Split (2)

train · ~65M rows (showing the first 1.62M)

content stringlengths 174 23.6k
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Old Index] CVS commit: pkgsrc/devel/p5-Package-Variant Module Name: pkgsrc Committed By: sno Date: Fri Oct 19 07:50:57 UTC 2012 pkgsrc/devel/p5-Package-Variant: DESCR Makefile distinfo Adding new package for CPAN module Package::Variant version 1.001002 This module allows you to build packages that return different variations depending on what parameters are given. Users of your package will receive a subroutine able to take parameters and return the name of a suitable variant package. The implmenetation does not care about what kind of package it builds. To generate a diff of this commit: cvs rdiff -u -r0 -r1.1 pkgsrc/devel/p5-Package-Variant/DESCR \ cvs rdiff -u -r0 -r1.1 pkgsrc/devel/p5-Package-Variant/patches/patch-aa Please note that diffs are not public domain; they are subject to the copyright notices on the relevant files. Main Index \| Thread Index \|
In antiquity, the only way to raise a heavy object was to put a rope on it, climb a ladder, and pull, or if you had enough time, build a ramp. The ancient Egyptians much favored the ramp technique, and the Great Pyramids show that very worthy things could be built this way. Later the Egyptians came up with better ways to hoist stuff. Around 1500 B.C., Nile farmers invented a counterbalanced lever called a shadouf or swape, to use in irrigating their crops. With a shadouf, buckets of water or baskets of rocks could be lifted to a height of nearly 15 feet. But 15 feet was more or less the limit for machine-assisted lifting for 1,000 years, until the Greeks mounted a pulley on the end of a pole and invented the construction crane in the 6th century B.C. They soon realized that with such a device, the sky’s the limit. Who engineered those first cranes? Their names are lost; only their marks remain on the stones of the classical Greek temples. It is through Heron (Hero) of Alexandria (c. A.D. 10–70), a Greek engineer living in Roman Egypt, that we first become well acquainted with the ancient construction cranes. Some modern historians put Heron’s scientific contributions in the same league as those of Pythagoras, Archimedes, and Euclid. A polymath of sweeping scope, Heron wrote a lot of books on subjects ranging from classical mathematics and fluid dynamics to catapult construction. The cranes Heron describes were simple affairs, but they were world changers. Dependable and efficient lifters, they made it possible to construct buildings taller than two stories without ramps. Heron’s original manuscript, a tome called Mechanics or The Elevator, was lost. Luckily, Arabic translations survived, with the no-nonsense title Heron’s Book About the Lifting of Heavy Things. Another really big idea in Heron’s book is the force-amplifying block and tackle, the compound pulley rig (credited to Archimedes in the 3rd century B.C.) that allows a person to lift heavy objects by trading displacement for force. As the diagram shows, by using a single block and tackle (one pulley in the fixed block and one in the moving block) you can lift a weight of x pounds to a height of y feet by applying a force of only half of x (x/2), if you’re willing to pull on the rope for 2y feet. That’s a 2:1 mechanical advantage. This may be well known now, but in ancient Greece, it was an incredible insight. Heron’s ancient crane is a guyed derrick with a windlass, and it was the standard tool in building construction for a millennium and a half, until more complex cranes were developed in the Middle Ages. That ancient, one-masted crane lives on today in an incarnation known as the gin pole. The gin pole is the aspirin of construction equipment; it’s been around a long time and it still works great. Used mostly for vertical lifts, it can hoist a load up to 50 feet. A good rigger and erector can also use it to swing loads from one place to another. The gin pole is the simplest crane possible, consisting of a single upright spar with hoisting tackle at the top, plus a mechanical connection or two to direct the rope work. There’s no heavy base or counterweight to deal with. Instead, a system of guy lines stabilizes it, and the spar’s bottom is constrained by simply planting it in a shallow hole. This “poor man’s crane” can handle a lot of weight. For example, a 6″-diameter, 20′-long wood pole rig can heft more than 2 tons. But, and this is a big but, such enormous lifting capacity comes with inherent risks. Having spent time using a gin pole and other lifting equipment, I can tell you that lifting heavy objects is a dangerous business if done improperly. Inadequate staking, poorly tied knots, weak or undersized masts, or old, weak ropes can result in a broken rig and a bad situation. Rigging is an art, so start small and increase your loads slowly as you become more proficient. And never get underneath the load or the mast during a lift. The amount of weight that your gin pole can handle will depend on the length and thickness of the pole, the capacity of the rope, the quality of your knots, and the holding power of the stakes. Take it easy to begin with as you learn the capability of your rig.
Mathematics Interactive Quiz - All questions must be answered mathematically. - If your mathematical explanation is incorrect, you will get credit because you tried to answer the question. - Ridiculous answers will not receive credit, such as "Just because." or "I read it in a book." - Use complete sentences. Answers cannot start with "Because." - Use the correct heading and an appropriate title. - Why do the divisibility - Did the Babylonians use fractions? - Why can't you divide - What is the scientific notation for a million - What does PEMDAS - How many sides does a pentagon have? - According to Blaise Pascal which reasons convince us more - those we have found ourselves or those which have occurred to others? - How was algebra brought to Europe? - How many zeroes are there in one trillion - How many sides does a dodecagon have? - Did the Egyptians use fractions? - What is an acute triangle? - About how much did a Tyrannosaurus - What is pi? - How many sides does an icosahedron - What is magic about this square? - If you drive 150 kilometers, how many miles would that be? - Where did Hypatia live? - What is a googol? © 1994- The Math Forum at NCTM. All rights reserved. Home \|\| The Math Library \|\| Quick Reference \|\| Search \|\| Help Send comments to: Suzanne Alejandre
Date: 01/19/98 at 00:17:43 From: COLIN Subject: Polynomials I know how to solve a polynomial like this: ax^2 + bx + c = 0 but how would you solve (for example) a problem like this: 3x^3 + x^2 + 15x + 27 = 0 or x^2673 + x + 3265782635529 = 0 Date: 01/19/98 at 07:10:56 From: Doctor Mitteldorf Subject: Re: Polynomials Dear Colin - Good question! It turns out a lot of the math that they teach you in school is problems that we know how to solve. There are a lot more problems that we don't know how to solve, and they get less mention, even though some of them are just as important or more important than the other kind. Polynomials with an x^2 as the highest power are called quadratic equations, and there is a formula for solving them, which you know. Polynomials with an x^3 as the highest power are called cubic equations, and there is also a formula for solving them, but it is so complicated that it is rarely used. There's even a fantastically complicated formula for "quartic" equations which have an x^4 in them - that formula is almost useless. Beyond x^4, there are tricks that work sometimes, but there is no general formula. What people do is called a "numerical solution". This sounds less satisfactory than a formula, but in practice it tells you everything you need to know. A numerical solution is a method of finding better and better approximations to the solution, good to more and more decimal places. Most numerical solutions start with a guess, and then use that guess to make another guess that's closer, and use the closer guess to get closer still. There's no limit to how close you can get this way, and in that sense a numerical solution is a complete and satisfactory solution to the problem. Here's an example of a numerical solution to the equation you asked about, 3x^3 + x^2 + 15x + 27 = 0 First, solve for x in a trivial way: x = - (3x^3 + x^2 + 27) / 15 Now make a guess. I'm going to make a fairly intelligent guess to start, and say x = -1. Let all the x's on the right side of the equation be -1, and solve for x on the left. In other words, find - (3x^3 + x^2 + 27) / 15 where x = -1. Let that be our new x. It comes out to -1.6667. Now let -1.6667 be our new x, and do the same thing again. The next x comes out to -1.05926. If you do this on a calculator or a computer, you'll see that each time you go through this process, you get a little closer to the right answer. But it takes a long, long time, because you keep "stepping past" the right answer, and coming going back and forth, back and forth. A trick that almost always works in this situation is to improve your method by AVERAGING the last two answers. In other words, if you start with x = -1 and your formula comes out -1.66667, average the two to give -1.33333 as your next guess instead of just using -1.66667. This will get you closer much faster, and you'll soon home in on the answer -1.390852. You can adapting this method to your other example x^2673 + x + 3265782635529 = 0 and see what you get. You will probably have to think about sensitivity: this formula changes awfully fast if you change x by just a bit. -Doctor Mitteldorf, The Math Forum Check out our web site! http://mathforum.org/dr.math/ Date: 01/22/98 at 00:04:12 From: COLIN Subject: Polynomials Can any one tell me the cubic formula - a formula to solve polynomials like this: aX^3 + bX^2 + cX + D = 0? I know it is very complex. I would also like to know if there is a way to make up a formula, like say you get a polynomial where the highest power is 4 and you don't have it memorized, so could you go though a procedure to figure it out no matter what the highest power is? Date: 01/22/98 at 08:53:56 From: Doctor Anthony Subject: Re: Polynomials The general cubic ax^3 + 3bx^2 + 3cx + d = 0 is changed to a simpler cubic without a term in x^2 by the substitution y = ax+b (or x = (y-b)/a) to get y^3 + 3Hy + G = 0 where H = ac-b^2 G = a^2.d - 3abc + 2b^3 We now make use of the identity shown below, where w is a complex cube root of unity x^3 + y^3 + z^3 - 3xyz = (x+y+z)(x+wy+w^2.z)(x+w^2.y +wz) This is easily proved if you know how to factorize determinants, but if not, you can prove it the long way by multiplying out the factors, and remembering that w^3 = 1 The cubic is now expressed as y^3 - 3pqy + p^3 + q^3 = 0 with G = p^3 + q^3 H = -pq So y^3 -3pqy + p^3+q^3 = (y+p+q)(y+wp+w^2.q)(y+w^2p+wq) = 0 and the three roots will be: (1) y = -p - q (2) y = -wp - w^2q (3) y = -w^2p - wq So all that is required is that we have the values of p and q from the two equations p^3 + q^3 = G and pq = -H Here, think in terms of p^3 and q^3 rather than p and q, and consider instead the two equations p^3 + q^3 = G and p^3.q^3 = -H^3 Now we can see that p^3 and q^3 are the roots of the quadratic t^2 - Gt - H^3 = 0 and their cube roots must be chosen so that pq = -H The roots of this quadratic are (1/2)[G +-sqrt(G^2 + 4H^3)] If G^2 + 4H^3 > 0 p and q are real and distinct If G^2 + 4H^3 = 0 p and q are real and equal. The corresponding roots of the cubic are -2p, p, p. If G^2 + 4H^3 < 0 p and q are complex. The cubic then, ironically, has 3 real roots. In this situation it is better to use a trigonometrical method. If you wish to see the trig method, write back. -Doctor Anthony, The Math Forum Check out our web site! http://mathforum.org/dr.math/ Search the Dr. Math Library: Ask Dr. MathTM © 1994-2015 The Math Forum
Computational fluid dynamics problem A rectangular obstacle is placed in a rectangular domain of incompressible fluid flow. The rectangular obstacle is placed where its left boundary touches the left boundary of the rectangular domain (obstacle moved to the left side). The top or bottom boundaries of the obstacle do not touch the rectangular domain boundary. This can be clearly seen in the image attached. To apply finite difference method, what are the boundary conditions for the obstacle for the velocity components (no-slip) and temperature in a staggered grid. A MATLAB code (in text file since i was not allowed to attach matlab file) is also attached. Since the code does not work properly, I need to know the boundary conditions to modify the code to make it work. You can run the code to help me find a solution. Please be kind to help me out. Thank you. (Smirk)
I don't get this... -My teacher never told me how to do the Midpoint Riemann Sum -WE don't have the graph, is there a way to solve the problem w/o graphing?? Integral from 1 to 2 of n = 4 Follow Math Help Forum on Facebook and Google+ Alright I have figured out how to do the Trapezoidal Rule, and got the right answer.. But I still have no clue on what to do about MRAM. midpoint Riemann sum ... height of each rectangle is the function value evaluated at the midpoint of each subinterval. for example, the first subinterval starts at and ends at ... midpoint x-value is View Tag Cloud
The judge, and 12 boxes At the end of a trial an eccentric judge sentenced the accused individual to some number of years in prison. However, the judge pointed out that this individual should 'select' the number of years to serve by himself! The judge placed 12 boxes on the circumference of a circle. Each box was numbered, the clockwise sequence of numbers on the boxes was: 1, 3, 6, 11, 8, 4, 5, 9, 0, 2, 7 and 10. The sentenced man was told that there is a number of coins in each box; and the clockwise sequence of numbers of coins was 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. The sentenced man should select a box and the number of coins in the box would determine the length of his sentence. However, before the man pointed to any box, he asked the judge whether he can get any additional information, namely, how many boxes have numbers which exactly match the number of coins they contain? The judge replied that such information could not be disclosed, as it would allow him to determine the empty box. The man thought a little and pointed to the empty box anyway! How did he know? Which box did he point to? That should be clarified, else the way you worded this suggests (box#=coins) : Originally Posted by b0mb3rz 1=0, 3=1, 6=2, 11=3, 8=4, and so on. I'm saying this because usually "clockwise" means start at noon position if nothing is specified to prevent that. An example could be given to clarify: Is that correct, or did I miss something? box# : 1 , 3, 6, 11, 8, 4, 5, 9, 0, 2, 7, 10 coins : 9, 10, 11, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 I think clockwise doesn't mean that it must start at noon position but rather that it moves in the direction of the clock does :) And your example is exactly what I mean This is the only case where 2 are the same. box# : 1, 3, 6, 11, 8, 4, 5, 9, 0, 2, 7, 10 coins : 2,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10,11,*0, 1 There's 2 others where 3 are same, 4 cases with 1 same, all others have none the same. So the prisoner picked box#7, as this was the only arrangement that would give it away if known that 2 was the number. My personal assumption was that the empty box was box 0. Seeing as the judge said that he could not disclose how many boxes had the same box number as number of coins. So logically the rule for all of the boxes is that box number=number of coins within the box. So if the judge was to disclose the number of boxes which contained the same number of coins as the box number("all of them") the guilty party could easily determine that box 0 was empty. If box 1 contained 1 coin, and that information was disclosed, it would automatically mean the previous box contained 0 coins, which would be box 10 (since it is arranged in a circle). Is that not a correct assertion? It is box 7 (I think). If you imagine the circle as a clock, where the box's numbers remain constant (That is: Box No. 1 is at 12 O'clock, Box No. 3 is at 1 O'clock, etc...) and the number of coins change as I rotate the circle, the number of coincidences between the box number and the coins it contains will, of course, change. When the judge says that I can deduce the box that contains zero coins by knowing the number of coincidences, he's basically saying that there is a number of rotations that I can make that will produce a unique number of coincidences. If I assume an initial condition of: Time 12 1 2 3 4 5 Box 1 3 6 11 8 4 Coins 0 1 2 3 4 5 When I apply my first rotation, then the new configuration will be: Time 12 1 2 3 4 5 Box 1 3 6 11 8 4 Coins 1 2 3 4 5 6 We see that now there's ONE coincidence: Box 1 and Coins 1 By applying 12 rotations (One full revolution), we see the number of coincidences like this: Rotation - Coincidences So only by rotating the circle twice do we obtain a unique number of coincidences. Therefore, if we rotate the circle two times from its initial condition, the empty box that contains zero coins aligns itself with Box No. 7. How did the inmate do all of this in his head after "thinking a little" beats me. Sorry for my bad English, by the way.
Hiya, need help with this as i dont know how to find resultant force of more than 2 forces. Q) Forces P, Q and R act on a particle at O in the plane of the coordinate axes Ox, Oy. Force P acts along Ox, Q acts along Oy, and R acts at an angle a with Ox, in the first quadrant. Calculate magnitude of the resultant force and angle it makes with Ox. P = 3N, Q = 4N, R = 5N, a = 60 degrees I would really like if someone can draw diagrams too, any help will be appreciated.
Explore Manhattan’s foundational act of city planning in this blockbuster exhibition. The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan, 1811-2011 commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811, the design that established Manhattan’s street grid. The plan, once called “the single most important document in New York City’s development,” is widely considered to be visionary and far-reaching. Described by the commission as a blend “beauty, order and convenience,” the grid was adopted in 1811 to facilitate the sale and development of land north of 14th Street to Washington Heights. Featuring an original map of New York's planned streets and avenues prepared by the Commission in 1811, other rare maps, photographs, and prints of the city's streets, and original manuscripts and publications that document the city’s physical growth, the exhibition examines the grid’s initial design, implementation, and evolution as a defining feature of the city. The Greatest Grid is a co-presentation of the Museum of the City of New York, the New York Public Library, and The Architectural League of New York and is sponsored by the Office of the Manhattan Borough President. - Read the New York Times review of the exhibition here. Amanda M. Burden Chair, City Planning Commission and Director, New York City Department of City Planning Scott M. Stringer Manhattan Borough President Richard T. Anderson President, New York Building Congress Founder and Chairman, Community for Education Foundation CEO, STUDIOS Architecture Chairman, Phipps Houses Mitchell S. Steir Chairman and CEO, Studley, Inc. The exhibition is supported by generous grants from: The Durst Organization Andrew Farkas/Island Capital Group Lily Auchincloss Foundation New York State Council on the Arts The Rockefeller Foundation Major sponsorship is also provided by: Jill and John Chalsty Todd DeGarmo/STUDIOS Architecture Peter S. Kalikow Ronay and Richard L. Menschel Nixon Peabody LLP Vornado Realty Trust Additional support has been received from: American Continental Group, Inc. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. Benchmark Builders, Inc. Suzanne Davis and Rolf Ohlhausen Cooper Joseph Studio The 42nd Street Fund Gardiner & Theobald New York Building Foundation The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation Robert Derector Associates The Solow Art and Architecture Foundation Structure Tone, Inc. Taconic Charitable Foundation VVA Project Managers & Consultants Weidlinger Associates, Inc. The exhibition is also made possible with funds from: Manhattan Delegation, New York City Council New York Council for the Humanities The companion book is supported by Furthermore: A Program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund
FREE Case Evaluation Maryland Driving Without Registration Lawyer In the State of Maryland, a registration signifies that the taxes on your vehicle have been paid and that the motor vehicles’ office knows where the vehicle is housed. This enables the Motor Vehicle Administration to be able to send notices of unpaid fines, license suspension, or any other notice that is deemed necessary. When a person is pulled over and they do not have their license, this could lead to a more severe traffic violation. Depending on the severity of the charge, a person may want to contact a Maryland driving without registration lawyer to review their case and help determine the potential options that are available. Request During a Traffic Stop When a law enforcement officer pulls a person over, they request a person’s license and registration because they want to make sure that you are properly licensed to operate a vehicle and the vehicle itself is properly licensed. Law enforcement officers are trained to ask, and in the event that you do not have them they can issue you a citation for driving without a license, driving an unregistered vehicle, or driving without insurance, as the case may be. Maryland’s Registration Requirement The State of Maryland requires that all drivers register their car to ensure that the taxes are paid on vehicles and that the vehicles meet safety and emission standards. If the vehicle is not properly registered, then the State of Maryland has no way of knowing whether that vehicle is actually safe to be on the roads. Penalties for Driving Without Proper Registration The maximum penalty for driving without registration is a $500 fine. It is unusual to see driving an unregistered car charged separately from driving uninsured because frequently people whose vehicles are unregistered also do not have insurance. Driving without insurance is a more serious charge in Maryland than driving an unregistered vehicle, thus depending on the charges you are facing, it may be beneficial to contact a Maryland driving without registration lawyer to help review the charges against you. Defenses for Driving Without Registration Typically, there are several defenses for an individual who has been charged with driving without registration. One may be that the vehicle was properly registered and it was just a bureaucratic mistake that caused registration not to appear for the officer when he did a search. Other issues can be related to driving, such as the individual was not actually operating the vehicle at the time, in which case there will be a notice issue, as well. Registration tends to be more difficult to prove because you are under an obligation to check to make sure that the vehicle you are driving is registered. If MVA suspended a registration, it could be an issue to receive notice that the registration was suspended. It will be very similar to driving on a suspended license case where it is from an unpaid citation. The MVA may have sent a notice of the suspension of the registration, but you may have not received it, and then you can show that there was no knowledge of the suspension of the registration. A Maryland driving without registration lawyer can help a person determine which defense will be the most effective in their case.
Rule 2.4 (Supplemental Feeding of Wildlife Outside of Enclosures) How far do I have to be from a feeder during hunting season? Hunters must be at least 100 yards from a feeder that contains Why do I have to use an above ground This is so the feed will not sit on the ground in piles. When feed is piled on the ground there is more opportunity for moisture to come in contact with the feed which can cause it to mold and sour. Then why can I use a spin cast feeder? They allow feed to touch the ground. Yes they do allow feed to come in contact with the ground, but the feed is distributed in a manner so it is not piled. Deer can remove most of the feed the feeder distributes each time it turns on. This will reduce the likelihood that the feed with mold or sour. Why do I have to put my feeder 100 yards away from my property line? This is primarily to reduce conflict between adjoining landowners, lease holders, and hunt clubs. Why can't I put a feeder on public Once again, this is to reduce conflict between hunters. If feeding were allowed on public land, a hunter who put up a feeder could "claim" that area as their hunting area. Also, it would be extremely difficult to know where all of the feeders were located on public land. Due to this, you could be hunting in violation and not know it.
Wash. Times' Miller Believes Obama "Trashed" America At The Navy Yard Shooting Memorial Service Blog ››› ››› TIMOTHY JOHNSON Washington Times senior opinion editor Emily Miller mischaracterized President Obama's remarks at a September 22 memorial for victims of the Washington Navy Yard mass shooting to claim that the president "outright trashed our nation" during his speech. In a September 25 opinion piece, Miller claimed that Obama used his speech to "drive support to restrict Second Amendment rights" and falsely stated that the president "said that the United States is not as good as other developed nations because of our crime rates." Just as he did at the prayer vigil two days after the horrific Newtown, Conn., school shootings last December, the president used the memorial service for the victims of the Washington Navy Yard tragedy to drive support to restrict Second Amendment rights. Mr. Obama railed about politics for more than half of his remarks at the Sunday service for the 12 innocent people killed last week. He said the mass shooting by an apparently psychotic schizophrenic who claimed to hear alien voices should "obsess us" and "lead to some sort of transformation." Mr. Obama has never believed in American exceptionalism, but he outright trashed our nation. He said that the United States is not as good as other developed nations because of our crime rates. He claimed that after the total bans on firearms in the United Kingdom and Australia, "mass shootings became a great rarity." As his remarks demonstrate, Obama didn't trash America. In fact, he said that the 12 victims who lost their lives in the rampage did "the unheralded work that keeps our country strong." While Obama referenced the fact that the United Kingdom and Australia took legislative action after mass shootings, he did not say that the United States was "not as good" as those countries: OBAMA: So these families have endured a shattering tragedy. It ought to be a shock to us all as a nation and as a people. It ought to obsess us. It ought to lead to some sort of transformation. That's what happened in other countries when they experienced similar tragedies. In the United Kingdom, in Australia, when just a single mass shooting occurred in those countries, they understood that there was nothing ordinary about this kind of carnage. They endured great heartbreak, but they also mobilized and they changed, and mass shootings became a great rarity. No other advanced nation endures this kind of violence -- none. Here in America, the murder rate is three times what it is in other developed nations. The murder rate with guns is ten times what it is in other developed nations. And there is nothing inevitable about it. It comes about because of decisions we make or fail to make. And it falls upon us to make it different. Miller's claims about Australia and the United Kingdom are also incorrect. After mass shootings in those countries, "total bans on firearms" were not enacted. Instead, both nations placed restrictions on semi-automatic rifles and handguns. Since Australia's gun laws were enacted in 1996, there have been no mass shootings in that country. The gun homicide rates in Australia and the United Kingdom are astronomically lower than the rate in the United States: While Obama did not endorse the regulations put into place by Australia and the United Kingdom in his speech, he did praise those countries for examining their gun policies in the wake of a tragedy. The president did not mention specific measures in his memorial speech, but since the Navy Yard shooting he has again advocated for improving the background check system for gun purchases. Miller also downplayed the danger of mass shootings in America, claiming that Obama's discussions of these "rare" shootings are "scare tactics" to attack the Second Amendment. She then advanced the false claim that "[t]hese events have neither increased nor decreased in the past 30 years." In fact, recent research by criminology professor Pete Blair has found that the number of shootings where mass murder is the primary motive is on the rise: A comprehensive analysis by Mayors Against Illegal Guns that used the FBI's definition of a mass shooting -- where at least four people are killed with a gun -- found that 56 such incidents occurred between January 2009 and January 2013. Furthermore, half of the deadliest mass shootings in United States history -- where 12 or more people were killed -- occurred during the last six years: [The Maddow Blog, accessed 9/25/13] Miller has used the Navy Yard mass shooting to attack Obama and even to sell her book. The day after the shooting, Miller authored a Washington Times column that distorted Obama's immediate reaction to the tragedy. Miller suggested that by referring to "yet another mass shooting" and "so many of these shootings," Obama exaggerated the incidence of mass shootings for the purpose of "[s]caring the American public" into supporting restrictions on firearms. In that same September 16 opinion piece, Miller promoted her new book and link to its Amazon.com purchase page.
Congressmen and Senators are proposing the Medical Device Safety Act of 2008 to protect patients from dangerous and defective devices. Medical-device industry leaders say it will lead to confusion and affect medical care. U.S. Representatives Frank Pallone, Jr., and Henry Waxman introduced legislation in the House that will reverse a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year involving medical devices. A companion bill will be introduced in the Senate by Edward Kennedy and Patrick Leahy. The legislation is response to the Riegel v. Medtronic Inc. ruling in February 2008 where the Supreme Court ruled that patients injured by FDA-approved devices can't collect damages if manufacturers complied with government standards. The Congressmen and Senators state that the proposed Medical Device Safety Act of 2008 protects patients from dangerous and defective devices by "correcting the Court's flawed interpretation of the Medical Device Amendments act of 1976." The new legislation explicitly clarifies that state product liability lawsuits are preserved. Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of AdvaMed, released a statement regarding the introduction of the Medical Device Safety Act of 2008. "The Congress provided express preemption authority relative to FDA device approvals in 1976 because lawmakers recognized that a central, expert authority at the federal level would best serve the interests of public health and safety for all Americans. "A patchwork approach to medical device approvals where state courts effectively review and regulate medical devices would likely result in a dizzying array of conflicting labeling and indications for use and ultimately may result in life-saving, life-enhancing technologies simply not being available for patients. "The Supreme Court’s 8-1 decision in Riegel v. Medtronic reaffirmed what most Federal courts have regarded as settled law since 1976 -- that the FDA, not differing state regulations and multiple jury verdicts, should determine the safety and effectiveness of medical technology. "This bill will not improve patient safety but will result in needless delays in patient access to essential medical technologies, more lawsuits and ultimately higher health care costs.” Will the Medical Safety Act of 2008 affect your business? Discuss it on the Medical Design forums.
The Axanar had green blood. Their bodies produced triglobulin from the zymuth gland. This substance had medical and aphrodisiac properties, and was used by a number of different species for those purposes. Some even forcefully "harvest" Axanar for their triglobulin. In 2151, Humans made first contact with the Axanar via Enterprise NX-01, when an unnamed species had attacked one of their freighters. Enterprise sent an away team over to investigate, and found the mutilated corpses of the crew. When the Axanar returned, responding to a distress signal set by the Enterprise crew, a translator malfunction led them to believe that Enterprise itself was responsible. Shortly afterwards, however, Hoshi Sato, having translated the Axanar language, was able to convey to the Axanar that the true attackers were the ones attacking Enterprise, to which the Axanar offered assistance. (ENT: "Fight or Flight") Sometime prior to 2152, an Axanar starship stopped by the automated repair station. One of the Axanar crewmen was secretly added to the station's humanoid hosts whose brains had been tied to the computer of the station. (ENT: "Dead Stop") By the mid-23rd century, a conflict had broken out at the site of the Axanar's homeworld, involving the United Federation of Planets, Starfleet, and Captain Garth of Izar. Garth was victorious in what became known as the Battle of Axanar and his exploits in the action became required reading at Starfleet Academy. James T. Kirk participated in the subsequent peace mission at Axanar, for which he was awarded the Palm Leaf of Axanar Peace Mission. (TOS: "Court Martial", "Whom Gods Destroy") In 2367, while exploring a cavern on Alpha Onias III, Commander William T. Riker was rendered unconscious by gases. While unconscious, neural scanners scanned Commander Riker's brain and used elements of Riker's expectations of his future to construct a holoprogram. In one of the simulations, Riker's future service record included a note about the Axanar. Supposedly, the species hosted a conference on Beta Quadrant exploration and Federation security that was held at the Deneva Special Congress on Interstellar Affairs. On stardate 52384, Riker, then captain of the USS Enterprise-D, was selected for recognition as the special Federation representative to this conference. (TNG: "Future Imperfect", okudagram) - There have been no named Axanar in canon.
Originally Posted by snopes Comment: I was working for this woman recently, and her husband is an independent documentary film maker. Somehow we had gotten onto the topic of McDonald's somehow, and she mentioned that her husband had worked on a piece describing that they put saccharine or some other kind of sweet substance in their hamburger meat to keep people hooked and addicted to their burgers. It seems plausible, I wouldn't know, so I figured I would 1) Saccharine isn't addictive. 2) It becomes bitter when you cook it 3) There are cheaper ways to sweeten meat. 4) McDonald's doesn't put sugar in their meat- they put it in the buns so they caramelize easier.* *according to my mother, who worked at McD's for 7 years while in school. This could very well have changed though. ETA: Subway does put sweetener in their meatballs. I believe it was corn syrup. I learned this working there and having to read the ingredient label to see if there was any pork in them for a customer. ETA2: This is off McD's website 100% pure USDA inspected beef; no additives, no fillers, no extenders. Prepared with grill seasoning (salt, black pepper). Enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, high fructose corn syrup, yeast, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, soybean oil, canola oil, contains 2% or less of each of the following: salt, wheat gluten, calcium sulfate, soy flour, ammonium sulfate, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, ammonium chloride, baking soda, sorbic acid, deactivated dry yeast, dough conditioners (may contain one or more the following: distilled monoglycerides, DATEM, sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium peroxide, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide, mono- and diglycerides, enzymes, guar gum), calcium propionate & sodium propionate (preservatives), soy lecithin. CONTAINS: WHEAT AND SOY
From Milton S. Terrys Biblical hermenutics Hermenutics is the science of interpretation. The word is usually applied to the explanation of written documents, and may therefore be more specifically designed as the science of interpretation of an authors language. This science assumes that there are divers modes of thought and ambiguities of expression among men, and, accordingly, it aims to remove the supposable differences between a writer and his readers, so that the meaning of the one may be truly and accurately apprehended by the others. It is common to distinguish betweengeneral and special Hermenutics. General hermenutics is devoted to the general principles which are applicable to the interpretation of all languages and writing. It may appropriately take cognizance of the logical operations of the Human mind, and the philosophy of human speech. Special hermenutics is devoted rather to the explanation of particular books and classes of writings. Thus, historical, poetical, philosophical and prophetical writings differ from each other in numerous particulars, and each class requires for its proper exposition of the application of principles and methods adapted to its own peculiar character and style. Special hermenutics, according to Cellerier, is a science practical and almost empirical, and searches after rules and solutions; wile General Hermenutics is methodical and Philosophical, and searches for principles and methods. People who join this site really need a clear understanding of what hermenutics are. Of course you have a page with the rules, but am not sure if it is clear or concise enough for an average John like me. After reading this Im up to 99% on understanding what Hermenutics are. Wether the understanding will be conveyed in my future Q&A I doubt sincerely never the less the house is not finished yet.! Definitely the wrong place to post this but sometimes rules are for breaking.
We’re only a couple of hours into Wikimania 2012, the global gathering of Wikipedians, and fascinating questions are already swirling around the online encyclopedia’s mission “to make the sum of human knowledge accessible to everyone on Earth.” It’s a bracing call—and yet as the community struggles with questions of diversity and global reach, seeking purchase and impact in Africa and elsewhere, its editors, developers, and users confront puzzles around what constitutes knowledge and information for the species writ large. As a platform, a suite of technologies, and a content source, Wikipedia is making extraordinary efforts: bringing the encyclopedia to a vast and growing array of languages; looking to mobile and mesh-networking to leapfrog technological divides; reaching out to women, rural communities, and youth. And yet as these cohorts find their way to Wikipedia as users and editors, will the knowledge they wish to aggregate and share conform to the standards of online verifiability that famously condition the encyclopedia’s content? What if the best authorities on local leaders or cultural figures turn out to be their family and friends—people Wikepedia formally eschews as authors of biographical entries? In the global context, what is encompassed by terms like originality, authorship, credit, intellectual property, and freedom of expression? Can Wikipedia find ways to incorporate video documentation; to acknowledge orally-attested evidence; to encompass sources that aren’t captured by the linkable, institutionalized paper machines that articulate colonial and globalized relations of power and knowledge? Does the sum total of human knowledge look like an encyclopedia? The contradictions manifest themselves at every turn; in his plenary, Jimmy Wales articulated the dilemma with stark humor. As more Africans get online, he argued, they turn to the Internet for exactly the same affordances that attract people from the wealthy North: not to share tips on sorghum cultivation or documentation of orishas or sharia law, but to use Google, Facebook, and Wikipedia. There is a global village emerging, Wales seemed to suggest, and Wikipedia—operating outside governments, industries, and NGOs alike—wants to be its town crier. And yet at the same time, Wikipedia as a community relishes diversity; its collective ambitions cohere around plenitude and comprehensiveness. The encyclopedia struggles to foster diversity not only over against the irreducible challenges of epistemology and technological access, but in relation to its own internal norms and biases as well, as Wales illustrated with a telling comparison: new pages on Kate Middleton’s wedding dress were quickly taken down, dismissed as trivial by legions of editors, while English Wikipedia offers more than one hundred articles devoted to different distributions of the Linux operating system—well-sourced to the last, but of questionable relevance to global concerns in sum. The problems are fundamental; they extend from the aesthetics of the encyclopedia (off-puttingly technical and falteringly intuitive, as Megan Garber points out at the Atlantic); to technological affordances that constrain or determine access; to questions of relevance, rigor, and prose style. It’s important to note, however, that these questions are known issues, very much the substance and concern of the Wikimania 2012 conference and the community it convokes. As a relative outsider, I’m struck afresh by the singular nature of this community—part club, part polity, an emerging hybrid of sovereignty and benignancy with few obvious historical precursors.
BY JAY REEVES BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- For many, it's difficult to understand Foster Noone's sexual identity. The 17-year-old uses the labels of bisexual, trans and gender neutral all at once. A photography exhibition opening at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute on Wednesday night seeks to put a face on such young people while exploring the difficult dynamics of family acceptance of their identities in the Deep South. The exhibit "Family Matters" features images of a dozen lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth ages 15 to 23 who were photographed by Carolyn Sherer. She previously displayed photographs of lesbians and their families for a 2012 show called "Living in Limbo." Sherer, who photographed each young participant before a plain white background, said she didn't have any trouble finding subjects for the projects, even though living openly as a LGBTQ person can be difficult in Alabama — like many other places. "The 12 youths who stood for these photographs are fearless, and they give me great hope for the future," Sherer said.
Internationally acclaimed singer songwriter and AIDS activist Annie Lennox will headline a rally for human rights in Vienna on July 20, 2010. The public rally will follow a march that is expected to draw more than 15,000 fans and participants of the XVIII International AIDS Conference, which is taking place that week under the theme of Rights Here, Right Now. “Over the last decade HIV and AIDS is an issue which has been increasingly affecting women and children,” said Lennox. “In fact, AIDS-related disease is the highest killer of women of reproductive age across the entire globe. We need to wake up to the fact that women are bearing the burden more than ever. Government leaders must be responsible and accountable for protecting human rights to education, health care, and treatment.” As part of the Human Rights and HIV/AIDS: Now More Than Ever campaign, the rally will be led by a global coalition of organizations including Lennox’s SING Campaign, the International AIDS Society, and the Open Society Institute, as well as local groups Aids Hilfe Wien and Homosexuelle Initiative Wien (HOSI). Thousands of people are expected to gather in the city center at 19:00 and march through the streets to Heldenplatz, where activists and government leaders will rally the crowd in support of human rights. The rally will feature people living with or affected by AIDS from around the world. Following this historical march and rally, Annie Lennox will give a special presentation and musical performance. Further details on the march and rally, as well as information on the Human Rights and HIV/AIDS: Now More Than Ever global campaign, are available at: www.HivHumanRightsNow.org. For more information on Annie Lennox and The SING Campaign, go to: www.annielennoxsing.com.
In this Huffington Post article, 25-year-old Clyde Tallio of British Columbia leads the reclamation of the Nuxalk language. He has been teaching Nuxalk at the community’s school for five years. He believes there is an ever increasing interest especially among the youth to learn Nuxalk. Similar efforts have been happening with Squamish, also in BC. Finding that traditional language classes in school were not creating speakers, Dustin Rivers began hosting Language Nights. During these Language Nights, participants have an opportunity to practice and learn Squamish in a “informal, collaborative environment”. 22-year-old Dustin says: “There’s a lot of benefit in reclaiming our culture and saying for ourselves that we have problems, but we’re going to solve them and our culture and traditional values are going to lead us in finding these solutions.”
Sunday’s election in Burma, the first in 20 years, was never going to create radical change. But how we in the West respond to it matters. We know the voting was neither free nor fair, and was marred by intimidation, vote buying, ballot-stuffing and other serious irregularities. In any case, the 2008 constitution and electoral laws were rigged in favour of the country’s military regime: a quarter of parliamentary seats were reserved for military officials. Burma’s commander-in-chief retains wide-ranging veto powers and the authority to resume direct rule, guaranteeing the army’s grip over the state regardless of who wins. Several opposition parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), the most popular party in the last elections, held in 1990, boycotted the elections in protest. Other parties were excluded from participation through exorbitant registration fees, unreasonable deadlines and other measures. As a result, anti-regime parties were only able to field about 700 candidates to contest the 1,157 seats in the national and regional parliaments, while pro-regime parties fielded over 2,000 between them. The conduct of the campaign, as well as the poll itself, was marked by widespread coercion and fraud. Opposition parties faced severe restrictions on their freedom of expression and movement, and harassment from pro-regime thugs. Media reporting was censored. The junta’s handpicked Election Commission placed arbitrary restrictions on opposition parties and cancelled voting in restive areas of the country, disenfranchising 1.5 million voters. In contrast, the military regime’s front organisation, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, operated freely using state resources, and was able to extort or buy votes with impunity. The easy response to all this is to dismiss the election as a blatant attempt to legitimise military rule in an altered form that fooled no one. Many western politicians and activists forecast that it would be a “sham” and will feel vindicated. In particular, the Obama administration will claim that its “hand of friendship” has been rudely rebuffed. We will hear intensified calls for harsher international sanctions and more “action” through the UN to compel the regime to negotiate with the opposition, and for a commission of inquiry into war crimes in Burma. This is the easy solution because it plays to our own sense of moral outrage and political superiority and allows political leaders to avoid difficult arguments with campaign groups who call for condemnation. But it exaggerates our ability to bring about decisive political change in Burma through external pressure. For it is unclear what more sanctions or a commission of inquiry could achieve. Twenty years of escalating western pressure on the junta has yielded virtually no concessions. If anything, it has reinforced the military’s siege mentality. Burma has been torn by serious ethnic separatist insurgencies since decolonisation, and the army views itself as the only force capable of holding the country together. Ironically, its brutal tactics have given ethnic minorities little stake in Burma’s cohesion. Nevertheless, the army sees genuine democratisation as risking the country’s dissolution. Holding all the cards, it will always insist on a slow transition to “disciplined” democracy. But condemning any moves towards political liberalisation, however slight, as a “sham” provides no incentive for the military (or similar regimes elsewhere) to relax their grip at all – quite the reverse. Foreign intervention may even have encouraged Suu Kyi’s NLD to adopt an inflexible stance in negotiations with the junta, despite its weak position. External pressure may have contributed to the deadlock in Burma. Western policy towards Burma needs tempering with a new sense of realism. Given the massive power imbalance between the regime and its opponents, expecting any election to transform Burma into a liberal democracy would be unrealistic. The fact that 37 parties contested the elections shows there is no coherent anti-regime opposition capable of seizing power: the opposition is fragmented, politically and ethnically, and has been forcibly disorganised by decades of one-party military rule. As in many Asian states, the Burmese political economy involves deep inequalities in wealth and resources, which work against the consolidation of genuinely democratic and progressive social movements. The struggle for democracy in such conditions will be a lengthy, arduous process: it could not have been brought about by a single election, even one far freer than the one just held. Many Burmese understand this better than some in the West. While several key parties and individuals boycotted the election, others chose to fight. This included many NLD activists frustrated with Suu Kyi’s boycott decision, who broke away to form the National Democratic Force. Many ethnic minority parties also contested the election, and early reports suggested that turnout in some minority areas, like Pa-an, the capital of Karen state, was high. These groups did not contest the election out of a naïve sense that they would be free and fair: they did so out of political realism. They appreciated the massive constraints they faced and also their inability to change them, but were determined to struggle nonetheless, to widen the political space and promote their own interests as best they could. Their hope was to gain at least some official political representation, participate in dialogue, and fight to gradually ease restrictions on democratic freedom. Pro-democracy campaigners outside Burma have dismissed this effort, countering that even if oppositionists had managed to capture every seat in parliament, the military would still exercise veto power by virtue of the quarter of seats it allotted itself by amending the constitution, and the commander-in-chief’s power to suspend democratic rule. With such restrictions, the fight for democracy is far from easy. But this does not mean it is impossible or pointless, or that the Burmese people should abandon their efforts to liberate themselves and instead look to the international community to rescue them. This strategy has served the opposition poorly for two decades now. Western governments’ sanctions and blandishments have had little effect. Even if they were willing to escalate their involvement by intervening militarily against the junta (which thankfully they are not), western states could not simply install democracy in Burma – a lesson learned from Afghanistan and Iraq. Burma’s neighbours, particularly India, Bangladesh, China and Thailand, are also not going to take decisive action. They would rather ensure stability in Burma, fearing for their economic and security interests should the regime cease to cooperate with them or, worse, should the state collapse, as it did in 1988, precipitating military rule. International pressure may cajole, prod or threaten, but cannot solve the fundamental problem in Burma – the weakness and profound fragmentation of anti-junta groups compared with the powerful, cohesive alliance of forces headed by the army. This does not mean that foreign governments should resign themselves to perpetual military rule in Burma. But it does mean they should adopt the same political realism demonstrated by the courageous opposition groups who were willing to struggle for freedom despite the odds, rather than wishing the odds were different. This might mean registering disappointment with the election but committing to work with a government of elected representatives on issues such as human rights, humanitarian assistance, economic development, health care, education, counter-narcotics, etc. Or helping Burmese non-governmental organisations to work with western agencies to deliver aid and development assistance on the ground. (Burma is one of the poorest countries in the world but receives virtually no international development assistance.) It might mean supporting the work of opposition parties and trade unions, to encourage them to engage in grassroots organising, democratic internal development and coalition building across regional and ethnic divides. None of this will be easy. Much would have to be done with our eyes wide open and teeth firmly gritted. But we already do this with other dubious regimes, including Burma’s neighbours. China, Laos and Vietnam are one-party dictatorships that are nowhere near holding multi-party elections, yet we enjoy far warmer relations with them than with Burma. Despite its formal democratic trappings, Cambodia is ruled by a dominant party that retains power through a combination of corruption, patronage and violence: yet last year overseas aid totalled $989m. When Indonesia held its first democratic elections in 1999, 38 legislative seats were reserved for the military, but we kept faith with those striving for deeper reforms. Singling out Burma as a pariah may salve consciences in the West, but is it helping those who really matter, the Burmese people?
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The U.S. economy continued to grow during the second quarter, the government reported Friday. But the pace slowed more than economists were expecting, raising concern about growth - or even another recession - in the months ahead. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic activity, rose at a 2.4% annual rate during the three months ended June 30, the Commerce Department said. The sluggish pace was down from the upwardly revised 3.7% growth rate in the first quarter, and missed economists' forecast for a 2.5% increase. Still, the figure marked the fourth straight quarter of growth and gave credence to some economists' views that the recession that began in December 2007 likely ended at some point in mid-2009. "This solid rate of growth indicates that the process of steady recovery from the recession continues," said Christina Romer, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, in a statement. "Nevertheless, faster growth is needed to bring about substantial reductions in unemployment," she added. "Much work clearly remains to be done before the U.S. economy is fully recovered." Most troubling to economists - particularly in the months ahead - was a slowdown in consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of economic activity. Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight, said the subdued consumer spending, pressured by high unemployment and debt as well as a lack of income and credit access, could lead to slower growth - or even another downturn. "People are continuing to cut back, and that could mean that third-quarter growth will be the worst since the end of the recession," Gault said. "The slowing growth path leaves the possibility of a double-dip recession on the table." The report showed consumer spending rose at a modest 1.6% rate last quarter. That compares to a 1.9% rise during the first quarter, revised down from a previously reported 3%. A surge in imports also weighed on domestic growth, the government said. Imports spiked 28.8% during the second quarter, up from an 11.2% hike in the previous quarter. But that increase was mostly due to 17% jump in business investments, as business increased spending by 22% on software and equipment, which Gault said are primarily produced outside of the United States. "Businesses reduced spending very sharply last year during the recession by cutting costs and employees," Gault said. "The pullback helped them prop up profits. Companies are sitting on huge piles of cash, which they're now putting to work." While they're willing to refresh their technology equipment, Gault said businesses are still cautious when it comes to hiring, and that will continue to strain the economy. He added that the quarter's significant increases in housing and government spending were driven by temporary factors and will likely reverse into declines in the current quarter. The report showed that residential investment climbed 28% during the second quarter, as Americans rushed to buy homes ahead of the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit. And government spending rose 9.2% during the quarter, up from 1.8% in the first quarter. Gault attributed that growth to spending related to the decennial census. Revisions to annual GDP rates also released Friday indicated that the economic downturn was worse than the government previously estimated, and the recovery was more slack. Between the fourth quarter of 2007, when the recession officially began, and the second quarter of 2009, when many economists say it ended, GDP dropped by 4.1%, marking the deepest recession since 1947. The government's prior estimate for the overall decline during the period was 3.7%. "It now appears that the financial crisis may have affected production substantially more quickly than was previously reported or realized at the time," Romer said. The most significant factor in the downward revisions was muted consumer spending, but the data also showed that the consumer savings rate is higher than expected. Annual growth rates for 2007, 2008 and 2009 were all revised lower. In 2007, the government said the economy grew at a rate of 1.9%, down from the 2.1% it reported earlier. In 2008, economic activity was flat instead of ticking up 0.4%. And in 2009, the economy shrank at a rate of 2.6%, weaker than the 2.4% rate previously estimated. "While the recession was somewhat deeper than originally thought, the recovery was also much more tepid that previously thought and is slowing rather than accelerating," said Martin Regalia, chief economist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has been critical of Obama administration business policies. Are you a state or city worker that has been furloughed over the past year? Is this causing you financial hardship? If so, send an email to firstname.lastname@example.org and you could be profiled in an upcoming piece at CNNMoney.com. For the CNNMoney.com Comment Policy, click here. Coke debuted limited edition "proud to be an American" cans in collaboration with the USO. More The FBI has opened a national security investigation into the hacking of Bangladesh's central bank amid signs that the hack might have come from North Korea. More In 1998, Ntsiki Biyela won a scholarship to study wine making. Now she's about to launch her own brand. More The gender pay gap in the labor market is pretty well documented. But the gender gap also exists in the housing market. More
Springer has commissioned an edited volume in The Frontiers Collection (which deals with forefront topics in science and philosophy) about the singularity hypothesis and related questions, such as the intelligence explosion, acceleration, transhumanism, and whole brain emulation. The book shall examine answers to central questions which reformulate the singularity hypothesis as a coherent and falsifiable conjecture, examine its empirical value, and investigate its the most likely consequences, in particular those associated with existential risks. The purpose of this volume is to report the results of using the standard toolkit of scientific enquiry and analytic philosophy to answer these questions. Chapters will consist of peer-reviewed essays addressing the scientifically literate nonspecialist in a language that is divorced from speculative, apocalyptic, and irrational claims. Visit The Singularity Hypothesis Blog.
The traditional Jewish celebration of the Passover, which started Thursday night, can illustrate the rich symbolism found in the Old Testament and show how the symbolism of the Passover points directly to Jesus Christ. Please note that the original Passover observance is described in Exodus, chapters twelve and thirteen. The modern Seder evolved from this Old Testament event. After the Israelites were instructed by the Lord to prepare for the final plague that would free them from slavery in Egypt and allow their return to the land of their inheritance, the Lord told them to observe the Passover “for an ordinance … forever” (Exodus 12:24). We know this requirement ended with the atonement of Jesus Christ, which ended the Mosaic law and all its practices. Jewish people throughout the world continue to observe the Passover each year in remembrance of the escape from Egypt. In actuality, the Passover celebration, which is eight days in length, consists of two feasts-the Feast of the Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread. The Feast of the Passover occurs on the first night of the Passover celebration in commemoration of the sacrifice of the paschal lamb and the angel of death “passing over” the houses of Israel. The remainder of the seven days is the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, which commemorates the Israelite’s freedom from bondage. Because true observance of the Feast of the Passover requires the actual sacrifice of a paschal lamb, Jews do not actually celebrate the Passover. Sacrifices are no longer permitted due to the final destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70. In fact, Jews refrain from eating any roasted meat during their Passover Seder in order “to avoid even the impression that they are partaking of an ‘imitation'” of the sacrifice (Leo Trepp, The Complete Book of Jewish Observance [New York: Simon and Shuster, 1980], pp. 178-79). THE PASSOVER SEDER On the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan (formally Abib) of the lunar-based Jewish calendar, Jews throughout the world celebrate the beginning of the eight-day Passover celebration with a service called a Seder, which in Hebrew means “order.” The celebration is observed in the home rather than in the synagogue and is a retelling of the story of the Israelite oppression and deliverance from Egypt. A book called the Haggadah (“the Telling”) is used along with symbolic foods to illustrate the story. The celebration culminates with eating the Passover meal and the afikomen (dessert). Jesus and his disciples ate a Passover meal as the Last Supper. KEY SYMBOLS OF THE PASSOVER “In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb.. , . “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year…. “And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening” (Exodus 12:3, 5-6). In the Book, Christ In the Passover, Ceil and Moishe Rosen point out that “the family had to watch it [the lamb] carefully for four days before the Passover to make sure it was healthy and perfect in every way…. It must have won the affection of the entire household” (Chicago: Moody Press, 1978], pp. 25-26). Killing the lamb truly became a sacrifice. The price that had to be paid foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The scriptures refer to Jesus as the Lamb of God over forty times. Just as Israel was saved by the blood of the paschal lamb, we are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, “our passover [who was] sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7). It is important to point out the following parallels between the paschal lamb and the life of Christ: 1. Both were the firstborn, without blemish (see Exodus 12:5). 2. Both were to have no broken bones; the paschal lamb was to be prepared whole (see Exodus 12:46). 3. Both the paschal lamb’s and Christ’s blood were to be used as a token and sign of redemption (see Exodus 12: 13). 4. Both the paschal lamb’s and Christ’s blood was spilled; the blood of the paschal lamb flowed into the bason (see Exodus 12:22). At the Seder, an unbroken, roasted shankbone now represents the lamb and its sacrifice. Matzah symbolizes the haste in which the Israelites left Egypt; they did not have time to wait for their bread dough to rise. Leaven, referred to in the scriptures and by Church leaders as both a good symbol (as in the parable of the leaven in Matthew 13:33) and a symbol for sin (as in Matthew 16:6), is used to increase the mass of bread dough prior to baking. In Hebrew, the word matzah means sweet. The Hebrew word for leavened bread is chomatz, which also means sour or bitter. The same leavening agents that make bread rise can also spoil it if they ferment too long. Thus, the Apostle Paul said, “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened…. “Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). As part of their preparation for the Passover, Jews remove all the leaven (bread and its ingredients) from their homes, they neither eat nor have leavened items in their homes for the entire eight-day period (see Exodus 12:19). At the beginning of the modem Seder, three pieces of matzah are wrapped in a cloth and set aside for use during the ceremony. Jews have a number of different interpretations of what the three matzot (plural form) represent. Some say the matzot symbolize the three divisions of Judaism-priests, Levites, and Israelites-united as one. Others say they represent the three great patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We may see allusions to the three personages of the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This last interpretation is compelling as we see how these three matzot are used. After the first cup of wine and the washing of the hands (see John 13:4-5), the middle of the three matzot (the Son) is broken into two pieces, a large piece and a smaller one. The large piece, called the afikomen (the dessert), is wrapped in a napkin and hidden in the room for later use, after the meal is consumed, the children search the room for the missing afikomen. When the children find the afikomen, the leader of the Seder must pay a ransom to the child who found it. After the leader pays the ransom, the afikomen can be eaten by all. It is the last thing eaten at the Seder. At this point in the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the sacrament. Jesus and his disciples ate the afikomen, which represented his body, and drank the third cup of wine, the cup of redemption, which represented his blood (see Luke 22:19-20). In Exodus 12:22, the Lord, through Moses, commanded the Israelites to mark their doors with the blood of the paschal lamb and to stay inside the entire night: “And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop [an herb], and dip it in the blood that is in the bason [a ditch running alongside the house], and strike the lintel [top] and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.” The action of marking the door from bottom to top and from side to side is symbolic of the sign of the cross on which Jesus would be crucified. The bloody spots also point to the wounds in Jesus’ head, hands, feet, and side, as well as the drops of blood the Lord would shed in Gethsemane (see Rosen, Christ in the Passover, pp. 30-32). The door through which the Israelites were told not to pass represents their path to redemption from bondage following the night of terror. The door can be seen to represent Jesus himself: “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:9). Elijah the Prophet To represent their ongoing hope for the coming of the Messiah, Jews await the arrival of the prophet Elijah on Passover night. All families set a place at their tables for him and near the end of the Seder, they pause to open their doors in hopes that he will enter. Doctrine and Covenants 110: 13-16 chronicles the return of the prophet Elijah and his appearance to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple on 3 April 1836. It is interesting to note that that date was during the time of the Jewish Passover. Other Symbols and Their Meaning Other foods traditionally eaten during the modern seder as well as their significance are listed below: - Bitter herbs remind us of the bitterness of slavery or the bitterness of sin in our lives. - Roasted eggs represent the second offering, known as the “festival or pilgrim offering.” The egg may also represent new life or the resurrection. - Haroset is a mixture of apples, dates, nuts, and grapes that represents the mortar used with bricks to build the Egyptian cities. - Greens dipped in salt water (to represent tears) symbolize the arrival of spring or the newness of life out of bondage. The rich symbolism of the first Passover and the Jewish observance can be used to teach about the Lord’s use of types and symbols, particularly in the Old Testament, and to help better understand the scriptures. Nephi taught: “Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him” (2 Nephi l1:4). All things point to Jesus Christ, his coming, his life and mission, and his sacrifice that enables us to fulfill our Heavenly Father’s plan.
The Yoga Without Borders Take Action Summit took place three weeks ago. The emails are still pouring in, and our leadership program has expanded to include people who are ready to be part of the next event, scheduled for October 11, 2012. It’s an important step forward. We are part of a growing movement to eradicate institutionalized violence against women and girls permanently and in our lifetime, is meeting others who are also taking a stand. One of the organizations featured at the Take Action Summit was We Talk Women. We Talk Women presents a screening of The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo. Filmmaker Lisa F Jackson gives these forgotten women dignity, a face and a voice that will finally break the silence that surrounds their plight. The war in the Democratic Republic of Congo meant experiencing grotesque sexual violence for a lot of women. Hear the stories of the survivors and be inspired by their strength. More information about the film including a trailer can be found at: The content of this film is not easy to watch but it will move you to take action. You will connect with these women and remember our Oneness. Our basic humanity requires us to be aware and from that awareness we begin to shape the future. Join us for a night of enlightenment and inspiration. To register for the screening click here. Friday, February 17, 2012 7pm to 9pm 221 Yonge Street @ Shuter Light refreshments will be served
Robert O. Schade, James L. Hassell, Jr. This report presents the results of an investigation conducted in the Langley free-flight tunnel to determine the effects of large artificial variations of several rotary lateral-stability derivatives on the dynamic lateral stability and control characteristics of a 45 degree sweptback-wing airplane model. Calculations of the period and damping of the lateral motions and of the response to roll and yaw disturbances were made for correlation with the experimental results. The calculated results were in qualitative agreement with the experimental results in predicting the general trends in flight characteristics produced by large changes in the stability derivatives, but in some cases the theory with the assumption of zero lag was not in good quantitative agreement with the experimental results. An Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file of the entire report:
Brief Description of the State of Georgia With an area of approximately 57,000 square miles, Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi River. The Georgia landscape runs from the mountains in the north and northeast to the Coastal Plain in the southeast. Georgia’s highest point is Brasstown Bald at 4,784 feet above sea level and its lowest is sea level along the coast. Georgia experiences a humid and subtropical climate with fairly mild winters and hot moist summers. The annual precipitation varies from forty inches in central Georgia to more than seventy-four inches in northeast Georgia. The state is divided into 5 physiographic provinces, or ecoregions (Keyes et al. 1995): the Cumberland Plateau (also known as the Appalachian Plateau), the Ridge and Valley, the Blue Ridge, the Piedmont, and the Coastal Plain (Map 1.1). The vegetation varies within and among these provinces depending upon soil type, elevation, moisture, and disturbance regimes. In addition to these provinces we found distinct differences in areas such as the Fall Line and coast and used these areas when modeling animal distributions and vegetation mapping. The Cumberland Plateau is found in the extreme northwestern corner of Georgia. It includes Lookout, Pigeon, and Sand Mountains. The province is mostly forested, primarily with mixed oak and oak-hickory communities. The geologic strata include Mississippian-age limestone, sandstone, shale, and siltstone, and Pennsylvanian-age shale, siltstone, sandstone, and conglomerates. The Ridge and Valley Province occupies most of the northwestern area of Georgia. It came about as a result of extreme folding and faulting events creating a series of roughly parallel ridges and valleys that come in a variety of widths, heights, and geologic materials. These materials include limestone, dolomite, shale, siltstone, sandstone, chert, mudstone, and marble. Caves are relatively numerous in this area. The area includes the Chickamauga Valley, Armuchee Ridges, and the Great Valley. The ridge areas are predominantly forested with stands of oak-hickory and oak-pine. The valleys are mostly agricultural, including a mix of row crop and pasture. The Blue Ridge Province occupies the northeastern portions of Georgia. The mountain peaks range between 2,000 and 5,000 feet, and are the highest in the state. The southern Blue Ridge is one of the richest centers of biodiversity in the US. The underlying geology is predominantly a mix of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary geology. A large portion of Blue Ridge in Georgia is Precambrian-age igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks, the common crystalline rock types include gneiss, schist, and quartzite, covered by well-drained, acidic brownish, loamy soils. Some mafic and ultramafic rocks occur here, producing more basic soils. The vegetation is predominantly made up of oak-hickory and oak-pine communities, with heath balds, hemlock, cove hardwood forests, and some shrub and grass areas. The lower elevation areas of the Blue Ridge are predominantly used for agriculture; large areas are in pasture and used for cattle, hog, and poultry operations. Much of the Blue Ridge is under the ownership of the U.S.D.A. Forest Service in the Chattahoochee National Forest. Urban development has been on the increase in privately-owned portions of the Blue Ridge. The Piedmont Province cuts across the central portion of Georgia. The region is considered the non-mountainous portion of the Appalachian Highlands and is comprised of a transitional area between the Appalachian Mountains and the coastal plain. It is a complex mosaic of Precambrian and Paleozoic metamorphic and igneous rocks with moderately dissected irregular plains and some hills. The Piedmont contains a series of rolling hills and occasional isolated mountains such as Pine Mountain. The soils of the piedmont tend to be fine textured and in many areas are highly erodible. The area was once highly cultivated but has mostly reverted to pine and hardwood woodlands, and, more recently, to urban and suburban settlement. The Coastal Plain Province cuts across Georgia below the fall line. The Coastal Plain landscape is a low, flat region of well-drained soils with some areas of gently rolling hills and poorly drained flatwoods. The parent material for these soils area Cretaceous or Tertiary-age sands and sandy clays that are marine in origin and usually acidic. The Coastal Plain vegetation is a complex mix of upland flatwoods and many wetland communities including bottomland hardwoods and the Okefenokee Swamp. Much of the current land use is row crop agriculture and intensively managed pine forest. The coastal area is currently experiencing rapid urbanization.
North Carolina Manual The North Carolina Manual was first published in 1874 by the North Carolina secretary of state as a volume of nearly 400 pages entitled Legislative Manual and Political Register of the State of North Carolina. Another edition was printed in 1903, and thereafter it appeared biennially. The title North Carolina Manual was first used in the 1917 edition. Athough always intended to provide information for state legislators, the manual also has been useful to the general public, especially the news media, historians, and government officials. With the exception of the three editions between 1903 and 1907, the manual has contained biographical sketches of North Carolina's members of Congress, state legislators, state executive and administrative officials, and state and federal court judges. Most of the early volumes included retrospective material; the 1905 issue, for example, listed the governors since 1663 and the secretaries of state since 1777. The 1913 edition, compiled by R. D. W. Connor, secretary of the North Carolina Historical Commission, contained more than 1,000 pages and for the first time presented a substantial amount of information about North Carolina's political history in one volume. This edition also gave election returns for presidents and governors from 1836 to 1912, as well as the votes on various conventions and constitutional amendments. Information found in the 1913 Manual was verified, updated, extended, and expanded in North Carolina Government, 1585-1974, edited by John L. Cheney Jr. Subsequent editions of the North Carolina Manual have been expanded to include state symbols, election statistics, maps and charts, information on higher education, historical perspectives of the counties, photographs (both color and black and white), census figures, and other information. "The North Carolina Manual." North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State. https://www.sosnc.gov/publications/manual.aspx (accessed May 23, 2016). Resolution In Relation To A " North Carolina Manual." Laws and resolutions of the State of North Carolina, passed by the General Assembly at its session of 1873-'74. Raleigh [N.C.]: Josiah Turner, Jr. 1874. http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,194934 (accessed October 8, 2012). Connor, R. D. W., editor. A Manual of North Carolina Issued by the North Carolina Historical Commission for the Use of the Members of the General Assembly Session 1913. Raleigh: E. M. Uzzell & Co., State Printer, 1913. http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/manual/menu.html (accessed October 8, 2012). Howerton, W.H. The Legislative Manual and Political Register of the State of North Carolina. Raleigh [N.C.]: Josiah Turner, Jr. 1874. http://archive.org/stream/northcarolinama00librgoog#page/n10/mode/2up (accessed October 8, 2012). 1 January 2006 \| Williams, Wiley J.
When we lose a sense of the immortal, we lose more than a dusty old idea. We lose a sense of storied time. We lose a sense of beginning and end, and we float in a world where the devils easily have their way with us. One devil is capitalism. Not all capitalism is demonic but enough of it is to notice and name. Some of it is energetic, curious and interesting, urgent to find the optimum human potential. But much of its wine has become vinegar. It acts like a whip, beating its horse to go faster and faster, long after the horse has no idea where it is going with such speed. Capitalism loves to assure you that the more you have in the totalitarian now, the better off you will be. Never mind that clutter and hoarding are major social problems for the elderly. Or that many parents don’t think they can find time to eat children with their dinner … I hope you get my point. Or that college students put up signs in bathrooms, “If you are overwhelmed with work and how much you have to do, call this hotline. Open from 10 p.m. till 3 a.m.” This multi-generational anxiety is the result of capitalism’s whip. Many of us think that we have to demonstrate “against” capitalism. I am not so sure. We might do better to pray for an improved sense of immortality. We might challenge the whips by imagining long time, not short time. Eschatological time rather than discordant time. We might remember our great beginnings and our great ending. I have spoken about the time famine before, that pervasive sense that we don’t have enough time. Without a sense of immortality, indeed we don’t have enough time. I have also spoken about the great release in “ashes to ashes, stardust to stardust” before. Not dust but stardust. If we regain even a little twinkle of a sense of immortality, we won’t be as available to the whips of capitalism. Once we have flattened life to our 83.2-allotted years, there is no reason not to have everything, do everything and be everything. There is also no dimension, no before, no now, no after. There is just the horse galloping and gobbling. Two experiences of late assure me that the broken time narrative is starting to really hurt us. It joins our fear that climate change will make an abrupt ending, to everything but the stardust. One is the joy our parishioners experience when we open the service remembering the first peoples on our land. Another was that subconscious slip that happened on Ash Wednesday. Instead of dusting each other with ashes and using the words, “ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” we offered stardust as our destination and our version of immortality. We need a credible sense of immortality in order to manage the time famine. Stardust is different than heaven or hell. It is something you can see because scientists have found the machinery to see it. When we have a sense of long time and unending time, we are less likely to scrunch everything into today. Instead, we can deepen the always and the everyday, like washing dishes or flossing teeth, or any joining of spirit to flesh. We can infuse trust into managing and administering. We can be less rushed in our 83.2 years. When we sense the sacred in our ashes and our stardust, consumerism is less the default position for spending our time. The time famine is an active degradation of everyday life. A sense of stardust can reverse the degradation and begin the resurrection among us. We will find the energy to turn the vinegar back to wine when we accept the Easter gift to imagine long time -- resurrected time -- stardust all around us.
2.1 H II regions Abundances are relatively easy to measure in star-forming dwarf galaxies because they contain gas clouds in which large numbers of hot stars are embedded. Their spectra are dominated by nebular emission lines similar to those of high-excitation giant H II regions in late type spiral galaxies. What is observed in the optical are narrow emission lines superimposed on a blue stellar continuum (see Fig 6.). They are identified as helium and hydrogen recombination lines and several forbidden lines. Methods used in determining abundances are well understood and generally more reliable than those based on stellar absorption line data because transfer problems become of minor importance. From the optical, O, N, S, Ne, Ar and He lines are currently measured. With modern detectors fainter lines such as lines of Fe have been studied (Izotov and Thuan, 1999). The ultraviolet (UV) region is dominated by the hot stellar continuum and shows relatively weak emission lines except for those that originate in stellar winds. However there are a few notable exceptions and owing to the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) and more recently the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) nebular carbon and silicon abundances have been determined. Oxygen is the most reliably determined element, since the most important ionisation stages can all be observed. Moreover the [O III] 4363 line allows an accurate determination of the electron temperature. The intrinsic uncertainty in this method (reflecting a simplified conception of the H II region physics, possible problems with temperature fluctuations etc.) is of the order of ~ 0.1 dex (Pagel 1997). Furthermore, when the electron temperature cannot be determined, empirical relations (cf. Pagel 1997) between the oxygen abundance and the [O II]3727 and [O III]4959, 5007 strength relative to H are used, though with lower accuracy (0.2 dex or worse). For other species, in general, one does not observe all the ionisation stages expected to be present in the photoionisation region and an ionisation correction factor must be applied to derive the total abundance of the element in question. One important aspect of H II region abundances is that they can be obtained also at great distances. This makes them powerful tools also for studying high redshift galaxies, with the price that our view will be biased towards actively star-forming systems. For a discussion on possible problems associated with deriving abundances in very distant galaxies, see Kobulnicky et al. (1999).
The 2009 ELI Online Fall Focus Session, "Flattening the Classroom: Building Collaborative Learning Environments," engaged attendees in a two-day, in-depth exploration of the theme of collaborative learning, through presentations, lightning rounds, discussion sessions, and virtual interaction. Collaborations are learning venues that engage students in the active construction of collective knowledge and challenge them to examine issues from multiple perspectives. Throughout the 2009 ELI Online Fall Focus Session, attendees collaborated inside the Learning Space and developed a rich backchannel on Twitter, a microblogging site. This Wordle word cloud provides a quick snapshot of the Twitter conversation that took place during the event. To learn more about Twitter, read the 7 Things You Should Know About... Twitter. Resources from the Focus Session include presentation slides, links, and PDF documents from general sessions and project parlors. Project parlor sessions featured a lightning round of campus projects promoting collaborative learning. A collection of background resources on the theme of collaborative learning, including articles, videos, guides, and collections of links. Reflection and Discussion Guides A set of reflection and discussion guides to help foster local discussion, reflection, and planning to assist in planning and implementing collaborative learning strategies. Focus Session Scenarios A set of challenging scenarios to enable brainstorming on the practical aspects of moving forward with collaborative learning strategies. Twitter tweets from conference participants, offering "quick-byte" resources, opinions, and summaries. Page Last Updated: Tuesday, October 20, 2009
President Chavez says his policies continue the work of Simon Bolivar By Will Grant BBC News, Caracas Celebrations have been taking place in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to mark the country's bicentenary. A large parade included the military and different groups from across Venezuelan society. Attending the celebrations were allies of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, such as President Raul Castro from Cuba and President Evo Morales from Bolivia. Mr Chavez said his socialist policies were part of the same battle as that of independence hero Simon Bolivar. Leading up to the celebrations marking 200 years since the start of the process that led to the country's eventual independence from Spain, he called for a civil-military celebration in the Avenue of the Independence Heroes. As a result, his supporters have turned out in their thousands - bussed into Caracas from across Venezuela. This has been a pro-Chavez party like no other. A parade drawn from every sector of society has trooped past the socialist leader - including Venezuela's Olympic athletes, Afro-Caribbean descendants and indigenous groups. The military has been ever-present too, with F-16 fighter jets screaming overhead. Everywhere are red T-shirts, red baseball caps and Venezuelan flags. Opening the celebrations, President Chavez said his socialist revolution was "part of the same battle as Simon Bolivar's" and many of his supporters agree. "I completely agree - this is the dream of our liberator, Simon Bolivar, that we create Latin American unity - one nation, one people," said one man. Another reveller talked of a "struggle for resistance". "The indigenous people in the parade, for example, are fighting against deculturalisation - having a culture imposed which we don't want," she said. However Mr Chavez's opponents remain sceptical. For them, the display of so much military and armed civilian might is a demonstration of how radicalised and divided Venezuela has become under Mr Chavez. They do not share the sentiment that the 200-year anniversary is a reason for celebration given, they say, the way in which Mr Chavez has used the memory of Bolivar to further his own ends. But whether Venezuelans agree with him or not, Mr Chavez will be glad of a strong dose of national pride with just a few months to go before crucial elections.
The US distributors of Michael Moore's controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 are to appeal a decision by US censors to give it a restrictive rating. Moore interviewed soldiers and bereaved parents for his new film The Motion Picture Association Of America (MPAA) has rated the film R, meaning nobody under 17 can see it unless accompanied by an adult. Moore has attacked the decision, saying that teenagers should be allowed to see the film unaccompanied. The film is due to open on more than 1,000 US screens on 25 June. Lions Gate, one of two companies releasing the film in the US, called the decision "totally unjustified". The MPAA said that the rating was given for "violent and disturbing images and for language". The film shows graphic footage of corpses of US soldiers being burnt, dragged behind a truck and strung up, and a scene of US soldiers apparently mistreating Iraqi prisoners. Moore said: "It is sadly very possible that many 15- and 16-year-olds will be asked and recruited to serve in Iraq in the next couple of years. "If they are old enough to be recruited and capable of being in combat and risking their lives, they certainly deserve the right to see what is going on in Iraq." IFC Entertainment, which is jointly distributing the film in the US along with Lions Gate, said it was confident the decision would be overturned. "IFC has great concern with this decision and will do everything within its power to fight this unjust rating judgment," said its president Jonathan Sehring. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the British Board Of Film Classification told BBC News Online the film had yet to be submitted to them for consideration. It is scheduled to open in the UK in the summer.
The Happiness Formula Wednesday, 24 May 1900 BST on BBC Two Science is beginning to find ways to control happiness in the brain artificially. Since the dawn of time we have sought short-cuts to happiness. Early man got high on psychotropic drugs. Alcohol has been around since the stone age. The designer drugs of today promise ecstasy in a pill. Now neuroscientists are beginning to manipulate happiness in the brain. In a series of experiments in the 1950s and 1960s psychologists pinpointed the pleasure zones in the brains of rats and eventually in human patients. In 1954 Peter Milner and James Olds performed a radical experiment on rats. They implanted electrodes into rats' brains, and found that when they gave electrical brain stimulation the rats seemed to experience pleasure and almost ecstasy at times. Scientists try to create artificial happiness in rats The rats could press a lever which would deliver a small current deep into its brain. It was found that they would perform complex and difficult tasks for another dose of stimulation, and would even press the lever up to 2,000 times an hour to the exclusion of eating or drinking. Olds and Milner concluded that they had discovered the area of the brain responsible for reward. In the 1960s, psychiatrist Robert Heath of Tulane University in New Orleans chose to use this same deep brain stimulation on humans. He performed a series of experiments where he put electrodes deep into his patients' brains. Bob Heath hoped to cure depression, pain, and addiction. But controversially he also experimented on gay men. When a mild shock was administered to patients they felt good. When they were handed the controls they chose to press repeatedly - sometimes over a thousand times. But the pleasure stopped when the current was stopped and Heath eventually abandoned his work. In the last few years interest in deep brain stimulation has been taken up by mainstream medicine to help patients with Parkinson's Disease and also to tackle acute pain. We met Robert Matthews who had had a leg amputated after an accident. Robert still suffers excruciating pain from the leg that no longer exists. "My lowest took me so low. I couldn't even think about myself or my family or anything. That's how far I went. So happiness had gone." An operation by Professor Tipu Aziz, consultant neurosurgeon at the Oxford Functional Neurosurgery Group, meant that the pain could be massively reduced and life for Robert became bearable. Professor Aziz has implanted an electrode in his brain which can in a sense make him happier. The electrode is controlled by a switch which is in his chest. Richard is now free to control the voltage delivered to his brain and thereby reduce the pain he suffers. "I used to worry about the fact of having something in my head but now I don't look at it like that. "I mean, it works to a percentage, which gives us a better way of life than what we had before." So could this be an idea for the future? Morten Kringelbach, a neuroscientist from Oxford University, thinks it is still a long way off. "The prospects of actually putting an electrode in and permanently changing people's happiness, and that is the state of contentment over time, I think the only way that one can do that is by changing the circumstances that people are in." Dr Kringelbach says it is possible to manufacture pleasure. But the priority is to use the science to alleviate pain and depression. But Robert Matthews was in no doubt that if he was offered not just the chance to get rid of his pain but actually to make himself feel positively happy he would turn his switch up to the happy level. "Oh definitely. Most definitely all the way. Take it all the way, yes. That would be a happy day, wouldn't it?" But films and literature have seen the idea of artificial happiness as sinister. In the 1930s novelist Aldous Huxley wrote about it in his book "Brave New World". The idea of synthetic emotion is also explored in the film The Matrix. In our opinion poll we asked whether people would take pills that made them happy if there were no side-effects. Three out of four people said "no thanks". Leading psychologist Professor Ed Diener argues against artificial routes to happiness. "We do not want to create a society that's happy because of drugs. "Society that's locked into happiness, we still want people with functioning emotion systems, systems that react when bad things are happening, and react when good things are happening." And it is a thought echoed by Professor Paul Salovskis, clinical psychologist at King's College London. "It seems to me that drugs as a solution to unhappiness are rather similar to kind of, you know, say plastic surgery to enhance your beauty or whatever. "The quick fix is potentially on the horizon but I think it will keep receding as it already has. "We were promised years ago that we would have the pharmacological solution to all of emotional problems - it hasn't happened." Mark Easton presents The Happiness Formula on BBC Two on Wednesdays at 1900 BST.
The lower house of India's parliament has passed a bill to oblige private universities to admit quotas from disadvantaged low castes and tribes. The bill is to widen educational opportunities for poor children Under India's constitution, state-run colleges already reserve places for low caste Hindus and tribes. The bill was passed by 331 votes to 17 after a heated debate. The opposition BJP supported the bill but argued that colleges run by religious minorities should have been included too. But the BJP's move to include minority institutions in the bill was defeated. 'Drop in standards' The Congress-led government wants India's many independent business, technical and medical colleges to reserve places for students from the traditionally discriminated against and impoverished tribal communities and low castes, also known as Dalits or Untouchables. Government colleges already admit more than a fifth of their students from these groups. Some private colleges are opposing the government, saying they fear a drop in standards if the law is changed.
By Stephen Dowling BBC News at Battersea Bridge Rescuers' efforts were cheered by those lucky enough to see Londoners were captivated by the story of the whale that became stranded in the River Thames. We were there as thousands watched the final few hours of the doomed rescue attempt. The crowd is three deep on the south bank of the Thames just west of Battersea Bridge - and growing. Cycles lie in a heap next to statues and trees. Confused dogs and toddlers whine noisily. Arms are raised in an attempt to give mobile phones and digital cameras a clear view over bobbing heads. The early afternoon whale rescue going on in the low-tide mudflats of the Thames is merely yards away from the crowd, but all except those against the railings are struggling to get a view. All that most can see is a gaggle of police boats lying just offshore, waiting expectantly. An 18ft-long (5m) northern bottle-nosed whale is a difficult thing to miss, but the thousands of people craning their necks and seeing considerably less than they would probably see in the comfort of their front rooms. Not only are helicopters hovering overhead, but several enterprising TV crews have rented space on riverfront patios in flats overlooking rescue scenes to beam the Thames whale rescue to the world. Battersea Bridge has been closed to traffic - the sheer number of people crowding on the pavements has become a hazard. One young woman on the embankment walks off, frustrated. "I'm going home - I'll watch it on the telly." "Put on News 24 and tell me what's happening" Others complain loudly to friends over their mobile phones that the best vantage points have been requisitioned by police for the press. The whale seems to have had a tough time since becoming the star of the rolling news channels Friday afternoon. It's thought to have bumped into one of the bridge pillars overnight, as well as one of the moored boats. One man, Michael Manners, has been watching the whale since before lunch. "It had come close to the shore and beached itself. Then the people surrounded it and started stroking it and comforting it. Then they started putting those floats underneath it." The noise from the excitable crowd thronging the banks causes police to issue a request to keep quiet - apparently vets helping care for the animal think all the unfamiliar noise is causing it stress. Why have so many come here to watch? Getting a vantage point is as difficult as getting tickets for the fifth day of an Ashes decider or a Tim Henman final at Wimbledon (which is as unlikely as the thought of a whale in the Thames was a week ago). But still, Londoners want to come and see a glimpse of this incongruous sight; a deep sea whale lying on an inflatable support within sight of the Battersea Power Station and the Chelsea Embankment's grand terraces. There are cheers from the crowd as the whale in its cradle is dragged out into deeper water and towed towards a waiting barge on the western side of Albert Bridge. The whale died despite elaborate rescue attempts It is here the most dramatic part of the rescue takes place. The inflatables carrying the harness pull up alongside the salvage barge Crossness. Rescuers jump into the water, and the whale is hidden by a hive of activity. Minutes later, the barge's crane lifts the whale into the air, its tail flukes moving up and down. The thousands of people gathered on the Albert Bridge and both banks of the Thames cheer and clap. The barge heads off further down the river, where the vets are due to give the whale a fuller check-up in a quieter stretch of the Thames. But the stress of its wrong turn into the Thames has taken too much out of it and death follows soon after. As the barge starts to chug its way towards the Thames estuary, the crowds start to disperse.
Plans to curb food advertising aimed at children are being unveiled by Ofcom. Almost a third of children in the UK are now overweight The media regulator has ruled out a total TV advertising ban, but is launching a 10-week consultation on guidelines restricting the adverts. The government's White Paper on public health said children should not be encouraged to eat too many foods high in fat, salt and sugar. But the British Heart Foundation and consumer groups said Ofcom's proposals did not go far enough. It called for a complete ban on all junk food broadcast advertising before the 9pm watershed. "Without such radical measures, the government will have little hope of reaching its target to halt the growth in childhood obesity by 2010," said Josh Bayly, campaigns officer for the foundation. Current estimates suggest just under a third of those under 16 are now overweight, and 17% are obese. Any changes to food promotion must be introduced by next year, the White Paper says. Under the plans, celebrities and characters from films or TV programmes would not be allowed to take part in any food or drink commercial targeted at the under-10s. Adverts showing excessive consumption would also be discouraged. Ofcom research indicates TV adverts have a "modest direct effect" on children's food choice. But the combination of exercise, family eating patterns and school policy plays a much larger role in childhood obesity, according to the regulator. Ofcom's proposals are expected to restrict food and drink adverts aimed at children, but fall short of banning them altogether. Public Health Minister Caroline Flint said the government was "committed to changing the nature and balance of food promotion to children". "We want to support parents in protecting their children from encouragement to eat too many high fat, salt and sugar foods. "We will await with interest the outcome of Ofcom's consultation on how to further restrict such advertising on television." The National Consumer Council has called on Ofcom to ban adverts for foods high in fat, salt and sugar from TV shows aimed at children under the age of 16. Its food expert Sue Dibb added: "Anything less than full restrictions on all TV ads and promotions for high fat, salt and sugar foods before the 9pm watershed will be extremely disappointing." Food and farming alliance Sustain spokesman Richard Watts said: "Unless kids are protected from junk food adverts during programmes like X Factor, the Bill or I'm a Celebrity... new rules will be meaningless." A coalition of multi-national food companies, advertising agencies and the broadcast media, the Food Advertising Unit, said advertising targeting children needed to change. But other measures would be needed to change eating habits and tackle childhood obesity in the long term, it added. Food and Drink Federation director general Melanie Leech said the food and drink manufacturing industry recognised "a range of concerns relating to advertising and promotion to children". "As set out in our food and health manifesto, we are committed to working with Ofcom and government, and we will study the detail of the consultation and respond in due course," she said.
Britain's bee population is under threat after a pesticide-resistant strain of mite was found in north Shropshire. Beekeepers are concerned about a new virulent strain of bug The varroa mite had been tackled using pesticides hung in hives after honey had been collected. Now a mutant strain, resistant to these chemicals, has been found in the Child's Ercall and Market Drayton areas of the county. The bug first arrived on the south coast of England from Europe 10 years ago. At one stage it destroyed three-quarters of the UK's honey bee population and was recently reported to have resurfaced in Scotland. It can cause death and deformity among the insects until only ageing and unproductive bees are left and entire colonies collapse.
By Jonathan Duffy BBC News Magazine A simple typing error has triggered mayhem on the Tokyo stock exchange and cost one bank £190m. But in a world where almost everyone now is expected to type, how many of us really can? "Where's the 'P' gone... who's stolen the 'P'?" Think back to those initial days when you made the leap from pen and exercise book to the infinitely more sophisticated keyboard, and how bewildering the jumble of keys seemed to be under your ill-guided fingers. The "P", tucked away in the upper-right-hand reaches of the keyboard always seemed particularly aloof. But in time the apparently random distribution of letters, numbers, punctuation and other function keys fell into place. The Qwerty layout was developed in the late 18th Century not to ease the flight of the touch typist's nimble digits, but the opposite. It was designed to slow her - and in those days it was almost exclusively women who carried out secretarial duties - down and prevent a typewriter's clunky typebars from getting jammed. It's ironic then that today, in an era when lightning-fast computers are de rigueur and typing is no longer the preserve of skilled secretaries, but expected of just about everyone, that the Qwerty layout has never been more widespread. Its popularity, however, is less certain, particularly among those who've been at the sharp end of an embarrassing "fat fingers" incident - the term given to a simple typing error caused by hitting the wrong key. A typing error cost Takuo Tsurushima his job It happens millions of times a day, but once in a while the result can be devastating. Earlier this month a trader on the Tokyo stock market accidentally blew £190m because of a simple typing error. A computer which should have cancelled the transaction failed to click in, and this further embarrassment led to the resignation on Tuesday of the head of the Tokyo stock exchange. 'Hunt and peck' In March this year the Sudanese government was irked to read on a US Congress website that America had carried out nuclear tests in Sudan in the 1960s. Fears were allayed however when it turned out to be a typing error. The report should have said Sedan - a test site in Nevada. Occasionally, such errors can even play into the hands of ordinary folk - such as when online traders accidentally under-price a product. Mostly, though the clumsy two-fingered typist has little to smile about compared to his or her infinitely faster and more accurate touch-typing colleague. TYPING & TEMPERATURE Prof Alan Hedge, Cornell University, found typing accuracy depends on room temperature At 77ºF employees had a 10% error rate At 68ºF speed slowed by almost half, and error rate rose to 25% Hedge also estimated this caused a 10% increase in labour costs per worker hour Anecdotal evidence suggests not only are "hunt and peck" typists less efficient, they are also more likely to suffer an industrial injury. "As more and more people are getting computers at their desks we are becoming a nation of two fingered typists," said the TUC general secretary Brendan Barber this year. "While you can become quite proficient without typing properly, you are putting yourself at serious risk of developing RSI." Part of the problem rests with perceptions, says Sue Westwood, who is campaigning for touch-typing to be taught to children. "In schools we still get comments about it being a secretarial skill and the 'less able' children will make use of it." She compares two-fingered key bashing to "like trying to write with a quill and a pot of ink, because you've got to keep stopping to look up at the screen." In the eyes of John Sutherland, an English professor at University College London, "tough guys don't touch type". His words are meant as caricature. One of the initial problems in selling computers was getting men to touch the keyboard, he says. Having got over that phobia, many are reluctant to see typing as a skill, to be learned. Typing was originally viewed as a woman's job In fact, hunt and peck typists have always been around. The iconic American journalist HL Mencken suffered not a bit from "writing ceaselessly using a staccato two-fingered typing process that made him look like a bear cub imitating a drum majorette" - to quote his biographer Terry Teachout. But times have moved on, and the question for many now is not whether to learn, but how best to learn. French man Daniel Guermuer has a novel approach. M Guermeur felt frustrated when, as a young student, he signed up for a computer science course in the US, only to find his classmates were adept touch typists. (Typing is commonly taught in US schools, says M Guermuer.) He tried some traditional typing courses without any luck, before hitting on the idea of scrubbing all the letters from his keyboard; effectively typing blind. "It's analogous to a piano - there are no marking on piano keys, you just have to learn them," he says. It did the trick and earlier this year M Guermuer began selling blank keyboards for others who want to learn, under the brand Das Keyboard. Two-finger typing can result in injury "You go through two weeks of pain. In the first week your typing slows greatly, but by the end of week two you are touch typing," says M Guermuer. Journalists who have tried the keyboard have reported some success with it. But it's tempting to get things out of hand. Millions of people find the hunt and peck method adequate, some even reporting speeds of up to 60 words per minute. As Alan Knifton, of Pitman Training, acknowledges, "if you don't do a lot of typing, the two-fingered approach is probably sufficient". Just so long as you can remember where that errant "P" went. Add your comments on this story, using the form below. The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide.
People with symmetrical faces more likely to be ‘naturally selfish’Published On: Sun, Aug 14th, 2011 \| Life Style \| By BioNews A new study has suggested that people blessed with more symmetrical facial features, which are considered more attractive, are less likely to co-operate and more likely to selfishly focus on their own interests. Santiago Sanchez-Pages, who works at the universities of Barcelona and Edinburgh, and Enrique Turiegano, of the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, base their claims on the “prisoner’s dilemma” model of behaviour, played out under laboratory conditions. Two players were each given the option of being a “dove” and co-operating for the greater good; or a “hawk”, taking the selfish option, with a chance of gaining more if the other player chose “dove” and co-operated. The subjects’ faces were then analysed. The study found that people with more symmetrical faces were less likely to co-operate and less likely to expect others to co-operate. The two academics speculate that individuals with symmetrical faces are more self-sufficient and have less need for seeking the help of others. “As people with symmetrical faces tend to be healthier and more attractive, they are also more self-sufficient and have less of an incentive to co-operate and seek help from others,” the Guardian quoted them as saying. “Through natural selection over thousands of years, these characteristics continue to the present day,” they added. The findings will be presented at the annual Nobel Laureate Meetings in Lindau, Germany, from 23 to 27 August. (ANI)
Mortgage Fraud Advisory FinCEN issued an advisory in August highlighting examples of common fraud schemes. The advisory identified various types of mortgage fraud frequently reported in Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR) financial institutions file, or identified by law enforcement and regulatory agencies. Fraud examples include occupancy fraud (people claim they will occupy the property when they won’t), overstatement of income, overstating the value of the security property (appraisal fraud), misrepresentation of employment status, failure to list significant financial liabilities, foreclosure rescue scams targeting distressed homeowners, debt elimination schemes, Social Security number fraud and identity theft, and illegal reverse mortgage schemes. The advisory provides guidance on red flag indicators for each of these types of mortgage fraud. For example: Borrowers/buyers submit invalid documents to cancel their mortgage obligations or to pay off their loan balances. Borrowers/buyers apply for a loan for a “primary residence,” but doesn’t reside in the new primary residence as indicated on the loan application. Other individuals occupy the borrowers/buyers’ new primary residence indicating the property is being used as a secondary residence or income-generating property. Borrowers/buyers request refinancing for “primary residence” when public and personal documents indicate that the borrowers/buyers reside somewhere other than the address on the loan application. Low appraisal values, nonarm’s length relationships between short-sale buyers and sellers, or previous fraudulent sale attempts in short-sale transactions. - Past misrepresentations made by borrowers/buyers to secure funding, property, refinance, and/or short sales. No single red flag will be definitive proof of fraudulent activity. The presence of red flags in a given transaction, however, may indicate further due diligence and a decision whether to file a SAR. When completing SARs on suspected mortgage fraud, indicate the type of mortgage fraud by entering the appropriate code in the FinCEN SAR and provide a detailed description in the SAR narrative. For activity that doesn’t have a corresponding code, identify “other” and describe the activity. Refer to FinCEN Advisory FIN-2012-A009: Suspicious Activity Related to Mortgage Loan Fraud at fincen.gov, or call the FinCEN regulatory helpline at 800-949-2732.
Back in June, I spoke with Whitney Bernstein and Michael McMahon about their nascent artist-scientist collaborative, Synergy. The project has now reached fruition; eight artist-scientist teams have produced science-inspired works of art that will be shown at Boston's Museum of Science starting February 16th. The exhibit spans media from music to abstract video, from sculpture to painting. Each work of art is as unique as the artist-scientist team that came together to create it. The vagaries of those working relationships - what drew them to each other, the challenges they faced, and the sometimes surprising rewards they reaped from their collaborations - are as interesting to me as the final products, as gorgeous and intriguing as they are. Fortunately, those behind-the-scenes stories are the subject of a series of audio slideshows produced by Ari Daniel Shapiro (who, yes, has also appeared on Living Lab). Here's one of my favorites:
Contact: Paul Preuss Dark energy appears to account for over three-quarters of the stuff in the Universe, and it’s pushing all the rest – ordinary matter and dark matter – farther apart at an ever-increasing rate. But what is dark energy? Although theories abound, the short answer is that nobody knows. We know it exists because of an experimental technique that uses specific types of exploding stars, or supernovae, as “standard candles.” A dozen years ago measurements of these supernova at increasing distances from Earth led to the unexpected discovery of dark energy; observations of supernovae continue to increase in power and precision in ongoing studies. Independent evidence from measurements of the cosmic microwave background and other estimates of the matter density of the Universe provided early support for the radical idea of dark energy. Newer and quite different techniques, including weak lensing and baryon acoustic oscillations, are now poised to offer unique insights into what Nobel Prize-winner Frank Wilczek has called “the most fundamentally mysterious thing in basic science.” Type Ia Supernovae: The Best Standard Candles During the 1980s and 90s, the Supernova Cosmology Project (SCP), co-founded by Saul Perlmutter and Carl Pennypacker and based at Berkeley Lab, demonstrated that Type Ia supernovae were excellent standard candles for measuring the expansion history of the Universe. Although the idea had been circulating within the astronomical community for years, says Perlmutter, a Berkeley Lab astrophysicist and professor of physics at UC Berkeley, “In the early days, people thought measuring expansion with supernovae would be too hard.” The SCP went on to show that distant supernovae, short-lived and unpredictable as they are, can nevertheless be collected “on demand,” allowing observers to schedule telescope time in advance and accumulate enough data to make confident estimates of expansion. “In retrospect it seems obvious, but we realized that the whole process could be systematized,” Perlmutter explains. “By searching the same group of galaxies three weeks apart, we could find supernovae candidates that had appeared in the meantime. We could guarantee four to eight supernovae each time, and all of them would be on the way up” growing brighter instead of already fading. Type Ia supernovae are among the brightest things in the Universe; what’s more, they are all almost the same brightness, with differences that can be standardized to less than 10 percent. Thus a supernova’s apparent brightness shows how far away it is and, because light takes time to travel, how far back in time it exploded. The supernova’s redshift – the shifting of spectral lines (signals of specific elements in the exploding star) toward the red end of the spectrum – is a direct measure of how much the space through which the light has traveled has stretched. The idea is simple on paper: by comparing brightness to redshift for numerous Type Ia supernovae, from nearby to very distant, an observer can tell how the rate of expansion of the Universe has changed over time. Members of the Supernova Cosmology Project expected to find, as did their rivals in the High-Z Supernova Search Team, that the farther away (the farther back in time) a supernova was, the brighter (closer) it would appear relative to its redshift — an indication that expansion has been slowing. Instead both teams found the opposite. “The chain of analysis was long, and the Universe can be devious, so at first we were reluctant to believe our result,” Perlmutter explains. “But the more we analyzed it, the more it wouldn’t go away.” Perlmutter described the evidence for accelerating expansion at an American Astronomical Society meeting in January 1998. At first both teams thought the cause was a form of Einstein’s “cosmological constant,” assumed to be an unknown form of energy that uniformly, as its name suggests, counteracts the mutual gravitational attraction of the matter in the cosmos. But within weeks a flurry of alternative explanations and theories were put forth, including ideas for a dynamical, not constant, form of energy, or for an odd cosmos in which our Universe bounces back and forth between expansion and contraction — or perhaps most radical of all, that Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, the best explanation of gravitation we have, is flawed. One way to sort out some of these competing theories is to collect a much larger sample of supernovae and measure them with greater precision. That way, scientists would be able to tell whether dark energy has indeed been constant and expansion has followed a smooth curve, or whether at different eras expansion has proceeded faster or slower than at present, and dark energy is dynamic. To gather a lot more supernovae, especially more distant supernovae, it’s necessary for a telescope to escape the limitations of Earth’s atmosphere. In 1999, Berkeley Lab physicists and astronomers formed an international collaboration to design the SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP), a satellite dedicated to the study of dark energy. In 2003 the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NASA formed the Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM) and solicited additional ideas. The DOE JDEM Project Office is located at Berkeley Lab. Better measurements of Type Ia supernovae require reducing or eliminating uncertainties in measuring their brightness and spectra. Brighter Type Ia supernovae wax and wane more slowly than fainter ones, for example, but when these individual “light curves” are stretched to fit the norm, and brightness is scaled according to the stretch, most can be made to match. This “classic” method has been used to standardize intrinsic brightness to within 8 to 10 percent. To reduce these error bars and other uncertainties, more high-quality spectra are needed, beginning with “nearby” supernova, those whose spectra have not been shifted so far into the red that parts are hard to recover or no longer visible. Since its founding in 2002, the Nearby Supernova Factory (SNfactory), a collaboration of Berkeley Lab, a consortium of French laboratories, and Yale University, has amassed an enormous database of some 2,500 spectra. With this data, SNfactory researcher Stephen Bailey found that simply by measuring the ratio of brightness between two specific regions in the spectrum of a Type Ia supernova taken on a single night, that supernova’s distance can be determined to better than 6 percent uncertainty. Berkeley Lab cosmologist Greg Aldering, a founder and leader of the SNfactory, says, “This is an example of exactly what we designed the Nearby Supernova Factory to do. It underlines the vital role of detailed spectrometry in discoveries of cosmic significance.” But supernovae alone cannot provide the whole answer. Baryon acoustic oscillation is a new technique that provides a “cosmic ruler” to measure the expansion history of the Universe. Read on> How dark energy was discovered is discussed in http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/sabl/2007/Nov/darkenergy1.html (part 1); http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/sabl/2007/Nov/darkenergy2.html (part 2); and http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/sabl/2008/Feb/dark-energy.html (part 3). How supernovae are used to measure dark energy is discussed in detail in http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/sabl/2005/October/04-supernovae.html (part 1); http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/sabl/2005/November/04-supernovae-2.html (part 2); and http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/sabl/2006/Jan/05-supernovae-pt3.html (part 3).
Portland City Hall Occupy camp dispersed By NIGEL DUARA Of the Associated Press PORTLAND — The last visible remnants of the 2011 Occupy Portland movement held court in front of City Hall for nearly two years. A community of sign-holding, slogan-chanting, pot-banging protesters brought noise and attention to the city's acute homeless problem. The encampment mostly comprised of homeless people began after police ordered the removal of tents and other structures from the 300-person Occupy Portland encampment in late 2011. But, much like the Occupy protest that preceded it, the message split — homelessness was joined by causes including opposition to water fluoridation and the closure of a local reservoir. By early this summer, the area was the site of a well-entrenched protest but also a meeting point for the area's homeless population, whose occasional catcalls and violence drew complaints from residents and business owners who visited City Hall. On Tuesday, police arrived to enforce the city-ordered dispersal of the 30-person encampment, five days after city workers hung eviction notices from nearby trees. The City Hall protest sought to focus attention on Portland's homeless population, who say the city feeds them but doesn't provide enough places to stay. Many in the encampment said they still identified with the Occupy movement that swept the country in late 2011 as outrage over perceived Wall Street greed and corporate personhood bubbled over into the streets. The loose structure of those initial protests had fractured further over time in Portland. Mayor Charlie Hales said the encampment deterred people from entering City Hall and intimidated those working inside. Portland police spokesman Pete Simpson said the protesters dispersed without violence or resistance, although some said they plan to return. “Our officers know that everything they do is being recorded by the media and by the crowd,” Simpson said. Police brought their own recording equipment to document the dispersal. “We know we're not the issue,” Simpson said. “The issue is bigger than us.” The protesters left, some crossing the street to yell as workers hosed down the sidewalk. Shouts of “This is a police state!” echoed near a police press conference. Some protesters said the police turnout was an overreaction. “This morning, an overwhelming amount of government funds went into picking up trash on the sidewalk,” said Sawyer Sherman, 19, a protester at the site for the last four months. Sherman said the protest will continue in some form, and despite the police presence on Tuesday, it's unclear what effect the dispersal will have. Many protesters remained in the area and some held signs pledging to return. The city converted the block surrounding City Hall into a high-traffic pedestrian area, but that designation only prevents sleeping on the sidewalk from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Inmate crews supervised by the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office packed the remains of the encampment across the street from the former protest. Toothbrushes, torn pieces of fabric and clothing were stuffed into plastic bags and removed. Relatively lenient city policies and mild weather have long attracted the homeless to Portland, particularly in the summer. The Occupy Portland camp endured many of the same issues as the City Hall encampment: A group of protesters was soon joined by homeless people, who brought attention and sometimes problems to the area. Hales said he has had more than 100 police calls to the block around City Hall in the last six months. He said he's heard reports of open drug use and public sex. Trevor Matney, 33, handcuffed himself to a tree next to the protest for five days, but dispersed with the rest of the crowd on Tuesday morning. Matney acknowledges that some protesters may have brought unwanted attention to the encampment by heckling passersby. “That's part of any protest,” Matney said. “It's our First Amendment right to say whatever we feel is the truth.” He said he expects the protest and encampment to resume on Tuesday night. “We're still planning on being here,” Matney said. “The goal here is awareness.” Reach reporter Nigel Duara on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nigelduara
Some things just bear repeating, especially when to do otherwise is to allow misinformation to keep parading around. That misinformation is lurking in questions a Chronicle editorial asked the other day about the Hugo Diaz case. Hugo Diaz, an illegal alien, was sentenced last week to 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to running various construction businesses with illegal immigrant labor. When he’s released, he’ll be deported. Diaz amassed millions of dollars in net worth – as evidenced by his Jones Creek mansion that also served as a home-away-from-hacienda for some of the illegal immigrants who worked for him. And while the feds have seized all they could grab, Diaz likely has plenty more cash squirrelled away for his retirement to Mexico. And, quite rightly, people want to know: How did he get away with it? The Chronicle asked it this way: “How did he get business licenses, building permits, bank accounts, new vehicles and more?” I addressed this shortly after Diaz was arrested, mostly because I was hearing from county staffers who were none too happy at the insinuation that they had winked at lawbreaking. Yet here are those arched-eyebrow questions again: • How did he get business licenses? Columbia County charges an occupation tax, often (incorrectly) called a business license. As I wrote a few weeks ago, “Diaz had three companies that paid occupation taxes to Columbia County. Those companies started in Richmond County, and moved here about three years ago before local governments had access to a federal verification system. Now in place, that system likely would have caught them, but they were arrested first.” Diaz had simply lied on the part of the application where he said he was here legally, and the county didn’t have the ability to prove him wrong. By the time they could, Diaz had been arrested. Moot point. • Building permits? He didn’t get any. Private contractors obtained those permits in their names, and then hired Diaz’s crews. • Bank accounts, new vehicles? All that takes is money; Diaz had plenty. Neither need citizenship. So how did he get away with it? Diaz did it the old-fashioned way: He worked hard. He supplied cheap labor to legitimate contractors looking to cut corners. If your house was built in the past half-dozen years or so in Columbia County, chances are good that one of Diaz’s crews worked on it. Did you ask to see the papers of those laborers before you bought that house? Of course not. Did the contractor? Probably not. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” is alive and well in the underground economy. Of course, when people like Diaz get busted, it makes cheap labor a little harder to come by. It might also make those houses more expensive, for a while. Like Diaz, we can just fool ourselves: It was a good deal while it lasted. (Barry L. Paschal is publisher of The Columbia County News-Times. Email barry.paschal@newstimes online.com, or call 706-863-6165, extension 106. Follow at twitter.com/
HUNTINGTON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – A new law in Huntington requires a business pay for a permit before flying a feather advertising flag. WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs On The Story Some say the tall feather flags are visual pollution. But business owners say they’re very effective advertising tools and believe the new restriction will be bad for business, WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs reported. “I don’t think it’s fair, to be honest. I think the companies do a good job advertising through the flags. So, I think it benefits them a lot and it helps the community out also,” Sean, who manages a sporting goods store, told Xirinachs. “I understand restrictions. I understand bans. I understand the need for laws. I think that some laws are just too much,” said Chris, the manager of the local Crumbs location. In addition to requiring a permit, the new law restricts the number of flags and the duration they can stay up. A business that displays a feather flag without a permit would face a $250 fine. Do you think the new law is fair? Sound off in the comments section below.
We had two visits on Thursday from some Awesome Authors. These Grand Forks K-2 students are participating in a summer creative writing class taught by Ms. Laura Knox, kindergarten teacher at Viking Elementary in GF. The students came to the Herald to learn about writing and were equipped with pencils and notebooks. I found out they even have their own blog (see link at the very bottom)! Yes, these kids are in grades K-2 – WOW! I was very impressed. I have posted some photos that Ms. Knox was very kind to share with me – thank you! We enjoyed your visits. Jackie Lorentz, Herald staff photographer talking with the kids. Look Jackie, my tooth is loose. I showed the kids my blog. Here we are pictured in my desk area. Here we are pictured in the special features department with Ann Bailey, Special Features Editor, Jackie Lorentz, Photographer, Ms. Knox and Marie, the bus driver. When the students arrived back at school, they finally had a chance to read their copies of the Grand Forks Herald! Check out Ms. Knox’s Summer School Class and their blog by clicking on the following link: classblogmeister.com/blog.php
A 3-week-old Humboldt Penguin gazes plaintively from the opening of its nest, waiting for its parents to return with food. They may be out hunting for fish. But if they take much longer, they might not have a chick to provide for. Invading rats with bodies up to 8 inches long have begun eating eggs and chicks, and some experts fear that unless the rats are eradicated, they could tip the Humboldt penguin toward extinction. keyboard shortcuts: V vote up article J next comment K previous comment
By Jennifer Meehan Do you ever feel a need to spice up your root vegetable life? Need a little excitement alongside those carrots and potatoes? You might want to consider the Jerusalem artichoke, aka, the sunchoke. Despite the name, these tubers are neither artichokes, nor from Jerusalem. The plant that produces this root vegetable is a species of sunflower with daisy-like blossoms. Legend has it that Italian immigrants took to calling the plant Girasole (Italian for sunflower) due to its resemblance to the garden sunflowers found so frequently back home. ‘Girasole’ evolved into ‘Jerusalem,’ either intentionally to reduce confusion over the actual plant classification, or unintentionally through a cross-continental, multi-generational game of telephone. The Jerusalem artichoke is native to eastern North America, and early European explorers reported that they were one of several plants commonly cultivated by Native Americans in the region. Sunchokes are knobby tubers, similar in appearance to ginger, similar in texture to potato, and similar in flavor to a water chestnut – with a sweet, nutty character that’s quite versatile in the kitchen. While browsing at the Carroll Gardens Greenmarket last week, I noticed sunchokes on display at Berried Treasures Farm’s stand. I grabbed a handful and sat down for a quick chat with Berried Treasures farmer Franca Tantillo. Franca, a Staten Island native, has been farming upstate for twenty six years. She began her career as a registered nurse, working with a doctor, Carey Reams, who was well known for his work in alternative medicine. They had a seventy-eight acre farm, where they would host guests looking to fast and cleanse. When she wasn’t working with patients, Franca would work in the fields, and that’s how she found her calling. “So,” she says, “I went into farming when farming wasn’t shi-shi.” Her thirty-six acre farm is located in Cooks Falls, New York, in the western Catskills. Strawberries are the farm’s main claim to fame, but they also grow about seventeen varieties of potatoes. “The next big thing,” Franca told me, “…is going to be sunchokes!” The season for sunchokes is NOW. They’re planted in April, grow underground all season, and are harvested in late September or early October. Franca plans to overwinter her sunchokes this year, so you’ll be able to find them again this spring, but now’s the time to get your freshly harvested fall sunchokes. Franca’s favorite way to prepare the ‘chokes? Chips. “Ooooh, the chips are great!,” she raves. Thinly sliced and lightly fried, sunchokes don’t absorb much oil, nor do they have starch – the carbohydrates in sunchokes come in the form of something called inulin, rather than starch, which our bodies don’t break down into sugar, so they’re a healthier alternative than many other types of chips. Sunchokes are very versatile. If you want crunch, they can be eaten raw or steamed – or they can be used in a similar manner to potatoes. As I headed home from the market, I thought of a delicious sunchoke dish I’d had the previous week at Williamsburg’s Masten Lake. I asked Chef Angelo Romano about the recipe. To begin, he mixes tonnato (Sicilian olive-oil packed tuna), with ricotta and garlic. He then shaves raw sunchokes onto a plate, and tops them with white balsamic vinegar, the tonnato mixture, purple tomatillos (which he gets from Brooklyn Grange), and dried sumac. Another tasty sunchoke recipe? Try this German sunchoke salad with bacon and scallions from Cathy Erway of Not Eating Out in New York.
Hate mongers torched three cars on a heavily Orthodox stretch of Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn yesterday and scrawled swastikas and other vile messages on vehicles and park benches. Residents on the Midwood block lined with synagogues and yeshivas were awoken at 5:30 a.m. to the sounds of sirens and the sight of towering flames shooting from the vehicles. The heinous acts of vandalism — which cops are investigating as a hate crime — came a day after the anniversary of the Nazis’ infamous “Kristallnacht” attack in Germany and Austria on Nov. 9-10, 1938, when Jews were beaten and their property was destroyed by government stormtroopers and civilian mobs. “The fact that this most recent attack came on the heels of the 73rd anniversary of Kristallnacht may or may not be a coincidence,” Mayor Bloomberg said. “Either way, this kind of hateful act has no place in the freest city in the freest country in the world.” Swastikas were painted on some of the benches, and a van was tagged with “KKK.” They also spray-painted the words “F–k Jews” on the sidewalk. “I think it’s a jealousy of wealth, and then the use of anti-Semitism as a way to express that jealousy,” said Bobby Tebeli, whose mother’s BMW X5 was burned out. “This has really unnerved the community,” said state Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who represents the neighborhood. NYPD investigators remained at the scene hours after the attack, and a heightened police presence was visible in the neighborhood. Hillel Stein, 27, a lifelong resident, also drew a comparison to the anniversary of the Nazi-era anti-Semitic attacks. “This is Kristallnacht all over again. People are expressing their hatred of the Jews,” Stein said. City Councilman David Greenfield said his office would offer a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the attack. Meanwhile, hate also reared its head in Queens, when a man was accused of spray painting a series of swastikas, including one on a synagogue. Franco Rodriguez, 40, allegedly sprayed nine of the vile symbols in five different incidents between Oct. 30 and Nov. 4, police said. One swastika defaced the door of the Jackson Heights Library. Another Nazi symbol was sprayed on the Congregation Tifereth Israel of Jackson Heights on 88th Street. Additional reporting by Mitchel Maddux
Drax AGM 2014 – No to coal and biomass! Date(s) - 23/04/2014 The Grocers’ Hall Drax power station in Yorkshire is converting 3 of its 6 units to run on biomass. Since its last AGM it has converted and opened one unit and burned up to 5.5 million tonnes of green wood (mostly imported) – that’s equivalent to more than half of the UK’s annual wood production. At full capacity this unit alone will have netted them £190 million in subsidies. When all 3 units are converted they’ll be looking at almost £700 million a year – paid for through our increased fuel bills. What’s more, Drax’s conversion actually allows it to burn more coal long into the future. Even after the conversion they’ll be burning some 3.7 million tonnes of coal every year from opencast mines in the UK and imported from places like Colombia, where communities have been forced off their land for expanding mines. Come along to our Drax AGM protest to call for an end to big biomass and coal, an end to subsidies that allow operators like Drax to keep profiting from destruction, and for genuinely climate and people-friendly alternatives. We’re mobilising for Drax’s AGM on the 23rd April in London, and before that hosting the Biomess Awards – have you voted for your biggest biomass baddie yet? See our website for more details http://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/drax-agm/.
This is a ranked list of the tallest buildings in the Europe. These buildings include some of the newest and most beautiful beautiful building as well as some iconic long-standing skyscrapers. This list answers the question, “What is the tallest building in the Europe?” These tallest buildings in Europe can be found everywhere from France to Russia, to the to Spain. Skyscrapers have long been one of mankinds most prolific achievements. Since the dawning of the industrial era in America people have sought to build the biggest and tallest buildings in the world. As technology progressed and other nations look to make their mark on architecture, countries around the world are building buildings, each one taller than the next. These skyscrapers are often built by wealthy individuals or hugely successful multinational conglomerates. These tallest skyscrapers can be found all around Europe in commercial centers in places like Moscow, Madrid, Paris and Vienna. These buildings offer some of the best views in Europe. These tallest buildings in Europe include both business and commercial centers as well as residential buildings. If you are interested in architecture and buildings are are wondering “where the tallest building in Europe is,” you can find it on this list. Located in Moscow, this 1112 ft. building was built in 2013. It is 75 floors. Located In: Russiasee more on Mercury City Tower Located in London, this 1,015 ft building was built in 2012. It is 87 floors. Located In: United Kingdomsee more on The Shard Located in Moscow, this 1,013 ft. building will be completed in 2014. It will be 72 floors. Located In: Moscow
We want to be the first ones. To be ahead and discover the unknown possibilities of the production of musical instruments. To research and develop production processes based on the innovation and the new technologies. To explore and improve the use of new materials. To imagine a believe –like you do- that other sound is possible. In Rasch Drums we do not accept the conventional rules. That is the attitude that makes us different. Rasch Drums starts in 2011 as an research project by to design engineer and musicians. Manuel Ibáñez Arnal and Patricia Clemente Visiedo analyse the acoustic capacities of the composite materials as well as their application to musical instruments. This underdeveloped field offers many possibilities because there are hardly any research about the application of these materials to the percussion instruments and their real influence on the vibration of the membranes. The result is the foundation of the Rasch Drums company in November 2013. The original product line has 3 highly configurable series of snare of 14” x 05” called “Guillotine”, “Energy” and “Diamond”. Each series has its own properties, very different from any other product ever made. During 2014 it would be release lots of innovations that will surprise everybody.
Colorblind man moved to tears after special glasses allow him to enjoy his first sunset A colorblind man was moved to tears when he tried on a pair of special glasses that allowed him to see sunset in its full glory for the first time. Aaron Williams-Mele posted the video over the weekend to YouTube, saying his parents got him a pair of special EnChroma glasses and he would be trying them on for the first time at Whitehurst Beach in Norfolk, Virginia. Williams-Mele puts the glasses on and is immediately taken aback by what he sees. “What the f*ck,” he says, then chokes up and is moved to tears. The glasses were invented on accident by scientist Don McPherson in 2005 who was creating special lenses to protect surgeons’ eyes and help them differentiate color during procedures, Smithsonian reports. They were found to have a different use when McPherson’s friend, who is colorblind, asked to borrow them. Suddenly, his friend could see colors he had not been able to see. So McPherson and his team began making design improvements geared toward helping the colorblind see color. All people have three sets of “cones” in their eyes allowing them to see three colors: blue, red and green, according to Smithsonian. In colorblind people, the red and green cones overlap too much, which causes loss of perception. The glasses work by forcing the cones to absorb color like a normal eye. Watch Williams-Mele react to seeing the sunset for the first time with normal color vision here:
and numerals and their ancient religious uses in our e-book Ancient Creation Stories told by the Numbers by H. Peter Aleff Numerals and constants tell the creations of numbers and world The Shen- Ring: Eternity and All The ancient Egyptians saw the beginning of the world not as an assembling of separate units, but as a process of differentiation, a dividing of elements that had been initially united “before two things evolved in this world”2. Their view anticipated the successive separations in the biblical story -- light from darkness, heaven from earth, land from water -- as well as the modern scientific versions of cell division, or of the Big Bang splitting up into gazillions of galaxies. Accordingly, the typical Egyptian creation tale starts with the largest and greatest entity in existence and then zooms in towards a close- up at the human scale. Like our modern infinity, that greatest existing unit was too big to be expressed by numbers. We can compare this to times when we generate QR code for info that is "too big" to be contained any other way in technology formats. The hieroglyph for that greatest unit was the “Shen- Ring” which some of its early depictions in the Pyramid Texts show as a circle made from a double rope, with the ends of the rope tied together to form a straight line tangent to the circle. Its name came from a root that meant “encircling”, and one of its meanings was “all that the sun circles”3. The earliest known example appeared on a wine jar in a recently found grave that probably dates to Dynasty “0” before about 3,100 BCE4. From the time of the Fourth- Dynasty king Sneferu (2575 to 2551 BCE) on5, the scribes used also an elongated version of this ring, the so-called “cartouche”, to surround one and later two of the king’s five names, one of which came to include almost always the name of the sun god Re6. This ring around his name indicated that the king, as living embodiment of the sun, ruled over all that the sun circles, that is, over all that exists. The Shen- Ring- derived cartouche was also meant to protect the royal name7 -- and thereby the king himself -- from the darkness and chaos of non- existence that lies outside the sun’s closed loop, as in our modern belief that life can only exist inside an enclosure such as a skin or a cell wall that protects it by keeping the outside out. This ancient protection magic worked as well as only a charm can: it preserved these names indeed from the non- existence of being forgotten because it was the presence of these cartouches in each section of the Rosetta Stone that allowed investigators such as the Swedish diplomat Åkerblad (1802), the English physicist Thomas Young (1814), and then the French scholar Jean François Champollion (1822) to decipher the signs within8 as the first step towards understanding the rest of the hieroglyphs which brought back the deeds of the pharaohs and their people. Unlike modern infinities, the Shen- Ring boundary was thus not really boundless. The only true infinity the Egyptians knew was Nu or Nun (the “watery” or “inert one”)9, the primeval, undifferentiated, lightless and bottomless watery abyss that surrounded and interpenetrated all the created world the way radio waves and other radiations surround us and zip through us. Within the protected sphere of the created world, Nun was mostly beneficial: it was the darkness through which the sun god traveled nightly to renew himself for the next morning, it was the ocean of inertness where sleepers immersed themselves to wake up refreshed, its waters were the inundation that annually renewed life along the Nile. Nun was also the groundwater below the earth that one found in wells, or in the bottom of foundation trenches for temples which, like creation itself, rose from Nun10. Outside that protected sphere, however, Nun was the unlimited chaos within which the world had come into being and into which it would ultimately return after running its course for “millions and millions of years”11, just as the “Big Crunch” in one modern cosmology scenario has our universe collapse back into its original state. The Egyptians imagined this endless non- being as filled with water, a continuous medium like the wave- carrying ether with which 19th century scientists used to fill the same space, or like the quantum field in today’s pre- Big- Bang pseudo- vacuum which also echoes the watery aspect of Nun with its probability waves and fluctuations of virtual energies. Like that pseudo- vacuum, Nun was non- existence, virtual and latent, the entity from which all being sprang and obtained renewal but which had no being itself. Embedded in Nun’s dark waters floated the sun- circled world that exists, like “a nutshell of being in an ocean of non-being”, as the Egyptologist Erik Hornung put it12. That world was the air space between the waters above the firmament and those below the earth, a round cosmic bubble13 comparable to our modern universe. Like its modern counterpart, this sphere of order created within the chaos was also finite in theory, but so large and long- lasting that for all practical purposes it also had no end in either space or time. The shape of the Shen- Ring illustrates this everlastingness since circles have also no end. Here is how another Egyptologist, Richard H. Wilkinson, begins his discussion of this sign: “Being without beginning or end, the circle evokes the concept of eternity through its form, and its solar aspect is symbolized by the sun disc often depicted in the center of the Shen sign.”14 Because of this association with eternity, the Shen- Ring was often incorporated into funeral art to symbolize the eternal life of the deceased. It also appeared in the essence- defining headdress of boundless and eternal Nun15. However, the fact that it was made of two ropes showed it was not part of Nun’s uniform chaos before the creation “when there were not yet two things”16 but was clearly distinct from it. In other words, the Shen- Ring illustrates the beginning of creation according to the ancient Heliopolitan doctrine when the creator god Atum fashioned himself within Nun. Atum’s name confirms this interpretation. Siegfried Morenz, a scholar of pharaonic religion, suggests Atum may mean “He who is the Totality”17, and this corresponds, of course, to the ring that surrounds and defines “all that exists”. Similarly, Hornung translates Atum as “The Undifferentiated”18. This matches the One-ness of Atum before he divided his substance to make other gods, and it also matches the unity of the Shen- Ring before its ropes get separated. Moreover, both the Atum of the myth and the Shen- Ring in the hieroglyphic picture contain already the seed of the future division. We can therefore compare the double rope of the Shen- Ring with the double helix of DNA which forms the basis of our own existence and which would appear as a Shen- Ring- like double circle with maybe a similar couple of loose ends if we looked at it along its straightened- out axis. The Shen- Ring represents equally well the dual conceptions of time in ancient Egypt. Morenz explains these : “... for the Egyptians time had several aspects and was structured in different ways. (...) One is the cyclic line of periodicity, which manifested itself to the Egyptians above all in the regular repetition of the Nile flood- waters and the florishing of crops. From this was derived the year (rnpt) as a unit of time: this term means literally ‘the rejuvenescent’, and of itself indicates the cyclic character of time. It had striking political implications, too, since the reign of each pharaoh was considered a new beginning. The second aspect of time is expressed by the idea of time stretching lineally to infinity (chronologically speaking: to eternity); it is exemplified by the aspiration to the fulfilment of the [career steps] on the part of Egyptian officials, and by the urge for indestructibility impressively symbolized by the mummy. These ideas of the structure of time are certainly most characteristic. (...) The time for persons has its geometric location on the straight line leading to infinity. (...) But the time for natural phenomena as well as for objects relating to cult etc. is linked to the cyclical time, and here the repetitive character is logical and necessary.”19 The circle and the line were thus also the elements that made up time, and they obviously had to touch each other since the world existed simultaneously in both. What better symbol could the hieroglyph designer(s) have devised for this dual but linked basic concept of cyclical and linear time than the circle and tangent line of the Shen-Ring? Download high quality http://www.pass4sure.com/CCIE-Voice.html to prepare http://www.pass4sure.com/certification/a-plus-test.html and http://www.pass4sure.com/642-067.html with certification. Also get http://www.actualtests.com/study/comptia-a-plus.htm for review of http://www.actualtests.com/exam-642-648.htm. Contact us at recoveredscience.com
With some funding from the State Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and the Federal Department of Homeland Security, the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts is now better prepared to shelter more people in the event of an emergency. The chapter recently used the grant to purchase eight sheltering trailers, including 100 cots and 200 blankets for each trailer. “The Region absorbed the cost of the remainder of the supplies in the trailers which includes adult and child Comfort Kits, foam bed wedges, a table, chairs, a hand cart and extension cords,” explained Steve Napoli, Program Manager of External Relations. “We have also placed several medical cots to address the needs of persons with disabilities in each trailer.” The medical cots were purchased with funds provided by the same agencies. Trailers are now being placed strategically throughout the Eastern Massachusetts region but will be able to support sheltering efforts throughout the state.
El Dorado Wineries El Dorado Wineries are settled in the Sierra Foothills range from 1,200 to 3,500 feet in elevation. The hundreds of microclimates make a perfect home to nearly 50 grape varieties. The warm summer days and cool night air give El Dorado wines their extraordinary flavors and deep colors. In 1848 the California gold rush came to El Dorado County. By 1870 El Dorado was the largest producer of wine in the state of California. Today El Dorado County has over 50 wineries. Stop by one of our superb wineries and see what makes mountain grown wines exceptional.
The OpenBionics Prosthetic Hand concept winner of the Robotdalen Innovation Award 2015 A prosthetic hand concept, created by the Greek open source initiative OpenBionics, was appointed first prize winner of the Robotdalen Innovation Award 2015, at a prize ceremony held in Västerås, Sweden on September 3rd. The jury’s motivation was: “The OpenBionics Prosthetic Hand concept appears as a rather well-developed concept that has a great potential in gaining competitive edge in the market as a product. The dexterous and compliant robot hand allows the user, as an amputee with hand loss, to experience a wide variety of grasping postures. Additionally, the OpenBionics Prosthetic Hand concept satisfies the needs of the main target users concerning the light-weight and the low-price of the product. The concept benefits from the prospects of rapid prototyping using 3D printing as well as easy fabrication.” The jury consisted of Christer Norström, CEO, Swedish Institute of Computer Science (Chairman of the Jury), Narges Asadi, Industrial PhD candidate, Volvo Construction Equipment and Petter Ögren, Associate Professor, CAS, KTH Royal Institute of Technology. First prize winners of the Robotdalen Innovation Award 2015: the Greek initiative OpenBionics. Photos: Henrik Mill By winning the Robotdalen Innovation Award 2015, OpenBionics receives a sum of SEK 110,000 (approximately €25,000) where SEK 45,000 is prize money and SEK 55,000 is offered to be used to develop the concept in cooperation with Robotdalen. The internationally oriented competition is directed at innovators, entrepreneurs, graduate and postgraduate students from all over the world who have ideas, concepts or solutions with commercial potential and breakthrough technology, addressing certain fields of robotics and automation. - This prosthetic hand concept is in line with our focus on new technical solutions for health care and comply with our efforts to develop what we call Technology for Independent Life, says Peter Stany, Innovation Driver at Robotdalen. The second prize in the competition went to the Danish company Odico Aps Formwork Robotics and their Robotic Hotwire Cutting proposal; a tool suitable for the construction industry which convert digital designs to real objects, as an alternative to 3D printing. Third prize went to Dr.-Ing. Mohammad Ali Nasseri, creator of the Hybrid Parallel-Serial Micromanipulator, a medical tool for eye doctors, aimed at assisting ophthalmic surgery. Even the second and third prize consists of prize money and means to further develop the concept together with Robotdalen. Below is OpenBionics’ movie explaining the hand prosthetic concept.
A few days ago, the Associated Press published a story about the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program expiring in 2019 and its possible effect on Route 66 businesses and towns. You can read the story straight from the source here. The good news is the story was distributed to thousands of newspapers, television stations, radio stations and news websites across the world. Naturally, it gave Route 66 much attention. The bad news is the story generated some panicked responses, including people who are half-convinced Route 66 will die without the program. The AP story is correct and concise, which is typical for the news agency and its reporters. But here are some nuances that need to be known: — Concern about the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program’s expiration has percolated for years. This is not a new development. This was known when the legislation program’s extension became law in 2009; the end was baked into the bill from the start. In fact, the program’s approaching sunset date of 2019 was a primary reason the Route 66: The Road Ahead group formed 3 1/2 years ago, so they could begin searching for alternatives. — Chances for the program’s renewal are slim and none. The AP story said renewal by congressional lawmakers seemed possible, but the Route 66: The Road Ahead group saw this as unlikely even in 2013. With the election of Donald Trump as president a few months ago and his vows to cut domestic spending, adding another 10 years to the Route 66 Corridor Preservation program seems even more dubious. — The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program was very good for small, historic businesses. The program occasionally bestowed grants for educational programs such as oral history or preserving a historic postcard collection. But the majority of recipients were mom-and-pop business owners. Many of those cost-share awards went to replacing roofs, emergency stabilization of structures or other vital tasks. Some may argue with the program’s occasional grant to restore neon signs, but those beacons in the night made such businesses more visible to travelers and, thus, more financially viable. — The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program never was fully funded. When first enacted by Congress in 1999, the program was slated for $10 million in matching grant funds over the life of its first 10 years. Because of congressional appropriations, the program never came close to having that much money available to dole out. — Losing the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program won’t be catastrophic to the Mother Road. The Rutgers University economic impact study a few years ago conservatively estimated Route 66 generated more than $100 million in economic activity annually. The program’s total grant awards seldom topped $200,000 a year. It’s a drop in the proverbial bucket. So while the program’s loss will be unfortunate and mourned, it won’t become a harbinger of a vast disappearance of Route 66 landmarks. But the program is revered enough that the Route 66: The Road Ahead group seems determined to set up some sort of substitute program. In short, the end of the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program isn’t the end of the world — or of Route 66, for that matter. (Image of Route 66 in California by Meins Photography via Flickr)
“We may pass violets looking for roses. We may pass contentment looking for victory.” Bernard Williams, British philosopher (1929 – 2003). Thursday, 11 October 2012 The crystal ball? A Northwestern University study claims to have a devised a formula that can predict if scientists will become future stars. It considers factors that contribute to a scientist’s trajectory including the number of articles written, the current h-index, the years since publishing the first article, the number of distinct journals one has published in and the number of articles in high impact journals. Useful or dangerous?
Educating for Justice By Father Jim Mulligan, CSC My first assignment as a Holy Cross Father in 1969 was to teach religion and French at Notre Dame College School in Welland. In 1976, after a sabbatical in France to advance my studies, I returned to Notre Dame to teach religion. I proposed to the principal and several key teachers at the school the idea of a pilgrimage – a holy walk. The idea had been percolating in my mind since my studies in Paris, where I had participated in a pilgrimage, walking with university students from Paris to the magnificent cathedral of Chartres. I was very taken with the notion of a pilgrimage as metaphor for faith and life. I imagined three pillars that would serve as a foundation for such an endeavour: Fundraising to support projects in a developing country, witnessing to faith and educating for justice. The fundraising effort of Miles for Millions, a Canadian campaign launched in 1967 to raise funds to alleviate world hunger, had ended, creating the opportunity for a similar initiative to assist the developing world from here in Niagara. The idea was simple: Pilgrims would raise money for each kilometre they walked, with the money raised divided between supporting a Holy Cross mission in Bangladesh, India or Peru, and The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace. The faith experience is the second pillar of the pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is a faith experience, a walk to a holy place. As Niagara does not have a shrine for Pilgrims to walk to, another location is designated as the holy site. Once there, pilgrims participate in Mass. In most instances, this is the school gym, although pilgrims from Denis Morris Catholic High School, Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School and Saint Francis Catholic Secondary School in St. Catharines each walk from their individual schools to the Market Square in downtown, where they share the Eucharist and walk in solidarity, before returning to their own schools after lunch. In Niagara Falls, Saint Michael Catholic High School and Saint Paul Catholic High School take turns hosting the event. At Notre Dame College School, where the Pilgrimage originated, a candlelight service is held at the end of each walk. One flame becomes many, as light is spread throughout the assembly. Educating for justice is a vital piece of the pilgrimage experience. The preparation for the walk that takes place in the school and across the curriculum in the weeks leading up to Pilgrimage Sunday is the third pillar to the pilgrimage experience. Over the past 39 years, a different question of justice and peace has been presented, giving students the opportunity to reflect on Catholic social teachings. By pondering these questions, students develop critical thinking skills that encourage them to think beyond what they see or read. It is important to show people how modern society often makes it easy to stray from gospel teachings; and equally important to impress upon students the way in which we are all interconnected and interdependent, making us responsible for one another. Nearly four decades have passed since the first Pilgrimage took place in Welland. Thousands of miles have been walked in support of people in developing nations around the world. That it has withstood the changing times, and grown to become one of the most anticipated dates on the school year calendar proves it is a very important part of life in our Catholic high schools. It is also very important to the communities that have benefitted from some of the $2.6 million raised. Source: Showcase, Fall 2014 http://portal.niagaracatholic.ca/showcase/
UFO Sightings Are At All Time High; Is It Time To Prepare For An Alien Invasion? (Photo : Fox News/YouTube screenshot) This is not about another UFO sighting. Its about the ones that have already been spotted over the years. A recent statistical analysis of the number of UFO sightings in the U.K. and U.S. revealed that the number has increased exponentially and broke all the previous records. Sam Monfort, a doctoral research candidate from the Human Factors and Applied Cognition, George Mason University, studied the exact number of recorded UFO sightings in the last century. He procured the raw data from the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC), the organization that makes official records of UFO sightings. He reported that till date, there has been a total of 104,947 UFO sightings reported in various regions, over the last 100 years. According to Fox News, the first official UFO sighting dates back to 1905. The records that follow clearly indicate that the number of sightings rose to 5,000 in 1980, which then escalated to around 45,000 in 2010. The figures are shocking indeed. Furthermore, Sam Monfort reported that UFO sightings have became fairly common among the American population, especially in the last few decades. Around 2,500 UFO sightings are reported per 10 million people, which is considerably higher when compared to any other region in the world, according to Metro. According to Daily Star, after the U.S., the next UFO sighting hotspots are the U.K. and Australia. The increased interest in UFOs and "aliens" in the western civilization is rather a mystery -- the reason behind this is not understood yet. Whatever may be the cause, UFO sightings and aliens have lately became quite common. People have easy access to mobile phones and cameras and are able to record these incidents and post them online. Though most of them know nothing about the scientific truth behind the existence of aliens or UFOs for that matter, that does not stop them from making comments and giving their own opinions on the incidents.
Did China snub Norway in revenge over Liu Xiaobo Nobel Peace Prize? European country left off list of 45 to be granted a visa-free 72-hour stopover in Beijing from next year China has snubbed Norway in its list of countries that would no longer require a visa for a 72-hour stopover in Beijing because it awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, according to reports. From next year, citizens from the 45 listed countries who land in Beijing can spend three days in the city without having to apply for a visa. Chinese authorities said the countries were listed in accordance with the numbers of inbound overnight visitors in Beijing from 2009 to 2011. But the Financial Times interviewed one government official who said that certain countries were omitted because their citizens or government are “of low quality” or “badly behaved”. Activist Liu was named a Nobel Peace laureate in 2010. He is four years into an 11-year prison term for subversion for authoring and disseminating a plan for making China democratic, Charter 08. The Nobel committee cited that proposal and his two decades of non-violent struggle for civil rights in awarding him the peace prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee is responsible for the Nobel Peace Prize, and is nominated by the Norwegian Parliament although it is independent. Relations between China and Norway have been frosty since the award, with cooled diplomatic relations and Beijing restrictions on imported Norwegian salmon. Still, Norweigian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg maintained in November that contacts between Oslo and Beijing had never stopped.
The End of the Dinosaurs The bull's eye marks the location of the Chicxulub impact site. The impact of a 10 mile wide comet caused global climate changes that killed the dinosaurs and many other forms of life. By the Late Cretaceous the oceans had widened, and India approached the southern margin of Asia. return to Earth History
Two Southland teachers are on the recipients list for a new award. The national prize carries the name of composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim – whose 81st birthday happens to be today. In Sondheim’s honor last year, a couple of his fans endowed the annual award administered by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Former students nominate the teachers who inspired them most. In her recommendation essay, graduate student Joann Cho described the way her fifth grade teacher Rafe Esquith took her on “the adventure of a lifetime” through exposure to Shakespeare, chess and math. Esquith, who teaches at Hobart Elementary School in Los Angeles, has generated a lot of attention for his ambitious, intensive approach to teaching. Steven Miller, a veteran teacher at Levi Bemis Elementary in Rialto, earned a glowing recommendation from one of his former students who’s become a teacher too. Genein Letford wrote, “From the graceful art of calligraphy to getting filthy reenacting the gold rush of ’49, he was not afraid to give all of himself in his teaching, no matter what our backgrounds were.” Along with the praise, each of the 10 Sondheim inspirational teachers receives $10,000.
Sign and Cinema Whether it’s in French (Le Pays des sourds) or in English (In the Land of the Deaf), the title of Nicolas Philibert’s 1992 documentary faintly suggests something ethnographic and exotic, like the 1914 In the Land of Head-Hunters (subsequently and more tactfully re-edited to yield the 1973 In the Land of the War Canoes). Given the dominant discourse that it’s coming from, this also implies something colonialist—-a view from a ruling and dominant power of a contained underclass. But it is part of the film’s special achievement and the world it opens up to make us feel by the end that Dorothy in the Land of Oz might be a more appropriate cross-reference, with Philibert and the spectator jointly taking on the role of Dorothy. The difference is that the land he’s showing is real as well as magical and other-worldly. The film implicitly reflects on three different kinds of language--the different languages spoken in movies, the so-called language of cinema, and Sign, specifically the language of the deaf. Different languages are suggested by the use of subtitles in the film to translate Sign as well as vocal speech. But then Jean-Claude Poulain--the most expressive purveyor of Sign in the film, who also teaches that language—-explains that Sign is less of a universal language than we suppose, because it is articulated somewhat differently in each country. He adds, however, that it takes him only a few days to pick up Sign in another country, which finally suggests that it’s still more universal than spoken languages. What's usually meant by "the language of film" is the set of visual and aural conventions involving editing, framing, mise en scène, and sound to which all moviegoers respond, though few commentators have bothered to spell them out. Whether these conventions and the messages they send constitute a language is debatable, though there was an entire cottage industry of film theory during the 70s predicated on that assumption. The intricate rules of conventional editing are a good example of what I mean: very few viewers are capable of defining them but nearly everyone responds to them, just as native speakers of a language follow the rules of grammar even if they don't consciously know what they are. It seems that the usual response of someone who hears a foreign language is to assume, often unconsciously, that it's a failed attempt at the language one already knows--an assumption subtitling helps to encourage by supposedly providing the "real" meaning. Similarly, when most of us first encounter Sign, our likely first response is to "read" it as if it were a form of pantomime. But according to Oliver Sacks in his book Seeing Voices: A Journey into the World of the Deaf (1989), this reflects a misconception: "We see...in Sign, at every level--lexical, grammatical, syntactic--a linguistic use of space: a use that is amazingly complex, for much of what occurs linearly, sequentially, temporally in speech, becomes simultaneous, concurrent, multileveled in Sign. The "surface' of Sign may appear simple to the eye, like that of gesture or mime, but one soon finds that this is an illusion, and what looks so simple is extraordinarily complex and consists of innumerable spatial patterns nested, three-dimensionally, in each other." This observation can be adapted to the so-called language of cinema: young viewers often maintain that silent films are unwatchable today, that they're crude, primitive approximations of what sound movies do much better. But this rejection is of course partially a learned response rather than an innate reaction: the same audience never seems to mind the visual corruptions and limitations of TV and video. One might come closer to the truth by reversing the paradigm: isolating certain silent masterpieces and assuming that current popular sound movies are crude attempts to approximate their expressiveness. Compare Tom Hanks or Woody Allen with Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Stan Laurel, Harry Langdon, or Harold Lloyd and the difference is like that between an able conservatory pupil playing an exercise and a virtuoso musician performing in concert. Better yet, compare the expressiveness of a Bruce Willis or a Jean-Claude Van Damme or an Arnold Schwarzenegger (especially in his pre-political mode) with that of any of the people speaking Sign in Philibert's documentary, children or adults, male or female, and the differences become astronomical. Despite the benefit of spoken language, these action heroes’ palettes are so limited that the only "emotions" they register are actually parodies of emotions. By contrast the people signing in Philibert's film--and these are almost the only people we see--use their faces and bodies like agile paintbrushes, speaking to us and to each other with all the colors imaginable, vibrantly and directly. (As Jean Gremion writes in his book The Planet of the Deaf "In sign language, the smallest bat of an eyelash can become an element of syntax.") One might also regard the subtitles in Philibert's film the way one regards librettos, as texts without the benefit of either music or performance, which is what the deaf people are supplying. One suspects that Philibert has this analogy in mind, because he begins the film with the camera pulling back from two women and two men performing Sign together to sheet music on music stands, and the musical effect of their individual and collective gestures --their passages in unison and their interactive duets--is immediately obvious. Even more remarkable, the fact that most of us in the audience understand English but not Sign plays a secondary role. English subtitles translate for us, but one discovers early on that, like subtitles translating spoken languages, the translation is only a partial, reductive version of what's being expressed. Even if one ignores the subtitles, the range of emotions--from grief to joy, from anger to affection, from enthusiasm to indifference--is so great, and the power behind each of them so immediate, that we often feel blown away by the sheer force of the subjects' personalities. The particulars conveyed in the subtitles are helpful and important, but as the film progresses they begin to seem more and more like footnotes to large-scale texts that only Sign can convey. The relationships between Sign and cinema are obviously deep and complex; significantly, the film's first Sign monologue reveals a mute subject's lifelong fascination with movies and his early desire to become a film actor, until a director neighbour informed him that this was impossible. But this doesn't mean that Sign and cinema are automatically interchangeable. The aim and achievement of Philibert's film is to plunge us as completely as possible into the world of communication between deaf people, and in order to do this he's had to rethink, to some extent, the language of cinema--the conventions of framing, editing, and even sound recording. In a fascinating article for the French film magazine Trafic (no. 8, automne 1993), Philibert has described in detail how conventional documentary filming methods proved inadequate for capturing the subtle interactions between deaf people. (For example, "Although sound operates in 360 degrees, in the realm of the deaf the voice-off does not exist: out of sight, communication is not possible; outside the frame, not even a hello.") In the same article he explains why making a purely silent film would not have accurately represented the world of the deaf--which, "contrary to what is believed, is not pure silence. Confused, faraway murmurs, diffuse noises: even for the so-called "stone' deaf, it is not nothingness." Philibert manipulates his own sound track at times in order to suggest some of that subjective experience—-a technique that becomes especially apparent towards the end of the film--and some of the Sign monologues deal with certain aspects of the experience as well. (A mute born into a nearly all-deaf family describes the initial experience of using a hearing aid as extremely unpleasant: "The sound of chairs--it was awful.") But the principal bounty of this film is the relatively unmediated and magnificent spectacle of Sign itself, performed by numerous individuals for whom "acting" and "being" appear to be indistinguishable. These extraordinary people include some of the best French child "performers" encountered and seen since the films of Truffaut, as well as the aforementioned Poulain, whose everyday utterances and expressive gestures automatically place him in the pantheon of character actors occupied by such figures as Walter Brennan, Marcel Dalio, William Demarest, and Michel Simon. I'm tempted to say that I haven't seen such emotional, multifaceted physical expressiveness in so many people since the golden age of silent cinema; but alas, among contemporary moviegoers that no longer serves as much of a recommendation. So let me put it differently: if you want to see and hear people who will make you feel more alive, the likes of whom you won't come close to finding in many current commercial releases, check out Nicolas Philibert’s In the Land of the Deaf. -- Jonathan Rosenbaum
On November 21st 2015, the American Museum of Natural History in New York City held it's first ever hackathon to benefit dinosaur researchers and paleontologists. Titled "Hack the Dinos," it kicked off with an introduction to a host of problem researchers at the museum faced in dealing with their data. Among these were challenges with digitizing field notes, crowdsourcing fossil identification, and making apps to help future field research. Together with Benjamin Bojko, we formed the team "DinoJerks" and tackled a challenge to visualize dinosaur skulls and brains. Paleontologists have vast collections of fossil data in the form of CT scans of skulls. These skulls are each made of slices, and need to be re-constructed into 3D to be viewed. When reconstructed, researchers can analyze the empty brain cavities in order to compare them to their modern day ancestors (think chickens). In under 24 hours we built a stand alone application in the Cinder C++ framework that could read in hundreds of files and visualize hundreds of thousands of points of data. In these scans, different bone densities are represented by different colors, so we also built in filtering by color in order to filter out sediment and digital artifacts. We were able to visualize the skulls in real time and built an exporter to export dense point clouds for other programs, like MeshLab as seen in the above video, for further processing. All of this work is a big step towards replacing closed source software which costs upwards of $10,000. Our application won the "Fan Favorite" prize at the hackathon. The code is freely available and open source on github. Hacking dino data to benifit open source
Welcome back. Hope you all had a lovely half term. This half term we will be looking at Haiku poetry in English followed by chronological reports. In maths we are learning how to find the perimeter of a shape. We will be revising division and looking at statistics ready for our UK versus Europe topic. In Science we will be looking at magnets and forces. Swimming has now been cancelled until the end of the year. Therefore an extra PE lesson will be delivered. Please ensure that your child has the correct PE kit in school. We are very excited about our trip to Filey on Wednesday 28th June. Please make sure all money and forms are returned to school by Friday 16th June. Dates for the Diary: Friday16th June - Enterprise Day Support Year 6 chosen charities by bringing in some money to spend on their stalls. Monday 26th June - Training Day Tuesday 27th June - Sports Day (TBA) Wednesday 28th June - Filey trip (remember we will return to school at 5pm) Please come along to see our class assembly on Friday 10th March 2017 at 1:30pm. Welcome back! Hope you all had a lovely holiday. What a busy half term we have coming up! In Geography we will be learning about South America - using atlases to investigate the human and physical features. In English we are writing a newspaper article based on a traditional tale. In Maths we will be consolidating addition and subtraction and moving onto fractions. Don't forget - Swimming is on a Monday afternoon. PE is on a Wednesday morning and both indoor and outdoor kits may be required. Dates for your Diary: Thursday 2nd March - World book day Friday 3rd March - Training Day Friday 10th March - Sapporo class assembly We hope everyone has a lovely and safe half term. Reminder - Don't forget, Sapporo swimming day will change after half term, starting on Thursday 23rd February until the end of the year. We will still arrive back to school for approx. 3.30pm. Tuesday 7th February Today is Internet Safety Day, we learnt all about keeping ourselves safe on the internet and how important it is to follow the rules.We found out how old we need to be to have some internet accounts such as snapchat, facebook and youtube. We were all very shocked to find out most sites required us to be at least 13. As part of today we also found out what to do if we felt we were being cyber bullied. We have made some posters to show how important we feel it is to be safe. Wednesday 25th January Today was a very exciting day because Google expeditions came into school. We got to explore many places through the VR goggles such as the Great Barrier Reef and we went on an Ocean Safari. The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience. This week in Maths we have been learning about shapes and will continue to do so next week. We will then be revisiting addition using Base 10 and the expanded column method. In English we have learnt the story of Jack and the Beanstalk and have looked at the features of the text. Next week we will be innovating the text focusing on direct speech and prepositions. In our topic we have been learning about our skeletons and how they protect us. We thought of questions that we would like to find out about our skeletons and used the iPads to find the answers. In computing we have been learning to programme a sprite using Scratch. We will be continuing to create algorithms and debug when it is needed. With spellings now being taught in class, our homework has now changed. Weekly spellings will no longer be sent home and instead we will send an English task home. Homework will still be sent home on a Thursday, to be returned the following Thursday. We would like to invite you into our class on Wednesday 7th December at 9:00 – 9:20 or 2:40pm – 3:00pm to share with you our learning from this half term. We will be singing, re-telling our Talk 4 Writing story, ‘Midas’ and sharing our own stories from this half term. We hope you can join us and we look forward to seeing you. This week Sapporo have been working hard on place value activities using resources, learning our new WAGOLL Beware of the Iron Man and learning colours in Spanish. We also had a great Roald Dahl Day dressing up as Roald’s characters. Thank you for the great homework handed in this week, may I remind you that the hand in day for English and Maths homework has changed to Thursday. We look forward to another fantastic week of learning next week. Welcome to Class Sapporo. As a class we researched the different cities in Japan and decided on our favourite place.Please take a look at why we chose this city.
hiles: the Medicinal Properties of Capsicums, and the New Mexico Chile Culture. By: Aaron Domini. Family and Genus. Chiles are in the genus Capsicum Capsicums are in the Solanaceae family that includes tomato, potatoes, tobacco, and petunias. Bolivian Rainbow chiles peppers. Chile Name. Related searches for hiles: the Medicinal Properties of Capsicums Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author.While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. By: Aaron Domini Bolivian Rainbow chiles peppers. Very Hot Scotch Bonnets. Pedicle – stem Calyx – where the stem attaches to the pod Placenta – houses the seeds, and in the flesh of the placenta is where the capsaicin is stored (contrary to belief that it is in the seeds). Apex – the blossom end Fiery Habaneros ! Tucson : University of Arizona Press, 1992. Museum of New Mexico Press, 1999.
Image generated with Starry Night Pro 6. We return to our circumpolar constellation discussion begun with the Jan/Feb/March 2012 issue (our first “quarterly” report) by scaling up the Northern Horizon towards Draco the Dragon. Draco, like all reptiles, is a bit on the dim side. Most of its constituent stars are in the 3 to 4.5 Magnitude range, making it an easy target in dark skies but a bit of a hunt near larger cities. If you’ve never looked for it before, it rivals Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper) in terms of “meh” apparent brightness in the sky (so it is far less pronounced than the Big Dipper or Cassiopeia, the two most prominent Constellations in this part of the sky). Your best bet for identifying the stars in Draco may be to start right at the head and work your way down (and around, then over, then up, then way over the other way). One of my recent discoveries is that the head of Draco is, itself, a noted asterism (or noteworthy arrangement of stars that are not of the proper 88 Constellations) referred to as “The Lozenge” (“1” in the image above). I had been subconsciously thinking of Monty Python references to throw into this article and realized that saying “The Lozenge” several in a low John Cleese voice a la “The Larch” just about does it. The head of Draco is made from the brightest stars in the Constellation and does make for a reasonably easy target, as it sits between the two bright stars of the Little Dipper’s bowl (“2” In the image at right) and Vega (“3”), the ridiculously bright star making its triumphant return to Spring skies (if you’re at Darling Hill near sunset, you will see Vega as one of the first stars to appear above the Eastern Horizon well before it gets really dark). For those of you familiar with the Keystone (another famed asterism) that makes up the torso of Hercules (“4” in the image above), simply drive your eyes to the left-ish during the early night. The historical origins of Draco as a lizard of any kind are localized to the Mediterranean, and these origins go back far enough that Draco is one of the Almagest’s Original 48. The Greeks, and so the Romans, saw Draco as a Dragon (or, at least, lizard) of generally ill repute. Draco was seen by the Greeks as a guard of Hesperides’ golden apples and/or a guard (or target, depending on how you read the sentence) of Jason’s mythical golden fleece. The Romans saw Draco as the remains of the dragon killed by their goddess Minerva. It is perhaps fitting that, if you imagine Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper) as an ax on a questionably straight handle, then Draco is precariously on the celestial chopping block preparing to be cleft in twain. The body of Draco is a healthy mix of single and double stars. In the boring single star category are Giausar, Thuban, and Nodus I. The double star list includes Edasich, Aldhibain, Altais, Rastaban (“eh mahn!”), Eltanin, and Grumium. Thuban is one star in Draco to spend a bit of time on. In fact, it’s one to spend several thousand years on. As late as 2700 B.C.E., Thuban held the place of Polaris as our North Star. The Earth may seem reasonably unchanging with respect to the seemingly unchanging arrangement of stars of our 100-year-ish lifetimes, but on the geological or cosmological timescales our Earth is as dynamic and fast-moving as that famed clay dreidel. The 26,000-year cycle we know as the precession of the equinoxes (shown above) is one of those processes that requires nearly the entire history of what we know as civilization to mark significant timespans for, but it is reported in several places that Thuban was of significance to the Egyptians in their building of the pyramids over 5 millennia ago (I would be happy to report that Thuban was the North Star that the main shaft of the great pyramid of Cheops was aligned to, but I’ve found conflicting reports online from otherwise reputable locations, so will simply report that the Egyptians very likely knew that this star appeared to move far less over the course of the night than any other and, therefore, held it with great regard). For those observing at Darling Hill or anywhere south of Syracuse, Draco is a tough reptile to sustain one’s astronomical appetite on. At least two comets are currently passing through Draco at the moment. One, LINEAR (C/2011 F1), is just off the Spindle Galaxy M102 (we’ll come back to that) and, at 3 a.u. and closing, may improve beyond its apparent magnitude of 12.5. Draco also hosts Garradd (C/2008 P1) far beyond its tail star. At an apparent magnitude of 21.30, you have absolutely NO chance of seeing this comet from Darling Hill. Draco is regrettably light on deep sky objects as well. The local color (at about 3400 light year) is provided by NGC 6543, known as the Cat’s Eye Nebula (above). This is regarded as one of the most structurally complex nebulae in the Night Sky, although this complexity is only revealed through astrophotographic studies. NGC 5866 (below), also known as the Spindle Galaxy (which is very likely Messier 102, although some debate exists), is one of the great photographic sights in astronomy to my eyes. This edge-on galaxy view produces amazing density of material and spindly, fibrous clouds of dust and stars along the plane of the galaxy and a bright glow of stars all around this dense, dark line. Now, the long curving body of Draco and its positions near the North Star does afford it one benefit in the Northern Horizon. Satellites! There are many bright (brighter than magnitude 4.0) satellites that follow paths over the Earth’s poles, meaning those Constellations near the North and South poles are constantly getting pierced by manmade weather, communications, and “other” satellites. Simply letting my copy of Starry Night Pro go at high-speed with Draco at the center reveals over a dozen of these satellites over the course of just a few hours.
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine \| 23 February 2017 The Positive Effect of Resilience on Stress and Business Outcomes in Difficult Work Environments Employers are adopting resilience training for their employees at a rate faster than any other intervention in the United States. Resilience—the ability to use positive mental skills to remain psychologically steady and focused when faced with challenges or adversity—contributes substantially to how workers deal with stress and perform at work. Employers are developing resilience to achieve a competitive advantage, similar to how the military trains active-duty soldiers and their family members to withstand challenges. Interest in the psychological construct of resilience has grown significantly over the past decade, from fewer than 30 peer-reviewed studies per year before 2000 to more than 650 in 2014. In the past, resilience has been defined as “the ability of an individual to recover from a traumatic event or to remain psychologically robust when faced with an adverse event” and “the process of negotiation, management, and adaptation to significant sources of stress or trauma.” In other words, it reflects an individual’s ability to respond well and experience fewer harmful consequences when under duress. More recently, however, studies have examined how resilience influences responses to more common life challenges such as health events and work stress. Broadly defined as the ability to “bounce back” from adversity, there is evidence attributes of resilience—such as emotion regulation, impulse control, causal analysis, self-efficacy, and realistic optimism—can be learned and developed. In this framework, resilience extends beyond one’s inherent predisposition toward life events and includes a set of acquired skills that mitigate the experience of stress and speed productive responses when setbacks occur. As interest in employee resilience increases, employers may question whether individual resilience simply reflects the settings and environments in which employees work. It is plausible that employees feeling appreciated and supported at work report higher resilience, while those feeling unsupported in demanding jobs report lower resilience. Further, employers may question whether resilience can counteract the negative effects of a difficult or stressful work environment. These are important questions because stressful work environments are a known health risk, with documented negative physical and mental health consequences. Job strain—combinations of high job demands, low decision latitude, and low social support—have been linked to stress, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, as well as rates of absence, disability, and turnover. Beyond producing general mental distress, there is also evidence suggesting that stressful work environments increase the likelihood of developing depression or anxiety for the first time. Further, recent findings point to difficult work environments as a contributing factor in the premature death of workers. There is some evidence that resilience has a moderating effect on the negative relationship between job strain and job satisfaction. This suggests that workers’ learned ability to be resilient could have protective effects in demanding work settings. More broadly, employers require a better understanding of how resilience scores relate to important health and work outcomes, such as perceived stress, depression, job satisfaction, intent to quit, absenteeism, and self-reported job performance. It is also important to differentiate individual resilience from elements of the work environment, such as social support, job demands, and individual discretion. This cross-sectional study examines the question of whether having greater levels of resilience mitigates the negative effects of stressful work environments. Read the full story here.
Which of these two types of spending do you think makes you happier, purchases that are made with the primary intention of acquiring a: - life experience: an event or series of events that one lives through, - material good: a tangible object that is kept in one’s possession. When thousands of Americans were asked this question, 57% said experiences make them happier and 34% said things make them happier (Carter & Gilovich, 2010). For once the majority is right. You can check out the research in these two posts in which I discuss the studies which demonstrate: Many of the reasons why are discussed in more detail in the articles above, but here’s a summary with a couple of extras thrown in: - Experiences improve with time because they tend to take on new meanings in our minds, but things just tend to get old. - People mentally revisit their experiences more than things they’ve bought (Van Boven & Gilovich, 2003). So experiences keep providing pleasure long after the event itself. - Experiences resist unfavourable comparisons because each is unique. Things, though, are easy to compare unfavourably because they’re similar to other things. - Also, because experiences tend to be unique, we adapt more slowly to them and adaptation or habituation is the enemy of happiness (Nicolao et al., 2009). - Experiences tend to be social and social events (generally) make us happy. Things are often not that social. The boundary between experiences and things is far from clear-cut. For example houses are things but because we live in them, they are also partly experiences. Still, the general point holds that the more experiential something is, the happier it is likely to make us. So if you want to cheer yourself up, make sure you spend cash on something more experiential than material. You might not be able to hold the result in your hand, but it will live longer in your mind. → Try one of PsyBlog’s ebooks, all written by Dr Jeremy Dean: Image credit: Mouleesha How to Spend Wisely → This post is part of a series on how to spend wisely:
Answer Key: Chapter Eight CHAPTER 8: VOTING METHODS 1. CORRECT ANSWER: B. Hand counted ballots, optical scan ballots, and direct-record electronic machines or touch screen machines are commonly used in Indiana elections. 2. CORRECT ANSWER: D. All of the above. More information on voting machines in use in Indiana can be found in your poll worker training manual, at your county’s voter registration office, and on the Secretary of State’s website. 3. CORRECT ANSWER: C. Hand counted ballots are used mostly during smaller, local elections in Indiana. 4. CORRECT ANSWER: D. All of the above. To find out what voting machines are used in your county, attend a training session offered by the county election board, ask the county election board by phone or in person, or ask an experienced poll worker in your county. 5. CORRECT ANSWER: D. All of the above. To familiarize yourself with the voting machines in use in your county, attend training sessions offered by the county election board, volunteer to help with early voting, and ask your county election board for more training if it is available.
Kale is one of the most famous green vegetable that is eaten for its low calorie and high fibre content. It is an important and digestive ingredient of many recipes and hence has become a common name in Indian households. Traditionally, Kale is consumed as a side dish in sautéed kale form, but it also adds extra taste when added to soups, casseroles and other dishes. Apart from these food inclusions, the Kale vegetable is also widely popular for its health benefits. Kale can also be eaten as a weight loss inducing ingredient in meals and its leafy green texture makes it an ingredient in salads and in many similar recipes. The Richness of Vitamins in Kale: Besides being crowned as the “queen of greens”, kale could also be referred to as the queen of Vitamin A. Compared to any other leafy green vegetable, kale has over 100 per cent of the average person’s daily Vitamin A and C requirement. Kale is often compared to oranges because of its richness in vitamins. While a cup of chopped kale contains 134 percent of your recommended daily Vitamin C intake, an orange has 113 per cent of the daily Vitamin C requirement. Besides these vitamins, kale also has an abundant supply of Vitamin K. This is necessary for bodily functions such as normal blood clotting, bone health and antioxidant activity. It is all of this that makes the list of kale benefits so long! [ Read: Benefits Of Arrowroot ] Health Benefits of Kale: Let us quickly look at some of the most well-known health benefits of Kale greens: 1. High Fiber Content: Kale is a good source of dietary fibre which improves the digestive action and bowel movements. This can prove extremely beneficial for people having digestion issues. 2. Iron Content: Kale leaves are also a good source of iron for our body. - Iron is needed in the blood for heaemoglobin production and also for oxygen transportation. - Healthy state of blood also contributes to the maintenance of heart rate. 3. Vitamin C: Vitamin C content in Kale improves the immunity by hydration, providing antioxidants and metabolism promoting processes. All these boost the functioning of the body, thus boosting immunity. 4. Vitamin K: Vitamin K is also found in Kale which strengthens the body’s bone health, prevents clotting of blood and also helps in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. [ Read: Vitamin K Rich Foods ] 5. Bone Strength and Production: Kale has a good proportion of calcium that aids in strengthening of bone and also its formation in kids and adults. Kale is an anti-inflammatory food type and curbs unwanted free radical reactions. These reactions which when not stopped produce unnecessary by-products and cause inflammation. Along with the effect of antioxidants on the body, Kale also has the effect of preventing cancerous formations in the body. Kale helps in the detoxification of the body by providing it fibre and sulphur. 9. Lung and Oral Diseases: High vitamins content in Kale helps in the prevention of lung and oral cavity diseases. 10. Skin and Vision: Vitamin A in Kale also prevents skin diseases and helps in improving our eyesight. [ Read: Benefits Of Spirulina ] Skin Benefits of Kale: 11. Vitamins A and K: As you know, your skin requires a healthy dose of Vitamin A. A diet lacking in Vitamin A can lead to dry and flaky skin. - Vitamin A plays a pivotal role in repairing the tissues underneath your skin and prevents damage caused by free radicals. - Vitamin K serves as a powerful ingredient in many skin care products as it helps to get rid of tiresome dark circles under your eyes. 12. Vitamin C: Vitamin C too helps reduce damage caused by free radicals, which is mostly likely to occur when your skin is overexposed to the sun. In other words, Vitamin C helps prevent premature aging of the skin and helps you stay younger-looking for a longer period of time. [ Read: Benefits Of Guava Juice ] Hair Benefits of Kale: 13. Omega Fatty Acids: Besides its rich vitamin content, kale is also known to be packed with Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. - Your hair benefits immensely when you drink a glass of kale juice every day because of the mishmash of the two fatty acids. - If you happen to be facing hair breakage problems, you should consider incorporating kale juice into your daily diet. - It is perhaps best to take it in the morning at breakfast. - You will notice a change in the elasticity of your hair. - Besides strengthening your hair roots, the benefits of kale also includes improving the blood circulation in your scalp. Thus, the growth rate of your hair increases. Selection and Storage: You get fresh kale during fall or the winter season. - Be sure to look for dark bunches with small to medium leaves. - Try to avoid bunches with brown or yellowish leaves. - Once you’re done, it is best to store it in a plastic bag in the coldest part of your refrigerator – the freezer. This helps the green queen last for as long as three to five days. Some Tips for Usage: Kale is a winter vegetable and is known to taste more delicious after the cold season’s first frost. - Young kale leaves taste better while the old ones are tough and bitter. - It is highly recommended that you harvest kale while the leaves are young and tender. - Cook your kale frozen as it tastes best without first thawing. - It needs to be thoroughly washed before cooking and the leaves need to be gently shaken after washing. - Alternatively, you could use a salad spinner to run it through. - If you have no plans to immediately use it, carefully store your kale. - You could briefly stir-fry your young and tender kale leaves, while the mature ones need to be boiled for a few minutes in a vigorous manner. This helps soften the stringent cellulose structure. - Once cooked, you could season your kale with some extra virgin olive oil, salt, lemon juice and pepper. - It could also be used as a pizza topping or you can finely chop the leaves and make a delicious and nutritious soup. 3 Simple and Healthy Recipes to Delight Your Palate: Given here are some healthy recipes for kale: 1. Baked Kale Chips: This simple yet yummy dish requires a bunch of kale, a teaspoon of seasoned salt and a tablespoon of olive oil. - Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F or 175 degrees C. - In the meantime, line a non-insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper. - After removing the leaves from the stem (you could use a knife or kitchen shears), tear them into bite size pieces. - Give the leaves a thorough wash and make sure they are nice and dry. - Drizzle the kale leaves with olive oil and sprinkle the seasoned salt consistently. - Bake the leaves for 10 to 15 minutes so that they are brown and not burnt. 2. Kale and Pepper Stir-fry: For this yummy treat, you will need two tablespoons of canola oil, one sliced bell pepper, two teaspoons of freshly grated ginger, kosher salt, one medium bunch kale (remove the thick stems and cut the leaves into bite-size pieces which amount to about ten cups), a tablespoon of soy sauce, half a teaspoon of sesame oil and a teaspoon of toasted sesame seeds. - Heat the canola oil in a skillet on medium to high heat, add the bell pepper and ginger, and season with half a teaspoon of salt. - Cook for two to three minutes until tender. - Add the kale and soy sauce and toss every now and then, until the kale is tenderized. - This could take six to eight minutes. - Lastly, add the sesame oil and sprinkle with the sesame seeds and voila! - Your kale and pepper stir-fry is ready to relish! 3. Sautéed Kale with Apples and Bacon: Everybody loves bacon, so this dish is a true winner. You’ll need four slices of bacon, one sliced onion, one sliced apple, a medium bunch kale (again remove the thick stems and cut the leaves into bite-size pieces which amount to about ten cups), kosher salt, black pepper and a tablespoon of cider vinegar. - Get a skillet and put it on medium heat. - Fry the bacon until crisp – this could take about six to eight minutes. - Line a plate with paper, and transfer the bacon into it. - Let the bacon cool, and then crumble. - Next, add the onion and apple to the bacon oil in the skillet and cook for four to six minutes until tender. - Then add the kale and season with three quarter teaspoon of salt and a quarter teaspoon of pepper, and give it an occasional toss. - Cook this until tender – this could require an additional eight to ten minutes. - Finally, mix in the bacon and vinegar, and enjoy. Kale USDA Nutrition Chart: Let’s have a look at the nutritional benefits of kale: \|Principle\|\|Nutrient Value\|\|Percentage of RDA\| \|Total Fat\|\|0.70 g\|\|3%\| \|Dietary Fiber\|\|2.0 g\|\|5%\| \|Pantothenic acid\|\|0.091 mg\|\|1.5%\| \|Vitamin A\|\|15376 IU\|\|512%\| \|Vitamin C\|\|120 mg\|\|200%\| \|Vitamin K\|\|817 µg\|\|681%\| In about 67 grams of Kale, there are 29 grams of sodium, 2 grams of proteins, 5 grams of fiber, zero fat and cholesterol. Kale is known for its Vitamins and minerals: Vitamin C 80.4mg, Vitamin K 547mcg, Calcium 90.5mg, Iron 1.1mg, Phosphorous 37.5mg, Magnesium 22.8mg, Zinc 0.3mg, Copper 0.2mg, Selenium 0.6mcg and Potassium 299mg. This low fat, leafy green is very beneficial to the vegetarians as it is used effectively in their recipes. People use it for considerable weight loss, as it gives more nutrients and less calories. All these vitamins and minerals together make Kale one of the healthiest vegetables. We are now living in a world where organic and healthy is quite a rage. People are constantly looking for ways to improve their outlook towards themselves. Now you know that a quick trip to the lively marketplace can save you a lot of money and can enrich your body with much-needed vitamins and fatty acids. If you find kale to be an unaffordable food item, an even better idea would be to grow it in your own garden. Now that you have read about the magical wonders of the queen of greens you can add it to your daily diet. Once you have tried it yourself and realized that it indeed is a true life-changer, you can even share the secret behind the beauty of your skin and hair with your loved ones. You have also seen the recipes and can now entertain others with delicious, healthy and hearty snacks. So go on and give the queen of greens the shot it deserves. Hope you found this article on benefits of eating kale was helpful! Do share your experience in the comment section given below: - 9 Best Benefits Of Kale Juice For Skin, Hair And Health - 10 Healthiest Vegetables You Should Include In Your Diet - 7 Amazing Health Benefits Of Mustard Greens - 10 Amazing Benefits Of Collard Greens For Skin Hair And Health - Green Diet – 10 Healthy Foods That You Should Must Include In Your Diet Latest posts by Maanasi Radhakrishnan (see all) - How To Remove Hair Color With Baking Soda? - July 20, 2017 - 10 Amazing Health And Beauty Benefits Of Yarrow Essential Oil - September 7, 2015 - 8 Marvelous Benefits Of Cottage Cheese - September 1, 2015 - 33 Marvelous Benefits Of Jaggery (Gur) For Skin And Health - August 31, 2015 - This Is Why You Should Try The Magnificent Monoi Oil - August 20, 2015
The Gangaur festival is very much similar to that of the one celebrated in Madhya Pradesh. In Rajasthan too it is celebrated around March when the ladies bring home the Gauri, wife of Shiva and worship her and then on last day immerse the idol. The ladies throughout the festival sing songs and dance. They decorate themselves with henna on their palms and wear all the traditional jewellery. The Mewar festival takes place in the lake city of Udaipur during this time. An exhilarating welcome to spring, this festival is a visual feast with Rajasthani songs, dances, processions, devotional music and firework displays. An unusual procession of boats on the lake offers a fitting finale to this splendid celebration. The Urs held every year in the scorching month of May, at the dargah of Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer commemorates his symbolic union with God. Pilgrims from all over the world gather here to pay homage. Qawalis and poems are presented in the saint's honour. At the huge fair that springs up at this time, religious objects, books, rosaries, embroidered carpets and silver ornaments are on sale. Celebrated in the month of February in Dungarpur, the colorful Baneshwar Fair is considered to be a tribal fair. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Lingam is bathed with milk and applied saffron. On this day the Lord gets offerings of wheat flour, pulses, rice, jaggery, ghee and even salt and chillies, with coconut and cash. The main attraction of this festival are the Bhils attending Baneshwar Fair singing traditional folk songs in high pitched voices sitting around a bonfire every night. Teej is the festival of swings celebrated in August. Dedicated to the Goddess Parvati, it marks the advent of the monsoon. Swings are hung from trees and decorated with flowers. Young girls and women dressed in green clothes sing songs in celebration of the advent of the monsoon. Goddess Parvati is worshipped by seekers of conjugal bliss and happiness. An elaborate procession is taken out on the streets of Jaipur for two consecutive days on the festive occasion. Rajasthan pays tribute to the local animal, the ship of the desert in the month of January. In Bikaner the camels are bedecked and taken up in processions and even a few competitions are held. The festival, known as the Bikaner festival draws huge crowds. Two cities of Rajasthan come alive and bustle with life in February with the fairs they are host to. The golden city of Jaisalmer is the host to a three cultural extravaganza called the Desert Festival. Fire dancers swaying to traditional tunes, a turban-tying competition and a Mr. Desert contest are part of the fun of the occasion. Camel rides and folk dances at the sand dunes are an added attraction. The Nagaur Cattle Fair is equally interesting. This annual cattle fair is believed to be the largest cattle fair in the world. Games and races of animals are the part of this festival. The Pink city of Jaipur hosts the Elephant Festival in March. The elephants are decked up to their best and brought here. Various games between the elephants are held during this time. The month of November brings in a pleasant climate and high spirits for the people. Many religious as well as cultural festivals take place during the month of November. One of the most famous local festivals which also has a religious association is the Pushkar Mela or the Pushkar Fair. Pushkar in Rajasthan is a small village which comes alive during the fair in the month of November. It has Starting from the full moon in November this fair goes on for nearly 12 days. The Brahma temple that is found in Pushkar is full of devotees. Trading of cattle, their races and everything related to camels along with several handicraft items is the major attraction of this fair.
It’s Valentine’s Day again, the one day of the year specifically dedicated to lovers. And in the true tradition of Valentine’s Day, restaurants are booked out, florists are run off their feet and chocolate retailers are emptying their shelves. Valentine’s day is a time when lovers make the effort, take the time and invest the energy and money to celebrate their relationship(s). And this is wonderful. But as a sex and relationships specialist, I can’t help wonder if Valentine’s Day is the only time in a whole year that lovers show their love, appreciation and gratitude towards their partner. I work with countless couples who for many various and complicated reasons are struggling in their romantic relationship. And what I’ve noticed is that all too often the relationship has been neglected; expressions of love disappear, there is no longer time to connect, disappointment, resentment and anger build. Slowly but surely the relationship is put at risk. Clearly, working with couples in understanding their difficulties and resolving them is the first step to healing a hurting relationship. But I’ve also discovered that an essential part of the process includes teaching my clients to get into the habit of expressing gratitude, love and appreciation for their relationship, for their partner and in general for their lives. What I mean is to incorporate communication of their love and celebration of the positives into their daily lives…sort of like celebrating Valentine’s Day every day! You could even try this approach for a month. We could call it the “Valentine’s Month Challenge. Now, if you’re struggling to think of enough ways you could possibly show love towards your partner everyday for 28 days, don’t worry, help is at hand. A great place to start is by understanding your partner’s “love language”, as explained by Dr. Gary Chapman in his book The 5 Love Languages. In essence, there are five fundamental ways of expressing love that we understand, connect with and respond positively to. Most us have a primary love language and a secondary love language but we might also respond equally to all five love languages. Here they are. Take some time to reflect on which languages both you your partner understand and respond to. Quality Time- Receiving a partner’s attention means I feel loved and valued. Receiving Gifts- When I receive a gift I know I am truly loved. Acts of service- When my partner does something for me, I know they really care. Words of Affirmation- Hearing “I love you” means a lot to me. I need to partner to verbally communicate their love and appreciation for me. Physical Touch- When my partner touches me in the right ways and at the right times, I know that I am loved. Why not try asking your partner which love language they prefer? You could even write each other a list of your preferred love expressions. This way there is no space for confusion or misinterpretation. You can entitle your list: “I feel loved and valued when…” By expressing love, appreciation and gratitude towards your partner on a regular basis you are constantly reminding them (and yourself!) of how important they are to you. You strengthen your loving bond and perpetuate a cycle of mutual love exchanging, in-turn creating more good, warm, fuzzy, loving feelings. And instead of taking advantage of one day a year to express how you feel to the one you love, you’ll be turning your daily grind into a love fest. Reference: Chapman, G. D. (2010). The five love languages: How to express heartfelt commitment to your mate. Chicago: Northfield Pub.
Mummies exhibit too scary for kids? With haunting images of shriveled flesh and sunken stares, mummies are the stuff of nightmares. So is the new Mummies of the World exhibit coming to MOSI on Friday for a four-month stay too scary for kids? I certainly had that concern when the Bodies exhibit was at MOSI. The thought of those being actual human beings on display just creeped me out. Marc Corwin, president of American Exhibition, producer of the Mummies of the World exhibit, said they took kids into account and made pains to emphasize the science of mummification and play down the scare factor. (I'm not sure they can play down the creepy factor if they tried) Of the 200,00 visitors at the exhibition’s first stop in Los Angeles, half of them were families with young children, Corwin said. It helps that there are several interactive kiosks where kids can find out what a mummy feels like or see 3D images of the high-tech scans scientists used to find out what the mummies died of or how old they were. Here's what the Mummies exhibit entails: This traveling exhibit is a rarity because it involves 21 different museums from around the world, making it the largest exhibition of real human and animal mummies and related artifacts ever assembled. It will remain on display through Sept. 3. Mummification is rare, since it requires the preservation of soft tissue, such as skin, muscle or organs. Without that, it's a skeleton. That's why people are fascinated by them, since they are more human looking. “They will learn the science of mummification and why some people decompose and why do some end up in this limbo,” Corwin said. “We have these unique time travelers who for some reason their decomposition stopped and here they are for eternity.” This is "very different and shouldn’t be confused with Bodies," Corwin said. Bodies featured human anatomy and bodies unfolded to dislay their organs and veins, "Here people are able to see mummies of humans and also animals (like this monkey at left) from all over the world and related artifacts and science books and different tools and rituals." The exhibit has a mummy of a 10 month infant child that carbon dating has found to be 6,420 years old. "That’s 3,000 years older than King Tut," Corwin said. "We are talking about something that is ancient and rare and never been seen before." --Sharon Kennedy Wynne Follow us on Twitter @WhoaMomma
When University of Florida administrator Jeanna Mastrodicasa was a student living in a dorm at the University of Georgia, she had to dial collect to call home. And she didn't do it all that often. Fast forward two decades, and you find college students like Tiana Johnson, who talks to her mother every day, "maybe every couple of hours." The two also exchange frequent text messages. And they're connected through Facebook, the increasingly popular social networking site that allows Tiana's mother to see pictures and "status updates" documenting Tiana's college experience. "We talk about family stuff, what I have to do," says Tiana, 18, who tomorrow starts her second year at the University of South Florida. "It's really just to check up." So much for going away to college and finding your independence. The umbilical cord is now wireless. With affordable cell phones and instant, 24-hour social tools like Facebook and Twitter, more and more college students today remain close to home, no matter how far away their campus is. Technology makes it easier than ever for parents to hover, and the college years become just an extended version of high school. Researchers in academia call this phenomenon the "electronic tether." And they are very concerned. "When a student and parent are calling and texting all day, what happens is the kid has the parent in their head, so there is not that liberation there once was in college to just make your own decisions," said Middlebury College psychology professor Barbara Hofer. "There is not a lot of independent decisionmaking going on. "It's a serious concern in terms of who they become in the workplace and in society." Mastrodicasa, assistant vice president for student affairs at UF, researches the relationship between technology and "millennials," the generation born after 1980. A few years back, she surveyed 8,000 college students across the country. The findings point to a generation that is far closer and more dependent on their parents than previous generations. Example: UF researchers asked students how often they talk to their parents on the phone; the results showed a median of 1.5 times a day. Sixty-seven percent of the students said they regularly talk to their parents about their social lives. "That's very different than other generations," Mastrodicasa said. "It's the whole parents trying to be friends. There are a lot fewer secrets now between students and their parents." Hofer, the psychology professor, did a similar study of 1,000 undergraduates at Middlebury and the University of Michigan. One in five students surveyed said they have sent papers to their parents, usually via e-mail, for proofreading. The students, and not just freshmen, reported communicating with their parents roughly 13 times a week through e-mail and cell phone. One of the students Hofer surveyed said his mother had the syllabi for all four of his courses. His mother checked in daily: Did you finish this reading assignment? Is your essay done? "This is a kid that is not becoming the self-regulated learner that college is supposed to create," Hofer said. She teaches a course on adolescent development and a theory called "emerging adulthood." A better term might be delayed adulthood. It refers to the developmental phase between 18 and 35 when people want the rights of adulthood — but do not assume all the responsibilities that go with it. Hofer has found, by following up with students after they graduate, that they lean heavily on their parents even after they have a diploma. "We're already hearing stories about graduates who say, 'I can't accept that salary offer until I talk to my parents,' " Hofer said. "Or they actually bring their parents to the job interview." Sure, some of this is anecdotal. But the survey results say a lot. And when I was in college in the mid '90s at UF, these hovering parents were not so prevalent. Nor were there so many "cling-to-Mom" students. I kept more than a few things from my parents and grandparents, and it didn't spell the end of me or of them. Back then, we didn't all have cell phones. It would be a few years before Facebook took off. "Tweet" was literally a term reserved for the birds. Keeping in constant touch with home was not desired or expected. I certainly would not have wanted them tracking me on Facebook or bombarding me with text messages. Yet parents today often seem to want to experience college through their children, Mastrodicasa said. Or at least to control what their children experience. Every year during freshman orientation, UF separates students from parents during class registration. "There's always a meltdown," Mastrodicasa said, "Because the parents want to be there when their kids pick their classes." Hofer said Middlebury College has given up trying to force students into deciding on classes themselves. "I watch it happen every time. The students just whip out their cell phones and send Mom a text." Shannon Colavecchio can be reached at email@example.com or (850) 224-7263.
The phrase "ticking time bomb" is overused. But there's a story lurking out there about Florida's cities and counties that will only get bigger. The story starts in 2007, when our Legislature went to Tallahassee to do something about property taxes. And so it did. The big news was an amendment to our state Constitution that voters approved in January 2008: • We doubled the homestead exemption for homeowners. • We created "portability" for the Save Our Homes tax break when we move. • We put a cap on tax assessments even for non-homestead property. On top of that, we had a recession and a big drop in property values. So overall, Florida's cities and counties have had less money. Plenty of people think that's great. But a growing number are worried about the effects on the community they live in. I started by saying there is a big story lurking. I'm talking about another, lesser-known law passed in 2007 that is taking full effect only now. From this year on, a Florida city or county cannot increase taxes by more than the rate of increase in Florida's per capita personal income. (In fact, there are a lot of technicalities. Let's stick to the general idea — there's a cap.) The Legislature said that taxes should not go up faster than Floridians' income. And, hey, I am not arguing. Just pointing out the realities. In the short term, property values will continue to drop. Local governments will have the unhappy choice of raising tax rates just to stay even, let alone to reach this cap. So far most have said no, but the pressure on them is rising. However, even when the economy improves, this new tax cap means that the cuts of recent years are permanent and will not be recovered. "I think most people have no idea of that," says Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio. "They think this was a cyclical thing, that things will rebound and the government will fill its coffers again." Tampa took in $162.5 million in property taxes two years ago. This year it took in $137 million. Next year's prediction is $127 million. For the year after, even based on a projected growth in personal income of 2.7 percent, Tampa's limit will be $130 million, no matter how much things improve. There is one loophole. Local governments can exceed the cap by a super-majority vote, or in extreme cases, in an election. But given the political climate, it seems unlikely. This brings us to the third reality: Under the tax cap, Florida's local governments face a permanent, downward annual spiral of further cuts. Costs such as insurance, pensions and health care can grow faster than the cap. How long, meanwhile, will police, firefighters and other civil servants go without a raise? Bill Horne, city manager of Clearwater, refers to the coming years as "the new normal" — continued annual cuts in services and personnel. "Most of our expenses are in people," he says. "At some point, union contracts are going to start to reflect increases." As I said, it is perfectly possible to consider this good and healthy. But it also will have real consequences on your street and mine. Meanwhile, the Legislature, which has made local government its whipping boy, proposes more limits. Like everything that humans do, I suspect we will lurch far past the tipping point, and then complain about going too far.
- Sir William Rothenstein 1872–1945 - Oil paint on canvas - Support: 495 x 597 mm - Presented by the Trustees of the Duveen Paintings Fund 1949 Not on display N05997 NORMAN HAMLET c. 1910 Canvas, 19 1/2×23 1/2 (50×60). Presented by the Trustees of the Duveen Paintings Fund 1949. Coll: Purchased by the Trustees of the Duveen Paintings Fund from the Lefevre Gallery 1927. Exh: (?) Bradford, June 1910 (1), as ‘A Norman Homestead’; Art Institute of Chicago, January 1912 (7), and New York and Boston; Lefevre Gallery, July 1927 (6). The artist wrote (Men and Memories, 11, p.228) that in the summer of 1910 he ‘returned to Vattetot to paint cliffs and barns’. The picture probably dates from about this period. On an earlier visit he recorded (ibid., I, p.347) that ‘the village of Vattetot was uninteresting enough; but all about were farms, each with its basse-cour and orchard enclosed by double or triple rows of trees, to keep out the cold winds’. Mary Chamot, Dennis Farr and Martin Butlin, The Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, London 1964, II
In September, parents send their young adults to college and worry about the ever-escalating cost. One does wonder how an education got to be so expensive. What is remarkable is the silence from the people of the left side of the political spectrum. We all remember when gasoline prices first hit $1.80 a gallon and the left, along with the media, were outraged at President George Bush and his oil buddies. There were even news reports from gas stations asking people how the high gas price would impact their finances. By the way, did we see similar stories when, during Obama’s administration, gasoline rose to $3.59 a gallon? Since the left controls the university system, we will see no such stories regarding the price gouging going on at these schools. In fact, we will hear cries for more money from the government and student loan forgiveness. In my view, the universities are the 21st-century robber barons. The 19th-century capitalists were falsely maligned in spite of growing businesses which lead to greater efficiency and lower prices for all consumer. One should not be castigated as a robber baron if your product is lower in cost, available to more people (especially the poor), and is of higher quality. Compare that to the higher education system in the U.S. today (higher costs and inferior product). It is high time that university administrators answer to the price gouging they are perpetuating on America’s young adults. Perhaps when the legislature reconvenes in 2016, committee hearings take place to get answers. Until they do something about this, not one more dollar should be given to these institutions. This commentary was originally published in the Woodbury Bulletin.
- Post merger of HITS-Cable TV biz, IMCL’s FY17 net loss swells to Rs 206 crore - RIL Surges 4% After Telecom Regulator Slashes Interconnect Charges - Mumbai Rains: 34 domestic flights cancelled till 12 pm today, main runway remains shut - Tata Sons buys big chunk of shares in group firms - Swine flu: 42 positive case in Mohali - HIV blood transfusion probe: High-level team gives clean chit to Regional Cancer Centre - Flipkart, Amazon in Rs100 crore ad blitz - Politicians may have helped Iqbal Kaskar net 100 crore in 3 years - Mobile bills to go down as Trai cuts call termination charges to 6 p/min Topper TV launches exam special series MUMBAI: Network18’s 24×7 educational channel Topper TV, operated by GreyCells18, has launched ‘Paper Peek’, an exclusive series for the school exam season. The series will also be available on the channel’s official website as part of an examination special pack. Designed according to the CBSE syllabus, ‘Paper Peek’ covers science and mathematics for the first and second terms for Class IX and 1X. GreyCells18 CEO Garima Chaudhry said, “It is our endeavour at Topper to weave together the best learning resources in offerings that engage today’s digitally-savvy young minds and make studying fun for them. Last minute revisions are never easy, and we hope that this series will be useful for students across the country in preparing for their crucial Class IX and X examinations.” The series will be spread over 36 episodes, with each 30-minute episode designed and developed by academic experts and teachers after poring through several past papers and keeping the problems of students in mind. The episodes aim to provide comprehensive assistance to students to get them exam ready. Each chapter will be explained with the help of graphics and animation which explain key concepts to students and help them with last-minute revisions. The show further breaks down each unit and chapter into segments covering multiple-choice questions, short answer questions and subjective questions. RJs Salil, Archana and Yukti were part of the team for the concept. Topper TV is available for subscription on Tata Sky (Ch No. 590), Airtel Digital TV (Ch No. 295) and Reliance Digital TV (Ch No. 580). Besides ‘Paper Peek’, Topper TV boasts other shows covering mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology for Classes VI to XII, shows on the Earth’s flora and fauna, and on the way things work, etc. The channel also offers educational content for Classes VI to XII for CBSE, ICSE, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu boards, as well as JEE preparation and practice on its website.
Embedded and USB Development TGN has always specialized in providing a complete 'end to end' solution, from user-friendly front ends to potentially complex inner workings. Many of our past applications have involved using communication (serial) and parallel ports, so the arrival of USB to the PC world meant this was an obvious direction for us. Projects we have been involved in have required: - ♦ Firmware to be written for the device - ♦ Windows drivers to be written to support the device - ♦ Dynamic link libraries to be written to allow applications to easily use the device - ♦ The applications themselves
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia. Switch to new thesaurus \|Noun\|\|1.\|\|articulatio coxae - the ball-and-socket joint between the head of the femur and the acetabulum\| ischial bone, ischium, os ischii - one of the three sections of the hipbone; situated below the ilium thigh - the part of the leg between the hip and the knee articulatio spheroidea, ball-and-socket joint, cotyloid joint, enarthrodial joint, enarthrosis, spheroid joint - a freely moving joint in which a sphere on the head of one bone fits into a rounded cavity in the other bone
The bobcat "Chips" -- found orphaned as a 4-week-old by a national forest fire crew in California last summer -- is roaming free in the wild. The Sierra Wildlife Rescue, of Placerville, Calif., reports that the 8-month-old cat and her den mate Sierra were transported to Humboldt County "bobcat territory" and released Friday. Nan Powers, media representative and rehabber for the rescue, said both cats were ready to be returned to their natural habitat after more than seven months of rehabilitation. "They were nice and wild, spitting and growling when we came close," she said. "Chips will be just fine. We couldn't even get any video -- they both ran away as soon as we opened their cage up." Chips was only a few weeks old when she attracted national attention after the local fire crew found her with burned paws and infected eyes as it battled a 75,000-acre fire in the Plumas National Forest. Crew members named her after the wildfire. The crew tried to locate a female bobcat searching for its baby, but had no luck and ended up taking the kitten to the Lake Tahoe Care Center, where she was placed with Sierra. The male bobcat, found orphaned in Lassen County, is estimated to be about one week older than Chips. Both bobcats were transferred to the Placerville rescue in November, where they were prepared for release by volunteer Jill Tripoli, who was rehabbing another bobcat kitten named Tuffy. The cats were trained to be cautious of any human contact and chase down their own food, including live mice, as they would in the wild. Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care Center Executive Director Cheryl Millham said the survival rates are excellent for animals rehabilitated at her center -- where Chips was first treated - and for the Sierra Rescue Center. "We teach them hunting skills, so they know how to hunt when they are released and what food to find in the wild," she said. "That is one job of successful rehabilitation centers. The animals are not released until the skills they need are in place." Powers said the Sierra Rescue Center doesn't track or collar animals released into the wild, making it difficult to know the actual success rate. Powers said she is confident in the rehabilitation process and optimistic about the future of both bobcats. "The whole idea is to get the animals back into the wild and leave them alone," Powers said. "We want to let them be wild. That's what the rehabilitation process is all about." Kaci Poor can be reached at email@example.com
LONGMONT -- A groundbreaking usually marks the beginning of a project, but the seeds of Roosevelt Park Apartments were first sown in 2003, when developer Cotton Burden was standing on the third-floor of his just-completed office building, Roosevelt Place. The view from the corner of Longs Peak Avenue and Coffman Street, looking out over Roosevelt Park and to the Continental Divide beyond, is stunning. But the view Burden got looking north that day, across the street from his building, was anything but: basically run-down buildings and an aging gas station property. "That started the snowball," Burden told an audience of more than 75 that came out Tuesday for the groundbreaking for Roosevelt Park Apartments, a $21 million, 115-unit mixed-use building being built on the southern end of the 700 block of Main Street, between Main and Coffman streets. Over the past nine years Burden acquired all of the properties on the southern end of the 700 block of Main Street, between Main and Coffman streets. Several plans for redevelopment came and went over the years but in late 2010 he finally settled on the final concept for Roosevelt Park Apartments -- a three-story apartment building with an interior courtyard with a pool, restaurant spaces on the two main corners, some other retail space, and artists' studios that it will rent to the Longmont Downtown Development Authority, fitting in with its goal of creating an arts and entertainment district downtown. The project is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2013. Burden said that without the buy-in he received from the LDDA and the city, including the financial commitment from both entities, Roosevelt Park Apartments would never have become a reality. "The rents that a project such as this can command in Longmont could not support the construction costs of the project," Burden said. The LDDA and city staffers pulled together monies from seven different funding sources to make the project happen. For the LDDA, the project was exactly what it was looking for in terms of bringing more households to the downtown area and helping increase property values. It's also bringing in new businesses to downtown and adding a few parking spaces to boot, LDDA board chairman Bill Sawyers said in his remarks. "This project is a catalyst project for downtown, leveraging a private investment of more than $16 million," said Sawyers, an architect and urban planner himself. At the beginning of his remarks Burden called Tuesday's groundbreaking "a historic event for downtown Longmont." Current and former mayors, several members of the Longmont City Council, most of the LDDA board and a large number of city staffers from the economic development department and various other business leaders were on hand, signifying the team effort it took to make the $21 million project a reality. One who was not in attendance was Mary Murphy-Bessler, the former executive director of the LDDA who has since left Longmont. Burden took special note to thank Murphy-Bessler and former Longmont city manager Gordon Pedrow, who was in attendance. "Both of these people helped give me the inspiration to do this," Burden said, also thanking Murphy-Bessler's successor, Kimberlee McKee, for helping push the project ahead. Sharon Smith-Eisler, who lives only a few blocks from downtown, said afterwards that it was projects like this that inspired her to want to serve on the LDDA board. "I've been in Longmont since 1976," Smith-Eisler said. "I've been waiting for this. I've been waiting for the downtown to grow." Tony Kindelspire can be reached at 303-684-5291 or at email@example.com.
When most law enforcement officers start their duties to protect and serve the civilian population in their jurisdictions, they take an oath to uphold the state and U.S. constitutions. Even the president of the United States, as the highest-ranking member of the federal law enforcement apparatus and military, swears to preserve, protect and defend the document created by the Founding Fathers. Included in that document is the Bill of Rights -- the fundamental freedoms of the republic -- as well as all of the amendments ratified since the Constitution was created in 1787. And shocking as it may be to some, it also included the powers of the elected Congress to enact laws, for the executive branch to administer them and for the Supreme Court to settle disputes about the administration of those laws. To some in the nation's law enforcement community, it appears the defense of the Constitution stops and starts with the Bill of Rights -- or even after just the first two amendments, protecting freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. Since the announcement from President Obama that he will pursue tighter restrictions on certain types of weapons and ammunition, the elected sheriffs from several counties in the United States have announced they will not enforce them, determining them unilaterally to be unconstitutional. Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith stated in a Facebook post, "As Sheriff, I will not: Enforce unconstitutional federal laws; Obey unconstitutional laws; Allow others to violate the Constitutional rights of those in my county." Similar missives came from sheriffs in Weld and El Paso counties. While it's comforting to some to believe a sheriff and his or her deputies would take on the role of a local militia to protect the population from tyranny, the belligerent stance taken by law enforcement against the federal government has the deleterious effect of enabling those who believe any federal rules with which they disagree are unconstitutional. Will local sheriffs refuse to allow the Forest Service to fight fires in their counties because they or some of their constituents disagree with forest management policy? Will they prevent work from the Army Corps of Engineers to site dams, or Medicare-paid physicians to treat patients in local hospitals while they judge the constitutionality of each action? It was precisely because of the slippery slope of patchwork enforcement that the Constitution includes the separation of powers, with the Supreme Court having the final call on determining the constitutionality of laws and policies. By respecting that separation of powers sheriffs can show their fealty to the document.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the steps it takes to plan properly for your child with special needs, you are not alone. I understand that life is busy with therapy sessions, school and IEP meetings, and doctor’s visits. For many families financial planning ends up being last on the to-do list. Often times, this is a result of the many steps involved in adequately planning. In my work, I have some families who have taken some steps to properly plan, but still have some gaps. Others admit it’s a topic they just don’t want to talk about, and some just have no idea where to begin. So why is it important to properly plan? A proper plan allows families to safeguard the best possible quality of life for their child with special needs. Failing to properly plan could disqualify your child from crucial government benefits such as Social Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid. Once on benefits, the individual with special needs can only have $2000 in assets in their name. That includes a home or any savings account–whether it is cash, in the bank, or an investment account set up by parents, grandparents, or anyone else. But don’t worry! There are ways around this to ensure the individual with special needs has access to money to supplement their SSI benefits and live the lifestyle they desire. Planning for an individual with special needs adds an extra dimension to the typical financial planning families need to do. Everyone needs to make sure they have an emergency fund, a will, a debt payoff plan, proper insurance coverage, and saving strategies for education and retirement. When planning for an individual with special needs, I look at it as if we are planning for two retirements. You have to make sure you have enough money to live the lifestyle you want in retirement, and that there are enough assets to help your child with special needs live the best possible life. This involves setting up a Special Needs Trust and looking at your financial picture to figure of the best way to fund the trust. While many families don’t have a large amount of assets to fund a trust during their lifetime, there are ways to save on a monthly or annual basis to assure funds are available in a trust once the parents pass away. There are no limits to the amount of assets that can go into a Special Needs Trust. Once we determine to set up a trust, the next question is usually, “How much money should be in it?” There is no simple way to figure this out, but I tell families that it starts with the life you want for your child. With that picture we can help you determine how much money will be needed in your child’s trust. One of the largest expenses to factor into your child’s long-term planning is housing and personal care/assistance. There are many housing options, such as a group home, living in the family home, or an all-inclusive living facilities. If your child stays in a group home, or in your home, caretaker costs should be considered. These are all items that a Special Needs Trust can be used to fund. Another major issue that arises during the planning process for families with children with disabilities is the beneficiary designations. As I mentioned, an individual with special needs cannot have more than $2000 in assets directly in their name. If you were to pass away and you had your child with special needs listed as a beneficiary, they could be disqualified from benefits. I encourage you to check all beneficiaries of investment accounts and life insurance plans to make sure your child with special needs is not listed as a direct beneficiary, even if you have not set up your Special Needs Trust. This will ensure that assets do not go directly to them, therefore, keeping their government benefits intact. Also, it’s important to make sure other family members know to do this as well. I find that other family members, such as grandparents and aunts and uncles, want to leave money for the individual with special needs and name them directly as a beneficiary for life insurance. This would also disqualify your child from government benefits. Many times family members don’t want to discuss their financial situation with you, so once you have a plan in place, you can tell them how to direct assets if they want to leave them for your child. I don’t expect to have answered all your questions and concerns, but I hope that this brief explanation of the planning process can help you with the first step: seeking help. To learn more about how to care and properly plan for your loved one with special needs, please contact me. Continuum Planning Partners \| www.continuumplanningpartners.com \| 615-309-6326
Adjusting to life in a mega city like Los Angeles is often difficult for students coming from out of the country or smaller towns and cities. Knowing the right safety precautions to take, and how to integrate safety with the realities of life on and off campus are at the heart of this light-hearted training game. Should you walk alone at night to the ATM or call a friend? What should you do if you witness an accident? What common kinds of campus accidents can proper attention help you avoid? Each of the levels of play introduce new challenges for the player, helping them to develop good safety awareness and strategies. My role is working with a team of game designers at the lab to develop and iterate the underlying design to align with the desired safety learning. The team also includes partners in the Provost’s office, Campus Safety and other key departments at USC. This project is a work in progress. When it is complete, it will be released to all incoming USC students and become a requirement for Trojan orientation.
Stop the Discriminatory Visa Waiver Legislation! Thanks for showing your opposition to this discriminatory law! Be sure to sign our petition below, and get the latest updates on this page. Essentially, The Equal Protection in Travel Act would remove the clause that bars nationals of Iraq, Syria, Sudan, and Iran from participating in the visa waiver program. Notably, it would not remove the clauses that target individuals who have traveled to those four countries in the past five years. The American Iranian Council welcomes the removal of the targeting on the basis of nationality, but continues to object to the unfair targeting of tourists, businesspeople, and visitors wishing to see their families in Iran. Moreover, the Council remains concerned about the impediment this poses for trade and economic relations with Iran. Indeed, according to the text of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the EU, its member states, and the US were to “refrain from any policy specifically intended to directly and adversely affect the normalisation of trade and economic relations with Iran.” This clause targeting travelers effectively disincentivizes businesspeople from visiting Iran and engaging in trade and economic relations with the country in a post-JCPOA era. The Iran Election: What's at Stake On Friday, Iranians will go to the polls to elect members of Parliament and the Assembly of Experts. Here’s why this matters. Q. What’s at stake? A. Iranians will elect a Parliament that passes laws and a clerical council that is technically in charge of naming a successor to the supreme leader when he dies. But analysts say that the choice of a successor to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 76, will in all likelihood be deemed too important to be left to the assembly — it will instead confirm preselected candidates. The assembly also monitors the supreme leader, but that function has minimal effect. Q. Is Iran a democracy? A. It’s a hybrid country with religious and civil institutions. It has an elected president and Parliament, with limited powers. It also has a Supreme Leader who wields civil and religious authority and a Guardian Council, which comprises six religious experts and six legal experts to interpret the Constitution. Q. Doesn’t the supreme leader control everything? A. Yes, and no. The supreme leader has final say on all matters of religion and state. But he also needs to balance the demands and interests of competing power centers like the Revolutionary Guards and the judiciary. Ayatollah Khamenei, according to the Constitution, cannot annul Friday’s vote. Parliament and the Assembly of Experts are officially independent powers, but parliaments — particularly the departing one — take their cues from him. (The New York Times) The new visa waiver restrictions are complicated and can be confusing to understand. In this video, I break it down by interviewing a lawyer from the ACLU, a former American nuclear negotiator, and an Iranian-German dual citizen who was recently affected by the law. Watch the video, then share it with your friends who need to learn about the issue. Amin Shokrollahi, the German-Iranian dual citizen and mathematics professor who was profiled in the AIC's video about the discriminatory visa waiver restrictions, was recently profiled in The Intercept. United States Begins Implementation of Changes to the Visa Waiver Program The United States today began implementing changes under the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 (the Act). U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) welcomes more than a million passengers arriving to the United States every day and is committed to facilitating legitimate travel while maintaining the highest standards of security and border protection. Under the Act, travelers in the following categories are no longer eligible to travel or be admitted to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP): Nationals of VWP countries who have traveled to or been present in Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria on or after March 1, 2011 (with limited exceptions for travel for diplomatic or military purposes in the service of a VWP country). Nationals of VWP countries who are also nationals of Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria. These individuals will still be able to apply for a visa using the regular immigration process at our embassies or consulates. For those who need a U.S. visa for urgent business, medical, or humanitarian travel to the United States, U.S. embassies and consulates stand ready to process applications on an expedited basis. The United States Department of State just issued a memo announcing that implementation of the changes to the Visa Waiver Program would begin today. The American Iranian Council has strongly opposed these changes in their current form on the grounds that they are both discriminatory and will not improve national security. The following is a memo issued by the US Department of State regarding the implementation of changes to the Visa Waiver Program. For Immediate Release January 21, 2016 United States Begins Implementation of Changes to the Visa Waiver Program The United States today began implementing changes under the /Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015/ (the Act). U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) welcomes more than a million passengers arriving to the United States every day and is committed to facilitating legitimate travel while maintaining the highest standards of security and border protection. Under the Act, travelers in the following categories are no longer eligible to travel or be admitted to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) AIC Director of Communications Kayvon Afshari discussed the visa waiver issue ("HR158") on Brooklyn's BRIC TV, a newly-launched community television station in Brooklyn. He argued that the addition of Iran in the law is both discriminatory and fails to improve national security. He elaborated on the reason that he is personally opposed to the law. "Sometimes people say that this law just produces a small inconvenience, and that you should just apply for a visa. However, to me it's not about the inconvenience. I'm affronted by the implication of the law." he said. "And the implication is this: that I, because I am an Iranian-American dual citizen and have traveled to Iran, just may perhaps be a terrorist." Iran threatens response to new U.S. visa restrictions Iran will take reciprocal measures in response to any breach of this year's nuclear deal, the Foreign Ministry warned on Monday, after Tehran said new U.S. visa restrictions contravened the historic agreement. Iran has started to restrict its nuclear program under the terms of the July 14 deal with six world powers, including the United States. When the restrictions are completed, international sanctions on Tehran will be lifted. But decades-old mistrust between Tehran and Washington is as high as ever, and each side has accused the other of undermining the pact, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Earlier this month, the U.S. Congress passed a law restricting visa-free travel rights for people who have visited Iran or hold dual Iranian nationality, a measure that Iran's foreign minister called a breach of the deal. (Reuters) Tensions rise over U.S. visa measures that could affect Iran nuclear accord Tensions mounted between Iran and the United States on Wednesday over a new American law that limits visa-free travel, which the Iranians regard as a sanction and a violation of the recently completed nuclear accord. The Iranian foreign minister and Republican critics of Iran traded warnings about the visa law, which is barely a week old. The law applies to foreigners who would otherwise be eligible to travel to the United States without a visa. It denies that privilege to anyone who has visited Iran in the past five years or who holds Iranian citizenship. The same restriction applies to citizens of or visitors to Syria, Iraq or Sudan. The law is part of an American antiterrorism response to the recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., and is primarily directed at suspected members and supporters of the Islamic State, the extremist Sunni group that controls parts of Iraq and Syria. Sudan and Iran were included partly because they have been on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism for many years. (The New York Times)
As he did in his 2007 book, A Demon of Our Own Design, Richard Bookstaber returns to the story of the cockroach with his 2017 book, The End of Theory. The excerpt below really made me think, and as I read more of the book, I'm beginning to think just as his 2007 work was the antithesis to central banker comments along the lines of "At this juncture, however, the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime market seems likely to be contained." (Bernanke, 2007); his 2017 work will go down an the antithesis to the confidence of today's central bankers, portrayed recently by Janet Yellen's comment about believing that another financial crisis is not likely to occur in our lifetimes. Now, onto Bookstaber and the cockroach: Now, onto Bookstaber and the cockroach: The Omniscient Planner and the Cockroach If you were omniscient, if you could pierce through these limits to knowledge, how would you design a creature to survive in a world with radical uncertainty? That is, suppose that you have an omniscient view of the future and you know all the types of risks that a species will face and you can give that creature rules in order to give it the best chance of survival, not just in the current environment but in the face of all that will cross its path over the course of time. But you have one critical constraint: your rules don’t allow communication of any information regarding the unknown future states or solutions to those things that the creature would not be able to perceive in its nonomniscient state. (This is a bit like Star Trek’s Prime Directive.) Before setting down the rules, you might want to do some background work and see what the species that have faced this sort of world have done that have allowed them to survive. Species that have existed for hundreds of millions of years can be considered, de facto, to have a better rule set than those that have been prolific in one epoch but became extinct as crises emerged. So it makes sense to start there. If you take this route, you can’t do much better than to look at the cockroach. The cockroach has survived through many unforeseeable (at least for it) changes: jungles turning to deserts, flatland giving way to urban habitat, predators of all types coming and going over the course of three hundred million years. This unloved critter owes its record of survival to a singularly basic and seemingly suboptimal mechanism: the cockroach simply scurries away when little hairs on its legs vibrate from puffs of air, puffs that might signal an approaching predator, like you. That is all it does. It doesn’t hear, it doesn’t see, it doesn’t smell. It ignores a wide set of information about the environment that you would think an optimal system would take into account. The cockroach would never win the “best designed bug” award in any particular environment, but it does “good enough” and makes it to the finish line in all of them. Other species with good track records of survivability also use escape strategies that involve coarse, simple rules that ignore information. The crayfish, another old branch in the evolutionary tree that has been around in one form or another for more than one hundred million years, uses a winner-take-all escape mechanism: a stimulus triggers a set of neurons, each dictating a pattern of action, and one variant of behavior then suppresses the circuits controlling the alternative actions. That is, although a number of different stimuli are received and processed, all but one of them are ignored. These sorts of coarse rules are far removed from our usual thinking on how to make decisions because they ignore information that is virtually free for the taking. Yet if we look around further we see that coarse rules are the norm. They are not only seen in escape mechanisms, where speed is critical. They are also used in other decisions that are critical to survival such as foraging and mate selection. The great tit is a bird that does not forage based on an optimization program that maximizes its nutritional intake; it will forage on plants and insects with a lower nutritional value than others that are readily available, and will even fly afield to do so. The salamander does not fully differentiate between small and large flies in its diet. It will forage on smaller flies even though the ratio of effort to nutrition makes such a choice suboptimal. This sort of foraging behavior, although not totally responsive to the current environment, enhances survivability if the nature of the food source unexpectedly changes. For mate selection, the peahen uses a take-the-best heuristic: she limits herself to looking at three or four males, and then picks the one with the most eyespots. She ignores both other males and other features. A red stag deer also has a take-the-best strategy, challenging another deer for his harem by running through a range of behavioral cues until he finds one that is decisive, and stops at that point. The first can be done at a nonthreatening distance: the challenger roars and the harem holder roars back. If the challenger fails on this test, it’s game over. Otherwise, the challenger approaches the alpha male more closely and the two deer walk back and forth to assess their relative physical stature. If this showdown does not solve matters, they move on to direct confrontation through the dangerous test of head butting. The heuristic is a simple one, winner-take-all, where the first cue that makes a difference is determinant, but in this case the cues occur sequentially, going from the one that requires the least information (it can be done at a distance without even having a clear view of the opponent) to the most direct and risky. The underlying heuristic remains one that is as coarse and simple as possible, where the first cue that can differentiate makes the decision. Foraging, escape, and reproduction are the key existential activities, and we see that heuristics are at their core. And we also see a movement toward coarse behavior for animals when the environment changes in unforeseeable ways. For example, animals placed for the first time in a laboratory setting often show a less than fine-tuned response to stimuli and follow a less discriminating diet than they do in the wild. In fact, in some experiments, dogs placed in a totally unfamiliar experimental environment would curl up and ignore all stimuli, a condition called experimental neurosis. The coarse response, although suboptimal for any one environment, is more than satisfactory for a wide range of unforeseeable ones. In contrast, an animal that has found a well-defined and unvarying niche may follow a specialized rule that depends critically on that animal’s narrow perception of its world. If the world continues as the animal perceives it, with the same predators, food sources, and landscape, then the animal will survive. If the world changes in ways beyond the animal’s experience, however, the animal will die off. So precision and focus in addressing the known comes at the cost of reduced ability to address the unknown. It is easier to discuss heuristics as a response to radical uncertainty when we are focused on less intelligent species. We are willing to concede that nature has surprises that are wholly unanticipated by cockroaches and our other nonhuman cohabitants. A disease that destroys a once-abundant food source and the eruption of a volcano in a formerly stable geological setting are examples of events that could not be anticipated by lower life forms even in probabilistic terms and therefore could not be explicitly considered in rules of behavior. But the thought experiment of the omniscient planner provides insight into what heuristics are doing in our decision making as well. It is not that we take on heuristics solely because of limits in our cognitive ability to solve the problem with the full force of optimization methods. It is because some problems simply cannot be solved by optimization methods even absent cognitive constraints. Absent our being omniscient, we cannot apply optimization methods to the real-world problem we face, and if we try to do so, we simply have to make things up.
Dr. Jitse van der Meer in his essay, “Primate Ancestors: Evidence from DNA Comparison,” posted over at the Reformed Academic, puts forth the argument that man and chimpanzees have common ancestry. He explains that humans and chimpanzees have similarities in both chromosome structure and in gene structure. He concludes, from that evidence, that humans and chimpanzees must, therefore, have a common ancestry. Although he writes for the “well-educated non-specialist,” I would state forthwith that my two post-secondary degrees did not equip me well to understand everything said in the essay. For that, I humbly apologize to my brother. However, I believe that I have understood enough to formulate an opinion. This response makes three points: Dr. Van der Meer concludes more than he should; his conclusions call for a new way of reading scripture; his conclusions are beyond the pale of the Reformed confessions. 1. Dr. Van der Meer concludes more than he should. Near the beginning of his essay, he states “the principle” in simple terms: “Assume a man suffers from a genetic disease. His father as well as his daughter and grandson suffer from the same disease. His uncles and aunts from his father’s side do too. The explanation is that they have all inherited the disease from their common ancestor.” That would, indeed, be a sensible explanation. However, it would not be sensible to say that two people who have the same disease must be related. That would be saying too much. But that is what Dr. Van der Meer says: Humans and chimps have a similar chromosome structure and (defective) gene structure; the sensible conclusion is that they have a common ancestry. Dr. Van der Meer, in his argument, is “begging the question” (in the formal sense of the expression). He assumes what he is trying to prove. He argues, “When relatives share in suffering a genetic disease, it is because there is a common ancestor,” or, “When relatives share in suffering a genetic disease it is because they are relatives.” That is “begging the question.” However, there are many who share in similar genetic disorders that are not related. We can cite for example Down Syndrome or many cancers. That the sufferers share in similar, even identical, genetic disorders proves nothing about common ancestry. He then moves on to the error of “affirming the consequent.” He argues that relatives who share in common genetic diseases are relatives; therefore, all those who share in genetic distinctives are relatives. Humans and chimpanzees share genetic distinctives; therefore, they are relatives. QED. This is fallacious reasoning. At first he is more tentative in his conclusions. Under 2.2, he says, “The banding patterns of all 23 human chromosomes perfectly align with chimpanzee chromosomes. This means that human and chimp chromosomes have a very closely matching pattern in their chemical structure.” That is an observation, and nothing more. From the observation, one cannot argue more. The observation that humans and chimps have similar chemical structure is simply an observation that proves nothing else. Dr. Van der Meer says more than the observation allows him to say. Under 3.2, where he explains that “…humans and chimpanzees share six hemoglobin genes,” he ends with saying: “Explanation: an ancestor of humans and chimps sustained the gene duplication as well as the six mutations in the pseudogene and passed it on to humans and chimps.” Here Dr. Van der Meer shifts from making observations about what science sees to how the seen things came to be as they are. Under 3.3, he boldly concludes, “…chimps and humans have a common ancestor.” And under 4, “So the answer is that an explanation in terms of common ancestry remains called for.” In my opinion, Dr. Van der Meer decisively concludes more than he ought. 2. Dr. Van der Meer’s conclusions call for a new way of reading scripture. The “old” way of reading scripture is to read it plainly. Although there is room for freedom of exegesis when reading and interpreting scripture—also the first chapters of Genesis—in our tradition, we have usually tried to set forth the plain meaning of scripture. In our churches, we have read Genesis 1-11 as history. If Dr. Van der Meer’s conclusions are correct, and man shares with the chimpanzee a primitive ancestor, a different way of reading scripture would be demanded. I can only guess what that might be. The early chapters of Genesis would need to be understood as myth, or legend, or aetiology, or polemic — something other than history. The other passages of scripture, also those of the New Testament, which plainly intimate that Adam was the product of a direct creation of God (Lk 3:38; 1 Cor 15:45-49; 1 Tim 2:13) would need to be read though a new interpretative lens. The reader of scripture would need to become somewhat of an expert to understand what is written. The Canadian Reformed Churches have always confessed the clarity of scripture. If we were to read scripture through a hermeneutical grid which has as a premise that man shares a primitive ancestor with animals, we would have to make a global shift in the reading and teaching of scripture. 3. Dr. Van der Meer’s conclusions are beyond the pale of the Reformed confessions. The Reformed confessions teach fiat creation. Article 12 of the Belgic Confession says: “We believe that the Father through the Word, that is, through His Son, has created out of nothing heaven and earth and all creatures, when it seemed good to Him, and that He has given to every creature its being, shape, and form….” One wonders how it could be said more simply. All creatures were created out of nothing. “All creatures.” “Nothing.” Important words. Every creature created has its existence, its shape, its form, by the creative act of God. To suggest that creatures received their existence, shape and form via a process of natural selection is beyond the pale of the Reformed confession. In Article 14 of the Belgic Confession we confess that “…God created man of dust from the ground.” I think it fair to say that most Canadian Reformed confessors mean quite simply what it says according to the plain meaning of the words and do not read them through a new interpretative grid that gives a novel meaning to the words. After having read Dr. Van der Meer’s essay, I conclude that, from the evidence, he incautiously concludes more than he should; his conclusions call for a new way of reading, interpreting, and understanding scripture; his conclusions are beyond the fence of the Reformed confessions. Several other Canadian Reformed ministers have reacted to Dr. Van der Meer's article here:
Key expressway begins construction in China's Xinjiang A key expressway in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region began construction on Wednesday in a move to improve the region's road network and serve its economic development. The 135-km expressway will link Kuytun City to Karamay City. The project, funded by the central government and Xinjiang regional government, will cost 3.87 billion yuan (about 567 million U.S. dollars). The road is bidirectional with four lanes. It will be completed and put into use in November 2011. Dai Gongxing, vice chairman of the Xinjiang regional government, said at the groundbreaking ceremony in Kuytun that the expressway, also part of the national expressway network, would improve the regional transport and promote local economic development. (Xinhua News Agency July 23, 2009) Recommended China Guide : About Our Company China Travel Resources What Our Customers Say Thank you very much for your letter, I really enjoyed my tour in Xian despite of the high temperature. In this context, it was helpful to have a transportation with air conditioning, thanks you also for the bottle of water, I suggest you to have the bottle of water cold and to keep them i... Read more testimonials...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) voted in favor of legislation that would save taxpayer dollars by revising the formula for establishing the annual budget baseline. Currently, when the baseline is calculated, it automatically assumes that federal spending will increase in certain programs and is inflated as a result. This means that when the projected cost of a piece of legislation is compared to the baseline, it will be considered a spending “cut” if it does not exceed the inflated baseline number – when in reality it is still increasing spending. The Baseline Reform Act (H.R. 1871) would correct this problem by removing automatic inflators from the budget baseline formula. “The federal government’s reckless spending is the single most pressing issue facing our nation today,” said Congressman Jones. “We need to enact real cuts to spending, not settle for the illusion of a cut while our national debt continues to grow. This legislation is an important step in that direction.”
This September, the people of Scotland will vote in a referendum on whether or not Scotland should be an independent country, ending its 300-year union with the United Kingdom. The journey to the 2014 Referendum has been burdened by a slew of political oppositions and controversies, burdens that are sure to remain as the date of Referendum draws nearer. Here’s everything you need to know about Scotland’s history of devolution and how Scotland’s independence will impact the UK and the world: First, take a small leap back in time to the Union Act of 1707. Emerging from a financial crisis, Scotland was forced to seal a political union with England that dissolved each country’s separate Parliaments and created a single Parliament at Westminster in London. According the Scottish Government’s website, devolution efforts began as early as 1885 when the “Scottish Office was created as a Department of the UK Government,” which took up the “responsibility for many of the issues which in England and Wales were dealt with by Whitehall Departments, such as health, education, justice, agriculture, fisheries and farming, and was headed by a UK Cabinet Minister, the Secretary of State for Scotland.” Fast forward now to 1979, when a Referendum to establish a Scottish Assembly, or a “Home Rule for Scotland,” was thwarted by the then-government at Westminster. During this time, George Cunningham MP (Member of Parliament) for Islington South and Finsbury was responsible for drawing up the “40 percent amendment,” which meant - as Dennis Canavan, former MP for Falkirk West and current chairman of the Yes Scotland campaign, says - “that the devolution proposals would require the support of not just a simple majority of those voting in the referendum but a minimum of 40 per cent of those entitled to vote.” Despite the heated debates over the democracy of the 40 percent amendment, it was carried through the voting procedures. In Parliament, the amendment was defeated with 51 Labour MPs voting against it. When people of Scotland took to the polls, about 52% voted “Yes” for a Scottish Assembly, but as that only made about one third of the electorate, it failed to meet the 40 percent requirement. Canavan says, “George Cunningham’s wrecking amendment resulted in Scotland having to wait another 20 years for its own Parliament. Cunningham also helped to herald the Thatcher era and 18 years of Tory governments for which the people of Scotland did not vote.” According to the Scottish Government website, the 1989 Scottish Constitution Convention consisted of “representatives of civic Scotland and some of the political parties” and drafted the details of devolution, including “proposals for a directly elected Scottish Parliament with wide legislative powers.” The proposals received an overwhelming amount of support from the people of Scotland, with “74 per cent voting in favour of a Scottish Parliament and 63 per cent voting for the Parliament to have powers to vary the basic rate of income tax.” The Scottish Executive and the Scottish Parliament officially convened on July 1st, 1999. In May 2011, the first steps toward compiling the Scottish Independence Referendum were set in motion with the election of First Minister Alex Salmond of the Scottish National Party. A year later in November 2012, Salmond and Prime Minister David Cameron signed the historic “Edinburgh Agreement,” which confirmed “the Scottish Parliament’s power to hold a vote that will be respected fully by both governments.” Finally, in November of 2013, the Scottish Parliament passed the Scotland Independence Referendum Bill. Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that in this historic moment, “Independence is not about this administration but about the right of the people of Scotland to choose a Government of our own.” The Yes Scotland website lists all of the possible changes that would occur if Scotland were to become an independent state, from business to forestry, to education and immigration. According to the site, many of the primary concerns revolve around access to public services such as the National Health Service and public education. In the case of an independent Scotland, the access to public services will remain the same because the Scottish Parliament already controls them. One of the questions listed pokes right at the heart of the issue: “Does Scotland have what it takes to be independent?” According to the Yes Scotland campaign, Scotland does have what it takes: “We have the people, resources and ingenuity to prosper. Instead we should be asking, why isn’t Scotland doing better, given all the natural and human wealth we enjoy?” In terms of international affairs, an independent Scotland would maintain its membership in NATO so long as that membership does not require the possession of nuclear weapons. An independent Scotland would be against nuclear weapons because “they are immoral, they are incredibly expensive and almost useless in terms of protecting us against the most significant threats to our national security.” On the Scottish Referendum site, one of the Top 10 questions listed is, “If Scotland votes No, will there be another referendum on independence at a later date?” According to the answer listed, “the Edinburgh Agreement states that a referendum must be held by the end of 2014,” so there is no future referendum planned after September. This is a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.” When voters, as young as 16 and 17 years old, vote Yes or No on the question “Should Scotland be an independent country?” on September 18th, 2014, they will not only be deciding whether or not to disband a 300-year political union, but they will also determine if today’s generations are ready to accept the growth of a new, independent Scotland. Samantha Ruggiero is an editorial intern at Warscapes. Image via WordPress.
By Joby Warrick Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, October 24, 2009 VIENNA -- Early Sunday, if all goes as planned, U.N. nuclear inspectors will travel to a military base near Qom, Iran, for a first look at one of the country's most closely guarded nuclear secrets. Inside bunkers dug into the side of a mountain, the visitors will be escorted through a nearly completed uranium plant that Iran's president has termed "very ordinary." But less than a month after its existence was publicly revealed, many U.S. and European intelligence officials say they are increasingly convinced that the site was intended explicitly for making highly enriched uranium for nuclear weapons. The Qom site has undermined one of the U.S. intelligence community's key assessments of Iran's nuclear program: the assumption that Tehran had abandoned plans to enrich uranium in secret, according to two former senior U.S. officials involved in high-level discussions about Iran. A landmark U.S. intelligence assessment in 2007 concluded that any secret uranium-processing activities "probably were halted" in 2003 and had not been restarted. Other key judgments of the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate, including the view that Iran has suspended research on nuclear-warhead design, are also being reevaluated in light of new evidence, the two former officials said. "Qom changed a lot of people's thinking, especially about the possibility of secret military enrichment" of uranium, said one of the former officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the assessments remain classified. In interviews, intelligence officials from the United States and allied nations said their scrutiny of the Qom site was longer and deeper than previously acknowledged, and included acquiring detailed plans on how the facility would be outfitted and operated. Intercepted communications revealed a key piece of data: Iranian plans to place only 3,000 centrifuge machines in the plant. That number is too small to furnish fuel for a civilian power plant, but just big enough to supply Iran annually with up to three bombs' worth of weapons-grade fuel, the former officials said. Insights into the spy community's evolving views about Qom were provided by current and former intelligence and government officials in interviews in the United States, Central Europe and several Middle Eastern countries. In nearly all cases, the officials spoke on the condition that their names and nationalities not be revealed, citing the secrecy of the ongoing assessments of Iran's nuclear program. The officials acknowledged that the Qom complex is not yet operational and that no uranium had been enriched at the time the site was revealed last month. They also acknowledged there is no "smoking-gun" evidence that Iran plans to make bomb-grade uranium. But the officials said the Qom site was structurally suited for that purpose, and they concluded that there is no plausible role for the plant in Iran's civilian nuclear power infrastructure. Iran officially notified the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency about the existence of the Qom site in a letter on Sept. 21. U.S. and European officials say Iranian officials learned that the United States was aware of the site andrushed to disclose the facility's existence to head off accusations that it was running a covert nuclear program. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said the Qom site is part of Iran's legitimate, civilian nuclear power program, contending that he planned all along to disclose the facility to the U.N. nuclear watchdog and to allow international oversight. Ali Akbar Salehi, who heads Iran's civilian Atomic Energy Organization, said the facility was built underground at a military installation to shield it from foreign attack, and also to save money. The intention was "to safeguard our nuclear facilities and reduce the cost of an active defense system," Salehi told reporters in Tehran.Chipping away at a secret For at least the past five years, the complex at Qom has been both a closely guarded secret and one of the heavily scrutinized pieces of real estate on Earth. It is, in some ways, a perfect spot for a hidden nuclear facility. The nearby city of Qom has been known since medieval times as a Shiite religious center; it contains notable religious schools and shrines but no known nuclear facilities. The country's other uranium-enrichment plant, near Natanz, is 60 miles away. Two military bases for medium-range Shahab missiles and antiaircraft batteries lie just beyond the outskirts, and one of these, in a mountainous area about 10 miles north of town, is pocked with tunnels and bunkers used for storing rockets. Exactly when the order was issued to build the Qom facility is unclear, but intelligence officials say they have studied the site at least since 2004. An exiled opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, first publicly revealed the existence of Iran's much larger uranium facility at Natanz in 2002. It highlighted Qom's tunnels at a December 2005 news conference and later supplied details to U.N. officials, according to a spokesman for the group. Iran said the site was a closed military property, and no nuclear inspections were permitted. But from the air and ground, Western satellites and spies scoured its every portal and ventilator shaft, collecting terabytes of data about the facility, including communications intercepts. The CIA teamed up with intelligence operatives from U.S.-allied countries for sophisticated eavesdropping operations, officials confirmed. By last year, a series of breakthroughs confirmed that the Iran was building a secret uranium-enrichment plant, and also yielded precise details about how it would be operated, including the number of centrifuges Iran planned to use and how much electricity the facility would consume. A retired senior U.S. intelligence official who followed the case closely said the evidence was unusually good, with many "verified sources" providing data "beyond the visible light spectrum," or beyond satellite images and spy-plane photos. "It was truly a multi-discipline effort, and it went on for a long period of time," the retired official said. "The more we learned, the more confident we became." CIA Director Leon Panetta, in response to questions from The Washington Post, said in a statement that the agency was able over time to "draw a clear picture of Iran's activities and intentions at this site."Better centrifuges Iran has revealed that it planned to use a more sophisticated centrifuge machine at Qom -- one that can produce enriched uranium at twice the rate as the older-model machines it uses at the Natanz plant. Even so, the amount of uranium eked out annually by Qom's 3,000 centrifuges would be far short of the quantity needed to fuel a commercial nuclear reactor. Intelligence analysts calculated that it would take Qom's high-end centrifuges at least 20 years to produce enough low-enriched uranium to meet the needs of a typical 1,000 megawatt nuclear power reactor for a year. If configured for weapons, however, Qom could produce enough bomb-grade fuel for two to three bombs annually, intelligence officials said. "There is no Iranian document saying the facility is designed for a military program, but what else can it be good for?" said a senior Middle East-based intelligence official involved in Iran analysis. The official, and other intelligence officers interviewed, said they rejected the possibility that the Qom site was intended as a pilot plant or testing facility for new types of centrifuges. Iran already has two such facilities, at Natanz and in Tehran, and neither runs at anything close to capacity, they said. Intelligence officials say it is unlikely that Iran will try to manufacture weapons-grade uranium at Qom, now that the site has been revealed . But Western spy agencies say they do not know where Qom's supply of uranium feedstock -- uranium hexafluoride, or UF6 -- was supposed to come from. If Iran were to try to divert UF6 from its existing stockpile to a secret facility, U.N. inspectors would almost certainly detect the change. "Is there another secret facility somewhere? said the senior MiddleEast-based intelligence officer. "I'd now have to say yes, almost certainly."
This all-new hands-on, instructional workshop is designed to teach you the fundamentals of setting up studio lighting for portraiture and capturing your own unique portrait. The first evening session will include Michael demonstrating how studio mono lights (strobes) are relatively simple and a highly effective lighting. He will start with lighting our model for a portrait, then discuss building up the lighting and selecting the proper light modifiers to create the "look" wanted. There will be discussions on techniques to highlight or pull attention away from areas of the model and how to soften or harden the lighting to create drama and interest. You will learn how simple changes in the position of the model; the light or the modifier impacts the overall emotion of the image. Designed for the photographer who knows their camera and wants to expand their knowledge to portrait studio lighting or needs a different perspective. This Portrait Studio Lighting Workshop will give you the practical instruction and hands-on learning experience needed to improve your studio photography. Monday - April 14, 2014 Cost:$225 BAC members/$275 non-members Save this Event:iCalendar Windows Live Calendar Share this Event:Email to a Friend
The state requires each facility to have a disaster plan in place. The Florida Health Care Association works with hundreds of nursing homes to make sure they understand how to get their patients out, and if they stay, how to handle the situation, including having supplies for weeks. Bill Phelan of the Florida Health Care Association said, "We've had a pretty good track record the last couple of years, eight major storms, 30,000 patients evacuated. No deaths. No injuries." The disaster evacuation plan started as a 26-page guide in 2003 and is now 168 pages long. It has changed with the passing of each hurricane.
What is PechaKucha? Pechakucha is Japanese for 'chit-chat', and it is just that, though you'll never pronounce the word correctly – unless you're Japanese, of course. In this event (PechaKucha - Markham, Vol 3), eight speakers were invited to 'chit-chat' on various, mostly art related, subjects. Participants are allowed 400 seconds (6mins, 40secs in all) to tell their stories, this allows twenty seconds for each of the 20 images in the presentation. It sounds easy, but the process is strictly regimented, and the images move on, relentlessly, according to the clock. It's a challenge, and that's partly why it's so much fun. When asked to speak, I suggested three different subjects, my art being one, naturally. It was the story of my recent book and the 'Little Folk,' however, that generated the most enthusiastic response. Video of the event has not yet been posted on the Gallery website, but the images from my presentation, and accomplanying text, can be seen below – and here, at least, you'll be able to read at your own pace. I hope you'll enjoy this story of the Isle of Man, and an encounter with the 'Little Folk'.
As a congressional joint conference seeks to reconcile Senate and House versions of a proposed energy bill, renewable fuels proponents remain locked in the ongoing debate with opponents over the efficacy of ethanol and biodiesel fuels. The argument has often had the mood and temper of a playground dispute. One side will say it's so, and the other side will say it's not either. Each has issued its own studies, analyses and models to prove it is, too. In general, congressional lawmakers have seemed confused by it all, but now a bipartisan coalition in Congress favors inclusion of a renewable fuels standard (RFS) in the energy package. The White House has also endorsed a retooled RFS, the crux of the debate, and by early October the odds seemed to favor its inclusion in the final legislation. The conference panel is faced with decisions about conflicting proposals from the House, which hasn't been so sympathetic to “biofuels,” and from the Senate, which has been friendlier. The RFS language in the House version of a new energy bill more nearly reflects the fears and reservations of urban lawmakers and, specifically, the stance of California. In the face of a federally mandated phase-out of methyl butyl ether (MTBE) and other petroleum-based oxygenates, that state continues its fight against ethanol in federal court. California wants a waiver from the federal requirement that grain-based oxygenates replace MTBE and ETBE additives. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) have filed a joint brief with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals supporting the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to deny the state of California's request for a waiver from the federal reformulated gasoline (RFG) oxygenate standard. Following EPA's denial of the request, California sued to overturn the ruling, and NCGA and RFA entered the suit as interveners on behalf of EPA. “Ethanol producers and corn growers have stepped up to the plate to provide affordable and environmentally safe renewable fuel to the state of California,” said NCGA's vice president of public policy, Jon Doggett. “We urge California to recognize this viable source of fuel.” Bob Dinneen, RFA president, says California's pursuit of an oxygenate waiver through the courts is quickly becoming a moot point anyway. “Nearly 70 percent of California gasoline will be blended with ethanol in 2003,” he said. “But as long as they persist in pursuing a waiver through spurious attacks on ethanol's clean air performance, we will continue to set the record straight.”

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.