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Despite the fact that a person can buy gold ETFs, they're not the same as getting physical gold you can keep with your hand. ETFs are paper assets, and While they may be backed by Bodily gold bullion, they trade according to different factors and so are priced in a different way.Traders flock to gold when occasions generate uncertainty. Though Peop
The price for an ounce of gold is the same everywhere in the globe; if not an arbitrage prospect would exist. The world place gold price is solely transformed into regional currencies to provide sector individuals the price for one troy ounce of .999 fine gold of their respective local forex.Valuable metals prices can and do modify during the day.
Sellers will provide to market Gold for you for the question price, and when you choose to offer Gold again, the dealer will pay the bid price.There are numerous gold bullion cash which have a deal with worth. Which is to mention that they're deemed fantastic, legal tender inside their respective place and could be accustomed to make purchases simi
Collectors considering certain themes or coins may purchase coins and rounds. These searching for a one of a kind and timeless present notion may possibly purchase silver. Briefly, silver is a superb invest in for anyone!Regardless of the accurate cause for this rate anomaly, investors forecast a reduce during the gold-to-silver ratio from the many
The Bid Gold price for today in United states for each ounce is The present highest industry present to market to a vendor. Consumers can hope to obtain the bid price when promoting Gold to a vendor.Rosland Capital could freely assign, transfer, or delegate this Agreement or any of its rights or obligations beneath this Arrangement all at once to S |
Diatribe advances legacy of female artists
Establishing an artistic medium for creative output is of utmost importance to artists. For Diatribe, a group composed of local female artists, they have found theirs.
“Technically, Diatribe means a forceful, bitter attack towards someone or something. We loved the term so much after Rubie, one of our original members, rephrased it as a ‘witty response to society,’” Ashleigh Castro, fine art’s alumna and co-founder of Diatribe said. “We also liked that the term ‘tribe’ appeared in the word, because we are a little artistic family. The term refers a lot to criticism, something artists need and value in their work. We only have female artists because we’re all about the girl power.”
Formed in 2011 to celebrate women in the arts, media and social activism, Diatribe originally met through a SOMA based art collective, Inks of Truth. The members work together to put on affordable showcases and give exposure to underground artists.
Their current exhibition at the 5o Mason Social House entitled, “Smoke Signals” was inspired by the unofficial annual cannabis holiday known as 420. Some of the featured SF State exhibition artists include printmaker Nicki Lang; photographers Castro and Jenny Galipo; painters Briana Hodgin and Karen Zinkofsky. The art features images of smoke signals, the oldest form of visual communication that Native Americans used to connect with other tribes.
“For ‘Smoke Signals’ we showcased pieces that literally and figuratively went with the theme of smoke, and others we just wanted to show for giggles,” said Zinkofsky, a 20-year-old art education major. “I presented the ‘The Great Spirit’ in watercolor & acrylic, which is a bald eagle spreading its glorious wings embellished with Indian peace pipes. The other was ‘Even though death is inevitable a kiss will make it less painful,’ a quote from my friend Mark Figuroa, in acrylic, which shows a reindeer profile with mistletoe growing from its antlers.”
“Smoke Signals” presents an opportunity for women to showcase their artistic skills exclusively. Art historian and professor, Gwen Allen, recognizes the hardships young female artists at SF State have had to endure but looks beyond it as a wider issue.
“I think the challenges facing female artists at SFSU are similar to the ongoing challenges that face women more generally in the United States (such as) sexism, lack of equal pay and domestic violence.” Allen said. “My hope is that women everywhere, including artists, continue to fight for and achieve equal political, social and economic rights.”
The Bay Area has long been a positive historical catalyst for female artists. The first feminist art program was founded at Fresno State University in 1970 and the popular feminist installation “The Dinner Party” premiered at the San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art in 1979, according to Allen.
“I feel very fortunate and rejuvenated to be a female artist in San Francisco, from fellow artists I’ve met while being here and seeing their artwork, it’s definitely given me a wider perspective on how far I can go within my own work,” Zinkofsky said.
Andrea Hassiba, art professor at SF State, says she can relate to the young, female artists of Diatribe. She used to be a part of an alternative arts group, 80 Langton Street. As a former female artist in San Francisco she notices the positive transformation in the art scene but still has advice for Diatribe and other up and coming female artists.
“Even though there is a huge change in the opportunities for women artists, all positive, there remains a certain amount of resistance from the public.” Hassiba said. “In general, it is, and remains, a man’s world. Women are accepted into the man’s world but it can be a struggle. Women artists have to be resilient and persistent.”
But Castro is hopeful that Diatribe can represent the women and make history as artists.
“I can’t speak for a painter but as a photographer I can say that in art history it’s mostly the male artists you learn about. But the female artists were rarer and for some reason their stories were always the most captivating,” Castro said. “And people become well aware of (female artists) due to legacy. So maybe we can create a legacy too.”
“Smoke Signals” will be featured in 50 Mason Social House until mid-June. |
Late life depression refers to a major depressive episode occurring for the first time in an older person.
A major depressive episode is a period characterized by the symptoms of major depressive disorder.
Treatment of Depression in Older Adults | Evidence-Based Practices by SAMHSA
Concurrent medical problems and lower functional expectations of elderly patients often obscure the degree of impairment.
Depression in old age by Bupa Health UK
Typically, elderly patients with depression do not report depressed mood, but instead present with less specific symptoms such as insomnia, anorexia, and fatigue.
Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have trouble sleeping.
Elderly persons sometimes dismiss less severe depression as an acceptable response to life stress or a normal part of aging. |
Finally, after 2010 and 2011 not leaving enough time and energy to take part in the annual „Goethetour“, we rode over to the 2012 start/finish of the 4-day event in Bingen right at the banks of the river Rhine.
Although sleeping high above the Rhine isn’t much fun or relaxation (with the rail road tracks running alongside its banks and echoing up to the Youth Hostel so that it sounds like the trains are running through the room all night long), the spectacular view across the river over to the Mouse & Cat Castle Towers amidst the vinyards across the river make up for it. Despite my eyelids having a bit of a hangover in the literal sense of the meaning, if you will …
The Goethetour tries to combine bike riding („tour“) with cultural tidbids about Johann Wolfgang von Goethe („culture“ and „literature“). Starting this year with a 124K-round that ended with a finalizing 1.5K / 90m elevation gain run up the vinyards to famous St. Rochus chapel (which is actually a veritable cathedral) which has been described and praised by Goethe alredy.
Goethe lived in Frankfurt, so the 1-hour drive by car that it takes today has been a real trip for him by carriage and on foot in the early 19th century. In 1808, Goethe heard about this chapel by reading a letter of praise written by Bettina von Arnim. In her elaborate praise she told Goethe about „my most favorite place in all of the Rheingau area“: She talks about the „open doors through which are looking the most distant mountain ranges: Altkönig on one side, on the other all of Hunsrück all the way to Kreuznach, bordered by Donnersberg; in your back you can see as much of the countryside as you ever wanted. Like a broad and festive dress it is trailing behind the river Rhine which lies below you, beneath the chapel, adorned with all its green islands just like emeralds.“ *
In 1814, Goethe visited the chapel when he came to Bingen during the St. Rochus festival in August which he describes in all detail and against the historical backdrop of the fate of the chapel, built in 1666 during the plague, destroyed twice and finally reconstructed in the present manner in 1895 (which obviously was not part of Goethe’s description…).
Also, he praised the wine and the hospitality of the Rheingau people during the wine and vinyard festivals in later summer.
We only saw the impressive rows and rows and rows of vines … and decided to come back later this year… after the grapes will have been harvested and pressed …
* German original: „Durch die Öffnungen der Türen schauen die entferntesten Gebirge: auf der einen Seite der Altkönig, auf der andern der ganze Hunsrück bis Kreuznach, vom Donnersberg begrenzt; rückwärts kannst Du so viel Land übersehen, als Du Lust hast. Wie ein breites Feiergewand zieht es der Rhein schleppend hinter sich her, den Du vor der Kapelle mit allen grünen Inseln wie mit Smaragden geschmückt liegen siehst“
3rd picture taken from Goethezeitportal by Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany; after Ch. Bodmer. Koblenz bei J. Hölscher. In: Adolf Bach, Aus Goethes rheinischem Lebensraum. Menschen und Begebenheiten. Neuss: Verlag Gesellschaft für Buchdruckerei AG Neuss 1968 (Rheinischer Verein für Denkmalpflege und Heimatschutz, Jahrbuch 1967/68), Tafel 5.© Copyright 2012 bxa, All rights Reserved. Written For: bxa's Greetings from Germany |
Thermostats offer 2 very important functions in a house a/c system. Initially, they identify the temperature level, so that they can communicate back with the air conditioner when it's time to turn on or off. Second, of course, they allow you to make adjustments, although the level of the changes you have the ability to make relies on the design of thermostat you have.
A high quality thermostat must last you for several years, which brings us to our first fact concerning your air conditioning unit's control point. For more details or to arrange Air Conditioning service in Lakeland, FL, call the technicians at Air Conditioning Experts, Inc.
1. Thermostat concerns are seldom responsible for AC fixing ... if set properly
Sometimes, phones call to a service technician are prefaced with this problem: "I believe my thermostat may be damaged." However, a less competent thermostat typically does not show a damaged one. If the setup on the thermostat seems right, the trouble is likely within the air conditioning unit itself-- like a busted motor or capacitor. Your thermostat is a reasonably simple gadget after all as well as, aside from some designs requiring new batteries from time to time, ought to last for years.
Obviously, thermostat problems do show up every so often. It will certainly require replacement ultimately-- yet we often discover among these less complex issues to blame for a thermostat-related cooling problem.
Thermostat unintentionally readied to "warmth.".
" Follower only" mode causing the fan to run without cooling.
Configuring setups create the thermostat to go into energy-saving mode, set to manage the residence as if it is unoccupied.
The thermostat is located in an area with sunshine or warm (such as the cooking area) bring about inaccurate readings.
2. Lots of people aren't sure how you can establish their programmable thermostats.
Complex shows setups and also missing out on handbooks indicate that people never learn exactly just how the innovative shows jobs, triggering them to guess and be unaware that particular alternatives-- like separate weekend programming-- exist. Some individuals could wind up leaving the thermostat on all the time at the same temperature in irritation, causing them to miss out on power saving opportunities.
When it's one of the biggest resources of energy makes use of in your house, it is essential to get it right. Find out ways to work your thermostat with the help of a neighborhood specialist or your manual. (You could find a duplicate online!).
3. A reduced thermostat setting won't cool the residence quicker.
We mention this reality usually, however it's constantly worth specifying once again. Just what's the first thing you do when you get back and the house seems like it's 90 °? For many people, the answer is to visit the thermostat. They commonly turn the settings as reduced as they can go, right into the 60 ° s, to cool down the house faster.
The important things is, it doesn't work by doing this. Transforming the temperature level down a lot more won't cool your residence any kind of quicker. All it will certainly do is cool your residence past the point of comfort. Set the thermostat to a reliable temperature level you fit with! We advise regarding 78 ° F.
4. Transforming the temperature down a lot more cools the area much faster.
This misconception functions both means: many people additionally turn the temperature level on the thermostat right up in the winter months in hopes it will certainly heat the home faster. This just isn't really the case.
Your A/C tools shares a blower follower that relocates at just one rate: 100%. When it has a long way to head to heat or cool your the home of the setup on the thermostat, it just runs at 100% for longer, squandering power. Choose an effective temperature level rather, as well as stay with it!
5. You can control modern thermostats from your phone.
Finally, modern Wi-Fi thermostats could make residence convenience a lot simpler. With a high quality Wi-Fi thermostat, you can monitor power use and make smart decisions regarding your air conditioner right from a smartphone or tablet. This is one of the best upgrades you could make to your convenience system. Call a specialist today to find out exactly how!
Is It Time for a Thermostat Upgrade?
Lots of people wait to alter out their thermostats up until they definitely have to. They wait till the thermostat totally stops to function, or up until they could no more review the display screen. But this means they are living with an inefficient, troublesome thermostat for several years-- decades in many cases we have actually seen.
New Advancement in Thermostat Innovation.
Thermostats have progressed significantly over the years. Years earlier, your thermostat would have been operated manually, either with a dial or a moving notch that hovers over the temperature you would like. This makes points hard. It is difficult to inform if you have actually obtained the temperature exactly where you desire it, as well as you have no options besides to maintain readjusting as needed.
Digital thermostats aided improve temperature level precision with clear displays. However soon after Dorrian Heating and Cooling this growth in thermostat technology came programmable models. Currently, you can readjust the temperature level beforehand. Numerous permit you to readjust differently for the weekends than for the weekdays, as well as to make numerous modifications throughout the day.
Now is the excellent time to change your thermostat, nevertheless, thanks to the advancement of wise thermostats.
Smart thermostats attach to the Wi-Fi in your home. That way, you can check out the temperature level from your smart device, from anywhere you are. Better yet, you can make modifications, also while you go to work or at an institution occasion. And you don't need to fret about it squandering power while you are away. |
This guest blog post is by Marci Cameron. Marci has supported Growing Hope’s partnership with Habitat for Humanity for the past three years.
It’s that time of year to reap the harvest of the summer’s garden. For many, it’s an annual effort but for a number of new homeowners, it’s a new adventure.
Growing Hope and Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley have joined together to promote and support vegetable gardens for families. Since 2015, Growing Hope has installed raised gardens in over 20 homes. The organization is an Ypsilanti-based non-profit organization with the mission to increase access to healthy food and thus to help people improve their lives and communities. Recognizing that food insecurity is a key issue for many in the Ypsilanti area, their work now includes supporting gardening in home, school, and community settings; managing and advocating for farmers’ markets and farm stands; increasing economic development through food and agriculture; engaging youth and teens each year in healthy cooking, nutrition, and gardening; and advocating for local to national policy change to support healthy schools, families, and communities.
Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley makes affordable homeownership achievable for low-income, hard working families who log sweat equity hours working to renovate their future home, other Habitat homes and helping out at other community events. In addition, Critical Repair and Weatherization projects – repairs and upgrades that reduce energy bills and can prevent foreclosure – have been conducted in neighborhood houses.
Most participants had no prior gardening experience, yet consulting visits showed gardens that are flourishing and reaping fruits, vegetables and herbs. Asked what inspired her to join the program, a Habitat homeowner with four children exclaimed, “Having our own home! In the beginning, I had trouble telling the difference between weeds and plants, but I knew I was going to have a garden once we had our home.”
Parents report that their children are more interested in eating vegetables since they’ve watched plants grow and they’ve been eating fresh vegetables at an early age. Says one homeowner, “I’ve never gardened before and I didn’t think I would, but I thought why not try. It helped me to get out of my comfort zone. Now I can’t wait for collards to come – eat great and save money. The boys were not that interested but they look out the window and see, wow, they’re growing!” |
Factors to Consider When Choosing the Right Driving School in Your City.
Whether you are the one who would want to go for a refresher driving training, or you have your loved one who you would want to go for a driving training course, it is important for you to look for the right driving school where you will get professional driving training lessons.You will find that in your city there are many driving schools where you can get the driving lessons, but it is important for you to ensure that you have enrolled in the best driving school in the city. Discover more in this article where we are looking at some of the factors that you need to consider when you are selecting the right driving school in your city.
1. Check on the level of experience of the driving school.
when it comes to hiring service providers, it is always good to ensure that you have hired that service provider who has relevant experience on the services that you are looking for. For that reason it will be good for you if you can sing enroll in that driving school which has been offering driving training courses for a longer period of time in your city. The truth of the matter is that it will be good for you to enroll in that driving school which has been offering driving training courses for about 3 to 4 years because in such driving schools you will find that their trainers are experts who have acquired the relevant knowledge and skills to offer professional driving training courses. Although the number of years does not always guarantee quality services, you will find that you will have confidence that driving school which has experts who are experienced. You can access the websites of the available driving schools in your city where you will find more details about their experience level.
2. Consider the reviews of a driving school.
It is important for you to check on the reviews of the available driving school before you can enroll in any of them because you will be able to see what other people who trained in these school have to say about them. Different people have different reviews on the available driving schools depending on the ability, availability affordability, and many other factors and so you need to compile those reviews so that you can compare them and select that company which you will find having many positive reviews from different people. You will be able to believe in the training courses that you are getting from a school which is well known in the city. |
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On Friday, October 14, Lisa Croce and Jill Blasi escorted Woodland’s own ECE Environmental and Zoology classes to study at the Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy in Litchfield. There the students were given a tour guide and explored the sanctuary. They were educated on the types of birds that reside there, ways to preserve and maintain the waterfowls, as well as a lesson regarding the different species of birds and how they came to be. The day ended with a tour around the beautiful waterfowls and lunch in the sanctuary. |
STEEL VS TIMBER
Steel home construction offer many advantages over timber and block homes.
- Steel Wall frames do not require tedious cyclone tie down rods due to the strength of steel
- Steel avoids the problem of natural weaknesses associated with timber
- Steel avoids unwanted movement as the materials does not have a moisture content like timber
- Limitless design opportunity as steel is easier to fabricate in sections than timber
- Removes concerns with termites and fire
- Allows you to build on difficult sites more easily than with timber. |
This step by step diy project is about how to build a trundle bed. Building a trundle bed frame is a basic project is you take accurate measurements and choose straight forward carpentry techniques. Align all the components and drill pilot holes before inserting the screws, if you are decided to get the job done as a professional and to keep the costs under control.
This bed frame is designed for a standard twin mattress, in other words for a 39″ x 75″ mattress. Nevertheless, we strongly recommend you to take accurate measurements before starting the project. Therefore, you should check if the trundle bed will fit under the existing bed, before starting the actual construction. In our case, we have designed the trundle bed to fit under a simple daybed. You can see here how to build the daybed.
Generally speaking, trundle beds should have a twin size, especially if your room is short of space. From our experience, we recommend you to add caster wheels to the bed frame, as to slide it in and out, whenever you need additional sleeping space. Sand the exposed edges of the bed frame with a sanding block and clean the residues before applying the costs of stain or paint.
Made from this plan
Building a trundle bed frame
- A – 2 pieces of 1×6 or 1×8 lumber – 79” long, 2 pieces of – 40” long FRAME
- B – 3 pieces of 2×2 lumber – 77 1/2” long CLEATS
- C – 11 pieces of 1×4 lumber – 40″ long SLATS
- D – 4 pieces of caster wheels – 2 1/2” long WHEELS
- Safety gloves, glasses
- Miter saw, jigsaw
- Chalk line, tape measure, spirit level, carpentry pencil
- Drill machinery and drill bits
- Apply several coats of wood stain to the wooden components
- Fill the holes with wood filler and smooth the surface
- One Day
How to build a trundle bed
The first step of the woodworking project is to build the frame of the trundle bed. As you can see in the image, we are going to use 1×10 lumber for this project, by you could use 1×6, 1×8 or even 1×12 lumber, as to suit your needs. In addition, you should modify the size of the bed frame as to make sure it fits under the initial bed.
The next step of the project is to attach 2×2 cleats to both sides of the bed frame. As you can notice in the image, we recommend you to fit three cleats, if you want to provide support to the wooden structure. Pre-drill the cleats and inset galvanized screws into the side components. In addition, add waterproof glue to the joints, if you want to create a rigid structure.
Afterwards, you should attach the support slats to the cleats and space them properly. Drill several pilot hole at both ends of the slats and insert screws into the cleats. Make sure the top of the mattress is at the same level with the frame, if you want to get a professional appearance.
One of the last steps of the project is to attach the 2 1/2″ caster wheels to the bed frame, as in the free plans. Align the wheels and secure them to the cleats with galvanized screws.
Last but not least, we recommend you to take care of the finishing touches. Fill the holes with wood filler and let it to dry out for several hours. Afterwards, smooth the wooden surface with fine-grit sandpaper and vacuum the residues. Fit the trundle bed under the existing bed and enjoy the additional sleeping space whenever is necessary.
Thank you for reading our project about how to build a trundle bed frame and we recommend you to check out the rest of the projects. Don’t forget to LIKE and SHARE our projects with your friends, by using the social media widgets. |
Away from Stock Definitely the top species of the southern phlox that begins flowering in Might with fantastic fuchsia flowers born in abundance that persist to the tumble. We observed this Odd sort in Carroll county Ga in 1994. Matures to 30"Superior x two+'Extensive. The leaves are slender and willow-like as well as rosette can stay just about evergreen (in zone 7).
Generally known as: Turks Cap Lily This distinct collection I rescued not knowing what It is really bouquets variety was as so often with rescues. On the pay a visit to into a improvement in Fulton, co. Ga. I used to be walking the construction web site and stepped in the wooded space slated to generally be cleared and located several Lilium superbums. I transplanted them and introduced them to their new safe household. Considering that they don't transplant effectively and go dormant to start with disturbance I'd to wait until the next period to determine their bouquets. Which is After i was cheerfully shocked and found I'd saved a jewel.
This species is referred to as quite possibly the most Wintertime hardy palm on the earth, expanding perfectly in in zone 6 and cooler and ready to face up to temperatures down to ten-fifteen beneath zero F. This palm develops a brief, but thick trunk, almost never to four' High, that is covered with erect needle like thorns and it has extensive spreading dim eco-friendly fronds. Native from Florida to Virginia, Needle Palms within their normal habitat come about as an underneath Tale evergreen plant round the edge of swamps but, will tolerate dry soil and total Solar.
Another wonderful native grass that's below utilized in landscapes right now, that is a tricky perennial bunch grass that is the state grass of Oklahoma. It has blue environmentally friendly leaves and stalks 3-eight'Tall with plume-like brown seed heads that improve 8"Long according to ailments.
Established while in the yr 2065, the sci-fi adventure depicted the earth below siege from Peculiar ghost-like alien forces. It was soundly criticized for offering a boring, solemn and needlessly-elaborate storyline regarding how to handle the alien life sorts.
The superhero film also included the substantial utilization of digital body doubles and also the digital removal of wires, cables and rigs from many ongoing motion pictures of Spidey somersaulting and ricocheting amid the tall skyscrapers.
Dryopteris ludoviciana , Southern Wood Fern The name Dryopteris provokes the thought of some species of Dinosaur, but Dryopteris In such cases is yet he said another gorgeous southern fern native to your deep south. In its natural habitat it tolerates Intense significant temperatures and will like other ferns endure flooding and soggy soils. Even though it is native to swamps look here It isn't limited to These situations.
Measurements are in inches, peak 1st. All prints are signed in pencil or ink Except indicated if not. Problem is superb; defects are noted. Postage in just the United States is approximately $twenty five per order. Postage overseas is billed at Price tag.
Woodlands ended up managed, just as fields were cultivated, to supply a valued crop. A managed wood could be sustained with time to regenerate with new wood progress and built to be important to its operator and Some others with rights to its commodities. Planting new woodlands (i.e. plantations) and looking ahead to a long time with the trees to mature demanded the luxurious of long-term thinking further than regular existence spans.
. They had been all released into the United kingdom as backyard garden vegetation. Every one of these species are current from the North York Moors to some extent, and operate continues to control these distinct plant species, without the need of purely natural competition and predators, which will have this kind of harmful impact on the realm’s habitats and h2o high-quality.
The waterfall cliffs in the track record were being manufactured with painted aluminum and after that photographed outdoors. The foreground meadow was manipulated, enhanced, and combined with digital video clip footage with the history plus the waterfalls.
The blue monitor set was distinctive in that it was intended as a virtual electronic surroundings by which actors could stroll by way of a set and web link become viewed 360 degrees on a keep an eye on which housed all the surrounding surroundings in sync.
Dwarf prickly Pear has tiny pads that Measure roughly 3"Extended x 1" Around. They are really elongated and Practically cylindrical. It's yellow flowers around 4"Extensive and extended spines with barbs that help from the dispersal in the pad with fruit.
Opuntia cacanapa (Ellisiana) , Prickle Pear Often known as: Nopale When you are the one who appreciates Cacti though the spines cease you fore utilizing this Genus with your landscape. We contain the plant in your case. Opuntia cacanapa is a local for the American southwest and northern Mexico. It is a really rapidly developing species and from just one pad can attain four-five'superior x four-five" large in threes yrs. |
We model the potential range shifts of lion and tiger populations over the Late Pleistocene and Holocene, to shed light on the potential competitive dynamics between these two apex predators through long-term, glacial-interglacial climate cycles. We focus on the Near East and Indian subcontinent, where both species are historically present, however the study incorporates the full distributions of both the lion and tiger throughout Africa and Eurasia. We employ species distribution models (SDMs) with bioclimatic data to model present-day idealised ranges in the absence of non-climatic, principally human, disturbance. We compare these idealised ranges with a statistically derived bioclimatic stratification layer so as to clearly describe the driving conditions behind each species’ distribution. Preferred strata are then considered for time slices at the Last Glacial Maximum and mid Holocene to identify areas of optimal climate for each species. The merits of our approach are considered in relation to the practice of directly projecting models onto past climatic conditions. This novel technique of model explanation allows greater use of expert species knowledge in the evaluation of SDMs, and makes the underlying ecology of the modelling process more explicit. The modelled distributions of lions and tigers throughout the Late-Pleistocene and Holocene are discussed in relation to existing genetic and archaeological literature, to contextualise current knowledge regarding lion and tiger palaeodistributions. |
페이지 정보작성자 제임스 쪽지보내기 자기소개 아이디로 검색 전체게시물 작성일17-02-28 19:02 조회167회 댓글0건
Our memory is a more perfect world than the universe: it gives back life to those who no longer exist. ― Guy de Maupassant
Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th-century French writer. He is one of the fathers of the modern short story. A protege of Flaubert, Maupassant's short stories are characterized by their economy of style and their efficient effortless dénouement. He also wrote six short novels. A number of his stories often denote the futility of war and the innocent civilians who get crushed in it - many are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s.
등록된 댓글이 없습니다. |
This talk is co-sponsored by the CONNECT Complex Systems and Health Disparities program within ISGMH. CONNECT is focused around elucidating the complex mechanisms driving the health disparities of stigmatized populations, in particular gender and sexual minorities.
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series that brings together attendees ranging from PhD students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. This seminar series not only brings some of the top researchers in complex systems from around the country to NICO, but also stimulates interdisciplinary discussion and eventually collaborations.
Modelling large, messy, and sampled network data – problems and prospects for principled analysis of real social networks
Abstract: The social network analysis (SNA) paradigm has proved a powerful and intuitive explanatory perspective that has recently gained new currency under the more general moniker of network science. SNA draws on graph theory and social entities are conceived of as nodes in a graph connected by lines (or edges), representing how people, organisations, countries, etc. are relationally tied. Having a network perspective results in compelling pictures of the social web; insightful summary measures capturing both positions of individuals and properties of the network; as well as the possibility of statistical modelling of how nodes are connected. Here we consider the latter – statistical modelling of the network. In particular we are considering modelling tie-variables using exponential random graph models (ERGM). ERGMs have their origin in statistical mechanics and are intimately related to Markov random fields and the classic Ising and Potts models. For social networks, in contrast to, say, particle spins on a lattice, the modelling often turns out to be much more complicated but also giving rise to richer models. Here we discuss some issues associated with modelling social networks based on empirical data. Among the challenges of this domain are specifying the boundary of the network and accounting for the often partial nature of data. Additionally, seeing as social networks cannot typically be collected automatically (through for example scraping on-line sources), we have to rely on observational data that is often laden with error. Among the opportunities that real social network data offers is that you may explore the full complexity of people’s relations. People are not only tied to other people but also affiliated with organisations, places, and events. We present these different aspects in the context of a number of illustrative datasets where information is collected and collated from different sources.
Johan Koskinen, Lecturer, Social Statistics Discipline Area The Mitchell Centre for Social Network Analysis University of Manchester
Johan Koskinen joined the Department of Social Statistics at the University of Manchester in 2011 having previously worked at the Universities of Stockholm, Melbourne and Oxford. Dr. Koskinen has contributed extensively to methodological development in social network analysis to enabled innovative applications by several disciplines. He is one of the co-authors of the RSiena statistical network analysis package for longitudinal network analysis and a contributor to the MPnet software package, one of the most commonly used statistical software packages for network analysis. His methodological contributions are often developed in collaboration over substantive research projects with applied researchers and he is active in disseminating best practices through frequent workshops. He has also co-written two books on social network research methods aimed at practitioners. One of them a book on exponential random graph models (Cambridge University Press) that was awarded the 2016 Harrison White Book Award by the American Sociological Association. His current research concentrates on extending current statistical methodology for modelling social interaction to social networks of multiple types of nodes using data collated and collected from different sources.
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You’re here as you are want to have good teeth. And, you are not likely to leave without some outstanding assistance. Make certain that you take notice while you understand the right path through these methods since itis time to have intent on your teeth.
Make sure the equipment you are using to clean your teeth are appropriate for your needs. Look for a soft-bristled brush that seems good within your mouth (not too large or too small). Pick out a fluoride toothpaste that you’re comfortable with. If you don’t believe, you’re carrying out a good job scrubbing, think about receiving an electronic wash that can do a large amount of the task for you.
You ought not to forget to clean your tongue after brushing your teeth. Food also collects on your tongue, and bacteria types there equally as it will in your teeth. This isn’t very balanced and might offer you bad breath too.
Use only a soft or medium bristled brush, never hard. Using a hard toothbrush could harm your gums and open root surfaces. Additionally, tough bristles can harm tooth enamel. Overtime, this may cause painful tooth sensitivity, but a soft bristle brush will alleviate this dilemma.
Make sure you brush your tongue. Cleaning your tongue is as imperative to maintaining your oral health as brushing your teeth. There are plenty of several types of bacteria that are in your tongue. If you don’t brush it away, it’ll only increase and possibly result in tooth decay.
Consider buying electric toothbrushes for the whole family. They reduce the work you’ve to make to acquire the identical benefits using a manual brush. Electric toothbrushes are not only inexpensive, but are recommended by many professional dentists. They have stable bristles which mug around your tooth and easily help wash away plaque.
Use a small amount of toothpaste once you brush. While it might look like more toothpaste could clean teeth better, it’ll not. The expression, “less is more” works best when brushing your teeth. All you have to is a pea-sized number of toothpaste in the middle of your brush for optimal cleaning.
To avoid serious and possible permanent injury to your teeth, never use them for almost any activity apart from eating the meals which you eat. You run the danger of chipping or breaking your teeth whenever you use your teeth to start a package, pull something which is stuck or break open nutshells.
Chewing tobacco and smoking are two of the worse things you can do on your teeth. Tobacco use could cause common cancer in addition to damage to gums or teeth. If you find considerable amounts of plaque or an ulcer in your mouth, you ought to go to your dentist to get it checked right away.
Many dental implants washington dc specialists recommend an electrical toothbrush for several of their patients, largely because they work so effectively without having to brush vigorously. The job can be carried out faster, as well as the head of the wash is little so it can get into all sites. In the long run, they only perform a better job.
You should also remember to change the batteries of your electric toothbrush every couple of weeks. Bristles do breakdown overtime and they’ll no longer keep your teeth as clean as you need them to. They can even be a property to bacteria and bacteria, things which damage your wellbeing.
You’ve discovered things you need to understand as it pertains to presenting good teeth. You are now inspired so that you can keep learning more about dentistry. So, take whatever you currently understand, and implement it to your life right so that you’ve what it will take. |
The Surprising Health Benefits of Clams
Clams are far away one of my favorite foods. Since I got married I’ve been making linguine with clam sauce for Christmas Even dinner. This year my 4 year old daughter followed in mommy footsteps and fell in love with clams. So much so that my little carb lover asked for seconds of clams instead of even touching the pasta that they were sitting on top of. And even better- she’s requested clams for dinner since then. I couldn’t be happier about that because not only are clams fabulously delicious they’re also loaded with good for you nutrition!
What’s so good about clams?
They’re incredibly high in iron! A 3 oz. serving of cooked clams has more or less 24 milligrams of iron. You might be surprised to hear that they pack more of an iron punch than a serving of steak! Iron isn’t the only mineral you’ll find in clams though. They’re also loaded with potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium and phosphorous- all minerals that play an important role in keeping your body healthy and happy.
They also happen to be a great source of omega-3 fatty acids. So if you’re eating fatty fish such as wild salmon once a week to keep your omega 3 intake high you can feel free to switch it up and try some clams instead! Clams have about the same protein and fat content as chicken with so many more vitamins and minerals and since you can buy wild clams in a can (even thought they’re not quite as nutritionally dense as fresh!) they’re easy to keep on hand to toss into a salad instead of tuna which is high in mercury. Thanks to their amino acid content they’re also wonderful for repairing and building muscles. Maybe you’ll make them your next post-workout meal?
How to buy them
When you buy fresh clams you want to make sure that they’re tightly closed. They’ll open when you cook them but if they’re open before that you’ll want to toss them out.
How to prepare them
There are so many different ways to prepare them. My favorite is simple and delicious. Here’s my (and my daughters) favorite recipe:
Ingredients (serves approx. 4)
- 3 lbs. fresh clams
- Sea salt
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup bone broth
- 1 tbsp. grass-fed butter
- 3 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
- crushed red pepper flakes
- 1- Scrub the clams under cold running water.
- 2- Place them in a bowl with salted water until you’re ready to use them.
- 3- Finely chop the garlic
- In a large sauce pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil, garlic and a sprinkling of sea salt and red pepper flakes until the garlic begins to soften- make sure to keep your eye on the garlic so it doesn’t burn!
- Add the clams and the bone broth, cover and increase the heat to high.
- Let the clams cook for about 4 minutes until they’re all open, shaking the pan by the handle every once in a while.
- Remove from heat, get rid of any unopened clams and add the butter to the pan.
- Top with parsley
Serve over pasta or even better a nice slice of French baguette to dip into the sauce. |
The idea of equipping goes beyond just giving them the right set of tools and materials to build a deck. It includes equipping them for leadership. That is the next tip: Youth Leaders. An important part of LebCamp is the youth leadership. For every crew of about 5 youth and 2 adults, there is one Crew Leader and that is one of the older youth campers. A junior or senior in high school, usually. These are students who show evidence of leadership skills, who have been leaders in other avenues, are mature, respectful, etc.
The Crew Leaders organize their crews to get the goals of the week accomplished. They work with the adults and the skilled handymen on making a priority list and making sure they have the needed materials/tools for the next day. In addition, each youth on the crew has a “job” each day. One day you might be the breakmaster and be responsible for the gateroade for your group, the next day you might be the devotion leader and lead the lunch time devotion, and the next day you might be responsible for the water cooler. The Crew Leader (a youth) is responsible for making all this happen.
In addition, I have a committee – for lack of a better word – who assists me with the bulk of the planning. That “committee” is made up of only youth. This is what I do: Before each meeting, I make an agenda. In the meeting, I give them the agenda and let them lead the meeting. Sometimes I don’t even attend, I leave the room. Then, they tell me what decisions they made, I ask questions, and we split up who is going to work with whom on what. This has been the most effective way to get it done.
Each evening during LebCamp I and another adult sit down with the Crew Leaders and talk to them about how things are going. We encourage them in their role, we equip them with recommendations and ideas, we engage them. Nothing about this is from the top down. We are not telling them how to do their job, we are asking them how their job is going, what their concerns are, and what questions they have. This will lead us to the next tip . . . . . |
Community Engagement to End Child Early Forced Marriage – Experiences in Selected South Asian Countries
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”, emphasises the need for “providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making processes [which] will fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large” (UN, 2015). Millions of girls are forced into early marriage for economic and cultural reasons and denied the opportunity for education. Within the context of sustainable development, it is critical to raise awareness among communities that child marriage has wide ranging negative consequences for development and that allowing girls to have education and training can add enormous value to their society as well as their personal and family lives. This study aims to identify the role of community engagement and local community organisations in contributing towards ending child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) through ensuring equitable access of marginalised and out-of-school girls to education and training. The study was based on data collected from surveys that had been administered to 755 out-of-school girls, affected by CEFM in both urban and rural areas of three selected South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) countries, that is, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India.
BBS. (2013). Gender Statistics of Bangladesh 2012. Dhaka. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Statistics and Information Division (SID). Ministry of Planning.
COL. (2016). Theory-of-change. Retrieved from http://girlsinspire.org/explore-our-theory-of-change/#our-vision
Government of Canada and UNICEF (2015). Accelerating the Movement to End Child Early an Forced Marriage Initiative – Consolidated Annual Progress and Utilization Report for the period of 1 April - 31 December 2014. UNICEF Canada (Unpublished report).
ICRW Plan. (2013). Asia child marriage initiative: Summary of research in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. Retrieved from http://www.icrw.org/files/publications/PLAN%20ASIA%20Child%20Marriage-3%20Country%20Study.pdf
International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and Macro International. (2007). National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005–06: India: Volume I. Mumbai: IIPS. Retrieved from http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FRIND3/FRIND3-Vol1andVol2.pdf
Siddhu, G. (2011). Who makes it to secondary school? Determinants of transition to secondary schools in rural India. International Journal of Educational Development, 31(4), 394-401.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). (2015). A growing number of children and adolescents are out of school as aid fails to meet the mark, POLICY PAPER 22 / FACT SHEET 31. Retrieved from http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Documents/fs-31-out-of-school-children-en.pdf
UIS & UNICEF. (2015). Fixing the broken promise of Education for All: Findings from the global initiative on out-of-school children. Montreal: UIS. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.15220/978-92-9189-161-0-en
UNESCO. (2015a). UIS sustainable development data digest: Leading the agenda for the production of data to monitor education 2030. Retrieved from http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/uis-sustainable-development-data-digest.aspx
UNESCO. (2015b). UNESCO data. Paris: UNESCO.
UNICEF. (2016). State of the world’s children. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/sowc2016/
United Nations (UN). (2015). Sustainable development goals. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/
World Bank. (2015). World Bank data. Washington DC: World Bank.
World Vision UK. (2016). POLICY Paper: Ending child marriage by 2030 - Tracking Progress and identifying gaps. Retrieved form http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Ending_Child_Marriage_by_2030.pdf
Zaidi, B., Sathar, Z., & Zafar, F. (2012). The power of girls schooling for young womens empowerment and reproductive health. New York: Population Council.
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Small Business Tendencies is definitely the website that will assist you to just take motion with your business. The articles are how-to driven and assistance entrepreneurs recognize matters like using the services of 1099 staff members, making revenue and supplying your staff members a raise. They even have a marketplace of means that include cost-free landing website page templates. |
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After a split, that associated receiving much more pints of beer, taking in an amazingly large degree of pizza, and networking; we returned into the tent for our keynote addresses plus a panel.
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EASTPORT, Maine (AP) -- Heavy rain drenched Maine on Sunday and fishermen moved boats to shelter as Hurricane Kyle plowed northward across the Atlantic, triggering the state's first hurricane watch in 17 years.
Kyle could make landfall in the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia or New Brunswick sometime during the night or early Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
A hurricane watch was posted along the coast of Maine from Stonington, at the mouth of Penobscot Bay, to Eastport on the Canadian border, and for southwestern Nova Scotia, the center said. Tropical storm warnings were in effect from Stonington to the coasts of southern New Brunswick and southwest Nova Scotia.
There were no immediate plans for evacuations in Maine.
Near the Canadian border, residents along the rugged coast are accustomed to rough weather, but that usually comes in snowstorms rather than tropical systems, said Washington County Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Hineman.
"Down East we get storms with 50 to 60 mph winds every winter. Those storms can become ferocious," he said. Down East is the rugged, sparsely populated area from about Bar Harbor to the Canadian border.
Many lobstermen moved their boats to sheltered coves, said Dwight Carver, a lobsterman on Beals Island. Some also moved lobster traps from shallow water, but most were caught off-guard by the storm's short notice.
"I'm sure we'll have a lot of snarls, a lot of mess, to take care of when it's done," Carver said. "It'll take us a few days to straighten things out."
In Lubec, the easternmost town in the U.S., town workers pulled up docks on the waterfront and fishermen moved boats across the harbor into Campobello Island, New Brunswick, which has coves and wharves that offer shelter.
"We're getting prepared," said Lubec Town Administrator Maureen Glidden.
Heavy rain lashed the state Sunday for a third straight day. As much as 5.5 inches had already fallen along coastal areas. Flood watches were in effect for the southern two-thirds of New Hampshire and southern Maine through Sunday evening.
Authorities expect wind gusts in Maine to reach up to 60 mph and waves up to 20 feet, said Robert McAleer, Maine Emergency Management Agency director.
Residents of coastal islands were advised to evacuate if they depend on electricity for medical reasons, because ferry service was expected to be shut down Sunday, McAleer said. Power failures also were likely over the north coastal region of the state, he said.
At 11 a.m. EDT Sunday, Kyle was centered about 140 miles east-southeast of Nantucket, or about 355 miles southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, the National Hurricane Center said. It was moving toward the north-northeast at roughly 24 mph and expected to continue that track for the next day or so.
Kyle's maximum sustained wind was blowing at nearly 80 mph, with hurricane-force wind of at least 74 mph extending up to 70 miles out from the center.
However, it was expected to weaken as it moved over colder water and was expected to lose tropical characteristics on Monday, the hurricane center said.
Maine hasn't had a hurricane, or even a hurricane watch, since Bob was downgraded as it moved into the state in 1991 after causing problems in southern New England.
The deadliest storm to hit the region was in 1938 when a hurricane killed 700 people and destroyed 63,000 homes on New York's Long Island and throughout New England. Other hurricanes that have hit Maine were Carol and Edna in 1954, Donna in 1960 and Gloria in 1985.
A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions, with wind of at least 74 mph, are possible within 36 hours. A tropical storm warning means conditions for that type of storm, with wind of 39 to 73 mph, are expected within the next 24 hours.
On the Net:
Nat'l Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
Environment Canada: http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/ |
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Clean mean machines
Subzero exploration -- Venturi Antarctica
This tracked buggy was developed to meet the needs of scientists working in the Antarctic without polluting it. Two joysticks in the cabin control twin electric motors – left and right – that can operate at -50°C. Spreading its 1,200kg evenly to minimise pressure on the ground, the Antarctica can comfortably transport a tonne of kit over soft snow.
Credit: Dave Lidwell |
- 11.23.09 |
- 6:00 pm |
Living in the Yantai Raffles Shipyard in China, the Taisun is the world’s largest (and perhaps ugliest) crane. Though its looks aren’t impressive, the Taisun holds the world record for holding the heaviest lift of all time at 20,133 tons. The Taisun stands 436 feet tall and can lift loads as high as 262 feet. Its main duty is installing enormous modules on top of vessels’ hulls. |
Passeig de Gràcia
The city’s most elegant street, which is home to some excellent buildings in the modernist style, is Passeig de Gràcia, right in the heart of the Quadrat d’Or (“Golden Square”). Artistically decorated streetlights, intricate mosaics on the pavement and expensive shops are all indicative of the exclusivity of the people of Barcelona at the beginning of the 20th century, and of their need for recognition. Some excellent examples of the Catalan variation on Art Nouveau can be seen in the collection of houses known as La Manzana de la Discordia (“Discord Block”) between Carrer Consell de Cent and Carrer d'Arago: a typical mixture of Neo-Gothic, Italian, Flemish and traditional Catalan elements can be seen at Casa Amatller (no. 41), Puig i Cadafalch.
Domènech i Montaner designed Casa Lleó Morera (no. 35), with its simple external lines and windows adorned with columns. The bone-like shapes and scaly roof of Casa Batlló (no. 43), designed by Antoni Gaudí, serve as a reminder of the dragon slain by St. George, the patron saint of Catalonia. The last apartment block ever designed by Gaudí, Casa Milà (no. 92), is known by the locals as La Pedrera, or ”the quarry”, because of its sculptured façade.
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SEC Tourney Tornado
Who says weather can’t impact an indoor event? Just 3 weeks ago, a heavy rain storm ripped a hole at the Alexander Memorial Field house on the campus of Georgia Tech. The leaky roof caused the Yellow Jacket-UVA basketball game to be postponed due to a wet court.
Then Friday night around 9:30, a freak thunderstorm passed thru metro Atlanta during overtime of the Alabama-Miss State game. This was the opening game of the night time session of the SEC quarterfinals and roughly a half hour before the scheduled start of the UK Wildcats- Georgia Bulldogs game.
My best guess as of 10:30 PM is that a high wind storm with a funnel cloud accompanied the passage of a squall line. Sportscaster Tim Brando said “I have been in a tornado before. What I heard was a tornado. The roar of the train was apparent”.
I personally want to stress that straight line high winds also create the roar of the train sound effect, so there is no guarantee what hit was a tornado. But I am reading of windows blown out near the Georgia dome. I am also including a radar depiction of the storm that I found on the Internet. It's a good bet a tornado was close by to the dome.
Indeed, a tornado warming was issued by the National Weather Service for Fulton County Georgia which included the Georgia dome area. From what I am hearing, people are safe in the Georgia dome though some minor damage has been incurred as the “ tornado wannabee” passed.
Keith Morehouse tells me Patrick Patterson's mom e-mailed him and said "it was scary". Here at 12 AM, the pictures I am seeing of water flowing inside the CNN center and Georgia dome suggest the wind was strong enough to rip holes big structures. No doubt winds in excess of 70 miles per hour.
To see the radar, scroll down after calling up this sight. |
US intelligence has concluded "with some degree of varying confidence," that the Syrian government has used sarin gas as a weapon in its two-year-old civil war, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel
Following Hagel's comments, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Capitol Hill that there were two instances of chemical weapons use.
Hagel, speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi, said the White House
has informed two senators by letter that, within the past day, "our intelligence community does assess, with varying degrees of confidence, that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria,
specifically, the chemical agent sarin."
Hagel in Abu Dhabi (Photo: AP)
"It violates every convention of warfare," Hagel said.
No information was made public on what quantity of chemical weapons might have been used, or when or what casualties might have resulted.
Britain's Foreign Office also said on Thursday it had information showing chemical weapon use in Syria, and called on Syrian President Bashar Assad to cooperate with international bodies to prove he had not sanctioned their use.
"We have limited but persuasive information from various sources showing chemical weapon use in Syria, including sarin. This is extremely concerning. Use of chemical weapons is a war crime," a Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement.
Photo posted by rebels allegedly indicating chemical weapons use
President Barack Obama
has said the use of chemical weapons would be a "game-changer" in the US position on intervening in the Syrian civil war, and the letter to Congress
reiterates that the use or transfer of chemical weapons in Syria is a "red line for the United States." However, the letter also hints that a broad US response is not imminent.
White House legislative director Miguel Rodriguez, who signed the letter, wrote that "because the president takes this issue so seriously, we have an obligation to fully investigate any and all evidence of chemical weapons use within Syria."
The letters went to Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Carl Levin, D-Mich.
The assessment, Rodriguez says, is based in part on "physiological samples."
Man treated at Aleppo hospital last month following reports of chemical weapons use (Photo: EPA)
He also said the US believes that the use of chemical weapons "originated with the Assad regime." That is consistent with the Obama administration's assertion that the Syrian rebels do not have access to the country's stockpiles.
A senior defense official cautioned that the White House letter was not an "automatic trigger" for policy decisions on the use of military force. The official alluded to past instances of policy decisions that were based on what turned out to be flawed intelligence, such as the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq after concluding that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.
The official commented only on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
McCain quoted from the letter the White House sent to several senators who had pressed the administration about Syria's possible use of chemical weapons.
"We just received a letter from the president in response to our question about whether Assad had used chemical weapons," McCain told reporters following a closed briefing with Secretary of State Kerry on Syria and North Korea.
AP, Reuters contributed to the report
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Lead With Your Heart
For Laura Cornell, the collapse of her marriage was like a bolt from the blue—to call it a shock would be an understatement. Then a graduate student pursuing a PhD in religion and philosophy from the California Institute of Integral Studies, Cornell had been traveling for a few weeks, completing research for her dissertation, attending a retreat with her fellow Kripalu Yoga teachers, and then nursing her ailing father back home in Missouri. At the end of her trip, Cornell was eager to return to her love, the separation having indeed made her heart grow fonder.
But back at home, ready to reconnect, Cornell found her partner was one step out the door. "It was awful," she remembers, seven years later. "There was so much emotional pain and a lot of physical sensation—I felt that a piece of me had been ripped away."
Heartbreak wreaked its usual toll, robbing Cornell of sleep and appetite, sporadically filling her mind with "dark, blame-y thoughts." But rather than give up and take to the couch, Cornell, founder of the Green Yoga Association, found succor in her practice. In her rounds of daily Sun Salutations and grounding poses—all offered with gratitude to Mother Earth—she regained a connection to what she thought she had lost forever: love.
"Even in the thick of the first month after the separation, I can remember feeling nearly ecstatic when I practiced," she says. "When I took a mindful walk outdoors afterward, I was able to find comfort in the tides and the stars and the trees. I felt bliss in every cell of my being. I realized that love is all around me, mine to receive and return."
Cornell's experience might sound painfully familiar if you have ever felt heartbroken—and who among us hasn't? It's not just romantic love gone wrong that can leave you feeling bereft, of course. Difficult times, whether due to illness, the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a job, can fill you with sadness and grief. But Cornell's recovery offers hope for being happy again. She transformed her pain by adding an element of bhakti to her yoga practice. You can, too.
Bhakti yoga is classically defined as the path of devotion, and it's often referred to as the yoga of love. Bhakti is one of the three primary paths to enlightenment laid out by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita (the two other paths being jnana, the path of knowledge, and karma, the path of action, often interpreted as service to others). David Frawley, the director of the American Institute of Vedic Studies, calls bhakti "the sweetest of the yoga approaches" in his book Yoga: The Greater Tradition. He describes the practice as one of concentrating one's mind, emotions, and senses on the Divine in order to merge into the reality of divine love.
Essentially, bhakti yoga is the cultivation of unconditional spiritual love. Traditionally it involves devotion to a guru or a deity or deities, though Frawley points out that yoga teaches that there are infinite forms of the Divine: "Yoga gives us the freedom to worship the Divine in whatever form we like, or as formless." Whether you direct your love and devotion to a god, a guru, or the Divine in all things, as you cultivate a sense of love, gratitude, and devotion for something seemingly outside yourself, you essentially fill yourself with love. In the act of giving love, you receive it. The bhakti remedy for when you're suffering a broken heart, in other words, is to fill in the cracks with a love that is more permanent and transcendent. Practice long enough, and the subject-object love relationship (whether with a guru, a deity, or the Divine in some other form) disappears, and you become completely immersed in the love you are giving and receiving.
"Just as we can stretch our bodies with asana and our breath with Pranayama, we can elongate our capacity to feel and expand our ability to love with bhakti yoga," says Sean Johnson, the lead musician of Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band and founder of the Wild Lotus Yoga studio in New Orleans. Johnson found bhakti yoga in his early 20s when his first love ended in disappointment.
"Falling in love for the first time was an epiphany, and it opened incredible possibilities that I hadn't been able to see before," Johnson remembers. "When we broke up, I was devastated. But I thought to myself: I can sit around here and feel sorry for myself, or I can channel the incredible love she awakened in me into the rest of my life."
He chose the latter option and has dedicated his life to teaching bhakti yoga and helping others make the same connection to this larger, more steady sort of love. "Bhakti works with the fuel of our emotions and teaches us how to have a romance with life itself, rather than with just one person," Johnson says. "You simply focus on taking the actions that nurture and nourish the heart."Appealing as that might sound (who doesn't want more love?), bhakti yoga is not exactly a blissful walk in the park, suggests Douglas Brooks, a scholar of Hinduism and professor of religion at the University of Rochester. "Yes, the Sanskrit word bhakti means intimacy and devotion," he explains. "But it also means separation and partition."
On the surface, the definition is a paradox. Look closer, Brooks suggests, and you'll see the true interconnection of love and loss. "You can't really experience connection if you don't also have the sense of separation," he says. "Heartbreak is part of the human condition—if it comes off the table, so does love itself. Vulnerability is what makes life worth living; without it we'd lack meaning and purpose."
That's not to say, of course, that we should go looking for pain. Rather, the practice of bhakti yoga demands the active cultivation of positive emotions like joy and gratitude and a willingness to broaden the parameters of your heart through practice.
The Beatles had it right when they sang "the love you take is equal to the love you make." Bhakti is about making more love—putting it out into the world, not just in principle but also in practice. There is no one "right" way to do that, but bhakti yoga offers a number of tools to point the heart in the right direction.
One of the best known of the traditional practices of bhakti yoga is kirtan—the devotional chanting of the names of God. Other classic Hindu methods focus on prayer, japa (repetition of mantra), and devotion to the Divine—in society, in nature, in the capital-S Self, and in all of creation. The path will look different for every being that walks it, says the singer-songwriter Jai Uttal, who created the bhakti yoga 101 audio program Kirtan! The Art and Practice of Ecstatic Chant.
"It's so individual, and that's what is so beautiful about it," he says. "Each person has a different emotional landscape, and in bhakti yoga we can let our emotions be our internal compass. Nobody can tell us how or whom to worship, but we can draw on techniques that act as keys to open our own hearts."
What's the ultimate bhakti practice for when you've suffered a loss, romantic or otherwise? Brooks has a ready answer: Be willing to do it all over again. "Fall in love again, and never stop. Bhakti is not a zero-sum game. You never run out of love. You must expect that you will find love again, and even if you find more heartache, there will always be more love."
That was certainly the case for Cornell. "I went to India for six weeks after my breakup, and during that time I invited a sense of fullness to fill my aloneness by imagining a life in which I was loved and in love," she says. "I had begun dating, but I somehow knew to hold out for what I really wanted in a partner. Two months after I returned home, I found him."
Married in 2009, Cornell credits her earlier breakup with creating the openness and compassion she needed to find a more lasting relationship. "Believing in love gave a sacred purpose to the pain I was going through," she says.
That's as it should be, Brooks says. Since you can't transcend heartache, you should embrace it. "We were all created out of love but born into separation the moment the cord was cut," he says. "That's what it is to be human. Heartbreak is not the end of love. It's the beginning."
Call for Help
In its most literal translation, bhakti yoga calls for faithful devotion to the Divine. This doesn't mean that you have to worship a specific deity, but simply that you identify a source of spiritual inspiration to revere and call on for comfort and love. "Bhakti is about creating an eternal loving relationship with the divine source," says Gaura Vani, a renowned mantra musician and member of the kirtan band Hanumen.
"No matter what tradition you come from, chanting God's name opens a process of healing and cleansing the heart," Vani says. "The Vedas say that there are as many names for God as there are waves on the ocean. We call him Krishna; Christians call him Jesus; Jews call him Yahweh; the Sufis call him Khuda. Whatever the case, let the beautiful name of the Lord remind you that you are more loved than you can even imagine."
If you happen to already have a spiritual practice centered around a particular divine entity or spiritual guide, chant that name to fill your heart with love and ask for help healing your heart, says Vani. If not, try asking for help from your capital-S higher Self. Either way, call out with intention, focusing on quality over quantity, and on opening your heart to divine love and intervention.
Mean What You Say
Just about everyone who has taken a yoga class is familiar with the class-closing ritual of saying Namaste accompanied by Anjali Mudra (Salutation Seal) and a small bow of the head. The meaning, which is something along the lines of "the light within me salutes the light within you," is a beautiful way to practice bhakti outside class, too, and to bring more love into your life.
Every time you take leave of a friend, loved one, or acquaintance, choose parting words infused with blessing or connection—"take care," "be well," or "vaya con dios" all work—and say them with genuine intention. Even if you simply say "goodbye," take a moment to fill the word with meaning.
Says Vani, "Namaste means 'I bow and humble myself before you because I recognize myself as a loving servant of the Divine, and I recognize you as a living temple.'" This is something you can do whenever the spirit moves you, even silently, Vani says. "Simply take a second to see that everyone you come in contact with is an expression of divine consciousness," he suggests. You will soon realize the truth: Love is all around you, whether you're checking out at the grocery store, standing in line for a movie, or sitting behind the wheel in traffic.
Practicing bhakti yoga means seeing everyone and everything as a creation of God. Interpersonal relationships (including the romantic kind) are one aspect of this kind of devotion, but a good way to soothe the pangs of heartbreak is to expand your realm of who and what is loved. When you're feeling bereft, try loving everyone, everywhere.
Nischala Joy Devi, author of The Secret Power of Yoga, suggests a simple seated practice for sending your love out into the world. "Imagine spreading a fine mist of healing energy over the world," she says. "You can direct your thoughts to the world in general or focus on areas you know are plagued with unrest or war or famine. Hold them in your thoughts, and send them some of your light."
This is the basis of the Buddhist practice of tonglen ("sending") meditation: taking the suffering of others (and yourself) into your heart and then sending back loving compassion to all who suffer. When you send your love out into the world in this way, the effects can be dramatic for both sender and receiver, says Devi. "Victims of the recent earthquake in Central America reported that they felt the prayers from people around the globe and that the prayers eased their suffering," she says. "It also has a big effect on you in that it gets you out of your head and back into your heart."
Pick Yourself Up
In the deepest throes of despair, it can be hard to lavish yourself with love. Your asana practice is a great way to show devotion to your Self, and when you feel immobilized by sadness, it can help bring you back into your body, says Mark Whitwell, author of Yoga of Heart and The Promise of Love, Sex, and Intimacy. "When people are depressed, they stop their asana practice," he says, "but that's when they really need it!"
Whitwell sees asana as a bridge to help you reconnect to a state of wellness that was available to you before your experience of loss. But it's also a way, he says, to realize the ideals of bhakti just as you are here and now—broken heart and all. "Consistent daily practice is your way to reconnect directly with the intimacy that is life," he explains. "It is a whole-body prayer, a celebration of that which beats the heart and moves the breath."
If you don't feel up to doing your usual practice, try a few Cat-Cows and slow Sun Salutations, staying mindful of the body and breath. "When you practice, you connect with a deeper source of love and become part of the context in which all relationships are arising," says Whitwell. From this broader perspective, he adds, "it is easier to accept loss."
If your heart is feeling locked up by sorrow, consider adding an element of bhakti yoga to your daily practice. Here, a few modern bhakti masters offer ways to exercise the muscles of love and fill your heart to overflowing.
Be Nurtured By Nature
Nature is a powerful reflection of divinity, says Sara Ivanhoe, a Los Angeles yoga teacher who recently participated in the making of the film Women of Bhakti. "When we are suffering from heartbreak, we have all this love we're carrying around and an intense longing to put it somewhere," she says. "Giving it to the planet makes sense, especially if you're a yogi."
The ancient yogis offered unconditional love to all that was around them, says Ivanhoe, worshiping and emulating the sun, the moon, the plants, the animals. You can do the same, she says, by simply stepping outdoors and opening your senses and your heart to nature—trees, grass, and plants if you're in the countryside; air, sunlight, and wind if you're in the city. Mountains, blades of grass, and the stars at night work equally well as sources of inspiration and, yes, love. "Yoga was created to help yoke our consciousness to nature, which nourishes us," she says. "When you are able to do that, you have a huge amount of support."
Ivanhoe suggests a simple journaling exercise for reaching out to nature for help in healing your heartbreak. "When you are consumed by grief, ask yourself, 'If nature could console me and talk to me, what would she say?'" she suggests. Go outdoors to do this, if you like, and don't feel that you have to craft an essay; just write down what comes to you. "Nature is full of guidance and support for us," Ivanhoe says. "We only need to ask for it."
Fill Your Heart With Song
In bhakti yoga, says Jai Uttal, music is medicine. And singing—a mantra, a hymn, or the name of your spiritual guide—is another way to treat an aching heart. "You can sing kirtan sweetly, or sing them fiercely with angst, or sing them with yearning or whatever emotions are arising in you," Uttal says. "If you get bored, keep on singing. Sing until the singing itself becomes part of your molecules, and your heart flows into the ocean of divine love."
If you're timid or need inspiration, start by listening to kirtan or gospel albums (or any other devotional music that moves you). Try 10 Million Moons and As Kindred Spirits by Gaura Vani, Grace by Kundalini yogi Snatam Kaur, The Essence by Deva Premal, Devaloka by Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band, or any of Uttal's excellent offerings, including his personal favorites Queen of Hearts and Shiva Station. First listen, and then sing along. Then take it a step further, and sing all by yourself—in the shower, in the car, or in the garden—anytime you want to feel uplifted.
And don't worry about what your voice sounds like—kirtan is about filling your heart with love, not about being a great singer. "No matter our accents, our ability to carry a tune, or our musical aesthetic," says Uttal, "when we sing kirtan, we are awakening our hearts and healing old traumas."
Hillari Dowdle is a longtime Yoga Journal contributor and a newly certified yoga teacher living and writing in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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Are content and open source incompatible? It would seem so.
Because he's right.
One of the core beliefs of open source is that users must be able to see and change their software.
This is incompatible with the idea of Digital Rights Management (DRM), something that is now mandated under the law for use in all content systems. Current exceptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) anti-circumvention provisions, while laudable, do not allow the creation of new open source content displays.
The idea behind open source is you must have access to the source code. The fundamental idea of a DRM is you can't. Now you can put the DRM into hardware and then write an open source controller for it, but that then limits an open source programmer to doing whatever the hardware was designed for. Closed source programmers do not have this limitation on their creativity.
Brad put this so well I have to quote it directly:
The end result is to largely shut open source software out of the media playing arena, and thus, if you believe in the convergence of media playing devices and computering devices, out of the general purpose home computer arena.
The DMCA was not crafted to maintain the monopolies of Microsoft or anyone else in the computer space. But that is exactly the impact it does have. [Editor's note: See David Berlind's Unstoppable? The Microsoft media juggernaut.] 'You can't make "the next Tivo" using open source. You can't innovate anything relating to content playing or content display using open source.
The conflict between content and innovation, long prophesied by DMCA opponents, is here. |
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Reilly in New York to Mark End of Sewage Sludge Dumping
[EPA press release - June 30, 1992]
EPA Administrator William K. Reilly is participating today in an event in New York City marking the end of dumping sewage sludge in the ocean.
Attached is an EPA Region 2 press release on the event.
Environmental Protection Agency
For Release: June 30, 1992
EPA Declares End of Ocean Dumping as New York City Ceases; EPA Committed to Long-Term Beneficial Alternatives
NEW YORK -- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator William K. Reilly visited New York City today to mark the end of dumping sewage sludge in the ocean. New York City has met the terms of its agreement to stop transporting and dumping its sludge in the ocean by June 30, 1992, marking a cessation of this practice by all cities in the nation.
"The main objective of the federal Ocean Dumping Ban Act of 1988 has been realized--we have stopped dumping sewage sludge into the ocean," Reilly said. "EPA will continue to enforce the consent decrees which require the establishment of long-term, land-based disposal alternatives. We will also continue to encourage solutions that have beneficial uses. Through these efforts, not only are we preventing pollution by protecting the ocean from use as a dump, we are now seeing sludge recognized more and more as a resource, not as a waste. I congratulate the municipalities and sewage authorities who worked over the years to end ocean disposal," Reilly added.
New York City produces almost five million wet tons of sludge annually as a byproduct from 14 sewage treatment facilities. The City's Department of Environmental Protection is completing the construction of eight sludge de-watering facilities, and has contracted with private vendors to manage the resulting sludge cake on an interim basis by transporting it out-of-state to several sites across the country selected by the City's vendors. The sites are either landfills or facilities for pelletization, composting and land application. The City's long-term alternatives--chemical stabilization, pelletization, and composting--are to be implemented fully by 1998.
As sludge is over 90 percent water, de-watering by centrifuges and presses produces a more transportable sludge cake. Pelletization, or thermal drying, further treats sludge by intense heat which inactivates pathogens and volatile chemicals. The chemical stabilization process also inactivates pathogens and volatile chemicals as well as metals. Land application can include landfill cover, land reclamation and soil enhancement. Compost from sludge can be used as a soil additive or fertilizer.
Since the 1920s, many cities dumped sludge at sea. By 1981, through consolidations and alternative methods, only nine dumpers--six in New Jersey and three in New York--remained, averaging over eight million wet tons annually.
The Ocean Dumping Ban Act prohibited all ocean dumping of industrial waste and municipal sludge after December 31, 1991. Through a court order, New York City and other dumpers were given schedules to end the practice. Because of the need to construct de-watering facilities, New York City's schedule allowed it to dump until June 30, 1992.
The six New Jersey authorities--Bergen County Utilities Authority, Joint Meeting of Essex and Union Counties, Linden Roselle Sewerage Authority, Middlesex County Utilities Authority, Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners, and Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority--ceased by March 17, 1991. By December 31, 1991, Nassau and Westchester Counties in New York ended completely, and New York City reduced its dumping by twenty percent.
The nine authorities are using a variety of interim and long-term land-based alternatives. Most interim alternatives involve out-of-state landfilling, due largely to limited local landfill space and the lack of markets for reuse. For long-term, all have chosen or are considering beneficial alternatives.
William J. Muszynski, Deputy Administrator for EPA's Region 2, which includes New York State and New Jersey, stressed that "while we all celebrate the end of ocean dumping, EPA is committed to the other major objective of the Ocean Dumping Ban Act which is to ensure that this problem is not just moved from the ocean to land, but that long-term, land-based disposal options are implemented. We will also continue to encourage the use of sludge as a benefit to the environment. We will do this by carefully monitoring sludge disposal operations and by using the authorities available to EPA under existing regulations and the court-approved, negotiated agreements with the sewage authorities."
Over the past several years, EPA Region 2 has been active in eliminating ocean disposal of acid wastes, industrial wastes, excavation and construction site debris, and the incineration at sea of wooden debris. After passage of the Ocean Dumping Ban Act, ocean dumping has essentially been limited to dredge material and fish wastes.
EPA estimates that nationally, municipalities now dispose of sludge by land application and other beneficial use alternatives (49 percent); incineration (15 percent); and other methods (one percent). Before New York and New Jersey authorities ceased ocean dumping, this method accounted for five percent of the national total.
New York City Mayor David N. Dinkins said the City is entering a new environmental era. "We will no longer dump sewage sludge--the byproduct of the sewage treatment process--in the ocean. Instead, we will put it to the use nature intended, land application for beneficial productivity. The City's Department of Environmental Protection has worked diligently for over three years to develop a program that utilizes sludge on land as much as possible. We will make sludge work for us and in the process, we will make our environment cleaner," the Mayor said.
From 1924 through 1987, sludge was disposed of at a site about 12 miles offshore in waters about 88 feet deep. EPA shut down this site due to elevated bacterial levels, closed shellfish beds, and accumulated toxic organic compounds and heavy metals in bottom sediments which caused changes in diversity and abundance of marine life. No impact on human health nor on coastal beaches was detected from the site.
Beginning in 1986, EPA required sludge dumpers to phase in use of a site designated as the Deepwater Municipal Sludge Dump Site, also called the 106-Mile Site, located off the Continental Shelf, approximately 115 nautical miles east of Atlantic City, New Jersey, the nearest coastal point, with water depths of about 7,500 feet. The Ocean Dumping Ban Act required conditions at the site to be monitored carefully by EPA, the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Preliminary monitoring results indicate that the sludge is not being transported onto the Continental Shelf, which is rich with marine life, but that a small percentage is reaching the sea floor to the southwest of the dump site, raising concern if dumping of the large amount of sludge continued. As with the 12-Mile Site, there was no impact detected on shoreline beach water quality nor on human health. |
RE 109 World Religions
S1I 2010 EM
J Dial 5452
McAfee Memorial Library - Online information, links, electronic databases and the Online catalog. Contact the library for further assistance via email or at 800-270-4347.Career Counseling - The Career Development Center (CDC) provides services for all stages of career development. The mission of the CDC is to provide the career planning tools to ensure a lifetime of career success.Park Helpdesk - If you have forgotten your OPEN ID or Password, or need assistance with your PirateMail account, please email email@example.com or call 800-927-3024Resources for Current Students - A great place to look for all kinds of information http://www.park.edu/Current/.
The facilitator will not and cannot function as the resident expert on world religion. He remains a student along with the rest of the class. Perhaps particular students may have a better grasp of segments of the subject matter than he has. Through class and homework interaction together we will all learn. Class discussion, homework, quizzes and a final examination will assess the effectiveness of this learning environment for us all.
Reading – Read the assigned chapter sections in your textbook
Class attendance – Attend scheduled classes and participate in discussions
Homework – You will be assigned two course projects described below, however circumstance may require additional assignments. For instance if mission requirements force an inordinate break in the scheduling of classes, homework may be assigned as a refresher, or if a concept is in need of clarification the class will explore activities or research that might assist in the learning.
1. Discuss the effect of its beliefs and practice upon the worldview of its adherents.
2. State your views on the impact of this worldview upon relations with other people.
3. Consider as well the level of difficulty or ease with which other groups may have in relating to that faith group.
4. The text may be used as a foundation for the paper, however it is expected that you use additional resources. You might want to interview a believer/adherent for example. Resources may be found on line at official websites for the particular Faith Group. Books, periodicals and writings online or hardcopies may be available. See the teacher for approval or suggestions of such resources.
5 points each for 12 quizzes
Homework Project 1
Homework Project 2
Total Points possible -
Number of Points
358 - 400
89.5 - 100%
318 - 357
79.5 - 89.4%
278 - 317
69.5 - 79.4%
238 - 277
59.5 - 69.4%
000 - 237
00 - 59.4%
Academic Honesty:Academic integrity is the foundation of the academic community. Because each student has the primary responsibility for being academically honest, students are advised to read and understand all sections of this policy relating to standards of conduct and academic life. Park University 2009-2010 Undergraduate Catalog Page 92
Plagiarism:Plagiarism involves the use of quotations without quotation marks, the use of quotations without indication of the source, the use of another's idea without acknowledging the source, the submission of a paper, laboratory report, project, or class assignment (any portion of such) prepared by another person, or incorrect paraphrasing. Park University 2009-2010 Undergraduate Catalog Page 92
Attendance Policy:Instructors are required to maintain attendance records and to report absences via the online attendance reporting system.
Park University 2009-2010 Undergraduate Catalog Page 95
Disability Guidelines:Park University is committed to meeting the needs of all students that meet the criteria for special assistance. These guidelines are designed to supply directions to students concerning the information necessary to accomplish this goal. It is Park University's policy to comply fully with federal and state law, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, regarding students with disabilities. In the case of any inconsistency between these guidelines and federal and/or state law, the provisions of the law will apply. Additional information concerning Park University's policies and procedures related to disability can be found on the Park University web page: http://www.park.edu/disability .
Last Updated:1/25/2010 3:08:11 PM |
Does it Feed the Soul?
The officer in charge of the royal pew in the chapel at Windsor, England, noted that King George frequently commented on the sermon as he left the church. If he had been blessed by it, he would say in a cheerful voice, “That will do very well. That will feed souls!” When the preachers delivery was cold and his words were lifeless and barren of Gospel teaching, he would shake his head sorrowfully as he left the pew and mutter under his breath, “That wont do. That just wont feed souls!” The kings criterion for determining the value of a sermon is scripturally sound. Ministry of all kinds, whether oral or written, may well be judged by the same standarddoes it feed souls? |
Washington, Aug 23 (ANI): A new study suggests that humans are hardwired to empathize because they closely associate people who are close to them - friends, spouses, lovers - with their very selves.
"With familiarity, other people become part of ourselves," James Coan, a psychology professor in University of Virginia's College of Arts and Sciences who used functional magnetic resonance imaging brain scans to find that people closely correlate people to whom they are attached to themselves, said.
"Our self comes to include the people we feel close to," Coan said.
In other words, our self-identity is largely based on whom we know and empathize with.
Coan and his U.Va. colleagues conducted the study with 22 young adult participants who underwent fMRI scans of their brains during experiments to monitor brain activity while under threat of receiving mild electrical shocks to themselves or to a friend or stranger.
The researchers found, as they expected, that regions of the brain responsible for threat response - the anterior insula, putamen and supramarginal gyrus - became active under threat of shock to the self.
In the case of threat of shock to a stranger, the brain in those regions displayed little activity.
However, when the threat of shock was to a friend, the brain activity of the participant became essentially identical to the activity displayed under threat to the self.
"The correlation between self and friend was remarkably similar," Coan said.
"The finding shows the brain's remarkable capacity to model self to others; that people close to us become a part of ourselves, and that is not just metaphor or poetry, it's very real. Literally we are under threat when a friend is under threat. But not so when a stranger is under threat," he said.
The study is published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. (ANI) |
Table of Contents
Heroku is available in multiple geographic regions. As an add-on provider, your service may need to work under low-latency conditions, in which case it should be available in the same region as the app provisioning it.
Cloud services intended to be consumed in realtime will need low-latency connections. These include:
- Databases such MySQL, CouchDB, or Casandra
- Cache stores such as Memcache
- Search services such as Websolr or Cloudquery
On the other hand, many services can tolerate an extra few hundred milliseconds of latency. Usually these are asynchronous services. For example:
- Email sending services such as Sendgrid and Authsmtp
- Outbound message services such as Messagepub or Chatterous
- Monitoring services like New Relic, Exceptional, or Airbrake
- DNS management services such as Zerigo DNS
Provisioning with latency
If your add-on service requires low latency then you should provision resources for Heroku apps within the same region as specified in the provision request
If your add-on is latency sensitive and does not support that region, you should not provision the resource and instead return an error.
If normal internet latency is acceptable, you can run your service anywhere with a public hostname/IP. |
Diabolo is looking for a family - iPad version
By Anjou Web
Open iTunes to buy and download apps.
Diabolo lives in the forest, but sometimes he gets lonely playing alone all the time. He wishes so
much he could play with other animals of his family. But which family does he belong to?
Throughout the history of Diabolo, your child discover the differences between the animals, while having fun with the interactive areas of each page.
★ ★ ★ A book decidedly edutainment from 3 years. ★ ★ ★
Text display of the story (narrative and dialogue).
Help with reading cursor progression.
----- DIABOLO'S VIDEO -----
----- DIABOLO'S NEWS -----
# # # IDBOOX # # #
Article published May 4, 2011
# # # IPUP # # #
Application selected by the community ipup (www.ipup.fr)
What's New in Version 3.0
- English Version
- Options : disable the narrative and / or text
- Fixed minor bugs
Customers Also Bought
- USD 1.99
- Category: Books
- Updated: 19 December 2011
- Version: 3.0
- Size: 18.5 MB
- Developer: ANJOU WEB
- © 2011 Anjou Web
Compatibility: Requires iOS 3.2 or later. Compatible with iPad. |
The task of handling non-rigid one-dimensional objects by a robot manipulation system is investigated. To distinguish between different non-rigid object behaviors, five classes of deformable objects from a robotic point of view are proposed. Additionally, an enumeration of all possible contact states of one-dimensional objects with polyhedral obstacles is provided. Finally, the qualitative motion behavior of linear objects is analyzed for stable point contacts. Experiments with different materials validate the analytical results.
We present a parallel control architecture for industrial robot cells. It is based on closed functional components arranged in a flat communication hierarchy. The components may be executed by different processing elements, and each component itself may run on multiple processing elements. The system is driven by the instructions of a central cell control component. We set up necessary requirements for industrial robot cells and possible parallelization levels. These are met by the suggested robot control architecture. As an example we present a robot work cell and a component for motion planning, which fits well in this concept.
This paper is based on a path planning approach we reported earlier for industrial robot arms with 6 degrees of freedom in an on-line given 3D environment. It has on-line capabilities by searching in an implicit and descrete configuration space and detecting collisions in the Cartesian workspace by distance computation based on the given CAD model. Here, we present different methods for specifying the C-space discretization. Besides the usual uniform and heuristic discretization, we investigate two versions of an optimal discretization for an user-predefined Cartesian resolution. The different methods are experimentally evaluated. Additionally, we provide a set of 3- dimensional benchmark problems for a fair comparison of path planner. For each benchmark, the run-times of our planner are between only 3 and 100 seconds on a Pentium PC with 133 MHz.
In this paper, the problem of path planning for robot manipulators with six degrees of freedom in an on-line provided three-dimensional environment is investigated. As a basic approach, the best-first algorithm is used to search in the implicit descrete configuration space. Collisions are detected in the Cartesian workspace by hierarchical distance computation based on the given CAD model. The basic approach is extended by three simple mechanisms and results in a heuristic hierarchical search. This is done by adjusting the stepsize of the search to the distance between the robot and the obstacles. As a first step, we show encouraging experimental results with two degrees of freedom for five typical benchmark problems.
This paper presents a new approach to parallel path planning for industrial robot arms with six degrees of freedom in an on-line given 3D environment. The method is based a best-first search algorithm and needs no essential off-line computations. The algorithm works in an implicitly discrete configuration space. Collisions are detected in the Cartesian workspace by hierarchical distance computation based on polyhedral models of the robot and the obstacles. By decomposing the 6D configuration space into hypercubes and cyclically mapping them onto multiple processing units, a good load distribution can be achieved. We have implemented the parallel path planner on a workstation cluster with 9 PCs and tested the planner for several benchmark environments. With optimal discretisation, the new approach usually shows very good speedups. In on-line provided environments with static obstacles, the parallel planning times are only a few seconds.
The paper presents a novel approach to parallel motion planning for robot manipulators in 3D workspaces. The approach is based on a randomized parallel search algorithm and focuses on solving the path planning problem for industrial robot arms working in a reasonably cluttered workspace. The path planning system works in the discretized configuration space which needs not to be represented explicitly. The parallel search is conducted by a number of rule-based sequential search processes, which work to nd a path connecting the initial configuration to the goal via a number of randomly generated subgoal configurations. Since the planning performs only on-line collision tests with proper proximity information without using pre-computed information, the approach is suitable for planning problems with multirobot or dynamic environments. The implementation has been carried out on the parallel virtual machine (PVM) of a cluster of SUN4 workstations and SGI machines. The experimental results have shown that the approach works well for a 6-dof robot arm in a reasonably cluttered environment, and that parallel computation increases the efficiency of motion planning significantly.
This paper presents a new approach to parallel motion planning for industrial robot arms with six degrees of freedom in an on-line given 3D environment. The method is based on the A-search algorithm and needs no essential off-line computations. The algorithm works in an implicitly descrete configuration space. Collisions are detected in the Cartesian workspace by hierarchical distance computation based on the given CAD model. By decomposing the 6D configuration space into hypercubes and cyclically mapping them onto multiple processing units, a good load distribution can be achieved. We have implemented the parallel motion planner on a workstation cluster with 9 PCs and tested the planner for several benchmark environments. With optimal discretisation, the new approach usually shows linear speedups. In on-line provided environments with static obstacles, the parallel planning times are only a few seconds.
This paper discusses the problem of automatic off-line programming and motion planning for industrial robots. At first, a new concept consisting of three steps is proposed. The first step, a new method for on-line motion planning is introduced. The motion planning method is based on the A*-search algorithm and works in the implicit configuration space. During searching, the collisions are detected in the explicitly represented Cartesian workspace by hierarchical distance computation. In the second step, the trajectory planner has to transform the path into a time and energy optimal robot program. The practical application of these two steps strongly depends on the method for robot calibration with high accuracy, thus, mapping the virtual world onto the real world, which is discussed in the third step.
This paper presents the different possibilities for parallel processing in robot control architectures. At the beginning, we shortly review the historic development of control architectures. Then, a list of requirements for control architectures is set up from a parallel processing point of view. As our main topic, we identify the levels of parallel processing in robot control architectures. With each level of parallelism, examples for a typical robot control architecture are presented. Finally, a list of keywords is provided for each previous work we refer to. |
[Edu-sig] creating an interface vs. using one
radenski at chapman.edu
Sat Sep 23 17:10:47 CEST 2006
From: edu-sig-bounces at python.org on behalf of Michel Paul
> Also - our school is building a new math/science/technology center. I see Python as an excellent kind of thing to get
> people to explore. I attended the SciPy conference at CalTech in August, just to see what kind of things were going on,
> and it was amazing. But no one at school seems to care. It's weird. I feel like I've found this treasure, and I keep saying to
> people, "Hey! I've found this treasure!" But no one cares. It's so weird.
I do not think it is weird that your school does not care about Python. It is natural. People normally do *not* care about answers to questions that they never asked. Simply offering something that you believe is cool (Python in this case) is not going to work with adults/administrators.
I would suggest that you think of a concrete problem that your department chair is facing. She certainly has some problems to solve as a chair and she certainly would be open to possible solution. Is retention a problem? Is diminishing student interest a problem? You have to identify her problems and then try to convince her how and why Python can be the solution to those problems.
Just believing that Python is cool, beautiful, and useful may not do it. But addressing some real concrete needs of your school can do it. They may get quite interested.
Show them how Python is a solution to their problem(s).
More information about the Edu-sig |
Today, technology makes it simple for us to stay connected to far-flung friends and family. But it also makes it easier than ever before to stalk, bully, or harass someone. Social media fosters a sense of community but also a false sense of privacy and security (you may think you're only chatting with a few friends on Twitter, but your tweets live on long after you delete them).
Pre-internet, we might leave a paper trail that anyone with training could find. But now we leave cut huge swaths through cyberspace that anyone with a computer can follow. State laws about cyberstalking, cyberbullying, and cyber harassment vary (click here to look up the ones where you live), but since anyone can forward a text or copy-and-save a photo, the actual number of cyber stalkers out there is hard to calculate.
Here are six ways you leave yourself open to stalkers online-and how to reduce your risk:
- Checking in on FourSquare and Facebook Places: The upside for some people is that everyone knows where you are. The downside is that even the people you don't want following you around can easily figure out where you spend your time. If you're dating, have a crazy ex, or want to keep your coworkers out of your private life, don't check in-and tell your teens not to, either.
- Twitter: It's easy to post 140-character updates about what you're doing, and each one by itself doesn't look like much. But if taken as a whole, it can be easy to piece together far more information that you'd normally share. And you don't have to be logged inor even have a permanent address to see what other people are posting. Be aware of the information you share, and remember that a public tweet can become a public record; if you wouldn't say it to their faces or don't want it held against you later, don't put it out on the internet.
- Facebook: Stalkers aren't always strangers. Ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends, family members, former roommates, and coworkers are far more likely to stalk you than the random guy you met at the supermarket (though he could, too). Consider changing your Facebook settings to make your profile unavailable to search engines, and lock down your information so that your Facebook friends can't share it, and only certain people can see it. (Business Insider has a great tutorial on how to go invisible on Facebook.) And forget about those so-called "stalker tracker" apps-they don't work. According to Jacqui Cheng at arstechnica.com, they show you the users who are most active on your account, not the ones who are lurking. "So, if you had a friend who was constantly commenting on your wall posts and leaving "Likes" all over your images, he or she would show up on the Stalker Checker," she writes. "If you had an ex-boyfriend who was visiting your page every day without leaving a trace, however, he would not show up on the Stalker Checker."
- Online photo albums: If you upload your snapshots to Facebook, Photobucket, Flickr, or Picasa, strangers can search through and copy those photos unless you change your settings to private. Same with videos you post to YouTube or Vimeo. And take a close look at any photo you post online; if you've gone through the trouble of keeping your location private, why post photos with landmarks in the background?
- Smart phones: If you take photos with your smartphone, you may be posting more information than you can see in the picture. GPS-enabled devices can add geolocation information to a photo right as you take it and, when you post that photo online, the metadata (latitude and longitude, time and date) may be posted as well. Check your phone's settings to see if it's enabled or to turn it off.
- iPhone and Android apps: There are several new apps that are supposed to help you navigate social settings, manage your commute, or get information about places that are near where ever you are at a given moment. Grindr, the controversial gay mobile dating app, is debuting a version for heterosexual GPS-powered dating tool that would allow someone to walk into a hotel and see photos and personal information about the other users who are there. Waze.com helps users track traffic conditions using information from other members-which means that another member can track you as well. Be careful about what you download, and be cognizant of who else may be using it.
Also on Shine: |
Inspiring People: International Journalist * Social Activist * Political Consultant * Inspirational Speaker, Jeff Johnson
By Dana Roc
From the Hip-Hop community to mainstream media, Jeff Johnson serves as a trusted voice for information and opinions to a new generation. A social activist, political strategist, inspirational speaker, executive producer and an architect for social change, Johnson is one of today’s most gifted leaders in both the political and entertainment arenas.
Recently, Johnson was named by Source Magazine as one of the hip hop generation’s key political players. Johnson has spent the last decade carving out a unique niche of merging the worlds of politics and popular culture providing cutting-edge strategic and leadership-based consulting for youth and urban demographics.
Jeff has served as the National Youth Director for the NAACP and was sent by BET on assignment to the Darfur region of Sudan 2007. Johnson is also one of only two news correspondents to interview Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir within the past thirteen years. An established investigative journalist, Johnson has interviewed 2008 presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on BET specials regarding key issues facing the African-American community.
In every aspect of his political leadership, Johnson has been highly instrumental in representing and articulating the views of young people and galvanizing voters to the polls. Johnson’s powerful reputation as a political organizer caused hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons to take notice, leading Simmons to appoint Johnson as Vice-President for the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network. In 2007, he testified before the Committee on Homeland Security regarding recovery efforts in wake of the devastation caused to the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina.
In 2004, upon recognizing his socio-political influence and media adeptness, network executives at BET offered Johnson a unique opportunity to present his views to the hip-hop generation nationally through a consistent media vehicle. Thus, Rap City’s Cousin Jeff was born. Shortly thereafter, Johnson began producing his own show, the “Jeff Johnson Chronicles” addressing issues relevant to young people in urban America.
He was the only American reporter to receive an exclusive interview with the continent of Africa’s first female head of state, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in Liberia.
Johnson currently provides columns in leading urban lifestyle magazines, and serves as a contributor and international correspondent for news broadcasts such as XM radio, The Dr. Phil Show and CNN.
I imagine that Jeff Johnson would be the first one to say that he is more than the sum total of all of the many parts of his life.
What I find refreshing about Jeff is his willingness to simply tell it like it is without pretense or pause. What I find powerful about Jeff Johnson is that he talks “real good” and he in fact walks the talk, with a commitment to empowering the people that he meets along the way.
DR: Tell me about your life and your work.
JJ: It’s funny. I think people constantly try to put people in boxes.
The most difficult question that I ever have to answer is:
“What do you do?”
You know as well as I do that so many of us have defined ourselves by our jobs:
“What do you do? Who do you work for?”
In no way shape or form is that the sum total of who I am and what I care about.
What is that?
If we are really being who we are supposed to be then we are all much more complex than where we work.
I have a show on Black Entertainment Television (BET) and the fact that I am a bootleg journalist and I have had the opportunity to do some really incredible work — I am thankful for that. But, my work is not who I am.
I am an activist and an organizer. I am a Black man with concerns about the Black community and more importantly I am concerned about seeing young people from our community identify and walk out the call on their lives. That is what my focus is.
When I left college I went to work in Corporate America at Norwest Finance on their mortgage side before they merged with Wells Fargo. I hated it. I didn’t want to bee in Corporate America. I felt that the mortgage industry at large took advantage of African Americans in poor communities. I didn’t like that.
It was December 31st of 1998 when I prayed a prayer:
“God get me out of this job and give me a job that is consistent with my ministry“.
By ministry, I don’t necessarily mean from a church standpoint, but an understanding that all of us are called to serve in a given area or place. That is what our ministry is whether we believe in God or not. We have all been called to serve.
The next week, the first week of 1999, was when I got a call from the NAACP in Baltimore asking me if I wanted a job. From that point I recognized that I don’t have to do anything that I don’t want to. I have been able to create a professional life that is consistent with what I personally believe. Sure I have made mistakes in navigating that. There have been good times and bad times but every way in which I have made money over the last ten years has been consistent with what I personally believe in.
I just got off of a conference call with a group of college students that are trying to be a part of this heightened national response to HIV and AIDS. Earlier today I was meeting with a book agent about a book that I am writing on Purpose and Calling. I was on a conference call earlier about getting ready to cover Super Tuesday at the Clinton Headquarters in New York. Just this week I have been at six college campuses speaking about everything from the election to leadership. Right now I am with Miles, my six year old because he didn’t have school today. We’re hanging out until I have to go pick up my daughter from her third grade class. All of this is my life, what I do and who I am.
I think that too often as people and as professionals we are too willing to allow other people to put us in boxes that limit our capacity to do the things that we want to do, let alone the things that we are capable of.
When people ask me what I do I think its funny because at the end of the day -
I am me.
DR: You mentioned that you appreciate the opportunity to be able to do work that is consistent with what it is that you “personally believe in”. What is it, at your core, that you personally believe in?
JJ: The ability to define one’s own destiny.
By that I mean, for us as Black people to be able to define our own destiny without relying on government support or hand-outs is something that I believe in. For us to build the kinds of communities and institutions and infrastructure that will allow us to educate own kids, to raise money for ourselves and to create an economic infrastructure for ourselves, is critical. That is fundamentally what I believe in – creating an environment of self sufficiency where we can take care of ourselves, by ourselves, even in the midst of being a part of a broader society.
DR: How do you see yourself in relationship to the world and world issues?
JJ: I think that we all directly impact the world.
As we personally grow, our capacity to impact our environment grows. Ten years ago I was a student leader at the University of Toledo, representing 2000 Black students as the Black Student Union president. In 2007 I hosted a show Hip Hop Vs. America that clearly over 2,000,000 watched. So, 2000 people at one point and 2,000,000 people ten years later – our capacity grows as we grow and, the more we are dedicated to our personal growth, the more that we will be able to affect more people in more places.
I also recognize that we live in the world and not just in a country.
I was born in Great Britain, and before I left high school I had already traveled throughout Europe. Then during college I started traveling to Africa. I recognized early that I am a citizen of the world and not just a citizen of America. What that has done for me and how I serve and how I function is that I don’t allow myself to be put in a box. I won’t box myself into a narrow scope of what it means to be an American.
At the end of the day:
We are the most ignorant and isolated country in the world.
We often believe that if it doesn’t happen in America, it doesn’t happen. That is incredibly dangerous when we make up a very small minority of the world’s population who all interact with each other on cultural levels, economic levels, trade levels and even recreational levels in ways that we don’t.
I have never had the view of “my world” as the five block radius around where I live.
DR: When you look at the world today, is there anything that you would change about it, if it were in your ability to do so.
JJ: I would change what I see as a spreading and ramped disregard for humanity.
For example we can look at Kenya and see the rash violence that is going on. We can look at Sudan and Newark and Atlanta and understand what causes some of this violence and hatred as a result of economics and politics and social issues.
My daughter goes to a Quaker school. What is interesting about Quakers is that they observe a non-doctrinal religion. They believe that the God in me should see the God in you, which is simplistically profound because it doesn’t deal with a lot of mumbo jumbo. It simply says that because we are both created by the same thing, we should value each other.
If there is anything I would change it would be:
That when we look at each other as human beings, as much as we may not understand each other, we might not even like each other or want to be around each other, but that we wouldn’t destroy each other because of those things. That we would be able to see one another’s humanity and to at least have enough respect to allow us to be on a quest to enjoy life as opposed to destroying it.
DR: Your work really speaks directly to young people. What is it that you want them to hear from you?
JJ: I want to be a catalyst that encourages them to understand that they have been created for more than just getting a degree or a job or a girlfriend or boyfriend or playing with Play Station.
The fact that each and every one of us woke up today, means that there is a purpose for us to fulfill. So often we have been so doped into focusing on the stuff that doesn’t matter, that we lose sight of the reason that we were given life in the first place.
I want to encourage young people to understand that they were created for something great that nobody else has the capacity to do, and that if they don’t achieve whatever that is, there will be a void in the universe that nobody else can fill. I don’t think we talk to our kids like that. We have encouraged them, on many levels, that mediocrity is acceptable; that just getting by is okay and that surviving is what we have always done. We don’t expect them to build.
I don’t want young people to feel that just because they have a job that pays the bills that that is enough. Or, that just because they have a European car and some custom made suits that they have “made it”. I want them to understand that they can have all of that in addition to being able to do something with their lives that they can wake up everyday and be excited about. That
“My family is enriched“,
as a result and that
“My community is transformed“
even as I am making money. I don’t mean to suggest to young people that they should be on this mission of altruism where they sacrifice everything and get nothing in return. But, even the greatest servants in the world have understood that they have been enriched as they have served somebody else. I don’t hear us talking about that enough.
DR: That is pretty wise…What is one of the wisest things that anyone has ever said to you.
JJ: Two weeks before I left for college my father said to me
“Women are here before you go to college and they’ll still be here after you leave college.”
I know that is not where you expected me to go with this…
DR: No, no. I am just waiting to hear the rest…
JJ: The reason that was so profound to me is that so many of the mistakes that we make are based on the desire to have a relationship with somebody that we were never supposed to be with. Sacrificing time, sacrificing energy, sacrificing spirit, sacrificing emotion, sacrificing money – to be with somebody that NEVER was worth our time in the first place…
DR: Are you saying “as opposed to patiently discovering who we are?”
And honestly, it ain’t that serious.
If I would focus more of my energy on being who I want to be for me as opposed to being who I want to be for somebody else, then I would be much happier. Again, when we start talking abut that young people thing — I think that we condition young people to look for mates and not embrace friendship. How can we ever have really enriching relationships when we claim to be in love with somebody that we don’t even like?
I don’t know if that is the wisest thing that anyone has ever said to me but it is the first thing that came to mind. And, I haven’t thought about that in years.
DR: Is there anything that you have that you don’t want or maybe that you don’t have that you want?
JJ: I have stress and I don’t want that.
Hmmm…What do I want that I don’t have?
I think that the one thing above anything else that I am on a quest for is peace. Stress is connected to a lack of peace. Peace is the absence of stress.
I am on a quest to create a space in my life where I live in a place of integrity. All of us would have to admit that we have done things that we haven’t liked or that we are not proud of. Where I want to be in my life at 34 years old, is less concerned about what the reviews say about my show. I want to be less concerned about what the audiences think about my speeches. I want to be more concerned with the way that I feel about myself when I look in the mirror. In many cases I am just getting to a place where that is a priority. I like applause. I like being appreciated but I recognize that having that but not liking what you see when you look in the mirror is torture.
I am much more concerned, at this stage in my life, about being able to wake up everyday and know that I have treated the people in my life the right way and that I have been honest with the people who I care about and that I have had a level of integrity with the people that I deal with. So, that at the end of the day, I love myself and that I can believe that I am operating in approval with the creator that has given me every single gift that I have.
That is the quest for me.
DR: A hundred years from now what do you want to be remembered for?
JJ: That I gave of myself, such that -
the life of my family and my community would be better.
Jeff Johnson’s Speech Topics
Unclaimed Legacy: Who Will Lead the Next Social Movement?
Johnson discusses the importance of finding a new leader to reclaim the mantle of luminaries like Martin Luther King, Jr. He encourages students and audiences to help their communities and each other by continuing the legacy of great social leaders and rising up to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Empty Prayers: The Rise and Fall of Church Leadership
In this speech, Johnson talks about the lack of quality leadership in the church today. He discusses what is needed to fill the void, and why ministers are important for spreading positive messages to the youth of America.
Pulling Back the Sheets: Sexuality and Hip-Hop
Johnson discusses the exploitative nature of some popular hip-hop today, and why there needs to be a movement towards more positive messages in the music. It is time for hip-hop to stop treating women as objects, and he believes that positive influences, like more female rappers and MCs, can help change the direction that hip-hop is headed.
BECOME Activists: Building Effective Campus Organizations and Maintaining Excellence
This lecture emphasizes the importance of activism on campus. By joining campus groups students learn how to become effective leaders. Johnson discusses how becoming a campus activist can help create a better future for individuals, but also for the campus and the world itself. |
Bangalore (the city) changing its name? ...now Bengaluru
I thought I was done writing about Bangalore, which I was doing with my recent trip there. I wanted to share some "color" about the Java team, and the place (Bangalore) where some of us live. At least, the Bangalore as seen with the eyes of a Westerner.
Today The Register has an article describing how Bangalore's city government has decided to rename the town to Bengaluru. I suppose this follows in the footsteps of Bombay renaming itself as Mumbai, and Madras renaming itself to be Chennai.
The origin story of Bangalore, as told by The Register, is in line with what the tourist guides said. Namely, the original name in old Karnataka was "Benda Kaal Ooru" or "boiled beans town" and derives from a King who was lost and some local person showed kindness by giving him some boiled beans to eat.
Since the locals don't speak old Karnataka any longer, the old pronunciation is just as foreign to them as it would be to me. It's going to be interesting to wrap my tongue around Bengaluru when it's so similar to the accustomed Bangalore.
I understand this as the native culture reasserting its true identity. The name "Bangalore" was an anglicization imposed upon them by the British rule. It strikes me how in India the native culture remained strongly enough entrenched that they can reassert the native identity like this.
In the U.S. the native culture was basically wiped off the face of the earth and the remnants have little power to do anything. If in todays time a country did to its native culture what the U.S. government did in the 1800's there'd be a worldwide hue and cry of genocide. |
Submitted to: Analytical Biochemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: August 3, 2009
Publication Date: August 3, 2009
Repository URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6W9V-4WXBMBV-2-7&_cdi=6692&_user=6956098&_pii=S0003269709005326&_origin=gateway&_coverDate=11%2F15%2F2009&_sk=996059997&view=c&wchp=dGLbVzz-zSkWb&md5=38262d1a7bfddad3b70b53023c584ac8&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
Citation: Natarajan, S.S., Krishnan, H.B., Lakshman, S., Garrett, W.M. 2009. An efficient extraction method to enhance analysis of low abundant proteins from soybean seed. Analytical Biochemistry. 394(2):259-268. Interpretive Summary: Genetically modified (GM) soybean is widely grown in the U.S. and abroad and it is likely that soybean cultivars with a variety of modifications to enhance quality and productivity will be developed in the future. It is therefore important to determine if any unintended changes occur in GM soybean seeds. Most allergenic proteins are less abundant and difficult to isolate using conventional extraction methods. In this series of experiments, we determined the best chemical procedure to separate soybean seed proteins. We developed an efficient protein extraction method and identified some of the seed proteins. Protein seed composition of normal soybean is important to know so that we can compare them to GM soybeans. This comparison will allow scientists to identify unintended effects that may occur when new transgenic soybean cultivars are developed and will help to improve consumer acceptance of GM soybeans. This information will be used by scientists who are developing transgenic soybean cultivars.
Technical Abstract: Large amounts of the major seed storage proteins, such as ß-conglycinin and glycinin, in soybean (Glycine max) seeds hinder the isolation and characterization of less abundant seed proteins. We investigated whether isopropanol extraction could facilitate resolution of the less abundant proteins from soybean seeds in one dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (1D-PAGE) and two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE). 1D-PAGE of proteins extracted by different concentrations (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80%) of isopropanol showed that greater than 30% isopropanal was suitable for preferential enrichment of low abundant proteins. Analysis of 2D-PAGE showed that proteins which were less abundant or absent by the conventional extraction procedure were clearly seen in the 40% isopropanol extracts. Increasing above 40% isopropanol concentration resulted in a decrease in the number of less abundant protein spots. We have identified a total of 107 protein spots using Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrophotometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Our results suggest that extraction of soybean seed powder with 40% isopropanol enriches for lower abundance proteins and is a suitable method for 2D-PAGE separation and identification. This methodology could potentially allow the extraction and characterization of low abundant proteins of other legume seeds containing highly abundant storage proteins. |
Raga Bye Baby is a unique, beautiful music album for babies, offering the sweet sound of the Bansuri flute and other Indian instruments. Recorded in India and New York and featuring performances by outstanding musicians, this album is an innovative blend of music and culture. Raga Bye Baby will satisfy babies and adults too; it's perfect for yoga, parent relaxation, and quiet time with the baby.
The melodic legacy of Indian classical music is based on raga, which in Sanskrit means "that which colors the mind." There are hundreds of ragas, each conveying its own mood and feeling. Exposure to raga as a baby, because of it's intricate melody, can assist in profound brain development and overall intelligence.
1. Ragabyebaby: bedtime is fun with this blend of a lullaby classic with a children's folk melody from India 2. Bhairavi: enchanting and timeless Indian melody 3. Hamsadhwani part 1: a soothing duet creating a deliciously simple rendition of a traditional raga 4. Hamsadhwani part 2: welcome to dreamland with these celestial sounds 5. Hush little desh: babies fall asleep amidst this interweaving of the classic lullaby "hush little baby" with "raga desh" 6. Lori: a classic lullaby from India 7. sleeping in ragaland: sweet dreams.
About the musicians:
Eric Fraser- bansuri flute (creator and producer of Raga Bye Baby)- all tracks
Naren Budhakar- tabla- track 1
Bridget Kibbey- harp- tracks 1 and 2
Andrew Mendolson- sitar- track 2
Sandip Chatterjee- santoor- tracks 3, 4, and 6
Tripp Dudley- percussion- tracks 1 and 5
Recorded at OM studio in Kolkata, India, at Atlantic Sound Studio in Brooklyn, NY, and at Eric Fraser's home in Brooklyn, NY.
Mixed by Tripp Dudley, Eric Fraser, and Diko Shoturma
Mastered by Rick Rowe (Brooklyn)
Cover Art by Amanda Winkler
Logo by Ted Kadin
About the Bansuri Flute-
The bansuri flute is a 7 hole bamboo flute from India. It has a unique sound and is capable of producing bends and slides (unlike the Western steel flute). The bansuri is a legendary instrument, and it's sound is dreamy and transporting.
About Eric Fraser, Bansuri flute
Based in Brooklyn, Eric is a performing musician and often travels to India for immersion with the bansuri. He is also a music therapist and works regularly with children.
A note from Eric-
"Raga Bye Baby is my gift to the children of the world and parents who love yoga, meditation, or just good acoustic music. May this music promote peace and good rest! I love this music so much that I believe babies and young children will remember this album when they grow up!" |
GovTrack’s Bill Summary
We don’t have a summary available yet.
Library of Congress Summary
The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
9/27/1976--Reported to Senate amended.
(Reported to Senate from the Committee on the Judiciary with amendment, S. Rept. 94-1310) Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act - Grants United States district courts original jurisdiction without regard to the amount in controversy in any nonjury civil action against a foreign state as to any claim for relief in personam with respect to which the foreign state is not entitled to immunity.
Stipulates that, in all such cases, district courts shall have personal jurisdiction over a foreign state where the prescribed service is made.
Stipulates that a foreign state is not immune from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts if:
(1) the state has waived its immunity either explicitly or by implication;
(2) the action is based upon specified commercially related activities;
(3) the action is based upon rights in specified property, connected with commercial activity, taken in violation of international law;
(4) the issue is rights in U.S. property acquired by succession or gift or rights in immovable U.S. property; or
(5) money damages are sought against a foreign state for personal injury or death, or damage to or loss of property, occurring in the U.S. and caused by the tortious act or omission of the foreign state or its official or employee acting within the scope of his office or employment.
Exempts from the latter category claims based upon discretionary functions and claims arising out of malicious prosecution, abuse of process, libel, slander, misrepresentation, deceit, or interference with contract rights.
Stipulates that foreign states are not immune from jurisdiction of U.S. courts in the case of admiralty suits brought to enforce a maritime lien against a foreign state's vessel or cargo, which lien is based upon the state's commercial activity.
Requires that proper notice be given to the person, or his agent, having possession of the vessel or cargo against which the lien is asserted and to the foreign state.
Directs that the lien thereafter be deemed an in personam claim against the foreign state and that the court may not award judgement greater than the value of the vessel or cargo.
Denies a foreign state, which brings or intervenes in an action in a U.S. court, immunity with respect to any counterclaim:
(1) where it would not otherwise be entitled to immunity under this Act had such claim been brought in a separate action against the foreign state;
(2) arising out of the transaction or occurence that is the subject matter of the foreign state's claim; or
(3) to the extent that the counterclaim does not seek relief exceeding in amount or differing in kind from that sought by the foreign state.
Sets forth procedures for service of process, time to answer, and default.
Stipulates that, subject to existing international agreements to which the U.S. is a party at the time of enactment of this Act, property of a foreign state in the U.S. shall be immune from attachment, arrest, and execution except as permitted under this Act. Includes within such exceptions specified U.S. property used by a foreign state for commercial activity and any property in the U.S. of an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state which engages in commercial activity in the U.S., subject to enumerated restrictions and conditions.
Exempts from attachment or any other judicial process the property of those organizations designated by the President as entitled to fall within the provisions of the International Organizations Immunities Act. Exempts from attachment and execution, property:
(1) of a foreign central bank or monetary authority held for its own account, unless it, or its parent government, has waived such immunity; and
(2) used, or intended for use, in connection with a military activity where the property is of a military character and is under the control of a military authority or defense agency.
Specifies the proper district for bringing civil actions against a foreign state.
Authorizes removal of such cases from State to U.S. district courts by the foreign state.
Adds 28 U.S.C. 1330, 1602-11; Amends 28 U.S.C. 1332, 1391, 1441
House Democratic Caucus Summary
The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile. |
Transformation commands in IBM SPSS Statistics fall basically into two categories: those that are executed when the flow logic gets to them, and those that are executed immediately when read, i.e., before other transformations are executed.
Transformation commands that define variable properties such as VARIABLE LABELS, VALUE LABELS, and MISSING VALUES are generally executed as soon as they are read. That means that they may be executed out of order compared to the execution of the job stream, and they can't be controlled by transformation logic such as DO IF or DO REPEAT. So you can't define properties conditionally, and you can't iterate over them.
Usually you can ignore this behavior, but here's a case where it matters. Suppose you want to create syntax that will eliminate all the variable labels in a dataset (never mind why you might want to do this - this is just an example). The first try might be this do repeat loop.
But you get this puzzling error message.
Error # 4530. Command name: variable label
>This command is not allowed inside the DO REPEAT/ END REPEAT facility.
That's because metadata commands are not subject to the flow control of a loop. In addition, this is a little ugly, because you had to know the names of the first and last variables (in file order) in order even to write the loop command. So this syntax isn't general.
The second try works, but it's way too ugly to contemplate. I couldn't ever bear to write out the whole command.
It works, because you can separate variable specifications with /, and if there is no label in a section, the label is empty, i.e., removed.
This is too painful to write, but it offers a clue. If we could only generate that slash-separated list automatically, we could feed it to this command. That's where SPSSINC SELECT VARIABLES comes in. This is an extension command available from the SPSS Community (www.ibm.com/developerworks/spssdevcentral if you aren't already reading this from the site) and requires the Python Essentials. This command allows you to define an SPSS macro consisting of a list of variables that meet various criteria. It could be an explicit list, but you could filter on variable type, patterns in names, custom attributes, and/or measurement level. With no filtering, it would select all the variables in the dataset. The macro text replaces the macro name reference when it is encountered in the syntax.
So we're almost there. If I run
spssinc select variables macroname = "!all". (note the quotes)
I get a list of all the variables that I could feed to the VARIABLE LABELS command. But that won't quite work, because I need those slashes to separate the items in the list. This will do the trick.
(It is conventional to start macro names with "!" so that they won't collide with variable names or syntax constructs.)
Now all I have to do is this.
This gives me syntax that will work for any data file regardless of the variable names.
In order to use this command, you have to install the extension command (and the Essentials if you don't already have that), but then you can forget that it is an extension. It works just like the built-in commands. The more you can generalize your syntax, the less work you have to do, and the less the chance of errors creeping in.
A final note: ths example is entirely serendipitous. I created this command for selecting subsets of the variables fof automating analysis tasks. Here it is being used to select all the variables. And I thought the only useful separators between the selected variables would be a blank for ordinary variable lists and + for CTABLES expressions, but here / is required.
with Tags: extensions X |
STERLEY, TEXAS. Sterley is on Farm Road 2286 seven miles northeast of Lockney in northwest Floyd County. It began around 1927–28, when the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway was built through the area, and was named for W. F. Sterley, the general agent for the railroad. Early businesses included a post office, established in December 1928, Harvey House restaurant, and a depot. A grocery store was established in 1934 by the Howell family. By 1948 the town had a population of ninety, a post office, a school, railroad shops, and two churches. The community was at the junction of two branches of the Fort Worth and Denver City in a predominantly agricultural region. In 1980 Sterley reported a population of seventy-five. A gin and large elevator were still in operation, although the post office had closed in February 1969. In 1990 the population was estimated at ten.
Floyd County Historical Museum, History of Floyd County, 1876–1979 (Dallas: Taylor, 1979).
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.Charles G. Davis, "STERLEY, TX," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hns83), accessed April 16, 2014. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. |
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. Any of a number of often-repeated malapropisms originally uttered by US film producer Samuel Goldwyn (1879-1974) or a malapropism reminiscent of Goldwyn's utterances.
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Alternate names for this phenomenon are "Goldwynism" and "Berraism" because of the penchant of movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn and former baseball player Yogi Berra for this type of declaration.
These include, it should be said, terms that are more amusing than high-minded: Pollyanna, Goldwynism and Collyer Brothers Syndrome (named for the frantic collectors). |
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- adj. Being such that comparison is impossible; incommensurable.
- adj. So outstanding as to be beyond comparison; unsurpassed.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- adj. So much better than another as to be beyond comparison; matchless or unsurpassed.
- adj. Not able to be compared.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- adj. Not comparable; admitting of no comparison with others; unapproachably eminent; without a peer or equal; matchless; peerless; transcendent.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Not comparable; admitting of no comparison; especially, without a match, rival, or peer; unequaled; transcendent.
- Synonyms Matchless, peerless, unrivaled, unparalleled, nonpareil.
- n. In ornithology, the painted finch, Cyanospiza or Passerina ciris, more commonly called nonpareil.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adj. such that comparison is impossible; unsuitable for comparison or lacking features that can be compared
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Passe une année pleine de bonheur, excellente santé, et du vin incomparable!
It may be urged against my use of the word incomparable that in the burglary business the name of Slith stands paramount and alone; and of this I am not ignorant; but Slith is a classic, and lived long ago, and knew nothing at all of modern competition; besides which the surprising nature of his doom has possibly cast a glamour upon Slith that exaggerates in our eyes his undoubted merits.
Demanding to shoot and process, Kodachrome rewarded generations of skilled users with a richness of color and a particular treatment of light that many photographers described as incomparable even as they shifted to digital cameras.
Demanding both to shoot and process, Kodachrome rewarded generations of skilled users with a richness of color and a unique treatment of light that many photographers described as incomparable even as they shifted to digital cameras.
Mrs. Cram was alternately aghast and delighted at what she perhaps justly called his incomparable impudence.
Holiness was defined as the incomparable Glory of God, His exclusive adorableness, His infinite
In shewing the reason, why Christ's mediation ought to minister such confidence to us: which is, the incomparable fitness of Christ for the performance of that work, 321. and this appears by considering him,
Mr. Obama described Emanuel as an "incomparable" leader who helped enforce the president's agenda as his administration managed two wars, an economic crisis, healthcare reform and other difficult issues.
As Krapp plays tapes from yesteryear, he uses the off switch as punctuation, reacting to memories of women with "incomparable" eyes and bosoms.
Gotta read this one, can Thia hold a candle to the "incomparable" Dejah Thoris? |
This page lists the software that Media Productions (formerly The Leading Object) have created. To order, or for more information, call us toll-free at (888) 750-4156 or 575-646-2748 or via email at email@example.com.
Desert Blooms: A Sunscape Guide to Plants for a Water-Scare Region
Designed for home owners and gardeners as well as for landscape installation and maintenance professionals. Learn to plant and maintain an efficient water-wise landscape. Includes a database with more than 400 native Chihuahuan Desert and adaptive plants.
Crazy About Corn
With games, songs and numerous activities, the Crazy About Corn CD is a great way to teach children the importance of corn. They'll learn different aspects of history, Native-American culture, scientific techniques and memorization skills, all while enjoying themselves. Along with the CD, there are educational resource books to supplement classroom learning, a video which supplies additional activites and the "Hot Buttered Hits and Songbook" which allows children (and adults) to sing along to their favorite Corn songs.
Teleliteracy Assistance for Businesses and Communities
Why T-ABCs for Rural Americans? Typical rural residents drive 50 miles over narrow, country roads just to reach an interstate on-ramp. So it makes sense for those in rural areas to turn onto the Internet-today's electronic highway-to take them where they need to go. It's fast, efficient, convenient. It's today's super highway into rural and minority communities, giving them access to new knowledge, enhanced lifestyles, better business practices, and greater prosperity. Many rural decision makers and citizens are asking, "How do we get there from here?" Teleliteracy Assistance for Businesses and Communities (T-ABCs) will help build this vitally needed electronic on-ramp for rural America.
Visit the web site www.nmtabcs.com
The Desert Classroom
This package includes a laser disc and a series of lessons developed by New Mexico teachers for use with exemplary science materials. The curriculum guide has five lesson units about weather, land and water, plants, animals, and humans. Each lesson corresponds to frames from the video disc to be used when teaching. Lesson plans are English with Spanish vocabulary.
To order, or for more information, call us toll-free at (888) 750-4156 or 575-646-2748 or via email at firstname.lastname@example.org. |
So a few days ago I watched the Talking Health webcast on health insurance, presented by the Association of Health Care Journlists, The Commonwealth Fund, and the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.
I listened both as a journalist interested in how to cover this controversial issue, as well as patient with an obvious vested interested in health insurance reform, and the discussion did not disappoint on either count.
For the purpose of this post, I’ve decided to highlight some of the points/questions I think matter most to readers and patients with chronic illness—after all, a key to managing chronic diseases and preventing disease progression is having health insurance that covers medications and appropriate treatment therapies. And, as the NYT’s Reed Abelson, one of the four panelists, pointed out in talking about stakeholders in this debate, patients are the most obvious source but are not well represented.
Do we really know what the difference between public and private insurance is? While some people do, and they usually equate private with better care when they do, many consumers aren’t sure what the public option really entails. According to panelist Cathy Schoen, senior VP at The Commonwealth Fund, context is important here. She says the type of plan usually mentioned in national reform would offer for the first time to people under 65 a plan that is similar to Medicare, one that could compete with private care. The goal of this type of plan is to provide better access and control costs, and consumers would have the choice to keep their existing (private) insurance or choose this new public option. The public option would be standardized across the country and wouldn’t change much over time.
Bruce Bullen, COO of Harvard Pilgrim, a nonprofit managed health care organization in New England, points out some of the pluses and minuses with public vs private insurance: For example, private insurance companies focus on customer service, network building with doctors, and are inherently local/regional, while public ones are more standardized, easily understood, more regulated and perceived to be more equitable.
Other benefits and drawbacks we should consider? The public plan would offer lower premiums, which is attractive to consumers. At the end of the day, we need to control soaring health care costs; advocates of the public plan point to its purchasing power as an advantage, since it would be purchasing for such a large population. Its economies of scale and lack of a need to market itself are also positives. Since healthier competition usually means cost would come down, the public plan could potentially be cheaper. As we know, private sector rates are higher ($12,600 is the avg family premium), but Bullen contends that well-organized plans like HPHC have such mechanisms where they can be quite competitive with public rates.
But is it possible for private plans to compete with public options? At 20-25 percent cheaper than private plans, Bullen says probably not, pointing out that these savings do not mean the public plan would control health care costs. If we’re making the comparison to a Medicare-type system for people under 65, consider that providers often can’t live on what Medicare pays so they move to private insurers for competitive rates. The cost and quality problems that are so widespread now would continue. Also, consider if providers are asked to sign on for less, would they? Or would the government mandate participation?
Whether through a public plan or a private one, Cathy Schoen asserts that we need to be paying for care differently. To do this, we should harness the technology we have but do so with clear outcomes in mind and in the right circumstances. Appropriate technology requires more incentives, which we don’t have right now. In essence, we need to ask: Is it better, and do we have to pay as much for it?
More thoughts on public plans:The term public plan means different things to different people. Some key variations within that term include a federally sponsored new plan to market or a plan that piggybacks with Medicare. It’s the sponsorship that is critical. Medicare uses private claims payers and pools risk, and one of the biggest fears and strengths of the public plan is that it pools risks.
What can government do if doctors refuse to treat people with the public option? Cathy Schoen agrees this is a critical issue, especially since it’s known that Medicare pays far too little for primary care. The public plan would have to come in with competitive rates and if everyone was insured rates between the two wouldn’t be as different because right now we’re already paying for those who don’t have care at all.
Would the public plan become dumping ground for sickest people? Schoen says it is a risk in a reformed insurance market where no one could be turned away or told they are too sick. Things like age variation where a 50-year-old could say “don’t ask me about health status just sign me up” would help combat this, but we still have to worry about risk selection; as soon as you have competing plans, no matter the name of them, this is still a concern. The way to address it is by rewarding plans.
How will public plans affect the innovation US is known for? According to Bullen, it will negatively impact innovation. One of hallmarks of private care is responding to consumer needs and giving answers that work. That’s a big tradeoff—public plans have other strengths, like standardization and equity.
Anyway, these are just some summarized snippets I felt brought up compelling points on both sides. While it’s a huge issue and has everyone talking, there are so many details, variables, and benefits/drawbacks involved in any type of reform that it’s helpful to hear some of them explained in accessible terms. The terms “public option” or “universal health care” spark so many competing emotions and definitions, from some people imagining hybrid plan like we have here in Massachusetts to conjuring up a single-payer system more comparable to Canada or the UK. For what it’s worth, I found the discussion of a public plan similar to Medicare but for younger people a helpful way to frame the inevitable comparisons between private and public insurance plans.
(As an aside, the second segment with the LAT’s Noem Levy and Reed Abelson was great, so if you’re a writer wondering how to find sources for this and what other questions to consider, definitely check it out.) |
YES. You can easily become addicted to taking bath salt. More about what bath salt is made of, bath salt addictive-ness and the potential risks of bath salt here.
Trazodone works by altering the chemical balance of serotonin in the brain. More on trazodone’s uses, side effects, and dangers here.
Mixing lorazepam and alcohol can cause memory loss, loss of inhibition and irritability. But you increase risk of overdose when you mix the two. More here on harms and warnings for mixing Lorazepam with alcohol.
OxyContin is used to manage pain. More on OxyContin’s uses, side effects, how to identify problems with OxyContin here.
If you take Ambien long-term (more than 4 weeks at a time), Ambien use can lead to Ambien dependence or addiction. More on Ambien dependence, abuse, and addiction liability here.
It’s difficult to overdose on hydrocodone alone. But hydrocodone is usually combined with other, more dangerous medications. More on hydrocodone overdose, drug poisoning, and safe dosing for hydrocodone here.
No, Cialis is not addictive. More on Cialis here.
Valium (diazepam) is an anti-anxiety medication prescribed in doses betwen 2 and 10 mg several times daily. More on Valium dosage, cost, and prescriptions here.
SPECT nuclear imaging tests shows how blood flows to tissues in the brain, and show marked changes after chronic drug use. More on using SPECT for drug and alcohol addiction treatment here.
Helping a heroin addict requires you get past your anger. More here on where to get educated, take care of yourself and make plan to help a heroin addict. |
ZAMBIA's economic performance in the last couple of years has been very impressive posting steady growth in key sectors such as mining, agriculture, construction and prospects for the year 2013 are quite positive.
This is a good standing for a developing country like Zambia especially in view of current uncertainties in the global economic environment.
Although inflation has increased from six per cent last year to 6.8 per cent as at the month of October 2012 due to rising food prices, the figures have remained within predictable limits and, according to the recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report, they are bound to drop to at least six per cent in the next few months to come.
Apart from that, Zambia's per capita income has risen from US$1,000 three years ago, to the current $3,000 and the Government's aim is to ensure that per capita income is raised further to between $5,000 and $12,000 in the next five years or so.
The gains for the positive growth are as a result of the favourable economic conditions and good investment climate for which Zambia is recognised.
This scenario if maintained will help to attract more foreign investors into various sectors of the economy such as agriculture and mining for example, which are key factors in accelerating further economic growth.
The Patriotic Front (PF) Government since assuming office in September 2011 has scored positive strides especially in tight fiscal planning as well as improved revenue administration.
Zambia should in addition utilise the recently mooted World Bank programme called the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) to run from 2013 through to 2016 which aims to align with the participating countries development strategies.
The CPS presents the World Bank's business plan that will provide a roadmap and strategic framework for lending and non-lending activities for participating countries in the next few years to come.
This, once utilised properly, will help to improve Zambia's economic performance which will translate into real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and lead to poverty reduction, especially in rural areas.
Therefore, the recent observation by IMF chief of mission John Wakeman-Linn is genuine as evidence is there for everyone to scrutinise.
The successful launch of the first $750 million Euro bond is also likely to get Zambia into sustainable development as the objectives are achievable both in long and short term.
With these Euro funds now in place, the Government is expected to develop infrastructure especially in agriculture, manufacturing and construction which are some of the key sectors which will invigorate the economy.
The Government's plan to set up industrial clusters in all provincial centres of the country will also help to trigger rapid economic activities and make the country achieve real GDP growth to more than the anticipated growth of 7.3 per cent per annum.
This will not only contribute to economic growth but will also help to reduce high poverty levels in rural areas and create more employment opportunities for the hundreds of unemployed.
Government will do well to ensure that it maintains its current work rate, enforce tight and prudent fiscal management as well as keep conditions suitable for investment in place in order to attract more foreign direct investment which is cardinal for this country's continued positive economic performance. |
About 88 prisoners are still in jail even though they have completed their sentences. Another 88 prisoners had spent more than two years in various prisons countrywide without appearing before any court.
The damning statistics presented by the National Commission on Human Rights to both chambers of Parliament recently also revealed that as of June 30, 2012, 386 prisoners did not have their files while Gacaca courts tried 610 prisoners in their absence and requested a review of their cases. The commission also revealed that 71 prisoners' trials were postponed indefinitely, 121 prisoners have sentenced like adults yet they committed the crimes while still minor and 129 were sentenced to public service work but their sentence was never executed.
All these observations raised questions among lawmakers, who said prisoners are also human and should be treated with respect and be guaranteed their rights. "I had never imagined that our prisoners are still experiencing such issues," said an MP after the commission's head Madeleine Nirere presented the report.
Nirere tried to water down the gravity of the matter, by saying that visits to prisons and police stations show that inmates' rights were respected.
"How can you tell us that their rights are respected with these figures?" countered MP Theobard Mporanyi, adding that the commission seems to ignore how harmful this can be for the country's human rights status. "Do you ever think about all those prisoners who are still waiting for justice? Do you ever think about their families? Maybe not, because if you did, you should not have underestimated this issue."
However, Nirere said the issues in prisons are related to the country's history, where due to the 1994 genocide, the number of prisoners skyrocketed even though the country's justice department worked tirelessly to get rid of backlog. "We are still facing those consequences," Nirere said.
The commission has from July 2011 to June 2012 followed up 596 cases and received 1,925 new ones. "This means that we had a total of 2,521. Among them, 1,021 were investigated and the commission decided to refer them to other competent institutions. 154 cases were rejected as they did not fulfill the requirements for a case to be followed and analyzed by the commission," Nirere said.
MP Desire Nyandwi raised the issue of illegal detention and arrest cases and requested that the commission follows up on the issues. "We have been having a number of prisoners complain about that, you should know more about it, and if possible refer the cases to competent courts," he said.
The human rights commission was also requested to do a national survey on human rights' awareness in the Rwandan community and how it as impacted Rwandans' lives. |
Drive hide by Command Prompt
Different people likes different type of security to protect there data form un-authorized access. Somebody wants to lock there specific folder, somebody want to hide drive. I know that, you have curiosity to know how to hide Drive from computer, because you are reading the post “how to hide drive by command prompt”. We know there is an easy way to hide Drive by Group Policy, but there has some limitation. Because you can’t hide any drive of the computer, only you can hide some specified drive which are previously define. So that we will use command prompt here to hide any drive of computer which is not possible by Group Policy. So let’s go to start.
- Go to Run from start menu of taskbar (Windows key+R). Write down “Cmd” or click Start Menu>Programs>Accossories>Command Prompt.
- Command Prompt window will come to you.
- Now type “Diskpart” into Command Prompt & press on Enter key.
- Type again “List Volume” to the Command Prompt & then hit on Enter key.
- There will show Volume List of your computer.
- Now you have to select a volume that you want to hide. Suppose you want to hide E drive. So, type “select volume 3” & press Enter key (You can hide any drive of your computer).
- Type “Remove letter E” & click on Enter key (You should type your volume name instead of E that you want to hide)
- Finally your E: Drive will hide if you have completed above mentioned method.
How to Un-hide again?
- To Unhide the Drive again follows the steps 1-6 as mentioned above.
- Now Type “Assign letter E” (You should type your volume name instead of E).
- Hope you have gotten your E Drive again visible. If you don’t get it, simply restart your computer. |
"Critical access hospital" (CAH) is a designation/category established by CMS (the federal government). CAHs are small, rural hospitals that meet specific criteria for how far they are from the next nearest hospital -- basically, people in their area would be entirely without hospital services (within a reasonable distance) if the hospital wasn't there. There are also requirements about the maximum number of beds (25) and maximum average LOS (96 hours) they're allowed to have. CAHs would not take more complicated cases (or would transfer those people ASAP to a larger, better equipped facility). Because they fall into this category, they aren't required to meet the usual CMS COPs and are held to a lower standard by CMS -- for instance, CAHs aren't required to have an RN in the hospital 24 hours a day (they just have to have one on call at night). (That doesn't mean that CAHs don't have one or more RNs on duty 24/7 -- just that they're not required to.)
Basically, these are small, rural hospitals with basic, limited services and staff only and short lengths of stay that would treat only fairly simple cases. |
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Proceedings of Symposia in Pure Mathematics
1983; 435 pp; softcover
reprinted with corrections 1984
List Price: US$70
Member Price: US$56
Order Code: PSPUM/39.1
This item is also sold as part of the following set: PSPUM/39
On April 7-10, 1980, the American Mathematical Society sponsored a Symposium on the Mathematical Heritage of Henri Poincari, held at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. This volume presents the written versions of all but three of the invited talks presented at this Symposium (those by W. Browder, A. Jaffe, and J. Mather were not written up for publication). In addition, it contains two papers by invited speakers who were not able to attend, S. S. Chern and L. Nirenberg.
If one traces the influence of Poincari through the major mathematical figures of the early and midtwentieth century, it is through American mathematicians as well as French that this influence flows, through G. D. Birkhoff, Solomon Lefschetz, and Marston Morse. This continuing tradition represents one of the major strands of American as well as world mathematics, and it is as a testimony to this tradition as an opening to the future creativity of mathematics that this volume is dedicated.
This part contains sections on geometry, topology, Riemann surfaces, discontinuous groups and Lie groups, and several complex variables.
AMS Home |
© Copyright 2014, American Mathematical Society |
|Issue 15.03 - March 2007
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I don’t like the Wikipedia entry about me. Can I change it?
Well, technically, anyone can change any Wikipedia entry. So if you discover that police report about the "beer-bong incident" has made its way into your online record, you could, of course, excise it.
But the social contract of the Wikipedia community dictates that individuals ought not change their own entries, because — as Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales puts it — "it’s hard to be objective about yourself." In the wikiverse, the smart mob determines which facts are salient.
What’s more, you’ll probably get caught.
This happened in 2005 to none other than Wales himself. He was caught altering his own entry, including disappearing a reference to an alleged Wikipedia cofounder. (This escapade is now chronicled in-where else? — Wales' entry.)
Ooh, but you could just ask a friend to edit your entry, so you’ll leave no fingerprints on the keyboard, right? But this, too, is frowned upon. Here’s the best way to fix things: Go to your page — or whatever page you’re interested in — and click the Discussion tab. Explain who you are and what you think should be changed. Provide online proof of your claims. Be polite. Don’t rant about a "vast online conspiracy." Odds are the group that pays attention to the page will execute your suggestions.
On the other hand, Wikipedians can be weirdly recalcitrant even when you follow the rules. When the journalist Eric Newton tried to change the entry for John Seigenthaler Sr. — who had been smeared as being a coconspirator in JFK’s assassination — he could find no references on the Web. He had to write an article online just to provide citations. "Truth," he tells me,"is not a valid defense when trying to correct Wikipedia."
Should I be paying sales taxes on my online purchases?
Unless the merchant has a physical presence in your state, it isn’t obliged to charge sales taxes. Instead, the customer — that would be you — is supposed to pay the tax directly to the state government, usually by declaring purchases. It’s called a use tax.
This isn't a matter of ethics; it’s a matter of law. If you’re ever audited and caught lying — "Sorry, yeah, I totally forgot I bought that $7,000 flat-panel TV online last year" — you’ll be responsible for your unpaid taxes and a stiff fine.
Of course, millions shop online every day and dodge use taxes not out of malice but out of sheer ignorance. That's why state and local governments are expected to be shorted up to $33.7 billion in 2008, according to Bill Fox, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee. "It’s a significant revenue loss for the states," he says. (Antitax advocates argue that the real loss is more like $5 billion — the GDP of Sierra Leone — chump change!)
So there are two questions to ask yourself. The first is realpolitik. How likely are you to get audited? Plenty of people figure the risk is so low they’d rather save money by not paying etailing taxes. The second is more existential. What kind of citizen are you? For pete’s sake, the local taxes you’re so assiduously dodging pay for schools, hospitals, and, you know, firefighters. If you think your money’s being wasted, petition your state government to have the sales tax abolished. Otherwise, pay up. At least for that TV.
The beeps and bloops coming from my coworkers’ computers are driving me insane. How do I get it to stop?
Computer alerts are what’s known as ambient information. To you, it’s noise; to your colleagues, it's a signal that helps them cope with info overload. David Rose, CEO of Ambient Devices, suggests asking your tormentors to remap their notification sounds to something that will blend into office white noise — "a coffee maker's gurgling, fax machine mating sounds, an Aeron’s height-adjust hiss." Better yet, buy each of your colleagues one of Rose’s Ambient Orbs, which alert users with soothing, gently pulsing colors. Ahh. |
March 24, 2014
I know that the article “Sinkhole of Bureaucracy” is an example of a single case example. Nevertheless, the write up tickled my funny bone. With fancy technology, USA.gov, and the hyper modern content processing systems used in many Federal agencies, reality is stranger than science fiction.
This passage snagged my attention:
inside the caverns of an old Pennsylvania limestone mine, there are 600 employees of the Office of Personnel Management. Their task is nothing top-secret. It is to process the retirement papers of the government’s own workers. But that system has a spectacular flaw. It still must be done entirely by hand, and almost entirely on paper.
One of President Obama’s advisors is quote as describing the manual operation as “that crazy cave.”
And the fix? The article asserts:
That failure imposes costs on federal retirees, who have to wait months for their full benefit checks. And it has imposed costs on the taxpayer: The Obama administration has now made the mine run faster, but mainly by paying for more fingers and feet. The staff working in the mine has increased by at least 200 people in the past five years. And the cost of processing each claim has increased from $82 to $108, as total spending on the retirement system reached $55.8 million.
One of the contractors operating the system is Iron Mountain. You may recall that this outfit has a search system and caught my attention when Iron Mountain sold the quite old Stratify (formerly Purple Yogi automatic indexing system to Autonomy).
- Many systems have a human component that managers ignore, do not know about, or lack the management horsepower to address. When search systems or content processing systems generate floods of red ink, human processes are often the culprit
- The notion that modern technology has permeated organizations is false. The cost friction in many companies is directly related to small decisions that grow like a snowball rolling down a hill. When these processes reach the bottom, the mess is no longer amusing.
- Moving significant information from paper to a digital form and then using those data in a meaningful way to answer questions is quite difficult.
Do managers want to tackle these problems? In my experience, keeping up appearances and cost cutting are more important than old fashioned problem solving. In a recent LinkedIn post I pointed out that automatic indexing systems often require human input. Forgetting about those costs produces problems that are expensive to fix. Simple indexing won’t bail out the folks in the cave.
Stephen E Arnold, March 24, 2014
Stephen E Arnold, March 24, 2014
December 3, 2013
A new profile is available on the Xenky site today. SchemaLogic is a controlled vocabulary management system. The system combines traditional vocabulary management with an organization wide content management system specifically for indexing words and phrases. The analysis provides some insight into how a subsystem can easily boost the cost of a basic search system’s staff and infrastructure.
Taxonomy became a chrome trimmed buzzword almost a decade ago. Indexing has been around a long time, and indexing has a complete body of practices and standards for the practitioner to use when indexing content objects.
Just what an organization needs to make sense of its text, images, videos, and other digital information/data. At a commercial database publsihing company, more than a dozen people can be involved in managing a controlled term list and classification coding scheme. When a term is misapplied, finding a content object can be quite a challenge. If audio or video are misindexed, the content object may require a human to open, review, and close files until the required imnage or video can be located. Indexing is important, but many MBAs do not understand the cost of indexing until a needed content object cannot be found; for example, in a legal discovery process related to a patent matter. A happy quack to http://swissen.in/swictingsys.php for the example of a single segment of a much larger organization centric taxonomy. Consider managing a controlled term list with more than 20,000 terms and a 400 node taxononmy across a Fortune 500 company or for the information stored in your laptop computer.
Even early birds in the search and content processing sector like Fulcrum Technologies and Verity embraced controlled vocabularies. A controlled term list contains forms of words and phrases and often the classification categories into which individual documents can be tagged.
The problem was that lists of words had to be maintained. Clever poobahs and mavens created new words to describe allegedly new concepts. Scientists, engineers, and other tech types whipped up new words and phrases to help explain their insights. And humans, often loosey goosey with language, shifted meanings. For example, when I was in college a half century ago, there was a class in “discussion.” Today that class might be called “collaboration.” Software often struggles with these language realities.
What happens when “old school” search and content processing systems try to index documents?
The systems can “discover” terms and apply them. Vendors with “smart software” use a range of statistical and linguistic techniques to figure out entities, bound phrases, and concepts. Other approaches include sucking in dictionaries and encyclopedias. The combination of a “knowledgebase” like Wikipedia and other methods works reasonably well.
November 9, 2013
The release titled SAIL LABS Announces New Release Of Media Mining Indexer 6.2 from SAIL LABS Technology on August 5, 2013 provides some insight into the latest version of the Media Mining Indexer. SAIL LABS Technology considers itself as an innovator in creating solutions for vertical markets, and enhancing technologies surrounding advanced language understanding abilities.
The newest release offers such features as:
“Improved named entity detection of names via unified lists across languages… improved topic models for all languages… improved text preprocessing for Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Frasi, US and international English…support of further languages: Catalan, Swedish, Portuguese, Bahasa (Indonesia), Italian, Farsi and Romanian…improved communication with Media Mining Server to relate recognized speakers to their respective profiles.”
Gerhard Backfried, Head of Research at SAIL LABS, called the latest release a “quantum leap forward” considering the system’s tractability, constancy and ability to respond to clients needs. The flagship product is based on SAIL LABS speech recognition technology, which as won awards, and offers a suite of ideal components for multimedia processing, and the transformation of audio and video data into searchable information. The features boast the ability to convert speech to text accurately with Automatic Speech Recognition and the ability to detect different speakers with Speaker Change Detection.
Chelsea Kerwin, November 09, 2013
July 29, 2013
Finally, everything you need to explain database indexing to your mom over breakfast. Stack Overflow hosts the discussion, “How Does Database Indexing Work?” The original question, posed by a user going by Zenph Yan, asks for an answer at a “database agnostic level.” The lead answer, also submitted by Zenph Yan, makes for a respectable article all by itself. (Asked and answered by the same user? Odd, perhaps, but that is actively encouraged at Stack Overflow.)
Yan clearly defines the subject at hand:
“Indexing is a way of sorting a number of records on multiple fields. Creating an index on a field in a table creates another data structure which holds the field value, and pointer to the record it relates to. This index structure is then sorted, allowing Binary Searches to be performed on it.
“The downside to indexing is that these indexes require additional space on the disk, since the indexes are stored together in a table using the MyISAM engine, this file can quickly reach the size limits of the underlying file system if many fields within the same table are indexed.”
Yan’s explanation also describes why indexing is needed, how it works (with examples), and when it is called for. It is worth checking out for those pondering his question. A couple other users contributed links to helpful resources. Der U suggests another Stack Overflow discussion, “What do Clustered and Non Clustered Index Actually Mean?“, while one, dohaivu, recommends the site, Use the Index, Luke.
Cynthia Murrell, July 29, 2013
March 18, 2013
An SEO expert advocates better indexing in the recent article “Top 5 Arguments For Implementing a Tag Management Solution” on Search Engine Watch. The article shares that because of increased functionality and matured capabilities of such systems, tag management is set for a “blowout year” in 2013.
Citing such reasons as ease of modifying tags and cost reduction, it is easy to see how businesses will begin to adopt these systems if they haven’t already. I found the point on code portability and becoming vendor agnostic most appealing:
“As the analytics industry matures, many of us are faced with sharing information between different systems, which can be a huge challenge with respect to back-end integrations. Tag management effectively bridges the gap between several front-end tagging methodologies that can be used to leverage existing development work and easily port information from one script or beacon to another.”
I think this is a very interesting concept and I love the notion of governance as a way to improve indexing. I am reminded of the original method from the days of the library at Ephesus. Next month, the same author will tackle the most common arguments against implementing a tag management system. We will keep an eye out.
Andrea Hayden, March 18, 2013
March 8, 2013
We had a report of Lucid Imagination and LucidWorks links on an index page not resolving on an index page. If you are looking for these interviews, here’s a snapshot of the interviews we have conducted since 2009 with LucidWorks’ professionals.
LucidWorks, March 4, 2013
LucidWorks, January 29, 2013
LucidWorks, April 16, 2012
LucidWorks, December 21, 2010
Lucid Imagination, March 17, 2009
Remember. LucidWorks is the new name for Lucid Imagination.
Tony Safina, March 8, 2013
March 7, 2013
Oracle’s support of locally partitioned indexes has created a need for users to be able to split those indexes and rebuild them in a timely manner. How do you rebuild an index without making your application unavailable for the entire time?
Prsync’s look into the maintenance disadvantages and subsequent problem solving by Oracle in “Partition Maintenance and Oracle Text Indexes” gives us a look at something new; a “Without Validation” and “Split Partition” features. These options offer a way to rebuild indexes without checking each line-by-line first.
“That solves the problem, but it’s rather heavy-handed. So instead we need to institute some kind of “change management”. There are doubtless several ways to achieve this, but I’ve done it by creating triggers which monitor any updates or inserts on the base table, and copy them to a temporary “staging” table. These transactions can then be copied back to the main table after the partition split or merge is complete, and the index sync’d in the normal way.”
So now that there is a solution, but, by avoiding the need for a system to check every partition key value to make sure the row is going to the correct partition, there is need for extra care when using the without validation feature.
It’s a long needed saving grace that will save time and ultimately money by getting apps back up and running in a more efficient manner but there is no substitute for attention to detail. For a more in-depth look at the process we suggest heading over to prsync.
Leslie Radcliff, March 07, 2013
February 6, 2013
A reader sent me a link to “Manipulating Google Scholar Citations and Google Scholar Metrics: Simple, Easy, and Tempting.” I am not sure how easy and tempting the process of getting a fake scholarly paper into the Google index is, but the information provided is food for thought. Worth a look, particularly if you are a fan of traditional methods for building a corpus and delivering on point results which the researcher can trust. The notion of “ethics” is an interesting additional to a paper which focuses on fake or misleading research.
Stephen E Arnold, February 7, 2013
January 28, 2013
Zdnet’s recent article focusing on listing, “The 10 Oldest Significant Open Source Programs,” still in popular usage today becomes redundant and neglects to mention other, more relevant projects. Open source software and freeware projects have been influencing software development since the early days of computers.
According to the article:
“Both concepts were actually used long before proprietary software showed up. As Richard M. Stallman, (rms) free software’s founder noted, ‘When I started working at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab in 1971, I became part of a software-sharing community that had existed for many years. Sharing of software was not limited to our particular community; it is as old as computers [...]‘”
Linux has certainly had incredible success as the foundation for the internet and the most ported operating system in the world, running on everything from Android devices to super computers. Python has also proven its impact by becoming the fastest growing open source programming language.
While the article goes on to list several other programming languages and another operating system, I cannot help but notice the lack of open source search engine and indexing software. Lucene and Solr have been around since 1999 and 2004, respectively. These projects merged in March 2010, and have just received a robust update. Not only are these programs currently still in use, but they are making strides towards solving the search problems that plague big enterprise.
Michael Cole, January 28, 2013
November 29, 2012
An impressive showing in second seed round funding–$2.5 million to be exact–was reported by open source file sync and share software company OwnCloud Inc. According to the TechCrunch article titled, “On-Premise Cloud Storage/Sharing Startup, OwnCloud, Closes $2.5M Second Seed Round, Led By General Catalyst Partners,” the round was led by investor General Catalyst Partners as well as new investors.
The Boston-based startup plans to use the money for continued expansion in its enterprise and education customer base as well as support service providers. The article shares:
“‘We’ve been excited about ownCloud since its infancy, and after watching everything they’ve accomplished in a very short time, it validated our belief that they’d developed an exceptional team with an exceptional product,’ said [General Catalyst Managing Director] Bohn in a statement. ‘There’s no one in this increasingly crowded market that can do the things ownCloud does – integrate closely with existing IT, innovate at lightning speed and offer choice of storage locations. With those capabilities already in place differentiating it from the competition, we’re confident that ownCloud will succeed.’”
Serving specific industries and sectors is a great niche for companies concentrating on transformation from storage to deployment. Trusting a solution such as Intrafind, based upon well-formed technology to deploy enterprise solutions that fit the organization, may be a wiser choice in some sectors such as finance and pharmaceuticals.
Andrea Hayden, November 29, 2012 |
CIUDAD DEL CARMEN, MEXICO — Mexico`s deepening economic crisis has increased the nation`s already heavy dependence on oil exports.
As a result, the state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) has been under heavy pressure to keep up its production level of 2.8 million barrels a day.
Workers on the PEMEX rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, about 90 miles off the coast, work 12-hour days for two weeks, then have two weeks off. The average platform employee earns between $330 and $660 for that two-week shift. The salary is a good one for Mexico, where the minimum wage is only $3.60 a day.
Many of the functions of the rigs are totally automatic. In fact, one of the giant refining platforms operates during nighttime hours with a crew of just 10 people.
But the low staffing levels worry some workers. An engineer who asked not to be identified by name complained that one mechanic was responsible for all of the maintenance on the rig where he worked. ``This is a dangerous situation,`` he said.
In fact, PEMEX has had a number of serious accidents in the last few months, and investigations are under way to determine the causes. One Western oil expert in Mexico said PEMEX, in an effort to maximize profits, had cut back on preventive maintenance. He suggested that a major accident could occur at any moment. |
Cicero resident Loretta Bolociuch was grocery shopping the other day and had employees double-bag her groceries, first in paper and then in plastic. The plastic bags she reuses for garbage and the paper bags for leaves.
Sounds like a no-eco-guilt strategy.
Actually, she had intended to put her groceries in a reusable shopping bag, but she accidentally left it in the car.
"I forgot to bring it in," she said. "I've decided I should move it to the front seat."
Reusable cloth bags are being marketed as a third option in the "paper or plastic" debate at the checkout line, with retailers ranging from Jewel-Osco to Trader Joe's to Hermes offering versions for sale.
They are being sold as both a practical alternative and a chic fashion statement at a time when eco-consciousness is hip.
But will consumers buy, and buy into, the concept of trudging into stores with their own bags, or will they stick with petroleum-based plastic sacks and deal with the eco-guilt? Pet lovers face an extra quandary: If they spurn plastic bags at checkout, how will they clean up after their dogs and cats?
In a random survey of 10 shoppers outside a North Riverside Jewel last week, nearly all said they gave enough thought to recycling that they reused their plastic grocery bags, thus alleviating their guilt for contributing to landfills. Just one shopper admitted throwing away her plastic bags.
Several shoppers had invested in reusable shopping bags or said they would consider such a purchase.
Waiting for his wife in the parking lot, Broadview resident Horace McGrier Jr. said he alternates between using the cloth bags he keeps in his trunk and asking for paper and plastic, for which he finds uses at home.
The downside of bringing your own bags? Running out of room in them.
Shoppers never leave a store with "as [little] as you expected to" buy, McGrier said.
The sale of reusable bags comes at a time when consumers may drive gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles, but they are buying energy-efficient light bulbs. So even if it is not a popular item within a store, offering a reusable bag is a smart move because merchants will be seen as socially responsible, said Los Angeles-based marketing consultant Eli Portnoy.
But what marketers may find is the bag that a consumer will carry most often is the one with the "right" brand name, making the owner an eco-aware fashionista, he said.
"Here is this practical, environmentally oriented object that gets branded, and then people buy into the concept and make a decision about what bag they carry based on their emotional connection to it," Portnoy said. "[They'll ask,] is it chic enough?"
But for some consumers, a bag is a bag.
A year ago, upon the suggestion of a friend, Kim Smrt dug out a bunch of cloth bags she had accumulated from different events and tossed them in the trunk of her car. Now when she goes grocery shopping, the assorted bags with go with her.
But on a recent trip to Trader Joe's, the Brookfield resident found herself eyeing a brightly colored reusable bag with the store name on it that sells for $1.99 and was frequently sold out in area stores this summer.
Reusable bags "are a collectible thing right now," Smrt said. "I looked at their bag and I thought, 'That's cute,' but what do I need it for. I'm not hoping to make a fashion statement."
But bagmakers think the environmental movement is just at the point where people want to make such a statement.
This summer, Hermes and Stella McCartney introduced bags selling for $960 and $495, respectively. And in New York, hundreds of people waited in line outside Whole Foods stores to spend $15 on a canvas bag from British designer Anya Hindmarch that was emblazoned with the words "I'm not a plastic bag."
The Progressive Bag Alliance, a trade group of bag manufacturers, says plastic is chosen nine times out of 10 at the grocery store, and it is working with retailers to broaden recycling efforts. However, bagmakers and the supermarket industry oppose efforts to do away with traditional plastic bags because they are cheaper to produce and transport than paper bags.
The American Chemistry Council says 92 percent of consumers reuse their bags. Still, according to environmental research group Worldwatch Institute, U.S. consumers throw away 100 billion plastic bags annually.
Chicago resident Angel Musker stopped bringing her own bags to stores once she started having children. But when she saw the new $1 bags at Jewel a few weeks ago, she bought three of them. The first time she used them, she used self-checkout and found them easy to pack. On a subsequent trip to the store, when employees bagged her groceries, she still came home with five to six plastic bags.
The baggers "did as good as they could, and then they started using plastic," she said. "I was toying with the idea of self-checking because I know I'd fill them more than they did." |
Three Ventura County campuses have been designated as Blue Ribbon Schools, one of public education's top awards.
Colina Middle School and Thousand Oaks High School in the Conejo Valley Unified School District and Chaparral Middle School in the Moorpark Unified School District are among 30 California middle and high schools to win the national Blue Ribbon award for 2001-2002.
"It means a tremendous amount to us," said Margaret Saleh, assistant principal in Colina.
Nationwide, 172 secondary schools were named Blue Ribbon Schools. They will be honored at a ceremony in Washington this fall.
Winning schools are chosen by the U.S. Department of Education after an extensive application process, and elementary and secondary schools are recognized in alternating years. |
Bombardier has begun assembly of the CSeries aircraft’s first flight test vehicle (FTV1) at its Mirabel, Québec facility.
Static testing of fuselage and wing. Courtesy, Bombardier Bombardier has begun assembly of the CSeries aircraft’s first flight test vehicle (FTV1) at its Mirabel, Québec facility (ATW Daily News, Sept. 28). According to a Bombardier statement, the cockpit and all fuselage sections have arrived and the first wings for the all-new CSeries aircraft are now being mated to the test airframe that will be used during the Complete Airframe Static Test (CAST). Testing is ...
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Allen’s Hummingbirds in Town
by Aleta George on January 01, 2008
Starting in February in coastal areas, keep an eye out for a change in your local hummingbirds. Our resident Anna’s will be sharing the stage with the Allen’s flying in from Mexico and Southern California. Who needs Cirque du Soleil when you can watch the springtime aerial displays of the male Allen’s hummingbird? After these three-inch-long birds migrate to their breeding range in coastal California and southern Oregon, they find prime feeding territories and defend them aggressively. Wildlife biologist and Santa Cruz Bird Club leader David Suddjian says the male swoops through the air in great pendulous swings, shaking his tail feathers at the apex of each swing to show his colors. For a finale, he climbs 100 feet, only to turn and dive-bomb toward the ground, the air whistling through his feathers with the sound of a passing bullet. At the conclusion of the show, he flashes his coppery-orange gorget (throat) feathers for the audience of the display, which, oddly enough, is often another male. The males hang out in the open posturing for one another, while the females watch from the sidelines, emerging only to copulate before returning to the trees.
One good place to watch the Allen’s in action is at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum. Most of the hummers you see at the arboretum from February to late spring are Allen’s. The slightly larger Anna’s breed in late December and January. “When the Allen’s leave, our year-round resident Anna’s come back out just like the locals return to the boardwalk after all the tourists leave,” says Todd Newberry, author with Gene Holtan of The Ardent Birder and a popular docent at the arboretum.
Allen’s are found throughout Bay Area coastal locales, including in Golden Gate Park at the San Francisco Botanical Garden. Join Allan Ridley and Helen McKenna on their bird walks the first Sunday of each month at 8 a.m.; meet at the main gate near the bookstore.
To see the Allen’s at the Santa Cruz arboretum, go on your own or join the organized plant and bird tours on Hummingbird Day, Saturday, March 8, 2008. Go to the UCSC Arboretum website for more information. |
H.R.3676 - Prohibiting In-Flight Voice Communications on Mobile Wireless Devices Act of 2013113th Congress (2013-2014)
Text: H.R.3676 — 113th Congress (2013-2014)
There is one version of the bill.
Introduced in House (12/09/2013)
Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this legislative text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF or HTML/XML.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Printing Office] [H.R. 3676 Introduced in House (IH)] 113th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 3676 To establish a prohibition on certain cell phone voice communications during passenger flights, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 9, 2013 Mr. Shuster introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To establish a prohibition on certain cell phone voice communications during passenger flights, and for other purposes. 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 ``Prohibiting In-Flight Voice Communications on Mobile Wireless Devices Act of 2013''. SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN CELL PHONE VOICE COMMUNICATIONS. (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 417 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Sec. 41725. Prohibition on certain cell phone voice communications ``(a) Prohibition.--The Secretary of Transportation shall issue regulations-- ``(1) to prohibit an individual on an aircraft from engaging in voice communications using a mobile communications device during a flight of that aircraft in scheduled passenger interstate or intrastate air transportation; and ``(2) that exempt from the prohibition described in paragraph (1) any-- ``(A) member of the flight crew on duty on an aircraft; ``(B) flight attendant on duty on an aircraft; and ``(C) Federal law enforcement officer acting in an official capacity. ``(b) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions apply: ``(1) Flight.--The term `flight' means, with respect to an aircraft, the period beginning when the aircraft takes off and ending when the aircraft lands. ``(2) Mobile communications device.-- ``(A) In general.--The term `mobile communications device' means any portable wireless telecommunications equipment utilized for the transmission or reception of voice data. ``(B) Limitation.--The term `mobile communications device' does not include a phone installed on an aircraft.''. (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 417 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 41724 the following: ``41725. Prohibition on certain cell phone voice communications.''. <all> |
While there might be an infinite amount of routes, patterns and possibilities, certain types of shots certainly seem to pop up more often than others. We asked BD columnist Mark Wilson if there are a few shots that you absolutely must have in your repertoire.
During your next practice session, take a few minutes to drill these two shots. You’ll be thankful, because they’ll pop up sooner rather than later.
Short Rail to Short Rail
This first shot is a common occurrence in 9-ball. As we see in Diagram 5, the 8 ball is down near the center of the short rail, while the 9 sits in the middle of the other short rail, forcing you to move the cue ball the full length of the table.
This calls for a two-cushion position shot, making sure that the cue ball travels through the center of the table. Why not one cushion, as it would seem to be the “simpler” solution? While one rail might work, you become much more vulnerable to error, because a slight mis-hit can end up scratching in the corner. Also, speed control is much more sensitive going one rail, because the cue all travels across the optimum position zone rather than parallel to it. (And just remember what Thorsten said about that.)
When the pros approach shots like this, they always try to minimize unforced errors and expand the margin for error. Depending on the shot, top spin or back spin (follow or draw) will be necessary in varied amounts, so you send the cue ball into the first rail at the correct angle that will send it through the center of the table and toward the long rail. (Remember: A that rolls through the center of the table from a rail can never end up in a pocket.) With this two-rail approach, your cue ball should bounce off the long rail heading directly into the position zone.
Once you master this exact shot, slightly change the position of the object balls and cue ball. Experiment with top and back spin, always aiming to send the cue ball through the center of the table.
Avoiding the Side Pocket
Check out the next shot that spells trouble for a lot of players, shown in Diagram 6. This is a tricky position play that is common in both 8-ball and 9-ball. You’re facing a 45-degree cut shot on the 1 ball, and you need to go across the width of the table to get straight-in on the 2 ball.
When you send the cue ball across the table on this type of cut shot, the side pocket becomes very dangerous. Any small mis-hit or slight inaccuracy in pocketing the 1 ball can leave your cue ball headed for a scratch in the side. If that’s not hard enough, we’re focused on leaving the cue ball on the left side of the side pocket (the blue zone). This is a common position shot that, although troublesome, must be rehearsed until you reach a certain level of comfort and confidence.
Try to avoid using side spin, which might be your first inclination. Rather, learn to use varying amounts of top and back spin reduce the number of variables involved with this shot. It will also increase your consistency from table to table. With practice, you’ll develop a feel for pocketing the 1 and sending the cue ball toward the position zone.
Since 1978, Billiards Digest magazine has been the pool world’s best source for news, tournament coverage, player profiles, bold editorials, and advice on how to play pool. Our instructors include superstars Nick Varner and Jeanette Lee. Every issue features the pool accessories and equipment you love — pool cues, pool tables, instruction aids and more. Columnists Mike Shamos and R.A. Dyer examine legends like Willie Mosconi and Minnesota Fats, and dig deep into the histories of pool games like 8-ball, 9-ball and straight pool. |
[Image: Caver Chris Nicola looks at markings left in Priest's Grotto; National Geographic Adventure/Peter Lane Taylor].
"In the spring of 1944," we read, "a group of 38 Ukrainian Jews emerged weak and jaundiced from a cave they'd used for nearly a year to escape the horrors of the Holocaust."
Caver Chris Nicola rediscovered this story 13 years ago, after exploring Ukraine's Gypsum Giant cave systems. "While there, during an expedition into the tenth longest cave in the world, his team came across two partially intact stone walls and other signs of habitation." Learning about the Jewish families who had used these caves for survival, "Nicola grew determined to learn how people with no prior caving experience or specialized equipment were able to live in such a hostile environment for so long."
So Nicola returned with a photographer, Peter Lane Taylor, and he learned more of the story.
The Holocaust refugees' "first stop was Verteba, a well-known tourist cave where the families spent their first six months. There, the Jews struggled to find enough water and suffered from the toxic buildup of smoke from their cooking fire. Then on May 5, 1943, after narrowly avoiding capture at the hands of the Gestapo, the families relocated to a previously unexplored cave located beneath land owned by a local parish priest. It was called Popowa Yama, or Priest's Grotto, and it would be the Jews' refuge from the Holocaust for the next 344 days."
They lived without sun for more than a year.
"At the surface, Priest's Grotto is little more than a weedy hole in the ground amid the endless wheat fields stretching across western Ukraine. A short distance away, a low stand of hardwoods withers in the heat and is the only sign of cover for miles around." Here, "there's nothing to indicate that one of the longest horizontal labyrinths in the world lies just underfoot."
The story is almost unbelievable. For instance, "one of the survivors, only four years old at the time, said she remembers playing with a bright, shining crystal in the cave. One of the largest crystals in the world is close to their campsite inside Priest's Grotto, and chunks of it will sometimes fall to the ground. When we saw the crystal, we realized that that was where she used to play."
Or: "They had few candles, so light was limited to three short periods each day. After enough time spent wandering in the dark, they memorized the feel of the cave floor on their bare feet. It was like directions in braille."
The inside of the earth, lined with language. |
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - View original article
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Jan Michael Joncas (born December 21st 1951) is a priest, liturgical theologian, and composer of contemporary Catholic music. Joncas's most popular song is "On Eagle's Wings." He received an MA in liturgy from the University of Notre Dame in 1978 and went on to study at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute in Rome. He was ordained in 1980, and teaches at the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, Minnesota), at the University of Notre Dame, and summer courses at the Saint John's School of Theology - Seminary (Collegeville, Minnesota).
Michael Joncas's compositions are representative of the more popular style of music that has appeared in American Catholic parishes in the wake of the Second Vatican Council.
Fr. Joncas has stated that his preference for the title would be "On Eagle's Wings," indicating that the wings belong to a single eagle which is metaphorically related to God, but he said he could make an argument for "On Eagles' Wings," indicating that wings belong to many eagles, since there would be many eagles needed to lift up the multiple people in covenant with God.
"Singing In the Light" is a rare private press folk album highly sought after by collectors.
Michael Joncas is one of many musicians who compose contemporary Catholic liturgical music. This music has enjoyed widespread success throughout the English speaking world.
On Eagle's Wings was played at many of the 9/11 memorial services, and was sung by a former Miss America at the memorial service for the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building bombing. It was also widely heard when Michael Crawford chose it as the theme for one of his most recognized concerts that was later broadcast on television and sold as tapes and CDs. |
The announcement, closely stage-managed throughout the day, filled in crucial blanks in the administration's financial rescue package and formed what President Barack Obama called "one more critical element in our recovery."
The coordinated effort by the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. relies on a mix of government and private money -- mostly from institutional investors such as hedge funds -- to help banks rid their balance sheets of real-estate related securities that are now extremely difficult to value.
The goal, said Obama, is to get banks lending again, so "families can get basic consumer loans, auto loans, student loans, (and so) that small businesses are able to finance themselves, and we can start getting this economy moving again."
It was a huge gambit and one that came like a tonic to Wall Street, which had panned an earlier outline of the program that lacked detail.
Stocks soared, the Dow Jones industrial average shooting up nearly 500 points, thanks to the bank-assets plan and a report showing an unexpected jump in home sales.
The introduction of the plan was closely choreographed so that the president -- rather than Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner -- would be the first administration official to appear on camera at midday to discuss it. Geithner met earlier in the day, before markets opened, with a group of reporters at the Treasury Department to go over specifics. But cameras and broadcast-quality audio recorders were barred.
It was the reverse of what happened Feb. 10. Then, after Obama had helped raise expectations toward Geithner and the plan, the treasury secretary went before cameras and bombed. The Dow plunged about 300 points amid investor confusion about details.
The fleshed-out plan is designed to help fix a value on damaged mortgage loans and other toxic securities.
If the value of the securities goes up, the private investors and taxpayers would share in the gains. If the values go down, the government and private investors would incur losses.
"This will help banks clean up their balance sheets and make it easier for them to raise capital," Geithner said.
The plan will take $75 billion to $100 billion from the government's existing $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. The government will pair this with private investments and loans from the FDIC and the Fed to generate $500 billion in purchasing power.
Geithner said purchases eventually could grow to $1 trillion -- roughly half of the estimated $2 trillion of toxic assets on bank books now.
On the hot seat, Geithner has a lot personally tied to the success of the new program. His performance in the Cabinet, including his slowness in learning about multimillion dollar executive bonuses paid by insurance giant AIG after taking bailout money, has been severely criticized by some in Congress.
Geithner testifies on Tuesday before the House Financial Services Committee.
Under a typical transaction, for every $100 in soured mortgages being purchased from banks, the private sector would put up $7 and that would be matched by $7 from the government. The remaining $86 would be covered by a government loan.
The plan was introduced ahead of a summit next week in London of 20 major and developing economies struggling with the global recession.
Obama is trying to get other wealthy countries to do more to stimulate their economies with government spending, as the United States has done. However, other countries, particularly ones in Europe, are resisting U.S. calls for more stimulus and would prefer to see more internationally coordinated bank regulation. |
On August 30, Amnesty International and other human rights groups around the world will observe the International Day of the Disappeared. We’ll be pressing governments to disclose the status of the disappeared and to prosecute those responsible for enforced disappearances. Here’s how you can join us:
- Ask the government of Chad to reveal the whereabouts of opposition leader Dr. Ibni O.M. Saleh, abducted from his home by the security forces on Feb. 3, 2006.
- In China, help us determine the fate of the human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who was detained by the authorities in Feb. 2009 and has subsequently disappeared.
- Demand that the government in Nepal disclose the location of Sanjiv Kumar Karna, who was picnicking with friends when he was arrested by the security forces on Oct. 8, 2003.
- Hold the government of North Korea to account for the 50,000 detainees held in Yodok prison camp, most without charge or trial or any access to relatives.
- In Sri Lanka, demand that the government investigate the fate of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, who went missing shortly after leaving work on Jan. 24, 2010.
These people haven’t really “disappeared” – their governments know what happened to them. The governments just don’t want to tell the rest of us, including their families. And every day that goes by, their families continue to suffer the agony of not knowing the fate of their loved ones. Help us end the suffering of their families and get justice for the disappeared. Write today! |
The EDGE of Existence programme is an initiative of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) whose aim is to profile the top 100 most evolutionarily distinct and endangered species of each taxonomic class, including toads that give birth through their skin and mammals that are immune to cyanide, among many other weird and wonderful creatures. Each species is given a rank depending on its unique characteristics and how endangered it is on a global scale. This rank then determines how much the conservation of the species should be prioritised compared with others in its taxonomic class.
Until now, only the world’s most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) mammals, amphibians and corals had been highlighted, and today the top 100 birds have been announced after an extensive collaborative study between Yale University, Imperial College London, Sheffield University, University College London, Simon Fraser University and the University of Tasmania. Carly Waterman, EDGE Programme Manager at ZSL, says, “Half of the 100 highest-ranked EDGE bird species are receiving little or no conservation attention. We lament the extinction of the dodo, but without action we stand to lose one of its closest relatives, the tooth-billed pigeon or ‘little dodo’, and many other extraordinary birds.”
Carly Waterman went on to say, “The release of the EDGE birds list enables us to prioritise our conservation efforts in the face of a mounting list of endangered species. These one-of-a-kind birds illustrate the incredible diversity that exists in our natural world.” There are 9,993 bird species known to science which represent millions of years of evolution, resulting in the numerous anatomical, physiological and morphological adaptations of birds that are not seen in any other taxonomic class. Many species highlighted in the EDGE lists do not have close relatives and have been evolving independently for millions of years.
Many species on the EDGE lists have been previously overlooked by conservation projects, and the scoring system identifies their importance and how much of a loss to the world their extinction would be. Professor Walter Jetz from Yale University and Imperial College London, lead author of the paper identifying the EDGE birds in the journal Current Biology, said, “By identifying these top 100 species, we can now focus our efforts on targeted conservation action and better monitoring to help ensure that they are still here for future generations to come. As we show, conservation priorities can be adjusted to better conserve the avian tree of life and the many important functions it provides.” EDGE is continuing research on other taxa to build on its database and highlight priority species as well as the urgent need for their conservation.
See the EDGE top 100 bird species
Find out more about the EDGE project
Discover more bird species on ARKive
Hannah Mulvany, ARKive Content and Outreach Officer |
Kimberly Rae is a best selling author, blogger and world traveler. She blogs about a variety of topics but one that is close to her heart is human trafficking. She was kind enough to blog about my letter to Victoria’s Secret and I am happy to have her as the first guest author on this blog. If you would like to be a guest contributor, click here for more info.
Below is her guest post; be sure to check out her site- www.kimberlyrae.com
The Problem of Human Trafficking is Too Big-Why Bother Trying to Help?
A 15-year-old girl and her 14-year-old cousin got permission to walk down to a local Wendy’s late one night to get a couple of Frosties. While they were walking, a car drove up, and by the end of that night, these two girls had become just a tiny, tiny addition to the thousands of minors trafficked in the United States of the America, the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”
Now those two girls have been rescued and are home again. The older girl tells her story in a video on the website www.truckersagainsttrafficking.com, a video that will hopefully be part of required training for men joining the trucking industry in the future.
Why? Because things will never change unless people care enough to act. I think many of us look at the huge statistics and decide, why bother? There are 20 million slaves in the world today. It’s a problem too big, one person can never make a dent in it.
That’s true to an extent. Each of us on our own are pretty powerless to change the huge statistics. None of us can expect to do the impossible.
However . . . we can make a difference in one life. It may not seem much, but if that one person was your daughter, or your friend, or yourself, wouldn’t you want someone to “bother”–to put forth the effort to make a difference even if they couldn’t save everybody?
I would. As I place myself in those young girls’ shoes, being forced to sell myself to strangers, staying because of threats against my family or my own life, I know I would desperately want to escape but likely not have the courage. Or the resources.
But if someone came along, someone who didn’t just look through me but really saw me, if they cared enough to ask one or two important questions, then make just one phone call–a call that would deliver me and give me back a future, I would reach out for the freedom offered me. I would grasp hold of the possibility of a future and a hope.
Isn’t that, after all, what Jesus gives us? (Jer. 29:11)
And wouldn’t He rejoice to see us doing that for others?
That’s what happened recently when those girls who’d been trapped for 10 years in a home in Cleveland were rescued. All across our country, girls (and some boys too) are being taken, trapped, and forced to sell themselves against their will. A major part of this happens within the trucking industry. Girls are taken to truck stops, where they are forced to go from truck to truck, offering their “company.” They even have a name. Lot lizards.
But things are changing. Thanks to Truckers Against Trafficking, men are finding out that many of the girls they see do not want to be there, no matter how they pretend. Truckers are making phone calls to the human trafficking hotline—1-888-373-7888—and girls are being rescued.
One man called in his suspicions and, without endangering himself, caused the rescue of 9 young girls and broke down a 13-state trafficking ring. Just one person! Just one phone call.
Helen Keller once said,
“I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
I will not refuse to do the something I can do.”
If this can be said and lived by a woman who could not hear or see, shouldn’t we be inspired that we can do our part, too?
So let’s stop looking at the massive need, the big statistics, or our own limitations. Instead, let’s become aware, and be ready to respond if God places someone before who is in need. Our actions and reactions may make all the difference in the world to someone who right now is trapped, and desperately wants to be free.
Go with God,
go for God,
go because God goes with you.
For of Him, and to Him, and through Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
Kimberly Rae has lived in Bangladesh, Uganda, Kosovo and Indonesia. Her Christian suspense/romance novels on international human trafficking (Stolen Woman, Stolen Child, Stolen Future) are all Amazon bestsellers. Rae is currently working on a new series on trafficking for teens. Find out more at www.kimberlyrae.com or like Kimberly’s facebook page, Human Trafficking Stolen Woman, to get updates on the fight against human trafficking.
Rev. Evan M. Dolive is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He currently serves in Houston, Texas. He also contributes to Good Men Project, Radical Parents and Sojourners. For more information about Evan visit www.evandolive.com/about |
Whether sitting at a traffic light, stuck in gridlock or zooming along the freeway, commuters’ eyes are often caught by what is displayed on other vehicles. Sometimes it’s a decal demonstrating parental pride for a child’s achievement, a custom plate for dog lovers or a decal displaying a witty aphorism.
Other times bumper stickers can exhibit more divine intimations.
Writing on the sociology of religion, author Phil Zuckerman said, “Whenever I drive anywhere, I can’t help but notice the plethora of bumper stickers telling me about Jesus’ love or God’s blessings.”
As much as individuals are prone to mark their cars, trucks, vans or SUVs with stickers supporting the local sports team, they are just as likely to proclaim their religious preference by proudly placing a decal on the their back bumper.
Unpacking why drivers choose to express their spiritual proclivity reveals less about individual religions as much as the shared human need for group affinity and to mark one’s territory.
Regardless of religion, “there is an overwhelming desire in each of us to establish and affirm core values and express individual or group identity,” said Sharon Ruth Hill, a blogger with Helium.
“It is also about personal space or territory and the car itself perceived as the very epicenter, even extension, of this imagined but definitive territory,” she said.
Drivers who attach a sticker or decal to their vehicle are making a commitement (have you ever tried to pry off one of those faux-metal decals before?). Furthermore, they are making a public statement that thousands, if not more, will see everyday.
Those who choose to show their religious bias on a vehicle are those with the strongest “brand affinity.”
Consider the not-explicilty-religious vehicle decal phenomena of the white Apple stickers. Those who place such stickers on their cars, typically in the lower corner of the rear window, are telling others that they are loyal to the Apple brand. Simultaneously, they are looking for group identity, an ability to say “I am with you fellow Apple-ites, we purchase the same products and are loyal together…see you in line next Tuesday.”
This creates a social cohesion with others on the road or in the parking lot without ever having personal interaction.
The “brand” becomes the point of commonality, the sticker the point of contact, between two otherwise dissociated individuals.
For drivers who do not agree with an individual’s stance or brand affinity the core sociological need for identity marking still emerges.
Exploring symbolic interaction theory, Karen Sternheimer of the University of Southern California said, “we create a sense of self in part via the reactions of others.”
When someone disagrees with our stance, or as we try to encourage others to share our particular religious point-of-view via a bumper sticker, we are in fact incorporating the reaction of others into our own self-identification.
Whether the bumper sticker elicits admiration or ire, “your” reaction to “my” bumper sticker helps “me” define who “I” am.
It seems that even in a fairly anonymous scenario such as driving down the freeway every one of us wants to be known, and sometimes the best way to be known is to be associated with some group, some brand or in this case, some religion.
Consider also that automobiles are an extension of personal territory.
Citing research from the Journal of Applied Sociology Shankar Vendantam wrote for the Washington Post:
Drivers who individualize their cars using bumper stickers, window decals and personalized license plates, the researchers hypothesized, see their cars in the same way as they see their homes and bedrooms — as deeply personal space, or primary territory.
For thousands of years humans have felt the shared need to mark the boundaries of their territory, particularly in opposition to others. With fences, personal decorations and other markers humans today continue to trademark their territory so that others know what is theirs and how they identify their own.
Like a teenager’s bedroom, the vehicles we drive become a place for us to arrange our identity and mark off the boundaries of our dominion.
The point to which our car is an extension of personal space is displayed in the research done by William Szlemko of Colorado State who concluded that the more markers a car has, the more aggressive that person is on the road.
The more our identity is wrapped up in our religious affinity the more likely we are to put a bumper sticker displaying our spirituality on our vehicle. By extension, the more likely we are to do that, the more likely we are to be aggressive in defending our territory, whether that is our vehicle or our religion.
Hence why so many bumper stickers and decals are apologetic or evangelistic in nature. Not only do we want others to see what religion we prefer (and mark our territory), but we want others to join our camp or at least be sympathetic with our views (expand our territory).
Perhaps you have a religious bumper sticker on your car, are going to purchase the newly approved Christian license plates offered in Texas or find yourself staring at myriad bumper stickers everyday on the open (more likely congested) road, whatever your interest, know that religious predisposition does not matter as much as sociological inclination.
The desire to smack that “In case of rapture, car is yours” sticker on your tailgate is less about a belief in pre-millennialism and, oddly enough, more about a collective human need to be known. |
When most folks think of DE streaming, naturally they think of our expansive library of video titles. Not everyone knows that we have some excellent non-video resources as well. Today, we’ll show you an easy way to highlight and browse for these resources.
If you read last Monday’s blog post, you’re already familiar with how to use Advanced Search, and how to do a “blank search”. Guess what? Blank searches work on the main page as well, and are a perfect way to locate our other resources. Simply click in the Search box. This will cause another box to show, with 2 drop down menus. Click the Media drop down, and choose “Audio”, then click the Search button. They will bring up our library of audiobooks and recorded speeches. You can repeat these steps for any media type. Clip Art, Songs, Sound Effects, anything you like!
If you decide you want to focus on a particular subject, then feel free to add a keyword. For example, you could choose Audio from the Media drop down, then type the keyword “Kennedy” into the search. Voila! All of DE’s Kennedy speeches and debates, right there in front of you!
Searching by Media is a great way to utilize Discovery Education content you may not have known you had access to! |
Seattle, WA – February 14, 2007 - Under a partnership between SmallTownPapers, Inc. and World Vital Records, Inc., one million exclusive newspaper pages from small towns across America are now available on the World Vital Records website. The newspapers, part of the SmallTownPapers collection, represent unique historical content which has never before been available on the Internet and is not available from any other source.
“While it’s easy to find old articles from larger, daily newspapers which are readily available online, it’s a challenge when you trace family roots to a small town because those newspapers weren't necessarily microfilmed or placed in the local library,” said Adam Deason, a genealogy buff in Murray, Utah with family roots in a small Alabama town. “Having the newspapers easily accessible and searchable on the World Vital Records website will dramatically enhance my ability to document family history.”
Today, one million pages from small market, weekly newspapers across the country dating back as far as the mid-1800s are accessible through World Vital Records with that number growing weekly. Just as Google, Microsoft and others are beginning to scan books; SmallTownPapers is digitizing the complete archive of more than 300 newspapers from small towns across America, including the current printed weekly editions.
“We selected World Vital Records to distribute our collection of small-town newspapers because of their commitment to the millions of people who want to research their family history,” said Paul Jeffko, president and founder of SmallTownPapers, Inc. “World Vital Records is delivering on their mission to help people discover their ancestors with an incredible collection of exclusive materials, including SmallTownPapers.”
America has seen a surge in the demand for online genealogy resources. Market Strategies, Inc. found in 2005 that 73% of Americans are interested in discovering their family history. Last year, Pew Internet and American Life Project found that over 35 million Americans are interested in online genealogy research.
“SmallTownPapers is filling family historians’ needs for historical as well as vital record data from newspapers that otherwise might never be accessed,” said Leland K. Meitzler, genealogist and Managing Editor of Everton’s Genealogical Helper. “I did search my own name and was amazed to discover an item from an early 1970s Eatonville (Washington) Dispatch, complete with a picture, about a nursery business I operated when I was a kid. I had no idea the article was ever run. All of us have family members in small towns of America. This resource is amazing and shouldn’t be overlooked when searching your family history.”
SmallTownPapers works with hundreds of small market newspaper publishers to create this unique, searchable database rich in historical information needed by genealogists including births, marriages, obituaries and articles about family members. To date, the company has scanned more than two million of its more than 20 million page archive, which will be available online as the digital images are created. For more information visit www.smalltownpapers.com. |
This article explains how 10 easy CSS tips can help make your web development life easier when starting out on a new project. First tip (reminder) “Keep it simple” is probably the most important one – which is also referred to as “Less is more” at my office. The following tips are basically an outline of good design (thumb)rules that anyone should try to follow.
- Tech news
- Personal opinions |
The One Night Count of people who are homeless in our King County communities is just 3 days away. Nearly 1,000 volunteers will disperse across the county in the early pre-dawn hours this Friday, January 25. They will stay quiet, check their maps, and count every single person they see huddling under a blanket, staying in a tent, and sleeping in a car. Volunteer counters will bear witness to people’s ingenuity and desperation as they try to survive another cold winter night outside.
Later that morning, after each team’s results are compiled into our big spreadsheet, we will all feel sorrow and amazement at how many people we have counted. Whether the numbers are slightly up or slightly down, it is a near certainty that well over 2300 people will have spent the night outdoors. For many people, indignation and sadness will turn to inspiration and determination, as people who have volunteered to help with the Count resolve to take action, to make it a personal and public priority to bring down the numbers of people without shelter, and without housing.
The Coalition plays a unique role in organizing the One Night Count. We begin work with our partners in October, work that culminates in late January when more than 130 team captains gather their teams, pick up maps and flashlights and waterproof tally sheets, and head out into the cold night. This “street count” is the largest of several projects that the Coalition coordinates for the One Night Count. We also implement several special projects including: our Veteran’s Interview Project, a survey conducted the day after the street count to help us know more about veterans who lack basic shelter; special sleepovers for homeless youth and young adults; and our Bus Count of people who ride all night on buses, attempting to stay warm and safe. |
Far more than just a culinary delight, mushrooms are one of nature’s best defenses for boosting your immunity this winter. For more than 3,000 years, over a dozen varieties of the mighty fungus have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for varied purposes such as increasing immunity, strengthening the lungs and serving as a vital component of several forms of cancer therapy. If you’re looking to add some mycelium nutraceuticals to your cold and flu season arsenal, here are the top varieties to look for.
Agaricus Blazei Murrill Mushroom is an edible Brazilian mushroom with a low caloric content and high nutrient density. Agaricus, nicknamed “God’s Mushroom” due to its near-miraculous curative benefits for the afflicted, has been used for generations by people looking to combat chronic and acute allergies, stress, and chronic fatigue, as well as to treat a litany of diseases and disorders relating to the immune, cardiovascular and digestive systems.
Shiitake (for centuries referred to as the “Elixir of Life”) is rich in several anti-oxidants. Mainly known for their immune system support, the shiitake variety of mushroom contains lentinan, which helps strengthen the immune system so that it can better fight off disease and infection. According to the American Cancer Society, lentinan is believed to stop or slow tumor growth, too, though it notes that more clinical trials are needed to fully gauge the mushrooms’ effectiveness. The shiitake also contains a compound called D-Eritadenine (DEA), which has been known to lower cholesterol and support cardiovascular health.
Maitake, also known as “hen of the woods”, are a large species of mushroom native to Japan, North America and Europe. Often found growing in clumps around the base of oak trees, maitake can reach a weight of 50 pounds. Scientific studies show the extract of this highly prized edible mushroom to have potential benefits for stabilizing cholesterol and blood sugar levels, promoting healthy immune functions and aiding in cancer treatment and prevention.
Reishi are hailed in ancient Eastern medicine as the “mushroom of immortality” and the “medicine of kings”. The reishi more than lives up to its lofty reputation by helping boost the immune system, fight cancer, ward off heart disease, calm your nerves and relieve both allergies and inflammation.
Overall, mushrooms are a powerhouse of nutrition that contain a plethora of vitamins, minerals, iron, zinc, fiber and essential amino acids. Of course, there are thousands of different edible types of mushrooms out there, and even more that are poisonous, so unless you’re a seasoned mycologist (that’s geek speak for “mushroom expert”) you should always stick with supplements and store-bought varieties. This cold and flu season, let LuckyVitamin.com and the mighty mushroom serve as your first line of defense against germs and disease.
|Doctor’s Best – Best Agaricus blazei 400 mg. – 90 Vegetarian Capsules|
|Life Extension – Reishi Extract Mushroom Complex – 60 Vegetarian Capsules|
|Solaray – Maitake Mushroom 600 mg. – 100 Capsules| |
A winter afternoon with former letters editor Bill Pates reminded me why I love newspaper journalism, and already miss it so.
It’s not that newspapers are dead, or that news will disappear any time soon. Indeed, there are lots of new ventures and collaborative models popping up all around the country. Some are being financed by foundations, others are building content through crowdsourcing, and a few are partnering up with big-time news corporations and/or universities. Some believe the key to survival is to go nonprofit; others are pushing paid content. All of the efforts are valiant, and judging by what many of my students at SF State have to say on the future of journalism, I think the news business in very good hands.
Still, a new way of gathering and disseminating the news, whether on dead trees or Smartphones, won’t replace the most vital part of any newsroom: the people.
It’s that the people who gave their all to the newsroom are losing their jobs, either taking buyouts, being laid off, or simply walking away to re-invent themselves in new careers.
The people were what made a newspaper special. Think back to the old days of the Chronicle, the days of Herb Caen, Charles McCabe and Stanton Delaplane. They are among the many colorful characters who turned a bland paper into something extraordinary, something very much like the town they wrote about.
“The San Francisco Chronicle, until about the 1970s, was home to a number of good writers,” wrote Richard Rodriguez in a 2009 article for New America Media. “No one talks about that. We talk about newspapers, but newspapers are about something much more intimate, something more local, something more flavored that merely news.”
And while it’s true that many of these writers are no longer at the paper because they retired or have died, there are many bright stars (editors, photographers, reporters, copy editors and more) who have left the paper, not because they wanted to, but because they had to, either through buyouts or layoffs.
Of course, the SF Chronicle is not the only paper losing its talent. Just this year, more than a thousand layoffs or buyouts have been tracked by Paper Cuts. And yes, I realize reader habits are changing, as noted in this recent forecast of “daily print’s demise.” But the thing that bothers me is that there is very little attention to the actual people who are laid off or forced out. Instead, much of the banter around the future of journalism focuses on viable business models, leaner-but-meaner staff, smarter content, shorter pieces, and so on. Aside from some very informative blogs, it has been almost impossible to find in-depth stories about the people who left, and how they once contributed to the “Voice of the West.”
Mind you, SFGate has an excellent page offering the history of the Chronicle and stories about those who have died. But that page does not offer bios or profiles about the hundreds who have left the paper in the last few years.
And that is what makes me determined to do something about it. Working with documentary maker Marlo McKenzie, volunteer writers, and a small but growing platoon of journalism students, I am hoping to help readers get to know the people who were and are behind the bylines and sections at the Chronicle. Which brings me back to Bill Pates.
“It’s fun to go back sometimes and see recurring themes,” said Pates, who started working at the paper in 1964. Bill took a buyout in 2007. But a quick tour around his apartment will reveal a life-long newspaper man, or as he likes to call it, a “second-generation Chronicle lifer.” It is only when you see and hear Bill’s story that you might begin to understand, perhaps even a little, why newspapers will never be the same, and why I will miss them so.
I’ll be moderating a panel discussion about the pricey SF Panorama newspaper (just bought one for $16) tomorrow night, Tuesday, March 9 at SF State’s McKenna Theater. Come by and join in what should be a lively discussion with author Dave Eggers, Chronicle editor-at-large Phil Bronstein and Oscar Villalon, former Chronicle book editor.
Also, if you’d like to contribute your ideas and suggestions to the documentary, “Seeking the Truth,” please email me at firstname.lastname@example.org. |
An incredibly courageous anti-slavery protest action took place in Troy and Watervliet 150 years ago on April 27, 1860 when a crowd of black and white citizens executed the dramatic rescue of the captured fugitive slave, Charles Nalle. His capture was powered by the horrifying Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 that declared all runaway slaves be brought back to their masters. As a result all people of African descent were subject to being kidnapped and sold into slavery whether free or not. It was undoubtedly one of the darkest periods in American history.
Now another equally dark cloud hangs over this nation; we are faced with a similar law that threatens the constitutional rights and freedoms of millions of people because of their race or ethnicity. I am referring to Arizona’s new immigration law that allows police to demand proof of the legal residency of anyone they have lawful contact with and have “reasonable suspicion” that the person is in this country illegally.
The law is unconscionable, frightening, and unconstitutional. Among other things, it will subject millions to racial and ethnic profiling, deny them equal protection of the law, and in the process create a police state.
New York State Comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, rightly refers to the law as “wrongheaded and counterproductive.” If the law is allowed to stand it will not only harm millions of Arizonians, but lead to passage of similar laws in other states, change the role of our police departments, foster distrust among neighbors, and separate and destroy families and children.
We are a nation of immigrants and cannot allow this horrendous legislation to survive. Each of us who love freedom and justice must find the courage to strongly oppose this newest version of the Fugitive Slave Law as those before us did in Troy and Watervliet 150 years ago. |
The Republic of Ragusa
Trip Start Jun 08, 2010
79Trip End Aug 26, 2010
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The strength of the city was it's massive walls, which had survived the years intact. I bought a ticket and an audio tour and spent two hours walking the circuit around the top of the walls in the late afternoon. With little shade, and a hot Croatia, I wouldn't recommend it at noon, but it was pleasant enough in the early evening
Venice was never able to conquer it's rival, and a sizable annual tribute to the Ottoman Empire kept the city safe from land-based invasion. In the end, the Republic of Ragusa died of natural causes. A massive earthquake in 1667, with subsequent fire and looting, reduced the once mighty city to rubble. Although almost all of it was rebuilt or replaced, the city never regained it's place amongst the trading elite. It was eventually absorbed into the Austro-Hungarian Empire, after which it followed the usual East Coast Adriatic story of conquest by Napoleon, return to the Empire, incorporation in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, occupation by Italy in WWII, inclusion in Yugoslavia, then Croatian independence. It's current primary enterprise appeared to be tourism.
While the city escaped serious conflict for most of its existence, it was shelled by the Yugoslav Army with the help of Montenegrin militias in 1991, during Croatia's bid for independence. When I visited, just about all of the damage has been repaired. The only obvious sign tourists were guaranteed to see was a poster placed at the main gate marking in detail every spot that was damaged during the war
There were some photos of the war I saw in the Rector's Palace (Knežev Dvor) Museum. They were presented in black and white. I know black and white is supposed to be more dramatic, but it made me feel like I was looking at damage from WWII. If they were color, I believe they would have had more immediate impact as an event that had taken place in my lifetime, and was probably still living in the hearts and minds the town's adult residents.
Of course, the intent could have been to distance the events from the mind of the viewer. There was certainly no cloud of past wars hanging over the tourist-packed old town. The mood was particularly lively as tonight was the first night of Dubrovnik's summer festival. A fireworks spectacular had been planned for the old town harbor. There was also a meeting of European ministers and a giant cruise ship in port adding to the commotion.
Apart from the walls, Dubrovnik was dotted with little museums, monasteries, and of course all of it contained the original Renaissance architecture (or restored versions of it)
Although this ethic of adherence to older architectural forms was impressive, by and large, the result was fairly uniform, blocky buildings. Apart from the usual suspects, religious and civil buildings, there was not a lot of interesting architecture. Compared to Split, the walls were far more impressive, but the buildings within those walls, far less.
There were a few interesting church features I hadn't seen before. In the Franciscan Monastery (Franjevački Samostan) marble columns on the main altar twisted in a snake-like form, rather than taking the typical straight shape of columns in most Baroque altars. Another church, the Church of St Ignatius (Crkva sv Ignacija), had a grotto for one of the altars. The original was one of the oldest built in Europe, dating from 1885. In this grotto-type altar, a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes sat back in an area constructed to resemble a cave, but surrounded by flowers. Closer to the viewer, a woman knelt in veneration. |
14 February 2013
Unfortunately, overnight no new images have appeared of the Hatfield Stainforth landslide, so it is difficult to know whether the landslide has now stopped moving. The morphology of the landslide continues to suggest to me that this is a bearing capacity failure. I have taken a quick look at the excellent BGS Geology of Britain Viewer, which produces the following map (I have marked the approximate location of the colliery at which the landslide at occurred):
The map shows that underlying the location of the spoil tip is a layer of alluvium – basically soft sediments such as sands and gravels deposited by ancient rivers. These are comparatively weak materials, especially when wet. So, my hypothesis is that the weight of the spoil tip has caused the development of a failure through these materials, which has then generated a landslide with a rotational geometry. The sketch below is my suggested interpretation, with the spoil sitting over a layer of alluvium. The very wet weather over the last few months has led to a high groundwater level, which in turn has reduced the strength of the alluvium. This has then failed with the geometry shown in the upper sketch – the rotational landslide has then progressively moved to generate the geometry in the bottom sketch:
The good news is that this type of landslide is self-stabilising – eventually there is enough material uplifted to balance the load of the spoil, and movement terminates. However, from this it is not difficult to understand from this why it is a challenge to re-establish the railway line. If the uplifted material under the tracks is removed the spoil will not be in balance and the landslide will reactivate. So, to stabilise this slide either the spoil at the back of the displaced block will need to be removed or the strength along the shear surface will need to be increased. Neither are straightforward. Only when that is achieved can the material under the track bed be excavated.
Incidentally, back at the end of November I noted the following in relation to landslides in the UK:
So what next?
The heavy rainfall has now moved away, to be replaced by cold weather, so the immediate threat should start to subside. However, for some slopes the groundwater level will still be rising as the rainfall percolates through, so more landslides are possible. It is notable though that all of the above landslides are shallow – so far there is not much sign of the deep-seated landslide systems reactivating. This is almost certainly because groundwater levels were so low after the prolonged drought that ended in the early summer. These deep groundwater levels will now be rising, so don’t be at all surprised if there are reports of larger landslide movements over the next few months. Places such as Dorset and the Isle of Wight, where there are large coastal landslide systems, will be particularly vulnerable. Such landslides represent a comparatively low level of risk to life, but can cause extensive property damage. It will be an interesting winter.
Thus, it is not really surprising that we are now seeing deep-seated landslides developing. I expect that there will be more over the next two or three months. |
Recently I’ve had the experience of working with an F5 Networks Big IP 6800 load balancer, and been able to connect this with System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2012. The overall scenario here is automating datacenter and application management for a global enterprise. In this article I’ll share some of the steps needed to setup your load balancer for use with SCVMM 2012.
The steps I’m describing here were done with the SCVMM 2012 Release Candidate. SCVMM is bringing about one of the big changes in automated datacenter management which is this notion of managing the compute/network/storage fabric within the datacenter. With SCVMM you can fully automate Hyper-V host deployments, storage and network setup and other elements. Along with this, keeping with the Microsoft mantra that Its All About the Application!, we can define service templates which can fully automate service deployment and application management. There are so many great innovations in the System Center 2012 wave that I can’t stop thinking about the possibilities !
The first part of load balancer setup was fairly easy, I downloaded the F5 provider (see References below), and installed it. Setting up the load balancer in VMM is straight forward, it includes the IP address of the device, a RunAs account (provide the credentials to connect and manage the device), selecting the Host Groups and Logical Networks that can access the device, etc.
At the final page of the setup you can test the load balancer connection from SCVMM.
The other key to configuring your SCVMM environment is to set up IP address pools on one or more logical networks. In order to use a load balancer in a service template the VMs must have static TCPIP addressing. But rather than hard-coding addresses, it means the VMs will pull their addresses from a pool of addresses maintained on SCVMM. Think of this as a mini-DHCP environment only for VMs.
Your IP Address Pool consists of:
Then you’ll need a VIP Template. This consists of:
the template was simple in this case, just a 1-tier app layer with multiple web servers. In this case we had already deployed the SQL Server database for the application so it was not defined as part of the service. SCVMM and SQL Server 2008 R2 can be combined to create fully automated database deployments, but we haven’t implemented that yet.
In the Service template designer we have this. The non-intuitive part is you have to draw the connections from the load balancer Server connection to the NIC, and from the Client connection to the logical network. Note the IP address in configured as Static, this is important.
When you’re ready to Configure Deployment, SCVMM will map your service template onto the fabric and allow you to deploy the entire service in a fully automated fashion. This entire process can be Powershell-scripted of course, and in this case the requirement was to monitor for a Change Request in Service Manager, and then execute Powershell script from within an Opalis workflow.
(In the figure below the Red X’s indicate some issue with VM placement, in actual practice these can be easily fixed).
After deploying the service template I was able to go into the load balancer UI (using the F5 web admin tool) and see the configuration items that SCVMM created. Undoubtedly one can customize the Powershell statements to enforce some different naming conventions, or other changes.
One other note, F5 Networks also has a Powershell provider so you can manage your load balancer directly from Powershell. SCVMM presents a higher-level view of the network fabric. But if you need this lower level of control you can find the provider and sample code at http://devcentral.f5.com.
Some resources you can peruse to learn more about fabric management:
SCVMM on Technet - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg610610.aspx.
SCVMM Technet - “How to Configure a Hardware Load Balancer for a Service Tier” and “How to add hardware load balancers”
SCVMM blog posting - Integrating Load balancers into SCVMM 2012 Beta
F5 Networks provider for SCVMM 2012 - LINK; (note, you must sign in on F5’s web site to get the download).
The Microsoft Private Cloud blog - http://blogs.technet.com/b/privatecloud/
I love being a hands-on architect.
Glenn Walton | Senior Infrastructure Architect, Microsoft Services |
This is a quick update to my last post, 'Freedom and its Cost', which argued that even though democratization may not prove to be an economically profitable move, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t desirable, as most of Egypt – and, I suspect, the rest of the world – feels right now.
Well, everyone except the World Bank, from the looks of it.
(Source: The New York Times)
After noting a complete absence of any reference to Egypt or Tunisia in the Bank’s daily ‘Development News’ section on its website, economist and development blogger Bill Easterly plaintively suggested to his readers late January, “Please let the World Bank know that something might be happening in Arab countries.”
As I tried to catch up today on news after a break from work, I browsed quickly through Development News. Sure, there are references to Egypt, but they all focus on a common theme: how the events are costing Egypt’s economy billions of dollars.
“Businesses stay closed amid fears of looting,” it said on Feb 1, doing a quick round-up of relevant quotes from financial publications. Meanwhile, Hosni Mubarak announced in a televised address that he would not seek re-election, opposition figure Mohammed ElBaradei joined the protests and a million people gathered at Tahrir Square.
On Feb 4, the World Bank noted that “Economic Impact from Egypt Protests Unclear: IMF” even while hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square for what they termed the "Day of Departure".
“No Work Means No Food for Many Egyptians”, it says on Feb 9. On Feb 9 meanwhile, labour unions joined the protests, 34 imprisoned protesters were released, and five people died, pushing the death toll past 300.
In its most recent bulletin on Feb 10, the day before Mubarak’s historic fall, the protests made it to the one-line 14th item on Development News
The Bank has tried in recent years to differentiate itself from the developing world’s Public Enemy No 1, the IMF, but choosing to highlight only the concerns of business in the Egyptian revolution do little to help its image.
Networkingitimes | Dating & Chat | Email |
Bed bug survey: The little suckers are everywhere, including church! Good God!
Yesterday, we told you that the bed bug-killahs are in town: An estimated 500 pest management professionals are attending the inaugural National Bed Bug Forum in Broomfield, which runs through tomorrow. The shindig is hosted by the National Pest Management Association, which also recently conducted the nation's largest bed bug-related survey. And the results are... icky.
Mr. Bug, I presume.
The survey is called "Bugs Without Borders: Defining the Global Bed Bug Resurgence." To gather info, the NPMA and the University of Kentucky surveyed 948 pest control companies in the U.S. and abroad.
Here are some of the findings:
An overwhelming 95% of U.S. respondents indicated their company or organization encountered a bed bug infestation in the past year, with similarly high frequencies reported for Canada (98%), Europe (92%) and Africa/Middle East (90%). The majority of respondents also encountered bed bugs during the past year in Mexico/Central America (80%), Asia (73%), and South America (59%).
Factors mentioned as contributing to the resurgence included:
- Overcrowding of cities, leading to poor hygiene and sanitation
- Unregulated sale, donation, importation and smuggling of second-hand clothing and mattresses
- More clutter and belongings in which the bugs can hide, conducive building and decorating practices, and transience and turnover of occupants
- Denial/lack of incident reporting by tenants, workers, landlords, hotel or business management, universities, etc.
- Economic expansion in developing countries, enabling more people (living with bed bugs) to travel
- Soldiers returning home from conflicts in Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan
- Global health officials focusing their efforts on disease vectors rather than bed bugs
- Changes in indoor treatment for disease-carrying mosquitoes, including reliance on pyrethroids and short-lived ULV applications that are less effective against bed bugs
- A worldwide decline in preventive inspections/treatments of hotels, apartments, etc. for pests including bed bugs
- Changing lifestyles, resulting in greater reliance on communal laundries rather than washing items at home
- A global increase in secondary hosts, including rodents, poultry, dogs and cats.
In the U.S., the greatest percentage of respondents said they've encountered infestations in apartments and condominiums (mentioned by 89%), single family homes (by 88%), and hotels/motels (67%).
Several also said they found bed bugs in college dormitories (mentioned by 35%), homeless shelters (31%), nursing homes (24%), office buildings (17%), hospitals (12%), and primary/secondary schools (10%).
When U.S. firms were surveyed a few years ago, half as many respondents found them in hospitals and schools, and less than 1% mentioned finding them in office buildings.
Other 'atypical' places where U.S. respondents reported finding bed bugs included public transportation (by 9%), laundries (5%) and movie theaters (4%), as well as in churches, day cares, libraries, summer camps, hostels, furniture and retail stores, restaurants, locker rooms, dressing rooms, prisons, fire and police stations, moving vans, ambulances, funeral homes, and doctor's offices.
The majority of respondents from the U.S., Canada, Europe, Africa and Australia felt that bed bugs are difficult to control -- more so than cockroaches, ants and termites. In the U.S., 76% found bed bugs more difficult to control than ants (considered "most difficult" by 13% of respondents), cockroaches (by 9%), and termites (by only 2%).
In the U.S., 72% of respondents felt there was no busier time of the year for bed bugs; of those who felt there was a seasonal pattern, however, summer was again mentioned as the busiest season (48%). Several respondents also mentioned they received more bed bug calls after holidays, vacations, and completion of the school year when children return home.
In conclusion, bed bugs are everywhere and you can't even escape them when you're dead. (Bed bugs in funeral homes?! Ick!) Here's hoping that the bug-killin' minds gathered at the National Bed Bug Forum come up with an attack plan.
More from our News archive: "Beaver Lady Sherri Tippie explains how to give a dam, save a river." |
Car makers love to talk about “touch points”–those parts of your car that you handle frequently like the steering wheel, shift lever, door handles and the area where the ignition key goes in (if you still have a traditional ignition key). They should feel pleasant to the touch but often don’t.
Along with all the other new things electric cars will bring to the overall driving experience, drivers will have to get used to handling the charging cord. Ford says it tried to make the “convenience cord” for the 2011 Focus Electric compact car as familiar, comfortable and yes, attractive as possible.
“We tried handles inspired by hockey sticks and curling irons, but found that a grip diameter similar to a tennis racket handle worked best for the widest range of users,” said Cary Diehl, Ford human factors engineer. “More than most automotive devices, Focus Electric’s cord set connector has given us an opportunity to think outside the box and find inspiration from non-automotive consumer goods.”
Ford says it took some cues from Craftsman® tools, Apple® mobile electronics and OXO Good Grips® kitchen utensils. The resulting charge cord has a handle covered in matte-finished blue rubber and glossy white plastic that shields the plug and protects internal electronics. And speaking of protection, Ford says the cord went through durability tests that included inserting and extracting the plug 10,000 times, dunking it several times in sandy salt water and repeatedly dropping the handle and running over it with a car.
The new cord also answers a nagging question among potential customers: “Where can I charge this thing — really.”
Ford says it expects most owners to recharge the Focus Electric at home with an optional wall-mounted 240-volt charging station, but the 25-foot cord allows them to charge at remote locations using standard 120-volt outlets. A full recharge is expected to take six to eight hours with the 240V charge station or more than 12 hours with a 120V cord. When fully charged the Focus Electric is expected to have a range of up to 100 miles. |
The following post is the third in a three part series by BTA’s Parking Policy Intern Aaron Brown. Aaron is a BTA Member and citizen activist living in North Portland who is interested in affordable housing and active transportation. He tweets about bikes, our fair city and the Portland Timbers at @ambrown. As the City of Portland takes up the issues of parking, density, transit, and land use we thought it would be helpful to take a step back to think about the context and goals for our parking programs and how they relate to bicycle policy. Enjoy!
Livability – How Can we best use Portland’s Public Space?
This article looks at contemporary automobile parking policy in Portland and it’s relationship to creating a healthy, livable, equitable community where current and future Portlanders can live with safe, affordable and attractive access to a low-car lifestyle. We first touched on the opportunities to build more low-car housing, and then touched on the explicit relationship between parking costs and active transportation. Today, we’re taking a broad look the tremendous impact that automobile parking places on shaping our community, and how we could reallocate this space to make Portland more livable.
If you had thirty-two acres of open land in Portland’s downtown core, what would you propose we do with it to make our city more livable?
While downtown Portland may feel bustling, busy and compact, it may surprise you to learn that the city of Portland currently owns and maintains 32 acres of asphalt that it uses for providing heavily subsidized automobile parking in our public right-of-way. This figure does not include the 3800 parking spaces in Smart Park garages, or the numerous parking spaces provided at market-rate by private parking lots throughout our Central City. This is the equivalent of 21 Powell’s, nearly 2 US Bancorp Buildings, more than one entire Laurelhurst Park and ninety percent of a Waterfront Park full of public space in the Central City that is currently going to use by providing heavily subsidized automobile parking. If you lined up these parking spaces in a row, they’d stretch over 32 miles, from Vancouver Washington all the way to Wilsonville.
The update of the Comprehensive Plan, the current financial restraints on PBOT and the revival of interest in public space all as great opportunities to discuss ways in which we can build Portland to be more friendly to bicyclists and pedestrians. Portland is already a national leader in thinking of new, innovative ways that highlight different ways of rethinking how we use public space:
- BIKE CORRALS: As of March 2013, 97 automobile parking spaces (nine in the downtown core) throughout the city have been converted into bicycle corrals, which are able to park upwards of 20 bikes in one car space. A 2010 study by PBOT noted the positive benefits of these facilities, stating that “Businesses recognize the value of the bike corrals for their improvement to the street and neighborhood identify, the benefits that improved bike amenities provide for patrons and employees, and the potential for increasing their customer base.” On-street bicycle parking has been shown to make street intersections safer as well.
- STREET SEATS: PBOT’s studied the feasibility of “Street Seats” in 2012, allowing businesses to purchase the right to rent the city’s right-of-way for an extension of their establishment. This innovative program, currently widely used in San Francisco and New York, allows local businesses the opportunity to become more profitable and to use the existing right-of-way for a more productive economic development opportunity than just existing as subsidized, on-street automobile parking. Portland’s also recently successfully leasing an entire street to businesses, judging by the consistently packed tables on Carfree Ankeny over the past two years.
- FOOD CARTS: While most of Portland’s food carts are currently located on traditional empty parking lots, their success and contributions to our urban form could certainly be replicated by allowing these small, mobile businesses to operate on our public right of way. These scrappy, entrepreneurial businesses have proven to be conduits for significant economic development in Portland, particularly among women and recent immigrant populations (51% of food cart owners surveyd in 2008 were born outside of the United States) , and have won Portland international awards for our street food scene.
- BIOSWALES: The City of Portland will save over $63 million in the next 20 years by utilizing the innovative grey-to-green treatment with the Tabor-to-the-River project, which will reduce sewer backups, manage stormwater more naturally, and clean riverwater in inner Southeast Portland. Some of this savings come from the removal of right-of-way for automobile parking to build cost-efficient bioswales that clean stormwater, improve nearby property value and reduce vehicle speed on neighborhood streets. Groups like Depave have done great work building community through converting old private parking lots into gardens, neighborhood parks and community centers, and groups like The Intertwine Alliance are working to bring more green infrastructure into our communities and neighborhoods.
These examples, a result of innovative thinking about new ways to use the vast amount of public space we currently use to store private automobiles, highlight the exciting ways that we can make Portland’s streets more livable, vibrant and engaging by rethinking how much public space we use to store private automobiles. These alternative uses for on-street parking are also viable on our streets outside of our central city as well. While we are surely not advocating to remove every on-street parking space in the city of Portland, it’s helpful to realize just how many exciting new opportunities to develop urban space we are giving up in the most valuable, highly-trafficked part of our city. Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square, our celebrated civic “living room” and most-lauded downtown public space, replaced a two story parking garage in 1981; Portland’s on-street public parking represents over 34 Pioneer Courthouse Squares across the city awaiting to be transformed into public space.
PBOT should also look into the policies that discourage the development of off-street, private automobile parking lots. Many other cities levy a Commercial Parking Tax on The city can also institute a Commercial Parking Tax on private parking lots, which, in Seattle, raises revenue from the customer at 12.5% of the parking fee charged by the private parking company. PBOT’s aforementioned Financial Task Force Report notes that these taxes are common in American cities, including as high as 31% of parking revenues in Pittsburgh and 27.8% in Miami, Florida. The Victoria Transport Policy Institute notes this policy may reduce the total parking spaces offered and encourage land-owners to develop their vacant lot, encouraging local economic development.
Tomorrow, we’ll talk about how much money we’re spending to keep our on-street parking so cheap, and other ways that we could spend these government funds to keep our streets safe, maintained and functional for all of Portland’s road users.
- There are 32 acres of Downtown Portland currently dedicated to providing heavily subsidized, on-street automobile parking, larger than the acreage of SE Portland’s Laurelhurst Park, nearly two times as large as the US Bancorp Building, and almost the size of the Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
- There’s high demand for space in downtown Portland; we should continue to explore opportunities to redevelop/reallocate some of these 32 acres of downtown Portland to encourage more opportunities for food carts, more restaurants and businesses that open to the street, and more bicycling and walking.
- The city should continue to explore options to lease automobile parking spaces to alternative uses for new revenue opportunities and to continue to use this public right of way in our town centers to make our communities more friendly to people walking, biking and taking transit. |
An integral aspect of starting a successful export business in India is to have a proper understanding of the products being exported. The entrepreneurs need to perform a thorough research of the market where they are intending to export.
The markets should be approached on a priority basis and thorough research should be done on products and designs being done overseas. It is important to learn export related laws applicable in a country, state, or region before going ahead with the business.
Factors to be considered while starting an Export Business
Importance of Prices in Export BusinessPrice is always regarded as a crucial factor in any export related business. So the owners should have a clear idea about the prices that have to be offered to the buyers. Since the selling price is dependent on the source price, it is considered wise to do away with middle men who add very little in terms of value but a lot when it comes to expenses. This also helps in making the final products better from the point of view of quality and reduces the transaction related expenses.
Basic planning for export businessThe main reasons behind doing the basic planning for exports can be mentioned as below:
- Identification of goals – How much earnings are required to make it a profitable business.
- Including systems for gauging and analyzing progress – Reviewing the business plan and performance at regular periods, getting professional assistance if needed.
- Listing of activities needed to achieve goals – Setting up contacts with suppliers and other important people in the business as well as government authorities so as to stay updated and informed. Research is also needed. Professional help can be sought to create a business plan.
- Retaining focus needed to achieve ambitions – Keeping a cool head in spite of financial issues and economic crises and looking for alternative products and services if needed.
- Which products should be chosen for developing exports?
- Which specific steps should be taken regarding operations and what would be the right time to take them?
- What changes have to be made to the products so that they are at par with customer demands?
- What will be the amount of time needed to put to use each component of the export plan?
- Which countries can be considered as prospective markets?
- What resources and personnel will be used only for export related purposes?
- Which distribution and marketing channels should be used?
- What will be the expense in terms of money and time for every single procedure?
- What are the special challenges of the markets in terms of areas like competition, import control, differences in culture, and others? Which strategies can be used to counter them?
- How will results be evaluated and used for changing the plan?
- How shall the export sale price of the products be decided?
Export business Do’s and Don’tsFollowing are some factors that are essential to the export business:
- Making sure the staff members are aware of the plans
- Anticipating possible changes in the market such as fresh taxes and new governments etc
- Getting good advice and verifying export plans with advisors
- Creating a proper time-line of export activities
- Regular review of export plans with advisors and staff members
- Ensuring the presence of sufficient personnel and resources to carry out export plans
- Assigning staff members the responsibility for individual operations
- Making sure present customers are never neglected
- Adapting to changing situations
- Regular review of deadlines
- Creating a heavy document that does not have any movement
- Setting deadlines that cannot be achieved
Product Identification for Exports Business
Following are the most important factors that come into play when it comes to choosing products for export:
- The product should be sourced and made with focus on consistency of quality that should be comparable with the competitors. It is better to go for certified products especially the ISO ones as they perform well in the international markets.
- Learning about import regulations applicable in international markets with special focus on non tariff and tariff regulations.
- It is better to avoid monopolized products. If the exporter is also a manufacturer then he or she should have enough in-house capacity or the ability to get it from other sources in a short time. This is because supply of products at the proper time is an essential ingredient in any company’s success.
- Getting knowledge about special provisions and registration related facts for the product in another country especially for processed food and beverages, chemicals, and drugs.
- The price of the product should fluctuate very little or, even better, never fall. This ensures that the business stays profitable.
- Seasonal facts about products.
- It is always important to verify the export status of a particular product.
- Requirements related to labeling and special packaging of products that may perish.
- Learning about applicable tax exemptions and incentive programs being provided by the government like DEPB and duty drawbacks.
- Special measures needed for heavy, dangerous, delicate, and unpreserved products.
Selection of markets for export business
Following are the various factors that should be considered before selecting a market for export purposes:
- Time zones
- Occupation of people
- Logistical factors like distribution channels and freight
- Cultural beliefs of people
- Regulations like quarantine
- Top competitors
- Labeling standards
- Similar products
- Rules and levels of consumer protection
- Important brands
- Taxes and duties
- Market size
- Gender and age of people
- Presence of local manufacturers
- Family structure and income levels of people
- Agents, suppliers, and distributors
In the secondary level, interested entrepreneurs can look up government websites, companies dealing with commercial market intelligence. They should also contact international organizations for obtaining periodicals, market reports, studies, and surveys on a country or region’s export scenario.
While gathering information on various markets it is important to focus on the following:
- Demand for product being exported
- Medium of obtaining the exported products
- Size of probable customer group
- Presence of niche markets
- Ability of target client group to purchase the product
- Presence of major importers and stockists
- Regulations that may affect the imports
- Various ways to get representation or sales
- Convenience in accessing the market
- Mark ups at various levels of distribution
- Presence of proper channels for distribution
- Promotion of products and services in case of immense competition
- Business environment
- Presence of trade fairs or other business events
- Financial viability
- Packaging of products
- Unique nature of product being exported
- Acceptability of branding. |
Transparancy in DirectX8
I know there is a way to make a color of a texture transparent
but is there any way to make a color of a surface transparent?
I have two surfaces one overlaid on the other and I would like the program to have areas of the overlaid surface to be transparent.
I am using:
g_hResult = D3DXLoadSurfaceFromFile(g_pBitmapSurface, NULL, NULL, "image.bmp", NULL, D3DX_DEFAULT, 0xFF000000, NULL);
The second last parameter is the color key, which is usually 0, and I thought changing it from 0 to 0xFF000000 would make the color black of the suface transparent.
Is there any enabling of transparency or setting up i have to do first?
Can any one help me, I am new to the Direct3D stuff
Not sure what you mean - it wasn't clear. Do you want to load the alpha channel from a texture? (.png for example)
I want to load the alpha channel from a surface, and the file is in BMP format. I am making a 2D tile engine, and need to make the second layer transparent. I am just copying a selected section from a surface to the backbuffer, and was wondering if it could be done without using textures.
vertex alpha is this what you wanted? You could set all the vertices of the triangles you wanted to be transparent to the same value. |
Plant featured on 'What's New on Japanese Food' tv program
This long-leaved plant was being grown in Kanazawa-shi in Ishikawa-ken and its leaves are used in tempura and to make some reddish drink. My mother saw it on the program via her satellite dish here in the US on Friday, January 6th. She says it was called 'kinjiso' but I can't find it on Google. The leaves were long & narrow, green on the top part and reddish on the underside. The farmer brought in samples to the show. I thought it might be shiso until she mentioned the long narrow leaves.
I've checked the show's web site but it skipped mentioning this show, it talked about a past one on kamaboko and then future programs on strawberries and something else.
If anyone saw the program and can give me more information about the mystery plant, (including its flavor!) I'd appreciate it. She is interested in adding it to her vegetable garden.
Wow, it hasn't even been an hour and I have my answers! Thank you Silverjay, DeppityDawg, and anyone else who chimes in later. I was so frustrated researching this since I don't know Japanese and Mom, who is from Japan, is not familiar with computers - again thanks for your help. Now onto reading more about this and maybe getting some to grow, we will have to discuss the slimy stem part.
It is indeed kinjiso. In Japanese- 金時草. Here's a link- http://www.kanazawa-kagayasai.com/kag... . I read around on it and it's mostly in Kanazawa/ Ishikawa Kaga cuisine. I can't find an exact description of taste other than "vegetable" . It doesn't sound like it is herbal like shiso or mint or something like that. |
The hottest three consecutive summers the U.S. has experienced since 1895 occurred from 2010 to 2012. Last summer was slightly cooler than normal in Augusta, but still a hot one that broke records one week after its official start.
Temperatures rose above 100 twice in June and six times in July. The last two days of June saw temperatures hit 106, breaking the previous record of 105. On July 1, the high temperature was only slightlylower, at 104.
“We haven’t had that brutal heat like normal,” Bill Murphey, Georgia’s state climatologist, said of current conditions.
Temperatures have instead been lower than normal, making March to June the seventh-coolest period on record for Augusta.
Mild temperatures are expected to continue the next three months. Rainfall, however, is predicted to be above normal by about 40 percent, according to meteorologist Tim Hawks of the National Weather Service.
The upper two-thirds of Georgia has a high probability of increased rainfall. Chances decrease farther south.
The Augusta area received about 7.7 inches of rain the first 19 days of June. That’s more than 4 inches above normal, making it the fourth-wettest June on record. Rainfall totals for the year are 1.6 inches above normal.
Murphey said moist, unstable conditions are expected most of the summer.
“That will tell you temps will probably not be kicking up as much as they normally do,” Murphey said. “That’s not to say we can’t have some warm spell though.”
Really hot weather is not in the foreseeable future.
The high today is expected to reach about 87 degrees with a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Chances of thunderstorms will increase throughout the weekend to about 40 percent on Sunday. Highs will remain in the upper 80s, several degrees below the normal high of 90. |
Last night, a British friend asked me how my GGs were (or maybe it's spelled gigis, I haven't a clue). I was completely flummoxed, thinking she was referring to the Governor General's awards for the arts.
And goeslikestink is always talking about her neds and neddies.
Besides the obvious ones like nags, can anyone think of any other slang terms for horses?
If anyone has a copy of the book "Mister You got yourself a HORSE" There is about fifty different words in the index the old horse traders used to describe a horse the only one I can remember offhand is 'snide'-worn out old horse.
Nickel-bred - usually followed by the words piece of sh** - a worthless horse
common - ill-mannered (as in , you COMMON....)
sprinter - a horse who "runs short" - 6 furlongs or less (6.5?)
route horse (pronounced root) - runs long, over a "route of ground"
a panel - a furlong (the race is going five panels) - or am I thinking of 1/16 mile....duh.....
flipper - horse who will throw itself over backwards
dude(s) - 2 y.o.s (Usually it's "easy, dudes, relax....." - this may be regional
backing a horse up - to jog a horse "going the wrong way", or clockwise
a horse with knee or ankle problems "has a knee" or "has an ankle"
throw out the anchor, or hit the wall, or back up in a race - a horse who quits running or loses ground
by sh*tbucket out of mucksack - a horse of poor parentage
knocking on the door - a horse who is primed to win
black type - horses who have won or placed in stakes races are shown in pedigree catalogs in bold print
finish on the board or hit the board - finished 1st through 4th (on the tote board)
This is a start, anyhow!
Not necessarily a term for horse per se, but I had an English friend ride my horse a few times, and when my horse would get nervous and jiggy, he'd say "easy now Bird" and my horse's name is General! I thought it was a cute term of affection, so I use it pretty often... though in Texas I get some weird looks! |
In 1916, O.B. Kent, Chairman of the U.S. interstate Commerce Commission presented a set of Alaska and Yukon photographs, mostly of gold-rush era and mining subjects, to Henry J. Wellcome. Wellcome was a pharmaceutical entrepreneur (Burroughs-Wellcome) with a strong and long-standing interest in William Duncan's mission at Metlakatla, Alaska. Those pictures eventually went to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration as part of the much larger Wellcome Collection. This page collects the contents of the Kent set.
Possible additional imageEdit
On back of photo: "Taken from the Gold Rush Group.." This image, the only photo in the collection so marked and unlike a couple possible but unmarked candidates, has the same 2 x 3 aspect ratio as the known members of the set. |
|How are string literals represented internally by compilers? firstname.lastname@example.org (Tony) (2009-06-19)|
|Re: How are string literals represented internally by compilers? email@example.com (glen herrmannsfeldt) (2009-06-21)|
|Re: How are string literals represented internally by compilers? firstname.lastname@example.org (Walter Banks) (2009-06-23)|
|From:||glen herrmannsfeldt <email@example.com>|
|Date:||Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:44:02 +0000 (UTC)|
|Organization:||California Institute of Technology, Pasadena|
|Posted-Date:||22 Jun 2009 18:10:48 EDT|
Tony <firstname.lastname@example.org> wrote:
< I don't remember reading about how string literals are represented in any of
< the books I have. Until I go back and scour those for the info (assuming it
< is there), I'll ask here. How are string literals represented internally by
When you say 'internally by compilers', it seems to me that you
mean during compilation.
< I assume that it's probably null-terminated character string for
< C and C++ and some kind of length-prefixed thing for Pascal in a specially
< designated data segment area and then just some sort of pointer for a given
< literal is placed in the code, yes?
Those seem likely for the object code and run time representation
for constants. Internally to the compiler, they are likely in
the representation for the language that the compiler is written in.
I would not be surprised to see C compilers in Pascal, or Pascal
compilers in C, though I don't actually know of any. (I haven't
looked very hard.)
The other question for constants, is whether you combine multiple
instances of the same constant into one. It gets interesting if
it is possible, even accidentally, to modify constants.
(Traditionally fun for Fortran, which usually passes arguments
by reference, even constants. Also, K&R C allows string constants
to be modified, though ANSI removed that feature.)
Return to the
Search the comp.compilers archives again. |
Last year I shoveled up a 2 by 10 foot raised bed and planted about 8 tomatoes and lots of different herbs. By about June I started to see some of them wilting and thought it was because of the extremely hot and dry weather. No matter how much water...they wilted. Figured that it was some type of bacterial wilt. This year I built a fairly large cedar raised bed and filled it with equal parts top soil and leaf gro. Everything was growing beautifully until today....and here we go again! One with some serious wilt while all the others look fine. I pulled out the affected tomato plant and am crossing my fingers that the others will stay healthy. My compost tea is almost done brewing and maybe that will help build the good fungi and bacteria! |
1. Check the label for country of origin. If it’s from another hemisphere—Australia, Argentina—it’s probably not in season in the United States.
2. Even better, seek out local labels. If it’s locally grown, it’s likely in season in your region.
3. Ask your produce manager. Most can guide you to in-season selections.
4. Be price-savvy. If it’s wildly expensive, skip it; it’s probably not in season.
5. Buy what looks best. If it’s limp, wilted, and mushy, it may have been shipped out of season.
6. Hang it on the wall. Seasonal food calendars can keep you in touch with the current crops. (Download one for your region at deliciousliving.com/seasonal-eating.)
7. Call your local department of agriculture. They’ll have a complete list of what’s in season in your area.
8. Log onto localharvest.org or greenpeople.org—two of many sites that connect consumers with local food sources. |
Adobe and web design. They have a complicated history. I can never quite tell if Adobe is an estranged partner of web developers or an active advocate. Are they focused on empowering developers or replacing them with clunky WYSIWYGs?
Today we’re going to take a look at Adobe Edge Tools and Services, a new initiative from Adobe that might be enough to change your mind about how Adobe views coders.
Adobe and Web Designers
Adobe has always had a bit of an odd relationship with web design. Their flagship app, Adobe Photoshop, was never intended to be used as a tool to build websites, yet it has become the standard place to build graphics for the web.
Then you have products like GoLive and Dreamweaver, the former of which is long dead and the latter of which receives mediocre reviews at best from developers. Most of us avoid it entirely.
It seems like Fireworks is the only decent true web design tool that Adobe has in the Creative Suite, but it has a sort of cult following, only the enlightened few drop Photoshop and pick it up instead.
A Rough History with Coders
Historically, Adobe has had a customer base full of designers. They simply haven’t ever understood or even really targeted developers. By limiting their offerings to WYSIWYGs like Dreamweaver and Muse, which are aimed at allowing users to focus on design and ignore code, Adobe made a clear statement: we don’t care about coders.
In fact, it’s more than that, Adobe has completely undermined coders by focusing so heavily on building crappy products that seek to eliminate hand coding from the web design process. They seem to see front end web coding as this annoyance that should be eliminated, not as a legitimate and valuable profession.
Meanwhile, the millions of us who actually prefer to code websites by hand rather than have a piece of software spit out an abomination of non-semantic HTML, shake our heads and rant about how Adobe just doesn’t get us.
I Love Adobe, Really
As you can see, I’m really rough on Adobe, but that’s only because I know that they have the talent, resources and customer base to completely own this market and empower web developers like no one else. However, they’ve always clung to their own technologies, such as Flash, which hold the web back, not move it forward (Update: Historically, Flash served a very important and valuable purpose, but I’m unconvinced that this holds true today).
I owe Adobe my career. My love for Photoshop and Illustrator pushed me into the design field, not the other way around. Never read my criticism as hate for Adobe but instead as genuine concern that one of my favorite companies could be doing a lot better than they are.
A Change in The Weather
It seems that Adobe might be finally coming around to the idea that they should spend less time attempting to put front end coders out of a job and more time building useful products for this huge potential user base.
Slowly but surely, they’ve been testing out and releasing new experimental tools aimed right at people who actually enjoy writing HTML and CSS. This attempt has been somewhat scattered, but to fix that, all of the disparate pieces have now been rebranded to Adobe Edge Tools and Services.
Suddenly the company who was formerly focused so heavily on empowering the web design industry to abandon coding has a new mission, to “move the web forward and give web designers and developers the best tools and services in the world.”
Good lord, they finally get it. It may have taken over a decade, but they now seem to understand that our feeble minds are actually capable of grasping this web dev stuff (who knew?). Talk is cheap though, what are they doing to fulfill this new mission?
Meet The Adobe Edge Family
As a part of their devotion to this new mission, Adobe has put together Adobe Edge Tools and Services, a new collection of apps that is conceptually entirely separate from the all holy Creative Suite. Let’s take a look at what’s included.
For all its faults, Adobe Flash brought amazing animation to the web, and that was a big step forward. Web standards and mobile compatibility have forced a new path though and it’s time for Adobe to jump on board. Edge Animate is their answer to this challenge.
I have to say, this is the one that I’m most excited about. If they can pull it together, it’ll be awesome. Edge Reflow is an app specifically built to help you create responsive websites.
Basically, this is a front end that helps you build the CSS for your grid. Conceptually, it seems a lot like Gridset. Unfortuantely, Edge Reflow has not yet been released, so we don’t know too much about it at this point. You can check out the teaser trailer here.
Adobe Edge Code is a project that we’ve seen before on Design Shack. Also known as Brackets, Edge Code is an innovative text editor that brings a few cool new ideas to the table such as quick CSS editing right from the HTML document.
Overall, my opinion in the previous review stands. There are some great ideas here and it could shape up to be an awesome editor, but for now it’s a little underwhelming for those of us who use the outstanding Sublime Text 2 every day. Adobe has a difficult battle ahead of them if they want to win over developers who depend on existing editors.
This one is another app that you’re probably familiar with under a different name. Formerly Adobe Shadow, Edge Inspect allows you to easily preview and inspect your web pages on your various testing devices.
Edge Inspect links together the browsers on all of your devices and synchronizes the web page and refreshes so that you can update once and see the changes everywhere at the same time. You can even press a single button to grab screenshots from all of your devices in one go.
This isn’t a standalone app so much as a service that’s being integrated into products such as Edge Code, Edge Reflow and Muse. It serves up free web fonts that you can easily embed into whatever you’re working on.
Really, Edge Web Font is just a new free branch of Typekit, the awesome premium web fonts service that is next on our list.
This is likely the most significant product in the Edge mix, because it’s been a wildly successful app for years. Typekit was one of the first really great @font-face solutions that offered up quality professional fonts.
If you’re not familiar with Typekit, you should be. With it, you can add gorgeous, cross-browser fonts to your website with a quick copy and paste.
PhoneGap Build helps you create applications with standard web technologies that can then be rolled out across several platforms, including iOS and Android.
This is actually part of a large movement of developers who want to forgo platform specific SDKs in favor of using standards that can be functional across all platforms. The theory is great, but in practice we’re seeing some big players like Facebook and 6Wunderkinder move away from these ideas in favor of a smoother, faster native experience.
Creative Cloud Required
One quick note, just in case you’re wondering how you can get your hands on all of these goodies. Pretty much everything above requires a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud.
At this point, resistance is futile. Adobe is building a future where you either subscribe to their services or miss out on all the good stuff, so think twice before you purchase CS6 outright instead of leasing it through Creative Cloud.
As Ryan from Adobe pointed out in the comments, these tools and services are actually available to anyone free of charge via the free tier of Adobe Creative Cloud. Cool!
A New Adobe?
All of this together paints a picture: the Adobe of the future is one that embraces not only web design, but web development as well. On top of the Edge products, Adobe is actively playing a part in the web development community through open source projects and inventing new Webkit technologies.
Obviously, this didn’t happen overnight. Adobe has been steadily building steam in this area for years, but they have never marketed their efforts so well as they are today. They’re making a loud and clear statement that they’re going to be a major player in the web, and not some broken proprietary version of it, the open one.
Personally, I’m thrilled about this new direction. I still have plenty of doubts about how these apps will fare as individual products and whether or not any of them will prove genuinely useful in my workflow, but when taken as a unit, it’s a refreshing indication that this old school company founded on print design is finally beginning to find its footing in the web design industry.
What do you think? Are you excited about the Edge Tools and Services? Is Adobe making up for years of coder neglect? Let us know in the comments below. |
Ford Fusion Energi
It’s long, it’s low-slung, it stole its front end from James Bond. Its only drawback? The price tag and the tiny little trunk. That’s the Ford Fusion Energi I drove for 10 days on the 2013 Fall Tech Tour of Michigan universities.
Greetings from St. Ignace, the lakeshore town at the north end of the Mackinac Bridge, where I pulled in for the night to write up Friday’s Technology Report before starting my 2013 Fall Tech Tour at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, still five hours distant.
Ford delivered its best hybrid sales quarter ever in the first quarter of 2013 with sales totaling 21,080 vehicles — marking the first time Ford has sold more than 20,000 hybrids in a quarter. Ford’s hybrid sales were up 324 percent nationally over 2012, achieving 16 percent share of the electrified vehicle market — up from 4 percent last year.
Four Michigan companies — Michigan International Speedway, Ford, Pure Michigan and Quicken Loans — Tuesday partnered to unveil the Ford Fusion Energi as the 2013 Official Pace Car at NASCAR’s fastest track. And what’s really cool is that you can win that pace car.
Ford Motor Co. is touting a new patented system on its hybrid vehicles, called EV+, that allows vehicles to learn frequent destinations and changes the way power is used to deliver more electric-only driving. |
By The Associated Press
Q: How long do I need to work to become eligible for retirement benefits?
A: Everyone born in 1929 or later needs 40 Social Security credits to be eligible for retirement benefits. You can earn up to four credits per year, so you will need at least 10 years to become eligible for retirement benefits. During your working years, earnings covered by Social Security are posted to your Social Security record. You earn credits based on those earnings. If you become disabled or die before age 62, the number of credits needed depends on your age at the time you die or become disabled. Learn more at www.socialsecurity.gov.
Q: I have children at home and I plan to retire next fall. Will my children be eligible for monthly Social Security payments after I retire?
A: A child (biological, legally adopted, or dependent stepchild or grandchild) may potentially be eligible. Monthly Social Security payments may be made to your children if they are:
• Unmarried and under age 18
• Age 19 if still in high school, or
• Age 18 or over, who became severely disabled before age 22 and continue to be disabled.
For more information, read Benefits For Children at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10085.html.
This column was prepared by the Social Security Administration. For fast answers to specific Social Security questions, contact Social Security toll-free at 800-772-1213. |
The Dnghu ('Language') Association is an international, non-profit organization located in Europe,
whose main mission is
to promote the Indo-European language and culture. Its primary concerns today are:
- The development the Modern Indo-European grammatical system, to bring the reconstructed
Proto-Indo-European language to its full potential as a living language.
- Teaching it as a second language for all European citizens.
- The adoption of Modern Indo-European by the European Union as its main official language
- The use of Indo-European (its three main dialects) as the main international auxiliary language,
to reduce present-day communication and cultural barriers.
Indo-European language revival history
Having begun in 2004 as a personal project, it was founded in 2005 as the Dnghu Group.
It reviewed its original aim, of merely promoting the language among university experts,
to become the generally accepted IE language community within a European-lead private,
independent framework, the Dnghu Association. Its infrastructure is located
in Badajoz, a Spanish town near the Portuguese border.
A legal framework for language revival
The Dnghu Association is financed by a private Spanish education company,
and its work is supported by professors from Extremadura University. The regional
Government of Extremadura and other public economic agents
have also supported
the Dnghu projects' present and future implementation.
Proto-Indo-European revival main objectives:
- the building of the Corpus linguistics
- the development of new Vocabulary based on the old one, to match modern needs
- the Use of the language in the media and in educational institutions.
The Dnghu Association will provide organizational, legal, and financial support
for a broad range of projects based on the Indo-European language. The Association will provide
a framework for intellectual property and financial contributions that
simultaneously limits contributors potential legal exposure. Through a
collaborative and decentralized development process, Dnghu projects will deliver
freely available works under pragmatic licenses which make it easy for
all users, commercial and individuals, to further develop and participate
in our projects.
You can read online the
Estatutes of the Spanish Asociación Cultural Dnghu (NIF G06508451), from which we are currently working.
It is available
in its original Spanish version, and in its unofficial machine translations:
Bahasa Indonesia •
Norsk (Bokmål) •
Tiếng Việt • |
Characters in the HTTP content part
Wherever possible, a POST method should be used when international characters are involved.
This is because:
- The web browser records the way it has encoded the content data in the MIME headers that precede the content itself,
- The web server uses this MIME header to apply the correct decoding to the character content,
- There are no (practical) limits to the amount of data which can sent in this way (URL lengths may be limited by the buffers in some web/proxy servers)
The HTTP Content-Type header is used to tell the web server's Servlet classes which encoding was used. By the time the characters are made available to the Servlet as a String it is in the Unicode encoding used by Java.
International characters in URLs
A typical URL looks like: |
|Oracle Public Sector Financials (International) User Guide|
Part Number E13418-03
Hierarchical Drill-Down Inquiry is an extension to Oracle Financials that enables the user to query budgets, actuals, commitments, and projections in a top-down approach aggregated at a high organizational level and gradually drilling down to view figures for specific areas and actual journal lines.
Hierarchical Drill-Down Inquiry requires a drill-down mapping structure for the selected ledger. This structure determines the accounting segments and grouping order for summarizing ledger balances.
Hierarchical Drill-Down Inquiry consists of a set of pre-determined mathematical formulae that operate in a top-down, drill-down method on posted General Ledger budget, encumbrance, and actual journals.
These drill-down mapping formulae are organized into the following sections:
The formula are shown in the following table:
|Period-to-Date Actuals||(Period-to-Date Actual Debits - Period-to-Date Actual Credits)|
|Year-to-Date Actuals||(Year-to-Date Actual Debits - Year-to-Date Actual Credits)|
|Period-to-Date Budget||(Period-to-Date Budget Debits - Period-to-Date Budget Credits)|
|Year-to-Date Budget||(Year-to-Date Budget Debits - Year-to-Date Budget Credits)|
|Full Year Budget||(Full Year Budget Debits - Full Year Budget Credits)|
|Full Year Estimate||(Year-to-Date Actuals / Year-to-Date Budget) * Full Year Budget|
|Period-to-Date Budget Variance||(Period-to-Date Budget - Period-to-Date Actuals)|
|Year-to-Date Budget Variance||(Year-to-Date Budget - Year-to-Date Actuals)|
|Projection||(Full Year Budget - Year-to-Date Budget + Year-to-Date Actuals)|
|Projected Variance||(Projection - Full Year Budget)|
|Percentage Variance||(Projection Variance / Full Year Budget) * 100|
|Overspend Indicator||(Set to’*’ where Projection Variance > 0)|
Hierarchical Drill-Down Inquiry functionality does not impact any core Oracle Financials modules. Hierarchical Drill-Down Inquiry is a standalone requirement and an addition to the General Ledger module.
The diagram below shows the process flow for implementing Hierarchical Drill-Down Inquiry, as described in the accompanying text.
Hierarchical Drill-Down Inquiry Process Flow Diagram
Hierarchical Drill-Down Inquiry enhances standard General Ledger functionality.
Hierarchical Drill-Down Inquiry does not require altering any default or standard Oracle Financials processing.
Hierarchical Drill-Down Inquiry interrogates existing posted General Ledger journals that must be entered as standard using General Ledger functionality.
The overall number of segments must be defined within the organization’s chart of accounts for the ledger in question, before interrogating General Ledger. This requires an analysis of the organization’s requirements and is not within the scope of this document.
The physical implementation and setup of the predetermined drill-down policy must be defined.
The required drill-down level structure must be mapped to the chart of accounts segment.
For information on setting up the drill-down structure, see Setting Up Drill-Down Levels, Oracle Public Sector Financials (International) Implementation Guide.
This concerns the interrogation of General Ledger and use of the fixed formulae within the drill-down structure.
The Drill-Down Inquiry window queries General Ledger according to the search criteria entered and displays the calculated figures based on the fixed formula for each drill-down line.
For information on interrogating the drill-down structure, see Hierarchical Drill-Down Inquiry Procedure.
The drill-down structure can be changed at any time, but only one structure can exist at a given time.
For information on maintaining the drill-down structure, see Setting Up Drill-Down Levels, Oracle Public Sector Financials (International) Implementation Guide.
The business rules for drill-down mapping are as follows:
Only one drill-down structure can exist at a given time.
The mapping view must be complete before running a query.
The business rules for drill-down inquiry are as follows:
The user must be able to choose options as shown in the table below, at the outset of an inquiry.
|Ledger||User must select the ledger to enquire about the budgets related to the ledger.|
|Period||User must select any period: Future, Open, or Closed|
|Budget||User must choose the budget to query.|
|Commitment||User must choose the commitments that are included in the queried figures. Including commitments means that the queried actuals include outstanding commitments to account for unpaid purchases.|
All journals must be posted to be visible in the Hierarchical Drill-Down Inquiry system.
Drill-down is provided for up to five levels only.
On drilling down to the lowest segment defined for the drill-down, the relevant journal lines are displayed for actual balance types only.
Local government authorities require a method of tracking income and expenditure against budgets for business reasons. Government moves towards a decentralized approach and also the open book accounting concept made this an essential requirement within the local government sector.
A top-down approach is required to ascertain the impact and expenditure on the financial state of the company.
Although the Hierarchical Drill-Down Inquiry feature is primarily intended for the public sector, it is a requirement that may be applicable to many organizations that use budgetary control.
The first stage of setting up drill-down is defining the segments of the customer’s chart of accounts that relate to each level of the drill-down structure using the Setup Drill-Down Levels window.
The table below shows an example of mapping each drill-down level to a chart of accounts segment.
|Drill-Down Level||Chart of Accounts Segment|
|Level 1||Segment A|
|Level 2||Segment B|
|Level 3||Segment C|
|Level 4||Segment D|
|Level 5||Segment E|
The drill-down structure shown in the Mapping Drill-Down Levels to Chart of Accounts Segments table is interrogated in the drill-down inquiry window as shown in the table below.
|Level||Segment||View Balances for Combination|
|3||C||A, B, and C values|
|4||D||A, B, C, and D values|
|5||E||A, B, C, D, and E values|
|Below level 5||display journal lines making up level 5 balances|
Copyright © 1996, 2010, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. |
Before transferring data, ensure that the disk is spun up. When transferring data to or from a user address space (using the read(9E) or write(9E) entry points), SCSI target character device drivers must use physio(9F), which locks down memory, prepares a buf(9S) structure, and calls the driver's strategy(9E) routine.
physio(9F) locks down the user buffer into memory before issuing a SCSI command. The file system locks down memory for block device drivers. See Chapter 9, "Drivers for Block Devices", for more information on writing a strategy(9E) entry point and Chapter 8, "Drivers for Character Devices", for more information on using physio(9F).
Assuming no transport errors occur, the following steps describe the general flow of control for a read or write request, starting from the call to the target driver's strategy routine.
The target driver's strategy(9E) routine checks the request and allocates a scsi_pkt(9S) using scsi_init_pkt(9F). The target driver initializes the packet and sets the SCSI command descriptor block (CDB) using the scsi_setup_cbd(9F) function. The target driver also specifies a timeout and provides a pointer to a callback function, which is called by the host bus adapter driver on completion of the command. The buf(9S) pointer should be saved in the SCSI packet's target-private space.
The target driver submits the packet to the host bus adapter driver using scsi_transport(9F). The target driver is then free to accept other requests. The target driver should not access the packet while it is in transport. If either the host bus adapter driver or the target supports queueing, new requests can be submitted while the packet is in transport.
As soon as the SCSI bus is free and the target not busy, the host bus adapter driver selects the target and passes the CDB. The target executes the command and performs the requested data transfers. The target controls the SCSI bus phase transitions. The host bus adapter just responds to these transitions until the command is completed.
After the target sends completion status and disconnects, the host bus adapter driver notifies the target driver by calling the completion function that was specified in the SCSI packet. At this time the host bus adapter driver is no longer responsible for the packet, and the target driver has regained ownership of the packet.
The SCSI packet's completion routine analyzes the returned information and determines whether the SCSI operation was successful. If a failure has occurred, the target driver may retry the command by calling scsi_transport(9F) again. If the host bus adapter driver does not support auto request sense, the target driver must submit a request sense packet to retrieve the sense data in the event of a check condition.
If either the command was completed successfully or cannot be retried, the target driver calls scsi_destroy_pkt(9F), which synchronizes the data and frees the packet. If the target driver needs to access the data before freeing the packet, it calls scsi_sync_pkt(9F).
Finally, the target driver notifies the application program that originally requested the read or write that the transaction is complete, either by returning from the read(9E) entry point in the driver (for a character device) or indirectly through biodone(9F).
The SCSA allows the execution of many of such operations, both overlapped and queued at various points in the process. The model places the management of system resources on the host bus adapter driver. The software interface enables the execution of target driver functions on host bus adapter drivers using SCSI bus adapters of varying degrees of intelligence. |
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