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Posted by Admin Nutrinest dated The bird's nest has the following characteristics: 1. Nutrition is completely equivalent to the island nest. Because bird still fly freely outside of nature and self-hunting is flying insects like island bird 2. Bird's nest is clean and there are few insects and insects eat the nest 3. The price is more reasonable than the island nest. Nest farming is to create a habitat that is best suited to the biological characteristics of bird nest and protect birds from insects and natural enemies. Bird nest still feed themselves in the wild during the day and only go home to sleep and nest at night. The ideal environment with bird nest is created in the breeding house: 1. Very high humidity: From 85% or more. Low humidity makes bird's nest dry and fall to the floor so bird nest does not like dry environment. The nest is adjusted to moisture by a misting system 2. Herd sound: Bird's nest feels safer in environments with fellow-creature. Therefore, the new house will be fitted with loudspeakers that sound the swarms of bird collected in long-time bird house or natural cave 3. Less light: it is the only bird that can emit ultrasonic waving and flying in the dark 4. There are smells of familiar herds: The new bird's nest is sprayed with bird manure from the old bird's nest to create the familiar flock. 5. No harmful enemies: Types of mouse, geckos, cockroaches, ants, spiders ... must be excluded in breeding houses Nutri Nest is the first and leading bird nest farming company in Vietnam since 2005. Our research on Edible bird nest farming won the Vietnam Innovation Award. We are involved in more than 500 bird farming house project in South East Asia since then. VTV6: Introducing the bird farming technology of Nutri Nest: Newer post Note: Comments must be browsable before being displayed.
Yuruba Divination Bowl (19th Century) Yuruba Divination Bowl (19th Century) Such bowls were essential for rituals in which fate or prophecy (ifa) was divined. Ifa divination was used to transcribe the wisdom of Orunmila, the spirit of wisdom, divinity and prophecy in Yoruba mythology. A highly-trained priest, the babalawo, taps rhythmically on a tray (the opon ifa) with a tapper (the iroke ifa) to invoke the presence of Orunmila. A divination bowl such as this example is used to contain the sixteen sacred palm nuts (ikins), which must have at least three ‘eyes’. During the divination process, the diviner divides the nuts between his hands. The nuts left in the original hand, desirably one or two, are counted and marked. As the divination proceeds, the diviner continues to mark single or double marks in wood powder spread on his divination tray until one of the 256 recognised odus is created. (An odus is a set of accepted traditional binary patterns or codes that have evolved over thousands of years of observation and prediction. They provide guidance on both the everyday and the spiritual.) According to Yoruba mythology, the warthog was the most beautiful creature of the all animals at the time of creation. Its head was decorated with gems. However, the gods were disgusted by the warthog’s habits, his rooting around in the mud, and so on. They replaced the gems with warts and the gems were entrusted to the python instead. The python, which symbolises the rainbow, safeguarded the gems by burying them at the point where the rainbow meets the earth. The warthog threatened to kill the python, but still he did not return the gems. Incensed, the gods sent messenger deities (the eshu) in the form of hunters to protect the python. Today, the Yoruba people form one of the largest tribes in west Africa. They number around 30 million and are predominant in Nigeria where they comprise 21 per cent of the population. Most Yoruba speak the Yoruba language. Today, 60 per cent are Christians and another 30 per cent are Muslims. But many, especially in rural areas, still practise old Yoruba traditions such as those based around ifa. Add To Cart
Hugo – Martin Scorsese – 2011 1 – Why is working on the automaton important to Hugo and his father? Why is it important to Hugo after his father dies? 2 – Why is the notebook significant to both Georges and Hugo? What does their attachment to it suggest about them? 3 – Hugo says that every person has a purpose. What was Georges’s purpose? What evidence in the movie shows this? 4 – In what ways does Hugo’s discovery of the heart-shaped key lead to the resolution of other problems? 5 – Why do you think the author chose to give the automaton a heart-shaped keyhole? 6 – Did you enjoy the film, and if so, what did you like best about it? Which age range, if any, do you think it was aimed at?
This Is How WWII Paradogs Were Trained To Jump Into War Zones This Is How WWII Paradogs Were Trained To Jump Into War Zones \| World War Wings Videos Terence Spencer / Getty Images Attack Turned Rescue Elinor Smith presents a parachute dog during a major air meet on August 7, 1932 in the United States. \| Gamma-Keystone / Getty Images It’s D-Day, June 6th, 1944. The 13th Parachute Battalion of the British Army is preparing to jump. But one paratrooper scuttles towards the back of the plane. He hasn’t trained with anti-aircraft before and the meat he usually happily chases out of the plane doesn’t entice him. Finally, he has to be tossed out of the plane and promptly gets caught in a tree where he will wait several hours to be eventually be rescued. You may also like… A Different Kind Of Soldier Bing the Paradog. \| Wendy George / Public Domain The paratrooper was Bing, “a paradog.” He and the two other dogs of the 13th Parachute Battalion, Monty and Ranee, were among many dogs that saw military service during WWII. While Bing didn’t much like jumping on D-Day, he was awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal after returning home to his pre-war family. Paradogs are credited for saving hundreds of lives by locating mines, keeping watch, and warning troops of the enemy’s presence. It’s Raining Dogs! Army parachute- jumping dog. \| Terence Spencer / Getty Images Bing was trained by the Army War Dog Training School in Hertfordshire. The young Alsatian collie mix was sent there when his family realized that, sadly, they would not be able to feed him during the war. The dogs were trained to jump out of the plane with the use of meat; they would be given minimal food and water before the jump and follow their human counterparts out of the plane when shown the tasty cut of morsel. Apparently, many of the dogs would jump on their own and enjoyed the skydiving experience. One pilot said of Renee, Bing’s fellow paradog, “She looked somewhat bewildered but showed no sign of fear. I called out and she immediately turned in my direction and wagged her tail vigorously.” Animals have served in war for as long as they’ve been domesticated. And they continue to do today. They are incredible assets and formidable, albeit sometimes adorable, foes. It’s hard not to smile when you see a dog floating down from the sky in a parachute. Enjoy the video below of these 1943 military pups making their first jump. Don’t Miss Out! Sign up for the Latest Updates
Changes on the way to the Nutrition Facts Label Emma Falconer BIDMC Dietetic Intern JUNE 16, 2016 nutrition label You probably know there's added sugar in candy, soda and ice cream. But what about ketchup? Yogurt? Canned vegetables? It might come as a surprise, but a recent study found that over 60 percent of packaged food and drink items contain added sugar. Scary, right? That’s why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is creating a new nutrition facts label — to make it easier to understand exactly how much added sugar is in your favorite foods. What are Added Sugars? The FDA defines added sugars as “sugars that are either added during the processing of foods, or are packaged as such.” These added sugars can come from syrups, honey, or concentrated fruit or vegetable juices. Look at soda, for example. The current FDA daily value for added sugar is set at 50 grams, which is about 12 teaspoons. A 16 oz bottle of soda contains 55 grams of added sugar, considered 110% of the daily value for sugar! Besides sweetened beverages, a few other major sources of added sugar are processed snacks, cereals and sweets. However, there’s also added sugar in unexpected places like sauces, dairy products, condiments and canned foods. Why Make a New Label? The American Heart Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Institute of Medicine and the World Health Organization all agree that added sugars can be harmful to public health. Consuming excessive sugar can lead to increased risk of Obesity, Type II Diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. Existing nutrition facts labels already show the amount of total sugars in packaged foods. The new labels will empower consumers to make healthier choices by differentiating between added sugars and sugars that occur naturally. How will it Work? This new label will feature a refreshed design, easier to understand nutrition information and updated serving sizes. However, it won’t appear on packaged food items until July 2018. If you’re looking to cut down on added sugars before the new labeling goes into effect, make sure to read through a product’s ingredient list. If you see things like high fructose corn syrup, brown sugar, molasses, honey, corn syrup, agave, beet sugar, cane juice, sorbitol, glucose, mannitol and sucrose, try to stay away. Cutting down on packaged items and eating more fresh, in-season fruits and vegetables can do wonders for your health and well-being. For more information, visit the FDA’s website.
Skip to content. \| Skip to navigation Robots that breed Robots that breedCould we build a machine that can replicate itself? One mechanical engineer has proved that it is possible. From 'Battlestar Galactica' to 'The Matrix', imaginative writers have warned us against creating machines that can “breed”. However one engineer from the University of Bath has shown that some self-replicating machines can be used for good. Dr Adrian Bowyer is a lecturer in mechanical engineering, and has created the first machine that is capable of copying itself. The ‘RepRap’ machine works as a kind of 3D printer. It is given the materials and fed with a computer programme which tells it what the parts should look like. But it isn’t just a machine for reproduction, by altering the computer programme, the machine can currently make any crude plastic object. So far it has successfully produced sandals, door hooks, coat hangers and fly swats, as well as other machines just like itself. And far from being dangerous, Dr Bowyer believes it is "potentially an extremely powerful technology." The machine itself costs around £250 to make, and Bowyer believes it could "give everybody - ultimately - the ability to make virtually anything for themselves in return for being helped to reproduce." Related links
News Ticker Single-Cell Analysis: Powerful Drops in the Bucket Drop-seq and a similar droplet-based approach, called inDrop, were independently developed by two NIH-supported research teams. In papers published in the journal Cell, both teams say their technologies offer rapid, inexpensive, and precise ways to analyze the gene activity of thousands of individual cells derived from virtually any place in the body. Why do scientists want to barcode the transcriptomes of thousands of individual cells like overnight packages? The simple answer is to enable them to sort through these vast heaps of data in a quick, efficient manner. Until now, researchers have mainly been limited to profiling the gene activity of tissues, which often contain many types and subtypes of cells that may vary greatly in gene activity. That becomes a real problem when you wish to study a structure as complex as the human brain. It consists of nearly 86 billion neurons, plus billions of other types of cells and trillions of connections! The BRAIN Initiative, a bold, multi-agency effort led by NIH, will enable the development and use of innovative technologies to build a more dynamic, higher-resolution picture of the human brain. Ultimately, technologies developed through the BRAIN Initiative may improve our understanding of a vast array of brain disorders and provide new ways to treat, cure, and prevent conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, autism, and schizophrenia. But an early challenge is to develop a much more complete census of the cell types that make up the brain. Drop-seq, which was developed by Evan Macosko, Aviv Regev, Steven McCarroll, and their colleagues at Harvard Medical School, Boston, and the Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, is one of the first potentially game-changing technologies to arise from BRAIN Initiative funding. In their paper, the researchers used their device to analyze the gene activity of more than 44,800 cells from the retina of a mouse’s eye—leading to the identification of 39 distinct subtypes of retinal cells, based upon their gene activity profiles [1]. This new development sets the stage for analyzing scores of cells beyond the eye, including within the much more complex circuitry of the brain. In fact, the Harvard team has already begun such work. Macosko and McCarroll say their goal is to construct a global architecture of brain cells in an effort to gain a clear understanding of the gene activity involved in normal neurological development. They also plan to explore which cell populations are missing or malfunctioning in schizophrenia, autism, and other brain disorders, and then examine how various forms of physical and mental stress may lead to changes in the gene activity of these cells. What makes the idea of carrying out such ambitious research projects feasible is Drop-seq’s relatively low cost and high speed. Using Drop-seq, it costs about 7 cents to analyze the gene activity of a single cell. What’s more, the process is so efficient, that just one scientist can analyze about 10,000 of these cells per day. Another Harvard team, led by Allon Klein and Marc Kirschner, set out to tackle the same challenge of single-cell analysis in a generally similar, but somewhat different way. This group used its new technology, dubbed inDrop, to analyze thousands of differentiated and embryonic stem cells from mice [2]. Embryonic stem cells have the capacity to remain stem cells or to become any cell type in the body. In contrast to Drop-seq, which has 16 million barcodes in its bead library, the inDrop method generated only about 150,000 unique barcodes, which means it can process fewer cells in a single run. However, inDrop may have the advantage when it comes to situations when researchers want to analyze very small samples of tissue—because it captures a greater percentage of cells than does Drop-seq, in which only a few thousand of the millions of oily drops it generates per hour contain both a bead and a cell. Already, these new tools have revealed rare subtypes of cells never before described in detail. Clearly, the journey toward gaining a better understanding of the activity of individual cells and the inner workings of the human body has begun in earnest. It’s going to be an exciting ride. [1] Highly parallel genome-wide expression profiling of individual cells using nanoliter droplets. Macosko EZ, Basu A, Satija R, Nemesh J, Shekhar K, Goldman M, Tirosh I, Bialas AR, Kamitaki N, Martersteck EM, Trombetta JJ, Weitz DA, Sanes JR, Shalek AK, Regev A, McCarroll SA. Cell. 2015 May 21;161(5):1202-14. [2] Droplet barcoding for single-cell transcriptomics applied to embryonic stem cells. Klein AM, Mazutis L, Akartuna I, Tallapragada N, Veres A, Li V, Peshkin L, Weitz DA, Kirschner MW. Cell. 2015 May 21;161(5):1187-201. Source: NIH Director’s Blog Leave a comment Your email address will not be published.
Leonardo da Vinci Helicopter: Aerial Screw Around the year 1490 Leonardo da Vinci drew this helicopter in one of his notebooks, which he called “Aerial Screw”. Why did he give it that name? He believed that the rotor of his machine would twist and penetrate the air, just as a screw or a drill does in the wood when they turn. In this way, Leonardo correctly interpreted that the air had consistency and we could lean on it to ascend. Leonardo da Vinci Helicopter \| ''Air screw'' Codex Atlanticus f.844r is a drawing Ms B 83v by Leonardo da Vinci 1486-1490 Leonardo da Vinci Helicopter \| ”Air screw” Codex Atlanticus f.844r is a drawing Ms B 83v by Leonardo da Vinci 1486-1490 Description and operation of the Leonardo da Vinci helicopter The helicopter, whose structure measures about 15 meters in diameter, consists of two main parts: Helical rotor On a structure of canes and wood, a spiral of linen fabric treated with starch is joined to cover the pores. A metal strip covers the outer edge of the spiral to reinforce it. The central mast is fixed with four rods, which the crew would have to push to keep the rotor rotating. Fixed disk under the rotor The crew would walk on this disk and push the rotor rods. This makes the propeller rotate on the base. The strength of four men would not have been enough to lift the weight of this structure. The helicopter might have been able to fly with a powerful modern engine. It would also be necessary to drastically reduce its size and weight. Leonardo also did not realize that when he got up from the ground, the fixed disc of the base would start to turn in the opposite direction to the propeller. His helicopter would have needed a tail rotor, as modern helicopters incorporate, to prevent the rotation of the base. The historical background of the helicopter Around 400 B.C., the “bamboo dragonfly” existed in China. A toy made up of a propeller attached to a thin, cylindrical stick. Turning this stick between the hands quickly, the artifact quickly rose upwards. Bamboo Dragonfly, historical background of helicopter Bamboo Dragonfly, the historical background of helicopter You may want to see drawings of other flying machines thought up by Leonardo da Vinci in this other article in El Reloj de Sol. You can find more information about Leonardo’s inventions in this Wikipedia article.
Who Knew? These 5 Foods Shouldn't Be Stored in the Fridge If you're guilty of storing most of your groceries in the refrigerator, we've got news: It could be doing your food more harm than good. Certain fruit and vegetables simply aren't cut out for the climate of refrigerators. While it's easy to unpack fresh produce, stow them straight into the crisper section, and think nothing of it, Eat Clean reveals that some produce is actually damaged by the dry and chilly conditions of your fridge. Yep, there are some foods that shouldn't be stored in the fridge, even if it's your usual go-to for keeping things fresh. You might be surprised by which fruits and herbs make it onto the list, so it's worth studying up on before your next trip to the market. To make sure you get the most out of your grocery haul, we've highlighted the top five foods that shouldn't be stored in your refrigerator. Raid your fridge, and remove these five key items below. Refrigerators keep food at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, which can cause potato starch to convert to sugar, changing the flavor. Take them out of the crisper, and store them in a dark place away from direct sunlight. Storing tomatoes in the fridge can damage the membrane inside the fruit's walls, causing it to taste bland. Keep the ripe fruit on your countertop and eat within a few days for the best flavor. Canned Food There's a lot of conflicting advice about storing canned food in the fridge. Britain's National Health Service warns against it, arguing that the metal can leach into food, however, the FDA says tinned items don't pose a health risk. Err on the safe side, and store tinned food such as corn or tuna in a plastic container. If you've made the mistake of putting fresh basil in the fridge, you'll understand why it's a big no-no. The green leaves quickly discolor and turn black and limp. Eat Clean recommends storing basil in a jar of water on the counter or in a plastic bag to trap humidity. A USDA study found that watermelons kept at room temperature have more antioxidants than melons stored in the refrigerator. They also last longer. The rough shelf life of a watermelon kept on a countertop is two to three weeks, while for the refrigerated fruit it can last less than a week. This story was originally published on April 20, 2016, and has been updated.
News & Blog The blockchain and how it could solve our recycling problems Posted on December 05, 2018 Guest blog from Stewart McGrenary, Managing Director of Attention is constantly drawn to Scotland’s recycling problem from a number of different angles, highlighting various subjects such as e-waste, plastic recycling or a hard look at the recycling industry in general. However, the increase of recyclable waste still making its way into landfill is the main current concern. Plastic waste and e-waste turn up in landfill, releasing dangerous toxins that pose a greater threat to the environment than previously thought. Within recent years, the blockchain has become an unlikely, but strong contender in the fight against the crisis. Its structure for storing and securing information seems to have strong ramifications for the recycling problem – possibly to solve it. So how serious is the recycling problem in Scotland – what is working and what isn’t? What is the blockchain, and what are its implications for solving this crisis? Are there any examples of successful implementation of blockchain in the recycling industry? After answering these questions, what conclusions can we draw? These questions will be explored and answered – to the extent possible – in this article. How Serious Is Scotland’s Recycling Problem? What is working? To start off on the bright side, a major recycling initiative known as Zero Waste Scotland is making a massive impact in the following three areas: 1. Reducing the amount of waste generated - In 2011, the total amount of waste from all three major waste sources generated in Scotland amounted to 12 million tonnes. The very next year saw the total reduced by a stunning 2 million tonnes. 2. Increasing the amount of waste recycled – Recent estimates report that Scotland is recycling more than 60% of its waste. There is also an increase of 400% of the food waste recycled from homes since 2011. 3. Reducing the amount of waste to landfill – The amount of waste sent to landfill has shown a steady reduction each year, coming together for a total 50% reduction since 2005. What isn’t working? While we will keep this part of the picture brief, there are clearly three obstacles that occasionally overshadow the good that is being done. Fly-tipping, or illegal dumping, littering and dog-fouling are all still a problem, and stiff fines are being imposed on violators. Despite these existing problems, however, Scotland deserves much praise for the valiant efforts being exerted to combat the waste and recycling problem. What is the Blockchain, and what implications does it present in addressing the recycling problem? The blockchain securely stores pieces of information in blocks, with each unique item of information assigned a digital signature, which identifies that information exactly as it was submitted so that the integrity of the information remains pure. As the number of blocks increases, they are “chained” together. So what potential could this technology possibly have in improving the recycling problem? Let’s consider e-waste, particularly cell phones, which have an alarming environmental footprint. The smaller they are, the more difficult they are to disassemble to recover small amounts of recyclables. As a result, they end up in the bins and eventually in the landfills in staggering numbers. With current systems in place, there is nothing to stop a boss from overtly or covertly ordering a driver to dump their load at an undisclosed location. With the volume of transfers of waste, there is constant potential for human error, corruption or omission of data. Applying the blockchain to the recycling process can account for every piece of recycled material and all data attached to it. In other words, no person can “foul” up the records (pardon the pun). Around the world, there are indeed examples of successful use of blockchain. Most are either UK-based or near the UK, while others include the USA and the Netherlands. 1. Plastic Bank Plastic Bank, formed in Canada, has improved plastic recycling efforts in a few developing countries and is expanding. When a person recycles a plastic bottle at one of the recycling centres in their system, they are rewarded with a digital token, good for buying food or even charging time. The blockchain technology is hosted on IBM’s LinuxONE servers, which uses a digital wallet system to track and store data and to keep transactions secure. Users can also track their rewards and redeem them through the use of an available app. All recycled material is then sold for reuse. All information attached to all material sold to them is “chained” from the recycling centre to the sale. Accounting is more precise for these companies, as they can better quantify the value of their investment. 2. French Rail With the help of the blockchain, French rail saved over €2,000 in expenses every month from one station alone! And they continue to record all of the recycling activity of several recycling stations in their rail network. They did this by assigning station bins with a block and using a bluetooth transmitter that updated a central system which recorded the type of waste collecting and where it ends up. They were better able to determine which stations collected what material, and even the person who moved it from the station. 3. RecycletoCoin App Created by the Blockchain Development Company, or BCDC, this app is being used in the UK, and the initiative is being expanded in other major cities around the globe. Here is how it works: You drop off your aluminum cans or bottles at a collection point and using the app, you scan the QR code. In exchange, you receive BCDC tokens to your BCDC wallet. These can then be converted into a virtual gift card, crypto-currency, or be spent toward other environmental projects. 4. Goodr The food waste company Goodr is based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and uses blockchain for verification purposes. The Atlanta-based business recovers excess food from restaurants and businesses in order to donate it instead of throwing it away. Have you been to a grocery store and donated food to a charity? You cannot confirm if the food left the grocery store, let alone made it to the intended charity. Goodr records the data on the blockchain so that it can be verified with 100% certainty and accuracy – even allowing real-time reporting analytics to show companies where the food is headed. The data collected also allows organisations and restaurants to see which food tends to be wasted most, indicating where changes could be made and money could be saved. 5. ILT – Netherlands Waste-carrying trucks transport waste in the Netherlands and across borders by the hundreds of thousands. These are checked manually. However, the Netherlands’ Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) is working on a project to employ blockchain along with apps to automate this process. And as the project develops, the hope is that they can better map where waste goes, and take swift action when needed, as well as freeing up vast amounts of time and money, due to the reduction of paperwork and continuous border crossing verification checks for truck drivers. To be fair, Scotland has some astonishing initiatives in place. There is, however, much to be done. Truly, everyone is accountable, from the person recycling the waste to the companies that store it, process it and/or move it. Fly tipping, littering and dog fouling are behavioural issues, which need to change at the personal level. Still, when violators are caught, this information could also be recorded in the blockchain. Repeat offenses can be “chained” to the original ones, making indelible records that cannot be altered. Finally, as is evidenced by our five success stories from other parts of the world, recording movement of waste will help enforce accountability all around, and in some cases, automate aspects of waste management. This will ensure that the waste, whatever forms it takes, gets recorded and processed for the benefit of the environment. View by Categories Mailing List
Frequently Asked Questions about the DOI® System 6. What can a DOI name be assigned to? 8. Is the DOI system a standard? 9. What is a shortDOI? 13. Does the DOI system use a Content Distribution Network? To provide as good a service as possible, the doi.org resolver uses Cloudflare as a provider of authoritative DNS service and as a Content Distribution Network (CDN). When a user accesses doi.org, the Cloudflare DNS resolver will route the request to a nearby node on Cloudflare's globally distributed network of edge nodes. That Cloudflare edge node will then contact a geographically nearby doi.org backend server. This approach allows us to distribute the doi.org backend servers around the world, with each user in general accessing only those servers which are geographically close to them. The result is considerably improved response times. In addition, the edge nodes will greatly improve any failover situation and redirect queries to other doi.org backend servers if the geographically closest server is unreachable for any reason. We have attempted to configure our use of Cloudflare to be minimally intrusive. However, there are two issues to be aware of. (1) In exceptionally rare cases, Cloudflare may require a user to pass a CAPTCHA challenge in order access the site. If this happens to you, it means that your IP address (your computer on the Internet) is on a list of suspicious addresses. It may be that your computer, unknown to you, is part of a botnet used for generating spam or something similar. Completing the CAPTCHA proves you are a human. Note that this is quite rare; fewer than one in a million requests to doi.org results in a Cloudflare challenge. (2) Cloudflare may store a cookie. This cookie does not store any personally identifiable information, but can be used by Cloudflare to distinguish distinct users using a shared IP address in case different security responses are appropriate; for instance the cookie can determine which clients behind a suspect IP address have successfully passed a challenge. See https://support.cloudflare.com/hc/en-us/articles/200170156-What-does-the-Cloudflare-cfduid-cookie-do-. If you believe our use of Cloudflare is interfering with an automatically generated resolution request, please send mail to contact@doi.org for advice.
Brooms are for cleaning, not for poking. Brooms are for cleaning, not for poking. A broom is a cleaning tool. Brooms, they come in different shapes, colors and sizes, and we usually use them to tidy and scrub. We might have a broom for cleaning indoor areas, and others for the outside, or only drains. We can have brooms for the quarantine areas, other brooms for scrubbing algae of pools. We have brooms with long handles, but also brooms with short and sturdy ones. Broom can be wood, metal or plastic, with bristles from broomcorn and/or sotol fiber. So brooms are for cleaning. Broom in zoos are for cleaning, and well of course, they could in a positive way be used as enrichment items too! But brooms in zoos have also acquired other purposes as well, we use them to poke animals, block animals going places, move animals where we want them to be, or to keep a safe distance between us and them (example wattled crane safety - great target training!), and I have been guilty of this too in the past. Preferably animals are trained to voluntarily cooperate in their care, but there are moments when more negative tools are needed to ensure safety of animal and keeper and or manage the animals. I would like to suggest that we separate the different tools so we are not sending conflicting messages and or scare animals unnecessarily. If we need to keep animal at safe distance this can be done with another type of sticks or a herding board, and the same for separating or moving animals. We can and should use these tools in the least obtrusive manner, and at the lowest intensity. Don’t forget that with the broom we also change our body language, voice, our demeanor, so what we signal is often (perhaps unintentionally) of a high intensity already. If we use these tools we have to do so carefully, and always be conscious of the fact that we have to fade out these methods as much as possible. So if you need a stick to move animals now, you should be working towards not having to use it anymore, just asking the animals to move outside or inside should be enough and works well. The problem of using the broom is also that animals can easily develop fear (or aggressive) responses to the broom. So even when you do not come to push them out with the broom, and just come for cleaning, the broom can trigger agitation, fear and anxiety. Brooms are a frequently used item in enrichment but also in training as a reinforcer. That this can be very reinforcing and pleasurable for animals can be seen in the article on the Forth Worth Zoo with photos and a video and monkey enrichment at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park. Many keepers know that all types of brushes (soft, hard,big and small), fixed or mobile can be very popular! With the daily tools we use to care for the animals we should make sure that they have a positive view of these objects, whether broom, rake, hose or other. I think that non of these should be used to scare animals, to move them or to keep distance (unless you have a very good reason, like an emergency). We can take a moment to think through the scenarios and decide on which tools will be used for which procedures. Please think about which tools to use if you do need to use aversive ones, like a stick or herding board, and think through how it is used at the lowest intensity. Preferably also take the next step of teaching voluntary collaboration. This make it all much more relaxed and fun for both you and the animals! So next time you see and use a broom, hose, rake or other tools to care for animals, make sure this item is and stays positive. We care, and we do not want to scare. We are caregivers, not scaregivers. © The Aspinall Foundation
Nov 1, 2012 – Got Gophers, No Mounds If this definitely is a gopher creating that hole and feeding damage on the grass then there just have to be soil mounds around the area somewhere, and probably nearby. All of that tunneling that the gopher did to reach this lawn area to feed has created excess soil that the gopher must remove from the burrow system, so even if the mound is hidden under some shrubs or is on the other side of the fence it just has to exist. I'd take a peek over the fences and in hidden places to see what I could find, and once found this may give you a better idea of where the main runways will be. These are the best places to put gopher bait. Dropping the bait down into this feeding hole may not be tempting enough for the animal. Or, if you are stuck with nothing more than these feeding holes in the lawn you may want to try trapping. The hole could be enlarged slightly to accommodate a trap set vertically down into that hole, attaching it to a post at the top so the gopher cannot drag the trap away. Trapping in these vertical shafts can be effective, and according to some of the resources I have read on gopher trapping it doesn't particularly matter whether or not you cover the hole to exclude light. Either way the gopher, hopefully, will investigate what has happened to his nice, neat tunnel and be caught. The Macabee Trap may be smaller and more easily fit into this vertical shaft. If you find the soil mounds in a neighbor's yard, and I sure think it would be weird to find them too far from these feeding holes, you of course would need that neighbor's permission to do any work on their property. Again, it would seem odd for a gopher to want to shove a lot of soil very far through his tunnel system, and making a new tunnel to the surface on a frequent basis to exclude the soil is more their nature. Is there any chance these might be burrows of some other animal, such as Norway rats. I'm not sure what they do with the dirt they excavate, but they definitely do not pile it like gophers do. Perhaps the "feeding" on the lawn that you see is instead just the worn pathway of the rat. Look for other signs such as fecal pellets in that immediate area or pathways extending away from the hole. View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
From Events to Threads From Events to Threads To understand how Windows applications work internally, let's spend a minute discussing how multitasking is supported in this environment. You also need to understand the role of timers (and the Timer component) and of background (or idle) computing, as well as the ProcessMessages method of the Application global object. In short, we need to delve deeper into the event-driven structure of Windows and its multitasking support. Because this is a book about Delphi programming, I won't discuss this topic in detail, but I will provide an overview for readers who have limited experience with Windows API programming. Event-Driven Programming The basic idea behind event-driven programming is that specific events determine the control flowof the application. A program spends most of its time waiting for these events and provides code to respond to them. For example, when a user clicks one of the mouse buttons, an event occurs. A message describing this event is sent to the window currently under the mouse cursor. The program code that responds to events for that window receives the event, processes it, and responds accordingly. When the program has finished responding to the event, it returns to a waiting or "idle" state. As this explanation shows, events are serialized; each event is handled only after the previous one is completed. When an application is executing event-handling code (that is, when it is not waiting for an event), other events for that application have to wait in a message queue reserved for that application (unless the application uses multiple threads). When an application has responded to a message and returned to a waiting state, it becomes the last in the list of programs waiting to handle additional messages. In every version of Win32 (9x, NT, Me, and 2000), after a fixed amount of time has elapsed, the system interrupts the current application and immediately gives control to the next program in the list. The first program is resumed only after each application has had a turn. This process is called preemptive multitasking. So, an application performing a time-consuming operation in an event handler doesn't prevent the system from working properly (because other processes have their time-slice of the CPU), but the application generally is unable even to repaint its own windows properly—with a very nasty effect. If you've never experienced this problem, try it for yourself: Write a time-consuming loop that executes when a button is clicked, and try to move the form or move another window on top of it. The effect is really annoying. Now try adding the call Application.ProcessMessages within the loop; you'll see that the operation becomes much slower, but the form will be refreshed immediately. As an example of the use of Application.ProcessMessages within a time-consuming loop (and the lack of this call), you can refer to the BackTask example. Here is the code using this approach (ignore the naïve technique for computing the sum of a given set of prime numbers): procedure TForm1.Button2Click(Sender: TObject); I, Tot: Integer; Tot := 0; for I := 1 to Max do if IsPrime (I) then Tot := Tot + I; ProgressBar1.Position := I * 100 div Max; ShowMessage (IntToStr (Tot)); There is a second alternative to calling ProcessMessages: the HandleMessage function. There are two differences: HandleMessage processes at most one message each time it is called, whereas ProcessMessages keeps processing messages in the queue; and HandleMessage also activates idle time processing, such as action update calls. If an application has responded to its events and is waiting for its turn to process messages, it has no chance to regain control until it receives another message (unless it uses multithreading). This is a reason to use a timer: a system component that will send a message to your application whenever a specified time interval elapses. Using a timer is the only way to make an application perform operations automatically from time to time, even when the user is absent or not using the program (so that it is not processing any events). One final note—when you think about events, remember that input events (generated using the mouse or the keyboard) account for only a small percentage of the total message flow in a Windows application. Most of the messages are the system's internal messages or messages exchanged between different controls and windows. Even a familiar input operation such as clicking a mouse button can result in a huge number of messages, most of which are internal Windows messages. You can test this yourself by using the WinSight utility included in Delphi. In WinSight, choose to view the Message Trace, and select the messages for all the windows. Click Start, and then perform some normal operations with the mouse. You'll see hundreds of messages in a few seconds. Windows Message Delivery Before looking at some real examples, let's consider another key element of message handling. Windows has two different ways to send a message to a window: PostMessage API Function Places a message in the application's message queue. The message will be handled only when the application has a chance to access its message queue (that is, when it receives control from the system), and only after earlier messages have been processed. This is an asynchronous call, because you do not know when the message will be received. SendMessage API function Executes message-handler code immediately. SendMessage bypasses the application's message queue and sends the message directly to a target window or control. This is a synchronous call. This function even has a return value, which is passed back by the message-handling code. Calling SendMessage is no different than directly calling another method or function of the program. The difference between these two ways of sending messages is similar to that between mailing a letter, which will reach its destination sooner or later, and sending a fax, which goes immediately to the recipient. Although you will rarely need to use these low-level functions in Delphi, this description should help you determine which one to use if you do need to write this type of code. Background Processing and Multitasking Suppose you need to implement a time-consuming algorithm. If you write the algorithm as a response to an event, your application will be stopped completely during the time it takes to process that algorithm. To let the user know that something is being processed, you can display the hourglass cursor or show a progress bar, but this is not a user-friendly solution. Win32 allows other programs to continue their execution, but the program in question will appear to be frozen; it won't even update its own user interface if a repaint is requested. While the algorithm is executing, the application won't be able to receive and process any other messages, including paint messages. The simplest solution to this problem is to call the ProcessMessages and HandleMessage methods, discussed earlier. The problem with this approach, however, is that the user might click the button again or re-press the keystrokes that started the algorithm. To fix this possibility, you can disable the buttons and commands you don't want the user to select, and you can display the hourglass cursor (which technically doesn't prevent a mouse-click event, but does suggest that the user should wait before doing any other operation). For some low-priority background processing, you can also split the algorithm into smaller pieces and execute each of them in turn, letting the application fully respond to pending messages in between processing the pieces. You can use a timer to let the system notify you once a time interval has elapsed. Although you can use timers to implement some form of background computing, this is far from a good solution. A better technique would be to execute each step of the program when the Application object receives the OnIdle event. The difference between calling ProcessMessages and using the OnIdle event is that calling ProcessMessages gives your code more processing time. Calling ProcessMessages lets the program perform other operations while a long operation is being executed; using the OnIdle event lets your application perform background tasks when it doesn't have pending requests from the user. Delphi Multithreading When you need to perform background operations or any processing not strictly related to the user interface, you can follow the technically most correct approach: spawn a separate thread of execution within the process. Multithreading programming might seem like an obscure topic, but it really isn't that complex, even if you must consider it with care. It is worth knowing at least the basics of multithreading, because in the world of sockets and Internet programming, there is little you can do without threads. Delphi's RTL library provides a TThread class that will let you create and control threads. You will never use the TThread class directly, because it is an abstract class—a class with a virtual abstract method. To use threads, you always subclass TThread and use the features of this base class. The TThread class has a constructor with a single parameter (CreateSuspended) that lets you choose whether to start the thread immediately or suspend it until later. If the thread object starts automatically, or when it is resumed, it will run its Execute method until it is done. The class provides a protected interface, which includes the two key methods for your thread subclasses: procedure Execute; virtual; abstract; procedure Synchronize(Method: TThreadMethod); The Execute method, declared as a virtual abstract procedure, must be redefined by each thread class. It contains the thread's main code—the code you would typically place in a thread function when using the system functions. The Synchronize method is used to avoid concurrent access to VCL components. The VCL code runs inside the program's main thread, and you need to synchronize access to VCL to avoid re-entry problems (errors from re-entering a function before a previous call is completed) and concurrent access to shared resources. The only parameter of Synchronize is a method that accepts no parameters, typically a method of the same thread class. Because you cannot pass parameters to this method, it is common to save some values within the data of the thread object in the Execute method and use those values in the synchronized methods. Delphi 7 includes two new versions of Synchronize that allow you to synchronize a method with the main thread without calling it from the thread object. Both the new overloaded Synchronize and StaticSynchronize are class methods of TThread and require a thread as parameter. Another way to avoid conflicts is to use the synchronization techniques offered by the operating system. The SyncObjs unit defines a few VCL classes for some of these low-level synchronization objects, such as events (with the TEvent class and the TSingleEvent class) and critical sections (with the TCriticalSection class). (Synchronization events should not be confused with Delphi events, as the two concepts are unrelated.) An Example of Threading For an example of a thread, you can refer again to the BackTask example. This example spawns a secondary thread for computing the sum of the prime numbers. The thread class has the typical Execute method, an initial value passed in a public property (Max), and two internal values (FTotal and FPosition) used to synchronize the output in the ShowTotal and UpdateProgress methods. The following is the complete class declaration for the custom thread object: TPrimeAdder = class(TThread) FMax, FTotal, FPosition: Integer; procedure Execute; override; procedure ShowTotal; procedure UpdateProgress; property Max: Integer read FMax write FMax; The Execute method is very similar to the code used for the buttons in the BackTask example listed earlier. The only difference is in the final call to Synchronize, as you can see in the following two fragments: procedure TPrimeAdder.Execute; I, Tot: Integer; Tot := 0; for I := 1 to FMax do if IsPrime (I) then Tot := Tot + I; if I mod (fMax div 100) = 0 then FPosition := I * 100 div fMax; FTotal := Tot; procedure TPrimeAdder.ShowTotal; ShowMessage ('Thread: ' + IntToStr (FTotal)); procedure TPrimeAdder.UpdateProgress; Form1.ProgressBar1.Position := fPosition; The thread object is created when a button is clicked and is automatically destroyed as soon as its Execute method is completed: procedure TForm1.Button3Click(Sender: TObject); AdderThread: TPrimeAdder; AdderThread := TPrimeAdder.Create (True); AdderThread.Max := Max; AdderThread.FreeOnTerminate := True; Instead of setting the maximum number using a property, it would have been better to pass this value as an extra parameter of a custom constructor; I've avoided doing so only to remain focused on the example of using a thread. You'll see more examples of threads in other chapters—particularly Chapter 19, "Internet Programming: Sockets and Indy," which discusses the use of sockets. Part I: Foundations
Physical Constants as Properties of the van der Waals Torque of the Quantum Field Fleming, Ray Research Papers Mechanics / Electrodynamics Date Published: July 3, 2018 One of the most important outstanding questions in physics is, what are the physical causes that lead to the magnitudes of each of the physical constants? This paper explores the hypothesis that the magnitude of each physical constant is determined by the van der Waals torque of the quantum field of standard model quantum field theory. The quantum field is known to produce van der Waals forces as they are necessary to explain the experimentally proven existence of the Casimir effect. There is little research, however, into the effects of the van der Waals torque that necessarily exists in a sea of dipoles that undergo van der Waals force interactions. The van der Waals torque of space resists all linear and rotating charge motion, and as such, it determines the polarizability and magnetizability of space and the related physical constants. Give that most of the physical constants are derivable from other physical constants, it is easy to show that the magnitudes of all the electromagnetic constants are a direct physical result of the van der Waals torque of space. Of particular importance, electric charge and the fine structure constant are derivable from the polarizability of space. Since the fine structure constant and, consequently, mass can be shown to be electromagnetic, there is also a brief discussion about the necessity that gravity is electromagnetic as well, possibly in a manner analogous to a theory by Wilson and Dicke. <<< Back
DAX and Conditional Formatting Better Together: Find The Biggest and Smallest Numbers in the Column In the previous article, I explained the importance of Conditional formatting and mentioned that having a table with no color coding is not a proper way of giving information to your users. In this article, as the second step; I’m going to show you how to use DAX combined with conditional formatting to only highlight the biggest and the smallest number in a column in a table. If you have used the conditional formatting, you are aware that you cannot do the formatting just by saying give me the highest number, or the two top highest numbers. In the Power BI world, DAX is your friend, so let’s see how DAX in combination with conditional formatting can do that for you. If you like to learn more about Power BI, read Power BI from Rookie to Rock Star book. The dataset for this model is the random set of numbers I have created, which you can download from here. Also; to understand the importance of conditional formatting, I recommend you to read part one of this article here. Our sample database table is as below; Using RANKX to find the biggest and smallest numbers RANKX is a function that can be used in many scenarios when you are calculating the rank of a value based on a category. Imagine that we have a table visual like the below example: Our first step is to create a measure that can give us the rank of values based on customers. And using RANKX, we can write a measure like below; “By Customer” is our table name, and Revenue is the column that we want to find out the ranking of it. To learn more about RANKX, read this article. Now you can add that measure in the table visual, and you will see this output Using Switch to Choose Color Now that we know what is the biggest number and what is the smallest number (using the result of RANKX expression), we can set the color based on it. The SWITCH is a function which works like multiple IF THEN ELSE statements. we can write another measure as below; If we want to translate the code above to if-then-else, it means: If the rank of revenue is 1, the color is green, if it is 25, the color is red, and otherwise for any other values it is white. This is the measure that we will be using for coloring the values in the table. Set Conditional Formatting for Background Color Now that we have everything ready, we can do the conditional formatting on the table. Select the table visual first, then go to the format tab, and under conditional formatting, select Revenue as the column. Set the Background color to On, and you will see conditional colors appears immediately. However, this is not the coloring we want. so click on Advanced Controls. In the advanced control, set the Format By to Field Value, and then select the Background Color measure that we created in the previous step here. then click on OK. Note that if you are creating your own measures; The measure that you use here, should be producing color values as the output. After clicking on OK, you will see that there will be only two values color coded, the biggest one as Green, and the smallest one as Red. Done! You got the very first and the very last number in the ranking now color coded. How simple it is when DAX and Conditional Formatting works with each other! Now, let’s talk about some enhancements. Font Color: A bit more enhancement As you can see in the above screenshot, the text value of the revenue is not that much readable because the colors are rather dark. Best would be also creating another measure for Font Color as below; Adding that to the table, you can see how it works: Now, let’s do the conditional formatting this time for Font Color; In the advanced controls window; Choose the Fixed Value, and then Font Color; Here is now the final output: More Enhancements: Color Coding top 3 and bottom 3 values Well, before you ask for this, I thought better to show you straight away! How if we want to color code not only the top and bottom 1 numbers but also the top/bottom three numbers? Well, that is easily possible, you just need to change your measure expression for the background and font color as below; It is not a good way of writing what we are after. You need to use Switch, but use it for multiple values, here is a better way of doing it: same for the Font Color; and then if we use these two new measures (Background Color Three, and Font Color Three) for conditional formatting, this is what we get; What If Parameters for Conditional Formatting: The sky is the limit! When it comes to combining DAX and visualization, then the sky is the limit of what you can do. Let’s say you don’t know is it the top three that you want to color code, or four, or five. and also you don’t know is it different from the bottom bound of the values. So, as a solution, you can use What If parameters in Power BI to create two parameters; one for the upper bound, and one for the lower bound. Start by creating a new what if parameter under the modeling tab. name it as Upper Bound, and then minimum as 1, maximum as 10, default as 5, and increment 1 each time. make sure the Add slicer to this page is selected. Do it one more time for the lower bound with the configuration below; Now you should have two slicers in your page for each of the what if parameters. Let’s use these two in our background color and font color measures. This is what the updated background color measure looks like: Well, the DAX expression is a bit more complicated than what you expected! Let’s explain a bit of detail here: ‘Upper Bound'[Upper Bound Value] and ‘Lower Bound'[Lower Bound Value] are the values selected in the slicers of what if parameter tables. Because the Lower Bound value is a value between 1 to 10, and we want this value to be deducted from the maximum rank in the revenue column, so I used a calculate function to count all records in the table, and then use that as the source of deduction. I added one to it, to avoid results such as 25-1=24, we want also 25 to be color-coded, which is 25+1-1. And for the Font color; After conditional formatting this is the result: It works even for other visuals The solution you learned in this article, is not just for table visual. you can use it in a bar chart, column chart, and some other visuals. Obviously for these, because the background color white would be a bit invisible, I changed the measure as below; The above measure replaced the White color with Orange. And here is the output now: All in one as a wrap up looks like this: Multiple techniques used in this article to achieve something which I believe every business would need in their visualization; conditional formatting based on top/bottom values. We used RANKX function in DAX to calculate the rank of values and then using SWITCH we produced the output of coloring. Then using conditional formatting with the fixed value we put it in the visualization. You also learned how the process can be enhanced using parameters as a more dynamic approach. Hope you liked it and use it in your implementations 🙂 Reza Rad Trainer, Consultant, Mentor • Hi Reza, This is excellent. Thank you so much. I have a query when it comes to the Highest number. What if the number keeps increasing dynamically? We can assign green for the Top value by identifying the rank as ‘1’. Here 25 is the lowest and we assign ‘Red’. How can we identify the lowest value when you have more numbers? • Hi Solomon. You can get the highest number by getting the highest rank of course across all values, and that is possible with adding ALL into the play. then that can be the replacement of 25. You can also as a simpler solution, use count, however, because you may have two or more values exactly at the same rank, then the count would not be the best solution. • Great article Reza! One small improvement though. You refer to the same measure [Rank of Revenue] twice, even though it will not change values based on your current filter context. This means the RANKX() function will have to evaluate twice. Better to store the value as a variable first, and then call it inside your SWITCH() expression: Background Color Parameter Chart = VAR Test = [Rank of Revenue] SWITCH ( TRUE (), Test = CALCULATE ( COUNT ( ‘By Customer'[Customer] ), ALL ( ‘By Customer’ ) ) + 1 – ‘Lower Bound'[Lower Bound Value], “Red”, • Hi Chris. Correct. Variable usage, in this case, would be beneficial. However, when it comes to performance tuning the scripts of this code, there is a LOT that can be done. for example, the Font Color, doesn’t really need to comparison to end up with WHITE, and some other expressions can be combined too. The purpose of this post was mainly showing how DAX and visualization work together. Leave a Reply
The Art and Science of Smoking Smoking a pipe is such a common custom today that we tend to forget it is both an art and a science developed over four centuries. It is an art in that a pipe is smoked for pleasure and pleasure only. It is a science in that the pipe bowl is a small furnace which, like any other furnace, must be properly fueled, fired, and cleaned in order to operate at its best. Unless these techniques are mastered, the smoker will find little joy in the use of his pipe. Smoking in its earliest days was recognized as an art, and no man was considered a gentleman until he could smoke properly. Tutors and professors of smoking appeared on the scene, who, for a price, would teach the novice the fundamentals and mysteries of the art. The complete course began with a history of smoking, and included the technique of inhaling through the nose. The course ended when the student had mastered the skill of blowing smoke rings in the air. The gentleman of fashion smoked at all times and at all places, in the theater as well as on the street. He carried in his pockets a complete smoking kit—a tobacco box, a pair of tongs for lighting his pipe with a burning coal, and a tobacco stopper for pressing the fired leaves firmly into his pipe bowl—all elaborately wrought of expensive materials. His pipe, however, was the same clay pipe smoked by common laborers and poor men in general. Perhaps the most interesting time for the avid pipe smoker came during the Victorian period. The nineteenth-century gentleman would have to retire to a special smoking-room, don a smoking-cap and jacket to protect his hair and clothes from the vile odor of tobacco, and puff away until interrupted by the ladies of the house. If there was no smoking-room, he would have to smoke secretly by his bedroom fireplace, surreptitiously blowing the smoke up the chimney so that no offensive odor would remain. Fortunately, the modern smoker can enjoy a pipeful either in private or in public. Moreover, he’ll always have a pleasant smoke if he is familiar with the art and science of smoking—-breaking in, filling, lighting up, and cleaning the pipe. Many a man who is attracted to pipe smoking gives up the practice after a few days because he finds little pleasure in his pipe. He finds that his tongue feels burned and is bitter-tasting, that the bowl becomes too hot to hold, or that the pipe will not stay lit. As a result, the would-be pipe smoker gives up in disgust, and the fraternity of pipe smokers has lost a friend. The fledgling smoker simply failed to realize that a pipe must be broken in and smoked properly before it will yield an enjoyable smoke. To derive maximum pleasure and satisfaction from a pipe, the new smoker should follow a few important but simple steps: 1. The first step in breaking in a new pipe is to moisten the inside of the bowl with a little water applied with the finger. This will permit the carbon, formed by the burning of the tobacco, to cling to the walls of the briar and act as insulation against the heat of the first light-up. If the inside of the bowl has been precharred (or caked) by the pipe maker, however, this step should be eliminated. 2. Next, fill the bowl about one-half full of good tobacco. Fill the pipe gradually, tamping down each layer of tobacco firmly with the finger. 3. Now light the pipe evenly all around. Igniting the tobacco will cause it to rise up slightly in the bowl. Tamp down the tobacco with a metal tamper and relight evenly once again. If the bowl is packed correctly, you will have no trouble in keeping the tobacco lit. 4. It is extremely important to smoke the first few bowlfuls slowly. Indeed, it is always best to puff patiently away, no matter how well your pipe is broken in. Form proper habits of filling and smoking your pipe from the moment you purchase it. Smoke the pipe slowly until the tobacco is burned down to the very bottom of the bowl. This not only prevents overheating, but also forms an even, protective cake on the walls of the bowl. After smoking a few pipefuls, gently remove the ash or “dottle” from the bottom of the bowl with a pipe-smoker’s “spoon.” Be careful not to damage the thin, newly-formed cake. Now fill the bowl about three-quarter full and smoke it. Gradually increase the amount of tobacco until you have filled the bowl to the top. You’ll find that your pipe will have gained that treasured possession—a regular, even cake from the bottom to the top of the bowl. The cake is an accumulation of porous carbon, which fulfills two important functions: the carbon acts as a protective coating that helps prevent “burn-out,” and is largely responsible for the sweetness of the smoke. It also blends into the smoke the flavor of genuine briar. This combined effect gives a pipe the mellow flavor which pipe-smokers always strive to achieve. The carbon cake should be developed slowly and evenly, and should form a uniformly thick lining on the pipe bowl. If your pipe is properly filled but still goes out occasionally while being smoked, it may be because you’ve packed the tobacco too tightly. Leave a Reply
Consider all. Test All. Hold on to the good. Illogic Primer Quotes Clippings Books and Bibliography Paper Trails Links Film Richard Swinburne on the Resurrection If, further, God’s purpose of identifying with our suffering and providing an example and instruction of how to live is to be fulfilled, he must show us that he is doing this. For God to bring to life someone condemned for certain teaching would be to express his approval of that teaching. And since belief in the Resurrection … was clearly the force which led to the spread of the Gospel throughout so much of the world, if God brought this about, his doing this constituted and intervention in history to make the life of Jesus successful. If God raised Jesus and thus gave impetus to the Church which centrally thereafter taught that Jesus was God Incarnate (which there are also independent grounds for supposing Jesus to have implied), he showed that it was God himself who identified with our suffering. While the Resurrection would vindicate that and all the other teaching of Jesus, since a crucial element of that teaching concerned the availability for us ordinary humans life after death, it would provide the first example of that to which it witnessed. Jesus was the forerunner. If God raised Jesus from the dead, he accepted his sacrifice and vindicated his teaching.
Lien of Foreclosure Law and Legal Definition When a person buys a real estate by getting a loan, that person usually has to execute a mortgage deed which creates a lien on the property. By doing so, the property becomes collateral or security for the loan. The mortgage note will specify the payment frequency, the interest rate, the duration of the loan and the projected maturity date. If the borrower violates the terms of the mortgage loan, the lender who is also the owner of the lien can initiate a foreclosure action to recover the security (the real estate) in order to recapture the outstanding balance and the accrued interest due on the mortgage loan. The lien will remain on the property until the loan balance goes to zero, or there is a foreclosure for non-payment. Once the loan is closed and the mortgage signed, the lien is recorded, and becomes part of the title to the property. This is referred to as lien of foreclosure.
The capacitively coupled (CC) resistivity method is an emerging geophysical technique for near-surface investigations. However, there are two major problems associated with using the CC resistivity (line antenna) system in ground investigations. These two problems are (1) the geometrical factor and (2) measurement biases. We first derive the geometric factor for the line-antenna array in a dipole-dipole configuration. The new expression of the geometric factor considers the separation between the two current (and the two potential) line antennas, thereby improving the accuracy of the measured apparent resistivity. Second, from the electroquasistatic point of view, a quadruline model that can describe the characteristics of the CC resistivity (line antenna) system is derived based on the previously published quadrupole model. The validity of the quadruline model is verified experimentally. Based on the quadruline model, it is found that the dielectric properties of the line-to-ground capacitor and the ground permittivity produce measurement bias at low and high current frequencies, respectively. If the operating current frequency is around the kHz range and the ground resistivity is relatively high, such as in permafrost areas, the ground permittivity can also create measurement bias to cause the actual value to be underestimated. The experimental results and the predictions by the quadruline model suggest that the measurement bias induced by the gap between the line antenna and the ground surface becomes significant and cannot be ignored as the gap height is large and the associated ground resistivity is low. In general, the CC resistivity (line antenna) measurements are not biased by the gap effect when the gap height is less than 0.01 m, which can easily be achieved for tests on flat ground. You do not currently have access to this article.
Book Appointment Book Appointment Stress Management Stress is often defined as the body’s physical, emotional and mental response to the demands of life. However, for many the life stressors may become overwhelming or it may be difficult to manage, reduce or cope with the stressors. High levels of stress can be due to the anticipation of an event or a current event. High levels of stress can come work stress, family concerns, illness, financial concerns, and relationship distress. Stress effects all aspects of a person. Stress can cause symptoms such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, neck and back discomfort, fatigue, and reproductive concerns, headaches, and digestive concerns, decrease in sexual intimacy, irritably, anxiety and depression. When someone perceives or experiences a stressful environment or situation their heat rate elevates, blood flow increases, increase heart rate, blood pressure, strokes, heart attacks and other health conditions. All stress does not come from negative or harmful circumstances, even a positive experience such as a wedding, vacation, job promotion or pregnancy can cause stress. Working with a therapist is space to address the concerns related to and caused by stress. A client can learn and practice skills to review, prioritize, reduce and learn and develop coping skills. These skills may involve reviewing and planning the implementation of relaxation techniques, such as breathing exercises, self-care activities, forms of exercises, expressing stress through art or journaling, meditation, or guided visualization. Therapy may include reality testing of negative or catastrophic thinking, inventory of positive things in one’s life, talking through the past stressors and inventorying their influence on the reactions to current areas of stress.
Sign up now What is Cryptocurrency? 13,303 plays In this Bytes video learn about what are cryptocurrencies and how do they work. Also learn about Bitcoin which is the world's first cryptocurrency. Unacademy Bytes Daily Trivia Unacademy user very very useful for me thanks me'm Shalu Bajpai a year ago you're welcome???????? Maam, can you please make a video on AI - Artificial Intelligence (machine learning) how it works and it's effects on human in future . Unacademy Bytes 10 months ago Hi Sheelwant, a video on AI is already there in the first part of this course. This is the second part. Sheelwant Gupta 10 months ago Okay maam , i will see to it and thanks for your valuable reply. Please make a video on in what basis Indian currency is printed by RBI investing in Bitcoin is bad from my perspective as it's not centralised and it's just befooling government and make money without paying tax ...that's shamefool please make a video on how to invest in share market and mutual funds please Shashwat seth 10 months ago you can check zerodha varsity, it will really help. Their material to study this is amazing! now only i realize..this golden voice is TTS sad Kartheek Sharma 10 months ago what you are saying I didn't understand could please elaborate Sp Ananthan 10 months ago daily dose ...presentation is created by using text to speech sw..heither to i thought that is human voice:):) Dweepasha Bishal 10 months ago Raju.y Ch 10 months ago OMG her voice sounds soo humen Sp Ananthan 10 months ago Kartheek Sharma 10 months ago ohh is it it's really shocking Dweepasha Bishal 10 months ago how did you realize that ? Sp Ananthan 10 months ago ji 10 days more..concentrate on studies:) 1. Ethereunm Litecoin Bitcoin Ripple WHAT IS CRYPTOCURRENCY? 2. Cryptocurrencies are a type of digital currencies, alternative currencies and virtual currencies DIGITAL CURRENCY 3. Cryptocurrencies use as opposed to centralized electronic money and central banking systems decentralized control 4. BLOCK CHAIN Public transaction database o pa 6. BITCOIN What is it? SELL 7. Since then, over 1,800 cryptocurrencies have been created $22188 197.04 $4242 BTC Bitcoin ETH Ethereum LTC itecoin 8. BITCOIN Bitcoin is a digital currency what we mean is it exists only electronically SELL 9. How do Cryptocurrencies work? 10. Do they even have a value? 11. o0 10 1 0101 01 01 Cryptography 12. Share Bitcoins betweern peer-to-peer network 13. Unlike any video or song that you would like to copy and share, Bitcoin isn't just a string of data that can be easily duplicated. 14. TB Blockchain is something that records every Bitcoin transaction that has ever happened. 15. 0 The private key can take some data and mark it or sign it. 16. When this signed message is sent out to the network, people can use the public key to make sure the signature matches. 0 The private key can take some data and mark it or sign it. 17. Is investing in Cryptocurrencies a good idea?
French Armed Forces 1939 French flagStrength and organization of the Army divisions and l’Army de l’Air of France in September 1939 Maginot Line Only the observation tower is visible ! The Maginot Line was buld from the Swiss border to Longwy from 1929 onwards for 2.9 Billion Francs. France emerged from World War One with considerable military prestige, but the French Forces and indeed the whole nation were exhausted. After the experiences of World War One, there was considerable weight of opinion, and political pressure behind the view that a strategy based upon a solid defensive line accorded best with the demands of modern warfare and the needs of the country. The result was the construction of the fortress complexes of the Maginot Line, which absorbed a great deal of the defence budget. The French military establishment had its critics, and there was a small but vociferous school of thought which condemned the reliance on static fortifications. The French Army, based on conscription, was of variable quality; reserve divisions especially were often considered a liability, and observers, including the British General Brooke, were shaken by their insubordination and slovenly appearance. The French Army was mobilised on 1 September 1939: about 5,000,000 reservists were to be added to the standing army of 900,000 men. Basic French Army units Infantry Division Cavalry Division Light Division Panzer Battailon Total units 91 (30 regular, 13 fortress, 12 North African und 9 colonial) 5 3 39 Infantery regiments 3 with 3,000 men and 80 officers each) ? 1 with 3,000 men and 80 officers - Officers 500 ? ? ? NCOs, Privates 17,000 ? ? ? Total men 17,500 ? ? ? Maschine guns 514 (168 heavy, 346 light) ? 160 (48 heavy, 112 light) ? Mortars 51 (27 light, 24 heavy) ? 17 (9 light, 8 heavy) ? Howitzers and Fieldguns 60 (36 x 75mm M1897/17, 12 x 105mm, 12 x 155mm) ? ? ? Anti-tank guns 49 (43 x 25mm, 6 x 47mm) ? 6 (25mm) ? Tanks - 45 – 60 90 – 120 plus armoured cars 45 – 60 French soldiers moving a heavy artillery gun French soldiers moving a heavy artillery gun. Much of the French equipment was still from World War I. Inventory of armored fighting vehicles in September 1939 Armoured Fighting Vehicles Inventory Renault FT-17 c. 1,600 Char 2C 10 AMC-35 88 Hotchkiss H-35, H-39 821 Char B1 365 (until June 1940) Renault AMR 33 c. 200 Renault R-35 c 1,600 Somua S-35 500 (until June 1940) Total c. 4,200 in September 1939 Hotchkiss H-35 tank. French Hotchkiss H-35 tank. Strength of l’Army de l’Air (French Air Force) The air defence of France and her overseas Empire was the responsibility of five Air Regions (Dijon, Paris, Tours, Aix-en-Provence and North Africa) each of which was sub-divided into two Air Districts. The largest flying formations were the air divisions and independent brigades. An air division had two or three brigades each with two or three squadrons. Frontline strength on the eve of WW2 was 1,114 fighters, 1,002 bombers and 800 reconnaissance aircraft and in August 1939 there were 110,000 personnel of all ranks, a figure which had risen to 150,000 March 1940. Strength l'Army de l'Air known French aircraft types in 1939 approx. numbers of planes Dewoitine D500 fighter 100 Liore et Oliver bomber 300 Amiot 143 bomber 140 Bloch MB fighter 85 Farman F222 bomber ? Potez 63 heavy fighter 80 Curtiss Hawk P-36 fighter 150 Morane -Saulnier MS 406 fighters New Morane -Saulnier MS 406 fighters straight from Bouguennais are prepared for service at an Army de l’Air unit in the autumn of 1939. The MS 406 was as numerous as the Me 109 E in spring 1940. French Forces total 5,000,000 men, 99 divisions, 4,200 tanks, about 11,000 guns 2,916 planes (1,114 fighters, 1,002 bombers) 7 capital ships, 1 aircraft carrier, 19 cruisers, 70 destroyers, 75 submarines Bookmark the permalink. Leave a Reply
Biotechnology - Disease Prevention - Life Science - Micro-/Nanotechnology Nanomedicines for Improved Treatment of Ocular Diseases Understanding the interactions, permeability, and partitioning of drug delivery systems in ocular tissues can improve the drug retention time and bioavailability. The eye is a sensory organ consisting of compactly adjoined tissues that are arranged as a globular structure known as the eye ball. All the tissue structures of the eye function together to enable vision. The structure and function of the eye is affected in pathological conditions, thus demanding therapeutic interventions. These interventions majorly involve treatment with therapeutic agents, such as drugs/bioactive molecules. The therapeutic agents, in the form of a suitable formulation (such as solution, suspension, or ointment), are administered to ocular tissues either as topical eye drops (non-invasive) or as intraocular injections (invasive). Due to the presence of physical (cornea, conjunctiva, sclera, and retinal pigmented epithelium) and physiological (tear fluid, aqueous humor, and choroidal blood circulation) ocular barriers, the bioavailability of topically or intraocularly administered medicaments is reduced, thereby demanding frequent drug administration. Frequent drug administration using invasive intraocular injections can cause intraocular bleeding accompanied with pain and discomfort that results in poor patient compliance. Therefore, delivery systems that can improve bioavailability and retention time of drugs in ocular tissue can potentially provide therapeutic concentrations for optimal durations, and hence enable effective treatment of eye diseases. Nanoscale drug delivery systems, or nanomedicines, have revolutionized the field of ocular drug delivery by offering improved bioavailability of topically/intraocularly administered therapeutic molecules compared to conventional formulations. Nanoparticles—one of the important carrier systems used in nanomedicine—are colloidal drug delivery systems that facilitate permeation of the entrapped therapeutic agents across ocular tissues. Nanoparticles can not only improve residence time of entrapped cargo molecules, but can also sustain the release of the drug over longer durations, helping to reduce the frequency of drug administrations. Nanomedicines therefore have the potential to treat ocular diseases more effectively. Prof. Dhirendra S. Katti’s group from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur discuss the important physicochemical characteristics of nanoparticulate drug delivery systems (such as liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, microemulsions, nanosuspensions, dendrimers, micelles, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, niosomes, and cubosomes) in governing nanoparticle–tissue interactions, ocular retention, and bioavailability of topically/intraocularly administered therapeutic agents, in an article in WIREs Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology. They infer that understanding the interaction, permeability, and partitioning of delivery systems in ocular tissues can help design delivery systems with improved retention time and bioavailability. Kindly contributed by the Authors. To Top
Home > NewsRelease > Why Is the USA an Empire? Why Is the USA an Empire? Madison , WI Sunday, November 05, 2017 Many make the mistake of defining an empire by its legal structure or the formal way it projects its power overseas. That is too narrow a definition. Who is considered a citizen and what lands are possessed by the empire often are the basis of traditional empire definition. A better modern definition of empire would look at the flows into and out of a country to better define the scope of empire. Those who recognize America as an empire often begin with the 700 or 800 foreign military bases the United States has worldwide. Those who would call America an empire would often refer to this as Imperial Overstretch and consider this a main cause of the decline of empires generally speaking. I myself find the large standing military and overseas political entanglements a better definition of an empire society. Because the military budget itself defines and measures so much of the rate of economic decline and the rise of various forms of social decay and political control, that is the single best measure of empire as I see it. Control of large areas of land outside of the original nation state is just not the way Americans like to do business or see themselves; they like to think they are a democracy, not an empire. But post World War II America not only adopted a large standing army, it also projected its democratic image in a variety of world institutions like the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. However, the mixture of America's elites (often Ivy League) among the areas of dominance in business, politics, law, media, and the intelligence agencies has created a ruling class. This ruling class has over time become ingrown and stifles social mobility among the various income groups. There are still success stories among the land grant college graduates and the military, but America is now more of a class based society than Europe; just the opposite of the situation around World War II, the hegemonic war that lead to US world dominance and empire. How Did We Get This Way? The start of the modern American empire was in 1944, when the Democratic Party Convention failed to keep the liberal Wallace as Vice President. He earned 63% of the vote, but the rules required a two thirds vote. Early the next morning, moderate Truman was voted in. Truman was determined to oppose the Soviets and use the atomic bomb, taking the Churchill side of the debate and setting up the rise of the Cold War confrontation. Then in 1947 the national security act was passed creating the CIA and the Nazi spy network in Russia was absorbed into the CIA. All this was opposed by the Secretary of War and the Joint Chiefs of Staff who wanted a traditional small army between wars rather than the large standing army of the Cold War. So Truman raised the military to 5% of the economy rather than the traditional 1% between wars that went back to the 19th Century. After Korea, Eisenhower then doubled that rate to 10% of the economy keeping the Eisenhower economy under a 2.5% annual growth rate. Oddly, in both 1953 and 1961 Eisenhower warned us about the military industrial complex even as he was their agent. Under Kennedy through Carter, except for the Vietnam War, the military was brought back down to the Truman pre-Korea levels of 5% of the economy. Then Reagan reversed course raising the military to 6.5% of the economy, supported by a tax cut deficit twice the rise in military spending to keep the economy from collapsing. Kennedy brought military spending down to 7.7% of the economy by 1965 that together with the Kennedy targeted tax cut investment tax credit created the sixties boom. The four years after 1965 had a 5.6% growth rate, the next four years 4.0% and the next four years 3.6% as the Vietnam War dragged down the economy under Johnson and Nixon through 1973. The next sixteen years of four presidential terms averaged about 2.5% growth in each term as the post-Vietnam oil crisis recession, the Carter 1978 tax, and Reagan military buildup weighed down the economy into mediocracy. The Bush senior term suffered from the 1990 tax increase and the post-Cold War and post-Gulf War recessions that elected Clinton in 1992. Then the drop from 6.5% military to 3.0% from 1965 to 1999 returned the economy to sixties like high growth rates under Clinton. Bush junior then ruined the surplus and the economy with a Reagan like military buildup to 5.0% of the economy with a too small tax cut. A suddenly surging military buildup, in fiscal 2008, doubled the increase of the military compared to years before and since, lead to the financial collapse of 2008-2009. Deregulation of derivatives in 1999 lead to a ten-fold increase in derivatives that set the table for the financial collapse, but a quarter by quarter economy analysis shows the four quarters of the fiscal year 2008 were the worst economic quarter results in that period of several years either side of 2008. So the Iraq War surge, that actually began in July 2008, lead directly to the economic collapse, combined with the bank deregulation and lack of SEC oversight to make matters worse. The economic recovery under Obama was slow as he tripled troops in Afghanistan, keeping Bush levels of military spending, but picked up in his second term as the military budget finally went down. This link gives you a better detailed historical account of the American presidencies and supporting data: https://www.academia.edu/4044532/HISTORY_Presidents_Military_Economy_1910-2009_3p._2013 What Are Some Effects of Empire Levels of Military Spending? As Toynbee (1972) noticed, 23 of 25 civilizations studied collapsed due to high levels of military spending. Control of the military budget is two way street, corrupting the political system while giving power to those who dole out the money. The social decay of empire is a result of the economic lost energy represented by the dead end purpose of military spending. Not meeting people's needs as they multiply under a stagnant empire political economy structure leads to poor health, lack of social mobility, and high anxiety and crime. Just as Rome's Nero fiddled while Rome burned, Bush fiddled while New Orleans was drowned by hurricane Katrina. Just as Rome once had a crazy emperor for four years named Caligula for his small boots. America now has a crazy president noted for his small hands. Empires tend to emphasize power and control in their social structure, while healthier societies emphasize achievement. Here are a wide variety of qualitative aspects of an empire society: Please cite this work as follows: Reuschlein, Robert. (2017, November 5), "Why Is the USA an Empire?" Madison, WI: Real Economy Institute. Retrieved from: https://www.expertclick.com/NewsRelease/Why-Is-the-USA-an-Empire?,2017130884.aspx Dr. Peace, Professor Robert Reuschlein, Real Economy Institute Contact: bobreuschlein@gmail.com, Info: www.realeconomy.com Professor Robert Reuschlein, Dr. Peace Dr. Robert W. Reuschlein Real Economy Institute Madison, WI Other experts on these topics
The Irish Wake - Irishteller Cathy Jo Smith Go to content The Irish Wake As long as there have been Irish people, there have been wakes. The wake is the period between a death and the burial, a time for not only mourning the death but celebrating life. Traditionally, family and friends would gather at the home of the deceased over a three day period (two days of visitation and the funeral on the third day). There would be food and drink, music and storytelling, games and talk--the community coming together to reaffirm that life goes on. There was also a wake for someone who was emigrating. Called "an American Wake", it was an evening when the departing person was treated like "the dearly departed"--there would be food, drink and mourning, just like a regular wake. Since the emigrant would probably never set foot in Ireland again he was lost to the community almost as much as if he were dying. How did I get into this? Back in 2001, the Gaelic League of Central Ohio decided to host a "Wake House" at the Dublin Irish Festival. Set in the 1890's as if it were the wake of the grandfather of the home, the house has displays and information available on wake traditions. I made a fabric-stuffed "corpse" (affectionately known as "Grandpa Lumpy") and the next year we added a home-made coffin. The exhibit has grown every year since. My husband, Steve, and I play the part of chief mourners and tradition-explainers. My kids used to demonstrate wake games (Yes, games and even sporting events were common at wakes!) We keep adding new information and changing the exhibits, so it's never quite the same experience twice. And now I have Irish Wakes as a topic for storytelling performances as well as a booklet in print--"Wake Me When It's Over" (available direct from me for $6, includes shipping in the US--e-mail for details What is an Irish Wake all about? preparing and burying the body were performed at home in a manner handed down for centuries. Perhaps nowhere else in their culture have the Irish been quite as true to their ancient Celtic inheritance as in their communal customs involving death.The time between the death and the burial (or later, when the body was turned over to the Church for burial) was generally known as the "Wake"; during this time someone needed to be "awake" with the corpse at all times. Traditionally, this lasted three days--to allow the friends and relations to gather to mend the tear in their lives caused by loss (and to make sure the deceased was really dead). The woman of the house (or nearest female relative) would take charge after a death occurred. The dead would be washed, dressed and laid out in good clothes that may have been purchased just for this occasion years ago. Likewise, the tombstone and even the coffin might have been obtained--the original funeral pre-planning. Neighbors and children would be sent to tell the news to the community. They would also be sent to tell any bees and cows the deceased might own--else the creatures might become upset and leave the farm. Only after this could the "keening" and proper mourning begin. Wakes were more of a celebration of the timeless cycle of life Food, tobacco and drink were provided, of course, and music, song and storytelling were expected. "Wake games", feats of strength, wrestling and practical jokes were an important part of a "Proper send-off". Professional mourners might be hired could afford it. Both the British Government and the Church tried to suppress many aspects of the Wake; the government for fear of rebellion being planned at such a gathering, the church attempting to stop the "unseemly" revelry. However, these efforts were largely unsuccessful. Wake Decorum Back to content
Tennis Elbow Tennis Elbow Tennis Elbow (also known as lateral epicondylitis, lateral elbow tendinopathy or extensor tendinopathy) is a common term used to describe chronic pain on the outside of the elbow. Despite its name, playing Tennis is less likely to be a cause of injury than repetitive strain from work-related activities. On this page: • Symptoms & diagnosis • Causes & anatomy • Treatment • Exercises • Surgery Tennis elbow symptoms The main symptom is a pain about 1 to 2 cm down from the bony part on the outside of the elbow, known as the lateral epicondyle. There may be a weakness in the muscles around the forearm and wrist resulting in difficulty in performing simple tasks such as gripping objects, opening a door handle or shaking hands with someone. Pain may occur suddenly but often it develops gradually over time with the athlete putting up with a niggle, or discomfort for a period of time. An acute injury will become chronic if not treated correctly and a chronic injury can flare up as an acute injury. How to diagnose Tennis Elbow (play video) Tennis elbow assessment and diagnosisAfter taking a full history from the patient of how and when the pain started, a doctor or professional therapist may perform a number of specific assessment tests to help diagnose lateral elbow pain. This strength of the wrist extensor muscles can be assessed, and whether pain is reproduced by getting the patient to move the wrist into extension whilst the therapist resists the movment. More specifically, they may choose to do a perform the test where the patient attempts to straighten just the middle finger, as this is often the most sensitive tennis elbow test. Other tests such as the 'Mills maneuver' and the 'neural tension' test may be performed to check for nerve involvement as other injuries such as the entrapment of the radial nerve, and certain neck injuries may have similar symptoms. Finally, the therapist may choose to feel (palpate) around the outside of the elbow to see if there are any tender spots particularly at the point the wrist extensor muscles attach to the lateral epicondyle. Causes & anatomy Tennis elbow - extensor muscles of the wrist The wrist extensor muscles consist attach to the bony bit on the outside of the elbow called the lateral epicondyle of the humerus bone. Overuse or repetitive strain can cause the tendon to become inflamed and over time the tendon degenerates. Most commonly Tennis elbow pain occurs at the junction where the tendon of the 'extensor carpi radialis brevis' muscle inserts into the bone. At this point there are a large number of pain receptors making this region particularly tender to touch.Pain can be acute or chronic. Acute elbow pain Acute injuries occur immediately after an activity such as hitting a backhand shot in tennis with poor technique. The extensor muscles on the back of the forearm (wrist extensors) become suddenly overloaded causing micro tears of the tendon where it attaches to the elbow. Chronic elbow pain Chronic injuries on the other hand normally develop over a period of days/weeks and usually follows bouts of intense exercise/activity that the patient is unaccustomed to, such as lifting heavy boxes when moving house. The medical term often used is lateral epicondylitis but this can be misleading as the 'itis' on the end of the word implies that there is inflammation. In long term cases, the acute inflammatory stage has passed and tendinopathy is an appropriate term as this describes degeneration of the tendon rather than acute inflammation. The most common cause of Tennis elbow is overuse or repetitive strain of the muscles caused by a repeated extension or bending back of the wrist. Gripping or turning objects like a manual screwdriver, lifting heavy weights during strength training or repeatedly performing occupational activities such as lifting bricks are all common causes of tennis elbow. The injury got its name because playing a backhand in Tennis with a bent wrist is a surefire way to cause injury. The huge force of the ball striking the racket is transferred through the forearm to the point on the outside of the elbow. This is made worse if the wrist is bent when striking the ball as the forces are transmitted through the muscle and tendon rather than the whole arm. It is not an injury that affects regular Tennis players as they are likely to have good technique. Other possible factors related specifically to tennis are gripping the racquet too tightly, having the strings of the racquet too tight, or the grip too small, which will force the forearm muscle to overwork. Tennis elbow treatment Treatment (play video) involves reducing symptoms of pain and inflammation then exercises to gradually increase the load through the elbow to a point where normal training and competition can be resumed. What can the athlete do? In the first 72 hours post injury, apply the principles of P.R.I.C.E. (Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation). Rest - Rest is probably the most important part of treatment and is often difficult to do. If you continue to use the painful elbow then it will not recover as quickly and may become chronic and very difficult to treat. Avoid gripping heavy things, opening heavy doors, using a screwdriver and of course playing a backhand in tennis. Protection - Wearing a specialist elbow brace or support can help reduce the strain on the tendon enabling healing to take place. This works by applying compression around the upper arm which puts pressure on the injured tendon, changing the way forces are transmitted, allowing the injured tissues to rest. Massage - (play video) can be a useful treatment for tennis elbow, particularly more chronic conditions. In particular cross friction massage of the tendon insertion but only once the initial inflammation has settled (after 5 days) is done. Place the 2nd finger of your opposite hand on the outside of the elbow and rub across the tendon (painful area) for 5 minutes. Do not press too hard but there may be some mild pain whilst having the area 'frictioned'. Repeat once a day. Do not carry on with this exercise if the pain worsens after the treatment. Every Tennis Elbow injury will react differently to the different treatments available so using a number of them concurrently is often the most effective way of treating the condition. In addition to treating the current injury, it is also important to identify and correct any possible causes that may be either work-related or sport related and your therapist will be able to advise how to achieve this. What can a sports injury professional do? Medication - A professional therapist or doctor may prescribe medication such as Ibuprofen to help reduce symptoms in the early stages, however, the effectiveness of this long-term is disputed. Do not take Ibuprofen if you have Asthma. Electrotherapy - Your therapist may choose to use different types of electrotherapy equipment to treat the symptoms. Some of the methods commonly used include the following: • Ultrasound – this involves passing high-frequency sound waves into the tissues. This vibrates the molecules and depending on if it is applied continuously or in pulses can generate heat. • Laser – works by passing high-intensity light into the tendon to reduce pain, inflammation and encourage cell reproduction. No heat is generated with laser treatment. • Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy - works by passing shock waves (short but intense energy waves) which travel faster than the speed of sound, into the tissues Acupuncture - Dry needling or Acupuncture has been shown to be an effective treatment for tennis elbow (in some cases). It involves inserting needles of various lengths and diameters into specific points around the forearm and surrounding areas. The needle is usually inserted, rotated and then left in place for several minutes and the theory of how it works is to hopefully alter the way pain signals are transmitted via the nerve pathways. Corticosteroid injections - Another treatment for Tennis elbow is injecting corticosteroid drugs into the area. Current evidence has shown them to be effective in the short term but the long term effects are debatable. In order to improve the chances of a good end result, the patient often requires a series of injections over a period of weeks or months as opposed to a one-off injection. The steroid should be injected around the area of the tendon attachment and not into the body of the tendon as there have been cases of tendon ruptures following steroid injections. Other Treatments • Nitric oxide donor therapy patches - applied to the elbow may be beneficial over a period of months although approximately 5% of patients will have side effects including headaches and skin rashes. • Botox injections - thought to improve short term pain relief although there is a very high likelihood that the forearm muscles will not function properly afterward. • Autologous blood injection - involves centrifuging the patient’s own blood to separate the plasma from the red blood cells. The resulting plasma is rich in platelets that are effective for healing. This is then injected back in and around the site of injury. It is thought to re-initiate or enhance the inflammation repair response. Exercises for Tennis Elbow Both stretching and strengthening exercises are important for treating Tennis Elbow and provide the foundation for a rehabilitation program. Stretching exercises should be performed as soon as pain allows and then continued until and after full fitness has been achieved. Strengthening exercises should only be performed pain-free. It is better to wait a bit longer to introduce strength exercises than to begin them too soon and make the injury worse. If any adverse effects or pain is felt either during, after or the next day then rest some more and take a step back. Stretching - The most important stretching exercise is to stretch the wrist extensor muscles. The arm is placed in front with the hand pointing down. Pull the hand towards the body to feel a stretch in the back of the wrist, forearm, and elbow. The forearm can be rotated inwards to increase the stretch which will be felt more on the outside of the elbow. The stretch can be held for 20 seconds and repeated up to 5 times. Strengthening - Strengthening exercises should begin with isometric or static exercises which do not involve movement of the wrist. These progress onto dynamic wrist extension and finger extension exercises which involve movement against resistance from a weight or elastic resistance band. Eventually, more functional or sports specific type exercises will be done if the injury is sport related. Read more on tennis elbow exercises. Tennis elbow surgery Both golfers elbow and tennis elbow are approached in a similar manner which it comes to surgery. The vast majority of cases of tennis elbow do respond to conservative treatment of rest, ice, ultrasound and occasionally a steroid injection, however, if however if surgery is required then it may be 8 weeks before the patient has recovered. Expert interview (play video): Mr. Elliot Sorene, Consultant Surgeon who explains when surgery may be indicated and which patients are most suitable. Surgical treatment of tennis elbow consists of recessing and releasing the portion of the frayed or diseased tendon, removing it from the bone whether it be on the inside for golfer's elbow or the outside for tennis elbow. More modern techniques undertake the same operation using endoscopic or keyhole surgery where a very small incision is made rather than opening up the area. The principle of tennis elbow surgery is the same whatever the surgical technique and that is to release the damaged tendon from the bone. Also, these days patients can be treated with platelet-rich plasma injections where blood is taken from the patient themselves and with a centrifuge the clotting and healing factors of the patient's blood are injected into the area on the elbow where the tendon has frayed. This article has been written with reference to the bibliography.
Music therapy: a simple guide The Children's Trust Blogger Music is everywhere you go. It’s on the radio when you get into your car, on your mp3 player, you hear it in adverts as catchy jingles that get stuck in your head and you watch it live at concerts. As music is so integrated into our society and everyday living it can be used as a helpful tool in order to aid recovery from illness or injury. Below is a simple, informative explanation about music therapy and its application in therapy. According to the British Association for Music Therapists (BAMT) the definition of music therapy is: “ established psychological clinical intervention… to help people of all ages, whose lives have been affected by injury, illness or disability through supporting their psychological, emotional, cognitive, physical, communicative and social needs.” What is music therapy? Music Therapy utilises different musical styles, methods and instruments in order to improve positive changes in emotional or physical wellbeing. Sessions may focus on one particular musical technique to help aid a certain part of recovery, or sessions may be improvised. Improvisation allows the adult/child undergoing music therapy to express themselves and engage with the outside world in a unique musical language everyone can join in with. Because everyone has the ability to respond to music, it is a great communicative tool. Especially for people that have lost the ability to speak/communicate as a result of a brain injury (BAMT). How much does music help in therapy? Children that have a brain injury can find it difficult to interact with their surroundings and the people around them. Music Therapy can help them regain lost skills through the application of musical techniques. Singing familiar songs can help speech stimulation and improve pronunciation and other communication skills. Following rhythmic patterns in music can help develop physical strength and coordination. Playing and listening to music can help improve attention and memory. Making music is psychologically beneficial for emotional expression, which can help them relate to others and manage the emotional impact of their disability. Watch a short video from The Children’s Trust group music therapy sessions. Other health benefits music therapy can provide are: 1. Improved mood. 2. Reduced stress. 3. Lessens anxiety 4. Improved memory. 5. Improved cognitive performance. 6. Eases pain. 7. Provides comfort. Music and the brain When music enters the brain it triggers the brains pleasure centres. When listening to music your brain releases dopamine, which plays a major role in the motivational component of reward-motivated behaviour. This means when someone is taking part in an activity that the brain deems good, your brain will release more dopamine to motivate you to do that activity more. This kind of reward-motivated behaviour is what encourages people to eat, socialise or learn new skills, like a musical instrument. Research at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability has shown that the use of music therapy has even managed to evoke responses in vegetative state patients and can provide a useful tool to clinicians in assessing patients in low-awareness states. Music psychology The psychology of music is a branch of psychology and musicology (‘The study of music as an academic subject, distinct from training in performance or composition’ – Oxford Dictionary). The goal of music psychology is to explain musical behaviour and experience. This includes understanding the processes through which music is perceived, created, responded to, and incorporated into everyday life. Music psychology studies a range of different musical aspects, including music performance, composition and therapy. Advances in neuroscience has helped scientist and psychologists better understand and observe how the brain responds to music. What is music therapy used to treat? Music Therapy has a wide range of applications and has been shown to help people with: And a whole range of other disabilities and illnesses. A well-known example of how music can help with a disability was showcased during Gareth Gates’ first audition for the ITV show Pop Idol. It can be seen in the video below that Gareth has a speech impediment, but when he sings his stammer is no longer present. Gareth now works with the McGuire Programme as a speech coach to help others “go beyond stuttering”. Who can benefit from music therapy? • Children • Young people • People with learning difficulties • People with mental health conditions • People with dementia • People undergoing palliative care • People undergoing neurorehabilitation Watch this video demonstrating the powerful effects of music on a patient with Alzheimer’s Alex Barton's Story Alex who passed his Alevels In 2013 at a young age Alex was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Alex received proton beam therapy, which stopped the growth of the tumour but left severe damage to the use of the right side of his body, his sight and his speech. Before the diagnosis Alex was a keen musician and had a passion for playing the guitar. Due to the damage Alex was left unable to play his guitar and do many of the things he used to be able to do. Shortly after Alex was referred to The Children’s Trust to undergo neurorehabilitation. He spent 3 months undergoing intensive therapy, which included music therapy. Alex had a tremor in his right hand that he found hard to control. By using different music therapy techniques and working closely with the music therapist Alex was able to control his tremor and relearn how to play the guitar. During the sessions Alex took a keen interest in playing the piano, which helped him regain his confidence and passion in playing music. 5 years later Alex is still going strong and has just completed his A’ levels and is now attending university. Types of music therapy Music Therapy can involve group music sessions or one to one sessions between child and therapist. Each session is tailored to the child’s individual needs. This may involve using instruments to follow tempo to encourage coordinated movement, or singing to help improve speech. Children are given the freedom to interact with the instruments how they wish, which may simply be by listening to others play. These are the six main approaches that underpin music therapy at The Children’s Trust: • Physiological • Developmental • Supportive • Psychodynamic • Humanistic • Transpersonal Music therapy resources A few useful related websites: • BAMT (The British Association for Music Therapists) • Nordoff Robbins (An independent music therapy charity in the UK) • Brain Injury Hub (Practical advice for parents, family and carers of children who have acquired brain injury, provided by The Children’s Trust) • MIND (A UK charity providing advice and support for anyone experiencing a mental health problem) Music Therapy has the core components for reshaping the neural pathways in people with brain injuries. It helps people regain motor skills lost through injury or illness, and regain a quality of life. Music therapy provides a holistic approach to injury, disability and illness and allows people affected to relax and ease anxiety in a safe environment. It can work alongside other rehabilitation programs and provide an alternative to some forms of rehabilitation. It is interactive and encourages positive involvement and social interaction. Music can provide emotional and physical benefits when listened to, it may be to motivate you while at the gym, or to improve your mood when you put on your favourite song. As music is so integrated into life, it can make a huge difference and aid in recovery and rehabilitation. The extraordinary music box appeal Frontiers in Media Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability The British Academy of Sound Therapy
A Response to Mule Variations W. and L. During Pivotal Moments in Their History Variation 16 from Big In Japan 1. timetables in oh. 2. a series denoting a small flat thin piece of something, top quark, a firm advantage. 3. motion districts in textual references 4. A-frame 5. of ear-end (middle mile) 6. e-facing 7. synthetic acceleration (due to gravity) 8. nominative, supported or balanced (as in oh) 9. as if she was a T and think of geometric things smother-ing-ly. 10. American piano 11. softly parts 12. symbol of (flat surface producing lift) 13. the cold research of water 14. pry 15. in winter, the street, C-shaped 16. nounsparks 17. opening a mouth house.
What is Varnish? How clean is your oil? Do you perform routine oil analysis? Is a consistent oil analysis program in place? Is oil analysis by way of free, paid services or a combination of both? These are important questions when faced with oil contamination issues. Traditional oil analysis reports report elements, ISO Code, TAN and water. This may not be enough to detect fluid failure. Varnish potential is not routinely included in many oil analysis offerings. Fluid / oil failure results in trips, sticking valves and bearing failure. Oil contamination is made up of water, particles, varnish and soluble varnish. Removing all of these contaminants is important to healthy oil conditions. What is Varnish? Varnish is a thin, insoluble film deposit that is usually found on bearings, reservoirs, and internal components. Varnish is a high molecular weight substance that is insoluble in oil. This substance is mostly made up of soft contaminants that are less than 1 micron in size. Traditional ISO 4406:99 testing or ISO cleanliness codes do not detect these particles. Current laser technology can only detect down to 2.5µm. Insoluble compounds are polar in nature and as time goes on they migrate from the body of the base oil to machine surfaces. Initially, the surfaces start to show a gold or tan color building to darker gum layers that develop into lacquer. A great analogy is a rain cloud. Just like a rain cloud, oil has the natural ability to hold oxidation-by-products in suspension. Once the “cloud” is full it rains, this “rain” is the point where varnish deposits start forming on internal metal surfaces of the lubrication system. Another way to look at it is like cholesterol in the blood. Blood can only hold so much cholesterol before it starts to “plate” out on artery walls. Oxidation by products are much the same. This of routine oil analysis like blood lab work to detect a problem before it strikes. How is Varnish Formed? Insoluble contamination or varnish creation is due to oxidation, thermal degradation and water contamination. Other factors include cross contamination and micro-dieseling. The most common cause of varnish formation is oxidation. In a nutshell, oxidation is the loss of electrons. It happens when an atom or compound loses one or more electrons. We all know what happens to iron when exposed to oxygen; it produces iron oxide (rust) and breaks the metal down. The same process occurs in lubricating oil and hydraulic fluids. Oil manufactures include additives in their lubricants to combat this process. These antioxidant additives are sacrificial to protect the oil. However, these antioxidants get “used up” or depleted over time. Without these antioxidants, free radicals destabilize / oxidize the hydrocarbon molecules. Non-polar free radical molecules bond to non-polar oil molecules. This process repeats until the oil can no longer hold the varnish in suspension. These polar oxidation molecules bond to metal surfaces. By proper oil analysis and filtration methods, this problem can be prevented or reversed. Contact us to learn more. In future blog posts, I will be discussing filtration methods and the process of stripping varnish. Leave a Reply Scroll Up
Sep 09 2010 What is a patent? Category: Law A patent gives an inventor a property right for an invention that prevents others from making, using, or selling it. In exchange for this right, the inventor will fully disclose the specifics of the invention. In the United States, a patent can be filed and issued with the US Patent and Trademark Office and will typically last for a period of 20 years. In addition, a patent is only protected in the country where it was applied for. It does not extend beyond those boundaries. When a patent expires, it can’t be renewed, and anyone wishing to produce, use, or sell the invention may do so at their leisure. Tags: , , , , Challenge this Answer and/or Discuss
OWNED_social media header.jpg The United States’ postwar housing policy created the world’s largest middle class. It also set America on two divergent paths -- one of imagined wealth, propped up by speculation and endless booms and busts, and the other in systematically defunded, segregated communities, where “the American dream” feels hopelessly out of reach. In 2008, the US housing market became the epicenter of an unprecedented global economic collapse. In the years since, protests in cities like Baltimore have highlighted the stark racial disparities that define many American cities. The crash of suburbia and urban unrest are not unrelated -- they are two sides of the same coin, two divergent paths set in motion by the United States’ post-war housing policy. Home ownership to me means freedom — strictly. The more and more I evaluate this world, the more and more I understand: when you don’t own anything, you are nothing. - Greg Butler, featured in Owned The prevailing narrative is that the migration from American cities that began in the 1950’s, often referred to as “white flight,” was caused by the degradation of city centers and the growth of suburbia. But this was neither a matter of preference, nor a “natural” self-segregation. After World War II, the US government sought to provide housing for returning veterans and their families, while enabling them to build wealth through homeownership. Postwar policies spurred a decades-long construction boom and enabled millions of Americans to buy homes -- and they benefited white people exclusively. Racial segregation determined how communities grew, and government policies directly subsidized white America, while denying opportunities to black people and other minorities. Through the stories of a retired New York City cop, an eccentric Orange County realtor, and an aspiring real estate developer in Baltimore, Owned explores the promise of US housing policies, the systematic oppression in many of America’s “chocolate cities,” and the communities that these systems have created. The film suggests that ultimately, these communities have more in common than they might expect.
How to Stand Out in a Crowd Have you ever thought you were doing something or wearing something that made you stand out in a crowd? We counted our salmon affected by albinism (check out our previous latest news), and found 21 Coho Salmon that were all affected by this genetic mutation. If you do the math, that comes out to about 0.03% of our total coho population. As you can see, albinism isn’t a widespread phenomenon, but it is a cool teaching opportunity! Genetic mutation is one part of the machinery that evolution operates off of. If a mutation enhances an individual’s survival rate, it is able to pass those genes to its offspring. In the case of albinism in our coho, they have a much lower chance of survival than coho with darker pigments since they can blend in with their environment. Most likely, coho affected by albinism won’t get the chance to reproduce. But they still serve a very useful role in capturing an observer’s interest, and sometimes that’s all you need to get them excited about salmon! A well-known example of a successful genetic mutation that has passed on in humans is lactase persistence. This is where human can consume dairy products even in their adulthood. Due to positive selection in this phenomenon, varying populations around the world now have this trait. We don’t see albinism in coho because of strong negative selection. After we counted them, they were quickly put back with their other coho friends. Thank you for reading!
Sources returnpage Braid, James Category: Healer James Braid [1795- 1860] was “one of the giants in the history of Hypnosis”. We know little of Braid’s early life except that he was born in 1795 at Ryelaw, in the parish of Portmoak, Kinross, Fife, read medicine at Edinburgh University and practiced for a brief period in Lanarkshire. He wrote for the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal on the treatment of the squint, the clubfoot and other ailments. Later, Braid moved to Manchester where he set up practice. Braid would have lived quietly without recognition in Manchester, had it not been for the arrival, in November 1941, of a mesmerist, Charles Lafontaine, a travelling showman who conducted demonstrations of his abilities, to the delight and astonishment of his audiences. Amongst the audience for the performance of 13th November, was the sceptical Dr James Braid, who came to witness the event in the hope of exposing a charlatan. Braid remained cynical but failed to find evidence of fraud and so visited the show again six days later. On this occasion, Braid was as astounded as the other members of the credulous audience, when the subject of the demonstration found his eyelids firmly and resolutely closed. Braid, now convinced of the veracity of Lafontaine’s performances, determined to find the scientific principle underlying the phenomenon. Braid investigated the state of trance by conducting experiments on those around him, his wife, friends and servants. His original technique was to have the subject stare fixedly at a small luminous object, such as a pocket watch, held very close (20cm - 40cm away from the eyes) in a position which strained the eyes and eyelids. This would generally lead to a spontaneous closing of the eyes, with a vibration of the eyelids – nystagmus or eye flutter. As this procedure proved efficacious, Braid modified the experiments until he found that he could induce a trance by nothing more than suggestion. In 1843, he published Neurypnology: or the Rationale of Nervous Sleep, in which he coined the word hypnotism, which being a form of sleep, was named after Hypnos, the Greek god who induced sleep by fanning his wings. He gave us the words "hypnotism", "hypnotise", "hypnotist", etc. He also used the concept of a hypnotic state. His book dismisses Mesmer’s theory that a magnetic fluid, passing between the operator and the subject, causes the trance. Rather, opined Braid, hypnosis was a form of sleep, induced by the fatigue of intense concentration on the object of attention. Braid was primarily concerned with the therapeutic prospects for hypnotism. He reported that treatment of various ailments such as rheumatism, aphasia and paralysis was assisted by hypnotism, and that nervous diseases, previously thought to be incurable, could indeed be cured by the innovative and salutary method. In 1847, Braid became dissatisfied with the term ’hypnotism’ and attempted to recall the word in favour of his neologism ‘monoideism’ but the term had become widespread, as indeed had the practice of the art. It was suggested by other practitioners that Braidism would be an apposite designation, but although the word may be found in dictionaries, it has never caught the public imagination. Braid died on 25th March 1860. Since Braid did not found a school, his influence waned after his death and the centre of Hypnosis moved to France in the second half of the nineteenth century. However, his book continued to be influential
Jews, the Messiah, and the Prophet of Islam Analyzing Another Muslim Dilemma Sam Shamoun This article will develop the following thesis. The Jews expected the Messiah to come. As long as the Messiah had not come, there was the possibility of further prophets, but the Messiah would be the culmination of God’s history and the end of prophecy. Muhammad appeals to the messianic or prophetic expectation among the Jews, and says that he is coming according to this expectation of such a scripture-announced prophet. However, Muhammad destroyed his own credibility as a prophet from God by teaching that Jesus who had come 600 years earlier was in fact the Messiah, and thus the age of prophecy had ended with him according to Jewish expectation and the biblical testimony. The Quran, in addressing the Jews, argues that Muhammad is predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures, claiming that his coming was already announced and well known to the Israelites because of these alleged prophecies: Those whom We have given the Book recognize him as they recognize their sons, and a party of them most surely conceal the truth while they know (it). S. 2:146 Shakir Apart from the fact that there are no real prophecies of Muhammad in the Holy Bible, there are some major problems with the Quran’s appeal to the Jews and their sacred texts. The historical Jewish position is, for the most part, that the Messiah will arrive to usher in God’s peace and sovereign rule universally. Jewish tradition basically believes that the Messiah’s coming terminates all prophecy since he will usher in the Messianic era, the age of eternity, the world to come. As one Jewish source states: Belief in the eventual coming of the moshiach is a basic and fundamental part of traditional Judaism. It is part of Rambam’s 13 Principles of Faith, the minimum requirements of Jewish belief. In the Shemosh Esrei prayer, recited three times daily, we pray for all of the elements of the coming of the moshiach: ingathering of the exiles; restoration of the religious courts of justice; an end of wickedness, sin and heresy; reward to the righteous; rebuilding of Jerusalem; restoration of the line of King David; and restoration of Temple service… However, traditional Judaism maintains that the messianic idea has always been a part of Judaism. The moshiach is not mentioned explicitly in the Torah, because the Torah was written in terms that all people could understand, and the abstract concept of a distant, spiritual, future reward was beyond the comprehension of some people. However, the Torah contains several references to "the End of Days" (achareet ha-yameem), which is the time of the moshiach; thus, the concept of moshiach was known in the most ancient times. (Source) Most Jews didn’t (don’t) believe that Jesus was the Messiah since they felt (feel) that Jesus didn’t meet the requirements to be the Messiah. The same Jewish source above says: What About Jesus? Jews do not believe that Jesus was the moshiach. Assuming that he existed, and assuming that the Christian scriptures are accurate in describing him (both matters that are debatable), he simply did not fulfill the mission of the moshiach as it is described in the biblical passages cited above. Jesus did not do any of the things that the scriptures said the messiah would do. Hence, as long as the Messiah hadn’t come they were open to the possibility that God may send a prophet to them. Muslim sources confirm that the Jewish expectation for the Messiah’s appearance was very much alive and well during Muhammad’s time. In his classic English biography on Muhammad’s life, the late Muslim author Martin Lings wrote: ‘Abd al-Muttalib knew four of the Hunafa, and one of the more respected of them, Waraqah by name, was the son of his second cousin Nawfal, of the clan of Asad. Waraqah had become a Christian; and there was a belief among Christians of those parts that the coming of a Prophet was imminent. This belief may not have been widespread, but it was supported by one or two venerable dignitaries of eastern churches and also by the astrologers and soothsayers. As to the Jews, for whom such a belief was easier, since for them the line of Prophets ended with the Messiah, they were almost unanimous in their expectancy of a Prophet. Their rabbis and other wise men assured them that one was at hand; many of the predicted signs of his coming had already been fulfilled; and he would, of course, be a Jew, for they were the chosen people. The Christians, Waraqah amongst them, had their doubts about this; they saw no reason why he should not be an Arab. The Arabs stood in need of a Prophet even more than the Jews, who at least still followed the religion of Abraham inasmuch as they worshipped the One God and did not have idols; and who but a Prophet would be capable of ridding the Arabs of their worship of false gods? … (Lings, Muhammad: His Life based on the earliest Sources [Inner Traditions International, Ltd., Rochester, Vermont 1983], p. 16; underline and italic emphasis ours) Lings then says: The Jews accepted this covenant for political reasons. The Prophet was already by far the most powerful man in Medina, and his power seemed likely to increase. They had no choice but to accept; yet very few of them were capable of believing that God would send a Prophet who was not a Jew… (Ibid., p. 126) Ibn Ishaq, one of Islam’s first biographers, reported something similar: Abu Saluba al-Fityuni said to the apostle: ‘O Muhammad, you have not brought us anything we recognize and God has not sent down to you any sign that we should follow you.’ So God sent concerning his words, ‘We have sent down to thee plain signs and only evildoers disbelieve in them.’ (The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, with introduction and notes by Alfred Guillaume [Oxford University Press, Karachi, Tenth impression 1995], p. 257; capital emphasis ours) Guillaume makes quite an interesting observation: 2. This and similar passages seem to indicate that the MESSIANIC hope was strong among the Jews. (Ibid., capital emphasis ours) The above sources establish that the Jews were anticipating the coming of the Messiah and, as long as he hadn’t arrived, were also prepared to accept a prophet from God until he did. But the Jews also knew that a prophet would have to be a fellow Israelite, accounting for their rejection of Muhammad on the grounds that he was an Arab. It is precisely here that the Quran has placed itself in a very precarious position. The Quran says the Messiah has come and his name is Jesus: Since the Quran believes the Messiah has arrived then this means Muhammad could not be a prophet. As long as the Jews believed that the Messiah hadn’t arrived then there was a chance for them to accept that God would send prophets. It may have also been possible for them to accept Muhammad as a prophet, despite the fact that he was an Arab, since they may have reasoned to themselves that prophets may not necessarily have to be Israelites (though this is highly unlikely since they saw that the pattern put forth from their scriptures was that prophets were raised up from the nation itself). But they could not accept Muhammad if they believed that the Messiah had come since to them his arrival would have signaled the completion of prophecy and the dawn of a new age. To put it in another manner, the only way for the Jews to have accepted Muhammad as a prophet is if they remained convinced that their Messiah hadn’t arrived. But since Muhammad claims that the Messiah did appear then the Jews, if they were to accept this view, would have had to reject Muhammad as a prophet. The Jews believed that the Messiah was the culmination of all prophecy, as well as God’s supreme ruler and agent whom everyone had to believe in and obey. They could not imagine their Messiah being subject, subordinate to, an Arab prophet since their very own Scriptures, which the Quran itself appeals to, plainly state that the Messiah is an eternal king ruling forever and who completes prophecy and vision, along with a host of other things: The Lord Jesus himself and his followers confirm this view of the Messiah. The NT expressly teaches that the Lord Jesus is the culmination of all prophecy and reigns forever as King: "You are those who have continued with me in my trials; and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in MY kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Luke 22:28-30 "The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it; as it is written, ‘Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on an ass’s colt!’ His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of him and had been done to him." John 12:12-16 "Pilate entered the praetorium again and called Jesus, and said to him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?’ Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me; what have you done?’ Jesus answered, ‘My kingship is not of this world; if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews; but my kingship is not from the world.’ Pilate said to him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.’" John 18:33-37 "But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled." Acts 3:18 "He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on MY THRONE, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne." Revelation 3:21 "she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, … And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God." Revelation 12:5, 10 "On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords." Revelation 19:16 The dilemma should be clear. If Muslims want to appeal to the Jewish expectation of a prophet during the time of Muhammad as an argument supporting Muhammad’s prophetic aspirations then they must also agree with them that Jesus is not the Messiah. After all, if Jesus were the Messiah then the Jews would not be expecting any other prophet to come after him. But if they do agree with the Jews on this point then this means the Quran is wrong for asserting that the Messiah has come. Furthermore, according to the Hebrew Bible, the popular Jewish view, and the NT Scriptures the Messiah’s coming results in the fulfillment of prophecy and the start of a new age where he rules over creation forever. Both the NT and the Quran agree that Jesus is the Messiah. Therefore, this leaves absolutely no room for an Arab prophet named Muhammad. A possible objection considered A Muslim may interject that Christians are convinced that Jesus is the Messiah, despite the fact that he did not fulfill all the expectations of the Jews of what the Messiah would be, which implies that some of their expectations around the notion of the Messiah were wrong. The Muslim may then reason: It is the same with us. We acknowledge that Jesus was the Messiah, but the expectation that this would mean the end of prophecy was simply one of those wrong notions the Jews had/have. There are several problems with this position. First, arguing that the Jewish view of the Messiah is not completely accurate in order to prove that the Islamic position regarding the Messiah is correct only backfires against the Muslim claims. It severely undermines the Muslim appeal to the Jews of the Hijaz and their alleged belief that a so-called prophet was to arise from that area. If the Jews were incorrect regarding the exact description of Messiah then this opens up the possibility that they were also mistaken regarding God sending a prophet allegedly from Arabia. Second, in order to determine which specific Jewish belief is sound, and which is not, one has to check them against the Scriptures. However, appealing to the Holy Bible presents even more challenges for the Muslim position. The Hebrew Bible, as we saw, shows that the Jews were correct regarding the Messiah being a Son of David who rules forever, a point which the Quran and Islam denies. Therefore, if the Jews were to accept Jesus as the Messiah, as the Quran bids them to do, then they would need to accept the Christian position that Jesus is the King of all creation and that all nations must serve him forever. The Jews were also correct that the Messiah’s advent would usher in the culmination of all biblical prophecy. The NT, in agreement with this view, plainly teaches that Jesus is God’s last Word to mankind since all revelation centers on the person and work of God’s beloved Son. The Lord Jesus completed God’s revelation by raising up his servants, the Apostles and NT Prophets, to record and inscripturate everything that God wanted mankind to have till the return of Christ. Again, if the Jews were to accept Jesus as their Messiah then they would have to reject Muhammad who claimed to have received additional revelation centuries after the Messiah had already culminated God’s message to mankind. Therefore, it isn’t simply a matter of what Jewish tradition said about the Messiah, but what the Hebrew Bible has to say about this subject. As the foregoing shows, the Hebrew Bible agrees with the NT that the Messiah is the Son of God who rules forever and whom all must worship and adore. Thus, both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament are in agreement regarding these points. In light of the foregoing, the Jews could only consider accepting Muhammad as a prophet if they believed that the Messiah had not arrived. But if the Messiah hasn’t shown up yet then Muhammad was wrong for believing that he has. And yet if Muhammad is correct that the Messiah has arrived then he is wrong for proclaiming himself to be a prophet of God. Either way, Muhammad ends up looking like a false prophet. One way around this is to convince the Jews, as well as the Christians, to doubt what their own Hebrew Bible says about the Messiah. But even this would end up disproving Muhammad since he claims in his book that the Hebrew Bible and the NT scriptures are genuine revelations which have been preserved by God! In fact, earlier we looked at some Quranic references where Muhammad appealed to specific predictions in these scriptures in order to verify his prophetic ambitions. For more on the Quranic view of the Holy Bible please refer to the articles in this section. Basically, no matter from what angle a Muslim tries to look at s/he is left with an inescapable dilemma. The Incoherence of the Qur'an Who is the Messiah? Articles by Sam Shamoun Answering Islam Home Page
In April, BBC hosted several world-class scholars on our campus in Bethlehem. Ravi Zacharias joined us on April 6 for a special evening of Christian apologetics which was attended by several hundred people. A few weeks later, about 15-20 BBC staff, faculty and volunteers took an intensive course on Islam with Rev. Colin Chapman. In the midst of our complex cultural, social, political and theological context, the goal of the class was to help us develop informed and genuinely Christian attitudes towards Muslims and Islam. Rev. Chapman is the author of numerous books on Middle East issues, including “Whose Promised Land?”, “Cross and Crescent,” “Islam and the West: conflict, co-existence or conversion?”, “Whose Holy City? Jerusalem and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.” Sympathetic and Critical We began the class by examining our attitudes and developing an approach that is both sympathetic and critical; seeking to understand Islam as Muslims understand and practice it, while also asking all the hard questions. We were reminded that not all Muslims are the same, even as all Christians are not the same. If we really want to understand any religion, we need to study what the practicioners write about their faith and not only what outsiders write. Islam can roughly be divided into several approaches, including Traditionalist/Orthodox Islam; Folk Islam; Liberal/Modernist Islam; and Islamism. In the study of Islam, it is also important to develop a historical perspective; we must understand how the history of 1,400 years affects relations between Christians and Muslims today. One cannot properly understand Islam without discerning the importance and diversity of contexts. As Christians, we should to discern our common ground as well the differences in our beliefs. It is important that we learn not only how to share the gospel with our Muslim neighbors, but also how to build positive and lasting relationships with them. The course contained 20 lectures on different topics related to Islam such as: The Fatiha; Thinking Biblically about Islam; The Life of Muhammad; Introduction to the Qur’an; Adam and Jesus in the Qur’an; Hadith and Sunna; Christians in the Qu’ran; Theological Differences and Questions; Islamic History; Ethics in Islam; Polemics, Apologetics and Dialogue; Women in the Qur’an; Jihad, Islamism and ISIS; and others. “Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?” Rev. Chapman suggests that this is the wrong question because there is no proper answer for it. To answer with either a simple yes or no does not do justice to the issues at hand. Do Christians and Muslims have exactly the same idea of God? Of course not–but is there anything in common between the Christian and Muslim concept of God? Yes, indeed. Rev. Chapman contends that rather than arguing about semantics, a better approach is to follow the example of the Apostle Paul who, in his sermon at the Areopagus (Acts 17), used the Greek word “Theos” in reference to the “Unknown god;” a word which in Greek can be masculine or feminine, singular or plural. Paul took a pagan word and concept and unabashedly filled it with Christian meaning. Historically, missionaries have tended to follow this example and used whatever word for God was already in use in any particular culture, rather than importing foreign terms. With over 40 years of experience in dialoguing with Muslims, Rev. Chapman brought a rare and balanced mix of compassion, sensitivity and the intellectual rigor that the topic demands. Some of the participants in this class were internationals who had little experience with Muslims, and much of the material was new to them. Others were Palestinians who lived their whole life alongside Muslims, but still learned many new details. The content of the class was very helpful for both groups, who were challenged by Rev. Chapman’s contention that we should approach Muslims with the same basic respect that we as Christians would like to be approached with from those of other faiths. “These days, we are only hearing and seeing Islam at its worst, but through this course we also want to see Islam at its best. We need to see both sides of this issue.” For those who truly desire to build bridges to the Muslim world for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is no better starting point. The classes will be available to the general public this fall when we launch our e-learning program. Stay tuned for more information! Colin Chapman was brought up in Scotland and was ordained in the Anglican Church. He has served in teaching and missions for his entire professional life, having lived in Egypt and Lebanon for many years, as well as taught the Study of Mission and the Study of Religion at Trinity College, served as the Principal of Crowther Hall, the training college of the Church Mission Society in Birmingham, and taught Islamic Studies at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut.
Clear Thinker Mar 182018 There’s nothing magic about state boundaries. So why not change them now? It is either a brave person or a fool who claims that something will never happen. But in this case, it seems fair to be so absolutist in predicting we’ll never see a breakaway state created by splitting an existing state into two, even though there are occasionally – and particularly at present – vocal minority groups calling for the creation of new states, primarily on the west coast. There are also moves by some states to secede from the US, and that too is something we view as improbable. Let’s look at both these scenarios. Splitting States in Two In all the west coast examples, what we see is a minority group of people wishing to create a new state out of some part of a current state (California, Oregon, Washington), or perhaps out of some part of several states – part of CA and OR combined to make a new state, or part of OR and WA, or whatever. Examples of this include proposals for new states to be called Cascadia, Jefferson and Lincoln. In all three cases, each state has a very stark split between a conservative rural population and a liberal city population, with the liberal city populations dominating both the state legislatures (sometimes even to the point of having super-majorities) and the senators who are sent to DC (all six senators from these three states are Democrats). In addition, the three current states award all their electoral college votes to the candidate winning a majority of votes, unlike some states that award electoral college votes proportionally to represent the popular state vote, or by congressional district. California currently has 55 votes, Oregon has 7 and Washington has 12 – a total of 74 votes between the three states which are safely awarded in their entirety to whoever the Democratic Presidential Candidate may be. Due to the strong Democrat majority in all three states, Republican voters have little or no say in either state or federal elections (other than for House of Representatives members) and feel disenfranchised, with their states increasingly taking positions that are further and further away from their own views. And because these people are not evenly distributed through the state, but rather are geographically concentrated in certain regions, it is understandable why they would feel alienated from the current concept of their state and seek to create a new state to better represent their values. It is possible we might see new states added (Puerto Rico in particular), but the political balancing required to split existing states into two is unlikely to ever work, for the very simple reason that doing so will upset the political balance. In the past, there have been some accepted splits (Vermont out of New York in 1791, Kentucky out of Virginia in 1792, Maine out of Massachussetts in 1820 and West Virginia out of Virginia in 1863) but the most recent of those is 150+ years ago and well before the political balance coalesced so clearly into two bitterly opposed camps. Think about what would happen if, for example, California split in two, with the result being a new state that solidly votes Republican and the remains of original California still continuing to vote solidly Democrat. At the national level, there will be little change in terms of how members of the House of Representatives are selected, because that is based more on population than on state lines, but in the Senate, an additional two seats have been created, and they will be almost surely filled by two more Republicans. In addition, the solid bloc of 55 Electoral College votes has now been split in two, diluting the Democrat advantage in Presidential elections. What Democrat would willingly support a move that would see two more safe Republican senators added to the Senate, and to siphon off some of their safe electoral college votes? Never mind notions of fairness and what is honorable and just. Simple politics will override such concepts, and all Democrats will unite to prevent that happening – both at state and national levels. So there is the paradox – a state that is dominated by one party will never ‘commit political suicide’ by enabling the minority to create their own additional state and to gain a voice over their region and in the national political forums. To be even-handed, if there were also a move to divide a firmly Republican state in two, we’d expect the same behavior to be exhibited by the Republicans! How The State Splitting Process Would Work The process for creating new states is spelled out in Article Four, Section 3, Clause 1 of the US Constitution. It reads : This makes it relatively easy for entirely new states to be added, but the restrictive provisions after the first semi-colon requires that creating an additional state out of parts of one or more states requires both the agreement of the affected states and of Congress too. So even if, as at present, the Republicans control both houses of Congress and the Presidency, the fact that at the state level the affected states are controlled by Democrats means that splitting a state will never happen. Never Say Never? There is, however, a very scary thought. What say instead of a Republican controlled federal government, we had Democrats in control. What would prevent a large state such as California from credibly saying “We’re too big, we feel that it would be fairest for us to reduce in size to something more similar to other states”, and then gerrymandering the border split so that both the new states remained strongly Democrat? The state legislature would happily vote for that, and so would the federal government, and the net result would be two more Democrat senators appointed. Would a State Secede From the Union? The other thing we’re seeing renewed interest in, during the Trump Presidency and the ever greater divide between his political views and those of certain Democrat-dominated states (yes, California, we’re talking about you) is a move from simple state defiance of the federal government (the ‘sanctuary’ nonsense) to a desire to leave the union entirely. In California’s case, there are certainly many rational reasons for seeing this as a possible move and expecting the new nation to be viable. They have plenty of coast and deep-water ports, they have all the infrastructure they need, they have a large land mass (if a separate state, it would become the 59th largest in the world, smaller than Iraq and larger than Paraguay), population (it would become the 35th largest, smaller than Sudan and larger than Poland), and economy (if a separate state, it would be the sixth largest in the world – smaller than Britain and larger than France). But the political implications are very complex in such a case, and there’s an amusing paradox for the Democrats to consider. If they were to abandon the US and secede, they’d be weakening the Democratic base for the rest of the US. Two fewer senators, 55 fewer electoral college votes, and a varying number fewer Congressmen. So, Californian Democrats have to ponder – is their hate for Trump, who will be in office for at most seven more years – so great that they’d be willing to turn the rest of the US more strongly Republican by leaving the union? Or, in the interest of keeping the nation as a whole more strongly Democrat, will they tough out the balance of Trump’s first and possibly second terms? There is also the fact that if California decided to secede, that would change the equation for the more conservative parts of the state. They would no longer be trying to split a state in two; instead, they would be part of a separate nation trying to be accepted into the US instead, and that no longer requires the consent of the rest of the nation they in turn would be seceding from. Note that back in the Obama days, a number of primarily Republican states also grumbled about seceding, although of course nothing ever came of it. Can a State Secede From the Union? The preceding section ignored an important question – could a state ever secede from the union? Surprisingly, the Constitution is entirely silent on this point. As far-sighted as its drafters undoubtedly were, they clearly never thought that a state, once joining, would ever want to leave again. There is, however, a famous Supreme Court case that spoke to the subject, known as Texas v. White, back in 1869. The key part of the verdict is usually quoted as being : This quote is accurate, and is shown on page 726 of the Court’s decision. But whenever you see a quote, you should always go to the source, and read it in context. In this case, there are three points of note. The first is the nature of the case itself. It was primarily about the ownership of some bonds and whether the state of Texas lost or retained ownership of those bonds during its period of self-declared independence and the Civil War. The nature of the state’s potential for independence was possibly secondary to its bond ownership and obligation, and whenever a Court comments on something that is outside of the direct purview of the case, those comments become known as ‘obiter dicta’ and don’t bind future courts and rulings. It is debatable as to if the above paragraph is obiter or part of the binding decision, but anything that is debatable can indeed be debated, and the Supreme Court has managed to come up with new opinions and policy reversals on much weaker grounds in the past, when it chooses to. The second point is that there is another sentence in the same paragraph that was quoted above. That sentence adds an important exception to the preceding global assertion. So, even though the judgment started off by asserting the permanent nature of the union of states, it also countenanced two mechanisms – neither clearly defined or explained – that would allow states to secede, albeit one of them a mechanism which required the concurrence, in some form, of some number of the other states in the union. It is also relevant to note that the concept of the word “revolution” is far from clear. We’re in an age of ‘peaceful revolutions’ that have occurred throughout Europe; a revolution may as likely be a sweeping tidal wave of public opinion on a matter, without requiring bloodshed, and without also requiring the concurrence of some external authority. The fact that revolution is cited as a separate means for secession would imply the Court understood that revolution does not require ratification by Congress or the other states; but we are not told what would constitute a qualifying revolution. The third point is that this was not a unanimous decision of the Court. It was a majority decision, with five justices agreeing and three disagreeing. While the majority rules, the dissenting judgments by other justices can often be used in subsequent court cases to ‘distinguish’ cases from previously decided cases and to support overruling future cases. There is plenty of material in the dissenting judgments, should any future court be so minded. A combination of the paragraph possibly being considered as obiter dicta, and the dissenting opinions provides future courts with plenty of rich opportunity to rewrite this finding. So, while the simple answer to the question ‘can a state secede from the union’ is usually given as an emphatic ‘No!’, the actual answer is more nuanced. Clearly, through some sort of peaceful process and with some degree of acceptance by the remaining states, secession is possible, and similarly, whether it be peaceful or not, revolution could also result in secession. Our feeling though is that these days there will never be sufficient consensus within a single state to create the overwhelming groundswell of opinion and popular support for a secessionist movement to be successful. The Real World Possibilities While there are some genuine and ardent supporters advocating either carving states up into additional states or simple seceding from the union as a whole, the number of such people have never risen to any appreciable percentage of the population. Until there is a real true public demand for such actions, of course no such thing will occur, and indeed, even if the supporters of such a move become broader based and more vociferous, the extremely contentious nature of such actions are likely to see nothing happen. Aug 272013 Jul 212013 Details here. Jun 302013 Judge Howard Shore of the San Diego Superior Court. Okay, so some people might disagree with what the defendant did, but that’s not to say he shouldn’t be allowed a full defence in his criminal trial on 13 charges of vandalism. Jeff Olson, a left-wing anti-bank political activist (gack) had been scribbling messages such as ‘Stop big banks’ on the sidewalk outside Bank of America branches in San Diego, using chalk to do so. You know – what kids use, sidewalk chalk, the stuff that can be washed off or which just ‘disappears’ all by itself in double quick time anyway. Rather unbelievably, one of the Bank of America branches claimed it had cost them $6,000 to clean up the chalk slogans. Presumably the bank can do this if it wishes, although the city not the bank owns the sidewalk outside the bank building. After pressure from the bank, the City of San Diego agreed to bring 13 charges of vandalism against the sidewalk chalker. Which brings us to our headline. In a pre-trial motion hearing, Judge Howard Shore granted the city’s motion to prohibit the defendant from claiming or even mentioning any rights possibly extended to him under the First Amendment. The learned (?) judge said that because California’s Vandalism Statute didn’t specifically provide an exemption for First Amendment rights/claims, that means that a First Amendment based defense would not be allowed in his court. Now, goodness only knows that we’re not attorneys, but we do remember from our law school days a quaint notion being that the Constitution (including all Amendments) was the Supreme Law of the Land. And no matter what lesser federal, state, county and city laws might or might not say, they could not ignore or overrule the Constitution. Perhaps Judge Shore skipped class the day this was taught. It is also surprising that the Judge has prohibited even mentioning the First Amendment in the trial. It may well be that the First Amendment doesn’t apply to the facts of this particular case, but to prohibit it being raised is an unfortunate decision. But wait, there’s more. After word of his ruling filtered out of the court-room, the judge found himself facing a tidal wave of criticism – from the defendant and his attorney of course, from the public, from media, and even from the Mayor of San Diego. So the judge’s next step was to forbid the defendant or his attorney from talking about the case to anyone! Secret justice? That’s an oxymoron, and is totally the opposite of our American notions of the need for justice to proceed in an open court, holding all parties accountable to public scrutiny and review. That’s another class that Judge Shore may have skipped. Here’s some background on the case, and here’s a report of the judge’s first decision banning the First Amendment, and here’s a report of the judge’s gag order. Mar 062013 Do we need more accountability when we give government officials powers over us? We understand that everyone makes mistakes from time to time, whether they work for the government or not. That’s unavoidable and okay, if the mistake was sincerely made in the first place rather than a deliberate abuse of authority (and authority is something that government employees tend to have much more of than people working in the private sector) and if the mistake is quickly rectified. We also understand that some people are not very nice people, and will sometimes vindictively do bad things, just because they can. That’s not okay, but this also happens in both the private and public sectors. The key thing here is that the person who acts badly be accountable for their bad actions. Usually, in the private sector, apart from union-protection issues, people who clearly and deliberately act in appropriately can expect consequences from their actions, including possibly even being fired. But how often do we think that happens in government departments? Here’s an appalling example of egregious abuse of authority by a Customs & Border Patrol individual who decided it was easier to impound a guy’s new boat than to correct her paperwork, and who refused to allow the boat-owner to speak to her supervisor or in any other way attempt to get her capricious decision reviewed. As detailed in a follow-up post, this woman’s decision to impound the boat for no good reason ended up costing over $10,000 in fees to a broker to get the boat back. The follow-up post is also interesting because it shows two additional things – first, how the woman or her co-workers will self-evidently lie to justify their actions, and secondly, how CBP view us – normal, ordinary, honest, Americans – as the enemy, rather than as the client they are there to serve. Two questions : What negative consequence will flow to this woman for what apparently was a wrong act on her part? (Probable answer – none whatsoever.) Secondly, will the boat owner and the company who sold it to him get their $10,000 broker fee reimbursed by CBP due to the inappropriate actions of their employee? (You can probably guess the answer to this, too.) The more authority we give to government departments and their employees, the more accountable they must become. Currently, the opposite seems to be the case – we are giving them more and more power and removing their accountability at the same time. Our government is in danger of becoming out of control, and rather than acting to help us, as was the original intention of progressing from anarchy to government in the first place, it all too often now seems to deliberately make things difficult for us. There is a growing divide between government employees and the rest of us; an ‘us vs them’ situation which bodes extremely ill for the country as a whole. Mar 022013 Maybe providing free bags isn't so bad after all. Maybe providing free bags isn’t so bad after all. The Seattle City Council unanimously passed a law last year banning the use of plastic bags in grocery stores, and requiring stores to charge 5c each for paper bags. In truth, it seems the retailers were quite pleased about this. They no longer had to give away plastic and paper bags for free, and – even better – could often make a profit by selling the massively marked up reusable shopping bags that it was hoped Seattle’s citizens would switch to. The law took effect last July. So what has happened since then? Local hospitals report a surge in E.coli cases – and even deaths – as a result of people carrying food in unclean bags they were reusing. Shoplifters delighted in being able to carry bags into the store, fill them, and walk out without paying. Other shoppers, frustrated at finding they would have to pay to bag their purchases, simply walked off with the store baskets (and maybe/maybe not paid for the contents of the baskets). Stores responded by not replacing the lost/stolen baskets, but that caused a new raft of customer service problems too. As for the benefits – well, we’re still waiting for a report on those. But perhaps the fact that there is no measurable global warming at present might ‘prove’ that Seattle was very wise. On the other hand, the last time there was any significant global warming was almost a decade ago, so perhaps Seattle was simply late to the party. More details of Seattle scoring an own-goal here. Feb 112013 Don't learn your lessons from the movies. Dirty Harry isn't real. And you're not a cop. Don’t learn your lessons from the movies. Dirty Harry isn’t real. And you’re not a cop. Great. So far, so good. Bravo. But what happens next can completely change your day if you’re not careful. There you are – heart pounding, blood surging, adrenalin levels off the scale, full of righteous anger, and your gun is in your hand. Maybe you even have some vague fuzzy perception that it is legal to shoot after felons, perhaps because you are ‘in hot pursuit’ or something like that. Do you shoot after the bad guys? Or do you carefully holster your handgun and call the police? Don’t just answer this question in the calm and comfort of where and how you’re reading this. Try and really put yourself in the scene, and understand how you’d be thinking and reacting. Now – the answer. Would you shoot after the bad guys? If you answered ‘yes’, go take a cold shower. Then come back and please continue reading. If you answered ‘no’, congratulations, but don’t relax. Drill that ‘I must not shoot’ thought hard into your brain, so that when the situation actually occurs and you’re operating more on instinct and emotion, your rational self can still fight away the blood lust and desire for vengeance and correctly guide your actions. Don’t just take our word for it. Read this short news item about a homeowner in a scenario pretty much as we just depicted. He did the wrong thing, and got locked up for it, and now is facing an expensive journey through the legal system, with the only certain thing in his future being tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, many sleepless nights full of worry, and possibly – probably – a criminal conviction on his record and maybe even some prison time. Two things to remember : First : Your state may or may not have a long laundry list of situations in which it might be legal to use lethal force. But the only one of these which is likely to be unimpeachable is when you or your loved ones are staring certain death or severe injury in the face, and you have absolutely utterly no way to avoid that outcome, other than to use the least amount of deadly force possible. All the others are less black and white, and you can find yourself trapped in very unpleasant grey. As soon as you retreat away from that ‘worst case’ scenario, you start to facing a growing subsequent alternate worst case scenario – either criminal and/or civil action against you after your shooting. Depending on the jurisdiction you live in, your state’s laws on deadly force may be interpreted permissively or restrictively, and concepts such as ‘what would a reasonable man be expected to do in the circumstances’ could be answered – in a court of law – in very different ways. Remember also that juries are fickle. You can never guarantee what verdict a jury will reach. Get a couple of vociferous anti-gun people, a few others who believe that ‘nothing can ever justify taking a human life’, and have the others basically conciliatory and passive, and before you know where you are, you’re guilty of whatever the prosecutor has decided to throw at you. Maybe the local community is currently experiencing a backlash against some gun tragedy somewhere in the country, and it is just your bad luck to be the recipient of that backlash. Maybe you are white and shot at black criminals, and the case has been perverted into a cause celebre for ‘black rights’ and you are made to look like a racist rather than an ordinary homeowner. And so on and so on. The bottom line : Any shooting may have extremely unfair criminal and civil consequences. Avoid the risk of such consequences, by avoiding the need to shoot. Second : Go stand in your driveway and imagine yourself doing like the guy in the news story did, shooting at the would-be burglars as they make their getaway. Now look carefully at what is in the background. What do you see – and also what are behind the bushes and fences that you can’t see (but which your bullets can reach)? Houses. Apartments. Cars. And, most of all, people. In most residential areas, there’s no such thing as a safe direction to shoot in. Even if your shots hit the bad guys, they might still travel through and on and cause other damage elsewhere. Police departments regularly average $10,000 and up, for every shot fired by their officers, in terms of the costs they incur repairing the damage from the rounds expended. You can expect the same, and it will be money out of your own pocket, because your insurance will refuse to cover you. Here’s the unfair thing (and – get this – everything about these types of situations is unfair, right from the get go). If you hold your front door open for the burglars and help them carry away all your gear; insurance will reimburse you as per the policy you have. They see that as an accident or event you have no control over. But if you protect your property and shoot at the burglars, the insurance company won’t thank you for acting to reduce the amount of loss they have to pay out. Instead, they say this was a deliberate act on your part, not an accident or random piece of bad luck, and they’ll refuse to reimburse you any of the costs you might incur as a result of where the bullets went and the damage they caused. Dirty Harry never had to worry about these things. He was a policeman, more or less acting, on duty, as employed to do. Sure, the mayor and his superiors would often berate him for the damage he caused, but Harry never had to pay any of that himself. The city and the police department, and all their attorneys, would run interference for him. You have none of this behind you. Instead, it will all be ranged in front of you and against you. Bottom line? Don’t shoot, unless you have no choice, and it is the only option open to you, and necessary to save you or your loved ones from imminent and severe harm or death. And force yourself to stop shooting as soon as the situation changes. Update : The citizen who shot at the fleeing burglars ended up agreeing to a plea bargain. He has given a guilty plea, and is receiving a $700 fine, must take a weapons safety class, and has been required to forfeit his handgun. Maybe he got off lightly, depending on your perspective. Add the incarceration, now having an arrest and criminal record, and thousands of dollars in attorney fees, and those two shots truly changed his life. Details here. Jan 152013 The Royal Clock Tower Hotel in Mecca (also known as the Abraj Al-Bait Towers), at 1972 ft and 120 floors, the tallest building completed in 2012 and now the second tallest building in the world. The Royal Clock Tower Hotel in Mecca (also known as the Abraj Al-Bait Towers). At 1972 ft and 120 floors, it is the tallest building completed in 2012 and now the second tallest building in the world. As we move into the new century, it is increasingly obvious that the 21st century belongs not to western civilization, but to other civilizations and regions. That’s an unpleasant truth and hard for most complacent westerners to appreciate or accept, particularly when they close their eyes to the rest of the world and surround themselves only with those selected snippets of information that encourage their belief in the innate supremacy of the western cultural/social/economic system. It is hard to measure the decline of the west, particularly when we are part of it ourselves, and surrounded by a version of reality that is unwilling to acknowledge our decline. But if you travel the world (may I modestly say that I have) and particularly if you visit some of the new prosperous regions of the world, the difference between what we have come to accept and what is happening in the rest of the world is astonishing. Why aren’t we being told about this in our newspapers and on our television programs? Well, that’s a question with no answer, isn’t it! One such measure of the economic winners and losers might be urban construction and development. Here’s an interesting article that gives us a non-standard measure of the relative economic success and prosperity of cities in the world – skyscraper construction. It lists the ten tallest skyscrapers built in 2012. If you don’t want to go through the article page by page, here’s the list : 1. Mecca, Saudi Arabia 2. Dubai, UAE 3. Dubai, UAE 4. Dubai, UAE 5. Guangzhou, China 6. Dubai, UAE 7. Hanoi, Vietnam 8. Guangzhou, China 9. Guangzhou, China 10. Chongching, China In case you’re wondering, you have to get all the way to number 15 before the west appears (Toronto), and number 23 before the US appears (Oklahoma City). Then another long gap until Canada reappears at #34 and the US again at #45. As for Europe, its first appearance is #39 (Milan), followed by Moscow (which may or may not be fairly considered as part of Europe) at #48. This page lists all ‘tall buildings’ (which it defines as taller than 200 meters, ie 656 ft) completed in 2012. There were 66 in total, of which 22 were built in China, 18 in Muslim countries, and 11 in other Asian countries, but only four in Canada, two in the US, and one in Europe (plus one in Russia). That would seem to clearly indicate where all the economic growth is occurring and – alas – where the economic growth is not occurring. Jan 132013 King George V reviewing The Grand Fleet at Spithead in 1914. 98 years later, Queen Elizabeth II had to settle for watching a procession of private launches motoring up the River Thames in London. Britain is widely regarded by all (except perhaps our ‘Commander-in-Chief’) as being this country’s strongest ally – it is the country we have a ‘special relationship’ with. They feel the same way about us too, and they’ve not hesitated to support us whenever we’ve needed it. The strength of Britain as our ally is measured not just in its moral support of our policies and positions on the world stage, but also in its military support too. Wherever we’ve been fighting in the last several decades, there have been British troops, planes and ships alongside ours. It is sobering therefore to understand how Britain’s military capabilities have massively imploded in on themselves. We not only have our President spurning our relationship with Britain while racing around the world apologizing and bowing to our enemies, weakening the strength of the ties that keep us and Britain so closely together, we also have Britain’s disarming of itself to the point of international irrelevance. This article, in Britain’s leading and somewhat conservative newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, is mainly of little interest to most Americans, inasmuch as it involves Britain’s dispute with Argentina over the Falkland Islands. But we can’t let that topic pass without point out how sad it is to note the contrast between the short war with Argentina in 1982 when President Reagan fully supported Britain, and the current situation where our President and his team are unable to even say they support Britain, while cozying up to Argentina. What is most interesting, however, is to look down to the bottom, at the table of Britain’s military strength as between 1982 and 2013. In case the link has eroded over time, we repeat the information here : 1982 2013 Total personnel 320,000 160,000 Carriers 2 0 Submarines 32 9 Destroyers 15 7 Frigates 46 13 Assault ships 2 4 Patrol boats 15 4 Minesweepers/hunters 29 15 Auxiliary (tankers, etc) 45 13 Aircraft 400+ 130 This isn’t just a recent decline over the past 30 years, it has been steady and almost without a break all the way since World War 2. For example, total personnel in Britain’s armed services in 1972 were 371,000; in 1962 were 434,000; and in 1952 were 872,000. In sixty years, personnel have reduced five-fold. In 1913 Britain’s navy was the most powerful in the world, and by official policy, larger than the next two navies combined. In time for World War 2 Britain’s navy was still larger than any other single nation, but by the end of the war, the US navy was massively larger, and Britain’s navy has continued to decline ever since. When Queen Elizabeth was crowned in 1953 the Royal Navy put on a formal ‘review’ at Spithead, with nearly all its fleet lined up in massive rows of warships. When she observed the 60th anniversary of her ascending to the throne in 2012, the tradition of reviews, dating back to the 1700s, was replaced by a ‘flotilla’ of pleasure launches cruising along the Thames river in London. The Royal Navy was too embarrassed to admit it no longer had enough ships to be reviewed and hoped people would not notice the difference between private boats motoring along the Thames compared to the former might of the Royal Navy in years past. The reduction in armed personnel is all the more extreme when plotted against the rise in Britain’s total population. In other words, the number of armed personnel as a percentage of the total country’s population is declining more rapidly than the simple decline in staffing. This chart below gives a perspective on numbers from 1950 through 2012 (source). There are two other issues arising from this, beyond Britain’s simple loss of military power. The first is that it takes a lot longer to train a soldier, sailor, or airman now than it did 50 years ago. Everything is much more complicated, and requires much more training. This means that if Britain had to suddenly respond to a ‘high intensity’ conflict, or to come to our aid in a high intensity conflict of ours, by the time Britain could start deploying newly trained recruits, it would probably be too late. The second issue is more subtle. For almost all of Britain’s history, the armed services were a key part of the nation’s social fabric. Occasional high intensity conflicts, occurring once a generation or so, saw large swathes of the population called up for service (as much as 10% of the population in both World War 1 and 2). It wasn’t just the small percentage who served in wartime, either – even during peacetime, universal conscription – ‘national service’ saw all young male adults exposed to army training and discipline. This ended in 1960 with the last intake being November 1963 – 50 years ago. For the last 70 years, Britain has not had any high intensity conflicts, while the ‘pool’ of ex-servicemen has been dwindling as the old soldiers simply die. The number of surviving WW2 soldiers is now rapidly reducing and soon there’ll be no more. Britain is losing touch with its proud past, and is instead willing itself to become weaker and weaker. Even if Britain wished to strongly support us in the future, it will lack the men and the equipment to do so. Oh – and as for our own military capabilities? Don’t ask. It’s a similar story (but one to be told another time.
FREE Reading Comprehension Practice Problems for CAT Tips on how to approach CAT Reading Comprehension passages • Choose the answer once you are convinced of the right choice online CAT coaching Reading Comprehension Practice Passage The idea of building “New Towns” to absorb growth is frequently considered a cure-all for urban problems. It is erroneously assumed that if new residents can be diverted from existing centers, the present urban situation at least will get no worse. It is further and equally erroneously assumed that since European New Towns have been financially and socially successful, we can expect the same sorts of results in the United States. Present planning, thinking, and legislation will not produce the kinds of New Town that have been successful abroad. It will multiply suburbs or encourage developments in areas where land is cheap and construction profitable rather than where New Towns are genuinely needed. Such ill-considered projects not only will fail to relieve pressures on existing cities but will, in fact, tend to weaken those cities further by drawing away high-income citizens and increasing the concentration of low-income groups that are unable to provide tax income. The remaining taxpayers, accordingly, will face increasing burdens, and industry and commerce will seek escape. Unfortunately, this mechanism is already at work in some metropolitan areas. The promoters of New Towns so far in the United States have been developers, builders, and financial institutions. The main interest of these promoters is economic gain. Furthermore, federal regulations designed to promote the New Town idea do not consider social needs as the European New Town plans do. In fact, our regulations specify virtually all the ingredients of the typical suburban community, with a bit of political rhetoric thrown in. A workable American New Town formula should be established as firmly here as the national formula was in Britain. All possible social and governmental innovations as well as financial factors should be thoroughly considered and accommodated in this policy. Its objectives should be clearly stated, and both incentives and penalties should be provided to ensure that the objectives are pursued. If such a policy is developed, then the New Town approach can play an important role in alleviating America’s urban problems. Question: The passage contains information that answers which of the following questions? Where did the idea of New Towns originate? How does Britain’s New Town formula differ from that of other European countries? What is the purpose of building New Towns? What incentives and penalties will be necessary to make a New Town formula workable? Why have European New Towns been financially successful? Question: The author believes that New Towns are not being built where they are genuinely needed because the government offers developers incentives to build in other areas the promoters of New Town are motivated chiefly by self-interest few people want to live in areas where land is still cheap no studies have been done to determine the best locations federal regulations make construction in those areas less profitable Question: According to the author, ill-considered New Towns will tend to weaken existing cities in which of the following ways? I. They will cause an erosion in the tax base of existing cities. II. The will divert residents from existing cities to other areas. III. They will increase the number of low-income residents in existing cities. I only II only Question: According to the passage, as compared with American New Towns, European New Towns have been designed with greater concern for social needs financial factors urban congestion the profits of developers and builders the environment Question: The author’s tone in discussing “developers, builders, and financial institutions” can best be described as Question: It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes which of the following about suburbs? They are a panacea for urban problems. They will soon be plagued by the same problems that now plague cities. They are poor models for New Towns. They drive up property values in inner cities. They alleviate some, but not all, of America’s urban problems. Question: It can be inferred from the passage that the author considers the present American New Town formula to be thoroughly considered insufficiently innovative potentially workable overly restrictive financially sound Question: The author of the passage is primarily concerned with arguing for a change in policy exploring the implications of novel idea comparing and contrasting two manifestations of the same phenomenon proposing a radically new solution to an old problem summarizing recent research on a topic Also Check: CAT Quant Challenging Questions with VIDEO Solutions Previous PassageNext Passage Online Reading Comprehension Course for CAT 2018 100 Critical Reaoning practice questions with video explanations in detail Based on the latest CAT pattern Online Support : live online sessions for concepts building and doubt clearing How to solve CAT RC Passages 2000+ CAT Verbal Practice Problems all with Video Explanations. click here for FREE trial FREE Reading Comprehension Practice Problems for CAT 4.8 (95%) 16 votes What Students Say For regular updates and FREE sessions, join our following GROUPS
Is there a word to describe money that has been earned legally but for which the taxes haven't been paid. For example, "Mr. X is known to evade tax; he has a lot of money". To pay taxes on income, one declares it on an income tax form. People get in trouble with the government if they are found to have undeclared income Here is an example usage from the website TaxAid.org.uk: The word you are looking for is untaxed. It can refer both to things which are not required to be taxed as well as things which are required to be taxed but whose taxes have not been paid. Your Answer
Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David Death of Marat by Jacques Louis David One of the masterpieces of world art is now considered painting “Death of Marat” , Written by the famous French painter Jacques Louis David. Marat was a very good friend of the artist and one of the most rigid and fanatical leaders of the bloodiest of the revolutionary events in France. He was killed by a critical hit the knife in his bathroom. Therefore, this “portrait” of Marat, brilliantly drawn by the author, is a kind of reminiscent of the tragic events of those times. It is on this canvas the heroic artist’s realism reaches the best artistic expression. After the work was written under the direct impression of the actual events. Masterpiece characterized by a combination of historical truth with the emotional power of perception of the artistic image. At the same time David in the picture is limited to only the most important parts of the image to reveal the tragedy: drooping lifeless, bloody wound, the knife and the letter. According to historical records, the patient Marat murdered in the bathroom. And he took it at the same time, when I read the letter insidious Charlotte Corday. Distorted suffering and sorrow, character traits have a pronounced character portrait. Bright light and a clear black and white on a dark background arrangement of stress state of detachment. In the role of ancient sarcophagus viewer perceives bath with drapery fabric. A block where the ink set, performs symbolic tombstone with the epitaph: “David – Marat.” The artist created a masterpiece, similar to the majestic monument strict. Thus, he wanted to perpetuate the memory of his friend as a French hero, and immortalized himself as the genius of the French painter.
Researchers parallelize a common data structure to work with multicore chips January 30, 2015 by Larry Hardesty, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Credit: Christine Daniloff/MIT Every undergraduate computer-science major takes a course on data structures, which describes different ways of organizing data in a computer's memory. Every data structure has its own advantages: Some are good for fast retrieval, some for efficient search, some for quick insertions and deletions, and so on. At the Association for Computing Machinery's Symposium on Principles and Practice of Parallel Programming in February, researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory will describe a new way of implementing priority queues that lets them keep pace with the addition of new cores. In simulations, algorithms using their data structure continued to demonstrate performance improvement with the addition of new cores, up to a total of 80 cores. A priority queue is a data structure that, as its name might suggest, sequences data items according to priorities assigned them when they're stored. At any given time, only the item at the front of the queue—the highest-priority item—can be retrieved. Priority queues are central to the standard algorithms for finding the shortest path across a network and for simulating events, and they've been used for a host of other applications, from data compression to network scheduling. With multicore systems, however, conflicts arise when multiple cores try to access the front of a priority queue at the same time. The problem is compounded by modern chips' reliance on caches—high-speed memory banks where cores store local copies of frequently used data. "As you're reading the front of the queue, the whole front of the queue will be in your cache," says Justin Kopinsky, an MIT graduate student in electrical engineering and and one of the new paper's co-authors. "All of these guys try to put the first element in their cache and then do a bunch of stuff with it, but then somebody writes to it, and it invalidates everybody else's cache. And this is like an order-of-magnitude slowdown—maybe multiple orders of magnitude." Loosening up To avoid this problem, Kopinsky; fellow graduate student Jerry Li; their advisor, professor of computer science and engineering Nir Shavit; and Microsoft Research's Dan Alistarh, a former student of Shavit's, relaxed the requirement that each core has to access the first item in the queue. If the items at the front of the queue can be processed in parallel—which must be the case for multicore computing to work, anyway—they can simply be assigned to cores at random. But a core has to know where to find the data item it's been assigned, which is harder than it sounds. Data structures generally trade ease of insertion and deletion for ease of addressability. You could, for instance, assign every position in a queue its own memory address: To find the fifth item, you would simply go to the fifth address. But then, if you wanted to insert a new item between, say, items four and five, you'd have to copy the last item in the queue into the first empty address, then copy the second-to-last item into the address you just vacated, and so on, until you'd vacated address five. Priority queues are constantly being updated, so this approach is woefully impractical. An alternative is to use what's known as a linked list. Each element of a linked list consists of a data item and a "pointer" to the memory address of the next element. Inserting a new element between elements four and five is then just a matter of updating two pointers. Road less traveled But the MIT researchers' algorithm starts farther down the hierarchy; how far down depends on how many cores are trying to access the root list. Each core then moves some random number of steps and jumps down to the next layer of the hierarchy. It repeats the process until it reaches the root list. Collisions can still happen, particularly when a is modifying a data item that appears at multiple levels of the hierarchy, but they become much rarer. Explore further: Parallel programming may not be so daunting More information: "The SprayList: A Scalable Relaxed Priority Queue": Related Stories Parallel programming may not be so daunting March 24, 2014 Researchers unveil experimental 36-core chip June 23, 2014 Recommended for you On-chip, electronically tunable frequency comb March 18, 2019 Alligator study reveals insight into dinosaur hearing March 18, 2019 1 comment Adjust slider to filter visible comments by rank Display comments: newest first Spaced out Engineer not rated yet Jan 31, 2015 My question is if these data structures can be applied to quantum annealing or boson sampling. Also assuming parallelism can we reduce the probability of collisions until it is moot? What do the distributions look like with varying data sets and chip numbers? Is there a way to use predictive analysis with gaussian smoothing to use these structures in safety critical code? If there are still collisions can some application of heterological methods guarantee data integrity preservation with caching as the algorithm is executed? Could we run enough with random organization that the bad ones self collapse without assessment? I'm not sure if we make the schedule for technological singularity before the heat death, but we must try. I want Gaussian beams and forks solving combinatorics above, beyond and below the Calabi-Yau for black hole spaces that don't exist. And yet perhaps decoding has already told us there is always something to do and nothing must get done. Click here to reset your password.
The spectral decomposition technique plays an important role in reservoir characterization, for which the time-frequency distribution method is essential. The deconvolutive short-time Fourier transform (DSTFT) method achieves a superior time-frequency resolution by applying a 2D deconvolution operation on the short-time Fourier transform (STFT) spectrogram. For seismic spectral decomposition, to reduce the computation burden caused by the 2D deconvolution operation in the DSTFT, the 2D STFT spectrogram is cropped into a smaller area, which includes the positive frequencies fallen in the seismic signal bandwidth only. In general, because the low-frequency components of a seismic signal are dominant, the removal of the negative frequencies may introduce a sharp edge at the zero frequency, which would produce artifacts in the DSTFT spectrogram. To avoid this problem, we used the analytic signal, which is obtained by applying the Hilbert transform on the original real seismic signal, to calculate the STFT spectrogram in our method. Synthetic and real seismic data examples were evaluated to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method. You do not currently have access to this article.
Steam Properties When heating water and steam at constant pressure, as in a boiler, one of five conditions exist: 1) Water only 2) Water and steam 3) Saturated steam only 4) Superheated steam 5) Supercritical steam When heat is added to water in a boiler at constant pressure, the temperature of the water increases. The continued addition of heat will cause the temperature to increase until the pressure of the vapor generated is equal to the boiler pressure (the pressure boost of the boiler feed pumps). At this point, the liquid and vapor are said to be saturated. Boiling point is the temperature at which water begins to boil. It is a function of pressure: as pressure increases the boiling point increases. At atmospheric pressure at sea level, for example, the boiling point is 212°F (100°C). As more heat is added at constant pressure after the boiling point is reached, the saturated liquid starts to vaporize. This vaporization of liquid is known as a phase change from liquid to vapor. The boiling liquid is called a saturated liquid and the vapor that is generated is called a saturated steam. The enthalpy of saturated liquid refers to the sensible heat required to raise the temperature of 1 lbm (or kg) of water from 32°F (0°C) to the saturation temperature, in this case, the boiling temperature. The heat required to change 1 lbm (or kg) of water from liquid to vapor is called the latent heat or heat of vaporization. Saturation temperature is the temperature at which both the water and steam are in equilibrium for any given pressure. As long as liquid is present, vaporization of a two-phase mixture of liquid and vapor will continue at constant saturation temperature as heat is added. Whereas at atmospheric pressure, the saturation temperature is 212°F (100°C), at 300 psia (20.7 bar), for example, the saturation temperature is about 417°F (214°C). A mixture of vapor and liquid is at a state that is somewhere between the saturated liquid and the saturated vapor states. This is referred to as the wet region. As long as liquid is present, the mixture is said to be wet. After all of the liquid is vaporized and only steam is present, it is said to be dry saturated steam. The enthalpy of the saturated steam is the enthalpy of the saturated liquid, plus the heat of vaporization. This is the total amount of heat that must be added to convert water initially at 32°F (0°C) to 100% steam. At 250 psia (17.2 bar), for example, the sensible and latent heat content of dry saturated steam are about 376 and 826 Btu/lbm (875 and 1,921 kJ/kg), respectively. The total enthalpy is the sum of these two, which is about 1,202 Btu/lbm (2,796 kJ/kg). The thermodynamic state of steam properties in this saturated region requires specification of two independent variables, and pressure and temperature are not independent in this region. Typically, one of these (temperature or pressure) along with vapor (steam) quality is used to specify conditions. Steam quality is a measure of the amount of vapor in the two-phase liquid-vapor mixture. It is defined as the ratio of the mass of vapor present to the total mass of the mixture and may be represented as a percent ranging from 0 to 100%: mass vapor massliquid + massvapor The further addition of heat to saturated dry steam at constant pressure causes the temperature of the vapor to increase. This state is called the superheat state and the vapor is said to be superheated. In the superheat region, steam quality remains at 100%. Superheated steam is thus steam heated to a state where it has a higher enthalpy than is associated with its saturation temperature. Unlike saturated steam, which has only a single associated temperature for any given pressure, superheated steam may exist at any temperature above the saturation temperature. Since pressure and temperature are independent in this superheat region, their specification uniquely defines the thermodynamic state of the vapor. Superheated steam properties must, therefore, be tabulated as a function of both temperature and pressure. The critical point is the point at which water turns to steam without boiling and their states are indistinguishable. This occurs at a pressure of 3208.2 psia (22.09 MPa or 221.25 bar) and a temperature of 705.5°F (374.2°C or 647.3°K). As the pressure and temperature of water approach the critical point, the value of the heat of vaporization decreases and becomes zero at the critical point. Figure 6-2 is a temperature-enthalpy diagram for steam at pressures ranging from 0 to 5,500 psia (0 to 382.8 bar) and temperatures ranging from 300 to 1,200°F (422 to 922°K). Curves are provided showing steam by weight (SBW), or quality, in percent. Figures 6-3 (English units) and 6-4 (SI units) show the values of enthalpy and specific volume for steam and water over a wide range of pressure and temperatures. Temperature Enthalpy Diagram Fig. 6-2 Temperature-Enthalpy Diagram. Source: Babcock & Wilcox Fig. 6-3 Pressure-Enthalpy Chart for Steam, English Units. Source: Babcock & Wilcox Guide to Alternative Fuels Guide to Alternative Fuels Get My Free Ebook Post a comment
Essay about The Novel ' Bless Me, Ultima ' 993 Words Sep 9th, 2016 4 Pages 1. How does the novel fit the description of “magic-realism”? Magic-realism is defined as fiction that maintains a realistic narrative while recounting fantastic or supernatural events along with everyday life and commonplace events. The novel Bless Me, Ultima expresses this through the acceptance of some ideas that would normally be considered unrealistic. For example, the characters view witchcraft and sorcery in actuality and never seem to question it. Early gods, as well as spirit animals and mythological creatures were also widely accepted by the characters throughout. 2. What archetypes can you identify in Bless Me, Ultima? How do they reflect the ethnic and cultural heritage of the characters in the novel? How do they relate to the themes of the novel? Ultima: Mother nature Tenorio: Devil/Devil’s figure 3. How are owls symbolic? What role does Ultima’s owls play in the story? In Bless Me, Ultima, owls symbolize the soul and spirit of Ultima herself. Her owl primarily watches over everyone and gives warnings of danger. In a similar way, Ultima provides comfort for Antonio and helps him when he is hurt or cannot sleep. However, it can also reflect the somewhat vengeful side of Ultima that might not be seen. In the novel, the owl rips out Tenorio 's eye. When he later kills the owl and causes Ultima’s death soon after, we can see exactly what role the owl played. It served as an object of foreshadowing of what would soon happen either to Ultima or in her life. Related Documents
Childhood Vaccination Programme Vaccinations Guide » A simple treatment that have become a crucial part of our day to day lives, the childhood vaccination programme works to protect vulnerable children from dangerous and contagious infections. In this article we look at how important this programme, and what exactly it achieves. What is the childhood vaccination programme? This programme is one implemented by the NHS to protect children from a number of potentially dangerous, and even fatal, infections. Children are usually more susceptible to some infections because their bodies’ defence system, the immune system, is less developed. Vaccines provide a much needed boost to the immune system, effectively priming it to react to illnesses and infections that, without a vaccination, could be extremely risky. This programme begins with an injection not long after birth, and in the months following a series of other vaccines will be used to confer protection against diseases like rubella, measles, mumps, polio, diphtheria, meningitis C, and pneumococcal infections. While the majority of the injections that constitute this programme are delivered in the first year after birth, other vaccinations are performed at various points until a child has reached about 18 years of age. Some of the later injections include a treatment against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a virus that can cause cervical cancer. What does the childhood vaccination programme do for us? In places around the world where no childhood vaccination programme is in place, countless children contract and even die from a collection of illnesses that are barely present here in the UK. In this section we look at some of the conditions which this programme has had a dramatic effect on. Smallpox is a classic example of a condition which, at one point, was a serious epidemic that infected and killed countless people across Europe. Smallpox was highly contagious and presented with severe symptoms, and while some people survived (albeit with significant facial scarring from the pox), in many cases it was lethal. Since the introduction of smallpox vaccination this disease has gone from being a major epidemic to being completely wiped out as of 1980. It is thought that if vaccinations against smallpox had not been invented there would still be as many as 2 million deaths at the hands of this infection every year. Polio is an incurable disease which affected people all over the world. Caused by an aggressive virus that targets nerve cells, polio caused about 1,000 cases of paralysis a day before its eradication through vaccination. Polio largely affected children who would present with worsening paralysis that could work its way into the muscles of the lungs and respiratory tract. In many of these cases the suffered would then suffocate to death without assisted respiration devices known as ‘iron lungs’. Now however, polio is no longer a concern for children across the globe. Meningitis C is another condition that affects the nervous system, and vaccinations against this condition started in 1999. Since then the number of Meningitis C infections in people under the age of 20 has dropped by 99%. Diphtheria is known to have infected 60,000 people in 1940 and killed a staggering 3,283. At around a similar time the whooping cough affected about 120,000 people a year. These infections would cause serious illness, and since vaccinations have been introduced diphtheria has been all but eradicated with the exception of a few imported cases, and the whooping cough has been reduced to about a thousand infections a year. The impact of vaccines on the health of children in the UK has been absolutely staggering, and thanks to the NHS childhood vaccination scheme infections that were once commonplace are now almost non-existent. This illustrates the importance of vaccination more than anything else. Despite the rarity of these diseases these days, it is important to note that children’s vaccinations are still extremely important. Diphtheria and whooping cough are rare, but their incidence is kept low because of regular, routine vaccination. If we were to stop vaccinating children against these illnesses they would spread once again. This was proven by the collapse of the vaccination programme in Russia after the splitting of the Soviet Union, which resulted in a widespread diphtheria epidemic. « Childhood Vaccinations Safety of Childhood Vaccinations »
In Judaism, a rabbi / is a teacher of Torah. The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic and Talmudic era, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. The first sage for whom the Mishnah uses the title of rabbi was Yohanan ben Zakkai, active in the early-to-mid first century CE.[1] In more recent centuries, the duties of a rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis", and in 19th-century Germany and the United States rabbinic activities including sermons, pastoral counseling, and representing the community to the outside, all increased in importance. Within the various Jewish denominations there are different requirements for rabbinic ordination, and differences in opinion regarding who is to be recognized as a rabbi. For example, Orthodox Judaism does not ordain women as rabbis. Non-Orthodox movements have chosen to do so for what they view as halakhic reasons (Conservative Judaism) as well as ethical reasons (Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism).[2][3] The Hebrew word "master" רב rav [ˈʀäv], (irregular plural רבנים rabanim [ʀäbäˈnim]), which literally means "great one", is the original Hebrew form of the title. The form of the title in English and many other languages derives from the possessive form in Hebrew of rav: רַבִּי rabbi [ˈʀäbbi], meaning "My Master", which is the way a student would address a master of Torah. The word Rav in turn derives from the Semitic root ר-ב-ב (R-B-B), which in biblical Aramaic means "great" in many senses, including "revered", but appears primarily as a prefix in construct forms.[4] Although the usage rabbim "many" (as 1 Kings 18:25, הָרַבִּים) "the majority, the multitude" occurs for the assembly of the community in the Dead Sea scrolls there is no evidence to support an association with the later title "Rabbi."[5] The root is cognate to Arabic ربّ rabb, meaning "lord" (generally used when talking about God, but also about temporal lords). As a sign of great respect, some great rabbis are simply called "The Rav". Rabbi is not an occupation found in the Hebrew Bible, and ancient generations did not employ related titles such as Rabban, Ribbi, or Rab to describe either the Babylonian sages or the sages in Israel.[6] The titles "Rabban" and "Rabbi" are first mentioned in the Mishnah (c. 200 CE). The term was first used for Rabban Gamaliel the elder, Rabban Simeon his son, and Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai, all of whom were patriarchs or presidents of the Sanhedrin in the first century.[7] The title "Rabbi" occurs (in Greek transliteration ῥαββί rhabbi) in the books of Matthew, Mark, and John in the New Testament, where it is used in reference to "Scribes and Pharisees" as well as to Jesus.[8][9] Other Languages Afrikaans: Rabbyn Alemannisch: Rabbiner العربية: حاخام aragonés: Rabí asturianu: Rabín беларуская: Рабін български: Равин brezhoneg: Rabin català: Rabí čeština: Rabín dansk: Rabbiner Deutsch: Rabbiner eesti: Rabi Ελληνικά: Ραββίνος español: Rabino Esperanto: Rabeno euskara: Errabino فارسی: ربی français: Rabbin galego: Rabino 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌹𐍃𐌺: 𐍂𐌰𐌱𐌱𐌴𐌹 한국어: 랍비 հայերեն: Ռաբբի hrvatski: Rabin Ido: Rabino Bahasa Indonesia: Rabi interlingua: Rabbi íslenska: Rabbíni italiano: Rabbino עברית: רב Basa Jawa: Rabi ქართული: რაბინი Kiswahili: Rabi kurdî: Xaxam Ladino: Rabino Latina: Rabbinus latviešu: Rabīns Lëtzebuergesch: Rabbiner lietuvių: Rabinas magyar: Rabbi Bahasa Melayu: Rabai Nederlands: Rabbijn 日本語: ラビ norsk: Rabbiner norsk nynorsk: Rabbinar occitan: Rabin ਪੰਜਾਬੀ: ਰੱਬੀ ភាសាខ្មែរ: រ៉ាប៊ី polski: Rabin português: Rabino română: Rabin русский: Раввин Scots: Rabbi shqip: Rabini Simple English: Rabbi slovenčina: Rabín slovenščina: Rabin српски / srpski: Рабин srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски: Rabin suomi: Rabbi svenska: Rabbin Tagalog: Rabino ไทย: รับบี Türkçe: Haham українська: Рабин اردو: ربی vèneto: Rabín Tiếng Việt: Rabbi Winaray: Rabino ייִדיש: רב 中文: 拉比
Civil Forfeiture Civil forfeiture occurs when the government seizes property under suspicion of its involvement in illegal activity. Such a proceeding is conducted in rem, or against the property itself, rather than in personam, or against the owner of the property; by contrast, criminal forfeiture is an in personam proceeding. For this reason, civil forfeiture case names often appear strange, such as United States v. Eight Rhodesian Stone Statues,1 and the property owner is a third-party claimant to the action while the property is the defendant. This form of forfeiture is codified in 18 U.S.C. §§ 981, 983984, and 985, as well as in 21 U.S.C. § 881. The government does not have to charge the property owner with any specific crime in order to seize his property, and must prove only by a preponderance of the evidence that the property is legally forfeitable. After property has been seized, the burden of proof shifts to the owner, who must prove that the property was not involved in nor obtained as a result of illegal activity. While the government views civil forfeiture as a powerful tool against the drug trade, organized crime, and political corruption, it is often criticized as an unconstitutional exercise of government power, in violation of the Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth Amendments, and as against a fundamental element of due process: the presumption of innocence. See: “While use of the particular phrase ‘presumption of innocence’—or any other form of words—may not be constitutionally mandated, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment must be held to safeguard ‘against dilution of the principle that guilt is to be established by probative evidence and beyond a reasonable doubt.’” Taylor v. Kentucky (1978) Civil forfeiture in the United States is a holdover from English law. It was commonly used by the government during the Prohibition era to seize the property of bootleggers in an attempt to stymie the production and sale of illicit alcohol. When Prohibition ended, civil forfeiture was still available but not so commonly used until the War on Drugs began in the 1980’s. In response to increased concerns about the bustling drug trade and other criminal activity, Congress enacted the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. Title III of the law consisted of the Comprehensive Forfeiture Act of 1984, which amended the Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations Statute (RICO) to clarify what constitutes forfeitable property, and create a rebuttable presumption of forfeitability. In other words, the government could seize first, and defend the forfeiture in court later. The Act also established the Equitable Sharing Program which allows the government to liquidate seized assets and retain the proceeds. In 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Austin v. United States that a forfeiture could be considered an excessive fine in violation of the Eighth Amendment, but declined to establish a multifactor test to determine whether a forfeiture is constitutionally excessive. Otherwise, the ruling upheld civil forfeiture as a practice, within undefined limits. In 1996, the Court’s holding in United States v. Ursery established that the government may seize a person’s property due to its involvement in a crime in addition to prosecuting them for that crime without violating the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment. In 1998, the Court continued to uphold civil forfeiture in United States v. Bajakajian, but limited it if the amount seized would be “grossly disproportional to the gravity of a defendant’s offense,” in violation of the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment. In 2000, Congress enacted the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act (CAFRA) “to provide a more just and uniform procedure for Federal civil forfeitures.” CAFRA amended a variety of U.S.C. titles and chapters, and included, among other things: • An “innocent owner defense” • A provision for a victim to petition the court when the forfeiture is excessive • A requirement that the government pay reasonable litigation costs incurred by a claimant who “substantially prevails” • Procedure for the civil forfeiture of real property • Fugitive disentitlement to court resources • An encouragement to use criminal rather than civil forfeiture There have been bipartisan efforts since CAFRA to further reform federal civil forfeiture, but as of July 2017, none have been enacted.2 In recent years, many states have passed laws to limit the use of civil forfeiture, and some prohibit it altogether unless the owner has already been criminally convicted for the crime that justifies seizure. The Equitable Sharing Program, however, provided a loophole that allowed state and local law enforcement agencies to share in the liquidated proceeds of civil forfeiture cases they may hand over to federal law enforcement. To combat this loophole in 2015, Attorney General Holder unilaterally barred federal law enforcement from collaborating with local and state police to take on forfeiture cases where local and state law disallows it without warrants or criminal charges.3 He also limited the federal seizure of bank accounts only to instances where serious illegal transactions have been documented.4 Current Events In March 2017, the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General released a report reviewing the DOJ’s oversight of civil forfeiture activities. The report identified specific weaknesses in the DOJ’s oversight, including an insufficient effort to determine “whether seizures benefit criminal investigations or the extent to which they may pose potential risks to civil liberties,” and an inadequacy in policy and training to ensure operational consistency. To remedy these weaknesses, the report recommends that the relevant departments of law enforcement: 1. Develop ways to collect relevant data related to seizure and forfeiture activities sufficient to identify and evaluate whether seizures advance or are related to federal investigations. 2. Review seizure practices to determine whether more-specific policy guidance and/or training is needed to ensure consistency in seizure operations. 3. Ensure that state and local task force officers receive training on federal asset seizure and forfeiture laws and component seizure policies before they conduct or participate in federal seizures. 4. Monitor the effects of the Attorney General’s 2015 Order that eliminated most types of federal adoptions of state and local seizures, and seek to mitigate any negative effects on law enforcement cooperation.5 In July 2017, Attorney General Sessions reversed the 2015 directive that prevented local law enforcement from circumventing state restrictions on civil forfeiture.6 However, this new directive includes changes meant to prevent abuse of the practice, such as requiring more detail from police agencies about probable cause justifying a seizure, expedited notice to property owners of their rights and the status of their belongings after a seizure, and limited ability to seize property less than $10,000 without a state warrant or other enumerated exceptions.7 Nevertheless, critics say the safeguards are ineffective.8 Even Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas commented in a 2017 denial of certiorari on a civil forfeiture case that the civil forfeiture system “has led to egregious and well-chronicled abuses” which “frequently target the poor and other groups least able to defend their interests in forfeiture proceedings.”9 Pending Legislation If passed, the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act of 2017 (FAIR Act) would amend civil forfeiture sections of the U.S. Code to: • replace the standard of proof “a preponderance of the evidence” with the stricter “clean and convincing evidence;” • disallow the equitable sharing of forfeiture proceeds with “any other Federal agency” or “any State or local law enforcement agency which participated directly,” effectively killing the Equitable Sharing Program; • and establish a multifactor test to determine the whether the forfeiture is proportionate to the gravity of the offense. Alternately, if passed, the Deterring Undue Enforcement by Protecting Rights of Citizens from Excessive Searches and Seizures Act of 2017 (DUE PROCESS Act) would amend civil forfeiture sections of the U.S. Code to: • shorten the amount of time between forfeiture and when the government is required to give notice to the property’s owner; • add “initial hearings” to the civil forfeiture judicial procedure; • grant reasonable attorneys fees to claimants who prevail in a settlement rather than in court—and the payment of fees may not be waived as part of any settlement; • define what counts as a claimant prevailing; • establish an annual audit of civil forfeitures by the DOJ Inspector General; require the Attorney General to establish and maintain a publicly available database describing all federal civil forfeitures, including statistical breakdowns of forfeitures by agency and where money given from the Asset Forfeiture Fund or Treasury Forfeiture Fund goes; While the two bills are largely similar, one important difference exists: the FAIR Act effectively ends equitable sharing while the DUE PROCESS Act attempts only to curb its abuse. Last updated in July of 2017 by Stephanie Jurkowski.
Altötting (Germany) The Shrine of Our Lady of Altötting, also known as the Chapel of Grace (German: Gnadenkapelle), is the national shrine of Bavaria dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is known for the many healings which are said to have taken place there, and is commonly called the Lourdes of Germany. The octagonal chapel which houses the image of Our Lady dates to about A.D. 660, and is the oldest Marian shrine in Germany. The image of Mary venerated there is a Black Madonna of great antiquity (possibly about 1330), carved from lindenwood. The shrine became a popular pilgrim destination when it became known for the miraculous recovery in 1489 of a young boy who had been drowned, after his mother laid his body before the image and prayed to the Blessed Mother for a miracle. Many of the votive offerings which have been given to the shrine over the centuries are displayed in the porch encircling the church. Also to be seen are the small, silver urns in which many members of the German nobility would have their hearts placed after their deaths to be brought here. The shrine has been served by the Capuchin friars for centuries. One member of the Order, Brother Conrad of Parzham, O.F.M. Cap., (1818-1894) served there as porter for over 40 years. During his lifetime of service he developed a reputation for holiness and miraculous healings. He has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church. The shrine was honored by a visit by Pope John Paul II in November 1980. He was accompanied by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was born in a nearby town. On 11 September 2006, Ratzinger, newly elected as Pope Benedict XVI, returned to the shrine and donated the episcopal ring he had worn while he was the Archbishop of Munich. The ring is now a part of the scepter held by the Blessed Virgin. "Our Lady of Altötting" Chapel of Grace Source: Wikipedia
Gas Exchange (GasEx) Process Studies Currently, large uncertainties in the air-sea flux of CO2 prevent verification of the partitioning of fossil fuel CO2 between the ocean and the terrestrial biosphere. These uncertainties limit the ability of models to realistically predict future atmospheric CO2 levels. Techniques are now in hand to improve estimates of air-sea fluxes. The first gas exchange experiment, GasEx-98, occurred in the CO2 sink region of an anticyclonic warm core ring in the eastern North Atlantic during May and June of 1998.Air-sea gas exchange was studied using a variety of direct and indirect approaches. For more information please visit the GasEx-98 web site. The second study, GasEx-2001, took place in the upwelling region of the eastern Equatorial Pacific in February and March, 2001. The low annual mean wind speeds in the Equatorial Pacific and high ΔpCO2 values, offered a unique opportunity to directly determine the fluxes in a low wind stress environment and to elucidate the factors controlling the flux. Most of the GasEx-2001 experiments involved measurements taken by and around a drifting array of near-surface instruments. For more information please visit the GasEx-2001 web site. Southern Ocean Gas Exchange (SO-GasEx) LogoThe latest GasEx study was conducted in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean (SO-GasEx) between 29 February and 12 April, 2008. The scientific work concentrated on quantifying gas transfer velocities using deliberately injected tracers, measuring CO2 and DMS fluxes directly in the marine air boundary layer, and elucidating the physical, chemical, and biological processes controlling air-sea fluxes with measurements in the upper-ocean and marine air. The oceanic studies used a Lagrangian approach to study the evolution of chemical and biological properties over the course of the experiment using shipboard and autonomous drifting instruments. The SO-GasEx) experiment was designed to address the following questions: • What are the gas transfer velocities at high winds? • What is the effect of fetch on the gas transfer? • How do biological processes influence pCO2 and gas exchange? For more information please visit the SO-GasEx web site. Associated Stories
Summer solstice draws crowds of merrymakers Stonehenge (United Kingdom), June 21: The Earth’s northern hemisphere welcomed its longest day of the year on Thursday and hundreds of people gathered at Stonehenge in southern England to celebrate the solstice and the coming of summer. Stonehenge, a neolithic stone circle on a plain by the Avon river dating back as far as 3000-2000 BC, has in Western culture become synonymous with the summer solstice, when it attracts hordes of visitors, druids and spiritually-minded folk who spend the night by the ancient monument to watch the sunrise. Archaeologists have long been perplexed by many aspects of the iconic landmark, such as its original purpose and construction methods. Some modern theories posit the site was used for religious ceremonies, including healing rituals, while others believe it was used as a solar calendar due to its astronomical orientation, according to Efe news. But the blue-stone megaliths appear to have been erected using the solar cycle as a blueprint. From a standing point looking east from inside the complex of menhirs and dolmens on the morning of the summer equinox, the sun rises directly behind what is known as the heel stone, a sarsen block some 77 metres from Stonehenge. Its light — depending on the weather — drenches the ancient circle and the merrymakers gathered there in an early morning glow. (IANS)
Share this page A local inspiration for "The Tempest"? In 1588, an enormous storm that hit Stratford-upon-Avon caused a massive flood that affected towns all along the River Avon. Helen Rees On 18th July 1588, a great storm hit Stratford, an event which Shakespeare may have remembered later when writing The Tempest. A contemporary account of the subsequent flood which affected several towns along the River Avon can be found in the Welford Parish Register. About 8.00 in the morning a sudden flood carried away all the hay around the Avon, broke down Grange Mill (at Bidford), broke up sundry houses in Warwick town, and broke both ends of Stratford Bridge. It was reportedly so high that old Father Porter (aged 109), who lived in the mill house, never remembered the water being so high. Three men attempting to cross Stratford Bridge reached the middle and found they could go no further, nor could they return as the water had risen so much. There isn’t any report of what actually happened to them. The water rose a yard for every hour between 8.00 and 4.00. Clopton Bridge 1806 Stratford-upon-Avon's Clopton Bridge, illustrated by Robert Bell Wheler (p.297-9, Council Book A Chamberlain’s accounts for 29th Jan 1589, BRU2/1) The damage to the bridge was obviously critical for a market town. Shakespeare’s friend Richard Quiney was acting Chamberlain and charged with raising funds for its repair. In the following few years there is mention of, in 1591, ‘money supplied for the repair of Bancroft after flood’ and mentions of new ‘ravens’ for the bridge. Does anybody know what a raven is? In January 1589, they cost 4d, with a further £3.10s 6d recorded on the same account. Recommended blogs See all blogs
Did Dar-win? Darwin uses a variety of evidence to support three main arguments. The first is the principle of gradation in which a species make gradual changes over time instead of suddenly coming into being in the geological record. The main support for this principle lies in the sterility of hybrids. The first cross-species has organs that are still functional but the hybrids are sterile. Any radical change to the variations of a species usually results in sterility. The second supporting argument claims the specific incitement for variation would be the climate. The glacial period being referenced as a radical period of variation for species. He states that it is illogical to expect to see the links between species because they are usually supplanted and surpassed by their more adapted counterparts. The support for this argument is limited due to the lack of geological records. “The noble science of Geology loses glory from the extreme imperfections of the record” (Darwin pg510) There is also the human issue of classifying every addition to the geological record as a new species. His third supporting argument is the domestication of certain plants and animals. He argues that if people can select for certain favorable traits to aid in survival then it is not a leap in logic to see the same selection in nature. The species most able of producing offspring that has favorable traits for their living conditions will thrive over their competitors. The climate and conditions will naturally select the most successful traits for that area. The most convincing argument is the sterility of species who have undergone dramatic changes. This is an experiment that anyone could do in their backyard with a few species of plants or just a couple ant terrariums. In my opinion, the most easily replicable argument is the most effective. It is really hard to convince people of ideological principles because it takes a basis of common understanding. You can give anybody an easy science project and tell them to come to their own conclusions. Granted, it takes longer than just blindly accepting the results of those before you, but it gives a more concrete understanding of the principals at work. 2 thoughts on “Did Dar-win?” 1. I agree with your closing statement. I think one of the most important parts of the scientific process and the process of evaluating anything is determining whether it can be repeatable with additional trials. It’s one of the key determining factors that one of my favorite skeptics, James Randi, uses to determine if something actually has substance or is just hocus pocus. Anything that is actually scientific can be duplicated and experimental processes repeated over and over, in fact it is a large number of trials and trials by peers that holds research accountable. The phrase ‘tried and true’ exists for a reason, and people are a lot more likely to have faith in things that can demonstrate reliability. The theory of evolution in particular is highly consistent and demonstrates this through fossil records and observation of species, and we can very easily see artificial selection at play when we breed dogs. One of the most famous and important scientific experiments supporting the selection model is the Soviet domesticated fox program, in which they artificially selected for tameness and human-friendly traits, resulting in several generations down the line producing foxes with different eye colors and floppy ears! 2. I like how you talked about the possible human error when classifying species vs. varieties. Personally, I don’t think that detracts anything from Darwin’s argument – whether a fossil represents one or the other isn’t of huge significance if it shows a change in the organism. Eventually the distinction will be easy to see, but both offer proof to his theory. Geology is not an infallible source, so humans cannot be expected to read it perfectly. Leave a Reply
Photo by PDRC For the women of Puntland, wearing white symbolizes peace. On 21 September 2011, 50 women took to the streets to raise awareness of the need to further embed peace in the region. Walking through the streets of Garowe, the main town, they attracted attention from passers-by. Not wanting their efforts to go unnoticed, they entertained the crowds by chanting traditional peace songs as they marched through the city centre. Organized by Interpeace local partner in Puntland, the Puntland Development Research Center (PDRC), the peace march was one of the most visible elements of the peace day celebrations in the city. After the walk, there was a public meeting held at the PDRC conference hall. Representatives of women and youth, emphasized the importance of peace and highlighted the crucial role that women and youth play in any peace process. Local politicians, members of civil society and internally displaced people (IDPs) actively participated in the discussions. The celebrations culminated in a football game between two local teams. Slogans that called for peace in the region were branded across their strips. Article: Courtesy of Interpeace
Jonathan Brown: Water Power and Watermills This remarkable and authoritative book traces the development of water power and the watermill from the earliest times to the present. It examines the first watermills in Britain, which were introduced by the Romans, the medieval mill and the technology of water power, including the size and efficiency of water wheels, dams, weirs and watercourses. Furthermore it covers flour milling before the Industrial revolution and the early industrial uses of water power. it analyses the use of water powwer during the Industrial Recolution with reference in the cotton, woollen and linen industries and transport. beautifully illustrated with over 160 photographs and drawings. The Crowood Press Ltd Publication year: 9 000 Ft
Chafing dish From Wikipedia, de free encycwopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Diego Vewázqwez portrayed a woman poaching eggs in a gwazed eardenware chafing dish over charcoaw. A chafing dish (from de French chauffer, "to make warm") is a kind of portabwe grate raised on a tripod, originawwy heated wif charcoaw in a brazier, and used for foods dat reqwire gentwe cooking, away from de "fierce" heat of direct fwames. The chafing dish couwd be used at tabwe or provided wif a cover for keeping food warm on a buffet. Doubwe dishes dat provide a protective water jacket are known as bains-marie and hewp keep dewicate foods, such as fish, warm whiwe preventing overcooking. The Roman powitician and writer Cicero described a "kind of saucepan of Corindian brass", writing "This simpwe and ingenious vessew possesses a doubwe bottom, de upper one howds de wight dewicacies . . . and de fire is wit underneaf".[1] Fragments of ceramic chafing dishes are common in de archaeowogy of medievaw city sites, such as York, Engwand.[2] Chafing dishes in de form of charcoaw-burning braziers are famiwiar in 17f-century American inventories awmost from de start. François Pierre La Varenne, Le Cuisinier françois (Paris, 1652) mentions de use of a réchaut in a recipe for champignons à w'owivier.[3] In describing de Vewasqwez genre painting (iwwustration), sometimes art historians not handy in de kitchen describe her as frying eggs in her eardenware dish.[4] In 1520, Hernan Cortez reported to Charwes V de manner in which Montezuma was served meaws in Tenochtitwan: "He was served in de fowwowing manner: Every day as soon as it was wight, six hundred nobwes and men of rank were in attendance at de pawace, who eider sat, or wawked about de hawws and gawweries, and passed deir time in conversation, but widout entering de apartment where his person was. The servants and attendants of dese nobwes remained in de court-yards, of which dere were two or dree of great extent, and in de adjoining street, which was awso very spacious. They aww remained in attendance from morning untiw night; and when his meaws were served, de nobwes were wikewise served wif eqwaw profusion, and deir servants and secretaries awso had deir awwowance. Daiwy his warder and wine-cewwar were open to aww who wished to eat or drink. The meaws were served by dree or four hundred youds, who brought on an infinite variety of dishes; indeed, whenever he dined or supped, de tabwe was woaded wif every kind of fwesh, fish, fruits, and vegetabwes dat de country produced. As de cwimate is cowd, dey put a chafing-dish wif wive coaws under every pwate and dish, to keep dem warm..." [1] Chafing Dish and Stand about 1895[5] Victoria and Awbert Museum, London In Engwand siwver braziers widout handwes, upon which a dish wouwd be set, are mentioned in de reign of Queen Anne; wooden bawws kept de heat of de charcoaw in de pierced container from being transferred to de tabwe surface.[6] Dish-crosses and de chafing dish wif a handwe were introductions of de reign of George II.[7] In de American cowonies, "One chafing dish" was inventoried among de siwver at Abraham de Peyster's deaf in New York, 1728, dough onwy two cowoniaw New York exampwes are known to survive.[8] In a wight form and heated over a spirit wamp, a chafing dish couwd awso be used for cooking various dainty dishes at tabwe— of fish, cream, eggs or cheese— for which siwver chafing dishes wif fine heat-insuwating wooden handwes were made in de wate 19f century, when "chafing-dish suppers" became fashionabwe, even in househowds where a kitchen maid prepared aww de ingredients beforehand. Speciawized chafing-dish cookbooks appeared from de 1880s. A book of chafing-dish recipes printed for de siwversmids, Gorham Manufacturing Co. in New York, (2nd edition, 1894), featured a brief history of chafing dishes, fowwowed by proper instruction for use, suggesting its novewty. Fannie Farmer's Chafing Dish Possibiwities was pubwished in Boston in 1898. Modern chafing dishes are made of wight metaw or ceramic casserowes wif handwes, sometimes covered wif a Pyrex wid. Cwassic uses of a chafing-dish are in preparing Wewsh rarebit or cheese fondue. See awso[edit] 1. ^ Lovegren, Sywvia (2013). The Oxford Encycwopedia of Food and Drink in America. Oxford University Press USA. p. 103. ISBN 9780199734962. 2. ^ Garef Dean, Medievaw York 2008:140. 3. ^ Noted by Frank Schwoesser, The Cuwt of de Chafing Dish 1905:3. 4. ^ John Mortimer, "Fried eggs to savor" in Smidsonian Magazine May 2005 p 124. 5. ^ "Chafing Dish and Stand". Metawwork. Victoria and Awbert Museum. Retrieved 2007-08-18. 6. ^ As on a Boston exampwe by John Coney (died 1722) at de Metropowitan Museum of Art, (acc. no. 41.70.4) iwwustrated and described in Marshaww Davidson, "A Sewection of Earwy New Engwand Siwver" The Metropowitan Museum of Art Buwwetin, 36.11 (November 1941:233–235) fig. 1, 7. ^ Howwis French, "An Eighteenf Century American Brazier", The Buwwetin of de Cwevewand Museum of Art, 1918, describes an iwwustrates an American siwver chafing dish by John Potwine. 8. ^ Joseph Downs, "New York Siwver" The Metropowitan Museum of Art Buwwetin 30.6 (June 1935:130–131), one iwwustrated fig. 2 Externaw winks[edit]
How Does Composting Work? It is the breakdown of tissues and mixes into less complex substances, which go about as soil supplements. Put a heap of leaves, a cardboard box and a watermelon in your back yard, presented to the components, and they will in the long run break down. To what extent bring to separate relies upon various components: • What are the materials made of • How much surface zone is uncovered • The accessibility of dampness and air Natural Materials Terrace composting is a procedure intended to accelerate the breakdown or decaying of natural materials. Give us a chance to investigate how we control the procedure and speed things up. Here I utilize the term microorganisms, which incorporate tiny life forms and worms among an entire slew of things. Microbes live in the soil; they are the way to composting. Regularly, they eat little goodies of natural issue, for example, leave and twigs that nature gives. The more these microorganisms need to eat the more effective they can work. A ton of the things you call squander – for instance, banana peels, spoiled apples, dark colored shriveled lettuce, fallen leaves and weeds from your garden – are nourishment for these organisms to buy compost singapore. Meat items ought not be utilized. Nitrogen inside Foods On the off chance that a compost heap smells it is a direct result of meat items. They will in the end separate, yet meat backs off the composting procedure. Organisms require carbon and nitrogen. A few things high in carbon incorporate paper, sawdust, wood chips, straw, and takes off. A few things high in nitrogen incorporate nourishment, grass clippings, and composts. Make sure to incorporate a blend of squanders high in nitrogen in your compost heap. The littler the pieces are the quicker they will separate. So cut up that apple. Separate those twigs, your compost heap will compensate you for your exertion. Veggie Garden soil Surface Microorganisms The more surface region the microorganisms need to chip away at, the quicker the materials will break down. It resembles a square of ice in the sun: ease back to liquefy when it is substantial, yet softening immediately when broken into little pieces. Hacking your garden squanders with a scoop or a blade, or running them through a destroying machine or lawnmower will build their surface territory, hence accelerating your composting adequate air in the heap energizes microbial development and rates deterioration. We have all had the experience of smelling a mass of wet grass clippings
Benefits of Breastfeeding The best food for babies is undoubtedly human milk. It contains the correct proportion of the correct nutrients for a thriving infant. It also contains considerable unique components such as lactoferrin that provides the highest absorption of iron. Human breast milk protects the gut from harmful bacteria and contains lipases which help with the digestion of fats, other growth factors and hormones helping with the infant’s growth and development. Human milk changes in its composition during the feed. At the beginning of the feed, it is thirst quenching before changing into a hunger satisfying consistency. As the infant grows, the milk produced changes to match the nutritional needs. Baby’s first immunisation is provided by human milk. It contains living immune cells and antibodies protecting baby from respiratory and intestinal diseases. The human milk that arrives when the baby is born (colostrum) contains substances that help with the immune system. Babies fed from formula milk are at a higher risk or illnesses such as middle ear infections, pneumonia and stomach flue. Immunities from developing cancers such as bowel disease, Crohn’s disease are also provided in breast milk. Studies have shown that breastfed babies respond better to their immunisations. The benefits offered by breast milk immediately begin and increase with the length of time that the infant is breastfed. Formula fed babies grow differently to breastfed babies. Those babies that are breastfed grow quicker in the beginning then slow down as they are reaching their first birthday. It should be noted that those infants who are formula fed have a higher risk of developing obesity later in life. Studies have also shown that the brain developments better through breastfeeding. There are many benefits in breast milk for premature babies due to premature breast milk containing different amounts of nutrients suited to the needs of premature babies. Less stress is caused for the infant by sucking at the breast and digesting the breast milk compared to formula milk. The majority of premature babies can breastfeed as soon as they are able to suckle. Premature babies that are breastfed usually leave the neonatal intensive care unit sooner due to the reduction in infection and the shorter time to full feeding. Breastfeeding is also good for mothers. It should be regarded as a relaxing, joyful experience. There are also many benefits health wise for mothers who breastfeed. Due to the baby’s suckling, oxytocin is released causing the uterus to contract, protecting mothers from haemorrhage. If breastfeeding is continues there is also a delay in ovulation and menstruation. Medical problems in babies such as congenital heart disease, cleft palate and Down’s syndrome may be helped by the infant being breastfed. Where the baby has difficulties with suckling, expressed milk from the best is the next best thing. Its not just human milk that benefits both a mother and baby. By breastfeeding as opposed to bottle feeding, the infant has less risk of dental problems such as tooth decay. The skin to skin contact enjoyed by mother and baby assists with close bonding.
Tennis Elbow What is tennis elbow? Tennis elbow is a syndrome, not a diagnosis, so it is best referred to as lateral elbow pain. Other labels for this condition include lateral epicondylitis, extensor tendonitis and common extensor tendinopathy. “Tennis elbow” refers to pain experienced on the outside of the elbow, as distinct from “Golfers’ elbow” which is felt on the inside of the elbow. Most people who experience tennis elbow don’t play tennis, but it does tend to occur in persons who use their hand repeatedly for gripping and reaching activities, often where there is an element of occupational repetition. Tennis elbow is one of the most recalcitrant problems seen in the clinic. What causes tennis elbow? There are many causes and sources for lateral elbow pain including referral from the cervical spine, elbow joint problems, nerve entrapment syndromes and muscle/tendon lesions of the forearm muscles. For example, the source may be the tendons of the common extensor origin (group of muscles on the outside of the elbow), whereas the cause may be faulty neck, back and arm posture that puts the arm in a biomechanically-disadvantaged position; made worse by an occupational overuse situation. A functional diagnosis is made when the source and cause are identified. How do you treat tennis elbow? Treatment of lateral elbow pain is a direct response to the diagnosis. Depending on the diagnosis, local treatment may include physiotherapy to the elbow joint to restore range of movement, or to the local muscle lesion, or to free-up the sliding of the nerves. Exercises may be required to stretch or strengthen muscles. Eccentric exercise is currently in vogue (see below). Some doctors inject the muscle with cortisone or macerate the muscle with a needle. The latter is to stimulate a bleeding and healing response. More global treatment approaches may require attention to the cervical spine to reduce referred pain, or correction of faulty neck, back and arm posture to reduce strain on the elbow region. Braces are sometimes useful, as is acupuncture. Surgery is rarely required, but may be indicated if there is fault inside the elbow joint, or a nerve entrapment, or severely damaged or ruptured common extensor muscle. Attention may need to be given to sporting or occupational technique where the arm is used repeatedly, eg. baseball pitcher, gymnast or bricklayer. What is the role of eccentric exercise in treatment of tendinopathy? Recent research into the classic extensor tendon variety of tennis elbow has demonstrated that it is not an inflammatory problem. Rather, under close analysis, the tendon appears to be degenerate from chronic strain and a failed or half-completed healing process. There appears to be collagen (tendon framework) break-down at a microscopic level. The treatment response to this is to challenge the tendon with a heavy but very specific exercise to stimulate new collagen growth to complete the healing process. This exercise programme needs prescription from a suitably trained physiotherapist along with monitoring of response.
Ancient Monuments History on the Ground Seatsides 2 Roman temporary camp A Scheduled Monument in Henshaw, Northumberland Approximate Location Map Large Map » Street or Overhead View Contributor Photos » Latitude: 54.9922 / 54°59'31"N Longitude: -2.3882 / 2°23'17"W OS Eastings: 375257.684369 OS Northings: 566471.956532 OS Grid: NY752664 Mapcode National: GBR CBRQ.R7 Mapcode Global: WH90X.9S08 Entry Name: Seatsides 2 Roman temporary camp Scheduled Date: 12 December 1928 Last Amended: 14 July 1997 Source: Historic England Source ID: 1010941 English Heritage Legacy ID: 26008 County: Northumberland Civil Parish: Henshaw Traditional County: Northumberland Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Northumberland Church of England Parish: Beltingham with Henshaw Church of England Diocese: Newcastle The monument includes a Roman temporary camp known as Seatsides 2 located on a shelf in a hillside on the south side of the Brackies Burn. The camp survives as an upstanding earthwork. The camp faces east and encloses an area of 3.4ha. Though somewhat eroded throughout its length, the rampart is generally well preserved, except along the west side where it only stands to about 0.2m high. Elsewhere, the rampart averages 0.5m in height above the bottom of its external ditch. Later drainage, both natural and artificial, has utilized the ditch of the camp, broadening it to a width of about 7m on the west side and cutting across the causeways of the gateways on the east, west and south sides. The north gateway is marked only by a gap in the ramparts, but an external defence survives at each of the other three gateways. Within the interior, towards the south east corner there is a small flat- topped mound, 6m in diameter and 0.3m in height. Although cut by a modern drain it is unlikely to be earlier than the narrow ridge and furrow that overlays this half of the camp. All field boundaries are excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath them is included. It includes a 5 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation. Source: Historic England Reasons for Scheduling international importance of the surviving remains has been recognised through designation as a World Heritage Site. recognised by the Romans during their early campaigns through northern England Subsequently the Romans largely withdrew from Scotland and there is evidence subsequently attempted to establish the boundary further north, between the native populations of northern Britain and pressures elsewhere in the Empire withdrew from Britain. survive, including some sections of narrow wall built on broad wall provided additional defence. Where the Wall crossed rivers, bridges were milecastles were two equally spaced towers known as turrets. Together the milecastles and turrets provided bases from which the curtain wall could be was the case. coast and helped control shipping moving across the estuary of the Solway milecastles, provision for the accommodation of garrison troops manning the clearly found impracticable and a metalled track was therefore provided in places along the vallum between the north mound and the ditch. bounded by the Wall and the vallum. fourth century when a weak and divided Roman Empire finally withdrew its armies from the Wall and Britain. attached forts, turrets and milecastles are also clearly identifiable. only its foundations survive beneath the present ground surface. Similarly, some sections of the frontier system no longer survive visibly, sufficient evidence does exist for its position to be fairly accurately identified throughout most of its length. Over 40 temporary camps of many different sizes, some of them still visible as earthworks, have been recorded in the vicinity of the Wall. These generally consisted of a rampart of earth quickly thrown up to surround a military encampment. The rampart may have been surmounted by a timber palisade. Occupation of these camps was generally short-lived and, while very few of these examples have been firmly dated, it seems probable that at least some were work camps used by troops involved in the Wall construction. Others may have been created as practice camps during military training; temporary camps were widely used during military campaigning to provide overnight security to troops on the move. The Seatsides 2 Roman temporary camp survives well as an upstanding monument. The rarity of temporary camps, and in particular examples with upstanding remains, identify them as nationally important. Source: Historic England
Nacodah. Master of an Arab dhow ('Nakhoda'). Nadir. Point in heavens diametrically opposite zenith. Nail Sick. Minor leaks caused by erosion of nails in a wooden hull. Name of Ship. That name appearing in her certificate of registry N - English Maritime terminology Nadir. Point in heavens diametrically opposite zenith. Name of Ship. That name appearing in her certificate of registry. Is cut or punched in her bow and stern. Nanoplankton. Minute sea creatures and plant that float in clusters on surface of sea. Napier's Curve, Diagram. Curved line drawn on a specially designed diagram and passing through a limited number of points on which deviation of compass has been ascertained. This facilitates the determination of deviations on points for which no observation has been made. Napier's Rules of Circular Parts. Diagrammatic arrangement of five parts, or their complements, of a right-angled or quadrantal spherical triangle, the right angle or 90° side being disregarded, in five sections of a circle. If these be put in the rotation of their occurrence, an unknown part can be found from the other parts; the rule being that sine of middle part equals product of tangents of adjacent parts, or product of cosines of opposite parts. Narrow Channel Rule. Rule of Collision Regulations. Requires a vessel navigating a narrow channel to keep to that side of mid-channel that is on her starboard hand. Narrows. Areas where navigable waters become narrow due to shoals or adjacent land. Narrow Seas. Seas as distinguished from oceans. Seas having no great breadth. At one time, was especially applied to English Channel. Narrow Waters. Areas in which navigable waters become narrow due to shoals or land. Narwhal. Member of the whale family. Male has left tusk developed into a spiral horn, 6 to 10 ft. long, right tusk being rudimentary. Were formerly met with around 80°N, and hunted for their excellent oil. Natural Draught. Furnace draught arising from height of funnel above that of furnace, and from temperature of furnace gases. Natural Projection. One in which lines of sight are directly projected to a plane. Used when distinguishing this projection from an artificial projection. Natural Scale. One in which the delineation of a charted area is directly proportional to the area charted. Nau. Seeder Naufrage.* Shipwreck. Naufragate.* To shipwreck. To wreck a ship. Naulage.* Freight, passage money or ferry charge. Naumachy. Naval battle, sea fight. Representation of a sea fight. Nauropometer. Instrument for measuring inclination or heel of a ship. Nauscopy. Art of discovering the approach of a distant ship to the land. Nausea. Sea sickness. Originally meant 'ship sickness'. Naut. Depth unit of 1000 fathoms. Used only in cable laying work. Nautical. Pertaining to ships, seamen or navigation. Nautical Almanac. Annual volume, published by the Admiralty, giving astronomical information essential to navigation. First issued 1767. Nautical Astronomy. Astronomy as applied to navigation. Nautical Day. Day, formerly used at sea, commencing with Sun's noon transit. Abolished in Merchant Navy, January 1, 1925, but abolished in Royal Navy several years before. Nautical Distance. Length of rhumb line intercepted by two positions. Nautical Dromometer. Early 19th century towed log invented by Benjamin Martin. Nautical Mile. Length of arc of F of meridian in latitude of position of measurement. Value varies between 6046.4 ft. in Equator and 6107.8 ft. at Poles. A standard of 6080 ft. (1853.18 m), correct for Lat. 48°, is used in log registrations and practical navigation. The International Nautical Mile = 1852 metres, correct for Lat. 44 ½ °. Sea Mile. Nautical School. Educational establishment in which navigation, seamanship and other subjects connected with shipping are I taught. Nautical Tables. Book containing tabulated data - arithmetical, geometrical, astronomical and geographical—for use in navigation. Nautical Twilight. Interval between Sun being 6° below visible horizon and 12° below it. Horizon is sufficiently distinct for sextant use, and bright stars are observable. Nautilus Propeller. Water jet discharged astern from a submerged orifice for propelling purposes in a boat. Is uneconomical in use but is retained in some lifeboats where risk of propeller being fouled is likely to arise. Nautophone. Electrically-operated instrument that sounds a high note as a fog signal. Naval. Pertaining to ships, or to a navy. Naval Architecture. Science and practice concerned with design, building and fitting of ships, and with the investigation of the forces acting upon them in a seaway, and in specific circumstances. Naval Cadet. Student for officer rank in Royal Navy. Naval Court. Consists of three to five officers of R.N., consular officers, or masters of British ships. Convened abroad only by an officer commanding H.M. ship or by Consul, when necessary to investigate charges against master, officer or seaman of a British ship; when a British ship is lost or abandoned; when interests of owner make it advisable. Naval Crown. Device showing stern and square sail of a ship, alternately, on a fillet or circle. Naval Discipline Act. Act of Parliament governing the conduct of men and officers of Royal Navy. First introduced 1661. Naval Lines. Lines going across a reefing topsail, from leech to leech, on after side, to secure reef line. Secured to upper eyelet holes of reef cringles. Naval Officer. Commissioned or subordinate officer in Royal Navy, or in a foreign navy. Navel Futtock. Ground futtock in midship timber of a wooden ship. Navel Hood.* Timber immediately above hawse pipe of wooden ship. Navel Pipe. Large tube through which cable goes from deck above locker to cable deck. Navicert. Certificate of Destination for Specified Cargoes, issued by governments in wartime. Navigability. Of a vessel, capability of being controlled and steered. Of a water area, capability of being navigated. Navigable. Capable of being safely navigated. Navigable Semicircle. That half of a cyclonic depression in which there is no risk of encountering the vortex. Is left-hand semicircle in N Latitudes and right-hand semicircle in S latitudes. Navigate. To direct and control a ship. To pass from one place to another by ship. Navigation. Art and science of conducting a ship from one place to another. Sometimes used in a limited sense to restrict it to conducting by celestial observations and methods. 2. Canal made for passage of ships, barges and boats. Navigational Planets. Four planets -Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter - whose positions are precisely tabulated, in Nautical Almanac, for navigational purposes. Navigational Stars. Selected bright stars whose positions are precisely tabulated in Nautical Almanac for navigational purposes. Navigation Laws. Laws passed, at different times, to regulate, restrict or encourage shipping and shipborne trade. First English code is of time of Richard I. See 'Laws of Oleron.' Navigation Lights. Those lights compulsorily shown by vessels at sea, in accordance with international rules. Navigator. Person skilled in the art and practice of navigation. A person in charge of navigation of a ship. Specialised officer appointed to a ship for navigation duties. Name was given, formerly, to a man employed in digging canals (navigations), hence 'navvy'. 'Navigator shovel' is a relic of latter use of name. Navigator's Yeoman. Rating, trained in chart correction, who works under orders of navigating officer of H.M. ship. Navis Aperta. Undecked Roman ship. Navis Tecta. Decked Roman ship. Navivium.* Early type of submerged log on paddle-wheel principle. Way of ship acted on lower half of paddle, causing it to rotate and actuate inboard-registering gear. Early 19th century. Navy. The shipping of a country when considered collectively. The war vessels of a country when considered collectively. The personnel of a navy when considered collectively. Neap. Applied to the tides of small amplitude occurring about the time of Moon being in quadrature. Neaped. Said of vessel when she grounds at high water when tides are decreasing from spring to neap. Also applied to a vessel unable to leave a tidal harbour through decrease of high-water height of tide. Neap Tide. Tidal undulation that has the highest low water, and the lowest high water, in the series. Occurs about time of quadrature of Sun and Moon. Necklace. Open link chain secured around wooden mast of a sailing ship to take lower eyes of futtock rigging. Needle. Magnetised bar that provides directional property of a magnetic compass. Nef, Nau. Term for a ship in about 17th century, from Latin 'Nans' = ship. Negative. Opposite of 'positive'. 2. Annul, or cancel, a signal or order. Negative Slip. Term used when vessel's progress through the water is greater than that due to propulsive action of propeller. May be due to indraught of a following wake. Negligence Clause. Inserted in a contract to relieve one of the - contracting parties from responsibility for loss due to negligence of a third party who may, or may not be, a servant of the contracting party. Nelson Room. Room at Lloyd's, in London, containing several valuable and important mementoes of Admiral Lord Nelson. Nemedri. 'North European and Mediterranean Routeing Instructions.' Contain routeing instructions to enable vessels to avoid passing through mined areas. Nephoscope. Instrument used for determining direction and speed of clouds. Neptune. God of the sea in Roman mythology. Son of Saturn. 2. Eighth planet from Sun. Discovered by Adams (England) and Leverrier (France) at about the same time. Has one satellite. Orbital period, 164.79 years. Neptune Log. Towed log of Cherub type, but constructed to register speeds of 18 knots and upwards. Nereids. Nymphs of the sea, daughters of Nereus and Doris. 2. Sea centipedes. Ness. Projection of land into sea; headland; cape. Nets. Fishing-nets. Torpedo-nets. Nettles. Halves of two yams twisted together to make another yarn. 2. Lengths of nettle stuff used for attaching clews to hammocks. Nettle Stuff. Superior type of spunyarn consisting of either two or three yarns laid up together. Used for gaskets and similar fittings, and for hammock clews in R.N. Nett Tonnage. Ship measurement derived from gross tonnage by deducting spaces allowed for crew and propelling power; 100 ft. of space being reckoned as one ton. Neutral Axis. That line, in a girder or other member under stress, separating the tensile and compressive components of the stress. Neutral Equilibrium. As applied to ship, is that state of flotation in which she will have neither righting nor capsizing moment if moved. In mechanics, is that equilibrium that does not alter with displacement of the body. Newel. Vertical timber to take tenons of rails going from breastwork to gangway. New Moon. That phase of Moon when she is in conjunction with Sun and reflects no light towards Earth. New Style. Used when indicating dates reckoned by Gregorian Calendar that was introduced into England, September, 1792, but was not adopted universally. Nickey. Large Manx fishing boat similar to a Cornish lugger used in 19th century. Night Glasses. Binoculars with large light-gathering power, but with small magnification—about 2 ½ diameters. Nimbostratus. Cloud form characterised by uniform grey, low-lying sheet. Usually coincident with steady rain or snow. Nimbus. Rain- or snow-cloud. Usually of grey colour, and combining stratus, cumulus, and cirrus. Ninepin Blocks. Rack containing nine sheaves, through which running rigging is rove. 2. Blocks with upward projections from top and bottom of metal stropping. Fitted between two horizontal metal rails into which projections fitted and allowed sheave to swivel. Placed in vicinity of mast. Nineteen-Metre Type. First international type of yacht (1911). Length overall 95 ft., L.W.L. 62-3 ft. Beam 17 ft. Sail area 6850 sq. ft. Reg. tonnage 60. T.M. tonnage 100. Freeboard 4 ft. 6 in. Nineteen -Yearly Period. As 18-61 years is the period in which Moon's nodes make a circuit of Ecliptic, it follows that heights and times of tidal undulations repeat, approximately, in this period. Nine-Thread Stuff. One-inch cordage having nine threads in each strand. Nip. Short turn in a rope. 2. To secure a rope by seizing, trapping or racking. 3. To confine by clamping. To Freshen the Nip is to move a rope slightly so that a different part bears upon a fairlead or sheave. Nipa Palms. Creeping plants found in tidal estuaries of Ganges and other East Indian rivers. Frequently impede navigation. Nipped. Said of a vessel when pressed by ice on both sides. Nipper. To nip a rope or cable. 2. Person who nips or nippers. 3. Length of rope by which hemp cables were attached to messenger. 4. 'Bullivant's Nipper.' Noah's Ark. Vessel, mentioned in Bible and in Chaldean history, in which Noah rode out a flood. Dimensions were (about): length, 450 ft.; breadth, 75 ft.; depth, 45 ft. Built of cypress wood and had three decks. Nobby. Manx fishing boat, dandy rigged, named from its first builder, Clarke of Peel. Nock. Forward upper corner of four-sides fore and aft sail. Also spelt 'knock'. More usually Throat'. Noctilucent Clouds. Luminous cirriform clouds, travelling at high speed, occasionally seen about midnight after summer solstice. Nocturlabium.* The 'Nocturnal' instrument. Nocturnal. Pertaining to night. 2. Early 16th-century instrument used for determining latitude by observations of Polaris. Had a base plate, graduated for time and date, on which was a disc graduated in arc. When inner disc was set to time and date the instrument was suspended vertically and a pointer, pivoted at centre of disc, was sighted on Polaris. Pointer then indicated altitude of Pole. Invented 1520. Nocturnal Arc. Arc above horizon described by a heavenly body during hours of darkness. Nocturnal Radiation. Outgoing radiation of heat from Earth to space during hours of night. Nodes. Those points in Ecliptic where orbit of Moon or planet, cut it. Termed 'ascending' node if body crosses in N'ly direction, and 'descending' if in S'ly direction. Nodical Month. Interval between successive passages of Moon through the same node. Value is 27 d 05 h 05-6 m. Nog. Treenail in heel of a shore supporting a ship on the slip. Nogging. Driving treenails in heel of shore. 'No Higher.' Injunction to helmsman, when under sail, not to come closer to the wind. Nolloth's Ship Clinometer. Hinged instrument with one arm clamped athwartships, in ship's horizontal plane, and one arm pivoted. By sighting horizon along movable arm the angle of roll can be read on a graduated arc. Non-Harmonic. When applied to tidal data and methods, denotes those values and methods based upon, or derived from, observation and experience, and not from harmonic analysis or methods. Non-toppling Block. Ballasted pulley-block used in lower end of a purchase to ensure that purchase can be rounded up without block capsizing. Noon. That instant when true or mean Sun is on the meridian of a place. Named 'apparent' or 'mean', according to the Sun considered. Norfolk Wherry. Large flat-bottomed craft with mast stepped well forward. Carries a large, loose-footed gaff sail abaft mast. Met with on Norfolk Broads and in the vicinity. Normal Centre (of Earth). That point, in Earth's axis, at which a vertical line passing through an observer would meet the axis. Normal Latitude. Angle between plane of Equator and a vertical line passing downwards through an observer. Normand's Formula. Introduced by M. Normand, in 1882, to calculate 'Inch Trim Moment' from area of waterplane, length of load waterline, beam and volume of displacement. Norman Heads. Shaped extremities of cross piece of wooden bitts. Used for taking turns with ropes. Normans. Short lengths of shaped timber put into sprockets of capstan to take turn of a rope that has been led to capstan for heaving. 2. U-shape irons put over whelps of capstan to prevent riding turns in hemp cable. Norte. Cold N'ly wind in Gulf of Mexico. North. Cardinal point of the compass. The direction of that pole of Earth at which an observer would note that direction of Earth's rotation was towards his left hand. North Easter. Gale blowing from a NE'ly point. North East Monsoon Current. Ocean current caused by NE monsoon in Arabian Sea. Sets S along Malabar coast and then SW'ly to African coast, where it meets a northerly stream from Zanzibar. Then sets E'ly across Indian Ocean. North East Passage. Navigable waterway, between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, that passes along north coast of Europe. Discovered by Nordenskiold in 1878-9. Northern Signs. Signs of Zodiac north of Equinoctial. They are those from Aries to Virgo, both inclusive. Northern Waggoner.* Old name for constellation Ursa Major. North Following. In or towards the N to E quadrant of the compass. Formerly used in connection with a pair of observed stars that had not reached the meridian. Northing. Distance, or latitude, made good in a N'ly direction. North Pole. Northern extremity of Earth's axis of rotation. North pole of Equator, or Equinoctial. North Preceding.* In or towards the N to W quadrant of compass. Formerly used in connection with a pair of observed stars that had crossed the meridian north of observer. North Star. Star Polaris a Ursae Minoris. Notary Public. Public official who is authorised to take statements on oath, and who keeps a record of all statements so made. 'Nothing Off.' Injunction to helmsman to keep ship's head close to wind, and not let it fall to leeward. Notice of Abandonment. Formal surrender, by owner, to underwriters of policy on an insured ship that is a constructive total loss. Is a prerequisite to payment of insurance. Notice of Readiness. Written notice, given by Master or agent of an arrived ship, stating ship's readiness to load and approximate amount of cargo required. Delivered to shipper or his agent. Notice to Mariners. Periodical, or casual, notices issued by Hydrographic Department, or other authority, regarding changes in lights, buoys, and other navigational aids; alterations in charted information; menaces to navigation and other matters of importance and urgency to shipping and navigation. Noting a Bill. The recording, by a notary public, that a Bill of Exchange has been presented but not accepted. Noting Protest. Making a statement under oath in the presence of a notary public, and before the full implication of the matter protested is known. By reserving the right to 'extend', the Protest can be amplified as relevant information becomes available. Not Under Command. Said of a vessel when, through some accident, she is not fully under control while under way. Ntepe Dhows. Remarkable craft once built at port of Lamu. They had no stem or sternposts and planking was sewn together with coir twine. They were remarkably weatherly and fast - but very wet. Nuclear Power. Power derived from nuclear fision which generates heat used to produce steam. Chief advantages are that large quantities of bunkers need not be carried and (for submarines) no fresh air is consumed. Number. Flag hoist that indicates a vessel's name. Nunatak. Isolated rocky peak rising from a sheet of inland ice. Nun Buoy. Buoy having the shape of two cones, base to base. Nut (of Anchor). Key piece, on stock, that fits in slot in shank and prevents stock from turning. Nutation. A 'nodding' of Earth's axis during a period of 18 years 220 days. Caused by variation in the Lunisolar gravitational pull on Earth's equatorial bulge - the variation being due to Moon's maximum declination varying between 18° 18' and 28° 36' in the period. Pole of Equinoctial describes a small ellipse about its mean place. The value of nutation is I8 ½ ¢¢ of arc, that is 9 ¼ ¢¢ above or below its mean value. No comments yet. Be the first to add a comment! All logbook LOGBOOK from Aleksandr Makarov LOGBOOK/Maritime industry LOGBOOK/Maritime industry from Aleksandr Makarov
Emma Watson – What is feminism? Emma Watson – What is feminism? Laurence hosted the May meeting and asked her fellow Damsels to learn more about Emma Watson and to come prepared to talk about feminism. She shared the following videos and articles: Emma Watson biography on WikipediaEmma Watson’s speech to the United NationsEmma Watson in conversation with Malala Yousafzai. Laurence was really interested in learning more about feminism after watching Emma’s UN speech and hearing about a movement she supports called HeForShe. To kick off the meeting, the group watched this video showing women from the ages of 5 – 50 explaining what the word feminism means to them: She also shared a chart showing how the use of the word feminism has changed over the years. Next, the Damsels took turns answering some great questions about feminism. Here are a few of the questions and answers that prompted an incredible discussion: • Emma Watson calls herself a feminist. Why? She believes in it and works hard for equality. She believes in equal rights for men and women. Hermonie is a strong female role. She works hard to promote equality with HeForShe. Like she said “If not me, who? If not now, when?”. • Why has the word feminism been used so frequently? People want to be feminists. Unfortunately, some see it as a trend and don’t know what it means. • Is Damsels in Progress a feminist group? Yes, yes, yes. We focus on powerful women who do powerful things for powerful reasons. Not all actions that we take are feminist focused. • Would you call yourself a feminist? Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I think we’re each feminists. I humbly consider myself a feminist. I think we’re all feminists because we’re doing things and we’re not giving up. • What does feminism mean? Equality of the sexes. People who think both sexes should be equal. Men are stereotyped too and can’t talk about some things because they feel like they have to be manly. I think feminism means equality of genders so everyone feels equal as people and human beings. One group should not be more powerful. It used to not be equal, but many women were first (shouting out names): Katherine Switzer, Billie Jean King, Carol Burnett, Patti Smith, Maya Lin, Temple Grandin, Misty Copeland. During this discussion, one of the Damsels asked “Are we a group of feminists or a feminist group?”. They agreed that each of them considers themselves feminist, but that doesn’t necessarily make their group feminist. They looked at their past actions and talked about how they are not all focused on feminist issues, but making a change in the world. Ultimately, they decided that they were both. Next, they brainstormed actions. Here are some of the ideas shared: raise money for HeForShe by holding a craft fair featuring Harry Potter inspired crafts (with a scavenger hunt and raffle included). Make a short movie about HeForShe. Make a video about what they think feminism means. Ultimately, they decided to make and share a video about what feminism means to them. We can’t wait to see it! There was a bit of time left at the end of the meeting, so we talked about what Damsels means to each of them and worked on a motto for the group. As it turns out, they said it earlier when talking about the women they are inspired by and they agreed that it applies to themselves too. The Damsels in Progress are powerful girls doing powerful things for powerful reasons. Laurence also shared a great book that she has been working on chronicling all of the women they have learned about and the actions taken. Finally, they got back to the business of being kids and played some hide and seek while hamming it up for the camera.
Nogai (Nogai people) Nogai (Nogai people) For several centuries B.C., the numerous Turkic tribes, under the general title hun(kun) or Huns, moved to the west and inhabited the land on both sides of the Rivers Yaik and Edil (Volga and Ural). When their leader, Attila died, they were forced to move to the other side of the River Volga, in the Caucasus. In fifth and sixth centuries, the Greek chroniclers Presek and Menander, who lived in Byzantium and Istanbul (Turkey), reported the following (ethnic) names of Huns (Huns): sarogury, onogurs, kotegury, bulgars. One part of bulgars moved on the other side of Danube (protobulgars – Trans.), while another part of the Huns formed the state between the Rivers Volga and Kama - Khazaria 1. The ancestor of khazars-Japhet (Yafs). His branch is Togarmah. Togarma had ten sons: Oyur, Taurys, Auar, Ogyz, Guz, Bezal, Tarna, Khazar, Zanur, Bolgar. In a letter to Yusuf 2, he indicates that they are subordinate to bezhenek (i.e Pincenates). The translator of this letter Professor Harkavy wrote that the Khazar Khanate adopted the Jewish faith (Judaism) and acquired power; it lasted until the ninth century. The guzy-branch Kanli and Kipchaks were identified here. Subsequently, they were called Comans or Cumans. Cumans, along with the Kipchaks and Alshans entered the Jochi Ulus. When the nomadic part of the Jochi Ulus came from the Urals and Kuban to the Don, they were called by the name of Nogai-Khan, cousin of Bereke-Khan. (The name Nogai-Khan is not mentioned in the "Bloodline" of Abulgazi). I think that Nogai-Khan, in fact, is the son of Shaibani-Khan, the son of Jochi. (Bahadur is the real name). In the 15th century they were subordinated to the Khan of the Crimean Tatars. Northeastern Nogai people that remained on the banks of the Urals, formed an independent khanate and subjugated the neighboring Kazakhs during the leadership of Abul Khair Khan. After the death of Ulugh Muhammad (Ormanbet-Khan) and the breakup of the Nogai Horde in the beginning of the 17th century, the Nogai people moved to the Volga, where they fell under the power torgaut people, who came there a bit earlier. Another part of them was subordinated to the Crimean Khanate. After this, the Nogai people were assigned with the names of khans and the names of tribes and regions in which they lived. Thus for example, the Nogai from Volga consisted of nine genera – Mansur, Orak, Mamai, Kasai, Ormambet, Togyz, Ideshek, Idesan, Zhanbaylyk, Carashi (descendants of Esek-biy). The tribes of the Karashi branch – Sherin, Baryn, Argyn, Kipchak. The khan Sahib-Gerey combined them with the tribes of Mansur and Sezheut. In 1865 created a list of the Tauride Province of Crimean County, which includes such tribes as - Argyn, Konyrat, Kipchak, Alshyn, Kanli, Alash, Tama, Kereyt, Boz ogli, Ongar Naiman, Kart Kozhak, Koshen and Toksaba. In 1883, after the Crimea was annexed to Russia, the Crimean Nogai began to migrate to Turks who were subordinated to Turkey. They increased their number to 500,000. Astrakhan Tatars and Volzhsk Kondurs call themselves the descendants of Kasbolat and Kasay and natives of the Nogai. Apparently, they are the sons of Nogai-Khan. Their tribes: As, Tobet, Naiman, Zhagalbayly, Mangit, Ergenekty, Kereyt. The Khan of Torgauts Donduk Amba brought these Kondurian Tatars here from Kuban. Today the Kumyks and Karachai live in Caucasus. The scientist Klaprot believes that they are composed on half from the Khazars and half from the Nogai. Among the Stavropol Nogai found a small part of the Turkmen. The Chuvash people live in Kazan, Samara, Simbirsk, Saratov and Orenburg. Arab historians call them bortas. They are the descendants of the union of the tribes of ancient Turks and Cermes. Their language is a bit different from the ancient Turk. The barbinsk Tatars live in the interfluve of Irtysh and Ob Rivers. They are of mixed blood of the Turks and Ugric peoples. Their tribes: Terene, Tari, Baraba, Kolebe, Lunga, Sol, Kargali. Siberian Tatars live in the Tobolsk province. They came here in the 16th and 17th centuries along with the Nogai and Kazakh sultans in order to trade with Bulgars and Sarts. When these lands were ceded to Russian, they stayed there. The tribes of Tatar (Nogai): Torali, Ayala, Kordek, Sargat; Tobolsk - Kordek, Estek, Togyz, Shualshyk, Yaskalbe. Most of them - our Ozbek-Sarts. 1 Khazar Khanate, the first feudal state that was created in Eastern Europe. Khazaria existed for about 300 years, from the second half of the 7th century until the mid-10. S.A. Pletnev. Khazars. M., 1976, p. 3. 2 This refers to the letter of the king (Khazars) Joseph, a copy of which was first published by the orientalist A.J. Harkavy in 1874 See: Kokovtsev P.K. Jewish-Khazar correspondence in the tenth century. L., 1932. He (Joseph Hagan) said that his people are the descendants of Togarmah, the son of Japheth (in Hebrew literature all Turkic peoples were called Togarmy (Togars). According to the information of Joseph, Togarma had 10 sons: Agiyor (Aviyor or Uyur), Tir-c (Turis), Avar (Avaz), Ugin (Uguz), Biz-L, Khazar, Znur (Yanur) B-l-g-d (B-l-g-r), Savir-Pletnev. Khazars ... p. 7. 3 The separation of the Nogai Horde began in the second half of the 13th century. The process continued in the 14th century during the presence of Emir Edyg and finished by his son Nur al-Din (1426-1440).-History of the Kazakh SSR, v. 2, p. 182... From the book of Shakarim Kudayberdy-uly "Genealogy of Turks, Kyrgyz, Kazakhs and their Khan dynasties". Translation by B. Kairbekov. - Alma-Ata, Dastan JV, 1990 To leave comment you must enter or register
EEG system used to reveal sensitive personal info - Brainwave analysis identified some alcoholics in the group 09/12/2016 - 17:45 Megan Scudellari Fingerprints can be stolen, iris scans spoofed, and facial recognition software fooled. It has become increasingly challenging to unassailably authenticate a person’s identity, so academic teams have turned to brain waves as the next step in biometric identification. Many of these efforts seek to outdo one another, boasting how accurately and accessibly they can verify a person’s identity using electroencephalograph (EEG) data. Ref: Your Substance Abuse Disorder is an Open Secret! Gleaning Sensitive Personal Information from Templates in an EEG-based Authentication System. 8th IEEE International Conference on Biometrics: Theory, Applications, and Systems
ap bio essays cell transport AP. ®. BIOLOGY. 2007 SCORING GUIDELINES. Question 1. Membranes are essential components of all cells. (a) Identify THREE macromolecules that are ... Transport. Recognition. Tight junction. Desmosomes. Gap junctions. Integrins. Enzyme. Channel. General Structure. • Polypeptides; amino acids. •. , , structure. AP BIOLOGY EXAM ESSAY (FREE RESPONSE) QUESTIONS. General ... a. describe the transport process and explain how the organization of cell membranes functions in the movement of specific molecules across membranes, and ... Explain how membranes participate in THREE of the following biological processes . The plasma membrane of cells regulates the movement of all compounds into and out of the cell. In all types of transport involving the cell, this selective permeable membrane controls everything that can enter and exit the cell. Certain small compounds lacking a charge like O2, N2, H2O, and CO2 can easily pass through AP Biology Essay Questions page 7. 44. Describe the production and processing of a protein that will be exported from a eukaryotic cell. Begin with the separation of the messenger RNA from the DNA template and end with the release of the protein at the plasma membrane. 45. Describe the effects of plant hormones on AP Biology. Unit 2 Practice Free Response. Question: 1. Cells transport substances across their membranes. Choose three of the following four types of cellular transport. Osmosis. Active Transport. Facilitated Diffusion. Endocytosis/Exocytosis. For each of the three transport types you choose, a) Describe the transport Unit 2 Practice Free Response. In most eukaryotic cells, chemical bond energy in glucose is eventually. describe the transport process and explain how the organization of cell membranes functions in the movement of specific molecules across AP Biology. Describe the effects of plant hormones on. Chapter 4 Cell Structure -cell to cell attachments- communication. hydrophobic nonpolar molecules. can dissolve in the membrane and cross. ions and polar molecules. passed through transport proteins. passive transport: simple diffusion. movement of molecules down a concentration gradient,no energy required. osmosis (form of passive/simple Start studying Ap bio FRQ Cell transport. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. All rights reserved. Visit: www.layingthefoundation.org. AP. *. BIOLOGY. CELL MEMBRANES,. TRANSPORT, and. COMMUNICATION. Teacher Packet ... Photosynthesis is addressed in the topic outline of the College Board AP Biology Course ... and consistently make up portions the free response section of the exam. alpha process nucleosynthesis advanced essay writing admission essay for nursing action research in education sample paper an inspector calls coursework notes an example of essay conclusion ang asin kapaligiran essay anthropology term papers anarchism and other essays goldman pdf ap beowulf essay questions analogy essay about life admission essay writers antithesis of goofus in highlights for children abusive relationships essays anorexia nervosa research papers anthropology essay ideas anglo-saxon research papers afghanistan photo essay admissions essay psychology an essay about community service anthropology doctoral dissertation american society of human genetics essay contest advantages and disadvantages of cinema essays annoying siblings essay american foreign service association essay Maecenas aliquet accumsan Or visit this link or this one
Quotation Explorer - 'Emancipation' Suffering is just about the easiest of all human activities; being happy is just about the hardest. And happiness requires, not surrender to guilt, but emancipation from guilt. - Nathaniel Branden Emancipation from suffering is your birthright. - Erin Fall Haskell Emancipation of mind is the greatest liberty. - Lailah Gifty Akita Pregressive art can assist people to learn not only about the objective forces at work in the society in which they live, but also about the intensity social character of their interior lives. Ultimately, it can propel people toward social emancipation - Angela Y. Davis Emancipation was a proclamation, but not a fact. - Lyndon B. Johnson EMANCIPATION, n. A bondman's change from the tyranny of another to the despotism of himself. He was a slave: at word he went and came; His iron collar cut him to the bone. Then Liberty erased his owner's name, Tightened the rivets and inscribed his own. G.J. - Ambrose Bierce A study of the history of opinion is a necessary preliminary to the emancipation of the mind. - John Maynard Keynes Women’s history is the primary tool for women’s emancipation. - Gerda Lerner The emancipation of the working class can only be achieved by the working class itself without the assistance of governments. - pierre-jospeh proudhon
Knowledge Center Knowledge Center Spread Spectrum A secure method of transmitting data wirelessly. The wireless arena has had a leg up when it comes to securing data transmission for a long time because of spread spectrum. Securing RF transmissions via spread spectrum has been around since WWI. In fact, the theory was first mentioned in a 1908 book by German radio pioneer Jonathan Zenneck and a primitive form was used by the German military in WWI. However, perhaps the best known and the most celebrated development was when actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Anthell developed a reasonably complex (for that time) version and received a U.S. patent for it in 1941. However, it really didn’t come to pass until a few decades later when the U.S. Navy implemented that technology in its communications rigs during the Cuban missile crisis. After that, the U.S. military awoke to its phenomenal ability to code transmissions and make them virtually bulletproof. It has been relying on spread spectrum as a primary security scheme for RF communications ever since. In fact it can be called the single most significant development that launched the digital age of communications. Applying spread spectrum technology to RF transmissions is an extremely effective method of securing both wireless voice and data at the hardware level. It is a very robust TX/RX technology that is inherently immune to inter-symbol interference (ISI), reflections, noise and other environmental factors, as well as jamming. While mainly used by the military in voice radios until the last decade or so, it is how being implemented in various consumer and commercial technologies. All types of radio-based systems, such as Bluetooth, hobby radio control, Wi-Fi, WiMax wireless local area network (WLANs), broadband wireless access (BWA), near-field communications (NFC) and radio-frequency identification (RFID – especially collision avoidance) are all being fitted with spread spectrum hardware. Types of Spread Spectrum Spread spectrum comes in two flavors, direct sequence (DSSS) and frequency hopping (FHSS). Both technologies work equally well in benign environments, but at the fringe, i.e., crowded frequencies, cell edges, and areas with la lot of interfering objects, FHSS is more robust and forgiving. The major advantage of DSSS is that it offers better capacity. DSSS capacity comes at a price, though – environmental sensitivity. DSSS is influenced by many environment factors (the most problematic is reflections) so it isn’t the best choice in dense environments with lots of structures. It works best in point to multipoint for short-distance installations, or point to point in longer distance topologies. In these cases, advantage goes to higher capacity offered by DSSS technology, because reflections, the primary degradation element, can be minimized. As such, typical DSSS applications include indoor office WLANs, building-to-building links, point of presence (PoP) to base station links, and the like. The robustness of FHSS technology makes it highly immune to the influences of noises, reflections, nearby RF signals and other environment factors. FHSS can support a much higher number of simultaneously active systems in the same geographic area (co-located systems) than DSSS. These metrics make FHSS the technology of choice for large-area cover where a high number of co-located systems are required. The one caveat is that directional antennas must be used to minimize the influence of environment factors. Typical applications for FHSS include cellular deployments for fixed broadband wireless access (BWA), which is expanding at phenomenal rates as small cell deployments come on line. How the Technology Works Spread spectrum relies on a handshake between the transmitter and receiver to pass a synchronizing code back and forth. It synchronizes a “key” that only the transmitter(s) and receiver(s) know. Once the key is synchronized and all transmitters and receivers have it, the information can be sent. Only the key holders know the spreading and de-spreading codes that modulated the information. To any other receivers, the information just looks like noise. This is why spread spectrum is such a useful and secure technology for any number of wireless communications links, and an ideal security lock for autonomous IoT objects. In DSSS, each bit of the original signal is represented by multiple bits in the transmitted signal. A spreading code is injected that spreads the signal across a wider frequency band. The spread is in direct proportion to number of bits used (see Figure 2), with the energy in the information “spread” across a width. The integral value of the power remains the same, just spread across the wider bandwidth. Mathematically, it can be expressed as: (assuming binary phase-shift keying [BPSK]) sd(t) = A d(t) cos(2Ï€ fct) by c(t) [takes values +1, -1] âˆ´ s(t) = A d(t)c(t) cos(2Ï€ fct) A = amplitude of signal fc = carrier frequency d(t) = discrete function [+1, -1] At the receiver, the incoming signal multiplied by c(t), since, c(t) x c(t) = 1. This is the original signal, recovered. For FHSS, the technique is a bit different. Rather than spread the signal over a single wideband frequency, FHSS breaks the signal into multiple “pieces” and spreads them over multiple frequencies (see Figure 3). If the signal is viewed with a spectrum analyzer, is appears as a random series of RF frequencies with a tiny “blip” appearing on each frequency. That blip is a piece of the information being transmitted. In reality, a pseudorandom code is used. It is not truly random since the receiver must be able to generate the same code as the transmitter, so there must be the ability to synchronize codes prior to the information broadcast. However, many references use the term random code. Since the blips appear randomly on multiple frequencies, it is impossible to collect and decode the bits of information in the original sequence and understand it. Again, it’s a very secure method of transmitting data. Even if there is an attempt to jam the signal, the chances of knocking out more than a few bits is extremely small. As a result, reconstruction of the data is generally very successful, even if jamming is attempted. Depending upon a set of criterion, a number of channels are allocated to the transmission. How many channels are allocated depends upon a number of variables, but it is related to the bandwidth of input signal. The transmitter sets up the process, starts the hopping sequence, and sets the timing to hop the signals from frequency to frequency at fixed intervals, one channel at a time. The bits are transmitted using a predetermined encoding scheme. At the next interval, a new carrier frequency is selected, and the bits are transmitted on that one. The process repeats until all the data is sent.
Visual design \| Motion graphcis Discovering ID Curriculum Online Companion A comprehensive brand identity and visual style for this online curriculum companion. Video Introductions The online companion to the DID curriculum is split up into 6 different sections. Each section features a video introduction aligned with the visual style of the companion. This consistency sets the tone for the student, so they understand the section breaks and know what to expect from the section ahead. Illustration animations Every video is narrated, but instead of watching a talking head for 3-5 minutes, we created a series of motion graphics and illustrations that played over the narration, adding visual interest and aiding in the description of the complex scientific principles. (Illustrations are a mixture of my own, and stock imagery). Editorial Design Every chapter came with an accompanying guide, which aligned with the visual style of the online curriculum companion as a whole.
Today on New Scientist 作者：缑咩劣发布时间：2017-04-11 01:00:18 Teen jabs to prevent cervical cancer stall in US Only 33 per cent of eligible US girls are getting all the vaccinations to protect them from human papillomavirus, well short of the 80 per cent target Wacky spaces: The odd orbits that boost rocket trips Go direct or take the scenic route? Whether you’re taking a trip to the space station or into deep space, it’s a dilemma for space travellers too DNA fails to take off Even crucial science doesn’t necessarily translate into an exciting exhibition, to judge by Genome: Unlocking life’s code, an exhibition in Washington DC Natural chemical boosts organ regeneration A group of acids found in the body can help heal wounds and boost organs regeneration after surgery Monogamy evolved to keep baby-killers away Males and females of most mammal species don’t stay together for life, but many primates do. We now have a good idea what drove them to evolve monogamy Crocodiles may need their fruity five-a-day At least half of all species of alligator and crocodile supplement their meaty diet with the flesh of fruit, but is it because they eat fruit-loving prey? Shiny new teeth concocted from mice and human urine Human stem cells from urine have been coaxed to develop into teeth inside the kidneys of mice NASA rushes spacesuit repair kit to space station In the astronaut’s answer to ordering from the hardware store, Copyright © 网站地图
A hallmark is an official mark struck on items made of precious metals. This guarantees the purity or fineness of the metal. Hallmarks are a legal requirement on products of a certain weight, depending on the metal being marked. The UK Compulsory Hallmark comprises of three component marks: Sponsor's Mark, Millesimal Fineness Mark and Assay Office Mark. Hallmarking Example Example of Compulsory Hallmarks L-R: Sponsor's Mark, Millesimal Fineness, Assay Office This is the registered mark of the company or person that submitted the article for hallmarking. It is formed of initials of that person or company, the shape varies, and a minimum of two initials must be included. Every mark is unique. This mark tells you what quality, the metal is, as well as its the metal type. This numerical format was introduced in 1999 and shows the precious metal content of the article, expressed in parts per thousand. The shape of the surrounding shield indicates metal type. In the Gold Fineness mark, 375 is 9 carat, 585 is 14 carat, 750 is 18 carat and 916 is 22 carat. In the Silver Fineness mark, 925 is Sterling. There are four Assay Offices operating in the UK today: London; represented by the leopard’s head, Edinburgh; represented by a three-towered castle, Birmingham; represented by an anchor and Sheffield; represented by the Yorkshire Rose.
Foot & Ankle Digits (toes/phalanges) and metatarsals (long bones of the forefoot) – There are many different kinds of fractures that can happen to the bones of the forefoot and toes. They are painful but often heal without the need for surgery. The metatarsals are prone to stress fractures, or cracks in the bone. These are usually related to a recent increase or change in activity. The fifth metatarsal below the small toe may fracture if it is landed on badly or if the ligament of a twisted ankle pulls off a piece of the bone. Symptoms of a toe or metatarsal fracture include pain that gets worse when walking; swelling; and sometimes bruising. Lisfranc joint (midfoot) - Often caused by dropping something heavy on the top of the foot or by falling after catching the foot in a hole. Symptoms are similar to a sprain and include swelling and pain at the top of the foot; bruising; possible inability to bear weight; and pain when moving the foot while the ankle is held steady. If you think you have a sprain and it does not improve with rest and ice after one to two days, you may have a Lisfranc joint fracture and should see a doctor to prevent further injury. Calcaneus (heel) - Usually the result of an automobile accident or fall from a great height. Symptoms include pain on the outside of the ankle or under the heel; inability to bear weight; swelling and stiffness. May be accompanied by back or knee injury due to the amount of force required to break the heel bone. Ankle - Like severely sprained ankles, broken ankles are often caused by a fall, injury or car accident. Symptoms that one or more of the three bones that make up the ankle may be fractured are: severe pain in the ankle; swelling; bruising; tenderness; inability to bear weight; and deformity of the joint. May be accompanied by dislocation or ligament damage (sprain). Like any other joint in the body, the ankle can be affected by arthritis, a chronic condition that can cause pain, swelling and stiffness and an eventual loss of motion in the affected area. The ankle is the joint that connects the shinbone (tibia) to the upper bone of the foot (talus). Although the ankle is not affected by arthritis as commonly as other joints such as the hand and hip, it is still a serious condition that can cause severe pain for those affected. Treatment for ankle arthritis depends on the type and severity of the condition, but usually begins with the most conservative methods. Some patients may experience relief from their symptoms by wearing more comfortable shoes, wearing cushioned shoe inserts, limiting impact activities and wearing a brace. Anti-inflammatory medication and cortisone injections are often helpful in relieving pain temporarily, especially during flare ups. If these treatments are unsuccessful, patients may benefit from more advanced treatments such as ankle arthroscopy, ankle fusion surgery or ankle replacement surgery. Your doctor will determine which treatment option is best for you based on your individual condition. There is a ligament along the bottom of the foot called the plantar fascia that stretches from the heel to the base of the toes. If the ligament is forced to stretch beyond its limit, it may become inflamed and result in heel pain. This condition is called plantar fasciitis. Patients often complain of discomfort in the heel, the arch of the foot, or the back of the leg when walking. The pain is usually worst when getting up after sitting or lying down for a while. Bone spurs are a common complication of plantar fasciitis. These bony calcium growths on the bottom of the heel form where the plantar fascia pulls on the heel bone. Spurs don’t usually cause pain themselves, but they are often a good indicator of the severity and age of the underlying problem. Risk factors for developing plantar fasciitis and heel spurs include overuse during exercise, standing or walking for many hours a day, having naturally tight calf muscles, wearing shoes with high heels, and having flat feet or very high arches. For more information on problems of the foot & ankle and the treatments we provide, please call the office nearest you.
10 Fascinating Facts About Butterflies Did you know butterflies taste with their feet? Butterfly sipping nectar. Steven Allen/The Image Bank/Getty Images People love watching colorful butterflies float from flower to flower. From the tiniest blues to the largest swallowtails, how much do you really know about these insects? Here are 10 fascinating facts about butterflies. Butterfly wings are transparent How can that be? We know butterflies as perhaps the most colorful, vibrant insects around! A butterfly's wings are covered by thousands of tiny scales, and these scales reflect light in different colors. But underneath all of those scales, a butterfly wing is actually formed by layers of chitin, the same protein that makes up an insect's exoskeleton. These layers are so thin you can see right through them. As a butterfly ages, scales fall off the wings, leaving spots of transparency where the chitin layer is exposed. Butterflies taste with their feet Butterflies have taste receptors on their feet to help them find their host plants and locate food. A female butterfly lands on different plants, drumming the leaves with her feet until the plant releases its juices. Spines on the back of her legs have chemoreceptors that detect the right match of plant chemicals. When she identified the right plant, she lays her eggs. A butterfly will also step on its food, using organs that sense dissolved sugars to taste food sources like fermenting fruit. Butterflies live on an all-liquid diet Speaking of butterflies eating, adult butterflies can only feed on liquids, usually nectar. Their mouthparts are modified to enable them to drink, but they can't chew solids. A proboscis, which functions as a drinking straw, stays curled up under the butterfly's chin until it finds a source of nectar or other liquid nutrition. It then unfurls the long, tubular structure and sips up a meal. A few butterflies feed on sap, and some even resort to sipping from decaying carrion. No matter the meal, they suck it up a straw. A butterfly must assemble its proboscis as soon as it emerges from the chrysalis A butterfly that can't drink nectar is doomed. One of its first jobs as an adult butterfly is to assemble its mouthparts. When a new adult emerges from the pupal case or chrysalis, its mouth is in two pieces. Using palpi located adjacent to the proboscis, the butterfly begins working the two parts together to form a single, tubular proboscis. You may see a newly emerged butterfly curling and uncurling the proboscis over and over, testing it out. Butterflies drink from mud puddles A butterfly cannot live on sugar alone; it needs minerals, too. To supplement its diet of nectar, a butterfly will occasionally sip from mud puddles, which are rich in minerals and salts. This behavior, called puddling, occurs more often in male butterflies, which incorporate the minerals into their sperm. These nutrients are then transferred to the female during mating, and help improve the viability of her eggs. Butterflies can't fly if they're cold Butterflies need an ideal body temperature of about 85ºF to fly. Since they're cold-blooded animals, they can't regulate their own body temperatures. The surrounding air temperature has a big impact on their ability to function. If the air temperature falls below 55ºF, butterflies are rendered immobile, unable to flee from predators or feed. When air temperatures range between 82º-100ºF, butterflies can fly with ease. Cooler days require a butterfly to warm up its flight muscles, either by shivering or basking in the sun. Even sun-loving butterflies can get overheated when temperatures soar above 100° F and may seek shade to cool down. A newly emerged butterfly can't fly Butterflies live just a few weeks, usually Once it emerges from its chrysalis as an adult, a butterfly has only 2-4 short weeks to live, in most cases. During that time, it focuses all its energy on two tasks – eating and mating. Some of the smallest butterflies, the blues, may only survive a few days. Butterflies that overwinter as adults, like monarchs and mourning cloaks, can live as long as 9 months. Butterflies are nearsighted, but they can see and discriminate a lot of colors Within about 10-12 feet, butterfly eyesight is quite good. Anything beyond that distance gets a little blurry to a butterfly, though. Butterflies rely on their eyesight for vital tasks, like finding mates of the same species and finding flowers on which to feed. In addition to seeing some of the colors we can see, butterflies can see a range of ultraviolet colors invisible to the human eye. The butterflies themselves may have ultraviolet markings on their wings to help them identify one another and locate potential mates. Flowers, too, display ultraviolet markings that act as traffic signals to incoming pollinators like butterflies – "pollinate me!" Butterflies employ all kinds of tricks to keep from being eaten Butterflies rank pretty low on the food chain, with lots of hungry predators happy to make a meal of them. Some butterflies fold their wings to blend into the background, using camouflage to render themselves all but invisible to predators. Others try the opposite strategy, wearing vibrant colors and patterns that boldly announce their presence. Bright colored insects often pack a toxic punch if eaten, so predators learn to avoid them. Some butterflies aren't toxic at all, but pattern themselves after other species known for their toxicity. By mimicking their foul-tasting cousins, they repel predators.
Sun Banner Overview: Fundamental Technologies, LLC, of Lawrence, Kansas, is the official production center for Ulysses HISCALE data. The following gives a brief explanation of the Ulysses Mission, and the types of instruments included in its scientific payload. Please view the Ulysses HISCALE Data Analysis Handbook for more information. Mission Background: The primary purpose of the Ulysses mission, a joint venture between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), was to explore the inner heliosphere of the sun away from the ecliptic plane. This mission was unique in that the spacecraft traveled over the solar poles, exploring regions of the sun in a manner not previously attempted. Scientific Payload: The Ulysses scientific payload consisted of nine experiments: BAM SWPE Solar wind plasma GLG SWICS Solar-wind ion composition spectrometer HED FGM/VHM Magnetic field flux-gate/vector helium magnetometers KEP EPAC/GAS Energetic particle composition and neutral gas SIM COSPIN Cosmic ray and solar charged particles HUS GRB Solar x-rays/cosmic gamma ray bursts GRU DUST Cosmic dust STO URAP Unified radio and plasma waves LAN HISCALE Low energy ions and electrons The HISCALE instrument consists of five telescope apertures which use the spin of the spacecraft to sweep the full sky: Two Low Energy Magnetic Spectrometers (LEMS) Measure flux and direction of ions greater than 50 keV Two Low Energy Foil Spectrometers (LEFS) Measure flux and direction of electrons above 30 keV One Composition Aperture (CA) Measures elemental composition of the ions Additional information at Fundamental Technologies, LLC: Updated 1/2/19, Cameron Crane Manufacturer: ESA provided the Ulysses spacecraft, NASA provided the power supply, and various others provided its instruments. Mission End Date: June 30, 2009 Destination: The inner heliosphere of the sun away from the ecliptic plane Orbit: Elliptical orbit transversing the polar regions of the sun outside of the ecliptic plane
Back to Index Newcastle - Gateshead Newcastle upon Tyne is the most populous city in the North East of England and Tyneside the seventh most populous conurbation in the United Kingdom. The city developed around a Roman settlement and was named after the castle built in 1080. The city grew as an important centre for the wool trade in the 14th century, and later became a major coal mining area. The port developed in the 16th century and, along with the shipyards lower down the River Tyne, was amongst the world's largest shipbuilding and ship-repairing centres. The first recorded settlement in what is now Newcastle was Pons Aelius, a Roman fort and bridge across the River Tyne. It was given the family name of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who founded it in the 2nd century AD. This rare honour suggests that Hadrian may have visited the site and instituted the bridge on his tour of Britain. Fragments of Hadrian's Wall are still visible in parts of Newcastle, particularly along the West Road. After the Roman departure from Britain, completed in 410, Newcastle became part of the powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, and became known throughout this period as Monkchester. A series of conflicts with the Danes in 876 left the river Tyne and its settlements in ruin. After the conflicts with the Danes, and following the 1088 rebellion against the Normans, Monkchester was all but destroyed by Odo of Bayeux. Because of its strategic position, Robert Curthose, son of William the Conqueror, erected a wooden castle there in the year 1080 and the town was henceforth known as Novum Castellum or New Castle. The wooden structure was replaced by a stone castle in 1087 and the castle was rebuilt again in 1172 during the reign of Henry II. In large parts, Newcastle still retains a medieval street layout. Narrow alleys or 'chares', most of which can only be traversed by foot, still exist in abundance, particularly around the riverside. Stairs from the riverside to higher parts of the city centre and the extant Castle Keep, originally recorded in the 14th century, remain intact in places. Close, Sandhill and Quayside contain modern buildings as well as structures dating from the 15th-18th centuries. The city has an extensive neoclassical centre largely developed in the 1830s by Richard Grainger and John Dobson, and recently extensively restored. Pevsner describes Grey Street as one of the finest streets in England - the street curves down from Grey's Monument towards the valley of the River Tyne and was voted England's finest street in 2005 in a survey of BBC Radio 4 listeners. · Home Page · Site Map · What's New ·
The Prophets Test \| Final Test - Hard Buy The Prophets Lesson Plans Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________ Short Answer Questions 1. Heschel said that some of the beliefs that the prophets were frauds came from an era when people wanted what? 2. Heschel contends that the prophets were in what state of mind when they received God's call? 3. In early Israel, the gift of poetry was regarded as what? 4. What does Heschel say is an end to indifference? 5. Some writers in the Bible say that emotions and feelings have been inspired by whom? Short Essay Questions 1. Does Heschel say God always been considered a loving and good God? 2. Who was Marcion? 3. What does Heschel describe as the end to indifference? 4. To what does Heschel compare the descriptions of prophecy? 5. Describe one theory of the state of mind of the prophets at the time they were receiving the words of God. 6. How does Heschel think much of the Bible should be looked at? 7. What is Democritus's view of poets and divine inspiration? 8. What is anthropopathy? 9. What is one difference between apathy and pathos, as explained by Heschel? 10. How does Heschel describe Tao as an antithesis to the prophetic idea of God? Essay Topics Write an essay for ONE of the following topics: Essay Topic 1 Define and discuss anthropopathy and anthropomorphism. In your discussion, give examples. What does Heschel say the problem is with anthropopathy? Essay Topic 2 Describe Heschel's theory of pathos. Discuss what Heschel means when he says that the basis for the relationship of God and man is the divine pathos. Essay Topic 3 Discuss what type of man the prophet is in the Old Testament. Use examples from the prophets discussed the in the book to illustrate your points. Why were they prophets? What was their purpose? (see the answer keys) This section contains 517 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) Buy The Prophets Lesson Plans The Prophets from BookRags. (c)2019 BookRags, Inc. All rights reserved. Follow Us on Facebook
Eat Well Waste Less pilot study Supporting the findings in the Healthy Sustainable Eating and Food Waste research, workshops were run with two community groups to explore food consumption and food waste generation in lower income groups. Participants were helped to make best use of their food budget and the food they buy. The workshops were aimed at helping people: • increase the consumption of foods such as fruit, and vegetables, nuts, pulses, and wholegrains, based on the UK Government’s Eatwell Guide; • get advice on portioning, using leftovers, shopping smarter to reduce costs; and • reduce the quantity of food waste generated. Most participants (74%) made changes to their diet, in line with the workshop guidance on healthy sustainable eating. There was a 73% increase in the number eating ‘5-a-day portions of fruit and vegetables. Overall the amount of food wasted reduced by 7%. Read the report Healthy Sustainable Eating and Food Waste Eating healthily sustainably and conveniently An improved picture of the UK diet Sustainable Eating: WRAP's work
It's become a viral challenge with the colder weather across the country but people are getting injured trying to throw boiling water into the air to freeze People have been going to the emergency room when the experiments haven't gone as planned. The polar vortex that brought super-cold weather to parts of the country has had people filming themselves as they try and get boiling water to instantly freeze as they release it into the air. But with the water that doesn't freeze, there's been injuries to feet, arms, hands, and faces. There's been wind gusts have blown the boiling water back in people's faces. And various degrees of burns have been reported. Getting water on your skin in such cold weather can increase the risk of injury. It can make the freezing process faster and result in a cold injury to the skin. We're having our run of cold weather locally - but lets leave the boiling water inside for a steamy bowl of soup to keep warm.
Cooling Without Electricity Comments Off on Cooling Without Electricity Cooling Without Electricity Today, it’s estimated that worldwide electricity costs total roughly $2.5 trillion a year and that cooling systems consume 15% of that electricity. With experts forecasting demand for cooling to grow ten-fold by 2050, that means electricity expenditure for cooling alone could rise to nearly $4 trillion per year. Therefore, improving the efficiency of cooling systems is a critical part of the twenty-first-century energy challenge. Fortunately, there appears to an extremely clever and cost-effective way of doing just that. Here’s how it works. All objects give off heat in the form of thermal radiation. But the air around them, mainly because of water molecules, absorbs and radiates back most of that heat. However, a sliver of those emissions in the mid-infrared range, can slip past these compounds, enabling surfaces that emit radiation at those wavelengths to become cooler than the surrounding air. A team of Stanford researchers developed a thin film tuned to radiate infrared heat in exactly this band. Then, in an even bigger advance, they coupled those radiative properties with reflective ones, enabling the materials to throw back nearly all the heat in sunlight. That’s crucial because without this reflective capability, the sun would more than offset the radiative cooling effect during the daytime. Recently, the team demonstrated that retrofitting radiative panels to an office building could cut its cooling electricity needs by 21 percent in summer. Extrapolated to the expected global electricity demand for cooling in 2050, that amounts to roughly $800 billion a year. To commercialize this technology, team members Shanhui Fan, Aaswath Raman and Eli Goldstein, founded a company called SkyCool Systems. The underlying scientific phenomenon called “radiative sky cooling” is a natural process that everyone and everything does, when their molecules release heat. You can witness it for yourself in the heat that comes off a road as it cools after sunset. This phenomenon is particularly noticeable on a cloudless night because, without clouds, the heat we and everything around us radiates can more easily make it through Earth’s atmosphere, all the way to the vast, cold reaches of space. If you have something that is very cold, like outer space, and you can dissipate heat into it, then you can do cooling without any electricity or work. The heat just flows! For this reason, the amount of heat continuously flowing off the Earth into the universe is enormous. But on a hot, sunny day, radiative sky cooling doesn’t work that well for the human body or for most other objects... To continue reading, become a paid subscriber for full access. Already a Trends Magazine subscriber? Login for full access now. Subscribe for as low as $195/year • Get 12 months of Trends that will impact your business and your life • Gain access to the entire Trends Research Library • Optional Trends monthly CDs in addition to your On-Line access • Receive our exclusive "Trends Investor Forecast 2015" as a free online gift • If you do not like what you see, you can cancel anytime and receive a 100% full refund
Home / Commentary / Walter Williams: Is Congress Committing ‘Legalized’ Theft? Walter Williams: Is Congress Committing ‘Legalized’ Theft? Frederic Bastiat, a French economist and member of the French National Assembly, lived from 1801 to 1850. He had great admiration for our country, except for our two faults — slavery and tariffs. He said: “Look at the United States. There is no country in the world where the law is kept more within its proper domain: the protection of every person’s liberty and property.” If Bastiat were alive today, he would not have that same level of admiration. The U.S. has become what he fought against for most of his short life. Bastiat observed that “when plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.” You might ask, “What did Bastiat mean by ‘plunder’?” Plunder is when someone forcibly takes the property of another. That’s private plunder. What he truly railed against was legalized plunder, and he told us how to identify it. He said: “See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime.” That could describe today’s American laws. We enthusiastically demand that the U.S. Congress forcibly use one American to serve the purposes of another American. You say: “Williams, that’s insulting. It’s no less than saying that we Americans support a form of slavery!” What then should we call it when two-thirds to three-quarters of a $4 trillion-plus federal budget can be described as Congress taking the property of one American and giving it to another to whom it does not belong? Where do you think Congress gets the billions upon billions of dollars for business and farmer handouts? What about the billions handed out for Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, housing allowances and thousands of other handouts? There’s no Santa Claus or tooth fairy giving Congress the money, and members of Congress are not spending their own money. The only way Congress can give one American $1 is to first take it from another American. What if I privately took the property of one American to give to another American to help him out? I’m guessing and hoping you’d call it theft and seek to jail me. When Congress does the same thing, it’s still theft. The only difference is that it’s legalized theft. However, legality alone does not establish morality. Slavery was legal; was it moral? Nazi, Stalinist and Maoist purges were legal, but were they moral? Some argue that Congress gets its authority to bypass its enumerated powers from the general welfare clause. There are a host of proofs that the Framers had no such intention. James Madison, the “Father of the Constitution,” wrote, “If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the general welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one.” Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Our tenet ever was … that Congress had not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but were restrained to those specifically enumerated.” Rep. William Drayton of South Carolina asked in 1828, “If Congress can determine what constitutes the general welfare and can appropriate money for its advancement, where is the limitation to carrying into execution whatever can be effected by money?” What about our nation’s future? Alexis de Tocqueville is said to have predicted, “The American republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.” We long ago began ignoring Bastiat’s warning when the federal government was just a tiny fraction of gross domestic product — 3 percent, as opposed to today’s 20 percent: “If you don’t take care, what begins by being an exception tends to become general, to multiply itself, and to develop into a veritable system.” Moral Americans are increasingly confronted with Bastiat’s dilemma: “When law and morality contradict each other, the citizen has the cruel alternative of either losing his moral sense or losing his respect for the law.” Check Also Larry Elder: It Is Time for ‘Jexodus’ Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., denies that anti-Semitism is “on the rise” within the Democratic Party. … 1. My compliments, Professor Williams. This history lesson and article on ‘Legalized theft’ is very sobering. The Titanic is sinking and there is nothing we can do about it. Our country will NOT repent of its ways as a whole, and not even another civil war can stop it. We are to be the next Venezuela, … or worse. God, please help us to see. • LOL! (NOT) I usually say that I would ask God to help America but, with God having been kicked to the curb in this country, I’m pretty well satisfied that He is letting ‘us’ fend for ourselves! 2. Ahh, me man Walter, you are not president for why? Alexander Fraser Tytler (1747-1813) Leave a Reply
Gateway theory is the hypothesis that exposure to entry level drugs such as tobacco, alcohol and marijuana reliably predicts a deeper and more severe drug involvement for the user in the future (O’Brien Lecture). For the sake of this discussion, I will refer to marijuana as the gateway drug. Gateway theory is comprised of three propositions: Sequencing, Association, and Causation. Sequencing refers to the idea that there is a relationship between two drugs, where the use of one is regularly initiated before the use of the other. For example, most cocaine users used marijuana before moving on to the harder drug cocaine. Marijuana and cocaine, respectively, were used in sequence. The association proposition suggests that use of one drug increases the probability of use of a second drug. An example would be that marijuana users are 15 times more likely to use heroine than non-users (O’Brien Lecture). Finally, causation implies that there is something inherent in the pharmacology of one drug and its interaction with the brain that actually causes the use and dependence on more dangerous drugs without the intervention of any outside factors or variables (Goode 252-253). Causation infers that using marijuana and getting “high” alters the mind in a way such that the user will move on to heroine in the future. Of these three propositions, I believe that causation is the easiest to refute. There is no pharmacological basis to suggest that marijuana itself alters the mind in a way that makes a user “wired” for harder drug use (O’Brien Lecture). However, there are certain sociocultural factors as well as personal predispositions that cause certain people to move onto harder drugs. Sociocultural factors include the activities, settings, and friends a user is involved with during the use of the drug. For instance, a marijuana user is likely to have friends who also use marijuana with them. These friends are far more likely than non-users to be interested in harder drugs as well, and could quite possibly persuade the user’s opinion on, and provide easy access to harder drugs (Goode 254-255). Another argument against Gateway theory and its propositions is the idea of predisposition. Predisposition is the notion that “the kinds of people who engage in one type of behavior are highly likely to be the kinds of people who engage in another. (Goode 255)” Predisposition introduces a different factor, independent of the use of drug A and drug B, such as lifestyle, or personality that causes the use of both drug A and B. What predisposition suggests is that drug use, whether it is marijuana or heroine is a symptom of another factor such as low income, poor parenting, or addictive personality. Clearly certain drugs like marijuana have a gateway effect; however, I propose that the subsequent use of harder drugs is not because of the use of marijuana but because of some other independent factor. There is clearly a pattern in drug use, in which marijuana use usually comes before cocaine, heroin, PCP, or any other hard drug. Just like in anything in life, there are patterns which are normally followed. An adrenaline junkie, someone predisposed to the adrenaline rush that comes with thrill seeking, is far more likely to go skydiving than someone who is scared of heights. However, the adrenaline junkie must first make a series of tandem jumps before jumping solo. The tandem jumps did not cause him or her to jump solo, rather, it was merely a stepping stone on the path to the ultimate goal of jumping solo. 2 Sullum contends that the majority of drug users in the U. S. fall somewhere in between two extremes (Sullum 8-9). These extremes can be defined as experimenters and dysfunctional users. The lesser of the extremes, experimenters, are users who try one or more drugs, but the drugs do not play a significant role in their lives. They also don’t actively seek out the drugs and may only use drugs when they are offered. Dysfunctional users are at the other end of the spectrum. In a dysfunctional user, drugs are the most significant part of their life. They have lost control of their drug use to the extent that they are personally and socially dysfunctional (O’Brien Lecture). Sullum believes that our society wrongfully groups all drug users into the dysfunctional category because they are the ones we hear about on the news and see on the streets. However, the numbers don’t lie. There are a far greater number of people who have admitted to using drugs than we see on the news or who are locked up in jail. Therefore, Sullum suggests that the majority of drug users in the U. S. are either social-recreational users or involved users. Social-recreational users use drugs more frequently and for a longer period of time than experimenters, but they are still functional and the drug does not play a significant role in their life. Usually social-recreational users use drugs because they have a happy or social effect on them. Involved users are one step above social-recreational users and one step below dysfunctional users. Involved users are characterized by an active seeking of the drug as well as having a steady access to it. The drug does play a significant role in their life, as it may give them confidence or energy, but they are still functional members of society and have not lost control. We tend to hear about the dysfunctional users more often than the social-recreational and involved users for a few reasons. First, as I mentioned before, dysfunctional users are the ones we see on the news and on the streets. They are the ones going to jail and being checked into treatment. The news neglects to show successful, functional drugs users, as it wouldn’t be newsworthy. Another reason we hear more about dysfunctional users is because much of the researcher that is done on drugs is conducted by our government; the very ones waging the war on drugs. “Scientists who are interested in looking at drug use as something other than a problem are not likely to get funding from the government… (Sullum 15) Clearly successful and functional drug users (social-recreational and involved users) would not want the stigma of being grouped along with dysfunctional users, and therefore are not heard about or recognized. Sullum takes a constructionist approach to drugs as opposed to the essentialist approach that emphasizes what a drug actually “is” with regards to its chemical makeup. The constructionist approach looks at nurture rather than nature. Traditional constructionist theory is characterized by what society as a whole thinks (constructs). Sullum argues against the traditional constructionist view of legal vs. llegal by drawing attention to the social context in which drug use occurs, the how, why, when and where, rather than the black-and-white, all-or-nothing context in which drugs are typically approached in our society. This is evident by his discussions with police officers, CEO’s, and politicians. Rather than asking them about the legality vs. illegality or the objective chemical properties (essentialist), he discusses more context. Sulllum believes that social context factors determine how likely drug use is to cause harm in an individual, which he claims is the most crucial consideration in making moral judgments about it (Sullum 24). Leave a comment:
How big is the Northern Territory? The Northern Territory is Australia’s outback, with iconic red desert land and rich, textured history. The realm of backpackers and camper vans, it is a unique area with countless once in a lifetime of experiences scattered within. Otherworldly landscapes such as sprawling wetlands, thundering waterfalls, and the red sand stretching the area. How big is the Northern Territory The Northern Territory is the third largest state/territory in Australia, a whopping 1,420,970 kilometres square. It is so big, that if it was its own country, it would rank the 20th biggest in the entire world. Despite its size, it is the least populated area out of the 8 states and territories of Australia’s mainland. The population includes a large number of aboriginal descendants. These descendants were enabled traditional ownership of vacant Crown land in the 1970s, making up of about 40 percent of the entire Northern Territory. What you can do in the Northern Territory Sitting snug in the heart of the Red Centre of Australia, Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock is one of the most recognisable natural landmarks in the world. It is a large red rock formation, guesstimating to be around 550 million years old. A World Heritage-listed attraction, with an incredible history and a rich spiritual significance for the indigenous community. It is seen as a living, breathing thing, and is a dwelling area for the aboriginal ancestors. Its sheer grandiosity draws thousands of tourists in year-round. Climbing Uluru was once a common occurrence, but due to unsafe climbing and rock damage, the Anangu law and culture requests the public to restrain from climbing nowadays. Nowadays, walking around the base is the greatest way to experience this remarkable icon. Visiting during sunset or sunrise is lets you see the vibrant colours change from oranges to pink to earthy red as the sun sets/rises. No trip to the Outback is complete without a trek through the Kakadu National Park. It is Australia’s biggest national park, around to be half the size of Switzerland. Bursting with a spectacular selection of native flora and fauna, and clutching an array of unique scenes, Kakadu National Park is ideal for travellers on the hunt for a hike, or just looking to gape at some of Australia’s best-loved landscapes. The most noteworthy attractions include Twin Falls, Nourlangie Rock Art and the Gunlom Falls. Litchfield National Park Rich in history, culture, and wildlife, the Litchfield National Park is a sprawling scenery with the finest variety of native plant and animal species that roam free in their natural habitats. Refresh from the Aussie heat as you plunge into the many waterfalls and swimming spots sparkling the area. Jumping Crocodile Cruise See the ancient beasts of Australia and discover the Salt Water Crocodiles. They are the largest living reptiles in the world, growing to up to five to seven metres long. Spot the kings of the river as you voyage down in one of the Jumping crocodile cruises. Simply sit and wait as your guide hangs a tasty croc treat over the boat’s fence and watch these massive creatures leap from the water to snap it up. This is an exhilarating experience you won’t forget anytime soon. Explore our range of Darwin Tours if you are in the area! Language »
A Gross Miscarriage of Justice in Computer Chess (part four) 1/5/2012 – As proof that Vas Rajlich had copied program code the ICGA presented pages and pages of Fruit and Rybka code side by side. But, according to Dr Søren Riis, what was labeled as Rybka code was actually fabricated to look like Fruit. He criticizes the ICGA's process failures and ruminates on the reasons behind the unprecedented vendetta launched against the star chess programmer. ChessBase 15 - Mega package ChessBase 15 - Mega package A Gross Miscarriage of Justice in Computer Chess By Dr. Søren Riis Piece-Square Tables: sound and fury signifying something One of the central arguments in the ICGA report has been that Rybka and Fruit had very similar “Piece-Square Tables” (PSTs). PSTs are numerical values within eight-by-eight arrays representing a chessboard, with each array corresponding to a different chess-piece, usually expressed as integers and arranged into simple symmetrical patterns. The purpose of PSTs is to modify a position’s evaluation based on the square location of various chess pieces. Rajlich comments on the practical importance of PSTs: The effect of PSTs is minimal but probably positive. Any reasonable choice of PST values leads to +/- less than 1 Elo. Rajlich’s comment is notable for both its brevity and its significance. The first realization one makes is that the whole PST case in actual playing terms is a trivial sideshow whatever the merits of the ICGA’s assertions. PSTs, per Rajlich, have no material impact on playing strength and possibly no measurable impact within standard statistical confidence levels. Rajlich is evidently not even sure himself based on his remark that PSTs are “probably” a positive factor. To be efficient the PSTs should use at most two or three CPU cycles. This explains why Fruit and Rybka evaluations were based on PSTs with simple integer patterns (e.g. +1, +0, -1, -3); integers are quicker than floating-point numbers. None of the PSTs had been optimized in Rybka 1.0 Beta, hence their simplicity. Both Fruit and Rybka 1.0 Beta use PSTs that were generated through the use of simple formulas that reflected then-common chess knowledge. Even though Rajlich recognized that PSTs had only a tiny impact he still wanted to have the ability to fine-tune his evaluation. There was no demonstrated intent to obfuscate Fruit integers in Rybka’s code as is stated in the ICGA report. In actual fact, every one of Rybka's PST values is different from those in Fruit. Dr. Miguel Ballicora persuasively shows here and also here that Rybka and Fruit PST tables are totally different. In addition, Ed Schröder has summarized Ballicora’s and Chris Whittington’s analysis on his website here. I will not recapitulate the arguments of these gentlemen here, as they are quite technical, but let me suggest that they demolish the PST case. Based on the findings at the three linked sites above we could stop discussing PSTs right here and move on to the next topic, but Dr. Hyatt and his supporters have invested a great deal of effort defending PST as definitive evidence of “code-copying”. In the process, they dug an ever-deeper hole for themselves and, I regret to say, have not stopped their excavation work. We must press on with the topic of PSTs because it puts the whole problem with the ICGA report in the spotlight. When I, like many people, first read the ICGA report I found their tables of virtually identical, side-by-side Fruit and Rybka code highly incriminating. This was surely the same reaction ICGA head Dr. David Levy had, as well as panel members not serving on the report-writing “secretariat”. Given the evidence that was presented, and assuming its veracity, the final outcome of the ICGA investigation was an absolute and undisputable certainty. On this point we need to be very clear. It really goes without saying that the panel members voted based on the findings of the ICGA report, and it would have been extremely prejudicial to the whole process if the report presented data in a misleading way. Let’s start unraveling the PST mystery by reading what Rajlich said to Dr. Levy in a terse email when the ICGA investigation was in progress: I'm not really sure what to say. The Rybka source code is original. I used lots of ideas from Fruit, as I have mentioned many times. Both Fruit and Rybka also use all sorts of common computer chess ideas. Aside from that, this document is horribly bogus. All that "Rybka code" isn't Rybka code, it's just someone's imagination. Rajlich issues a flat denial. What is characterized as “Rybka code” in the report, he says, is “horribly bogus”. You can only come to one conclusion: either Rajlich is flat-out lying or the ICGA report is wrong, or possibly even fraudulent. There is no middle ground. The ICGA report contends that Rybka used Fruit’s PSTs in its evaluation function. To support this the report provides page after page of near-identical source code side by side. However, it turns out on closer inspection that the most damning portion of the ICGA report is in fact a work of fiction, and as a consequence the parts of the ICGA report related to code-copying are profoundly misleading. Ed Schröder’s reports [1] [2] make the case powerfully. One of the first insights that led to the revelation that the PST “Rybka code” might come from another source came from one of the chief ICGA accusers, chess programmer Mark Lefler. Lefler nonchalantly pointed out in an online post that "[Rajlich] could have used a spreadsheet" for PST generation, an admission that undermined the sourcing and importance of PSTs. But this crack in the ICGA argument was a trifle compared to the subsequent train of events. Critics of the ICGA soon realized that no one has actual Rybka source code from before 2010, not even Rajlich himself, who sheepishly admitted to Nelson Hernandez off-camera in the course of their July 2011 video interview that he had never maintained any form of version control for Rybka source code until Rybka 4. This jaw-dropping admission is entirely believable because Rajlich asked for copies of his own program long before the ICGA controversy started. In mid-2010 he makes this rather embarrassing request in the Rybka forum: Can someone please post here all of the Rybka 2.3.2a versions? (I don't seem to have a copy any more.) This realization led to the next insight. One of the premises of the ICGA's report is that original Rybka source code can be reconstructed from the reverse-engineered binary of Rybka 1.0 Beta. This is simply incorrect. The most that can be gathered from this approach is the assembly code that was output from the optimizing compiler that Rajlich used when he compiled the Rybka source code. To restate the problem, no one has the original source code to Rybka, and Rajlich claims he only took ideas and not game-playing code from Fruit. Hyatt, et al, adamantly believe that Rajlich copied Fruit source code but cannot prove it as they do not have the actual Rybka source code. It is absolutely not possible to reconstruct the original source code of Rybka from a reverse-engineered executable of Rybka because there is a one-to-many mapping during this process. There are, in fact, many ways that Rajlich could have written Rybka and it is impossible to say exactly which path he took. This was confirmed by Dr. Hyatt himself: We are not trying to take a binary executable and turn it into C. That is a one to MANY (MANY = INFINITE) mapping. The ICGA report shows us five pages of near-identical code, showing actual Fruit code on the left column and "Rybka" code on the right. However, as already stated, the "Rybka" code cannot be the original Rybka source code. Here’s an actual example of falsification in the ICGA's report: As already mentioned, the first thing to note is that none of the code in the Rybka column is actually in Rybka. But please note the zero weight on the third line of the manufactured Rybka code. Are we supposed to believe that the weight is multiplied by zero in line three of the static declarations? If this were actually so it would not appear in the executables because any compiler would optimize and remove the unnecessary step. The only conclusion someone familiar with programming can make is that this code is fictitious. Since no one has a copy of the Rybka 1.0 Beta source code, no one can prove otherwise. Had the ICGA titled the right-hand column of its PST analysis "functionally-equivalent code possibly used by Rybka” that would still be misleading as all that would be compared would be schematic PSTs with low information content. It would be misleading but at least there would be truth in labeling. However, writing "Rybka" as the column title is completely misleading, which brings me to a crucial train of logic which seems inescapable. It is very reasonable to conclude that the ICGA members who drafted the report knew exactly the desired effect that labeling pages of speculative material "Rybka" would have. The writers of the ICGA report are not men who act capriciously; they have long experience in academia and are intimately familiar with the standards of scientific evidence. They could not have failed to intuit that most people lack the technical expertise and the time to comprehensively audit and assess technical documents. They must have known that the public at large would trust the pedigree, reputation and integrity of the report-writers as well as the ICGA as an institution. They surely knew that very few people would have the resources or incentive to challenge a report with the ICGA's imprimatur. Being familiar with human nature, they must have realized that those with any doubts would likely conclude that this was Rajlich’s fight, not theirs, and that in any event Rajlich could provide the answers – or not. And finally, on some level Dr. Hyatt in particular must have known that for Rajlich to fight the charges would degenerate into an unseemly quarrel where the mild-mannered Rajlich would be assailed by an unending hail of accusations, insults and sophistries. I can say this because I and others have publicly defended Rajlich, and that is exactly what has happened over the course of thousands of Dr. Hyatt’s posts. In my capacity as Rybka forum moderator I have access to posting statistics. The chart below speaks for itself. Four months of relentless attacks on Rajlich’s own website! These observations are not personal; they are simply factual evidence of the singular intensity and apparent motivation of Rajlich’s chief accuser. Imagine how long it would take you to write forty lucid forum posts in one day. Dr. Hyatt achieved this stupendous level of vitriol no fewer than 26 times in a four month span, peaking at 71 posts. Yet, Dr. Hyatt believes this is perfectly normal behavior for an associate professor of computer science and is not a relevant datum. I mention it because I think the reading public may have justifiable concern about Dr. Hyatt’s excessive devotion to the Rajlich-is-Guilty crusade. Dr. Hyatt’s explanation Returning to the truth-in-labeling issue, the ICGA‘s blanket excuse in their report is that they did note that the comparisons were not actual source code: The code shown here is simply the functional equivalent; it calculates the Rybka PSTs. There are two problems with this. There are many different ways to write functionally equivalent code that looks nothing like the Fruit code. Dr. Miguel Ballicora posted source code to the Rybka forum that generates Rybka and Fruit PSTs but looks completely different from Fruit code. But more importantly, for a protracted period of time following the release of the report, Dr. Hyatt repeatedly stated that Rybka made a direct copy of Fruit, and referred readers to the report to prove his case, citing the side-by-side comparisons shown there as functionally equivalent to DNA evidence. He did not even concede the “functional equivalency” cited in the report until this point was brought to his attention. That is really problematic because it calls into question how the evidence was “sold” to the rest of the ICGA panel. Over the course of the forum debates Dr. Hyatt made a series of three remarkable statements which tell us what actually happened. Statement 1 - 26 July 2011 The evidence is _not_ based on "conjecture". It is based on specific analysis of Rybka and Crafty or Rybka and Fruit. There is no "interpretation" required. Have you actually _read_ Zach's and Mark's report? People keep saying "show me side by side comparisons." First page of Zach's report has _exactly_ that. Two columns. The comparison goes on for pages and pages. Side by side. Piece by piece... Statement 2 - 29 July 2011 you realize that the code on the right is imaginary? It is the code on the left, with the weights modified, so that you get the same PST values that Rybka _actually_ uses. Statement 3 - 7 October 2011 The easiest way to show a layperson that the Fruit source matches the Rybka binary is to make our "pseudo-Rybka source" match Fruit as closely as possible. This may be a good moment to take two aspirin pills. Let’s summarize these statements: 1. There is Fruit and Rybka code side by side in the report. Pages and pages of it. 2. OK, we admit the Rybka code was “imaginary”, with “weights modified”. 3. OK, we now admit the Rybka code we imagined with weights modified was deliberately manipulated to look identical to Fruit code. (!) It is clear from the time-lines that position #1 above (the side by side, piece by piece, five pages of Fruitified Rybka code) must have been the unchallenged position presented by Hyatt and Lefler to the ICGA investigating panel of 34. They must have drawn and disseminated a damning but entirely false conclusion from their own report, for how else could Hyatt and Lefler still be erroneously and misleadingly claiming there is Fruit and real Rybka code side by side in the report several weeks after publication? Caught in this web of his own making, at one point Dr. Hyatt even admitted that the PSTs in the Rybka column were not copied code, boldly asserting: There was NO CODE COPYING for the PST issue. NONE. NADA. ZILCH. ZIPPO. An emphatic statement! But two days later, apparently realizing that such a statement would mean that Rajlich was innocent, Hyatt changed his mind and wrote that Rajlich had copied PST code after all. Variations in C-Sharp According to Rajlich, he wrote a utility program (separate from Rybka and not available to users) in the C# language to generate his PSTs. As Fruit is written in C (not C#) this means there is a 100% certainty that Rajlich did not copy the Fruit PST generation code. Even if Rajlich had used similar formulas to those used in Fruit this would constitute idea re-use and not code copying. It is also quite possible that Rajlich used completely different formulas to the ones used in Fruit as demonstrated by Dr. Miguel Ballicora. Another point is that Rajlich used his own header files (a variation on C++ templates) in the evaluation function of Rybka. These generated characteristic code repetitions in the compiler output. In the early stages of their investigation, programmer Zach Wegner mused publicly about strange repetitions in the Rybka code, but nobody understood what they signified. It turns out Rajlich wrote large parts of Rybka using custom code (in C #defines) which allowed him to, for example, create a representation for a “good white knight” and then use exactly the same #define code to create a representations for a “good black knight” – a chess-programming cookie-cutter if you like. In so doing Rajlich effectively extended the C programming language with helpful new chess-related constructs. Rajlich commented to me on his template approach: I took my "template" approach further and further over time. In Rybka 1 I was using this for things like evaluation and attack generation. Later I used it for move generation as well. Now I use it for all kinds of crazy things. This language extension he talks about is conceptually similar to a function key on a keyboard or a mathematical function. He is taking something complex, that may involve many steps or words, and reducing them to something much simpler. In doing this he in effect creates his own language, a lot like someone who coins a precise new word to express an idea that formerly required twenty imprecise and muddled words to describe. The point is that Rajlich’s implementation of #defines was conceptually and functionally different from Fruit’s. While this development ethos does not necessarily constitute a defense against code-copying (his #defines could have been copy and pasted from a different source) this does represent a clear conceptual and architectural difference between the ways that Rybka and Fruit were developed. The small window of opportunity argument The ICGA report cites the extraordinary increase in Rybka’s strength following Fruit’s release as circumstantial evidence of plagiarism, at first glance a provocative line of reasoning. However, as has already been argued, this is a wrong diagnostic. All modern chess engines come into existence as fast-climbers and this strength-increase pattern cannot be credibly used as prima facie evidence of plagiarism. The ICGA report presented its case as if Rajlich was only given a small time window to learn from Fruit (six months from the mid-2005 Fruit-release to the December 2005 release of Rybka 1.0 Beta), implying that he must have copied from Fruit wholesale in order to achieve the Elo strength he attained by the end of 2005, as otherwise he could never have achieved so much in six months. The report fails to mention that Rajlich became a full-time chess programmer in 2003, and earlier versions of Fruit were released starting in mid-2004. Rajlich had more than a year to study the programming style, ideas and algorithms in Fruit. It is perfectly reasonable to think that he integrated what he learned into his own program. The evidence does not justify an inference that he must have copied code. The ICGA’s problematic handling of the case Apart from the substantive claims made by the ICGA a dispassionate observer ought to reflect on whether the structure and process of the investigation as well as its conclusions were reasonable and proportional to the alleged rule violation. The ICGA decided to mount an investigation of Rybka after sixteen programmers submitted an open letter wherein they claimed Rybka contained illegal Fruit code. As I have already cited, Rajlich had himself already stated that he “went through the Fruit 2.1 source code forwards and backwards and took many things”. Rajlich’s statement was widely known and had been discussed ad nauseum by programmers and computer enthusiasts on Internet fora for a number of years. Yet, the ICGA final report pointedly omitted any mention of Rajlich’s past published statements. Thus it is not incorrect to say that the ICGA was in effect investigating what Rajlich had already told the general public five years earlier, before Rybka participated in any WCCC tournaments. A panel was formed. Dr. Hyatt served as panel gatekeeper and determined who was and was not allowed to participate. Rybka competitors, individuals with obvious conflicts of interest, and individuals who had publicly expressed their predetermined conclusion of guilt were allowed to join the investigation. The fact that such members could not only prejudice the investigation but also vote was not considered inappropriate. The ICGA defends this state of affairs by saying, in effect, ‘who else but the interested parties would serve on such a panel?’ This attitude, I think, is a classic example of losing the plot. While this jury-stacking was going on the president of ICGA, Dr. David Levy, made a preemptive declaration of Rajlich’s guilt in a ChessVibes article before his own panel had had sufficient time to investigate and fully deliberate the facts. Not even half of the original committee of 34 voted for a guilty verdict. Was it even clear in advance how many guilty votes were needed to convict? Members on the panel were only asked to decide the issue of guilt or innocence. They had no influence on the kind of penalty that would be handed down were they to find Rajlich guilty. The matter of sentencing was in the hands of the ICGA's board, headed by Dr. Levy. Levy, given his position in the ICGA, his public statement of Rajlich's guilt, and the superficially persuasive nature of the ICGA report, could hardly have been contradicted by his own board. In the end, Levy duly exercised his punitive powers based on the consensus that had been reached. While no one questions the fact that the ICGA gave Rajlich ample opportunity to respond to their charges and he did not, there is much more to the matter than “we queried him and he did not respond.” Rajlich was not merely queried. He was publicly accused by the head of the ICGA and publicly excoriated by a group of individuals who stirred themselves up into a crusading lynch mob. A pile of “evidence” was jubilantly thrown together based on a passionately-held predetermined conclusion of code-copying which happened to be wholly at variance with actual reality. And then Rajlich was offered the opportunity to formally respond. The whole process was an unprofessional disgrace. There are those who will say, “if Rajlich had only cooperated with the ICGA investigation it would never have come to this.” My response is that if you have confidence in the integrity and objectivity of the investigators this would be a compelling point. But in the absence of this confidence a perfectly reasonable attitude is “why should a four-time world champion and the world’s leading chess programmer dignify the ICGA’s allegations with a reply if he knows them with 100% certainty to be not only false, but ridiculous?” Let’s put ourselves in Rajlich’s shoes. Most of us, I would guess, would become belligerent and combative, and attempt to cleanse our besmirched reputation: we would strike back at our foes. That is the normal, red-blooded response of a common man. I submit that Rajlich is an uncommon man. As for the nature of the punishment meted out by the ICGA, we might observe that justice can be defined as every man getting his due and letting the punishment fit the crime. There is no evidence that justice was done in this case in either sense, which is why I wrote this article: to publicly address an injustice and, perhaps, remedy it. We all know that in competitive sports the players often push rules to their limits. We all know the difference between hard but clean play, yellow card offenses and red card offenses. We all know that cheating that merits a red card is deliberate, not trifling and often premeditated. Unintentional rule infractions, or even attempts to push a vague rule to its limits, do not warrant a red card, let alone something even beyond a red card: a lifetime ban. And finally, we know that rule violations, if they occur, do not merit the equivalent of capital punishment rulings five years after the fact! A subjective view of what really went down We finally come to a realistic appraisal of the situation in computer chess just prior to the emergence of the Rybka allegations. The demonstrated lack of proportionality in Rybka’s banishment returns us again to the matter of Rybka’s near-monopoly over computer chess competitions and chess engine commerce for a number of years. Not only did Rybka have a massive lead in tournament play, but it had access to massive hardware and its latest Rybka Cluster developments were locked up, beyond the reach of reverse-engineers. Rybka’s opening book was (and is) among the world’s best. Leading the team was Rajlich himself, a hypercompetitive genius with an insatiable desire to win and win again, and a business model that methodically froze out everyone else. He had no friends in his peer group to watch his back because he had no peers. Moreover, he was not good at concealing that he had no use for them. It is easy to see how some could perceive this as arrogance because maybe that’s exactly what it was. It is reasonable to conclude that this dominance was so pronounced and seemed so insurmountable to Rajlich’s rivals that they seized the only available opportunity to banish Rajlich and Rybka forever, not merely from ICGA-sponsored tournaments, but all tournaments anywhere in the world. If it cannot rightly be said that they actively “seized” the opportunity, then it can more accurately be said that they passively did not regret seeing Rajlich excluded and did nothing to prevent the travesty that took place – and they voted against him. It is also reasonable to conclude that other programmers found it unacceptable to attend week-long WCCC tournaments in far-off places like Beijing, China and Kanazawa, Japan out of their own funds, paying entry fees, air fare, hotel, food and incidentals, only to be repeatedly blown off the board by a program whose dominance seemed to increase year after year with no end in sight. The economics of this no-win proposition understandably did not work for them. This, in turn, undoubtedly threatened the near-term viability of the ICGA’s annual tournament. Rybka was just in a class by itself, everyone knew it, and this apparently intractable fact simply became intolerable. The ICGA had, in fact, already tried to constrain Rybka’s superiority by limiting the amount of hardware a contestant could use in the 2009 WCCC in Pamplona, Spain. This limitation would have excluded the Rybka Cluster from competition and “leveled the playing field”. Ultimately it made no difference: Rybka won the “limited hardware” tournament rather easily. Stronger measures were needed to knock Rajlich off his perch. Finally, it is reasonable to conclude that Rajlich’s long reign at the top of the rating lists, his monolithic dominance in public tournaments, sequence of menacing strategic actions such as his development of the Rybka Cluster, his publicly-stated intention to sequester his best development work so that it could not be reverse-engineered, his business alliances with Convekta and ChessBase and publicity juggernaut – all of these things and more marked Rajlich as a convention-flaunting rogue programmer and hence, in the eyes of some, a public enemy. Jonathan Swift put it cruelly: I concede that all the above may not be exactly what happened. It is only my opinion. But to this observer it is a believable narrative because it is informed by knowledge of human nature and human history. Whenever institutions or persons come along who assume a position of overwhelming power alliances of the downtrodden tend to form and start plotting the tyrant’s overthrow. We see several examples of this in recent world history. Computer chess may not be a field of great sociopolitical significance, but those who dwell in it have the same hard-wired human impulses. It doesn’t matter that the perceived-tyrant is an innovative genius. Caesar was assassinated, after all. In something of a surprise epilogue that took place as this article was in its final stages of being written, it emerged that the times they are a-changing for computer chess generally and the ICGA in particular. At the recent Rybka-less 2011 WCCC held in the Netherlands none of the top seven ranked programs on the then-existing CCRL 40/40 list attended, nor did the two winner-by-default co-champions from 2010’s WCCC (Rondo and Thinker), omissions which stimulate furtive doubts about the credibility of the “World Championship” title the contestants struggled so mightily to win. During this competition the programmers met and some expressed a desire to change WCCC Rule 2. This was posted to the Talkchess forum by an attendee: This position [100% originality] is not an obvious majority opinion anymore from the tri-ennial ICGA meeting this week where this was a lengthy agenda point. A fair group of participating programmers present have expressed they want the rules to be updated. One line of thinking is that attribution plus added value should be sufficient to compete, instead of 100% originality. The ICGA's policy appears to be that the programmers decide on the rules, because if there are no programmers, there can be no tournament. Without question, updating WCCC Rule 2 to reflect contemporary reality would be a years-overdue positive step. However, without justice for Rajlich as a first step any proposed rule amendment would mean Rajlich would continue in his ICGA-imposed pariah status while other programmers would be free to use Rajlich's ideas, algorithms and reverse-engineered source code (from existing and future editions of Rybka) with little fear of reprisal. First things must come first: the ICGA must retract a grave injustice inflicted upon a great chess programmer, world champion and innocent man. Full paper "Miscarriage of Justice" in PDF Summary of papershort summary (both in PDF) Thanks to Ed Schröder for encouraging me to write this article as well as his insights on the computer chess scene going back decades. A special thanks to Nelson Hernandez, Nick Carlin, Chris Whittington, Sven Schüle and Alan Sassler for their first class editing as well as their many valuable suggestions. Without the lively collaboration of these individuals spanning several weeks this paper could not have been written. Finally, let me thank Vasik Rajlich for his clarification of various technical points and contemporaneous notes. Thanks also to Dann Corbit, Miguel Ballicora, Rasmus Lerchedahl Petersen, Cock de Gorter, Jiri Dufek for their excellent suggestions and eagle-eyed proof reading. Søren Riis is a Computer Scientist at Queen Mary University of London. He has a PhD in Maths from University of Oxford. He used to play competitive chess (Elo 2300). Previous sections A Gross Miscarriage of Justice in Computer Chess (part one) 02.01.2012 – "Biggest Sporting Scandal since Ben Johnson" and "Czech Mate, Mr. Cheat" – these were headlines in newspapers around the world six months ago. The International Computer Games Association had disqualified star programmer Vasik Rajlich for plagiarism, retroactively stripped him of all titles, and banned him for life. Søren Riis, a computer scientist from London, has investigated the scandal. A Gross Miscarriage of Justice in Computer Chess (part two) 03.01.2012 – In this part Dr Søren Riis of Queen Mary University in London shows how most programs (legally) profited from Fruit, and subsequently much more so from the (illegally) reverse engineered Rybka. Yet it is Vasik Rajlich who was investigated, found guilty of plagiarism, banned for life, stripped of his titles, and vilified in the international press – for a five-year-old alleged tournament rule violation. Ironic. A Gross Miscarriage of Justice in Computer Chess (part three) 04.01.2012 – A core accusation against Vas Rajlich is that Rybka and Fruit have very similar positional evaluations, and the use of floating point numbers in Rybka’s time management code had to be copied from Fruit. Søren Riis enumerates the ten substantive evaluation differences and shows how the second accusation boils down to a single misplaced keystroke with zero impact on Rybka's play. Topics: Rybka scandal Rules for reader comments Not registered yet? Register
Written by: Karin Apfel The evolution of the iconic cowboy boot. Thumbnail for 10 Facts About Cowboy Boots Karin Apfel Photo 1. Americans and Europeans travelling west wore anything from Wellingtons (calf-high boots with low heels) to brogans (ankle-high shoes made of untanned leather), but none of these were suitable for cattle drovers spending 10 to 12 hours a day in the saddle in rough conditions. 2. Cobblers in Coffeyville, Kansas in the 1870s are generally credited with designing the first boots that better satisfied their needs with a reinforced arch and higher heel that stayed in the stirrups. 3. The Coffeyville style boots were normally black leather and the shafts were tall (at least 12 inches) to protect the lower legs from saddle rubs as well as brush and cacti spines. 4. Laces were not used since they could catch on a stirrup if a rider fell from his (yes, “his” since most were men) horse or keep him from kicking free if the boot caught. Therefore, cowboy boots are designed to be pulled on and to fit snugly. Leather loops (pull-straps or bootstraps) were added at the top to assist in pulling the boot on. 5. The underslung and higher heel was adapted from the “Cuban heel,” which was becoming popular at the time. A higher heel prevented the boot from slipping through the stirrup, which could also result in a rider who “accidentally dismounted” getting dragged and injured. 6. The toe was sturdy to protect digits from hooves, square or rounded, and designed with a distinct taper to assist in sliding easily in and out of stirrups. There are now a variety of toe styles including the square, traditional, snip (small square) and rounded. 7. In 1879, H.J. “Daddy Joe” Justin started repairing boots in Spanish Fort, Texas. After receiving a loan to purchase materials, he began making his own cowboy boots. Justin was an early user of decorative stitching, incorporating rows of stitches across the boot tops and shafts as a means of stiffening the leather, preventing it from folding around the ankles. 8. Justin and other pioneer bootmakers, such as Tony Lama and Sam Lucchese, soon dominated the cowboy market with their high quality, comfortable boots. Justin’s was the first firm to offer mail order boots, with a measuring system invented by Joe’s wife Annie. The system revolutionized custom boot-making, making Justin famous throughout the West as it became settled. 9. Cowboy boots eventually became palettes for artistically-inclined bootmakers who were happy to oblige the vanities of cowpunchers that wanted custom or easily identifiable footwear and, later, Hollywood cowboy actors and Nashville musicians that wanted to project the image of the rugged frontiersman. Contrasting stitching, tooling, exotic leathers and coloured dyes took the basic riding boot to fashion (and, often, novelty) status. 10. The comfort and fit demanded by western boot customers in the 1980s would radically change the components and construction of cowboy footwear. Plain Wellington style boots, known as “ropers,” became a fad in the 1980s, largely because of their shoe-like fit. In the early 1990s, technologically-advanced boots introduced by a new company, Ariat, revolutionized western boots and created a whole subcategory of western and riding boots.
The Shipping News The Shipping News An overview of maritime nations works more as intellectual entertainment than serious history. maritime, Waves of Prosperity, maritime nations works, history of shipping, shipping, indian ocean, foreign trade, Portuguese, indian express, book review Vasco da Gama set sail on his journey to India in 1497. Book Name – Waves of Prosperity: India, China and the West — How Global Trade Transformed the World Author – Greg Clydesdale Publisher –Robinson, London 2016 Pages – 432 Price – 599 This book traces the world’s most successful civilisations, but rather indirectly. It claims to cover the history of shipping. But ships cannot float in the sea forever; they have to visit ports once in a while. And they would not be viable unless they carried something between ports. So, it becomes a history of trade. And trade reflects the comparative advantage of traders and the consequent prosperity of coastlines. That is how it becomes a history of maritime nations. It begins with the Chinese. They were hardly a maritime nation; their rulers often prohibited foreign trade. But they go back millennia, and were long the world’s most prosperous and best governed people, so they had to be covered. They are followed by the Gujaratis, who were masters of a number of trades that drew buyers from all around the Indian Ocean, including textiles, spices and jewelry; their crafts made their coastline the fulcrum of Indian Ocean trade till the 16th century. Then came the Spaniards and the Portuguese. The Pope divided up the world between them in 1494. They were too small to rule the world, but they destroyed its peace. The Portuguese, to whom their holy father handed over the East, disrupted trade in the Indian Ocean, both as robbers and policemen. By the 17th century, they were overtaken by the Dutch, who colonised Bantam, and then, in the 19th century by the British, whose steel-made steamships gave them supremacy over many distant parts of the world. The Chinese then woke up to their decline, but it was too late. The Japanese, who had no illusions of imperial grandeur, tried instead to learn from the west, and slowly did. In the 19th century, the Americans invented the corporation, and used it to develop large-scale industry. Britain lost its supremacy, but continued to do well with its combination of coal, steel, machine technology and steamships. By this point, the book has crossed 125,000 words, and Clydesdale wraps it up with brief reflections on the future of globalisation. Clydesdale has chosen his subject well; there is no doubt that ships and maritime movement shaped the global economy for centuries. Advances in shipping and port technology reduced the costs of maritime trade and thickened the ties of regions across the seas. But that was not all that was happening. Land transport technology also advanced, from caravans to carts, carriages, trains and motor vehicles. They changed continental economies. Clydesdale cannot ignore this entirely; he devotes a long chapter to the development of the United States, which had hardly any maritime history before World War I. But that was not the only continent that was transformed. Europe was unified by railways; Hitler used railways extensively in his conquest of Europe. India became a country thanks to railways; because it does not have a maritime story after the mediaeval Gujaratis, Clydesdale largely ignores it. But the British once made hay by growing tea, jute and opium in India and selling it across the seas. Countries are land-based, and governments think in terms of integrating and defending territory. It is impossible to make a story of Brazil or Mexico without bringing in their territorial dimension; so Clydesdale completely ignores them. There is nothing wrong in that; every writer has to choose, and decide where to stop. But if one stops where land begins, one misses out much of interest. And then, there is the question of choosing seas. It is surprising that Clydesdale ignores the Mediterranean, which was the centre of the European civilisation for millennia. The Baltic, home of the Hanseatic states, had a fascinating story until nation-states arrived and put an end to it in the 19th century. The Europeans got spices and Indian luxury goods through the Turks for centuries until the Portuguese ended their dominance of the Indian Ocean. Thus, Clydesdale misses out some important and fascinating stories. He could not have included everything; his book already runs beyond a hundred thousand words. But there is one omission that he would be well advised to repair in his next edition. He ignores Indian Economic and Social History Review, History Today, and other journals; presumably he used what he found in Antipodean libraries. He is often casual about references. If he wants to write authoritative history, he has to spend more time in the great libraries of Europe and India. This book is more of intellectual entertainment than serious history; taken in that spirit, it is quite fun.
Hitler’s symbol or Carousel affection After 70 years, know this sign better How do you know this sign? We must admit that today this signs that known as the “swastika” is the symbol for Racists. Even these days it has become a symbol for Satanist. But it seems these impressions are wrong. In book “Ancestry and religions of ancient Iranians”* writer says: The signs that is called swastika, in fact is not a broken cross and in the Christianity it is not regarded to respect. Cross dimensions are also not the same and only two lines are equal and most looks like a human body, where opens hands. Sometimes this sign due to Hitler’s Nazi Party used and it was on the arms of party’s members and SS soldiers, because the Nazis had begun a hard and irreconcilable battle with Jews, it has been called anti-Semitic. It must be understood that this naming is not correct too and it is a misplaced phrase. Being anti-Semitic for this symbol was began that the overall recognition about this symbol with the fame of contention and fight with Jews was provided together. And thus the minds of people made and interpreted this name. This sign is also known as Aryan symbol. However, in many civilizations such this indication has been found. Although it has thousands of years history in Iran and India, but this sign is seen all over the world including Africa, Asia (both East Asia and West Asia) and Europe. Even, other symbol that they are similar to this sign in areas of Iran and India found that had more past. Nazis, during they were powerful, prejudice and racial superiority regarded philosophy. Their advertising and training dedicated to this work and they gave symbolic value of their being Aryans to this sign. But it does not seem that the approach to this sign in very ancient time has appropriateness with the Nazis approach! Herzfeld had effects to finding and nomenclature of the sign. Although this sign is discussed with a name like “Swastika”, “cross” and etc. Some one knows this sign a symbol of happiness and good fortune and others have called it a symbol of the four elements. Associated this sign with Mithra religion is one of other cases that is expressed. But it seems that these signs should be limited to a nation or a faith and religion; because its effects are seen in all civilizations. The challenge that arises is that this sign almost simultaneously is seen in different parts of world. Especially when we know it was ancient world. And the question is: how???? These cases have caused some people to know it related with extraterrestrial beings. Continue reading
Aggregate Choice Models Sometimes, a discrete choice is made from a very large pool of possible choices. In these circumstances, it may be useful to aggregate choices together, and represent a set of choices as a single meta-choice. This is particularly common in destination choice models, where the individual possible destinations are aggregated together as traffic analysis zones. The aggregate choice in many ways represents a nested logit model, with the aggregations corresponding to the nests, except we only observe the choice at the nest level, not at the elemental alternative level. Basic Aggregate Models To start with, we can make some assumptions: 1. The individual elemental alternatives within each zone or aggregate are homogeneous. That is, each such alternative has the same systematic utility, $V_{i} = \beta X_{i}$ 2. The particular locations of the zonal or aggregation boundaries are arbitrary, and have no systematic meaning themselves. 3. The number of individual elemental alternatives within each zone or aggregate is directly observable. Using these assumptions, we can derive a reasonably simple aggregate/zonal choice model. The usual form of the nested logit model calculates the probability of an alternative as $P_{nest}P_{alt\|nest}$. In the case of aggregate choices, we do not observe the choice, but only the nest, so we only care about $P_{nest}$. The nested formula for that term is \[P_{nest}=\frac{\exp(V_{nest})}{\sum_{j\in nests}\exp(V_{j})}\] \[V_{nest}=\mu_{nest}\log\left(\sum_{i\in nest}\exp\left(\frac{V_{i}}{\mu_{nest}}\right)\right)\] Using assumption 2, we know that $\mu_{nest}$ must be 1, as we want the aggregation nesting structure to collapse to a multinomial logit model. Further, our first assumption is that all the $V_{i}$ are equal, so the terms inside the summation can collapse together, leaving with $N_{nest}$ as the number of discrete elemental alternatives inside the nest. Under the assumptions we laid out above, estimating an aggregate model is actually quite simple. We can simply define a variable for each aggregate alternative that has a value of $\log\left(N_{nest}\right)$, and including it in a MNL model, with a beta coefficient constrained to be equal to 1. One thing to be careful of in these models: the log likelihood at “zeros” model should include the parameter on $\log\left(N_{nest}\right)$ equal to 1, not 0. This is because this is not a parameter we are estimating in the model, it is a direct function of the structure of aggregation, which we have imposed externally. In application, however, sometimes we want to relax some of the assumptions we outlined above, which can introduce some complications. Relax Arbitrary Boundaries Assumption Relaxing the assumption of arbitrary boundaries puts $\mu_{nest}$ back into the equation for $V_{nest}$: \[V_{nest}=\mu_{nest}\log\left(\sum_{i\in nest}\exp\left(\frac{V_{i}}{\mu_{nest}}\right)\right)=V_{i}+\mu_{nest}\log\left(N_{nest}\right)\] The logsum parameter thus appears as a coefficient on $\log\left(N_{nest}\right)$. This may or may not be a good idea for transportation models. In an intra-urban model, if the boundaries of zones are at the TAZ level, which are small sectors drawn only for modelling purposes, relaxing this assumption probably doesn’t make sense. If the boundaries are aligned with political boundaries (counties, towns) that have differing taxing, administration, or other policies, it might be OK to relax this assumption. In a log distance travel model, if the boundaries are aligned with metropolitan areas, then it is certainly reasonable to relax the arbitrary bounds assumption. Relaxing this constraint doesn’t require any special methods beyond the standard MNL tools. All that is necessary is to relax the constraint on the parameter attached to $\log\left(N_{nest}\right)$, so that it no longer must exactly equal 1.0. Of course, we still need to ensure that the estimated parameter is in the interval $(0,1]$. Also, for the log likelihood at “zeros” model we should still consider the default value of the parameter on $\log\left(N_{nest}\right)$ equal to 1, not 0. Relaxing Homogeneity Another assumption we made was that the individual alternatives within a zone are homogeneous... but it is highly likely they are not. Variance in the systematic utilities, and in particular heteroskedastic variance (where the variance in different aggregates is different), can change the calculations. Consider the one dimensional destination choice depicted here: The choice has been subdivided into three aggregation zones. The average utility of Zone A is lower than that of Zone B or Zone C, but the variance of utility in Zone A is much larger. Recall that utility maximization theory posits that a decision maker will choose the one discrete alternative with maximum utility. The aggregation of those discrete alternatives into zones or aggregate choices does not change the underlying choice; a decision maker does not choose a zone, but she chooses a single discrete alternative in a zone. While the average utility in Zone A is smaller, you can see that there are some points in Zone A with much higher utility, and which are more likely to be chosen. In general, all other things being equal, aggregate alternatives get a positive bump in their probability of selection with an increase in variance of the systematic utility, because they are more likely to include a subset of elemental alternatives with much better utility. [McFadden1978] showed that, when the utilities in an aggregate are distributed normally, if we define $\omega_{nest}^{2}$ as the variance of $V_{i}$ in a nest, and $\bar{V}_{i}$ as the average systematic utility of alternatives in the nest, then Including the variance of utility as shown here requires a non-linear parameter constraint, as $\mu_{nest}$ enters the utility function twice, once in the numerator and once in the denominator. Since Larch is structured specifically for linear models only, it is not currently possible to estimate a model like this using Larch. Instead you might try Biogeme, which allows a more flexible non-linear structure. Estimating N Sometimes, it is not obvious what $N$ should be. Land area? Employment? Population? It might be different for different types of trips, even if the types of trips are not differentiated in the data. It is possible to build $N$ as a linear combination of several component parts, so that you might have The $\gamma$‘s then become new parameters to the model, in addition to the $\beta$ and $\mu$ parameters. The size value $N_{nest}$ still needs to be strictly positive, as it represents the number of discrete alternatives in the zone or aggregation. Therefore, all the data values and all the parameters inside $N$ also need to be positive (or, more precisely, they must all be non-negative and at least one pairing must both be strictly positive). Enforcing positive data is easy, by only choosing variables that reflect size attributes (like employment, population, area). Enforcing positive coefficients requires constraints on the $\gamma$ parameters, or, more simply, a rewrite of the formulation of $N$: Then $\dot{\gamma}$ can be unconstrained. (This form also has advantages in the calculation of derivatives, the details of which are not important for users to understand.) One of the issues with estimating $N$ in this fashion is that the scale of $N$, like the scale of $V$, is not defined. Doubling the $N$ size of all alternatives, by adding $\log(2)$ to all $\dot{\gamma}$, will not affect the probabilities. Therefore, one $\dot{\gamma}$ needs to be arbitrarily fixed at zero. (In the non-estimated $N$ case, this normalization occurs implicitly; there is no parameter inside the log term on $N$.) Larch is capable of estimating models with quantitative values as described here. An example is shown in Example 203. [McFadden1978]McFadden, D. (1978) Modelling the choice of residential location. Spatial Interaction Theory and Residential Location (Karlquist A. Ed., pp. 75-96). North Holland, Amsterdam.
Blue Ridge Wildlife Center Visits NREP Blue Ridge Wildlife Center Visits NREP Posted on 03/08/2019 DecorativeThe students at Northwestern Regional Education Programs (NREP) gathered in the gymnasium for a special assembly on Virginia wildlife. Jennifer Burghoffer, Manager of Education at the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center (BRWC), talked to students about the importance of the Wildlife Center, and how the Center is a hospital for injured, orphaned, or sick animals found in the wild. The Center provides veterinary and rehabilitative care to the animals with the goal of releasing them back to the wild when ready. Jennifer reminded students that all wild animals can bite and should not be touched. Cheddar the snakeThe students were excited to meet Jennifer’s four very special ambassadors: “Cheddar,” the cornsnake; “Bruce,” the Big Brown Bat; “Dopey,” the screech owl; and “Blossom,” the opossum. Cheddar received her name due to her exotic coloring. She was an exotic pet for someone who did not take good care of her. She was very aggressive when first brought to the center, but, after a year of living at the Center, has slowly learned to trust Jennifer. Students were told that Cheddar “smells” with her tongue and has a special organ on the roof of her mouth that helps her decipher taste. Jennifer also reminded the students that you cannot have native wildlife, or exotic pets, in Virginia without a permit. The students laughed when they heard that Bruce, the tiny bat, was known as a Big Brown Bat. Big Brown Bats used to live in caves, but in today’s world, they are found more in homes. One student asked, “Do bats eat fruit?” Jennifer explained that this bat species eats insects, not fruit. She told the students that bats can eat between 600-1000 mosquito-sized insects in an hour. In order to gather food, the bat makes a squeal-like sound that bounces off the environment, which then bounces back to its ears, allowing the bat to build a 3D image out of the sound to find bugs. This also helps the bat avoid obstacles, so they do not fly into things; trees, for instance. Dopey the screech owlAll the students just loved Dopey, the screech owl. Dopey has a neurological disorder and is prone to seizures. There is a disconnect between his eyes and brain, which makes it hard for him to process information. He is unable to fly, but forgets this bit of information and tries to fly off. The Center keeps him on a special leash to keep him safe from falls. One student asked, “Do owls keep their downy feathers?” Jennifer was impressed by this question and explained that while babies are born with downy feathers, they will lose the baby ones when they grow in adult feathers, though they do grow fluffy adult feathers to keep themselves warm. One student remarked, “Oh, like when we lose baby teeth.” Another student asked, “How far can the owl turn his head?”, to which Jennifer replied, “270 degrees, mid shoulder to other mid shoulder.” Blossom the opossumBlossom, the opossum, was another audience favorite. Blossom is blind in one eye and has neurological issues. She was very sick when she first arrived at the Center and needed intensive care. The Center had to amputate her back right foot. Her home is at the Center, because she does not show natural protective instincts that would keep her safe in the wild. Her brother arrived at the center with her, but he was very aggressive. The Center fixed his broken leg and released him back into the wild. The students asked great questions and were completely fascinated with the animals. What a wonderful learning experience for all. NREP would like to thank Jennifer for sharing her knowledge with us, and appreciates all the special work they do at the Center.
Posted on March 5th, 2014 Hidden Ingredient Teachers, curricula, grades, rulers, pencils, erasers, chalk, markers, handouts, hands up, head up, mouths shut, black boards, white boards, smart boards, and (all too often bored) students: the ingredients of formal education. If we were to reject these in the name of awaking our children to the joy and splendor of Jewish life, we would be relegated to the realm of informal education. But calling it informal seems too limiting. By calling it informal we are defining this mode of education by Why simply define something by what it is not, as compared to defining experiential education it by what it is?. That is why I prefer to call it experiential education. But, what is experiential education? In general the core of excellent experiential education is plainly put: excellent education. But if experiential education does not follow the recipe of formal education, what is its secret in ingredient? So even before I get started I want to say that I believe assessment, evaluation, and accountability are crucial to the educational project, but here I want to explore what positive things happen in the educational kitchen when we take away the grades and remove the perception of judgment. With this move away from presumptive hierarchy, the weight of the education needs to be born out on the shoulders of the relationships. It is only when the educators meet the students’ basic needs and achieve a mutual trust that we get cooking. In an environment where we are giving grades we need to be transparent, otherwise we run the risk of being will be unethical. How can a student be held accountable for something that they did not know that they were going to be tested on? In experiential education, the deepest learning often happens when educators help students get out of their own way in the service of their learning. We often need to use obfuscation and trickery. Being transparent often destroys that magic. Obviously this manipulation can be misused, but if we maintain that trust, the process will yield future revelations and breakthroughs in learning. It is interesting to think about this aspect of education in the larger context of revelation. When the People of Israel were about to receive the Torah at Sinai, the Torah says, “And Moshe brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood under the mountain.”(Exodus 19:17) What does it mean “under the Mountain?” On this, in the Talmud Shabbat 88a, Rabbi Avidimi ben Hama ben Hasa said that this teaches us that the Holy One raised the mountain above them like an inverted cask and said, “If you accept the Torah, good; if not, this will be your burial.” So our experience at Sinai was less an intimate moment under the chupah, and more, a carjacking. Rabbi Aha ben Yaakov noted that accepting the Torah under duress presents a strong challenge to the obligatory nature of Jewish law. How can we be held liable for a contract that we were forced into? But Raba said that they accepted it again in the days of Purim, as it says in Megilat Esther, “The Jews fulfilled and they accepted.” (Esther 9:27) Why the doubling of language? This means: they fulfilled what they had already accepted. The fulfillment of the added laws of Purim demonstrated that they accepted the laws of Sinai from thousands of years earlier. The difference being that this time there was no duress. It was not only that there was no God to push them into it, in the entire book of Esther there is no reference to God. God is hidden. The story, and the holiday of Purim, seems to be a theater in which we are exploring what is hidden and what will be revealed. Esther’s name and identity are hidden. When will they be revealed? We explore this with all of our customs of costumes. The fate of the Jewish people is unknown. When will that be revealed? We explore this with our community gatherings and of course our eating. There would be no story of Purim if all we had was transparency. Purim seems to be a holiday of delayed revelation. I am not arguing that formal education is bad. I happen to love it and it has a huge role to play in education, but it is clearly not the only way. We need different ingredients to meet the needs of different learners. The delayed revelation of Purim points to a secret ingredient of experiential education. What does the world look like without a judge or judgment? The absence of God made it possible for Esther to be a true heroine. If there was transparency, Esther would have never learned the nature of her commitment to her community. We see many aspects in camping where it is a child centered institution free of judgment because the adults are hidden and there are no grades. The joyous Judaism and the freedom of camp hide the highly organized and intentional program. If we had to be transparent about our intention to make another generation committed to our future we would not be successful. As we read in Megilah, “The Jews had light and gladness, and joy and honor.” (Esther 8:16) It is only at the end of the story of Purim that the hidden became clear, but boy were they glad. In a world with limited resources we must find new ways to work together to bring joy to the next generation. Please help reveal a potential collaboration between camping and year-round Jewish education. How might NATE and the Foundation for Jewish Camp work together to make sure that all of us are cooking with the right ingredients? If you have thoughts on this article, the nature of experiential Jewish education, how your school can connect better with Jewish Camps, how we can get more of your students to spend summers at Jewish Camps, or anything else please be in touch Rabbi Avi Katz Orlow is Director of Jewish Education at the Foundation for Jewish Camp.
Welcome to Sketching Science! Sketching Science was born as a scientific platform to communicate science in a visual and modern way to attract science students or any person interested in science. Social media is a great way to communicate science to broader audiences that’s why this project started on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Our contents are shared thousands of times on the internet. “After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in esthetics, plasticity, and form. The great scientists are artists as well.” Albert Einstein “Principles for the Development of a Complete Mind: Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses – especially learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.” Leonardo da Vinci
Study on Calculation of Critical Speed of Spindle System of Rice Mill Rice is a basic food crop, and its production and processing have always been valued by China. Rice mills, as processing equipment for rice, play an important role in improving food utilization. In the spindle system of the rice milling machine, there are many asymmetric parts in the structure of the shaft, and there are many curved grooves on the roller, which leads to the existence of eccentric mass, which will cause severe vibration when the rotation speed increases, resulting in the broken rice rate. Increased, bearing life is reduced. In order to solve the problem of broken rice rate, the static analysis and modal analysis of the vertical rice mill by the finite element method, the researchers got some inspiring conclusions. However, in the modal analysis, this article only considers a single spindle, and does not take into account the components on the spindle at the same time. In fact, when the roller, pulley, and roller are mounted on the spindle, the frequency has changed. The above problems belong to the field of rotor dynamics in mechanics. However, in rotor dynamics, in order to solve such problems, the structure is often simplified, and then the corresponding formula is derived. These formulas have a directional effect until they are used, but for a complex rotor system such as a rice mill, the theory is difficult to use. At this time, the numerical analysis method, such as the finite element method, is an effective way to perform the dynamic analysis of the rotor system. According to the rotor dynamics theory, when the operating speed of the rotor system changes, its critical speed will also change. Due to the complex structure of the spindle system, the finite element method is used to analyze it, and the critical speed of the rice milling machine spindle at different speeds is investigated to provide a method for its calculation to provide a reference for the calculation of the critical speed of the rotor system. Show More Related Articles Back to top button
Essay about African And South Afric The White Man 's Burden 787 Words Dec 15th, 2015 4 Pages While many African states such as the Congo and South Africa are rich in natural resources such as diamonds and rubber, the media continues to depict Africa as a very poor continent in need of assistance from western civilization. This depiction stems from the stereotype of a “helpless African” and the ban on industrialization created by the colonial powers during colonization, along with the economic exploitation of Africa’s resources during and after the colonial period. Most of Africa is rich in natural resources; however, many of its countries have remained underdeveloped due to internal and external factors. One of the main arguments in favor of colonialism was the “white man’s burden” (“The White Man’s Burden”). The colonial powers promoted taking over Africa by framing it as the western countries having an obligation to bring civilization to the uncivilized. The Africans were depicted as barbaric, unreligious, uneducated, incapable humans who needed to be saved from their previous lifestyle. It was inconceivable that a different culture, like the cultures of Africa, could be equal to anything in Western society. Part of the reason the media continues to depict Africa as poor, or in need of saving, is that the old stereotypes still run deep across the world today. There are still “save Africa” campaigns today, yet few ask what western countries and learn from African nations. The depiction of a poor continent in the media stems from this stereotype along with the ban… Related Documents
Essay on Bill Gates View On Education 1643 Words Sep 11th, 2014 7 Pages Education, the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university. This is the definition provided by the Oxford Dictionary, but education has a different meaning to many people around the world. Some see education as a way of expanding their knowledge in a profession they love, others see education as a way of getting a chance at a better life, and others see education as a waste of time. Bill Gates view on education is to leave out the liberal-arts and focus more on what was going to help a student get a better job. On the other hand, Steve Jobs believed that the liberal-arts should be kept in the education system to appreciate the major a student selects. But what does education mean to someone that is not as well off and successful, someone like me? Education is a learning stop on the journey of life, a chance to pursue a life my parents could only dream of, a chance to learn my strengths and weaknesses, and a chance to strengthen my relationship with God. There is always going to be something that causes people to stop and ponder on the task ahead. As a child, people dream of possible and impossible tasks. They dream of one day maybe flying to the moon, becoming a hometown hero, or even being successful leader in our world today. To purse these dreams, however, we must stop and wait twelve years, sometimes more or less, before we can make an attempt at our dreams. However, dreams are constantly changing for those twelve or so… Related Documents
/ 0034 616 39 58 80 contact@englishaula.com You are given five pieces of audio corresponding to five different speakers. You are also given 8 pieces of information ( A-H ). Identify which piece of information corresponds to which speaker. Use the letters only once, and there are three letters which you do not need to use. The pass mark for this exercise is 60% or over. You will hear the audio twice. 10:00 min. You hear some people talking about cycling. Choose from the list what each felt. A - I was glad I took adequate precautions. B - I feel let down because I did not get the support I should have got. C - I have a lot to learn about this event. D - I was disappointed, though I had done everything I could. E - My equipment breaking down robbed me of the success I had worked for. F - I lost because I was given poor advice. G - I underestimated how demanding the event could be. H - My fellow competitors behaved very badly. Speaker 1 Speaker 2 Speaker 3 Speaker 4 Speaker 5
By Aeiffert, 8/21/2018 Molecules on the Move Molecules on the Move About this Experiment In this experiment, we're going to learn about molecular motion and how it is affected by temperature. 1. Fill one drinking glass about halfway with cold water and the other with warm water. If you have more than two glasses, feel free to try even more temperatures. 2. Put about 5 drops of food coloring in each glass, trying not to give any of them a head start. You can even use both hands or ask a labmate to help. 3. Carefully observe how the food coloring spreads throughout the water. Which one is spreading the quickest? Analysis and Conclusion Hmm... it seems nobody's added a conclusion for this experiment yet. You can suggest one here. You have to be logged in to post comments The daily "did you know?" Onions don't actually make people sad... When cut into, an onion releases a gas called "propanethiol s-oxide" that bugs our eyes.
Subjective Wellbeing and Identity Construal in a Changing World CALL: 2016 DOMAIN: SC - Identities, Diversity and Interaction LAST NAME: Murdock HOST INSTITUTION: University of Luxembourg KEYWORDS: National Identity construal, acculturation, biculturalism, adolescents, educational context, social cohesion START: 2017-04-01 END: 2020-03-31 Submitted Abstract This century has been labelled the age of migration. Even in a globalized world, Luxembourg takes an exceptional position with its demographic profile – not only the high percentage of foreign nationals but also the heterogeneity of this group: Recent arrivals live alongside those who arrived one, two or several generations ago. One consequence of this multinational mix is an increasing number of multinational families and children growing up in multinational households. In their daily lives people of different nationalities and language backgrounds meet. Minorities and majorities constantly shift and people may develop different acculturation strategies depending on context. Previous research within Luxembourg has shown that a multicultural environment actually heightens awareness of nationalities. What are the consequences for identity construal in such a complex environment, requiring constant switching between different cultural frames? Focussing on adolescence, a formative time for reflection and identity development, identity construal among adolescents will be assessed, using a multi-method approach, including experience sampling, quantitative measures and interviews. The key question is if, how, when and why nationality becomes a salient part of identity construal and how this relates to outcomes such as wellbeing and academic achievement. The role of parental cultural value transmission and the educational context will also be explored. Teachers will be included by means of questionnaires and focus groups. The goal is to assess how diversity within classrooms is used and to compare outcomes in terms of academic achievement and subjective wellbeing of students. What are the techniques to maximize the benefits resulting from diversity and to minimize potential detrimental effects? By identifying best practices for education and learning the project aims to make a contribution to social and economic cohesion. Luxembourg is an ideal place to study these phenomena and generalizations can then be made to other contexts and countries.
NASA: Huge Mars Rover's Sky Crane Landing Was 'Least Crazy' Idea The stunningly intricate series of maneuvers that will drop NASA's Curiosity rover onto the Martian surface Sunday (Aug. 5) looks pretty reasonable when you consider the alternatives, experts say. Late Sunday night, the 1-ton Curiosity rover's spacecraft will barrel into the Red Planet's atmosphere going about 13,000 mph (21,000 kph). A huge parachute will deploy about 7 miles (11 kilometers) above the ground, slowing the vehicle down to 200 mph (320 km) or so. Rocket engines will then fire, reducing the craft's descent speed to less than 2 mph (3.2 kph). Finally, the $2.5 billion rover will be lowered to the surface on cables. When Curiosity's six wheels hit the red dirt inside Mars' huge Gale Crater, its "sky crane" descent stage will fly off and crash-land intentionally a safe distance away. NASA has dubbed the maneuver "seven minutes of terror." Curiosity is the largest rover ever sent to explore another world, and this sequence was designed specifically to accommodate its huge bulk. The landing method may seem incredibly complicated, but the mission team is confident it will work — and it was the best available option, engineers said. [Photos: How Curiosity's Crazy Landing Works] "It looks a little bit crazy. I promise you, it is the least crazy of the methods you could use to land a rover the size of Curiosity on Mars," Adam Steltzner, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., told reporters today (Aug. 2). Steltzner is entry, descent and landing phase lead for Curiosity's mission, which is known as the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). To illustrate the point, Steltzner discussed the two chief alternatives to the sky crane Mars landing system. The first of these, he said, was putting Curiosity down on legs, as NASA did on Mars with its two Viking landers in the 1970s and the Phoenix lander in 2008. But the team determined that Curiosity — which aims to determine if the Gale Crater area can, or ever could, support microbial life — is just too big to land safely on legs. "When you stick a rover the size of Curiosity on the deck of a legged lander, it becomes very unstable, and you need to land on a flat-top spot to be able to make that happen," Steltzner said. The other leading alternative was to send Curiosity bouncing across the Martian landscape cushioned inside airbags. The twin Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers landed this way in January 2004. Again, however, Curiosity's heft nixed this idea. It weighs about five times as much as either Spirit or Opportunity. "Unfortunately, we don't have fabric here on Earth strong enough to build airbags that would work for a rover the size of Curiosity," Steltzner said. "The bags would shred, not giving Curiosity any protection." So MSL's entry, descent and landing team was left with the sky crane method, which has performed well in all of the engineers' simulations. "We've become quite fond of it, and we're fairly confident that Sunday night will be a good night for us," Steltzner said. Curiosity is due to land on Mars at 10:31 p.m. PDT on Sunday, Aug. 5 (1:31 a.m. EDT, 0531 GMT on Aug. 6). Visit for complete coverage of NASA's Mars rover landing Sunday. Follow senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwallor @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebookand Google+
1. Home 2. \| 3. GK for Exams \| How does Demographic Dividend impact on the India’s economic growth? May 10, 2018 18:23 IST How does Demographic Dividend impact on the India’s economic growth? In the contemporary world, 'Demographic Dividend' has become a hot topic for the policy makers, economist and experts from the various sectors around the world. Many countries are on the crossover of this potential— with a proportionately large young and working-age population. But much more must be done to enable the dividend: increase the empowerment of girls and women, ensure universal and high quality education that is tailored to new economic opportunities, and expand secure employment. What is Demographic Dividend? According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Demographic Dividend refers to “the economic growth potential that can result from shifts in a population’s age structure, mainly when the share of the working-age population (15 to 64) is larger than the non-working-age share of the population (14 and younger, and 65 and older).” It can only come into existence, when countries invest in the empowerment, education and employment including good governance. Composition of Indian population What is relationship between Demographic Dividend and Economic Growth? There is a great influence of demographic dividend on the economic growth because the demographic dividend is the economic benefit that can arise when a population has a relatively large proportion of working age people, and effectively invests in their empowerment, education and employment. According to the Malthus, increase in food production would not be able to keep up with an increase in population because while population grew geometrically, food production only increased arithmetically. He stressed that societies which have high fertility rates would have lower income levels and those with lower fertility rates will have higher incomes. The reasoning behind this inverse relationship is that high population levels would drive down the price of labour and increase the price of food. Hence, he believed that nature had its own checks to balance the world’s population. Therefore, on the basis of the above argument of Malthus, the economic growth can be defined as ‘a long term rise in capacity to supply diverse economic goods to its population, this growing capacity based on advancing technology and the institutional and ideological adjustments that it demands’. Regional Distribution of Tribes in India According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the 21st century can belong to India as it has three assets that no country has: ‘democracy’, ‘demand’ and ‘demographic dividend’. But did we wonder why the ILO states that, this is because the greater the share of the population in the working-age group; the more will be the savings and investments in the economy. The economy can be driven by a fast growth track with other macroeconomic variables like employment, per capita income, saving and investment putting a positive impact on the economic growth of the country only when demographic dividend is taken care of. Hence, the human resources can only transform into asset through proper recruitment, selection, training, appraising performance, compensating, maintaining relationships, and welfare, health and safety measures of employees in compliance with labour laws of the land. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that the youth needs to be absorbed meaningfully into the workforce to make it productive enough so that this demographic dividend does not turn into a demographic nightmare. Indian Geography: A Complete Study Material Latest Videos Register to get FREE updates All Fields Mandatory • (Ex:9123456789) • Please Select Your Interest • Please specify • ajax-loader • A verifcation code has been sent to your mobile number Please enter the verification code below
Detailed Food Combining Rules One Healthy Life Logo Detailed Food Combining Rules Organic Fruits for a Healthy Life 1. Avoid concentrated starches and concentrated proteins together Examples: Meat and Potatoes, Fish and Rice, Cereal and Milk, Hamburger on a bun, Cheeseburger, Hotdog on a bun, Chicken and French Fries, Macaronis and Cheese, Pizza WHY ? 2. Avoid concentrated starches and acid foods together Examples: Potatoes and Tomatoes, Rice and Tomatoes, Carrots and Tomatoes 3. Avoid two concentrated proteins together Examples: Surf and Turf (fish and meat), Nuts and Cheese, Meat and Cheese, Meat and Milk, Nuts and Milk, Milk and Eggs, Eggs and Cheese (Omelets) This would also mean that you shouldn't eat two different types of nuts at the same time. However, different types of nuts are a lot more similar in their internal structures as are fish and nuts. If you don't have any digestive troubles different types of nuts at one meal are probably o.k. If you have digestive problems already eat only one type of nuts at a meal. WHY ? 1. Avoid fats and proteins together Examples: Cream, butter or oil together with meat, eggs or fish. Nuts and avocados, Cheese and Nuts, Cheese and Avocado 1. Use only little amounts of fat Eating too much fat results in digestive problems. Fat hinders the production of digestive juices. Animal fats like butter should be avoided completely. Plant based fats (nuts & avocados) should be eaten together with raw, green, leafy vegetables (lettuce, celery) to aid in their digestion 1. Avoid acid fruits and concentrated proteins together Examples: Oranges and Nuts, Strawberries and Meat, Grapefruits and Avocados 1. Avoid sweet fruits and starches or sweet fruits and proteins together Examples: Banana crepes, Bananas and Nuts, Banana pancakes 1. Avoid two concentrated starches together Examples: Rice and Potatoes, Sweet corn and Potatoes, Squash and Artichokes 1. Combine acid fruits with subacid fruits Examples: Kiwis and Apples, Strawberries and Pears, Strawberries and Blueberries 1. Combine subacid fruits with sweet fruits Examples: Bananas and Apples, Figs and Pears, Bananas and Mangoes 1. Avoid sweet fruits and acid fruits together Examples: Bananas and Strawberries, Figs and Kiwis, Bananas and Oranges, Grapefruits and Persimmons 1. Combine fruits only with lettuce and celery All fruits (except melons) combine very well with lettuce and celery 1. Eat melons by themselves Melons do not combine well with any other food. They should be eaten by themselves. They also have a very short digestion time. 1. Combine salads with proteins or salads with starches Green leafy salads (Romaine, BIb lettuce, Boston lettuce) combine very well with vegetables and starches OR proteins. 1. Avoid tomatoes and starches Examples: Tomatoes and Potatoes, Tomatoes and Carrots, Tomatoes and Rice This is not a perfect science. Try your best but don't loose any sleep over it. A healthy body can cope with incorrectly combined food if it doesn't happen on a regular basis. Besides, the healthier your body gets the more you will notice the effects of eating incorrectly combined food Smiley Face Food Combining and Digestion Food Combining Made Easy Food Combining Charts Buy organic produce Buy organic produce
Monday, March 18, 2019 palominoPalomino horses have a yellow or gold coat, with a white or light cream mane and tail. The shades of the body coat color range from cream to a dark gold. Unless also affected by other, unrelated genes, palominos have dark skin and brown eyes, though some may be born with pinkish skin that darkens with age. Some have slightly lighter brown or amber eyes. A heterozygous cream dilute (CR) such as the palomino must not be confused with a horse carrying champagne dilution. Champagne (CH) dilutes are born with pumpkin-pink skin and blue eyes, which darken within days to amber, green or light brown, and their skin acquires a darker mottled complexion around the eyes, muzzle, and genitalia as the animal matures.
How to put outer glow in illustrator Learn how to apply glows and feather objects in Adobe Illustrator. Choose Effect > Stylize > Inner Glow or Effect > Stylize > Outer Glow. Raster effects include SVG Filters, all of the effects at the bottom section of the Effect menu, and the Drop Shadow, Inner Glow, Outer Glow, and. Two Adobe Illustrator effects, Inner Glow and Outer Glow, are often Normal Mode, Color=A7F, Opacity=90%, Blur=2px, and set to Edge. I'm trying to add an outer glow to some text in Illustrator and nothing happens when I have the text box selected and go to effects-stylize-outer. First, click "Selection Tool" in the left-hand corner. It's in the vertical toolbar. If you have a more complicated shape, you can use different selection tools to specify. When you have a busy background behind a block of text or object, the image can get lost and be somewhat hard for the eye to recognize. Night Lights: Creating a Glowing Neon Effect in Illustrator A black, or otherwise dark-colored, background will set off the neon effect very. The outer glows are created by applying the Feather, Transform, and The large dark blue stroke has shadows in it, I'd apply those with small. Photoshop layer styles are a popular way to add effects, such as drop shadows and strokes, to layers in a non-destructive way. With the right.
subota, 3. ožujka 2018. LNG, or Liquefied Natural Gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is essentially natural gas in liquid form, having been reduced to a liquid state by a process of cooling to a temperature of minus 162°C. In the course of its transformation to a liquid, the ambient gas undergoes a volume reduction of approximately 600 to oneIt can then be easily loaded aboard specially designed tankers for transportation. While in transit, LNG is maintained in a liquid state by means of highly efficient insulation systems surrounding the cargo compartment. Nevertheless, small amounts of LNG inevitably vaporise or ‘boil off’, since no system can be 100% perfect. This boil-off actually serves a useful purpose, as it helps to auto-refrigerate the remaining LNG and keep it in its liquid state. Boil-off is also used to supplement bunker oil to fuel the tankers. Once it reaches the receiving facility, the LNG is transferred to special storage tanks, where it is kept in liquid form at near atmospheric pressure and temperatures of minus 160°C. It remains in storage until required for redelivery. The production and transport of LNG are far simpler and cost less energy than any other fossil fuel. In the ten year period between 2005 and 2015, LNG production capacity will double from 150 Million mT to over 300 Million mT creating additional supply into in the market. This, combined with the discovery of affordable methods for extracting unconventional gas and the limited use of natural gas as a feedstock, means pricing for natural gas and LNG offers a significant advantage over crude oil linked products. The industry view is this will continue for the foreseeable future as long as these unconventional resources continue to be accessed and additional capacity from the US, China and Australia offsetting any tightening in the market due to Asian demand. In addition to the unit prices, further pressure will come from carbon taxes (white and green certificates) resulting from the lack of progress towards the EU 20/20/20 regulations which will force these businesses to review their energy choices away from oil products. This is also combined with efficiency savings as gas appliances can offer 3-5% higher efficiency than equivalent oil fired products. LNG is odorless, non-toxic and non-corrosive. When exposed to the environment, LNG rapidly evaporates, leaving no residue on water or soil. If spilled, LNG would not result in a slick because 100 percent of it evaporates, leaving no residue behind. Composed primarily of methane, the main products of the combustion of natural gas are carbon dioxide and water vapor, the same compounds we exhale when we breathe. Coal and oil are composed of much more complex molecules, with a higher carbon ratio and higher nitrogen and sulfur contents. This means that when combusted, coal and oil release higher levels of harmful emissions, including a higher ratio of carbon emissions, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Coal and fuel oil also release ash particles into the environment, substances that do not burn but instead are carried into the atmosphere and contribute to pollution. The combustion of natural gas, on the other hand, releases very small amounts of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, virtually no ash or particulate matter, and lower levels of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and other reactive hydrocarbons. Large stocks The worldwide stocks of natural gas are considerably greater than the stocks of accessible crude oil (access to shale gas has added 40% to world gas reserves which are estimated at over 130 years). It makes LNG less dependent on oil-producing nations. Flexible distribution Liquefied natural gas is just as easy to transport as petrol or diesel, because it does not depend on an underground pipeline network. This means it is an interesting alternative for industrial companies in areas that do not have access to the natural gas grid and currently rely on other fuels. Stocks can be added by transporting the gas via rail, waterways and motorways. Gas is used in industrial processes for energy and heat processes. Whilst gas via pipelines is the most common delivery method, LNG offers the opportunity for businesses located off the natural gas grid to utilize this energy source. In addition, LNG provides flexibility to companies connected to the natural gas grid where additional demand or peak requirements can be more effectively met through this type of delivery mechanism. Natural Gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel allowing companies off grid to switch from crude oil related products to reduce their carbon footprint. By using LNG, natural gas can be delivered to each location and then regassified to provide gas when required by the process. This allows the flexibility and efficiency of using natural gas without the investment or development of additional pipeline connection to meet the natural gas grid. By switching from heating oil or heavy oil to a gas appliance, a reduction in combustion CO2 of over 30% can be achieved (source – Atlantic Consulting). Converting to LNG is simple with the only investment required by a customer is the conversion of the equipment to run on this fuel. All technical, safety and regulatory matters will be supported by the team at Prima LNG and with on-site time kept limited to minimize disruption. All equipment is pre-installed to allow maximize efficiency and key connection and commissioning on site simple. LNG as an alternative for diesel or heavy fuel oil in the truck and maritime markets is now becoming a reality. With new regulations promoting the use of cleaner and lower noise emitting energy sources combined with the high energy density of LNG, gas burning engines are now developing rapidly in the market. Maritime Industry The first gas powered ferry begin in Europe in 1998 in Norway with an estimated 7% of all shipping in this region using LNG today. Key drivers for this is the new ECA zones being created within coastal and inland waterways. Strict IMO regulations regarding reduction in SOx and NOx will come in place from 2015-6 with LNG seen as the most efficient route to meet this and future requirements. Under the revised MARPOL Annex VI, the global sulphur cap is reduced initially to 3.50% (from the current 4.50%), effective from 1 January 2012; then progressively to 0.50 %, effective from 1 January 2020, subject to a feasibility review to be completed no later than 2018. The limits applicable in ECAs for SOx and particulate matter were reduced to 1.00%, beginning on 1 July 2010 (from the original 1.50%); being further reduced to 0.10 %, effective from 1 January 2015. (source Truck Fueling EU legislation requires a reduction in greenhouse gas intensity of the fuels used in vehicles by up to 10% by 2020. This has led to the development of the Blue Corridor program to support the building of a core of LNG and CNG fueling stations across Europe. For the end user, LNG as a fuel can provide multiple benefits 1Economical reasons • Higher purchase cost for CNG/LNG trucks and buses are compensated by return of investment due to a favorable or more stable fuel price, if the proper, steadily favorable fiscal policy is kept in place (Benelux: 15 ct/lit cheaper than diesel). • Favorable fuel taxation is essential and customer awareness is crucial for broader market acceptance. CNG and LNG are sold in kg therefore the related cost advantage of natural gas vs. liquid fuels is not transparent due to a wrong labeling. 2Environmental reasons • CNG/LNG is the cleanest fossil fuel with the best carbon to hydrogen ratio (CH4) reducing 27% CO2 vs petrol, 12% vs diesel and savings of up to 97% are possible when using renewable sourced methane. • Harmful substances and air pollutants, such as fine particulate matter are absolutely avoided with Nox emissions extremely low (even 50% below EUR VI) • New Euro VI regulations mean that HGVs have had to lower their emissions, resulting in more and more Fleet Owners considering the benefits of LNG and dual fuel. Noise & vibrations are halved in Natural Gas Trucks vs traditional fuelled trucks (72dB (A) versus 82dB (A)); LNG trucks meet the “PIEK standards” resulting in a substantial contribution to the reduction of noise, in case of, for example, city distribution (supermarkets) 4Safe fuel CNG/LNG is a very safe fuel, compared to other fuels safety is assured due to its physical properties, but also due to the stringent safety requirements for the vehicle fuel systems: • Natural gas is lighter than air, not accumulating on the floor in unlikely case of a leakage; • Natural gas auto ignition temperature is higher than for most other fuels, namely 580°C (i.e. almost 2 times as much as gasoline); • Natural gas flammability range is quite narrow, generally between 5-15% by volume of air; • Natural gas fuel systems, icl the tank, are approved according to the most stringent international safety regulations, i.e. ECE R110, assuring the proper design, installation and mechanism. For the EU, the main reason for pursuing the option of LNG imports has always been security of supply, but the economic benefits are becomng increasingly apparent. Indeed, the LNG option strengthens the negotiating position of European gas buyers vis-à-vispipeline exporters, while at the same time acting as a trigger for market creation and price reduction. Unfortunately, the current drop in LNG import volumes has given critics ammunition to highlight its vulnerabilities. To address this issue, a concerted effort and unreserved commitment to LNG are needed on the part of the EU, its Member States and terminal operators, especially in Poland, where the impact of the first Eastern European LNG terminal will largely depend on the transition of the domestic gas market. Natural gas is nothing new. It has been transported for decades, and new technologies make continuous growth possible. The LNG industry's highest priority has always been safety and security, which is reflected in the industry's enviable safety record. LNG is not stored under pressure and it is not explosive. Although a large amount of energy is stored in LNG, it cannot be released rapidly enough if released into the open environment to cause the overpressures associated with an explosion. LNG vapors (methane) mixed with air are not explosive in an unconfined environment. A major incident resulting in a large release of LNG could result in a fire, but only if there is the right concentration of LNG vapor in the air (5% – 15%) and a source of ignition. Ship Safety More than 135,000 LNG carrier voyages have taken place without major accidents or safety or security problems, either in port or at sea. (The International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers (GIIGNL) – 2011). LNG ships are double-hulled, with more than six feet of void space or water ballast between the outer and inner hulls and the cargo tanks. The double hulls help to prevent leakage or rupture in the event of an accident. LNG ships are also equipped with sophisticated leak detection technology, emergency shutdown systems, advanced radar and positioning systems, and numerous other technologies designed to ensure the safe and secure transport of LNG. Terminal Safety LNG import and export terminals are designed with multiple layers of protection and must meet rigorous safety regulations. They are equipped with spill containment systems, fire protection systems, multiple gas, flame, smoke and low- and high-temperature detectors and alarms, automatic and manual shut-down systems, video surveillance systems, and highly trained personnel. The storage of LNG in safe cryogenic tanks and to use it as a fuel is already regulated by European standards such as: • EN 13645 • EN 13458 With its high experience in flammable gas, Prima LNG and the different Business Units of SHV group have developed a standard for LNG satellite plants in order to comply with these regulations, but also to set a high level of safety. Local regulations, when existing, are also taken into account. Prima LNG can also assist you to get the local approval from authorities, if needed. Technical standards As part of its expertise, Prima LNG has developed a European standard for LNG satellite plants - based on the Europeans norms and standards and with a specific focus on the following points: • Safety first • Low methane emission concept • Easy usage for the end customer Prima LNG and the different Business Units of the SHV group worked with third party specialists in order to challenge this design and to launch this activity in the most sustainable way possible. Projekt LNG terminala na otoku Krku strateški je investicijski projekt u svim fazama razvoja i realizacije, što znači u obje planirane faze, plutajućeg i kopnenog. Europska unija ulože 101,4 milijuna eura bespovratnog novca u izgradnju plutajućeg terminala za ukapljeni plin na Krku, a o čemu u Bruxellesu potpisan i ugovor. Europski novac, iz Instrumenta za povezivanje Europe-CIF, čini oko trećine ukupne cijene projekta procijenjenog na 383,6 milijuna eura. Nedvojbena je činjenica da se važnost izgradnje LNG terminala na Krku ne mjeri isključivo u tržišnim kategorijama, nego i u sigurnosnim i geostrateškim kategorijama. Naime, trgovina LNG-om potiče rast tržišta prirodnog plina te povećava sigurnost i konkurentnost opskrbe. Također, uz moguću promjenu geopolitičkih odnosa, a tu prije svega moguću opskrbu tržišta EU plinom iz različitih izvora, projekt izgradnje našeg LNG terminala postaje važno pitanje energetske politike u gravitirajućem geopolitičkom okruženju Hrvatske. Hrvatski Centar Obnovljivih Izvora Energije (HCOIE) Medarska 24, 10 000 ,Zagreb, or on BANK ACCOUNT 2484008-1105745975 IBAN HR0324840081105745975 3 komentara: 1. top 10 distance mba in india A debt of gratitude is in order for your own wonderful posting! I truly appreciated understanding it, you will be an extraordinary creator. I will recollect to bookmark your blog and will return in the near future. I need to support that you proceed with your extraordinary activity, have a pleasant night! 2. Procijenjena vrijednost hrvatske LNG investicije uključuje poseban FSRU brod (eng. Floating Storage and Regasification Unit), čija je procijenjena vrijednost 160 milijuna eura, izgradnju pristana s pomoćnim postrojenjima i visokotlačnim priključnim plinovodom za plutajući terminal za ukapljeni prirodni plin što iznosi 60 milijuna eura te sredstva za izvlaštenje, koja su procijenjena na 14 milijuna eura. Europska komisija za izgradnju plutajućeg terminala dodijelila je bespovratna sredstva u iznosu 101,4 milijuna eura, budući da je projekt LNG terminala uvršten na listu projekata od zajedničkog interesa Europske komisije. Prema današnjoj Vladinoj odluci, iz državnog proračuna će se za realizaciju prve faze izgradnje LNG terninala osigurati 100 milijuna eura, odnosno 50 milijuna eura u 2019. i 50 milijuna eura u 2020. godini, a do isplate tih sredstava Hrvatska elektroprivreda će osigurati potrebne pozajmice društvu LNG Hrvatska d.o.o. za dospjela plaćanja u 2019. godini. Preostala sredstva, u iznosu od 32,6 milijuna eura osigurat će osnivači društva LNG Hrvatska, Hrvatska elektroprivreda i Plinacro. Ministar zaštite okoliša i energetike Tomislav Ćorić podsjetio je da je projekt LNG terninala strateški investicijski projekt Republike Hrvatske, važan za energetska neovisnost i sigurnost, za što je neophodno diverzificirati dobavne pravce i smanjiti ovisnost o uvozu iz samo jednog izvora. - Realizaciju projekta LNG terminala treba promatrati prvenstveno kroz njegovu sigurnosnu komponentu i geopolitički značaj za Republiku Hrvatsku i Europsku uniju, istaknuo je Ćorić. On je u već nekoliko istupa naglašavao kako je LNG terminal strateški projekt koji zaslužuje biti financiran. Smatra da je riječ o strateškom državnom projektu koji je potreban s obzirom da daje sigurnost dobave plina za Hrvatsku. Na natječaju za zakup kapaciteta budućega terminala popunjeno je 520 milijuna prostornih metara, dok je za isplativost potrebno 1,5 milijardi, a ukupni kapacitet projektiran je na 2,6 milijardi prostornih metara. Unatoč tome, rekao je u nekoliko navrata Ćorić, LNG terminal ostaje dominantni Vladin energetski projekt. Napominjao je pritom da su, u vezi zakupa kapaciteta, došla dva pisma namjere iz Mađarske praćena upitima o mogućnosti ulaska u vlasničku strukturi budućeg terminala. Najavio je nastavak razgovora s Mađarima te naglasio da je riječ o strateškom projektu, ne samo za Hrvatsku koja bi mogla biti sve više uvozno ovisna u osiguranju plina, nego i za Europu, posebno zemlje kao što su Mađarska i Ukrajina. Donesen četvrti nacionalni akcijski plana energetske učinkovitosti za razdoblje do kraja 2019. godine Vlada je donijela i četvrti nacionalni akcijski plan energetske učinkovitosti za razdoblje do kraja 2019. godine, sukladno EU direktivi o energetskoj učinkovitosti prema kojoj članice Europskoj komisiji podnose te planove. Plan sadržava 37 planiranih mjera, poput programa energetske obnove zgrada, financijskih poticaja za energetski učinkovita vozila i dr., s očekivanim uštedama energije od 4,53 tera džula do kraja ove godine. Za provedbu tih mjera u ovogodišnjem državnom proračunu osigurano je 357 milijuna kuna. Uz to, dionici provedbenih mjera, HEP grupa, HEP Proizvodnja, HEP Toplinarstvo, HOPS, HEP ODS i Janaf, osigurali su izvanproračunska sredstava od 735,6 milijuna kuna. 3. German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said he was optimistic that Germany would build two terminals in the foreseeable future to import liquefied natural gas (LNG). As Germany phases out nuclear power and coal, it is increasingly turning to gas to compliment renewable energy sources. It is under pressure, especially from the United States, to cut its dependence on Russian gas and buy in LNG. Altmaier told a meeting with German and U.S. energy officials and industry lobbyists that Germany was weighing up the extent of state subsidies and regulations before private investors build the terminals needed for LNG imports. Of three sites under consideration - Brunsbuettel, Stade and Wilhelmshaven - Altmaier was confident terminals would be built at two in the foreseeable future. "All three projects are (being) carefully considered and examined," he said. "I am quite optimistic that at least two of the terminals will be realised within a very foreseeable period of time." Altmaier made clear that the question of LNG was a separate issue to Nord Stream 2 pipeline, backed by Germany, which will bring Russian gas to Europe under the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukrainian pipelines. Ukraine is concerned that the 1,225 km (760 mile) pipeline will lead to a dramatic loss in transport revenues but Germany is trying to reassure Kiev that gas will still be transported from Russia through Ukraine's existing pipeline.

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