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Endowment Corner: WILLS AND BEQUESTS Wills are the best known and most widely used form of planned giving. They are the foundation for any estate planning. Yet, as important as having a will is, over 70% of the people in this country who could have wills and should have wills do not have them. Dying intestate (without a will) is a guarantee that, upon death, estate taxes and probate costs will be higher, and the property in the estate is distributed in ways never intended or desired by the decedent. In addition, about 20% of the people who die each year do not have any immediate heirs to whom they can leave their estate–no children, grandchildren, spouse, or parents. These people can, and should, name our council and other charitable organizations as beneficiaries. All they need to do so is a little information and encouragement. A. The Importance of Having a Will In a sense, everybody has a will. Each state has laws dictating where your property will go after death if you don’t leave any other instructions. Such a will, though, is probably not the will you want. By making the will you want, instead of the will the state wants, you can: B. Property Distributed By Law and Will Just because you have a will does not mean that everything you own will pass under the will. Some of the things you can control in your will include: Other types of property will pass outside of your will, either by contract or other device. The most common will substitutes include: C. Charitable Bequests to the Council A bequest is a gift of property or cash stated in a will that goes to a person or organization at the death of the testator (the person whose will it is). Donors can place any bequest – including charitable bequests – in a new will when it is made, or they may add it later to an existing will using a codicil (see below). Besides the benefit to the council or charity, a charitable bequest is completely deductible from the donor's estate, likely lowering the estate taxes owed. There are different types of bequests from which a donor may choose: 1. Specific. The bequest of a specific item, such as a grandfather clock or 100 shares of Disney stock. These are the first things to be distributed from the estate. If the item is no longer in the estate at death, the beneficiary gets nothing. 2. General. A bequest from the general assets of the estate, usually a specific amount of cash. The second group of assets to be distributed from the estate. If the will hasn't been updated for a while, the gift may be smaller than the charity expects and the donor intended. 3. Residual. Leaving all or part of the estate to the council after all of the general and specific bequests have been distributed. If the estate has grown in value, this could be a big gift; otherwise, it's possible the council won't get anything. 4. Contingent. You receive the money or item only upon a condition, such as if the donor's son predeceases him. The chances of the council getting something under a contingency are often small. 5. Percentage. A percentage of the estate, or of an asset in the estate, such as part of a ranch, or 25 percent of the residuary estate. Protects against inflation, and almost always assures the council of receiving something. D. The Codicil The codicil is an amendment, change, or addition to an existing will. The advantage of a codicil is that a donor can change his will without having to redraft the entire document. Creating a codicil is common for donors who want to add a charitable bequest for the local council and other charities, or make simple changes. Though the codicil has to be signed and witnessed just like the will itself, they are very short and easy to draft. Many donors are pleased to have an alternative that allows them to make a change to their will without the expense and trouble of completely redoing the will. Please note: The information in this communication is not legal or tax advice. The BSA Cherokee Area Council # 469 is pleased to offer complimentary gift and estate planning assistance, however, we urge you to seek the advice of a competent professional before implementing any ideas we suggest to you. Endowment Recognition Awards The Boy Scouts of America offers three distinct recognition awards. The James E. West Fellowship Program James E. West was the first Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America, and he served in that position for more than three decades. The West Fellowship award is available for gifts of $1,000 and up in cash or marketable securities to a council endowment fund. The gift must be in addition to – and not replace or diminish – the donor’s annual Friends of Scouting support. Many individuals and corporations make these gifts either on behalf of someone else – such as in honor of an Eagle Scout, Silver Beaver recipient, a retirement, a special accomplishment, or anniversary – or in memory of a special individual. The 1910 Society Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has grown into something larger and more significant than anyone anticipated. We honor that special date by presenting the 1910 Society award to donors who make gifts of $25,000 or more to their council endowments. These gifts can be in the form of cash, securities, land, five-year pledges, or other property suitable for a council endowment fund or easily converted to cash. There are four levels of recognition in the 1910 Society that honor four very special individuals who shaped modern-day Scouting: 1) Ernest Thompson Seton, nationally known artist and naturalist, author of the first official American Scout handbook and many other books important to Scouting: Seton Level membership: $25,000 minimum gift 2) Daniel Carter Beard, first chairman of the National Court of Honor; national Scout commissioner, and author of many well-known books and stories for youth; Beard Level membership: $100,000 minimum gift 3) Theodore Roosevelt, first Chief Scout Citizen, first vice president of the BSA, and president of the United States, Roosevelt Level membership: $500,000 minimum gift 4) Waite Phillips, one of the BSA’s first benefactors, and donor to the BSA of almost 130,000 acres of land in New Mexico which became Philmont Scout Ranch; Phillips Level membership: $1,000,000 and up Phillips Silver Level: $5,000,000 minimum gift Phillips Gold Level: $10,000,000 minimum gift The Founders Circle The Founders Circle, is intended to recognize deferred gifts designated for council endowment funds. Donors are recognized for gift commitments with a minimum value of $100,000. Unlike the other endowment recognition awards, a donor may qualify for membership with gifts made through: As with the 1910 Society, there are four levels of membership within the Founders Circle. They are:
Final Week For Schoolchildren To Enter Metra Safety Poster Contest CHICAGO (CBS) — Schoolchildren throughout the Chicago area have until April 15 to get aboard for this year’s Metra Safety Poster contest. Any child in the kindergarten through 12th grade can enter. Winners are named by grade, with the top prize in each grade receiving an iPad, second place $250 and third place $100. Metra’s Meg Thomas Reile said posters must be designed around a specific theme. “This year the theme is ‘Take Care, Be Aware, Look, Listen and Live!,'” she said. “We always pair the ‘Look, Listen and Live,’ which is the Operation Lifesaver message with our annual safety message that we put out with the campaign, and this year it’s ‘Take care and always be aware around the tracks.'” Operation Lifesaver is the non-profit group, financed by the railroad industry, to promote public safety around trains. Winning posters are also reprinted on tickets, in a calendar and as posters at Metra stations, so Reile said it’s entirely possible that the parents of a winner could see the child’s poster on their own Metra tickets. Reile said each year’s contest draw hundreds of entries, but she said that Metra is in special need this year of additional entries from high school freshmen and juniors. While many entries come in as organized class projects, Reile said individual children can submit their artwork. They can enter by mailing entries, postmarked by April 15, to Metra Contest, 547 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 1400, Chicago, Ill. 60661, or by e-mailing entries to email@example.com.
Kids will create some strange-looking friends. Scripture: Matthew 5:44-47 You’ll Need: One rock per child, acrylic paints, yarn, googly eyes, chenille wires, scissors, and glue. You can find packaged rocks at craft stores. Give everyone a clean rock. Have kids create rock friends by painting and decorating the rocks with googly eyes, yarn for hair, and chenille wires for arms or legs. Encourage kids to create rock friends who look nothing like them as a reminder that God wants us to love everyone. Read aloud the Scripture. - Tell about a friend you have who’s very different from you. - What’s the best part about loving that friend?
Music Video: The Song of the Grass Mud Horse 《草泥马之歌》 [Warning: This post contains adult language!] There is little doubt that the current Internet clean-up, under the guise of an “anti-vulgarity campaign,” is the most vicious crackdown in years. Not only are porn sites targeted, but countless sites, including online discussion forums, blogs, and instant messaging groups, which touch on current affairs and other political topics have also been shuttered. How do Chinese netizens really think and feel about such state online policing efforts? Not too long ago, a survey found that of the Chinese citizens interviewed, “almost 85% say they think the government should be responsible for [managing and controlling the Internet].” But how about if we listen to netizens’ own expression instead of looking at checked boxes on survey questions? The following music video has become the newest hit in Chinese cyberspace in the past few days (at the time of writing (Feb 8, 2009), there are more than 12,400 posts online mentioning “The Song of ‘Grass Mud Horse (草泥马)’” ), lyrics translated by CDT: There is a herd of Grass Mud Horses* In the wild and beautiful Ma Le Desert They are lively and intelligent they are fun-loving and nimble They live freely in the Ma Le Desert They are courageous, tenacious, and overcome the difficult environment Oh lying down Grass Mud Horse Oh running wild Grass Mud Horse They defeated river crabs* in order to protect their grass land River crabs forever disappeared from Ma Le Desert * Grass Mud Horse (草泥马) is phonetically equivalent to “Fuck Your Mother!” in Chinese Ma Le Desert (马勒戈壁) is phonetically equivalent to “Your Mother’s Cunt” * “River Crab (河蟹) ” is phonetically equivalent to “harmony (和谐).” Chinese netizens say their deleted posts have been “harmonized,” or “eaten by the river crab.” So “river crab” became a code name for internet censors. The Song of “Grass Mud Horse (草泥马)” : A Public Metaphor One talented person invented the word “Grass Mud Horse (草泥马),” then another created a spoof called “The Song of the ‘Grass Mud’ Horse.” In the anything-goes world of the internet, this alone is just a small thing. But the fact that the whole online crowd discovered this song, is singing it loudly, and takes it as their own language as a way to express themselves, is really something. As a metaphor, everyone understands what “Grass Mud Horse (草泥马)” really means. It’s a curse that is not so appropriate for public use. But we all have the impulse to express such emotions, and therefore use the alternatives “Grass Mud Horse (草泥马)” and “Ma Le Desert (马勒戈壁).” Now “the Song of the Grass Mud Horse” appeared and has become so popular, because the meaning of such a metaphor really resonated deeply with us. Probably because this song reflected the popular psychological sentiment, it naturally became a hit. In the song, “Grass Mud Horse” was living freely in the beautiful Ma Le Desert (马勒戈壁). but their survival faces a crisis, because the arrival of river crabs destroyed the grasses they rely on to live. What should Grass Mud horses do? Here, the conflict between two forces is very apparent. “Grass Mud Horse (草泥马)” originates from a dirty sentence, and its original meaning is quite offensive. But in this song, Grass Mud Horse became the representation of a charming and vulnerable animal and the singer gives them his/her sympathy. “Grass Mud Horse (草泥马)” is not an uncivilized word and is not officially banned, therefore it can be sung publicly. Although many people use “Grass Mud horse” as an alternative curse or just use it randomly, this word and its deviant expression already generated a pattern of discourse and sub-culture. “Grass Mud Horse (草泥马)” represents such information and opinions which cannot be accepted by the mainstream discourse, and “the Song of the Grass Mud Horse” has become a metaphor of the power struggle over Internet expression.
Taxpayers who have experienced a significant lifestyle change in the past year -- the birth of a child, the death of a spouse, the loss of a job -- are among those who could benefit from the help of an accountant, enrolled agent or other tax professional in preparing their returns this year, experts say. "There are some people who do their own taxes year after year, and that's just fine," said Eric Tyson, a financial consultant and co-author of Taxes 2008 for Dummies . "But a significant change in your personal situation can be a good reason to think about hiring an adviser." One of the best ways to find a good tax preparer is to ask family members and friends for recommendations, said Suzanne Schmitt, a senior tax analyst for Thomson Tax & Accounting. "You want to ask people you trust, especially people who are in similar circumstances," she said. That is, if you just bought a condominium, find someone who has used a tax preparer who is knowledgeable about real estate transactions; or if you've got a home-based business, you want a preparer who can handle that kind of return. Tax preparers have a variety of titles. Many tax preparers are certified public accountants, who have graduated from accounting programs at colleges or universities and have passed a uniform exam. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants maintains a Web site at www.aicpa.org. Some attorneys specialize in tax matters and also will complete clients' returns. Another group of preparers are the enrolled agents, who are specially trained and licensed to practice before the IRS. Their trade association, the National Association of Enrolled Agents, has a site at www.naea.org with membership lists. There also are trained professionals working at the major commercial tax-preparation chains such as Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. and H&R Block Inc. Ms. Schmitt said consumers should avoid dealing with tax preparers who make outrageous promises. "If someone hasn't even looked at your records but promises a big refund, that's someone to avoid," she said. Ms. Schmitt added that another red flag is someone who wants to be paid a percentage of whatever refund they get a consumer. Mr. Tyson said that consumers should ask prospective preparers what the focus of their practice is --- that is, do they specialize in individual returns or small business returns? Consumers also should ask how preparers are compensated.
I'm a very happy member of Canadians Bee - a group that formed after the first round of Simply Solids. These ladies are intensely talented and totally amazing. In fact, I'm lucky enough to be in the Saskatoon Modern Quilt Guild with 3 of them! It was those three that I ran this block idea by and they all said they were game to try it so that's what I'm going with. This tutorial is the basic technique and I'll add specifics for the bee in the flickr thread. This is a very flexible technique and can be used as you wish. For a traditional(ish) log cabin, alternate light and dark fabrics. Here we go! CURVED IMPROV LOG CABINS You might need these supplies in addition to your regular sewing gear: 5 or more various fabrics in your chosen colour palette: This technique can use jelly roll strips easily enough but you can use wider. You can also use scraps. I started with a 3" square in the middle and some of my outer strips were roughly 3" but it's not exact, nor does it need to be. You can go smaller or bigger. Add more rounds as you please. I made two different blocks in my examples. I used yellow for both centers (A), then in one B&D were dark colours, C&E light. The other block had B&D light colours with C&E dark. Starch: This is handy for sewing curves. If you give your fabrics a light starch before you cut the curves, I find they cut cleaner, sew smoother and lie flatter. I forgot to starch my fabrics at first and had a little wrinkling - which will all go away once I quilt the sucker but once I remembered to starch, everything went a lot smoother. A curved edge: I used the Quick Curve Ruler and the old "no-ruler-eyeball-it-freehand" method for cutting the curves but you can also use a pie plate, an oval casserole dish, , a french curve, an old charger from your Christmas table settings that you've since decided you hate....or nothing. It doesn't have to be a perfect circle or oval - it just needs to have a curved side you can put against your rotary cutter. It doesn't even need measurements! But it's easier to use if you can see through it. 1/4" foot: I find it tons easier to piece curves without using pins by using my 1/4" foot. We'll get to that later... 1) Choose a fabric for your center. For ease of instructions, we'll call it Fabric A. I used a 3" square here but you can also use a rectangle. Measurements aren't important here - since you'll be cutting away the edges, having perfectly straight cuts to start with isn't necessary. Take a strip of your next fabric (B) - I used a roughly 2.5"strip - and layer your center piece over it just a little - right sides up. You can trim the needed bit off the strip so you're working with smaller pieces. There should be a slight overlap. Place your curved edge (or use your fabulous sense of freeform adventure!) on the overlap. The only thing to be aware of here is that the curve should start where the two fabrics meet at the edge on the bottom and end where they meet at the top. At all times, the curve should pass through BOTH fabrics. This way, you make a matching pair of curves. Fabric A curves out and Fabric B has a nice dent for A to fit into. Remove the excess fabric so you're just looking at out-curved A and in-curved B. Place them right sides together, matching at the top of the curve. 2) Using your 1/4" foot, place your RST curves underneath your presser foot and take a few stitches. I like to put the out-curve on the bottom and the in-curve on the top. Then holding your fabrics apart as you sew, guide the bottom piece with your right hand and the top piece with your left hand, bringing them together using the 1/4" fence as a guide. Try not to pull or stretch as you sew. There are a couple of videos on sewing curves without pins out there if you need to see it. This one is great! 3) Press to the side of least resistance - in or out, depending on your fabric. There isn't a bulk issue here so direction isn't important. The seams lay fairly flat if you use the no-pins method. 4) Lay down another strip of B. Layer your A/B center unit onto the B strip, keeping the B part of the A/B centre at the bottom. In order to keep the traditional log cabin look coming through in this modern version, always orient the center piece so that the strip you just sewed is in the same position. Always on the top OR always on the bottom. You choose - just keep it consistent for each pod/block. Make your curved cut same as you did in Step 1. You can play around with angling your center so that the width of the strips changes from piece to piece. It can be wider or narrower, sharper or softer curves, whatever appeals to you. The idea is that this will take on its own shape and not be uniform. Each little cabin will be unique. 5) Sew your curves same as in Step 2. 6) Repeat the steps using Fabric C, then again with each D and E. And beyond if desired! When it's the size you want, use your curved edge to curve up the sides. You now have a log cabin pod! Coming next month, once I start getting bee blocks in the mail, I'll do another tutorial on how to frame them out into full blocks. Hint: It's very similar to what we've just done here but with larger chunks of fabric and squared outside edges. :-) Let me know if you have questions or if you try this technique out! I will get back to you as soon as I can (which is right after I catch up on a great deal of back emails and blog reading!) Please make sure you're not a no-reply blogger or I can only answer questions in the comment thread. Thanks for reading - hope you enjoy it!
But ever since Richard Florida hypothesized in his 2002 book The Rise of the Creative Class that young, artistic and technologically savvy people are key to cities' economic success, it seems city leaders have been a lot more willing to put up with them (see "Bright Flight, Small City," on the page). Actually, they're doing more than suddenly paying heed to this "creative class," also sometimes referred to as young professionals or "YPs." Many cities are scrambling to actively recruit them -- not with specific jobs, but by convincing them that this is the place to be and to stay. The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce hosts a site linking to 41 local organizations that cater to the younger demographic (ypcincy.com). But it's still not easy to define exactly what that demographic is. Barry Gee, director of Cincinnati Advance (cincinnatiadvance.com), doesn't think much of the term "young professional," which usually refers to people ages 21-40. That shuts out the more mature Gee, while a recent college grad dangles off the other end of the age spectrum. Then there's "professional." It's true that many who are drawn to these organizations have corporate jobs and can afford snazzy getups. But are servers professionals, or the chefs whose food they serve? What about a receptionist or an assistant or customer service reps in bookstores, gardening stores, car repair shops or sex stores? "We're more into the creative class, as opposed to the young professionals," Gee says. But there are also problems with the "creative class" tag. First, it includes the cringe-inducing, elitism-tinged word "class." Then there's the "creative" bit. "We always struggle with that definition," Gee says. "Does that mean I have to paint?" What trumps semantics are the priorities that many from this general demographic embrace. First, acceptance and diversity of sexual orientation, skin color and heritage is a big deal. "I think people are leaving because of the perception that we're not tolerant and that there's not a lot of opportunity here, especially for young people," Gee says. "I think it's especially true of the African-American community, as you saw from that article" (see "I'm Hungry," issue of Aug. 10-16). Gee also hopes the next mayor will create more opportunities for immigrants and look for more innovative ways to lure small- and medium-size businesses, particularly those owned by African Americans. "I think we fall back on the old, 'If you build it, they will come,' " he says. "If they just build the next department store, it'll solve everything. If they just build the next development on the riverfront, it'll solve everything." This demographic also craves thriving, supportive local music and arts scenes, good public transportation and access to technology such as free Wi-Fi. An emphasis on regionalism was perfectly illustrated by a recent mayoral debate in which candidates were asked to address issues specifically affecting young professionals. It was hosted by Legacy, a Northern Kentucky YP organization, in collaboration with YP volunteer group Give Back Cincinnati and CET (nkylegacy.com, givebackcincinnati.org). "The future of Cincinnati depends on new leadership, and that leadership will determine not only the future of Cincinnati but the region as a whole," says Warner Allen, Legacy's event chair for the Aug. 30 debate. Allen believes groups such as Legacy, which has 185 volunteer members, accomplish more than just social networking. "I think the difference we've made is that we have shown people in the community that we're out here in full force and we are an example of a group of people that came together and made decisions that positively impact our community," he says. All The News That Fits: Leads, entrails and tales we couldn't get to.
Beatles’ 1965 Contract Stated They Would Not Play for Racially Segregated Audiences A 1965 contract between the Beatles and a concert venue reveals the band’s demands were few — 150 security guards, electricity and water in their trailer, clean towels, and, most specifically, that they would not play if the audience was racially segregated in any way. The contract, slated to be auctioned off September 20, detailed the circumstances under which the Beatles would perform during their date at the Cow Palace, just outside San Francisco. While the non-segregation clause may seem quaint by today’s standards, it was present in many of the band’s riders and was somewhat ground-breaking during the Civil Rights era. The band’s working-class background and disdain for non-inclusion was evident even earlier — John Lennon famously told a 1963 audience at London’s Prince of Wales Theater, “For our last number I’d like to ask your help. Would the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And the rest of you, if you’ll just rattle your jewelry.”
SpectraSan 24 is a hard-surface, fast-acting disinfectant that is highly effective in killing the various types of Influenza A, including H1N1, a.k.a. the Swine Flu virus. It is 100 percent biodegradable, safe, and is the only registered disinfectant assigned the lowest toxicity rating (IV) by the EPA. SpectraSan 24 is strong enough for use in medical facilities and health clubs, and is safe enough for use in areas frequented by children, such as day care centers and schools. SpectraSan 24 is based on a new patented molecule called Silver Dihydrogen Citrate, or SDC. SDC is an electrolitically generated source of stabilized ionic silver that, when formulated as a disinfectant, is powerful yet safe, colorless, odorless and non-staining, according to the company. Contact: BioTech Medical LLC; phone: 201-573-0300; www.spectrasan.com. ASF International's new business support tool, Dashboard, was designed to give up-to-the-minute reports on a health club and its profit centers to allow club owners to easily pinpoint strengths and challenges, then quickly take action and correct issues that need to be addressed. Dashboard specifically assesses deposits, new sales statistics, tracks prospects and attendance, examines scheduling, and analyzes point-of-sale revenue. The new business assessment tool is now available to any client using ASF's billing services and software. Contact: ASF International; phone: 800-227-3859; www.asfinternational.com. Special Projects Audio released the new Evo True Wireless microphone that combines the input from hundreds of trainers and managers across the country to deliver a waterproof, sweatproof, lightweight, wireless, battery-free, recharging wireless system. Evo True eliminates the need for a bodypack and combines waterproof construction with a built-in rechargeable battery and an FCC-safe 16-channel transmitter in a lightweight, head-worn microphone. By miniaturizing the electronics and placing the transmitter comfortably behind the ear, the Evo remains stable and secure, even during the most rigorous activity. Contact: Special Projects Audio; phone: 866-491-2677; www.specialprojectsaudio.com. Having the technical skills to be a personal trainer does not guarantee success. It takes different kinds of skills and planning to cultivate profits. Thus, trainers need a good foundation in business practices and marketing. “Business Mastery” by Cherie Sohnen-Moe is used in more than 1,300 schools internationally and is required in more than 600. The fourth edition includes new information about how to effectively negotiate, keep up with research, deal with difficult clients, increase career longevity and attract clients. It also includes insights into how a strong brand image and Internet marketing can boost business growth. Contact: Sohnen-Moe Associates; phone: 800-786-4774; www.sohnen-moe.com. These eco-friendly yoga bolsters with side straps are made with a washable microfiber cover and feature airCORE Technology for a soft, convenient prop. The core of the bolsters is a proprietary construction comprised of recycled PET and 100 percent cotton. The ultra-soft microfiber cover is removable and machine washable with an invisible zipper. The bolsters, which weigh 4 pounds each, come in five colors: kale (green), glacier (light blue), sunset (pink), thunder (dark grey) and dune (tan). Contact: Manduka; phone: 323-932-4105; www.manduka.com. Fusion III solid state lighting offers a slim ceiling recessed profile and numerous finishes. Fusion III is designed to use high-output, long-lasting, energy-efficient, white LEDs with a custom reflector to allow for optimum light output. The housing is constructed of durable die-cast aluminum with a polycarbonate lens. Fusion III is UL damp location listed, and optional emergency platforms are available. It features a 120/277 dual voltage input with surge protection and Intelli-Charge for self-diagnostics to continuously monitor all critical functions of Fusion III. Plus, the optional self-testing feature satisfies the monthly periodic testing requirements in NFPA 101 and the IBC. A maintenance-free, sealed nickel metal hydride battery allows for 90 minutes of emergency power. Contact: Chloride; phone: 910-259-1000; www.chloridesys.com.
Finding solutions in other industries Going to industry trade shows, talking to peers and reading trade publications can teach you new ways to run your club successfully. But did you ever think to look outside the fitness industry for some fresh, new ideas? Club operators can gain knowledge from businesses that have nothing to do with fitness. Older industries can make great resources as they may have experimented with ideas that you are considering. You may even learn from their mistakes — so you don't have to make them yourself. Before applying new business practices or ethics, however, you must understand the outside industry you wish to emulate. In addition, you must familiarize yourself with the industry's size and complexity. After all, some industries may contain certain intricacies that wouldn't work for health clubs. For advice on how to garner knowledge from outside your four walls, Club Industry turned to two experts with experience in other industries. - Stop, read and listen “You need to read all the business journals you can,” notes Rick Caro, president of the consulting firm Management Vision and chairman of the Spectrum Clubs. “Especially the standards like The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Inc.” In addition, you can gain insights by reading professional newsletters on employee practices and education publications, such as the Harvard Business Review or Sloan Management Review. Attending lectures put on by independent organizations or universities are also thought-provoking, as are the many videos available on just about any business-related topic. Many successful business leaders have written books that can inspire and educate. And there is always the Internet, which holds a wealth of information. - The best of the best There isn't one specific industry that fitness clubs can mirror 100 percent. Every industry has some strengths that can cross industry boundaries. Where should you look? It depends on what you want to learn, explains Jim Solomon, president/CEO of Crunch, New York. For example, if you want to learn about branding, you may want to look at the athletic shoe industry — Solomon's old stomping grounds. “The athletic shoe business is larger and more marketing-driven than the fitness business, and because it has more competitors and it's more brand-driven, you can learn a lot about branding and how you position yourself against your competition,” he says. Here's another example: If you want to learn how to deliver exceptional customer service, remember that nobody does it better than Disney. - Apply the lesson After picking up tidbits from other industries, you must incorporate your discoveries one step at a time, Caro advises. “Prioritize. Focus on what you are most comfortable implementing right away and what is achievable,” he says, adding, “then get more ambitious and look at the whole strategy and [find] larger challenges.” Concentrating on three to five focal points to implement can help you build the confidence required for bigger challenges. But in order to apply any new lesson, you must share your goals and objectives with your staff. Once your organization understands the mission, you need to put an operational structure in place with checks and balances that can show whether your new way of operating is working. While it's a good idea to implement strategies from other industries, it can also be a good idea to hire people from other industries. Outsiders — whether new staff members or consultants from non-fitness markets — bring fresh perspectives. Plus they challenge you to do things a bit differently, says Caro. And when you combine new talent from outside the industry with people who know the fitness business, you get a nice mix that can only add to the success of your club, adds Solomon.
Below are links to various websites that can help with the scholarship and financial aid process. Articles of interest for scholarship tips are linked to the following titles: This is a free scholarship search site. Free college scholarship program This site will explain how to apply for the TAG (Tuition Assistance Grant) for private colleges in Virginia. A site for filing the FAFSA online. College codes requested on the FAFSA Test prep, college searches, financial aid US Department of Education financial aid Financial aid information from Sallie Mae Student guide to financial aid, early financial aid estimators Advice on college loans, financial aid profile Provides information about state-sponsored college savings programs Information about financial tax credit programs sponsored by the US Department of Education Information on Virginia domicile from the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia Information on financial aid and the financial aid process Provides access and information to several benefit and assistance programs.
CHICAGO (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty pitched an economic plan Tuesday that includes deep cuts in personal and business taxes to spur the struggling U.S. economy but would add to deficits in the short term in the hope that badly needed jobs would follow. The former Minnesota governor's plan aims for a bullish 5 percent annual growth that would balance the federal budget while forgoing trillions of dollars in tax revenue. Pawlenty's pitch assumes the benefits of his plan would kick in and eventually make up for its initial costs. His own team acknowledged the assumptions were aggressive. One critic called it "patently ridiculous." "Growing at 5 percent a year rather than the current level of 1.8 percent would net us millions of new jobs, trillions of dollars in new wealth, put us on a path to saving our entitlement programs," Pawlenty said in his first detailed speech on economic policy since he formally declared his White House ambitions a little over two weeks ago. The economy averaged 4.9 percent growth between 1983 and 1987, and grew at a 4.7 percent rate between 1996 and 1999. A sustained annual growth of 5 percent for a decade would be unprecedented in modern times. "It's patently ridiculous," said Michael Ettlinger of the liberal Center for American Progress. "It's not worth serious discussion. ... No one serious thinks that's possible," The Washington-based think tank projected Pawlenty's tax plan would cost $7.8 billion over a decade. Pawlenty said his plan would translate to $3.8 trillion in new tax revenue that would reduce the deficit by 40 percent. Pawlenty's plan also would simplify individual tax rates to just three options and cut taxes on business by more than half. His cuts go further than House Republicans' recent proposal, which the Tax Policy Center said would cost about $2.9 trillion over the next decade. Obama adviser David Axelrod said he had not reviewed the details but said Pawlenty seems to be proposing new tax cuts for rich people and collectively would produce huge new deficits. "He wants to replay the same formula that got us into the jam in the first place, and I don't think the American people want to go back to that," Axelrod said. Pawlenty didn't back down even though Democrats say the previous two rounds of tax cuts added trillions of dollars to the deficit. "You've got to look at it in isolation," Pawlenty told reporters after his speech at the University of Chicago. "Did the tax cuts have a positive effect under Kennedy, Reagan, Bush the second? The answer is yes." In a speech heavy on specifics, Pawlenty proposed a three-tier income tax system: — The estimated 45 percent of U.S. households that did not pay income taxes in 2010 would see no change in their tax rates. — Individuals would pay 10 percent tax on the first $50,000 of income. Couples earning $100,000 would also pay that rate. — "Everything above that would be taxed at 25 percent," Pawlenty said. He said he wants to cut business taxes from the current rate from 35 percent to 15 percent, and he called for dismantling vast pieces of the government. "We can start by applying what I call the Google Test," he said. "If you can find a service or a good on Google or the Internet then the federal government probably doesn't need to be doing that good or service. The post office, the government printing office, Amtrak, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were all built for a different time in our country and a different chapter in our economy when the private sector did not adequately provide those services. That's no longer the case." Pawlenty's economic speech also kept an eye on presidential politics: He blamed Obama for an anemic economy. He said Americans are ready to innovate and create jobs, but "they have been discouraged and weighed down by President Obama's big government and heavy-handed regulations." "The president is satisfied with a second-rate American economy produced by his third-rate policies," Pawlenty said. "I'm not." Pawlenty said he would require a vote in Congress to extend any regulation or he would cancel it. And he proposed that taxes on investments, bank interest, stock dividends and inheritances should all be zero — popular suggestions among fiscal conservatives. Pawlenty has pitched himself as a tough talker since he formally joined the race. Within days of announcing his campaign, he went to Florida to promise an overhaul of Social Security and Medicare, programs sacrosanct to the state's seniors. In New York, he told Wall Street a Pawlenty presidency would not bail out investors. And in Iowa he promised to phase out subsidies to corn-based ethanol, a deal breaker for many in a state that relies on those federal dollars for a way of life. On Tuesday, Pawlenty reminded his audience of university students of his risk-taking rhetoric. "I've proposed capping and block-granting Medicaid to the states entirely, raising the Social Security retirement age for the next generation and I've proposed slowing the rate of growth in defense spending," he said. "We can't really trust Congress to do it. There's no historical record." Associated Press writer Deanna Bellandi contributed to this report.
Obama campaign seeks to inspire action, donations from green-focused voters President Obama is urging green-minded voters to work on behalf of his reelection with a video pitch that calls the next few months crucial to continued progress on environmental protection. His reelection campaign used Earth Day to announce the re-launch of “Environmentalists for Obama,” a mobilization effort that was also part of the 2008 campaign. The new video message from Obama touts administration policies on green energy development, fuel efficiency, conservation and other matters. “None of this progress came easy,” Obama says in the video. “And what we do over the next few months will decide whether we have the chance to make even more progress.” It urges viewers to “take a second” to visit the Environmentalists for Obama website and “ask a friend to do the same.” The website is an organizing and fundraising tool that enables visitors to sign up to volunteer for the campaign and learn about campaign events; collects email addresses and touts Obama’s record; and sells stuff. (The Environmentalists for Obama merchandise includes a $30 t-shirt made from organic cotton, and bumper stickers that allow you to “make a statement” and are “perfect for a bicycle or hybrid.”) A Pew Research Center poll earlier in April month showed Obama with a massive 39 percent advantage over Mitt Romney among voters who prioritize environmental issues. The president’s reelection campaign may nonetheless be challenged replicate the mobilization of enthusiastic environmentalists that occurred in 2008. Environmentalists have cheered many White House policies, such as tougher auto mileage standards; first-ever climate change rules; regulations to cut smog-forming and toxic emissions from coal-fired power plants; and renewable energy programs in the big 2009 stimulus law. But Obama’s first term has also seen its share of tensions with activists. The White House has made some decisions that green groups say are bad for the environment. The White House, overriding EPA, last year scuttled tougher ozone standards, Obama’s Interior Department is moving ever closer to allowing Royal Dutch Shell to drill for oil in fragile Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast, and the administration supports expanded natural-gas development enabled through hydraulic fracturing (although it’s seeking to boost safeguards, too). Four major green groups last week officially endorsed Obama.
1897 1C MS64 Red and Brown NGC. Snow-1, FS-401.... 1897 1C MS64 Red and Brown NGC. Snow-1, FS-401. The flag of a misplaced 1 emerges from the lower front of Liberty's neck. A lustrous Choice cent that boasts a mark-free appearance and a good strike. Peach-gold fills the legends while the motifs and open fields are brown. FS-401 Census: 2 in 64 Red and Brown, 2 finer as 65 Brown, none finer as Red and Brown, none as Red (3/13).(Registry values: N491) (NGC ID# 228S, PCGS# 2197) Service and Handling Description: Coins & Currency (view shipping information) Guides and Pricing Information: Find Auction Prices for Comparable Items:
It shouldn’t be this difficult You would think that embedding a YouTube video in a Microsoft PowerPoint would be easy. The newer versions of PowerPoint (I’m using 2010 for reference) give you big Video button on the Insert tab.Just click that, put the URL for the YouTube video in, and you are good to go. Right? Not exactly. When you click Insert Video From a Website, it says you have to copy and paste the embed code. Ok, back to YouTube. Where’s the embed code. Didn’t they used to have it right there under the video? Oh, ok, under the Share link is Embed. Hey, there’s an embed code. It’s even already selected for me, so I hit Ctrl-C to copy. Back to my PowerPoint and paste the embed code in the box. Hit the [ Insert ] button. I’m cooking with gas now. Hmm, that’s weird. Maybe all of it wasn’t selected when I copied the embed code. Back to YouTube, make sure I’ve got it all when I copy. Repeat the same process. Same result. OK, let’s check the Help, just in case. I see Link to a video file on a website under the What do you want to do? section. That sounds promising, so I click it. Hey, now I see Link to a video on YouTube from PowerPoint 2010. That sounds even better, so I click it. Now I see the problem. I need to check the box for Use old embed code. Checking that gives me different code to copy for the Insert video box in powerpoint. Problem solved. Back to powerpoint and paste. YES! I now have the video object on the powerpoint slide. I set my video presentation options like I want and save everything. Start my slide show and. . . Nothing happens. I’ve just got a black box. It should have auto started playing the video when the slide loaded. Next I try changing the playback setting to manual start and try the Slide Show again. Same thing – I just get the black box and no video. I go back into PowerPoint’s Video Tools, select the embedded video object, and click Play in order to preview it. Wait a minute, I’ve got the newest Flash player. I know I do (it seems like the thing updates every week). Just to be sure, I click the [ Web Help ] button, which takes me to Adobe’s flash player page. It confirms that I’ve got the latest version installed. Since the message title indicates it is a Windows Media Player message, I verify that my WMP is up to date, which it is. So, I’ve followed Microsoft’s instructions, everything is the current, up to date versions, and I can’t embed my YouTube video. I’m now officially stumped. To be continued in part 2.
Hello All , I have a script which I use to calculate a particular net's Net Length, total net resistance, Capacitance (w.r.t ground). But the drawback is that I have to select the entire Net before invoking the "NetLength" Function. So I want a script which can trace the entire net and give a list of metals, vias, instances that belong to this net. i.e I will select any one metal/instance/via of a net and the code should trace the entire net and give me the NOTE: Instances here refer to instances/mosaics of vias. Well, if the layout was created using Virtuoso XL, then this is easy - since all shapes on the net will be associated with the net in the database.Other than that, you could use Diva to extract a net - or you'd have to write something which traced the net - not that straightforward.Regards,Andrew. Thanks Andrew.Thats what I was asking for. A skill code which can trace the net in Virtuoso Layout Editor.Regards,Sathya I wrote some skill code to do this and presented it at the 2002 Cadence Users Group. It was no small program, but basically used dbGetTrueOverlaps on shapes decomposed into rectangles. If your nets are not traversing the hierarchy, then using VXL connectivity information is the easiest way to go. DIVA also provides a quick extraction, but custom Skill was the only way we found that we could extract the shapes from any level of hierarchy by clicking on a shape.I can't give you the code, but I have attached my paper and presentation from the 2002 conference. The effort to write the code has paid off many times over. We can click on a net and hilight it, but we then have all the shapes and can do whatever we want with them.-Derek I reread the first post and you mention that you "select" every shape on the net first. If this is the case, then VXL is your best bet. VXL adds connectivity to the shapes on the same net. You can then select all shapes on a net with something as simple as this:shapes = setof(x geGetEditCellView()~>shapes x~>net~>name == "mynet")You can get every instance (including vias) connected to the net using:insts = setof(x cv~>conns x~>net~>name=="mynet")The paper I attached describes how to get all shapes in the hierarchy of the design on a net, all the way down to the gate without needing VXL.-Derek Im using only VLE not VXL so I think I will just read ur paper and try to write my code myself. Meanwhile if there are nayone out there who can give the code are welcome. Derek,I have written a similar tracing function, but I find the "Mark Net" function to be dramatically faster. dbGetTrueOverlaps has to be one of the most powerful functions in SKILL, but at the same time, it has to be the slowest.I'm curious if you can share any tips or thoughts on the performance aspects of this problem.For me, "Mark Net" is too fast to compete with it in SKILL for displaying purposes (compare tracing VSS! in a real chip). But, if you want the list of shapes for post-processing, like in Sathya's case, I think you need a SKILL function, like the one you have written. Therefore, the problem cannot be entirely bypassed by using "Mark Net", unless you only need to display the shapes.Thanks! m27315,I put a lot of work into improving the performance and tracing supplies is definitely slow. However, my routine actually traces supplies faster than markNet. The main thing I did was limit dbGetTrueOverlaps to only check one layerName across all levels of hierarchy. It was only ever checking for overlaps on one metal layer at a time. I had a table of via names used in the design and the names of the layers that were connected by each via. Every via in our design contains the cut layer and the connecting metals. example:Via name Connecting metals"VIA1" list("metal1" "metal2")"VIA2" list("metal2" "metal3")"CON" list("poly" "metal1")Every overlapping metal shape was checked to see if it was inside one of the vias. If it was, then that shape was used to look for overlaps on both connecting metals. I never looked for overaps on the cut layers, otherwise things would be very slow. If someone accidentally flattens a via or contact, my routine will not trace connectivity through it. The trade off basically came down to speed or ability to handle flat data. I have considered adding an option to trace the flat data, but no one has ever needed it. They usually fix the flat vias instead.Basically, I start with a metal shape, break it into rectangles and run dbGetTrueOverlaps on each rectangle, only looking for shapes on the same layer. I have a filtering routine that ensures I throw out items I have already visited. When the overlaps routine returns a shape in a via cell, I then run a second dbGetTrueOverlaps on the connecting layer.My benchmarks on a supply signal in a medium sized block showed the following:Mark Net: 446 secondsMy trace: 335 seconds (55 seconds in dbGetTrueOverlaps)My routine still has room for improvement.-Derek In reply to archive: I am also working in net tracing functionality, but facing problem with the command dbGetTrueOverlap..I need to find the resistance of net once u probe it. For this concern i need to trace the net so that i can extract all the metal layers and vias to get the total resistance. i need help on this.... In reply to Sameer980: So what is your problem? I don't see why you can't use dbGetTrueOverlaps - this should work fine. Maybe if you explained what your actual problem is (i.e. what you're doing, what your code looks like, what the error was, what is going wrong), then somebody might be able to spot what you're doing wrong? At the moment there really isn't enough to go on. Currently (in IC61X) you can use Mark Net and then save the resulting shapes to another cellView, but there isn't currently a non-UI version of this (so you'd have to call the leHiMarkNet() and leHiSaveAllHighLightMarkNet() functions to save the shapes to another cellView). There's an enhancement request for a non "Hi" version of these functions.
Damian Collins is the prospective parliamentary candidate for Folkestone and Hythe. If you believe that small businesses are at the heart of strong communities, as well as a strong enterprise economy, you may share my concerns that not enough is done to support and encourage them. Community businesses, like a neighbourhood general store, or village shop, play an important role in the wellbeing of the area they serve. These businesses are good for the economy, and the quality of life of local people. Yet the taxes and regulations heaped onto them make existing businesses struggle and put people off starting up on their own. Under Gordon Brown, 15 new business regulations have been introduced for every single working day. The costs of regulation disproportionately affect small business, where it is five times higher per employee than for large businesses. At the Conservative Party Conference in Bournemouth I proposed an idea to try and lift this burden from small community businesses, by creating new local enterprise zones, called ‘Acorn Areas’, areas of lowers taxes and lighter regulation. This idea was presented in one of the ‘Meet the Candidates’ sessions and received the support of the Conference to be presented formally to the party’s policy review committee, chaired by Oliver Letwin. These ‘Acorn Areas’ could be a village or neighbourhood with few or no community businesses. Within these areas businesses may pay little no business rates, which can currently cover one third of their overheads. We could also look at tax incentives for these businesses, and also for individuals who invest in them. I also believe we should consider alternatives to make the system of regulation much lighter than it currently is. For example, we would examine whether businesses trading within the same ‘Acorn Area’, could be regulated as a collective group, rather than as individual businesses. And there could be additional incentives for businesses that mostly sell locally produced goods, recognising the reduced environmental impact of local sourcing. This could favour local artists and craftsmen; as well shops selling locally produced food, and farm shops. Finally, there needs to be consideration of the length of life of an ‘acorn area’, once it has been created. Businesses need to know they can plan for the future, based on certain facts about the environment in which they work. I would favour basing the life of an acorn area, not on an arbitrary number of years, but on the performances of the businesses. So the benefits that a business might receive from being within an ‘acorn area’ would remain until its turnover or profitability had grown above a certain level. In the centre of Folkestone, a ‘creative quarter’ is becoming established where the landlord has created space for creative businesses, like artists and galleries, to establish themselves at favourable rates. This idea acknowledges that often these businesses can struggle to find the resources they need to get going, but when they do they can help improve and revitalise the retail environment of the whole area. In Sulgrave in Northamptonshire, the local community came together to re-open their village shop. A shop that has not only survived, but thrived, and last year won the Countryside Alliance’s best rural retailer award for the South of England. There are people with the drive and determination to make community businesses work. I would like to see a tax and regulation regime that made it easier for them, rather one that stifles the creativity, energy and determination is takes to make them succeed. I would welcome your views on this idea, as part of the preparation of the formal submission to the Conservative Party’s policy review.
FRIDAY, Sept. 14, 2007 (HealthDay News) -- Blood levels of folic acid have increased among American women since the federal government mandated folate fortification to prevent birth defects, but questions remain as to how much folate is enough -- or too much. A new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that the number of women of childbearing age who have low blood folate levels has plunged following a 1998 federal mandate to enrich bread and grains with added folate. The rate of low blood folate among women has fallen from 21 percent in 1988-1994 (before the fortification program) to less than 1 percent in 2003-2004, six years after fortification began. That should mean fewer birth defects tied to low maternal folic acid levels in pregnancy. These anomalies include serious neural tube defects such as spina bifida. According to the March of Dimes, about 3,000 pregnancies are afflicted with these defects each year. "Clinical trials have shown that folic acid supplementation effectively reduces the number of neural tube defects," said the study's lead author Christine M. Pfeiffer, acting chief of the Nutritional Biomarkers Branch at the CDC. Her team published its study in the September issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Data used in the study was taken from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys for the years 1988 through to 2004. According to the CDC analysis, folate levels have continued to rise since 1998, although there was a slight dip in women's folate concentrations between the 2001-2002 and 2003-2004 surveys. However, average blood levels were still well above federal goals for red blood cell folate for women aged 15-44, Pfeiffer said. The recent small dip in women's folate levels may have stemmed from the surge in popularity for low-carbohydrate diets, which may have prompted many women to move away from (fortified) bread and baked goods, the researchers said. However, "the slight downward trend after fortification seems unlikely to be functionally important" in terms of mom and baby's health, the study authors added. Their study also cites a "lack of data" on just how much folate is ideal to shield against neural tube defects, and how much is too much from a safety standpoint. Right now, experts recommend that young women in their childbearing years get about 400 micrograms per day of the nutrient, which is also found naturally in leafy green vegetables and citrus fruits. The notion of an ideal folate dose remains controversial, said Dr. Michael Katz, senior vice-president for research and global programs at the March of Dimes. His organization, along with others, is advocating an increase in fortification levels. According to Katz, there's been a decline in neural tube defects of about 45 percent in every country that has adopted a folic acid fortification program. That still falls well short of the 75 percent drop that experts had hoped to see, he said. On the plus side, there's no danger of adverse effects from folate "at the levels currently used in the United States," Katz said. "There has been absolutely no evidence that it has caused undesirable side effects," he said. "In areas where [fortification and consumption levels] are higher, such as Chile, the same obtains. So, we have absolutely no reason to believe that harm results." Dr. Malika Shah, a neonatologist at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, affirmed Katz's position, saying that women who have had one child with a neural tube defect now frequently are given "an incredible amount of folic acid, and we haven't seen any negative effects. It doesn't seem to have a downside." One folate expert differed with those assessments, however. Initially, 4 milligrams daily was considered suitable, but a Hungarian study in the early 1990s found successful reductions in the occurrence of neural tube defects at a daily dose of only 0.8 milligrams, noted Dr. Tsunenobu Tamura, a professor of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. "I don't think the 'more the better' idea is correct," he said. "We don't need to have more than enough. If we take too much, there is a kind of suggestive data trend in the research showing that we may promote cancer occurrence." Tamura said the CDC study is an important step toward monitoring folic acid and the ongoing impact of the U.S. fortification program. But a systematic study is also required to identify any potential side effects, he said. "We need to have monitoring of how much we are eating and whether there is any danger of giving too much folic acid to the general population," Tamura said. Factors such as how much enriched grain someone consumes and the use of supplements, such as power drinks that contain folic acid, can make a difference in levels, he believes. The fortification program "is a great thing we've achieved, but we should be very careful," Tamura said. Find out more about nutrition at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
BERNARD SHAW: COLLECTED LETTERS (1898-1910) Edited by DAN H. LAURENCE 1,017 pages. Dodd, Mead. $25. Bernard Shaw wrote letters as an art form of onslaught, judging his success by the cries of the wounded. Reading a Shaw letter is a piece of luck, like hearing a superb harangue over a transom. One is infinitely grateful to pass within eavesdropping range. One is equally grateful not to be in that room, backed by scolding tongue and wagging finger into a far corner. Between 1898 and 1910, Shaw, with all the exuberance of a honking Stanley Steamer,...
The Afghan landlord urgently banged on the flimsy steel gate topped with barbwire. As he entered the small compound adjacent to his own, he told the aid worker renting the house, "If anything happens, I will hide you in my house. And if anyone comes looking for you, I will tell them there are no foreigners here, just my family." Such statements may sound melodramatic like something out of a World War II movie but there was real fear in Kabul on Friday on the part of both Afghans and foreigners that demonstrations would get wildly out of hand and lead to horrific bloodshed on a fourth day of protests over the burning of Korans by the U.S. military at Bagram Airbase earlier this week. "Today was quite crucial because [the Koran burning and protests] are still fresh. You had frustration and outrage, and you had people manipulating those feelings. So the big question was: who was going to capture that outrage and frustration and how bad was it going to get," says Martine van Bijlert, a founder of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. But as the sun began to set and temperatures again dropped below freezing, fears of more extreme violence and chaos have proven unfounded. Death tolls ranged from four to 12 across the country, the higher number pushing the fatalities into the 20s for the duration of the protests. While tragic, the numbers did not approach what some observers had feared. And though embassies and international aid agencies around Kabul remain on lockdown, and many shops remain shuttered, foreigners, security providers, ordinary Afghans and the Afghan government are beginning to breathe a sigh of relief. "The protests are fizzling out," one security contractor with years of experience in Afghanistan tells TIME. But it remains unclear whether this is because protesters were disorganized or because calls for calm were heeded. For their part, most Afghans interviewed by TIME today said they are simply tired of violence. "We want peace, not violence, not war. Afghans are tired of war and killing each other," says Elyas, 23. "The protests today were small because the protests over the last few days did notghing but kill and injure Afghans." "Today was a test case, since it's Friday [when worshippers gather at mosques] and things were much more likely to get out of hand today. Since they haven't, we know that the worst has passed," van Biljert tells TIME. "The worst case scenario was that the whole city would erupt in violence. With the mosques emptying all at once, it could have created a volatile situation. If you want to stir up a mob, you do it during a sermon. If you want to organize violence, you get as many mullahs to stir up their people as possible and set them on fire," van Bijlert says of Afghanistan, a country that is still much more dependent on word of mouth than on the internet, television, radio or mobile phones. "The government has had days to get ready and the Civil Order Police are better trained than they were," says the Western security expert. Yet, even aside from better preparedness on the part of the police and disorganization among the protesters, "several local journalists say that mullahs' sermons were moderate," van Bijlert tells TIME. Friday saw multiple small protests across Kabul and in provincial capitals across the country. The news reports on casualties were not consistent. Four people were killed (including a police officer) and around 10 were wounded in Herat, local television reports. Reuters said 12 killed throughout the country today. Other counts have seven killed in Herat and one dead in Kabul. News that 500 people had stormed the U.S. consulate in Herat were later denied by the consulate. The anger behind the protests is "beginning to fizzle," as one foreign security contractor put it. Sediq Sediqi, Interior Ministry spokesman says there was, "no major violence today," adding that three civilians and two policemen were wounded. Late in the afternoon, protests did flare up around the Pul-e-Charkhi Prison along Jalalabad Road, the site of the first big protest in Kabul on Wednesday. Observers reported between 300 and 400 people at the gates. Earlier in the day Reuters reported crowds throwing stones and shouting, "Death to America!" and "Long live Islam!" after leaving a city mosque. But, for the most part, protests across the country were relatively peaceful and the mood in the capital was subdued with a heavy police presence on the streets. "I think this is really it. This one on Jalalabad Road is the only one that had any violence to it and today's protest was massively smaller than anyone thought it would be," says a Western security expert. It will be surprising if the protests prove to last only a few days because Afghans have a lot to be angry about a sentiment the Taliban has cashed in on, calling for, "all the youth in the security apparatus of the Kabul regime to fulfill their religious and national duty ... by turning their guns on the foreign infidel invaders instead of their own people as part of their Islamic conscience, brotherhood and as part of their national honor in order to take revenge for the decade old oppression of our nation by the infidel occupiers and to record their names in the ranks of warriors of Islam." The Taliban's mood was echoed at a mosque in Kabul's Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood, an enclave of embassies and aid organizations. "The Afghan government should ask President Obama if he supports the Americans who committed this crime," says Imam Mawlawee Ayaaz Niazai. "If he says 'yes' then no questions asked and all of America is our enenmy. If he says 'no' then hand over those Americans to the Afghan government and the government should deal with them using Islamic law." Feeding on the anger, on Wednesday, members of the lower house of parliament called for the punishment of the U.S. soldiers who burned the copies of the Koran. Overcome by emotion, parliamentarian Abdul Sattar Khawasi, demanded harsh punishment for the soldiers and proclaimed, "death to America and the people who allowed them in," according to reports in the Afghan media. At the same time, NATO and the U.S. military have been quick to apologize and call for calm. In a statement on Friday, General John Allen, Commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force called on "everyone throughout the country International Security Assistance Force members and Afghans to exercise patience and restraint as we continue to gather the facts surrounding Sunday night's incident." Allen said an investigation by a joint NATO-Afghan commission was continuing. On Thursday, in a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, President Barack Obama expressed "regret and apologies" over the incident. (Obama's remarks were criticized by Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, after two NATO soldiers were killed by an Afghan soldier on Thursday.) Regardless of apologies and requests for patience, anger remained high Friday evening even if it was not manifested through extreme violence. But it could have been a lot worse. Van Bijlert cannot say conclusively what contained the outrage and frustration on Friday but she says that the fact that the violence did not spiral completely out of control, "tells us something about where Afghan society is heading, particularly in regards to the willingness to release violence. You have politicians who are willing to unleash violence versus politicians who are trying to mitigate violence." Today, for the most part, at least, leaders with cooler heads prevailed. "If it stays quiet, we'll see which voice has won out." With reporting by Walid Fazly
WARSAW, Poland (AP) Two competitors at the World Scrabble Championships were asked to turn out their pockets when a letter "G" went missing. An official said Tuesday that the disappearance of a "G" tile occurred during the international event, which was held in the Polish capital from Oct. 12-16. Brian Dede, the event coordinator, said a referee had to intervene when opponents Edward Martin from Britain and Chollapat Itthi-Aree from Thailand noticed a missing tile during the last draw of their game. He said that led to a search on and under the playing table, and that both players "were asked to show the contents of their pockets." The missing letter was nowhere to be found so the referee added another "G" to the bag to create a complete set. Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Courtesy of William Holland William Holland, a genealogical researcher from Atlanta, dances to the left of Fon Angwafo III, the king of the Mankon tribal group in Cameroon, during a ceremony. When William Holland traveled from Atlanta to Cameroon to dig into his family roots, the quest succeeded beyond his wildest dreams: A blend of genetic testing and genealogical sleuthing connected him with one of the West African nation's royal families. The king of Mankon, a region in Cameroon, embraced Holland so completely that the American was ceremonially given the name of the king's father. But now Holland is facing an embarrassment of genealogical riches: Since he first came upon his royal connection, he has determined that he's genetically linked not only with nobility in Cameroon, but also with a different clan in Ghana, hundreds of miles to the west. "I think I'm getting toward the end of it ... but with this group, you have thousands of thousands of people," Holland told me as he headed for another extended-family reunion in Ghana. Holland's experience demonstrates how the search for family roots in Africa doesn't always result in the neat succession of generations that was portrayed in the 1977 miniseries "Roots." It also suggests that Black History Month, which Americans observe every February, might more aptly be called Black Histories Month. "Who was the ancestor that all of us are from?" Holland asked. "Who was he? That's the question I want to answer, but I don't know how to ask. This one man created thousands of people, but who was he? This one man ... he was something!" Tracing African roots African-American roots are notoriously tough to trace back from America to Africa, for an obvious reason: When traders brought shipments of slaves across the Atlantic, families were sundered and the old names were forgotten. Owners typically gave slaves their own family names — which is what happened to William Holland's ancestors. Holland has gone through more than his share of twists and turns as a genealogical researcher: Years ago, he found out that his great-grandfather, Creed Holland, was a slave wagon driver who was forced to serve in the Confederate infantry during the Civil War. That led Holland to sign up for membership in the Sons of Confederate Veterans — a move that didn't exactly sit well with some whites and some blacks. Nine years ago, Holland thought his ancestors came from Nigeria. But since then, there's been a revolution in the use of genetic testing to firm up genealogical ties. Holland took a DNA test offered by GeneTree and pored over records compiled by the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, GeneTree's nonprofit sister organization. SMGF's database was suited to Holland's search because it combines genetic matching with genealogical pedigrees. If your DNA markers match up with someone else in the database, the pedigree of the person you match just might provide new clues for family sleuthing. The database was particularly attractive for Holland because the foundation's testing teams went out to gather DNA samples from people in countries around the world, including African nations. This offered a way for Holland to "leap across the ocean" and find genetic connections to families in the old country, even if he couldn't trace the precise line of ancestry. The genetic links led Holland to turn his search from Nigeria to Cameroon, where he came upon a doozy of a connection. The DNA matches suggested that he was related to the Mankon king, Fon Angwafo III, as well as other noble families in that country. Thanks to the SMGF database, Holland could show his assumed African kin detailed genealogical information when he visited Cameroon in March. Courtesy of William Holland William Holland says he sees a resemblance between his father Sam Holland Sr. (left) and Fon Angwafo III (right). "The Fon" and his aides examined the records ... and welcomed Holland as a long-lost relative. He was so welcome, in fact, that his whole family was invited to come to Cameroon in November as guests of the king. The Holland entourage — William, his 80-year-old mother Willie Mae Holland, his brother Marvin and his sister Wanda — received the royal treatment. "I get treated better there than I do in the U.S.," William Holland told me. One of the most thrilling moments came when the king gave each of the Hollands a Cameroonian name. William was named Ndefru, after Fon Angwafo III's father, Ndefru III. "The name goes back to the 1500s," Holland said. One of the most sobering moments came when the visitors were shown three or four huts where captured Africans were kept prior to their departure for America. "You try to hold back, but tears flow out of your eyes," Holland told me. "You couldn't control it. You just knew, in 1772 or thereabouts, you knew what was going on. You could only imagine those people who were going down to the coast, what they were thinking. When they got down there, they'd think, 'Uh-oh. This is not good.'" Holland said his African hosts stressed that the tribe's long-ago chiefs did not hand over their ancestors for payment, and they hoped that the Americans would not hold their African kin responsible for the horrors of slavery. They also had a question for their American cousins: "How was it not possible to keep your family name?" Holland had to explain that traders and slave owners worked mightily to separate families and clans, to erase the ties that united the slaves brought to America's shores. "Your name was taken away from you as soon as you got off the boat," Holland said. Courtesy of William Holland American visitors are surrounded by their hosts in Cameroon. The Americans are, from left, William Holland (dressed in blue-and-white-patterned traditional garb), Willie Mae Holland, Wanda Lee Chewning and Marvin Leon Holland. When it came time for Holland and his family to return to America, the family researcher's head was bursting with the lore of Cameroon and the Mankon people — and yet he realized that he had just scratched the surface. "I saw just a tenth of what really goes on in terms of tradition," he told me. "You have to be there for a year or more to learn all the culture." The funny thing about DNA is that it can link a whole tree's worth of genealogical branches. After his trip to Cameroon, Holland delved once more into the genetic database, and found potential connections to families in Ghana as well. Does that mean the Cameroon connection was incorrect? Not really. Because of different migrations through the generations, it's possible to have genetic cousins spread over a wide geographic range. "Most of the migration periods in Africa began in the 1300s or 1400s. That goes back 28 generations, give or take," Holland said. "You keep the same DNA because you have the same ancestor, from Sudan or Cameroon or present-day Ghana. The same Y-chromosome is there." One Ghanaian family in particular was a "very high match," Holland said, and so he struck up a correspondence. "I have spoken with the family, and they said, 'How'd you get this information?' So I sent them the pedigree, and they were shocked," he said. Holland felt such a strong connection that he flew from Atlanta to Accra last week to meet yet another set of prospective cousins. He wasn't disappointed. "So far, so good," he told me last week during a phone call from Ghana. "Everything is matching up. They look like me." The news was still good today when Holland checked in again. "It's kind of strange how much everything is matching up," he said. Holland is due to get back to Atlanta just in time for the Super Bowl this weekend. Before he left for Ghana, Holland told me that he felt ready to move on to the next phase of his family odyssey. "The next step now is, you want to go and educate people on both sides of the water," he said. "Americans need to know what it's like in Africa. And the people in Africa, they still don't know what happened to those people who went down to the coast, hundreds of years ago. It was a one-way ticket." Well, it's not a one-way ticket anymore — at least not for Holland. More about genealogy: - Pilgrims and Indians in her family tree - Genealogists discover royal roots for all - Prince William's fiancee has Yankee lineage - DNA takes on a family's mysteries - Database catalogs slaves' treks - Tracing genetic 'Roots' to Africa - Cyndi's List: African-American genealogy - Special report on genetic genealogy Correction for 3 p.m. ET Feb. 4: Creed Holland was William's great-grandfather, not great-great-grandfather, and Willie Mae's age went from 79 to 80 years in November. Best wishes to Willie Mae, and thanks to William for pointing out the errors. Sorry about that! Stay tuned for an update after his return from Ghana, and feel free to recount your own family quest in the comment section below. For more coverage of Black History Month, check in with msnbc.com's corporate cousins at TheGrio.com. Join the Cosmic Log community by clicking the "like" button on our Facebook page or by following msnbc.com science editor Alan Boyle as b0yle on Twitter. To learn more about Alan Boyle's book about Pluto and the search for planets, check out the website for "The Case for Pluto."
But why not France, Bos!? Independent investigators have failed to confirm the reports of enhanced concentrations of spherules and platinum-group elements in YD boundary sediments. Boslough, Surovell et al., January 30, 2013, Arguments and Evidence Against a Younger Dryas Impact Event Interhemispheric evidence of a cosmic impact 12.9 ka is known now from North to South America, Europe and Eurasia, all data supporting a cosmic event derived from cores and from geological sections. Most databases supporting the impact hypothesis at the Younger Dryas Boundary (YDB) rely on high-temperature microspherules, melted minerals, cracked clasts, presence of nanodiamond, high-temperature scoria, high Fe/Ni ratios, pdf’s, shock melted quartz, high 10 Be/9 Be ratios and occasional presence of platinum metals. Controversy over the impact, the so-called Black Mat enigma, and its relation to the Younger Dryas re-advance at the end of the last ice age, is fueled by arguments over whether a single extraterrestrial impact might sustain a 1 kyr-long downturn in insolation engendering a substantial increase in worldwide icevolume. New evidence in the form of impact microfeatures extreme breccia, high crack propagation,thick carbon encrustations and partial to full shock-melted/contorted grains in weathering rinds from the Western Alps, France, as documented here, adds to the growing body of evidence that the event was truly widespread, if not worldwide in effect. Whereas evidence of cosmic impacts may be erased by glacial and ﬂuvial erosion in high alpine areas, such events as demonstrated herein are recorded as punctuated time-stratigraphic events in microcosm, preserved in weathered clasts. From Bill Mahaney this afternoon: I was pleased to see the piece concerning the continuing controversy over the black mat. I tend to support Napier’s contention [See Napier: Not So Fast Bos; Tusk, Cosmic] that the radial spread of samples across North and South America, parts of Europe and Central Asia suggest fragmental airbursts of variable magnitude such that records in aquifers, glacial deposits, outlet glaciers, paleosols and weathering rinds are showing up in a variety of places. At other investigated sites similar to those already reported for the MUM7B site in Venezuela, there is a wide range of well-documented evidence, consisting of a variable mix of magnetic spherules, microtektite-like glassy spherules, partly devitrified glass shards, melted sedimentary and igneous clasts, native metal, grape-clustered glassy spheroids, glass-like carbon, and/or amorphous carbon spherules (Ge et al., 2009; Bunch et al., 2012; Wittke et al., 2013). This evidence is all part of dated YD-aged sedimentary beds in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Peru, France, Syria, and the Caspian Sea of Central Asia that appear to be consistent with the breakup of a cosmic impactor and subsequent ejecta dispersal of interhemispheric proportions. The known YDB sites in North America, South America, Western Europe, and Central Asia display a thin bed of ejecta-rich debris, which forms a well-dated microfacies that typically includes charcoal, ash, and carbonized local vegetation resulting from high-temperature wildfires, suggestive of the high-temperature ionizing cloud that would accompany an impact. Whether the YDB actually initiated the YD is still speculative but the relationship continues to firm up in various parts of the world. I think Dr. Scott’s comments about the YD hypothesis reaching a ‘zombie’ status does little to assist in interpreting the available evidence as the databank is growing. New evidence of undisputed impact origin for aerodynamically melted/quenched Fe spherules from the MUM7B Andean site (in press, J.Geology) are a case in point as are new data from the Alps that show impact grains in rock rinds and associated paleosols (pdf attached). I hope these comments will help others to carefully weigh new evidence as it comes on stream. In the end I think the YDB will go down as the initiator of the YD and the longevity of the YD may well be shown to result from Earth’s continued encounter with Taurid fragments over a 1 kyr interval or an unusual sustenance of a negative radiation balance over a similar span of time. In the end the naysayers may well say they believed the impact theory was tenable from the beginning. Agassiz went through a similar turbulent time with his glacial theory nearly two centuries ago.
There are plenty of un-American activities going on inside the state of Illinois, at the local, state, and federal levels. Those activities involve politically active Muslim Brotherhood front groups and compromised politicians. Unfortunately, though there is an answer for dealing with both, it’s nowhere in sight. Less than one month before the Benghazi attacks, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn celebrated the end of Ramadan with 15,000 Muslims at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL. The imam who presided over the ceremony was none other than Jamal Said, Walid’s mentor and trainer, prior to Walid’s conversion to Christianity. Walid can provide a firsthand account as to Said’s support for terrorism. The Benghazi attackers and Said both support the Muslim Brotherhood agenda. At the ceremony, Quinn signed a religious tolerance bill. On the last day of 2013, in line with the passage of that bill, Quinn’s office released the Muslim“Cultural Sensitivity Guide”, which is to be used by employers in Illinois. Check out some of these guidelines such employers must follow (h/t BNI): Islam requires women and men to behave and dress modestly. There are a number of ways in which Muslims express such teachings. Here is the most notable attire: - Muslim women often times wear a headscarf called a hijab. - Muslim men sometimes wear a small head covering called a kufi. These articles of clothing should not be prohibited in any dress code policies. The Quran prohibits the consumption of alcohol, pork and pork byproducts. Many Muslims follow standards of slaughter and preparation of meat and poultry called halal. (Halal is to Muslims what kosher is to Jews.) [Tip: Choose a vegetarian or fish option when catering to Muslims.] That one is particularly interesting because there is an old American saying that goes something like this: “If you don’t like it, don’t eat it.” The guidelines also go into significant detail about how Muslim prayer requirements must be adhered to by employers. Have a look at the daily prayer requirements: Muslims are required to pray five times a day – before sunrise, around noon, mid-afternoon, at sunset and at night. Before prayer, Muslims are required to wash their faces, hands and feet with clean water. Each prayer takes about 5-10 minutes to perform. Prayer may be performed in any quiet and clean place. During prayer, Muslims stand, bow and prostrate to God, facing Mecca (generally, in the northeast direction). During prayer, Muslims are fully engaged and cannot respond to telephone rings or conversations (with the exception of emergencies). Others should not walk in front of or interrupt Muslims during prayer. Muslim employees may pray during lunch and/or other breaks. Click here to read the entire sensitivity guide. Said has an intimate history with Hamas and was named as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the Holy Land Foundation trial. Both he and Osama bin Laden had a shared mentor in Abdullah Azzam. Feel free to speculate about why Quinn – and many other politicians – cater to Islamic extremists but two of the top reasons are intimidation and money. Intimidation is where the term “dhimmi” comes from and the more money accepted by said politicians from such groups, the more “dhimmi” those politicians become. In Illinois, political dhimmis exist at the city, state, and federal levels. As Governor, Quinn is sandwiched between the compromised U.S. Senator from Illinois, Dick Durbin, who has shown coziness with Said in the past, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who appointed CAIR Executive Director for Chicago Ahmed Rehab to one of his advisory committees. In this one example – and there are plenty of others – local, state, and federal government representatives have been compromised by the Muslim Brotherhood. These problems are not isolated solely in the state of Illinois. That state is merely a microcosm of a much larger problem. The Muslim Students Association (MSA) began grooming and teaching Muslim college students how to wield influence at all levels of government in the U.S., the military, and countless institutions. When elected officials have been compromised to the extent that Emanuel, Quinn, and Durbin have, a primary way to deal with it involves the resurrection of the House Un-American Affairs Committee, which was abolished in the 1970′s and its remnants were absorbed by the House Judiciary Committee. The number 2 man on the Judiciary Committee is none other than Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), who has a some Muslim Brotherhood front group problems of his own. The Un-American Affairs Committee is long gone and a long way off if it’s ever going to come back. One such reason has to do with how many U.S. politicians would be caught in its dragnet. John Guandolo explains that the Muslim Brotherhood first settled in Indiana, Michigan and Illinois, which explains why the MB’s largest organization, the Islamic Society of North America, is headquartered in Plainfield, Indiana. It explains why Detroit and Dearborn are points for significant jihadi activity, and why Chicago is the hub for Hamas in the U.S.
Wednesday, 15 September 2010 why ‘The Campaign for Better Transport’ is no friend of cycling Cycling in Nottingham Nottingham has been named as England's least car-dependent city in a survey that exposes inconsistent planning across the country with one of the nation's newest conurbations, Milton Keynes, labelled the worst for cyclists and bus users. Award-winning bus services, a European-style embrace of the tram and a bias against out-of-town shopping centres were cited as powerful incentives for residents of Nottingham to leave their cars at home, according to a report by the Campaign for Better Transport. Nottingham's investment in 30 miles of cycle tracks, a nine-mile tram network and 230,000 miles of bus journeys per week made it the top ranking city overall. "It ranked highly for factors such as bus patronage, satisfaction with bus services and low car use for the school run. As well as having an efficient bus service, the new expanding tram system is now used by 10 million passengers a year," said CBT. The green lobbying group judged 19 English cities by three criteria: accessibility and planning; quality and uptake of public transport; walking and cycling. Dan Milmo, the author of this uncritically regurgitated press release, really ought to read his colleague Nick Davies’s book criticising journalists for failing to tell the truth by simply lapping up PR pap fed to them by vested interests. In the first place The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT - formerly known as Transport 2000) is not a ‘green’ lobbying group. It exists to promote buses, trains and trams (and there is nothing remotely ‘green’ about buses). It has strong links both to businesses (Eurostar, Stagecoach and Arriva among others) and to trade unions (including ASLEF, the RMT, Unison and Unite-Amicus) and receives funding from them. There is nothing particularly unusual or wrong about this, of course – the CBT is simply a lobbying group which reflects large and powerful vested interests. These businesses want government to subsidise them and protect them from competitors, and the unions want to look after the interests of the people who work in these industries. The CBT’s hostility to road haulage and car dependency is not rooted in environmentalism but in promoting public transport. And no genuine green organisation would have jet-setter Michael Palin as its figurehead: A foreword by Palin for its annual report was edited to remove a reference to the individual’s “right to fly”. The reason why the CBT is no friend of cycling is that cycling is a much better way of getting around cities than buses, trams or trains. But the CBT is not remotely interested in seeing Britain’s towns and cities restructured for cycling. It has no interest in campaigning for the only proven way of bringing about mass cycling. Complete segregation of cyclists from motorists is what is actually required to make the masses feel that cycling is safe. It's also required to make cycling efficient and safe. The CBT doesn’t have a clue about cycling, as its utterly ludicrous claims about Nottingham reveal. Nottingham is a car-sodden cycling-hostile city and cycling has been stagnating there for many years (ably assisted by the local collaborationist vehicular cycling sect, offering yet more proof for the simple thesis that among the biggest obstacles to mass cycling in Britain are self-appointed ‘cycling campaigners’). You only have to look at the photograph above to understand both the scope for the re-allocation of road space for safe segregated cycling and the existing conditions which are of the kind which will only ever attract a small minority of hardcore cyclists. Cycling’s modal share in Nottingham in 1995 was 3.2% (according to this). In fact that figure is misleading as it almost certainly refers to commuter cycling’s modal share, which is invariably higher than modal share per se. If you want to exaggerate the amount of cycling people do, just cherry pick the figure for biking to work. Ironically, over the past fifteen years in the cycling paradise that is Nottingham, the modal share figure for commuter cycling has not increased but has actually dipped slightly: Nottingham has a population of 274,000 with 45% of this population without access to a car. 23% of the population owns a bike however only 3.1% of these people use their bike to cycle to work. In reality the overall situation in Nottingham is much, much worse Basel and Nottingham: compared. Basel has 21% mode share, Nottingham has 1.6%. What is the problem? Nottingham is dominated by a car ideology. Not such a paradise for cyclists, then, and not a place where car dependency is low, contrary to the fantasies of the CBT. I sought advice for a randomly chosen cycling journey of 2½ miles in Nottingham. It turned out to involve roads with motor traffic and ‘shared’ use with pedestrians. I was cautioned: There are some very busy sections on this route. You are required to dismount and walk on some sections, (for 2% of the distance, 6% of the time). For full details take a look here. In Nottingham, the usual atrocious conditions for vehicular cycling are matched by joke infrastructure when it comes to such matters as cycle parking. NEW bike parking bays at Nottingham railway station will make it more accessible to train users, it is claimed. The Cycle Hub will provide 92 spaces for bikes – 38 more than previously catered for at the station. Crikey, 92 places for the main station in a city with a population of 292,400. That’s awesome, is it not? Whereas in the Netherlands a small city with just 65,000 inhabitants has 2,300 spaces at its station There is also something very British about what happened next at the frabjous Nottingham station secure cycling hub: We are very concerned to hear that a bike was stolen from the new 'Secure' Compound only a few days after the opening and have taken this up with Nottingham City Council and East Midlands Trains. The CBT’s blind spot regarding cycling is exposed by this celebration of the recently published National Travel Survey, which ludicrously asks did Labour succeed after all? On the contrary, as far as cycling is concerned, it failed, catastrophically. But the CBT is just another of those outfits which brings good news which is utterly bogus: London has the lowest number of car commuters and cycling is growing dramatically. That is fantasy campaigning, since London’s modal shares have been essentially static for many years. Where there have been slight shifts they have not involved cycling. Reading this sort of thing you would never know that the latest TfL figures show cycling’s modal share in Enfield currently registering at zero per cent, and in Newham flickering between zero and one per cent. The notion that there is a cycling revolution in London is utterly delusional. And the strange idea that there is going to be a surge in cycling in outer London boroughs is quite bizarre, for all the reasons regularly demonstrated on this outer London blog. When the CBT does mention cycling it comes up with the usual bland generalisations: Lower traffic speeds, for example more 20mph zones in towns and cities and 30mph in villages, would provide a better environment for walking and cycling. No, they wouldn’t. Lower speed limits reduce the impact of collisions on pedestrians and cyclists and result in fewer fatalities, but they do not in themselves make a street cycling or walking friendly. A car-sodden street is still a car-sodden street and 30 mph and 20 mph zones still involve vehicular cycling. Wackiest of all is the CBT's demand for safe ways of carrying bikes on the front of buses But I suppose no one should be surprised that the CBT is clueless about cycling. Among those working for the organisation is a former Campaigns Coordinator at CTC Picture credit: the photo above comes from here. (Below) Cycling friendly? A thrilling section of the iconic London Cycle Network running through a 20 mph zone, Church Hill, E17.
Here are some practical suggestions students and their parents can use to fight evolution in the classroom. It certainly is unfair to use tax dollars to promote the religion of evolution and, at the same time, destroy the faith of Christian children in school. - Transfer your child from public school to private or home school. Public schools lose funding when enrollment drops (www.exodusmandate.org). - As a taxpayer, you have a right to help control your local schools, even if your children do not attend. Go to school board meetings. Be polite and friendly. Get involved with the election process. - Get educated. Research the educational structure, educational standards, and annual textbook selection process of your state. Use the internet and your phone book. State and local officials will be impressed and more ready to cooperate when they see you have done your homework. - Write to textbook publishers to express your opinion. - Run for school board or get on your textbook selection committee and demand that books be accurate. Most states already have laws requiring this. Getting false information out of the books will remove many items currently used to support evolution. Textbooks are selected by either state textbook-selection committees, county or district committees, or individual teachers. States with state textbook-selection committees normally select several books from the textbooks submitted by publishers. These books are considered state approved and districts must choose from those books if they want the state to pay for them. Publishers want to sell books so they produce accordingly. Check with the Educational Research Analysts for great help in helping formulate a good state standard as well as the process of textbook selection. - Encourage students to do papers showing the religious nature of evolutionary theory in science class. Your school board may be persuaded to buy some material for the sake of equal time. If not, get and distribute books and videos as a mission project through your church. - Donate creation science material to your child’s science teacher or school library. - Inform teachers of their right to teach creation in public school. Many are fooled by the propaganda from groups like the ACLU into thinking they are not allowed to talk about creation when they really are.1 - Keep informed of trends in education and bills being introduced by getting in “the loop.” - Earn good grades; behave well; be on time; be respectful. - Pray for your teacher. - Talk to your teacher about evolution and creation issues privately, after class. Try to not confront them in class, if possible. - Offer your teacher creation science material to read or watch. A video is a great non-offensive way to convert teachers to the truths of creation. (Creation Seminar Part #1 or #4 would be good.) - Have your parents request that you be exempted from the evolutionary portions of class as they are contrary to your religion.2 CANs and CAN’Ts of teaching origins in public school science classes: On public school science course content standards, keep in mind the distinction between what teachers must teach, and what they may teach. States can legally require teachers to discuss evolution in science classes. They cannot require them to discuss creation. Teachers may discuss creation in science classes if they wish. - REMEMBER the prevailing notion that evolution is scientific and that creation is religious! This is why courts always overturn mandates to discuss creation in science classes. But satisfactory public school science course content standards on evolution are possible within this constraint. - CONSIDER the distinction between scientific weaknesses in evolutionary theory and scientific evidence for creation. Courts allow requiring the former, but not the latter in public school science courses, because they (wrongly) assume that evolution is scientific but creation is religious. - IDENTIFY the distinction between requiring discussion of weaknesses of all scientific theories and “singling out” evolu- tion. To avoid legal challenges alleging a “non-secular purpose” in public school science courses, formulate general curriculum standards on this topic that do not mention evolution. Texas has met those criteria over the years with these variant wordings of its public school science course standards: - “Examining alternative scientific evidence and ideas to test, modify, verify, or refute scientific theories.” - “The student shall be provided content necessary to formulate, discuss, critique, and review hypotheses, theories, laws, and principles and their strengths and weaknesses.” - “The student is expected to analyze, review, and critique scientific explanations, including hypotheses and theories, as to their strengths and weaknesses using scientific evidence and information.”
Joanna Coleman’s terrific color footage from her terrific site on YOUTUBE of the Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria in the 1950’s which sunk after colliding with the MV Stockholm. LINER AND SOCIAL HISTORY — ANDREA DORIA – The fabulous Italian Line ship whose fate was sealed by the Swedish America Line’s STOCKHOLM. By the mid-1950s, with the postwar passenger boom at its peak, more than 50 passenger liners sailed the sea-lanes between Europe and America. Among the most splendid were two new ships of the Italian Line, the Cristofor Colombo and the Andrea Doria. They were built for luxury, not speed, and to take advantage of the sunnier southern route. The Andrea Doria was the first liner to possess three outdoor swimming pools, one each for first, cabin and tourist class. Her lines were graceful, her public rooms lavishly decorated and crowded with artworks and her most desirable first-class suites as rarified as any that had come before. She was a superb expression of her time and nationality, a ship that combined 1950s modernity with a keen awareness of Italy’s extraordinary artistic heritage. She was also equipped with the latest in navigational equipment, including two sets of radar, the still-developing technology that had transformed the maritime battlefields of World War II and was now standard equipment in the merchant marine. But even if the radar failed and somehow a collision happened, the Andrea Doria was in theory unsinkable. Her 11 watertight compartments were so constructed that she would remain afloat if any two were breached –more than that her builders could not imagine — and so that she would never take on a list of more than 15 degrees. As an extra safety precaution, her lifeboats could still be launched if the list reached 20 degrees. Yet the Andrea Doria was destined to become the last great lost ship of a transatlantic passenger era that was about to fade away. We are pleased to share the following feature story on the Andrea Doria from NEW YORK SOCIAL DIARY… I was initially drawn to the Andrea Doria at the age of 14 after reading the book, Collision Course, by Alvin Moscow. The book tells of the Andrea Doria’s birth, her brief but glorious life, and her tragic end, in the summer of 1956. To me the Andrea Doria embodied the hope and optimism that Italy was searching for after the War. I was very moved by the story of her master, Captain Piero Calamai, who after a distinguished career with the Italian Line decided never to return to the sea after the Andrea Doria’s sinking. He was quoted as saying “When I was a boy and all my life, I loved the sea. Now I hate it.” He died after a long illness in April of 1972. In the late 1940’s Italy had lost most of her passenger ships to the War. The Italian Line sought to revive its postwar liner fleet in order to restore Italy’s place in international passenger shipping. The creation of the Andrea Doria was based on the principle that Italy’s new postwar fleet had to communicate a new message about Italy itself: Italy was no longer a belligerent adversary but a beautiful country brimming with art and culture.
I started to implement some MAC since last week with the specifications given here. I'm currently testing the OMAC (one-key CBC) with test vectors. In the OMAC specifications at page 4, they explain how the padding works. Just below that, they said : [...] Where the empty string counts as one block. This is strange, because the block is empty and that cause me a problem. How could I use M[i] and Xor it with M[i] is empty ? (see the algorithm definition at page 8) Following this question, should I pad the message to get a full block before working with M even if the padding is applied after the for-loop ? I think this would be logic but am I right with this logic ? A clear explanation of that will be very appreciated. Thanks for all help I'll got.
Colors on the Web is a very good site you can check out which will help you choose which colors complement each other. For instance, if you are going to make a beaded necklace using Jade stones which are green, you may also want to complement these green stones with a purple stone like Amethyst. These stones complement each other well. The Energy of Color and How You Can Use It Many people believe that color itself contains a metaphysical energy or attribute. Advertising agencies use color to create a desired mood in the prospective customer, Interior Designers use color to make a room calm and peaceful, or exciting, or cheerful. Virtually everyone is affected by the colors around us. You should know and understand the meaning of color when choosing gemstone beads. While each gemstone emanates various types of energy, the color of the stone also carries an energy of its own. You can combine these energies to tailor a bracelet or necklace to your desired results. Read Gemstone meanings and attributes to learn more about the stone energies. The Colors and Their Meanings: Red symbolizes action, confidence, courage and vitality. Red is associated with fiery heat and warmth. It can also mean danger (burning). Red is the color of blood, and as such has strong symbolism as life and vitality. It brings focus to the essence of life and living with emphasis on survival. Red is also the color of passion and lust. Red gemstones can be used to strengthen the body, promote will power and courage, add vitality and to overcome sexual dysfunctions. Wear red gemstone beads to stimulate vitality and energy. Red gemstone beads: Ruby, Red Jasper, Red Coral, Red Tiger Eye, Garnet, Mookaite. Other red gemstones: Red Coral, Bloodstone, Garnet, Red Jasper, Ruby, Red Calcite. See red beads. Pink symbolizes love and beauty. Pink is the color of universal love. Pink is a quiet color. Lovers of beauty favor pink. A pink carnation means "I will never forget you". Pink gemstones can be used to promote love, self-worth, order and protection from violence or aggression. Wear pink gemstone beads to stimulate love and beauty. Pink gemstone beads: Rose Quartz, Rhodonite, Unakite, Rhodochrosite, Pink Opal, Pink Tourmaline. Other pink gemstones: Rhodochrosite, Rose Quartz, Pink Opal, Pink Tourmaline, Danburite, Pink Mangano Calcite, Stilbite, Chalcedony, Petalite, Pink Sapphire, Pink Halite. See pink beads. Brown symbolizes: earth, order and convention. Brown can mix into many surroundings. It is a mixture of red, blue and yellow and has many shades and tones - each producing a different effect. Brown can be a stabilizing color. The red in brown gives it practical energy while the yellow and blue add mental focus energies. Too much brown can make a dull effect. Brown gives a feeling of solidity, and allows one to stay in the background, unnoticed. Some shades of brown create a warm, comfortable feeling of wholesomeness, naturalness and dependability. Brown gemstones act as a grounding force and promote stability and clear thinking. Brown gemstones beads: Tiger Eye, Mohogany Obsidian, Sunset Jasper, Tourmaline, Boulder Opal, African Brown Rhyolite, Agate. Other brown gemstones: Tiger Eye, Petrified Wood, Chiastolite, Aragonite, Stromatolite, Bronzite, Axinite. See brown beads. Orange symbolizes vitality with endurance. It is one of the healing colors and stimulates enthusiasm and creativity. Orange means vitality with endurance. People who like orange are usually thoughtful and sincere. Orange gemstones are used to promote personal power and are useful for people who could use more self esteem. Wear orange gemstone beads to stimulate creativity, mental quickness and an ability to adjust to changes. Wearing orange during times of stress, or shock can help to balance your emotions. It can bring about the willingness to embrace new ideas with enjoyment and a sense of exploration and creative play. Orange gemstone beads: Amber, Carnelian, Fire Agate, Goldstone, Peach Moonstone, Orange Calcite, Sunstone. Other orange gemstones: Carnelian, Fire Opal, Sunstone, Orange Calcite, Tangerine Quartz, Orange Kyanite, Orange Elestial. See orange beads. Yellow symbolizes wisdom, joy, happiness and intellectual energy. Yellow means joy and happiness. People of high intellect favor yellow. Yellow daffodils are a symbol of unrequited love. Like the energy of a bright sunny day, yellow brings clarity and awareness. Yellow gemstone beads: Citrine, Honey Calcite, Yellow Jasper, Yellow Jade, Yellow Opal, Yellow Agate. Other yellow gemstones: Amber, Citrine, Imperial Topaz, Lemon Quartz, Honey Calcite, Yellow Flourite, Sulphur. See yellow beads. Green symbolizes life, nature, fertility, self-respect and well being. Green contains the powerful energies of nature, growth, desire to expand or increase. Balance and a sense of order are found in the color green. Change and transformation is necessary for growth, and so this ability to sustain changes is also a part of the energy of green. Wear green when you want to overcome a sense of thwarted ambition. Green says growth - balance - harmony. It is a color of healthy relationships. Green gemstone beads: African Green Jasper, African Jade, Canadian Jade, Emerald, China Chrysoprase, Green Aventurine, Malachite, Petrified Green Opal, Apple Green Turquoise. Other green gemstones: Emerald, Malachite, Aventurine, Jade, Peridot, Moss Agate, Dioptase, Bloodstone, Epidot, Green Chlorite, Green Sardonyx. See green beads. Blue symbolizes youth, spirituality, truth and peace. A pure blue is the color of inspiration, sincerity and spirituality. Blue gemstones to wear to feel calm are blue sapphire and blue topaz. Lapis lazuli and azurite are said to heighten psychic power. Wear dark blue gemstones for a stable, calm conservative feeling. All shades of blue will help to make easy communication, whether it is with yourself or others. Blue gemstone beads: Blue Fluorite, Sodalite, Larimar, Blue Crazy Lace Agate, Lapis Lazuli, Rainbow Flourite, Blue Tiger Eye. Other blue gemstones: Sodalite, Blue Quartz, Blue Calcite, Blue Lace Agate, Lapis Lazuli, Blue Apatite, Tanzanite, Blue Tourmaline, Blue Aragonite. See blue beads. Purple symbolizes royalty, magic and mystery. Purple is the color of good judgment. It is the color of people seeking spiritual fulfillment. It is said if you surround yourself with purple you will have peace of mind. Purple is a good color to use in meditation. Violet gemstones are associated with mysticism and purification. They are used for meditation and to sharpen psychic awareness, connection with higher self, and to increase imagination and inspiration. Wear purple when you want to encourage fantasy, mystery and imagination. Purple gemstone beads: Amethyst, Ametrine, Cape Amethyst, Charoite, Purple Crazy Lace Agate, Sugilite, Sugilite Jasper, Lepidolite Jasper, Lavender Quartz. Other purple stones: Amethyst, Fluorite, Sugilite, Lepidolite, Charoite, Purpurite. See purple beads. White symbolizes purity and cleanliness. Strictly speaking, white is not a color, but the manifestation of the presence of all color - the complete energy of light. It stands for wholeness and completion. In many cultures it represents openness and truth. White has a cold quality. It can provide clarity as its energy is complete. Wear white to impart a pure, wholesome impression. White Gemstone Beads: African Opal, Mexican Zebra Jasper, White Opal, White Howlite, Sesame Jasper, Tourmilated Quartz, Moonstone, Fossil Coral, Magnesite, Bamboo Leaf Agate. Other White gemstones: Crystal Quartz, White Topaz, White Aragonite, Howlite, Scolecite, White Selenite, White Opal, Opalite, White Kunzite. See white beads . Black gemstones symbolize self control and resilience. Black stones have protective energies in the sense that black is the absence of light, and therefore, can be used to create invisibility. Black is also used in clothing to make a bold statement of mystery and self control. Use black beads when you want to make a statement and want to feel “inconspicuous”. Black gemstone beads: Black Onyx, Black Rustic Quartz, Astrophylite, Black Jasper, Obsidian, Rainbow Obsidian, Spinel, Black Fire Agate, Natural Silver Quartz. Other black gemstones: Black Tourmaline, Obsidian, Onyx, Black Kyanite, Jet, Shungite, Nuummite. See black beads. Combining stones and colors for their energies can be fun and rewarding. Find the combinations that resonate best with your unique energy! Copyright 2011 www.crystal-cure.com. This article may not be reprinted or published without permission from Emily Gems.
A talk given by Dr. Raymond Yeh on November 24, 2011 On Thanksgiving Day, my family celebrated my birthday, a few days ahead of time, so that I began my 75th year on earth. As I look back over the last 55 years in this wonderful country, so much has changed—from the height of post-WWII prosperity and great spirit, to a country mired in economic difficulties with so many people having health problems. The opening phrase of a poem, at the beginning of the famous Chinese classic–“the stories of the three kingdoms” came to mind: All the heroes of the past Were washed away; By the rolling waves of the eastward Long River! As I contemplated these words, tears of gratefulness rolled down my cheeks. This evening, I would like to take this opportunity to thank some of many wonderful people I have encountered during this fantastic journey. Clearly my parents had the biggest influence on me. The one great gift they both gave me, other than bringing me to this world, is tenacity—the ability to go on despite seemingly impossible conditions. They embodied this spirit, both as a necessity imposed by the harsh conditions during the war and as an inborn character in their bones. Through their own embodiment, my parents taught me to never give up in whatever I would like to accomplish. My mother was an extremely filial daughter, having taken care of my grandmother for over 30 years. In later years, she had exhibited tremendous forgiveness and compassion towards the last part of her life. But most important of all to her children, we know that she would give her last drop of blood in order to protect her children from harm. While I always felt that my mother influenced me more, I began to realize in recent years of the gradual deepening influence of my father. When I was young, I remembered my father always told us to “prepare for anything we do”, and that he was always calm and non-judgmental. As I got to know more of him through the years, I came to appreciate the greatness in him. While clearly a war hero, and probably only one of a handful of Chinese generals who were always victorious during the war, according to CCTV, I was much more impressed with his inclusive heart. He has a nickname in the Chinese Army called “Grandma Yeh – the always victorious general” because he truly cared for his soldiers. He came from a very poor family and the only way out of poverty was to join the Army even though he always wanted to be an engineer. But he always remembered his days of desperation as a teenager and never forgot to help other poor children like him. During his Army career, he set up three schools for poor children. When I visited the 1st Vocational High school in Tengchong in 2005, I felt the full force of his personality. I was so amazed that the people there erected one and only memorial tower, in the highest point in town, to honor him and his division, despite the many divisions that had poured into the city during the war. In fact, everywhere I went, people remembered him, even taxi drivers in their 20’s, after more than 60 years. What I’ve come to realize is that “he really cared.” I was told of a story of an old Japanese gentleman recalling his meeting with my father, after the Chinese army retook Tengchong. He was brought to meet my father, as a captured Japanese soldier. He said; “The young general did not treat me as a prisoner of war at all. He told me to go home to rebuild Japan as my country needed me just like China needs him. I followed his advice and would like to honor my mentor from 60 years ago.” I have learned from him two additional lessons, many years after he passed away: - the true meaning of equality means that poverty is everyone’s responsibility; - Flexibility of the mind -- so that one could tradeoff different perspectives and ‘connect the dots’ to arrive at something unexpected. I’ve come to realize that one must learn to leverage in order to achieve seemingly impossible task with little resource. The first part of my life in this country was that of a student and I had the good fortune to have met Prof. David Muller as my thesis advisor, at the University of Illinois at Champion-Urbana. He was trained as a physicist and became famous in making fundamental contributions to both Mathematics and Computer Architecture and Theory. He mentored me in the most unusual way in that he never suggested what should be the topic of my Ph.D. thesis. However, he provided all the space and time to allow me to go into myself to discover what I must write. While he would give me the time for any questions during my search, he never provided a direct answer. He usually asked me a question as answer to my question. Recalling these meetings with him, I now understand that he forced me to be honest with myself as well as to develop a sense of fearlessness in order to be a true explorer of knowledge. In doing so, I was forced to smash open many of my self-limiting assumptions, like peeling an onion one layer at a time, until I saw myself totally naked. Although I changed the topic of my thesis several times, knowing each was not good enough, he never complained though he was paying me as a research assistant just to write my thesis. It was painful to be his student as one was forced to go inside to find what’s there. But at the same time, it was a great joy when you walked through the dark tunnel and suddenly saw lights and beauty in front of you. While his teaching was mostly in silence with a smile or looking at me with his sparkling blue eyes, his behavior expressed to me that he was totally focused on bringing the best out of me by allowing me to find my own voice. To summarize, here are lessons I’ve learned from Prof. Muller: - be intellectually honest so as not to waste time on things not coming from my inner voice; - maintain a fearless spirit by learning to continually smash my own self-limiting assumptions as I explore; - a powerful way to help another human being is just to be there for him or her. When I left the academia to become an entrepreneur, Mr. Jack Trotter, an old time venture capitalist, was our first investor. One day, his assistant called informing me that Mr. Trotter would like to stop by for 30 minutes to understand what we were doing. Well, 7 or 8 minutes after I began my presentation, he raised his right hand and said: “Ray, I don’t understand a thing of what you talked about. However, I like you and want to know how much funding do you need?” He began to send me a check every month after the meeting with no agreement signed. After I spent more than 1 million dollars of his money, his assistant called one day and said: “Jack thinks we ought to formalize an agreement about his investment”. Jack not only helped me to launch my entrepreneurial career, but more importantly, he taught me the true meaning of trust. Another great person I had the honor to meet was Dr. K.T. Li , the father of Taiwan’s information technology and the creator of Taiwan’s economic miracle. I met him in 1974 when he was the Minister of Finance of Taiwan and began a 30 year friendship. He turned down the opportunity to become the Premier in 1976 as he was concerned about how to achieve the 2nd economic development for Taiwan. When he was searching for a blue-print for Taiwan’s 2nd S-curve of economic development, he went around the world talking to top IT leaders in industry and academia. When he visited me at Maryland, I was so surprised that he came by himself and took careful notes on what I said. From interactions with him, I’ve learned how a person could simultaneously be aware of both the “macro view” as well as detailed “micro view.” More specifically, he taught me how to keep a keen awareness of both the forest as well as individual trees in order to make better decision by “separating what is important in life from what isn’t.” He was another example of the great people I met who had no ego. It turns out that one of the most influential persons in my life is my wife—my life long partner, best friend, and teacher. Since our first encounter, it has been 50 years. What Priscilla taught me was her natural born attitude for service in that her happiness is derived from making other people happy. She always mentioned that in service, her reward is instantaneous. She does not need any awards or other people’s praise. The lessons of service from her, over many years, helped me to gradually reduce the size of my ego. As a consequence, we enjoyed an extraordinary level of wellbeing because being of service leads to: - Better relationships—we can hear more deeply, not only of people’s words, but also the emotion behind the words; - Better physical health—as our individual mind is more relaxed, it causes less agitation to our body; and - A higher degree of joy and inner peace—because the rewards are always there and instant. Most importantly, I am grateful to the Venerable Master for establishing CTTB. As part of this wonderful community, I was indeed fortunate to be nourished by vows of Buddhas and Bodhisavattas through the multitude of Dharma events here. I have learned that Bodhisavattas always practice deep inclusion, covering past, present, and future as well as the unlimited space of all the 10 directions, which allows them to “see all beings with compassionate eyes”. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you, the people in CTTB who had helped to polish me over the last eight years. Because of you, I have changed and made some progress on cultivation. Perhaps the following story can express some of the changes of your collective influence on me. We think there are a couple of field mice in our cottage, although we usually see only one at a time. One night, a few weeks ago, I saw a mouse crawling up the bed towards me, during a dream. As I watched, he crawled right into my right hand, which was lying open. I quickly caught the mouse and jumped up and went to the back door intending to throw him out as far as I could. When I opened the backdoor, the chill air made me almost tremble. I thought: “Well, we have coexisted with him for some time now, and it would not be right to throw him out on a very cold night.” So, I let him go inside of the cottage. Then, I woke up. I believe my mind is suppler now by being here with you. As I look back into this wonderful journey, I recall a poem by a monk during the Ming dynasty, when asked where his home was. He said: “Home is east of eastern end of Ming Mountain, Where red flowers blossom year round. While I am not among the blooms now, The bloomy flowers continue to flourish where they have always been.” CTTB had been a most wonderful sanctuary for me to distill the lessons of this life; I am readying myself to go home which perhaps can be expressed using the format above as:“Home is west of the western end of Saha world, Where overlapping Lotus flowers blossom year round. While I am not among the blooms now, The fragrance of a purple bud is ready to welcome the traveler home!”
The textbook symmetry A number of news organizations have reported on a recent study of Palestinian and Israeli textbooks that was funded by the State Department. The JTA reported New textbook study threatens to undercut argument that Palestinian schools preach hate: “This obviously cuts down one of the pegs and a linchpin in the argument that the Israel government makes, that the Palestinian Authority is teaching hatred to their kids,” said an official who works closely with mainstream Jewish organizations in the United States. The official declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.That's a nice touch, suggesting that someone has been intimidated by pro-Israel forces. Joel Greenberg of the Washington Post reported Israelis unhappy with study of their textbooks and Palestinians’: While various surveys of Israeli and Palestinian textbooks have been conducted over the years, organizers of the latest study said it was the most systematic and comprehensive of books from both sides. It examined 94 Palestinian and 74 Israeli books, evaluating more than 3,000 texts, as well as photos and maps. Funded with a grant from the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, the study was directed by Bruce E. Wexler, a professor of psychiatry at Yale University who worked with two Israeli and Palestinian experts on textbook analysis, subjecting books from both sides to identical evaluation questions, with results fed to a database. The study was initiated by the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land, an interfaith association of Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders that seeks to promote reconciliation. But the Israeli Chief Rabbinate, which is represented on the council and had previously endorsed the textbook study, dissociated itself from its findings in a statement last week, citing what it called serious methodological flaws.The spin here is that when something objective contradicts the official Israeli position, Israel denies its validity. In a companion article Anne Gearan reports State Department strains to avoid Israeli-Palestinian textbook dispute: The report came on Secretary of State John F. Kerry’s first day in office. He is expected to renew U.S. efforts to draw Israel and the Palestinians back to stalled peace negotiations. The findings presented in Jerusalem on Monday drew on research by Israeli, Palestinian and American academics who called it a definitive objective look at the way Israelis and Palestinians teach their children about the histories of both peoples. The report said outright demonization or incitement is rare, but that each side’s narrative is skewed and myopic. Palestinians quickly said the study showed that Israel is wrong to accuse Palestinians of racial or religious incitement in schools.Here the implication is that Israeli objections to further negotiations are based on unsupported prejudices. The New York Times reports Academic Study Weakens Israeli Claim That Palestinian School Texts Teach Hate. After establishing that the study is the product of unimpeachable academic research the article gives an example: The textbook teachings on martyrdom and self-sacrifice are treated with similar evenhandedness. Palestinian sixth graders read in a language book that “every stone is violated, every square cries out in anger, every nerve is abuzz, death before submission, death before submission, forward!” Israeli second graders are told the story of Joseph Trumpeldor, who died defending an early Zionist settlement from Arab attackers in 1920 and was said to have uttered in his last moments, “Never mind, it is good to die for our country.”If this is an example of the "evenhanded" treatment accorded both sides, it demonstrates the problem with the study. The phrase appearing in the Palestinian textbook is a call glorifying martyrdom. The Trumpeldor statement, though, is the acceptance of one's fate, not significantly different from Nathan Hale's reported last words. Similarly, the Jerusalem Post reports the response of Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser who compiles an incitement index of Palestinian society: According to Kuperwasser, the report cited Israeli textbooks that linked Palestinians to the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre as a negative portrayal. “By mentioning that this was a terror attack performed by Palestinians, this is a negative description of the Palestinians? I mean, how far can you go?” he asked.Elder of Ziyon looked at several more examples and explains Why the textbook study is fatally flawed - on both sides: Telling each side's narrative is not so terrible. Teaching children lies - especially when the lies are meant to incite - is contemptible. The study needed to concentrate on the truth above all, and only then look at the wording. By doing it backwards and sacrificing truth on the altar of political correctness, they are doing no one any favors.Gidon Ben Tzvi critiques Harriet Sherwood's reporting on the story. The New York Times mentions previous textbook studies, including one by Palestinian Media Watch, and dismisses them as "subjective." In contrast the new report is called "academic," "rigorous" and "scientific." Dissenters were strictly from the Israeli side. In contrast, when the same reporter, Isabel Kershner wrote about Palestinian Media Watch a little more than a year ago, she presented dissents from both sides. Some explain the overheated language as a natural expression of such a long-running conflict, and say that any real education in the language of peace is unlikely to come before negotiators resolve the core issues. “Reconciliation comes only after matters have been settled,” said Radwan Abu Ayyash, a veteran Palestinian journalist and former director of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, the parent of the authority’s television and radio stations with headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. “Thinking of Jaffa and Haifa is still there as an old dream, as history,” he said, referring to the Palestinian refugees’ desire to return to the homes they occupied before 1948, “but it is not reality.”and: Some Israelis struggle with the practice of monitoring the Palestinian news media, acknowledging the importance of knowing what is being said in Arabic, yet disturbed by how its dissemination is exploited by those not eager to see Israel make concessions. As the ambassador to Washington at the time, Mr. Rabinovich said he found himself in the awkward position of having to explain to anyone who would listen that jihad, usually translated as holy war, could also mean a spiritual struggle, in order to justify continuing the peace process. Still, he said, it is not by chance that those focusing on Palestinian incitement and publicizing it are “rightist groups who use it as ammunition.”In the New York Times when a study contradicts the official Israeli position it is "scientific"and above reproach, but Palestinian incitement is explained away and those bringing it up are disparaged. If you found this post interesting or informative, please it below. Thanks!
Students celebrate diversity through oratory competition Special to The Dallas Examiner \| 1/27/2014, 9:05 a.m. Special to The Dallas Examiner Kayla O’Neal, a fourth-grader at J.P. Starks Math, Science and Technology Vanguard Elementary School, took first place in the 22nd Annual Gardere MLK Jr. Oratory Competition, a contest that celebrates cultural diversity in celebration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and encourages young students to exercise their writing and oratory skills. Established in 1993, the competition is sponsored by the law firm Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP for fourth and fifth graders. Four years later, it expanded to students in Houston. Twenty participating schools hosted an in-school competition with up to 20 fourth and fifth graders. The first place winners went on to compete in the semi-finals on Dec. 10 at Dallas ISD Headquarters Auditorium. Eight finalists were chosen to advance to the finals, held Jan. 17 at The Majestic Theatre. Clarice Tinsley, anchor for KDFW FOX 4 news, served as master of ceremonies. The David W. Carter High School choir performed while judges deliberated. In recognition of the 50th anniversary of King’s I Have A Dream speech, the finalists delivered speeches on the topic: “If Dr. King were speaking at a March on Washington today, what would he say?” O’Neil’s winning speech outlined her ideas on how King would applaud the efforts and successes of African Americans today, acknowledge the change that needs to happen within communities and inspire the youth of today to take charge of their futures. “Dr. King would remind us of the importance of education and how our ancestors fought, bled and died for us to have the right to attend any college, anywhere,” she said during the event. “I can hear him in his soothe calming voice saying, ‘The key to the future is in education.’” Etana King, a fourth-grader at John Neely Bryan Elementary School, took second place. Jamiya McNeil, a fifth-grader at Charles Rice Learning Center, took third. The other finalists were: Ahmad Crawford, a fifth-grader at Thomas L. Marsalis Elementary; Aisha Young, a fourth-grader at William Brown Miller Elementary School; Sedailiah Rochelle, a fifth-grader at Thomas Tolbert Elementary School; Chaelon Simpson, a fourth-grader at Ronald E. McNair Elementary School; and Luke Nayfa, a fifth-grader at Harry C. Withers Elementary School.
The Wall Street Journal asked a question with an obvious answer this week under the headline "How Could a Sweet Third-Grader Just Cheat on That School Exam?" A quick answer is, because human beings are a naturally social species that has survived and flourished for thousands of years by collaborating and discovering division of labor. A less obvious answer then is, because school insists on labeling those perfectly natural behaviors "cheating," when mostly it's mostly a case of school not knowing how to teach. Kids, you already grasp this intuitively, but I'ma write the long version for you here. Most schoolwork builds an artificial world in which your superior cares foremost about evaluating your work and offering you feedback on it. By the time you’re 25, at the latest, you’ll realize this setup amounts to an uproarious hoax. No one who works has time to tell you how to do your job better, because everyone is working his or her ass off just to get his or her work done and maybe have time to go to the gym or to have sex or to cook actual dinner at the end of their gantlet of a commute. Feedback is a luxury good unless you botch something in a dire way. Don't wait up for it. Mostly it’s up to you just to do good work. To do the best work, you need the help of other people. This goes for everything ever, so let me repeat it: You will need other people to help you do the best work possible. How you get this help is a matter of using the resources at your disposal. Those tools include: horse-trading, bullying, threatening, manipulating, cajoling, networking, buying, massaging, or simply building a reputation for honesty and integrity that draws other people into your orbit. Or it’s all of the above. But your job, no matter what your job is, is really to figure out how to do the best work, and unless you’re Ted Kaczynksi, your job is going to involve cultivating working relationships with other people. Thus your schooling, administered properly, should encourage you to maximize your relationships as they relate to the work you do for school. But chances are, you’re being evaluated almost exclusively on cloistered, individual assignments. This will give you the illusion that you can do good work as an autonomous working unit. And you can, but only to a limited degree. If singleton work is all you spend your time doing, then you’re not getting ready for a world in which there’s no central authority figure judging the quality of your work. Most of the time, in life, you’ll be expected to perform well as part of a group and that work will be evaluated, loosely, by other groups or by the public at large. Aside from extra-curriculars such as orchestra or volleyball or theater or yearbook, schools don't make use of that structure. By setting you up to succeed at school, school is mostly preparing you for a perilous fantasy. So, please, when you read this hand-wringing about "cheating," take it with a giant grain of salt. You’re not little criminals for helping one another or for sharing ideas or asking someone what the answer is. You’re not “cheating” the system. You are instead demonstrating an aptitude for discerning how things really work. You’re collaborating, you’re maximizing resources, and you’re managing risk. If schools were really preparing you for the 80 percent of your life that happens after you graduate, they’d evaluate you en masse, in dynamic groups. They’d encourage you to find ways to help the people around you, and they’d encourage you, implicitly or explicitly, to look for the talents of the people around you and try to complement them with your own abilities. Am I encouraging you to “cheat”? No, I don’t think I am. That old adage about you “only cheating yourself” is largely true. There are a bunch of bullshitters with bullshit degrees and bullshit titles who skate only so far before the people who have done the real work their whole lives call them on their bullshit. Don’t be a bullshitter. And don't take credit for work someone else did, because it's not only a lie, it will piss off the person who just did the real work and you'll be left flat on your lying, lazy ass. But don’t be a chump, either. Look around at the lawyers, the bankers, the politicians, the business leaders, the scientists, the filmmakers, the musicians, the tech innovators, the athletes, and ask yourself: Did these people rise by performing excelling in an infinite series of discrete, individually graded tasks? Or did they find other talented people and collaborate with them? Answer that question for yourself, then get together with your friends and insist to your educators that you'd like to be prepared accordingly. Photo credit of art installation meant to illustrate the 857 American students who drop out of school every hour of every school day: Getty
The University of Michigan condemns hazing practices as requirements for membership, advancement, or continued good standing in organizations. Hazing practices are potentially hazardous to life and limb and may often place their victims at risk of physical and emotional damage. The University community joins in condemning such practices and could not support the continued operation of any group which allows such practices. The University community urges appropriate sanctions to violators to the extent legally possible. At the least, the word "hazing" includes the following willful acts, with or without the consent of the individual involved: physical injury, assault or battery kidnapping or imprisonment intentionally placing at risk of severe mental or emotional harm (putting "over the edge" degradation, humiliation, or compromising of moral or religious values forced consumption of any liquid or solid placing an individual in physical danger (at risk) which includes abandonment impairment of physical liberties which include curfews or other interference with academic endeavors Approved by the Regents, June 1982 The Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Effective Date; April 2, 2004 Updated/revised: April 2, 2004
It is interesting that Christianity spread throughout the world and never had to deal with contradictions in the details because there was no printed bible available to the masses until the printing press.I would love to go through these apparent contradictions one by one and explain which ones are possibly scribal errors, which ones I believe are minor mistakes on details which have nothing to do with theology, and which ones are clearly points of view and the way in which you are looking at the concept (which clearly needs more clarification).Concision is often impossible when striving for precision on the Holy things of God because of the perspective from which you are looking at the theological concept.I posted some comments on youtube.God works perfectly through our imperfections and He always has.The "bible" is not the words of God(although God has sovereignly decreed every letter). The bible contains the perfect reason/word/logic of God all through it and the scriptures are a testimony to Jesus Christ and HIS moral perfection and Perfect Sacrifice.Errors in the details are inevitable. The perfect Word of God is not to be limited to Paleo Hebrew or koine Greek. Someday we will have a perfect language. Question everything. Post a Comment
If you ever get a chance to visit Michigan Renewable Carbon, the odor will make you want to go camping. I seem to have fallen in love with a truck. Namely, the tech-loaded 2013 Spring Tech Tour Mobile, the current reigning North American Truck Of The Year, the Ram 1500 from Chrysler LLC. Well, it’s finally arrived. The WWJ Technology Report will be taking its 10th annual Tech Tour on the Michigan road beginning tonight. Matt’s Favorites: Alpena Tech, Climate Change Hurts Wine, GM <3 Facebook Again, Crunch Time For Mars Mission, And Much More Target Alpena Development Corp. has received conditional approval by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to become a SmartZone. The new three R’s are spelled S-T-E-M. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math, and the Information Technology Empowerment Center (ITEC) is partnering with more than a dozen community groups to kick off Lansing’s first STEM Week, Nov. 26-30. When I’m on my Fall Tech Tour around Michigan and I ask university tech transfer officials to see their four or five coolest “science projects” that have economic development potential, they always say they have so many it’s a tough choice. But try to imagine the tough choices faced by the University of Michigan, which has a research budget of a staggering $1.2 billion-plus a year, consistently among the top five in the nation. How the heck do you pick? Like several of the science- and tech-based schools in Michigan that I cover, I have a soft spot for Kettering University, where my fall Tech Tour visited Friday. The Great Lakes Innovation and Technology Report’s Fall Tech Tour gets me the heck outta town to see the latest and greatest research at Michigan’s fabulous universities — research that has the potential to create new businesses and new jobs in Michigan. It’s a world-class research university, America’s pioneering land grant college, the first place on the planet to study agriculture scientifically, and just passed a little-known school called MIT for No. 1 in graduate studies of particle physics. So while it may be a rebuilding year at Spartan Stadium on Saturday afternoons, Michigan State University is and always will be a must-visit as long as there are Great Lakes Innovation and Techology Report Fall Tech Tours. Matt tells all about the Tech Tour Mobile, a loaded 2013 Ford Taurus Limited. The verdict: Big car fun with tons of tech touches, and only a few quibbles.
Patent Searching Basics Learn the basics of patent searching, pursuing an invention and obtaining protection for that invention. Learn what a patent is and how to use the USPTO, Google Patents and Expacenet websites to check for your inventions ability to be patented. TLC Computer Lab. Catalog & Database Search Search books, movies, games and other library materials. Search newspaper, magazine and journal articles.
DGE Newsletter, January 2008 Field & Berry Lab Groups \|Jan. 14: The theme for this Winter Quarter will be Plant Systematics. We listed the many Families that have representatives in this area of California. Each participant will collect information and hopefully a sample from at least one live plant in one of the Families. And each week, three Families will be discussed. We also plan to have three Field Trips to Jasper Ridge, the first one on Feb. 4. Tasting: Chris brought six species of mushrooms (primitive plants) which he had purchased at Draeger's Market to avoid any possibility of liability. Jan. 21: Adam Wolf opened with a description and examples of the Ericaceae. These include the Madrone, Manzanita & Azalea. Yuka Estrada followed with a power point presentation of the Rosaceae which include many familiar fruit trees such as apple, pear & cherry. Rob Genova concluded with the Brassicaceae that includes mustard, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and Arabidopsis (a favorite for genetic studies in the Dept. Plant Biology). Nona Chiariello also brought in many examples of these same Family Groups for us to examine. Tasting: Rob brought four jars of mustard including Madras Curry, Creole/Louisiana, Garlic, and Mendocino hot & sweet to taste with pretzels Jan. 28: Kyla Dahlin led off with detailed descriptions of the Pinaceae which included most of the pines and firs in California. She also provided some packaged pine nuts that were an important food for many native peoples worldwide. In addition, we tasted her delicate tea brewed from the tips of Douglas Fir needles. Luis Fernandez introduced the Malvaceae or Mallow Family that can be divided into four familiar groups. One includes hibiscus, okra, cotton & hollyhock which characteristically exude a slimy substance when cut; another includes kapok and the stinky durian; a third has cocoa & cola nuts; while jute is in a fourth group. Luis brought tea to taste that he had brewed from dried hibiscus blossoms. He told us that this type of sweetened drink is very popular throughout Latin America. Chris Field finished up with the Lauraceae that includes avacado, laurel cinnamon & Calif. bay. He told us members of this family featured large in early Greek mythology and witchcraft. \|Jan. 22: Dr. Ian T. Baldwin from the Max Planck Inst. for Chemical Ecology gave a joint Seminar to DGE & the Dept. of Plant Biology. His topic was Using native habitats to understand gene function. One illustration was how a native plant has evolved a strategy for dealing with a particular herbivore (caterpillar) by sending out chemical attractants to carnivorous insects which\| \|may kill the herbivore. In another example, his laboratory has shown that the saliva from a herbivore that is denuding a plant's leaves causes the plant to send fixed carbon to its roots. Then during the proper season, the plant can used that stored energy to flower even though its leaves are gone. Members of Ian's lab. group are tracking down the various chemical attractants to the genetic level. His thesis that studying plants in their native habitat (a Utah desert) can be very rewarding was convincing. This work harkens back to the early days of Carnegie's Dept. of Plant Biology at Stanford, which had established Field Stations at Mather (5000 ft elevation) and Timberline (10,000 ft) in the Sierra Nevada Mts. The influence of these three very different environments on one plant Genus (Mimulus) was compared at the genetic level. Jan. 30: Prof. Matthew Posewitz, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, & Research Scientist at the National Renewable Energy Lab., CO spoke on Anoxia, hydrogenase activity, and renewable energy prospects in phototrophic microorganisms. The ability of microalgae and bacteria to make hydrogen and organic fuels has long stimulated scientists to look at them as the Holy Grail for energy production. This has led to mutational studies to make existing microorganism more efficient fuel producers and also to searches in harsh environments for more species with an unusual metabolism. However, these very metabolic characteristics also cause serious difficulties when trying to scale up cultures for mass production of renewable energy. \|From left to right: Kim Cahill \|Chris Field is teaching a Stanford Biology Course titled Climate Change: Drives, Impacts, Solutions during the current Winter Quarter. The weekly Stanford Report released Jan. 9 contains an article about Chris' attending the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony and banquet on Dec. 10 in Oslo, Norway. Dr. Field emphasized that he was selected by lottery to represent thousands of dedicated people, each of whom was critical to the success of the IPCC. Although we all know how hard he has worked for the IPCC for many years, Chris is so modest that he didn't tell your Editor of this honor at the time. Jan. 7: Ken Caldeira gave a talk at Google on geoengineering that was posted on YouTube.<http://www.youtube.com> Jan. 9: Ken Caldeira spoke on Ocean Acidification & Geoengineering: A pair of short talks, as a part of the Energy Seminar Series at Stanford. His lecture was sponsored by the Woods Institute for the Environment. In a recent article in Science Magazine (1-11-08), Ken emphasized that " We are convinced that, as yet, there is no scientific basis for issuing such carbon credits for OIF [Ocean Iron Fertilization]." Ken also welcomed Senior Student, Brian Alano from Purdue Univ., to work for a week on a paper they are writing about the Relationship between surface albedo and outgoing short wavelength radiation from the Earth. Jan. 18: Ken Caldeira went to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve near Half Moon Bay, CA to be filmed as part of a documentary on ocean acidification. This location gave a chance to point out some organisms such as sea urchins, coraline algae, limpets, mussels, etc. that might be negatively impacted. Jan. 20-24: Cristina Archer attended the 88th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society in New Orleans. She presented a paper, co-authored with Caldeira, on trends of intensity, latitude, and altitude of the jet streams in the last decades. Jan. 23: Chris Field gave a public talk at Stanford titled IPCC, Kyoto and Next Steps to Meet the Challenge of Climate Change. Jan. 27-30: Noel Gurwick attended a NSF Riparian Zone Workshop: "Generalizing Riparian Zone Function at the Landscape Scale: New Tools, New Approaches, Gaps in Knowledge and Future Research Directions" held in Indianapolis. \|Claudia Tebaldi is visiting DGE again. She has just started as a research scientist for Climate Central, an emergent non-profit organization based in Princeton, NJ, whose mission is the communication of science findings and solutions regarding climate change. Climate Central is going to open an office in Palo Alto but meanwhile Claudia is enjoying the collaborative atmosphere of DGE. She plans to continue working with David Lobell (see below) and become involved in new projects at DGE. Ulli Seibt will also be visiting us until April when she plans to start working on her European Research Council (Starting Independent Investigator) grant in a lab just outside Paris. In the meantime, she will be collaborating with Joe Berry on modeling (e.g. carbonyl sulfide). Congratulations to Ulli for receiving one these prestigious ERC grants. Jan. 24: David Lobell, Senior Research Scholar, Program on Food Security in Environment, Stanford Woods Institute spoke about Agriculture in a New Era: Three changes in the global food economy and the opportunities for science. His lecture was held in the new Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building (known on campus as the Y2E2 Building. \|Archives and PDF Archives of past Newsletters, Click on photos for enlargement. \|Editor Jan Brown, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.org
Definition of Theoretical plate Get Babylon's Dictionary & Translation Software Free Download Now! Theoretical plate Definition from Science & Technology Dictionaries & Glossaries Glossary of liquid chromatographic terms A concept described by Manin and Synge. Relates chromatographic separation to the theory of distillation. Measure of column efficiency. Length of column relating to this concept is called height equivalent to a theoretical plate (HETP). See HETP. Theoretical plate Definition from Encyclopedia Dictionaries & Glossaries Wikipedia English - The Free Encyclopedia A theoretical plate in many separation processes is a hypothetical zone or stage in which two phases, such as the liquid and vapor phases of a substance, establish an equilibrium with each other. Such equilibrium stages may also be referred to as an equilibrium stage, ideal stage, or a theoretical tray. The performance of many separation processes depends on having a series of equilibrium stages and is enhanced by providing more such stages. In other words, having more theoretical plates increases the efficacy of the separation process be it either a distillation, absorption, chromatographic, adsorption or similar process. \|See more at Wikipedia.org...\|
—n., adj.dis'kount), [key] 1. to deduct a certain amount from (a bill, charge, etc.): All bills that are paid promptly will be discounted at two percent. 2. to offer for sale or sell at a reduced price: The store discounted all clothing for the sale. 3. to advance or lend money with deduction of interest on (commercial paper not immediately payable). 4. to purchase or sell (a bill or note) before maturity at a reduction based on the interest for the time it still has to run. 5. to leave out of account; disregard: Even if we discount the irrelevant material, the thesis remains mediocre. 6. to allow for exaggeration in (a statement, opinion, etc.): Knowing his political bias they discounted most of his story. 7. to take into account in advance, often so as to diminish the effect of: They had discounted the effect of a decline in the stock market. 1. to advance or lend money after deduction of interest. 2. to offer goods or services at a reduced price. 1. the act or an instance of discounting. 2. an amount deducted from the usual list price. 3. any deduction from the nominal value. 4. a payment of interest in advance upon a loan of money. 5. the amount of interest obtained by one who discounts. 6. an allowance made for exaggeration or bias, as in a report, story, etc.: Even after all the discounts are taken, his story sounds phony. 7. at a discount, a. Com.below par. b. below the usual list price. c. in low esteem or regard: His excuses were taken at a discount by all who knew him. d. not in demand; unwanted: Such ancient superstitions are at a discount in a civilized society. 1. selling or offered at less than the usual or established price: discount theater tickets. 2. selling goods at a discount: a discount drugstore. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
1590s, "to divide speech into distinct parts" (earlier "to formally bring charges against," 1550s), from Latin articulatus, past participle of articulare "to separate into joints," also "to utter distinctly," from articulus "joint" (see article). Generalized sense of "express in words" is from 1690s. Literal sense, "to join, to attach by joints," is attested from 1610s. Earlier senses, "to set forth in articles," "to bring a charge against" (1560s) now are obsolete or nearly so. Related: Articulated; articulating. 1580s in the speech sense (1570s as "formulated in articles"), from Latin articulatus (see articulate (v.)). Literal meaning "composed of segments united by joints" is from c.1600; the general sense of "speaking accurately" is short for articulate-speaking (1829). Related: Articulately. articulate ar·tic·u·late (är-tĭk'yə-lĭt) Capable of speaking distinctly and connectedly. Consisting of sections united by joints; jointed. To speak distinctly and connectedly. To join or connect together loosely to allow motion between the parts. To unite by forming a joint or joints. To form a joint; be jointed.
We're going out to dinner? Sweet! Old English swete "pleasing to the senses, mind or feelings," from Proto-Germanic swotijaz (cf. Old Saxon swoti, Swedish söt, Danish sød, Middle Dutch soete, Dutch zoet, Old High German swuozi, German süß), from PIE root swad- "sweet, pleasant" (Sanskrit svadus "sweet;" Greek hedys "sweet, pleasant, agreeable," hedone "pleasure;" Latin suavis "sweet," suadere "to advise," properly "to make something pleasant to"). To be sweet on someone is first recorded 1690s. Sweet-talk (v.) dates from 1935; earliest uses seem to refer to conversation between black and white in segregated U.S. Sweet sixteen first recorded 1767. Sweet dreams as a parting to one going to sleep is attested from 1898, short for sweet dreams to you, etc. Sweet and sour in cooking is from 1723 and not originally of oriental food. : a bunch of mealy-mouthed wimps who'd break bread with Adolf fucking Hitler if it meant some kind of rating during sweeps week Audience ratings and their announcement: She plans to stay through the May ratings ''sweeps'' (1980s+ Television) [perhaps fr sweepstakes]
First of all, it is inconceivable to me how scientists can continue to use the 3x slower "evolutionary mutation rate" for their analyses of Y-chromosome ages on the basis of Y-STR markers. I have done my small part in my Y-STR series to show that this mutation rate is applicable only for a rather specific demographic history, and completely unsuitable to real growing human populations where Y-STR variance accumulates at close to the genealogical rate. And, my observations merely elaborated quantitatively what was already present in Zhivotovsky et al. (2006) but has been completely ignored since: In simulations of a neutral process with average rate of increase m = 1, the number of surviving haplogroups rapidly decreased with time and corresponded well with the theory of mutant survival (Li 1955, p. 242), and the average size of the surviving haplogroups increased each generation by a value rapidly approaching 0.5 (data not shown), which agrees with asymptotic fraction of 2/t of haplotypes that survive at generation t (Athreya and Ney 1972, p. 19). The accumulated variance increased almost linearly (fig. 1), at a rate of increase about 0.00028 per generation; that is, the actual rate of accumulation microsatellite variation was about 3.6 times less than that predicted from the germ line mutation rate. This corresponds perfectly to the 3- to 4-fold difference observed between germ line and evolutionarily effective mutation rate.The issue is all but resolved in the amateur "genetic genealogy" community, but even professional geneticists often use either genealogical or evolutionary rate, or take an agnostic stance by reporting results based on both rates. To arrive at strong conclusions about a topic on the basis of a mutation rate that is, to say the least, controversial, without even acknowledging the existence of a controversy is unsatisfactory. Y-chromosome researchers ought to copy the attitude of those working with autosomal DNA, where a corresponding mutation rate controversy was not swept under the carpet, but acknowledged (e.g., in the recent Meyer et al. high-coverage Denisova paper), with the implications of the uncertainty during the present "transitional" period quantified in the form of wider confidence intervals. This "mutation rate" issue notwithstanding, it was also recently shown that by Busby et al. that Y-STR based estimates have a dependence on the set of Y-STRs used, with markers exhibiting linear behavior across different time spans. This does not invalidate their use as molecular clocks, but highlights the need to not only select a bunch of Y-STRs, but also either (i) demonstrate that the selected set exhibits linear behavior for the time span of interest, or (ii) correct for deviations from linearity. Again, this type of modelling of microsatellite behavior was recently achieved for autosomal STRs by Sun et al. Note that such deviations result in a slower rate than the genealogical one, but the mechanism whereby this is produced is completely different than the one proposed by Zhivotovsky et al.: it is not drift in a non-growing (m=1) population that reduces the effective rate, but rather "saturation" of the mutation process, whereby the variance at fast-mutating markers grows sub-linearly with time, because of physical constraints on their possible range of values. I don't hope that Y-STR based age estimation will have much to offer in the coming years. But the third set of the 1000 Genomes Project is on its way, and this will include a variety of South Asian samples. Very soon we will be in a good position to study the time depth of common ancestry between e.g., European and South Asian Y-chromosomes within various haplogroups using point mutations, and these are not plagued by many of the problems associated with Y-STR variation and its interpretation. Finally, I can't help but notice that this paper has not acknowledged the tremendous progress in resolving the Y chromosome phylogeny done by non-academic researchers. With the current state of our knowledge, the claim that haplogroup R1a1 is "autochthonous" in India is not tenable. Even if one discounts all the evidence made by SNP discoveries in the commercial testing world (and why should they?), finer-scale structure within this haplogroup has now been officially published and appears to be inconsistent with a South Asian origin of this haplogroup. Certainly, not all is resolved; for example, the representation of tribal populations in commercial DNA testing is almost non-existent, and a sampling of their Y-SNP diversity is urgently needed. A very useful paradigm of research is that of recent work on the most basal clade of the Y-chromosome phylogeny (A00) in which the identification of very unique Y-chromosomes by genetic genealogists was combined with academic samples of "indigenous" peoples to produce new knowledge. Much of population genetic research will benefit from such consilience between academics and amateurs. This is not an idle hope, but a recognition that this field is one in which the public not only has a substantial interest but can also do something about it. Many might be interested in Mars exploration, but without Elon Musk's bank account, most are consigned to being consumers of information about the Red Planet. Hopefully, better ways of combining the efforts of research scientists and the educated public can be identified and used in the near future. PLoS ONE 7(11): e50269. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0050269 Population Differentiation of Southern Indian Male Lineages Correlates with Agricultural Expansions Predating the Caste System GaneshPrasad ArunKumar et al. Previous studies that pooled Indian populations from a wide variety of geographical locations, have obtained contradictory conclusions about the processes of the establishment of the Varna caste system and its genetic impact on the origins and demographic histories of Indian populations. To further investigate these questions we took advantage that both Y chromosome and caste designation are paternally inherited, and genotyped 1,680 Y chromosomes representing 12 tribal and 19 non-tribal (caste) endogamous populations from the predominantly Dravidian-speaking Tamil Nadu state in the southernmost part of India. Tribes and castes were both characterized by an overwhelming proportion of putatively Indian autochthonous Y-chromosomal haplogroups (H-M69, F-M89, R1a1-M17, L1-M27, R2-M124, and C5-M356; 81% combined) with a shared genetic heritage dating back to the late Pleistocene (10–30 Kya), suggesting that more recent Holocene migrations from western Eurasia contributed less than 20% of the male lineages. We found strong evidence for genetic structure, associated primarily with the current mode of subsistence. Coalescence analysis suggested that the social stratification was established 4–6 Kya and there was little admixture during the last 3 Kya, implying a minimal genetic impact of the Varna (caste) system from the historically-documented Brahmin migrations into the area. In contrast, the overall Y-chromosomal patterns, the time depth of population diversifications and the period of differentiation were best explained by the emergence of agricultural technology in South Asia. These results highlight the utility of detailed local genetic studies within India, without prior assumptions about the importance of Varna rank status for population grouping, to obtain new insights into the relative influences of past demographic events for the population structure of the whole of modern India.
Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler. Washington : Government Printing Office, 1904. \|Chap. 345\|\|Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western Railway Company granted right of way through Lac de Flambeau Indian Reservation, Wisconsin.\| \|Chap. 345\|\|Stations, etc.\| \|Sec. 2\|\|Provisos. Payment.\| \|Sec. 3\|\|To be constructed in three years.\| Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there is hereby granted to the Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western Railway Company, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Wisconsin, and its assigns, the right of way for the extension of its railroad through the Lac de Flambeau Indian Reservation in said State, the said Indians having consented by Treaty to a reservation by the United States of the power to grant right of way through said reservation. Such right of way shall be fifty feet in width on each side of the central line of said railroad, and said company shall also have the right to take from the lands adjacent to the line of said road material, stone, and earth necessary for the construction of said railroad; also grounds adjacent to such right of way, for station buildings, depots, machineshops, side-tracks, turnouts, and water-stations, not to exceed in amount three hundred feet in width and three thousand feet in length for each station, to the extent of two stations within the limits of said reservation. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to fix the amount of compensation to be paid to the Indians for such right of way, and provide the time and manner for the payment thereof; and also to ascertain and fix the amount to be paid to individual members of the tribe for damages sustained by them by reason of the construction of said road; but no right of any kind shall vest in said railway company in or to any part of the right of way herein provided for, until plats thereof, made upon actual survey, for the definite location of such railroad, and including the grounds for station buildings, depots, machine-shops, side-tracks, turnouts, and water-stations, shall have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior, and until the compensation aforesaid shall have been fixed and paid, and the consent of the Indians on said reservation as to the amount of said compensation shall have been first obtained in a manner satisfactory to the President of the United States: Provided, That if said Indians shall refuse to accept a sum which in the judgment of the President is a just compensation for said right of way, the said compensation shall then be ascertained in such manner as the President shall direct having due regard to the rights of the Indians in which event the said company shall have the right to take and occupy said right of way by paying the compensation so ascertained in such manner as the Secretary of the Interior shall direct. Said company is hereby authorized to enter upon such reservation for the purpose of surveying and locating its line of railroad: Provided, That said railroad shall be located, constructed, and operated with due regard to the rights of the Indians and under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior shall prescribe. That the rights herein granted shall be forfeited by said company unless the road is constructed through said reservation within three years. That Congress may at any time amend, add to, alter, or repeal this act. Approved, June 4, 1888.
Date: January 5, 2006 Creator: Castillo, José L. Description: Stacks of colorful Rosca de Reyes cakes (called King's Cake or Three Kings Bread in English) are in the foreground while, in the background, a man takes Rosca de Reyes out of the oven. There are many traditions associated with Rosca de Reyes, but it is often baked for special occasions. It is usually shaped like a wreath and contains fruit and a plastic or ceramic baby Jesus doll. Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries Special Collections
This collection of local newsfilm, documentaries and other programs presents 60 years of social and cultural history of the San Francisco Bay Area. A sample of the many relevant films in this collection follows: Chicano women's rights (1973);... This collection includes transcripts of numerous oral history interviews with residents of the Bay Area about their experiences during the World War II period. Narrators cover such topics as work and family life, race relations, educational... Employment; Race relations; Women; World War, 1939-1945 United States -- California Display a larger image and more item information when the pointer pauses over a thumbnail
THIS QUESTION OF ENFORCING A COURT DECREE WHEN, WHEN THERE'S OPPOSITION TO IT, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN IN TERMS OF FEDERAL [?]? Well, it, it, it doesn't often but it happens. If a governor is determined to do everything he can to thwart a compliance with a federal court order, he has enormous powers at his control. He has the power of the, over the motions, the emotions of the people of the state and that's an enormous power because if you have a crowd of two or three or four or five thousand people, with guns there is an enormously dangerous situation. It isn't just a question of getting out marshals, you have to get out the United States Army to combat with that. He's got, he's got initial control of state national guard. Now the, the problem in our history—it isn't the only problem—but the basic problem in our history that is about that kind of defiance of federal authority, by state authorities is the race issue. It is the determined adherence to a system of racial oppression. And the system of racial oppression was threatened just by the entry of one black student to the University of Mississippi, so the state of Mississippi was just determined by the state, I mean the governor, every state official, every state judge, that I know of. Almost all of the officials of the University, 90% of the students of the University, all the sheriffs of the counties of Mississippi, all of, a whole lot of deputy sheriffs, a whole lot of farmers and other people with guns were determined to resist that order. Now when you get to that situation, it is, it's not a question that can be handled by lawyers. It isn't a question of going to the court and saying, "This is what you should do, court. Order this and all will be well." That won't solve it. The only thing that solves that in the end, is by the use of force, and the only questions are, whom, a, who is going to apply the, who is going to apply the force? At what time? On what occasion? By what means? In what magnitude? For what duration?
Duke University professor of religion and art historian David Morgan analyzes the Utah artist Jon McNaughton, who has been fully embraced by the Tea Party: One Nation Under God, The Forgotten Man and Wake Up America! suggest a new coalition, one personified in Glenn Beck (and now perhaps Mitt Romney): a union among conservative evangelicals and Mormons. It is noteworthy that Joseph Smith is not among the worthies who step forth from the mist of the American past. But we do see at least one Mormon: among the righteous stands a black male college student—perhaps a counterintuitive choice to represent McNaughton’s own faith, as black men were banned from the Mormon priesthood until 1978. This man holds a copy of a book by the oft-described "faith-based political theorist" Willard Cleon Skousen, a writer frequently touted by Beck. The Five Thousand Year Leap (1981) proclaimed that the Constitution was inspired by the freedom fighters of the Bible, not the free thinkers of the Enlightenment. While it's easy to dismiss the work, Morgan believes them to be representative of "something powerful moving through many religious sub-cultures in the United States today": These groups do not distinguish between religion and politics the way that many commentators and cultural analysts would prefer. For McNaughton and his admirers, as well as many more, there is nothing at all absurd about Jesus holding the Constitution as a sacred artifact, as evidence of his authorial intent. (One Nation Under God (2009) by McNaughton)
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company K, 9th Infantry, 2d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Rocherath, Belgium, 17 December 1944. Entered service at: West Haven, Conn. Birth: West Haven, G.O. No.: 97, 1 November 1945. Citation: Armed with a bazooka, he defended a key road junction near Rocherath, Belgium, on 17 December 1944, during the German Ardennes counteroffensive. After a heavy artillery barrage had wounded and forced the withdrawal of his assistant, he heard enemy tanks approaching the position where he calmly waited in the gathering darkness of early evening until the 5 Mark V tanks which made up the hostile force were within pointblank range. He then stood up, completely disregarding the firepower that could be brought to bear upon him, and launched a rocket into the lead tank, setting it afire and forcing its crew to abandon it as the other tanks pressed on before Pfc. Soderman could reload. The daring bazookaman remained at his post all night under severe artillery, mortar, and machinegun fire, awaiting the next onslaught, which was made shortly after dawn by 5 more tanks Running along a ditch to meet them, he reached an advantageous point and there leaped to the road in full view of the tank gunners, deliberately aimed his weapon and disabled the lead tank. The other vehicles, thwarted by a deep ditch in their attempt to go around the crippled machine, withdrew. While returning to his post Pfc. Soderman, braving heavy fire to attack an enemy infantry platoon from close range, killed at least 3 Germans and wounded several others with a round from his bazooka. By this time, enemy pressure had made Company K's position untenable. Orders were issued for withdrawal to an assembly area, where Pfc. Soderman was located when he once more heard enemy tanks approaching. Knowing that elements of the company had not completed their disengaging maneuver and were consequently extremely vulnerable to an armored attack, he hurried from his comparatively safe position to meet the tanks. Once more he disabled the lead tank with a single rocket, his last; but before he could reach cover, machinegun bullets from the tank ripped into his right shoulder. Unarmed and seriously wounded he dragged himself along a ditch to the American lines and was evacuated. Through his unfaltering courage against overwhelming odds, Pfc. Soderman contributed in great measure to the defense of Rocherath, exhibiting to a superlative degree the intrepidity and heroism with which American soldiers met and smashed the savage power of the last great German offensive This data was extracted from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973)
To store, organize, and retrieve data, most applications use relational databases. Java EE applications access relational databases through the JDBC API. Before an application can access a database, it must get a connection. At runtime, here’s what happens when an application connects to a database: The application gets the JDBC resource (data source) associated with the database by making a call through the JNDI API. Given the resource’s JNDI name, the naming and directory service locates the JDBC resource. Each JDBC resource specifies a connection pool. Via the JDBC resource, the application gets a database connection. Behind the scenes, the application server retrieves a physical connection from the connection pool that corresponds to the database. The pool defines connection attributes such as the database name (URL), user name, and password. Now that it is connected to the database, the application can read, modify, and add data to the database. The applications access the database by making calls to the JDBC API. The JDBC driver translates the application’s JDBC calls into the protocol of the database server. When it is finished accessing the database, the application closes the connection. The application server returns the connection to the connection pool. Once it’s back in the pool, the connection is available for the next application.
\|Skip Navigation Links\| \|Exit Print View\| \|System Administration Guide: Oracle Solaris Zones, Oracle Solaris 10 Containers, and Resource Management Oracle Solaris 11 Express 11/10\| The ipkg zone uses the branded zones framework described in brands(5) to run zones installed with the same software as is installed in the global zone. The system software must always be in sync with the global zone when using an ipkg brand. The system software packages within the zone are managed using the image packaging system. The various components within a package are specifically tagged to only be installed in either a global zone or a non-global zone. A given package can contain a file that is tagged so that it won't be installed into a non-global zone. Only a subset of the Oracle Solaris packages installed in the global zone are completely replicated when a non-global zone is installed. For example, many packages that contain the Oracle Solaris kernel are not needed in a non-global zone. All non-global zones implicitly share the same kernel from the global zone. To learn about IPS packaging on an Oracle Solaris system, see Oracle Solaris 11 Express Image Packaging System Guide.
\|Skip Navigation Links\| \|Exit Print View\| \|man pages section 3: Extended Library Functions Oracle Solaris 10 8/11 Information Library\| - translate character-coded labels to binary labels cc [flag...] file... -ltsol [library...] #include <tsol/label.h> int stobsl(const char string, m_label_t label, const int flags, int error); int stobclear(const char string, m_label_t clearance, const int flags, int error); The stobsl() and stobclear() functions translate character-coded labels into binary labels. They also modify an existing binary label by incrementing or decrementing it to produce a new binary label relative to its existing value. The calling process must have PRIV_SYS_TRANS_LABEL in its set of effective privileges to perform label translation on character-coded labels that dominate the process's sensitivity label. The generic form of an input character-coded label string is: [ + ] classification name ] [ [ + \| - ] word ... Leading and trailing white space is ignored. Fields are separated by white space, a `/' (slash), or a `,' (comma). Case is irrelevant. If string starts with + or -, string is interpreted a modification to an existing label. If string starts with a classification name followed by a + or -, the new classification is used and the rest of the old label is retained and modified as specified by string. + modifies an existing label by adding words. - modifies an existing label by removing words. To the maximum extent possible, errors in string are corrected in the resulting binary label label. The stobsl() and stobclear() functions also translate hexadecimal label representations into binary labels (see hextob(3TSOL)) when the string starts with 0x and either NEW_LABEL or NO_CORRECTION is specified in flags. The flags argument can take the following values: label contents is not used, is formatted as a label of the relevant type, and is assumed to be ADMIN_LOW for modification changes. If NEW_LABEL is not present, label is validated as a defined label of the correct type dominated by the process's sensitivity label. No corrections are made if there are errors in the character-coded label string. string must be complete and contain all the label components that are required by the label_encodings file. The NO_CORRECTION flag implies the NEW_LABEL flag. The default action is taken. The error argument is a return parameter that is set only if the function is unsuccessful. The stobsl() function translates the character-coded sensitivity label string into a binary sensitivity label and places the result in the return parameter label. The flags argument can be either NEW_LABEL, NO_CORRECTION, or 0 (zero). Unless NO_CORRECTION is specified, this translation forces the label to dominate the minimum classification, and initial compartments set that is specified in the label_encodings file and corrects the label to include other label components required by the label_encodings file, but not present in string. The stobclear() function translates the character-coded clearance string into a binary clearance and places the result in the return parameter clearance. The flags argument can be either NEW_LABEL, NO_CORRECTION, or 0 (zero). Unless NO_CORRECTION is specified, this translation forces the label to dominate the minimum classification, and initial compartments set that is specified in the label_encodings file and corrects the label to include other label components that are required by the label_encodings file, but not present in string. The translation of a clearance might not be the same as the translation of a sensitivity label. These functions use different tables of the label_encodings file that might contain different words and constraints. These functions return 1 if the translation was successful and a valid binary label was returned. Otherwise they return 0 and the value of the error argument indicates the error. When these functions return zero, error contains one of the following values: Unable to access the label_encodings file. The label label is not valid for this translation and the NEW_LABEL or NO_CORRECTION flag was not specified, or the label label is not dominated by the process's sensitivity label and the process does not have PRIV_SYS_TRANS_LABEL in its set of effective privileges. The character-coded label string is in error. error is a one-based index into string indicating where the translation error occurred. The label encodings file contains the classification names, words, constraints, and values for the defined labels of this system. See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes: The stobsl() and stobclear() functions are obsolete. Use the str_to_label(3TSOL) function instead. The functionality described on this manual page is available only if the system is configured with Trusted Extensions. In addition to the ADMIN_LOW name and ADMIN_HIGH name strings defined in the label_encodings file, the strings “ADMIN_LOW” and “ADMIN_HIGH” are always accepted as character-coded labels to be translated to the appropriate ADMIN_LOW and ADMIN_HIGH label, respectively. Modifying an existing ADMIN_LOW label acts as the specification of a NEW_LABEL and forces the label to start at the minimum label that is specified in the label_encodings file. Modifying an existing ADMIN_HIGH label is treated as an attempt to change a label that represents the highest defined classification and all the defined compartments that are specified in the label_encodings file. The NO_CORRECTION flag is used when the character-coded label must be complete and accurate so that translation to and from the binary form results in an equivalent character-coded label.
Samuel Cranston Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island he refused to administer the Oath to Coll: Peleg: Sandford Judge of the Court of Admiralty as Judge intending thereby to incapacitate him from acting as Judge. Collonell John Fitz Winthrop Governor of Connecticut. Collonell Andrew Hamilton Governor of East and West Jersyes. Mr Markham late Lieutenant Governr of Pensylvania. Henderson Walker Governor of North Carolina, Chosen by the Councill only in ye room of Thomas Harvey deceased Joseph Blake Proprietor and Governr of South Carolina Read Elding Deputy Governor by Deputation from Collonell Webb the late Governor of Providence. Whether the Governors in the Proprieties, not being first approved of by his Majesties order in Councill before they enter upon their respective Governments are qualified to put in execution the Acts of Trade or have a right to receive the benefit of forfeiture arising upon the breach of any of the said Acts. Whether Mr Penn the present Proprietor and Governor of the Province of Pensylvania be qualified not being first approved of by his Majesties Order in Councill, as by the aforesaid Act is directed.
The hospitalist model of care has advantages. Hospitalists can gain superior skills because inpatient medicine is all they do. The continuous presence of a hospitalist team free from competing demands of the clinic creates opportunities for efficiency. It’s been surprising and disappointing to some, then, that the hospitalist model of care has not been convincingly shown to improve outcomes. Why these disappointing results? One reason may be that the advantages of the model are neutralized by its weakest point: discontinuity between hospital and ambulatory care. The problem was highlighted by a recent JAMA review documenting poor information transfer between hospital and ambulatory physicians at hospital discharge. Discharge summaries were available to clinic physicians at the time of the first follow up visit at a disturbingly low rate and often lacked critical information about medications, follow up needs and test results. The authors note the potential adverse impact on patient safety and resource utilization. They suggest standards for quality and timeliness of discharge summaries as well as the use of templates and computer generated summaries. Somehow I’m not sure that will be enough. Such measures have been in place for a while. My suggestion is for a hospitalist group to hire a liaison who would be responsible for filling in the communication gaps. This person could call patients after discharge to make sure instructions were properly communicated, call PCPs to make sure vital information was received and track down missing documents. In busy hospitalist programs it would be a full time job for a nurse case manager or could be part of the responsibility of a physician extender. As far as I know this approach is not yet evidence based and could be studied. It could potentially improve efficiency and outcomes. Its impact on patient and referring physician satisfaction would be a no brainer. Whatever the solution, I expect this to be a major initiative for the Society of Hospital Medicine. Hospitalist thought leader Robert Wachter, interviewed last summer by Internal Medicine World Report, said communication was key, and the quality of communication is an attribute that separates good hospitalist programs from bad ones. Background: Retired Doc and DB comment.
We can find some reasonable, if unfortunate, causes instead of a “curse” but the story is intriguing. The death of a McHenry County man, just days before he was to collect some of the $150,000 he found in his garden, is causing some to wonder if his elderly neighbor was right all along. She said the money was cursed. Wayne Sabaj, 51, was an unemployed carpenter when he reported finding the bags of cash while picking broccoli in August 2011. He was due to enter into a settlement in court on July 11 that would have split the windfall between him and the neighbor, said his lawyer, Robert Burke. The neighbor, Delores Johnson, whose daughter had also made a claim for the money on her behalf, also died before the mystery was settled. Johnson, who had dementia and died in December at 87, told her daughter that “she had gotten rid of the money because it was cursed,” said Burke, quoting court records. Sabaj died of complications related to diabetes. This death and the death of the neighbor at age 87 doesn’t connect in any way with the money but with logical reasons. It is a sad coincidence that he did not get to enjoy the windfall. There is even a more interesting mystery about where the money came from. No one claimed it and it is unclear if it was illegally obtained. There is no such thing as a “curse” except in a person’s own mind. If you believe that bad things will befall you, then you will connect all bad things that do happen to it. What will happen to the money? I don’t believe in curses [hint, hint].
Google Chrome has a lot of useful features that you should be using. Not only does it have a supercharged bookmarks manager for improved organization, but its built-in password manager keeps you safe and secure, too. But if you ask me, Chrome has one specific feature that really comes in handy, especially if you’re the kind of person who opens a million different tabs or if you have a really slow computer that lags and crashes. I’m talking about Chrome’s Task Manager feature. To open it, simply press Shift + Esc. Here are three ways it can come in handy and why you should think about using it: - It shows you how much RAM and CPU each tab is using.This is good for diagnosing memory leaks, CPU hogs, and figuring out when a website is hogging resources and bogging down your computer. - It shows you active extensions. This can be useful when you suspect that a certain extension is using too many resources and slowing down your system. - It lets you kill individual tabs. This is super useful when a certain tab is frozen and unresponsive to clicking the “X” on the tab. Instead, pop open the Task Manager and click “End Process”! In fact, if you want to become a Chrome power user, you really have to master the built-in Task Manager because it will prove useful on so many occasions. It’s one of the reasons why Chrome beats all of the other major browsers.
Robert Clark joined the Office for Nuclear Regulation in 2010 as a Nuclear Inspector specialising in radiological protection. He works within the civil nuclear reactor programme supporting inspections of nuclear licensed sites, assessing safety case submissions and participating in assessment of site emergency-exercise demonstrations. He also provides advice to the rest of the organisation on radiological protection issues. Robert takes us through a typical working day… I get in just before 8am to beat the traffic! I’m in a car share scheme which is helpful as I get to hear about what is happening in other parts of the organisation. Once I’m in the office, it’s fair to say that no two days are the same but the one constant is emails. I check to see if I need to change my priorities, especially if I have been on site for a few days. Once I’ve responded to urgent queries, I start planning my day. I am a nuclear inspector in the Civil Nuclear Reactor Programme specialising in radiological protection, which means I spent a large part of my time supporting the site inspectors for the EDF and Magnox stations with any radiological protection issues. I am going to a site later this week, so I take the morning to plan the inspection. Inspections can take a solid two days involving interaction with the duty-holders, inspection of the plant and the necessary write-ups of findings. Although specific issues can vary from site to site, you start to identify common themes and work areas. Part of my planning includes working out which areas I will concentrate on at site; arranging whom I need to speak to while I’m there and liaising with the site inspector to ensure that we’re co-ordinated ahead of the inspection. Radiological protection inspectors are always in demand to help assess emergency exercises. Licensees are required to demonstrate their ability to deal with emergencies on an annual basis and ONR witnesses these exercises to assess their adequacy. I call a colleague in the emergency arrangements team for some advice on an exercise I took part in last week. Later this week, I will represent ONR at an early engagement meeting where a licensee will share its planned approach to what could be a groundbreaking care and maintenance project. It is an important meeting and one that requires a lot of preparation but it appeals to me as I get the chance to influence ONR’s strategy in this area. Influencing is an important part of my job, so I move on to prepare for a high-level influencing course I am attending tomorrow. Although I’ve completed most of my inspector training, being nearly two years in, ONR is always offering extra training to help with development. And just before I leave, I look ahead to the rest of my week and make plans to work from home – ONR operates flexible working, which means I can manage my own time.
On May 17, 1816, the State’s Canal Commissioners met in New York City. This was their first meeting since being reauthorized by the legislature on April 17th, just a few weeks earlier. Five commissioners were appointed by the legislature – Stephen Van Rensselaer, DeWitt Clinton, Samuel Young, Joseph Ellicott and Myron Holley. Several of them had been canal commissioners since 1810. During that period they had surveyed much of the route in person and had kept the dream of the waterway alive during the intervening dismal years of war on their frontier (War of 1812). At the May 17th meeting the commissioners initiated actions that ensured that construction of the Erie Canal would begin a year later. The re-authorization bill mandated that the commissioners “shall choose one of their number, to be president of their board.” They selected DeWitt Clinton, confirming his leadership in the campaign for the Erie Canal. Clinton had embraced the canal, taking a huge political gamble to promote his vision of a waterway he believed would unite the state and nation. The tremendous success of the canal turned the epithet of “Clinton’s Ditch” into a legacy for which he would be praised. In December 1815, as preamble to the expected debate in the 1816 legislative session, Clinton pulled back together canal supporters. His 1815 memorial to the legislature, which laid out a detailed vision for the Erie Canal, was instrumental to driving passage of the 1816 legislation which authorized funding to prepare plans, including estimated costs, for construction of the canal. Though Clinton would ultimately be elected Governor in May 1817, from 1816 to 1824 he became a lightning rod for both advocates and opponents of the Erie’s construction. Ironically, it was Clinton’s dismissal from the Canal Board in 1824 that catapulted his career still further, nearly to the White House. A groundswell of outrage against the political dealings that led to his dismissal swept the state. When the commissioners met on May 17th they perhaps had an inkling of all of the risks and challenges that lie ahead. The April 1816 re-authorization addressed perhaps the most important of those challenges, just what route the Erie Canal would go. The commissioners were given the responsibility to hire surveyors and engineers to prepare the maps and plans needed to launch construction the following year. At the May meeting they made the following appointments: Benjamin Wright of Rome, later to become the Erie’s Chief Engineer, was tasked to survey the middle section of the proposed route, from Rome to the Seneca River; from there west to Tonawanda became the responsibility of James Geddes. Geddes had settled near the shores of Onondaga Lake in the 1790s recognizing the potential of the salt springs. He later became identified with the great growth of that industry. Geddes had begun working on possible routes for an Erie Canal nearly a decade earlier, exploring the uncharted western regions of the state. His discovery at the time of a way to bring the canal across the Irondequoit remains one of the pivotal events in Erie Canal history. He incorporated that discovery into his new maps of the canal route, guaranteeing that Lake Erie water would fill the Erie’s channels all the way to the Seneca River. His manuscript maps are now cared for at the New York State Archives. The maps show how Geddes confirmed some of these plans but also left others subject to change. For instance, his design for crossing the Genesee River at “Rochesterville” was based on slack water navigation of the river. Canal boats would enter into a river raised by a dam below. The backed-up water would also, Geddes hoped, provide easier navigation for those coming down the Genesee from the fertile farmlands in the valley to the south. It didn’t happen. Geddes’ plan was replaced with a canal that crossed above the Genesee on an aqueduct, remaining independent of the difficult-to-control river. That aqueduct became one of the engineering landmarks of the Erie Canal. Geddes, however, eventually had his way a century later when the Erie Canal that we have today was built. The Erie Barge Canal dams up the Genesee about where Geddes planned, providing a slack water crossing further south. These political and engineering challenges were daunting to the commissioners as they sat down for their May 17, 1816 meeting. They successfully left the meeting with inspiration and plans for the next steps, steps that led to the groundbreaking for the Erie Canal in Rome on July 4, 1817. Photos, from above: View of the Aqueduct bridge at Rochester; James Geddes’ circa 1816 route for the Erie Canal through Rochester (NYS State Archives); Geddes’ design for a “Great Embankment” to carry the Erie Canal over Irondequoit Creek (NYS Archives).
Clone characters are characters present in a multitude of video games. Basically, they look different from one another, though have an identical or nearly identical moveset. Usually these characters are only referred to as clone characters in fighting video games, such as in the Super Smash Bros. series. The only clones in the original Super Smash Bros. are Mario and Luigi. - Link and Young Link - Captain Falcon and Ganondorf - Pikachu and Pichu - Mario and Dr. Mario - Marth and Roy - Fox and Falco - Link and Toon Link - Fox, Falco, and Wolf (Fox is the first and as of yet only character to have two clones) - Ness and Lucas - Captain Falcon and Ganondorf (the only clone characters in the game to have wildly different Final Smashes) - Mario and Luigi In Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Luigi is a "hybrid" of Mario. Ganondorf, Wolf and Lucas fall into this category in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In Super Smash Bros. for 3DS / Wii U, there are 3 full on clones (Virtually the same except for a couple different properties) and 2 partial clones (functionally similar but with greater variety in move properties) with Falco and Toon Link. In addition, characters have fewer similarities though the fundamentals are pretty similar.
TAMPA, Fla. – The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) urges East Coast residents to prepare for Hurricane Sandy and severe storm conditions that could include high wind speeds, wind-driven rain, tornadoes and extensive flooding. Hurricane Sandy is a powerful storm that has made its way through the Caribbean, tragically killing 21 people, and now is headed directly toward the East Coast of the U.S. Heavy rain, tidal surge and strong winds are expected this weekend and into the beginning of next week, according to the National Hurricane Center. The consensus among forecasters is that Sandy could make a direct hit Monday or Tuesday somewhere between the Mid-Atlantic and New England. Meteorologists warn that high winds and pounding rain could extend inland, with the potential for downed trees and power lines, as well as possible flooding. IBHS has dedicated a large portion of its website home page (DisasterSafety.org) to providing valuable – and free – preparedness and recovery resources. This information is specifically designed to help home and business owners reduce storm-related damage and displacement. For example, the following steps should be taken now by residents in coastal and inland areas that are in the potential path of Hurricane Sandy: - Install any hardware needed to put up shutters or pre-cut plywood to protect windows and doors. This will allow for easier deployment of covers if and when the storm approaches. - Bring free-standing, loose items, such as garbage cans and lawn furniture inside, and pick up yard debris that could become projectiles during high winds. - Cut weak or dead tree branches, along with branches hanging over structures – these could be broken off by high winds and cause severe property damage. - Make sure caulking around windows and doors is in good shape (not cracked, broken or missing), and fill holes or gaps around pipes or wires that travel from outside to inside the building. - Roll up area rugs, getting them off the floor to reduce the chances of their becoming sponges and holding water that may get inside. This is particularly important if a property will be left unattended for an extended period of time, and because long-term power outages are possible; where power is out, and water gets in, mold is likely to grow. - Inspect sump pumps and drains to ensure proper operation. If a sump pump has a battery backup, make sure batteries are fresh, or replace them. “These property protection measures only work if people take the time to implement them before the storm hits,” notes Julie Rochman, IBHS president and CEO. “Investing a little time now to prepare your property could pay big dividends afterwards.” Full-scale tests conducted at the unique IBHS Research Center has compellingly demonstrated the types of damage severe wind storms and wind-driven rain (even with only tropical storm strength winds) can cause to a home or business. IBHS test results are translated into property protection resources that empower home and business owners to take some control over the risks they face. Rochman also emphasized that “while much of the conversation about Hurricane Sandy is focused on exactly where she will make landfall, it is important to remember that hurricanes are not just coastal events. These severe storms don’t stop when they get to a state line or an interstate. High winds and strong, wind-driven rain can travel hundreds of miles inland, causing significant damage and flooding.” Last year, for example, Hurricane Irene caused major flooding in several states, including Vermont and Pennsylvania. In 2008, Hurricane Ike made landfall on the Gulf Coast of Texas and moved thousands of miles inland to Ohio, where the storm caused more than $1.6 billion in property damage – making it the largest single loss event in the state’s history. “Unfortunately,” notes Rochman, “buildings further inland generally are not specifically designed and built to withstand high winds. This makes them more vulnerable to damage, so there is a lot of room to improve their performance.” Connect with NJTODAY.NET Join NJTODAY.NET's free Email List to receive occasional updates delivered right to your email address!
My research and experience have so far not found anything like NKT. I've heard Kelsang Dekyong and read many other NKTites affirm that NKT is not Tibetan Buddhism, not Zen Buddhism and not traditional Indian or Asian Buddhism. Neither is NKT affiliated with or endorsed by any of them. Rather, NKT is an entirely new 'tradition' that began about 1990 and that unlike other forms of Buddhism and religion/spirituality... - claims to be an outgrowth of Tibetan Kadampa Buddhism geared to Westerners, who NKT considers have insufficient attention spans and interests to explore traditional Buddhism (a false notion; most Western Buddhists, numbering in the hundreds of thousands at least, have nothing to do with NKT, a sect of a few thousand adherents (many have left NKT after disturbing abuse or being banned by NKT)) - promotes that only NKT teaches pure Kadampa Dharma and that Kelsang Gyatso (who retires August 2009) is the only pure Kadampa lineage holder and living Buddha and only the third Buddha ever - claims that "The truth is that NKT practitioners are actual Gelugpas. Those who exclusively follow Je Tsongkhapa’s teachings are called ‘Gelugpas’. The NKT is a pure Gelugpa tradition because (1) it exclusively teaches Je Tsongkhapa’s doctrine, (2) its lineage Gurus from Je Tsongkhapa onwards are exclusively Gelugpas, and (3) Geshe Kelsang’s spiritual education and root Guru (Trijang Rinpoche) are within the Gelugpa tradition. In 1998 Geshe Kelsang stated in an interview: "We are pure Gelugpas. The name Gelugpa doesn't matter, but we believe we are following the pure tradition of Je Tsongkhapa." (although NKT's Shugdenism, protest politics, Internet attacks against Buddhists and proclivity to threaten litigation were not part of Tsongkhapa's teachings) - portrays militancy, promoting around the world protest rallies and Internet attacks against Buddhists and its ex clergy and members (see footnote) - bans clergy, apartment holders (even when NKT receives government subsidy) and students/attendees for disagreement with NKT politics and personal assaults or for exploring credible forms of Buddhism - considers its 10 vows for its ordained clergy equivalent to the over 230 vows affirmed by traditional Buddhist monks and nuns - claims to be specialist in Indo-Tibetan tantra and mass tantra empowerments at festivals - focuses itself on worshiping and protecting Shugden, what most find to be a demonous spirit invented as a Buddha and deployed by sectarians inside Tibet to harm their enemies and by NKT to export sectarianism around the world against the Dalai Lama and Buddhism - ridicules its academic and expert Buddhist critics - has hired attorneys to present its reputation: "one of the top five anti-defamation law firms in the world recently investigated both the NKT-IKBU and all the libel on the Internet against it, it came to the conclusion: "The New Kadampa Tradition is a respectable international organization whose reputation has been severely defamed." (thereby, accusing its critics of illegal activity, a tactic reminiscent of NKT's strategy to takeover Manjushri Institute from a Kadampa Buddhist foundation founded in 1975 by Tibetan Buddhist Lama Thubten Yeshe (this foundation currently has Monasteries and nunneries in 6 countries, Liberation Prison Project, Health and Nutrition Clinics, Meditation Centers in 34 Countries, Hospices, Education schools and other charities) - focuses its charities on developing its real estate holdings - profitable mansions, apartments, hotels, spas and restaurants around the world A Few NKT Charities - does not house or advise clergy and students to read Buddhist writings inside NKT written by anyone other than Kelsang Gyatso, who NKT claims has expertly selected and summarized traditional Buddhist literature and scriptures geared to the Western psyche - defies the assessments of its founder, Kelsang Gyatso, by the monastery Kelsang Gyatso attended attempting to earn the Geshe degree (unsuccessfully), Tibetan Buddhists and the Tibetan people who find NKT a disgrace to Buddhism. For examples, click here. At NKT's July 2008 protest rally in New York City, NKT counted 3,000 Tibetans angry with NKT's mission against Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism in apparent concert with the government of Communist China. NKT's Critique of Tibet NKT's Caricature of the Dalai Lama Notably, NKT asserts that, "NKT is not accepted by many other Buddhist groups...the NKT believes that the most effective method to gain spiritual realizations is to practice one tradition purely without mixing...It is true however that some other Buddhist traditions and unions have rejected the NKT...there is substantial evidence of other Tibetan Buddhist traditions who, following the Dalai Lama’s politics and words, have actually set out to defame the NKT and harm its growth." (NKT commonly blames its problems on the Dalai Lama, who has no credibility, authority or influence in NKT; NKT does not follow the Dalai Lama or any other Buddhist teacher other than NKT's private in-house purported Buddha, Kelsang Gyatso; NKT's fight with the Dalai Lama is little more than a smokescreen to rationalize its anger with Buddhism; the Dalai Lama is irrelevant to NKT's bogus fight for religious freedom) The Australian Sangha Association wrote, (the ASA is unaffiliated with the Dalai Lama or Tibetan Buddhism other than through shared Buddhist values; the ASA serves member Buddhist monks and nuns in Australia) "The Dalai Lama's teachings were attended by over 6000 people who came to be inspired by the peaceful and harmonious message of Buddhism. Instead they were met by a large, organized group of protesters dressed in monastic robes shouting slogans. Noisy public demonstrations such as these are not appropriate behaviour for monks or nuns and have brought Buddhism in this country into disrepute. Therefore, in the spirit of Dharma and in accordance with Buddhist principles the ASA would encourage the NKT and WSS protesters to request forgiveness from the Dalai Lama for their behaviour and in future to conduct themselves with humility and restraint. According to our information the robed members of this group have not taken monastic vows as defined by the Vinaya which, as I am sure you know, is the collection of teachings by the Buddha that articulate the moral discipline to be followed by the ordained community. The Sangha is a 2500 year old institution which has always kept the Vinaya rules as its core practice. It is this moral code which is the foundation of Buddhist monasticism and adherence to it is what defines a person as a Buddhist monk or nun. It is the most important thing that we as monastics from different traditions have in common and is what enables us to come together under the auspices of the WBSC and ASA to celebrate our shared commitment to the Three Jewels. Members of the NKT who wear robes do not follow this tradition. They have taken 5 precepts including a vow of celibacy and make 5 additional promises to behave in a manner consistent with Dharma and spiritual practice. This is indeed an admirable and praiseworthy commitment and we do not wish to imply that such practitioners are anything other than sincere and genuine in their devotion to the path. However it must be emphasised that this is not a monastic ordination according to the teachings of Buddha. These precepts are said by their teacher Kelsang Gyatso to derive from the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra and he clearly states they are different from those found in the Vinaya. According to him a monk or a nun becomes a Bhikhu or Bhikhuni 'merely by holding these ten vows of ordination and developing a strong realisation of renunciation that is ever present in the mind.' This definition has nothing in common with the traditionally accepted understanding of ordination and confuses the notion of a Bhikhu or Bhikhuni in the spiritual and conventional sense. From earliest times a 'true Bhikhu' has been one who realised the Dharma. However all Buddhist traditions, while fully understanding this, have always insisted on the necessity for the conventional Sangha to hold Vinaya vows properly received in accordance with the prescribed rituals. The opinion of the ASA is that for NKT members to represent themselves to the public as authentic Buddhist monks and nuns is wrong and misleading." According to NKTites, that Kesang Gyatso paraphrases Atisha and Tsongkhapa in a few of his approximately 20 self-published books is sufficient to establish NKT as Kadampa Buddhism (even if NKT's Shugden worship and most of NKT's public activities are found nowhere in the teachings of Atisha and Tsongkhapa). Recently, a 'doctor' wrote in defense of NKT's Kadampa status, "In Joyful Path pages 5-16 we find all sorts of endorsements of Atisha and Tsongkhapa as being wonderful holy beings. In fact, there is even a list of written works starting on page 15. While it is true that some local NKT'ers have become incredibly attached to a sectarian view, imputing inherently negative qualities on the objects of their own dislike, I disagree that the larger entity of NKT bans works of Atisha and Tsongkhapa." (Joyful Path refers to Kelsang Gyatso's book Joyful Path of Good Fortune: The Complete Buddhist Path to Enlightenment) Notwithstanding such assurances, works of Atisha and Tsongkhapa cannot be found inside NKT. Those that existed in the rich Buddhist library of Manjushri Center prior to NKT takeover have been removed along with all other Buddhist sources, replaced with Kelsang Gyatso's books. Perhaps, however, merely incorporating paraphrased teachings of Atisha and Tsongkhapa can substantiate a claim of Kadampa Buddhism authenticity. If I write books paraphrasing Kelsang Gyatso, market myself as a Buddha as Kelsang Gyatso does, and grant myself a Geshe degree as Kelsang Gyatso did, could I justifiably call an organization I might create a 'New NKT Tradition' and claim to carry on its 'lineage'? (even though I might not be endorsed by NKT just as no school of Buddhism has ever endorsed NKT) One Buddhist widely criticized by NKT is Namkhai Norbu. "Namkhai Norbu is a Dzogchen teacher who was born in Derge, Kham district (Eastern Tibet) on 8 December 1938. When he was two years old, Namkhai Norbu was recognized as the 'mindstream emanation', a tulku, of the great Dzogchen teacher, Adzom Drugpa (1842-1924), at five he was also recognized as a mindstream emanation of an emanation of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel (1594–1651). From an early age Namkhai Norbu undertook an accelerated course of study, attending monastic college, taking retreats, and studying with renowned teachers, including some of the most important Tibetan masters of his time. Under the tutelage of these teachers, he completed the training required by Buddhist tradition in both Sutrayana and Tantrayana. At the age of sixteen he met master Rigdzin Changchub Dorje (1826-1961/1978), who became his principal Dzogchen teacher. In 1960 he came to Italy at the invitation of Professor Giuseppe Tucci, and served as Professor of Tibetan and Mongolian Language and Literature from 1964 to 1992 at the Oriental Institute of the University of Naples. Namkhai Norbu is widely recognized as a leading authority on Tibetan culture, particularly in the fields of history, literature, and Traditional Tibetan medicine and astrological sciences such as the Tibetan calendar. In 1983, he hosted the first International Convention on Tibetan Medicine, held in Venice, Italy. In 1976 Chögyal Namkhai Norbu began to give Dzogchen instruction in the West, first in Italy, then in numerous other countries. He quickly became a respected spiritual authority among many practitioners, and has created centers for the study of Dzogchen around the world." Namkhai Norbu founded the International Shang Shung Institute to preserve the cultural traditions of Tibet. He also founded a non-profit organization called A.S.I.A. (Association for International Solidarity in Asia), which operates in Tibet and is dedicated to serving the Tibetan people in the sectors of education, health, training, disaster relief and sustainable economic development. (www.shangshunginstitute.org) A bad guy according to NKT. NKTites have recently asserted that this web site is rubbish (including the many dozens of comments supporting Buddism as on the home page and several essays?). Responding to the Australian Sangha Association, NKT skillfully produced this YouTube response (NKT published many of its protest productions on YouTube),
According to ICAO (Advisory Circular 91-009) a Flight Operational Safety Assessment or FOSA must be conducted for RNP AR APCH procedures when the specific aircraft characteristics, operational environment, obstacles, etc., warrant the conduction of an additional assessment to ensure that safety objectives are met. This assessment must give proper attention to the inter-dependence of design, aircraft capability, crew procedure, and operational environment elements. The FOSA is a key part of the operational authorization for RNP AR APCH procedures. This methodology is associated with a specific type of aircraft or a specific performance, and may be applied to a demanding environment. \|Contact Us:\|\|Tel: +31 88 511 3500\|\|Email: firstname.lastname@example.org\|\|Contact form\|
Nursing is the art of designing, testing and implementing therapeutic interventions aimed at improving well-being in individuals, groups, or communities (Bennett, 1994). A Nurse is a person who provides medical treatment and help people of all ages to get well or a person who is concerned with physical and psychosocial aspect of illness and health. Nurses must be able to take responsibility, supervise or direct others, follow orders accurately, and correctly decide when consultation is necessary. All nurses are supporters for patients, families and communities; they should be sympathetic and caring. Nurses help people of all ages to get well when they are sick. Nurses also help people to stay healthy and well by teaching them about healthy behaviors and strategies. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics nursing will be one of the important and rapidly growing careers until the year 2006. There are over 2.5 million nurses in the United States alone today. Nurses work to prevent disease, promote health and help patients overcome with illnesses. Nursing is a science and an art that requires thorough knowledge, understanding, strategies and skills. Nursing not only deals with a person's biological needs, but also their cultural and psychosocial and as well. Nursing care is mainly delivered through a four step method Creating a care plan which addresses particular treatment goals. Analyzing physical, psychological, and cultural information about a patient. Identifying the patient’s potential actual or health conditions. Supervising or carrying out the care plan Nurses provide frontline care in homes, hospitals and the local community. Nurses are also consultants, researchers, managers, administrators and CEO’s in hospitals and health care organizations. Nurses are in key and very important positions making the better future of health care. Nurses are mainly concerned with the physical aspect of illness and health. Nurses also deal with the social, psychological and the spiritual dimensions of health and wholeness for families, individuals and communities. Nurses use a friendly approach and behavior in working with clients to promote restore and maintain their wholeness and health. A nurse diagnoses clients, provides treatments such as immunizations. Nurse refers to physicians and doctors when medical problems are identified. A nurse provides prenatal care and instructs for the care of children. A nurse may also teach diabetics how to manage their diets or administer insulin injections. In the community and society the nurse may be at the forefront, working for community assistance and seeking legislation to offer needed services. Nursing is more than just a job; it is a professional and very difficult career. Nursing is a complete profession, art and science with the main purpose of assisting individuals, clients, families and communities to attain, retain and maintain the best level of wellness and health through purposeful interventions. Registered nurses work to prevent disease, promote health, and help patients cope with illness or disease. Nurses are advocates and health educators and instructors for families, patients, and communities. Nurses work independently without any fear and in association with other health professionals and doctors. When providing direct patient care, they assess, observe, and record reactions, progress and symptoms; assist doctors during examinations and treatments; handle medications; and assist in rehabilitation and restoration of health. Registered nurses also manage and develop new and effective nursing care plans, instruct individuals and their families in proper care. Nurses are providers of indirect and direct care to patients, families, communities and groups. They are manager, designer and coordinator of health care. The nurse works and functions as a caring professional in both collaborative, self-directed and autonomous roles, using critical thinking, effective communication, ethical principles, and deliberative action to help patients with health related self care issues, facilitate access to health care and help in decisions about health. Nursing is one of the largest and important health care professions. Nursing is also a high-tech profession because nurses use a lot of advanced equipment in doing their job effectively, and high-touch because nurses work very closely with patients and their families. Bennett, M. (1994), www.indstate.edu/nurs/mary/N621/theory.doc (November 2, 2002)
I find that every year, the kids come in more and more digitally-oriented. I can read them a story and inevitably they fidget and play with their shoes and talk to their neighbor. I do the different character voices, I cold call kids that look like they aren't paying attention--nothing works. But if I play the same exact story on the Smartboard, suddenly I have every single student engaged! My neighbor was telling me that her daughter, who is 3, walked up to the tv and started swiping it the other day-she could understand why the image didn't change like it did on the ipad! These kids are growing up in a different era, and I think we have to cater to that. Tumblebooks is a great resource! It is a pay service, however if you Google the name plus public library, you will find a link where they post the stories for free. They have a whole bunch of Robert Munsch stories on there, The Dot and Ish which I know are teacher favorites. Another is Discovery Education (United Streaming). Sometimes they are hard to find because if you search for stories there are thousands. But I will type in "Weston Woods" which is the publisher and many favorites come up. My kids love Angus, Where the Wild Things Are, Tikki Tikki Tembo and Chrysanthemum. One of my favorites is the Tale of Two Chickens...(didn't she know he was a fox--she doesn't read! :) Barnes and Noble has a place they call Online Storytime where there are only a few titles-but good ones and they are read by their authors, including the Kissing Hand which I know is a staple in many classrooms for the first day of school. Another great resource is YouTube. I know, you can't access it at school. Just download the videos with a program like YouTube Downloader. I was so excited to find this gem recently-read by Shel Silverstein. And this one where celebrities read the stories. Of course, the kiddos don't usually know who the actor/actress is, but I find it to be very cool! And lastly, this is one that I put my kiddos on when they work in stations. I like it because the text comes up as they listen to the story. They have fractured fairy tales and cute little rhymes in the preschool section.
I included American Born Chinese on the syllabus because I admire its construction--on every level, from the compact layouts to the slippery three-part plot--and because I thought my students would find its perspective on racial alienation and assimilation both familiar and enlightening. I've found in the past that works about racial identity by non-black authors can be a great tool for discussing representations of race in a black classroom with a white professor. They open a kind of third space that allows everybody in the room to approach the issue on more or less equal footing, without as much at stake. All of those things played out exactly as expected, but I ended up looking at American Born Chinese a lot less favorably than my class did. Much as I admire its construction, I'm not sure I care at all for its message. Or the fact that it has a "message," which is surely part of the problem. Accept yourself for who you are is one of the most banal themes in popular culture (rivalled only by Follow your dreams!) but in this particular book it takes on a sinister insinuation. In this book, accepting yourself the way you are sometimes means accepting that your racial and ethnic identity is as immutable and inescapable as your species, your mortality, your very position in a great chain of being that stretches to the heavens. The book follows three plots, with the story of student Jin Wang coming of age in 1980s California sandwiched between a retelling of the legend of the Monkey King and a horrific sitcom in which all-American white kid Danny is visited by his cousin Chin-Kee, a living embodiment of every Asian stereotype Danny has tried to suppress or flee. The book initially suggests that the Monkey King and Chin-Kee stories are meant to be taken as symbolic commentaries on Jin Wang's desire to assimilate--an interpretation that persists even after we learn they aren't strictly symbolic. In the course of condemning internalized racism and self-loathing, Yang analogizes Jin's dilemma to that of the Monkey King, who insists he's a god even after God Himself tells him otherwise and who suffers for his presumption until he learns to accept his simian nature, which sets him on the path to happiness and divine ordination. Working back to Jin, though, the Monkey King's acceptance implies that the ethnic, minority, or immigrant cultural identity is always the foundational one--Jin will always be Chinese, just as the Monkey King will always be a monkey. It's one of those classic comic-book analogies we can only pursue so far before we have to abandon it or accept some pretty unsavory implications, but American Born Chinese never tells us that it's time to bail out. The best defense I can muster is to say that if you don't like those unsavory implications, you only have to wait a few pages. This is a book of contradictions--of realism and fantasy, cultural isolation and exchange--and every value it holds turns into its opposite. If the use of the Monkey King and Chin-Kee as symbolic commentaries on Jin's story seems trite or predictable, the final chapters will throw you a major curveball. If their essentialism grates, you only have to remember that this is a book in which no identity is stable for long. If you think the finale emphasizes ethnic isolation at the expense of cultural fusion, the book is still filled with characters and stories that cross cultures. Although that can be a problem too, particularly when Yang takes the Buddha out of the Buddhist epic Journey to the West. Buddha is missing from the Monkey King's story, replaced by a distinctly Christian god (complete with shepherd's crook!) who's served by the animal symbols of the four evangelists. The original journey to the west (to retrieve the Buddha's sutras) is gone too, supplanted by a journey to celebrate the nativity of Christ. Maybe it's supposed to be syncretism, but it sure looks like subordination. Yang spoke about his intentions for the story in a Comics Journal interview, which Ng Suat Tong quotes here: he describes the Christianized myth as a simple combination of stories, but I think the work deviates quite a bit from his stated aims. That lack of self-consciousness may be the root of the problem. I realized, after my last class on the book, that American Born Chinese didn't rankle because of its analogies or the friendly face they put on their essentialist view of race. This isn't the only book we've read that raises some troubling implications; it's just one of the few that doesn't know what to do with them. Maus has some pretty suspicious metaphors too, and Fun Home trots out its stereotypes in more realistic fashion, but those works invite readers to pick apart their assumptions--Spiegelman pretty much forces us to with all those devices that explode the artificiality and the implicit stereotyping of his animal avatars. American Born Chinese, like Nat Turner, doesn't invite us to question its implications; it may not even know they're there. It's the difference between a book in which the metaphors are supposed to break down and a book you just aren't supposed to think that much about. One can sustain or reward the most rigorous critical analysis, and the other just can't. None of this rules against teaching American Born Chinese again, by the way; I find these dilemmas a lot more fascinating and productive than the trite messages of self-acceptance that the book advertises as its themes. But I will need to come up with some new ways to problematize this book for classes that have been taught to recognize the expression of racial and ethnic pride as the noblest aims of art--the most unimpeachable way of accepting yourself for who you are.
Showing items 1 - 2 of 2. Add to Quick Collection All 2 Results Add All Items to Quick Collection Resource Type: journal article Critiques that seek to examine cosmopolitanism as a concept suffer from a severe popularity problem. Rather than engage in this pro/con debate, we are interested in demonstrating that cosmopolitanism ... More Resource Type: book chapter This chapter provides a Foucauldian genealogical analysis of the concept of “community” in three curriculum documents signposting major changes in the conceptualization of kindergarten education in Hu... More
Let’s all give a round of applause to Phyllis, who has just finished digging the very first complete Crossrail tunnel. Phyllis is the 1,000 tonne and 140 metre long TBM (tunnel boring machine), named after Phyllis Pearsall who created the original London A-Z Maps, and her and six other tunnelling machines have collectively tunnelled their way through 13 miles of their 26 mile tunnelling marathon. Now that Big Phyl has completed her 4.2 mile journey from Royal Oak to Farringdon, she will soon be dismantled and her 130 metre long trailer system will be removed from the tunnel via the Fisher Street shaft. Crossrail are now asking us lot of submit ideas for things to be included in a time capsule (a front ‘can’ of P’s trailer system) which will be left in the ground at the Farringdon site to commemorate the completion of the first tunnel. Ally Swadling Submit your time capsule ideas at crossrail.co.uk/time-capsule-competition
What happens to the perimeter of triangle ABC as the two smaller circles change size and roll around inside the bigger circle? Draw a 'doodle' - a closed intersecting curve drawn without taking pencil from paper. What can you prove about the intersections? I want some cubes painted with three blue faces and three red faces. How many different cubes can be painted like that? This problem builds on What Numbers Can We Make? Take a look at the video below. Will Charlie always find three numbers that add up to a multiple of 3? If you can't see the video, click below to read a description. Charlie challenges Caroline and James to find a set of five whole numbers that doesn't include three that add up to a multiple of 3. Can you come up with a set of five whole numbers that don't include a subset of three numbers that add up to a multiple of 3? You can use the interactivity below to input sets of five numbers and test whether there are three numbers that add up to a multiple of 3. Full Screen Version If you can't find a set of five whole numbers where it's impossible to choose three that add up to a multiple of three, convince us that no such set exists. Click here for a poster of this problem.
Nurse anesthetists are an advanced level of practicing registered nurses who assist patients in dealing with pain management before and during operations, for injuries, and during the birth of infants in the form of an epidural. They work in high stress environments, as most of their patients are in pain. More than two thirds of United States hospitals have nurse anesthetists as the main source of anesthesia within their facilities. The Different Education Pathways To become a nurse anesthetist, one of the following forms of education must be completed: - Diploma: A diploma does not meet the minimum educational requirements for a nurse anesthetist. Most nurse anesthetists will require a graduate or doctorate level of education, which cannot be reached through a 3 year hospital training program or college diploma. - Associate Degree: A two year associate degree in nursing does not meet the minimum requirement for a nurse anesthetist. However, a bridge program can be completed following licensure as a registered nurse which can bring an associate level RN to BSN status. - Undergraduate Degree: In order to become a nurse anesthetist, one must first become a registered nurse, which means completing a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree over a four-year term at an accredited university. Courses such as anatomy, microbiology, and pharmacology will be completed during this time. This is the basic requirement to begin this career path and must be followed by a year of practice as an RN, before a graduate level degree is achieved. - Graduate Degree: A Master of Science in nursing degree or an Advanced Graduate Study in a school with a nurse anesthesia program, must be completed in order to work as a nurse anesthetist. This means an addition 2-3 years on top of the previously acquired schooling in order to have a sufficient level of academics to continue in this specialization. - Doctorate Degree: A Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is another additional level of learning that can be completed in a period of 1-3 years by students who have previously graduated from first an undergraduate then a graduate level of education. There are some online learning possibilities within the graduate level of learning for nurse anesthetics but many schools prefer hands-on classroom learning due to the delicate subject matter. The NCLEX-RN national licensure examination must be passed in order to work as a nurse within the United States. Following this, a nurse anesthetist will work for at least one year or 1000 hours to gain experience before continuing to a graduate level program. A secondary certification level is available through the Board of Certification or Recertification for nurse anesthesia. Prerequisites for Study The prerequisites for entering a graduate level program for nurse anesthesia is a 3.0 GPA or higher for most universities, although some may accept a GPA of 2.0 Nursing is a serious career path and schools must be accredited. To determine accreditation students can check sources such as The United States Department of Education, The Accreditation Commission for the Education of Nurses, or The American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Getting Certified as a Nurse Anesthetist The NCLEX-RN national licensure examination must be passed in order to work as a nurse within the United States. Following this, a nurse anesthetist will work for at least one year or 1000 hours to gain experience before continuing into a graduate level program. A secondary certification level is available through the Board of Certification or Recertification for nurse anesthesia. These credentialing centers determine how certification is achieved through categories; these categories have been established nationally and are the following: - Safety in a caring environment during illness or injury. - Having the ability to adapt to difficult situations with psychological integrity. - Ability to focus on the prevention of injury and sickness through health maintenance and promotion. - Creating comfort and physical well-being through physiological integrity. The Cost of Becoming a Nurse Anesthetist Cost of Becoming a Nurse: Nursing tuition rates vary from school to school and state to state; they also change based on which program is being undergone. In order to determine an up to date tuition rate, check with your university’s admissions office for more information. Scholarships for Nurse Anesthetists Nurse anesthetists have a number of options for financial assistance including government grants, student loans and scholarships. The Janice Drake CRNA Humanitarian Award is awarded to a certified registered nurse anesthetist who works with needy regions of the country to deliver anesthesia and pain relief. The John F. Garde Researcher of the Year Scholarship is another financial award that nurse anesthetists can receive for a display of leadership and excellence in the field of research. Working as a Nurse Anesthetist Nurse anesthetists work in operating rooms, outpatient centers, emergency rooms, and in-pain management units. They provide anesthetics for patients who require pain medication such as epidurals during childbirth, or other forms of anesthesia for operations and injuries. This is recognized as one of the highest paid nursing positions in the United States and is an advanced level of nursing. - Training and Care: Nurse Anesthetists learn a variety of critical care and pain management skills, as well as additional pharmacology and anesthesia information. They are trained in the use of specialized equipment and may work in a number of medical settings. - Job Outlook: The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics the job outlook for nurse anesthetists has a predicted job growth of 31% by the year 2022, which is a faster than average rate of growth for many industries across the United States, as well as within the field of nursing and medical care. - Rate of Pay: According to salary.com, nurse anesthetists make a median annual salary of $163,573. This amount may alter depending on level of education and years of experience in the field.
By Jeff Patterson 5/27/09 The Chen style of tai chi is the oldest and parent form of the five main tai chi chuan styles. It is third in terms of worldwide popularity compared to the other main taijiquan styles. Chen style tai chi is characterized by its lower stances, more explicit Silk reeling (chan si jin), and bursts of power (fa jin). Today Chen style tai chi chuan is practiced for a number of widely varying reasons: health/medical, external/internal martial art skills, aesthetics, meditation, athletic/competition sport (sometimes called “wushu tai chi”). Therefore a teacher’s system, practice and choice of tai chi chuan routines usually emphasize one or more of these characteristics. The five traditional family styles tend to retain the original martial applicability of tai chi teaching methods. Some argue that Chen style tai chi schools succeed in this to a greater degree. The origin and nature of Chen style tai chi is not historically verifiable at all, until around the 1600s when the Chen clan of Chenjiagou (Chen Village), Henan province, China appeared and was identified as possessing a unique martial arts system. How the Chen style tai chi family came to practice their unique style is not clear due to lack of documentation from the formative period and irreconcilable views on the matter. What is known is that the other four modern orthodox family styles of tai chi chuan are traced to the teachings in the Chen family village in the early 19th century. According to interviews with Chen style tai chi family members there was a family art, which Chen Bu (the founder of Chen Jiagou) brought with him. The family had brought this martial art from Shanxi when the clan was forced to leave. While there are few written sources, this history should not be dismissed too quickly because Shanxi is also the traditional origin of Bagua Zhang and H-sing-I Chuan, which share some of the bio-mechanical foundations with Chen style tai chi chuan. Historically documented from the 1600s, the Chen family was originally from Shanxi, Hong Dong. First generation, Chen Pu, shifted from Shanxi to Wen County, Henan Province. Originally known as Chang Yang Cun or Sunshine village, the village grew to include a large number of Chen style tai chi family descendants. Because of the three deep ravines (Gou) beside the village it became to be known as Chen Jia Gou or Chen Family Village. Chen village has since been a center of Chen style tai chi learning. Ninth generation Chen Wangting is credited as performing the first formal codification of Chen style tai chi martial art practice. Perhaps the best known Chen family teacher was 14th generation Chen Changxing (Chén Chángxīng, Ch’en Chang-hsing, 1771-1853). He further synthesized Chen Wangting’s open fist training corpus into two routines that came to be known as “old frame” (lao jia). Chen Changxing, contrary to Chen family tradition, also took the first recorded non-family member as a disciple, Yang Luchan (1820), who went on to develop his own family tradition (Yang style tai chi chuan). Tai chi proved very popular and the other three traditional styles of tai chi chuan further sprang from Yang family tradition; some of these styles also borrowing from the Chen family “Small Frame” tradition. Chen style tai chi family teaching remained hidden and was not taught publicly until 1928. Here at Northwest Internal arts we have been teaching Tai chi for over 20 years. The Chen style tai chi has influenced our program greatly. With the explosive power and strength building exercises from the practice of Chen style tai chi it has helped our students achieve things they did not think they would ever be able to do. Some believe Chen style tai chi is only for the younger practitioners, this is incorrect. You can train the Chen style tai chi very intensely, or as soft as desired slowly building up your strength increasing the power to your comfort level. It has a wide practice range to fit the needs of any practitioner. Before teaching the forms, we often may have the student’s do stance training such as Yi chuan (mind fist) and various qigong routines such as silk reeling exercises. These stance training and qigong exercises are done to condition and strengthen the body to have the correct frame and alignment. This is done so as to be able to develop silk reeling energy (Chan Si Jin) before moving to the more complicated movements that are in the forms. Other methods of training for Chen style tai chi include using training aids such as: pole/spear shaking exercises, which teach a practitioner how to extend their silk reeling and fa jing skill into a weapon. In addition to the solo exercises listed above, there are partner exercises known as pushing hands, designed to help students maintain the correct body structure when faced with resistance. There are five traditional phases of push hands in Chen style tai chi that students may learn before they can move on to a more free-style push hands structure which begins to resemble sparring. In contrast to some tai chi styles and teachers the vast majority of Chen style tai chi players believe that Chen style tai chi is first and foremost a martial art; that a study of the self-defense aspect of tai chi is the best test of a student’s skill and knowledge of the tai chi principles that provide health benefit. In compliance with this principle, all Chen forms retain some degree of overt fa jing expression. This being an important expression for the distinction and beauty of the art is not the most important. Anyone who practices the art should first strive to achieve for health and harmony. One does not have to take it to a competitive level to benefit from the training. In martial application, Chen style tai chi uses a wide variety of techniques, applied with all the extremities, that revolve around the use of the eight gates of tai chi chuan to manifest either kai (expansive power) or he (contracting power) through the physical postures of the Chen forms. The particulars of exterior technique may vary between teachers and forms. In common with all neijia (Internal Martial Art forms), Chen style tai chi aims to develop internal power for the execution of martial techniques, but focuses especially on cultivating fa jing skill. With the Chen style tai chi practice there are 105 basic fa jing methods and 72 basic Chin Na methods present in the forms. Chen Style Tai Chi References: - Guang Yi, Ren; Stephen Berkwick, Jose Figueroa (2003). Taijiquan: Chen 38 form and applications. 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon VT: Tuttle Publishing. - Wile, Douglas (1995). Lost T’ai-chi Classics from the Late Ch’ing Dynasty (Chinese Philosophy and Culture). State University of New York Press. - Wile, Douglas (1983). Tai Chi Touchstones: Yang Family Secret Transmissions. Sweet Ch’i Press. - Gaffney, David (2002). Chen Style Taijiquan: The source of Taiji Boxing. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books. - Chen, Zhenglei (2003). Chen Style Taijiquan, Sword and Broadsword. Zhengzhou, China: Tai Chi Centre.
The Practical Shakuhachi is a new book of practice etudes and exercises for shakuhachi. Written in Kinko notation, The Practical Shakuhachi offers 90 pages of music to help improve your playing. It is a companion to James Nyoraku Schlefer's earlier Shakuhachi Workbook and presents new technical challenges, including long tone exercises, meri practice, intervals for embouchure development, intonation practice, and a section for practicing Western scales and arpeggios. Available exclusively at shakuhachi.com. Shakuhachi Duets offers ten original compositions for two shakuhachi composed by grand master James Nyoraku Schlefer. This is a dual-language edition with text in English and Japanese and the musical scores transcribed in both Kinko-ryu and Western notation. The accompanying practice CD includes each piece with both parts performed together as well as each part separately. This enables you to play along “Karaoke” style while following the written notation provided. Since the duets are transcribed in Western 5-line staff as well as Japanese cursive notation, they can be played along with silver flute, violin, guitar or any other instrument. Available exclusively at shakuhachi.com. The Shakuhachi Workbook is an exercise book developed to provide daily warm-up and practice exercises specifically for the shakuhachi. Similar to those available for the Western flute but adapted for shakuhachi and written in Kinko notation, the book is intended for technical development of shakuhachi playing. There are exercises for warming up, breath control, embouchure development, intonation, finger dexterity, atari, meri, koro koro, and for phrasing. An accompanying CD provides examples of how the exercises should be approached with verbal introductions (in English). Available exclusively at shakuhachi.com.
There are three questions about Bill de Blasio. First, and most obvious, is how he will do as mayor when it comes to the things that really matter — providing basic services, maintaining public order, keeping the citizenry safe. Second, and most important to de Blasio, is how effective he will be at implementing his activist agenda, with its emphasis on somehow altering the nature of the city’s economic and social “inequality.” Third, and most fascinating for the future, is what the success or failure of his mayoralty may mean for the country as a whole. De Blasio may be the most left-wing politician ever to win a major executive office in the United States, and as a result of the rules laid out in the City Charter, New York’s mayor is an exceptionally powerful official. It’s therefore logical to think that de Blasio’s mayoralty will be a test case. His success or failure will provide crucial guidance to the Democratic Party and to the nation about the viability of unabashed left-wing governance. Or will it? Living as New Yorkers do inside the famous Saul Steinberg illustration in which Manhattan eats up seven-eighths of the United States, we’re always inclined to believe that what’s happening here is more important politically than what is happening anywhere else in America. The thing is, we’re almost always wrong about that. In point of fact, New York is and always has been sui generis — a political case unto itself. This is, after all, a famously liberal city with a tiny number of Republicans that had been run by center-right mayors (elected on the GOP and minor-party lines) for 20 uninterrupted years. Then, in November, a candidate preaching radical change won the mayoralty in a colossal landslide — even as a majority of those in the exit polls actually professed satisfaction with the status quo. That’s just weird, and should demonstrate once and for all that New York is a wildly idiosyncratic city whose politics and politicians are basically non-transferable. Indeed, not since Theodore Roosevelt became vice president in 1900 has a major local politician gone on to do anything of consequence nationally — and TR wasn’t even an elected city official, but rather a one-time police commissioner who only became veep after winning a term as governor of the state. Roosevelt left the job of top cop in 1897. That was 117 years ago, if you need help with the math. Since his day, not one mayor or high-ranking city official has even gone on to win statewide in New York, not for governor and not for senator. After the wildly successful mayoralty of Rudy Giuliani altered the dynamic of American cities by demonstrating it was possible to reverse crime sprees and reestablish public order — and after 9/11 made Rudy a national hero — many people believed he’d figured out how to crack the national political code. Here was a nationally famous and even revered politician with a proven record and cross-party appeal. Yet his presidential bid in 2008 was a disaster, as Mayor John Lindsay’s bid had been in 1972. Perhaps the issues Bill de Blasio raises as mayor will help guide his party later on — or perhaps his failure will scare his party away from them. But as history suggests, it’s far more likely that what happens in New York City will stay in New York City, as it almost always does.
Robotics Improves Surgeons' Ability to See and Move Instruments Robotic technology has expanded the limits of gynecologic surgery by enabling surgeons to better visualize and more precisely perform highly technical laparoscopic procedures than would otherwise be possible. Robotic technology in association with the laparoscope allows surgeons to view anatomical structures - including small blood vessels, nerves and nearby organs - from a magnified, three-dimensional perspective. Robotics significantly enhances depth perception and range of motion, which enables surgeons to safely perform complex operations by remotely manipulating robotic arms while sitting at a console similar to a pilot's cockpit. Robotic technology adds no risks beyond those associated with laparoscopic hysterectomy. While the use of robotics in the field of gynecology is increasing, it is estimated that only 2 percent of hysterectomies currently performed in the U.S. employ this technology. UCLA is one of only a few centers in Southern California with the technology and surgical expertise to offer robotic laparoscopic myomectomy and hysterectomy as an alternative for women who might otherwise face the increased risk of complications associated with open abdominal hysterectomysurgery. A uterine fibroid is a common type of benign (non-cancerous) tumor that develops within the uterine wall. Uterine fibroids occur in up to one third of all women and are actually the leading reason for hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) in the United States. Uterine fibroids occur in 20-40% of all women during reproductive years. Uterine fibroids may grow as a single tumor or clusters. They often increase in size and frequency with age, but may also revert in size after menopause. While not all women with fibroids experience symptoms, these may include excessive menstrual bleeding, pelvic pain and difficulty getting pregnant. A common alternative to hysterectomy for fibroids is myomectomy, the surgical removal of fibroid tumors and a procedure considered standardof- care for removing fibroids and preserving the uterus. It therefore may be recommended for women who wish to become pregnant. Myomectomy is most often performed through a large abdominal incision. After removing each fibroid, the surgeon repairs the uterus to minimize potential bleeding, infection and scarring. Proper repair is critical to reducing the risk of uterine rupture during a future pregnancy. Fibroid embolization is a newer, non-invasive treatment available but, there are limited studies showing its long-term success. Another approach, laparoscopic myomectomy, offers a minimally invasive alternative to open surgery but is usually not an option for women with large fibroids, multiple fibroids or with fibroids in difficultto- reach areas. If your doctor recommends surgery to treat uterine fibroids, you may be a candidate for a uterine-preserving, minimally invasive procedure – da Vinci Myomectomy. Using the most advanced technology available, da Vinci Myomectomy enables surgeons to perform this delicate operation with unmatched precision, vision and control using only a few small incisions. For women who want a uterine-sparing procedure, da Vinci Myomectomy offers numerous potential benefits over open abdominal surgery, including:
It's that time of year again, when we all join together to fight stigma and raise awareness of OCD. Although raising awareness is something we focus on all year round through our services, OCD Awareness Week is a great opportunity to further highlight the true nature of OCD, and help erase some of the stereotypes and misconceptions often associated with the disorder. Created by the International OCD Foundation, this year OCD Awareness week will be taking place from the 9th-15th October, we want you all to get involved with this campaigning week - together we can fight the stigma. Last year we launched the first ever Youth e-Helpline, an instant messaging service for young people with OCD. It has been fantastic to see so many young people reaching out for support through this service, but we still fear there are far too many young people struggling in silence. That is why, this OCD Awareness Week, we want your help to reach out to young people, by completing a small task (with hopefully a big result!). This OCD at uni leaflet was written by one of our lovely volunteers with the help of our Youth Advisory Panel, and has been really well received at the freshers' fairs we have attended this year, but imagine if this resource was available at all universities across the country? That's where you come in! What we want... We would like you to send the OCD at uni leaflet, along with a letter (we have included an example template letter below which you could copy and paste) to your local university and ask them to print it or save it and keep it with their mental health resources. Each university will have a support and wellbeing centre (though it may come under a different name) and usually a quick internet search can provide you with the right contact details to send this information to. By doing this, we hope that anyone who seeks support at university will be able to access this resource and be better equipped to get the correct support during their time studying. Similarly, why not send our OCD Youth e-Helpline flyer to your local school or sixth form college, so more people can find out about this service and seek support. What else is happening... If you are a regular Twitter user, you may have already joined in with a regular tweet chat held by one of our wonderful volunteers, Ashley Curry, who uses the hashtag #askashocd. We will be joining Ash on Tuesday evening at 8pm for his regular chat - topic to be confirmed! During OCD Awareness Week, we will also be hosting our own twitter chat on Wednesday 12th October, with some of the staff here at the Charity, including our National Advocacy Manager Collette Byrne. Earlier on this year, Collette hosted a Twitter chat, and we had so many questions coming in, we thought it was about time we hosted another one. Whether it's a housing issue, difficulties accessing treatment, a work related problem or any difficulties you're experiencing because of your OCD/BDD, join us on Wednesday 12th October at 1pm on Twitter (@ocdaction) and Collette will try and answer all of your questions. The last of our Twitter chats will take place on Thusday evening (13th October), when we will be joining our friends at Maternal OCD for a perinatal OCD and breastfeeding chat. We hope this chat will help mothers battling OCD know that they are not alone, and that there is lots of support and treatment available. Follow the chat using this hashtag #OCDbfing at 8pm on Thursday evening! As part of this Twitter chat, Maternal OCD have put together these really useful resources about perinatal OCD and breastfeeding. World Mental Health Day As well as OCD Awareness Week, October is also host to World Mental Health Day which is taking place on Monday 10th October. This day is a wonderful opportunity to get the world talking about all mental health difficulties, including OCD, BDD, Hoarding Issues and other anxiety disorders. Perhaps you could have a five minute conversation with someone on Monday and tell them a little bit about OCD, or point a friend in the direction of their local support group, or even just ask someone who is struggling how they are. All conversations about mental health, no matter how small, can make a BIG difference. And don't forget... October is a really exciting month for mental health awareness, but we are just as excited for February, when our annual OCD Week of Action will be taking place. This will be our fourth Week of Action, and the planning for this action packed campaigning week is well underway, so watch this space for more information about how you can get involved!
Divorce usually means dividing up part of your life that you and your partner once shared. Issues like who gets what, how much time children will spend with each parent and other matters can be handled by lawyers or through the court system. Unfortunately neither the legal system nor an attorney can make the decision for one important asset the gets left out of the divorce process–your friends. Losing friends during a divorce can be as equally hurtful and confusing as losing any other important asset. Since friends are often a primary source of support and comfort during a divorce–and one of the times you need friends the most–how this valuable group ends up dividing can have a measurably large impact on how well you cope and recover from your divorce. Divorced people may find themselves suddenly losing friends or not being invited to dinners, parties, or other social events. Most people report that some of their friends become “invisible” while they're in the process of divorcing. People can feel hurt, pushed out or socially isolated. Sometimes, both parties can maintain the friendships they cultivated as a couple, but that’s not always the case. If both you and your partner are friends with another couple, it’s very possible that some or even all of the shared friendships will dissolve. Double dates to dinners, sporting events and films will most likely end immediately. You may even find it difficult to remain friends with even one individual within a shared friendship. Spending time with a newly divorced friend may make couples feel uneasy if they were friends with both partners in the relationship. WHY FRIENDS FLEE It’s pretty common for people who are going through a divorce to look around and suddenly feel like many of their friends have headed for the hills. Why does it seem that when you need them the most, so many of your friends disappear? What are the reasons that this often happens? Divorce Reminds Other Couples of Their own Fears. Divorce and the possibility of changes it offers can feel dangerous to married people. Friends can get frightened when long-term couples part ways, because it will often make them question their own relationship. As scared and vulnerable as you feel being newly divorced, your married friends have their own set of fears that may get acted out. If you and your spouse split up, does it mean that they might as well? When people feel unnerved they tend to close ranks, thereby ending friendships. You are Seen as a Threat. As a newly divorced person, you are suddenly seen as eligible to many of your married friends, which can cause them to become threatened and invitations to cease or get togethers cease. Unfortunately, divorced women usually suffer the most because of the old-fashioned and misogynistic stereotype that a single woman is out to “steal” other women's partners. Loyalties can be Divided. You aren’t the only one who is having conflicting emotions dealing about your relationship ending–your divorce can make your friends feel conflicted as well. Other couples will be nervous about how things will turn out and whether they will be able to keep both of you as friends. Couples will often feel uncertain about whether they should be loyal to you or your ex, and may even disagree with each other about what should be done. Your Friends Feel Helpless. Your divorce can make your friends suddenly feel awkward and helpless. They will often make the assumption that nothing they do or say can help you, or that you would rather be left alone during this difficult time. The result? They end up doing nothing and saying nothing, pretty much putting and end to your friendship. Your Friends are Busy With Their own Lives. They may not be ending a relationship, but your friends still lead busy lives with its own set of problems. Unfortunately, sometimes people get so caught up in their own lives and situations that they neglect their friendships with other people. You may also discover that some people feel like they need avoid what they perceive to be negative events or have no desire to deal with anyone’s issues but their own. It is better to let these types of people go. Once the dust has settled and your mutual friends have decided to choose–or not choose–who to maintain their friendship with, there will still be work for you to do. You'll need to evaluate what friendships you're left with, determine the category they fall into, and act accordingly. HOW TO KEEP YOUR FRIENDS Even though you're going through a tough time, don't forget that friendship is a two-way street. Like any relationship, friendships constantly change and require work. Keeping all of your friends may not be possible, but there are things you can do to make sure the friendships that mean the most to you don’t end. It can be challenging, but it is possible to maintain your mutual friends, even while limiting contact with your ex. When your friends make it known that you have their support and can rely on them to be around, make sure to let them know how much you appreciate them for doing so. Remember to speak up and tell your friends how important that their support is. Express Your Thoughts And Feelings. Talk to your friends about your feelings surrounding the break up and how you would feel if you ran into your ex. If you want to avoid your former spouse as much as possible, let your friends know that you are going to need some time apart from him or her because it would be difficult emotionally for you to see them unexpectedly. Talking with your friends will help them understand the situation better as well as respect your boundaries. Understand Your Friends Feel Uncomfortable as Well. Should they take sides? If your marriage can end, does it mean theirs will too? What if they say the wrong thing? Having a couple close to them getting a divorce can bring up mixed emotions in people. These emotions can suddenly cause them to feel awkward and uncomfortable around you or your ex. Let them know that this is okay, and that you understand. Don’t put Your Friends in The Middle It’s up to your friends whether or not they will continue to stay friendly with your ex partner. Most of your mutual friends will want to keep both of you around. Don't expect or demand that your friends take sides; it’s not fair to them. Respect the choices that these mutual friends make. Don’t attempt to sway them one way or another–whether you agree with them or not, it’s ultimately their choice. Keep Gossip to a Minimum. Avoid talking in a disrespectful manner about your ex to your mutual friends. Talking about an ex in a neutral way isn’t always easy, but remember that if you over share and talk about how horrible she was in the bedroom or how he didn’t make as much money as everyone thought he did, the gossip will most likely come back to bite you. Mutual friends can feel awkward if you're being rude about your former spouse. Try to be as respectful as you can. Unfortunately some people live for other people’s drama and may continue the friendship under false pretenses. Be careful about how much information you reveal. Remember that people who encourage you to or enjoy trashing your former spouse are often the same types who will talk about you to your ex! Ask if Your Ex Will be Present. It is perfectly appropriate to ask those who are friends with both of you if your ex is going to be attending any parties, dinners or sporting events that you have been invited to. They should understand and not take it personally if it is easier for you not to attend events because it is healthier for you at this time to keep your distance from your ex. Running into your ex without knowing ahead of time that this is a possibility will only make things awkward for everyone involved. ARE MUTUAL FRIENDS POSSIBLE? Do you want the best of both worlds and not have to choose? For acquaintances, you don’t have to. You can still have a lunch out or meet somewhere for a cup of coffee. But for those close friends, the ones you feel the most comfortable with, those you can tell almost anything, the situation is different. You not only need those friends around, you need to know that they can be trusted no to talk about you behind your back to your ex. Communicating clearly and as soon as possible about the nature of the newly shifting relationship between friends will make it easier for everyone. It can be as simple as assuring your mutual friends that even though you and your spouse are separating, you want to maintain their friendship and will try your best not to have them choose sides TALKING WITH YOUR EX Although it isn’t necessarily easy, talking with your former spouse is one of the best ways to maintain your mutual friendships and figure out what both of you want. Some things that will help: - Set Rules. How do you feel about being around each other socially? Could you handle seeing them at a party, but don’t want to spend two hours sitting near them at dinner? What about if either one of you is dating? Try to agree on some basic parameters when dealing with mutual friends. Agree to not to alienate your friends or use them as weapons against each other. - Share or Split? Try to come up with a list of relationships you both want to keep as well as whether you will truly be able to share friends. - Losses Happen. It’s inevitable that some friendships will end. This is especially true of any friends you had previous to your relationship. Most likely your spouse’s close friend won’t feel comfortable maintaining a friendship with you, just as your closest friends won't stay friends with your ex. - Be Honest. Speak directly with your mutual friends. This helps prevent problems from popping up in the future. Most likely, they probably don't know how to stay friends with both of you, so your input will be welcome. Let them know the ground rules you and your ex have laid down. What is everyone's comfort level? Some newly divorced people tend to dislike spending time with couples because it too painful to be reminded that they themselves are no longer part of a couple. - It Isn’t Just About You. If your children and your friends’ children liked to play together before the divorce, then it is important to try to keep your friendships just as strong as it was before. Divorce is hard enough for children to adjust to. Both you and your friends need to consider the needs and feelings of everyone involved including your kids. - Remain Flexible. It may be a cliché, but as more time passes the things you are currently feeling will change and grow. It is certainly possible that eventually the both of you will become comfortable sharing friends and socializing in each other’s presence. Building and maintaining friendships takes effort on everyone’s part. Divorce will often reveal who your real friends are. In some cases, you may need to be the one that decides that it is time to split up with mutual friends. Sometimes the break up of a marriage can quickly end friendships that were already on shaky ground. Use this opportunity to get out of any toxic or one-sided friendships you’ve been meaning to ditch for a while. How things work out after a divorce is often a good indicator of how the friendship would have ended anyway. You might choose to end a relationship with mutual friends if you have communicated what you need from them but feel that your frame of mind isn’t being respected. Even having your friends stick around may cause difficulties that didn’t occur to you. Sometimes keeping mutual friends can be hard because they remind the recently divorced of their own failed relationships. HOW TO COPE - Let Go. People will often feel conflicted when dealing with friends that were once a couple. They may end up taking sides even without meaning to by severing a friendship with one of the people in a broken relationship. Although it can add to an already painful situation, it is still a good idea to move on from the friends who aren’t there for you. - Find New Friends. Part of a divorce is moving on from a relationship, which can also mean making new friends. Getting a divorce means your lifestyle will change, and you may find that you have little in common with the people that you used to hang out with. - Seek Help. Talking to your friends is helpful, but sometimes talking with a counselor or therapist during a divorce can take a huge weight off your shoulders. This gives you time to maintain your friendships and not feel like you are burdening them too much with your problems. Counseling also makes it easier to cope with the stressful situations that accompany divorce. Splitting up mutual friends can decrease much needed emotional support, precisely when it is needed the most. Often times one of the reasons that couples have relationship problems is because they don’t have enough individual friends to help them establish a firm emotional foundation. No matter how a relationship is going, it is good for a couple to have their own interests, hobbies and friends. Your divorce can change your life in ways–negative and positive—that you may have not thought. A devoted and loyal group of friends will help you cope. Before you consider a divorce or separation, speak to an experienced family law and divorce attorney to discuss your case as well as your options. A divorce lawyer can act as both a counselor and sounding board for you during this stressful life event. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call Jack’s Law at . Jack W. Carney-DeBord is licensed and admitted to the practice law in the State of Ohio-ONLY. Jack has no intention of soliciting clients in any state other than Ohio and nothing posted on this website should be viewed as any attempt to solicit or do business in ANY state other than the State of Ohio. The content on this website is provided as general information only and is not legal advice. You should not act or refrain from acting based upon information provided in this site without first consulting legal counsel. Use of this website does not create an attorney client relationship between you and Jack's Law Office.
The application of genetics for the management of natural resources is expanding, and within this field, DNA registers will play an increasing role. The Norwegian minke whale DNA register, established in 1996, was designed primarily as a control system to detect any attempts at illegal trade of products derived from other stocks of minke whale, or other whale species, under cover of the legal Norwegian harvest originating from the Northeast Atlantic. The register contains genetic data for 7644 of 7751 whales landed in the period 1997–2010. Profiles are established from sequencing part of the mtDNA control region, analysis of 10 STRs and a sex-determining marker. Probabilities of genotypes matching between two randomly selected whales are 6.0−04 and 3.0−08 for five and eight of the STR loci, respectively. This permits verification of traded whale products via match to the register. The register has also been used in a number of ad hoc scientific studies resulting through the accumulation of genetic, demographic and biological data. Here, we review the register’s logistics, specifications and evaluate the potential to apply similar registers to control the exploitation of other marine species.
So you filled out all the applications, secured financial aid, and took the plunge into a radiologic technologist training program, but you’ve still got a long way to go! Networking with other medical professionals, building a diverse skill set, and getting licensed in the state where you want to practice are all ahead of you. The following are some handy websites and other resources you can use to make those processes go as smoothly as possible. - The American Society of Radiologic Technologists: This is a large membership organization for radiologic technologists and other imaging professionals. The website features resources for students, teachers, and professionals in the field, and has lots of videos and FAQs with information about the field for people at any stage of their careers (including people still in school). - The Occupational Outlook Handbook: This government database has a huge amount of info about almost any imaginable career path, including that of radiologic technologist. Whether you’re looking for salary estimates, which states have the best pay or most jobs available, or similar careers to compare, you can get authoritative information from The Bureau of Labor Statistics and their Occupational Outlook Handbook website. - The Journal of Radiology Case Reports: This website offers a peek into the world of radiographic research. You can read abstracts and other excerpts from academic papers and research about radiologic imaging and the various medical uses of radiography. The academic works contained in the Journal of Radiology Case Reports website are also indexed in Google Scholars and other online academia portals. - Job Boards: It is important to talk with your colleagues, friends, and family about job opportunities, and a lot of people get jobs by working their personal network, but the internet is still an amazing tool for job searching. Visiting online job boards, especially those that are geared toward the medical imaging profession, is a crucial step in any job search. - Blogs and Online Communities: One great way to find out more about the profession and connect with others in it is to look at blogs being written by radiologic technologists. One blog you can visit to get the real deal on life as a radiologic technologist is Not Totally Rad, which offers a combination of personal anecdotes and critiques of the profession as a whole. - Associate of Educators in Imaging and Radiologic Sciences (AEIRS): This organization is dedicated to aggregating resources online for use by radiologic professionals. Their website offers links to other handy resources for radiographers, as well as contact info for networking with other members, and various event registrations and other opportunities to meet up with radiographers in person. Becoming a member of this organization can also provide new professional connections and increase your personal network so it is easier to find a job when the time comes. - The Radiology Portal: This blog offers insight into the daily life of radiology workers and administrators, as well as dozens of links to other interesting info for radiographers. In addition to the blog, the writer of The Radiology Portal has a Twitter feed where he posts links to new materials as he finds them. The blog features videos, photos, and links about related fields such as mammography, ultrasound, and other types of medical imaging, beyond radiography as well. - Radiology Picture of the Day: This blog is exactly what it sounds like. Regularly updated radiographic images with names and brief descriptions of the injury or deformity represented. The subject matter of the images ranges widely, from gastro-intestinal tracts to head, neck, and spinal injuries, all captured by x-ray or another sonographic or radiographic imaging technique. These photos could be used for educational purposes, but are also just fun to look at! Knowing how to learn for yourself and pursue opportunities on your free time can give a boost to any career. The above resources can hook you up with other professionals in your field and help you learn and grow whether you’re just starting radiology tech school or you’ve been working for ten years. Getting in touch with the creators of the above resources could be a great way to stay excited about your radiography education when the workload feels like too much, and starting your own blog or other online outlet for your thoughts and experiences in radiologic tech training can be a good way to keep yourself curious and help out others in the same position as you.
290. Musician Humor, Partita Three How do you get two piccolos to play in unison? What do you call a musician without a significant other? What's the definition of a gentleman? Someone who knows how to play the trombone but chooses not to. Why do drummers have half an ounce more brains than horses? So they don't disgrace themselves in parades. What do you call someone who hangs around with musicians? What does it mean when a guitar player is drooling out both sides of his mouth? The stage is level. What does a timpanist say when he gets a gig? "Would you like fries with that, sir?" What do you say to a banjo player in a three-piece suit? "Will the defendant please rise?" How does a young man become a member of a high school chorus? On the first day of school he turns into the wrong classroom. What do violinists use for birth control? Why are violins smaller than violas? They are actually the same size. Violinists' heads are larger. What's the difference between a cello and a viola? The cello burns longer. Why are orchestral intermissions limited to 20 minutes? So you don't have to retrain the cellists. How can you tell if a bass player is really bad? Even the section notices. How does a soprano change a light bulb? She just holds it in the socket and the whole world revolves around her. Why are conductors' hearts coveted for transplants? They've had so little use. Why do bagpipers walk when they play? To get away from the noise. What happens if you play country western music backwards? Your wife returns to you, your dog comes back to life, and you get out of prison.
(Posted 3:30 p.m., Oct. 2) Play about McGonigle murders both powerful and poignant By Fred Sherwin Julia McGonigle, played by Sarah Benfield, beseeches her husband James, played by Nick Dubus, to find their two missing daughters during the Vintage Stock Theatre production of ‘Outrage: The McGonigle Murders’. Fred Sherwin/Photo While many people may think that abductions and child murderers are by and large phenomenons born out of the latter part of the 20th century, the sad truth of the matter is that they have been around since the dawn of time. The McGonigle Murders”, being presented this month at the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum by the Vintage Stock Theatre company, tells the story of the 1890 abduction and murder of Mary and Eliza McGonigle in the peaceful rural community of Cumberland Village. two girls, age 12 and 14, went missing while walking home from school on a wet and dreary October evening. Their father, thinking that they had stayed over at a friend’s house to avoid the storm, didn’t notify the authorities until late the next day. same evening, they were found lying side by side not far from the road home from school. Autopsies revealed that the girls had been sexually assaulted and strangled to the next day, a drifter named Narcisse Larocque had been arrested and charged with the girls’ murder based on eye witness accounts that put him in the same vicinity of the crime at about the same time it occurred. The only other evidence as a boot print that matched one of Larocque’s a short trial in L’Orignal during which his lawyer presented a token defence, he was hung in the L’Orignal jail and buried in the jail yard. The McGonigle Murders” tells the story of the events surrounding the murders, the reaction of the community afterwards and the subsequent trial and hanging through a series of six vignettes acted out by lamplight on the museum the first scene the audience is introduced to John Radclive, Ontario’s only professional hang man at the time, who was assigned the task of dispatching criminals like Larocque. is played wonderfully by Scott Kristjanson who is making his theatrical debut in the production. is Kristjanson’s job to set the mood of the play which he does extremely well. After the opening scene the audience is lead to the church where a crowd has already assembled and Julia McGonigle, played by Nick Dubus and Sarah Benfield, are frantic to find their daughters. Nightfall has already set in and a large search party has been formed. long after the search party sets out, a large scream pierces the night signaling that the girls’ bodies have been found. the third scene, James and Julia McGonigle learn of their daughters’ fate. Julia McGonigle is completely distraught as one might imagine. The audience also finds out that the McGonigles had lost four of their children to black diptherea just two years before. an exchange between the police constable and the village doctor, Ben Bernard, who is described as a half-wit and a simpleton comes forward saying that he saw a man walking down the road shortly after the girls were killed. man he describes is Larocque, who worked with James McGonigle and ate in the McGonigle household. next scene is outside the coroner’s inquest. Several of the town’s people and other hangers on are demanding that Larocque be handed over to them so they can kill him themselves and spare the need for a trial. fifth scene which takes place several months later, is perhaps the most powerful. Julia McGonigle has had another daughter and has named her Mary. She tells an astonished neighbour that she plans to have yet another daughter and call her Eliza. the outset of the scene the neighbour, Margaret Cochrane, questions how God could have taken the daughters after he had already claimed the McGonigles’ other four children. Julia McGonigle explains that her new baby was sent to her by Mary and Eliza. “She’s a gift from my two angels,” she tells her neighbour. final scene is given a glimpse of what the trial was like followed by the guilty verdict and Larocque’s denouement. The McGonigle Murders” is powerful play that will have you questioning the degree to which any of us are safe in our own communities as well as how we might react if we were caught up in the same set of circumstances either as a parent, or a member of small community like Cumberland what makes the play even more poignant is the fact that the events are historically true, right down to much of the dialogue which was taken from newspaper accounts of play’s director and writer, Susan Flemming has once again done a marvelous job in presenting a dramatically presentation of a piece of local history which many residents who are relatively new to the area have never heard of before. But she couldn’t have pulled it off without a wonderful and Benfield were superb as the distraught parents as was Kristjanson, who I already mentioned earlier. Dan Smythe, who has been in more Vintage Stock productions than I can count, also did a great job as Benjamin Bernard, as did Reid Delong who played Constable Lavergne. rest of the cast is rounded out by Vintage Stock Theatre veteran Richard Marquis as John Gamble, John Cook as Dr. Ferguson, Micheline Mathon as Margaret Cochrane, Émilie Perron-Clow as Cozey McCallum, Paul Sales as D.B. McLennan, Hayden Smith as Albert Constantineau and André Dimitrijevic as the judge. But my favourite performance of them all was delivered by young Tyler Smith who played James Cochrane. seen maybe three or four plays with Smith in the cast and he has stood out in everyone of them. He’s talented, incredibly self-assured for someone so young, and he has a very bright future ahead of him. The McGonigle Murders” is on this Friday and Saturday night at the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12 each available at the door. was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local to Front Page
It wasn’t to be. The hops market gradually collapsed in the 1870s. The county’s hop culture began winding down. By the end of the 1880s, all of it was gone. With it went the memory of what had been so vital. Most of those who made it so were forgotten. We have a few of their names. There was Silas Allen in Allenville. Luke LaBorde in deserted Delhi. And John Braley in Oshkosh. Another name to add to that list is Lorenzo Hinman. His hop farm in the Town of Clayton was said to be among the largest in the county. Hinman was a Yankee, born on January 4, 1823 in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He was a direct descendent of Sgt. Edward Hinman, an English puritan who migrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1650. For nearly 200 years, Massachusetts was where the Hinmans remained. But Lorenzo Hinman went wandering. Hinman first went to New York. Then pulled by the lure of abundant and cheap land, he headed west. He may have been among the Hinman clan that in 1845 travelled from New York to Chicago by sailing ship then journeyed north by ox team to Wisconsin. 1846 saw Lorenzo Hinman settled in Walworth County. A couple years later, he was back on the move. On September 1, 1848 at the federal land office in Green Bay, Hinman purchased 360 acres in Winnebago County. The deeds Hinman received were signed by the 11th President of the United States, James Polk. The largest contiguous piece spanned the townships of Clayton and Vinland. The 320 acre parcel is bisected by the current Breezewood Lane. It’s bordered on the east by Center Road. Here’s an 1855 map of Winnebago County with the Hinman property blocked in red (click the image to enlarge it). Hinman sold the Vinland portion to his father. He kept the SE ¼ of Section 33 in the Town of Clayton for himself. This is where he would stay. He cleared the land, built a home and established a farm. Here’s a recent satellite view of the area with Hinman’s property framed in yellow. We're looking at the northwest corner of Breezewood Lane and Center Roads . Hinman was among the first settlers to what officially became the Town of Clayton in 1849. It’s unlikely he arrived there with thoughts of hop growing in mind. There is some indication of hop culture in the northern part of Winnebago County in the late 1840s, but it appears the plant's spread into the Town of Clayton came later. The 1850 Wisconsin Federal Census doesn’t enumerate hop production among the township’s agricultural output. A less formal survey of agriculture in Clayton made by the Oshkosh Democrat in 1851 also makes no mention of hops. But by the mid-1850s, hops had arrived. Perhaps inspired by the success of hop culture in bordering Vinland, Hinman and other farmers in Clayton began putting down rootstock. The 1999 book The History of the Town of Clayton suggests that hops had taken hold in the township by 1856. That date corresponds with the initial spread of hops in Winnebago County. It’s not known when Hinman’s yard began bearing hop cones, but the crop obviously served him well. At least in the beginning. By 1860, Hinman had begun his rise. The 37-year-old listed his net worth as $4,430.00 or about $130,000.00 in today’s money. It was just the start. \|An 1862 map with the Lorenzo Hinman farm framed in yellow\| During Hinman’s time, hops were picked by hand. It would have taken more than 2,000 people a month to harvest a crop of that size. There’s just no way. More likely, Hinman’s yard comprised 10-20 acres. Even a yard of that acreage would have required nearly 100 pickers or more for the August/September harvest. The Roblee farm, just north of Hinman’s property provided temporary residence for at least some of the itinerant pickers who found their way to the Town of Clayton. According to Century Farms of Wisconsin, Volume 1, the Roblees built a frame house that became a dormitory for hop pickers during harvest season. “Girls and young men from nearby were hired to harvest the crop. The girls slept in the north part of the house, and the men slept in the south part.” Meanwhile, Hinman amassed wealth. Over the course of the 1860s – boom years for hop growers – Hinman did well. He bought more land. In 1870 he posted a net worth of $21,550, or about $404,000.00 in today’s money. He was at his financial peak. \|Grand Entrance to the former Hinman Farm, circa 1950\| \|The Grand Entrance Today\| When Lorenzo Hinman died on September 16, 1896, he still had his farm. But much of his wealth had been erased. While he owned more than 320 acres of land, he had less than $700 to his name. Hinman died land rich and cash poor. \|Hinman's modest headstone in Allenville Cemetery\| I’ve been out to see what used to be Hinman’s farm. I was hoping to find wild hops growing. Some feral legacy of Hinman from the land he poured his life into. A progeny of one that endured the uprooting after everything went to hell. So far, there's been none of that to be found. There's more on the Hinman hop farm here.
- We are part of the national network of - outward bound schools Outward Bound is an international educational movement dedicated to the idea that people are capable of far more than they know. Originally designed for young sailors during World War II, the program fostered leadership qualities needed to head out on the high seas- when ships were “Outward Bound.” Now, all around the world, Outward Bound schools prepare people to take on challenges and achieve more than they ever thought possible. Our employees are the heart and soul of our organization. Whether you’re leading a group on a wilderness expedition, working with Urban youth in their community or creating a feeling of adventure in the classroom, your job is to help students see the possibility in themselves and the world around them. Outward Bound employees inspire, serve and lead. We believe we are in the business of helping to create a better world. Whether you work directly with students or behind the scenes in our home office in Fairmount Park, everything we do touches the student experience. Those passionate for exploration and education should apply. Outward Bound is a wonderful place to work. The work is powerful; the challenges are real. Whether you are raising money or leading a team to climb a rock face, you will need to give it your best. We excel at building communities — in the workplace, at our basecamps, on our courses. Employees are dedicated and committed, but we still know how to have fun. As an organization, we strive to offer the same excellence to our staff that we do to our students. Integrity and compassion are part of our values. We aim to create a supportive environment and serve our employees well. Collaboration, effective problem solving and creativity are important components in our work life at Outward Bound. Outward Bound is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
A transition-metal complex in which a metal atom or ion is ‘sandwiched’ between two rings of atoms. Ferrocene was the first such compound to be prepared, having two parallel cyclopentadienyl rings with an iron ion between them. In such compounds (also known as metallocenes) the metal coordinates to the pi electron system of the ring, rather than to individual atoms. A wide variety of these compounds are known, having five-, six-, seven-, or eight-membered rings and involving such metals as Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, and Fe. Other similar compounds are known. A multidecker sandwich has three or more parallel rings with metal atoms between them. In a bent sandwich, the rings are not parallel. A half sandwich (or piano stool) has one ring, with single ligands on the other side of the metal.
First Pledging Conference of Green Climate Fund Yields unprecedented US$ 9.3 billion Governments unite behind Fund to Leverage private investment flows, provide climate finance at scale (Berlin, 20 November 2014) – The Green Climate Fund concluded its first Pledging Conference today in Berlin, Germany, with governments pledging a total of up to US$ 9.3 equivalent. Pledges were made by 21 countries, including contributions from four developing countries. Their combined contributions provide for the largest amount the international community has ever mobilized for a dedicated climate finance mechanism within a timeframe of less than five months. “The result of today’s capitalization of the Green Climate Fund is foremost an unmistaken sign of trust‐building,” said Hela Cheikhrouhou, Executive Director of the Fund. Resources allocated to the Green Climate Fund will serve as a multiplier to unlock finance flows from the private sector. Private investment flows are essential for the transition to a low‐emission, climate‐resilient future. These investments can be stimulated through application of concessional public financing from the Fund. “The Green Climate Fund is the epicentre that determines the direction of both public and private investment over the next decades,” said Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), describing the capitalization of the Fund as one of the wisest investments in the 21st century. The initial capitalization of the Fund is critical to the intergovernmental negotiations on climate change. “This creates a positive atmosphere for the start of successful negotiations in Lima in less than two weeks,” stated H.E. Mr. Manuel Pulgar‐Vidal, Minister of the Environment of Peru and President‐Designate of COP 20. “We are fully confident on GCF’s ability to start disbursing funds next year and encourage more countries to come forward with contributions and for contributing countries to further raise their ambition.” The resource mobilization effort of the Green Climate Fund will last beyond today’s Pledging Conference. Governments that have not yet contributed to the Fund are encouraged to continue pledging. “We must give other contributors the chance to surprise us,” remarked Mr. Henrik Harboe, newly elected Co‐Chair of the GCF Board and Deputy Director of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The GCF Board now has the critical role of translating these pledges into financing decisions for climate projects and programmes in developing countries,” he added. The Berlin Pledge demonstrated that there is true progress in providing financial support to developing countries that are willing to shift to more climate resilient development pathways, and at the same time to lower their emissions. The Fund’s pledges constitute the largest resource mobilization for adaptation finance for vulnerable countries. The GCF Board will likely start reviewing funding proposals in the second half of 2015. The Green Climate Fund was established to act as a central vehicle for climate finance under which industrialized countries would assist developing countries with new finance for public and private sector projects and programmes. It offers unlimited opportunities for deploying resilient and clean solutions that will foster economic growth and employment globally. Laetitia De Marez Policy Analyst – Climate Finance
More often than not, food and wine pairing seems to me no more than hypnotism without the swinging watch. Some Authoritative Personality tells us that Sauvignon Blanc goes well with pesto because both are herbaceous. So I pull out a crisp Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc, sauce some pasta, and decide that the two taste good together. Why? Because there’s something magical about matching herby with herby? Or because the Authoritative Personality told me that it was going to work? Then there’s the idea that food and wine pairing is “Science.” All we have to do is enter the component parts of our food and our situation into a calculator and (queue the number-crunching sounds) there’s a perfect wine to match. There’s a theory about writing that says that good writers writing well are simply responding appropriately to their rhetorical situation: their audience, their topic, the medium they’re using, and the role they need to play (expert, narrator, colleague, etc.). If we want to make food and wine pairing into a science, we can look at it the same way. The food and the occasion present the rhetorical situation. What’s being served? Is it hot or cold? Sauced or not (and with what)? The second of six courses or a stand-alone entrée? A skilled matchmaker knows that the situation is about more than just the food. She’ll also ask what season it is and what the weather’s like, whether the meal is being served on a Sonoma patio or the seventh floor of a Toronto high-rise, whether this is your anniversary or a Tuesday dinner on the couch after working late. She’ll need to know who you are, too: what your mood is, something about your characteristic likes and dislikes, and the budget you have in mind. But given all of this information, like the writer, the somm — or the chef, or you as you’re standing in your kitchen wavering with corkscrew in hand — will be able to make the right decision. The situation has provided all of the information you need, if you’ve been attentive. There are right wines and wrong wines. Your skill will determine how well you choose and, if you make a bad choice, you’ve only yourself to blame. Food and wine pairing is a science. But there’s an alternative theory about writing that says the exact opposite. The writer creates the rhetorical situation; it can’t exist on its own because it’s built through perception. The writer decides how to see her audience, what the topic is, how she wants to position herself, and sometimes even what medium she wants to use. Maybe food and wine pairing is just about whatever we want it to be, too. We create the situation because we can envision it as whatever we want it to be. A swanky Valentine’s dinner can be an excuse to playfully recall an inexpensive bottle with emotional significance; Tuesday leftovers can become an event by opening something special. I can even create the flavors I want to see, or that I need to see to make the pairing work. Wine is complicated. We can never notice everything going on in a given glass — to try would be overwhelming — so we have to make decisions about what deserves our attention if we’re going to make any sense of it. We apply filters based on our past experiences and our expectations. When we decide what the wine is, our interpretation says as much about us as it does about what we’re drinking. If I have a nice, crisp Finger Lakes dry Riesling, I can choose to work with its acidity or to draw out the hint of creaminess on its finish. I can emphasize its citrus or its pear notes, its minerality or its surprising mid-palate weight, or maybe I want to let its finish shine. I create a problem and then solve it. Is the problem finding a wine that will cut through the unctuousness of duck confit, or finding a wine with enough body to stand up to the density and heft of the confit served with roast parsnips and mushrooms? I’m never really constrained by the situation because I can make the situation what I want it to be. Exercising a very little bit of imagination will demonstrate that this is poppycock. Certainly, a dish will have different elements that can be played up or down, but a sommelier can’t turn an elk steak into poached trout no matter how creatively she thinks about it (unless she gets the diner to re-order, of course.) Thankfully, there’s an alternative approach. Writing is really more complex than either the science or the subjective model says it is. The point at which food and wine pairing becomes really interesting is when we have enough space — enough freedom — to put ourselves into the situation, but still have guidelines sufficient to make sense of it all. The guidelines are key; without them, we’re so confused by all the possible ways of seeing a situation that we end up seeing nothing at all. Aristotle would tell us to use topoi. Topos literally means “place” or “location,” but Aristotle used the term to describe an approach to a situation that allows you to make sense of it and come up with an argument. And so, we can have topoi for food and wine pairing. Mouthfeel is a topoi. Balance is a topoi. Acidity is a topoi. Even François Chartier’s über-trendy molecular method, which relies on creating pairings in which the wine and ingredients in the food have characteristic flavor molecules in common, is a topoi. We don’t necessarily have to pay attention to any of these things to create a successful pairing, but they’re helpful tools to make success more likely. The more topoi you have at your disposal as a wine-taster and as an eater of food — I’d like to think that you needn’t be a professed foodie to do this sort of thing — the more handles you’re going to have on approaching a particular pairing problem. The question still remains of whether there are flavors in a wine — and in a food-wine pairing — or whether we create them when we taste. Science helps, but not much. We can say that a wine contains specific flavor molecules and, for the best defined of those molecules, we can say how they’ll taste; methoxypyrazines will pretty reliably make a Syrah taste like bell pepper, for example. And yet most flavorful molecules can elicit a range of flavors depending on their context. Even more importantly, we all know that individuals arrive at different conclusions about how a wine tastes. To some extent, we create the flavors we perceive because of who we are, what we’ve tasted before — you’re unlikely to find black currant in a wine if you’ve never had any (unless you’ve tasted a lot with wine dorks who use the term) — and the vagaries of our individual palates. We may consider some of those conclusions more valid than others because they are validated by the tasting conclusions of other people whose opinions and expertise we accept, but there’s no denying the possibility of multiple different, “correct” conclusions. I recently introduced a heretofore-teetotaler friend to his very first glass of wine. The wine I chose for his inauguration wasn’t anything wildly special — the occasion was impromptu and I just pulled something out of my stash — but I wanted it to be complex enough to give him an idea of why I find the stuff so fascinating. I suppose that I wanted it to be meaningful to me, too, so I uncorked a bottle of a Bordeaux-style Washington red blend, made by a few winemaker friends and that I had helped bottle. To me, the nose was plummy, the mouthfeel dense but livened up by pleasantly dancing acidity, and the finish a bit tight and herbal and tannic. His first comment, after having sniffed and sipped, was “I don’t understand why anyone would want to drink something that tastes like tires!” Thankfully, a few more sniffs led him to different conclusions and he finished the glass with more intrigue than disgust. I’d like to think that his perception became more nuanced because he knew that wine could contain more than that, that there was the potential to find all sorts of flavors if he exercised enough creativity to find them. I gave him the topoi of fruit and tannin and acidity and, being a smart and thoughtful guy, applied those tools to solving the what-does-this-taste-like problem. I told him, too, that the wine went well with the mushroom-covered venison steaks we were eating because the herbaceous notes of the venison harmonized with the herbaceous woodiness of the rosemary-garnished mushrooms and the weight of the wine matched the weight of the meat. He agreed. Of course he agreed. I could claim it was Science. And, after all, I was the Authoritative Personality. [author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]http://palatepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/yoga-headshot-2010-thumb.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Erika Szymanski was blessed with parents who taught her that wine was part of a good meal, who believed that well-behaved children belonged in tasting rooms with their parents, and who had way too many books. Averting a mid-life crisis in advance, she recently returned to her native Pacific Northwest to study for a PhD in microbial enology at Washington State University. Her goal, apart from someday having goats, is melding a winery job to research on how to improve the success rate of spontaneous ferments. When tending her Brettanomyces leaves enough time, her blog Wine-o-scope keeps notes on why being a wine geek is fun.[/author_info] [/author]
The Myth of Just Deserts \| Rcooley123's Blog Tina Miller, MA,CFLE stashed this in p2 To save this post, select a stash from drop-down menu or type in a new one: The key paragraph: Nobody deserves to be rich or poor. No one should starve, or be homeless or without care when they are ill or injured. The above attitude does not take into account many factors which affect the ability of people to succeed here in this day and age. Not everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed economically in this country. Obviously, some are born into family situations more advantageous than others. In way too many respects, money has become the be all and end all of too much of life in this country and world. Money enables parents to get better health care, food, shelter and education for their children than those living in poverty can afford. People are able to advance within our society, but it is far more difficult for most than the defenders of the status quo are willing to admit. Thanks, Adam, for highlighting this important topic.
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) July 1, 2007 Readings: 1 Kgs 19:16b,19-21 / Gal 5:1, 13-18 / Lk 9:51-62 Our contemporary language is chockfull of insights about what we value, about what we consider as important above all others. There was a time when we were told to “tune in” to a particular radio program, or to a particular TV channel. When there were but few choices available, we were advised to “tune in.” It was just a simple matter of turning the dial, and placing the arrow on the exact spot that corresponds to the desired radio frequency (which was either AM or FM). In our times, we speak more of the need to “tune out.” With an almost endless array of choices that come along with cable TV; with so many products galore to select from, neatly stacked in heaving shelves in our “hypermarkets,” our capacity for freely making choices necessitates that we first, “tune out” or “zone out” in order to narrow down the list from which to make final choices. We literally need to un-clutter our lives first before we can make order come out of chaos. We figuratively need to narrow down the equivalent of our freedom “bandwidth” to be able to tune in to something that truly can set us free. Tuning out and tuning in both have to do with the capacity for, and the actual use of, our personal freedom. Freedom to follow Elijah is the subject of the first reading. As soon as Elijah threw his cloak over Elisha, the latter unhesitatingly un-cluttered his life, said good-bye to what bound him to his past, and “followed Elijah as his attendant.” We are told explicitly: “Taking the yoke of oxen, [Elisha] slaughtered them, used the plowing equipment to boil their flesh, and gave it to the people to eat.” He tuned out before he tuned in, and focused on becoming a prophet like Elijah was. Paul, for his part, takes up the same icon of the “yoke” that Elisha burned, and advises the Galatians to set themselves free. But for them to be truly free, they first need to “zone out” of situations that enslaved them. Only then could they really focus on genuine freedom. In effect, Paul tells them to be “free from” in order to be “free for.” He counsels them to liberate themselves from the “law of the flesh” so that they could “live by the Spirit.” Again, we may speak of his thoughts in terms of tuning out so that we could tune in to what leads to genuine interior freedom. The Gospel of Luke links up this interior freedom with the call to discipleship. For a disciple to be genuinely free to follow the Lord, he has to tune out three things in his life. First in the list is the need for safety, comfort, and security. He tells the enthusiastic applicant who asked to follow him wherever he went: “Foxes have dens and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” In effect, he tells him to tune out first from all his cares and tune in to the demands inherent in being a disciple. Second in the list is the need to “zone out” of all excuses, rationalizations, and alibis, legitimate or otherwise. Various concerns and personal ambitions, wants, and desires always tend to crowd out the feeble desire in the human heart to do good. One always will find a reason to delay, to postpone, to hem and haw, and to push ahead and pull back at one and the same time, when it comes to doing something difficult but necessary. Focus isn’t possible when we are too caught up in so many conflicting concerns at one and the same time. Third in the list, which is perhaps the most difficult of all, is the need to tune out of so many attachments, affections, and emotional bonds that tie up the human heart. With so many conflicting allegiances, so many loyalties that claim for our undivided attention at any given time, we need to narrow down the field of choices a little bit. We need to lose some in order to win some. We need to let go if we are to let grow that feeble desire to do something really marvelous for God and others. “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” Our postmodern and globalized world has definitely made our field of choices wider and broader. Choices galore mark our entertainment world. Cable TV and satellite communications offer the global consumer with a wide array of choices in every language, format, and content imaginable. But our interior freedom to make wise choices may have narrowed down considerably. In many cases, commercial advertisers may really have decided already for young and old alike. In many instances, the bombardment of propaganda may really have lumped certain ideas and thought patterns down the throats of the unsuspecting masses. For many young people, who live in the midst of so much peer pressure, there may not be any interior freedom left to speak of when it comes to deciding to behave and act any differently from what the world of young people all over the world expects. The call to discipleship, that is, the call to follow Christ truly, fully, and meaningfully, is basically a call to heighten and broaden our freedom. But before we can be “free for” Christ, we need to be “free from” so many constraints that pose as obstacles to fully following him. For us to be able to “tune in” to God, we very literally need first to “tune out” to so many things that do not lead us to Him. At this juncture, I am reminded of the extended essay “Walden Pond” written by the American writer Henry David Thoreau. He writes about his “going to the woods because [he] wished to live deliberately.” He speaks about “cutting a broad swath” and “saying no to everything that was not life.” He purposely “tuned out” in order to “tune in” and to “front the essential facts of life.” He actually speaks of the very same stuff we are speaking of right now. He refers to the need for anyone to “tune out” or “zone out” of so many superficial and many times conflicting concerns that tend to crowd out the absolute essential of life. Today, our readings remind us of this essential. And this essential is all about God’s call for us to follow Him. For us to do so, we need to un-clutter our lives. We need to say no to everything that is not discipleship. We need to tune out, in order for us to tune in. “Free us, Lord, from darkness and keep us in the radiance of your truth.” (Opening Prayer, 13th Sunday). Paranaque City, June 25, 2007 N.B. What follows is what I wrote three years ago whilst I was in Dundalk, MD. That explains the allusions I make to the Olympics which, by then, was just about to begin. PASSING ON THE TORCH OF FREEDOM June 24, 2004 – Dundalk, MD Excitement is in the air as the Olympic torch steadily, but surely, makes its way to and from Athens, the site of this year’s athletic events so much awaited by the whole, free world. It is significant that, even as the world reels under the specter of terror and ongoing violence perpetrated by both sides who belong to the wide spectrum of political, economic, cultural, and religious ideologies, the vast majority of the freedom-loving world, focuses its attention, not on battling one another with weapons of mass death and destruction, but on slugging it out peacefully in friendly and healthy sports competitions. It is unfortunate that there are those among us peoples of all nations, races, and creeds, whose attitude and behavior seem to mar and tar the nobility of such a wholesome dream for camaraderie and competition. It is, indeed, unfortunate, that in our days, there are those of us in the human family, who continue to derail the vision of worldwide fraternity, unity, and solidarity which the God of all creeds, the God of whatever appellation, from whatever faith tradition, so clearly wants His people to work for. The Roman Catholic liturgy today, draws from the rich Scriptural tradition of both the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and the Christian Scriptures (New Testament), and sheds light on this on-going dream of God, on this on-going salvific work that Christ, the Son of God, prayed so fervently for just before he suffered and died, “that they might be one, even as you and I, Father, are one.” Four important and significant Biblical personalities are presented for our reflection today: Elijah, Elisha, Paul, and Jesus Christ. All four personages figure prominently in accounts that all speak of a “giving,” “passing on,” a “handing over,” a “tra-dition” in the Latin sense, that is, to bequeath, to give, to deliver. Elijah does more than speak to Elisha. He “throws his cloak over him,” a “sacramental” act of passing on a task and responsibility. Elisha obeys, and goes forthwith to settle his personal and familial affairs. He leaves entirely what appears to be his rather copious means of livelihood, “and gave it to his people to eat.” Paul, for his part, basks in the glory and responsibility of received “freedom,” exhorting his readers at Galatia to “stand firm and not to submit to the yoke of slavery.” In the Gospel, the gift and task of discipleship were couched in no wishy-washy terms: “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” There is a very clear trend in the totality of Scriptures that points to the elements that make up the “glorious liberty of the children of God.” In the same Scriptures, and in the tradition passed on by the Church founded by Jesus Christ, salvation, among other things, is very clearly associated with this concept of freedom – freedom from material goods, freedom from stifling relationships, freedom from the “slavery” of sin, freedom from both internal and external bonds that shackle women and men, to superficial cares and concerns that have nothing to do with eternal salvation. There is this unmistakable understanding that, whilst the fullness of salvation is yet to come, the sure way to this salvation already is available for God’s beloved children. In other words, salvation happens, here and now, for all those who love and follow the Lord. Salvation is a reality that takes place right now, right here, and a sure-fire sign it does take place is our sharing in, and our living concretely the manifestations of that gift of freedom. That gift, however, does not come hermetically sealed, never to be opened. No … it is something one does, something one lives … something one not only professes, but also confesses in one’s deeds. Handsome is as handsome does… The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Freedom is both a gift and a glorious task. It is a privilege and at the same time a power for action, a promise of appropriate behavior commensurate with the nobility of that singular gift from God. It is a gift that is meant to grow, a favor from above that must flourish in our personal and social lives. And since it is a gift to free persons, it can be abused. It can be misused. And it can plainly atrophy for sheer disuse. Our own personal lives are a living testimony to the reality of that freedom. It is enough to look back at the choices we have made all our lives. My past 22 years of priesthood alone are an example of that freedom. I have made decisions. I have made choices. And some of those choices have caused grief both in myself and in others, even as some of those choices have led to personal good and that of others. In retrospect, I am sure you will agree with me, that if one could do it all over again, there would be choices and decisions you would have wanted to do a little differently. But choices lead to consequences. And consequences are what we all ought to be responsible for, being offshoots of the very freedom we all invoke. The world is fast hurtling down the road of extreme polarities. The ideological spectrum now captures the undivided attention of people all over. In many places all over the world, people are neatly divided between two opposing political parties, with equally opposing ideologies. Nations are enmeshed in various forms of cultural, and economic “divides,” like the north-south, east-west problems. People from poor, developing countries like the Philippines are clearly aligned into the “haves” and “have-nots,” “educated” and “uneducated,” the “well-heeled” and the “great unwashed.” Alas, even the Church that we so love, can be scandalously divided between the “liberals,” and the “conservatives,” the “progressives” and the “ultra-traditionalists.” Polarization in everything and anything seems to be the run of the day. Polarization, I would like to suggest, is the new name for the so many “unfreedoms” in people’s lives today. Extreme polarization is the manifestation of a much deeper and subtler form of slavery that St. Paul speaks about. In this welter of conflicting and contrasting ideological allegiances, I suggest that we return to the Biblical tradition that today’s liturgy shows us. I suggest that we return to the basic foundation of this freedom. And that foundation lies on the giver of that freedom, the source of that “glorious liberty of the children of God.” That source is no less, and no other than God. “For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit to the yoke of slavery.” That freedom, ironically, is founded on “obedience” to the same God. (The Latin ob-audire from where obedience comes, has to do with “listening.”) Jesus Christ now tells us without mincing words: “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” We are avidly awaiting the Olympic torch to go home to Athens. We Christians do not merely wait for that material flame to go back where it began. We live and work – and die, if need be – in order to pass on the torch of freedom to one another, and to the rest of the world. Pagkilala at Pagkilatis: Ika-4 ng Kwaresma 21 hours ago
SAD-DAMN HUSSAIN UNDER ATTACK AND ABDUL KALAM OF PARTITIONED INDIA IS CRYING For decades the serfs, slaves and “NISHKAM SEWAK” HINDUS in the COOLIE COLONY of BANDIT NEHRU’S DYNASTY, that is three fourth MOHAMMEDAN, one eighth PARSI and one eighth ITALIAN, are in agony over the Allied ATTACK on IRAQ. The core ideology of the current REGIME and establishment in BROKEN BHARAT is to BASH the HINDU, KILL the SIKH and EMBRACE every Arab, Kalam and Sonia. This Hindustan where the NATIVE Hindu is still struggling to gain freedoms and sovereignty is in agony since the Arabs, who were the FIRST FOREIGN BOOT up Hindustan’s, who invaded Sind in 712 AD and have never been EXTERMINATED or EXPELLED since then, are under attack in Iraq right now (March 2003). From Mecca to Morocco the Arab has never seen any DEFEAT or DISASTER. Thus emboldened, even the impoverished EAST Bengali Mohammedan, relating to his Arab feeding mother, thinks no end of himself as the WAR LORD of the Hindus though he still wipes his bottom with mud, and cannot feed his own children. 17 MILLION of them are illegal immigrants in PARTITIONED India, including WEST Bengal. The Hindu, so conditioned to slavery and the Symbol Smitten SIKH, so conditioned like PAVLOV’S DOGS to serve free food to one and all, including any TOM, KHAN and KALAM, has become the defender and feeder of even these Shaitan, Beiman, Haiwan MUJSALMANS of Bangladesh who arrived in India CROSSING WEST BENGAL that was created by the SWORD OF ISLAM in 1947 and stayed AWAY in 1972. Not one Hindu in bleeding WEST Bengal is keen to catch one and either KILL him on the spot recalling the MASSACRE OF NOAKHALI (August 1946 and August 1947), or push him back to his profane (WAH-HAYAAT) stagnating and stinking EAST Bengal along with his KORAN (“MEIN KAMPT” IN ARABIC that defines a KAFIR as Hitler defined a Jew). The result: With this heavy INFILTRATION of Muslims into HINDU India, the Government and the PEOPLE cannot move. The President of India, himself, BY DEFINITION under the ACT OF PARTITION OF INDIA, 1947, is a PAKISTANI. ABDUL KALAM, THE PAKISTANI LION, GOING TO AMRITSAR OF THE SIKHS OF PARTITIONED PUNJAB THAT IS INHABITED BY "JACKALS" WHO WEAR TURBANS. THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, ABDUL KALAM, is said to be going to the Sikhs’ holiest city AMRITSAR to see its defences and gauge the natives’ morale there. Abdul Kalam’s SECRET mission to EAST Punjab is to get answers to the questions, “Do the SIKHS there still miss LAHORE and recall the destruction and deaths of 1984?” “Do they still believe in 'SAGAL SANG HAMREE BUNN AYEE,' that is "WE HAVE NO ENEMY."?” “Does anyone still bear a grudge against the QAID-I-AZAM, PANDIT NEHRU, INDIRA AND RAJIV KHAN AND THE CURRENT UNCROWNED EMPRESS OF INDIA, SONIA KHAN?” “Has anyone realised yet as to why EAST Bengal was conceded sovereignty again in 1972 while the dog collar around the neck of the BITCH called EAST Punjab with its capital on UNION TERRITORY was tightened still more?” “Do the DAMN FOOL natives who hold WORLD RECORD in getting raped, killed, converted and KICKED OUT OF THEIR HOMES, know that while Islam and Christianity are spreading in Hindustan including EAST Punjab, NO gurdwara can be established in the country where Mohammed was born, and a SIKH dare not show up near MECCA while the HINDUS have been warned of CIVIL WAR if they try to raise their original sacred temple in Ayodhya?” “Is any SIKH SERF AND SLAVE dreaming of Vatican style status and sovereignty for the city of Sri AMRISTAR or SRI NANKANA SAHIB?” “Is any Sikh SERF AND SLAVE going to ask for an APOLOGY for the unwarranted, malicious and deliberate pre-meditated attack on Golden Temple in 1984?” After all, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was created by Indira KHAN herself and was not asking for ONE THIRD OF HINDUSTAN and the MASSACRE AND RAPE OF HINDUS of INDIA like her MUSLIM first cousins who took out FIVE PROVICNES, pushed some 15 million Hindus out of their homes, and also hammered the HINDU BRAIN into pulp so as to call the Mohammedan “brother” (HINDU-MUSLIM BHAI BHAI) and the Sikh a TERRORIST and the eternal ENEMY OF HINDUS.” “Will anyone ask me to READ OUT the TERMS and CONDITIONS of PARTITION that overnight turned the Muslim into a proud cock, seeing his green flag in Pakistan while leaving the defeated Hindu licking the MONGREL tricolour taken over from the ALL-INDIA CONGRESS PARTY of pre-PARTITION days?” “Will anyone demand that the UNION TERRITORY of Chandigarh be put in EAST PUNJAB as per Longowal-Rajiv Khan Accord of 1986?” “Will any KHALSA ask him to locate and recover the SIKH FEMALES ABDUCTED, RAPED AND CONVERTED TO HIS ISLAM in 1947, or at least trace them out and enable them to pay a visit to their relatives in BROKEN BHARAT and also do pilgrimage to SRI HARIMANDIR SAHIB of their parents and ancestors?” “Do the Sikhs treat him as the HEAD OF HINDU STATE and confer the Robe of Honour that is reserved for those who serve the Sikh cause and advance their education, upon him, or welcome and honour him as a private person coming to REPENT, SHED HIS CRUDE, PRIMITIVE & SAVAGE ARABIC FAITH AND NAME (Abdul Kalam), in order to embrace the glorious Sikh Faith nurtured by the blood of all the martyrs including Guru Arjan Dev, Guru Tegh Bahadur, and the four sons of Guru Gobind Singh ji?” “Do the SMASHED Sikhs still recall their BHAGWA FLAG over KHYBER or are they reconciled to the border 16 miles West of Amritsar?” “Has anyone discovered that Indira, the arrogant daughter of BANDIT Nehru, CONVERTED TO ISLAM upon marrying one Feroze KHAN of ALLAH-BURBAAD, and swore to exterminate all the Hindus and Sikhs of AKHAND BHARAT while advising her husband to take on the surname GANDHI?” “Is any beaten, bleeding Sikh still saying, “We were meant to defend HINDU Dharma, Dharti and Daughters from the MUSLIM predators?” “Is any native fool noticing the number of NEW mosques and churches mushrooming in EAST Punjab where more Sikhs are shaving off and kissing KORAN and the BIBLE instead of listening to Sri Guru Granth Sahib and enquiring about the contents of Sri Bhagwad Gita?” That is the real purpose of ABDUL KALAM's visit to the Sikhs’ holiest shrine in Amritsar without even telling them that he will recover LAHORE and SRI NANKANA SAHIB from the BARBARIANS. And NOT ONE SIKH will come to know that HIS nuclear weapons are meant to rain DEATH and DESTRUCTION upon Amritsar and Delhi, instead of “defending the Hindu’s TERRITORY and the Sikh’s DAUGHTERS.” Yes, PARTITIONED India in the firm grip of ARABS, is shedding tears over the well-deserved fate of SAD-DAMN HUSSEIN in BAG-DAD. “Come on America, hit them hard as they have HIT THE HINDUS HARD since 712 AD.” “Encourage the HINDU “HIJDAS” (“RATS AND MICE”) and the cowardly SIKH “JACKALS” and blind bats, who are reconciled to PARTITION OF PUNJAB, to become warriors like the MIRACLE OF BAISAKHI 1699, to catch this treacherous Supreme Commander ABDUL KALAM, who is quite happy to watch the Hindus bleed to death in SOUTH Kashmir and to see the Sikhs exterminated in North Kashmir, and push him towards LAHORE when he arrives in AMRITSAR where thousands of grieving widows and crying orphans first arrived for safety and food after the HOLOCAUST of 1947. What does this "dog" of Imperial Nehru Dynasty know/ NO “damn” MUSALMAAN, AND THAT INCLUDES ABDUL KALAM, IN BROKEN BHARAT, THAT IS PARTITIONED INDIA, ought to be allowed on the “dharti” of (EAST) Punjab till LAHORE IS BACK IN HINDUSTAN AND SRI NANAKANA SAHIB IS A SOVEREIGN CITY STATE LIKE THE VATICAN. A brave Sikh (one in twenty million) who heard of the reception planned for Abdul Kalam during his visit to Golden Temple, said, “Today I see NO Sikh who is dreaming of flying his flag over LAHORE, leave aside over KHYBER Pass. Today all the Sikhs are “BHAYYAS” (followers of Gandhi), chanting “Sikh-Muslim Bhai Bhai”), "BHANGIS" (descendants of SLAVES turned into “NISHKAM SEWAKS” through all those defeats and massacres), serving free food to any Tom, Khan and Sonia, AND BUNYAS (businessmen, peasants and shopkeepers) who cannot “kill a fly”. How is it that SGPC did not warn him, “O’ ABDUL KALAM, SON OF A MUSALMAAN- BEIMAAN, COME TO GOLDEN TEMPLE ONLY IF YOU WISH TO DISCARD YOUR ARABIAN SPIRITUAL LEPROSY AND EMBRACE THE SIKH FAITH OF OUR DIVINE GURUS.” ....THE CLEAN SHAVEN SIKH STANDING NEXT TO US FULLY AGREED. "WHEN THE BRITISH ANNEXED THE PUNJAB IN 1849, THERE WAS NOTHING IN THE SIKH FAITH OR RELIGION THAT COULD KEEP INSPIRE US TO RECOVER OUR SOVEREIGNTY, KEEP US ABREAST WITH THE DEVELOPMENTS TAKING PLACE ON EARTH AND KEEP US UNITED AGAINST THE ENEMY INSTEAD OF EACH OTHER. WE SUBMITTED TO BRAINWASHING AND WHEN THE BRITISH MASTERS LEFT, WE FORGOT EVEN THE LOSS OF LAHORE, GUJRANWALA AND NANKANA SAHIB." COME ON ABDUL KALAM, BEFORE YOU PUT YOUR MOHAMMEDAN FOOT IN AMRITSAR, ANNOUNCE TO THE WORLD, “INDIA WILL RECAPTURE LAHORE FROM THE GLOBAL MENACE OF ISLAM.” IF YOU DON’T DECLARE THAT, THEN YOU ARE AMONG THE BHAYYAS, BHANGIS AND BUNYAS, NOT AMONG THE SIKHS OF GURU GOBIND SINGH JI. Read the following story of a MUSLIM suicide bomber: (Do you think there will be a SIKH SUICIDE BOMBER who will step out of the rank of MORONS of SGPC and then explode a BOMB in the face of ABDUL KALAM in Amritsar?) WHAT “AMRIT” HAVE THEY TAKEN IN MIDDLE EAST? (THE SIMPLETON SIKHS THINK ONLY AMRIT GIVES THEM COURAGE. BUT WHAT COURAGE DO THEY HAVE IF NONE HAS DARED TO SAY, “LAHORE IS ETERNALLY SECULAR AND INDIAN. BARBARIANS and MOHAMMEDANS, GET OUT!”? The attack happened at a US-manned checkpoint on Highway 9, north of Najaf, about 95 miles south of Baghdad. The suicide bombing is the first against US and British forces since the invasion of Iraq began. There have been warnings of suicide attacks in Iraq. Iraqi dissidents and Arab media have claimed that Saddam Hussein has opened a training camp for Arab volunteers willing to carry out suicide bombings against US forces in Iraq. Osama bin Laden also urged Iraqis last month in an audio tape shown on Arabic television to employ the tactic against the Americans. Other Arab militants also spoke about suicide missions against the invading armies. Such suicide attacks are common by Palestinian militants in targeting the better equipped Israeli army during the uprising on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Newby Hall Gryphon At beautiful Newby Hall, outside Ripon, North Yorkshire, last week-end I noticed a wealth of griffins about the place - on the entrance gates, beneath stone benches in the magnificent gardens and throughout the house. When I asked the Guide, who looked a lot like a cross beneath Margaret Thatcher and 'Acid' Raine Spencer, if the griffin was perhaps a family crest she tersely replied 'No!'. Simon Costin, of the Museum of British Folklore, who was with us on the tour, leant over and consoled me, saying architect John Adam loved them as a motif. Simon I adore, the brittle clock-watching guide I was less than keen on! The griffin, griffon or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle was the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. The griffin was also thought of as king of the creatures. Griffins are known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions. Adrienne Mayor, a classical folklorist, proposes that the griffin was an ancient misconception derived from the fossilized remains of the Protoceratops found in gold mines in the Altai mountains of Scythia, in present-day Kazakhstan. In antiquity it was a symbol of divine powerand a guardian of the holy or sacred treasure. Some have suggested that the word griffin is cognate with cherub. Infrequently, a griffin is portrayed without wings, or a wingless eagle-headed lion is identified as a griffin; in 15th-century and late heraldry such a beast may be called an alce or a keythong. In heraldry, a griffin always has forelegs like an eagle's; the beast with forelimbs like a lion's forelegs was distinguished by perhaps only one English herald of later heraldry as the opinicus. Some traditions say that only female griffins have wings. Ripon Cathedral has an 15th Century carving of a Griffin on one of its many wonderful misericords, alleged by some as the inspiration for the Gryphon in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll, whose real name was Chrales Lutwidge Dodgson, had many connections with the area. His pseudonym or Nome de Plume was a play on his real name; Lewis was the anglicised form of Ludovicus, which was the Latin for Lutwidge, and Carroll an Irish surname similar to the Latin name Carolus, from which the name Charles comesPerhaps the brittle lady with the painful smile and Raine Spencer hair is a gryphon spirit, or griffon in human form? Ferociously guarding the beautiful things of the house...
My latest photo series, Pyramids In The Sky, was inspired when my wife and I visited the Mayan Ruins of Chacchoben while on a cruise in 2015. I have always been intrigued by ancient civilizations and how they were able to build these massive structures, seeing the pyramids in person was an inspiring experience. The way the sunlight was coming off the pyramids got my mind racing thinking of how I could create a similar vision using light painting techniques. The next night we were back on the ship and I was sitting on the balcony just after sunset when inspiration hit me. The ship was out to sea so the deep water was dark, the horizon was clean, and the dusk sky had an orange and blue glow to it. Luckily I had brought along my CRT (Camera Rotation Tool) so I set it up and started trying to make a pyramid design using nothing but the available ambient light. I used the dark water to create the pyramid and the dusk sky provided the rays of light. I was blown away by the result on the back of my camera! The image looked just like a pyramid with rays of light shooting out of the top, it was even better than I had envisioned it. That night started an ongoing addiction to creating Pyramids In The Sky. The Pyramids in the Sky photos are all created in real-time and captured to the camera in one single photographic frame. The only light source used to create these images is the ambient light in the sky right at sunset or a little after. This is a form of light painting called kinetic light painting, meaning that the camera is moved to create the design in the frame. The process for creating these images is fairly simple, I use a custom-made CRT (Camera Rotation Tool) this tool was designed by Alan and Chris Thompson. The CRT allows me to move the camera to any angle during a single exposure. To create the pyramids, I shoot in bulb mode and use a lens cap to control the light coming into the camera. The first thing I do is I find the angle I where I want to start the exposure. Once I find the right angle I put a cap on the lens and I open the shutter of the camera for a long exposure. With the exposure running I simply remove the cap to let some light in and then replace the cap to block the light. During a single long exposure I turn the camera to the next angle and repeat the process of removing and replacing the lens cap. I repeat the rotation and capping process until I have an image that looks like a pyramid in the sky that is captured in one photographic frame. Camera: Canon 60D Len: Tokina 11-16 Tripod: Vanguard Alta Pro 263AB Other: CRT Camera Rotation Tool Other: Neewer Intervalometer Exposure Time: 18-75 seconds (~40s average) The most difficult thing was to find a location to create the pyramids. To create them I need a high angle of a clean flat horizon (no city lights) and I needed to have a location where the foreground was darker than the sky. This might sound easy but when you live in South Florida a high angle of a clean horizon is a difficult thing to find. After some long drives looking for location that didn’t work, I ended shooting most of the series from a lookout tower at Jonathan Dickinson State Park. This spot was perfect and it was just 10 minutes from my house, funny how I drove past it 10 times while looking for the “right” location. My Favorite Part My favorite part of shooting these images is all the beautiful sunsets I was blessed to witness. I would talk to people at the tower and most would leave right as the sun dropped below the horizon, the crazy part is that is just when the colors are starting to get good so I would be there alone seeing the most beautiful colorful skies. I also really love the interesting patterns the clouds add to the images. I started thinking I needed cloudless skies to create the pyramids, but I quickly found that the clouds added some incredible features. For me some of the pyramids have the feeling of a Native American headdress, giving them a deeper and spiritual feeling. About the author: Jason D. Page is a photographer who specializes in light painting. He’s the founder of LightPaintingPhotography.com and the creator of Light Painting Brushes. You can find more of his work on his website, Facebook, and Instagram.
Mobile Wallets, Mobile Money & mPOS: The Differences and Business Benefits of Each With the success of mobile device penetration, and the coming of age of the super-connected Millennials, it is not surprising that mobile commerce is experiencing huge growth rates. According to Business Insider Intelligence, mobile payments are poised to make up 20.6% of e-commerce sales in 2016, or $79 billion, and to soar to 45% of all e-commerce payments in 2020, or $284 billion. Global payment trends show a clear shift to mobile payments. But the term ‘mobile payments’ includes a number of payment methods that are used via mobile devices that are often confused with one another, as they fall under the same category, yet in actuality are all quite different. Here is a brief overview of three main mobile payment types and their respective benefits to merchants and customers: Drawing on the consumer’s need for convergence, mobile wallets allow users to store their credit cards, loyalty programs, rewards points, coupons and bank information on their phones in virtual “wallets”, creating a single point of access for all their shopping-related payment needs. Payments are typically done with a Near Field Communications (NFC) -enabled terminal at the checkout point by simply waving or tapping the phone, for purchases done in a brick-and mortar establishment. For online consumers, consumers experience a simple, efficient, one-step purchase process. The payment data is tokenized into a unique code, which is transferred to the merchant in a highly secure manner. Merchants can choose to develop their own branded mobile wallet, thereby gaining access to valuable data on customer purchases and trends, which can then be used for targeted marketing. It is recommended to accept payment from a variety of mobile wallet alternatives, such as financial institution based wallets, or the different mobile wallet apps offered by providers such as Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Android Pay or Samsung Pay, thereby serving a larger target audience while encouraging loyalty amongst customers. Hugely popular in Africa and other developing markets, mobile money utilizes a mobile phone for P2P (peer-to-peer) cash transfers. Though often confused with mobile wallets, mobile money is a non-bank based payment method, which relies solely on cash. Mobile money allows users to charge their mobile account with cash at a designated agent or by directly depositing funds to their mobile money account. Users can then pay merchants, service providers or government agencies by transferring cash from their mobile phone to the recipient account, in a highly secure fashion, with each party receiving real-time confirmation. Merchants can then “cash out” at one of the designated agents in their region. Mobile money provides a non-banking alternative for payments, and works from even simple phones via SMS-based transactions. Mobile money platforms that enable cross-border payments, like Direct Pay Online, provide a much-needed service to merchants with customers in developing countries, where most of the population do not have bank accounts. Mobile money enables these customers to make online purchases, or to pay for travel bookings, even in neighboring countries, with lower conversion fees. Merchants can expand their market reach by offering previously inaccessible customers, even those from international, developing countries, a non-cash based, secure, payment alternative. Leading mobile money providers, which offer international remittance services, include M-pesa, Venmo, Airtel Money, Tigo Pesa, Vodacom, MTN. Mobile points of sale (mPOS) Another type of mobile payment is done with a mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) device. Mobile point-of-sale transactions will reach $27 billion in 2016 in the US, an increase of over 200% from 2015, according to eMarketer. Unlike mobile wallets and mobile money, mPOS solutions extend the functionality of mobile devices, enabling them to serve as payment card readers in place of traditional cash registers, via a simple add-on and app, bringing advantages to small and large businesses, alike. mPOS solutions provide businesses with a low-cost mobile platform for accepting card payments, even at remote locations, as well as with access to value added management software. Mobile points-of-sale are especially suited for use in restaurants or travel and hospitality settings. Customers can see the menu on a mobile device, place orders and complete payment simply, with no wait. In hospitality settings, mPOS systems can be used by hotels to upsell additional services such as tours or spa services. Guests will be able to easily book these services at hotel desks or concierge, or even in their rooms, with no hassle at all. Travel operators can book guests on additional excursions, even while they are still on an excursion, as the guide can simply take the mPOS device into the field and it can work via a wireless connection. Retailers can also benefit from mPOS devices, as they can streamline their sales processes and enhance their customers’ shopping experiences. For example, sales representatives can approach customers in the physical store and assist them throughout the purchase process. The mPOS device can store inventory and product data, so that customer questions can be dealt with on the spot. Sales rates will increase, due to expedited payment capabilities, which will lower the chances of in-store “abandoned shopping carts”. Checkout lines will be shortened, as sales reps can finalize payments on the store floor, and they can simply take their handheld mPOS devices directly to customers who are already waiting in the checkout line, improving customer satisfaction. Many companies offer mPOS solutions, and merchants are advised to ensure their provider is PCI DSS Level 1 certified, such Direct Pay Online’s mSwipe Plus. We are in the midst of a revolution in payment methods, with a clear shift to mobile payment systems. These systems offer many benefits to merchants and consumers by streamlining payments, allowing secure cashless money exchanges and providing insight into consumer trends. Merchants should analyze their customer base and potential markets in order to incorporate mobile payment solutions that best serve both their needs and the needs of their customers in the most efficient and secure manner. With its host of secure mobile payment solutions, Direct Pay Online provides access to all of the above mobile payment methods as well as additional leading payment mechanisms.
Tag Archives: carpeting materials Basement flooring installation is an important part of basement remodeling. There are various number things one should bear in mind before you purchase for supplies. First of all you need to determine the type of basement flooring suits your needs. If you intend to remodel the whole basement, you need to take into account the type of flooring which has high quality and will last for longer to a number of years and maintain the attractive look. If you intend to replace damaged flooring of the basement and not for anything other than storage space, you need to invest in the quality of materials. Functional supplies are sufficient as long as it can withstand wear and tear. You will be at a position of choosing Best flooring for basemen that suits your needs if you know what to make out of your basement in the long run. The basement flooring is of many types in the market that makes the selection quite difficult. If you stand by your decision of remodeling your basement to something habitable, the next move is checking the basement for any damage. Any leaks pr drafts have an impact on the basement floor endurance. It is important to solve all the problems of the basement whether using it for storage or not. This approach can prevent damage to your floor in future. When the basement is flooded, a new layer of concrete can be damaged. Therefore, you need to take steps to prevent this type of damage to occur in future. Hardwood, synthetic, carpeting materials and tiles are some of the types of basement floors you install for your basement renovation. Before installation the natural hardwood, it needs to be examined as water damage waterproof. The basement should be the first place of a house prone to leaks and other drip related issues. This is the reason as to why synthetic wood is usually suggested as an option because it is more damage resistance. On the other hand, Linoleum tiles need to be avoided for basement covering as likely to the damaged or warp by moisture that result to expensive subsequent repairs. Materials can be installed for to basement floor once you have determined the type you want. You can do the installation process by yourself which happens in most cases. Ensure that you install the flooring as required and take your time. Laying wood or tile is a hard process that needs enough patience and time. If you do the job carefully, ensure the flooring of the basement lasts for years and you are going to love it. For many years ago, basement were considered to be little more than storage rooms, largely unfinished concrete walls and floors, areas where old clothes tools, toys, boxes of stuffs and anything else which is not wanted could be stored. Best flooring for basement was never thought about, had no time to spend there. Most of the basement flooring was made of the original concrete slab.
Our ADF&G is going to be needing lots of emergency orders for the future as they have commercially wiped-out our marine prey for juvenal king salmon. Ocean juvenal king prey has been reduced by 98 percent by commercial crab fisheries, therefore it is very likely that our kings are starving to death. Our ADF&G should know this but they do not. The ADF&G can only shout “It’s natural low abundance!” There is a low abundance of prey for our juvenal kings but it’s not natural, it’s ADF”&G caused by excess commercial fishing for herring and crab along with excess commercial by-catch on adult kings. 1950 lower 48 east coast commercial fisheries caught so many cod that they caused their cod fisheries collapse by 1970. 1930 depression era farmers plowed up the grassy prairies but caused The Great Dust Bowl. World War II era dam builders produced cheap electricity but killed most of their salmon. The lower 48 west coast timber industry cut so many trees that they eroded and silted their river thus killing most of their salmon. 1990 lower 48 west coast commercial salmon fisheries caught so many salmon that they help cause their salmon fisheries collapse by 2000. Before 1980 Florida had a massive tarpon resource but they allowed excess commercial harvest of tarpon prey like blue crab, pink shrimp and toadfish, thus causing their tarpon to collapse by 1990. Many claimed these losses were the result of “a natural cycle.” Excess commercial harvest has depleted Alaska’s herring, crab and now king salmon resources. Our ADF&G is claiming “a natural low abundance” but we are compelled to ask if this is in fact “a natural cycle” or the direct results of the same excessive commercial activities and mis-management which has plagued our past?
Respect My Uniform: Guide Dogs NSW/ACT urges community to not distract working dogs in harness Each day, members of the public place the safety of Guide Dog handlers at risk by patting, feeding and interacting with Guide Dogs, tasked with assisting those who are blind or vision impaired to independently get to where they need to go. To address this issue, on International Guide Dog Day (Wednesday, April 27), Guide Dogs NSW/ACT is launching its public education campaign, Respect My Uniform, calling on the community to resist patting or distracting working Guide Dogs. Guide Dog Etiquette It takes a lot of concentration for a person who is blind or has impaired vision to work safely with a Guide Dog. To help the team focus on its important work, please follow these tips: - Please don’t make the Guide Dog the centre of attention - Please don’t pat, feed or otherwise distract the dog when it is working. A well-intentioned pat can undo months of training - Please don’t grab the person or the dog’s harness. First ask if they need assistance. - When providing guiding assistance, please walk on the opposite side of the person to the Guide Dog - Please make sure your pet dog is on a leash or under control around a Guide Dog. When approaching, it may be polite to let the person know that you have a dog with you. - Guide Dogs are legally allowed to accompany their handlers anywhere, including into restaurants and onto all forms of transport, ie taxis, buses, trains and planes For Guide Dog handler and Australia’s Got Talent finalist, Matt McLaren, the incidence of members of the public attempting to distract his Guide Dog, Stamford, is a daily occurrence. Matt, who has been blind since birth, received Stamford about eight years ago. “Stamford enables me to do so much more than I could with a cane, such as carry music gear and travel confidently to new places,” Matt said. “I want the public to understand that distracting a working Guide Dog reduces its capacity to do what it has been trained to do, potentially putting my safety at risk. It can also be time consuming as I often need to refocus Stamford after he has been distracted before moving on.” Did you know? - International Guide Dog Day celebrates the important role Guide Dogs play in enabling freedom and independence for people living with vision loss. - The first Guide Dog to be trained In Australia was Beau, a Kelpie/Border Collie cross, in Perth in 1952. Beau and his blind owner Mrs Elsie Mead travelled all over Australia promoting Guide Dog mobility.
The Stuff of Dreams: a performance lecture September 19th, Sally Madge gave a performance lecture as part of Mapping the Return. Blurring boundaries between fact and fiction, the artist recounted her explorations of the sites and spaces of public and private institutions: the library, the museum, the kitchen, the studio … The artist as adventurer and collector attempted to construct a personal taxonomy from these experiences, choreographing encounters and engagements with people, events, materials and artefacts. This “return to the philosophers’ table” utilised her personal archive of objects, anecdotes, jokes and theoretical citations to investigate ways in which an autoethnographic position might be developed within the flow of these phenomena. This was a surreal assemblage of humour and critique which incorporated the messy business of individual subjectivity into the research process and outcome. Objects acted as ‘verbal props’ representing nexus points for particular concerns about how the history and development of systems of knowledge affect our understanding and experience. A reassessment of the provenance and display of museum exhibits was generated, propelling them beyond fixed and materially-bound contexts and questioning assumptions about the nature of collections and conservation.
THE MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF A FREE ANTHROPOSOPHICAL GROUP By V. Tomberg An anthroposophical group, like every living organism, has its stages of maturity. These stages come to expression through the way members relate to their group, so that the significance which the group has for its members is an indication of the level to which it has matured. For example, it could be that a group has significance for its members in being a place of study : people gather together to learn and to teach. A group can also have the significance of being a place for discussion : people gather together for the expressed purpose of exchanging points of view ; here the element of conversation replaces that of the lecture. A group can, however, have a significance of yet a third kind : that of purposefully forming an organ of knowledge wherein knowledge not accessible to the single individual becomes possible. For there are things in spiritual life which are not meant for the individual, but are intended for the community. And these reveal themselves to the individual only when he inwardly represents a community. The important fact here is that such things belong to the higher aspects of life ; that is, to matters which are spiritually-morally of greater consequence than those which one seeks and finds by oneself and for oneself. If in a group the mood predominates which develops out of the insight that its effort can mean a path of knowledge, then the group has reached a stage of maturation at which one may have reason to hope that it can become an organ of cognition, and an organism of knowledge. In this process of becoming, it is of fundamental importance that the elements of lecture and discussion undergo an inner transformation : a transformation in the sense that teaching (holding forth) and discussion evolve into a "taking counsel" with one another. What matters is that a group meeting become more and more a conferring together, wherein not only practical things are spoken about, but also pure questions of knowledge. Such is, then, the aim of a group : that it becomes a council of friends. But meeting in "counsel" means more than merely adding together what the individual members know. A "counsel" is no mere summation of that which is already known ; instead it is an actual process of attaining knowledge, making it possible for entirely new ideas to come to light. This "coming to light" occurs in the center of a circle which the persons involved have to form. If they form a circle on a moral-spiritual basis ; that is, in the spirit of mutual help, then a middle-point of this circle comes into being -- like the sun within the zodiac. This center point, which can be viewed from all sides, begins to shine and to enliven. In other words, the fundamental principle of the John Gospel, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them", also shows itself to be true on the more modest level of honest and free anthroposophical group work. Here, too, something appears between and above the individuals which goes beyond each of them. The spiritual being of a group becomes perceptible. This appearance of the spiritual being of a group was also the reason why Rudolf Steiner gave names to groups : to bring to expression the connection of a group to a spiritual being. In this giving of names (which was always a very solemn affair, often carried out with great ceremony) it was not a matter of simply giving a group a title, a designation ; the decisive thing was that a group recognize and seek its 'higher ego'. The name of a group denoted at the same time its esoteric task in that it pointed to an "I among them" to whom a conscious relationship was to be attained through the group's work. (For it was not a matter here of the individual karmic relationships of the members on their paths of destiny, but of the common endeavor to be together in the work of the group.) Thus the names -- Luke Group, Benedict Group, Christian Rosenkreutz Group, etc. -- indicated not merely titles, nor the directions of the particular sympathies of those involved, but rather the task of uniting themselves with a particular source of inspiration. And when people have formed a circle in an honest, free and earnest disposition of soul, they indeed become united with a certain higher source of inspiration. Where there is such a circle, an illuminating center point also comes into being. But how is such a circle formed, and what human moral significance does it have? When a number of free human beings come together for a task involving questions of knowledge, it is only natural that the points of view can be quite different. These different, often diverging, viewpoints offer just those elements which should bind together to form a circle ; one built not on personal sympathies, but on a spiritual foundation. Initially, however, the individual viewpoints by no means comprise this binding, uniting element. On the contrary, at first they have the effect of separating. And yet the task consists in having the viewpoints together produce a unifying substance, so that a circle comes into being. To attain this, we can try to bring the views together by attempting to unite them on the level of thoughts. But the result of this attempt (if we are totally honest) will unavoidably prove to be thoroughly unsatisfying. It will become clear that the views are thus combined, but not bound together in a real unity. This is due to the fact that there is always an abyss, an empty space, between the individual views. As a pralaya condition is interposed between the Old Saturn stage of existence and that of the Old Sun, so in a similar manner a kind of 'thought pralaya' is interposed between one viewpoint and another. In order to bridge these abysses, we must avoid going about the task in such a way that we try to create a connection on the same level; that is, in the region of thought-life. To create this connection, we must actually descend from the head, from the level of thoughts, and immerse into the heart, and then from there rise again to the level of thoughts -- in the head of the other person. Only in this way does one learn to understand the other. For when people confront each other with their heads, one cannot understand the other. But one understands the other person when his thought world is entered into by way of the heart. And when one has thus understood the other's world of thought, one will also have insight into that which is true and justified in the other's views. Then, will also be found the missing links which unite viewpoint with viewpoint. The inner activity of the forming of a circle is therefore not a surface movement such as this: Instead, it is a rhythmic wave-like movement which occurs between the levels of the head and the heart: It is this kind of inner activity which forms a circle of a group of people united through the heart who are striving for knowledge. Hence the persons involved do not merely observe one another but have inwardly extended their hands to each other. And when a group of people have in this sense mutually reached out to each other, the circle is created. Then the illuminating center point comes into being -- and a free anthroposophical group has come about, having a name which is also valid in the spiritual world. The work of this group will then be such that it sets itself in a vertical relationship to the higher world. Thus it will truly be "in accord with the Christmas Foundation Meeting of 1923". Such groups are the backbone of the anthroposophical movement as well as the hope that there endure not only the anthroposophical treasures of knowledge, but -- also -- living anthroposophical endeavors. And when single groups of this kind find objective human contact with each other on matters of content, they will not only be preserved from the danger of 'spiritual provincialism', but they can also unite together, forming a moral-spiritual association which does not exist exclusively for its own well-being. To further this association would be one of the worthiest tasks of this little magazine, since it would be a matter of cultivating that which is most needed in the present situation of the anthroposophical movement. 'Arbeitsgruppe' : 'working-group' , study group, branch ; here and throughout is simply translated as 'group'.
Ok - that's a big title. Maybe "tweaking" is a better term. Common Youth Group Scenario: We're so excited everyone is ready to (read this devo, study this book, read through the Bible together, use a 1 minute daily Bible). Then, a few weeks go by, with the only accountability being while everyone is together. Most are behind. Most feel overwhelmed to catch up or guilty (or at worst, don't care). As a result, no real growth occurs. We've been wrestling with theses issues: -How to help students develop spiritually through the rest of the week (besides Sundays and Wednesdays) -Strengthen accountability so you don't feel alone in the process. -Be more prepared to make their faith visible each day to those who don't have faith. So, we're trying Faithlife.com. Why? 1. Mobile. It can be done on your phone (via Faithlife Study Bible app) or online. When it is with you it is easier to do then if it is a hard copy that you left at home, lost at school, left in a friend's car, etc. 2. Allows dialogue that provides some accountability. 3. Gets everyone into the Bible. 4. Like it or not, we live in an ADHD and twitter world. Short attention spans. We can only fight that so much. So, the more we can provide a small passage, a short statement, and one question to dialogue the more each teen can engage in thought on their terms, during their day, so it sticks with them in their current context. Praying it makes an impact.
This article on admissions highlights an effort to select students who aren't so focused on competing to be the best and get ahead. On one level, I do sympathize with that. Anybody who's ever taught pre-meds knows what it's like to deal with grade-grubbers. On another level, though, the competition to be less competitive is a folly. You can look for students who want to serve humanity rather than themselves, but if you are making high-stakes decisions (e.g. admission to a highly prestigious institution that provides access to valuable networks) then you can count on students with social capital and economic capital to undertake outrageously elaborate volunteer work to demonstrate their commitment to serving others. You can count on privileged students to find tutors and coaches who will help them write essays to articulate all of the right values. This effort has all of the same problems that I highlighted in my critiques of Lani Guinier's Tyranny of the Meritocracy. I don't know the "right" way to pick 18 year-olds for admission to the most elite schools. Maybe there is a right way. Godspeed to those who can identify it. But I think we're better off focusing on paths to opportunity outside of the top schools, rather than finding better ways to pick a class at the top schools.
\|Image from BarnesandNoble.com\| Pete’s in a horrible mood. He was supposed to go outside to play ball with his friends, but then it rained. Pete’s father notices his sons sulking and decides the best way to cheer him up will be to make him into a pizza. So he puts Pete on the table and begins to knead the dough. He stretches it and tosses it in the air. He adds some oil (it’s really water) and flour (it’s really talcum powder) and then begins adding toppings to the pizza. By the time Pete’s father takes the pizza out of the oven (it’s really the sofa), it’s clear the pizza is anything but grumpy. And what’s even better, the sun has come out! So the pizza, I mean Pete, heads outside to find his friends. Based on a game Steig used to play with his daughter, the text and illustrations radiate the warmth of a loving parent-child relationship. The simple text is printed in all capitals at the bottom of each page. The illustrations, done in Steig’s signature pen and watercolor style, are brightly patterns and filled with a fun and funny family. The title has some great alliteration making this a good addition to a letter P storytime. You can also use it for a lapsit or toddler time. Have parents pretend to make their children into pizzas as you read the story. I also really love Omazing Kids Yoga’s idea to use this book as part of a yoga storytime. Scroll to page 2 for a list of pose ideas to go with the story. Try following up with this Letter Pizza Craft. Make it faster by printing the letters and then using a circle punch to cut them out. Or you can print directly onto circular labels. If you have time and want to get a little fancier try making brown paper wrapped pizzas. Cut up construction paper to make different toppings. If you have a rainy day to fill at home this is one of those crafts that kids can work on all day. Once you have your pizzas ready have the kids open a pizzeria. They can take orders from other family members. You could even save some pizza boxes and have the kids make deliveries all over the house. Finish up with a pizza themed song. My favorites include I am a Pizza and That's Amore (all kids should be introduced to the Rat Pack at an early age in my opinion).
Max Weber was a German sociologist and, along with Durkheim and Marx, one of the founding figures of sociology. His work on bureaucracy and rationalization, on the relationship between economics and religion and on methodology in the social sciences has constituted a crucial building block in the entire intellectual edifice of the social sciences. Born in 1864 in Prussia, in the course of his career he taught at the universities of Freiburg, Heidelberg and Munich. His major concern was examining the process of rationalization that he saw as central to the rise of capitalism and modernity, a development that he feared would trap humanity in the ‘iron cage’ of disenchantment. He also conducted classic studies of the relationship between religion, particularly Protestantism, and economic development, as well as producing epoch-defining work on authority, politics and many other themes. Polity has published his The Russian Revolutions.
- Precognitive Illustration/Painting/Drawing The user can predict the future by drawing pictures. - May not understand the pictures one draws. - Predictions may be absolute but vague. - Limited to drawing pictures and not actually knowing what the future will occur. - May be limited by the user's artistic ability.

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