Birdman' screenwriter Armando Bo directed this spot for Brahma in Argentina, so it comes with some award-winning credentials behind it.
Ad Council – Type 2 Diabetes Prevention – Risk Test Hedgehogs
What better way to deliver serious message that people like to ignore than by wrapping them up in images that they simply can't ignore? In this, the Ad Council in the US have partnered with a bunch of health organisations to make people think about diabetes testing. The premise is that if you can watch baby hedgehogs for a minute, you can ask yourself some simple questions in the meantime…questions that might save your life.
Vodafone – This Friendship Day, Look Up
Oh, I love this ad, which is brave for a mobile phone network, considering the key message being delivered is to put that bloody thing down and look at life in the eye, as opposed to watching it coast<|fim_middle|> Message From Crossing The Line Mag
Between takes (101)
New Films (84)
Copyright 2020 - Crossing the Line | by via a mobile phone screen.
Another important message that we could all do with hearing. Remember the days when we used to talk to one another, and smile at one another when we passed each other by, or sat alongside each other on the train? Nah? Yeah, nah…we're all in our own little worlds these days, doing the 'Gram or checking the Snaps, or whatever other shit it is you're wasting your life doing. Get out there and live, people! Live!
The Year Ahead For Creativity: Turning The Negative Into A Positive
VR Film Festival opens in Brisbane this weekend
LOVING YOUR WORK: Bob Gordon's finest
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Crossing The Line is a web-based magazine and resource site, that covers all elements of our moving culture and values. It recognises excellence in craft and creativity across film, design, advertising, and marketing. It is a celebration of lifestyle and culture in our World today. We aim to cross the line between our audience and those involved in the production and decision-making process. Whether behind-the-scenes or in front; we will bring you the latest issues surrounding our industries, including news, interviews and opinions that offer a 360° view of the wider world we live and work in.
2021 — The Continued March Toward Marxism
A Major Shakeup In The Advertising Industry Is Most Likely In 2021, But Who Will Stay And Who Will Go?
In The Twilight Of 2020.
A Christmas | 319 |
No one is perfect, and growth is stunted by pride, so set your pride aside.
Whether you are a CEO, Sales Manager, or a Sales person every position requires more reflection and focus on self-improvement.
The market changes constantly and so must the sales and marketing approach. We are all apprehensive towards change, especially when we have been successful in the past.
We believe that what created success today, will create success tomorrow. Yes and No. What got you to the top before may not keep you there in the future. Don't think of it as change. Think about improvement, and adjustment. Besides I don't like to think of it as change; it's about improving. John C. Maxwell's Self Improvement 101 said it's not about change; it's about improving. What steps can one take to move forward.
Plan 1: Focus on self-development rather than self-fulfillment. Reaching your sales goal is self-fulfilling. Has it really improved your sales skills? Have you reached your sales potential, if not, what will you do to get there? Don't just think it, write it. Writing brings clarity.
Plan 2: Reach your potential by having the mindset of a continual learner. This is one of the first characteristics I look for when hiring a sales person. What books have you read about your profession? What seminars or workshops have you attended? No matter how many years you have<|fim_middle|> have a mentor or coach that can help you improve? Nobody likes to be criticized, and many of us love sales, because we like to be our own boss. However, we all need some coaching and/or mentoring. Not only is experience a great teacher, but you having the time to express your opinions with someone that does not have an agenda can be very helpful and eye opening. Your comments are welcome. Hope this is helpful.
You hit the proverbial nail on the head again Allan.
1) Learning to ask questions and listening intently.
A Best Practice I've benefited living by. and been successful from.
2) You'll always be a Go-To mentor of mine!
ask about Allan's ability to be a positive impact to your business, can contact me @ mpotnicknv@gmail.com. And he doesn't even pay me to say that!! LOL. He has sense of humor also!!
I feel a major share of my business growth and client success has been from working with him!
Thanks for your comments Marty. It is greatly appreciated. You have a good story to tell. | been selling you can always learn something new.
Plan 3: Take time to read, listen or reflect. Self-Improvement must be planned for; the same way you develop a business plan. Warren Buffet wants his people spending one hour a day reading about business. Make an appointment with yourself every day or every week to take time to read about your profession, listen to webinars, or reflect on what good and bad things happened during the week, and what can be improved. Bullet point your weekly activities, and then bullet point lessons learned. If you learned nothing, you're doing something wrong.
Plan 4: A great way to improve yourself is to teach your peers something you're learning. Conversely, you can learn a lot from your peers, even if you do not think they are as proficient as you. Peers frequently have similar situations, but can come from a very different perspective. Learning to ask questions and listening intently is one of the most powerful tools that people can use to improve themselves.
Plan 5: Do you | 211 |
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