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Facebook Twitter Which style of WSDL should I use? Introduction A WSDL document describes a web service. Which style of WSDL should I use? A WSDL binding describes how the service is bound to a messaging protocol, particularly the SOAP messaging protocol. A WSDL SOAP binding can be either a Remote Procedure Call (RPC) style binding or a document style binding. A SOAP binding can also have an encoded use or a literal use. This gives you four style/use models: Developing RESTful Web Services in Perl. By Andrew Sterling Hanenkamp 02/19/2008 If you are a web developer and aren't familiar with the term "REST," you should know that you regularly work within this software architecture. Developing RESTful Web Services in Perl REST Web Services What is REST? REST is a term coined by Roy Fielding in his Ph.D. dissertation [1] to describe an architecture style of networked systems. REST is an acronym standing for Representational State Transfer. Why is it called Representational State Transfer? The Web is comprised of resources. XFire. Repurposing CGI applications with SOAP. Axis.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Is chronic fatigue syndrome a real disease? A Answers (1) • AJacob Teitelbaum, Integrative Medicine, answered A chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) study showed changes in over 700 proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid, the fluid that bathes the brain, in CFS patients. These patterns were much different for CFS patients versus chronic Lyme versus healthy controls, again proving that CFS is a real physical illness, and adding more info that may point to both a diagnostic test and a treatment. The good news is there's no need to have a spinal tap! This is simply one more study proving CFS is a very real physical disease, and the study was even reported in a CBS news segment. Good timing to counteract the misinformation from the Pacing, graded Activity, and Cognitive behaviour therapy: a randomised Evaluation (PACE) report. A literature review looking at severe fatigue in cancer patients also noted that counseling and exercise can be helpful in cancer patients. Using the line of reasoning applied by some to the Pace study, this would also suggest that cancer is all in people's minds. Of course, this is simply an absurdity that points to the simple fact that for most severe debilitating diseases, emotional support and coping skills can be helpful along with maintaining conditioning. In chronic fatigue syndrome, people are facing an energy crisis so they can only walk or exercise to a certain point, beyond which they crash and burn - so you only want to exercise "as able." This means listening to your body and seeing what feels comfortable. On the other hand, if you don't exercise at all, your body has a "use it or lose it" approach to efficiency, and you'll decondition. Basic common sense says that for cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis (which doctors also used to believe was all in people's minds, calling it "hysterical paralysis") and any severe disease, it is helpful to get emotional support, coping skills, and exercise as able. The problem occurs when a form of cognitive behavioral therapy is used that includes beating people over the head with the misguided belief that the illness is not real. This then changes from teaching coping skills to being abusive. It is a basic matter of common sense. CFS is real and it is treatable. Helpful? 2 people found this helpful. Did You See? Close What is fatigue?
The Heckscher-Ohlin Trade Model 1. Introduction The Heckscher-Ohlin (HO hereafter) model was first conceived by two Swedish economists, Eli Heckscher (1919) and Bertil Ohlin. Rudimentary concepts were further developed and added later by Paul Samuelson and Ronald Jones among others. There are four major components of the HO model: 1. Factor Price Equalization Theorem, 2. Stolper-Samuelson Theorem, 3. Rybczynski Theorem, and 4. Heckscher-Ohlin Trade Theorem. Due to the difficulty of predicting the pattern of trade in a world of many goods, instead of the Heckscher-Ohlin Theorem, the Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek Theorem that predicts the factor content of trade received attention in recent years. Eli Heckscher (1879 - 1952) Bertil Ohlin (1899-1979) Why HO model? It is based on the asssumption that countries have identical production technologies. This model more accurately describes the world economy after WWII. 2. Factor Price Equalization Theorem In July 2012, the average monthly wage in Shenzen was 3,900 yuan ($616 or $3.50 per hour). The minimum wage in Shenzhen is the highest, 1,500 yuan ($240). BMW pays $67 per hour in Leipzig and is profitable. US autoworkers used to get $150,000 (including benefits) a year, which translates into about $75 per hour. Their wages declined to $34 per hour in 2010. After free trade What will be the impact of free trade on factor prices such as wage and interest rates? 3. Assumptions of FPE 1. No artificial barriers to trade World trade is assumed to be free from any impediments, such as tariffs, quotas, voluntary export restraints, and exchange control. 2. No transportation cost Galata Museo del Mare, Genoa (Galata Maritime Museum) Remark: The implication of (1) and (2) is that commodity trade equalizes commodity prices between countries. That is, Americans and Britons pay the same prices for same commodities. Like Ricardo, HO model draws a sharp distinction between domestic and external factor mobility. The maximum degree of factor mobility is permitted between industries within the same country (domestic factor mobility). But neither capital nor labor can cross national borders (international factor immobility). IFI implies that Mexican workers are not allowed to work in, or migrate to, the US. 5. No specialization Neither country specializes in one commodity. After the introduction of free trade, neither country specializes in one commodity, as in Ricardian model. Each country produces both goods. 6. Production functions exhibit constant returns to scale (CRS) and differ among industries Such a production function is sometimes said to be homogeneous of degree 1 - HD(1) for short here. Specifically, CRS means: 7. Both countries have Identical technologies Paper was invented by Cai Lun in AD 105. Printing with carved wood blocks appeared during the Tang dynasty. Movable type made of ceramic was invented by Bi Sheng during Song dynasty (c. 1050 AD), long before the Gutenberg printing press (1436). Paper technology did not spread to Europe because traveling became risky after the fall of the Roman Empire. 8. No factor intensity reversal to be explained later. An important question is: Will free trade also equalize factor prices? 4. Why FPE is relevant Cultural impacts of The creation of a large free trade area unifies and promotes its culture and power. Especially, low wage countries tend to adopt the culture of high wage economy. (i) Since the US created a large free trade area by eliminating interstate trade tax, it became a dominant power in the 20th century. European countries are imitating the US by creating EU. Now most invoices are written in English even between countries not involving the US. (ii) In the West, Caesar and Augustus laid the foundation for a large free trade area (27 BC - 476 AD). Romans built roads to Lutetia (now Paris) and aquiduct there during the first century AD, and founded Londinium (now London) around 43 AD. (iii) In China, Qin Shi Huang united the warring states, and created a large free trade area in 221 BC. China's culture spreads to Korea and Japan through trade. The first page of Analects of Confucius contains two verses in bold: The Master said, "Is it not a pleasure to learn something and practice it often? "Is it not a joy to have friends visiting you from far away corners? This book written by Confucius (551 - 473 BC) before Plato and Socrates includes Zhu Xi's commentaries. This edition was printed in Japan more than 200 years ago. Evidence that trade spreads technologies. British Museum. Silver denarius was worth about $20 (to buy bread as of 2005) during the time of Jesus. pay = 225 denarii (about $4500) during the first century. Julius Caesar's tomb in Palatino Hill, Rome An Italian inscription which explains that the body of an ancient ruler, Caesar, was deposited here. Julius Caesar laid the cornerstone of the Roman Empire (27 BC - 476 AD). By conquering neighboring countries, Roman government also provided police function and ensured safety of travelers. For example, Praetorian Guard and Roman legions stationed in various outposts provided peace and maintained law and order throughout the Roman Empire. As a result, international trade flourished on an unprecedented scale. Licinius Crassus crushed the Spartacus rebellion (71 BC). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Since the 1960, the massive tide of globalization is changing the lives and economies of large trading blocs. 5. Unit Value Isoquants Figure 1, Unit value isoquant Different production functions (2) Different production functions yield different isoquants: Two different UVIs intersect each other. Figure 2 Efficient productoin (3) Choose y2, L2, and K2 to maximize Π = p2y2 - wL2 - rK2 subject to y2 = F2(L2,K2). MRTS = w/r Figure 3, Implication of cost minimization Survival of 1 industry only. Figure 4 Figure 5, Common Isocost Curve 6. Factor Price Equalization Theorem w = w, r = r. How will her wage be affected by free trade? Proof PC in factor markets + No specialization imply w = p1MPL1 = P2MPL2 r = p1MPK1 = P2MPK2 w/r = MPL1/MPK1 = MRTS1 = the slope of UVI: y1 = 1/p1. = MPL2/MPK2 = MRTS2 = the slope of UVI: y2 = 1/p2. Thus, in the Home country, a common isocost curve is tangent to both UVIs. The same is true in the foreign country. No Barriers to Trade + No Transportation Costs imply Thus, w = p1MPL1 = p1MP*L1. But will marginal products of labor in any industry be the same in the two countries? Identical Technologies Figure 6. Effects of CRS on marginal products. Retail prices during Edo period (1603-1868). Tax on harvests (rent) was about 40 - 50% during this period. Similarly, rent was 70% of harvest in Korea during the 18th century. No good statistics were available in America until after WWII. Potato Famine in Ireland. The Ordnance Survey 1834 in the Parish of Killygarvan noted : "The old method of paying the rents by the produce on a farm of six acres was thus : the potatoes and oats fed the family, the oat straw the cow, the Barley paid the November rent, its straw thatched the cabin. The flax turned into cloth kept the family engaged in winter and paid the May rent". (rent was bout 7 £) Pressured by General MacArthur, Japanese government in 1946 instituted a land reform, which helped tenant farmers to purchase the land they cultivate at low prices. What will be the impact of trade on land rent? 7. FPE is not observed in the real world. FPE in auto industry Volkswagen workers reject UAW 8. A Glimpse into the Future of the World Economy: Long Run Convergence of Per Capita Income Will income be equalized? In the long run, the division between LDCs and developed economies may become blurred. National income is written as wL+ rK. Per capita income is (w+rS/L). Beyond a certain threshold level of income, per capita savings rate is a decreasing function of per capita income or wage. For example, China's household savings rate is over 40%, but it is expected to decline. Due to its high savings rate, China was able to maintain the growth rate of 9% over the past 25 years. As the savings rate declines with the rise in per capita income, per capita income approaches a limit that is attained by high income. Eventually, in a stationary state, a nation's economic power is measured by its population. In the short run, its wage also matters. However, population growth also stops once the wage reaches a threshold level. GDP per capita Lichtenstein ($138,000) -> Zimbabwe ($340) in 2014
anarchy archives About Us Contact Us Other Links Critics Corner The Cynosure Michael Bakunin William Godwin Emma Goldman Peter Kropotkin Errico Malatesta Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Elisée Reclus Max Stirner Murray Bookchin Noam Chomsky Bright but Lesser Lights Cold Off The Presses Anarchist History Worldwide Movements First International Paris Commune Haymarket Massacre Spanish Civil War Art and Anarchy Education and Anarchy Anarchist Poets Music and Anarchy The Spirit of the Age William Godwin, By William Hazlitt Herbert Read on Godwin J. Steven Kreis, An Uneasy Affair: William Godwin and English Radicalism, 1793-1797 Godwin's Place in the Anarchist Tradition - a Bicentennial Tribute Willliam Godwin: An Intellectual History* By Dana Ward Although he never applied the label to himself, William Godwin is considered the first anarchist. In his Enquiry Concerning Political Justice And Its Influence on Morals and Happiness, published in 1793, Godwin laid out the main themes which subsequent anarchists adherred to and developed. For a brief period, Godwin was the most celebrated political theorist in England, but as one biographer noted, "within Godwin's own lifetime he had so completely lost the interest of the public that even the fact of his existence was not widely known." (Clark, 1977, p. 4.) Many later anarchists were either unaware or unfamiliar with the themes Godwin developed. Indeed, Kropotkin was the first among the classic anarchists to have actually read Godwin and recognized his pioneering work as central to anarchist theory. In the 1790's, however, Godwin was a giant among English intellectuals and his influence spread to France and the United States. Of particular note, Godwin's wife was none other than the founding mother of modern feminist thought, Mary Wollstonecraft. Their daughter authored the classic Frankenstein, and their son-in-law, of course, was the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, upon whom Godwin had the profoundest impact. Godwin did not limit his intellectual efforts to political philosophy, but wrote novels, a play, biographies, numerous essays, and literary criticisms. In short, he was a man of wide talent who moved in the most progressive circles of his time. Godwin has come down to us with the epithet of the "man of reason" attached to his name, for his faith in reason is at the core of his philosophy. Like many thinkers of his day, Godwin believed that one could not really ever know the essence of things, for we must always depend upon our own sensations for our knowledge. Consequently, our knowledge will always be limited, and there can be no absolute truths. As for mathematical and scientific facts, or "immutable truths", he argued that these do "nothing more than predict with greater or less probability." (e.a.) Despite the fact that all knowledge is only probable, not certain, indeed, because that is the case, we must rely on reason in order to insure that our predictions will have the greatest probability of being correct. "He notes that the greater the care taken in the exercise of reason, and the wider the evidence used in that exercise, the greater will be our ability to explain and predict our experience." (ibid, p. 12) Like Locke, Godwin held that the mind at birth is a "tabula rasa", with no innate ideas or knowledge. All knowledge is built up out of experience through impressions, memory and association. He goes beyond the Lockeian epistemology, however in "distinguishing between two faculties of perception, sensation and understanding, the latter of which has qualities which are not derivable from experience." (ibid, p. 13) This moves him into a stream of thought fundamentally different from the Lockeian epistemology, and more in keeping with the Kantian philosophy and 20th century psychology associated with Jean Piaget. To Godwin, like Piaget, the mind takes an active role in organizing experience. Indeed, the mind organizes experience such that conceptions conform to certain laws. For Godwin, these were the laws of association, but these associations are different from those in Locke's view. There are innate processes of understanding associated with reason which allow us to make sense of the world. Ideas can be brought to life either through external stimulus as in the Lockean epistemology, or internally through active processes of construction as in the Piagetian epistemology. Godwin certainly had no full blown epistemology identical to Piaget's, but it is significant that Godwin anticipated by roughly a century and a half some of the ideas which would ultimately be confirmed by scientific inquiry and for that reason alone, his is a more adequate epistemology than that associated with liberal thinkers such as Locke and those who followed in that tradition. Godwin described the process by which we move from experience to understanding as one in which "we detach ourselves from the immediate impressions of sense, and proceed to generalities." These generalities, or abstract categories are then employed, through reason, in order to bring an increasingly wider portion of our experience under rational explanation and control. That is, through reason, we can understand and control our experience. Here is a key to his anarchist philosophy. Only reason allows us to understand and control our actions and therefore it is to reason, not authority, that we owe allegiance. Furthermore, he argued that "When reason leads us to a conclusion, and other considerations are not present to the mind, its force is irresistible." (Ibid, p. 19) That is, reason's conclusions are irresitable. To support that contention, he must disprove the idea that actions and dispositions are caused by innate principles of judgment, antenatal impressions or corporeal structure, and he must show that internal irrationalities will not prevent people from being reshaped by an improved external environment. So, while certain processes of understanding may be innate, the principles of judgment are not. They grow out of experience in the environment, and therefore social structures can improve or degrade the human capacity to reason. Reason integrates our knowledge, judges its relevance, and applies it to particular cases. To Godwin, "The perfection of the human character consists in approaching as nearly as possible to the perfectly voluntary state." In that state, reason, and therefore justice, will prevail. Of course, he recognized that many important forces compete with reason for guidance of human thought and action, including self-deceptions, habits, customs and prejudice, none of which he regards as insurmountable. But his abiding faith was that knowing the good leads to willing it, and the passion necessary to will the good is on the whole desireable. Indeed, he saw reason and emotion not as antagonists, but partners. Without feeling or passion, action can not take place and the direction of action is dependent upon the balance of different feelings attached to different courses of action. Life, then, is not a question of cold rationality, but of the integration of reason and emotion. Godwin makes a number of assumptions which are extemely questionable form the modern standpoint. For example, he dismisses the effects of environment on the development of character during the first five years of life, a position that could hardly be upheld today. Also, he adhered to the doctrine of necessity, or determinism, which holds that the probability that chance exists in the universe is increasingly less as a greater number of events are found to occur according to law. Today, the uncertainty principle and chaos theory render such a position difficult to accept, but nevertheless, Godwin's theory remains fairly coherent and remarkably modern. But there are two points which are rather strange: 1) his attempt to refute the concept of free will, and 2) his antagonism to all forms of cooperation. Later anarchists rest much of their arguments upon the concept of free will and hold up cooperation as the highest form of human association. The free will point is less of a contradiction once it is examined. In essence, he says that "it is impossible for one to perceive that an end is good, and yet fail to desire it." In that case, we are not free to chose good or evil and therefore free will does not exist. Thus, when we make judgments, the outcome is based on all the events and experiences which preceeded it and the outcome will not vary unless the antecendants change. Hence the importance of attending to the social conditions which enhance or inhibit the ability to reason. Furthermore, if there is free will, then there can not be motivation and emotion, neither of which he is willing to dispense with, since if one is free to ignore motives, they are superfluous. The mind cannot first choose to be influenced by a motive, and afterwards submit to its operation, for in that case the preference would belong wholly to this previous volition. In the long run, Godwin's defense of determinism and attack on free will end up sounding remarkably like an argument for free will. Godwin "believes that reason demands that the welfare of each person should be looked upon as equivalent in importance to that of any other." (ibid) A simple doctrine of self-interest, then, is inadequate to produce justice in Godwin's view, although as we shall soon see he was indeed a utilitarian. To Godwin, simple self-interest is too close to egoism which all too easily results in oppression, violence, and injustice. Furthermore, Godwin believed that there is ample evidence that people are motivated by truth and truth, which is essentially justice, will lead to actions which are contrary to self interest. In this sense, he comes close to the concept of self-interest rightly understood, which takes into consideration a broader array of interests and a longer time span than the immediate situation. Godwin believed in the perfectability of human beings. He was quite aware of the evil and cruelty found in all societies, but he argued this evil was the result of lack of insight brought about chiefly by social conditions. Chief among those conditions is inequality. Godwin had a profound sense of egalitarianism and viewed the differences among individuals as being the product of different social circumstances, not of inherent differences in people's abilities. He clearly saw that some differences were the result of inheritance, but strongly believed that proper environmental structuring could overcome any inherent inequalities. This point leads to his concept of human perfectability. He believed humans are perfectable, but will never be perfect because as each new adjustment is made toward perfection, new relations and consequently new problems are created. But over the course of social development it is possible to achieve a closer and closer approximation of perfection in which humans would naturally pursue the good. Thus, natural goodness, equality and perfectablity are three essential components of his vision of human nature. In Political Justice, Godwin endevours to negate theories which imply or state that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That is, society contra Rousseau, is not superior to the sum of individual wills. For Godwin, society is "nothing more than an aggregation of individuals. Its claims and duties must be aggregate of their claims and duties, the one no more precarious and arbitrary than the others." (ibid, p. 81) "Efforts for improvement of society must therefore be aimed at the improvement of each individual in it. Until each individual is made more rational, and therefore more moral, social insitutions will not become more just." (ibid, p. 82.) It is here that he begins to attack all forms of cooperation. The guiding principle of his entire moral philosophy is utility. For Godwin, political justice is equivalent in meaning to social utility. Pleasure and pain, happiness and misery, constitute the subject of moral inquiry. "He asserts that the highest value is happiness, followed by virtue, knowledge, and finally, liberty. He makes it clear that these are not all ultimate values and that only happiness, which he uses synonymously with pleasure, is absolute. Each is a means toward that which precedes it." (ibid, p.95) The greatest happiness for all can only be achieved through impartiality. "The goal is therefore the elimination... of selfish interest and subjectivity in one's dealings with others. The needs of each person, including oneself are to be accorded equal value in deciding a course of action." (ibid, p.99) *The current version closely follows Clark, 1977.
Humane Raccoon Removal and Exclusion Raccoons In the Neighborhood Have you noticed an increase in raccoons in your neighborhood lately? Raccoons are attracted by food sources, and in the warmer months, by a snug place to have their young. Why are there Raccoons in My Yard The fastest way to answer this question is to take a look around your yard. All of these will attract raccoons into your yard: • Fruit trees and fallen fruit • Open vegetable gardens, • Bird seed fallen from bird feeders and rodents, • Outdoor pet food dishes and water bowls, • Overwatered lawns, • Open compost piles, • Garbage Feeding raccoons creates problems for wild animals and for people. Raccoons do not need our handouts, they are excellent foragers for food. Cleaning up fallen fruit, protecting your vegetable garden - the same way you would protect it from the neighbor's cat using it as a latrine - cutting back on how much seed goes into the feeder, and feeding your pets indoors will remove raccoon attractants. Ask your neighbors if they will remove raccoon attractants from their yards also. A Raccoon Is Under Your House, InYour Attic Raccoons usually retire to dens or resting sites. Dens are made above ground in tree cavities, chimneys, and attics, and underground in old woodchuck burrows, storm sewers, or crawl spaces under buildings. Raccoons often make use of openings in buildings as temporary shelter or a place to keep their young safe. If rats, squirrels, or simple disrepair have provided an entry point in crawl spaces, attics, or under decks, raccoons and many other species of wildlife may take advantage of it. Raccoons have also learned to use pet doors to find food and water. Raccoons typically occupy a home range. The size of their home range depends on how much food and water is available in the area. Due to an abundance of food in unsecured trash receptacles and accessible pet food, cities and suburbs can support small home ranges and larger numbers of animals than would be normal in unpopulated areas. Raccoons do not have permanent dens, rather they occupy whatever hidden space is most readily available when daylight ends their nightly foraging trips. High in a tree is a favorite daytime sleeping place. In the spring, however, a mother raccoon must have a secure place to leave her young until they are old enough to begin traveling with her at night. Between eight and ten weeks of age, they will leave the nest with their mother and begin to use other hiding places within her territory. How To Begin An Exclusion Inspection Raccoons and Gardens Garden problems caused by raccoons almost always involve food and water sources. These nocturnal, opportunistic foragers can cause damage to lawns while searching for grubs, especially newly installed sod, which they roll back with their dexterous hands. Like skunks, they may also dig in lawns, but the holes will be shaped differently from those made by skunks. They are attracted to decorative ponds that contain fish and fruit trees bearing ripe fruit, especially in the autumn when young animals are learning their mothers’ territories. In most cases, solutions to these situations require simple problem solving. Raccoons are smart and adaptable, and they have been shown to teach one another, especially when food is abundant. Learning what attracts them and eliminating access to food will help solve the problems. Some Notes on Raccoons Tearing Up the Lawn Raccoons and Pets Raccoons are formidable adversaries when attacked by dogs or aggressive cats, but they are often very tolerant of other species if competition for food is not the defining factor. The real danger to pets is that raccoons share some of the same diseases. Keeping your pets’ vaccinations up to date will protect them from contagion. Raccoons and Rabies Due to the epidemic of raccoon rabies in eastern North America, people are worried about rabies in raccoons. In California, where wildlife relocation is strictly prohibited by law, there have been only a few cases of raccoon rabies in the last 10 years. However, any mammal – including humans and raccoons – can contract rabies from the bite of infected carrier animals, so touching a raccoon is never advised. A raccoon seen during the day is not necessarily sick or dangerous. She may be foraging longer hours to support her young or moving to a new location. Raccoons and Disease Raccoons are susceptible to canine distemper virus, feline panleukopenia virus, fleas, ticks, and a particularly aggressive roundworm called Baylisascaris procyonis. The roundworms cause little harm to raccoons, however eggs from this parasite, like those from the canine and feline roundworms, are shed in raccoons’ feces. Raccoons use communal latrine sites located at various places within their home range. These latrine sites pose a danger to pets and children who may ingest soil containing roundworm eggs. The best way to protect your family is to limit food sources and prevent large populations of raccoons from developing. Raccoons and the Law California state law makes it illegal to keep a raccoon – or any wild animals – as a pet. Classified as furbearers, there is a limited season when hunting them is permitted, however strict regulations dictate how, where and when this may occur. Under depredation laws, homeowners have options if a wild animal is damaging their property (following strict regulations for humane treatment), however removing an animal rarely solves the problem, because if the attraction remains, another animal will take his or her place. Relocation is strictly illegal. Raccoons and Relocation State laws prohibit the transport of raccoons into California and make it illegal to trap and relocate wildlife within California. Relocation can cause problems for other people and can spread wildlife diseases into unaffected areas. Relocation is NOT a humane solution. Young animals are orphaned and starve to death if their mother is trapped. Displaced adult animals most often do not survive in a new, unfamiliar territory, where they are likely to be attacked by resident raccoons. Removing the attractant and excluding the animals is humane and effective. Humane WildLife Removal Services in California: Contra Costa County: - Lindsay WildLife Museum Los Angleles County: - Humane Pest Control Marin County: - WildCare Solutions Monterey County: - Humane Pest Control San Francisco: - WildCare Solutions San Mateo County: - WildCare Solutions North - Humane Pest Control South Sonoma County: - Animal Pest Control & Bat Exclusion - A WildLife Exclusion Service Bio-Pest - Rodents & Insects: Marin Pestec - Rodents: SF, South Bay While some wildlife species are being driven to extinction by the effects of human development other species thrive in our company. Inevitably the species we most often refer to as “nuisance” are those who have learned to live with us and benefit from our behavior. Scientists refer to these as commensal species. Within the last 100 years raccoons have learned to thrive among humans. Knowing the raccoon’s natural history can help you find ways to humanely exclude unwanted intrusions without causing death or creating orphaned young . Wild animals all seek food, water, and a place to raise their young. A humane exclusion calls upon knowledge of the biology, behavior, and natural history of wild animals to humanely resolve conflicts between people and the species we most commonly come into contact with. It is cost effective to humanely evict unwanted animals from crawl spaces, attics, under decks and other areas, and then prevent future problems by sealing up the entry points. The Humane Exclusin difference 1. Experience in managing wildlife, especially mothers with young 2. Licensed home inspectors, contractors, and trappers on staff 3. Commitment to humane solutions; never euthanizing or relocating healthy animals Watch First Night Out on PBS Nature. More About Raccoons Raccoons (Procyon lotor) are intelligent, social, and highly adaptable mammals. While they prefer mature woodlands, raccoons are found in almost every major habitat, able to tolerate a wide range of habitats throughout North America, with the exception of those where water is scarce. Their range is expanding as they take advantage of sheltering opportunities that human beings provide. The average adult male weighs approximately ten to fifteen pounds, with the female between six and twelve pounds. Their diets are highly varied, however the mainstays of their diet are fruits, vegetables, acorns, and earthworms. Nocturanl animals, raccoons have excellent night vision and a developed sense of touch.
Harnessing DNA-based technology for drug discovery Traditionally, developing small molecules for research or drug treatments has been a painstaking enterprise. Drugs work largely by binding to a target protein and modifying or inhibiting its activity, but discovering the rare compound that hits a particular protein is like, well, finding a needle in a haystack. With a specific protein target identified, scientists typically either gather compounds from nature or synthesize artificial compounds, then test them to see whether they act on the target. The birth of combinatorial chemistry in the early nineties promised to revolutionize this laborious process by offering a way to synthesize trillions of compounds at a time. These test tube techniques have been refined to "evolve" collections of as many as a quadrillion different proteins or nucleic acids to bind a molecular target. These techniques are called molecular breeding, because like traditional livestock and crop breeding techniques, they combine sets of genotypes over generations to produce a desired phenotype. Molecular breeding has been restricted to selecting protein or nucleic acid molecules, which have not always been the best lead compounds for drugs. Conventional synthetic organic chemistry, which has traditionally been a better source of candidate drugs, has not been amenable to this type of high throughput molecular breeding. But this bottleneck has potentially been overcome and is described in a series of three articles by David Halpin et al. in this issue of PLoS Biology. By inventing a genetic code that acts as a blueprint for synthetic molecules, the authors show how chemical collections of nonbiological origin can be evolved. In the first article, Halpin et al. present a method for overcoming the technical challenge of using DNA to direct the chemical assembly of molecules. In the second, they demonstrate how the method works and test its efficacy by creating a synthetic library of peptides (protein fragments) and then showing that they can find the "peptide in a haystack" by identifying a molecule known to bind a particular antibody. The third paper shows how the method can support a variety of chemistry applications that could potentially synthesize all sorts of nonbiological "species." Such compounds, the authors point out, can be used for drug discovery or as molecular tools that offer researchers novel ways to disrupt cellular processes and open new windows into cell biology. While medicine has long had to cope with the evolution of drug-resistant pathogens, it may now be possible to fight fire with fire. Source: Eurekalert & others Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved. -- Orson Welles
The Starry Night The Starry Night Artist Vincent van Gogh Year 1889 Medium Oil on canvas Location Museum of Modern Art, New York City Dimensions 29 in × 36.25 in 73.7 cm × 92.1 cm Vincent van Gogh Famous Paintings The Starry Night, 1889 Sunflowers, 1888 Starry Night Over the Rhone, 1888 Irises, 1889 The Potato Eaters, 1885 Yellow House, 1888 Café Terrace at Night, 1888 The Red Vineyard, 1888 Outskirts of Paris, 1887 Vincent van Gogh was known to be one of the famous and well-renowned painters in the history of art. His works were considered by the world, the works of a genius. One of his masterpieces which brought him to the portals of fame and honor was the widely known and esteemed, The Starry Night. The Reason for Fame One may ask why The Starry Night is so popular. One might say perhaps it is because of the stars that make you dream. Vincent van Gogh, himself, described it literally as not one of the important pieces of art that he made. He, the creator of the masterpiece, probably had missed what was so mystical about the painting. Painting Features The painting features a scene of a Dutch-looking town. It is mainly composed of stars ablaze in their own luminescence, picturesque town structures, and a bright crescent moon. The painting is exaggerated, as stated by van Gogh himself. It is like a replica of a beautiful night. A viewer might imagine himself in the scene, observing the night in peace and amazement. The night sky keeps the viewer’s eyes moving about the painting while following the curves and creating a dot pattern caused by its swirly pattern. There are rolling hills that generate an aura of serenity from the town structures. The silent yet bright and fiery dark shades from the window of the structures could spark a viewer’s curiosity of the wonderful dark and starry skies. A mysterious entity is then shown in the left of the portrait. It can be interpreted in different ways depending on who is viewing it. It creates a visual similarity from its pattern with the night sky. This similarity creates a sensation of depth in the artwork. The Artist Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutchman born on the 30th of March, 1853. He was known to be a painter of the post-impressionist style. Post-impressionism was used to describe the maturation of French art since Manet. Vincent practiced the used of vivid colors, distinctive brush strokes, thick application of paint, and unwavering subject matter about the realities of life. On the other hand, rumors about his death became widely known, positing that the artist died due to an illness brought about by incoherence and inactivity. Other Works The Starry Night was just one of Van Gogh’s many works. He grew up loving to draw and later matured as an artist. He had 2,100 artworks, including 860 oil paintings and more than 1,300 watercolor paintings, drawings, prints, and sketches. He mostly focused on drawing portraits, including himself and delicately beautiful things like flowers and scenic wheat fields. Some magnificent works of Vincent Van Gogh include: At Eternity’s Gate, Bedroom in Arles, Café Terrace at Night, and The Potato Eaters. Oil Painting The Starry Night was made with oil paint. It involves pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil. The output of the process varies according to the painter’s choice of pigments and effects. It often shows sign of consistency in the painting. Oil Painting was first used by Indian and Chinese painters for their Buddhist Paintings. Its origin started in western Afghanistan and later migrated to the west during the Middle Ages. 2 Responses to “The Starry Night” 1. bethany says: i think this painting is very good and very deatailed this is the painting that inspired me to be an artist thank you vincent and r.i.p every artist who was inspired by you miss you and would like to thank you 2. art says: Leave a Reply Current ye@r *
Bullet Train Bullet Train is a anime/manga thing Edit this Page The content below is entirely editable. The bullet train (or Shinkansen as it is called in Japanese) is Japan's high-speed train that was first introduced in 1964. The Shinkansen has proven to be an efficient and safe means of transportation. General Information Edit Thing Name Bullet Train Japanese Name: 新幹線 Romaji Name: Shinkansen 1st manga book: 1st anime episode: 1st anime movie: Associations Edit We don't have any info about Bullet Train's related characters. Help us fill it in! Top Editors Mandatory Network Submissions can take several hours to be approved. Save ChangesCancel
Poetry Archives @ eMule.com Poetry » Classic Poets » John Dryden » Absalom And Achitophel A Poem E-Mail Printable View Absalom And Achitophel A Poem by John Dryden In pious times, ere priest-craft did begin, Before polygamy was made a sin; When man, on many, multipli'd his kind, Ere one to one was cursedly confin'd: When Nature prompted, and no Law deni'd Promiscuous use of concubine and bride; Then, Israel's monarch, after Heaven's own heart, His vigorous warmth did variously impart To wives and slaves: and, wide as his command, Scatter'd his Maker's image through the land. Michal, of royal blood, the crown did wear; A soil ungrateful to the tiller's care: Not so the rest; for several mothers bore To god-like David, several sons before. But since like slaves his bed they did ascend, No true succession could their seed attend. Of all this numerous progeny was none So beautiful, so brave, as Absalom: Whether, inspir'd by some diviner lust, His father got him with a greater gust; Or that his conscious destiny made way, By manly beauty to imperial sway. Early in foreign fields he won renown, With kings and states alli'd to Israel's crown: In peace the thoughts of war he could remove, And seem'd as he were only born for love. Whate'er he did, was done with so much ease, In him alone, 'twas natural to please: His motions all accompani'd with grace; And Paradise was open'd in his face. With secret joy, indulgent David view'd His youthful image in his son renew'd: To all his wishes nothing he deni'd; And made the charming Annabel his bride. His father could not, or he would not see. Some warm excesses, which the Law forbore, Were constru'd youth that purged by boiling o'er: And Amnon's murther, by a specious name, Was call'd a just revenge for injur'd fame. Thus prais'd, and lov'd, the noble youth remain'd, While David, undisturb'd, in Sion reign'd. But life can never be sincerely blest: Heav'n punishes the bad, and proves the best. The Jews, a headstrong, moody, murm'ring race, As ever tri'd th'extent and stretch of grace; God's pamper'd people whom, debauch'd with ease, No king could govern, nor no God could please; (Gods they had tri'd of every shape and size, That god-smiths could produce, or priests devise:) These Adam-wits, too fortunately free, Began to dream they wanted liberty: And when no rule, no precedent, was found Of men, by laws less circumscrib'd and bound, They led their wild desires to woods and caves, And thought that all but savages were slaves. They who, when Saul was dead, without a blow, Made foolish Ishbosheth the crown forego; Who banisht David did from Hebron bring, And, with a general shout, proclaim'd him king: Those very Jews, who, at their very best, Their Humour more than loyalty exprest, Now, wonder'd why, so long, they had obey'd An idol-monarch which their hands had made: Thought they might ruin him they could create; Or melt him to that golden calf, a state. But these were random bolts: no form'd design, Nor interest made the factious crowd to join: The sober part of Israel, free from stain, Well knew the value of a peaceful reign: And, looking backward with a wise afright, Saw seams of wounds, dishonest to the sight: In contemplation of whose ugly scars, They curst the memory of civil wars. The moderate sort of men, thus qualifi'd, Inclin'd the balance to the better side: And, David's mildness manag'd it so well, The bad found no occasion to rebel. But, when to sin our bias'd nature leans, The careful Devil is still at hand with means; And providently pimps for ill desires: The good old cause reviv'd, a plot requires. Plots, true or false, are necessary things, To raise up common-wealths, and ruin kings. Th' inhabitants of old Jerusalem Were Jebusites: the town so call'd from them; And theirs the native right-- But when the chosen people grew more strong, The rightful cause at length became the wrong: And every loss the men of Jebus bore, They still were thought God's enemies the more. Thus, worn and weaken'd, well or ill content, Submit they must to David's government: Impoverish'd and depriv'd of all command, Their taxes doubled as they lost their land; And, what was harder yet to flesh and blood, Their gods disgrac'd, and burnt like common wood. This set the heathen priesthood in a flame; For priests of all religions are the same: Of whatsoe'er descent their godhead be, Stock, stone, or other homely pedigree, In his defence his servants are as bold, As if he had been born of beaten gold. The Jewish Rabbins though their Enemies, In this conclude them honest men and wise: For 'twas their duty, all the learned think, T'espouse his cause by whom they eat and drink. From hence began that plot, the nation's curse, Bad in itself, but represented worse. Rais'd in extremes, and in extremes decri'd; With oaths affirm'd, with dying vows deni'd. Not weigh'd, or winnow'd by the multitude; But swallow'd in the mass, unchew'd and crude. Some truth there was, but dash'd and brew'd with lies; To please the fools, and puzzle all the wise. Succeeding times did equal folly call, Believing nothing, or believing all. Th' Egyptian rites the Jebusites embrac'd; Where gods were recommended by their taste. Such sav'ry deities must needs be good, As serv'd at once for worship and for food. By force they could not introduce these gods; For ten to one, in former days was odds. So fraud was us'd, (the sacrificers' trade,) Fools are more hard to conquer than persuade. Their busy teachers mingled with the Jews; And rak'd, for converts, even the court and stews: Which Hebrew priests the more unkindly took, Because the fleece accompanies the flock. Some thought they God's anointed meant to slay By guns, invented since full many a day: Our author swears it not; but who can know How far the Devil and Jebusites may go? This plot, which fail'd for want of common sense, Had yet a deep and dangerous consequence: For, as when raging fevers boil the blood, The standing lake soon floats into a flood; And ev'ry hostile humour, which before Slept quiet in its channels, bubbles o'er: So, several factions from this first ferment, Work up to foam, and threat the government. Some by their friends, more by themselves thought wise, Oppos'd the pow'r, to which they could not rise. Some had in courts been great, and thrown from thence, Like fiends, were harden'd in impenitence. Some by their monarch's fatal mercy grown, From pardon'd rebels, kinsmen to the throne; Were rais'd in pow'r and public office high; Strong bands, if bands ungrateful men could tie. Of these the false Achitophel was first: A name to all succeeding ages curst. For close designs, and crooked counsels fit; Sagacious, bold and turbulent of wit: Restless, unfixt in principles and place; In pow'r unpleas'd, impatient of disgrace. A fiery soul, which working out its way, Fretted the pigmy-body to decay: And o'er inform'd the tenement of clay. A daring pilot in extremity; Pleas'd with the danger, when the waves went high He sought the storms; but for a calm unfit, Would steer too nigh the sands, to boast his wit. Great wits are sure to madness near alli'd; And thin partitions do their bounds divide: Else, why should he, with wealth and honour blest, Refuse his age the needful hours of rest? Punish a body which he could not please; Bankrupt of life, yet prodigal of ease? And all to leave, what with his toil he won To that unfeather'd, two-legg'd thing, a son: Got, while his soul did huddled notions try; And born a shapeless lump, like anarchy. In friendship false, implacable in hate: Resolv'd to ruin or to rule the state. To compass this, the triple bond he broke; The pillars of the public safety shook: And fitted Israel for a foreign yoke. Then, seiz'd with fear, yet still affecting fame, Usurp'd a patriot's all-atoning name. So easy still it proves in factious times, With public zeal to cancel private crimes: How safe is treason, and how sacred ill, Where none can sin against the people's will: Where crowds can wink; and no offence be known, Since in another's guilt they find their own. Yet, fame deserv'd, no enemy can grudge; The statesman we abhor, but praise the judge. In Jewish courts ne'er sat an Abbethdin With more discerning eyes, or hands more clean: Unbrib'd, unsought, the wretched to redress; Swift of dispatch, and easy of access. Oh, had he been content to serve the crown, With virtues only proper to the gown; Or, had the rankness of the soil been freed From cockle, that opprest the noble seed: David, for him his tuneful harp had strung, And heav'n had wanted one immortal song. But wild ambition loves to slide, not stand; And fortune's ice prefers to virtue's land: Achitophel, grown weary to possess A lawful fame, and lazy happiness; Disdain'd the golden fruit to gather free, And lent the crowd his arm to shake the tree. Now, manifest of crimes, contriv'd long since, He stood at bold defiance with his prince: Held up the buckler of the people's cause, Against the crown; and skulk'd behind the laws. The wish'd occasion of the plot he takes; Some circumstances finds, but more he makes. By buzzing emissaries, fills the ears Of list'ning crowds, with jealousies and fears Of arbitrary counsels brought to light, And proves the king himself a Jebusite. Weak arguments! which yet he knew full well, Were strong with people easy to rebel. For, govern'd by the moon, the giddy Jews Tread the same track when she the prime renews: And once in twenty years, their scribes record, By natural instinct they change their lord. Achitophel still wants a chief, and none Was found so fit as warlike Absalom: Not, that he wish'd his greatness to create, (For politicians neither love nor hate:) But, for he knew, his title not allow'd, Would keep him still depending on the crowd: That kingly pow'r, thus ebbing out, might be Drawn to the dregs of a democracy. Him he attempts, with studied arts to please, And sheds his venom, in such words as these. Auspicious Prince! at whose nativity Some royal planet rul'd the southern sky; Thy longing country's darling and desire; Their cloudy pillar, and their guardian fire: Their second Moses, whose extended wand Divides the seas, and shows the promis'd land: Whose dawning day, in very distant age, Has exercis'd the sacred prophet's rage: The people's pray'r, the glad diviner's theme, The young men's vision, and the old men's dream! Thee, Saviour, thee, the nation's vows confess; And, never satisfi'd with seeing, bless: Swift, unbespoken pomps, thy steps proclaim, And stammering babes are taught to lisp thy name. How long wilt thou the general joy detain; Starve, and defraud the people of thy reign? Content ingloriously to pass thy days Like one of virtue's fools that feeds on praise; Till thy fresh glories, which now shine so bright, Grow stale and tarnish with our daily sight. Believe me, royal youth, thy fruit must be, Or gather'd ripe, or rot upon the tree. Heav'n has to all allotted, soon or late, Some lucky revolution of their fate: Whose motions if we watch and guide with skill, (For human good depends on human will,) Our fortune rolls, as from a smooth descent, And, from the first impression, takes the bent: But, if unseiz'd, she glides away like wind; And leaves repenting folly far behind. Now, now she meets you, with a glorious prize, And spreads her locks before her as she flies. Had thus Old David, from whose loins you spring, Not dar'd, when fortune call'd him, to be king. At Gath an exile he might still remain; And Heaven's anointing oil had been in vain. Let his successful youth your hopes engage; But shun th'example of declining age: Behold him setting in his western skies, The shadows lengthening as the vapours rise. He is not now, as when on Jordan's sand The joyful people throng'd to see him land, Cov'ring the beach, and black'ning all the strand: But, like the Prince of Angels from his height, Comes tumbling downward with diminish'd light: Betray'd by one poor plot to public scorn: (Our only blessing since his curst return:) Those heaps of people which one sheaf did bind, Blown off, and scatter'd by a puff of wind. What strength can he to your designs oppose, Naked of friends and round beset with foes? If Pharaoh's doubtful succour he should use, A foreign aid would more incense the Jews: Proud Egypt would dissembled friendship bring; Foment the war, but not support the king: Nor would the royal party e'er unite With Pharaoh's arms, t'assist the Jebusite; Or if they should, their interest soon would break, And with such odious aid, make David weak. All sorts of men, by my successful arts, Abhorring kings, estrange their alter'd hearts From David's rule: And 'tis the general Cry, Religion, Common-wealth, and Liberty. If, you, as champion of the public good, Add to their arms a chief of royal blood; What may not Israel hope, and what applause Might such a general gain by such a cause? Not barren praise alone, that gaudy flow'r, Fair only to the sight, but solid pow'r: And nobler is a limited command, Giv'n by the love of all your native land, Than a successive title, long, and dark, Drawn from the mouldy rolls of Noah's Ark. What cannot praise effect in mighty minds, When flattery soothes, and when ambition blinds! Desire of pow'r, on earth a vicious weed, Yet, sprung from high, is of celestial seed: In God 'tis glory: And when men aspire, 'Tis but a spark too much of heavenly fire. Th' ambitious youth, too covetous of fame, Too full of angel's metal in his frame; Unwarily was led from virtue's ways; Made drunk with honour, and debauch'd with praise. Half loath, and half consenting to the ill, (For loyal blood within him struggled still) He thus repli'd.--And what pretence have I To take up arms for public liberty? My Father governs with unquestion'd right; The Faith's defender, and mankind's delight: Good, gracious, just, observant of the laws; And Heav'n by wonders has espous'd his cause. Whom has he wrong'd in all his peaceful reign? Who sues for justice to his throne in vain? What millions has he pardon'd of his foes, Whom just revenge did to his wrath expose? Mild, easy, humble, studious of our good; Inclin'd to mercy, and averse from blood. If mildness ill with stubborn Israel suit, His crime is God's beloved attribute. What could he gain, his people to betray, Or change his right, for arbitrary sway? Let haughty Pharaoh curse with such a reign, His fruitful Nile, and yoke a servile train. If David's rule Jerusalem displease, The Dog-star heats their brains to this disease. Why then should I, encouraging the bad, Turn rebel, and run popularly mad? Were he a tyrant who, by lawless might, Oppress'd the Jews, and rais'd the Jebusite, Well might I mourn; but nature's holy bands Would curb my spirits, and restrain my hands: The people might assert their liberty; But what was right in them, were crime in me. His favour leaves me nothing to require; Prevents my wishes, and out-runs desire. What more can I expect while David lives? All but his kingly diadem he gives: And that: but there he paus'd; then sighing, said, Is justly destin'd for a worthier head. For when my father from his toils shall rest, And late augment the number of the blest: His lawful issue shall the throne ascend; Or the collat'ral line where that shall end. His brother, though oppress'd with vulgar spite, Yet dauntless and secure of native right, Of every royal virtue stands possess'd; Still dear to all the bravest, and the best. His courage foes, his friends his truth proclaim; His loyalty the king, the world his fame. His mercy ev'n th'offending crowd will find: For sure he comes of a forgiving kind. Why should I then repine at Heaven's decree; Which gives me no pretence to royalty? Yet oh that Fate, propitiously inclin'd, Had rais'd my birth, or had debas'd my mind; To my large soul, not all her treasure lent, And then betray'd it to a mean descent. I find, I find my mounting spirits bold, And David's part disdains my mother's mold. Why am I scanted by a niggard-birth? My soul disclaims the kindred of her earth: And made for empire, whispers me within; Desire of greatness is a god-like sin. Him staggering so when Hell's dire agent found, While fainting virtue scarce maintain'd her ground, He pours fresh forces in, and thus replies: Th'eternal God, supremely good and wise, Imparts not these prodigious gifts in vain; What wonders are reserv'd to bless your reign? Against your will your arguments have shown, Such virtue's only giv'n to guide a throne. Not that your father's mildness I contemn; But manly force becomes the diadem. 'Tis true, he grants the people all they crave; And more perhaps than subjects ought to have: For lavish grants suppose a monarch tame, And more his goodness than his wit proclaim. But when should people strive their bonds to break, If not when kings are negligent or weak? Let him give on till he can give no more, The thrifty Sanhedrin shall keep him poor: And every shekel which he can receive, Shall cost a limb of his prerogative. To ply him with new plots, shall be my care; Or plunge him deep in some expensive war; Which, when his treasure can no more supply, He must, with the remains of kingship, buy. His faithful friends, our jealousies and fears Call Jebusites; and Pharaoh's pensioners: Whom, when our fury from his aid has torn, He shall be naked left to public scorn. The next successor, whom I fear and hate, My arts have made obnoxious to the state; Turn'd all his virtues to his overthrow, And gain'd our elders to pronounce a foe. His right, for sums of necessary gold, Shall first be pawn'd, and afterwards be sold: Till time shall ever-wanting David draw, To pass your doubtful title into law: If not; the people have a right supreme To make their kings; for kings are made for them. All empire is no more than pow'r in trust: Which when resum'd, can be no longer just. Succession, for the general good design'd, In its own wrong a nation cannot bind: If altering that, the people can relieve, Better one suffer, than a nation grieve. The Jews well know their pow'r: ere Saul they chose, God was their king, and God they durst depose. Urge now your piety, your filial name, A father's right, and fear of future fame; The public good, the universal call, To which even Heav'n submitted, answers all. Nor let his love enchant your generous mind; 'Tis Nature's trick to propagate her kind. Our fond begetters, who would never die, Love but themselves in their posterity. Or let his kindness by th'effects be tri'd, Or let him lay his vain pretence aside. God said he lov'd your father; could he bring A better proof, than to anoint him king? It surely show'd he lov'd the shepherd well, Who gave so fair a flock as Israel. Would David have you thought his darling son? What means he then, to alienate the crown? The name of godly he may blush to bear: 'Tis after God's own heart to cheat his heir. He to his brother gives supreme command; To you a legacy of barren land: Perhaps th'old harp, on which he thrums his lays: Or some dull Hebrew ballad in your praise. Then the next heir, a prince, severe and wise Already looks on you with jealous eyes; Sees through the thin disguises of your arts, And marks your progress in the people's hearts. Though now his mighty soul in grief contains, He meditates revenge who least complains; And like a lion, slumb'ring in the way, Or sleep-dissembling, while he waits his prey, His fearless foes within his distance draws; Constrains his roaring and contracts his paws: Till at the last, his time for fury found, He shoots with sudden vengeance from the ground: The prostrate vulgar, passes o'er, and spares; But with a lordly rage, his hunters tears. Your case no tame expedients will afford; Resolve on death, or conquest by the sword, Which for no less a stake than life, you draw; And self-defence is Nature's eldest law. Leave the warm people no considering time; For then rebellion may be thought a crime. Prevail yourself of what occasion gives, But try your title while your father lives: And that your arms may have a fair pretence, Proclaim, you take them in the king's defence: Whose sacred life each minute would expose To plots from seeming friends and secret foes. And who can sound the depth of David's soul? Perhaps his fear, his kindness may control. He fears his brother, though he loves his son, For plighted vows too late to be undone. If so, by force he wishes to be gain'd; Like women's lechery, to seem constrain'd: Doubt not; but when he most affects the frown, Commit a pleasing rape upon the crown. Secure his person to secure your cause; They who possess the prince, possess the laws. He said, and this advice above the rest With Absalom's mild nature suited best; Unblam'd of life, (ambition set aside,) Not stain'd with cruelty, nor puff'd with pride. How happy had he been, if destiny Had higher plac'd his birth, or not so high! His kingly virtues might have claim'd a throne; And blest all other countries but his own: But charming greatness since so few refuse, 'Tis juster to lament him, than accuse. Strong were his hopes a rival to remove, With blandishments to gain the public love; To head the faction while their zeal was hot, And popularly prosecute the plot. To farther this Achitophel unites The malcontents of all the Israelites: Whose differing parties he could wisely join, For several ends, to serve the same design. The best, and of the princes some were such, Who thought the pow'r of monarchy too much: Mistaken men, and patriots in their hearts; Not wicked, but seduc'd by impious arts. By these the springs of property were bent, And wound so high, they crack'd the government. The next for interest sought t'embroil the state, To sell their duty at a dearer rate; And make their Jewish markets of the throne; Pretending public good, to serve their own. Others thought kings an useless heavy load, Who cost too much, and did too little good. These were for laying honest David by, On principles of pure good husbandry. With them join'd all th'haranguers of the throng, That thought to get preferment by the tongue. Who follow next, a double danger bring, Not only hating David, but the king; The Solymaean rout; well vers'd of old In godly faction, and in treason bold; Cow'ring and quaking at a conqu'ror's sword, But lofty to a lawful prince restor'd; Saw with disdain an Ethnic plot begun, And scorn'd by Jebusites to be out-done. Hot Levites headed these; who pull'd before From th'Ark, which in the Judges' days they bore, Resum'd their Cant, and with a zealous cry, Pursu'd their old belov'd Theocracy. Where Sanhedrin and Priest enslav'd the nation, And justifi'd their spoils by inspiration: For who so fit for reign as Aaron's race, If once dominion they could found in Grace? These led the pack; though not of surest scent, Yet deepest mouth'd against the government. A numerous host of dreaming saints succeed; Of the true old enthusiastic breed: 'Gainst form and order they their pow'r employ; Nothing to build, and all things to destroy. But far more numerous was the herd of such, Who think too little, and who talk too much. These, out of mere instinct, they knew not why, Ador'd their father's God, and property: And by the same blind benefit of fate, The Devil and the Jebusite did hate: Born to be saved even in their own despite; Because they could not help believing right. Such were the tools; but a whole Hydra more Remains, of sprouting heads too long, to score. Some of their chiefs were princes of the land: In the first rank of these did Zimri stand: A man so various, that he seem'd to be Not one, but all Mankind's Epitome. Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong; Was everything by starts, and nothing long: But in the course of one revolving moon, Was chemist, fiddler, statesman, and buffoon: Then all for women, painting, rhyming, drinking; Besides ten thousand freaks that died in thinking. Blest madman, who could every hour employ, With something new to wish, or to enjoy! Railing and praising were his usual themes; And both (to show his judgment) in extremes: So over violent, or over civil, That every man, with him, was god or devil. In squandering wealth was his peculiar art: Nothing went unrewarded, but desert. Beggar'd by fools, whom still he found too late: He had his jest, and they had his estate. He laugh'd himself from court; then sought relief By forming parties, but could ne'er be chief: For, spite of him, the weight of business fell On Absalom and wise Achitophel: Thus, wicked but in will, of means bereft, He left not faction, but of that was left. Titles and names 'twere tedious to rehearse Of lords, below the dignity of verse. Wits, warriors, commonwealths-men, were the best: Kind husbands and mere nobles all the rest. And, therefore in the name of dullness, be The well-hung Balaam and cold Caleb free. And canting Nadab let oblivion damn, Who made new porridge for the Paschal Lamb. Let friendship's holy band some names assure: Some their own worth, and some let scorn secure. Nor shall the rascal rabble here have place, Whom kings no titles gave, and God no grace: Not bull-faced Jonas, who could statutes draw To mean rebellion, and make treason law. But he, though bad, is follow'd by a worse, The wretch, who Heav'n's Anointed dar'd to curse. Shimei, whose youth did early promise bring Of zeal to God, and hatred to his king; Did wisely from expensive sins refrain, And never broke the Sabbath, but for gain: Nor ever was he known an oath to vent, Or curse, unless against the government. Thus, heaping wealth, by the most ready way Among the Jews, which was to cheat and pray; The city, to reward his pious hate Against his master, chose him magistrate: His hand a vare of justice did uphold; His neck was loaded with a chain of gold. During his office, treason was no crime. The sons of Belial had a glorious time: For Shimei, though not prodigal of pelf, Yet lov'd his wicked neighbour as himself: When two or three were gather'd to declaim Against the monarch of Jerusalem, Shimei was always in the midst of them. And, if they curst the king when he was by, Would rather curse, than break good company. If any durst his factious friends accuse, He pack'd a jury of dissenting Jews: Whose fellow-feeling, in the godly cause, Would free the suff'ring saint from human laws. For laws are only made to punish those Who serve the king, and to protect his foes. If any leisure time he had from pow'r, (Because 'tis sin to mis-employ an hour;) His bus'ness was, by writing, to persuade, That kings were useless, and a clog to trade: And, that his noble style he might refine, No Rechabite more shunn'd the fumes of wine. Chaste were his cellars; and his shrieval board The grossness of a city feast abhorr'd: His cooks, with long disuse, their trade forgot; Cool was his kitchen, though his brains were hot. Such frugal virtue malice may accuse; But sure 'twas necessary to the Jews: For towns once burnt, such magistrates require As dare not tempt God's providence by fire. With spiritual food he fed his servants well, But free from flesh, that made the Jews rebel: And Moses' laws he held in more account For forty days of fasting in the mount. To speak the rest, who better are forgot, Would tire a well-breath'd witness of the plot: Yet, Corah, thou shalt from oblivion pass; Erect thyself thou monumental brass: High as the serpent of thy metal made, While nations stand secure beneath thy shade. What though his birth were base, yet comets rise From earthy vapours e'er they shine in skies. Prodigious actions may as well be done By weaver's issue, as by prince's son. This arch-attestor, for the public good, By that one deed ennobles all his blood. Who ever ask'd the witnesses' high race, Whose oath with martyrdom did Stephen grace? Ours was a Levite, and as times went then, His tribe were God-almighty's gentlemen. Sunk were his eyes, his voice was harsh and loud, Sure signs he neither choleric was, nor proud: His long chin prov'd his wit; his saint-like grace A church vermilion, and a Moses' face. His memory, miraculously great, Could plots exceeding man's belief, repeat; Which therefore cannot be accounted lies, For human wit could never such devise. Some future truths are mingled in his book; But, where the witness fail'd, the Prophet spoke: Some things like visionary flights appear; The spirit caught him up, the Lord knows where: And gave him his rabbinical degree, Unknown to foreign university. His judgment yet his mem'ry did excel: Which piec'd his wondrous evidence so well: And suited to the temper of the times; Then groaning under Jebusitic crimes. Let Israel's foes suspect his Heav'nly call, And rashly judge his writ apocryphal; Our laws for such affronts have forfeits made: He takes his life, who takes away his trade. Were I myself in witness Corah's place, The wretch who did me such a dire disgrace, Should whet my memory, though once forgot, To make him an appendix of my plot. His zeal to Heav'n made him his prince despise, And load his person with indignities: But Zeal peculiar privilege affords, Indulging latitude to deeds and words. And Corah might for Agag's murther call, In terms as coarse as Samuel us'd to Saul. What others in his evidence did join, (The best that could be had for love or coin,) In Corah's own predicament will fall: For Witness is a common name to all. Surrounded thus with friends of every sort, Deluded Absalom forsakes the court: Impatient of high hopes, urg'd with renown, And fir'd with near possession of a crown: Th' admiring crowd are dazzled with surprise, And on his goodly person feed their eyes: His joy conceal'd, he sets himself to show; On each side bowing popularly low: His looks, his gestures, and his words he frames, And with familiar ease repeats their names. Thus, form'd by Nature, furnish'd out with arts, He glides unfelt into their secret hearts: Then, with a kind compassionating look, And sighs, bespeaking pity e'er he spoke: Few words he said; but easy those and fit: More slow than Hybla drops, and far more sweet. I mourn, my country-men, your lost estate; Though far unable to prevent your fate: Behold a banish'd man, for your dear cause Expos'd a prey to arbitrary laws! Yet oh! that I alone could be undone, Cut off from empire, and no more a son! Now all your liberties a spoil are made; Egypt and Tyrus intercept your trade, And Jebusites your sacred rites invade. My father, whom with reverence yet I name, Charm'd into ease, is careless of his fame: And, brib'd with petty sums of foreign gold, Is grown in Bathsheba's embraces old: Exalts his enemies, his friends destroys: And all his pow'r against himself employs. He gives, and let him give my right away: But why should he his own, and yours betray? He, only he can make the nation bleed, And he alone from my revenge is freed. Take then my tears (with that he wip'd his eyes) 'Tis all the aid my present pow'r supplies: No court-informer can these arms accuse; These arms may sons against their fathers use; And, 'tis my wish, the next successor's reign May make no other Israelite complain. Youth, beauty, graceful action, seldom fail: But common interest always will prevail: And pity never ceases to be shown To him, who makes the people's wrongs his own. The crowd, (that still believe their kings oppress,) With lifted hands their young Messiah bless: Who now begins his progress to ordain; With chariots, horsemen, and a num'rous train: From East to West his glories he displays: And, like the sun, the Promis'd Land surveys. Fame runs before him, as the Morning-Star; And shouts of joy salute him from afar: Each house receives him as a guardian God; And consecrates the place of his abode: But hospitable treats did most commend Wise Issachar, his wealthy western friend. This moving court, that caught the people's eyes, And seem'd but pomp, did other ends disguise: Achitophel had form'd it, with intent To sound the depths, and fathom where it went, The people's hearts; distinguish friends from foes; And try their strength, before they came to blows. Yet all was colour'd with a smooth pretence Of specious love, and duty to their prince. Religion, and redress of grievances, Two names, that always cheat and always please, Are often urg'd; and good King David's life Endanger'd by a brother and a wife. Thus, in a pageant show, a plot is made; And peace itself is war in masquerade. Oh foolish Israel! never warn'd by ill: Still the same bait, and circumvented still! Did ever men forsake their present ease, In midst of health imagine a disease; Take pains contingent mischiefs to foresee, Make heirs for monarchs, and for God decree? What shall we think! Can people give away Both for themselves and sons, their native sway? Then they are left defenceless to the sword Of each unbounded arbitrary lord: And laws are vain, by which we right enjoy, If kings unquestion'd can those laws destroy. Yet, if the crowd be judge of fit and just, And kings are only officers in trust, Then this resuming cov'nant was declar'd When Kings were made, or is for ever bar'd: If those who gave the sceptre could not tie By their own deed their own posterity, How then could Adam bind his future race? How could his forfeit on mankind take place? Or how could heavenly justice damn us all, Who ne'er consented to our father's fall? Then kings are slaves to those whom they command, And tenants to their people's pleasure stand. Add, that the pow'r for property allow'd, Is mischievously seated in the crowd: For who can be secure of private right, If sovereign sway may be dissolv'd by might? Nor is the people's judgment always true: The most may err as grossly as the few. And faultless kings run down, by common cry, For vice, oppression and for tyranny. What standard is there in a fickle rout, Which, flowing to the mark, runs faster out? Nor only crowds, but Sanhedrins may be Infected with this public lunacy: And share the madness of rebellious times, To murther monarchs for imagin'd crimes. If they may give and take whene'er they please, Not kings alone, (the godhead's images,) But government itself at length must fall To nature's state, where all have right to all. Yet, grant our lords the people kings can make, What prudent men a settled throne would shake? For whatsoe'er their sufferings were before, That change they covet makes them suffer more. All other errors but disturb a state; But innovation is the blow of fate. If ancient fabrics nod, and threat to fall, To patch the flaws, and buttress up the wall, Thus far 'tis duty; but here fix the mark: For all beyond it is to touch our Ark. To change foundations, cast the frame anew, Is work for rebels who base ends pursue: At once divine and human laws control; And mend the parts by ruin of the whole. The tamp'ring world is subject to this curse, To physic their disease into a worse. Now what relief can righteous David bring? How fatal 'tis to be too good a king! Friends he has few, so high the madness grows; Who dare be such, must be the people's foes: Yet some there were, ev'n in the worst of days; Some let me name, and naming is to praise. In this short file Barzillai first appears; Barzillai crown'd with honour and with years: Long since, the rising rebels he withstood In regions waste, beyond the Jordan's flood: Unfortunately brave to buoy the state; But sinking underneath his master's fate: In exile with his god-like prince he mourn'd: For him he suffer'd, and with him return'd. The court he practis'd, not the courtier's art: Large was his wealth, but larger was his heart: Which well the noblest objects knew to choose, The fighting warrior, and recording Muse. His bed could once a fruitful issue boast: Now more than half a father's name is lost. His eldest hope, with every grace adorn'd, By me (so Heav'n will have it) always mourn'd, And always honour'd, snatch'd in manhood's prime B' unequal Fates, and Providence's crime: Yet not before the goal of honour won, All parts fulfill'd, of subject and of son; Swift was the race, but short the time to run. Oh narrow circle, but of pow'r divine, Scanted in space, but perfect in thy line! By sea, by land, thy matchless worth was known; Arms thy delight, and war was all thy own: Thy force infus'd, the fainting Tyrians propp'd: And haughty Pharaoh found his fortune stopp'd. Oh ancient honour, Oh unconquer'd Hand, Whom foes unpunish'd never could withstand! But Israel was unworthy of thy name: Short is the date of all immoderate fame. It looks as Heav'n our ruin had design'd, And durst not trust thy fortune and thy mind. Now, free from earth, thy disencumber'd Soul Mounts up, and leaves behind the clouds and starry pole: From thence thy kindred legions may'st thou bring, To aid the Guardian Angel of thy king. Here stop my Muse, here cease thy painful flight; No pinions can pursue immortal height: Tell good Barzillai thou canst sing no more, And tell thy soul she should have fled before; Or fled she with his life, and left this verse To hang on her departed patron's hearse? Now take thy steepy flight from Heav'n, and see If thou canst find on earth another he; Another he would be too hard to find, See then whom thou canst see not far behind. Zadoc the priest whom, shunning, pow'r and place, His lowly mind advanc'd to David's grace: With him the Sagan of Jerusalem, Of hospitable soul and noble stem; Him of the western dome, whose weighty sense Flows in fit words and heavenly eloquence. The Prophet's sons by such example led, To learning and to loyalty were bred: For colleges on bounteous kings depend, And never rebel was to arts a friend. To these succeed the pillars of the laws, Who best could plead, and best can judge a cause. Next them a train of loyal peers ascend: Sharp judging Adriel, the Muse's friend, Himself a Muse:--in Sanhedrin's debate True to his prince; but not a slave of state. Whom David's love with honours did adorn, That from his disobedient son were torn. Jotham of piercing wit and pregnant thought, Endow'd by Nature, and by learning taught To move assemblies, who but only tri'd The worse awhile, then chose the better side; Nor chose alone, but turn'd the balance too; So much the weight of one brave man can do. Hushai, the friend of David in distress, In public storms of manly steadfastness; By foreign treaties he inform'd his youth; And join'd experience to his native truth. His frugal care suppli'd the wanting throne; Frugal for that, but bounteous of his own: 'Tis easy conduct when exchequers flow; But hard the task to manage well the low: For sovereign power is too depress'd or high, When kings are forc'd to sell, or crowds to buy. Indulge one labour more, my weary Muse, For Amiel, who can Amiel's praise refuse? Of ancient race by birth, but nobler yet In his own worth, and without title great: The Sanhedrin long time as chief he rul'd, Their reason guided, and their passion cool'd; So dext'rous was he in the crown's defence, So form'd to speak a loyal nation's sense, That as their band was Israel's tribes in small, So fit was he to represent them all. Now rasher charioteers the seat ascend, Whose loose careers his steady skill commend: They, like th'unequal ruler of the day, Misguide the seasons and mistake the way; While he withdrawn at their mad labour smiles, And safe enjoys the sabbath of his toils. These were the chief; a small but faithful band Of worthies, in the breach who dar'd to stand, And tempt th'united fury of the land. With grief they view'd such powerful engines bent, To batter down the lawful government. A numerous faction with pretended frights, In Sanhedrins to plume the regal rights. The true successor from the court remov'd: The plot, by hireling witnesses, improv'd. These ills they saw, and as their duty bound, They show'd the king the danger of the wound: That no concessions from the throne would please; But lenitives fomented the disease: That Absalom, ambitious of the crown, Was made the lure to draw the people down: That false Achitophel's pernicious hate, Had turn'd the plot to ruin church and state: The Council violent, the rabble worse: That Shimei taught Jerusalem to curse. With all these loads of injuries opprest, And long revolving in his careful breast Th'event of things; at last his patience tir'd, Thus from his royal throne, by Heav'n inspir'd, The god-like David spoke; and awful fear His train their Maker in their Master hear. Thus long have I by native mercy sway'd, My wrongs dissembl'd, my revenge delay'd: So willing to forgive th'offending age; So much the father did the king assuage. But now so far my clemency they slight, Th' offenders question my forgiving right. That one was made for many, they contend: But 'tis to rule, for that's a monarch's end. They call my tenderness of blood, my fear: Though manly tempers can the longest bear. Yet, since they will divert my native course, 'Tis time to shew I am not good by force. Those heap'd affronts that haughty subjects bring, Are burdens for a camel, not a king: Kings are the public pillars of the state, Born to sustain and prop the nation's weight: If my young Sampson will pretend a call To shake the column, let him share the fall: But oh that yet he would repent and live! How easy 'tis for parents to forgive! With how few tears a pardon might be won From Nature, pleading for a darling son! Poor pitied youth, by my paternal care, Rais'd up to all the heights his frame could bear: Had God ordain'd his fate for empire born, He would have giv'n his soul another turn: Gull'd with a patriot's name, whose modern sense Is one that would by law supplant his prince: The people's brave, the politician's tool; Never was patriot yet, but was a fool. Whence comes it that religion and the laws Should more be Absalom's than David's cause? His old instructor, e'er he lost his place, Was never thought endued with so much grace. Good heav'ns, how faction can a patriot paint! My rebel ever proves my people's saint; Would they impose an heir upon the throne? Let Sanhedrins be taught to give their own. A king's at least a part of government; And mine as requisite as their consent: Without my leave a future king to choose, Infers a right the present to depose; True, they petition me t'approve their choice: But Esau's hands suit ill with Jacob's voice. My pious subjects for my safety pray, Which to secure they take my pow'r away. From plots and treasons Heav'n preserve my years But save me most from my petitioners. Unsatiate as the barren womb or grave; God cannot grant so much as they can crave. What then is left but with a jealous eye To guard the small remains of royalty? The law shall still direct my peaceful sway, And the same law teach rebels to obey: Votes shall no more establish'd pow'r control, Such votes as make a part exceed the whole: No groundless clamours shall my friends remove, Nor crowds have pow'r to punish ere they prove: For gods, and god-like kings their care express, Still to defend their servants in distress. Oh that my pow'r to saving were confin'd: Why am I forc'd, like Heav'n, against my mind, To make examples of another kind? Must I at length the sword of justice draw? Oh curst effects of necessary law! How ill my fear they by my mercy scan, Beware the fury of a patient man. Law they require, let law then show her face; They could not be content to look on grace, Her hinder parts, but with a daring eye To tempt the terror of her front, and die. By their own arts 'tis righteously decreed, Those dire artificers of death shall bleed. Against themselves their witnesses will swear, Till viper-like their mother plot they tear: And suck for nutriment that bloody gore Which was their principle of life before. Their Belial with the Belzebub will fight; Thus on my foes, my foes shall do me right: Nor doubt th'event: for factious crowds engage In their first onset, all their brutal rage; Then, let 'em take an unresisted course: Retire and traverse, and delude their force: But when they stand all breathless, urge the fight, And rise upon 'em with redoubled might: For lawful pow'r is still superior found, When long driv'n back, at length it stands the ground. He said. Th' Almighty, nodding, gave consent; And peals of thunder shook the firmament. Henceforth a series of new time began, The mighty years in long procession ran: Once more the god-like David was restor'd, And willing nations knew their lawful lord.
Honoring The Man Who Helped Develop Kevlar And Saved Countless Lives Bulletproof vest Bulletproof vest Last week, a retired DuPont (NYSE: DD) chemist in Delaware, Tom Bair, passed away. As a modest man who loved his family, friends and sports, his death would be unremarkable except for this: Countless police officers and soldiers owe their lives to Dr. Bair because he was instrumental in inventing Kevlar. Kevlar is the fiber in bullet-resistent vests that police and military personnel wear to prevent being killed or wounded by gunshots. According to the 1992 book "Inventive Minds: Creativity in Technology" ( edited by Robert John Weber and David N. Perkins, Oxford University Press), DuPont chemists in the late 1960s and early 1970s had been working on developing a fiber that was very strong. But they were having problems transforming certain polymers that had characteristics of high strength and density into a fiber that could be spun (and thus made into a fabric). Enter Dr. Bair. Tom Bair was born in 1938 in northeastern Pennsylvania’s coal country. He earned his B.S. in chemistry at Penn State in 1960 and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of Wisconsin in 1966. Before he attained his Ph.D., he had already been hired by DuPont to work in its fiber research section. As I’m an economist, not a chemist, the best I can do to describe Bair’s scientific contribution is to say that he discovered, through experimentation, how a certain high-strength/density polymer could be chemically treated (without loss of the polymer’s properties) so it could be transformed into a "spinable" fiber. There were other researchers trying to solve the "spinability" problem (using similar polymers), but Bair was the first to cross the finish line. Bair’s enhanced polymer was chosen by DuPont for further development, and the end result was Kevlar. According to a 2009 report by Research Forum, the initial Kevlar protection garments were issued in 1975 as a one-year demonstration project. The first recorded incident of a life saved by the vest occurred almost immediately thereafter, when a Seattle police officer was shot in the chest and survived. There were 18 subsequent incidents during that one-year project, in which the vests successfully protected police officers. Police deaths due to firearms have decreased significantly since the 1980s and 1990s, when FBI statistics indicated there were an average of 64 deaths per year by firearms (640 deaths during the period 1987-1996). Of those 640 deaths, 224 involved officers wearing body armor, however, most of those deaths involved areas not covered by body armor: Above (head, neck), below and between (e.g., shoulder holes) the armor pads. In 1996 (the year of the oldest available online FBI report on the matter was writtern), 51 officers were feloniously killed by firearms, a significant decrease from 1995 when 62 officers were killed. Of the 51 victims, many died due to wounds in the areas described above. However, only one death was attributable to a bullet penetrating the body armor. In the most recent FBI data available (2012), 44 officers were feloniously killed with firearms; 23 were wearing body armor at the time. Again, their deaths were mostly due to non-coverage area wounds. However, no deaths were due to a bullet penetrating the armor. In fairness, some years have seen fatalities due to armor penetration -- when the ammo used was more powerful than the armor’s capabilities (e.g., in 2010, when four such deaths occurred). In response, the technological work Dr. Bair pioneered is being constantly improved to increase a police officer’s odds when faced with a skilled, armed assailant. Likewise, more law enforcement agencies are requiring their officers to wear body armor. In addition, there have been many news stories in which officers attested to how wearing a vest made the difference between life and death. Just two weeks ago, a Los Angeles police officer was shot seven times, mostly in the chest; his bulletproof vest is credited with saving his life In spite of all the statistics and testimonials, as far as I know nothing physical exists to mark Dr. Bair’s achievement. Unlike certain Washington politicians whose names are honored in countless federal buildings (the late Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia comes to mind), it seems Dr. Bair had no desire to immortalize himself in that way. Nor, despite his accomplishments, did he seek fame, as opposed to some people today who are famous for merely being publicly outrageous. Rather, Dr. Bair’s “monument” is a living one, as evidenced by all those who survived after being in the line of fire because of their body armor. It’s reflected every time a husband, wife, father, mother, son or daughter comes home and says to their loved ones, ‘It’s OK, and I’m OK, I was wearing my vest.’" In my opinion, that beats a having a brass plaque, hands down. Or, as the nuns used to say, he’ll earn his crown in heaven. I hope he has. As an indication of his humility, one of his last wishes was for any memorial gifts be directed to Wilmington’s Sunday Breakfast Mission. If you or a loved one feel a debt to Dr. Bair, you couldn’t do better than that. Join the Discussion
Bond Basics: U.S. Savings Bonds See Also: The Basics of Investing in Bonds If it's yield you're after, you'll never be happy with savings bonds. Other factors usually motivate buyers. Savings bonds are backed by the U.S. government. Payment of the interest and principal is guaranteed. Lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed bonds can be replaced free. Savings bonds are not transferable, meaning you can cash them in but you can't sell them to someone else. Their market price doesn't rise when interest rates fall or fall when rates rise. Savings bonds will never have to be cashed in for less than you paid for them. Conveinent (Sort Of) Payroll savings plans sponsored by employers make it easy to accumulate savings bonds. Savings bonds can also be easily purchased at banks and other financial institutions. It's not quite so easy to redeem savings bonds. When that time comes, try a full-service bank or financial institution. You'll have to sign the request for payment on the back of the bonds in the presence of a certifying officer at the bank, provide your Social Security number and mail the bonds to the Federal Reserve Bank that services your area. Tax Advantaged The interest is exempt from all state and local income taxes. And although the exemption doesn't extend to federal taxes, your options for paying the federal tab create opportunities to increase your effective return considerably. For example, parents who want to start a college fund can purchase bonds in their child's name. Because the child probably won't have enough income to incur any tax liability for several years, the income from the bonds will accumulate, for practical purposes, tax-free. Types of Savings Bonds Savings bonds come in three varieties: EE bonds and I bonds, which are vehicles for savings, and HH bonds, which were created to produce income for their buyers. EE Bonds EEs purchased today pay a fixed rate of interest, which will apply for the 30-year life of each bond, including a ten-year extended maturity period (unless a different rate or rate structure is announced and applied at the start of the extension period). Interest is compounded semiannually, with a three-month interest penalty if you cash in the bonds before five years. Rates for new bonds are set May 1 and November 1, with each new rate effective for all bonds issued through the next six months. You can get current rate information at EE bonds are sold at a 50% discount from face value in denominations of $50, $75, $100, $200, $500, $1,000, $2,500, $5,000 and $10,000. I Bonds The interest paid by I bonds actually comes in two parts: an underlying fixed rate, which is announced when the bonds are issued, plus a second rate that is equal to the level of inflation. The interest is compounded semiannually. You must keep bonds for at least one year before you can redeem them and at least five years if you don't want to forfeit three months of accrued interest. They will earn interest for 30 years. I bonds sell for face value right from the start. Denominations start at $50 and climb to $10,000. The maximum you can purchase in one year is $30,000. Potential savings-bond buyers shouldn't be put off by the relatively low fixed rate paid by I bonds. Consider them an inflation hedge and think of them this way: With a fixed rate of 1.5% and low inflation, your return will be low, but you'll still be beating inflation by 1.5%. If inflation soars to, say, 10%, the return on your I bonds will be 11.5%. Feel better? HH Bonds The Bureau of the Public Debt stopped issuing HH bonds in 2004, citing the high cost and relatively few takers. Bondholders who exchanged E or EE bonds for HH bonds before the deadline will earn interest on HH bonds until they reach final maturity in 2024. With so many different interest-rate schedules, it is often difficult to figure out what your bonds are worth, particularly if you've been buying them for several years. For help with this, use the Savings Bond Wizard on the Bureau of the Public Debt's Web site. Editor's Picks From Kiplinger More Sponsored Links Get valuable updates from Kiplinger directly to your e-mail Market Update Featured Videos From Kiplinger
Publishers of technology books, eBooks, and videos for creative people Home > Articles > Design > Adobe Creative Suite • Print • + Share This • 💬 Discuss This chapter is from the book Resolution and Image Fidelity The resolution of an image is generally measured in pixels per inch (ppi) unless you speak metric, in which case it's expressed in pixels per millimeter. Determining the proper resolution for Web images is simple: 72 ppi at final size. But there are strongly held (and hotly debated) beliefs regarding the appropriate image resolution for printing. Some hold that 150 percent of the final screen ruling value is sufficient, and some believe twice the final ruling is preferable, largely because it's easier to calculate the resolution. For example, an image that will be printed at 150 line screen should have a resolution of 300 ppi. When typical hard drives held 80 MB, networks were glacially slow, and RIPs choked on 15 MB PostScript files, it was important to trim off every little bit of fat, so we agonized over resolution. But now, with hard drives measured in hundreds of gigabytes, and RIPs with much more robust digestive tracts, we can afford the luxury of a few extra pixels. That said, there's rarely an advantage to exceeding 300 ppi, except in some cases for higher line screens such as 175 lpi printing. So put away the calculator. For most circumstances, 300 ppi at final size is adequate and provides a bit of elbow room if you have to slightly reduce or enlarge an image. But you do have some leeway, depending on the nature of the image and how it will be used. For example, a gauzy, soft-focus shot of a sunset that will be used as a ghosted background accent in a magazine can be used at 200 ppi with no problem. A highly detailed close-up image of an important piece of antique jewelry in a 175 lpi art book should be at 300–350 ppi. At the other end of the spectrum, an image for use in an 85 lpi newspaper can be 130–170 ppi, because much of the information in a 300 ppi image would be lost when printed in the coarse newspaper screen ruling. So you might consider the determination of appropriate resolution to be an equation based on image content and the final printing line screen rather than an absolute number. Bitmap Images Sometimes called "line art images," bitmap images contain only black and white pixels with no shades of gray. If you need to scan a signature to add to an editorial page or scan a pen and ink sketch, a bitmap scan can provide a sharp, clean image at very high resolution. Because of the compact nature of bitmap scans, they can be very high resolution (usually 600–1200 ppi) but still produce small file sizes (Figure 4.2). Figure 4.2 Figure 4.2 This 1200 ppi bitmap scan prints nearly as sharply as vector art. It weighs in at less than 1 MB; a grayscale image of this size and resolution would be nearly 10 MB. Magnified to 400 percent, it may look a bit rough, but at 100 percent it's crisp and clean. Scaling Up When enlarging or reducing an image, don't be afraid to slightly reduce or enlarge an image. When an image is scanned or captured by a digital camera, the number of pixels contained in that image is fixed. As long as the original digitizing process netted sufficient pixels for your intended use, fine. But when you enlarge an image in an image-editing application such as Photoshop, you're attempting to generate missing information, a process called interpolation. This interpolation process works reasonably well (considering that you're asking it to make something out of nothing), but the result is never as good as a proper-sized original scan. And the more drastic the transformation, the less satisfying the outcome (Figure 4.3). Figure 4.3 A: Original 300 ppi scan Figure 4.3 B: Original 72 ppi scan Figure 4.3 C: Results of increasing resolution of B to 300 ppi Figure 4.3 D: Results of increasing resolution of B to 300 ppi by using a specialized fractal-based scaling plug-in to enhance the result Figure 4.3 You can't truly make something from nothing. Notice the loss of detail in the scaled-up versions. Because of the limitations imposed by resolution, it behooves you to anticipate how the image will be used and to set your scan percentage accordingly. For typical image content, you can probably scale up to 120–125 percent. If the image is background content without much detail, such as a soft-focus landscape, you have more leeway and you can probably get away with scaling up to 150–200 percent. Conversely, if you need to maintain very small details, you may be limited to a maximum of 120 percent. Scaling Down Remember that scaling down also requires interpolation. While the loss of data may not be quite so obvious when you reduce the size of an image, there will be some softening of detail (as shown in Figure 4.4), so it's still best to plan ahead, and make your initial scan as close as possible to the dimensions at which you intend to use it in a page-layout program. Generally, if you find it necessary to scale an image down below 50–75 percent in your page layout, consider rescanning. And, as with enlargements, try to use an even scaling factor, such as 120 percent rather than 119.6954 percent. Figure 4.4 Figure 4.4 Surprise! Even scaling down an image can slightly soften detail, because so much information is discarded. The image at the lower left was reduced to 25 percent using Photoshop's Bicubic method. The image at the lower right was reduced using the Bicubic Sharper method. Then it was sharpened with default settings (Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask), giving the illusion that there is more detail. Planning Ahead Now that you're terrified to scale an image up or down, what is the safe path? If you do your own high-resolution scans, and you anticipate doing a lot of experimentation with image size as the design develops, you might consider just doing quick-and-dirty FPO (for position only) scans to start. Since such images are meant to be used only as placeholders, they can be low resolution (72–100 ppi). Build and tweak the design, scaling images as you wish. Then, when the layout is finalized, note the image scale factors, do the final scans to size, and replace the FPO images with the real scans. (Digital photographs are discussed shortly.) Alternatively, if you want to do all your scanning at one time, but still would like some flexibility in scaling, scan one large and one small version of each image at the outset and work with those. If you rely on the print service provider to perform scanning, the responsibility may be on their scanner operator's shoulders, not yours, depending on the workflow. Previously, when desktop scanners produced considerably lower-quality scans than those of service providers, there were two common approaches to placing scans. In one approach, the printer was given transparencies and an indication of scan size, usually via markings on the transparency sleeve (since there still had to be some notion of final size, however sketchy). The printer then provided low-resolution FPO scans to be used in designing. When the job was submitted, the printer substituted the high-resolution images for the FPOs. This approach is still used frequently in catalog production, since it's saner for the print service provider to color correct and manage the large repositories of images that are used in multiple publications. This low-resolution/high-resolution swap is usually referred to as OPI (Open Prepress Interface), Automatic Picture Replacement (APR, a Scitex solution), or just plain image swap. It's a bit more complicated than simply reducing the resolution of the images used as FPO scans. In these image-replacement workflows, the low-resolution images contain internal PostScript comments that identify them as low-resolution versions of particular images. Special server-based processes are required to perform the high-resolution substitution when the job is imaged. Because the high-resolution scans have already been done, it's advisable to avoid scaling images outside the standard 75–125 percent range in your page layout. If your design demands scaling beyond those limitations, let the print service provider know. They may need to rescan the image, and then supply you with a new low-resolution placeholder image for best results. The second approach is to do your own FPO scans, resizing to your heart's content in a page-layout application. Supply the transparencies and other art (such as reflective prints or original artwork) to the print service provider with 100-percent-sized printouts of your job, and let them do the scans and image replacement. In both of these scenarios, it's important to note that you can't do anything useful to the low-resolution FPO images. Any retouching, color correction, compositing, or silhouetting would have to be re-created on the high-resolution scans, thus wasting any work performed on their low-resolution representations. Digital Photographs Although digital photography has rapidly replaced film-based images, the basic rules for handling images are still the same. Photographers who formerly supplied transparencies now provide digital images, which eliminates the scanning step. While direct digital images lack the visible grain that would be apparent in extreme enlargements of transparencies, some digital images may still exhibit pixelation when greatly enlarged (depending on the nature of the subject). Since there is no film original to rescan, and it's rarely feasible to reshoot, you may occasionally be forced to enlarge digital images. Fractal enlargement plug-ins such as Genuine Fractals from onOne Software ( may give you better results with extreme enlargements. Cropping and Transforming Images It would be great if you could anticipate the exact size, crop, and angle at which you'll want to use an image in your page layout. But it's difficult to see that far down the line at the moment you're slipping a print under the lid of your flatbed scanner. Oh, and watch out for that little gust of wind that comes along just as you're putting the lid down... Should you crop your images during scanning or when you're saving a digital photograph? Maybe. If you're certain about future image use, feel free to crop. Leave a reasonable rind around the image area you intend to use to provide some elbow room when you place the image in the final page. However, if you think there's even a remote chance that you'll want to crop the image more generously in the near future—maybe you're not sure if you might want to show a row of four buildings instead of just the one in the middle—then it's worth keeping the whole shebang. While you may be reluctant to store an entire image just to keep the two-inch golf ball that you're sure you will silhouette, give yourself a safety net and at least keep an uncropped backup copy of the image. Hard drive space is plentiful and you can always crop it later. Rotating Images Almost any transformation, whether resizing or rotating, will require interpolation of pixel information. The only safe rotations are 90-degree increments—anything else will result in softening of detail (see Figure 4.5). Think of those rows and columns of pixels, much like the grid of a needlepoint pattern. Imagine what a challenge it would be to redraw that pattern at a 42-degree angle. It should give you a little sympathy for the math Photoshop has to do. Figure 4.5 Figure 4.5 Rotation at anything other than 90-degree increments degrades detail. An image scanned at the correct angle (left) is sharper than an image rotated 42 degrees after scanning (right). All these cautions about transformations such as scaling and rotating are not intended to strike terror in your heart. Don't be afraid to enlarge, reduce, or rotate if you need to. Just be prepared for the slight but unavoidable loss of detail and the degradation of the image's appearance. Try to resize in even increments, and beware of oddball rotations such as 1.25 degrees in the interest of maintaining as much information as possible. Successive transformations—scaling and then rotating, for example—are particularly destructive. Let your conscience be your guide. How important is the detail in the image? If it's a key product shot, it's worth rescanning (if possible). If it's a less important image, such as a ghosted background or a decorative bit, you needn't feel quite so guilty about the transformation. Where to Transform: Image Editor versus Page-Layout Application If you are going to transform images, does it matter where the transformation takes place? If you use Photoshop to scale an image, is the result superior to the outcome of scaling within your page-layout application? The answer is an unqualified, "It depends." If you perform your scaling and rotation in Photoshop or another image-editing application, and then place the resulting image in a page layout at 100 percent with no rotation, you will have a pretty good idea of how the finished piece will look. If, however, you induce the scaling or rotation in a page layout, you've only requested those transformations. They don't really take place until the job is processed by the RIP. This adds a bit to the processing time and job complexity at the RIP, and it also puts you at the mercy of that RIP's implementation of scaling and rotation algorithms. If you generate and submit PDFs, scaling will be performed as the PDF is created (if you choose an option that performs resampling, such as PDF/X-1a), but the rotations or distortions within that PDF are still pending, and they are implemented only when the PDF is processed by a RIP. Be comforted by the fact that late-model RIPs can chew a lot more information in a shorter time than they used to. Rotating a few images here and there won't prevent the processing of your job. However, despite the improvements in RIP technology, it is still possible (though rare) to build a job that can't be processed by a RIP. (Please don't take that remark as a personal challenge.) Keep in mind, too, that if you've rotated an image in Photoshop, and then subsequently applied additional scaling or rotation in a page layout, you've transformed it twice. It's not the end of the world, but you may see some slight softening of detail in the finished piece. • + Share This • 🔖 Save To Your Account comments powered by Disqus
Week 4 LIBR 250 Upcoming SlideShare Loading in...5 Like this? Share it with your network Week 4 LIBR 250 Total Views Views on SlideShare Embed Views 2 Embeds 256 http://calstatela.libguides.com 216 http://www.calstatela.libguides.com 40 Upload Details Uploaded via as Microsoft PowerPoint Usage Rights © All Rights Reserved Report content Flagged as inappropriate Flag as inappropriate Flag as inappropriate Select your reason for flagging this presentation as inappropriate. • Full Name Full Name Comment goes here. Are you sure you want to Your message goes here Post Comment Edit your comment Week 4 LIBR 250 Presentation Transcript • 1. WEEK 4 LIBR 250 • 2. TODAY Focus on finding information Understanding the difference between keyword and natural language databases Limitations of Google Using library databases Evaluating and narrowing search results from library databases • 3. GOOGLE Why do you like it? When is it useful? What are its limitations? How far will a Google search take you? Assignment: Write a paper on any aspect of the recent government shutdown. The paper must be 5-7 pages and use a variety of sources including at least one scholarly article • 4. KEYWORD VS. NATURAL LANGUAGE Which is better? Why or why not? Is natural language always easier? Is the precision of keyword searching always useful? Does it vary in terms of what stage of the research process you are? • 5. BOOLEAN LOGIC AND KEYWORD SEARCH Looking for words in the articles that make up the database Keyword searched only retrieve the articles that have the specific words for which you are looking Need to join terms with connectors in a (Boolean) logical way Literal Full text Efficient Used in an evolutionary way: As you learn more about your topic you continue to search on the new terms and concepts you pick up • 6. CONNECTORS And: When two or more terms are joined with AND the database finds only articles that have all of those terms Or: When two or more terms are joined with OR the database finds all of the articles that have any one of those terms Not: When terms are joined with NOT the database finds articles that have the first time only and rejects the ones that have the second term (even if they have the first one) • 7. EVALUATING/NARROWING INFORMATION YOU RETRIEVE Information in databases can be evaluated and narrowed by: • • • Date (currentness or age) Type of information (academic, magazine, trade publication, newspaper) Relevance • 8. BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER Week 3-4 exercise Take a BROAD topic Explore the topic while coming up with narrow topics
Skip over navigation The Comedy of Errors William Shakespeare Act I, Scene i Act I, scene ii; Act II, scene i The play opens in the city of Ephesus, with Solinus, the Duke of Ephesus, leading a merchant named Egeon to be executed. Egeon converses with the Duke, and we learn that he is a native of Syracuse, Ephesus' great commercial rival. Because of strife between the two cities, any Syracusan caught in Ephesus must pay an indemnity of a thousand marks, a price that Egeon is unable to meet, or face execution. He seems resigned to his death and declares that the execution will bring an end to his "woes." Curious, the Duke asks him to relate how he came to travel to Ephesus, and Egeon complies. The merchant describes how he was born in Syracuse, and a wife, and prospered through trade with the neighboring city of Epidamnum. Eventually, however, his representative in Epidamnum died, leaving the business in disarray, and Egeon was forced to travel there to set his affairs in order. His pregnant wife went with him and gave birth to identical twin sons. At the same time, a poor woman staying in the same inn also gave birth to identical boys, and Egeon bought her newborns, intending to bring them up as slaves for his sons. Unfortunately, on their return journey to Ephesus, Egeon recounts, their ship was broken apart by a storm, and the sailors abandoned them on the wreckage. His wife tied herself, with one son and one slave, to one of the masts, and he tied himself, the other son, and the other slave to a mast at the other end of the wreck. They floated for a time, while the sea grew calm, and then they saw two ships coming toward them--one from Corinth and one from Epidaurus. Before the ships reached them, however, they ran into a rock that split the wreckage in two, carrying Egeon in one direction and his wife in the other. Eventually, the Corinthian ship rescued Egeon and the one twin whom he was with, but they were unable to catch up to the Epidaurian ship, which had picked up his wife and his other son and carried them away. When the son who remained with him had grown up, Egeon relates, the young man took his slave and set off into the world to find his brother and mother. Egeon himself followed suit, and his wanderings eventually led him to Ephesus, where he was willing to brave arrest and execution in the hopes of finding the missing half of his family. The Duke, hearing this story, is deeply moved, and although he cannot violate his city's laws, he offers Egeon a day of liberty to find someone to ransom his life. Egeon's despair does not lift, however, since the task seems hopeless. Nevertheless, he sets about canvassing the city, searching for assistance. These opening speeches, first by the Duke and then by Egeon, serve to locate the play both in a specific time and place and in relation to past events. The time and place is ancient Greece, with its rival city-states of Ephesus, Syracuse, Corinth, and Epidamnum; but it is an Elizabethan version of the Greek world, in which Christian references abound and English debt-officers co-exist with ancient practices of slavery. In other words, it is one of Shakespeare's imagined places, like the pre-Christian England of King Lear and Cymbeline. More important than the setting, from the audience's perspective, is the background information: the conflict between Syracuse and Ephesus that threatens Egeon's life and Egeon's tragic and fantastic family history. The story of the two pairs of twins, who the audience will quickly identify as the Antipholi and Dromios, grants the viewers information that is unavailable to the characters, who grope ignorantly through the mists of mistaken identity that fill the play. We laugh, knowing that there are two masters and two slaves and, thus, understanding how the various mix-ups come to be. But for the unfortunate participants in the farce, there is only confusion at what seem to be supernatural events. This contrast between the audience, who know they are watching a comedy, and the characters, who have no such privileged information, hints at a deeper understanding of the nature of comedy. While The Comedy of Errors is clearly a slapstick affair, in which nearly every scene is played for laughs, the grim opening and later confusion reminds us of the threat of tragedy that often hangs over Shakespeare's comic plays. Certainly, as Egeon catalogues the fantastic woes that have befallen him, he does not see himself as a player in a farce. The threat of his impending execution provides the play with a dark undercurrent to the comic scenes that follow. But while a tragedy moves from order into disorder, from life into death, a comedy reverses the order. So, the play begins with Egeon's grim statement, "proceed, Solinus, to procure my fall, / And by the doom of death end woes and all(I.i.1-2)," but moves toward an ending in which the forces of disorder and destruction are overcome by the forces of reconciliation and renewal. More Help Previous Next Follow Us
You are in Texas Capitol Events and Exhibits Restoration and Expansion Grounds and Monuments Capitol Donations Online Gallery You are in the Historic Photo Gallery Current Photos Historic Artifacts Significant Spaces Architectural Details Texas Capitol Photo of the Texas Capitol viewed through the historic south gates Completed in 1888 as the winning design from a national competition, the Capitol's style is Renaissance Revival, based on the architecture of 15th-century Italy and characterized by classical orders, round arches and symmetrical composition. The structural exterior walls are "sunset red" granite, quarried just 50 miles from the site. Additional structural support is provided by interior masonry walls and cast iron columns and wrought iron beams. The foundation is limestone. Texas paid for the construction not in dollars, but in land: some three million acres in the Texas Panhandle that would later become the famous XIT Ranch. An extraordinary edifice by any measure, the 1888 Texas Capitol is the largest in gross square footage of all state capitols and is second in total size only to the National Capitol in Washington, D.C. Like several other state capitols, the 1888 Texas Capitol surpasses the National Capitol in height, rising almost 15 feet above its Washington counterpart. In 1993, the $75 million underground Capitol Extension was completed to the north, doubling the square footage available to Capitol occupants and providing much improved functionality. In 1995, a comprehensive interior and exterior restoration of the original building was completed at a cost of approximately $98 million. Finally, in 1997, the park-like grounds surrounding the Capitol were given a much needed $8 million renovation and restoration.
Course Icon MGT301 - Principles of Marketing Instructor : NA Email Join Course What is market segmentation? Explain the four major segmenting variables for consumer markets? Market segmentation: “Dividing a market into smaller groups of buyers with distinct needs, characteristics or behaviors who require separate products or marketing mixes. The company identifies different ways to segment the market and develop profiles of the resulting market segment”. Four major segmentation bases for consumer markets will be: 1. Geographic segmentation 2. Demographic segmentation 3. Psychographic segmentation 4. Behavioral segmentation Geographic segmentation: Subdividing markets into segments based on location, the regions, countries, cities and towns where people live and work is geographic segmentation. The reason for this is simply that consumer wants and product usage often are related to one or more of these subcategories. Geographic characteristics are also measurable and accessible. Demographic segmentation: Demographics are the most common basis for segmenting consumer markets. They are frequently used because they are often strongly related to demand and relatively easy to measure. The most popular characteristics for demographic segmentation are age, gender, family, life-cycle, income and education. Psychographic segmentation: Psychographic segmentation divides buyers into different groups based on social class, lifestyle or personality characteristics. People in the same demographic Group can have different psychographic makeup. So psychographic segmentation helps the marketer in examining attributes related to how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. Behavioral segmentation: Some marketers regularly attempt to segment their markets on the basis of product-related behavior, they utilize behavioral segmentation. Behavioral segmentation divides buyers into groups based on their knowledge, attitudes, uses or responses to a product. Many marketers believe that behavior variables are the best starting point for building market segments.
'Diary of a Wombat' Author - Jackie French Illustrator - Bruce Whatley Publisher - Harper Collins Publishers (2003) Diary of a Wombat Overview of the Text A day by day account of the activities of ‘Mothball’ the Wombat. Written in diary (recount) format, it introduces children to the days of the week (Monday to Sunday) and times of the day (Morning, Afternoon, Evening, Night) as Mothball goes about his wombat business. The daily goings-on of Mothball the wombat are described in brief, one word sentences, (e.g. slept) with the illustrations providing much of the humour and additional meaning. How does Mothball train his humans to do what he wants them to do? Do humans make good pets? Language Features Descriptive and visual language. Use of metaphorical nouns, e.g. ‘Flat hairy creature’ – used to describe the welcome mat. Use of Australian colloquialisms, e.g. 'For Pete’s sake - give her some carrots!’ Use of short sentences, often one-word, and inclusion of compound works like 'dustbath' Language of diary writing is used as pages have headings for days of the week and different times of the day. Simple recount format. Other Textual Features (Format, Illustrations) Illustrations are clear, colourful, entertaining and accurately illustrate the descriptive language used throughout. For example, ‘Found the perfect dustbath’ is colourfully depicted to aid student comprehension of the term ‘dustbath’. Illustrations add humour to the story. There are minimal words to a page and all text is well supported by illustrations. Readers can infer meaning using the illustrations. Junior Primary students - through to Year 3 Before Reading Activities Activity 1. Whole group: look at the front and back cover Raise your hand if you have seen a Wombat in real life? With the person sitting next to you, take a minute to talk about what you know about Wombats. Activity 2. Whole group discussion What do you notice about the Wombat from this picture? What do you think this Wombat has done? Can you tell us what Wombats might like to eat? Can anyone predict what this story will be about? Where do Wombat’s live? Are they Australian? Responses: Wombat is sleeping, he's bashed up the rubbish bin, clothes line has fallen, likes carrots, about a wombat in Australia Activity 3. Identify the author and illustrator. Activity 4. Picture Flick Before you commence - ask the students to look at the pictures to see what Wombats like to do and what they like to eat. Remind - ‘Hands down until we get the end of the book’. Activity 5. Discuss the images What do the pictures tell us about Wombats? Where does this Wombat live? Does he have a family? What does this Wombat like to eat? What does he like to do? Students as text-participants: relate topic to students’ lives and experiences. Engage in and interpret the illustrations. Students predict what they think the story may be about. Code-breakers: students use the illustrations to identify some of the characteristics of Wombats and to confirm previous predictions about what the story may be about. (graphophonic cues) During Reading Activities Activity 6. Whole class reading Read through the entire story first – without pausing. Activity 7. Guided Reading - read the story a second time. This time pausing at various points to ask questions. Stop after first two pages. Q. What do you notice about diary writing? Reponses: days of the week and moments in time like ‘Monday’ and ‘Morning’. Q. What punctuation has been used? Responses: colon, full-stop, capitals Stop after Wednesday’s entry. Q. What is a dustbath? How do you know this? (Text partcipant) Q. What do you think the family is thinking? – How can you tell? Stop after next double page spread. Q. What is Mothball describing as a ‘flat, hairy creature?’ Response: The doormat. (Text participant) Q. What do we know that Mothball doesn’t? Response: the door mat is not real. (inferring) Q. Does Mothball think the 'flat, hairy creature' is alive? How do we know this? Continue reading - give students a purpose. i.e. ask students to look for and explain the things that we know, but Mothball doesn’t. Q. Why is the door resistant to Mothballs paws? Response: It’s been boarded up. Q. Why does Mothball think it is raining? Responses: Because the sprinkler is on. Q. What does Mothball describe as ‘wet things flapped against my nose’? Response: the washing Q. Whose point of view has this story been written from? Response: Mothball's Q. Is Mothball speaking out loud? Response: No - we are reading his thoughts Clarify meanings - What do the words ‘curiously resistant’ mean? For students’ enjoyment and love of reading Students as text-participants and code-breakers Provides an example of diary writing for later use by the students in their individual writing task. Clarify language use and features of diary writing, and to point our the use of punctuation. Point out the use of headings and punctuation for diary writing. (e.g. Morning: Slept.) Discuss use of capital letters, colons and full-stops. Clarify meaning of words (e.g. dustbath) and check for understanding using both words and illustrations (graphophonic and semantic) Identify descriptive (and metaphorical) language used and clarify meaning. Text-participants: Questions aid students in their understanding, help clarify meaning of words, link the words to the illustrations and assist students to infer additional meanings from the text and images. (Use of reading cues) After Reading Activities Note: These activities would take place over the course of a week Activity 8 - Whole class group Create a timeline of events by listing mothball’s activities under each day’s heading. Display the list in the classroom. Activity 9 - Explicit teaching/Joint Construction (The 'colon' and 'lists') Review the use of punctuation in the story, i.e. capital letters, colons and full-stops. Introduce the Colon and explain its function, purpose, and how it is used (e.g. for lists). Model the use of a Colon when creating a list. Model an example of my daily routine during the week. Example: Early Morning: Wake up, prepare children for school and myself for work, drive to work Morning: Teach in the classroom Lunchtime: Meet with children and eat my lunch Afternoon: Finish teaching, collect children from school and drive home Evening: Prepare and eat dinner and then get the family ready for school the next day, read stories and bed. Activity 10 - Individual Task (Independent construction of text) Ask students to create a list of their morning routine before school - incorporating the use of a colon. e.g. When I wake up in the morning I: - eat breakfast - get dressed for school - clean my teeth - make my bed - Pack my school bag - walk/ride/drive to school Activity 11 - Small Groups Ask students to discuss the story 'The Wombat Diary' in their groups, with reference to the class timeline (displayed), and identify Mothball's main motive in life, then describe how he achieves it. Responses should indicate that Mothball's main focus is finding carrots to eat and he does this by digging for carrots in the vegetable garden, bashing up the rubbish bin until he is given carrots, finding carrots in the shopping bags in the car etc. Activity 12 - Joint Construction of list Bring all groups back together then create a class list which describes all of the ways that Mothball finds carrots to eat. Again model the use of a colon to create a list. For example: Mothball's main motive in life is to find carrots to eat. He does this by: - sitting at the back door - chewing a hole in the door - bashing up the garbage bin - finding carrots in the shopping bags - digging up carrots from the garden - eating boots, boxes, flower pots and chairs until carrots arrived Activity 13 - Individual Task: Pet Diary Writing 1. Explain Task: Students are going to imagine they were a family pet. (of their choice) and write a diary account of one day in the life of this pet. They will research their pet (animal) and find out about it's daily activities and habits, (what it likes to do), it's diet (what it eats) and how it lives with humans. Notes: Books and information about domestic animals are available in the classroom for students to use in their research. They can choose whatever pet they like, and must refer to the criteria sheet when completing their diary writing. (see below) 2. Develop Criteria Sheet for Diary Writing exercise with the whole class - through discussion and revision of 'Diary of a Wombat' and previous lessons. - Title of the diary, e.g. Flippy's diary - days of the week as headings - different times of day, e.g. morning, afternoon, evening and night - correct punctuation including colons. - Written in first person and present tense (from pet's point of view) Fast finishers can illustrate their diary entry. Activity 14 - Class competition In small groups students can read aloud their diary entries and select the best one (peer assessment) to go forward to the class competition, based on the agreed criteria above. Whole class sharing - the selected student from each group can read aloud and share their diary writing. Whole class judges the best diary entry based on the selected criteria. Text-users: create a 'list' to illustrate that diary writing is like a 'list' or 'recount'. Review and introduce new punctuation – the colon. Model the use of a colon in a list. Text-users: students creat a list Text-participants: checking student comprehension using oral language skills. To check comprehension and understanding and re-model the creation of a list incorporating a Colon. Students as text- users: researching information and producing a text for a purpose - i.e. diary writing To review 'lists' jointly constructed in previous lessons and ensure students know what they need to include in their diary writing. Student practise their oral language skills, firstly in small groups and then in front of the whole class. Students practise identifying relevant criteria to justify why a particular piece of writing has been chosen as the winning diary entry.
[mon-uh-klin-ik] /ˌmɒn əˈklɪn ɪk/ adjective, Crystallography. noting or pertaining to a system of crystallization in which the crystals have three unequal axes, with one oblique intersection. (crystallog) relating to or belonging to the crystal system characterized by three unequal axes, one pair of which are not at right angles to each other Relating to a crystal having three axes of different lengths. Two of the axes are at oblique angles to each other, and the third axis is perpendicular to the plane that is made by the other two. The mineral gypsum has monoclinic crystals. See illustration at crystal. Read Also: • Monoclinous [mon-uh-klahy-nuh s, mon-uh-klahy-] /ˌmɒn əˈklaɪ nəs, ˈmɒn əˌklaɪ-/ adjective, Botany. 1. (of a plant, species, etc.) having both the stamens and pistils in the same flower. /ˌmɒnəʊˈklaɪnəs; ˈmɒnəʊˌklaɪnəs/ adjective 1. (of flowering plants) having the male and female reproductive organs on the same flower Compare diclinous monoclinous (mŏn’ə-klī’nəs) Having pistils and stamens in the same […] • Monoclonal [mon-uh-klohn-l] /ˌmɒn əˈkloʊn l/ Biology adjective 1. pertaining to cells or cell products derived from a single . noun 2. a or other monoclonal product. monoclonal mon·o·clo·nal (mŏn’ə-klō’nəl) n. Of or relating to a protein from a single clone of cells, all molecules of which are the same, as in the Bence-Jones protein. • Monoclonal-antibody noun, Biotechnology. 1. antibody produced by a laboratory-grown cell clone, either of a hybridoma or a virus-transformed lymphocyte, that is more abundant and uniform than natural antibody and is able to bind specifically to a single site on almost any chosen antigen or reveal previously unknown antigen sites: used as an analytic tool in scientific […] • Monoclonality [mon-uh-kloh-nal-i-tee] /ˌmɒn ə kloʊˈnæl ɪ ti/ noun 1. Biology, Biotechnology. the state or condition of having one specific type of antibody.
Characteristics Of Living Organisms Characteristic Importance Notes Responsiveness Indicates that the organism acknowledges modifications in its internal or external environment Required for adaptability Adaptability Changes the organism’s behaviour, abilities, or structure Required for survival in a continuously altering world Growth and development Inherited patterns for growth (a boost in size) and development (modifications in structure and function) produce organisms quality of their types Growthand development to maturity is managed by acquired guidelines in the form of DNA Reproduction Produces the next generation Sexual reproduction in between 2 parents produces offspring with different characteristics Movement and mobility Distributes products throughout big organisms; modifications orientation or position of a plant or stable animal; moves mobile animals around the environment Animals reveal mobility at some time in their lives Respiration* Usually describes oxygen absorption and usage, and co2 generation and release Oxygen is needed for chemical procedures that release energy in a functional form; co2 is launched as a waste product Circulation* Movement of fluid within the organism; might include a pump and a network of unique vessels The circulation offers an internal circulation network Digestion* The chemical breakdown of complex products for absorption and usage by the organism The chemicals launched can be utilised to produce energy or to support growth Excretion* The removal of chemical waste products created by the organism The waste products are frequently hazardous, so their elimination is necessary
Collaboration is an important skill for 21st century learning. It is also a very large component of the 6th grade computer science curriculum. Collaboration can be experienced in a variety of situations,and thanks to the inspiration of Game Designer, Jane McGonigal, the sixth graders had the opportunity to experience to work together through the "game" Massive Multiplayer Thumb Wrestling. According to Ms. McGonigal, games create emotions that bring people together in large groups to tackle problems. "It is about standing up and grabbing as many hands as you can and wrestling together with a really hard challenge." The 6th graders took the challenge in stride and had a great time attempting this unique version of "thumb wrestling". The skills that they practiced while engaged in MMTW will be used over and over again through out the rotation. Next time you find yourself with a couple of extra thumbs, I recommend giving this "game" a try. The end of the 6th grade first rotation is quickly approaching. I must say that the past 12 weeks have been the fastest on record. Hard to imagine, but I will actually miss my students! Over the course of the rotation, we have explored a lot of computer concepts together. Their final "task/challenge" is to combine all of the pieces into one "Mangnum Opus". The basic premise of the culminating program is to create a game that will help students practice their math facts (addition & multiplication). The students had the freedom to decide what format they wanted to engage the user, thus letting their creativity have free range. The variety of projects speak for themselves. The students learned a wide assortment of computing concepts and computational practices over during the rotation. They have successfully begun the process of identifying themselves as computer scientists. They are now ready to begin exploring more advanced concepts. I hope they avail themselves of the opportunity and continue to study computer science. They now have a strong foundation for their future programming experiences in high school. Below is a few sample programs from the final project. Group A & Group B studios contain a link to all of the projects. I strong recommend that you take some time to not only try out the programs but to peak "under the hood" Today the 6th graders spent time reviewing the benefits of pair programming. While initially hesitant about working with a partner (many of the students wanted the freedom and flexibility to write their own computer program), the 6th graders finally experienced the rewards of working closely with a classmate. Students spent the first 10-15 minutes of class reflecting on their individual (and their partner's) Pair Programming practices. Some of the students rated themselves quite high, while others recognized their failings and recorded it appropriately. After taking the time to reflect and review the roles, the students were eager to correct their mistakes and tackled the task with renewed commitment. The Girls Creating Games Guide to Pair Programming from Youth and Technology defines Pair Programming as follows: "Pair Programming is the most widely tested, if not the only, collaborative learning structure where two users work together on a single computer in a way that gives both a critical role in completing their IT project. In pair programming, one partner serves as the “Driver” while operating the keyboard and the mouse to execute operations. The other partner acts as the “Navigator.” In a classic code-writing situation, there are two primary roles of the Navigator: one is to actively review the code-writing and catch errors as they happen in order to prevent glitches or bugs in the software, and the other is to collaborate with the Driver to generate solutions to programming tasks or problems. We added a third primary role to the job of Navigator – that of managing all the print-based materials, including both instructional aides and project materials." Before we make anything – a house, a dress or a computer program – we should start with a design. Because there are two important parts to most programs – the interface (how it looks) and the code – we design these separately. • The easiest way to design the interface is by sketching it out on paper. • To design the code, write out a list of steps it will have to perform in English.  This is known as an algorithm and is just like the steps in a food recipe. Solving problems like this is what programming is really about, rather than entering  commands on the computer.  All good programmers design algorithms before starting to code Learning to think out ALL the parts of the program before any coding starts is a hard concept for 6th graders. As a way to reinforce this important concept, I shared another Computation Fairy Tale with the students - The Importance of Design in Five Course Meals. "Good design practices can save a significant amount of time, help avoid wasting effort, and prevent mistakes." Currently the two classes are working on two different game designs - Maze Game & Chase Game. The first step in the design process was to determine the general objective and rules of the games. From their the pairs had to determine the specific conditions of their individual games and then identify the major components: • The Start • Movement • Winning/Losing Below is a sample of their initial attempt at designing algorithms for their games: Computer science concepts as told through fairy tales - by Jeremy Kubica In an effort to reinforce important computer science concepts, I shared a brief fairytale with the 6th graders today. The short-story, "The Importance of (Variable) Names", focuses on the need to create clear, meaningful variable names in writing understandable and maintainable code. By the time Princess Ann had reached the northernmost outpost within the kingdom, she was losing hope. Her father, King Fredrick, had sent her on a quest to save the kingdom from impending darkness almost a month ago. So far, Ann had found nothing. Meanwhile reports of roaming dragons and hordes of goblins increased throughout the kingdom. Ann felt completely demoralized. The outpost of Garroow had been hit particularly hard by the recent chaos. The goblin attacks had been increasing in recent weeks. The commander, Sir Aat, had sent word to Ann's father that the outpost was in desperate need of reinforcements. At a loss for better stops on her quest, Princess Ann headed north to Garroow. The situation in Garroow was worse than she had expected. During her first night at the outpost, a small goblin attack almost overwhelmed it. The fifty person garrison barely held off just three, relatively lethargic, goblins. She heard the captain shouting orders at his solders: “Ut, guard the South wall. No, I meant Ot. Ut, stay where you are.” “Drex, swap places with Plex, we need an archer on the wall not a blacksmith.” “Et, secure that door.” ......... After listening to the story, the 6th graders quickly identified the important concepts and were able to make strong connections with their Scratch programs. In addition to realizing the need to assign descriptive names to variables, it is also important to do the same for other pieces of code (messages in the broadcast command, names for sprites, costumes and backdrops). 6th Grade Scratch Projects - demonstrating loops and variables The sixth graders spent the week working on their "What's My Number" program. For many of the students it was their first time working with loops and conditional statements. Below is a list of Computational Concepts that students were exposed to while working on the Random Number Guessing "Game": A common refrain from the students was - "Its not working". What does that mean? Computers only do what the programmer (which in this case was the students) tells it. Was it a case of the computer not listening, or more accurately, the programmer not communicating clearly? Or, did they not understand the concepts I was trying to teach? Since this was their first time working with loops and conditionals in Scratch, I would bet that for many of the students the answer would be a mixture of the two. One of the major skills necessary for writing good code, is the ability to break a problem down into smaller parts and to then translate it into commands that the computer can follow. This important 21st Century Skill is known as Computational Thinking. CSTA and ISTE define Computational Thinking as: • Logically organizing and analyzing data • Representing data through abstractions such as models and simulations For the purposes of this assignment (program) students had to focus on developing a solution that not only solved the problem, but solved it in the most efficient and effective way possible. To this end, we created a rubric to help them identify the varying levels of completion (for their finished program). To help them internalize these levels, the students had to evaluate their own programs as well as the program of one of their classmates. The 6th graders ended the week with a lesson on problem solving. The aim of the lesson was to have students experience computing (and computers) as tools for solving problems. In the younger grades, students are encouraged to use computers as a tool for creative expression. This modality enables the students to freely express themselves, and in the process they learn a variety of computing and programming techniques. In the 6th grade, students will be provided specific problems (with detailed goals) to solve using computers. Besides designing programming solutions, students will also learn more about how computers work. Computing is not as frustrating as many students believe it is, however, it does require clear concise language in order to craft the appropriate sequence of commands which will yield the desired result. This past Friday (and continuing through this week), students will be working on writing the correct computer code to solve the problem--- "What's my number?". Below is an outline of the sequence of steps that the program needs to contain: Step 1: The computer will generate a random number between 1 and 100 Step 2: The player (person) will make a guess between 1 and 100. Step 3: The computer will compare the user input to the computer generated number (a) If the numbers don't match, provide a hint and have the person guess again (b) If the numbers do match, the game ends (or you can play again, if the user wants to). Part of the learning process is coming up with the logic (Conditional Statements) (the comparison statements) to determine if the Player has guessed the correct number. The second part of the learning, is to determine the logic (Control Statements) which will enable the user to keep entering guesses (if needed). Below is the skeleton code for the project: The students found the lesson very rewarding --- "I usually do it easy, "peasy" (or ask someone else). But this was fun and I had to think about it!". Thank you John! Many of the 6th graders have used Scratch before, however, Scratch 2.0 is a whole new "ball game". While it has ALL of the same functionality of Scratch 1.4, the developers added a wide assortment of new features enabling programmers to benefit from a more robust programming language. For the 6th graders this means learning new vocabulary as well as navigating a new user-interface. Please encourage your child to check out the new features. They will be happy that they did! Meet Scratch 2.0 Here are some of the exciting new features: Project Editor • Click Create to make a new project. • You can now make your own programming blocks. • Find out more about the new Scratch blocks. Community Features will highlight the original creators and links to their projects. tell others what you're working on. Planned for Summer 2013 (still in the works) For the students first project in Scratch they were given the challenge of creating a "Dance Party". This project enabled them to explore Scratch 2.0 (which has many new features). There were no specific requirements for this introductory exercise, so each child was free to take the program as far as they wanted. Some students created a "Party" with multiple sprites and a variety of backdrops, while others focused their attention on a single sprite with a collection of dance moves. Scratch is the ideal introductory programming language for the middle school students. Without the constraints of mastering syntax, students are free to focus their attention on learning to think creatively, work collaboratively and reason systematically. With future projects, students will learn more advanced computing concepts (such as conditionals and loops). All of the students' projects will be shared and readily viewed through a Scratch studio. Students began exploring Scratch. We spent some time in class discussing Scratch and trying to determine what makes it special. To this end, each student wrote up a definition for Scratch. We then pulled-out the salient ideas and created the wordle on the left. The students impression of Scratch was very close to what the developers had in mind. According to the website - "you can program your own interactive stories, games, and animations - and share your creations with other in the online community."
10 Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease Not all Parkinson’s disease sufferers have the same symptoms, this disease is even sometimes difficult to identify. Because of that, clinical observation by expert is needed. But, according to yahoohealth, the ‘United Kingdom Parkinson’s Disease Society Brain Bank’ had a guideline on some common symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Well, here are those signs: 1. Have very slow and sometimes clumsy movement. Parkinson’s disease sufferers takes more time when putting on their shirt button, when they take a call, or other strenuous activity. The decline of movement is known as bradykinesia. As a follow-up, Parkinson’s disease patients experience the condition of “frozen” like statues when walking or turning around and unable to move. 2. Hands or arm shake when resting or relaxed. Approximately 70-80 percent of Parkinson’s disease patients experience resting tremor of or vibration in the hand, arm, chin or face. This vibration occurs when the patient put their hand on their thigh in a relaxed condition or when they want to take a cup of tea. However, if a person’s hand shakes while holding a cup or writing with a pen, s/he’s probably just experiencing “usual vibration” and not Parkinson’s. 3. Patients complain feeling tense or pain, stiffness in muscles, arms and body until it is difficult to move. Getting out of bed or standing from a chair becomes very difficult. People suffering from Parkinson’s rarely make spontaneous movements and lose expression on their face. 4. Parkinson’s disease followers can not hold on long in a standing position. The general hint is that patients will lose their body balance and can fall. They usually will walk with small steps and slowly. However, if your someone goes through this and is not followed by other Parkinson’s symptoms, they might have different diagnosis. 5. Problem on the other side of your body. Symptoms include trembling fingers or stiffness on the legs. Motor movement in Parkinson’s patients initially only interfere with one side of the body. Furthermore, in the next few years this disorder will spread to the other side. 6. Changes in handwriting. One strange thing which is easy to know from people with Parkinson’s is their handwriting becomes smaller. This symptoms can be regarded as an early indication of the difficulty of motor motion. 7. Patients with Parkinson’s seems like they lack energy. Parkinson’s sufferer will usually experience problems with depression before movement problems. Experts believe, mental disorders are part of Parkinson’s disease itself, not just the reaction of having the disease. 8. When they walk, one hand does not swing as much as other hand and this slow movement will spread to the entire body. For example, at first the hand swings more slowly than usual, followed by rare blinking. 9. Patients do not recognize smells. In the early stages, Parkinson’s patients often lose the sense of smell because the process of decline in neural development. 10. Their words are difficult to be heard and understood. Parkinson’s disease sufferers makes voices that are quite, weak and difficult to understand.
Crime And Punishment Essay Research Paper Crime СОДЕРЖАНИЕ: Crime And Punishment Essay, Research Paper Crime and Punishment Our topic for this paper is Crime and Punishment. There are several different issues on this subject. We chose three main points Crime And Punishment Essay, Research Paper Crime and Punishment Our topic for this paper is Crime and Punishment. There are several different issues on this subject. We chose three main points Crime in the nineteeth century was rapid though out London. London were crimes that involved stealing. Pickpocket gangs and street gamblers were a regular sight when walking down a major London today there a two categories which crimes fall under. “Indictable” is called ” Summery ” crimes which is equal to our misdemeanor crimes. Summery crimes were all minor crimes such as: Property crimes, Vagrancy, Drunkenness, Prostitution, Minor Larceny , and all other minor offenses. Probably the most famous criminal in the Victorian period was ” Jack the Ripper “. Jack the Ripper was ” the first modern sexual serial killer” ( Sugden, pg.2) Jack’s trademark was the killing of surgically remove organs and intrails and place them near the dead body. “Jack the Ripper” wasn’t his only nickname, he was also called ” the Whitechaple murder ” because the body’s were found near the Whitechapel Road, and ” The Leather Apron” because of a man that would ( Sugden, pg.1) Jack the Ripper’s identity is unknown which is identity but wanted to keep it a secret. The London Metropolitan Police system was created in 1829, The Police Department consisted of 3000 policemen. The Policeman then were poorly paid. A constable’s usual pay was 19 shillings, a week. Victorian England did not go without it’s punishments. In early Victorian England Public hanging’s were watched by many people, and These things lead to the building of prisons. In 1730 the These prisons were so bad because they were privately owned and the owners used the inmates for working purposes. They also shipped these men to other businesses for money paid to the prisons by the companies who needed cheap workers. The prisons lacked sewage and heat which made for horrible working conditions sometimes deadly working conditions. The prisoners life was a horrible one. They worked fourteen hours a day taking only short breaks for lunch and dinner. You only got lunch and dinner if you had money to pay for it or unless someone gave you some of their food or a visitor gave you some food. It was awful because these prisons were there to make money through any way they could by having inmates pay to get there shackles off or paying for a private room or for a room with your friend it was usually a pretty bad room but it was still better than the others. Due to the new law of no more public hangings there was a great amount of over population. This over population meant trouble for the prisoners because the prisoners who really didn’t commit bad crimes were killed in jail by the guards. So now the prisoners who went to jail were there to be executed or if they weren’t there for that it would mean they were shipped to factories, Australia or new prisons set up the Queen or King of England. It’s a shame these men women and children were so mistreated over such little crimes but it made the crime rate go down. ( Mitchell pg’s 638-41 ) ДОБАВИТЬ КОММЕНТАРИЙ [можно без регистрации] перед публикацией все комментарии рассматриваются модератором сайта - спам опубликован не будет Ваше имя: Copyright © 2015-2017. All rigths reserved.
Arif Shala Migration is one of the most pressing issues of our time. In the globalized economy of the 21st century, migration results in various economic advantages for the domestic country, including but not limited to reduction of unemployment, and money infusion from remittances. The host country, is also subject to additional economic benefits tied primarily to incoming labor force in times of labor shortages, and relatively cheap labor. It is necessary to highlight that with growing migration social consequences become noticeable. Despite several benefits of migration, host countries, have denied access to social security and social protection to migrants. These decision have primarily been made in order to discourage permanent migration and encourage temporary migration instead. Evidence suggests that the latter is better accepted by the national population. Research has shown that temporary migration better represents the interests of migrants while in the mean time preserving the well-being of the domestic country. Social Security It is often that social security programs are viewed in light of inclusion versus exclusion. Inclusion however, is not achieved only with access to social security benefits, it is only complete once migrants are fully involved in the society. In Western Europe schemes vary from country to country but generally make a distinction between social protection for children, social protection for women and men of working age (unemployment protection, employment injury protection, disability benefits and maternity protection) and finally social protection for older women and men which generally refers to pensions and other non-health benefits. In 2013 Western European countries spent 19.2 % of their overall GDP in social protection schemes. Of this percentage, the majority, 11.1 % goes in contributions to older women and men. The other two categories receive 2.2 % and 5.9 % respectively, which is significantly lower. According to GDP data for 2013 the overall sum invested in social protection schemes amounted roughly to 2.5 trillion dollars. Social security is tied to the concept of solidarity. However, only special groups benefit and have access to solidarity founds. Every solidity scheme clearly indicates who is in and who is out. The new developments across the world argue that the need for a new approach towards social protection is inevitable. This new approach proposed by them argues for meeting minimum care requirements in accordance with human rights standards along with making income support and credits available to migrants who decide to return to their country. Forms of social protection include social insurance, social and medical assistance and informal social security. Social security systems provide citizens with the right to access income security, overcome poverty and inequality and promote inclusion and dignity. It is through this manner that citizens benefit from health care, necessary income and education perspectives. Social Benefits Generally speaking, European countries provide access to insurance protection for migrants conditional upon their legal status, including cases of temporary work status. Social assistance is also not conditional upon nationality. Within European Union states, legal migrants are able to file for social assistance. In very special cases temporary social assistance may be offered to illegal immigrants as well. Even in cases when migrants are legally allowed to benefit from social programs they can do so only after spending some time residing in the new country. Formal social services such as education and housing remain out of reach until a specified period of time has passed. What is even worse is the fact that many rich countries have modified requirements for social systems in an attempt to deny access to such systems for migrants. It should however be noted that by relying on assistance migrants can easily harm their permanent residency perspective. In order to obtain the right to live and work in the EU a migrant is required to demonstrate the ability to financially maintain oneself and the family. Economic Implications Security Protection Programs It is estimated that 80% of the world population is denied comprehensive social protection. Unfortunately it is only through these programs that countries are able to fight inequality and poverty. Social protection is considered to be the tool through which inclusion and sustainable development are made available. Research evidence suggests that exclusion from social protection makes people in general, and vulnerable groups in specific subject to poverty in which they can remain for generations. Of all population groups migrants are more likely to sink to poverty. Consequently, it is through these programs that they are offered a chance to become involved in the society. Evidence suggests that access to social security and decent work explain the difference in progress between countries. Countries which did not provide their populations with access to decent work and social security schemes achieved little progress between 1990 and 2005 in comparison to other countries. Social protection schemes make it possible for all members of the society to have access to vital goods and services. Due to the fact that social protection promotes inclusion and sustainable development it should be considered an investment which promotes economic growth. It is the channel through which human development objectives are met. Conditions such as better nutrition, health and education are fulfilled. It is only once the conditions of education opportunity, health care, food, accommodation and basic income security that a person can become productive member of the workforce. Additionally, these schema, by offering decent employment, foster the transition from low levels of productivity to higher ones. Accounting thus for economic growth. Research evidence suggests that policies which are linked to social security radically improve productivity, employment while in the mean time supporting economic developments. Furthermore, social security is tied to higher resilience levels and faster recovery rates. Economies that benefit from such programs are better at stabilizing themselves during economic crisis as well as overcoming them faster. Economic growth is supported by social protections programs by securing the household income while in the mean time protecting domestic consumption. Consequently, in order to benefit from social and economic development, the objective of all countries should be to include all groups in social security programs. Author : Leave a Reply
■　Company name nightsky_frame“Antecanis” is an alternative name of Procyon (α CMi), a 1st-magnitude star in a winter constellation Canis Minor. So-called “Winter Triangle” consists of Sirius of Canis Major, Betelgeuse of Orion and Procyon of Canis Minor. Long time ago, in the ancient Egyptian civilization around the Nile. It was very important for the people there to know when the Nile flooded, which told them when to start cultivating their land. This led to the birth of ancient astronomy; Sirius rising in the East before the sunrise informed them the flood of the Nile was coming, and the star was deified as a symbol of fertility (the holy “Dog Star”). Procyon, rising just before Sirius, was the sign that Sirius would rise soon. In Greek “pro(before)-cyon(dog)”, or in Latin “ante(before)-canis(dog)” both mean the star rising before Sirius. Like the star of Procyon, we want to be a “sign” to inform the arrival of next future… This is the story behind the name of “Antecanis”. ■ Logo antecanis_wideCanis Minor, which Procyon (where the name of the company comes from) belongs to, is a small constellation. It mainly consists of only two stars. This logo shows the shape of the constellation, with the bottom-left circle as the bright star Procyon. At the same time, this arrow from bottom-left to top-right means to indicate the next future. The color is dark blue of night sky, mixed with light yellow of the star Procyon.
It Has Been Proven That Cranberries Can Prolong Life Even By 25% The survey showed that fruit flies which feed exclusively from sugar and cranberry extract live 25% longer than those that feed only with sugar. Scientists haven’t studied the effects of this fruit on people in the long run, but as says, the result would probably be the same. The longer analysis showed that consuming cranberries that are rich in phytochemicals reduces the damage caused by stress due to the environment. The previous research shows that cranberry juice, fresh, frozen or dried cranberries act as a natural antibiotic that destroys bacteria in the body. Bioflavonoids found in them have a special antibacterial affect. They can prevent the occurrence of infection in the urinary tract. Also, cranberries help in destroying the bacteria Helicobacter pylori, which causes gastric ulcers, and reduces the risk of disease of the teeth and gums. The ingredients in cranberries reduce the risk of cancer, such as breast cancer and colon cancer, as well as inhibit the growth of cancer cells and its spread in the body. Cranberries help to improve eyesight, lowering blood sugar levels. It is useful for many things, which is why we need to have it at home all the time. Leave a Reply
Symbols of Buddhism They might be beautiful or scary: The symbols of Buddhism Many scholars have studied the symbols of Buddhism and here, I intend on tapping on their knowledge to explain some concepts and their importance in the philosophy and theology of Buddhism symbol. What is a Buddhist symbol? It’s simply an image, an object or a concrete representation of an idea, a concept or other abstractions. Symbols are often cultural or regional. For example, in North America, a red octagon Stop symbols of Buddhism is the symbol for STOP. It is not so everywhere. In Japan, for example, the symbol for it is a red triangle pointing upward. A North-American not paying attention could think that this symbol means “yield” as it is similar to the symbol for such a message in North America.The point I want to make here is that some symbols in Buddhism might seem very odd for Christians but they have to be taken in their context. A fundamentalist Christian friend of mine was convinced that Buddhists were the Devil worshipers after visiting a Buddhist Mongolian temple. Inside she was confronted with images representing hell and demons. She swore never to enter a Buddhist temple again. A common misconception is also the use of the famous swastikaswastica in Japan in Japan. You’ll have to read about it to know why. Some Buddhist deities (like Fudo Myo-o) look like demons but they are actually symbols representing a destroyer of one’s own greed-anger-and-ignorance so that one can serve the cause of all living Let’s start with basic symbols. There is the Wheel of the Dharma, one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols. The Buddha itself has many shapes and positions. They all mean something specific. Mandalas are a tool used by esoteric (or tantric) Buddhist to meditate. There are also different tools and many art form that add content to our vast field of symbols. Many symbols are not connected to Buddhism but some are also used across a number of cultures around the world. With gratitude,signature Hugo New! Comments
If blood pressure is a concern, putting on a cuff could help. A new study concluded that those who regularly monitor their blood pressure at home have better numbers than those who don't. advertisement \| advertise on newsday The National Institutes of Health defines high blood pressure as readings higher than 140 systolic (the top number)/ 90 diastolic (the bottom number). In the study, researchers at Tufts Medical Center in Boston found that people who monitored their blood pressure at home improved their systolic numbers by 3.9 points and their diastolic by 2.4 points. Of course, anyone with high blood pressure should be under a doctor's care. Home blood-pressure monitors can be found at retailers such as Walmart and Target. Amazon.com also has a large selection of monitors. You can pay less than $20 for a basic model. Models that store readings or have other bells and whistles will be more expensive.
Overclock.net › Articles › Gpu And Cpu Power Connections GPU and CPU power connections Is the connections we are making, bad for our devices? A mistake like this can cost you a lot of money. A GPU is a “Graphics Processing Unit”, it is located in the video card. A CPU is a “Central Processing Unit”, it is located on the main board. I, at one time had a lot of questions about there power connectors, their current rating, the cross compatibility, jumper wires and unorthodox looking configurations, and what adaptors are safe to use. I did a lot of research and found conflicting answers. I looked at how reputable the source was, and how often I saw other reputable sources give the same answer. Being an electrical technician with 35 years experience, I myself, have a good working knowledge of this subject. I pooled of this information into one easy to understand writing, then made an illustration to go with it. The purpose of this article is to save you a lot of research time, and turn you into an expert by giving you good reliable information. The white smoke of death: As you can see by the plug illustrations in the middle of this guide, the 8 pin plug for the CPU power that plugs into the main board (ESP-12V) is completely incompatible with the PCIe graphics card’s power connection. Even though they are keyed differently; they do look very similar and it is possible to force a plug into the wrong receptacle. If you make the mistake of forcing the connection, when you apply power, you may see a white cloud form around the power supply and the graphics card or main board; the damage will be extensive. You will have permanently damaged several very expensive components that you will now need to replace. Power supply manufacturers normally mark these connectors with tags, never tear these tags off and never force the connection. If the connection is difficult to make, double check the plug keys. This is not the only mistake that you can make. Understanding how the system is set up: In a power supply, there is only one circuit that generates 12 volt DC. Even if there are multiple rails, all 12 volt lines come from the same place. This is the same rule for the CPU and GPU inputs. All of the power comes from one point in the power supply, and goes into one point on each device. The way this system works is, many wires (around 16 gauge) are used, the wire system is easily customizable by adding multiple wires until the wattage availability exceeds the devices needs. The above rules also apply to ground. All ground connections are connected to earth ground, there is only one ground. Multiple connections only increase wattage availability. All grounds come from one point and go into one point on each device. There is one exception, grounds that go to sensor; sensor is a separate circuit within the device. There is no such thing as making too much wattage available, the device will only use what it needs; your only worry is not supplying enough wattage. Current starvation causes overheating, errors, and failures. Y- Adaptors The 6 and 8 pin adaptors and their power ratings: The 6 and 8 pin adaptors are called Y-adapters because they each have two 4 pin IDE Molex power receptacles. Sometimes they are supplied with the products that use them, and they are also readily available on the web. Each IDE Molex power plug (coming from the power supply) only has one 12 volt line. Each GPU and CPU adaptor's 12 volt line needs about 40 watts (3.3 amps) from the power supply; this is NOT standardized by PCI-SIG. For the graphics card power connectors, the 6 pin adaptor has two 12 volt lines, so it needs 80 watts (6.7 amps) , and the 8 pin adaptor has three 12 volt lines, so it requires 120 watts (10 amps). For the CPU power connectors, the 4 pin connector has two 12 volt lines, so it needs 80 watts (6.7 amps) , and the 8 pin adaptor has four 12 volt lines, so it requires 160 watts (13.3 amps) . If you are going to use any of these adaptors, you need to check the power supply and its power distribution to its rails and the available connectors. Use the above information and look in your power supply's manual to make sure that you are connecting a sufficient wattage or amperage to these adaptors. If you have to convert, you will find this useful amps x volts = watts watts/volts = amps. There are other types of adaptors than the ones shown in the picture; If it fills your power requirements and you need it, you can use it; but the ones pictured below are probably better. Some adaptors are only safe to use under certain conditions. By time you finish this guide, you should know enough to make intelligent choices. An 18 gauge wire can handle 16 Amps (192 watts), A Molex-8981 connector is rated for 18 AWG – 08 AMPS – 96 watts 16 AWG – 10 AMPS – 120 watts 14 AWG – 10 AMPS – 120 watts If the Power Supply has enough power, these adaptors (in the above picture) are safe to use. • Connector; Some of the Molex connectors on the adaptors have two wires coming from its 12 volt pin. This is not a problem; you have 16 watts of elbow room before you exceed the connectors rating. • Power Supply line; I have been ask if a single power line with two Molex connectors on it, can safely connect to a GPU or CPU adaptor? If there is enough power coming from the power supply, Yes it can. A single line of 18 gauge wires connected using both Molex connectors is rated at 192 watts. The power needed from the power supply is listed under each adaptor’s picture. Circuit path complexity: The simplest circuit path is "the power supply's circuit board / connecting wire / connector / receptacle / (graphics or main) circuit board". Every connector, adaptor, and extension you have in your computer has a probability of failing at some point in its life. With everything extra that you add, you increase that probability. The best scenario is to have a Power Supply with sufficient current that is equipped (as is) to directly connect to all of the power receptacles with-out the use of adaptors or extensions. But this is not always possible. Power Supplies: If you do not load your power supply beyond 70% of its capacity, it will last longer and do its job better because it is in its most efficient operating range. Checking the loads to make sure you have the right power supply for the job you need it to do, is an easy way to help you computer last longer and run better. I have already done a lot of the work for you. Your part is to use this guide, your manuals, and pay attention to what you are doing. And don't forget to configure your case's airflow to where the power supply's cooling fan is being helped instead of fought (positive case pressure). Note: This only matters if the power supply draws its air from the case.. Some power supplies have more than one +12 volt rail. All 12 volt rails get there power from one circuit (the exceptions to this are few). The purpose of this power being separated into a multi rail system is to provide better protection. The logic is; three 10 amp breakers (rails) protecting a single 30 amp source are safer than one 30 amp breaker (rail); 30 amps (if shorted) can melt metal. The one big disadvantage of the multiple +12 volt rail system is, when you install any devices in your computer; you must manage the amperage load to each rail. The advantage is; it takes only a 10 amp problem to throw a breaker, this is better protection for the connected components. If your multiple rail power supply keeps shutting down, you have overloaded one rail. I prefer the simplicity of a single rail system. The way a power supply works is: To turn the computer on, the main board supplies then maintains ground to the 5 volt GREEN wire on the 24-pin ATX power supply connector. To shut the computer off, the main board removes ground from that same GREEN wire. If the power supply has power going to it, the computer is alive (even though it’s not on). This is because 5 volts DC must be present at the GREEN wire to start the computer. As you can see, the main board is the component responsible for turning the computer on and off. When it feels an error, it removes the ground from the green 5 volts line to turn the system off. This is a safety fetcher used to minimize damage when there is a bad or incompatible component. You can find problems like this in the Event Viewer error log in the Computer Management utility. Path: Computer / Manage / System Tools / Event Viewer. If the power supply keeps turning off; an insufficient amount of power, a bad main board, or an incorrectly installed CPU cooler, is the most likely cause. The GPU power connectors This is a "GIGABYTE Radeon R9 280 3GB" Graphics card. Connecting power to your graphics card: The PCIe x16 slot was design to power a video card drawing up to a maximum of 75 watts. That is adequate for most video cards, but some of the better cards, like high-end "gaming or workstation" cards, usually need quite a bit more power. The graphics cards that need more than 75 watts, have one or two additional power receptacles on them. The PCI Express auxiliary power connectors provide power directly from the power supply to the video card, they are a six-pin (2 × 3) and/or an eight-pin (2 × 4) connector. Some Main Boards have a 4 pin Molex receptacle near the PCIe graphics card slot; if you are using a 6 or 8 PCIe power connection(s), you do not need to supply power to the 4 pin Molex receptacle. This receptacle is there so that when you use a "no connector" type graphics card, you will get a good solid 75 Watts of power to the PCIe x16 slot. The six-pin connector has two 12 volt lines, and the eight-pin connector has three 12 volt lines. Each additional 12 volt input line adds about 40 watts to the 75 watts that is already at the PCIe slot. This list below is a general guide; all manufacturers do not do things exactly the same way. This is no standard set for this. Be aware that if the GPU power connectors wattage rating is close to the card's usage wattage rating, that graphics card will have a very limited over-clocking potential. Auxiliary Power Connector Configuration for high performance graphics cards: • 75 Watts***No connector • 155 Watts**One six-pin connector • 195 Watts**One eight-pin connector • 235 Watts**Two six-pin connectors • 275 Watts**One eight-pin connector + one six-pin connector • 315Watts**Two eight-pin connectors • 395 Watts***Two eight-pin connectors + one six-pin connector If there is any combos that are not covered, each 6 pin connector adds 80 watts, and each 8 pin connector adds 120 watts. Example: four 8 pin connectors, (4 X 120) + 75 = 555 watts Let’s look at the pinout and discuss adaptors: The presents of a ground connection at sense A and B are used so that the graphics card can detect what types of connector(s) are attached; therefore how much total power is available. You can plug the six-pin connector into the eight-pin socket using an offset arrangement, but I would not do this. Depending on the design of the graphics card, it could either shut down or operate in a reduced functionality mode. If your existing power supply doesn’t feature the PCI Express auxiliary power connectors you need, you can use Y-adapters to convert multiple peripheral power connectors (normally used for drives) into a single six-pin or eight-pin PCI Express auxiliary power connector. The 6 pin to 8 pin PCI Express adapter will only work if the 6 pin PCI Express connector has a +12 volt wire at pin 2; although most good power supplies have this, the ATX standard is for it not to be there. Whatever adaptor you try to use, it needs to provide enough power to the GPU power connection. These adapters will not work well if the power supply is not capable of supplying the total power actually required to power all of the system tower’s components. The bottom line is, you are best off with the correct power supply; one that will easily supply enough power and directly connect to all of the devices with-out the use of adaptors. If a power supply has a connector, chances are, it has the power to support it. On some power supplies, on the 8 pin PCIe connector, the 6th and 7th pin has a ground jumper coming from them to the 4th and 8th pins. Is this unorthodox looking cheat safe? Yes, it is very safe. The wire is the only component in this circuit that carries this extra load. An 18 gauge wire (the smallest available) will handle 18 amps or 216 watts. Its capacity is way higher than its usage will ever see. In the picture, the main wires coming from the power supply are 14 gauge, and the two grounding wires that are coming off of them are 16 gauge. The higher the gauge, the smaller the wire is. Up-date: There must be a baseline for you to understand a subject, so all of the above information is still important because it applies to the (up to) 2013 stuff, and almost all of the cards that are out now. This information will also help you understand the newer cards that will be coming out. These new cards listed here cost over $1000. In the Quest for GPU Supremacy, AMD and NVidia have been producing DUAL GPU Graphics Cards that have made a “unofficial PCI-SIG Standards” update a necessity. The Devil 13 is a Dual Core R9 290X 8GB graphics card and is in the first picture at the beginning of this article. It has Four 8 pin connectors and says that each connector handles 150 watts. That was the first time I had ever seen a "wattage per line" rating that was that high (50 watts per line). That was just a few months ago. Now the Dual Core R9 295X 8GB graphics card Has been released and adheres to new up-and-coming unofficial standard. This card takes a special power supply, few of them are capable of these new numbers. This card needs 112 watts per line and 336 watts for each of the two 8 pin PCIe connectors. This opens a can of worms that only an enthusiast can understand. The average novice that buys this card will connect it to an inadequate power supply in spite of the warnings. All of the compatible power supplies listed are over 1500 watts. Read about it here: http://www.amd.com/Documents/Selecting-a-System-Power-Supply-for-the-AMD-Radeon-R9-295X2-Graphics-Card.pdf This current supply system is still not official standardized (set by PCI-SIG). When you buy a high powered graphics card, it is to your extreme advantage to follow the instructions in the user manual that comes with it. The CPU power connector This is an "Asus maximus vii formula" Motherboard. In the comments below, the above main board was brought to my attention. Seeing both the 4 pin and 8 pin together is a rarity. The 4 pin supplies 155 watts, and the 8 pin supplies 235 continuous watts. For most of the newer processors, even during extreme overclocking, ether connector would work fine. If you want to, you can even connect both the 8 pin and 4 pin CPU connections, all it will do is farther increase the wattage that is available to the CPU (315 watts). But this is not necessary, the 8 pin alone, provides more than enough power for any single CPU. If I have an 8 pin CPU connector on the power supply, and an 8 pin CPU power receptacle on the motherboard, I use it. I don't care weather my CPU needs the much power, or not. I do this because there is no down side, the 8 pin is the safest way to go; if I use it, I have no limits and no worries. The 8 pin EPS12V CPU connection was originally made for multi CPU servers, and is meant to be more stable so critical servers don't fail under load. The 8 pin CPU receptacle started being installed on higher end main boards to increase compatibility so that server power supplies that only had an 8 pin CPU connector could be used in the build. This extra compatibility was needed because a large amount of power was required to power 45nm 4 core CPUs and multiple GPUs, extra power that only server power supplies had at that time. It now has become a standard. If your main board has a CPU power receptacle, you must install at least a 4 pin connector before the computer will even boot up. If your main board has an 8 pin CPU receptacle, power supplies with ether a 4 pin or 8 pin CPU connector can be used, the 8 pin is preferred but often not necessary (no one likes to see the empty holes). Whither you have a 4 pin or 8 pin, all ground lines come from the same place and go to the same place, and all 12 volt lines come from the same place and go to the same place. The difference between a 4 pin and an 8 pin connector is the amount of available current. There are very few exceptions to the above rules, few main board can sense whither a 4 pin or 8 pin CPU connector is used, your main board's owner's manual is the best source for this information. The four-pin connector has two 12 volt lines, and the eight-pin connector has four 12 volt lines. Each additional 12 volt input line adds about 40 watts to the 75 watts that is already at the CPU slot. The list below shows these connectors continuous out-putt rating; it is a general guide; all manufacturers do not do things exactly the same way. • Main Boards with no CPU power receptacle will supply 75 continuous watts • Main Boards with a 4 pin ATX12V CPU power receptacle can supply 155 continuous watts • Main Boards with an 8 pin EPS12V CPU power receptacle can supply 235 continuous watts NOTE: The peek or maximum watts rating is much higher than the continuous watts rating. The CPU power connector supplies power to the transistors that control and regulate the voltage that the CPU uses. If an 8 pin CPU connector is needed, but you use a 4 pin instead, you will starve these rectifiers. This current starvation will not only cause read errors and blue screens, but can also cause the rectifiers and CPU to overheat and burn up. The +12 volt CPU power connection is used only for the CPU, it does not supply power to the memory; the memory power rectifiers get their power from a +5 volt line. There are very few CPUs that normally need the extra power the 8 pin EPS12V connector will provide. For most power users, the 4 pin ATX12V connector is sufficient for the needs of most CPUs. If your CPUs wattage rating, plus over-clocking needs is estimated to be close to 155 continuous watts, use a Power Supply with an 8 pin EPS12V connector to be safe. Of Course; If your Power Supply already has an 8 pin EPS12V connector, and your main board has that receptacle, it's stupid not to use it. But if you do not need the functionality of the 8 pin EPS12V connector, don't go out and buy another Power Supply just so you can fill in the extra 4 holes on your main board's 8 pin CPU power receptacle. If you do need the functionality of the 8 pin EPS12V connector, but a 4 pin ATX12V connector will supply more than enough power, a 4 pin to 8 pin adaptor is acceptable to use. If your processor is an i7 4770 at the stock clock, according to the specifications, it uses a maximum of 84 watts. All CPUs use quite a bit less than their max during their normal operation. Even if it is heavily overclocked (4.8 GHz), it will use less than a maximum of 130 watts; for this i7, an 8 pin connector would be overkill. If half of the EPS12V 8 pin connector on the main board is covered, this is a sure sign that a minimum of the 4 pin is required, but the 8 pin connector is optional. A power supply with a 4 pin ATX12V connector will provide more than enough power for this CPU's needs. I have seen other writings that suggest "192 watts for 4 pin" and "288 watts for 8 pin". They discuss the current capacities of the connector and its connecting wire's gauge. I am more incline to believe my numbers because they are based on the limitations of the weakest component in the circuit path; the metal etchings (traces) and mofsets on the printed circuit board. If you liked this guide, I have written others that you may also enjoy. A guide on how to fix Heat Problems How to Solder Electronics How To Choose A LiPo Battery Comments (35) Its been over a month and there are no comments. I did a fair amount of editing on it today, there is always room for improvement. Did any one find any of this information useful? I think no comment means no-one could find any fault with your information. I found the article to be very educational. I would have liked to see more information about the case where the needed power connectors are not available - when a Y-adapter would be used (given that the existing power supply has enough remaining power). How does a Y-adapter work? How much power is supplied on the pins of the Y-adapter and how much power does a typical drive take if one exists in the chain? You have some good questions here. I put in another section in the guide that has the answers you ask for;The 6 and 8 pin adaptors. Thank you for your help. I mentioned drives because sometimes those molex connectors may come from a 12V line that has drives attached to them and there are no other free molex connectors. I noticed the 8 pin GPU to molex adapter uses one molex 12V line to supply two 12V lines of the 8 pin connector. Do we need to worry about some lines of the 8 pin connector having less power than others? In other words, does the 12V molex line that is supplying two 8 pin 12V lines need to be 80W (and the other molex line is 40W) or is it ok if both molex lines are 60W each? In any case, I suppose if you don't have 2 free molex lines, then the molex line with the fewest drives should be connected to the Y adapter half that is supplying two lines to the 8 pin connector? At http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_supply_unit_(computer) it is explained that some power supplies may have multiple 12V lines coming from the same source so in that case it wouldn't matter as long as the source can do 120W (if no other devices are using that source). A good education on power supplies is an asset. That is a very smart observation. Yes, the Molex with one 12 volt line coming from it needs to provide 40 watts, and the Molex with two 12 volt lines coming from it needs to provide 80 watts. We do need to worry about that. The source is only part of the path, the capacity of the wire and connector are also important. Sometimes the source is split into rails, and these rails need to be managed. I added more about this in the guide. Thank you for you input. Hi Luke Cool - thanks for putting your post up. I am building a rig I intend to overclock and fold with - so power and heat will be a priority in the approach to it. I have two pretty basic questions about setting up this rig. There are two CPU power connectors on the Maximus VII Formula board - one is the eight pin and I have connected this to the EVGA 850 SuperNOVA Gold-Certified PSU, If I intend to not only overclock the 4790K CPU to about 4.6GHz and* I will have two EVGA 780 6GB overclocked as well should I: 1) Connect the PSU to the second 4-pin connector for CPU power on the mobo that ASUS insists is only for EXTREME overclocking? 2) The power projections (pcpartpicker and a couple of other sites) put this rig at a peak demand somewhere around 725-735 watts, give or take a few watts. Obviously that is over the 70% figure you give as a recommendation not to exceed if long life of the PSU is desired - I am wondering if it might be better to pull it and sub it with a SIlverstone Strider 1500 that I can get my hands on from a friend for real cheap. Stick with the new EVGA and see how it goes or get the 1500 and move the 850 (it would go into a smaller box in my folding farm?) Thanks again for your contributions - +REP for you my friend! 1) It will not hurt anything for the 8 pin CPU connector.(EPS-12V) to be used, even if you are running a cheap underclocked 2 core CPU. The only difference between the 4 pin and the 8 pin is, with the 8 pin, more wattage is available to the CPU. 2) The 70% figure will keep your power supply in an efficient operating range and keep it from overheating. There is no cut and dry answer to the second question. There are people that have computers that are capable of a 750 watt peak usage, but their average wattage used is well below 400 watts, and they rarely go over 500 watts peak. For this person, an 850 watt power supply is fine. In your case, you are probably a power user. If I was on the line like you are, and I could get a good deal on a 1500 watt PS, I would definitely up-grade. Thanks for the considered responses - I did get the 1500 used but it was in a machine until a few weeks ago and was working fine. It was also tested and appears to be running well. However, one last question - concerning the 8 pin and 4 pin CPU connections - is it recommended to have both connected when overclocking? ASUS seems to be saying in the Maximus VII Formula manual to connect only if extreme overclocking is being attempted? What constitutes extreme overclocking in a GPU like the 780? Does one go by voltage as a measuring stick? Or is it, say, something like 1000MHz in the base clock and/or 1050MHz in the boost? (Also remember that there will be two of these big mamas in the rig - not just one.) Connect the 8 pin CPU connector only. Your Intel 4790K die is small, 22nm. The smaller dies use less voltage and power, there-for runs cooler. This is why your CPU's max power consumption is rated for only 88 W. The 4 pin ATX12V CPU power receptacle can supply 155 continuous watts, and the 8 pin EPS12V CPU power receptacle can supply 235 continuous watts. For you, ether connector would work fine, even during extreme overclocking. You can even connect both the 8 pin and 4 pin CPU connections, all it will do is farther increase the wattage is available to the CPU (315 watts). But as you can see by your CPU's max power consumption, this is not necessary. I take questions like yours seriously. I downloaded and read you motherboard's manual before answering you the first time. But I know how this circuitry is configured. I am an electronics technician with 35 years experience. If I have an 8 pin CPU connector on the power supply, and an 8 pin CPU power receptacle on the motherboard, I use it. I don't care weather my CPU needs the much power, or not. I do this because there is no down side, the 8 pin is the safest way to go; if I use it, I have no limits and no worries. The 4 pin ATX12V and the 8 pin EPS12V CPU power receptacle supplies power to the CPU only. It has nothing to do with memory or GPU power consumption. Increase ether frequency or voltage will increases the amp draw of your CPU or graphics card. Extreme overclocking is having to go above the CPU or GPU's stock operating voltage to stabilize its overclocked frequency Understood - thanks for the advice. Just to let you know - I wasn't doubting anything you wrote, I was merely unsure if I had made myself clear. I question everything too, untill I understand. With every good question that gets ask, I see room for improvement in the guide. I added a new section in the guide that may help you. Understanding how the system is set up: Thanks Luke, now I know what to do, and not to do, what to go for, and not. Keep writing those articles. And.. the explaining you did with this article, wow, I mean, you're supurb. Thank you for your kind words, I enjoy this type of writing. nice read and very informative,and yet i don't know what to do.. Basically..kinda scared i gues lol. oke my motherboard is an p8h67-m pro..wich has a 8 pin cpu power connector available.and i use an Intel i5 2500. My psu is an cooler master GM 750 with 8 pin cpu. For more then a year i been using just 4 pins for the cpu power with no problem at all.. my Question,should i just plug in the other 4 pins also..even tho i never had a problem with just 4? It is said GPU takes 75W from the motherboard over PCIe connector. Does this happens always, even if the power is connected directly to the GPU card? Reason for my question is 4-Way SLI. Does every card take then its 75W from the motherboard, apart of the power from its connectors? If so, then cards would be taking 300 W from the motherboard. You can plug the second 4 pins in if you want to. If you are over clocking, it is much safer. But for general use, the extra power is not necessary. Personally, if the motherboard and the power supply have an 8 pin connector, I use it Yes, it does happen always. Every card does take then its 75W (3.3 V × 3 Amp + 12 V × 5.5 Amp) from the motherboard, apart of the power from its connectors. This is the standard for the PCIe slot. For 4-Way SLI, that's 300 watts. A set-up worthy of 4-Way SLI, demands a kick-butt power supply.. Luke, awesome guides! Any advice or guides for someone who is going to make his own 24pin ATX cables for custom sleeving? I know the newer PSU's have a 10+14 slot for one end of the ATX cord and the 24 pin side going to the MOBO. Someone told me there are double wires that have to be soldered and whatnot. You can make a pin removal tool out of a small metal tube you can find at any good hobby store. The tube has to be small enough to fit around a pin and compress the locks, then the pin slides right out.There is no soldering necessary unless you are going to customize the lengths of the cables. If you do that, even though you are installing custom sleeving, use heat shrink to reinsulate the wire. Don't forget to stagger the connections (don't do them all in one place) a big lump in the harness looks stupid. If you need help with this, I have written a guide on "How to Solder Electronics"; you will find a short cut to it at the end of this article. So, question if you have a second -- I have a PS that has two 8-pin PCI-E outputs, and 4 6-Pin "Sata" outputs. I am completely unsure the difference. The manual I have only says "this is how you install your PS" which is not terribly useful. My GPU has a 8 pin input and a 6 pin input. I don't have (nor do I know if it's appropriate) a 8-pin to 6-pin connector, so what I was using was and 8-pin that splits into two 4-pin molex connectors that I then have connected back to a two 6-pin connectors, that I than use one to power the GPU. I ask because recently I thought "heh, i can use the SATA 6-pin port to power my GPU". That did not end well for me. So, I'm a bit confused as to the difference between "SATA" and "PCI-E" (well, I know the difference, but for power purposes I'm confused). Great page BTW; I did learn quite a bit. Overclock.net › Articles › Gpu And Cpu Power Connections
altYou might know Jeremy Bentham as the father of Utilitarianism—once the dominant moral and political view of the Western world. Perhaps you know him as the mentor to John Stuart Mill, himself a proponent of women’s suffrage. You might not be familiar, however, with the eccentric, idiosyncratic details of Bentham’s personal life. For example, Bentham was terrified of the spectral world. From a young age, his family servants had instilled in him a deep-seated fear of poltergeists such that he could not stand to sleep alone. He always had a servant sleep in the same room with him, lest he suffer nightmares. Likely, his mother’s own pious superstitions did not help young Bentham’s development. Despite these fears that were [arguably] irrational and unscientific, Bentham became the founder of a philosophy that aimed to be neither. Utilitarianism is, roughly, a doctrine that promotes a non-egotistical hedonism: we ought to promote the pleasures and avoid the pains of society writ large. This aims to be in harmony with our own psychophysiological make up. One can see how this idea of pleasure promotion and pain avoidance was adopted by Bentham even in practical matters. Aside from having a servant share his bedchambers to ward off nocturnal pains, he applied his Greatest Happiness Principle even at the end of his life “I now feel that I am dying. Our care must be to minimize the pain. Do not let any of the servants come into the room, and keep away the youths. It will be distressing to them, and they can be of no service. Yet I must not be alone, and you will remain with me, and you only, and then we shall have reduced the pain to the least possible amount.” –The Nation, Dec. 5, 1878 Aside from phasmophobia, Bentham didn’t seem to have many qualms about the afterlife. He wrote into his will that his corpse ought to be dissected and preserved by his physician friend Thomas Southwood Smith. Unfortunately, the mummification of Bentham’s head went awry, and the skin dried up and blackened. Originally, the head was placed on the body until cooler heads prevailed and a wax likeness replaced the grotesque original. Apocryphal lore surrounding his “auto-icon,” which is still kept on display at University College London, included students of rival Kings College stealing the head for a game of football or the corpse being registered as “present, but not voting” at College Council meetings. There are confirmed instances, though, where the head was allegedly pilfered and where the body was present at various ceremonies throughout the years. Bentham was greatly influenced by the Enlightenment and the promise of science, which led him to donate his body in such a way that it might promote knowledge. To that effect, he was apparently also quite fashionable: it was discovered in the 1980s that his auto-icon is wearing knitted underwear. Ever the forward thinker, Bentham shunned the common practice of simply tucking one’s shirttails into one’s pants, opting instead for a style most of us take for granted. Given the varying eccentricities of his life, it is largely unsurprising that contemporary observers look at things like his struggles with romantic interests and proclivity for holing himself up like a self-described hermit and speculate that this brilliant recluse may have had Asperger’s syndrome. Regardless, his influence on Western moral and political thought—not to mention men’s fashion—is undeniable.
Sina Hwz Sina Hwz - 7 months ago 24 Python Question Linked-list Data Structure understanding I have a little difficulty in understanding one thing in the structure of the Linked-lists. Basically nodes of a linked list are created using the following class, and the next reference is obtained by the method getNext(): I have omitted other methods as not relevant to my problem. class Node: def __init__(self,initdata): = initdata = None def getNext(self): Now when creating a linkedlist and trying to find the size of the linked-list: class UnorderedList: def __init__(self): self.head = None def size(self): current = self.head count = 0 while current != None: count = count + 1 current = current.getNext() <----- return count I do not understand the line shown with an arrow. I know the logic that it tries to traverse to the next node, but getNext() is the method of the "NodeClass". how is it (getNext() method) being used by an object (i.e. current) which is not a NodeClass object? and actually it is an object of the "UnorderedList" class. current is basically an instance of UnOrderedList in which each element is Node object. Hence the methods that are applied on Nodes can be applied on each element of current. Nodes are added to UnOrderedList using the add method. def add(self,item): temp = Node(item) self.head = temp
By James Edwards A Utility Function for Padding Strings and Numbers By James Edwards What The Function Does function pad(input, length, padding) padding += padding; return padding.substr(0, length - input.length) + input; Using the Function var date = new Date(), time = [ pad(date.getHours(), 2, 0), pad(date.getMinutes(), 2, 0), pad(date.getSeconds(), 2, 0) alert( time.join(':') ); Keys to the Function while(input.length < length) input = padding + input; return input; while(input.length + padding.length < length) padding += padding; return padding.substr(0, length - input.length) + input; • Jagwinder Singh Useful function. Thanks • pb hi. im excited about this site. javascript is my weakness as a front end developer. can you give an example how you would use this? Like the html that you would use the function on? thanks for any info. • You would use it with values that need padding characters for normalization, the most common example of which is to pad numeric strings, so that they have a predictable number of digits. The date and time examples I have in this article use numbers which might be less than 10, and pad them all to 2 digits, so a figure that started as “5” would end up as “05”. • chuck jungmann I’d like to suggest another solution for zero-padding numbers that I use in javascript as well as xpath (where I came up with this idea): function padnum(val, len) return String(Math.pow(10,len)+val).substring(1); It’s not as flexible as your function, and it obviously would need some bounds-checking, but for numbers about which you know the range of possibilities, it’s enough. Even simpler, for well-known values like zero-padding a part of a date or time that we know is less than 100, use: return String(100+val).substring(1); • Nice :-) Perhaps some slight modifications to padnum: return (Math.pow(10, (len \|\| 2)) + val).toString().substr(1); Using (len \|\| 2) so the length can default to 2 if undefined (or zero); casting with toString because it’s faster; and use “substr” rather than “substring” because it takes fewer characters! (and is interchangeable in this case)
Jewish Archaeological Monuments & History of Jews in Bulgaria (till 20th Century) The Jewish archaeological monuments, and the history of Jews in Bulgaria go back to the period after all of Ancient Thrace south of the Danube was conquered by the Roman Empire in 46 AD. The first archaeological monument showing the presence of Jews on Bulgaria’s historic territory is 2nd century AD inscription found on a tomb stone in the major Ancient Roman colony of Ulpia Oescus located close to the Danube River near today’s town of Gigen, Gulyantsi Municipality, Pleven District. The inscription is in Latin, and mentions the leader of the local synagogue, i.e. the archisynagogos Iose Sarcisinao. It is interpreted not just as evidence of the presence of Latin-speaking Jews in Ulpia Oescus but aslo as a testimony to the fact that they had a sizable and well organized community. The only known ancient Jewish temple on the territory of today’s Bulgaria is the Antiquity Synagogue of ancient Philipopolis, today’s Bulgarian city of Plovdiv (also called Trimontium in the Roman period). It was built in the first half of the 3rd century AD, possibly during the Severan Dynasty (r. 193-235 AD). The ruins of the synagogue were discovered in 1981 by archaeologist Elena Kisyakova from the Plovdiv Museum of Archaeology; in 2016, 35 years after the discoverъ, the Museum unveiled and exhibited for the first time the restored floor mosaics from the Antiquity Synagogue. Another relevant archaeological monument is an inscription from the Ancient Roman city of Stobi (today ruins are located in the Republic of Macedonia) saying a man named Claudius Tiberius Polycharmos, converted to Judaism, and erected a synagogue as a testimony to his righteous life. In the 6th century AD, Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea mentioned in his work “On Buildings" of a “Tower of the Jews" located east of the Roman and Byzantine fort of Dorticum whose ruins are found today near the town of Vrav, Vidin District, in Northwest Bulgaria. There is little data about the presence of Jews in the First Bulgarian Empire (632/680-1018 AD). In contrast, the presence of Jewish population in the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396) is better known. It is believed that while all of Bulgaria was part of Byzantium between 1018 and 1185, a number of Romaniote Jews settled in the Bulgarian regions. They established the well-known medieval Jewish Quarter of the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire Tarnovgrad (today’s Veliko Tarnovo). According to one of the hypotheses, it was located on the southern slope of the Trapesitsa Hill Fortress (one of the two citadels of Tarnovgrad, together with the Tsarevets Hill Fortress); however, this hypothesis has been disputed, and the precise location remains uncertain. Tarnovgrad’s Jewish Quarter had a necropolis but neither the quarter, nor the necropolis have been excavated by archaeologists yet. The earliest known Jewish book, “Lekach-tov", from Bulgaria’s historic territory appealed in 1093 AD; it was written by the rabbi of Ohrid (today in the Republic of Macedonia). A medieval chronicle from 1185 AD, known as Benjamin’s Chronicle, mentions the Jewish communities in the Bulgarian lands (then still part of the Byzantine Empire). During the time of the Second Bulgarian Empire, the Jewish communities are known to have had residential quarters in a number of major Bulgarian cities: Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Plovdiv, Sofia, Ohrid, Bitola, Pleven, Odrin (Adrianople; Edirne), Kostur (Kastoria). A better known fact in Bulgarian medieval history is the second marriage of the last Tsar of the entire Second Bulgarian Empire, Ivan Alexander (r. 1331-1371) to a Jewish woman named Sarah, who converted to Orthodox Christianity under the name Theodora. Sarah-Theodora gave birth to Tsar Ivan Shishman (r. 1371-1395), the last ruler of Tarnovgrad and the core of the medieval Bulgarian Empire who was named heir to the throne even though he was Ivan Alexander’s youngest son. The more logical heir, Ivan Alexander’s surviving son from an earlier marriage (he had lost two other elder sons in battles with the Ottoman Turks), Tsar Ivan Sratsimir (r. 1371-1396), was given the city of Vidin and established his own Vidin Tsardom. The division of what had been left of the Second Bulgarian Empire (other Bulgarian feudal lords also seceded in the geographic regions of Dobrudzha, Macedonia, and Thrace) between Ivan Shishman and Ivan Sratsimir, who were often in conflict with one another, is often cited as one of the major reasons for Bulgaria’s conquest by the invading Ottoman Turks at the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century. The largest settlement of Jews in Bulgaria occurred during the Ottoman period (known in Bulgarian history as the Ottoman Yoke – 1396-1878/1912). Sephardic Jews from the Iberian Peninsula settled in the Balkans after they were chased away by Spain in 1492. Subsequently, the Sephardic Jews made up over 90% of the Bulgarian Jewish population. Some Ashkenazi Jews from Central Europe also settled in Bulgaria during the Ottoman period. Download the ArchaeologyinBulgaria App for iPhone & iPad! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, Pinterest! privacy policy
Wednesday, December 05, 2012 The idea of "educed sound," that being the ability to capture audio from printed material that was not intended to be reproduced as sound and in fact might have been created before technology would have even made such an idea thinkable, is one that really stretches the boundaries regarding what lost fragments from the past there are which can be retrieved here in the computer savvy present. Patrick Feaster has done just that with his canny abilities to take early (and visually) recorded sound patterns and translate them to fact, you might have remembered when, a few years ago, he took such an example of sound patterns (which were not intended to be reproduced as sound but to study how voice and music could be produced visually) that were created by a Edouard Leon Scott de Martinville and, through the abilities of modern computer savvy, was able to create the sound of the man singing the French classic "Clare de Lune" that was made in the year of 1860! That one appears on the enclosed disque, though at a slower, more distorted speed that pretty much hides the snappy melody under a pile of hiss and distortion. Actually, many of the educed audio that appears on the recording accompanying this rather engaging read are distorted to the point you think you're listening to some bedroom avant gardist from the eighties, but the whole idea of translating early written down formations of patterns into actual sound is so brilliant you can't help but congratulate Feaster for his efforts and hope that the technology of the future will uncover even more lost artifacts of the past that hopefully will pave the way for a better future (though I doubt it). It's uncanny just thinking of how we have advanced in the realm of science to the point where Feaster could actually take an advertisement showing a printed recording made by long-time raconteur Chauncey Depew that appeared in a late-nineties issue of COSMOPOLITAN and derive sound from the groove patterns presented therein! Or in fact take various "phonophotography" featuring early gospel quartets and actually get some semblance of sound for his efforts. Some of this does seem far fetched with results that really don't say anything special to me (such as the translation of the FBI "Sound Spectrum") but when Feaster takes early scrolls and gets 17th century compositions out of them, or Russian folk melodies from transcribed patterns I can't help but feel that something long-gone and crucial has been recaptured for the present. It would be like if the long decayed beyond belief films of the past could be restored (or in some cases even recovered) to pristine beauty with a science that at this point in time is far beyond our grasp but someday will allow people to see images we long thought existed only in the minds of the few who could remember. A fantastic effort which FORCED EXPOSURE has been selling as of late, though if you want to get it from the source click on the link above which will take you not only to the Dust-To-Digital website where you can order this, but fill you in on even more educed audio that Feaster is continuing to produce for perhaps an even newer edition of this worthwhile endeavor. No comments:
Starch Utilization in Food Industries The food industries constitute one of the largest consumers of starch and starch products. In addition, large quantities of starch are sold in the form of products sold in small packages for household use. Cassava, sago, and other tropical starches were extensively used for food before the Second World War but use declined owing to the disruption of world trade. Attempts were made to develop waxy maize as a replacement for normal non cereal starches; the production of cassava starch has increased considerably in recent years. Cassava Utilization Fufu flour High quality cassava flour Glucose syrup Composite bread Livestock feed industry Livestock feed products Starch in paper, etc. Starch in food Starch production Unmodified starch, modified starch, and glucose are used in the food industry for one or more of the following purposes: • Directly as cooked starch food, custard, and other forms. • As thickeners, using the paste properties of starch (soups, baby foods, sauces, and gravies, etc.). • As fillers, contributing to the solid content of soups, pills, and tablets, and other pharmaceutical products, face cream, etc. • As binders, to consolidate the mass and prevent it from drying out during cooking (sausages and processed meats). • As stabilizers, owing to the high water holding capacity of starch (e.g., in ice cream). Functional properties of starch are important for food applications (Table 1) Table 1. Functional Properties of Starches in Foods Specific viscosity (hot and cold) Mouthfeel, lubricity, palate-coating Thin boiling (faster canning heat transfer) Suspension characteristics Viscosity resistance acid/mechanical sheer Adhesiveness Freeze-thaw stability (natural/ modified) Crystallinity Gel texture, body at various temperatures Bland taste Clarity, opacity Long shelf-life stability Processing conditions tolerance Hygroscopicity Oil retention, high or low Color Resistance to setback (gel formation) Anti-caking High sheen Cold-water swelling or dispersibility Flow properties Swelling and resistance to swelling Emulsion stabilizing capacity Film-forming properties Postharvest Equipment Source: Morton Satin (undated). Functional properties of starches Chief, Agro-Industries and post-harvest management service, FAO, Italy. Examples of the use of starch are given below with various sub-themes of products. Bakery products Although starch is the major constituent of flours, the art of' bread baking depends to a large extent on the selection of flour with the proper gluten characteristics. Starch is used in biscuit making to increase volume and crispness. In Malaysia, cassava starch is used in sweetened and unsweetened biscuits and in cream sandwiches at the rate of 5-10% to soften the texture, add taste, and render the biscuit non sticky. The use of dextrose in some kinds of yeast-raised bread and bakery products has certain advantages as it is readily available to the yeast and the resulting fermentation is quick and complete. It also imparts a golden brown color to the crust and permits longer conservation. Dextrose and glucose syrup are widely used as sweetening agents in confectioneries. In addition to this widespread use, starch and modified starches are also used in the manufacture of many types of candies such as jellybeans, toffee, hard and soft gums, boiled sweets hard candy, fondants, and Turkish delight. The principal use of starch in confectioneries is in the manufacture of gums, pastes, and other types of sweets as an ingredient and in the making of molds or for dusting sweets to prevent them from sticking together. Dextrose prevents crystallization in boiled sweets and reduces hygroscopicity in the finished product. Canned fruits, jams, and preserves Recent advances in these industries include the partial replacement of sucrose by dextrose or sulphur dioxide-free glucose syrup. This helps to maintain the desired percentage of solids in the products without giving excessive sweetness, thereby emphasizing the natural flavor of the fruit. The tendency toward crystallization of sugars is also decreased. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) and lysine Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is used extensively in many parts of the world in powder or crystal form as a flavoring agent in foods such as meats, vegetables, soups, sauces, and gravies. Cassava starch and molasses are the major raw materials used in the manufacture of MSG in the Far East and Latin American countries. The starch is usually hydrolyzed into glucose by boiling with hydrochloric or sulphuric acid solutions in closed converters under pressure. The glucose is filtered and converted into glutamic acid by bacterial fermentation. The resulting glutamic acid is refined, filtered, and treated with caustic soda to produce monosodium glutamate, which is then centrifuged and dried in drum driers. The finished product is usually at least 99% pure. As at 2002, the highest consumption of native cassava starch in Thailand was by the industries making MSG (four factories) and lysine (one factory) in the proportion or 80:20. The production of MSG in Thailand utilizes only two sources of carbohydrates for inoculation; molasses and cassava starch. To produce one tonne of MSG, factories need either about 2.4 t of cassava starch or 7.0 t of molasses. Citric acid There are two factories manufacturing citric acid in Thailand though none in Nigeria. One uses cassava pulp from starch factories as the raw material (about 5-6 t/day) for its solid-state (surface) fermentation. The other, recently established, uses cassava chips as the raw material for its submerged fermentation process. About 40 t of chips are needed to produce 6 t/day of citric acid. Commercial caramel Caramel as a coloring agent for food, confectionery, and liquor is extensively made of glucose rather than sucrose because of its lower cost. If invert sugar, dextrose, or glucose is heated alone, a material is formed that is used for flavoring purposes; but if heated in the presence of certain catalysts, the coloration is greatly heightened, and the darker brown products formed can be used to color many foodstuffs and beverages. Uniform and controlled heating with uniform agitation is necessary to carry the caramelization to the point where all the sugar has been destroyed without liberating the carbon. Glucose from starch: starch hydrolysis Glucose or dextrose sugar is found in nature in sweet fruits such as grapes and in honey. It is less sweet than sucrose (cane or beet sugar) and also less soluble in water; however, when used in combination with sucrose, the resulting sweetness is often greater than expected. The commercial manufacture of glucose sugars from starch began during the Napoleonic Wars with England, when suppliers of sucrose sugar were cut off from France by sea blockade. Rapid progress was made in its production in the United States about the middle of the nineteenth century. At present, glucose is usually produced as syrup or as a solid. The physical properties of the syrup vary with the dextrose equivalent (DE) and the method of manufacture. Dextrose equivalent is the total of reducing sugars expressed as dextrose and calculated as a percentage of the total dry substance. Glucose is the common name for the syrup and dextrose for the solid sugar. Dextrose, sometimes called grape sugar, is the D-glucose produced by the complete hydrolysis of starch. Today, two methods for starch hydrolysis are used for the commercial production of glucose: acid hydrolysis and partial acid hydrolysis followed by an enzyme conversion.
Browse Month June 2016 Maintaining and Troubleshooting Your Laptop Battery The actual life of a laptop battery will vary with computer usage habits. For most users, it is not uncommon to experience differences in battery life, of anywhere from just under one hour to over two hours in each sitting. If you are experiencing shorter battery life cycles, say 10 to 15 minutes, it may not yet be time to order that new battery. There are several factors to take into consideration when determining if the time has come to replace your battery. This information may also apply to that new battery that you have recently purchased, that has been giving you fits. The two primary things to consider when troubleshooting battery problems is Usage Habits and Battery Memory. We will cover both in their complexities in just a moment, but first, let us take a look at what you should expect from your battery’s life cycle. NiMH batteries usually last 1.5 to 2.5 hours. LiION batteries usually last 2.0 to 3.0 hours. These are average results and the results will vary greatly depending on your system’s conservation settings, the temperature of the room and the climate that you are operating your computer in. As a general rule, your Lithium Ion battery will last much longer than your standard Nickel Metal Hydride battery. Now let’s take a look at the various usage habits to consider when troubleshooting your laptop’s battery. These processes are very similar to the way that your portable stereo uses batteries.. just think how much faster your stereo eats batteries when you are playing the CD or the tape deck, as opposed to when you are just playing the radio. The more you use physical devices — which require more electricity to operate — the more of the battery’s power you can expect to consume. The devices that create a larger power drain are the hard drive, the floppy drive and the CD-ROM. When the computer is able to use its physical memory resources to store information, the computer will use less of the battery’s power, since the process is mostly electrical in nature. However, when the processes you are using exhaust the physical memory resources available to your system, the system will turn to virtual memory to continue the process at hand. Virtual Memory is designed to extend system memory resources by building a memory swap file on the hard drive, and then transfer needed information between the hard drive and the physical memory as required. Since the hard drive is a electricity hog, the use of virtual memory becomes an electricity hog by proxy. Two other processes that engage virtual memory on your computer are computational programs and the calculation processes used by spreadsheet applications and database programs. Both of these items engage the processor to a greater degree as well, which in itself is a consumer of electricity. Because they both compute and calculate large quantities of information, they will also increase the amount of electricity that your laptop will consume. Other physical devices that cannot be left out of this discussion are audio and display devices. As far as audio devices are concerned, speakers require electricity to run and the software that is responsible for producing the sound does so by processing information. The display panel consumes electricity as well. In fact, the brighter the screen appears, the more electricity that it is consuming. You may turn down the brightness on the screen, thereby conserving more electricity than you may have considered possible. And when considering the battery drain caused by video devices, don’t forget the effect that graphics programs will have on your system. Video applications can have an intense effect on your electrical needs, due to its usage of computation, calculations and virtual memory. Battery Memory is an odd little creature. The concept of battery memory is reminiscent of Pavlovian Conditioning. Do you remember the story about Pavlov and his dogs? Pavlov would serve his dogs food and when they realized it was dinner time, he would ring a bell. After some time of conditioning his dogs, all he would have to do to get the dogs to salivate, was to ring the bell. Battery Memory is a lot like that. Battery memory is where the battery becomes conditioned to run for less time than it is designed to run. Say for example, you run your computer on battery for an hour and then you plug it back in to let it recharge. The battery will become conditioned to run only an hour before it runs out of juice. To correct Battery Memory problems, you must completely drain the battery and recharge it. To completely drain your battery, you must go into your Windows Control Panel and select Power. Then you must turn Power Management Off. Next, you must go into your BIOS and make sure that if there is a power management setting there, that you turn it off as well. In most cases, once you are inside the BIOS, you will highlight Power Management and press Enter. Then locate the item Hibernation at Critical Battery, and by using the Minus sign, change the setting to Off. Once these steps have been completed, then use your Escape key to return to the top level menu, and select Save Settings and Exit. Once you have completed turning off the power management in both the BIOS and the Operating System, you must unplug the computer, turn the computer on and let it run until it completely runs out of electricity. Then you should charge the battery for 12 hours. At the end of the charging cycle, then run the computer again until the battery is dead, and then charge the battery for 12 more hours. You should repeat this process four times, before returning the computer to its original power management settings. As far as battery usage goes, it is recommended that you should use the battery once every two weeks, and keep the battery in the system so that the AC adapter can keep the battery charged at all times. It is also recommended that if you don’t use the battery for more than two weeks, you should completely discharge the battery and store it at room temperature. Do Computers Get Tired? A Silver Bullet? And since then I’ve repeated the procedure a few times with good results, whenever I noticed a slowdown in my Internet speed. So I started thinking… maybe electronic devices and appliances really do get tired, clogged with electrons, or whatever. It turns out that there is some good science to support this layman’s observation. Jerrold Foutz is a Scientist with a capital S. There aren’t many people alive who know more about how electronic gadgets (especially power supplies) are supposed to work. So you might be surprised to hear that when your computer, microwave, VCR or high-tech coffee pot isn’t behaving, his best advice is “just unplug it.” Totally Cosmic, Dude.In a fascinating article on electronics trouble shooting, Foutz talks about something called a Single Event Upset (SEU) that can cause electronic circuitry to malfunction. An SEU can be caused by a power glitch, or a cosmic ray passing through a integrated circuit, and can actually flip the logic state (from 1 to 0 or vice versa) of a circuit. A cascading effect may trigger a hardware lockup or an infinite loop in software. For lots more technical details, and even some suggestions on how better design can help to prevent this problem, see the full article on Trouble Shooting Electronics. Of course in the case of computers running complex operating system and application software, other factors may come into play. Sloppy coding practices can result in ‘memory leaks’ which over time will cause performance to degrade. But from the end user perspective, the problem looks no different than a hardware error caused by cosmic rays. Fortunately, the solution is the same in both cases: shut it down, turn it back on, and things will be good again… for a while. How To Find Tech Support For Your Computer Printers Computers are becoming commonplace in homes and offices around the world. The problem is that most people know so very little about their computers, that when something goes wrong, they do not know how to begin the troubleshooting process. The ugly truth is that we could opt to call the technical support phone number that came with the computer, but you never really know what you are going to get at the other end of the phone. You could literally spend several hours just waiting to get to a technician, and then once you have the human on the line, there is just as good of a chance that they will not have a clue, as there is that they will find your solution. I know this because I used to work in a computer technical support call center. You would be amazed who can pass as a technician! For most new hires, the only pre-qualifying knowledge that is necessary is being able to navigate the current Windows Operating System. Management feels that if you can navigate Windows, then you can navigate the database to dig up a solution. The problem with this kind of thinking is that the person at the call center is often lost to find a solution that is not yet in the database. Of course, all front line technicians have a help desk to call, but in my own experience, help desk posts were assigned based on politics and not technical knowledge. We ended up with some real idiots at our help desk. Call those people once or twice, and you will eventually decide that you stand a stronger chance to succeed on your own, than you would be able to accomplish going upstream in the support systems. The Business of Printing Support Fortunately, computer printers do not break that often. But when they do, troubleshooting can be a painful process. There are some basics that you can cover to streamline the troubleshooting process. Be forewarned that if you ever crack the case of your printer, you should make darn sure to disconnect the power source before you do so. Printers that are connected to a power supply can actually charge you up with enough current to kill you. Don’t take chances with your life. Long before you get to the point of trying to crack the case to reach the internals, there are several troubleshooting steps you can take. * Always check your power supply to see that you have a good, solid connection. I know that it seems the most logical step to take, but you might be surprised how often a powerless machine is discovered to be an unplugged machine. * If the printer has power going to it, then turn off the machine and then turn it back on. Each printer has an internal brain in it. Removing power temporarily from the machine will force the computer chip inside of the printer to reset. Often times, this will solve any issues. * Make sure that your printer cartridge is properly seated. Make sure the cartridge is in the printer the way that the manufacturer intended. * Use the printer’s “self-test” feature. The manufacturer has included this to help you to eliminate common printing problems. These four steps will help you to overcome the problems most commonly associated with printers. For a complete breakdown of generic troubleshooting steps, the following URL points to the most comprehensive and easy-to-follow checklist I have seen: Drivers Are the Software Applications That Power Printers A driver is the software package that enables your printer to communicate with your computer’s operating system, and vise versa. The manufacturer of your printer sent out a software disc with the printer. On this disk, you can find the default driver for that printer. As computing evolves, printer manufacturers upgrade their drivers to either improve the printer’s performance or to keep up with changing Operating Systems. How to Install a CPU and Heatsink The most critical part of building your own computer is knowing how to install a CPU and how to install a heatsink. The CPU is the brain of your computer and is the most delicate part. It’s easy to damage, although most CPUs are designed so that they’re nearly impossible to install incorrectly. Installing a CPU is one of the most important steps in building a PC The heatsink cools the CPU and keeps it from frying. Heatsinks are fastened to the top of the CPU and sometimes come with an additional substance called “thermal paste.” This is a thin gel that adds an additional layer of cooling. Let’s look at the basic steps for installing the CPU and heatsink. 1. Locate the Processor Socket Before you can install a CPU you should find the processor socket on the motherboard. This is the square socket with numerous pinholes in it. Lift the lever to the side of this socket so that you can install a CPU into it. Look closely at the pin pattern on your CPU socket. Notice that there is a diagonal corner where it appears some pinholes are missing. It might appear as a triangular pattern. This is there to help you properly align the CPU to the CPU socket. Carefully grab the CPU by the sides and turn it over to examine the pins at the bottom. Compare the alignment of your pins with the pattern on your socket and you’ll see that there is only one correct pattern for alignment. Again, it’s virtually impossible to install the CPU incorrectly unless you force it. Make sure that you have the CPU and socket aligned correctly before proceeding onto the next step. 2. Mount the CPU Once you are sure that the CPU pins and socket pins holes are matched up correctly, you can insert the CPU into the socket. Again, be sure to use that diagonal pin pattern as your guide. You might meet some resistance as you are pressing down. This is a delicate procedure – and if you’ve never before learned how to install a CPU, you might think you are doing it incorrectly. However, learning how to install computer components takes practice. The resistance is normal. Again, the socket design and CPU pin patterns are designed to match perfectly. Press down past the resistance point and then the CPU will slide smoothly into the socket. The CPU may make a snapping sound as it slips into the socket. When you’re sure it’s complete, lower the lever at the side of the socket to lock the CPU into the socket. Check to see if your particular brand of CPU or cooling solution came with a protection plate. If it did, place it above the CPU as explained in your documentation. 3. Apply the Thermal Compound Next comes the thermal compound. Some people choose to avoid this step altogether, while others who teach on how to install a heatsink swear by it. Generally a properly designed heatsink will ensure that you may not need a thermal compound. However it doesn’t hurt to be too safe, especially with CPU processor speeds increasing and generating more and more heat. Thermal paste can usually shave off a few extra degrees of hot temperature off of your CPU. Apply the thermal paste to the areas of the CPU that will make contact with the CPU. Begin by applying a little bit of the gel to the center of the CPU and then gently spreading outward. Don’t apply too much of thermal compound. A little dab will do you. Be sure to spread an even, thin layer of the gel to ensure that there is complete coverage over your CPU. 4. Install the Heatsink Now we learn how to install a heatsink. This is a very crucial step. If the heatsink is not installed properly it might come loose. Your CPU will overheat and be toast in no time. Before we explain how to install a heatsink, check to see if your heatsink has a fan separate from the unit. If it does, you’ll need to attach the fan to the heatsink first before attaching the heatsink to the CPU. When you’re ready, mount the heatsink over your CPU according to the specifications for your manufacturer. The directions will vary. Some heatsinks are installed by requiring you to clamp down on them with levers and attaching them to metal hooks on the motherboard. With other heatsinks you may have to screw the whole unit into the motherboard. Whatever the procedure, follow it closely and be very careful. If you need to use a screwdriver to install the heatsink you could very easily slip and damage your system components. 5. Install the Heatsink Fan Header and Configure BIOS The final step in learning how to install a heatsink involves connecting the power leads from the heatsink to their proper headers on the motherboard. Locate the header for the CPU fan on the motherboard. Then plug the power cable from the heatsink into the fan header on the motherboard. There will be more than one header on the motherboard, so be sure that you pick the right one. Choose the wrong one and your computer might get a power surge that will fry the processor. Check the documentation that came with your motherboard to properly locate the correct header. Once installed, be sure that it is securely in place. Afterwards, assuming that the rest of your computer has been installed properly, you can configure the BIOS. The BIOS will need to detect the type and speed of the computer processor that has been installed. Again, the exact procedure will vary depending on the manufacturer; check the documentation that came with your motherboard. Learning how to install computer components like a CPU and heatsink might seem like a daunting task to someone who’s never done it. However, it’s not as hard as you think. CPUs and heatsinks being made today were designed to fitly snug together with a minimum of fuss. You don’t need much in the way of mechanical skill and about the only tool you will need is a screwdriver. Yet this is by far the most delicate operation you will perform on your computer. Once you pass this hurdle, everything else will be a breeze.
Colonization Within France This essay Colonization Within France has a total of 1403 words and 6 pages. Colonization within France Weber, Eugen. Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France 1870-1914. Stanford: Stanford Univ. Press. 1976. The nineteenth century witnessed a massive amount of change on almost all levels. The birth of liberal democracy during the French Revolution continued to expand as the growing middle classes demanded more political power to be equal with the economic clout. Nationalism began to play a significant role in the way people and countries viewed themselves. The flourishing Industrial Revolution is what gave rise to the middle class as they were about to use the technological advances in transportation, communications, and the production of energy to enhance their position in society. While a growing number of people flocked to the cities in search of a better life, a substantial portion of the population remained in the countryside and isolated to the changes of the century. Eugen Weber states in his introduction how he had always been fascinated with how there existed two cultures within France during the last part of the nineteenth century, and the works which piqued this interest. In 1944 Roger Thabault wrote about the changes in culture and politics which occurred in several French villages from 1848 until 1914. Four years later Andr? Varagnac, a folklorist, shifted the emphasis from the villages to the countryside when he wrote about how the traditions of the peasants died and were not replaced during this same period. Eugen Weber attempts to combine the methodology of these two studies to illustrate how disconnected France was and through the modernization which occurred during the first forty-five years of the Third Republic that France truly became a unified nation. In the first section of the book Weber describes "the way things were" prior to 1870. Within these first eleven chapters Weber illustrates how these peasants did not speak French, were not aware of the metric system, still maintained their local currencies, and had little access to the world outside their village due to poor roads. Without such a commonality of language or systems Weber believes that it would be impossible to think that France, particularly the country side, had a national consciousness. For those city-dwellers who did venture into the hinterlands they looked at themselves as an explorer or missionary trying to tame a "country of savages". They were dismayed to find that there were still large parts of the country where French was not understood. It was widely believed that the peasants needed to become French. The next nine chapters contains the most important section of the book; Weber aims to show how the peasants were made into Frenchmen through modernization. Weber focuses on the triumvirate of expansion and improvement of roads, military service, and compulsory education as the primary "agencies of change". An extensive system had been in existence in France for quite some time, but in the period under study Weber explains that many of these roads did not reach the hinterlands. The new by-roads allowed for formally isolated areas, e.g. Brittany, to become physically connected with France. The humiliating defeat to the Prussians compelled the stricter enforcement of conscription into military service forced young men to learn French and come into contact with people from outside his region. As peasant children's attendance at school started to improve after the improvement of roads and the educational reforms of Jules Ferry were implemented during the 1880's they began to ! learn the French language of Paris and what it was to be French. While their parents would speak their patois, these regional languages would eventually diminish with them. In the final section of the book states that these regional languages and several other elements of peasant popular culture would become "changed and assimilated" into a greater French culture. The old traditions had changed. No longer was there an inherent fear of outsiders as the peasants began to see in the utility of them in aiding them with trade and industry. The old oral tradition of the veil?e--the time spent with the community between supper and bedtime working and keeping warm--died as the peasants moved into warmer homes and began to enjoy the privacy of the family. In his conclusion, Weber attempts to use his thesis for broader implications. Weber rejects, so far as France is concerned, the arguments of anti-colonialists who protest against the destruction of traditional civilizations. In France change was often emancipation. The Read essay without registering Donate an essay now and get the full essay emailed you Email Address Topics Related to Colonization Within France Eugen Weber, Peasant, French Third Republic, Culture of France, Russian Empire, Weber, economic clout, stanford univ, french villages, liberal democracy, two cultures, unified nation, position in society, folklorist, culture and politics, frenchmen, metric system, peasants, industrial revolution, substantial portion, colonization, french revolution, modernization, technological advances, nineteenth century, better life Essays Related to Colonization Within France
Internet Shakespeare Editions Become a FriendSign in Jump to line Help on texts About this text • Title: Hamlet (Quarto 1, 1603) • Textual editor: Eric Rasmussen • ISBN: 978-1-55058-434-9 Author: William Shakespeare Not Peer Reviewed Hamlet (Quarto 1, 1603) 2372.1No King on earth is safe, if Gods his foe. exit King. Enter Queene and Corambis. 2375Cor. Madame, I heare yong Hamlet comming, I'le shrowde my selfe behinde the Arras. exit Cor. 2379.1Queene Do so my Lord. Ham. Mother, mother, O are you here? 2385How i'st with you mother? Queene How i'st with you? 2497.1Ham, I'le tell you, but first weele make all safe. Queene Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended. Ham. Mother, you haue my father much offended. 2390Queene How now boy? Ham. How now mother! come here, sit downe, for you shall heare me speake. Queene What wilt thou doe? thou wilt not murder me: Helpe hoe. Cor. Helpe for the Queene. Ham. I a Rat, dead for a Duckat. Rash intruding foole, farewell, I tooke thee for thy better. Queene Hamlet, what hast thou done? Ham. Not so much harme, good mother, 2410As to kill a king, and marry with his brother. Queene How! kill a king! Ham. I a King: nay sit you downe, and ere you part, If you be made of penitrable stuffe, I'le make your eyes looke downe into your heart, And see how horride there and blacke it shews. 2466.1Queene Hamlet, what mean'st thou by these killing (words? Ham. Why this I meane, see here, behold this picture, 2437.1It is the portraiture, of your deceased husband, See here a face, to outface Mars himselfe, An eye, at which his foes did tremble at, 2440A front wherin all vertues are set downe 2440.1For to adorne a king, and guild his crowne, Whose heart went hand in hand euen with that vow,
Computer Diagnosis One day Bill complained to his friend that his elbow really hurt. His friend suggested that he go to a computer at the drug store that can diagnose anything quicker and cheaper than a doctor. ''Simply put in a sample of your urine and the computer will diagnose your problem and tell you what you can do about it. It only costs $10." Bill figured he had nothing to lose, so he filled a jar with a urine sample and went to the drug store. Finding the computer, he poured in the sample and deposited the $10. The computer started making some noise and various lights started flashing. After a brief pause out popped a small slip of paper on which was printed: "You have tennis elbow. Soak your arm in warm water. Avoid heavy lifting. It will be better in two weeks." Later that evening while thinking how amazing this new technology was and how it would change medical science forever, he began to wonder if this machine could be fooled. He mixed together some tap water, a stool sample from his dog and urine samples from his wife and daughter. To top it off, he masturbated into the concoction. He went back to the drug store, located the machine, poured in the sample and deposited the $10. The computer again made the usual noise and printed out the following message:
Open Access Novel soil-inhabiting clades fill gaps in the fungal tree of life • Leho Tedersoo1Email author, • Mohammad Bahram2, 3, • Rasmus Puusepp2, • R. Henrik Nilsson4 and • Timothy Y. James5 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-017-0259-5 Received: 15 July 2016 Accepted: 20 March 2017 Published: 8 April 2017 Fungi are a diverse eukaryotic group of degraders, pathogens, and symbionts, with many lineages known only from DNA sequences in soil, sediments, air, and water. We provide rough phylogenetic placement and principal niche analysis for >40 previously unrecognized fungal groups at the order and class level from global soil samples based on combined 18S (nSSU) and 28S (nLSU) rRNA gene sequences. Especially, Rozellomycota (Cryptomycota), Zygomycota, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota are rich in novel fungal lineages, most of which exhibit distinct preferences for climate and soil pH. This study uncovers the great phylogenetic richness of previously unrecognized order- to phylum-level fungal lineages. Most of these rare groups are distributed in different ecosystems of the world but exhibit distinct ecological preferences for climate or soil pH. Across the fungal kingdom, tropical and non-tropical habitats are equally likely to harbor novel groups. We advocate that a combination of traditional and high-throughput sequencing methods enable efficient recovery and phylogenetic placement of such unknown taxonomic groups. Phylogenetic lineages Kingdom Fungi Niche modelling Random forest Biogeography Fungi are one of the key microbial groups in terrestrial ecosystems that enabled colonization of land by plants and facilitated development of soil that supports most of the biota on Earth [1, 2]. The kingdom Fungi is one of the most diverse groups of life with an estimated 1.5–6 million species that represent heterotrophic mutualists, pathogens, and saprotrophs [3, 4]. The 70,000–100,000 currently recognized species are distributed among 156 orders, 46 classes, and 12 phyla [3, 5, 6]. Fungi have traditionally been identified and classified based on morphological characters of fruiting bodies and living cultures. Similar to bacteria and archaea, merely <1% of fungal species have been cultivated with established protocols, which renders large taxonomic groups undescribed and virtually unknown to science [6, 7]. Roughly 80% of all soil-inhabiting fungal taxa cannot be identified at the species level, and 20% cannot be reliably assigned to known orders [8]. For the last two decades, molecular discovery and characterization of fungi have rapidly outpaced traditional morphological description. Public sequence databases have accumulated internal transcribed spacer (ITS) barcodes [9] representing hundreds of groups of closely related fungal species with no taxonomic identity due to the paucity of relevant reference sequences and lack of phylogenetically informative ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes [10] (Additional file 1). Studies using a single molecular marker have shed light on several divergent but undescribed lineages of marine and terrestrial organisms among bacteria [11], protists [12], and fungi [13, 14]. Analysis of multiple genetic markers obtained from vegetative tissues, single-cell genomics, or whole metagenome assays of the environment has improved the phylogenetic placement and classification for many of these previously unknown organisms [1417], but many more remain overlooked [10]. Because many of these lineages are not known from voucher material, the inability to name organisms only on the basis of sequence data hinders higher-level classification of fungi and other taxa [18]. Here, we aim to determine the phylogenetic placement of previously unclassified soil fungi by developing 452 taxon-specific primers (Additional file 2: Table S1) targeting nuclear 18S (nSSU) and 28S (nLSU) rRNA genes in 263 ITS-based operational taxonomic units (OTUs) from global soil samples analyzed by Tedersoo et al. [8]. Since the long 18S-ITS-28S rRNA gene sequences were generated by combining several amplicons from Sanger sequencing and 454 pyrosequencing (Fig. 1), we performed a multi-step quality control to exclude any potentially artefactual entities. For the recovered novel soil fungal lineages, our purpose was to establish broad ecological niches for climatic and edaphic parameters and to determine geographic distribution together with endemicity patterns. We hypothesized that tropical soils harbor relatively more enigmatic fungal lineages, because (i) tropical habitats exhibit greater speciation but lower extinction rates [19], (ii) tropical forests harbor greater fungal richness [8], and (iii) lower latitudes are relatively poorly covered by biodiversity and taxonomic research [3]. Fig. 1 Primer map indicating the construction of long 18S-ITS-28S rRNA gene sequences from 454 pyrosequencing-based ITS2 amplicons (in red) and Sanger sequencing of flanking conservative genes using taxon-specific reverse (Rev) and forward (Fwd) primers in combination with eukaryote primers (in blue). Primer information is given in Additional file 2: Table S1 Results and discussion Novel clades of fungi Phylogenetic analyses revealed 37 major clades and seven single branches (singleton lineages) of previously unrecognized or unclassified fungi with distinct phylogenetic position that warrant at least order-level classification (Additional file 1: Text S1). In the 18S rRNA gene and concatenated gene analyses, the clade GS01 was placed in a sister position to all remaining fungi, although the statistical support for this and most other early branching configurations remained poor (Additional file 1: Figures S1-S3). Altogether, 11 clades (GS2–GS12) and three distinct branches (32%) of previously unclassified soil fungi were placed within Rozellomycota (Cryptomycota). Our findings highlight that the remarkable phylogenetic diversity of Rozellomycota from aquatic ecosystems [14, 20] is also observed in terrestrial habitats. Unlike in recent analyses [21], Rozellomycota was separated from the phylum Aphelidea that accommodates the clade GS16, a large and well-supported group with no taxonomically characterized representatives. Other zoosporic phyla accommodated fewer undescribed fungal clades. Chytridiomycota harbored two distinct environmental groups, the clade GS13 with an unsettled position, and the clade GS14 in a sister position to Spizellomycetales. The clade GS15 formed a long branch within the Blastocladiomycota, albeit with low support (BS <70). Two clades of closely related soil fungi clustered with the enigmatic “chytrid” genus Olpidium that warrants a (sub)phylum of its own [22]. Taxonomically uncharacterized novel lineages of Chytridiomycota are particularly common in freshwater [23] and marine environments [24]. Among the former zygomycetes, the clade GS19 formed a deep lineage at the base of Kickxellomycotina and Zoopagomycotina. Clades GS20, GS21, and GS22 were loosely associated with Endogonales (Mucoromycotina), whereas a single group (clade GS23) formed a monophyletic branch with Umbelopsidaceae (Mucoromycotina). All these groups warrant at least class-level distinction from other mucoralean taxa [25]. A single novel clade of Glomeromycota—clade GS24—displayed strong affinities to Paraglomerales. From this group, a single spore collection (INSD accession JN936327) has been sequenced but not yet described. Three class-level clades were related to the subphylum Pucciniomycotina of the Basidiomycota. Clades GS25 and GS26 represented successive sister groups to the remaining Pucciniomycotina, whereas the clade GS27 formed a sister group to Agaricostilbomycetes. The latter clade includes an 18S rRNA gene (Sanger) sequence from the voucher specimen RB1040 named as Platygloea sp. that appears distantly related to other Platygloeales and other Pucciniomycotina. Three novel clades (GS28–GS30) and branches were identified within the early-diverging Agaricomycetes, but their sister groups remained poorly resolved (BS <70). Multiple divergent sequences were also recovered in the orders Sebacinales, Trechisporales, Agaricales, Thelephorales, Hymenochaetales, and Atheliales. Within Ascomycota, the Taphrinomycotina subphylum included a well-supported sister group (clade GS31) to the Archaeorhizomycetes, a recently described class that is largely composed of environmental sequences [16]. The clades GS32 and GS33 were closely related to the Orbiliales within Orbiliomycetes. Several additional unidentified taxa clustered within Pezizomycetes, but no deep lineages were evident in this group. Phylogenetic relationships of other classes of the Pezizomycotina were more poorly resolved, but these comprised four previously unidentified order-level clades (GS34–GS37) and two prominent branches as well as multiple taxa with clear affinities to known orders. These clades were related to the Eurotiomycetes, Lecanoromycetes, Sordariomycetes, or Symbiotaphrinales, albeit with no support. In contrast to multiple novel lineages in the early diverging fungal phyla, no such deep undescribed lineages of Dikarya were evident from aquatic environments [24]. Distribution of previously unrecognized clades Niche modelling of the clades and prominent branches revealed that the distribution of most groups is significantly related to climatic or edaphic conditions. Across the 41 most common groups, the mean annual temperature (MAT), mean annual precipitation (MAP), time since last fire, and soil pH accounted for the strongest predictors in 44, 20, 15, and 12% of the taxa, respectively (Fig. 3, Additional file 1: Figures S4-S8). Soil C concentration and soil P concentration had a predominant effect in only a few cases (Additional file 1: Figures S4, S8). Altogether 46% of the groups had a preference for tropical climate as judged by their distribution patterns relative to MAT and MAP (Additional file 1: Figures S5, S6; Text S1). In contrast, 32% of the groups were distinctly more frequent in cool temperate climate, whereas 7 and 5% of the groups peaked in warm temperate soils and tundra soils, respectively. While 39% of the groups had a unimodal relationship with pH, peaking at moderately acidic values, some 32 and 7% of the groups exhibited preference for highly acidic and neutral soil, respectively (Additional file 1: Figure S7; Text S1). In terms of soil pH and climate, similar preference patterns were described for the most species-rich classes of fungi [8]. The more common niche development in acidic soils relative to neutral soils may be related to the characteristic substrate of saprotrophic fungi in strongly or moderately acidic humus derived from litter. It is also possible that less intense sampling in neutral soils may have rendered selection of the rare alkaliphilous groups less likely and that it may have favored non-selective groups instead. Several groups of Rozellomycota exhibited preference for either of the extreme pH conditions, although the whole phylum taken together did not respond to soil pH. Except for the clades GS10 and GS11, all divergent groups of Rozellomycota were relatively more common in cool temperate or subarctic climate, which stands in stark contrast to the suggested niche of early diverging fungal lineages in tropical latitudes [26]. Frequent clade formation of the Rozellomycota isolates from soil with those from freshwater, marine, and anoxic habitats suggests that specialization for physical habitat is relatively limited, but distribution of these groups may be influenced by substrate pH at the clade level. It is also possible that the definition of the Rozellomycota clades is too broad for detecting environmental patterns, because their age may exceed that of relatively more recently evolved phyla in Dikarya [27]. As all known members of Rozellomycota (incl. Microsporidia) and Aphelidea are obligate pathogens of various other eukaryotes, such as amoebae, algae, and other fungi [20], the distribution of these species may depend indirectly on interaction specificity and habitat preference of host organisms. In contrast to Rozellomycota, the undescribed ascomycete clades were generally more prominent in warm and moist tropical climates, and their relative abundance peaked in moderately acidic soils. The most common ascomycete classes varied greatly in their preference for climate and pH [8]. These group-specific responses and the presence of multiple functional groups caution against phylum-level analyses of fungal ecological patterns [28]. Most of the undescribed clades and branches were rare but nonetheless widely distributed in different habitats. The niche analysis revealed that roughly half of the groups had significant differences in geographic distribution among biomes and regions (Table 1). In particular, Europe, Central America, and Southern South America stood out as focal geographic regions for a large proportion of the undescribed groups. The groups branch5 (four OTUs), clades GS06 (five OTUs), and GS26 (four OTUs) exhibited the strongest endemicity, being distributed exclusively in Australia, Europe, and Northern South America, respectively. These extreme patterns are at least partly attributable to geographically aggregated and insufficient taxonomic sampling of the uncommon groups. For many other undescribed clades, the complementary information in sequence databases provides ample evidence for more widespread distribution in soil and furthermore suggests that several clades of the early-diverging fungal phyla may actually be relatively more common in aquatic environments (Fig. 2). Table 1 Niche analysis of clades and branches of undescribed fungi Representative: accession; OTU; sample No sequences; occurrences; OTUs Niche and habitat Clade GS01, unassigned phylum UDB014611; GL00251; S114 230; 52; 26 Low MAT; Europe, Southern South America Clade GS02, Rozellomycota UDB014756; GL09833; G2846 78; 19; 6 Low MAP, near-neutral soils; Europe, temperate dec. forest Clade GS03, Rozellomycota UDB014679; GL04110; S136 31; 14; 9 Tolerates recent fire, low MAT; tundra Branch1, Rozellomycota UDB014728; GL07679; S234 16; 8; 4 Tolerates recent fire, high soil C; Central America Clade GS04, Rozellomycota UDB014664; GL03020; G2840 12; 7; 4 Intolerant of recent fire, low pH; tundra Clade GS05, Rozellomycota UDB014721; GL06927; S132 276; 144; 63 Avoids recent fire; low MAT Clade GS06, Rozellomycota UDB014815; GL19521; G2819 37; 15; 5 Very low MAT* and MAP*; tundra and boreal forest, Europe Clade GS07, Rozellomycota UDB014956; GL50970; G2794 4; 4; 1 Clade GS08, Rozellomycota UDB014958; GL51158; G2819 7; 7; 2 Low MAT* and MAP; cool temperate forests Clade GS09, Rozellomycota UDB014949; GL48063; S131 8; 6; 3 Tolerates recent fire, low MAT; cool temperate habitats Clade GS10, Rozellomycota UDB014882; GL31339; S084 189; 26; 10 High MAP, low pH; India Clade GS11, Rozellomycota UDB014836; GL23025; s206 2509; 716; 219 Low soil pH; moist tropical and temperate dec. forest Branch2, Rozellomycota UDB014923; GL39891; G2732 4; 2; 1 Clade GS12, Rozellomycota UDB014881; GL30957; G2839 31; 16; 8 Very low MAT; tundra and boreal forest Branch3, Rozellomycota UDB014895; GL33834; G2677 3; 2; 1 Clade GS13, Chytridiomycota UDB014650; GL02368; G2750 29; 10; 6 Very high MAT; Australia; tropical dry forest Clade GS14, Chytridiomycota UDB014658; GL02816; S002 77; 12; 7 Warm temperate and tropical climate; Gondwanan Clade GS15, Chytridiomycota UDB014729; GL08046; S188 37; 26; 15 Moderately low pH; Southern South America Clade GS16, Aphelida UDB014619; GL00457; S238 25; 16; 7 Moderately low soil P; warm temperate climate Clade GS17, Zygomycota UDB014847; GL23867; s124 57; 17; 3 Low MAP* and MAT*, moderately low pH; Laurasian Clade GS18, Zygomycota UDB014671; GL03481; G2835 162; 55; 14 Temperate climate, low pH; Eurasia Clade GS19, Zygomycota UDB014747; GL09098; S008 312; 116; 75 Humid tropical climate, low pH; SE Asia Clade GS20, Zygomycota UDB014697; GL04809; G2660 2364; 289; 36 High MAT, low pH; tropical rain forest, savannas Clade GS21, Zygomycota UDB014852; GL24622; S049 14; 6; 6 High MAT* and MAP**, low pH Clade GS22, Zygomycota UDB014740; GL08312; S171 52; 37; 11 Moderate MAT, very low pH; New Zealand Clade GS23, Zygomycota UDB014792; GL15602; G2643 438; 80; 22 Very low pH; tropical rain forest Clade GS24, Glomeromycota UDB014833; GL22083; S045 38; 20; 16 Neutral pH; tropical climate Branch4, Entorrhizomycota UDB014934; GL42909; G2745 10; 6; 3 Tropical savannas Clade GS25, Basidiomycota UDB014764; GL10954; S159 63; 10; 2 Warm temperate climate Clade GS26, Basidiomycota UDB014713; GL06120; S060 161; 14; 4 High MAP* and MAT, very low pH*; Northern South America Clade GS27, Basidiomycota UDB014864; GL26681; S114 159; 102; 18 Low MAT; boreal and temperate deciduous forest Clade GS28, Basidiomycota UDB014693; GL04630; S004 187; 39; 14 High MAT* and MAP*, very low pH; tropical moist forest Branch5, Basidiomycota UDB014858; GL26492; G2647 12; 5; 4 Prefers recent fire, high MAT* and MAP; Australia Clade GS29, Basidiomycota UDB014802; GL16303; AV123 140; 5; 3 Very high MAP and MAT Clade GS30, Basidiomycota UDB014766; GL11329; G2641 212; 43; 12 High soil P, moderate MAT*; Gondwanan Clade GS31, Ascomycota UDB014859; GL26545; S046 341; 36; 18 Tropical climate, moderate pH; Central America Clade GS32, Ascomycota UDB014870; GL29325; G2660 18; 6; 3 High MAT* and MAP*; Central America Clade GS33, Ascomycota UDB014886; GL32399; S049 80; 32; 21 Moderate MAP; Australia, tropical savannas Clade GS34, Ascomycota UDB014912; GL45481; G2629 43; 26; 14 Warm temperate climate Clade GS35, Ascomycota UDB014945; GL45252; S163 989; 177; 60 Tropical climate; Central America and Africa, grasslands Branch6, Ascomycota UDB014790; GL15471; G2658 113; 38; 18 Very high MAT, neutral soil pH; tropical dry forest Branch7, Ascomycota UDB014800; GL16288; AV103 115; 71; 20 Very high MAT* and MAP*, very low pH; Northern South America Clade GS36, Ascomycota UDB014939; GL43498; G2736 92; 37; 20 High MAT; montane rain forest Clade GS37, Ascomycota UDB014659; GL02919; S123 40; 15; 4 Moderate MAT and soil pH; Southern South America The groups are arranged by increasing distance from the fungal root. Asterisks indicate a significantly more narrow distribution compared with the null distribution (P < 0.001; P < 0.01; *P < 0.05) nd not determined Fig. 2 Phylogenetic placement of soil-inhabiting fungi among identified taxa and other sequences from the environment based on a simplified concatenated 18S and 28S rRNA gene maximum likelihood phylogram. Several branches were collapsed for clarity. Circles and triangles denote sequences from the present and other studies, respectively. Closed symbols indicate sequences belonging to the 44 defined clades and prominent branches; open symbols indicate sequences belonging to other groups. Terminal taxa without symbols represent identified collections, of which the most critical ones are shown for clarity Implications of cryptic microbial diversity Our study highlights the presence of multiple previously undescribed fungal groups and approximates their phylogenetic position within fungi. These clades and branches seem to represent only a tip of the iceberg in the ocean of unknown fungal lineages, because the groups recovered here matched at >80% similarity to only 13 out of >1000 compound clusters of ITS sequences with no order-level described representatives [10, 29] and we focused solely on a prominent but still limited subset of soil-inhabiting taxa. Contrary to our hypothesis of higher diversity of novel clades in the tropics, the preferred niche of undescribed groups was equally likely to be tropical or non-tropical. It is notable that nearly one third of these clades were also recovered from soil in a single comprehensively sampled field experiment in NC, USA [30], suggesting that numerous undescribed and widespread fungal lineages await discovery and formal description in single habitats. Most importantly, all fungal phyla accommodate previously unrecognized fungal groups, but Rozellomycota stands out as particularly understudied phylogenetically and taxonomically both in aquatic habitats [20, 24] and in soil. The great phylogenetic richness of Rozellomycota is probably related to their ecologically successful obligate energy parasitism on protists, fungi, and algae and a more recent switch (Microsporidia) to an intracellular habitat in animals. This may have resulted in their early radiation and accelerated evolution of various genes as well as overall genome compaction [20, 31]. DNA barcoding of culture collections and fungaria, as well as release of sequence data for public use, will certainly uncover true vouchered representatives of several of our undescribed clades and facilitate formal taxonomic description of these groups. Both fruiting bodies and cultures form an excellent basis for genomic analysis to understand the functional capacities of undescribed taxa and improve phylogenetic resolution [16, 32, 33]. Metagenomics and single-cell genomic analyses offer promising tools for taxonomic and functional characterization of bacteria [17] and aquatic microeukaryotes [34] in their intimate environment, and these methods may provide satisfactory results also for unicellular zoosporic fungi [20]. They nevertheless remain a major challenge in the context of multicellular fungi and other eukaryotes due to the typical growth of these taxa inside substrates, the 10–100 times greater genome size compared to bacteria, and the arrangement of genetic information in multiple chromosomes [35]. We predict that the combination of targeted DNA capture and sequencing of long metagenomics fragments will soon provide unprecedented insights into the phylogeny and function of eukaryotic microorganisms and shed light on tens to hundreds of previously unrecognized lineages of life. We nevertheless fear that a non-trivial proportion of our undescribed lineages will cede little ground to immediate scientific scrutiny. The combination of uncultivability and not forming appreciable fruiting bodies or other tangible morphological structures is particularly problematic from a genomics point of view. Indeed, that very combination precludes both straightforward genome sequencing and formal description of the underlying species [18]. It will presumably take a long time before all the taxa presented here will have formal names. We hope that the scientific community is prepared to address these lineages using informal names, such as “clade GS01” (Additional file 1: Text S1), in the meanwhile. These taxa are every bit as real and worthy of scientific study as taxa bearing formal Latin classifications. The ecological roles and functional capacities of these undescribed lineages remain poorly understood, which makes their exploration all the more pressing given that fungi including the early diverging lineages represent important sources for pharmacy and the enzyme industry [36]. There is, furthermore, little reason to think that soil is the sole source for previously undescribed fungal lineages; it is likely that habitats and substrates such as water, sediments, and other organisms will prove to be equally rich sources of taxonomic dark matter [37, 38]. This study extends and illustrates previous findings that the soil habitat harbors thousands of undescribed fungal taxa [8, 10, 13, 14], which we place to >30 previously unrecognized well-supported fungal lineages. More importantly, these order- and class-level groups are distributed throughout the fungal tree of life and exhibit specific ecological preferences and/or biogeographic distribution patterns. To enable cross-communication of these major phylogenetic clades among research groups, we propose a provisional naming system until their valid taxonomic description or matching with hitherto unsequenced species. These clade names are linked to fungal ITS and rRNA gene sequences in the UNITE database. Combining fluorescent probing and single-cell sequencing to cover nearly full-length rRNA genes will certainly improve our understanding about the ecophysiology and evolution of these enigmatic fungal clades. Data generation We used the global soil DNA samples and fungal ITS2 data set from 365 localities in 38 countries [8] to address phylogenetic and ecological hypotheses about the distribution of previously unknown fungal lineages. In brief, 40 subsamples of soil (50-mm diam. to 50-mm depth) were collected from each 2500-m2 site, pooled, air-dried, and pulverized. The soil powder was subjected to chemical analysis of macro- and micronutrients and DNA extraction (2 g) and 454 pyrosequencing, followed by quality filtering, clustering at 98% sequence similarity, and removal of singletons [8]. From the final data set of 50,589 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), we identified taxa originally assigned to fungi or rare protist groups as well as taxa with unknown taxonomic affiliations that displayed sequence similarity <80% to any species with a Latin binomial using BLASTn queries against an annotated copy of the International Nucleotide Sequence Databases (INSDc) as maintained in UNITE [39]. Depending on taxa, 80% ITS sequence similarity roughly corresponds to the family or order in fungi [8, 9]. Nearly 15% of all OTUs corresponded to this criterion, suggesting the presence of numerous new taxa at the family level or higher. Representative sequences of these OTUs were further clustered at 80% sequence similarity using single-linkage clustering and at least a 100-base coverage in Sequencher 5.1 (GeneCodes Corp., Ann Arbor, MI, USA) to assign individual OTUs to larger taxonomic groups. To ensure that all major taxonomic clusters (>10 OTUs) were covered, we selected 203 individual OTUs and 23 groups of closely related OTUs (altogether comprising 60 OTUs with sequence similarity >95% within groups) for design of taxon-specific primers and more detailed phylogenetic analyses. At 80% similarity level, the selected OTUs represented 1111 OTUs and 15,515 sequences. We sought to amplify the 3′ part of the 18S rRNA gene and the 5′ part of the 28S rRNA genes to allow phylogenetic inference at the kingdom level. For each of these taxa, we designed reverse and forward primers in the variable part of the ITS region according to the following criteria: (i) melting temperature of primers 54–58 °C; (ii) AT/CG ratio 33–62%; (iii) primer length 16–21 bases; (iv) perfect match of the last 10 bases to <20 OTUs in the whole data set (usually matching no other OTUs); and (v) distance from the flanking 5.8S and 28S rRNA genes >20 bases to allow detection of unspecific amplification. To amplify the 18S rRNA gene, the specific reverse primers were paired with the NS5a and NS7a primers (Additional file 2: Table S1). To amplify the 28S rRNA gene, we combined the specific forward primers with TW13 and LR5. PCR with specific primers was performed for both of the two rRNA gene regions and two alternative primer combinations for 443 samples representing 263 OTUs. Sanger sequencing was performed bidirectionally using the universal PCR primers and the primers ITS2 and/or fITS7R for 18S rRNA gene or LR0R for 28S rRNA gene (Additional file 2: Table S1). Contigs were assembled in Sequencher with manual quality trimming. The reads obtained using 18S and 28S rRNA gene primers typically overlapped at least partly with the pyrosequenced ITS2 fragment, which allowed us to exercise initial chimera control. Individual sequences were further BLASTn-queried against GenBank to detect inconsistencies in the identification of 18S rRNA gene, ITS1, ITS2, and 28S rRNA gene sequences. Full-length sequences were also subjected to chimera detection using UCHIME [40] against other taxa in the data set and all INSDc entries spanning from 18S to 28S rRNA genes. These analyses revealed five potentially chimeric constructs that were removed. PCR and Sanger sequencing were successful for 244 samples of 18S (168 OTUs) and 298 samples of 28S (193 OTUs) rRNA genes. Altogether, 138 OTUs were represented by both 18S and 28S rRNA gene sequences, whereas sequencing failed completely for 25 OTUs. The most common issues with specific primers included (i) multiple amplicons seen as smear on the gel (18S rRNA gene), no amplification (18S and 28S rRNA genes), and poor fitting of the complementary sequencing primer, resulting in poor signal (18S rRNA gene). Individual reads were generally of high quality, indicating the sequence origin to be that of a single organism. We obtained high-quality 18S and/or 28S rRNA gene Sanger sequences for 90.5% of the targeted OTUs, including all but two major groups (>10 OTUs). High-quality sequences were mainly recovered from samples with relatively high abundance of target DNA (>0.2% of ITS sequences), but in many cases, 18S and 28S rRNA gene data could be recovered from singletons, i.e., taxa contributing to <0.05% of all sequences per sample. Certain samples and OTUs failed to yield any amplicons, suggesting DNA degradation and unsuitability of the designed or eukaryote primers, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses For phylogenetic inference, we used (i) the core 18S + 28S rRNA gene data set of James et al. [15] supplemented with (ii) 18S and 28S rRNA gene sequences of more recently obtained specimens or cultures of early diverging fungal lineages, (iii) 18S and 28S rRNA gene sequences of at least one representative of all fungal orders (except ascomycetes, for which representatives of ca. 70% orders and all classes were included), and 18S or 28S rRNA gene sequences of the best BLASTn hits (at least 600 bases) of our OTUs. Whenever possible, we included 18S and 28S rRNA gene sequences from the same specimen and preferably from the type species of that taxon for taxonomic reliability. Since we included best-matching sequences, the 18S and 28S rRNA gene data sets were unbalanced, comprising ca. 25% of non-overlapping entries. Initially, the two data sets were aligned separately in MAFFT 7 [41] with the FFT-NS-i option. Poorly aligned regions were removed using GBlocks v. 0.91b [42], with the following parameters: minimum number of sequences for a conserved position = 50% of sequences, minimum number of sequences for a flank position = 75% of sequences, minimum number of contiguous non-conserved positions = 20, minimum length of a block = 2, and allowed gap positions = All. The final alignment length of 18S and 28S rRNA genes was 1701 and 879 positions, respectively. Because the phylogenetic positions of target taxa were similar relative to the core specimens, we concatenated the two alignments for a joint analysis in addition to separate analyses. Phylograms were inferred using maximum likelihood as implemented in RAxML 7.2.8 using the GTRCAT model [43]. For the combined data set, 1000 heuristic searches were performed using a skeleton constraint tree for taxa in James et al. [15] and support estimated from 1000 rapid bootstraps (also using the constraint trees). Individual 18S and 28S rRNA gene phylogenies were estimated using the –x option with 1000 rapid bootstraps and no constraint tree. During a series of analyses, we excluded the following taxa from the original AFTOL alignments because of extremely long branches or inconsistent phylogenetic placement: Agonimia sp., Bacidia schweinitzii, Candida lusitaniae, Cryptomycocolax abnormis, Dermatocarpon miniatum, Encephalitozoon cuniculi, Echinoplaca strigulacea, and Yarrowia lipolytica. These taxa did not represent sister groups for any of our undescribed OTUs according to the initial analyses. Statistical analyses Based on the topology of the concatenated tree, we focused on statistically supported branches (BS >70) featuring no described species. We refer to these as clades following the International Code of Phylogenetic Nomenclature [44]. We also addressed the unique branches comprising single sequences if these could not be placed to orders or classes. Each novel group (37 clades and seven branches altogether representing 819 OTUs and 9778 sequences) that comprised >1 OTU (93% of these groups) was subjected to niche analysis using a machine learning Random forest algorithm [45] by combining the randomForest [46] and VSURF [47] packages of R. This approach makes no assumptions on the distribution of residuals and type of response, which renders it suitable for analysis of very sparse data sets including large numbers of absences. For niche analysis, we compiled all information on the richness and distribution of OTUs within the above-defined clades as well as associated metadata [8]. From the initial pool of 17 edaphic, floristic, and climatic variables, we selected the six most important predictors across the whole data set, removing multicollinear and unimportant variables. In the final Random forest model selection, we thus included only mean annual temperature (MAT), mean annual precipitation (MAP), soil pH, soil P and C concentration, and time since last fire. In a separate analysis, we tested whether the distribution of clades was biased in relation to biomes and ecoregions, which were treated as categorical predictors. P values were calculated based on 999 data re-arrangement permutations using the rfPermute package of R [48]. To assess the efficiency of models, 10-fold cross-validation was used. The original data were randomly partitioned into 10 subsets to generate training sets and test sets. This process was repeated 100 times and revealed an R 2-cv accuracy index of models for training sets to explain test sets (Additional file 1: Figure S4). To illustrate the niches, we present the occurrence of specific OTUs within each clade compared with the null distribution of site conditions in histograms. The niche of clades was considered to be significantly narrower than expected if (i) the standard deviation of the null distribution exceeded that of OTU distribution >2-fold and (ii) the Levene test for homogeneity of variances was significant at α = 0.05. To visualize the relationships of clades with the climatic, edaphic, and biogeographic environment, we constructed a two-dimensional detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) ordination biplot using the occurrence of OTUs of clades and prominent branches and Bray-Curtis distance as implemented in the vegan package of R [49] (Fig. 3). Fig. 3 Detrended correspondence analysis biplot indicating the relative placement of novel clades and prominent branches in the combined climatic, edaphic, and biogeographic space. Clades are supplied with abbreviations of phylogenetic affinities at the phylum level: A Ascomycota, Aph Aphelida, B Basidiomycota, Bla Blastocladiomycota, C Chytridiomycota, E Entorrhizomycota, G Glomeromycota, R Rozellomycota, Z Zygomycota, U unassigned The 18S and 28S rRNA gene sequences were further compared with metadata and phylograms in the literature from which the other environmental sequences used in phylograms were obtained (Additional file 1: Table S2). These data and associated metadata were integrated for interpreting the ecological and geographic distribution of the soil-inhabiting groups. In addition, the ITS sequences of all focal taxa were compared with the 80% sequence similarity-based compound clusters in the UNITE database [50] to determine the relative identification capacity of the newly described groups against clusters of recently accumulated fungal ITS barcodes. We thank K. Abarenkov for the sequence archiving and U. Kõljalg and C. Wurzbacher and five anonymous referees for the constructive comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. This study was funded from the Estonian Science Foundation grants 9286, PUT0171, PUT1399; EMP265; MOBERC1; and EcolChange to cover all aspects of the work. Availability of data and materials All sequences are available through SRA (accession SRP055957), GenBank (accessions KY687510-KY687860), and UNITE (accessions UDB014609-UDB014959). OTU distribution data and sample metadata are available in Additional file 2: Data S1. Authors’ contributions LT and TYJ conceptualized the work. RP performed the molecular analyses. TYJ ran the phylogenetic analyses. MB and RHN performed the statistical analyses. LT, RHN and TYJ wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Consent for publication Not applicable. 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Editors' Choice Science 23 Feb 2001: Vol. 291, Issue 5508, pp. 1449 Oh Holey Light 1. Ian S. Osborne Shining light through an aperture that is smaller than the wavelength of the light generally is a rather inefficient process. However, recent experiments with metal sheets decorated with a periodic array of submicrometer perforations have displayed enhanced light transmittance in certain spectral regions. Analysis of those early results suggested that the light got a helping hand through the holes by tunneling through surface plasmons, which are electronic excitations induced by and coupled with the interaction between the incident light and the electrons near the metallic surface. Two studies now verify that initial hunch and reveal further insights into the physical processes involved. The calculations of Martín-Moreno et al. show that light is transmitted via surface plasmon molecules (pairs of coupled plasmons on either side of the metal sheet) through thin films and that this mechanism evolves into tunneling between two isolated plasmons as the thickness of the sheet is increased. Approaching the problem from a different direction, Salomon et al. show that electromagnetic coupling between the perforations results in the same enhancement of transmission. — ISO Phys. Rev. Lett.86, 1114 (2001); Phys. Rev. Lett.86, 1110 (2001). Getting Back into Shape 1. Marc S. Lavine Shape-memory metal alloys, which can be restored to an original or “remembered” shape after deformation, have found uses in the medical industry. Lendlein et al. have now extended shape memory to polymers—in this case, a family of oligo(η-caprolactone) dimethacrylate/n-butyl acrylate networks. The memory effect is obtained by connecting a crystallizable segment [the oligo(η-caprolactone)] that can form a temporary physical network to a component (the n-butyl acrylate) that can soften the network and improve the strain recovery. These materials possess application advantages over their metal counterparts in that they can be programmed at 70°C and can tolerate significantly larger deformations. The polymers can be tailored to specific shape transition temperatures and deformation characteristics by changing the proportions of the network components. The biocompatibility of the two components should allow these materials to find use in the biomedical sector. — MSL Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.98, 842 (2001). May I Help You? 1. Stella M. Hurtley The intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii contains a structure known as the microneme (a secretory organelle) at its apical end. The microneme is needed for parasite invasion and is thought to provide components required for binding to host cells and for the formation of the parasitophorous vacuole, in which the parasite grows and replicates. Reiss et al. have discovered that the biogenesis of micronemal proteins involves helpers that mediate the transport and targeting of newly synthesized protein to the growing organelle. The transmembrane protein MIC6 acts as an escort for two soluble micronemal proteins, MIC1 and MIC4, by forming a tripartite complex within the endoplasmic reticulum, followed by transit to the microneme. Both MIC1 and MIC4 are adhesins that likely participate in binding to host membranes. Taken together their findings suggest that the three-component complex may act as a bridge between the invading parasite and the host cell. — SMH J. Cell Biol.152, 563 (2001). Reaching for the Stars 1. Linda Rowan If you could look at the Milky Way Galaxy (a spiral galaxy) edge-on, you would see a thin disk of luminous stars. The halo would be harder to see because its mass is mostly dark matter, with a few clumps of stars here and there. Although we don't know what dark matter is or how much there is in the Galaxy, we can detect its influence by measuring the spatial distribution and relative velocities of stars. A standard hierarchical galaxy formation model would suggest a lumpiness to halo star distribution; in a pair of papers, Ibata et al. suggest using a newly modeled and observed stream of stars to refine galaxy formation models. The stream of stars comes from the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, which is the closest galaxy to the Milky Way. A tail of stars is torn away from the dwarf galaxy as it passes close to the galactic center and is pulled into a great circle path within the Milky Way halo. Ibata et al. numerically simulated multiple galaxy interactions in order to model a stream of stars along a great circle path. Over time, stars move off the path (in part due to interactions with dark matter within the halo), and the simulations show that the amount of movement is dependent on the mass distribution model of the halo. Their results indicate that the halo has a more nearly spherical distribution of dark matter than previous models would suggest. — LR Astrophys. J., in press (astro-ph/0004011); Astrophys. J.547, L133 (2001). Emotion, Cognition, and Behavior 1. Peter R. Stern One of the functions of the limbic system is the coordination of emotion and cognition. Anatomical and physiological studies have shown that three structures of the limbic system—the prefrontal cortex, the amygdala, and the nucleus accumbens—are connected and speak to one another. Jackson and Moghaddam have analyzed the interaction of these areas in detail. Electrical stimulation of the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala increased glutamate release in the prefrontal cortex and in the nucleus accumbens. In contrast, dopamine efflux was upregulated only in the prefrontal cortex and not in the nucleus accumbens. If, however, glutamatergic neurotransmission in the prefrontal cortex was blocked, there was a subsequent increase in dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Dopaminergic neurotransmission in the nucleus accumbens is known to contribute to goal-directed behavior, and these results suggest that the prefrontal cortex modulates the consequences of amygdala activity by suppressing dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. — PRS J. Neurosci.21, 676 (2001). Predicting El Niño 1. Julia Uppenbrink El Niño events occur every few years but predicting the timing and severity of the next event has been challenging. The prediction accuracy for the severe 1997–1998 El Niño event varied across models, and complex ones did not fare any better than simple ones. Clarke and Van Gorder now report that departures from normal zonal (east-west) wind patterns in the far-western equatorial Pacific are useful retrospective predictors of El Niño events, which originate in the far western tropical Pacific and travel slowly eastwards as they grow. The wind pattern anomaly leads the El Niño event by several months, and analysis of El Niño events since 1962 shows that predictions from a simple statistical model based on this anomaly compare favorably with those of two relatively successful models. — JU Geophys. Res. Lett.28, 579 (2001). Orchestrating Post-and-Beam Construction 1. Orla M. Smith Assembly of the presynaptic active zone in neurons is a crucial step in the formation of the chemical synapse. Within this region are calcium channels, protein aggregates (active zone material or AZM), and synaptic vesicles with their neurotransmitter cargoes. Although many of the molecular components of the active zone have been identified, Harlow et al. have now performed a three-dimensional reconstruction of the AZM of the frog neuromuscular junction. With an array of interconnected pegs, ribs, and beams, the AZM appears to be a scaffold that juxtaposes the synaptic vesicles and calcium channels. At right angles to the centralized beams, the ribs appear to position synaptic vesicles for docking and fusion, and the pegs (to which the ribs are attached) seem to bind to (or may be) the intracellular domains of the presynaptic calcium channels. To address the question of how active zone components are assembled, Zhai et al. have investigated developing synapses of rat hippocampal neurons. The structural proteins Piccolo and Bassoon, along with syntaxin, SNAP-25, and N-cadherin, all arrive at the presynaptic staging ground in large (80 nanometer) granulated vesicles. Deciphering how these proteins relate to the pegs, ribs, and beams will be next. — OMS Nature409, 479 (2001); Neuron29, 131 (2001). 8. STKE An Endostatin-Integrin Partnership 1. Lisa D. Chong Endostatin is a cleavage product of an extracellular matrix (ECM) collagen and a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis. Tumor growth relies on the formation of new blood vessels, yet how endostatin achieves its inhibitory effect remains unclear. Rehn et al. propose that endostatin may act as a ligand for α5-and αv-integrins, endothelial cell adhesion molecules that have been implicated in regulating angiogenesis and tumorigenesis. When presented as an immobilized substrate, endostatins promoted cell adhesion, motility, and survival in an integrin-dependent manner, and also induced downstream signaling events. In contrast, soluble endostatin acted as an integrin antagonist and inhibited these processes. Hence, modulating integrin function may be one means by which endostatins act. — LDC Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.98, 1024 (2001). Navigate This Article
This Week in Science Science 14 Mar 2008: Vol. 319, Issue 5869, pp. 1453 1. Maintaining Duplicate Nuclei The intestinal parasite Giardia has two nuclei in its vegetatively growing form (the trophozoite), and both nuclei seem to be fully functional and essentially indistinguishable. Remarkably, despite no previous evidence for genetic exchange between the two nuclei, they somehow appear to contain essentially identical copies of the genome. Poxleitner et al. (p. 1530) show that efficient DNA transfer occurs during encystations and provides a mechanism for maintaining homozygosity between the two nuclei. 2. Migration Dates to the New World The Americas were the last major habitable continents to be settled by humans. Goebel et al. (p. 1497) review recent archaeological finds, more accurate dates, and genetic evidence that have changed some ideas about how this migration occurred. The data favor an initial migration along a coastal ice-free corridor about 15,000 years ago from populations that were in Beringia, including Alaska, and perhaps a second migration around 13,000 years ago that led to the Clovis culture in North America. 3. Protoplanetary Parts Lists Our understanding of the initial conditions of our early solar system is based mainly on samples of material that has condensed and accumulated into grains, comets, asteroids, and planets. Carr and Najita (p. 1504; see the Perspective by Ciesla) present spectral observations obtained with Spitzer Space Telescope of the gas in the protoplanetary disk around the star AA Tauri, which is thought to be similar to our early Sun. Even the inner portion of this disk of contains high concentrations of HCN, CO2, C2H2, OH, and H2O, which suggests that organic chemical reactions are ongoing. These results raise the possibility that even more complex molecules are synthesized in these regions, and may also help in understanding the origin of Earth's water budget. 4. Hydrogen Surrogates Under Pressure The issue of hydrogen metallization at extreme pressures is not only of fundamental interest but also bears on our understanding of the deep interior of gas giant planets. This issue is difficult to address experimentally in that pressure cells, which allow for detailed observations, cannot yet induce elemental hydrogen into its metallic phase. Eremets et al. (p. 1506) turned to compounds containing hydrogenin this case, silaneswith the motivation that because the hydrogen is chemically precompressed, it should be easier to induce phase changes at lower pressure. Silane can indeed be pressured into a metallic phase and is also superconducting at lower temperature. The results suggest that hydrogen-rich compounds can be a good surrogate for studying elemental hydrogen. 5. Look Beyond BCS Theory? The Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory of low-temperature superconductivity in metals stands as a monument in solid-state physics, and its cornerstone is a pairing interaction between electrons mediated by lattice vibrations, or phonons. The availability of high-resolution neutron spectroscopy now allows measurement of phonon lifetimes from micro-electron volt resolution studies throughout the Brillouin zone. Aynajian et al. (p. 1509, published online 21 February; see the Perspective by Scalapino) studied the elemental superconductors lead and niobium with such methods and found results which are suggestive of many-body correlated effects that require explanations beyond the standard BCS framework. 6. Blocking Out Cyclic Polymers Synthesis of cyclic polymers requires some way of bringing the ends of a linear polymer together before competing reactions occur. For this reason, such reactions are usually performed under high dilution, and for long polymers, this requirement often leads to low yields. Schappacher and Deffieux (p. 1512) overcome a number of these limitations by synthesizing a triblock copolymer with a long middle block and two smaller end blocks with reactive groups needed for the cyclization reaction. The central block could also be decorated with side chains, which aided in visualization with atomic force microscopy. By using two monomers to decorate the cyclic polymers and by choosing a selective solvent for one of them, it was possible to form supramolecular tubular assemblies in solution. 7. Constraining Earth's Chlorine Budget Most of Earth's chlorine is now in the crust (in evaporiates and brines) and the oceans. Determining how and when it became concentrated there requires some assessment of the mantle chlorine concentration and isotopic value. Such measurements are often difficultfor example, volcanic rocks from the mantle, such as mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs), are rapidly contaminated by seawater. Bonifacie et al. (p. 1518) examined Cl stable isotopes in 22 MORB samples and found, in contrast to previous studies, that the mantle chlorine has relatively less 37Cl than 36Cl. This difference implies either that fractionation accompanied separation from the mantle, and later mixing in of altered ocean crust, or that the crust of the Earth contains isotopically different Cl from a late accretion event. 8. Yeast Prion Protein Structure Revealed Prion proteins are linked to several diseases, including bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle, scrapie in sheep, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. Infectious prion-like proteins that also form amyloid fibrils are found in yeast and other fungi. Based on solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance data, Wasmer et al. (p. 1523) provide a structural model of amyloid fibrils from the prion-forming domain of the fungal HET-s protein. An earlier preliminary model gave no information on intermolecular -sheet propagation. The current model shows that the amyloid fibrils form a left-handed -solenoid with two windings per molecule that is stabilized by hydrophobic and polar interactions and salt bridges. 9. Bacterial Conjugation in Living Color Although conjugation in bacteria has been studied for decades, there are many outstanding issues about how it works. By using a direct visualization technique, Babi et al. (p. 1553) show that DNA is transferred through the pilus and efficiently incorporated (>95) into the recipient's bacterial chromosome; unrecombined DNA is degraded. Tracking of the acquired DNA showed that the resulting chromosomes appeared to recombine frequently, about once per cell generation, and was able to generate a diverse set of progeny from a single ancestor. 10. Stress Relief in Alcoholism Despite the success of psychosocial interventions such as Alcoholics Anonymous, chronic alcohol abuse remains a significant public health problem. Noting that stress is a relapse trigger in alcoholism, George et al. (p. 1536, published online 14 February) explored whether pharmacological inhibition of the neurokinin 1 receptor (NK1R), a mediator of the brain's stress response, would alleviate symptoms associated with alcohol dependence. Mice genetically deficient in NK1R consumed less alcohol than controls. A drug that antagonizes NK1R was used in a small, controlled study of recently detoxified alcoholic inpatients and showed promising activity, such as reducing alcohol cravings. However, these latter results need to be confirmed in much larger, longer-term studies. 11. Synthetic Biology in Action One goal of synthetic biology is to remodel intracellular processes at will. Bashor et al. (p. 1539; see the Perspective by Pryciak) wanted to engineer new regulatory properties into the well-studied mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in yeast that mediates response to mating pheromones. By creating proteins with customized protein interaction domains, which altered the association of signaling proteins with a key scaffold protein that assembles proteins that participate in the signaling pathway, the authors changed complex regulatory properties of the signaling pathway. A gradual dose response could be modified into a switchlike all-or-none response, the time course of system response could be varied, or adaptation (a process in which output diminishes even in the presence of continued stimulus) could be added. 12. A Working Model of Working Memory Working memory, the system that enables us to hold information temporarily for processing purposes, is thought to be stored primarily in the form of elevated, persistent neuronal firing rates. Mongillo et al. (p. 1543; see the Perspective by Fusi) now suggest that working memory may instead be stored in the short-term facilitation caused by a temporary calcium increase in synapses from neurons that code for a particular memory. Short-term facilitation on the necessary time scale has recently been observed in prefrontal cortex, lending itself to memory maintenance on the scale of seconds. During the memory span, and also during recall, neuronal activity then shows population spikes. If memory is indeed stored in the form of synaptic facilitation, few spikes need to be expended in maintaining it, which would reduce the metabolic cost of working memory. 13. Calcium Mantle Maps Seismic discontinuities in Earth's mantle mark changes in density typically produced by reactions among major minerals induced by the increasing pressure with depth. One peculiar discontinuity lies at about a depth of 520 kilometers, but the depth varies geographically, and in some regions, two discontinuities are seen. Saikia et al. (p. 1515) show through high-pressure, high-temperature experiments that this discontinuity is reflecting the exsolution of calcium from garnet with increasing pressure to form a new phase, Ca perovskite. This reaction proceeds only in calcium-rich mantle, so the geographic and depth variations primarily reflect the average calcium content of the mantle. Combining the mineral physics and seismic data provides a means to map the composition of the mantle in the area of this transition, a depth at which many subducting slabs may be ponding. 14. The Rise and Fall of Coral Reefs Despite wide variation in the species diversity of tropical coral reefs in different parts of the world, rates of coral growth and development are broadly similar. To test whether this disconnection has a long-term basis, Johnson et al. (p. 1521) present an analysis of coral diversity and reef building during the past 30 million years in the Caribbean. The chief finding, made possible by more than two decades of fossil data collection, is that reef-coral diversity and the extent of reef development have independent responses to long-term environmental change. The data include two episodes of accelerated extinction and reorganization of reef ecosystems, which may help to explain the relation between current anthropogenic environmental change and the observed worldwide demise of coral reef ecosystems. 15. Shaping Tomatoes Domestication has generated a huge variation in the size and shape of fruit compared to wild progenitors. In the tomato, several varieties have large, elongated fruits relative to its small round ancestors. Xiao et al. (p. 1527; see the cover) now identify the molecular basis of fruit elongationan increased expression of a transposed copy of the SUN gene. This ability of a transposable element to move a host gene to another location, which leads to differential gene regulation and generates a novel phenotype, may represent a more general driving force in phenotypic diversity. Navigate This Article
In a lot of older elementary schools the water fountains, sinks and counter tops are not designed with younger or shorter students in mind. Without a safe step stool the younger students either can’t reach the water faucets & water fountains or they struggle to use them. In certain situations this can cause the child injury, from a chipped tooth at a water fountain or if the student slips and falls while trying to wash their hands, a possible cut or broken bone. Most schools are not aware that the step stools bought at the big box stores are not designed to handle a large amount of weight. Nor are they designed to keep from sliding. A safe step stool for an elementary school should be rated for at least 500 pounds so that even the big kids that are 300 pounds or more can use the step stool without injury. The flimsy step stools bought at the box stores cannot provide this level of safety. They are made as cheap as possible with as little material as possible so they can be sold for as little as possible. The other problem with these flimsy step stools is that they either have very little rubber on the bottom to keep from sliding or they don’t have any rubber on the bottom. That’s fine if you’re using these flimsy steps on carpet because the carpet will help the step stay in place but on most surfaces around an elementary school, concrete linoleum, tile; etc… the step will slide. Especially if it is wet. So look for at the bottom of the step stool you plan to purchase for large rubber pads that will keep the step from sliding. The shape of the step stool is also important. Stay away from wooden steps that have vertical walls, they tend to tip when a person stands on the edge. This makes them no safer than a plastic milk crate which resembles a box. Look for a wedge shape design that moves the student’s weight toward the center of the step and away from the edge. This type of step design will not tip over. You have several different step stool models to choose from. Some are 6 inches high, some are 8 inches high and some are 10 inches high. You can choose the model that best solves your school’s problem. Choose what best suits your need in our website
Twelve Things You Were Not Taught in School about Creative Thinking Aspects of Creative Thinking that are not usually taught. Author: Michael Michalko We’ve been educated to process information based upon what has happened in the past, what past thinkers thought, and what exists now. Once we think we know how to get the answer, based on what we have been taught, we stop thinking. The Spanish word for “answer” is “respuesta,” and it has the same etymological root as “responso” (responsatory), the song people sing to the dead. It’s to say something to what has no life anymore. In other words, when you think you know the answers, based on what has happened in the past, your thinking dies. We are conditioned to circumvent deliberate and creative thinking wherever possible through rote memorization and robotic learning of formulas and principles. We have not been taught how to think for ourselves. We have been taught what to think based on what past thinkers thought. We are taught to think reproductively, not productively. We have been trained to seek out the neural path of least resistance, searching out responses that have worked in the past, rather than approach a problem on its own terms. Instead of being taught to look for alternatives and other possibilities, we are taught to look for ways to exclude them. This is because educators discourage us from looking for alternatives to prevailing wisdom. When confronted with a problem, we are taught to analytically select the most promising approach based on past history, excluding all other approaches and then to work logically within a carefully defined direction towards a solution. Instead of being taught to look for possibilities, we are taught to look for ways to exclude them. This kind of thinking is dehumanizing and naturalizes intellectual laziness which promotes an impulse toward doing whatever is easiest or doing nothing at all. It’s as if we entered school as a question mark and graduated as a period. Once when I was a young student, I was asked by my teacher, “What is one-half of thirteen?” I answered six and one half or 6.5. However, I exclaimed there are many different ways to express thirteen and many different ways to halve something. For example, you can spell thirteen, then halve it (e.g., thir teen). Now half of thirteen becomes four (four letters in each half). Or, you can express it numerically as 13, and now halving 13 gives you 1 and 3. Another way to express 13 is to express it in Roman numerals as XIII and now halving XIII gives you XI and II, or eleven and two. Consequently one of thirteen is now eleven and two. Or you can even take XIII, divide it horizontally in two ( XIII ) and half of thirteen becomes VIII or 8. My teacher scolded me for being silly and wasting the class’s time by playing games. She said there is only one right answer to the question about thirteen. It is six and one-half or 6.5. All others are wrong. I’ll never forget what she said, “When I ask you a question, answer it with the answer you were taught or say you don’t know. If you want to get a passing grade, stop making stuff up.” When my teachers talked about creative geniuses, they would hold up for scrutiny only their finished ideas and accomplishments. The implication being they were created by special people who are born with innate talents. Some of my teachers would explain genius as genetically determined. That is, you are born creative or you are not. Others would claim it is the product of superior intellect. None of my teachers ever explained the thinking processes of creative geniuses. They did this despite the fact that all creative geniuses left voluminous journals, logs, and notebooks explaining, in detail, how they got their ideas. One example is physicist Richard Feynman. Whenever Noble prize winner Richard Feynman was stuck on a problem he would invent new thinking strategies. He felt the secret to his genius was his ability to disregard how past thinkers thought about problems and, instead, would invent new ways to think. He was so “unstuck” that if something didn’t work, he would look at it several different ways until he found a way that moved his imagination. Feynman proposed teaching productive thinking in our educational institutions in lieu of reproductive thinking. He believed that the successful user of mathematics is an inventor of new ways of thinking in given situations. He believed that even if the old ways are well known, it is usually better to invent your own way or a new way than to look it up and apply what you’ve looked up. He proposed that first-graders learn to add and subtract the same way he worked out complicated integrals — free to select any method that seems suitable to the problem at hand. He listed some of the techniques available to the first graders making the transition from counting to adding. A child can combine two groups into one and simply add the combined group: to add 5 ducks and 3 ducks, one counts 8 ducks. The child can use fingers or count mentally: 6, 7, 8. One can memorize the standard combinations. Larger numbers can be handled by making piles — one could groups pennies into fives, for example — and counting the piles. One can mark numbers on a line and count off the spaces — a measurement, he noted, that becomes useful in understanding measurement and fractions. One can write larger numbers in columns and carry sums larger than 10. He encouraged the teaching of an attitude where people are taught to figure out how to think about problems many different ways using trial and error. The idea of having students discover answers for themselves has a remarkable effect on their thinking processes. Cognitive scientists have discovered that the more time your brain attempts to figure out a concept the better the student will understand it. Teachers should change the way they introduce new concepts that will give students that “aha” moment of clarity which lays the foundation for understanding and remembering it. A lesson on evolution, for example, might start with the same clues Charles Darwin saw — the striking similarities between ape and man, finches that are exquisitely attuned to their environments — and have the students generate a stream of guesses and answers before explaining the theory. Following are twelve more things normally not taught about creativity that I learned by my life experiences in over 30 years of study, research and work in the field of creativity around the world. 4. Your brain is not a computer. Your brain is a dynamic system that evolves its patterns of activity rather than computes them like a computer. It thrives on the creative energy of feedback from experiences real or fictional. You can synthesize experience; literally create it in your own imagination. The human brain cannot tell the difference between an "actual" experience and an experience imagined vividly and in detail. This discovery is what enabled Albert Einstein to create his thought experiments with imaginary scenarios that led to his revolutionary ideas about space and time. One day, for example, he imagined falling in love. Then he imagined meeting the woman he fell in love with two weeks after he fell in love. This led to his theory of acausality. The same process of synthesizing fictional experiences allowed Walt Disney to bring his fantasies to life. 6. Never stop with your first good idea. Always strive to find a better one and continue until you have one that is still better. In 1862, Phillip Reis demonstrated his invention which could transmit music over the wires. He was days away from improving it into a telephone that could transmit speech. Every communication expert in Germany dissuaded him from making improvements, as they said the telegraph is good enough. No one would buy or use a telephone. Ten years later, Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone. Spencer Silver developed a new adhesive for 3M that stuck to objects but could easily be lifted off. It was first marketed as a bulletin board adhesive so the boards could be moved easily from place to place. There was no market for it. Silver didn't discard it. One day Arthur Fry, another 3M employee, was singing in the church's choir when his page marker fell out of his hymnal. Fry coated his page markers with Silver's adhesive and discovered the markers stayed in place, yet lifted off without damaging the page. Hence the Post-it Notes were born. Thomas Edison was always trying to springboard from one idea to another in his work. He springboarded his work from the telephone (sounds transmitted) to the phonograph (sounds recorded) and, finally, to motion pictures (images recorded). 7. Expect the experts to be negative. The more expert and specialized a person becomes, the more their mindset becomes narrowed and the more fixated they become on confirming what they believe to be absolute. Consequently, when confronted with new and different ideas, their focus will be on conformity. Does it conform to what I know is right? If not, experts will spend all their time showing and explaining why it can't be done and why it can't work. They will not look for ways to make it work or get it done because this might demonstrate that what they regarded as absolute is not absolute at all. This is why when Fred Smith created Federal Express, every delivery expert in the U.S. predicted its certain doom. After all, they said, if this delivery concept was doable, the Post Office or UPS would have done it long ago. 8. Trust your instincts. Don't allow yourself to get discouraged. Albert Einstein was expelled from school because his attitude had a negative effect on serious students; he failed his university entrance exam and had to attend a trade school for one year before finally being admitted; and was the only one in his graduating class who did not get a teaching position because no professor would recommend him. One professor said Einstein was "the laziest dog" the university ever had. Beethoven's parents were told he was too stupid to be a music composer. Charles Darwin's colleagues called him a fool and what he was doing "fool's experiments" when he worked on his theory of biological evolution. Walt Disney was fired from his first job on a newspaper because "he lacked imagination." Thomas Edison had only two years of formal schooling, was totally deaf in one ear and was hard of hearing in the other, was fired from his first job as a newsboy and later fired from his job as a telegrapher; and still he became the most famous inventor in the history of the U.S. 9. There is no such thing as failure. Failure is only a word that means you have produced some other result instead of your original goal. Whenever you try to do something and do not succeed, you do not fail. You have learned something that does not work. Always ask, "What have I learned about what doesn't work; can this explain something that I didn't set out to explain?", and "What have I discovered that I didn't set out to discover?" Whenever someone tells you that they have never made a mistake, you are talking to someone who has never tried anything new. 10. You do not see things as they are; you see them as you are. Interpret your own experiences. All experiences are neutral. They have no meaning. You give them meaning by the way you choose to interpret them. If you are a priest, you see evidence of God everywhere. If you are an atheist, you see the absence of God everywhere. IBM observed that no one in the world had a personal computer. IBM interpreted this to mean there was no market. College dropouts, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, looked at the same absence of personal computers and saw a massive opportunity. Once Thomas Edison was approached by an assistant while working on the filament for the light bulb. The assistant asked Edison why he didn't give up. "After all," he said, "you have failed 5000 times." Edison looked at him and told him that he didn't understand what the assistant meant by failure, because, Edison said, "I have discovered 5000 things that don't work." You construct your own reality by how you choose to interpret your experiences. 11. Always approach a problem on its own terms. Do not trust your first perspective of a problem as it will be too biased toward your usual way of thinking. Always look at your problem from multiple perspectives. Always remember that genius is finding a perspective no one else has taken. Look for different ways to look at the problem. Write the problem statement several times using different words. Take another role, for example, how would someone else see it, how would Jay Leno, Pablo Picasso, George Patton see it? Draw a picture of the problem, make a model, or mold a sculpture. Take a walk and look for things that metaphorically represent the problem and force connections between those things and the problem (How is a broken store window like my communications problem with my students?) Ask your friends and strangers how they see the problem. Ask a child. How would a ten year old solve it? Ask a grandparent. Imagine you are the problem. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. 12. Learn to think unconventionally. Creative geniuses do not think analytically and logically. Conventional, logical, analytical thinkers are exclusive thinkers which means they exclude all information that is not related to the problem. They look for ways to eliminate possibilities. Creative geniuses are inclusive thinkers which means they look for ways to include everything, including things that are dissimilar and totally unrelated. Generating associations and connections between unrelated or dissimilar subjects is how they provoke different thinking patterns in their brain. These new patterns lead to new connections which give them a different way to focus on the information and different ways to interpret what they are focusing on. This is how original and truly novel ideas are created. Albert Einstein once, famously, remarked, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand." And, finally, Creativity is paradoxical. To create, a person must have knowledge but forget the knowledge, must see unexpected connections in things but not have a mental disorder, must work hard but spend time doing nothing as information incubates, must create many ideas yet most of them are useless, must look at the same thing as everyone else, yet see something different, must desire success but embrace failure, must be persistent but not stubborn, and must listen to experts but know how to disregard them. Michael Michalko is the author of the highly acclaimed: Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative Thinking Techniques; Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Genius; ThinkPak: A Brainstorming Card Deck and Creative Thinkering: Putting Your Imagination to Work. Of the 12 things mentioned in this article which one resonates the most with you? - Tell us below!
pamamaga ng katawan In the West, beri-beri strictly refers to a particular ailment that is caused by a deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1). In the Philippines, the word manas has a meaning that may be uniquely Filipino. For instance: You pinch a large portion of someone’s skin for more than a few seconds. This usually causes a discoloration near the surface. Some Filipinos will call that manas. Another example: You’re wearing shorts and sitting down, you cross your legs. After a few minutes, when you uncross your legs, the skin on your thighs will have patches of red and white because of the blood that accumulates. Ay, nagmanas. (Oh, it went manas.) It is thought that the fatter a person is, the more prone he or she is to manas. Pregnant women complain about it. Swelling of the limbs, especially of the lower legs, is a symptom of beriberi.
Root Canal & Apicoectomy Apple Valley Root Canal - Farmington Family Dental Root Canal Endodontics is the dental specialty that deals with the nerves of the teeth. When a tooth becomes infected it is usually related to the nerves in the root of the tooth. The infected nerves need to be removed. If left untreated an infection can turn into an abscess, which is a much more serious problem that includes bone loss in the jaw. The area around the tooth is numbed with a local anesthetic to start the procedure. The dentist will then drill down into the tooth to create an opening into the canal. They will then be able to remove infected tissue and clean the canal. After the infection has been removed, the space if filled with a sealant called gutta percha. It is highly recommended that a tooth that has undergone a root canal have a crown placed as well. This will improve the strength of the tooth and will also make it much more likely that the root canal is successful. An apicoectomy is performed after an unsuccessful root canal. When an infection will not go away or returns after a root canal has been performed this procedure is usually necessary. There can be multiple nerve pathways in a single tooth that may contain the infected tissue, so it is difficult to ensure that all of the infection is removed during a root canal. During an apicoectomy, the tip of the root of the tooth is removed and replaced with a filling.
GDAL includes support for reading USGS ASCII DEM files. This is the traditional format used by USGS before being replaced by SDTS, and is the format used for CDED DEM data products from the Canada. Most popular variations on USGS DEM files should be supported, including correct recognition of coordinate system, and georeferenced positioning. The 7.5 minute (UTM grid) USGS DEM files will generally have regions of missing data around the edges, and these are properly marked with a nodata value. Elevation values in USGS DEM files may be in meters or feet, and this will be indicated by the return value of GDALRasterBand::GetUnitType() (either "m" or "ft"). Note that USGS DEM files are represented as one big tile. This may cause cache thrashing problems if the GDAL tile cache size is small. It will also result in a substantial delay when the first pixel is read as the whole file will be ingested. Some of the code for implementing usgsdemdataset.cpp was derived from VTP code by Ben Discoe. See the Virtual Terrain project for more information on VTP. Creation Issues GDAL supports export of geographic (and UTM) USGS DEM and CDED data files, including the ability to generate CDED 2.0 50K products to Canadian federal government specifications. Input data must already be sampled in a geographic or UTM coordinate system. By default the entire area of the input file will be output, but for CDED50K products the output file will be sampled at the production specified resolution and on product tile boundaries. If the input file has appropriate coordinate system information set, export to specific product formats can take input in different coordinate systems (i.e. from Albers projection to NAD83 geographic for CDED50K production). Creation Options: Example: The following would generate a single CDED50K tile, extracting from the larger DEM coverage yk_3arcsec for a tile with the top left corner -117w,60n. The file yk_template.dem is used to set some product fields including the Producer of Data, Process Code and Origin Code fields. gdal_translate -of USGSDEM -co PRODUCT=CDED50K -co TEMPLATE=yk_template.dem \ -co TOPLEFT=-117w,60n yk_3arcsec 031a01_e.dem NOTE: Implemented as gdal/frmts/usgsdem/usgsdemdataset.cpp. The USGS DEM reading code in GDAL was derived from the importer in the VTP software. The export capability was developed with the financial support of the Yukon Department of Environment.
IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample 1088 - Rich countries should allow jobs for employees who are from poor countries You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Rich countries should allow jobs for skilled and knowledgeable employees who are from poor countries. To what extent do you agree or disagree? You should write at least 250 words. Model Answer 1: Some people believe that developed countries should permit qualified job seekers who are from developing and underdeveloped countries, however, some others argue that it does not necessarily have to impose that discretion. This is not a trivial question to answer. Personally, I agree that there should be such permission for finding jobs from wealthy regions for workers who are originally from poor regions based on national cooperation in encountering poverty and mutual advantages point of views. To begin with, fighting poverty is an international responsibility, thus there should be some cooperative efforts between rich and poor regions. Since unemployment may be a major concern triggering poverty in destitute areas, one solution to overcome this problem is by creating a joint-partnership with rich countries that have to allow workers who meet the requirement of skills and knowledge to work. By applying this discretion, skilled employees from poor areas can be harnessed to run work effectively and they also may learn and gain experiences of how working in a progressive area and can bring back this experience to their origin for improvement. Furthermore, employing required and talented people from deprived regions can contribute to a mutual advantage between prosperous and poor cities. For successful cities, this idea can help increase their regional income as knowledgeable human resources are available to operate their factory and other occupation. Meanwhile, for deprived cities, it will help coping with poverty because skilled citizens can elevate their earnings to accomplish better life ahead. Nature of business and globalisation require rich nations to have talented individuals from different parts of the world to better understand the customer segments of other nations and to market their products and service properly. Organisation like Google, Microsoft and Samsung already have employees from different countries and other organisations in rich countries should follow this trend as well. All in all, employing skilled and qualified workers from poor regions may be a form of national understanding in tackling poverty as well as sharing mutual benefit between rich and poor countries. Life will have a balance when everything is adequate, is not it? [ Written by - Linda ] Model Answer 2: In today’s modern world, although there are a number of countries who have become rich and more affluent by following the development and advancement of technology, there are still some nations who have remained poor. Therefore, some people assert that rich countries have an obligation to offer jobs to talented and wise workers who come from the poor countries, which I strongly agree with. There are several reasons which influence my view. To begin with, the act of allowing jobs for skilled and knowledgeable employees from poor countries by rich nations is considered to be an effective way to help the poor countries and it will indirectly strengthen the relationship among nations. It is important to ensure there will not be an occurrence of war between the nations which may have negative effects on the people’s lives, for example, it may even cost many innocent lives. By maintaining the close relationship between the countries by offering jobs for the employees from poor countries, the citizens in both nations can live in peace and serenity. The following factor that supports the idea of offering jobs to employees from poor countries by rich nations is that it could prove useful in helping the poor countries, especially the third world countries to reduce the cases of poverty. By offering jobs to the citizens from poor nations, they are able to support their family financially when they get back to their home countries. As proverb said, kill two birds with one stone, this action is believed to be beneficial to both sides, not only it will help the poor countries to tackle poverty and starvation problems, but also will help the rich nations to continue to prosper and flourish in the decades to come. This is mainly due to the reason that the talented and intelligent employees from poor countries can contribute endlessly to the rich countries. In conclusion, I strongly agree with the idea that rich countries should allow jobs for the employees from poor nations who are talented and intelligent owing to numerous factors. I believe the poor nations will soon become richer as long as the rich countries are willing to lend them a helping hand. [ Written by - Lee Wing Qeen ] Model Answer 3: Some people believe that developed countries should open migration and work opportunities for skilled and educated people from third world countries, while others disagree with this opinion. The following essay will discuss the statement in details before stating my own opinion and drawing a rational conclusion. On the one hand, some experts think that developed countries should accept highly skilled people from underdeveloped countries. It is a fact that many developed countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand have a lacking of skilled workers and letting people come from underdeveloped countries to work in such countries would be beneficial for both parties. These developed countries have large natural resources but fewer population and hence they should welcome extra resources from other countries, especially poor countries who have a large population. Obviously, they need a lot of talented and educated people to boost their economic development, and one of the most effective ways is to open a migration path for skilled workers from third world countries. On the other hand, it is true that many developed countries have opened their doors to skilled immigrants these days. This fact has a cause a serious problem for many poor countries. Many of their knowledgeable and skilled people have migrated to advanced countries since they would get higher salaries, better benefits and safer political condition. As a result, these countries face difficulties in improving their economic conditions as they lack educated and skilled people. From a different perspective, the open immigration and work opportunity often increases the terrorism in first world countries which are evident from the recent world events. In conclusion, to a certain point, I would agree with the migration policy of some rich countries which accept skilled people from developing countries. However, I also believe that the policy should also be limited to a certain quota, therefore not all of the best people from the poor countries leave their nations. It is obvious that the poor countries also need their best people to develop their countries. [ Written by - Darwin Lesmana ] 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 4.25 (4 Votes) 0 # Greeshma Raval 2016-07-15 06:18 Reply \| Reply with quote \| Quote 0 # Greeshma Raval 2016-07-15 06:17 Hey this helped me so much in understanding the essay....cheers. :) Reply \| Reply with quote \| Quote -1 # Muhammad Zulkarnain 2016-06-19 03:25 Essay Topic: Rich countries should allow jobs for skilled and knowledgeable employees who are from poor countries. Essay Answer: Many people believe that developed countries should allow livelihood for expert and experienced workers who are from less developed countries. Yet, there are several others who believe that workforce should be restricted and rich countries have no obligation to support poor countries by letting their skilled people work in rich countries. In my opinion, job seekers should be given the freedom to choose where they want to work based on their experience and talent, but we should not forget that skilled and talented people in poor nations very often need to work in their homeland rather than being recruited by a company situated in a rich country. Imagine if all potential human sources leave their country of origin for better job prospects, there will be no one left to build the country. In future, gap between rich and down scaled countries will get larger due to this. However, if these favorable attendant stay in their countries, it is obvious that they will be able to make changes. Rather than going to rich countries, and doing nothing except becoming a regular apprentice, they have much more to offer to their own countries. Moreover those skilled professionals would help building a sustainable economy for the future development of the country. In addition, most cities in rich nations will be overcrowded if they start hiring people from all around the world. If more people come to large cities in rich nations, it will cause a Pandora box effect for the city. In a wealthy state, proficient and brilliant operatives are common, which means that competition are hard. In a situation where every first-class workers all over the world come altogether demanding job at several places at once will causing labor market to lose its balance. The wage level will have a great distress. In future while supply for worker will increase over their demand, cutback cannot be avoided. Therefore, even people have their rights to pick where they will spend their laboring time, based on my knowledge as economics, I believe that employment should be restricted. It should become reconsideration, before they left their home country for working. That gap between counties in wealth will increased if they leave and once they leave, there is no guarantee that they will have better life in rich countries. Reply \| Reply with quote \| Quote +1 # Nur 2016-06-19 03:04 Do you agree or disagree? Educated and skilled people from poor countries should be given good employment opportunities in rich countries for the overall development of the world. It will be an excellent idea to employ them since skill and knowledge are two most important things to be possessed and to contribute towards the upliftment of human civilization. There are two important reasons why I support the idea that rich countries should allow skilled people from poor countries to work in their countries. These two reasons are quality and equality. The first reason is about the quality. Sometimes, quality workers do not always come from the rich one. When the people talk about quality, it will be related to the competence and expertise. For instance, people of West Papua may be employed by the companies in Jakarta. Some citizens may believe West Papua as poor province from the aspect of education, nevertheless, they may be engaged to the work by rich province, in this case is Jakarta. The good company will only look for the quality, not the background of their region or country. History suggests us that many great minds were born in poor countries but were more talented than average people and have contributed towards a modern world. The second view is about equality. No matter where the skilled professionals are from, the treatment should be the same. If multinational companies fail to hire talented individuals from poor nations, they would soon find the scarcity of talented leaders and managers. The employers cannot discriminate the ones from underprivileged regions or countries as long as they meet the requirements of the job. Thus, if it is about equality, no matter where they are from, rich or poor countries, all of them should get equal opportunities. All in all, offering jobs to those who are talented and come from unfortunate provinces or poor countries will actually benefit the rich nations. On condition that they all deserve to compete for a good position, it will be a brilliant step if all countries think about allowing skilled and talented individuals from less developed nations to work and settle their. Reply \| Reply with quote \| Quote +1 # Hand Lovegood 2016-06-09 22:21 IELTS Writing Task 2 – Essay Topic: Do you agree or disagree? Many people opine that people deserve the same right to get a job and earn money to lead a better life regardless of their country of origin. They often advocate for a visa and border free world where people are not discriminated only because they were born in a poor country. This is undeniable that well-educated and skilled people from poor countries should always get more chances to work in a rich nation, although some might disagree. However I quite agree with this policy as it will ensure the betterment of the world. Firstly, great people who have changed the world are not all from rich countries and that is why talented individuals from poor countries should be given chance to work for the betterment of the world. Many scientists from poor countries outperformed the natives in many cases and that was possible only because they were given the chance to prove themselves. For the overall advancement of the world, rich countries should pick talented and skilled professionals from poor countries. Secondly, rich nations have a natural obligation to help the poor nations to maintain the world peace. As poverty and lack of employment are two main reasons for crimes in our society, if rich nations do not allocate posts for talented individuals from poor nations, the number of crime would increase. Moreover, rich nations often help poor nations with money and other facilities. In my opinion, letting the skilled professionals work in rich countries and then sending them to train the poor population would be the best way to help the poor nations. Finally, though some people say that this policy would increase the bad effect of brain drain, I possess a different view. The amount of revenue these people send to their homeland are quite helpful for the advancement of their economy. If those skilled personnels return to their homeland and contribute for the betterment of the country, the process would only bring positive effects. To conclude, I strongly agree that rich countries should allow job seekers from poor countries who comply the requirement. I believe that a good company will value an employee based on capability, not based on where he/she comes from. So, it can be said that job seeker from poor countries deserve the same chance for job positions as natives do. Reply \| Reply with quote \| Quote Add comment Security code
Recently, in developing countries, subsistence agriculture is being converted to export-oriented mono- culture, and the amounts of agricultural chemicals applied to the farmland are increasing every year. The applied chemicals in farmland cause serious environmental problems downstream such as eutrophication, unusual growth of aquatic plants, decrease in dissolved oxygen and accumulation of bottom mud in water resources. Also, there seem to be many cases in which people apply agricultural chemicals without understanding its impact to health and food safety. Therefore, it is necessary to promote and enhance understanding of sustainable rural development among local stakeholders including farmers. Sustainable rural development aims to meet human needs while preserving the natural environment. As it should cover not only social and economic development but also natural environment conservation, no single organization can achieve sufficiently the aspirations of sustainable rural development. Collaboration among international, governmental and non-governmental organizations, together with the academe and scientific sector, is indispensable. The knowledge and intelligence accumulated in universities and research institutions are also expected to make the programs facilitated by the international, governmental and non-governmental organizations more adequately implemented and meaningful to societal development. However, these cases especially those implemented locally have been scattered without having been summarized well or recorded in annals of academic or scientific societies. So, the International Society of Environmental and Rural Development founded in 2010, aims to discuss and develop suitable and effective processes or strategies on sustainable rural development focusing on agricultural and environmental aspects in developing countries. The ultimate goals of the society are to contribute to sustainable rural development through social and economic development in harmony with the natural environment, and to support the potential or capacity building of local institutions and stakeholders in the rural area with academic background.
Recycle Mattresses for a Better Future Recycle Mattresses for a Better FutureEventually, a mattress will become useless to us. This may be due to damages caused by spills, a size issue, or simply because you need to purchase a more specialized one like the best mattress for lower back pain. Most of us would carry this mattress outside as a gift for the garbage collector and buy a new one. However, did you know that recycling a mattress is a much better alternative for many reasons? Let’s go through some of the reasons this is better than throwing mattresses away. 1) Recycling doesn’t take (much) space. When a mattress is thrown away, it ends up in a landfill. Imagine a landfill filled with not land but mattresses. The world is gradually lacking more and more space due to growing constructions and human populations. The least we can do is not contribute to this with mattresses that take decades to decompose. Mattresses are among many other items that clog our lands and pollute our environment even more. 2) Mattresses can be sold or given. Some people may benefit from an item that you no longer need, such as this mattress. Of course, please do not give away beds that are ridden with bed bugs or other potentially damaging issues. In the first case, it is best to first let the bed stay outside in the sun for a few days to get rid of the bed bugs. In both cases, please continue reading from the next point. Some specific thrift stores accept mattresses and you can look into that. In fact, you could disassemble the mattress and dispose/recycle smaller parts at different places for some cash–especially the steel coil. 3) Disassemble the mattress for other uses. According to the above-mentioned reason, disassembling can yield money. However, there are more benefits than that. They include using the cotton for various household needs such as a blanket, and using the wood box during a campfire or woodwork. The mattress can be broken down to very manageable pieces that can be rolled up. 4) Can you dispose of the mattress? The garbage collectors of some states/countries do not collect mattresses because they are too big. Some locations require you to drop the mattress off at a landfill and some will charge money. It would cost no less than $20 (often much more) to dispose of the mattress. Regardless of what the regulations include, we truly suggest you recycle because of the reasons we explained. Recycling mattresses doesn’t have to be complicated. You have a few options: ask if the store at which you bought your mattress would accept it, search for a charitable organization that recycles mattresses, or inquire about companies that recycle for a fee. Among other online resources for recycling locations are:, (in Canada), and (US, Canada and Australia). If you cannot seem to find a location, you can recycle sub-components of the mattress. We are trying to do more to encourage recycling of mattresses, and we hope that you will join us in this attempt to change for the better. Also read: Volunteer By Snowblowing For Your Community Why DJ’s are Loved All Over the World Why DJ’s are Loved All Over the WorldWhether you’re a disc jockey on a radio station, or a DJ at a party, everyone’s going to love you – there’s no doubt about that. People love music and when you know what a crowd wants, it’s just that easy to make them smile. Here are a few reasons why DJs are loved all over the world: Where There’s a DJ, There’s a Party Whenever you hear your favourite song play, whether you’re in a car or at a club, it’s going to be a party. People associate music with celebration, and that’s what being a DJ is all about. DJs are well loved for their ability to turn any old happening into a snazzy shindig. DJs Can Bring Back the Good Old Days Remember when you could just let your hair down, put your speakers on loud, and rush through that long open road without a care in the world? Oh, yes, the days of youth were filled with excitement and adventure. While they might seem like a distant memory, DJs can bring back the good old days like they happened just yesterday. There’s nothing more pleasing that hearing an old, familiar song on the radio to take you back to the past. You Don’t Have to Feel So Alone It gets lonely driving to work on your own on a daily basis. It can get monotonous and you might even find yourself falling into a boring old routine every time you take a seat behind the wheel. It’s hazardous to talk on the phone while driving though, so what else are you supposed to do to be a little less stony lonesome? A good radio DJ can keep you company during those sad, quiet rides alone. They can make you feel like you have a familiar friend who’s there to make sure you don’t feel so sad. You Can Get Your Opinions Heard People take joy in hearing their thoughts and opinions broadcasted on air. While it can be hard to get a real audience listening and paying attention to the little snippets your mind comes up with, it’s definitely possible on radio stations. DJs keep a conversation going, and they allow you to join in! It always makes us feel like our ideas are important, and that’s why radio stations will never go out of style. And last but not the least… DJs Play for Free at Volunteer and Fundraising Events While some people may think that DJs are all about the glitz and glamour, they actually aren’t. Not a lot of people know that most DJs volunteer their time and skills at fundraising events. Most even carry their own equipment such as DJ speakers for dynamic and controlled sound to lessen the costs for renting a sound system. Just how are they helping by DJ-ing at such events? Well, the music and ambiance play a major role in attracting people to check out what’s happening at a particular gathering. Handing Out Charity Flyers is a Breeze When Using a Hoverboard Handing Out Charity Flyers is a Breeze When Using a HoverboardThey are everywhere. They are new, trendy and affordable. Going at around 100 quid, they are something you would want to have in your collection of toys this Christmas. In every corner of the street you look, you will see a young person riding a one. Indeed, everyone seems to be going bananas trying to decide which hoverboard model is the best one to purchase. This new technology is progressive and has made movement pretty easy and fast. The full benefits that have been promised by the manufacturers can all be realized when a hoverboard is put to good use. Handing out flyers to strangers is not a job we are all excited about. It is a lot of work to walk around town all day distributing flyers to strangers. Plus, it takes time to move around – time which could be spent doing other volunteer work. What if I told you that there is a way that this activity can be made more fun and can be accomplished within the shortest time possible? The answer to your problems comes in the form of a hoverboard. They are self-balancing electric gadgets mounted on two wheels. They are now famously referred to as the next generation skateboards. Unlike the normal skateboards that you are well-accustomed to, hoverboards don’t involve much work, skill or creativity in riding them. It is easy to learn how to ride one so beginners need not to worry much. You just have to put one foot at a time on the self-balancing stepping pads and off you go. Most people take around five to ten minutes to learn. The controls are easy too; the rider only has to lean a little bit backwards or forward to control their speed, change direction and they are incredibly stable. It is also an added advantage that hoverboards are convenient too – who wouldn’t want a faster alternative to get around town and hand out those charity flyers. This is an effective way to distribute flyers locally at schools, churches, colleges, businesses or organizations. Handing out flyers can only be considered a job well done when you reach as many people as possible. Therefore, gaining access to such places where a lot of people are gathered is key to your success. With the use of a hoverboard, it is now easier to access narrow streets and manoeuvre around crowded pavements. Although, bikes have been here a long time and we can’t ignore their advantages. But it is also true that their use is permitted to open areas. What happens when you want to distribute flyers inside a building or lecture halls? That’s when you need a hoverboard because they are most comfortable for use indoors. Handing out charity flyers is a breeze when using a hoverboard. A hard job has now been made easier, faster and enjoyable. At the end of the day, your flyers will be gone and a smile will be left on your face. Even kids will be enthused to volunteer and hand out flyers if they can use a hoverboard! Volunteer Managers As Creative People volennteerIt is not necessary a person has to be volunteering parties and shows. They can also work in the restrictive environment. For example, if a charity is interested in teaching the prisoners some artworks involving needle, they can get help from the volunteers to do this work. When the volunteers were involved in the work, it was giving a completely different colour to the work. This was proven to be highly rehabilitative in nature. Especially, if a person is going to handle the works that are involved in the long-term prison, the culture of prison i.e. them and us was changed. In fact, this meant a lot for the prison as someone from outside is ready to spend their free time in the prison and help them. The main point to be noted here is the volunteer does not belong to the system or jail. Even though the volunteer might help the prisoners to develop, it is necessary to show some production. Not all the volunteers will be professionals who are doing the artwork. Here are some examples or scenarios that state how the volunteer approaches to meet the prisoners. First, if a prisoner has spent several months in making a quilt using the scraps that are available inside the prison and now is willing to send the same to the old mother who is outside, then the request can be placed before the jailor through the volunteer. Normally, the rules and regulations for sending any item or person inside or outside the jail will be very strict. Getting approval for this type of works will not be an easy task, but if the request is reasonable and genuine, the possibility of getting success is high. Another illustration is a volunteer might be interested in having classes inside the prison in order to help the prisoners to know something about arts. But in most of the cases, the person might be sent out from the gate itself, and there will be no use in waiting to meet the people for asking permission. Usually, people will tend to note the name of the officer at the gate and try to complain about the person. But they will not be aware where the complaint has to be registered and here is some course of actions that has to be followed in these scenarios. The first requirement to handle this situation is patience. It will not be possible for a person to get permissions in such restricted places just in one go. Also, it will be advisable to move legally step by step so that there are no issues later on. Once a person enters such restricted places to help a prisoner, it will give confidence and trust to the prisoner.
English version sombre in Colours topic From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsombresom‧bre British English, somber American English /ˈsɒmbə $ ˈsɑːmbər/ adjective 1 SERIOUS PERSONsad and serious syn grave They sat in sombre silence. We were all in a somber mood that night. a sombre expression on the sombre occasion of his mother’s funeralsee thesaurus at serious2 CCCOLOUR/COLORdark and without any bright colours a sombre grey suitsombrely adverbsombreness noun [uncountable] Examples from the Corpus sombreThe sun was shining brightly, but the mood was sombre.The procession was one of sombre colours, khaki and air force blue predominating.If the outcome of this sombre, lovingly detailed film is unsurprising, its emotional power is undeniable.In the Allegretto the music begins in the sombre low register and gradually rises through the octaves.In the sombre main chamber where most of his days were spent, there was no decoration, no contrasting texture.In sombre silence, wearing black ties, the Calvinist elders walk between the unusually-full pews.
Monday, 23 June 2014 Historical Tower of Hercules In 61 BCE a Roman seaborne expedition, probably led by Julius Caesar himself, landed at present-day La Coruña (Brigantium) with the intention of installing a port and commercial settlement. There had already been Roman colonisation along the Mediterranean facade of the Iberian Peninsula and along the south and south-west from the 2nd century BCE. The port of Brigantium played an important role during the Cantabrian Wars (29-19 BCE). Once peace was restored, its strategic maritime role at the entrance to the Bay of Biscay, as well as that of a trading station, were confirmed. It became a rear base for the conquest of the British Isles while Galicia was being Romanised. Under the name of Farum Brigantium, the Tower was probably erected in the 1st century CE, at the latest in the reign of Trajan (98-117). The votive inscription on a small ancillary construction would appear to bear this out. This monumental lighthouse is located at the entrance to La Coruña harbour, in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is designed to facilitate navigation along the rugged Galicia coastline, on a strategic point on the sea route linking the Mediterranean to northwest Europe. A wood-fired system was located on the summit platform in a shelter opening on to the seaward facade; it possibly had columns used for navigational alignment when making the difficult approach and entry into the harbour. On the basis of the surviving structure, the original tower had a horizontal cross-section measuring 11.75m (33 Roman feet) square. It was surrounded by a spiral ramp providing access to the platform. The base of the Tower rested on 18m square foundations. The Tower's use as an illuminated lighthouse probably persisted for a relatively long time throughout the Roman Empire. It seems not to have been lit throughout most of the High Middle Ages, although it remained intact and continued to play a role as a landmark and watchtower. The gazetteer lists the names of farum and faro in the 9th and 10th centuries, probably with periods of return to nocturnal service depending on the historical context and the state of maritime navigation. It is difficult to determine exactly the Tower's use and upkeep in medieval times. It seems to have been abandoned and in poor condition after the Viking invasions (854-56), as was the city; it is, however, referred to in two 10th century texts as the Farum Precantium. Medieval chronicles mention the creation of a fort and a small town in the 11th-12th centuries, in this same position. The Tower is referred to as the Castellum Pharum; at this time it was used for defensive purposes and as an observation post, which most likely saved it from probable ruin. The urban and port development of Burgo de Faro Novo, later Crunia, started at the end of the 12th century and into the following century, in connection with the reign of Ferdinand II and the Pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela. The contemporary toponymy shows that the name then given to the Tower was Turrin de Faro suggesting its restoration as a lighthouse, but the external ramp appears to have been in ruins, perhaps as a result of the Tower's use for defensive purposes in the preceding centuries. The reuse of dressed stone from the collapsed parts of the Tower is reported during the late Middle Ages, until a 1557 municipal edict forbade this practice. Starting in the 14th century, La Coruña became one of the kingdom's largest and most cosmopolitan ports. It was an essential stage between northern Europe and the Mediterranean world. The lighthouse's function would appear to have been fully restored at that time. The Tower of Hercules was a major symbol of the city in the 15th century, and was the main heraldic motif on the city's seal. Iconography from the 16th century shows a highly restored Tower, notably fitted with a dome-shaped lantern. The external ramp no longer exists, but traces of its spiral shape are still visible. Work on the timber staircase is mentioned in the same period. There are several descriptions of the Tower in the 17th century. The first truly identifiable restoration was that led by the Duke of Uceda, the Captain General of Galicia in 1684-85. The presence of an internal staircase is again reported. In 1755 the Lisbon earthquake affected many buildings in the La Coruña region, but the Tower survived thanks to its architectonic design and the quality of its mortar (see Description). The major restoration-reconstruction work on the Tower was undertaken in two stages at the end of the 18th century, from 1788 to 1806. The work was carried for navigational reasons, the external condition of the Tower, and changes in lighting systems. The work was entrusted to the naval engineer Lieutenant Eustaquio Giannini. It was preceded and accompanied by measurements and plans that are invaluable in understanding the Tower in modern times. At this time, its height was significantly raised and it was fitted with a new bell lantern; the interior staircase was rebuilt; and the exterior facing and the openings were completely reconstructed (see Description). It assumed its current external form in Neo-Classical style. Additional work was carried out by José Giannini, Eustaquio's brother, between 1799 and 1806. The lantern and the lighting system were replaced for operational reasons and to take account of the most recent innovations, the bell turret was replaced by a new higher one, and a platform was added around the base of the Tower. The optical system was again changed in 1847 for a very efficient catadioptric system using Fresnel lenses. In the 1860s, ancillary buildings were erected and the access ways repaired. Further work was carried out in 1905: the internal staircase was again restored, this time entirely in stone. The lighthouse was fitted with electric lighting in 1926, with its beam visible for up to 32 nautical miles. In the 1990s excavations were undertaken at the base of the Tower, under the platform added in the early 19th century, to reveal the Roman foundations and buried remains. In 1991-92 the facades of the Tower and the small Roman building were restored. Numerous legends surround the Tower's history, from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. They attempt to explain in mythical and popular terms the Tower's origins and its construction, regardless of any historical or archaeological understanding. There are three main families of legends: the legend of Breogán in the Celtic-Irish tradition, the Greco-Roman legend of Hercules, the demigod of mythical strength who gave the Tower its contemporary name, and the tale of Trecenzonio halfway between the former two legends. There is evidence of these mythical tales in Galicia starting from the 14th century, but they probably predate that time. Given that the lighthouse continues in use, ICOMOS regrets the absence of any description of the optical systems, which are an integral part of the lighthouse and its history, and the changes that they have undergone, notably in modern and contemporary times, in relation to Atlantic shipping. Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Pioneering Your Future - Session Descriptions 2016 Session Descriptions Computer Science/Software Engineering: Hackety Hack Software engineers create computer programs to help make the world a better, more efficient, and more fun place. Session participants will work to complete a simple but fun computer program using Hackety Hack, an easy program to learn the Ruby programming language. biology: Exploring Animal Diversity, Up-Close and Personal In our session, we will have the opportunity to get hands-on in the process of exploring animal diversity. Using live critters from the UW-Platteville Animal House, we will get a chance to delve into what makes these organisms uniquely suited to their particular habitats and lifestyles, as well as consider what we all have in common as members of the animal kingdom! Dairy Science: From Bacteria to Cheese We will explore how important bacteria are in helping the dairy animal turn feed into milk and then discover what bacteria turns that milk into delicious cheese! Environmental Engineering: Groundwater Investigation Groundwater is water that flows underground and is accessed by many homeowners and cities that pump water from the wells to meet their drinking, bathing, cooking, and cleaning needs. In this hands-on activity, students will get to watch water flow through a desk-top groundwater model to understand how water flows underground, to see how wells work, to see how aquifers can be easily contaminated. Industrial Engineering: Increasing productivity by simple steps Some modern manufacturing systems basic conscepts will be used to increase the productivity of a workstation that produces certain products. These concepts improve the use of resources available for production and reduce wasting time and materials. The students will measure the performance before and after applying these concepts. Mathematics: Mathematcial Modeling This activity is designed to incorporate measurement, proportional reasoning, and algebra to make predictions. Physiology: Making a Pulse Oximeter A pulse oximeter (pronounced ox-IM-uh-ter, also called pulse ox) is a small device that measures the level of oxygen in the blood (oxygen saturation) and can monitor the heart rate. It does this by shining light through your finger and measuring how much light is transmitted. During this session you will be making a do it yourself fingertip pulse oximeter using some very simple electronic pieces. This device is placed on a fingertip and takes just moments to get the measurements. It is non-invasive, totally safe and tons of fun! People use pulse oximeters to monitor health. For example, low oxygen levels can indicate a health problem. Pilots or climbers at high elevation (where oxygen levels are lower) will also show reduced oxygen levels in their blood when they are initially exposed to these conditions. Footer Anchor
Monday, April 19, 2010 Information and knowledge Common words are ambiguous, indeterminate and confusing. However, they're what we have to use constantly. So, here's my working definitions of the two very basic words, information and knowledge, each provisionally created from online sources. INFORMATION: 1. a measure of the freedom of choice with which a message is selected from the set of all possible messages; 2.a difference which makes a difference Online source 1 INFORMATION THEORY or communication theory, mathematical theory formulated principally by the American scientist Claude E. Shannon to explain aspects and problems of information and communication. While the theory is not specific in all respects, it proves the existence of optimum coding schemes without showing how to find them. For example, it succeeds remarkably in outlining the engineering requirements of communication systems and the limitations of such systems. In information theory, the term information is used in a special sense; it is a measure of the freedom of choice with which a message is selected from the set of all possible messages. Information is thus distinct from meaning, since it is entirely possible for a string of nonsense words and a meaningful sentence to be equivalent with respect to information content. Numerically, information is measured in bits (short for binary digit; see binary system ). One bit is equivalent to the choice between two equally likely choices. For example, if we know that a coin is to be tossed but are unable to see it as it falls, a message telling whether the coin came up heads or tails gives us one bit of information. When there are several equally likely choices, the number of bits is equal to the logarithm of the number of choices taken to the base two. For example, if a message specifies one of sixteen equally likely choices, it is said to contain four bits of information. See C. E. Shannon and W. Weaver, The Mathematical Theory of Communication (1949); M. Mansuripur, Introduction to Information Theory (1987). From Information Theory.The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Columbia University Press: New York. 2009. (Obtained from Questia) Online source 2 "In fact, what we mean by information - the elementary unit of information - is a difference which makes a difference". (Bateson [1973], 428). Bateson, G., 1973, Steps to an Ecology of Mind (Frogmore, St. Albans: Paladin). From "Semantic Conceptions of Information" in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy KNOWLEDGE: The objects, concepts and relationships that are created from logical inference using prior-knowledge and/or information with justification or explanation. Online source Computing Dictionary knowledge definition artificial intelligence, information science The objects, concepts and relationships that are assumed to exist in some area of interest. A collection of knowledge, represented using some knowledge representation language is known as a knowledge base and a program for extending and/or querying a knowledge base is a knowledge-based system. Knowledge differs from data or information in that new knowledge may be created from existing knowledge using logical inference. If information is truthful data plus meaning then knowledge is information plus justification/explanation. From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing. website: Search in WWW Search in this blog No comments:
Root problem Recently I made a post about the word “surhavi” meaning “to wear” or literally, “to have on” (made up of the words “sur” = “on” and “havi” = “to have”). I mentioned that there is a good reason why “sur” appears before “havi”, even though in a literal translation “to have on” (in the other order) makes sense. It’s for the sake of logic when building words in Esperanto. See, fundamentally, the word “surhavi” is about having in some way, it is the having of something on you. So “have” is the main concept, and “on” is modifying it, by saying that the having is done in a certain kind of way: “on”. This is how it works when word building. The main concept is the last word, and the root which modifies this word goes before it. Longer words can be built by repeating the process. Therefore, “mortodoro” is some kind of death smell, whereas “odormorto” is not… maybe it’s a death characterised mostly by smell? A smelly death? It was already red! So something about Esperanto that I don’t think I’ve mentioned, but is necessary to know for this post, is the fact that an adjective can appear either before or after the word it is describing. Esperanto is easy going like that. Thus: • La blua kato, is the same as: • La kato blua Only possible difference could be that there is ever so slightly more emphasis on the one that comes first. Okay, now we’ve established that, what’s the difference between these two: • Mi farbis la domon ruĝan (= Mi farbis la ruĝan domon) • Mi farbis la domon ruĝa “farbis” = “painted” , “domo” = “house”, and “ruĝa” = “red”.The only difference is that in the second sentence, the word for “red” does not receive the accusative “n” (therefore isn’t attributed to “domon”, which does have the ending, in the usual way).What effect does this elicit? In the first sentence, the “red” adjective is describing the object “house”. It is describing what that object is, before it receives the action of the sentence (in this case a painting action). Whereas in the second sentence the adjective is not attributed to the description of what the object was before the action. It says what the action did to the object. Bearing this in mind, the first sentence states that I painted a house that was already red (but I didn’t state what colour I painted it), whereas the second sentence states that I painted a house the colour red (but I didn’t state what colour it was originally).Therefore, conceivably one could say: • Mi farbis la domon bluan ruĝa, or • Mi farbis la bluan domon ruĝa In order to mean “I painted the (already) blue house (now) red.” Time and Space Some prepositions are just plain cool. Prepositions show the role of a noun phrase. So say we have a noun phrase like “the red man” (it’s a noun “man” modified by “the red”). A preposition shows the role in the sentence that noun phrase has, it could be “on the red man”, “by the red man”, “before the red man” etc. Some prepositions have a general concept, and this concept can be applied to both time and space. Some of which are: • antaŭ = before, in front of • ĉirkaŭ = about, around • de = of, from, by • ĝis = until, up to • inter = between, among • post = behind, after You should be able to see their different usages within spacial relations and temporal relations, by observing the the different alternative English translations I’ve given. For example, “antaŭ”. You can be physically before (in front of) a person or thing. But something can also occur before something else in time (before you ate badgers in the afternoon). Antaŭ would be used in both cases. To on-have! I almost made a new category today… Yes, yes I know I already have failed to distribute my posts fairly among them… It was going to be for constructed Esperanto words I find in use that seem particularly cunning in their creation. But I think I’m going to use the “alluring words” category for them, and simply state the reason for their noteworthiness! Today is “surhavi”. It mostly seems to be translated as “to wear” (clothing). It is made up of: • sur = on • havi = to have So a vaguely sensible literal translation might be “to have on” (so why is the word made so that “on/sur” comes before “have/havi”? I know the answer, and will post about it in the near future 😀 EDIT: here) . I quite liked its simple yet obvious construction! There is another word “porti” which means “to carry/wear”. I wonder whether “surhavi” would be used to emphasise that you mean you are actually wearing something, if that thing is usually carried rather than worn? Joy of Numbers Mmm numbers. So there are two angles to today’s post, but both concern numbers. Firstly take a gander at the numbers 1 to 10: 1. unu 2. du 3. tri 4. kvar 5. kvin 6. ses 7. sep 8. ok 9. naŭ 10. dek The first angle falls under the “alluring words” category. I think they are so simple and cute. They seem like the bare minimum, and yet still smack of what makes me think “three” or “nine” or “eight” from the various languages I’ve looked at. This is exactly what numbers should be: not cumbersome. Next, for what’s interesting. I think the Esperanto number system is very nicely laid out (in terms of making the numbers greater than ten), but that’s a story for another day. Today I’m marvelling at the ease with which one can construct the different types of number. I’ll explain. The above numbers are “cardinal” numbers, the numbers we use to count things, to state how many things there are: • Estas du kameloj = There are two camels • Estas kvar viroj = There are four men In order to make the “ordinal” numbers (the numbers we use to order things in a list e.g. first, second, third, fourth…), we simply add “a” : • First = unua • Second = dua • Third = tria • Fourth = kvara • Fifth = kvina You can also change these to other parts of speech like “unue” or “trie” = “firstly” or “thirdly” respectively. In order to make multiples, we simply use “-obl-“. Then the correct part of speech ending. So, the multiple made from “two” is “double”. If used like an adjective in “double shot” we use “duobla” (“a” the adjective ending). If we use like an verb “The slime doubled in size” we would use “duoblis” (“is” the past tense verb ending). • Single = unuobla • Double = duobla • Triple = triobla • Quadruple = kvarobla Note that you can easily use these endings on ANY number, unlike English where I start to not be able to think of what comes next… In order to make fractions, we use the “-on-” suffix. Specifically, this makes the reciprocal of a number. So if you add it to 4, you get 1/4 (quarter), if you add it to 8 you get 1/8 (eighth). • (A) half = duono • (A) third = triono • (A) quarter = kvarono In order to make repetitions, we use the root “foj” = “time,occasion”. Remember from the word “iufoje” = “sometimes”? • Once = unufoje • Twice = dufoje • Thrice = trifoje And you can keep going: kvarfoje, kvinfoje… I have no idea if we have English equivalents, other than just saying “four times”, “five times”. In order to make groups, we can play with the suffix “-op-“. Again, depending on the part of speech ending, we can get interesting different effects: • du = two • duopo = a group of two, duet • duopa = is an adjective that describes something that is made up of two members • duope = by/in (groups of) twos Look at all the different English changes you have to learn for just a few (a,op,obl,foj etc.) simple Esperanto ones! And you can’t even reliably permute all different types of number with English! Esperanto saves us again. I keep seeing this word around. For some reason, perhaps its tiny nature, I’ve just been skipping over it… Poor little word. But I looked it up today, turns out, it’s an interesting little thing! The word is: ajn. So simple! Pronounced like the “ine” in English “fine”. The interesting thing, is that it adds a notion of indefiniteness or generality. It doesn’t seem to be used to attach to other words, but to follow them as its own little word (I imagine if you were to tack it onto the end of words, it could be easily confused with the adjectival plural accusative ending). It’s mainly used after the correlatives that start with Ki- and i-, but looks like it can be used with those starting with Ĉi- and Neni-. Here’s some before and after examples: • Kio = what • Nenie = nowhere • Kie = where • Kies = whose • Ia = some kind • Kiom = how much • Kiam = when • Kia = what kind And now with ajn: • Kio ajn = whatever • Nenie ajn = nowhere whatsoever/at all • Kie ajn = wherever • Kies ajn = whosesoever • Ia ajn = any kind whatsoever • Kiom ajn = however much • Kiam ajn = whenever • Kia ajn = whatever kind Pretty interesting little word. Just look how many different constructions you’d have to learn to get the same expressiveness in English! Revisiting an old flame So, a while back I posted about a word “iafoje”, in the category of “alluring words”, because it is a very, very pretty word. But it’s also sneaky! It has a hidden depth that I did not quite notice at the time, when I translated it as “sometimes”. Which is fine! Don’t worry! There’s just a nuance to it beyond that. So, in the time since that post I’ve found other words to mean “sometimes”, made by adding different words to the root “foj” meaning “time,occasion”. With also the “e” ending for adverbs (“sometimes” is an adverb because it describes verbs, action words, you do some action “sometimes”). • iufoje, which is made with “iu” meaning “some, any, someone” • kelkfoje, which is made with “kelk(a)” meaning “some,several” Compared to: • iafoje, which is made with “ia” meaning “some kind (of)” So can you start to see where the nuances might be? I wasn’t too sure about the differences myself at first, but chatted with a couple folks at to make sure they said the same things I was wondering: • iufoje: suggests some indefinite time(s), any times, some times. A good phrase used by one of the Lernu folks was “sporadic events” • kelkfoje: simply suggests some bunch of multiple events/times • iafoje: suggests definite types of events. I think it’s so interesting how you can express these different nuances of meaning in such simple ways, by building with these blocks of meaning.So in the original post I was saying how I found the word used alot in the Plena Manlibro de Esperanta Gramatiko. So why do they use this kind of “sometimes” instead of the others?I’ll tell you what I think. It’s often used in the context of explaining the usage of a word, concept, affix or suchlike. “Sometimes X is used in this context… Here it conveys….” etc. This “sometimes” is talking about specific occasions when X is used in a specific way. Therefore, the obvious choice is iafoje!
What would be the ramifications if the United States had a direct election for president instead of the electoral college? Asked on by amoreh 1 Answer \| Add Yours larrygates's profile pic larrygates \| College Teacher \| (Level 1) Educator Emeritus Posted on If the electoral college were eliminated, then the voices of the populace of the smaller states would be substantially diminished. Candidates for President would be inclined to spend most of their time and resources in the Northeast and West Coast. The Midwest, South, and other parts of the country would be virtually ignored. The framers of the Constitution created the Electoral College not only to preserve the sovereignty of the individual states; but also to see that the smaller states had some voice in the election of the President. Obviously, the vote in the electoral college is heavily weighted toward the larger states, as it should be; but the smaller states are not totally eliminated. Every election year, there are vociferous voices calling for the elimination of the electoral college; and every election those voices fall silent. After over 200 years, the best argument for the Electoral College is that it works quite well. We’ve answered 319,832 questions. We can answer yours, too. Ask a question
What is Bonsai Bonsai and Penjing Styles by Gudrun Benz, drawings by Willi Benz 5 basic styles Formal upright style: Chokkan, Tachi-gi Informal upright style: Moyogi Slanting style: Shakan Semi-cascade style: Han-Kengai Cascade style: Kengai Other bonsai and penjing styles Broom style: Hoki-Zukuri Windswept style: Fukinagashi Literati style: Bunjin Twin-trunk style: Soju Multi-trunk style: Kabudachi Forest (group) style: Yose-Uye Raft style: Ikadabuki Root-over-rock style: Sekijoju Exposed root style: Ishi-Zuke/Seki-Joju Waterfall cascade style: Taki-Kengai Bonsai and Penjing styles; A short introduction Guidelines for shaping formal upright Formal upright style (Chokkan) Vertical straight trunk evenly tapering from base to apex, its structure should be visible. Visible surface roots spreading out in all directions but not directly to the front The arrangement of the branches from the lowest to the highest should become shorter and more “delicate”. The main branch should go to one side and should be the longest and strongest, the second branch should go to the other side. Shorter back branches The whole of the branches from the lowest layer to the apex should form an irregular triangle. formal upright Informal upright style (Moyogi) Basically upright direction of the trunk with some curves or angles, fairly even taper from the base to the apex. The tip should lean slightly toward the viewer. Surface roots and distribution of branches nearly the same as for formal upright style. formal upright Slanting style (Shakan) Leaning trunk, mainly straight The slant should go to the right or to the left at an angle of 55° to 70°. To convey the feeling of balance and stability there should be a root system in direction of the slant of the trunk but mainly to the opposite side. semi cascade Semi-cascade style (Han-kengai) Basically horizontal trunk at an angle between 0° to 30° or a little bit above or below (until the rim or maximum the bottom of the pot). Strong surface roots and a sturdy trunk give a feeling of stability. Should convey the impression of hanging over a ravine or a cliff. Cascade style (Kengai) Trunk between an angle 0° and -90° (below the horizontal) The trunk should rise from the pot for a short distance, going down at a sharp angle and then meandering down. The part of the trunk over the pot can form a “head” by compact layers of foliage, which should not hide the trunk curve. Layers of foliage should be outside of the curves (bends) of the tail of the cascade. The tip of the tail should be directed toward the observer. Broom style (Hokidachi) Straight trunk similar to the formal upright style Branches eminate from the top of the trunk somewhat like an upturned broom. Branches fork into fine ramification, spreading evenly to all sides. Most suitable for deciduous specimens like Chinese elm, Zelkova, Trident maple… Windswept style (Fukinagashi) It is regarded as a variation of slanting style reflecting the strong influence of a frequently blowing wind from one side, and therefore with mostly one-sided growth of branches Nevertheless other bonsai styles such as formal and informal upright and semi-cascade can show typical features of wind swept style. Literati style (Bunjin) Style derived from traditional Chinese scroll paintings of the literati. Branches begin only at the top of a relatively high, straight or mostly gently curved trunk. A half or three quarters of the trunk is bare. Branches form a small crone with sparse foliage. They are crossing sometimes the trunk or other branches what is never seen at other styles Round, hexagonal or octagonal pots are preferred. twin trunk Twin-trunk style Two trunks emerge from the same root system. The division between the two trunks should be close to the base. Their thickness and high should be different. The shape of both trunks should have the same general line. Because one of them is smaller this style is often called “Father and Son” or “Mother and son” or “Mother and Daughter” style. The shaping of the branches is similar to a single tree. multi trunk Multi-trunk style (Clump style) An irregular number of trunks emerge from the same root system. The division of the trunks should be close to the base. The thickest and tallest trunk is the main tree, the others should be lower and thinner and so designed that the overall outline is triangular or dome-like. Forest planting (Group planting) (Yose-ue) An odd number of trees of the same specie is planted together in a container. The general shape of the trees should be similar in order to create a harmonious arrangement. The main tree is placed off-centre in the container according to the rules of the golden section. Smaller complementary trees are placed on either side. Smaller trees are place in the back in order to create depth. Raft style (Ikadabuki) It simulates a fallen trunk blown down by wind. Three or more odd number of trunks (former branches) rises from a single horizontally lying straight trunk. It is possible to create “artificially” a raft style by laying a single trunk down on its side and induce the formation of roots on the underside and train branches of the upper side into new trunks. root over rock Root-over-rock style (Sekijoju) A single tree is planted on a rock with the exposed roots which are going down by clinging tightly to the rock before going into the soil. The exposed (visible) roots form quasi a part of the trunk. exposed root Exposed root style (Neagari) The style suggests a tree which roots are washed out from the soil by water. Most of the upper root system is exposed to the air giving the impression of stilts. join bci Compare Plans Join BCI for an international perspective of Bonsai and Viewing Stone Appreciation.
Follow Us On : Leadership Development To make a good Listener As they get older and more able to use words, children begin to ask lots of questions. By listening carefully and doing your best to answer their questions, you will show them that learning is fun. Listening is another way of showing that you are interested and care about them. Even when kids are asking for something they can't have, they need an answer and a simple explanation. Children love stories about themselves - it helps them feel loved and important. You could make a scrapbook or album that's all about your child from the time they were born. Download Brochure Here To make a good Listener
I'm off to Yellowstone! Want to go to early Mars? How about Venus? Titan? Enceladus? Unless you've got a cool $100 billion sitting around, you probably can't. What you can do, however, is find someplace on Earth that looks the same. Last year I visited Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, likely a good analog for the volcanic environments that could have supported life on early Mars. This year I'll be joining some of my fellow astronomy and geology students for some field work in Yellowstone National Park. Features like the Grand Prismatic Spring could host life that may most closely resemble what we hope to find on other worlds. (Image credit: National Park Service) It's been about a decade since my last trip to Yellowstone, but I remember many of its sights as if I'd just returned. One of Earth's most remarkable locations, it is hardly surprising that Yellowstone became the world's first national park in 1872. Since then it has wowed untold millions of visitors from nearly every nation on Earth. But it's more than just a pretty attraction - for decades it has been an important area for research in planetary science. Its famous hot springs host a range of flora and fauna found in few other locations. These organisms live in water hot enough to boil. Such creatures are probably the only ones we have hope of finding elsewhere in the solar system. It's not just extreme temperatures that would challenge extraterrestrial life, though. Unusual and harsh chemical environments pose an obstacle to success; Yellowstone's sulfur-rich pools support some of the most unusual ecosystems on Earth. It's not just the creatures which make Yellowstone interesting from a cosmic perspective, however. The entire park sits within the basin of a giant super-volcano. Volcanos helped shape early Earth and likely contributed to the development of Venus and Mars. Perhaps even the Moon once had volcanoes. Like Mars today, Yellowstone's volcano is (thankfully!) inactive. Yet its heat still drives hydrothermal activity that results in the park's spectacular geysers. This process might be similar to what is happening on Enceladus, where geysers shoot jets of water thousands of kilometers into space. But let's be honest here. Even if Yellowstone resembled nowhere else in the solar system, I'd still be going. It's one of the most remarkable regions on Earth and a sight everyone should get to see. The park provides a vivid reminder of the incredible diversity of life and landforms that natural processes can generate.
25 October 2016 Astro Pi Data: Daily Pattern Statistics So far we've seen how to write Python code to that loads and process Astro Pi CSV data files and how to filter the data for a specific date. In this post we'll using some simple statistics functions to analyse each day in our data set to spot where something out of the ordinary happened. To begin load up the date filter code and add a new import at the top (note you'll need to use Python 3.4 or later for this library module):. import statistics Now add these two new function definitions: The get_first_date() function finds the first date in the date set. While the second collect_stats() calls this function before looping through all the rows to build date-specific data list for the specified column. Then we call the statistics mean and variance statistical functions of our date-specific data collection. These values are then printed out. Finally, in the main code area, we simply call the collect_daily_stats() function with our chosen column number. As you can see from the output there was a big variance in the humidity data on 21st February 2016. 2016-02-17 humidity: count=4740 mean=45.41 variance=0.12 2016-02-18 humidity: count=8565 mean=45.54 variance=0.68 2016-02-19 humidity: count=8555 mean=45.22 variance=1.97 2016-02-20 humidity: count=8579 mean=44.90 variance=0.12 2016-02-21 humidity: count=8557 mean=49.07 variance=20.28 2016-02-22 humidity: count=8559 mean=47.65 variance=0.47 2016-02-23 humidity: count=8559 mean=47.12 variance=0.73 2016-02-24 humidity: count=8564 mean=47.34 variance=0.31 2016-02-25 humidity: count=8559 mean=46.86 variance=0.12 2016-02-26 humidity: count=8570 mean=46.49 variance=0.23 2016-02-27 humidity: count=8560 mean=45.73 variance=0.14 2016-02-28 humidity: count=8561 mean=45.71 variance=0.08 2016-02-29 humidity: count=8575 mean=45.02 variance=0.08 The Python statistics library model has many other functions, so have some fun experimenting with some other statistical techniques. Start coding today with my Learn Python on the Raspberry Pi tutorial. 1 September 2016 Astro Pi Data: Python Date Filter In my previous Astro Pi Data post I showed how to load and process the downloadable Astro Pi Science CSV files using Python. As I've already mentioned these CSV data files have over 100,000 rows. With this mind let's look at how to extract the data for one particular day. We're going to start with the Python Basics code from last time, then add a new function and replace the processing loop. Our function needs to take two parameters: the full list of rows and the date in question. It returned a new list containing only the date-matched rows. Here's the Python 3 code: Now we can call this function to populate a list variable with the date-specific data. After this we'll replace the previous row processing loop with one that iterates through the returned list. Here's the code: Next time we'll write code to identify interesting days using statistical methods. 22 August 2016 Astro Pi Data: Python Basics The adventures of Ed and Izzy aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have generated plenty of interest the the Raspberry Pi community and beyond. And so has the downloadable science data captured by sensors on the Astro Pi modules. However, these CSV data files are large, even the smallest has over 100,000 rows. Consequently loading a CSV file into a spreadsheet for analysis is a long, slow process. A far more flexible option is to write some code. But how do you get started? Here's a short Python 3 program (see below) that loads the CSV data in preparation for further analysis. Let's look at the code. At the top we the Python module library imports followed by a few column number constants. You can add as many of these as you need. Here's the full column list. Next we have the 'load_csv' function definition. It's this function that extracts data from the file and puts it into a two dimensional list, corresponding to the rows and columns of the spreadsheet. Then it extract the column names, from the first row, before removing this row. It returns the column names and data list. Now we can call the 'load_csv' function with the CSV file name and store the returned column names and data list in variables. Finally we set up a row processing loop. Here we just loop through the first 100 rows to get the humidity and timestamp data. But you could choose an alternative range or different column. Next time we'll create a data filter. 22 July 2016 Astro Pi Data: CSV Columns The downloadable Astro Pi Science Data CSV files contain quite a few columns. The scope includes Astro Pi temperature, ambient temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, 3D orientation, 3D acceleration, 3D magnetic field strength and 3D rotation. Thankfully they all have meaningful names. Here's the full list: row_id: Unique row identity number for each row temp_cpu: Raspberry Pi CPU temperature degrees in Celsius temp_h: Ambient temperature in Celsius (Sense HAT humidity sensor) temp_p: Ambient temperature in Celsius (Sense HAT pressure sensor) humidity: The percent relative humidity (Sense HAT humidity sensor) pressure: Air pressure in millibars (Sense HAT pressure sensor) pitch: Pitch orientation angle from 0 to 360 degrees (Sense HAT accel + gyro + mag data) roll: Roll orientation angle from 0 to 360 degrees (Sense HAT accel + gyro + mag data) yaw: Yaw orientation angle from 0 to 360 degrees (Sense HAT accel + gyro + mag data) mag_x: X axis magnetic field strength in micro-teslas (Sense HAT magnetometer) mag_y: Y axis magnetic field strength in micro-teslas (Sense HAT magnetometer) mag_z: Z axis magnetic field strength in micro-teslas (Sense HAT magnetometer) accel_x: The acceleration intensity of the X axis in Gs (Sense HAT accelerometer) accel_y: The acceleration intensity of the Y axis in Gs (Sense HAT accelerometer) accel_zv: The acceleration intensity of the Z axis in Gs (Sense HAT accelerometer) gyro_x: X axis rotational intensity in radians per second (Sense HAT gyroscope) gyro_y: Y axis rotational intensity in radians per second (Sense HAT gyroscope) gyro_z: Z axis rotational intensity in radians per second (Sense HAT gyroscope) reset: Copy of the Raspberry Pi CPU reset register time_stamp: Date and time of data readings (Astro Pi real-time clock) Also see my Astro Pi Data: Python Basics tutorial post. 19 July 2016 Astro Pi Data: Build Your Own Astro Pi Would you like to build your very own Astro Pi to perform scientific experiments? Well all you need is a Raspberry Pi board, a camera module and a Sense HAT. Some experiments can be done with the camera alone, but it's the Sense HAT that offers the most experimental potential. Priced at under £30 the Sense HAT is a true multi-functional beast. Here's the feature list: • 8×8 RGB LED display • Gyroscope • Accelerometer • Magnetometer • Temperature sensor • Humidity sensors • Barometric pressure sensor • Mini 5 button joystick For robustness Ed and Izzy are housed in a custom-made 6063 grade aluminium flight case. Yet you can even replicate this feature too as a Raspberry Pi blog post explains how to fabricate an Astro PI case using a 3D printer. Also see my Astro Pi Data: Python Basics tutorial post. 29 May 2016 Learn Python - Tom And Tim Stomp Creating turtle called Tom was fun. But why stick with just one turtle? Let's write a program that creates a pair of turtles, Tom and Tim, and control them both at the same time. Here's what you'll see... Let's get coding. Open a new file in your editor and save it as turtle-pair.py, then type in the code below: from turtle import * # create Tom tom = Turtle() # create Tim tim = Turtle() # starting positions # stomp around dist = 8 for i in range(30): dist += 2 After the import statement we have two code blocks that create Tom and Tim. These turtles have different body and pen colours. Next we send the turtles to their respective starting positions. Notice that while Tim moves forwards, Tom moves backwards. This gives each turtle their own space to move around in. Once again we'll use the penup command to stop the turtles drawing. Now we come to the main movement loop. Inside the loop we've used the stamp command to leave a coloured impression of our turtles on the screen. The 'stamping' loop moves the turtles in a circular motion. The every increasing step distance is specified by the dist variable. We add two to this value every time the loop repeats. Save the code, run the program and watch Tim and Tom perform some synchronised stomping! A post from my Learn Python on the Raspberry Pi tutorial. 20 April 2016 Coding with Raspbian Jessie Sonic Pi Code Editors 31 March 2016 Windows IoT on the Raspberry Pi 3 At the same time as the Raspberry Pi 3 announcement a Microsoft blog post talked about the Pi 3 compatible preview version of its Windows 10 operating system for IoT Devices. To discover more about Windows 10 IoT Core development visit the Windows 10 IoT website. Microsoft also said it is in talks with Element14 about pre-loading Windows 10 IoT Core onto Pi devices. However, with its 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU and 1GB RAM the Raspberry Pi 3 might be powerful enough to run a full version of Windows. And that would be an interesting development. Begin Pi 3 coding with my Learn Python on the Raspberry Pi tutorials.
You Can Alter Your Genetic Destiny with a Healthful Diet by Sharon Palmer, R.D. At one time, if your mother had cancer, your genetic destiny for this disease seemed to be etched in stone. At least that was the old way of thinking about genetic predisposition for diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. But there's been a paradigm shift in the way experts understand our inherited genetic profile, according to Roderick H. Dashwood, Ph.D., who spoke on genetics and nutrition at the 10th Annual Nutrition and Health Conference in Seattle in May. Just as we pass down genes for eye color and body frame from generation to generation, so also we pass down genes for disease susceptibility. But Dashwood reports that scientists now know that genes can be switched on and off. DNA and other proteins in the gene contain molecular "tags" that instruct a gene to be active or inactive. Environment and lifestyle can trigger these tags to be added or removed--essentially turning the gene on or off. Basically, you can alter your gene expression--the process by which inheritable information from a gene is translated and made into a functional gene product in the cell--and thus suppress the path of disease. For example, in the case of a genetic risk for cancer, Dashwood notes, "This has led to the idea that we might be able to drive cancer cells the other direction. You can turn on tumor suppressor genes to silence cancer cells." The New Field of Nutrigenomics The understanding of genetics took a giant leap forward because of The Human Genome Project, a landmark endeavor which called upon a team of international researchers to map all of the genes--together known as the genome--of our species. Completed in 2003, it gave scientists the ability to read our genetic blueprint, and also opened up our knowledge of how we can modify the negative effects of our genetic profiles. Since then, the field of nutrigenomics--the study of how foods affect our genes, and how individual genetic makeup can make people respond to foods and nutrients in different ways--has grown. One of the most exciting aspects of nutrigenomics is its potential for opening up new avenues for preventing diseases that people are genetically predisposed to, such as diabetes, obesity, inflammatory disorders, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Diet Can Alter Your Genes What you put on your plate may make a big impact on your genetic profile--and even on that of your offspring. Animal studies have even shown that maternal diet can impose long-term alterations in the genetic expression of children. For example, a high-fat maternal diet can change the offspring's gene expression and behavior toward a desire for more palatable foods (Endocrinology, 2010). Your overall diet pattern, calorie intake, consumption of particular compounds and nutrients in foods, exposure to food chemicals, as well as lifestyle may affect how your genes function. While many foods and nutrients are being studied, here are some of the most exciting areas of interest in the field of nutrigenomics: 1. Diet pattern A healthy diet pattern may shift your genetic expression towards cancer protection, according to a 2013 study published in Nutrition Journal. Canadian researchers compared the effects on genetic profile of a healthy diet, which included high intakes of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, and low intakes of refined products, with a Western diet, which included high consumption of refined grains, sweets, and processed meats. Gene expression profiles pointed towards a potential increase for cancer risk with the Western diet, and decreased risk of cancer in the healthy diet group. 2. Lifestyle An overall healthy lifestyle may have an even more significant impact on your genome. Research shows that physical activity alone has a pronounced impact on genes, lowering risk for type 2 diabetes and obesity. And in a 2008 study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a lifestyle plan that included a healthy plant-based diet, moderate exercise, and stress management techniques altered the expression of over 500 genes in men with early-stage prostate cancer, indicating that these changes could help slow the progression of cancer. 3. Fruits and vegetables We know that eating lots of fruits and vegetables is good for a number of health benefits, and now you can add genes to the list. A 2010 Norwegian study showed that antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables induced changes in gene expression that optimized the body's defense processes. And research has zeroed in on the impact of specific plant foods on the genome. Scientific findings presented at the Annual Nutrition and Health Conference indicate that sulforaphane, a compound in broccoli, appears to turn on tumor inhibitor genes to suppress cancer. Other dietary components appear to have similar action, including iosthiocyanates, which are found in sulfur and cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage, kale, broccoli and watercress; organoselenium compounds found in garlic; biotin-rich foods such as chard and egg yolk, and alpha lipoic-acid-rich foods, such as green leafy vegetables. Other possible cancer suppressants include resveratrol in grape skins and red wine, isoflavones in soy, and bioactive compounds in walnuts, which might promote alterations in gene expression. 4. Micronutrients Many essential vitamins, such as B-vitamins, folic acid, and choline, provide important compounds called methyl groups that help create genetic tags that turn genes on or off. If you're diet is lacking in these nutrients, you may not be able to express the genes needed for good health, according to Lynn Adams, Ph.D., a Science and Technology Fellow with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 5. Food chemicals. Adams reports that some chemicals in the food system, such as bisphenol-A (BPA), found in food packaging and containers, can interfere with genetic expression in regions of the brain and reproductive organs, according to preliminary research. Stay Tuned For More Research It's worth noting that the research in nutrigenomics is still in its infancy, and it's too soon to know for sure how effective dietary changes are in altering gene expression on an individual basis. The good news is, the research coming in supports what we already know: An optimal diet for disease prevention is a Mediterranean eating pattern, rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, and low in highly refined grains, sweets and processed meats. Article: Copyright © 2017, Tribune Content Agency. "You Can Alter Your Genetic Destiny with a Healthful Diet"
Firstfruits - 16th day or first day of the week? Posted in Calendar Studies Calculating the Feasts of Firstfruits and Shavuot (aka Pentecost) One of the ongoing debates in the feast keeping community is how to calculate the timing for the feast of Firstfruits and, by extension, the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost). One school of thought is that Firstfruits is always on Aviv 16, the morrow after the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread. The other school of thought is that Firstfruits is always on the first day of the week, the morrow after the first seventh-day Sabbath following the first Day of Unleavened Bread. As always, I want to see from the Bible, and the Bible alone, which method of calculation is correct. Often you will see people point to Josephus, Ellen White, or other sources to answer this question. Frankly, what any post-Biblical historian cites can only be confirmation of the traditions being followed at the time of their writing, and is not necessarily what YHVH would have His people do. It is no different than asking any one person today what opinion that person holds – that one opinion does not equal Scripture. I don’t know of any post-Biblical historian who has advocated that their writing should supersede Scripture, and even if they were so presumptuous to suggest such a thing, it should land in the trash heap along with the Little Horn’s writings. So with that in mind, what can we learn solely from Scripture on this topic? The Biblical reference books I have employed in this study are: 1. The King James Bible 2. Strong’s Concordance 3. The Interlinear Bible 4. The Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament, by George Wigram 5. The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon Some of the key words involved in this study are as follows: (the English word, followed by the Hebrew transliteration in parenthesis, followed by the Hebrew Strong’s number, followed by the definition in the Brown-Driver-Briggs) • Feast (chag) 2282, festival-gathering, feast, pilgrim-feast • Feasts (moedim) 4150, appointed time, place, meeting • Rest (sabbaton) 7677, Sabbath observance, usually the phrase “Sabbath of sabbatic observance”. Used of weekly Sabbath (in Ex 31:15, 35:2, Lev 23:3, Ex 16:23), Day of Atonement, sabbatical year, Feast of Trumpets, and Feast of Tabernacles. • Sabbath (Shabbat) 7676, Sabbath • Seventh (shebebe) 7637, seventh (ordinal) • Weeks (Shavuot) 7620, period of seven, heptad, week Leviticus 23:9-14 detail Firstfruits, and Leviticus 23:15-22 detail the Feast of Weeks (aka Pentecost). In both sections, we are told that the key date is the morrow (Strong’s 4283) after the Sabbath (Strong’s 7676). The word for Sabbath, Strong’s 7676, is never translated as any other word than Sabbath(s), but that still doesn’t tell us if it refers to the annual Sabbath of Unleavened Bread, or the weekly seventh-day Sabbath. It also doesn’t tell us, as some people believe, that it simply means a period of any seven days, weeks, or years. There is a perfectly good Hebrew word that means "weeks" (shavuot), and that is not the term used here. We generally refer to all of YHVH’s feasts as “Sabbaths”, but the terms employed in Leviticus 23:2 are “feasts” (Strong’s 4150 “moed”) and “holy convocations” (Strong’s 6944, 4744). Verses 6-8, which detail Unleavened Bread, never call it a Sabbath, but rather a holy convocation. Elsewhere, it is called an ordinance (Strong’s 2708, Exodus 12:17), feast (Strong’s 2282 “chag” in Exodus 13:6, 23:15, 34:18, Leviticus 23:6, and Numbers 28:17), and a solemn assembly (Strong’s 6116, Deuteronomy 16:8). I was unable to find a single instance of the First Day of Unleavened Bread ever referred to as a “Sabbath” (Strong’s 7676). In fact, those terms only appear in the same verse one time (2 Chronicles 8:13) and it is clear that 7676 is the seventh day of the week, and 4682 (unleavened bread) is the feast day. Of all of the moedim, I could only find the term 7676 Sabbath, standing alone, being applied to the seventh day of the week. Occasionally you will see the term “Sabbath of rest” applied to one of the moedim, which is Sabbath (7676) of rest (7677 sabbaton), but never did I find this term applied to Unleavened Bread. This phrase is also used to apply to the Sabbatical years. As such, there is no precedence or hint in Scripture to lead us to the conclusion that the word Sabbath (7676) is meant to refer to Unleavened Bread for purposes of timing Firstfruits and Shavuot. The only precedence would be to interpret it to mean the seventh day of the week. (To see a chart of the adjectives used in Leviticus 23, click here: http://www.nailedtocross.com/index.php/articles/holy-days-holidays/94-leviticus-23-adjectives) Additionally, for the timing of Shavuot, we are told in Leviticus 23:16 that it is the morrow after the “seventh Sabbath” (7637, 7676), and that it will be 50 days. You cannot count seven Sabbaths (when counting both annual and weekly) and have the morrow after be the 50th day. People who adhere to the theory that Pentecost is always the 6th day of the third month interpret the term Sabbath (7676) in this instance as referring to any set of seven days (one week), so it could be the seven days from a Monday through Sunday, Wednesday through Tuesday, etc. Nowhere else in Scripture does 7676 mean “weeks”. In fact, Hebrew has a word for “week” that does mean any seven consecutive days, Strong’s 7620, shauvot. But that is not the term employed in Leviticus 23:16. We are not told to count seven weeks, but rather seven rest days. Had YHVH intended us to count weeks that could begin on any day, rather than Seventh-day Sabbaths, he would have specified it as such. We will see 7676 used in Leviticus 25, speaking of the Sabbath years, in the term “seven Sabbaths of years”. Some people point to this use to say that Sabbath can refer to any unit of seven, so by extension when used in timing of Firstfruits and Shavuot the 7676 can mean any set of seven days. But the phrase in Leviticus 25:8 includes the words seven and years. The 7676 does not translate as seven, nor does it translate as years. It only means rest. So for timing of Shavuot, when using this Scripture as a reference it should teach us that we are to count seven “rests” not seven “weeks” that might start at any arbitrary given point. God, who does things with simplicity (2 Corinthians 11:3) so that even a child can understand (Matthew 18:3, et al), and who is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), would have no logical reason to make this term mean something different (Unleavened Bread) this one time than it means every other time it appears (Sabbath, rest). Especially when he could simply have done like he did with all of the other feasts days, and said that Firstfruits is always the 16th day of the first month, and Shavuot is always the 6th day of the third month, if that was what he meant. Or when he could have said to count seven “weeks” instead of seven “Sabbaths” if that is what he meant. The only logical reason for phrasing it with the words and method he uses is if indeed, he wanted us to have to count the weeks and days to arrive at the correct date. There would be no purpose for him giving counting instructions if he intended a set date. (NOTE: In Deuteronomy 16:9 it does use the term “seven weeks” (7620) instead of “seven Sabbaths” (7676), but it is also linked with counting those weeks after the day of Firstfruits, so the only time that “weeks” is used instead of “Sabbaths”, by pointing us back to the day of putting “the sickle to the grain” it still points to the morrow after the 7676 Sabbath. As such, the weeks would be from Sabbath to Sabbath, and not referring to any arbitrary period of seven days.) Like most Hebraic Roots believers, and in fulfillment of the only sign He promised, given in Matthew 12:40, I understand the crucifixion to have fallen on Wednesday with Yeshua being resurrected at the end of the seventh day Sabbath. I have other articles (see link below) that explain this, so I won’t cover it here. In this scenario, it is further evidence that the “Sabbath” referred to in the counting of Firstfruits had to be the 7th day. If the Firstfruits was the 16th, and Yahshua was in the grave on the 15th and 16th and raising on the 17th, it would have been impossible for him to be the Firstfruits offering (as he is claimed to be in 1 Corinthians 15:20 and 23) on the 16th. But if he rose late on Saturday (17th), told Mary not to touch him on Sunday (18th) morning, then he ascended to heaven the be the Firstfruits offering on Sunday, and returned to earth and allowed Thomas to touch him Sunday evening, that fits with the interpretation that Firstfruits always falls on the first day of the week. 1. There is no Biblical basis for interpreting the 7676 Sabbath in Leviticus 23:11 as anything other than the weekly seventh-day Sabbath. There is no precedence for interpreting it to mean the Feast of Unleavened Bread, since that holy day is never referred to as a 7676 Sabbath anywhere in Scripture. 2. There is no Biblical basis for interpreting the 7676 Sabbath(s) in Leviticus 23:15-16 as anything other than seven consecutive weekly seventh-day Sabbaths. There is no precedence for interpreting it to mean any seven day period beginning on any other day of the week. 3. As such, these two movable feasts will always fall on the first day of the week. To those who have come to a different conclusion, here are my questions to you: 1) Where can you find a single verifiable instance where 7676 specifically refers to Unleavened Bread? 2) Where can you find a single verifiable instance where 7676 specifically refers to any seven day period instead of to the seventh-day Sabbath? 3) Can you give a credible explanation why God didn’t just spell out the dates like he did every other feast day, and instead gave a formula to count, if no counting is necessary to arrive at the correct date? 4) Can you give a credible explanation why God would use 7676 (Sabbath) instead of 7620 (week) in Leviticus 23:15? 5) Can you explain either a) how Yahshua could be our Firstfruits if he was in the grave on the day of Firstfruits (if you accept the Wednesday crucifixion), or b) how He could be our Messiah if he was not in the grave the 3 days and 3 nights that he said in Matthew 12:40 was the only sign we would be given (if you accept a Friday crucifixion)? As with all understanding of Scripture, it is up to you to study to show yourself approved. (2 Timothy 2:15) May whoever reads this study be blessed. See you at the Feasts! # # # Postscript: In years in which the first day of Unleavened Bread falls on a Sunday and ends on Saturday (as happened in 2015), there are two schools of thought on when the day of Firstfruits should be. Which "Sabbath" do we take the morrow of? The Sabbath the day before the start of the week of Unleavened Bread, or the following Sabbath which makes the day of Firstfruits not fall within the week of Unleavened Bread? Because I believe that the day of Firstfruits must fall within the week of Unleavened Bread, I tend to agree with the first interpretation. Maybe one day I'll do a detailed study on why. In the meantime, Nehemia Gordon (one of my favorite Hebrew/Jewish teachers) has done a study that addresses the timing of Shavuot, which you may find helpful in your study: http://www.nehemiaswall.com/truth-shavuot#more-1875. In an April 10, 2015 email to his supporters, he wrote: "My conclusion based on Jewish history and biblical evidence is that the count must begin on April 5, 2015, "the morrow" being the operative part of the commandment. Not everyone has agreed with this position, resulting in some counting from April 12." # # # Click here to read more about the crucifixion timing of Wednesday: http://nailedtocross.com/index.php/articles/calendar-studies/6-crucifixion-3-days-and-3-nights-wednesday-through-saturday-recognizing-the-true-messiah
robotics and animatronics Best Robot Kits for Beginners Beginners in search of the best robot kit to learn about robotics have some excellent choices. The lower cost of sensors, circuit board manufacturing and microcontroller chips allows the creators of current robot kits to offer a fairly sophisticated robot for a reasonable cost. A good beginner's robot kit should teach the robot builder about controlling a robot, how sensors are useful for a robot, embedded microcontrollers, robot power options, and a little about programming the robot. A beginner kit should not require the robot builder to be a programming expert or require any soldering. In addition, kids beginner robot kits should have a robot body that is easy to assemble. Here are some of the best beginner robot kits on the market: 1. Parallax BOE-BOT Robot Kit The BOE-BOT is a simple, but fairly sophisticated robot kit offered by Parallax. The instructions for this kit guide robot builders through assembling the robot step-by-step. During each step builders will learn the function of each part, including how sensors work, how to program the Basic Stamp microcontroller using the free Basic programming language from Parallax, and more. Programming is transfered directly from a computer through a serial or USB (depending on the version of the kit) port to the robot circuit board. The basic programming language is very easy to learn, even for people who have never programmed. If users do no want to program, the example code is available from the Parallax website or copy it directly from the .PDF version of the manual into the programming software. This kit requires no soldering. Everything is plugged into the provided breadboard on top the robot. 2. Solarbotics Sandwich Robot Solarbotics sandwich robot The "Robot Building for Beginners" book from David Cook is one of the best beginner robot books on the market. This book introduces the concept of building a simple robot called the "Sandwich". This robot uses simple electronics and some basic sensors to move around. Two greatfeatures which make this a great option for beginning robot builders is the cost of the robot and the information provided in the book. Newbies to robotics will enjoy the simple instruction in the book and learn many new concepts. The world-famous Lego Mindstorms robot platform has many fans. It is also a very solid beginner robotic platform. Construction of the robot is as easy as assembling a Lego kit. Programming of the Mindstorms is performed graphically on a computer, with the provided software from Lego. There are extra sensors and accessories for the Mindstorms platform to add functionality. 4. Parallax Scribbler 2 (S2) Robot The Scribbler 2, now known as the S2, has built upon the entry-level Scribbler robot platform to add new features. The S2 is a pre-assembled robot that also is preprogrammed with many common robot routines so users can try it right out of the box. The robot is pre-programmed with line-following, object seeking, object avoiding, light seeking, and more programs that allow different types of manevering. The S2 is a good beginner robotic platform for those who do not want to spend the time building the robot and who only want limited expansion in the future.
The Constitution - The rise of presidential power The rise of presidential hegemony over foreign affairs is perhaps the most outstanding, though lamentable, characteristic of a constitutional system that establishes congressional primacy. The emergence of what Arthur Schlesinger Jr. aptly described in the title of his splendid book The Imperial Presidency —the exaltation of presidential power in foreign affairs—is deeply in conflict with the constitutional blueprint for the formulation and conduct of American foreign policy. The Framers, who feared the exercise of unilateral presidential power in foreign affairs, rejected the conventional wisdom of their time—centralization of foreign affairs powers in the executive—and assigned to Congress senior status in a partnership with the president for the management of foreign relations. That arrangement largely prevailed for most of the nation's first 150 years, but it succumbed to presidential domination in the post–World War II era. Thus constitutional governance of foreign affairs was a principal casualty of the Cold War, a chronic international crisis that afforded a pretext for the executive assumption of prerogative-like powers that the Framers had denied to the president. In the context of the Cold War, Americans—members of Congress, judges, scholars, and reporters—exhibited fawning deference to the president in foreign affairs. Lacking confidence in its own information and judgment, the citizenry imbibed the rhetoric of presidential expertise, experience, and judgment; a literature of abnegation advised the nation of the virtues of unfettered executive control of foreign policy. The pervasive sentiment of the Cold War urged blind trust of the executive on the ground that he alone possessed the information, facts, and experience necessary to safeguard U.S. interests. And presidents acted the part. Executive usurpation of the war power became a commonplace; executive secrecy and control of information became the norm; and covert operations—military, political, and economic—avoided congressional radar and public perception. Congress was reduced to the role of spectator. For many, presidential practice across two centuries confirms the wisdom of the original design, for the theory of executive unilateralism, as well as its traditional, underlying arguments, was exploded in the tragedy of the Vietnam War. Few doctrines have been so troubling, dangerous, and antidemocratic. It led not only to the Vietnam War and to the Iran-Contra affair but to the entrenchment of presidential supremacy in foreign relations, with its attendant military and policy failures from Cuba and Cambodia to Lebanon and Somalia. Moreover, nothing in the broader historical record suggests that the conduct of foreign relations by executive elites has produced wholesome results. Indeed, the wreckage of empires on executive foreign policies provides ample evidence that, as the British jurist and diplomat Lord Bryce noted, the wisdom of "classes" is less than the "masses." The contention that the wisdom of one is superior to that of many is philosophically defective, historically untenable, and fundamentally undemocratic. Since Aristotle, we have known that information alone is not a guarantee of political success; what matters are the values of the system and ultimately those of its decision makers. There is "nothing more fallible," wrote James Iredell, a member of the first Supreme Court and a delegate to the North Carolina ratifying convention, than "human judgment," a fundamental philosophical insight reflected in the Framers' embrace of the doctrines of separation of powers and checks and balances, and their rejection of presidential unilateralism in foreign affairs. User Contributions: The Constitution forum
13 Little Blue Envelopes Quiz \| Eight Week Quiz B Maureen Johnson Buy the 13 Little Blue Envelopes Lesson Plans Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________ This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Part 3: Pages 71 - 92. Multiple Choice Questions 1. Who is Richard? (a) The man who answers the door at 54a. (b) Ginny's father. (c) A man who shows Ginny how to read the subway map. (d) A man who worked for Ginny's aunt for 30 years. 2. How does Keith characterize his younger years? (a) As being a hooligan. (b) As always wanting to go into theater but did not have the courage. (c) As being very protected. (d) As being a nerd. 3. What do Ginny and Keith drive to his next show? (a) A Toyota. (b) A VW. (c) An ancient Mercedes. (d) A Land Rover. 4. What street is Ginny to find? (a) Amoroso. (b) Pennington. (c) Rue de Lafitte. (d) Henning. 5. What is one reason Ginny is having difficulties? (a) She is confused. (b) It's raining. (c) She is ill. (d) She is lost. Short Answer Questions 1. Where does Richard suggest Ginny go? 2. How does Aunt Peg die? 3. How does Ginny decide to distribute the money? 4. What is Ginny supposed to do with 500 pounds? 5. What other instructions did Ginny follow when packing? (see the answer key) This section contains 234 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) Buy the 13 Little Blue Envelopes Lesson Plans 13 Little Blue Envelopes from BookRags. (c)2017 BookRags, Inc. All rights reserved. Follow Us on Facebook
Beginning in 2009, the city of Boston switched its municipal trash pickup services to a single-stream recycling system. Residents and businesses alike were given big blue recycling bins that could accept every last bit of recycling, from plastic bottles to cardboard boxes. It is a system that we have discussed previously with other cities, and for the most part it seems that many users of single-stream recycling applaud the ability to dump all of their recyclables into one bin. But one writer at the Boston Globe has examined the results of Boston’s single-stream recycling and uncovered some sobering facts about the disposal process. When the garbage is hauled away from a customer, the mixed waste is taken to a large facility in Charlestown, north of Boston proper, where it is sorted by an army of waste management workers. Using hooks and other implements, they snatch out non-recyclable waste that inevitably ends up in the waste stream. According to the Globe’s Barbara Moran, approximately 10% of all waste brought to material processing facilities is thrown out. This is because the bulk of the waste is contaminated with food waste or is too small to even recycle. And once all of the salvageable bits are collected, such as aluminum, paper, and plastic, they are generally of poorer quality compared to separated recyclable deposits. This leads to roughly 25% of recyclables collected through single-stream being land-filled or incinerated, instead of being processed into manufacturing goods. As Moran reports, the worst hit recyclables are glass which have a finicky recycling process. Since a lot of glass products shatter during transit between recovery facilities and recycling plants, they are incredibly hard to reprocess in bulk. A large portion of glass material is reduced to small fragments from being jostled around. Specks this small are only good for asphalt mixtures or landfill cover. Larger bits of glass can be melted down, but even then there is the problem of contamination. All of these problems leads to only 60% of recycled glass that can be used for making other highly valuable glass products, such as fiberglass. Fortunately, the city of Boston has observed the current problems with single-stream recycling. The city council has put forward a ban on food-waste in recycling bins, as well as most trash containers in order to spur the creation of a composting infrastructure within the city limits. Similar composting measures have already been undertaken by surrounding communities, giving hope to advocates that the city’s waste problems can be fixed sooner rather than later. Hopefully, the introduction of composting will allow the city to realize its green ideals. Source via: The Boston Globe
The next foundation of mindfulness is feeling (vedana). The word "feeling" is used here, not in the sense of emotion (a complex phenomenon best subsumed under the third and fourth foundations of mindfulness), but in the narrower sense of the affective tone or "hedonic quality" of experience. This may be of three kinds, yielding three principal types of feeling: pleasant feeling, painful feeling, and neutral feeling. The Buddha teaches that feeling is an inseparable concomitant of consciousness, since every act of knowing is coloured by some affective tone. Thus feeling is present at every moment of experience; it may be strong or weak, clear or indistinct, but some feeling must accompany the cognition. Feeling arises in dependence on a mental event called "contact" (phassa). Contact marks the "coming together" of consciousness with the object via a sense faculty; it is the factor by virtue of which consciousness "touches" the object presenting itself to the mind through the sense organ. Thus there are six kinds of contact distinguished by the six sense faculties -- eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact, and mind-contact -- and six kinds of feeling distinguished by the contact from which they spring. Feeling acquires special importance as an object of contemplation because it is feeling that usually triggers the latent defilements into activity. The feelings may not be clearly registered, but in subtle ways they nourish and sustain the dispositions to unwholesome states. Thus when a pleasant feeling arises, we fall under the influence of the defilement greed and cling to it. When a painful feeling occurs, we respond with displeasure, hate, and fear, which are aspects of aversion. And when a neutral feeling occurs, we generally do not notice it, or let it lull us into a false sense of security -- states of mind governed by delusion. From this it can be seen that each of the root defilements is conditioned by a particular kind of feeling: greed by pleasant feeling, aversion by painful feeling, delusion by neutral feeling. But the link between feelings and the defilements is not a necessary one. Pleasure does not always have to lead to greed, pain to aversion, neutral feeling to delusion. The tie between them can be snapped, and one essential means for snapping it is mindfulness. Feeling will stir up a defilement only when it is not noticed, when it is indulged rather than observed. By turning it into an object of observation, mindfulness defuses the feeling so that it cannot provoke an unwholesome response. Then, instead of relating to the feeling by way of habit through attachment, repulsion, or apathy, we relate by way of contemplation, using the feeling as a springboard for understanding the nature of experience. In the early stages the contemplation of feeling involves attending to the arisen feelings, noting their distinctive qualities: pleasant, painful, neutral. The feeling is noted without identifying with it, without taking it to be "I" or "mine" or something happening "to me." Awareness is kept at the level of bare attention: one watches each feeling that arises, seeing it as merely a feeling, a bare mental event shorn of all subjective references, all pointers to an ego. The task is simply to note the feeling's quality, its tone of pleasure, pain, or neutrality. But as practice advances, as one goes on noting each feeling, letting it go and noting the next, the focus of attention shifts from the qualities of feelings to the process of feeling itself. The process reveals a ceaseless flux of feelings arising and dissolving, succeeding one another without a halt. Within the process there is nothing lasting. Feeling itself is only a stream of events, occasions of feeling flashing into being moment by moment, dissolving as soon as they arise. Thus begins the insight into impermanence, which, as it evolves, overturns the three unwholesome roots. There is no greed for pleasant feelings, no aversion for painful feelings, no delusion over neutral feelings. All are seen as merely fleeting and substanceless events devoid of any true enjoyment or basis for involvement. Recent Stories
Arcomagno - Calabria, Italy Calabria is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro. The most populated city and the seat of the Calabrian Regional Council, however, is Reggio. It is bounded to the north by the region of Basilicata, to the south-west by the region of Sicily, to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, and to the east by the Ionian Sea. The region covers 15,080 km2 (5,822 sq mi) and has a population of just over 2 million. The demonym of Calabria in English is Calabrian. In ancient times the name Calabria was used to refer to the southern part of Apulia, the peninsula of Salento (also known as the "heel" of Italy). Powered by Blogger.
Concussion could lead to depression Concussive brain injuries could cause depression for patients later in life, a new study has suggested. Researchers at Ohio State University used a mouse model to examine the effects of head injuries that resulted in a diffuse trauma to the organ. They found that the impact caused immune system brain cells called microglia to go on 'high alert' and become excessively inflammatory, with this exaggerated response still displayed a month later. This corresponded with the development of depressive behaviours that were not seen in uninjured mice. Furthermore, inflammation is known to be linked to depressive complications in humans. Lead author Jonathan Godbout said in the journal Biological Psychiatry that the discovery could explain the depression seen in older patients who experienced multiple head injuries as young people. 'A lot of people with a history of head injury don't develop mental health problems until they're in their 40s, 50s or 60s ... There can be a multiplier effect,' he added. Last month, a University of New Mexico study found the effects of concussion may last much longer than previously thought, with anomalies still present in the brains of affected patients four months post-injury. Read the abstractADNFCR-554-ID-801670620-ADNFCR More from Netdoctor: Two UK Ambulance paramedics in attendance at an outdoor event. 5 things a paramedic wants you to know "I can't imagine ever doing a permanent desk job" Dead rose on wooden table The first steps to take when a loved one dies You should know that there's no rush to make any decisions Older woman cycling Another reason to get moving! Woman sitting in bed holding her stomach Why are more young people getting bowel cancer? 5 things you can do every day to improve your body image Psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos shares her tips Woman yawning in bed No! It's not 'adrenal fatigue' making you tired Dr Roger Henderson on a trendy (but unlikely) diagnosis Broken scales The cancer your weight could be putting you at risk of 4,300 people die from the disease each year in the UK Baby in bunny outfit Everything you've ever wondered about skin allergies Close up of couple's feet in bed Sexual health What is sex with psoriasis really like? Holly Dillon gets real about getting intimate with a skin condition Cheering runner approaching finish line The 5 rules of marathon recovery It's as important as your pre-race training
Three Day Road Only available on StudyMode • Download(s) : 175 • Published : January 16, 2012 Open Document Text Preview He has thought to be quiet, mysterious and one of the best native Indian snipers in the world during world war one. His real name was Xavier Bird and they called him ‘X’. His fast precision and accurate aim, one could not compare him to any other soldier in the British Army. Who would have known what would be left of Xavier after? Although, Xavier was one of the survivors of the war, the destructive consequences have impacted and created many losses, physically, socially and mentally. Xavier was a young, handsome man with an immense duty in the war to defend his country from Europe’s Western Front and save himself. In the process of this, he has lost, physically, his naturally ability to live his everyday life normally. In the summer of 1919, he is alone, in unimaginable pain from an amputated leg and dying from a spirit broken by the nightmare of war. He is unable to walk on his own and is in need of crutches where ever he goes. “‘Look at my leg, Auntie,’ he whispered. There is anger in his tone. ‘Look at what’s left of it.’ He has pulled up the material of his pants and a red nub pokes out above where his knee should be.” (Boyden. 357) Xavier feels helpless with his missing leg destroyed in battle and feels as if his whole world is crashing down. This consequence of war has made him barely unable to move around, constantly needing support to get through his daily routines. With the pain in his leg affecting his heart and arms all together, there may be a chance for ‘’the pain in the heart to kill him’’ (Boyden. 288) The catastrophic pain in his arms, leg and heart, Xavier’s health has also been a leading problem. He does not eat because his body feeds on despair and he ‘’fights the sleep that pulls at me [Xavier]’’. (Boyden. 11) He does not feel the need to because of his lack of meals and sleep during his time at the war. Xavier’s body has weaken to an unsatisfactory state that Niska (Xavier’s aunt) must ‘’place her mouth against his and in this way feed... tracking img
1. Wonder Bunny Math Race (Math) 1. Rules for Wonder Bunny Math Race 1. Do the math that the game gives you as the bunny (you) are running to the end of the race tap the right number on the fines to have the bunny jump over it. 2. As you are doing the race you can get extra points by tapping vegetables that a bunny would like to eat. 1. With the extra points you can make the bonny into different colors and patterns 1. Look for 1. What was the hardest math problem for you to work out without paper. 1. TeachMe: 1st Grade (reading) 1. Rules for TeachMe: 1st Grade 1. Go to sight words 2. Work on Sight words with your child earn coins and go to the town to spend the coins! 1. Look for 1. What color is one of the stores in the town 2. How many stores does the town have? 1. Musical Journey for Kids (Wildcard) 1. Rules for Musical Journey for Kids 1. Go to other countries and learn about their music. 1. Look for 1. How many countries can you go to. 2. What colors of flags are their. 3. What was your favorite city? 1. 123 Color 1. Rules for 123 Color. 1. Pick out a picture and take turns coloring. 1. Look for 1. What picture or pictures did you color.
Loading presentation... Present Remotely Send the link below via email or IM Present to your audience Start remote presentation • Invited audience members will follow you as you navigate and present • People invited to a presentation do not need a Prezi account • This link expires 10 minutes after you close the presentation • A maximum of 30 users can follow your presentation • Learn more about this feature in our knowledge base article Do you really want to delete this prezi? Make your likes visible on Facebook? You can change this under Settings & Account at any time. No, thanks Review for Biology Exam Ch. 2 No description Tracey Cook on 8 January 2017 Comments (0) Please log in to add your comment. Report abuse Transcript of Review for Biology Exam Ch. 2 Review for Chemistry/Biochemistry Exam What particles make up atoms? protons, neutrons and electrons What does the space surrounding the nucleus contain? What particles are in the nucleus? protons and neutrons What is an isotope? What can radioactive isotopes be used for? What elements can be found in water? What kind of bond involves the transfer of electrons? What is the most abundant compound in most living things? What does polar mean? What part of the water molecule is positive? negative? What is an even distributed mixture of two or more substances? What part of a mixture does the dissolving What part of a mixture is dissolved? What type of mixture is it when the particles settle out over time or are undissolved? What is the pH of an acid? What is the pH of a base? What types of solutions would contain high concentrations of H+ (higher than pure water)? What types of solutions would contain low concentrations of H+ (lower than pure water)? Monosaccharides and polysaccharides would be examples of what? What macromolecules would be the main source of energy for living things? What are the functions of proteins? What is the product in a reaction? What is the reactant in a reaction? What is the energy needed to get chemical reactions started? In comparison to other liquids, does water boil slowly or quickly? What makes water polar? How do acids taste? How would a base feel? Name a type of nucleic acid... What do nucleic acids do? Glycogen, starch and cellulose are all examples of what? Where would you find glycogen? Where would you find starch? Where would you find cellulose? What is cohesion? What is adhesion? What is the movement of water against gravity? What are lipids made out of? What are sugars made out of? What kind of carbohydrate would a polysaccharide be (simple or complex)? What kind of carbohydrate would a monosaccharide be (simple or complex)? atoms of the same element that differ in the number of neutrons treat cancer date rocks kill bacteria atoms of two or more elements that are joined by chemical bonds What is a compound? H and O What kind of bond involves the sharing of electrons? partial negative and partial positive charge H+ and O- carbohydrates or sugars structural, enzymes, antibodies and hormones chemical or chemicals to the right of the arrow chemical or chemicals to the left of the arrow activation energy partial + and partial - charge store information animal liver plant cell walls water molecules bonding water molecules bonding to solid surfaces fatty acids plants! (especially roots) Full transcript
Standard pharmaceutical products are evaluated in both clinical trials (to measure efficacy) but also more basic tests – such as whether a drug that is ingested is actually absorbed into the bloodstream. A promising drug won’t work if it doesn’t reach the desired site of action. And to do that, we use a variety of tools and processes to ensure that a drug is reliably and predictably absorbed when we use it, whether by ingesting it, rubbing it on our skin, or injecting it. Excipients can be described as any components of a drug product that are not the “API”, the active pharmaceutical ingredient. Excipients serve to keep the API stable, help its absorption, and simplify the manufacturing process.They help ensure that products are consistent – batch to batch and bottle to bottle. Excipients also help improve consumer acceptance and usage. It took me some time as a pharmacist before I realized why supplement manufacturers strive to minimize the use of excipents in their products. It’s because the consistency, absorption and effectiveness of most products hasn’t been measured, and doesn’t need to be evaluated. That is, there’s no testing done to see if the product is absorbed consistently. You can’t control what you don’t know, and with the majority of herbal products, there’s no standardization of the active ingredient – because it may not even be clear what the active ingredients actually are. So any attempt to produce a consistent product is complicated by the lack of an API, and not knowing what type of product consistency is needed. I’m asked about excipients regularly. There are hundreds in use, and their presence can be confusing to consumers, who may not understand their role. Patients may also have personal concerns about a specific type of excipient, or may need to avoid specific substances due to allergies. Here are some of the inactive ingredients you may see listed on on a package’s label – and why they’re there: Fillers/Diluents/Bulk Materials To make dosage forms a reasonable size, bulk materials are added to give size to finished products. (Imagine the size of a 100 microgram tablet without any fillers). Bulk materials also ease processing and manufacturing. They may influence the flow of the material during manufacturing, and can impact on the final product’s stability. Typical fillers for tablets and capsules include starch, calcium salts, and sugars like lactose. In liquid formulations, materials like glycerine and water are used to dissolve (or suspend) active ingredients and simplify dose measurements. Alcohol, a historically popular diluent, is now rarely used. Topical products like creams and lotions use fillers like mineral oil, petrolatum, lanolin and various waxes. Lactose is a common filler and sweetener (see below) in many prescription and non-prescription drugs. While intolerance is possible, the small amounts in most drugs makes the risk minimal. Coatings and Disintegrants Once the dosage form is consumed, we want it to dissolve in a consistent manner. Products that don’t dissolve are not absorbed. Disintegrants break up a tablet or capsule at the appropriate time. Most orally consumed APIs are stable in stomach acid and disintegrate within a few minutes of ingestion. Some can be absorbed under the tongue, so disintegrating agents ensure that products like nitroglycerine dissolve immediately upon contact with saliva. Common disintegrating agents include alginic acid, microcrystalline cellulose, and various forms of starch. Coatings provide protection of the final product from light, oxygen, and moisture. Coatings can include gluten, (food grade) shellac, and gelatin. Some drugs are destroyed by stomach acid, so a combination of coatings and disintegrants ensure they dissolve late, after the intact tablet has passed into the small intestine, a less acidic environement. Acid-resistant (“enteric”) coatings, like cellulose acetate phthalate, work this way. That’s why some products must not be crushed or chewed before swallowing: The active ingredient would otherwise be destroyed by stomach acid. Lubricants are incorporated into dosage forms to support the manufacturing process. They can reduce static charges, and ease the flow of the powder form, ensuring products will have a consistent content of the API per unit. Lubricants impact on the dissolution of the final dosage form, affecting the absorbtion rate and extent. Lubricants include calcium and magnesium stearate, polyethylene glycol, stearic acid, and talc. Sweeteners and Flavoring Agents Sweetener products and flavoring agents make final products palatable. If you’ve ever tried to give a child a foul-tasting medication, you already have an appreciation of palatability. Palatability means that people will take their medication – a basic yet critical component of science-based medicine. In solid oral products, like tablets, sweeteners and flavors may coat tablets. In liquid products, like syrups and suspensions, sweeteners include sugars, artificial sweeteners, and products like corn syrup. Natural sweeteners are generally less popular from a manufacturing perspective, because of their association with dental caries, and possible impact on diabetics. Flavoring agents can be naturally-sourced or synthetically created. There is no intrinsic advantage to a natural sweetener or flavoring agent – it’s the physical characteristics that are important, not its origin. Coloring Agents Colours help with product identification and are also used for consistency with flavors, particularly in children’s formulations. (Though I truly didn’t appreciate the “dye-free” versions until I had a mouthful of a medication sprayed on me by an unhappy child.) In general, children and adults have no problems with the tiny amounts of dyes and colors in pharmaceutical products, though reactions have been reported, particularly with the product tartrazine. Preservatives can stabilize the active ingredient or ensure a product remains sterile, which is a concern with all injectables and aqueous (water-based) products. Thimerosal needs no introduction to SBM readers. It’s a vaccine preservative. Benzalkonium chloride is a common preservative in contact lens products. Allergies to Excipients Adverse reactions and allergies can occur to both medicinal and non-medicinal ingredients. Severe allergic reactions have been attributed to trace amounts of corn in a dosage form [PDF], for example. The management of allergic reactions involves closely checking all excipients (and their sources), and isolating the causative agent (if possible). It can take a lot of digging, and sometimes even specialized pharmacy compounding, to deal with severe allergies and intolerances to commonly-used excipients. The Product Expiry Date Expiry dates for products are based on when a product’s finished quality standards (e.g., strength, quality, purity) are no longer met. That is, when product degradation progresses to a point where the product either lacks the labelled potency (most cases) or in some cases, has degraded into compounds that may be toxic. Chemicals can deteriorate for reasons that include chemical reactions, such as oxidation (usually from exposure to air or moisture), physical changes (e.g., separation of a suspension), photochemical reactions (i.e., light exposure) and even chemical reactions with the product packaging. Quantitative analysis of newly prepared products is done, usually in the final packaging, to understand how quickly a product will deteriorate, and the expiry date is established based on this information. This can be an iterative process – the final product formulation may change to make a product more stable. Or the packaging may change to give the finished product a longer shelf-life. Multiple factors can play a role. Excipients play an important role in ensuring that medications are consistently absorbed and reproducible in their effects. Consumers should be reassured that their inclusion actually improves, rather than detracts from, the quality of the finished product. Posted by Scott Gavura
Owl Bags 3.7 based on 11 ratings What You Need: • Brown lunch bag • Construction paper (Black and yellow) • Scissors • Glue stick • Pencil What You Do: 1. Help your child put tomorrow's lunch in the paper bag. Fold the flap down, and fold under the side edges as if you're making a paper airplane. The folded part of the bag will be the base of the owl's beak. 2. Ask your child to draw three triangles on the black paper and cut them out. Attach two as ears on the top part of the bag, opposite the flap. 3. Have her glue the third triangle on as an extension of the beak. 4. Ask her to cut out two large circles from the yellow paper and two medium circles from the black paper. 5. Encourage her to glue the black circles on the yellow circles in the same place on both. 6. Help her tuck the eyes under the folded over paper bag and glue them in place. 7. Have her place a small amount of glue under the beak to seal the bag. Encourage your little owl to enjoy her lunch with a wise new friend! How likely are you to recommend to your friends and colleagues? Not at all likely Extremely likely
Dismiss Notice Dismiss Notice Join Physics Forums Today! Friction on an inclined plane 1. Aug 12, 2007 #1 Does kinetic friction and static friction act upon a car travelling downhill (without acceleration by the car)? 2. Relevant equations 3. The attempt at a solution Is it kinetic because the wheels rub against the surface and the car is in motion? But is it also static because the wheels are rolling downhill and at each point in time the wheels are stationary in their contact with the ground? 2. jcsd 3. Aug 12, 2007 #2 Doc Al User Avatar Staff: Mentor It's one or the other, but not both. If the tires slip against the surface, it's kinetic friction; if the tires roll without slipping, it will be static friction. 4. Aug 13, 2007 #3 Thanks, that helped a lot! Similar Discussions: Friction on an inclined plane
Dismiss Notice Join Physics Forums Today! Waves and barriers 1. Jul 18, 2007 #1 Any barrier passes more low frequencies than high (i.e. the amplitude of transmitted wave is higher when the frequency is lower). This can be derived form wave equations, but I wonder whether there is any qualitative explanation for this, not resorting to mathematics? 2. jcsd 3. Jul 18, 2007 #2 User Avatar Science Advisor Homework Helper Not necessarily, low pass filters are probably easier to think about mechanically where a damping system will reduce high frequencies. In electroncis it's often more common to filter out lower frequency eg 60Hz interference while transmitting a high frequency signal. 4. Jul 18, 2007 #3 User Avatar Staff: Mentor What barrier and what kind of waves are you asking about? Some barriers will resonate at particular frequencies, and hence pass a band of frequencies and reflect the others. 5. Jul 18, 2007 #4 I mean barriers like a capacitator in RC high pass filter (change of voltage) or an ordinary building wall (sound wave). When a wave passes from one medium to another some frequencies are reflected more than the others - I wonder whether in the example above it can be shown "qualitatively", without wave equations. 6. Jul 18, 2007 #5 User Avatar Staff: Mentor You don't use the wave equation to solve for the frequency response of an RC filter. On the wall example, you can intuitively see how at the fundamental resonance frequency, the middle of the wall will alternately bulge a bit out and back in, at the sound frequency that matches that wall resonance (which is determined by the rigidity and size of the wall). Since the wall is physically moving back and forth, it transmits some of the longitudinal sound wave's energy through to the other side. Is that the kind of non-equation intuitive explanation that you are looking for? Similar Discussions: Waves and barriers 1. Sound barrier (Replies: 3) 2. Waveforms & Barriers (Replies: 1) 3. Sound barrier (Replies: 6) 4. Sound barrier (Replies: 11) 5. Coulomb Barrier (Replies: 4)
The Cost of Puerto Rican Statehood March 18, 1991\|By GEORGE F. WILL WASHINGTON — Washington--Sen. Pat Moynihan, D-N.Y., thinks he has spotted an old serpent in today's political garden. ''Nativism!'' he exclaimed when a Senate committee killed a bill that would have authorized a Puerto Rican referendum on that island's political future. Every president since Truman has affirmed Puerto Rico's right to choose to retain commonwealth status or opt for independence or statehood. The 1988 Republican platform endorsed statehood. In the resistance to a referendum, Senator Moynihan sees ''nativism, the close associate of racism.'' But not all resistance should be so stigmatized. Nativism is, with reason, an epithet. Nativist movements proliferated in reaction against the waves of immigration in the 1840s and 1850s. Most immigrants then were Germans and Irish and Catholics (Mr. Moynihan's ancestors). Xenophobia and religious bigotry (many Protestant immigrants quickly became violent nativists) fueled the growth of the Know-Nothing Party. (Members were supposedly sworn to answer all political questions by saying, ''I know nothing about it.'' Clearly nativists always have had uneasy consciences in this nation of immigrants.) In 1854, several governors and 75 congressmen were elected with Know-Nothing affiliation. There were anti-immigrant urban riots and attempts to legislate a 21-year residency requirement for naturalization. Liquor, thundered Horace Greeley's New York Tribune, ''fills our prisons with Irish culprits, and makes the gallows hideous with so many Catholic murderers.'' A recrudescence of nativism in the 1920s coincided with the revival of the Ku Klux Klan and resulted in the National Origins Act, severely limiting immigration, especially from southern Europe and Asia. But the ugly passions of the past are not dominating today's thinking about Puerto Rico. Today's question is not whether Puerto Ricans belong in American society. Of course they do. Several million live on the mainland. The quite different question is: Does Puerto Rico, a distinct cultural entity, belong in the federal union? It was thrilling to read recent census reports that by 1990 one in four Americans had an African, Asian, Hispanic or American Indian ancestry. That is up from one in five in 1980. It marks the most pronounced change in America's racial composition in this century. Furthermore, because 19th-century immigration was overwhelmingly European, whereas today's immigrants come primarily from Latin American and Asian nations (the Asian component of America's population soared 107.8 percent in the 1980s), the 1980s brought more cultural diversity than any other decade in American history. America still welcomes invigorating infusions of immigrants who are eager to become Americans. American citizenship is a citizenship of ideas. For immigrants, it flows from an act of individual affirmation. Immigrants become citizens by personal assents. But a collective choice by a distinct cultural community like Puerto Rico is problematic. Diversity -- e pluribus unum -- is America's boast. But from the Soviet Union to Yugoslavia to Lebanon to Canada and elsewhere, the world is replete with cautionary examples of kinds of diversities that are incompatible with the unity requisite for happy nationhood. Puerto Rico's religious and political values present no obstacles to statehood. However, language, which is the carrier and conditioner of all culture, is another matter. Puerto Rico is a Spanish-speaking community. Sixty percent of Puerto Ricans do not speak English. An America with Puerto Rico as a state would be bilingual in a way which, in spite of various accommodations for today's immigrants, America today is not. Bilingualism would inevitably be institutionalized to a new degree and in new ways within this nation. Bilingualism denies the link between citizenship and a shared culture. Already we have gone too far, even to bilingual ballots, which proclaim that people can exercise the most public of rights while being apart from public life. Americans should say diverse things, but should say them in a common language that allows universal participation in the conversation. Most immigrants want to learn English. Nativists have generally been wrong: Immigrants want to become as American as possible as quickly as possible. But would an entire island people hasten to make secondary the Spanish language that is central to their 400 years of experience as a Spanish and Caribbean community? Puerto Rico's per-capita income is $5,825, half that of the poorest state (Mississippi, $11,724) and a quarter that of the richest (Connecticut, $25,001). Perhaps half -- the poorest half -- of Puerto Rico's population would gain from statehood because of enhanced access to federal welfare services. But statehood would nullify the tax break that subsidizes many U.S. corporations that operate there. Such considerations matter, but this issue comes to a vote, there or here, the hands raised for or against statehood should not hold calculators on which the material benefits have been finely computed. The important calculations are of cultural costs and benefits. George F. Will is a syndicated columnist. Baltimore Sun Articles
Friday, July 9, 2010 Solar Plane IMPLUSE Completes 1 DAY and 2 hours Flight Over Switzerland T he solar plane Impulse has landed after an over 26-hour flight in the skies over Switzerland. The Impulse, which has a 210-foot wing... thumbnail 1 summary Bookmark and Share The solar plane Impulse has landed after an over 26-hour flight in the skies over Switzerland. The Impulse, which has a 210-foot wingspan, was powered by a bank of 12,000 solar cells, which kept batteries charged for electric power for the engine. According to the New York Times: The solar plane reached an altitude of 28,000 feet, with an average air speed of 23 knots. The technology to fly during the day on solar power and by night on stored electricity in batteries has been proved. How effective the solar cell/battery-powered engines would be during overcast or rainy weather is yet to be determined. The Solar Impulse flew without consuming a drop of fuel, and without contributing one iota of pollution to the atmosphere. The single pilot was André Borschberg, a 57-year-old former Swiss Air Force fighter pilot. Borschberg endured buffeting on takeoff and sun-zero temperature during the 10 hours of night-flying in a cramped cockpit. His drinking water froze, and his iPod battery died as well. Aside from a sore back, Borschberg was in great spirits upon landing. The technology that made the Solar Impulse possible is certainly not going to replace jumbo jets, which run on aviation fuel, any time soon. However, one can see the technology being incorporated into small, light sport aircraft, for example. The ability to stay aloft for days or even weeks at a time could be used in pilot-less drones, monitoring everything from the weather to natural disasters, such as earthquakes and forest fires, to observing national borders and high-crime areas and performing reconnaissance missions over combat zones. An all-electric system should also be quieter and easier to maintain than one using fossil fuels. The solar plane Impulse is the brainchild of Bertran Piccard, who achieved the first nonstop circumnavigation of the globe in a balloon in 1999. The Solar Impulse project took seven years and tens of millions of dollars to progress to the first completed flight. Next on the test regime for the Solar Impulse is a flight across the Atlantic, to be followed by a nonstop flight around the world.
HMML Exhibition From Daniel Gullo, notice of an online exhibition from the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library: “Terra Incognita: Tracing Western Understanding of the Earth through Maps.” In the 21st century, we have become accustomed to the ability to locate geographical information at the touch of a screen or a click of a mouse. Almost instantaneously we find physically accurate road maps, city maps and information about specific locations, and this can create a sense that all places are known through stored data. It is sometimes difficult to remember that such services have only become available in the last twenty years. The maps in this exhibition may look foreign to you, and this sense of unfamiliarity is due largely to the changing understanding of the world over time and the attempt by early mapmakers to fill in missing data. This Terra incognita, or unknown land, was often filled with anomalous details such as California depicted as an island. This collection of maps will give you a sense of how the conception of the world changed from the 13th to the early 19th century. Our understanding of the world continues to evolve, and the accurately detailed maps we know today may become the Terra incognita of the future. Check it out.
What Are Carbon Credits? by mbryce2012 on October 26, 2012 We’re all familiar with our carbon footprint, and trying to reduce it. We are well aware of the impact carbon dioxide emissions have on the environment. But what are carbon credits? In simplest terms, a carbon credit is a unit of allowable carbon dioxide emissions. Over the last decade, we have seen an incredible rise in the number of CO2 emissions being pumped into our atmosphere. In an effort to curb the detrimental environmental impact of this pollution, many governments across the globe have set a limit on the quantity of allowable emissions. In fact, 192 countries have signed the Kyoto Protocol, a 1997 global initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While the United States of America is one of only a handful of nations that have not yet signed, individual U.S. corporations have chosen to participate in carbon credit trading as part of various emissions schemes, like the Chicago Climate Exchange. President Obama proposed an incredibly ambitious cap-and-trade system that would target 85 percent of polluters in the first wave, but it was immediately shot down by a massive lobbying effort. How Does Carbon Credit Trading Work? If a company produces fewer carbon emissions than their set allowance, they can sell the difference (credits) to other companies who need more than their limit. This provides a great monetary incentive for companies to reduce their carbon footprint. Conversely, it gives other companies an opportunity to purchase credits at a given dollar amount per metric ton as they work on making positive environmental changes in their production processes. This cap-and-trade scheme is part of a theory called Free Market Environmentalism. Contrary to commonly held beliefs that the environment must be regulated by the government, this theory contends that the best way to address global warming is through economic incentive. Is Carbon Emissions Trading Accomplishing it’s Goals? Whether the goal was to make a profit or reduce greenhouse gasses, the system seems to be working. One of its key players, British Petroleum (BP), reported reducing its carbon emissions to ten percent below 1990 levels nine years before their target goal after implementing a cap-and-trade system. But there are some problems with the system, largely related to the lack of carbon credit regulation. Companies or organizations can sell their carbon emissions “offset” as carbon credit on the exchange. For example, if you can show that your group preserved an area of rainforest that contributed carbon dioxide reduction worth “x” amount of credits, you can sell those credits on the exchange. You didn’t really help the environment so much, did you? Because now the company that buys those credits can produce a lot more carbon dioxide. This is where the governments must step in and regulate, or we may end up with a bigger problem than the one we started with. Cap or Trade: Which is the Key Factor? While the programs post-Kyoto are still evolving within each market system, and emissions-reduction goals are being met, the guy responsible for Europe is skeptical about carbon credits playing a key role. Chief Executive of the European Climate Exchange, Patrick Birley, claims that “The cap is what delivers the environmental result. Trading does not reduce emissions one ounce.” In an interview with Allianz, Birley claims that Europe will stay committed to strong carbon emissions caps and will stick with the Kyoto Protocol at least until 2020. He hopes that the rest of the world will follow suit. Leave a Comment Previous post: Next post:
Exercise Protects against Inflammation Greater Endurance with Aging I’m 74 years old and ride my bicycle more than 200 miles per week, often in pace lines with younger riders. I have noticed that younger riders can easily pull away from me in short bursts, but I keep coming back on them and seem to be better able to keep up with their accelerations as the ride progresses. The latest issue of Exercise and Sports Sciences Reviews (January, 2009) reviews the entire world’s literature to show that endurance improves as you age. Wow! The maximal muscle contraction force occurs when you do a single muscle contraction with all your might. Even though older people are not as strong as younger ones, many studies show that they can retain maximal force after many contractions far longer than younger people can. Here’s the theory and evidence to explain why aging improves endurance. Muscles are made up of millions of individual fibers just as a rope is made up of many different threads. Each muscle fiber is enervated by a single nerve. As you age, you lose nerves throughout your body and when you lose the nerve that enervates a specific fiber, you also lose that muscle fiber. Muscle fibers are classified as type I endurance fibers and type II strength and speed fibers. With aging, you lose far more nerves that enervate the strength and speed fibers than those that enervate the endurance ones. So, with aging, you lose strength but you retain a greater proportion of endurance fibers. Muscle fatigue comes from the accumulation of waste products that occurs while food is converted to energy to power your muscles. Scientists can measure fatigue by measuring the accumulation of acid (H+), Phosphate (Pi) and protonated phosphate (H2PO4) in muscle. With the same percentage of their maximal muscle force, older people accumulate far lower levels of these end products than younger people do. Therefore even though older people are weaker, they can maintain their forceful contractions far longer than younger people can and they have greater endurance. This exciting recent data will encourage me to train even harder. Free weekly newsletter Cold or Fever: Should You Exercise? Exercise may actually be beneficial when you have a cold. However, it's probably better to stop exercising altogether if you have a fever with aching muscles. When you exercise, your heart has to pump blood to your muscles to supply them with oxygen. It also must pump blood from your muscles to your skin where the heat is dissipated. When you have a fever, your heart has to work harder to get rid of extra heat. You risk injury if you exercise when your muscles hurt at rest. When muscles are damaged, they release enzymes from their cells into the bloodstream and they fill with blood from broken blood vessels. One study reported markedly increased muscle damage during relatively minor exercise during an infection, with blood tests showing increases in muscle enzymes and ultrasound tests demonstrating hemorrhage into the muscles. You will not lose much conditioning if you take off a few days. How Exercise Preserves Brain Function Dr. Yu-Min Kuo, of the National Cheng Kung University Medical College in Taiwan, has shown how exercise helps to preserve brain function as you age (The Journal of Applied Physiology, November 2008). Dr Kuo trained mice to run daily for five weeks on wheels at 70 percent of their capacity. They started to exercise at 8, 12 and 24 months of age. These ages are equivalent in humans to ages of 40, 60 and 90 years. The mice that exercised every day grew 2.5 times more new brain cells than those who did not exercise, and these new nerves helped them to learn and memorize new tasks. The increase in brain cells came from increased production of signaling molecules that promote brain cell growth. However, the mice that started exercise in early middle age (equivalent to age 40) did much better than mice that did not start exercising until later middle age (equivalent to age 60). This would indicate that the capacity of exercise to help you maintain intelligence decreases after middle age. When you are young, your body continuously creates new brain cells. As you age, your brain loses its ability to regenerate new nerve cells. This is why you gradually lose some of your ability to remember and learn. We don’t know if Dr. Kuo’s results would be found in humans, but his study should encourage people to start exercising while young and continue throughout their lives.
Thursday, June 13, 2013 Laugh More! ~ Richard Restak on Laughter and the Brain One of the regular homework assignments I give to my counseling clients is to laugh as much and as often as possible. It is nearly impossible to feel anxious or depressed when we are laughing. Even a simple smile (faked or real) can alter brain chemistry enough to change our mood. In a new article from The American Scholar, Dr. Richard Restak gives anecdotal and neurobiological explanations for how and why laughter is good for us. When was the last you laughed, really, really laughed, until tears flow and your abs hurt? ~ Richard Restak is a neurologist and neuropsychiatrist, and the author of 20 books about the brain, including The Playful Brain: The Surprising Science of How Puzzles Improve Your Mind (with puzzles by Scott Kim). He is also a former advisor to the school of philosophy at The Catholic University of America. Laughter and the Brain Can humor help us better understand the most complex and enigmatic organ in the human body? By Richard Restak Photo by Nosha In my neuropsychiatric practice, I often use cartoons and jokes to measure a patient’s neurologic and psychiatric well-being. I start off with a standard illustration called “The Cookie Theft.” It depicts a boy, precariously balanced on a stool, pilfering cookies from a kitchen cabinet as his sister eggs him on, while their absentminded mother stands drying a plate, oblivious to the water overflowing from the sink onto the floor. Though not really a cartoon—in that nothing terribly funny is taking place—it allows me to begin assessing various things: abstraction ability, empathy, powers of observation and description, as well as sense of humor. I am especially curious to see how patients process the image, whether they perceive only a portion of it or take it in as a whole. Some people notice only the boy, others only the mother. Next, I show a series of cartoons, starting with examples from a newspaper comics page and working up to more sophisticated drawings from The New Yorker. I then ask for an explanation of what’s going on in each of them. Over the years, I’ve learned that you can’t fake an understanding of a cartoon; you either get it or you don’t. Finally, I tell a few jokes set out in increasing levels of subtlety and complexity. Patients don’t have to find the jokes funny (humor is too heterogeneous for that), but they should be able to explain why other people might find them funny. Why am I interested in my patients’ ability to appreciate humor? Because humor impairment may point to operational problems at various levels of brain functioning. Charles Darwin referred to humor as “a tickling of the mind.” We speak of being “tickled pink” at a funny joke, and tickling often leads to laughter, so the analogy is apt. At the physiological level, humor reduces levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and is thought to enhance our immune, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems. Laughter also provides a workout for the muscles of the diaphragm, abdomen, and face. A joke can raise our spirits, or ease our tension. If we’re able to laugh during a stressful situation, we can put psychological distance between ourselves and the stress. Norman Cousins, editor of The Saturday Review for more than 30 years, chronicled in his 1979 bestselling book, Anatomy of an Illness, how he attempted to cure himself of a mysterious and rapidly progressive inflammatory illness of the spine by engaging in hours-long laughing sessions while watching Marx Brothers films and reruns of the then-popular Candid Camera. Though Cousins’s claims could not be scientifically confirmed, even the most skeptical researchers agree that humor provides an antidote to some emotions widely recognized to be associated with illness—for example, the feelings of rage and fear that can precipitate a heart attack. Though I wouldn’t take a position on whether laughter has universally salutary benefits, many laughter associations and workshops around the world—common most notably in India and Sweden—do just that. Their goal is to promote good health via the therapeutic properties of laughter. LaughterWorks, which bills itself as “Australia’s leading laughter leaders,” arranges seminars and workshops for various groups, as well as half-hour sessions of “laughing, breathing and gentle exercise, under the guidance of one of our qualified laughers.” A Swedish friend described a laughter-inducing exercise involving two people sitting across from each other. When one begins to laugh, the other soon starts laughing, too. Not long ago, my friend and I decided to try this ourselves. She sat facing me, and after a few awkward moments (at least on my part) spent staring silently at each other, she began laughing. I wasn’t sure how to respond. But a few moments later I found myself laughing, even though nothing funny was said. I must admit that I felt better after our laughter exercise. But why? In the weeks that followed, as I searched for an explanation, I was invited to participate in a discussion with three popular comedians—Robert Kelly, Dan Naturman, and Kristin Montella—at the Comedy Cellar in Greenwich Village. The four of us sat at the famous Comedy Table, reserved for professional comedians, and spent almost two hours engaging in some high-speed repartee concerning the interaction between comedians and their audiences. The comedians, naturally curious about the presence of a “brain doctor” in their midst, may not have known that the club’s owner, Noam Dworman, had read my books and has long maintained a lively interest in neuroscience. Soon after, I sat on a panel at the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan, where I joined New Yorker cartoonists Zach Kanin, Paul Noth, and David Sipress to explore the question of why people find cartoons funny. We discussed how humor, whether conveyed by joke or cartoon, has both a subjective component (exhilaration or mirth) and its physical expression (smiling or laughing). One can exist without the other: we may find a risqué joke amusing but withhold a smile if we happen to be in polite company. We may also laugh nervously when we’re made to feel uncomfortable. We laugh when we hear others laugh—as I experienced with my Swedish friend (indeed, this phenomenon of contagious laughter is why laugh tracks are used in situation comedies). Laughter can even be induced chemically, with laughing gas, or via electrical stimulation of certain parts of the brain. Recently, scientists have begun conducting research into the neurological processes underpinning mirth and laughter. I would not suggest that neuroscience can “explain” humor or provide the reason why we laugh at certain jokes or cartoons and not at others. Trying to parse humor, in any case, can be a self-defeating exercise. As E. B. White once wrote, “Humor can be dissected, as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind.” Still, neuroscience can provide some useful insights into what happens when we find a joke or cartoon funny. Ultimately, it isn’t just humor that we seek to better understand, but rather, that most complex and elusive of organs: the human brain. The brain has no humor “center.” Humor is associated with—note that I didn’t say “caused by,” à la White’s frog dissection analogy—brain networks involving the temporal and frontal lobes in the cerebral cortex. Located near the top of the brain, these cortical areas are related to speech, general information, and the appreciation of contradiction and illogicality. Obviously we can’t appreciate a joke told in a language we can’t speak, or a cartoon that relies heavily on cultural norms or information foreign to us. Within these cortical areas the joke or cartoon is parsed. —I saw a bank that said “24 Hour Banking,” but I didn’t have that much time. In each of these examples, everyday activities are given a different spin by forcing the listener to modify standard scripts about them. Indeed, the process of reacting to and appreciating humor begins with the activation of a script in the brain’s temporal lobes. Read the whole article. No comments:
Thursday, September 22, 2016 The Charvaka Doctrine of Materialism The Charvaka School, which arose in India in the 600 B.C.E or earlier than that, preached materialism, atheism, empiricism, and scepticism. It is believed that Brhaspati Laukya, also known as Brahmanspati, was the original founder of the School. It is because of him that the School is also known as the Lokayata. Brhaspati Laukya was the author of the Barhaspatya-sutras. As this work is no longer extant, it is difficult to have a clear picture of the Brhaspati Laukya’s thoughts. To learn about the Charvaka philosophy we have to rely exclusively on the presentations made by the School’s avowed opponents, most of whom were deeply religious. Ancient texts such as Brhadaranyaka Upanisad, Katha Upanisad, Bhahma-Sutra, Vatsayayana’s Kamasutra, Kautilya’s ArthasastraManu Smrti, and few others have references to the Charvaka thought. But ideological opponents are seldom free of prejudices and personal predilections. They are inclined towards highlighting the negative aspects, while ignoring the positive. Therefore it shouldn't come as surprise that most of the references are derogatory. The religious texts condemn Brhaspati Laukya for questioning the authority of the religious elders and making destructive criticism of the gods. Brhaspati rejected the idea of god—he believed that god was a product of human imagination. The references also allege that the Charvaka School made no attempt to develop a complete system of thought, their entire focus being on refuting the orthodoxy of others. But from these references we can draw the inference that the Charvakas took an empirical, scientific, and naturalistic approach to metaphysics. They believed that metaphysical enquiry cannot be extended beyond matter, and all knowledge comes from sensory experience. Of the recognized means of knowledge (pramana), the Charvakas recognized only direct perception (anubhava). The School held that inference can be either right or wrong, and therefore it cannot be relied to provide knowledge. Unless a direct relationship is established between perception and object or phenomenon, certainty is not possible. According to the Charvakas, consciousness does not accrue to the particles of matter; it is only when the particles get arranged in a particular manner that life is created. The School rejected the theory of eternal soul. If there is a soul, then it goes out of existence at the time when the body dies. By denying the idea of a soul passing from one body to another, the Charvakas rejected the popular religious notion that the religious merits or demerits that are acquired during the present birth will lead to improvements or failures in the next birth. They rejected the idea of there being a god who is omnipotent and has the power to judge our actions. The Charvakas argued that if a judgemental and omnipotent god existed, partiality and cruelty on his part would become inevitable. Hence it is better to live in a world without god, rather than have a cruel and partial god. The Charvakas also argued that if an omnipotent god existed we would have found a way of perceiving him through our senses. Since we can’t perceive god through our senses, he does not exist. The School asserted that instead of running after an imaginary god, people should focus on improving their earthly existence. The Charvakas were against the priestly class. They believed that the priests were, in most cases, the sole beneficiaries of the elaborate religious rituals in which offerings are made in the name of gods. They also argued that only those individuals who are devoid of intellect and manliness tend to oblige the priests by practicing such religious rituals. The concept of egoism has a central role to play in the Charvaka philosophy of materialism. The School has preached that every individual must give priority to fulfilling his own needs rather than using his resources to fulfil the needs of others. Charvakas believed that there is nothing wrong with sensual pleasure and they advised their followers to avoid pain and pursue pleasure. No comments:
Nothing endures but personal qualities. Walt Whitman. Character is a perfectly educated will. The man that makes a character makes foes. No talent, but yet a character. Character makes its own destiny. Mrs. Campbell Praed. The great hope of society is individual character. Character must be kept bright as well as clean. Character is very much a matter of health. Human improvement is from within outward. Archbishop Manning. Weakness of character is the only defect which cannot be amended. La Rochefoucauld. No change of circumstances can repair a defect of character. Happiness is not the end of life; character is. You must look into people as well as at them. La Rochefoucauld. As your enemies and your friends, so are you. In this world a man must either be anvil or hammer. Character lives in a man, reputation outside of him. J. G. Holland. Character is the diamond that scratches every other stone. Character is centrality, the impossibility of being overthrown. A good name is better than precious ointment. Eccles. vii. 1. The most striking characters are sometimes the product of an infinity of little accidents. The fine tints and fluent curves which constitute beauty of character. Mme. de Staël. Richard Fuller. Individuality is everywhere to be guarded and honored as the root of all good. Jean Paul Richter. Our character is but the stamp on our souls of the free choice of good or evil we have made through life. J. C. Geikie. Character is moral order seen through the medium of an individual nature. Characters never change. Opinions alter,—characters are only developed. All men are like in their lower natures; it is in their higher characters that they differ. Many persons carry about their character in their hands, not a few under their feet. I have learned by experience that no character can be eventually injured but by his own acts. Rowland Hill. Character gives splendor to youth, and awe to wrinkled skin and grey hairs. Charles Sumner. Give me the character and I will forecast the event. Character, it has in substance been said, is “victory organized.” Love, hope, fear, faith,—these make humanity; These are its sign, and note, and character. Robert Browning. Sir J. Stevens. Not in the clamor of the crowded street, Not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, But in ourselves, are triumph and defeat. Alphonse Karr. There is a kind of character in thy life, That to the observer doth thy history Fully unfold. La Bruyère. In all our reasonings concerning men we must lay it down as a maxim, that the greater part are moulded by circumstances. Robert Hall. Mme. Swetchine. Thomas à Kempis. Jeremy Taylor. Horace Bushnell. Character is made up of small duties faithfully performed—of self-denials, of self-sacrifices, of kindly acts of love and duty. Character shows itself apart from genius as a special thing. The first point of measurement of any man is that of quality. T. W. Higginson. Let the character as it began be preserved to the last; and let it be consistent with itself. This is that which we call character,—a reserved force which acts directly by presence, and without means. When you have discovered a stain in yourself, you eagerly seek for and gladly find stains in others. The man who consecrates his hours By vig’rous effort and an honest aim, At once he draws the stink of life and death; He walks with nature, and her paths are peace. There is in every man a certain feeling that he has been what he is from all eternity, and by no means become such in time. Those with whom we can apparently become well acquainted in a few moments are generally the most difficult to rightly know and to understand. He that is good will infallibly become better, and he that is bad will as certainly become worse; for vice, virtue, and time are three things that never stand still. Conflict, which rouses up the best and highest powers in some characters, in others not only jars the whole being, but paralyzes the faculties. Mrs. Jameson. In common discourse we denominate persons and things according to the major part of their character; he is to be called a wise man who has but few follies. George Eliot. Mark Hopkins. Some characters are like some bodies in chemistry; very good, perhaps, in themselves, yet fly off and refuse the least conjunction with each other. Lord Greville. Fame is what you have taken, Character’s what you give; When to this truth you waken, Then you begin to live. Bayard Taylor. It was observed of Elizabeth that she was weak herself, but chose wise counsellors; to which it was replied, that to choose wise counsellors was, in a prince, the highest wisdom. Character is the spiritual body of the person, and represents the individualization of vital experience, the conversion of unconscious things into self-conscious men. Whoe’er amidst the sons Of reason, valor, liberty and virtue, Displays distinguished merit, is a noble Of Nature’s own creating. A man’s character is like his shadow which sometimes follows, and sometimes precedes him, and which is occasionally longer, occasionally shorter than he is. From the French. Sir William Temple. Mark Hopkins. In society every man is taken for what he gives himself out to be; but he must give himself out to be something. Better to be slightly disagreeable than altogether insignificant. Samuel Smiles. Rugged strength and radiant beauty— These were one in Nature’s plan; Humble toil and heavenward duty— These will form the perfect man. Sarah J. Hale. The effect of character is always to command consideration. We sport and toy and laugh with men or women who have none, but we never confide in them. A German writer observes: “Tho noblest characters only show themselves in their real light. All others act comedy with their fellow-men even unto the grave.” Lady Blessington. George Washington. In our relations with the people around us, we forgive them more readily for what they do, which they can help, than for what they are, which they cannot help. Mrs. Jameson. What is the true test of character, unless it be its progressive development in the bustle and turmoil, in the action and reaction of daily life? These two things, contradictory as they may seem, must go together,—manly dependence and manly independence, manly reliance and manly self-reliance. The most accomplished persons have usually some defect, some weakness in their characters, which diminishes the lustre of their brighter qualifications. The keen spirit Seizes the prompt occasion—makes the thought Start into instant action, and at once Plans and performs, resolves and executes. Hannah More. It is in the relaxation of security; it is in the expansion of prosperity; it is in the hour of dilatation of the heart, and of its softening into festivity and pleasure, that the real character of men is discerned. Marcus Antoninus. A man who shows no defect is a fool or a hypocrite, whom we should mistrust. There are defects so bound to fine qualities that they announce them,—defects which it is well not to correct. Duke Chartres used to boast that no man could have less real value for character than himself, yet he would gladly give twenty thousand pounds for a good one, because he could immediately make double that sum by means of it. Where the vivacity of the intellect and the strength of the passions exceed the development of the moral faculties the character is likely to be embittered or corrupted by extremes, either of adversity or prosperity. Mrs. Jameson. John B. Gough. Should any man tell you that a mountain had changed its place, you are at liberty to doubt it if you think fit; but if any one tells you that a man has changed his character, do not believe it. Joy and grief decide character. What exalts prosperity? what imbitters grief? what leaves us indifferent? what interests us? As the interest of man, so his God,—as his God, so he. As fire when thrown into water is cooled down and put out, so also a false accusation when brought against a man of the purest and holiest character boils over and is at once dissipated and vanishes. The noblest contribution which any man can make for the benefit of posterity is that of a good character. The richest bequest which any man can leave to the youth of his native land is that of a shining, spotless example. It is a common error, of which a wise man will beware, to measure the worth of our neighbor by his conduct towards ourselves. How many rich souls might we not rejoice in the knowledge of, were it not for our pride! Samuel Smiles. Grit is the grain of character. It may generally be described as heroism materialized,—spirit and will thrust into heart, brain, and backbone, so as to form part of the physical substance of the man. He that has light within his own clear breast, May sit i’ th’ centre, and enjoy bright day: But he that hides a dark soul, and foul thoughts, Benighted walks under the mid-day sun; Himself is his own dungeon. Pliny the Younger. The only equitable manner in my opinion, of judging the character of a man is to examine if there are personal calculations in his conduct; if there are not, we may blame his manner of judging, but we are not the less bound to esteem him. Madame de Staël. He’s truly valiant that can wisely suffer The worst that man can breathe; And make his wrongs his outsides, To wear them like his raiment, carelessly; And ne’er prefer his injuries to his heart, To bring it into danger. A good character is, in all cases, the fruit of personal exertion. It is not inherited from parents, it is not created by external advantages, it is no necessary appendage of birth, wealth, talents or station; but it is the result of one’s own endeavors. The amiable and the severe, Mr. Burke’s sublime and beautiful, by different proportions, are mixed in every character. Accordingly, as either is predominant, men imprint the passions of love or fear. The best punch depends on a proper mixture of sugar and lemons. Henry Ward Beecher. J. R. Macduff. Brains and character rule the world. The most distinguished Frenchman of the last century said: “Men succeed less by their talents than their character.” There were scores of men a hundred years ago who had more intellect than Washington. He outlives and overrides them all by the influence of his character. Wendell Phillips. The craft with which the world is made runs also into the mind and character of men. No man is quite sane; each has a vein of folly in his composition, a slight determination of blood to the head, to make sure of holding him hard to some one point which Nature has taken to heart. It is an error common to many to take the character of mankind from the worst and basest amongst them; whereas, as an excellent writer has observed, nothing should be esteemed as characteristical of a species but what is to be found amongst the best and the most perfect individuals of that species. We must have a weak spot or two in a character before we can love it much. People that do not laugh or cry, or take more of anything than is good for them, or use anything but dictionary words, are admirable subjects for biographies. But we don’t always care most for those flat-pattern flowers that press best in the herbarium. Wm. M. Taylor. Ordinary people regard a man of a certain force and inflexibility of character as they do a lion. They look at him with a sort of wonder—perhaps they admire; but they will, on no account, house with him. The lap dog, who wags his tail and licks the hand and cringes at the nod of every stranger, is a much more acceptable companion to them. Theodore Parker. Formed on the good old plan, A true and brave and downright honest man! He blew no trumpet in the market-place, Nor in the church with hypocritic face Supplied with cant the lack of Christian grace; Loathing pretense, he did with cheerful will What others talked of while their hands were still. Very great personages are not likely to form very just estimates either of others or of themselves; their knowledge of themselves is obscured by the flattery of others; their knowledge of others is equally clouded by circumstances peculiar to themselves. For in the presence of the great, the modest are sure to suffer from too much diffidence, and the confident from too much display. A great character, founded on the living rock of principle, is, in fact, not a solitary phenomenon, to be at once perceived, limited and described. It is a dispensation of Providence, designed to have not merely an immediate but a continuous, progressive and never-ending agency. It survives the man who possessed it; survives his age—perhaps his country, his language. Ed. Everett. Character is always known. Thefts never enrich; alms never impoverish; murder will speak out of stone walls. The least admixture of a lie—for example, the taint of vanity, any attempt to make a good impression, a favorable appearance—will instantly vitiate the effect. But speak the truth and all nature and all spirits help you with unexpected furtherance. Decision of character is one of the most important of human qualities, philosophically considered. Speculation, knowledge, is not the chief end of man; it is action. * * * “Give us the man,” shout the multitude, “who will step forward and take the responsibility.” He is instantly the idol, the lord, and the king among men. He, then, who would command among his fellows, must excel them more in energy of will than in power of intellect. There are some characters who appear to superficial observers to be full of contradiction, change and inconsistency, and yet they that are in the secret of what such persons are driving at, know that they are the very reverse of what they appear to be, and that they have one single object in view, to which they as pertinaciously adhere through every circumstance of change, as the hound to the hare, through all her mazes and doublings. We know that a windmill is eternally at work to accomplish one end, although it shifts with every variation of the weather-cock, and assumes ten different positions in a day.
Talmudic Judaism It is difficult to criticise Judaism without being labeled anti-Semitic these days. The Anti defamation league is such a powerful group that it is almost written into international law that to cast any aspersions upon the Jewish people is highly suspect and that the offender must, by nature, be a Nazi sympathiser. It is not my deliberate intention to criticise Judaism. I held the belief for many years that the Jews were distant cousins of Christians, that both religions shared a common heritage, and that the Jews were, are and always will be, Gods chosen people. I still believe that Gods covenants with the Jewish people will be fulfilled, but I have reached a greater understanding of the reasons as to why Jesus spoke so severely against the chief priests. It was because the chief priests and rabbis of the time, adhered to Talmudic traditions that were against the teachings of God as described in the Torah. The Babylonian Talmud is the written tradition of the pharisees. It relates to almost every aspect of everyday Jewish life, dealing with issues of law and judgement, family life and business. However, some of the customs of the Talmud are distortions of the teachings of Moses and permit cheating and stealing, violence and sexual immorality. As to the question of how relevant 2500 year old scriptures are to Judaism today, many 20th century rabbis have stated that Talmud ism is the essence of Judaism and rather than being reserved for ultra-Orthodox Jews, it is widely practiced, even taking precedent over the Torah as the main source of spiritual wisdom. Matthew 23 describes Jesus condemnation of the Pharisees. Here are just some of His accusations. Jesus spoke of these people in the harshest terms because of their practice of Talmudic tradition. It remains at the heart of Judaism to this day. What do YOU think? Speak Your Mind Facebook Iconfacebook like buttonYouTube Icon
11 January 2010 methane is leaking from the Arctic This story is really quite worrying. According to Professor Igor Semiletov, who leads the International Siberian Shelf Study (ISSS) at the University of Alaska, methane leakage from the Arctic seabed appears to have dramatically increased. Semiletov's team told the BBC they had recorded methane levels in the atmosphere around the region 100 times higher than normal background levels, and in some cases 1,000 times higher. Methane is 23 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, but 33 times if you include its indirect effect on tropospheric ozone and stratospheric water vapour. The Arctic methane was formerly trapped in water ice (methane hydrates), but global warming, which is far stronger at the poles than elsewhere, is causing it to melt. There is thought to be up to twice as much carbon trapped in the form of methane hydrates than there is in the atmosphere. The great fear is that billions of tonnes of it will be released suddenly as melting occurs and that this will tip the earth into runaway climate change. This is what many scientists now think happened during the Permian-Triassic extinction when more than 95% of all species on the planet were wiped out. Read the full story here on the BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8437703.stm
538: Security Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb. (Redirected from 538) Jump to: navigation, search [edit] Explanation The "crypto nerd" would be concerned with strongly encrypting data on their personal machine. This would conceivably come in handy when "villains" attempt to steal information on his computer. The crypto nerd imagines that due to his advanced encryption, the crackers will be ultimately defeated. Randall suggests that in the real world, people with the desire to access this information would simply use torture to coerce the nerd to give them the password. Both panels also reference the amount of money used to access the data. In the first the villain is willing to use millions of dollars to construct a super computer, while in the second, he simply uses a $5 wrench. The comic effectively states, completely accurately, that the weakest part of computer security is not the computer, but the user. [edit] Transcript A Crypto nerd's imagination: [Cueball is holding a laptop, and his friend is examining it.] Cueball: His laptop's encrypted. Let's build a million-dollar cluster to crack it. Friend: No good! It's 4096-bit RSA! Cueball: Blast! Our evil plan is foiled! What would actually happen: [Cueball is holding a piece of paper and giving his friend a wrench.] Friend : Got it. What would happen if the owner of the computer used deniable cryptography with some decoy message? -- 08:35, 15 July 2015 (UTC) As pointed out by the wikipedia article, deniable cryptography might either fool the attackers, or make them keep beating you even after you give them the real password. 22:48, 13 October 2015 (UTC) Surely if he's encrypting his PC, he should be using something like 256-bit AES/Rijndael, as it's more secure? Walale12 (talk) 10:11, 24 July 2015 (UTC) I doubt the crypto "nerd"'s nerdiness. RSA is not generally used for disk encryption. It relies on the computation of large primes, a task infeasible for data of such size. Instead, AES is used. 13:54, 15 January 2016 (UTC) Personal tools
English / engels Dutch / nederlands Gardensafari Search March Moth (Alsophila aescularia) AnimaliaArthropodaInsectaLepidopteraGeometridaeAlsophilaA. aescularia You can't easily misidentify the March Moth for any other species, but the problem is it doesn't look like a Geometer Worm. Seeing it, it may be looked upon as an overgrown moth. You can tell it is a Geometer by looking at the caterpillar, but usually one isn't at hand. The basic colour of the front wings is silvery grey, but depending on the light it is brownish grey at times. The legs are the same colour but are ringed. Those rings are usually quite white. The antennae look like an eel's spines. The males have a wingspan of 34 to 38 mm, but look smaller the way they usually sit. The females are completely wingless and compared to other wingless females they have a rather short, fat body. At the tale's end there is a tuft of hairs. There is one generation only, flying about in February, March and April. The flying times are depending on the winter actually. In a cold, harsh winter the first specimens may appear by mid-March, but in very mild winters they may appear as early as January. Going southwards in Europe, they'll fly earlier though. The white eggs are deposited on twigs near developing leaves. They are deposited like a bracelet around the twig and the female covers each egg with some hairs, she pulls out of herself. The eggs hatch quite quickly and we'll see the caterpillars from the beginning of May. The larvae are light green. On top runs a dark green stripe and on the sides run a few whitish or yellowish lines. The caterpillars are very special indeed, for they have the remains of belly legs (the unreal legs seen in larvae of butterflies, moths and saw flies). Those are on the 8th segment only, but are rarely seen in other Geometers. The caterpillar will reach some 28 mm, but may grow a little bigger on the continent. It can be found on numerous shrubs and trees, including apple, plumb, cherry, birch, oak and many others. The March Moth overwinters as a pupa spun in a cocoon. Of all spring species, by which we mean species that come out of the pupa in spring, this is one of the ealiest. A very common species, sometimes even abundant, in most of England and Wales. In Scotland, Ireland and even the Inner Hebrides this is a very common animal as well. Also in other parts of Europe this is a very common species, quite often even an abundant one. The males are attracted to lights regularly, but the females are extremely hard to find. Gardensafari Moths and Butterflies app for iPhone Gardensafari app 'Moths and Butterflies' for iOS8 is available at the app store. Gardensafari Search © Copyright 1998-2017 (Hania Berdys)
IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample 482 - Many people are using credit cards or loans to run up huge personal debts You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Many people are using credit cards or loans to run up huge personal debts that they may be unable to repay. It should therefore be made more difficult for individuals to borrow large amounts of money. What are your opinions on this? You should write at least 250 words. Sample Answer 1: These days a lot of individuals are tending to use various kinds of banking services: ordering credit cards, opening bank accounts and loans of different personal purposes. Some people argue that banking operations should be more complicated for customers. It should be unreasonable to suggest it is partly fair to impose some obligations and restrictions on those who are in need of such services. To begin with, banks ought to inform people if they wish to lend a large quantity of money, they will be obligated to compensate a higher interest. All kinds of banking establishments have to make certain policies to avoid misunderstandings with customers and lessen uncomfortable situations related to using credit cards and loans. Therefore, representatives of above mentioned institutions play a crucial role in explaining individuals about their rules. Workers have to forewarn of the consequences of disobeying the points of their rules, for instance, opening a criminal case. Banking establishments need to take into account personal factors of the members of society. There should exist different rules for various customers. The members which use the services of the bank for longer periods of time or who have obtained premium type of card should not be limited in time for repaying debts. They have shown themselves as trustworthy customers and deserve to be treated accordingly. It will stand in good stead for the establishment as well. It will unquestionably add prestige because the bank trusts and values its clients. One could draw the conclusion that banking establishments have to take into consideration personal factors of the individuals when creating their policies. Credit cards and loans have to be provided by bank with limitations for certain members. [ by - Anastasia Shytina ] Sample Answer 2: In today’s modern world, it is certainly true that most people own at least a credit card. Some may even have four to five credit cards which eventually cause them to run up huge personal debt. Some people are of the opinion that government and banking authority should make it harder for individuals to borrow large amounts of money and I strongly agree with it. There are several reasons why it should be less easy for people to borrow money. To begin, huge personal debt will probably increase their burden. Even though they may be worked harder in order to earn more money to clear off their debt, it is always not a simple task for them. According to the statistic from a well-known bank, it has shown that more that 65% of the people are unable to repay which may be partly due to the high interest rate they have to deal with. As a result, many of them, especially those aged below 30, may choose to end their previous lives by suicidal which we are constantly confronted on newspaper or many of them commit crime to gain some money. Apart from that, the individuals are too materialistic nowadays. They borrow the money from bank and use it to buy things to satisfy themselves. They think that the more things they own, the happier they are. Therefore, the government should make the procedures to borrow money much more complex in order to avoid the people to get into debt. It is believed that the attitude of people being too materialistic will change as long as there are crucial and effective measures that can be taken. Eventually, the problem of running into huge debt can be prevented. In conclusion, there are numerous people who get into large debts due to overuse of credit cards or loans which most of them have not the ability to repay. However, if government can tighten the rules in the procedure to borrow money from bank, this problem can soon be coped. I believe our country will continue to prosper and flourish if this problem can be solved in the years to come. [ by - Lee Wing Qeen ] 0 # Alijee 2016-08-22 13:20 This website is really nice and full of information. I have learned many things from here. Thanks! Reply \| Reply with quote \| Quote Add comment Security code
Lord Byron A picture of the author Lord Byron Englishman George Gordon Byron (1788-1824), known simply as Lord Byron, is considered one of England's greatest poets. He was a leading figure in the romantic movement, and famous for "Don Juan" and "Chile Harold's Pilgrimage", two long narrative poems as well as for the short lyric poem "She Walks in Beauty." Born into wealth and privilege, Lord Byron lived excessively, incurring huge debts, carrying on numerous affairs with people of both sexes, and fathering at least two children out of wedlock. He grew to embody aristocratic excess, for which he was both celebrated and vilified. He married Anne Isabella Milbanke in 1815 and had a child, Ada, but his wife considered him insane and divorced him the following year. Byron's sexual dalliances were one reason for their unhappy marriage, but a disturbing obsession with his half-sister Augusta. Byron's fixation on his half-sister inspired attracted gossipy insinuations of incest. With the scandal of divorce, the notoriety of his relationship with Augusta, and ever mounting debt piling up behind him, Byron left England in April 1916 never to return. In 1813, while at a ball, Lord Byron encountered Mrs. John Wilmont. She was a cousin by marriage and attended the ball wearing black. Lord Byron was inspired by her beauty and penned the lyrical poem, "She Walks in Beauty" the next morning. Anton Chekhov Nathaniel Hawthorne Susan Glaspell Mark Twain Edgar Allan Poe Mary E. Wilkins Freeman Herman Melville Stephen Leacock Kate Chopin Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Network Security Ping Flood Attack Solutions Computer Science Essay Published: Last Edited: By constant network monitoring and through the knowledge about attack mechanism network security can be provided. Precautions can be taken by network manager to prevent the attack or at the very least be alarmed when attacks are taking place. As threats follow certain patterns, like determinant effect on the bandwidth utilization, by monitoring network data we can provide the required level of security. A network monitoring tool shall be used explore the effect of a ping flood attack. Network Instrument's Observer tool will be used to record the data and look for the data fluctuations caused due to change of status of the network security. This paper shall discuss this by presenting a scenario where the network is under attack from a Ping Flood attack. With the help of Observer we can show how a Ping Flood can be identified. Then the network manager can deal with the attack with high efficiency. 1. Introduction TCP/IP is the foundations of most of the services which people use over a network in the modern world. TCP provides reliable, ordered delivery of a stream of bytes from a program on one computer to another program on another computer where as IP works on a lower level by handling from a computer to another computer. But TCP/IP is vulnerable to many sorts of attacks. One such type of attacks is the Denial of Service attacks. In a Denial of Service (DoS) attack, the malicious attacker attempts to disrupt the smooth running of network by making a service unavailable for the authorized users. The service could be anything from a computer resource like a printer to a website server. There are three main ways a DoS attack happens: Overwhelming computational resources like CPU time or processing cycles. Disruption of configuration information Unavailability to physical network components. Even if target's personal assets such as computer is substantially secured DoS attack susceptibly depends on the networks security or even the security of the whole internet. ("Denial of Service ",2007) Ping Flood is a DoS attack in which the attacker tries to saturate the network by sending a continuous stream of ICMP Echo Requests to a target host computer. These ICMP Echo Requests or Pings once arriving to the target computer causes the target computer to send a reply message or an ICMP Echo Reply. The ICMP Echo Reply is send back towards the attackers PC is the IP is not spoofed. Hence due to the flooding of Request and Reply both the target computers incoming and outgoing bandwidth can be completely exhausted in theory. Ping flood attack slows down the network performance and can also completely cripple the network. Let us now move on to the literature review to discuss critical points and area of problem definition. 2. Literature review with problem area definition The main aim of the project is to propose how network management plays a role in maintaining the network security. With constant monitoring and reviewing the data which has being provided by network monitoring tools (Observer in this case) a person can test the load on the each of the resources. The designated person can also view the traffic and fix any bottleneck which are being caused in the network, The person can also view and be alerted in case of any suspicious activity. This aim can be achieved by using an approach which is using a real world scenario, We shall be using a scenario where a network is under attack by DoS attack. The attack which has been taken into consideration is a Ping Flood attack. Let us now step by step review how the attack is taking place and make critical judgement of the cause. The scenario which has been proposed in this paper is fairly simple. The scenario is as the following. We take a comparatively small network to which an attacker with a higher bandwidth attaches itself. Lets us discuss the steps of how the attack is taking place with respect to time ,t. At t=0 He then targets a victim system with a lower bandwidth. Due the broadcast nature of echo requests in IPv4 the victim suddenly is bombarded by the ICMP Echo Request. Its incoming bandwidth is compromised slowly but surely with such a flooding. The attacker may also utilize IP spoofing so as use false IP addresses while broadcasting the ICMP Echo Request. Step 1: ICMP Echo Request FloodingAt t > 0 and t < n The second leg of the attack is made possible due to the ICMP Echo Request/Reply mechanism. Every computer on the network which receive the Ping request has to respond with an ICMP Echo Reply. So the victims system sends reply to all of the requests that it had received. The victim unintentionally becomes the cause of compromising its outgoing bandwidth. As this step of the attack continues the targets incoming bandwidth buffer which had being filling up would have reach a stage where the victim is no longer even able to process the attacker's request. Also slowly its outgoing bandwidth capacity is being filled and it may longer be able to send requests effectively to other devices on the network. Step 2: ICMP Echo Reply At t=n The third stage at t = n is when both the incoming and outgoing bandwidth are overwhelmed by ICMP Request/Reply packets and is rendered useless. This makes the victim incapable of communicating with the rest of the systems on the network. This also depreciates the performance of the CPU takes over a lot of the process cycle and CPU time. Step 3: Incapable of receiving other request due to high bandwidth utilization Even on the network level it reduces the performance of the whole network. This could also affect the interconnecting physical media for e.g., a router, and saturate the whole memory of a router causing denial of service to a larger crowd. In a collapsed core layered system if the attacker aims at the backbone of the network he can compromise the whole network. The DoS Ping Flood attack on a network using network management tools is the problem which the paper wishes to solve. 3. Statement of Findings 3.1 Specifications The process this paper is chosen to address the problem is to first to create a small network between three PC's. The three system have these roles: Server/Managers system : This system is the one which monitors the network and will collect the data through Observer when the attack is in process IP Address: Attacker/Lab System 1: This system is the once which I shall be using for launching the attack. IP Address: Victim/Lab System 2: This system will be the one under attack and will be the priority of the Sever system. The Server system shall analyse the data in this network IP Address: Process of Launching a Ping Flood Attack As the primary requirement of the Ping Flood Attack to be successful the Attackers system has to be of a higher bandwidth than the victims I have also utilized the Traffic Generator available in the Observer over the Victims PC and reducing the available bandwidth of the Victims System . This process also simulates a small network scenario traffic to make the method more applicable The command to launch an attack on a windows system is relatively easy. This is the format of the command. ping <target pc ip address> -t -l <size of the packet to send > Hence using the structure and opening the command prompt on a Windows OS we have ping -t -l 65000 Though this process takes an ample amount it eventually floods the Victim system with ICMP Echo Request of packet size 65000 (max 65500). Hence from the Server system we start capturing the packets and it provides us with data to relate to identifying the attack. With continuous iteration of the attack, I have used Observer to record certain data which are as following: Packet Capturing Observer allows this graph which potrays the no. of packets being captured per second. 3.3.2 Utilization Thermometer This tool provided by observer helps record the utilization percentage and the rate of data transfer. While running the simulation I hoped to achieve a higher utilization percentage as required but the data was recorded in the initial stages of attack so the utilization has not reached a high peak. 3.3.3 Bandwitdh Utilization As the victim pc is bombarded with Ping request we can see that the bandwidth utilization spikes up frequently. 4. Discussions towards Practical Application Though we have seen the finding let us discuss how we can use Observer as a tool to practically solve this problem. There are two ways to solve the problem of a Ping Flood attack. They are as follows: By limiting the packet size By delaying the passing of ping request packets as it comes Maximum Packet Size Filter With help of Observer Filters Options we can create a new filter which will warn us when the packet size exceeds a certain given size. We can utilize it to alarm us when packets of size higher than 60000.This can alert the manager by sending him an email. He can then proceed with any of the two solutions mentioned above. This is one possible outcome. There are two other possible outcomes with this practical application of Observer False Positive: If we would put the packet size filter to alarm us when the packet sizes are greater 60000, the alarm may be triggered when an attack is not happening. False Negative: If an attacker chooses the size of the packet to be less than 60000, for e.g. 59000, the alarm may never trigger. Number of Packets Filter We can also utilize the filter which triggers an alarm when the number of packets to the victim system exceeds a certain number in a given amount of time. For E.g. if we put 100 packets/second as the limit, the network manager will be alerted when the attacker send ICMP Flood Request and he can again take actions to solve from any of the above 2 solutions given earlier. This is a possible outcome . There are two other possible outcomes with this practical application of Observer False Positive: If we would put the no. Of packets per sec filter to alarm us, when the no. of packet are greater 100 packets/sec, the alarm may be triggered when an attack is not happening. False Negative: If an attacker chooses to send only 99 packets for example we will arrive at a false negative. Duplicate Ip Filter In a ping flood attack the attacker sometimes harass the IP or spoof IP. So when the request comes, they come from duplicate IP So Observer allows you to use its Duplicate IP filter. Duplicate IP's are a major concern for network manager regardless of an attack. This filter with help of the other two mentioned above can help in alerting if a Ping Flood attack is taking place. Maximum Bandwidth Utilization Filter During a successful Ping Flood attack the bandwidth usage of the victim is extremely high. So this filter can be used from Observer. All we have to do is to set the upper bound percentage utilization which when exceeded will alert the manager through an email. This is a possible outcome. There are two other possible outcomes with this practical application of Observer I believe a combination of all the above filters (with the right AND/OR combination) will help the manager to come to the conclusion that Ping Flood attack is taking place. 5. Conclusion This paper discusses how a network management tool like Observer can be used so vitally to upkeep the network security. It has discussed about the how DoS attacks affect the network especially the Ping Flood attack. It has explored in depth the mechanism of the attack and its effects on our simulated network. The data collection from Observer was vital for analyzing and formulating a practical approach as how to deal with a Ping Flood attack. This paper confirms to the believe that a vigilant network monitoring scheme is one of the most effective way to manage the network security as well. It shows us how the role of a network manager should be like a life guard who keeps an eye out; warn swimmers in deep waters and saves people in despair. This is the role which network manager should have instead of the one which is rather common these days. A network manager should be like a life guard as opposed to a fire fighter who only becomes active once there is a uncontrollable fire to be subdued.
The Self Accelerating Plasma Tube (SAP Tube) Ossie Callanan Anyone who has recieved the latest New Energy News newsletter should have also recieved an additional advertisement by Stefan Marinov titled, "MARINOV: ANNUS HORRIBILIS", which accompanied the newsletter and also appeared in the March 28th 1996 issue of Nature magazine. Basically it is an update of his scalar magnetic field theories and devices which appeared on page 299 of the proceedings from the May 1994 Symposium on New Energy. In this paper I would like to bring to your attention one of his devices he calls the SIBERIAN COLIU. Following is a small extract from the advertisement which describes its components in principle. "A cylindrical magnet is cut along one of its axial planes and the one half is turned up-down (the magnetic forces themselves do the rotation). Around this magnet, there is a trough filled with mercury in which the copper ring which can be seen at right swims (the children take salt solution and suspend the ring on threads). After sending a current of some tens of amperes from the battery at left, which is regulated by the rheostat, the ring begins to rotate. That's all!" Circuit: Cylinder magnet in center Copper ring rotates clockwise \ __---__/ _/ __ __ \_ / / \| \ \ ---->---->---\| \| N \| S \| \|--->---->---- \| \_ \__\|__/ _/ \| \| \__ __/ \| \| --- \| \| \| \| \| \| \| ----<----<-------\| \| \| \|-------<----<---- \| \| Battery According to his theories, you can do the reverse. Rotate the copper ring clockwise and it will generate power in the same direction of current flow. Yes I said the same direction. Marinov has demonstrated and proved this in his devices. What this means, and as he explains, is that working as a motor or a generator, there is no opposing torque to the direction of rotation and hence the device becomes "Self Accellerating" and as long as you draw power from it, it will power itself. There is one barrier when constructing this as a mechanical device and that is friction. Due to the low torques generated, friction halts the self accellerating process but its seems that Marinov has overcome this and implies that he has a SIBERIAN COLIU working as a PERPETUUM MOBILE and will soon present this at a press conference. It soon comes to mind that if his theories are true and his device is indeed doing what he explains then surely there must be a way to tap this energy in a more efficient way than a crudely inefficient electro mechanical device. I believe I have come up with such a way and device. I have been able to do so by deriving an analogy of Marinov's Scalar Magnetic Theory to the rotation of the Earth. If the Earth were a spherical magnet with the same field properties as that of Marinov's cylinder magnet, and the sun constantly supplied electrons just like that of the battery, then the Earth's ionosphere and crust would act like the copper ring and rotate. If this is so, no wonder that satelite tether was vaporised. It would have been tapping into an unimaginable amount of energy that was keeping the earth in perpetual rotation. You can bet NASA never heard of Marinov's theories. >From this analogy it then becomes easy to imagine an efficient device with no moving parts that may utilise Scalar magnetism to derive free energy and power itself. All that would be required is to replace the copper ring with an ionised gas plasma that may be contained in a sealed tube in the shape of a donut of which the cylinder magnet will then be placed in the hole. Two metal conductors shall be placed at oppossing ends on the outside of the donut tube of which their axis will be at right angles to the cut plane of the cylinder magnet. When a DC current is placed on the electrodes and the gas is ionised, it will become conductive (maybe even superconductive). This will cause the gas to rotate inside its donut tube (according to Marinov's theory). This will inturn generate more current in the same direction of the applied current flow and the device will become self generating and the excess power may be fed to a load. See Diagram Below: Ionising gas in donut tube-"x" \ _______ Donut shaped gas containment Cylinder magnet in centre \__/ x \__ / tube \ _/ x __---__ x \_ Metal Conductor __ / x _/ __ __ \_ x \ Metal conductor electrode electrode \ / x / / \| \ \ x \ / ---->----\|- \| \| N \| S \| \| -\|---->---- \| \ x \_ \__\|__/ _/ x / \| \| \_ x \__ __/ x _/ \| \| \_ x --- x _/ \| \| \__ x __/ \| \| ----- \| \| Changover \| \| \| \| Switch \| \|---<----<-------\| \| \| \|---0/--0----<---\| \| \| \| \| \| \| Ionising Current Source \| \| \| \| \| \_ \| ----<----<-----/\/\/\/\----0 \0----<---- Load Changeover Switch As can be seen above, there are no mechanical parts and hence, no friction to over come so even the smallest amount of torque on the gas plasma will soon accellerate to very large amounts as determined by the amount of current the load draws. I believe other successful vacuume tube energy devices of the past must have worked by utilising the same principles. T. Henry Moray was quoted as saying the amount of energy his device produced was determined by the load he placed on it. The more load he connected, the device powered with no problems. This is inherent in the working principle of the above device. If anyone experiments with the above mentioned device, it will be appreciated if the results are forwarded to me via Keelynet or at All comments, questions and critique welcome... Regards, Ossie Callanan
your connection to The Boston Globe Letters by Otto Frank unveiled Anne's father sought US visas for his family NEW YORK -- Anne Frank's father tried to arrange US visas for his family before they went into hiding, but his efforts were hampered when Allied and Axis countries tightened immigration policies, according to papers released yesterday. Otto Frank also sent desperate letters to friends and family in the United States pleading for help with immigration costs as the family tried to escape the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. "I would not ask if conditions here would not force me to do all I can in time to be able to avoid worse," Frank wrote to his college friend Nathan Straus in April 1941. "It is for the sake of the children mainly that we have to care for. Our own fate is of less importance." The letters, along with documents and records from various agencies that helped people emigrate from Europe, were released by the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, a New York-based institution that focuses on the history and culture of Eastern European Jews. The group discovered the file among 100,000 other Holocaust-related documents about a year and a half ago. The documents show how Frank tried to arrange for his family -- wife Edith, daughters Margo and Anne, and mother-in-law Rosa Hollander -- to go to the United States or Cuba. He wrote to relatives, friends, and officials between April 30 and Dec. 11, 1941. But immigration rules were changing under the Nazi regime, and there were nearly 300,000 people on a waiting list for a US immigration visa. Besides, since Frank had living relatives in Germany, he would have been unable to immigrate under US policy. "I know that it will be impossible for us all to leave even if most of the money is refundable, but Edith urges me to leave alone or with the children," he said in another letter to Straus. He managed to secure one visa to Cuba, but it was canceled in December 1941 after the Germans declared war on the United States. The family was in hiding for more than two years before being arrested. Anne Frank described the family's life in hiding in a diary that was published and has sold an estimated 75 million copies.
What's new in sustainability? SD Updates US: Maximising water re-use When the US-based Indiana Harbor site’s water discharge permit came up for renewal last year it included new environmental conditions. This prompted the team to explore whether wastewater could be re-used rather than simply treated and discharged. The site is now one of the few steel plants in the US that has a wastewater system designed to achieve zero discharge. This water ends up as a clean steam discharge to the atmosphere. The water had previously been discharged into the Indiana Harbor ship canal and eventually to Lake Michigan.
Are you highly sensitive? {quiz} If so, you might be a highly sensitive person. Highly sensitive people (HSPs) react more intensely to experiences than the average person. They process both positive and negative information more deeply, so they can easily become overwhelmed by external stimuli like loud noises, crowds, and high-pressure situations. High sensitivity is a normal trait that is found in 15 to 20 percent of the population, according to Dr. Elaine N. Aron, researcher and author of the book, The Highly Sensitive Person. High sensitivity is innate, meaning HSPs were probably born this way. Brain-scan studies show there are actually differences in the level of neural activity in the minds of HSPs, compared with non-HSPs. HSPs tend to have more empathy, pay closer attention to their environment, and are more attentive to social cues from others. They cry easily and have strong emotional responses because they have a deeper level of cognitive processing, are easily overwhelmed, and notice subtleties more, Dr. Aron tells the Wall Street Journal. Dr. Aron and her team are making a documentary about high sensitivity, which will feature musician Alanis Morissette, who describes herself as an HSP. The documentary is titled “Sensitive,” and you can read more about it here. To find out if you’re highly sensitive, take the 23-question, true/false quiz below, which was adapted from Dr. Aron’s book. The more questions you answer ‘true,’ the more sensitive you are. [qzzr quiz=”81391″ width=”100%” height=”auto” redirect=”true” offset=”0″] Image credit: Mirko Stoedter Comments are closed.
紀要論文戦後における小学生の意見文の変化の様相 The Aspect of Changes in Opinion Essays of Elementary School Students 石丸, 憲一 , ISHIMARU, Kenichi (67) , pp.3 - 16 , 2016-03-31 , 創価大学教育学部・教職大学院 In this research I attempted to observe the specific quality changes on how formalities andcontents balance each other in actual students’ opinion writings in view of the fact that varioustypes of efforts to teach opinion-essays in elementary schools were made at different periodsin the past. By classifying each sentence in the students’ opinionessays into two categories of“commenting sentences” and “non-commenting sentences,” I analyzed them focusing on thethree changes listed below:1. Changes in“ commenting sentences” ratio.2. Changes in the locations of segment in an essay in which“ commenting sentences” areplaced.3. Changes in usage of“ I think…” sentences.As a result, the following three findings were observed:1. The opinion writings in Heisei period have less number of“ commenting sentences” thanin Showa period in regard to the changes in “commenting sentences” ratio in the wholeessay.2. By analyzing the changes in“ commenting sentences” locations in the whole opinionessays, they appeared more often in the segments of the first half of the writings inShowaperiod; on the other hand, they tended to be located towards the end in Heisei periodopinion-essays.3. When I compared the ways of making comments for the view of how“ I think…”sentences are used, there were tendencies to show opinions more euphemistically inHeisei period. Regarding how conclusions were expressed, in Showa period, there weremore comments urging the society and others to change, while in Heisei period, therewere more comments expecting themselves to change. このアイテムのアクセス数：回
Thursday, June 23, 2011 Mayholes and Swedish boy princesses I don't know how seriously we're meant to take this story. But even if it is meant humorously, it says something about the modern world. Swedes have traditionally danced around a maypole during midsummer festivals. But now a feminist group wants them to dance around a "mayhole" instead. Why? Because they regard the maypole as a phallic symbol, and because other aspects of the festival are too heteronormative and patriarchal: Rather than erecting a maypole, he and other members in the group want Swedes to spend time fashioning 'mayholes' by digging a hole in the ground or arranging tree branches in the shape of a vagina. “It could be all different sizes, laid on the ground, or erected into the sky. It could be built from flowers, fabric, leafs, stones or glass," says Chamberland, who believes Sweden's current Midsummer tradition is too "heteronormative". “It’s not just the pole," he explains. Some Swedes have responded that men and women are represented equally in the maypole tradition because the earth represents the woman, but: Stina Svensson, a spokesperson for the feminist political party Feminist Initiative welcomes Chamberland's efforts. Another story from Sweden concerns the efforts to deconstruct gender roles in Swedish preschools. A reporter from the Dagens Nyheter went to a preschool and spoke to the boys about wearing princess costumes. The reporter then interviewed the staff about their efforts to break down the sex distinctions between the children: Sanna Karlsson and Mia Smith's preschool teacher at Årstaberg. Mia is in charge of operations and works in a young group, True is working with slightly older children. In the pre-school curriculum, it is clear such that we will offer boys and girls the same opportunities and that we should discourage children from being confined by gender stereotypes. An awareness of gender is part of the pedagogue mission, says Sanna Karlsson. The assumption is that all children should have access to the same material regardless of sex, says Mia Svensson. Often, it is about offering princess costumes to the boys and building materials to the girls. Although the response of individual children is something you think about. How do the staff work? We are in constant discussion, says Mia. The boys in young departments will be happy about being in a skirt, coming to preschool in nail polish and want to make themselves beautiful. But somewhere along the way something happens. The older the children begin to comment on each other, become more aware of what they and others are wearing. Just the clothes are clear markers of status as they get older. Yet there is a lot of experimentation with different roles among the boys. A good example is that when they dress up as Batman or in very masculine attributes, but it does not seem to control the game. Maybe they stand there in the Spiderman costume and prepare food or walk around with dolls, says Mia Svensson. The staff works consciously so that the boys should dare to speak freely outside of gender conventions. But much is also about the attitudes they encounter at home. Both she and Sanna Karlsson face sometimes bad parents. Even if they think it's OK that the boys dress as a princess, they are worried that they will be teased or about the negative response of other adults and children. Awareness of gender is a fair question, and gives tremendous gains in the environment among children, says Sanna. We notice it becomes a more tolerant atmosphere in which children signal to each other that you can be who you are. For the staff at Årstaberg it's not about trying to get kids to do something they do not want, but about individual freedom. This is liberal autonomy theory in action (Dagens Nyheter describes its editorial stance as "independently liberal"). If the highest good is autonomy - a freedom to self-determine - and our sex is something we don't get to self-determine, then sex roles will be thought of negatively as something that limit us. That's why the article talks about children being "confined by gender stereotypes", whereas boys dressing as princesses is held to signal an "individual freedom" to "be who you are". Swedish preschool teachers are bound to follow this view of the world: Preschool curriculum developed in 1998 is a guiding document with legal bearing capacity as all the staff at the country's pre-schools must consider. It says: "The pre-school is to counteract traditional gender patterns and gender roles. As I've noted before, the Swedish state is not neutral. Liberalism is the state ideology. 1. You neglected to mention that this is the country where feminists banned urinals out of what looked like penis envy at people who could pee standing. 2. As I've noted before, the Swedish state is not neutral. Liberalism is the state ideology. This is why I avoid discussions with idiots whom believe that the philosophy inherent in the culture or whatever sections just can't be connected to politics. 3. It would be most amusing to see Swedish feminists try to explain to Muslim immigrant parents why their boys and girls would be better off as androgynous beings. 4. How on earth can we avoid the same disaster here? 5. "It says: "The pre-school is to counteract traditional gender patterns and gender roles." 6. This is actually a good thing. Look at it this way, by feeding this bullshit to children and convincing them that it is true, when the boys grow older and realise that everything they were told conflicts with the real world and human nature/biology, i.e. girls are attracted to strong, confident, aggressive men, not liberal, pansy, sensitive, new age types, then they will become the liberals most vociferous opponents and will react towards them with much anger and rage. They are basically indoctrinating their children into a way of thinking that when it fails, which it ultimately will, the lies and falsehoods of that ideology will be exposed and those former indoctrinated children will become foot-soldiers of revolution. They are laying the seeds of their own destruction. 7. You seem to be getting a lot of whacky stories from Sweden lately Mark. :) That first story one reminds me of this hilariously joyless example closer to home - in which some do gooders propose replacing easter eggs with brussel sprouts!
Saturday, April 8, 2017 Brown first gained attention when he led small groups of volunteers during the Bleeding Kansas crisis. Unlike most other Northerners, who advocated peaceful resistance to the pro-slavery faction, Brown believed that peaceful resistance was shown to be ineffective and that the only way to defeat the oppressive system of slavery was through violent insurrection. He believed he was the instrument of God's wrath in punishing men for the sin of owning slaves. Dissatisfied with the pacifism encouraged by the organized abolitionist movement, he said, "These men are all talk. What we need is action—action!"[3] During the Kansas campaign, he and his supporters killed five pro-slavery southerners in what became known as the Pottawatomie Massacre in May 1856 in response to the raid of the "free soil" city of Lawrence, Kansas. In 1859 he led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry. During the raid, he seized the armory; seven people were killed, and ten or more were injured. He intended to arm slaves with weapons from the arsenal, but the attack failed. Within 36 hours, Brown's men had fled or been killed or captured by local pro-slavery farmers, militiamen, and U.S. Marines led by Robert E. Lee. Brown's subsequent capture by federal forces seized the nation's attention, as Southerners feared it was just the first of many Northern plots to cause a slave rebellion that might endanger their lives, while Republicans dismissed the notion and said they would not interfere with slavery in the South.[4] Historians agree John Brown played a major role in the start of the Civil War. Historian David Potter has said the emotional effect of Brown's raid was greater than the philosophical effect of the Lincoln–Douglas debates, and that his raid revealed a deep division between North and South.[5] Some writers, such as Bruce Olds, describe him as a monomaniacal zealot; others, such asStephen B. Oates, regard him as "one of the most perceptive human beings of his generation." David S. Reynolds hails the man who "killed slavery, sparked the civil war, and seeded civil rights" and Richard Owen Boyer emphasizes that Brown was "an American who gave his life that millions of other Americans might be free."[6] The song "John Brown's Body" made him a heroic martyr and was a popular Union marching song during the Civil War. Brown's actions prior to the Civil War as an abolitionist, and the tactics he chose, still make him a controversial figure today. He is sometimes memorialized as a heroic martyr and a visionary and sometimes vilified as a madman and a terrorist.[7] Historians debate whether he was "America's first domestic terrorist"; many historians believe the term "terrorist" is an inappropriate label to describe Brown.[8] Early years John Brown was born May 9, 1800, in Torrington, Connecticut. He was the fourth of the eight children of Owen Brown (February 16, 1771 – May 8, 1856) and Ruth Mills (January 25, 1772 – December 9, 1808) and grandson of Capt. John Brown (1728–1776).[9] Brown could trace his ancestry back to 17th-century English Puritans.[10] Brown's father had as an apprentice Jesse R. Grant, father of future general and U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant.[11] File:John Brown by Augustus Washington, 1846-47.png File:John Brown by Augustus Washington, 1846-7.png Brown circa 1846 inSpringfield, Massachusetts. John Brown right in 1846 in Springfield, Massachusetts, holding the flag of Subterranean Pass Way, his militant counterpart to the Underground Railroad. In 1820, Brown married Dianthe Lusk. Their first child, John Jr, was born 13 months later. In 1825, Brown and his family moved to New Richmond, Pennsylvania, where he bought 200 acres (81 hectares) of land. He cleared an eighth of it and built a cabin, a barn, and a tannery. The John Brown Tannery Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[14] Within a year, the tannery employed 15 men. Brown also made money raising cattle and surveying. He helped to establish a post office and a school. During this period, Brown operated an interstate business involving cattle and leather production along with a kinsman, Seth Thompson, from eastern Ohio. In 1831, one of his sons died. Brown fell ill, and his businesses began to suffer, leaving him in terrible debt. In the summer of 1832, shortly after the death of a newborn son, his wife Dianthe died. On June 14, 1833, Brown married 16-year-old Mary Ann Day (April 15, 1817 – May 1, 1884), originally of Meadville, Pennsylvania. They eventually had 13 children, in addition to the seven children from his previous marriage. In 1837, in response to the murder of Elijah P. Lovejoy, Brown publicly vowed: “Here, before God, in the presence of these witnesses, from this time, I consecrate my life to the destruction of slavery!” Brown was declared bankrupt by a federal court on September 28, 1842. In 1843, four of his children died of dysentery. As Louis DeCaro Jr shows in his biographical sketch (2007), from the mid-1840s Brown had built a reputation as an expert in fine sheep and wool, and entered into a partnership with Col. Simon Perkins of Akron, Ohio, whose flocks and farms were managed by Brown and sons. Brown eventually moved into a home with his family across the street from the Perkins Stone Mansion located on Perkins Hill. The John Brown House (Akron, Ohio) still stands and is owned and operated by The Summit County Historical Society of Akron, Ohio. As Brown's associations grew among sheep farmers of the region, his expertise was often discussed in agricultural journals even as he widened the scope of his travels in conjunction with sheep and wool concerns (which often brought him into contact with other fervent anti-slavery people as well). Transformative years in Springfield, Massachusetts In 1846, Brown and his business partner Simon Perkins moved to the ideologically progressive city of Springfield, Massachusetts. In Springfield, Brown found a community whose white leadership – from the community’s most prominent churches, to its most wealthy businessmen, to its most popular politicians, to its local jurists, and even to the publisher of one of the nation’s most influential newspapers – were deeply involved and emotionally invested in the anti-slavery movement.[16] Brown and Perkins' intent was to represent the interests of the Connecticut River Valley's wool growers against the interests of the region's wool manufacturers – thus Brown and Perkins set-up a wool commission operation. While in Springfield, Brown lived in a house at 51 Franklin Street.[17] Several years before Brown's arrival in Springfield, in 1844, the city's African-American abolitionists had founded the Sanford Street "Free Church" – now known as St. John's Congregational Church – which went on to become one of the United States most prominent platforms for abolitionist speeches.[17] From 1846 until he left Springfield in 1850, John Brown was a parishioner at the Free Church, where he witnessed abolitionist lectures by Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth.[18] Indeed, during Brown's time in Springfield, he became deeply involved in transforming the city into a major center of abolitionism, and one of the safest and most significant stops on the Underground Railroad. John Brown's Bible is still on display at St. John's Congregational Church in Springfield, which to this day remains one of the Northeast's most prominent black churches.[19] In 1847, after speaking at the "Free Church," the famed African-American abolitionist Frederick Douglass spent a night speaking with John Brown, after which he wrote, "from this night spent with John Brown in Springfield, Mass. in 1847 while I continued to write and speak against slavery, I became all the same less hopeful for its peaceful abolition. My utterances became more and more tinged by the color of this man’s strong impressions.”[16] While in Springfield, as Brown learned more about abolitionism and the Underground Railroad, he also learned more about the region's mercantile elite, knowledge which while initially a 'curse', proved ultimately to be a 'blessing' to Brown's later activities in Kansas and at Harper's Ferry. Springfield's mercantile elite reacted with hesitation to change their theretofore highly profitable formula of low-quality wool sold en masse for low prices. Initially, Brown naively trusted Springfield's manufacturers, but soon came to realize that they were determined to maintain their control of price-setting. Also, on the outskirts of Springfield, the Connecticut River Valley's sheep farmers were largely unorganized and hesitant to change their methods of production to meet higher standards. In the Ohio Cultivator, Brown and other wool growers complained that the Connecticut RiverValley's farmers' tendencies were lowering all U.S. wool prices abroad. In reaction, Brown made a last-ditch effort to overcome the Pioneer Valley's wool mercantile elite by seeking an alliance with European-based manufacturers. Ultimately, Brown was disappointed to learn that Europe wanted to buy Western Massachusetts's wools en masse at the cheap prices they'd been getting from them. Brown then traveled to England to seek a higher price for Springfield's wool. The trip was a disaster, as the firm incurred a loss of $40,000 (over $980,000 in today's dollars), of which Col. Perkins bore the larger share. With this misfortune, the Perkins and Brown wool commission operation closed in Springfield in late 1849. Subsequent lawsuits tied up the partners for several more years. The Fugitive Slave Act and The League of Gileadites File:John Brown by Southworth & Hawes, 1856.png Brown circa 1856 The perilous journey to freedom: First pictures inside the 'Underground Railroad' where heroic volunteers risked their lives to smuggle 100,000 slaves out of the South before the Civil War • Photographer Jeanine Michna-Bales has for the first time photographed the underground routes tens of thousands of slaves took to escape the plantations of the South • Artist spent months poring over historical documents to accurately document many of the stops made by those escaping the South 200 years ago • More than 100,000 slaves are believed to have been saved on the so-called 'Underground Railroad' - routes mapped out by heroic abolitionists who risked their lives to rescue slaves and help them flee north • Swamps, forestland, caves and safe houses are among the places where the groups took shelter • Michna-Bales has published the images in a new book The secret 'Underground Railroad' network which led tens of thousands of slaves on 2,000 miles hikes to freedom ahead of the Civil War has finally been revealed 200 years on.A network of undercover roads, trails, shelter and safe houses, the paths were the only means for many to escape the South and journey to Canada and the free states of the North.Photographer Jeanine Michna-Bales has painstakingly documented each step of the perilous journey many took through plantations, forests and swamps to sympathetic abolitionists and ultimately freedom.Over a course of months the artist photographed many of the known routes - travelling on foot as the slaves would - in the first ever attempt to photograph the secret pathways which until now were only recorded in the historical written accounts of those who used them.Her foreboding images printed together in her book highlight the dangers that both the fleeing slaves and those who helped them faced as they gave their lives in the quest of freedom and justice.The secret 'Underground Railroad' network which led tens of thousands of slaves on 2,000 miles hikes to freedom ahead of the Civil War has finally been revealed 200 years on by photographer Jeanine Michna-Bales. Many would flee plantations, like the above in Cane River, Louisiana, and head north towards Ontario, Canada The secret 'Underground Railroad' network which led tens of thousands of slaves on 2,000 miles hikes to freedom ahead of the Civil War has finally been revealed 200 years on by photographer Jeanine Michna-Bales. Many would flee plantations, like the above in Cane River, Louisiana, and head north towards Ontario, Canada A network of undercover roads, trails, shelter and safe houses, the paths were the only means for many to escape the South and journey to Canada and the free states of the North. This barn in Centerville, Indiana, had a tunnel leading underneath that lead to another station on the railroad. A stopover station was located on the Frogmore Plantation in Concordia Parish, Louisiana (above). Michna-Bales has painstakingly documented each step of the perilous journey many took through plantations, forests and swamps to sympathetic abolitionists and ultimately freedom Pictured center is a gravestone in a slave cemetery in Missouri, outside the Mount Locust Stand and Plantation. Over a course of months the artist has photographed many of the known routes - travelling on foot as the slaves would The Elias Conwell House in Napoloen, Indiana , along Old Michigan Road, was a major north-south artery between Kentucky and Michigan. The photographer's work is the first ever attempt to photograph the secret pathways which until now were only recorded in the historical written accounts of those who used them Many of those heroic figures or the 'conductors' who helped slaves escape, knew only their small part of the journey - with secrecy of paramount importance to protect others involved further down the line. \ Bounty hunters were often dispatched by slave-owners trying to find their escaped slaves alongside federal marshals attempting to close the railroad down. Many of these 'conductors' infiltrated plantations by posing as slaves in order to lead an escape attempt. Harriet Tubman - herself an escaped slave woman - was one such figure, fearlessly sneaking back into the plantations that once held her to save others. The groups usually traveled at night - taking refuge in safe houses or whatever shelter they could find along the way from one 'station' to the next. Supplies - including food, water and blankets - were often hidden for fleeing groups along the route. Though most traveled by foot some abolitionists were more ambitious using wagons and horses. Michna-Bales herself focused on routes starting near Louisiana, moving north along the Natchez Trace, Wired reports. Using historical documents she traced where groups would stop on their journeys north. The Erastus Farnham House, south of Fremont, Indiana, is believed to have been a stop on the railroad. Many of those heroic figures or the 'conductors' who helped slaves escape, knew only their small part of the journey - with secrecy of paramount importance to protect others involved further down the line Above is a the Stone Arch Railroad Bridge in Vernon, Indiana. The town had a series of tunnels that helped slaves evade capture while they were on the run It's believed that some of the slaves used to hide out in Barren County, Kentucky, (above) on their journey north. The Underground Railroad was first commonly referred to around 1839 but had existed, at least informally, for many years before A cabin owned by James and Rachel Sullivan sits between the trees in Penville, Indiana. Many people on the route would help slaves hide from authorities, an act that could lead to arrest and even the death penalty Moonlight shines on the Mississippi River in Tensas Parish, Louisiana. Many of the slaves vying for freedom had to cross dangerous sections of river on their route Captain John Lowry’s Lodi property in Corner, Michigan, was one of the stops on the railway. The groups of slaves usually traveled at night - taking refuge in safe houses or whatever shelter they could find along the way from one 'station' to the next She traveled 2,000 miles over three months at night breaking the journeys into 20 mile segments as slaves would have to do. 'Growing up in the Midwest, the Underground Railroad was understandably an important part of our school curriculum given that some of the routes ran literally through our backyards,' Michna-Bales told the New York Times. 'I became fascinated with the topic and often imagined what it must have been like to walk thousands of miles for the chance to be free. The Underground Railroad has been described as the first civil rights movement in the United States because it blurred racial, gender, religious and socio-economic lines and united people in the common cause of ending the injustice of slavery' Michna-Bales traveled 2,000 miles over three months at night breaking the journeys into 20 mile segments as slaves would have to do. She encountered some heavily-forested areas like the one above which many of the slaves would have faced Michna-Bales said she became fascinated with the idea that thousands of people walked thousands of miles just for their freedom. Supplies - including food, water and blankets - were often hidden for fleeing groups along the route Many slaves personally attempted to flee - many further south - in bid to make it overseas. The Railroad north reached it's height by 1860 saving approximately 100,000 Bounty hunters were often dispatched by slave-owners trying to find their escaped slaves alongside federal marshals attempting to close the railroad down. So many were forced to traverse dangerous sections of water A satirical cartoon shows the antagonism between Northern abolitionists on the one hand, and Secretary of State Daniel Webster and other supporters of enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 The above is a reproduction of a call for donations for former African-American slaves who had just arrived via the Underground Railroad, April 19, 1853 'I began to understand along the way that there were so many different people who made up the Underground Railroad, from freedom-seekers themselves to other slaves, free blacks, abolitionists, Quakers, Presbyterians, the wealthy, the poor, female, male'. 'My hope is that this project will help illuminate the darkened corners of our shared history and show us that when we work together great things can be accomplished. As Frederick Douglass may have wished, may we all come together through the darkness into the light.' The Railroad north reached its height by 1860 saving approximately 100,000. The images are all taken from Michna- Bales's book: 'Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad' by Jeanine Michna-Bales (Princeton Architectural Press). Before Brown left Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1850, the United States passed the notorious Fugitive Slave Act, a law which mandated that authorities in free states aid in the return of escaped slaves and imposed penalties on those who aided in their escape. In response to Fugitive Slave Act, John Brown founded a militant group to prevent slaves' capture – The League of Gileadites – in Springfield. In the Bible, Mount Gilead was the place where only the bravest of Israelites would gather together to face an invading enemy. Brown founded the League of Gileadites with these words, "Nothing so charmes the American people as personal bravery. [Blacks] would have ten times the number [of whites friends than] they now have were they but half as much in earnest to secure their dearest rights as they are to ape the follies and extravagances of their white neighbors, and to indulge in idle show, in ease, and in luxury."[20] On leaving Springfield in 1850, Brown instructed the League of Gileadites to act "quickly, quietly, and efficiently" to protect slaves that escaped to Springfield – words that would foreshadow Brown's later actions preceding Harper's Ferry.[20] It is worth noting that from Brown's founding of the League of Gileadites onward, not one person was ever taken back into slavery from Springfield, Massachusetts.[16] On leaving Springfield in 1850, Brown gave his rocking chair to the mother of his beloved black porter, Thomas, as a gesture of affection.[16] Some popular narrators have exaggerated the unfortunate demise of Brown and Perkins' wool commission in Springfield with Brown's later life choices. In actuality, Perkins absorbed much of the financial loss, and their partnership continued for several more years, with Brown nearly breaking even by 1854[citation needed]. The men remained friends after ending their partnership amicably. Indeed, Brown was a man of great talent and judgment in farming and sheep raising; however, he was not a good business administrator. The Perkins and Brown partnership not only reveal Brown as a man with a widely appreciated specialization (long since forgotten), but also reflect his perennial zeal for the underdog which drove him to struggle on behalf of the economically vulnerable farmers of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and those near Springfield, Massachusetts. Brown's time in Springfield sowed the seeds for the future financial support that he would receive from New England's great merchants, introduced him to nationally famous abolitionists like Douglass and Truth, and included the foundation of his first militant anti-slavery group The League of Gileadites.[16][17] During this time, Brown also helped publicize David Walker's speech called Appeal.[21] Brown's personal attitudes evolved in Springfield, as he observed the success of the city's Underground Railroad and made his first venture into militant, anti-slavery community organizing. In speeches, he pointed to the martyrs Elijah Lovejoy and Charles Turner Torrey as whites "ready to help blacks challenge slave-catchers.".[22] In Springfield, Brown found a city that shared his own anti-slavery passions, and each seemed to educate the other. Certainly, with both successes and failures, Brown's Springfield years were a transformative period of his life, which catalyzed many of his later actions.[16] Homestead in New York File:House at John Brown's Farm.jpg John Brown's Farm, North Elba, New York In 1848, Brown heard of Gerrit Smith's Adirondack land grants to poor black men, and decided to move his family among the new settlers. He bought land near North Elba, New York (near Lake Placid), for $1 an acre, and spent 2 years there.[23] After he was executed, his wife took his body there for burial. Since 1895, the farm has been owned by New York state.[24] The John Brown Farm and Gravesite is now a National Historic Landmark. Actions in Kansas Main articles: Pottawatomie Massacre and Bleeding Kansas John Steuart CurryTragic Prelude,1938–1940, John Brown and the clash of forces in Bleeding Kansas. A mural in theKansas State Capitol, Topeka, Kansas. Brown and the free settlers were optimistic that they could bring Kansas into the union as a slavery-free state. But in late 1855 and early 1856, it was increasingly clear to Brown that pro-slavery forces were willing to violate the rule of law in order to force Kansas to become a slave state. Brown believed that terrorism, fraud, and eventually deadly attacks became the obvious agenda of the pro-slavery supporters, then known as "Border Ruffians." After the winter snows thawed in 1856, the pro-slavery activists began a campaign to seize Kansas on their own terms. Brown was particularly affected by the Sacking of Lawrence in May 1856, in which asheriff-led posse destroyed newspaper offices and a hotel. Only one man, a Border Ruffian, was killed. Preston Brooks's caning of anti-slavery Senator Charles Sumner also fueled Brown's anger. These violent acts were accompanied by celebrations in the pro-slavery press, with writers such as Benjamin Franklin Stringfellow of the Squatter Sovereign proclaiming that pro-slavery forces "are determined to repel this Northern invasion, and make Kansas a Slave State; though our rivers should be covered with the blood of their victims, and the carcasses of the Abolitionists should be so numerous in the territory as to breed disease and sickness, we will not be deterred from our purpose" (quoted in Reynolds, p. 162). Brown was outraged by both the violence of the pro-slavery forces, and also by what he saw as a weak and cowardly response by the antislavery partisans and the Free State settlers, whom he described as "cowards, or worse" (Reynolds pp. 163–164). Biographer Louis A. DeCaro Jr. further shows that Brown's beloved father, Owen, had died on May 8, 1856, and correspondence indicates that John Brown and his family received word of his death around the same time. The emotional darkness of the hour was intensified by the real concerns that Brown had for the welfare of his sons and the free state settlers in their vicinity, especially since the sacking of Lawrence seems to have signaled an all-out campaign of violence by pro-slavery forces. Brown conducted surveillance on encamped "ruffians" in his vicinity and learned that his family was marked for attack, and furthermore was given supposedly reliable information as to pro-slavery neighbors who had aligned and supported these forces. Speaking of the threats that were supposedly the justification for the massacre, Free State leader Charles Robinson stated, “When it is known that such threats were as plenty as blue-berries in June, on both sides, all over the Territory, and were regarded as of no more importance than the idle wind, this indictment will hardly justify midnight assassination of all pro-slavery men, whether making threats or not... Had all men been killed in Kansas who indulged in such threats, there would have been none left to bury the dead.”[25] In the two years prior to the massacre, there had 8 killings in Kansas Territory attributable to slavery politics, and none in the vicinity of the massacre. Brown murdered five in a single night, and the massacre was the match in the powder keg that precipitated the bloodiest period in “Bleeding Kansas” history, a three-month period of retaliatory raids and battles in which 29 people died. [26] Palmyra and Osawatomie In August, a company of over three hundred Missourians under the command of Major General John W. Reid crossed into Kansas and headed towards Osawatomie, Kansas, intending to destroy the Free State settlements there, and then march on Topeka and Lawrence.[27] On the morning of August 30, 1856, they shot and killed Brown's son Frederick and his neighbor David Garrison on the outskirts of Osawatomie. Brown, outnumbered more than seven to one, arranged his 38 men behind natural defenses along the road. Firing from cover, they managed to kill at least 20 of Reid's men and wounded 40 more.[28] Reid regrouped, ordering his men to dismount and charge into the woods. Brown's small group scattered and fled across the Marais des Cygnes River. One of Brown's men was killed during the retreat and four were captured. While Brown and his surviving men hid in the woods nearby, the Missourians plundered and burned Osawatomie. Despite being defeated, Brown's bravery and military shrewdness in the face of overwhelming odds brought him national attention and made him a hero to many Northern abolitionists,[29] who gave him the nickname "Osawatomie Brown". This incident was dramatized in the play Osawatomie Brown. On September 7, Brown entered Lawrence to meet with Free State leaders and help fortify against a feared assault. At least 2,700 pro-slavery Missourians were once again invading Kansas. On September 14, they skirmished near Lawrence. Brown prepared for battle, but serious violence was averted when the new governor of Kansas, John W. Geary, ordered the warring parties to disarm and disband, and offered clemency to former fighters on both sides.[30] Brown, taking advantage of the fragile peace, left Kansas with three of his sons to raise money from supporters in the north. Later years Gathering forces By November 1856, Brown had returned to the East, and spent the next two years in New England raising funds. Initially, Brown returned to Springfield, where he received contributions, and also a letter of recommendation from a prominent and wealthy merchant, Mr. George Walker. George Walker was the brother-in-law of Franklin Benjamin Sanborn, the secretary for the Massachusetts State Kansas Committee, who later introduced Brown to several influential abolitionists in the Boston area in January 1857.[17][31] Amos Adams Lawrence, a prominent Boston merchant, secretly gave a large amount of cash. William Lloyd GarrisonThomas Wentworth HigginsonTheodore Parker and George Luther Stearns, and Samuel Gridley Howe also supported Brown. A group of six wealthy abolitionists – Sanborn, Higginson, Parker, Stearns, Howe, andGerrit Smith – agreed to offer Brown financial support for his antislavery activities; they would eventually provide most of the financial backing for the raid on Harpers Ferry, and would come to be known as the Secret Six[32] and the Committee of Six. Brown often requested help from them with "no questions asked" and it remains unclear of how much of Brown's scheme the Secret Six were aware. On January 7, 1858, the Massachusetts Committee pledged to provide 200 Sharps Rifles and ammunition, which were being stored at Tabor, Iowa. In March, Brown contracted Charles Blair of Collinsville, Connecticut for 1,000 pikes. File:John Brown portrait, 1859.jpg John Brown in 1859 In the following months, Brown continued to raise funds, visiting WorcesterSpringfieldNew HavenSyracuse and Boston. In Boston, he metHenry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. He received many pledges but little cash. In March, while in New York City, he was introduced to Hugh Forbes, an English mercenary, who had experience as a military tactician that he gained while fighting with Giuseppe Garibaldi in Italy in 1848. Brown hired him to be the drillmaster for his men and to write their tactical handbook. They agreed to meet in Tabor that summer. File:Maxon house springdale iowa.jpg William Maxon's house, near Springdale, Iowa, where Brown's associates lived and trained, 1857–1859. To throw Forbes off the trail and to invalidate his assertions, Brown returned to Kansas in June, and he remained in that vicinity for six months. There he joined forces withJames Montgomery, who was leading raids into Missouri. On December 20, Brown led his own raid, in which he liberated eleven slaves, took captive two white men, and looted horses and wagons. On January 20, 1859, he embarked on a lengthy journey to take the eleven liberated slaves to Detroit and then on a ferry to Canada. While passing through Chicago, Brown met with Allan Pinkerton who arranged and raised the fare for the passage to Detroit. File:John Brown - Ole Peter Hansen Balling.jpg Portrait of John Brown by Ole Peter Hansen Balling, 1872 Over the course of the next few months, he traveled again through Ohio, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts to draw up more support for the cause. On May 9, he delivered a lecture in Concord, Massachusetts. In attendance were Bronson Alcott,Rockwell HoarEmerson and Thoreau. Brown also reconnoitered with the Secret Six. In June he paid his last visit to his family in North Elba, before he departed for Harpers Ferry. He stayed one night en route in Hagerstown, Maryland at the Washington House, on West Washington Street. On June 30, 1859 the hotel had at least 25 guests, including I. Smith and Sons, Oliver Smith and Owen Smith and Jeremiah Anderson, all from New York. From papers found in the Kennedy Farmhouse after the raid, it is known that Brown wrote to Kagi that he would sign into a hotel as I. Smith and Sons.[36] File:John brown interior engine house.jpg File:Barclay coppock.jpg File:Edwin coppock.jpg Edwin Coppock ohn Anderson Jeremiah Goldsmith Anderson(killed during the storming of John Brown's Fort) Oliver Brown Watson Brown Lewis Sheridan Leary William H. Leeman Stewart Taylor (died of wounds) Dauphin Thompson (killed during the storming of John Brown's Fort) William Thompson captured and killed by militia. For an account of his capture, see "Seven Marstellers and their lineal descendants" by Rev.John Andrew Thompson Marsteller (1938) Hanged in 1859 following the raid John Brown John E. Cook Hanged in 1860 Albert Hazlett Aaron D. Stevens The arrest, trial, and execution of John Brown in the fall of 1859 came at a critical moment in United State history. According to historian David S. Reynolds in his recent biography, John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights (2005), Brown's actions and statements following his failed attempt to begin a slave insurrection near Harper's Ferry, Virginia so polarized northern and southern opinion on the slavery issue as to ensure Abraham Lincoln's election and cause the Civil War to occur perhaps two decades earlier than it might have otherwise. Reynolds is quick to point out that not only was Brown "right" on slavery and other racial issues of his day, but that his conduct--in causing the Civil War to begin in 1861 rather than, say, 1881--potentially saved hundreds of thousands of lives that could have been lost in a war fought in a time of much greater population and more deadly weaponry and, at the same time, might well have spared an entire generation of African-Americans the humiliating experience of human bondage. John Brown was born into a family of slavery-hating devout Calvinists on May 9, 1800 in Torrington, Connecticut. At age five, Brown moved with his parents and three siblings to a log house in a frontier township in Ohio's Western Reserve, a region where native Americans vastly outnumbered the small population of whites. Unlike most other settlers, the Browns showed no indication of feelings of racial superiority, and young John Brown soon had native friends and took to wearing buckskin, a material generally worn only by the Indians. While on a long cattle drive into Michigan in 1812, Brown became friends with a slave boy at house where he lodged. There Brown witnessed his friend suffer beatings with household tools and being made to sleep, wearing only rags, in the cold. Brown later described this experience as transforming him into "a most determined Abolitionist." By age sixteen, the second driving force in Brown's life would be in place: He announced his acceptance of Christ in a small schoolhouse and declared his goal of committing the Bible's "entire contents" to memory. The next year, Brown would offer his first direct aid to a fugitive slave, hiding him in the family cabin. Soon Brown and his father, Owen Brown, became active participants in the Underground Railroad. Brown became the patriarch of a family that was large, familiar with tragedy, committed to abolitionism, and almost unique in its willingness to "live with black people and to die for them." Over two decades, Brown fathered twenty children with two wives. His first wife died while giving birth to one of the twenty in 1832. Nine of the children succumbed to childhood diseases or accidents. Three sons died in Brown's private fight against slavery. Only eight (four by his first wife, and four by the steady and stoical Mary Day, who he married in 1833) outlived their father. Brown's parenting included tough discipline (his ledger, for example, specified eight lashes with a beech switch "for telling a lie"--but Brown sometimes asked his sons to administer most of the punishment on himself), and promotion of self-reliance and Christian values including, especially, compassion for the elderly, the unfortunate, and animals. The Radicalization of John Brown Brown's efforts to secure racial justice were numerous and diverse. He promoted a school for blacks. He insisted that his two hired black employees be allowed to sit in his pew at his Congregational Church--an unprecedented demand that led to his expulsion from the church. He became a stationmaster in the Underground Railroad, constructing a hiding place in his barn and taking fugitive slaves on nocturnal rides north to the next station. While he endured a series of financial failures in Ohio and Massachusetts, and dealt with his family tragedies, Brown's thoughts increasingly turned to developing new strategies to combat slavery. He took inspiration from two African-Americans who played key roles in the fight for racial justice. He admired Nat Turner, the Virginia slave who, in 1831, led a bloody armed rebellion against plantation owners that left 55 white southerners dead. He also held in high esteem Cinque, the leader of a successful 1837 revolt on the Spanish slave schooner The Amistad-- a ship that eventually found its way to the United States and became the focus of an intense legal battle that culminated in a Supreme Court decision granting the would-be slaves their freedom. Most abolitionists tended to be pacifists, but Brown accepted--and later, embraced--violence as necessary. In November 1837 a proslavery mob destroyed the presses of an antislavery newspaper near St. Louis and murdered its editor, Elijah P. Lovejoy. Brown expressed outrage. At an antislavery meeting in Ohio called to protest the murder, Brown suddenly stood up, raised his right hand, and announced, "Here, before God, in the presence of these witnesses, from this time, I consecrate my life to the destruction of slavery!" Brown first revealed his plans to incite a slave insurrection in the South to Frederick Douglass when the famous African-American abolitionist visited his Springfield, Massachusetts home in November 1847. Pointing to the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia on a large map on his table, Brown told Douglass that God placed them there "to aid in the emancipation of your race" and they were "full of good hiding places, where a large number of men could be concealed and baffle and elude pursuit for a long time." He confided that he hoped to invade with "twenty-five picked men" who would sneak on to plantations, liberate slaves, and then retreat with them to the protection of the mountains, eventually forming a black colony there. These invasions, he said, would also have the effect of energizing additional abolitionist activity in the North. A few years later, after Brown moved to a farm in North Elba, New York (near Lake Placid) to live in the largely black community established at that scenic location, he began to focus his thoughts on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry. His daughter, Sarah, recalled Brown drawing sketches of forts that he hoped to build for protection in hills surrounding the Virginia town. By 1854, Brown was actively recruiting men to participate in his planned attack on Harper's Ferry. It would be five more years, however, before Brown could put his plan into action. In the meantime, he became drawn into the drama that was unfolding in the Kansas Territory. In 1854, the infamous Kansas-Nebraska Act opened the western territories to slavery. The next year, Brown followed three of his sons to Kansas, hoping to do whatever he could to prevent the state from falling into the slavery column. Both sides dug in for a titanic struggle on the slavery question. Southerners, including many slave owners in neighboring Missouri, believed that if Kansas went for slavery, other western territories--in a sort of domino effect--would do likewise. They pledged to drive antislavery settlers out of Kansas. Northerners saw the battle as equally important. Antislavery activists headed west and began establishing camps in the territory. They found anarchic conditions. Violence, primarily directed at antislavery settlers by border ruffians from Missouri, meant more than law--and the law was hard to determine, what with two competing territorial legislatures enacting contradictory legislation. Vote fraud was rampant. Missourian General B. F. Stringfellow urged his fellow proslavery supporters, "To those who have qualms about violating laws, I say the time has come when such impositions must be disregarded...I advise you, one and all, to enter every election district in Kansas...and vote at the point of the bowie-knife and revolver." The ruffians, having organized a bogus legislature, pushed through legislation imposing years in prison for publishing or even possessing an abolitionist publication and promising the death penalty for anyone urging slaves to revolt. Killings occurred with distressing frequency. A visiting woman from Boston wrote from Kansas that to the proslavery men "to shoot a man is not much more than to shoot a buck." Events of the first half of 1856 radicalized Brown and pointed him toward the incident that changed the terms of the national debate over slavery and remains controversial to this day: the slaughter of proslavery settlers near Pottawatomie, Kansas on May 24, 1856. The first disturbing news of the year came from Washington, when President Franklin Pierce announced his support for the corrupt proslavery legislature in Kansas and proclaimed opposition to it treasonable. (Pierce's action led to the formation of the antislavery Republican Party the following month.) In April, Brown's outspoken attacks on the proslavery legislature led a proslavery judge to issue warrants for the arrest of him and his sons. On May 21, 751 border ruffians and southerners, waving banners proclaiming the supremacy of the white race, swept down on the antislavery town of Lawrence, ransacking the presses of two antislavery presses and burning and looting homes and businesses. Following news of the fall of Lawrence, a friend described Brown as "wild and frenzied." The next day, May 22, South Carolina Senator Preston Brooks took his gold-topped cane and, on the floor of the U. S. Senate, clubbed senseless Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner after he delivered a abolitionist speech, "The Crime Against Kansas." When Brown received word of the caning in Washington, according to his son Jason, "it seemed to be the finishing, decisive touch." Brown told his supporters, "I am entirely tired of hearing that word 'caution.' It is nothing but the word of cowardice." The details of the murders by Brown's band at Pottawatomie are well known. Brown and six others set out from Ottawa Creek on May 23 with rifles, revolvers, and swords heading toward proslavery territory. Around ten o'clock the following night Brown's men, announcing they were from the Northern Army, broke into the home of proslavery activist James Doyle. Doyle and his two older sons were led into the woods near the cabin and hacked to death. The group then headed to the cabin of Allen Wilkinson, a proslavery district attorney. Wilkinson met the same end as the Doyles. A short time later, the fifth and final victim, William Sherman, was taken and killed. Brown directed the killings; he did not, it seems, participate in them. Afterward, he remained unapologetic. "God is my judge," he said. "It was absolutely necessary as a measure of self-defense, and for the defense of others." Pottawatomie changed the way southerners viewed northern abolitionists. No longer did they see them all as toothless pushovers--they began to see them as radical and potentially dangerous. Over the next two years, Brown--now a nationally known figure--would divide his time between the efforts to secure free state status for Kansas and planning for his invasion at Harper's Ferry. Part of that period was spent in the Northeast, meeting abolitionists to raise money for his antislavery ventures. His most important financial backers, including a group of men who would become known as "The Secret Six," were connected in varying degrees to the Transcendentalist Movement (centered in Concord, Massachusetts and often associated with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau) that viewed slavery as an unmixed evil and placed duty to conscience above obedience to the positive law. For another part of those two years, Brown was back near the frontier engaging in a frontal attack on slavery and seeking recruits for his future attack on Harper's Ferry. By the end of 1857, ten key members of the group that would mount the attack had joined Brown. Together with his supporters, Brown drafted his utopian "Provisional Constitution and Ordinances for the People of the United States," a document intended to reform the existing flawed proslavery Constitution in what Brown hoped would be a better society built on the concept of racial equality. Brown presented his constitution to an antislavery convention of African-Americans in Chatham, Ontario in May 1858. The convention approved the constitution and elected several blacks to official positions in the provisional government. The convention itself was extraordinary. As historian David Reynolds noted, "It was organized by a white man, attended largely by blacks, and designed to raise a black army to trigger an African American revolution that would wipe out slavery." In June 1858, with rumors swirling of his plans to raise an army to end slavery (based primarily on leaks by Hugh Forbes, a British native that Brown had tried to recruit), Brown again headed west. He found the situation in Kansas much improved, with antislavery settlers now vastly outnumbering the proslavery settlers, and the territory (despite the best efforts of the federal government, which offered fast-track statehood and more territory if settlers approved a proslavery constitution) headed in the direction of free state status. The national political climate was also changing, as that month Abraham Lincoln declared in a speech in Illinois, "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free." On the night of December 20, 1858, Brown engaged in a memorable raid that panicked slave-owners and transformed him, in the minds of many influential northern supporters, into the practical man of action needed to bring a swift end to the evil institution of slavery. Brown rode with twenty of his men into Verona County, Missouri, where they forcibly liberated twelve slaves from two farms and begin leading them on a successful 82-day, one thousand mile winter journey to freedom in Canada. The slave liberation prompted Gerrit Smith, one member of the Secret Six, to say, "I was once doubtful in my own mind as to Captain Brown's course. I now approve of it heartily." The Attack at Harper's Ferry Brown began focusing on final preparations for the Harper's Ferry assault, raising additional men and money, and securing necessary weapons. Brown was getting anxious. "Talk! talk! talk!" he complained at a meeting in Boston. "That will never free the slaves. What is needed is action-action." John Brown finally put his grand plan into action on July 3, 1859, when he and three other men scouted the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, a town nestled on a peninsula amid the high banks that surrounded the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers. The town manufactured more weapons than any other place in the South, and almost 200,000 weapons were stored in the United States Armory located there. Brown's plan was to take the arsenal, arm freed slaves in the vicinity, and then retreat to the mountains where they could mount additional raids to free more slaves. The next day, Brown headed across the Potomac to Maryland, where he began looking for an off-the-beaten-track place to house and train his soldiers for the raid on Harper's Ferry. He eventually found a farm ("the Kennedy Farm") five miles from Harper's Ferry, set well back from any road, which he rented for $35. Over the next two months Brown's additional recruits, both whites and blacks, arrived at the Kennedy Farm. The men at the farm prepared rifles, studied military strategies, and relaxed in song or games of checkers and cards. On October 15, Brown announced to his twenty-one recruits that the revolution would begin the next night. In the morning, following a religious service, Brown read his proposed provisional constitution and assigned tasks for his men. Eighteen men would directly participate in the raid on the arsenal, including the cutting of telegraph wires, securing of bridges, and taking of hostages. Three other men would serve as sentinels and carry stolen weapons to a schoolhouse near Harper's Ferry for distribution to the freed slaves. Brown told his men to use violence only as a last resort: "Consider that the lives of others are as dear to them as yours are to you." At eight o'clock, Brown told his forces, "Men, get your arms; we will proceed to the Ferry." The early stages of Brown's plan went well. Wires were cut and bridges taken without bloodshed. Brown, announcing his intention "to free all the negroes in this state," seized the night watchman at the federal armory. Brown's men took the arsenal and captured hostages. Brown began waiting for news of his raid to reach local slaves, who he expected would then rebel against their white masters. Six men sent to the countryside by Brown to get the liberation process going and to give each freed slave a pike, either for defensive purposes or to guard white slave owners so as to prevent their escape. Unfortunately for Brown, the freed slaves did not respond as he had hoped. The surprising events left some confused, thinking they were about to be sold South rather than expected to become troops in a liberating army. Others refused to take pikes and hid. Most seemed unable to comprehend the notion that a white man would come to aid them in a fight against their own white masters. Brown ignored warnings from his other officers to escape while the escaping was still good. He still held out hope that "the bees would begin to swarm" and his revolution succeed. Meanwhile, local townspeople had begun taking up arms to fight the invaders. Worse yet, an eastbound train, temporarily halted by Brown's men (after the unfortunate shooting of a black baggage handler), was allowed to proceed. The conductor stopped the train at the next station to the east and wired the master of transportation in Baltimore that "150 Abolitionists" had taken Harper's Ferry intent on freeing slaves. A short time later, the president of the Baltimore & Ohio Rail Road telegraphed President Buchanan and Governor Wise of Virginia to inform them of the crisis at the Ferry. After noon or so on October 17, escape from Harper's Ferry became impossible. Citizen soldiers and two militia companies from nearby Charles Town moved toward the federal arsenal. They retook bridges and swept into town. The first of Brown's men to die was Dangerfield Newby, a black recruit guarding a bridge who had hoped to free his enslaved wife thirty miles south of the Ferry. After Newby fell to gunfire, angry citizens desecrated his body and shoved it into a gutter, where it was eaten by roving hogs. Other deaths soon followed as Brown remained holed up with his more than thirty hostages in the armory. As the situation continued to deteriorate, Brown and his men moved with eleven of their key hostages to the fire-engine house, a brick building that became known as John Brown's Fort, the site of his last stand. Hundreds of hostile townspeople--enraged over the killing of their mayor and another prominent citizen--and twelve militia companies soon surrounded the engine-house. Brown's men fired out through lashed-open double doors, but kept taking bullets. One fatally wounded Brown's son, Oliver, as he aimed his rifle out the cracked doors. At 11 p.m., a company of marines commanded by Colonel Robert E. Lee arrived at Harper's Ferry. At dawn on October 18, a lieutenant chosen by Lee approached the engine-house and delivered to Brown Lee's formal demand for surrender. When Brown rejected the offer, marines stormed the engine-house, battering it with sledge hammers. In the battle that ensued, Brown was stabbed, but not fatally. Many of his men, however, died by either gunfire or bayonets. The eleven hostages were liberated, and Brown and four of his surviving men taken prisoner. Brown was carried to the armory, where a group of reporters and politicians, including Virginia's Governor Henry Wise and two U. S. senators,questioned him. He told his interviewers that he came to Virginia at the prompting of "my Maker" and his only objective was "to free the slaves." Asked how he felt about the failure of freed slaves to enthusiastically embrace his liberation, Brown said, "Yes. I have been disappointed." After the interview, Governor Wise, while abhorring Brown's views, pronounced him "the gamest man I ever saw." The Trial of John Brown The greatest effects of John Brown's life come from how he acted and what he said after his arrest. A person who might have been a footnote in history became, for many northerners, a saintly martyr who helped persuade millions that eradication of slavery throughout the land was the only answer to the divisions in America. Brown and his fellow prisoners were transported eight miles to Charles Town, were they arraigned on three state charges: treason against Virginia, inciting slaves to rebellion, and murder. After hearing the charges, Brown rose to say, "If you want my blood, you can have it any moment, without this mockery of a trial." The presiding judge, unmoved, set October 26 as the day for the trial to open--with Brown to be tried before his compatriots. In the North, only--at first--did the Transcendalists rally to Brown's defense. Henry David Thoreau delivered to a Concord audience his " A Plea for Captain John Brown" in which he praised Brown as "a man of ideas and principles." Thoreau boldy described Brown and Christ as "two ends of a chain which I rejoice to know is without links." On the morning of October 26, as armed guards and cannons surrounded the courthouse in Charles Town, Brown's trial began with the return of the Grand Jury's indictment. The injured Brown, except when forced to rise, lay on a cot. He asked for a delay in his trial. His motion was denied. To the charges against him, he pled "not guilty." Northern reporters covering Brown's trial noted its farcical aspects. The nearly 600 spectators who crowded the courtroom continuously opened peanuts and chestnuts, then tossed the shells on the floor so that crunched noisily when anyone walked on them. Other onlookers spat tobacco juice, smoked cigars, or hurled occasional insults in the direction of the defendant. A long-haired militiaman assigned to security marched around shouting at unruly spectators. Charles Harding, the prosecutor, relaxed with his feet on a table. He would doze off from time to time, awakening in one instance to call out for tobacco. When he showed up up the second day of trial with a bruised face, he told curious reporters that the injuries resulted from a fight the night before with a "blind nigger." Eventually, Harding's obvious alcohol impairment convinced Judge Andrew Parker to replace him with a new prosecutor, the more dignified Andrew Hunter. Brown,meanwhile, spent most of the trial lying on his back. There was considerable speculation that Brown would plead insanity. His defense attorneys had begun marshalling evidence to support such a theory. Ohio abolitionists pushed the idea, hoping that evidence of insanity would lighten his sentence, even if it failed to gain an outright acquittal. Brown, however, would have no part of it. He called the insanity plea a "pretext" and said, "If I am insane, of course, I should I know more than all the rest of the world. But I do not think so." He rejected "any attempt to interfere in my behalf on that score." (In fact, the best evidence is that Brown did not suffer from insanity, as he showed none of its classic symptoms--swings of mood, delusions, disengagement, inability to sleep or concentrate.) Testimony began with the prosecution presenting witnesses that laid out for the jurors the events of October 16 to 18. Conductor Phelps, for example, described how Brown's men stopped his train and, with rifles pointing at him, ordered to back the train away from the bridge. He also told the jurors how his black baggage handler came running to him yelling, "Captain, I am shot" as blood flowed from under his left nipple. He recalled being approached by Brown (described by his men as "Captain Smith") who assured him his life was not in danger: "My head for it, you will not be hurt." Phelps, who later returned to Harper's Ferry for the interview with Brown that included Governor Wise and others, also described Brown's planned slave revolution, as Brown had outlined them immediately after his capture in the engine-house. Prosecution witness--and hostage--Colonel Lewis W. Washington, who also recounted Brown's post-arrest interview, told jurors in his cross-examination by defense attorney Lawson Botts that Brown had treated hostages respectfully. Washington testified that prisoners "were allowed to go out and assure their families of their safety" and that Brown told him that he would be treated well. He also stated that Brown "gave frequent orders not to fire on unarmed citizens." Washington said that Brown complained of the "bad faith" shown to his men who had walked with a flag of truce, but that he had not "uttered any vindictiveness against the people." Bott's cross revealed the basic defense strategy: faced with obvious criminality, prove that Brown's intentions through it all were never malicious--and hope that the sentence would not be the ultimate punishment that everyone in Virginia seemed to predicting that it would be. Perhaps the most damaging prosecution witness was slave owner and hostage John Allstadt, who described being awakened in his Virginia farmhouse by armed men telling him, "Get up quick, or we will burn you up." The men told Allstadt that they intended to "free the country of slavery" and, to help get that process going, would take him and his seven slaves (who had been armed with pikes) to Harper's Ferry. Allstadt told jurors that the antislavery men drove him in a wagon to the federal Armory, where he met John Brown. He described Brown's activities in the engine-house after he was surrounded by Lee's marines. Brown, Allstadt said, carried a cocked rifle and squatted near the front door, firing at the marines. "My opinion is," he said of the fatal wounding of one soldier, "that he killed that marine." On cross-examination, however, Allstadt conceded that he could not say for certain whose shot it was that killed the marine and that there was much confusion and excitement at the time. He also admitted that Brown expressed deep regret upon hearing the news that one of his men had shot the unarmed and popular mayor of Harper's Ferry. The defense chose to open its case with another of Brown's hostages, Joseph A. Brewer. Brewer painted Brown as a principled and considerate captor. He testified that Brown allowed hostages to "shelter themselves as they could." Remarkably, Brewer, after being allowed by Brown to leave so that he might carry a wounded citizen into the town hotel for treatment, returned--as he promised--to his hostage status in the engine-house. Brewer confirmed earlier testimony concerning Brown's displeasure at the wounding of one of his men carrying the flag of truce. The shooting prompted Brown to warn that he had the power to destroy the place "in half an hour"--but then he quickly reassured his hostages that he had no intention of doing so. Lead prosecutor Andrew Hunter, a dominating presence in the Charles Town courtroom, interrupted defense attorney Thomas Green's examination of yet another witness describing Brown's pleas not to shoot citizens unless in self-defense. Hunter objected that testimony had "no more to do with this case than the dead languages." Judge Parker, probably sensing that the defense would prove unavailing anyway, allowed the defense to continue to present evidence of Brown's forbearance. The most dramatic moment in the trial came during the testimony of militiaman Henry Hunter, who led the capture, shooting, and desecration of William Thompson, one of Brown's closest friends. Hunter told jurors that as they cornered Thompson in a hotel, the hotelkeeper's daughter pleaded with him to spare his life and let justice take its course. Hunter replied, "Mr. Beckham's life is worth ten thousand of these vile abolitionists." Thompson answered, "You may take my life, but 80,000 will arise up to avenge me, and carry out my purpose of giving liberty to the slaves." Unmoved, Hunter dragged Thompson to a railroad bridge to serve as a rifle target. Hunter insisted "I have no regrets" about the brutal killing, having just witnessed his uncle and "the best friend I ever had" shot by one of Brown's men. Angered by the callousness of Hunter, Brown rose to his feet. "May it please the Court," he said, "I discover that, notwithstanding all the assurances I have received of a fair trial, nothing like a fair trial is given me." Brown complained that subpoenas had not been delivered to persons he had hoped would testify in his behalf. He demanded that the trial be deferred until the arrival of counsel "in whom I feel I can rely." The sixty gold dollars in his pocket at the time of his arrest had been stolen, he said, and "I have not a dime" to fund the defense. After registering his objections, Brown laid down "drew a blanket over him and closed his eyes." Following Brown's interruption and the immediate withdrawl from the case of defense attorneys Botts and Green, twenty-one year old George Hoyt, a young Boston lawyer actually sent to scout out escape possibilities (he concluded that escape was hopeless) rather than materially aid in the defense, stood to announce it would be "ridiculous" for him to carry on the defense of Brown without a continuation of the case, as he had not read the indictment, had not discussed defense strategy with his client or other lawyers, and had "no knowledge of the criminal code of Virginia." Parker granted a one day adjournment, allowing time for two more defense attorneys, Samuel Chilton and Hiram Griswold, to arrive in Charles Town. The defense continued to draw its witnesses from unlikely sources, such as a Maryland volunteer company commanded by Captain Simms. Simms joined the parade of defense witnesses who described Brown's generous treatment of prisoners even in the face of provocation. Like many witnesses, Simms was quick to insist he had no sympathy Brown's goals, even while he admired his bravery and integrity. Simms claimed he appeared as a defense witness "with pleasure" because he did not want it said by "northern men" that "southern men were unwilling to appear as witnessses in behalf of one whose principles they abhorred." Closing arguments began on Monday, October 30 in a packed courtroom. Hiram Griswold spoke for the defense. Griswold argued that "no man is guilty of treason unless he be a citizen of the state against which the treason so alleged has been committed"--and that Brown, a citizen of New York, could not therefore commit treason against Virginia. As for the charge of inciting a slave revolt, Griswold insisted "there is a manifest distinction" between trying to free slaves, which Brown admittedly did, and inciting them "to rebellion and insurrection," which includes "riot, robbery, murder, and arson." Brown's goal, Griswold told the jury, was to liberate slaves, not kill slaveowners or inflict mayhem. Finally, Griswold conceded, as he must, that citizens were shot during the Harper's Ferry incident. To call these shootings "murders," however, as the state sought to do, was to confuse common criminal conduct with the unfortunate but sometime necessary consequences of a military battle. The deaths, Griswold contended, were not "murders" within the meaning of Virginia law. Andrew Hunter, in his closing argument for the prosecution, said the Brown had "come into the bosom of the Commonwealth with the deadly purpose of applying the torch to our buildings and shedding the blood of our citizens." Hunter argued that no matter whether Brown's conduct was seen as "tragical or farcical," it was "not alone for the purpose of carrying off slaves." Brown's "Provisional Constitution" showed that he had grander plans--and that his plans made him "clearly guilty of treason." There was, Hunter argued, "too much method in Brown's madness" for him to avoid the full legal consequences of his actions. "When you put pikes in the hands of slaves and have their masters captive," you cannot then claim to be merely liberating negroes and not inciting a slave rebellion. Finally, Hunter told the jury, it is irrelevant under the law whether Brown himself intended to take life. When one perpetrates a felony and deaths result, that is murder under the law whether the defendant wished those deaths to occur or not. If Brown had his way, Hunter contended, Virginia would have become another Haiti (the site of a bloody slave insurrection). "You have nothing to do" with the question of mercy, Hunter told the jury in closing. "If justice requires you by your verdict to take his life,...send him before the Maker who will settle the question for ever and ever." Brown listened to Hunter's crescendoing voice lying on his back with his eyes closed. Just forty-five minutes after being sent out to deliberate, the jury returned with their verdict. Spectators, filling nearly every square foot of the courtroom, silently and anxiously craned their necks to observe the closing scene. According to a reporter, "the only calm and unruffled countenance" was "Old John Brown." The Clerk of Court asked, "Gentlemen of the jury, what say you, is the prisoner at the bar, John Brown, guilty or not guilty?" The foreman replied with a single word: "Guilty." Sentencing took place on November 2, 1859. After overruling defense objections to the verdict, Judge Parker asked Brown if he had anything he wished to say before being sentenced. Brown immediately rose and in a clear, distinct voice delivered one of the most memorable courtroom speeches ever by a defendant in a criminal case. Ralph Waldo Emerson would later call it, along with the Gettysburg Address, one of the two greatest American speeches. Brown said: Judge Parker listened silently to Brown's speech. Then he sentenced him to be publicly hanged on December 2. When Parker pronounced his sentence, one man in the crowd clapped. Trial Aftermath Brown's remarkable performance in prison and in the courtroom changed perceptions of Harper's Ferry in both the North and the South. Abolitionists came to see Brown as an heroic--but, for most, still flawed--figure. Southerners, on the other hand, while recognizing Brown's bravery, increasingly saw him as a dangerous and black-hearted villain. Many in the South began to link Brown to what they called the "Black Republican" Party of the North--and for these proslavery voices, the consequences of a possible Republican victory the next year became so unimaginably bad that talk of secession began to be heard. On the floor of the U. S. Senate, Senator Jefferson Davis, later President of the Confederacy, said that William Seward, one of the leading contenders for the 1860 Republican presidential nomination, should have been hanged along with John Brown: "We have been invaded, and that invasion, and the facts connected with it, show Mr. Seward to be a traitor, and deserving of the gallows." Efforts by Southerners to tar William Seward to Harper's Ferry made him, too, a casualty of Brown's attempted insurrection. As Seward's political fortunes sank, those of another Republican would rise. John Brown's actions in 1859 secured for Abraham Lincoln the party's nomination for President in 1860. Brown might have ended up as but a footnote in history but for the efforts of Transcendalists, especially Ralph Waldo Emerson, to turn him into a larger-than-life figure. In 1859, few people in America had as much cultural clout as the eloquent abolitionist lecturer of Boston. Emerson's lecture, "Courage," delivered in the Music Hall in Boston on November 8, six days after Brown's sentence of death, began to turn the tide of northern public opinion in Brown's favor. Emerson said of Brown: "That new saint, than whom none purer or more brave was ever led by love of men into conflict and death,--the new saint awaiting his martyrdom, and who, if he shall suffer, will make the gallows glorious like the cross." Emerson's "glorious gallows" speech polarized opinion, inspiring Brown's admirers and outraging his opponents. As interest in his fate continued to swell, John Brown awaited execution in a Charles Town jail. He discouraged rescue efforts, and focused instead on furthering his abolitionist crusade through interviews with reporters and writing letters. As a Calvinist, Brown calmly accepted his fate as predetermined by God. On December 1, the day before his scheduled execution, Brown met with his wife, Mary Day Brown, who had made the long and risky trek south from the family farm in North Elba, New York. They hugged for several minutes without saying a word. When words came, he told Mary, "We must all bear it in the best manner we can. I believe it is for the best." The next day dawned fair and mild. Charles Town readied itself for Brown's execution. Workers finished a six-foot-high, twelve by sixteen foot scaffold, with a trapdoor on hinges to open as the rope was cut, on a field at the southeast edge of town. Thomas (later "Stonewall") Jackson, from VMI, was in town to command cadets to guard the site. Major General Robert E. Lee posted soldiers at bridges and along area rivers. Cannons were aimed at the prison and soldiers lined up to surround the scaffold. Outsiders, except for a small number of reporters, were denied entry to the town. Around 11 o'clock Brown, with his arms tied behind his back with rope and wearing a black coat and trousers, white socks, and red slippers, was led from his prison cell to a furniture wagon. As two white horses pulled the wagon to the execution site, Brown observed to the jailer who guarded him, "This is beautiful country." Once on the scaffold, a white hood was pulled over his head. Brown told the captain heading the execution team, "Do not keep me needlessly waiting." It would be, however, ten minutes more before the sheriff finally cut the rope holding the trapdoor with his hatchet and Brown fell, snapping his spinal column. For five minutes his "body jerked and quivered," according to a reporter at the scene. Colonel John Preston of the Virginia Military Institute announced, as the body at last hung relaxed, "So perish all such enemies of Virginia!" A young volunteer in the Virginia Greys watched the scene with what he later said was "unlimited, undeniable contempt" for the "traitor and terrorizer." The young volunteer's name was John Wilkes Booth. The coffin carrying Brown arrived back in North Elba five days later. The following day, December 8, 1859, as family friend Lyman Epps (part African American, part Native American) sang "Blow Ye Trumpet, Blow!," John Brown's body was lowered into a grave about fifty feet from his family house. It still lies mouldering there today. His soul marched on, however, inspiring Union troops in the Civil War that finally would bring an end to the evil he fought to his death. File:Mayhew Cabin from S 1.JPG The Mayhew Cabin, also known as John Brown's Cave, in Nebraska City, Nebraska was built in 1855.[2] In 1854 Allen and Barbara (Kagi) Mayhew moved to Nebraska and built the cabin in 1855. Barbara’s brother John Henry Kagi came to visit; he was already active in anti-slavery activities. The following year he met and was deeply influenced by abolitionist John Brown. With Barbara's assistance, Kagi created a stop at his sister's farm for the Underground Railroad.[3] They built a "cave", a dugout room underneath the main cabin, with access only from a nearby ravine. Fugitive slaves crossed the Missouri River from the slave state of Missouri into Nebraska, a free state. They would hide in the cave beneath the Mayhew Cabin until they could make their way to the next stop. The Mayhews often fed fugitives who stayed at the cave.[4] For instance, Edward Mayhew, their oldest son, wrote of an instance when Kagi brought 14 blacks to the cabin. His mother Barbara fed them a breakfast of cornbread, the family's usual breakfast.[citation needed] Although the cabin site was informally called John Brown's Cave, there was no evidence that John Brown ever visited there. After meeting Brown, John Kagi became the "secretary of war" in his army. He joined John Brown in the Harper's Ferry raid to obtain weapons for a slave uprising. At age 24, Kagi was shot to death during the raid by militia who were defending the federal arsenal. According to the National Park Service: The Mayhew Cabin was built in 1855 from hand hewn cottonwood trees and served as the home of the Mayhew family until 1864, when the cabin and surrounding property were first sold. The property continued to change hands through the end of the 19th century until 1937, when owner Edward Bartling had the cabin moved to prevent its destruction by a highway project. During the move, the cabin underwent restoration, exposing its original 1850s exterior materials. The authentic “old fashioned” look facilitated Bartling’s desire to open the cabin to the public and develop his property as a tourist park. In addition to restoring the cabin, Bartling had a cave built underneath the cabin to help interpret the Mayhew family’s rumored association with the Underground Railroad. The cave consists of a cellar and connecting tunnels, sleeping quarters, and a tunnel exiting to a nearby ravine. Although the Mayhews' role in helping slaves escape to freedom was never proven, the cave was intended to provide the public with an avenue to experience the more legendary aspects of the Underground Railroad firsthand. The cabin remained open to the public from 1938 to 2002 as the “John Brown’s Cave” tourist attraction. File:Mayhew Cabin John Browns Cave sign.JPG "John Brown's Cave" sign near cabin. The cabin was moved in 1937 from its original location. From 1938 to 2002 it was open as John Brown's Cave tourist attraction. A hollowed-out area beneath the new location was created and represented as a place where escaping slaves were hidden.[2] The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on February 11, 2010.[1] The listing was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service's weekly list of February 18, 2011.[ The Execution of John Brown By J. T. L. Preston THE following letter was written by Colonel J. T. L Preston, of the Military College of Lexington, Virginia, a few hours after the execution of John Brown. The writer was there on duty, as an officer of the corps of cadet who were ordered to Harper's Ferry at the time. As there has been a remarkable revival of interest in every species of war literature of late, this minute description of the tragic scene has an interest which justifies its publication. As it was written on the ground it is worthy of preservation as a bit of veritable history. "CHARLESTOWN, December, 2, 1859. "The execution is over; we have just returned from the field, and I sit down to give you some account of it. The weather was very favorable; the sky was a little overcast, with a gentle haze in the atmosphere that softened, without obscuring, the magnificent prospect afforded here. Before nine o'clock the troops began to put themselves in motion to occupy the positions assigned to them on the field. To Colonel Smith (now General Smith, of the Virginia Military Institute), had been assigned the superintendence of the execution, and he and his staff were the only mounted officers on the ground until the Major-General and his staff appeared. "By 10 o'clock all was arrayed, the general effect was most imposing, and at the same time picturesque. The cadets were immediately in rear of the gallows, with a howitzer on the right and left, a little behind, so as to sweep the field. They were uniformed in red flannel shirts, which gave them a dashing, Zouave look, and was exceedingly becoming, especially at the battery. They were flanked obliquely by two corps, the Richmond Grays and the Company F, which, if inferior in appearance to the cadets, were superior to any other company I ever saw outside of the regular army. Other companies were distributed over the field, in all amounting to perhaps eight hundred men. The military force was about fifteen hundred. "The whole inclosure was lined by cavalry troops, posted as sentinels, "with their officers, Turner Ashby and his brother, one on a peerless black horse and the other on a remarkable looking white horse, continually dashing round the inclosure. Outside this inclosure were other companies, acting as rangers and scouts. The jail was guarded by several companies of infantry, and pieces of artillery were put in position for its defense. "Shortly before eleven o'clock the prisoner was taken from jail, and the funeral cortege was put in motion. First came three companies, then the criminal's wagon, drawn by two large white horses. John Brown was seated on his coffin, accompanied by the sheriff and two other persons. 'The wagon drove to the foot of the gallows, and Brown descended with alacrity and without assistance and ascended the steep steps to the platform. His demeanor was intrepid, without being braggart. He made no speech; whether he desired to make one or not I do not know; even if he had desired it, it would not have been permitted. Any speech of his must of necessity have been unlawful, as being directed against the peace and dignity of the commonwealth, and as such could not be allowed by those who were then engaged in the most solemn and extreme vindication of law. "John Brown's manner gave no evidence of timidity, but his countenance was not free from concern, and it seemed to me to have a little cast of wildness. He stood upon the scaffold but a short time, giving brief adieus to those about him, when be was properly pinioned, the white cap drawn over his face, the noose adjusted and attached to the hook above, and he was moved, blindfold, a few steps forward. It was curious to note how the instincts of nature operated to make him careful in putting out his feet, as if afraid he would walk off the scaffold. The man who stood unblenched on the brink of eternity, was afraid of falling a few feet to the ground! "Every thing was now in readiness. The sheriff asked the prisoner if he should give him a private signal before the fatal moment. He replied, in a voice that sounded to me unnaturally natural - so composed was its tone, and so distinct its articulation - that 'it did' not matter to him, if only they would not keep him too long waiting.' He was kept waiting, however; the troops that had formed his escort had to be put in their proper position, and while this was going on he stood for some ten or fifteen minutes blindfold, the rope round his neck, and his feet on the treacherous platform, expecting instantly the fatal act; but be stood for this comparatively long time upright as a soldier in position, and. motionless. I was close to him, and watched him narrowly, to see if I could detect any signs of shrinking or trembling in his person, but there was none. Once I thought I saw his knees tremble, but it was only the wind blowing his loose trousers. His firmness was subjected to still further trial by bearing Colonel Smith announce to the sheriff, 'We are all ready, Mr. Campbell.' The sheriff did not hear or did not comprehend, and in a louder tone the same announcement was made. But the culprit still stood steady, until the sheriff descending the flight of steps, with a well-directed blow of a sharp hatchet, severed the rope that held up the trap-door, which instantly sank sheer beneath him. He fell about three feet; and the man of strong and bloody hand, of fierce passions, of iron will, of wonderful vicissitudes, the terrible partisan of Kansas, the capturer of the United States Arsenal at Harper's Ferry, the would-be Catiline of the South, the demigod of the Abolitionists, the man execrated and lauded, damned and prayed for, the man who, in his motives, his means, his plans, and his successes, must ever be a wonder, a puzzle and a mystery, John Brown, was hanging between heaven and earth. "There was profoundest stillness during the time his struggles continued, growing feebler and feebler at each abortive attempt to breathe. His knees were scarcely bent, his arms were drawn up to a right angle at the elbow, with the hands clenched; but there was no writhing of the body, no violent heaving of the chest. At each feebler effort at respiration his arms sank lower and his legs hung more relaxed, until at last, straight and lank, he dangled, swayed slightly to and fro by the wind. "It was a moment of deep solemnity, and suggestive of thoughts that made the bosom swell. The field of execution was a rising ground, that commanded the outstretching valley from mountain to mountain, and their still grandeur gave sublimity to the outline; and it so happened that white clouds resting upon them gave them the appearance that reminded more than one of us of the snow-peaks of the Alps. Before us was the greatest array of disciplined forces ever seen in Virginia, infantry, cavalry, and artillery combined, composed of the old commonwealth's choicest sons, and commanded by her best officers; and the great canopy of the sky, over-arching all, came to add its sublimity, ever present, but only realized when other great things are occurring beneath it. "But the moral of the scene was its grand point. A sovereign State had been assailed, and she had uttered but a hint, and her sons had hastened to show that they were ready to defend her. Law had been violated by actual murder and attempted treason, and that gibbet was erected by law, and to uphold law was this military force assembled. But greater still, God's holy law and righteous providence was vindicated: 'Thou shalt not kill,' 'Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed.' And here the gray-haired man of violence meets his fate, after he had seen his two sons cut down before him earlier in the same career of violence into which he had introduced them. So perish all such enemies of Virginia! All such enemies of the Union! All such foes of the human race! So I felt, and so I said, with solemnity and without one shade of animosity, as I turned to break the silence to those around me. "Yet the mystery was awful - to see the human form thus treated by men - to see life suddenly stopped in its current, and to ask one's self the question without answer, 'And what then?' "In all that array there was not, I suppose, one throb of sympathy for the offender. All felt in the depths of their hearts it was right. On the other hand, there was not one single word or gesture of exultation or insult. From the beginning to the end, all was marked by the most absolute decorum and solemnity. There lifts no military music, no saluting by troops as they passed one another, nor any thing done for show. "The criminal hung upon the gallows for nearly forty minutes, and, after being examined by a whole staff of surgeons, was deposited in a neat coffin to be delivered to his friends, and transported to Harper's Ferry, where his wife waited it. She came in company with two persons to see her husband last night, and returned to Harper's Ferry this morning. She is described by those who saw her as a very large, masculine woman, of absolute composure of manner. The officers who witnessed their meeting in the jail said they met as if nothing unusual had taken place, and had a comfortable supper together. "Brown would not have the assistance of any minister in jail during his last days, nor their presence with him on the scaffold. In going from prison to the place of execution he said very little, only assuring those who were with him that he had no fear, nor had he at any time in his life known what fear was. When he entered the gate of the inclosure, he expressed his admiration of the beauty of the surrounding country, and, pointing to different residences, asked who were the owners of them. "There was a very small crowd to witness the execution. Governor Wise and General Taliaferro had both issued proclamations exhorting the citizens to remain at home and guard their property, and warned them of possible danger. The train on the Winchester Railroad had been stopped from carrying passengers; and even passengers on the Baltimore Railroad were subjected to examination and detention. An arrangement was made to divide the expected crowd into recognized citizens and persons not recognized, to require the former to go to the right, and the latter to the left; of the latter there was not a single one. It was told that last night there were not in Charlestown ten persons besides the citizens and the military. "There is but one opinion as to the completeness of the arrangements made on the occasion, and the absolute order with which they were carried out. I have said something about the striking effect of the pageant as a pageant; but the excellence of it is, that every thing was arranged solely with a view to efficiency, and not for effect upon the eye. Had it been intended as a mere spectacle it could not have been made more imposing; had actual need occurred it was the best possible arrangement. "You may be inclined to ask, Was all this necessary? I have not time to enter upon this question now. Governor Wise thought it necessary, and he said he had reliable information. The responsibility of calling out the force rests with him. It only remained for those under his orders to dispose the force in the best manner. That this was done is unquestionable, and whatever credit is due for it may be fairly claimed by those who accomplished it." cycloramaThe horrors of the American Civil War were still in the minds of many Torontonians when in November, 1889 the Battle of Gettysburg was presented at the city’s “art gallery” located on the south side of Front St. west of York. Known as the Cyclorama, this circular building featured huge panoramic paintings of various historical events. In later years the building was repurposed as a machinery showroom, then parking garage, then demolished. The Citiplace office building now occupies the site. It was exactly 150 years ago tomorrow that the most horrendous battle of the more than 100 confrontations that took place during the American Civil War turned life upside down for the 2,400 citizens living in and around the small community of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. For three consecutive days commencing on July 1, 1863 armies of the Union and the Confederacy tore each other to pieces. Over the three-day period casualties numbered more than 51,000. I found it interesting to learn that several thousand citizens from the colonies in British North America, including the Province of Canada (later to be renamed the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec when the new Dominion of Canada was established 146 years ago tomorrow and exactly four years after the Battle of Gettysburg began) joined either the Union or Confederate armies. As high as 55,000 The exact number that signed up has remained a mystery since the British colonies were officially neutral and any citizen who signed up with a foreign army was just asking for trouble when, and if, they returned home. Nevertheless, most experts agree that the number joining the Union army could have been as high as 55,000, with a smaller number siding with the President of the Confederate States, Jefferson Davis. Those fighting for the North were for the most part waging war against the appalling concept of human slavery. Those who joined with the South were more concerned that when Abraham Lincoln’s mighty northern army eventually won the conflict, he and his generals would seek retribution against Great Britain, which had been covertly aiding the south, and would quickly move to annex the Mother Country’s North American colonies by force. The four-year-long war that finally came to an end on April 9, 1865, had resulted in a total of 620,000 casualties. Equally difficult is determining how many from north of the border participated during the three days of fighting in and around Gettysburg. Paul Culliton, a long-time friend and Civil War re-enactor, was able to give me details concerning one Torontonian who died on a Gettysburg battlefield. Lt. Robert Evans had joined the 108th New York Infantry Regiment which was formed in Rochester in July of 1862. He was one of 102 members of the regiment either killed or wounded at Gettysburg. Evans was shot in the head by a sharpshooter on the second day of the battle. Is he among the 3,500 Union soldiers buried in the Gettysburg National Military Cemetery? Wish I knew. Coincident with the 150th anniversary of the three-day Battle of Gettysburg, an important new book titled Blood and Daring has recently been published by Knopf Canada. Written by Lakefield, Ontario resident John Boyko. what makes John’s work special among the hundreds of other books on the subject of the American Civil War is that it deals with a half-dozen little known aspects of that tumultuous conflict, each of which contributed to the ultimate creation of the new Dominion of Canada. In fact, the book is sub-titled How Canada Fought the American Civil War and Forged a Nation. Must reading for all patriotic Canadians when you consider what might have happened those many years ago! No comments:
January 26, 2015 Did Early Humans Walk the Earth with Dinosaurs? Triceratops Horn Dated to 33,500 Years! Dinosaur bones have been carbon dated (Carbon-14) to between 22,000 and 39,000 years before present. Image: Triceratops horn discovered in Dawson County, Montana, which yielded C-14 results of around 33,500 years. Numerous C-14 tests have now been carried out on dinosaur bones, including the Triceratops brow horn and surprisingly, they all returned results dating back in the thousands rather than millions of years. Previous attempts to publish C-14 test result and raw data presentations were repeatedly blocked in conference proceedings by the 2009 North American Paleontological Convention, the American Geophysical Union in 2011 and 2012, the Geological Society of America in 2011 and 2012, and by the editors of various scientific journals. Failure to investigate or even acknowledge such significant findings unfortunately suggests that some scientists are more interested in holding on tight to current perspectives, rather than seeking to advance knowledge and understanding in this field. Read more By author April Holloway - Ancient-Origins.net 1. I believe that Pockets of dinosaur remnents exist to this day. Film released along with much other top secret materials of recent. Fossilized foot prints of man and dino foot prints captured in the same hardened mud. Tribal Stories in the Congo of sauropods. Aboriginal stories in Australia, and else where. Lochness monster, Ogopogo, Lake Champlain monster and so forth. And Then there is the Coelacanth fish it Self! Finally, there is the ancient art works and depictions of dinosaurs. Too many to count. From cave walls to bone or clay carvings, petroglyphs, hieroglyphs, and then more modern works stretching on a few thousand years back. Paintings, tapestries, engravings. Some called them dragons for lack of a better word. Conversely, I have Never considered carbon dating to be reliable for a great many factors. The largest one in my opinion is perhaps the most little known of them. Magnetic contamination. Not during the testing procedures mind you, but its influence over time on radioactivity in general. Shifting Magnetic fields of the earth. External fields and fluctuation from the sun and beyond. Smaller localized variables over time, such as proximity to magnetic sources, trace metals near by, water sources and other. Polar shifts, lay line shifts, meteor impacts (E.M.P.) and so much more. Even the surface of the planet changing its facing possition to the stars, which them selves emit radiation. Antarctica was Not always at the southern polar rotational axis point. All contribute to long term contamination of radiation residues being tested for. Some cases dissipating the radiation faster, others preserving it even longer. 2. I don't knw much about carbon dating or any of the scientific stuff that goes along with a discovery of ths kind but as I'm reading the article I'm wondering can the horn be a fake or the test results for example if a lie detector cn be fooled can the carbon date be fooled aswel .. Cos I thnk there are people with the knowledge to make such good fakes or copies of something tht it could fool the test that is used to prove its validity.. Therefore ther would be less no doubt if its a real horn .. Just a thought .. I personally believe we have walked with these creatures in the past nt too Sure bwt the present
Popular Pages Resources > Data Entry Outsourcing > Data Entry Glossary > Video Transcriptioning Video Transcriptioning The act of manually typing in the verbiage from a video is a form of video transcriptioning. The process is not much different than audio transcriptioning. Video transcriptioning could also happen automatedly with a computer program that translates speech into text which is one form of audio transcriptioning. One aspect that makes video transcriptioning sophisticated is that the text or subtitles need to appear at the same time that the words are actually spoken. Television in Asian countries use a lot of subtitles due to the fact that they have many different languages and dialects. It is common in Taiwan to be in an area where three dialects are spoken, hence making it necessary to have subtitles in Chinese characters that all educated people can read. Some movies will have subtitles in two or three languages, which makes it very hard to follow, but some parts of the world like Singapore and France are very multi-lingual and multicultural. 123outsource.net has many companies offering transcription services in the BPO, Data Entry, and Medical Transcription Categories.
Putin backs WW2 myth in new Russian film Still from the film Panfilov's 28 Men (courtesy of: Panfilov's 28 Men / Andrey Shalopa, Kim Druzhinin / Lybian Palette Studios Gaijin Entertainment) Image copyright Lenfilm/Panfilov's 28 Men Image caption A clip from the war film - Kazakhs, Russians and others are shown as Soviet comrades in arms A new film showing Red Army soldiers outnumbered by invading Germans but battling on heroically has become part of the Kremlin's campaign to restore Russian pride. State television showed Russian President Vladimir Putin watching the film last week, alongside Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, in the Central Asian leader's capital Astana. The clear message was that Russia and Kazakhstan are maintaining Soviet-era bonds of friendship, despite tensions in other parts of the former USSR. But the film itself - Panfilov's 28 Men - is based on a communist myth. Image copyright Screenshot, 1tv Image caption Presidents Vladimir Putin (left) and Nursultan Nazarbayev watch the war film Panfilov's 28 Men The film depicts an heroic act of self-sacrifice outside Moscow in November 1941. According to the Soviet mythology, 28 soldiers from the Red Army's 316th Rifle Division, mainly recruits from the Kazakh and Kyrgyz Soviet republics, stood unflinching against the advancing might of Hitler's Wehrmacht. The men, from a larger division led by Maj Gen Ivan Panfilov, were all killed, but destroyed 18 German tanks before they fell. The 28 were immortalised - posthumously decorated as Heroes of the Soviet Union - and Soviet children learnt about their last stand in school. Yet historians say the story is not true. An official Soviet investigation into the event, compiled in 1948, concluded that the story was the "invention" of a journalist from the Red Army's newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda. The reporter's account was at best exaggerated, and several of the men survived. The results of the probe were kept secret. But the themes of the story chime with the Kremlin's worldview, and the state partly sponsored the new film. The Kremlin promotes the idea of World War Two as a heroic victory that united the Soviet state against fascism - and still unites Russia today against a similar threat they say has resurfaced in Ukraine. The USSR suffered the heaviest losses in the war - more than 20 million civilians and military - though scholars dispute the exact toll. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption WW2 veterans at the memorial to Panfilov's men in Dubosekovo, near Moscow The film shows Kazakhs, Russians and other Russian speakers standing shoulder-to-shoulder to defend the Motherland. It echoes a Russian foreign policy concept: a Moscow-centred "Russian World" united by a common language. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption On Victory Day - 9 May - President Putin warned against "falsification of history" In February 2013, President Putin ordered a single history syllabus for schools, offering a standardised narrative. A new state "History" TV channel was launched that year too. Supporters of Mr Putin's bid for a "canonical" history say it is needed in order to keep such a large state together. Yet critics see it as an attempt to impose one official version of the past. Mr Putin and other officials have repeatedly talked about the need to counter the "falsification of history" or "rewriting history". They oppose interpretations of World War Two or other episodes of Soviet history that deviate from officially approved narratives. Mr Putin's father was seriously wounded as a soldier on the Leningrad front. Vladimir Putin: Russia's action man president Russia adorned with WW2 symbols Church lends weight to Putin patriotism Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The annual Immortal Regiment march honours World War Two sacrifices in St Petersburg Mr Medinsky, the culture minister, defended Panfilov's 28 Men, saying "even if this story was invented from start to finish, if there had been no Panfilov, if there had been nothing, this is a sacred legend that shouldn't be interfered with. People that do that are filthy scum." In January 2014, independent liberal broadcaster Dozhd TV came under attack. It was accused of smearing the memory of WW2 veterans by asking whether residents of wartime Leningrad could have been saved by surrendering the city to Nazi forces. Image copyright Kommersant Image caption "Citing Nuremberg" - a court ruled that blogger Vladimir Luzgin was guilty of denying facts established by the Nuremberg Trials According to the prosecutors, Luzgin realised that the text might instil in many people "a firm conviction about negative actions of the USSR" in the war. The court said Luzgin had falsified history by stating "that the communists and Germany jointly attacked Poland, unleashing World War Two, or in other words, that Communism and Nazism co-operated honestly". In September, Russia's Supreme Court ruled that the punishment of Luzgin was justified. Nazi Germany and the USSR signed a non-aggression pact in August 1939 - the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. In a secret protocol, they agreed to carve up Poland between them. Russia-Poland spat over WW2 cause Image copyright AFP Image caption A photo (undated) shows Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov (L) with Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler In another incident, last year, the authorities in Sverdlovsk region banned the works of two British historians - Antony Beevor and John Keegan - saying they were imbued with Nazi propaganda. The Vedomosti daily described (in Russian) the order to remove the books from public libraries as "full of nonsense from start to finish". Promoted by the state and personally previewed by Mr Putin, Panfilov's 28 Men may well prove a box office hit when it comes out in November. Many Russians may not know how the state embroidered the tale of Panfilov's men - but many may not care either. More on this story Around the BBC

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