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“You have cancer,” could be one of the most difficult phrases to hear. Those powerful words can leave anyone devastated. But if you or a loved one hears those words articulated by a doctor, know there is hope.
After a cancer diagnosis, your mind may immediately turn to how you are going to beat the disease through treatment — and rightly so. But did you know there are ways to enhance your cancer care beyond traditional medicine?
While traditional cancer treatments are focused on helping your body to fight cancer, integrative medicine programs can supplement your treatment plan, bringing a new dimension to medical care.
While traditional cancer treatments are focused on helping your body to fight cancer, integrative medicine programs can supplement your treatment plan, bringing a new dimension to medical care. When you’re facing chronic illness, these programs integrate holistic care to address nutritional, physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of your life.
According to a recent study, weight gain can have a negative impact on recurrence rates and survival for patients battling early-stage cancer. Studies also indicate that understanding the importance of a healthy diet and exercise regime before treatment can help patients recover faster, decrease their body mass index and improve recurrence rates.
Triple-negative breast cancer survivor Karen Rosenkrans knows firsthand the importance of applying integrative treatment methods to address mind, body and spirit.
Finding strength by building healthy habits
Karen was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in 2006.
Two years after beginning treatment at a different hospital, Karen transferred to Baylor University Medical Center — a decision that made all the difference in her cancer journey. She was able to participate in a triple-negative clinical trial. It has taken her eight years for her body to repair the damage from the chemotherapy.
“During that time I learned so many new recipes and incorporated healthy eating habits into my daily life,” she said. “I’m now 70 years old and I am stronger now than I was before going through cancer treatment, thanks to the team at Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center.”
Now cancer-free, the healthy habits Karen’s built continue to propel her healthy, active lifestyle.
“When I transferred to Baylor Scott & White, it felt like family, which is why I still go there weekly for yoga classes,” she said. “Sometimes I go there just to read or go in the chapel to think about why I am here, and reflect on how grateful I am to be alive.”
Cancer impacts your whole person — emotionally, socially, spiritually and in your family life — and it’s important to care for all aspects.
At Baylor University Medical Center, part of Baylor Scott & White Health, you can find support groups, exercise and meditation classes, music and art therapy, cooking classes and more. These programs are designed to care for patients beyond their clinical needs. Cancer impacts your whole person — emotionally, socially, spiritually and in your family life — and it’s important to care for all aspects.
These integrative medicine programs help patients and survivors not only cope with the physical and emotional impact of cancer treatment, but also in the recovery and healing process that comes later.
The health benefits of integrative medicine
“Whenever I consult with breast cancer patients, I always educate them about the importance of healthy self-care and proper nutrition in bolstering their overall health and well-being during cancer treatments,” said Dr. Shannon Poppito, clinical psychologist on the medical staff at Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center at Dallas.
Specializing in psycho-oncology, she provides integrated behavioral health oncology consultation services to cancer patients.
“When it comes to breast cancer, it’s key to maintain a healthy diet and exercise,” Dr. Poppito said. “It’s especially important for estrogen-positive breast cancer patients to keep their weight within healthy limits, cut down on white processed refined sugars and flours, and initiate a regular exercise plan.”
If you’re battling cancer, talk to your doctor about the possibility of incorporating integrative medicine.
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Link Bait: Tutorial and Course - Link Bait Tutorial and Link Bait Course, The Ultimate Guide to Link Bait. Learn Link Bait Tutorial and Link Bait Course at Link Bait Tutorial and Course.
Link Bait Tutorial and Course - Link Bait tutorial and Link Bait course, the ultimate guide to Link Bait, including facts and information about Link Bait. Link Bait Tutorial and Course is one of the ultimate SEO Tutorials and Courses created by SEO University to help you learn and understand Link Bait and the related SEO technologies, as well as facts and information about Link Bait.
In general, a website that earns links over time will be seen as valuable by search engines. Link bait is not a new concept, it is an extremely effective form of white hat search engine optimization technique creating interesting content with the intent of creating maximum Internet buzz to get as many people to link to your site as possible. Having great content is your most basic link-baiting technique. You can also think of link bait as content "hooks".
Link bait is any content or feature within a web site that is designed to bait viewers to place links to it from other web sites. Link bait is something interesting enough to catch people's attention. Typically, users on social networking sites, social bookmarking sites, or blogs will place a link to a web site in some copy that further entices a fellow member or visitor to click. It is an extremely powerful form of marketing because it is viral in nature, and links like these are exactly what search engine algorithm wants to see.
Soliciting links via link exchanging is less effective than it once was to the end of improving rankings. Link bait creation is one of the newer popularized concepts in link building. It is frequently, with a lot of luck and some skill, an economical and ethical way to get links to a website; it is considered to be a white hat search engine optimization technique universally.
Link bait is a hit-or-miss link building technique. Do not expect success with every attempt. However, one clever idea, when implemented, may yield thousands of links.
Link bait will be generated as a matter of course on any web site with quality content. However, learning to recognize content as such is useful in itself. Social bookmarking sites such as Digg can help to promote content. Including hooks to such services may provide an easy "call to action" for users to promote you. This is a popular technique especially used to promote news, blogs, products, and articles.
There are many ways to hook a link, in general, the following types of content hooks will work well:
Providing timely news information on any topic can be the main catalyst for retaining and gaining visitor traffic. Being the first web site to report a pertinent news story will typically get your web site cited as a source via links as the news spreads. Posting an op-ed with a different and refreshing opinion on news may also get some attention. Debate always encourages dialogue, and it is viral in nature.
These are resources that people will tend to link to by virtue of the fact that they provide useful information. You can provide information in many different formats, including whitepapers, case studies, research, and various statistics. For example, posting a "how-to" article for how to set up a web server is an informational hook. A user will read the article one day, it will help him, and then the user will post a link to it somewhere indicating that it was helpful. As time progresses, this may happen several times, and many links will accumulate.
Enticing people with gifts, contests, awards, sales, and discounts are traditional ways to attract attention.
You can promote your site by using jokes, funny pictures (videos or sounds), and even controversial information. People love to laugh, and humorous content is very viral in nature. A good joke is always going to spread. Traffic increases like that are almost always accompanied by links as a lasting effect. Fun games also work, because people send those around as well.
Providing free software and widgets is another way to promote your online assets.
Website widgets are simple, self-contained, value-added units of functionality. They are typically confined to small blocks of screen real estate on one or all the pages of your website. Any information that you can package in a way that provides unique value to other websites can be made into a widget.
Everything starts with an idea. Creating custom widgets can be as simple or as complex as required. You can create some website widgets by simply creating custom HTML pages. Others you can create by utilizing Atom/RSS feeds, Java applets, and Flash.
Let's suppose you own a website that sells many different brands of alarm clocks. To promote your website, you want to create your own link bait. Specifically, you want to create a simple digital alarm clock widget (called Wake Up Service) that any website can link to or use. When the widget is used on other websites, you specify the condition that your link must be present to use the widget.
On your website, you also want to ensure that your link bait is highly visible (typically placed at a strategic location for easy recognition). You can decide to use a pop-up window widget or one that renders in the same browser window.
Online games and multiplayer games can be addicting and can bring visitors back to your site time and again.
Saying something unpopular or mean will likely get links and attention, but it may be the wrong type of attention. Be careful with this technique.
All forms of link bait have one thing in common: they promote your name, site, and brand. Great link bait fosters accelerated link building and site recognition. When done right, link bait can become extremely viral.
Link bait is not a new concept, it is just a concise term that describes an effective search engine optimization technique. Although some SEO companies shun the term as just another word for viral marketing, in fact, the term and concept is quite useful. Deliberately creating link bait can provide a large return on investment, and even learning to recognize link bait when it is created as a matter of course is useful, because it can prompt a search engine marketer to provide hooks to services such as social bookmarking services to aid in the propagation of the bait.
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Yes, I looked it up. There won’t be an earlier Ash Wednesday for 19 years (February 7, 2035), or Easter for that matter. And it’s an interesting thing, that we expect Easter during this time but aren’t always exactly sure when it’ll come. So, for many of us, I’m sure this Lenten season really crept up on you!
And it’s around this time that many of us scramble for things to give up… late-night snacking, sweets, watching TV/movies, etc. Or the opposite, you find ways to supplement your daily spiritual life by reading more of the bible, attending an extra worship service or early morning prayer, etc.
But how are you really preparing for Easter?
Every Ash Wednesday we go through this routine of giving something up, maybe even going to church, and wearing a cross of ash on our foreheads. But all of these things are just actions, motions, and gestures if underneath them all there is no purpose.
Take Easter, for instance. The days leading up to Jesus dying on the cross, His actions weren’t meaningless. He prepared and He was ready. Luke 9:51 even says that Jesus RESOLUTELY set out for Jerusalem! If we’re to prepare ourselves for Easter as well, we need to be determined, have the right intentions, and get ready for the cross.
We hope that whatever it is you choose to do (or not do), you do so with purpose and do so with resolve! Do it intentionally and prayerfully for the journey ahead.
What do you intend on doing in these 40 days? Stick with it!
Reflection Song: Because Of Your Love
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Intertitle from Thompson's film War As It Really Is (1916)
"In the Jaws of Death""Much detail is clearly screened in the corpses and skeletons piled about deserted fortifications", commented a review by Motion Picture News. Starting with some remarkable aerial views of the Entente fleet at Thessaloniki, Thompson's film covered the western front from the French side. Press reports indicated he was at the Somme battlefield on July 2, 1916, when he was severely wounded by by a piece of shell. A print of the movie has survived in the U.S. Signal Corps collection of the National Archives in Washington, DC. To give an idea of the frontline footage we have uploaded scenes on YouTube from reel 7 following the intertitle "In the Jaws of Death", showing a French infantry attack on the German lines under heavy artillery fire. The film clip has been edited with a contemporary score by composer Gustav Holst from his musical suite The Planets/Mars.
Thompson's war films have been described in more detail in our latest book American Cinematographers in the Great War.
Also, here is a download link to the production file of Thompson's war movie, from the collection of the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
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‘After a day relaxing in his apartment in Pisa, The Travel Bug demanded his humans take him to find some fascinating facts about Florence…’
As they’re very obedient humans, the packed him into the car and flitted away to the capital of the region of Tuscany. These are the fascinating facts about Florence that Travel Bug discovered…
Travel Bug discovered that the photos that millions of tourists take of the Statue of Michelangelo’s David outside the gallery is not actually the real thing. This statue outside the Palazzo Vecchio is only a copy!
The real Statue of David is kept in the slightly safer venue of Galleria dell’Academia. This means there are two statues of David, but only one can genuinely be called Michelangelo’s.
Travel Bug was rather surprised to see that David doesn’t wear any clothes. It must be a bit cold in the winter time. Maybe David’s Mum brings him a blanket at night or he sleeps in a warm bed next to some humans, as Travel Bug does…
1/3 of the most important works of in IN THE WORLD are located in Florence. This is according to UNESCO.
Travel Bug promised his humans he wouldn’t touch anything he’s not supposed to as he doesn’t want to get squished by an angry security guard. Or his humans before they’re dragged off to jail.
During World War 2, the Germans blew up every bridge in Florence, with the exception of the famous Ponte Vecchio.
Apparently, Hitler thought this bridge was far too beautiful to destroy. The Travel Bug agrees – but he thinks everything in Florence is beautiful.
Do you have any fascinating facts about Florence to share with The Travel Bug?
Hasta pronto, amigos!
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Religious School Mission Statement
Congregation Sinai Religious School partners with the Sinai community to create an environment that is conducive to learning and understanding Judaism within the framework of the Conservative Movement.
We strive to give children and families the tools and experiences that will help them to live a Jewish life.
We endeavor to impart a love for Judaism and for Eretz Yisrael, engagement with God, and a commitment to mitzvot and tikkun olam.
Religious School Goals
To develop an appreciation of Judaism and a sense of pride in being Jewish by providing a positive, experiential atmosphere for learning prayers, history, and holidays using art forms, music, cooking, and other projects.
To engage with God, Torah, and mitzvot within the framework of the Conservative Movement and to incorporate them into our lives in a meaningful way.
To develop of sense of Jewish responsibility towards all people throughout the world through tzedakah (charity) and gemilut chasadim (acts of loving-kindness).
To develop an appreciation and identification with Klal Yisrael and to foster a sense of community with Jews in Israel and around the world.
To develop synagogue competence, including understanding the structure and meaning of Jewish prayer and the ability to participate in congregational services.
To develop basic Hebrew reading and writing skills.
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Implementing sales techniques to successfully meet goals is most effective when used as part of a sales plan. There are many techniques to choose from, and with practice, small business owners and their sales staff will find the methods most suited to their personal style and business. Common sales techniques used by successful salespeople include breaking down large goals into smaller targets, setting activity goals, focusing on customer service and pursuing qualified sales leads.
Manage Your Sales Target
Remove the stress of a high sales target by breaking down the annual goal into quarterly, monthly and weekly dollar goals. A goal of $1,000 in new sales sounds less daunting than a goal of $52,000, so focus on achieving a weekly sales target. Challenge yourself and your team to meet the weekly goal by posting your progress on a chart in the lunchroom or staffroom, and reward top performers with small weekly prizes such as a gift certificate to a local coffee shop.
Set Activity Goals
Include a sales activities target as part of your plan. Study previous activity records and review the number of phone calls, emails, referrals, appointments and follow-up contacts made by the most successful salespeople in your office or industry. Use these figures as a basis to set activity goals for pro-active sales activities. Review your own activity each week, and evaluate what works to increase sales and what doesn't. Adjust your activity goals accordingly.
Provide Excellent Customer Service
Instead of worrying about achieving your sales goal, concentrate on providing excellent service to the customer. Develop a personal sales script using language you are comfortable with to introduce new clients to new products or services. Give customers your undivided attention and focus on meeting their needs rather than "selling" anything. Anticipate questions, concerns, and future issues. Providing excellent customer service consistently results in repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals, increasing your sales and decreasing required prospecting time.
Prospecting vs. Cold Calling
Prospecting refers to searching for and cultivating relationships with customers who are more likely to purchase your product than the average person. Typically, there is a direct connection between prospecting activity and increased sales, so it's important to know how many prospects you need in the pipeline each month to hit your sales target for the year. Calculate the percentage of prospects that typically buy from you. Whether it's 5% or 25% of pitches that close, this critical piece of information lets you compute how many active prospects you need in the funnel at any given time by dividing your yearly sales target by your success rate, then dividing that number by the length of your sales cycle.
Focus on identifying target customers and getting quality sales referrals from existing customers to populate your pool of prospects. This is a more efficient way to achieve a sales target than "cold calling" or trying to sell to the general public.
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This week’s blog installment takes the form of Luke’s sermon from yesterday (Sunday 30th August) at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, London.
Read, comment and join the conversation!
Does anyone want to fathom a guess at what that number could mean?
[Encourage guessing from the congregation.]
Well in fact, today marks that it is only 116 days until Christmas. We have well and truly passed the halfway mark so I recommend that you get your lists together and get shopping before everyone else does when Debenhams puts their decorations up in early October. In fact, Selfridges already has their Christmas store up and running. Just saying.
I am unashamedly the biggest fan of Christmas. I love it all: the tree, the food, the decorations, the presents, and the never-ending playlists of Christmas songs that I just don’t get tired of… all of it! I especially love the countdown and the air of expectation and excitement and I do not believe the knowing it’s only 116 days until Christmas it at all excessive.
I love the afterglow of Christmas too; that Boxing Day feeling of snug warmth. You see, Christmas for me really, is the gift that keeps on giving.
As Christians we believe that Christmas marks (slightly inaccurately) the birth of Christ – the moment which has forever altered history by God choosing to become one of us. It’s a familiar story that even those that profess no Christian faith probably have some sense of understanding about.
Being close to God is incredibly important to “us Christians”. We talk about it rather a lot. Actually, we talk more about feeling distant from God than we do about feeling close. We’re also very good at making people feel distant from God and asking them lots of obnoxious questions along the way: “why do you feel God is absent?” or “can you think of anything in particular that may have separated you from God?” Which basically translates as: “you must have done something wrong, so own up and be done with it.”
Duncan read to us earlier from the book of Deuteronomy which expresses the importance of the law in Jewish tradition. Through the law, which God revealed to Moses and Moses delivered to the Israelites, those who were born into the Jewish faith could seek a closeness of God’s presence that the Gentile would never be able to find. The closeness, or nearness, of God was directly partnered with the law, as we heard in Deuteronomy 4:7 & 8:
“For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?”
By obeying God’s laws, the Israelites were brought closer into the presence of God and therefore, we logically progress, when they disobeyed the law (as we read in the Hebrew Bible, our Old Testament, that they so often did) they experienced a separation, a remoteness from the One who created them.
Prior to the law which Moses received, we learn of circumstances in which humanity managed a stirling job of disobeying God’s best – Adam and Eve started the whole mess when they chose to selectively choose which of God’s commands they were to follow and thus experienced a very physical separation from God, as we learn in Genesis chapter 3. Humanity’s figurative Mummy and Daddy had just taken from the fruit and are suddenly very aware, that all is not as it was moments before and so it reads in Genesis:
“8 Then they heard the Lord God walking in the garden during the cool part of the day, and the man and his wife hid from the Lord God among the trees in the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said, “Where are you?” 10 The man answered, “I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” 11 God asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “You gave this woman to me and she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “How could you have done such a thing?” She answered, “The snake tricked me, so I ate the fruit.” 14 The Lord God said to the snake,
“Because you did this,
a curse will be put on you.
You will be cursed as no other animal, tame or wild, will ever be.
You will crawl on your stomach,
and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15 I will make you and the woman
enemies to each other.
Your descendants and her descendants
will be enemies.
One of her descendants will crush your head,
and you will bite his heel.”
16 Then God said to the woman,
“I will cause you to have much trouble
when you are pregnant,
and when you give birth to children,
you will have great pain.
You will greatly desire your husband,
but he will rule over you.”
17 Then God said to the man, “You listened to what your wife said, and you ate fruit from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat.
“So I will put a curse on the ground,
and you will have to work very hard for your food.
In pain you will eat its food
all the days of your life.
18 The ground will produce thorns and weeds for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 You will sweat and work hard for your food.
Later you will return to the ground,
because you were taken from it.
You are dust,
and when you die, you will return to the dust.”
20 The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made clothes from animal skins for the man and his wife and dressed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, “Humans have become like one of us; they know good and evil. We must keep them from eating some of the fruit from the tree of life, or they will live forever.” 23 So the Lord God forced Adam out of the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 After God forced humans out of the garden, he placed angels and a sword of fire that flashed around in every direction on its eastern border. This kept people from getting to the tree of life.”
By their own actions, Adam and Eve became quite literally removed from the presence of God – so much so that a flaming-sword wielding angel prevented them for ever returning to that intimate closeness they had previously experienced in the Garden. Drama.
At times, we read, humanity goes out of its way to hide from God – to remove themselves from the presence of the divine. Over the last few weeks, we have been following the narrative of Jonah, and how he had a remarkable talent of trying to avoid God and his presence. Unfortunately his remarkable efforts didn’t quite stretch to becoming remarkable realities and God time and time again brought Jonah back into his presence. This should, I hope, give us some comfort – that even the God of the flaming-sword wielding angel (the ultimate nightclub bouncer, I think we’d all agree) still fights to bring us back into his presence, even when we do all we can to get out of it.
The other thing about God’s presence is that everyone believes they have the market on it.
The Israelis believe just as adamantly as the Palestinians, that they are in the presence of God and that the defence of the land is divinely ordained.
In every courthouse in the United States you’ll find the words “In God We Trust” displayed for all to see; stating boldly that through the presence of God, justice will be fought for and won.
Acts of terror perpetrated by the likes of Al-Qaida and ISIS are carried out in the name of God – believing that whatever harm they inflict on the infidel is to the glory and witness of the divine.
Do any of these, in our opinion, convey what we believe to be the presence of God?
How does our behaviour, if it does indeed at all, express that presence?
For the Pharisees in our Gospel reading, God’s presence was only accessible through a series of ritualistic behaviour – that if completed incorrectly or not at all would bar the perpetrator from fully experiencing the divine.
Such legalistic action was a warping of the law given by God to the Israelites and that warping became the very foundation for much of the Jewish understanding of who and how God was. By enforcing rules for every aspect of life, the Temple itself had the monopoly on access to the presence of God – something that the incarnation of Christ subverted.
For Christ, it matters very little what we do with our hands or say with our mouths if our heart, our intentions perhaps, aren’t orientated to God. In fact, Jesus argues, it’s all very good living according to the instruction of the Temple, but what really is of concern is what comes from within us – our inner most thoughts and behaviours – it is those that have the ability to cause disconnect from God. And perhaps, more dangerously, cause a rift between others and the presence of God.
It is this morning’s passage from James that really sets the final tone and brings both the texts from Deuteronomy and Mark together. For James, there is little worth in hearing of the goodness of God’s presence, if we then don’t go out and act upon it – truly as if our lives have been changed.
Our Old Testament is filled with recollections of humanity being drawn into God’s presence and then promptly finding a startling way of getting out of it. Our New Testament is a warning to all those who bar others from seeking God and dwelling in His presence. The passage in James takes us then to the “so what?” of the sermon. Dawn, one of the ministry team here at Bloomsbury, uses a phrase which I will credit her for because I’m not sure if she was the author of it or not: “What God… and so what?” We have the what kind of God – the God who time and time again draws us into his presence, but so what?
The “so what” is fundamental to our expression as 21st Century Christians – we live in a world that we might often feel is so completely devoid of God’s presence. So what?
If you type into Google: “God’s presence” you get all kinds of results – some moderately helpful, perhaps pointing to different pieces of Scripture, some… less than moderately helpful. It seems that seeking some sort of spiritual presence is all the rage still. The irony? God’s presence is so, well, “present” that a 21 step programme through a month of rigid and self-deprecating prayer and Bible study isn’t going to make Him more “present”.
For Jesus, and therefore the authors of texts which follow – such as James, God’s presence wasn’t an adjective for receiving something, but rather a verb for getting out there and doing something. It’s oh so very easy for us to sit back and decree “isn’t it AWFUL, you know… EVERYTHING that’s happening in the world at the moment?” but as James so astutely wrote:
“22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”
Have we looked into the perfect law of liberty and continued in it? And then, not forgetting what our own reflection looks like, have we gone out to be a doer of the work – which I think we’d all admit is plentiful?
It can seem daunting, I know, to stand at the precipice of all that need, all that hurt, all that anger and angst. In arriving to Church today you would have passed through one of the most diverse cities in the world. A city filled with the richest and poorest, the healthiest and those that need desperate medical attention. A city filled with awe-inspiring buildings but with a history of neglect and elitism. Nevertheless, a city filled with the presence of God.
But did you notice, that James didn’t suggest that we go out and tackle the causes of all these issues head on, issues that he too would have faced in a society dominated by patriarchal structure and class system? No, his, advice on how to be in and share God’s presence?
“27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
Who are your orphans and widows to visit?
During our evening services we take time each week to reflect on the presence of God – it’s a method of reducing the large scale and intimidating question of “where is God and so what?” to something more accessible. More personal. The questions are worded in such a way that acknowledges even when we are feeling as if God has well and truly left the building, He is in fact still there – should we just turn to find Him.
Where, in our experience this week, have we wanted to say with Jacob, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place’?
Where, in our experience this week, have we wanted to say with the Psalmist, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me’?
And let’s continue in that silence, lifting our hearts, minds and actions to the One who made it all.
[Pause for silence.]
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We often write about the incredible efficiency and durability of SunPower solar panels. What makes the difference between this manufacturer and other producers on the market? The key lies with the silicon and the construction. The result is the industry leading solar panel for power output and reliability.
Monocrystalline versus Polycrystalline
Monocrystalline silicon is made from one single crystal of silicon. Put simply, the manufacturer takes raw silicon, heats it and forms it into a single long bar that is actually one large crystal. This is a careful process that produces silicon without impurities that can then be cut into very thin wafers for use by the solar electrical industry. Monocrystalline silicon is the efficiency leader for this photovoltaic element and provides SunPower solar panels with their sleek, black appearance.
Polycrystalline silicon is made by melting many fragments of silicon in place, forming a wafer. Therefore, you can also call them multi-crystalline, since this process creates many crystals in every wafer, not just a slice from one big one. This process is obviously cheaper, since the manufacturing process is simpler. The tradeoff is that any photovoltaic cell made using this process is less efficient. These photocells are blue in color.
Maxeon versus Competing Technologies
SunPower uses what they call Maxeon cell technology for producing solar cells. The durability in Maxeon cells chiefly comes from using a solid copper foundation for the photovoltaic cell. Competitors tend to use cheaper metallic strips to transmit electrons, and these corrode and break far more quickly than a solid copper sheet.
How does this difference in construction translate into real world durability? Average solar panels lose 1% of their power generating capacity per year. So if you had a 3000-watt system in your first year, next year you would only produce 2970 watts with cheap solar panels. In a very short time, your system is not producing the energy you expected.
In contrast, SunPower solar panels only lose .25% of their generating power per year. Therefore, that same 3000 watts of production would be 2992 watts the following year — a minor drop off. It illustrates that when it comes to solar panels, you get what you pay for, and the best investment for your money is monocrystalline silicon with SunPower technology.
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I recently met Michael Clancy at the National Right to Life Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. I could not believe that it’s been 10 years since the famous photo (at right) taken by Michael was first published.
Michael was a freelance photojournalist who was documenting an in utero operation on a baby with spina bifida. Suddenly, the baby (later named Samuel) reached out of the womb to grab the surgeon’s finger. Samuel was only 21 weeks old at that time.
Fox News recently published an article about Samuel and what he’s doing now, including winning first place in swimming competitions.
In the article, Michael says that he was pro-choice before the assignment that led to the photograph. But because of what he witnessed during this surgery, he became pro-life. Now he is a full-time motivational speaker for pro-life groups. Click here to go to his website to read the story and see his speaking schedule.
Maybe it’s just me, but…I think we should never forget that the baby in the womb is exactly that–a baby! Regardless of how the pro-choice folks try to denigrate the life in the womb by calling him a “glob of cells,” “mass of tissue,” or the “product of conception,” we must always return to the one undeniable fact that the life in the womb is a human life that is worthy of our love and protection. With compassion and hope, let’s show mothers (and fathers) struggling with life and death choices understand that there are alternatives to abortion when told that the baby they are carrying is “less than perfect.”
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Last week I shared that I had the opportunity to guest post at Polkadot Pretties. Here’s an altered version of the “Use Your Stash” Challenge I shared with Claire’s readers!
First, dig into your stash and find a bunch of coordinating scraps and take out your trusty circle punch. Let’s learn how to make three fun 3D cards with these materials!
To make your 3D circle element, first punch 3 circle shapes, fold each in half, then adhere them back to back to form the 3D shape. I then used baker’s twine and additional scraps to make the hot air balloon design seen above.
Here’s a close up on that layering action. To adhere, just apply glue on the backside of the gingham shape seen in the center and all three of these pieces will form your 3D shape. Tip: use a bone folder to create crisp folds for this shape!
For this next card, I used multiple 3D circles and the same spool of baker’s twine to create a bunch of balloons for a happy ‘sending warm fuzzies” design.
In addition to this 3D circle element, this last version also uses one of my favorite technique for using up scraps: making a punch collage. I created several of these little 3D circles, laid them out in a grid like pattern and mixed in punched holes and stamped sentiments. In the end I’ll be able to thank someone very special with this handmade thank you card, all made from paper scraps!
(Supplies: Patterned Papers: Martha Stewart Crafts, Echo Park; Stamps: Hero Arts, Inkadinkado; Punches: EK Tools)
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Fifteen Christian Values’
What does a Christian faith school look like and feel like?
Back in 2009 the National Society came up with its ‘Christian
Values for Schools’ agenda which St. George’s, along with other Church of
England Schools, has embraced. The fifteen values which characterise our school
include: Reverence, Wisdom, Thankfulness,Humility, Endurance,
Service, Compassion, Trust, Peace, Forgiveness, Friendship, Justice,
Hope, Creation and Koinonia (a Greek word
meaning ‘Christian Community’). These form our
themes for worship and are values we try to live out
in our relationships with each other.Many of
these values have overlaps with the values of
other faiths, and, where we can make links from
other traditions, we do. At the same time we
have a distinctively Christian approach to these values
which is influenced by the emphasis we put on the person of Jesus.
Our Christian gifts cross in the Main Hall.
Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God and God made human. We give him titles such as ‘Christ’ meaning ‘God’s anointed one’ which recognises his status, ‘Lord’ because he is our guide and teacher in life, and ‘Saviour’ because we believe he saved us from the consequences of our sin and allowed us to have a life-giving relationship with God.
Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, are central and fundamental to our view of the world, so the Christian gifts or values that we espouse at school will always link back to him. Consequently, Jesus is mentioned in every act of worship, in our bible readings, stories and prayers. (Please see: http://www.christianvalues4schools.co.uk/ and https://www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2009/05/pr4909.aspx for more information.)
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In the essay "Arizona Statehood and Constitution" the author discusses chronological narrative explaining and evaluating all the events that contribute to the formation of Arizona as a state. In the process of investigation, key events from the history are enclosed here,…
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This was the oldest period in the history of Arizona. The earliest inhabitants of this period introduced various cultures and traditions and started living at community level sharing their needs. These earliest people were known as Paleo. In 2000 BC, Cochise culture was developed in Arizona. Those Cochise people introduced agriculture in that area. They used to grow several crops especially corn. In 300 BC, Hohokam people settled in the southern parts of Arizona. They were more developed people and introduced new ways of refined living and civilization. They used to construct irrigation canals, roads and agricultural communities, and villages in the region. So, Hohokam along with Anasazi people paved the new ways to success. In 500 A.D. Hohokam people contributed more and more to the creation and establishment of more advanced and extensive irrigation networks. In 700 to 1100 A.D., Pueblo period came to its peak and they flourished in the regions nearby Arizona. They were the pit dwellers and built many elaborated residences in that region. They used more extensive material like stone slabs, bricks, sticks and mud in the building process. Underground chambers were also developed and cotton fiber was introduced first by these inhabitants. Although the status of a state is recently achieved by Arizona its history goes back to thousands of years almost 12,000 years back. 1) The Spanish Period (1528 to 1821) In the time period 1528- 1536, Spanish colonist steadily began to enter in the region of Arizona via waterways from the coast of current day Texas...
They were especially attracted by the deposits of silvers present there. They were quite interested in exploring the regions because of hidden treasures. In 1539, a Spanish colonist Fray Marcos searched out the city of Cibola. His discoveries for silver deposits encouraged more exploration in the region. In 1629, Franciscans were the first Europeans who planned out more missions in various parts of the region including San Xavier, Guevavi and San Miguel. In 1736, Spanish succeeded to explore more deposits and large chunks of silver near Arizonac Camp. With such discoveries, Spanish also accomplished their goals having forts in the region. Tubac Presidio was the first fort established by Spanish community in the region of Arizona. Jesuits were also replaced from key positions by Franciscans. In 1765, Charles III of Spain did a major rearrangement of military on the area extended northward. Franciscans were given the place in mission planning and implementation. It is also obvious from history that during the mid of eighteenth century, the pioneers and Spanish colonist also tried to expand the territory of Arizona towards North. However, they were stopped by some Native American tribes including Apache and Tohono O’ odham. Those tribes also began violating acts on the local villagers of the region. They also launched raids and captured the livestock of the local people. However, as a whole we may conclude that the Spanish Arizona had survived economy. Several small scale silver and gold mining operations were also held in that time period. 2) Mexican Period (1821 to 1848) However, in1821, Mexico gained independence from Spanish Rule. The independence was gained as a result of a long war which had demolished the industry of silver mining and also
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These tribes are today known as the Apaches and Navajo. The first non-native in Arizona was Estevanico; an African slave shipwrecked off the Florida coast in 1529 and reached Arizona eight years later. Marcos de Niza who was a Franciscan Friar planned to make an expedition north and asked for Cabeza de Vaca’s help.
citizen certain fundamental liberties and rights. With regard to criminal procedures, the foremost of these rights is the assumption of innocence. Though not explicitly written into the Constitution, this presumption has been interpreted by several court rulings as implied in the Eighth and Fifth Amendments.
Many Americans believe that both legal and illegal immigration resulted in immigrants looting their employment opportunities. The call for4 restricting or prohibiting illegal immigration is growing across America at present. Arizona took the drastic step in controlling illegal immigration recently.
(Kain, Erick “Why Arizona's Controversial Immigration Law is Bad for Business”) This paper shall take a closer look at the controversial sections of the state law and discuss the reasons as to why those sections prove to be a very bad idea both for the law and the state of Arizona.
nstitution aims at providing a better system of governance and provides checks and balances through which they can monitor the performance of the government. It also established three branches of the government (the judiciary, the executive and the legislative arms of
The author deals with the history of Utah statehood and the role of Mormons in this demand. He focuses on the persecution faced by Mormons during statehood campaign. Mormons entered what is now the present state of Utah for the first time in 1847 after they had faced years of persecution in the Midwest.
The process of amending this constitution is fair because when amendments are proposed, the citizens must approve all the changes. The proposed amendments including the limit of local government tax levy
And at present, the way Congress spends federal funds, it is going beyond the powers that the Constitution vested it.
In the article of Moore, he claimed that in the earlier days, the federal government only had limited funds and only a number of things to spend on.
General welfare has also made its appearance in parts of the constitution of United States such as in the description of the role of the congress on article 1 section 8 of the constitution. In as far as, it is an implied term; it is very notable how its
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Everything we have and don’t have in life is a reflection of our choices. Everything we are, Everywhere we go…Things we do and people we attract and habits we repeat are CHOICES. They are a reflection of the choices we make. I’ve realized when things don’t go as smoothly as I’d like I can get down on myself, upset or nonchalantly say “yeah that’s life” but Life gives us back what we put in. I cannot play the blame game. Neither can you.
So it is my mission to give more than I take, to love more than hate, to learn more than teach, to practice what I preach and sew seeds that I want to reap by building good habits.
To listen more than I talk, to walk that walk and be about my business and my family’s business because I am my Sistars and brothas keeper.
We all have a role to play so what new habits will you be building?
What old habits will we be destroying?
What talents and skills will we be feeding?
That is the life we will be leading, once the work is done we can ease on down the yellow brick road!
But Will we do the work?
I rarely use the word *hate*….
Unless you hating
But as of late
Call me a hater
Cause there’s a term that causes me frustration
Been hearing it used loosely in every situation
So can you help me understand
What’s “under investigation”?
Who investigates the individuals doing the investigating?
Counter production if its internal station to station
How many guilty verdicts are the people still awaiting? Not even counting the low profile situations.
Not even counting the Trayvons and Emmit Till.s
I’m talking bout the ones getting gunned down eating a meal.
I’m talking bout traffic stops getting murdered at the wheel
I’m talking bout ya friend that was just walking down the hill
I’m talking bout ya hands is up and gettin murked still
So I’m really starting to hate the term
It seems as if instead of *under
They getting *over on the nation
It’s a massive disrespect slap in the face to all creation
But when it come to throwing niggas in jail, over trivial details,
seems as if they always come to quick deliberation
giving 20 year verdicts without any hesitation
Unbothered by broken homes and broken hearts and ruined lives behind these bars from the time these “niggers” facing
Where the proof at? Little dibble dabbles on discoveries
But on a video red handed these devils reap the luxuries
Under the umbrella of protection
What a disgusting reflection
of history repeating itself
Gang members doing time for drug & murder crimes
So all badges & guns should be on the shelf
How does a criminal investigate oneself?
How many verdicts are the people still awaiting?
How many conclusions came through regarding them boys in blue that got they wrist slapped and on paid vacations?
Distracted by entertainment and other non important situations
Hoping people forget by dragging it out and disrupting the demonstrations
Using militia force on people protesting for peace
Protesting for justice
2 things the law supposed to be
But unless I got it twisted look like opposition to me
Who is really
Red rum in these streets from city to city
Red rum Red rum
We see who the killers are
Sticking out by they red thumbs
But I guess
We spose to believe and accept the okey doke
Like we dumb son.
Y’all ” under investigation”
“One thing about Storms….. they may wreak havoc…but they come & they go”
Many of us are good with keeping up appearances. In a day and age of perfection, beauty, status, social media, advanced technology etc. The ability to fake the funk is easier than ever. Everything can be photo shopped, leased, nipped & tucked! Forget keeping up with the Jones’ everybody trying to keep up with the Kardashians! Ha! Aaahhh…. the Luxury life.. Those who have it flaunt it, those who don’t, want it. When are we going to get real? Really keep it 100. And respect when people do keep it 100. No matter what is going on in your life just know you’re not alone. It is OK to fall off your high horse sometimes…..just saddle back up! Its OK to be REAL and have flaws. Singers like Beyonce’ make songs about ” I woke up like this #flawless” is unrealistic. Yeah it sounds good but we all have flaws. Some of us just pay lots of money to correct the physical ones! But flaws are what makes each and every one of us unique. It saddens me when some people experience a life altering event and they get so down on themselves and depressed, some even committing suicide because life is not going in their favor at the moment. That saddens me and is unfortunate because life is like weather. You have good days….. The sun is shining, it’s feeling good and you’re doing great feeling wonderful and those days may last a while. But just like you have those good days here comes the rain, the storm clouds, snow, hail, tornados, floods & earthquakes and those days may last a little while. No one likes to be in the midst of the storm, it’s unpleasant but as long as you can endure it, it will pass! It’s always darkest before the dawn. But hang in there! This may be your coldest winter ever but stay hopeful and persevere because you will be ever grateful for your warmest summer ever!
There’s nothing wrong with expressing yourself and being real. We sometimes tend to share the great news with family, friends & social media and when things are sour we may keep a facade of being ok when in actuality we may be going through something. Not everything is for social media. Some things may need privacy or professional help, but just keep going! Do not give up! Storms don’t last forever.
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In 2015 the Hawaiian Legislature set a collective for the (UH) University of Hawaii to be “net zero”, by 2035, which means that the amount of renewable energy created must equal the amount consumed.
Now due to the effort, the University is inching closer and closer to this goal, which means that UH’s Maui College would become the first university to make this happen.
Across the United States, there is an increase in cities that have made the pledge towards 100% renewable energy. Hawaii is the only state to make this pledge by 2045 in a benchmark made three years ago. This decision made by the University is going to help the entire state as they move forward on this ambitious goal.
Johnson Controls is partnering with UH, they are known for developing the systems and Pacific Current, which is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Industries.
Four other Oahu-based UH campuses have also promised to slash their carbon footprint with their own energy and infrastructure. The campuses have come up with a whole bunch of solution ideas that are set to become a reality; with a combination of solar shade canopies, distributed energy storage and energy efficiency measures.
The coalition of campuses Oahu that is committed to this mission include, Leeward Community College, Kapi’olani Community College, and Windward Community College, and with their combined efforts they will see a reduction of fossil fuel energy by 98 percent, 74 percent, 97 percent, and 70 percent respectively.
The Vice President for Community Colleges John Morton said, “We are proud to move the entire University of Hawaii System closer to its net-zero energy mandate, to celebrate UH Maui College’s achievement and to position the Oahu community college campuses within reach of 100 percent renewable energy generation.”
The University spokesman, Michael Unebasami has also promised a network of solar panels that will power the campus’ 78-acre grounds by the next year.
According to Fast Company educational opportunities for UH’s students is also an appealing aspect of the Johnson Controls project to turn the entire school 100% energy free.
“While the new energy efficiency measures and solar arrays will save the UH system around $78 million, that’s not what makes it unique: Johnson Controls and UH have also partnered on an educational program, featuring curriculum, an internship program, and workshops for faculty and students, that will roll out alongside the new energy systems.”
The University of Hawaii is the only public system of higher education in Hawaii, and it includes 10 campuses with dozens of educational, training, and research across the state. With over 49,000 students it looks like this might become a reality faster than we think.
Do you think that more colleges should move to 100% renewable energy?
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This is the computing support site for the Computer Science Laboratory (CSLab) in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto. CSLab is the departmental computing facility that provides computing services and infrastructure for Computer Science research. For teaching, computing services for courses are provided by the Computer Science Teaching Laboratories.
Connect to our Networks
One of the first priorities of a new member of our department is to obtain network connectivity. This can be done easily in two ways via either our 'Red' wired network (so named for the colour of the cables) or our wireless network. Before you begin, make sure you or someone helping you has obtained a CSLab Account. You will need this when you register your devices for our network services.
Method 1: If you have an available (i.e. unused) red cable at your location, plug it into your device. Try to open http://red-register.cs.toronto.edu (many websites will redirect you to this site in any event) after you plug it in, and you will be presented with the registration page.
Method 2: Connect your devices wirelessly. Go to Wireless and follow the instructions there, and you will be able to register your device.
Please refer to our Email page for more info regarding this.
Points of Contact (PoC)
Each research group has a PoC, who serves as the primary computing support for the group. If the documentation on these pages is not sufficient to solve a particular problem, PoC can be contacted by email, phone or in person.
Backing Up Data
Once you have configured your system to operate on the CSLab network, you should take advantage of the CSLab file servers to save your important data to your home directory. In fact, we urge you to do so in order to avoid data loss. Not only do we backup up our file servers daily, we back them up to media that are securely stored in a different building. This means that if we are contacted in a timely manner, we will often be able to restore lost data for you. Please refer to the page on Self Administered Machines for details.
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Construction on the Olympic Aquatics Center for the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, has hit a snag following the recent reveal of falsified earthquake safety data by Tokyo-based firm KYB.
Earlier this month, SwimSwam reported that the Japanese hydraulics company KYB had manipulated earthquake safety data for nearly 100 buildings throughout Japan, including some venues for the 2020 Summer Games. Now it has been confirmed that the Olympic Aquatics Center, where swimming, diving, and artistic (synchronized) swimming will take place during the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, is one of the buildings affected by the false data.
The Olympic Aquatics Center, which houses 32 hydraulic oil dampeners, will have to replace all 32 dampeners if it is confirmed safety data for the Aquatics Center was also falsified. The Japan News reports that a Tokyo government official said of the delays: “With the tight construction schedule, it’s a totally unexpected situation for us,” the official said. “We must immediately take measures to deal with the problem.”
Furthermore, the official is quoted to have said of firm KYB: “Even if the maker responsible for the data falsification told us [the dampers] are safe, we can’t trust them,” a senior metropolitan government official said. “We cannot waste even a single day.”
If Tokyo 2020 must replace all 32 dampeners, the process could further postpone the already behind-schedule Olympic Aquatics Center, which hit its first delay when it was determined that the topsoil on which the facility was being constructed was contaminated. Now, according to The Japan News, the Olympic Aquatics Center is on schedule to be the last venue completed before the Games open in July of 2020.
Further construction delays–though unrelated to the KYB scandal–include the Ariake Tennis Park, which is now stalled due to the “collapse of a contractor” in charge of renovating the facility, which will host both tennis and wheelchair tennis in 2020. M-Tec Co., the Japan-based company that undertook the $14.3 million project, recently filed for bankruptcy, seeking protection from its creditors with the Tokyo District Court, pursuant to Japan’s Civil Rehabilitation Law.
An official from the Japanese Tennis Affiliation said that should tennis and wheelchair tennis be affected by a delay in the construction process, the issue would become and “international problem.” While the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has plans to begin searching for a new contractor to complete the renovations, new work cannot begin and construction materials currently on-site cannot be moved due to an asset protection order handed down by the Tokyo District Court, which bans the removal of construction-related materials from the site.
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1Kings Chapter 22 (Bible Marathon Day 156)
Ahab’s Defeat by Aram.*
Three years passed without war between Aram and Israel.
In the third year, however, King Jehoshaphat of Judah came down to the king of Israel.
The king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you not know that Ramoth-gilead is ours and we are doing nothing to take it from the king of Aram?”
He asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you come with me to fight against Ramoth-gilead?” Jehoshaphat answered the king of Israel, “You and I are as one, and your people and my people, your horses and my horses as well.”
Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Seek the word of the LORD at once.”
The king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked, “Shall I go to fight against Ramoth-gilead or shall I refrain?” They said, “Attack. The Lord will give it into the power of the king.”*
But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no other prophet of the LORD here we might consult?”
The king of Israel answered, “There is one other man through whom we might consult the LORD; but I hate him because he prophesies not good but evil about me. He is Micaiah, son of Imlah.” Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say that.”
So the king of Israel called an official and said to him, “Get Micaiah, son of Imlah, at once.”
The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, were seated, each on his throne, clothed in their robes of state in the square at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.
a Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, made himself two horns of iron* and said, “The LORD says, With these you shall gore Aram until you have destroyed them.”
The other prophets prophesied in a similar vein, saying: “Attack Ramoth-gilead and conquer! The LORD will give it into the power of the king.”
Meanwhile, the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah said to him, “Look now, the prophets are unanimously predicting good for the king. Let your word be the same as any of theirs; speak a good word.”
Micaiah said, “As the LORD lives, I shall speak whatever the LORD tells me.”
When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to fight at Ramoth-gilead, or shall we refrain?” He said, “Attack and conquer! The LORD will give it into the power of the king.”
But the king answered him, “How many times must I adjure you to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?”
* So Micaiah said:
“I see all Israel
scattered on the mountains,
like sheep without a shepherd,
And the LORD saying,
These have no master!
Let each of them go back home in peace.”
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you, he does not prophesy good about me, but only evil?”
* Micaiah continued: “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD seated on his throne, with the whole host of heaven standing to his right and to his left.
The LORD asked: Who will deceive Ahab, so that he will go up and fall on Ramoth-gilead?* And one said this, another that,
until this spirit came forth and stood before the LORD, saying, ‘I will deceive him.’ The LORD asked: How?
He answered, ‘I will go forth and become a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The LORD replied: You shall succeed in deceiving him. Go forth and do this.
So now, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours; the LORD himself has decreed evil against you.”
Thereupon Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, came up and struck Micaiah on the cheek, saying, “Has the spirit of the LORD, then, left me to speak with you?”
Micaiah said, “You shall find out on the day you go into an inner room to hide.”
The king of Israel then said, “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon, prefect of the city, and to Joash, the king’s son,
and say, ‘This is the king’s order: Put this man in prison and feed him scanty rations of bread and water until I come back in safety.’”
b But Micaiah said, “If you return in safety, the LORD has not spoken through me.” (He also said, “Hear, O peoples, all of you.”)*
Ahab at Ramoth-gilead.
The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, went up to Ramoth-gilead,
and the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you put on your own robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and entered the battle.
In the meantime the king of Aram had given his thirty-two chariot commanders the order, “Do not fight with anyone, great or small, except the king of Israel alone.”
When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they cried out, “There is the king of Israel!” and wheeled to fight him. But Jehoshaphat cried out,
and the chariot commanders, seeing that he was not the king of Israel, turned away from him.
But someone drew his bow at random, and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his breastplate. He ordered his charioteer, “Rein about and take me out of the ranks, for I am wounded.”
c The battle grew fierce during the day, and the king, who was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans, died in the evening. The blood from his wound flowed to the bottom of the chariot.
At sunset a cry went through the army, “Every man to his city, every man to his land!”
And so the king died, and came back to Samaria, and they buried him there.
d When they washed out the chariot at the pool of Samaria, the dogs licked up his blood and prostitutes bathed there, as the LORD had prophesied.
The rest of the acts of Ahab, with all that he did, including the ivory house he built and all the cities he built, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
Ahab rested with his ancestors, and his son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.
Reign of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat, son of Asa, became king of Judah in the fourth year of Ahab, king of Israel.
Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi.
He walked in the way of Asa his father unceasingly, doing what was right in the LORD’s sight.
Nevertheless, the high places did not disappear, and the people still sacrificed on the high places and burned incense there.
Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.
The rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, with his valor, what he did and how he fought, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah.
He removed from the land the rest of the pagan priests who had remained in the reign of Asa his father.
There was no king in Edom, but an appointed regent.
Jehoshaphat made Tarshish ships to go to Ophir for gold; but in fact the ships did not go, because they were wrecked at Ezion-geber.
That was the time when Ahaziah, son of Ahab, had said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants accompany your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat would not agree.
Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors; he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David his father, and his son Jehoram succeeded him as king.
Reign of Ahaziah.*
Ahaziah, son of Ahab, became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year* of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah; he reigned two years over Israel.
He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, walking in the way of his father, his mother, and Jeroboam, son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.
He served Baal and worshiped him, thus provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, just as his father had done.
* [22:1–40] This chapter presents a contrasting parallel to chap. 20, where Ahab enjoyed victories over Aram’s aggression. Here Ahab is the aggressor, but falls in battle against Aram. Like the preceding chapters, it contains a story of Ahab plus an episode of prophetic condemnation. The story ends with the formulaic conclusion to Ahab’s reign (vv. 39–40). Chronicles has a parallel version of this account in 2 Chr 18:1–34. After the story of Ahab’s death come accounts of the reign of Jehoshaphat (paralleled in 2 Chr 20:31–37) and of the beginning of the reign of Ahaziah.
* [22:6] Though Ahab is clearly intended to understand the oracle as prophesying his success, the prophets’ words are ambiguous. “The lord” (not “the LORD,” i.e., the proper name of Israel’s God) who will give victory is unidentified, as is the king to whom it will be given.
* [22:11] The “two” horns probably symbolize the coalition of two kings, Ahab and Jehoshaphat.
* [22:17] Micaiah’s oracle uses the common ancient metaphor of “shepherd” for the king. It means that the Israelite forces will be left leaderless because the king (or perhaps both kings: the word “master” could be singular or plural in Hebrew) will die in battle.
* [22:19–23] Since Ahab’s intention to attack Ramoth-gilead is unshaken, Micaiah reveals God’s plan to trick Ahab to his death, and thus virtually dares Ahab to walk into the trap with his eyes open. The work of the “lying spirit” explains the ambiguities of the prophets’ original oracle in v. 6. Prophets “stand in the council of the Lord” and are privy to its deliberations; cf. Jer 23:22.
* [22:20] Fall on Ramoth-gilead: lit., “heights of Gilead”; even the Lord’s words are double-meaning. God wants Ahab to “fall on” (that is, attack) Ramoth-gilead so that he will “fall on” (that is, die on) Ramoth-gilead.
* [22:28] The last words of the verse are a scribal gloss attributing to Micaiah, son of Imlah, the opening words of the book of a different Micaiah (Micah), the prophet of Moresheth, the sixth of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament canon.
* [22:52–54] The account of Ahaziah’s reign continues in 2 Kings.
* [22:52] Seventeenth year: so the present Hebrew text. This is consistent with the figures in 2 Kgs 3:1, but together those figures conflict with information in 1 Kgs 22:42 and 2 Kgs 1:17. The problem of the chronology of the kings of Israel and Judah has never been convincingly resolved; it is complicated by the fact that the ancient Greek translation sometimes has different lengths of reign and different accession dates. See further note on 2 Kgs 3:1.
a. [22:11] Dt 33:17.
b. [22:28] Mi 1:2.
c. [22:35] 1 Kgs 20:42.
d. [22:38] 1 Kgs 21:19.
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Mandala Geometric Design – Another very common yet very beautiful and symbolic design that you can take into account is the Mandala geometric design. For you to know, Mandala has an extremely significant role in the religion known as Hinduism. This is a sacred symbol of the said religion. This is the main reason why a lot of people who follow the religion of Hinduism are engraving this tattoo on their own body. But today, this design is not only very important to the Hindus, but also to some other people who love to have this art.
“About 10 years ago I put a tattoo on my lower back (also known as a tramp stamp) and I have regretted it almost every day since (the only days I didn’t regret it were when I forgot it was there). Each year as bikini season rolls around I dread the thought of people seeing it. Anyway, I did consults at a few other laser tattoo removal places and this is the place to go! Great staff and prices and it is honestly so easy. I was worried about doing this for years, but the procedure is no big deal. Just a minute of little flicks on the skin and you’re done, way better than the agony of getting my tattoo in the first place.”
Geometric shapes and the negative space that forms between them are essentially the visual building blocks of our world. So, it's no surprise that so many people have chosen to impart upon themselves the elegance of those building blocks in the form of elaborate geometric tattoos. Just pause for a moment, and look at the world around you. Everything you see can be broken down into geometric form — from pillows to flora and fauna, all aspects of life can be simplified into graceful or chaotic spatial design. (And yes, pillows are an essential aspect of life, don't kid yourself.)
If you're considering a geometric tattoo with your sweetie, you may want to extrapolate the concept behind this gorgeous piece. The tattoos are tied together by the unifying shapes of the honeycomb (but could be any environmental aspect), and pay homage to the symbiotic relationship of the bee and the flower. Clearly, this tattoo is symbolic on a couple of levels, which is part of what makes it so delightful.
A poll conducted in January 2012 by Harris Interactive reported that 1 in 7 (14%) of the 21% of American adults who have a tattoo regret getting one. The poll didn't report the reasons for these regrets, but a poll that was done 4 years prior reported that the most common reasons were "too young when I got the tattoo" (20%), "it's permanent" and "I'm marked for life" (19%), and "I just don't like it" (18%). An earlier poll showed that 19% of Britons with tattoos suffered regret, as did 11% of Italians with tattoos.
Q-switched Alexandrite: 755 nm. The weakest of all the q-switched devices and somewhat similar to the Ruby laser in that the Alexandrite creates a red light which is highly absorbed by green and dark tattoo pigments. However, the alexandrite laser color is slightly less absorbed by melanin, so this laser has a slightly lower incidence of unwanted pigmentary changes than a ruby laser. This laser works well on green tattoos but because of its weaker peak power it works only moderately well on black and blue ink. It does not work at all (or very minimally) on red, orange, yellow, brown, etc. This laser wavelength is also available in a picosecond speed with anecdotal claims that it removes ink faster.
NEW! We know that the cost of removing a tattoo can often be the reason that a patient waits to make this life-changing decision. We are pleased to announce that we have new financing options for cosmetic surgery, skin care and also tattoo removal – offering high approval rates, low monthly payments and convenient terms. Contact us to learn more about financing plans to make cosmetic surgery more affordable.
Geometric tattoos come in many color palettes and designs. This can go from the completely abstract, to a different kind of interpretation of a famous image. These images are frequently used as a type of entertainment, a point of reference for an artwork, or even an inspiration for something. No matter what kind of intentions a person has with geometric tattoos, all of them will surely look great in the end.
Tattoos are meant to be permanent. Artists create tattoos by using an electrically powered machine that moves a needle up and down to inject ink into the skin, penetrating the epidermis, or outer layer, and depositing a drop of ink into the dermis, the second layer of skin. The cells of the dermis are more stable compared with those of the epidermis, so the ink will mostly stay in place for a person’s lifetime.
Regardless, how you try to crack the code, one thing is true: Scared geometry can be found in the molecules of our own DNA. Perhaps that is why we are so fascinated by these timeless geometric codes. What stories do they hold assuming we can unlock them? For now, all we can do is contemplate and gaze deep into the lines of the universe with wonder.
The gold standard of tattoo removal treatment modality is considered to be laser tattoo removal using multiple separate Q-switched lasers (depending om the specific wavelengths needed for the dyes involved) over a number of repeat visits. There are several types of Q-switched lasers, and each is effective at removing a different range of the color spectrum. Lasers developed during or after 2006 provide multiple wavelengths and can successfully treat a much broader range of tattoo pigments than previous individual Q-switched lasers. Unfortunately the dye systems used to change the wavelength result in significant power reduction such that the use of multiple separate specific wavelength lasers remains the gold standard.
Many people start their tattoo sleeves without intent and that's just fine. If you take the organic approach and let one small tattoo turn into another and somehow tie it all together with a background of some sort later, you'll likely have an armful of meaningful body art. Others go full on with a sleeve from the get-go and that works too. Of course, with this approach, you'll be investing a larger sum of money upfront, and you'll need to dedicate the time in the chair to complete the work. Most likely you'll be going back to the same artist which means their schedule will need to be considered as well. If you have the time and the money to complete the job, get it done. Otherwise start a slower and more balanced approach. Never compromise quality for quantity.
Surveys of tattoo removal patients were done in 1996 and 2006 and provided more insight. Of those polled, the patients who regretted their tattoos typically obtained their tattoos in their late teens or early twenties, and were evenly distributed by gender. Among those seeking removals, more than half reported that they "suffered embarrassment". A new job, problems with clothes, and a significant life event were also commonly cited as motivations. Tattoos that were once a symbol of inclusion in a group, such as a gang, can make it difficult to become employed. Tattoos that indicate a significant relationship such as a spouse, girlfriend or boyfriend, can become problematic if the relationship ends. Angelina Jolie, Eva Longoria, Marc Anthony and Denise Richards are some of the celebrities that have had this kind of tattoo removed.
Eraser Clinic uses hands-down the best tattoo removal lasers that money can buy in 2018. We are the only provider in Dallas that has invested in this incredibly effective tattoo removal technology. Many other providers are still using the “latest lasers” from several years ago. And laser tattoo removal is the only treatment that we perform here. At Eraser Clinic Laser Tattoo Removal in Dallas, we do not offer laser hair removal, vein reduction, photo facials, filler injections, or countless other aesthetic procedures. In other words, we are the laser tattoo removal experts!
Ouch, what an adorable piece of artwork. Getting your arm tattooed in all one colour like that can be pretty painful. The needle penetrates pretty deep to keep the colour the same and it takes a while in the chair. This dramatic look is intense and a bit frightening. Would you choose all one colour like this? We do like how he shakes it up a bit with the geometric-like imagery.
“As a lady who made a few less-than-intelligent tattoo decisions in my youth, I’ve tried several tattoo removal companies over the last few years. After having 15 sessions (yes, 15 sessions) at 2 other reputable places, I finally found Eraser Clinic. From the time I walked in until the time I left, my entire experience was excellent. Firstly, the staff are awesome, they even had me laughing at some points. Secondly, they have this device that blows freezing air onto your skin while performing the removal. If it sounds like this wouldn’t do much for pain-alleviation, you’re very much mistaken. It takes a massive amount of the pain away. Thirdly, results. After two sessions here my tattoo is barely visible at all. This place is incredible all round and I would recommend them to anyone looking for laser tattoo removal.”
The basic meaning of serendipity is good luck that you were not looking for. This is often found in the form of a love of your life that you were not necessarily looking for. We really love the font on this one which looks like it was custom made by the tattooist. There are tattooists that specialise in script and it’s always a great idea to see their work before you begin.
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Here are the Best TV Series about Hacking and Technology for those who love to enjoy hacking.
If you are a technology freak, enthusiast or a hacker yourself then some TV series might just prove to be a teaser or inspiration for you. Hacking is an entire genre of movies and TV series based on mind boggling stories of real life hackers and those geniuses sitting infront of the computer screens.
In this article, I have tried to compile the Best TV Series about Hacking and Technology that is a must watch for fans of this genre. Where previously war and action/adventure was a favorite genre, the one gaining all the spotlight now is hacking and technology. There are so many brilliant shows produced under this category and some are surprisingly quite accurate as well.
Best TV Series about Hacking and Technology
Mr. Robot portrays a war against the evil corporations where a group of hackers joins hands to penetrate high-end security. The TV Series is inspired by Elliot who was a security professional but a hacker at night.
The IT Crowd:
Second in the list is the IT crowd from back in 2006-13. The Tv series belongs to the genre of comedy and showcases a witty sense of humor around the two main characters of the TV series who are IT nerds.
Ever wondered what goes inside the Silicon Valley? This entertaining Tv series will tell you the intensity of competition between the techies inside the Silicon Valley and how the underdogs excel in what they do and leave the qualified far behind.
Person Of Interest:
Another must watch TV series is Person of Interest and you might have heard the name before. The TV series is about how an intelligent programmer builds artificial intelligence and is used to fight against the criminals.
The story brings a lot of suspense and drama as a billionaire goes missing and comes back completely changed into a new person.
This TV series portrays the life of Walter O’Brien, who is a computer expert. The story revolves around different situations and scenarios where he uses technology to save lives, stop crimes and maintain peace.
This TV series throws light on a different perspective of the hacking world where a hacker manages to download the government secrets into his brain and in return, his life gets under threat.
These were the best TV Series about Hacking and Technology which show many sides of the complex and brilliant hacking world.
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What is the Best telescope for beginners? Buying telescope is easy, but buying the right kind of telescope, which gives you most value, and best views of universe, isn’t always easy. Especially as there are so many telescopes for amateur astronomers on market.
Aspiring astronomers ask always which telescope they should buy, or if they already bought it, they ask if they bought the good one. To answer for the first question, we decided to write this Best Telescope for Beginners Buyers Guide. It should help you to choose the right one from the very beginning and it should help you to avoid wasting your hard earned money. You should read this guide even if you are buying telescope for gift. Sure, you wish to get the best value for money in all cases.
Things that matter when choosing telescope
Important things to consider when buying telescope are for example aperture size, quality of optical components and tripod stability. Of course you should also pay attention to the price versus your goals, i.e. if telescope could meet your requirements.
Viewing magnification is not so important
Viewing magnification telescope offers is not so important. In fact cheap models are usually sold using viewer magnification power as a main selling point, do not go on that trap. If it offers up to 100x magnification, but lenses and mirrors etc. optical components are poor quality or aperture is small, you will see just awfully blurry views with high viewing magnification.
Aperture i.e. diameter of mirror is important
Aperture, size and quality of the main mirror is extremely important thing, as well as quality of other optical components used. Also, stability is important, especially mount. Unfortunately many manufacturers try cut costs packing poor quality tripods with their otherwise ok scopes, that combination results again to blurry and shaking views. Furthermore weak tripod makes it quite impossible to get nice photos through telescope.
Aperture, i.e. diameter of a telescope determines how much light the telescope can collect. More light means more crisp and detailed views. Bigger aperture means also that telescope can show more deep space objects, it can see more far away than smaller diameter equipment. Bigger aperture makes it possible to use also higher viewing magnification, giving you really amazing detailed views of object far far away in the galaxy. Every increase in aperture, no matter how small, will have an exponential effect on performance. Downside is that bigger diameter of course makes equipment harder to carry, and that is why many amateur astronomers have their main telescope with big enough aperture size and furthermore they have astronomy binoculars for traveling.
- 60-80mm (2 – 3 inches) aperture telescopes are able to provide fine views of neraby objects such as moon and bright planets such as Jupiter and Saturn. You can view also easily a few of the brighter cloudy nebulas and star clusters.
- 90-130mm (3.5-5 inches) aperture telescopes will provide much more detailed and clearer views of the same objects plus also allow viewing of more dim objects including more faint nebulas and star clusters in deep space.
- 150mm (6 inches) and above aperture telescopes will provide extremely bright and detailed views of solar system objects such as planets. Furthermore these bigger size amateur telescopes, provide also nice views of most deep space objects such as sparkling star clusters and distant galaxies.
Size and portability
You should also pay some attention to size and portability, Some amateur astronomers like to take their telescope with them while traveling, or go from city area to better stargazing places. In such case, it is important to have equipment that you can actually take easily with you. Unfortunately this leaves telescopes with bigger diameter out of question. There is an old saying in amateur astronomy “the best telescope is one that is used often.” We agree 100%, but however, only partially. You should not compromise too much aperture size. Our advice is to buy the main telescope with big enough diameter. That is the telescope you do not carry with you. in addition you should get astronomy binoculars for traveling purpose. that’s quite perfect compromise.
Type of telescopes
There are three kinds of telescopes available for amateurs. Those are Maksutov-Cassegrain, Reflector, and Refractor type of telescopes. Generally speaking, it does not matter which one you choose. Those refers to the design of how specific telescope technically works. They are are able to deliver amazing views of universe at amateur astronomy level. However, it is good to know what those actually means, and furthermore there are some important differences between different types of telescopes.
Refractor telescopes are the oldest classical design type, which uses lenses to collect and bend, or refract, light into a cone shape that is focused in an eyepiece. Refractor telescopes could also be used for terrestrial, nature observing. There are many accessories for day time use of refractors.
Optic components such as lenses are fixed, and can not be misaligned easily. That makes refractor type of telescope good choice also for traveling use. Furthermore refractors needs little or no maintenance at all and they are extremely easy to use, making them perfect for beginners.
Below are a few popular refractor telescopes suitable for beginner astronomers.
Reflector telescopes are more complex than refractor types what it comes to design. They reflect light to a focus point by using mirror optics. Large dish-shaped parabolic primary mirror collects light and reflects if to a smaller secondary mirror, which guides the light to an eyepiece. Because of this design, they offers the most value for money as performance is usually greatly better compared to others.
Because reflector telescope design is more complex, they can be more easily get damaged or misaligned during transport. Reflectors need also maintenance, manual re-alignment, or collimation might be needed. But that is not so complex task at all, and you can easily to it by yourself after a little practice.
Reflector telescopes comes usually either tripod mounted or base-mounted. Later are known as Dobsonian”telescopes. That’s because of astronomer John Dobson introduced the base-mounted telescope in 1978.
Below are the most popular reflector telescopes suitable also for beginners.
Cassegrain telescopes are a quite new design which combines elements from refractor and reflector telescopes. Cassegrain design bends and reflects light, giving long focal lenght in a compact size. There are numerous variations of Cassegrain telescopes available including Maksutov-Cassegrain, which includes elements of both Cassegrain and Maksutov designs. It offers excellent higher magnification of relatively cose objects such as moon and planets. Therefore it is the best choice if you are mostly interesting in observing narrow-field objects.
You can find some Maksutov-Cassegrain telescopes we feel are worth considering for beginners listed below the next computerized telescope introduction.
Computerized “GoTo” telescopes for beginners
What it computerized telescope? That’s general term, which refers usually to some kind of automatic or computer aided tracking or targeting etc. It could be extremely useful especially when observing far far away objects in the deep space. Why? Because those objects are not visible without telescope, so if you wish to get a view, you need to know exactly where to point your telescope! And that is where computerized telescopes are good. You need just enter the target, and computer will show you where to turn the scope, or some motorized models could even automatically move the tube exactly to the right direction. That is extremely helpful for beginners, as you might not yet know how to read star charts etc. things. Of course these are nice features also for intermediate and advanced astronomers alike.
TelescopeStargazer.com’s advice is that you should consider computerized models, they could really lower learning curve, and give a smooth start. Of course these features costs, but not so much extra as you might think. Below are two excellent computerized telescopes, that are well suitable for beginners, and prices are very reasonable.
Astronomy binoculars for beginners
There are available several binoculars engineered especially for amateur astronomers. Compared to telescopes astronomy binoculars are easy to carry and lightweight. Furthermore high quality binoculars such as Celestron SkyMaster 15×70 deliver much better views than cheap telescopes.
Binoculars are actually quite good idea for the first stargazing equipment. If you buy high quality product, it will serve you well also when you have bought telescope. As mentioned, the most telescopes are not intended to be carried while traveling. In such situation astronomy binoculars are an excellent option. You can take them easily with you where ever you are going. Actually most telescope owners own also a pair of binoculars just for traveling purposes.
Below are the two most popular models used by amateur astronomers around the world. You can find links to our reviews, and as you see, prices are quite reasonable.
High end amateur telescopes
There are also high end telescopes available for serious amateur astronomers. These offer better optics and various other benefits compared to less expensive models. Views of the universe these high end telescopes give, are really amazing. If you are really serious about astronomy, and ready to invest in your equipment, below are two of TelescopeStargazer.com’s favorite models from Celestron.
Find out if you can attach DSLR easily
Astrophotography is very rewarding hobby, and it allows you to share amazing views with others. So, taking photos or videos of planets and other objects is something what you might want to do in addition to stargazing! However, when buying the first telescope, most of us do not think such things. Anyway, you should find out, how easily you could attach DSLR camera on telescope. Generally, it should be possible with almost all telescopes, but it does not cost anything just to be sure. Usually camera is attached using adapter ring or kit, which could include essential parts almost for all kind of telescope / camera combinations. You can buy adapter ring later, when you are ready to start astrophotography.
Invest in high quality amateur telescope
It is the best advice we can give: invest in quality. This does not mean that you need to spend hundreds and hundreds or even thousands, but do not buy the cheapest telescope available. It could be worse than not having telescope at all. There are numerous people who have lost their interest in this wonderful hobby, because they have bought poor quality equipment, and got very limited & poor quality views of planets and other objects in the space.
It is good idea to put some extra money on quality right on the beginning. If you are serious about your hobby, and wish to enjoy amazing views of deep space or nearer objects such as moon, you really should invest in quality. Read our reviews, and choose safely any of reviewed telescopes, they are all fine for beginners, and most models perform well also at more advanced astronomy.
Hopefully this amateur telescope buying guide was helpful. If you have any questions about buying your first telescope, please don’t hesitate to send us a message!
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Here in Aspen, we have taxpayer-subsidized housing for people making as much as $189,000 a year. The subsidy is 60 percent to 90 percent and sometimes more.
To disguise this welfare for the middle to upper class, they euphemistically call it “affordable housing.” I call it freebie housing.
In my neighborhood, there are four units of freebie housing close to the ski slope. Based on nearby comparable places, those units are worth over $3 million each. According to the housing records, the residents got them for less than $300,000.
Aspen’s freebie housing is similarly subsidized with respect to property taxes. Because they are artificially valued at a fraction of their true value, they bear only a fractional portion of the property tax.
The way residents get their freebie housing is by winning a lottery. Insiders are very lucky in this lottery. A few years ago, four of the five city council members were getting freebie housing, including the mayor. They never recused themselves from votes on the subject.
Many of the editors, writers and columnists for the local media also are in. Continue reading
As a fan, I’ll mourn the demise of football. What happens at football games during the national anthem is bad, and I’ll get to it in a moment. But what may end the game is what happens after the anthem.
Post-mortem dissections of the brains of 112 former NFL players recently revealed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (or CTE) in 111 of them. The study was published last summer in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association and summarized by the New York Times.
The Times reports that the symptoms of CTE include “memory loss, confusion, depression and dementia. The problems can arise years after the blows have stopped.”
Football players sustain CTE through frequent impacts to their heads. Their helmeted heads routinely collide violently with other helmets, shoulder pads and the ground. Even with a helmet, the impact is equivalent to driving a car into a brick wall at 30 miles per hour.
You may respond that playing football is voluntary. You may say that if people want to risk their brains and bodies to be rich and idolized, that’s their right.
I disagree. Continue reading
Here in Gucci Gulch, the enviros once tried to outlaw fur coats. And the lefty mayor once decried rooftop hot tubs atop private $20 million penthouses that are not even visible from the street on the grounds that they’re “excessive.” The hot tubs, that is.
But nothing is too excessive if the bill is paid by taxpayers. Here’s the story.
Local government bureaucrats with too much time on their hands and taxpayer money in their pockets want to use some of both to build an elevated sidewalk. It would be cantilevered over an embankment alongside Castle Creek Road, which threads through a beautiful canyon that has the misfortune of being within the jurisdictional kingdom of these rich and idle bureaucrats.
The sidewalk would run about a half mile and cost about $6 million.
Let’s do some math on this $6 million sidewalk. Continue reading
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I love these comparison pictures! This one is so interesting to me because Billy looks so much leggier in the three year old picture. Which of course he is, since he has grown a few inches from two to three years old. Inches taller and inches wider as he continues to mature and get thicker and thicker through the chest and shoulders. AND he as lost his baby belly. Finally!
In the two year old picture the saddle has several shims under the front of the saddle and the middle as well. The saddle is actually sitting just perfect on his back in the three year old picture without shims. It’s amazing how a little growth spurt, causing his front end to catch up with his hind end can change how the saddle sits.
This growing- front then back then front then back- is totally normal for horses. Billy’s growth hasn’t been as extreme as I’ve seen some horses exhibit, but obviously if one had started riding him hard as a two year old his body was not yet ready for that. It could have caused him stress on those legs, tends, shoulders and back. Causing undue stress in those areas could have caused him to have a hard time carrying himself correctly which would have caused his posture to deteriorate, no matter how well the saddle fit. When a horse learns to carry himself incorrectly it is very difficult to teach them to carry themselves correctly. Incorrect posture is the cause of many many behavior problems in horses, because when a horse is carrying itself incorrectly this causes pain in different areas of the horse’s body as it carries the human.
It’s amazing to me how many behavior problems could be alleviated if the human would just give the horse time to mature.
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Your child’s first smart phone… a time of excitement for your child. A time of relief… and anxiety… for you.
Smart phones can open a whole new world to your child – a world filled with friends, games and fun. However, there are also very real dangers that can present themselves in that world, too.
Far too many parents purchase smart phones, hand them over to their children and allow them to go on their merry way. But that’s exactly the wrong thing to do!
Would you hand your car keys to your child and say, “Go ahead! Drive across the country… just check in with me now and again so I know you’re okay”? Of course, you wouldn’t do that! You would have NO idea where your child is or with whom your child may be connecting.
This same concept holds true with smart phones or other access to the internet. Not prepping your child to know how to safely use this new device is truly like handing him/her the keys to your car without any driver’s education or training.
It’s essential to prepare kids to use digital devices in a safe way. So how can you do that? Well, here are 7 simple steps to help get you started.
1. Work with your smart phone carrier to secure parental controls on your child’s account. Check with your carrier about parental controls they offer (beyond those you can set-up on the phone). Depending on the carrier, you may be able to purchase, for a small monthly fee, features like call blocking, usage restrictions based on time of day, data and text limits that you set, and even designate trusted/safe numbers. There are additional parental controls you can physically set-up on your child’s phone. Learn how to set-up the parental controls on your child’s iPhone or Android… and know that, at some point, those manual controls could be removed by your child (or his/her friends), so refer to #4 below to be sure those controls remain in-tact.
2. Establish boundaries of use. In addition to the parental controls you impose, it’s important to outline your expectations for your child’s usage of this new phone. By allowing your child use of a smart phone, you are instilling a level of trust with your child that s/he will be responsible when using this device… but your child needs to understand what “responsible” means when it comes to using this cool new gadget. So, set expectations, such as:
- The times of day your child is allowed to use his/her smart phone. (For example: no earlier than 7:00 am and no later than 9:00 pm.)
- Limitations for using the phone. (For example, do not use the phone during class, at the dinner table, when guests are over, when crossing the street, etc.)
- Any friend request by someone you don’t know (that isn’t a known friend of your child’s) needs to be approved by you. Sexual predators often portray themselves as other children, lying about their ages, gender, names and background. Help your child be smart about accepting new friend requests. Netsmartz, an initiative by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, offers terrific videos kids should watch to better understand online threats and heighten their awareness about the need to be safe online.
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The final novel in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy is on the book shelf this week, and I was curious to know if it would have the same effect on me as it did when I first read it eighteen years ago.
I remembered nothing of the final half of the book after a heartbreaking incident occurred. It’s as if I blocked it. I remember crying a lot. I made it through a little easier this time, but it was not without a number of tears being shed.
The story is epic in size spanning worlds as our young heroes, Lyra and Will find themselves drawn to their destinies, as Lyra’s father Lord Asriel begins his war against the Authority, planning to tear down the Kingdom of Heaven, and make all worlds the Republic of Heaven.
Lyra’s mother, Mrs. Coulter comes into play, and we also revisit a number of characters we’ve grown to know and love over the trilogy.
There are overtones of Milton’s Paradise Lost running throughout the trilogy, as religion, science, innocence, ignorance and wisdom are themes all explored.
Our young heroes travel through countless worlds, and the book takes on a mythic quality as angels, daemons, harpies, ghosts, talking bears, and beautiful beings are encountered. There is the exploration and discovery of love and wisdom, the restraining influences of churches and religion, and the oneness of the universe.
It’s a beautifully written story, one that wrapped me up in it so much that I forgot the world around me, losing myself in the words, the characters and the moments. There is a lot of depth and layers to the story, and on the surface it works as this wonderful epic tale of youth, discovery, love and adventure.
We see how religions sprang up from the Authority, and its true nature, as well as the beauty of life around us. It speaks to how the moments we have are the important ones. That perhaps we shouldn’t be concerned with the promise of a kingdom to come, one that can only be reached by following the rules of those in power, but should be more dedicated to the heaven around us every day.
The arc for Lyra and Will is so well written, and the resolution of the tale ties up all the loose ends, and while it caused no small amount of tears, it ends with hope and love, and the knowledge that we as a species can be more. We are more, if only we would see it.
There are obvious overtones and references to Christian mythology and while some may take offence to them, I think they are all handled well, and respectfully, while urging the reader to see things in a different way.
A beautiful conclusion to a fantastic trilogy.
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Illustration by Federico Manasse
President, manager, local organising committee chairman, captain, ambassador; when it comes to summing up Franz Beckenbauer’s career, it might be easier to list what he hasn’t done. His influence on and off the pitch spread far beyond his own country, and while he has been involved in his fair share of controversy, his status as a leading figure in the history of the game can never be disputed.
Although there were late periods with the New York Cosmos and Hamburg at the back end of his playing career, his connection to Bayern Munich is by far the strongest and deepest – but it could so easily have been very different. His club as a boy was cross town rivals 1860 Munich, but after a mass altercation between his youth team and their 1860 opponents, a 14-year-old Beckenbauer decided to join Bayern instead.
At the end of the 1950s, Bayern were far from the behemothic beast that now breathes over all of German football. In the early days of his senior career, Beckenbauer was indirectly handed the best opportunity to develop when 1860 were invited to join the inaugural Bundesliga in 1963 at their great rival’s expense. Bayern were forced to offload their best talent, with the lure of full-time professional contracts too great to resist for many of them, leaving the club no choice but to blood the younger generation.
In the second of the two seasons spent outside the new top flight, the teenage Beckenbauer scored 17 goals in what was his first full campaign and never looked back. Initially used as a midfielder, intelligence and awareness were his tools as he elegantly dictated matches, but as his career moved onwards, he was used further back to control play in a different way.
Original Series | The 50
Leadership was something that came entirely naturally to Beckenbauer. After only three years as a regular starter, he had already come within moments of being crowned a world champion as a crucial part of the national team’s system, and even had a direct hand in designing the first line of Adidas training gear.
His relationship with the sports company would continue for decades in one form or another, as would his relationship with leadership – after hanging up his boots he would win titles with Marseille, Bayern and West Germany before becoming Die Roten’s club president and eventually the architect behind the successful 2006 World Cup bid. His legacy has come under threat somewhat for his alleged involvement in tax avoidance and cash for 2006 votes, but he has always maintained his innocence.
One of his most enduring legacies to the game was his pioneering of a new approach to defending – the libero position. While others had been employed in a free defensive role, such as Ivano Blason in Helenio Herrera’s infamous catenaccio-inspired Inter Milan side of the 1960s, none were as graceful and visionary as the man who imperiously strode forward in possession. That he earned the title of Der Kaiser was entirely fitting for his style and personality.
As the centrepiece of a world-class Bayern team, he won four Bundesliga titles, four DFB-Pokal trophies and three European Cups, as well as being crowned European and world champion with the national team, before heading stateside on his glamorous sojourn with the mythical New York Cosmos. He even added another Bundesliga title to his collection at the age of 36 when he returned to Germany with Hamburg.
Football in Germany cannot be spoken of without considering the phenomenal impact of its most natural leader. “He’s the hero of our nation,” former teammate Günter Netzer said a few years ago. “It hasn’t happened by chance, he’s earned it by hard work.”
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Published at Saturday, October 20th 2018. by Nona Preston in Mountain Bikes.
For the kids, the Mongoose XR-75 24˝ comes in the color of orange or electric green for boys and pink for girls. It is a great bike for kids because they like to ride all over the place whether riding on smooth ground, on bumpy ground or over dirt paths. This bike can handle just about any terrain. The dual-suspension frame makes the bike durable and powerful. It is lightweight making it easier to maneuver and control it. There are 21-speeds to shift through with a rear derailleur. The bike is equipped with linear pull brakes and has alloy, lightweight rims.
Getting such a perfect beauty out in the market involves intensive care and construction and a lot of research and development coupled with thorough testing in the lab and real terrain to ensure that the bike will see through the worst of times. An important component of the bike is the biker itself. The person at the handlebars and the track through which the bike is subjected determine the design and sensitivity of a particular model. The empirical data is modeled in a computer with real bikers providing the feel for the right design that ensures a satisfying ride.
The more you train the better your pace and your stamina will improve. Once these two have improved you will be able to go on longer and better rides than will enhance your fitness.
The sport of mountain biking is one of the best active sports you can do for a number of fitness reasons and depending on what style of mountain biking you partake in, it can be also a great deal of fun as well as keeping you fit at the same time.
Mountain biking, as a sport, has been around since the 1970's. The sport originated when bikers refitted their traditional bikes with stronger brakes and thicker, more durable tires. Groups of riders from around the country would gather and race down mountains or hills on these refitted bikes. Hence, the beginning of mountain biking as we know it today.
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Copyright © 2018 Thetsa. All Rights Reserved.
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“Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray, and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor, and your picture begins to lighten up”. – Allen Klein
As a colorless winter persists here in Minnesota, I dream daily of bright colors. I crave vibrant colors to make my heart sing and give me energy. When it is gray and barren, I feel less inspired then when the sun is shining bright and the sky is brilliant blue. Thus, I try to add color into my daily life especially during the wintertime.
I wear my paisley-colored boots and dress in bright red, pink or green sweaters. I add a colorful pashmina or scarf for a splash of color and am reminded of the place far away where I bought it. I buy a bouquet of spring flowers and place it in the kitchen. Or I look at my photos of summer flowers, markets or vacations to give me that extra boost of color. It is amazing how simply adding color to my life seems to lift my spirits immensely.
See for yourself….
What are your tricks to adding more vibrant color to you life?
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When someone asks, “where are you from?” most people find this to be a welcoming question. It reminds them of home, of a specific place, of blissful, smile-inducing memories that warm them as they enthusiastically respond.
For Third Culture/Expat Kids, this question produces a free-flow pool of anxiety. When you ask someone who has lived an unconventional lifestyle – that is, between worlds, time zones, natural disasters, combat zones, cultures, religions – where they are from, that seemingly harmless question produces a complicated web in their brains as they struggle to answer. Why? Because, “Where are you from?” could mean any of the following (at least, to us):
- Where were you born?
- What is your heritage?
- What is your nationality according to your passport?
- What other places encompass your identity?
- What is your ethnicity?
- What is your race?
- Where have you lived?
- Where is your family currently located?
- What is the specific location that you were in for the longest period of time?
- What is the specific location of the place that feels most like home?
- How do you define “home?”
In a split-second, a TCK has to figure out which one to answer. Often, when I was asked this question by my peers, I froze. My response would be, “Uh, what do you mean?” They would eye me, confused and slightly judgmental, as if it couldn’t possibly be that hard to formulate an answer to such a simple question. So, what do you do in that circumstance? I personally make it a point to run through my entire lineage (born in Queens, New York, childhood in Nairobi, Kenya, puberty in New Delhi India, adolescence in Jakarta, Indonesia, the second half of high school and university in North Carolina) almost as though I was pinpointing red dots on a map of the world. My brain has seen it as such since I was young, and now, at twenty-two, not much has changed. This visual is a complete history, because the question cannot simply be answered in a few short words.
“Where are you from?”
To even attempt to write about where I am from and who I aspire to be is only going to scratch the surface of who I am. I can, however, bring you back to the moment that my five-year-old self realized who I wanted to grow up to be. I was in kindergarten, living in New Delhi, India. It was International Day at the American Embassy School (AES) and I had to choose one country to represent where I was from for the day. However, I struggled with this concept. Coming from a bicultural household and having already lived on three continents at the age of five, it is not surprising that I didn’t know how to pick where I was from. I felt as though I was a part of every country and culture I had been exposed to and because of this, I represented every country I felt connected to in a very unconventional manner. I felt like I represented the United Nations. This is one of the most significant moments in my life and this one decision I made at the age of five exemplifies the person I wish to be. For the entirety of my life, I have been trying to grasp an identity and I have come to terms that I am from everywhere, yet nowhere at the same time. The world is my home. The people you surround yourself with are what ultimately makes a home a home, thus resulting in the identity problem I have faced my entire life. What home is home, when you have had lived in seven houses over the last twenty years. And that one moment when I was five years old was a subconscious self-realization that identity would be my biggest obstacle in life. This obstacle would also shape the platform that I needed to help mold me into the tolerant and opened-minded person that I ultimately aspire to be.
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A petition containing more than 1,100 signatures calling for the city of San Diego to stop penalizing the homeless was submitted Tuesday to Mayor Kevin Faulconer.
The petition requests “emergency action” to suspend the citing, arresting and issuance of stay-away orders to unsheltered residents, said Steph Johnson, a musician who helped organize the signature drive.
She said more signatures are being added, so the total will grow.
“It was a grassroots effort that happened over the holidays and it’s continuing,” Johnson said outside the mayor’s office.
The mayor’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Johnson said the city should consider allowing so-called “tiny houses” to be placed on empty lots, and providing better training for law enforcement who deal with the homeless.
“We’re ready for real solutions,” Johnson said.
She said city officials need to put a higher priority on the issue because homelessness is increasingly being noticed by “shocked” visitors, which could impact tourism.
Johnson, a singer and guitarist, formed and directs a choir made up of homeless people called Voices of Our City, which is designed to focus attention on the issue.
—City News Service
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Scripture Reading — Luke 2:8-14
There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
—Luke 2:8 —
In ancient Israel, shepherds were generally considered “unclean” in the community of God’s people because of the work they did. They were in daily contact with dirty, smelly sheep, their manure, their blood from cuts and scrapes, and the insects that buzzed around them. All of this meant that shepherds were almost never clean enough to worship with God’s people in God’s presence. So they were generally treated as outsiders.
During Jesus’ lifetime, he specialized in welcoming people who were disregarded as unclean and unwelcome outsiders. He healed lepers. He ate with prostitutes and tax collectors. Even when Jesus was born, God showed that something new was happening in the coming of Christ. People who may have been ignored or ostracized by the community were now welcome in the presence of the Savior. In fact, not only was there room for shepherds in the presence of the Lord, but they were the first ones notified and invited to come and see the Savior who had been born!
Do you ever feel as if God won’t have time for you, or that you are not worthy of his attention? Does your guilt and shame stand as a barrier that keeps you from even seeking him? In the miracle of Christmas, God shows that he is willing to pay the price so that any of us can come near to him.
Lord, we marvel at your welcoming grace. You welcome us into your presence, in spite of our guilt and shame. We are so blessed by your amazing love! Amen.
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HGA – HarmonicGuard Active
The HGA active harmonic filter actively monitors the load current, reacting to changes in load almost instantaneously, while returning true power factor to near unity:
- Virtual real time correction of the non-linear current
- Synchronization of the current and voltage waveforms
- Always attempting to achieve unity power
- Never allowing for leading power factor
Actively Limits Harmonic Distortion
- TDD reduction to 5% or better at Full Load
- Meets IEEE-519 2014
- Improves true power factor – improves energy efficiency
- System-applied – MCC & Switchboard
- Touchscreen display
- UL 508 Certified. No SCCR required by UL Standards for the filter.
- Communication options include Modbus RTU over RS485, EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP/IP, and DeviceNet
Fits in Narrow Spots
In a tight spot? The HGA configuration minimizes the space required for harmonics mitigation in the electrical equipment line up, maximizing building space for more productive uses. For example, our 200 A HarmonicGuard Active filter has been re-engineered to have the same form factor as our popular HGA 250 A and suitable for single door MCC integration.
Additional New Features
- The 500 Amp rating for larger systems
- 600 VAC System Compatibility
- UL Type 3R Enclosure for outdoor environments
Fully featured 65k color touchscreen HMI display:
Harmonics and Power Quality
Variable frequency drives and other types of non-linear loads take the incoming power from the utility and modify it for more efficient use within a wide range of applications. The conversion process creates current and voltage distortion.
If non-linear loads represent a significant portion of the entire installed load, this distortion begins to cause problems throughout the electrical system:
- Transformer and distribution equipment overheating
- Random breaker tripping
- Sensitive equipment may fail completely
- Poor power factor
Unfiltered waveform with Injection
Current from the HGA
Resulting Line Current
Waveform with HGA
- By actively monitoring the line or load current, the HGA harmonic filter determines the nature and quantity of harmonic currents in the system and cancels the same by injecting equal amounts of harmonic currents opposite in phase. A state-of-the-art high speed DSP controller and a pulse width modulated (PWM) IGBT based power converter help to provide virtual real time compensation of non-linear load demanded by VFDs and other applications. HGA also inherently tries to synchronize the line current with its voltage resulting in near unity displacement power factor. Thus, HGA provides solutions for both reactive current and harmonic current compensation.
Meeting IEEE-519 Recommendations on Harmonics
The HGA active harmonic filter provides a cost effective, efficient solution allowing the user to meet IEEE-519 requirements. Using harmonic analysis software, TCI can help customers meet IEEE-519. Typical applications include:
- Wastewater treatment plants
- Commercial buildings
HGA Filters Versus Other Harmonic Solutions
The HGA active filter can be a better overall system solution when compared to large, expensive 18 pulse VFDs or multiple passive drive-applied filtering:
- Save money
- Save space
- Reduce energy losses
Bus-Applied Configuration for MCC or Switchboard
This bus-applied filter design can be directly connected to the power bus in standard MCC and Switchboard configurations. As with other bus-applied designs, impedance must be installed on the load side of the HGA filter.
- TDD Reduction to 5% or better at Full Load
- Power Factor Correction to less than or equal to .98 lagging
- Power Factor Improved to near Unity
- Response time of less than 8 ms to step load changes
- Additional filters can be added to increase correction capability
- Units can be paralleled without any calibration
- Self-Commissioning Installation
- Modular design
- Harmonic Cancellation to the 50th harmonic
The HGA active harmonic filter is a very sophisticated, stable, and effective solution for harmonic and reactive power compensation.
IEEE Standard 519-2014
Table 2 – Current distortion limits for systems rated 120 V through 69 kV
|Maximum harmonic current distortion in percent of IL|
|Individual harmonic order (odd harmonics) a, b|
a Even harmonics are limited to 25% of the odd harmonic limits above.
b Current distortions that result in a dc offset, e.g., half-wave converters, are not allowed.
c All power generation equipment is limited to these values of current distortion, regardless of actual ISC/IL.
ISC = maximum short-circuit current at PCC
IL = maximum demand load current (fundamental frequency component) at the PCC under normal load operating conditions.
Manuals: Current and Legacy
The table below includes links to current and legacy active filter manuals. The software version of the filter is noted on the About screen, on the HMI display.
|IOM Manual English||HMI version on About screen|
|Version K||Current-HMI Rev K|
|Version J||HMI Rev K|
|Version H||HMI Rev K|
|Version F||HMI Rev J|
|Version E||HMI Rev I|
|Version B||HMI Rev D – Rev H|
|Quick Start English||Quick Start Español||Quick Start Français||HMI version on About screen|
|Version C||HMI Rev K|
|Version B||Version B||Version B||HMI Rev I|
|Version A||Version A||Version A||HMI Rev D – Rev H|
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The definition of Affirmation from dictionary.com
- the act or an instance of affirming; state of being affirmed.
- the assertion that something exists or is true.<
- something that is affirmed; a statement or proposition that isdeclared to be true.
- confirmation or ratification of the truth or validity of a prior judgment, decision, etc.
Affirmations are very popular and more and more people are using them. Affirmations have a place with us and they work, however, I am a firm believer they do not work if you have not cleared in your mind what is stopping you from achieving, changing or even believing in yourself.
If you stand in front the mirror and say, ” I am wealthy and happy now” and you have a feeling of not believing it, or you feel a weight on your shoulders or there is a feeling in your body which does not feel right or your subconscious does not believe it, or a thought pops up, “you are in so much debt how can you be wealthy”, then they will not work.
To make them work, clear what is going on. If you want to be wealthy and you are in heaps of debt, look at cleaning out what is going on with your finances, look at what you are doing to contribute to your debt, look at your weaknesses, particularly look at your blockages towards money, where did they come from, did you grow up with the understanding rich people are selfish/mean/greedy or you say to yourself money does not grow on trees. You may be a person who likes to give, and in doing so it costs money, you feel great about giving, however, it is not helping your finances.
Once you have cleared your blockages about finances, then roll out your affirmations and say them, say them as many times as you can each day, say them as you mean them and believe in them and see the amazing results. Stay tuned to yourself though, as you need to be self – aware of your thoughts and behaviours during the day and night. For example, you have cleared your blockages about your finances, you have implemented your affirmations and then you start having negative thoughts about your finances > when this happens, stop, think about what triggered that thought and do you need to do something to clear that particular thought? If there is no attachment to that thought, then say your affirmation, your affirmation then acts as a pattern interrupter to your subconscious, tricking the subconscious out of a negative thought to a positive.
Can you see how this is hard work in the beginning, but well worth it. If you find it hard work to do on your own, then book in to see someone so that you can work together >well worth the investment, the investment is for you and for your future.
I have a saying I often suggest to my clients to try, “plant the seed”. Plant the seed in your mind of an idea, plant the seed of what you want, plant the seed of what you want to achieve. By “planting the seed” you allow it to sit in your subconscious and allow it cultivate, “plant the affirmation”
This is the process,
- Prepare your healthy soil (mind)
- Dig out all the weeds (negative thoughts and emotions)
- Fertilise your soil (seek help with a professional if you need to)
- Plant your plants (plant your positive affirmation/s in your mind)
- Water your plants so that they grow (repeat your affirmations often as possible for growth and results and witness how awesome you are)
If you are struggling with what to say as an affirmation, here are a few to help you get started.
‘I now allow success to be mine’
‘I am wealthy’
‘Abundance flows to me easily and effortlessly’
‘This is me, beautiful, brave and bubbly’
‘This is me, I attract money and abundance now’
‘I sparkle, I am energetic, I am me’
‘I am totally open to receiving abundance, with love and thanks’
‘I am deserving and I am ready to receive’
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Do you prefer to stay ahead of the crowd as you beach hop through Asia? You started visiting Phú Quốc when it was still a sleepy Vietnamese island. You now prefer the Gili Islands to Bali or even Lombok. Plus you gave up on Phuket—make that most of the islands off of Thailand’s west coast—a long time ago. So where to next?
Sri Lanka has been on your mind for a while now. It’s been years since your last—in truth, your only—visit to the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean.” But the much-disputed historic sites, the powdery beaches, and the peaceful tea plantations stayed in your thoughts. So did the other side of the country. That trip was based solely on the west coast, the Sinhalese side of the island. You vowed to eventually see the Tamil side.
So you planned a trip to Trincomalee, whose prized harbor was fortified by the Portuguese, after their conquest of the Jaffna kingdom. The Danish, the Dutch, and the French followed, before the island became part of Britain’s Ceylon in 1815. Eventual independence led to the Sri Lankan Civil War, which lasted for 26 years. It may have ended in 2009, but you always assumed that the east coast would still feel like a different country.
The differences weren’t as stark as you expected. Temples, including Koneswaram, are sacred places that attract pilgrims. Forts, like Fort Frederick, were once signs of Europeans taking over; they’ve now been adopted by the Sri Lanka Army. While legends live on in places like the Kanniya Hot Springs and Lover’s Leap. But, most importantly, the Tamil people, at least those who didn’t flee during the civil war, are kind, gentle, and eager to share their culture, especially their spicy curries.
As usual, after a few days in the city, you’re more than ready for the second part of your trip: the beach. Though only 30 minutes north of Trincomalee, Kuchchaveli feels worlds away from its built-up harbor. Its golden-sand beach borders the Indian Ocean on one side and thick mangroves on the other. Wild peacocks and parakeets, elephants and crocodiles live around quiet lagoons. While Jungle Beach, an upscale though still eco-friendly resort, is built around the trees, the smaller lagoons, and a four-kilometer stretch of the beach.
Your beach cabin, which looks like a treehouse with an iluk-thatched roof, is completely modern inside. It features a polished concrete floor, indoor and outdoor rain showers, and even an iPod dock. The rest of the resort, including the rustic restaurant, the floating bar, and the small spa are even more open. Don’t be surprised to find trees growing through the open-air buildings and bridges crossing lotus ponds. Giant squirrels and a lone Indian pond heron are your neighbors. Plus informal classes, including cooking and kite making, connect you to the local culture here.
But the best part of both Jungle Beach—and Sri Lanka’s east coast as a whole really—is the fact that it’s still undiscovered. The entire time, whether you’ve been at the temples or on the beaches, it’s been quiet. You’ve experienced the warmth and the kindness of people who aren’t used to visitors, much less crowds. At least not yet.
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Which are the places to visit in Delhi? Find it out here!
Delhi is a beautiful mix of tourist attractions that are available all year round. There are places to visit with the family, lovers and even friends. Having a hard time deciding which places to go, here are some places to put on your Delhi itinerary.
Top 10 places to visit in Delhi
Let’s get to the list!
1. Red Fort
Red Fort: The Red Fort is a memorial of the transience of world powers. Red Fort was where the Indian flag was raised when the country became a free state. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fort gets its name from the red stones and marbles used to build it.
2. Jama Masjid
Jama Masjid: Jama Majid has the biggest mosque in Asia. Its courtyard is big enough to take 25,000 worshippers at once. It also one of the last wonders constructed by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan who was a great art lover.
3. Lodi Garden
Lodi Garden: The garden is also known as the Old Lady Wellington Park. It is a refuge of natural greenery with beautiful monuments from the Sultanate era. You can find the Tomb of Muhammad Shah, King of Persia from the Qajar dynasty and Sikander Lodi, Sultan of Delhi in the 14th century here.
4. Qutab Minar
Qutab Minar: This is the tallest brick spire in India at 73m. It is also the oldest historical monument in Delhi. It is always available to tourists and is extremely popular as an attraction.
5. Humayun’s Tomb
Humayun’s Tomb: It is arguably the most fascinating work of Mughal architecture in Delhi. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built in 1569, this red sandstone tomb is in a 13-hectare garden. You also have a great view of the iconic Taj. The Tomb is a must-go for sightseeing because of its handmade designs on marbles and stone.
6. Khan Market
Khan Market: The market is full of luxury shoppers and food lovers. Close to Delhi Metro, Khan Market complex is replete with everything you can ever think of from boutiques to fast food spots to bookshops. Shop till you drop!
7. Raj Ghat Gandhi Memorial
Raj Ghat Gandhi Memorial: Raj Ghat is where India’s greatest citizen Mahatma Gandhi was cremated. A flame is kept always lit above Gandhi’s shrine, adding more to its allure a place of respect and sober reflection.
8. Lotus Temple
Lotus Temple: The Lotus temple is an example of modern architectural design and one of Delhi’s most popular attractions. The beautiful lotus shaped building is a symbol of unity. Open all day, and it is a top choice for a quiet day out in Delhi.
9. India Gate
India Gate: Built as a tribute to Indian and British Indian soldiers who gave their life for India in World War I. Enclosed by lavish green lawns, you should visit at night to see the bright floodlights and also the great picnic spots.
10. Connaught Place
Connaught Place: Tourism in Delhi is not complete without a visit to Connaught Place. At the center of Delhi, it has everything a modern tourist would want, from five-star hotels to all the global premium brands. The busy pubs, clubs, and nightlife make it a popular destination for young people and thrill seekers.
Are you planning to visit India soon? You won’t regret putting Delhi on your travel plan no matter what you find interesting, if it is these places to visit in Delhi 2017 or some completely different ones. Enjoy!
For your India trip, make sure to read these all posts:
- Top 10 places to visit in Delhi
- 6 reasons to visit Goa
- Top 10 places to visit in Jaipur
- 9 Places to Visit in Bangalore
- 8 places to visit in Mumbai
Pictures in the post about places to visit in Delhi are taken by: Guilhem Vellut, Koen, Thangaraj Kumaravel, Sakeeb Sabakka, Dennis Jarvis, Geoff Stearns, Humayunn Niaz Ahmed, Arian Zwegers, Larry Johnson, Ville Miettinen, Rajarshi MITRA (Flickr links, CC)
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Luke 9:23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
This text follows two important events. The confession of Peter, where he confesses that Jesus was the Christ of God. And secondly, Jesus foretells his rejection, death and resurrection. (Luke 9:18-22) It is a passage that speaks to the cost of being a disciple of Jesus. Discipleship flows from our confession. If we confess that Jesus is the “Christ of God” and we identify ourselves as a disciple of Christ, Jesus gives us the terms of that discipleship. Terms that are involve us trusting in God wholeheartedly and living a life of self-sacrifice every day till our death.
Jesus gives three aspects of discipleship. Denying, taking up a cross daily, and following him. In the short space here I will give an over view of these aspects, praying that may be helpful in understanding the thrust of discipleship. When we begin to comprehend what is being asked of us, we will understand how radical this call is. Jesus is is telling us that the Christian life doesn’t end at the confession of faith, but that there remains a life to be lived. A life where we die to our self and live in obedience to God.
Denying your self is part of sanctification in the Christian life. We understand that in sanctification there are two components: mortification and vivification. They occur through the Christian life as we struggle with sin. (Romans 7:7-24) Part of the Christian life, is to deny the sinful desires that remain in us and live for the holy tasks God has given us in the moral law. Disciples of Jesus live lives of purity and put to death those desires of immorality and other forms of idolatry. (Col 3:1,5)
“Take up his cross daily” is not our struggle with our current predicament. It is a radical expression of actively dying to our selfishness. A contemporary way of stating this could be “putting our head in a noose everyday” or “putting neck under the guillotine daily”. The Christian is the dead man made alive. This is the reality our baptism signifies
Col. 2:11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
We are living out our baptism by dying to our sinful inclinations and desires. Baptism, a sign and seal of our dying with Christ and being resurrected with him is not meaningless. It is a font of grace for us, through which we participate in the death and resurrection of Jesus throughout our life. Taking up our cross (the dying to our sinful inclinations and desires) isn’t a one time event, it is a continual process through which we will grow in holiness. Part of the joys of discipleship is rejoicing in the power of the resurrection of Jesus, but we cannot forget that are also called to bear the cross of dying to self daily.
“Follow me” Jesus has already stated what will happen to him. That he will be rejected by the elders of the nation of Israel, the chief priests and scribes. That he would die and then rise again from the dead. This will be our example to follow. As Jesus faced total humiliation for us, we must be willing to live a life of obedience to him even if it means that we are rejected. Sharing the Gospel with someone and watching them reject it, or mock it, can be frustrating. It can be a strong force of discouragement. However, we are called to obedience. Jesus was obedient unto death and so he calls us to a radical form of obedience in the face of being mocked, ridiculed, and rejected till our death.
We may fail in this call. The disciples did. They left Jesus and denied him. Jesus however, graciously found them and spoke of the love he had for them, restored them, and then charged them to live a life of painful obedience. An obedience that would result all of their deaths, save John who was exiled. Many have not endured till the end, but many have because of the Gospel. The Gospel reminds us of the obedient one who forgives our sins and gives us life. In Christ we find the ability to be faithful disciples, and we can pray for perseverance, and victories over our weaknesses in this life for the sake of Christ alone.
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Featured Image: A wildebeest migration in Masai Mara National Park, Kenya. Shown are billions of the most pivotal parts of the grassland ecosystem: pathogens, thriving inside each animal.
Today we hosted pathogen ecologist Dr. Andy Dobson, of Princeton’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. As an expert on parasites all over the natural world, he studies everything from pathogen evolution to their drastic effects on ecosystems – and it blew our show away. We cover the detriment of a clean gut, how the rinderpest virus devastated the Serengeti, how tourists track wolves with mange, and the dangers of antibiotic resistance. Be prepared to reimagine the place of the invisible pathogen within every ecosystem. And, as always, we dish out some science news (Rosetta’s death, earthquakes in Oklahoma, and spiderweb metamaterials) alongside a brief discussion on rational numbers.
In this installment of These Vibes, we welcomed Joseph Amon, visiting lecturer at the Woodrow Wilson School here at Princeton and Vice President for neglected tropical diseases at Helen Keller International, on human rights, the rights to health and education and their interdependence, and neglected tropical diseases. Later in the interview he describes his path, which takes us in to a discussion on the different approaches to addressing human rights deficiencies.
First hour: Science news and a survey of the science research being done by astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS).
Second hour (56 minutes in): Interview with Joseph Amon. Interview-only recording below.
Featured image: The interstage of a Saturn V rocket falls into the Atlantic, detaching to save on mass and enable further travel in space. Taken on the Apollo 6 mission by NASA.
We welcome Charles Swanson, Princeton PhD candidate in plasma physics, back to the show for a journey into the science of rockets: how expensive is it to travel around our
solar system? What makes rockets with high exhaust velocity better than high-thrust rockets? How hard is it to go to Mars? Also featuring Adam Sliwinski of So Percussion on being an ensemble-in-residence and making music out of cacti, the westerly winds of ancient Tibet, and the life cycles of stars.
In this episode, we brought Cameron Ellis back in the studio. Cameron is a graduate researcher in Cognitive Neuroscience in the Turk Browne lab here at Princeton, whose research focuses on consciousness and mental processing. We first talked to Cameron back in May (2016 – in that show he walked us through the nitty gritty of his research, as well as the fascinating history of the study of consciousness as a scientific discipline and the important research that has had a profound effect on peoples’ lives.
Here’s a short, incomplete list of the topics we discuss in the show:
What does the term consciousness even mean? If we’re going to talk about it, we need to be able to define it. Or perhaps is the study of consciousness our attempt to, in fact, scramble for a definition?
What is the idea of qualia? and why is it important to the discourse on consciousness? That brought us to the discussion of the Mary’s room (aka the Knowledge Argument) – roughly, does experience add anything if you already know everything on a topic – thought experiment and the Inverted Spectrum (is what you see as green what I see as green? how could we know?).
Shortly after, we discussed the Chinese Room thought experiment (could a computer be conscious?), language learning, and Strong AI.
In the last part of the interview Cameron explains the concept of uploading consciousness and the Simulation Hypothesis (that our universe is actually a simulation within the computer of another universe – no but really though).
At the very end of the show, Brian jumps on the mic to discuss a recent New Yorker article on so-called super-recognizers, and a new squad of them in the London police force. Super recognizers are individuals who are incredibly skilled at facial recognition. This may sound strange, but we all know people (and may even be this way ourself) who are terrible at recognizing faces – people with something called face blindness – so it makes sense that there are individuals on the other end of the spectrum, those that are extremely attuned at recognizing an individual, even as they’re trawling through the thousands of faces in a CCTV video searching for that serial lawbreaker.
Featured Image: An artificial neural network, one of our best computational tools for uncovering the circuitry of our brains. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
We’re jam packed with science on WRPB this week! Olga Lositsky, graduate student in Princeton’s Neuroscience Institute, graced our show with her thorough understanding of today’s biggest research questions on the brain. We broke down her work on how we make decisions and store memories, which involves both computer models of neurons and psychological experiments. Later in the show, Stevie brings us details on Lucy’s demise and signals that probably aren’t from aliens–and Ingrid Ockert closes it out with her book review on engineers as activists.
Olga began studying neuroscience because its central questions unite other areas of science: psychology, philosophy, and biology come together once we learn how signals propagate around the brain. In fact, scientists categorize neuroscience research into levels of “abstraction.” At the most fundamental level, we can study the machinery of one neuron firing and affecting another; larger than that, we examine groups of neurons that make circuits for more complicated tasks; and finally, looking at the brain as a whole, researchers watch how signals travel from one part of the brain to another with tools like EEG or fMRI, giving a more global understanding. All of these levels pose questions differently, and they often use different terminology–but if we don’t understand each part alone, we’ll never grasp how groups of single neurons can make up a system as complicated as the human personality.
To connect these sub-fields of neuroscience, Olga uses computational modeling as an important tool. With machine learning techniques (which we’ve discussed on this show before), small units called nodes can pass information from layer to layer in a computer program. In the end, the program takes an input and provides an output, just like our brain sees some input and can think of some memory or move a muscle as an output. By changing the architecture of the neural network and observing its behavior, we get clues about what algorithms the brain uses to learn and remember.
Other technologies have been instrumental in unveiling the brain’s inner workings. Making better robots means programming them to learn, and the codes that artificial intelligence engineers use here have given insight into how the brain processes information. Robots make predictions about the way the world works and have to correct themselves when their predictions are wrong–and now, we think that dopamine might have something to do with the way our brain deals with our incorrect predictions.
In fact, the way we learn about general rules might be different than the way we learn about exceptions, or things about the world that surprise us. Some scientists are postulating that we connect these two ways of learning through sleep. For example, learning about birds that can’t fly (like penguins and ostriches) shouldn’t interfere with our understanding that most birds do fly–and maybe sleeping helps us reconcile these exceptions to the rule. But Olga emphasizes that we’re still only developing these ideas, and the new field of neuroscience has a long way to go until we answer these questions definitively.
One fundamental area that we need to learn more about, Olga points out, is exactly what happens within a single neuron when we learn. Maybe storing a memory is more than just building connections between neurons; it might also change the structure of each neuron individually. Such a new idea could have a huge impact on how we simulate the brain on a computer.
In the second half of the interview, we pick apart a few dramatic ideas that are being debated in neuroscience today. Firstly: Why do we make bad decisions? Whether it’s eating another candy bar or refusing to do our homework, humans might seem wired to choose in ways that harm ourselves in the long run. In fact, though, there’s a better question to ask that can tell us why we choose these self-defeating things. Evolutionarily, why might it be optimal for us to make this “bad” choice? For example, a candy bar might have been a great way for a starving hunter-gatherer to shore up calories for the winter; avoiding homework might allow us to go on an adventure and learn about the world. There are evolutionary reasons why we make decisions we ought not to, which can help us understand them.
Secondly, we all know that neurons that “fire together wire together;” that is, the connection between two neurons strengthens as they get used simultaneously. Actually, this might not always be the case. Olga describes how subliminal reminders that fire neurons weakly might actually weaken the connection between them, basically helping you to forget. Again, this is new and preliminary research, but it makes us consider an even more complicated picture of the brain.
Finally, how do we estimate how much time passed between two events? One of Olga’s recent studies tested this question by having test subjects guess how long a radio story took to listen to. It turns out, the more events happened between two parts of a story, the more time people guessed that part of the story took. The difference between perception and reality was sometimes huge, with some estimating as much as five minutes too long (on an interval of only three minutes!).
Thanks to Olga for the coherent and descriptive interview! It’s really clear to me how much insight we have about the brain now, even if neuroscience has a long way to go before we get to concrete psychological answers.
Afterwards, Stevie comes on to clear up two science news stories. A recent finding from the University of Texans examines the death of Lucy, our oldest ancestor found in 1974. By using X-rays and forensic techniques on Lucy’s skeleton, they could tell precisely the injuries that ended her prehistoric life: falling from a tree and hitting the ground at 35 miles per hour. Ironically, the very skills we thank Lucy’s species for developing, walking on the ground and not in trees, may have made them less adept at climbing (and more likely to succumb by gravity).
The second story, spreading around the internet like wildfire, concerns a recent signal from a Russian Academy of Science telescope. The signal comes from nearby, only 95 light years away, and some claim it could come from an extraterrestrial civilization. But it’s wise to wait for more facts to come in: SETI is only just opening their investigation, and there’s a lot of reasons that this signal is probably a false alarm. For one, seeing a signal once is a lot more indicative of a malfunctioning satellite than a repeated broadcast by aliens. More than likely, this is just one more reason to remain skeptical of most things you read on the internet.
As a great show-closer, Ingrid Ockert returns to our show for yet another book review. This time, she brings us Engineers for Change, an investigation by Matthew Wisnioski into the changing perception of engineering over the 1960s. Even today, we often think of the engineer as a cog in the machine–more at home designing missile silos than solving climate change. But various groups of engineers have tried changing this image for the better over time. Even at Princeton, over a thousand students led by Engineering professor Steven Slaby protested University research for weapons in the Vietnam War. For more information on collaborations between engineering and art, Patrick McCray’s blog Leaping Robot has put out some great articles recently. As always, thanks to Ingrid for coming on the show, and especially for bringing us another alternative look into the perception of science and technology over the past few decades.
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U.S. President Donald Trump is naming Larry Kudlow, a longtime conservative economic analyst and television business show commentator, as his new top White House economic adviser.
The 70-year-old Kudlow told news media he accepted Trump’s offer Wednesday to become director of the White House’s National Economic Council. Reports say a formal announcement could come Thursday.
He will replace former Wall Street financier Gary Cohn, who resigned last week after breaking with President Trump on trade policy. Cohn had lost an internal debate, among Trump advisers, aimed at convincing the president not to impose steep new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Kudlow, who was an informal economic adviser to Trump during the first year of his presidency, also opposed Trump’s imposition of the 25 percent levy on steel and 10 percent tax on aluminum. Kudlow, however, was also an adviser to Trump during his successful 2016 White House run and worked with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in designing the tax cut plan Trump pushed through Congress in December.
Kudlow worked decades ago in the White House of President Ronald Reagan, but has spent much of the time since then as a television show host, much like Trump, who served as executive producer of The Apprentice reality television show before turning to politics.
One of Kudlow’s first White House efforts is likely to involve the ongoing renegotiation of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, the U.S. pact with Canada and Mexico.
Kudlow has said that it would be a “calamitously bad decision” to end the accord, but Trump has said NAFTA has left the United States at a disadvantage in trade deals with the two countries. The president has said he wants better terms for American farmers in their exports to Canada and wants Mexico to step up its border security at the U.S. line to keep undocumented immigrants from crossing into the United States.
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How Climate Change Program Is Encouraging Adoption of Research Findings
Evidence-based results provide a firm platform on which to build new programs and initiatives. But what if no one is listening?
The adaptation of study results requires more than just solid science; it also requires people in the areas concerned to embrace the findings and make them their own. It’s a two-part process.
Climate Change Hazard and Vulnerability Mapping in Lupanga Village, Malawi. ARCC researchers found that they could increase acceptance of study findings and enhance its relevancy (salience) by engaging local people in the assessment process.
USAID’s African and Latin American Resilience to Climate Change (ARCC)program designed the Malawi Climate Change Vulnerability Assessmentto gauge the impact of climate change on agriculture, fisheries, water, natural resources, and livelihoods in Malawi in order to analyze the extent to which government, communities, and households in that country were equipped to adapt to these changes. The program then used the assessment’s results to inform USAID's food security programming and climate change investment decisions.
The assessment was developed with three characteristics which contributed to adoption of its findings among people affected by climate change and institutions with the mandate to do something about it: credibility, salience, and legitimacy. These characteristics are described in the science-policy literature as critical for translating science findings into policy and planning. In the context of the Malawi assessment, these characteristics are defined as follows:
- Credibility refers to the perceived quality and adequacy of the evidence and findings presented in the assessment. To be fully credible, the evidence and findings must also be authoritative, believable, and trusted.
The Malawi assessment established credibility by compiling an evidence base for decision making using the best available data and information, by applying recognized analysis procedures, and by clearly communicating the limitations of the analysis. A recognized climate research organization conducted the climate portion of the analysis, which lent authority to the results, further increasing its credibility.
- Salience is defined as the perceived relevance and timeliness of the information provided and integration of contextual factors.
The ARCC program achieved salience by fully embedding the assessment results in the local context. During the course of the assessment, the team carried out in-depth, participatory rural appraisals in nine representative villages in eight districts. These were supplemented by approximately 50 key informant interviews. These interactions greatly enhanced the team’s understanding of the local context, allowing a wider audience to accept the assessment results beyond just USAID. Once the assessment was completed, the team structured its findings in a way that directly addressed the most critical needs and released the results in a timely manner aligned with investment cycles.
- Legitimacy is the value whereby assessment results are recognized and accepted as an accurate reflection of reality. But "reality" is colored by individual or group values, beliefs, and perspectives; they may also be colored by the perception of the transparency of the assessment process.
To establish legitimacy, the team engaged stakeholders at critical points throughout the assessment—during its design and implementation, and when the team began assessing recommendations for adaptation options. The process was inclusive—it provided a voice to many actors—and it was transparent. The team also shared the findings with farmers and farmer associations, who validated the historical climate trend analyses with their own real-world experiences of adapting to climate change impacts that were already occurring. The results of the assessment informed a participatory options analysis that engaged decision makers and encouraged them to explore approaches to strengthen adaptive capacity and manage risk across communities and institutions.
While many programs are involved with conducting research and generating new knowledge, translating the results of their efforts so that they are used by decision-makers is often overlooked. In the case of ARCC’s program, generating and presenting assessment results deemed to be credible, salient, and legitimate by decision makers was essential for improving their understanding of the potential impacts of climate change and enabling them to act effectively to address them. Making the entire process inclusive, and keeping lines of communication open, increases the chances that stakeholders and beneficiaries will embrace change.
For example, Carly N. Cook, Michael B. Mascia, Mark W. Schwartz, Hugh P. Possingham and Richard A. Fuller (2013) Achieving Conservation Science that Bridges the Knowledge–Action Boundary. Conservation Biology, 27(4): 669–678.
The Climate System Analysis Group at the University of Cape Town.
CLA in Action articles are intended to paint a more detailed picture of what collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA) looks like in practice. Unlike other disciplines, CLA is not a technical "fix;" it looks different in different contexts. This series will showcase examples of intentional collaboration, systematic learning, and resourced adaptation, some of which you may find applicable to your own work. The case studies, blogs, and resources represented in this series document the real-world experiences of development practitioners experimenting with these approaches for the benefit of sharing what's possible.
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Cycling is gaining in popularity according to Cycling UK. Traffic counts suggest that the number of miles cycled in 2016 was around 3.5 billion. That’s a 23% increase from 10 years before. Despite that, we have a long way to go to reach the levels seen in 1949
(14.7 billion miles)!
But, for some, cycling can seem a bit scary. We may be put off by the amount of traffic on the roads or their fumes….making it seem safer to just use the car.
Various studies have looked at the overall health benefits of cycling as we can’t ignore the risks from air pollution and accidents. Even despite these, the benefits from cycling far outweigh the negatives. And it’s an activity that can be undertaken at all ages. Active commuting to school increases fitness amongst children in some studies and a recent study showed elderly (70-80 year old) long-distance cyclists had immune systems of 20 year olds!
Cycling at any age demands the right kit. Children need to be fully protected and safe off the roads – plus well supervised when on the roads.
And for an elderly cyclist taking up cycling, a good bike and the right gear is essential – a helmet being key – as balance can be impaired in older age and falls will more easily lead to fractures in weaker bones. Choose a specific cycle path free of cars until you are fully confident and avoid cycling in poor weather – the risks are far greater if it’s wet, windy or if visibility is poor.
Consider an electric bike – it’s not cheating as they still require work and studies show they have benefits for health, whilst making longer distances and hills easier for those who are less fit and active. See our blog later in the week for more….plus a special offer!
And cycling can have all sorts of benefits beyond cardiovascular fitness. It’s also good for building muscle which we lose at around 8% per decade after the age of 40. And strong muscle helps us burn off more fat as well as protect our joints and improve our balance – important as we age. What’s more, exercise has been shown to decrease our risk of dementia – women with high physical fitness at middle age were nearly 90 percent less likely to develop dementia decades later according to a recent study.
Getting out in the fresh air will clear the mind and expose us to more sunlight, boosting vitamin D which many of us lack over the winter months. Joining a club or cycling with friends keeps us socialising – which can add years to our lives too. Plus, we avoid the stress of sitting in traffic jams and we are doing our bit for the environment too. Win-win!
And the more of us who cycle, the more we will reduce the negative effects of cycling…. breathing in air pollution and the accidents due to other road traffic. So “on your bike!!’
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The date of October 12th, 1492 is still seen in the indigenous, afro and mestizo circles with historical resentments that need to be overcome because we live in another era. The agro-musical band “Campo y Sabor”(Land and Taste) considers that the Spanish ships also brought important products for the human alimentation like: rice, chickpeas, lentils, coffee, wheat, oat and several vegetables, that were unknown in this continent and when these ships returned, Europe could get to know: Corn, beans, potatoes, cacao, pineapple, tomato, peanut, avocado and other wonders which were native of this continent.
To commemorate the meeting between Europe and Abya Yala, the continent that later would be called America by the Europeans, it will take place on October the 12th the second edition of the Festival of “Land and Taste”, because what happened on that date was a meeting of tastes. The discovery of new land and a new world of tastes that transformed the alimentation of the planet, from there started a fusion of food cultures and the enrichment of the culinary art.
In this occasion, the guest product is LA PAPA that took away so much hunger from the Europeans. At the beginning it was received with disdain, afterwards its acceptance became so big that the famous Spanish omelet is made of “Papa”, that the Iberians call potatoes.
Our main protagonist León Octavio Osorno and director Ede Müller gave an interview on national radio Caracol in August, throughout the last shoot of “With his Feet on the Ground”. (interview in Spanish)
On August 3 the new Embassy of Villa Maga in Tibirita (Dept. Cundinamarca) was opened. It´s been a dignified ceremony enjoying the overwhelming landscape of Cundinamarca/Boyacá. With new ambassador Francisco Jaramillo Cabo, León Octavio Osorno and Don Ivan, the constructor of the embassy.
Don Ivan is regarding his creation, Casa Asisi, the new embassy of Villa Maga
View from the terrace
Francisco Jaramillo Cabo (middle), the new ambassador of Villa Maga holds the speech of inauguration, with León Octavio Osorno and Don Ivan.
During the ceremony of inauguration
After the ceremony, paying homage to the nature
The free trade agreement (FTA) signed by Colombia with the United States (2012) and the European Union (2013) laid down a number of requirements to be fulfilled by Colombia. In 2010, the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) brought new legislation into force, Resolution 970. This resolution declared native seed to be illegal and forced farmers to plant only certified seed, penalizing and criminalizing the use and production of native seed. Farmers convicted of using non-certified seed face terms of imprisonment of 4 to 8 years.
Between 2010 and 2012, more than 4,000 tons of seed were seized from farmers and destroyed. Massive outrage in 2013 about these events was expressed in different ways, and led to nationwide agricultural strikes in Colombia. This civil response has momentarily stopped the criminalization of the use of non-certified seed.
The “Network of Guardians for Seeds of Life“ is fighting for agroecological practices to preserve agrobiodiversity and for regional markets to be supplied with local native seed and food.
By clicking this link, you can adopt a native seed and contribute to the network’s goals.
http://colombia.redsemillas.org/ (spanish only).
CAMPO Y SABOR: “WATER IS FOR EVERYBODY“ (LIVE IN RIOSUCIO 2013)
FIRST SUCCESSFUL EUROPEAN CITIZEN INITIATIVE
The first successful European Citizen Initiative (ECI) “Water is a Human Right” has collected more than 1,500,000 signatures in protest against plans by the European Commission to open up public water services to the private market through the backdoor. A European Citizen Initiative (ECI) “is an instrument for greater civil participation, implemented by the European Union in spring 2012”.
Even before the signatures were handed in to the European Commission (this will happen in autumn 2013) “Water is a Human Right” has achieved a first political success!
The Commission has announced (June 21, 2013) that water will be excluded from the concessions directive, which could have forced communities to hand over their water services to private companies.
You can undersign the campaign here until September 9, 2013: www.right2water.eu
More information about the subject can also be found here.
In 2005 León Octavio wrote a song called “Water is for everybody“ which was released on CD as part of the “Referendum for the Water”. The referendum collected more than 200,000 signatures to protest about governmental plans to privatize the public water services in Colombia. This forced the parliament to discuss the issue, delaying privatisation to this very day.
Here you can see Leon Octavio´s band “Campo y Sabor” performing their song “El agua es de todos” at the “Carnaval de Riosucio” in January 2013:
I was out for a morning run in the park next to my house in Cali. Last night there was a big party in the open air theater. Once I left the park next to the theater I found many of these little paper wrapers you can see above. That´s how they sell the cocaine here. What a statement!!
YES, cocaine is violent, that´s for sure. For the last five decades Colombia has been suffering from a civil war in which cocaine is also playing a prominent role. About 10 per cent of rural Colombian communities (4 million people!!) are displaced in their own country, because the guerilla or the paramilitary units claim their land for their purposes (the production of cocaine is one of their businesses). But also the national military is involved in criminal acts against the civilian people. The situation is very complex and complicated, today even more, as multinational companies also defend their interests on land (e.g. palmoil, bananas, coal) with criminal and violent methods.
At the moment the guerilla and the government are holding peace talks in Havanna/ Cuba. For the first time in more than ten years dialogue is possible. One key issue is how to deal with the displaced people and their land that was violently taken away from. While it may be a good start, it´s hard to believe that the results of this dialogue will lead to an end of the violence, that is mainly fueled by business interest.
But there is also another Colombia that is not always talked about in the media. It’s the beautiful and diverse country with its deep roots and the cultural heritage of the three ethnical groups (indegenous, black and mestizo) which create a unique mixture. Colombians take pride in these cultural goods.
There is progress and resistance to a violent Colombia. There are Colombians who are not giving up to believe in Colombia’s transformation into a peaceful and humane society.
That´s the Colombia we are exploring in our documentary.
VIVA LA VIDA.
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The use of an elastic cotton band is a perfect addition to Visceral Therapy techniques as it intensifies and prolongs their impact.
The principle of the way in which taping affects the body can be integrated very well into the treatment of visceral and fascial systems of our musculoskeletal system.
The use of elastic cotton bands makes intensifies the effects of the therapy and prolongs and improves them.
Visceral Taping intensifies the positive impacts and stimuli on our complex organ system. It regulates the tension behavior of the fascial network and gives a lasting good effect to the lesion chain of the body. Wearing the tape for several days after a qualified visceral treatment creates a long-lasting change of tension in organs and fascial network. In this way taping prevents a switchback to habitual patterns.
A successful tape application combines treatment of organs, scars, musculoskeletal system, fascia as well as acupuncture points.
- The history of taping
- Basic understanding of the principles of usage
- Technique of cutting tape material and criteria for choosing high quality tape material
- Main modes of action on different parts of the body
- Active exercises for basic application methods and different application techniques
- Indications and contraindications of Visceral Taping
- Treatment of the organ system, the lesion chain and myofascial chains
- Consolidation of tape colors and acupuncture points
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Program Description: Too often the best library programs never reach the kids most in need. We may be from Iowa, but we know that “if you build it, they will come” isn’t always true. So we found a way to go to them. Discover how the Cedar Rapids (IA) Public Library moved beyond its walls to reach children with barriers to traditional library access through strategic partnerships and volunteer support. Adapt this award-winning program to fit your community.
Jessica Link, Volunteer Coordinator , Cedar Rapids Public Library , Cedar Rapids , IA. Jessica coauthored an article in Public Libraries Magazine’s March/April 2016 issue about summer volunteer engagement.
Kevin Delecki, Programming Manager, Cedar Rapids Public Library, Cedar Rapids, IA
The equation goes something like this. Partners have access to the kids + volunteers have the legs that bring the program to the kids + the library has the resources.
- Created custom, personalized, tracking logs for each child and sheets were put into binders at the center. Extra logs in the binder if the center needed them.
- Provided on-site checkout. Had a mini library at each center on a book cart.
- Offered a weekly program.
- It was about meeting the kids where they are at
Many returned from year one to participate again. Also utilized the Summer VISTA program http://www.nationalservice.gov. It added a lot of diversity to the program.
Partner research (see handout 2):
- Are the right people at the right table?
- Where is your target audience congregating?
- Who is working with the kids you want to work with? For example, the food backpack program. Where do these kids go in summer?
- Community data
- Poverty mapping
- Food desert mapping
- School level – free & reduced lunch
- Registered Section 8 HUD housing. You can search your community within the spreadsheet. Many partners have already done this work for funding so ask first!
- Take a hard look at what your library is already doing well. Can you take what you do well and modify it for outreach? As they were modifying, they had to keep in mind that everything needed to fit in Rubbermaid containers!
- Who is your coordinator/champion that will run with it?
- Stuff-space, staff, supplies, books
- Flexibility and adaptability are key for all parties
- Determine how you feel about lost materials. Communicate early and often to internal and external parties. Decided they didn’t really care if the books didn’t come back. Circulated 1000 books and three books didn’t come back. Kids also took home books to keep as part of the summer library program.
- Meet with all levels of partners-from planning to training and everything in-between. Worked directly with summer staff at the YMCA at a granular day-to-day basis. Have conversations early on.
- Share the load of work.
- Streamline when possible – mail merge reading logs with kid’s names, duo-enrollment form (checkbox on YMCA summer camp form asking parents to enroll the child in summer library program). Also gave the data digitally for mail merge of personalized reading logs.
- Talk about what you are going to do, do it, and talk about what you did.
- Survey – had four questions and asked the kids one by one.
Advice for Librarians & Centers:
- Get involved. Great investment in the library, the community, and the kids.
- Steve Pemberton, PLA BIG IDEAS speaker, spoke about sneaking into the library. What if we sneak books to the kids? Make the library accessible to them. Bring the library to the kids.
- Did you clear out your library stash? Secured a grant to buy 350-400 books for this program. Developed a core collection. Didn’t have to make a decision between who got the books – kids at the library or the centers.
- Did you renew the books? Renewals depended on popularity. If they had a copy in the regular collection, they would bring that copy to the center so the child could finish reading the book.
- Did you bring tech to the centers? Brought Launchpads (20#) and Google Nexus (10#)
- How many centers did you partner with? The first year, they partnered with two different YMCAs. One camp was located at the YMCA and another was offered at the elementary school, but run by the YMCA.
- What about prizes? Stepped away from the traditional prize model. Received a prize when they registered and at 600 minutes (a journal and a coupon for the Friends of the Library sale). When the kids completed the program, teens and younger got to pick a new book. Or teens could pick a coupon for the Friends of the Library sale.
- Do the kids at the centers have to have a library card? Not necessarily. They would issue an express card which doesn’t require a parent signature and allows for e-resources and limited checkouts.
See Handout 1 for the PowerPoint used during this presentation.
Kevin Delecki and Jessica Link seemed very open to questions. Email addresses are linked above.
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For many, Charles Dickens and his classic story A Christmas Carol epitomise the festive period, but a leading professor at The University of Warwick wants people to have greater expectations when it comes to Dickens.
Professor Jon Mee, from the University’s English and Comparative Literary Studies department, is a Charles Dickens expert and has published several books on his work. He is a huge fan of Dickens, apart from when it comes to linking the great author to Christmas.
This Christmas is set to be the most Dickensian of all as we approach the bicentenary of his birth on February 7, 2012. The BBC has started a long Charles Dickens season on television and radio, and several other national news organisations are also starting his 200th birthday celebrations early. A new book by Claire Tomalin called Charles Dickens: A Life is out in time for Christmas.
For many, Charles Dickens and Christmas go hand in hand but, Professor Mee does not agree.
In a special light-hearted video produced as part of the University’s Celebrating Dickens season he said, “Did Dickens invent Christmas? Well all I can really say to that is Bah! Humbug! He invented that phrase that everyone knows, and everybody knows it is associated with Ebenezer Scrooge, a character that people know even if they have never read a word of Dickens. Did he invent turkey, stuffing, mistletoe, holly, red berries, all the things that the ghost of Christmas present brings into A Christmas Carol? No, he didn’t invent those, they were already a part of Christmas festivities. What perhaps he did invent was the idea of Christmas as a special point of light in a dark, violent, often unpredictable world of getting and spending.”
He added, “What he tried to explore in his Christmas books is the idea of ‘Carol Philosophy’, a cheerfulness and antagonism to Humbug. People can be themselves in Carol Philosophy. Every year between 1843 and 1848, bar one, he produced a Christmas book that reinforced this Carol Philosophy. He might not have invented Christmas but now he is part of everybody’s experience of the day.”
Celebrating Dickens is a multi-disciplinary project set up by the University of Warwick to help commemorate the bicentenary of one on the most important figures in literary history. Drawing on the knowledge and expertise from a wide range of researchers across the University, the Celebrating Dickens website offers fresh insight into some of his most famous works and the era in which he lived. In homage to Charles Dickens our project is being serialised, like most of his novels, with the first instalment launched today - including a podcast where Professor Mee discusses the Christmas stories.
In January a host of extra articles and podcasts will be released before a special documentary is uploaded on February 7, 2012 – Charles Dickens’ 200th birthday.
Notes to Editors
The Celebrating Dickens website can be found here.
And Professor Jon Mee’s special video can be viewed here.
Each year Jon teaches an MA module on ‘Charles Dickens: Novels, Journalism, Adaptations’ and is also running a new undergraduate module this year entitled ‘Romanticism, Revolution and Reaction’ which covers the relationship between literature, culture and politics from 1789 to c. 1822.
Jon has had several books published about his research including The Cambridge Introduction to Charles Dickens (Cambridge University Press, 2010) and is currently working on a chapter in Reading the (Re)Presented Past: Literature and Historical Consciousness, 1700 to Present called Dickens and the Ways of Seeing the French Revolution: A Tale of Two Cities (Palgrave).
Other published works include edited editions of Barnaby Rudge (Oxford World’s Classics, 2002) and Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities and the French Revolution (Palgrave, 2009).
His latest book, Conversable Worlds: Literature, Contention and Community 1762-1830 (Oxford University Press, 2011) is out now and has been nominated for the Louis Gottschalk Prize of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies.
Jon joined Warwick after more than a decade in the English Faculty at The University of Oxford, where he was Margaret Candfield Fellow in English at University College and Professor of Literature of the Romantic Period. Prior to working at Oxford, Professor Mee was Senior Lecturer at The Australian National University.
On top of his keen interest in Charles Dickens' work, Professor Mee researches the contemporary Indian novel in English; John Thelwell; Mary Wollstoncroft; British popular radicalism in the 1790s; Culture and politics in the Romantic period (1760-1832); Marxist literary theory
For more information contact Luke Hamer, Assistant Press Officer, on 02476 575601, or on 07824 541142. Alternatively email email@example.com
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Car safety for children: Using the acronym “ACT” to prevent heatstroke, you can help reduce the risk of heatstroke happening to your child with the following suggestions…
This post was sponsored by Auto Alliance as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
Summer is in full swing! Here in Florida, and most other places around the country, temperatures are soaring. You know that feeling when you open your car doors on a hot day, after it’s been sitting in the heat for a while? When a wave of humid, hot air hits you right in the face? UGH.
The thing is, even when the outside temperature is only 70 degrees outside, the inside of a parked car can still heat up to 120 degrees within just 15 minutes. And, that’s with the windows open. Yikes!
With three small children in my car, one of my worst fears is accidentally leaving them in the car. It happens way too much, unfortunately.
According to data, on average 37 young children pass away each year from accidentally being left in a car. 75% are children under age of two years old and 50% are children under a year old.
Car Safety for Children – Preventing Heatstroke
Accidents happen, but there are steps we can take to reduce the risk of heatstroke happening to our children. The Auto Alliance has launched a new campaign in support of the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) “Look Before You Lock: Never Leave A Child Alone in a Car” outreach initiative.
Using the acronym “ACT” to prevent heatstroke, you can help reduce the risk of heatstroke happening to your child with the following suggestions:
A – Avoid leaving your child in your car alone, even for a minute. Also keep your doors locked while the car isn’t in use to avoid children getting inside alone.
C – Create reminders. Leave your purse, lunch, or cell phone in the backseat next to your child so that you’ll have an extra reason to look in the back. This is especially helpful when children fall asleep in the car, and they’re quiet.
T – Take action – if you see a child alone in a car call 911. One call can save a life!
Learn more about how you can prevent heatstroke in this video from the Auto Alliance:
Remember to Look Before You Lock this summer, and always! Find out more about how you can prevent heatstroke from the Auto Alliance website.
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Hallie Ganderton isn’t like most children.Hallie Ganderton isn’t like most children. While many other seven-year-old girls are hoping for new toys, gadgets, or clothes, Hallie has a much bigger dream: She wants to take her power wheelchair with her anywhere she goes.
While other seven-year-old girls are hoping for new toys, gadgets, or clothes, Hallie Ganderton has a much bigger dream: She wants to take her power wheelchair with her anywhere she goes.
Hallie has cerebral palsy, and uses her trackball-operated wheelchair to get around. Her disorder affects every aspect of her life — from her mobility, to her speech, to her sight.
“She needs around-the-clock care,” said Hallie’s mother, Heather Ganderton. “She has difficulty with the most basic things, like using her hands, bathing, toileting, and talking.”
Lindsay Jones, who has been Hallie’s respite worker for three years, entered Hallie in a contest to win a wheelchair-accessible van. The custom modifications for such a vehicle would normally cost about $20,000, plus the cost of the van itself.
The contest, organized by the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association, awards a wheelchair accessible van to the three families/ individuals in Canada or the United States who accumulate the most votes on the website.
Jones said the contest is in celebration of May being National Mobility Awareness Month, and is also based on being a hero, and she says Hallie is just that.
“She works so hard, she’s so intelligent, she always challenges herself and always wants to succeed,” Jones said. “And she does it all with the biggest smile on her face.”
Her power wheelchair stays at John McGivney Children’s Center, where Hallie is a Grade 2 student, and her family uses a manual wheelchair to move her at home. But Heather said Hallie is getting bigger, and it’s getting harder to constantly switch her from chair to chair.
Hallie said she could “be a superstar” if she won the van, because she could bring her power wheelchair anywhere she goes and be more “independent.”
Even though Hallie needs a lot of help, said Jones, she is constantly inspired by the determination she sees in the young girl.
“Being with a respite is usually a time for fun, a time to take a break,” she said. “But Hallie always wants to work on her schoolwork, or her math, or her occupational therapy.”
At birth, Hallie suffered a severe brain injury, and her heart stopped. Doctors said she might not make it, and if she did, she would be blind, unable to crawl or use a walker, and would be reliant on a feeding tube. But Hallie has always loved a challenge.
Not only did Hallie survive, she also regained full sight through light therapy, learned to use a walker at age two, learned to spoon-feed herself, and remains an optimistic and happy young girl who continues to inspire her family and friends.
“She doesn’t let me go easy on her, she likes to be challenged,” Jones said. “If I tell her she can’t do something, she will work even harder just to prove me wrong. She’s grinning ear to ear just hearing me say that, because she knows it’s true.”
Heather Ganderton is a stay-at-home mother of three, while Hallie’s father Shane works in IT. In addition to seven-year-old Hallie, Heather has two sons — nine-year-old Parker and 11-year-old Carter.
She says Hallie’s brothers have rallied to support her in this contest, getting their school behind them as well.
“Parker is even doing announcements at school,” Heather said. “They both see beyond her disabilities, they include her in their games.”
But it hasn’t been easy. Jones said though she loves working with Hallie, it’s sometimes difficult to watch the young girl’s daily struggles.
“It’s hard to hear her say things like it’s her dream to walk,” Jones said. “But she doesn’t cry or ask why she is this way, she knows what her condition is and accepts it.”
“She’s made me realize that in life there’s obstacles, but everyone can overcome them.”
Heather said the van would be an incredible blessing for her family, and is asking the community to vote for Hallie every day until the contest closes on May 10.
Jones said hearing the struggles of Hallie’s family brings a tear to the eye, but seeing their progression and accomplishments is inspiring.
“I really do believe her progress was not a miracle,” she said. “She got where she is today because of her incredible hard work and her family’s hard work.”
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We came to know Chetan Bhawgat for his books. I suddenly thought this : From 1980s to till date, some millions of young men and women from India went to US with different aims and objectives. Let us consider we are talking about 10,00000 young men and women [ educated, moderate to hi-skill, sexually active age-group, having passed some 18-25 years in India ] sample population. For the whole group, this was perhaps most striking cross cultural exposure.
Now, I ask myself :
Why dont we have any enduring cultural commentary in the form of a novel, a collection of essays, a film or anything that documents his experience ?
Where is the missing commentary ?
In contrast, a significant document of historical studies come from Traveller’s Tales. Consider Hi-eun-sang, Marco Polo, Al-Beruni, Iban-Batuta. Or the grand Encyclopeadia Indica compiled by British Administrators in India.
Here are some explanations given by my friend Saayan
1. The people had no time to consider this.
2. ALL the people went there with some objective and documenting cultural differences were not one among them.
3. Many went and found the niche which minimizes cultural contrast [ e.g a Punjabi living in Southhall, London or a Sylheti in Tower Hamlet ]
But is it possible to believe that a million strong group with all the possibilities of having been impacted by one of the greatest cultural impact of their lives could remain mute, dumb and nothing significant to tell ?
I doubt. I strongly doubt this.
Hence my uneasiness
Because, the only alternative left then is to conclude this : From circa 1980 to till date, India exported only those [ including people from IIT /IIM and other centres of learning ] who are, to the last man and woman, culturally passive and de-sensitized individuals ?
And a corollary : Indian young men and women who could manage to enter those institutions are the most in-authentic and counter-feit material, culturally speaking.
I am devastated.
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Thanks to the Men and Women in Blue
Posted on July 14 2016
We encounter people in uniform multiple times a day as we go through our regular activities. When we board a train and are greeted by a conductor wearing pressed work pants, visit the doctor cloaked in a clean lab coat, or purchase food to grill at our celebratory summer barbeques from a butcher donning a meat coat. In each case, the presence of a recognizable uniform evokes a sense of security and comfort and serves as a consistent reminder of the many people working hard to make society a better place for everyone. Police uniforms are one of the most important examples of this and the image presented by police departments has changed significantly over the centuries.
The earliest police departments in the U.S. did not issue uniforms to its members and police wore plain clothes and the only recognizable identification they wore, if any, was a badge or patch. As city populations grew, police began wearing uniforms so they would be easily identifiable to citizens needing their assistants. The New York City Police Departments was the first to outfit its force in uniforms in 1854 followed shortly thereafter by Boston and Chicago in 1858. Many of the earliest police forces outfitted their officers in surplus Union Army uniforms from the Civil War – beginning a long tradition of men and women serving our communities in blue.
Police shifted to work shirts and work pants in the 1960s and moved away from anything that would present a military appearance. This was done to help bridge the divide between officers and the communities they protect. In addition, the blue work shirt is easier to clean than lighter color shirts and the work shirt was a comfortable tool to help police do their jobs effectively.
Working Duds thanks all of the men and women in uniform who work hard to serve and protect us everyday.
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Hangzhou, China Project Center (IQP)
Hangzhou is located on China’s booming southeastern coast and is one of China’s most beautiful and bustling cities. The capital of China’s richest province (Zhejiang) and one of China’s ancient imperial capitals, Hangzhou exemplifies China’s quest to become a modern economic power while retaining its unique historical identity. Students will see firsthand the beauty of China’s antiquity when walking along World Heritage Site West Lake in downtown Hangzhou and experience on a daily basis the booming growth of Hangzhou, China’s 4th largest metropolitan area with a population of 8 million. From Hangzhou, students can easily travel to Shanghai, only an hour away on the high-speed train, and to many other cities both inland and on the seaboard. Hangzhou has a humid subtropical climate with four distinctive seasons. Average temperatures in Hangzhou in November fall between 49°F and 63°F.
Hangzhou students will live in hotel style accommodations in the Xiasha District. Rooms are fully furnished with two single beds, linens, towels, a full bathroom, a living space, broadband internet, satellite TV and free local phone service. A kitchen is not available in the hotel and students are not allowed to cook by themselves. Accommodation type and location are subject to change without notice and will be confirmed the term prior to departure.
Chinese cuisine varies greatly by region, and may not be what you’re used to from a typical Chinese restaurant in the U.S. The staples foods of Chinese cooking include rice, noodles, vegetables, sauces, and seasonings. Dairy is rarely, if ever, used. It may be hard to identify what is in a particular sauce, especially for students with a peanut allergy, so be sure to keep healthy practices and your advisors and students informed of your health in case of an allergic reaction. Make sure to take any dietary restrictions or allergies (nuts in particular) into account as you consider this site and inform your advisor and IGSD of any health concerns well in advance of your participation in this program.
Students must arrive on or before the posted start date and stay through the posted end date of the program. Dates will be posted at the top of this page. WPI housing will be available from the start date to the end date. If students plan to arrange any personal travel before or after the program, they will be responsible for arranging and paying for their own housing.
Past Hangzhou students have:
- Determined feasibility of electronic bike share system in Hangzhou
- Recommended e-book sharing and recycling practices for innovative e-platform library company
- Analyzed clinical trial protocols in China, Europe, and US for Chinese cancer drug biotech firm
Students will be billed the following fees by WPI for the WPI semester they are away. These will be billed to you on the regular WPI billing cycle (i.e. Fall semester, and Spring semester).
In addition to this, students should budget for the following while away:
- WPI Tuition and Fees
- WPI Housing Fee (if applicable)
- WPI Meal Plan (if applicable, reduced for term away)
- Global Projects Program Housing and Program Fee (for applicable programs)
- Local transportation
- Airfare (if applicable)
- Tourist activities and incidentals
- Project related incidentals
A breakdown of all estimated expenses for Hangzhou can be found here: Hangzhou Estimated Expenses
WPI is committed to the health, safety, and security of all students who participate in our programs. While off-campus study can present unique challenges and inherent risks, we believe that careful research and diligent planning are keys to a safe and rewarding project experience. WPI utilizes several key resources to understand the risks of travel in the countries where we operate, and we urge you to consult these same resources as you research your intended destination. You can also discuss questions and concerns about your travel plans with on-campus resources such as the IGSD, the Student Health Center, the Office of Disability Services, and the Student Development and Counseling Center. It very important that you consider your own health requirements as you review what sites are most interesting to you, and that you carefully review the published information concerning health, safety, and security at the resources linked below prior to applying to a particular site. Make sure to visit the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website for the most up to date health and vaccine information, and review all information in relation to your own health and any medical conditions you may have.
Country-specific travel health information from the Centers for Disease Control
Country-specific page from the U.S. Department of State
Student travel website from the Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State
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Separate names with a comma.
Discussion in '3CX Phone System - General' started by pacpac, Jan 18, 2012.
Hi, how can I connect to the various extensions when connected to my 3CX system outside the LAN?
Have you read this blog?
Yes, I have read and this allows me to place Direct SIP calls. However, is there a way I can call, for example, extension 200 from extension 100 outside the LAN (both phones connected into 3CX via the Internet)?
Yes, why not.
If you have properly setup the phone extensions in 3CX and the phones, it is possible to dial ext. 200 from ext. 100 outside the LAN.
I have set up extensions 100 and 200, and connected both (outside the LAN) to a PAP2T. When trying to dial 100 from the 200 extension I just get a fast busy signal, and no ring on 100. Is it possible to use the PAP2T to dial extensions outside the LAN? I have connected 2 DECT phones to the PAP2T.
The PAP2T has two independent working SIP accounts, so it should be possible to dial the other account.
- Do both accounts (ext. 100 and 200) of the PAP2T register in 3CX?
- Have you permit the "use of extension outside the LAN" in the properties of the extensions in 3CX?
- Can you dial from a local extension (inside the LAN) to the remote extension(s) (outside the LAN) v.v.?
Hi, see below:
1) Yes both accounts are registered in 3CX OK. I can dial out standard numbers with no problems.
2) Yes, this is permitted.
3) Unable to try inside LAN, the 3CX is at a dedicated server in a different location.
Dial-out is OK, but if you dial-in, in 3CX, is it possible to accept the call with ext. 100 and/or 200?
Be sure that the dialplan in the PAP2T, supports the digits you are dialling.
What does the 3CX log show just after you tried a call, does it show up? Is it getting to 3CX? If not, then it is being blocked within the ATA.
Nothing shows up in 3CX. This is the dial plan I have set in the PAP2T, which support UK dialing without 00 and country code:
How would it look like to include being able to dial extensions from 100 to 900?
You may add e.g. “|xx.” without quotes in your dialplan.
You can also add (in bold). which covers 3 digit numbers from 100 to 999. The S0 (that's a zero) sends the matched digits out immediately, no timeout.
Thanks, it works. How would the dial plan look in order to dial *777, etc.? As of now, that does not work.
If you make use of *xx (two digit star codes) then change it to *xx.
Depending on what codes you use you can break it down a bit more. *[1-689]xS0 would immediately send any two digit star codes beginning with 1 to 9 but not 7. Then *7xxS0 would send three digit star codes beginning with 7.
There are a number of sites that go into detail on how to "craft" a Linksys dialplan...this is but one of them...
Another good one with some extra information..
Thanks for advice, works very well.
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A police officer responding to a domestic dispute comes face-to-face with an angry 56-year-old woman in a nightgown wielding a large knife.
Footage obtained by A Current Affair under freedom-of-information laws shows police deploying their Tasers in potentially life and death situations.
The Tasers are fitted with cameras so they record every encounter from the minute they are removed from their holsters.
In the incident mentioned above, the woman is seen being tasered after refusing police commands to put down her knife.
The footage shows the woman first threatening to stab police outside the front of her home as her family take refuge inside.
Despite being warned she will be shocked the woman advances towards police wielding the blade.
The officers then deploy a stun gun that sends 50,000 volts of electricity through her body.
Tasers have been marred by controversy but the police officers who wield them say they offer a better alternative than the lethal force of a gun.
Frontline officers in NSW and Queensland both have access to Tasers but can only use them with proper training.
Victoria Police recently concluded a 12-month trial of Tasers and is reviewing the results.
Last month a US District court awarded $9m to the family of a North Carolina teen who was killed after being stung by a Taser manufactured by Taser International, the same company that provided stun guns for the Victorian trial.
The verdict is a massive blow for the infamous firm, which has maintained its weapons are non-lethal and do not affect a victim's heart while delivering 50,000 volts of electricity.
Both claims were contradicted by the court's finding.
Victoria Police told the Sydney Morning Herald they were aware of the case but referred to a US Department of Justice study that found ''research does not support a substantially increased risk of cardiac arrhythmia "¦ even if the [Taser] darts strike the front of the chest.''
NSW Police assistant commissioner Alan Clarke said Tasers have a strong deterrent effect.
He told A Current Affair suspects will often comply with police directives rather than face the temporary agony of an electroshock gun.
"Last year through 2010 we were drawing the Taser 80 to 85 times a month and fired 30 percent of time. In 2011 we are drawing the Taser about 66 times a month," Clarke told the program
© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2018
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This market-leading text and reference provides the most current, comprehensive presentation of occupational therapy concepts and practice. Following the authors' clear guidance and expertly crafted exercises, readers will learn how to apply a client-centered, occupational and evidence-based approach across the full gamut of practice settings.
Completely updated and revised, this Eleventh Edition reflects a greater emphasis on evidence and the growing focus on occupation as the basis for practice. Plus, this edition has greatly expanded its first-person narratives, offering unique insights into the experience of living with disease or disability. A new unit, Occupation and Health in Society, addresses social and health policy, health promotion, community integration, and occupational justice.
A companion website offers student and instructor ancillaries.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Book Description Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008. Hardcover. Condition: New. Eleventh, North American Edition. Seller Inventory # DADAX0781760046
Book Description LWW, 2008. Condition: New. book. Seller Inventory # M0781760046
Book Description LWW, 2008. Hardcover. Condition: New. Never used!. Seller Inventory # P110781760046
Book Description LWW. Hardcover. Condition: New. 0781760046 New Condition. Seller Inventory # NEW99.0401334
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Shallows is set in a small whaling town in Western Australia, where land-based whaling has been a tradition for over 150 years. When Queenie Cookson decides to join an antiwhaling protest group, she defies her husband, her ancestry, and her community. Winner of the prestigious Miles Franklin Award in Australia, this eloquent and moving novel speaks with immediacy and passion of the conflict between the values of a closeknit, traditional society and the evolving mores of the wider world.
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Tim Winton is the author of several novels, short-story collections, and children's books, for which he has received every major literary award in Australia, including the Australian/Vogel Award and the prestigious Miles Franklin Award. He currently lives in a fishing village in Western Australia with his wife and three children.From Library Journal:
This novel, winner of Australia's prestigious Miles Franklin Award, has great ambitions. Not only does it aspire to depict a community in crisisan old whaling port now the scene of a Save the Whales protestbut also to ponder such matters as guilt and innocence, responsibility, damnation and redemption, the urge to suicide, and the visitation of the sins of the fathers upon their children. When writing about the troubled marriage of his central characters, Cleve and Queenie Cookson, or about the anti-whaling confrontations out on the open sea, Winton brings his book alive. But his grandiose strivings hurt it. Too many minor characters, often mere stereotypes, appear for the sake of thematic concerns rather than as an integral part of the narrative. And the symbolism telegraphs the story's conclusion. Promising, well-intentioned, but only passable. Charles Michaud, Turner Free Lib., Randolph, Mass.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Book Description Graywolf Press, 1993. Paperback. Condition: New. Never used!. Seller Inventory # P111555971938
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Book Description Graywolf Press, 1993. Paperback. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # DADAX1555971938
Book Description Graywolf Press, 1993. Condition: New. book. Seller Inventory # M1555971938
Book Description Graywolf Press. PAPERBACK. Condition: New. 1555971938 New Condition. Seller Inventory # NEW99.1696962
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Book Description Graywolf Press, 1993. Paperback. Condition: New. Ships with Tracking Number! INTERNATIONAL WORLDWIDE Shipping available. Buy with confidence, excellent customer service!. Seller Inventory # 1555971938n
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Enlightenment Unfolds is a sequel to Kaz Tanahashi's previous collection, Moon in a Dewdrop, which has become a primary source on Dogen for Western Zen students. Dogen Zenji (1200-1253) is unquestionably the most significant religious figure in Japanese history. Founder of the Soto school of Zen (which emphasizes the practice of zazen or sitting meditation), he was a prolific writer whose works have remained popular for six hundred years. Enlightenment Unfolds presents even more of the incisive and inspiring writings of this seminal figure, focusing on essays from his great life work, Treasury of the True Dharma Eye , as well as poems, talks, and correspondence, much of which appears here in English for the first time.
Tanahashi has brought together his own translations of Dogen with those of some of the most respected Zen teachers and writers of our own day, including Reb Anderson, Edward Espe Brown, Norman Fisher, Gil Fronsdal, Blanche Hartman, Jane Hirschfield, Daniel Leighton, Alan Senauke, Katherine Thanas, Mel Weitzman, and Michael Wenger.
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Dogen, the 13th-century Zen monk whose name is now synonymous with early Japanese Zen, was once nearly forgotten in Japan. Only in the last century and a half have his writings been published, and only in recent decades have they appeared in Western languages. Most of these focus on his life work, the Shobogenzo, selections of which are translated here. Enlightenment Unfolds also contains accounts of Dogen's studies in China, poems, instructions on Zen practice, and informal talks with his students. Enlightenment for Dogen was not something that results from practice but is the practice itself. For those engaged in Zen practice, reading Enlightenment Unfolds can be worked seamlessly into that practice, with insights gleaned from daily contemplation. Dogen is one of the few Zen monks to value the Zen literary tradition, but he never meant it to be separate from practice. As with Moon in a Dewdrop, Tanahashi's previous collection of Dogen's writings, we find that brilliant awakenings occur in everyday moments--and in the everyday moments of reading this collection, enlightenment indeed unfolds. --Brian BruyaAbout the Author:
Kazuaki Tanahashi, a Japanese-trained calligrapher, is the pioneer of the genre of "one stroke painting" as well as the creator of multicolor enso (Zen circles). His brushwork has been shown in solo exhibitions in galleries, museums, and universities all over the world. Tanahashi has edited several books of Dogen's writings and is also the author of Brush Mind.
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Book Description Shambhala, 1999. Hardcover. Condition: New. Never used!. Seller Inventory # P111570623058
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The short life and passionate music of romantic composer Frédéric Chopin provide the foundations for this 1945 drama, which proved influential in its gaudy, undeniably watchable formula of historical exaggeration and shrewdly simplified motives for its principals. In an Oscar-nominated performance, Cornel Wilde presents the Polish native as a passionate nationalist driven by his love of his native country and his hatred of its czarist regime, a thematic focus that can be forgiven in light of the political backdrop at the time of the production. Already a prodigy in his native land, where he's mentored by a shamelessly scenery-chewing Paul Muni as Professor Elsner, Chopin flees to Paris where his flashing eyes, dark nimbus of curls, and florid technique earn him stardom, while his involvement with the writer George Sand (a beautiful Merle Oberon, even when draped in then-provocatively masculine garb) introduces a romantic crescendo. Still, the tortured pianist-composer pines for his homeland, frets about its political fate, and begins to wither under the rigors of his new career as ur-superstar; in a typically over-the-top but riveting image, we see drops of blood spatter across the keyboard as he thunders through a recital, gallantly ignoring his failing health to spread his music and, by extension, awareness of Poland's fate. Numerous subsequent musical dramas (including two more Song-titled biographies from the same studio) would ply a similar mix of grand gestures and larger-than-life emotions, yet the most interesting comparison to be made is with 1991's Impromptu, a more acerbic spin through the Sand/Chopin affair (and the Parisian demimonde including Alfred DeMusset, Franz Liszt, and Eugene Delacroix) directed by frequent Stephen Sondheim collaborator James Lapine. --Sam Sutherland
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Could taking vitamin D for acne be the key to a healthier complexion?
According to recent research, the vast majority of people with acne are deficient in vitamin D.
Are you one of these people?
Unfortunately, if you have moderate to severe acne – you probably are…
But, don’t worry too much. Low levels of vitamin D can be easily remedied, but you want to do it the right way for best results – and to avoid vitamin D toxicity.
Using L-lysine for acne is one of those little known acne remedies that works amazingly well for some people:
(Probably the same people who told you about it, right?)
So I thought I’d dive right in and explain all the nitty-gritty details about this interesting way to treat acne…
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), is essential for humans and other animals. It’s water soluble, meaning if we get more vitamin C than we need one day, it’s expelled from the body in our urine.
Therefore, it’s important to get vitamin C every day, because we don’t store it in our bodies like some other vitamins.
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By Prince Charles
Universities need to stop viewing gender-based violence as a mere criminal issue, gender-based violence is a human rights violation and all human right violations are enemies of development. The reduction of gender based violence to just a women’s issue to the exclusion of men is a major hurdle.
In 1998 South Africa signed on to an international awareness drive called the 16 Days of Activism for no violence against women and children. The annual campaign which starts on the 25th November and ends on Human Rights Day (December 10) has several goals namely;
- To encourage all South Africans to help eradicate violence against women and children
- To encourage society to acknowledge that violence against women and children is a social, rather than governmental problem
- To encourage collective responsibility within communities to tackle violence against women and children
It was in this context coupled with a sharp increase in violence in universities that Amnesty International South Africa together with its various university chapters convened a discussion on how to address gender-based violence in universities in Port Elizabeth. The human rights organisation convened the discussion with the objective of learning directly from university students about the gender based violence situation in universities and furthermore involved various stakeholders in interrogating possible solutions into the phenomenon. The stakeholders included Amnesty International’s university chapters from the University of Pretoria, University of Witswatersrand, Nelson Mandela University, University of Cape Town, University of Stellenbosch and the University of Western Cape. Also represented were ACTIVATE! Change Drivers, Masifunde Learner development, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, United Nations Association of South Africa and the Congress of South African Students.
Human right activist Susan Tolmay kicked off the session by drawing a broad picture of the current situation around gender-based violence at institutions of higher learning and made specific mention of the horrific rape incident that took place at the Nelson Mandela University where a male perpetrator raped and robbed two young women at a computer laboratory in October, the incident sparked widespread protest and highlighted fundamental differences in the understanding of gender based violence between university management and the student body. The panel spoke in unison that gender based violence was a human rights issue and therefore required a multipronged approach.
Several speakers were of the view that language as an institution was perpetuating and undermining the fight against gender based violence. The language used in campaigns against gender based violence was regressive, campaigns which label gender based violence as a ‘scourge’ were severely criticised, Nobubele Phuza pointed out that “the scourge is not gender based violence, but it is those men who rape women, they are the scourge”. The reference to people who have been sexually assaulted as being ‘raped’ and labelling them as ‘rape victims’ or ‘rape survivors’ also has profound consequences as it leads to stigmatisation and hinders the call to speak out against violations. Language as an institution was therefore responsible for the normalisation of violence in society because it allowed for a passive voice which exonerates men from responsibility; representatives of Activate in their presentation quoted Jackson Katz where he argues;
“We talk about how many women were raped last year, not about how many men raped women, the use of the passive voice has a political effect, it shifts the focus off of men and boys and onto girls and women. Even the term ‘violence against women’ is problematic. It’s a passive construction; there’s no active agent in the sentence. When you look at the term ‘violence against women,’ nobody is doing it to women. It just happens to them…Men aren’t even a part of it”.
Panellist Vuyo Tshingila lamented the absence of certain voices in the fight against gender based violence at universities and in general society. The absence she argued was due to the fact that society had an obtuse binary/ heteronormative bias when it addresses issues of violence. This automatically created ‘marginalised bodies’ that included refugees, members of the LGBTIQ+ community and rural women.
Another burning issue was the policy framework of institutions of higher learning (particularly sexual harassment policy) the student body accused the universities of not publishing sexual harassment cases. Students also made startling allegations that political movements in the institutions were harbouring rapists, who in turn used sexual assault incidents as tools of political mobilisation. The health care services also received condemnation with students decrying the level of violation young women encounter when they are subjected to rape kits after sexual assaults.
The Nelson Mandela University responded by acknowledging that it is indeed a contradiction that incidents of violence occur in a space named after a Nobel laureate and human rights activist. The institution appealed for a solution orientated engagement rather than a confrontational one and went on to unpack the launch of its Memeza campaign; a campaign which involved the distribution of yellow whistles which are blown once someone is in distress. The whistle is both a literal and metaphorical item in the sense that it is a call for the student body to be ‘whistle blowers’ against gender based violence.
After a multipronged multi-sector dissection of the issues, the entire house agreed that men had to first acknowledge the privilege they enjoy due to the patriarchal arrangement of society and be active participants in changing the current reality of violence. Civil society movements need to partner and make sure that the language used in campaigns against gender based violence is modified and is more politically correct. A fundamental shift in policy by universities is necessary to ensure accountability and to empower marginalised bodies within the higher education space.
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DHL is currently branded as “The World’s Largest Shipping Company”. The organisation has four central mission objectives. Simplify the lives of customers, to allow customers, employers and investors to enjoy greater success, to positively contribute to the world and to demonstrate respect.
DHL: The company
Focused on worldwide transport and logistics, DHL is relied upon by thousands of individuals and companies alike every day.
DHL employs modern methods to establish, collate, ship and track an order from inception to completion. Thus, a hierarchical flow can be seen and the company adheres to this protocol; breaking the process down into sex steps as follows:
- Order transmission
Therefore, the first step will be the transmission of the order from the costumer to the DHL team. This can be accomplished by fax, telephone, data exchange or email. After the order is received by one of these dedicated means, DHL will begin the preparation process. Of course, this will be streamlined whenever possible to meet the company’s requirements. Some of the main metrics that will be considered are (but will not be limited to) checking that all information is correct, confirming the pricing conditions, making certain that the customer’s credit is valid and confirming any specific delivery conditions. This will assure quality control during the remainder of the processes.
The next step will involve the routing of all relevant information. This entails confirming the delivery as well as the processing of all internal job orders to the relevant DHL personnel. Then an action known as “picking” takes place. In essence, this separates orders based upon size, urgency and multiple deliveries. Shipping will thereafter be considered; factors such as delivery routes, the type of transport and associated paperwork now coming into play.
Finally, the customer will be invoiced. This can occur after the previous processes have been completed or during these steps. One of the advantages of the pre-invoicing process is that much of the paperwork can be completed well ahead of time.
DHL Tracking Procedure
Of course, part of the efficiency that DHL boasts is due to their robust and comprehensive tracking process. Again, this can be broken down into three discrete phases as follows:
- Advance information flow.
- Accompanying information flow.
- Follow-up information flow.
In the first step of the tracking process, advance information flow is designed to confirm to the customer the scheduled delivery time. This allows the customer to make any necessary arrangements well ahead of schedule to ensure the proper receipt of the product being shipped.
As the name denotes, accompanying information flow revolves around providing all pertinent information that may revolve around the specific shipment of a certain item (hazardous materials, for example). This can even involve special sensors monitoring and tracking the shipment along the way; thus ensuring the utmost levels of safety. An ancillary benefit of the accompanying information flow is that the product can be tracked while en route. This will enable DHL to inform the customer of any changes as may be warranted in some circumstances.
Lastly, the follow-up information flow is all information that can be perused after the shipment has been completed. A post-delivery invoice is an example of this. Still, this is perhaps the most important past of the tracking process. This is due to the fact that information can also be sent in reverse order. In other words, checkpoints that were passed along the delivery route can be confirmed. An international border is such a checkpoint. This will allow DHL (and the customer) to be able to systematically track the shipment of goods along the entire route; ensuring higher levels of satisfaction.
DHL Safety Precautions
DHL places a number of safety features into the entire shipping process. This is obviously important for a company that ships countless products to various destinations around the world each and every day. Notwithstanding the aforementioned shipment monitoring procedures in regards to hazardous or delicate items, DHL also works closely with many governmental organisations. A prominent example of this is their collaboration with C-TPAT (The Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism). DHL uses these measures to ensure the security of their products as well as the prevention of illegal items along every step of the supply chain. Payment methods are secure and all customer information is kept strictly confidential. In fact, this is likely one of the reasons that DHL is the carrier for all official correspondences within the Department of Homeland Security in the United States.
Of course, the pricing structure will depend upon several different variables. These can include the size and weight of the package, the destination (local, regional or international) and the speed of the delivery. Thus, same-day deliveries are priced higher than those which will take a longer period of time to complete. Additionally, the quotes will vary widely depending on the specifics of an item. For instance, a package with dimensions of twenty square centimetres that weighs twenty kilogrammes which is being sent from the United Kingdom to the United States will cost approximately one hundred and twenty-six pounds. In many instances, the prices can be slightly reduced if the customer drops off a parcel at a DHL collection checkpoint as opposed to utilising the pickup service provided.
The most substantial benefit offered by DHL is fast and efficient worldwide shipping. Their prices are quite amenable compared to similar carriers and their levels of security are some of the highest in the industry. Furthermore, the processes of tracking and logistics will ensure that the parcel arrives at the designated location within the specified time frame. By enacting such a top-down hierarchical workflow, DHL has centralised many of these metrics; allowing for an immense reliability and offering the utmost levels of privacy and discretion to the customer.
Should the tracking service not work, our support team and the support team of the shipping companies would gladly help you.
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DayStar today announced an award of $250,000 from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to develop energy-efficient processes to manufacture solar cells with the goal of reducing the costs of producing each solar cell.
HALFMOON, N.Y., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DayStar Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: DSTI - News), a developer and manufacturer of proprietary flexible solar cells without silicon on specialty metal foils, today announced an award of $250,000 from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to develop energy-efficient processes to manufacture solar cells with the goal of reducing the costs of producing each solar cell.
DayStar is currently ramping up its proprietary manufacturing process and believes, that at full capacity, it will produce solar cells at large volumes beyond 100 megawatts per plant. Co-funding from NYSERDA's Industrial Process and Productivity Improvement program will help DayStar lower the cost of producing solar power while also reducing the energy used in manufacturing and advancing DayStar's environmentally friendly production process.
Peter R. Smith, President of NYSERDA, noted DayStar's advanced development program. "The bright ideas that DayStar brings to us for development are putting New York in the forefront of the evolving clean-energy industry. These advanced designs will yield higher efficiencies and more reliable electric service -- and provide jobs right here in the Empire State."
"NYSERDA has been incredibly supportive every step of the way since it helped DayStar Technologies move to New York state from California in 2004," said Dr. Steve Aragon, DayStar's Vice President of Engineering. "This co-funding will help us reduce the costs of producing our propriety solar cell by increasing the speed and reducing the energy used in the process. As a renewable energy company, we're focused on using the least amount of energy ourselves, regardless of the source."
NYSERDA's Industrial Process and Productivity Improvement program encourages innovative process and productivity improvements that demonstrate a quantifiable energy benefit at industrial facilities in New York state. DayStar is developing a continuous, in-line, manufacturing tool that will replace a more costly process with a state-of-the-art technique, saving significant energy and improving production rates as part of their GEN-III manufacturing goals.
About DayStar Technologies, Inc.:
DayStar Technologies, Inc. is an emerging leader in low cost, high efficiency Photovoltaic Foil(TM) that converts sunlight into energy. The Company's patented and proprietary products include silicon-free CIGS solar cells, which are deposited on flexible metal foils using production processes adapted from commodity computer component manufacturing. DayStar believes the unique combination of its CIGS solar cell design coupled with proprietary manufacturing processes on flexible metal substrates can lead to solar electricity at commercially viable rates. For more information on the Company, please visit www.daystartech.com
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT: This news release contains "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "future," "plan" or "planned, " "will" or "should," "expected," "anticipates," "draft," "eventually" or "projected." You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including risks that our products may not achieve customer acceptance or that they will not perform as expected, and other risks identified in our annual report on Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and DayStar Technologies Inc. undertakes no obligation to update such statements.
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Rebel Leader: Honor Truce, ‘War Is Over’
MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) _ Rebel leader Charles Taylor urged his fighters on Sunday to honor a cease- fire approved by Liberia’s three warring factions, saying the country’s 3 1/2 -year-old civil war was over.
The cease-fire went into effect at midnight Saturday and there were no reports of violations, said a spokesman for the West African force responsible for policing it.
″I think everybody is fed up with the fighting,″ said John Adda, deputy field commander of the five-nation force.
The civil war has killed 150,000 of Liberia’s 2.6 million people, and forced 750,000 to flee the West African nation founded by freed American slaves in 1822.
The United Nations says up to 200,000 people are in danger of dying of starvation and disease in northern areas controlled by Taylor.
The rebel leader, who has broken several previous truces, told his fighters it was time to get on with their lives.
″Some of you were shoeshine boys, carpenters and farmers. I ask you to return to your villages, towns and cities and begin to rebuild your life,″ Taylor said on radio controlled by his National Patriotic Front of Liberia.
″The war is over,″ he said.
The war began in 1989 when Taylor led an invasion to oust the tribalist dictatorship of Samuel Doe, who was later executed. It collapsed into factional feuding and anarchy, leading to the intervention of troops from Nigeria and other nations in the region.
Liberia’s interim government, Taylor’s rebel movement and an anti-Taylor rebel faction signed a U.N.-sponsored peace package last month in the West African nation of Benin.
Besides the cease-fire, it calls for a seven-month transitional government and presidential and legislative elections in February. The government and two rebel factions are to be disarmed by an expanded West African army, which will be supervised by U.N. observers.
Taylor ordered his fighters not to shoot at the West African force, warning ″anybody doing so will be held personally responsible.″
He has said he expects to run in the elections against President Amos Sawyer, leader of the interim government backed by the West African coalition.
Until the new elections, Liberia is to be ruled by a five-member council made up of representatives of the three main warring factions and two ″eminent″ Liberians chosen from a list compiled by the three sides.
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Disease Feared as Capital’s Last Major Drinking-Water Source Cut With PM-Macedonia, Bjt
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) _ The Bosnian capital’s last major source of drinking water has been cut, increasing the threat of disease from contaminated water, a U.N. official said today.
Peter Kessler, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said the pump serving a well at the city brewery in Sarajevo stopped operating Sunday because of a Serb blockade of fuel.
The well had been supplying less than 20 percent of Sarajevo’s normal water needs. The main pumping station is in Serb-controlled territory.
Kessler said a ″trickle″ of water was still reaching the city on one line, providing enough for about a pint of water per resident per day.
Most residents are using hand pumps to obtain ground water, which often is contaminated, causing 200 to 300 cases of dysentery per day, he said.
As the crisis mounted in besieged Sarajevo, Bosnia’s collective presidency was resisting pressure to accept a three-way partition of their country along ethnic lines as proposed by Serb and Croat leaders.
The Muslim-led government fears the plan would squeeze Muslims into a tiny state between hostile neighbors.
At a meeting Sunday in Zagreb, Croatia, seven of the presidency’s 10 members agreed to return to peace talks in Geneva. But they said they would bring their own plan to maintain Bosnia as a federation of provinces that wouldn’t be formed strictly along ethnic lines.
Serbs, who control about 70 percent of Bosnia, have emphatically rejected similar proposals in the past.
Meanwhile, military pressure continued to mount against outgunned government forces.
Kessler said the town of Trnovo, about 15 miles south of Sarajevo, had fallen to the Serbs, forcing an estimated 3,400 people to flee to a nearby government-held mountain. The Bosnian army’s 1st Corps confirmed the loss and said a nearby refugee camp, Grebak, and the small town of Rogoj also were overrun. The army estimated the number of people who fled at 1,500.
In central Bosnia, Kessler said, food convoys were resuming operations through the Gornji Vakuf area after a two-day suspension because of security concerns.
Two convoys were due in the government-held town Zenica today and two in Sarajevo on Tuesday - the first to reach the capital this month.
Cmdr. Barry Frewer, a spokesmen for U.N. peacekeepers, said there were sporadic clashes Sunday throughout the country. Some of the fiercest fighting was between Croats and the government troops in Novi Travnik in central Bosnia.
Croat and government soldiers at first fought together against Bosnian Serbs who rebelled 16 months ago against Bosnia’s secession from Serb- dominated Yugoslavia. But that alliance has collapsed in fierce fighting over central Bosnian territory.
Bosnian Serbs and Croats have since collaborated on the battlefield as well as at the negotiating table.
At least 138,000 people are dead or missing in Bosnia’s war, and more than 2 million have been left homeless.
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Foods, Nutrients and Calories
Methionine food sources
Gravels, Substances and Oils
CaribSea, Freshwater, Super Naturals, Blue Ridge density is equal to 1826.1 kg/m³ or 114 lb/ft³ with specific gravity of 1.8261 relative to pure water.
Hydrogen (H) weigh(s) 8.375 × 10-5 gram per (cubic centimeter) or 4.841 × 10-5 ounce per (cubic inch).[...]
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LocationLouisiana State University, 3357 Highland Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70802, USA
Text description provided by the architects. Following Hurricane Katrina, the E.J. Ourso College of Business at Louisiana State University re-constituted its mission as the innovative business generator for the Gulf South region of the United States. To advance its mission, the College of Business embarked on the design and construction of a new facility to advance its mission of business innovation. To embody the College’s mission, the design team envisioned the facility as a glass and steel ‘academical village’ for business education. The courtyard plan arrangement and building forms contextually recall the sloped roof pavilions and arcaded courtyards of the nearby historic landmark campus. These traditional architectural forms, however, are constructed of contemporary materials and details to illustrate a forward looking aesthetic that embodies the mission of the school to generate business innovation in the Gulf region and yet are respectful of the traditions of the campus. The pavilions are clad in ceramic coated translucent mirror glass and the transparent rotunda is clad in a bronze solar screen resulting in a composition of forms that are ephemeral apparitions of the original campus, reflecting the strong heritage of the Louisiana State University while looking to the promises of the future.
The facility houses: 24 interactive tiered classrooms, 18 collaborative team rooms, a 300 seat auditorium, a mock trading room and faculty and department offices. Teaching spaces and offices surround the courtyard which is headed by a bronze screen clad rotunda. A multi-story business commons within the rotunda is the centerpiece of the business campus. Business centers, offices and classroom surround the business commons.
The design team researched glass technologies and developed a cream colored ceramic fritted insulating glass unit with mirror glass back panel which creates a moiré pattern over the surface of the pavilions resulting in a three dimensional appearance that is similar in color and modeling to its stucco-clad neighbors, but is completely different in its tailored four sided glazed detailing. The south and west sides of the rotunda are surrounded by a custom bronze screen that utilizes an arch motif. The arch motif recalls the university’s treasured campus arcades. The screen is designed to shield the glass rotunda from harsh solar gain.
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Few people realize how complicated it is to build - that is until they find themselves lost in the maze of design options, building codes, zoning laws, contractors, and so on. No two building projects are exactly alike, so there is no single, clear-cut path to follow.
The architect is the one professional who has the education, training, experience, and vision to guide you through the entire design and construction process, from helping you define what you want to build to helping you get the most for your construction dollar. Architects see the big picture. They don't just design four walls and a roof - they create total environments, interiors and exteriors, that satisfy functional needs and are exciting, dynamic spaces in which to work and live.
Architects Solve Problems
Most building projects start with a want or need. "I need more file space in my office." Or, "We've outgrown our house." But how does that need or want get translated into square feet and three-dimensional space?
That is what architects are trained to do, solve problems in creative ways. With their broad knowledge of design and construction, architects can show you alternatives and options you might never think of on your own.
Architects Can Save You Money
The architect's services are a wise investment for the money, not an added cost to your project. Why?
Architects Can Make Your Life Easier
Building is a long process that is always intricate and troublesome, especially because you as the owner are already busy with your life. The architect you hire acts as your agent looking out for your interests and tries to find ways to make that process go smoothly.
If your project requires engineering or other design services, the architect can coordinate this team of experts so you don't have to. The architect sorts out complex building codes and zoning laws to get through the complex procedures to obtain the required building permits. The architect can help you find qualified construction contractors based on your requirements. The architect visits the construction site to help verify that the project is being built according to plans and specifications.
A Word About How Architects Get Paid
Architects’ fees are associated with the size and complexity of a project. Architects usually charge a percentage of the total project cost, anywhere from 5%-15% for new construction and 15%-20% percent for remodeling projects. Remodeling projects generally cost more than new construction because of the challenges faced in dealing with older construction techniques and blending architectural styles together.
For new construction Archestrate LLC offers schematic design packages that include a floor plan, an elevation and a preliminary cost estimate. We charge a set fee based on the square footage of the project for this package. Once the schematic design package is approved by the client, the construction document phase can begin. Our fee for construction document and construction administration services is usually 5-15% of the total cost of the project (schematic design cost is applied to total fee.) Renovations and additions require a consultation and site visit before a fee can be proposed.
Six Steps Toward Building Your Dream
Design and construction projects involve several steps. Typically, projects go through the following six phases. However, on some projects, several of these steps may be combined or there may be additional ones.
STEP 1: Programming/Deciding What to Build
The owner and architect discuss the requirements for the project (how many rooms, the function of the spaces, etc.), testing the fit between the owner's needs, wants, and budget.
STEP 2: Schematic Design/Rough Sketches
The architect prepares a series of rough sketches, known as schematic design, which show the general arrangement of rooms and of the site. Some architects also prepare models to help visualize the project. The owner approves these sketches before proceeding to the next phase.
STEP 3: Design Development/ Refining the Design
The architect prepares more detailed drawings to illustrate other aspects of the proposed design. Floor plans show all the rooms in correct size and shape. Outline specifications are prepared, listing the major materials and room finishes.
STEP 4: Preparation of Construction Documents
Once the owner has approved the design, the architect prepares detailed drawings and specifications, which the contractor will use to establish actual construction cost and build the project. These drawings and specifications become part of the building contract.
STEP 5: Hiring the Contractor
The owner selects and hires the contractor. The architect may be willing to make some recommendations. In many cases, owners choose from among several contractors they've asked to submit bids on the job. The architect can help you prepare bidding documents as well as invitations to bid and instructions to bidders.
STEP 6: Construction Administration
While the contractor will physically build the home or office, the architect can assist the owner in making sure that the project is build according to the plans and specifications. The architect can make site visits to observe construction, review and approve the contractor's applications for payment, and generally keep the owner informed of the project's progress. The contractor is solely responsible for construction methods, techniques, schedules and procedures.
In conclusion, once you have decided you need an architect for your project, have selected one (select an architect you can trust and that you have chemistry with), have come to an understanding on fees, and have the programmatic elements completed, you are ready to embark on the design process. We like to think that the hard part is behind you and the fun is just beginning.
STILL UNSURE IF YOU NEED AN ARCHITECT?
Shelley Olivier, AIA, NCARB
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A New Generation of Artists in London Is Putting a Spotlight on Queer Issues
Photo courtesy of Travis Alabanza.
According to artist duo and couple
Queer visibility may be at an all-time high, but if interest peaks at a magazine cover, the experiences of those who fall outside the familiar axis of privilege—defined by wealth, whiteness, and conventional notions of beauty—continue to be marginalized, and with them, the intersectional politics at the heart of queer identities. Moreover, as statistics from the U.S. lay bare, when support is not extended to those most at risk from exposure, visibility can have violent consequences. In 2015, at least 21 trans people were murdered, the highest on record. Nearly all of the victims were transgender women of color.
Hastings and Quinlan are part of a growing, London-based network of artists advocating for an engagement with queer issues that goes beyond the buzz. At the top of the agenda is the continued lack of diversity in the U.K. cultural sector when it comes to representing people from the broader queer community, and a frequent failure to move beyond the inclusion of white, homosexual, cisgendered men. “Our work developed from looking critically at mainstream gay identities,” Quinlan says. “While there are things we value about those identities, they can also be claustrophobic and oppressive.”
In the summer of 2016, Hastings and Quinlan installed UK Gay Bar Directory (UKGBD) at London’s Somerset House. The work consists of a bank of monitors playing video footage they took of the interiors of 170 gay bars across the U.K. Shown alongside this film archive was the The Scarcity of Liberty (2016), a cork board on which are pinned flyers, magazine covers, and other ephemera collected while filming. Among the sea of idealized faces and rippling torsos staring out from the board, there is a striking absence of lesbian, trans, and non-binary-identifying individuals. Nor is there any body type visible that does not adhere to a narrow physical ideal.
This, Hastings and Quinlan say, is precisely their point. In an attempt to create the type of space they feel is missing, they run @GayBar, a nomadic night that moves between galleries and studios across the city. Along with sets by DJs from across the queer spectrum, they have also held vigils for trans and lesbian cultural figures such as Leslie Feinberg, author of the novel Stone Butch Blues.
Today’s queer culture has roots in feminist, gay, and lesbian liberation movements, and the AIDS activism of the 1980s. Against this backdrop, queer theory rose to prominence in the early 1990s, when groundbreaking U.S. writers such as Judith Butler and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick took aim at conventional wisdom regarding sex and gender. Attempting to dismantle the binary constructs denoted by the terms “male” and “female,” and the assumption that the sex we are born with corresponds to gender identity, they called for a radical reassessment of the way we understand identity.
In recent years, changing attitudes toward sexuality have been enshrined into U.K. law, with the same-sex marriage bill passed in 2013 bringing parity for gay and lesbian couples. But for many in the queer community, acceptance into the traditional fold comes at a cost they are unwilling to pay: putting aside their anti-establishment beliefs and assimilating into what contemporary queer theorist Elizabeth Freeman calls “state-sponsored narratives of belonging and becoming.” As former British Prime Minister David Cameron said prior to the bill’s introduction, “I don’t support gay marriage in spite of being a conservative. I support gay marriage because I am a conservative.”
Rosie Hastings and Hannah Quinlan, D.I.N.K #2 (Dual Income No Kids), 2016. Image courtesy of the artists.
In a series of backlit CGI landscapes that Hastings and Quinlan call their “queer sublime,” the rub between the radical promise of queerness and the conformist nature of mainstream gay culture takes on epic proportions. D.I.N.K #2 (Dual Income No Kids) (2016) shows the beach at New York’s Fire Island after a hurricane has hit. Fire Island was a safe haven for gays and lesbians decades before the Stonewall riots of 1969 drew widespread attention to homophobia, and has since become a popular gay party resort. Here, the anarchic force of natural disaster is used as a tool for countering apathy. In the foreground, a battered magazine lies open at an advert from a Tiffany and Co.’s 2015 “Will You?” wedding ring campaign—the first by the brand to feature a same-sex couple. Its image shows two coiffed white men barely visible beneath a layer of sand.
Over the past decade, South London has become a hub for emerging queer artists. Arcadia Missa, a Peckham-based gallery founded in 2011 by Rozsa Farkas, is one of the city’s most prominent supporters of queer young artists. Farkas began working with Hastings and Quinlan the year after they graduated in 2014 from nearby Goldsmith’s University—itself home in recent years to leading queer and feminist scholarship, including the Centre For Feminist Research—and this past autumn, Arcadia Missa debuted their work at Frieze London.
Fellow Goldsmith’s graduate Liv Wynter is a self-described queer, working-class artist who tackles the politics of gender through poetry and rap. Wynter, who lives in South East London, rose to prominence in 2015 after taking part in the U.K.’s biggest rap battle league, the Don’t Flop Rap Battle—a competition that, for all its craft, is often depressingly sexist. During her performance, she took down her opponent for his aggressively misogynist lyrics. After he opened with a threat to “bruise her face,” which drew cheers from the audience, Wynter admonished him for “the complete predictability of performing masculinities; boys wanna front like they from correctional facilities.” The video has since gone viral, attracting over 130,000 views.
Photo courtesy of Liv Wynter.
Wynter is among a number of artists producing work that brings them into direct contact with their audiences—performing live and running awareness-raising initiatives—in an attempt to forge alliances among marginalized groups. Artist Emily Pope, who has collaborated with Wynter, was instrumental in organizing School of the Damned, a free, London-based education program aimed at removing the barriers to learning created by soaring tuition fees. As Pope explains, “if you feel the social and economic effects of being outside of mainstream straight culture, you want to do something about it, and you want a community which is supportive.”
This August, Wynter hosted “Lessons in Anti Apathy” at Arcadia Missa, a discussion between four grassroots organizations that aimed to counter political indifference. On the panel were activist publication Strike!; the activist group Whereisanamendieta, which protests the exclusion of Cuban artist Ana Mendieta’s work and the work of other artists who are female, non-binary, or people of color (the group, with which Wynter is closely involved, believe Mendieta was murdered in 1985 by her husband, the artist
On a recent tour of the U.K., non-binary performance artist Travis Alabanza (who goes by the non-gendered, plural pronoun they) brought their show, Black Trans Lives Matter, to the Goldsmith’s Student Union as part of the U.K.-wide Black History Month. Alabanza, who was selected as a Barbican Young Poet for 2015/2016, honed their craft on London’s queer cabaret and club scene. In 2016, they toured the U.K. with Stories of a Queer Brown Muddy Kid, which Alabanza describes as “my queer black gospel.”
An autobiographical, musical tour de force, it tells the story of their experience of coming out as a person of color, in a culture which too often fails to see beyond white experience. “This is for all those people who were told about Adam and Eve, Adam and Steve, but never Tamar and Jamal,” Alabanza declares. “I’m here to tell you that my existence is fucking holy.” Alabanza is currently an artist-in-residence at the Tate Modern, where they have performed alongside Wynter. They have used their role to highlight the bigotry within the gay community, as well as challenging the fetishization of black bodies.
Photos courtesy of Travis Alabanza.
Fuck Me Harder (2016)—half way between a song and a poem—is told from the perspective of a white sexual partner, who expects Alabanza to conform to a dominant, macho role. “Boys like boys and nothing in between,” Alabanza says, “so take off that face Travis, and put on a masc 4 masc for me.” On popular gay dating sites such as Grindr, the phrase “masc 4 masc” is used to signify a preference for men who can pass as straight, over those who present as more feminine, effectively ostracizing conspicuously queer bodies.
That Alabanza, Wynter, and Hastings and Quinlan have all been invited to exhibit at public institutions shows a growing awareness of queer issues within the British art industry. But there is still much to be done. “I definitely feel we get fetishized as lesbian artists,” Hastings says of her and Quinlan’s recent rise to prominence. Alabanza shares a similar view. “The art world cannot really be a space for queer folk of color,” they say, “as long as it still charges extortionate prices for us to visit exhibitions, and hires only white people as critics.” On the question of what needs to change, Alabanza is clear. “These places can start by hiring us, and not just for a single night—by actually putting queer folk, particularly queer folk of color, into curatorial and commissioning roles.”
Sponsored by Hermès
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Alcatel-Lucent was formed in December 2006 via the merger of two large telecommunications companies, Alcatel and Lucent Technologies, who were actually major players in the telecommunications industry since the late 19th century. They were originally La Compagnie Generale d’Electricite (CGE) and Western Electric Manufacturing Company, respectively, until Western Electric Manufacturing Company was bought out by American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T). Alcatel-Lucent, as the company is now known, is a French global telecommunications company based in Paris, France that specializes in fixed, mobile, and converged networking hardware, IP technologies, software, and services. They have 72,344 employees, with global operations in 130 different countries, generating a reported 14.446 billion euros in annual revenue.
However, they have been recording negative cash flows for the last 7 years, which has consequently resulted in the announcement of plans to reduce their workforce by 10,000 employees (14% of their total workforce) in order to reduce an estimated 1 billion euros in costs. Despite these financial troubles, Alcatel-Lucent is still ranked as the largest technology supersector leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. They own Bell Laboratories, one of the largest R&D facilities in the telecommunications industry, which holds over 29,000 patents and has been awarded 7 Nobel Prizes. In addition to their core competency in telecommunications, they also serve a niche market of non-telecom customers with specialized needs: Enterprise, Submarine, Strategic Industries: Transportation (Airports, Highways, Railways), Energy (Power Utilities, Oil & Gas), and the Public Sector as well (State and Local Governments, Public Safety, and Defense Industries).
Alcatel-Lucent continues to strive to be a leader in providing innovations IP and cloud networking as well, in addition to their ultra-broadband fixed and wireless access services. They have invested an average of 2.5 billion euros a year in research & development to ensure they can remain at the forefront of telecommunications technologies around the world. If you are operating telecommunications equipment and require Alcatel-Lucent parts
, look no further than ASAP Semiconductor. We pride ourselves in being a leading distributor of Alcatel equipment and any other telecommunications products you may need. We have a vast inventory and a comprehensive 24/7 database to procure any parts we do not have. Contact us at firstname.lastname@example.org
and someone will be ready to assist you.
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Based on a five-year review of work relative value units (WRVUs), nuclear medicine physicians interpreted more general nuclear medicine studies, while nuclear radiologists focused more on cross-sectional scans. Both specialists, though, shied away from clinical evaluation and management services, which accounted for less than 2% of their efforts.
"This latter finding may present an emerging opportunity for nuclear medicine specialists who perform therapy with resultant patient contact to build their practice, particularly as new theranostic techniques emerge in the marketplace," wrote lead author Dr. Patricia Balthazar and colleagues from Emory University and NYU Langone Medical Center.
As many as two-thirds of nuclear medicine studies are interpreted by physicians who are not certified for those duties, according to the American Board of Nuclear Medicine (ABNM). In addition, nuclear medicine practitioners who stay exclusively within their expertise interpret fewer than 25% of all nuclear medicine exams, with cardiologists and radiologists interpreting most of the remainder, the authors noted.
With those disparities in mind, Balthazar and colleagues sought to determine which services are handled by physicians who consider themselves nuclear medicine specialists.
The researchers reviewed data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Census Bureau for calendar years 2012 through 2015. The primary outcome was based on the percentage of nuclear medicine in WRVUs per physician per specialty group.
A total of 1,583 physicians called themselves nuclear medicine specialists and fit the inclusion criteria. From their records, Balthazar and colleagues discovered their work patterns were "highly variable."
For example, 86% of their efforts were directed toward diagnostic nuclear medicine services, compared with 12% of their time for nonnuclear-medicine noninvasive imaging services. Nuclear radiologists filled that gap by devoting 71% of their work to nonnuclear-medicine noninvasive imaging services, compared with 27% of their WRVUs going toward nuclear medicine duties.
Both nuclear radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians spent less than 2% of their time on clinical evaluation and management services.
*Counts are defined as total units of service based on WRVUs.
|Most common imaging services provided by nuclear radiologists and nuclear medicine specialists
|Chest x-ray (1 view)
|Chest x-ray (2 views)
|CT, head or brain
|Nuclear medicine specialists
|Cardiac stress and rest test
|Bone and joint imaging
Nuclear medicine appears to be a heavily male-dominated specialty, with men making up 80% of self-identified specialists. These physicians work almost exclusively in urban practices (98%), as well as in nonacademic groups (62%).
"These characteristics prevailed for all specialty groups with the exception of nuclear medicine physicians, whose practices were evenly split between nonacademic (50%) and academic (50%) practices," the authors added.
How can these results benefit nuclear medicine going forward? Balthazar and colleagues suggest the findings provide a foundation upon which to "develop meaningful quality measures, as well as to inform policymakers and training programs about the current status of the nuclear medicine workforce."
Copyright © 2018 AuntMinnie.com
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Every person is unique, and autism impacts differently on every child, parent and family. All parents and caregivers of children on the autism spectrum will experience a unique set of challenges. Research shows that many parents develop resilience and experience various positive aspects of parenting a child with autism, however research also reveals that many parents of children on the autism spectrum have:
- high levels of parenting stress,
- low self-reported quality of life
- high levels of depression, anxiety, anger and fatigue 1 2
What can I do?
Resilience is the ability to adapt in spite of stress and adversity. When parents develop resilience this benefits both themselves and their children. There are a number of factors which foster resilience in parents of children with autism.
Autism Tasmania can provide:
- information on services which offer counselling and respite,
- opportunities to meet other parents/carers of young people with autism
- Free parent/carer information sessions on a range of topics
Stress Reduction Strategies
Even a brisk 30 minute walk activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed. 3
Other ways to reduce stress can include:
- Get a good night’s sleep. Don’t drink coffee or tea in the evening and explore ways to wind down before bed. Some people find avoiding using the computer or watching television but instead listening to music, taking a relaxing bath or reading can help.
- Talk to friends about how you feel. Autism Tasmania offers several Peer Support Groups throughout Tasmania and information about these can be obtained by contacting member of the Autism Information Team.
- Practicing mindfulness techniques – especially in combination with evidence based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – Carers Tasmania have qualified counsellors trained in delivering MiCBT (Mindfulness integrated with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
- It may also help to talk with a professional counsellor. Carers’ Tasmania offer short-term counselling for carers and their families, or you may like to utilise Medicare’s “Better Access to Mental Health” Care Plan to access psychological support services – available via your GP.
Bitsika, V., Sharpley, C., & Bell, R. (2013). The buffering effect of resilience upon stress, anxiety and depression in parents of a child with an autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 25, 533-543↩
Neff, K. & Faso, D. (2015). Self-compassion and well-being in parents of children with autism. Mindfulness, 6, 938-947↩
The Mayo Clinic (2014), Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity, Mayo Clinic accessed 22 September 2015 http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389↩
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Pay attention to, and inquire into, the nature of your own
immediate experience. Become the Witness, or Observer,
of your own experience.
Investigate the "Given Conditions" of being human,
"I am -- Aware -- Now":
the sense of identity, or being, at the center of
your own experience which manifests as "I am."
the Awareness through which you perceive
everything within and around you.
the immediacy and Infinity of Now.
These three basic conditions of being human are profound
pointers to our True Nature. We simply overlook them in
our rush to identify ourselves with "outward" conditions,
i.e., a body, memory, personality and the illusion of time.
Simply paying attention -- looking at and remembering these
basic, essential conditions -- is enough, for they are the vehicle
through which we experience, and Recognize, the vast and
Infinite nature of Reality.
Awareness and Consciousness
©1997-2000, Metta Zetty
All Rights Reserved.
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Calculators help parents and children learn about healthy eating
- Healthy Eating Calculator
Find out how many calories to eat each day and how much of the different food groups are needed to provide those calories for a healthy diet for ages 2 to 20 years. (Uses Adobe® Flash®)
- Kids' Body Mass Index Calculator
Use this calculator to determine whether a child is at a healthy weight for his/her height, age and gender.
- Adult Energy Needs and Body Mass Index Calculator
Knowing your body's daily calorie needs can be an important first step in adopting a realistic diet and physical activity plan that can help you attain and maintain a healthy weight.
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~Written by Julia Dweck
~Illustrated by Patrica Saco
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In The Hare with the Pearl Earring Julie Dweck uses an unique approach to teach children about famous artists and the masterpieces they created. Her interactive ebook combines a fictional story with factual information to make learning enticing.
Henny, the hare, is given the extraordinary opportunity of modeling for several famous artists like Vincent Van Crow, Picatso, Dove Vinci and others. Each artist paints a fantastic portrait of Henny in their own unique style with the hopes of being named the best artist in the town. Henny, loves all the portraits, but one holds a special place in her heart. All the artists create sensational pieces making choosing just one a difficult task. Find out who is named "Best Artist" and which piece of art Henny likes most.
Patricia Saco is very talented and does an exquisite job illustrating the story and creates a masterpiece of her own.
The ebook also features icons which redirect readers to the real artists represented by the characters in the story. Readers have the chance to learn facts about the artist as well as see a piece of artwork created by them.
With art becoming scarce in many schools across the country The Hare with the Pearl Earring is an effective tool parents can use to help children experience art in an entertaining way.
I really enjoyed The Hare with the Pearl Earring and highly recommend reading it.
The version with interactive icons is available at www.amazon.com. The interactive read aloud is only available on iTunes.
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Far too many children educated outside mainstream schools are failed by the system. Our Head of Strategy Stephen Muers looks at a new report that highlights social investment could be part of the solution
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has just published its report “Providing the Alternative”. It issues a clear call for a drive to improve education for children who are excluded from mainstream schools. Many of these children go into what is known as “alternative provision” (AP) – specialist centres for those whose needs cannot be accommodated in the mainstream. The overall outcomes for children in AP are shocking: in 2015/16 only 1.1% of them achieved 5+ GCSEs at A*-C including Maths and English.
Some AP centres deliver an outstanding service. However in many parts of the country there are simply not enough good AP places. For example, the CSJ report shows that there are no AP places rated “outstanding” by Ofsted in the North East of England. In some parts of the country over a third are rated either “requires improvement” or “inadequate”. There is a need to establish more high quality AP for the children in these areas.
The Department for Education (DfE) could simply use grant funding to pay for new places, which it has done successfully in the past. However this leaves the taxpayer carrying the risk of paying for new provision that doesn’t deliver a good service, and requires up-front capital. To cover this risk the DfE will, naturally, tend to specify in detail what it wants. Such specification in turn cuts down the scope for innovation and learning.
The CSJ report proposes another option, an AP Improvement Investment Fund. This would be a partnership with the third sector and social investors. DfE would make a long-term commitment to pay a set sum per AP pupil in the areas where new AP is needed, crucially tying this payment to meeting a pre-agreed outcome standard. Social investors would put money into the Fund to back third sector providers who were able to create such provision, giving those providers a stable financial position and the scope to innovate. By transferring risk to investors, central government would have less need to manage inputs tightly and specify the detail of how new provision would work.
This proposal is a good example of a different way to create new public service institutions. Government would focus on the outcomes it wants to promote and make a long term commitment to pay for them. Many outcome-based contracts so far have been short-term, and do not give the scale and stability needed to build whole new service delivery institutions.
Long-term commitments can challenge governments because public spending is only planned a few years ahead. However they are not impossible. Local authorities often commit to contracts of 15 years or more for waste facilities. If we can manage this for treating waste, why not for treating the most vulnerable children?
We at Big Society Capital believe that social investment can help unlock opportunities for the third sector to work in long-term partnership with government. If you’re keen to discuss the CSJ’s proposals around AP, or other similar opportunities, please get in touch with me at:
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Robert GillmorOrnithology and painting have been Robert Gillmor's principal interests since boyhood and he is now considered one of the foremost bird artists of his generation.
His work has appeared in over 100 books, and he has held exhibitions in the UK, USA and Kenya. He is a founder member of the Society of Wildlife Artists and, having served as its first Secretary, then Chairman, is now its President.
Robert Gillmor is always seeking fresh inspiration in the field as he believes in studying birds in their natural environment. His sketches made throughout the world provide the basis for his paintings and illustrations in many media. Many of his pictures have been used by the RSPB, BTO, The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and other organisations.
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COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT POST-PARTUM DEPRESSION & MENOPAUSE
- Am I clinically depressed or could my moodiness be caused by depression?
- My life is in transition – I’m stressed out at work, my kids are gone and I don’t care about sex. My friends think it’s from menopause. Could they be right?
- My wife and I just had our first baby. Instead of feeling happy she’s miserable. It’s been very difficult for both of us. How do we know if it’s post-partum depression?
What the experts say: Post-Partum Depression and Menopause
Hormonal fluctuations can caused by mood and body disturbances from adolescence through menopause. Some women are more sensitive to these fluctuations than others. Research shows that some depression may be caused by an imbalance of chemicals in the body.
ABOUT POST-PARTUM DEPRESSION
Following child birth the severe drop in certain hormones can cause temporary depression or anxiety termed “post-partum depression.” In the past this was treated as a purely emotional problem. Now it’s recognized that in some women, effective treatment for a hormonal imbalance, can be treated both medically and psychologically. The media has raised awareness of the potential dangers of letting post-partum depression go untreated. It is imperative that if you suspect you are experiencing symptoms of PPD that you immediately seek a professional evaluation. PPD is treatable and the enormous weight of depression and helplessness can be significantly improved.
Menopausal symptoms can be identical to clinical depression and the diagnosis is often confused. If the symptoms have never existed before and if your life-stressors are relatively normal, there is a greater likelihood that this is being caused by hormonal changes and you must see a professional for an accurate diagnosis and treatment recommendations.
Peri-menopause is that period of time when the body is approaching menopause and can last up to ten years. The menstrual period becomes irregular as the hormone levels are changing, causing some women to experience PMS-like symptoms. Menopause actually lasts one day; occuring after a woman has had no periods for 12 consecutive months. After that, a woman is considered post-menopausal.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT POST-PARTUM DEPRESSION & MENOPAUSE
The emotional and physical changes you are experiencing can be disturbing and cause you to feel out of control. Many girls and women have the feeling that their emotions are “all over the map” when they’re having a period, having a baby, or going through menopause. Fortunately, the hormonal changes that can cause these emotional problems are not permanent and may be easily resolved with proper professional help.
For many women menopause can bring up complicated emotional responses. In years past society did not discuss menopause and our life spans were shorter, so menopause signaled the beginning of “old age.” Times have changed. We talk about it, we know that it’s a natural passage for all women (like puberty), and that it is not a disease. Menopause is certainly not the end of life; it is only the end of a woman’s ability to conceive. In fact, many women report feeling better and more sexually healthy after menopause.
Several therapists at Birmingham Maple Clinic specialize in working with women moving through life transitions who may be experiencing feelings of depression or loss of sexual desire, related to menopause or other hormonal changes.
For more information visit the North American Menopause Society.
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The picture book world is awash with stories of children who don’t want to put down their toys and go to bed. But for youngsters who don’t want playtime to end, who better to convince them to hit the hay than the toys themselves? In T.J. Hackworth’s delightful debut picture book Bedtime for Buzzy, a child is gently persuaded by each of his toys that they all need to rest.
Buzzy’s toys haven’t finished their adventures. His astronaut hasn’t finished building his moon base; his pirate hasn’t found the treasure; his dinosaur hasn’t yet “stomped through the Great Divide,” and his courageous explorer is still searching for the “City of Gold.”
At the announcement of bedtime, Buzzy answers with a loud “NO!” Then, one by one, Buzzy’s toys relate how excited they are to continue their adventures with him—but first, they need some shut-eye.
Just when Buzzy is beginning to nod off, he feels something poking him in his side. It’s “Courageous Explorer” riding his donkey and prodding Buzzy with his stick. The explorer is delighted to see Buzzy, noting that together they can find the City of Gold. “Oh, Good!” Buzzy says. “I was afraid I’d have to go to sleep, but now I can help you find the City of Gold instead!” Then the explorer makes the final case for bedtime: “We must find it in your dreams! That’s the only way. We hope you’ll help us!” And with that, Buzzy eagerly leaps into bed.
The dialogue between Buzzy and his toys artfully captures a child’s active imagination and excitement over fantasized adventures. And Sean Baptist’s illustrations do more than inform the text—they bring it alive with expressive, colorful cartoon characters. Together, the text and pictures imbue the characters with a warm, winning joie de vivre that’s impossible to resist.
In sum, Bedtime for Buzzy is sure to be a hit for young readers—as well as their grateful parents.
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We all imagine tyrannosaurs, and especially the iconic Tyrannosaurus rex, the biggest and most fearsome carnivore on earth. However, there are many things about this great predator that you may not know about.
There are no more famous dinosaurs than Tyrannosaurus, a giant carnivore that roamed North America 66 million years ago. These ancient animals are often featured in popular culture, also in many children's books, everyone is familiar with big heads and small arms of tyrannosaurs. But there are many big misconceptions about this amazing animal.
We may know more about tyrannosaurs than any other group of dinosaurs because fossil evidence is abundant and the large number of studies about them - not just ordinary people, paleontologists also like tyrannosaurs. As a result, we really understand the form of this animal and how they lived and died in Mesozoic times.
They are predators and carcass eaters
There is a strong myth that tyrannosaurs are only carcasses. The odds are small, because very few carnivores can survive with their voter nature. Fossil evidence shows that both activities were carried out by tyrannosaurs.
A close look at the feeding traces of a hadrosaurus by a large tyrannosaurus. This is strong evidence that tyrannosaurs eat carcasses.
A number of fossils of herbivorous dinosaurs showed that they escaped from hungry tyrannosaurs, because tyrannosaurus teeth were found tucked in their bones. So, the animal must have survived the attack of tyrannosaurs who were about to eat them. We also have evidence of dinosaurs being bitten and eaten by tyrannosaurs after they died and their bodies partially buried - in short, tyrannosaurs eat carcasses.
Best Of Printable Rhino Coloring Pages
African Elephant Coloring Pages Animals
Tyrannosaurus is a cannibal
In many circumstances, Tyrannosaurus is the only large carnivore in the ecosystem, so it's easy to know who's biting it when you find a scratch on the bone, and the piece that was released from being bitten. However, tyrannosaurs not only eat herbivores, but also each other. A number of tyrannosaurus specimens, including Tyrannosaurus, show traces of food from fellow tyrannosaurs.
Daspletosaurus skulls with bite marks from battles with other tyrannosaurs and evidence that these animals were eaten after death (10cm scale).
These animals also interact with each other when they are alive and leave marks on their bones. Many specimens of tyrannosaurs have cured wounds on their skulls due to the bite of fellow tyrannosaurs.
|T-Rex Tyrannosaurus Coloring Pages|
|Best Of T-Rex Tyrannosaurus Coloring Pages For Kids|
|Printable Tyrannosaurus Coloring Pages|
|Cute Tyrannosaurus On Forest Coloring Pages|
|Tyrannosaurus On Forest Coloring Pages Images|
|Battle Tyrannosaurus Coloring Sheet|
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Daily Activity Family Otter On Lake - Coloring Pages
Not all are giants
Although Tyrannosaurus and its closest relatives include the largest terrestrial carnivores of all time - it weighs five tons or more, and is about 13 meters long - not all tyrannosaurs are giants.
Like most other dinosaur groups, early types of tyrannosaurs such as Guanlong from China were small - only two or three meters long, including tails - and they had no large heads and short arms like their descendants 100 million years later.
Three types of specimens of Tyrannosaurus from different times.
These smaller Tyrannosaurs are predators, but clearly lack bite size and strength so they look for smaller foods, and be careful not to be lunches of larger carnivores that live with them.
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As we enter hunting season in Virginia, BRO is currently asking readers in our Switchback forum, “Should hunters and hikers share the same trail?” Unfortunately, as a timely coincidence, a 23-year-old girl was just killed by a hunter in Franklin County. The girl, a student at Ferrum College, was in the woods working on a science project, when she was mistaken for a deer. The hunter called 911 as soon as he realized what had happened. By bringing attention to this unfortunate incident, I am not intending to take a side on the issue. I instead bring it up as a reminder that while these different groups of outdoor enthusiasts coexist in the woods, it is important for both sides to be extremely cautious, so more tragic incidents like this do not occur.
Here are some tips for safety from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy:
Know local hunting seasons—Specific dates for hunting seasons vary year to year and also by type of game hunted and weapon used.
Wear blaze orange—Wear a blaze orange hat and vest (and pack cover if backpacking), or hooded outerwear when hiking in fall, winter and spring.
Other Clothing Tips— Avoid wearing colors that could be mistaken for game animals—white or brown during deer seasons; red or blue during turkey seasons.
Be heard—Make sure you are heard before you are seen by whistling, singing, talking, etc., while you hike.
Be alert for hikers and make your presence known to them—Many hikers are from urban or suburban areas and are unfamiliar with hunting.
Follow all hunting regulations—Hunting, possession of firearms, bows, and hunting knives are prohibited on National Park Service (NPS) lands acquired for the protection of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. The use of off-road vehicles, including ATVs, is prohibited along the entire length of the Appalachian Trail.
Be sure of your target—On National Forest lands in 2002 and 2003, two Appalachian Trail hikers were shot by hunters who thought they were shooting at deer.
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November is Native American Heritage Month, which honors the cultures and traditions of Native Americans. It’s the perfect time to share the outstanding contributions Native Americans have made and to learn more about the issues facing these communities today. Here at Bookish, we plan to celebrate by reading! (Shocking, we know.) We hope you do too. Here, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite books by Native American authors to get you started. We recommend picking these books up, not just this month but all year long.
Whereas by Layli Long Soldier
In her award-winning collection of poetry Whereas, Layli Long Soldier (who is a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation) shares important and timely insights about Native American identity and the ways in which Native Americans have been treated by the United States government.
Cynthia Leitich Smith’s young adult novel follows Louise Wolfe, who (like Smith) is a member of the Muscogee Nation, as she juggles senior year responsibilities and fights against prejudice after her school’s inclusive musical brings out an ugly side of her mostly-white high school.
In the foreword, First Nations editor Lisa Charleyboy calls this anthology “a love letter to all young Indigenous women.” This moving book collects the art, poetry, and prose of Indigenous women throughout North America and covers everything from identity to Standing Rock to social media.
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Description - LEGO DC Super Heroes Visual Dictionary by Elizabeth Dowsett
Zoom into the world of LEGO DC Super Heroes with this visual guide to the minifigures, vehicles and sets, including the LEGO Batman Movie sets.
Explore every detail of LEGO Batman's Batcave, look around Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet, examine Lex Luthor's awesome mech and find out about all the LEGO DC Super Heroes minifigures' weapons and gadgets. Find out how the awesome sets are created in the Beyond the Brick chapter, which features concept art and an interview with the LEGO DC Super Heroes creative team. LEGO DC Super Heroes- The Visual Dictionary will tell you everything there is to know about LEGO DC Super Heroes.
The book comes with an exciting exclusive LEGO DC Super Heroes minifigure! Zap! Pow!
2018 The LEGO Group.
TM & DC Comics.
Buy LEGO DC Super Heroes Visual Dictionary by Elizabeth Dowsett from Australia's Online Independent Bookstore, Boomerang Books.
(305mm x 260mm x 28mm)
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Ltd
Country of Publication:
Other Editions - LEGO DC Super Heroes Visual Dictionary by Elizabeth Dowsett
Book Reviews - LEGO DC Super Heroes Visual Dictionary by Elizabeth Dowsett
» Have you read this book? We'd like to know what you think about it - write a review about LEGO DC Super Heroes Visual Dictionary book by Elizabeth Dowsett and you'll earn 50c in Boomerang Bucks loyalty dollars (you must be a Boomerang Books Account Holder - it's free to sign up and there are great benefits!)
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For many patients, corneal transplants offer a way to restore vision following injury or other disease-related and congenital forms of blindness. The traditional method for this procedure is to suture natural human corneal tissue from a donor eye into a recipient eye. In some cases, however, traditional corneal transplants fail, or a patient may not be a good candidate for natural tissue transplant due to special circumstances. When natural cornea transplant is not an option, more and more physicians are recommending artificial corneas, or keratoprosthesis, to restore precious vision.
The Boston Keratoprosthesis is an"artificial cornea" that can be used in severe corneal opacity. Many people with corneal disease can be helped by regular corneal transplantation involving tissue transplanted from human donors. This is the most common treatment for severe corneal opacity; however, in some cases such transplantation rapidly fails. Thus, the Boston Keratoprothesis can be used after standard corneal transplant has failed or when such a transplant would be unlikely to succeed. The keratoprosthesis implantation is a procedure designed to help patients whose conditions are the most difficult to treat.
The Boston Keratoprosthesis has been under development since the 1960s, and has been gradually improved. It received FDA clearance in 1992. Over 1200 implantations have been performed (Spring 2007). It is the most commonly used artificial cornea in the United States and in the world.
The keratoprosthesis is made of clear plastic with excellent tissue tolerance and optical properties. It consists of three parts but when fully assembled, it has the shape of a collar-button. The device is inserted into a corneal graft, which is then sutured into the patient's cornea like in standard transplantation. If the natural lens is in place, it is also removed. Finally, a soft contact lens is applied to the surface.
Generally, indicators of patients who require the Boston Keratoprothesis include:
- Failed corneal graft, with poor prognosis for further grafting
- Vision less than 20/400 in the affected eye and additionally with lower than optimal vision in the opposite eye
- No end-stage glaucoma or retinal detachment.
Prior to surgery, a detailed history will be taken by the performing surgeon. This helps to assess the corneal condition and determine if the patient is a good candidate for the surgery.
Read here about a remarkable story of recovery of one of Dr Melki's patients.
The surgical procedure is performed on an ambulatory basis with the patient returning home - or to a hotel if the patient is coming from a distance - the same day. Most surgeries are performed with the use of local anesthesia, with the exception of infants and young children where general anesthesia may be indicated. Patients can expect to be in the operating room area for at least three hours for this procedure, including one hour and 20 minutes for surgery as well as pre-operative and recovery time.
Because of possible complications that can result after many surgical procedures, patients with keratoprosthesis require relatively frequent ophthalmologic examination in the beginning. In all cases, patients return to the Boston Eye Group the day following surgery for reevaluation, necessary prescriptions, and post-operative care instructions. Additional follow-up exams are usually during the first and second weeks after surgery. It is customary to return bimonthly for a check-up during the first year. After this time, examination by the surgeon every three to four months is also recommended.
With keratoprosthesis, best possible vision is restored quickly and patients often achieve optimum visual levels within a few weeks after the surgery. Because the prosthesis is made of synthetic materials that never totally become incorporated into the body, prophylactic antibiotic drops must be used indefinitely. Thus, a life-long regimen of daily drops of antibiotics is prescribed to prevent infection. In addition, medications to control inflammation and/or glaucoma are used when necessary. Also, during the early months following surgery, a protective shield is worn while patients sleep at night. For long-term postoperative safety it is recommended that the patient continuously wear a therapeutic soft contact lens (not felt by patient).
Risks and Discomforts
For patients with severe dryness or inflamation, keratoprosthesis can give excellent results but is more risky. In some instances a membrane can develop behind the keratoprosthesis and interfere with vision. This membrane can be opened using a tiny laser beam without requiring additional surgery. Rarely, tissue around the stem of the prosthetic device dissolves which can lead to the leakage of fluid from the eye leading to infection or even vision loss. In such instances the surgery may have to be repeated.
In most cases, the cost of Keratoprosthesis is covered by major U.S. medical insurance plans. You should contact them prior to scheduling surgery to check. For patients who do not have insurance coverage, including foreign patients, please consult your surgical coordinator at the Boston Eye Group to discuss this matter.
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Flashcards in Histology Deck (52):
What is pseudostratified columnar epithelia?
Single layer of cells of differing heights
What is transitional epithelia?
Where the basal cells are cuboidal or columnar and the apical cells are squamous or dome-like
What is mesothelium?
Simple squamous epithelia which lines closed body cavities
What are exocrine glands?
Ducted glands which secrete substances onto epithelium
What are endocrine glands?
Duct-less glands which secrete substances directly into the blood
What is a serosa?
Complex tissue which lines closed body cavities and consists of epithelia and underlying connective tissue
How many microns are there in a millimeter?
What are all connective tissue cells derived from?
Name the 5 types of connective tissue
Fibrocollagenous, cartilage, blood, bone, fat (adipose)
How is fibrocollagenous tissue classified?
By quantity of collagen fibres, type of collagen fibre, and organisation of collagen fibres
Describe loose/areolar fibrocollagenous connective tissue
Relatively little type I collagen (in random directions), some type III collagen, some elastic fibres, has fibroblasts, mast cells, macrophages and some white blood cells
Describe dense irregular fibrocollagenous connective tissue
Abundance of collagen type I (in random directions), some elastic fibres, fibroblast is main cell, provides ability to withstand tension in many directions
Describe dense regular fibrocollagenous connective tissue
Abundance of collagen type I (in one direction only), few elastic fibres, mainly fibroblasts, found in tendons and most ligaments, withstands great tensile strength if force applied in one direction
Describe reticular fibrocollagenous connective tissue
Fine meshwork of collagen type III, loose ground substance, soft internal skeleton formed by fibres (stroma), mainly found in lymphoid organs
Describe white adipose connective tissue
Main adult fat store, insulates, shock absorber, made of unilocular adipocytes (lipids fuses into one big droplet)
Describe brown adipose connective tissue
Involved in thermoregulation in neonates, multilocular adipocytes, organised into lobules by fibrocollagenous septa
Describe the extracellular matrix of cartilage
Sulphated GAGs, rich in proteoglycans and hyaluronic acid and type II colalgen
What are the different types of cartilage?
Hyaline, elastic and fibrocartilage
Where do chondrocytes lie?
In lacunae (lake)
Describe fibrocartilage and where it is found?
Contains both type I (stronger) and type II collagen fibres and is found in IV discs, pubic symphysis, and knee menisci
What is the perichondrium?
A specialised layer of condensed, highly vascular fibrocollagenous tissue with chondroblasts embedded (for repair)
What are muscle cells derived from?
What is the basement membrane of muscle cells called?
Why does muscle stain bright pink?
Due to large amounts of myofilament in cytoplasm
Supporting reticular fibre network which carries capillaries and nerves to the muscle cells (fibres)
Surrounds muscle fascicles
Surrounds whole muscle with collagen and elastic fibres embedded, it is continuous with tendons and muscle attachments
What are satellite cells?
Stem cells which can add to muscle, and are found beneath the basement membrane
What do fibroblasts do in muscle?
Help produce endomysium
What is the H-zone?
Just the myosin filament, no overlap with actin
What is the I-band?
Just the actin filament
What is the A-band?
All of the myosin filament, including overlap with actin
What is the M-line?
Thickest portion of the myosin filament
What is the Z-line?
Marks end of sarcomere (actin)
Describe cardiac muscle cells
Branching, multinucleate cells which meet at intercalated discs
Why does a fibrocollagenous scar form in cardiac damage?
Cardiac muscle doesn't have any satellite cells and therefore cannot repair itself and a scar forms instead
Describe smooth muscle cells
Spindle-shaped cells with a central nuclei, no striations and that are closely arranged to form sheets
What are myoepithelial cells?
Cells which have processes which surround secretory portions of exocrine glands, and contraction allows movement into the duct
What are myofibroblasts?
Specialised cell that produces collagen it also have actin and desmin filaments which have a large role in wound healing --> proliferate to produce fibrocollagenous scar --> contraction reduces the size of damaged area in healing process
What are pericytes?
Stem cells that are associated with capillaries and venules, and following injury proliferate to form new endothelial cells, fibroblasts or myofibroblasts
What does a Nissl stain show?
It stains RNA and DNA
What is a nervous system nucleus (or PNS ganglion)?
Collection of neurones with common circuity and function (in grey matter)
What is neuropil?
Dense tangle of neuroal axons, dendrites and glial processes and is site of communication between various components
What glial cells are present in the central nervous system?
Oligodendrocytes, astrocytes and microglia
Highly branched cell that surrounds the surfaces of neurones and blood vessels in the CNS and an important part of the BBB; proliferates at the site of injury to form a 'glial scar'
Produce myelin by wrapping membrane around axons (one cell can myelinate many axons)
Specialised macrophages in CNS (smallest cell and hard to see without stain)
What glial cells are present in the peripheral nervous system
Schwann cells and satellite cells
Describe Schwann cells
Myelinate axons (1 Schwann cell segment per axon)
Describe satellite cells
Similar to the astrocytes of the CNS (physical and metabolic support)
Define 'motor unit'
Motor neurone and all of the skeletal muscle fibres it contracts
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Professor Kudasz carrying out a successful hole in the heart operation in Hungary
Story about Professor Jozsef Kudasz carrying out a successful hole in the heart operation.
CUs. Children playing football, skipping, riding scooters and bicycles. CUs. panning over children's beds in the Chirugical Clinic showing children lying flat on their backs.
CU. x-ray of the heart. CU. Machine, electronically registering heartbeats. Medium panning shot of the artificial heart panning up to CU. Vessels that hold blood. CU. Doctor's report sheet in Hungarian. CU. From below of the battery of lamps over the operating table, which are switched.
CU Surgeon, Professor Jozsef Kudasz. High Angle GV. operating theatre, with the operation in progress move into medium. CU. of doctors over the patient. CU. Heart Beating. Medium panning shot along the equipment which makes up the automatic heart - the machine is in motion. CU. Heart beating. CU. To Rotating arm on the automatic heart. Various CUs. of surgeons and nurses at work. Medium panning shot showing all the doctors and nurses at work around the operating table. CU. Rotating arm on the automatic heart slowing down to a stand still MS. a continuous graph coming out of machine.
CU. Surgeon smiling. CU. Small boy (the patient) smiling. (Mute. Lav)
Note: The patient's name is Andras Taraszovics, aged 13.
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Prophylaxis, (also known as teeth cleaning), polishing, fluoride application.
Oral and radiographic examination with digital radiography, reducing radiation exposure by 80-90% compared to traditional xrays.
Teeth grinding prevention appliances are used to cushion the teeth from the destructive effects of clenching and grinding.
Custom sports guards made with the Druformat™ pressure vacuum system used by many NFL™ teams and other professional athletes for a superb fit for better protection and comfort. Read more about Mouthguards in this article by By Ray Padilla.
Home Fluoride Pastes available in prescription strength for decay problems.
Pit and fissure sealants for children and teens to seal the deep grooves in permanent teeth and prevent decay forming bacteria from impregnating the teeth.
Dental Professional Packaged Electric Toothbrushes offered.
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|Course Title||AS/A Level Psychology|
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behaviour. If you are considering taking Psychology you need to be curious about both typical and atypical behaviour. You should enjoy thinking about and scientifically researching questions such as: Why do I obey police officers? Why can I listen to the radio and play on a computer game at the same time? How can a person with a fear of spiders be treated? This course also includes occasional guest speakers and trips relevant to psychology.
A qualification in Social Sciences gives you a good background and provides you with the skills and knowledge which are applicable in a wide range of areas. On completion of these courses you may choose to study at degree level and pursue a career in any of the following areas: National and Local Government, Human Resources, Health, Social Work, Voluntary Agencies, Education, Criminology, Management, and Health and Social Work. In order to become a Psychologist you will need to study Psychology at university.
To study A Levels at Bury College you must obtain a minimum of six GCSE grades. These must include 4/5 in English Language and mathematics (minimum combined total of 9 points). Plus, a minimum of two additional GCSEs at grade 4 or higher. As well as a minimum of two additional GCSEs at grade 5 or higher. In addition to these entry requirements, you must have GCSE English Language grade 9-5 (A*-C).
This course will start in September and you will study for two years to achieve the full A Level.
For the AS programme you will study social influence, memory, attachment, psychopathology, approaches in psychology and biopsychology. You will study six compulsory topics, assessed over two 1.5 hour exams. There will be three topics per exam over one year. For the A Level programme you will study social influence, memory attachment, psychopathology, approaches in psychology and biopsychology, research methods and issues and debates in psychology. Your options may be gender, schizophrenia and forensic psychology. You will study eight compulsory topics and three optional topics over two years which will be assessed with three two hour exams at the end of year two.
Psychology continues to be a popular AS and A Level choice at Bury College. It works well with Science, Art, Business and Humanity subjects. If you are thinking about becoming a Psychologist you may consider volunteering with the Student Action Group alongside your academic studies. This activity allows you to work in the community in a safe and secure manner and will enhance both university and job applications. The A Level Psychology Study Programme will develop your English and communication skills as well as your numerical skills. All of these skills are highly valued by any higher education institution or employment field.
You will have the opportunity to participate in a week’s work experience in each year of the course. This work experience will be tailored as far as possible to your career aims, or provide you with the opportunity to explore possible careers. In addition, it provides opportunity to develop valuable skills for a personal statement or CV.
A range of enrichment activities are available in college and the A Level Study Programme team will provide you with opportunities to do activities that contribute to your wider growth and development. In many cases tutors will support you in your academic studies by allowing you to explore things that are related to the subject areas that you are interested in.
There are no additional costs to study on this course.
A range of career-enhancing free courses have been launched at Bury College for adults across the borough.
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- At a congressional hearing this week, Jerry Cuomo, IBM's vice president of blockchain technology,testified about the potential governmental uses for blockchains.
- Identification documents, payment systems, and systems that trace the movement of foods and drugs, are among the most promising initial governmental applications for the technology, Cuomo said.
- Lawmakers were wowed by how much quicker blockchain technology has made the process of tracking down food products.
IBM wants to get Uncle Sam on a blockchain.
The digital ledger technology that underlies bitcoin is ready to be used for everything from paying taxes to tracking food and drug shipments to newer, more secure identification cards, said Jerry Cuomo, vice president of blockchain technology at IBM, at a hearing Wednesday organized by the Congressional Blockchain Caucus.
"There is an opportunity for the United States to build upon its momentum to lead blockchain by doing," Cuomo said in his testimony. "We should focus our efforts on projects that can positively impact US economic competitiveness, citizens, and businesses."
Cuomo encouraged lawmakers to focus on incorporating blockchain technology into already established governmental projects and programs, rather than trying to start new blockchain-themed initiatives. That could help speed its use and adoption and help the US stay at the forefront of blockchain development, he said.
Government agencies at both the federal and state level are already experimenting with the technology. Some states are developing blockchain-based drivers licenses and identification cards. Meanwhile, IBM is working with the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on some blockchain projects, including one that could speed the CDC's ability to develop new drugs.
Right now, drug development involves lots of paperwork. Blockchain technology could help improve the process by putting all of the important information related to drug development in an easily accessible and secure place online.
Developing new drugs "doesn't just take a long time because people are slow," Cuomo said. "The processes are extremely paper intensive. I see these groups taking the right first steps."
In an interview with Business Insider, Cuomo predicted that blockchain-based digital identities will be the first big project to take off at the federal level, because officials can build off the work going on in the states.
In addition to Cuomo, Frank Yiannas, vice president of food safety at Walmart, also testified at the hearing, talking about how his company is using blockchain technology. The retail giant has teamed up with IBM to develop a blockchain designed to track the movement of produce from farmers through distributors and stores to consumers. The technology could be useful in responding to reports of food contamination, when entities like the FDA need to quickly determine which food to recall.
When Yiannas told lawmakers that the process of tracking down particular food products has gone from seven days to to 2.2 seconds, thanks to blockchain technology, they were in awe, Cuomo said.
Here's a full video of the hearing:
This is a subscriber-only story. To read the full article, simply click here to claim your deal and get access to all exclusive Business Insider PRIME content.
Get the latest IBM stock price here.
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Time for a second round of Q&As!
As I explained in my blog post last week, I joined Qing Liu as a panellist on Bureau van Dijk's webinar, The role of company financial data in identifying financial crime, in August.
In our hour-long session we examined the trends of financial crime over time and shared some perspectives on the challenges we face today. We also drew on case studies to show how the use of financial data and corporate ownership structures can be used to minimize financial crime and mitigate risk – and the webinar is now free to view on-demand.
Because we couldn't answer all the questions posed by of our audience of compliance professionals on the day, we've attempted to address the rest in these two blog posts, the first covering questions on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing.
Noting again that these are my personal views, here's the second batch, this time on the general theme of typology – or recognised patterns of behaviour – and it's also available as a printable PDF.
Your questions answered
1. "How does cyber crime facilitate or help in current financial crime?"
Cyber crime can exponentially facilitate the occurrence of financial crime. Aside from their own opportunist activities, financial criminals are recruiting cyber criminals to build and identify corporate structures on their behalf.
This is enticing as there is no requirement for face-to-face contact; all can be done online, more quickly than doing so manually. There is much more flexibility, as cyber has no physical boundaries and geographical considerations are not required.
Cyber crime provides distance between parties in a transaction and often anonymity, which in turn promotes criminal activity and makes it more difficult to prosecute. I can buy an established corporate structure more than three years old, with all the accompanying documentation and associated operating bank accounts, from the dark web with a high level of anonymity for as little as $1600.
Do you have an algorithm that picks up companies that have been incorporated for more than three years?
2. "What is the trend for using super funds as a means and vehicle to store criminal proceeds?"
The deposit of funds into a super fund is an ideal way of both getting a return on your money and explaining wealth when it is withdrawn. Identity (either false or partially taken-over) is all that is required, and, especially with self-managed funds, criminals have control over when money can be withdrawn. The identity just needs to be someone with an age that makes the withdrawal of funds not suspicious.
Given the expansion of super funds, I believe that organised crime is going to use this medium more often as it provides an ability to move value intergenerationally without suspicion.
3. "With the trend in blockchain technology, what are the challenges in the utilisation of financial data for identifying financial crime, especially money laundering?"
I believe whilst blockchain will not be a panacea for fixing financial crime, the functionality, if properly configured, will actually benefit asset identification and control, as there is a greater capacity to have individuals independently validate the data on the ledger in such a way that time makes the information more robust to illegal alteration.
4. "I understand that money is classified as being laundered once it has entered the bank. Why is this so?"
Money can be defined as laundered even before it hits the financial system. It is just that the entrance into the financial system is deliberate, so that value can be transferred easily between parties. Once entering the financial system, the characteristics of the money changes. This then constitutes money laundering, which is the deliberate attempt to disguise the true nature of money or property.
5. "If a company just wants to minimise its overhead cost, is that also considered money laundering?"
The legitimate minimisation of costs through efficiency and restructure is perfectly fine and should be applauded. Whilst in some circumstance minimisation of costs may represent a benefit to a criminal group, most of the time they falsely portray increased costs, which reduce profit and thus reduce tax.
If action is taken to falsely represent activities within a business irrespective of the outcome, i.e. profit or loss, the result may fall into the definition of money laundering. It depends on the circumstances of each case.
6. "Pricing – under-pricing or overpricing – is a very tricky part in trade finance. What methodology have you previously applied to determine if the pricing is fair or not? With certain niche products, pricing ranges and prices change frequently and significantly."
I agree with your statement. You can only hope to minimise, not eliminate, trade-based money laundering. The more information you can get on the behaviour of similar companies and products, the more understanding you will have of the events presented to you. Experience is critical and it can be very difficult to achieve working off a checklist.
7. "With regards to the identifying and verification of beneficial owners, what solution can you offer if the beneficial owners refuse to sign a declaration that they are the beneficial owners, even though a financial institution has identified them as such?"
Don't do business with them! It is not worth the risk in the long run. For me, that is probably grounds for a suspicious matter report. I do not know any law-abiding person who denies ownership of assets that they have obtained legally unless maybe if they are engaged in divorce proceedings…
8. "What are your views on using artificial intelligence to tackle financial crime?"
Like all ideas, no single idea is going to solve the problems, but industry needs to get smarter on how it is going to deal with low-value, high-volume transactions at low cost, whilst still minimising criminal regulatory and reputational risk. It does not take much money to have a successful terrorist event.
9. "What ways can a company clear its name from a list from the central bank list?"
Unfortunately, individuals and companies can sometimes find themselves on such lists, either misguidedly or otherwise. If, as an organisation, you believe your inclusion on a list is unjustified, then a dialogue needs to be created to establish from the various referees why the circumstances exist and what needs to be done to correct them, and then get on and do it. I have sympathy – in some cases the cost of this suggestion can be high.
10. "Some financial institutions only identify ultimate beneficial owners with more than 10% ownership. Would you consider this sufficient due diligence?"
In some cases, no. If you look at pump-and-dump schemes and market manipulation, 10% share ownership of a company would be very unusual. I believe each corporate customer needs to be assessed on its merits. If your organisation sets targets, criminals will come to understand this and adjust their activity accordingly.
One big advantage Australia has re AML/CTF over other jurisdictions is they have not set a minimum bar for international funds transfers; they require reporting of all transactions.
11. "How can you identify a shell company? Many are handled out of the British Virgin Islands, Seychelles, Samoa, etc, which have proven extremely difficult to trace."
Bureau van Dijk can help you trace these companies. You need to then ask the question of the directors: what does your company do? Their answers should help you make a determination. If these companies are clients of your clients, you need to ask your client.
You will not be able to help it if they lie to you but at least you have a record of your enquiry and the answers they supplied. If you are unhappy with the answers, or they do not supply information to your comfort, don't do business with them!
12. "You indicated in the webinar that a red flag might be a company with only a small number of employees recording very high gross revenue. In modern society, companies are replacing employees with technology, so how could this be a reliable red flag."
The dynamics of the records published in respect of a person or company will help formulate the additional questions that need to be asked to fill in the information gaps.
Sometimes what has been reported is valid but I have also seen many examples where activity does not make commercial sense, and yet it is allowed to proceed.
As mentioned in the webinar, number of employees is one criterion that may be looked at. There is a combination of other factors that may be considered to make a more holistic decision. For example, you can look at financial performance, the industry the company operates in, the legal status of the entity, the location of the entity, length of incorporation, the ownership structure, etc. Bureau van Dijk would be happy to assist you with additional information in relation to this.
13. "How would you advise on the treatment of transactions that a client says is a loan or loan repayment between individuals or entities? There is really no agreement or contract for such personal loan arrangements."
Ask for the documentation and if it does not exist, then delay the transaction until they are either created or provided. It is not your role to determine the truth of the document unless that information is available to you, but at least you have something on which you have assessed your risk.
14. "How are Australian banks managing the risk of money laundering when allowing customers and non-customers to do large cash deposits on automated transaction machines (ATMs)?"
My view is that as long as these transactions are recorded – this includes suitable identification mechanisms – then assessments of risk can be made.
The issue arises when the cash transaction cannot be matched with a legally verifiable person. Again, the issue is not so much in relation to the size of the cash withdrawal but to the verification of the identities of individuals undertaking such withdrawals.
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This is another application for cutting concrete floors that some people take for granted.
Concrete walk behind saws powered by hydraulic, electric, diesel or gas are typically used for cutting pavement at airports, local streets, and even your home driveway. They are also use for interior trenching for placement of plumbing pipes, sewers, drains and electric services.
We have all the necessary blades for cutting different depths and saws for inside jobs where gas can not be used.
Water is another factor to deal with when cutting concrete floors. Water must be controlled because of the extreme use of it when cutting concrete floors. It will travel everywhere unless contained. We include that service when we estimate a slab sawing job so you don’t have to call your neighbor or friend for help.
Requirements for cutting concrete slabs:
- Layout must be done by home owner or general contractor. All cuts should be marked before Cape Cod Concrete Cutting arrives on site.
- If you need a concrete floor cut it is essential that we know the thickness, footage, if water is available and access is very important.
- Water control will be needed on most concrete slab jobs, and will be provided at an additional charge by Cape Cod Concrete Cutting.
- Ventilation is a must when we use a gas or diesel concrete walk-behind saw. If ventilation is a problem then we will us electric saws for that job.
- Access is essential to allow us to get the saws in and out of the building or space being cut. The concrete slab saw is very heavy and awkward to maneuver in tight areas. The cutting area must be clear of all obstructions to allow the operator to do his job properly and efficiently.
- If water and power is not present we can provide it.
- These are typical requirements and may not pertain to every job.
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Alberto and Pedro are good friends. They are teenagers, they live in Bolivia and they are classmates. Both of their fathers are famous scientists. Like his father, Pedro is fascinated with science. Alberto, on the other hand, is an artist. He draws amazingly well every animal that he sees. One day while they’re playing and walking along the shore of Lake Titicaca, they notice a mysterious man. Combining their scientific and artistic talents, the two friends begin to try to solve a mystery involving wild animals.
This fictitious novel is based on fewer than 100 high frequency words in Spanish. This novel is intended to facilate langauge acquisition and biliteracy. It contains a managable amount of vocabulary and numerous cognates, making it ideal for beginning language students.
Short and captivating! Glossary included.
5"x7" paperback, 68 pages.
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Published at Friday, November 16th 2018. by Denise Shaffer in Ceiling.
Ceiling scape in the basements. We have ceiling scape because there are so many situations where our ceilings going to be higher and then lower. Now out in this big section that I'm standing in here to the left side of that red beam there, this whole side of the basement, the left of the stairs it's going to be a full height, nine-foot ceiling, there's nothing in my way, okay! Well, for the most part, there's not, there is some ductwork right down there that I'm going to build a soffit around, but for the most part, this whole side is going to be one high 9-foot ceiling. Then I've got a 16-inch duct trunk and then I've got about thirty. Two more inches of duct trunk and then back out here I've got gas lines and finally, I have a high ceiling with nothing in my way. So what am I going to do here? Well, I'm going to build underneath the gas line. All these ducts I'm going to continue across right underneath that PEX, the water lines right, underneath the sewage line and right underneath the steel making that one lower section of the ceiling from the steel beam the whole way out to the end of my gas lines right there. The gas lines, and then from the gas lines over to the exterior wall, which is about another six feet, I'm going to go back up full height with mice, with my drywall ceiling right to the bottom of that floor, joists all right. So I have an upper ceiling just about six foot and I've got a lower section.
Well, I do high-end work with a lot of recessed lights. This basement is probably going to have 25 recessed lights. I like to see real drywall wherever I can. So that can be painted and look like the rest of the home, and you really do have to stand back. Look at the big picture and design your ceiling scape from maximum height and straight crisp lines. All right, you don't want to be up and down up and down everywhere. Okay, I wouldn't come across underneath this ductwork and try to go back up there, where I have a little bit of space between those red and blue pecs lines in the ductwork. There's not enough space there are only two feet: it wouldn't be worth all the aggravation, so you really have to think about keeping it simple getting as much as you can in each soffit and maximize your height, wherever you can all right now that that lower section is Soffit right there from that corner there right out to that edge right there in front of the recessed light. Was that section of lower ductwork? It was about 16 inches deep, we boxed it out, and then we went right back into the next section of the soffit, which was that first 12-inch steel beam that we saw that was up there stairs here and show you this okay.
So when you come down the stairs, what we did was we angled this down and moved it out just a little bit further, actually out to the end of that column right there, and that gave us enough Headroom here and I'm reaching my hands straight up over My head full extension here and I'm just able to knock on that. So there's plenty of headroom there for a tall person. I mean you could be 75 and still walk down these steps, and then you can see. We've got a from the one red steel beam right over to the other red steel beam that was there. We just went straight across all right, so that's how we hit the two, the two red beams and then back out here on the other side as I said earlier mm, this is all one big pie, nine-foot ceiling cuz.
There was nothing in our road over here. So we were able to frame that or not have to frame that at all. Rather, we just put the drywall right to the bottom of the floor, joist right now out here where we went from the red pecks and the sewage line that was up there and there were some wires and other stuff up in there. We lower the ceiling again right out here to the edge here where we go back up again. That soffit turning out to the end over the top of the refrigerator and balanced out those windows and then turning back around this way, you can see that lower soffit runs the whole way down to the other end of the basement up to the finished wall. And then we have the high section of ceiling that runs the whole way the whole way down the basement down to this end to this soffit.
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An article of impeachment introduced last week charges President Donald Trump with obstructing the investigation of his campaign’s possible collusion with Putin’s Russia. Like most plans for dethroning Trump, it’s based on proving that the president is crooked.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) has a different plan: he wants to remove Trump on the grounds that he’s crazy. Raskin, a former law professor and now a member of the House Judiciary Committee, favors invoking the 25th Amendment’s provisions for declaring the president “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” The bill Raskin’s pushing would create an “Oversight Commission on Presidential Capacity,” empowered to examine the president for signs of mental illness.
All I can say is that if Trump agrees to this ridiculous arrangement, it better be on TV
Here’s how it’s supposed to work: under powers granted by Section 4 of the amendment, Congress sets up a team of four psychiatrists, four physicians, two “retired statesperson[s]” such as former presidents and VPs, and a team-elected chairperson. When Congress summons them into action, their mission, should they choose to accept it, is to examine the president and determine whether he “lacks sufficient understanding or capacity to execute the powers and duties of the office”—and report back within 72 hours.
That’s the plan: An 11-man strike force of assorted shrinks and medics—plus, say, Bill Clinton and Dan Quayle—descends on Donald Trump, takes his vitals, and puts him on the couch to work out whether he’s too nutty to be president. All I can say is that if Trump agrees to this ridiculous arrangement, it better be on TV.
Of course the examination will never happen, as Raskin’s bill all but concedes: “any refusal by the President to undergo such examination shall be taken into consideration” in the commission’s disability ruling. But how could such a refusal count as evidence of mental impairment? Agreeing to be poked and prodded under such circumstances would prove Trump has a screw loose. What’s more, the psychiatrists on the team are barred by professional ethics rules from diagnosing a patient they haven’t personally examined.
But imagine that the commission declares the president incompetent anyway: the 25th Amendment also requires the vice president to ratify their assessment before he can take power. Mike Pence, who’s thus far stood by his man like a classic political “good wife,” seems unlikely to sign on. Even if he did, Trump just has to send a letter to Congress affirming his own competence, and he’ll be restored to power unless “by two-thirds vote of both Houses,” Congress sides with Pence and the commission—something else that’s never going to happen.
Raskin has a point when he charges that Trump’s ongoing “bizarre litany of events and outbursts” has raised legitimate concerns about his temperament and stability. But the 25th Amendment wasn’t designed for ejecting “merely” erratic or untrustworthy presidents. Introduced in the wake of the Kennedy assassination, it aimed at situations of total disability, whether temporary or permanent. The worry with Trump isn’t that he’s “unable to discharge” the powers of his office—it’s that he’s reckless and immature enough to do enormous damage while he does so.
We already have a standing body empowered to make an initial ruling on that sort of presidential fitness: the U.S. House of Representatives, to which the Constitution grants “the sole Power of Impeachment.” Contrary to conventional wisdom, that remedy isn’t limited to cases of corruption or abuse of official power. In its survey of the “Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment,” the Nixon-era House Judiciary Committee identified a third category of impeachable offense: “behaving in a manner grossly incompatible with the proper function and purpose of the office.”
The House has the power to impeach, and the Senate to remove, a federal officer whose conduct “seriously undermine[s] public confidence in his ability to perform his official functions.”
Congress’s reluctance to engage in that debate is probably what’s driven Rep. Raskin’s to political gimmickry. So far, Republicans and most Democrats shrink from the notion of impeachment, treating the “I-word” as politically blasphemous. But as Trump’s “bizarre litany” continues, Congress may not be able to avoid the debate indefinitely.
Impeachment’s purpose, constitutional scholar Greg Weiner explains, is “prophylactic,” not punitive: “to protect the public” from officials whose conduct presents an unacceptable risk. Whether Trump’s conduct presents such a risk isn’t a clinical question for specialists in lab coats—it’s a practical judgment that the Constitution leaves to the people’s representatives.
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Mining of domestic minerals and metals is a cornerstone of the U.S. economy, but data just published by the Energy Information Agency (EIA) show investment in U.S. mining and exploration declined an incredible 35% last year—from 135 billion in 2014 to 88 billion in 2015. This represents the second largest decline since 1948. There has also been a secular increase over time of imported minerals.
Three factors are contributing to this decline. Opposition to mining by the environmental movement increases costs because of litigation and delays. The withdrawal of federal lands, often with permanent restrictions on mining, force manufacturers to look elsewhere and, in part because of the opposition of environmentalists, the permitting process is long and drawn out. And last, a delay of three to four years or more, which is not uncommon, can reduce the value of a mine by 30-40% or more, souring investor interest. All of these factors have been particularly hard on coal, which is also being displaced by increasing natural gas from the hydraulic fracturing shale revolution.
Federal holdings used to be called the “land of many uses,” but increasingly the government, bowing to environmentalist pressure, has decided that mining of coal and minerals is no longer one of those uses. Millions of acres, largely in the West, are now zoned for no mining, no matter how remote they might be. All of these factors make mining here more expensive than elsewhere.
U.S. minerals need to be mined, not undermined.
Senators push for domestic mining
What can be done? Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski, to her great credit, has sponsored two bills that could improve the efficiency of energy and mineral development, especially with respect to federal permitting. The proposed bills are linked together in a larger energy bill now before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Perhaps the most important part of this bill is an improved performance metric for federal agencies involved in various stages of permitting for energy development.
Joined at the hip to this energy bill is the proposed Mineral Security Act, also designed to expedite the permitting process and to therefore increase the amount of domestic mining.
Sad to say, the committee vote for this important legislation is being held up in the Senate Committee, not by federal, regional or state issues, but by local problems of contaminated drinking water in the city of Flint, Michigan.
Hope for America’s energy renaissance
Nevertheless, until the final disposition of the energy and minerals bill is learned, there is hope on the horizon for minerals mining and energy production in general. The Supreme Court’s stay of EPA’s Clean Power Plan will provide real relief to the coal industry, as well as natural gas producers. In January, the House passed the Stream Act (H.R. 1644) which was crafted to block the Stream Protection Rule—a monstrous rule proposed by the Office of Surface Mining that would result in large waste and job loss in the coal fields. It awaits the attention of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Finally, a U.S. District Judge in Anchorage issued an injunction to stop any further efforts by EPA to deny the Pebble Partnership due process rights to develop and submit a permit application to mine copper and gold in southwestern Alaska. We recently detailed the sad tale of EPA’s misuse of an obscure section of the 1977 Clean Water Act to stop the owners of what is, value-wise, the second largest copper-gold deposit on earth, from even applying for a permit. Things may be turning around in the mineral and mining world.
Within only the past five years, the U.S. has hit full stride in what is being called the American energy renaissance, and the U.S. is now the world’s leader in both oil and natural gas production. Minerals mining can follow the same pathway of success, especially if the federal permitting process is streamlined—reducing processing time from months and years—to a number of days or a few weeks at most, as in many states. Passage of and adherence to the Energy Policy and Minerals Security bill would work to reduce permitting time and hence decrease unnecessary imports of many minerals that are abundant here. U.S. minerals need to be mined, not undermined.
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Then we saw the "generic" Democratic candidate for president ahead of the "generic" Republican by double digits, only to see polls after the GOP convention with Sen. John McCain way ahead of Obama.
Why the ups and downs? Well, polls, as a "snapshot in time," do tend to jump all over the place in close elections. But this year goes beyond that.
A Christian Science Monitor article published yesterday helped explain why:
More than in any other presidential election in recent times, polls may be failing to capture accurately what's happening in the American electorate. There are a couple of reasons, but the most key for the pollsters are massive voter-registration drives, especially by the Democrats, which have created millions of first-time voters. Pollsters aren't quite sure yet how to calculate the impact of all these new voters on the election.
As the article goes on to explain, pollsters are going bonkers trying to figure out how much weight to give to first-time voters, to young voters, and to other new entrants to the political scene.
But I hesitate to put too much faith in an increased youth vote, because young adults (18 to 24) are the most underrepresented of any demographic group in national elections:
Only once since 1972 have more than 50 percent of youths voted in a presidential election. Still, some groups are saying that this year is going to be different. CIRCLE, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, has released several reports measuring the youth vote in various presidential and congressional elections. According to them, the 2000 presidential primaries had only a 9 percent turnout from voters under the age of 30, but the 2008 primaries saw nearly double that. For the past three election cycles, there has been an increase in the number of voters aged 18 to 24. Such increases have not occurred in almost 40 years. Now, as we look towards Election Day in November, we can be hopeful that even more youth will turn out.
In 2004, 47 percent of those aged 18 to 24 voted. While this might seem high, compare it to the 66 percent of voters 25 and over that turned out.
My take is, don't depend too heavily on the youth vote to vastly increase voter participation rates. Young people typically have less money than their older counterparts (makes sense since older people have been out in the workforce longer). So many of them tend to vote in lower-income neighborhoods. In recent elections, some of those neighborhoods have been plagued by inadequate numbers of polling booths, broken polling booths, and hours-long lines for would-be voters. I'll never forget the media reports from Ohio in 2004 about low-income voters waiting in the rain for six hours to vote. How many 20-year-olds can withstand that type of test to cast a ballot?
Obviously, the Obama campaign is hoping tons will. But I'm taking a "I'll believe it when I see it" stance.
By Bonnie Erbe
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Back to School Basics
We are excited to welcome our students back to school in mid-August! Here is some important information to keep in mind as you and your family prepare for the new school year. Use the + sign next to each heading to see information related to that topic.
- When is the first day of school?
- When is my child's open house or schedule pick-up?
- What school will my child attend?
- What are my school's hours?
- How do I contact my child’s school?
- How do I look up my student's teacher assignment?
- How do I look up my student's bus route information?
- What is Home Access Center and how do I access it?
- How do I communicate a change in my child's transportation arrangements?
- I'm new to Centerville. How do I enroll my student?
- How do I update my home address?
- I’m not sure if my telephone number is correct to receive calls from The Education Connection. How do I check my number?
- How do I check my school's calendar?
- How do I find my student's school supply list?
- How do I pay student fees?
- What's for breakfast and lunch?
- How else can I stay connected to Centerville throughout the year?
In addition to open houses, the middle and high schools have the following plans for distributing student schedules.
Magsig Middle School will host a new student orientation on Aug. 9. Sixth grade orientation takes place from 9:30 a.m.-noon, and new seventh and eighth grade students will meet from 10:30 a.m.-noon. All other students will receive their schedules on the first day of school.
Tower Heights will host an orientation for new sixth graders on Aug. 9 from 10 a.m.-noon, and those students will receive their schedules at that time. New sixth, seventh and eighth grade students, along with their parents, will have an orientation from 7-8 p.m. on Aug. 9, and the seventh and eighth graders will receive their schedules at that time. All returning seventh and eighth grade students will receive their schedules on the first day of school.
Watts Middle School will mail schedules home to all students in grades 6-8 the first week of August. Students can stop by the school between 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Aug. 9-10 to walk their schedules.
Schedule pick-up for grades 10-12 at Centerville High School will be Aug. 7-8 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Freshmen will receive their schedules at orientation on Aug. 9. CHS parking pass and activity pass sales will take place Aug. 7-9 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
AM Preschool: 8:10-10:50 a.m.
PM Preschool: 11:55 a.m.-2:35 p.m.
AM Kindergarten: 8:10-10:50 a.m.
PM Kindergarten: 11:55 a.m.-2:35 p.m.
Grade 1: 8:10 a.m.-2:35 p.m.
Grades 2-5: 8 a.m.-2:20 p.m.
Grades 6-8: 8:50 a.m.-3:35 p.m.
CHS Grades 9-12: 7:50 a.m.-2:50 p.m.
Morning SOP: 8:15-11:15 a.m.
Afternoon SOP: 12:45-3:45 p.m.
Evening SOP: 3:45-5:45 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday
Click here to download a printable graphic.
The Home Access Center (HAC) is an online portal for parents and students to access information that includes demographic data (emergency info and contacts), transportation (bus routes), attendance (absence and tardies), fees (balance and fee history), classes (scheduled courses and teachers), grades and report cards (grades 6-12 only).
Bus route information and the option to pay student fees online will be available on HAC. Parents should use their existing log-in information to view the information.
If you have never accessed HAC, use the Register link to create your account. This link can be found in the Login box. In order for this process to work, you must have a valid email address on record. You also will need to confirm the parent or guardian name and the ZIP code on file. If you have trouble completing the registration process, please send an email to email@example.com.
If your child is opting out of bus services or will be served by a childcare provider at an address other than your home, you must have an Alternate Transportation Form on file. If you have not yet completed this form, you can download it from our Forms & Documents page and return it to your child’s school. You do not need to complete this form if your child rides the bus from your home address.
In addition, the Transportation Department will continue its process for temporary transportation changes, such as your child riding a different bus after school. This form also is available on the district’s Forms & Documents page and should be returned to your child’s school as needed.
Centerville Schools has a Student Enrollment Center, allowing families to register all their school-age children at a single location in the district's Board of Education Office at 111 Virginia Ave., Centerville, OH 45458. Visit our New Student Registration page for enrollment forms and to schedule an appointment.
Prior to the start of school, you can download the Change of Address form and return your complete form to the Board of Education Office at 111 Virginia Ave., Centerville, OH 45458. Once school begins, please work with your child’s school office on address changes.
Prior to the start of school, you can update your telephone number on the Home Access Center (HAC). Each guardian must log in to update their own contact information. At the beginning of the school year, a Student Information Sheet will be sent home with each child, and you also can update your contact information on that.
Visit our Calendars page to access the district’s academic calendar as well as school and athletic calendars. A filter tool is available to select which calendars you’d like to view. Each school is responsible for inputting their own events.
Visit our website and then select your child’s school. School supply lists for preschool through middle school are available on each school’s main page under Downloads. High school students will receive supply lists from their teachers.
Families can pay school fees and fees for athletic and co-curricular activities online through the Home Access Center (HAC). There is no processing fee for online payments.
Parents should use their existing log-in information to view the fees for their children. Once logged into HAC, click on the Registration icon and then on the Fees tab. You should see your child’s fees listed there with prompts on paying with a credit card. At this time, families must make separate payments for each child.
Those who do not wish to pay online may submit their payment to their child’s school office. Forms will come home with students at the start of the school year. If you have questions about fees, please contact your child’s school.
Breakfast and lunch menus are available on the Student Nutrition Services website. The site includes interactive menus that have nutrition and allergen information as well as information about applying for free and reduced price school meals. You can add money or check the balance of your student’s meal account on the MyPaymentsPlus website.
Bookmark Centerville’s website to view district and school news, calendars, forms, classroom websites, social media highlights and more.
Follow Centerville City Schools on Facebook and Instagram or search for the district hashtag #ElkPride to receive daily updates on important announcements, upcoming events, photos, videos, news stories and more.
Be sure to read the district’s weekly e-newsletter, which is sent to all parents/guardians every Wednesday during the school year. The newsletter includes district news and events as well as upcoming school fundraisers and community activities. Visit the School Announcements page to access archived copies of the newsletter.
If you are an Apple user, download Centerville’s free mobile app from the Apple store. The app allows you to stay up-to-date with district news and calendars, contact your child’s school and access quick links for students and parents. To download, search for “Centerville Schools” from your mobile device’s app store.
If you have additional questions, please contact your school’s main office or the Board Office at (937) 433-8841.
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Research begins at the SOLARIS synchrotron in PolandLocation
SOLARIS synchrotron, Krakow - Poland
On October 2nd, 2018, scientists from Poland and abroad have started regular research at the Polish CERIC Partner Facility in Krakow, Poland, the National Synchrotron Radiation Centre SOLARIS.
For the moment, three end-stations are available at the SOLARIS synchrotron: PEEM (photoelectron microscopy), XAS (X-ray absorption spectroscopy) and UARPES (angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy). Beamtime was granted to scientists on a competition basis, through an open call for applications which closed on May 25th. The proposals were evaluated by an international commission.
Twenty-six experiments prepared by groups of scientists from eleven Polish and five foreign universities and research institutes, will be carried out at SOLARIS between October 2018 and the end of February 2019. Among the first users of the Kraków synchrotron are also researchers who were awarded beamtime through the open call launched by CERIC-ERIC.
Scientists will carry out research in the fields of physics, materials science and chemistry. They will investigate topological insulators, Dirac materials and superconductors, as well as the electronic properties of materials, magnetic interactions and the distribution of elements in materials. In the future, measurements may contribute to the development of more efficient photovoltaic cells, faster and more capacious hard disks or new electronic materials.
The SOLARIS calls for proposals will be announced by the SOLARIS synchrotron twice a year, in spring and autumn. The closest deadline for submitting applications is April 1, 2019.
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Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor David Paul Cronenberg was born on this day, March 15, 1943. One of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or "venereal horror genre," a style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection, he explored these themes mostly through horror and science fiction throughout the first half of his film career. He has been called "the most audacious and challenging narrative director in the English-speaking world.
Cronenberg has appeared on various "Greatest Director" lists. In 2004, Science Fiction magazine Strange Horizons named him the 2nd greatest director in the history of the genre, ahead of better known directors such as Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Jean-Luc Godard and Ridley Scott. In the same year, The Guardian listed him 9th on their list of "The world's 40 best directors". In 2007, Total Film named him as the 17th greatest director of all-time.
Cronenberg received the Special Jury Prize at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival for Crash. In 1999, Cronenberg was inducted onto Canada's Walk of Fame and was awarded with the Silver Bear Award at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival.
In 2002, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and in 2006 he was awarded the Cannes Film Festival's lifetime achievement award, the Carrosse d'Or. Also in 2006, Cronenberg was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the senior national body of distinguished Canadian scientists and scholars. In 2009 Cronenberg received the Légion d'honneur from the government of France. The following year Cronenberg was named an honorary patron of the University Philosophical Society, Trinity College, Dublin. In 2012, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
The opening of the "David Cronenberg: Evolution" Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) exhibition occurred on October 30, 2013. Held at the TIFF Bell Lightbox venue, the exhibition pays tribute to the director's entire filmmaking career and the festival's promotional material refers to Cronenberg as "one of Canada's most prolific and iconic filmmakers". The exhibition will be shown internationally following the conclusion of the TIFF showing on January 19, 2014.
In 2014, he was made a Member of the Order of Ontario in recognition for being "Canada's most celebrated internationally acclaimed filmmaker"
1913 - Macdonald Carey (actor: “Like sands through the hourglass these are the Days of Our Lives”; Comanche Territory, The Rebels, Who is the Black Dahlia, Access Code; died Mar 21, 1994)
1935 - Judd Hirsch (Actor: Taxi (1978), Numb3rs (2005) and Independence Day (1996)
1954 - Craig Wasson (actor: Body Double, Malcolm X, Phyllis, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors)
1975 - Eva Longoria (Actress:The Young and the Restless (1973), Desperate Housewives (2004), Harsh Times (2005), The Sentinel (2006))
Kim Raver (Actress/Director: 24 (2001), Third Watch (1999) and Night at the Museum (2006)
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Perhaps the heart of coal country is the last place one would expect a utility to reduce carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants. However, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is ahead of schedule on its target to reduce greenhouse gasses. The utility announced it has reduced carbon pollution to 23% below 2005 levels. Moreover, TVA appears on target to achieve reductions of 40% below 2005 levels by 2020.
The TVA was established under FDR’s administration to build flood control dams in a multi-state region in the south and use those dams to generate inexpensive hydro-electric power to a poverty stricken region where millions did not have electricity. Since that time the TVA has expanded its electrical generation into coal-fired and gas fired plants. In recent years, in part because of incentives provided under the Obama administration, the TVA has been developing renewable energy sources.
TVA’s reductions surpass both the Energy Information Association’s (EIA) projections that the utility sector as a whole will reduce GHG emissions by 11 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, and the White House Climate Action Plan target of 17 percent reductions from 2005 levels by 2020.
The reduction in TVA’s greenhouse gases can largely be attributed to the utility’s planned retirement of 5,580 MW of coal-fired power plants, with more retirements likely to come. The projected drop in future carbon dioxide (CO2) rates will put TVA in line with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New Source Performance Standards for new gas turbines, as well as the new EPA carbon rules expected this summer.
TVA has reduced carbon pollution 28% since its peak year in 1995. In addition, TVA has reduced SO2 emissions 97% since the peak year in 1977, and reduced NOX by 90% from the peak in 1995. They have done this in large part by reducing coal consumption from 5.5 million tons a year in 2008 to less than 5 million tons in 2013. TVA projects that it will reduce coal consumption to less than 2.5 million tons by 2017—cutting it in half.
If a utility in the heart of coal country can do this, why can’t utilities located far from coal country do the same?
Dr. Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), commented:
“These are impressive numbers, which represent a critical step toward mitigating climate change impacts while proving that cleaner energy will protect air and water in the Tennessee Valley. The utility’s steady decline in past emissions, coupled with a lower projected future rate of emissions, demonstrate that TVA’s system-wide numbers appear to be well positioned ahead of new emission limits for existing sources of pollution from EPA this summer.”
There is another benefit for the region by retirement of these coal-fired plants and that is air quality. Pollution largely attributed to burning coal has shrouded scenic areas like the Smokey Mountains in a deep haze. They were named Smoky Mountains because of the natural ozone, but the additional haze from pollution has made it hard to see the beautiful mountains.
The Grand Canyon and other National Parks in the west suffer with the same haze largely from burning coal to make electricity. Maybe those utilities can follow TVA’s lead.
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Modern China is an enigmatic country by today's standards concerning economic values and political ideals. The "communist government that Mao Zedong brutally sculpted and administered has gone through an intensive transformation. The days when Marxism and Socialism supposedly provided guidelines for Chinese economic policies have passed. Now the government exists as a quasi-communist authoritarian regime supported by a market economy.
Economic progress is commonly associated with democratization, and in many cases this theory holds true. Taiwan is the exemplary East Asian model of a formerly authoritarian regime turned democratic due in part to economic development. Yet some nations, Singapore for example, maintain healthy economies and high standards of living despite the presence of authoritarianism within the government. Although China has experienced noteworthy economic development over the past twenty years, its government has not made any significant progress towards democracy.
The Chinese economy stagnated during the social-oriented rule of Mao in the 1950's. Instead of focusing on the modernization of the country's agricultural-based economy, China's leader intended to install the many values and doctrines of communism into Chinese society. It was evident that economics took a back seat to Mao's greater vision of a communal society, " ¦Stalin emphasized only technology, technical cadres. He wanted nothing but technology, nothing but cadre; no politics, no masses ¦Stalin speaks only of the production relations, not of the superstructure, nor of the relationship between superstructure and economic base ¦Stalin mentions economics only, not politics. 1 The chairman of the People's Republic believed that once communism had grown deep roots in his country's society, economic development would inevitably follow. ... Continue Reading
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Sir Paul Maxime Nurse
Nurse, Sir Paul Maxime, 1949–, British biochemist, Ph.D. Univ. of East Anglia, 1973. Nurse was associated with the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now Cancer Research UK London Research Institute) for two periods in his career (1984–88 and 1993–2003), becoming director-general in 1996, and was a professor at Oxford (1988–93). He was president of Rockefeller Univ., New York City, from 2003 to 2011, when he became director of the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation, now the Francis Crick Institute. Nurse is also president (2010–) of the Royal Society. In 2001 Nurse was co-recipient with Leland H. Hartwell and Timothy R. Hunt of the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for their discoveries of key regulators of the cell cycle. Nurse identified, cloned, and characterized cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK), a key regulator of the cell cycle. The discoveries of three are important to the understanding of the development of chromosomal instabilities in cancer cells.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Biochemistry: Biographies
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bellows, expansible, gas-tight chamber used to pump or store a gas. One of the simplest and most familiar types of bellows is the manual one used for providing a forced draft to a fire. The expansible chamber consists of a leather bag with pleated sides. The bag is fixed between handles in such a way that they can be used to make it expand and contract. The inlet and outlet vents are provided with valves so that air must enter through the first and leave through the second. The device thus comprises a simple air pump. One of the major uses of the bellows has been to provide a draft for fires that are used to help extract a metal from its ore. In a device such as an aneroid barometer a small bellows is filled with a known amount of gas that expands and contracts in response to changes in external pressure. This small bellows is coupled to some form of indicating or recording device. Another use of the bellows has been to provide wind for such musical instruments as the accordion and older pipe organs.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
More on bellows from Fact Monster:
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Technology: Terms and Concepts
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In May Dr Eric von Wettberg visited the Ecole Nacional Superieure de Toulouse as a visiting faculty fellow to continue ongoing research on salt tolerance of wild alfalfa (Medicago truncatula) from the Mediterranean. In addition to lecturing on his work to colleagues and researchers at ENSAT, he presented new results at the Model Legume Meeting (a scientific conference on Medicago) in Sainte-Maxime, France.
• FIU/FTBG graduate student Tonya Fotinos (Von Wettberg lab) was recently awarded a Florida Native Plant Society conservation grant for her research on the genetic diversity in the federally endangered Keys Tree Cactus, Pilosocereus robinii. Populations from the Florida Keys have experienced a more than 80% decline in population in the past decade through habitat loss and environmental change. This grant will provide the laboratory supplies to develop molecular markers to determine whether remaining populations are reproducing sexually, and help identify good candidate populations for the on-going reintroduction efforts.
|• The publication of the book The Anatomy of Palms by Prof. Barry Tomlinson (Harvard University and National Tropical Botanic Garden), Dr. James W. Horn (currently at the Smithsonian Institution), and Fairchild’s Dr. Jack B. Fisher (recently retired) represents an important research contribution in structural botany and evolution in this large tropical plant family. The book is the result of a four year project at the Garden funded by the National Science Foundation (project number: 0515683) and provides the most complete account of palm anatomy ever produced. This study also provided an avenue to train one graduate student (Karen Laubengayer, MS) and additional research opportunities to a post-doctoral researcher (Dr. James W. Horn). The Oxford University website (http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199558926.do) provides additional information on the content and structure of this book. Copies of this work are for sale at the bookstore of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Image on bottom left: Leaf anatomy of Washingtonia. Bottom right: Dr. Jack Fisher teaching tropical botany at the Garden.|
|• Botanists from the Institute of Jamaica (Tracy Commock and Keron Campbell), the National Botanic Garden of Dominican Republic (Rosa Rodriguez, Teodoro Clase, and Brígido Peguero), and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (Melissa Abdo) performed a field expedition to the Dominican Republic between May 9th and 13th. During this visit the team collected plant material in limestone karst mogote habitats, helping to build upon baseline data that the National Botanic Garden of the Dominican Republic has collected to date. The expedition was supported by the MacArthur Foundation and was aimed at enhancing institutional collaborations among botanical institutions of the Caribbean Islands. Image on the right: The Director of the National Botanic Garden of the Dominican Republic Ricardo Garcia (left) greets Tracy Commock and Keron Campbell). Image on the bottom left: plant hunting limestone karst mogote habitats at "Los Haitises" National Park, from left to right: Rosa Rodriguez, Keron Campbell, Tracy Commock, and Teodoro Clase. Image on the bottom right: one of the mogotes at "Los Haitises" National Park where field studies where performed.|
• Our welcome to Nicolas Espinosa, Fairchild Challenge Alumnus and sophomore student of Florida International University who will be working with us as a research intern during this summer. Nicolas is majoring in Environmental Studies and during his High School years at South Plantation High School he was an active participant of the Fairchild Challenge. His internship is being funded by a NSF project on "Caribbean Cycads Biogeography, Conservation, and Systematics". During this internship Nicolas will be hosted by the Montgomery Botanical Center (in May, mentored by Dr. Patrick Griffith and Dr. Chad Husby), the herbarium of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (in June, mentored by Dr. Bret Jestrow and Dr. Javier Francisco-Ortega), and the Subtropical Horticulture Research Station of USDA (in July, mentored by Dr. Dayana Salas-Leiva and Dr. Alan Meerow). His research at Montgomery Botanical Center will focus on ex situ conservation methods. During his internship at the Fairchild Herbarium, Nicolas will gain experience in herbarium management and the use of optical microscopy techniques for systematics. Finally, his studies at USDA will be based on the use of DNA techniques to address phylogenetic questions. Nicolas joined this research team on May 9th. The image on the right shows Nicolas spraying soapy water on Caribbean Islands taxa of Zamia to control mealy bugs at the Montgomery Botanical Center.
• Under the supervision of our Herbarium Curator Dr. Brett Jestrow, botanists from the the Institute of Jamaica (Tracy Commock and Keron Campbell) undertook an intensive workshop on DNA methods for plant biodiversity assessment between May 16th - 18th. The workshop included an introduction to DNA isolation, PCR, and sequencing techniques with an overview of phylogenetic methods and related resources. As a result of the workshop, we achieved our goal of establishing the foundation for future collaborative projects focused on threatened endemic plant species from Jamaica. Image on the left (from left to right): Brett Jestrow, Keron Campbell, Tracy Commock, Melissa Abdo, and Marlon Rumble.
As part of the educational activities of our NSF funded project on Caribbean cycads and in coordination with the Fairchild Challenge program, the Montgomery Botanical Center hosted students from Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School on May 3. The students were led by teacher Marie Remy. These activities were part of the Environmental Immersion Day Option of the Fairchild Challenge. The visit focused mostly on the "Cycad Biology" program of the Montgomery Botanical Center.
|• A new article by FIU/FTBG conservation Biologist Dr. Kenneth Feeley was published as the cover article in the new issue of the prestigious journal Ecology. The article, entitled "Directional changes in the species composition of a tropical forest", examines changes in the composition of tree species growing on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Dr. Feeley shows that over the past 25 years there has been a remarkably consistent and directional pattern of increasing abundances of drought tolerant species at the expense of more drought insensitive tree species. The cause(s) of this change remains uncertain but the most likely culprits are either long-term changes in climate leading to reduced water availability (i.e., increasing temperatures adn reduced rainfall), or alternatively the compositional changes may be the ongoing legacy of an extreme El Nino drought that occurred in the early 1980's.|
• FIU/FTBG graduate student Evan Rehm (Feeley lab) will spend May 2011 initiating his dissertation research project in the Andean highlands of southern Peru. Specifically he will be working with local collaborators to establish longt erm vegetation and seed dispersal monitoring plots at the ecotone between montane cloud forest and puna grasslands. Evan will leave Peru in June and July in order to attend the Organization for Tropical Studies course in Tropical Ecology at Costa Rica. Evan will return to Peru briefly in August in order to complete the summer field season of work before returning to FIU for the fall semester.
• FIU/FTBG graduate student Catherine Bravo (Feeley lab) will spend May – August in her home country of Peru in order research patterns of carbon allocation in cloudforest plant species. This research will help inform our understandings of the impacts of global climate change on carbon sequestration in tropical forests and will form the foundation of Catherine’s thesis project.
• FIU/FTBG graduate student Brian Machovia (Feeley lab) will remain in Miami over the summer in order to focus on his dissertation research investigating patterns of land conversion for Banana production in Central and South America. This research will be conducted primarily through the analysis of time series of remotely-sensed data (e.g., satellite and aerial images) combined with environmental data layers (e.g., temperature, precipitation, soil type, and topography), supplemented with field based data to be collected in the future. Bananas are one of the most widespread an important of all tropical crops yet their impact on the environment remains woefully understudied.
• FIU/FTBG Conservation Biologist Dr. Kenneth Feeley will spend May-July in southern Peru. In addition to assisting his graduate students, Evan Rehm, Catherine Bravo, and Brian Machovia. Dr. Feeley will be initiating a new series of field projects aimed at experimentally manipulating environmental conditions (temperature, precipitation, radiation) in the high puna grasslands above Cusco and monitoring the consequences for the establishment of cloud forest tree species. Understanding the role of environmental filters in limiting the distribution of cloud forest species is an important piece of data required to predict how this critical ecosystem will respond to climate change and other anthropogenic disturbances. Dr. Feeley will also take several exploratory trips throughout southern and central in order to scout new field sites and establish relationships with potential collaborators.
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