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Don’t panic – it shouldn’t be permanent (or hurt) like a tattoo. In fact, there would probably be no ink involved whatsoever.
Like the red-skinned imprint on your face if you fall asleep on your watch-hand, phones in the near-future could translate all those digital ones-and-zeroes into a small, raised message on the surface of a phone.
The user could then press their hand, thumb or finger down on the surface to get a temporary ‘tracing’ of the message, avoiding the unnecessary rudeness of picking up your phone during those high-flying business deals.
A special material, which is tentatively called SkinDisplay, would convert those phone messages or missed calls into a physical surface.
Vitamins Design director, Clara Gaggero, told Metropolis Mag that the continuing development of piezoelectric technology (where electricity can deform the material, and the reverse) makes the idea very much possible.
Sponsored by BlackBerry makers Research In Motion (RIM) and the Royal College of Art’s Helen Hamlyn Center, the project was developed by Vitamins Design, the same group involved with Nokia’s Push Snowboarding project that we got to try out.
Another idea from the project, aimed at reducing the invasiveness of mobile phones on day-to-day life, was SmartCall. This system would let you indicate the urgency, subject, and deadline for all of your phone calls.
Still very much an initial concept, RIM is apparently already seeking a patent on the ideas developed, though Wall Street Journal contributor, Christopher Shea sounds a bit nervous at the idea of it all. We think it sounds pretty cool- as long as messages aren’t emblazoned across our foreheads.
Updated: We just talked to Clara from Vitamins Design, and she sent us this cool video about the project, and how it could all work. See more at her website. |
I have spent some time thinking about how we can convert our big fish tank into a greenhouse to start seeds in, while also making sure the cats couldn’t jump in.
The original covers the tank came with would have been ideal, but the hinges on those broke long ago.
Since a piece of the filtration system broke during the move, it’s just been sitting in a corner. To keep the cats out, we cut pieces of foam core to fit across the top, then covered the whole thing with a huge table cloth. It turned out to be a great place to store baskets in, and the top became a favorite place for the cats to hang out.
Until they broke through.
We ended up cutting some rigid insulation to fit and taping it in place, which worked much better. With their jumping from the piano onto the top of the tank, though, they’ve knocked even that right off!
What this means is that the cats are used to having access to the top of this tank. If I set it up as a greenhouse to start seeds, they’re just going to jump in, unless I find a way to cover it.
The tank has a bar across the centre and, after thinking about it for a while, I decided to make a pair of wood frames with hardware cloth, that will fit on each side of that centre bar. That way, if I need to get at the seed trays inside, I just need to lift one smaller cover at a time, rather than struggling with one large cover.
I fully expect the cats to jump on while I try to do anything in there!
Today, I got started.
The first thing was to take a tape measure to the inside of each half of the top, as well as the lip the original covers used to sit on. Each side is 16 3/4 inches by 22 3/4 inches. The ends and centre bar have a 1/2 inch lip, while the sides have a 1/4 inch lip.
I then grabbed a couple of pieces of wood I’d salvaged from a shed and started by cutting the long sides. Once I had 4 of them cut, I double checked that they fit properly.
They fit just fine, with a little bit of play that will make putting them in and taking them out easier.
While I was checking the fit, my daughter came by. As we were talking, she reminded me of one of her Christmas gifts to me.
I wish I’d remembered them before I took the measurements! This thing is MUCH easier for me to read than the tiny lines and numbers on my tape measure. It made marking the distance to cut the short pieces a lot easier, too.
Another reason I wish I’d remembered them before I took the measurements.
When I checked the short pieces, they were just a hair too long! The difference is so slight, I could probably sand it to size.
But I shouldn’t need to.
This is how the frame will be laid out. The hardware cloth will be sandwiched between the top and bottom pieces at the corners. I haven’t figure out what I can use to secure the hardware cloth best. Ideally, the wire mesh would be sandwiched between wood all the way around, not just at the corners, but I just don’t have the wood to do that. Nor can I think of anything we have that could be used in a similar way. Whatever I come up with will have to not just support the weight of a cat that’s decided to lie on it, but the force of a cat jumping onto it from the top of the piano. All sorts of ideas some to mind, and get discarded just as quickly.
The thing I’m holding in place in the photo is one of the supports for the light fixture. The L bars insert into ports at the bottom of the light’s frame, so where they are is where the bottom of the light fixture will be.
Once I double checked how everything was going to fit together, I moved on to the next step.
Washing the pieces of wood.
They were probably sitting in the shed I found them in for more than 10 years. My mother tells me that shed was full of lumber when she moved off the farm, some 7 years ago, so what little we found in there was the junk that wasn’t worth stealing, I guess. Still better than nothing, I suppose. Anyhow. There was a whole lot of grime on them, so I gave the pieces of wood a quick scrub. They don’t need to be really clean. I just need to be able to handle them without getting filthy, and trying to scrub them after the hardware cloth is in place is just not a good idea! 😀
So they are now all laid out in the basement with a fan on them, do dry. I will continue to work on the frames tomorrow!
One of the recommendations for using grow lights to start seeds is to have the lights very close to the soil, and gradually increase the distance as the seedlings grow.
That won’t be an option with this set up.
I’m thinking of lining the inside of the tank with aluminum foil to reflect more light onto the seedlings. It doesn’t need to be from top to bottom; just at seed tray height. Which means I could probably get away with lining all 4 sides with foil in the big tank. I will probably line 3 sides of the 20 gallon tank, too.
The other thing to consider is warmth. We don’t have grow mats, and it’s unlikely we will be able to get any. We do, however, have more pieces of rigid insulation that we can put under the trays, or even along the sides closest to the walls. The LED lights won’t generate heat, but I’m sure we could find some way to warm up the tanks enough for seeds to germinate.
Progress on the set up has, at least, finally begun! |
The Real Cost of Heroin Will Blow Your Mind
21.9 billion dollars. That’s how much heroin costs our nation each year. And the cost is absorbed in three main areas:
- About a fourth of those dollars are health care expenses.
- Roughly another fourth are law and criminal justice costs.
- The remaining half (53 percent) comes in the form of lost productivity.
This breaks down to about three percent of the dollars coming from health insurance companies, and 46 percent coming from Uncle Sam. That’s right – the U.S. government pays nearly half the cost of heroin addiction in the nation. And the rest? It’s covered by institutions and state taxpayers.
If those numbers aren’t staggering enough, wait till’ you see the personal cost of using heroin…
Let’s do the Math
The average cost for heroin use is $150 per day – or $54,750 per year. Based on 2014 Census Bureau data, the median household income in America is $51,939. So over half the population makes less than the cost of using heroin for a year.
That doesn’t seem to stop our nation from using, though.
The most recent reports reveal that 669,000 people used heroin in the past year. Doing some quick math, if each of these people had an average $150 per day habit, that’s more than $36 billion spent on heroin each year.
A Lot More Than Money
Of course, there’s way more than financial cost involved with heroin use. In fact, the biggest costs aren’t even calculable. Heroin takes lives. Each year, heroin use robs our nation of 11,000 people.
Those who escape this ultimate cost pay significantly in other ways:
- A heroin habit costs you your health. Across the nation, emergency departments get an average of 201 visits each day thanks to heroin use.
- It costs you any hope at financial security. Who can save for the future when they need to buy a hit every couple hours?
- It’s likely to cost you your job and career. A failed drug screen could result in a pink slip or prevent you from landing a job. Struggling through withdrawal on the job also makes working a full shift extremely difficult.
- You may lose your freedom, if incarcerated. Penalties for drug possession vary by state and range from fines of $100 and/or a few days in jail to thousands of dollars and several years in prison.
- You also pay a high cost in relationships. Family and friends suffer, connections are often severed and relationships are lost.
Your dreams. Your family. Your life. Clearly, heroin costs a lot more than $150 a day.
Image Source: iStock |
A few years ago I set up an Organic food box subscription service in North GA. I sourced my produce from a blend of regional suppliers and small local producers; this included grass-fed beef, raw milk, raw honey. One day I was talking with a local small-holder who was supplying free-range, organic chickens. Towards the end of our conversation he said “I think what you’re doing is great, but I also think it’s really important that you actually produce something yourself in addition to re-selling”.
This reminded me of something a University Professor had said to a group of us years before. She had told us that our course was going to be extremely challenging, and that finding an avenue for personal creative expression would be very beneficial for our mental well-being.
This is echoed by ASU Clinical Associate Professor Dr. Glidden-Tracey, PhD. She has a specific interest in mindful expression as it relates to mental health.
“I am convinced that having positive creative outlets can not only help to counteract the effects of stress, but also strengthens people’s resilience,” she said.
Often what starts out as an act of creative expression becomes routine. For those of us invested in health and longevity, regular exercise and healthy food preparation fall into this category; perhaps not monotonous, but a cycle nonetheless.
The current climate of mandates suppress much of our expression on a social and participatory footing and we are forced to look closer to home and turn inward to find new avenues for bringing our essence into the world.
New skill acquisition is not enough in itself, although it can be a stepping stone in achieving this goal. For example, I have enrolled in a Calisthenics course online. Through this new skill-set I am able to express myself physically in a novel way, but it still only replaces other forms of physical expression within the realm of a regular exercise cycle.
A long-held desire I’ve had is to be able to express myself musically. In light of this, I have maintained a regular weekly guitar lesson, whether in person, or via Zoom call. Despite being a considerably bigger challenge than a new exercise modality, it opens more avenues for novel creative expression. It has also created an offshoot interest in guitar maintenance and upgrading, and I have to date finished two complete component replacement and re-wiring projects. This has added to both my skill and knowledge base, and will serve as a stepping stone towards my own, true, unique expression through the instrument and music.
The Psychedelic Philosopher and Bard Terrence McKenna famously said: “We have to create culture, don’t watch TV, don’t read magazines, don’t even listen to NPR. Create your own roadshow. The nexus of space and time where you are now is the most immediate sector of your universe, and if you’re worrying about Michael Jackson or Bill Clinton or somebody else, then you are disempowered, you’re giving it all away to icons, icons which are maintained by an electronic media so that you want to dress like X or have lips like Y. This is shit-brained, this kind of thinking. That is all cultural diversion, and what is real is you and your friends and your associations, your highs, your orgasms, your hopes, your plans, your fears. And we are told ‘no’, we’re unimportant, we’re peripheral. ‘Get a degree, get a job, get a this, get a that.’ And then you’re a player, you don’t want to even play in that game. You want to reclaim your mind and get it out of the hands of the cultural engineers who want to turn you into a half-baked moron consuming all this trash that’s being manufactured out of the bones of a dying world.”
Even something as simple as writing a blog is an avenue for the genuine expression of self, and as it has never been written before (in this exact form), an act of creation; brining novelty into the world. Whether it is ever read at all does nothing to detract from the creative act, so even simple journalling can be helpful; just make sure it’s not just the repetitive grinding of mentation.
So start creating, something, anything, it doesn’t matter (especially not at first). Your future self with thank you for it. |
From Breakfast to Dinner, and Drinks to Desserts, get into the St.Patty’s Day spirit with these green recipe ideas. Often St. Patrick’s Day recipes use green dyes which do not work for lots of people, especially many kids who are sensitive to dyes and additives. This should not mean that they can not join in the fun of the St. Patrick’s Day Celebration. Here are some fun and healthy green food recipes that use whole-foods instead of green dyes. Enjoy! |
This edited collection will address educational practices and pedagogies for teaching writing in prisons. The collection’s framing concept argues for social and political consciousness within prison writing education that represents equal and shared learning between writers and teachers. The collection will offer material that advocates an equalitarian pedagogy for prison writing education while exploring how writing projects can model student/teacher collaboration in order for learning to occur for both teacher and student. More directly, how do knowledge, writing, and social activism combine in writing classrooms within a prison setting?
Essays of interest might include autobiographical discussions of learning as a result of teaching writing in prisons; pedagogical issues and methods specific to prison education; politics of teaching writing in prisons; gender and minority status in prison writing; impact of security levels on writing programs, particularly educational offerings to supermax residents; interaction of writing and performance for inmate writers; teaching different genres of writing in prison; and U.S. prison writing in languages other than English.
The editors are particularly interested in essays focused on the work and meanings of writing in prison, and the social context in which incarcerated writers pursue individual and group writing. We invite essays from prison teachers and administrators, education volunteers, educational administration professionals, rhetoric & composition communities, and education faculty at universities. Essays from those teaching outside prisons should make clear the basis of their teaching engagement with inmate writers. We welcome and encourage theoretical discussion, but essays should employ clear and accessible language.
Please send 250-word abstracts, or full draft manuscripts of previously unpublished material, to the co-editors no later than January 31, 2016 for consideration. Include a 100-150 word bio. Authors will be notified by February 15, 2016. Where relevant for contributors from academic institutions, a copy of IRB approval must be submitted upon acceptance, and a permissions chart must be submitted with the final draft. Final drafts of selected abstracts or manuscripts will be due on June 30, 2016. Essays should not exceed 10,000 words; bibliography in Chicago style; and 11 pt. Courier font with one inch margin. Anticipated date of manuscript completion to be submitted to the publisher for peer review is planned forDecember 1, 2016. Revisions will be required in early fall of 2016. This volume is under consideration by a major university press; however, publication of individual manuscripts cannot be guaranteed.
Send proposals and submissions as Word file attachments via email to Joe Lockard (firstname.lastname@example.org), Department of English, Arizona State University, and Sherry Rankins-Robertson (email@example.com), Department of Rhetoric and Writing, University of Arkansas-Little Rock. Queries are welcomed. |
Inflow rate-driven changes in the composition and dynamics of chromophoric dissolved organic matter in a large drinking water lake
Journal article, 2016
Drinking water lakes are threatened globally and therefore in need of protection. To date, few studies have been carried out to investigate how the composition and dynamics of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in drinking water lakes are influenced by inflow rate. Such CDOM can lead to unpleasant taste and odor of the water and produce undesirable disinfection byproducts during drinking water treatment. We studied the drinking water Lake Qiandao, China, and found that the concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the lake increased significantly with inflow rate (p < 0.001). Similarly, close relationships between inflow rate and the CDOM absorption coefficient at 350 nm a(350) and with terrestrial humic-like fluorescence C3 and a negative relationship between inflow rate and the first principal component (PC1) scores, which, in turn, were negatively related to the concentrations and relative molecular size of CDOM (p < 0.001), i.e. the concentration and molecular size of CDOM entering the lake increased proportionately with inflow rate. Furthermore, stable isotopes (?D and ?18O) were depleted in the upstream river mouth relative to downstream remaining lake regions, substantiating that riverine CDOM entering the lake was probably driven by inflow rate. This was further underpinned by remarkably higher mean chlorophyll-a and in situ measured terrestrial CDOM fluorescence (365/480 nm) and apparent oxygen utilization (AOU), and notably lower mean PC1 and CDOM spectral slope (S275-295) recorded in the upstream river mouth than in the downstream main lake area. Strong negative correlations between inflow rate and a(250):a(365), S275-295, and the spectral slope ratio (SR) implied that CDOM input to the lake in rainy period was dominated by larger organic molecules with a more humic-like character. Rainy period, especially rainstorm events, therefore poses a risk to drinking water safety and requires higher removal efficiency of CDOM during drinking water treatment processes.
Parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC)
Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) |
K. Stackmann & K. H. Bertau, Heinrich von Meissen: Leiche, Sangsprüche, Lieder
Sequentia, Ensemble für Musik des Mittelalters
Women's vocal ensemble: Karen Clark (voice), Johanna Koslowsky (voice), Suzie Le Blanc (voice), Laurie Monahan (voice), Lena Susanne Norin (voice), Barbara Thornton (voice)
Men's vocal ensemble: Benjamin Bagby (voice), Stephen Grant (voice), Eric Mentzel (voice), Raimund Nolte (voice), Matthias Senn (voice)
Instrumental ensemble: Benjamin Bagby (harp), Cheryl Ann Fulton (harp)
Barbara Thornton & Benjamin Bagby, dirs.
Playing time: 62' 55"
Recording site and date:
Church of St. Osdag, Mandelsloh. Germany [03/1990], rel. 2000.
Diapason (#-p.): 478-70 (february 2001)
Information from CD. A very accomplished recording with the unforgettable voice of late Barbara Thornton.
This CD is also available as a Book + CD: Frauenlob's Song of Songs - A Medieval German Poet And His Masterpiece.
Known as "Frauenlob" and also such combinations as Meister Heinrich Vrowenlop, Heinrich von Meissen (c.1250/60-1318) was one of the most important minnesingers. Although relatively little is known of his life, aside from court positions in Prague and Mainz, he was apparently a prodigious musical talent. Frauenlob was one of the composers who worked in a transitional style in German lyric between that of Walther von der Vogelweide and Oswald von Wolkenstein. The form of this massive cycle is that of the German leich, the analogous narrative form to the French-Celtic lai. The texts themselves are German poetic renditions of the Canticum Canticorum.
The project to record the Frauenleich is one which obviously took Sequentia a great deal of time to bring to fruition. In fact, this performance of 1990 was already a revamped version of their first work with the piece (in concert) in 1985. Apparently, the ten-year delay in the release was caused by problems with the analog master, and an inability to restore it. They even abandoned the idea of using this master, planning to record the Frauenleich again, but the plan changed after Barbara Thornton's death, and the master was eventually recovered with advanced digital techniques. A recording with an interesting history....
To purchasing information for this disc.
To FAQ references to this recording.
To FAQ CD index page.Todd M. McComb |
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When I called pianist Mordecai Shehori, he was in the midst of practicing, a never-ending pursuit.
Shehori tells The Daily News, "Artur Rubenstein said, 'It takes 50 years of practicing every day to know you cannot play at all.'"
Actually, Israeli-born Shehori's playing has earned him worldwide praise. He takes great care with his music. For his concert at Oshman Family JCC on Saturday, Shehori has assembled pieces that complement one another.
"Most people don't do that today. They just put together whatever they know and whatever they played in the last competition. If you look at [Vladimir] Horowitz's programs or [Moriz] Rosenthal's, their concerts were carefully put together."
For his Palo Alto concert, presented by the Steinway Society, Shehori's program features Lully's Suite de Pieces, Beethoven's Sonata in E Major Op 109, Chopin's Bolero in A Minor Op 19, and Debussy's Reflets dans l'eau, Rachmaninoff works and Vladimir Horowitz's arrangement of Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre.
"In my programs, there are a lot of connections, key signatures, for instance. Lully is using the same form that the Beethoven sonata uses. Lully is E-minor, Beethoven E-major. Then the bolero of Chopin will act like, in fancy dinners, when they give you sorbet in the middle, to cleanse the palette. Rachmaninoff has the same drama as the Beethoven. There is a logic to it."
The Horowitz piece has special resonance for Shehori. They met in 1987, when Shehori was called upon, at the last moment, to record a Mozart piece with Horowitz. They became friends.
"Horowitz, nobody taught him to play piano. He never intended to be a pianist. He never studied, regularly, the piano. He was a composer. But when the Bolshevik revolution came, the communists came to his house. They took his piano and threw it into the street, burned his stuff. He became homeless. He escaped to Germany with nothing. And he had to play the piano. He didn't really want to."
As Shehori continued to work with Horowitz, he had opportunities to observe recording techniques. "I saw there were too many cooks in this kitchen, because Horowitz didn't know anything about equipment. The producer didn't know about music. I got the bug to record myself and do everything myself -- tuning the piano, preparing the piano, recording, editing, everything."
Shehori has his own record company, Cembal d'amour, which releases legendary classical music performances. Among them are performances by pianist Mindru Katz, one of Shehori's teachers.
"He was amazing. I came to his house and played the Chopin ballades. He said to me the same thing he said to everybody else. He said, 'Look, you're talented. But the truth is, you don't know how to play the piano, in the real sense. If you want me to teach you, you need to start from zero. We need to do single notes, slow scales, single chords. It will be four years that you will never play a piece.' I was already 20 years old and had played many difficult things. But I was smart, because I saw, he touched the piano, and I touched the piano, and there was no comparison of the tone."
Shehori's passion for playing piano came at a young age. "I was very shy, not social, stuttered. It was my escape, my piano."
He gave his first public performance at age 9. After winning competitions in Israel, Shehori moved to the U.S. to study at Julliard.
"When I came from Mindru Katz into Julliard, I was absolutely stunned, in a negative way, because I got this old lady who didn't know anything about piano. She got the job there because she was well connected. Julliard has a huge reputation. They make it look like everyone who goes to Julliard is going to have a huge career. The fact is, that from 100 pianists who graduated the year I did, most of them do not play piano. Many ended up in mental hospitals. It's very grueling, especially for a man, because women, they can get married and be supported."
Grueling profession or not, Shehori is compelled to put fingers to keys. "I love music. I would play it, even if I had no audience. Liszt said that the true essence is being alone, in the dark room and making music. That's the highest form. Music is a wonderful thing. It gives you a tremendous amount of pleasure. These composers I'm playing, they are the real chosen people, the most talented people who ever lived. And the music contains many great fix-its about life, about the universe. It's not just playing the notes.
"That's what I don't like today about piano competitions. They make people be like automatons, like machines. Anybody today, who has any kind of individuality, or aspiration to be a real musician, is not going to win a competition, because he's going to play differently than the rest. If you take, from the 1920s, '30s, 10 recordings of the Chopin ballades, Hoffman, Rosenthal, Rachmaninoff, Horowitz, it would be 10 completely different interpretations. Today, if you take 10 ballades of competition winners, it would be exactly the same -- same tempo, same everything. Why? Because, if they do anything special, they lose. How can there be a competition? It's not the UFC, where there's a choke hold and you tap out. How can you compete in music? Music is an act of love and wisdom."
Shehori says that a true musician is a conduit, seeking to reflect the composer's intentions. "The last few years, I've tried to study everything I've played from the original handwriting of the composers. Like the '109.' I studied the handwriting and it's completely different from what came out in print. In one place, he writes 'FORTE' with capital letters, big, with very dark ink. In the print, they write the 'f.' It's the same 'f' as everywhere else in the piece. But if you see the handwriting, you realize that this one, he really meant to be powerful. I study very hard. I have hundreds of books. But it's frustrating, because I know there are things there that I still haven't figured out.
"They are the architects. I am only the builder. I cannot ask the architects questions, because they are dead. But after playing many pieces from the same composer, then you get a feel of what he wanted or didn't want."
Shehori also composes. "Only when you compose can you know the logic, why this note comes after this note. Otherwise, it's like the computer, a midi thing."
Teaching is another important part of Shehori's life. "Teaching is an obligation. Mindru Katz had me. It takes only one to continue the tradition. If I don't find a successor, it will be very sad. Liszt had a dynasty of students. But they were not good teachers like him. So it started to diminish, until nothing much is left."
Shehori has seen the classic music audience diminishing. "I just played in Canada and the whole audience were in their 70s, 80s. The only way to keep it alive is to have it in the homes. But it's not in the homes anymore. In the time of Chopin, 90 percent of people in Paris had a piano at home and played instruments.
"The other thing, when people go to concerts and there's no Horowitz on stage, they're not going to get the bug for classical music. Most people who play today, they're not good enough to seduce people, to make them curious about it. If you ask people if they like classical music, they say, 'Yes, it's relaxing sometimes.'"
"Today, a classical recording, if it sells 500 copies, it's considered a huge success. But Elton John, his latest recording sells 'only' 70,000, and he's very upset. He has to go to a psychiatrist," Shehori says, with a laugh. "It's absolutely pathetic. The only young people that you see at concerts are music students."
After 30 years in New York, Shehori, moved to Las Vegas nine years ago. Now 67, he's single. "When I come to Palo Alto, I hope a nice lady will fall in love with me," he says, laughing.
He hopes to touch the emotions of everyone in the audience. "In Winnipeg, it was difficult, very cold. The piano was not so good. I was disheartened. An old lady, must have been 90 years old, came to me afterward and told me three mind-boggling things. She said, 'This was the highlight of my life.' She goes to concerts all the time. She said, 'This was a life-changing experience.' The third thing she said, 'This renewed my belief in human society.' This was very powerful.
"The beauty of music, it's a language that bypasses the censorship of the brain. In music, it goes straight to the heart. It can touch everybody, because we all have the same human experience. It's the universal language. But you need to know the language. You have the basic emotions in music. You have a sigh, a cry, anticipation. It's all there."
Email Paul Freeman at email@example.com. |
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) unveiled a new $25.5 million train wash facility located in the Village of Babylon.
The new facility, which was financed with funds from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 through the Federal Transit Administration, is expected to clean the exterior of more than 320 train cars a day. Up until now, the LIRR’s over 1,000-car electric fleet was cleaned at the LIRR’s only other train wash at the entrance to its Ronkonkoma Train Yard.
The new train wash facility is located east of the Babylon LIRR Station, situated between the Babylon Village golf course and the LIRR tracks leading to the Babylon Train Yard. With the Babylon Branch being the busiest of the LIRR's 11 branches, the location of the new wash facility allows trains to be cycled through the wash just prior to being moved into the Babylon Yard for overnight storage.
The train wash is fully automated and is activated upon the approach of a train.
The design and construction of the new wash facility incorporated significant "green" elements —making it a more environmentally-friendly operation. These features include:
- The filtering, reconditioning and reusing of more than 70% of wash water.
- A 35 kilo-watt solar power panel system mounted on the train wash bay roof helps operate the electrical lighting and auxiliary power for the train wash equipment building, saving the LIRR an estimated $6,700 a year on utility costs.
- An oil-water separator to prevent oil and diesel fuel from entering the waste water system.
- A process for pre-treating train wash waste water prior to release into the municipal sewer system for final treatment.
- Storm water is collected, eliminating run-off into nearby Sumpwams and Geiger Creeks.
- A new landscape buffer was built between the golf course and the train wash.
- Area wetlands have been fenced to prevent damage and illicit dumping.
The new train wash facility replaced the previous wash on this site, which dated from the 1970’s. As part of the project, the old train wash was demolished. |
Becca Harsch and Stephanie Stone
Beth Terry shared these nurdles and plastic fragments found on Marin, Calif.'s Kehoe Beach in March 2010. Photo: Becca Harsch.
Manuel Maqueda says we're stuck midway. We understand plastic pollution issues, but we don't have the solutions. The voice of the Earth is not being heard, Maqueda, co-founder of Plastic Pollution Coalition
, says. He was driven to seek plastic pollution justice after a conversation with oceanographer Captain Charles Moore
, who is also the founder of the Algita Marine Research Foundation
. Moore shared with him what appeared to be a bag of sand which, Maqueda realized, was a bag of minute pieces of plastic. Moore told Maqueda, "that's the beaches of the future…. It's the global warming 30 years ago coming to us now.”
Maqueda wanted to take action, to solve environmental issues that were being ignored. After research and collaboration with Google Earth, he gathered a group of individuals with a shared interest and passion for plastic pollution justice to meet at the Google Headquarters. Together they addressed "what this problem is, what the solutions are, and what the solutions are not." (See the infographic below to see where the problems are.) From this meeting, the Plastic Pollution Coalition emerged. Maqueda and Plastic Pollution Coalition quickly became the voices of the Earth that had been relatively silent in the fight for plastic pollution justice.
Infographic by Stephanie Stone. Click to enlarge.
The organization’s initial work was to debunk myths generated by media. People used the term “marine debris” to describe plastic pollution in the oceans. Debris, however, is natural and something we can simply clean. Pollution is not debris. We cannot clean up pollution like we can debris. Many thought plastic pollution in our oceans could be cleaned up. "They were dreaming of venturing out into seas with these contraptions that would clean up the oceans and they would come back riding their boats and be heroes," Maqueda says.
It’s not that simple. The planet cannot digest plastic.
So, Maqueda decided to embark upon a new adventure. He became friends and collaborators with photographer Chris Jordan
, and they led a series of journeys to Midway Atoll, one of the world's most remote islands in the north Pacific Ocean. The island is almost entirely covered with plastic pollution. "How it gets there is very shocking," Maqueda says. The plastic pollution arrives via millions of albatrosses that feed in the open Pacific Ocean. The albatrosses think they are eating, but they are filling their stomachs with bottle caps, cigarette lighters, and other plastic particles. "It's a really grotesque phenomenon," Maqueda say. The birds then fly to Midway, which is where millions of them nest. They feed baby chicks from their plastic-filled stomachs before leaving the island. It was these albatross chicks, filled with plastic, that the Midway team discovered.
Photo: Chris Jordan, www.chrisjordan.com
Maqueda and the Midway team
travel to the island to act as our witnesses. We now have all the information to understand the fundamentals of sustainability issues, so the question is What’s the next step? That's where we're stuck as a society. "We're kind of stuck midway between a future that we hope is going to be sustainable, that has to be sustainable, and this reality of who we are right now," Maqueda says. The bellies of the seabirds are a self-portrait of ourselves, he says. It’s a metaphor.
The Midway project has inspired many people, like plastic-free blogger Beth Terry
. A daytime accountant and full-time activist, Terry never set out to build a community around plastic-free living. But four years ago, she saw an image of a dead albatross chick from the Midway Journey project and it changed her life. Knowing that the chick had died from a belly full of plastic, she decided she had to stop doing harm to this creature she had never seen and only just realized existed. Like the Earth called to Maqueda, the albatross called to Terry. Thus began her plastic-free life.
At first Terry blogged
to keep herself accountable to a plastic-free lifestyle. The more she learned about plastic, the more she wanted the whole blogosphere to know what she had discovered. She explained how plastic pollution that ends up in our oceans stays there forever, never breaking down completely. She explained how the plastics absorb toxins from sea pollution, only to be eaten by the fish we eat. She found plastic not only affecting the health of humans of all ages and economic means, but that of our oceans, and the creatures of this world.
(left: Beth Terry's sample of ocean water filled with plastic pieces. Photo: Becca Harsch.)
Ocean pollution is just the beginning of Terry’s concerns about plastic and water. “The point in water justice is [that] people shouldn’t have to pay vast amounts of money to get clean water,” Terry says. Often the communities where companies mine for water have no benefit from water extraction. If there is a drought, the companies are not required to stop extraction. In the case of bottled water, people think they are getting clean water. But it’s hardly regulated. “Companies are not required to disclose the chemicals in plastic packaging. Is it safe? We don’t know,” Terry says.
When Terry discovered she could not recycle her Brita water filter, despite the fact that Europeans could, she approached Clorox to ask why. Clorox said that Americans did not care. But with seven months, 600 filters, and 16,000 people, Terry showed Clorox that Americans do care. Now you can recycle your Brita water filters at Whole Foods Market
. This happened because of the Internet community that organically formed around Terry giving voice to the distant albatross.
“We have the power to change the menu that's been offered to us. We have the power to change the world,” Terry states in a TEDx talk
. Encouragingly, she lists eight reasons for personal change ranging from refraining from doing harm, to protecting personal health and supporting ethical businesses. Her reasons include examining our values, asking for what we want, and setting an example for others.
If you think you can't be part of the fight for change, you're wrong. We can start on our own. "Allowing people to step back and look at these things, and challenge their own conventions and their own beliefs, has been a very powerful experience for a lot of people," Maqueda says. We can create communities, like Maqueda and Terry, that work toward change. Together, we can reach beyond midway.
Hear more about reaching beyond Midway in our interview clips with Manuel Maqueda:
Becca Harsch and Stephanie Stone, students in Simran Sethi
’s journalism class at the University of Kansas
are learning to communicate complex issues via social networking. This is part of a series of posts from a class exploring the intersection of social media and social justice and using water and design as its primary lenses of inquiry.
Follow the conversation on twitter, #metropolisH2O. |
FOR A SUMMARY OF WHAT WE HAVE
ON OUR WEBSITE CLICK "TABLE OF CONTENTS" IMAGE ABOVE
EN ESPAÑOL: Introducción aquíy
Página General aquí
Changes to this Mexica Movement Website:
September 25, 2014 @ 8:00 A M CONTACT
JOIN US PROTESTING COLUMBUS DAY
FOR OCTOBER 12, 2014
SEE IMAGES FROM OUR OCTOBER 12, 2013 COLUMBUS PROTEST
(click image below)
FEAR TO BE A WARRIOR
FOR OUR PEOPLE:
Warriors today do not need guns and bombs, or bows and arrows,
and not violence and terrorism to be noble courageous warriors.
Warriors today become warriors
when they use their intelligence,
their study, their collective minds and our collective leadership.
We can be warriors with
protests and boycotts,
with civil disobedience,
with education, education that is in our interests.
We must become full warriors educating and organizing.
Warriors working collectively and united.
And we can do this all with
using Youtube and Facebook,
with websites, blogs, tweets, and emails.
We can wake our people,
strengthen our people, enlighten our people
with lectures and posters and teach-ins; all of this can and should
with intelligence, a new discipline, and the power of knowledge,
in dignity, honor, and courage.
WE CONTINUE TO FIGHT THE ONGOING EUROPEAN COLONIALISM AND THE GENOCIDE AGAINST OUR PEOPLE. Do not be afraid to resist the ongoing crimes against our people. It is honorable to confront the ongoing colonialism.Here in the poster above are some of our heroes, our warriors, our leaders who fought and resisted European Invasions And Crimes Against Our People. Our leaders in Cemanahuac (The Western Hemisphere, "North and South America") were: Hatuey in the Caribbean (upper left), Cuauhtemoc in Central Cemanahuac (upper right), Tatanka-Iyotanka (Sitting Bull) in the North (lower left), and Tupac Amaru in the South (lower right). Do not be afraid to resist the ongoing genocide of our people. Arm yourself with knowledge. Learn our people's history. Join the Mexica Movement. Become a liberator for our people.
STAY INFORMED AND UPDATED WITH OUR EVENTS!
button above to get details of how this white supremacist
film was stopped by the Mexica Movement. Why are most
of our people so passive when it comes to confronting
white supremacy. Where were the other "organizations"
on this issue? Do we really have anyone to represent
2012 button above to get facts and not NEW AGE NONSENSE!
More and more distortions of our heritage will be
coming out. There are now books, movies, articles,
and tv discussions that distort, dishonor, and exploit
our heritage. Educate yourself on the truth with this
link that gives you science, not nonsense. Be prepared
to defend our ancestors and to defend our heritage!
CLICK IMAGE for details
A vendido or vendida is one of our people who agressively works against the interests of our people. Below is a list of the top 10. If white people were doing what they are doing against our people they would be rightly called racists/white supremacists. These are self-identified "Hispanic" or "Latinos" who promote those identities:
THIS IS WHAT KNOWLEDGE LOOKS LIKE!
THIS IS WHAT COURAGE LOOKS LIKE!
DO NOT BE AFRAID TO LIVE WITH KNOWLEDGE!
DO NOT BE AFRAID TO LIVE WITH COURAGE AND HONOR!
REFUSE AND REJECT COLONIALISM & GENOCIDE
CONFRONT AND DEFEAT WHITE SUPREMACY
JOIN US IN SUPPORT OF NICAN TLACA LIBERATION
Here you will find the truth about the great accomplishments of our people that happened before 1492.
Here you will find that we were a people that were progressing well without Europeans controlling our lives.
We had accomplishments in astronomy, medicine, agriculture, education, calendar making,
writing, art, architecture, literature, engineering, and many other things that we should be proud of.
We had 6 major civilizations on our continent with Caral, Olmec, Maya, Moche, Inca, and Mexica civilizations.
Our earliest civilization of Caral is older than anything in Europe by about 2,000 years.
Here also you will learn of the last 500 years of white supremacist terrorist crimes against our people,
of their theft of our lands and its wealth, and their crimes that impoverish us and enriches white people.
Europeans not only stole our land and all of its wealth, they also stole our freedom
and our creative energy that would have done great things for humanity over the last 500 years.
We base this loss on the proof of 5,000 years of accomplishments through our civilizations.
You will learn of the European caused holocaust of our people that killed 95% of our population
(killing 70 to 100 million of our people on our whole continent) with the terrorist use of smallpox.
You will also learn here how to better understand the ongoing genocide that keeps our people
ignorant, divided by European colonial nations (U.S., Canada, Mexico, “Latin America”),
divided by the false identities of Hispanic/Latino and Raza/Mestizo, and the oppression
caused by the European culture of gangs, imposed poverty, and the white supremacy
of the colonial governments of the "Americas" (and their English and Spanish languages) that destroy us.
All of this telling of truth and clarification of our true history and true identity as the
Nican Tlaca, as the Indigenous people of this continent (Full-blood and Mixed-blood as
one people), is not about creating hate against the Europeans and it does not make us
racists for angrily pointing out all of this hidden racist evil done against us, this is about
speaking truth so that our people, and white people, will demand justice, will demand the
end of colonialism, will demand the liberation of our people and the liberation of our continent
from the control of the European settlers on our continent.
(Read in this order, please)
1Daily Life of the Aztecs by Jacques Soustelle
2Mexico by Michael Coe
3 Maya by Michael Coe
American Holocaust by David E. Stannard
5Anahuac Book by Olin Tezcatlipoca
located on this website
6Colonizer's Model of the World
by J.M. Blaut
7American Indian Contributions to
the World by
Emory Dean Keoke & Kay Marie Porterfield
CHRONOLOGY AND OTHER REFERENCES:
Latin America: From
Colonization To Globalization by Noam Chomsky
9 Encyclopedia of World History 6th Edition
by Peter Stam
10Oxford Atlas of History 2002
by Oxford Press
11Course of Mexican History by
Michael C. Meyer and William L. Sherman
12Oxford History of Mexico 2000 by Michael
Meyer and William Beezley
13In the Language of Kings by
14Skywatchers by Anthony F. Aveni
15Flayed God (out of print, get
used) by Roberta and Peter Markman |
By Michael E. Miller
By Ryan Yousefi
By Kyle Munzenrieder
By Sabrina Rodriguez
By Michael E. Miller
By Carlos Suarez De Jesus
By Luther Campbell
By Kyle Munzenrieder
One subject under discussion was the status of Cuba's rock and rap musicians, and the value of their work. According to one hip-hop producer who attended, several rap and rock performers spoke at the assembly, asserting that their music was a positive, even revolutionary, inspiration for Cuban youth, worthy of official recognition and, not insignificantly, better pay.
"The approach of rockers as well as rappers in their music has been very Cuban," Prieto conceded from the dais in the auditorium of the Foreign Trade Ministry, where he sat with a panel of fellow cultural officials. "It's time we nationalize rock and rap." The minister agreed that rock and hip-hop artists should be represented by the same state management agency that oversees popular Cuban bands playing dance music and salsa around the world. This official affiliation allows the musicians to take home a percentage from ticket sales at their concerts in Cuba, and can connect them with foreign promoters and record companies that might offer them contracts in U.S. dollars.
For many years Cuban officials regarded rock music with suspicion and disdain. In the Seventies -- an era Prieto refers to as his country's "black period" -- longhaired musicians or even rock fans who dressed like them routinely were harassed by police and sometimes jailed. But Prieto's recent consecration of rock and rap should come as no surprise. As his idol Bob Dylan would say, the times they are a-changin'. After all, the minister of culture himself is best known for having shoulder-length hair.
"Prieto calculates an image of openness," says Lisandro Perez, director of Florida International University's Cuban Research Institute, who has spoken with the minister at several academic and cultural conferences in Cuba. "He has long hair, he's a poet, he goes around with a jacket, usually a leather jacket, slung over his shoulders like a cape."
Over the past few years, a new openness -- real, not imagined, and actively promoted by Prieto and others -- has made it possible for the world to experience Cuban culture firsthand. As a result the world has developed an insatiable appetite for all things Cuban, more so than at any time since 1959. The nation's music, dance, art, and folklore hold an exotic appeal for foreign visitors who would rather boogie at a rumba than discuss politics. It is an undisputed fact that arts and entertainment have become a major draw (along with beaches, cigars, and beautiful girls and boys) for the nearly 1.5 million tourists Cuban officials say visited the island this past year.
Recently culture has also played an important role in the contentious relationship between the United States and Cuba. Even as opportunities for diplomacy have narrowed on both sides, the doors to cultural exchange have remained open. In fact they are now open wider than ever.
Since his appointment as minister of culture in February 1997, replacing 67-year-old career bureaucrat Armando Hart Davalos, Prieto has been viewed as a symbol of that apertura, or opening, of Cuba to the Western world after years spent in the chilly embrace of the Soviet bloc. Even at age 49 he serves as an example of governmental rejuvenation, putting a face on the idea of a more modern Cuba. "His appearance makes him the perfect man for the job," comments an exiled Cuban author who requested anonymity. "He allows Fidel to say, 'Look, I'm so liberal I even put a longhaired writer in office.'"
Prieto is most often described as an advocate for artists and intellectuals, a champion of critical thinking who has declared there will be no more aesthetic "witch-hunts" in Cuba. He's an approachable man with a reputation for treating his staff more like colleagues than underlings. He even eats the same box lunches that cultural ministry employees do, and often stops to chat with them in the hallways. "He takes the buddy approach," says Miami-Dade Community College media relations officer Alejandro Rios, who once worked alongside Prieto at a Havana publishing house. "He'll put his arm around your shoulder and say, 'Let's talk.'"
But Prieto also presents himself as a staunch revolutionary who never strays far from the party line. When giving speeches, for instance, he inevitably rails against "U.S. imperialism" and denounces the globalization of culture with rhetoric as pointed as Castro's own.
"Abel Prieto is one of the most enigmatic figures I've met in Cuba," reports FIU's Lisandro Perez. "From our point of view at the university, the fact that he doesn't seem to have any trouble allowing people to accept invitations means he tends to view foreign academic contact favorably. On the other hand, he is a government official in a government that has not been known for its openness." |
Scott Adams (the Dilbert comic guy) described a very interesting idea for creating a type of marketplace for online teaching tools that would allow people to find the best materials for learning each individual subject. It would also allow highly-skilled developers of online courses to make money. I think some variant of this is likely to replace our current bricks and mortar method of teaching. But the transition won’t be easy.
A critical component of online teaching tools that Adams didn’t mention is collecting student feedback in real time. Imagine if software could detect when a student looks tired or frustrated and could adapt the teaching style accordingly. This is what good tutors do and there is every reason to believe that a combination of a computer camera, microphone, and some great software could replicate some of this benefit.
A problem that online teaching tools are certain to encounter once they become a bigger threat to the enormous business of bricks and mortar teaching is changing terminology and notation. It’s common for professionals to use jargon to protect their incomes from outsiders. Teachers can easily do the same thing. Over the years that I tutored math, my biggest challenge was to determine what terminology my tutee’s teacher used so that I could match it. A teacher threatened by a particular set of online teaching tools can easily adjust some jargon and notation to make it more difficult for students to learn from the online materials. Standardized tests could easily be created with a strong bias toward jargon used in class rather than that used by the top online materials.
I don’t think this problem of jargon and notation is insurmountable, but I predict that it is one of the ways that bricks and mortar teachers will fight back in a long, drawn out, and ultimately losing battle against online teaching materials. |
Featured Windows, July 2010
First Congregational Church of St. Johns
Building: First Congregational Church of St. Johns
City: St. Johns
First Congregational Church of St. Johns, MI. Built 1899. Ernest W. Arnold of Battle Creek, architect.
First Congregational Church of St. Johns, founded on April 1, 1860, is celebrating its 150th anniversary throughout 2010. The present church home, constructed in 1899, was designed by Battle Creek architect Ernest W. Arnold, who was the designer of many Michigan municipal, institutional and collegiate buildings. Most of its stained glass windows were created by the H. M. Hooker Company of Chicago and installed in 1900. These include two large windows on the north and south walls of the nave, two rose windows on the east and west walls, and numerous smaller windows. Four additional windows were created in 1995 by Tom Sutton of St. Johns. The large nave windows and two other windows were restored in 2008.
Center panel of south window, “Hope.” Right:
South window, “Hope.” H. M. Hooker Co., Chicago, IL, 1900.
The two large nave windows are 16-1/2 feet high by 18 feet wide. Primarily ornamental, they are almost identical except for their center pictorial panels. In the south window, the center panel depicts a seaside scene with an anchor and rock in the foreground. The banner above is inscribed, “Hope.” The anchor recalls biblical words: “We have hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:19); the rock refers to words of the Psalmist: “The Lord is my rock and my fortress” (Psalm 18:2).
Center panel of north window, “Faith.” Right:
Signature of the H. M. Hooker Co., inscribed on the north window.
The center panel of the large north window shows a rock surmounted by a cross wound with vines, to symbolize the Crucifixion and Resurrection, as told by the Gospel writers. An overhead banner reads “Faith.” Flanking the center panels of each large window are panels holding torches and lilies, Christian symbols for the Betrayal, Passion and purity of Christ. These and other windows in the church are good examples of the many turn-of-the-century stained glass windows that have been registered in the Michigan Stained Glass Census.
The H. M. Hooker Company was active in Chicago from 1855 to 1967, producing windows for churches and other buildings of several states. The monogram “HB” refers to H. Bjorncrantz, an artist with the Hooker firm whose monogram has been found on other Michigan windows made by Hooker.
East Rose Window. H. M. Hooker Co., Chicago, IL, 1900.
The ten-foot diameter Rose Window on the east wall is one of two rose windows in the church. Its center medallion depicts a jeweled crown, representing the ”Crown of Life.”
First Congregational Church of St. Johns was registered in the Michigan Stained Glass Census by the Reverend Matthew Olson, with photography by Gary Larsen, both of St. Johns, MI.
Bibliography: Show Bibliography
Text by Betty MacDowell, Michigan Stained Glass Census, July , 2010. |
Read on to learn how to insert a SIM card into your phone.
Important: Your device uses a micro-SIM card, also known as a mini-UICC SIM card. Use of incompatible SIM cards, or use of SIM card adapters, may damage the card or the device, and may corrupt data stored on the card.
Tip: Use the SIM door key to unlock the SIM holder. If you lose the key, you can use a paperclip.
The phone must be switched off before inserting the SIM card.
- Push the key into the hole until the holder is released, and pull the holder open.
- Make sure the contact area is facing up, and put the card in the holder.
- Push the holder back into your phone until it locks into place. |
History of Women's Suffrage
The Women’s Suffrage Movement was about more than the right to vote. It was about women fighting for their right to be heard, and be considered equal citizens of the United States. The Movement lasted over one hundred years before women earned the right to vote, and showed that their voices do carry, and are important.
Many women became famous for their work in the early years of the Movement:
- Mary Lyon founded Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts in 1837. It became the first four-year college exclusively for women in the United States.
- Lucretia Mott helped Elizabeth Cady Stanton create the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. After the convention, she continued to speak out on women’s rights, and wrote the book Discourse on Women , which discussed the educational, political and economic restraints on women in the United States and Western Europe.
- Harriet Tubman escaped slavery in 1849, and formed the Underground Railroad over the next ten years.
- Amelia Jenks Bloomer launched the first dress reform movement in 1850. The Bloomer costume was abandoned by suffragists later on in the Movement.
- Lucy Stone was an organizer for the first National Women’s Right Convention , held in Worcester, Mass., in 1850. When she married Henry Blackwell in 1855, she chose to keep her maiden name. She focused her attention on winning equality for women, and formed the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) in 1869. It was a direct rival of the NWSA, forming its own opinions and ideas as to how to earn equal rights for women.
The split into the two factions in 1869 was a pivotal moment in the Movement, but both were still focused on a single goal: equal rights for women.
In 1870, the AWSA began publishing The Woman’s Journal, a weekly periodical aimed at addressing middle-class women who were interested in women’s rights. Around the same time, the Fifteenth Amendment was passed, allowing black men the right to vote. Events leading up to the passing of this Amendment was a major cause of the Movement’s split into the two factions. The Amendment’s gender-neutral language gave the impression that women were also given the right to vote, but when they showed up at the polls, they were turned away.
In 1883, many prominent suffragists traveled to Liverpool, where they formed the International Council of Women. The leaders of the two National and American Associations worked together, and laid the groundwork for a reconciliation of the two groups. They came back together in 1890, and merged into the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Stanton was the first president of the organization.
The Association worked hard for many years to win the right to vote for women, but had to slow down once World War I broke out in 1918, and many women took part in “war work” to help their country. As it turned out, this pivotal move caused a chain reaction in the Movement:
- In 1918, President Wilson issued a statement supporting a federal amendment to grant women’s suffrage.
- Jeanette Rankin , elected to the Montana House of Representatives in 1916, opened debate in the house on the amendment, and it passed.
- President Wilson addressed the Senate in support of the Nineteenth Amendment, but at this time, it failed.
- In 1919, after Michigan, Oklahoma and South Dakota joined the full suffrage states, the House once again voted to enfranchise women.
- The Senate finally passed the Nineteenth Amendment, and suffragists began their ratification campaign.
- The Nineteenth Amendment was finally ratified on August 26, 1920.
Although winning the right to vote was a huge success for the Movement, it did not stop there. Women continued to fight for their equal rights, and are still fighting today, in what we consider the Feminist Movement .
And it is not only women in the United States fighting for equal rights:
- The women’s suffrage movement in Britain , or suffragette, began in 1906.
- New Zealand women starting fighting for their equal rights in 1869.
- The women’s suffrage movement in Canada began in 1878.
Women all over the world had to fight for the right to vote, and are still fighting today for equal rights. |
Lifeboat crew in YouTube film
09:47 06 November 2013
Lyme Regis RNLI team star in promotional video
Lifeboat volunteers from Lyme Regis are starring in a new YouTube film created to boost awareness of the RNLI and its lifesaving gifts that raise vital funds.
Nine members of the crew take part in the video, which shows them hurrying to answer an emergency call.
One of them, builder John Bird, is seen running to a ‘shout’ with a local building site in the background.
In all, the film features 41 crew members from seven lifeboat stations, alongside the charity’s lifeguards and RNLI volunteers - from a lifeboat station manager to an RNLI shop volunteer. One of the last scenes shows three members of the Lyme Regis crew arriving on foot at the lifeboat station.
Also towards the end of the film the crew prepare for the launch of the lifeboat and put on their kit. The cost of items that they wear, from sea boots to safety helmets, is displayed to drive home the cost of keeping volunteers safe in what can be treacherous sea conditions. The RNLI depends on the generosity of the public in order to continue its lifesaving work and buying its lifesaving gifts is one way that the public can help the charity.
Murray Saunders, another member of the Lyme Regis crew, who runs a watersports business on Marine Parade, said: ‘It was great to get involved in a project like this, helping to show what we do and what we need the donations for. Lots of people really value gifts with meaning rather than something they already have or don’t really need. So an RNLI lifesaving gift is a great way to show that you care about your friends or family and the worthwhile cause that is close their heart.”
The RNLI’s lifesaving gifts and gift cards are available at RNLIshop.org/outonashout, with all funds going towards the charity’s lifesaving work. The RNLI uses the money from lifesaving gift purchases where the need is greatest in order to continue saving lives at sea. The recipient of the gift receives a thank-you card or e-card that explains the value of the gift and how it benefits the charity. Free delivery is offered on all lifesaving gifts.
The Lyme crew members taking part in the YouTube film, which can be viewed a www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6f3y8CQ0DY are Tom Crabbe, Tom Wallis, John Cable, John Bird, Neville Causley, Pete Cable, Murray Saunders, Elliott Herbert and Grahame Forshaw. |
TAMPA -- Although the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Stolen Valor Act, authorities still have ways to prosecute many of the people who pretend to have been awarded military honors.
Take the case of Danny Russell Crane, a 31-year-old Riverview man who authorities say lied about receiving a Distinguished Flying Cross, two Purple Hearts and an Air Medal. In reality, Crane was discharged from the Army after serving less than three months.
"Liar, thief and disgrace," said Roger Dunn, past commander of American Legion Post 148 in Riverview, speaking of Crane, who first showed up at the post three years ago.
"He is a disgrace to the veterans. He is a disgrace to anybody who has ever served and especially to those who died for this country. He is a disgrace to them all," Dunn said.
But under a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June, Crane's lies, by themselves, are protected by the First Amendment.
"The nation well knows that one of the costs of the First Amendment is that it protects the speech we detest as well as the speech we embrace," the court wrote.
Yet lying to the federal government in an official matter is a crime, as is seeking undeserved government benefits.
A federal indictment handed up recently charges Crane with doing both. The indictment was handed up weeks after the Supreme Court ruled the Stolen Valor Act was unconstitutional.
Now Crane is in the Pinellas County Jail, charged with stealing medical benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs and making false statements on his application for disability benefits. Both charges carry more serious penalties -- 10 and five years in prison -- than the Stolen Valor Act, which could land a person in prison for a year, at most.
Crane was a blowhard whose story didn't add up, Dunn said.
"I had a funny feeling he was lying the first time I met him," Dunn said. "I had no use for him bragging about his exploits, his combat. He said he had been in Panama and got a bronze star in Panama. ... He said he saved a helicopter pilot out of a burning helicopter in Panama. I figured out when Panama was and how old he was, and I said that was the bravest 9-year-old I ever met in my life."
Other Stolen Valor defendants have faced charges of impersonating an officer or employee of the United States or wearing military medals or decorations without authorization.
Impersonating a federal officer carries more serious penalties than Stolen Valor, and wearing unauthorized military decorations carries a penalty of as much as a year behind bars.
"Some of our Stolen Valor cases will not be reversed on appeal now because some of the prosecutors had also charged other charges," said U.S. Attorney Robert E. O'Neill. "If the only charge was the Stolen Valor, they will be thrown out."
The court held that merely lying about military service and awards is protected speech. But the opinion does not nullify laws that criminalize lying for monetary gain.
"According to the Supreme Court decision, if I stand on a street corner during the RNC and say I won the Congressional Medal of Honor, that's not actionable," O'Neill said. "The First Amendment protects it, according to the United States Supreme Court. If I say, 'Hey, I'm a Congressional Medal of Honor winner, give me this,' then we tie it to fraud."
Stolen Valor prosecutions are relatively rare in the Middle District of Florida, the federal court district that stretches from Naples to Georgia and includes Tampa.
In the past five years, five cases have been brought in a district that covers more than 10 million people, according to O'Neill's office. In every instance, the defendants faced charges beyond Stolen Valor.
Three of the cases were out of Jacksonville. The other two were brought in Tampa:
* Angel Ocasio-Reyes, who never served in the military but wanted to join the American Legion, bought a beribboned Marine master gunnery sergeant's uniform at a military surplus store in New York and paid a friend $25 for a DD Form 214, an official military discharge document, showing he'd served in the Navy. He pleaded guilty in 2010 to wearing military medals and decorations without authorization, using and possessing forged military discharge papers and Stolen Valor. He was sentenced to three years' probation.
* Gary Amster, a Vietnam War veteran who never saw combat, drove in Florida for two years with a license plate that said he had been awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award. But Amster never received the medal. He also lied to the Department of Veterans Affairs about the honor in his benefits application. A federal jury in 2010 convicted Amster of three charges: a felony count of lying to a federal agency about having the medal and two counts under Stolen Valor for falsely representing that he had won the medal. He was sentenced to five years of probation. He appealed his conviction, and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in July cited the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to overturn his Stolen Valor convictions while leaving the other part intact.
Fred Campbell, who lives in New Castle, Tenn., works with other veterans to expose the pretenders.
"That's what we do with our Internet website," Campbell said. "Stolen Valor ain't going to cover it, so we're going to cover it with our websites": www.stolenvalor.com and www.fakewarriors.org.
"We're going to shame these people and say, 'Look, you may think you're getting away with it, but you're not. People are going to say what you are, and we'll see how long you are going to get away with it.'"
Crane, coincidentally, added Campbell as a Facebook friend in June, Campbell said.
To Campbell, the stories didn't add up.
Campbell contacted the VA inspector general, and within weeks, Crane was indicted.
"There's men and women who have died for that uniform, who raised the right hand, who have done the right thing, and then you get these guys who never did one pushup, one situp, ... never held a rifle, and yet they're putting on a uniform and saying they did it," Campbell said.
Dunn found it especially galling that Crane managed to get veterans benefits while real veterans frequently have to fight the government to get what they earned. "There's a lot of veterans around here that would love to get their hands on him." |
There are an awful lot of big problems to worry about these days. The economy, the debt limit, the deficit, Social Security, Medicare, the Middle East -- the list is almost endless. But, for the next couple of weeks you can forget about those problems and focus on a new one that hopefully goes away in a couple of weeks. The new problem is something called “river avulsion," and if it happens next week it is going to be a big problem for the world with geopolitical, economic and financial implications that are likely to be extremely confusing and dangerous in many respects.
As you might have guessed, it involves the Mississippi River, and of course, Louisiana. River avulsion is the process of a river in a delta switching its main channel to a new one. All rivers with a delta undergo this process with varying times between the switches. The Mississippi River’s switching time is believed to be 1,000-1,500 years, and it is overdue. A river without levees in a delta actually starts to build its own because of the way sediment drops out. Eventually the river bed gets high enough above the surrounding land and a steeper, shorter route to the ocean breaks though, and it quickly becomes the new main channel.
Enter humans. Once shovels were invented, it didn’t take long to figure out that building levees, even little ones, might be a good way to avoid putting your foot down in water after you got out of bed in the morning, thus making life more pleasant. Not much changed for a few thousand years until the steam engine was invented. Steamboats were quickly invented and suddenly, the Mississippi became a two-lane highway with a few problems, namely submerged trees called snags that could sink a steamboat. Clearing snags was important. One particular bad turn of the river was near the southwest corner of the state of Mississippi and Louisiana. Believe it or not, in the 1840s a loop of the river was shorted out by cutting across it, but more importantly the Red River (best known as the border of Texas and Oklahoma) originally joining the Mississippi at that point was diverted into the Atchafalaya River at the same time.
The Atchafalaya River Basin is important for several reasons. First, it is the largest swamp in the US, home to countless water fowl, and all sorts of nasty reptiles who only ask to be left alone, but are more than willing to bite first, ask questions later. Secondly, it just happens to be the path of the Mississippi River a few thousand years ago. All delta sediments compact over time if it is not refreshed by new silt, so now it is the easy downhill route to the Gulf of Mexico.
The dredging events back in the 1840s started to make it easier for the Mississippi to flow into the Atchafalaya. Here
and here are links to the history.
The bottom line is that by the 1950s it was apparent that the Mississippi wanted to flow through the Atchafalaya and action had to be taken. Congress charged the US Army Corps of Engineers to stop the Mississippi from switching its main channel. They accomplished this by building the Old River Control Structure (ORCS). You would think that this could be accomplished by building a huge levee and walking away, but there were complicating issues. At that point the Atchafalaya was already receiving significant water flow, so a decision was made to let 30% of the Mississippi water flow down the Atchafalaya and 70% down the main channel. So now we have manmade gates and channels controlling flow instead of one humongous levee. The risk with this design is the force of the water scours out the dirt (there are no rocks there) and undermines the gate. The following diagram is from the first link and describes what happened in 1973.
The ORCS actually has a small hydroelectric plant running in one of the three channels. Stop and think about that for a second. That means that the Mississippi normally is high enough above the channels to the Atchafalaya to use the height differential to generate electricity. The differential is normally about 15 feet. If one of these gates collapsed the flow the Mississippi would take immediate advantage and a raging torrent would immediately start to erode a wider opening. Remember it’s just dirt.
So if the Old River Control Structure is the biggest risk, won’t opening the spillways relieve the pressure? Not really, because the ORCS is upstream from both spillways! The full force of the Mississippi runs directly at the ORCS which was significantly damaged in the 1973 flood, the last time the Morganza spillway was opened.
Let’s assume the worst and the ORCS is completely compromised and the Mississippi starts to create a new main channel down the Atchafalaya. Since the Morganza spillway is already flooding the Atchafalaya Floodway, most of the people living there have already left. The only real question is whether or not the levees at Morgan City are high enough to withstand the addition flow above the 600,000 cubic feet per second that the Morganza spillway can deliver. I don’t have an answer for that question. Nevertheless, the people problem here shouldn’t be that horrendous.
Moving onto horrendous, the real problem will be when the Mississippi flow drops back to normal levels. The big question will be: Is there enough water to keep all of the shipping ports from New Orleans to Baton Rouge open? The risk here is enormous. It’s estimated that 60% of the grain exports from the US travel out the Mississippi. If the Mississippi is closed, the effect on food prices will be staggering in both directions. Outside of North America, the price of food will skyrocket, and we have already seen food riots, not to mention good old-fashioned political riots. In North America some very strange things will happen. Many farmers will be unable to find buyers. From the mid-West, the best way out is through the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence Seaway, but the Great Lake ports don’t have the capacity to store and load anything close to the Louisiana ports. For example, corn in Iowa will be practically worthless. Corn in Savanna, Georgia will be worth the price of gold (OK, maybe a slight exaggeration). Location, location, location. Speaking of location, what would the price be in the trading pits in Chicago? Depending on the terms of the contracts, it could collapse.
Next, oil and refined products. There are huge refineries along the Mississippi. In Baton Rouge, Exxon runs the second biggest refinery in the country. Their capacity is 500,000 barrels a day, most of which seems to come from pipelines because they stated production could be reduced to 400,000 barrels a day because tankers cannot dock. On the other hand do some of these pipelines cross the Atchafalaya Basin which could be scoured out by massive water flow? Either way refined products couldn’t be barged up the Mississippi in the worst case. I think the safest investment thought is that the price of refined oil products will jump. How you want to play that is your call.
I think I have built an obvious case that we cannot let the Mississippi create a new channel. So now the question is how long will it take to seal off the new channel? Remember the helicopters dropping sandbags on the broken levee in New Orleans? Forget that solution. It will take boulders, tens of thousands of huge truck loads to work across the breach, and of course the delta has no rock quarries. The rock will have to be trucked in from a distance. It can be done, it will be done, but will it be done before creating a global food crisis? That I do not know.
I am not predicting a failure of the Old River Control Structure, but the surge coming next week will test it, as strongly as 1973, if not worse. Can levees in critical spots fail? Katrina proved that. I doubt the ORCS will fail next week, but the chances are above zero. Minyanville prides itself on being early. My advice is to pay attention, but be careful not to overreact. The worst case can be fixed, but the press and the markets will go nuts in the mean time. The first time you hear the words “Old River Control Structure” on CNBC it will time to start paying close attention.
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The recent banding together of Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids business leaders around a regional airport is the strongest evidence yet that West Michigan just might grow to be a real live region someday.
The Regional Air Alliance of West Michigan, announced recently by Dick DeVos, focuses on developing the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids into a port offering “best-in-class” air service. When you fly, the air alliance doesn’t want you driving to Chicago or Detroit first, it wants you to get the same discount air fare in Grand Rapids.
With a mission of keeping West Michigan fliers beginning their travels in the region, DeVos and other prominent business leaders have rallied around the largest airport in our region: Gerald R. Ford.
The idea of a regional airport has been argued here for decades, but the concept seemed to leave Kalamazoo and Muskegon second best — as if those towns weren’t viable enough to support their own ports.
So the three separate ports have fought for years to grow their markets, succeeding in many ways, but ultimately losing the battle for low-cost carriers and a competitive network of destinations. And many of us admire our growing airports — as we drive by them on our way to O’Hare.
That includes the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport, which plans to wrap up construction of its $35 million new terminal this year. Announcing now that Kalamazoo business leaders and economic developers support the Gerald R. Ford air terminal seems like pretty shabby timing, especially because the Kalamazoo airport worked for years to establish funding for the expansion.
That’s why, had it been just Grand Rapids and its business community announcing a focus on Gerald R. Ford, Kalamazoo may have raised its metaphorical eyebrows over the arrogance of West Michigan’s largest city and ignored the new group. But this is a true assembly of business heavyweights from both cities.
Representing Kalamazoo in the alliance are Craig DeNooyer, president of Treystar Development in Portage, and William Parfet, chief executive officer of MPI Research Inc. in Mattawan — both board members of Southwest Michigan First. The significant engagement in Kalamazoo-area economic development by those two business leaders adds instant credibility to the Air Alliance.
And DeNooyer stressed that there is still a place for the Kalamazoo airport in this new regional vision, supporting local businesses and private aviation.
This, on the heels of the Regional Policy Conference update in Kalamazoo a few weeks ago, seems a strong indication that Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids are working through their differences for the good of the region. If we can come together on difficult issues, such as which airport becomes our go-to hub, then we bring a stronger voice to Lansing.
Now who’s ready to tackle state budget reforms?
B. Candace Beeke, editor of Western Michigan Business Review, writes a weekly column for the Kalamazoo Gazette on regional business issues. Contact her at email@example.com. |
What would your child want to buy at the farmers market? After watching the below video, I starting thinking again about how to involve children in their food choices. In the video, a group of children are given $10 to buy whatever they wanted at the farmers market, and all of them bought at least some very healthy ingredients. Children don't need to be involved in food preparation constantly, but I think that most children would enjoy being involved more then they currently are. I bet that it is helpful for them to be involved with their food before it magically appears on the table in front of them, especially if we are trying to encourage them to eat healthy food. I can see how being part of the process could help children feel ownership over their mealtimes in a healthy way.
One example from our life is planting some carrots in a little planter in the backyard. I am a terrible gardener, but we managed to harvest most of the carrots. Actually, I should say that my 5-year-old helped both plant and harvest them herself. Everyday she would ask to go out and pick a carrot to eat. The funny thing is that these carrots really didn't taste that great (perhaps it was the variety; they were a type of stubby ball-shaped carrot meant for small spaces). But to her, the fact that she got to pluck it out of the ground made it so much more desirable than the sweeter, store-bought carrots in the refrigerator.
So, planting food with a child seems like an excellent way to include them. But what about making some buying choices of their own? I asked Elena what she would like to buy at our local farmers market if she could buy whatever she wanted. She answered, "Berries, carrots, lettuce, radishes and bread." What a sensible little thing she is! Of course, if she went and saw some special treat there, she'd probably end up buying that too, but her answer was insightful to me as her mother. I haven't bought radishes in a long time because I didn't realize that she liked them. It has made me realize that handing her a bit of money to do some shopping might not be a bad idea after all. I might just try it...
Watch the video below to see what other children bought at the farmers market. I'd be interested in hearing from you how to involve children in eating healthy food!
The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information. |
Community and ethics
Buildings connections among students — private colleges are good at that. Smaller numbers and more individualize attention give students more opportunities to form meaningful friendships and gain first-hand experiences. It starts right away, with first-year students targeted with unique orientations, programs and seminars. Ask our alums: Four out of five say there was a strong sense of community at their colleges. (Meanwhile, only half of alums from large Midwestern public institutions say the same.)
Academics are central to the college experience, but there's a lot to learn outside of classrooms. Our colleges make a well-rounded education a reality. There's time for students to participate and there are lots of options. Take sports: there are competitive varsity teams, unique club sports and intramurals, not to mention classes to take and great facilities to use. And there's that kind of variety of opportunities across campus, from the arts to politics to service projects. First-year students can look forward to diving in.
Our colleges help you clarify your values and experience personal growth. Whether church-affiliated or non-denominational, Minnesota's private colleges welcome and expect examination of diverse religious and ethical viewpoints. |
Family List (MO) |
Family List (INBio) |
Draft Treatments |
The Cutting Edge
Volume XV, Number 1, January 2008
News and Notes |
Leaps and Bounds | Germane Literature |
Season's Pick | Annotate your copy
SEASON'S PICK: Salvia lasiantha Benth. (Lamiaceae) is featured this season; a rare, disjunct species with horticultural potential.
This species flowers at the end of the rainy season and into the dry season, during the months November, December & January, but is not very showy in its seasonally dry, native habitat; by the time it is in full flower, the plants themselves are suffering the effects of drought. In Costa Rica it was first collected by Henri Pittier in 1888 on the slopes of Volcán Irazú, from where it has never again been recollected. Back then it was thought to be a new species and was described as Salvia pittieri Briq., now considered a synonym of the species described from Mexico by Bentham in 1833. It was not rediscovered in Costa Rica until 100 years later, by Francisco Morales, at one of his favorite and most productive haunts, the Cerro Caraigres region.
Like many of the plants on this limestone outcrop, Salvia lasaiantha does well "in captivity" where the beauty of its dark green and deeply bullate leaves that contrast with the woolly pubescence of its stem, makes up for the seasonality of its flowers.
The flower color of this species has most often been described as "dark red" but in fact, in live plants, newly opened corollas are a rather odd, dull orange, and progressively change to an equally strange, purplish red as the day progresses. These photos by B. Hammel are vouchered by Hammel 24422 & 24443. |
Family therapy often focuses on a specific problem within a family. Usually, all members of the family attend the session together with the therapist. Therapists who conduct family therapy include psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, clergy, lay therapists and other mental health workers.
Family as a System
Family therapy techniques are based on the theory of family systems. This approach sees the family as a unit in which whatever happens to one member of the unit (the family) has an effect on every other member of that unit. Rather than focus on one particular member of the family, the focus is on making the entire family system work more effectively.
The therapist may help the family create a family genogram. The genogram highlights relationships among family members (including the extended family) and allows members of the family to explore their own patterns of behavior and how they relate to the rest of the family. The genogram is used to assess family dynamics, either in a global way or focused specifically around an issue. It is a visual way of “telling a family story.”
Family therapists, after spending time learning about the family’s issues, teach family members how to communicate honestly and more effectively. This may mean talking about feelings as well as becoming better listeners. Members of the family learn how to listen to one another and how to respond without necessarily trying to fix a problem or reacting negatively to what they hear.
As communication improves, the family is taught how to work together to resolve the issues that brought them into therapy. With better communication patterns, they are better able to identify current and future problems and create possible solutions. Sometimes the family will be engaged in role-playing. By pretending to be another family member, each member gets to better understand the other person’s point of view. The family learns to disagree without anger and to move toward creating a solution to their problems.
Creating a Family Contract
A family contract is a technique that enables the family to continue on a better path without the therapist being present. Creating the contact generates discussion and clarifies expectations for each member of the family unit. Because each member of the family has had input, the rules that are established are fully understood by everyone, as are the consequences. The family has agreed, in advance, to the consequences of the contract not being upheld. |
Is your teen starting to wear makeup? Many teens learn how to apply makeup on their own by watching adults apply appropriate makeup FOR THEM.
It’s important to recognize that teen makeup needs are very different from adult makeup needs. A teen simply does not have the same issues as an adult. A teen’s skin is still "fresh-looking" and does not require the same attention as an adult makeup routine. It is important for a teen to understand that there is an age-appropriate amount and type of makeup to apply. And, a teen must also understand the difference between day, night, and special event makeup.
Here are some fun makeup tips for teens, for any occasion:
• Use lipgloss with touch of glitter on the fullest part of lower lip
• Colored/tinted lipbalm for every day use
• Curl your eyelashes (no mascara or just use clear mascara)
• Dust a light iridescent powder over the tops of your cheekbones (think fairydust)
• Try a colored mascara – a blue mascara will bring out the whites in your eyes
• Dab a pinch of glitter on your eyelids for some extra sparkle throughout the evening
Probably the biggest mistake that most teens make is over applying makeup. Over application is actually unhealthy for the skin; it can clog pores and create skin conditions that lead to more over application. Using too much concealer, foundation, and powder leads to a pancake face which can look like a “mask." Only the appropriate amount of makeup can give the flawless, healthy look your teen is striving to attain. It is important to teach that, in many cases, less is more! The best look for a teenager is a light makeup application that supports their natural beauty and does not appear overdone.
Treat your teen to a makeup party. Sometimes our children and teens refuse to listen to our advice, so bring in a pro they can’t argue with. Invite a professional makeup artist into your home for a fun-filled 2 hours. Teen makeup parties offer an opportunity for your daughter and her closest friends to receive their first makeup lesson in a relaxed environment – and from a professional.
Focus on a good skin care regime. Healthy skin is the palette for achieving the best makeup results. Here are some tips you should share with your teenager to start good skin care habits early on.
• Daily cleansing, toning and moisturizing
• Protect your skin from the sun, use sunscreen SPF 30
• Suggestions for dealing with dry or oily skin types
• Seasonal skin care tips
• Proper removal of makeup
• Use a soft/gentle touch on your face |
Since ancient times, Afghanistan has been known as a source of precious and semi-precious stones, such as spinel and lapis that were mined in the mountains of Badakhshan. These gemstones have been referenced for centuries in travel manuscripts and ancient Persian poems. Some of the earliest indications of mining, anywhere in the world, come from Afghanistan and date back 6,000 years.
Despite its strategic location as a pathway to the historic trade routes and its importance as a source of gemstones, relatively little is known about the exact location of ancient mines, as few formal written records exist. An example of this is the recently discovered mining and copper smelting evidence at Mes Aynak in Logar province.
It was not until the 19th century that systematic attempts were made to assess the mineral resources of the region, initially by British military expeditions which were followed by surveys conducted under the auspices of the Geological Survey of India.
From that point onwards, various geological expeditions investigated areas generally located along the Silk Road. These studies laid the foundations of the industry’s present day knowledge of Afghanistan's geology.
A new era in the study of Afghanistan's geology and mineral resources began when the Government of Afghanistan inaugurated the National Geological Survey in July 1955. This marked the initiation of organized surveys of the geological and mineral resources of this country, which continued through the next 25 years. This period was characterized by extensive mapping operations and, subsequently, by geological surveys and the prospecting of mineral occurrences and a more detailed evaluation of selected prospects.
The Afghanistan Geological Survey (AGS) under the Ministry of Mines and Industries conducted this work in cooperation with German, Italian, French and Soviet geologists, as well as nominal support from the United Nations.
German, Italian and French geological missions were present in Afghanistan between 1959 and 1967. Their assistance helped in the creation of maps and documentation of mineral deposits working in parallel with existing Soviet interests, who finalized and published a compendium of international studies. This eventually led to the establishment of the Department of Geology and Mines and later the Department of Geological and Mineral Survey.
This period represented the most important phase of mineral exploration to date; and resulted in the production of a large number of reports and materials on mineral occurrences, resources and prospects.
Geological investigations were severely curtailed with the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, in December 1979, when the country effectively became closed to western geologists. Prior to the invasion, the geology of Afghanistan was probably known in more detail than any other region of the Himalayas; however, this very much marked the suspension of outside interests and the isolation of the Afghan geological community.
Like other government institutions, the Afghanistan Geological Survey was severely weakened during more than two decades of military conflict, and suffered from a lack of investment or skills development, and a specific inability to perform on any active projects.
During the fighting between Mujahedeen factions following the withdrawal of the Soviets in 1989, the AGS office found itself literally on the front lines, and was severely damaged. Throughout this period of conflict and during the later rule by the Taliban, the staff of the AGS under the guidance of Dr. Mir Akbar salvaged and protected documents, maps and samples, often at great personal risk to themselves and their families.
After the Taliban left Kabul, in December 2001, this precious data was returned to the AGS. Afghanistan, and the industry, owes a debt of gratitude to these dedicated professionals.
Following the fall of the Taliban regime, the Government of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan, with the assistance of the World Bank, began to formulate a mining sector strategy and policy.
Among many things, this recognized the need for the rehabilitation and restructuring of the AGS in order for it to perform to current, industry standards and be recognized as a modern geological survey, able to implement a program of geological mapping and resource assessment, using contemporary concepts and methods.
In response to this need, the British Geological Survey and United States Geological Survey commenced collaborative projects with the Afghanistan Geological Survey and Ministry of Mines and Industries in 2004. The combined efforts allowed for the implementation of a comprehensive program of capacity building, geological mapping, evaluation of mineral and hydro-geological resources and the creation of geological and mineral databases and geographical information systems. The furthering of programs and training for Afghan geologists and mining engineers was also impacted by this partnership.
Today, as the revised Minerals Law and the Law on Hydrocarbons are awaiting parliamentary approval, international donor activity has been enhanced. The ministry and its new leadership have segued into a new and more appropriate role of regulator, and revamped the entire tender procedure to more closely adhere to industry and world standards.
The result is the emergence of a mining regulatory, supervisory and monitoring authority that is comparable when viewed through any prism. |
A new international study — done by 47 experts using data from multiple satellites and aircraft — shows that the Earth is losing ice at an ever-increasing rate from both poles.
We've known for years that the Arctic has been suffering massive ice loss, with the record low broken more than once in recent years. What's devastating about this new report is that it shows unequivocally that the Antarctic is also losing land ice, with the critical West Antarctica ice sheet losing on average 65 billion tons every year.
Measuring ice is difficult. By combining several methods from several sources, the scientists were able to get the most accurate measurements ever made. These new data show that the ice loss from both poles has increased by a factor of three since the 1990s. Just Greenland — the largest source of fresh water ice in the Northern Hemisphere — is losing ice at a rate five times what it did just in the 1990s.
Together, since 1992, this ice melt has added over a centimeter (about a half inch) to sea level rise. That may not sound like much, but it doesn't take much to start causing catastrophic changes in erosion, storms and flooding. Worse, this accounts for only about one-fifth of the total amount of sea level rise. Much of the rise is due to the water in the oceans expanding due to warming and other sources.
There's a double whammy for you: Global warming is increasing the amount of water in the oceans from melting ice, and also increasing the sea level rise by heating up the water itself.
The West Antarctica melt is troubling. Measurements have been unclear until now.
This new study wipes out yet another false claim from climate change deniers, too. A common refrain from them is that Antarctic ice is increasing, not decreasing. However, this is not true for two reasons.
The first is that they count sea ice in that measure. However, Antarctic sea ice tends to melt away completely every year in the spring and summer, and then it reforms in the winter. It therefore on average does not contribute to sea level rise or to the heat budget of the Earth.
Second, this new study shows the claim is wrong anyway. We are losing ice from Antarctica every year, and it's the critical land ice.
But this is nothing new when it comes to denier claims. Between cherry-picking data that supports their argument but ignores huge amounts of evidence refuting them, displaying misleading graphs, and out-and-out witch hunts and attacks, very little of what they claim is true.
The truth is the globe is warming. The climate is changing. Ice is melting, sea levels are rising, droughts and wildfires are on the rise, and much if not all of this is due to human activities increasing greenhouses gases in our atmosphere. It really is that simple, and it's long, long since past time we acknowledge that. And that's just the first step, but given how loud the deniers are, it's one we still have to take.
Phil Plait is the creator of Slate's Bad Astronomy and author of "Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, From Astrology to the Moon Landing 'Hoax'" and "Death From the Skies! These Are the Ways the Universe Will End." He wrote this for Slate. |
Definitions of apercu
n. - A first view or glance, or the perception or estimation so obtained; an immediate apprehension or insight, appreciative rather than analytic. 2
n. - Hence, a brief or detached view; conspectus; sketch. 2
The word "apercu" uses 6 letters: A C E P R U.
No direct anagrams for apercu found in this word list.
Shorter words found within apercu:
ace acre ae ape aper ar arc are cap cape caper car care carp cep crap crape cue cup cur cure ear eau ecru ecu er era pa pac pace pacer par pare pareu pe pea pear pec per prau puce pur pure race rap rape re reap rec recap rep rue up urea
List shorter words within apercu, sorted by length
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The word "comparatives" uses 12 letters: A A C E I M O P R S T V.
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floppies is a valid word in this word list. For a definition, see the external dictionary links below.
The word "floppies" uses 8 letters: E F I L O P P S.
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t - floppiest
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Definitions of leveling
p. pr. & vb. n. - of Level 2
n. - The act or operation of making level. 2
n. - The art or operation of using a leveling instrument for finding a horizontal line, for ascertaining the differences of level between different points of the earth's surface included in a survey, for establishing grades, etc., as in finding the descent of a river, or locating a line of railroad. 2
The word "leveling" uses 8 letters: E E G I L L N V.
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Home 2014-2015 Morgan Community College Catalog & November 2014 Addendum COURSES Course Descriptions (Alphabetical) CIS-Computer Information Systems Courses CIS 115 Introduction to Computer Information Systems
CIS 115 Introduction to Computer Information Systems
(30 lecture hours, 30 lab hours, 3 credits)
Focuses on an overview of the needs for and roles of computer information systems. Emphasizes computer requirements in organizations, history, hardware functions, programming, systems development, and computer operations. Introduces computer applications.
Added at MCC Fall 1991.
Click arrowheads to expand or collapse items |
Green Island company wins EPA quality award
GREEN ISLAND -- A company that uses mushroom fungus to make environmentally friendly packing materials recently won a national environmental quality award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Founded by two students from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2007, Ecovative Design will be honored during a ceremony April 27th at EPA regional headquarters in New York City.
"EPA was the first supporter of our research under the Small Business Innovation Research program in 2008, and now we are honored to receive this recognition," said Gavin McIntyre, the company's chief scientist.
The company's products are called Ecocradle, a packaging material, and Greensulate, an insulation.
Both are formed by a mixture of mineral-based insulating particles like pearlite, combined with water, flour and spores from the oyster mushroom.
Said U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: "This environmental champion is paving the way toward a green energy future, revolutionizing our packaging and products using eco-friendly, sustainable materials."
-- Brian Nearing
NobleHouse Technologies files for bankruptcy
COLONIE -- NobleHouse Technologies Inc. of Colonie filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Albany.
NobleHouse, which is a holding company for various information technology companies, listed $937,000 in assets and more than $8.3 million in liabilities. It also had $11 million in annual revenue the past two years.
Harold Armstrong, who is named on bankruptcy documents as the company's chief financial officer, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The company's subsidiaries include Control Network Communications and Microtech Asset Recovery Systems.
-- Larry Rulison
Two solar companies combine under one name
COLONIE -- Adirondack Solar on Wolf Road in Colonie and Hudson Valley Clean Energy in Rhinebeck, which acquired Adirondack Solar in 2010, have changed their name to Hudson Solar.
Co-founder John Wright said the company, which is based in Rhinebeck and has 38 employees, is now going after business in southern Vermont, western Massachusetts and western Connecticut.
The company has also started a new leasing program with SunPower solar panels, offering customers an alternative to purchasing a solar system. One of the lease programs requires no money down.
-- Larry Rulison
ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES (92%); RESEARCH (90%); NEWS BRIEFS (90%); ENVIRONMENTALISM (90%); MOLDS & FUNGI (90%); PACKAGING MATERIALS (90%); ENVIRONMENTAL DEPARTMENTS (90%); INSOLVENCY & BANKRUPTCY (90%); INSOLVENCY & BANKRUPTCY LAW (90%); US ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (89%); SOLAR ENERGY (88%); INSOLVENCY & BANKRUPTCY COURTS (87%); SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (78%); HOLDING COMPANIES (78%); BUSINESS INSOLVENCY & BANKRUPTCY (78%); RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT (76%); SMALL BUSINESS (73%); RENEWABLE ENERGY (72%); US CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY (72%); EXECUTIVES (70%); COMPUTING & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (67%)
NEW YORK, NY, USA (92%); ALBANY, NY, USA (77%) NEW YORK, USA (92%); MASSACHUSETTS, USA (79%); VERMONT, USA (79%); CONNECTICUT, USA (50%) UNITED STATES (93%) |
Back to the Root makes growing mushrooms at home simple and sustainable.
Medicinal mushrooms can help ward off colds and flus this winter.
Whip up a quick herbal snack of juicy mushrooms on toast with herb butter or fresh-from-the-oven herb and mushroom scones.
Grow mushrooms to help improve garden soil.
Start living healthy with our tips for getting well and staying well.
Amy Mayfield introduces herself to the Herb Companion public.
Mugwort, an herb that was once used as a charm used against evil spirits, treatment toward alleviating digestion and a preventative solution for tired feet, is also an herb that has been used to induce vivid dreams.
Back to the Roots (BTTR) is collecting 20,000 pounds of coffee grounds each week, cultivating them into a rich substrate from which to grow oyster mushrooms and make grow-it-at-home mushroom kits.
Celebrate the end of the growing season with this recipe one herbie discovered in Italy.
Check out these eight household uses for apple cider vinegar.
A few jayhawks planted a medicinal garden at the University of Kansas.
Native Kansas plants are being researched in this project, launched by environmental studies faculty members at the University of Kansas to promote traditional ecological knowledge.
The discovery of medicinal pills onboard an ancient Italian merchant ship lends credence to the historic practice of herbal medicine.
Sauteed spring greens and mushrooms dress up polenta in this nutritious, satisfying main dish.
Herbal immune boosters really work.
Fresh fruits and veggies can still be grown during the winter; just grow them indoors.
When you celebrate Meatless Monday with hearty, savory Mushroom Bread Pudding, no one will miss the meat.
Craving fresh food during the long winter months? Here are nine vegetables that you can find fresh in February--and great ways to prepare and serve them.
Medicinal vinegars are potent and easy to make at home. A strong alternative for children or those with alcohol sensitivities, this is a wonderful option for making and using herbal medicines.
Try this fun garden-layout idea for your medicinal herbs this spring.
The art of healing our bodies with herbs is a new fascination in Erin McIntosh's life. Learn more about her journey on the path to herbalism.
Spring is the perfect time to wild craft gently soothing vulnerary herbs, such as plantain and violet leaf, to make healing oils and salves. Learn more about these wonderful springtime botanicals with useful recipes for infused oils and medicinal salves.
Although there are many workshops and classes available that will teach you how to “make your own” medicines and crafts, it's sometimes just as easy as snipping herbs and heading into the kitchen. This article is a quick how-to look on making medicinal oils.
In Costa Rica, all the elements are in place for a Slow Food revolution. Check out the organic bounty--and enjoy a delicious gourmet take on a traditional native dish.
Here we go back in time to see beliefs and folk uses surrounding Stinging Nettle, how it is most commonly utilized by herb lovers today, along with flower essence information, my own personal favorite uses for this stinging European native, and references for further information.
TV personality and author Chris Kilham, founder of Medicine Hunter, says schisandra, cacao and San Pedro cactus could replace many common pharmaceuticals--without the onerous side effects.
Try this tasty garden produce-friendly recipe, a delicious, easy and adaptable way to eat up your garden harvest.
Guest blogger KyLynn Hull shares a simple and tasty recipe for hearty mushroom and leek soup.
The New York Times reports our carbon emissions in 2011 were the highest on record. Reduce your family's carbon footprint by choosing vegetarian recipes such as Fennel and Leek Soup and Delicata Squash Stuffed with Wild Mushrooms and Herbs. |
Below is a statement by Francesca Grifo, senior scientist and director of Union of Concerned Scientists’s Scientific Integrity Program.
“We are thrilled that President Obama has taken a personal interest in depoliticizing the federal government’s use of science and is taking steps to address this challenge. Scientists are heartened by commitments from officials at all levels to improve transparency, strengthen protections for scientists, and seriously consider the science when crafting regulations that protect the public.
“The seeds have been planted, but they must be nurtured. President Obama has directed his science adviser to develop a plan for restoring scientific integrity to federal policymaking. The president has said the plan must make government decision-making more transparent and protect the rights of scientists so they’re able to do their jobs without interference. This plan should be both meaningful and practical, and the Office of Science and Technology must be empowered to carry it out.
“That said, no one could right the wrongs of the previous administration in only 100 days. Fundamentally changing how the government works is unimaginably complex. We recognize that restoring scientific integrity to federal policymaking will take time and persistence.
“Fundamental scientific integrity reform is critical to protecting our health, safety and environment. Because science is ever more essential to our nation’s most pressing policy decisions, it is increasingly subject to political spin and manipulation. The special interests that so successfully convinced the Bush administration to misuse scientific information have not gone away.
“In the meantime, there are issues that need immediate attention, including fully restoring science to Endangered Species Act decisions. And there are decisions that will have to be made over the next several months, such as how to update air quality standards. I’m pleased President Obama has signaled that scientific integrity is a high priority and we intend to ensure it stays on his administration’s punch list.”
The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading science-based nonprofit organization working for a healthy environment and a safer world. Founded in 1969, UCS is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., and has offices in Berkeley, Calif., Chicago and Washington, D.C. |
Philips' new LED bulb casts white light, even though it's yellow.
Last week there were lightbulbs in the air at Mother Jones. Reporter Tim Murphy had no sooner penned his piece on Rep. Michele Bachmann's weird conspiracy theories about compact fluorescent legislation than a big package arrived on my desk. I opened it, and there, unfortunately nestled between two hunks of Styrofoam (have I mentioned how annoyed I get when companies send me "green" swag swaddled in unnecessary packaging?) was Philips' brand new LED warm white bulb. According to its package, the 12.5-watt LED acts exactly like a 60-watt incandescent bulb—with the addition of a few cool tricks: It lasts 15 years and will save me $142.50 in electricity costs over its lifetime. On Slate, Farhad Manjoo recently raved about LED bulbs. I thought: Sign me up!
So I switched the new bulb into my desk lamp. For the past few days, it's been casting a nice whitish glow over my desk. Still, I probably won't be retrofitting my house with LEDs anytime soon, for one big reason: Models like the one Philips sent me retail for a prohibitive $45, compared to $1.50 for a CFL bulb. The price difference doesn't quite correlate with lifespan: CFLs last about one-third as along as LEDs. And while we all know older CFL bulbs were flickering, headache-inducing disasters, most newer models are actually pretty comparable to incandescents in light quality. So is the LED really worth the hefty initial investment?
First off, it's worth pointing out that both CFLs and LEDs are dramatically more energy efficient than old-fashioned incandescent bulbs, by about 75 percent and 90 percent, respectively. The main reason that LED bulbs cost so much more than CFLs is that they rely on more complicated (and therefore more expensive) technology. The light-emitting source in a CFL is a small amount of gas that, when stimulated with electricity, illuminates. LED bulbs, on the other hand, contain semiconductors, which give off light through movement of electrons when a current passes through. "Think of an LED like a small electrical appliance," says Celia Lehrman, deputy home editor at Consumer Reports.
Aside from their long lifespan, LEDs have a few noteworthy advantages over CFLs. While CFLs can take as long as three minutes after being turned on to reach their full brightness, LEDs brighten immediately. LEDs work much better with dimmers than CFLs. Another big LED plus: Unlike CFL bulbs, they don't contain mercury. Although few LED-bulb-specific recycling programs exist (Philips spokeswoman Sylvie Casanova says LED bulbs are "like small appliances" and therefore have to be recycled like any other e-waste) their long lifetime will give manufacturers a head start on creating recycling programs.
Lehrman expects Consumer Reports to release its report on CFL bulbs in September. Till then, if you're in the market for an LED bulb, says Lehrman, make sure you know what you're looking for. While incandescent and CFL bulbs' brightness is generally measured in watts, LEDs are measured in lumens: An 800-lumen bulb is roughly equivalent to a 60-watt incandescent. Another important label to look for is color temperature or light color, measured in Kelvin. My freebie bulb has a color temperature of 2,700, which means it emits a warm white light. With higher temperatures come different colors: 3,000 would look more like the bright, white light emitted from a halogen bulb, and 4,000 and higher would look bluish.
If you're not willing to shell out for an LED bulb yet, Lehrman says the price is likely drop down the line, and a few LED manufacturers are planning to offer rebates. Till that happens, I'll probably stick to CFLs and continue to phase out my electricity gobbling old incandescents. Sorry Michele Bachmann! |
Even years after its release in July 1999, Alex Lloyd's highly experimental first album was still one of the most talked about and respected Australian albums. The album itself was nearly two years in the making.
Alex Lloyd was introduced to music courtesy of his father's beat-up, old guitar and the sessions that father and son spent working their way through a Beatles songbook (Lloyd preferred the group's latter, more studio-oriented stuff). His teenage years were spent playing at every opportunity: in the bedroom, at parties, and on the streets of the Sydney suburb of Balmain. Eventually, he was noticed as the lead singer of Sydney indie band Mother Hubbard, who was popular for their live performances and achieved some degree of success on record.
After one Mother Hubbard album, Lloyd wanted to take a major musical shift toward more of a technology-based sound. The members agreed to differ about the direction Lloyd wanted to take, leaving the singer to record the songs he had written for the next album as a solo, instead of a group, album. It also allowed him to throw himself much deeper into that technology than he might have if he'd still been recording with Mother Hubbard. The more he worked on the songs, the further he moved from the album he had initially imagined.
Demo sessions started in early 1997 in tiny studios around Sydney's inner west. He might spend a month on a song trying to come up with the perfect balance between technology and traditional instruments and, having found that balance, start on the song all over again. Recording sessions proper began in early 1998. Halfway through, Lloyd was invited to attend Miles Copeland's legendary songwriting workshop at a medieval French castle. Lloyd was in two minds about going; halfway through his album he didn't want to suddenly be swayed by other people's songwriting methods. Despite his reservations, he attended, and the experience showed him that he'd been working on his own for too long (a year writing and another year recording). He decided to finish the album in Santa Monica, CA, with former Psychedelic Fur and now producer Ed Buller (Pulp, Suede).
The end result of all of Lloyd's efforts was Black the Sun, an innovative, highly contemporary album, deftly balancing the songs with musical experimentation. Lloyd supported the album with live performances, determined to display the songs as songs rather than studio creations. A year after its release, Black the Sun was still raising eyebrows, still winning fans, and earned Alex Lloyd a belated Australian Recording Industry Association award for Best Male Artist on the basis of one of the singles, as well as gaining release and glowing reviews outside of Australia. Lloyd returned with his highly awaited second album, Watching Angels Mend, in 2002 along with several singles, including "Green," "Amazing," and "Everybody's Laughing." ~ Ed Nimmervoll, Rovi |
Hi, I'm about to start digging up a patch of lawn that I will turn into a veggie patch. I'm wondering whether it's worth creating raised beds, or just planting into the soil. The soil quality seems ok, tendency to clay but not really heavy, and south west facing aspect. Raised beds appeal because it may reduce the chance of footballs being kicked into the patch (two small boys), but I'm sure there are lots of more gardening-related pros (and cons)?
Raised beds will be good for you because you can fill them with non-clayey soil and compost. The soil warms up more quickly,too. We have two raised beds, though we're on sand, so drainage is not a problem.
You'lll need to screen them off from the footballs, though, as all your seedlings will get flattened.
the other good thing with raised beds is that they define small manageable areas of growing space .... and you could designate one for your kids to dig in and they will then leave your ones largely alone.
Nicer for your back too! They're fab in our garden because it's long & thin & we've used them to divide up the space into sections. We've got horrible clay soil & made the mistake of filling one bed with top soil taken from the local area which is almost as bad as the original soil! We have to add lots of compost each year to make it usable. Definitely worth getting good quality stuff to fill them with rather than a cheaper option!
Having built 3 raised beds, I thought I might add the thought that they dry out really quickly. Obviously not a problem this year, but perhaps in others. Also, if you factor in the cost of filling them with good soil, it would be cheaper to buy veg.
"filling them with good soil" sorry? you use your own soil. mine are only raised by six inches. the paths between are made with the stones removed from the beds. mark out your area, dig the soil from the paths onto the bed areas, set kerb stones in as your sides, level the soil back, the paths will be lower, the beds higher : and as you add compost each year they rise.
I have 14 by the way, ranging in size from 4x8 to 8x12 |
REF NO.: 239
|SUBJECT:||Memorial helps celebrates Brain Awareness Week|
|DATE:||March 21, 2006|
Memorial University is joining in the international celebrations for Brain Awareness Week 2006, which started Monday, March 13.
The local chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, is sponsoring Brain Storm 2006 on Thursday, March 23, from 1-3 p.m. in the resource room at Holy Heart High School on Bonaventure Ave., St. John's. A brief awards ceremony and reception will take place after the competition; cash prizes and gifts will be presented.
The Brain Storm Competition is a live question-and-answer competition that tests high school students' knowledge of the brain and nervous system.
"Our best young brains will be quizzed about the brain and how it relates to intelligence, memory, emotions, sensations, movement, stress, aging, sleep and brain disorders," said Dr. John McLean, a neuroscientist in the Faculty of Medicine.
Questions will be based on information found in the new publication Brain Facts: A Primer on the Brain and Nervous System. The edition can be downloaded at http://web.sfn.org/content/Publ/ications/BrainFactsindex.html.
Further information about Brain Awareness Week is available at www.sfn.org/baw.
- 30 - |
Guides and Tutorials
We have prepared guides for our customers which are intended to resolve or avoid some of the most commonly encountered issues preventing optimal quality of the final product. They are linked from the menu to the right. Right now, we have the following guides available as PDF files:
Acrobat Font Embedding Guidelines gives general guidelines on setting up Acrobat Distiller to properly embed all fonts when generating PDF files. Our systems will reject PDF files that do not have all fonts embedded, and Distiller's default settings have historically been set to never embed certain common fonts. Avoid unnecessary delays by reading through this guide and ensuring that your system is correctly configured!
The Job Preparation Guide for Designers details many of the capabilities of the Xerox Color 1000 Digital Presses on which we print most of the colour printing jobs here at Printing Services. From color settings and paper types to design tips and output parameters, this guide answers many critical questions. We recommend reading through it to make sure you are optimizing your designs for maximum quality output on our equipment.
The Clear Dry Ink User Guide details how to use Xerox Clear Dry Ink in the Adobe Creative Suite applications.
The Web Services Quick Guide is a walkthrough detailing the steps of ordering a print job through our Web Services system.
The Web Services Tutorials are Flash-based walkthroughs demonstrating how to use the Web Services system.
The Printing Services Standard Color Settings file for Adobe Creative Suite is a file containing the suggested settings from the Job Preparation Guide above. Once unzipped, it can be loaded via the Creative Suite Color Settings window.
The Printing Services Standard PDF Creation Settings file for Adobe Acrobat and Creative Suite is a file containing the suggested settings for creation of PDFs for output on our digital presses. Once unzipped, it can be loaded using the Add Adobe PDF Settings menu item in Adobe Acrobat Distiller or using the Adobe PDF Presets menu item in other Creative Suite applications. |
When:Thursday, October 4, 2012 -
What:Community Event / Festival
Special programs and family activities all looking up to the deep sky. Local astronomy clubs will be at the Museum to share their knowledge of the heavens with viewing opportunities through their telescopes, and visitors can also marvel at the wonders of the night sky in the Museum's portable planetarium. Free. |
This book is an introduction to music theory. Twenty-six lessons begin with a guide to reading music and progress to cover topics ranging from rhythm to chord types. By the end of this book, the reader will be familiar with all of the terms and concepts necessary for a basic and confident understanding of music.
First Lessons Music Theory Specifications:
- Product Number:30363
- Skill Level:Advanced
- Binding:Saddle Stitched
- Size:8.75 x 11.75
- Series:First Lessons
- Publisher:Mel Bay Publications, Inc.
- Date Published:8/12/2013 |
Antonín Dvorák, like his contemporary Edvard Grieg, and unlike
most other composers, lived a seemingly happy life. His contentment
is reflected in these pieces, eight in each of the two sets,
written when he was 37 and 45 respectively. He started his professional
career at 21 as a violist in the new Prague Theatre Orchestra
founded by Smetana. For a decade he performed during the day
and composed at night, growing in confidence in his abilities.
He entered a composing competition in 1875 for which Johannes Brahms was a judge. Dvorák won, but more importantly it began a friendship between the two composers that was to last until Brahms’ death in 1897. Brahms admired a set of vocal pieces that Dvorák had written, the Moravian Duets, and recommended them to his publisher, Simrock, in Germany.
Simrock knew that his market was mostly for home consumption so he had Brahms write a lengthy set of Hungarian Dances for piano four-hands. These sold so well that he commissioned a similar set of Slavonic Dances from Dvorák, known as Op. 46 and published in 1878. The set of eight dances, each averaging 4˝ minutes, begins, and ends, with a Furiant, and runs the full gamut of tempi, key signatures, and Bohemian and Slavic dance styles – Dumka, Sousedska, Skocna and Polka. They are uniformly delightful, tuneful, and engaging pieces.
The first set of Slavonic Dances made money for Simrock and Dvorák, so another similar set was commissioned eight years later and they sold equally well. One irony of the Brahms and Dvorák dance sets for piano is that the former’s Hungarian Dances are largely adapted folk melodies, whereas Dvorák’s Slavonic Dances are entirely his creations.
The performers on this disk, James Anagnoson and Leslie Kinton, are now resident in Toronto, Canada but have toured widely, playing two-piano and piano four-hands repertoire across the U.S., Europe and Asia. They have even performed some of these pieces in Prague to critical and audience acclaim.
The performances here are both firm and light, because both touches are required in every piece. The listener can tell that both players hear the music exactly the same way, a most important criterion for a duo’s success. The album is also packaged beautifully, with a painting by contemporary Canadian artist Francine Gravel titled “Danse des Moissons” (Dance of the Reapers) on the cover as well as on the disk. This CD is an excellent addition to a Dvorák collection. |
General Information about Bermuda
Bermuda is a North American island nation consisting of over 130 islands located in the North Atlantic Ocean. Bermuda is the oldest and most populated British overseas territory in the world and was first settled in 1609. Bermuda is home to the northernmost coral reefs in the world and 66,000 people.
The official language spoken in Bermuda is English but some Portuguese is also spoken. The main religions followed in Bermuda are Anglican, Roman Catholic, Protestant and African Methodist Episcopal. Bermuda's capital and largest city Hamilton, named after Sir Henry Hamilton (governor of Bermuda between 1778 and 1794) is located on Bermuda (or Great Bermuda) island and is home to under one thousand people.
Beaches are the most popular places to be in Bermuda. Horseshoe Bay is one of the favourites and is one of Bermuda's most beautiful beaches. The sand here is soft pink and there is a Beach House which offers rental equipment for watersports. Also popular is the Cristobal Colon dive site. This Spanish liner washed up in Bermudian waters in 1923 and was blown into two parts during World War II. Also at this site is the wreck of a Norwegian cargo ship that still has it's cargo sitting on deck- a fire truck. St George town is another place that attracts many visitors. This town appears almost the same as it did when it was founded in 1612. Now an UNESCO World Heritage Site, St George town is the oldest continuously populated British settlement in the New World.
Find Out About The Climate In Bermuda
The climate of Bermuda can be described as subtropical with rainfall being evenly distributed throughout the year. The weather conditions of Bermuda are warmed by the Gulf Stream with pleasant conditions all year round and averages of 30 degrees. The warmest months to visit are from April up until October with many visitors enjoying Bermuda's perfect ocean temperatures. August in particular is the best month to visit as this is the warmest month. February is the coolest month to visit Bermuda where conditions can drop as low as 14 degrees. If your planning a trip between June and November then care should be taken as hurricanes and tropical storms do occur during this period.
Geographical Information On Bermuda
Bermuda which is officially known as The Bermuda islands or The Somers Isles has a large group of islands spread over an area of just 53.3 square kilometres with a coastline of 103 kilometres. Set in the North Atlantic Ocean east coast of the United States of America with the closest landmass being Cape hatteras and North Carolina. There are over 138 islands in the island group with the largest island being known simply as Main Island and is sometimes called Bermuda or Great Bermuda. The terrain of Bermuda consists of many low hills which are separated by fertile depressions. The highest point of Bermuda is known as Town Hill and rises to just 76 metres while the lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean at sea level.
Learn About The Economy Of Bermuda
Bermuda has one of the world's highest per capita incomes which is over 50 percent higher to that of the US. Bermuda has strong ties with international businesses as well as providing luxury facilities for their tourists. Most of the visitors to the islands come from the US resulting in the tourism industry being one of the most important contributors to the economy. The agricultural industry is low with only three percent of the population being involved. Because of this most of the food requirments for the islands has to be imported in. The main produces of Bermuda is bananas, vegetables, citrus, flowers, honey and dairy products. The main exports of Bermuda is pharmaceuticals and the official currency is the Bermudian Dollar.
Apartments in Bermuda
Attractions, Activities and Tours in Bermuda
Hotels in Bermuda
Must Explore would like to wish you an enjoyable stay in Bermuda. |
> The TPB
The Transportation Planning Board
The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) is
the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for
the region, and plays an important role as the regional forum for transportation
planning. The TPB prepares plans and programs that the federal government
must approve in order for federal-aid transportation funds to flow to
the Washington region.
Members of the TPB include
representatives of local governments; state transportation agencies;
the Maryland and Virginia General Assemblies; the Washington
Metropolitan Area Transit Authority; and non-voting members from
the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
and federal agencies. The TPB has an extensive public
involvement process, and provides a 30-day public
comment period before taking action on plans and programs.
The TPB's planning area covers the
District of Columbia and surrounding jurisdictions. In Maryland these
jurisdictions include Charles County, Frederick County, Montgomery County, and Prince
George's County, plus the cities of Bowie, College Park, Frederick, Gaithersburg,
Greenbelt, Rockville, and Takoma Park. In Virginia, the planning area
includes Alexandria, Arlington County, the City of Fairfax, Fairfax
County, Falls Church, Loudoun County, The Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park, and Prince William County.
History of the TPB
The TPB was created in 1965 by the region's local and state governments
to respond to federal highway legislation in 1962 that required the
establishment of a "continuing, comprehensive and coordinated" transportation
planning process in every urbanized area in the United States. Federal
Highway and transit legislation required the establishment of planning
bodies, which later became known as Metropolitan Planning Organizations
(MPOs), when it became clear that the construction of major transportation
projects through and around urban areas needed to be coordinated with
local and state jurisdictions.
The TPB is today one of the 384
MPOs across America. According to federal law, an MPO must be designated
in every urbanized area with a population over 50,000. The TPB is designated
as this region's MPO by the governors of Virginia and Maryland and the
mayor of Washington based upon an agreement among the local governments.
The TPB became associated with the Metropolitan Washington Council
of Governments (COG) in 1966. COG was established in 1957 by local cities
and counties to deal with regional concerns including growth, housing,
environment, public health and safety - as well as transportation. Although
the TPB is an independent body, its staff is provided by COG's Department
of Transportation Planning.
TPB's Major Roles
The TPB does not exercise direct control over funding and does not
implement projects, but it does perform a range of activities that promote
an integrated approach to transportation development. The requirements
of federal law compel the key transportation players in the region to
work through the TPB process. The TPB exercises its basic role as a
coordinating agency in several ways:
- The TPB ensures compliance with federal laws and requirements.
Federal requirements inject consistency and coordination into regional
transportation decision-making. The federally mandated metropolitan
planning process requires all MPOs across the country to produce two
basic documents—a long-range plan, which in the Washington region
is called the Financially Constrained
Long-Range Transportation Plan (CLRP), and a Transportation
Improvement Program (TIP), which lists projects and programs that
will be funded in the next six years. Since 2000, the CLRP has used
a planning horizon of 25 years. In order to receive federal funding,
transportation projects must be included in the CLRP and the TIP.
Federal law also requires the TPB to show that the region will
have adequate funds to build the projects listed in these two main
planning documents. The funding for the CLRP and TIP must be “reasonably
expected to be available,” according to federal transportation law
enacted in 1991. This financial constraint is intended to make sure
the different partners in the region’s transportation system are
realistically planning for the future.
In addition, the TPB must make sure that the projects in its CLRP
and the TIP, taken collectively, contribute to air
quality improvement goals for the region. This is a requirement
of the federal Clean
Air Act. The TPB must also comply with federal laws, regulations
and policies stipulating that regional transportation plans must
not disproportionately affect low-income
or minority communities in an adverse way.
- The TPB provides a regional transportation policy framework and
a forum for coordination. While federal law and regulations drive
much of the region’s regular transportation planning activities, the
TPB has also developed a policy framework—known as the Vision—
that is intended to guide the region’s transportation investments
in the new century.
Approved in 1998, the Vision is a long-range document laying out
key goals and strategies that will help the region to develop the
transportation system it needs to sustain economic development,
environmental quality and a high quality of life. The agencies that
implement transportation projects—the states, the District of Columbia,
the regional transit authority and others—must show that the goals
of their projects are consistent with the Vision.
- The TPB provides technical resources for decision-making.
Finally, the TPB is a technical resource. The TPB staff is continually
working in close coordination with the staffs from the local and state
jurisdictions and WMATA, as well as with outside consultants, to produce
numerous studies and analyses. This technical information is essential
for the decisions made by the TPB itself and for the decisions of
the jurisdictions comprising the region.
Technical information and analysis are prepared on a variety of
topics, most of which fit into a few broad categories. Travel monitoring
activities gather information on current travel patterns and conditions.
For example, data is collected on transportation facilities throughout
the region to assess the performance of highway and transit facilities.
Congestion levels are calculated based upon measures of the average
number of cars per lane-mile of highway. Personal travel patterns
are also surveyed to determine how people are traveling, for what
purpose and how far.
forecasting develops predictions about future travel conditions.
The TPB staff develops these forecasts using computer programs (“models”)
whose inputs include assumptions about the future, including projected
population and job growth, data about planned or potential improvements
in the transportation system, and assumptions about future travel
demand. The model’s outputs produce travel forecasts that inform
a variety of decisions, such as helping to determine how various
transportation investments will affect mobility in the region. Information
about current and future travel conditions is used for a number
of purposes—especially for the regional air quality analysis required
by the federal Clean Air
Act Amendments of 1990, as amended. Technical data produced
by the TPB staff are also used by other jurisdictions and agencies.
The states, the District of Columbia and WMATA (the regional transit
authority) use TPB data on a regular basis to plan and operate their
services and facilities. |
Following a grand jury’s indictment of Gov. Rick Perry on charges of coercion and abuse of power, supporters of the state’s longest-serving governor have flocked to his defense, claiming he's the victim of a partisan witch hunt.
But Perry’s detractors are quick to note what the integrity unit was up to at the time — investigating allegations of improper reviews and conflicts of interest inside the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, a grant-making entity that Perry has touted as one of his signature accomplishments. That inquiry, which resulted in an indictment of a high-ranking CPRIT official, was delayed by Perry's line-item veto of the unit's funding.
The public won’t know the details of Perry’s prosecution unless it goes to trial; be assured Perry's lawyers will try every legal tool in the toolbox to derail it. In the meantime, the secrecy surrounding the evidence the grand jury heard is providing fertile ground for speculation.
Perry and his lawyers say the governor was simply exercising a constitutional right when he vetoed $7.5 million in state funding for the public integrity unit, which is overseen by a district attorney who had pleaded guilty to drunken driving.
“This is nothing more than banana republic politics," said Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee, who is leading Perry’s legal team. “What has happened here not only has no merit, but also was absolutely contrary to the law.”
The leading theory Texas Democrats are peddling is that Perry wanted to upend the public integrity unit, which is housed within the Travis County’s district attorney’s office, because it was investigating CPRIT — bringing at least one of Perry’s major donors under the microscope.
Mo Elleithee, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, insinuated in an email to supporters that Perry might be "using a veto in attempt to force an elected official to resign and possibly stymie a politically damaging investigation."
CPRIT, an entity created by voters in 2007 to spend $3 billion on cancer research, came under investigation after an oversight committee disclosed that the agency had approved an $11 million grant to Peloton Therapeutics without scientific review.
One of Peloton’s initial investors was Dallas philanthropist Peter O’Donnell, a friend to Perry who has donated $241,000 to his campaigns since 2000, campaign finance records show. At the time, The Dallas Morning News reported that O’Donnell had also given $1.6 million to the CPRIT Foundation, a nonprofit. State law prohibits the CPRIT Foundation from accepting donations from CPRIT grant recipients.
The public integrity unit eventually indicted Jerry Cobbs, CPRIT’s former chief commercialization officer, for allegedly deceiving CPRIT officials about the grant given to Peloton Therapeutics. At the time, Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg said, "other current CPRIT board members are not under suspicion in the investigation."
In the months preceding and following Perry's veto, the public integrity unit certainly had more on its plate than CPRIT. It was pursuing more than 400 cases at the time of the veto, including 23 “public corruption” cases, county documents show.
Of those public corruption cases, 10 resulted in indictments, including an elected sheriff who had allegedly falsified records and various state employees who had been accused of behaving unscrupulously. Another 13 public corruption cases remained under investigation and were therefore confidential.
While details on what the grand jury heard are thin, it's indisputable that the public integrity unit took a hard hit from the veto. While Travis County covered some of the lost funding, the unit’s annual operating budget dropped to $2.5 million from $3.7 million. The unit was forced to downsize to 24 employees from 34, and it reportedly dropped more than 50 of its pending cases — none of which fell under the “public corruption” category.
Disclosure: Tony Buzbee was a major donor to The Texas Tribune in 2012. A complete list of Texas Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2014/08/19/context-perrys-veto/. |
I have a problem with my tummy and sides. I weigh 216 pounds at 5’71/2″. I have started to do push ups and sit ups and run for 15 minutes day 3 times a week in the morning. Will this help me lose weight or help form six-pack abs? I am also trying to eat less. Is consuming fruit when I feel hungry a good strategy? –Lawrence
For weight loss the formula is to burn more calories than you eat. So if you are eating less, you should be losing weight. If you are exercising more, that will help you lose weight as well.
Doing sit-ups using correct form will help to firm the muscles in your abdomen–but exercise cannot target fat loss. In other words, you may have some very developed abdominal muscles, but if your body decides to keep fat deposited on your belly, no one will ever see the six-pack! Fat will be removed from various areas around the body when a person loses weight, but no one can choose where it will come off; everyone’s body is just different.
A 15-minute run may help you burn off about 150 calories. Just to give you an idea of what this means pound-wise, there are 3500 calories in a pound of fat. You would have to run for about 6 hours to lose just one pound. I certainly do not want to discourage you–but just help you become aware of what is likely to happen. Getting in the habit of running for 15 minutes on 3 days a week should result in another pound of weight loss every other month. Exercise is very effective over time and especially helps to maintain the loss once you do lose weight. Eventually you may find it easier to run for 20 or 30 minutes, and then the weight will come off even more quickly.
And as for snacking on fruits, that’s a much better idea than having a cookie or a candy bar. Just realize it is possible to overdo your fruit intake since fruits do have calories. Limit yourself to 4 or 5 pieces of fruit per day and if you’re still hungry, consider a handful of nuts as a snack, a glass of water, or some crispy vegetables to munch on.
Good luck, and keep us posted on how you’re doing over the next few weeks! |
Look at the image on the right. For many older people, our roads appear just this daunting.
Join our campaign to make walking safer and easier.
For many older people, our streets can seem like an obstacle course.
Trying to navigate high kerbs can be really difficult for people with reduced mobility. They can feel inhospitable, creating no go areas. Speeding traffic, cars parked on pavements and inadequate crossings can also put people off too.
These things can make getting out and about to make journeys to the doctor’s or to visit friends really difficult.
There are solutions which can improve people like Maureen and her neighbours' everyday experience of their local streets:
Extending times at pedestrian crossings by just three seconds
Reducing speed limits to 20mph
Cracking down on pavement parking
This needs to be a priority for the next government, and each party’s political manifestos are being written right now.
Write to your MP asking for their party's election manifesto to include a commitment for making walking safer and easier for older people.
By coming together we can ensure that people can stay active and independent in later life.
Write to your MP now |
You are what you think! Everything you do is determined by the quality of your thinking. If you aren't thinking clearly, you're at the mercy of everyone from politicians to marketers. Unfortunately, many people never give any thought to how they think. No wonder they're susceptible to the frustration, pain, ineffectiveness, and financial loss that result directly from poorly considered thinking.
Critical Thinking, Second Edition is about becoming a better thinker in every aspect of your life—as a professional, as a consumer, citizen, friend, parent, and even as a lover. Drs. Richard W. Paul and Linda Elder identify the core skills of effective thinking, then help you analyze your own thought processes so you can systematically identify and overcome your weaknesses. Coverage includes:
- Thinking with clarity, relevance, logic, accuracy, depth, significance, precision, breadth, and fairness
- Thinking more effectively at work
- Becoming a more effective strategic thinker
- Critically assessing what experts say
- Understanding the links between critical thinking and personal character
Packed with new examples and exceptionally relevant exercises, this book will help you use critical thinking skills to empower yourself, discover new opportunities, avoid disastrous mistakes, grow your wealth, and more. Above all, it will help you gain the confidence and clarity you need to pursue and achieve your most important goals in life – whatever they are!
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Thinking in a World of Accelerating Change and Intensifying Danger 1
Chapter 2: Becoming a Critic of Your Thinking 9
Chapter 3: Becoming a Fairminded Thinker 21
Chapter 4: Self-Understanding 51
Chapter 5: The First Four Stages of Development: What Level Thinker Are You? 63
Chapter 6: The Parts of Thinking 85
Chapter 7: The Standards for Thinking 127
Chapter 8: Design Your Life 167
Chapter 9: The Art of Making Intelligent Decisions 183
Chapter 10: Taking Charge of Your Irrational Tendencies 199
Chapter 11: Monitoring Your Sociocentric Tendencies 231
Chapter 12: Developing as an Ethical Reasoner 253
Chapter 13: Analyzing and Evaluating Thinking in Corporate and Organizational Life 283
Chapter 14: Strategic Thinking: Part One 311
Chapter 15: Strategic Thinking: Part Two 331
A Glossary of Critical Thinking Terms and Concepts 353
About the Authors 443
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$29.99 | ISBN-13: 978-0-13-311573-4 |
Obama Issues Executive Order to Protect Veterans and Service Members
May 2, 2012
On April 27 President Obama issued an Executive Order directing that a set of principles be designed to protect veterans and service members who receive federal education benefits. To help reduce aggressive and deceptive recruiting practices, the order instructs the secretaries of Education (ED), Defense (DOD), and Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop "Principles of Excellence to strengthen oversight, enforcement, and accountability" within the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the Tuition Assistance Program.
The Principles would require institutions receiving federal military and veterans educational benefits to provide additional disclosures and educational plans to students and provide refunds on a pro-rata basis. Specifically, for all individuals receiving veterans and military education benefits, institutions would need to:
- Provide a "Know Before You Owe" form to help a prospective student understand the total cost of an educational program, including tuition and fees; any benefits or financial aid the student would qualify for; estimated loan debt upon graduation; and information about student outcomes.
- Explain to students all federal aid they would be eligible to receive, including military and veterans benefits and federal financial aid.
- Provide an educational plan detailing how the student will fulfill graduation requirements and a timeline for doing so.
- Assign a point of contact for counseling.
Additionally, institutions would be required to "agree to an institutional refund policy that is aligned with the refund of unearned student aid rules applicable to Federal student aid provided through the Department of Education under Title IV...when students withdraw prior to course completion." This means that institutions would have to agree to follow-at least for veterans and service members-a pro rata refund policy through 60 percent of a term. ED policies require institutions to use this formula in determining how much aid may be retained but do not dictate institutional refund policies.
DOD and VA will include the Principles in new agreements concerning participation in the Yellow Ribbon and Tuition Assistance programs "to the extent practicable and permitted by law." Institutions participating in the Post-9/11 GI Bill will be "strongly encouraged" to comply with the Principles, and a list of those that do will be posted on the VA website.
VA, ED, and DOD will be required to implement a centralized complaint system for students receiving Federal military and veteran educational benefits to register complaints that can be tracked by relevant agencies. To prevent fraudulent and deceptive marketing practices, the government must protect the term "GI Bill" and other related military and veteran terms as trademarks.
The timeline for implementation is unclear. Immediate action is called for, with the agencies ordered to report their progress to the president within 90 days. However, these agencies are not generally known for speed. The VA has still not revised its regulations to incorporate statutory changes enacted in December 2010, and issues with the DOD Memorandum of Understanding for the Tuition Assistance program are not yet resolved.
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
- Congress Finalizes FY15 Federal Budget
- ED Proposes Changes to Rules on Teacher Preparation Programs
- The Wait Continues on Tax Extenders and Terrorism Risk Insurance Renewal
- 2015 Intermediate Accounting and Reporting - Winter
January 22-23, 2015
- 2015 Endowment and Debt Management Forum
February 4-6, 2015
- 2015 Unrelated Business Income Tax
February 25-27, 2015
- ON-DEMAND: How to Build, Develop, and Support a Compliance Program at Your Institution
- ON-DEMAND: Strategic Tuition Assessment and Tuition Restructuring
- ON-DEMAND: Are Shared Services Right for Your Organization – The KU Journey
- ON-DEMAND: VIRTUAL: 2014 Annual Meeting
- ON-DEMAND: VIRTUAL: Student Financial Services Conference
- ON-DEMAND: VIRTUAL: Higher Education Accounting Forum
- A Guide to College and University Budgeting: Foundations for Institutional Effectiveness, 4th ed. - by Larry Goldstein
- NACUBO's Guide to Unitizing Investment Pools - by Mary S. Wheeler
- Managing and Collecting Student Accounts and Loans - by David R. Glezerman and Dennis DeSantis |
Teaching Young Children Vol. 6 #4
Item #: 60004
Subject: Curriculum / Teaching
Teaching Young Children is NAEYC's magazine for anyone who works with preschoolers. Colorful, informative, and easy-to-read, TYC is packed full of teaching ideas, strategies, and tips. In the April/May 2013 issue of TYC, read articles about making musical instruments, transitioning to kindergarten, and exploring your passions with preschoolers. |
National Alliance on Mental Illness
page printed from NAMI Albuquerque
Albuquerque Police Department
Crisis Intervention Team
Police officers are often faced with complex issues when addressing crisis situations where mental illness or emotional disturbance might be a factor. These situations require the officer to make difficult judgments about the mental state and intent of the individual, and require special skills and abilities to deal with the person to avoid potential violence.
In January 1997, the Albuquerque Police Department incorporated the Crisis Intervention Team concept. This innovative approach to crisis management has added a new dimension to law enforcement. Highly trained uniformed specialists patrol the streets of Albuquerque providing rapid response to these often-volatile calls for service. The officers draw from training and experience to implement the appropriate intervention, thereby minimizing use of force and risk to persons in crisis and police personnel.
The Crisis Intervention Team is composed of 108 skilled police officers distributed equitably throughout the city. This team responds to over 300 crisis calls each month and transport nearly 50% of the persons contacted for professional mental health care.
This program exemplifies the Albuquerque Police Department’s dedication to our community’s needs by providing the highest standard of police service in partnership with the cities health care providers.
Crisis Intervention Team Specialized Training
Albuquerque Police Phone Numbers
Non-Emergency: 242-COPS (242-2677)
Westside Substation: 831-4705
Valley Substation: 761-8800
Northeast Substation: 823-4455
Southeast Substation: 256-2050
Foothills Substation: 332-5240
Crisis Intervention Team Coordinator: 875-3500 |
Room-temperature hysteresis loops measured along the easy and hard magnetisation directions for the following: (a) an anisotropic 4-nm-thick Co film deposited at 54°; (b) an isotropic 4-nm-thick Co film that was normally deposited; (c) a bilayer consisting of two strongly exchange-coupled 4-nm-thick Co layers, where one layer was obliquely deposited at 54° and the other layer was normally deposited; and (d) a trilayer consisting of a 4-nm-thick Co layer deposited at 54°, a 6-nm-thick Ta spacer layer and a 4-nm-thick normally deposited Co layer. Again, the ferromagnetic Co layers are magnetically decoupled due to the effect of the Ta spacer layer. The illustrations shown in Figure 2 also correspond to these deposits.
Vergara et al. Nanoscale Research Letters 2012 7:577 doi:10.1186/1556-276X-7-577 |
The latest news from academia, regulators
research labs and other things of interest
Posted: November 15, 2007
First FEI Titan S/TEM Installed in Sweden
(Nanowerk News) Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg, Sweden is the first institute in that country to have installed an FEI (Nasdaq:FEIC) Titan™ scanning/transmission election microscope (S/TEM), the world’s most powerful commercially-available microscope. The university’s inauguration of the advance instrument was marked by a special dedication ceremony and a special series of seminars focused on materials research.
“It is incredibly exciting and stimulating. The instrument is one of the best available and offers the opportunity to go even further in exploring the secrets of materials,” said Eva Olsson of Chalmers’ department of applied physics. “One single atom can make the difference between success and failure. We can identify an atom and its location and examine its nature."
The inauguration events were attended by officials from the university, FEI Company and invited guests.
“The need for a new high-end corrected transmission electron microscope to meet the needs of the department of applied physics at Chalmers was first discussed with FEI in September of 2004,” explained Don Kania, president and CEO of FEI. “I am delighted to say that the outcome of these discussions is what you see before you today, the world’s most powerful S/TEM, the Titan 80-300. At FEI, we pride ourselves on being able to build strong lasting relationships with our customers and in helping them to develop solutions to their ongoing scientific challenges. We look forward to continuing the strong bond with Chalmers University of Technology.”
The Titan will be used to support research on functional microstructures of materials and interfaces in thin films with an emphasis on electronic materials, semiconductors, superconductors, dielectrics, ferroelectrics and magnetic materials. The microscope will also be used for research on a wide spectrum of other materials including magnetic nanoparticles for biodiagnostics, photoactive nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, catalyst particles, solar cell structures and hard coatings.
“The microscope also strengthens our position as an attractive collaborative partner for others. It opens the door to new research areas through significantly improved resolution, both in terms of capacity for depiction and in energy for spectroscopy. We can also acquire information about the three-dimensional structure and its link to properties on the nanometer scale,” added Olsson.
Located in Göteborg, Sweden, Chalmers is a technology university at which research and teaching are conducted on a broad front within technology, natural science and architecture. The university’s inspiration lies in the joy of discovery and the desire to learn. Underlying everything Chalmers does is a wish to contribute to sustainable development both in Sweden and world-wide. Chalmers was founded in 1829 as a result of a donation from the director of the Swedish East India Company, William Chalmers.
FEI (Nasdaq: FEIC) is a world leader in pioneering industry-leading technologies and applications that deliver imaging solutions for 3D characterization, analysis and modification/prototyping with resolutions down to the sub-Ångström level. Our customers, working in advanced research and manufacturing, are supported by field-experienced applications specialists and open access to FEI’s prestigious global user network so they can succeed in accelerating nanoscale discovery and contribute to better living through new product commercialization. FEI’s NanoPorts in North America, Europe and Asia provide centers of technical excellence where our world-class community of customers and specialists collaborate on the ongoing development of new ideas and innovative solutions. FEI has sales and service operations in more than 50 countries around the world. More information can be found at: www.fei.com. |
Use of cross-sections, which limits assessment of symptom duration and chronicity, latency of onset, severity, and prognosis.
Virtually all the reports in the Gulf War and Health series have called for improved studies of Gulf War and other veterans. The Update committee reiterates that need but notes that it is difficult if not impossible 20 years after the war to reconstruct the exposures to which the veterans were subjected in theater or to establish years after deployment the predeployment physical and mental health status of the veterans for comparison purposes. Therefore, the committee believes that future studies of Gulf War veterans—and indeed any veteran population—need to be adequately designed to
Provide sufficient statistical power (precision).
Ensure validity, including the avoidance of such bias as response bias and recall bias, which lead deployed and nondeployed veterans to participate unequally, depending on general health and symptom presence and severity, or to report symptoms differently according to perceived exposures and health status.
Improve disease measurement to avoid misclassification; for example, including information collected from non-DoD hospitals in studies of hospitalization, obtaining cancer incidence data from existing cancer registries, validating self-reports of health outcomes, and using the least error-prone measures of these outcomes.
Characterize deployment and potential related adverse environmental influences better by, for example, collecting information on the length and location of deployment and on jobs and tasks.
Measure and adjust for possible confounding factors by, for example, measuring and adjusting for lifestyle factors (such as smoking and risk-taking behaviors) and predeployment physical and psychologic health status.
After almost two decades of research on Gulf War veterans, important questions about their health remain unanswered. In particular, the nature and extent of the multisymptom illness reported in the veterans warrant further research to refine its diagnosis and develop effective treatments. The committee believes that the path forward for veterans has two branches. The first is continued surveillance of deployed and nondeployed Gulf War veterans.
Although further investigations based solely on self-reporting are not likely to contribute substantially to the understanding of Gulf War illness, well-designed follow-up studies of mortality, cancer, neurologic, and psychiatric outcomes will continue to be valuable. Well-designed, adequately powered studies of MS and ALS incidence after deployment are also needed.
Methodologically robust cohorts need to be assembled and followed carefully to track the development of ALS, MS, brain cancer, psychiatric conditions, and health problems that occur at a later age, such as other cancers, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative diseases. Several well-characterized cohorts that could form the basis of future studies have already been established, such as the US cohort studied by VA, the two UK cohorts, and the |
TEXAS Students To Talk Live With Astronaut In Space
WASHINGTON -- Students will have a unique opportunity to speak with International Space Station resident and NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra during an in-flight hookup from 10:20 to 10:40 a.m. EDT on Wednesday.
Kopra is a U.S Army colonel and flight engineer on the station's Expedition 20 crew. A native of Austin, Texas, he will field questions from students in the Knowledge is Power Program and others at the city's Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. The event is historic; it is Kopra's first spaceflight and the first live station downlink in Austin.
The museum is offering free public access starting at 8 a.m. CDT Wednesday. Complimentary museum educational activities will include on-site experiments, hands-on educational programming, an inflatable planetarium, IMAX theater film screenings and special guest speakers from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. For museum information, contact Timothy Dillon at email@example.com
NASA's education downlinks are an integral component of the Teaching from Space Program, which encourages students to study and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
The event is one in a series promoting learning opportunities and encouraging partnerships with U.S. and foreign educational organizations using the unique environment of human spaceflight.
The downlink will air live on NASA Television and stream on the NASA Web site at:
For information on the International Space Station, visit:
For information about NASA's education programs, visit:
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Andromeda's Active Core
This artist's concept shows a view across a mysterious disk of young, blue stars encircling a supermassive black hole at the core of the neighboring Andromeda Galaxy (M31). The region around the black hole is barely visible at the center of the disk. The background stars are the typical older, redder population of stars that inhabit the cores of most galaxies. Spectroscopic observations by the Hubble Space Telescope reveal that the blue light consists of more than 400 stars that formed in a burst of activity about 200 million years ago. The stars are tightly packed in a disk that is only a light-year across. Under the black hole's gravitational grip, the stars are traveling very fast: 2.2 million miles an hour (3.6 million kilometers an hour, or 1,000 kilometers a second).
For additional information on the Hubble Space Telescope, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2005/sep/HQ_05271_hubble_blue_stars.html Image Credit: NASA, ESA and A. Schaller (for STScI) |
ILS Proton-M successfully launches Canada’s Anik G1
International Launch Services (ILS) launched their Proton-M rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday at 19:36 GMT. The Proton’s Briz-M (Breeze-M) Upper Stage the completed a multi-hour mission to deploy Canada’s Anik G1 telecommunications satellite into its desired transfer orbit.
Proton M Launch:
The Proton booster that was used to launch the satellite was 4.1 m (13.5 ft) in diameter along its second and third stages, with a first stage diameter of 7.4 m (24.3 ft). Overall height of the three stages of the Proton booster is 42.3 m (138.8 ft).
The Proton vehicle has a heritage of nearly 400 launches since 1965 and is built by Khrunichev Research and State Production Center, one of the pillars of the global space industry and the majority owner of ILS.
The first stage consists of a central tank containing the oxidizer surrounded by six outboard fuel tanks. Each fuel tank also carries one of the six RD-276 engines that provide first stage power. Total first stage vacuum-rated level thrust is 11.0 MN (2,500,000 lbf).
Of a conventional cylindrical design, the second stage is powered by three RD-0210 engines plus one RD-0211 engine and develops a vacuum thrust of 2.4 MN (540,000 lbf).
Powered by one RD-0213 engine, the third stage develops thrust of 583 kN (131,000 lbf), and a four-nozzle vernier engine that produces thrust of 31 kN (7,000 lbf). Guidance, navigation, and control of the Proton M during operation of the first three stages is carried out by a triple redundant closed-loop digital avionics system mounted in the Proton’s third stage.
The Briz-M (Breeze-M) upper stage is the Phase III variant, a recent upgrade which utilizes two new high-pressure tanks (80 liters) to replace six smaller tanks, along with the relocation of command instruments towards the centre – in order to mitigate shock loads when the additional propellant tank is being jettisoned.
The Proton M launch vehicle was utilizing a 5-burn Breeze M mission design. The first three stages of the Proton used a standard ascent profile to place the orbital unit (Breeze M upper stage and the Anik G1 satellite) into a sub-orbital trajectory.
From this point in the mission, the Breeze M performed planned mission maneuvers to advance the orbital unit first to a circular parking orbit, then to an intermediate orbit, followed by a transfer orbit, and finally to a geostationary transfer orbit.
A recent ILS mission with the Briz-M suffered a failure during the third burn with the Yamal 402 satellite. However, it performed without issue during the previous ILS mission, which successfully deployed the Satmex 8 satellite into orbit.
Separation of the Anik G1 satellite was scheduled to occur approximately 9 hours, 13 minutes after liftoff, with ILS later confirming the mission – which had a target orbit at separation of 9,138 km perigee, 35,786 km apogee, at an inclination of 13.4 degrees – was successful.
Anik G1 is a commercial communications satellite built by SSL for Telesat. The multi-mission, 55 transponder satellite will be located at 107.3 degrees West longitude.
This satellite will double C- and Ku-band capacity over South America from this orbital location, provide additional DTH services in extended Ku-Band and provide military X-band coverage of the Americas and substantial portions of the Pacific Ocean.
In total, the 4,905 kg satellite sports 24 C-band transponders, 28 Ku-band transponders and 3 X-band transponders. The bird, based on the SSL 1300 platform, has an anticipated service life of 15 years.
This was the second ILS Proton launch in 2013, the 79th ILS Proton launch Overall. It was also the ninth Telesat satellite launched on ILS Proton and the 26th SSL satellite launched on ILS Proton. |
By Colleen Quinn
State House News Service
BOSTON -- Calling it "too late" for a legislative solution, proponents of expanding the state's 5-cent bottle-deposit law to more types of beverage containers said they are taking their decade-long fight to the people, filing a ballot petition with the attorney general Wednesday afternoon.
Referencing unsuccessful attempts to push the proposal through the Legislature, Janet Domenitz, executive director of MassPIRG, said people who favor adding the deposit to sports drinks, water and other juice drinks have been patient for long enough.
"It is time for the citizens' voices to be heard," she said standing in front of the state office tower where the Attorney General's Office was accepting ballot question proposals in light of Wednesday's filing deadline.
Environmentalists say an expanded redemption law will help increase recycling and reduce litter, but opponents argue is it another tax on consumers and will burden retailers who will have to collect additional containers. Since it went into effect in 1983, the 5-cent deposit has only applied to beer and carbonated beverages.
A perennial proposal on Beacon Hill, it won support in the Senate twice -- once this year in the fiscal 2014 budget and last year in an economic development bill. Both times it was dropped from the bills during conference committee talks when lawmakers privately work out differences between House and Senate bills.
In October 2011, advocates for expanding the deposit law abandoned a ballot push.
"We had reason to believe that they were already amassing dollars to spend against us," Domenitz said at the time. "They're very well-heeled. They're very well-financed."
Domenitz said Wednesday they do not regret the decision.
Opponents of adding the deposit to other drinks say expanding curbside recycling would cut down on litter. A group backed by the food and beverage industry is seeking to scrap the deposit law in favor of a new recycling program.
Chris Flynn, president of the Massachusetts Food Association, said the deposit law is an "antiquated approach" that doesn't work.
"They can't get the bill passed through the Legislature because it is not a good idea when you take a look at it," Flynn said after the ballot initiative was filed.
Flynn said it does not make sense for people to be forced to separate their trash and take some containers back to the food store to recoup the deposit.
Sen. Michael Moore, D-Millbury, filed legislation in January that would phase out the 5-cent deposit on cans and bottles, replacing it with a 1-cent fee paid by distributors and bottlers, which would be used to fund recycling efforts.
Phillip Sego, chair of legislative action at the Sierra Club, said curbside recycling collects only 22 percent of all containers. He argued it is time to update the bottle bill because consumers' tastes have changed, with people drinking more sports drinks and flavored water.
Bottle-bill proponents plan to employ paid signature gatherers, along with volunteers to collect signatures. Domenitz described the ballot drive as an "arduous" process that will take "everything we can get." |
Sherman Chaddlesone was born on June 2, 1947 in Lawton, OK. A descendant of the famous Kiowa war chief Satanta (White Bear), Sherman is a veteran of the U.S. Army & served in Vietnam. Sherman's father John Chaddlesone provided his son with basic instruction in anatomy, portraiture, pencil sketching & serigraphy. Sherman furthered his education at Central State University in Edmond (OK) & at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe (NM).
Sherman has worked as a teacher, workshop director & administrative manager for the Kalispel (WA) Indian Reservation & currently resides in Anadarko, OK. Sherman became a full-time painter & sculptor in Oct. 1982. Sherman works in acrylic, watercolor, pastel, stone, bronze, mixed media & prints.
Sherman has been an artist-in-residence at the Eiteljorg Museum & he has had a solo exhibition at the Southern Plains Indian Museum. Sherman has exhibited extensively at the Amon Carter Museum of Art, the Eiteljorg Museum, the Institute of American Indian & Alaska Native Culture & Arts Development, the Owensboro Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of New Mexico, the Oklahoma Art Center Gallery, the Red Cloud Indian Art Show, the Smithsonian Institution, the Scottsdale Native American Indian Foundation Cultural Arts & Crafts Competition & the Tulsa Indian Art Festival. Sherman has also participated in The Jacobson Foundation's Moving Murals of Oklahoma: Contemporary Native American Painting & the Institute of American Indian Art Museum's New Directions touring exhibitions.
Sherman has won numerous awards at the American Indian Exposition, the Cherokee National Museum, the Oklahomans for Indian Opportunity exhibit, the Red Earth Festival & the Scottsdale National Indian Art Exhibition. Sherman was awarded commissions for busts of T.C. Cannon & Santanta (White Bear) at the National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians & for murals at the Kiowa Tribal Complex (Carnegie, OK) with Parker Boyiddle & Mirac Creepingbear.
Sherman's artwork is featured in numerous private & public art collections including the Institute of American Indian & Alaska Native Culture & Arts Development, the Southern Plains Indian Museum & the U.S. Department of the Interior: Bureau of Indian Affairs. |
Nativity of Mary Parish has a proud and long history of quality liturgical celebration.
The overarching principles by which the parish celebrates the Church's liturgical Rites are grounded in the documents of Vatican Council II. The Liturgical Reform is a dynamic and ever changing work of the people. Article #10 of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium is ever in the minds of those who plan and create the liturgies of the Parish: "...the liturgy is the summit toward which the whole activity of the Church is directed". There are a variety of liturgical ministries open to parish members.
Liturgical Coordinators (Sacristans)
Ministers of Hospitality (Usher, Greeter)
Ministers of the Word (Lector)
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (both Cup & Plate)
Ministers at the Altar (Altar Servers)
Minister of Liturgical Music (Cantor, Choir, Instrumentalist)
Lectors are chosen from the worshiping community based upon their willingness and ability to Proclaim the Word of God. At each Sunday liturgy there are two Lectors.
Eucharistic Ministers are those chosen to minister the Body and Blood of Christ to the Assembly. Both species of communion are available at all Sunday liturgies.
Ministers at the Altar assist the Presider in his ministry. This ministry is open to anyone in the Assembly, not just young people.
Ministers of Liturgical Music are plentiful at Nativity of Mary. We are blessed with three choirs: Loft Choir, Sanctuary Choir and Resurrection Choir.
The Loft Choir, who minister at the 8:30 Sunday liturgy, sing from the traditional choral repertoire of multi-part vocal music, with the assistance of the Loft Reuter Organ. Rehearsals are every Thursday evening beginning at 7:00 in the Loft. The Loft Choir sings from September through May.
The Sanctuary Choir, who minister at the 10:30 Sunday liturgy, sing in the contemporary style of American Catholic music. They accompany the Assembly's song with the assistance of piano, guitars and other instruments. Rehearsals for the Sanctuary Choir are every Wednesday evening commencing at 7:00. The Sanctuary Choir also sings from September through May.
The Resurrection Choir is a group of people who have their days free to minister at the funerals of the parish. Rehearsals are seldom, however they may sing two or even three times a week, depending upon funerals scheduled.
If you have any questions about the liturgies at Nativity of Mary, or wish to be a minister in any of the parish ministries, please call the Parish Liturgy office at 608-752-7861.
Those who are currently parish ministers may access the Ministry Scheduler Program in the upper left corner of this page. |
(NaturalNews) Although many things remain unknown about the roles that zinc and aluminum play in the human brain, one thing is certain: high aluminum concentrations lead to brain damage.
Because aluminum is ubiquitous as both an environmental and industrial chemical, it is impossible to avoid some exposure to this known neurotoxin. Fortunately, a study conducted by researchers from China Medical University in Shenyang and published in the journal Neuroscience Letters in 2008 found that zinc may help prevent aluminum from crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB), thereby preventing brain damage.
The dangers of aluminum
Although aluminum is highly toxic, our kidneys are fortunately able to flush most of it from our bodies, given enough time. However, aluminum also has a tendency to build up in both bone and brain tissue. People with impaired kidney function are at particular risk of this.
According to a review conducted by researchers from the University of Kentucky Medical Center and published in the journal Neurotoxicology in 2000, aluminum is definitely capable of crossing the BBB, increases the effectiveness of cell-destroying oxidation and may cause damage that mimics the effects of Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers remain split over whether aluminum directly causes Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. Studies have suggested, however, that brain damage from dementia may actually increase the brain's absorption of aluminum, thereby leading to even further cell damage and death.
Zinc and the brain
Unlike aluminum, which is strictly toxic, zinc is capable of playing both health- and disease-promoting functions in the brain. In fact, zinc is the trace metal that naturally occurs in the brain in the highest concentrations.
Researchers know for sure that zinc plays important roles in maintaining the health of numerous proteins, including brain proteins. It also plays a critical role in neurological signaling pathways, possibly even acting directly as a neurotransmitter. Imbalances in zinc concentrations have been noted in patients with brain diseases, including Alzheimer's, but it remains unclear whether the zinc imbalances are causing the diseases or the other way around.
Regardless, zinc obviously plays a key role in maintaining brain health.
Zinc protects from Alzheimer's
The Chinese researchers put together what is known about zinc and aluminum in the brain, hypothesizing that increasing zinc levels might help protect the brain from damage by aluminum. They gave rats varying doses of aluminum alone and aluminum in combination with zinc, then tested the permeability and ultrastructure of the BBB, as well as the expression of the is skillful protein F-actin and the brain protein occludin.
The researchers found that aluminum increased the permeability and changed the ultrastructure of the BBB, while decreasing the expression of both F-actin and occludin. These effects were all significantly mitigated, however, in the rats who were given both aluminum and zinc.
"Our present studies suggest that aluminum increases the permeability of BBB by changing its ultrastructure and the expression of occludin and F-actin," the researchers wrote.
"Zinc can protect the integrity of BBB in juvenile rats that are exposed to aluminum and inhibit the decrease of tight junction protein occludin and F-actin expression in BBB."
While zinc is an essential nutrient, it may have serious side effects at higher doses, particularly in patients at high risk of heart disease. Anyone considering zinc supplementation should consult with a qualified health provider for advice and supervision. |
This gun was initially designed near the end of World War I as an aircraft weapon. The design was modified for land use after the war and then designated as the Model 1921 machine gun. In 1932 the design was modified again and this design became the M2. M2HB (HB = Heavy Barrel), introduced during World War II, is the most common modern version and denotes guns using a thicker, air-cooled barrel, which was adopted in order to increase barrel life.
In the 1930s, these guns in various forms on simple AA mountings were a common sight on most USN warships. However, with the start of World War II, the Navy quickly determined that they were almost useless against modern aircraft and replaced them as rapidly as possible with the 20 mm Oerlikon AA MG.
In the 1930s and 1940s, the US Navy used a water-cooled version on ships while aircraft and small craft such as PT Boats used a lightweight air-cooled version. This latter version was the most common US aircraft weapon employed during World War II, used on both US Army and US Navy aircraft. The US Army fielded both a water-cooled model and an air-cooled version with a slower rate of fire.
Today, the M2HB version is widely used by countless nations and ammunition for these weapons is currently manufactured in at least twenty countries.
In the late 1930s and 1940s the Belgian firm of Herstal obtained a license and built guns designed to accept Hotchkiss 13.2 mm ammunition. Many of these were used on French warships of the period.
All versions of this MG are recoil-operated and fire with a closed bolt, although at least one company is currently offering an adapter kit to convert this weapon into an open-bolt type. As a personal note, I fired this weapon a few times during my military service. Impressive firepower and quite reliable, although somewhat on the heavy side. Barrel changes are complicated with the need to adjust head spacings before the weapon can be fired. There have been efforts to produce quick change models, but these are not widely used.
The US Navy and Marine Corps have purchased a small quantity of the 0.50" (12.7 mm) M3M FN Herstal MG as a replacement for the aircraft version of the BMG and the Army is currently evaluating a General Dynamics replacement firing 25 mm "smart" ammunition. However, the M2 is plentiful and cheap and will continued to be in wide service use for quite some time.
The data that follows is organized as follows: "Air-cooled" refers to the modern-day "heavy barrel" (M2HB) version which is currently employed by the USN as a light anti-boat weapon. "Water-cooled" refers to the 1930s-1940s naval version. "Aircraft" refers to the 1930s-1940s perforated barrel version used on aircraft and small warships. This datapage is not meant to be a complete listing, as there have been many variations of the M2 during its long career, with several models in service today. Instead, this datapage is intended to provide information on the most common versions used for naval applications.
Modern-day air-cooled 0.50" (12.7 mm) Browning
|Designation||0.50" (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Machine Gun
Navy Fixed Right Hand Feed: 1005-00-122-9339
Navy Fixed Left Hand Feed: 1005-00-122-9368
|Ship Class Used On||Almost all warships 1930s
Many warships 2000s
|Date Of Design||Original design: about 1920
M2 version: 1932
|Date In Service||about 1933 on US Navy ships|
|Gun Weight||Air-cooled: 84 lbs. (38 kg)
Water-cooled: 100.5 lbs. (45.6 kg) - With water: 121 lbs. (54.9 kg)
Aircraft: 61 lbs. (27.7 kg)
|Gun Length oa||Air-cooled: 61.4 in (156 cm)
Water-cooled: 65 in (165 cm)
Aircraft: 37 in (0.940 m)
|Barrel Length||Air-cooled: 45 in (1.143 m)
|Rifling Length||Air-cooled: 41.9 in (1.064 m)
|Chamber Volume||1.5 in3 (24.6 cm3)|
|Rate Of Fire
|Air-cooled: 550 rounds per minute
Water-cooled: 450 - 600 rounds per minute cyclic
Aircraft: 750 - 850 rounds per minute cyclic
|Note: The practical rate of fire for these weapons varies widely depending upon the model and application. For the HB version, infantry training in the 1970s was to fire bursts of 8-10 rounds at a time, each followed by a short pause. Shipboard gunners of the 1930s-40s using water-cooled versions were trained to fire continuously in order to be able to "walk" the tracers onto the target. As the practical range against aircraft for this weapon was approximately 1,500 yards (1,400 m), an aircraft approaching at 200 knots would be under fire for about 14 seconds, or the rough equivalent of one belt of 100 rounds.|
|Weight of Complete Round||Varies depending upon ammunition type
and weapon version
Ball - 0.255 lbs. (0.116 kg)
|Projectile Types and Weights||Ball - 1.71 oz (48.5 gm)
See "Off-Site Resources" below
|Bursting Charge||N/A - Solid bullet|
|Projectile Length||N/A - Complete round 5.45 in (13.84 cm)|
|Propellant Charge||0.54 oz (15.3 gm) NC tube|
|Cartridge||0.5 x 3.9 in (12.7 x 99 mm)|
|Muzzle Velocity||Air-cooled 1940s: 2,820 fps (860
Air-cooled Modern: 2,910 fps (887 mps)
Water-cooled: 2,930 fps (893 mps)
Aircraft: 2,840 fps (866 mps)
|Working Pressure||about 23.0 to 29.0 tons/in2 (3,600 kg/cm2 to 4,550 kg/cm2)|
|Approximate Barrel Life||Air-cooled: 3,000 rounds
|Ammunition stowage per gun||Ammunition is usually supplied in 100 round belts. These can be joined together to make longer belts as necessary.|
|Range||Effective: 2,600 yards (2,400 m)
Maximum: 7,400 yards (6,770 m)
|AA Ceiling||Effective: about 5,000 feet (1,524
Maximum: about 15,000 feet (4,570 m)
|Range||Effective: 2,200 yards (2,000 m)
Maximum: 7,400 yards (6,770 m)
Naval water-cooled Mount: Mark 3
Army Anti-aircraft Mount: M63
Army Quad Mount: Mark 31
|Weight||M3 Tripod: about 44 lbs. (20 kg)
|Elevation||Mark 3: -10 / +80 degrees
|Rate of Elevation||Manually operated, only|
|Rate of Train||Manually operated, only|
|Note: The Mark 31 Quad was an Army mounting used late in World War II on a few aircraft carriers as a "last-ditch" anti-kamikaze weapon. It was almost totally ineffective and was removed from all ships shortly after the war ended.|
For data on 0.50" (12.7 mm) ammunition,
W. Cooke Website
For an interesting variation of the BMG with an open-bolt capability, see Vinghøg Website
For data on the General Dynamics 25 mm replacement for the BMG, see XM-307 |
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) At the urging of Gov. Gary Herbert and U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, exploratory drilling for oil and natural gas in a roadless section of eastern Utah known for its wildlife has been put on hold until 2016.
Sportsmen's groups hailed an agreement announced Friday between state-lands managers and Anadarko Petroleum that delays exploration in the 18,000-acre Bogart Canyon area of the southern Book Cliffs in Grand County.
The Texas-based company still can drill in the rest of the 96,000 acres it leased last month from the Utah Trust Lands Administration, which manages trust lands remaining from a statehood grant for the benefit of schools.
The agreement was reached after representatives from Herbert and Bishop's offices, the land-trust agency and Anadarko met in private on Thursday.
The scenic, unspoiled area put off limits for the next 27 months features big game, and Utah sportsmen hope it can be conserved as part of a future land exchange. |
A Republican state senator from La Mesa named Joel Anderson has a suggestion for Gov. Jerry Brown: kill Caltrans, the state transportation agency, and turn over its responsibilities to local government. This move, Anderson tells the Union-Tribune, would show that the governor is serious about reducing the size of government.
This is a totally terrific idea, with a few caveats.
-There's no evidence that local governments will spend less money on salaries and benefits, as Anderson suggests would result from such a change. In fact, given the fact that salaries and benefits in California localities are among the highest in the country, such a move could produce more waste.
-Getting rid of Caltrans doesn't do much of anything to reduce the size of the general fund budget deficit, since Caltrans spending -- more than $12 billion -- comes from all kinds of different accounts. At best, by Anderson's own reasoning, $2 billion could be saved in Caltrans. I'm not sure how, but consider this: the state is short $26 billion, according to Gov. Brown.
-Caltrans has a strong recent record among state departments of completing projects on time and on budget.
-Anderson says that even if Brown were to kill Caltrans, he wouldn't commit to voting to put temporary tax extensions on a special election ballot. Since approximately $12 billion of Brown's budget proposal would come from there, that would leave a sizable hole in the budget.
Other than that, Anderson's idea really is terrific. |
Thousands of customers are without power Saturday night across Southern California, according to utility officials.
Electricity was out for 3,337 Southern California Edison customers as of 9:30 p.m., utility spokeswoman Mashi Nyssen said.
The areas affected most include Montebello, Covina, Ontario, Chino, Corona and La Puente, Nyssen said.
The outages come amid a dangerous heat wave, leaving affected customers without a way to cool down at home. Temperatures in those areas ranged from 76 to 86 degrees Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service.
It’s not clear what caused the outages, though Nyssen said some may be related to the record-breaking temperatures that hit the region Saturday.
Sunday is expected to be the hottest day of the heat wave.
Residents are encouraged to be conscious of their power use during the sweltering stretch. Utility officials ask customers use their dishwashers, clothes washers and driers, and stoves after 6 p.m.
Going to public areas that are air conditioned will also help conserve electricity. If residents have to use their air conditioners at home, they’re asked to keep the temperature at 78 degrees. |
Editor's note: Associated Press photographer Jerome Delay's photo of two terrified girls separated from family in Congo's chaotic war leads to a search for their relatives. This is his account.
Eleven-year-old Protegee carried her sobbing niece on her back as they searched for relatives in a sea of people in eastern Congo.
An Associated Press photograph of the girl — using her filthy T-shirt to wipe the tears from her face as 3-year-old Reponse clung to her neck and wailed — prompted hundreds of e-mails from people around the world hoping to help them.
I returned to Kiwanja on Sunday to try to reunite the girls with family and even succeeded in finding them. But it turned out that not all problems in Congo can be solved by an outsider's sympathy.
When I first photographed Protegee on Nov. 6 in a crowd of thousands in the town of Kiwanja, she told me only her first name and that she was looking for her mother.
I learned later that she and Reponse had wandered alone for three days after being separated from Protegee's mother on Nov. 3 as the family fled on foot from their village of Kiseguru, about 12 miles away.
Protegee had spent one night sleeping in a church, huddled with Reponse under a flimsy scarf. "I had no food or water," she said, speaking in the Kiswahili language.
Hundreds of children have been separated from their families since fighting flared in eastern Congo in August and more than 1,600 children in the province were seeking their parents last week alone, according to UNICEF. The children's young ages and inability to give detailed information — plus the lack of official records in the Congolese countryside — make it even more difficult to track down their families.
Faces of desperation
When I set out to search for Protegee, I had little certainty of success but I was determined to try to help. As a journalist, I've photographed war and refugees all over the world since the early 1980s.
But I was particularly moved by readers' reactions to this photograph of two little girls, their faces wrenched in fear and desperation. I knew that the chances of finding them again were slim, as I see children walking alone on the roads every day. But I found myself imagining how it would feel if I were searching for my own daughters — and having two, that was not difficult.
Years of sporadic violence in eastern Congo intensified in August, and fighting between the army and its allied militia on one side and fighters loyal to rebel leader Laurent Nkunda on the other has displaced at least 250,000 people since then — despite the presence of the largest U.N. peacekeeping force in the world. Some fear Congo's current crisis could again draw in neighboring countries. Congo's devastating 1998-2002 war split the vast nation into rival fiefdoms and involved half a dozen African armies.
Reaching Kiwanja meant crossing an uneasy front line just a few miles north of Goma, with hundreds of heavily armed rebels and government troops deployed on either side. Then it was a bone-jarring two-hour drive on what was once a paved road, and is now one giant pothole.
In the name of hope
Kiwanja is a typical African town, with one strip of dirt road as the main drag, a few small shops on each side, one roundabout, one crossroad, and huts sprawling to infinity on the hills to the east and the valley to the north.
As I was about to head back to Goma, I stopped near a U.N. base. Just a few days earlier its outskirts were refuge to thousands. But now it was a nearly empty lot with the skeletons of makeshift huts and a white UNHCR tent.
I ventured inside the tent. There, Maria Mukeshimani's eyes lit up at the sight of the photo — the woman, who had been displaced herself by the violence, knew these children. She had seen them in that very tent five days earlier. And she knew Protegee's mother: Her name is Esperance Nirakagori.
Esperance — the French word for hope.
Esperance had taken refuge at the local Catholic church in Kiwanja. When I arrived there, I was greeted by the sounds of a choir. It was evening Mass.
"Does anyone know if Esperance is around?" I asked.
An elderly man replied that she was in a small house nearby.
Wearing a yellow and red dress, Esperance greeted us. She had sweat dripping from her headscarf and spoke softly.
'Happy to see your mother'?
I showed her the picture and she smiled at the sight of the girls. Then, to my surprise, she said they had already found her, but she had sent them back to their village, alone and on foot. She feared for their safety in Kiwanja and believed they would be more secure in the care of her elder daughter; she was too weak to make the journey herself.
She kept staring at the photo. Only when I told her I would return the next morning and drive her to rejoin the girls in Kiseguru did her face light up in a wide, genuine smile.
We set off the next day after stopping for food at a restaurant in town. Esperance was quiet as we drove the 20 minutes to the village. She clutched the girls' photo as she walked through the streets, a trail of excited children in her wake.
The reunion with Protegee and Reponse, in a small mud hut, was brief. They smiled at each other. No one spoke. I prompted Protegee, a shy girl who was only 2 months old when her father was killed in Congo's last bloody war.
"Are you happy to see your mother?" I asked.
She answered, in a soft voice: "Yes."
Protegee told how she had arrived exhausted in Kiseguru on Nov. 12. But when she did, she found her family's hut empty — her sister and other relatives had already fled toward Uganda. For five days she waited for an adult to come for her. No one did. She was planning to set off for Kiwanja that very day to rejoin her mother, when I arrived instead.
Rather than remain in their village, Esperance asked me to take them all back to Kiwanja.
'When the war is over'
In the streets of Kiseguru, we had seen 20 men wearing civilian clothes and toting Kalashnikovs. When I asked her who they were, her answer was swift and certain: "Mai Mai."
Earlier this month, Kiwanja residents were terrorized by the pro-government Mai Mai militia, who the U.N. said killed people accused of supporting the rebels. Then the rebels won control and killed those they claimed had supported the militiamen.
And now the Mai Mai were in her family's village.
Protegee, Reponse and Esperance are back in Kiwanja now. They have set up a cot in the corner of a room on the Catholic church grounds. Outside, the U.N. World Food Program is distributing food, but the situation in the town remains volatile.
Before I left, I gave Esperance the photograph of her daughter and granddaughter. She handed it to Protegee, who, with Reponse in her lap, gazed at the image. I left them there on their cot, clutching the photo, one of their few possessions.
Asked when they would return to their village, Esperance replied: "When the war is over."
Jerome Delay is AP's chief photographer for Africa. Associated Press writer Anita Powell contributed to this report from Kiwanja, Congo.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
A file photo presents a view of a coal-burning power plant during daybreak in Xiangfan, central China's Hubei province. Human activity such as burning fossil fuels is causing the climate to change, a major report is expected to say Friday.
An international panel of scientists is expected to issue a report Friday that dismisses nearly every doubt that human activity has caused temperatures to warm, glaciers to melt, and seas to bulge since the middle of last century. If greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise precipitously, the report will warn, there will be catastrophic consequences. Whether these strong words will be met with meaningful response is another matter.
The scientists with the Nobel Prize-winningIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have been working behind closed doors in Stockholm, Sweden, this week to hammer out the exact wording of the report, though experts anticipate little departure from the main messages contained in a draft that was leaked to the media in August.
The report is a synthesis of climate research written by more than 800 scientists. It is expected to say a human influence on the global climate is "extremely likely," language that corresponds to odds of 95 percent. That's up from the "very likely" language used in the 2007 assessment, which corresponds to 90 percent odds.
This is the fifth assessment from the group, issued about once every five years. The degree of confidence that human activity is the main driver of the changing climate has risen with each report.
"Another five years of observation and further research just strengthens the conclusion" that human activity is causing the climate to change, John Reilly, the co-director of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change in Cambridge, Mass., told NBC News. None of this, he added, will come as a surprise.
Nevertheless, the report is coming out in a different climate context than six years ago, noted Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington, D.C. In the U.S., he noted, more people are linking climate change to extreme weather events such as last year's Hurricane Sandy and the recent flooding in Boulder, Colo., which puts the issue "on a more visceral level," he told NBC News.
What to expect
Other anticipated highlights from the report include a projection that sea levels could rise nearly three feet by the end of the century if greenhouse gas emissions remain unchecked, which would pose significant adaptation challenges for some of the world's major cities, including New York, New Orleans, Miami, London and Shanghai.
In this file photo from July, the village of Ilulissat, Greenland, is seen near the icebergs that broke off from the Jakobshavn Glacier. As the sea levels around the globe rise, researchers affiliated with the National Science Foundation and other organizations are studying the phenomena of the melting glaciers and its long-term ramifications.
That's an aggressive upward revision of the 2007 assessment, which put the sea level rise between 7 and 23 inches by the end of the century. Several scientists criticized that previous projection as too conservative given the pace of melting in Greenland and other parts of the globe.
Another widely anticipated change to the report reflects increased uncertainty on how much the Earth's surface will warm if concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere double. Five years ago, the climate panel put the best guess range between 3.2 and 7.1 degrees Fahrenheit. The leaked draft suggested that the final figures this time around could represent a much wider range: a lower possible low, a higher possible high.
This possible downward revision in the rise of Earth's surface temperature, along with what's termed a "hiatus" in surface warming since the unusually strong El Nino year of 1998, have been pounced upon as reason to doubt the alarm over global climate change. The climate panel is expected to dismiss these claims, explaining the slow-down in surface warming as a blip in the long-term warming trend.
"The hiatus is a denier-manufactured diversion," Kevin Trenberth, a climate scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., told NBC News via email. "The 2000s are the warmest decade on record by far," he explained, adding that, though the temperature readings are accurate, their use as evidence against global warming amounts to nothing more than an accounting trick: "By choosing a start year, it appears that the recent years are not increasing quite as fast as earlier ones after 1970, in terms of global mean surface temperature."
The most compelling explanation for the so-called hiatus, in fact, is that the oceans have been warming at a faster clip over the past 15 years, according to MIT's Reilly. "Greenhouse gases are still trapping heat but instead of staying in the atmosphere" — where it would be measured in a rise in surface temperature — "it has been mixed into the ocean," he explained.
"The hiatus, if anything, may just fool us because while the ocean is taking up more heat this past decade sometime in the future it may take up relatively less heat, and then we'll see the atmosphere warming just that much more," Reilly said.
Though there has been speculation that the temperature adjustments and discussion of hiatus show that the panel is getting more conservative in its approach, in order to convince a skeptical world of the issue, Meyer dismisses that as nonsense. "It has always been conservative," he said, explaining that the summary document most people will read is subjected to a line-by-line approval by everyone in the room.
This time around, the panel certainly has given the process more rigor, however, in order to avoid errors such as a high-profile gaffe in the 2007 report suggesting that the Himalayan glaciers would melt by the year 2035. "But I think to say that before this time around they were wild-eyed and radical would be totally wrong. They've always been cautious and conservative," Meyer said.
Muted policy response
Friday's report — as well as subsequent assessments on expected climate impacts and how to manage climate change that are slated for release next year — may help inform ongoing negotiations for an agreement to combat global climate change to be adopted at a summit in Paris in late 2015, Meyer noted.
U.S. President Barack Obama pauses and wipes his forehead as he speaks about his vision to reduce carbon pollution while preparing the country for the impacts of climate change, at Georgetown University in Washington, June 25, 2013.
Trenberth is less optimistic that the report from the climate panel will carry much weight in altering policy, at least in the U.S. "The administration is already well informed," he noted. "The Congress is the problem and the deniers are not open to evidence or rational discussion."
Another reason the report is unlikely to sway policy is "simply because it summarizes already published literature which is already well known," Roger Pielke, Jr., a climate policy analyst and professor of environmental studies at the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Colorado at Boulder, told NBC News in an email.
The panel "could, however, get itself into trouble if it gets too much into advocacy mode, as it has tended to do in the past," Pielke added. "(It) should serve up its assessment straight up and leave the spin to others."
And what do these "others" — independent voices in the science community — want to see from the panel? For starters, instead of continuing to blame humans for climate change, it should shift its focus, and provide guidance on how society can respond to the inevitable changes of the coming decades.
"The climate is changing underneath our feet and over our heads," noted Reilly. "We really need to move on and say 'How are we going to adapt?'"
John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News. To learn more about him, visit his website.
First published September 26 2013, 2:05 PM |
Terrorists have blown up a New Jersey tunnel with a bomb, trapping victims under cars and overturned buses -- but fortunately, this is only one of the made up scenarios in today’s disaster drill in Newark.
The exercise prepares the Metro Urban Search And Rescue (USAR) Strike Team -- firefighters from nine different New Jersey municipalities -- to work together in case of catastrophic events like terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
“No one knows where or when natural disasters, fires, accidents, or terrorists may strike,” said Newark Mayor Cory Booker. “I am proud of how our Fire Department has pro-actively partnered with other emergency response organizations for the second straight year to conduct this important drill. By coming together to share services we will define excellence in time of crisis by responding as a unified team.”
The scenario presented to the firefighters is that terrorists have detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) in a mock “Metro Tunnel” during rush hour. During the drill, firefighters cleared debris to locate victims, and then drilled through obstructions to perform rescue operations.
“Fifteen years ago, in Oklahoma City, a lone terrorist showed the amount of death, damage, and devastation that can be achieved with a small amount of explosives, carried out with minimal thought, planning, and money,” Fire Chief Michael Lalor said. “We cannot forget that tragedy, and the finest honor we, as emergency responders, can render to the victims of that horror is to unite, plan, and drill, so that we can be prepared to address any potential future acts of terrorism.”
For each of the last five years, the Metro USAR Strike Team has held an annual mandatory drill to sharpen the agencies rescue skills. It was created in response to 9/11 in order to unite emergency response agencies by region. |
Upgrades to hundreds of seismic monitors around the state are expected to buy time -- about five seconds -- before the shaking.
The LA Times reported that 90 percent of Southern California's monitors are already undergoing the major upgrade. Officials have started a pilot program that takes advantage of the new devices by delivering early warnings to first responders and utlities.
Eventually, the system could be used to warn the public that the shaking is about to begin.
Research about the system was presented this week at a conference of seismologists in San Francisco.
"I'm confident that if we had the information, we could use it to our advantage," Tom Jordan, director of the Southern California Earthquake Center, told the LA Times. "The main issue here is to have our communities be resilient to earthquake damage."
Scientists said the warning would be especially effective when quakes originate outside urban areas, such as along the San Andreas fault.
Such systems are already used in parts of Mexico and Japan, which has a system that can provide a warning 30 seconds or more before shaking starts. Messages are delivered on TV and radio stations, via texts, and through speaker systems in public areas.
As the Times reported, attempts to provide early warnings date to the late 1860s:
The pursuit of early warning in California dates to 1868, when a simple system was proposed after a quake along the Hayward fault east of San Francisco, according to a recent paper in the journal Seismological Research Letters. The rudimentary system would have used telegraph cables to ring a distinctive bell warning people of impending shaking.
Caltech and the U.S. Geological Survery are conducting the upgrade. A full, state-wide early warning system would cost about $80 million to $100 million, according to the Times. |
Farm Subsidies: Devastating the World's Poor and the Environment
Subsidized agriculture in the developed world is one of the greatest obstacles to economic growth in the developing world. In 2002, industrialized countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) spent a total of $300 billion on crop price supports, production payments and other farm programs. These subsidies encourage overproduction. Markets are flooded with surplus crops that are sold below the cost of production, depressing world prices. Countries with unsubsidized goods are essentially shut out of world markets, devastating their local economies. Moreover, farm subsidies lead to environmental harm in rich and poor nations alike.
Prosperous countries give about $50 billion to $55 billion annually in foreign aid to underdeveloped nations. If developed nations reduced their subsidies and eliminated trade barriers - such as import tariffs protecting domestic producers from international competition - this aid would arguably be unnecessary and rural poverty might be significantly reduced.
Historically, agriculture has been a major pillar - if not the foundation - of developing economies because it provides food security, creates employment and generates local capital. For example, in 1790, nearly 90 percent of the U.S. workforce was employed in agriculture. By 1900, farmers dropped to 38 percent of the labor force, and today they account for less than 1 percent. Agriculture accounts for less than 1 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). Similar trends in other OECD countries indicate that the path to development begins with agriculture.
Hindering Third World Growth. Every dollar, yen or euro poured into the agriculture sectors of rich nations makes developing countries' farm sectors that much less competitive. The "dumping" of agricultural commodities at prices lower than the cost of production is devastating to developing countries, since most depend almost entirely on only one or a few products. Every year, farm subsidies cost developing countries about $24 billion in lost agricultural income. Cotton is an excellent example:
- World cotton prices have fallen by half since the mid-1990s and, adjusted for inflation, are now lower than at any time since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
- Despite the plunge in prices, cotton production in the United States grew 42 percent between 1998 and 2001.
Due to subsidies, American cotton farmers receive up to 73 percent more than the world market price for their crop. To compensate for falling prices, U.S. cotton subsidies have doubled since 1992, and in 2001-2002 America's 25,000 cotton farmers received a $230 subsidy for every acre of cotton planted - a total of $3.9 billion. By comparison, wheat and maize subsidies amount to $40 to $50 per acre.
Cotton Subsidies Harm Africa. American cotton subsidies cost sub-Saharan Africa $302 million in 2001-2002 alone, according to Oxfam International, an antipoverty organization.
Specifically, West Africa's Burkina Faso lost 1 percent of its GDP, and export earnings declined 12 percent due to competition from subsidized U.S. cotton. In Burkina Faso, 85 percent of the population (more than two million people) depends on cotton production and over half the population lives in poverty. The cost to produce a pound of cotton is one-third the cost in the United States, but farmers there cannot compete in world markets against American cotton. There are similar problems in other countries that also rely heavily on cotton. In 2001-2002, Mali 's GDP fell 1.7 percent and export earnings dropped 8 percent; and Benin lost 1.4 percent of its GDP and 9 percent of export earnings.
Subsidies have devastated Central and West Africa, where more than 10 million people depend directly on cotton production. Millions more are indirectly affected because cotton is also the major source of foreign exchange and government revenue. The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) estimates that ending U.S. cotton subsidies would raise world prices by 26 percent, or 11 cents per pound. The results for African countries dependent on cotton exports would be substantial:
- Burkina Faso would gain $28 million in export revenues;
- Benin would gain $33 million in export revenues;
- Mali would gain $43 million in export revenues. [See the figure.]
These additional revenues would help stabilize developing economies, fuel development, reduce dependence on foreign aid and significantly improve the lives of millions of people.
Environmental Impacts of Subsidies on Rich Countries. According to the World Trade Organization, "higher subsidies, such as provided for in the 2002 U.S. Farm Bill, lead to an intensification of agricultural production in OECD countries which can generally be considered detrimental to the environment in terms of exposure to pesticides and fertilizers, habitat destruction and land degradation...."
Indeed, in order to produce more, farmers convert wetlands to agriculture, intensively use fertilizers and pesticides, and divert water from rivers and streams. For example:
- Roughly half of U.S. wetlands lost from 1986 to 1997 - more than 300,000 acres - were converted to agricultural use.
- Fertilizer and pesticide runoff from farmlands contribute to destructive algal blooms and the 7,000-square-mile dead zone that appears every summer in the Gulf of Mexico off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas.
- Subsidized water diversion for irrigation in California has contributed to a 60 percent to 80 percent decline in fish populations in the Trinity River and record low numbers for many species in the San Francisco Bay-Delta ecosystem.
Indirect Impact of Farm Subsidies on Poor Countries."Wealthier is healthier" is a catch phrase in development and environmental economics. Health improvement is directly related to rising incomes, and research also shows that once incomes and economic development reach a certain level, countries devote increasingly larger portions of their resources to environmental protection. Policies that prevent the Third World from accessing markets limit poor nations' ability to improve the environment.
Many human-health and environmental problems might be remedied with proceeds from growth in the agricultural sector. For instance, developing countries would have more funds to provide safe water sources; every year, 2.5 million people perish from dysentery and other intestinal diseases due to lack of clean drinking water.
Countries could also afford better medical care and access to tools to fight diseases. For example, more than 2 million people, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, die from malaria each year due to lack of access to effective pesticides like DDT and the high costs of effective malaria treatments. In Uganda alone, malaria kills about 400 people per day.
Additional revenues from agriculture would also allow poor countries to invest in the infrastructure necessary to deliver electricity and natural gas to rural areas. Millions of Africans die each year from cardiovascular diseases caused in part by poor indoor air quality, often a direct result of burning dung and wood for cooking fires and heat. Acute lower respiratory infections claim 4.5 million lives per year, mostly in the Third World.
In addition, wildlife populations in developing countries are devastated as an indirect result of agricultural subsidies. At current prices, poaching often provides more revenue than farming and wildlife is frequently seen as competition for land and a threat to crops. Furthermore, farmers are often unable to afford fertilizers and pesticides that increase the available yield from a given amount of land - thus they must use more and more land just for subsistence agriculture.
Conclusion. Farm subsidies eat up federal revenue and make little, if any, economic sense. They also hold back progress in developing countries and result in severe environmental damage. Ending subsidies would benefit the federal budget, third-world farmers and the environment. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that eliminating various agriculture subsidies in rich countries would raise global welfare $100 billion.
Max Borders is an adjunct scholar and H. Sterling Burnett is a senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis. |
It has now been nine months since the Gang of Five now running the Wake County Board of Education held its first meeting and immediately launched its efforts to dismantle one of the best urban school systems in the United States.
It was clear that day in December that the new majority had carefully planned that first meeting in secret, complete with resolutions no one else had seen to begin the process of ending the system's nationally recognized diversity policy.
That's where the planning ended. The members of the Gang of Five have been flailing to come up with a new assignment plan ever since, bringing in outside experts and then ignoring them, promising to provide extra funding to newly created high poverty schools, then denying that any high poverty schools would be created.
The almost weekly twists and turns by Gang of Five Chair Ron Margiotta and his chief deputy John Tedesco have reinforced the impression that their mission was purely ideological from the start. They wanted to end the diversity policy, but still have nothing concrete in mind to replace it.
The latest idea is dividing the county into 16 zones with wide disparities in composition of race and income levels, creating poor zones and zones, white zones and African-American zones, high achieving zones and struggling zones.
But that's not the final plan. Tedesco said there's still "layering" to do with magnets and preferences, making it hard to believe the final product will not be an indecipherable web that confuses parents and students and throws the system into chaos.
Though the Gang of Five bristles when you mention it, they are trying to radically remake an assignment system that the vast majority of parents in Wake County like. The parent survey conducted by the new board last spring found that 94.5 percent of parents were satisfied with their child's school.
It is a safe bet that more than 5.5 percent of students will be shuffled around under whatever scheme Tedesco and his fellow Gang of Fivers eventually settle on. And the survey is not the only thing that the majority wants to ignore.
More than 90 percent of students in the current assignment plan attend a school within five miles of their home. That's part of why parents are satisfied.
A recent profile of Margiotta in the News & Observer said he got involved in school board politics when he moved to the area and was "aghast that his grandson had not been assigned to the closest school." Every child cannot be assigned to the closest school under any plan in an area that continues to grow like Wake County.
Common sense tells you that and a report from the Wake Education Partnership earlier this year proved it conclusively, though the Gang of Fivers dismissed it as quickly as they forgot the results of the parent survey they commissioned.
Recent news coverage also provided a reminder of the real issue at stake for some parents who support the efforts of the board majority to dismantle the current system. The News & Observer quoted a North Raleigh resident who said that when people buy a house in a neighborhood they don't want someone to bring students that they perceive to be "lesser" into their schools.
Now it looks like the "lessers" will be concentrated in their own schools if Tedesco and Margiotta get their way. Margiotta has said before that he wants more than zones, he wants to break up the Wake County Schools into a group of smaller systems like they do in his native New Jersey.
That would keep the "lessers" even further away, out of sight, out of mind and out of the area of legal responsibility. Let them take care of themselves.
But for now the zone plan will do, if Tedesco and company can ever come up with a scheme that comes close to making sense logistically.
The chaotic scramble for a plan is the latest evidence that the Gang of Five has been lost since they fulfilled their ideological objective of dismantling the diversity policy.
And it's another reminder that governing is much different than crusading. |
Chicago: The only daughter of brutal Soviet tyrant Joseph Stalin - who defected to the West in 1967 and became a vocal critic of the Soviet Union - has died at age 85, the New York Times reported on Monday.
Born Svetlana Stalina on February 28, 1926, she led an epic and complex life "worthy of a Russian novel" which ended in obscurity and poverty after decades of wandering, the Times wrote.
She died of colon cancer on November 22 in Richland Center, Wisconsin.
Her name changes reflected her shifting fortunes. She took her mother's last name, Alliluyeva, after Stalin's 1953 death and fall from grace.
She then became Lana Peters in 1970 after her defection and brief marriage to American architect William Wesley Peters.
But she could never escape her father's shadow.
In a 2010 interview with the Wisconsin State Journal, Peters said she was "quite happy" in rural Wisconsin but said of her father: "He broke my life."
"Wherever I go," she said, "here, or Switzerland, or India, or wherever. Australia. Some island. I always will be a political prisoner of my father's name."
When asked if she thought Stalin loved her, she said yes, adding, "I looked like his mother."
"He was a very simple man," she told the paper. "Very rude. Very cruel. There was nothing in him that was complicated. He was very simple with us. He loved me and he wanted me to be with him and become an educated Marxist."
Story First Published: November 29, 2011 14:39 IST |
According to Oltsik, "When it comes to information strategy, large organizations tend to focus on firefighting rather than long-term strategy. Unfortunately, this short-sighted approach has its limits. Ad hoc encryption leads to redundant processes, complex operations, and high costs while placing sensitive data at risk of accidental compromise or malicious insider attack."
Several factors are driving the increase in data encryption, including: regulatory compliance, an increase in publicly disclosed breaches, and the need to protect intellectual property from APTs. According to ESG, 54% of organizations have deployed data encryption technologies in response to APTs.
"Current point products do a good job of protecting private data in isolated areas, but they don't provide a comprehensive solution to data privacy issues across the enterprise," states Oltsik.
The report cites the four most common enterprise encryption and key management shortcomings as:
1. A lack of standards and management by disparate functional IT groups without data security expertise.
2. No central command and control - each tool has its own policies, provisioning and management of keys.
3. Disorganized key management systems that place data at risk for a security breach and unrecoverable critical files.
4. Organizational misalignment that doesn't address insider threats by providing adequate access management and separation of duties.
"CISOs have lots of choices with ad hoc encryption, but they will find a much shorter list of qualified vendors as they begin researching and evaluating options for an enterprise encryption and key management architecture," concluded Olstik.
The report provides the following checklist for evaluating vendors that can support a unified encryption and management key strategy on an enterprise scale:
- Support for heterogeneous servers including Linux, UNIX, and Windows
- Protection for structured and unstructured data
- Centralized policy creation and management
- Distributed policy enforcement
- Tiered administration
- Separation of duties
- Key management that spans both third party and DBMS-based encryption.
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Thursday, December 18, 2014
Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders
I would like to know why I have constant ear fullness (both ears) almost 24 hrs. a day for the last 1 1/2 years. I am told it is allergies...yet Clariton D or Sudafed does not make any difference. Occasionally I have ringing as well. I am currently on Augmentin for a sinus infection. This also makes no difference. I am scheduled for allergy testing in a couple of months. Is there any other cause than allergies or colds or sinus infections for constant ear fullness? When I go up and down hills I experience some popping of my ears which feel good. I am told I don`t have excessive wax or an infection when my ENT has looked in my ears.
The ear congestion that you are describing certainly sounds as if it is allergy related. The symptoms are typically due to allergies affecting eustachian tube function. The eustachian tube is a tube that connects the middle ear space (deep to the ear drum) to the back of the nasopharynx. It has functions such as equalizing pressure on both sides of the eardrum, perhaps draining fluid from the middle ear space, etc. this is how people can "clear" their ears when they change altitudes (e.g. such as going up in a plane or going up and down hills). When this tube becomes congested or inflamed by allergies, it fails to equalize pressure normally. As a result, patients complain of pressure or congestion in their ears, a different or hollow sound to their own voice, occasionally ringing or "tinnitus" in their ears. Antihistamines +/- decongestants sometimes help relieve these symptoms. however, if you do indeed have environmental, food or drug allergies that are triggering an allergic response, then such medications may not work satisfactorily. Allergy testing and appropriate desensitization remain the best options.
Daniel Choo, MD
Associate Professor and Director, Division of Otology/Neurotology
College of Medicine
University of Cincinnati |
Indian scientists, industry link up for therapeutic food
Indian scientists have designed ready-to-eat therapeutic food (RUTF) products and handed over associated scientific findings and technology to an industry partner, a step that could benefit the millions of children afflicted with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) - the most dangerous level of malnutrition.
SAM is globally responsible for the death each year of 2.6 million children under the age of five.
The research undertaken by scientists of the Agricultural and Food Engineering department, at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, led to creation of five varieties of RUTFs which, in paste form, can be administered to the children until they have gained adequate weight.
According to WHO, severe acute malnutrition is when children suffer severe wasting that may or may not be accompanied by swelling of the body from fluid retention. The afflicted have been tagged as the most vulnerable people in the world.
Out of the 20 million children worldwide afflicted with SAM (mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia), India is home to 8.1 million SAM children.
"SAM is diagnosed when the circumference of the upper arm is less than 115 mm or when the weight for the height of a child is severely reduced. They are very thin as most of their fat and muscle has been used by their bodies to stay alive," H.N. Mishra, professor of food technology and principal investigator of the project, Agricultural and Food Engineering department at IIT-Kgp, told IANS over phone.
"As per WHO guidelines, the SAM children who do not require hospitalisation, can be administered specially formulated nutrient-rich foods at home for treatment...the proportions of essential nutrients required have also been designated," he elaborated.
Mishra's team came up with five RUTFs using peanut, potato and Bengal gram as the core ingredients, as part of a project sponsored by department of biotechnology and a Delhi-based industry partner (Gattapu Chemicals Pvt. Ltd.).
"The raw materials are easily sourced, cheap and stable at room temperature. Since they are in a paste form, they can be consumed easily by the children," said Mishra, adding that the food technology used is a secret.
Following the technology transfer process Feb 10, Mishra said they would be distributed in square-shaped, screw-capped pouches of various quantities by the industry arm.
"Until it is distributed by the industry, for the mean time, we have set up a pilot scale unit in our lab where we can produce the RUTF," said Mishra.
However, Vandana Prasad, a social activist advocating child nutrition and health, stressed the need to apply the formulations in a community-based approach.
"There is nothing wrong with the formulations per se, but they should be introduced to the community... the family, the community should be able to make such nutrient-rich foods... this would generate livelihood as well. Commercialisation is not the answer as SAM affects the poorest of the poor," Prasad, founding member, the Public Health Resource Network, told IANS.
Mishra hoped some kind of an understanding can be worked out with the industry partner to spread the know-how of the product at the grass-root level.
"The way it has been designed, starting from the formula to the package, everything is for the ease of the children. Mothers can screw open the cap and place it into the child's mouth," he said.
(Posted on 16-02-2014) |
A toddler let people know she breastfed in this May 23, 2011, file photo from a pro-breastfeeding protest rally in Forest Park. Clayton County health officials are promoting the health benefits of breastfeeding this week. (File Photo)
JONESBORO — A mother goes through nine months of trials and tribulations when she carries a growing child inside of her.
She endures the morning sickness, back pains, swollen ankles and food cravings, and it all culminates in what? She spends hours in a hospital in pain, screaming as she goes through the process of giving birth.
Is she going to feel a unique bond with the little child she brought into the world? Probably.
The Clayton County Board of Health is kicking off August by highlighting that special little bit of mommy-baby time known as breastfeeding. World Breastfeeding Week began Thursday with a series of classes designed to educate mothers about nursing their children.
“It’s designed to promote the natural health benefits of breastfeeding and to help dispel some of the myths that people have about it,” said health department spokesman Joel Hall. “Particularly in the African-American community, there are a lot of myths about breastfeeding and as a result, the number of African-American who breastfeed their children is lower than other groups.
“Since Clayton County is predominantly African-American, that’s one of the reasons why we’re supporting this,” he continued.
The health department will host a one-hour “Breastfeeding 101” class today at 8:30 a.m. at the Clayton County Board of Health Building, 1117 Battle Creek Road in Jonesboro. The class will be held again Tuesday, at the same time and place. Staff will wear T-shirts to thank mothers for breastfeeding their children Monday and an “It’s Only Natural” breastfeeding education session will be held Wednesday from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. at the board of health building.
Mothers who breastfeed their children often swear by it and will fight for their right to do it anywhere they want. Two years ago, hundreds of young mothers gathered on the lawn of Forest Park City Hall and began breastfeeding their children to protest a public decency ordinance. The ordinance was designed to deter adult nudity but also made it illegal to breastfeed a child over 2 in public.
The mothers — who came to be known as “lactivists” — asserted it was their right to decide when to stop breastfeeding. They argued it created a special bond between them and their children.
“That’s what boobs are made for,” said one mother, Leah Ashe, during the May 23, 2011, protest. “They are not made to be looked at, or played with. They’re made to feed babies.”
The “lactivists” won their fight and the age limit was quickly dropped.
Breastfeeding is on the rise in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its 2012 breastfeeding report card shows 76.9 percent of mothers breastfed their children immediately after birth in 2009, the most recent for which data is available. That was a 2.3 percentage point increase from 2008.
The data also shows the number of mothers breastfeeding their children at 6 months increased from 44.3 percent to 47.2 percent over the same time period. Breastfeeding at the age of 1 increased from 23.8 percent to 25.5 percent.
Georgia lagged behind the nation in every age category, according to the report. At birth, 70.9 percent of Georgia mothers breastfed their children. At 6 months, the number dropped to 40.8 percent, and it plummeted again to 17.6 percent at age 1.
Breastfeeding offers plenty of health benefits for babies and their mothers, but common myths, such as formula being healthier and cheaper than breast milk, deter some people from doing it, said Hall. Among the benefits, he said, are a closer bond between mother and child, and better immune systems for the children.
“Typically, babies who breastfeed get sick less often and are less likely to have ear infections, diarrhea and stomach problems,” said Hall. “Babies that don’t breastfeed have a higher risk of developing asthma, diabetes and childhood obesity.”
Hall said new mothers eager to return to a pre-pregnancy weight can burn up to 600 calories a day by breastfeeding.
The board of health’s World Breastfeeding Week programs are sponsored by the Loving Support Breastfeeding Program, Making Our Mothers Successful and Parents as Teachers. |
Santa bringing cold to Volusia, Flagler
Published: Tuesday, December 24, 2013 at 6:26 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, December 24, 2013 at 4:20 p.m.
Forget the record heat of the last couple of days and brace for some cooler weather just in time for Christmas in Volusia and Flagler counties.
After some morning clouds and a chance for showers, Tuesday will be sunny but cool, with a high around 64 along the coast – about 20 degrees colder than Sunday and Monday. Tuesday will be windy, too, with a north-northwest wind of about 15 to 20 mph and gusts as high as 25 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne.
Conditions will clear Tuesday night and get cold, with an overnight low of 47. That will be the coldest it’s likely to get this week, with overnight lows hovering in the 50s through the weekend.
Wednesday will be mostly sunny with temperatures peaking around 69. Expect the same on Thursday and Friday but with a 20 percent chance of rain. Temperatures could climb back into the 70s by Saturday.
On the roads, Interstate 95 was shut down in Flagler County following a fatal accident, the Florida Highway Patrol reported. The accident occurred at 4:27 a.m. north of Palm Coast Parkway, affecting traffic in both directions. Southbound traffic was being re-routed at the U.S. Highway 1 exit. Northbound traffic was being re-routed at State Road 100, according to the FHP website. No accidents affecting traffic were reported in Volusia County.
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Esther Mibab felt nervous in her home in The Acreage. So nervous that she kept her accordion-style hurricane shutters closed, even in the off-season. Closed and locked. From the outside.
Authorities say that cost her her life. After a fire erupted at the 66-year-old woman's home one morning in January 2008, the result of a pot left on a stove, firefighters spent 40 minutes sawing through the shutters. By the time they found her, she was unconscious. She later died at the hospital.
Firefighters say they've stressed for years that window coverings should be up only when storms are threatening, and shouldn't be used as security devices.
Now a central Florida lawyer is pushing the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to pass a rule requiring manufacturers to build window coverings so people can release them from the inside.
Barring that, Glenn Williams said in his petition, manufacturers should be required to notify current users of the danger and should post warning labels on both the outside and inside of new products.
A commission spokesman told The Palm Beach Post that the issue is under review. But Williams provided a June 9 letter from the commission saying it would not consider the request.
"They said there hasn't been enough deaths. Unbelievable," he said.
But the commission's letter also said that such rules aren't needed.
Of 12 deaths listed by the law firm, none occurred during a hurricane or even when one was threatening. Only three occurred during the hurricane season and "the manner in which the shutters were used was likely a key factor in determining the outcomes of these residential fires."
Permanently affixed, movable coverings such as accordions, Bahama awnings, and crank-driven and motorized roll-downs, while more costly, can be slid over a window in seconds when a storm is threatening -- and safely pushed back in seconds after that.
But more economical plywood and steel or aluminum storm panels are heavy and unwieldy; a 10-foot-long one can weigh up to 30 pounds. And panels can take several hours to put up and take down.
Because of that, many people, especially seniors, will leave them up for long stretches of the hurricane season, or all of it, or even all year.
"The fact is, people don't listen," said Leigh Hollins, a retired fire battalion chief in Bradenton. "They put them up and leave them up."
Hollins, a paid consultant to attorney Williams, said people can be overcome by smoke in seconds. On top of that, panels tend to trap heat and smoke, and when firefighters finally do break through, they can be slammed by a backdraft.
Williams conceded there's some merit in the age-old argument that government shouldn't have to pass laws for people who don't realize the obvious.
But "the manufacturer should be responsible for this issue," he said.
"If these dangers are so obvious, then why do homeowners keep dying in fires?" William's client, John D. Smith, said in an e-mail. "If you were to ask 10 homeowners in Palm Beach County how they would get out of their homes if they had their shutters up and the house was on fire, what would they tell you?"
Smith and Williams admit they have motives in addition to safety. Smith makes a storm panel that's connected not by bolts but by a super fastener.
"It's a type of corrugated plastic that adheres like Velcro but stronger," Williams said. "It would stay on in a hurricane but a person could push it out."
He said he and his client will appeal to the consumer group.
The two also are in a legal fight with Florida's Attorney General, saying they are unfairly being targeted.
Williams filed in circuit court in Orlando to block a subpoena from the Attorney General for records from Smith. He said the office is suggesting Smith is conducting misleading advertising by claiming his coverings are as good as bolted-on panels.
Smith contends Attorney General Pam Bondi is doing so at the same time she's encouraging bolt-on panels, which he says can kill. He also said two people who complained to the state actually were competitors.
While the county's fire code doesn't specifically require coverings be removed after a storm passes, it does say rooms used for living or sleeping must have two means of escape. But it exempts one- and two-family dwellings.
In 2007, the West Palm Beach Commission voted to mandate shutters be taken down within three days of a storm. It later repealed the ordinance after social agencies raised concern about forcing seniors to take such quick action.
Wellington engineer Bruce J. Tumin, in an affidavit done in April for Williams, said that after a Miami-Dade couple died in a house fire the day after Hurricane Georges passed, their family sued Home Depot and the manufacturer.
But a circuit judge concluded there was no legal need for a warning label "because 'it's so open and obvious that shutters create a fire trap." Still, Tumin said he supports the "quick release" devices or the labels. |
- 10:30 a.m.
According to advocates, at least one in five New York City families with children still rely on soup kitchens and food pantries, despite free school breakfast and subsidized school lunches. President Obama pledged to end child hunger in the United States by 2015, and the reauthorization of the federal Child Nutrition Act is expected by September. During this recession, what would it take to ensure that more children receive free—and higher quality—school food? Why are about one quarter of New York City elementary school students obese? Can the government improve these things, or is it already doing everything it can?
- Kevin Concannon, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, United States Department of Agriculture
- Eric Goldstein, CEO, SchoolFood, NYC Department of Education
- Jan Poppendeick, author, Free for All: Fixing School Food in America
- Jonathan Stein, General Counsel, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia
- Jim Weill, President, Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)
- Fred Mogul, Reporter, WNYC radio
Supported by the Sirus Fund and the Milano Foundation. |
Change may be coming to the US National Security Agency's mass surveillance machine, but even an address from the US president doesn't make it clear how much. In a speech at the Department of Justice today, Barack Obama said that the NSA's powers to crawl through the cellphone metadata it has collected will be reduced and assured his audience that "the United States is not spying on ordinary people who don't threaten our national security".
Obama said he was ordering "a transition that will end the Section 215 bulk metadata programme as it currently exists", with a review due on 28 March deciding how the bulk metadata will be handled in future. He offered two possibilities: bulk call data will be accessed either through a private third party that holds the data for the US government to search as it needs, or through the individual cellphone network providers themselves, like Verizon.
On top of that, the web of metadata that an innocent, non-terrorist can be caught in is getting smaller, Obama said. "Effective immediately, we will only pursue phone calls that are two steps removed from a number associated with a terrorist organisation instead of three," he said.
There was much Obama did not address, like the NSA's initiatives to insert backdoors into the encryption standards that are used to secure internet communications. Foreign Policy reporter Shane Harris says that the White House has commissioned a study of the issue. Nothing was said about the NSA's ability to tap fibre-optic cables, or XKeyscore, the internet data collection program that gives NSA analysts unmitigated access to people's browsing histories, emails and online chats.
Obama's speech came one day after The Guardian newspaper in the UK reported that the NSA is gathering millions of text messages every day in an "untargeted sweep", in a story based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden which describe a program called Dishfire.
Under Dishfire, the NSA is able to collect nearly 200 million text messages every day, analysing them to reveal any financial details they contain, the location of the receiver, names and numbers on electronic business cards. One of the slides published by The Guardian shows one category of data that can be analysed is called "Passwords (pending); Other Requests?". It is unclear what this means, but it could refer to the SMS messages sent by Google and other web service providers that contain a code which is supposed to function as an extra layer of online security, called two-factor authentication.
If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to. |
For detectives and spies, digital cameras are invaluable. Snap a vital piece of evidence and the picture can be safely transmitted back to base, via a telephone or cellphone, by encrypting the images. But what happens to the hapless gumshoesor spookswho are caught in the act? Any images still in the camera are unprotected and can be viewed by anyone.
To safeguard secret agents, Obsidian Imaging of Los Altos has developed a way of encrypting the images in the camera (W0 97/36426). The digital photograph is encrypted as it is taken and stored on the camera's memory chip. It remains encrypted during transmission and if it is stored on a computer disc. Only someone with the password can view it.
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This is a classic article from New Scientist's archive, republished as part of our 50th anniversary celebrations
ON SHOW in London on 4 December, fresh from a debut in Paris, was a new American electronic digital computer, the Burroughs E 101. This machine is no bigger than a desk, and it is in fact operated by someone sitting at its keyboard. In size, cost and performance it fills a gap between the hand-operated, mechanical "adding machines" on the one hand, and the full-scale electronic computers on the other.
The instructions for any calculation are set up in the desired sequence with pegs on a panel rather like a cribbage board. The operator then "types" the numbers on which the machine is to do its work, and it finally prints out the answer.
The E 101 is intended chiefly for mathematical, scientific and technical duties, rather than for business. The operator ...
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My interest was piqued by two recent New Scientist articles discussing the relationship between organisational structure and human behaviour.
In his article comparing banking institutions and colonies of bacteria, Harvey Rubin picks out similarities between the two (19 September, p 24). These are phenotypical - that is, observable - while the differences between them are genotypical. While bacteria "optimise growth for any external and internal conditions", bankers have attempted to operate without any attention to their external environment.
The differences can be understood in terms of two design principles, first outlined by psychologist and organisational development pioneer Fred Emery in 1967. The organisational structure of banks has been built on the first design principle (DP1), called "redundancy of parts", in which responsibility for coordination is located at least one level above any individual doing work. Conversely, bacteria are organised on the genotypical design principle called "redundancy of function", DP2, ...
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It isn't just skateboarders benefiting unexpectedly from the government shutdown: the brown marmorated stink bug and the emerald ash borer beetle are also potential winners, reports LiveScience. The former causes millions of dollars of crop damage every year, while the latter destroys US ash trees. But scientists studying both species have had to suspend their tests while Congress sorts itself out. "Because of the shutdown, my colleagues and I are prevented from studying a possible management tool that could greatly benefit American forests," says a researcher studying (or perhaps more accurately, not studying) emerald ash borers.
US scientists in Antarctica also have had to suspend their research, reports the AP. The National Science Foundation announced yesterday that "all field and research activities not essential to human safety and preservation of property will be suspended," as it will run out of money next week. Some research projects may be able to resume if funding is reinstated soon, but others may be ruined. One penguin study, which has been running since 1990, will be useless if the research is broken. "If we miss a year, we'll never get it back again," says the study coordinator. "It's pretty devastating for our project." |
The Supreme Court on Friday got involved for the second time this week in a case in which opponents of gay rights fear they will be harassed if their views are made public.
The high court will consider whether Washington state officials can release more than 138,500 names on a petition seeking a vote on overturning the state's domestic partnership rights.
Protect Marriage Washington, which unsuccessfully opposed the law giving gay couples expanded rights, wants to shield from disclosure the signers of the petition for a referendum on that law. The group says it fears harassment by gay rights supporters, some of whom have vowed to post signers' names on the Internet.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has said before the Nov. 3 vote that the names could be made public, but the Supreme Court blocked their release until it decided whether to hear the case.
Arguments will be heard later this year.
Justices earlier this week intervened in another case where gay rights opponents complained about potential harassment.
The court's conservative majority decided to block the televising of a trial on California's ban of same-sex marriage. The trial in federal court in San Francisco concerns Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on gay marriage in the state. Lawyers representing opponents of gay marriage argued that broadcasts would expose their trial witnesses to retaliation from gay marriage supporters.
In Washington state, Referendum 71 asked voters to approve or reject the so-called "everything but marriage" law, which grants registered domestic partners the same legal rights as married couples.
Voters ratified the law, but the conservative Christian groups that sponsored it want to keep the signed petitions that asked for the referendum out of public view because they fear harassment from gay-rights supporters, some of whom have vowed to post the names of petition signers on the Internet.
"We are pleased that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear this case that seeks to protect the rights of citizens who support a traditional definition of marriage to speak freely and without fear," said James Bopp, Jr., lawyer for Protect Marriage Washington. "No citizen should ever worry that they will be threatened or injured because they have exercised their right to engage in the political process."
U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma blocked the release of the petitions, saying that releasing the names could chill the First Amendment rights of petition signers. The San Francisco-based appeals court reversed that ruling, but the Supreme Court blocked the name's release.
Washington state officials say the petitions are covered by their public record laws. "We welcome an opportunity to go to the highest court in the land to defend Washington citizens' strong desire for transparency, openness and accountability in government, and the public's belief that our state and local public documents must be available for public inspection," Secretary of State Sam Reed said.
But not all state officials feel that way. A GOP state representative, Mike Armstrong of Wenatchee, is sponsoring a bill that would exempt the petitions from public records.
At a public hearing on the bill Friday, fellow Republican, Rep. Gary Alexander of Olympia, expressed concern about releasing the names.
"I believe in open government and I believe in public records, but what I've seen unfortunately, is people who use that for purposes of vengeance, purposes of harassment," he said at the hearing before the House State Government & Tribal Affairs Committee.
Meanwhile, Rep. Reuven Carlyle, a Democrat from Seattle, wants a law that would essentially reaffirm that names and addresses on petitions are public record, and has introduced a bill that would add a statement on petitions letting signers know that they are public records.
Carlyle said that there was a "compelling public interest in full and open disclosure."
"We have a fundamental right to that information," he told the committee. "This is in no way about R-71 or about the left or the right. This is about the core essence of democracy."
The case is Doe v. Reed, 09-559. The bills being considered in Washington state are House Bill 2612 and House Bill 2418.
Associated Press Writer Rachel La Corte contributed to this story from Olympia, Wash.
© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
Officials close NE Mo. conservation area
Monday, July 1, 2013
HANNIBAL, Mo. (AP) — State officials have closed a conservation area in northeastern Missouri because river levels are expected to climb.
The Department of Conservation says the Ted Shanks Conservation Area will remain closed indefinitely.
The conservation area is about 17 miles south of Hannibal on U.S. 79. It has more than two miles of river bluffs, and borders nearly 9 miles of Mississippi River frontage and almost 5 miles of the Salt River.
The closure includes frog-hunting activities and boat ramps on the Salt and Mississippi rivers.
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Aspirin Resistance Is Higher in Diabetics
Source Newsroom: Sinai Hospital of Baltimore
Newswise — Aspirin has long been the industry standard for the prevention and treatment of heart attacks. However, for the more than 20 million Americans living with diabetes, the standard dose of aspirin might not provide adequate protection against future heart attacks. Researchers at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore recently demonstrated that aspirin resistance is higher in diabetics with coronary artery disease (CAD) than in non-diabetics at the standard 81mg dose of aspirin. The study (#1019-179) will be presented in its entirety at the 56th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) in New Orleans on March 26.
Most CAD deaths are caused by platelets sticking together and forming blood clots (thrombosis) that block blood flow within arteries, resulting in a heart attack. Aspirin inhibits clotting by specifically blocking an important enzyme, COX-1, which keeps platelets from sticking together. However, some diabetic patients may require a higher aspirin dose to achieve sufficient COX-1 blockade.
"The occurrence of clotting in patients on aspirin therapy is of major interest within the cardiovascular community. The effect of aspirin dosing in diabetic patients on the prevalence of aspirin resistance remains unclear," said Paul A. Gurbel, M.D., director of the Center for Thrombosis Research at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore and lead author on this study. "Our data suggest that there may be a higher risk of thrombosis in diabetic patients during low dose aspirin therapy."
The team at the Sinai Center for Thrombosis Research studied 120 aspirin treated patients (30 patients with diabetes) with stable coronary artery disease. Participants were randomly assigned to receive 81mg, 162mg, or 325mg of aspirin daily for four weeks each, for a total of 12 weeks. The response to aspirin was then tested by multiple laboratory methods. It was found that diabetic patients exhibited a higher prevalence of aspirin resistance than non-diabetic patients with 81mg of aspirin.
"The results of our findings may help to determine the best aspirin dose for diabetic patients, moving physicians away from the one-size-fits-all approach to aspirin therapy," said Gurbel.
Sinai Hospital of Baltimore is a member of LifeBridge Health, a regional health organization, which also includes Northwest Hospital Center, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, Jewish Convalescent & Nursing Home, and related subsidiaries and affiliates. |
Decomposition of Materials
I am trying to find how many years it takes for cigerette
butts, aluminum cans,Plastic bottles and polystyrene foam to decompose if they
are discarded in dumps and road side litter.
I would check with either the EPA or with Chinet. Chinet tries to show
from their studies that their paper plates take less time to decompose.
Click here to return to the Environmental and Earth Science Archives
Update: June 2012 |
Books and Archival Collections
Using cotton gloves and an acrylic book support for handling
Books are made from a complex range of organic material including paper, leather and fabric. Bindings can vary greatly in both style and strength. Older books (pre nineteenth century) are often bound in full leather. Books produced more recently are often cheaply bound, for example paperbacks.
The materials and the style of binding can contribute to the deterioration. Books are susceptible to degradation from high humidity, temperature and light. Foxing (brown spot stains) and mould growth is accelerated with fluctuations in temperature and humidity but this type of cycle will also cause expansion and contraction of the paper, which can lead to cracking of the media and distortion of the paper. Light can cause irreversible fading of pigments and inks and can accelerate the rate of deterioration, for instance papers which have high wood pulp content may yellow and become brittle.
Paper is a food source for insects and rodents. These can cause mechanical damages by chewing paper supports, sizing agents and binders. Good housekeeping practices will minimise the potential of damage caused by insects and rodents.
Careless handling and poor storage can cause serious damage to books. Paper is easily torn, punctured, creased and stained and image areas are often prone to abrasion. Inappropriate repairs, for instance the use of pressure-sensitive tapes and other non-archival adhesives, can cause irreversible damage such as unsightly staining.
Storage and handling
- Avoid storing books in shelves located against external walls, in direct sunlight (near windows or under skylights), in kitchens, near heating or cooling sources (heaters & air-condition ducts) or near high moisture areas such as bathrooms.
- Dust books and shelves regularly to reduce the chance of insect infestation and mould growth. Dusting the sides and spine of the book may be done with a soft brush while firmly holding the book closed by the fore-edge.
- Books should be stored upright on shelves, keeping similar sizes together and using bookends to prevent them from falling. Large books may need to be stored flat. Avoid tightly packing books into shelves.
- Handle books carefully, one at a time. Avoid pulling a book by the top of the spine as this can cause ripping or distortion of the spine. When moving books from a shelf, push in the books on either side so that the spine of the book to be removed is full exposed.
- Books may be stored in archival boxes if they are of high value or if they are structurally weak. Book storage products are available through conservation supply companies in capital cities.
- Attach an inventory to the lid of the box or the front of the folder.
- Separate books with metal components (such as clasps and hinges) as they will abrade and tear adjacent bindings.
- When reading a book which may be large, heavy, or tightly bound, use a cushion to cradle the book to help prevent stain on the spine. Never force a book flat to photocopy it as this is likely to crack the spine.
- Handwritten entries in important books, for example family Bibles, should be archivally copied to minimise the use of the book.
- If a book gets wet take immediate action. Stand it upright on an absorbent surface such as blotting paper and fan the pages open. Increase air circulation with a domestic fan. Turn the other end up as it dries.
- It is not advisable to apply oils or dressings to leather bindings.
- Structural repairs and tears should be carried out by a book conservator.
- Contact your state or city archive or library for advice on dealing with water damage and mould growth.
Tommy McRae sketchbook in custom-made box
Archival collections might consist of newspaper clippings, postcards, scrapbooks, documents, maps, diaries and letters. These types of items are often made on poor quality paper. Usually this type of material incorporates the use of paperclips, pressure-sensitive tapes, staples or rubber-bands to assemble elements together in a sequence.
Poor quality papers may degrade quickly, becoming acidic, discoloured and brittle, due to high wood pulp content. Sometimes paper can become acidic due to the media which has been applied to it.
Excessive light, heat and humidity will increase the rate of deterioration of any paper. The same warnings for books apply.
Metal components such as paperclips and staples may corrode and cause staining of paper, if exposed to moisture. Aged adhesive from pressure-sensitive tapes causes unsightly staining as it becomes yellow, brittle and penetrates the paper support. Rubber bands lose their elasticity over time and so shouldn’t be relied on for keeping items together or in order.
Good storage and careful handling are fundamental for the preservation of archival collections.
Storage and handling
- Newspaper clippings and other ephemera should be supported and stored flat in boxes or folders, separated with an interleaf of buffered tissue or encapsulated between a polyester film such as Mylar. Encapsulation also provides some rigidity and will hold damaged or torn material together.
- Isolate newspaper clippings from other archival documents as the paper has a high acidic content. A folder is a simple means of storing documents. The folder should be larger than the documents being stored in it to avoid possible damage and to allow for easy removal.
- Boxes, folders and interleaving tissues must be of archival quality.
- Storage should be in a cool and dry place. Low light levels are essential.
- Copy valuable newspaper clippings, letters or other documents onto archival quality paper. It is advisable to make a master copy, to avoid subjecting the original item to further light exposure.
- Scrapbooks commonly contain a wide range of material. They should not be taken apart to avoid changing the sequence. Pages should be interleaved with buffered tissue and any metal clips or staples removed. Fasteners like staples and clips may be replaced with plastic coated clips placed over a small fold of acid-free paper. Sometimes it may be possible to photocopy scrapbooks.
- Consult a conservator who will be able to provide advice and treatment. |
Mild itching is common in pregnancy because of the increased blood supply to the skin. Later on, as your bump grows, the skin of your tummy (abdomen) is stretched and this may also feel itchy. Mild itching is usually nothing to worry about, but if the itching becomes severe, it can be a sign of a liver condition called obstetric cholestasis, or intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP). This affects fewer than 1 in 100 pregnant women, but needs medical attention.
This page has information on:
Wearing loose clothes may help prevent itching, as your clothes are less likely to rub against your skin and cause irritation. You may also want to avoid synthetic materials and opt for natural ones, such as cotton, instead. These are "breathable" and allow the air to circulate close to your skin. You may find that having a cool bath or applying lotion or moisturiser can help to soothe the itching.
Some women find that products with strong perfumes can irritate their skin, so you could try using plain lotion or soap.
Mild itching is not usually harmful to you or your baby, but it can sometimes be a sign of a more serious condition. If you're worried, or if you have severe itching, it's important to see your midwife or doctor.
Serious itching: obstetric cholestasis
Obstetric cholestasis (OC), also called intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), is a potentially serious liver disorder that can develop in pregnancy. Normally, bile salts flow from your liver to your gut to help you digest food. In obstetric cholestasis, the bile salts don’t flow properly and build up in your body instead. There’s no cure for OC, but it clears up once you’ve had your baby.
OC seems to run in families, although it can occur even if there is no family history. It is also more common in women of Indian and Pakistani origin. If you have had OC in a previous pregnancy, you’re more likely to develop it again in a subsequent pregnancy.
Some studies have found that babies of women with OC are more likely to be born prematurely or to be stillborn. It’s not known how much higher the risk of stillbirth is compared to women who don’t have OC. There is no reliable way to work out your baby’s individual risk of stillbirth.
Because of the link with stillbirth, you may be offered induction of labour or a caesarean section after 37 weeks of pregnancy if you have OC. You will probably be advised to give birth in hospital, under a consultant-led maternity team.
Symptoms of OC
The main symptom is severe generalised itching (all over your body), usually without a rash, most commonly in the last four months of pregnancy. Some women get itching and a severe rash. For some women with OC, the itching is non-stop or unbearable, and can be worse at night. The itching is sometimes more pronounced on the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet.
Other symptoms include dark urine, jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes) and pale bowel movements (poo).
OC is diagnosed through taking a medical and family history, and blood tests that check your liver function. These are known as liver function tests (LFTs). Once OC is diagnosed, you will have regular LFTs until your baby is born, so that your doctor can monitor your condition. If your LFTs are normal and you continue to have severe itching, the LFTs may be repeated every week or two to keep an eye on them.
Creams, such as calamine lotion, are safe to use in pregnancy and can provide some relief from itching. There are some medications that can reduce bile salts and ease itching, but it’s not known whether they are safe to take in pregnancy.
You may be offered a vitamin K supplement. This is because OC can affect your absorption of vitamin K, which is important for healthy blood clotting.
If you are diagnosed with OC, your midwife and doctor will discuss your health and your options with you.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has more information about obstetric cholestasis, including what it means for you and your baby, and the treatment that's available. You can also get information from the British Liver Trust.
Healthtalk online has video interviews with women talking about their experiences of obstetric cholestasis, including what the itching feels like.
The charity ICP Support has a video about ICP (also called OC), featuring mums and clinical experts. |
Home > About NJDA > State Board of Agriculture > Secretary's Report to the State Board of Agriculture
Secretary's Report to the State Board of Agriculture
February 9, 20092007 Census of Agriculture -- The 5-year census was released on Wednesday, February 4, revealing that the number of farms in New Jersey is at its highest level in 40 years, however, there has been a 9 percent decrease in land in farms. Market value of agricultural products is at an all-time high and the census showed that farmers are shifting to higher value specialty crops, with fresh cut herbs now ranking third in the nation in acres and parsley and escarole/endive ranking second. It also showed new, growing trends of organic, community supported agriculture and on farm energy generation.
Gypsy Moth Suppression Program -- The Department is proposing treatment on 65,794 acres of forested land to suppress gypsy moth caterpillars in May and June of this year. The number of acres proposed for treatment this year is about half of what was proposed in 2008, when 112,500 acres were targeted for spraying. The number of acres actually treated last year was 93,814. The proposed spray program includes 98 municipalities and agencies in 17 counties. Burlington, Atlantic, Ocean and Sussex counties account for more than half the acreage proposed for treatment. In addition, the State Department of Environmental Protection is planning to spray about 1,908 acres in state parks and forests. More than 339,000 acres of trees were defoliated by gypsy moth caterpillars in spring 2008, however, the rate of increase in the gypsy moth population showed signs of slowing. There had been a steady increase in population since 2004 when only 6,502 acres were defoliated. In 2005, that increased to 44,131 acres; in 2006, it was 125,743; and in 2007, 320,610 acres of trees were stripped. A scoping session was held on January 6 outlining the proposal and regional information sessions were held the week of January 12 in the north, central and southern parts of the state. Based on increased parasitism rates and gypsy moth population declines observed throughout the state from the ground surveys, only single applications are proposed using Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki, (B.t.k.) in the 09 program. Municipalities have until February 6 to decide if they want to participate in this year’s aerial suppression program. For more information, visit www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/pi/prog/gypsymoth.html.
State Food Purchase Program – The third quarter State Food Purchase Program payments will be issued on Friday, January 30, including the additional funding added by the Legislature and Governor Corzine as part of the economic stimulus package. Local food distribution agencies are reporting they have an adequate supply of food to meet continued increased demand due to the supplemental funding. The Department is working with the United States Department of Agriculture to ensure New Jersey is able to take advantage of every opportunity for additional surplus food shipments.
Salmonella/Peanut Butter Recall -- No commodity peanut butter is involved with the current peanut butter recall due to the recent outbreak of illnesses caused by Salmonella Typhimurium. The Food and Drug Administration has confirmed the source as peanut butter and peanut paste produced by the Peanut Corporation of America at its Blakely, Georgia processing plant. The only company that USDA peanut butter was sent to for processing in New Jersey was Smuckers and a statement from this company can be found at www.smuckers.com. For information on what commercially purchased products may be affected, visit the link below:
www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm and www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/salmonellatyph.html.
Specialty Crop Block Grant -- The Department had received a $152,260 Specialty Crop Block Grant (SCBG) from the USDA Farm Bill. A total of $26,000 of the funds will be used support the Agricultural Leadership Development Program and an entrepreneurial development training program plus department administrative expenses. However, due to the budget cuts to the Jersey Fresh, Jersey Fresh Matched Grants and the Jersey Grown programs, $111,034 of the specialty crop grant, which had been approved for use to support those programs, will be re-allocated to other industry projects that support specialty crops.
Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) – At least 38 states are involved in a nationwide CEM epidemiological investigation. There are 10 states with stallions that have been confirmed infected and 36 states with mares exposed to CEM, a transmissible exotic, venereal disease of horses caused by the bacterium Taylorella equigenitalis. CEM can spread among stallions if strict biosecurity measures are not maintained during semen collection. Most mares were bred with shipped semen and artificial insemination so the number of mares exposed is likely to grow as more stallions are confirmed as carriers. In New Jersey, nine mares were inseminated with semen from CEM infected stallions. Farms were quarantined during diagnosis and treatment. All cultures and serology tests performed to date in New Jersey have failed to demonstrated infection. CEM protocols require all mares to be treated after cultures, regardless of diagnosis.
Disaster Animal Response Training -- Cosponsored by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture and the Animal Emergency Working Group, the Humane Society will hold a three-day introductory course at Rick's Saddle Shop in Cream Ridge on April 24-26, covering: Introduction to animals in disaster; the emergency management system; disaster preparedness for individuals and households, animal facilities, and communities; the Incident Command System (ICS); legal issues; communications; and teamwork. Other major topics covered include community animal needs/damage assessment; team response and procedures; animal care and handling; emergency animal shelters; equipment; and responder health and safety, including stress management. Table-top exercises will give students the chance to use and combine the skills learned during the training, including implementing ICS; communications; equipment; damage assessment; establishing and organizing a response; working with the media; responding to changing needs; and managing disaster resources including volunteers. To register, visit www.humanesocietyu.org/workshops_and_classes/on_site_workshops.html.
Horseperson of the Year Award -- Robert W. Allen has spent his life showing horses, judging competitions, teaching horsemanship and sharing his love of anything equine with thousands of others. This commitment to a thriving equine industry in the state earned him the title of 2008 New Jersey Horseperson of the Year from the Equine Advisory Board. Allen, owner and operator of Woodedge Equestrian School in Moorestown, was presented with the 2008 Governor's Trophy on January 25 at the 52nd Annual New Jersey Breeder's Dinner in Freehold, which celebrates the state's best in the equine field.
Pesticide Container Recycling – In 2008, 19,666 plastic pesticide containers weighing 18,276 pounds were collected in the Department’s pesticide container recycling program in Cumberland, Salem and Atlantic Counties. That represents a 271 percent increase in the number of containers collected and a 234 percent increase in weight over the 2007 program. In addition, recycling of the cardboard boxes which the pesticide containers come in was made available with more than 11,000 pounds of cardboard being recycled. Efforts are underway to expand the collection program to other regions of the state. |
Cadet life is characterized through NMMI’s military system and is intended to foster in each cadet punctuality, order, discipline, courtesy, respect for authority, self-reliance, initiative, and strength of character.
Cadets live each day within a military framework: they wear the cadet uniform, live in barracks-style dormitories, and eat their meals in a dining facility.
The cadet day is strictly regimented. It is each cadet’s responsibility to pay close attention to detail in order to manage his or her available time to ensure completion of required academic, military, physical training, and Corps responsibilities.
The Corps is commanded and administered by cadets and they provide much of the military training. More formal and specific training is provided through NMMI’s Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and Junior ROTC detachments and the Service Academy Preparatory program faculty administrators. |
What's "mass comm"?
"Mass comm" stands for Mass Communications. At NNU, that means you'll be a part of the film school, exploring the ideas behind filmmaking in the classroom and putting them to use in the studio and on set, as well as learning about communication itself, from its use in organizations to its role in interpersonal relationships.
What's "film school"?
"Film school" is just what it sounds like: a place to learn the art and craft of making film and television. At NNU, we love to
Can I get a job after graduation?
Here's a sampling of where a few of our film school alums are working:
- Dreamworks Studios
- Local TV stations
- Own production company in Seattle
- Large independent film company
- On the mission field in South America and Africa
- Mission Aviation Fellowship
- On the show "Top Gear"
- As head of video production for another college
What kind of financial aid is offered?
Financial aid is available through the university. A key offering of the film school is the chance to become a TA, which provides a significant stipend per semester.
Film school? In Nampa, ID?
We know. It seems strange, but the fact is that Idaho is a great place to start out in the film industry. There are plenty of opportunities to work on a variety of regional and national crews, and the lack of restrictions makes making a film in Idaho a much simpler process.
What kinds of classes will I take?
Classes range from Advanced Screenwriting to Cinematography to Media Systems and Literacy to Interpersonal Communication. All of these, in addition to NNU's general education requirements, result in a depth and breadth of knowledge that will inform a student's creative impulse.
What are "crew points"?
150 crew points are required for graduation, and students earn 1 for every hour they've worked on a crew. Many students go above and beyond and earn hundreds of extra crew points. At NNU, crew points mean experience.
What's a "TA"?
A TA is a teacher's aide. At the NNU film school, this means much more than simply grading assignments. TAs form a vital part of the film school leadership and influence the direction of the program. They're put in charge of the department's equipment and facilities.
What are "screen credits"?
Screen credits are the currency of Hollywood. There's nothing like watching a project that you've helped on and seeing your name at the end, scrolling across the screen. At the NNU film school, students automatically earn screen credits while working on department projects and when given the opportunity to work on senior projects and professional shoots. |
As Louisiana considers ways to improve our economic standing and attract businesses, we need to ensure that our children are well-prepared for the demands of an increasingly knowledge-based economy. The Nurse-Family Partnership sends a nurse into the home of a first-time, low-income mom to provide one-on-one support to improve her pregnancy outcomes, her child's health and development and her family's economic self-sufficiency.
Thirty years of national research has shown that mothers enrolled in NFP are significantly more likely than their peers to complete their education, be employed and achieve economic self-sufficiency. Children enrolled in NFP have better language skills, fewer developmental delays, and better academic achievement. These skills are a necessary foundation for the workforce of the future. As we look to allocate scarce resources in our state, let's make sure we are planting the seeds for long-term economic growth by investing in families.
D. Patricia Riddlebarger
Director of corporate social responsibility, Entergy Corp. |
Gaby Rodriguez with Jenna Glatzer
Simon & Schuster. 2012
Reviewer obtained a copy from publisher.
(Grades 8 and up)
There have been numerous books, both fiction and nonfiction, written about teens trying to overcome their family patterns. It is nice to read a success story for a change. The story of Gaby Rodriguez and why she pretended to be pregnant for a high school project is the subject of this inspiring memoir. Rodriguez has attracted a lot of media attention, something she never expected. Now in college, Gaby stopped the cycle of teen pregnancy that was prevalent in her family because of her intellect and determination. Her memoir, written with the help of professional writer Jenna Glatzer, has even sparked a Lifetime network movie.
Gaby was in seventh grade when her mother explained how young she had been when she became pregnant. “I always knew my mother had been young when she had her first child, but I never did the math, never realized that she was in middle school. And when she first told me she had Nievitas at fifteen, I assumed she meant she got pregnant when she was fifteen. Then she corrected me and said she got pregnant when she was fourteen, and for some reason that pushed it over the edge for me.” Her mother would go on to have seven children during her turbulent sixteen-year marriage. Five years after her divorce, at age thirty-five, after becoming a grandmother when her first child, Nievitas at age twenty gave birth to a daughter, Gaby’s mother became a mother again…with Gaby.
Gaby intertwines background information about her family with her reasons for choosing this particular project idea. The purpose of the senior project was “a chance for students to work on a skill that would be valuable in their careers, to help them prepare for life after graduation.” Gaby wanted her project to have a real impact on her fellow students. She wanted “to find an opportunity for growth, both for me and for the people around me. The statistics told me that my classmates’ families were a lot like mine – full of broken homes, teen pregnancy, poverty, and a lack of education.” Gaby wanted to come up with an idea that would reflect her community, while making a big impression. Gaby was fortunate to have so many people that supported her: her mother, teachers, siblings, and, especially, her boyfriend.
How would faking a pregnancy do that? You must read The Pregnancy Project to find out. The writing rambles a bit, but the essence of Gaby’s story, her hard work and the ingenious way she changed her life is inspiring. This book would be useful as a class project. It will appeal to girls and boys.
For more information about Gaby, her movie, and to read the LIfetime interview with Gaby, click here. |
Traffic Management Schemes
Find out about Traffic Management Schemes that are being proposed, consulted on or prepared.
Traffic Management Schemes are introduced to solve a problem
that has been identified on one or more roads.
Each scheme follows the 4 step process shown below. You can
click on each scheme below to find out more about it.
A proposal is prepared and a scheme plan drawn up.
A consultation is carried out, providing an opportunity for
residents, businesses and statutory services to comment on the
proposals. The schemes below are currently being consulted on:
3. Decision report prepared
The consultation responses are analysed and a decision report is
prepared and recommendations made. View decision reports below.
4. Traffic Regulation Order prepared
Taking any recommendations into account, a Traffic Regulation
Order is prepared (this follows a legal process). The TROs below
are currently being advertised:
Final copies of Traffic Regulation
Orders can be seen here.
If you would like any more information, please email: email@example.com |
Science North: Learn and Play
Science North Museum is self-described as creating high quality science education and entertainment experiences for its visitors. The Learn and Play portion of the accompanying Web site contains a Cool Science link with a wide variety of activities including an interactive stargazer and solar system, science quizzes, a reflex tester, a geology exploration activity, and more. Other links on the Learn and Play page include descriptions and movies, additional recommended science links, and Web cams
Ocean World: Coral Reefs
Texas A&M University presents Ocean World, a Web-based educational resource for oceanography. The feature on coral reefs has the most direct life sciences application, with easy-to-navigate sections about the coral animal, coral reefs as the rainforests of the sea, symbiosis, ecosystem services, and coral reef threats and conservation. The Web site also includes a handy hypertext glossary, an interactive quiz, and annotated links to interesting Web sites, including sites that provide real-time r
The Pherobase was developed by Dr. Ashraf El-Sayed, a research scientist at HortResearch in New Zealand, with the primary objective of providing "coverage of the literature published on chemical communication in insects." The Pherobase is intended for use by both scientific and non-scientific communities and currently contains "over 10000 entries, around 3000 molecules, and over 32000 static html pages that make it the world's largest database of behavior modifying chemicals." The site contains
Igneous, Metamorphic, and Sedimentary Rock Info
Igneous, Metamorphic, and Sedimentary Rock Info, is part of the University of British Columbia Introduction to Petrology course Web site. Visitors can learn the basics of petrology, and the specifics about each individual rock type. For example, the sedimentary rock page gives definitions, normal constituents, limestone and dolostone facts, and siliciclastic rock information. One of the highlights of the site lets users go through the process of rock classification by determining its grain size,
Floods: The Awesome Power
A newly released publication from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Weather Service, and the Red Cross is entitled "Floods: The Awesome Power." The citizen-focused sixteen-page preparedness guide explains "flood-related hazards and suggests life-saving actions you can take." Readers will learn what flash floods are, what to do if youre caught in your vehicle during a flash flood, what river floods are, how tropical cyclones create floods, where to get current we
History of Energy
This latest Topic in Depth delves in the Web�s offerings on the history of energy. The first site is maintained by the US Department of Energy, which is called Milestones in the History of Energy and Its Uses (1). From fire to the discovery of nuclear energy, the site gives short descriptions on significant events in the history of energy for each century, events by particular fuel type, events by energy uses, how energy uses have changed, energy consumption changes, and more. The next site
Jantar Mantar: The Astronomical Observatories of Jai Singh II
This website, created by the Cornell University Professor of Art, Barry Perlus, presents the five astronomical observatories in west central India. After reading a short introduction to the observatories, users can explore interactive panoramas of the observatories, built in the 18th century, using QuickTime. The website also offers still images and animations of the Samrat Yantra. Visitors can learn about the latest design plans and additions to the website. The website features downloads of ar
The Meteoritical Society
"The Meteoritical Society is a non-profit scholarly organization founded in 1933 to promote the study of extraterrestrial materials and their history." The website provides the latest Society news and downloads to its annual newsletter and bulletins. Scientists can find out about upcoming meetings and workshops, Society publications, and membership opportunities. Students and educators can locate materials describing meteorites, tektites, dust, and lunar samples as well as links to outside educa
The Mission-A Great Scientific Adventure
At this interactive website, enhanced by Macromedia Flash Player, students can perform 19 creative scientific missions, including three super-missions. The missions include interesting clues, fun games, and stimulating quizzes. Users obtain chemical elements as an award for each mission they successfully complete with the ultimate goal of filling the Periodic Table. Through the activities developed by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), students can learn about lightening, cloud types, elec
Hawaii Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Bibliographic Database
This coral reef-related Bibliographic Database was developed by the Hawaii Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (CRAMP). CRAMP conducts research "designed to identify the controlling factors, both natural and anthropogenic, contributing to the stability, decline, or recovery of Hawaiian reefs. The CRAMP "Bibliographic Database contains listings for published and unpublished documents concerned with the coral reefs and inshore marine resources of Hawaii." More than 2,500 references are cu
Developed jointly by the Pacific Science Center and the Washington State Dairy Council, Nutrition Cafe offers students three interactive games to explore the world of nutrition. The first game, Nutrient Sleuth, is an entertaining hangman-style game where students try to discover what nutrients different characters are missing based on clues and letter guesses. Another enjoyable offering is Grab A Grape, a Jeopardy-style game where site visitors try to match nutrition-related questions with answe
CAT (Computerized Axial Tomography) scans
This web page about CAT (computerized axial tomography) scans gives a brief overview of this imaging technique. CAT (or CT) scanning captures a lot of 2-dimensional X-rays that a computer then joins together to generate 3-dimensional images of internal structures. As part of a set of materials about brain scanning technologies, this page mentions what researchers can learn about the brain from CAT scans. Copyright 2005 Eisenhower National Clearinghouse
Whats It Like Where You Live? Desert
This site provides excellent background information on deserts. Large print and superb pictures make this site very appealing to younger students. Topics include: What is a Desert Like?, Types of Deserts, What causes Deserts?, Deserts of the World, Desert Plants, Desert Animals, and links to other desert sites.
This easy to read page includes a biography of Chadwick who discovered the neutron, a photo of Chadwick and links to related people such as Rutherford.
Wetlands : quick take
Here are some websites to supplement your content knowledge and lesson repertoire for educating students about wetland and estuary value and conservation practices.
JGI Nitrosomonas europaea ATcC 19718
As part of the DOE initiative to explore the role of microorganisms in global carbon sequestration, the Joint Genome Institute is sequencing the autotrophic nitrifying bacterium Nitrosomonas europaea. This organism plays a central role in the availability of nitrogen to plants and hence in limiting C02 fixation. These bacteria are important players in the treatment of industrial and sewage waste in the first step of oxidizing ammonia to nitrate.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration : Climate Homepage
This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website provides climate information and data. This site offers a variety of product links to climate monitoring, climate at a glance data, U.S. drought assessment, global climate change information, weather observation stations and more. Users can also link to organizations which participate in climate research such as the National Climate Data Center, Ocean Climate Laboratory and the National Weather service. This site is an excellent resour
Valley Springs Snow Cream
Middle School, difficulty level 2. Compare the volume of a sphere, cone, and cylinder using ice cream.
Science Sampler : Fossil detectives
Middle school students are transformed into Fossil detectives as they examine the fossil record and use evidence about paleo-environments to develop an understanding of structure and function in living systems and changes over time in Earths history. In this enrichment activity, students work in teams to research an assigned geologic time period. They determine available habitats, food sources and types (animal, plant; woody, herbaceous, etc.), cover sources, methods of getting food, defense, an
Scope on Safety : Collaborating safely
With the advent of inclusion legislation such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or PL 105-17 Reauthorization Action of 1997, many schools have focused on teaching partnerships between regular education and special education teachers. Science departments have been no exception to the trend toward team-teaching. This article describes five of the most popular models of team teaching. In addition, the legal implications and science safety issues concerning collaboration are |
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