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Palaiokastritsa is located in the northwest part of the island and very famous for its natural beauty. Is consists of two peninsulas and five small bays. Some of them have pebble stones while others are sandy. You can enjoy your swim in any one of them.
The area is ideal for diving which you can do with organized diving schools or on your own with a snorkel.
You can participate in water sports at all beaches and rent lounges and parasols. From the central beach you can make a trip by boat and visit the caves of the area, e.g. the cave of Nausika, the blue eye and the cave of Ai Nikola. You can rent a boat at the port of the area and make excursions to beautiful and romantic beaches which can be approached only by boat.
At the top of the rock is the Monastery of Palaiokastritsa dedicated to the Virgin Mother and dating from the 18th-19th century. You can visit it daily. It is an excellent example of Greek monasterial architecture. It has a yard with domes and a small Byzantine museum with Byzantine and Post-Byzantine icons. The view from the monastery is wonderful.
The picturesque village Lakones is located at the mountain slope and has a magnificent view to the south. One of the locations after the village is called Bella Vista (beautiful view). There you will find cafés and restaurants where you can enjoy a beautiful view to all bays of Palaiokastritsa and the surrounding villages.
After Lakones and with the mountain edge on our left we see Angelokastro, a Byzantine fortress located at a seemingly inaccessible peak. In order to go to the castle we follow the road to the village Krini. The view from the rock’s peak is panoramic and reaches to the city of Corfu.
Angelokastro was the westernmost guard of the Despotate of Epirus. The castle is also known as Castle Michel Angelo thus preserving the name of its creator, Michel the 2nd Despot of Epirus. It is located at a rock at an altitude of 160m, bathed by the sea and has only a narrow path connecting it to the mainland. The church of Archangels is located at the top and the church of Agia Kyriaki inside a cave. There is also a hermitic cell and a pilgrimage site. |
The Olivia Hodson Cancer Fund’s objective is to provide, “Support for research and clinical advancements within the departments of Oncology, Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital”.
Delivering rapid and efficient genetic screening for bone marrow failure syndromes
A new, more efficient method of DNA sequencing will help ICH scientists quickly identify causes of bone marrow failure syndromes.
Bone marrow failure (aplasia) describes the appearance of bone marrow in children whose blood is deficient in red and white blood cells and platelets. There are a number of different inherited syndromes associated with bone marrow failure, making it difficult for clinicians to provide parents with a clear diagnosis or information about the progression and potential outcome of their child’s illness.
With accurate identification of the genetic basis for a patient’s bone marrow failure, doctors can:
- develop early management and surveillance plans,
- target appropriate and timely therapy,
- counsel families if there is a future risk of leukaemia or other cancers,
- provide genetic counselling for the family and future siblings and
- collect essential information to support a successful stem cell transplant.
OHCF funds will enable staff at the Genetics & Genomic Medicine programme at the Institute of Child Health to develop a process that utilises new, more efficient genetic screening methods to target large numbers of genes at a time and return data much faster. It is hoped that within 12 months their test will be ready to put into practice, and will eventually made available to clinicians via the NHS. |
By the necessary change of times, vanity is added to human travail.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; Ecclesiastes 3:3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; Ecclesiastes 3:4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; Ecclesiastes 3:5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; Ecclesiastes 3:6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; Ecclesiastes 3:7 a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; Ecclesiastes 3:8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? Ecclesiastes 3:10 I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.
There is an excellency in God's works:
Ecclesiastes 3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in its time: also he hath set the world in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:12 I know that there is nothing better for them, than to rejoice, and to do good so long as they live. Ecclesiastes 3:13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labour, is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God hath done it, that men should fear before him. Ecclesiastes 3:15 That which is hath been already; and that which is to be hath already been: and God seeketh again that which is passed away.
but as for man, God shall judge his works there, and here he shall be like a beast.
Ecclesiastes 3:16 And moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there. Ecclesiastes 3:17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. Ecclesiastes 3:18 I said in mine heart, [It is] because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are [but as] beasts. Ecclesiastes 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; and man hath no preeminence above the beasts: for all is vanity. Ecclesiastes 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Ecclesiastes 3:21 Who knoweth the spirit of man whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast whether it goeth downward to the earth? Ecclesiastes 3:22 Wherefore I saw that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him [back] to see what shall be after him? |
1 Chronicles 9
The original of Israel's and Judah's genealogies.
1 Chronicles 9:1 And so all Israel numbred by kynreddes: beholde, they are wrytten in the boke of the kynges of Israel and of Iuda, and were caryed awaye to Babylon for their transgressyon:
1 Chronicles 9:2 Euen the olde enhabiters, that dwelt in their awne possessions & cyties, the Israelites, the preastes, Leuites & Nethenei. 1 Chronicles 9:3 And in Ierusalem dwelt of the children of Iuda, of þe chyldren of Beniamin, & of þe children of Ephraim & Manasse. 1 Chronicles 9:4 Uthai the sonne of Amihud, the sonne of Omri the sonne of Imri, the sonne of Beni, of the chyldren of Pharez, þe sonne of Iuda. 1 Chronicles 9:5 And of Siloni, Asaia the eldest and his sonnes. 1 Chronicles 9:6 And of þe sonnes of Zerah, Iehuel & their brethren .vj. hundred & nynetye. 1 Chronicles 9:7 And of the sonnes of Beniamin: Salu þe sonne of Mesullam þe sonne of Hodauia, the sonne of Senua: 1 Chronicles 9:8 & Iibneia the sonne of Ieroham. And Ela the sonne of Uzi the sonne of Michri. And Mesullam the sonne of Sephatia þe sonne of Rehuel, þe sonne of Iibnia. 1 Chronicles 9:9 And their brethren accordinge to their kynredes, nyne hundred fyftie and syxe. All these were principall men, and auncient in þe housholdes of their fathers.
1 Chronicles 9:10 And of the preastes: Iedaia, Iehoiarib & Iachin: 1 Chronicles 9:11 Azaria the sonne of Aelkia the sonne of Mesullam, the sonne of Zadoc, the sonne of Maraioth, the sonne of Ahitob the chefest in the house of God. 1 Chronicles 9:12 And Adaiah the sonne of Ieroham the sonne of Phashur, the sonne of Melchia. And Maasi the sonne of Adiel, the sonne of Iehezrah, the sonne of Mesullam, the sonne of Mesillomith, the sonne of Immor. 1 Chronicles 9:13 And their brethren which were heedes of the auncient housholdes of their fathers, a thousande seuen hundred & thre skore actiue men, for the worcke of the seruice of the house of God.
and the Levites, with the Nethinims, which dwelt in Jerusalem.
1 Chronicles 9:14 And of the Leuytes: Semeia the sonne of Aasub, the sonne of Asricam, the sonne of Hasabaia of þe sonnes of Merari. 1 Chronicles 9:15 And Bacbakar & Heres and Galal. And Mathania the sonne of Micah, the sonne of Zicri, þe sonne of Asaph. 1 Chronicles 9:16 And Obadia the sonne of Semeia the sonne of Galal, þe sonne of Iduthun. And Berechia the sonne of Aza the sonne of Elcana that dwelt in the villages of the Netophathites. 1 Chronicles 9:17 The porters were Sallum. Acub, Talmon & Ahiman and their brother, Sallum was the chefe. 1 Chronicles 9:18 For they watched hytherto, euen vnto the kynges gate eastwarde, thorowe out the tentes of the chyldren of Leuy. 1 Chronicles 9:19 And Sallum the sonne of Corah the sonne of Abiasaph the sonne of Corah, and his brethren the Corahites (of the house of their father) had their busynesse and offyce to kepe þe porches of the tabernacle: and their fathers the Hoste of the Lorde, kepte the enterynge. 1 Chronicles 9:20 And Phinces the sonne of Eleazar was their foregyde, and þe Lorde was with him. 1 Chronicles 9:21 And Zacharia the sonne of Meselemia kepte the watche before the dore of the tabernacle of witnesse. 1 Chronicles 9:22 All these were chosen men, to kepe þe thresholdes, euen two hundred & twelue, and thorowe out all þe genealogy were they numbred in their villages. And them dyd Dauid & Samuel the sear institute, because of their fidelite. 1 Chronicles 9:23 So they & their children had the ouersyght of the gates of the house of the Lorde, euen of the tabernacle, to kepe them. 1 Chronicles 9:24 In foure quarters dyd they kepe the watche: towarde þe east, west, north, & south. 1 Chronicles 9:25 And their brethren remayned in the countre and came after seuen dayes from tyme to tyme with them. 1 Chronicles 9:26 For the Leuites (which had the ouersyght of the vestryes & treasures of the house of God) were vnder þe custody of foure notable porters:
The charge of certain Levites.
1 Chronicles 9:27 & they laye rounde aboute þe house of God: because þe kepynge therof pertayned to them, and they had þe keyes to open euery mornynge. 1 Chronicles 9:28 And certen of them had the rule of þe mynistringe vessels, & brought them in and out by tale. 1 Chronicles 9:29 Some of them were appoynted to ouerse the vesselles, and all þe ornamentes of the Sanctuary, and the floure, wine, oyle, frankincense and swete odoures. 1 Chronicles 9:30 And certayne of the sonnes of þe prestes made oyntmentes of the swete odoures. 1 Chronicles 9:31 And Mathathia one of the Leuites which was, the eldest sonne of Sallum: the Corathite, had the ouersyght of the thynges that were made in the fryenge panne. 1 Chronicles 9:32 And other of their brethren the sonnes of Cahath had the ouersyght of þe shewbred which they prepared euery Sabboth. 1 Chronicles 9:33 These are þe syngers: euen auncient fathers of the Leuites, which dwelt in separate chambres: & were fre, for they had to do in þe temple bothe daye and nyght. 1 Chronicles 9:34 These were auncient fathers of the Leuites in their generacions, & dwelt at Ierusalem.
The stock of Saul and Jonathan.
1 Chronicles 9:35 And in Gibeon dwelt Abi Gibeon & Iehiel, whose wife was called Maacha, 1 Chronicles 9:36 his eldest sonne was Abdon, then Zur, Cis, Baal Ner and Nadab: 1 Chronicles 9:37 Gedor, Ahio, Zacharia and Mikloth. 1 Chronicles 9:38 And Mikloth begat Simean. And they also dwelt wt their brethren at Ierusalem, euen harde by them. 1 Chronicles 9:39 And Ner begat Cis, & Cis begat Saul. And Saul begat Iehonathan, Malchisua, Abinadab and Esbaal. 1 Chronicles 9:40 And the sonne of Iehonathan, was Meribbaal. And Meribbaal begat Micah, 1 Chronicles 9:41 and the sonnes of Micah were, Pithon, Melech and Thahrea. 1 Chronicles 9:42 And Ahaz begat Iahra. Iahra begat Alameth, Asmaneth, Zimri. Zimri begat Moza. 1 Chronicles 9:43 Moza begat Binea whose sonne was Rephaia, & his sonne was Elasa, & his sonne Azel. 1 Chronicles 9:44 And Azel had syxe sonnes, whose names are these: Azricam, Bochru, Ismael, Searia, Obadia and Hanan. These are the sonnes of Azel. |
Sweating is a common condition but if excessive sweat comes on the hand and feet in the summer or winter seasons while sitting, it is a type of disease. Sweat comes on the hand and feet without any reason during sitting in this disease.
Treatment by different medicines:
1. Kandi: Burn separate kandi and yellow coudi thereafter grind fine both together. Rub this mixture on the hand and feet, it reduces sweat.
2. Datura: Take about ¼ parts datura seeds to get relief in excessive sweat of the hand and feet.
3. Beriya: Apply ground leaves of beriya on the hand and feet, it ends excessive sweat of the hand and feet.
4. Barrengtonia acutangula: Grind dry ginger and barrengtonia acutangula together and apply it on the hand and feet, it reduces sweat quantity.
5. Acacia Arabica: Mix powder of myrabalan chebulie with ground leaves of acacia Arabica and rub it on the hand and feet, it provides relief in excessive sweat. Rub dried leaves of acacia Arabica on the hand and feet to get relief too.
6. Water: If the patient has been suffering from excessive sweat in feet, keep feet in lukewarm water thereafter keep it in cold water. Rub together both feet in cold water and mop it. Use this process for one week regularly, it provides relief in excessive sweat of the hand and feet. |
Objectivity is prized in business; however, it comes at the cost of personalization. For instance, One HR Director seeing the paradox said that personalization was exactly opposite of normal training which emphasized “don’t make it personal” focus on behaviors. While this is good for negative behaviors, it’s not good for positive ones because without personalization helps employees to internalize good behaviors, the most powerful and enduring motivation.
So, when it comes to personalizing our communications, we are essentially employing two simple tactics using the:
- Singular forms of I and you as opposed to the singular forms of he, she, it and the plural forms of we, you, they
- Names of individuals
As a basic example, let’s take this generic statement which could be said to anyone:
Our new business model helps us deliver better service to clients because we can deliver everything through a single contact.
By simply inserting a name at the beginning, we’ve personalized it:
John, our new business model helps us deliver better service to clients because we can deliver everything through a single contact.
It also helps to mention other people especially in neutral and positive contexts:
John, our new business model helps Sandra, Tom and you to deliver better service to clients because you can deliver everything through Mary, a single contact.
People like to be mentioned positively regarding their contributions. Even though Sandra, Tom and Mary won’t know this, you are subtly teaching John that if you talk positively about others to him, you are likely talking positively to others about him. If you regularly do the same with the others, they will learn too that you acknowledge people for their contributions. In the end, you will help them identify personally with their jobs and strengthen your relationships with them.
- Techniques Leveraging Relationships in Communications
- Technique Personalizing Communications and Conversations
- Leveraging Compliments in Conversations, A Technique
- Leverage Relationships in Conversations, A Technique (Pt 1)
- Leverage Relationships in Conversations, A Technique (Pt 2)
- Leverage Relationships in Conversations, A Technique (Pt 3)
- Leveraging Relationships, Manipulation or Influence? |
William Overgard's The Divide is an alternate history tale involving a world where the Axis Powers won the Second World War. From what I could tell history diverged at a couple points, one being the election of an isolationist President in the United States and the second being a change in Germany's tactics that allowed them a quick victory over Britain.
It is 1976. Two-hundred years since the Declaration of Independence and thirty years since the United States surrendered to the Axis. The elderly Hitler and Tojo plan a historic meeting in the center of America at a place they call the Divide. America has been a peaceful place for a number of years, no real uprisings, citizens being willing slaves to their German and Japanese masters. All that is about to change.
A number of people get involved in setting the stage for a new American Revolution. It starts with the bizarre assassination of a Japanese general on the Fourth of July. The story then jumps between various characters - the trio of freedom fighters and their interactions with other rebel elements, an SS officer tasked with destroying the resistance, and other people whose lives are touched by the ongoing events.
Pieces start to fall in place and all of the threads lead to the meeting of the two rulers at the Divide. There are plenty of set-backs and a few twists and turns along the way.
Overgard's style is interesting. There is a tendency to introduce new information and then spend a few pages telling the back-story of that new information, usually in the form of flashbacks. While this works in most cases, there were a couple of times I wished he would shorten some of the flashbacks and keep going with the events in the 'present'.
The Old Man (Wayne Stubbs) is the main character of the story. He has a checkered past involving accidentally injuring a prostitute, indirectly causing his wife to commit suicide, and then wounding another prostitute in an attempt to kill her while suffering the rage and despair following his wife's death. He then fled to Canada and eventually made his way back after America fell to the Axis. Not the most heroic of backgrounds but he now feels he has to make up for the past by saving the country's future.
The Cowboy (Cooper): This young man was raised by The Old Man. He was raised to be a hero and to be an inspiration for others in the coming revolution. He plays his role well but gets caught up in his first real encounters with women (he and The Old Man lived a very isolated and hobo-like lifestyle).
Claus Dieter is the antagonist from the SS. He is on the trail of the heroes after the July 4th assassination. He is an evil and deceitful man who, while smart, is usually in over his head. He tries to destroy the resistance while keeping his superiors from getting rid of him for any failures.
In addition there are numerous other characters, an Amerind girl, a Jewish woman who is putting the finishing touches on her father's bomb, and many others. Most of the characters are interesting and the liberal use of flashbacks in the novel gives us all the information we need about them.
A great story overall. I have mentioned the sometimes annoying use of flashbacks, but there were only a couple of places that this really bothered me. The ending, while it wrapped up the main story, did not reveal the eventual results of the new Revolution. In fact the last page was about Hitler's daughter being pregnant. I'm not sure if this was to set up a sequel or just to establish that history keeps chugging along, even after some really historic events take place.
As with life, there are not happy endings, just another day and new challenges following the last.
I gave this book 3 out 5 stars when I rated it on Goodreads. It's better than a three but not quite a 4. I was in a phase of not inflating my ratings with too many 4 and 5 stars.
PUBLISHER: Jove Publications, Inc.; copyright 1980 by William Overgard
GENRE: Alternate History
PAGE COUNT: 244 |
2018 marks 100 years since the Representation of the People Act 1918 – the act which allowed some women in the UK the right to vote.
To mark this centenary, Oxford Playhouse is hosting a year-long festival of events celebrating women’s voices and stories, past, present and future.
Headlining this programme is On The March presented by our 17|25 Young Company. It’s a moving and insightful look at the fights for women’s rights that have punctuated the last century.
Other highlights in the upcoming season on the main stage include:
- Jenni Murray’s History of Britain in 21 Women
- co-founder of the Liberal Democrats, Baroness Shirley Williams, discussing her extraordinary life in politics
- University of Oxford students present Lucy Kirkwood’s modern-day adaptation of Ibsen’s Hedda.
There is also a plethora of new exciting female voices in our BT studio, including:
- The return of Proto-type Theater with The Audit
- Natalie Cutler’s Not Yet Suffragette
- Helen Seymour’s powerful To Helen Back
- The comedy powerhouse that is Sophie Willan
- Phoenix Nights comedian Janice Connelly
- An exciting Scratch Night focused on female-led companies
- Samantha Baines' amazing blend of comedy and science
- Yolande Mercy's hilarious Quarter Life Crisis
- Urielle Klein-Mekongo’s award-winning Fringe hit Yvette
- A poignant look at homelessness in What Goes On In Front of Closed Doors
Join our mailing list or check here for more events as they’re announced.
For more information on getting involved please contact Laura.Elliot@oxfordplayhouse.com |
To be a human being is to be in conflict! It may not be how the Creator intended but again and again we human beings define ourselves by what we are not. From our very beginnings we have set ourselves up as distinct and above the rest of Creation, a fallacy that is only now beginning to dawn on us as we see the result of our arrogance towards the Environment made manifest in catastrophic global warming and climate change.
And yet despite all this we continue to reinforce our own status by undermining the status of others. Sadly the Christian tradition is no exception and may even be seen as a driving force in this perversion. This is a culture of ‘winners and losers’ and it cannot conceive of God’s approval of one group without a simultaneous divine condemnation of another. This attitude is typified in the recent response of the Roman Catholic Bishops to the proposed Civil Partnership legislation where the concern is expressed that the extension of rights and protections normally associated with marriage to same sex couples will undermine the institution of marriage. To be fair, the Roman Catholic hierarchy are not alone in putting forward this argument – it is also very prevalent within our own Anglican tradition and symptomatic of the current division in worldwide Anglicanism over human sexuality.
As a married man and a father I really don’t understand this argument. I don’t see the prospect of same sex couples being afforded the right to register their partnerships and seek legal protection for their rights therein as any threat to my marriage! Without getting into the minutiae of biblical interpretation it does seem to paint God into a very narrow corner with little room left for the generosity of Grace. On the contrary the Bill does not provide legal recognition for same-sex couples who are co-parenting children. Children in these families are seriously disadvantaged by being ignored in the proposed legislation.
I recall the same argument regarding the threat of same sex unions to Christian marriage being used when my good friend Bishop Gene Robinson (an openly gay man in a long term monogamous relationship) was consecrated Bishop of New Hampshire, and he quite validly pointed out that Brittney Spears heterosexual behaviour was far more undermining of the institution of marriage than his own exclusive and committed same sex relationship with his partner of many years.
The bishops and others will argue ‘but what about same sex parents’?
Nobody answers this question better than Spencer Burke, a contemporary American theologian who in his ‘A heretics guide to eternity’ comments: ‘If you’re a child, is it better to live in a home with a single dad-or even two dads-who really love you than with a mum and a dad who abuse you? Really, what’s more important: that your family “fits” or that it functions?’
This same winners and loosers mentality was evident in the depressing response of Gregory Campbell, a DUP Westminster MP to the recent Saville report on the Bloody Sunday killings, declaring it a waste of money and creating a hierarchy of victims. The implication of his statement was that the justice finally afforded to the innocent victims of Bloody Sunday undermined and threatened justice for those who had been killed by republican paramilitaries in
Derry. In what parallel universe is the recognition of the truth of a grave injustice to one group of people an obstacle to the uncovering of further truths for others?
So where do we go from here? Surely we have to rediscover a new openness to the truth that will set us free from the tyranny of former ages. Our world does not have to be about winners and loosers! God’s Grace does not conform to our mathematical formulae but rather a Spencer Burke puts it: “God’s Kingdom was made up not of one particular group of people but rather of all peoples who will gladly respond in mercy and compassion to the strangers they meet. Jesus established the the idea that God, not God’s people, determines who is of God and who is not.” |
Click on any thumbnails to see a larger picture:
Acacia baileyana 'Purpurea'
Unique and highly ornamental large shrub or small tree for a very sheltered site in full sun. Bright blue-green leaves with new growth deep plum-purple through the growing season. Golden yellow 'Mimosa' flowers in early spring. Easy in a pot, can be hard pruned every year. Takes a fair amount of frost, though is best sited sensibly. My best selling plant by far.
Snowy River Wattle. A most lovely species and fairly hardy too. Foliage on this one is a feathery mass of very, very narrow linear grey-green leaves (phyllodes). Makes a large shrub, covered in panicles of scented, lemon-yellow mimosa flowers in early spring. Worthy of a sheltered location. Very rarely offered in the UK.
Agave atrovirens var. mirabilis F&M 245
One of the very largest of all Agave, forming extremely handsome rosettes over 4m across and 2.5m high. A gargantuan beast from the cool, moist highlands of east central Mexico, this certainly takes a few degrees of frost, but more importantly it will be very moisture tolerant. Very rare in cultivation.
Agave ovatifolia NJM 09.002
The 'whale tongue agave' was officially described in only 2002, this new species from the far north east corner of Mexico is, without question, one of the most stunning of all. Very chunky perfectly formed rosettes, 120cm across by 90cm tall at their maximum, are composed of icy-blue, very deeply scalloped leaves. Proven one of the hardiest and easiest in the garden. Fabuloso!
From the Sierra de Parras in the middle of the Chihuahuan desert, this is related to A. parryi, though it has a look all its own. Even at maturity this is a stubby, squat, spiny little beast, with relatively wide leaves compared to their length and a height of only about 30cm. The foliage is bluish-grey with hooked lateral spines. Pretty hardy, but best in a pot.
Agave parryi - Stoneman Lake, AZ
A form of this potentially very hardy species collected near Stoneman Lake, Arizona, 6600ft alt, representing one of the coldest provenances. This form makes large, relatively open rosettes of fairly slim, bright, somewhat milky-blue-grey leaves with contrasting black end spines. Try this outside in maximum drainage, where it should be very hardy.
Agave parryi Large form
Seed collected from unusually large plants, with rigid, broad leaves in dense rosettes of up to 1.2m across at over 7000ft in New Mexico at the North Eastern corner of its natural range. These should cope with cold down to minus 28c if dry, and will do perfectly well outside in the UK in very well drained conditions This is most probably referable to the var. huachucensis.
A most exotic looking large perennial pea from Mexico, with strong growth to about2.5m. Pinnate foliage has leaflets with indented tips, giving a very distinct effect. Highly conspicuous large pale green, but heavily purple-red stained, stipules on the stems and large deep yellow pea flowers in late summer, makes for a striking specimen! Absolutely bone hardy in my experience, even through Dec' 2010, without a mulch. Sun.
Arundo donax 'Macrophylla'
Giant reed. A truly gigantic thing, forming big clumps of blue-green towering foliage to 3m+ high. This is the wider leaved form, good for even more exotic effect, with leaves as wide as a good belt, with long tapering tips. Looks great as a backdrop, or even as a frontdrop if you like that sort of thing. Any ordinary soil in full sun.
Astelia 'Silver Shadow'
A cross between A. chathamica and A. nervosa, making an arresting clump of boldly metallic-silver sword shaped foliage 1m high by a little more across. For sun or semi-shade and a reasonably sheltered position from the worst of winter cold. A bold specimen plant for a pot, though best brought under cover in winter if grown in this way.
A broad leaved robust species forming big clumps of taper pointed, textured, strap-like silver-green leaves to 2m tall in the wild, but more like 1.5m here. A swampy grower in nature, but fine in ordinary soils in cultivation if not bone dry. A fine foliage plant, like a more refined Phormium, this is one of the two hardiest Astelia species and hardier than A. chathamica for example.
Begonia fusca (new)
Originally collected in Chiapas, S. Mexico, this is a very large leaved species of monumental proportions, with leaves up to 1m across on petioles of the same length! Without warmth and tropical humidity they are a little smaller. Large panicles of pale pink flowers, then pink seed capsules. Splendid in a pot stood in shade in summer; brought inside in winter.
Cautleya gracilis from Manipur (new)
This small ginger relative, with red and yellow flower spikes in late summer, was found in Manipur on Shirui Peak at 2500m alt. A more delicate looking species than C. spicata, reaching about 60cm. Rich soil, sun/semi-shade
Cautleya gracilis var. gracilis 'Crug Gold'
A form found on the border of Burma and Thailand near the summit of Doi Phohon-Pok. Up to ten golden-yellow long lipped flowers per inflorescence emerge from red bracts atop leafy stems to 80cm tall in late summer. This hardy ginger relative enjoys a semi-shade position in good free draining soil that doesn't get too dry.
Cautleya gracilis var. robusta 'Tenzing's Gold' (new)
A fine form of this hardy ginger relative with more flowers per stem, usually between 15 and 20. Rich yellow flowers from red tinted bracts in late summer on stems to 50cm. The leaves have most attractive deep-red undersides. Enjoys a semi-shade position in good free draining soil that doesn't get too dry. Mulch over in winter if you live on Ben Nevis, but otherwise hardy if not waterlogged in winter.
Cautleya spicata 'Arun Flame'
A collection of this hardy ginger relative from E. Nepal which has the darkest red stems to about 1m tall. Orange flushed rich yellow flowers emerging from deep-red bracts are produced atop the stems July to Sept and the leaf undersides are tinged purple-red. Enjoying a semi-shade position in good free draining soil that doesn't get too dry.
Cautleya spicata 'Crug Canary' (new)
A selection of this very exotic looking, but hardy ginger relative with striking flower spikes in August, borne atop clumps of luscious foliage to about 70cm. Richest orangey-yellow Roscoea like flowers emerge from deep blood-red bracts. Rich soil in semi-shade.
Cautleya spicata 'Robusta'
A very exotic looking but hardy ginger relative with yellow and red flower spikes in August, borne atop clumps of luscious foliage to about 70cm. Enjoying a semi-shade position in good free draining soil that doesn't get too dry.
Cautleya spicata lutea (new)
Not scientifically recognised as a variety as such, but horticulturally rather different to 'Robusta' having none of the red pigment in the bracts or pseudostems. Masses of luscious foliage on stems to about 70cm, topped by yellow Roscoea-like flowers emerging from green bracts in August. Quite different. Forms clumps in rich soil in semi-shade.
Dracunculus canariensis (new)
Quite the opposite of the stinking D. vulgaris, this white flowered elegant beauty from the Canary Isles is generally smaller to about 1m tall. The slim white spathes with a pale yellow spadix inside are borne above the divided green foliage in spring to early summer. A winter growing species, dormant in summer, therefore needing cool glasshouse conditions. Rarely offered.
Click on any thumbnails to see a larger picture: |
Paranormal Activities are experiences that are
outside the range of "normal" experiences. They don't
have a scientific explanation. What they may lack in scientific explanation, they certainly make up
for in literary interest. Stories of the mysterious and unexplained fill up
books of folklore and are popular in cultures
around the world. |
Yazd, April 13, IRNA - Head of 267 MW Yazd Solar Energy Power Plant (YSEPP) said here Friday from viewpoint of combining a solar farm's energy with a conventional cycle, YSEPP is fist of its kind globally.
According to IRNA's dispatched reporter to the power plant, Mohammad-Reza al-Madrasi added at a press conference on the occasion, "At this power plant we have combined two 159 mega watt gas power plants, and 132 steam power plant, and a 17 mega watt solar power plant."
He reiterated, "Implementation of this project places Iran among the few countries in the world that are designing and taking advantage of combined solar power plants in the world."
Al-Madrasi pointed out "Studies on possibility of implementing such a project began ten years ago by Iranian experts and German consultant engineers and the thermo-solar power plants technology is today going through its maturation period, with majority of its technical know-how made indigenous here."
He said, "The contractor of this project is Iran Electricity Development Organization that signed a contract with Iran Power Plant Projects Management Company (MAPNA) in fall of 2006, when the executive phase of the project begun."
Al-Madrasi added, "The duration of this contract, including the year-long guarantees of the units, is 66 months from the date of its being signed, and according to the schedules the first gas unit would be launched 27 months after the beginning of the executive phase." The last solar unit of the power plant, according to Al-Madrasi, would be put to use up to the year 2010.
Head of YSEPP said that the project is 125.7 million euro work, 100.55 million euros of it are provided through finance credit, and the rest through cash investments.
The Iranian rial credit of the project is announced to be 696 billion rials (each US dollar equals almost 9990 rials currently).
Al-Madrasi referred to expansion of clean energy usages, taking optimum advantage of energy sources, and increasing power plants output as the advantages of transferring solar energy technology to the country.
He emphasized, "If the entire potential of Iran's appropriate regions for producing solar energy would be put to use we would be able to generate three times more electricity than country's current electrical power production."
Yazd Thermo-Solar Power Plant is constructed at a 900 hectare land at KM 33 of Yazd-Khazarabad Road and its full capacity would be producing 467 mega watts of electricity.
... Payvand News - 4/13/07 ... -- |
Therese Mammhofer was from a traditional family of innkeepers, who held the still existing inn "Zum Stern" in the heart of Oberammergau. In 1922 Therese married her second husband, the gamekeeper Georg Schallhammer who owned this property. The building, constructed in 1817, consisted of the living quarters to the garden side and the stable with the associated barn floor.
As the Passion Play in 1920 had to be canceled due to the aftermath of World War 1, it has been rescheduled to the year 1922. Like many other citizens of Oberammergau, Therese also rented out 2 rooms to accommodate the incoming visitors of the Passion Play. - The birth of our guest house!
Since that time, she welcomed the constantly growing crowd of summer visitors, who moved from the cities into the Ammergau Alps. Of course Therese Mammhofer still tapped beer at the inn "Zum Stern" - the "Wecker", as we call it in Oberammergau - and hosted many hungry and thirsty guests.
From 1928 on, Therese daughter Antonie, who was married with the famous woodcarver Franz Josef Zwink, owned the guesthouse and ran it till 1978.
The "Wecker Toni" - how Antonie was called in Oberammergau, passed the guest house with 3 rooms on to her son Anton Zwink and his wife Adriane. They extended the guesthouse considerably. Stable and barn floor gave way and more rooms were added over the years. In 2011, Josef Zwink took over the management of the nine-room boardinghouse.
During the latest renovation and rearrangement of the hotel, we remembered our roots and decided to rename the Pension Zwink according our foundress Therese Mammhofer as the “Mammhofer Suite & Breakfast”. |
In their experiments, Hasan and colleagues and Ding and colleagues used angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to detect the Fermi arcs, characteristic of Weyl nodes, on the surface of TaAs. ARPES is an ideal tool for such a purpose. The technique involves shining light on a surface and measuring the energy and momentum of ejected electrons. This allows for the explicit determination of both bulk nodes and the Fermi-arc surface states. Ding’s team used an interesting strategy to identify a Fermi arc and distinguish it from a more conventional closed Fermi surface (Fig. 1). They defined a closed contour in the momentum space spanned by their measurements and investigated how many times surface states at the Fermi energy crossed this contour. Such a contour will intersect a regular Fermi surface an even number of times. But it will intersect a Fermi arc an odd number of times if the arc encloses the projection of a Weyl point, thus providing a clean signature.
Click the link to get a copy of the actual paper. |
French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919
French painter, printmaker and sculptor. He was one of the founders and leading exponents of IMPRESSIONISM from the late 1860s, producing some of the movement's most famous images of carefree leisure. He broke with his Impressionist colleagues to exhibit at the Salon from 1878, and from c. 1884 he adopted a more linear style indebted to the Old Masters.
His critical reputation has suffered from the many minor works he produced during his later years. Related Paintings of Pierre-Auguste Renoir :. | Tanzerin mit Tamburin | Young Women with a Fan | woman of Paris | La baigneuse blonde | Stilleben mit Fruchten |
Related Artists:Victor Dubreuil
French-born American Painter, active 1886-ca.1900.Charles Rollo Peters
born in San Francisco in 1862 ,dead 1928Henrique Pousao
Henrique Cear de Arauo Pousa (Vila Vicsa, 1 January 1859 - Vila Vicsa, 20 March 1884) was a Portuguese painter. |
What's Fat All About? And: A Delicious V-Day Pasta Recipe(aka: save your calories for the chocolate)!
Low-fat, reduced fat, fat-free, trans-fat, fat-this and fat-that...With all the food label packaging and product marketing out there, fat has got a pretty bad reputation. It's like the Danny Zuko of nutrition: You really really want it but you know it's bad for you. However Danny turned out not to be such a bad guy after all (he got the girl and drove off into the clouds while singing for crying out loud). Luckily, the same goes for America's Sweetheart, fat, which is actually necessary for good health. Without any dietary fat, food would taste exceedingly horrible, your skin and hair would turn dry and brittle, and you wouldn't be able to absorb several important vitamins, since Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble.
So how do you know the difference betweeen the good, bad and the ugly? The good fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated and are like oil. They flow through your arteries. The bad fats are saturated fats, which include hydrogenated and trans-fats (the ugly) and are like sludge, sticking to your arteries. Think of a saturated fat, like lard, and picture how it's solid at room temperature. Now picture that in your precious arteries. Fun times, huh? Now visualize an unsaturated fat like olive oil, which is liquid at room temperature and therefore flows through you. Much better. Just like a car, your body needs oil to run smoothly, and it needs essential fatty acids (Omega 3's and 6's) to hum at peak efficiency. Omega 3's and 6's are the two your body can't produce on its own, which is why flax seed oil, fish oil, cod-liver oil and similar essential fatty acid products are so widely praised.
Obviously, you want to stay AWAY from the trans-fats as well, but you already knew that didn't you? Trans-fat actually raises your bad cholesterol level and lowers your good one. However I will point out that many manufacturers and even fast food joints have banned using trans-fats in their products. Still, make sure you read labels and know what you're about the put down your pipes. Choose foods low in saturated and trans-fats, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Don't be afraid to have a little bit of full-fat dairy products once in a while, just don't make it a habit. Avoid fried and baked goods. Yes, I realize that I live in America where there's a McDonald's and a Starbuck's on ever corner...but both places offer healthier menu choices now, so there's no excuse not to eat better even if you're racing between one kids' soccer practice and another ones' band concert. Also, eat at least 2 servings of fish per week, especially salmon or trout since they're highest in omega-3's. Don't like fish? Tofu, soybeans, walnuts and flaxseed will give you the same benefits. And yes, I'm going to keep shooting down every excuse you throw my way. :)
So! Still don't know what to eat since I've just put the fear of fat into you? It's easier than you think. Read the labels and make sure that the majority of the fat is coming from either monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. If it lists any trans-fats (and most manufacturers are legally required to now), throw it as far as possible from you and quickly stroll your grocery cart away. To make this even easier on you, here is a list of trans-fat free products, most of which I believe you can find in your local grocery store (you may have to look in the health food/nutrition section if there is one).
Chips and Snack Foods
Terra Potpourri Potato Chips
Good Health Natural Foods Olive Oil Sweet Potato Chips
Que Pasa Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
Guiltless Gourmet Baked Spicy Black Bean on Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
Stacy's Parmesan Garlic & Herb Baked Pita Chips
Barbara's Bakery Oatmeal Wheat-Free Snackimals Animal Cookies
Barbara's Bakery Fruit Juice Sweetened Animal Cookies
Health Valley Fat-Free Apricot Delight Cookies
Barbara's Bakery Whole Wheat Fig Bars
Health Valley Original Amaranth Graham Crackers
Kavli Crispy Thin All Natural Whole Grain Crispbread
Kashi Seven Whole Grains & Sesame TLC
Blue Diamond Natural Rice and Nutmeal Pecan Nut-Thins
Barbara's Bakery Savory Poppy Seed Lite Rite Rounds
Wasa Hearty Rye Original Crisp Bread
Nature's Choice Moist & Chewy Peanut Butter Granola Bars
Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars Cinnamon, Peanut Butter, Oats 'n Honey
Health Valley Fat-Free Blueberry Granola Bars
Continental Mills Krusteaz Apple/Oat Bran Low-Fat Muffin Mix
General Mills Betty Crocker Low-Fat Wild Blueberry Muffin Mix
Arrowhead Mills All Purpose Baking Mix
Waffles, Bagels, and English Muffins
Van's All Natural 7 Grain Belgian Waffles
Thomas' New York Style 100% Whole Wheat Bagels
Thomas' Honey Wheat English Muffins
Whole Grain Breads
Pepperidge Farm Natural Whole Grain German Dark Wheat Bread
Wonder Stoneground 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Nature's Own All Natural 12-Grain
Sara Lee Soft & Smooth 100% Whole Wheat
Home Pride 100% Whole Wheat
Whole Grain Cereals
Barbara's Bakery Cinnamon Puffs
General Mills Wheaties Raisin Bran
General Mills Multi-Bran Chex
Quaker Squares Cinnamon Toasted Oatmeal
Post Spoon Size Shredded Wheat
Kashi Go-Lean Protein/High Fiber Cereal & Snack
Quaker Toasted Oat Bran Cereal w/ a Hint of Sweetness
Kellogg's Complete Wheat Bran Flakes
A V-Day Recipe to Fall in Love With:
This recipe comes from Lidia Bastianich, the host of Lidia's Italy.
Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 495 calories, 19 g fat (3 g saturated), 232 mg sodium, 67 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 15 g protein. Which means it's romantic, deliciously good for you and saves some room for chocolate!
Penne with Pesto alla Trapanese
3/4 lb penne rigate pasta
1/2 lb (about 4) Roma tomatoes, very ripe and sweet
8 large, fresh basil leaves
2 Tbsp unsalted roasted almonds
1 large garlic clove, crushed and peeled
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp coarse sea salt or kosher salt
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese (preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano)
1. Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente.
2. While pasta cooks, rinse the tomatoes and basil and pat dry. Cut tomatoes into large chunks.
3. Place the tomatoes in a blender or food processor, followed by the basil, almonds, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt. Blend for a minute or more to a fine purée; scrape down the bowl and blend again if any large pieces are left.
4. With the machine still running, add the olive oil in a steady stream; it will emulsify the purée into a thick pesto.
5. Scrape the pesto into a big bowl. Drop drained pasta onto the pesto. Toss quickly to coat the pasta, sprinkle on cheese, and toss again. Serve immediately in bowls.
Happy Valentine's Day! |
Friday, 26 May 2017
Longevity And Mortality
Isaac Asimov wrote four futuristic sf detective novels featuring Elijah Baley.
Anderson wrote the Dominic Flandry series.
James Blish wrote two Jack Loftus novels.
All three authors address longevity and mortality.
Baley deduces that the extrasolar colonists' longevity is a competitive disadvantage because it makes them overcautious.
Flandry's antagonist, Aycharaych, asks whether Bach, Rembrandt or Tu Fu could have created what they did if they had been immortal.
Jack Loftus' mentor learns that longevity can mean wisdom but can also mean stagnation and even senility whereas a short lifetime gives:
"'...a creativity, such that mankind has been pouring out in torrents for most of its recorded history.'"
-Mission To The Heart Stars, Chapter Eleven.
This blog records a small part of that creativity. |
Multi-Seed Trait Will Boost Yields
Sorghum that has the yield potential of corn, but uses less water and fertilizer? That’s what the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Lubbock, Texas, is working on with the Multi-Seed Trait, which could increase sorghum yield by 60%.
John Burke, laboratory director of the Cropping Systems Research Laboratory, says researchers discovered the Multi-Seed Trait in order to get more seeds per head. In conventional sorghum hybrids, there are three flowers per floret at the top of the plant. Only two of those flowers will make seed. The remaining florets will set two flowers, with just one seed resulting from the two flowers. From thousands of experimental hybrids in the ARS’s Lubbock test plot, Xin discovered a few outcrosses that makes seed from all the flowers.
“Now we have a multi-seed trait that dramatically increase yields, yet uses the same water and same land. We can get the same yield as corn, using about half the water corn uses. Less water and more profit is a win-win situation,” he explains.
Seven seed companies have the multi-seed trait and are in various stages of working the trait into their own elite germplasm.
“Seed companies like using their own elite hybrids to which they can cross with the lines containing the multi-seed trait. One company is doing hybrid testing right now, and hopefully if that goes well, you’ll be able to see the trait in your fields soon,” Burke says.
Development of new sorghum hybrids requires from 10 to 12 generations of seed production. If things go perfectly for the sorghum seed companies involved, there could be multi-seed hybrids available to farmers by 2020. The multi-seed trait – which is non-GM – would fit in higher-rainfall geographies east of I-35 from Texas to the Dakotas.
Finally, Grass Control in Sorghum
Alta Seeds has been testing the industry’s first herbicide-resistant grain sorghum hybrid, which features resistance to an ALS herbicide called “Zest” that is being developed by DuPont. The sorghum hybrid contains DuPont’s Inzen Z herbicide-tolerant sorghum trait and has been in field trials near Hereford, Texas. The non-GM trait will allow grain sorghum growers to control grassy weeds such as foxtail, barnyardgrass, crabgrass, and Texas panicum.
The commercial hybrid was developed under a joint agreement between DuPont Crop Protection and Advanta, the parent company of Alta Seeds and one of the world’s largest sorghum genetics companies. Together, they will commercialize the DuPont Inzen Z herbicide-tolerance sorghum trait.
Ben Beyer, sorghum breeder at Advanta, says there should be three sorghum hybrid maturity groups that feature the hybrid resistance, allowing growers from south Texas all the way to South Dakota to gain access to the technology.
DuPont reckons that annual grass weeds reduce U.S. sorghum yields by about 20% each year; the launch of the new Inzen Z herbicide-tolerant trait, plus Zest herbicide, should help farmers remediate those losses. DuPont expects EPA approval of Zest to occur this fall.
In search of doubled haploids
The adoption of doubled-haploid technology has helped speed up new variety development in wheat and soybeans, plus hybrid development of corn. In layman’s terms, doubled haploids remove the “fluff” out of traditional breeding because breeders are able to make a genetically pure line in the second or third generation, rather than having to wait until the fifth or sixth generation.
“It takes until the fifth generation before we really get a good feel for the value of these lines,” says Cleve Franks, sorghum breeder at Pioneer’s sorghum breeding station near Plainview, Texas. “Doubled haploids save four or five years in just one year of work. We can look at more finished products and not have to sort through all the other material.”
Pioneer Hi-Bred International is searching for ways to make doubled haploid technology work in grain sorghum, which brings new traits such as improved yield, plus disease and insect resistance, to market much more quickly.
Franks says the company has started a three-year project in search of an elite haploid genetic line that can be used as an inducer for the doubled haploids. He calls it a “brute force” method to find the inducer, believing the right genetic background is in its catalog of more than 5,000 hybrids.
(Source – http://www.agriculture.com/crops/other-crops/sorghum/three-great-new-technologies-f-grain_153-ar48342) |
Clinton’s “Me” problem, quantified
Clinton’s “Me” problem, Quantified (In 2 Graphs)
There is a nagging suspicion that Hillary Clinton’s campaign suffers from narcissism. It’s the kind of suspicion that is hard to prove, but is nonetheless palpable every time the campaign releases a video.
Last weekend, Saturday Night Live aired a viral skit where a campaign aide coaches a hyper-narcissistic Clinton (played by the amazing Kate McKinnon) on how she should address her online audience, “You said this new campaign is not about you, it’s about the people, so let’s try one where you don’t say “I” or even your own name.”
SNL’s skit, was, it turns out, a subversively brilliant way to objectively measure whether the concern about Clinton is real or an artifact of an unfair stereotype.
To compare whether certain campaigns are excessively self-referential, I counted the number of “Me” v “We” pronouns in Clinton’s opening campaign video, Barack Obama’s announcement speech in 2007 and Senator Rand Paul’s announcement speech last week.
Across the board, Clinton does use a lot more “Me” terms (I, me, my, I’m) than “we” terms (we, our, us, we’re). In fact, in Clinton’s opening video, she didn’t use a single one.
In comparison, Obama, the progenitor of “Yes, we can”, had two-thirds “we” statements in his opening bid for president in ’07 and Paul had 45% “we” terms in his announcement last week.
For the sake of robustness, I also checked various other sources to see how common the pattern was. Indeed, campaign press releases also seem to reveal a strong Clinton-centric tone. In Clinton’s first campaign announcement issued last Sunday, the opening paragraph was
“Hillary Clinton pledged to be a champion for everyday Americans and their families when she announced her plan to run a grassroots campaign for President of the United States today”.
In contrast, historical archives of team Obama’s press releases reveal a distinctly different tone. One of the first public campaign statements issued by David Plouffe in 2007 doesn’t even mention the word “Obama” or reference the candidate with a pronoun (“he”).
“From the beginning, we’ve urged you to think of this as your campaign; to contribute your ideas, energy and creativity to the mission of ending a war, challenging our broken politics and changing our course. We know the energy for such change will only come from the grassroots — from you — not from Washington.”
Clinton’s campaign seems to have had this self-referential tone for some time. In 2007, her presidential announcement began with:
“I’m in. And I’m in to win.”
Again, for the sake of contrast, in ‘08, Obama opened his campaign announcement with “We all made this journey for a reason. It’s humbling, but in my heart I know you didn’t come here just for me.”
Is it narcissism?
While narcissism may play a part, I don’t think we can ignore that it might also be strategic. Everyone in Clinton’s opening video used “Me” statements, talking about their own struggles and hopes.
I think this is because Clinton understands her base. In 2008, a team of political psychologists found that one of the most predictive traits of citizens who supported Obama over Clinton was a belief in “moral idealism” over “moral relativism” [PDF].
Relativists are more individualistic: the good life is about letting everyone pursue their own version of the American dream. Idealists are more collectivist: it’s about citizens coming together to solve common problems in a way that benefits everyone.
Narcissism aside, I suspect this rhetoric is why I’m seeing lackluster enthusiasmfor Clinton in Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley is very much an idealistic place. I’m not sure Clinton can inspire a legion of first-time activist engineers — in the same way Obama did — unless she starts speaking their language.
The Silicon Valley elite may open up their pocketbooks, but their workers won’t be inspired to volunteer the same level of innovative creativity. A absence of this creativity made a big difference in Clinton’s last bid for the presidency— and it could again. |
By law, anyone with a severe disability is eligible to have the government discharge their federal student loans. The administration took steps four years ago to make the process easier by letting people who are totally and permanently disabled use their Social Security designation to apply for a discharge, but few took advantage. The Department of Education is now taking it upon itself to identify eligible borrowers and guide them through the steps to discharge their loans.
Right now, it is still difficult for many hard-working people to meet their living expenses and stay current on paying off their student loan debt. Quite a few who have graduated over the last five to ten years are struggling just as much as when they graduated from college.
Deciding between a law school with a generous scholarship and a school with a well-known loan assistance plan, 30-year-old Michael Kaercher made his choice based on the loan assistance plan provided after graduation. |
Colonia del Sacramento, Colonia, Uruguay. Photos taken by Sofia Aguerre
Some words sent to me from Sofia, about the history surrounding the street in the photos;
"This place is called "La calle de los suspiros" (Street of sighs). There are several stories about this street. One of them is that the sentenced to death were taken to that street to drown when the tide rise. Another story tells that in the street, there were a lot of brothels where the sailors had fun, and the prostitutes sighed for them. The last and most told here is about a young girl who was waiting for her lover, when suddenly, a masked man thrust a dagger into her chest. The "sigh" was her last sigh...I've been to Colonia just once, two year ago, and it's a beautiful place."
Thank you Sofia for these photos!
You can check out her blog here; ennemidusommeil.blogspot.com, and you can also say hello to Sofia on twitter by clicking on her name at the top of the post. |
Information for 17160IIED
Inclusive agricultural investment: sharing lessons from experience
Briefing, 4 pages
The global surge in agricultural investments needs ‘inclusive’ alternatives to large-scale land acquisitions — alternatives that respond to local aspirations and share benefits with local stakeholders. But as yet there is little agreement on what inclusiveness might mean in practice, or how to overcome the considerable commercial and policy constraints opposing its implementation. In early 2013 IIED brought together asset management companies, global agri-food companies, agri-business consultancies, donor organisations, development agencies, international NGOs, southern governments and southern farmers’ organisations to discuss these issues and to kick-start a longer-term multi-stakeholder dialogue. This briefing shares key learning and experience from the workshop, particularly focusing on practical insights that are most relevant to private sector stakeholders. |
The collection of Asian art at Berea College is extremely broad in range, including material from China, Japan, Korea, India, and all the other Asian countries between Indonesia in the south and Tibet in the north. The collection is a bit uneven, with wonderful works of art shelved next to souvenir items. The size of the collection is daunting, with an estimated 1,800 objects, many largely unstudied.
Teaching about Asian art has a long history at Berea College. From the 1940s through the 1980s, professors Dorothy Tredennick and Lester Pross helped several generations of Bereans to become aware of the riches of Asian art and art history, particularly sumi-e (Japanese brush painting).
In 2007-08, an ASIANetwork-Luce Foundation Asian Art in the Undergraduate Curriculum Grant made possible a visit by consulting scholar Dr. Sandy Kita, who cataloged and studied the Japanese art collection. This collection consists of paintings, woodblock prints (ukiyo-e), modern Japanese prints (gendai hanga), woodblock-printed books, manuscripts and other calligraphy, armor, kimono, dolls, and small objects such as sword-fittings (menuki), toggles (netsuke) and containers (inro). Dr. Kita also was instrumental in organizing the exhibit The Horse in Japan, 1615-1912 in the fall of 2010.
From time to time, Berea has hosted delegations of Tibetan Buddhist monks, who have created sand mandalas for temporary display. To see photos from one such display, click here. To see video from other such visits, click here.
The Asian art collection is part of the College Art Collections. While items in the collection occasionally are exhibited in the Doris Ullmann Galleries, the vast majority of items in the collection are stored away from public view. To view objects in the Asian art collection, please contact the Curator of the College Art Collections, Dr. Meghan C. Doherty. |
managed by S. Kumar
Asha Deepa School for the Blind (ADSFB) is a residential school for the Visually Challenged Children run by Jeevan Prakash Education Society.
In an effort to extend the ambit of its expertise and help, ADSFB holds regular community based rehabilitation program in the rural areas. As a part of this program, the institute, represented by a counselor and social worker identifies children with visually challenged. At the first instance, they will be subjected to the medical check up to know the possibility of the treatment to restore the vision. In case of curable blindness, they will be referred for further treatment. Non curable blind children will be retained in the school to provide various skills along with education.
So far, ADSFB has rehabilitated 50 blind children in the age group of 5-15 years. These children are generally from illiterate, poor families born in villages. The children at Residential school are provided with food, clothing & health care. ADSFB not only provides education but also other life skills such as washing, grooming, cleaning etc. Apart from this, the children trained in Music, Drama, Singing & other recreational activities. |
Material researchers have made stainless steel, the most flexible composite which can be found in its numerous applications, in view of its consumption safe properties .
The presence of at least 12% chromium into the steel combination renders it consumption safe. This resultant item is called stainless steel plate. There are many evaluations as indicated by the composite substance and they are named differently as austenitic, martensitic, ferritic, precipitation solidifying, super and duplex combinations.
Famous evaluations of stainless steel
Austenitic evaluations of compounds which are stainless and non attractive can’t be solidified by warmth treatment. Generally utilized austenitic amalgams are pressed chromium-nickel steel. The normal evaluations are the 300 arrangement which are utilized for their stainless properties and great mechanical properties. The fundamental review of this arrangement is the 304. The L evaluations of this arrangement are the low carbon grades (as in 304l) which give additional erosion resistance in the wake of welding. The carbon percentage is kept at 0.03% or less to maintain a strategic distance from carbide precipitation. Higher carbon substance is valuable when the metal is subjected to high temperatures and needs to hold its quality.
The two other mainstream reviews in this arrangement are 316 and 317
Martensitic Grades of compounds which are consumption safe and agreeable to solidifying by warmth treatment. These are chromium steels with no nickel content. They are attractive. The most widely recognized evaluations in this are the essential 410 and 420, where 420 has expanded carbon more than 410 to enhance its mechanical properties
Ferritic Grades – Even more destructive than the martensitic grades, these are very impervious to splitting because of stress related erosion. These are additionally attractive with just chromium and no nickel. They are viewed as sub-par compared to austenitic evaluations, however better than martensitic grades. 430 is the base review, which is utilized ordinarily.
They arrive in an assortment of structures like loops, sheets, bars and plates
For its simple upkeep and consumption safe properties, stainless steel plates find various applications in:
1. Present day engineering
2. Sustenance preparing industry
3. Modern uses, for example, substance and fuel tankers, concoction plants and petrochemical plants, pharmaceutical enterprises (for sterile environment) |
Alternative name: Indian Eagle-Owl
- Bubo bengalensis
50–56 cm (19¾-22 in); a large eared owl
- Orange eyes
- Brown with black mottling on upperparts
- Paler below with black streaks
Similar to Eurasian Eagle-Owl.
Rocky hills, wooded scrub, ravines, rocky semi-desert old mango orchards.
Their varied diet consists of small mammals, particularly rodents, but also birds, reptiles, frogs, crabs, fish and large invertebrates.
The nest is a scrape on a rock ledge, cliff or on the ground. The clutch consists of 2-5 eggs which are incubated for about 35 days.
Call: a deep, resonant, single-pitched double-noted hoot.
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved August 2015)
- The Website of Everything
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Rock Eagle-Owl. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 March 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Rock_Eagle-Owl |
Personally I just want to say, hurrah for MSI because it's a shame Nvidia didn't learn how to stop its GTX 200-series from making the coils inside a PSU squeal like a baby powered from a 230V source sooner.
After reporting the problem to Nvidia, we were greeted with denial - it was unable to replicate the problem - until we sent readouts from an oscilloscope, displaying the interference shooting back up the PCIe power connectors into the PSU.
MSI has solved the issue by researching and sourcing different chokes as part of its customised PCB power design for its Lightening series of graphics cards.
With a ten power phase design (up from six) on this GTX 275, the yellow chokes are not environmentally sealed copper coiled over ferrite cores - the whole thing
is ferrite with the coil firmly sealed inside. For the size, this also increases the power density, affording better performance claimed MSI.
The disadvantage is that, if you already own a GTX 200-series graphics card and want to get rid of the annoying squealing, you'll have to buy a new card. If you haven't already bought a GTX 200-series card then you might want to hold off, but it's worth noting that the MSI Lightening GTX 260/275 series won't be that price competitive since it has a large bundle of unique features.
Discuss in the forums |
At the Gold ore Processing Plant, gols should be extracted from the ore. The processing plant alternates between treating ore from the mine open pit and from the underground mine. Liming Mining Machinery Machinery is one of world leading suppliers of complete gold ore concentration plant.
In gold concentration, high technology gold mining equipment, such as gold detectors, elegant modern dredges, and lightweight sluices will be needed. Gold crusher is also used as the primary crusher in gold ore crushing industry. Jaw crusher is the most used gold mining machine for crushing ore. Jaw crusher can reach the crushing ratio of 4-6 and the shape of final product is even. Gold mobile crusher is the newly type of gold mining machine for gold crushing, and it can eliminate the obstacles of the crushing places and circumstances, and offer the high efficient and low cost project plants for the client.
Copyright 漏 2004-2020 by China Liming Heavy Industry Science and Technology Co. LTD All rights reserved |
Class 8 artists spent the afternoon with Liz and Hanna drawing in the meadow.
We tried out a different method of sharing our ideas in PSHCE today while learning about emotional needs. Charlotte wrote each need on a piece of paper and we then silently walked around the room adding our ideas and building on the contribution of others. We also wrote some tips for what to do if you feel that an emotional need is not being met.
We enjoyed this way of sharing our ideas because:
- "it was quiet and peaceful"
- "it gave us more time to think"
- "we didn't have to wait to share an idea"
- "everyone could have a go"
- "you got to solve people's problems (which they might not want to say aloud) anonymously"
Most of Class 9 have finished their DT toys. They all have a lever to move part of the toy but some children have also added a magnet so that the toy appears to pick something up when it moves. We have had a really interesting time developing our Design Technology skills and are very grateful to Tony for all the time that he has spent teaching us. |
Every parent wants to give their children the best possible chance at a successful and happy life. In today’s highly competitive society, children are beginning to learn new things at a younger age than ever before. It is much more common to find children taking some form of educational study or activity before kindergarten. The only way you can keep up as a parent is by providing your children with the best possible tools to help them learn and spark the creativity in their minds. For many years, ABCmouse.com has helped children of all ages learn everything from counting and letters to more complicated science, music, and more. The ABCmouse.com Android app is more than just a way to pass the time for your child. It is an extension of the vast online classroom that experts in child education have created at ABCmouse.com. Find your child’s favorite games, along with some new ones, all in one place when you install ABCmouse.com on mac and PC with BlueStacks 4. |
Students share cross-cultural experience highlights
Bluffton University students shared stories of life-altering experiences from Guatemala, Spain and Washington, D.C., during two Cross-Cultural Forums held Jan. 31.
Eleven students spent the fall 2016 semester in Guatemala. The group lived for the first nine weeks in Guatemala City, taking Spanish and Latin American history classes at Central America Study and Service (CASAS) which is affiliated with the Guatemalan Mennonite Church.
Michelle Miller, a junior from Dundee, Ohio, described Guatemala as a “rich and diverse culture” featuring breathtaking landscapes including volcanoes and cloud forests and cities and villages “filled with the promise of potential.” However, she explained that there also is no escaping that Guatemala is a land filled with poverty and violence.
Weekend excursions highlighted the dual nature of the country. Students went to places ranging from the Mayan ruins, beaches and volcanoes to the national cemetery and the city dump.
“The dump was such an eye opening experience. You could smell it from the starting point of the cemetery. We stood on a cliff looking down into the dump and you could just see the little huts where people lived. You could see the different levels of the dump where all the landslides have happened. In the distance you could see a small fire and you could see the people all standing around the dump trucks to try and get anything they could including leftover food and clothing,” said Abbigale McCormick, a sophomore from Maumee, Ohio
The students lived with host families who introduced them to everyday life in Guatemala. Many of the students played soccer with their host families, practiced their new Spanish skills with them and kept up with life in America by watching news about the presidential elections with them.
“It was very difficult to say goodbye to them and I hope to see them again in the future. I loved being a part of their family, and I miss them tremendously,” said Morganne Faler, a sophomore from Huntsville, Ohio.
During the final month, the students were placed in separate community learning field assignments. The students were matched with organizations that reflected their majors and interests. The volunteer placements ranged from medical outreach to shelters for battered women.
For part of her field assignment, McCormick worked in a daycare.
“There was a little girl who was attached at my hip and would get so upset when I had to leave. She did not seem to talk much and when she did it was like a very quiet mumble. I could not figure out why she liked me so much until I was told her story,” explained McCormick. Her mom died when she was little. Now she was being raised with her two brothers by an alcoholic father. I was one of the only stable women figures she had in her life.”
The participants returned to the United States shortly before Christmas. This was the third group of Bluffton students to take part in a semester in Guatemala.
Three students spent a semester at the Washington Community Scholars’ Center in 2016. Josh Boos, a junior from Chambersburg, Pa., interned at the Faith and Politics Institute; Lauren Smith, a senior from Fremont, Ohio, interned at the D.C. Central Kitchen and Claire Clay, a junior from Van Wert, Ohio, interned for Congressman Jim Jordan.
During the program, run by Eastern Mennonite University, participants live with other students from EMU and Regis University in a working-class, largely African-American neighborhood in D.C.
“Being in D.C. was not only a way to gain professional experience but to allow me to come back a better person. I became more open minded,” said Clay. “Living with people with differing viewpoints was kind of challenging at first, but it opened my eyes to what others in the world see, and I either formed new opinions or affirmed the ones I already had.
Two students studied in Spain this summer through Brethren Colleges Abroad. Katelynn Driggers, a senior from Carey, Ohio, ventured to Barcelona and Laura Galley, junior from Cumberland, Ind., lived in Valladolid. Galley had originally planned to study in India. That trip was canceled, but she was given the opportunity to go to Spain.
“I was terrified. I had only taken three years of high school Spanish, and I had hated every second of it because it was such a difficult subject for me to learn. But I decided to take a chance a go to Spain anyway, and it ended up being the best summer of my life,” said Galley. “I encourage you to go out there, take chances and do things out of your comfort zone. You’ll never know what you can accomplish if you don’t try.” |
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Today we welcome Avi Sirlin, author of the recently released novel The Evolutionist to Booklover Book Reviews.
The Malay Archipelago. 1858. In these remote tropics, a young British naturalist, Alfred Wallace, toils in obscurity. He collects specimens − beetles, moths, ants and birds − that sell for pennies apiece in England.
One night, suffering from fever and hallucination, Wallace solves the greatest mystery of the era: the origin of species. To circulate his discovery, Wallace contacts a distant acquaintance − Charles Darwin, who has been secretly penning a near-identical version of the same evolutionary theory for twenty years. Darwin achieves world-renown and Wallace earns, if nothing else, widespread grudging respect. But then Wallace returns to England and his advocacy for ideas ranging from socialism to spiritualism sets him on a collision course with the men at the very heart of the scientific establishment, including Darwin.
From oppressive jungle to mid-Victorian London, The Evolutionist tells of one man’s determination to seek out his own truths in his own unique way − and the price he pays. It is the story of the forgotten father of evolution.
Published by Aurora Metro Books
What inspired you to write The Evolutionist?
The Evolutionist is an historical novel about a Victorian era British naturalist, Alfred Wallace. In 1858, Wallace earned equal credit with Charles Darwin for discovering the modern theory of evolution by natural selection. I first read about Wallace about a dozen years ago in a fascinating scientific book, Last Song of the Dodo by David Quammen. At the time, I thought: Wallace sounds like an interesting fellow — I wonder why I haven’t heard of him before? Jump forward to 2011 when I’d just finished reading a novel about another historical figure and got to wondering: If I were ever to write about someone who’d lived in an earlier era, who would it be? In a flash — I swear, it was less than a second — even though I hadn’t thought of him in the longest time, Wallace just popped up. My initial reaction was that I knew next to nothing about him, had probably heightened in my mind his importance, and that if I did a little digging, I’m sure to find he wasn’t as intriguing as I’d like to believe. So I did some quick research and found quite the opposite: Wallace proved absolutely compelling. I wanted to learn more about him, bring out his inner life, and raise public awareness of this fascinating, largely obscured personality.
There. You were probably hoping for a short answer, right?
Would you say The Evolutionist is plot or character driven?
Based on a real historical figure, there’s little doubt it’s character-driven.
Tell us a little bit about your main character.
Alfred Wallace was a man who, at face value, lived a life of contradictions. A driven scientist, he was also an ardent spiritualist. Eager to settle down, he spent a dozen years travelling the Amazon and Malay Archipelago then, upon return to England, moved incessantly. He had a passionate admiration for all forms of natural life, yet in an almost causal manner, he violently ended the lives of so many animals, including human-like orangutans. One of the most venerated and progressive thinkers of the Victorian era, he was usually on the outside looking in, frequently undermining his own career ambitions through social and political gaffes. Wallace became world-famous during his lifetime, his name tied closely to Darwin’s, yet a hundred years after his death, he is largely forgotten.
What type of reader do you think would most enjoy The Evolutionist ?
Those interested in the history of science, with a dash of adventure. Anyone fascinated with Darwin’s discovery of evolution. More generally, readers of Victorian era fiction. Books that have touched on similar themes include Elizabeth Gilbert’s The Signature of All Things and Harry Thompson’s wonderful novel, This Thing of Darkness.
Can you tell us a bit about your writing process?
Before I could begin the writing process, there was an intense period of about six weeks during which I assembled critical biographical information pertaining to Wallace’s life and work. Then, as I wrote, I constantly filled in gaps in my knowledge with further research. In terms of writing routine, I write at home in the mornings. Afternoons, I “liberate” myself and write in a coffee shop (way more fun). I completed the book in about 18 months.
Do you have any other titles in the pipeline?
I’m finishing a novel that’s set in contemporary Toronto about a woman and her relationship with her troubled brother. Nothing remotely in common with The Evolutionist!
Do you have any tips or advice for aspiring writers?
Chances are, if you’ve stumbled onto this interview and read through to this point, you’re serious about the writing process. But nothing beats “BIC” (Butt in Chair): keep writing, keep reading, and send your work out.
BUY THIS BOOK:
Book Depository | Booktopia (Aus) | Barnes & Noble | Amazon
Further information about Avi Sirlin can be found on his website. |
The Magic Paintbrush
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
When Shen is given a magic paintbrush, she promises only to use it for the good of the poor. But how will she avoid painting for the greedy emperor? Follow her fable through rhyming stanzas and sensitive ink illustrations which weave the story together.
A traditional Chinese tale celebrating creativity, imagination and courage in the face of adversity. A story that will appeal to younger and older children alike. |
Oliver Fibbs: Attack of the Alien Brain
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books
Steve Hartley’s latest saga stars Oliver Tibbs, rechristened ‘Fibbs’ by classmates because of his habit of telling whoppers in an attempt to appear as impressive as his incredibly brainy and talented family and friends. An avid reader of comics, Oliver creates and recounts the story of his own alien experience in order to surpass the amazing weekend news of his classmates – but it soon becomes clear that it’s not aliens but his skill at storytelling that makes Oliver stand out.
Oliver is an immensely likable hero, and young readers are certain to enjoy this short, fun-filled chapter book interspersed with comic strips. |
Unaffordable Housing and Local Employment Growth
High housing prices have caused concerns among policy makers as well as the public in many U.S. regions. There is a general belief that unaffordable housing could drive businesses away and thus impede job growth. However, there has been little empirical evidence that supports this view. In this paper, we clarify how housing affordability is linked to employment growth and why unaffordable housing could negatively affect employment growth. We empirically measure this effect using data on California municipalities and U.S. metropolitan areas and counties.
It is argued that for various reasons a simple correlation between unaffordable housing and employment growth should not be interpreted as causal. We therefore develop some empirical strategies and employ statistical techniques to estimate the causal effect of unaffordable housing on employment growth. Our results provide consistent evidence that indeed unaffordable housing slows growth in local employment. We discuss policy implications of these findings.
To review other Center research about housing and regional labor market trends and demographics, please visit our research index. |
How They Work and What They Are For
What are lease options?
A lease option is a standard method of transferring property from seller to buyer in a more creative manner that opens the possibility of purchase of a property by a buyer who may not yet be ready to qualify conventionally but, have found a property that they truly love.
Here’s the catch,
The lease option, in essence, is two parts: the lease and the option.
Let’s discuss the option first.
An option, much like utilizing an option in the stock market, is an agreement between the buyer and seller on a set purchase price on a property, for a given period of time, and usually is accompanied by an option fee.
This could be for any amount of time agreeable by both buyer and seller be it 6 months, 12 months, etc.
The option fee is used as the consideration for the option and is usually an amount that makes the time period for holding on to the property worthwhile for the seller.
Make sure that you understand this…
During this period of time, the seller cannot sell the property to anyone else, regardless of any changes in value that may occur.
What encompasses a lease is common knowledge. It is basically the terms, price, and time period that a renter makes with a property owner in which the renter rents the property.
However, when these two are combined into a lease option a condition emerges that makes for a worthwhile situation for both buyer and seller.
The lease option, depending on the individual situation and the agreements made therein, allows for a renter to become a both a renter and a buyer simultaneously.
But, there is more
While still abiding by the terms of the lease, the lease option buyer is afforded the right to purchase the property from the seller/landlord at anytime during the option period.
However, this does not release the buyer from any liabilities set forth under the lease terms.
Therefore a lease option is in essence a “hybrid” of leasing a property and purchasing it at the same time.
It works best in these situations
Lease options become most effective in situations where a buyer may not currently qualify for traditional financing from a bank do to:
- less than optimal credit worthiness
- new employment
- low down payment reserves
- a long-time passed bankruptcy or foreclosure
- in situations where the buyer does not have the cash to purchase a property outright currently but, the preceding conditions will be rectified in the near future.
This allows the buyer to still work with a seller in a situation where they want to move their family into a home for themselves but, do not want to wait until they qualify traditionally or have saved up the cash to purchase the property outright. |
We love treating children in our office. It is very rewarding for us to start a child on the path of regular, lifetime preventive care without fear. Indeed, it is crucial to start without fear. Many adults are still fearful patients today from painful or fear filled treatment as a child. For this reason, we let the child`s personality and maturity be our guide in the treatment we are able to perform. Most children do extremely well starting at age 3 with an exam and a rubber cup polishing of the teeth. But, if all they`ll let us do at this first visit is the exam, we`ll stop there. If we can`t even do that, we`ll reappoint for 6 months later and try again. We do not force or berate a child. If we suspect that there are cavities or other problems in a child`s mouth that do need treatment, and they are not cooperative for us, we refer to a Pedodontist. This is a specialist in children`s teeth and behaviors.
Most of our young patients are great helpers though, and are eager to return for their next visit.
Please ask for a copy of our "Parental Guidelines" to be mailed to you prior to your child`s first visit. These help you to understand our philosophy and how you can help treatment to go well. We both have your child`s best interest at heart. |
Many readers bookmark their favorite websites for various reasons. Ideally, bookmarking was not a big deal until recently. Internet users were home with simply saving their frequently used URLs under the favorite menu in their preferred browsers. While the pages were safe on the computer, users were restricted to accessing them on the said computer.
Today however, technological advancements have reinvented bookmarking. Users can now save their URLs on an online platform. Not only that, they can even manage them and share them with fellow users. With the increase in usage of smart mobile gadgets, this can only get better.
Whereas readers used index.htm/index.html to bookmark the homepage address, this has since changed to www.captainalatriste.com. Please update the same on your browsers to enable you access the page conveniently and with ease. While at it, see Arturo Perez’s biography. |
As Santa will be here very soon, it is fun to see exactly what he is doing and where he is at any given moment. It adds to the whole Christmas experience, especially for the kids. Santa trackers are a fun way for you to spend time with your kids this Christmas. They will love watching the magic unfold before their eyes. Aside from Santa trackers there are also other magical sites that will prove the existence of Santa.
Let the magic begin.
- Google Santa Tracker. Google has created an entire virtual North Pole. You can explore the whole village and learn with the elves. You can even watch gifts drop into Santa’s bag at mission control. In another part of the virtual town, Mrs. Claus will brief you on Santa’s mission. There are interactive games and more. Each day of December offers something new as the countdown to Christmas begins. On Christmas Eve be sure to go back and track Santa’s journey throughout the night.
- Norad Tracks Santa. Norad’s tracker also offers a North Pole Village with interactive games, with a new one everyday. They also have a music stage where you can listen to Santa’s favorite songs, a library where you can discover Christmas traditions, and a theater where you can watch about Santa’s mission. Come back Christmas Eve, as well, to track Santa all night.
Other magical sites:
- Reroute Santa. If you are vacationing and won’t be at your house for Christmas, this site will give some reassurance to your kids that Santa will be able to find them. Reroute Santa lets him know where you will be at Christmas.
- Catch a Character. Prove to your kids that Santa was at your house delivering gifts. With Catch a Character you can use stock photos of Santa along with your own personal photos to make it look like Santa is putting presents under your tree.
As Christmas is already magical, why not add a sprinkle more? With the power of technology anything is possible. We hope you enjoy tracking Santa this Christmas, making the magic come alive this holiday season. |
1. Getting Started - Prepare for the repair
2. Open the Hood - How to pop the hood and prop it open
3. Find Reservoir - Locate the windshield washer fluid reservoir
4. Check Fluid - Check and fill up the washer fluid reservoir
5. Replace Cap - Put the cap back in place
6. More Info. - Additional information on washer fluid
Checking the windshield washer fluid level in your 2013 Hyundai Elantra Coupe is a fairly straightforward process. You will see where the window washer fluid bottle is located in your Elantra Coupe, how to remove the reservoir cap and determine whether you need to add fluid in the video above. You can always add windshield washer fluid to your Elantra Coupe if you are unsure whether it needs it, unlike oil or transmission fluid, it is impossible to overfill.
Hans Angermeier has produced over 100,000 videos showing drivers how to fix things on their cars. He has broad expertise on basic repair procedures covering the majority of cars on the road.
Did you know that the sun wears out wiper blades faster than rain? Replace your blades twice a year
Flushing the coolant in your car is not that hard and will extend the life of your engine tremendously - learn how here!
Don't be the guy with your third brake light burnt out
Learning how to jump your car before you need to is an excellent idea |
The rapidly changing landscape of the automotive industry means that the latest advances in technology are only as good as the next thing in the pipeline. The auto industry constantly brings out innovative new features, whether they be for safety, entertainment or simple quality of life. Some of these truly exciting technologies could not only revolutionize the car industry, but the whole human transportation as a whole.
So, what’s in store for future cars? We have no way of knowing for sure, but based on what’s currently on our roads, as well as prototypes being tested, we can extrapolate on some of the new technology that will hit our roads in the near and distant future. Some will increase the safety of our vehicles; others will give us information in never before seen ways and yet others will enable us to simply kick back and enjoy a smoother ride.
Let’s have a look at 5 of the more exciting innovations we could be looking forward to sooner or later:
5. Cars that communicate with each other and the world around them
While it would be incredible to imagine cars holding a conversation a la Cars or Knight Rider, we are actually talking about a developing technology called Vehicle – to – Vehicle Communication, or V2V that is being tested by manufacturers like Ford to reduce the number of accidents on the road.
V2V works by using Wi-Fi signals to send information between cars about where they are, how fast they are travelling and their direction, in an attempt to maintain a safe distance from one another and to determine the best evasive action to be taken in case another car crosses the first car’s projected path. Studies have shown that this technology has the potential to cut down accidents by around 79%. In the same vein, V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure) is being tested to allow vehicles to communicate with things like traffic lights and signposts to improve safety and map out optimal routes through traffic.
4. Self-Driving Cars
We already have this technology in the form of Goggle Cars, which have already travelled more than 200,000 miles of California and Nevada public highways and roads. In some of Google’s tests, the cars learned the details of a road by driving on it several times, and when it was time to drive itself, it was able to identify when there were pedestrians crossing and stopped to let them pass by. Self-driving cars could make transportation safer for all of us by eliminating the cause of 95 percent of today’s accidents: human error!
Although mass-produced self-driving cars may seem far off, several car manufacturers have already created their own prototypes and believe that we may see some type of self-driving car in showrooms within the next decade.
3. AR Dashboards
We are now descending into videogame territory for our next feature. Fans of the Deus Ex/ Halo games or the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 will have heard of Augmented Reality, or AR for short. This form of display overlays information on what is visible to you in real time – a bit like the T-800 in the Terminator movies, or Iron Man for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
BMW have already experimented with a windscreen display that shows basic information, and are now working to implement augmented reality dashboards that will be able to identify objects in front a vehicle and tell the driver how far they are away from the object. The AR display will overlay information on top of what a driver is seeing in real life. This could actually help to avoid collisions, and also highlight what lane you need to be in and where to turn without you needing to take your eyes off the road.
AR is also being researched for passengers as well. Toyota has produced working concepts of their AR system that would allow passengers to zoom in on objects outside of the car, select and identify objects, as well as view the distance of an object from the car using a touch-screen window.
2. Airbags that stop cars
Mercedes is experimenting with airbags that deploy from underneath the car that will help stop a vehicle before a crash. The airbags are part of the overall active safety system and deploy when sensors determine that at impact is inevitable. The bags have a friction coating that helps slow the car down and can double the stopping power of the vehicle. The bags also lift the vehicle up to eight centimeters, which counters the car’s dipping motion during hard braking, improves bumper-to-bumper contact and helps prevent passengers from sliding under seat belts during a collision. What gives this kind of airbag potential as a future technology is that it uses existing vehicle safety systems.
1. Energy storing body panels.
Hybrid cars are becoming more widespread, and it is estimated that close to half the world’s new cars in 2040 will be hybrids. While this is great news for the environment, one of the biggest drawbacks of hybrid technology is the size and weight of the batteries.
To overcome this issue, a group of European car manufacturers have banded together to research and test body panels that are made of polymer fiber and carbon resin that can store energy and charge faster than conventional batteries. These panels can potentially cut out up to 15% of the car’s weight.
Japanese giants Toyota are also looking into similar panels but are taking it one step further by looking into panels that will absorb and store solar energy to reduce electricity consumption as well.
Whether future body panels collect energy or just store it, automotive companies are looking into new ways to make our cars more energy-efficient and lightweight.
Which of these improvements are you most excited for? Are there any others that we have not mentioned here? Share your thoughts in the comments below! |
By Barb Arland-Fye
The Catholic Messenger
DAVENPORT — A Buddhist nun tapped a small brass prayer bowl with a striker to create the soft sound of a bell at the naming of each past recipient of the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award. Her prayerful gesture was one of several unique elements of the April 2 award ceremony that honored Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Master, teacher, author and peace activist.
The honoree, called “Thay,” (which means teacher) is recovering from a stroke and could not attend the interfaith event at Christ the King Chapel on the St. Ambrose University campus in Davenport. His presence, however, was palpable for those in attendance, among them Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Buddhists.
Throughout his lifetime, Thay, 89, has worked to foster peace through contemplative Buddhist practices and compassionate action. As his peace efforts escalated during the Vietnam War, so did the political risks. An assassination attempt forced him to flee his homeland. He founded a Buddhist community in France where he became one of the fathers of “mindfulness,” which is the energy of being aware and awake in the present moment.
Thay began teaching in the United States where he joined American Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to advocate for an end to the Vietnam War. King, inspired by Thay’s approach to peace, nominated him for the 1967 Nobel Peace Prize.
For Thay, “the practice and skills of mindfulness are fully realized within a Sangha, a community of practitioners. Like a number of you — Humilities, Benedictines, Franciscans, Carmelites and Buddhists — his is a blending of contemplative practice with engaged action in our world of suffering,” observed Steve Spring. He gave a biographical reflection on Thay during the award ceremony.
“The energy of mindfulness, in Christian parlance the presence of grace, is necessary for transformation and peace to be possible,” Spring said. “In Thay’s experience, mindful awareness nourishes peace at a cellular level. Only with such transformation at the individual and community level can peace be present in the world.”
Spring and Joyce Singh, ordained followers of Thay, were present when Bishop Martin Amos presented the Pacem award to members of Thay’s community Oct. 31 during an international retreat at Deer Park Monastery in California.
“When the process began, we had no idea of the profound healing Bishop Amos’ presence would bring to the Buddhist community,” Spring said. “One Vietnamese woman, at the Deer Park retreat, told me that 50 years ago there were two gates into the city of Hue, one for the Catholics and one for the Buddhists. The Ngo Diem Regime was nominally Catholic and it imprisoned and exiled Buddhist monks and nuns.
“Bishop Amos’ visit was like a miracle for many at the retreat — the presence of a Catholic bishop, with a compassionate smile, healing the separation and strife of a war-torn past. For some Catholic retreatants, disaffected from the church, his kind and open-hearted presence stood in stark contrast to their perception of a patriarchal clergy. This community, in this chapel, celebrating the Pacem in Terris award, is a healing presence in a world hungry for spiritual nourishment,” Spring continued.
“Thay accepts this award for the whole Sangha, the community nourishing the spiritual roots of all traditions. This community, encompassing each of us, embraces the engaged practice of moment by moment mindfulness, and the presence of grace, to transform the great suffering within and around us ‘for the future to be possible.’”
Bishop Amos, speaking at the Davenport ceremony, reflected on what he described as a wonderful experience at the California ceremony. Katie Kiley, who serves on the Pacem in Terris planning committee, accompanied him on that trip. “It’s an experience I wish all of you could have had,” the bishop said. “I thought the two of us were rock stars!” The best alternative, he decided, was to host a local celebration during which a video of the California ceremony was shown.
Following the video, Singh gave an introduction to a short, meditative video featuring Thay in “The Great Bell Chant: End of Suffering.” She explained a breathing meditation, which provided for a quiet, reflective conclusion to the ceremony.
Afterwards, SuCo Lien Diep, abbess of the Kim Cang Buddhist Temple in Davenport, along with fellow nuns SuCo Tinh Tuyen and SuCo Lien Nghiem, invited Bishop Amos to visit their temple. The nuns especially appreciated that Thay is now among 45 peacemakers to have received the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award.
For Kiley, who was in high school during the Vietnam War and marched against the war, honoring Thay with this award “brought all of it back for me. It allowed me to view the war from an adult perspective, and to relive it from the Vietnamese experience.”
Campaign team for capital campaign
Jim ’56 and Mary Hagen, Honorary Chairs
Barb and Mike Johnson, Campaign Co-chairs
Beth ’86 and Brian ’86 Lemek, Campaign Co-chairs
Rita Bawden ’97
Daniel Broderick ’82, MD
Thomas Higgins ’67
Rev. Msgr. John Hyland ’64, VF
Beth Lemek ’86
Brian Lemek ’86
Sr. Joan Lescinski, CSJ, PhD
Joseph O’Rourke ’72
Elizabeth Ware ’86
Campaign Recruitment Chairs
Alumni Chair Tom Berthel ’74
Athletics Chair Martin Wilkinson ’78
Clergy Co-chair Rev. Msgr. John Hyland ’64, VF
Clergy Co-chair Rev. George McDaniel ’66, PhD
College of Arts and Sciences Chair Michael Maloof ’64
College of Business Chair Ashley Segal ’02
College of Health and Human Services Co-chairs Ann O’Donnell ’91, DO, and Mark Gassen
Corporate Co-chair Laura Ekizian ’92, ’97 MBA
Corporate Co-chair Ken Koupal
Faculty and Staff Co-chair Allison Ambrose, PhD
Faculty and Staff Co-chair Jim Hannon ’84
Faculty and Staff Co-chair Kevin Farrell ’84, PhD
Faculty and Staff Co-chair Suzanne Wiese
Graduate Alumni Chair Angela Lawrence ’94 MBA
Legacy Co-chairs Rev. Kevin ’81, DO, and Mary ’81 Emge
Parent Co-chairs Jim and Michele Kadavy
Parent Co-chairs Al ’80 and Susan Mooney
Young Alumni Co-chairs Paul ’02 and Breann ’05, ’05 MAcc Thompson |
FCC net neutrality plan passes first vote
Critics upset that plan may let ISPs charge content providers for faster delivery
U.S. telecommunications regulators on Thursday formally proposed new "net neutrality" rules that may let internet service providers charge content companies for faster and more reliable delivery of their traffic to users.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has come under fire from consumer advocates and technology companies for proposing to allow some "commercially reasonable" deals in which content companies could pay broadband providers to prioritize traffic on their networks.
Wheeler's two fellow Democrats at the FCC concurred with him for a 3-2 vote to advance the proposal and begin formally collecting public comment, though they expressed misgivings about the plan.
"I believe the process that got us to this rulemaking today is flawed. I would have preferred a delay. I think we moved too fast to be fair," said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.
"The real call to action begins after the vote today," said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. "This is your opportunity to formally make your points on the record. You have the ear of the entire FCC. The eyes of the world are on all of us."
Critics worry the rules would create "fast lanes" for companies that pay up and slower traffic for others, although Wheeler has pledged to prevent "acts to divide the internet between 'haves' and 'have nots.'"
The FCC's proposal tentatively concludes that some pay-for-priority deals may be allowed, but asks whether "some or all" such deals should be banned and how to ensure paid prioritization does not relegate any traffic to "slow lanes."
"I will not allow the national asset of an open Internet to be compromised. I understand this issue in my bones," said Wheeler, formerly a private equity investor and cable industry lobbyist.
"Simply put, when a consumer buys a specified bandwidth, it is commercially unreasonable and thus a violation of this proposal to deny them the full connectivity and the full benefits that connection enables."
More than 100 activists protested at the FCC, with signs reading "Liberate the Internet" and "Keep the Internet Free." four onlookers were escorted out of the meeting room for shouting protests.
Consumer advocates want the FCC to reclassify internet providers as utilities, like telephone companies, rather than as the less-regulated information services they are now. That position is opposed by broadband companies and Republicans, both in Congress and at the FCC.
Opponents have told Wheeler that stricter regulations would throw the industry into legal limbo, discourage investment in network infrastructure and still not prevent pay-for-priority deals.
Numerous technology companies, including Google Inc and Facebook Inc, have spoken out against allowing pay-for-priority, although they have not called for reclassification. |
Posted on: 03 Nov 2014 05:41 am
Position : Trainee or Lab Technician
Qualification: Diploma in Metallurgy/Material Science, OR
B.Sc in Physics/Chemistry
Job location:Whitefield - Bangalore.
Job description :
As a lab technician, helping in setting up of the Metallurgy lab, handling the equipments, structure-property correlations, root cause analysis & etc.
Shaping up the technical vision for the metallurgy lab with fellow engineers.
Designing careful experiments to understand and mitigate several material issues , analyzing data, and sharing results with experts.
Interact with characterization experts to interpret materials behavior post-experiments.
Build and lead the technical vision for the Metallurgy research lab
Use experimental methods to understand failure analysis and how these apply to the materials used and the environments under which they operate
Provide mentorship to scientists, research associates and support staff
Interact with characterization experts to interpret results from tools such as optical microscopy & scanning electron microscopy
Work independently and in cross-functional teams
Create IP, document results and write project reports.
Salary: Not Disclosed by Recruiter
Industry:Medical / Healthcare / Hospitals
Functional Area:Medical , Healthcare , R&D , Pharmaceuticals , Biotechnology
Role Category:Medical Professional
Role:Lab Technician/Medical Technician/Lab Staff
UG: Diploma - Other Specialization, B.Sc - Any Specialization, Chemistry, Physics
PG:Post Graduation Not Required
Doctorate:Doctorate Not Required
Delhi Public School, Lucknow
Sree Sastha Group of Institutions, Chennai
Himgiri Zee University, Dehradun
Alpha College Of Engineering, Chennai
National Aids Research Institute, Pune
Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar University, Agra
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh |
Improved the quality of life of the poor and vulnerable people through participation in local governance, improving food security, access to better health practices and natural resource management and its prevention.
Detail of Information
Director/Country director : Mr. Sam Serey Wathana
Ccc Box : 421
Po Box :
Phone Number : 054 958 942/054 710 446
Email Address : firstname.lastname@example.org
Head Quarter Phone Number :
Head Quarter Website :
Head Quarter Email :
Head Quarter Address :
Head Quarter Country :
Province : Banteay Meanchey
District : Serei Saophoan
Commune : Kampong Svay
Village : Souphi
Significant progress has made in Cambodia after the civil war lasted for three decades. However, given the sheer scale of the damages which still remain inthe society are barriers for sparing infrastructures, developing quantity and quality of education, and improving access to health care services. In rural areas where 85% of the population live, a large number of people is still suffering from extreme poverty and access to the fundamental services, knowledge, and facilities to improve their livelihoods. Some of the factors for existing chronic poverty in rural areas are in lack of agricultural product-activities, lack of water sources,lack of agricultural inputs and resources, such as irrigation systems, the distance from urban markets, marketing skills, limited awareness in nutrition, sanitation and hygiene practices.
RCEDO is working to support the rural communities and line government departments in their efforts to improve the living condition of rural communities and achieved peace and democracy.
All Cambodian people live in equity, good health, education, peace and democracy.
|Is a sub-organization of||AAM||2018|
|Project Name||Sector||Start Date||Complete Date||Status Name|
|One Project||Agriculture and Animal Health||2017-11-01||2017-12-31||On-going| |
- Company leaders born in the same state as their company headquarters take a longer-term view of performance and are less likely to sacrifice investments like research and development to beat analysts’ estimates or avoid earnings decreases, an academic study finds.
- "Local CEOs make consistent long-term decisions in paying more state tax and being more socially responsible than nonlocal CEOs," researchers wrote in a paper published in The Accounting Review.
- Firms with local CEOs also have better financial performance and enjoy higher valuation, suggesting executives' resist cutting long-term projects because they're forward-looking, not because they avoid tough decisions.
Typically, financial incentives solve corporate myopia, or short-term executive thinking. These incentives include stock awards to increase executives' ownership of company equity, or agreements that motivate them to undertake projects where potential payoff is some time away.
But financial incentives often don't change behavior. The researchers found, for instance, that long-term thinking among executives only improved by 4% if they had high company ownership interest.
By contrast, long-term thinking improved 20% when companies hired a local CEO.
This longer-term thinking could be the result of attachment, the researchers think. Local executives, they said, "need to overcome a higher emotional hurdle to take opportunistic short-term actions that risk their firms’ long-term viability and eventually their local reputation. They have a much longer horizon in balancing short-term financial gains and long-term life and career outcomes."
The study is based on an analysis of R&D funding by 1,903 CEOs of S&P 1500 companies, 378 of whom were locals, during a 25-year period.
The researchers defined local executives as those who were born in the state where a CEO’s company was headquartered.
Under the findings, local CEOs were significantly less likely than others to reduce annual R&D spending in general, and, more specifically, as a way to beat analysts' consensus earnings forecasts or to avoid having to report decreases in annual earnings.
In addition, local CEOs proved significantly less likely than non-locals to reduce R&D in the final year of their tenure, when they’re particularly prone to do so.
"Our evidence suggests that local CEOs are more long-term-oriented than nonlocal CEOs," the researchers said. "This finding should be of interest to investors, analysts, board directors and regulators."
East, West, Home’s Best: Do Local CEOs Behave Less Myopically? is based on research by Shufang Lai of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China; Zengquan Li of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics; and Yong George Yang of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The findings area published in the March issue of The Accounting Review, published by the American Accounting Association. |
- Blog Post
- Blog posts represent the views of CFR fellows and staff and not those of CFR, which takes no institutional positions.
This is a guest post by Benjamin Silliman, research associate for energy and U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations.
The wind industry is approaching the end of its federal financial support. The Production Tax Credit (PTC), which was designed to drive investment by providing reductions in tax liability for renewable energy producers, is set to expire for large wind facilities at the end of this year, meaning that no wind projects entering construction or procuring equipment after the next few months will be eligible for federal support. Political leaders around the country are debating the best ways to continue supporting the wind industry. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) asked recently whether the wind industry still needs help at all. There is little doubt that wind power is more competitive now than when the incentives were first introduced, but in a market saturated with incentives for coal, gas, and solar power, the wind industry will need new and innovative policies to continue propelling its growth. A new set of federal support mechanisms that expand transmission infrastructure, research and development, and energy storage while reducing investor risk through a loan guarantee program would create a more equitable market environment that will promote the wind energy buildout.
Originally enacted in 1992, the PTC for wind began to phase out in 2017, with the credit set to drop to 0 percent of its original value at the end of 2019. In practice, however, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will allow facilities up to four years to come online, so the credit will be in effect for existing projects until 2023. The PTC offered a tax credit to eligible energy producers based on the amount of electricity produced. To take full advantage of this incentive, given that few energy producers have a high enough tax burden to make full use of the credits, wind energy producers typically form partnerships with larger firms that have greater tax liabilities, transferring the credits as a form of equity in the project. This gives wind producers two main financial benefits: an initial cash injection once the project connects to the grid that can be used to pay off construction loans, and an alternative source of income for the project untethered from electricity pricing risk. Once the project is operational, the tax equity investor is allocated a certain proportion of the project’s revenues, losses, and tax credits until it attains a target return on investment. At that point, the partnership structure “flips” and the project’s value begins accruing primarily to whomever owns the nontax “sponsor” equity.
While the PTC has worked as intended in generating revenue and catalyzing wind buildout, some drawbacks emerged as the industry matured. One issue was the limited pool of investors with both a tax liability high enough to reap the full value of the PTC and the necessary risk appetite and financial and legal understanding to enter into a complicated tax partnership. Therefore, most investors in the tax equity space are either heavyweight investment banks or the in-house financing shops of major equipment manufacturers like Siemens and General Electric. This has created a huge mismatch between the number of projects under development and the limited amount of capital available to finance those developments, which allows tax equity providers to exert a great deal of leverage over how many and which types of projects get built in a given year.
Additionally, tax equity is a more expensive form of capital than long-term debt in a low-interest rate environment, with target returns ranging as high as eight percent. One turbine manufacturer, Vestas, estimates that switching to other financing sources that have less complicated structures will still allow for profitability albeit at a lower margin than under the PTC. With the tax equity revenue stream unavailable, it is possible that investors, developers, suppliers, and construction firms will come to accept lower margins and premiums, as has already been the case for the more competitive solar market, where investors and participants throughout the entire value-chain do not expect as large returns. In the end, wind energy may become less lucrative, but ending the PTC does not change the record-low cost of wind energy itself, nor will it slow the deployment of high-efficiency turbines and performance-maximizing software, which will continue to push costs lower still. This means wind power will remain competitive against natural gas despite the loss of tax credits, especially in the central and western United States.
This resilience in the face of the tax equity cliff does not necessarily mean that the PTC has outlived its usefulness. The financiers of the wind industry will need to evaluate whether the amount of money and effort it takes to originate, develop, finance, construct, and operate a wind farm will still be an attractive use of capital. Wind energy will be uniquely disadvantaged in that evaluation, as it will be competing unsubsidized against other energy resources currently receiving government financial support. This evaluation could be even less favorable in more competitive and established energy markets like the Pennsylvania New Jersey Maryland Interconnection (PJM), where cheap existing sources of natural gas electricity and obtuse rules surrounding their Reliability Pricing Model, which requires suppliers to guarantee production into the future, can make it difficult for new wind plants to make an entry.
The U.S. federal government subsidized coal, oil, and gas production by nearly $14.7 billion annually in 2015 and 2016. The most valuable incentives included tax deductions for drilling and exploration, the ability to form tax-favored investment vehicles such as master-limited partnerships, and guaranteed below-market lease rates on federal land. Meanwhile, the rapidly maturing solar industry will continue to receive tax credits in perpetuity, as the investment tax credit for utility-scale projects is only stepping down from its current 30 percent to a floor of 10 percent in 2021. As an energy source with negligible marginal cost and a more varied production profile than solar, wind will remain competitive in its strongest markets, such as the Midwest and south-central United States. It may also continue to expand in the Rocky Mountains as regional utilities gradually sign on to the Western Energy Imbalance Market and implement decarbonized resource plans. However, in markets like PJM and New England, the loss of government tax credits could make it harder for wind to gain new market share.
Policymakers looking to keep the wind industry thriving should consider addressing external factors that may be limiting wind development instead of access to tax incentives. Development and construction costs are not the only deciding factors for wind energy’s final price. Transmission costs for wind energy can be prohibitive due to geographic factors pushing wind supply farther from population centers where demand for electricity is highest. Also, combining wind power with energy storage options to reduce wind generation’s variability currently raises the cost of supplied generation.
What should ultimately replace the PTC is an incentive system that promotes not only wind generation itself, but the technology and infrastructure that is needed to support its continued development. A good successor would be an initiative to promote energy storage and high-voltage transmission. Federal storage capacity mandates, modeled after state-level storage targets, could help expedite the deployment of sufficient storage capacity. This could be accompanied by a tax incentive similar to the PTC for storage technologies. Including transmission in any larger-scale federal infrastructure package will be essential. Regulations requiring utilities to meet certain cybersecurity, demand response, and infrastructure access criteria will help put more emphasis on infrastructure quality and quantity. Transmission incentives in particular would benefit wind power more directly rather than offering tax assistance to major financial institutions. At this point in the maturity of wind technology, tax credits or direct federal spending is best spent lowering the financial barriers of long-distance transmission lines and to help balance variable production.
Another way to ensure continued spending on wind farms is to offer federal loan guarantees on wind projects to reduce financial risk. Alternatively, tax incentives might be useful for research on new technologies, such as materials and software for wind turbines and underground wiring and aluminum composite-core conductors for transmission lines.
As Columbia University economist Noah Kaufman and former CFR senior fellow Varun Sivaram recently proposed, a new tax incentive system for “critical applications,” a system that seeks to promote the benefits of a set of technologies instead of on the technologies themselves, could improve not only wind capacity buildout, but also improve the competitive market selection process that guides Congress when it identifies technologies to subsidize. Instead of replacing the PTC with another technology-specific tax credit, the credit should be based on meeting certain hard-to-meet standards; for example, achieving zero-carbon emissions for under a certain price. This allows the government to subsidize breakthrough high-performing technologies, but not necessarily choose winners. This could also create competition among technologies and encourage more research and development since any technology capable of meeting the standards would receive the benefit.
Wind power remains a critical alternative to fossil fuel electricity generation, providing low-cost carbon-free power. Wind power in the central United States has lowered the national average cost of electricity. The federal government should not simply assume that because the wind industry can stand alone without support, it no longer needs any assistance. Creating ideal market environments for wind power will help expand the capacity buildout, lower fossil fuel dependence and carbon emissions, and continue to bring down electricity costs throughout the country. |
If you and/or your veterinarian suspect your dog has a heart problem because for example a heart murmur was detected and/or your pet is experiencing classic cardiac signs such as coughing, weakness and lethargy, diagnostic tests will be required to confirm the presence and severity of your dog’s heart disease.
Natural Home Remedies for Dog Liver Disease. Today our lives as well as the lives of our cherished 4-legged canine companions are subject to exposure to a variety of toxins, pesticides and other environmental hazards all of which must be metabolized and cleared by the liver. These toxins act as free radicals and damage your…
Traditionally, neutering a male dog required anesthesia and surgery, both of which come with a variety of risks. But what if your dog could be neutered without surgery or anesthesia?
Combating pet fleas can be a nightmare for dog owners. Here are a few of Dr. Carol’s tried and true home remedies for dog fleas. Dogs & Fleas. Pet owners might start by buying a flea comb then use it daily to help remove fleas from their dog’s coat.
About 5% of dogs with an endocrine or hormonal disorder called Cushing’s Disease have a variation of the disease called Atypical Cushing’s Disease. Both forms of Canine Cushing’s Disease in dogs may be either pituitary or adrenal-dependent and involve a hormone called Cortisol.
Dr. Carol, I am an out of state customer who did phone consults with you for my basset hound Max with cancer and am so pleased I want to let other pet owners know about my experience with you. |
Have you encountered NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error while browsing on Google Chrome?
The error will look like:
It is a common problem faced by web owners who have installed an SSL certificate on their website. There are different reasons why Google Chrome is displaying this error.
And this issue can be resolved by the web owner as well as the web visitor.
But first, let us look at the likely reasons why you are encountering NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error.
Why are you encountering NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error?
- Check whether the certificate authority that issued your SSL is a trusted CA. Many times, NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error is caused because the certificate is not issued by a trusted authority. It is best to get a digital cert from a trusted vendor like Cheap SSL Shop, GlobalSign, DigiCert to avoid such issues.
- In some cases, NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error occurs if the date and time in your system are set incorrectly.
- If your SSL certificate is self-signed, you may see the NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error as a result.
How to fix NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error in Google Chrome
#1. Resolve NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error in Google Chrome (For Owners)
As a web owner, bringing traffic to your site is obviously your main concern, especially if you run an online business.
But when your website displays the NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error, it does just the opposite.
Your visitors will be turned off seeing the warning and may never return to your site again for fear of their identity getting stolen or their payment information getting compromised.
It is said that 85% of online shoppers stay away from unsecured sites. You will be missing out on a lot of potential buyers if you do not install a proper SSL to provide security. Moreover, your brand’s reputation will be ruined.
To solve this, simply get a digital certificate from a trusted CAs. This CA is trusted by people and recognized by browsers as well.
At times, the error may be caused by the wrong time and date update on your system. Correct it by changing the date and time as per your specific time zone.
#2. Resolve NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error in Google Chrome (For Visitors)
In case you are visiting a site from your Google Chrome browser and you encounter NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error, there are several things you can try.
- Try updating Google Chrome
To update, open Google Chrome and type chrome://settings/help in the address bar. Google Chrome will start updating itself. You will have a better user experience when you use the latest version of Google Chrome. It might even fix the NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error.
- Try clearing Google Chrome’s Cache Memory
To clear the cache memory, open Google Chrome and in the top right corner, click on the three vertical dots. Next, navigate to Settings and click on the Advanced option. Go to the Privacy and Security tab and find Clear Browsing Data. Select all the options and tap on Clear Data.
Exit Google Chrome and restart it. The NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error could be resolved.
- Try resetting Google Chrome to Default Settings
To reset Google Chrome to default settings, open Google Chrome. Next, find the three vertical dots in the top right corner and click on it. Navigate to Settings and click on. Tap on the Reset settings to go back to the default mode. Now, reset the settings. Your NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error might be resolved.
- Try clearing Google Chrome’s DNS Cache
To clear Google Chrome’s DNS Cache, open Google Chrome. Go to the address bar and type chrome://net-internals/#dns. Next, tap on the Clear host cache to resolve NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error.
- Try disabling Google Chrome’s Extensions
Before disabling Google Chrome’s Extensions, try opening the website using Google Chrome’s incognito mode. It might resolve the issue.
If the NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error persists, try disabling Google Chrome’s Extensions. To disable it, open Google Chrome. In the top right corner of the browser, click on the three vertical dots. Next, tap on More tools and navigate to Extensions. Turn off all the extensions. It might fix the error.
- Turn off the Antivirus/Firewall
In case, the antivirus you have installed has enabled “HTTPS protection” or “HTTPS scanning,” it might be causing the NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error. To test, disable your antivirus and visit the website. If the issue is fixed, your antivirus has been causing the problem all along. Reactivate your antivirus solution once you leave the website.
More tips to resolve NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error
- Check your internet connectivity. A slow network might be causing the error. Switch to a faster network and try accessing the website.
- Ensure that your SSL certificate is not expired. If it is expired, Google will bar your access while showing an error. Contact the website’s admin for renewal. Or you can buy a new certificate and reinstall it.
- To check the expiry date of your SSL certificate, click on the three dots on the Chrome menu. Navigate to More Tools and then go to Developer Tools. Select the Security tab and tap on View Certificate. You will be able to get all the SSL certificate information. If it is expired, renew it to resolve the error.
- Check whether your SSL certificate is installed properly. Improper installation may be causing the error. Follow a guide to properly install it, or you can even outsource the work to an expert in the field.
An SSL certificate is mandatory if you want to protect your website and offer security to your visitors. But at times, it may create hindrance and start showing error, turning away visitors, and ruining your browsing experience.
Hopefully, the tips mentioned above will help resolve the NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID error you are encountering.
Remember to obtain your digital cert from a trusted CA to lessen the risk of encountering such errors. Authorized resellers such as Cheap SSL Shop are renowned and trusted by all. The browsers will also recognize such certificates, and you can have a superior user experience.
- How to Fix “ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR” on Google Chrome
- NET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID IN CHROME – How to Fix?
- ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED: SOLUTIONS TO RESOLVE THIS ERROR
- How to Install SSL certificate on Oracle WebLogic Server?
- Install SSL Certificate on Microsoft IIS 10
- How to Install an SSL Certificate on Tableau Server
- How to Install SSL Certificate on Tomcat Web Server? |
Hydronephrosis, while not a specific disease, is a radiographic finding that shows that urine is filling the kidney more than normally seen, and is commonly found on an ultrasound. Hydronephrosis may be unilateral (affecting just one kidney) or bilateral (affecting both kidneys). In children with mild hydronephrosis, the condition often resolves on its own. This is a relatively common congenital condition (a condition a baby is born with) that occurs in both boys and girls.
Causes of Hydronephrosis
Hydronephrosis is not a disease but may be caused by an underlying condition including:
- A partial obstruction, which is a blockage that prevents the urine from draining completely out of the kidney.
- Reflux, where urine comes back up the ureter into the kidney (think of acid reflux). Reflux of urine back into the kidney(s) can occur for a variety of reasons and needs an evaluation to determine the cause.
Thanks to advances in imaging technology, diagnosis of certain urologic conditions such as hydronephrosis can begin in the womb either through routine or specially-ordered ultrasound exams on the expecting mother, typically around the fourth month of pregnancy or later. Dr. Adam Kern can consult on conditions diagnosed on screening sonogram examinations during pregnancy such as hydronephrosis and other kidney concerns.
If hydronephrosis is suspected in a prenatal ultrasound, the condition of the baby’s kidneys will be monitored throughout the remainder of your pregnancy. Upon delivery of your baby, Dr. Kern can further evaluate the condition.
Your doctor may order imaging tests such as:
- A renal ultrasound, which provides a clear picture of the extent of the hydronephrosis.
- A voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG), a special X-ray that can show reflux or if there is a urethral obstruction, two common causes of hydronephrosis.
- A MAG3 scan, which is a type of study that can measure both kidney function and drainage, important in diagnosing obstruction.
While most children experience few or no symptoms, children with more severe hydronephrosis may experience one or more of the following symptoms:
- Discomfort in the side or flank
- Abdominal pain or discomfort
- Hematuria, or blood in the urine
- Urinary tract infections
Upon learning more about your child’s hydronephrosis and its cause, your pediatric urologist will go over the results of the diagnostic tests and develop a treatment plan that meets your child’s specific needs. Our pediatric specialists understand that any time there is a health issue with a child, it can be a very stressful and scary time for the parents. That is why we will walk you through every step and involve you in every decision about your child’s treatment and health care which may include:
- Observation. In most cases, your doctor will observe the child’s kidney over time, performing renal ultrasounds periodically. Most cases of hydronephrosis clear up on their own.
- Surgery. In rare cases, your pediatric urologist may recommend surgery to correct the cause of your child’s hydronephrosis, especially if the condition is affecting the function of the kidney. A common surgical procedure for obstructive hydronephrosis is pyeloplasty which is used to repair an obstruction in the drainage portion of the kidney. Children often stay in the hospital and the procedure has a very high success rate.
Appointments & Information
*If this is an emergency, please call 911 immediately.
Please provide your email address and phone number and a Chesapeake Urology representative will contact you shortly to assist with your question or issue.
Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. |
Closing the Gaps in Traditional Financial Systems with Blockchain
The banking sector is an industry that has seen huge innovations in recent years with the use of technology. To address the demands of their customers, banks are looking for new methods and ways to interact with them and achieve better customer satisfaction.
BANKEX is a global financial technology company that develops a tokenization network that provides technology and services to banks at all stages. To connect Bank-as-a-service (BaaS) and blockchain, BANKEX applies a proof-of-asset (PoA) protocol. The properties of an asset are combined and digitally verified under the proof of asset protocol. The asset is then virtualized as a token, which can be purchased and transferred. The objective of the proof of the asset protocol proposed by BANKEX is to continue to audit an asset in order to verify its existence and minimize the risk of transactions.
Igor Khmel, the founder of BANKEX, says, “We bridge the gap between the traditional banking and finance solutions with unique as well as flexible products and services for capital markets, investment, micro-financing and futures markets.”
The BANKEX token exchange platform enables the trade of complex security tokens connected to real-world assets. Integrated with KYC verification methods, the token exchange will support the ERC-1400, ST-20 token standards, and ERC-888 security tokens from BANKEX.
"We bridge the gap between the traditional banking and finance solutions with unique as well as flexible products and services for capital markets, investment, micro-financing and futures markets"
In 2017, BANKEX was ranked first among the top 50 fintech startups in the Financial IT’s Pathfinder rankings. Because of this achievement, the company attracted many clients that were highly benefitted by implementing tokenization. BANKEX also benefits Instagram users by delivering media tokens, which uplift the initial costs against the profit from brands and advertisements.
It is expected that BANKEX will make use of a license submitted by the Virtual Financial Assets Act service provider to the Malta Financial Services Authority. The license is allowed only for the exchanges that have strong Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) procedures.
BANKEX tokenization could have an enormous impact in transactions, optimizing assets, and managing finances. Also, it will increase efficiency, speed, security, and lower costs in all their operations resulting in an improvement in the quality of their services to their clients. |
Key Factors Making Storage Vital in Video Surveillance
FREMONT, CA: Video surveillance has become an essential mode of security for a large number of organizations. Artificial intelligence and IoT have helped re-imagine video surveillance and made it much more potent than it was previously. With the increasing adoption of AI-assisted video surveillance, the amount of data created in the form of videos is increasing. The storage of such a vast amount of data creates challenges. The high-definition devices used these days to capture the videos also require high storage volume. So organizations must make it a point to understand the storage requirements before opting for video surveillance. Essential aspects that one must consider would include reliability, high performance, ease of usage, scalability, and, cost.
The videos recorded through surveillance cameras are extremely valuable, and a source of information in case anything goes wrong. Hence, the reliance on storage is essential to make sure that videos are safe and can be accessed in the best resolutions whenever one needs them.
• High performance
The storage device is expected to have high performance because high-definition videos from many devices are recorded simultaneously and have to be stored. Round the clock surveillance makes it even more essential to have excellent storage performance.
• Easy usage and maintenance
The storage use case should be easy to access and maintain. A simple storage system that caters to the basic requirements and yet performs satisfactorily is the best. Complex systems are difficult to understand, and maintenance becomes a challenge.
The options to scale up the capabilities should always be open. One might want to add more cameras or enhance the quality of video surveillance. This mandates a storage facility that allows for extra available storage space.
The cost should be an essential determinant when organizations decide about storage for video surveillance. There is a range of options which are priced differently, and organizations should match the prices with their needs and then choose the best service. Cloud-based storage which has become an automatic option might prove costlier than necessary.
Storage solutions can help one to use smart video surveillance to its full potential. The absence of proper storage makes AI-powered video surveillance technology very limited in its scope. So organizations must invest wisely when it comes to storage facilities.
Check out: Enterprise Technology Review
Check out: Top Storage Solution Companies |
New Jersey’s adoption of expanded flood maps in the wake of Superstorm Sandy has put more than 33,000 additional residential buildings in flood zones, a nearly 15 percent increase.
The disaster recovery plan announced this week by the Christie administration shows nearly 268,000 residential structures now falling within New Jersey’s floodplain and subject to its building guidelines. That’s up from just over 234,000 before the maps were redrawn.
Within the floodplain, owners of homes considered to have been “substantially damaged” by Superstorm Sandy must rebuild according to the maps’ new elevation guidelines. In many cases this means having to raise their houses.
Houses where repair costs exceed 50 percent of the structure’s pre-disaster value are deemed “substantially damaged.” In its recovery plan, the state puts the number in that category at more than 18,000 but says it expects the figure to rise significantly as final reports come in.
New Jersey is receiving $5.4 billion from the federal government to meet recovery needs not covered by other federal programs or private insurance. In announcing Tuesday a plan for using the first allotment of $1.8 billion, Gov. Chris Christie included a program to provide up to $150,000 to owners of primary residences for reconstruction, with priority going to people of low to moderate income whose houses received substantial damage.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency had been working on new flood maps for New Jersey for two years when Sandy hit. Its revised maps showed the flooding risk in New Jersey to be much greater than was projected when the old maps came out in the 1980s.
In January, Gov. Chris Christie announced the state was immediately adopting FEMA’s revisions as New Jersey’s standards. He said it didn’t make sense to use old maps to guide New Jersey’s rebuilding or wait for FEMA to formally adopt its standards, a process expected to take 18 to 24 months.
Homes that don’t face mandatory elevation under the maps still face pressure to do so because of expected major increases in insurance premiums on properties that don’t follow the federal guidelines.
According to data in the state recovery plan, nearly 38,000 primary residences and 9,300 rental units received “severe” or “major” damage from Sandy.
Under federal guidelines, a severely damaged home is defined as having more than $28,800 in damage or more than four feet of flooding on the first floor. Damage ranging from $8,000 to $28,799 is defined as “major.”
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We present results of the first year of our Bowel Cancer Screening Program (BCSP), which was initiated and backed by the Right Honourable Minister for Health, Dr John Cortes, in Gibraltar in March 2014.
The Gibraltar Bowel cancer screening Program is offered by immunochemical Faecal Occult Blood testing (iFOBt) to the population between 60 and 74 years every 2 years. All FOB positive and double inconclusive patients are invited for a screening colonoscopy. Any patient with positive findings ranging from anal fissure, to haemorrhoids, colon polyps and colo-rectal cancer are referred to the colo-rectal surgery service for treatment and follow-up. All negative colonoscopy patients are referred back to the BCSP, for repeat iFOBt every 2 years.
Between April 2014, 1980 iFOBt kits were sent out to patients. Compliance was 62% with 1228 kits returned. With a higher sensitivity threshold for the iFOBt, 104 patients tested positive or were double inconclusive (8.46%). All these patients were offered colonoscopy.
56 patients underwent colonoscopy, with a completion rate of 91.1 %( 51 colonoscopy). Completion was established by CT colonography in 5 patients. 21 patients had polyps (37.5%), 6 had cancer (10.7%). All polyps were adenomatous, and 5 cancers were T1 No Mo, with one cancer T2 N1 Mo.
In conclusion, a population based bowel cancer screening program is an excellent pathway for early detection of colorectal cancer and pre-cancerous lesions. |
In this short video I’m going to walk you thru the steps of creating a gorgeous side menu user interface.
We’ll start by creating a simple hello world style application with no frills. I’m using a native theme and a bare bones application so nothing pre-existing will disturb us.
As you can see there isn’t much here. We’ll add new entries into the toolbar for the different pieces of the side menu.
Now I’m going to use add material command to the side menu which adds command text and an icon from the standard material design icons built into Codename One. That will give us something to work with, it’s mostly basic stuff you can use whatever you want in terms of commands. The styling isn’t mentioned it’s only the icons and the text.
Now we’ll open the theme file and try to make the styling “look good”. First I’ll open the side menu in the preview section. This makes the entries for side component and side panel appear in the combo box.
I’ll start with the side navigation panel which is pretty easy, I’m using a white background that’s completely opaque. I press OK to save this.
For the side command I want to pick an opaque color for the background and white for the foreground. I’m picking a bluish/purple color that looks right usually I pick from a pallet but here I whinged it and I think it came out reasonably well.
I’m making sure alignment is left just to be sure, for padding I’m setting it all to be relatively large. 3 millimeters which gives everything a good feel and spacing. This is important for finger touch sensitivity.
I’m setting margin to 0 except for the bottom one pixel which will leave a nice white line by showing off the background. I’m also setting the border to empty so it isn’t inherited from the native theme like it is on iOS.
I’m picking a good looking font making sure it is large enough I’m using millimeters so it’s sized correctly for all OS’s and I’m overriding the derived text decoration which has a value in the iOS native theme so it can impact the final look.
In the selected tab I’m adding a new side command entry that derives from the unselected version. I’m picking a new color that’s slightly deeper and will make the selected style appear selected. I’m copying and pasting this to the pressed style as well.
Clicking the theme again allows me to refresh it and see how everything will look on the simulator when we’re done.
Next I’ll add the icon image into the theme as a multi image so I can use it within the side menu as a good looking logo.
Back in the IDE I get the image I just added into the theme. I then place this image into a Container that goes into the top of the side menu. I do that by creating a border layout container, I place the image label on the east side thus aligning it to the right side of the container.
I then add a new tagline label to the south of the container and give it a tagline style so we can customize its look.
The side menu tagline is just a side command style that was slightly adapted, I’m removing the padding and margin because the whole section will be wrapped in a side command.
The next thing I’ll do is update the font to a smaller size and italic styling so it will feel like a tagline.
Now that we did all this lets go back into the IDE and tie this together with the top bar which now we can use as a side command UIID by giving it the same color and padding as regular commands.
We tie the whole thing together by adding the component, the top bar to the toolbar side menu.
Finally I’m styling the status bar side menu which is the spacing on top left for iOS devices. I’m setting it to 0 and now we’re ready to run the app!
This is the final result! This is how the side menu looks.
You can use a better icon or logo which will make this look much better. You can use a background image for the top bar and these small things can make a huge difference.
Thanks for watching, I hope you found this useful. |
Look Who’s Trying to Come To Dinner: Holiday Planning in the COVID Era
Food For Thought
Falling leaves and cooler, shorter days conjure memories of the changing seasons and the holidays. And as we proceed into November and December, within the context and framework of an ongoing global pandemic, it is clear that this ‘new normal’ has found its way into every aspect of our lives. This time of the year is typically characterized by our desire to gather socially for holiday related events either hosted privately or as a corporate/business event. So it begs the question—should we gather or not?
Recent alarming nationwide case trends and ongoing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as other globally-recognized public health expert authorities, in unison agree that gathering together for the holidays is a very risky proposition. With the country’s COVID-19 case count approaching 8.2 million and the death toll now over 219,000, it is no surprise that the consistent recommendation is that celebrating virtually or with members of one’s own household poses the lowest risk for COVID-19 transmission during the holiday season.
Consequently, in-person events that involve individuals from outside of the same immediate household pose varying degrees of risk and should be carefully considered. State and local guidelines continue to provide local authority with respect to gathering size limits and other logistical gathering requirements and mandates. However, despite the facts and the mandates, many will weigh the risks, benefits and alternatives and will still opt to gather. With that in mind, for those who are intent on proceeding with gathering, information-driven decision making may help create venues where at least some of the risk might be mitigated.
COVID-19 is a highly contagious infectious viral pathogen that is spread through the air, through close, prolonged physical contact. It can survive for varying amounts of time on hard surfaces that are not appropriately cleaned and disinfected. This novel coronavirus thrives in environments where people gather together, fail to practice social/physical distancing, don’t wear appropriate face coverings and will not self-isolate when sick or potentially exposed/infected.
Because a large percentage of infected individuals will have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all and because certain testing platforms still have false negative rates approaching 35%, it is impossible to create or guarantee a 100% COVID-free space for what the CDC calls ‘congregant gathering events’.
This is not intended to promote gathering together, but to offer information that event hosts and planners might logistically consider in several areas—the guest list, the venue, the day of the event, and the post-event monitoring.
Make Your List And Check It (At Least) Twice
In the COVID-era, checking your guest list must be considered a rate-limiting step. In fact, checking your guest list only once prior to the event may not be enough. Likewise, it is essential that for events during the pandemic, you are clear that only invited guests will be permitted inside the event venue. Additionally, the size and composition of the guest list translate into creating a gathering event that is either ‘high risk’ or ‘risk reduced’. Remember that no gathering should be considered risk-free and that the CDC maintains the recommendation that same-household and virtual gathering create the lowest risk environments. However, in the context of social gathering should you choose to host or attend a congregant gathering event during the pandemic, size does matter and the smaller the guest list the better. Even in local jurisdictions where gathering limits are large, a smaller gathering size has multiple benefits including easier logistics with respect to communicating pre-arrival expectations, conducting event-arrival screenings and temperature checks, venue seating and other arrangement and post-event and/or post-exposure communication contact tracing.
It is also important to know the points of origin of all invited guests along with their mode of travel and where they will be staying upon their arrival. Individuals traveling from designated COVID ‘hot spots’ should be allowed to attend with extreme caution. Pre-travel screening should also help both host and guest identify potential high-risk comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and compromised immune system (due to immunotherapy, cancer and certain other diseases). Additionally, individuals should make every effort to self-isolate for at least one week prior to the scheduled event. Ideally, guests should have a documented negative COVID-19 screening test 72-hours prior to arrival. Preferably, this test should be a PCR test as the antigen tests are far less accurate. Regardless of testing platform, it is essential for hosts and prospective attendees to understand that testing may accurately identify the infected, but still may miss those who are not, which ultimately places everyone at the gathering at risk. Communicating these realities, expectations and/or requirements several weeks prior to the event gives prospective guests every opportunity to make decisions about attending as well as providing time for those who opt-in to attempt to comply.
The ideal social gathering venue should be outdoors which may be logistically challenging in many locations due to venue location and/or weather. If outdoor gatherings are not feasible or practical, indoor venues should be well-ventilated and preferably, windows should be open. Additionally, creating a ‘mixed’ venue with both indoor and outdoor spaces is preferable to a strictly indoor venue. Regardless of the venue, seating and other points of gathering within the venue space should promote appropriate social/physical distancing of 6-feet or more. Event hosts, organizers and venue managers might consider space designs that, in fact, do not allow for seating as it tends to encourage increased duration for close gathering spaces. Additionally, the venue should have easily visible and accessible methods of hand sanitizing/hand washing and visible reminders regarding face covering and social/physical distancing. Event hosts, planners and managers should also consider having ‘circulating’ staff to keep hard surfaces cleaned and disinfected and to even provide tactful verbal reminders regarding social/physical distancing and face coverings.
Remember, even with the best pre-emptive planning with respect to the guest list and guests’ individual due-diligence with respect to pre-event isolation and testing, particularly in indoor venues, face coverings should still be worn by all guests and event staff during the event as the safest best practice in congregant gathering settings.
Good Advice For ‘Go-Time’
The invited guests have been engaged, informed, and hopefully compliant with host requests. The venue has been optimized from a seating and sanitization standpoint. I’s have been dotted and T’s have been crossed and event host has confirmed that they are ready for the guests to arrive. Now comes the challenging and critical task of engaging guests as they arrive and desire entry. First, there should only be one entry access point. At that entry point, similar to many current workplaces and schools, all individuals should complete a pre-entry screening questionnaire affirming that they have been fever-free, symptom-free, and have had no known contact with infected individuals or individuals who have been tested for whom the results are not know. If at all feasibly or logistically possible, all arriving guests should have a rapid COVID-19 screening test administered prior to entry into the congregant gathering event. On-site COVID testing should be conducted in a space that is adjacent to but not obstructing the entry point. Guests should not be encouraged to gather together while waiting for test results and you may want to work with event planners to coordinate the most practical way to ‘manage’ guests while they are waiting for test results. The entry processes should ideally also apply to all non-guest attendees such as caterers and other event staff. If the event is being held at venue not managed by the host, the host should complete a due diligence assessment to ascertain the venue’s processes and procedures with respect to the screening, health, safety and contact tracing mechanisms. The venue should be required to provide a list of all event staff as well as the date of the employee’s last COVID-19 screening test. Venues that are unable to provide this information should be considered high risk and sub-optimal from a health and safety standpoint and hosts should give serious consideration to selecting an alternative venue.
If an invited guest tests positive upon arrival, the individual should be refused admittance and directed to their home for self-quarantine. In general, individuals who should not attend or be admitted upon arrival include:
1. Individuals that have a fever (T>100.0) or who are sick on the day of the event
2. Individuals at high risk of serious complications of COVID-19 infection based on age, pre-existing medical conditions and/or a known history of a compromised immune system
3. Individuals exposed to others with COVID symptoms and/or who have been tested for COVID-19 for whom the results are not known
4. Individuals whose on-site screening questionnaire is positive for increased COVID infection risk.
The event host should likewise consider the ‘status’ of guests who are traveling from high risk locations and/or who have not been able to comply with pre-arrival recommendations.
After The Party
I have fond collegiate memories of the fun attached to the event after the main event—the ‘after party’. In this case, the after party is the opportunity to encourage all of your invited guests to consider another COVID-19 screening test upon their return to their point-of-origin. This test should be administered no sooner than 72-hours after the gathering event has concluded and again a PCR test is preferable to the antigen test which may be more readily available but appears to be inherently less accurate.
You may consider contacting your guests directly at some point after the event to ascertain the development of symptoms and/or you might consider creating an email account dedicated to communication between host and guests. Your after-party plan should also include the plan to notify guests and your local health department regarding guests who either test positive for COVID-19 or develop symptoms after the congregant gathering event.
‘New Normal’, New Responsibilities
Now I know what you’re thinking—either it simply doesn’t take all of that for me to host a party, or, that’s way too much work, why bother?
The truth is that it is very labor intensive because the nature of this global pandemic requires hyper vigilance and an attention to detail. With no effective post-infection treatments, no vaccine, persistent sub-optimal public health contact tracing and response capabilities, and, an alarming trend in new cases, holiday gatherings must assume a far more aggressively proactive posture. If these congregant gathering event guidelines provide a ‘hard stop’ deterrent, then they have achieved an important goal—to provide data-driven guidance to supplant purely emotion-fueled decision-making.
If these guidelines combined with the fact that the only safe gathering still appears to be a ‘virtual’ gathering, provide you with what you believe is a workable plan, then the encouragement would be to be steadfast and situationally aware—and ready to end the event should the venue or the guests suddenly become compromised and unsafe.
Regardless of the planning and precautions, the risks are real as there is no way to guarantee the health and safety of guests, hosts, and staff. The stakes are high in that even individuals with seemingly low risk can still get very sick. Likewise, there is no disputing the fact that a large percentage of super-spreader events have been linked to both indoor and outdoor congregant gathering events. Should you plan to host a gathering this holiday season, keep it small and keep it simple in order to keep it as safe as possible understanding that the safest approach to this holiday season be simply be to not gather in-person at all.
Christopher T. Conti, MD is an emergency physician and concierge physician working at Connected Health in Wexford, PA. He is also the Lead Pastor of Emmanuel Pittsburgh, author and community advocate for social and health equity and justice. |
One of the most irritating aspects of modern technology is the various forms of advertising that comes with it. From constant sales emails to website banners, one of the most pervasive sales techniques continues to be telemarketing calls. These have the potential to be harassing because you cannot simply ignore a constantly ringing telephone.
This is why the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was put into place in 1992. The act includes many different regulations that telemarketing companies must follow at all times. This includes them only being able to call at sociable hours and having the legal duty to provide their name as well as the contact information of the company on whose behalf they are calling. They also have the responsibility to refrain from calling you again if you have chosen to opt out of calls from that company or if you have registered on the Do Not Call list.
What can I do if I continue to get calls after I have opted out of them?
If you are registered on the Do Not Call list or if you have specifically asked to not be called by a certain caller, it will be infuriating if you continue to get calls from them. Remember that charities and political parties have the right to continue calling as long as they do not harass you. If the caller in question is neither of these, then you will likely have the right to start legal action against them.
It is important to stand up for your right to be free from telemarketer harassment in the state of Minnesota. |
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. The National Children’s Dental Health Month is a…
Most everyone has a first aid kit handy, especially if they have kids or are very active, but do you have a dental emergency kit? You might not think that this is an important thing to have when everything is just fine, but one dental emergency is enough to scare you into wishing that you had a kit available to handle the issues that could arise. There does not need to be anything fancy about this kit – simply a container with a few important tools will be enough to get you through any dental emergency.
Items to Have on Hand
When you experience a laceration in the mouth, knocked or chipped tooth, and/or a severe toothache, you will be grateful that you have the following items on hand.
- Sterile gauze or cloths – Before you put anything in your mouth, whether it is to stop the bleeding or to control the pain, you want to make sure that it is sterile. The more germs you put in your mouth during a time of crisis, the worse the outcome may be. Having plenty of sterile gauze pads handy can help you to apply pressure if your mouth is bleeding excessively; give you something sterile to grab a knocked out tooth with; or give you something to make a cold compress with to control the pain.
- Sterile container – If a tooth is knocked out or even chipped, gathering the pieces or the entire tooth is essential. What is also important is how that tooth or fragments of the tooth are handled. You should not pick it up from the roots, only the crown. They must then be placed in a safe, moist place. With a sterile container on hand, you can place the tooth in milk or your own saliva in the container until you can be seen.
- Ice pack – Almost any type of dental emergency will be painful. Ice can typically help to minimize that pain and as an added benefit, can help to minimize swelling.
These three items are all that it takes to set up an appropriate dental emergency kit. It saves you from experiencing even more panic when the emergency occurs and you are unable to find anything suitable to handle the situation. It is also a good idea to keep our phone number in there so that once things are calmed down, you can give us a call so that we may direct you on the next step to take to rectify the problem that has occurred. |
Full page from the Illustrated London News dated 1886, an illustrated weekly newspaper weeks date as shown on top of page, the size of each page is approximately 15.5 x 11 inches (395×280). All are genuine antique prints and not modern copies, the Illustrated London News is an illustrated magazine which was first printed in 1842 and is the finest pictorial example of a historic social record of British and world events up to the present day. The ILN is known for its coverage of the following subjects the wars, ships, boats, guns, sailing, portraits, fine art, old and antique prints, wood cut, wood engravings, early photographs, Victorian life, Victorian culture, kings, queens, royalty, travels, adventures, natural history, birds, fish, mammals, fishing, hunting, shooting, fox hunting, sports including tennis, cricket, football, horse racing, politics and many more items of interest founded by Herbert Ingram may 14th 1842.
URSPRÜNGLICHER alter antiker Victoriandruck gemäß des DATUMS NICHT eine moderne Kopie
Am nächsten Tag Verschickt von Schottland erlauben Sie 10/14 Tage für Lieferung
Größe in der Artikelbezeichnung unten |
Costa Rica News – When coming to Costa Rica you can see the beauty of nature and experience the many tourist activities within its borders, but there is also the possibility to be involved in community outreach programs and other volunteer activities. Volunteering in Costa Rica helps you in understanding environmental, conservation and community problems.
Many schools, environmental groups, religious organizations, and doctors in training come to Costa Rica each year to participate in one of the many volunteer projects available. There are hundreds of organizations here featuring an array of missions looking for help. Maybe this year you would like to take part in meeting one of these needs.
In tropical Costa Rica you can volunteer for a whole year or only a day as part of your vacation. Some organizations to research include Global Crossroads, Tropical Adventures Foundation, and Volunteer Abroad in Costa Rica.
What kind of work can you expect to do on one of these trips? Anything from animal rights to construction and everything in between! You can harvest coffee, clean up beaches, guard turtle eggs, assist in a healthcare facility or orphanage, or teach English.
At the orphanage and childcare placements, volunteers will organize a variety of activities for the children, and assist with their school work. At teaching English placements volunteers will teach children of all ages, and will also participate in cultural activities and recreational games. Volunteers will work with the endangered Olive Ridley, Leatherback Black and/or Green turtles along the gorgeous coastlines of Costa Rica. Volunteers will assist with coffee-picking in the fields, roasting the beans and packaging the final product, alongside wider agricultural activities.
There is so much more to do and experience whether you are a college student looking for something to do with classmates or sorority sisters during Spring Break or just need a break from the corporate grind.
If you would like to broaden your resume or your worldview or simply have an experience you will never forget, please take the opportunity to volunteer in Costa Rica. It will make a difference not only in Costa Rica but in yourself. |
Droopy eyelids and puffy bags under the eyes can make you look tired and older than you are. In some cases it can even interfere with vision.
- Eyelid Surgery accounted for 23 percent of total cosmetic surgical procedures performed in 2009 in Australia.
- Wanting to look younger and less tired are the main reasons people choose to have this procedure.
- Eyelid surgery is most commonly performed on people between the ages of 35 and 64.
- Eyelid surgery usually takes 1 to 2 hours.
- You need to keep your head elevated for a few days following surgery.
Eyelid surgery, also referred to as blepharoplasty, is a procedure that removes fat, excess skin and muscle from the upper and lower eyelids.
It is common to combine eyelid surgery with other procedures, such as a facelift or brow lift, to help get rid of other lines on the face. Offering combined procedures such as these is a rapidly growing trend in cosmetic surgery.
Eyelid surgery was a popular cosmetic surgical procedure among Australians in 2009, accounting for 23 percent of total cosmetic surgical procedures performed. Close to 15,000 eyelid surgery procedures took place in Australia that year.
Reasons for choosing to have eyelid surgery
People opt for eyelid surgery for a number of reasons. Wanting to look younger and less tired are the main reasons. In cases where the upper eyelids droop over the eyes, impairing vision, eyelid surgery is a necessity.
You are a good candidate for the procedure if you have
- Sagging or loose excess skin on the upper eyelids, potentially impairing your vision.
- Puffiness in the upper eyelids that make your eyes look tired.
- Excess skin on the lower eyelids.
- Crepe-like fine wrinkles on the lower eyelid.
- Bags, puffiness or dark circles under your eyes.
- Drooping lower eyelids.
Eyelid surgery is most commonly performed on people between the ages of 35 and 64. In the US in 2010, more than 80 percent of all eyelid surgery was performed in this age group. The remaining 20 percent was performed on over 65s.
What to expect
Eyelid surgery usually takes 1 to 2 hours; the amount of time needed depends on the extent of work required.
Incisions are made in the creases in the upper eyelids and underneath the lashes in the lower lids. Sometimes the incisions may extend beyond the outer corners of the eyes. Through these incisions, your surgeon will remove excess fat and trim excess skin and sagging muscles. The incisions are then closed with very fine sutures.
When the procedure is complete, your surgeon will lubricate your eyes with an ointment and apply a bandage. You should expect your eyelids to feel sore and tight when the anaesthetic wears off. You will start to bruise after about the third day following surgery. Bruises are usually gone a week or two after surgery. Your stitches will be removed after about five days, and the swelling and bruises will slowly diminish thereafter.
You will be able to watch television and read two or three days following surgery and can go back to work as soon as you are able to do these things.
Before and after surgery
There are things you can do leading up to any kind of surgery to improve the experience. There are also a number of things you can do following any surgery.
There isn’t anything special that you need to do before your eyelid surgery. If you wear contact lenses, however, you may want to have some glasses available. You will not be able to wear contacts for two weeks after surgery.
In addition to the general steps that can speed up the healing process, there are important things you must do to ensure the success of your eyelid surgery:
- Keep your head elevated for a few days following surgery. You will need to sleep supported by pillows and sitting up as much as possible.
- Use cold compresses to help reduce swelling and bruising on your face. A bag of frozen peas makes an excellent ice pack.
- Your eyelids may feel dry soon after surgery, causing an itching or burning sensation. Eye drops will help soothe the discomfort.
- Your eyes may be sensitive to light and you may experience double vision, blurring or other changes in your eyesight. Some people also have excessive tearing. Typically, none of these symptoms are permanent.
- Make sure to wear sunglasses for 2 weeks after surgery to protect your eyes from exposure to wind, sunlight, dust and other irritants.
Possible risks and complications
As with any surgical procedures there are risks involved in undergoing eyelid surgery. You should understand the risks you face before electing to have the procedure.
Familiarise yourself with the list of complications that could arise as a result of any surgery.
The best way to reduce risk is to find a fully qualified surgeon with formal training in eyelid surgery who has performed the procedure many times.
Your surgeon can tell you how to avoid or minimise potential risks as they apply to you.
Rough costs involved
The costs involved will vary depending on the surgeon, the facilities used and the extent of work involved.
Upper eyelid surgery usually costs between $2500 and $4000(AUD), including surgeon’s and assistant surgeon’s fees, anaesthetist’s fee, facility and hospital costs. Usually costs of all follow up visits are also included.
Total cost for lower eyelid surgery also ranges between $2500 and $4000(AUD). Both upper and lower eyelids can be lifted at the same time. You can expect this to cost somewhere between $4500 and $8000(AUD).
Some Australian private health insurers may help pay for the hospital bed and theatre fees. Getting a doctor’s referral may enable you to make a claim on these costs.
You should expect the costs to be higher if you are having combined procedures at the same time.
Read our article What Does Blepharoplasty Cost in Australia for more detailed information on all costs associated with blepharoplasty.
This information is correct as of 2019. |
* Please be kindly noted that our services can only be used for research to organizations or companies and not intended for individuals.
Creative Peptides is pleased to provide you with a continuously growing and diverse portfolio of PEGs which will help you improve the success of your drug discovery research. For Peptide PEGylation, we usually use standard amide bond formation to connect PEG to peptides, but we can also use other linking chemicals (for example, mercapto-Maleimide, oxime binding, click chemistry). Pegylated peptides can overcome many challenges of candidate peptide drugs.
Application of Peptide PEGylation
Peptides play a key role in the pharmaceutical industry and drug treatment development, but their application in vivo is limited due to rapid protease degradation, poor solubility, poor antigen reaction and glomerular filtration of the kidney. The covalent binding of polyethylene glycol (PEG) chain to peptides is a way to reduce immunogenicity, improve solubility and reduce renal clearance. The addition of monodisperse PEG chain may be a factor in the development of safe and effective pegylated peptides and is essential for achieving the best therapeutic effect.
Below is a list of our available modifications (include but not limited to the following):
- PEG Carrier
- PEG Spacer
- Cost-effective custom synthesis
- Highly skilled and committed scientific staff
- Specialize in synthesis of monodispersed PEG derivatives with a variety of functional groups
- Superior technical support
- In quantities of several milligrams up to 100 grams
- Quality assurance: HPLC chromatogram and Mass spec analysis
1. Harris, J. M., Martin, N. E., & Modi, M. (2001). Pegylation. Clinical pharmacokinetics, 40(7), 539-551.
2. Veronese, F. M. (2001). Peptide and protein PEGylation: a review of problems and solutions. Biomaterials, 22(5), 405-417.<
3. Veronese, F. M., & Pasut, G. (2005). PEGylation, successful approach to drug delivery. Drug discovery today, 10(21), 1451-1458. |
Roy's Postcards: 1984/02/10
We saw many of these smoke trees
andas we came across the desert from California to Phoenix, Arizona. The desert was quite beautiful, though seemingly endless.
SMOKE TREES IN A DESERT WASH
The blue-gray Smoke Tree grows only in desert washes, where its roots reach sixty or seventy feet into damp earth. It has no leaves, but its myriads of spines at a distance, resemble a puff of smoke.
Remember, it could always be worse. You could be a smoke tree.
See also: southwest
This document (source) is part of Crummy, the webspace of Leonard Richardson (contact information). It was last modified on Thursday, November 26 2015, 04:03:03 Nowhere Standard Time and last built on Wednesday, March 03 2021, 12:00:29 Nowhere Standard Time. |
Triggerfish migrate north yearly and arrive in New England in June. Rarely if ever caught by the angler, trigger's are almost exclusively harvested by spearfishing. These were speared off the sandy beaches of Block Island, Rhode Island. Printed on black mulberry paper with acrylic and detailed with watercolor pencils. Print measures 36" x 24" |
Some rare and eerie photos of a replica town involved in an atomic bomb test in May 1955, including mannequins used to demonstrate the effects on people.
Scorched, male mannequin in suit of dark fabric indicates a human would be burned but alive.
Burned up except for face, this mannequin was 7,000 feet [one and a quarter miles] from blast.
Unburned, a lady mannequin with wig askew is wearing light-colored dress which absorbs less heat.
Remains of a house built for the test more than a mile from ground zero.
Fallen mannequin in house 5,500 feet from bomb is presumed dead. |
Italian debt is proving to be a major concern for the Eurozone. The European Union will aim to fix the situation, but it may be the case there will be no escape from the debt crisis.
|Currency Pair||% Change (Month)||Difference on £200,000|
Financial Firm TS Lombard believe it seems to be a matter of “when” rather than “if” another full blown sovereign debt panic will happen. It could be the case the Italian government is positioning itself to demonstrate to its voters that it has not sought to leave the Eurozone, but rather the Eurozone is leaving Italy. Italy could be potentially getting ready to inform the EU it has had enough. Then the Italian government could inform the public that the EU is to blame for Italy’s economic woes.
This has the potential to hit both the stock market and the currency market in a serious fashion. There could be a far bigger market reaction than when the Greek crisis hit the markets a decade ago. Italy’s economy is ten times the size of that of Greece and is the eighth largest economy in the world.
Eurozone Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures are released tomorrow. CPI is a measure of inflation and is a key barometer as to the health of country’s economy. Inflation is a major concern in the Eurozone as it has been stated by the European Central Bank (ECB) if inflation continues to fall below expectations there could be a cut in interest rates bringing interest rate levels into a negative position.
Year on Year data is expected to have little change and land at 1.2% and month on month is set to see an increase from 0.8% to 1%. If data lands away from expectations, we could see some market movement.
From start to finish with all contacts you feel like a VIP client even if you are exchanging small amount of currency. Always polite cheerful and give you straight talking advice before making the decision. Daniel Johnson and the team are a pleasure to deal with.
Daniel Johnson was very helpful throughout the transaction. It was quick and hassle free. I would definitely use this method again.
Excellent… can’t fault it… Thankyou Daniel.
Daniel Johnson explained clearly and in an easy to understand way what the process would entail before I made the transaction to pay the deposit on an overseas property. The transaction was carried out in an efficient and timely manner and I felt no pressure at any time. |
In this research studio, taught by Elisa Silva, students studied scholarly works on the topic of inequality, including writings by Joseph Stiglitz, Thomas Piketty, Donna Haraway, Henri Lefebvre, Hannah Arendt, and David Harvey. For their final projects, they created examples of inclusive infrastructure that could be produced and maintained by inclusive processes.
Allison writes: "The Food Gap: Reviving the Legacy of South Central Farm is an entry proposal to Los Angeles’ pLAn 2050 Green New Deal. It is a new urban and economic design solution, imagining the potential of reviving a 4.2-acre vacant lot at West Manchester Avenue and South Vermont Avenue in South Los Angeles to fight the chronic food desert phenomenon and economic crisis in the area. It aims to revive the spirit of the largest urban farm that operated in the United States, South Central Farm in South Los Angeles, which served many underprivileged ethnic-minority families. The Food Gap’s objective is to devise a socially sensitive inclusionary model that demonstrates long-term economic sustainability and enables a greater sense of ecological citizenship."
James writes: "My project deals with the horrific housing conditions in many First Nations and Metis communities in the Northwest Territories — in particular in the South Slave Region. I focus on the traditional community of Thebacha (Fort Smith).
The project develops a new way of examining housing outside western worldviews. It uses the Denesuline language and methodologies as an entry point for this research. I examine the idea of Kue in Dene — a concept of home that includes the metaphysical, manifested in a place for the spirit of the ancestors.
I propose to celebrate the Indigenous worldview by creating a typology that is linked to Denesuline worldviews and a return to the ways of the Kue." |
Walking on thin ice
Justin is in the military. He and his wife are debt-free, but they're thinking about taking out a loan he says the Army will repay. Dave warns him not to do it.
QUESTION: Justin is in the military. He and his wife are debt-free and have $19,000 in their emergency fund. He’s currently in a Tuition Assistance (TA) graduate school program, so the Army is paying for everything and he gets active duty pay throughout. Justin and his wife are toying with the idea of taking out a $20,000 student loan and putting it into a savings account. When he graduates from the program, the Army would pay back the loan in two to four years. You already know Dave’s answer, don’t you?
ANSWER: No, thank you. No, no, no, no! Here’s the thing: That only works if it works. But if life happens, and things don’t play our exactly like you think they’re going to, you’ve got a mess on your hands.
I know you’re talking about sticking the money in a savings account and not touching it until it’s actually paid off, but what happens if someone gets really sick and you have to use the money for that? I’ve heard every story you could possibly hear about the whacky things that go wrong in people’s lives. Suddenly, their plan that was put together in a moment of sanity goes insane. Life happens, and it’s just not worth it. You’re walking out there on thin ice, praying it doesn’t crack. Don’t do it, man. You’re doing so good. Just stay right where you are; stay right on track. Don’t play games with stuff like that. It’s a real good way to get your tail in trouble. Please, please don’t do it! |
Get ready for another summer of fun. That’s right. They’ve passed their test and now Veg crews are in the house (or forest) again.
Danielle may be busy pouring over data in the lab but that doesn’t mean the research or the field adventures are over. The veg crews will be taking us along for the ride.
Here’s the first taste of their summer:
The north vegetation crew successfully completed their first week of data collection in the Susquehannock State Forest. Together the crew finished two treatment plots and four priority plots.
Treatment plots have herbicide applied by DCNR crews and are generally comprised of less diverse plant communities but contain 15 plots and cover a far larger area than normal vegetation plots. Inside one treatment area located in the northern Susquehannock a beautiful 35.5in DBH Tsuga canadensis was found.
Sadly, the invasive hemlock wooly adelgid is defoliating these beautiful native trees which ultimately leads to death.
Priority plots were extremely variable with some locations existing on steep wet slopes which were inhabited by diverse plant communities whereas other plots were located within DCNR treatment areas and sometimes consist of down trees
Within our study areas older shelter wood stands, which have grown into thick pole stands, are comprised of very thick tree regeneration and often test the patience of an entire crew.
Jake Halabut (Michigan Tech grad student), Ryan Hughes (recent Carthage undergrad) and Chelsea Gendreau (SUNY Cobleskill undergrad) are kneeling staggered at 12ft intervals. Jake is only kneeling about 15 feet from myself.
While collecting data in the northern Susquehannock, we spotted a four leaved trillium. This individual had not flowered this year but grew an extra leaflet.
Bird nests have been spotted by Wildlife Management major Chelsea Gendreau at two locations within our northern and southern study areas. One nest, belonging to dark-eye junco’s, contained several hatchlings and was found within a deer exclosure perfectly sheltered by lycopodium species along with leaf litter.
Another nest was found at the bottom of a wild currant shrub and only contained eggs which were being watched closely by a mother veery.
While our job is to collect vegetation data, one must enjoy the full scope of mother nature. As a wildlife management undergraduate and sharing a strong interest with the southern crew leader of reptile and amphibians, I spend some time at plots flipping rocks, bark, and keeping my eyes peeled while navigating state forest roads looking for wildlife.
As week one comes to a close, we were lucky to see a fair amount of slimy salamanders on steep rocky slopes.
Northern two-lined, red/lead back, spring, dusky species, red eft, and a Jefferson salamander were found while visiting plots along with a milk snake which was found while leaving our first treatment plot. Judging by the blue color in this individuals eyes and its overall pale appearance, I’d imagine this snake is about to shed its skin and soon exhibit a more vibrant look.
I will close this blog post with one of Pennsylvania’s most beautiful animals, the wood turtle.
Calling wooded floodplains, streams, and rivers home, this species can take well over 12 years to become sexually mature. Our crew has already seen one female in route to lay a clutch of eggs but was permanently stopped when she crossed a road. These slow growing, long lived, and absolutely gorgeous prehistoric beasts are personally among the most pleasing to find within their natural habitat.
Northern Veg Crew |
- Project plans
- Project activities
- Legislation and standards
- Industry context
Last edited 15 Sep 2020
A milestone is a significant event that occurs during the course of a project, the timing of which can influence the scheduling of other activities. With the achievement of successive milestones, management is able to maintain a more accurate understanding of how the project is advancing according to the schedules.
Milestones might include, for example:
- Securing funding.
- Acquiring a site.
- Appointing consultants.
- Completing design stages.
- Client approvals.
- Securing permissions.
- Tendering the construction contract.
- Appointing a contractor.
- Handing over the site to the contractor.
- Starting and completing construction.
- Occupying the completed development.
- Rectifying defects.
Milestones are a feature of many project management software tools and often appear on Gantt charts, represented by diamond symbols. Developing schedule with milestones marked along a project programme can help give clarity to a timeline which can otherwise be very complex and difficult to interpret. This can be particularly useful for some stakeholders who may only need a very general understanding of a project programme.
They may coincide with key decisions or gateways at which the client assesses the state of development of the project and considers whether to progress to the next stage. However, it is important that milestones are allocated to the achievement of a task, not to the task itself.
For example, consultants often describe client decisions as milestones on project programmes, when in fact, the client may need to be provided with information to make a decision, they need time to consider that information, and they may then need to convene a meeting, which if they are senior personnel may only be possible on specific dates (such as at pre-planned board meetings).
Milestones are known as a ‘task of zero duration’ because they represent a particular point of time in a project when an achievement has been reached, they do not represent the activities necessary to complete a task.
They are often used to show progress on critical rather than non-critical activities, that is, items that represent a potential ‘bottleneck’ in the progress of a project. The overall critical path for a project represents the shortest time in which the project can be completed. Achieving milestones on the critical path more quickly than was planned will reduce the overall project programme.
However, this can serve to present a misleading impression of the overall health of the project, as project managers may prioritise resources into achieving critical milestones, whilst neglecting those works that are not identified as a milestone. This can change the critical path so that activities which were not previously critical become so.
To be useful tools in monitoring and controlling a project, project managers must be careful not to overuse milestones as a means of driving progress, whilst ensuring there is no loss in momentum as a result of spacing milestones too far apart. Instead, a compromise must be reached with milestones pinpointing suitably critical deliverables on a consistent basis, commonly at intervals of no longer than every fortnight for projects of several months duration.
Suitable remedies must be planned in the event that a milestone is missed. Resources may need to be reallocated to ensure they continue to be matched to priorities. However, it is important that milestones represent a challenge and should be treated as opportunities to make adjustments as the work is proceeding.
See also: Milestone payment.
Find out more
Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Acceleration of construction works.
- Activity schedule.
- Change control procedures.
- Contractor’s master programme.
- Critical path method.
- Data drops.
- Design programme.
- Design web.
- Gantt chart.
- How progress is agreed in construction.
- Key dates.
- Key performance indicators.
- Line of balance (LOB).
- Milestone payment.
- Pareto analysis.
- Programme consultant.
- Programme float.
- Programme for building design and construction.
- Progress of construction works.
- Project crashing.
- Project manager.
- Scheduling construction activities.
- Short period programme.
- Time-location chart.
- Time management of construction projects.
- Topping out.
External references
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A style that ranges from mock Tudor to arts and crafts to the 'Wrenaissance'. |
Harvey Mackay: You can’t get out what you don’t put in
My friend, motivational speaker Zig Ziglar liked to tell the story of his friend, Walter Hailey. Although he became a star salesman, Hailey’s early career in insurance sales was rough. He endured frustration, anxiety, slammed doors, low sales figures and uncertainty about his future.
One day he grew so discouraged that he went to his boss and told him that he was going to quit. His boss’s response? “You can’t.”
Hailey repeated that he was quitting. The manager repeated, “You can’t.”
Angry now, Hailey shouted, “Yes, I can!”
His manager replied, “Walter, you can’t get out of the insurance business because you have never really gotten into the insurance business.”
The words hit Hailey like a ton of bricks. For the first time in his life he realized that you can’t get something out of an endeavor if you never put anything into it. Or as Zig put it, “There are many people who ‘join’ a sales organization but never get into the business of selling.”
As the job market has fluctuated over the last decade, attitudes toward work have changed too. People who have jobs they love consider themselves lucky. But studies have found that up to 70 percent of workers indicated a dislike for their jobs. That’s unbelievable! Do you think their hearts are in their work?
Or do you suppose they could find something in that job that would inspire them to do their best?
Harry S. Truman was a no-nonsense U.S. President whose attitude toward life was summed up in this sentence: “I found that the men and women who got to the top were those who did the jobs they had in hand with everything they had of energy and enthusiasm and hard work.”
Will Rogers had plenty of witty sayings, but my favorite was what he said about success: “In order to succeed, you must know what you are doing, like what you are doing, and believe in what you are doing.”
Let’s dig a little deeper into that wisdom.
Know what you are doing. Winners prepare, apply themselves and work to become the best at what they do. They are willing to do what others refuse to do. They have a grasp of the situation and the challenges. They make the necessary adjustments and learn the important skills.
Like what you are doing. The bottom line is not doing what you like, but liking what you do. There are good and bad parts of every job, and if the good doesn’t outweigh the bad, you are in the wrong job. Most organizations do not have tailor-made jobs designed for specific likes. They have jobs that need to be done, and need committed people who are willing to do their level best to be successful.
Believe in what you do. Forget the job description, the title and the salary. Focus on what you can accomplish. Trust me, an employer can easily tell the difference between the workers who are there for something to do and those who are there to really do something.
Everyone has to start somewhere. Remember, your first job was probably not your dream job. Maybe your second job wasn’t either. But the lessons you learned early on were invaluable in terms of seeing how the world works. Keep learning! The only limit to success is the amount of effort you are willing to invest.
One of my mentors, Curt Carlson who founded the Carlson Companies (now known simply as Carlson) used to tell me: “You work the first five days of the week to keep up with the competition. It’s on Saturdays and Sundays that you get ahead of them.”
That attitude was not unique to Curt Carlson. I met the son of Kemmons Wilson, founder of Holiday Inn, some years ago, and he shared this story with me about his father. Kemmons Wilson never finished high school, yet his high school later invited him to give the commencement address.
He got up in front of the students and said: “I really don’t know why I'm here. I never got a diploma, and I've only worked half days my entire life. I guess my advice to you is to do the same. Work half days every day. And it doesn't matter which half ... the first twelve hours or the second twelve hours.”
Kemmons Wilson definitely put a lot of effort into his job.
Mackay’s Moral: There are many formulas for success — but none of them work unless you do. |
Des Moines and Area News
Food service class seeks Spanish speakers
Iowa Food Code will require every food service establishment to have at least one certified food safety manager on staff by Jan. 1, 2018, and many restaurants currently do not have certified staff.
For now, only food service businesses started this year and those for which food safety inspectors have specifically required certification training are required to obtain certification.
The requirement may pose special challenges for restaurants that employ Spanish-speaking chefs and food handlers, said Mary Krisco, human sciences specialist in Health and Nutrition for ISU Extension and Outreach. Each month she teaches a one-day food safety manager certification course called “ServSafe” at the ISU Extension Office, 1625 Adventureland Drive, Suite A, in Altoona. The first ServSafe course in Spanish will be Wednesday.
“The problem is the national food safety manager examinations can be difficult to pass, even for native English speakers,” she said. “If Spanish is your first language, the text and the examination questions can be very challenging.”
ISU Human Sciences Extension developed the all-Spanish food safety certification program to make it easier for Spanish speakers to obtain the state’s credential.
“Our hope is to train certified Spanish-speaking food service workers to become part-time Extension food safety instructors,” she said. She is seeking local Spanish-speaking food service managers or employees to take food safety manager training, pass the examination and obtain certification.
“We want to build our capacity to train Spanish-speakers in food safety now, because this instruction will soon be in great demand,” she said. “The restaurant industry is a major employer of people whose first language is Spanish. It’s important to the economy and to the safety of our food supply that Spanish-speaking food service workers are able to obtain the food safety certificates they and their businesses will need.”
For more information contact Krisco at 515-957-5787 or firstname.lastname@example.org.
Habitat for Humanity earns housing honor
Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity received a housing development award at the Iowa Finance Authority’s recent HousingIowa Conference in Des Moines.
Habitat’s Affordable Homeownership Programs include new single-family home-ownership, acquisition and major rehabilitation of abandoned and foreclosed homes, and homeowner-occupied repairs. The group has served 286 low-income families since July 2012, moving 53 families to home ownership and helping 233 existing homeowners with repairs that allowed them to stay in their home.
“We are honored to be recognized with the HousingIowa award,” said Lance Henning, GDM Habitat executive director and president. “Without our community partners like Iowa Finance Authority, volunteers and donors, we could not serve families, transform neighborhoods and build hope.”
An independent panel of judges scored the HousingIowa awards. The conference was held Sept. 3-5 in Des Moines.
Restaurant week cooks up an economic boost
More than 22,500 people dined at 32 restaurants during the seventh annual Des Moines Restaurant Week, which amounted to a $324,000 economic impact. The event last month resulted in an increase of nearly 2 percent over 2013, when an estimated 22,000 visited participating restaurants. Average spending per check rose by 5 percent over 2013.
Restaurants offered special prix-fixed menus at $25 for two lunches or one dinner. Diners were encouraged to save at least four receipts from the participating restaurants and enter to win a trip for two to the beaches of Bermuda. Gareth and Mary Weeks of Ankeny were the winners.
Restaurant Week sponsors included the Iowa Beef Industry Council, Pearl Vodka, Reinhart Food Service and River Walk Coffee. |
Editorial: All terminally ill patients should have options
“When my first wife could no longer bear the pain and deterioration of her body and the distressed quality of her life from cancer, she asked me to help her end her life.”
So begins the 1991 book “Final Exit” by Derek Humphry. Within months of publication, his how-to guide on committing suicide climbed to the No. 1 spot in the advice category of The New York Times Best Sellers list. It has been translated into 12 languages. You or someone you know probably has a copy on a bookshelf.
Because any of us could have a terminally ill loved one begging for death. Because any of us could be that terminally ill person. Because in a civilized society, someone suffering in their final days should not have to throw themselves off a balcony or shoot themselves in the head to die. They should be able to do so peacefully and when they choose.
The majority of state lawmakers in California agree. Last week the legislature approved a bill that would allow doctors to help terminally ill patients end their lives.
Modeled after the Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, the bill requires two different doctors to determine a patient has less than six months to live. Patients must be mentally sound, ask for the drug three times, including once in writing before witnesses, be able to swallow the medication themselves and sign a form two days before ingesting it.
If Gov. Jerry Brown signs it into law — and he should — California will join Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont in providing dying people the humane option of choosing how, when and where their lives end.
Even with many protections in place, the California bill faced fierce opposition from religious groups and disability rights advocates. They say low-income elderly and disabled people will be pressured into taking drugs to avoid expensive, life-sustaining care. They perpetuate the fear-mongering notion that such legislation is a slippery slope to widespread euthanasia.
Then there are the facts.
Oregon collects extensive information about use of its Death with Dignity Act, enacted in 1997. In nearly 20 years, a total of 1,327 people have obtained lethal prescriptions. As of early this year, only 859 had used the drugs to bring about death. Nearly 80 percent of those who used the law had a diagnosis of malignant cancer and more than 8 percent had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Almost every single one of them had health insurance.
Americans have come a long way in their thinking since “Final Exit” was published. Now nearly 70 percent of Americans say doctors should be allowed to legally assist terminally ill patients in committing suicide, according to a Gallup poll conducted in May. Support has increased about 20 percentage points over the past two decades.
Anyone who has watched a loved one suffer a slow, agonizing death knows people should have options at the end of their lives. One state at a time, they will demand and secure these options. |
ISLAMABAD: A key committee of UN General Assembly has unanimously passed a Pakistan-sponsored resolution reaffirming right to self-determination for peoples who are subjected to colonial, foreign and alien occupation.
Co-sponsored by 81 countries, the resolution serves to focus world’s attention on the struggle by peoples for their inalienable right to self-determination, including those in Kashmir and Palestine.
Presenting the draft, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN Munir Akram highlighted the importance of right to self-determination that enjoys primacy in international law.
He told the committee, in an obvious reference to India’s annexation of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 when the disputed state was placed under a repressive lockdown with internet and phone communications cutoff.
Munir Akram said curfew, communication blackout and lockdown of civilian population, to suppress their ability to express their demand for freedom and self-determination, were obviously a gross violation of human rights.
On Nov 17, President Dr Arif Alvi had said the Indian occupying forces used rape as a tool in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir which was also highlighted by Human Rights Watch in one of its reports.
On his twitter account, the president had tagged a clip of the Indian TV programme in which an Indian retired army officer SP Sinha and a BJP leader had shamefully advocated rape of Kashmiri women.
Dr Arif Alvi had said imagine the fate of women in the Indian Occupied Kashmir where such men wield power with total impunity.
During the programme, the other participants and female host could be seen shouting “Sinha down” with loud condemnation over his appalling remarks. |
Bessie, the vintage car first used by the Third Doctor, has gone on show at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in Hampshire.
The car joins other exhibits in the On Screen Cars exhibition, alongside Mr Bean's Mini, Del Boy's Reliant Van, James Bond's Jaguar XKR, Harry Potter's Ford Anglia and Elvis Presley's Cadillac.
Bessie made her debut in the 1970 story Doctor Who And The Silurians. She became the main form of transport for the Third Doctor during his exile on Earth. At the start of Season 11 the Doctor replaced Bessie with a new creation, The Whomobile owned and designed by Jon Pertwee himself. However, she returned for the debut of Tom Baker in Robot at the end of 1974.
Bessie was back with the Third Doctor for the 20th Anniversary story, The Five Doctors in 1983, before making her last main appearance alongside the Seventh Doctor in Battlefield . A final appearance came in 1993 with the Children in Need episode Dimensions in Time.
Although she looks older, Bessie is actually a 1954 Ford Popular 103E. The car has been fitted with a fibreglass tourer body made by Siva Engineering of Dorset. The four-seater Siva Edwardian body was available in kit form from 1969 until the mid-1970s, allowing any keen DIY mechanic to transform their second-hand Ford 7Y 8hp, Anglia or Popular into a replica of a much older machine and re-live the good old days of motoring.
The National Motor Museum is based on the Beaulieu Estate, home of Montagu family, located in The New Forest National Park, situated on England's south coast. Entrance to On Screen Cars is included in a general admission ticket to Beaulieu, which also includes entry to the National Motor Museum with its collection of more than 250 vehicles, the new-look World of Top Gear, the ancestral Montagu home of Palace House, 13th century Beaulieu Abbey and the grounds and gardens. |
Many private yoga teachers teach a blend of one-on-one sessions and group led offerings (group classes, workshops, and special events). Teaching small or large groups is a skill-set, just like that of being a private yoga teacher.
The focus a private yoga teacher can have in a group yoga setting can still be intentional and mindful of the independent needs of the person in regards to individual sequencing, and with the potential outcome of working with them one-on-one.
Sequencing to the individual is possible in a group yoga setting. It's not as impactful as one-on-one sessions, and it's certainly not easy to address the needs of many at once. You can't customize a group lesson to please everyone, but you can begin to develop skills of teaching many at once.
Here's three ways to give individual sequencing, even in a group.
1. Encourage Self-Practitioners
The ultimate goal of a yoga teacher should be to lead our clients and students to a personal practice that they can maintain on their own, but with our assistance. Most of us will continue to seek a teacher, but encouraging your students to be self-practitioners is a gift you can give freely and consciously.
One of the most common complaints I hear from yoga teachers is that other yoga teachers come to their group classes and do whatever the hell they want. I think there are a few reasons for this (let's agree ego can be one, but we won't talk about that reason). The first being wanting to experience various skilled teachers, and the second being a desire for personal practice within a highly energetic group setting.
Imagine if you could encourage self-practice so that yogis began to understand sequencing, their body's needs, and were able to use this information to determine the intention behind what they were being offered in a group setting and if they want to receive it at that time.
I don't view this as anarchy, I see it as personal responsibility with a serving of respect towards the teacher holding the space.
Unfortunately, most group-led settings don't encourage this and as a result most yogis don't understand sequencing, their choices, or their body's needs so they don't make sound adjustments that align with our intentions for the collective class theme and play into your expertise.
2. Teach Modifications, Harmonics, and Variations
I have a modification story — I think a lot of us do. I subbed for a yoga class at my university and offered a student in Revolved Triangle a block. Her response was that she "doesn't do" blocks. Teaching students how to be more advanced practitioners by including props, modifications, harmonics of poses, and customized variations and versions of asanas makes the yoga world a better place.
Imagine a group class where you call for a reclined hip stretch and students (due to your previous and on-going cues and instructions) are able to find a variation that suits their post-surgery body, their injury, their advanced range of motion... the examples go on.
3. Do It Differently
Readying students to be private yoga clients may require you to do group classes differently. If the nature of your one-on-one work addresses ailments, situations, or acute problems, it may not be as important to create an environment for self-practitioners, but for many of us it does matter.
Group-led classes and series that encourage self-practitioners may contain more workshopping, dialogue, and exploration than other group classes.
Restructuring group classes with good reason may take getting used to for students who are seasoned practitioners, but lead with your why and the students that align with be attracted to your mission. |
17 May Want to turn your negative self-talk into more productive dialogue? Here are 5 ways you can!
A negative attitude never made for a happy mind.
Happiness requires, at the very least, constructive, helpful thinking.
So if you want more happiness, here’s how you can turn some of those negative thoughts in to more positive ones…
via Inc.com by Amy Morin
Whether you tell yourself, “I’m never going to be promoted,” or you constantly think, “People think I’m weird,” negative self-talk affects how you feel and how you behave. In fact, the conversations you have with yourself often turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
For example, imagine someone who thinks, “I’m socially awkward and no one wants to talk to me.” To cope with his awkwardness, he avoids striking up conversations with people and limits his interactions. Consequently, people think he is socially awkward and his belief about himself is confirmed.
Over the years, I’ve worked with countless people in my therapy office on changing their negative dialogue. And I’ve seen first-hand how developing a more productive inner dialogue helps individuals build the mental muscle they need to create positive change.
So whether you call yourself names or you always talk yourself out of trying something new, here’s how to deal with negative thoughts in a healthy way:
1. Recognize Your Negative Thoughts
When you get an email from the boss that says, “I need to meet with you as soon as possible,” is your first thought that you’re about to be fired or do you think you must be getting a raise?
Many of your thoughts are automatic. They just pop into your head without any conscious effort.
So it’s important to take a second to evaluate your thoughts so you can recognize thoughts that are unrealistic, unproductive, or irrational…
…keep reading the full & original article HERE |
Eagle Plains Commences Geophysical Program on Yukon Gold Project
Cranbrook, B.C., June 24th, 2004: Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. (EPL:TSX-V) has mobilized a crew to commence geophysical fieldwork on the Dragon Lake Gold Project located 85km northeast of Ross River, YT, 10 km west of the North Canol Road. The claims consist of 40 units (900 ha) covering an area of approximately 6 km x 2 km, and are 100% owned by Eagle Plains with a 1% NSR reserved for Bernie Kreft of Whitehorse, Yukon. Fieldwork on the property during 2004 is budgeted at approximately $60,000 and will be carried out by Aurora Geosciences of Whitehorse.
The project targets skarn/replacement gold mineralization associated with Tombstone-Suite intrusives and a calc-silicate horizon within Hyland Group rocks. Geology and mineralization seen at the Drag property is very similar to that contained on Eagle Plains' McQuesten (Wayne) property, currently under joint venture with SpectrumGold Resources Inc. (SGX:TSX-V). Mineralization at Dragon Lake consists of disseminated and banded to massive fine grained pyrrhotite with associated magnetite, chalcopyrite, scheelite, arsenopyrite and pyrite. Galena, arsenopyrite and stibnite occur in narrow quartz veinlets and a few wider quartz veins. Soil geochemical sampling and limited trenching has been completed by Eagle Plains since 1996 and has indicated that significant gold mineralization is present within property boundaries. Of the 51 trench samples collected in 1997, 18 samples of 1 meter or greater length returned values in excess of 1 gm/t Au. The best interval was from Trench 2 which returned 2815 ppb Au over a 6 meter width. During 1999, Eagle Plains carried out a $100,000 diamond-drilling program on the property and intersected significant skarn mineralization, with erratic gold values grading up to 3.66 g/t Au over 1.2m encountered.
The 2004 program will focus on locating new mineralized zones associated with intersections between NNW striking structures and sulphide rich zones within the calc - silicate horizon. This will be achieved with a 9.5 line-km combined Induced Polarization (IP) and Horizontal Loop Electromagnetic (HLEM) geophysical ground survey.
Eagle Plains Resources continues to conduct research, acquisition and exploration projects in western Canada. The Company controls over 30 gold and base-metal projects, many of which are currently optioned to or joint-ventured with third parties including SpectrumGold Inc., Kobex Resources Ltd., Northern Continental Resources Inc., Shoshone Silver Mining Co., and Golden Cariboo Resources Inc. These agreements expose Eagle Plains to over 18 million dollars in exploration expenditures over the next five years. In recent years, Eagle Plains has completed option agreements with Billiton Metals, Rio Algom Exploration, Kennecott Exploration, NovaGold Inc., Viceroy Resource Corp. and numerous other junior exploration companies, resulting in nearly 13,000m (43,000’) of drilling and over $5,000,000 in exploration spending on its projects since 1998.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
“Tim J. Termuende”
President and CEO
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. |
ECC Sweden is a part of the European Consumer Centres Network, which consists of consumer centres in 30 countries. The centres are in every EU country, as well as Iceland, Norway and the UK. The various European Consumer Centres are financed by the European Commission and national authorities. ECC Sweden is partially financed by the Swedish Consumer Agency.
Consumers, who have cross-border problems with a company within the EU, Norway, Iceland or the UK, can contact the European Consumer Centre in their country. The advisor cooperates with a colleague from the European Consumer Centre in the country where the company is based. This facilitates the communication and the advisor in the other country can contact the company in that country’s official language to avoid language problems. The advantage is also that the centres can establish contact with the company and therefore have a better basis for discussing the consumers’ rights.
The European Consumer Centres primarily provide help to self-help by informing the consumers of their rights and how to safeguard them. The consumer must therefore have filed a complaint with the company him- or herself before the ECC Network can intervene. The ECC Network cannot apply any enforcement measures against companies. The work is based on a voluntary cooperation with consumers and companies.
The ECC Network also works with information to consumers through various campaigns.
Consumers who live in Sweden and have problems with a business operator in another EU country, Norway, Iceland or the UK can turn to ECC Sweden.
Consumers from another EU country who have problems with a Swedish business operator contact the ECC centre in their country.
Here, you can find all of the European Consumer Centres in the EU, Iceland, Norway and the UK.
The European Consumer Centre Network works on joint projects, such as reports on e-commerce and the rights of air passengers, among other topics. Through contact with consumers, we can identify and map different consumer problems and contribute to the development and revision of the EU legislation through common points of view.
The ECC Network has reconciliation meetings with the Commission. The European Consumer Centres meet regularly to coordinate and improve the on-going collaboration in case administration and in joint projects. Study visits and meetings contribute to experiential exchange and skills development.
The ECC Network was founded in 2005 and has already helped more than one million consumers.
Source: ECC Sweden
Proofread: 2 November 2020 |
Buried life dating benefits of radiocarbon dating
When the show started, Port was in a relationship with her then-boyfriend, Jay Lyon.
His net worth is not known, but we’re eager to know how it stacks up to So, Port decided to make the first move.This year is anticipating a fleet of adorable celebrity babies.After supermodels, singers, and actresses, reality stars can’t be far behind.They are then able to calibrate the carbon dating method to produce fairly accurate results.
Carbon dating is thus accurate within the timeframe set by other archaeological dating techniques. Furthermore, the ratio is known to fluctuate significantly over relatively short periods of time (e.g. |
'It Is Time to Rebel': Listen to Greta Thunberg on New Track From British Pop Rock Band The 1975
By Jessica Corbett
British pop rock band The 1975 released the first track of their forthcoming album Wednesday, which features Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg delivering an instrumental-backed speech about the global climate emergency.
"We are right now in the beginning of a climate and ecological crisis. And we need to call it what it is. An emergency," 16-year-old Thunberg says on the nearly five-minute song, which closely resembles her speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last year. "It is now time for civil disobedience. It is time to rebel."
Each of the band's past three albums has kicked off with a track titled "The 1975," but this latest version for Notes on a Conditional Form is a notable departure from the previous ones. At Thunberg's request, all proceeds from the track will go to the climate action group Extinction Rebellion.
Speaking about the song to The Guardian, Thunberg said: "I'm grateful to get the opportunity to get my message out to a broad new audience in a new way. I think it's great that The 1975 is so strongly engaged in the climate crisis. We quickly need to get people in all branches of society to get involved. And this collaboration I think is something new."
Promoting the track on Twitter Thursday, the Nobel Peace Prize nominee noted that any money made from the song will go to Extinction Rebellion, whose members engage in civil disobedience across the globe to demand that governments take bolder action to address the human-caused climate crisis.Extinction Rebellion issued a "massive thank you" to Thunberg and the band in a statement Thursday.
"Greta you are an outstanding human," said the group. "You were there when Extinction Rebellion launched back on Parliament Square in London just nine months ago. Again and again you show your support in meaningful ways — from small kind acts to things like this. We salute you sister. "
"To the 1975s, we thank you massively for your rebellious contribution and promise to put this to good use," the group added. "We're loving your commitment to rebel for life with us. Music has the power to break through barriers, and right now we really need to break through some barriers if we are to face this emergency. We are currently heading towards 4 degrees of heating for the world."
Read the full text of Thunberg's speech from the track, as transcribed by The Guardian:
We are right now in the beginning of a climate and ecological crisis.
And we need to call it what it is. An emergency.
We must acknowledge that we do not have the situation under control and that we don't have all the solutions yet. Unless those solutions mean that we simply stop doing certain things.
We admit that we are losing this battle.
We have to acknowledge that the older generations have failed. All political movements in their present form have failed.
But homo sapiens have not yet failed.
Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around. We can still fix this. We still have everything in our own hands.
But unless we recognise the overall failures of our current systems, we most probably don't stand a chance.
We are facing a disaster of unspoken sufferings for enormous amounts of people. And now is not the time for speaking politely or focusing on what we can or cannot say. Now is the time to speak clearly.
Solving the climate crisis is the greatest and most complex challenge that homo sapiens have ever faced. The main solution, however, is so simple that even a small child can understand it. We have to stop our emissions of greenhouse gases.
And either we do that, or we don't.
You say that nothing in life is black or white.
But that is a lie. A very dangerous lie.
Either we prevent a 1.5 degree of warming, or we don't.
Either we avoid setting off that irreversible chain reaction beyond human control, or we don't.
Either we choose to go on as a civilization or we don't.
That is as black or white as it gets.
Because there are no grey areas when it comes to survival.
Now we all have a choice.
We can create transformational action that will safeguard the living conditions for future generations.
Or we can continue with our business as usual and fail.
That is up to you and me.
And yes, we need a system change rather than individual change. But you cannot have one without the other.
If you look through history, all the big changes in society have been started by people at the grassroots level. People like you and me.
So, I ask you to please wake up and make the changes required possible. To do your best is no longer good enough. We must all do the seemingly impossible.
Today, we use about 100 million barrels of oil every single day. There are no politics to change that. There are no rules to keep that oil in the ground.
So, we can no longer save the world by playing by the rules. Because the rules have to be changed.
Everything needs to change. And it has to start today.
So, everyone out there, it is now time for civil disobedience. It is time to rebel.
Reposted with permission from our media associate Common Dreams.
- Redwoods are the world's tallest trees.
- Now scientists have discovered they are even bigger than we thought.
- Using laser technology they map the 80-meter giants.
- Trees are a key plank in the fight against climate change.
They are among the largest trees in the world, descendants of forests where dinosaurs roamed.
Pixabay / Simi Luft<p><span>Until recently, measuring these trees meant scaling their 80 meter high trunks with a tape measure. Now, a team of scientists from University College London and the University of Maryland uses advanced laser scanning, to create 3D maps and calculate the total mass.</span></p><p>The results are striking: suggesting the trees <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73733-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">may be as much as 30% larger than earlier measurements suggested.</a> Part of that could be due to the additional trunks the Redwoods can grow as they age, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73733-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a process known as reiteration</a>.</p>
New 3D measurements of large redwood trees for biomass and structure. Nature / UCL<p>Measuring the trees more accurately is important because carbon capture will probably play a key role in the battle against climate change. Forest <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/09/carbon-sequestration-natural-forest-regrowth" target="_blank">growth could absorb billions of tons</a> of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.</p><p>"The importance of big trees is widely-recognised in terms of carbon storage, demographics and impact on their surrounding ecosystems," the authors wrote<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73733-6" target="_blank"> in the journal Nature</a>. "Unfortunately the importance of big trees is in direct proportion to the difficulty of measuring them."</p><p>Redwoods are so long lived because of their ability to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73733-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cope with climate change, resist disease and even survive fire damage</a>, the scientists say. Almost a fifth of their volume may be bark, which helps protect them.</p>
Carbon Capture Champions<p><span>Earlier research by scientists at Humboldt University and the University of Washington found that </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112716302584" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Redwood forests store almost 2,600 tonnes of carbon per hectare</a><span>, their bark alone containing more carbon than any other neighboring species.</span></p><p>While the importance of trees in fighting climate change is widely accepted, not all species enjoy the same protection as California's coastal Redwoods. In 2019 the world lost the equivalent of <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation-and-forest-degradation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">30 soccer fields of forest cover every minute</a>, due to agricultural expansion, logging and fires, according to The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).</p>
Pixabay<p>Although <a href="https://c402277.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/publications/1420/files/original/Deforestation_fronts_-_drivers_and_responses_in_a_changing_world_-_full_report_%281%29.pdf?1610810475" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the rate of loss is reported to have slowed in recent years</a>, reforesting the world to help stem climate change is a massive task.</p><p><span>That's why the World Economic Forum launched the Trillion Trees Challenge (</span><a href="https://www.1t.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1t.org</a><span>) and is engaging organizations and individuals across the globe through its </span><a href="https://uplink.weforum.org/uplink/s/uplink-issue/a002o00000vOf09AAC/trillion-trees" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Uplink innovation crowdsourcing platform</a><span> to support the project.</span></p><p>That's backed up by research led by ETH Zurich/Crowther Lab showing there's potential to restore tree coverage across 2.2 billion acres of degraded land.</p><p>"Forests are critical to the health of the planet," according to <a href="https://www.1t.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1t.org</a>. "They sequester carbon, regulate global temperatures and freshwater flows, recharge groundwater, anchor fertile soil and act as flood barriers."</p><p><em data-redactor-tag="em" data-verified="redactor">Reposted with permission from the </em><span><em data-redactor-tag="em" data-verified="redactor"><a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/03/redwoods-store-more-co2-and-are-more-enormous-than-we-thought/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></span></p>
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
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Kentucky is coping with historic flooding after a weekend of record-breaking rainfall, enduring water rescues, evacuations and emergency declarations.
<div id="0f31c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4290ab3e7ec4e142f8bce774bab39f03"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1366307788155219969" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Just got back from my office... downtown Beattyville Kentucky is not a pretty sight. @KySportsRadio… https://t.co/6nXwyMKtRb</div> — Tom Jones (@Tom Jones)<a href="https://twitter.com/8atticus/statuses/1366307788155219969">1614588136.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Spring is coming. And soon, tree swallows will start building nests. But as the climate changes, the birds are nesting earlier in the spring.
- Spring Is Arriving Earlier Across the U.S. - EcoWatch ›
- Climate Change Leading to Fatal Bird Conflicts - EcoWatch ›
- The Unsettling Reason Why We're Seeing More Snowy Owls ... ›
Citigroup will strive to reach net-zero greenhouse gas pollution across its lending portfolio by 2050 and in its own operations by 2030, the investment group announced Monday.
- 20 Attorneys General Launch Climate Fraud Investigation of Exxon ... ›
- Exxon Plans to Increase Its Climate Pollution - EcoWatch ›
- Exxon to Slash 14,000 Jobs Worldwide as Oil Demand Drops ... › |
The 'Careful, Thoughtful' Approach to Indian Point Is to Shut It Down Now
In 2007, when Hillary Clinton was New York's junior senator, she sagely observed that a "steady drumbeat of problems has eroded public confidence in Indian Point," the twin-reactor nuclear power plant just outside New York City.
In the time since Clinton left New York to become Secretary of State, Indian Point has become far more dangerous and the supply of energy available to replace it has grown sufficiently to enable its safe and affordable closure. Against this backdrop, when Sec. Clinton was asked recently what to do about Indian Point, she cited her long-standing concerns on plant safety and call for a “careful, thoughtful" approach.
Given the facts on the ground, the careful, thoughtful approach to Indian Point is to close it.
New York's Governor, Andrew Cuomo, recently put it best when he observed that Indian Point can no longer operate “in a manner that protects public safety and the environment." The record of accidents, malfunctions and mishaps at Indian Point in just the last year is astonishing and unprecedented.
Late last month, 227 of the 832 bolts that hold the inner walls of the reactor core together were found to be missing or damaged. The plant's owner, Entergy, in a report to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) admitted this to be a condition that “significantly degrades plant safety." Indeed, this damage to Indian Point Reactor 2's core is four times worse than any similar problem ever seen at any other American nuclear reactor and experts believe that it could result in a lack of structural stability in the reactor.
And, we're just getting started, folks. In February, radioactivity in the groundwater near the plant spiked more than 100,000 percent after a leak from a refueling system. Also in February, the same reactor with all those degraded bolts temporarily lost cooling capacity, due to a series of electrical problems.
Other problems since May 2015: a transformer explosion and major oil spill; a water pump failure, which set off one of the plant's seven unplanned shutdowns in the past 12 months; a blocked drain, causing temporary flooding in the “switchgear" room that contains key plant safety equipment; and, a power failure affecting control rods in Reactor 3, caused by bird droppings shorting out a power line at the plant.
The NRC has reported that one of Indian Point's reactors has the highest risk of all the country's reactors of being damaged by an earthquake and a study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Defense shows that Indian Point is incredibly vulnerable to acts of terrorism. Tens of millions of people live within the reach of an Indian Point nuclear disaster. An evacuation would be practically impossible and emergency responses have been found to be largely futile.
We understand that malfunctions can happen at any power plant, but they are happening with disturbing frequency at Indian Point. Its age is problematic and the licenses for its two reactors expired in 2013 and 2015; the NRC is still weighing whether to renew them. This is the same NRC that Barack Obama, in 2007, called a “moribund agency" that was a captive of the industry it regulated.
It still looks that way today. The NRC apparently accepts the word of Indian Point's operator, Entergy, that basic safety and environmental cleanup measures aren't necessary, even after the latest mishaps. The commission even permits Indian Point to evade its own safety standards requiring that the electrical cables that control emergency reactor shutdowns have insulation that would last 60 minutes in a fire—giving the plant an exemption after finding that this insulation lasted just 27 minutes.
In view of the astonishingly bad track record Indian Point has compiled, it's no surprise that a 2015 poll in the Lower Hudson Valley found that a majority of respondents do not trust the plant's safety or its operator, despite the thousands of supportive votes that were sent right from Entergy's own computer server.
The good news is: we have enough power capacity to permit the immediate closure of Indian Point. Indian Point is able to generate just more than 2,000 megawatts of electricity or about 10 percent of peak summer demand in the New York metropolitan area. In the past two years, we've added an additional 1,500 megawatts of energy capacity from other sources: existing electricity surpluses in New York State, recently restored power generation from plants in the Hudson Valley and New York City, together with transmission improvements in the power grid in the lower Hudson Valley and targeted energy efficiency gains by Con Edison.
And, according to the New York Independent System Operator, a nonprofit agency charged with managing the state's electricity market, downstate load forecasts for this summer have dropped by about 500 megawatts, since previous estimates in 2015, due to increases in solar power installations, energy efficiency and demand-side management.
Projections for future electricity demand have declined sharply in recent years.
In short, we can close Indian Point now and reliably keep the lights on. In the future, new efficiency and renewable energy projects will drive still greater savings, thanks to $5 billion in planned energy investments by the state.
And, the cost will be minimal. In 2012, we reported that it would cost the average household less than $15 per year to transition to safe, sustainable energy. Last month, Con Edison Solutions contracted to supply up to 90,000 homes in Westchester with wind, solar and hydropower at prices that will be at least $21 per year lower than what these homes are currently paying for nuclear or fossil fuel energy.
As with her evolving position on fracking, it's time for Secretary Clinton to get tougher on Indian Point. In view of just how dangerous Indian Point has become and how readily available replacement energy has become, closing Indian Point is just the “careful, thoughtful" thing to do.
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- Redwoods are the world's tallest trees.
- Now scientists have discovered they are even bigger than we thought.
- Using laser technology they map the 80-meter giants.
- Trees are a key plank in the fight against climate change.
They are among the largest trees in the world, descendants of forests where dinosaurs roamed.
Pixabay / Simi Luft<p><span>Until recently, measuring these trees meant scaling their 80 meter high trunks with a tape measure. Now, a team of scientists from University College London and the University of Maryland uses advanced laser scanning, to create 3D maps and calculate the total mass.</span></p><p>The results are striking: suggesting the trees <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73733-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">may be as much as 30% larger than earlier measurements suggested.</a> Part of that could be due to the additional trunks the Redwoods can grow as they age, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73733-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a process known as reiteration</a>.</p>
New 3D measurements of large redwood trees for biomass and structure. Nature / UCL<p>Measuring the trees more accurately is important because carbon capture will probably play a key role in the battle against climate change. Forest <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/09/carbon-sequestration-natural-forest-regrowth" target="_blank">growth could absorb billions of tons</a> of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.</p><p>"The importance of big trees is widely-recognised in terms of carbon storage, demographics and impact on their surrounding ecosystems," the authors wrote<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73733-6" target="_blank"> in the journal Nature</a>. "Unfortunately the importance of big trees is in direct proportion to the difficulty of measuring them."</p><p>Redwoods are so long lived because of their ability to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73733-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cope with climate change, resist disease and even survive fire damage</a>, the scientists say. Almost a fifth of their volume may be bark, which helps protect them.</p>
Carbon Capture Champions<p><span>Earlier research by scientists at Humboldt University and the University of Washington found that </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112716302584" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Redwood forests store almost 2,600 tonnes of carbon per hectare</a><span>, their bark alone containing more carbon than any other neighboring species.</span></p><p>While the importance of trees in fighting climate change is widely accepted, not all species enjoy the same protection as California's coastal Redwoods. In 2019 the world lost the equivalent of <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation-and-forest-degradation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">30 soccer fields of forest cover every minute</a>, due to agricultural expansion, logging and fires, according to The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).</p>
Pixabay<p>Although <a href="https://c402277.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/publications/1420/files/original/Deforestation_fronts_-_drivers_and_responses_in_a_changing_world_-_full_report_%281%29.pdf?1610810475" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the rate of loss is reported to have slowed in recent years</a>, reforesting the world to help stem climate change is a massive task.</p><p><span>That's why the World Economic Forum launched the Trillion Trees Challenge (</span><a href="https://www.1t.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1t.org</a><span>) and is engaging organizations and individuals across the globe through its </span><a href="https://uplink.weforum.org/uplink/s/uplink-issue/a002o00000vOf09AAC/trillion-trees" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Uplink innovation crowdsourcing platform</a><span> to support the project.</span></p><p>That's backed up by research led by ETH Zurich/Crowther Lab showing there's potential to restore tree coverage across 2.2 billion acres of degraded land.</p><p>"Forests are critical to the health of the planet," according to <a href="https://www.1t.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1t.org</a>. "They sequester carbon, regulate global temperatures and freshwater flows, recharge groundwater, anchor fertile soil and act as flood barriers."</p><p><em data-redactor-tag="em" data-verified="redactor">Reposted with permission from the </em><span><em data-redactor-tag="em" data-verified="redactor"><a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/03/redwoods-store-more-co2-and-are-more-enormous-than-we-thought/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></span></p>
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
- Offshore Wind Power Is Ready to Boom. Here's What That Means for ... ›
- American Skyscrapers Kill an Estimated 600 Million Migratory Birds ... ›
Kentucky is coping with historic flooding after a weekend of record-breaking rainfall, enduring water rescues, evacuations and emergency declarations.
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Spring is coming. And soon, tree swallows will start building nests. But as the climate changes, the birds are nesting earlier in the spring.
- Spring Is Arriving Earlier Across the U.S. - EcoWatch ›
- Climate Change Leading to Fatal Bird Conflicts - EcoWatch ›
- The Unsettling Reason Why We're Seeing More Snowy Owls ... ›
Citigroup will strive to reach net-zero greenhouse gas pollution across its lending portfolio by 2050 and in its own operations by 2030, the investment group announced Monday.
- 20 Attorneys General Launch Climate Fraud Investigation of Exxon ... ›
- Exxon Plans to Increase Its Climate Pollution - EcoWatch ›
- Exxon to Slash 14,000 Jobs Worldwide as Oil Demand Drops ... › |
Eco-Friendly Dry Cleaning
Eco-Friendly Dry Cleaning
So you've heard of dry cleaning but do you know what this really is? Traditional dry cleaning involves the use of chlorinated solvent chemicals: perchloroethylene or tetrachloroethylene. Both have a distinctive chemical odor. Perchloroethylene is referred to as PERC and is classified as carcinogenic to humans.
What makes our Cleaning Eco-Friendly?
Our Eco-Friendly Dry Cleaning (Wet cleaning) is a professional, modern, and environmentally friendly alternative to dry cleaning that can care for delicate fabrics that a dry cleaning machine can't; enabling your favourite items to look fresh and last longer.
Since being developed in 1991 by German companies; Miele and Kreussler, Wet Cleaning has established itself as the economical and environmentally friendly alternative to dry cleaning.
It was designed with one defining goal in mind, to create a process for cleaning that could safely and successfully clean and protect all garments and fibres. It did this with a biodegradable detergent as good to fabrics as it was to the environment.
Why it's Better
Wet Cleaning is a process that enables professional cleaners to safely handle ‘Dry Clean Only’ items, without them coming in to contact with any dry cleaning chemicals and neurotoxins, such as perchloroethylene. By using water and a special biodegradable detergent, your clothes will stay softer for longer and will be much better for your skin, as well as the environment.
How it Works
By controlling a range of factors, such as detergent dosing levels, drum rotation rhythms and temperature to a high degree of accuracy, your clothes are safely cleaned, without any chemical smells. Utilising a high extraction cycle, the majority of any moisture remaining is removed from your garments. Finished with an optimised spin cycle that measures the amount of residual moisture, your clothes are protected from over drying, whilst saving energy.
Our wet cleaning system provides perfect protection for the fabric and for the environment. The washing cycle uses 30% less water than conventional machines and can clean at as little as 20oc, reducing energy consumption by 50%.
The system uses no solvents, so customers instantly notice the fresh smell and soft feel. Colours are brighter and retain their original look to customers are happier too!
In a nutshell
- Biogradeable detergents
- Free of chemicals and solvents
- Perfect for sensitive skin
- Excellent results
- Longer lasting clothes
- Gentle on delicate fabrics |
California sued the Trump administration today over EPA's refusal to extend Clean Water Act protections to salt ponds in San Francisco Bay.
At issue are development plans for 1,365 acres owned by Cargill Inc. and DMB Pacific Ventures LLC in the southern bay. Those tidal wetlands were converted to industrial salt production in the mid-1800s, but conservationists have been buying tracts in that area since the 1970s, arguing that restoring marshes will improve water quality and combat rising sea levels.
EPA declared in March that none of the property qualified as "waters of the United States" and therefore is not protected by the Clean Water Act.
Today, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California taking aim at the EPA decision, joining environmental groups that have already sued the Trump administration seeking protection for the salt ponds.
"The Trump Administration continues to endanger California's efforts to protect our environment and public health. It's a sad day when the country's 'environmental protection agency' looks at San Francisco Bay and doesn't see a body of water that it should protect," Becerra said in a statement. "We should restore the Bay, not build on top of it. This unlawful proposal is simply an attempt by the EPA to overlook its obligation to protect our nation's waters in order to fast track development. President Trump, California's precious San Francisco Bay is not for sale."
A number of Californians have also come out in support of the lawsuits, including Oscar-winning actor Robert Redford, who in a San Francisco Chronicle op-ed today called the fight "the latest battle to save San Francisco Bay."
"Locating 30,000 more people in the path of sea-level rise, right next to an already gridlocked freeway doesn't make environmental or economic sense," he wrote.
EPA's decision on the bay's salt ponds contradicted a 2016 draft analysis by the Obama administration, which concluded that 1,270 acres should be protected by the Clean Water Act.
The reversal means developers won't need a Clean Water Act permit, likely saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars, as any destruction of federally protected wetlands or waterways requires developers to offset the damage by paying to restore similar nearby aquatic resources.
In its 2016 draft analysis, the Obama administration relied on the "significant nexus" test set forth by Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy in the famously muddled Rapanos v. United States case. Kennedy ruled that wetlands and waterways should be protected under the Clean Water Act if they had a chemical, biological or hydrologic connection to a traditionally navigable water.
The 2016 draft found the salt ponds were "navigable in fact" waters and had a significant nexus to traditionally navigable waters adjacent to San Francisco Bay. It also found that the tidal channels within the property qualified as traditionally navigable waters and that those channels were not converted to being part of the salt ponds prior to the passage of the Clean Water Act. It also noted that the salt ponds are "impoundments of waters otherwise defined as waters of the United States."
The Trump administration's final determination contradicts that draft and centers on the idea that the flow and exchange of water at the site are a product of salt production and not natural. It says that most of the salt ponds were created before the Clean Water Act was passed, meaning they cannot be protected.
It says water present at the salt production plant is "merely a component of the plant's industrial processing activity until ultimately it evaporates or turns into a byproduct."
The final determination also says the fact that the salt ponds are separated from San Francisco Bay by dikes means "the site is not jurisdictional," and the "occasional exchange of water through the levees between the San Francisco Bay and the salt ponds for purposes of maintaining the salt processing" isn't enough to afford the salt ponds Clean Water Act protections.
California's challenge argues that the Trump EPA's about-face violates the Administrative Procedure Act by ignoring the agency's existing regulations for determining whether wetlands are protected under the Clean Water Act.
Those regulations all rely on Kennedy's "significant nexus" test. The complaint also says that the final determination ignored EPA's previous 2016 draft analysis, and that by saying developers do not need a permit, EPA has deprived California of its rights under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act to certify federal permits for projects affecting waterways.
EPA takes lead on permitting
The EPA reversal followed a number of regulatory changes at the agency, including the Trump administration's efforts to rewrite the definition of Waters of the United States, or WOTUS, in the vision of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who said only waters and wetlands with a "relatively permanent surface water connection" to larger waterways are protected by the Clean Water Act.
The WOTUS definition proposed by the Trump administration in December would nix protections in place since the 1980s for wetlands that are separated from larger waterways only by man-made berms or dikes.
EPA has simultaneously been working to centralize decisions regarding Clean Water Act permits.
A memo signed by former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt last year dictates that Clean Water Act jurisdictional determinations must be approved by the administrator (Greenwire, April 5, 2018).
Such jurisdictional determinations are usually made by the Army Corps of Engineers at the request of developers who want to know whether they need a permit for work in or near wetlands or waterways.
But EPA is allowed to take over those determinations in "special cases" if there are "significant issues or technical difficulties."
When EPA took over the determination for the Cargill salt ponds in 2015, it was only the 11th instance of EPA invoking the "special cases" clause (E&E News PM, March 19, 2015).
At the time, members of California's congressional delegation had asked EPA to step in because the Army Corps had previously declared that just 56.87 acres of the property was protected by the Clean Water Act. |
While we are now heading into the winter months of Michigan, that doesn’t mean we still don’t need to think about skin cancer. Yes, it’s easy to think that skin cancer and summer go together and it’s true that people usually get more exposure during the longer days of summer. But winter creates exposure, too. If you’re skiing at Boyne Highlands or maybe on a trip to Vail, you need to wear sunscreen on your face because the sun hits you from above and below. Below? Yes, when it reflects back up off of the snow.
At Elite Plastic Surgery, you may not think of us along with skin cancer. But one of our areas of expertise is skin cancer removal and subsequent reconstruction of the area afterwards.
Skin Cancer – True or False?
So, since we may not think as much about skin cancer in the winter, let’s see how you do on this little test to see just how much you know, or don’t know, about this common form of cancer. See how you do. Each question is true or false.
- Skin cancer is the United States’ most common form of cancer.
- Skin cancer can be prevented.
- Using sunscreen will prevent skin cancer from developing.
- Melanoma is the most common type of skin cancer.
- You won’t get skin cancer from tanning beds.
- Most skin cancer cases can be cured.
- People with moles have a higher risk for melanoma.
- Most people who get skin cancer die from it.
- True. About one million Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer every year. More than that number probably go undiagnosed. The danger for those who don’t seek diagnosis is the potential, particularly with melanoma, of the cancer growing and spreading to other parts of the body.
- True. There are ways to lessen your exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun. Sun damage is cumulative, caused by UVA rays (they penetrate the skin and cause wrinkles) and UVB (they cause sunburn). Wear sun-blocking clothing. Wear sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB rays. Examine your skin regularly. Don’t use tanning beds.
- False. Sunscreen doesn’t allow you to spend unlimited time in the sun. It helps block harmful rays, but you need to limit your exposure.
- False. Melanoma is only about five percent of skin cancers, but it does cause the majority of deaths.
- False. Tanning beds increase your chances of developing skin cancer, not the other way around.
- True. All skin cancers, if caught early enough, can be cured with surgery.
- True. People with lots of moles or especially large moles are at a higher risk for melanoma. Check your moles constantly to see if they change shape or color.
- False. If detected early enough, most skin cancer cases are resolved successfully. But vigilance and early detection are key.
Schedule a consultation
Living in Central Michigan so close to Lake Michigan and all of the other water around here, we are exposed to the sun almost every day in the spring and summer. But don’t forget about covering up in the winter, too! Don’t take skin cancer lightly. And if you need surgery to remove the growths and repair your skin after skin cancer, trust the expert team at Elite to do a great job. Winter’s a great time to schedule the surgery and recover before the warm weather. Call us for a consultation or appointment, 616-459-1907. |
Addressable fire detection and alarm systems are recognised by individually addressed detectors, where in conventional systems, it is only possible to distinguish between complete loops of detectors. Due to that, addressable systems offer a much higher level of safety, as the location of any starting fire can be determined more precisely and many precautionary actions can be automatically started up at the designated location.
Contrary to conventional systems, addressable systems always operate on a specific communication protocol, send out from the operation panel. Due to this, addressable fire detection and alarm systems can only function properly when using original components that are able to act and respond to the specific system protocol used.
Below, you can select your required spare parts for addressable fire detection systems from Eltek. |
In recent years, many companies have asked new and continuing employees at all levels to sign non-compete, non-solicitation, and non-recruitment agreements. Sometimes, these restrictive covenants are part of a carefully negotiated employment agreement for an employee managing sensitive or valuable projects. Often, however, these agreements are boilerplate clauses tucked into hiring documents that a new employee may not understand (or even read).
When a worker is subject to restrictive covenants and tries to leave employment and get another job in their field, they may find themselves defending against threats of legal action by their former employer. Workers who are laid off indefinitely or terminated due to the COVID-19 coronavirus may be unpleasantly surprised to find their previous employer attempting to enforce restrictive covenants and prevent them from working for competitors, or worse, a wider range of companies.
The Arguments For and Against Non-Compete, Non-Solicitation, and Non-Recruitment Agreements
Restrictive covenants protect an employer’s legitimate business interests, and the laws vary from state to state on what circumstances are necessary for them to be enforceable. In general, an agreement must be narrowly tailored to protect legitimate business interests while limiting restrictions on an employee’s ability to freely pursue their trade. Some courts look at restrictive covenants on a case-by-case basis for reasonableness; others have more specific rules, such as requiring they be limited in time, place, and scope (e.g., restricting a dentist from opening a dental practice within 10 miles of his current employer for two years after voluntary termination of employment).
States agree, however, that non-compete agreements may not be used to punish or bully employees. Agreements that force a worker to choose between staying at their company or being unable to continue to work in their profession are not permitted. If a non-compete agreement seems to restrict a worker’s right to seek other employment as a punishment or threat rather than legitimately protecting a company’s interests, a court may conclude it is unenforceable as a matter of public policy. By applying specific guidelines or a general standard of reasonableness, courts balance the potential harm to an employer against the potential burden on an employee.
Public Policy Considerations
Unfortunately, defending against legal action can be expensive and time-consuming for an employee. Workers may not be able to support themselves while they struggle to resolve or avoid a lawsuit. Some courts have refused to enforce these agreements against low-wage workers on public policy grounds in the past few years. The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has worsened this situation, causing restrictions on mobility, a rise in unemployment, and the decimation of certain industries (like travel, hospitality, aviation, live entertainment, recreation, and others). Many workers have been laid off as businesses close temporarily or permanently. The overall uncertainty has caused many companies to pause or delay new hiring.
Because of this, some courts have refused to uphold restrictive covenants against former employees who face a much more difficult re-employment landscape than either party anticipated when they were initially agreed to by the employee. Lockdowns, travel restrictions, health concerns, and the economic recession have contributed additional burdens and impediments to former employees already weighted down by restrictive covenants.
Plus, the increased prevalence of working from home complicates the determination of whether an employee is complying with geographic restrictions. For example, would a worker subject to a provision that they cannot work for a competitor within a 50-mile radius be violating that restrictive covenant if their remote work location is within those boundaries, even if the employer’s business location is not?
A few recent decisions indicate that courts are giving great weight to the increased difficulty of finding new employment, relocating, or changing career paths and tending towards non-enforcement of broad restrictive covenants.
In Texas, a federal judge refused to grant injunctive relief to a multimillion-dollar landscaping company against a former employee now working for a competitor in violation of his non-competition agreement. The court in Yellowstone Landscape v. Fuentes concluded the defendant, who “earns approximately $70,000 per year and supports a family of five… [would] lose his job and be out of work in the middle of a pandemic if an injunction is granted.”
A federal court in Indiana took “judicial notice of the broad-scale economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that cast doubt on [the defendant] ’s employment prospects, as it does for the vast majority of Americans during these challenging times.”
In balancing the harms of enforcing restrictive covenants against a group of indefinitely laid-off employees, a federal judge in Pennsylvania took pains to note that:
In light of the coronavirus pandemic and closing of nonessential businesses, employment opportunities were limited. The harm to [defendant employee] if an injunction is granted is great as he will once again be without a job and income. Although the stay-at-home orders issued by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ended on June 4, 2020, not all businesses are open…. The likelihood of [defendant] finding employment at this time is therefore reduced, especially if [he] is enjoined from working with a competing company, which is the area in which he has the most experience. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rates over the past few months are the highest in more than seventy years.
Don’t Automatically Assume An Employment Agreement’s Restrictive Covenant Is Invalid
Although courts may consider the plight of workers seeking new employment in a tight job market, this doesn’t mean that all restrictive covenants are now unenforceable. Particularly, decisions regarding confidentiality, trade secret, non-disclosure, and non-solicitation provisions may be generally unaffected. As the court noted in another Texas federal decision, difficult employment situations and increased difficulties in conducting court business do not excuse a defendant’s blatant violations of his restrictive covenants or the need for timely injunctive relief
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, some courts may decline to enforce covenants they might have deemed reasonable six months ago because of the increased harm to workers or to further the greater public good. If you have questions about the enforceability of a restrictive covenant, please consult with an experienced attorney. |
‘Equality is a right, not a hand-out or a tool for political negotiations.’
Oxford Human Rights Hub have published the conclusions of a September 2017 workshop on the impact of Brexit on equality law.
These conclusions, The Impact of Brexit on Equality Rights (pdf) focus on five questions:
- How can the right to equality best be protected and advanced while at the same time respecting Parliamentary sovereignty?
a. Should there be a preamble stating the values behind the EA to guide judicial interpretation?
b. Should there be a ‘non-retrogression’ clause to protect existing rights?
c. How can the EA be protected in the Withdrawal Bill?
d. How can we be sure that the powers devolved to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are preserved in relation to equality, especially in the light of proposals for attempting to regulate trade on a UK wide basis?
- Should the existing case-law from the Court of Justice of the European Union continue to play a role in the development of the right to equality, and if so what role?
- What role should the Human Rights Act 1998 play in protecting equality rights and should the UK’s remaining international commitments on the right to equality be given a more prominent role after Brexit?
- How should particular rights be protected, for example rights to equal pay for work of equal value, protection for pregnant workers and parental leave and equal rights for part-time workers?
- What clauses are needed in future free trade agreements to protect rights? |
People on incomes 10% to 30% below the minimum income standard are being excluded from legal aid.
This is according to a March 2018 report by the University of Loughborough, commissioned by the Law Society on access to justice.
The report shows that poverty-hit families are being denied vital help to fight eviction, tackle severe housing disrepair and address other life-changing legal issues.
It also finds that even those below the disposable income limit, while eligible for legal aid, are required to make a contribution to legal costs, unless their income is extremely low.
In some cases, to access capital for legal aid, is likely to mean selling a home, which is likely to take at least three months, and for many people a lot longer.
Law Society president Joe Egan said:
No-one in modern society should have to choose between accessing the justice system and a minimum living standard. |
BOSTON - In patients with advanced ovarian cancer, a combination of drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors and PARP inhibitors can produce powerful remissions, clinical trials have shown, but up until now investigators haven't been able to predict which patients won't benefit from the treatment and should explore other options. A new study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers, is showing that it's now possible to identify such patients in advance.
The study, published online today by Nature Communications, will help investigators testing this combination direct such patients to trials that may have a better chance of helping them.
The study authors found that two factors - a specific pattern of gene mutations in the tumor cells and evidence of a vigorous immune response to the cancer - are markers of whether patients will respond to the combination therapy. Patients whose tumor tissue had either of these features were more likely to have their disease held in check for an extended period of time, whereas those whose tissue lacked either feature showed no benefit from the drug combination.
"By taking these factors into account, researchers leading trials of this combination in patients with advanced, chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancer may select individuals who may respond to this combination of drugs," says Panagiotis Konstantinopoulos, MD, PhD, director of translational research, Gynecologic Oncology, at Dana-Farber, the co-senior author of the study with Alan D. D'Andrea, MD, director of Dana-Farber's Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers.
While checkpoint inhibitors - which strip tumors of certain protections against an attack by the immune system - work exceptionally well in many types of cancer, ovarian cancer has been an exception. The PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab, for example, produces responses in less than 5% of patients with PD-L1-negative cancers. The same is true of PARP inhibitors, which undermine cancer cells by reducing their ability to repair DNA damage. As a single agent, the PARP inhibitor niraparib has a beneficial effect in just 3% of patients with ovarian cancer that is resistant to platinum-based chemotherapy and isn't BRCA-mutated.
When checkpoint and PARP inhibitors are used together, however, those benefits multiply. The TOPACIO/Keynote-162 clinical trial led by Konstantinopoulos found that the pembrolizumab-niraparib combination produced complete or partial responses - total or limited shrinkage of ovarian tumors - in 18% of patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Furthermore, 65% of the study participants had their disease kept under control. For some of those who responded, the benefits lasted for well over a year. The results were especially impressive because all the participants had received multiple previous treatments for ovarian cancer, making them especially hard to treat.
Encouraging as these findings were, study leaders had no way to determine, in advance, which participants wouldn't be helped by the therapy. To see if they could be identified, Konstantinopoulos and his colleagues conducted two analyses of participants' tumor samples: a letter-by-letter search of the tumor cells' genome for abnormalities, and a census of "exhausted" immune system T cells within the tumor tissue. (T cells are said to be exhausted when they are primed to attack tumor cells but fail to do so. Tumors containing large numbers of such T cells can be especially vulnerable to checkpoint-inhibiting drugs.) The researchers then correlated their findings with information on whether, and how extensively, patients responded to the combination therapy.
They found that patients whose tumor cells carried either "mutational signature 3" (a pattern of gene mutations associated with an inability to repair certain kinds of DNA damage) or a "positive immune score" (a measure of signaling activity between tumor cells and the immune system) may derive a benefit from the pembrolizumab-niraparib combination. Patients whose cells lacked either of these features received no such benefit.
"Patients with advanced or metastatic ovarian cancer who are resistant to standard platinum-based chemotherapy agents often have few further options for treatment," Konstantinopoulos remarks. "Our findings will help ensure that patients for whom a PARP inhibitor-checkpoint inhibitor combination won't be beneficial can focus on other clinical trials of treatments that may be more effective for them."
The co-first authors of the study are Anniina Färkkilä, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber; Doga Gulhan, PhD, of Harvard Medical School; and Julia Casado, MS, of the University of Helsinki. Co-authors are Huy Nguyen, MS, Bose Kochupurakkal, PhD, Dipanjan Chowdhury, PhD, Geoffrey I. Shapiro, MD, PhD, Ursula A. Matulonis, MD, and Peter J. Park, PhD, of Dana-Farber; Connor A. Jacobson, Zoltan Maliga, PhD, Clarence Yapp, DPhil, Yu-An Chen, MS, Denis Schapiro, PhD, and Peter K. Sorger, PhD, of Harvard Medical School; Yinghui Zhou, PhD, Julie R. Graham, PhD, and Bruce J. Dezube, MD, of TESARO, Waltham, Mass.; Pamela Munster, MD, of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, Calif.; Sandro Santagata, MD, PhD, Elizabeth Garcia, PhD, Scott Rodig, MD, PhD, and Ana Lako, of Brigham and Women's Hospital; Sampsa Hautaniemi, DTech, of the University of Helsinki; and Elizabeth M. Swisher, MD, of the University of Washington.
The study was supported by a grant from Stand Up to Cancer, the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, TESARO, GSK Company, and Merck & Co.
About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is one of the world's leading centers of cancer research and treatment. It is one of the only hospitals ranked in the top five by U.S. News and World Report in both adult and pediatric cancer care. Dana-Farber's mission is to reduce the burden of cancer through scientific inquiry, clinical care, education, community engagement, and advocacy. We provide the latest in cancer for adults through Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Care and for children through Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. Dana-Farber is dedicated to a unique and equal balance between cancer research and care, translating the results of discovery into new treatments for patients locally and around the world. |
Gibraltar has banned almost any form of human contact with its Barbary macaques to protect the animals from catching coronavirus.
In a statement published on Friday (May 29), the government of the British territory said that it wants to minimise the risk of them "contracting the disease and becoming ill or dying".
The species has proven in the past to be "prone to succumb to human disease" such as hepatitis, the government said, adding that "primates elsewhere have been "susceptible to catching COVID-19."
At the moment there is no evidence of Barbary macaques having contracted the virus in Gibraltar.
The bill, which will amend the current Animals Act, classifies touching the animals as an "offence" except "under licence for management, research or veterinary purposes."
Feeding the species is already illegal and is subjected to a €555 fine.
Barbary macaques, the only free-roaming monkeys in Europe, are mostly found at the top of the Upper Rock area of the Gibraltar Nature Reserve, a point that is accessed by tourists via cable car.
The government of Gibraltar believes that the monkey's presence in the area dates back to the Muslim occupation of the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century.
Gibraltar has been little affected by the pandemic, with 169 confirmed cases and zero deaths so far, while neighbouring Spain is one of the worst-hit countries in Europe, accounting for over 27,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. |
|Author (Person)||Schuman, Robert|
The Schuman Declaration was presented by French foreign minister Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950. It proposed the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), whose members would pool coal and steel production.
In 1950, the nations of Europe were still struggling to overcome the devastation wrought by World War II. Determined to prevent another such terrible war, a group of European governments concluded that pooling coal and steel production would make war between historic rivals France and Germany 'not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible'. It was thought that merging of economic interests would help raise standards of living and be the first step towards a more united Europe. Membership of the ECSC was open to other countries.
The ECSC was the first of a series of supranational European institutions that would ultimately become the European Union. Its founding members were France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
|Subject Tags||History of EU Integration|
|Countries / Regions||France, Germany|
|International Organisations||European Coal and Steel Community [ECSC]| |
Biological and Environmental Research / DOE
Dr. Weatherwax is the Associate Director of Science for Biological and Environmental Research (BER) within the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the principal federal funding agency of the Nation’s research programs in high-energy physics, nuclear physics, fusion energy sciences, materials and chemical sciences, biological and environmental sciences, and computing sciences. BER's $700M annual budget supports transformative science and scientific user facilities to achieve a predictive understanding of complex biological, earth, and environmental systems for energy and infrastructure security, independence, and prosperity.Since joining the DOE in 1999, Dr. Weatherwax has managed a broad research portfolio including Energy Biosciences, the joint USDA-DOE Plant Feedstock Genomics for Bioenergy, the Bioenergy Research Centers, and the Joint Genome Institute.
Dr. Weatherwax received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from UCBerkeley and was an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow in Plant Biology. She has been an ASPB member for over 20 years, and is a Fellow of AAAS.
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM EDT |
Last week, we opened a discussion with 3 of our coaches on managing poor performance, with a post from Marg Lennon. This week we hear from Paula Liverani-Brooks, a Human Resources leader in multinational organisations ranging from Bio-Tech to Consumer Goods and Financial institutions. Paula says:
We have all been evaluated on our performance objectives and more and more companies include behaviours when talking about performance. Poor performance is when someone is unable to meet their KPIs either in terms of objectives or behaviours or both.
As managers we all know that it is much easier to help someone who is lacking technical skills. We can teach them how to improve, find a solution and even send them to a training course. When it comes to behaviours it is always harder.
“Type 1: shares our values; makes the numbers—sky’s the limit!
Type 2: shares the values; misses the numbers—typically, another chance, or two.
Type 3: doesn’t share the values; doesn’t make the numbers—gone.
Type 4 is the toughest call of all: the manager who doesn’t share the values, but delivers the numbers. This type is the toughest to part with because organizations always want to deliver and to let someone go who gets the job done is yet another unnatural act. But we have to remove these Type 4s because they have the power, by themselves, to destroy the open, informal, trust-based culture we need to win today and tomorrow.
We made our leap forward when we began removing our Type 4 managers and making it clear to the entire company why they were asked to leave—not for the usual “personal reasons” or “to pursue other opportunities,” but for not sharing our values. Until an organization develops the courage to do this, people will never have full confidence that these soft values are truly real.”
If only performance management were always as easy as it was for Jack Welch!
I do share the notion that behaviours are incredibly important but things are not always as straightforward in today’s world. It is our job as managers to make sure that we identify the issues before we can legally or morally terminate people.
So, even though I share Jack’s principles, I think that when it comes to performance as a manager the first thing you need to do is set expectations. The clearer the expectations are, the easier it is to become good at performance management. At the same time the expectations need to be MUTUAL – so you need to have a dialogue!
It is important that when you set expectations you do not do this as a one-way exercise. As a manager, you need to be able to get the dialogue going. Setting expectations is the opposite of micro-managing, so make sure you have those frank and honest conversations about what needs to be done, what behaviours you would like to observe and what the timelines are.
Once that is done it is important to have updates and check-ups, to see what type of help is needed and where corrections need to be made. Managing people is a full-time job and how well you do it will also directly affect your results. You want your team to succeed because that will also reflect positively on you.
Contributor: Paula Liverani-Brooks is an executive coach based in Sydney and is available Australia-wide by arrangement. Paula is a Human Resources leader who has extensive experience in multinational organisations ranging from Bio-Tech to Consumer Goods and Financial institutions. |
Meghan Markle: It is believed she will break the white wedding flowers royal tradition
- Meghan Markle, 36, is set to marry Prince Harry on Saturday May 19 this year in a ceremony at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
- She will carry peonies, her favourite flower, as part of her wedding bouqet, a florist has predicted.
- The colour of these flowers may break a royal tradition held by everyone from Kate Middleton, 36, to Queen Elizabeth, 91.
Meghan's wedding bouquet will most likely contain peonies, a florist predicts.
“May is the prime season for peonies, and I would not be at all surprised if they feature heavily in the floral content,” said florist Anna-Liisa Evans.
Peonies are known to be Meghan’s favourite bloom, featuring heavily on her deleted Instagram account.
It is also said Meghan will carry myrtle on her wedding day, which is a royal tradition.
May is the prime season for peonies, and I would not be at all surprised if they feature heavily in the floral conten
But will Meghan break royal tradition on her wedding day? It is said her wedding bouquet will have a crucial difference from brides before her.
Tradition in the royal family is for brides to have a wedding bouquet of all white flowers.
'White, the symbol of purity and fidelity has featured in all recent royal weddings, from Queen Elizabeth II, through to Princess Diana and Kate Middleton.
However, Anna-Liisa predicts rather than sticking to white peonies, Meghan will choose peonies in “a fabulous array of colours” instead.
Meghan Markle: Kate Middleton held white flowers on her wedding day
Anna-Liisa compared this choice to previous royal brides, like Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge.
“Kate’s choice was less structured, although still very fragrant, instead eschewing the previous trend for orchid heavy bouquets for something created out of fabulous delicate home grown seasonal flowers, such as hyacinth and lily of the valley.”
She described Princess Diana’s bouquet as “a cascading cacophony of heavily fragrant flowers including gardenias, stephanotis, freesia, lily of the valley”.
Meghan is breaking another royal tradition on her wedding day to Prince Harry.
Meghan Markle: It is also believed she will make a speech on her wedding day
Meghan will reportedly give a speech at her wedding, which is a departure from Royal marital tradition.
It was recently revealed that the couple will make a special visit before their wedding day.
Meghan and Prince Harry will visit Princess Diana’s grave ahead of their May wedding, said an insider.
“Harry has already taken Meghan to Althorp to see his mum, but they will go back before the big day.” |
|Mature Height:||5-8 ft.|
|Mature Width:||2-3 ft.|
|Botanical Name:||Rosa 'Cherish'|
|Does Not Ship To:||AZ|
|Grows Well In Zones:||6-10 outdoors|
|You are in Growing Zone:||#|
Growing Zones: 6-10 outdoors(hardy down to 0℉)
Orange-Pink Double Blooms Last Months
Why Cherish Rose Trees?
An abundance of orange-pink double roses in full, fresh clusters make Cherish Rose Tree a true garden favorite. The Cherish Rose is a floribunda variety, giving you a soft fragrance and good reblooming potential throughout the season.
This showy, fragrant variety blooms over three seasons: spring, summer, and even into fall. It's ideal for pollinator gardens since it attracts bees and because it delivers a sweet, mild aroma, the Cherish is well-suited for cutting to spread its beauty indoors.
Why Fast-Growing-Trees.com is Better
We've sourced, planted, and nurtured your Cherish Rose Tree before we ship it out to give you an explosion of growth when it arrives at your doorstep. Now, you reap the rewards of our hard work...and get continuous blooms across three seasons.
You won't see orange-red color and sweet fragrance like this from the rose varieties at your local garden center. This tried-and-true floribunda hybrid is known for its carefree elegance and rich, second-to-none color.
So, these trees will quickly sell out...don't wait. Order your Cherish Rose Tree today!
Planting & Care
1. Planting: Select a well-drained site in full to partial sun (4 to 8 hours of sunlight per day). If you choose a partial sun location, make sure your roses receive at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day (afternoon shade is better than morning shade).
First, space 3 feet apart if planting multiple trees. Dig a hole twice as wide and twice as deep as the root ball. Backfill the soil until you have a hole the same size or slightly larger than the container the rose is in. Plant the rose at the same depth as it is in the container. Mulch around the base of the tree to keep competing weeds and grasses from growing.
2. Watering: Water around the roots rather than overhead, and water about once or twice weekly. Mulching will greatly assist with soil moisture retention.
3. Fertilizing: Fertilize with an organic rose fertilizer once a month.
4. Pruning: Sterilize your sharp pruning shears with hot water or rubbing alcohol, and always prune at an angle. Start by pruning back a little in the spring after the last hard freeze, and remove dead or old canes.
You can still order, but due to cold weather, we have delayed shipping to the areas shaded on the map below. We want your new plant to thrive right out of the box, so we will wait on shipping your order until the weather is ideal. This includes anyone in
Growing Zones 3, 4, 5 & 6. If you are unsure of your growing zone, visit our
Growing Zone Finder.
Some plants are not available for immediate shipment, and delayed delivery is noted.
We will resume normal shipping in the Spring. Please see the table below for your approximate ship date.
|Growing Zone||Shipping Resumes|
|Zones 3 & 4||Week of May 3rd|
|Zone 5||Week of April 10th|
|Zone 6||Week of March 29th|
|Zones 7 - 11||Ships Now!|
Estimated Shipping Time: Most orders ship immediately. As noted on the website, some items are seasonal, and may only ship in spring or fall. Once your order is shipped, you'll receive an email with a tracking number.
|Amount of Order||Shipping Charge|
|Less than $15||$11.95|
|$179 +||FREE SHIPPING!| |
It’s easy to get fired up and take control of your company.
Well, it is for a day!
The harder thing is taking control of your company for the long run. A short burst of focus and energy is rarely maintained because it’s tough to keep investing the type of energy and drive it takes to keep the business momentum going in the right direction.
Running a company is a lot like trying to push a rock up a hill. There may be some places that are flat to rest but it’s only a resting place for so long. More times than not there is no time or place to rest and when you stop advancing the rock forward it comes sliding back as fast if not faster than you pushed it up the hill.
Can it get exhausting? Yes!
What other choice is there?First of all, get more people to help you push the rock because the work is easier with many people helping.
Then, look ahead so you see where you’re going. Find the easiest path up the hill and start proactively removing the obstacles in your way that make pushing the rock up the hill harder than it has to be.
Here are just 5 big obstacles you might run into:
Allowing staff members to actually push the rock down the hill and against your
best efforts because they would seek to sabotage the good efforts of those who
are trying to help. Why do they do it? Sometimes, they feel it’s job security
and sometimes it’s just their makeup. It doesn’t matter much because they
either must get onboard or go. They may not make it obvious that they’re out to
defeat your effort but it’s rare the team doesn’t know who is working against
them. Go out and ride along or do a side by side and it will become clearer as
to who is helping and who is hurting the efforts. You must accept that like a
rock on a hill corporate progress rarely is stagnant. It’s either moving
forward or sliding backwards.
2. Special treatment for a chosen few takes the heart out of the team who is pushing hard. Nepotism, favoritism and more are the enemies of a cohesive effort. And it takes a tough fair-minded leader to navigate around these impediments to progress.
3. Not empowering and/or trusting your staff to help. You think you are the only one who knows how to push the rock the right way and they know you don’t trust them. This is sad because unless you learn how to build a team, build trust and get buy-in, your progress is doomed.
4. No clear incentive to those who are willing to move the rock forward. Without rewards like bonuses, compensation gains, a chance for promotion and more…they won’t see how their hard work pays off for them and not just you. Your efforts will be undermined and whatever success you experience is likely to be short lived.
5. A loss of focus because there are too many paths to choose from. Eventually, paralysis sets in and nothing changes for the better. Or, each day there is a new crisis to focus on because lack of advanced planning and execution of business fundamentals makes picking the easier path to the top tough to nearly impossible.
There is no “game over” in business. Business is a series of adjustments. The longer you’re in business the more you should have experienced the ups and downs and sideways. A true leader finds and builds the right team, gives them powerful incentives to win and helps select the easier path to success for all. |
Scientists in Germany used a juiced-up laser to deliver data at 26 terabits per second (Tbps) over an optical fiber cable, apparently establishing a new world record, they said, or at least surpassing their previous best of 10 Tbps.
Led by German's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the group of scientists used a single laser to create a swath of pulses (called frequency combs), separated them, used fat Fourier transform to magnify them into 325 color channels, then sent them down a 50 kilometer cable where another optical fast Fourier transform encoded them back into data. The pulses carried the equivalent of 200,000 high resolution images in one second.
While in the very early experimental stages, the scientific work could in the end be the savior of such bandwidth consumptive services as cloud computing and, more importantly, 3D TV and other similarly fat pipe services such as virtual reality.
- ZDNet has this story
Network traffic: Strong growth ahead, but is it sustainable?
ASC International, Alcatel-Lucent to build submarine cable linking Western Australia to Asia |
How modern technology will help multilateral development banks evolve and unleash their potential
In our earlier post, 'Only A Common Platform Can Help MDBs Drive The SGD 2030 Program’ , we looked at the need for Multilateral Development Banks (MDB) to transform their business models if they are to become a pivotal force in attracting the private sector to reach the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
However, to achieve this, two conditions must be met:
- The creation of a collaborative platform shared by all actors to share critical data (as discussed in the blog mentioned above)
- To have balance sheet management, risk, and regulatory management As a Service that’s available anytime, anywhere
In this post, we’ll take a look at the second condition and discuss how the adoption of modern technology will unlock the potential of MDBs.
Adopting new technology
The transformation journey needed to help MDBs achieve the goals of the SDG 2030 program will be delivered by the adoption of modern predictive technology, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Deep Learning, advanced analytics, and Big Data.
These new building blocks will:
- Deliver value. Innovation in products and services will lead to more financial inclusion
- Create new operating models. Financial institutions become leaner and more specialized but dependent on the abilities of big tech firms
- Change competitive dynamics. The sharing of data will be vital to competitive success so early adoption is essential
- Challenge public policy. AI raises challenging questions, which will lead to a new set of regulatory and risk norms
All of this means an upheaval of capabilities, resources, relationships, and potential. Old bonds will break. New ones will form. The value-at-stake from the use of such advanced analytics in banking is significant. Therefore, many MDBs have started to experiment in this space, investing in foundational capabilities.
For MDBs to unlock the potential of Big Data and advanced analytics, they need to take an integrated approach with a broad understanding of the solution ecosystem, including business-driven vision tightly linked to use-cases and results. However, they mustn't overlook the importance of 'small data' that is readily available to them by using statistical tools such as ML.
Data is a huge factor when it comes to collaboration, but the first critical building block of transformation has to be making it available anytime, anywhere balance sheet, risk management, and regulatory services.
Getting to grips with risk
If MDBs are to attract private sector investment to fulfil the SDGs 2030 goals, they must weigh up every decision and action in terms of impacts and consequences.
On top of traditional exposures, new types of risk are expected to materialize, requiring continuous assessment and active management.
These risks must be adequately assessed and monitored. The ability to see them is half the battle in terms of mitigation and pro-active actions to prevent default. Which is why, using modern, forward-looking technologies, such as AI and ML, in conjunction with Big Data and open platforms, MDBs can use a mix of financial, socio-political, geographical, and behavioural data to create a unique source of information from which they can make more precise, informed risk-weighted decisions.
Business models must change to achieve greater vision
The developing and emerging world need help now rather than later. The only way this can be achieved is by MDBs embracing new technologies and common open platforms to harness the power of Big Data.
These shared insights will help mitigate the risk that currently acts as a barrier to private investment. If the goals of SDG 2030 are to be achieved, MDBs must transform their business to create the necessary conditions required to attract the much-needed private sector investment.
Finastra is fostering collaboration with its FusionFabric.cloud open platform. To learn more about the platform, and specifically how it can facilitate data sharing among MDBs, governments, the private sector, and other stakeholders, please contact us at email@example.com, or visit www.FusionFabric.cloud.
Click here to read part 1 : Platforms to help multilateral development banks drive sustainable development goals |
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