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Cirsium foliosum occurs in the northern Rockies from Wyoming to the Yukon and eastward to the Slave River area in the Northwest Territories and northeastern Alberta. Reports for Alaska are unconfirmed (R. Lipkin, Alaska Natural Heritage Program, pers. comm.). The name Cirsium foliosum has been misapplied to a wide range of plants across the western United States that now are treated as one or another variety of the polymorphic C. scariosum. The only documented occurrences of C. foliosum in the lower 48 states are in the mountains of northern Wyoming. Somewhat similar plants from other mountain areas of the western United States are treated as C. scariosum var. scariosum. During Pleistocene glaciations the ancestors of C. foliosum undoubtedly occupied a more southerly distribution and very likely came into direct contact with ancestral populations of C. scariosum. The observed similarities between C. foliosum and C. scariosum var. scariosum may be a relic of hybridization in that ancient contact zone. On the other hand, the corolla features of C. foliosum suggest that this is a self-pollinating species, perhaps derived from an ancestral population similar to the modern C. scariosum var. scariosum.
Japanese Crypto Exchanges Launch Self-Regulatory Body The 16 registered cryptocurrency exchange services in Japan have come together to form the Japan Cryptocurrency Exchange Association (JCEA). This is according to a report by Asahi Shimbun, a local news outlet in Japan. The JCEA will be responsible for the self-regulation of Japanese cryptocurrency exchange platforms. Taizen Okuyama is the chairman of the JCEA. He is the CEO of Money Partners, a forex firm which recently entered into the cryptocurrency exchange market in Japan. Members of the JCEA include bitFlyer, BitPoint, and Xtheta. Others are Tech Buro, QUOINE, and SBI Virtual. The JCEA is made up of two cryptocurrency and blockchain-focused associations. These are the Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association (JCBA) and the Japan Blockchain Association (JBA). Bitcoinist had reported in February 2018 that a merger of the JCBA and the JBA was imminent. Sanitizing the Industry via Crypto Self-Regulation The first order of business for the JCEA will be to sanitize the cryptocurrency exchange market in the country. Okuyama, speaking at the JCEA official launch, said that the Association will make security upgrades of cryptocurrency exchange platforms a priority. He also said that the JCEA will enact a regulatory framework that will oversee the activities of the members. The JCEA will create appropriate checks and balances in the system. Okuyama also said that: [He] will make sure that security measures and internal control are in place. The Association will ensure strict compliance with its rules and regulations. There will be stiff penalties for platforms that flout the rules and regulations of the Association. The JCEA chairman also said that the body will offer assistance to unregistered cryptocurrency exchange platforms in the country. Restoring Consumer Confidence The move to self-regulate comes as the FSA has increased its cryptocurrency oversight activities. The January 2018 Coincheck hack that led to the loss of more than $500 million worth of NEM has cast many doubts on the security infrastructure of cryptocurrency exchange platforms. The FSA has come down hard on some platforms in recent months, even shutting down a couple of them. The Okuyama-led JCEA has said that it is determined to restore consumer confidence. The JCEA chairman is quoted as saying that: We want to eliminate customers’ concerns and work to restore public confidence in order to develop a healthy market. There have also been calls for self-regulation in the cryptocurrency market of other countries. Reports indicate that cryptocurrency stakeholders in South Korea are close to launching a cryptocurrency self-regulatory body. Top financial regulatory experts in the U.S. have also urged cryptocurrency firms to regulate themselves. What are your views on cryptocurrency self-regulation? Do you think that it will positively affect the market? Share your views in the comments below. Image courtesy of Money Partners Group, GoodFreePhotos, and Bitcoinist archives.
Winter is here… Between the New Year, the State of the Union, the State of the States, Super Bowl Madness…this is also the award season for feature films, television productions, and documentaries. On January 15, 2015, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced their nominations for both feature films and documentaries. Within minutes the controversies over who made the cut and who appeared to be snubbed began. Then this past week most of the conversation has turned the lens on Clint Eastwood’s AMERICAN SNIPER. Movies can be powerful…as are reviews We often talk about movies. A few months back we talked about Roger Ebert and his contribution to this art form. He was the one who offered that “cinema is a machine that generates empathy.” He would most likely enjoy the conversation that AMERICAN SNIPER has generated to date. Here are just a few reviews, which you may or may not want to read before seeing the movie: - ‘American Sniper’ Is Almost Too Dumb to Criticize – Rolling Stone, January 21, 2015 - American Sniper Screenwriter Jason Hall: ‘I Bled for this Thing’ – TIME, January 21, 2015 - Fact-Checking the Film: ‘American Sniper’ – Entertainment Weekly, January 21, 2015 - ‘American Sniper’ goes above and beyond war-hero tradition – LA Times, December 24, 2015 - ‘American Sniper’ comes under senseless fire – The Detroit News, January 19, 2015 To read a more complete selection of reviews, you can visit the MetaCritic website. As is usually the case, each reviewer brings just a touch of their own life experience to their writing, not unlike the average moviegoer. You can see the movie without having read the reviews, you can see the movie if you haven’t read Chris Kyle’s bestselling autobiography American Sniper. You’ll find you can see the movie if you have never been in the military, never gone to war, and you can see the movie even if none of your relatives served in the military or have gone to war. On the other hand, watching this movie may be difficult for some who have served and for those whose relatives went to war and didn’t return or came home with either physical or emotional handicaps, or both. AMERICAN SNIPER – Trailer #2 If you are having trouble viewing the video, you can see it here. Is this movie about post traumatic stress disorder? If you just watched the trailer, then you might jump to the conclusion that the movie is all about post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But one reviewer offered a different take on what was really going on with Chris Kyle and what he alluded to in his autobiography. Richard Roeper’s review for the Chicago Sun- Times was well thought out and interestingly concluded: “But this man doesn’t suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We see signs the disorder is kicking in while he’s still in uniform.” The movie does hint that Kyle’s PTSD may have started even when he was a young child. It brings to mind the findings of the Army STARRS survey which was published in March 2014. One notable statistic from this report: “More than 8% of soldiers entered the Army with intermittent explosive disorder, characterized by uncontrolled attacks of anger. It was the most common disorder in the study, with a pre-enlistment prevalence nearly six times the civilian rate. The researchers found that despite screening, pre-enlistment rates of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and substance abuse were on par with civilian rates.” Some final thoughts… It is important to note that even though about 50% of this movie takes place in a war zone, the other half takes place here in the United States. Chris Kyle writes in his book that he felt guilty leaving the Navy. He discusses that he suffered from depression and did not take care of his physical health and abused alcohol. However, Eastwood’s production does provide hope regarding his mental anguish and how Kyle was able to recover and heal. In many ways this is the story of one man’s hope to help his country, be a good husband and father. Perhaps Tim Long of The Detroit News said it best: The movie is meant to entertain, to stimulate discussion, to cause discomfort (as it obviously has) and possibly inspire. It does not contain every lunk-headed thing Chris Kyle ever said or did – why would it? Movies do not tell the truth, even documentaries. Movies tell stories. “American Sniper” is one angle on the story of Chris Kyle, and that angle is nowhere near as simplistic as its critics are making it sound.
Doctors and nurse practitioners are in a unique position to impact the American opioid epidemic for the better. While it could easily be argued that those who prescribe addictive narcotics had a major role in creating the problem we see today, they also have a responsibility and the power to alter their prescribing practices – reducing patient risks of fatal overdoses. Fortunately, a number of doctors now recognize the dangers of prescription narcotics, and they understand importance of screening patients for substance use disorders and that making some simple changes in how addictive drugs are prescribed and dispensed. New research conducted at the School of Public Health and the Department of Sociology at Georgia State University found that the growing concern about prescription drug abuse epidemic is possibly changing the way health providers prescribe, Forbes reports. The findings were published in the Pain Physician Journal. The researchers involved in the study surveyed almost 6,000 Indiana: - Nurse Practitioners - Physician Assistants The findings indicated that in the last few years around 33 percent of respondents altered their prescribing practices, according to the article. The researchers found that the majority of respondents significantly decreased the frequency with which they prescribed addictive narcotics. The study did not probe into the reasons why health care providers were concerned, but study author Dr. Eric Wright, a professor with the appointments in Health Management & Policy and Sociology at Georgia State thinks that the “growing public alarm about the rising rate of fatal overdoses involving prescription drugs, especially opioids, and policymakers’ increased critical scrutiny of drug prescribing practices are behind our respondents’ concerns.” If you or a loved one are struggling with prescription opioid addiction, please contact Cottonwood Tucson. We can help you break the cycle of addiction and begin the journey of recovery. Withdrawing from long term opioid use can be especially difficult, we have a medical detox facility on site where we closely monitor patients and manage physical distress of withdrawal, guarding against potentially injurious withdrawal symptoms.
To make matters worse, evolutionary relationships based on genetics are confusing as well. For example, while most of an organism’s DNA is in its cells’ “control center” (the nucleus), some of an organism’s DNA resides in its cells’ powerhouses (the mitochondria). In most muticellular organisms, this DNA (not surprisingly called “mitochondrial DNA”) is thought to be inherited only from the mother. Well, when evolutionary relationships are inferred from mitochondrial DNA, they disagree with evolutionary relationships inferred from nuclear DNA.2 Even when you concentrate on nuclear DNA, the evolutionary relationships inferred from one set of genes disagree with those inferred from a different set of genes.3 These problems came to mind recently as I read a study on the supposed evolution of land plants. Evolutionists have long thought that the the Charales, a biological order of pondweeds, are the closest living relatives to the ancestors of land plants. This is because the Charales are algae, but they are thought to be the most complex form of algae. In addition, they sexually reproduce by making freely-moving sperm cells and much larger, stationary egg cells. This is also the way modern land plants reproduce. It only makes sense, then, that the most complex algae with the same basic reproductive mode as land plants must be closely related to land plants, right? Wrong…at least according to the genetic data. Sabina Wodniok and colleagues compared 129 genes among 40 different land plants and algae. They say that their selections included a wide range of land plant diversity, all major lineages of the Charales, and other green algae as well. They found that based on the 129 genes they studied, the Charales were not the closest living relatives to the ancestors of land plants. Instead, the Zygnematales probably are. The say that their results are consistent with a few other studies that looked at both genes and RNA.4 Now by itself, this might not sound like a big deal. After all, science is a self-correcting endeavor. New data regularly correct errant assumptions. Thus, why should it matter that genetic data are overturning a generally-accepted view in the supposed evolution of land plants? It matters because the Zygnematales are less complex than the Charales, but more importantly, the reproductive mechanism of the Zygnematales is fundamentally different from that of the land plants. The Zygnematales do not produce freely-moving sperm cells and larger, stationary egg cells. Instead, they make cells that are roughly the same size and crawl like amoebae. When they reproduce, a filament from one individual lines up with a filament of another individual. A tube is formed between the two, and either one cell crawls through it to fuse with the other cell, or they both crawl into the tube together and fuse there. Clearly, then, this reproductive method is rather different from the reproductive method of land plants, which just happens to resemble the reproductive method of the Charales. So how is it that two closely-related groups (land plants and Zygnematales) have significantly different reproductive mechanisms and different levels of complexity but two more distantly-related groups (land plants and Charales) have more similar reproductive mechanisms and more similar levels of complexity? Here is what the authors say: It seems plausible that the simpler morphology of extant Zygnematales represents a secondary simplification, similar to the loss of flagellate cells in this group, which may actually represent an adaptation to ensure sexual reproduction in the absence of free water. Alternatively, the morphological complexity of the Charales and Coleochaetales might have evolved independently after the three evolutionary lines (Coleochaetales, Charales, and Zygnematales) diverged. In other words, either the Zygnematales “devolved” after the land plants started to evolve, or this is all just another wild coincidence. These are the lengths to which one must go in order to be an evolutionist in light of the most current data. I am glad I don’t have to do such mental gymnastics to be a creationist! 1. Trisha Gura, “Bones, Molecules or Both?,” Nature 406:230-233, 2000. Return to Text 2. John J, Weins, Caitlin A. Kuczynski, and Patrick R. Stephens, “Discordant mitochondrial and nuclear gene phylogenies in emydid turtles: implications for speciation and conservation,” Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 99:445–461, 2010. Return to Text 3. Graham Lawton, “Why Darwin was wrong about the tree of life,” New Scientist January 21, 2009. Return to Text 4. Sabina Wodniok, et al., Origin of land plants: Do conjugating green algae hold the key?,” BMC Evolutionary Biology 11:104, 2011. Return to Text
Templeton Fellowships Essay Contest Deadline Approaches With the May 3 deadline less than one month away, college students and untenured college teachers eligible to enter the 2010 Sir John M. Templeton Fellowships Essay Contest may wish to consult a helpful online resource—the Essay Reference Bibliography. Divided into two sections, this list cites books and articles about the meaning and significance of economic personal liberties—and, in particular, publications (many of them online) related to this year’s topic: “Everyone wants to live at the expense of the state. They forget the state wants to live at the expense of everyone.” –Frederic Bastiat (1801–1850) Assuming Bastiat is correct, what ideas or reforms could be developed that would make people better aware that government wants to live at their expense? Contest winners receive a two-year subscription to The Independent Review and may receive travel assistance for presenting their papers at an academic conference. (Four winners of the 2009 Templeton Fellowships Essay Contest delivered their papers today at a special Templeton Essay Contest Panel held at the 2010 conference of the Association of Private Enterprise Education at Caesers Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.) And have we mentioned the 2010 contest prize money? College Student Division: 1st Prize: $2,500 2nd Prize: $1,500 3rd Prize: $1,000 Junior Faculty Division: 1st Prize: $10,000 2nd Prize: $7,500 3rd Prize: $4,000 Contest participants and general readers alike can get an idea of the quality and style of winning essays by reading winning essays from previous years. This program is made possible by the generous assistance of the John Templeton Foundation.
Large-scale paintings and sculptural hybrids reveal the expressive range of women artists in NO MAN’S LAND: Women Artists from the Rubell Family Collection, on view from September 30, 2016, to January 8, 2017. The National Museum of Women in the Arts is collaborating with the Rubell Family Collection (RFC), Miami, to realize a new vision for the exhibition that opened at the RFC’s space in December 2015. The exhibition features 37 women artists whose aesthetically diverse work addresses wide-ranging intellectual and political themes. Although women historically had limited access to training and opportunity in the traditional fields of sculpture and painting, the title of the exhibition suggests “a space free from the rule of any sovereign power” where women artists are able to adapt and modify these mediums. The highly focused selection of paintings and sculptures emphasizes the female body and the physical process of art-making. Ever since the feminist art movement of the 1960s and ’70s, these two themes have become prevalent avenues for experimentation, play, and subversion. During the feminist art movement, women artists claimed ownership over visualization of the body. Artists in NO MAN’S LAND explore this history and experiment with the expressive potential of the female form. Some artists, including Cecily Brown and Mickalene Thomas, adapt the art-historical theme of the odalisque by transforming its typically passive character. Others such as Hayv Kahraman use portraiture as a space for self-expression. Many of the works on view signify broader ideas about culture, gender, and ethnicity. For artists in NO MAN’S LAND, the physical process of making is key to developing meaning, exploring intellectual conundrums, and conjuring psychological experiences. Painters and sculptors eliminate hierarchies among mediums by disrupting conventional ideas about women and handcraft. Historically defined as “women’s work,” handcraft remains a gendered topic in art. Artists including Analia Saban, Rosemarie Trockel, and Shinique Smith focus on unconventional materials or labor-intensive techniques. They upend tradition to suit their aesthetic and intellectual purposes. —Francisca Rudolph is the fall 2016 publications and communications/marketing intern at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
The next time you visit NMWA, come to the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center (LRC) to see new books on women in the arts, as well as reference books, artists’ books, and more. Florine Stettheimer: Painting Poetry Yale University Press, 2017 Florine Stettheimer: Painting Poetry was published in conjunction with a retrospective exhibition on view at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (October 21, 2017–January 28, 2018), following its summer appearance at the Jewish Museum in New York. The exhibition presents paintings, drawings, and poems by Stettheimer (1871–1944), an independently wealthy and famously free-spirited New Yorker, as well as photographs and ephemera documenting her life. The book prominently features her poetry alongside her “idiosyncratic and irreverent” paintings—often naïve renderings of urbane subjects in acidic yellows, florid reds, and muted grays—which were rarely shown publicly during her lifetime. In addition to her work as an artist, designer, and poet, Stettheimer hosted a salon that attracted artist friends including Marcel Duchamp, Georgia O’Keeffe, Alfred Stieglitz, and Carl Van Vechten. Essays by Jewish Museum curator Stephen Brown and Art Gallery of Ontario curator Georgiana Uhlyarik shed light on Stettheimer’s circle and bohemian life. An unusual feature of the book is a roundtable interview featuring seven contemporary artists—Cecily Brown, Jamian Juliano-Villani, Jutta Koether, Ella Kruglyanskaya, Valentina Liernur, Silke Otto-Knapp, and Katharina Wulff—who discuss Stettheimer’s influence and talent, relaying stories of their first or most significant encounters with her art. As Cecily Brown describes, Stettheimer’s work affects audiences through depictions of “interior spaces that read like psychological portraits.” All are welcome to view this book, which will be available soon in the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. If you’re touring the museum’s exhibitions, the library is open to the public and makes a great starting point on the fourth floor. In addition to beautiful books and comfortable chairs, library visitors enjoy interesting exhibitions that feature archival manuscripts, personal papers by women artists, rare books, and artists’ books. Reference Desk staff members are always happy to answer questions and offer assistance. Open Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. and 1–5 p.m. —Elizabeth Lynch is the editor at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
What is Foreshadowing? Plus 10 Gripping Ways to Foreshadow Foreshadowing is a literary device in which an author gives readers hints about what will happen later in the story. Foreshadowing is often used in the early stages of a novel or at the start of a chapter, as it can subtlety create tension and set readers' expectations regarding how the story will unfold. For instance, a mystery novel might use foreshadowing in an early chapter by mentioning something that seems inconsequential — but is actually a clue... By the end of this article, writers will know the secret to crafting gripping page-turners. See? You know something is about to happen, but you don’t yet know how it will come about — and it’s the “how” that matters. The “how” is what bridges the beginning to the end or, in this case, the introduction to the conclusion. The “how” is the information that readers want, and foreshadowing promises to eventually give it to them. Now that we’ve hopefully piqued your interest with our own dose of foreshadowing, let’s talk about why this literary device is such a key tool in an author’s arsenal. Types of foreshadowing There are as many ways to foreshadow as there are stories to tell, so the possibilities are endless. But head to the library and you’ll likely find two broad categories of foretelling in novels: direct and indirect. - Direct foreshadowing occurs when an outcome is directly hinted at or indicated. It gives readers a nugget of information, prompting them to want more. - Indirect foreshadowing occurs when an outcome is indirectly hinted at or indicted. It subtly nods at a future event, but is typically only apparent to readers after that outcome or event has occurred. Pretty straightforward, right? Now let’s see a few examples of the former in action. Direct foreshadowing examples 1) The Narrator We witnessed this example in the introduction of this very post. In a nutshell: the person telling the story provides readers with key information, but leaves out context or other details. Take this opening line from Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall: “They say that just before you die your whole life flashes before your eyes, but that’s not how it happened for me.” What we know: The narrator is dead. What we want to know: How did they die? The key to this kind of foretelling is that it needs to include information that is, well, key to the story. What it must leave out is how it’s key to the story. Think of it as a personal invitation from the narrator to the reader to keep reading. 2) The Pre-Scene A gift shared among people who have the uncanny ability to predict the endings of stories is an eye for the “pre-scene.” These scenes show something that will play an important role in the future — and they usually play out as a brief, toned-down version of the main event. For example, in the first half of Of Mice and Men, Carlson is convinced that an old dog should be put down so that it can have a quick death and end to its suffering. He complies, ensuring the process is as painless as possible, prompting Candy to confide in George: “I oughtta of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't oughtta of let no stranger shoot my dog.” What we know: The dog’s death is important. What we want to know: Why is this significant and when will we find out? At the end of the novel, when a murderous lynch mob are on the hunt for Lennie, George begins talking to Lennie about the farm they will one day own, painting a peaceful picture. Then, in a scene that echoes Carlson’s putting an end to the dog’s suffering, George kills Lennie — believing it’s much more merciful to go at the hands of a friend. 3) The Name Drop If someone told you, “Tomorrow I’m going to my friend’s house,” you likely wouldn’t think much of it. But if someone told you, “Tomorrow I’m going to Reedsy Mansion,” you’d probably want to know more. Similarly, by casually name dropping a place, thing, or person in your story, you signify to readers that this entity is important. See this example in action in the first installment of The Hunger Games: “When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping.” What we know: Something called the reaping is about to happen, and it’s nightmare-inducing. What we want to know: Well, what is the reaping? The name drop can even be used right in the title: consider The Great Gatsby. The title introduces us to the name, the first few pages gives us snippets of information about the man, but it’s not until the second chapter that we actually meet Gatsby. 4) The Prophecy In the opening scene of Orson Welles’ A Touch of Evil, we witness the timer started on a bomb that gets placed into the trunk of a car. Seconds later, a couple gets into that very car and drives down a busy street for a full 3 minutes. Finally, the car drives off camera and we witness another young couple jump as the explosion occurs. While the explosion would have been a dramatic way to begin the movie on its own, by letting the audience know about the bomb in the trunk, Welles uses dramatic irony to create a scene rife with tension and suspense. Initially, letting readers know that a specific dramatic event is going to happen might seem counterintuitive: isn’t it better to surprise readers? But by foreshadowing events through the use of prophecy, you keep readers on the edge of their seats and still leave lots of room for surprise. Macbeth famously opens with the prophecies of the three witches: "All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter! […] Lesser than Macbeth, and greater. Not so happy, yet much happier. Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none: So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo! Banquo and Macbeth, all hail!" What we know: Macbeth will become king and that Banquo’s descendants will also be king. What we want to know: Will this actually happen? And if so, how? This prophecy forms the basis for the rest of the story: Macbeth becoming power-mad and committing heinous acts in his fear of being usurped. For more Macbeth-worthy suspense, check out our list of the best suspense books of all time. 5) The Prologue Nothing kicks off a novel with an almost audible “dun dun DUNNN!” quite like a prologue. Prologues are used for many reasons: to flashback or forward, show a point-of-view different than the narrative’s primary one, or set an otherworldly setting, to name a few. One of its handiest purposes is to foreshadow. Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park begins with two prologues. The first one ends with the following lines: "Parties to that settlement, including the distinguished scientific board of advisers, signed a nondisclosure agreement, and none will speak about what happened-but many of the principal figures in the "InGen incident" are not signatories, and were willing to discuss the remarkable events leading up to those final two days in August 1989 on a remote island off the west coast of Costa Rica." What we know: That a company called InGen created a genetic crisis. What we want to know: What is this crisis? What effects did it have? Direct foreshadowing is such an engaging literary device because it brings readers into the story and allows them to speculate. But perhaps you don’t want a narrator prone to spilling the beans or you’re wary of writing a prologue that rings slightly of clickbait. For foretelling tools that are a little more subtle, look no further than these next few indirect foreshadowing examples. Indirect foreshadowing examples 6) The Innocuous Statement While the previous examples of foreshadowing could be said to be “hiding in plain sight,” sometimes the device is used in a much more subtle way — allowing the reader to go back and find the clues that are now only clear after the fact. Consider this line spoken by Obi-Wan Kenobi to Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II: "Why do I get the feeling, you will be the death of me?” At the time of their utterance, these lines don’t seem like anything more than the lament of a tired mentor. Later in the series, these words perhaps ring in our ears when Anakin-turned-Darth-Vader does indeed kill Obi-Wan. While this example of foreshadowing doesn’t propel readers to seek out more information right when it happens, it does have us wondering what other clues might have been dropped when we were none the wiser. 7) The Pathetic Fallacy Pathetic fallacy is when human emotions are projected by non-human things — such as nature. And it can be a very effective tool. Just think: would Wuthering Heights have been quite the same if the majority of the story took place on idyllic, sunny days? Probably not. A chilling gust of wind or the sun breaking through heavy clouds can say a lot: the former can evoke a sense of foreboding while the latter can predict a positive changing of tides. In other words — let’s say it together — it can foreshadow. In Great Expectations, wordsmith Charles Dickens uses the weather to demonstrate Pip’s growing angst: "So furious had been the gusts, that high buildings in town had had the lead stripped off their roofs; and in the country, trees had been torn up, and sails of windmills carried away; and gloomy accounts had come in from the coast, of shipwreck and death." 8) The Symbol A scene opening on a character coming across a raven will project a very different message than a scene opening on a character spotting a dove: one is typically an ominous symbol while the other generally references peace. Because symbols take the form of recognizable visuals that represent a more abstract idea, they’re a great way to foreshadow by hinting at something without stating it outright. Consider this excerpt from the opening of Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms: "The leaves fell early that year." The visual transition from fall to winter, and specifically the falling of leaves, is not an uncommon symbol of death. In this case, these six simple words symbolize the primary event of the novel: the early death of nurse Catherine Barkey. Its effectiveness lies in the fact that the symbol is instantly recognizable, but the significance it holds within the story unravels throughout. 9) Through metaphor and simile Without veering into the distracting arena of purple prose, the way authors describe things can foretell hidden details. Metaphors and similes are both figures of speech used to describe something by comparing it to another. The difference between the two is that while metaphors say “Thing A is Thing B,” similes say “Thing A is like Thing B.” Both can be used as foreshadowing tools. In White Oleander by Janet Finch, Astrid continuously use similes to compare her mother’s beauty to elements of danger: "I climbed to the roof and easily spotted her blond hair like a white flame in the light of the three-quarter moon." "Her beauty was like the edge of a very sharp knife." As the story progresses, both danger and beauty become the two main aspects Astrid associates with her mother. 10) The Object “If in Act One you have a pistol hanging on the wall, then it must fire in the last act.” So goes Anton Chekhov’s rule of storytelling: if you’re going to draw a reader’s attention to something, you must eventually explain why it was worth noticing. Otherwise, it should be removed. You can also reverse-engineer this rule as a means of foreshadowing: if a major event will happen at some point in the story, allude to it earlier on in the story. One great way of doing this (as in Chekhov’s example) is by placing emphasis on an object. The third book of the A Series of Unfortunate Events series begins with Mr. Poe giving the Baudelaire siblings some peppermints, forgetting they are allergic. These peppermints end up playing an important role later in the story, when the orphans use them to elicit an allergic reaction, thereby getting themselves out of a sticky situation. “If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats.” — Lemony Snicket In Disney’s telling of Peter Pan, the catalyst for the whole story occurs when Peter literally chases his shadow into the Darling household. Similarly, foreshadowing can have your readers chasing the plot of your story. Mastering the art of the foreshadow can benefit your writing by creating layers: it’s almost like you’re telling the story to readers in waves, eventually revealing to them the whole island they’ve been searching for. It creates an engaging and interactive narrative, allowing speculation while the story unfolds and then further reflection of all the clues upon completion. What are some of your favorite examples of direct foreshadowing? Which instances of indirect foreshadowing went over your head but made resounding sense at the end? Leave us your thoughts or questions in the comments below!
Many companies believe that incentive and recognition plans improve performance. But when companies use cash as the reward for incentive and recognition initiatives, those programs usually end up getting confused with compensation, creating a less effective and less flexible reward system. 29% of surveyed recipients of cash rewards said their cash went to bills. 18% of recipients claimed they could not remember where their cash rewards were spent. Whether people receive cash in their regular paycheck, or as a special incentive or recognition reward, they use it in the same way. Once the cash received as a reward mixes in an employee’s account with the cash from their paycheck, it’s all fair game for paying the mortgage and buying groceries. Both cash and non-cash rewards generated a 13% lift in performance, but cash costs 12 cents to generate a $1 improvement compared to 4 cents for non-cash rewards.
For companies to grow and get better at what they do, there needs to be a fair amount of experimentation. Is it better for a company to stick to what they know and put the time into learning a new technology? These questions were the basis of Full-Stack Developer Pascal Heitz’s technology experiment. For two months he familiarized himself with the ups and downs of Capacitor and Ionic React. Since Pascal is battle tested in React, which is what Ionic React is based on, it was easy to use. Capacitor, also known as “the native bridge for cross-platform web apps” is the successor to Cordova and was created by the Ionic team. In this video, Pascal breaks down what Capacitor and Ionic React are, creates a demo in real time, and gives his feedback on these two emerging technologies. Pascal Heitz is a Full-Stack Developer and four-year Salsita veteran who initially wound up in Prague as part of an experiment of life. He believes knowledge is power and thus chooses projects that help people lead better and smarter lives.
I have to own that I am passionate about tea. It is not just the diverse varieties of tea, or that it restores and revives, it is also the ritual. Each morning I delight in warming and filling my silver tea pot, allowing the tea to steep beneath its cosy before pouring the first cup of the day and preparing my thermos. Nothing beats the flavour of tea made in a silver teapot! Tea has been drunk in China for some 4000 years. However, it was not introduced to Britain and Europe until the 17th century. On the 25th September 1660 Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary that he ‘did send for a cupp of tee (a China drink) of which I never drank before’. It is thought Thomas Garroway of Exchange Alley, London, first sold tea in England in 1657. It was made fashionable by Charles II’s Portuguese queen, Catherine of Braganza who brought her love of tea to the English court. Early English teapots from the 17th and the early 18th centuries are rare and tend to be small as tea was very expensive. By the later 18th and early 19th centuries tea had become a little more affordable whilst maintaining its fashionable status. Tea related objects proliferated including porcelain. Take for example the Flight, Barr & Barr Worcester porcelain part tea service illustrated here. The Worcester factory had been formed in 1752 when the factories of Benjamin Lund and Dr John Wall had been united. Dr Wall retired in 1774 and in 1783 the factory was purchased by the firm’s London agent, John Flight. His son, Joseph, would enter into partnership with Martin Barr in 1792 and the company became Flight & Barr. As the partnership evolved so did the name and after Martin’s death in 1813 the company became Flight, Barr & Barr. During this last period the quality of the wares was outstanding and included tea services typified by fine, restrained decoration. This tea service dates from around 1820. The bands of brown and gilt leaf sprays are united with the form of the pieces, the design brought alive by the small red flowers. It realised £1900 at a recent Toovey’s specialist auction. Tea related objects were often made in silver. In the later 18th century the rococo taste was fashionable. The George III Scottish silver tea pot is of inverted pear form and was assayed in Edinburgh in 1777. The chased decoration reflects the fashion for the rococo at this date with its opposing scroll cartouche and flower festoons. It sold for £950. The three early George III silver tea caddies reflect the value of tea in the mid-18th century and are also in the rococo taste. Their flower finials and rectangular bombé outline are decorated with chased, spiral reeded bands and cornered foliate borders. The scroll and scallop aprons incorporate scalloped feet. Made by the silversmith John Foster and assayed in London in 1766, with their contemporary walnut case they realised £5100 at Toovey’s. The fashion for tea related objects is once again in revival. Silver tea pots can still be bought reasonably at auction but prices have risen. Perhaps it’s time you treated yourself to tea and enjoyed the delight in silver and porcelain. After all tea always tastes better when it has been made in a silver teapot and is savoured in porcelain cups! By Revd. Rupert Toovey. Originally published on 25th February 2015 in the West Sussex Gazette.
Data is one of the most valuable types of currency the world has today. For businesses, the insight into audience behavior, demographics, buying habits and tons of other metrics are the secret ingredient to understanding how to position your products. Businesses have access to so much data and it can be key in brand and product development, but a lot of businesses don’t know how to harness that data in a productive way. How is data best understood? With data dashboards. What is a data dashboard? A data dashboard is a tool that helps businesses visualize the data it collects. It helps your business analyze consumer metrics to better understand how well you’re performing. Gathering customer data is the foundation of your market research efforts - with a data dashboard on your side you can understand customers both old and new on a much deeper level. High-level market research will tell you an overview of your target market; a data dashboard will give you a deep dive look at their wants and needs, their hobbies, location, their Twitter preferences and a lot more. Data isn’t just helpful when you’re trying to understand your customers. Businesses can make serious improvements by using data dashboards internally, too. Today’s businesses are flexible - the office is no longer a rigid nine-to-five set up with cubicles and a strict hierarchy. Senior management sits next to entry-level staff in lots of businesses, and employees are encouraged to work remotely and collaborate across teams. How is this moderated and tracked? Internal data dashboards. What is a data dashboard for internal use? Your senior team needs to be tuned in to the ongoing projects across your business. Your company has a set of goals that every member of your team works towards - whether you call them KPIs, OKRs or something else - and overseeing your business workflows is an essential part of any management role. Data dashboards are invaluable to team leaders. Managers can oversee projects without wasting valuable time calling meetings and getting in-person updates. For example, within Trint managers can track the progress of their team and find out who’s working on what without micromanaging and disrupting workflow. This is essential for monitoring productivity and making sure everyone is pulling their weight. How do you build an effective data dashboard? Any business can say that they use data dashboards to strengthen their understanding of both customer metrics and internal performance. Your organization handles data in huge quantities every day, and using data dashboards to your advantage isn’t always easy. Here are three handy tips to make sure your data dashboards are working for you. Know your audience Who is your data dashboard for? Data dashboards give essential insights that serve an audience. This could be your team, yourself as a manager, your superiors or the market itself. Knowing your audience is a really important part of building your data dashboard - if your main objective is to gather insight on team progress, you don’t need to track consumer behavior. Once you decide who the dashboard will inform, you can plan which metrics you need to track. Tell a story Your data dashboard serves a purpose. You might be using data to back up a claim, tell a story or plan future strategy. For managers, a data dashboard can tell the story of how your team works: collaboration, how well they perform and the efficiency of their workflow. Understanding the story you want to tell with your data is a great way to ensure your data dashboard is working efficiently. Are you presenting customer insights to the board? If yes, then your data has to tell the story of your customers. Your data dashboard is an essential tool for fostering and encouraging collaboration in your team - both internally with peers and with their manager (which might be you). Use it to its maximum effect, learning from the data insights and actively collaborating within the platform to help steer the team in a strong direction. With Trint’s admin dashboard, managers and colleagues have a valuable look into their team’s performance, which is essential for creating effective workflows and ensuring they’re working as effectively as possible. As a business, you need to make sure teams are working toward those overarching goals; software platforms that allow for the monitoring and optimizing of team workflows are a great investment for any organization. Learn more about Trint’s audio-to-text tools for business today and unlock the value of the spoken word for your team.
The phrase Covered by the Blood of Jesus is not for the faint of heart. It can be confusing or make us feel uncomfortable the first few times we hear it. It can even make us want to double-check that as Christians we aren’t, in fact, involved in a scary cult. Don’t worry, I can assure you that if you’re part of a Bible-believing church, you’re safe. Understanding the blood of Jesus seems daunting but it’s actually simple. Yes, it packs a serious punch but that’s because it’s such a powerful concept. This post may contain affiliate links. You can read my full affiliate disclosure here. Covered by the Blood of Jesus I’d like to start by sharing some thoughts from the Old Testament. Before Jesus came on the scene, things were done differently. God still forgave, but He worked through priests who took some steps that made it so people could be forgiven. In order to fulfill the punishment for our sin, the priest would sacrifice a pure animal, like a young sheep without defect. A person would bring his sacrifice to the priest, who would complete a number of steps in slaughtering the animal and presenting it to God. The priests would sprinkle the blood around the altar and the entryway after the sacrifice (Lev. 3:2, and lots more verses). God accepted this as payment or atonement for the people’s sins, so they could be forgiven. What Does the Blood of Jesus Mean If you’re a parent, you’re probably more than aware of the concept of consequences. We know that our kids are going to make mistakes, and in order to learn from it, they need to experience a consequence. Sometimes that happens naturally, and sometimes we reprimand them with a consequence of our own. Just like parents who watch their child make a bad decision, God sees our mistakes too. And He knew from the beginning what the consequences were. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 NIV We know deep down that our sinful actions create pain, suffering, and a rift between us and God. And the sad truth is that everyone sins. The result is our death. But instead, God purchased our lives with His own blood. When someone says they are covered by the blood of Jesus, it means the price was paid for their freedom from sin. Blood of Jesus – Literal Meaning Jesus, God’s son, was crucified on a cross, even though He had the power to avoid it. When you hear that you’re covered by the blood, it means that your debt of sin has been paid and you’re forgiven. The physical act of Him bleeding on the cross (followed by His death and resurrection) washes away our human sins. Blood of Jesus – Symbolic Meaning When Jesus died, he took the place of the perfect lamb that the priests would sacrifice. Instead, Jesus’ blood washes us and makes our sins whiter than snow. The old system of continual sacrifices isn’t needed anymore. Once you’re a repentant believer, you’re covered. Even though it can feel confusing, think of this in as simple terms as possible. The penalty for sin is death, and Jesus paid that penalty once and for all when He was willingly put to death and then resurrected. The Significance of the Blood of Jesus for Mankind At some point, you probably came to a few depressing conclusions about yourself. Things like - I don’t have unlimited wealth or power. - I’m not perfect. I’ve made mistakes and hurt others. - I fall short of God’s glory. - I don’t make things turn to gold. - I can’t even bake a good cake. (Ok, maybe that last one is just me.) But it’s actually good to understand our limits, our humanity, our shortcomings, and our sins. It’s necessary to know these basics in order to understand that there is nothing more precious than the blood of Jesus. We will never be able to pay the price that’s required to be righteous or truly good. We would have to die and be separated from a holy God to do it. And that would be the end. Being covered by the blood of Jesus means that we never have to worry about that because our debt has already been paid. Thankfully, this depressing stuff turns into the most joy-inducing notions we’ll ever know. Jesus’ death and resurrection pour boundless value over us so that we’re completely transformed. While we know that we don’t buy our way into God’s favor, there is a transaction that has to occur for us to be part of His family. It happened–thank God!–by the blood of the perfect Lamb, Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus… - Gives Us a Clean Slate - Makes Us God’s Children - Changes Us Completely - Gives Us Life Gives Us a Clean Slate If we were to write out our sins on an old-school blackboard, we’d be absolutely exhausted, ashamed, and then we’d need more chalk. If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? Psalm 130:3 We can have the assurance that Jesus’ blood wipes our sins away and gives us that fresh, clean slate. His blood frees us from a guilty conscience (Hebrews 10:22) so that we can start over. Makes Us God’s Children When we repent of our sin and accept the sacrifice of Jesus, we get to be part of the family of God! Remember how I said that God didn’t have relationships with most people before Jesus came along? Well, because of the power of Jesus’ blood, God is our Father, and we can have a loving relationship with Him. Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus… let us draw near to God. Hebrews 10:19,22a That’s why you might hear Christians calling each other brother and sister. We’re part of a beautiful family, and that means having a real relationship as a son or daughter of God. Changes Us Completely The Bible says that Jesus’ blood is sprinkled over our hearts (Hebrews 10:22), instead of the altar, and makes us clean. His blood is like pure water that cleanses our bodies. It changes us from sinners into saints! Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation Colossians 1:22 The words “without blemish” remind us of the animal sacrifices that happened until Jesus’ death and resurrection. We’re made as pure and innocent as those lambs, and Jesus, because of His blood. Gives Us Life Jesus died so we don’t have to. His death gives us eternal life. All we have to do is be willing to accept it, to believe in Jesus, and we will live forever. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. John 6:40 The life Jesus gives us also applies to a rich life while we’re here on earth. Of course, I don’t mean we should be rolling in dough and dripping with diamonds. But as a Christian, you can have an abundant spiritual life, enjoying God’s presence and the comfort of the Holy Spirit even when trials come. (John 10:10) There is Power in the Blood of Jesus We’re all guilty of sin and we know what the consequences should be. There’s only one human being who didn’t ever sin, and that’s Jesus Christ. He chose to be the holy, sacrificial lamb for you. His blood says it all, like a receipt marked Price Paid. And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:27-28 I don’t know how to express it without shouting in all caps, THANK GOD that when it’s time for us to face how much we’ve fallen and how many times we’ve failed, Jesus says, “I paid for this one.” Our sin is wiped away without a trace left behind, and we will live forever with our Father in heaven.
Are you preparing a dissertation or project, or will be doing so next academic year? Make sure you visit our interactive dissertation and project guide. Based on the extensive experience of staff from the Library and Writing Development Centre, this guide includes an interactive search planner, which takes you through the different stages of developing your search strategy, and enables you to create and download your personalised search plan: you can even ask for feedback on it from the Library liaison team. The search planner is complemented by a project proposal planner, developed by our colleagues in the Writing Development Centre, to help you develop or refine your research proposal. The guide also points you to further advice on a wide range of relevant skills, to give you advanced knowhow in finding, managing and evaluating information. For example: where to find specialised information resources for your subject area; how to access resources beyond our Library; and methods to keep your literature search up to date over a long period. It’s easy to navigate, with clear text and short videos throughout. We hope you find it helpful, and if you’d like to spare one minute to suggest any changes, we’d really appreciate it!
When Salma Hayek was expecting her first child, she was asked whether she would like a boy or a girl. Hayek is purported to have said that she would prefer a boy because “women suffer a bit more than men.” Hayek then went on to come under a lot of flak for this statement; but this does make us pause and think. Although she had meant it as a generalization of women all over the world, one does wonder if this generalization does not perhaps apply more to women in some parts of the world more than others. There has been a strong correlation between the status of women in society and the political, social and economic progress of that society. India, where I come from, has made tremendous developments in the past few decades in various sectors, most notably women empowerment and education. Growing up in India in the 90’s and graduating high school towards the turn of the century, I must admit that I did not face any sort of criticism or questioning of my abilities as a scientist. I enjoyed and was encouraged to play with legos and G.I.Joe. In fact, everyone in my family and friends' circle strongly encouraged me to pursue a career in science and engineering with one single goal: a strong and flourishing career. I soon realized, however, that I was in the minority. The real world was far, far different from the privileged cocoon I had grown up in. Although almost all women in cities in India have the freedom and family support to pursue whatever career they choose, women in rural India face a completely different situation. In Rajasthan, a state in northern India, which has one of the highest rates of female infanticide in the country, the literacy rate for men is 80.5%, while for women is only 52.7%. Without proper access to education in the first place, wherefore will these women go if they want to pursue an education and career in science? From my personal experience, discrimination against women in science does indeed exist in societies where there is a strong history of patriarchy. Much to their credit, most young men of the current generation in India that I have met do not feel that women are in any way less capable than men in science. Once again, unfortunately, my sample space is limited to educated urban India. Having said that, however, I would also like to point out that I have come across situations where there was an undercurrent undermining my abilities in math and physics. However, having studied in both America and India, many of my female American friends have told me of instances where they were treated like ‘complete ignoramuses’ when they participated in what was traditionally a ‘male job’ like getting the car fixed. Having been exposed to various cultures, including middle-eastern, the situation there is the same there as well. In most Arab societies, there is not that much discrimination among urban population. However, the statistics change when we come to extremely conservative countries like Saudi Arabia where women are simply not encouraged to study as much as their desire or abilities decree. The situation is similar in many parts of Africa. Having met an African student in the U.S who had to undergo the inhumanity that is female castration, I believe that Africa is one place we could or rather should really help. In many cases in the developing world, red tape and lack of funding ensure that the best projects go to men. The administrators are not willing to take a risk on a woman, it would seem. Problems get compounded for a woman who already has a family. It would appear almost as if having a child meant that the mother’s time spent with the child would make her lose focus in a field like science which required rigorous attention and discipline. This is a deep-rooted mindset that has been present in most developing nations, most of which have a strongly patriarchal society. Generally, a woman working in a science related field is given less preference when it comes to taking on projects, if she is a divorcee. Again, a victim of social stigma. However, things are not as bad as they seem. The number of female children enrolling in education for last year is 97%. This is a huge increase from the early 90’s when it was just a mere 31%. However, political administration in India has recognized the need to promote the spread of science and tech education in India. For one, DBT, a government run organization that issues scientific grants, has come up with certain schemes mainly for women who have had a break in their scientific career due to children etc. Such initiatives by the government can only serve to enhance the position and number of women who take up science and engineering careers. With more initiatives like this, I feel optimistic that the governments of various developing nations would come to a deeper understanding of problems women face when they want to pursue a career in science and engineering. Meanwhile, I will continue to play with my legos and hope. Image: Akiko Kobayashi writing equations, by UNESCO.
Energy security is often spoken of as a relative measure, with a potential to improve. However, in a global energy market, it is seldom the case that a country does not rely on at least some imports, even though certain smaller countries are getting close to producing all of their own electricity from domestic renewable sources. In the case of Nepal, a crisis has forced its hand. The mountainous country suffered from two devastating earthquakes earlier this year and is now facing a political blockade with India, its southern neighbor accounting for most energy imports, and all other things for that matter. This double-whammy (earthquakes & blockade) presents a case study in what happens when a country runs out of oil: usually a theoretical scenario, but now a real ‘Nepal Scenario’ with some surprising consequences. Generally, transport systems do not like the oil spigots being turned off. As a consequence, Nepalese are switching from cooking with gas to electric stoves as well as firewood. And, as I discovered on a recent trip, flights leaving Nepal are being rerouted with unusual fuel layovers. The blockade has led to blackouts and fuel smuggling, as well as very hard times for Nepalese using the existing energy system, but the question might be: what lessons can Nepal and others learn from this crisis? For one, Nepal could do a lot better job tapping into its hydropower potential. With only 750 MW of installed generating capacity, demand is already around 1,300 MW, and yet, Nepal sits on about 80,000 MW of hydropower potential. Yes, you read that right. Only 1% of hydropower potential is being used. In fact, little Bhutan next door has already outshone Nepal by installing 1,500 MW. Despite this potential – and temporarily cleaner skies due to the oil shortages – Nepal is ranked as the 2nd most polluted country in the world, after Bangladesh, with Kathmandu’s air quality surpassing WHO guidelines by 20x, even with a population of just under 2 million. Faced with epic smog and an overarching energy crisis, Nepal is moving ahead with a range of bottom-up solutions. For one, Nepal’s capital city has over 750 electric public transit vehicles, so-called ‘Tempos’, which are also used to promote women's equal participation in the workforce. Another initiative uses solar power to empower women through sustainable entrepreneurship. And finally, a series of mini-hydro projects might show the way forward for installed capacity. No matter what, this ‘Nepal Scenario’ is exemplifying the true meaning of what it means to be dependent on highly-polluting fossil fuels. Lessons learnt from this experience could include moving from oil security to energy security, and from trading shortages and blackouts to locally and renewably produced energy. Fortunately, there are several worthwhile initiatives underway, paving the way forward towards sustainable development – including gender equality, clean air, and true energy security – and we can all hope that Nepal succeeds. Disclosure: founder is a friend
Nursing Education for the Practice Setting: Assessment and Evaluation Apr 8-Jun 16, 2020 10 week course Course Code: NUR-EDU3-APR2020 Delivery Format: Online This 10-week on-line course focuses on development of a foundational knowledge base in education assessment and evaluation relevant to nursing education in the practice setting. Participants will: - explore current and evidence-based approaches to program evaluation; - appreciate the value of integrating assessment and evaluation methods throughout and education plan; - examine a variety of assessment and evaluation tools; and - develop a systematic approach to evaluation practices. By the end of this course participants will be able to: - Compare and contrast evaluation concepts, theories and models and their applicability to one’s own practice context. - Develop and implement purpose-driven assessment and evaluation. - Assemble a portfolio of assessment and evaluation tools. - Select appropriate assessment and evaluation methods that match learning outcome goals. - Implement assessment and evaluation methods that promote continuous competency development in complex practice settings. - Discuss strategies to address challenges that can arise related to assessment and evaluation activities. - Examine the various applications of assessment and evaluation as part of organizational requirements such as quality assurance, accreditation, performance indicators and performance management. - Articulate ways to disseminate successful evaluation practices and lessons learned to broader educational contexts. - Formulate an evaluation plan for a nursing education program. Please Note: This is one of three required courses for the “Certificate in Nursing Education for the Practice Setting” (Not-for-credit). It may be taken as a “stand alone” course however, if taken as part of the certificate, all three required courses must be completed within a two year period. The other two courses are: - Nursing Education for the Practice Setting: Theoretical Perspectives and Context - Nursing Education for the Practice Setting: Design, Delivery and Facilitation Nurses with an interest in nursing education in the practice setting. This course will be of importance to those who have current responsibilities for nursing education and/or professional practice as a component of their roles who wish to enhance their knowledge, as well as, for those considering a role in nursing education as a career opportunity. This course is offered as a fully on-line asynchronous course through the University of Toronto’s Learning Management System (Quercus). In each of the 10 weeks of the course participants are expected to view a one-hour e-learning module, review required readings, and actively engage with the course material by participating in a weekly learning activity or completing a written assignment. - Learning activities – There are weekly learning activities which include: Participation in the group discussion board (DB) by posting responses to 1-2 questions and then engaging in on-line discussion with other participants; as well over the 10 weeks there are 2 additional 1 page written activities (e.g. Appraise an Evaluation from Practice; Improve Upon a Performance Assessment Tool) etc. - Assignments – There are 2 written 5-7 page assignments required in the course (Evaluation Model; Design and Evaluation Plan for an Educational Program). Grading for this course is on a pass /fail basis. In order for participants to receive a grade of “pass” they must obtain a final minimum average of 70% in the course based on all evaluation methods. It is anticipated that participants will need to allocate at least 6-8 hours per week to complete the required components of the course. Please note for this course the week runs from the Wednesday to the Tuesday evening following. Weekly Progress Learning Module Topics Evaluative Components Week 1 Introduction to course and online details WHY BOTHER EVALUATING… Exploring theories, models and concepts Discussion Board Post Week 2 WHAT DO YOU WANT TO EVALUATE… Incorporating assessment and evaluation into education program planning Activity #1: Appraise & Discuss Application of an Evaluation Model WHO AM I TO EVALUATE OTHERS? Educator and practice setting context considerations Discussion Board Post Week 4 ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION METHODS Selecting appropriate tools Assignment #1: Design a Rubric or Checklist Week 5 ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION METHODS Designing and implementing tools Activity #2: Design or Improve Test Items Week 6 THAT’S NOT FAIR…HOW TO MANAGE CHALLENGES (PART 1) Navigating feedback and the “at risk” learner within a fair and just environment Discussion Board Post Week 7 THAT’S NOT FAIR…HOW TO MANAGE CHALLENGES (PART 2) Using assessment for performance management and remedial learning Discussion Board Post Week 8 QUALITY MANAGEMENT – HOW DO I KNOW I HAVE A GREAT PROGRAM? - Ensuring an education program meets the required outcomes Activity #3: Data Collection Methods Week 9 PROGRAM EVALUATION – THE BIG PICTURE - Examining reasons and methods for evaluating education programs Discussion Board Post Week 10 EVALUATION RESEARCH – THE EVALUATOR AS SCHOLAR… Contributing to evidence through dissemination Discussion Board Post Assignment #2: Design an Evaluation Plan Karen Breen-Reid, RN, MN Manager, Interprofessional Education, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) Adjunct Lecturer, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing Karen obtained her BScN and MN from the University of Toronto and Curriculum Development and Instructional Design Certificate from Mount Royal University, Alberta. Karen has held positions of staff nurse, educator, and manager over her career. She has designed and delivered education programs for nurses and interprofessional staff, as well as community partner education programs. She has extensive experience in creative curriculum development, instructional design, leadership, mentorship and collaborative communication. She has been involved in designing, delivering and evaluating several international education programs. She has authored and co-authored several chapters and journal articles related to interprofessional practice, education and research. Karen has appointment as adjunct lecturer at the University of Toronto, teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate nursing students. She was a part-time lecturer at the University of Ghana and a member of the Discipline Committee of the College of Nurses of Ontario. She was the recipient of the 2008 Leadership Award in Nursing Education (Staff Development), from the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario. Manjit Dhanoa-Yasi, RN, BScN, MN Undergraduate Lecturer (Teaching Stream), Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing Manjit (Manj) Dhanoa-Yasi earned her BScN and MN from the University of Toronto. Her clinical practice expertise is primarily in acute care perinatal nursing. Over her 24 year career, Manj has gained extensive experience assessing and evaluating clinical performance as a preceptor, supervisor, educator and clinical instructor. Currently in her 9th year as an Undergraduate Lecturer at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg’s Faculty of Nursing, Manj teaches and evaluates learning in the classroom. The most rewarding part of Manj’s academic role is supporting and mentoring clinical instructors and preceptors with evaluating student learning in various practice settings. As a consultant for the faculty’s Centre for Professional Development, Manj teaches clinical instructors and educators about evaluation strategies and approaches in the practice setting. Manj holds a certificate in E-learning and is the recipient of the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing’s Betty Burcher Mentorship Award. Early Bird price (ends March 6, 2020) $790 + HST Regular price (starting March 7, 2020) $875 + HST U of T Nursing Alumni save 15%* $745 + HST U of T Nursing Adjunct and Status Faculty save 15%* $745 + HST U of T Nursing Current Student save 50%** $435 + HST A group discount rate is available for site groups of three or more people. For details please contact firstname.lastname@example.org. - Refund Policy – To withdraw from the course and receive a refund, your written request must be emailed to email@example.com by March 6, 2020. No refunds will be given after this date. All refunds are subject to an administration fee of $100 + tax. As an alternative, a colleague may attend in your place. Please send your substitution request at least 7 days before the course. - Advanced registration is required. Registration deadline: March 31, 2020. - U of T Nursing Alumni discount is available to BScN, MN, PMNP Diploma, MScN or PhD graduates of the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto. - U of T Nursing Faculty discount is available to individuals with a faculty position, adjunct or status appointment, or are a Clinical Instructor (current academic year only) at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto. - Student discount is available to individuals currently registered in the BScN, MN, PMNP or PhD programs at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing. - Applicable taxes (13% HST) will be added to the registration fees. - Course Cancellation Policy – The University reserves the right to cancel courses due to unavailability of instructors, facilities or insufficient enrolment. Decisions on course cancellations are made at least 15 calendar days prior to the course starting date, so early registration is recommended. If you enroll in a course that is subsequently cancelled, you may transfer to another section of that course if an alternative is available; or you may receive a full refund. We are not responsible for travel fees or any expenses incurred by you. Date and Location Jan 9-Mar 19, 2019 10 week online course Email: firstname.lastname@example.org Website: staging.bloomberg.nursing.utoronto.ca/pd Phone: (416) 978-7688 Address: Centre for Professional Development Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing University of Toronto 155 College Street Toronto, ON Canada M5T 1P8
What is link-building? Link building is a common buzzword in the SEO space. You have probably heard it and you probably still have no idea what it means. When broken down, link building is simple – it is a means to establish endorsements from other websites on the internet to signal to Google that you and your website are a trusted source. Everyone knows that content is exceptionally important to relay to Google when your content would be the best answer for a searcher. Having a depth of content signals you are an authority in the subject matter and thus a valuable resource for a searcher. The true test is whether or not your content is cited. If your content is extremely well written and authoritative, websites will want to use your content as a cited source which shows Google that you really are the authority on this particular topic. How link-building affects your ranking What happens when two websites have equally authoritative content? What if Google decides you have both worked hard to provide quality content? How does Google decide who will appear in the #4 spot and then #5 spot? Or who will rank number 1 instead of number 2? This is where additional ranking factors come into play. Link building is one of the more powerful additional ranking factors which help act as a tie breaker in the above scenario. Let’s say the following is true: Site A has links to their site on six different trusted sites* Site B has links to their site on eight different trusted sites* In this scenario, site B will outrank site A simply because more trusted sites are endorsing their website. Google is able to understand that site B is trusted more in the internet world. Very similar to a voting system. *Google has its own number system for ranking a site’s trustworthiness The importance of building natural links and staying away from Spammy link-building Carrying on that voting system and endorsement theme, if you are endorsed by a very untrustworthy or spammy site, Google will be led to believe that you are surrounding yourself with bad websites which must mean that your website is also of the same caliber. This is, at a very basic level, why you want to ensure you are building natural links from trustworthy sites. You are judged and ranked based on who is connected to you through hyperlinks online. Great, now I understand links, but how do I actually build these natural links?
Chronic sleep loss, social jet lag, and shift work—widespread in our modern 24/7 societies—are associated with an increased risk of numerous metabolic pathologies, including obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes (1–4). Even minor weekly shifts in sleep timing, or as few as five consecutive nights of short sleep, have been associated with an increased risk of weight gain in healthy humans (1). According to another study, chronically sleep-restricted adults with late bedtimes may be more susceptible to weight gain due to greater daily caloric intake and the consumption of calories during late-night hours. (2) So to stay healthy and prevent weight gain the best thing you can do is focus on strategies to improve sleep quality and get more ZZZ time. Just follow these simple steps recommended by the Sleep Foundation (3): - Limiting daytime naps to 30 minutes. Napping does not make up for inadequate nighttime sleep. However, a short nap of 20-30 minutes can help to improve mood, alertness and performance. - Avoiding using stimulants like caffeine and nicotine close to bedtime. And when it comes to alcohol, moderation is key. While alcohol is well-known to help you fall asleep faster, too much close to bedtime can disrupt sleep in the second half of the night as the body begins to process the alcohol. - Exercise to promote good quality sleep. As little as 10 minutes of aerobic exercise, such as walking or cycling, can drastically improve nighttime sleep quality. For the best night’s sleep, most people should avoid strenuous workouts close to bedtime. However, the effect of intense nighttime exercise on sleep differs from person to person, so find out what works best for you. - Stay away from foods that can be disruptive right before sleep. Heavy or rich foods, fatty or fried meals, spicy dishes, citrus fruits, and carbonated drinks can trigger indigestion for some people. When this occurs close to bedtime, it can lead to painful heartburn that disrupts sleep. - Ensuring adequate exposure to natural light. This is particularly important for individuals who may not venture outside frequently. Exposure to sunlight during the day, as well as darkness at night, helps to maintain a healthy sleep-wake cycle. - Establishing a regular relaxing bedtime routine. A regular nightly routine helps the body recognize that it is bedtime. This could include taking warm shower or bath, reading a book, or light stretches. When possible, try to avoid emotionally upsetting conversations and activities before attempting to sleep. - Making sure that your sleep environment is pleasant. Mattress and pillows should be comfortable. The bedroom should be cool – between 20 and 24 degrees – for optimal sleep. Bright light from lamps, cell phone and TV screens can make it difficult to fall asleep, so turn those light off or adjust them when possible. Consider using blackout curtains, eye shades, ear plugs, "white noise" machines, humidifiers, fans and other devices that can make the bedroom more relaxing. Body & Bone 1. Cedernaes, J., Schönke, M., Westholm, J. O., Mi, J., Chibalin, A., Voisin, S., … Benedict, C. (2018). Acute sleep loss results in tissue-specific alterations in genome-wide DNA methylation state and metabolic fuel utilization in humans. Science advances, 4(8), eaar8590. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aar8590 2. Spaeth, A. M., Dinges, D. F., & Goel, N. (2013). Effects of Experimental Sleep Restriction on Weight Gain, Caloric Intake, and Meal Timing in Healthy Adults. Sleep, 36(7), 981–990. doi:10.5665/sleep.2792
Cameroon is one of the many gold-rich countries in Africa, although little commercial mining has been done since the end of the colonial rule. This is partly due to the political instability that existed in the past. With the return of a democratic government in the late 1990s, Cameroon now offers a great opportunity to anyone interested in gold mining within the country. Currently, Cameroon gold is mainly mined by small-scale artisans. In fact, according to the government, the estimate of small-scale artisanal mining produced about 16,653kgs of gold between 2010 and 2015. The gold mining in Cameroon can be traced back to 1930 during the colonial administration. Records show that when it reached its peak (in the 1940s), gold mining contributed about 20% of the country’s GDP. After independence political interference slowed down the commercial mining in the country, most of the gold was being mined by small-scale artisans and sold in clandestine markets. Today the small-scale artisanal mining contributes about 95% of all the gold mined in the country.
Stanley Cavell's American Dream: Shakespeare, Philosophy, and Hollywood Movies Fordham Univ Press, 2006 - 248 páginas This book explores Cavell's writings along converging lines of thought rather than in isolated categories. The author claims that, after Cavell's celebrated reading of King Lear turned into a nightmarish meditation on Vietnam, he found a more audible voice. Noting that Cavell's keen ear for the expressive power of ordinary language makes him both a first-rate literary artist and a compelling philosopher of the everyday, he catches what holds Cavell's manifold interests together. Here the poetry of ideas and presence of mind that animate Cavell's writing receive readings attuned to the spirit of their composition and its enlivening powers. O que estão dizendo - Escrever uma resenha Não encontramos nenhuma resenha nos lugares comuns. acknowledge American Antony argument Band Wagon become Binx Binx's Bloom calls Cambridge Cary Grant Cavell finds Cavell's Cavell's essay Cavell's reading Cavell's writing challenge characterizes Chicago Cities of Words Claim of Reason Cleopatra comedy of remarriage Contesting Tears context course criticism culture Descartes despite Disowning Knowledge Emerson Emerson's Transcendental Etudes Emersonian Engle Essays and Poems experience expression film genre Gooding-Williams Hamlet Harvard University Press Hermione Hermione's Hollywood comedy Hollywood movies human Ibid idea interpretation Justin Hodge King Lear Larkin's Leontes literary marriage melodrama Milton Montaigne Montaigne's moods moral Moreover Moviegoer Nietzsche North by Northwest occasion Othello perfectionism perhaps perspective Philadelphia Story philosophy phrase play play's Pursuits of Happiness question remarriage comedy Renaissance response reveals Rorty scholar seeks seems sense Shakespeare Shakespearean tragedy Sidney skepticism sonnet sort Stanley Cavell Stella Dallas texts thinking Thoreau Thornhill tion Tracy Transcendental Etudes turn Walker Percy Winter's Tale Wittgenstein York
The werewolves, lycan, or wolf man as they are known are all afflicted with a disease, or sickness, or virus (depending on the lore) called lycanthropy. The werewolf is a widespread concept in European folklore. This is in part do to the development of the Christian interpretation of European folklore in the medieval period. Living through the plague wasn’t enough. people needed to start hearing about werewolves. According to modern historians (well the ones I found online). The Belief in werewolves developed along side the belief in witches. There was a trial of werewolves supposedly in Switzerland that occurred in the 15th and 16th century but they didn’t really hit their peak until the 17th and 18th centuries. Which is odd because you never really read about that in most history books. (I found that little bit on Wikipedia). Apparently in some parts of the world the werewolf “witch-hunt” was similar to that of actual witch hunts. It’s odd to think of people accusing each other of being werewolves and then whole towns turning against once treasured friends out of fear but we are fearful beings aren’t we. In French and German speaking areas of Europe the persecution of supposed werewolves was more widespread. “Wolf-charmers” and “werewolves” were persecuted until the early 18th century. Modern day werewolves come in a variety of forms. In the past they were beasts out for blood on the full moon. Now they can be sexy or cool. Some of them don’t even attack people, they just chase deer and live like wild men. Others don’t have to change when the full moon comes out. It’s really a toss up when you look at modern day lore. There’s no clean answer on how to do a werewolf other than that you have a person become a wolf or a wolf person. Which I quite like. Very much how witches used to be seen as purely evil Satan worshipers we are now embracing the idea that monsters are people to. Werewolves are a great example of that. I prefer the werewolves in American Werewolf in London or American Werewolf in Pairs. What’s your favorite interpretation of werewolves? I didn’t know they had werewolf trials for hundreds of years until I did some research. Did you? I used to Play Dungeons and Dragons a lot. did you know in some circles there are Were Tigers, Rats, and even were-bears! Also if you like scary monsters or just horror in general, I’ve got a story here you might like that’s about a being from an ethereal dimension making deals in exchange for inspiration.
Science 10 offers the opportunity to explore fundamental science skills and knowledge through both current and incredible applications to the real world. Understand how the universe came to be, as it emerged from an inhospitable fiery ball of lava to the reliable earth we know today. Discover the chemical reactions that propel trees to emit their waste products into crucial compounds we need for our daily existence to the chemistry that contributes to climate change and how those small reactions contribute to worldwide impacts. You’ll learn how a “simple” double-helix shape with the same basic building blocks can give rise to all of the characteristics of an individual human being. Martin likes teaching science because it equips us with tools to investigate the world around us. Furthermore, Science 10 is filled with variety and is the starting point for piquing interest in more specific branches of science like biology or physics. Take this course for a fascinating and challenging journey in science, that covers (and goes beyond) the new BC curriculum. Your Teacher – Martin Derige Martin hails from the icy, sunshiny land of Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he obtained a degree in Biosystems Engineering at the University of Manitoba. He has worked with students of all ages, from playing dodge ball in school gyms to peer tutoring sleep-deprived engineers. He teaches math, science, and chemistry, and lives for that “Aha! Eureka!” moment when the kids just get it. Martin has a healthy sense of curiosity and compassion about the world and is always seeking to connect with the cool people who are part of it, like his family and friends – and the staff and students at Brain Boost! He exercises his brain with music, gaming, visual art, design, and puzzles of all types, and exercises his body through adventures like climbing, running in the woods, and day-long hikes in the mountains. He can often be found eating spaghetti. How much does it cost? When is it? Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 1:00-3:00 pm What are the dates? Term 2: January 27th – June 11th What ages is it appropriate for? 14 – 17 What credits can be earned?
2017 seemed to pass in a blur of countries and interviews as I researched how vegetables are used to improve health outcomes and tackle human nutrition issues. I have seen different practices and policies in the countries I have visited but there is international agreement that vegetables are beneficial for our health, even though in some countries, consumption is quite low. I presented a summary of my findings to the product developers, procurement and commercial team working in the vegetable category at Bakkavor in April and it was a great opportunity to discuss what needs to change within the food manufacturing and the retail sector. Health claims are helpful but are not silver bullet for communicating with the consumer. The key is finding a format that makes vegetables easier to access in today’s busy lifestyles. My core argument is that when the various actors in the food supply chain work together to address the needs of the consumer, positive change happens. International dietary guidelines are consistent with the message that a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables should be eaten per day. The Chinese take a prescriptive approach and recommend 3-500g vegetables, 50% of which should be dark. The South Koreans stipulate 2 portions of vegetables with every meal and their population surveys show they have sufficient micronutrients in the diet. In New Zealand where 80% of the population are familiar with the 5+ a day message, ideas such as the Vital Vegetables range and Vitamin D enhanced mushrooms take advantage of the new health claim regulations to communicate benefits of high nutrient vegetables to consumers. The Chip Group programme to reduce fat levels in take-away fried chips is another health intervention initiative. These are methods of health promotion, firstly providing information for the consumer to make a choice and secondly, changing production so that the consumer does not have to change their behaviour. I will be speaking about diet and how the environment shapes what we eat at ASSET2018, Queen’s University Belfast on Wednesday 30th May ASSET2018, QUB
Food is what you put into your mouth accompanied by bread. So versatile and delicious, this millennial companion links us to almost all the people of the world, despite their different diets, and at the same time massages our cravings and nourishes us. Is not it wonderful?Who could not eat bread? Well, even if you do not believe it, there are people who have stopped eating it because of unfounded myths. Traditions of respect for bread existed from ancient times among different nations and passed down from generation to generation. For example, for people in Greece, bread is not just a product, but also the part of their homeland. A Greektable is unthinkable without this product. People say that a person will not sit at the table if there is no bread on it. Virtually every country has its own traditions associated with the production and consumption of bread. For example, in Italy, this product is not produced on an industrial scale. To this day, it is baked in family bakeries. The reserve of baking is considered the south of the country. At every corner, you can find small bakeries, the owners of which treat their work with special trepidation, pass on bread recipes from generation to generation. In Italy, there are many varieties of bread, very different in technology: bruschetta, focaccia, banana, and many others. This is the love for bread among the Italians. It is also very difficult to name the exact number of types of bakery products produced in Germany. German bakers prepare bread with all sorts of additives: carrot, potato, cabbage, with olives, nuts, pumpkin seeds, etc. Each city has its own traditional products, and almost every day there are new “fashionable” ones. In recent years, dietary types of bread with reduced calorie content have become the most popular in Germany and people absolutely love it. In France, one of the most important stores is the bakery. Bread is baked twice a day. A typical bakery assortment includes French delicacies such as croissants, chocolate buns, and brioche. According to French law, even the smallest village must be provided with fresh bread daily.Talk about the love of different nations for bread can be infinite. Only a few do not eat this product.You can consume it at any time of the day, at any age, in any mood. It makes the rest of the food tastier and people consider it the main cause of good digestion. If someone offers you chocolate and bread, you can eat a small amount of chocolate, but you will give preference to bread in large quantities. The taste of the bread explains the people’s love for it. It is indeed a great food product containing a large number of substances valuable to the body in the energy aspect.The love of bread is omnipresent in the whole world. Bread is the best thing in this world; it serves many purposes. You can eat it with a variety of foods and make many recipes. In a nutshell, bread is love.
Experimental Studies on the Cracking Response of Geofiber Reinforced Expansive Soils 2019-07-11T03:09:58Z (GMT) by Expansive soils are widespread in major parts of India and Australia. These swell in presence of water and shrink in its absence, leading to development of desiccation cracks. They influence the overall engineering behaviour like seepage, consolidation, compressibility and shear strength characteristics of the soil and thereby cause problems during field applications. This thesis examines the desiccation cracking behaviour of unreinforced and fiber-reinforced expansive clay using physical model testing at laboratory scale and small-scale physical model testing using centrifuge modelling technique. Thereafter to identify the influence of fiber length, influence of fiber content, influence of specimen thickness and influence of fiber type on the on crack feature measurements such as crack width, crack spacing, crack depth, crack intensity factor, tensile strength and shrinkage strain of unreinforced and fiber-reinforced expansive clay.
Over six thousand exhibitors representing 56 nations are on show in this year's annual International Zagreb Fair, which opened on Thursday (9 September). GV Tito's motorcade arriving GV East German pavilion and marine exhibits(4 shots) GV & SVs People's Republic of China pavilion (3 shots) SV Members of Chinese staff Plaque PAN DOWN TO visitors entering Chinese pavilion GV INT Chinese pavilion CU & ZOOM IN copies of Thoughts of Chairman Mao SCU ZOOM IN ivory of Yangtze Bridge SCUs Chinese exhibits GV Albanian stand SV & CU PAN exhibits in window. copperware and wines(6 shots) Initials OS/1438 OS/1450 Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved Background: Over six thousand exhibitors representing 56 nations are on show in this year's annual International Zagreb Fair, which opened on Thursday (9 September). And for the first time in fifteen years, Albania and the People's Republic of China are taking part. The Chinese pavilion provides an example of traditional Chinese architecture, and houses a widely varied array of exhibits. Modern electronic equipment is on display along with fine evidence of ancient crafts. The Albanians are concentrating on their own traditional products -- wines, copperware and silverware. (The fair closes on September 19.) SYNOPSIS: President Tito of Yugoslavia opened the annual International Zagreb Fair on Thursday. Over six thousand exhibitors from 56 nation are taking part, and it is estimated that the fair will attract thousands of visitors daily until it closes on September 19. For the first time in fifteen years, the People's Republic of China are taking part Their pavilion is an example of tradition Chinese architecture, and is one of the most popular features of the fair. Inside, visitors can tour a display that places copies of the Thoughts of Chairman Mao in prominent view. There is a display of modern electronics equipment, but most onlookers are more interest in the fine evidence of China's ancient crafts. A beautiful carving in ivory of the celebrated Yangtze Bridge is a major attraction. Other example of this centuries old skill are shows in jade. Also on show for the first time is fifteen years are the Albanians. Their stand, too, is a tribute to the country's traditional products. The showcases bear intricate workings. the showcases bear intricate workings in copper fashioned by rural craftsmen and women, while other aspect of Albanian country life are also on display.
Child Passenger Safety Week What’s a startling statistic that no parent wants to hear? Car crashes are the leading cause of death in children ages 1-13 annually. While that statistic can be alarming, the good news is that there are steps parents can take to greatly reduce the risk of fatalities and injuries to their children. Child Passenger Safety Week takes place in the third week of September and was created by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in an effort to bring awareness not only to the unnecessary number of child injuries and deaths each year in automobile accidents but to the importance in proper car restraint and seat belt usage for children riding in vehicles as well. Child Car & Booster Seats Car seats, booster seats and seat belts have been proven to save lives and prevent injuries but shockingly it’s been found that anywhere between 72% and 84% of all restraints being misused in a critical way. Some of these errors can include car seats installed improperly, using the wrong seat for the child’s age and size, loose harness straps and not being secured tightly with the seat belt. But while these critical errors are occurring so frequently, nearly all parents believe their own child’s car and booster seats are being used properly. Clearly understanding what type of seat your child should be in and how to properly use them is step one in preventing unnecessary harm. - Infant Car Seat – Infant car seats are designed to be used rear-facing only and from newborn babies to older babies until they outgrow them, often at 8 or 9 months of age. Once they are outgrown (usually around 30lbs), it is recommended that parents move their child to an all-in-one car seat or convertible car seat. Infant car seats should be tilted at a 45 degree angle, with chest clips even to their armpits and snugly secured across their chest and over hips. - All In One Car Seat – All in one car seats work to grow alongside your child, beginning with rear-facing to forward-facing and then becoming a car booster seat when the child is ready. This option allows for children to remain rear-facing longer (up to age 2) which many experts agree decreases both the risk of death and injury in children. - Convertible Car Seat – Convertible car seats can give parents more options for usage while also allowing children to remain rear-facing longer. As all in one car seats, convertible car seats can be used with a harness and tether and allow for children to remain rear-facing up to age 2. Convertible car seats do not convert to booster seats in the future. - Booster Seats – Booster seats are designed to boost a child’s height allowing seat belts to sit properly across their body and lay properly along their lap. Booster seats with high backs also can provide head and neck support for vehicles that do not have headrests while backless booster seats are available for vehicles that do have headrests that can support the child properly. Booster seats are recommended for children ages 4-8 years old and until the seat belt can sit correctly, typically when the child is 4 feet 9 inches tall. - Seat Belts – While there is the recommended height of 4 feet 9 inches, it is important that parents keep their child in a booster seat until the seat belt can be worn properly with the lap belt lies snugly across the upper thighs (not the stomach) and the shoulder harness laying snug across the shoulder and chest (not across the face or neck). Kids may begin asking if they can sit in the front seat once a booster seat is no longer required but it is strongly recommended to keep them in the rear seat until at least age 12. In addition to utilizing the correct seat designed to keep your child safe at every stage, it is highly recommended that parents register their car seat and booster seats so they can be made aware of any recalls that take place and to have their car seat checked annually to make sure it is installed correctly. If you find yourself searching for your next used SUV, minivan, truck or car to fit your needs and your budget, we invite you to check out all of our theft recovered inventory or all of our current inventory of Used Trucks, Vans, SUVs and Cars. At Broadmoor Motors, we specialize in finding the right used minivan, truck, SUV or car to fit your personal or business needs, all while giving you the best deal we can on both your purchase and trade in. Our family has been in the car business for over 60 years and continues to be family owned and operated in all of our Caledonia, Hastings and Wayland locations with financing available to those who qualify. We will find you the right vehicle to fit both your budget and your needs in a pressure-free environment. Check out our reviews online and buy with confidence!! Family Owned & Operated and with Financing Available, we stand behind our Vehicles and our Warranty so you can be assured your used Car, Truck, Van or SUV will be reliable! Broadmoor Motors is your local choice for Car Sales in the greater Hastings, Middleville, Caledonia, Grand Rapids, Wayland, Byron Center, Dorr, Hopkins, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Lansing, Lake Odesa, Kentwood, Holland, Zeeland, Moline, Cutlerville, Wyoming, Hudsonville, Grandville, Jenison, Hamilton, Ionia and Allegan. Ask about our BMG Protection Plan, this is not an aftermarket product! area. Let Broadmoor Motors save you time and money when buying your next quality, Pre-Owned Car, Family Minivan, All Wheel Drive SUV, Commercial Van or Work Truck. Whether you need to replace your current car, minivan, truck or SUV with a great used vehicle, we can help you out. Broadmoor Motors is here for all your Car Sales, and Auto Service needs in the Byron Center, Kentwood, Caledonia, Middleville, Hastings, greater Grand Rapids, Wayland and Barry County area. With three locations to serve you in Wayland, Hastings and Caledonia, we’re here for all your Sales & Service needs. Give us a call at 616.698.9595 in Caledonia, 269.397.2400 in Wayland or 269.320.6304 in Hastings to see how we can get you back on the road!
So, you have some patches you want to proudly display on your waxed canvas bag or jacket. But how do you glue patches to waxed canvas? Easy answer: you don’t. The wax coating on waxed canvas prevents glue from sticking reliably. Rather than gluing, your best bet is to have a tailor sew or stitch your patches onto the waxed canvas. A few notes about stitching a patch on waxed canvas if you plan to do it yourself: Use a needle designed for thicker fabric. Pinning (to hold the patch in position) can leave visible puncture marks in waxed canvas. Use a clip instead, or be sure to keep the pin holes inside the area you’ll be stitching (so puncture holes are covered by the patch). Needle holes are very small, so any compromise to waterproofing should be negligible, but you can wax the thread to minimize the chance of the thread wicking moisture. Apply seam sealer to ensure water resistance.
Interview with Per-Erik “Pete” Hallin about Elvis and gospel (part 2) As Voice's piano player, Swedish musician Per-Erik Hallin got to sing and play with Elvis in 1973 and 1974, both off and on stage. Here follows the second part of an interview I did with him about six years ago, for a radio show called Rock MeLord dedicated to Elvis gospel recordings. Elvis also sang religious material on stage when you were with him, including “How Great Thou Art” which originally is a Swedish hymn, called “O Store Gud.” I know you tried to convince Elvis of this, but that he didn't believe it. Would you like to share some thoughts on that? Yes (laughs). My recollection of it was that I had heard that it was a Swedish song from the beginning. But I myself wasn't 100-percent sure. But I said to him, “I think this is a Swedish song.” But he just thought I joked with him. He probably thought that just because he liked it so much, I had to say that it was Swedish, he didn't take it seriously. And I got a little unsure and didn't hold my ground, so nothing more was said. Unfortunately, like many Americans, Elvis thought that it was American. But afterwards I have learned more about “O Store Gud,” and know very well that it's Swedish. Although no one really knows where the music comes from, the original lyrics are written by Carl Boberg in the late 1800's. You were on stage when Elvis performed “How Great Thou Art.” What did you think of his performance? I liked it a lot. But the strongest memory I have of it, was one time when I wasn't on stage, and could listen to him perform it, I remember I was very moved by it. He did the song with an incredible feeling. I was just on stage during a particular period, and that was because I was standing in for a guy in the background chorus. That was during a tour in March 1974. And here's something that is worth telling, because I think it's funny to us Swedes. Elvis won three Grammy awards during his career, and not one for a rock song. The first Grammy was for a gospel album called just How Great Thou Art, that he made in the 60s. And then he got a Grammy for He Touched Me, and that song exists in Swedish as well. “Han Fann Mig,” it's called, and it's a Christan song also. Then he received a Grammy a third time, and that was precisely for how he sang “How Great Thou Art” at that concert in 1974. And I didn't understand that until many years afterwards. The same day that someone told me, I had hung a picture of “O Store Gud,” a painting on that theme, in my living room, and someone called and told me that Elvis had been awarded a Grammy precisely at that occasion. And I was actually so moved that I cried, it felt very nice, just because I knew what huge feelings he had for these particular songs. What role did gospel music play during the tours? There were two kinds of gigs when we were with him, sometimes we stayed put in one place, it would be Lake Tahoe or Las Vegas, and then he sang on the same stage night after night, and sometimes it was a tour. But whatever it was, there was always a piano, I think, in the suite where he stayed, if he had seen to it or however it happened. So this thing, that we gathered and sang gospel music, it applied throughout. It was as much on tour as when we stayed put in one place. You yourself got to perform a song, “I Couldn't Live Without You,” a few times. Can you tell something about it? Yes, I actually played several songs that I'd written for Elvis, and I'll be honest and say that he didn't decide on any of them except one. But it was very nice that he liked that particular song. And I told him that this song, it's no ordinary love-song, but the one this song give its love to, it's Jesus. It's about Jesus, and he was aware of that. And so it's a special feeling that he asked me to sing it at various times. And it's a fond memory for me. You have never recorded it? I still haven't recorded it, and it's been 30 years. But I will record it soon, actually. It feels good. I had not thought it would take so long, but that's how it is. What impact do you think that Elvis' religious recordings have had on gospel music and for the public? I have heard many people say that they notice that he sings these songs with a very special feeling. I also believe that Elvis probably has reached many people with these songs that might not normally have listened to them that much. How religious was Elvis, in your opinion? It's a very difficult question. And I tend to generally hesitate to say how religious a person is, that I know or have known, whoever it might be. But I can say with certainty that he had faith in God, no doubt, and that these songs corresponded to a very deep longing that he had. But I also believe that he longed for making it even more consumate in some way, and more fully than it was. In some way, he was imprisoned in his own success. It was not easy being Elvis, so to speak. What is your strongest memory when it comes to Elvis and gospel? That isn't easy to answer ... I would like to say that it's all the occasions when we were singing privately, in total. It's the finest and the best memory I have from that time, absolutely. How was it then that you stopped playing for Elvis? I honestly thought that I had an opportunity to make an album of my own back home in Sweden, but it didn't turn out that way. But it was the biggest reason I moved back then. How was it to say goodbye to Elvis? I didn't think then that it was going to be a final goodbye, I didn't know that it was the last time I saw him, I thought we might meet again. So ... But because of various circumstances we never bumped into each other again before he died in 1977. And that felt very, very sad. Have you stayed in touch with some of the musicians from that era? A little, I actually have contact with a guy named Tony Brown, among others, who took over my role as a pianist in the warm-up band. Because that was what I was, I was not in Elvis band, that is. But Tony Brown went on to become Elvis' pianist as well, during the last years. And I know that he also has told some very good memories, I've seen a documentary that is based precisely on this that we're talking about, and in it Tony has told some very nice things about these moments, which went on after I left, when he continued to sing gospel music. I think it's something he did during his entire career, from the beginning there was this love of gospel music, as I understand it. How often do you think about your time with Elvis? Quite often, actually, because there are many very nice memories. But there are also things that ... I also saw the downsides that come with such incredible fame. And I remember the one time when he was going to show all his gold records. If you can imagine that you would have, in your own home, a large room with a bunch of gold records that look like a whole museum, what an odd feeling. And it was for him as well, actually. I remember that he said, “When I enter this room I can't believe it's me who has done all this.” So he expressed some kind of disorientation in front of the phenomenon that was Elvis Presley. But there stood the man Elvis, who was an ordinary person and couldn't quite grasp what had happened. And there is nobody who can live up to being put on a pedestal, as is often the case with this kind of fame. It gets pretty lonely up there. And it's not so easy to have a normal friendship, to know who would have been your friend, even if you had not been rich and famous. So life isn't so simple. But I thought that those of us that still came pretty close to him, that for us it became like a real friendship, and when we sang together and he was one of the gang who was singing, and all that. Those are very, very fond memories.
Foreign Body, Vagina Vagina Foreign Body Overview Some objects are designed for use in a woman's vagina. These include tampons, vaginal suppositories, and medications delivered through the vagina. Others are not intended to be inserted and may be placed there accidentally or intentionally. Doctors refer to objects found in the vagina as "foreign bodies." These foreign bodies may produce symptoms or be asymptomatic for long periods of time. Small objects inserted into the vagina, do not generally cause pain. Unusual objects, generally those larger than the customary vaginal diameter or size of the vaginal entrance (introitus), may cause pain because of distention. Other objects may cause pain due to sharp edges. Vaginal foreign bodies are more commonly seen in children than adult women. Adolescent girls may seek medical care with foreign bodies in the vagina, which primarily consist of forgotten tampons or broken portions of condoms. Adults may also seek medical care with vaginal foreign objects, which may have been placed there intentionally as part of a sexual encounter or placed as part of an episode of abuse. While a variety of symptoms may result from a foreign body in the vagina, the most common symptoms are vaginal bleeding or foul-smelling vaginal discharge. Less common symptoms may include pain urinary discomfort (dysuria), or pelvic pressure. Rarely do foreign bodies produce a systemic infection (an infection that spreads throughout the body through the bloodstream) except in circumstances such as severe immunocompromise or disruption of the vaginal wall with secondary infection. Perforation through the vagina into the abdominal cavity may also result in acute abdominal symptoms. Chronic consequences of vaginal foreign bodies include imbedding of objects in the vaginal wall, pain with intercourse, bleeding, or the development of fistulae (abnormal openings or connections) between the vagina and the bladder, rectum, or peritoneal cavity. Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 3/20/2013 Janice L Bacon, MD Must Read Articles Related to Foreign Body, Vagina
Print this page. Home / Browse / Arkansas Black Apple The Arkansas Black Apple is recognized by early sources as having been first produced in 1870 in the orchard of a Mr. Brathwaite, which was then about one and a half miles northwest of Bentonville (Benton County). The fruit, a variety of Winesap, is usually round and of medium size. The flesh is yellow, fine grained, crisp, juicy, and aromatic, while the skin is dark red to black, hence its name. It ripens in October or November, and the fruit keeps well though the storage season of two to four months. Originally, the tree was thought to be a seedling of the Winesap Apple. It is a true native apple grown in the Ozarks of both Arkansas and Missouri. There were few large orchards of Arkansas Blacks, but in the late 1800s, the Arkansas Black may have made up ten to fifteen percent of the state’s apple production. By 1920, the codling moth infestation increased and required spraying, which made growing the apples more expensive. The Food and Drug Administration required washing of apples to remove spray residue, and this increased the growing expenses, too. Drought conditions in several years stressed the orchard trees, and the Depression of the 1930s eroded the viability of commercial orchards. Arkansas’s apple industry never recovered, and the Arkansas Black suffered along with the rest of the industry. The Arkansas Black Apple is susceptible to two major diseases: apple scab and fire blight. Apple scab can be controlled by chemical sprays; fire blight can best be controlled by pruning infected areas. The Arkansas Black Apple is commonly used as fresh fruit to eat and in pies, cobblers, and table dishes. Before widespread refrigeration, the apples could be dried for future use; crushed for juice, cider, or vinegar; or canned as apple butter for servings through the months after harvest. Arkansas Blacks are still grown today in small orchard areas. It is estimated that they make up three to five percent of the state’s total apple crop. For additional information:Calhoun, Creighton Lee, Jr. Old Southern Apples. Blacksburg, VA: The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, 1995. John G. RagsdaleLittle Rock, Arkansas Last Updated 3/27/2009 About this Entry: Contact the Encyclopedia / Submit a Comment / Submit a Narrative
Students Generate Electricity from Exercising Tennessee Tech University and Chapman University are competing to see which university can produce the most electricity for the power grid by using the SportsArt Fitness Green System gym equipment installed at their schools. The Green System allows both schools to offset energy costs by feeding utility-grade electricity back into the grid. It consists of a collection of cardio units connected to an inverter that is hard-wired into the building’s electrical system. As students and faculty exercise, the energy they produce is harnessed and fed back into the grid to offset power consumption within the building. The Kilowatt Throwdown contest runs for a month, from Feb. 15 to March 15, and is handicapped since TTU has 17 pieces of equipment with its Green System and California’s Chapman University has 10. The winning school will receive a $7,000 treadmill from SportsArt Fitness. EcoFit, a company that provides the monitoring equipment that can be used with the Green System, will give the top energy producers separate awards from Best Buy and Footlocker. The ACC Clean Energy Challenge, dedicated to helping students develop and commercialize new clean energy technologies, this month began accepting applications for the 2013 contest. Open to students throughout the Southeastern United States in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), the ACC Clean Energy Challenge features a $100,000 grand prize, with the winner advancing and representing the southeast region in the DOE National Clean Energy Business Plan Finals in Washington, DC, in summer 2013. Why bring buildings online? What information can operations teams glean from real-time data that they can’t just get from the monthly data provided by utility companies? Click to learn more. - Existing Building Technologies Combine for Increased Savings - Best Practices in Electricity Procurement - 2014 Environmental Leader Product and Project Awards - Energy Financing Report - Unlocking the Value of Energy & Operational Data - Improve Your Company's Environment and Energy Performance - Combined Heat and Power - Smart Companies Utilize Integrated Energy Solutions - 2013-2014 Winter Polar Vortex - Increase the Value of Demand Response Through Automation - Cut Costs and Improve Facility Operations with Energy Data - Energy Procurement Strategies for Winter 2014 and 2015 - Energy Efficiency Requires Engineering Efficiency - Integrated Building Optimization: A Crucial Convergence of Demand-side and Supply-Side Energy Management Strategies - Driving Productivity and Profit with Industrial Energy Management
Occupational therapists (OTís) are allied health professionals who help maximize a person's independence. OTs teach daily living activities, health maintenance and self care, and consult on equipment choices.are primarily concerned with helping the patient learn to perform tasks and activities required by daily life (e.g., self-care (dressing, cooking, eating), homemaking, work/school/leisure activities). OTís help people improve their ability to perform tasks in their daily living and working environments. They work with individuals who have conditions that are mentally, physically, developmentally, or emotionally disabling. They also help them to develop, recover, or maintain daily living and work skills. Exercises may be used to increase strength and dexterity and coordination (e.g., eye-hand), while paper and pencil exercises may be chosen to improve visual acuity and the ability to discern patterns. OTís also use computer programs to help clients improve decision making, abstract reasoning, problem solving, and perceptual skills, as well as memory, sequencing, and coordinationóall of which are important for independent living. OTís not only help clients improve basic motor functions and reasoning abilities, but also compensate for permanent loss of function. OTís also instruct in the use of adaptive equipment such as wheelchairs, splints, and AT aids for eating and dressing. OTís also may design/provide equipment needed at home or at work, and may provide computer-aided adaptive equipment and teach clients with severe limitations how to use it. Their goal is to help clients have independent, productive, and satisfying lives. Occupational therapists held about 73,000 jobs in 1998; about 1 in 4 worked part time. About 1 in 10 occupational therapists held more than one job in 1998. The largest number of jobs was in hospitals, including many in rehabilitation and psychiatric hospitals. In 1999, entry-level education was offered in 88 bachelorís degree programs; 11 post-bachelorís certificate programs for students with a degree other than occupational therapy; and 53 entry-level masterís degree programs. Ö See also the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) web site. Copyright by Jack Winters.
How do cells ensure successful division? 2 Answers \| Add Yours Cell division is the process by which cellular organisms reproduce, splitting themselves in half to create two new cells. Most cell division is Mitosis, where the cells are perfect genetic copies, effectively cloning themselves. The most important condition for a successful division is replication of the DNA. Each daughter cell must have the identical DNA and related structures as the parent cell; without this genetic information, the cell cannot understand how to continue its biological processes and so it will die. The replication of the DNA and the division process itself (the cell fissures along a central point, creating two separate cells with DNA inside) are the absolute minimum conditions needed for successful cell replication. This will result in smaller cells that need to work harder in order to become fully functional, so most cellular division includes the replication of organelles and an increase in mass, which consists mostly of cytoplasm. This gives the two daughter cells a larger volume after their "birth," which allows them to get right to their general biological function instead of spending valuable time and resources constructing new organelles and cytoplasm. Before we elaborate cell division let's first define what cell is. So cell is the basic unit of life. A group of cell usually formed tissues, a group of tissues usually formed an organ, and a group of organs will form a system in a body to complete a Human Body. So usually Cell division is a process wherein a parent cell divides into two or more daughter cells.In addition cell division is usually a tiny or small segment of a huge or larger cell process which called cell cycle. This kind of a division in a cell called eukaryotes or also known as mitosis, and leaves the cell (daughter in nature) capable of dividing again. Meanwhile, the corresponding group of cell division in prokaryotes or otherwise known as a process called binary fission. Join to answer this question Join a community of thousands of dedicated teachers and students.Join eNotes
What are the three nos. such that their product is prime and the difference between 2nd and 1st is equal to the difference between 3rd and 2nd ? Please provide its solution, may be it is a question of AP. 1 Answer \| Add Yours The only solutions in integers are `-3,-1,1` and `-1,1,3`, although the second solution is only valid if you consider `-3` to be prime. There may be more non-integer solutions. Join to answer this question Join a community of thousands of dedicated teachers and students.Join eNotes
What is the tone of the poem ''Mother to Son''? 1 Answer \| Add Yours The tone of "Mother to Son" is didactic. A mother, after looking back at her life, wants her son to know that life is not easy or glamorous--it's not a "crystal stair." Instead, the mother/speaker chooses to describe her life as a winding, unrelenting staircase. However, the poem does not imply a negative tone toward life as a whole. The mother states that even though her life has not been facile, she has been "reachin' landin's," "turnin' corners," and "sometimes goin' in the dark." This implies that she wants her son to press on even when he does not know what lies ahead of him. The last several lines of the poem definitely illustrate an inspirational tone. The mother admonishes her son not to fall down because she's "still climbin'." If she can continue on her ardous journey after all these years, then surely her son can gain encouragement from his mother's example. Join to answer this question Join a community of thousands of dedicated teachers and students.Join eNotes
Guidoni makes history as first European astronaut on Space Station On 19 April 2001, Europe sent its first astronaut to the International Space Station when Space Shuttle Endeavour and its seven-strong crew lifted off from Kennedy Space Center at 14:41 local time (20:41 Central European Summer Time). Full coverage and videos from the mission are available on the Guidoni mission highlights webpage >> Italian ESA astronaut, Umberto Guidoni (46) and his six colleagues left a pleasant spring afternoon in Florida behind them at the start of a two-day journey which saw them docking with the Station some 260 km above the Earth's surface on 21 April. The 11-day STS-100 mission was the ninth Shuttle visit to the International Space Station and included two space walks. The main payloads were the Italian-built Raffaello multi-purpose pressurised logistics module (MPLM) and Canada's giant robotic arm. Both are crucial elements in the ongoing construction of the Space Station and the initiation of scientific experimental work. A UHF antenna, for in-orbit communications during space walks, was also on board. The MPLM is a pressurised module with a sophisticated internal life support system, allowing astronauts to work inside it and unload equipment while berthed at the Station. It is the only module capable of delivering the special racked experiments prepared for the Station's laboratories. In addition, it serves as a 'removal van', carrying other equipment and supplies to and from the Station. On this mission the Raffaello MPLM carried experiments for the US Destiny laboratory module, together with vital supplies and equipment both for the astronauts living on the Station and for future construction and maintenance work. Guidoni's trip to the International Space Station was the culmination of five years of intensive training. He had his first flight experience in 1996 as payload specialist on the 16-day tethered satellite mission and on STS-100 played a key part in mission activities. As 'loadmaster' in charge of MPLM logistical operations, he oversaw the activation and deactivation of Raffaello and, in a back-up role, helped to operate the Shuttle's robotic arm during the space walks. Once the Canadian robotic arm was installed, Guidoni oversaw attachment of the MPLM to the Unity laboratory module and organised the daunting task of transferring the ten tonnes of equipment into the Space Station. The MPLM was reloaded with unwanted cargo and waste and returned to Earth. The mission was a milestone in the development of the Space Station. "Previous missions have involved taking up components and materials for use in construction. Ours really marks the beginning of scientific use of the Station," said Guidoni. The International Space Station, the biggest habitable structure ever built in space, is being constructed jointly by the world's major space powers: the United States, Europe (represented by the European Space Agency), Russia, Canada and Japan. It will eventually house a unique research facility in space, generating scientific information and technology that will improve the lives of future generations. It will also provide unique opportunities for industrial and commercial applications. Last update: 16 October 2001
Esselon regularly buys, local products and services from area businesses and farms whenever possible. Buying local supports a more sustainable food system because true sustainability goes beyond the methods used in food production to include every step that brings food from farm to plate. People worldwide are rediscovering the benefits of buying local food. It is fresher than anything in the supermarket and that means it is tastier and more nutritious. It is also good for the local economy - buying directly from family farmers helps them stay in business. We are a member of CISA which has been instrumental in getting us in contact with local farmers. Support CISA, check out their website. CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture) Below is a selection of the local farms and businesses we work with as we bring our patrons the best quality food, beverages, and atmosphere. Please consider these sources as you do your own part in a sustainable local economy. Bashista Orchards and Cider Mill, Southampton, MA: Apple Cider, Apples, Rhubarb Berkshire Brewing Co., South Deerfield, MA: Beer Cabot Creamery, Montpelier VT: Cheeses, Sour Cream, Butter Carando Foods, Springfield, MA: Deli Meats, Sausage Crescent Moon Farm, Belchertown, MA: Grass Fed, Grass Finished Lamb Enterprise Farm, Hadley, MA: Produce High and Mighty Beer, Belchertown, MA: Esselon Espresso Beer Liberty Orchard Landscaping, Belchertown, MA: Our Architectural Landscape Gardener Mapleline Farm, Hadley, MA: Milk Maple Valley Creamery, Hadley, MA Moonrise Medicinal Tea, Montague MA: Herbal and Medicinal Teas Nodines Smokehouse, Torrington, CT: Ham, Sausage Old Friends Farm, Amherst, MA: Organic Mixed Greens, Organic Spinach, Organic Micro-greens, Organic Ginger Opa Opa Brewing Co., Southampton, MA: Beer Pete and Gerry's Organic Eggs, Monroe NH: Organic Eggs Polar Beverage, Worcester, MA: Seltzer Sidehill Farm, Ashfield, MA: Yogurt Southern New England Spice, Hadley, MA: Spices Alligator Farm, Hadley Chicoine Family Farm, Easthampton, MA Local Beef (Never Frozen) Dave’s Natural Garden, Granby Diemand Farms, Wendell MA: Turkey Gill Greenery, Gill Green Meadow Farms, Northampton, MA: Produce Lefty's Brewery, Greenfield Mapleline Farm, Hadley Polar Beverage, Worcester Next Barn Over, Hadley Nodine’s Smokehouse, Torrington, CT North Hadley Sugar Shack, Hadley Red Fire Farm, Granby Swartz Family Farm, Amherst Town Farm, Northampton, MA: Produce Woodstar Bakery, Northampton, MA: Freshly baked bread and pastries daily GerryLeBlanc.com, Website Development and Graphic Design
It is absolutely essential to have more coherent, structured, well-framed relations between the EU and Russia, said Thierry de Montbrial, founder and Director General of the French Institute for International Relations IFRI, in an exclusive with EurActiv, on the occasion of Putin's coming inauguration on 7 May for a new mandate as president. De Montbrial, who just published a new book, Journal de Russie 1977-2011, spoke as a connoisseur of Russian political life and the country's leaders, many of whom, including Putin, he has met repeatedly. He said that Putin's decade (from 2000 to 2010) had been a "quite positive one", but expressed doubts as to the success of the new term in office of the Russian leader. Putin served as President from 2000 to 2008, after having been re-elected in 2004. Under the Russian Constitution, he was barred from a third consecutive term and served from May 2008 as Prime Minister, maintaining his political dominance. Amendments to the Russian constitution changed the term of duty of the President from four to six years, implying that if re-elected in 2018, Putin could lead the country until 2024. De Montbrial said it was "extremely unlikely" that Putin would do a second term and it might even be quite difficult for him to end this first term. He said that in spite of his positive record, Putin had recently made a number of mistakes, by failing to anticipate Russians' surge for freedom and democracy, initiated by those who achieved "a certain social status and certain economic level" thanks to his governance. But the biggest mistake, De Montbrial said, was the deal with the outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev, with whom Putin's decided to switch roles. Indeed, during a choreographed congress of the ruling United Russia party on 24 September, Medvedev agreed to lead a list of candidates for a parliamentary election on 4 December in view of becoming the next premier, and won a standing ovation for Putin by proposing that he run for president in the 4 March 2012 elections. "My […] conclusion is that it is extremely unlikely that [Putin] will do a second term and it might even be quite difficult for him to end the first term. Because the next six years will I think see a continuation of huge social changes in Russia. Especially if Russia is developing well economically," De Montbrial said. Asked about the geopolitical future of a declining Europe with or without Russia, De Montbrial said to reverse such trends the EU must be capable to put its house in order following the eurozone crisis, and that Russia "continues to develop gradually in its own way in a democratic direction". "It is absolutely essential to have a more coherent, structured, well-framed policy between the EU and Russia. And this of course is directed against nobody," De Montbrial insisted. He also expressed his conviction that the French Socialist candidate François Hollande would win the milestone French presidential elections on 6 May, just one day ahead of Putin's inauguration.
Contact: Dave Guerin Louisiana Tech University Students, teachers team up for summer research at Louisiana Tech University STEM Student Experience students and RET teachers visit a computational modeling lab at Louisiana Tech University. RUSTON, La. – Rather than fishing, biking, or engaging in other more traditional summer activities, ten students from Simsboro High School, West Ouachita High School, and West Ouachita Junior High School spent a week on the Louisiana Tech campus recently to learn about energy generation, storage, and conversion. The students were selected and invited by their teachers who were participating in a six week Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program. Each teacher partnered with a faculty researcher in a research project using state-of-the-art computational and experimental methods. During the final week of the program, the teachers invited their students to join them and learn more about scientific research and careers in science fields. The programs are sponsored by the Louisiana Alliance for Simulation-Guided Materials Applications (LA-SiGMA). The Alliance includes Louisiana Tech, LSU, Tulane University, University of New Orleans, Southern University, Xavier University and Grambling State University, and is funded by a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation. "The RET teachers have been such a valuable bridge between the teaching world and the research world," says Alicia Boudreaux, the North Louisiana Education and Outreach Coordinator for the LA-SiGMA project. "Not only can they do the research, they also have a passion for taking each concept to a level that connects with their students." Chris Campbell, an RET science teacher from Simsboro Junior High, said he loves the RET program because it allows teachers to be the students again. "We learn to work through frustrations and setbacks and how that fuels the research and design process," said Campbell. "What is especially important about LA-SiGMA is that it focuses on computational thinking and modeling which are key components of the new science education frameworks and the upcoming next generation science standards." As part of the STEM Student Experience, students toured research labs, engaged in hands-on activities such as building a hydrogen-powered car, investigating the chemistry behind the working of batteries, building and studying properties of molecules on computers, and participated in community building activities across the Louisiana Tech campus. "The [STEM Student Experience] program helped me to better understand how DNA works and how to think," said Katie Trichell, who will be a freshman at West Ouachita High School this fall. "It's actually inspired me to want to go to Tech." Another student stated that the program convinced him to be a scientist. The feedback received at the end of the program from the students overwhelmingly indicated that one week was too short.
Normal everyday life for parents requires organization. Parents of children who require ventilators, oxygen, IVs and other tools to live, those day-to-day tasks can be time-consuming, difficult and stressful on the family. But researchers from Case Western Reserve University found that mothers who successfully integrate the care of the technology-dependent child into family life have families that function better. "It's about the perception of the child's illness," said Valerie Toly from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University. She is the lead researcher on the study, "A Longitudinal Study of Families with Technology-Dependent Children," in the journal of Research in Nursing & Health. Toly's research is one of the first longitudinal studies to see how families function and reach normalcy once children leave the hospital equipped with technology to keep them alive. She studied 82 mothers, recruited during visits to a hospital's specialty clinic. The mothers were interviewed and given six surveys after leaving the hospital, and then again 12 months later to track changes in the mother's psychological wellbeing, family functioning and normalcy. The mothers--primarily Caucasian (79 percent), African-American (17 percent), Hispanic (6 percent) and Asian (2 percent)--ranged in age from 22 to 66. About 75 percent had some college education, a third worked full time and 75 percent had other children, some of whom also are technology dependent. About a third of the mothers tested for clinical depression, and that percentage increased by 7 percent at the second visit. (Mothers with high levels of depression were provided mental health resource information.) At the beginning of the study, children ranged in age from 6.75 months to 16.83 years, with an average age of 6.41 years. Nearly half of the children had medical issues related to neuromuscular diagnoses like cerebral palsy, and half of the children needed more than one technology. Overall, an average of 45 hours of home care help was needed at the first interview, and that need grew by the second interview. The researcher found mothers whose children no longer used technologies had the greatest improvement in family functioning and normalcy. Toly said children in the study "are in a high risk, vulnerable group...3 children died in the one year span of time between interviews and one mother died. This is much higher than the general population." But for those who continue to require technology, integrating the child into family events is critical. Toly has seen mothers pack up the technology and take the child along with other siblings to soccer practice and other family events. In another instance, one mother missed an annual family camping trip because of the extra work required to include the technology-dependent child in the trip; the following year, the extended family pitched in and built ramps, making it possible for the mother and child to join in the camping fun. Examples like these keep families on the normal track. "Mothers integrate technology-dependent child into the family by being flexible about when to give medications or food," Toly said. But, adhering to rigid schedules can interfere with what others in the family need to do, and it can create problems, Toly added. "A mother's depression plays a greater role in family functioning than the child's severity of illness," Toly reported. As early as the 1980s, Toly saw technological advances were keeping preemies alive, but "we didn't know what the long-term impact that technology would have on the families and the children." She said that even 30 years later, the effect is unknown. She has set out to understand what families encounter and help the families have a normal life even among the tubes, monitors and medications. Carol Musil from the Case Western Reserve University nursing school and John C. Carl from the Cleveland Clinic contributed to the study. View the article at: http://onlinelibrary.
Freshwater Biodiversity in the UK: status, threats and conservation concerns Thursday, 20 September 2012 from 10:00 to 18:30 This is a one day meeting hosted by the Environmental Change Research Centre at University College London, September 20th, 2012 The rate of biodiversity loss across the world is accelerating to the extent that we on the verge of a major biodiversity crisis. Freshwaters have, until recently, received relatively little attention in European and global biodiversity assessments with conservation research in particular focusing more on terrestrial or charismatic species groups. There is a pressing need to determine the critical factors responsible for the loss of biodiversity and to ensure that the outputs of scientific research in this area are made more accessible, practical and useful for society as a whole. At this one day meeting, the first of its kind to focus on freshwater biodiversity, we bring together key scientists, policy makers and managers responsible for freshwaters to address this concern, focussing especially on the UK. Central themes will be: • The scale of freshwater biodiversity loss • The role of biodiversity in freshwater ecosystem functioning • Pressures on the biodiversity of standing and running waters • The importance of biodiversity to society • Freshwater biodiversity and conservation policy • Public understanding of freshwater biodiversity issues We are planning to have a poster display and welcome contributions from participants involved in scientifc research, management, conservation or policy implementation. Please indicate on the registration form if you will be bringing a poster Registration includes coffee, lunch and a wine reception For online registration please proceed using link above For cheque, bank transfer, or telephone payments please contact; 0207 436 9248 For other queries contact; 0207 679 0523 PROGRAMME FOR MEETING Registration from 9.00am 10.00am MORNING SESSION (Chair: Rick Battarbee, UCL) Freshwater biodiversity in the Anthropocene Klement Tockner (Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB); Co-ordinator of EU FP7 Project 'BioFresh') Only 1% of the earth´s surface is covered with freshwaters but they are habitat for over 10% of all animals and over 35% of all vertebrates. No other major component of global biodiversity declines so fast and massively as freshwater species and ecosystems. In the 30 years between 1970 and 2000, populations of more than 300 selected freshwater species declined by ~55% while those of terrestrial and marine systems each declined by ~32%. Given the incomplete and fragmentary nature of our taxonomic knowledge of freshwater faunas and floras, current estimates of freshwater biodiversity and its decrease have to be considered as massively underestimated. Despite their pivotal ecological and economic importance, freshwater ecosystems have not been of primary concern in policy-making. This talk highlights the growing freshwater biodiversity crisis and provides a global context for many of the talks that follow. Why do we need all those critters? Trying to understand biodiversity, natural capital and ecosystem functioning. Iwan Jones (School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London) The rate of delivery of ecosystem goods and services is dependent upon the biologically mediated processes that support them. The various works that have investigated how biodiversity influences such process rates have typically been conducted at small scales in simple systems. In complex communities the role of biodiversity per se is less well known. Here we explore the relationships between different aspects of biodiversity and the processes and associated functions of complex ecosystems. Tracking long-term biodiversity change in UK shallow lakes Carl Sayer (Environmental Change Research Centre, UCL) Shallow lakes in the UK have been severely affected by eutrophication over at least the last century. Nonetheless, our knowledge of long-term changes to aquatic biodiversity in these systems remains poor. In this talk, results from recent palaeolimnological studies will be presented, with the aim of generalising on biodiversity decline pathways for small, high alkalinity, lowland lakes in eastern England. The implications for biodiversity conservation and lake restoration will be discussed. The relative contributions of different types of aquatic habitats to regional biodiversity Nigel Wilby (Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling) Freshwater ecologists like to pigeon-hole habitats which means that the relative value of different habitats to regional biodiversity is poorly understood and interactions between habitats are ignored. This talk will explore different elements of plant diversity associated with a range of aquatic habitats from large rivers, backwaters, streams, ponds, ditches and lakes that coexist in the upland landscape of central Scotland. Results emphasise the importance of maintaining landscapes with multiple aquatic habitat types and of protecting or enhancing connectivity within and between habitats. Links between biodiversity and ecosystem services: a case study from Loch Leven, Scotland Linda May (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Edinburgh) Lakes are complex systems where biodiversity is closely linked to the provision of ecosystem services such as good quality water, biological conservation and recreation. Loch Leven, Scotland, is a good example of such a system. Here, 40 years of monitoring data spanning more than 500 taxa have been used to investigate the effects of biodiversity on lake water quality and the effects of lake water quality on biodiversity. Loch Leven has many uses, resulting in a wide range of conflicts of interest. Over the years, management of the site has often been focused on one particular outcome. The consequences of this approach on the overall biodiversity and functioning of the system will be considered. 1.30pm AFTERNOON SESSION: (Chair Martin Kernan, UCL) Freshwater biodiversity and the new conservation paradigm Stewart Clarke (Natural England) There is increasing evidence of human induced changes to freshwater ecosystems globally with implications for both freshwater biodiversity and human wellbeing. In the UK freshwater biodiversity has suffered disproportionately due to the extent to which freshwater ecosystems have been modified to provide water related goods and services to society and due to the sensitivity of these ecosystems to changes across the whole landscape. Perversely, conservation action for freshwater ecosystems and their species has tended to lag behind that for terrestrial systems. and although we have seen dramatic improvements in urban river water quality over recent decades many pressures on the freshwater environment continue to increase. Can the new direction of environmental policy reverse this? In the conservation sector there has been a major shift in emphasis and one in which community participation, systems thinking, ecosystem services and economic valuation of environmental benefits all play an important role. This talk will consider the challenges and opportunities that this shift presents for the conservation of freshwater biodiversity. The freshwater science community is well placed to influence and inform this new way of working and the wider freshwater community needs to engage to ensure freshwater biodiversity is not forgotten. Engaging employees with biodiversity Cathy Purse (Thames Water) This presentation will focus on a new engagement project focused on engaging employees and their families with the biodiverse nature of Thames Water sites. It considers how the project works and the different types of events we run and how they help to focus our employees on protecting biodiversity. The importance of ponds for freshwater biodiversity Jeremy Biggs (Pond Conservation) Over the last 10 years knowledge of the contribution of small water bodies to biodiversity has grown, and shown surprising and unexpected levels of richness. Added to this, examining the ecology of small waters in the context of other freshwaters (lakes, rivers, stream, ditches) has also provided insights and perspective on the conservation and management of freshwaters more generally, both for biodiversity and the services we derive from water. This presentation will review what we now know about ponds in the UK and elsewhere, and what the implications of this are for the protection and management of freshwater biodiversity more generally. The role of specialist NGOs in understanding biodiversity: the Freshwater Biological Association as a case study. Mike Dobson (Freshwater Biological Association) While much of our understanding of biodiversity requires large-scale research projects and intensive monitoring, necessitating large organisations for their delivery, small NGOs are often better placed to provide specialist supporting resources, such as training and volunteer engagement. A case study will be presented, thath of the Freshwater Biological Association (FBA), whose role in aiding understanding freshwater biodiversity ranges from providing identification guides, through supporting small localised research, to co-ordinating projects involving volunteers. By building on many years’ experience in many activities, working in partnership with other organisations and maintaining flexibility, the FBA can provide resources that underpin much of the work in freshwater biodiversity. Freshwater biodiversity – the role of museums Steve Brooks (Natural History Museum) National and local UK Museums, especially those with natural history collections and expert staff, are uniquely placed to play a significant role in freshwater biodiversity conservation. Museum collections provide evidence of biodiversity changes over the last 100-200 years. Museums also have the means to interpret and communicate the science of freshwater ecology and the threats to freshwater ecosystems to a broad cross-section of non-scientific audiences, and can be pivotal in engaging the public in outreach projects. This talk will illustrate how museums fulfil these roles and in particular through the involvement of the Natural History Museum in the Riverfly Partnership which has brought together a wide spectrum of groups including anglers, the statutory agencies, academics and conservation NGOs in practical conservation and monitoring projects on UK rivers. PANEL DISCUSSION - Bridging the cultures of science and practice (Chair Paul Jepson, School of Geography and the Environment, Oxford University) A panel discussion will follow the second session of presentations. The purpose of the panel discussion will be to better understand the needs of policy makers - bridging the two cultures of science and practice. The panel will be made up of practitioners involved in freshwater management, who will begin the session by highlighting, from their own perspectives, a) institutional policy drivers and how these support or hinder the up-take of science in policy and practice and b) their top three wishes for/requests to scientists to make their science more useful and accessible. An open discussion with comments and questions from the audience will follow. We will also have a twitterfall to widen the number of comments and the level of interactivity. When & Where Environmental Change Research Centre, University College London Environmental Change Research Centre, University College London
Because survival rates are often poor, research into treating esophageal cancer, especially detecting it earlier, is an ongoing process. Although that research is important for improving survival rates, what if researchers could find a way to prevent esophageal cancer from ever happening in the first place? Esophageal Cancer Prevention Much of today's esophageal cancer research is focused on new ways to treat esophageal cancer because treating advanced stages of the disease is often unsuccessful. But there is also cancer research being done to determine whether esophageal cancer can be stopped before it starts. Some of the methods being studied include: - Chemoprevention. A recent Italian study tried chemoprevention (chemotherapy medications used before esophageal cancer is detected) to try to ward off esophageal cancer in high-risk people. Chemoprevention has been researched as a preventive method for other types of cancer, including breast cancer, for people who are likely to develop the disease. Chemoprevention is still being studied as a possible way to prevent esophageal cancer, but it could be a promising prevention method, along with screening, in those who have significant risk factors. - Radiofrequency ablation. Researchers are also studying radiofrequency ablation, which is often used to treat Barrett's esophagus patients who have developed dysplasia (the formation of pre-cancerous cells) in the esophagus. Radiofrequency ablation uses energy to burn off precancerous cells to prevent them from turning into esophageal cancer. Research is being conducted to determine whether this procedure will help to prevent esophageal cancer completely. - Treating Barrett's esophagus. Since Barrett's esophagus is such a strong indicator of who will develop esophageal cancer, researchers are also looking into new tests that can help identify which Barrett's esophagus patients will eventually get esophageal cancer. Because obesity is such a major risk factor for esophageal cancer, as well as a number of other diseases, researchers are also trying to find ways to prevent obesity. Esophageal Cancer Prevention: Knowing the Risk Factors An important first step in understanding how to prevent esophageal cancer is knowing what the risk factors are, and many of those are already well understood. "There are two fundamentally different kinds of esophageal cancer," says Len Lichtenfeld, MD, deputy chief medical officer of Cancer Control Science at the American Cancer Society (ACS). Dr. Lichtenfeld says that squamous cell esophageal cancer is "a cancer that usually occurs in the upper part of the esophagus, and is related to tobacco and alcohol. The second kind of esophageal cancer, adenocarcinoma, is what happens in the more distant part of the esophagus, near the stomach, and is more related to obesity and reflux." These different types are important when considering prevention because they have different risk factors. "The nature of the disease has shifted from a disease that was predominantly in men in squamous cell to an increased incidence now in men and women because of the rising increase in obesity," says Lichtenfeld. "There's more obesity today, which leads to more reflux, which leads to more irritation, which leads to an increased risk of esophageal cancer." "We know esophageal cancer is related to obesity, so that's something you can do to prevent the disease. But we don't yet have medicines that can prevent esophageal cancer," he says. "One question that is a subject of research is whether or not we can identify other people at higher risk of esophageal cancer, and should we be screening them more routinely," Lichtenfeld says. "The answer is unknown. The ACS right now does not recommend routine screening for the general population." Esophageal Cancer Prevention: Research and Lifestyle Are Key Figuring out how to prevent esophageal cancer is an important part of cancer research, but in addition to advances in prevention, we already know that a number of lifestyle changes can help prevent esophageal cancer. Simple changes, such as maintaining a healthy body weight and eating lots of fruits and vegetables, can eliminate two major risk factors for developing esophageal cancer. So can controlling reflux, and receiving treatment and regular monitoring of reflux and/or Barrett's esophagus. One of these areas of research may turn into an esophageal cancer prevention method in the future. Until then, people can make lifestyle changes to help protect against esophageal cancer. Learn more in the Everyday Health Esophageal Cancer Center.
The Carbon-Hydrogen bond is the covalent bond between a carbon atom and a hydrogen atom. Almost all organic substances have this type of bond, and they make complex chemicals such as polymers, and thus life as we know it, possible. And, somewhat ironically, the carbon-hydrogen bond does so much by doing so little. The basics of covalent bonds are probably explained elsewhere either here or elsewhere with much more detail and math than I can muster. With apologies for anthropomorphizing, each atom wants to fill a certain amount of electron shells. Hydrogen has one electron, and needs to have two. Carbon has six, and needs four more. So what atoms do is share electrons, which allows them to fill their electron shells while keeping a net neutral electrical charge. For carbon to fill in its shells, it bonds with four hydrogen atoms, forming methane, which gives all atoms involved full shells, with a net neutral charge. Of course, all chemistry isn't this simple, and sometimes carbon is bonded to other atoms, and sometimes to other carbon atoms, but when it isn't bonding to another atom, it can pick up a small hydrogen atom to fill in the gaps. And since hydrogen can only bond to one atom, this bond also acts as a terminator on chains of carbon bonds. In simple terms, atoms want to fill their shells with electrons, but some want to fill them more than others. For example, oxygen holds on to its electrons tighter than its partners do. To quantify this, Linus Pauling invented something called the electronegativity scale. Each atom is given a number from 4.0 to 0.7 that reflects its affinity for electrons, from the very hungry Fluorine to Cesium, which wants to get rid of its electrons. By subtracting the electronegativity between two elements, you can tell how even their bond will be. Since carbon has a number of 2.6, and hydrogen 2.2, the charge is for all practical purposes, even between them. This leads to two properties. First, because the bond is shared equally, carbon-hydrogen bonds don't show polarity, and aren't attracted to other molecules. That is why methane, with an atomic weight about equal to water, is gaseous at a temperature where water is solid. Also, the fact that a carbon chain has very little reactivity between its elements makes it very stable. Carbon needs to fill its bonds, and it could do that, theoretically, by forming a carbon chain with each carbon double bonded to an oxygen atom. However, such system would be unstable because the oxygen atoms would react with the carbon chain, breaking it apart. So only through filling up their extra bonds with the unobtrusive hydrogen atom can carbon form the long chains and polymers that are both internally and externally stable, thus allowing other groups to attach to the molecules. It is the somewhat boring nature of the bond that allows other, more complex, diverse molecules to form. Because it is so omnipresent, the carbon-hydrogen bond is often not even written out in schematic diagrams of chemicals, they are usually left out, the viewer understanding that carbons that are not otherwise bonded have their remaining bonds formed with hydrogen.
1. A Return to God The Creed will be the guiding thread of the new series of Catecheses dedicated to the Year of Faith that the Holy Father inaugurated at the General Audience in St Peter's Square on Wednesday, 17 October 2012: "I would like to offer you help," he explained, "in taking up and deepening your knowledge of the central truths of cosmic reality". 2. Why Believe Today Does it still make sense to believe in a world in which science and technology have unfolded horizons unthinkable until a short time ago but which have been unable to dispel the shadows of the new forms of slavery afflicting humanity? This is the disturbing question that the Holy Father asked at the General Audience on Wednesday morning, 24 October 2012. 3. The Place of Faith On 31 October 2012, the Holy Father continued his meditations on "faith" with the many faithful who had gathered in St Peter's Square. Faith is not a personal act: it is "born in the Church, leads to her and lives in her". "Our faith is truly personal only if it is also communal." 4. That Mysterious Desire for God "Man carries within himself a mysterious desire for God." This "fascinating aspect of the human and the Christian experience" was the topic of the Pope's Catechesis at the General Audience on Wednesday, 7 November 2012, in St Peter's Square. 5. Three Paths that Lead to God At the General Audience on 14 November, in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father addressed the question of how to overcome the practical atheism that clouds the lives of so many: by contemplating the beauty of creation, by turning within to understand our thirst for the infinite, by faith leading to an encounter with God. 6. The Reasonableness of Faith Faith and reason are not in opposition or conflict: together they help us understand the meaning and message of divine revelation. The Holy Father reasserted this at the General Audience on 21 November 2012, in the Paul VI Hall, continuing his Reflections for the Year of Faith. 7. Speaking of God in Our Time "How can we talk about God in our time?" This was the Holy Father's topic at the General Audience on Wednesday, 28 November 2012, in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall. The Pope listed conditions for communicating the truth about God in today's world. 8. On the Pauline Hymn That Ushers in Advent At the General Audience on Wednesday morning, 5 December 2012, in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall the Holy Father dwelt on God's plan for us of mercy and love, "described in terms full of joy, wonder and thanksgiving" at the beginning of St Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. 9. Searching for Signs of God in a Distracted World Advent reminds us over and over again that "God did not take himself away from the world, he is not absent, he has not left us to ourselves, but comes to meet our needs in various ways", the Holy Father said at the General Audience in the Paul VI Hall on Wednesday, 12 December 2012. 10. The Silent Force That Triumphs Over the World's Power On 19 December 2012, in the Paul VI Hall, at the General Audience — the 43rd and the last of 2012 — the Holy Father spoke about Mary's joy at the Annunciation, a joy that came from the grace of being in communion with God. 11. From a Woman's Womb Comes the New Creation The first General Audience in 2013 was held on Wednesday morning, 2 January. In his Catechesis for the faithful gathered in the Paul VI Hall, Benedict XVI reflected on the true origins of Jesus. "His true origins are in the Father, God," and as expressed in the Creed, “by the Holy Spirit [he] was incarnate of the Virgin Mary.” 12. The Mystery of a God with the Heart of a Man On 9 January 2013, to the faithful present for the General Audience in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope spoke of the great mystery of God who "came down from heaven to enter our flesh". The Holy Father reflected on the meaning of the Incarnation, to refresh our appreciation for the wonder of it. 13. Even Nonbelievers Seek the Face of God Continuing his Catecheses on the year of Faith the Holy Father commented on the Revelation of God's face at the General Audience on Wednesday, 16 January 2013, in the Paul VI Audience Hall. "The desire to know God truly, that is, to see God's face, is innate in every human being, even atheists", said the Pope. 14. Christians Against the Current "To live out their faith, Christians must not be afraid to go against the current, to resist the temptation to conform", the Holy Father said. Speaking to the faithful at the General Audience in the Paul VI Hall on Wednesday, 23 January 2013, he began a new series of reflections on the Creed, focusing on the testimony of the biblical figure of Abraham. 15. A Father Who Never Tires of Us It is difficult today to talk about the fatherhood of God, especially in the Western world. However, in revealing God the Bible shows us what being a loving father truly means. This was the subject of the Holy Father's Catechesis at the General Audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall on Wednesday morning, 30 January 2013. 16. The World Is a Gift from the Creator In the age of science and technology, does it make sense to talk about 'creation'? This is the troubling question that the Holy Father addresses at the General Audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall on Wednesday, 6 February 2013. The truth, replies the Pope, is that the origin of the world lies in God's eternal reason, the Word or Logos. 17. The Church Is Christ's To the throngs of the faithful who filled the Paul VI Audience Hall for the General Audience on Ash Wednesday, 13 February 2013, the Holy Father suggested for the Lenten Season a spiritual itinerary, the path of conversion.
In 2006, a New Hampshire based publication called The Wire put together a local music project called the RPM Challenge. It was a call to local musicians to record an entire album in the month of February. The next year RPM was expanded to include musicians from around the world and has become, for many, an annual summons to put music first. RPM stands for Record Production Month and, like its cohort projects FAWM and NaNoWriMo, tasks creators with putting their art at the absolute forefront of their lives for a short amount of time a year. It's exciting to see what so many people can put together during the shortest month of the year, and with RPM the result is hundreds of new albums put out for free every year. Artists who sign up for the RPM Challenge must record 10 original songs or 35 minutes of music to successfully complete the challenge. Music writing can be done prior to February 1, but no recording can take place before then. There are no winners and no prizes, just the accomplishment of putting new music out into the world. One of the most valuable aspects of the RPM project is the community that flocks to the site every year. In January the site wakes from its hibernation and begins to buzz with recording artists eager to reconnect with the project forums and to learn about or share thoughts on music and recording. As February hits, everyone is deep into the joy and stress of creating music, collaborating on projects or lending moral support to those who struggle to finish their album. The month of March is spent celebrating (and sleeping) while listening to the music of others (all of which is currently available for free streaming on the RPM Jukebox) and preparing for the annual listening parties hosted in several different cities, inviting artists to get together and listen to the fruits of their labors in a real-world environment. There is an overwhelming positivity to the RPM Challenge that is often hard to find in the music community. Signups for the 2010 Challenge are now open and continue through February. At the time of this writing, 610 musicians have signed up, including ten from Chicago. Over the course of the next month, your intrepid Home Recording Examiner will attempt to talk to all Chicago RPM challengers about their projects, progress, and process. If you are a musician looking for inspiration, the RPM Challenge starts on Monday, February 1, 2010.
The Cloture vote held today on Elizabeth Warren’s “Bank on Students” Emergency Loan Refinancing Act failed, falling short of the required 60 votes by six. The 56–38 vote means the bill, which would allow borrowers to refinance at lower interest rates, will not be brought to the floor for debate. Only three Republicans, Senators Collins, Corker and Murkowski, voted to move the bill forward. The sole democratic vote against came from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as a procedural maneuver. Elizabeth Warren introduced the bill last month saying the $1.2 Trillion in outstanding student loan debt constituted an emergency that requires immediate action. Under the burden of debt, borrowers are unable to move forward with their lives and cannot purchase homes, cars and other consumer goods, creating a drag on the economy. The bill would provide some relief to the more than 40 million American who have student loan debt by allowing them to refinance their federal student loans, some with rates as high as 9 percent, at current, lower rates. “You can refinance a home loan. You can refinance a car loan. You can refinance business debt. Why not allow the 44 million people in America to refinance their student debt? ...We will revisit this, it will get done.” — Sen. Al Franken The contentious part of the bill is the implementation of the “Buffet Rule,” which closes tax loopholes for wealthier Americans. Called the “Fair Share Tax,” it requires taxpayers with annual incomes in excess of one million dollars pay the difference between their total income tax liability and 30 percent of their adjusted gross income. Sen. Lamar Alexander called the bill a political stunt, and debate would waste time that could be better spent dealing with pressing Veterans Affairs issues. He urged his colleagues to vote “no” on the Motion to Proceed. Speaking on the Senate floor before the vote was held, Sen. Warren said that if the Republicans want to change the bill, they should offer amendments, but they should not block it. She notes that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that over a ten-year period, the “Bank on Students” Act would reduce the federal budget deficit by $22 billion. She urged Senators to bring the bill to the floor for debate to addresses what she sees as an urgent issue. “Who does Washington Work For? Does it work for those who can hire lobbyists to make sure that every single loophole in the tax code is protected for them, or, does it work for young people who are trying to get started in life?” — Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Yep – we got 'em. Right here in Long Island Sound. Right here in Connecticut. Perhaps you've caught one. Perhaps you think you've had one on your line (I feel I may have). Perhaps you've actually tried to land one , but failed. One thing is for certain. You're fascinated by them. Why? Because everyone – everyone – is fascinated by sharks. So, why kind of sharks populate Connecticut's salt waters? Dave Sigworth has written that there's basically four varieties of sharks that live in the waters of Long Island Sound. First, there's sand tiger sharks, which are – whoa – up to ten feet in length. There's also dogfish, which are sharks that grow up to five feet in length. By the way, these guys like to hang close to the shore to feed off the bottom of the Sound. And lets not forget spiny dogfish, which have dorsal fins with spines in front of them for protection. They're roughly four feet and length and can live to the age of 40! Lastly, there's the brown shark, a specimen which is roughly five feet in length. Obviously none of these critters are the type of fish you should be apt to remove a hook from by hand. Truth be told, you'd want to be with an experienced shark fisherman or someone who really knows his or her stuff if you hook one. Still, there probably isn't a large chance you'll land a shark while fishing Connecticut's waters. Then again, you never know. Ultimately, few if any fishermen will ever find themselves even vaguely in a life and death situation with a saltwater predator like a shark. There's always the possibility though, and that possibility is what makes sharks fascinating – not just to Connecticut fisherman, but to people everywhere.
The Naval Academy’s Class of 2014’s Herndon monument climb began yesterday at 1:30 p.m., near the front of the Naval Academy Chapel. Each year, the roughly 1,000 members of the academy’s plebe (freshman) class form a human pyramid around the 21-foot tall Herndon Monument. Members of the class try to make it to the top to remove a plebe hat, or “dixie cup,” that upperclassmen have placed on the top of the obelisk. The midshipman then replaces the “dixie cup” with a midshipman’s cover. To complicate the matter, the obelisk is covered with 200 pounds of lard. Tradition has it that the midshipman who makes it to the top will be the first in his class to achieve the rank of Admiral. The climb, a tradition since 1950, has recently been the subject of some controversy when former Academy Superintendent Vice Admiral Jeffrey Fowler disallowed the use of the lard. Current Superintendent, Vice Admiral Michael H. Miller reinstated the long standing tradition. Unfortunately, in the middle of the climb, a female midshipman was injured with what appeared to be a neck injury. She was transported from the scene by ambulance and was treated and released from Anne Arundel Medical Center. During the event, the media was handed notification that the Blue Angels has also canceled their scheduled air show due to a safety stand down. There were two years when the monument was not covered in lard–1969 and 2010. In 1962 it was modified to use a cargo net. Yesterday, it took 2 hours 41 minutes and 32 seconds to reach the top and the midshipman’s cover was placed by Matthew Dalton. The event began with a recognition of the accomplishments of the Class of 2014 by Naval Academy Superintendent, Vice Adm. Michael H. Miller, U.S. Navy, and concluded with an award to the Class of 2014 from the superintendent. Were you there? How lucky are we to have this institution in our back yards. Please leave a comment. Note: the full gallery of 135 images (low resolution) is available on Facebook–feel free to tag. Additionally, high resolution images of the full gallery are available on our online gallery. Editor’s comment: The photo used in the banner for this post really stands out for me for a number of reasons. Female and male, black and white, pulling together, holding each other in support to achieve great things despite adversity. Not a bad concept at all! (JWF)
August 21 – The element of “time” will be introduced in flight demonstrations by FAA and Embry Riddle. The systems that manage flights today employ three dimensions: altitude, latitude and longitude. A fourth dimension – time – will be introduced in demonstrations beginning later this year under a new agreement reached between FAA and Embry Riddle’s aviation consortium. The new technology, called 4D trajectory based operations, will optimize an aircraft’s flight path through its entire flight – or trajectory – by adding the element of time. Time, in this case, means the ability of an aircraft to cross a specific navigation fix at a specific time. This type of precision – knowing an aircraft will be where it’s supposed to be at a certain time – will improve efficiency and capacity in the nation’s skies. It also gets to the heart of the Next Generation Air Transportation System: moving aircraft from Point A to Point B with greater efficiency, saving time, money and fuel. Beginning in the fall, flight demonstrations of the new flight management system in 4D trajectory based operations will help determine how well aircraft avionics predict and execute the optimum trajectory of an aircraft while sharing the information with ground systems. Data collected from flight management systems will help us understand how well aircraft systems are able to compute the most efficient path between Point A and Point B and their ability to comply with time constraints The new technology is expected to be used on flights in medium-density markets such as Orlando. These 4D trajectory based operations will help us determine the impact on traffic capacity and efficiency of operations.
Zarqa or Zerka (both: zärˈkä) [key], in the Bible, river, 80 mi (129 km) long, rising in the hills W of Amman, N Jordan, and flowing generally north, then west, to the Jordan River; it is the ancient Jabbok. On its southern bank Jacob wrestled with the angel. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. More on Zarqa from Fact Monster: See more Encyclopedia articles on: Middle Eastern and Iranian Physical Geography
Because of recent discussions about critiquing, I felt it important to go to the source and share the guidelines for critiquing at FaithWriters, or put another way, the expectations of members leaving feedback. These guidelines have been posted in the Critique Circle since that area was started a few years ago, but they probably need to be on every member's account page as well. All feedback should follow this format, or it may be removed: Critiquing the work of others requires balance. Being too nice will not help your fellow writers develop their work; being too harsh can crush a writer’s ego (particularly new writers, who tend to be shy about sharing their work). How can you achieve the right balance? Here are some tips: Take care to point out both what works, and what doesn’t. If you’re new to critiquing, a good hint would be to point out one thing you like (a phrase, a description, an idea) for each thing that bothered you. Whenever possible, be specific when pointing out things that you didn’t like (don’t just say “I didn’t like this part” or “I’d cut that,” say “I didn’t like this part because…” or “I’d cut that because…”). Try to offer suggestions when you think a change is needed. Suggestions, even to the point of an offered rewording, can be very helpful; even if the suggestion isn’t exactly right for the author to use, he or she may get a good idea from it, or at least a better understanding of the point you are trying to make. Be honest and direct, but in a polite and caring way. Holding back your feelings about a piece because you’re afraid to share your thoughts isn’t going to help anyone. Just be mindful of how you share your opinions! How you handle critiques you receive is just as important as how you give them to others. It’s perfectly natural to want to defend your work, but it isn’t a healthy thing to do in a writers’ group. When receiving a critique, here are a few things to bear in mind: Don’t argue with someone’s critique of your work. If you don’t like the changes he or she has suggested, just say “Thank you,” and move on. After all, a critique is an opinion, and we’re all entitled to our own opinions. Feel free to ask questions. Sometimes, asking a person to clarify what he or she has said in a critique will help you to see why that suggestion was made. You’re the author, and you have the final say. So, remember as you receive critiques that it is your prerogative to accept or reject any suggestions made. This is a useful tip to keep in mind when the group is pretty evenly divided on a particular point (which will likely be most of the time). Don’t feel like you have to change something just because someone in the group didn’t like it; but also don’t make any overly hasty judgments about critiques you receive (sometimes they make more sense when you go back and look at them later). If everyone in the group has the same comment, chances are they’re right. You may not agree, and it’s still your right to reject their opinion, but generally speaking, if everyone has the same reaction, there’s probably something to it. Last edited by Deb Porter on Thu Jan 14, 2010 11:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Serrated knives can be sharpened, but unlike ordinary knives, they need a diamond-coated steel that's properly sized to match the knife. If you want to master the technique, take your serrated knives to a knife or cookware store and ask to have your knife matched to the correct diameter diamond-coated steel. Its diameter has to match the scallop profiles. If you have more than one serrated knife, choose a tapered steel that'll work for different scallop sizes. If you examine the blade, you'll see that one side is tapered and the other is flat (this is called a chiseled edge). The tapered side is the only one that gets sharpened. When you're through sharpening, drag the knife through a scrap of corrugated cardboard to knock off any leftover filings.
\|Parkway FFA members compete in Ag Mechanics Skills contest ROCKFORD, Ohio — The Parkway FFA sent Brett Sheets, Devon Bollenbacher and Joey Houser to the Ag Mechanics Skills contest at Sentinel High School earlier this year. FFA members had to arc weld, mig weld, make an oxy acetylene cut, identify hardware and hand tools, do a metal tap, solder a pipe, wire a switch and light, and do micrometer and caliper readings. The Parkway FFA team placed third with Brett Sheets having the top individual score. He moved onto the state competition at Ohio State ATI. Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Chapter wins district communications contest AMANDA, Ohio — Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Chapter recently won the District 7 Agricultural Communications Career Development Event (CDE). Placing first in the district competition made the team eligible for the state contest, where they placed fifth. The Amanda-Clearcreek team included Adam Baldwin, Cortney Collins, Brittany Pinkstock, Stacey Sams and Jodi Roush. The Ohio FFA Association District 7 consists of more than 25 FFA chapters in six counties. The Ag Communications CDE tests students’ understanding of the various forms of communication within the industry of agriculture. Since Ohio started participating in the Ag Communications CDE in the fall of 2000, teams from Amanda-Clearcreek FFA have not placed lower than eighth in the state contest. Tri High FFA hosts students at children’s barnyard The FFA students also had a variety of modern farm machinery on display, including planters, tillage tools, fertilizer spreaders and tractors. The students gave explanations of the machinery and also of modern crop production methods such as GPS units. The Tri High Horticulture students also hosted an open house in their greenhouse. The students sold plants ranging from $1 flowers up to $35 large patio pots. The plant sales continue after each school day until the end of the year, May 26. This farm news was published in the May 24, 2006 issue of Farm World.
A 39-year-old woman visits her doctor with a lump on her breast and a family history of breast cancer. After a biopsy, she is diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. The medical community names her: "Welcome, Ms. Stage 2 Breast Cancer, please have a seat in the waiting room." Ms. Stage 2 Breast Cancer undergoes a full mastectomy, chemotherapy, and then radiation. Unfortunately for this patient, she also has a deletion in the tp53 gene—a tumor-suppressing gene—that will cause her to develop ovarian cancer two years later, leukemia three years after that, and lead to her death before age 45. Regular full-body scans may have significantly increased the length of her life. Doctors could have treated the other cancers sooner. But no one knew. After all, her disease had a name, and with a name, comes a course of treatment. When we name diseases, we can do unintended harm to sick people. And it’s not just because of the stigma that comes from having a disease like HIV or breast cancer. Naming a disease places the sick individual in the hands of a medical system that knows how to treat said disease based solely on its name. The patient becomes a "non-small cell lung cancer" patient or a "relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis" patient. Treatment ensues based on that diagnosis—all too often with blinders on. All the while, the biotechnology industry has undergone a tremendous upheaval in technology development that is unparalleled in human history. The price to sequence a single letter—or "base"—of DNA has fallen 100 million-fold since the heyday of the Human Genome Project, the U.S. government-coordinated effort to identify all of the 20,000-plus genes in human DNA that was completed in 2003. This rapid pace of progress is a million times faster than Moore's Law, the famous prediction that the storage capability of integrated circuits used in the electronics industry doubles about every two years. Whereas it took nearly 15 years and $3.8 billion to sequence the human genome during the Human Genome Project, gene-sequencing companies now can perform the same feat in a week for less than $10,000, and costs are still rapidly falling. This cheaper, faster way of sequencing human genomes used to be done mainly in research labs, but now is beginning to transform modern medicine. Take the example of Alexis and Noah Beery, the now 14-year-old twins who were diagnosed with "cerebral palsy" at age 2, indicating a future of abnormal muscle tone, twisted reflexes, unsteady gait, intellectual disabilities and chronic pain—with no hope for a cure. The medical community named them "children with cerebral palsy." As the Beery twins grew older, their parents sensed that the symptoms didn’t match the diagnosis. So they decided to order up a whole-genome sequencing of the twins. What they found was stunning. The brother and sister had a series of mutations in a gene responsible for producing serotonin, a rare condition known as dopa responsive dystonia. Placed on a serotonin precursor drug—a relatively simple treatment—the children, once condemned to a life of profound disability, are effectively normal. Virtually no one has heard of the disease the twins have; its name doesn’t conjure up images like Down's syndrome or cancer. It is described, treated, and effectively cured only by understanding specific alterations of their genomes. There are about 1,200 clinics across the United States that perform genetic tests today for over 2,300 inherited diseases. Each one of these clinics examines a tiny portion of the genome—just a fraction of one percent—to see if a specific genetic change is present or absent. These genetic diagnostic tests represent approximately $3 billion in health-care costs, informing and driving about 50 percent of all treatment decisions in the $5.5 trillion global health-care market. Typical tests range from several hundred to many thousands of dollars. Now imagine for a moment that your entire genome had been sequenced. Suddenly, every one of these genetic tests can be performed simply as a query in a software application. Today, genome sequencing costs less than $10,000, but some experts predict the price soon will drop below $1,000. How will this change medicine in a few years? As the cost of sequencing an entire genome drops to about $1,000—roughly the cost of a typical MRI exam today—suddenly the test will become affordable for millions of people. Genomic information will become a universal diagnostic, as much a part of your medical record as an electrocardiogram, chest X-ray or blood panel. In the hands of an educated clinical geneticist, pathologist, or oncologist, the technology can finally be used to make health care predictive, preventive, personalized and participatory. This personalized approach means that patients with very different forms of a disease—or not even the same disease—will no longer be lumped together under one name (i.e. "Ms. Breast Cancer Patient," or "Mr. Alzheimer’s Patient"). Patients will become individuals, with more control over their own medical destiny. If you or anyone you know is diagnosed with a disease of a certain name, you may want to think about what your ailment should really be called. [Image: Flickr user net_efekt]
The Flat-Coated Retriever Society of America, Inc. takes the health of its Flat-Coats very seriously. Health concerns for Flat-Coated Retrievers include cancer, hip dysplasia, and luxating patellas. The Sharon Myers Health Committee was organized in 1995 to improve the genetic health of Flat-Coated Retrievers. As a result of the committee's efforts, the FCRSA is taking several steps to improve the health of our breed. Cancer Research Study Information - Cancer Studies Support Team: Contact your cancer support team members. - Cancer Research Studies: An overview for owners regarding research to study soft tissue sarcomas, including malignant histiocytosis in Flat-Coated Retrievers and Bernese Mountain Dogs. - Veterinarian Information for Dr. Breen and Modiano Study (Hemangiosarcoma, Lymphoma and Osteosarcoma) - Veterinarian Information for Dr. Ostrander Study (Malignant Histiocytosis/Histiocytic Sarcoma only) - How You Can Help: Exactly that - how you can help with the FCRSA cancer studies. - Frequently Asked Questions About Study Participation - Cancer and Health Issues Contact Information: Contact information for current research sponsored by FCRSA and the Flat Coated Retriever Foundation. - Dogs and Owners Who Have Made a Difference (pdf) FCR DNA Bank at Animal Health Trust (AHT) - Why You Should Participate (pdf) - How to Participate (pdf) - Consent Form (pdf) - Health Update Form (pdf) New Eye Clearance Registry Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) - Information about PRA and the Flat-Coated Retriever - what you can do to help - Free testing by Optigen for PRA affected dogs AKC Canine Health Foundation - 2007 National Parent Club Canine Health Conference Report (MS Word Document) Additional Information on Cancer in Flat-Coats - Being an Advocate for the Dog with Cancer: The purpose of this article is to offer tips and suggestions on how to manage the treatment of a dog with cancer. - Questions to Ask Your Vet: Items to check after cancer diagnosis, emergency care and general considerations. - Health Manual: This comprehensive online health manual contains papers devoted to the various cancers that predominate in our breed as well as orthopedic conditions, epilepsy, bloat and other major problems. It also includes articles by Dr. George Padgett and Jennie Willis which help explain how critical it is to apply genetic insights to breeding and purchasing decisions. Other Health Information - Sharon Myers Health Committee: Information about the committee's efforts to improve the health of the Flat-Coated Retriever. - Sharon Myers Health Clearinghouse Form (PDF): Please fill out this form and help contribute to the FCRSA health database. Updates are published in the FCRSA Newsletter. - OFA, Cardiac and Thyroid Reports: A summary of findings for 2006, 2001, 2000, 1999. - CERF and Gonioscopy Reports: A summary of findings for 2002, 1999. - Glaucoma in the Flat-Coated Retriever: A series of 3 articles by J.L.N.Wood discussing a serious emerging health problem. The Sharon Myers Health Committee encourages breeders to do gonioscopy eye evaluations on breeding stock. - Dog First Aid: importance of basic first aid knowledge, references for dog first aid, and a list of essential items for a first aid kit. - 2000 Specialty Health PowerPoint Presentation [MS 2000 PowerPoint] [HTML version] - 2000 Health Survey Report [MS 2000 PowerPoint] [HTML version]
Amendment I – “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” (MORAL LOW GROUND) President Obama has signed into law a bill that makes it a federal offense to protest wherever a person or event is under Secret Service protection, and there isn’t a singe story in the corporate mainstream media about it. RT reports that the Orwellian-sounding Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011, or H.R. 347 in Congress-speak, criminalizes any action which would “impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, engages in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any restricted building or grounds when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions,” as well as behavior which “obstructs or impedes ingress or egress to or from any restricted building or grounds.” H.R. 347, casually called the ‘trespass bill,’ makes it a crime to “knowingly” enter a restricted area under Secret Service protection. The law slightly amends earlier legislation that made it an offense to knowingly and willfully enter such areas. The omission of “willfully” makes it much easier to prosecute protesters who don’t realize that they entered into a Secret Service-protected zone, which is easy to do since the Secret Service doesn’t always advertise their presence. The Secret Service protects not only President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and their families, but also former presidents, visiting foreign dignitaries, presidential candidates and a host of other figures and events. Under the new law, peacefully protesting any of these is now a federal offense. Say goodbye to “glitter-bombing” activists, Code Pink interruptions, Occupy mic-checks and pro-Palestinian disruptions of visiting Israeli leaders’ speeches. Of course, that’s probably why Obama is signing the law. This administration has arguably done more to eviscerate constitutional rights than any in living memory. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorized the indefinite military detention of American citizens without charge or trial. The contraception mandate trampled religious freedom. Attorney General Eric Holder last week announced that the administration has embraced the assassination of U.S. citizens without charge, trial or any form of due process. And now this. One cannot help but think that this new law targets the Occupy Wall Street movement, which is gearing up for a year of massive protests. There’s the NATO summit in Chicago in May, followed by the Republican and Democratic national conventions in the summer, then the 2012 general elections. H.R. 347 must certainly meant to have a chilling effect on constitutionally-protected free speech and assembly rights. Also troubling is the fact that the language of the bill is (intentionally?) vague, not defining what “impeding” or “disrupting” actually consists of. That could make it easier to prosecute anyone who the government decides to target. The odious measure was first passed by the Senate and then by the House of Representatives, which voted 388-3in favor of it. The only House members to reject this alarming evisceration of the First Amendment were two Tea Party Republicans– Reps. Justin Amash of Michigan and Paul Broun of Georgia, and GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul of Texas. Not one single Democrat voted “no.” So, to recap: your government can now lock you up indefinitely without charge nor trial, assassinate you if it deems you to be a threat and arrest and imprison you for up to 10 years for exercising your constitutional rights. God bless America. Here is the full text of H.R. 347: H. R. 347 To correct and simplify the drafting of section 1752 (relating to restricted buildings or grounds) of title 18, United States Code. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011′. SEC. 2. RESTRICTED BUILDING OR GROUNDS. Section 1752 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: Sec. 1752. Restricted building or grounds (1) knowingly enters or remains in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so; (2) knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, engages in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any restricted building or grounds when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions; (3) knowingly, and with the intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, obstructs or impedes ingress or egress to or from any restricted building or grounds; or (4) knowingly engages in any act of physical violence against any person or property in any restricted building or grounds; or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b). (b) The punishment for a violation of subsection (a) is– (1) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both, if– (A) any person, during and in relation to the offense, uses or carries a deadly or dangerous weapon or firearm; or (B) the offense results in significant bodily injury as defined by section 2118(e)(3); and (2) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in any other case. (c) In this section– (1) the term `restricted buildings or grounds’ means any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area– (A) of the White House or its grounds, or the Vice President’s official residence or its grounds; (B) of a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting; or (C) of a building or grounds so restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance; and (2) the term ‘other person protected by the Secret Service’ means any person whom the United States Secret Service is authorized to protect under section 3056 of this title when such person has not declined such protection.’
This post originally appeared on PSI Impact. The newest edition of PSI Impact features a number of interesting stories and policy notes featured for Women Deliver, such as 5 bright-idea pilot projects that could yield big dividends for women and girls around the world. Does the private sector have a role improving health systems? According to some participants at this year’s Women Deliver conference on maternal health, absolutely. The conference, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, brought together thousands of health care providers, advocates, politicians, journalists, activists and human rights workers to discuss the challenges, victories and potential solutions in the maternal health field. One of those solutions: Private sector involvement. Most people who work in the maternal health field are there for one reason, said Jennifer Pope, Director of Support for International Family Planning Organisation at PSI, in a Women Deliver panel on the private sector and health care. They’re working for “Sara.” Sara, Pope said, is the woman who needs health care, family planning, adequate nutrition, sanitation and maternity care. It’s an archetype that represents all individuals and families that need health care. “There are many ‘Saras’ throughout the world,” Pope said. “We’re all here to serve her.” But there are tremendous barriers to getting all the Saras the care they need, and solving the complex problems that make care inaccessible requires creativity and partnership. The private sector is already deeply involved in the health care system, said Alysha Beyer, the Deputy Director of African Health Markets for Equity (AHME). According to Beyer, the idea that “the greater the interactions and synergies between the work streams, the greater the individual and aggregate impact” is AHME’s basic philosophy. With the private sector already dominating the health provided in much of the developing world – 75 percent of the care provided in Pakistan and India, for example – its influence and reach must be leveraged. “The private sector is a very important source of contraceptive supplies in both Asia and Africa,” said Susan Mitchell, the Vice President of International Health at Abt Associations. “Likewise if you look at child health treatment behaviors, it’s even more stark.” Even just a few years ago the idea of deep private sector involvement with NGOs in developing countries would raise eyebrows. Now, though, there’s a shifting consensus that there are major benefits to involving private enterprise. “Among donors there’s a growing view that the private sector can make a real difference,” Mitchell said. “It’s shifted from a very adversarial relationship to a collaborative relationship.” One major factor in that change, Mitchell said, has been “acknowledgment of the need for stronger engagement of all stakeholders, including the private sector.” The private sector, she said, strengthens health care systems by increasing the number of available providers, improving consumer choice and mobilizing resources and expertise. The Philippines federal insurance program PhilHealth, for example, covers 84 percent of the population. Sixty percent of the health care facilities accredited by PhilHealth are private providers. Low-income citizens of the Philippines are able to access private care, including prenatal and post-natal care, deliveries, and family planning. It’s not a perfect model, but increased information-sharing and collaboration between the private sector, the public sector and NGOs are yielding positive results in many areas. Most importantly, they’re creating more avenues to serve the many Saras of the world.
Technical Commission Members Mr Grzegorz Bachanski (POL) Mr Victor Mas (ESP) Mr Robert Vyklicky (CZE) Mr Goran Radonjic (FRA) Mr Zsolt Hartyani (HUN) Mr Reuven Virovnik (ISR) Mr Gjorgi Piperkov (MKD) Mr Sergey Fomin (RUS) Mr Ales Kamnikar (SLO) Mr Petr Sudek (SVK) Mr Emin Balci (TUR) The Technical Commission shall have the following duties: a) To train international commissioners and referees in Europe in co-operation with the national federations and FIBA. b) To train national and international referees instructors and evaluators, in co-operation with the national federations and FIBA c) To examine and prepare proposed amendments to the Official Basketball Rules to be submitted to FIBA. Implementation of listed responsibilities means preparation and organisation of clinics for the different target groups of officials in cooperation with the FIBA Europe Competitions Department and the National Federations. The Technical Commission prepares the agenda and recommends training tools and lecturers. First and most importantly, the Clinic for International Referees is a Clinic for the FIBA Referee Candidates. The Technical Commission pays special attention to the organisation of Clinics for the Referee Candidates in Europe. For licensed FIBA referees the refreshment clinics are organised to improve their level of officiating. The Technical Commission has started to evaluate of referees during FIBA Official Tournaments. The main goal of the training of commissioners and National Instructors is to ensure the smooth running of FIBA Europe international competitions and to achieve the FIBA philosophy of officiating and introduction of the Official Basketball Rules in all European Countries. Basketball is changing continuously. The most important duty of the Technical Commission is to follow these dynamics, and in training referees to take into consideration all new trends in basketball.
The Film on Film Foundation (FOFF) promotes film as a living art form by screening works from its history and stimulating its continued use in production and exhibition. We envision a vital film culture in which repertory screenings figure prominently on the cinematic landscape, and film--actual film--is not just an object of nostalgia but a living medium of expression. For over a century, the innate physical properties of film have not only served as the key elements in the work of many of our most significant artists, but have constituted a prism through which we have experienced the world. In the Bay Area, as in general, the number of venues offering regular repertory programming has been reduced to a paltry few. This is largely due to the popular misperception that the aesthetic qualities of video are essentially equivalent to those of film. Trends in production, distribution, and exhibition have been towards synthesizing these two media, rather than emphasizing their respective strengths. As a result, interest in attending films, especially classics, has waned drastically. Most commercial venues today have adopted a survival strategy based on cutting costs and seeking ancillary profits, and are uninterested in and incapable of offering an excellent film presentation, despite the development of procedures, products, and technologies that make this an attainable goal. As a non-profit-seeking organization we reject corporate short-term expediency and allow respect and reverence for film to be our guide. We screen films on film, with uncompromising presentation standards, showcasing the unique visual, material, and phenomenological properties of the medium.
Personal financial goals will differ in the length of time needed to achieve them. Short-term goals are priorities that can be accomplished within two years. Be sure every goal has a specific purpose, a dollar amount that it will cost, and a realistic target date. Mid-term goals are priorities that can be accomplished within two to five years. Make sure your goals are realistic and flexible. If you set your goals too high, frustration will keep you from reaching them. Long-term financial goals are priorities that may take more than five years to accomplish. Most long-term goals require regular savings. For more on this topic, see Wise Bread blogger Linsey Knerl on goal setting. Fill out the financial goal worksheet below to get started.
Be inspired as you read these success stories from jewelry-making designer-artists from around the world. featured on the cover of the 2014-2015 Jewelry Maker's Catalog of Best Sellers Meet the Designer-Artist Olena Vietrova, from Kiev, Ukraine, has long loved different kinds of art forms and handicrafts, including clothes design, embroidery, knitting, crocheting, fabric painting and creating appliques using leather, fabric and other materials. She decided she wanted to learn everything she could, study new forms and share them with others--so she began teaching handcrafting techniques in Kiev. Since 2006, she's worked as an editor for Fashion Magazine, where she creates templates and writes instructions published in Russian and English for the designs each issue. English versions of these instructions are available for free at www.firemtn.com/ukraine That's how she discovered she liked seeing and wearing beaded jewelry, yet she hadn't mastered the art form on her own, so she made her first necklace. Then Fashion Magazine started publishing only seed bead projects and her job got even more intense. Jewelry created using seed bead techniques are often complicated and she needed to know more to double check the patterns and instructions. Over time, her expertise in seed bead techniques grew and grew. Suddenly, she realized she was making her own pieces using the knowledge she'd gained from understanding the work of other jewelry makers. She found herself making her own intricate beaded jewelry and exhibiting it at Fashion Magazine's international "Golden Hands of Masters" show, alongside some of the artists she had originally learned from. "Creativity helps us to live, makes lives brighter and happier," Olena says, "and helps us to forget everything unpleasant." The joy of creation fills Olena's work with love and spirit. She wouldn't ask for anything less.
The dialogue with Pakistan is more important than ever before - such attacks though it might have happened with the complicity of the Pakistan Army. A K Antony's statement should not be read as cowardly because it is open ended - it does not rule out... The Congress is looking at the elections as a state level game rather than a presidential election. That explains why it has appointed low profile MPs in the new cabinet reshuffle but kept their star faces for the Congress party. Coalition politics is difficult to manage and the Congress government has probably worked around it by putting Manmohan Singh in the administration while Sonia Gandhi handled the varied political parties with differing opinions. The government will fuel the alienation within the people of Kashmir further by gagging the media, whereas it has done precious little on the ground to improve the situation in the valley.
CSU General Education Degrees & Certificates The following CSU General Education Certificate is offered: CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT CSU General Education Certificate Students must complete a minimum of 39 units used to satisfy the CSU General Education requirements, which are listed in the Folsom Lake College catalog. Students are encouraged to consult with a counselor in choosing the courses used to fulfill the required program. This Certificate of Achievement is designed for students planning to transfer to a California State University (CSU) campus. Completion of this certificate ensures that the student has met the lower division General Education requirements for all CSU campuses. Please note that although obtaining this certificate will ensure that the requirements for GE certification are met, students needing official GE certification will need to work with a counselor to complete the appropriate form. Upon completion of this program, the student will be able to: - Make sound decisions to improve personal and environmental well-being through the analysis of scientific information. - Implement appropriate method of inquiry used by social and behavioral sciences. - Demonstrate civic responsibility as an informed citizen knowledgeable about historical events, current issues, and government structures relevant to community, state, national and global issues. - demonstrate an appreciation for and understanding of the complexity of artistic and cultural expression through the ages by supporting the arts to enhance our community. - Apply systematic methods of problem-solving, comparative analysis, and creative decision-making in order to communicate effectively and efficiently in a variety of oral and written contexts. - Gather and assess information from a variety of sources to inform decision-making in personal, social, academic, or professional contexts. Supporting Student Success Community Observatory Invites You What's your story?
Arts, Culture and Philanthropy Take Root Fort Lauderdale has come alive as an arts venue. The interactive Spirit of Fort Lauderdale fountain lights up Huizenga Park. Arts and culture in Broward County contribute $160 million annually to the economy. [Photos: Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau] Fort Lauderdale has come alive as an arts venue. The '50s-era War Memorial Auditorium that hosted acts like Bill Haley, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis has been joined by top-rated concert and theater venues. "What has grown up in Fort Lauderdale is a thriving arts and cultural community," says Kelley Shanley, president / CEO of the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. The center ranks among the top 10 theaters nationally, and its 20th season will host Tony Bennett, Kenny G, Wicked and West Side Story and provide programming to thousands of students from Broward schools who participate in the center's arts and education program. And the Broward Center has plenty of company. Greater Fort Lauderdale boasts more than two dozen museums. Just down Las Olas Boulevard along the Riverwalk and Arts and Entertainment District is the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale and the Museum of Discovery and Science. To the north is the Broward County Main Library. To the south is the art house theater, Cinema Paradiso, operated by the Broward County Film Society. Just west is the Artspace artist loft, and farther north is the Flagler Arts and Technology District, with small theaters and creative artists and street festivals. Ringing the New River is Riverwalk — a linear park that book-ends property along Las Olas. The BankAtlantic Center hosts 200 events and 2 million guests annually, and has been ranked as high as the third-leading arena nationally by PollStar. Its benches and saucer-like lighting are part of CreativeBroward, a countywide, award-winning Public Arts mission. "These larger venues and little nooks add up to a greater cultural experience," Shanley says. "Those are the things that happen when you create the critical mass of the larger arts institutions. People are trying to do things from the grass roots up." What made this happen? The public-private partnership, says Mary Becht, director of the Broward County Cultural Division. Cultural investment — a land grant from the Downtown Development Authority for the Broward Center, and money from the National Endowment for the Arts and local philanthropists — led to construction that attracted area businesses. Even today, countywide some $100 million in arts facilities are under construction. The business community bought in. Corporate offices — like law and professional firms, For the sports fan, there's Broward's own Florida Panthers NHL franchise. "Every year that's similar to Broward's share of the Super Bowl," says Becht, who's bullish about the Cultural Division's third 10-year plan, CreativeBroward 2020, which is chaired by Jarrett Levan, CEO of BankAtlantic. "Other communities don't nurture small and mid-sized cultural groups. We ended up with a cultural district by accident." Giving is equally important in the community. In anticipation of the city's centennial, Mayor Seiler proclaimed "The Mayor's Challenge." The volunteer effort was to try to amass 100,000 cumulative hours cleaning beaches, reading at the library, mentoring students or generally giving back. Three months before the March 2011 deadline, they'd topped 140,000 hours, he says. Corporate names grace buildings and causes across the community. From the Huizengas to AutoNation to car distributor JM Family Enterprises and its philanthropic foundation, comes support for such groups as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County, Habitat for Humanity, the United Way, the Urban League and others. "There is significant corporate philanthropy in this community," says Colin Brown, president/ CEO of JM Family Enterprises, a long-time corporate citizen founded in 1968 by automotive pioneer Jim Moran.
How do i type a line over a letter on a mac? Asked by waterskier2007 (2042 ) March 25th, 2009 I need to type a character with a bar over it on a mac, is this possible, and how do i do it Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0 This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic. Wow! You've got 847 knowledge matches!Want to see them? Join Fluther!
As the industry moves deeper into so-called "Web 2.0," the role of the Web site is changing. By now we all know it’s a cardinal sin to just regurgitate magazine content on the Web site, or look to the Web simply as a source for print fulfillment. Web sites have not only become standalone content vehicles but in many cases, the first stop for readers. Web sites today look nothing like the bland text-only pages of yesteryear, and rapid advances in other e-channels could make today’s cutting edge Web sites looking equally outdated in the near future. "A few years from now we’ll all be looking at Web sites the way we look at print," says Paul Gerbino, publisher of the Product News Network at Thomas Publishing. Defining the Mission The first step to Web design is to serve the mission;whether that’s editorial, advertising sales, marketing or circulation. "The biggest change in our Web sites over last year was to stop looking at them as brochureware for the magazines," says Jason Brightman, Web director at enthusiast publisher Harris Publishing. "Now we look at magazines as their own brand extensions with their own audience." The Web site for Harris’ hip hop magazine XXL, XXLmag.com, went from being updated once a month with magazine content to being updated three or four times per day with original content. Still, Brightman advises publishers not to take flash (or Flash) over function. "We’ve gotten the most compliments from our commenting system," says Brightman. "It’s not rocket science or fancy but it’s very easy and immediate for users. They comment on a story, then come back to see what people said about their comments. We’ll get 500 to 600 comments per post. What would be one page view for a viewer is now 10 to 15 because they keep coming back." The Nation, meanwhile, expanded its site’s ability to fulfill its original mission. "Although our main business focus on the site has always been, and remains, driving print subscriptions, advertising has become an increasingly important source, and has grown significantly, especially in the past year," says Scott Klein, vice president of Web site and technology. "We’re also using our blogging software in ways we never foresaw when we wrote it;as a platform to cover breaking news, which is something that would have been out of the question for a magazine like ours just a few years ago." CNNMoney.com underwent a redesign last January and expanded the site with integration of exclusive content from Fortune, Money, Business 2.0 and Fortune Small Business. With a dedicated team of 35 journalists, the site publishes nearly 100 stories per day, more than triple the number it was posting a year ago. "Online readers have massively different expectations than magazine readers and sometimes publishers don’t see that," says vice president and executive editor Chris Peacock. "On the Web, readers want new and fresh and that means delivering a lot of content quickly. The formula is volume and velocity. This is obviously a challenge for small publishers but not insurmountable." Business 2.0 has a small staff (relative to, say, Fortune) but coped by having every journalist on its staff write a blog, according to Peacock. "Everyone, including editor Josh Quittner, posts at least two items a day," he adds. The Web site design should be another extension of the editorial voice. XXLmag.com features video and audio clips that are consistent with the editorial voice, such as the latest Jay Z song and the sixties’ tune he sampled from. "Instead of just throwing up songs because we’ve got songs, we try to put it up and editorially contextualize it," says Brightman. "We still have the editorial voice of the magazine and the XXL brand but we’re doing it in a way that makes sense for the tools you have online that you don’t have in print." Many publishers are attempting updates on old architecture created three to five years ago (and sometimes even longer). It’s a struggle, especially if a publisher is contending with now archaic technology. "Smithsonian Publishing has been working with a content management system that I inherited," says Emily Allen, director of the online publishing group, which oversees all Smithsonian Web sites. "We’ve had our issues with the CMS, which wasn’t selected for frequent updates and does not allow for template changes, so the enhancements we’ve made thus far have not been as impactful as we would like them to be." Last fall, Smithsonian’s online publishing group began an aggressive plan to completely redesign the existing Web sites;Smithsonian.com and AirSpacemag.com, as well as launch a completely new Web site, goSmithsonian.com. Allen plans to use a framework that is scalable for all three sites. "We had to build a new CMS for goSmithsonian.com, which afforded us the opportunity to customize a system that would eventually support all three sites. And, since we weren’t restricted by the existing CMS parameters during the development of the new site, we were able to think outside of the box in terms of features." Unlike most other areas, the expense of Web design is actually in the publisher’s favor. Tools and applications that cost thousands of dollars just a few years ago now cost a fraction of that (and in many cases, are available today as free open-source software). Blogging software WordPress has been the most useful tool for Harris Publishing, according to Brightman. "We use it as a content management system;it manages everything you see," he says. "A blog is just a stripped down content management system. Every section, every post scales beautifully. There is a huge development community with tons of plug-ins. A lot of the features for a modern site like ours were built into the program, including things like Flash video, send to a friend, a million plug-ins, all the stuff you need out of the box. And it’s free, which I’m sure publishers would like." Since driving print subscriptions is the main focus for The Nation, the site continues to rely on its proprietary subscription monitoring software SuMo, which offers some unique capabilities. "External promotions like TV and radio are things we didn’t imagine we’d do when we first designed SuMo but it does a great job tracking those offline campaigns, through our use of tracking URLs," says Klein. "We’re still pretty basic when it comes to tools. We hand-code template pages using BBEdit on Macs, or even vim. We tend to re-code pages that come to us from outside designers, which tend to be fairly messy and inefficient." Last fall, women’s career magazine Pink won Folio:’s Ozzie Award for Best Consumer Web Site Design. Today, traffic to pinkmagazine.com is growing 15 percent per month, according to owner and founding publisher Genevieve Bos, and the site has added a job search component, and struck a video-on-demand deal. Pink tapped Atlanta-based Melia Design Group for its Web site, which covers the external design of the site, while Melia Technologies and its Nimbus platform provide the back-end architecture. "We can digitize and serve videos that go through the Nimbus infrastructure and then our design by Melia sits on top," says Bos. "We’re about to introduce podcasting, along with video-on-demand. Users have a choice, they can put it on their iPod or watch it live right on the screen." Being served both on the front-end and back-end of the Web site by a single provider ensures Pink only has to buy features it will use. "This allows us to grow in an affordable way;all we have to do is turn it on," says Bos. "We’ve had so many publishers call us after we won the Ozzie award to ask us what we’re using. They started out with something that was not extendable or scalable. Often you have to pay someone a small fortune to update anything. We have interns update our Web site." Think constant, gradual change, advises Melia Design president Mike Melia. "We’re a believer in evolution, not revolution. It’s tough to say every two or three years you need to redesign your site. You may end up in that same spot three years later but it shouldn’t be a huge jump." But publishers need to keep their expectations realistic as well. Changing something online often isn’t as easy as a keystroke in Quark or InDesign. "It might take a designer five minutes to paste a search box onto a comp but it might take us a week to fulfill the requirement," says Jason Brewster, president of Melia Technologies. "Sometimes there’s not enough thinking through of the repercussions for design decisions." The Struggle for Metrics Web site measurement remains a challenge for everyone, due to the lack of standards. "Analytics is a complete nightmare, every program will tell you something different while looking at the same information," says Brightman, who adds that on the scripting side, his sites are using Google Analytics. "It’s free, it’s pretty robust, and it’s just a little bit of coding on the bottom of the page," he adds. On the server side, Harris uses NetTracker. "Whatever metrics you look at will be different," Brightman says. "They all have different algorithms as far as determining a unique visitor or a page view. Having several different systems in place gives us a picture of the range." CNNMoney.com has homegrown tools that tell them what users are doing on the site in real-time. "All our editors keep a close eye on this data," says Peacock. "They give us a lot of ideas on how to improve. That said, we use that information as a guide, not a rule. As editors, these tools can only take us so far. We strive to give readers stories they didn’t know they wanted to read and the analytics can’t give you that. But they do allow editors an instant gut-check on headlines, stories and packages." Stay Separate From Print Since its redesign last year, XXLmag.com has gone from 3 million page views per month to over 20 million, with a growth rate of about 30 percent month to month, according to Brightman, who says that Harris’ best move online has been a combination of selecting good technology that’s been great for growth, like WordPress, and making smart content decisions. "I’m not a big believer in flash and sparkle. For all of the audio and video stuff we do, we strongly believe the Web is still a text medium and people want to read and click, and then go to their other 10 sites," Brightman says. "Here’s the information you want with one click, and then you can be gone to do your business." But don’t treat the Web and print as a continuous content stream, he adds. "The mistake I see all the time is integrating the magazine with the Web site, particularly putting Web jumps in the magazine," Brightman says. "I usually read my magazines on the subway. When a jump comes up that says ‘For more, look to www.,’ it’s not only useless but it makes me angry. I don’t know in the real world how many people are sitting in front of a computer while reading the magazine, but my guess is not many. It hurts both magazines and Web sites, particularly the magazines. The more separate the content is, the more reasons you’re giving people to get both." Open-Source Software Suggestions The online options can be dizzying for publishers who are just beginning to take their sites to the next level. Media and nonprofit specialist Amanda Hickman offers her advice on open-source software. - "I love Drupal and WordPress but probably only because I know them better than some of their peers. I know folks who work with Joomla and Plone and are just as content. WordPress is (or can be if you let it) dead simple, lightweight, blogging software. Joomla, Plone and Drupal are much more comprehensive content management systems." - "http://cmsmatrix.org is a great resource for evaluating content management systems, proprietary and GPL alike." - "http//opensourcecms.com only rates free and open source content management software. They will let you test-drive a handful of PHP/MySQL-driven content management systems but you’ll miss some really solid open source options if you use them as your only source, including Bricolage and Plone." - "Bricolage (http://bricolage.cc) is great for periodicals, as are some of the tools from the Center for Advanced Media, Prague (http://www.campware.org/)." Choosing a Web Design Firm Internet design firms abound but choosing the wrong one will cost you thousands of dollars and months, if not years, of setbacks with your Web strategy. Genevieve Bos, owner and founding publisher of Pink, shares her tips on how to make the right choice. A winner of the 2006 Folio: Ozzie Award for Best Consumer Web Site Design, pinkmagazine.com uses Atlanta-based Melia Design Group. "When we did a national RFP, I had no idea we’d use an Atlanta firm," says Bos. "I was sure we’d end up in San Francisco." - Make sure you know who will be doing the work. "You can go to a lot of Web design firms and it turns out they just lost their senior artist and they have no talent left," says Bos. "It’s important to get a commitment in the contract on who will do the work." - Make sure the design firm has the resources to dedicate toward your project. "I like firms that have at least three to four designers," says Bos. "If someone is sick, you want someone else to pick it right up." - Test the design firm’s creativity. If you’re starting from scratch, ask prospective design firms to give three or four ideas for the home page. "One of the things I did when looking for a partner was I explained our market, gave them some of our layouts and some of our first board imagery, then watched to see what they’d do with it," says Bos. - Be clear about your budget. "We wanted to be practical from a cost standpoint," says Bos. "I wanted it at a turnkey, get-it-done, price." - Be clear about the contract. "Everything was very transparent in the agreement, and when it wasn’t clear, I told them to rewrite it," says Bos. "Don’t be too embarrassed about not knowing something that you don’t ask. A lot of publishers just say, ‘I guess we should have known that.’" - Look for design firms with publishing experience. Not having to train them will save you a lot of time and money. "You want a low fuss back-end feature set with a company that already has publishing clients so they can be a coach for you," says Bos.
The fields of application of pure potato starch and its derivatives are extremely wide and varied. The products are used e.g. as binders, thickeners, stabilisers, fillers etc. in food products, potato starch = potato flour = potato starch flour = katakuriko Notes: This gluten-free gravies. Its main advantage over other starch thickeners is that it's a permitted ingredient for Passover, unlike cornstarch starch is used to thicken soups and and other grain-based foods. Because potatoes are eaten so frequently they are very significant nutritionally. Potatoes are a good source of vitamin C, potassium and fibre and contain some magnesium. They are high in starch so will stop you feeling hungry for a long time. There is a special fibre in potato skin that helps to protect against some cancers, so to get the most goodness from your potato, leave the skin on. Potatoes contain antiÃ‚â€“oxidants which research shows are able to inhibit the development of some cancers. In addition to this, antiÃ‚â€“oxidants also decrease your risk of heart disease. Potatoes are not fattening, however some cooking and preparation methods are! Sometimes potatoes have had a pretty bad reputation for being fattening, but it isn't the potatoes fault it is what we do to it. Extract The distilled or evaporated oils of foods or plants (such as nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, bark, buds, roots, leaves, meat, poultry, seafood, fish, dairy foods, or eggs) that are dissolved in an alcohol base or allowed to dry to be used as a flavoring. Food extracts as they are often labeled, are used to add a concentrated flavor to many food dishes, especially baked goods and desserts, without adding additional volume. Available in solid (cubes, granules or powdered), liquid or jelled form, extracts may be labeled as pure, natural or artificial. Pure and natural extracts are governed by laws in many countries that require compliance with procedures that take the extract ingredients directly from the named flavor, such as extracting oils directly from the vanilla bean to make pure or natural vanilla extract. Artificial extracts are flavors that do not necessarily use any ingredients directly from a source named for the extract but instead used combinations of ingredients to arrive at a flavor representative of the named food extract, such as artificial lemon extract. Some of the most widely used extracts include vanilla, almond, anise, maple, peppermint, and numerous solid or jelled extracts such as beef and chicken bouillon or meat demi-glaces. As an example of how the pure and natural extract is made, vanilla extract is created by soaking vanilla beans in water and an alcohol-based solution where it ages for several months, during which time the vanilla flavor is extracted from the bean. Anise extract, a sweet licorice tasting flavoring, is produced by dissolving the oil of anise seeds into alcohol. Grape extract is produced to assist with the wine making process. Compounds from the skin of grapes are extracted and added to the wine in order to impart tannin, color, and body into a wine. The characteristics of the wine can be changed dramatically by the amount of time the wine is in contact with the skins. If the grapes are in contact for too long, the resulting wine may be too potent, or what is sometimes called â€œover-extractedâ€�. Juices of fruits and vegetables are often extracted as juice extracts to be used similar to other food extracts, as a flavoring when preparing foods. A common utensil for the purpose of extracting lemon juice is available to assist with home recipes requiring a lemon flavoring.
Depending on how literal you want to get and who you’re talking to, an NFL stadium can resemble a battlefield. The comparison between the gridiron and a war zone becomes even more similar now, as the NFL is looking into implementing the same helmet sensors the Army uses to gather data on head trauma after impact, according to the Stars and Stripes, an independent news source of the military. The sensors, manufactured by British-based security company BAE Systems, are called Headborne Energy Analysis and Diagnostic Systems – more commonly referred to as HEADS. Placed inside of a soldier’s helmet and weighing just 2 ounces, the sensor collects data of hits from explosive devises and other blunt impacts, including impact location, magnitude, duration, blast pressure, ambient temperature and the exact times of impacts. The NFL wants to use the same sensors, though altered slightly, in football helmets to track the severity of blows to the head, so players may be taken out of games before severe brain trauma — namely concussions — occurs or escalates. In a 2000 study conducted by the American Academy of Neurology, 60 percent of NFL players said they have suffered concussions in their career, and about a third of those players reported having three or more. The US military has reported almost 230,000 cases of traumatic brain injury among more than 2 million Americans who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Multiple concussions in a person have shown a tendency to lead to dementia, Parkinson’s disease, depression, insomnia or a combination of all. There is strong evidence that shows these traits may have contributed to former players going down terrible paths. For example, Ray Easterling, who played in the NFL from 1972-79, filed a federal lawsuit against the NFL in 2011 because of the way the league handled his concussions. This past April, Easterling committed suicide in the wake of a clinical depression diagnosis resulting from dementia. Junior Seau took his own life a month later. Dave Duerson did the same in 2011. Seau and Duerson reportedly suffered from the same post-concussion, depression-like symptoms Easterling did. Sports Illustrated’s Andy Staples noted that an examination of Duerson’s brain after he passed away showed Duerson had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a trauma-induced disease researchers had found in the brains of 20 other dead players. The push toward head safety got a large boost in 2007, when the NFL revised its concussion policy, stating that a player could not return to a game or practice in which he lost consciousness, and that a player “must be completely asymptomatic and pass his neurological tests normally before returning to play.” A player who has already suffered a concussion during the season would be required to undergo extra neurological tests. In 2009, the NFL tightened up guidelines: A player didn’t have to lose consciousness to be pulled from a game or practice. After displaying any concussion symptoms, the player must be analyzed by an independent neurologist as well as his team physician. Though the HEADS sensors obviously won’t protect players from initially being hit, the goal is to alert a team’s medical staff to remove a player from a game or practice before another hit makes the injury more severe. The Army’s sensors start generating reports at 150 Newton, a measure of force. Showing the sensitivity of the report, a boxer’s punch can generate thousands of Newtons. While the NFL is testing these sensors, the Army is getting more. According to BAE Systems, nearly 19,000 HEADS sensors have been delivered to the US Army. A July 9 press release by BAE Systems stated that the Army has come to terms with a new five-year $16.9 million contract that will yield the HEADS Generation II sensors by January 2013. The goal is to expand the current number to 45,000, according to Stars and Stripes. Of course that figure is substantially larger than the amount that would be needed for the NFL. There are only 53 players on an active team roster, and only 45 on its game-day roster. The preseason roster limit is 90 players per team. This means potentially 2,880 helmets would need to be equipped to cover every single player during the preseason, and 1,696 during the season. The cost to create sensors for the NFL would be much less than for the US Army — but at this point safety is a bigger concern — both for players and the league’s reputation. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met with the Army in May to discuss the sensors. He and other NFL officials have implemented numerous changes to the game over recent years in an effort to make the sport safer. In 2011, kickoffs were moved from the 30-yard line to the 35. The goal was to create more touchbacks, in turn producing less tackles on returns. It worked: There were 1,120 touchbacks in 2011, up from 416 in 2010. Concussions per game dropped to .594 per game (190 in 320 preseason and regular-season games) in 2011 from .679 per game (218 in 321 preseason and regular-season games) in 2010. The NFL attributed the drop to overall concussion awareness (the league launched NFLHealthandSafety.com last year) and limiting hits to the head and neck, as well as more fines and suspensions to repeat offenders of new rules. - Page 1 / 2
While it’s a bit of a mind-bender to think of Apple as a victim of anything, Apple CEO Tim Cook told a story yesterday that almost made it sound like the company had become a victim of its own success. As more and more people began to share more and more music and photos across more and more Apple gadgets, Cook said, the process syncing up all that content across all those i-things had “become a hair-pulling exercise.” “iCloud turns that on its head,” said Cook in a transcript of his remarks that’s posted on macrumors.com. “It recognizes that in the last 2-3 years, we live off multiple devices. It’s no longer a great customer experience to have to sync your iPad to your Mac and then your iPhone to your Mac and then resync your iPad to your Mac.” And to prove his point, Cook revealed the latest in a recent series of performance metrics from Apple that are simply jaw-dropping: iCloud recognizes the Mac or PC as just another device and now your life is a lot easier. We have 100 million users of iCloud — we just launched it in October! This is unbelievable. (For more on Apple’s recent run of very big numbers, please check out Apple Inc.: 10 Astonishing Facts and Apple’s Mind-Boggling Financial Results: 10 High-Growth Highlights.) That’s 100 million iCloud users in four months, or about 25 million per month—and that’s coming awfully close to 1 million new iClouders every single day. That pace will surely level off at some point (won’t it?), but Cook said the core idea behind the iCloud will endure for at least a decade—which, in Apple years, is a very long time. “I view iCloud not as something with a year or two product life—it’s a strategy for the next decade or more,” Cook said. “It’s truly profound.” On the enterprise side, the impact from the iCloud will be felt in a couple of ways: first, it’s simply impossible to understate the gravitational impact Apple has on not only its own industry but also on those of its customers: think of the music business, the book business, the media business, iPads in hospitals, the demise of Kodak. In that context, Apple’s raging success with iCloud could change the thinking of many CEOs and other business leaders who until recently harbored some reservations about the riskiness of this whole “cloud computing” thing for their businesses. If it’s good enough for Apple, they’re likely to think, then why not for us? In addition, think back to Cook’s comment about how the formerly cool process of syncing one device to another eventually became not-so-cool and then rapidly devolved to “a hair-pulling exercise.” Once again, the repercussions of that outsized Apple Impact (it’s kind of like a reality-distortion field, except reality isn’t just distorted—it is truly changed) will be profound as many millions of people will become less tolerant of the hair-pulling exercises they have to endure as their engagements with technology extend to increasingly wider swaths of their daily lives. This whole syncing thing is going to become the next Six Sigma battleground: if you’re a bank, your customers’ mobile banking records better be in perfect real-time harmony with those on their PCs and your ATMs. How about inventory management: do you have a single instance of truth throughout your operations, or various shades of it? Better sync up—or else your customers as well as your employees will gradually begin to notice, and they’re going to wonder what the heck’s wrong with you. Because Apple’s conditioned them to stop pulling their hair out, and to simply switch to a superior alternative. (Follow me on Twitter at bobevansSAP.)
This last week of soccer seemed like one, long exposure of the seamier side of the game about which most would rather not think. A 19-month investigation into match fixing resulted in a report released on Monday that found 680 suspicious matches across the global game. Brian Phillips had perhaps the best summary of the report’s possible impact and FIFA’s reactions to it, which can be summarized as “minimal” and “expected but insufficient”. Sepp Blatter, predictably, reacted as if two of the most important integrity issues facing the game today – racism and match fixing – were an either/or choice and insinuated soccer will solve its match fixing problem through evolution and not specific action. Thursday brought news from the Premier League that its clubs had agreed in principle to what amounted to a slowing of the growth of the top teams’ payrolls for the next three years. Football law analyst Daniel Geey provided a quick summary of the deal. Buried in the week’s soccer financial news was a report delivered to the European Commission (EC) on “The Economic and Legal Aspects of Transfers of Players.” Commissioning the study in January 2012, the EC asked the researchers to study “player transfers with the objective of providing a detailed overview of the economic and legal aspects of transfer systems in team sport in Europe, focusing on football and basketball in particular.” The resultant 346-page report lays bare a pretty stark picture of competitive imbalance, lack of funds for youth and lower league development, and a lack of transparency that today’s transfer market drives The number of transfers occurring on an annual basis has increased greatly since the Bosman ruling in the mid-1990’s. According to the report there were 5,735 transfers in 1994/95 and a total of €402,869,000 exchanged for these players. Fast-forward fifteen years, and 18,307 players were transferred in 2010/11 for a sum of €3,002,198,000. This is indicative of the big business that soccer has become within Europe, and it is this business that gives the EC the jurisdiction to suggest regulatory changes to the games’ governing bodies. Specifically, the study cites the 2001 agreement between the EC and FIFA that attempted to establish ground rules for the transfer market to provide training compensation for clubs that lost players younger than 23 years old, the limitation of transfers to only two specific times of the calendar, regulating the maximum and minimum duration of contracts, and the creation of funding mechanisms that provided “solidarity money” to clubs responsible for training tomorrow’s top players. The study’s findings indicate this 2001 agreement has failed to deliver on these principles. Specifically, the authors cite the following issues: - Rather than diffuse talent since the Bosman ruling, transfer deals have consolidated talent within a few big spending clubs in several domestic leagues. The result is a disturbing predictability in the outcome of national league and international club tournaments. - Rather than adequately compensate non-superclubs for developing tomorrow’s top talent, the current transfer market has delivered less than 2% of transfer fees towards “solidarity compensation”. This has contributed to the competitive imbalance observed within multiple competitions. - Once talent is consolidated in big spending clubs and those same clubs are routinely qualifying for the most lucrative international competitions, more of the winnings from those competitions are staying within those high spending teams. As an example, less than 6% of UEFA Champions League payouts are going to non-Champions league teams in the form of solidarity compensation to improve the competitive position of non-UCL clubs. The researchers’ proposed changes to league financial and transfer rules, while non-binding and reliant upon the leagues to implement, would be fairly radical. A sampling of the recommendations includes: - Establishing a “fair play levy” on transfer fees that exceed a defined amount. These levies would be primarily used to fund solidarity payments throughout international and national federations and help correct the current imbalance in transfer fee and talent flow (see figure in section 4.1.3 of report, which shows the EPL, Spain, Serie A, and Bundesliga as net spenders/importers and all other leagues in the study as feeders). The transfer fee threshold at which the levy would kick in would be set so as to primarily affect “superstar player” transfers. - Limiting squad sizes to 25 players, and tighter regulation of the player loan market by also limiting the number of players a team can loan out as well as the number of players a team may receive on loan. The idea behind this change is to eliminate the ability of rich clubs to stockpile talent, strategically choose who may receive their players on loan, and then inevitably minimize the impact those loaned players may have on their original team’s performance by banning their participation in matches against their original team. The intended effect of the squad size and loan proposals is to increase talent diffusion across the continent. - Setting a maximum transfer value for a player based upon the salary remaining on his contract, especially when that salary is part of a renegotiated contract after already playing several years at the club. The authors of the study make this recommendation as a possible way of correcting creative methods clubs have used to get around the spirit of the 2001 agreement with the EC that was intended to increase player mobility. The study’s authors suggest supplementing this action with one limiting the magnitude of buyout clauses within player contracts as these clauses also help drive up transfer fees to levels only a few clubs can afford. - A variety of proposals to improve the youth game that suffers a bit as more money is concentrated in the upper tiers of the game. They include strong penalties for not complying with youth program solidarity payments, increasing transfer fee solidarity payments from their current 2% level to something closer to 5% to 8%, and improved oversight of the integration of players from outside the EU when they choose to come to the continent to play the sport. - The authors also call for increased transparency via public reporting of transfers, agents, and transfer spending depending upon club size. In some ways, the authors are suggesting a more detailed definition of standard reporting for publicly traded clubs, similar to what may be expected of any other publicly traded business. - Finally, the authors call for increased cooperation between the leagues and confederations with their respective civil authorities. It is perhaps this final point that underscores the weakness of many of the proposals to date for reforming European soccer’s current economic climate. Whether it is Financial Fair Play (FFP), the Premier League’s recently proposed salary rules, or the changes proposed by this EC study, the rigorousness with which they are applied is completely dependent upon the leagues’ and confederations’ ability to stand up to the richest clubs within them. As Stefan Szymanski points out in his latest blog entry at the Soccernomics Consultancy, all behavior by the clubs to date seems to indicate they’re willing to call UEFA’s bluff on FFP. As for the Premier League’s proposal for salary restraint, the 7AM Kickoff blog properly forecasts that the real effect would be freezing a permanent oligopoly of Manchester United, Manchester City, and Chelsea as the league’s top spenders that no other club would be allowed to approach. Similar sentiments were echoed in a refreshing bit of honesty from Manchester City’s Roberto Mancini, who observed that UEFA’s FFP rules would have made it impossible for City to challenge for the title as soon as they did , with the implication such rules would have frozen a then Manchester United-Chelsea duopoly at the top of the league. The net effect of eliminating sugar daddies and disruptive increases in salary spending from the game by only offering financing mechanisms that still allow clubs to spend what they spend today (whether it’s financially sustainable or not) is to decrease competition, not increase it. Soccer is big business now with the divergence of sums being spent on league’s top and bottom clubs being perhaps bigger than it’s ever been. Of the two financial regimes proposed to date – sugar daddies or team revenue-based spending restrictions – sugar daddies are the only way to radically change such imbalance that favors a select few big clubs. Asking leagues and federations who are controlled by large rich clubs to reform themselves is an admirable nod to limited government intrusion in sporting activity that should serve as an escape from our everyday regulated and regimented existence at work and at home. The reality, as the EC study points out, is that professional soccer is no longer just an escape but also a business that even has a number of clubs that are publicly traded entities. Our assumptions about professional sport not receiving greater oversight from civilian authorities should be re-examined in light of this new reality. The key, as in most economic climates, is in promulgating league, confederation, and civil authority policies that still provide a reasonable link between spending, risk taking, and success while minimizing the concentration of power in a few rich entities. Of the three major recommendations or policies made so far – UEFA’s FFP, the Premier League’s proposed salary rules, and the EC’s recommendations – the potentially best option for achieving a balanced approach appears to be the EC’s. While it would undoubtedly lower the level of money flowing to players, agents, and clubs in the top tiers of European soccer, it would also have the potential for providing for more competitive matches and league/confederation competitions in the top tier and improved club and player development in lower tiers. If nothing else, the EC study’s proposals might just clamp down on the worst behaviors in the transfer market that were recently recounted by West Ham United co-chairman David Sullivan. The real question is whether or not the leagues, UEFA, and European civil authorities will have the courage and willpower to actually implement policies that would surely restrict today’s superclubs’ success in future years in the hopes of providing better competitive and economic balance to the non-superclubs.
The Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association (IRTBA) and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) are calling on motorists to abide by work zone laws for speeding and the use of mobile devices. These organizations and the other members of the Illinois Strategic Highway Safety Plan (ISHSP) Partners are taking part in National Work Zone Awareness Week to raise awareness about hazards and the need for increasing caution in work zone areas. IRTBA wants to remind motorists that roadside workers are fathers, mothers, sons and daughters whose hard work we benefit from daily. The IDOT slogan for National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week is, "See orange. Slow down. Save lives!" Illinois drivers are prohibited from talking on cell phones while traveling work zones or school zones. It is always illegal to email, text or surf the internet while driving in Illinois. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving contributes to 25 percent of all reported traffic crashes. "Calling, texting, internet surfing. Distracted driving is an unfortunate addition to the lexicon and an added risk to roadway workers and traveling motorists," said Woodie Griffin, president of James D. Fiala Paving Co., Inc., and chairman of IRTBA. "It is more important than ever to get motorists to focus on the road and to understand the risks of using mobile devices while driving." National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week coincides with the start of the construction season. IRTBA wants drivers to also be aware of speed limits in work zones and the stiff fines for violators. Court appearances are mandatory for work zone speeding. Motorists should also know that Photo Speed Enforcement is being used when workers are present to increase safety in work zones on Illinois highways. "We've all seen someone on the phone, or texting or engaging in other dangerous behavior while driving," said Mike Sturino, president and CEO of IRTBA. "I think people are beginning to recognize the hazards and change their behavior. We want to reinforce that trend." IRTBA, IDOT and the ISHSP Partners are holding events throughout the state during the week to demonstrate to motorists the critical need to alter their behavior: - On Monday, April 4, 2011 Press conferences will be held throughout the state to raise motorists' awareness and urge them to be alert and slow down in work zones. IRTBA and ISHSP Partners are planning informal media appearances in Chicago during the local network morning news shows. The participants will be outside the studios wearing green reflective vests. IRTBA, IDOT and ISHSP Partners will also distribute work zone literature to their employees. - On Friday, April 8, 2011 Various Rest Areas throughout the state will have displays to promote and distribute work zone safety awareness information to motorists. The Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association, formed in 1938, is a statewide association comprised of companies that design, build and maintain the system of roads, airports, public transportation and waterways in Illinois.
Musical With Numerous Woodcuts by Carl Engel The following computer-generated description may contain errors and does not represent the quality of the book: Hindustan, vina. Persian, chang. bagpipe Turkish harp Persian dulcimer The rebab Aztec whistles. Antique pipe from central America Pipes of the Aztecs Peruvian bone pipe huayra-puhura Orinoco Indian trumpet South American Juruparis Indian trumpets., Aztec drums San Domingo drum Peruvian bell Aztec cluster of bells Cithara, ninth century Psalterium Nablum Citole Anglo-saxon harp Harp, ninth century Ancient Irish harp German rotte Rotta. APA: Engel, Carl. (2013). Musical With Numerous Woodcuts. London: Forgotten Books. (Original work published 1876) MLA: Engel, Carl. Musical With Numerous Woodcuts. 1876. Reprint. London: Forgotten Books, 2013. Print.
"Between the Covers" Book Making with Benita VanWinkle Posted on 6/27/2012 Come learn how to make the pages that will go ‘between the covers’ of your very own book that you make! Learn a bit about the diverse and exciting world of bookbinding and construct your own book to take home with you. Benita VanWinkle will show several forms of books and talk about the art of folding, sewing and most importantly, conceptualizing a book. You will be able to examine each book in detail and then learn how they were made. It is easier than you think – and it’s so FUN! Check out Benita’s books at www.busybstudio.com and come with your questions. This is a hand’s on workshop, so be ready to do some Book Art! "Between the Covers" Book Making with Benita Van Winkle Saturday, July 7th 10 am-12 noon Central Library Auditorium For more information contact: Terri Bonow 336-703-3064 Adult Services Librarian.
Bad news from the front lines in the cyber-security war: Little meaningful progress has been made toward safeguarding the nation’s electric grid from malicious attacks. Initial cyber-security... NERC's Reliability Standards: The Good, the Bad, and the Fill-in-the-Blanks How to prepare for mandatory enforcement. FERC staff’s Preliminary Assessment of NERC’s proposed reliability standards identified a number of potential deficiencies, many of which NERC plans to address. What adjustments must be made by users, owners, and operators of the bulk power system in the new era of mandatory compliance? The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT) brought sweeping reform to the regulation of energy markets and the enforcement of market rules, as well as to regulation of the transmission systems that are the backbone of those markets. Over the last few months, the breadth and scope of that reform has come into even sharper focus. New rules, promulgated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in a host of areas, significantly have altered the regulatory risk landscape. One of the fundamental changes brought about by EPACT is in the area of bulk power system reliability. The current system of voluntary adherence to reliability standards is being replaced by mandatory compliance and enforcement, backed up by a FERC to which Congress has given substantially greater authority than it ever had in the past to levy significant civil penalties for violations of its regulations and orders. With FERC at the helm, users, owners, and operators of the bulk power system subject to reliability standards now face the possibility of stiff penalties for noncompliance. These entities need to consider carefully the new regulatory regime and arm themselves with proactive compliance programs that ensure that they meet or exceed the reliability standards developed to date. In this article, we present the framework of this new compliance and enforcement paradigm and offer suggestions on how to avoid some pitfalls. Utilities know that reliability is of paramount importance. Nevertheless, compliance with existing voluntary reliability standards has not achieved the necessary levels of reliability that regulators and customers demand. Breaking with old, bad habits (such as loose compliance) can be more difficult than simply implementing new requirements on a “clean slate.” Given the importance of reform and the significant potential consequences (through FERC’s use of its new civil penalty authority), users, owners, and operators of the bulk power system must take special care to adjust to the new mandatory compliance world for electric reliability. On April 4, 2006, the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) filed with FERC both its application for certification as the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) and its petition for approval of mandatory reliability standards. In its petition, NERC submitted to FERC 102 reliability standards that it proposes be made effective on Jan. 1, 2007. NERC’s proposed reliability standards are the same as NERC’s existing voluntary reliability standards (for a
Note to non-UK readers: the "trainers" mentioned in the report refer to shoes, not personal trainers. That's British English for sports shoes. I read the report and it says some good things but implies some bad things. First of all, yes, most sports drinks, supplements, and shoes won't help the average fitness person who frankly isn't likely working hard enough to begin with for any of that to matter. People who are walking 30 minutes 3x a week on a treadmill, for example, shouldn't be taking carb drinks or wearing special shoes because they likely don't need them. And yes, the effects of these accessories is sometimes overblown. But for people that are seriously into fitness (way beyond the BBC's usual readership), these things can make a difference. For example, for really long, intense workouts, water isn't going to be enough. You'll lose too many electrolytes, especially in summer and you could likely benefit from the inclusion of carbs to fuel the workout. Supplements are useful too but only in this order IMO: 1. fitness, 2. nutrition, 3. supplements. If the fitness regimen is solid (it usually is not), and the nutrition you get from food has been addressed (this is even rarer), then supplements can be useful. They aren't just "expensive milk" as the article suggests. Take for example whey protein. If you're on a heavy weightlifting regimen and need lots of protein, it can be tough to get that much from meat, etc. alone. It's cheaper, more efficient, and more convenient to supplement with whey protein. And the calorie count would also be lower. Shoes depend on how much you exercise and what type you're doing. Running pounds the body and a good pair of shoes can make all the difference. Olympic lifting demands that you have a certain type of shoe for stability or you will court an injury. In these cases, normal shoes just won't work. Now that doesn't mean all the bells and whistles in the ads are justified. They aren't. But companies are just using marketing to sell their products. Finally, I'd like to point out that the lack of "evidence" in a lab really means nothing. Studies are incredibly flawed and rarely show anything that improves real world results. That doesn't matter. Trainers and coaches are the mad scientists and the gym is their lab. They are paid to get results and the good ones do or their kids wouldn't eat. But in the last 20 years or so, science has heavily criticized them for not proving that these things work to the scientists satisfaction. Fortunately the pendulum is starting to swing the other way. Folks are looking more to those that actually get results and can prove it through testimonials of other clients that have gotten results. What does or doesn't happen in a petri dish is irrelevant. This is a good post from Arnold Schwarzenegger's new blog explaining this phenomena: http://www.schwarzenegger.com/fitness/p ... -new-again Hope that helps.
Published October 11, 2012 "The Boomer” is a column written for adults nearing retirement age and those already in their “golden years.” It will also promote reader interaction by posting e-mail responses and answering reader questions. E-mail your questions or topic ideas to firstname.lastname@example.org. As more and more baby boomers embrace the world of technology, they become increasingly vulnerable to risks posed by online identity theft and over sharing sensitive personal information. Scammers are increasingly targeting boomers with online scams, and boomers need to become more defensive and aware of safe online practices. AVG Technologies, an internet and mobile security provider, recently released a survey that shows boomers need to become more proactive with their digital security. Of baby boomers surveyed with home Internet access, AVG determined 65% don't check online banking statements more than once per week—putting them at a much greater risk of not being able to detect fraudulent activities. I had a chance to speak with the CEO of AVG, JR Smith, to discuss some of the findings of the survey and how boomers can protect themselves. Here is what JR had to say: Boomer: Why are so many baby boomers still not aware of the resources available to them to protect against identity theft? Smith: AVG conducted a survey of the top 10 savviest cities in the U.S. for digital protection and found that baby boomers still have a lot of work to do when it comes to safeguarding against identity theft, financial fraud and loss of personal data. Out of the 1,300 boomers who were contacted, it was determined that at least 10% have clicked on a link from a well-known company that turned out to be a phishing scam. This figure, along with the results that nearly 40% of those surveyed said they should research identity protection tools or monitoring services, shows there is still a lot of room for baby boomers to learn more about the resources that are available. Boomer: How can baby boomers become more educated about digital scammers? Smith: Boomers can become more educated by protecting themselves and their families with solutions that will prevent loss of data. Baby boomers can utilize tools such as AVG’s AntiVirus Free 2013 or AVG MultiMu to keep email protected, shop online without worrying about identity theft and share photos or information without having to look over one’s shoulder. They can also follow best practices that will prevent them from being taken advantage of by scammers. Boomer: Why do scammers view the boomers as being deficient in online safety skills? Smith: Although baby boomers are frequent users of technology platforms and devices (81% own desktop computers, 61% use laptops, and another 30% have smartphones. A surprising 20% use tablets to conduct online transactions), many scammers believe this population is not savvy enough when it comes to safeguarding their personal or online data. Devices such as tablets and smartphones make it possible for baby boomers to have access to family photos, financial documents or medical records from any location and at any time. But, many don’t know that if they’re in a public place such as a coffee shop, public Wi-Fi increases the threat of data theft. And, scammers are fully aware of this, leading them to carefully monitor how baby boomers interact with tech devices and their personal information. Boomer: What tips can you give boomers to minimize the risk of fraudulent charges, identity theft and personal data lost? Smith: Use one credit card with a low spending limit for all online purchases. Monitor this account regularly, and flag any inappropriate activity immediately to the bank or lending institution.
It could be said that China has engaged the west by fighting without fighting. Which is why the Georgetown University men's basketball team received a Shanghai Surprise in its game the other night against the Bayi Rockets in China. The game devolved into a fight worthy of the spectacle at the Palace at Auburn Hills, rather than the Great Hall of the People. The only thing missing was an appearance from Ron Artest. So much for ping pong diplomacy. Try KO diplomacy. All of the punches, kicks and chairs that were thrown represented a Great Leap Forward into what some dubbed "The Great Brawl of China." Before their trip, the State Department advised the Georgetown players to think of themselves as sports diplomats on a mission to foster better relations between the countries While on a diplomatic mission to China, Vice President Biden had just attended an exhibition match between another Chinese team and Georgetown the day before. This would have disintegrated into a major international incident had such an altercation broken out with the vice president in the grandstands for this game. But there was an incident surrounding Biden's visit. Mike Memoli of the Tribune Company reports that Chinese security thugs roughed up some reporters while trying to cover some remarks by the vice president. Two incidents. Two days. This isn't your Nixon's China. Rarely does a day go by on Capitol Hill without a lawmaker giving some speech, proclaiming how the U.S. is losing out to China. There are hearings about trade with China. Hearings on China's artificially inflated currency. Discussions about the growing strength of China's military. Forums on human rights in China. Symposia on China's environmental record. And during the most recent crisis over the debt ceiling, many pointed out how China holds staggering amounts of U.S. debt and gold. Bruce Lee called it the art of fighting without fighting. Lee died in 1973, after the filming "Enter the Dragon." It was first martial arts movie to become a major motion picture. It forever bestowed Lee with a special, posthumous status in the martial arts and entertainment world. There's a pivotal scene in "Enter the Dragon" where Lee and others are sailing to a martial arts tournament. Lee was small, only 5"7" and about 135 pounds. But he was all muscle and lightning fast. In the film, a strapping bully is shoving deck hands around the boat, challenging them to fight. Each declines. Finally the goon gets to Lee and asks him his "style" of combat. Lee informs the man it's the way of "fighting without fighting." The man insists that Lee demonstrate some of his moves. Lee thinks about it for a moment and suggests they board a skiff tied up alongside the larger vessel. Lee points out there's an island in the distance and they can sail to on the skiff and spar on the beach. After some consternation, the man agrees and climbs into the skiff. And then Lee lets out the tow line attached to the smaller craft. It sends the ruffian floating out to sea. Fighting without fighting. In recent years, "fighting without fighting" has been the modus operandi of China when engaging the U.S. Gobbling up U.S. debt. Producing goods at lower prices and selling them abroad. Hosting the Olympic Games. Marking the Yuan at one-to-one against the dollar. Perhaps things are changing. American energy and mineral firms find themselves at a vast disadvantage in Africa. U.S. firms adhere to certain environmental and labor standards when mining for riches in Africa. Not so when the Chinese enter the picture. One cannot pin this exclusively on the contretemps that erupted on the court the other night or in the way the Chinese treated American reporters during the Biden visit. After all, the Hoyas and the Bayi Rockets had a cordial meeting the next day where the sides shook hands and talked. The rest of Biden's visit has been rather smooth. But these two episodes, only hours apart, are demonstrative of an evolving, more muscular China. A China that's no longer deferential to the west. One that's more aggressive. One that could be more willing to enter into geopolitical fisticuffs rather than "fighting without fighting." India is China's biggest rival. It's located in the same neighborhood, is also a nuclear power and boasts a similar population. And unlike China, India is also the world's largest democracy. It's clear that the United States bet on India as its ally versus China. Congress returns in a few weeks. And the China rhetoric will ignite again. Discussions on trade, human rights, currency and debt will rise to the fore. Granted, the Georgetown episode was just a basketball game. But competition between the lines has long served as a proxy war for certain nations. Look at all of the medal counting between the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War. Consider how the U.S. refused to participate in the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow after the U.S.S.R. invaded Afghanistan. The Soviets returned the favor four years later at the Los Angeles Summer Games. The same was true with the space race. One wonders how the U.S. might respond if China were to launch a serious effort toward conquering the final frontier. But it will be interesting to study what if any influence these recent incidents in China have on America's foreign policy toward China. Granted, they are micro events. But they could impact relations on a macro level. Especially if China continues to feel its oats and becomes more confrontational in the coming years. Perhaps the era of fighting without fighting is over. Enter the Dragon.
since the dawn of the “horse age”, there have been gaited horses. Research into the ancient progenitors of modern gaited stock show that the earliest “pacing” horses appeared or at least were recorded around the Mediterranean about 4500 years B.C. From this stock stem most if not all gaited horses in the world. They were distributed to the far reaches of the globe by the Phoenicians, Goths, Visigoths, Celts and many other tribes of people who traveled, traded and plundered the ancient world. the trade routes or conquering hordes went, pockets of gaited horse sprang forth where before had been only trot based horse types if indeed horses existed in those realms. Ever after that for many centuries gaited horses existed as yet today they do in many isolated pockets around the globe from China, Russia, the Ukraine, Tibet, Africa, Morocco, Spain and Europe. the descendents of these early pioneers of gait migrated to North America (as well as South America) and the Caribbean. From those early imports spring our modern gaited breeds. largest percentage of early stock in America were gaited whether they were considered Thoroughbred, Standardbred, Morgan etc. The ratio of gaited to non-gaited in the early centuries of this nation were approximately 14 gaited to 1 non-gaited. English Thoroughbred stallions were brought over to upgrade the stocks and from those crosses spring all American breeds with a few other crosses coming by way of Spanish, French and Dutch horses but those were predominantly of the light draft type. earlier Saddlebreds were largely Narragansett Pacers and gaited Thoroughbreds. Later Morgan, Hackney, Standardbred and Canadian Pacer were added to the meld until the American Saddlehorse ( not the same as Saddlebred as we know it) horses were utilitarian, versatile animals with placid dispositions, good work ethic and willing natures. They were used as saddle mounts but also to plant crops, pull wagons, work cattle and perform other ranch work. The Saddlehorse pulled wagons cleared the land and became stylish roadsters once road systems allowed for carriage travel. A portion of them became in later days, the beginning of the Show Horse in America. This stock eventually evolved into what we know today as the American Saddlebred. of the old Saddlehorse stock, however, also branched off to become part the foundation for the Tennessee Walking Horse, the Kentucky and Rocky Moutain Horses, the Virginia Highlander and many other small obscure gaited types around the country. Keep in mind there was only so many horses or horse types in the country from which to develop specific strains so all American breeds are related to one degree our purpose it was this fine old Saddlehorse stock that was at the very tap roots and foundation for the original type of Missouri Foxtrotter. These horses pioneered the Ozarks where they were used to till crops, pull cotton wagons to the gins, work cattle, pull the family buggy, provide transport for the mail carriers, doctors, judges etc. But most importantly they became the solid family, utility horse of the Ozarks. The horse all the family members could use and enjoy. They were sure footed, athletic, capable horses with natural gaits. Many of these early horses preferred to foxtrot and the foxtrot gait proved to be the most sure footed and useable gait in the rugged Ozark hills. It was a working gait that allowed for the utmost athletic ability, sure footedness, and a steady, smooth ride even in the hills. the end of the 1800’s a new concept was developed among horse breeders whereby the recording horses in order to track pedigrees evolved into the development of breed registries. This allowed breeders to be more efficient at the art of selective breeding. America entered the world of Registered breeds with more than a dozen registries forming within a span of a few decades. The Missouri Foxtrotter breed was established only 65 years after the Standardbred became the first registered breed in America! gaited horses were concerned this phenomenon of registries created a situation no one had considered and for the most part do not consider to this very day. By closing ranks and limiting outside influence to the type, there was no way to control the amount of pace in any of the gaited breeds. Before breed registries if a bloodline got to pacy, breeders simply crossed out to more trot. Within breed registries this was not always possible. those gaited breeds that rely upon the more lateral gaits this process was to alter the balance of the pace to trot ratios very quickly. By the late 1900’s many of the gaited strains were being over taken by pace. Horses that were bred supposedly to rack were hard pacing, those bred to running walk were pacing. More and more frequently horses bred for one gait became disappointments when they were same phenomenon began to appear in the Standardbred community where they do not recognize intermediate gaits. Horses are bred to pace or trot. Anything in between is not given attention. late 1900’s a study was conducted whereby a number of pacing Standardbred mares were bred to trotting stallions. As a result the large majority of foals born paced. The same number of trotting mares were bred to trotting stallions… again a substantial percentage of the offspring paced. BUT, when pacing mares were taken to pacing stallions, 100% of the offspring paced. this study it was deduced that pace was stronger than trot. The study also illustrated that pace tends to quantitate within a bloodline until it becomes the overwhelmingly stronger the study did not recognize those horses that fell between pace and trot…those that performed intermediate gaits, we cannot be 100% certain what the balance needs to be for any particular gait in order that one particular gait could be consistently produced. Gus Cothran, of Texas A & M, participated in a study whereby geneticists were able to identify the difference between pace and trot at the molecular level. This was the first time science could substantiate a genetic difference between the two gaits. But again intermediate gaits were not examined. The tests were looking simply for the difference between pace and trot. The results show there is as much difference between pace and trot as there would be between totally unrelated horse breeds. That is a very substantial research among gaited horses it was found that horses that fell within a certain ratio of pace to trot consistently performed the same gaits…or preferred to perform the same gaits. This was the first time pace ratios were considered in the intermediate gaits. Hundreds of horses were examined and then their pedigrees studied. result of this study was the realization that in order to consistently produce a particular gait the pace/trot ratios in the horse needs to fall within certain ranges with a tolerance varying between the gaits. The more refined that ratio becomes the more limited numbers of gaits a horse most of the gaited breeds are suffering with the run away pace influence it became paramount to identify the cause for pace taking over these breeds in order to prevent the same thing from occurring among the Missouri Foxtrotting were analyzed and traced back to their full pace progenitors in order to get an idea as to how the pace modifies the trot. In order to have an intermediate gait a horse must have some pace. The key appears to lie in the balance of the trot/pace ratio as to which dictates to what gait that horse will naturally gravitate. this study it became possible to give a mathematical identity to the various balances. These numbers represent percentages of pace however in order to make this type of factoring practical for the average breeder to benefit, it had to original formative years of the MFTHBA all horses entering the breed were inspected to see if they would foxtrot under saddle. The flaw to this is that some gifted riders could make a Grizzly bear foxtrot while some less adept riders may prevent a natural foxtrotting horse from functioning properly. This also did not consistently limit or preserve a specific balance of pace and trot. early horses reproduced far more consistently however, than later generations. Had breeding been consistent and cognizant of the pace/trot ratios, the breed should have been settling and standardizing for gait. Instead of standardizing, the horses began to deviate more and more from the original back on the pedigrees of these generations of horses it became evident that the heavy influx of Tennessee Walking Horse blood during the 1970’s and 80’s likely over balanced the pace ratio of the group. This gave the pace opportunity to quantitate….( get stronger) more rapidly. Even though the horses themselves gaited, they carried more pace genes from a closer source than was present in the old Saddlehorses. pace is already stronger than trot, as soon as the pace influence reached a certain point, there was not enough trot influence in some bloodlines to consistently modify that pace. The result was more horses began to running walk than to foxtrot naturally. Then the next generations or certain bloodlines began to rack, stepping pace and then finally pace. Some bloodlines sprang directly from running walk to hard pace. same thing occurred in the Tennessee Walking Horse, the Paso Fino, the Peruvian Paso, the Saddlebred, the Mountain Horse breeds etc. Because the trot base was not well preserved the pace took over. process was delayed in the Missouri Foxtrotter primarily because the foxtrot is the most diagonal of all the intermediate gaits and therefore was initially the strongest in trot ratio…farthest from pace. In specific groups that were closed and standardized to the desired ratios of pace to trot, the horses indeed began to breed true. The horses were uniformly born foxtrotting to the exclusion of any lateral gaits. of these horses foxtrot and running walk because the running walk is the same gait as a flat walk. The flat walk and running walk are both 50/50 gaits. It would be very difficult to breed all running walk out of a line and yet preserve a good flat foot walk. It is highly possible to breed out the flat walk AND the running walk and yet preserve a natural the early years of the Foxtrotter Registry the show ring was the focus point of the breed. In the 1980’s however, the type of foxtrot awarded first prize in that show ring began to change. original Foxtrotters were known for capping their tracks or barely stepped over them when they foxtrotted. This is how the breed and the gait got it’s very name. However that type of gait is not as fast as a big lick stride. For show ring purposes the cross with Tennessee Walking Horse blood tended to lengthen the stride and thus add speed to the gait. Those first crosses were quite impressive, however the more crosses that were made the closer to pace the group drifted until the style of foxtrot began to evolve away from the true rhythm of the original type. The horses no longer capped their tracks which also diminished the surefootedness of the breed. the course of several decades the strides became longer and longer until conformation also began to change. The athletic ability of the very long strided horses was not nearly so handy and versatile as the more compact original the pace reared it’s ugly head until more and more pace became the outcome of matings between horses that could foxtrot. Just as in the earlier Standardbred study, the foxtrotting horses were producing pacing offspring or offspring that preferred a more lateral intermediate gait. of these horses could manually be squared up enough to foxtrot, but the fact remained a foxtrot was not their natural gait breed went from a base of 80% Saddlehorse/Morgan influence to what today is nearly 90% TWH influence. That is to say it is very difficult or nearly impossible to find a registered Missouri Foxtrotter that does not have Tennessee Walking Horse in it’s pedigreed. Indeed today many of the registered blue papered Missouri Foxtrotters are actually 100% Tennessee Walking Horse by blood. Many, many more are 7/8 to ¾ Walker which is the exact opposite of the original foundation stocks that created the original breed of Missouri Foxtrotting we know that pace is stronger than trot and we know that the Tennessee Walking Horse represents more pace from closer progenitor, the logical way to preserve a strong trot base is to limit the influence of the TWH on the breeding nucleus of the breed. was not likely to occur breed wide because to do this would also be to limit the big lick stride so desired in the show ring. The desire is not to remove all TWH blood from the breeding core, but rather to take advantage of some of it’s attributes such as longer stride ( within reason) and larger bone and joints, while not allowing it to totally consume the original Saddlehorse/Morgan base or overpower the strong trot base those two types represent desire to preserve the original style of Missouri Foxtrotter, however, was left to the silent majority of the breed as so often is the case. The large majority of horses never go to a show ring, nor need they! The show horses are not superior in any way to the original style of horse when it comes to function and ability. Far the reverse. Yet the public eye focuses on the “Champions” of the show ring and rarely get to see the quietly working, solid, more foundation type Missouri Foxtrotting horse. the imbalance of pace to trot and preserve the original style horse many people were talking about splitting away from the mother registry. They were dissatisfied at what appeared to be a disproportionate amount of attention and funding spent on shows and show horses than was meted out to those who had no interest in showing. The large majority of horses that don’t go to the show ring do not go there because they are inferior, but rather because not many people enjoy the politics and pressures that come along with the competitions of the show ring. evident that if the trot base of the breed were to be preserved, quick action needed to be taken. It was necessary to identify the foundation type horses and in some manner collect them into a group whereby breeders could utilize them to more advantage. It was also apparent that if a market share was to be developed for this wonderful style horse, such a goal would get no backing from the Association at large. than tear apart the very small breeding gene pool of the Missouri Foxtrotting breed, it seemed more logical to work within the original Association by developing a secondary registry for the Foundation type horses. In this manner those horses with the proper trot/pace ratios could be better matched and the natural foxtrot gait better preserved. that meant the limiting of Tennessee Walking Horse blood. The V-factor is a formula which allows each horse to carry a known value for pace to trot ratio. A full blooded Tennessee Walking Horse receives a factor of V-256. A full Saddlehorse or Morgan receives a factor of V-0. Cross breds fall between these two extremes depending upon how many crosses of TWH are in any given pedigree. Foundation Foxtrotter Heritage Association was formed. It’s mission is to preserve the original style Missouri Foxtrotting Horse. Any horse applying for registry in the Foundation Foxtrotter Heritage Association must carry a V-factor of 128 or less to qualify for registry. That means it must be no more than half Tennessee Walker by blood. and building a data base of these V-factors, breeders can plot matings to advantage with a goal to standardize the group to a level conducive to foxtrot to the exclusion of lateral gaits without doing away with a natural running can take the V-factor of their mare and match it to the V-factors of available stallions as part….Repeat PART…of their considerations for breeding. Breeders always should compare conformation and match mares well, but the V-factor will be one more tool they can use to assure the consistent reproduction of natural foxtrot in their offspring. V-factor system was taken to Dr. Gus Cothran at Texas A& M for his learned opinion. He claims the factoring method to have merit. the registry has sufficient numbers of horses registered, Dr. Cothran would like blood samplings from two dozen low factored horses and samples from high factored horses to study and compare. The goal would be to see if at the molecular level he can see a difference between the two types. year the genome of the horse was complete and the sequencing released to the equine geneticists of the world. This means that rather than trying to fathom the complex mysteries of equine genetics by the use of approximately 12 genetic markers, these scientists will now have in the neighborhood of 12,000 genetic markers with which to work. Because of this dramatically amazing increase in available markers, Dr. Cothran and other geneticists may soon be unlocking many of the genetic mysteries of gait. V-factor may well be a very helpful part of some of this research. We can hope it is and that with this DNA study of the samplings we can identify the specific ratios of pace to trot needed to produce foxtrot into the distant future without the pace diluting it into extinction.
Upload & Sell: Off i've owned two Kaidan full multirow panorama heads and now have the RRS ultimate after discarding a few others along the way along with a couple of dozen software packages too. do enough panorama shooting and you will know those rules called optics and can't be ignored. I also own the RRS panorama kit and have done more than enough panoramas to know that your "rules" are wrong. If you can touch the nearest subject, you will certainly need a panorama head to do a problem-free stitch. What you desperately "need" to do is forget everything you think you know for two reasons: 1) to become more liberated and creative and not so rule-based, and 2) stop telling everyone what they should and shouldn't do. Rusty, focus stacking is like stitching, but instead of stitching neighbouring shots, you "stitch" (i.e. stack) shots in depth-order. You make many shots focused at different depths and use software like Helicon to create a single shot, sharp in the entire region of interest. This can be useful in situations where you cannot get enough depth of field, for example with a close foreground object of interest and a distant background, both of which must be critically sharp for a large print. It also becomes more relevant with larger (read: medium (and large) format) sensors, where less depth of field combines with larger resolution to make the whole thing more critical. Also, it isn't actually the nodal point you want, but the entrance pupil. This is the apparent location of the aperture when viewed from the front of the lens (although there is also a more accurate optical way to find it, of course), and if you rotate the lens around this point, then you will be able to stitch perfectly (after correcting vignetting and distortion, e.g. barrel distortion) without foreground/background objects changing their relationship to each other in neighbouring shots, necessitating a lot of tedious clean-up work to make a panorama work. It is normally only necessary to use a panorama head when you start including close objects in your composition, as the relative position of distant objects barely changes when you rotate the lens/camera for neighbouring shots. [Edit: Aham jumped in before I finished my edit: his is the short summary, same thing.] Edited on Apr 25, 2011 at 09:48 PM · View previous versions
3/23/2013 02:49:00 PM by Lauren Axelrod · Lake Baikal is over 25 million years old-the oldest lake on the planet. It's also the deepest lake, holding more water than all of North America's Great Lakes combined. Russian landscape photographer Alex El Barto Trofimov, who lives in the heart of Siberia, travels nearly 400 miles south to photograph Lake Baikal – his favorite place to take pictures. "The shooting is not easy, as Baikal is known for its unpredictability. It is especially dangerous shooting ice of Lake Baikal,” Trofimov explained. To help the effort, UNESCO has recommended that the lake and its watershed be designated a World Heritage Site." Check out Trofimov's website for more examples of the one of world's most exquistie natural wonders Turquoise Ice in Lake Baikal Lake Baikal\|natural wonders\|nature\|Siberia\|travel\| Welcome to Friends Revolution - Serial Killer Jane Toppan - 10 of the Most Notoriously Evil Medieval Torture Weapons - Robert Hansen: Alaska Murderer - Boost Mobile's ReBoost Program With No Long Term Contracts - Homeless Man With Golden Radio Voice - Turquoise Ice in Lake Baikal - Most Strange and Bizarre Species of The World - Wacky Freaks and Treats in St. Augustine Ripleys - Robert Wiener’s Glass Blown Murrine Art - The Tyrannical Chef of Triond Strikes Again: Three Bits of Naughty That Make Chefs Terrifying
Repression leads to resistance. Censoring speech leads to more covert forms of messaging. Political correctness gives birth to more sophisticated forms of protest. A mysterious German artist calling himself Rosato has begun putting Burkas over the heads of female statues in the park to warn about the impact of Islamization on Europe. A picture says a thousand words and these pictures communicate even more than that without violating a single law. They are a basic statement that even the leftiest of the lefties and the most politically correct of the correcters has no trouble understanding and yet the perpetrator of this artistic statement cannot be charged with a single crime. This is what protest looks like in a totalitarian society.
Area Coordination Center BHW This site will give you information on how to easily apply for seasonal firefighting jobs with the US Forest Service and links to vacancy announcements, location of positions, qualifications and pay rates, and overview section for other questions on firefighting jobs. This article provides more in depth information on what is required to become a wildland firefighter. It also gives information and direction on applying for both government and private contractor firefighting positions and some guides to finding appropriate training courses. This site was last updated in 1997 but appears to still have pertinent information for today’s hiring procedures. This site generally describes the four different types of firefighting positions within the national interagency firefighting agencies. It also provides information and links for job opportunities and employment information throughout the U.S. This page specifically addresses wildland firefighting jobs within the National Park Service. It has an excellent “Frequently Asked Questions” section for those just starting to search for information on careers and jobs in all agencies and organizations. This location provides information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and federal wildland firefighting positions with an in-depth description of how to fill out applications for employment and links to information on structural firefighting and fire departments throughout the U.S. You can also link from this site to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wildland firefighter recruitment page. Just for fun we did a search of the Internet on Netscape using the key words: “jobs wildland firefighter” and found 297 sites with firefighting job information. \| HOME \| PREDICTIVE SERVICES \| DOCUMENTS \| LINKS \| ABOUT EACC \| \| FIRE JOB INFORMATION \| DIRECTIONS \| 2005 EA MOBILIZATION GUIDE \| Page Last Updated: Sunday, 24-Mar-2013 09:39:20 CDT
Garmin GPS Map The map has been built using a product called Mapwel 2011. This is a third-party software product that is used to create and upload custom maps for Garmin GPS units. The product features a free MapUpload program that is used to upload the map to your GPS unit. This map is being released as a beta version with enhanced functionality and more features to come at a later date. Currently the roads available on the map are presented as line features that lack the ability for your GPS to use its routing feature. This means that if you enter a location into your GPS it will be unable to use the MTP roads to navigate to your destination. This functionality is currently being researched and should be available in subsequent releases. In the meantime the map feature of your GPS can be used to show the MTP roads and their designations. The map has been designed to be scalable, that is, the more you zoom in the more road features will appear. This is done to reduce clutter when zoomed out to a small scale and to increase drawing performance. If you feel that you are not seeing the data you intended try zooming in. The map was designed for color GPS units, it will function in compatible grayscale units, however, the road symbology will be mostly lost. In addition you may need to turn the marine colors feature on your GPS off, to properly display the water features on the ownership layer. Your GPS unit must be able to accept User Defined Styles in order for the information to be displayed correctly. Newer Garmin units will accept user defined styles, although you may need a firmware update for your unit. See www.garmin.com for information on updating firmware. Downloading the Data Mapwel website to confirm your Garmin GPS unit compatibility with the software Download the Mapwel MapUploader software Download the Ashley National Forest MTP Garmin Public Map Instructions to load the map onto your GPS This GPS Map Does Not Replace the Motor Vehicle Use Map Please note that while this data is being provided as part of the Motorized Travel Plan, it does not replace the Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) provided by the Ashley National Forest. The MVUM is a legal document that identifies the roads and trails where motor vehicles are allowed. It will be reissued each year, much like hunting proclamations or regulations. It is the user’s responsibility to be familiar with the annual MVUM. The map will be provided free of charge on the internet at: www.fs.usda.gov/ashley Please note that cross-country, or “off-road” motorized travel is prohibited forest-wide. This GPS map is intended to provide more specific information about forest routes. Users must remain in compliance with the official Motorized Vehicle Use Map, and it is highly recommended that it be carried as a companion to this GPS map. The USDA Forest Service makes no warranty, expressed or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, nor assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, reliability, completeness or utility of these geospatial data, or for the improper or incorrect use of these geospatial data. These geospatial data and related maps or graphics are not legal documents and are not intended to be used as such. The data and maps may not be used to determine title, ownership, legal descriptions or boundaries, legal jurisdiction, or restrictions that may be in place on either public or private land. Natural hazards may or may not be depicted on the data and maps, and land users should exercise due caution. The data are dynamic and may change over time. The user is responsible to verify the limitations of the geospatial data and to use the data accordingly. The Ashley National Forest shall not be liable for any damages or losses of any kind that may result from the use of the software and/or maps provided on this site. Accuracy of Maps The Ashley National Forest provides this map on an "as is" basis and makes no representations or warranties of any kind as to the accuracy of the map. Due to the inherent errors of GPS navigation and the possibility that this map could contain errors, the Ashley National Forest does not guarantee the accuracy or validity of GPS data or text descriptions. The Ashley National Forest shall not be responsible for any damages resulting from inaccurate or omitted information on these maps. This map is intended to depict physical features as they generally appear on the ground and may not be used to determine title, ownership, legal boundaries, legal jurisdiction, including jurisdiction over roads or trails, or access restrictions that may be in place on either public or private land. Obtain permission before entering private lands, and check with appropriate government offices for restrictions that may apply to public lands. Lands, roads and trails within the boundaries of the National Forest may be subject to restrictions on motor vehicle use. Obtain a Motor Vehicle Use Map, or inquire at the local Forest Service Office for motor vehicle access information. Natural hazards may or may not be depicted on the map, and land users should exercise due caution. Third Party Software Packages The Ashley National Forest is using a third-party software package called Mapwel for map creation and distribution. The map may not be compatible with all Garmin GPS units. Please see www.mapwel.eu to see a list of compatible units. Do not attempt to use the software or provided map(s) if your unit is not specifically mentioned. Attempting to load data into a unit that it is not intended for may render the unit inoperable and would need to be sent to Garmin for repair. The Ashley National Forest shall not be liable for any damages or losses of any kind that may result from the use of the software and/or maps provided on this site. The Ashley National Forest makes no representations about products sold or offered from the website(s) this page may link to, and disclaims all warranties, express or implied, in regard to your use of those products. Safety Is Your Responsibility The Ashley National Forest disclaims all liability for injury, damage, death or other loss resulting from your use of any product or use of any information received from The Ashley National Forest or its website. Use the GPS maps and data at your own risk. This map is designed to provide route suggestions and provide more information about forest roads. It is not a replacement for driver attentiveness and good judgment. Do not follow route suggestions if they suggest an unsafe or illegal maneuver, or would place the vehicle in an unsafe situation. When using this map, carefully compare information displayed on the device to all available navigation sources, including road signs, road closures, road conditions, traffic congestion, weather conditions, and other factors that may affect safety while driving. For safety, always resolve discrepancies before continuing navigation, and defer to posted road signs and road conditions. Always use your best judgment, and operate the vehicle in a safe manner. Do not become distracted by the device while driving, and always be fully aware of all driving conditions. Minimize the amount of time spent viewing the device screen while driving and use voice prompts when possible. Do not input destinations, change settings, or access any functions requiring prolonged use of the device controls while driving. Pull over in a safe and legal manner before attempting such operations. Questions and Comments This is a new project for the Ashley National Forest and the first time we have attempted to distribute maps via portable devices. While we can’t offer any technical assistance when it comes to individual GPS units or use of this software, we would like to hear about your experiences using the maps and any general questions or comments you may have. Contact us by using the links at the top right of this page.
Risk Management Trading Strategies for Binary Options Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity (including the choice of inaction) will lead to a loss (an undesirable outcome). The notion implies that a choice having an influence on the outcome exists (or existed). Potential losses themselves may also be called “risks”. Almost any investment endeavor carries some risk, but some are much more risky than others. Whereas Management is the identification of the strategies capable of maximizing an investors net present value, the allocation of scarce capital resources, and the implementation and monitoring of a particular strategy and minimizing losses. In the world of high finance there are many ways to limit or use risk management to reduce or prevent loss. There are hedging strategies and stop losses. There are exit points and trading systems to such as straddles that are designed to limit loss while maximizing profits. These all work well when you are dealing in asset ownership, such as stocks and bonds, commodities and currencies. They even work great with option contracts, but they do not apply in the new and fast paced world of binary option investments. When you are trading binary option, you are actually “renting” as asset for a small space of time, in the hopes that that asset will move in the direction you have determined, either up or a call or down or a put. Trading binary option is a simplified form of investing, with minimum risk and high reward. When you take out the complexity and risk and the actual cost of ownership from an asset, you also change the tools and methods that a trader needs to apply to handle risk management. Since, binary option themselves as simpler so are the risk management tools. They are easy to understand, and easy to apply. With the reduced risk of trading binary options, many brokers and trading platforms, offer little in the way of risk management. While others like iOption believe that regardless of the risk and the reward ratio, which a good investor needs all the tools to minimize losses. Each time you reduce your possible loss, give a trader a long lifecycle to reach the successful trades. All too many traders, especially forex traders, lose their initial investment before actually learning and understanding the markets and leave, never to return. Other’s do not follow the 8% rule, which states that you should never invest more than 8% of your funds at one time, if you believe that you have a 60% chance of making profits, you need to have enough funds to suffer the losses before the profits come. You can never predict in which order profitable and non profitable trades will come. No one ever has 100% success. If you are a good trader and reach the 60% level, and use risk management tools, to limit your losses on the negative trades you net profits will grow along with your account balance. The question begs to be asked, just how does an investor accomplish this? Few trading platforms offer many risk management tools, the two most important are called Rollover and Buy Me Out. Their names are even simple, they describe themselves. Rollover is a great tool and I know a lot of traders who have turned losing trades into hugely profitable ones but simply using the Rollover feature on the iOption platform. A trader always has to keep in mind that they are “renting” an asset for a period of time, when trading binary options; it is not like a stock that you simply own and can hold on to as long as you want. You can only make profit during the “rental” period (expiry time) at the end of this period, if the asset has moved in your favor, you are “in the money” and earn profit, if the asset has moved against you, you are “out of the money” and have lost your investment. But nothing more. Regardless how careful you analyze the markets, whether you apply fundamental analysis (this is the use of news and economic indicators such as GDP and unemployment) or technical indicators, (this is the use of charts, patterns and calculations) or you simply apply your own skills and knowledge to make an investment, there is no guarantee that the markets will move in the direction you are projecting, in the time frame in which you have “rented” that asset for. To give you an example, when ever Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks, the markets react, he can play them like a puppet master, so you have decided that in today’s’ speech that Mr. Bernanke is going to talk about monetary easing, which will affect gold and the US dollar. You have determined that Mr. Bernanke’s address will send gold soaring, so you invest 100.00 in gold, which is pay 75% and his speech is scheduled for 1330GMT, so you decide that the markets will move upwards in the period after he begins his speech, and therefore chose to enter the market at 13:00 and pick an expiry of 13:45 thus giving the markets time to react to Mr. Bernanke’s talk. There are some introductory comments before Mr. Bernanke’s speech and then he begins his address discussing other matters, and you realize that he will not reach to his comments on monetary policy until the end of his speech which could be after your 13:45 expiry time. You can simply enter your account on iOption and find the open trade and click on the “Rollover” icon and for a small percentage your trade will be extended to the next expiry period. You have now prevented your loss, and turned your trade into profits as Mr. Bernanke did as you expected and gold skyrocketed. So you did not earn as much as you expected, but you still earned over 60% and you stopped a complete loss. This is what risk management is all about, minimizing losses or turning losing trades into profits. The next question that begs to be asked and answered is what happens if the markets do not do as I expected or they move against me? As discussed earlier, no investor, no matter how good, how experienced or how lucky can hope to accomplish a success ratio much higher than 70% most good trades settle with a 60% profit to loss ratio. Every trader therefore experienced losses, once you can accept the idea of losses, and get past the fact that you are losing money, and deal with the inevitable you will quickly learn that you need losses in order to make profits. When you realize this and learn to factor in losses to your trades, you will learn that the loss is not significant it is the amount of the loss that is important. A good trader always learns to accept the fact that no all trades will move in their favor, so they learn to minimize or reduce their losses and not dwell on the fact that the markets are not doing what you analyzed or expected. Buy Me Out is a great feature available from iOption; it allows a trader, to sell their position at almost any time during the “rental” period for a reduced value. When trading binary options, there are basically only two possible scenarios, you are either “in the money” (you made profits) or “out of the money” and you lose your investment. It is basically an all or nothing scenario. Now, if I could offer you a tool that would change that from an all or not nothing scenario won’t you exercise this and stop your “nothing” or “out of the money” possibility. When the markets are not moving in your favor, you can simply click on the “Buy Me Out” button on the trade on the floating chart screen “Buy Back Your Trade” of course this is not free and you still suffer a loss, but you reduce your loss. Let’s use the Ben Bernanke example again. You have entered your trade for gold, saying that Mr. Bernanke was going to drive the markets up. When Mr. Bernanke begins to speak you realize that his speech today is going to be more concentrated on “shadow banks” and not on economics or monetary policy. At this point you have an investment of 100.00, the markets are fluctuating but gold is below where you need it to be to make profits, or be in the money and you realizing that it will most likely stay there for the time being. You can exercise the “Buy Me Out” feature on the platform and they will offer to close your trade for 45.00 (this number is hypothetical as there are a long series of calculations that take place when you click the “Buy Me Out” button. But in the end what this means, is that you take a loss of 45.00 instead of losing your entire investment of 100.00 and you minimize your losses. In my world, this is a successful outcome; you have turned a loss of 100.00 into a loss of 45.00. This is the true definition of risk management and the sign of good traders. February 26, 2015 February 26, 2015 February 22, 2015 February 19, 2015 October 09, 2014 August 14, 2014 August 09, 2014 July 29, 2014 Barry produces a private Daily Market Review newsletter that is distributed around the globe to over 25,000 subscribers and recently published a book on Options Trading that is available from amazon.comView all of FX Empire Analyst - Barry Norman's Articles
A Passion for the Possible (Dr. Jean Houston) (1998) Jean Houston, co-director for the Center for Mind Research and the author of A Passion for the Possible, guides you in how to reach your true potential. Exercises that engage your imagination will help you get in touch with your essential self. Suppose you had a thousand years to do your human homework. What would you be like? This is your essential self, and in some sense it already resides within you. Jean invites you to meet that self and use it as a guide while journeying to four important realms of the self, recognized in essence by all cultures by various names: the physical, mind, mythic/storied and spiritual.
Be Like Batman Be like Batman with a cave of your own. This is now a possibility at this cave hotel. “A cave, you probably did not imagine one as comfy as Gamirasu Cave Hotel in Ayvali Village, Cappadocia, Turkey. Originally a monastery, the hotel’s 18 rooms were carved by hand from volcanic rock centuries ago. Today, they are comfy nests instead of monastic cells, complete with natural cotton futons, kilims and Turkish rugs, showers and heat. The deluxe suite has a fireplace and a balcony with views of the fanciful rock formations that dot the desert countryside. Nearby are villages of cave houses, and you can explore on horseback, donkey or bicycle. Innkeeper cousins, Ibrahim Bastutan and Suleyman Cakir. Volcanic rock called “tufa” is perfect insulation material which keeps the temperature between 17 - 20 degrees Celsius throughout the year.”
<- Back to Gardening Tips List Maximizing Creativity: Beans, Bulbs & Beyond! Container gardening is not, and should not be, limited to the colorful annuals you find at your local garden center each year. Expand your horizons by planting pots full of tulips, hens-and-chicks, or tomatoes. Once you have mastered the basics of ‘Gardening with Containers’ you will find that most anything that can be grown, can be grown in a pot! To add a cheerful splash of spring color to your front porch or patio, try planting a pot full of spring-flowering bulbs. Tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths work well and the beauty of this technique is that when the flowers are spent, you simply remove the pot (see below) and replace it with something else that is in bloom, such as a pot full of pansies. How to: In fall, plant your bulbs in a plastic pot (to prevent it from freezing and cracking over the winter). Next, sink the pot into the ground, backfill with soil, and water-in well. Refer to the ‘Plant a Show-Stopping Spring Display’ article for bulb-planting specifics. Pull the pot out of the soil in spring after the foliage appears, and place in the desired location. If your plastic pot is less-than-pleasing, simply slip it into a more decorative container, making sure to hide the plastic pot edge with soil, mulch, or moss. When the show is over, simply remove the pot and replace with something else in bloom. If you wish to re-use the bulbs, dry them out, store them over the summer, and replant them in fall for another show-stopping display in spring. Don’t have room for a veggie garden but still yearn for the taste of a home-grown tomato? Then try growing your favorite veggies in pots! As container gardening is becoming more popular, many vegetables are being bred for compact or dwarf varieties that will grow well in pots. Tomatoes (‘Tumbling Tom’), peppers (‘Sweet Bell’ bell pepper), lettuce (‘Buttercrunch’), radishes (‘Cherry Belle’), and beans (‘Blue Lake 47’ bush) can all easily be grown in pots. Even vining plants such as cucumbers and peas can be grown in containers, as long as you provide a trellis or support for the vines. How to: When searching for vegetables look for ‘bush type’, ‘compact habit’, or ‘container variety’ on the plant label or seed packet to help ensure the plant will not outgrow its container. Use your favorite potting mix and pick a container with good drainage. You can start the seeds indoors and transplant into the container or you can start the seeds directly in the pot. If seed starting is not your thing, simply go to your local garden center and purchase a young plant. For easy harvest, keep the containers in an area of easy access such as next to your patio door. When the plants are done producing simply add them to your compost pile and replant the following year. If you don’t have a lot of time to garden, or your thumb is more brown than green, container gardening with succulents may be just for you! There are many new types of succulents on the market today with varying ranges in color and texture. The great thing about succulents is that they need minimal water and grow slowly, so if you spend a lot of time at your cottage in the summer, you won’t have to worry about finding a babysitter for your succulents. How to: A great retailer of succulents in our area is Mayflower Greenhouse (www.mayflowergreenhouse.com), where we get most of our succulents for the garden. A few interesting specimens to check out include Kalanchoe beharensis 'Fang', Echeveria 'Topsy Turvy', Kalanchoe thyrsiflora 'Flapjack', and Sempervivum arachnoideum ‘Rubrum’. Keep in mind when choosing your succulents that not all varieties are hardy in Wisconsin, so if you wish to keep your pretties from year to year you will have to over-winter them inside. Succulents do best in shallow containers with a high-drainage potting mix, such as a Cacti & Succulent mix. Although perennials may not give the season-long show that annuals do, they can still be used effectively in containers. Some good plants to try include hostas, lilies, Rudbeckia, coneflowers, Heuchera, ferns, and grasses. The advantage of planting in containers is that once the plants are done blooming, they can be moved and replaced with something else that is in bloom. How to: Choose your favorite perennial. You may wish to have that plant alone as a specimen, or you can combine it with annuals to have a container with season long interest. If combining with annuals, make sure all plants share similar light and water requirements. When the season is over and your perennial is finished blooming, you can add it to your compost pile or plant it in your garden for enjoyment for years to come. If planting the perennial, make sure to do so in the fall before the ground freezes. Containers are a great way to try out the idea of water gardening without committing to a larger, more permanent pond (and breaking the bank!) Water gardens may take a little more work initially, but once planted require minimal effort. How to: Water gardens will need a mix of plants to attain a balanced system. Try to use a combination of submerged, emergent, and floating plants. Submerged plants, also known as oxygenators, will help clean the water and create an oxygen supply. Some examples include wild celery (Vallisneria sp.), fanwort (Cabomba canadensis), and anacharis (Egeria densa). Next are emergent plants which are typically placed 3-6 inches below the surface of the water. Some examples include arrowheads (Sagittaria sp.), blue flag iris (Iris versicolor), dwarf papyrus (Cyperus isocladus), cork screw rush (Juncus effusus), and water lilies (Nymphaea sp.). Finally are the floaters, the plants that float on the surface of the water and do not need to be potted. These include green velvet leaf (Salvinia longifolia), water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), and water lettuce (Pistia stratoites). Choose a watertight container such as a glazed ceramic pot, wooden half-barrel, or metal tub. The plants for your garden will be planted in separate pots, which will then be placed into the water-filled container. Make sure to use an aquatic potting mix and top-dress the soil with ½-3/4 inches of gravel. At this time you can add fertilizer pellets specially formulated for aquatic gardens, which are simply pushed into the soil of your pots. Fill your container with water then add your plants, keeping in mind that some plants will need to be planted at different levels. Old bricks and upturned pots tend to work well to hold plants at the correct depth. Check the water level in your container throughout the season and add water when needed, doing so slowly to prevent soil from being displaced. So, the next time you are staring at your pile of empty containers trying to visualize what color impatiens or petunias to fill it with, try thinking outside the box. Why not fill a pot with your favorite color tulips or your favorite heirloom tomato? Or better yet, how about planting some succulents in that old pair of shoes you keep forgetting to throw away? If you can dream it, you can plant it, so let your imagination run wild!
The Babylonian Captivity Timeline \|\|The Babylonian Captivity - The Northern Kingdom of Israel is destroyed by the Assyrian Empire and its inhabitants dispersed throughout the Assyrian - Led by the city of Babylon is completely destroyed by the Assyrians.1 - Josiah becomes king of Judah 2 - Death of Judah's king Josiah during battle with Egyptian Necho II (2 Kings 23:29).4 - The people make Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, who was 23, king . He reigned only 3 months (2 Kings 23:31).5 takes Jehoahaz off the thrown and makes Eliakim the son of Josiah king and changes his name to Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23:33-36 ). - Jehoiakim forms an alliance between Judah and Egypt. The First Babylonian Deportation II becomes king of Babylon. - Nebuchadnezzar defeated Egypt at Carchemish in Syria in the spring of 605 B.C. at the beginning of the 4th year of Jehoiakim's rule (Jer. 46:2). Daniel says it is the 3rd year (Dan. 1:1) because he is using the civil calendar.6 Babylonians invade Judah. Judah becomes a tribute state to Babylon (2 Kings rebels against Babylonian rule (2 Kings 24:1). - First wave of deportation of Jews to Babylon takes place in the eighth year of Jehoiakim's (2 Kings 24:12) . Nebuchadnezzar takes Jehoiakim and certain sons of the Jewish nobility hostage including Daniel (Dan. 1:1-3, 1:6; II Kings 24:14). taken captive and begins to prophesy. taking captives, Nebuchadnezzar returns to Babylon were is is crowned king after his father's (Nabopolassar) - Babylonians battle Egypt, both sides - Judah decides to realign itself with Egypt, the prophet Jeremiah warns not to rebel against the Babylonians. - Jehoiakim died and was succeeded by Jehoiachin (also known as Jeconiah and Coniah. See 2Kings 24:6, 2Chron 36:8) Jehoiachin was 18 when he became king and reigned only 3 months (2 King 24:8). The Second Babylonian Deportation - After Jehoiachin rebels against Babylonian rule, Nebuchadnezzar returned to bring Judah back into subjection. Among those taken captive (16 March 597)8 were Ezekiel, and "all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives" Mattaniah, Johoiachin’s uncle, who is renamed Zedekiah by Nebuchadnezzar was made governor of Judea by Nebuchadnezzar (2Kings 24:10-17). The most valuable treasures of the temple and the royal palace were carried away along with the captives. Zedekiah is 21 years old, "and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem" (2Kings 24:18). - Ezekiel was called as a prophet (Ezek. 1:1-2). - Ezekiel saw the vision of idolatry in Jerusalem (Ezek. 8:1ff). - Certain of the elders of Israel came to Ezekiel to inquire of Jehovah - King Zedekiah, encouraged by Nebuchadnezzar's absence from the region, and probably bolstered by Pharoah Psammetichus II, rebelled against Babylon (2 Kings 24:20). - In the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem. (2Kings 25:1,. Ezekiel 24:1) - Ezekiel was told, "The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day," and the parable of the boiling pot was given (Ezek. 24:1 ff). - Ezekiel received the word of the Lord concerning Egypt (Ezek. 29:1ff). - The Lord told Ezekiel, "I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt" - The word of the Lord concerning Pharaoh came to Ezekiel (Ezek. 31:1ff). The Third Babylonian Deportation - The word of the Lord concerning Tyre came to Ezekiel (Ezek. 26:1ff). - On the ninth day of the fourth month, there was no longer any food in Jerusalem, as a result of the famine brought on by the Babylonian two year siege. (2 Kings 25:3) - In the fifth month, Jerusalem fell. The temple, the king's house, and every great house were burned, and the walls were broken down. Zedekiah's sons are killed in his sight, his eyes are put out, and he is taken to Babylon. - The Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and the Temple (9th of Av - Jerusalem’s walls and gates are burned with fire. 100,000 Jews were slaughtered and millions more exiled.10 - Third wave of Jews deported to Babylon. Enough people remained to maintain the harvest.11 - Third Babylonian Exile12 - Nebuchadnezzar begins his thirteen year long attack on the city of Tyre13 - "The city has been taken," was the message that came to Ezekiel in Babylon (Ezek. 33:2118). - Ezekiel took up a lamentation over Pharaoh (Ezek. 32:l ff). - The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel describing Pharaoh in Sheol14 (Ezek. 32:17-32). - Ezekiel saw the vision of the New Jerusalem (Ezek. 40:1ff). - Nebuchadnezzar finally succeeds in capturing the mainland city of Tyre after a 13 year siege (585–572 BC).15 - The fate of the land of Egypt was revealed to Ezekiel. It would be given to Nebuchadnezzar because "he and his army had no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had performed against it," (Ezek. 29:17-21). - Cyrus becomes king of Persia.16 - Cyrus conquers the Medes.16 - Cyrus conquers Babylon beginning of the Persian Period to 33216 Judah's captivity comes to an end: - The Decree of Cyrus II allowing Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple.17 - Some of the Jews returned to Jerusalem in the first year of Cyrus of Persia (see 2 Chr. 36:22-23, Ezra 1:1-4). Only fifty thousand availed themselves of the decree of Cyrus. They were led by Zerubbabel, grandson of Judah's king Jehoiachin, in the line of King David; and arrived on the site of their ancient capital just seventy years after its first humiliation under Nebuchadnezzar, and in the latter part of the year 538 B.C. No Hebrews from the other captivities seem to have taken any part in this revival. - The Jews rebuild their Temple (70 years) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon#Assyrian_period. See also Antiquities Of The Jews by Flavius Josephus, Book 10, Chapter 11 Fall of Judah. Free Essays. http://www.essays.cc/free_essays/f3/nyv241.shtml 7 January, 2011 this article for a description of the differences between the Jewish and civil calendars. 7 January, 2011 7. He is "Pharaohnechoh" in the King James Bible (2 Kings 23:29, 23:33, 23:34, 23:35). The English Standard Version has "Pharaoh Neco." He is also known as 8. Babylonian captivity, 9. Tisha B'Av. HAPPENED ON THE NINTH OF AV? 12. The Hebrew for 'exile" is Galut or Golus and classically refers to the exile of the Jewish people from the Land of Israel. 13. Nebuchadnezzar II. 'grave', 'pit', or 'abode of the dead', is the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible's underworld, a place of darkness to which those outside of faith in a coming Messiah go, a place of stillness and darkness cut off from God." 15 Nebuchadnezzar II. Cyrus the Great Rather than "the twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth of the tenth month," some manuscripts have "the eleventh year . . ." at Ezekiel 33:21. If this alternate reading is correct, the message that the city had been taken would have come a year earlier. * The actual date of this event varies from October 29, 540 BC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_the_Great#Neo-Babylonian_Empire), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_captivity. Oct 12, 539 B.C. "Accordingly his first year, in which he made the proclamation, was 538/537 B.C.", the Handbook of Bible Chronology by Jack Finegan (Princeton University Press, 1964), p. 170. October 12-13, 539 B.C., Julian Calendar, or October 6-7, 539 B.C., according to our present Gregorian Calendar. http://onlytruegod.org/jwstrs/537vs539.htm
The athletic training program at Glendale Community College is designed to allow students to observe certified athletic trainers in a collegiate setting helping to maintain everyday activities in the athletic training room. The major goals of this program are to introduce students to an environment of allied healthcare professionals and to gain skills and experience for entrance into a CAATE accredited undergraduate athletic training education program. Athletic Training Staff - Head Athletic Trainer Aaron Fried, M.S., AT/L Office- (623) 845-3043 B.S.- Athletic Training, Northern Arizona University- 2005 M.S.- Sports Healthcare, A.T. Still University- 2007 Ph.D- Health Pro motion and Wellness- Expected completion 2016 Glendale Community College Head Athletic Trainer- 2007-current Assistant Athletic Trainer- 2006 - Assistant Athletic Trainer Matt Lucht, M.S., AT/L, CES, PES Office- (623) 845-3897 B.S.- Athletic Training, Chapman University- 2004 M.S.- Human Movement, A.T. Still University- 2012 Glendale Community College Assistant Athletic Trainer- 2014-current Athletic Training Education Glendale Community Colleges athletic training curriculum is a part of the Fitness and Wellness Department. GCC's fitness and wellness department includes classes such as; Prevention and Treatment of Athletic Injuries, Advanced Taping and Bracing, Clinical Practicum in Athletic Training, Nutrition, Exercise Science, Healthful Living, and First-Aid and CPR. This department offers a variety of certificates including Personal Training, Nutrition for Fitness & Wellness, and a Strength, Nutrition and Personal Training Associates in Science Degree (AAS). For questions please consult Fitness and Wellness website or contact the department at (623) 845-3780. Sports Medicine Internship Program GCC does accept students for sports medicine internships. Sports medicine interns assist in the daily maintenance and operation of the athletic training room, actively learning skills that will prepare them for a transition into a healthcare field including athletic training, physical therapy, physical therapy assisting, nursing, etc. Interns have the opportunity to observe all GCC athletics teams to gain exposure to different aspects of sports medicine. Interns are educated on many aspects of sports medicine including; prevention of athletic injuries, first aid and emergency management of injuries, evaluation of athletic injuries and therapeutic rehabilitation. Interns may be eligible for payment through Federal Work Study. If you are interested please contact the athletic training staff. GCC Sports Medicine Alumni have moved on to study in the following programs: Northern Arizona University Athletic Training Program, Grand Canyon University Athletic Training Program, Wichita State University Athletic Training Program, San Jose State University Athletic Training Program, Missouri State University Athletic Training Program, Kansas Wesleyan University Athletic Training Program, Texas Tech University Graduate Athletic Training Program, Florida International Graduate Athletic Training Program, A.T. Still University Graduate Human Movement Program, Kaplan College Medical Assisting Program Glendale Community College Sports Medicine Information GCC is a member of the Maricopa Community College District (MCCD), the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA), the Arizona Community College Athletic Association (ACCAC) and the Western States Football League (WSFL). GCC follows all rules and regulation set forth by the NJCAA and its conferences. The following are important tips for students wishing to participate in athletics at Glendale Community College: 1. Physical Exams- All athletes need to complete the pre-participation physical exam packet that can be found on the athletics webpage under Student Athlete Forms. a. All physical exams MUST include a cardiac screening including a current EKG. b. All pages of the physical packet must be completely filled out and turned in by the athlete to a Certified Athletic Trainer at GCC. 2. Athlete Try Outs a. A physical exam must be turned in with the Tryout Waiver for all tryouts. Both forms are found on the athletics webpage under Student Athlete Forms. b. No athlete will be able to tryout without a completed physical exam and tryout waiver. GCC Fitness and Wellness Department National Athletic Trainers Association Board of Certification, Inc. Northern Arizona University Athletic Training Education Program Grand Canyon Athletic Training Education Program
Most Popular in: Green is Sexy By: Nancy Jeffries Posted: October 14, 2008, from the May 2006 issue of GCI Magazine. Color cosmetics today are an expression of science, fashion, innovation and ecology. One-dimensional color has given rise to prismatic color, sheer has taken turns with saturated, and matte has met luminosity. There’s moisturizing color, UV benefit, light-reflecting properties, and organic, plant-based ingredients. It is quite a colorful array. Green is Sexy “Finally, green is sexy,” claims Eco Natural Makeup by NVEY, an Australian line that operates under a green philosophy. The company has positioned its makeup line as prestige organic makeup, and its 54 SKUs feature organic and OFC-certified ecologically sound cosmetics. “Natural botanical extracts and powerful antioxidants make for a pure, gentle and effective makeup solution,” said Jane Dirr, president and CEO. Rohan Widdison, the company’s founder noted, “The market for organic personal care products was worth US$4.3 billion, with an estimated 50% increase by 2010 to US$6.6 billion. Much like free trade coffee, ethically chic, organic personal care resonates the emerging trend in socially responsible retailing.” “We employed an array of synergistically aligned ingredients that act as both skin beneficial and essential structural components for the basic formulas, like soy bean extracted glycerol monostearate and organic sweet almond oil to act as emollients,” said Widdison. The company, which uses certified organic raw materials with earth-derived colorants, blends single batches of color to offer a colorant tone range from pale beige to medium tones for light to medium coverage. This ensures that the colorants are sustained in the products without separation. Its moisturizing fluid foundation utilizes cucumber extract for moisture binding, thyme extract to assist in firming skin’s collagen and calendula oil for antiseptic properties. From earthy and organic to high-tech science, color cosmetics offer benefits that are defined across a variety of perspectives. A new technology with color-changing effects is adding depth to the color cosmetic spectrum. Engelhard Reflecks MultiDimensions pigments can appear to be one color, but move across the color spectrum to provide multiple color effects on the skin or in shampoos and lotions. Using advances in borosilicate pigment technology, these multidimensional pigments make color-shifting effects possible in cosmetics. As an example, the effect of one Reflecks MultiDimensions pigment can appear red, but by changing the angle just 30 degrees, the effect turns to violet then blue or shifts from violet to blue to teal.
\|Send to printer »\| Insight & Intelligence : Aug 2, 2013 Six Websites You Need to Bookmark: August Picks Check out these websites from GEN's Best of the Web.!--h2> The Internet is a big place; when you're looking for biotech-related websites, where should you start? At GEN's Best of the Web, of course! Every other issue, we bring you a list of biotech- and biopharma-related websites we think you, GEN reader, would find useful and/or interesting. Here is our list of the Best of the Web from our August 1 issue. Enjoy! + Nice demo video, can export scripts + Plenty of resources Though not apparent from its name, the Salk Institute Genomic Analysis Laboratory (SIGnAL) is an oasis for Arabidopsis research. With a number of past and active research projects represented on the website, the SIGnAL site can be a tad difficult to navigate—or at the very least, a bit overwhelming. Fortunately, visitors to the site are helped out by the site map, which nicely organizes the site’s contents into seven major categories: databases and applications, datasets, T-DNA, T-DNA genotyping, microarray, FL-cDNA, and “about us.” Within these categories, visitors will find a plethora of resources and tools, such as a CREB target database, Arabidopsis transcriptome datasets, and links to some Arabidopsis and plant biology educational websites. Finally, so as to not slight the nonplant biologists out there, the website also contains links to a few human and mouse epigenetics databases. Online Learning Tool for Research Integrity and Image Processing ★★★★ + Great organization, lots of useful information Digital images are a critical component of biological research and ensuing publications. Most researchers are aware of common programs such as Photoshop and ImageJ that are available for image viewing and editing; however, the “best practices” guidelines for how researchers should (and should not) edit their digital images are likely less well understood by most. The Online Learning Tool for Research Integrity and Image Processing (phew—say that 10 times fast) website was designed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to disseminate information about appropriate image processing among the scientific community. To do so, the site includes example “do” and “do not” images. It discusses specific guidelines and questionable practices, and also provides case studies for further discussion among readers. The site is nicely organized and contains a wealth of valuable information that should be read by all scientists. + Information available for multiple species You know what they say: Gene regulators come in small packages (or, you know, something like that). In any event, microRNAs (miRNAs) are indeed both small and important regulators of gene expression, and microRNA.org is an online resource to explore the targets and expression patterns of this class of nucleic acids. MicroRNA.org is the brainchild of the Computational Biology Center at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. It contains predicted target information for a large number of miRNAs in humans, mice, rats, Drosophila, and C. elegans. (In contrast, the experimentally observed miRNA expression patterns are only available for humans, mice, and rats.) Site visitors can download the data from the database. While a nice resource, microRNA.org is limited by the fact that it was last updated in 2010. Peptide Guide ★★ + Nice introduction to peptide chemistry and proteins, well-organized It’s expedition time, and peptideguide.com is here to lead you through the world of amino acids. This website is intended as an introduction to the field of peptide chemistry; as such, readers won’t find too much information beyond “the basics”, so to speak. However, the content that is on the site is nicely organized into categories such as peptide bonds (which covers peptide bond chemistry), proteins (giving an introduction to primary through quaternary structure), and solid-phase peptide synthesis. There is a brief discussion on applications of peptides and peptides in drug discovery, as well as a glossary and a peptide molecular weight calculator. Overall, the website would be strengthened if it included citations, but it does seem to provide some good information. + Good site design, advanced search features Most researchers who work with mice are aware of the many great genetics resources available through the MGI (mouse genome informatics) database. While you can still of course peruse the MGI website to access those resources, there is now a new way to explore MGI data: MouseMine. Using the InterMine data system, MouseMine gives users more advanced options with regard to searching MGI data. These options include saving one’s queries in lists and modifying those queries. At present, MouseMine does not include all of the data from MGI (that is the ultimate goal), but there is a lot of information already accessible through the site. Users can search genome features, genotypes, alleles, and curated annotations, among other data. The site includes tutorials for its unique features (using template queries, creating custom queries, and working with lists). © 2013 Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, All Rights Reserved
\|Death:\|\|Died in TITANIC at sea\| \|Cause of death:\|\|Died in the sinking. Body Not Recovered\| \|Place of Burial:\|\|Atlantic Ocean\| \|Managed by:\|\|June Barnes\| About Albert Akerman - Name: Mr Albert Akerman - Age: 28 years - Last Residence: in Southampton Hampshire England - Occupation: Steward Victualling crew - First Embarked: Southampton - Died in the sinking. Body Not Recovered Mr Albert Akerman, 28, was born in Wiltshire. When he signed-on to the Titanic, on 4 April 1912, he gave his address as 25 Rochester Street, (Southampton). His last ship had been the Oceanic. As a third class steward he received monthly wages of £3 15s. His brother Joseph Akerman was a pantryman on the Titanic. Akerman died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified. Contributors Paul Dorey, Canada Documents Crew Particulars of Engagement References Agreement and Account of Crew (PRO London, BT100/259)
\|Learn about Your Courts\| The Supreme Court, the state's highest court, reviews decisions made by other courts in civil and criminal cases. This court alone rules on questions involving the constitutionality of state statutes, all criminal cases involving a sentence of death, and petitions from decisions of the Court of Appeals. No trials are held at the appellate level; oral arguments are heard by the entire court. Each case accepted for review by the Supreme Court is assigned to one of the seven justices for preparation of a preliminary opinion for circulation to all other justices. The justices review trial transcripts, case records, and the accompanying legal briefs prepared by attorneys. An opinion is adopted or rejected by the Court after thorough discussion by all the justices in conference. The Chief Justice and the Presiding Justice serve as officers of the court for two-year terms; there are seven justices total. The Chief Justice presides at official sessions of the Supreme Court and conferences of the justices. The Supreme Court is assigned oversight of the legal profession and the judiciary, as well as other designated duties. Court of Appeals The Court of Appeals is the court of first review for many civil and criminal cases decided in the trial courts. The purpose of such a review is to correct legal errors or errors of law made at the trial level, not to alter jury verdicts or the outcome of bench trials. The Court of Appeals has twelve judges who are assigned to one of four panels made up of three judges each. Once a case is assigned to a panel, the judges review the trial transcript, relevant portions of the record, and briefs submitted by the attorneys for the parties. Panels also hear oral arguments in a small number of cases. Panel decisions are final unless one judge dissents. If necessary, a case may be reviewed by the full court. The Superior Court is Georgia’s general jurisdiction trial court. It has exclusive, constitutional authority over felony cases, divorce, equity and cases regarding title to land. The exclusive jurisdiction of this court also covers such matters as declaratory judgments, habeas corpus, mandamus, quo warranto, and prohibition. The Superior Court corrects errors made by lower courts by issuing writs of certiorari; for some lower courts, the right to direct review by the Superior Court applies. Superior Courts are organized into 10 Judicial Districts, comprised of 49 judicial circuits. Each county has its own Superior Court, though a judge may serve more than one county. A chief judge handles the administrative tasks for each circuit. Superior Court judges are elected to four-year terms in nonpartisan, circuit-wide races. To qualify as a Superior Court judge, a candidate must be at least 30 years old, a citizen of Georgia for at least three years, and have practiced law for at least seven years. Superior Court judges who have retired and taken senior status may hear cases in any circuit at the request of a local judge, an administrative judge, or the governor. The State Court was established by a 1970 legislative act that designated certain existing countywide courts of limited jurisdiction as state courts. State courts may exercise jurisdiction over all misdemeanor violations, including traffic cases, and all civil actions, regardless of the amount claimed, unless the superior court has exclusive jurisdiction. State Courts are authorized to hold hearings on applications for an issuance of search and arrest warrants and to hold preliminary hearings. The Georgia Constitution grants state courts authority to review lower court decisions as provided by statute. The General Assembly creates state courts by local legislation. Legislation also establishes the number of judges and whether the judges are to be full or part-time. Part-time judges may practice law, except in their own courts. State Court judges are elected to four-year terms in nonpartisan, countywide elections. Candidates must be at least 25 years old, have been admitted to practice law for at least seven years, and have lived in the state for at least three years. The purpose of our Juvenile Courts is to protect the well-being of children, provide guidance and control conducive to child welfare and the best interests of the state, and secure care for children removed from their homes. The exclusive, original jurisdiction of Juvenile Courts extends to delinquent children under the age of 17 and deprived or unruly children under the age of 18. Juvenile courts have concurrent jurisdiction with superior courts in cases involving capital felonies, custody and child support cases, and in proceedings to terminate parental rights. The superior courts have original jurisdiction over those juveniles who commit certain serious felonies. The Juvenile Court also has jurisdiction over minors committing traffic violations or enlisting in the military services, consent to marriage for minors, and cases involving the Interstate Compact on Juveniles. Juvenile Court judges are appointed by the superior court judges of the circuit to four-year terms. Judges must be 30 years of age, have practiced law for five years, and have lived in Georgia for three years. Full-time judges cannot practice law while holding office. Magistrate Court jurisdiction includes: civil claims of $15,000 or less; certain minor criminal offenses; distress warrants and dispossessory writs; county ordinance violations; deposit account fraud (bad checks); preliminary hearings; and summonses, arrest and search warrants. A chief magistrate, who may be assisted by one or more magistrates, presides over each of Georgia’s 159 magistrate courts. Magistrates may grant bail in cases where the setting of bail is not exclusively reserved to a judge of another court. No jury trials are held in magistrate court. If a defendant submits a written request for a jury trial, cases may be removed to superior or state court. The chief magistrate of each county assigns cases, sets court sessions, appoints other magistrates (with the consent of the superior court judges) and sets policy for the magistrate court. The number of magistrates in addition to the chief is usually set by majority vote of the county’s superior court judges. Most chief magistrates are elected in partisan, countywide elections to four-year terms. The chief magistrate may be appointed, if so provided by local legislation. Terms for other magistrate judges run concurrently with that of the chief magistrate who appointed them. To qualify as a magistrate, an individual must reside in the county for at least one year preceding his or her term of office, be 25 years of age, and have a high school diploma or its equivalent. A magistrate court judge may also serve as a judge of another limited jurisdiction court in the same county. County Probate Courts exercise exclusive, original jurisdiction in the probate of wills, administration of estates, appointment of guardians and involuntary hospitalization of incapacitated adults and other individuals. All Probate Court judges administer oaths of office and issue marriage licenses. They may hold habeas corpus hearings or preside over criminal preliminary hearings. Unless a jury trial is requested, probate court judges may also hear certain misdemeanors, traffic cases and violations of state game and fish laws in counties where there is no state court. When authorized by local statute, probate judges serve as election supervisors and make appointments to certain local public offices. In counties with population greater than 96,000, a party to a civil case may request a jury trial in the probate court by a written demand with the first pleading. Appeals from such civil cases may be to the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals depending on the particular matter. Most Probate Court judges are elected to four-year terms in countywide, partisan elections. A candidate for judge of the probate court must be at least 25 years of age, a high school graduate, a U.S. citizen and a county resident for at least two years preceding the election. In counties with population over 96,000, a candidate for probate judge must have practiced law for seven years and be at least 30 years of age. Courts of incorporated municipalities try municipal ordinance violations, issue criminal warrants, conduct preliminary hearings, and may have concurrent jurisdiction over shoplifting cases and cases involving possession of one ounce or less of marijuana. Judges appointed after July 1, 2011, are required to be attorneys. Those in office prior to that date must meet certain training requirements.
Further tributes have been paid to a pensioner who died following a fire at his Guildford home. Fryderyk Kucharski, known locally as Fred, died in hospital after the blaze at his Slyfield Green property earlier this month. A murder investigation has been launched into his death. The 92-year-old had lived in Guildford for more than 40 years. He came to Surrey after the Second World War to be reunited with his brother – the pair having fought on opposite sides. Family friend Reita Fisher, 71, said: “He was a lovely old chap. He was a very black and white person. He was quite meticulous – if something was right, then it had to be right with him.” Born in Karviná, Poland, in 1921, he fled his home country as a teenager to avoid being conscripted to fight for Hitler when the Germans invaded in 1939. He cycled east to Romania, then travelled across it by train before making his way to Yugoslavia and then Greece, where he took a boat to France. At Grenoble, he joined the Polish brigade of the French army as a gunner. “At one point the brigade was forced to retreat to Switzerland, where Fred was interned,” said Miss Fisher. “I’m not sure how long it was for but the [French] underground arranged for an organised escape for him. “They had to evade the Swiss guards and swim across a river where the French were waiting for him.” When Mr Kucharski was demobbed, he briefly joined the British Army. At the end of the war he had the option to return to Poland, then under Russian control, but decided to remain where he was based in Scotland. His father and his brother, Jan, are understood to have died in a Russian camp during the war but his other brother, Edmond, was conscripted by the Germans while only 16 and forced to fight against the Allies. “He decided to track down Edmond through the Red Cross,” said Miss Fisher. “He was in England and they got together for the first time after the war at what was a Polish camp near Milford.” Edmond married his wife, Krystyna, and settled in Guildford and at some point after the late 1950s, Mr Kucharski moved south to be near them. He met May Parker and the couple married and moved into a home in Slyfield Green, where they lived together until May’s death in 1987. Mr Kucharski, a devout Catholic, was interested in sport and enjoyed games of bingo at the Guildford Corporation Club in Slyfield. He never took British citizenship and Miss Fisher said: “He used to have the Polish newspaper every week. “He was very political and Edmond was exactly the same.” Mr Kucharski had no remaining blood relatives but was survived by his stepdaughters, Helen Yeo and Gina Matthews, and his brother-in-law Donald Parker and family. Following Mr Kucharski’s death, Surrey Police opened a murder investigation. A woman, 37, and a 25-year-old man, who were initially arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, were rearrested on suspicion of murder and released on bail until August 16. Two men, aged 19 and 20, remain on bail until August 9, having been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. Anyone who has information about the fire is asked to contact Surrey Police on 101 quoting Operation Quillback. Alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Vipassana is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation taught more than 2500 years ago. It offers a remedy for universal ills through a practical method of self-awareness, allowing one to face the tensions and problems of daily life in a balanced way. For those who are not familiar with Vipassana Meditation, an Introduction to Vipassana by Mr. Goenka and Questions & Answers about Vipassana are available. The Ghana Dhamma Practitioners Organization organizes non-center Vipassana Meditation courses in different locations around Ghana. We usually offer one 10-day course per year as well as short 1-day refresher courses for old students (those who have already taken the ten day course). To learn Vipassana Meditation one needs to develop one's own experience during a residential ten day course. A description and timetable of a typical ten day course may be found in the Code of Discipline. Course registration can be done online, or by emailing scanned application forms. More details and a list of offered courses is provided on the Course Schedule webpage. "Old students" are those who have completed a 10-day Vipassana Meditation course with S.N. Goenka or his Assistant Teachers. Opportunities to serve and schedule of weekly group sittings available on Old Student Information Page. Ghana Dhamma Practitioners Org. c/o Nandhini Iyer PO Box KB 77 Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana
Pumpkin carved into a playable Tetris-O-Lantern October 31, 2012 Every Halloween brings a new batch of creative takes on the traditional Jack-o-lantern, but very few of these actually try to give a pumpkin a technological enhancement. This year, one programmer decided to change that by hacking a pumpkin into a working version of Tetris by using a grid of LED lights and converting the stem into a functional joystick. Tetris has been recreated in quite a variety of formats before, including on a multistory building, but this is probably the first one built inside a pumpkin, let alone any other type of gourd. The game display is comprised of 128 LEDs, which were used to construct two 8x8 matrices, each connected to an I2C backpack, a battery pack, and an Arduino controller. Since there aren't any programs available that could run a game of Tetris with his homemade LED grid, the designer, Nathan, had to program the whole game from scratch. After trying out a few pumpkins unsuccessfully, he eventually found one with the size and shape he needed to fit the whole grid on the front. The next step was to drill holes for each LED, carve squares around them for that pixelated look, and fit all the wiring into a large hole on the back. Finally, he added the master stroke to the whole creation, converting the pumpkin stem into a functional joystick which controls the game while still remaining attached to the pumpkin. The result is a pumpkin that can play a full game of Tetris, complete with difficulty levels and high score tracking. So far, there have been a few minor glitches from some shorts in the wiring, which should probably be expected when you rig some electronics into damp pumpkin flesh. The designer has noted that having the joystick on top can be awkward to play with. It's a sure bet though that this pumpkin easily trumps all the others in the neighborhood. Check out the video below to see some Halloween revelers enjoying a few rounds of "Pumpktris." - Around The Home - Digital Cameras - Good Thinking - Health and Wellbeing - Holiday Destinations - Home Entertainment - Inventors and Remarkable People - Mobile Technology - Urban Transport - Wearable Electronics - 2014 Action Camera Comparison Guide - 2014 Smartwatch Comparison Guide - 2014 Windows 2-in-1 Comparison Guide - 2014 Smartphone Comparison Guide - 2014 Full Frame DSLR Comparison Guide - 2014 Tablet Comparison Guide - 2014 Superzoom Camera Comparison Guide - 2014 iPad Comparison Guide - 2014 Entry-Level to Enthusiast DSLR Comparison Guide - 2014 Small Compact Camera Comparison Guide
More ballot issues Following are The Daily Sentinel’s editorial positions on several state ballot issues: ‘No’ on Amendment 51 Finding ways to provide additional assistance to the devlopmentally disabled is a laudable goal. But raising the state sales tax in the midst of a severe economic crunch and creating yet another off-limits revenue stream within the state budget that restricts legislative decision-making are not good ideas. Already, projections for state revenue have dropped significantly from what they were just a few months ago, and Gov. Bill Ritter has ordered a number of measures to rein in state spending. Amendment 51’s proposed sales tax increase isn’t large — two-tenths of 1 percent over two years — but we believe it is the wrong time for any increase in state tax rates. Although this measure changes state law, not the Constitution, it would create a new stream of money that the Legislature would have to keep sacrosanct, even as it looks for ways to meet budget needs during an economic crunch. Beyond that, it would increase administrtative costs for programs for people with developmental disabilities by several hundred thousand dollars over the next few years, but it would prohibit lawmakers from using any of the new sales tax money to cover those costs. Other state programs would have to be cut to make up the difference. That’s no way to set budget policy, even in good economic times. Vote “No” on Amendment 51. ‘No’ on Amendment 54 There are several reasons to reject Amendment 54, which is supposed to make government contracting more ethical. Specifically, it would affect any individual or organization that receives a no-bid contract — or sole-source contract — worth more than $100,000 from state or local government. It would prohibit them from making poltical contributions to a candidate or political party for two years after the contract has ended. This effort to improve ethics takes extreme liberties with constitutional rights. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that contributing to candidates and political parties is a form of constitutionally protected speech. This measure would enact severe limits on those rights. Is it fair, for example, to prohibit someone who has a sole-source contract with the city of Grand Junction from contributing to a state political party or a candidate? There are many reasons a company or individual may have a sole-source contract with a government agency. They may be the only company in the vicininty that provides the product or service needed. They may have the only compatible equipment or replacement parts. They may have a special knowledge of the government project that no other entity has. No one should lose the right to participate in the political process because of that. Furthermore, Amendment 54 includes “collective bargaining” in the definition of a sole-source contract. That is aimed directly at labor organizations which represent public employees, such as teachers and police officers, and would effectively shut them out of the political process throughout the state. No wonder labor organizations consider Amendment 54 one of the “poison pill” amendments. It is one of three that business groups agreed to actively fight last week in exchange for labor groups withdrawing four anti-business ballot measures. That’s another reason for voters to reject this ballot measure. Vote “No” on Amendment 54. ‘Yes’ on Referendum L Since 1876, Colorado has required people who run for the state House of Representatives to be at least 25 years of age. But most other states allow people younger than that to seek a seat in the Legislature. This measure would reduce the age requirement for the Colorado House to 21. Few 21-year-olds have a great interest in politics or running for elective office, but a few do. We see little reason why someone who is considered an adult in every other respect should be prohibited from serving in the Legislature. Vote “Yes” on Referendum L.

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