Split (1)

train · ~97.7M rows (showing the first 849k)

text stringlengths 144 682k
Dismiss Notice Join Physics Forums Today! Do rainbows have differing archs? 1. Sep 29, 2012 #1 Anna Blanksch User Avatar Gold Member The last few times I've seen a rainbow I've wondered this... Is the arch of a rainbow always the same? As in... Does the rainbow's radius ever change? Also, why are the width of the colors and the rainbow itself always the same? I was also talking about this with a few elementary school students of mine so if the answer could be at a 5th grade level that'd be awesome. 2. jcsd 3. Sep 29, 2012 #2 User Avatar Staff: Mentor A rainbow is always seen at 42 degrees. 4. Sep 29, 2012 #3 User Avatar Gold Member 2016 Award Which translates to, yes, the farther away it is, the larger the apparent radius. I have seen rainbows in my front yard from a sprinkler, probably 10 feet apparent radius, and I have seen them a mile away with an apparent radius of maybe 1/2 mile (with the 42 degrees, you can calculate the exact radius if you know how far away the water droplets are). 5. Sep 29, 2012 #4 User Avatar Science Advisor Homework Helper Gold Member The radius of curvature won't change but the apparent position of the rainbow in the sky does. When the sun is lower in the sky, you can see more of the rainbow because it appears higher in the sky. You won't see a rainbow at noon because you have to be somewhat between the sun and the rain to see one. At noon the rainbow will be at your feet and you can't see that unless you're in the sky. So depending on the time of day, you will see more or less of the rainbow and the angle the rainbow makes with the horizon will change. That might be misinterpreted as the rainbow being flatter at some times and more curved at others but in reality you are seeing the same rainbow at different positions against the sky. 6. Sep 29, 2012 #5 I once watched a video lecture on youtube about rainbows. The lecture was by Walter Lewin, it was one of the best lectures I have ever seen... if you have the time I thoroughly recommend it: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2978729867097229598 [Broken] Last edited by a moderator: May 6, 2017 7. Sep 30, 2012 #6 User Avatar Gold Member 2016 Award Uh ... say WHAT ??? 8. Sep 30, 2012 #7 Depends how you measure the radius of the bow... if you consider the radius as an angle from the centre then it is always about 42 degrees for a primary bow. If you consider it as a distance in meters then it depends on how far away you are from the water droplets that are causing the bow. Likewise the angular width of the colours will be the same but the width in meters will depend on the distance to the water droplets. It is much more useful to think of these things in terms of angles. 9. Sep 30, 2012 #8 Darn, :grumpy: I just thought that I had figured out how to find that pot of gold. 10. Sep 30, 2012 #9 User Avatar Gold Member 2016 Award I've never heard that definition of radius and don't see how it makes sense. Every fixed radius (in length from the center) would have an infinite number of "radiuses" based on that way of looking at it. 11. Sep 30, 2012 #10 User Avatar Gold Member 2016 Award For some reason, that video won't play on my laptop. I think this may be the same lecture: Almost two hours to explain how a rainbow is formed! I watched the whole thing. I think this might be a bit difficult to explain to a fifth grader without several visual aids. I would first explain what the 42° angle means using the rainbow drop from Evo's link: Then you would have to explain that rainbows are made up of the light reflected through millions of raindrops, and the only time they will see the rainbow is when their eyes, the raindrops, and the sun, make a 42° angle. That, along with Descarte's image: might seep into their heads why rainbows are circular. I just did an experiment trying to show this, and saw something that I could not explain. I saw two rainbows that intersected at almost a 90° angle. A bit hard to see. And I scratched my head for a minute or two trying to figure it out, as this type of phenomena could only be explained if there were two light sources. So I turned around and noticed that one of my car's rear windows was reflecting light, out of line with the sun, and explained the second light source. But I thought that would make a fun experiment. Get the class together on a sunny morning with several mirrors in different locations all reflecting sunlight onto a single area, then spritz the air with a water hose mister or a spritz bottle, and see how many different rainbows you could see. ps. Rainbows are best viewed against a black background. I discovered this after watching Lewin's video last year and spending hours and hours trying to get good images of one. Science is half knowing how things work, and half experimenting with that knowledge to get a good picture. :tongue2: pps. As to why there are colors in a rainbow requires a knowledge of refraction, of which I have no knowledge. Last edited by a moderator: May 6, 2017 12. Sep 30, 2012 #11 I haven't worded it particularly well. I was just trying to make the distinction between angular size and absolute size and point out why angular size is a better measure of a rainbow since it is constant. The OP was asking for an answer suitable for 5th grade students. All answers so far have been at an undergraduate physics student level... actually OmCheeto has a really good idea, set up a simple demonstration with a water spray. I can imagine that I would have loved a demonstration like that when I was younger. Last edited: Sep 30, 2012 13. Sep 30, 2012 #12 User Avatar Gold Member 2016 Award Ok, I get what you mean but telling 5th graders that all rainbows are identical in some way seems to me to require more explanation than saying that how big they are depends on how far away they are. THAT fits observation. Thus I think angular size is NOT better. 14. Sep 30, 2012 #13 Assuming that 5th graders know what an angle is, I see little difference between explaining that 'rainbows get bigger the further away they are' or'the angle between the sun, the rainbow and you is always the same'. Kids always ask 'why?' to everything. Combine the two explanations: 'the further away a rainbow is the bigger it appears but the angle between you it and the sun is always the same'. Until they learn how light moves through different materials, perhaps it is just better to prove by demonstration, which is what I was advocating in my last post. 15. Oct 3, 2012 #14 The simple explanation is that the angular size of rainbows is always the same because the properties of water are always the same. Second rainbow is feebler than first. Where are 3rd and higher rainbows? Towards the Sun? Ice crystals produce haloes, which are different from rainbows, and more diverse, too. Are there any types of haloes which form full arches like rainbows? When rainbows are created by very small, misty droplets, how is the rainbow changed? Also, how is the rainbow changed when the light source is different - like, Sun near horizon and therefore red, or rainbow illuminated by Moon? Similar Discussions: Do rainbows have differing archs?
Dismiss Notice Join Physics Forums Today! Duality of time 1. Jun 26, 2010 #1 Time is integral part of spacetime. If so, how would you explain the persistent unidirectional and significant flow of time and such a small dilation when time is influenced by spacetime manipulation? Does time flow have to do with overall spacetime expansion? 2. jcsd 3. Jun 26, 2010 #2 Time is not a 'part' of spacetime - the dichotomy between space & time is out of place in relativity. Please explain what you mean by the 'flow' of time (in physicsl terms). 4. Jun 27, 2010 #3 Welcome to Physics formum, Yuripe. And I don't know why you you are in disagreement, Eynstone. Time-like R1 submanifolds of spacetime (world lines) are submanifolds of spacetime, aren't they? Can you rephrase your question, Yuripe? 5. Jun 27, 2010 #4 My assumption that time is a part of spacetime is rather simple. Mainly because it's space-time and because time is influenced along with space when spacetime is bend by gravity. By flow of time I meant that there is an order of succession of things, there is an irreversible entropy and you can measure seconds "flowing" in your local spacetime. This rate of "flow" should be common across spacetime and is substantial compared to what gravity (bend of spacetme) needs to be to make some change to that rate of "flow". Seconds success quite fast without any visible influence, but you need to make quite a big bend of spacetime if you want to make a very small change to that "flow". Time won't stop in any location of an empty volume of spacetime, no matter how folded it is inside. If you view it like this, then you could expect that there is some other cause of this "flow" then folded spacetime. So I asked this question, if this "flow" of time could be the effect of the expansion of the whole spacetime in the universe. Because if so, this I think would nicely fit together "flow" of time with its part in spacetime. 6. Jun 27, 2010 #5 You seem to have a cosmology question; are the rates of clocks dependent upon the expansion of the universe? You might request to have one of the mentors move this thread to the Cosmology folder. 7. Jun 27, 2010 #6 Staff: Mentor That is simply due to the fact that there is only one timelike dimension. If there were two or more timelike dimensions then you could have closed timelike curves in flat spacetime. 8. Jun 28, 2010 #7 How do you define timelike dimension? What is different about it in accordance to plain dimension and how do you know there is only one? 9. Jun 28, 2010 #8 You are probably right, but its kind of mixed topic. I'm trying to determine if that what we perceive as passing time can in reality be the effect of expanding spacetime and in accordance to that, if a gravity is just the local effect of mass on the rate of this expansion. 10. Jun 28, 2010 #9 Staff: Mentor By the minus sign in the metric: 11. Jun 28, 2010 #10 Nice :smile:, but is this a definition of timelike dimension? It looks to me as a description of spacetime and it doesn't say anything about why there is a minus sign before time component. 12. Jun 28, 2010 #11 It can also be written: It really makes no physical difference. I don't really get the problem with unidirectional time. You have processes that are more likely that others, making a reversal absurdly unlikely. But the physical progression states that we call a time flow are just as physical (classically) as a pool balls that, after bouncing around, end up back in the initial triangle pattern. It's a progression, not a direction. The other issue is varying time rates, as in relativity. But if everything is defined by a classical state which evolves, how can it be presumed that time, which measures the changes, not vary under some circumstances, even at the most fundamental level? Suppose time did stop for the next hour? But wait, how was it an hour if time was stopped? The mistake is to presume that time exist separately from the changes of states in the things we measure. If it's simply a change of state, then direction is simply an illusion of probabilities. So my question to you is how is a change of state defined by a spacetime expansion fundamentally any different from a change of state defined by a glass breaking as it hits the floor? Are you implying that if the Universe was contracting, rather than expanding, that the glass would bounce up off the floor and unbreak? I think not. But if it was you wouldn't know it, because you'd simply be unreading my post and forgetting what yesterday will bring. And still wondering what the spacetime expansion that is unexpanding has to do with it, at least until you get too young and forget what you learned about expansion. 13. Jun 28, 2010 #12 The expansion of the universe has varied since initial inflation ceased.....expansion was rapid and gradually slowed but did not stop and it seems to be accelerating right now.... Has the flow of time changed?? It doesn't appear to me that the expansion of the universe affects our local time to vary here in the Milky Way. On the other hand as the universe expands, density decreases and hence gravity as well; so a distant observer could see our time apparently slower than at some time in the denser past. 14. Jun 28, 2010 #13 Staff: Mentor When you get to a fundamental level you always find that all science is "a description" and never says "anything about why". If you want a "why" answer to a fundamental question then you need to see a philosopher or a priest, not a scientist. And such answers are not appropriate on this forum. 15. Jun 28, 2010 #14 It might help to distingush between (1) the fact of spacetime having one timelike dimension and (2) the existence of a thermodynamic "arrow of time" (connected to the idea of entropy) which, at certain scales, gives a natural causal orientation to spacetime, a way to tell past from future. 16. Jun 28, 2010 #15 Very good point. The timelike dimension is a mere coordinate choice and is no more physical, or have any more unique physical significance, than any coordinate choice. 17. Jun 28, 2010 #16 At the risk of posting something inappropriate (albeit funny), here's one such answer in the 14th century English mystical treatse The Cloud of Unknowing [ http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/cloufrm.htm ] (lines 351-360). Why are events ordered one after another in time? So that man schal have none excusacion agens God in the Dome and at the gevyng of acompte of dispendyng of tyme, seiing: "Thou gevest two tymes at ones, and I have bot o steryng at ones." (So that man shall have no grounds for accusation against God at the Last Judgment when he must give account of how he has spent his time, saying, "You gave two times at once, and I have only one impulse at once.") 18. Jun 28, 2010 #17 I like thinking about this as a change in direction, space to time. Like the focal point within my eye where photons emitted at different times all come together in a pseudo-emission that I see as my now. 19. Jun 28, 2010 #18 There is no differernce. It is just the fact that the sign of the time dimension is opposite to that of the spatial dimension that defines the metric, makes the interval not positive definite and so the spacetime geometry follows. I don't think anyone would suggest that the sign of the time dimension in the expression for the interval gives time its direction. But of course it must the opposite sign to the spatial dimensions. 20. Jun 28, 2010 #19 21. Jun 28, 2010 #20 According to SR time "flows" at different rates according to the speed of the object. So time is relative to the speed, and speed is also relative to the observer. If I start to move at certain speed and also take a role of the observer (of myself) than for me time will be passing at normal rate, same as I would be stationary. If we now change to the perspective of the external observer who is slower than me or stationary, he would see that I'm living in "slow motion" in other words in time that runs slower. I might suspect from the above, that there is a connection between the speed at which spacetime of the universe expands and perception of the rate at which time flows. According to GR, local value of gravity has the same effect on time as speed in SR. So higher gravity means slower time flow. Let's say for now we are in point A in spacetime (A' in space) and I have two synchronized clocks. I take one of them for a near light speed spin around the galaxy :smile: or into a high gravity location for a certain period of time. Then I come back to compare readings on these clocks at point B in spacetime (same A' in space). What I see is that the clock I took is delayed to the clock I left. I started this experiment at point A and ended in point B of my spacetime, what is different between these clocks is the spacetime distance between points A-B they traveled. So how come the distance in spacetime from point A to B be different? The time must've been flowing at different rates, and if the rates are different shouldn't there be a rate at which normally time flows when observer is stationary? Similar Discussions: Duality of time 1. Time (Replies: 3)
How can we use social media to promote social inclusion? Published on Lots of us are experimenting with using social media - and we're reaching new audiences too. But how can we ensure that we use media to effectively target and reach people who would not normally get involved in museums and cultural heritage? This masterclass looks at how social media can build partnerships and other networks which begin to reach beyond the usual targets. Published in: Education, Health & Medicine • Be the first to comment • Be the first to like this No Downloads Total views On SlideShare From Embeds Number of Embeds Embeds 0 No embeds No notes for slide How can we use social media to promote social inclusion? 1. 1. Inclusion Programme Museum of London Using social media with excluded audiences 2. 2. Background to the Inclusion Programme <ul><li>Project-based programme that uses creativity and media to engage people at risk of exclusion with their heritage </li></ul><ul><li>Learning/social outcomes for participants </li></ul><ul><li>Outputs – for wider community </li></ul><ul><li>Develop the Museum’s understanding of the issues involved in working with people at risk of social exclusion. </li></ul> 3. 3. I am a technophobe! My experience of using social media in projects is very much from a non-technical mindset 4. 4. Our approach <ul><li>Social media embedded in the process of the projects to support participants’ outcomes </li></ul><ul><li>This is a different approach from creation of media and resources that are targeted at excluded groups </li></ul> 5. 5. Is a growth in use of social media mirrored in use by excluded audiences? <ul><li>Yes (personal observation) </li></ul><ul><li>Link to evaluation of inclusion programme which demonstrates improved social skills and meeting new people are outputs valued most highly. Social media can enhance these outputs. </li></ul> 6. 6. Examples: Podcasts from the Past project 7. 7. <ul><li>Participants researched, wrote and recorded podcasts that described objects to visually impaired visitors </li></ul><ul><li>Flickr to record of workshop images </li></ul><ul><li> </li></ul><ul><li>Ning social network </li></ul><ul><li> </li></ul><ul><li>Online presence </li></ul><ul><li> </li></ul> 8. 8. Flickr 9. 9. Ning social network 10. 10. Podcasts online 11. 11. Brixton Riots project 12. 12. <ul><li>Participants were trained to be social reporters and interviewed people involved in the Brixton Riots. They then edited their interviews. These interviews are featured on the Museum’s website </li></ul><ul><li>Blog written by participants </li></ul><ul><li> </li></ul><ul><li>Flickr diary </li></ul><ul><li> </li></ul> 13. 13. Using social media even when the project is ‘non-media’ <ul><li>Current projects include Empire, an art project where a group are creating a sculpture of goods that were traded across the Empire to go in an under floor case in our new galleries </li></ul><ul><li> </li></ul> 14. 14. Social media supporting individual learning outcomes <ul><li>Increased ICT skills gained by creating web pages, adding images to Flickr, using social networks </li></ul><ul><li>Improved writing skills from blogs </li></ul><ul><li>Link to other participants through social networks during and beyond projects improves social skills and confidence </li></ul><ul><li>Increased knowledge of social media </li></ul><ul><li>More motivated to use social media independently </li></ul><ul><li>Increased enjoyment of museums through a medium they may find more accessible. </li></ul> 15. 15. Challenges? <ul><li>Is there a long way to go before excluded audiences have full access to the range of social media and really take up use of these? </li></ul><ul><li>How to keep up to date with the ever expanding new media – Twitter, phone technologies, handheld consoles </li></ul><ul><li>Confidence and training for the staff working with excluded audiences </li></ul><ul><li>Suitable for all work – e.g. working with prisoners </li></ul><ul><li>More? </li></ul>
Categorized \| Opinion/Editorial Pop Quiz Pandemonium: Are pop quizzes really that effective? Michelle Banayan, news editor “Okay students, clear your desks. We are having a pop quiz!” The pop quiz: for students, it’s their worst nightmare. For teachers, it’s an age-old technique; one intended to keep their pupils on their toes and make sure they are completing all of their assignments. After all, if students are doing their homework and paying attention in class, they should be able to ace these surprise assessments, right? Some teachers also claim to use pop quizzes to combat test anxiety which causes students to blank out after studying all night for an assigned assessment. However, although these pop quizzes seem to be given with good intentions in mind, they are doing more harm than good. How many teachers are perfectly on schedule with each assignment they have? Aren’t there nights when they feel too exhausted to grade another paper? How would they react if a supervisor decided to pop in class without prior notice for an evaluation? Just as teachers may not be able to complete all their necessary grading and planning on certain days because of their lives outside of work, students should not simply be expected to be 100 percent prepared for every one of their subjects every day of the school year. Think about the student who is adequately prepared the week that no pop quiz is given, but has a valid reason for being unprepared the week that one is. Even the most organized and dedicated students deserve the opportunity to plan their workload based on a schedule. Planning comes with being informed of what needs to be accomplished in advance. According to Mary McDonald’s “Systematic Assessment of Learning Outcomes: Developing Multiple-choice Exams,” teachers should ideally give students a 48-hour notice so they can adequately plan their schedules. As students we are used to organization and planning. Since elementary school, we have been trained to use agendas to map out our study and homework schedules days in advance. And throughout the years leading up high school, many of us have formed study routines that work for us. Disrupting that schedule leads to more anxiety than an assigned quiz does – contrary to what teachers may think. In fact, according to a study performed by Missouri Western State University’s Department of Psychology, “without fair warning [of a pop quiz], participants will have higher anxiety levels, which can interfere with their performance and lead to lower quiz grades.” Furthermore, students who are frequently given pop quizzes find themselves not only anxious once the quiz is given out, but also throughout the day. “There are days when I’m anxious about simply going to school because I don’t know if I’ll have a pop quiz in my classes or not, and I end up spending the whole day worrying about it,” senior Arielle Shalom said. “It’s not that I didn’t finish my homework, but I have a lot going on outside of school on top of my homework that makes it difficult for me to master all the concepts in my daily assignments.” Additionally, in classes where teachers are prone to handing out pop quizzes multiple times a week, students tend to spend the majority of the period preoccupied with the mere prospect of having a surprise assessment at the end of the period, rather than paying attention to the current lesson. Though it is reasonable for a teacher to want to make sure students are on top of their material, pop quizzes don’t seem to be the most effective method of doing so. The anxiety that comes with an unplanned assessment isn’t solely apparent when the quiz is handed out, but also weaves its way into students’ daily lives. However, it can easily be reduced when students are able to plan a study program, ensuring that they will be able to devote enough time to properly studying and learning the material. Perhaps teachers can schedule a brief quiz on a set day every week. That way, the worrying of whether or not a quiz will be given is eliminated and students are given the full responsibility to be prepared each week. Leave a Reply %d bloggers like this:
Thursday, October 25, 2007 Megan Davis- Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Question: What are the tree types of dialogue/transactions? Answer: There are there types of dialogue: equitable transaction, empathetic conversation and real meeting. Equitable transaction is where people are equally able to add to discussions by voicing their perspectives and opinions. Empathetic conversations happen when you are able to put yourself into another person’s shoes and view the world from their point of view. And lastly, real meeting is where there is genuine conversation with little to no influence from the outside world. Quote: "Miscommunication is the normal state of affairs in human communication . . . miscommunication and unintentional communication are to be expected for they are the norm." (Steven Axley p. 432) 31.    Significance: In chapter 2, the approach to organizational communication breaks down in to three sections. The second section is transaction process. In this model people engaged in a conversation are both sending and receiving messages, (encoding and decoding). In this model, it is expected that there will be miscommunication. It is further stated that this miscommunication is a benefit to communication in general. It avoids conflict, and generates new ideas. I am not naive enough to believe that miscommunication never happens. Nor am I blind to the fact that the only way we can assume to be understood is through the use of nonverbal cues, but I do believe that when conversing it is the point to understand on another. No comments:
Tried And Tested Tips In Becoming A Good Cook Anyone can experience the joys of cooking, even if you are a novice in the kitchen. Can you grab a recipe, buy the ingredients at the store, then mix them up? Does your kitchen have the basic necessities? If you answered yes to those two questions, then you are able to cook. Use the following advice to learn how to cook meals your whole family will enjoy. You should keep your spices and herbs in a space that is cool and away from light. Heat, light, and a large amount of humidity can ruin spices and herbs. Herbs and spices generally keep their taste and flavor for about one year. Whole spices have a longer shelf-life and can hold their flavor for about three years. If they are stored properly, they will stay fresh longer. When adding seasonings to meat, test a small amount before seasoning the whole batch. Take care when seasoning foods like hamburgers, meatloaf or meatballs. Season it mildly before you make the entire meal. Try cooking a small patty first. Once you have tried your sample you can correct the seasoning or proceed with the cooking. If you have a meal that is important, like for a date or your boss, try cooking one of your better dishes so that you are familiar with it and know it tastes good. Avoid the temptation to try a new dish or ingredient. This can keep your stress levels in check while you cook. When you cook vegetables quickly over high heat, their quality is best. Slow-cooked vegetables lose nutritional value and taste. These quick cooking techniques will produce generally, healthier vegetable sides. Learning to give them just a quick steam is the best way to cook them. When you store things like flour, baking mixes and sugar, you should use containers that are airtight. By storing foods in airtight containers, you can ensure its freshness and prevent any contamination. These are carried in many stores and make a wise investment. Try cooking your vegetables in chicken broth. This helps to prevent vegetables from sticking on the pan. In addition, chicken broth improves the vegetables' flavor. Broth can be found at nearly any grocery store, and is very inexpensive. Substitute water for other more flavorful liquids, in order to spice up your meals. For example, you might try chicken broth or beef broth instead of water in a meat dish. You might even try fruit juice when cooking certain veggies. You can try out buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream instead of milk. Using different liquids can add nutritional value, while at the same time punching up bland, old recipes. Do not dress your guests' salads. Serve the dressing on the side and allow your guests to dress it to their liking. Some people like more dressing on their salad than others do, so it is better to let them add the dressing themselves. Your guests will also enjoy having a variety of dressings from which to choose. When you want to cook a roast, but you don't have much time, consider cooking a bone-in roast. The bone acts as a conduit, transporting heat through the center of the meat. Once cooked, carve the bone out and serve the meat as normal. To some people, cooking is just something you need to know how to do or an interesting hobby. To others, it's a way of making money. There are millions of ways to prepare food, and the best way to learn new cooking skills is to take advice from people who are good at what they do. Keep this article's tips in mind when you next decide to do a little kitchen work! Healthy Habits , Step 1 - Enter Your Name And Email For Shipping Confirmation: Your information is secure and will never be shared
Danthonia spicata Poverty Pov"erty (p[o^]v"[~e]rt[y^]), n. [OE. poverte, OF. povert['e], F. pauvret['e], fr. L. paupertas, fr. pauper poor. See {Poor}.] 1. The quality or state of being poor or indigent; want or scarcity of means of subsistence; indigence; need. ``Swathed in numblest poverty.'' --Keble. [1913 Webster] The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty. --Prov. xxiii. 21. [1913 Webster] {Poverty grass} (Bot.), a name given to several slender grasses (as {Aristida dichotoma}, and {Danthonia spicata}) which often spring up on old and worn-out fields. [1913 Webster] Syn: Indigence; penury; beggary; need; lack; want; scantiness; sparingness; meagerness; jejuneness. Usage: {Poverty}, {Indigence}, {Pauperism}. Poverty is a relative term; what is poverty to a monarch, would be competence for a day laborer. Indigence implies extreme distress, and almost absolute destitution. Pauperism denotes entire dependence upon public charity, and, therefore, often a hopeless and degraded state. [1913 Webster] The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000. Look at other dictionaries: Share the article and excerpts Direct link Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”
do do (d[=oo]), v. t. or auxiliary. [imp. {did} (d[i^]d); p. p. {done} (d[u^]n); p. pr. & vb. n. {Doing} (d[=oo]"[i^]ng). This verb, when transitive, is formed in the indicative, present tense, thus: I do, thou doest (d[=oo]"[e^]st) or dost (d[u^]st), he does (d[u^]z), doeth (d[=oo]"[e^]th), or doth (d[u^]th); when auxiliary, the second person is, thou dost. As an independent verb, dost is obsolete or rare, except in poetry. ``What dost thou in this world?'' --Milton. The form doeth is a verb unlimited, doth, formerly so used, now being the auxiliary form. The second pers, sing., imperfect tense, is didst (d[i^]dst), formerly didest (d[i^]d"[e^]st).] [AS. d[=o]n; akin to D. doen, OS. duan, OHG. tuon, G. thun, Lith. deti, OSlav. d[=e]ti, OIr. d['e]nim I do, Gr. tiqe`nai to put, Skr. dh[=a], and to E. suffix -dom, and prob. to L. facere to do, E. fact, and perh. to L. -dere in some compounds, as addere to add, credere to trust. [root]65. Cf. {Deed}, {Deem}, {Doom}, {Fact}, {Creed}, {Theme}.] 1. To place; to put. [Obs.] --Tale of a Usurer (about 1330). [1913 Webster] 2. To cause; to make; -- with an infinitive. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] My lord Abbot of Westminster did do shewe to me late certain evidences. --W. Caxton. [1913 Webster] I shall . . . your cloister do make. --Piers Plowman. [1913 Webster] A fatal plague which many did to die. --Spenser. [1913 Webster] We do you to wit [i. e., We make you to know] of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. --2 Cor. viii. 1. 3. To bring about; to produce, as an effect or result; to effect; to achieve. [1913 Webster] The neglecting it may do much danger. --Shak. [1913 Webster] He waved indifferently 'twixt doing them neither good not harm. --Shak. [1913 Webster] Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work. --Ex. xx. 9. [1913 Webster] We did not do these things. --Ld. Lytton. [1913 Webster] You can not do wrong without suffering wrong. --Emerson. Hence: To do homage, honor, favor, justice, etc., to render homage, honor, etc. [1913 Webster] 5. To bring to an end by action; to perform completely; to finish; to accomplish; -- a sense conveyed by the construction, which is that of the past participle done. ``Ere summer half be done.'' ``I have done weeping.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster] Done to death by slanderous tongues. -- Shak. [1913 Webster] The ground of the difficulty is done away. -- Paley. [1913 Webster] Suspicions regarding his loyalty were entirely done away. --Thackeray. [1913 Webster] To do on our own harness, that we may not; but we must do on the armor of God. -- Latimer. [1913 Webster] Then Jason rose and did on him a fair Blue woolen tunic. -- W. Morris (Jason). [1913 Webster] Though the former legal pollution be now done off, yet there is a spiritual contagion in idolatry as much to be shunned. --Milton. [1913 Webster] It [``Pilgrim's Progress''] has been done into verse: it has been done into modern English. -- Macaulay. [1913 Webster] 8. To cheat; to gull; to overreach. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster] He was not be done, at his time of life, by frivolous offers of a compromise that might have secured him seventy-five per cent. -- De Quincey. [1913 Webster] 9. To see or inspect; to explore; as, to do all the points of interest. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster] 10. (Stock Exchange) To cash or to advance money for, as a bill or note. [1913 Webster] The sergeants seem to do themselves pretty well. --Harper's Mag. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 12. To deal with for good and all; to finish up; to undo; to ruin; to do for. [Colloq. or Slang] Sometimes they lie in wait in these dark streets, and fracture his skull, . . . or break his arm, or cut the sinew of his wrist; and that they call doing him. --Charles Reade. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] Note: (a) Do and did are much employed as auxiliaries, the verb to which they are joined being an infinitive. As an auxiliary the verb do has no participle. ``I do set my bow in the cloud.'' --Gen. ix. 13. [Now archaic or rare except for emphatic assertion.] [1913 Webster] Rarely . . . did the wrongs of individuals to the knowledge of the public. -- Macaulay. (b) They are often used in emphatic construction. ``You don't say so, Mr. Jobson. -- but I do say so.'' --Sir W. Scott. ``I did love him, but scorn him now.'' --Latham. (c) In negative and interrogative constructions, do and did are in common use. I do not wish to see them; what do you think? Did C[ae]sar cross the Tiber? He did not. ``Do you love me?'' --Shak. (d) Do, as an auxiliary, is supposed to have been first used before imperatives. It expresses entreaty or earnest request; as, do help me. In the imperative mood, but not in the indicative, it may be used with the verb to be; as, do be quiet. Do, did, and done often stand as a general substitute or representative verb, and thus save the repetition of the principal verb. ``To live and die is all we have to do.'' --Denham. In the case of do and did as auxiliaries, the sense may be completed by the infinitive (without to) of the verb represented. ``When beauty lived and died as flowers do now.'' --Shak. ``I . . . chose my wife as she did her wedding gown.'' --Goldsmith. [1913 Webster] My brightest hopes giving dark fears a being. As the light does the shadow. -- Longfellow. In unemphatic affirmative sentences do is, for the most part, archaic or poetical; as, ``This just reproach their virtue does excite.'' --Dryden. [1913 Webster] {To do one's best}, {To do one's diligence} (and the like), to exert one's self; to put forth one's best or most or most diligent efforts. ``We will . . . do our best to gain their assent.'' --Jowett (Thucyd.). {To do one shame}, to cause one shame. [Obs.] {To do over}. (a) To make over; to perform a second time. (b) To cover; to spread; to smear. ``Boats . . . sewed together and done over with a kind of slimy stuff like rosin.'' --De Foe. {To do to death}, to put to death. (See 7.) [Obs.] {To do up}. (a) To put up; to raise. [Obs.] --Chaucer. (b) To pack together and envelop; to pack up. (c) To accomplish thoroughly. [Colloq.] (d) To starch and iron. ``A rich gown of velvet, and a ruff done up with the famous yellow starch.'' --Hawthorne. {To do way}, to put away; to lay aside. [Obs.] --Chaucer. {To do with}, to dispose of; to make use of; to employ; -- usually preceded by what. ``Men are many times brought to that extremity, that were it not for God they would not know what to do with themselves.'' --Tillotson. {To have to do with}, to have concern, business or intercourse with; to deal with. When preceded by what, the notion is usually implied that the affair does not concern the person denoted by the subject of have. ``Philology has to do with language in its fullest sense.'' --Earle. ``What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? --2 Sam. xvi. 10. [1913 Webster] The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000. Look at other dictionaries: • Doing — Do ing, n.; pl. {Doings}. Anything done; a deed; an action good or bad; hence, in the plural, conduct; behavior. See {Do}. [1913 Webster] To render an account of his doings. Barrow. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English Share the article and excerpts Direct link Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”
Flail snails were earth-based creatures that were highly sought out by hunters due to the fact that they produced a number of valuable resources. Their body parts and colorful shells could be used to produce several protective magical items.[1][3] Flail snails had between four and six tentacles (typically five) that were kept in constant motion, swaying slowly if the creature was calm or fast if it was agitated.[2][3] They also possessed very colorful scintillating shells that had antimagic properties. An intact shell could sell for up to 5,000 gp, and could be used to produce shields that retained this antimagic property for one month or more. When this effect faded, the shields could then be converted into spellguard shields. A shell could also be powdered and mixed into a dye in order to craft robes of scintillating colors. Flail snail shells kept growing as the creature aged, and could grow clockwise or counter-clockwise.[1][3] The stomach and liver of a flail snail could also be used as ingredients for an elixir of health which negated the effects of any ingested poison. Its skin and protective mucus could be ground and used as an ingredient to produce potions of fire resistance. The mucus could also be used as an alternative ingredient to produce potions of climbing, but it rendered the potions too thick to be ingested quickly.[3] The snail's protective mucus was produced by a gland in front of its foot. The mucus served as a protective layer for its skin and as a lubricant for its motion.[3] As it moved, the flail snail left a trail of this shimmering material that could be harvested to produce clear or opaque glass. Some humanoids managed to make a living by trailing flail snails and collecting this glass.[1] Flail snails moved slowly consuming everything in their path, including vegetation, rocks, sand, and dirt. They were particularly fond of crystal growths and mineral deposits, and took their time to savor them. They were generally completely non-aggressive until threatened.[1][3] The club-like tentacles of flail snails had tips of hardened skin with several protrusions that could crush wood easily and were the creature's only form of attack.[3] If a tentacle was sufficiently damaged it would die, but the snail would remain alive and could regrow lost tentacles after a few days, as long as at least one tentacle remained alive.[1] If all tentacles were killed, the snail retracted into its shell and started crying out a loud wailing sound for several minutes until it died or had its tentacles restored, such as through a regenerate spell.[1] The cry of a dying flail snail could potentially attract other monsters to the site.[2] The slow metabolism of flail snails rendered them immune to poison, while their thick shells and the wet mucus that covered their bodies rendered them immune to fire.[3][1] A flail snail's shell could also emit an extremely bright multicolored light that made it difficult for the creature to be physically targeted and could potentially stun its enemies. The shell also rendered it extremely resistant to magic. If the creature was targeted by a magical attack, the shell could either reflect the attack back on the caster or convert the spell energy into a destructive blast of force.[1] Like any snails, they were somewhat vulnerable to salt, although their protective mucus provided an effective layer of resistance.[3] Flail snails hibernated during winter, except in locations in which the seasons did not affect the availability of food, such as deep underground. They tended to flee from overly bright lights as an instinctual defense mechanism against dessication by the sun.[3] Flail snails were hermaphrodites. They reproduced by going through a complex mating ritual with other flail snails that they met casually. They exchanged love darts in order to initiate the ritual, mated, and then went their separate ways. Later they laid about a dozen eggs.[3] 1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Wizards RPG Team (2016). Volo's Guide to Monsters. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 144. ISBN 978-0786966011. 2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Don Turnbull (1981). Fiend Folio. (TSR Hobbies), p. 38. ISBN 0-9356-9621-0. 3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Johnathan M. Richards (April 1999). “The Ecology of the Flail Snail”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon #258 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 58–63. Ad blocker interference detected!
We Can Still Learn From Anne Frank in the 21st Century With a new president entering the White House in 2017, it seems we have come a long way since the depressing days of World War II. For some people, it was literally a lifetime ago. However, Anne Frank is still a household name. From generation to generation, her legacy continues to inspire people all around the world. Why was The Diary of Anne Frank translated into over 70 languages and still popular seven decades later? The answer is simple: she was a young girl with a family much like mine and yours. Anne was your ordinary girl that loved to play until suddenly her world was turned upside down, to say the least. Even at a tender age, her voice was strong. Anne’s bravery never faltered, and she expressed herself in such a manner that was poetically beautiful. She could lift her spirits, and anyone’s really, by admitting things like, “I can shake off everything if I write… my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” She reminds us all how to remain positive and have a good attitude even in the worst of times. In fact, she even felt as though “people are really good at heart” despite her particular circumstances. Nevertheless, she was only human and spoke honestly about her frustrations exclaiming, “I don’t believe that the war is simply the work of politicians and capitalists. Oh, no, the common man is every bit as guilty; otherwise, people and nations would have rebelled long ago! There’s a destructive urge in people, the urge to rage, murder, and kill. And until all of humanity, without exception, undergoes a metamorphosis, wars will continue to be waged, and everything that has been carefully built up, cultivated, and grown will be cut down and destroyed, only to start all over again!” Wow — at such a childish age, she was bright. Do you think the world is closer or farther from this concept today? Even reading a few paragraphs from her diary, it is easy to correlate how her words can transcend across time. Simon Wiesenthal (AP-PHOTO) Simon Wiesenthal (AP-PHOTO) The late Simon Wiesenthal survived the Holocaust and is referred to as the Nazi hunter. He explained, “This was a family like my family, like your family, and so you could understand this.” Wiesenthal went on to claim that the public Nuremberg trials did not even affect people the way her innocent writing did. Sadly, the youthful soul was sent to a concentration camp when she was discovered at the age of 15. She died of an illness shortly after that. Simon Wiesenthal was also responsible for finding the man who arrested Anne. Can you imagine not knowing her story? There are so many children who suffered and died during the Holocaust. Mostly, they are unknown to us, but they, too, can rest peacefully knowing they did not perish in vain. After her diary was released, Anne Frank became one of the most influential Jews of all time and was on Time magazine’s list of The Most Important People of the Century. Let’s all take a moment to remember Anne Frank. Do you think we are getting closer to having a peaceful world?
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 Jamnagar Heaven of Birds Wetlands are area that link water & land. They include both fresh water & sea water. Most of the fresh water wetlands are man made surrounding Jamnagar. They all are dependent on rain. The wetlands provide nutrients to plants & animal, including insects which are primary food for birds. Thus, wetlands provide very important habitat for many species of plants & animals including about half of all known bird species. Jamnagar district have vast wetland diversity. There is coastal area as well as inland wetlands which attracts very large no. of birds. Charakala salt-pans, Khijadia bird sanctuary, Narara Island, Pirotan Island, Barda hills, Dhinchda Lake, Ranjit Sagar dam, Kharaberaja dam, Lakhota Lake are the main areas where we can find birds in their extraordinary natural habits. Jamnagar have large no. of migratory & non-migratory species. About 300 species has been recorded. Most of the migratory species can be found during winter. Jamnagar also have some rare & endangered species like Lesser Flamingoes, Painted Storks, Eurasian Spoonbills, Black-headed Ibis, Darter, Dalmatian Pelicans, Openbill storks, Osprey, Indian Skimmer, Black-necked Stork, Crab plovers, Red-necked Phalarope etc.
Track 08: In vitro techniques In vitro techniques: In vitro techniques are conducted mainly by using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological surroundings such as microorganisms, biological molecules, or cells. Specially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology and its subdisciplines are traditionally done in labware such as test tubes, flasks, Petri dishes, and microtiter plates. In vitro studies permit a species-specific, simpler, more convenient, and much more detailed analysis than can be done with the whole organism. Just as studies in whole animals more and more replace human trials, so are in vitro studies replacing studies in whole animals. In pharmacology, In vitro techniques can be used to approximate pharmacokinetics (PK) or pharmacodynamics (PD). Since the timing and intensity of effects on a given target depend on the concentration time course of candidate drug (parent molecule or metabolites) at that target site. 1. Organ Cultures 2. Tissue Slices 3. Priary Cell Cultures 4. Established Cell Lines 5. Cell Lines Are you interested in Mail us at Drop us an email for Program enquiry Sponsors / Exhibiting Advertising, General Queries More details about Copyright © 2017-2018 Allied Academies, All Rights Reserved.
Satsang – Volume 17, Number 10: September 25, 2014 Back to List of SatsangsPrevious Satsang Next Satsang Practice Means Knowledge— Which You Already Are … Eternal Presence in Sanskrit is Shashwat Sanatan. People do not know what this means. A listener can only listen to someone regarding what he himself knows. Suppose the spacecraft reached Mars. All of you have seen and known this, and I have seen and known it, so we can talk about it. But we do not know how the spacecraft had been prepared, because we have not seen it. Only the scientists who prepared it know how to speak about it. Thus, the one who began making you, he must know about it. You cannot know how you have been made—and by whom. A mother can know that her child is made out of her, but the child can never know that his mother is made out of him. So Eternal Presence cannot be known by a human ego-intellect-mind. Even if you call it his imagination, he cannot imagine Eternal Presence, he cannot work on what it is. … You cannot know that which you have not seen. How can anybody approach you, who are totally nil in knowing that which has not been seen? If somebody says, “You are That,” it is not correct for him to say this, unless you, as a person, become deserving. Deserving means that if you are hungry, you can be given food. If you are not hungry, you will refuse anything given to you. All human beings are settled in that they are human beings. They have senses and a mind—not that they knew this, rather somebody told them. How is it that a young child can know Norwegian without learning it from a book? His mother keeps speaking, and soon he speaks Norwegian. You say it is too difficult a language, but for a child, there is nothing that is too difficult. … You can understand what I have said. But you do not understand what you are doing with closed eyes in meditation. And it must be quite near you—the nearest. They are your eyes that are closed, so whatever space is there, or whatever darkness is there, it is in you. How can I explain it? When I close my eyes, nobody knows what I see in my eyes. In the same way, I do not know what you see, so I never question you about it. I only know that when your eyes are open, you will be able to do the work of the eyes—yet you will not know who is making the eyes work. We are taught, “I am doing it.” At the most you can understand, “It is I—I who open the eyes, I who close the eyes. So the I has not to see anything, because the eyes are closed.” This is the enigma. … Questioner: I was quite astounded that day, when I closed my eyes and realized what you had just said, that the space I had been meditating on with closed eyes was changing because there was a sense of light or movement, or some subtle duality there. Swamiji: I said this because I was also sitting there. Before the space had been bluish, and when the sun came [up over the mountain], it became yellowish. I watched that blue changes into yellow. When the sun is not there, yellow is no more a change, the space remains just the same. So here is the point. But you are not explaining it. Questioner: You have said, “As soon as we close our eyes, that is the Self.” Swamiji: That is the Self—which is unchanging. But when the sun came, it changed. So you, who are born unchanging, when your name was given and words were pounded into it, or invaded in it, it changed. Then why do you call that unchanging, when the Unchanging remains just the same? Even when you do not use words, when you do not hear words, when you do not see things, you are unchanging. Then why do you say, “I am changing”? Questioner: Right. That is the point. Shashwat Sanatan, Eternal Presence. Thank you, Swamiji. [She salutes Guru, with folded hands.] Swamiji: In Sanskrit, they started calling this [saluting with folded hands] Naman. Naman is a word, not a salutation. Naman means that the mind is not: na means not, man means mind. When we meet, we say, “Hello.” There is no mind. You respond, “Hello.” What is hello? What is “Hey! Come!”? How do you know who “hey” is? Everybody hears this, but after hearing it, you do not use your faculty, which has been given to you, of knowing. You know things, shirts, buttons, the body, the mirror, the reflection in the mirror, you know thoughts. So you remain just the same baby. … You have to let me know, what has happened to you in forty-five years? If you are the same, then what has been the effect of meditation? If you say you are the same person, “I am the same girl, with the same pants, dress, necklace and earrings” and all that, then how did you change? A man does not change and a woman does not change. Yet change is continuous. Suppose change changes into the Unchanging. That, you do not know. Why? Our system is of change. Many people say it is in time and space. We do not know whether we are in time or in space, yet everyone says this. You must be saying, “In time and space, I am a ring. And when I close my eyes, I am gold.”… Since we cannot live this, we practise. We practice finding out time to do so, because we cannot practise when all the talk is going on. Thus, when we meditate, that is practice. Practice is not using a saw and cutting wood—again and again, again and again. Practice means Knowledge. In English, abhyas is translated as practice. But practice is Gyan (Knowledge), Vichar (Knowledge), Atma (Self), Paramatma (Supreme Self), Brahm (Oneness)—which you already are. Yet you are seeking it somewhere! … You have seen a bird. It comes out, after a few days, as a bird. Before the bird is the egg. Can you ever think that the bird will know the egg it came from? I am giving you the nature of your mind, which you never thought of. Is any egg able to know the hen? Does the hen know how the egg comes or who makes it? Does the hen make the egg? …That is the state of affairs with a human system. So if you do not know that the human system was never there, how would you know that you are unborn? You only know born. So I can only talk that you are born and I am born. Thus, it becomes personal, individual. Anyone who has practised abhyas, or knowledge, after listening to Ayam Atma Brahm (Self is Oneness), Tat Twam Asi (You are That), Sarvam Khalvidam Brahm (All this is Oneness) can know it. These are only three statements, they are not a big literature. …The beauty is that all of you have understood what I have said. That is why I am pleased. You have the best incarnation. Everything is intact. And you have potential and power, which is unseen in you. Here you can see your eyes, forehead, neck and body. But you cannot see the Knower. Since it has no name, our teachers have called it Atma, Paramatma, Brahm, Aham (I). … I leave you by saying abstract things: Ayam Atma Brahm. Tat Twam Asi. Sarvam Khalvidam Brahm. Namaste! [Applause]. There is a word that is spoken which we all know: love. If I say, “You are love,” by now you have completely become a human body, which changes. So you interpret the words “You are love” as meaning you, the body. You think, “He is speaking the word ‘love,’ so he is the body.” Everybody knows that love comes from a human mother or her child, from a human being or a pet. When you see birds and animals, you see that they also love. So it has been settled, by your own intellect, that love comes from a sentient being. Love does not come from a plant, although it may have a good flower. That is what a human being’s definition of love is. When love is abstract, why should a human being know it? That which is possession, or holding, you say is rag, or attachment. A human being knows rag very well. Rag of what? Of his own body. Without his body, he cannot have potato chips—and he loves potato chips. But the potato never knows that “This person is in love with me.” [Laughter]. I have left you to make efforts to unfold the knowledge of the word “love.” If you use your knowledge, which is the ego-intellect-mind and senses, then it is possible that you will realize your Self. I can bring your attention towards that which you love the most. What do you love the most? No death. Its corollary is that you love life the most. This is observed daily. But those who see you as a kind of tree, with branches, leaves and flowers, they pluck or cut it. There are certain persons like that. They have made every human being into an inanimate tree, plant or machine, to be used for this or that. Therefore, for no fault of your own, you have missed the meaning of love. Onto that you have put the totally opposite meaning: a person who is loving or a beloved. Two machines will never love each other. But by love we think of human beings with nervous systems, which are such that the nerves manifest or emanate, but we do not know how. Unless you develop, progress or improve your vision, or knowledge, you remain the same. A human being has the potential and power to know what a dream is. In the dream, who loves whom? In the dream, who does not love a dead body and why? In the dream, both these things are happening. But when the dream is over, the dreamer is over, the dream mechanism is over and the nerves do not produce the dream, then you wake up. Yet you never consider it. A human being’s nerves produce deep sleep in the evening and the waking state in the morning, and, while in deep sleep, the ignorance of the dream. Yet the dream is projected as real and as good a something as the waking state. When you wake up, you equate the dream with the waking state, saying “In the waking state I have seen those things, so they became that in the dream.” Daily we see dreams, but we do not tell each other about them. Why? You have heard me saying that dreams are nothing. So you keep to that, thinking, “Yes, I know they are everything, but if I say this to someone, he will immediately catch hold of me and say, ‘Swamiji says that dreams are nothing, so why are you telling me this?’” Daily you see everything in the waking state and you are telling each other about it, yet nobody says, “Swamiji said that the world of the waking state does not exist.” I tell you this daily. But only that you will not tell anybody. [He laughs.] The words “love” and “hate” are mental. “Love and hate” does not exist. The words “Brahm,” “knowledge” and “ignorance” are mental. All three do not exist. But I cannot convince you of this. When you became a doctor and a PhD, I cannot say, “Brahm does not exist. Why do you repeat it again and again?” You want to know Brahm. And the scriptures, not the teachers, have told you, “Read the scriptures. They say Brahm alone is.” A child has heard that Brahm alone is, so he can give a speech about it: “Brahm alone is. Self alone is. You alone are. I alone am. Life alone is—and death has nothing to do with it.” But here we are speaking of that Love which is not known to any human being. And that exists. That is the beginning, which means prarambh. Prarambh means it does not exist—it has not begun. Rather, all that prarambh is in it. It is like a man who sees a dream: the dream is in him. So prarambh is he. Yet he does not know prarambh. When he, as a child, was made, who was his prarambh, who was his original Self? Originalcould nearly be the translation of prarambh. What is original? People think original is that which nobody has conceived of. … A human being wants to know. That is the best inquiry in him. He is deserving. He wants to know. You want to know, What is this which is death? What is this which is life—life that dies? Swamiji says life never dies. You answer that in your country nobody will understand this. In this way, you can know that you are beyond your understanding. Close your eyes. You have not to apply your understanding to this. It is. It is forever with you. These are my words. You can give it any word: Atma, Self, Paramatma, God, Brahm, Awareness, Pure Free Forever, Anand, a person, not a person, a creature, a dream, a dream figure or sky. You can do anything, but it will not work. Because this is, by itself. This Space—I am using the word now just to communicate, because you know Space—has no mother. It is forever. Watch how nearest, closest, subtler than the subtlest it is. I say you have realized it, because you have closed the eyes and you have realized. It is not that something came and you realized it. It is not like that. It is a wrong way of approach in words. So I come and say, “Look, you have come to share this, which has never happened at your place.” Because nobody has said, en masse, for people to close their eyes. Everyone is That. As human beings, we can include this and that in it, so we say sarvam (all). Then, we include the whole world, khal. All this world is sarvam khalvidam. You can include Brahm. But it cannot be given any name. I will be quiet. … [Meditation] Swamiji says to the audience, who are meditating: There are no words in any human being, no sound. But because sound appears, you then think, “I am the same human being,” and you forget this [known in meditation]. So we continue with the functioning of our senses the way you have been established in them. It is all perfect. If you are unhappy, well and good. If you are happy, well and good. If you are in between, well and good. This is nothing but well and good. To this you can use the word “Self.” Why? It exists in the dictionary. But when Self becomes “I am the body,” then you should not mind. And when it changes from “I am the body” to this, you should be happy. This Space is known as Anand (Indivisible). But people began to say Brahmanand, as if Anand has become Brahm, or any name. Since a human being has been only given that much power that he can know form and name, for his whole life he should continue in the field of name and form, calling it universal and individual. But here, when you hear me, you hear Me. It is only one Me. When I say “Each person,” I speak a wrong language. When the ocean is, we do not say, “Me is one wave, Me is another bubble, Me is another whirlpool.” It is all ocean water. Open your eyes. And see, they never fail in seeing forms. Sing a song. … [They sing Amaram Hum Madhuram Hum Bhool Na Jana, or “Do not forget I am immortal, I am blissful.”] You have the power to know, to imagine that Amaram Hum Madhuram Hum is one body. On top of it, all the heads are there.[Laughter] And all the legs are there. And he walks together. Is it not one? It is! Thank you. Previous Satsang Next Next Satsang Copyright © 1999-2014 International Meditation Institute. All Rights Reserved
Pustules are an elevated lesion on the skin that is filled with pus. It is simply the medical term for pimples or zits. They are visible several days after papules have formed, when the white blood cells rise to the surface of the skin. Like cystic acne, pimples can be large and painful. Proper care should be taken to allow the pimples to heal properly. • They are considered to be a moderate form of acne that presents itself as middle-sized bumps on the face. These bumps have a noticeably white or yellow dot in the center and are surrounded by inflammation. While inflamed, it is generally painless and do not contain a great deal of bacteria. • The pus is part of an infection of the pore cavity which the body is trying to push out. If left to run its natural course, a small opening grows for the skin to push the infection out. Eventually, it bursts and the fluid contained inside, including the infected fluid is released from the body. The build-up of dead skin cells, which most likely caused the blockage, and built up sebum are also pushed out. All that is left behind is a tiny hole which the body soon closes and starts to heal. • Pimples are typically found on the face and neck, though they can appear anywhere on the body. There are literally dozens of skin conditions and other ailments that can cause pimples to appear, though some are more common than others. Causes of pustules It is caused by the accumulation of pus at the surface of the skin. Although pus formation typically indicates a bacterial infection, pimples are most commonly seen in acne, which is caused by the clogging of pores in the skin and the subsequent accumulation of oil and bacteria. The hormones that are active during puberty also trigger your sebaceous glands to produce more sebum. The hormones with the greatest effect on the oil glands are the androgens, the male hormones. Both men and women have androgens, but men have more. Formation of pustular acne In pustular acne, the pore is blocked with sweat, oil or dead skin cells, and bacteria start to infect and feed on the excess secretions. The bacteria's secretions irritate the walls of the pore so that it becomes red and swells into a pimple. • These pimples or zits, are generally dome shaped, • Pus filled lesions comprising a mixture of white blood cells, bacteria and dead skin cells. • It usually forms over sebaceous follicles with a hair in its center and heal without progressing into cysts. • Pimples seldom leaves scar. • The first step to take is to change your diet by excluding foods which are known to cause or worsen acne. • Reduce your intake of oily, greasy food as well as sugary drinks and snacks. • Take a break off milk and milk products to see if your acne gets better without them. • Because stress can also cause acne, try to relax and avoid stressful situations. • Avoid compulsively touching your face or picking your acne lesions. • Wash your face at least twice daily but only use mild and gentle soaps and cleansers. • Do not scrub your face trying to remove your pimples. This will only irritate the skin and aggravate the acne lesions already present. • Use oil-free moisturizers and introduce lotions, cleansers and creams that contain salicylic acid Because pustular acne can be very painful, both physically and emotionally, it is very important to find safe and effective ways of implementing a pustule treatment program into your everyday routine. There are many products available on the market to choose from. Find the right products or treatment program for your particular condition. › Pustules papules, cystic acnemoderate acne, acne, scars, salicylic acid, treatment E-mail Address First Name Don't worry — your e-mail address is totally secure. New! Comments
Saturday, January 06, 2007 Friday, January 05, 2007 Oak Ridge National Laboratory team discovers explanation for pulsars' spin A team of scientists using Oak Ridge National Laboratory supercomputers has discovered the first plausible explanation for a pulsar's spin that fits the observations made by astronomers. According to three-dimensional simulations they performed, the spin of a pulsar is determined not by the spin of the original star, but by the shock wave created when the star's massive iron core collapses. "The stuff that's falling in toward the center, if it hits this shock wave that is not a sphere any more but a cigar-shaped surface, will be deflected," Mezzacappa said. "When you do this in 3-D, you find that you wind up with not only one flow, but two counterrotating flows." The asymmetrical flows establish a "sloshing" motion that, in the complex 3-D models, accounts for the pulsars observed spin velocities from once every 15 to 300 milliseconds, which is much slower than previous models predicted. Feet, Not Fists, Cause More Severe Injuries, Report Says A study of Welsh emergency room patients has concluded that kicks are significantly more likely to cause serious injuries than assaults using other parts of the body—or even attacks using objects such as knives or bats. [Wounds due to guns were not considered for the study.] "Injuries that came from the use of the feet were more likely to lead to a hospital admission," Shepherd said. Kicks were more likely to inflict serious head and brain injuries and were more likely to produce broken bones. Of the more than 31,000 recorded injuries examined for the study, Shepherd's team found that about 7 percent were due to being kicked. About 21 percent of the injuries were caused by blunt or sharp weapons, while slightly more than 50 percent were due to punches. Thursday, January 04, 2007 Identification - a photoset on Flickr - photos of old Eastern European passports, etc. Wednesday, January 03, 2007 Plastic may spell the end of the silicon microchip In 2000 Plastic Logic, a Cambridge-based start-up company, announced it was attempting to commercialise a form of plastic electronics that had developed from research at the laboratory. By using a cheap and simple set of processing operations to build up layers of circuitry on plastic "substrates" - the material on which circuits are formed - rather than silicon wafers used in conventional microchips, the developments promised to slash the cost of making semiconductors. Plastic Logic has attracted $100m (£51m) of investment that will fund a plant to make plastic semiconductors - the first of its kind in the world. The factory should be in operation in Dresden, Germany, by the end of 2008 and employ 140 people. The initial products from the factory will be pieces of plastic about A4 size. The basic plastic substrate will be polyethylene terephthalate, a form of plastic used to make drinks bottles. By 2009 the Dresden plant should be producing 2.2m units of A4-size semiconductor sheets a year. They will initially be used as flexible "control circuitry" for large displays the size of a piece of paper that can hold large amounts of information - equivalent to thousands of books. The displays will most likely be made by other electronics companies, with Plastic Logic providing the crucial control circuitry and possibly licensing its designs. The distances between adjacent circuitry lines in the plastic semiconductors due to be made in Dresden will be 5-10 micrometres (5-10 millionths of a metre) which is alot higher than the nanometre (billionths of a metre) dimensions of the latest silicon semiconductors. But under development in Plastic Logic's research operations are plastic circuits that are just 60 nanometres in dimension, holding out the possibility that before long the electronic characteristics of the company's plastic devices might not be too different from those of conventional silicon chips. On the supposed plan to form a North American Union (Canada, USA, Mexico) A comment on the above The point of the 'NAFTA Highway' and 'NAFTA Railroad' is not making the 3 (or 4 if Quebec ever secedes from Canada) North American nations into a single entity. It’s about container ships from the Pacific Rim unloading in Mexico, bypassing the union dockworkers in California, where they can go onto Kansas City Southern de Mexico intermodal trains that run up to the OK/AR border, awfully close to Bentonville, AR [location of Wal-Mart headquarters]. After unloading the containers with inbound freight, the trains can continue up to KC, where the 'Inland Port' customs station can get the paperwork together for goods being sent back the other way. The entire enterprise is designed to expedite the flow of goods through Mexico that are not intended to be sold there, but are merely going into or out of the US, crossing the Continental Divide at a low enough latitude as to eliminate the sort of bottlenecks that we've seen in recent weeks. The competition is going to be the larger container vessels that will be able to transit the Panama Canal starting in the middle of the next decade. If they continue to Northeast ports where the Longshoremen must be paid, they might price themselves out of the business. That leaves the South, which is of course already pretty close to Mexico. Iran's Secret Plan For Mayhem [in Iraq] One of the documents captured in the raids, according to two American officials and one Iraqi official, is an assessment of the Iraq civil war and new strategy from the Quds Force. The document concludes that Iraq's Sunni neighbors will step up their efforts to aid insurgent groups and that it is imperative for Iran to redouble efforts to retain influence with them, as well as with Shiite militias. The news that Iran's elite Quds Force would be in contact, and clandestinely cooperating, with Sunni Jihadists who attacked the Golden Mosque in Samarra (one of the holiest shrines in Shiism) on February 22, could shake the alliance Iraq's ruling Shiites have forged in recent years with Tehran. Film School - various low-budget filmmaking articles, including screenwriting Another free screenwriting program... - "Page 2 Stage"; Source code to be released on January 25 Tuesday, January 02, 2007 The new Zionist occupiers Israelis routinely assume that Europe's pro-jihadist policy towards the Palestinians is a result of anti-Semitism or anger over Israel's military victory in 1967. But the EU's treatment of Ethiopia and the TFG indicates that Brussels' hostility towards the Jewish state is part of a much further-reaching policy. Europe's pro-jihad position toward the war in Somalia indicates that its support for jihad is over-arching rather than limited to specific battlegrounds. So what we learn from the Qatar conference and the war in Somalia is that a tripartite alliance of Iran, the Arab world and Europe upholds the cause of jihad not merely against Israel and the US, but globally. It is clear that the Iranians are the most dangerous part of the three-headed jihadist Hydra. Like the Arab despots, the Europeans are provoked by cynicism. While the Arab dictatorships embrace jihad to safeguard their regimes, the Europeans support the jihadists in the hope that their support will deflect jihadist violence away from them. Somalia and Ethiopia Will Use One Passport, Somali Minister Says Somalia's internal affairs minister and assistant prime Minster, Hussein Mohammed Farah Aideed, who has convened with tribal elders at former presidential house (Villa Somalia) in Mogadishu, said his government intends to wipe out the boundaries between Somalia and Ethiopia. He said 60% of 2 millions Somali refugees live in Ethiopia and use Ethiopian passports. "Ethiopia and Somalia have 2,000 kilometers between them. The two Shabelle and Jubba rivers in Somalia come from Ethiopia. Now we need to eliminate the boundaries between us because we are brothers, and we will use one passport", he said. He said Ethiopia was the only country that was determined to set up a state in Somalia after more than years of without government. "No country in the world cared about Somalia", he said. Sat Nav for Mexicans illegally entering US Knowing the Enemy "After 9/11, when a lot of people were saying, 'The problem is Islam,' I was thinking, It's something deeper than that. It's about human social networks and the way that they operate." In West Java, elements of the failed Darul Islam insurgency - a local separatist movement with mystical leanings - had resumed fighting as Jemaah Islamiya, whose outlook was Salafist and global. Kilcullen said, "What that told me about Jemaah Islamiya is that it's not about theology." He went on, "There are elements in human psychological and social makeup that drive what's happening. The Islamic bit is secondary. This is human behavior in an Islamic setting. This is not 'Islamic behavior.' " Paraphrasing the American political scientist Roger D. Petersen, he said, "People don't get pushed into rebellion by their ideology. They get pulled in by their social networks." He noted that all fifteen Saudi hijackers in the September 11th plot had trouble with their fathers. Although radical ideas prepare the way for disaffected young men to become violent jihadists, the reasons they convert, Kilcullen said, are more mundane and familiar: family, friends, associates. The Belmont Club: E Pluribus Unum "It is the Global Everyman, not just the government, which must be mobilized to fight the Global Guerrilla. [...] The key to defeating the Global Jihad may lie in the West remembering the levee en masse, that part of its history now forgotten, which consisted of raising a nation in arms, because the nation consisted of everyone, not in weaponry but this time in ideas. It may consist in relearning that the first role of government is not to do things for its citizens, but rather to awaken them." Your Own Personal RFID Firewall RFID Guardian Project The RFID Guardian Project is a collaborative project focused upon providing security and privacy in Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems. The goals of our project are to: • Investigate the security and privacy threats faced by RFID systems • Design and implement real solutions against these threats • Investigate the associated technological and legal issues Somalia's Islamic Courts Fighters Abandon Kismayo Somalia's interim governments says it has captured the Islamic Movement's last stronghold, following a night of intense Ethiopian artillery bombardment near Kismayo. Somali Islamist leaders and their fighters abandoned their last stronghold early Monday, possibly retreating to a base near the Kenyan border. Near the border, there is an Islamist base on a small peninsula called Ras Kamboni, used by Somali radicals to train many of their fighters. Monday, January 01, 2007 Goodies! Goodie Goodie Yum Yum! - on the old British TV show Scientists cured homosexuality in some male sheep The technique being developed by American researchers [at Oregon State University in the city of Corvallis and at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland] adjusts the hormonal balance in the brains of homosexual rams so that they are more inclined to mate with ewes. The scientists have been able to pinpoint the mechanisms influencing the desires of "male-oriented" rams by studying their brains. The animals' skulls are cut open and electronic sensors are attached to their brains. By varying the hormone levels, mainly by injecting hormones into the brain, they have had "considerable success" in altering the rams' sexuality, with some previously gay animals becoming attracted to ewes. A Google search for related papers Sunday, December 31, 2006 Celebrities are narcissists Two Los Angeles psychologists have produced the first scientific evidence that many celebrities sincerely believe that they are better than the rest of us. Mark Young and Drew Pinsky used a mathematical formula to measure the traits, including exhibitionism and vanity, that make up narcissism. Psychologists believe that in general men are both bossier than women and show off more. However, in the “celebrity class” women are far more narcissistic than men and up to a third are more manipulative and vain about their appearance than the typical woman in the street. Young and Pinsky have had rare access: celebrities queue up to appear on Loveline, Pinsky’s nationally syndicated radio show. They asked 200 celebrities who appeared on the programme to fill out a standard questionnaire called the Narcissism Personality Inventory. They were asked how they felt about themselves, including whether they felt they deserved compliments or were embarrassed by them and whether they insisted on being “respected” at all times. "It was people like [...] actors, comedians, musicians and reality TV contestants who emerged as the most narcissistic of all," said Pinsky. "The fewer real-life skills they had, the louder they tend to be in their attempts to hold on to attention." Pinsky said: "Vanity is only part of it. They crave attention, are over-confident of their abilities, lack empathy and can behave erratically. But they are often admired and well liked, especially on a first meeting, and perform well in public." He added: "We have also found striking differences between the celebrities and their jobs — the more real-life skills they have, such as musicians, the less narcissistic they are. In Hollywood they may have found a place that rewards their need for attention." Geometric Arts "This site presents amazing variety of geometric arts for enthusiasts around the world. It has something for everyone: mathematicians, artists, architects, artists, sculptors, designers, structural engineers, textile designers, interior designer, quilt designers, Maths teachers and students."
Want To Be A Smarter Senior? Jump To Mediterranean Diet Admin \| Published 2017-01-05 21:59 The brain typically shrinks as people get older. This results in seniors having difficulties in memorizing, thinking, and learning. However, experts say there's a way to prevent shrinking of the brain -- that's by acquiring a Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean diet was developed to reflect "food patterns typical of Crete, much of the rest of Greece, and southern Italy in the early 1960s". It contains a high amount of vegetables, fruits, olive oil, beans and cereal grains, moderate amounts of fish, dairy products, and wine, and only a small amount of red meat and poultry. For the study, 401 people were followed by researchers in their 70's. They found that those who adhered more closely to Mediterranean diet are less likely to have shrunk brains within three years. “As we age, the brain shrinks and we lose brain cells, which can affect learning and memory,” says Michelle Luciano, at the University of Edinburgh, UK, who led the study in an interview. “This study adds to the body of evidence that suggests the Mediterranean diet has a positive impact on brain health.” Participants' brain activity was monitored using brain scans. While, statistical analysis showed that simply eating more fish and less meat didn't slow down brain shrinkage. Meaning, only adhering to a proper Meditteranean diet showed positive results for brain health. “While the study points to diet having a small effect on changes in brain size, it didn’t look at the effect on risk of dementia,” says David Reynolds, at the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK. “We would need to see follow-up studies in order to investigate any potential protective effects against problems with memory and thinking.” Hey! Where are you going?? Subscribe! Get weekly science updates in your inbox!
THE major encounter at sea during World War One was in the North Sea off the coast of Denmark on May 30 and June 1, 1916. Who won the Battle of Jutland between the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet has always been contentious but in terms of the loss of men and ships the British were trounced. But the sacrifice rendered the High Seas Fleet impotent for the rest of the war. Clive White looks at how this battle had its impact on landlocked Skipton. WITNESSING the disintegration of HMS Defence through his telescope, a German sailor later wrote how he would never forget the horrific "gruesomeness". He says in his vivid description how "the ship was blown into atoms and every living soul destroyed". And he adds: "The ship broke asunder and there was an enormous explosion. Black smoke and pieces whirled upward and flame swept through the entire ship which then disappeared before our eyes beneath the water. "Nothing was left to indicate the spot where a moment before a proud ship had been fighting, except an enormous cloud of smoke". Accounts say The Defence, an armoured cruiser, was attacked by six German battlecruisers and four dreadnoughts and was hit by two salvoes which detonated her rear magazine, the fire spreading to two secondary magazines. Almost 1,000 men perished in that explosion, several of them lads from South Craven including Carleton. Their names are honoured in Carleton Church. By the time the fighting had finished the British had lost more ships and men than the Germans. German casualties numbered 2,551 killed compared to 6,094 British. The British lost 28 battleships compared to 16 German and in every other sphere of the battle, the British came off worse. But the German fleet was so badly damaged that it offered no threat throughout the rest of the war, the Kaiser turning instead to targeting the British economy by concentrating on using U boats - submarines - to strike at commercial vessels. Among the dead was Seaman George Earnshaw, son of Mr and Mrs Thomas Earnshaw of Church Street, Carleton. By the time of the 18-year-old's death when HMS Defence was obliterated he had been in the Royal Navy four years. He was in the transmitting station in the bowels of the vessel "a responsible job sending messages to the gunners" he told his mum in a letter just three weeks before he perished. Also dying on the same 15,000-ton ship was career sailor Lieutenant Stephen Slingsby, of Carla Beck, who had served on a number of ships before joining the Defence for the battle. Three of his brothers had already died in the conflict and Stephen had been on leave at home just three weeks before his death. Seaman Frank Collins, a 1st Class Petty Officer, who originated in Cross Hills, was serving on the Indefatigable which was blown to smithereens. He was a married man with a child. A week after the battle, the squabble over who had actually won was perpetuated in the Craven Herald with the editor lashing out at the "mendacious" Hun claiming victory. But, he says, they were not clever enough to be good liars and were sticking to their fabled victory a month after it was all over. He blasted the German admiralty for issuing a semi-official record of the engagement in "high falutin verbiage". He says the German report spoke of victory "leaping forth from the deep darkness of the sky". They were sticking to the fiction that the British fleet had retired in hot haste before the German fleet which in fact fled back to their ports. "Meanwhile, the whole earth knows that while the British Fleet is abroad and about, the German port of Wilhemshaven is closed to visitors and no outsider can see what is left of the German fleet," he concludes. Even though the war at sea was not as significant as that being waged in the Western Front in Europe, ironically it was one of the issues which was at its heart. The British believed they were invincible on the ocean, a position which had been the kernel of the nation's psyche for 100 years, ever since the days of Nelson. Take the words of Rule Britannia, the passionate anthem next in popularity to God Save the Queen - “Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves, Britain never, never, never shall be slaves.” So there was never any doubt that when it came to a sea battle the Brits would be victorious. It was a stand that Kaiser Bill, the German king deeply resented and in those years leading up to the assassination of Grand Duke Ferdinand and the outbreak of World War One, he had amassed a German navy to match that of his British cousins.
Multilobar Pneumonia Review Multilobar PneumoniaWhen a strong virus, bacteria, or fungus gets past the body’s normal defenses and causes an infection in the lungs, the person has pneumonia. Pneumonia that is contracted as you go about your daily life is called community associated pneumonia. People can contract pneumonia in hospitals. Ventilator associated pneumonia is particularly troublesome to treat because the person was already sick before developing the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 4 out of every 1,000 patients discharged from hospitals have contracted pseudomonas pneumonia during their hospitalization. Pseudomonas accounts for 10.1 % of all infections acquired in hospitals. The severity of pneumonia determines how aggressive the treatment plan needs to be. The pneumonia severity index calculator allows the doctor to enter data such as a person’s age, gender, whether or not they live in a nursing home, lab tests, alertness, etc. to come up with the severity level. There are five levels. Hospitalization is recommended for levels 4 and 5. This index also provides a percentage of the likelihood that the patient will die. Walking pneumonia symptoms in adults are mild and may be hard to distinguish from the common cold. The right lung has three lobes, while the left lung has only two. In milder cases, only one lobe may be affected by pneumonia. Multilobar pneumonia is an infection in two or more lobes. If the infection is present in both lungs, the person is said to have double pneumonia. Multilobar pneumonia is serious and needs to be treated as such. Bacterial pneumonia is treated with antibiotics. Viral pneumonia is treated with antiviral medication. Most people with community associated pneumonia can be treated at home. People with serious multilobar pneumonia may need to be treated in a hospital. A person hospitalized with multilobar pneumonia will probably be given oxygen. The inflammation, fluid and infection make it hard for the lungs to exchange gasses. Doctors will test to see if there is enough oxygen in the blood. The patient may also be given an intravenous form of antibiotics. Patients with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems because of disease or chemotherapy are considered high risk when it comes to pneumonia.
build a fish pond Nishikigoi Terms Pronunciation Guide: E.R.M. Abbreviation for Enteric Red Mouth. Edema A build up of fluids within tissues, cells, or body cavities (ascites is a build up of fluid primarily in the body cavity). Eco-System A biological community and the physical environment associated with it. An eco-system can refer to a very specific area, such as a small stretch of a stream, or a very large area such as an ocean. In all eco-systems, the nutrients and energy moves around the system in loops or cycles. Sometimes these loops and cycles are simple, involving only a few species which impact on each other, but more often a complete eco-system is very complex involving many hundreds or even thousands of species (such as in some coral reefs). In such systems, very small changes can have very large impacts. Often eco-systems can seem very basic, but if one tries to recreate an ecosystem artificially, it's complexities are soon apparent. Ectoparasite A parasite that affects the external surfaces (including external surfaces of the gills) of an organism. Ectothermic Literally means ‘heat from outside’ and describes the fact that fish cannot control or regulate their body temperature. In older textbooks, the inability to control or regulate temperature was termed "poikilothermic". EFA Essential Fatty Acids. These are required in the diets of fish mainly to maintain the structure and integrity of the phospholipid cell membranes. If there is a deficiency, the cell membrane weakens which can lead to a reduced resistance to disease, problems with osmoregulation and a weakening of the red blood cells. Egatacho (eh' gah tah choh)Book of Nishikigoi patterns that were hand drawn before cameras were invented. Egtved Disease Another name for Viral Haemorrhagic Septicaemia. Sometimes called "Egtved" after the region in Denmark where the disease was first discovered. ELISA Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; a lab method used to detect the presence of antibody to a virus. Embolism Obstruction or occlusion of a blood vessel by a detached thrombus, air or foreign body. Endocrine Gland that secretes directly into the bloodstream. Endoparasite A parasite that affects the internal organs and / or tissues of the body. Enteric Red Mouth (E.R.M.) A systemic bacterial disease. Primarily associated with salmonids. Caused by the bacteria Yersinia ruckerii. Symptoms usually include loss of appetite, usual effects of systemic bacterial diseases on internal organs (pale liver, enlarged spleen), characteristic pink / red tongue (caused by many small haemorrhages) and pinpoint(petechial) haemorrhaging of the belly. Vaccines available in many countries, responds well to antibiotics unless resistant strains have formed. Environmental gill disease The excessive growth of mucus on the gills caused by an environmental factor such as a chemicals or particles in the water (as opposed to a pathogenic factor - see bacterial gill disease). The build up of mucus can lead to suffocation of the fish, resulting in the need to exert more energy to meet it's oxygen requirements. The stress caused by these additional exertions can make the fish more susceptible to pathogens. Often results in infection of the gills (bacterial gill disease). Once the irritant is removed, the excessive mucus can be removed with quaternary ammonium compounds. These treatments are often followed by Chloramine treatments to kill off any bacteria that has become established on the gills. The mucus must be removed first, or the Chloramine will often not reach the bacteria, leading to a short term recovery followed by rapid re-infection Enyu A doitsu koi with a white body and red markings whose mirror scales are platinum; pale blue speckles may be interspersed within the red and white color of the dorsal surface Enzyme Organic catalyst produced by living cells but capable of acting independently. They are complex proteins that induce chemical changes in other substances without being changed themselves. They are reaction-specific acting in just one way and can accelerate the speed of a chemical reaction. Epidermis The outer layer of skin. Epistylis A ciliate protozoan which is not visible to the naked eye. Epistylis also called Heteropolaria, belongs to the order Peritrichida, a group of ciliated vase-shaped protozoans. Epithelium Layer of cells forming the epidermis of the skin and the surface layer of mucous and serous membranes. The cells rest on a basement membrane and lie in close approximity to each other with little intercellular material.They may be flat (squamous), cubed (cuboidal) or cylindrical (columnar). It serves to protect and lubricate. Epizootic Any infectuous disease that attacks many animals in the same geographical area in a short period of time. Erythema Abnormal redness of skin. Etsu No Hisoku A scaleless (doitsu) koi with a yellow-green coloration. Exocrine Glands whose secretions reach an epithelial surface either directly or through a duct. External pump An external pump is not designed to run under water, and requires air circulation for cooling. Exudate Substances which penetrate through vessel walls into adjoining tissue or into a cavity producing pus or serum. There are more cells, protein, lactic dehydrogen and solid material than in a transudate. Table of Contents Standard Grade Koi Pond stocking NPS (New Pond Syndrome). Email Course Koi Diseases, Fish Disease Symptoms, Fish Disease Identification Article Library Database of Koi & Fish Pond Articles 160 Watt Aqua Ultraviolet Sterilizer, Bacteria and Parasites in Pond Water Aqua Ultraviolet Replacement Parts Aqua Ultraviolet Replacement Parts Pond Pump Pond Pump Pond Keeper Premium Activated Carbon is fast acting. Aeration Pumps for your Koi Pond or Water Garden. Contribute to Build A Koi Pond Go To... Enjoy This Site? Koi Pond Blog RSS Feeds Twitter Button Nishikigoi Terms Beginning Contact Us PayPal Acceptance Mark Return to top Copyright© 2008-2020.Koi-Pond-Guide.com
By Correspondent NBC News updated 3/26/2004 6:49:36 PM ET 2004-03-26T23:49:36 A section of Interstate 95, the main traffic artery between New York and Boston, could be shut for at least two weeks after a fiery tanker truck wreck melted a bridge. But this tanker was only one example of the large amount of dangerous cargo that travels on American roads every day. Police said a car apparently cut off the tanker truck. It hit a concrete barrier. The inferno that followed was so hot it melted a bridge in downtown Bridgeport, Conn. Interstate 95 will be closed for days — maybe weeks in one direction, disrupting traffic and commerce in the northeast, and costing more than 11 million dollars to repair. Hazardous material is on the move all around us. On average, 1.2 million shipments crisscross America each day, by rail and truck and there more than 400 serious accidents each year. Just two months ago a tanker truck plunged off an overpass onto an interstate in Howard County, Maryland, in a fireball that killed four. Three years ago, hazardous chemicals blazed after a derailment in a rail tunnel under Baltimore, paralyzing the city and threatening to collapse streets above. Just what is en route? There’s a lot of concern about low-level nuclear waste, the most heavily regulated, though there’s never been a serious accident. Toxic chemicals are shipped as well. But over 95 percent of the accidents involve fuel trucks, which have a particular problem, says Jerry Donaldson, an advocate for truck safety, “They have about five times the rollover rate than any truck on the road and when you have a fatal rollover crash almost one out of two of those crashes result in a death.” Why are fuel trucks more apt to rollover? It’s because the higher the tank is filled with fuel, the more top-heavy the truck becomes. And when the truck turns, there’s sloshing to one side, making it even more difficult to control. Some have recommended double-lining fuel trucks, but that’s been rejected as too costly. Some advocate smaller loads, but that would put even more trucks on the road, to make up for lost capacity. Alan Roberts, president of the Dangerous Goods Advisory Council and formerly the federal government’s chief hazardous materials regulator for 25 years, talks of the dilemma, “Whether it be the plastics in our automobiles, or the gasoline in the tank, these are all things that we need to maintain our way of life.” He feels there have been remarkable improvements, for example, rail cars have been greatly strengthened and some attention has been paid to trucks as well. “It’s one of the safest systems we have in the United States,” Roberts added But, when things go wrong, as they have in Bridgeport, Connecticut the results can be devastating. © 2013 Reprints Discussion comments Most active discussions 1. votes comments 2. votes comments 3. votes comments 4. votes comments
A strophic Form is s the term applied to songs in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music. An example of a song that has a strophic form is “blue sued shoes” from Carl Perkins. Another example in a song of the use of strophic form is “Old McDonald Had A Farm” used strophic form because it make the song easy to learn.Strophic form has also been used in pop and rock music as well,However it is not being used as much as it was once. screen-shot-2017-02-06-at-10-22-10 This the structure of a 12 bar blues. The structure is most commonly used blues songs but, since most popular music today came from the blues, is also widely used in other genres of music. A A B A- This is a 32 bar form.The 32 bar form consist of each section of the song being 8 bars long.screen-shot-2017-02-06-at-10-07-33These songs have a 32 bar form: I want to break free “queen”, and Over the rainbow by “Eva Cassidy” Synthesis Week 1 This week we started to look at synthesis and sampling. One of the first things we looked at was the variety of options of the synthesiser. this picture shows the ES1 a synth on logic. The ES1 is a subtractive synth and is made up of the OSCILLATOR,ENVELOPE,AMPLIFIER,FILTER and LFO. Screen Shot 2017-01-31 at 11.29.52.png Oscillator-The Oscillator generates the sound using present waveforms as the basis or stating point for the sound. on the Es1 there are 2 oscillators and has a choice of square waves, sawtooth, triangle waves or sine waves. Amplifier-The amplifier is used to control the output of the volume of the synth.Also you can control the range of volume you can have by moving the tow blue arrows up and down. Filter-the Filter is a modifier and changes the sound by removing frequencies from the original wave form.On the ES1 you have a low pass filter which when closed it removes the higher frequencies.Also the filter can control tone via the cutoff dial with the resonance. LFO-LFOs provide control of three main parameters; the wave shape, its rate and its amount. With these controls, you can radically change your vibrato effect. Subtractive synthesisers often provide more than one LFO so that you can control modules with different wave shapes, rates and amounts but the concept is always the same. Recording Session 2 10/10/16 Yesterday I had to set up the recording studio with the aim to record five of the music performance bands. Each band was made up of drums, the vocals, A.guitar, E.guitar and finally bass. Setting up the drums… For the drums we used various types of microphones. For the kick we used an a AKG D112 as it is versatile also it gives the sound a unique punchy sound also it is designed for bass instruments . The other microphone I used was a Shure sm57 which is the same as akg d112 as they are both Dynamic mics. On logic I set up 16 tracks on a new project so that I can get each sound from each instrument to a different track. There were 5 groups and for each group they could only choose 1 track for me to record, however things didn’t go exactly to plan as some of the recordings missed out some of the sound from different instruments and there was no coordination between the tech students and the performance players. samson-s-direct-di-box-1024x1024 we used this DI box for the bass. shure-sm57This is a shure sm57 that we used. band 1 involved of drum kit, 3 vocals, bass and a E.guitar.- It took ages to get a recording because no one was communicating, however we did get a recording but some of the instruments just went quiet. band 2 consisted of a E.guitar, 2 vocals, drum kit and bass.-
Is Dry Cleaning Safe for Your Health? It’s convenient to drop your clothes off at the cleaners to be dry cleaned, particularly if you’re on a busy schedule. In addition, some fabrics need to be dry cleaned to avoid damaging the fabric. Unfortunately, the dry cleaning industry is one that’s fraught with hazards, not only to its workers, but also to customers. Is it unhealthy to wear dry cleaned clothes? Why Is Dry Cleaning Fabric Hazardous to Health? Dry cleaning fabric is a big business with around 36,000 dry cleaning shops located in the United States alone. More than eighty percent of these dry cleaning establishments use a cleaning chemical known as perchloroethylene, more commonly known as perc. Not only is perchloroethylene released into the air during the dry cleaning process, small amounts of it may be present on dry cleaned clothes when they’re picked up from the cleaners. Dry cleaning fabric using perchloroethylene is preferred by dry cleaners because it readily removes stains without destroying delicate fabrics and is quite inexpensive since it can be reused over and over. What Are the Effects of Perchloroethylene? Exposure to moderate levels of perchloroethylene can cause lightheadedness, dizziness, eye irritation, nausea, headaches, and confusion. Long term exposure to perc can have even more serious consequences including liver and kidney damage. Perchloroethylene exposure has been shown to increase the risk of cancer in rodents and is believed to carry the same risk in humans. Some states have taken action against the threat of perchloroethylene, including California which has banned use of this solvent. Is Perchloroethylene Present on Dry Cleaned Clothes? The greatest risk of perchloroethylene would be to workers who work in a dry cleaning plant that uses this solvent, although living near a dry cleaning facility may also carry some risk, especially if the plant uses older equipment. Whether wearing dry cleaned clothing from a shop that cleans with perc is a risk is controversial. Some experts believe that dry cleaning fabric with perchloroethylene leaves residues that can be absorbed by the skin and could increase the risk of cancer with long term exposure. The amount of perchloroethylene remaining on dry cleaned clothes would vary depending upon the facility doing the dry cleaning. Is Dry Cleaning Fabric Hazardous to Health? It would probably take a lot of exposure to dry cleaned clothes to significantly increase cancer risk, but with so many other pollutants and chemical exposures that are difficult to avoid, why add more? The fact that rodent studies have shown an increased risk of cancer from perchloroethylene exposure should raise red flags. What Are the Alternatives to Dry Cleaning Fabric? Some cleaners offer a newer alternative known as wetcleaning that uses water as a solvent instead of perchloroethylene. Although this eliminates exposure to unhealthy solvents, it’s not clear what effect this cleaning method has on the environment. Some cleaners are already offering this service, so it may be worth asking. A smaller number of cleaners are using natural liquid silicone as their cleaning solvent of choice. The other method is Carbom Dioxide (CO2) cleaning. In this process, clothes are placed in a specialized machine, which is emptied of air. The pressure in the chamber is raised by injecting gaseous CO2, and then liquid CO2 is pumped into the mix. Clothes are rotated in a cycle that lasts five to 15 minutes at room temperature. The liquid CO2 dissolves dirt, fats, and oils in the clothing. At the end of the cleaning cycle, the liquid CO2 is pumped back into the storage tank, to be reused again, if possible. The remaining CO2 is released in the air. While CO2 is a main greenhouse gas, no new CO2 is generated with this technology, so it does not contribute to global warming, says Sinsheimer. Liquid CO2 companies recapture the CO2 that’s already a by-product of several manufacturing processes, and they then recycle it into the liquid solvent for cleaning clothes. The main drawback is that, while the CO2 itself is both cheap and abundant, the cost of a CO2 dry cleaning machine is very high—a new machine costs around $40,000. Few dry cleaners are adopting this technique for this reason. However, in the long run, these machines will save money by eliminating the disposal and regulatory costs associated with perc. With both wet and liquid CO2 cleaning, your clothes are also professionally finished, so you get a wrinkle-free pressing and an attention to detail that likely surpasses what you can do at home. The other solution is to stop buying clothes that require dry cleaning. With so many natural fabric choices available, this may be the safest option of all. I think, better way is to choose clothes that doesn’t require dry cleaning and to wash them with Phosphate free, environmentally friendly detergent, especially if you cannot find such nature friendly cleaners locally. Filed under Uncategorized 2 responses to “Is Dry Cleaning Safe for Your Health? 1. jonathan3880 I really like this article. Keep it up. Buy Generic Viagra 2. malina martis This so great informative post, nicely specialized article…thanks for this informative sharing. Order Generic Viagra Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
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 Science as a process scientific method; science and technology Jean Battinieri on 13 September 2016 Comments (0) Please log in to add your comment. Report abuse Transcript of Science as a process The scientific Method A testable hypothesis is essential to the scientific process the study of life Science is: a process of developing knowledge a human endeavor that emerges from our curiosity about ourselves, the world, and the universe. Good scientists are people who ____ (complete this statement) Good scientists are people who: ask questions about NATURE and believe those questions are answerable are curious and observant are creative, imaginative, and intuitive are generally skeptics The Scientific Method: is not a rigid procedure based on the idea that natural phenomena have natural causes requires EVIDENCE to logically solve problems The Scientific Method Starts with an Observation Use the following pictures to write observations and inferences. Observation - uses senses Inference - conclusion based on observations and prior knowledge Observations lead to QUESTIONS - What; Why; How? Questions lead to RESEARCH find out what is already known has your question already been answered Research Leads to HYPOTHESIS a hypothesis MUST be TESTABLE - this is essential to the scientific process! must be measurable If ... then... starts with manipulated variable and gives a measurable occurrence If plants are exposed to different types of music then the plant exposed to classical music will increase in height the most. Hypotheses Lead to Experiments experiments test hypotheses there are controlled and field experiments In a controlled experiment only ONE variable is changed the one variable that is changed is the INDEPENDENT VARIABLE it answers the question WHAT DID I CHANGE? There is a response to that one variable that response is the DEPENDENT VARIABLE - it answers the question WHAT DID I MEASURE? The experiment must be able to be REPRODUCED by others Experiments Lead to Analysis Use observations to collect data Includes the data collected from the experiment Data is used to determine if the hypothesis was correct Analysis Leads to Conclusions Was your experiment supported (correct)? or refuted (incorrect)? the conclusion is the summary of all points prior to this point in the scientific method. when writing a conclusion the following things need to be included: restate your original hypothesis state if your hypothesis was supported or refuted give all specific evidence (DATA) that supports or proves wrong your hypothesis note if there was experimental error if your hypothesis is wrong suggest a new hypothesis or what you want to test next Living things do NOT come from non-living things. Spontaneous generation does NOT occur, even with very small organisms. Living things only come from other living things! Since no microorganisms could get into the broth (they were trapped in the curve of the swan neck), none grew. Pasteur broke the neck off a year later, allowed it to be exposed to air & microorganisms began to quickly grow. Pour broth into flask Heat neck & shape Boil broth Swan Necked Flask Knew he needed to let air in, but not dust Was inspired by… Louis Pasteur A contest was devised with a cash award for the person who could disprove the theory of abiogenesis. Does Abiogenesis happen? Spallanzani was convinced, but… What do you think? Did not believe in spontaneous generation Read about Needham’s work Set up his own experiment Lazzaro Spallanzani Experimental Group Control Group Broth in flasks boiled to sterilize Bacteria found growing in both flasks Biologist & Roman Catholic priest Believed in abiogenesis for microscopic organisms John Needham Develops microscope Discovers “animacules” Opened up new world Changed ideas about disease & sterilization Anton van Leeuwenhoek Maggots do NOT come from dead meat Otherwise known as… Spontaneous Generation Living things can come from non-living things. Why did people believe this? People figured out the big stuff… But what about the little things? Where do living things come from? Spontaneous Generation Abiogenesis or Biogenesis? Needham was convinced, but… What do you think? Maggots do not come from dead meat. Hypothesis has been supported! Does this disprove abiogenesis? Only for flies! What was Redi’s independent variable? What was Redi’s dependent variable? Quick Quiz Redi thought so, but… No air could get into the experimental jars There was no “vital force” People still believed in spontaneous generation or abiogenesis Back to the drawing board… Flies are attracted to meats. Prediction: maggots come from fly eggs. Studied maggots Did not believe they came from decaying meat Set up an experiment Francesco Redi Experimental Group Control Group Broth in flasks boiled to sterilize Bacteria found growing only in open flask Where do they come from? Microscopic Organisms 300’s B.C. Observed nature Deduced … Experimental Group Control Group Experimental Group Control Group Observations start off the scientific method The observer uses their senses and can say: I see I touch I hear I smell I taste no music rock & roll no music rock and roll Full transcript
The mathematics of gambling: What is the combin function? If you have checked out the mathematics of gambling before, or perhaps you were just looking for different ways to find out the odds of winning at a particular game, trying to decide whether you should play and which game you should play, you may have come across what is called the “combin function” and wondered what it is. If you have not come across it before, you are probably wondering what it is right now! The combin function is a mathematical function provided by Microsoft excel or open software alternatives to excel that offers an easy way of working out how many different possible combination’s of outcomes exist for a particular numerical scenario. For example, imagine you wanted to find out how many possible ways there are to draw a combination of four cards from a full deck of cards (52, not including jokers). You could try to work this out using a calculator, or a pen and paper, or even your head, but you would be at it for a long time. The Combin Function offers an easier solution. You could use the Combin Function and it would tell you immediately, provided you gave the correct input data, that there are a complete total of 270,725 distinct possible different combination’s of four cards that can be drawn from a deck of 52. This is a pretty big number – and it is very difficult to come up with unless you are either a mathematical whiz, or you use the Combin Function. This is a very useful tool as well, as it greatly helps in assessing odds and probabilities. Combin Function Just Really Wanted To Use This Image How to use the Combin function To use the Combin function in order to work out the number of ways in which you can form various combination’s, you will need either Microsoft Excel, or an open software alternative (Open Office is a good one). Open up the program you are using, select any cell and type the following: Then press enter. Obviously, you need to substitute the values x and y with the values you are working with. The value y represents the number of items to be selected, and the value x represents the number from which they will be selected. Therefore, for the example mentioned above, removing four cards from a deck of 52, the entry you would type into the excel cell would look like this: It is that simple! The mathematics behind it, however, are a little more complicated. And while you do not strictly need to know them, considering that excel or your chosen program will do them for you, we believe that a clear understanding of the principles involved in the maths of gambling, in this instance the Combin Function, will greatly assist you in accurately assessing and understanding your odds of winning at your chosen game. Naturally, there isn’t a little mathematician inside Excel’s source code working out your problems! Excel calculates the answer to whatever you input into the cell Combin function is that is uses the following mathematical formula: combin(x,y) = x!/(y!*(x-y)! As you can see, this formula is considerably more complex, and entering all your variables into it will take quite a bit longer to calculate your answer, even if you do understand the various mathematical principles and symbols involved. If you are interested, you can do a quick google search of your own to gain a firm grasp of these symbols and principles, but simply just recognising the formula is a good start. In the meantime however, and let’s be honest, for most of us, the Combin function offered by Excel and similar program’s will make your life much easier!
Gratitude is great — paying it forward is even better Paying it forward. Just so there’s no confusion, let’s define what the phrase means. Paying it forward is when you do something kind or generous or helpful for someone without being asked or expecting something in return. The only requirement is that the person who receives the kindness then extends one to someone else, and so on. We’d argue, however, that even if the receiver doesn’t pay it forward in turn, he or she has been affected in a positive way. And their response will manifest more goodness: smiling a bit more that day, perhaps, or displaying more patience than usual. Intending to make a difference Doing good unto others because you can is encouraging and contagious. And that stems from the dual intention behind paying it forward. 1. It makes us feel better about ourselves. That alone improves life, much like gratitude does. 2. It also counteracts other people’s negative beliefs and shifts their perspective (temporarily or otherwise). It might restore someone’s faith in humankind. It might give someone hope. It might provoke someone to make his life or another’s life better in some way. There are no rules about how to pay it forward or how often. Maybe it’s a one-time effort like these: • This past August, 378 drivers paid it forward at a St. Petersburg, FL, Starbucks drive-through when they bought a coffee drink for the car behind them. • A month later, a man at the Chick-Fil-A drive-through in Albilene, TX, gave an employee $1,000 to buy meals for the cars behind him. He fed 88 people, bringing tears to one woman who’d had a particularly bad day. No one may ever buy that woman a meal again, but that single act most likely altered her perspective forever. Wouldn’t it alter yours? Or it may be a more concerted effort, such as: • New York City hairstylist Mark Bustos, who since 2012 has spent his Sundays giving free haircuts to the homeless to encourage them to make other life changes. • The blogger of Letters Left in London, who writes anonymous notes, poems, and quotes and leaves them in public places to offer warmth to the people who find them. • Well-known role models such as designer Donna Karan, dancer Misty Copeland, and editor Katrina Vanden Heuvel who actively seek out opportunities to mentor. If practiced regularly, paying it forward could change your corner of the world in ways you might not even imagine. How rewarding is that? Pointers from a prolific giver Adam Grant is a shining example of paying it forward. A Wharton professor and the author of Give and Take, 33-year-old Professor Grant is a natural giver. He answers every email he receives (200 to 300 daily). He nominates colleagues for awards, introduces his students to important people in his network, spends four and a half hours every week granting student requests. And he still manages to teach, research, and publish. How does he do it without burning out? It’s a fairly simple strategy, as reported in the New York Times, and one that we all can practice. • Frame it as a positive. Instead of seeing the act of giving as a burden (Judging this contest is going to take all of my day off), consider it an opportunity to feel good about yourself (I’m doing the right thing by helping Stan out of a jam). • Frame it as important. Focus on the outcome of what you’re giving. What is the ultimate good that will happen as a result of your action? Paying attention to that defines your purpose and builds your motivation. • Concentrate your actions. Professor Grant purposely holds office hours once a week for an extended period of time because the compacted period feels more gratifying than spreading it out over time. • Think about your actions. When you take the time to reflect on the good you’ve done, you get a beneficial mood boost that you wouldn’t without reflection. • Avoid takers. There are some people who accept generosity and come back for more without contributing back (or forward). This saps your energy and your motivation. Give very judiciously, if at all, to takers. It’s a game-changer, this giving without expectation. It gives us the power to reshape our existence, to stay above the fray, to keep trying. “The greatest untapped source of motivation,” says Professor Grant, “is a sense of service to others.” How can you start paying it forward? More Unstuck Advice Get your gratitude glow on When prompted to list the things we’re grateful for, it’s easy to give the same answers every time: “My family” “My health” “My family’s health” ... A generous way to make life better One of the best things about living life with a generous spirit is how easy it is. And how cost-effective — it’s really just the price of a kind inten...
Baton Rouge museum: Galileo's Vision in 21st Century Art Sept. 26, 2009 at 4:26 a.m. BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The moon hides behind the clouds on this sunny morning, so artist Sallie Wolf puts her compass on a railing outside the Louisiana Art&Science Museum and faces opposite the needle's northward direction. "The moon would be to the south at this time," she says. She opens a sketchbook filled with handwritten notes, geometric measurements and sketches of the moon in various phases. It's part of a project she started 15 years ago, documenting the moon's position in the sky in a number of ways. She's among eight artists whose work will be shown through Dec. 13 in the exhibit "Starry Messenger: Galileo's Vision in 21st Century Art." "This is the International Year of Astronomy — the 400th anniversary of Galileo's telescope," museum curator Elizabeth Weinstein said. "Galileo didn't invent the telescope, but he was the first to write a treatise on what he was able to see." The exhibit's title is the English translation of the book Galileo published in 1610 as "Siderus Nuncius." "This is an interesting exhibition, something different from what we usually show," Weinstein said. "We are an art and science museum, and we're looking for more exhibits to go with our mission." All eight artists study the heavens. One holds a degree in physics. All are known in artistic circles for their astronomical work, ranging from constantly changing digital displays to a 100-pound planet made of glass. Weinstein said the most noted is Latvina-born Vija Celmins, who lives in New York and California and is internationally known for intensely realistic images of star-studded nighttime skies, ocean waves and desert floors. New York artist Jonathan Feldschuh graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in physics, then studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. For more than a decade, he has composed planetary landscapes in swirling, dense layers of paint, using scientific images as a starting point. His latest work is inspired by the Large Hadron Collider, the world's most powerful particle accelerator. French-born Thierry W. Despont, now living in New York, is an architect, designer and artist. He was inspired tocreate his own interpretations of celestial phenomena after learning that the Hubble Observatory's photographs actually are elaborate composites. In Galileo's day, stars and planets were considered heavenly — and therefore perfect. "Their surfaces were thought to be smooth, whereas here on Earth, the surface isn't smooth, because we're imperfect," Weinstein said. The Roman Catholic Church saw Earth as the center of the universe. Because Galileo documented the Copernican observation that the earth moves around the sun, he was tried as a heretic and sentenced to life in prison, changed later to house arrest. Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti dé Galilei was born Feb. 15, 1564, in Florence, Italy. He originally trained in art, but also became a physicist, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher. "There were no lines drawn between art and science and math as there are now," Weinstein said. "Look at Leonardo da Vinci. He was an artist, a scientist — he was so many things." Galileo has been called the father of modern observational astronomy, the father of modern physics, the father of science and the father of modern science. "But before his death, he said he wished he'd been a painter," Weinstein said. On the Net: Information from: The Advocate, AP Dateline Louisiana Member Exchange Powered By AdvocateDigitalMedia
Erfðanefnd landbúnaðarinsFodder plants Senda fyrirspurn Minnka letur Stækka letur In English Fodder plants When the settlers first came to Iceland there were probably relatively few plant species in the local flora. The settlers most likely brought plants with them that were adapted to grazing animals in contrast to the indigenous plants. A common interest in field cultivation was brought about in the middle of the 18th century but there was limited import of foreign grass species for cultivation until the beginning of the 19th century. At the turning of the 20th century, farmers began to grow bigger fields and import of seeds for cultivation increased.The size of cultivated grass fields in Iceland is estimated to be close to 100.000-200.000 ha. Populations selected and bred in Iceland The following six populations selected in Iceland for cultivation are recommended by the Agricultural University of Iceland and the Farmers’ Association of Iceland: Timothy is used for fodder production but the other three species are mainly for revegetation of barren land. Four Icelandic cultivars of barley (Hordeum vulgare) are recommended for corn cultivation: Two populations of Icelandic rutabaga (Brassica napus var. rapifera), are also recommended for cultivation; Maríubakkarófa and Sandvíkurrófa. Plants that have been developed as field or pasture plants in Iceland are adapted to the local environment and are, therefore without doubt, important genetic resources for Icelandic agriculture. The most important species are considered to be timothy, meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis), smooth meadow grass (Poa pratensis), common bent (Agrostis capillaris), creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stononifera), red fescue (Festuca richarsonii), tufted hair-grass (Deschampsia caespitose) and white clover (Trifolium repens). Meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis), cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) and red clover (Trifolium pratense) are also included. Being a member of the Nordic Genetic Resource Centre, NordGen, Iceland is in good position to persevere its plants. Seeds from a number of different fodder plants have been collected from farmers’ fields and are stored and recorded under the supervision of NordGen. The areas of old fields (fields that have been unchanged for 30 years or more) have been estimated at around 30% of all fields in Iceland. They are therefore not likely to vanish in years to come but the ways of farming are changing rapidly so caution is always needed if they are not to be lost. Byggir á LiSA - Eskill, Sharepoint, Veflausnir og Vefumsjónarkerfi
We were working the phones yesterday to try to find out the status of the U.S. Navy's test flight of the X-51A Waverider, an aircraft that engineers designed to travel at 4,500 miles per hour. As we noted, that's five times the speed of sound, and about 117 times the speed of Usain Bolt in full sprint! Moving this fast, one could go from New York City to London in about one hour. Spokespeople at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base were suspiciously mum, and now it turns out that was for a good reason: the unmanned craft broke apart and crashed into the Pacific mere seconds after its rocket booster started. A "faulty control fin," was the cause of the failure, according to a statement recently released. It's disappointing, as this hypersonic jet is a promising innovation. How does it work? The aircraft is equipped with a revolutionary scramjet engine. The engine rapidly pulls in the oxygen needed to burn the fuel it uses from the atmosphere. This animation, courtesy of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, shows everything: Read more at Pratt & Whitney
Friday, June 7, 2013 Group Works: Circle 1. Intention 2. Context 3. Relationship 4. Flow 5. Creativity 6. Perspective 7. Modeling 8. Inquiry & Synthesis 9. Faith In the Context segment there are eight cards. The third pattern in this segment is labeled Circle. Here is the image and text from that card: A Circle is a safe, solid, yet permeable space with an inside, an outside, and a focus that moves from person to person. A welcoming form where everyone can see each other and all voices are heard, it creates a field that invites sharing and story. This is almost right. Circle in Sight I agree that it's important to protect sight lines whereby all participants can see one another. Usually the size of the group (or the size of the meeting space) are such that one circle gets the job done. Mostly though, if you're likely to need the group to be able to focus attention on visuals (such as an easel, chalkboard, or projection screen) and in those situations you're actually better off with a horseshoe configuration, with the facilitator and the visuals located in the gap. (If you use insist on a circle, it's damn hard for the folks seated near the visuals to be able to see them.) Circle of Sound A round layout is definitely good for promoting hearing. Not just because the distance between participants is minimal (sound intensity decreases as the square of the distance between voice and ear), but because people are facing one another. If people are arrayed around tables or distributed as in an amphitheater, there will inevitably be times when one person is talking to another's back. Not so good. And there is another angle on this. When someone has something to say, you absolutely want to make it easy for that person to be heard. However, it's not true that everyone needs of speak on every subject. Often enough, a person doesn't really care about the topic, or perhaps another person has already voiced the same views as a person who hasn't spoken and there's no need to have it said twice. Sometimes a person hasn't completed their thinking about a topic before it's time to move on, and they'd rather complete their digestion before opening their mouths (and displaying to everyone their half-chewed thoughts). Not so pretty. Circles that Are Unbreakable It's not obvious to me that circles are a "welcoming" form. Sometimes they can, even unintentionally, define an "in" group and an "out" group that is psychically all but impossible to penetrate. While circles are definitely not authoritarian (good), they are not necessarily egalitarian, or equally accessible. Sometimes this can be subtly addressed by making sure that there is always an empty chair or two, inviting last arrivals to join the circle. Sometimes it's a stretch for people to be seated "on the inside" at a meeting, where they can't escape easily if things get unbearably awkward—and your well-intended invitation to "join the circle" lands (inadvertently, mind you) as an invitation to a neck-tie party (or perhaps a tongue-tied party). Circling Around to Seating that Works I agree with the notion that circles are a great layout for sharing from the heart. Just don't lose sight of the fact that all meetings aren't story hour. When you're doing business, for instance, horseshoes are luckier better. If you're expecting to use small group breakouts, then tables can be pretty handy. The key is not having the shape of the seating wag the dog—pick an arrangement that's congruent with what you intend to do, and don't be a slave to an idealized shape. Don't get me wrong. I get around a lot and I like round a lot, it's just that sometimes half arcs, spirals, ovals, kidney shapes, and even the occasional amoeba can be just the ticket. Let those circles breathe a little. No comments:
Info Bytes Greenhouse gases Graph A greenhouse gas is any gaseous compound in the atmosphere that is capable of absorbing infrared radiation, thereby trapping and holding heat in the atmosphere. These gases have an effect similar to the glass roof of a greenhouse which allows the sun's rays to penetrate the atmosphere to heat the earth, but prevent the energy from being radiated back into space. Also sometimes known as "heat trapping gases," greenhouse gases are natural or manmade gases that trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. People produce larger amounts of some greenhouse gases than others. Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas you hear people talk about the most. That's because we produce more carbon dioxide than any other greenhouse gas, and it's responsible for most of the warming. Not all greenhouse gases are created equal! Some trap more heat than others. For example, one pound of methane traps about 21 times as much heat as one pound of carbon dioxide. Some greenhouse gases stay in the atmosphere for only a short time, but others can stay in the atmosphere and affect the climate for thousands of years. The main human sources of greenhouse gas emissions are fossil fuel use, deforestation, intensive livestock farming, use of synthetic fertilizers and industrial processes. GHG Emission International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook (2015) International Energy Agency, CO2 Highlights (2015) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, International Non CO2 Projections (2015)
Arts & Culture - Kerala For the lover of dance, drama and music, Kerala is heaven. You have scores of art forms, which are quite unique in nature to Kerala, like Kathakali, Ottamthullal, Chakyar Koothu, Krishnanattam, Padayani, Pavakathakali, Theyyam, Velakali, Thiruvathirakali, Kolkali etc. Watch them and experience an endless and varied emotions to win your passion, love, kindness, compassion, mirth, joy, sorrow, grief, anger, wonder, horror, fear, valour, courage etc. And then relax with the thought, all the world is a stage. Book Now Is Kathakali a stylized dance-drama? Is it a pantomime? Can it be called a classical ballet? One of the world's top-ranking poets and Nobel Laureates Rabindranath Tagore was instantly impressed by the aesthetic range and the narrative techniques of Kathakali when Kalamandalam presented a programme in Santiniketan. Along with Manipuri Tagore included Kathakali in the curriculum of Viswabharati. Kathakali was born only in the 17th century. But in less than four centuries it grew up to represent India's cultural heritage to the world outside. An eclectic art Kathakali evolved its classicism receiving inspiration from most of its predecessors such as Koodiyaattam, Krishnanaattam, Raamanaattam, Theyyam, Mudiyeettu and martial arts like Padayani and Kalarippayattu. Kathakali plays have their themes selected from the great Indian epics, Raamayana, Mahaabhaarata, and the Bhaagavata. The play synchronizes on stage nritta (pure dance), nritya (expressional dance), naatya (histrionics),geeta (vocal music) and vaadya (percussion ensemble). Kathakali characters communicate through the language of hand-gestures (over six hundred gestures are in use), body movements and facial expressions. The text of the play is sung by the principal and supporting vocalists. The dancers simiotically translate the songs into appropriate gestures, movements and expressions. Chenda and Maddalam are the two major percussion instruments used in Kathakali. They provide audio effect to the performance by tracing the character. A colorfully decorated piece of cloth functioning as a curtain, movable to any part of the stage and calledtirassiila is held by two persons just before the entry and exit of all main characters and on other specific occasions such as manifestation of deities. This is a traditional theatrical device to transcend time and space. The Malayalam term tirassiila means ‘wave cloth’. The allusion is to the popular belief that the king of Kottaarakkara, who formalized Raamanaattam, the immediate predecessor of Kathakali visualized the superhuman characters as though they were playing on the waves of ocean. It may also be noted in this connection that it is the portion below the skirt of the Kathakali characters which appears to have received the least attention of the costuming and make-up artist. Book Now Kathakali make-up and costuming ( the aahaarya aspect of acting ) is intricate, elaborate and colorful. It takes about three hours for an actor to transform into a full-fledged character with facial make-up, head-gear, ornaments and colorful costumes. Kathakali characters are broadly divided into noble, wicked and grotesque. Their make-up and costumes differ from one another. Love, Separation, virtue vs vice, comic-relief, emotional struggles, gruesome-war and murder are common scenes in the Kathakali plays. More than the themes, the stylistics of individual performers is the abiding passion of Kathakali fans.
The Enterprise-D decloaking after using an interphase cloaking device An interphase cloaking device or phase cloak was a type of advanced cloaking device which not only made the user invisible but also allowed them to pass through other matter by phase shifting. The Federation was successful in secretly developing the technology in 2358, however the test ship for the device, the USS Pegasus, was lost. The Pegasus was rediscovered in an asteroid field in 2370 where the USS Enterprise-D recovered and used the interphase cloak before making its existence known to a Romulan Warbird in the vicinity. This event was quite illegal under the Treaty of Algeron and further use and development was prohibited. (TNG episode: "The Pegasus") The Klingons also tried to develop their own phase cloak in 2360s but abandoned the experiments after several accidents. (TNG episode: "The Next Phase") In 2368 the Romulans tested their own interphase cloak on the science vessel RIS Apnex. An accident in the test caused one of the vessel's crew to go out of phase and the vessel was forced to send out a distress call, which was answered by the Enterprise-D. (TNG episode: "The Next Phase"; CCG set: Rules of Acquisition) In 2370, the crew of Deep Space 9 discovered that the Ghost Riders were using Romulan interphase cloaking devices to hunt the Espiritu, which were only visible in the phased reality. Miles O'Brien was able to create a phase shifter which allowed the USS Ganges to go out of phase without the use of a cloaking device. (DS9 novel: The Big Game) By 2376 the Romulan Star Empire was implementing phase cloaks in Tal Shiar Shadow-class vessels, though the high power requirement for the specialised cloak only allowed it to be functional for limited periods of time. (TNG video games: Armada, Armada II) In January of 2377, Greg Forte speculated that the IKS noH'pach could be using an interphasic cloaking device, although the Klingons were not known to use it. (DS9 novel: Warpath) In the Delta Quadrant the Srivani and Voth both used this form of technology. (VOY episodes: "Scientific Method", "Distant Origin") Alternate timelinesEdit In an alternate timeline where Montgomery Scott went back in time to rescue James T. Kirk before his absorption into the Nexus, the Klingon Empire and the Alliance had both developed interphase cloaking technology; although the Klingons developed it first and were members of the Alliance, they refused to share its secrets. Both the Klingons and Alliance used their cloaks to push high-yield photon torpedoes out of phase - the Klingons mined their worlds, and the Alliance secretly had a fleet of torpedoes following every Borg cube. (Star Trek novel: Engines of Destiny) External linkEdit Ad blocker interference detected!
Introduction: in the aftermath of the so-called memory wars. TitleIntroduction: in the aftermath of the so-called memory wars. Publication TypeJournal Article Year of Publication2012 AuthorsBelli, RF JournalNebr Symp Motiv Date Published2012 KeywordsAdult, Child, Child Abuse, Sexual, Expert Testimony, Humans, Memory, Episodic, Repression, Psychology, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Suggestion The term "memory wars" has been used by some to characterize the intense debate that emerged in the 1990s regarding the veracity of recovered memories of child sexual abuse. Both sides in this debate have been motivated by scientific and ethical concerns. Recent years have witnessed a burgeoning of relevant behavioral and neuroimaging evidence that when taken together, points the way toward reconciliation. All of the contributors to this volume acknowledge that true recoveries characterize a substantive proportion of recovery experiences and that suggestive therapeutic techniques may promote false memories. Disagreements continue to exist on the cognitive and motivational processes that can lead to true recoveries and the extent to which false recovered memories occur. Alternate JournalNebr Symp Motiv PubMed ID22303762
About (1) Workshops (1) Wednesday, December 19, 2012 Finding the Right Level of Frustration It is said that in order to innovate, one needs to be taken out of their comfort zone. I find this to be consistently true with my students, with the people around me, and with myself. But there is not much wiggle room between the realms of frustration and boredom. If the task is too difficult and it will create frustration. On the other hand, if it's too easy, then motivation level drops significantly. So how can teachers find the right challenge level for their students? How to find that exact point where students are taken outside their comfort zone, yet making them feel like the outcome is rewarding and achievable? And more importantly: how to do this without having to write a completely different lesson plan for each student? Where creativity blooms Now, before I set any false expectations, I'd like to say that I don't have the answer to these questions. BUT I do have an example of a final project I gave my students where creativity IS blooming, so it might serve as a guideline for others. I believe that the following helped for it to happen: 1. I set clear expectations using a rubric 2. If they met expectations, they got 90% credit 3. I encourage a healthy bit of competition 4. There was a good balance between what they knew and what they had to figure out 5. Planning of the final project 6. There was also a good balance between the project limitations and its potential for innovation Allow me to explain the previous points. First of all, setting clear expectations helped my students know what I was looking for. This might sound simple, but ambiguity can make them lose their focus and cause frustration. I also went through the rubric with them, clarifying any doubts they might have had. The second point has to do with grades. Let me first confess that I don't care much about grades. I care about their learning, and that is often hard to measure and label with a number or letter. Nevertheless, most students DO care about grades because they have a direct impact on their higher education future. So I think that my students perceive a 90 (A-) as a good grade to get if they meet the expectations. And meeting expectations reflects that they learned what I intended them to. Going beyond would earn them an even higher grade. Another strategy I use is encouraging what I consider to be a healthy bit of competition. Whenever I see somebody raise the bar, I casually (but publicly) recognize that person. Though this can be a double-edged sword, if used effectively it will motivate others to try harder and raise the bar themselves. The fourth point is just good constructivism practice. Build on previous knowledge and guide students into discovering what they need to learn and do in order to complete the task. It gives them some security realizing that they can get started because they have the knowledge and skills necessary, even though they might not have all the pieces right away. And whatever else they need to figure out should sound reachable. Plus, I promote that they share their findings. My final point is about having a balance between limitations and the potential for innovation. Students needed to respect certain parameters in the project (i.e. dimensions, covering all classrooms, environmentally friendly elements), but had plenty of room for playing with design, spaces and materials. I have noticed time and time again that students feel more secure if working within a certain structure. Not limits, but structure. Please enjoy the following video made by one of my students: Below you will find a short blurb of what the project is about. Instead of a final exam, students will create a 3D model of the new Lower School building as a final project. Using SketchUp, they will build a realistic proposal for a modern and “green” building that will satisfy the learning needs of that division. The following will need to be turned in by end of the final exam day: • A Sketchup file with the project (.skp file) • A virtual tour of the building as a video (uploaded to YouTube preferably) • Reference of at least 5 architectural techniques or designs that inspired the building • A short reflection of their learning in a blog post Below you can find the rubric for the project: Total points: 30 Outstanding (100%) Meets expectations (90%) Below expectations (60%) Missing (0%) Actual building Uses realistic measurements Demonstrates “green” elements Accommodates all classrooms and spaces Creatively reinvents spaces Uses realistic measurements Demonstrates “green” elements Accommodates all classrooms and spaces Measurements are unrealistic Missing “green” elements Did not consider all spaces needed Did not turn in SketchUp file Video engages the viewer into exploring the building with the use of multimedia elements Video is easy to follow, and highlights the most important spaces Video is hard to follow and does not highlight all spaces Did not turn in video Uses more than 5 innovative architectural references Uses 5 architectural references Uses less than 5 architectural references Failed to provide references Blog post reflects student learning and the importance of creating smart and “green” learning spaces Blog post reflects student learning The post does not reflect student learning Did not post in blog
Welcome login \| signup Language en es fr Forum Post: Participatory democracy Posted 5 years ago on April 9, 2012, 1:56 p.m. EST by francismjenkins (3713) This content is user submitted and not an official statement About a century ago, progressive reformers were able to make significant gains. Granted, they weren't perfect, but they supported labor, women's suffrage, and direct democracy. Today, only 18 of our states allow for recall elections (and some of those states, only under limited circumstances). They include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin. Instituting something like this in a state that does not currently allow recall elections is no easy task. In New York for example, we could either convince the legislature and governor to enact something like this, or we could wait until 2017 (according to the NYS constitution, a ballot initiative must be put to a popular vote every 20 years, allowing voters the opportunity to amend the state constitution). There's also a panoply of political advocacy groups in this country (and we do have a tradition of voluntary association and citizen action in this country), but of course they have to fight an uphill battle against the tidal wave of corporate money influencing our political system (which, as most of us know, has become much worse since Citizens United). Point is ... there are tangible ways our society can be improved, resetting our country on a trajectory towards participatory democracy, but it won't be easy. Read the Rules
Poitiers France France Poitiers Photos Poitiers Tourist Map Poitiers () is a city on the Clain river in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and also of the Poitou. Poitiers is a major university centre. The centre of town is picturesque and its streets include predominantly historical architecture, especially religious architecture and especially from the Romanesque period. Two major military battles took place near the city: in 732, the Battle of Poitiers (also known as the Battle of Tours), in which the Franks commanded by Charles Martel halted the expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate, and in 1356, the Battle of Poitiers, a key victory for the English forces during the Hundred Years' War. This battle's consequences partly provoked the Jacquerie.
North BirdEdit North Bird is an old JMC navigation tool. North Bird North Bird These exotic looking birds are colorful and have a rather large head and beak. They have a strange sound they use to communicate with each other or when in danger. Additional DetailsEdit After much difficulty during the JMCs early expolration, the scientist came up with a natural way to navigate through strange lands. The North Bird was created by JMC to as a navigation tool. The bird will always look North regardless the way it is facing. Normally these birds are kept in cages, but sometimes they get free and populate on the planet they are on. They are quite useful but can be tricky to catch. The best known way to lure them out is with candy. Ad blocker interference detected!
07 January 2013 Catherine of Aragon Dies: 7 January 1536 On this day 7 January 1536, Catherine of Aragon Queen of England would die, and pass into eternity. She was the first queen of King Henry VIII, and the mother of Queen Mary I of England. Queen Catherine was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Even as her earthly life left her, minute by minute, Catherine was thinking of the man she still considered to be her husband. Catherine gave Henry her full forgiveness for all the agony he had inflicted on her, and prayed for him. She worried for Henry's spiritual well-being even as her death was imminent. Henry had inflicted emotional torment on Catherine for years by the time of her death, and his treatment of the wife of his youth had shocked the world. Catherine had been separated from her only living child, Mary, for several years prior to her death. This caused the queen untold anguish. Never having enjoyed very good health, there is little doubt that Catherine's sufferings contributed to her early death. Catherine died at Kimbolton Castle. Kimbolton was a desolate place, a cold, unhealthy habitation far from those she loved most. And those Catherine loved most had been, and would always be her husband Henry, and her adored daughter Mary. After Catherine's death, some feared she might have been poisoned at the command of Anne Boleyn. Catherine's attendants reported that she drank a large draft of Welsh beer and had declined almost immediately after consuming the drink. Poisoning is extremely unlikely, and largely dismissed by most historians. Catherine had been sick a long time prior to her death at Kimbolton. Initially, her last illness was not a cause for any unusual concern. Chapuys had been worried about Catherine's health, but her doctor reported that she was relatively stable. However, on 29 December the same doctor would send Chapuys a frightening message: Catherine had relapsed and Chapuys should head for Kimbolton as soon as possible. Henry again declined a begging request from Chapuys to allow Mary to visit her mother. Upon his arrival, Chapuys would find Maria de Salinas, one of Catherine's oldest and most dearest friends, at Catherine's bedside. She had devised a method of visiting the queen. Maria de Salinas (Lady Willoughby) was determined to be with her former mistress in her time of sickness. Maria would find Catherine desperately ill. Catherine was in an extremely weak state, and had been unable to eat or drink for days. Maria provided comfort and loving care to the queen, and Catherine's health would improve somewhat, though very briefly. After a few days, Chapuys felt confident enough to set back for London. Catherine was troubled in her mind and heart those last days. She worried and wondered aloud if she had blame in the incredible events that had followed Henry's petition for a divorce. Were any of the miserable consequences of the huge rift her fault? Had Catherine been wrong, she wondered, to stand so steadfastly against Henry? On 6 January, Catherine had been able to sit up, and even arranged her own hair. However, by evening Catherine was growing restless. By midnight Catherine knew she was imminently near death. She dictated a letter to Henry giving instruction on how to proceed with her goods, and asking that she be buried in the chapel of the Observant Friars. With death approaching, Catherine prayed, asking pardon for her soul. By two o'clock in the afternoon of 7 January 1536, Catherine of Aragon had taken her last breath. She was 50 years old at the time of her death. No comments:
Hominid species, artwork Hominid species, artwork E436/0183 Rights Managed Request low-res file 530 pixels on longest edge, unwatermarked Request/Download high-res file Uncompressed file size: 25.5MB Downloadable file size: 2.2MB Price image Pricing Please login to use the price calculator Caption: Hominid species landscape. Artwork of hominid species coexisting around 1.9 to 1.6 million years ago in east Africa. Three Homo habilis are in the tree in the foreground, some Australopithecus robustus are at the water's edge, Homo rudolfensis are at the edge of the savannah and Homo ergaster are hunting on the savannah. All of these species flourished in the lower paleolithic (old stone age), 2.5 million to 120,000 years ago, but Homo ergaster is the only one thought to be the direct ancestor of modern humans. Keywords: ancestor, animal, anthropological, anthropology, artwork, australopithecus robustus, descendant, early, early old stone age, east africa, eating, evolutionary, evolutionary biology, fauna, feeding, foraging, fossil man, historical, history, hominid, hominids, hominin, homo ergaster, homo habilis, homo rudolfensis, human, human evolution, humans, hunting, illustration, killing, landscape, lower palaeolithic, lower paleolithic, old, old stone age, palaeoanthropology, palaeolithic, palaeontology, paleoanthropology, paleolithic, paleontology, people, person, pleistocene, prehistoric, prehistory, primate, stone age, wildlife
Z330/0491 Rights Managed Request low-res file 530 pixels on longest edge, unwatermarked Request/Download high-res file Uncompressed file size: 56.5MB Downloadable file size: 5.2MB Price image Pricing Please login to use the price calculator Caption: Weevil (Balaninus elephas) standing on a leaf. The weevil is identifiable by its long rostrum, which is an elongated part of the front portion of the head. The tip of the rostrum contains tiny chewing mouthparts that are used to bore into plant stems and trees for feeding. The female also lays eggs in the holes she makes, ensuring a supply of food for the developing larvae. Weevils form the largest family of beetles (Curculionidae) worldwide, containing 40,000 known species. Keywords: agricultural pest, animal, balaninus elephas, insect, insecta, invertebrate, invertebrates, leaf, nature, rostrum, snout, weevil, wildlife, zoological, zoology
William Christopher Zeise From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search William Christopher Zeise William C. Zeise.jpg Born (1789-10-15)October 15, 1789 Slagelse Denmark Died November 12, 1847(1847-11-12) (aged 58) Copenhagen Denmark William Christopher Zeise (October 15, 1789 – November 12, 1847) was a prominent early Danish organic chemist. He is best known for synthesising one of the first organometallic compounds, named Zeise's salt in his honour. He also performed pioneering studies in organosulfur chemistry, discovering the xanthates in 1823. Early life[edit] William Christopher Zeise was born 15 October 1789 in Slagelse, the son of an apothecary, Frederick Zeise (b. 1754, d. 1836), who was an old friend of physicist Hans Christian Ørsted's father. Zeise attended Slagelse Latin school until he went to Copenhagen in 1805 to take up an apprenticeship under Gottfried Becker as a pharmacy assistant (Apoteksmedhjælper) at the Royal Court Pharmacy. Gottfried Becker, was an accomplished chemist who was employed as extraordinary Professor of Chemistry at the University. However Zeise felt dissatisfied there and returned home complaining of his health after having been there only a few months. Around this time his interest in science (Natural Philosophy) began to develop. He familiarised himself with the new quantitative chemical theory of Antoine Lavosier; and read widely, including - Nicolai Tychsen's "Apothekerkunst" (Theoretical and practical instructions for Pharmacists, 1804), Gren's Chemistry, Adam Hauch's Priniciples of Natural Philosophy and Ørsted's papers in Scandinavian Literature and Letters (whose treatise on spontaneous combustion made an especially strong impression on him). At the same time he experimented with a home-made voltaic pile. At 17 years old, he rearranged his father's pharmacy in accordance with the new pharmacopoeia of 1805, which had imposed the antiphlogistic nomenclature. About the same time (summer of 1806) he mentioned in his diary "a most remarkable awakening within me for something higher, for scientific creative work in general, but for Science, chiefly Chemistry, deeply and in particular". How strong an impression this inner experience had made on him, can be established by the fact that he now wanted to return to Copenhagen, not to return to the Court apothecary, but to pursue a path studying chemistry. Formal academic education[edit] In autumn 1806, he was welcomed into the family home of Ørsted, where he was given a position as an Assistant, helping Ørsted prepare his university lectures. His stay with Ørsted lasted several years and was certainly of the greatest importance for his development. Ørsted himself recounted how he influenced Zeise through conversations and encouraged him when he expressed the desire to take the university entrance examination (Examen artium). Ørsted spoke fondly of Zeise's independent spirit. Zeise became a university student in 1809. Zeise had at first intended to study medicine, but while attending lectures it became clear that his interests had a broader scientific base; and chemistry remained his favourite subject. He still experimented in Ørsted's Laboratory, but since at that time there was no prospect for a teaching position at the University, he took the pharmacist exam in 1815, later a master's degree (magisterkonferens) and on 21 October 1817 he defended his Doctoral dissertation on 'The effect of Alkalies upon organic substances'. The experimental part of this work he performed in a small laboratory, which in 1816 he had converted from the pharmacy in Slagelse. As the university had no separate Lecturing Chair in Chemistry and no scientific laboratory, Zeise decided to work and study abroad. In 1818 he managed to get travelling money. Zeise arrived in Göttingen, where he spent four months working in Friedrich Stromeyer's laboratory, one of the few experimental laboratories in Germany at that time. He was trained particularly in analytical chemistry, in which he would become a great master. Zeise next spent nearly a year in Paris. His diary entries reflect how diligent he was, and depict vividly the impression he got of the famous French scientists he came in contact with. In August 1818, while in Paris, Zeise became personally acquainted with the distinguished Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius. Berzelius received the young Danish chemist with great benevolence, expressing his admiration for Zeise's Doctoral thesis. They continued a respectful friendship thereafter, despite Zeise being ten years younger than Berzelius. Independent academic career[edit] Zeise returned to Denmark in the autumn of 1819. The prospects were not bright for an appointment at the University, although he was likely the only scientifically trained chemist in the country at that time. However, he learned at the end of the year that he had received public funds to support his work in science. That same year the university rented an apartment in Nørregade for use as a physics workshop and for physics education. Ørsted converted the apartment kitchen into a menial little laboratory, over which Zeise was made responsible. In this, the so-called "Royal Science Laboratory", Zeise received 10 students in the first year to whom he lectured, both in the laboratory and partly in the physical workshop. In June 1822 Zeise was appointed extraordinary Professor of Chemistry. In 1824, Professor Ørsted selected a nearby farm as the site for what would later become the Danish Polytechnic Education Institution. It was decided to transform the large stable building in the courtyard into a dedicated chemical laboratory. When the Polytechnic College was eventually founded in 1829, Zeise was instrumental in getting the chemical laboratory expanded and organised. In 1823 while still in the small laboratory at Nørregade he identified a new family of sulfur-containing compounds, calling them xanthates (xanthus, Greek "yellow") on account of the predominantly yellow colour of xanthate salts. Zeise was accordingly awarded a silver medal by the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, and he became a member of that body the following year on the recommendation of Ørsted. In 1836 he became a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog, a very high honour bestowed by the Danish monarch. As a teacher Zeise demanded strict accuracy from his pupils; together with conscientiousness, order and diligence - the same qualities which so strongly animated him. In February 1842 he married Maren Martine Bjerring. Zeise's health was fragile for much of his life and he suffered greatly, possibly due to his handling of noxious chemicals in poorly ventilated rooms. He died of tuberculosis[1] in Copenhagen on 12 November 1847 and was buried in Assistens Cemetery in the same city.[2] Scientific discoveries[edit] A depiction of the chemical structure of Zeise's salt. Zeise made several scientific discoveries. His discovery of mercaptans (thiols) in 1832 and thioethers in 1833, was once a weighty support for the influential (now obsolete) "Radical Theory" which Berzelius and Liebig developed, provoking important chemical studies. His discovery and work on xanthates, led to the widespread use of xanthate salts in synthetic chemistry. In 1830, Zeise attempted to react platinum chloride with ethanol, leading to a series of platinum-based organometallic compounds.[3] One of these compounds, originally referred to by Zeise himself as “sal kalicoplatinicus inflammabilis”,[4] was subsequently named after him according to the tradition of the day – it is still called Zeise's salt. Zeise's claim that the newly discovered salt contained ethylene was received with distrust by Justus von Liebig, whose understandable attacks on Zeise were quite unjustified. The complex indeed contains ethylene. Attempts to establish the correct structure and composition of Zeise's salt drove much basic research during the second half of the 19th century and led to a greater sophistication in organometallic chemistry. The structure of Zeise's salt was definitively resolved only with the advent of X-ray crystallography[5][6] and the nature of its platinum to ethylene bond was not understood until the development of the Dewar-Chatt-Duncanson model in the 1950s.[7][8][9] Shortly before he died, Zeise published his attempts to purify the pigment carotene from carrot juice while in the Polytechnic Institute; finding it to be soluble in carbon disulfide and correctly identifying it as a hydrocarbon.[10] 1. ^ "Zeise, William Christopher (1789-1847), professor, kemiker (In Danish)". Slagelse leksikon. 2. ^ "Gravsted [In Danish]". 4. ^ Seyferth, Dietmar (2001). "[(C2H4)PtCl3], the Anion of Zeise's Salt, K[(C2H4)PtCl3]·H2O". Organometallics. 20 (1): 2–6. doi:10.1021/om000993+. 5. ^ Black, M; Mais, R. H. B.; Owston, P. G. (1969). "The crystal and molecular structure of Zeise's salt, KPtCl3.C2H4.H2O". Acta Crystallogr. B. 25 (9): 1753–1759. doi:10.1107/S0567740869004699. 6. ^ Jarvis, J. A. J.; Kilbourn, B. T.; Owston, P. G. (1971). "A Re-determination of the Crystal and Molecular Structure of Zeise's salt, KPtCl3.C2H4.H2O". Acta Crystallogr. B. 27 (2): 366–372. doi:10.1107/S0567740871002231. 8. ^ Winterton, N. (2002). "Some Notes on the Early Development of Models of Bonding in Olefin-Metal Complexes". In Leigh, G. J.; Winterton, N. Modern Coordination Chemistry: The Legacy of Joseph Chatt. RSC Publishing. pp. 103–110. ISBN 9780854044696. 9. ^ Astruc, Didier (2007). Organometallic Chemistry and Catalysis. Springer. pp. 41–43. ISBN 9783540461289. 10. ^ Sourkes, Theodore L. (2009). "The discovery and early history of carotene" (PDF). Bull. Hist. Chem. 34 (1): 32–38. Note: This article has been based largely on a biography of William Christopher Zeise, written in Danish by Carl Frederik Brica, in the first edition of the Dansk Biografisk Lexikon (Danish Biographical Lexicon), Volume XIX (1887-1905). The text in this article, therefore, has mostly been translated from the Danish original. The original work is in the Public Domain and is available through the Projekt Runeberg server. Where no other reference is provided the text of this article derives from this source.
Melatonin – what will it do for you? August 22, 2009 Melatonin. Image from Wikipedia. Melatonin. Image from Wikipedia. Full reference: Do we need language to understand concepts? July 14, 2009 AK doesn’t think so. In another of his lengthy and well-researched posts, he argues that the understanding of more or less abstract concepts occurred in primates before a language based on words. This is based on a recent study of the mirror neurons in rhesus macaques. This research seems to indicate that rhesuses divide other rhesuses into two categories when the mirror neurons are activated: those within such a short distance that interaction is immediately possible, and those further away. The post also includes an interesting reflection on how visual information is encoded in terms of a set of vectors in multidimensional space, suggesting that the same principle applies as a general form for representation in the brain. In the process, AK also manages to discredit Plato’s idea that concepts are classes of things resembling an “ideal” concept that is by definition beyond our grasp. Instead, we construct concepts “bottom-up”, by grouping together objects and ideas that appear to us to have many similarities. Implicit to AK’s argument is also the notion of a well-developed spatial modularity in the brain, with different areas encoding different concepts. While there is strong evidence for spatial modularity e.g. from split-brain experiments, showing that the two hemispheres can accurately identify and interact with objects independently of each other, it is very likely that at least some concepts are represented only by the concurrent activation of several areas in synchrony. A prosthetic motivational system April 13, 2009 Changing patients’ behaviours is one of the most challenging parts of medical practice. It is hard to overstate how much of our disease burden would simply disappear if people would not smoke, drink alcohol in moderation or not at all, exercise regularly and eat healthy food. Perhaps a third of current cancer morbidity would cease to be, and far more of the cardiovascular morbidity. Of course, people will die from something in the end, but the gain in terms of productive life years would be enormous. The reason why it’s so difficult to change people’s behaviour is that the reward systems of our brains are such powerful regulators of what we do, and it’s frustratingly difficult for any physician to override the patient’s urge to have his next cigarrette. When there’s an important problem in the world, there’s also a bunch of scientists trying to solve it. Taking control of our motivational systems could transform our societies in profound ways. Can it be done? Yes, says Christopher Harris. He is an old friend of mine and a neuroscientist at the university of Sussex. He is personally leading a campaign for the use of deep brain implants to control our reward systems – iPlants, in his coinage. Deep brain stimulation is a technique similar to the pacemaker. Electrodes are placed in a specific brain region, which can then be activated by passing current through the electrode. The neuroanatomy of reward is very well known. A small group of nerve cells in the midbrain, when stimulated, release dopamine throughout the entire prefrontal cortex, which is our decision generator. Deep brain stimulation to control reward would be very similar to its application against Parkinson’s disease, in which dopamine signalling is impaired, leading to symptoms of the motor system. Thus, the technology is tried and tested in humans. The human motivational system has been shaped over millions of years of evolution to a degree of robustness, which is why we find it so difficult to change. Sweet food is an instant reward for most people, as are alcohol and many drugs. The modern society has developed spectacular shortcuts to dopamine release, with the unfortunate effect of making many people’s lives less functional. Obesity and addiction are long-term scourges caused by the inability to resist short-term dopamine stimulation. Here is a technology that could change all that. But who will push the button? Improperly used, a system like this might make the patient a slave to the man with the remote control. And supposing that an accountable system can be put in place to prevent that, there is the problem of how, exactly, to connect stimulation to the desirable behaviour. Christopher suggests: Physical exercise can be motivated by repeatedly delivering rewarding brain stimulation (RBS) whenever an animal runs on a treadmill[10] or lifts a weight[11]. iPlant-driven exercise programs would apply the same principle to humans, for example by delivering RBS whenever the user pulls a stroke on a rowing machine or when pressure-sensitive shoe hit the ground during running (see top image). Every exercise program must have a strict time-limit agreed on in collaboration with a physician. The science and technology of the iPlant is described in some detail on Christopher’s own web page. Whether it will be tried or not is an open question, but it’s not science fiction. All the technology is there, and it works in laboratory rats. Whether or not the iPlant will be tried, it is clear that our increasing understanding of the brain is driving remarkable advances in technology to modulate and control its function. If we manage these developments properly, we will be able to solve very many problems. But the iPlant also highlights that these advances will bring ethical issues with them of which the general public needs to be aware. Christopher has put up a few video clips on this topic, more can be found on youtube or on his website. Self-medication in a caterpillar March 11, 2009 ResearchBlogging.orgSelf-medication among animals is sufficiently well studied to have a term of its own: zoopharmacognosy. Until now, such behaviour has mainly been observed among higher primates. Chimpanzees with intestinal parasites may seek out and eat shoots that are not part of their normal diet – indeed, that are toxic and make them look like they had just bitten deep in a slice of lemon. Sometimes, the same plants are used by local humans in traditional medicine. Cool, right? But hardly rigorous. What we would really like to see in order to have good proof for the concept is an example of an animal eating a foodstuff whose medical properties can be proven, and furthermore only eating it in times of illness, and preferably suffering negative effects if they eat it when they are healthy. A woolly bear caterpillar. Image from Wikipedia. NB: probably not the exact same species as in the study in question Such a study has been published for the first time today, with a very surprising animal species as the protagonist: the woolly bear caterpillar. This is the larval stage of a moth of the Arctiidae family, which is apparently well known for its habits of communicating by ultrasonic sound waves, generated from a specialised organ. Michael Singer and his co-authors have infected woolly bear caterpillars with an intestinal parasite and supplemented their diet with plants that contain substances called pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA:s), but that are very nutrient-poor. They found that infected larvae fared better if they ate the PA-containing plant-stuff, whereas uninfected larvae fared worse. Fewer parasites survived to reach maturity if they had access to PA. As a group, the caterpillars did not eat significantly more of the PA-food when they were infected, but there was a suggestive trend where the larvae with a greater infection load ate more PA. In this case, the behaviour is clearly not socially learned, as it may be in the apes, but somehow coded into the neurological hardware of the caterpillar. Or rather, a subset of the caterpillars. If the parasites ceased to exist, the subpopulation most likely to eat PA-containing plants would be at a disadvantage since PA is toxic. Here is another instance of evolutionary dynamics creating a phenotype that is only advantageous in the face of an external threat – just like sickle-cell anemia in humans, which confers a measure of protection against malaria, and many other genetic diseases. A 2005 Nature paper by the same authors showed that the peripheral taste nerve cells actually change their signalling in infected caterpillars and fire off more signals in response to PA. They speculate that the immunological response to infection is the direct cause of this change, which doesn’t even need to involve the neural cluster that resembles the caterpillar’s brain. From the perspective of information processing, this paper is a small triumph for those who try to find complex behaviours in relatively simple biological organisms. Singer, M., Mace, K., & Bernays, E. (2009). Self-Medication as Adaptive Plasticity: Increased Ingestion of Plant Toxins by Parasitized Caterpillars PLoS ONE, 4 (3) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0004796 BOth Carl Zimmer at The Loom and Ed Yong at Not Exactly Rocket Science have written excellent posts on the same research. Cells in context: when a single neuron makes the decision February 23, 2009 The brain, our most magnificent organ, is among other things a generator of decisions. It routinely receives input, matches it against an internal representation about the exterior world, and adjusts our behavior in appropriate ways. (More often appropriate than not, that is.) In our staggeringly complex human brains, it is impossible to pinpoint any decision to a single cell. Most researchers subscribe to a model where decisions in the brain are determined by the architecture and dynamics of the neural network, i.e. the synaptic connections, transmissions, and responses. But what happens in a nerve system with less than our approx. 1014 connections? Brain sizes come in a huge continuum, ranging from 4-5 kg in the elephant, over approximately 1.3 kg in the human, down to invertebrates with only a few nerve cells in their entire bodies. Yet all these creatures share the ability to make decisions. With diminishing complexity in the nervous system, the actual decision should become easier and easier to pinpoint, and eventually it might converge on a single cell. This is in fact what has been found in the Aplysia, a sea slug with a fairly simple and very well-characterised nervous system, and a common model organism in neuroscience. A neuron called B51 has been shown to make the decision to carry out feeding behaviour. Successful feeding is rewarded by dopaminergic signaling from the esophagus back to neuron B51. This is known in psychology as operant conditioning, meaning roughly that the organism learns from the consequences of its behavior. A recent paper by Fred Lorenzetti and co-workers in the journal Neuron begins to shed light on how decision-making is carried out by neuron B51. Lorenzetti and his colleagues found that reward of the feeding behavior led to changes in the membrane structure of the neuron, reducing the threshold for firing and therefore making it more probable that feeding behavior will be initiated. They were also able to block the activities of a few intracellular proteins, and found two protein kinases that were crucial for operant conditioning to take place. We can attribute meaning to these biochemical changes. In its context, a reduced firing threshold of neuron B51 probably means that there is a greater abundance of food in the environment. This piece of knowledge is a part of the internal representation of the outside world. And this particular cell possesses enough complexity to both carry this part of the internal representation and function as a decision generator on its own! Of course, since the cell is part of the neural network this doesn’t mean that a network-centered view is any less correct or useful. The information processing of neuron B51 can only be made meaningful in the context of its neuronal connections. And it is not necessary to know, from a network-perspective, which specific changes in the cell that are underpinning the cell’s altered electrical activity. And finally, as a caveat, I should add that much is still unknown about the regulation of neuron B51. This model may well have to be questioned in the light of future evidence. But this story illustrates three important things: • That a single cell can be capable of making decisions • That the internal workings underlying decision-making in the cell are attracting attention, although more from neurobiologists than from cell biologists. • That the decisions of single cells in multicellular organisms may require other cells to decode the decision and translate it into behavior, which means that the decision is only meaningful in that highly specific context.
ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel • » • Education and Science» • Geography, Nature & Weather Water: The Prime Essence Of Life Updated on May 24, 2017 Introducing the Hydrosphere Basics of water on earth Basics of water on earth \| Source The Hydrosphere The hydrosphere is the total water realm of the earth, including the oceans, surface water of the lands, groundwater, and water held in the atmosphere. Water is essential to all life and all life activities. Plants as well as animals need water for survival. Water can be found throughout the world in the soil, underground, marshes, swamps, ponds, streams, rivers, lakes, glaciers, oceans, clouds, and precipitation. There is a continual movement of these elements as they travel from one part of the hydrosphere to another. This continual movement is referred to as the hydrologic cycle or the “water cycle”. Song That Sums It Up The Water Cycle The hydrologic cycle is a natural phenomena. It is a series of storage areas interconnected by various transfer processes in which there is a ceaseless interchange of moisture in terms of its geographical location and its physical state. In a nutshell, the hydrologic cycle recycles the earth’s valuable water supply. Water is always changing forms. It moves from sky to Earth and back to the sky again. Once this has taken place, the water cycle has come full circle and restarts. Processes of The Water Cycle Of the many processes involved in the hydrologic cycle, there are two major components. These components are: 1. Evaporation (from surface to air) 2. Precipitation (from air to surface) Other important elements of the cycle include transpiration of moisture from vegetation to atmosphere, surface runoff, subsurface flow of water from land to sea, condensation of water vapor to form clouds from which precipitation may fall, and advection of moisture from one place to another. However, there are well over 30 processes that contribute to the continuous circulation of water in the Earth-atmosphere system. An Illustration of the Water Cycle A Multi-Phased Journey A Multi-Phased Journey \| Source How The Cycle Starts The water cycle is actually a "cycle," therefore; there is no starting or ending point to it. However, most people begin with the sun because it gives the energy that powers this amazing process. The water cycle is powered from solar energy that heats the water in the oceans. This input of solar energy into the ocean turns the water into what is called “hot” ocean water. After the water in the oceans is heated the evaporation process comes into play. Evaporation Process Evaporation is the process by which liquid water is converted to gaseous water vapor. The oceans are the principal source of water for evaporation. They occupy 71 percent of the earth’s surface, have unlimited moisture available, and are extensive in low latitudes. As a result, it is estimated that 86 percent of all evaporated moisture comes from ocean surfaces. The source of energy for evaporation is primarily solar radiation. Energy from the sun in the form of light and heat causes water to evaporate from oceans, rivers, lakes and even puddles. The warm air currents that rise up from the earth's surface lifts the water vapor up into the atmosphere. After this lifting of water vapor into the atmosphere, the water vapor is referred to as “hot” water vapor. Radiation, Conduction, Convection Song Convection Process After the “hot” water vapor is produced another process begins to take place. This process can be referred to as convection, convective lifting, or adiabatic cooling. By definition, these three words are all in relation to the vertical movements of parcels of air due to density differences. In other words, when water vapor condenses back into a liquid it releases “locked up” heat, which is converted into sensible heat warming the surrounding air. The warming of the surrounding air gives a lift up to help promote adiabatic cooling and in turn gives off an output which is called “cold” water vapor. This “cold” water vapor gives way to the next process referred to as condensation. How Clouds Are Formed Condensation Process Condensation is the process of the water cycle that occurs in the atmosphere as warm air rises, then cools and water vapor is unable to be held in the air. It is the conversion of water vapor or gas to liquid. When enough vapor attaches itself to tiny pieces of dust, pollen or pollutants, it forms a cloud. Old clouds constantly re-evaporate and new ones form, creating ever-changing patterns in the sky. Clouds consist of excess water vapor and contain tiny water droplets formed as the gas condenses. As air becomes less dense the process of advection begins. In the atmosphere, wind may transfer warm or cool air horizontally from one place to another through the process of advection. Advection Process Advection is one way of transportation. It is important for the formation of orographic clouds and the precipitation of water from clouds, as part of the hydrological cycle. Once air is chilled by cool water, a cloud is formed. This cloud is referred to as an advected cloud. Once the advected cloud is formed another process takes place called orographic lifting. This process occurs when there is an uplift of air over a topgraphic barrier. After orographic lifting has taken place, an output of cold clouds that contain drops form. Because this cold air cannot hold the moisture as well as warm air can, they frequently let out precipitation. Rap Song on Perciptation Precipitation Process Precipitation is the primary way in which water is transported from the atmosphere to the Earth’s surface. It is drops of liquid or solid water falling from clouds (i.e. rain water). Precipitation in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail is the source of nearly all the fresh water in the hydrologic cycle. By the process of freezing, the rain water can be turned into ice. And, this ice may be directly converted into water vapor or vice versa by the process of sublimation. On the other hand, by the process of melting, the snow can be transformed into rain water. The amount of precipitation that occurs during the year affects every part of our lives. The world's food supplies depend on how much and what kind of precipitation occurs. The oceans receive three times more precipitation than the continents. Just as most precipitation falls on the oceans, most of the water that evaporates and returns to the atmosphere as water vapor is also from ocean surfaces. About 85 percent of the water that evaporates and returns to the atmosphere is from the oceans. The remaining 15 percent of water that moves to the atmosphere is from the continents. This includes evaporation from lakes, rivers, and soil and rock surfaces, and transpiration from plants. Transpiration is the transfer of moisture from plant leaves to the atmosphere. Interactive Site For The Water Cycle Learn More Here Learn More Here \| Source Other Processes Once precipitation has reached the earth's surface, several things can happen to it. Precipitated water may be intercepted and taken up by plants; which is a process of the hydrologic cycle called water uptake. Or it may go through the process of infiltration or percolation into the soil; meaning the water will move or filter downward into the soil and regolith. Groundwater is an output of this process in which water is found in soil layers (e.g., grains, in cracks and fractures of solid, dense rock), after penetrating the Earth’s surface. There is also a process called absorption that takes place after the water uptake process because after the water has moved into the soil there is a removal of it by roots or it may be recharged. Precipitated water may also flow from land to oceans by overland flow, streaming flow, and groundwater flow; this process would be referred to as runoff or surface flow. Excess runoff can also cause flooding, when too much precipitation occurs. Precipitated water may also flow through the subsurface to reach streams, lakes, wetlands, and ultimately the ocean; which would be a process referred to as subsurface flow. Some of the discharged water is evaporated from surfaces and transpired by plants to reenter the atmosphere, and the hydrologic cycle continues. Interesting Info Recognized by Analyzing the Water Cycle Why Water Is Essential Water is merely water to most people; however, it is essential to our survival. Life would be exceedingly difficult without it. Water is the most important substance that makes this earth come alive; it is the most precious gift that has ever been bestowed upon us and it is the most common substance on the earth. With each passing year, water has become increasingly scarce yet it is more in demand than ever. Therefore, water is more precious than gold. Why We Must Protect Water Even though the earth's water supply remains constant, people are certainly capable of altering the cycle of that fixed supply. With population increases, rising living standards, and industrial and economic growth there are greater demands on our natural environment taking place. Our activities often times create an imbalance in the hydrologic cycle and can affect the quantity and quality of natural water resources available to our current and future generations. Large cities and urban spread out particularly affect local climate and hydrology. Urbanization is accompanied by faster drainage of water through road drains and city sewer systems, which even increases the amount of urban flood events. Various effects determine the amount of water in the cycle and can result in extremely negative consequences for river watersheds, lake levels, aquifers, and the environment as a whole. Quick Question Have You Heard Of The Hydrologic Cycle Before? See results The hydrologic cycle is essential to our survival. It can change and intensify, leading to changes in water supply as well as flood and drought patterns. It is also extremely powerful. The hydrologic cycle in one day uses more energy than humankind has created throughout its entire history. If one part of the system stopped functioning properly everything would fall apart. For example: If ice did not melt, rivers and oceans would reduce in size, some rivers would wither, new snow and ice would accumulate instead of melt throughout the years, and most likely another ice age would occur. Water is so essential to life on earth that if it disappeared, it could cause a global food shortage, could devastate rain forests and eventually could eliminate living things on the earth. The hydrologic cycle is important to earth for a number of different reasons. It is how water reaches plants, animals and humans. Besides providing humans, animals and plants with a water supply, it also moves nutrients, pathogens and remains in and out of aquatic ecosystems. This is a continuous exchange of water between the earth and the atmosphere is so essential because water makes up a substantial part of living organisms, and those organisms need water for life. Without water, the biosphere that exists on the surface of the earth wouldn't be possible. The hydrologic cycle continuously moves water and keep sources fresh. Countless gallons a year are cycled through this process. Without this process life on Earth would be absolutely impossible. Therefore, it is imperative that everyone understands it and treats it with respect. 0 of 8192 characters used Post Comment • sukhneet profile image Sukhneet Kaur Bhatti 14 months ago from India After reading your article my mind was able to recollect all the information that I studied during my school days. And, I always tell my son to preserve water. I hope he follows it. Anyways, thanks for sharing the article with readers. Cheers :)
ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel • » • Books, Literature, and Writing Of Mice and Men- Symbols Updated on June 16, 2011 Of Mice and Men Symbols This is a lens on the character of Candy, summarising and analysing how it changes throughout the novella. It contains key quotes which portray different aspects of Candy's character. It is common in most GCSE Literature past papers to include character questions. This is only to give you ideas of what you can write, so please do not copy and use all of it in school essays. Character Symbols Farm Dream/American Dream George and Lennie's dream of owning a farm, which would enable them to sustain themselves, and, most importantly, offer them protection from an inhospitable world, represents a prototypically American ideal. Their journey, which awakens George to the impossibility of this dream, sadly proves that Crooks is right: such paradises of freedom, contentment, and safety cannot be found in their own world. The farm that George constantly describes to Lennie - those acres of land on which they will grow their own food and tend their own livestock - is one of the most powerful symbols in the book. It engages not only the other characters but also the reader, who, like the men, wants to believe in the possibility of the free, idyllic life it promises. Candy is immediately drawn in by the dream, and even Crooks hopes that Lennie and George will let him live there too. Curley's Wife Curley's wife is symbolic of Eve - the female character who, in the Biblical story, brings sin and death to the world. She is also symbolic of women everywhere who are repressed by male-centered societies and are always forced out by those who always see men as 'better' than women. Lennie's Death Can represent a number of things: 1. George's release into "freedom". 2. Responsibility and power that George has over Lennie. 3. The death of George and Lennie's dream, and the realisation that this could never turn into a reality. 4. Reality always comes back to hit you, no matter how hard you try to block it out or ignore it. 5. The bullet itself symbolizes the harshness of society in which Lennie lives, and the lack of general understanding that people of those times had. George had no choice but to murder Lennie (lesser of two evils) and save him from an even more brutal death at the hands of Curley and his men. 6. The gunshot could also represent George's love for Lennie as he does not want Lennie to die; however he feels he should be the only person who is allowed to harm Lennie as he is the only person who truly understands him. 7.Equally, the gun that is found in George's hand could represent the intense pressure in such a society. The fact that Crooks, throughout the book, remains totally isolated from the rest of the characters in his own, ageing room is symptomatic of the racial inequality that occurred at the time the book was written. His own retreat to his room is also representative of the harshness of life of the repressed. To quote a study guide, "Here we see the most obvious manifestations of discrimination: name calling, isolation, fear, and the threat of death." Candy is symbolic of people who are undervalued and discriminated against because of their age, and, parallels can be found whilst looking at Candy and his dog. The dog was also deemed too old and useless to deserve any more time in life and Candy's biggest fear is that he will soon face a similar fate, mainly down to the fact he cannot really function on the ranch as he only has one hand - in this way he is useless too. Crooks' room/possessions Crooks' room is symbolic of loneliness and solitude purely because of his colour. Here we see the signs of discrimination: name calling, isolation, fear, and the threat of death.Crooks has what all the other ranch workers don't - his own space and place to think - but he has to sacrifice this for companionship. His possessions are aged and are representative of the long, lonely life he has lived away from everybody else. Other Symbols Horses outside the barn The horses rattle their halter chains outside the barn just before key scenes in the story are about to occur. It could be said that they are indicative of heavy danger for the characters involved, usually centreing around Curley’s wife. The first mouse we encounter is a dead one (a dead one that Lennie keeps in his pocket to pet). This hints that Lennie doesn’t care much about death, he’s more concerned with comfort and this makes his death more understandable. Mice are a source of comfort for Lennie, as he links them to his Aunt Clara and they’re all he really remembers of her. However, they are also reminders that Lennie suffers from the problem of hurting what he loves. He likes to pet soft things, which leads him to kill mice, his puppy, and Curley’s wife; thus Lennie’s happiness tends to end in some form of suffering. Like Lennie, mice suffer because they’re small: a mouse’s physical smallness leaves it vulnerable, while Lennie’s mental smallness is his undoing. Symbols pt.2 - Will Obeney It provides Lennie with a sense of contentment, while at the same time representing crushed hopes and innocence in the face of oppressive power. Lennie and his puppy are very similar in the way that they are both innocent and weak and need strong people to take care of them. George is the strong person that takes care of Lennie. And to the puppy, Lennie is strong. The death of the puppy also foreshadows Lennie’s death. Candy’s Dog: It represents the fate of individuals whom society no longer deems useful. Candy is an old ranch worker ("swamper") who has lost one of his hands in a farm accident. Candy and his relationship with his ancient, reeking dog are important in the book as markers for exactly who you don’t want to be. Candy has spent the best years of his life working on someone else’s ranch, only to lose his hand and have little money. Given these circumstances, Candy’s dog parallels Candy’s plight. Though the pet was once a great sheepherder, it was put out to pasture once it stopped being productive. Candy realises that his fate is to be put on the roadside as soon as he’s no longer useful; on the ranch, he won’t be treated any differently than his dog. Worse than the dog parallel, though, is that Candy (unlike his dog) is emotionally broken by this whole affair. He can’t bring himself to shoot his pet himself, and we suspect this is going to be the same fear and reticence that keep him from making anything more of his life. Candy can’t stand up for his pet because Candy can’t stand up for himself. Finally, Candy's beloved old dog can be seen as a symbol of the fate that awaits all of these homeless men. The dog had lived many years, serving Candy well as friend and companion, easing his loneliness. Once the old dog had become a burden, however, the "society" in the bunkhouse determined that he must be destroyed. Candy cannot stand up to the pressure of this attitude, and gives in, feeling the deep pain of having his dog destroyed. The clear symbolic suggestion is that once these men have outlived their usefulness and become a burden, they, too, will receive no sympathy or support from others. Theirs is a grim future. Solitaire hand: Lennie Small is never asked to play cards or other games because George knows emphatically that Lennie is incapable of such a mental task. Although Lennie and George are companions, it is also a metaphor for George's desire to be "solitaire," to be no longer burdened with Lennie's company, and his constant playing of the game foreshadows his eventual decision to become a solitary man. John Steinbeck shows in Of Mice and Men, that all human beings are essentially alone. It is a symbol of the dream that many of the characters have. George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks, Curley's wife, all dream of something better. For Lennie it is "tending the rabbits". They represent independence for him and a chance to live a quiet and gentle life. A second possibility, I think, is the symbol of power and the desire to have power over "something". Remember, the majority of the characters in the novel are "bindle stiffs" and have little, if any, economic power or social power. Nearly everything that Lennie comes into contact with, he hurts (or kills). But his size and strength cannot protect him from the forces that swirl around him. If he were to kill a rabbit (his own rabbit) well, so be it. No one could punish him for it, or take away his dream. Rabbits represent Lennie’s dreams and the impossibility of their fulfillment. Rabbits are a simple summation of everything Lennie hopes for, revealing his very simple thinking. Even when George first tells the story of the dream farm, it’s at Lennie’s prompting to tell him about the rabbits. For George, the farm is all sorts of freedom and happiness, but for Lennie, it is simply access to soft things. Given the evidence, the audience knows these rabbits will likely be added to Lennie’s telltale trail of small and dead animals, symbolizing Lennie’s inability to see patterns in his life and to recognise that failure is imminent. The rabbits are emblematic of a simple and idyllic life, but rabbits are a fraught symbol: we know Lennie is excited about them because they’ll be furry and lovely to pet, but we also know that Lennie tends to hurt whatever he pets. This doesn’t bode well for him and he knows it, hence the large, scary, vitriolic rabbit at the end of the story. That rabbit announces that Lennie isn’t fit to lick the boots of a rabbit, but that the bunny comes from Lennie’s own mind suggests that he knows deep down he’ll never have his dream. The fact that rabbits never actually appear in the book (though they figure so heavily) highlights the unfortunate reality that Lennie’s dreams can never materialise. The following excerpt is very important. The rich imagery with which Steinbeck begins Section 6, the powerful conclusion, evokes the novel’s dominant themes. After killing Curley’s wife, Lennie returns to the clearing that he and George designate, at the beginning of the novel, as a meeting place should they be separated or run into trouble. Here Steinbeck describes much of the natural splendour as revealed in the opening pages of the novel. The images of the valley and mountains, the climbing sun, and the shaded pool suggest a natural paradise, like the Garden of Eden. The reader’s sense of return to a paradise of security and comfort is furthered by the knowledge that George and Lennie have claimed this space as a safe haven, a place to which they can return in times of trouble. This paradise, however, is lost. The snake sliding through the water recalls the conclusion of the story of Eden, in which the forces of evil appeared as a snake and caused humanity’s fall from grace. Steinbeck is a master at symbolism, and here he skilfully employs both the snake and heron to emphasise the predatory nature of the world and to foreshadow Lennie’s imminent death. The snake that glides through the waters without harm at the beginning of the novel is now unsuspectingly snatched from the world of the living. Soon, Lennie’s life will be taken from him, and he will be just as unsuspecting as the snake when the final blow is delivered. The barn: The barn is representative of a supposedly safe place where animals can find shelter and warmth. It is a man-made place where humans take care of animals, which is symbolically ironic because it is where Lennie kills his puppy and Curley’s wife. The Cripples: John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men summary This video module is about the Of Mice and Men summary. 0 of 8192 characters used Post Comment • melissiaoliver profile image melissiaoliver 4 years ago Hmm, is it really fair to say that Curley's wife represents Eve? I'm not sure that direct allegories are ever accurate; also from a Biblical point of view you can argue that Eve is a vessel and that the real 'bringer of sin and death' in the world is the devil. I don't really see how the wife is the bringer of death; also, her character is far more complex: the fact that she doesn't even have a name in the book is a massive comment on the types of lives lived on Western ranches.
Canadians wrestle over sharing their water For Canadians, the thought of exporting their crystalline waters verges on heresy. When Ian MacLaren wants students to drink in the essence of being Canadian, the Canadian studies professor lines them up in sturdy canoes and sends them down an Alberta river. Before long, paddling along in silence, most of them understand. "Water is a key to who we are," says Mr. MacLaren. This country's vast network of lakes and rivers - where 20 percent of the world's fresh water supply flows - has long inspired reverence in its people. When Canadians want solace, refuge, or rejuvenation, many make pilgrimages to cottages, cabins, or beaches next to shimmering waters. The federal government has a link on its website called "Water and the Canadian Identity." Perhaps that's why it's considered a form of heresy for Canadians to suggest exporting their fresh water in bulk to less-blessed countries. A Newfoundland business group's recent campaign to export the precious stuff has been received as warmly as an Arctic blast, blowing gales of opposition over the nation. In a scheme backed by Premier Roger Grimes, the McCurdy Group wants to pump as much as 13 billion gallons of pristine water every year from Gisborne Lake, in the province's southeast corner. Tanker trucks and ships would haul the water to the United States and abroad. The group claims the plan could bring the province as much as C$20 million (US$13 million) in royalties, enough to offer free tuition to Newfoundland's university students. To the Council of Canadians, a nationalist lobby group, this suggestion is "an unacceptable outrage." Alexa McDonough, a federal party leader, is demanding action to protect "something as fundamentally important to Canadians as water." Another politician warns Newfoundland that it is "opening the floodgates to the international trade of water." Opponents argue that if one province allows bulk water exports, the federal government will be hard pressed to stop foreign countries from pumping other lakes in Canada. The nation's hallowed waters would become a commodity, subject to international trade rules. Water is "part of Canada's identity," said a horrified Maude Barlow, head of the Council of Canadians. "To see our water sucked up by the Americans would be too much." Two years ago, a similar outcry ensued when a small Ontario firm won a permit to send 156 million gallons of Lake Superior water to Asia in ships. A national newspaper's editorial noted Canadians' "wierdness about water." "The fuss about Canadian water exports is truly strange," the editorial said. "Canada has lots and lots of water.... It literally falls from the sky." To which readers responded "ferociously," a columnist later wrote. "Few editorials have ever elicited such a response ... and none a response so uniform in disagreement." Eventually, the government rescinded the permit. After a similar response to a California firm's wish to export British Columbia water, a lawyer involved with that case could only say: "Whenever the subject of the export of water arises in Canada, we go a little goofy." "So many Canadians have a relationship with a river, lake or ocean, and that's a powerful influence," says David Goa, a folklife expert at the Provincial Museum of Alberta. Furthermore, few issues today are black and white, he says. "But every once in a while an issue comes along like water, which seems so simple, and the side of righteousness seems so obvious." Environmentalists question how renewable Canada's water truly is. Canada may have 20 percent of the world's fresh water, but more than half of that is nonrenewable, a legacy of the melting Pleistocene ice sheets. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Jean Chretien seems to be softening on the subject. He told Liberal Party caucus members recently he planned to set up a House of Commons committee to explore whether Canada should export water. (c) Copyright 2001. The Christian Science Monitor
5 Years Discussion Span Last Post by Reverend Jim pheww.. your question is too wide, what is this? database side or application side? which metode that you want to do? please more spesific sir. You select records from a database using the SELECT statement. You can select all fields or a series of named fields. For example select * from Employees select FirstName, LastName, Salary from Employees The first statement selects all fields, the second selects only the named fields. All records in the Emplolyees table are returned. To restrict which records are returned you use a WHERE clause as in select * from Employees where Salary > 36000 select * from Employees where Salary between 50000 and 75000 Select statements can be amazingly powerful (and correspondingly complex and hard to write and read). But the simple answer to your question is that you use a SELECT statement with a WHERE clause (in some cases, a HAVING clause) to search the records in a database table.
Does lightning strike from the ground up? Quick Answer A lightning bolt is created from the ground up and also down from the sky. Negative charges from a thunderstorm slowly lower to the ground, while positive charges rise from the ground or an object toward the sky. When these two streamers, or ion groups, meet, visible lightning is created. Continue Reading Full Answer The rising and lowering streamers are invisible to the human eye, and only become visible when they meet, which causes a lightning bolt from the grounded object to shoot toward the sky. This occurs in a split second, making it nearly impossible to determine from what direction the bolt came. The upward streamer normally forms from the tallest nearby object, but sometimes a smaller object becomes the source of the streamer. Learn more about Earth Science Related Questions
In this fast paced world, people are continuously exposed to dust and grime, as a result of which they are susceptible to many chronic respiratory diseases, especially dust allergy. However, if proper care is not taken while going outdoors, this asthma may get aggravated and results in the death of the person. The only way to protect yourself from inhaling air pollutants that are in the air is by wearing allergy masks. There are many online stores who are selling a wide range of colorful masks that best fits your face. You can purchase the right allergy mask to keep the dust at bay. You can wear this while gardening, wood cutting, vacuum cleaning, removing mold, or while going outdoors or any place that is filled with dust. ————– Advertisements ————– These allergy masks filters the air particles and keeps you away from allergies. The masks that are available in the market are comfortable to wear for a long time, breathable, washable and durable. The mask has the ability to filter the germs, bad odor, dust, allergens, and air particles thoroughly. Allergy Respirator Mask Moreover, these allergy masks are being prescribed to the patients to use while going outside to breathe easily. These are the easiest and best way for the people who would like to enjoy their life outside. These allergy masks are available for both commercial and personal use in the market. These masks will help asthma patients avoid inhaling dust particles. They filter the dust particles and help them to breathe fresh and clean air. Few of the allergies cause life-threatening symptoms. Moreover, continuous exposure to dust for a long time results in entering of dust into the lungs and cause severe asthma. However, you can elude these types of freak incidents by wearing mask. Generally, masks are made with wool so the pores filter the dust particles and allow the air for the person to breathe happily. This just acts as an air purifier for the person. Moreover, without inhalation of drugs, people can control their allergic symptoms. There are different types of masks swamping the market, few of them are washable and few are disposable. However, you can try different masks and stick to the one that is comfortable for you. Here are a few features that are offered by the allergy mask: Gives protection from allergens: This helps you to get rid of all allergens from entering your lungs. Moreover, the superior quality masks have the ability to filter the dust, pollen and even micro particles. Few of the masks even keeps you away from viruses. However, you need to check the specifications to find out what type of particles this mask can filter. Purpose: Masks are used for various purposes. You can purchase temporary masks to use once or purchase washable masks for long term use. Be sure to purchase the masks made of quality material where there is no room for the bacteria to grow. Fit: The mask is effective when it perfectly fits you. Moreover, it should give you room to breathe easily. In addition, they should have elastic ear loops. So you need to purchase the one that fits and is comfortable for you to wear. Nose clip: There are many masks which comes with easy to adjust nose clip. This nose clip secures your entire face and is perfect for a sportsperson. ————– Advertisements ————– Please follow and like us:
Tuesday, August 4 Understanding Your Hero’s Life BEFORE the Journey Begins By Rachel Funk Heller, @RchelFunkHeller Part of the How They Do It Series Characters don't exist in a vacuum, and while we don't want to tell readers every single thing that ever happened to them, it's a good idea for us writers to know the life-shaping events of our characters' pasts. Rachel Funk Heller visits the lecture hall today to show why those early days of a character's life are so vital (and helpful) to your story and plot. Take it away Rachael... Aloha Janice, thank you so much for letting me stop by. I wanted to share something with your readers that I have found very useful in planning my writing projects. I’m sure you have all heard about “The Hero’s Journey” it is universal narrative first described by Joseph Campbell in his book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Campell’s idea was adapted by Chris Vogler in his book, The Writer’s Journey so writers could see how to adapt this pattern for Hollywood movies and other projects. The journey begins in what Campbell describes as the “ordinary world,” describing the main character’s life before the first incident that gets the story started. Vogler describes the ordinary world: It occurred to me that before you start working on your plot events, it would be a good idea to look at your character’s “personal history” to see what is going on that is pulling him in different directions. The answer that came to me was: Pressure. What is the source of this pressure? Your character does not live in a vacuum. Like the rest of us, your character is a member of several different groups of people. I call these groups “societies,” in The Writer’s Coloring Book. These societies come in all shapes and sizes. From your character’s family, his close friends, or his work colleagues. Now, depending on the genre you write in, these groups could be a tribe, a military platoon, or a secret sisterhood. The idea is to get you thinking about a variety of groups. And to create groups that are very different from each other such as different core philosophies, or different socio-economic levels. But you might be thinking that your story is small and there will not be scenes in your book featuring these groups. That is perfectly fine, these groups may never show up in the book, but your main character falls under the influence of these people. And they are putting pressure on your character through their expectations. Each group has a certain set of values and expectations on how members of the group should or should not behave. For an example, let’s say your main character comes from a wealthy family and they expect your character to take over the family sausage making business. But your character’s girl friend is vegan. She and all her vegan friends expect your character to become an organic farmer. And what if your character is involved with a group of high school buddies who all expect your character to join the marines and to serve his country. Again it’s not that you are going to write the sausage vs. Vegan story. Maybe the main narrative is about how your character decided to reject all of these groups, picked up and moved to an artist commune to pursue his true love, to become a famous sculptor. All of this pressure and expectations are part of your character’s backstory. Your main plot may be about your character’s struggle with his artwork, his rise to fame and his creative struggles. But as you begin to write your story, you realize that you might need a subplot. What if the old girlfriend comes after him? Or what if he gets news that his high school buddy did join the marines and was killed in action? What if he finds out that the family sausage making business went bankrupt because he bailed out on his family? By looking at these groups of people that your character interacts with BEFORE he follows the “Call to Adventure” you are giving yourself a valuable plot/character generating tool was you go on your writer’s journey and create your storyline. About The Writer's Coloring Book You’re working on a new project — a novel, a screenplay, a video game — and your mind is flooded with great ideas. You’ve got a unique vision, but you don’t know where to start. Enter, The Writer’s Coloring Book. You’ve written that first draft and it looks nothing like your original vision — What went wrong? The Writer’s Coloring Book is here to help. Nothing beats the emotional highs of being a writer: creating three-dimensional characters who live and breathe in detailed and fantastic story worlds, exploring the writer’s craft, creating evocative images and beautiful language. And yet there are the lows, when the words on the page don’t come close to capturing that mini-movie you saw in your mind’s eye. The Writer’s Coloring Book helps meet the demands of modern writers who want to craft deeply moving stories that their readers will fall in love with. It’s a playground where your passionate dreamer mind can roam free, while your rational planner mind constructs a sound story line and manages key elements such as character, point of view, tone, imagery, and theme. 1. Any post that mentions the hero's journey usually gets my attention. I love Campbell's monomyth. I totally agree with you! A writer needs to know the character's back story. That helps us understand why the character might take certain actions. Thank you for this terrific post. The Writer's Coloring Book sounds great! 1. Aloha Lin, thank you so much for stopping by. I'm such a big fan of Campbell and how he introduced Jung's work through "The Hero with a Thousand Faces." Working on the character's back story is a big key, for me on my projects, to making the character act and sound like a real person. 2. I love the emphasis on knowing the pressures and tensions that the character has faced prior to the story beginning--even, and especially, if those tensions don't get any page-time in the novel itself. I think knowing the character's backstory in detail will help keep from having flat or stereotypical characters, including secondary and even tertiary characters. What is unique about each character, what has shaped his/her worldview and perspectives, what informs the way he/she responds to the situations that arise during the course of the novel. A strong backstory for each character will make these points come much more fluidly for the writer. --Sam Taylor, AYAP Intern 1. Hi Sam, I'm so glad you found this helpful. The more I work on this, I discover that I like to weave very intricate plots and to do that in a way that feels real, I need to know many aspects of the character's life in order to draw out more information and create more subplots. 3. Guess that is why fan fiction is easier than totally original one. With Susan Pevensie and Georgina "George" Kirrin, one has background enough from CSL and Enid Blyton! Now, the REST of the characters .... 1. Aloha Hans, you make a very interesting point, I'd never thought of it, but you are right on regarding fan fiction. I would say it is a great starting off point, but then at some point you do want to write characters that are your own. Or come from your own psyche.
Friday, 20 November 2015 The universe's resolution limit: why we may never have a perfect view of distant galaxies James Geach, School of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics Can you make out the dot at the bottom of this question mark? What if you stand a few metres away? The finest detail the average human eye can distinguish is about the size of a full stop seen at a distance of a metre. This is called “resolution”. The best resolution for an optical system – like the eye – is roughly given by the ratio of the wavelength of the light you’re viewing in and the size of the aperture that light is passing through. In astronomy, resolution works just the same. This explains why we build increasingly large telescopes: not only can big telescopes collect more light and therefore see further, the bigger the aperture of the telescope, in principle the better the image. But now a new study has suggested that the universe actually has a fundamental resolution limit, meaning no matter how big we build our telescopes we won’t see the most distant galaxies as clearly as we would like. The trouble with telescopes The largest visible-light telescopes on Earth, such as the Very Large Telescopes and the Keck telescopes, have mirrors about ten metres in diameter, and there are now plans to build telescopes with diameters of 30m to 40m (so-called Extremely Large Telescopes). But there’s a problem: if light from an object (be it a candle, streetlight or star) is perturbed on its journey from source to detection, then we will never be able to produce an image as sharp as the theoretical maximum, no matter how big we make the aperture. The huge primary mirror of the James Webb Telescope. We know light can play tricks on us. Ever looked at the bottom of a swimming pool and seen the tiles appear to ripple and dance? Or put a straw into a glass of water and seen it seemingly “break” between the air and the liquid? Light travelling to our telescopes from space has to pass through a turbulent atmosphere, and this causes problems for astronomers. Like a perfect parallel set of ocean waves encountering a submerged reef, the atmosphere disturbs the waves’ propagation. For electromagnetic waves – light – this has the effect of blurring images. Unless we compensate for it, it means we never reach the theoretical maximum resolution for a telescope. Putting telescopes in space, above the atmosphere, is one solution, but is costly. “Adaptive optics” is another, but is technically challenging. Quantum foam The new study, presented at the International Astronomical Union General Assembly this year, makes a prediction about the nature of space using the strange world of quantum physics. It argues that the nature of space-time on the quantum level might give rise to a kind of “fundamental resolution limit” of the cosmos, meaning there might be a cause to be concerned about how clearly future telescopes will be able to see the most distant galaxies. The idea is as follows. According to quantum mechanics, on the smallest of scales, known as the Planck scale, some 10-35 m (yes, that’s a decimal point with 34 zeros after it before you get to the one), space is described as “foamy”. On those small scales, quantum physics predicts that the universe is seething with so-called “virtual particles” which pop into existence and then quickly annihilate each other – something seen constantly in particle physics experiments. However, for the briefest of moments those particles have energy and therefore – according to the famous equation E=mc2 – mass. Any mass, no matter how small, is predicted to warp space-time. This is Einstein’s description of gravity. The most dramatic example of this phenomenon in nature is in the gravitational lensing of distant galaxies by massive clusters. Photons – particles of light – travelling through such foaming space-time would be affected by such fluctuations in a similar manner to light passing through our thick and turbulent atmosphere. Of course, the effect is tiny – almost negligible. But a photon emitted from a distant galaxy making the journey across the universe has to travel a long way. On this journey, the countless “phase perturbations” caused by the foamy nature of space-time might add up. Now, the prediction is that this effect is smaller than even the finest images we can currently make with the best telescopes. But – if the theory is correct – then this cosmic blurring might be apparent in images of distant galaxies made by next-generation telescopes. These include the Hubble’s successor the James Webb Space Telescope, due for launch in 2018. However, there is so far no accepted theory uniting Einstein’s view of gravity with quantum mechanics – that is one of the key goals of modern physics – so we should take this prediction with a pinch of salt. Even if it is correct, its effects will only really be frustrating to the group of astrophysicists studying the detailed structure of the most distant galaxies. What’s fascinating is the implication that no matter how big we make our telescopes here on Earth or in space, there is a fundamental natural resolution limit to the universe beyond which we cannot probe, born out from quantum processes, but manifested on cosmological scales. Like a cosmic conspiracy, some of nature’s secrets may be forever concealed. The Conversation James Geach, Royal Society University Research Fellow, University of Hertfordshire Friday, 6 November 2015 Six reasons why China's economy is weaker than you think Geoffrey M. Hodgson, Hertfordshire Business School The UK has rolled out the red carpet for Chinese president Xi Jinping on his five-day official visit. He is being given the royal treatment, including a stay at Buckingham Palace, a ride in a state carriage along The Mall and several banquets. The trip will also include plenty of time with the British prime minister, David Cameron, who is keen to discuss the trade and investment that the UK hopes to secure from the visit. Britain’s pivot to China is largely based on its economic strength. And yet there is cause for concern. Having been the locomotive for global growth following the financial crisis in 2008, Chinese growth has now slowed and its economy is looking increasingly fragile. The latest GDP figures came in at just under 7%, significantly down from the astounding annual rate of more than 9% per year between 1990 and 2010. Exports from China have declined, and exports to China must battle against the depreciating yuan. China’s slowdown has depressed global commodity prices, adversely affecting big exporting countries such as Brazil and Russia. Some leading economists have been very optimistic about China. Nobel Laureate Robert Fogel published an article in 2010 that predicted that China’s GDP will grow at an average annual rate of more than 8% until 2040, when its GDP per capita would be twice that projected for Europe and similar to that in the United States. Fogel used a textbook method of analysis to predict an unrelenting upward path. But as countries grow, their service sectors tend to increase as a proportion of output and employment. Rates of growth of productivity in services tend to be much lower than in manufacturing or agriculture. Hence, in any economy, growth rates are likely to slow down through changes in economic structure. There are several other reasons why China’s economic growth is set to stall. 1. Demographic shifts China will experience an adverse demographic shift in the coming decades. Three decades of the one-child policy has reduced the number of adults of working age. The recent and ongoing relaxation of that policy, plus a big decline in infant mortality, increases the number of children. Older people are living longer, due to improved healthcare and reduced poverty. Hence the average number of children and old people, which needs to be supported by each person in work, is set to increase dramatically. China’s population is ageing. Hung Chung Chih / 2. Chinese GDP per capita is still low GDP is way below that of the US and other developed countries. World Bank Figures for 2014 put China’s GDP per capita at about 24% of that in the US. In the 20th century, only five countries managed to grow from 24% or less of US GDP per capita to 60% or more of US GDP per capita. They were Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong. China still has a long way to go. 3. Lack of democracy While there is some evidence that autocratic governments can help economic development at lower stages of development, particularly by promoting basic industry and infrastructure, there is strong evidence that democratic institutions are much more suited to higher levels of development. Notably, when Japan, Taiwan and South Korea reached about 45% of US GDP per capita, they were established or emerging democracies. A transition to a more democratic government may be necessary as China develops, but this would be very difficult to achieve – and could be highly disruptive. 4. Lack of openness A democratic government is but one part of a constellation of vital institutions. As Nobel Laureate Douglass North and his colleagues have argued, dynamic modern economies need checks, balances and countervailing power to minimise arbitrary confiscation by the state. Legal systems have to develop significant autonomy from the political elite. In my book Conceptualizing Capitalism I show that absolute GDP per capita in a sample of 97 countries is strongly correlated with absence of corruption and openness of government. China is not an outlier in this test. 5. Problems with land and property rights Unrest in the Chinese village of Shangpu was triggered over an unpopular land deal. REUTERS/James Pomfret China’s population is divided into two classes. Chinese citizens are registered with either an urban or rural classification, depending on where they are born. Urban registrants have better education and health services. Many rural registrants, meanwhile, have rights to the use of land. But these are often anulled after local party officials are bribed by business speculators and sell the land for profit. Frequent local protests result and the whole system of land use is in dire need of radical reform. Currently it fosters corruption and inhibits the skill development of half of the Chinese population. 6. Lack of homegrown talent Although there are many small firms in China, there are still few mainland-registered large firms. Barry Naughton has noted that of the top ten firms in China exporting high-tech products, nine were foreign. Offshore registration is understandable, because fear of state sequestration persists in a country that did not recognise private property rights in its constitution until 2007. China’s financial system is very heavily concentrated in state hands, with punitive penalties on private lending. Thus, there are weighty institutional and demographic drags on further rapid growth in China, especially as it enters intermediate levels of economic development that are ill-suited to the continuance of a one-party state. China can succeed, but only through massive and potentially destabilising reform of its political and economic institutions. We should not be surprised by even lower growth rates in the future. The Conversation Geoffrey M. Hodgson, Research Professor, Hertfordshire Business School, University of Hertfordshire Wednesday, 4 November 2015 Unheeded cybersecurity threat leaves nuclear power stations open to attack Nasser Abouzakhar, School of Computer Science There has been a rising number of security breaches at nuclear power plants over the past few years, according to a new Chatham House report which highlights how important systems at plants were not properly secured or isolated from the internet. As critical infrastructure and facilities such as power plants become increasingly complex they are, directly or indirectly, linked to the internet. This opens up a channel through which malicious hackers can launch attacks – potentially with extremely serious consequences. For example, a poorly secured steel mill in Germany was seriously damaged after being hacked, causing substantial harm to blast furnaces after the computer controls failed to shut them down. The notorious malware, the Stuxnet worm, was specifically developed to target nuclear facilities. The report also found that power plants rarely employ an “air gap” (where critical systems are entirely disconnected from networks) as the commercial and practical benefits of using the internet too often trump security. In one case in 2003, an engineer at the Davis-Besse plant in Ohio used a virtual private network connection to access the plant from his home. While the connection was encrypted, his home computer was infected with the Slammer worm which infected the nuclear plant’s computers, causing a key safety control system to fail. In another incident in 2006 at the Browns Ferry plant in Alabama the controllers for one of the reactors’ cooling pumps failed in reaction to a flood of network traffic on the plant’s internal computer network, which required the reactor to be shut down manually to avoid a meltdown. Although this wasn’t due to any sort of cyber-attack, it shows the susceptibility of industrial control systems to the sorts of events that could be triggered by malicious actors or by malware like Slammer. The report also found that there is a general lack of knowledge of cybersecurity on the part of management who have generally shown a poor understanding of good “IT hygiene” and how it relates to security. It was quite common, the report said, for factory default passwords to be left unaltered and off-the-shelf software to be used despite known issues that were left unaddressed. The problem is that the industrial communication protocols and mechanisms still commonly used in nuclear power plants were designed in an era before the internet and cyber-threats were a consideration. These are often insecure and not designed to deal with such challenges. Most of the legacy communication protocols such as Profibus, DNP3 and OPC are still vulnerable to various attacks as they lack any proper authentication techniques. This means that all a malicious hacker might need to get inside a nuclear power station’s network is Google. Using search terms relevant to the software in use in the plant, Google can turn up direct links to websites leading into its network – with little or no security in the way. An example of this is the technique used to hack internet-connected webcams. Searching for text used in the webcam login page, Google will turn up links to cameras all over the world. Many users fail to change the default username and password (which are easily found online), meaning that the cameras can be accessed and controlled with ease. The same sort of techniques can be used to locate, not webcams, but web-connected industrial devices potentially providing access to important facilities. Search engines such as Shodan can identify these sorts of devices and even use geo-location to pin down their physical location. There’s a lot of civil infrastructure, and a lot of it is vulnerable. Bill Ebbesen, CC BY Mind the gaps Unauthorised access by hackers to important systems in a power plant is a serious matter: anything that damages or disturbs the balance of operations within the plant could lead to a shutdown or even dangerous situations when shutdown routines fail, while power surges within the plant could affect transmission infrastructure outside. Whether we are talking about a nuclear power plant or not, the end result is likely to be production failures or financial losses, or even injury and death in. Of course, with a nuclear power plant the risks are that much greater because of the radioactive fuel in use. Managing cybersecurity risks is challenging – and the Chatham House report makes several recommendations: integrated risk assessments to ensure security measures are properly implemented, and penetration testing where experts attempt to pry into and circumvent security measures, to ensure that the plant’s staff find any security holes before hackers do. Organisations need to be far more aware of the potential effects of attacks: what could happen if various control systems were used incorrectly. This way it will become more apparent where resources should be dedicated towards protecting them. Only rigorous research and testing will develop the security approaches and technologies needed to respond to this quickly-evolving cybersecurity threat, keeping the power stations running and the lights on. The Conversation Nasser Abouzakhar, Senior Lecturer, University of Hertfordshire
Friday, May 20, 2011 The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere In the painting The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, Grant wood captures the scene where Paul rides his horse through the town. Grant paints the picture like a child with simple geometric shapes and lines. In this painting Grant makes no attempt to be historically correct by the lighting in the windows because it is too bright to be candle lights. Wood also made the moon shadow to bright to be scientifically correct. Wood has also painted the American gothic painting. Wood painted this painting during the world war II to boost American moral. Wood struggled against that tide, committed to his dream of a truly American art that would link the present to the past and preserve all the stories that made up the American heritage. (picturing American) 1. I have seen this work before. The simplicity of the characters and objects make the art look almost like a children's book. I think that if Wood would have focused more on a realistic approach, he would have pulled more of an audience and created a stronger morale among the American public. Instead, he made the piece much less "serious" by making the scene look cartoon-like. 2. There is no picture so it's kind of hard to picture it. Could you upload the picture? But how did it boost american morals? And why did he struggle against tides?
Sunday, June 11, 2017 GOD'S IMAGE: The Full Measure of Our Creation - Introduction In general, humans are fond of rules. They make life predictable and help them hold reasonable expectations on the people around them. Rules also function as a help to attain a feeling of correctness and belonging, since rules create an us vs. them paradigm (at least for those who obey the rules). One thing that all Swedes, or Americans, have in common is that they are subject to the same rules and laws. The idea for a sovereign state is that there should be no exceptions to this general rule. Society, as we know it, would take a hard toll if one part of it wasn’t expected to live by the rules established and, in consequence couldn’t be held accountable for violations of them. Man-made rules are horizontal in nature. The purpose of rules and law is to regulate behavior; to promote behavior the law-maker desires and proscribe undesired behavior. They apply to human interaction and that between man-made institutions (companies, governments, churches and other organizations). John Adams, the second President of the United States, stated that, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” In this sphere of existence, rules do have a place. If a moral and religious people would have need to be governed, then what kind of people would be in no need of an outward set of rules? What’s the role of rules and law in the vertical relationship between man and God? Through Jeremiah, the Lord said that, in a future day, “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them,”[1]The Lord’s people are those who have no need to be told to know the Lord, for they already know him, and the will have his law written in their hearts. What then is this law? In a revelation given to Joseph Smith in December of 1832, Jesus alluded to a law he previously had given which would sanctify those who adhered to it, calling it “the law of Christ.”[2] This side note finds itself in a discussion on the laws of the celestial, terrestrial and telestial kingdoms, and that a person will find themselves blessed in accordance with the law they have been able to abide. The revelation also mentions the earth, stating that, “it must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness, that it may be prepared for celestial glory” and eventually be inherited by the meek. The earth will be crowned with this glory, even with the presence of God the Father, “after it hath filled the measure of its creation.”[3] The revelation goes on, pronouncing that, “the earth abideth the law of the celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation. … Wherefore, it shall be sanctified.”[4] From this we gather that the law of Christ is the same as the law of the celestial kingdom, which is to fill the measure of one’s creation. A man-made tool or instrument that doesn’t fill its purpose will be discarded, and one that fulfills the expectations of its owner will be kept and cherished and used over and over again. The same goes for the human race; can we do better than what we were created for? Can we rise above God’s intentions? The answer to these questions is no. We can, and most of us do, however, live far beneath our divine and spiritual privileges. As we strive to prepare for celestial glory, what are we to do and aim for? What is our vision? What is the law we should give place for in our hearts? What did God create us to be? Or, in other words, what is the measure of our creation? [1] Jer. 31:33-34 [2] D&C 88:21 [3] D&C 88:17-19 [4] D&C 88:25-26 No comments: Post a Comment
Wednesday, March 11, 2015 Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace - The Founder of Scientific Computing Even her title demands that I pay her tribute! Her parentage is certainly noteworthy, but she achieved what few women would have been capable of prior to the 20th Century, and became famous in her own right. Born in London, England, on December 10th, 1815, Ada was only five years old when the Regency Era came to an end as George IV rose to the throne on January 29th 1820. Ada's father, Lord Byron, was a romantic poet - perhaps the most famous one during that period. He was however also a notorious womanizer, which perhaps explains why Ada's mother, Anne Isabelle Milbanke, requested a separation from him only five weeks after Ada had been born - quite a shocking thing to do at that time! But her request was met and she was even granted sole custody of Ada. Since Byron left England when Ada was only four months old and never returned (he died in Greece from a fever he contracted in 1823), she would never meet her famous father. Terrified that her daughter would follow in Byron's poetical footsteps, Anne deliberately ensured that Ada would be tutored in mathematics and music. Even so, Ada hoped to be an "analyst and metaphysician," asking of her mother, if you can't give me poetry, can't you give me "poetical science?" Ada's encounter with Charles Babbage at a dinner party hosted by Mrs. Somerville (a Scottish science writer and polymath with an interest in mathematics and astronomy), would prove to be invaluable. He described to Ada his ideas for the Analytical Engine, which was to be programmed using punched cards. In 1843, following a lecture given by Babbage on the development of the Analytical Engine in Italy, the Italian mathematician, Menabrea, published an article summarizing Babbage's ideas. By then, Ada had married the Earl of Lovelace (again - fabulous title!) and was the mother of three children under the age of eight. Upon reading Menabrea's article, Ada took it upon herself to translate it. After showing her work to Babbage, he encouraged her to include her own notes, which turned out to be three times the length of the original article, describing many aspects of computer architecture and programming. Included in her comments were the predictions that such a machine might be used to compose complex music, produce graphics, and that it would be used for both practical and scientific use. Pretty innovative, right? She also suggested that Babbage make a plan for how the engine might calculate Bernoulli numbers. This plan is now considered the first "computer program". Unfortunately, her life was brief, and she died from cancer in 1852 at the age of only 36. Neither Babbage or Ada got to see the Analytical Engine fully completed since only a trial model was produced before Babbage's death. In 1991 the London Science Museum built a working model of Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2, which incorporated some adjustments discovered by Babbage during his work on the Analytical Engine. In 2010, British programmer, John Graham-Cumming began raising funds for the construction of a working model of the Analytical Engine. As far as I can tell, it still hasn't been built, but here's a really fascinating talk (just 12 minutes of brilliance) by Graham-Cumming on the Analytical Engine which will explain exactly how the machine was intended to work. 1. Love this post Sophia!!! I've been doing my own research into Ada for a while now and you have every bit of information and more from what I've found! Thanks you so much! Ada is my favorite Historical female~ =) 1. I'm glad you enjoyed the post. She really is impressive! I'm going to try gathering info on interesting people from that people so I'm thinking of looking into Mrs. Somerville next. Love it when one bit of research leads to another :)
Image 1 of 1 A bee greets a drone as it is being born. The bee will feed the drone directly from its mouth as the newborn is exhausted by the effort produced to come out of the cell. One can clearly see a difference in size in the faceted-eyes of the bee and drone. The worker bee's eyes have 4,500 facets each and the drone 7,500 per eye.
Introduction to CFD Computational Fluid Dynamics, commonly referred to by the acronym CFD, is a simulation technique that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve fluid flows. Even if one trusts in Moore's law and hopes that the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit will be doubled approximately every two years, the simulation of fluid flows will be a challenge for decades. The simulation of the interaction of liquids and gases with surfaces defined by boundary conditions etc. requires so much computing performance and memory resources that simplifications in the models are part of the daily business. Even clusters of high performance computers have only very limited capacities concerning CFG computations. Nevertheless, CFD has grown from a mathematical and engineering curiosity to become an essential tool in for example the development of aerospace propulsion, weather prediction and the simulation of wind tunnels. To performe this simulation the spatial domain has to be discretized into small cells to form a volume mesh or grid. In general there are two major types of approaches how to proceed: One uses turbulence models, the other the direct numerical simulation. In the case of a direct numerical simulation it is now the goal to use a model based on the fundamental equations of motion like the Navier-Stokes Equation and then to apply a suitable approach to solve it. It is possible to solve such models directly, e.g. based on the Navier-Stokes equations for laminar flows and for turbulent flows, when all of the relevant length scales can be resolved by the used grid. For a real turbulent flow this is in general impossible, even using todays massively parallel computers, because the range of length scales appropriate to the problem is too large. If this is the case one may switch to a turbulence model, which means a trade-off between accuracy and speed of computation. The accuracy is decreased because in opposite to the direct numerical simulation that captures all scales of motion, the turbulence model tries to capture only some aspects of the fluid interaction, and for example in large eddy simulations one concentrates - as the name suggests - on large eddy structures in a flow. Introduction to FEM Linear Elasticity with FEM in 3D (in house developed software -- SimCloud-Project) A lot of CFD simulations are based on partial differential equations (PDE) like the Navier-Stokes-Equation. So the task is to solve these equations numerically, which means finding approximate solutions of PDEs. There are a couple of methods to choose from, for example the finite element method, the finite volume method or spectral methods. The finite volume method (FVM) is conservative, which means that all conservation laws are automatically fulfilled. That is one reason why FVM is popular for approximation transport phenomena in CFD contexts. The finite element methods are very popular because of their wide range of application areas. They can be used to simulate CFD problems as well as mechanical problems like e.g. stress simulation. Last but not least there are spectral methods and adapted variants like the spectral element method. Spectral methods perform a high accuracy if the problem is very regular, which means e.g. that the geometry is quite easy and smooth. For a general overview these methods have much in common, in detail of course they differ a lot. First of all the first step for nearly all methods, FEM, FVM and Spectral Elements Method is to build a mesh of the domain. Of course this is no problem in one dimension but in two and especially in three dimensions it might be a hard task. If the mesh is built it might be necessary to refine and unrefine it during the simulation and beyond this may the mesh itself should move. When it comes to solving the equation one has to handle huge sets of data. Why is there so much data to deal with? Let us think of a unit cube of one meter. We assume that we want to discretize the cube by a mesh in the size of 1cm to allow us to grasp phenomena of a small size. So we would have to use 100 degrees of freedom per space dimension, so 100 times 100 times 100 ... we end up with one billion (1000000) degrees of freedom. Therefor one needs very efficient algorithms and is very keen on parallel computer architectures like multi-core or multi-processor. That is for example one of the points where computer science and mathematics go hand in hand. Finally we want to see our results and that means visualization. That is not as easy as it may sound. Think about it! You have got results of a heat flow in three space dimensions with one billion data points. There are various ways to visualize this data, and performance is again a task. Would you give all the data to your graphic card using for example OpenGL or would you find it a better idea to use filters or synopses? Of course there are already a lot of good tools available but there are as well a lot of aspects to think about. Because of the interdisciplinary character of these simulations it is always interesting how different people with different backgrounds like computer scientists, engineers and mathematicians address these questions. Modelling and Simulation of Ecology Systems using FEM I have done some research concerning nonlinear partial integro-differential equations. These equations can be used to model systems with delay effects. Common examples might be ecology systems in an environment with a limited carrying capacity or viscoelasticity. This includes e.g. models with stress applied to a viscoelastic material. It is possible to simulate creep with such models. Creep is the tendency of a solid material to slowly move or deform permanently under the influence of stresses. The modelling and simulation of ecology systems is a nice field to combine approaches more related to computer science like for example agent based models with equation based models. To give an example: If one uses a model that is based on partial differential equations the model will provide information about the density of a population in a given area. Even if the area is in a way discretized by an FEM-Mesh the result will be a continuous model for the area and the population. Thinking of bacteria, blood cells or krill it is a very good approach. Thinking of the Siberian tiger this will not make sense in all models. Depending on what you would like to simulate the density of such a rare species won't lead you anywhere. But if we consider the interaction of whales and krill it might make sense to combine the different worlds. A spatial population model based on a nonlinear partial integro-differential equation A spatial population model with a delay term is modelled by this Nonlinear Partial Integro-Differential Equation. \frac{du}{dt} - \frac{1}{100} \cdot \nabla^2 u(x,t)=15 \cdot u(x,t) ( 1- \frac{u(x,t)}{10}-\int_{0}^t K(s)\cdot u(x,s) \; ds ) We call u the density of a population simulated over an environment with a limited carrying capacity and a memory or delay effect. The domain is a kind of square island. The reproduction rate is quite high but not unrealistic thinking e.g. of the European Rabbit with one doe having an offspring of about thirty young rabbits a year. The Figure illustrates the behavior of the solution. The initial condition are four peaks, a little bit later the population density starts to spread on the domain. Later on the effect of the high population at the beginning takes place and the density falls at the initial peak regions. After some ups and downs the density u becomes very smooth over the whole domain with a time changing amplitude.
Automation Supplier – Understand more About Automation Parts at This Educative Domain. Proximity sensors detect the presence or lack of objects using electromagnetic fields, light, and sound. There are lots of types, each fitted to specific applications and environments. These automation parts detect ferrous targets, ideally mild steel thicker than a single millimeter. They contain four major components: a ferrite core with coils, an oscillator, a Schmitt trigger, as well as an output amplifier. The oscillator results in a symmetrical, oscillating magnetic field that radiates from your ferrite core and coil array with the sensing face. Each time a ferrous target enters this magnetic field, small independent electrical currents called eddy currents are induced around the metal’s surface. This changes the reluctance (natural frequency) of the magnetic circuit, which actually lessens the oscillation amplitude. As increasing numbers of metal enters the sensing field the oscillation amplitude shrinks, and eventually collapses. (This is the “Eddy Current Killed Oscillator” or ECKO principle.) The Schmitt trigger responds to the amplitude changes, and adjusts sensor output. As soon as the target finally moves from your sensor’s range, the circuit starts to oscillate again, and also the Schmitt trigger returns the sensor to the previous output. In case the sensor has a normally open configuration, its output is an on signal once the target enters the sensing zone. With normally closed, its output is definitely an off signal using the target present. Output will then be read by another control unit (e.g. PLC, motion controller, smart drive) that converts the sensor on / off states into useable information. Inductive sensors are normally rated by frequency, or on/off cycles per second. Their speeds vary from 10 to 20 Hz in ac, or 500 Hz to 5 kHz in dc. As a result of magnetic field limitations, inductive sensors possess a relatively narrow sensing range – from fractions of millimeters to 60 mm normally – though longer-range specialty products are available. To fit close ranges within the tight confines of industrial machinery, geometric and mounting styles available include shielded (flush), unshielded (non-flush), tubular, and rectangular “flat-pack”. Tubular sensors, essentially the most popular, are available with diameters from 3 to 40 mm. But what inductive sensors lack in range, they can make up in environment adaptability and metal-sensing versatility. Without moving parts to wear, proper setup guarantees longevity. Special designs with IP ratings of 67 and better are capable of withstanding the buildup of contaminants like cutting fluids, grease, and non-metallic dust, within the atmosphere and so on the sensor itself. It ought to be noted that metallic contaminants (e.g. filings from cutting applications) sometimes change the sensor’s performance. Inductive sensor housing is normally nickel-plated brass, stainless-steel, or PBT plastic. Capacitive proximity sensors can detect both metallic and non-metallic targets in powder, granulate, liquid, and solid form. This, together with their ability to sense through nonferrous materials, means they are ideal for sight glass monitoring, tank liquid level detection, and hopper powder level recognition. In proximity sensor, both conduction plates (at different potentials) are housed within the sensing head and positioned to work as an open capacitor. Air acts as being an insulator; at rest there is very little capacitance between your two plates. Like inductive sensors, these plates are linked to an oscillator, a Schmitt trigger, along with an output amplifier. As being a target enters the sensing zone the capacitance of these two plates increases, causing oscillator amplitude change, subsequently changing the Schmitt trigger state, and creating an output signal. Note the visible difference involving the inductive and capacitive sensors: inductive sensors oscillate up until the target is present and capacitive sensors oscillate as soon as the target exists. Because capacitive sensing involves charging plates, it really is somewhat slower than inductive sensing … which range from 10 to 50 Hz, with a sensing scope from 3 to 60 mm. Many housing styles can be found; common diameters vary from 12 to 60 mm in shielded and unshielded mounting versions. Housing (usually metal or PBT plastic) is rugged to permit mounting not far from the monitored process. If the sensor has normally-open and normally-closed options, it is known to possess a complimentary output. Due to their capability to detect most varieties of materials, capacitive sensors has to be kept clear of non-target materials in order to avoid false triggering. For this reason, when the intended target includes a ferrous material, an inductive sensor can be a more reliable option. Photoelectric sensors are really versatile they solve the majority of problems put to industrial sensing. Because photoelectric technology has so rapidly advanced, they now commonly detect targets below 1 mm in diameter, or from 60 m away. Classified from the method by which light is emitted and sent to the receiver, many photoelectric configurations can be found. However, all photoelectric sensors consist of some of basic components: each one has an emitter source of light (Light Emitting Diode, laser diode), a photodiode or phototransistor receiver to detect emitted light, and supporting electronics designed to amplify the receiver signal. The emitter, sometimes referred to as sender, transmits a beam of either visible or infrared light towards the detecting receiver. All photoelectric sensors operate under similar principles. Identifying their output is thus made easy; darkon and light-on classifications refer to light reception and sensor output activity. If output is produced when no light is received, the sensor is dark-on. Output from light received, and it’s light-on. In either case, picking out light-on or dark-on just before purchasing is needed unless the sensor is user adjustable. (In that case, output style could be specified during installation by flipping a switch or wiring the sensor accordingly.) By far the most reliable photoelectric sensing is with through-beam sensors. Separated from the receiver with a separate housing, the emitter supplies a constant beam of light; detection takes place when an object passing between the two breaks the beam. Despite its reliability, through-beam will be the least popular photoelectric setup. The investment, installation, and alignment from the emitter and receiver by two opposing locations, which may be quite a distance apart, are costly and laborious. With newly developed designs, through-beam photoelectric sensors typically supply the longest sensing distance of photoelectric sensors – 25 m as well as over has become commonplace. New laser diode emitter models can transmit a properly-collimated beam 60 m for increased accuracy and detection. At these distances, some through-beam laser sensors are designed for detecting a physical object the size of a fly; at close range, that becomes .01 mm. But while these laser sensors increase precision, response speed is equivalent to with non-laser sensors – typically around 500 Hz. One ability unique to throughbeam photoelectric sensors is effective sensing in the existence of thick airborne contaminants. If pollutants increase right on the emitter or receiver, there is a higher possibility of false triggering. However, some manufacturers now incorporate alarm outputs into the sensor’s circuitry that monitor the quantity of light showing up in the receiver. If detected light decreases to your specified level with no target into position, the sensor sends a stern warning by means of a builtin LED or output wire. Through-beam photoelectric sensors have commercial and industrial applications. In your own home, for example, they detect obstructions in the path of garage doors; the sensors have saved many a bicycle and car from being smashed. Objects on industrial conveyors, on the flip side, may be detected between the emitter and receiver, so long as there are actually gaps between your monitored objects, and sensor light will not “burn through” them. (Burnthrough might happen with thin or lightly colored objects that enable emitted light to move to the receiver.) Retro-reflective sensors get the next longest photoelectric sensing distance, with a few units capable of monitoring ranges approximately 10 m. Operating much like through-beam sensors without reaching exactly the same sensing distances, output takes place when a constant beam is broken. But instead of separate housings for emitter and receiver, both are located in the same housing, facing a similar direction. The emitter makes a laser, infrared, or visible light beam and projects it towards a engineered reflector, which then deflects the beam straight back to the receiver. Detection takes place when the light path is broken or else disturbed. One reason for employing a retro-reflective sensor across a through-beam sensor is for the convenience of a single wiring location; the opposing side only requires reflector mounting. This brings about big cost savings in both parts and time. However, very shiny or reflective objects like mirrors, cans, and plastic-wrapped juice boxes build a challenge for retro-reflective photoelectric sensors. These targets sometimes reflect enough light to trick the receiver into thinking the beam had not been interrupted, causing erroneous outputs. Some manufacturers have addressed this concern with polarization filtering, allowing detection of light only from specifically created reflectors … and not erroneous target reflections. Like in retro-reflective sensors, diffuse sensor emitters and receivers are located in the same housing. Nevertheless the target acts as the reflector, in order that detection is of light reflected from the dist urbance object. The emitter sends out a beam of light (usually a pulsed infrared, visible red, or laser) that diffuses in most directions, filling a detection area. The marked then enters the region and deflects portion of the beam to the receiver. Detection occurs and output is excited or off (based upon whether the sensor is light-on or dark-on) when sufficient light falls around the receiver. Diffuse sensors can be obtained on public washroom sinks, where they control automatic faucets. Hands placed within the spray head act as reflector, triggering (in cases like this) the opening of a water valve. As the target is the reflector, diffuse photoelectric sensors tend to be subject to target material and surface properties; a non-reflective target such as matte-black paper can have a significantly decreased sensing range in comparison with a bright white target. But what seems a drawback ‘on the surface’ may actually be useful. Because diffuse sensors are somewhat color dependent, certain versions are compatible with distinguishing dark and lightweight targets in applications that need sorting or quality control by contrast. With only the sensor itself to mount, diffuse sensor installation is normally simpler when compared with through-beam and retro-reflective types. Sensing distance deviation and false triggers due to reflective backgrounds led to the creation of diffuse sensors that focus; they “see” targets and ignore background. There are 2 ways that this is certainly achieved; the foremost and most common is via fixed-field technology. The emitter sends out a beam of light, just like a standard diffuse photoelectric sensor, however for two receivers. One is centered on the specified sensing sweet spot, and also the other around the long-range background. A comparator then determines regardless of if the long-range receiver is detecting light of higher intensity than what will be obtaining the focused receiver. Then, the output stays off. Only once focused receiver light intensity is higher will an output be produced. The next focusing method takes it a step further, employing a range of receivers by having an adjustable sensing distance. These devices works with a potentiometer to electrically adjust the sensing range. Such sensor s operate best at their preset sweet spot. Allowing for small part recognition, in addition they provide higher tolerances in target area cutoff specifications and improved colorsensing capabilities. However, target surface qualities, like glossiness, can produce varied results. Furthermore, highly reflective objects away from sensing area usually send enough light back to the receivers for an output, particularly if the receivers are electrically adjusted. To combat these limitations, some sensor manufacturers designed a technology known as true background suppression by triangulation. A genuine background suppression sensor emits a beam of light exactly like a regular, fixed-field diffuse sensor. But instead of detecting light intensity, background suppression units rely completely about the angle at which the beam returns for the sensor. To achieve this, background suppression sensors use two (or more) fixed receivers accompanied by a focusing lens. The angle of received light is mechanically adjusted, allowing for a steep cutoff between target and background … sometimes no more than .1 mm. This really is a more stable method when reflective backgrounds are present, or when target color variations are a problem; reflectivity and color affect the power of reflected light, but not the angles of refraction used by triangulation- based background suppression photoelectric sensors. Ultrasonic proximity sensors are used in many automated production processes. They employ sound waves to detect objects, so color and transparency tend not to affect them (though extreme textures might). As a result them well suited for a variety of applications, like the longrange detection of clear glass and plastic, distance measurement, continuous fluid and granulate level control, and paper, sheet metal, and wood stacking. The most prevalent configurations are the same as with photoelectric sensing: through beam, retro-reflective, and diffuse versions. Ultrasonic diffuse fanuc module use a sonic transducer, which emits a number of sonic pulses, then listens with regard to their return in the reflecting target. Once the reflected signal is received, dexqpky68 sensor signals an output into a control device. Sensing ranges extend to 2.5 m. Sensitivity, understood to be enough time window for listen cycles versus send or chirp cycles, could be adjusted by way of a teach-in button or potentiometer. While standard diffuse ultrasonic sensors offer a simple present/absent output, some produce analog signals, indicating distance by using a 4 to 20 mA or to 10 Vdc variable output. This output could be transformed into useable distance information. Ultrasonic retro-reflective sensors also detect objects in a specified sensing distance, but by measuring propagation time. The sensor emits some sonic pulses that bounce off fixed, opposing reflectors (any flat hard surface – some machinery, a board). The sound waves must come back to the sensor inside a user-adjusted time interval; once they don’t, it is actually assumed an item is obstructing the sensing path and the sensor signals an output accordingly. Since the sensor listens for variations in propagation time in contrast to mere returned signals, it is great for the detection of sound-absorbent and deflecting materials including cotton, foam, cloth, and foam rubber. Just like through-beam photoelectric sensors, ultrasonic throughbeam sensors get the emitter and receiver in separate housings. When an object disrupts the sonic beam, the receiver triggers an output. These sensors are fantastic for applications that require the detection of your continuous object, say for example a web of clear plastic. When the clear plastic breaks, the production of the sensor will trigger the attached PLC or load. Leave a Reply
Rosé Winemaking Rosé winemaking is the production of wines in which the finished product’s color sits somewhere between red and white. These wines are produced through a number of different processes; however, three methods are frequently practiced the most: direct pressing, maceration, and blending. The most common technique is a short maceration of the juice with the skins of dark-colored grapes. The maceration takes place just after crushing and lasts for the certain period of time needed to extract the required amount of color or anthocyanins. That juice in then separated from the skins by either draining or pressing. Fermentation of the juice then proceeds as it would in typical white wine making. Blending a finished red wine into a finished white wine is another method in rosé winemaking. The amounts of either wine used are dependent on whatever pinkish hue, and flavor profile the winemaker is looking to achieve. Many winemakers will note that the flavors between blending and maceration can differ greatly.1 Rosé Wines These wines are rapidly growing in popularity, because of its ability to appeal to lovers of both red and white wines. They are known for their pink color, however, these wines are rarely referred to as pink wines; they have adopted the term rosé or blush. France is responsible for 27% of the global production of rosé wines. In France, rosés are most common in warmer, southern regions where there is a local demand for a dry wine that is refreshing on a hot summer’s day but still maintains a relation to the red wine so admired by the locals. Provence, in the southeast of France, is the region most famous for its rosé. In the greater southern region of Rhône, the Languedoc-Roussillon Rosés are just as common as white wines. Spain is another country where rosé wine is in high production. The country has at least two names for rosés, depending on the vibrancy of color. A rosado is lighter in color, like a flamingo or pink lemonade, while darker pink wines are known as clarete. In recent years Chile, Australia, South Africa, along with the Niagara Region of Canada, have been some of the fastest growing rosé wine regions.1 1. Robinson, J., & Harding, J. (2015). The Oxford Companion to Wine (4th ed.). Showing the single result
Die head From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Die Head Die Head with various chasers A die head is a threading die that is used in the high volume production of threaded components. Die heads are commonly used on lathes, turret lathes, screw machines and CNC lathes. They may be used for either cutting a thread or rolling a thread. They may also be used for internal or external thread cutting. In operation, there are usually four moveable chasers that cut the thread then back away from the work to permit rapid removal of the tool. The lower picture at the right shows four sets of chasers. Each set of chasers is designed to cut a different thread. One set of chasers would be used at a time, each chaser is inserted into the die head (in the correct order) and the die head is closed bringing the chasers down to their cutting position. When sufficient length of thread has been cut the die head will open allowing for rapid retraction of the head without interference with the newly formed thread. The die head shown cuts an outside thread. There are also collapsible die heads that are used to cut an internal thread. Die Head for Thread Rolling The bottom picture shows a Die Head used for Thread Rolling. A Rolled Thread may have greater strength than a cut thread, though it usually requires more energy to roll a thread than cut one. Further reading[edit]
Page 1 W I N TER 2 0 0 8 /9 Joints_Jan_09:UK_Layout_C 20/03/2009 10:40 Page 1 Main article Dear readers, This edition of joints is about rheumatoid arthritis (RA). If we separate the various forms of arthritis into those accompanied by inflammation and those which are not, we have RA as the typical example of ‘inflammatory’ and osteoarthritis as the typical ‘non-inflammatory’ arthritis. R H E U M AT O I D A R T H R I T I S Rheumatoid Arthritis. swelling pain and stiffness, but it is as microorganisms), it overzealously Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) has a possible for other parts of the body attacks our own body. In RA this central position in rheumatology. to be affected, even though they are results in inflammation of the joints It is probably the most classical unrelated to joints. clinically (this means redness, swelling, pain and loss of function) arthritis, expressing the specialty of rheumatology perfectly. This is be- RA is an autoimmune disease. and, as a rule, many joints are cause joints are affected to a greater Putting it simply, instead of our body affected at the same time and in a or lesser extent with inflammation, only fighting foreign invaders (such symmetrical way. (For example both wrists, the small joints of both hands, Joints commonly affected by Rheumatoid Arthritis the toes of both feet etc). Who is affected? As in other autoimmune diseases Discussing RA is long overdue since it is the best known and most widely discussed arthritis amongst patients and rheumatologists alike. (like thyroid disease or lupus), Shoulders The problem can start in childhood or in old age, but the more characteristic age for the onset of RA is in women in their 40s and 50s. Relatives of peo- The main article outlines the condition. ‘Psychology’ analyses the support of friends and family and the physiotherapy section deals with wax therapy as well as exercises for special groups. Finally, in the patients’ column we welcome Ms Sandra Canadello, chairperson of the European committee of people with rheumatic diseases. Dr J Joseph ple with RA tend to have a higher Wrists Knuckles and Middle finger joints Most people with RA will not have a How does RA affect people? joints swell and become red, painful and stiff more so in the mornings difficulty in using their hands or Less commonly Elbows, hips and neck Principles of Physical Activities and exercise programmes for targeted groups of people Page 5 and after immobility. The person has Balls of feet walking. Continues to page 2 SANDRA CANADELLO An interview with the chairperson of the European Commitee of people with rheumatic Page 7 diseases Page 2 the disease is not strictly hereditary. It has already been mentioned that (12th October) chance of developing the disease, but close relative with the disease. 8 World Arthritis Day women are more commonly affected. Wax Therapy its role in the management of rheumatoid hands. Page 8 Joints_Jan_09:UK_Layout_C 20/03/2009 10:41 Page 2 “Joints” - Rheumatology Newsletter Continued from page 1 How does one diagnose RA? them, regarding the disease character- The future Continuous inflammation especially As in most diseases the diagnosis to a istics, the various treatment options In general, 20% of people with RA if left untreated can cause damage to large extent comes from the history and the future. Then one needs care- will always have very mild disease. the joints. This damage causes more described by the patient, in associa- ful assessment of the severity of the 5% will have severe arthritis with loss of function and the problem tion with the clinical examination. disease and to choose the appropriate difficulty responding to any continues. In a small proportion of Specialized blood tests come to com- drug for treatment. treatment but 75% will have times people one may have significant plement the history and examination, deformity of the joints giving the but by themselves blood tests can not The drug treatment is specialized and with appropriate treatment they tend characteristic picture of RA. diagnose or exclude RA. used early it tends to avoid severe to live a normal life. of flare and times of remission but damage to joints, pain, stiffness and However, other parts of the body can loss of function in the everyday life be affected as well. Rheumatoid is a The management of RA needs a of the patient. multisystem disease. It can affect multidisciplinary approach which skin, eyes, nervous system, heart, means that the rheumatologist needs One can avoid lost work days and lungs, kidney, blood, lymph nodes to cooperate with other health lost time of someone’s life and in and almost any part of the body. For professionals as required, in order to general timely intervention with the that reason careful assessment and face the person as a whole and not right treatment has changed the old follow up by a rheumatologist are just deal with every painful area of picture of RA which was a patient necessary and rheumatologists must the body separately. sitting in a wheelchair in the doctor’s have a significant knowledge of waiting room. Appropriate treat- general internal medicine while being Firstly, the correct education and ment, starting early gives the major- on the lookout in case another part of information are required not only for ity of RA patients a normal or nearly the body becomes affected. the patient but also for those close to normal life. 8 World arthritis day 8 Osteoporosis cycle ride 8 World arthritis day 12th October President of the Cyprus League against Rheumatism Marios Kouloumas The Cyprus Antirheumatic society organized a world arthritis day event at the press association premises. The subject was positive attitude towards life and the message was ‘your power is your Editor Dr J Joseph, MB BCh MRCP (UK), Consultant physician and rheumatologist, Aretaeion hospital, February 2009 mind’. Apart from messages from the minister of health, the chair of the society, the Cyprus European commissioner for health, the parliamentary chair person for health and the president of the rheumatologists of Cyprus, the society also had a special guest Ms Sandra Canadello the chairperson of the EULAR standing committee for people with rheumatic diseases in Europe. Workshops on the power of one’s thought as well as regarding ‘the person and the family’ were held by psychologist Spyroula Sirimi. The day closed with an account of Mrs. Iosifina Iosif-Stylianou who described her own experiences during and after the diagnosis of her rheumatic condition. 8 Osteoporosis cycle ride On 4th October 2008, the annual osteoporosis cycle ride was held by the Cyprus association against osteoporosis and musculoskeletal diseases. The event was under the auspices of the Mayor of Nicosia and 100 cyclists took part, passing through mainly the roads of old Nicosia, emphasizing the importance of prevention and proper management of the silent epidemic. Joints_Jan_09:UK_Layout_C 20/03/2009 10:41 Page 3 Frequently asked questions about RA Dr Joseph My blood tests are normal; how can I have RA? It is very important to remember that not all people with RA have the characteristic blood results (antibodies in their blood like the ‘rheumatoid factor’). There are at least 25% of people with RA that have so called ‘seronegative’ RA meaning that the antibodies in question are negative while they actually have the condition. I know I have RA because I have the blood test which is positive In contrast to our previous point, one should remember that the diagnosis of RA is made by the rheumatologist using the history, the clinical examination and the support of some blood tests like the markers of inflammation and the rheumatoid factor. However having positive rheumatoid factor on a blood test is something that may occur in people without RA. It is not enough to have rheumatoid factor in the blood for the diagnosis to be made. The clinical picture, history, examination, xRay findings and disease progression need to fit rather than just having a positive blood test. I have been taking drugs for a month now but I have seen no result This is a logical and frequent point made by people with RA. Most drugs that change the disease course (the so called disease modifying antirheumatic drugs) take two or even three months to work fully. The only way for someone to respond quickly during the first days and weeks is by taking cortisone treatment either into the joint by injection or by mouth, or by intramuscular injection. Antirheumatic drugs need time to work and a significant proportion of patients will need a second and sometimes a third drug or to replace one drug with another etc. The management of RA by the rheumatologist is not simply taking a tablet to be cured, but a long undertaking and has at its centre the close cooperation of patient and rheumatologist. It has been suggested that I take cortisone but I know that I should never take this drug This is one of the biggest myths in rheumatology as well as in other specialties of medicine. In large doses without control, cortisone is a very dangerous drug. But given in small doses for short periods of time, or with continuous and careful monitoring by doctors, then it is not as dangerous as leaving the disease untreated. In other words, if you weigh on the one hand the damage that the disease can cause and on the other the potential side effects of low dose cortisone, surely the damage from the disease weighs more. I am taking long term antirheumatic drugs. Surely they will do some damage to my body There are no drugs in medicine without side effects. The important point about the antirheumatic drugs is that they are watched carefully by the rheumatologist and in particular they are monitored frequently using blood tests. The blood test makes sure that in almost all cases there is no danger of severe side effects. When we have abnormal blood results then we can reduce or discontinue the treatment appropriately. The vast majority of people taking antirheumatic drugs do not have any significant side effects. I have been well for many months now. Why should I continue taking the drugs? This emphasizes why the diagnosis of RA has to be made by specialists. Once the antirheumatic drug is started and because its role is to avoid or reduce the damage to joints, then its use is long term. The aim is for someone to live a normal life if possible without remembering that they have the disease but just because someone is well doesn’t mean they can stop their drugs. This is because in people who really have RA, stopping the drugs tends to result in a worse flare of the condition and antirheumatic drugs tend not to work as well when they are restarted. What else should I pay attention to apart from my joints? A recent and very important observation in rheumatology is that people with RA have increased chances of cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes. Therefore one should be very careful with risk factors like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and not taking adequate exercise. Joints_Jan_09:UK_Layout_C 20/03/2009 10:41 Page 4 “Joints” - Rheumatology Newsletter Psychology “Those around me do not understand me” Often people with a diagnosis of RA complain that people around them do not understand their pain, weakness and their difficulty to accommodate activities they used to take part in before. They might feel that their family have a lot of expectations and demands. Answer by Viki Mbalomenou Why does this happen and how can one change this situation? When patients feel that way it is very likely that they do not pay attention to certain important points. Perhaps the patient feels it is self evident to those around them, what the particular disease is all about and what effects it is having on them. Patients with RA could have tiredness, a feeling of weakness, they may not feel able to complete simple everyday tasks, they may have reduced chances of finding work and it may disorganize their family life. They often have feelings of anxiety or depression and a feeling of worthlessness. Those around them though, may not have the complete picture of the disease. They may not even know that a patient can be affected psychologically. So they maintain the same attitude towards the patient, asking for the same things they used to before. It is also possible that the patients themselves do not have the complete picture of their condition. This may mean that they complain continuously about tiredness, anxiety, anger and disappointment and they may associate all these with other situations or other people. Those around them cannot connect these feelings and understand them and therefore in the end, they doubt that the symptoms really exist. For example someone may feel tiredness and they may associate this with their job; those around them may doubt that this is true because the type of work they do does not involve much exertion. Therefore their demands towards the patient remain unchanged. Another important point is that some patients think it is self evident that those around them can immediately realize what they need in terms of help, support or understanding. But this can lead to a lot of misunderstanding. On the one hand relatives may try to show their support in their own way and on the other hand patients may consider support as something completely different (for example, someone else taking over the housework). In that way the patient thinks others do not care and those around them feel disappointed (“what else can I do?”) Finally, some patients choose not to tell those close to them about their disease for various reasons. They continue all their activities with the same rhythm trying to hide their symptoms. In this case, how can the family change their attitude towards them when they don’t know anything about the illness? Disagreement and misunderstanding continue to multiply and the symptoms escalate. So what could a patient do? 8 They can be educated better about what the disease is all about. In this way, they can have an active role in dealing with their condition as well as helping themselves and making their life easier. 8 They may ask their family to talk to the doctor to be better informed 8 8 8 8 8 about their disease; they can educate their family using leaflets and make sure they inform other important people in their lives, for example their boss. They can consider what they need from those around them in terms of help or support and actively ask for it! They should allow themselves to ask for help. They should allow themselves to relax and rest (both are necessary, especially at times of increased symptoms.) They can seek help from a psychotherapist so as to learn stress and anxiety management methods and they can learn relaxation techniques. In this way they can reduce the intensity of their pain. Many times a disease is a chance for someone to look after themselves (especially people who are not used to doing that previously!) The family on the other hand: 8 Should independently ask for information regarding the disease. 8 Should help the patient express their feelings (anger, disappointment, anxiety etc). 8 Should seek practical solutions with the patient to make their life easier 8 Should listen to the patient; that implies listening and giving help that is requested not just offering help that they consider appropriate. 8 Should ask for help and support from a psychotherapist in dealing with their feelings, so they can be of more use to the patient. It is important that when there is love and good-will within a family, ways are found in order to communicate effectively and make everybody’s life easier. Born in Greece, Viki Mbalomenou has a degree from the University of Thraki as a social worker, and three-years’ postgraduate training in systemic psychotherapy of individuals, couples, families and groups. She has completed a postgraduate programme on advising in substance dependence. (Course in association with the psychiatry department of San Diego university of California). She held advisory posts in Thessaloniki and Kavala. Since 2005 she has been in charge of advice and family therapy in the 'Ayia Skepi' treatment programme. In parallel, she worked as family therapist at the centre for family direction of the welfare department and works privately in systemic psychotherapy of individuals, couples, families and groups. Joints_Jan_09:UK_Layout_C 20/03/2009 10:41 Page 5 Physiotherapy PRINCIPLES OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES And exercise programmes for targeted groups of people Lena Antoniadou Physical activity offers one of the greatest opportunities for people to extend years of active independent life and reduce functional limitations. Promoting this in carefully planned regular exercise programs is one of the most effective ways for middle aged and older adults, including those with disabilities, to prevent or slow down chronic disease, promote independence and increase quality of life. KEY COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAMMES A well rounded physical activity programme should include endurance, strength, balance and flexibility. These activities should be tailored to the individualâ€™s specific needs and interests to ensure maximal enjoyment and optimize adherence to the physical activity regime. Group based physical activity is an excellent way to start a physical activity programme. It provides several advantages, including enhanced adherence through social interaction with others and mutual commitment to physical activity among friends, opportunities for instruction in proper technique and with qualified supervision. bands is safe, cheap, progressive and versatile to be used from different starting positions to suit patients with special needs and promote natural and functional movements. While both upper and lower body muscles should be included in a strengthening regimen, muscles of the lower body (ankles, hips, leg extensors and flexors) are particularly important for mobility and independence. 8 Flexibility activities facilitate greater range of motion around a joint and can increase the length of the muscle beyond that which is customarily used in normal activity. These exercises are specifically important for targeted groups with disabilities and 8 Endurance activities refer to continuous movement that involves large muscle groups and is sustained for a minimum of 10 min. e.g. biking, swimming or walking. 8 Strength activities refer to increasing muscle strength by moving or lifting some type of resistance at a level that requires some physical effort. Resistance with elastic chronic problems like arthritis. Stretching should include appropriate static and dynamic techniques. In dynamic stretching, the muscle is moved through the full range of motion of a joint, for example, arm circles. A static stretch is when the muscle is lengthened across the joint and held for a period of 10-30 seconds. Continues to page 6 Joints_Jan_09:UK_Layout_C 20/03/2009 10:41 Page 6 â€œJointsâ€? - Rheumatology Newsletter Continues from page 5 8Balance activities Balance is the ability to maintain control of the body over the base of support so as to avoid falling. While improvements in muscular strength and endurance can lead to improvements in balance, specific balance activities can have additional benefits especially for groups of older adults aerobic exercise programmes, participating in a variety of activities specific to the problems and avoiding high intensity vigorous exercise. Musculoskeletal overuse injuries should be avoided and the advice of the physical therapist on starting positions, posture and the use of resistance is of high importance. Preventing fall related injuries is also an important focus. SUMMARY Scientific evidence indicates that regular physical activity can bring dramatic health benefits to people of all ages and abilities, and that this benefit extends over the entire life course. Physical activity offers one of the greatest opportunities for people to extend years of active independent life and reduce functional limitations. Regular participation in physical activity is one of the most effective ways for older adults, including those with disabilities, to help prevent chronic disease, promote independence, and increase quality of life in old age. A multidimensional activity programme that includes endurance, strength, balance and flexibility training is generally considered to be optimal for older adults. Activities should be tailored to the individual to ensure maximal enjoyment with the goal of optimising adherence. Although most sedentary individuals should be encouraged to begin with low-intensity physical activity moderate physical activity yields a better risk-to benefit ratio and should be the goal for older adults. The combination of effective and targeted physical exercise with the social support, positive reinforcement and safety in the supervision by a professional is what is required. The small increase in acute risk for injury must be weighted against the with diminished eye sight and groups with osteoporosis where falls can lead to fractures. There are two types of balance: static balance which is the ability to maintain balance without moving and dynamic balance which is the ability to move without loosing balance or falling. much more substantial benefits associated with long tern physical activity, Sustaining a physically active life style is an excellent way for older adults with chronic conditions or disabilities to maintain their physical function and improve their overall health. All older adults with chronic conditions or disabilities should be encouraged to work within an While there are some risks associated with participation in regular physical activity, the risks associated with a sedentary life style far exceed them. Low intensity exercises have obviously a lower risk of injury and muscle soreness. However the consensus is that moderate physical activity has a better risk- benefit ratio and moderate intensity physical activity should be the goal for older adults. A knowledgeable physical therapist can provide the level of intensity and mode of physical activity following a careful assessment. Before starting or increasing the level of physical activity, older adults and groups with special problems should have a strategy for risk management and prevention of activity related injuries. The most important strategy is to start with low intensity physical activity and increase the intensity gradually including a warm up and cool down component. Increasing muscular strength around weight-bearing joints, particularly the knee, also reduces the risk of musculoskeletal injury. Other strategies include active stretching during the warm-up and cool-down portions of individualised physical activity program under the supervision of an experienced therapist. Lena Antoniadou is a physiotherapist working in the private sector with special interest in musculoskeletal problems. She trained at Guyâ€™s Hospital, London and is a member of the chartered society of physiotherapy of England and the Cyprus association of physiotherapy. For the last 10 years she has been teaching exercise classes based on the Alexander technique and the Pilates method. She is also a Theraband trainer and teaches exercise courses. Joints_Jan_09:UK_Layout_C 20/03/2009 10:41 Page 7 Patient’s column SANDRA CANADELLO An interview with the chairperson of the European Commitee of the people with rheumatic diseases My name is Sandra and I'm 35 years old. I am responsible for the Chairmanship of the EULAR Standing Committee of People with Arthritis and Rheumatism in Europe (PARE) since 2005. The Standing Committee is composed of 32 user support organisations coming from all over Europe and also Israel. The committee also cooperates with disease specific European user support organisations like the Ankylosing Spondylitis International Federation, Lupus Europe, FESCA and ENFA. HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED? I started to get involved with my national patient organisation in 2001. I had been diagnosed with RA in 1998 and the need for further information on the disease and how to manage it, led me to start working with the Portuguese league and to participate in activities nationally and at European level. In time these activities led to a closer involvement with the PARE network and to my election into the PARE Manifesto Board. In 2005 I was asked to take responsibility for the chairmanship of the Standing Committee. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF PARE? The action developed by the PARE network in the European political arena, counting on a close collaboration with the scientific part of EULAR provided a greater awareness of rheumatic diseases by EU decision-makers and stakeholders. EULAR asked policy makers in the European Union to become fully aware of the burden rheumatic diseases pose to society and the needs of people with arthritis, as well as to guarantee access to adequate care for all Europeans with rheumatic diseases. Lately, a project presented by EULAR to the European Union was positively received and is to address the lack of comparable and available data on musculoskeletal conditions in Europe. This European Musculoskeletal Atlas will be developed and implemented with the support of the EU Public Health Programme. It is unfortunate that today people continue to associate rheumatoid arthritis with old age. Rheumatism does not discriminate on grounds of age or gender, and it can regrettably occur in children of tender age. Awareness campaigns about Rheumatic Diseases are essential to achieve an understanding of what these diseases imply and the obstacles people have to overcome to live well with them. Employers and stakeholders need to understand that people with arthritis can contribute to societal development. Active inclusion policies are required to guarantee effective integration into society - work and leisure alike. People with rheumatic diseases need to be actively involved in decision-making processes which have direct impact on their lives, namely in medical, social and personal issues associated with rheumatic diseases. The involvement of patients and their support groups as key stakeholders in all relevant processes is essential. I urge all people with arthritis not to let matters that affect them directly in the guard of people who do not experience the effective impact of these diseases. Do not let go of your rights as a citizen. Sandra Canadello was born in Portugal in 1973. She obtained the ‘Diploma in Translation’ by the Institute of Linguists, London. Currently, she is working as a self-employed translator. She has a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis since 1998. Since 1999 she has been an active Member of the Liga Portuguesa contra as Doencas Reumaticas (LPCDR) Portuguese League Against Rheumatic Diseases). Since 2001 she has been involved in the European work for people with rheumatic diseases and was Vice Chair of PARE Manifesto 2004 – 2006. She was international Relations Coordinator of the LPCDR 2003 – 2007 and since 2005 Chairs the Standing Committee of People with Arthritis/Rheumatism in Europe (PARE) of EULAR (European League against Rheumatism). Which of the following personalities does NOT have Rheumatoid Arthritis? Quiz ? Pierr August Renoir Painter Michael Jackson Singer Thomas Jefferson US President 1801 Theodore Roosevelt US President 1901 Edith Piaf Singer Christiaan Barnard Surgeon James Madison US President 1809 Katherine Hepburn Actress Answer: Michael Jackson. He has Lupus. Contact details: Dr J Joseph, MB BCh MRCP (UK), Consultant physician and rheumatologist, Aretaeion hospital, 55-57 Andreas Avraamides Str. Strovolos 2024, Nicosia, Cyprus. Tel: 22200328, Fax: 22512373, e-mail: Sponsors: Design by: M.A.D. Copyright: Dr J Joseph, 2009 Leading the way to a healthier world "This newsletter is partially supported by a sponsorship of the companies Merck Sharp & Dohme (Middle East) Ltd, Wyeth and Schering-Plough, Novartis and MSJ Jacovides Lifepharma. The content of this newsletter is the sole responsibility of its authors. The companies have not been involved in it and have not directed its content which does not necessarily reflect their position". Joints_Jan_09:UK_Layout_C 20/03/2009 10:41 Page 8 “Joints” - Rheumatology Newsletter Wax Therapy its role in the management of rheumatoid hands. Another form of heat applied to the hands of patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is melted paraffin wax baths (PWBs) heated between 42°C and 50°C. These temperatures are slightly higher than would be tolerated if the body part were placed in hot water. The physiological properties wax makes PWBs an effective way of heating superficial tissues. Research trials have reported that 3 to 4 weeks of PWBs applications were accompanied by significant improvements in hand function (range of motion, pain on nonresisted motion and grip and pinch function) in patients with RA when followed by exercise and therefore can be recommended for beneficial short-term effects on hands in RA. Application: the body part is inspected for any contraindications (lack of thermal sensitivity, open wounds, impaired circulation, acute dermatitis, devitalised skin, damaged or infected tissues) and washed. In the dip and wrap method, the part is first immersed in the warm wax. It is then withdrawn and the wax allowed to set. The procedure is repeated, normally 4 to 6 times, to develop a ‘wax glove’. The whole is then wrapped in plastic or waxed paper and an insulating layer of material such as a towel. Because the most useful effect of a PWB is relief Antonis Zacharopoulos of morning stiffness due to the gel phenomenon, it should be applied by clients in their own homes. However, applications of wax at home are cumbersome and fraught with danger, and unless the wax is heated in a double boiler, it can cause a fire. A simple, safer alternative is to apply mineral oil to the hands, wear rubber dishwashing gloves, and soak hands in hot water from the tap for 5 to 10 minutes. Your back has 256 muscles, Antonis Zacharopoulos is a private physiotherapy practitioner and former head physiotherapist of APOEL men’s football team. He specialized in the field of musculoskeletal and sports physiotherapy working in UK NHS teaching hospitals and pursued postgraduate studies at University College London where he was awarded M.Sc. in physiotherapy. 150 ligaments and 33 vertebrae, but it only takes one of them to make it ache. Nurofen to target the pain. Te l : 2 2 3 4 7 4 4 0 Winter 2008-2009 Joints - Rheumatology Newsletter Read more Read more Similar to Popular now Just for you
, Volume 45, Issue 6, pp 504–511 Is There an Emerging Age Gap in US Politics? Symposium: Domestic Reform or Social Revolution? There is evidence of a realignment among voters entering the electorate in recent years, with younger voters deviating from older voters in their ideological and partisan preferences. Younger voters today tend to be more liberal and more supportive of Democratic candidates than other age groups. Younger Americans are generally favor a more activist government, as demonstrated by their views on equality, the role of government, health care, and spending for public schools and child care. The leftward movement of younger Americans ideologically is also the result of the increasing political emphasis on cultural issues. Younger Americans as a group are less religious and less conservative on social issues than other age cohorts. They put less emphasis on traditional values and are more tolerant than other age groups on social issues such as gay rights. Older voters, on the other hand, tend to be more conservative on policy issues and less supportive of Democrats than they used to be. At the state level, the partisan polarization in the United States is even greater among younger Americans than it is for the nation as a whole. This suggests that if younger Americans follow other generations in keeping the same partisan voting patterns throughout their life, the blue states will become bluer and the red states redder. Age gap US politics Republican Democratic Further Reading 1. Almond, G., & Verba, S. 1965. The civic culture. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.Google Scholar 2. Berkman, M. B., & Plutzer, E. 2004. Gray peril or loyal support? The effects of the elderly on educational expenditures. Social Science Quarterly, 85, 1178–1192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar 3. Binstock, R. H. 2006. Older voters and the 2004 election. Gerontologist, 46, 382–384.Google Scholar 4. Button, J. 1992. A sign of generational conflict: the impact of Florida’s aging voters on local school and tax referenda. Social Science Quarterly, 73, 786–797.Google Scholar 5. Campbell, D. E. 2002. The young and the realigning. Public Opinion Quarterly, 66, 209–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar 6. Cook, E., Jelen, T., & Wilcox, C. 1993. Generational differences in attitudes toward abortion. American Political Quarterly, 21, 31–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar 7. Dalton, R. J. 2008. The good citizen: How a younger generation is reshaping American politics. Washington: CQ.Google Scholar 8. Greenberg, S. 2005. The Two Americas. New York: Thomas Dunne.Google Scholar 9. Henn, M., Weinstein, M., & Forrest, S. 2005. Uninterested youth? Young people’s attitudes toward party politics in Britain. Political Studies, 53, 556–578.Google Scholar 10. Inglehart, R. 1990. Cultural shift in advanced industrial societies. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar 11. Layman, G. 1997. Religion and political behavior in the United States. Public Opinion Quarterly, 61, 288–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar 12. Poterba, J. 1997. Demographic structure and the political economy of public education. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 16, 48–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar 13. Schatz, S. 2002. Age cohort voting effects in the breakdown of single-party rule. Journal of Aging Studies, 16, 199–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar 14. Smidt, C. 1987. Evangelicals and the 1984 election. American Politics Quarterly, 15, 419–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar 15. Street, D., & Cossman, J. S. 2006. Greatest generation or greedy geezers?: Social spending preferences and the elderly. Social Problems, 53, 75–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar Copyright information © Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2008 Authors and Affiliations 1. 1.Department of Political ScienceSeton Hall UniversitySouth OrangeUSA Personalised recommendations
No Killer Robots, says the UN. FEAR THE MACHINES! Science Fiction author Isaac Asimov invented what are known as the ‘Three Laws of Robotics’: These laws appear in place of the opening credits of the 2004 hit science fiction film, ‘I, Robot’ starring Will Smith. In the opening scene, a terrible car accident occurs. The lives of Will Smith’s character and that of a 12 year old girl are at risk of death from drowning. A robot is tasked with the decision of saving what, given the time, will only be one of their lives. The robot quickly runs a crude calculation which takes into account the productivity of the survivor and likelihood of survivability in the long turn. Based on this crude calculation, the robot saves the stronger, adult male, Will Smith, leaving the 12 year old to drown. A human, most would contend, would be more likely to take emotion into this calculation as well. A human is likely to rule that the 12 year old is “too young to die,” and would likely sacrifice the strong adult in favor of allowing the youngster a chance at a full, productive life. That is the “humane” component of an equation most people would say a robot or artificial general intelligence is incapable of learning or ever understanding. And it is with that critical, albeit flawed, assumption in mind that takes us to the UN today: Autonomous, killer robots. Or, robots which could attack targets without the overriding control of a human. Think a sentient drone without any central CIA mission control room. Today the United Nations Human Rights Council has expressed concern with the potentiality for this and has recommended the ban of “killer robots” prior to their invention. Reporting on the matter for the Human Rights Council, Christof Heyns stated: Machines lack morality and mortality, and as a result should not have life and death powers over humans Again, the critical assumption at work is that machines are fundamentally incapable of learning human emotions. However, leading experts in the field of robotics and artificial general intelligence disagree. World renowned inventor and director of engineering at Google, Ray Kurzweil states that we will see computers outsmart humans by 2029. He contends that by the time we reach what he calls ‘The Singularity’ we will have entirely sentient machines and a world where biology and technology transcend one another. His current work at Google is focused on improvements in Artificial Intelligence, mainly voice recognition. Apart of understanding human emotion is not that it is innate, but rather learned. Much in the way a child learns through interaction, experts like Kurzweil contend machines can learn this way too. But what about machines used to kill? Or what about machines used at war versus human combatants? While a valid fear, I think this scenario is used in a rather demagogic fashion. I would imagine any proponent of artificial intelligence or robotics would take issue with no fail safe mechanisms for machines of war. The problem is the media runs with these I, Robot and Terminator scenarios, because that is what we as a culture are familiar with. In this culture, people like Ray Kurzweil are made out to be unrealistic utopians without seriously addressing the many valid points he makes on the topic. We fear technology like sentient machines because the only examples we know of them are their portrayal in dystopian science fiction films and novels. There is very little, if any, cultural works on all the benefits these machines could bring to society; including in medicine, war (replacing human casualty), disaster relief and prevention etc., etc. However, man clings to what he knows because change does not come natural to him. Man fears the sentient machine because his only knowledge of them are boxed within a negative connotation, like the hypothetical machines referenced by the United Nations. The UN has unintentionally fostered and verified the right to be afraid of the sentient machine. And while Kurzweil, and his fellow futurist Michio Kaku are best selling authors, their predictions have barely emerged from the niche audience they target. Their predictions are not enough to counter-balance the fear-driven media reports of “Killer Robots.” Progress relies on change. Remaining the same is regressive thinking and fear is a primary reason for its occurrence. By all expert consensus, technology shows no signs of slowing down. It only points to speeding up, becoming a greater and greater part of our lives. The internet is the industrial revolution of our era. Sentient machines and technology will emerge from this era to create a new age in time where what was no longer is. Progress, especially technological progress, relies on change, and progress starts by accepting that change, not fearing it. 2 thoughts on “No Killer Robots, says the UN. FEAR THE MACHINES! 1. Pingback: Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Robot? « Musings from a Sarcastic New Yorker 2. Pingback: Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Robot? « Musings from a Sarcastic New Yorker Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
Castration is a surgical procedure which involves removing the testicles of a colt or stallion. Following the surgery the animal is called a “gelding”. There are a number of reasons why horses are castrated including behaviour and sterilisation. Following standing surgery, where the animal is sedated and operated on standing, there will usually be 2 open incisions in the scrotum. These are not usually stitched and are left open to allow drainage, preventing swelling and infection. Regular inspection of the surgical site should be made checking for the following: 1. Some swelling is normal following castration however excessive swelling can develop if the incisions close prematurely or are small causing further complications. 2. A small amount of bleeding is inevitable following castration but should be limited to drips. 3. Your gelding should be back to normal once the sedative or anaesthetic has worn off. Ensuring that your horses environment is clean for at least a week following castration is important. Clean bedding if stabled or at least a clean, grassy paddock with no mud or dust for a horse at pasture is required. You will be given precise post surgical recommendations but if anything appears other than described above then contact your veterinary surgeon for further advice.
Floor and Walkway Safety and Auditing SKU: C-936Duration: 40 Minutes Certificate Included Need help deciding? Compare delivery formats. Course Details Training Time: 40 minutes Compatibility: Desktop, Tablet, Phone Based on: 29 CFR 1910.22 (1996): Occupational Safety and Health Standards Languages: English Slips, trips, and falls (or STFs) are a leading cause of work-related injuries, including sprains, strains, fractures, contusions, and abrasions. STFs also account for 15% of all accidental deaths; second only to motorized vehicles as a cause of workplace fatalities. STFs also account for ~15% of workplace fatalities, second only to those related to motorized vehicles. While STFs can occur on level surfaces and at elevated heights, this course focuses only on STFs which occur on level surfaces. • Define "slips," "trips," and "falls" • Identify common causes and contributing factors for slips and trips • Describe the difference between static coefficient of friction (SCOF) and dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF) values • Describe U.S. regulations for walking surfaces at worksites • Describe the operations of common slip resistance test devices, including a pendulum tester, tribometer, variable-angle ramp, and variable incidence tribometer • Describe the five "5S" housekeeping strategies • Describe safety guidelines related to floor surface repairs, maintenance, and cleaning; footwear; building entrances; leaks and drips; spill response; worker training; and the use of signs, barricades, and lighting The following key questions are answered in this module: What is the difference between a slip and a trip? A slip is an unintentional slide caused by inadequate friction or traction, while a trip is a stumble or fall caused by a collision or incorrect step downward. Both can cause falls. Is floor and walkway safety required by law? Many governments, including the U.S., have laws and regulations related to floor and walkway safety at workplaces. What is the difference between static coefficient of friction (SCOF) and dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF)? SCOF is related to the force required to cause a still object to begin sliding, while DCOF is related to the force required to keep an object that is already in motion sliding. How can I assess the slip resistance of floors and walkways at my workplace? Several different devices are available to measure the dynamic coefficient of friction, which is the preferred measurement because it better simulates pedestrian use. What should follow a workplace floor and walkway audit or inspection? Floor and walkway audits and inspections must be followed up by traction improvements, repairs, and regular maintenance, in order to fully realize the potential safety benefits. Slips and Trips are the two leading causes of falls. These events can be defined as follows. Slips occur when there is too little friction or traction between your footwear and a walking surface resulting in an unintentional slide. Trips occur when your foot or lower leg collides with an object, or incorrectly adjusts to a step downward causing you to stumble or fall. Falls occur when a slip, trip, or other event causes you to lose your balance and rapidly descend. • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) – www.osha.gov • OSHA Final Rule - https://www.osha.gov/walking-working-surfaces/ • OSHA Regulations - https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9714 • OSHA FAQ - https://www.osha.gov/walking-working-surfaces/faq.html • Office of the Federal Register – www.federalregister.gov • Federal Register Documents - https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/11/18/2016-24557/walking-working-surfaces-and-personal-protective-equipment-fall-protection-systems Customer Q&A Ask a Question Sorry, we're missing some information How can I get your paper-making courses for free? Do you have eLearning in Portuguese? Added to Cart! Click here to view your cart.
SLS and SLES are abbreviation of the chemical specifications of two ingredients which are commonly used in industry and cosmetics. Accordingly, it is an ethoxylated sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate. Both substances are very strong detergents, where the comprehensive presence in cosmetics is dictate, among others, by low price of production. Due to its chemical structure, in a serious way they can influence on the human body. Particularly susceptible to SLS and SLES are skin that following the use of these ingredients has signs of significant dehydration, but also is observed the number of blemishes, and even structural changes. While applying preparations involving the SLS or SLES, we can observe formation of inflammatory nodules, purulent cysts, but also limiting of perspiration. Highly sensitive of using these components are intimate surroundings in which spots are more common, and the unpleasant sensation of pruritus. SLS and SLES can also cause hormonal imbalance, which especially annoyingly can manifest among women exacerbation of the menopause. Both substances, often contaminated by dioxins may also have carcinogenic properties. It is strongly forbidden to use preparations containing SLS and SLES in babies and women in pregnant. Accidental penetrate even a small amount of detergent to the nose or exposure to frequent inhalation can cause rhinitis of the upper respiratory tract. Contrary to appearances espouses the trade name of both substances, SLS and SLES are components of synthetic, generated by chemical process. Nor should we forget that the properties of both substances have a very negative impact on the structure of the hair. These synthetic ingredients damage the hair sheath causing their brittleness and splitting. For these reasons, Macrovita shampoos are free of SLS and SLES. As natural products - Macrovita shampoos truly care for hair - not charged them and do not irritate the scalp and provide hair valuable natural substances friendly to scalp and hair. • facebook • twitter • pinterest Share your comment
modernghana logo Draining huge African peatland a threat to climate: study Marlowe HOOD 11 January 2017 \| Africa Peatlands are carbon-rich ecosystems that cover three percent of Earth's land surface, but store about a third of all soil carbon. By Laudes Martial Mbon (AFP/File) Paris (AFP) - A swampy forest in central Africa the size of England covers previously unknown carbon stocks equivalent to three years' worth of global CO2 emissions, scientists revealed Wednesday. Draining these peatlands for agriculture, or reduced rainfall due to climate change, would release massive amounts of planet-warming greenhouse gases, they warned in a study published in Nature magazine. "We found 30 billion tonnes of carbon that nobody knew was there," said Simon Lewis, co-lead author of the study and a professor at the University of Leeds. "If the Congo Basin peatlands were to be destroyed, it would release billions of tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere," he told AFP. "Keeping that carbon locked up" should be a priority, he added. Most peat -- dense, dark-brown muck composed of decaying plants -- is located in Canada, Scandinavia and Siberia, but the tropics hold large stores as well. Until the mid-20th century, it was often cut into bricks, dried and burned as a fuel. More recently, however, scientists have understood that peatlands, which are at least 30 centimetres (a foot) thick, harbour vast stores of carbon in the form of the greenhouse gases that are driving global warming. The Congo Basin peatland average about 2 metres (six feet) in thickness. Most climate change in caused by burning oil, gas and coal to power our economies, but a tenth of global emissions come from land use, mainly deforestation and agriculture. In Southeast Asia -- notably in Indonesia -- vast expanses of peatland have been stripped of wetland forests and drained to make way for commercial crops, especially palm oil. That process not only releases CO2 and nitrous oxide -- another potent greenhouse gas -- into the atmosphere, it also creates health-wrecking pollution when forests are burned. Haven for gorillas Mountain gorillas are seen in the jungle at Bukima in Virunga National Park, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo The Congo Basin's Cuvette Centrale peatlands -- astride the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo -- "are currently relatively undisturbed," said Emma Stokes, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Central Africa programme. "But palm oil is starting to happen in Africa," she said by phone, referring to the possibility of peatlands being sacrificed to make the way for plantations. "It is not an immediate risk, but we can't all sit back and not worry about it," she said by phone. And while there is some concern among climate scientists that global warming many be decreasing the area's rainfall, there is not enough evidence so far to know. Simon, who discovered the massive peatlands and helped map its contours, explained how a 145,500 square kilometre (56,000 square mile) patch could escape notice for so long. To start with, the buried organic matter does not form near rivers, which are often the only transport arteries in sparsely populated tropical forests. "You have to trek deep into the swamp to find it," Simon said. "Also, you can see peat from space." But you can distinguish ground cover. So once Simon and his colleagues realised that certain vegetation only grew on top of peatlands, they used satellite images to help map the Cuvette Centrale's contours. A small portion of the peatlands -- some 4,500 square kilometres (1,750 square miles) -- is already protected as part of the Republic of Congo's Lac Tele Community Reserve. Stokes, who lives nearby, is in discussions with the government about extending its boundaries, she said. "The area is home to some of the highest densities of gorillas in the world," she said. Forest elephants -- also threatened -- and many water birds also find haven there, partly because it is so remote from human population centres, she added. quot-img-1Some are living,but are dead and some are dead,but are living. By: lamptey quot-img-1 Inter Bank Rates Currency Buying Selling U.S Dollar4.38364.3880 Pound Sterling5.64745.6544 Swiss Franc4.54664.5493 Canadian Dollar3.46613.4696 S/African Rand0.33260.3327 Australian Dollar3.46983.4757
What causes subluxations? Throughout life, falls, injuries and stress, commonly cause subluxations. Young children fall down several times a day. Vertebrae can move out of their natural alignment from contact in sports activities. Auto accidents commonly cause postural problems in the neck, called whiplash, which can lead to serious problems with nerve interference. Subluxations may lead to problems with growth and internal function including bladder control. By having subluxations corrected throughout childhood, adolescence, and then as an adult, you will have a better opportunity to be as healthy as possible.
Local Food Movement Glossary email Print Our glossary is a work in progress! We welcome any additions to help broaden our knowledge of the edible world. Click here to contact us with suggestions! 100 Mile Diet The capacity of actors in a system to manage resilience, either by moving the system toward or away from a threshold that would fundamentally alter the properties of the system, or by altering the underlying features of the stability landscape. See http://www.resalliance.org/ to learn more. Agricultural Cooperatives Agriculture cooperatives involve the pooling of resources by multiple individuals in order to accomplish a shared goal which often includes the sharing of labor, machinery, and/or land with the objective of increasing positive outcomes for all involved. Agriculture is the science of farming, which includes the cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products. It also refers to the production of crops, the raising of livestock, and farming in general. A system of aquaculture in which the waste produced the by farmed fish, or other aquatic animals, supplies nutrients for plants grown hydroponically, which in turn purify the water. Biodynamic Agriculture Based on the work of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, this method of farming is rooted in a holistic understanding of nature. It involves treating the farm and the soil as living organisms that need to be nourished and replenished, as well as used for their resources. Cage-free birds live in large houses in flocks up to several thousand. While they might never go outside, they are able to walk around, spread their wings, and lay eggs in nests. There is no regulated definition of this term. Capacity Building Enhancing the ability of individuals, organizations or communities to address their own long-term needs. Carbon Footprint A representation of the effect human activities have on the climate in terms of the total amount of greenhouse gases produced (measured in units of carbon dioxide). See www.earthlab.com to learn more. Carrying Capacity Certified Humane Certified Naturally Grown A grassroots alternative to the USDA's National Organic Program meant primarily for small farmers distributing through local channels such as farmers' markets, roadside stands, local restaurants, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs and small, local grocery stores. The standards and growing requirements are no less strict than the USDA National Organic Program rules. The primary difference between Certified Naturally Grown and the USDA Organic program is cost to farmers and paperwork requirements. Visit the Certified Naturally Grown Website to learn more. Certified Organic The USDA requires that anyone who produces, processes or handles organic agricultural products must be certified by a USDA-accredited certifier in order to sell, label or represent their products as "organic." To become certified, an organic producer, processor or handler must develop, implement and maintain an organic system plan which meets the certification requirements. A certified operation must update its organic system plan and be inspected annually. Part of sustainable agriculture prohibits the use of harmful chemical pesticides. As a practice, chemical-free farming aims to restore soil stability and fertility in target locations. Chemical-free agriculture is difficult, especially where land has already been degraded. Chicken Coop Chicken Tractor A chicken tractor (sometimes called an ark) is a movable chicken coop lacking a floor. Chicken tractors may also house other kinds of poultry. Most chicken tractors are a lightly built A-frame. It may have wheels on one or both ends to make moving it easier. Community Capacity Community Food Assessment (CFA) "A collaborative and participatory process that systematically examines a broad range of community food issues and assets, so as to inform change actions to make the community more food secure." From: What's Cooking in Your Food System: A Guide to Community Food Assessment. Community Food Security (CFS) A condition in which all community residents obtain a safe, culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet through a sustainable food system that maximizes community self-reliance, social justice, and democratic decision-making. Visit www.whyhunger.org/ to get info to learn more. Community Garden Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Research that is conducted as an equal partnership between traditionally trained experts and members of a community. In CBPR projects, the community participates fully in all aspects of the research process. CBPR projects start with the community. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) In concentrated animal feeding operations, animals are confined for more than 45 days per year. The EPA determines whether an agricultural business is a CAFO based on regulations created by the Clean Water Act, and special permits have to be given for the owners to operate a CAFO legally. Consumer Cooperatives Businesses owned and run by the customers themselves with the goal being improved service rather than improved profits. Members govern the cooperative, usually through a democratic process. Profits generated by the cooperative are returned to the members based upon their use of the cooperative's services. Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) An advanced and intensive form of hydroponics-based agriculture. Plants are grown within a controlled environment so that horticultural practices can be optimized. Corn Maze This is a maze that is cut out of a corn field. These mazes have become popular tourist attractions in North America; they are normally combined with other farm attractions of interest to families and day-trippers. Direct-to-Consumer Marketing Distribution is the act or way that farmers transport their products or livestock to customers, businesses, or other farms. DIY is an abbreviation of Do It Yourself, and means you do the work yourself rather than hire a professional or buying a pre-built object. Ecological Footprint (EF) Economic Gardening An innovative, entrepreneur-centered economic growth strategy originally developed by the city of Littleton, Colorado, that's based on the belief that small local entrepreneurial firms are the engine for the creation of sustainable wealth and new jobs. By treating economic growth like a garden, more attention is paid to the unique attributes and resources of a given community and the “complex biological and interrelated factors of building an environment conducive to entrepreneurial activity: intellectual stimulation, openness to new ideas, the support infrastructure of venture capital and universities, information and community support.” (Source: Small Business Administration article) Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) An electronic system that allows participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to authorize transfer of their government benefits from a federal account to a retailer account to pay for fresh foods. A growing number of farmers' markets are equipped with the technology to accept SNAP benefits. Entrepreneurial Ecosystem A diverse set of interdependent actors within a geographic region that influence the formation and eventual trajectory of the entire group of actors, and potentially the economy as a whole. Entrepreneurial ecosystems evolve through a set of interdependent components which interact to generate new venture creation over time. Within an ecosystem, start-ups, established businesses, research institutions and others can interact and mutually benefit from each other's ideas, knowledge and connections. Formal accumulation of knowledge and the conceptualization of previous experiences contributes to improving the virtuous cycle. Fair Trade Family Farm Farmers' Market A common facility or area where several farmers or growers gather on a regular, recurring basis to sell a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables and other locally-grown farm products directly to consumers. Certified Farmers' Markets are those provide certification the products sold there are produced by the farmers themselves. Farmland Preservation/Protection Farmstead Cheese Food Alliance Certified The Food Alliance is a nonprofit organization that certifies farms, ranches and food handlers (including packers, processors and distributors) for sustainable agricultural and business practices. These businesses use Food Alliance certification to make credible claims for social and environmental responsibility, to differentiate and add value to products, and to protect and enhance brands. Certified farmers and ranchers meet stringent standards. Food Circle A dynamic, community-based and regionally-integrated food-systems concept. In contrast to current linear production-consumption systems, the food circle is a production-consumption-recycle model. A celebration of cycles, this model mirrors all natural systems and is based on the fact that all stable biological systems function as closed cycles or circles, carefully preserving energy, nutrients, resources and the integrity of the whole. Food Desert Geographic areas that lack convenient and affordable access to a range of healthy foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and high quality sources of protein. Food Hub Food Miles The distance food travels from where it is grown or raised to where it is ultimately purchased by the consumer or end-user. Local food systems can reduce food miles and transportation costs, offering significant energy savings. Consumers also benefit from fresher, better-tasting, and more nutritious food, while more food dollars stay within rural communities. Related term: 100 Mile Diet Food Policy Councils (FPC) Food Security Access by all people at all times to affordable, nutritious, culturally appropriate food, derived from non-emergency sources and produced through sustainable practices in order to lead healthy and productive lives. (Source: Community Food Security Coalition) Food Sovereignty Food System Assessment (FSA) A food system assessment looks at the way the area being assessed grows, processes, distributes, consumes, and disposes/reuses its food. The end result can be used to identify specific ways to strengthen the links between the economic, environmental, and social aspects of the food system. Food Systems Council (FSC) A grassroots network focused on educating the public, coordinating nonprofit efforts, and influencing government, commercial, and institutional practices and policies on food systems. They help the community to explore its own food system, assess what is possible, and build programs for change. FSCs differ from food policy councils by the nature of their grassroots coallition makeup and that they do not act as official advisory bodies to governments. This term, gaining in popularity, indicates the interconnected nature of a local food system. In the same way a watershed is comprised of diverse, interdependent plant and animal species, a foodshed is made up of local and regional food producers, their customers, and the retailers (food co-ops, farmers’ markets, and independent grocers) that carry their products, creating an integrated local economy. The USDA definition of these interchangeable terms, "producers must demonstrate to the Agency that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside," applies only to poultry meat (not egg-laying hens) and suggests that the animals were raised in an unconfined environment. However, the USDA’s requirement is somewhat vague and does not include any minimum amount of time for outdoor access. “Free-range” labels on beef, pork, and eggs are not regulated. GAP Certified GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) is a series of on-farm practices designed to minimize the risk of food contamination, maintain a clear record of how food was produced, handled and stored, and ensure people buying produce that it is coming from a clean, well-managed environment. To be GAP certified farms go through a third party audit, chosen by buyers, to show proof that they have followed the necessary practices. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) GMOs are plants and animals that have had their genetic makeup altered in the laboratory to exhibit traits that are not naturally theirs. For example, tomato plants can be genetically altered so that the tomatoes will store longer. In general, genes are taken (copied) from one organism with a desired trait and transferred into the genetic code of another organism. Genetic modification is currently allowed in conventional farming in the United States. Global Food System A concept developed around the vast influences of trade, globalization, labor and market competition in the way it effects the production, distribution, pricing and consumption of food worldwide. Indicates the absence of gluten, which is composed of two proteins that naturally occur in some grains, including wheat, spelt, and rye, and products derived from these grains. The term is not regulated in the US; products are labeled gluten-free voluntarily by manufacturers to assist people with sensitivities or allergies to gluten. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Grass Farming/Grass-Based Farming Grass-based production relies on pasture or rangeland to supply the protein and energy requirements of livestock. Grazing and forage feeding replace high grain diets, close confinement and feedlot-finishing during most or all of an animal’s lifetime. The producer focuses on pasture plant and soil management, and proper stocking density and rotational grazing. Related terms: Grass-fed; Pasture-based; Pasture-raised; Pastured poultry; Free-range; Intensive grazing Grass-fed or pasture-raised livestock have had continuous access to pasture throughout their lives and have never been confined to a feedlot where movement is limited. This type of livestock typically spends about 80% or more of their lives with access to fresh forage as the primary energy source. The end product results in leaner meats compared to grain-fed livestock. An animal is considered “finished” when its natural growth has slowed enough for it to start putting on fat; this is the stage at which animals are slaughtered for meat. Grass-finished animals continue eating grass until they reach this stage, while most meat animals spend the last several months of their lives in feedlots, eating grain. Heirloom species are seeds that have been cultivated over generations. There is no official definition, but it is widely agreed that seeds are naturally pollinated, and a strict interpretation of the term requires that the species be at least fifty years old and not commercially cultivated on an industrial scale. High Tunnels Also called high hoops or hoop houses, these are temporary, covered structures that extend the growing season. They are constructed in the field with materials like translucent plastic or polyethylene fabric in order to protect crops from adverse weather (rain, wind, cool or warm temperatures) and, in some cases, pests. High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) Humane treatment of animals does not have a legal definition. However, the Certified Humane Raised and Handled program’s “Certified Humane” label indicates that the meat comes from animals that were able to engage in natural behavior, given ample space, and provided clean water and a healthy diet free of antibiotics and hormones. Growing vegetables and fruits (such as lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers) in water with nutrients washing over the roots of the plants, without the use of soil. Industrialized Food System Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Integrity Food Integrity foods are produced in ways that are consistent with community values, principles, and beliefs. This term implies a global perspective on food issues, from soil to plate; it goes beyond food safety in capturing all aspects of food production, methods of procurement, and the means of distribution. Kitchen Incubator A shared-use commercial kitchen where caterers, street cart vendors, farmers, and producers of specialty/gourmet food items can prepare their food products in a fully licensed and certified kitchen. The kitchens, often sponsored by an umbrella nonprofit organization, provide start-up businesses the opportunity to explore food production without the high cost of buying their own equipment or constructing their own building. Interactive map of incubators in the US available from CulinaryIncubator.com. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) There is no official rule about what constitutes local food, but the widely accepted idea is that local food was grown or produced within a 100-mile radius of where it’s sold and eaten. In some instances, however, food originating from within one’s region or even one’s state is considered “local,” depending on the scope of available foods and the location. Local / Community Food System A community food system, also known as a local food system, is a collaborative effort to integrate agricultural production with food distribution to enhance the economic, environmental, and social well-being of a particular place (i.e. a neighborhood, city, county or region). One of the primary assumptions underlying the sustainable diet concept is that foods are produced, processed, and distributed as locally as possible. This approach supports a food system that preserves local farmland and fosters community economic viability, requires less energy for transportation, and offers consumers the freshest foods. Related terms: Foodshed, Food Circle, Food Miles Locally Grown Food Food and other agricultural products that are produced, processed, and sold within a certain region, whether defined by distance, state border, or regional boundaries. The term is unregulated at the national level, meaning that each individual farmers' market can define and regulate the term based on its own mission and circumstances. Locally Sourced "Locally sourced" is used to describe or label food products, however, there is no agreed definition for the use of "local." Some may consider vegetables grown within 100 miles to fit the definition, while others may feel that it only includes food produced within a 10-mile radius. A locavore is a person who attempts to eat only foods grown as locally as possible. Locavores often grow their own food or buy foodstuffs grown within their region. The particular radius of what constitutes as local depends on the individual. Logic Model A logic model is a representation of how an activity (such as a project, program, or policy) is intended to produce particular results, showing logical relationships among resources invested, activities, and benefits that result as a sequence of events. Monoculture Cultivation With monoculture cultivation, land is used exclusively for the constant cultivation of a single crop—a practice that leaves soil depleted of nutrients and often requires synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and/or genetically modified crops for continued use. Natural / All-Natural This term is defined by the USDA only for meat products, which should be only minimally processed and contain no artificial ingredients or added colors. As defined, the term is broad enough to cover most meats. The label may be added to products at the meat manufacturer’s discretion—the USDA does not investigate every claim. On produce and packaged food labels, “natural” is a marketing term, suggesting that the product was created without the use of artificial ingredients. However, this term is not regulated or verified by a third-party certifier for non-meat products and is open to wide interpretation. No Antibiotics Industrial meat companies often add antibiotics to animals’ food to prevent disease caused by cramped and unsanitary conditions, a practice that is raising concern about the emergence of antibiotic-resistant illnesses in people. The USDA allows the label “no antibiotics added” or “raised without antibiotics” on meat or poultry products. However, the use of these terms is not verified by third party certifiers and is largely based on information given by the producers themselves, thus reducing the strength of such labels. The term “antibiotic free” is not defined or approved by the USDA. No Hormones Organic But Not Certified / Uncertified Organic Many farmers adhere to accepted organic practices but are not certified organic. Organic farming is an approach to agriculture where the aim is to create integrated, humane, environmentally and economically sustainable agricultural production system. They cannot label their product organic, so they use descriptive terms such as “organically grown”, “organic methods”, or “organic but not certified." By not being certified, there is no guarantee that the farmer is using the methods defined by the National Organic Program. To find out more about a farmer’s reason for not pursuing certification, ask him or her. Organic Certification (Certified Organic) Under the USDA National Organic Program, all products sold as “organic” must be certified. Certification involves a farm submitting a production plan and being inspected annually by a certifying organization. The process is very similar to quality control programs used in other industries. The organic certification process is designed to assure customers that the organic products they purchase have been produced using appropriate organic practices, with records that allow traceability. Organic Farming Pasteurized / Homogenized Pasteurization is the process of heating foods to kill pathogenic bacteria. The USDA regulates the use of this word in food labeling and in some cases may require certain foods to be pasteurized. Homogenization, when it refers to milk, is a mechanical process that breaks down the fat globules so that they are uniform in size and distributed evenly throughout the milk. Some milk is pasteurized, but not homogenized—that’s why it will have a “plug” of cream at the top. A contraction of "permanent agriculture," the word "permaculture" was coined by Australian Bill Mollison in the late 1970s. One of the many alternative agriculture systems described as sustainable, permaculture emphasizes design with thought given to the location of each element in a landscape, and the evolution of that landscape over time. The goal of permaculture is to produce an efficient, low-maintenance integration of plants, animals, people and structure, which can be applied at the scale of a home garden, all the way up to a large farm. Pesticide-Free / No Spraying Some farmers may avoid the use of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides even if they continue to use conventional approaches such as synthetic fertilizer. "No Spraying" or "Pesticide-Free" indicates that while the farm may not be organic, there are no toxic sprays applied to the produce. These claims are not verified by any outside parties. Ask the farmer if anything has been applied to the surface of the produce if this is a concern for you. The practice of taking the crops you grow or livestock raised and processing them into a new and different product. Raw Milk Cow’s milk that is not processed or pasteurized before being bottled for consumption. Sale of raw milk is illegal in many U.S. states, and cheese made from this type of milk must be aged as a safety precaution. Proponents claim that raw milk has remarkable health benefits. The ability to persist, innovate and transform into more favorable configurations in the face of change; the capacity for self-organization, to learn and adapt. Related terms: Adaptability Rural Communities Rustic Foods Seed Bank A seed bank is a type of gene bank that stores seeds as a source for planting in case seed reserves elsewhere are destroyed. The seeds stored may be food crops, and/or those of rare species to protect biodiversity. Seed Saving The practice of collecting seeds for replanting in the future. Seed saving is seen by many as an essential indigenous capacity for local and regional food systems. Seed Sovereignty The freedom to collect, re-grow, save and distribute seed, free of legal and practical restrictions, as a necessary foundation for healthy, equitable and resilient food systems. Seed sovereignty is asserted as an act of resistance and social empowerment in response to the monopolization of seeds (as well as DNA) by agrochemical firms, and regulations of seeds favoring such firms. One of the most notable proponents of seed sovereignty is Dr. Vandana Shiva, and the participatory research initiative she helped start, Navdanya. Seed Stewardship Process of saving seeds with the purpose of maintaining or improving that seed’s health and resilience. It also includes the act of saving and selecting a variety of seeds over a period of many seasons, with the end goal of passing it on to others in the future. Slow Food An international movement begun by Carlo Petrini in Italy seeking to preserve cultural cuisine, advocate for the consumption of wholesome, local foods, and to enjoy the food available within a short distance. The movement combats a global food system associated with “fast foods.” Visit the Slow Food USA website to learn more. Social Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurial approaches to organize, create, and manage ventures to address social problems and make social change. Social entrepreneurship focuses on creating social capital, but need not be incompatible with making a profit. Learn more about social entrepreneurship at Cornell Center for Transformative Action. This term has no standard definition, but it is generally used to describe food production that does not deplete nonrenewable resources (like petroleum) and is mindful of the well-being of animals, workers, the environment, and the local community. Related term: Sustainable agriculture Sustainable Agriculture Sustainable agriculture is a system that utilizes an understanding of natural processes along with the latest scientific advances to create integrated, resource-conserving farming systems. It integrates three main goals: environmental stewardship, farm profitability, and prosperous farming communities. These systems will reduce environmental degradation, are economically viable, maintain a stable rural community, and provide a productive agriculture in both the short and the long term. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) SARE is the USDA's primary means of studying and publicizing sustainable agriculture practices. Through a competitive grants program that works with teams of agencies, organizations, and farmers, more than 3000 projects have been implemented. Sustainable Cuisine Practices • Purchasing sustainably and locally grown or raised products. • Using ingredients that are seasonal and plentiful (not in danger of depletion). • Encouraging local purveyors to provide diverse products including heirloom varieties and rare breeds. • Minimizing waste by using all edible parts of a product (i.e. making stock out of scraps and bones), composting, and recycling. Sustainably Grown Sustenance is food and drink regarded as a source of both strength and nourishment. Transitioning to Organic / Transitional Farmers need to practice organic production methods for three years on a given piece of land before the products grown there can be certified as organic. Transitional means that the farmland is in this transition period, moving toward organic certification. U-Pick or pick-your-own farm is a type of farm where the customers are allowed to harvest their own produce, often paying less per pound than they would in stores. Urban Farming Urban farming is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around a village, town or city. It uses the resources of the city to help grow the food to then be sold directly to the customers living near the farm. The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), created in 1862, is the federal department that administers programs that provide services to farmers (including research and soil conservation and efforts to stabilize the farming economy). Value-Added Product A raw agricultural product that has been modified or enhanced to be a product with a higher market value and/or a longer shelf life. Examples include fruits made into pies or jams, meats made into jerky, and tomatoes and peppers made into salsa. Products labeled "vegan" do not contain any animal products, including meat, dairy, and animal byproducts. Vertical Farming Cultivating plant or animal life within a city skyscraper greenhouse or on vertically inclined services. "Vine-ripened" or "tree-ripened" is a term applied to fruit or vegetables that have ripened on the vine or tree and were then picked when ripe. They often taste better because their flavor and sugars have developed naturally but they can be delicate to the touch and too fragile to ship. Alternatively, fruits shipped long distances may be picked while still unripe, and later treated with ethylene gas to "ripen" and soften them prior to being sold. A vineyard is a plantation of grapevines, especially one producing grapes for winemaking. but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture Wild / Foraged Items gathered growing wild in fields or woods. Can include ramps (wild leeks), dandelion greens, morel and puffball mushrooms, fiddlehead greens, wild asparagus, strawberries, blueberries and a variety of nuts. A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine. Larger wineries may feature wine making equipment, warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of tanks known as tank farms. Did You Know?
Friday, December 11, 2009 Building A Story – ACT I: The Basics, The Mechanics I was chatting with a colleague and close friend of mine just the other day, and we were discussing the best method of utilizing random pieces of a story that pop into your head, on a whim. She had mentioned that she had an idea for a character, but couldn’t decide how to wrap a story around him, or place him within a story. This is common. You’ll have a stroke of genius, a moment of clarity, a trial and tribulation when it comes to gathering all the ingredients for a new project. You’ll need personalities, themes, missions, problems, entertainment, and thought provoking emotions. So, where do you start when it comes to crafting? The Story Arc A Story Arc is the skeleton of any story—written or filmed. It lives in three acts, and dictates the flow of every story. Tried and true, it will ensure that you take all the right roads on your writing journey-- granted that you have some prior understanding of writing. Once you discover and study the story arc, creating a story will be easier than you ever imagined. There are two main functions in the first act; the setup, and the inciting incident. While the inciting incident will straddle and mark the line of Act I & Act II, the set up/hook must be presented first and foremost. Let’s use one of my favorite films, The Station Agent, as an example, (I know, I know—most of you probably haven’t seen it. You should, it’s terrific.) Alongside showing us the set up, Act I will also introduce us to all main characters—usually. I’ll get to that. For the most part, we will become acquainted with our protagonist; we’ll learn their: - Goal/ desire - Recall an earlier post where I explained the protagonist’s Inner & Outer Motives? Outer Motivation= (Physical Achievement/Goal) = PLOT -> This must be a tangible goal, and will be resolved by the protag’s success or failure of attaining said goal. Inner Motivation= (Why they’re pursuing that particular goal)=THEME ->The protag’s inner need will govern this and it, in turn, will govern the way the protag views him/herself and others. - Need/Flaw – The need/flaw of a character is directly associated with the inner motivation, in that it is subconscious; in the beginning of your story, the protagonist may not recognize this flaw, so throughout the course of the story—while they pursue the goal/achievement (the outer motivation—they will be tried and tested and put into situations that challenge their world view. Coming full circle at the climax, they will recognize and repair this flaw. (We’ll mention this more when we discuss the CHARACTER ARC.) In The Station Agent, the story begins by introducing us to Finbar, a man of no more than 4' 5". He works in shop that sells model trains. His coworker (and only friend) Henry is the only person he has any human contact with because he’s self conscious of his petite stature. However, Henry dies, leaving to Finbar, by will, an abandoned train station. Being that Finbar is such a miserable little man and has no personal ties, friends, family, or roots of any kind, he packs up and leaves, heading out to this station in hopes of being a hermit and never having to deal with another human being, ever again. This is the set up for The Station Agent. It introduces us to the main character, allows us to see the core of his “problem” and situation in his daily life. We come to know him as somewhat hermit-like and emotionally cold from living a life where he’s never been accepted—except, of course, by his friend who dies. What luck! Sounds like me. Anyway, there are two other essential elements at work here, though they’re fairly elusive and difficult to distinctly identify-- unless you have prior knowledge of their existence-- they are vital elements and must be present in any set-up. Based on the need/flaw of the story, your protag will, subsequently, have what is known as a Clear World View. In The Station Agent, Finbar views the world as cold and uncaring, and he believes no one will ever accept him. In turn, he has adopted a similar policy and refuses to “let anyone in”. This is also second element that is at work in the set up. More specifically put; you must express to your reader/viewer the wound that has led to the need/flaw. This is pretty self explanatory, and in my own round-about way, I’ve already covered this, so no need for reiterating. Once you’ve laid the foundation of your story in Act I, you’ll be ready to tackle your Inciting Incident. We’ll tackle that in the next installment, Building A Story – ACT II: The Basics, The Mechanics. Monday, November 30, 2009 Rewriting What Needs To Be Rewritten If you’ve just begun your immeasurable expedition into the world of penning novels or screenplays, you may find the concept of a rewrite to be the most ominous and elusive task at hand. Some may even feel them quite unnecessary. Whether you’re dedicated to keeping your original prose because it’s “so amazing”/your “best work ever”/ “better than most crap out there, these days, anyway” OR you simply just don’t understand how to do it effectively, trust in this advice; a good writer with potential for longevity will, inevitably, come to understand and perfect the art of rewriting. If you’ve created a million and one pieces of work and still don’t feel that rewrites are ever necessary, then something may be very wrong with your perspective as a writer. Rewrites are tremendously necessary. Why Do I Have To Rewrite What I’ve already written? I’ve listened to standpoints on this topic from many writers, new and seasoned, and I’ve heard it all—including my own complaints. Let’s put some reasons down, in a nice list-format, hm? -“I feel like I shouldn’t disturb my original creative vision. By rewriting it, I would injure that fragile creature that is my first take on the subject and topic of my prose.” -“I’ve rewritten everything I had because I wasn’t sure what needed to be rewritten, and now I have a Frankenstein’s monster and my original story is completely gone.” -“I wrote the story I the first time around. It’s how I wanted it and I’m not changing it. It’s perfect, as is.” All in all, these are usually the core three reasons that so many writers use to avoid the rewriting process. Each one illustrates a different mindset as to why they won’t be doing their rewrites, or why they can’t. The first reason is based on the idea that whatever came out onto the paper in the very beginning is a magical creature whose feelings would be hurt if you asked it to change in order to make the relationship work. Listen up kiddies, it may feel like a unicorn and it may have long silky hair like a unicorn, but the truth is, you can’t bring that sucker in the house until it’s had a bath. In case that’s too cryptic for you, what I’m getting at is that, during the first draft writing, you’re going to be writing all over the place—you’ve got this huge story, in flotsam and jetsam format, floating around the murky seawaters of your brain. Selecting each piece and putting it together in the most pristine order is a near impossible feat, but if you don’t get all of it, at least, fished out and onto the paper, then it will sink to the bottom and be gone forever. So, you slop out every idea you’ve got. This is my definition of a rough draft. It’s every idea that you have, in beta version, and though it may not be the most coherent, it is what lays the foundation for a good, sturdy piece of work. The second quote is what you’ll get from someone who ultimately just doesn’t understand and needs a bit of assistance before they can even feel comfortable disturbing that sacred rough draft temple. Because they have been encouraged by more seasoned writers to tackle the task at hand, they jump in, gung-ho, like a nineteen year old boot camp grad leaps off the ship and begins blindly storming the beaches of.. erm.. Normandy. They don’t have a clue what they’re doing, they just know that someone put a pen/gun in their hand and told them to “Shoot! Shoot! SHOOT!” So, they start takin’ some pot shots. All militia related metaphors aside, what happens within this process is that they will continue to move pieces of the story around, chop things that may have played a highly important role in the structure, insert things that don’t even make sense and ruin everything they’ve done. Last but not least, if the third quote is your final answer then you’re either, A.) Tarantino-- and I applaud you or B.) you need to stop claiming to be a writer altogether. You show me a first draft script (or manuscript) that is perfect, flawless and impervious to bullets and I will show you a writer who lied about how many times they rewrote it. Seriously, I don’t believe it’s possible to make a once over and be done with it. I’m sorry; I just don’t think it’s possible. (Prove me wrong? ;) So of our three contestants, who’s got that longevity I mentioned? I’m going to say that number two—the confused one—has the best chance of making it. In fact, I think we might have all started out doing this. With my first “serious” script, I chopped, hacked, butchered, mutilated, and plot-holed until the thing was completely unreadable. It’s called practice when you butcher something that you worked so hard on, in the name of ‘bettering’ it. YOU LEARN. You learn to let go of ideas that you once felt were impossible to leave behind. You learn to pay close attention to what changes you do make and you learn that if you don’t do some more research, you’ll never get the swing of things. So while this procedure will immunize and retrain the new writer, if he or she has true determination and the desire to learn and become better, he or she will set out in search of learning tools for their next battle with the great beast rewrite. Ok Wiseguy, Tell Me How To Rewrite, Then. Not to sound like I’m attempting to evade this request but, in all honesty, it’s not something I can just tell you how to do. It’s one of those things you have to learn, and once you learn it, it’s strangely difficult to teach another. It’s almost as if it’s an intuitive or instinctual quality, rather than a learned skill. As I’ve just stated, however, a writer with good potential will seek out advice, information, hints and clues. They’ll apply them, they’ll use what works and throw out what doesn’t. That’s all I, or anyone else, can offer—learning tools. My first piece of advice is one given to me by a great filmmaker and dear friend, “Don’t marry your ideas”. This piece of advice changed my (writing) life for the better. It means that, no matter what you’ve written and how incredible you think it is, it can be changed, and changed for the better. You have to learn to trust yourself and trust your writing, your creativity and your potential. You have to be able to make those executive decisions and choose what is best for the story, overall. Quick story. I wrote a scene, once, that I felt to be one of the greatest scenes I’ve ever written. I took great care to handcraft this, bit by bit, as if I were fashioning a gift for The Cosmic CEO himself. It was intense, it was dramatic, it had so much of the vital emotion and a personality that I felt my characters needed. I could see it unfolding before my eyes on the silver screen as the audiences swooned, cried, laughed and understood. I just knew that it would never need to be changed, rewritten or touched. I had a feeling of magnified pride and accomplishment that I had never felt before. Then my script writing program ate that scene and I never saw it again. My heart was broken. I didn’t feel like I could go on. This piece of work that I had so loved and cherished was gone. Gone. Forever. Thank God! When I started over on the script from that point, that gush of emotions opened up ideals and feelings in me that allowed me to pull something much darker and more intense onto the page. Because of the pain I felt from the loss, I was able to find a, previously, hidden doorway to the route of my story, thus strengthening the mechanics and entertainment value of my story. This doorway was one of the first that led me to creating, what I now consider, one of the best screenplays I’ve written to date. Had that not happened, I’m not sure which direction I would have went with the story, but I feel like it would have been one, awry. Precisely, that story is a bit off the subject of rewriting, but the result is the same. The result of taking away, (or in my case-- losing), a chunk of the story that may be slowing the pace, weakening the infrastructure or averting the main story arc always proves beneficial as you will quickly recover and create something far better. The moral of the story is that you must not fear the change that a rewrite will bring. Where’s My Step-By-Step Checklist To Rewriting? You may find one of those on the internet, somewhere, but you won’t find it here. What you will find is a collection of new entries aimed at the focal point of story writing. When you think you’re ready to delve a little deeper, we’ll get started. Upcoming Articles: Building A Story - Act I: The Basics, The Mechanics Building A Story - Act II:(Title Pending) Building A Story - Act III:(Title Pending) Writing A Scene Vol 1: Who Said What? Tuesday, October 27, 2009 A Better, Bitter Return Here is my attempt at returning from the craziest hiatus that you can possibly imagine. I hope that you’ll accept me back and find some benefit from my experience as a writer. My experience as a writer; let’s talk about that. Several months ago, I met a woman who claimed to be a development executive. She claimed to be a formidable opponent for any of the greats, capable of taking a rough Tarantino script and making the real movie magic happen. She was surely something special, right? I had given advice to a fellow writer, based on his clunky script sample, and had critiqued his script just as I would anyone else’s’, even my own. He’d waited for weeks for some feedback, for someone to take the time to read his rough ‘first ten’, someone who was willing to help him work out the bugs and smooth things over. No one had offered to take the time, so I stepped up to the plate. I could see every mistake and I knew what was causing the breakdown in his story. I took the script apart, piece by piece, and explained to him what didn’t work, why it didn’t work, and how to solve the problem. He seemed satisfied with my help, and I welcomed him to it any time he needed assistance. Enter stage right; the lady who knew it all, the development executive. “You don’t know as much and you think you know.” She says to me. “You’re giving him bad advice.” The bad advice? He had wastefully built a wall of text, describing the color and paint texture of a house in which a character resided. I had advised him to shorten this, condense it to its essence and keep a rhythmatic flow, so that it still sounded like a story when rolled off the tongue, yet kept him from going overboard on the ‘too long, too clunky’ edge. This wonderfully wise lady was so quick and eager to tell me that I was giving him such poor advice, that it seemed I wouldn’t be able to come back at her quick enough with explanations. At one point, I wondered if she was even listening to what I was saying; recognizing it, thinking about it. She convinced the lad that I was wrong because she started spitting out her “qualifications” in a rapid-fire hard ass manner. I, respectfully, digressed from the situation. What’s the point of arguing someone who’s bat shit crazy, right? Several conversations with the bat lady took place thereafter, all of which proved nothing to me as far as her position in the film industry. In turn, I became curious with a spits worth of suspicion. To the Google cave! Searching her name brought no validation, as anything involving her was merely a personal profile that she, herself, had made at any given writer’s forum/community. The last nail in her coffin was when I didn’t find any listing for her on because, if she was truthful in what she was claiming to be, she should have been listed and sharing a meet-and-greet photo or two with legends like Coppola and Scorsese. So let me warn all of you new writers and even some of you seasoned writers; be prepared to butt heads from time to time with a pretentious poser who’s hell-bent on proving their worth over yours. Be prepared to take a verbal beat-down from a scorned screenwriter wannabe who couldn’t cut it in the business so they lurk around writing forums in search of weak prey to devour and spit out in order to gain their “jollies”. They are out there and they will try to convince you that they’re bigger and higher on the food chain. And to you, bat shit crazy lady, if you’re out there in cyberspace reading my final words to you; stop what you’re doing. You’re lying, you’re misrepresenting yourself and you’re (more than likely) stealing money off of poor, desperate writers who have naively come to the wrong doorstep in search of a guiding light in this big, crazy, competitive world. While too few out there are willing to front you out and growl back, I am not. I will defend these young writers who wear their heart and pencil on their sleeve. I will stand up for them and tell you that what you’re doing is NOT fair. Call me tactless, call me uncouth, call me whatever you want for fronting you out via a blog. The truth is that I don’t care because I’ve been where all of these new writers have been and I remember just how hard it was. I will defend them if no one else will. To my readers, I truly apologize for the animosity, but I’m vicious when it comes to defending my beliefs and righting a wrong. There is no shame in fighting for what you believe in. Friday, April 3, 2009 What does a new writer want to know most about screenwriting? I'm currently researching for material to use on my next series of blogs, and I've decided that the best advice would come directly from those who are new to, yet passionate about, screenwriting and are in need of guidance from experienced writers. Time for crowd participation! So, when you're searching the net for valuable information, or reading an article or blog for assistance, what would you like to see more of, what would you like to learn in more depth and what information on screenwriting can you simply not find anywhere but desperately need to know? When I was a young whippersnapper like yourselves, I was mostly interested in the technical aspect; what's the format? Why do we format? How do we format? The story structure and mechanics had been pounded into my brain during Kentucky's Writing Portfolio program for elementary schools, statewide, and I had a tough little teacher who really pushed me past the limit EVERY DAY to get that story polished and refined. I owe my writing knowlege and success to her for that very reason. Now I'm asking you, my young grasshopper readers, to let me know just exactly what you'd like to have some insight and assistance on. Tell me all of your problems and anything (ANYTHING!) about screenwriting that you don't understand or feel that you could understand better. And-- do not tell yourself that your question isn't good enough or serious enough. Yes, if you have a question, then it is a good question because if you don't understand something, you need answers and explanations. So c'mon folks, give me some ideas for blog material! Let me know what you need to know! Post your questions here in the comments on THIS blog entry or, if you don't want anyone to see/read your question, email it to me at Make sure you put something about the blog in the subject line-- I get way too much junk mail and I might accidentally look over it. I won't post any names or tell who asked what, unless you want me to, but I will go above and beyond to explore all possible reasoning to answer your question. I vow no black and white answers, no simple yes and no responses, but rather a deeply explorative explanation that will erase all confusion from your overwhelmed mind. Afterall, that's why I started this blog! Now get those questions coming! And don't worry about expiration dates, if one year from now, you have a question, send it to me! Wednesday, February 18, 2009 Writing For The Action Genre & How To Avoid "Directing From The Page" One of the most tedious jobs for a writer of the screen persuasion is knowing their vision well enough to express it clearly on a page. Sometimes you have a 'cool idea' and want to slop it out, but it comes out clunky with bad formatting and a bit of copyright infringement on the last Die Hard flick. Well that's just not ok. From my perspective, as a writer from the drama genre, the action genre seems to be the lexicon of 'tough' screenwriting. It's not a genre that a first time screenwriter will do well in, normally. Why? Let me extrapolate. You have to know all of your formatting rules and techniques, COLD. You have to be ablsolutely educated on every in and out of the craft. Action, or good action, or even an action screenplay that would sell to the industry, must be high concept, it must be unique, it must be interesting. You've gotta know your stuff to pull it off. A first time writer doesn't have the experience under their belt to support such a feat. And should a first timer start off on an action flick, you're nearly pre-destined to create a hot mess. From the first script you write until the second, third, tenth, or twentieth-- you're learning! You learn the whole way, even if you're not trying to learn. And the more you learn, the more you'll find to correct in that first action screenplay you've written. Soon, you'll be chunking and chopping, replacing, renaming, digging plot holes and forcing inconsistencies. You'll rearrange your scenes and you'll revamp your style. This all equals a hot mess. So how, you ask, can GopherGrrrL prevent you from making this newb mistake? Well, I can't. I can't keep you from trying the action genre on your first go-round with a script. And maybe I shouldn't anyway because, afterall, if you have potential to become a good screenwriter, you'll realize some time in the process of writing and re-writing this script that its not worth saving. You'll shelve what you have and start on something new and fresh with your new-found knowledge. That's just how it works. I did it myself in the beginning. I can however give you some pointers, some food for thought, if you're going to try an action screenplay. In action films over the past one hundred years, we've seen car chases, hostage situations, bank heists, ninja fights, alien invasions and so much more. The biggest lesson that a screenwriter can learn is that there will be many people working together to create this film, and therefore, (as I always tell you) know your role as writer! 1. Don't choreograph a fight on paper. 2. Don't over indulge the damages to a car in a car chase. 3. Don't describe the villian to us as if we were reading about him/her in a novel. Know your vision, tell your story, but keep it concise. Leave some room for others to interpret. That's what makes a film amazing-- so many personalities and perspectives coming together to create one vision. Its the ultimate melting pot. So while I could give you a hundred examples here on the page, I'll leave this lesson up to you, the screenwriter, to learn. Let's get into a few more tidbits that will keep you on track as you proceed down that winding road of action genre writing, hm? Camera Direction What Is Camera Direction? Here it comes, I'm going to say it-- Industry writers can do it, but spec writers (you and me) CAN'T. Directors can do it. Spec writers can't. Camera direction indicates camera movement, camera focus, and camera angles. Example time! Below are two examples, one correct and one incorrect. The incorrect of the two is a good example of how a new writer may think that the scene should look on film, however they do not know that this decision is no longer up to them once that script passes from their hands into the director's hands... Unless of course the director really wants input from the writer. That could happen. example 1: Gretchen, in her gymnastics leotard, tumbles rapidly across the gymnast mat. Camera pans quickly along side her as she tumbles. She lands a perfect backflip and is statuesque in her poise as her fellow gymnasts cheer. The camera closes in tight on her proud smirk. The camera pulls back to reveal Gretchen in her cheerleading uniform in front of a large crowd at a football game. She soars through her routine, effortlessly. example 2: Example 1 utilizes the fatal first timer mistake "directing from the page". You're a story teller, Mr. or Ms. Screenwriter. You aren't here to make the calls on where the camera goes or what it does once this baby goes into production. No ifs, and, or buts about it. Those few lines are breaking down the flow of your story. Let me put it this way. You're reading a novel. Its a gripping tale of suspense and terror, its a dark rainy night and you're enthralled with this book as you read by flashlight light from beneath the covers of your thousand count thread blanket. You read the following paragraph: "Lucy's hands quivered as she pulled the lever on the mausoleum door. She could only imagine that Quinn's mother had been buried alive, but she couldn't fathom the possibility of the body being reanimated by Voodoo priestess Marie Laveaux. As she pulled back the heavy door, the screech of the aged hinges rang loud and lonesome. (Writers' Note: Hi, My name is Ted. I wrote this novel, remember? I'm on the back sleeve. Flip over and look at my picture real quick. Ok, so anyway, at this point of the story I want you to imagine that there are bats and spiders and shit flocking out the door of the tomb. Oh yeah, and a huge cloud coverage comes over. And, if you want, you can imagine some zombies sneaking up on Lucy from behind because its actually going to happen within the next paragraph. Ok, keep reading. Sincerely, Ted.) Lucy peers into the tomb and sees a herd of mad zombies rushing towards her. She screams." Ok... what just happened there? Would you read that novel for any other reason than that of which you would stare at a train wreck? (Human curiousity, I mean.) No! You wouldn't. In fact, its rude of the writer to leave you little notes along the way. Ruins the story! So, don't do that with your script, because everytime you get too wordy or try to direct from the page, this is what experienced screenplay readers will experience. Pain! Now, that was a tangent, but it was a good way for me to breakdown what I was talking about and beat it into your heads so that you'll remember this the next time you start to type somthing about where the camera pans to. Back to the examples; you'll notice in the second example (which is also the correct example) that I stopped sooner than the first example did. There's a formatting issue involved here, and that's why I did this, so that I could properly format it and show how you connect two scenes through one action. This is one 'loop hole technique', as I like to call it, that can allow you as the writer to sneak in a 'you have no choice, mr. director' direction. Take the movie Shaun Of The Dead, for example. If you're familiar with the film then you'll remember the scene where Shaun writes several goals on the marker board on his refrigerator and then falls asleep in the chair across from it, waking up the next morning. This was an exellent segway because it, 1.)went well with the themed pace that the movie so delightfully kept grasp of throughout and 2.) elapsed time in a clever way. So how do you write this in your screenplay, without breaking any rules and without 'directing from the page'? Simple, you don't give the director a choice. Let's use the example from above. She lands a perfect backflip and is statuesque in her poise as her fellow gymnasts cheer. She SMIRKS proudly. Standing proudly with her signature smirk, Gretchen, in her cheerleading uniform, faces the large crowd of fans at the football game. She soars through her routine, effortlessly. So now you've given continuation to the first scene, using a somewhat reversed psychology on your director to make him/her think that they should carry 'the smirk' over onto the next scene. You've just made a direction decision from the page without breaking any rules. Remember though; use your powers for good, not evil, and don't abuse such a clever technique. Only use this if you truly feel that this is necessary. So, you're a little bit wiser just from reading this.. I hope. Use this advice to further your writing career. Keep studying, keep learning, keep researching and most of all, JUST KEEP WRITING! You'll learn as you go. A great way to learn about and get the feel for a script is to read as many as possible, so be sure to check out sites like Simply Scripts or Script-O-Rama. If you need some tech support, come visit me and my friends over at Absolute Write's Water Cooler, and then on to the Screenwriting Boards! Screenwriting: Formatting Pt. 2 - Scene Headings I've got my favorite stripey java cup, full to the brim with boiling hot brown energy, and my ten foot tall stack of notebooks, and I am ready to school you on some Scene Heading must-know tips! What is a Scene Heading and when do I use them? A Scene Heading, or slugline as they are sometimes called, is a required element for each and every scene in a screenplay. In a properly formatted script, a new Scene Heading is used each and every time there is a shift in TIME, LOCATION or both. Many new writers will misuse and abuse the Scene Heading; using incorrect formatting, insufficient or irrelevant information with the heading, or completely neglecting to use them at all. Its highly important that a screenwriter grasps the ideals and importance of the scene heading; not only are they a vital part of the story, but they are critical pieces of information for the production crew who plans the filming process of a script. They're nearly more technical than they are creative. A scene heading consists of THREE things: 1. INT. or EXT. (Interior/ Exterior) Interior shots will be planned for indoor environments, while exterior are planned for outdoor environments. The location is... you guessed it!.. where the scene takes place. Normally, something as vague as NIGHT or DAY is acceptable here. However, this can differ from situation to situation, and can be more specific. The format of a scene heading is a.) all caps, all the time, b.) normal spacing, separate with dash(-), so your properly formatted scene heading should look something like this: So now let's write a few scene headings using the above formula. Where am I? More specifically? **The above example utilizes a SUB LOCATION, but we'll get to that. These are simple and easy, once you get the hang of it. Scene Headings: Variations As there always are 'some exceptions to the rule', the scene heading is no different. You'll see variations from time to time, ranging from minor formatting differences to specific time designations, or Sub Locations, as mentioned above. The most important differences that you'll need to learn about are that of the specific time stamps, time stamp variations, and sub locations. Sub Locations Quickly put; this is just a continuation of the location, and is sometimes necessary to clarify the location. If you were at home, on the phone to a friend and they asked you "Where are you at?" you might say "I'm at my house", as opposed to being at Wal-Mart or Hooters or something. If it was understood that you were at home, then when they ask, you might clarify by saying "I'm in my bedroom" or "I'm in the kitchen". This is the basic principal behind Sub Location usage. You're simply clarifying where, at a location, the character in the scene is. It is necessary that you employ sub locations at some point, but luckily it is very simple to understand and master. Time Stamp Variations We've all scene a movie where the scenes change but the environment stays the same. As mentioned above, this is technically a new scene because the TIME changed (Remember; shift in time, location or both merits a new scene heading!). So, how do you format it? With Time Stamp Variations, of course! Sometimes rather than using DAY or NIGHT, we will use "LATER", "MOMENTS LATER" or "CONTINUOUS". From a technical aspect, these are necessary because they imply that sets pieces and costumes, among other things, will need to be intact based on the last shooting session/previous scene. It gives a continuation to the previous scene, linking them together on a technical basis. Though they are a part of your story, they, like so many other elements of a screenplay, are more technical than they are creative. The differences that set them apart, though minor, should be understood and you should always use them accordingly. CONTINUOUS is used to link together two technically separate scenes which are happening continuous but require location change. LATER links together two scenes which are separated by a breif time elapse. MOMENTS LATER links together two scenes which have an even shorter time elapse. Here are some examples: Jane and Steven walk, hand in hand, towards Steven's car. Jane straps on her seatbelt and smiles, lovingly, at Steven. I love this car, Steven. I'm so glad you didn't sell it. Example of LATER Steven's car pulls up to the curb, stopping. Jane exits the passenger side door. Steven drives away. Jane enters the front door of her house, hangs up her coat and keys and places her purse on a nearby desk. Specific Time Stamps These occur when the actual time element in a story is involved and necessary to the plot or events occurring. Here is an example: Mr. Gevedon looks at his watch, anxious. What time is it? Mr. Gevedon Two fifty two. The bomb is set for three pm! That means we only have eight minutes! Mr. Gevedon I know, dammit! We have to think of something, fast! Though you won't usually need to employ such a specific time stamp, in some instances it will be necessary. Keep your scene headings short and clear! New writers will often assume that scene headings need in-depth description and detail, thus causing a scene heading to be lengthy and improperly formatted. A scene heading should never take more than one line, and does not need to be greatly detailed in order to be affective. Be sure to keep your scene headings breif and be sure to use them properly, because this is the first tip-off to an agency or production company reader that the writer is either inexperienced or knows their stuff! I hope you learned something new today and will prosper from that new-found knowledge! Until next time, keep reading and learning and above all, KEEP WRITING! Tuesday, February 17, 2009 Screenwriting: Formatting Pt. 2 - Scene Action And... ACTION! Scene Action, that is! Welcome to the second installment of "Formatting Pt. 2". Guess what we're covering today? If you guessed Scene Action, you are correct-a-mundo! Scene Action is that oh-so-necessary block of text that fills in the gaps between sluglines and dialogue, describing the events that occur on screen, which characters will be involved, and often mention an important prop or set piece. Too much scene action can make your script clunky and disturb the flow, where as not enough may leave your reader confused and uninterested. Knowing what is necessary to mention and how to mention it is key, and that's what we're discussing in this installment. Before we move on, I'm going to assume that you've read the previous lessons and have come to understand them. I'm going to assume that you know the basic techniques, structure and rules and we're going to move beyond that. So that I won't sound like I'm beating a dead horse, I won't bother to mention that you shouldn't use scene action to 'direct from the page'. You should have heard me quarrel enough, by now, seeing as how you've read the previous entries. Onward we go. Three basic things that you should know about when writing Scene Action are: 1. Scene Action is (but is not limited to) where you will introduce characters. I say 'not limited to' because, in some instances, you can use the first piece of dialogue for a newly introduced character to extenuate the aspirations, motivations, persona or afflictions of the character. SPIKE, scowling and dirty from the long haul across the desert on his Harley motorcycle saunters into the truck stop. Who needs a fuckin' Hilton when you've gotsouthern hospitality right here by the interstate? Yes, I used some profanity, but sometimes it is necessary to express a rough and rugged character. Nevermind, that-- its all for the sake of art. The important part, rather, is that what the character intro didn't cover, his very first statement did. It gives us the feel that this fellow, Spike, is a 'wind in my hair' free spirit kind of guy. He'd prefer a down-to-earth and possibly roach infested truck stop over a swanky hotel resort. (Also, you'll noticed that his name is CAPPED. I'll get to that in sub-lesson A.) 2. Scene Action should be used to mention important props/set pieces that will effect some portion of your storyline. Laura smiles sweetly at the old lady next to her on the park bench, and then glances at the girthy exposed WALLET bulging from the old lady's purse. Hey look over there, it's a penguin! The old lady looks away long enough for Laura to snatch the thick wallet and bolt away. Notice that we're only mentioning the lady's purse because it is important to what happens in this portion of the scene. Had Laura been interested in hearing a long and educational story from the old lady, we wouldn't have had to mention that the old lady was even carrying a purse. Had Laura not interacted at all with the old lady, but only stopped for a rest on the bench, we may have only breifly mentioned the old lady, if at all. It's all determined by which direction the story is going in, and based on that, the writer must determine how much detail is enough and how much is too much. 3. Scene Action is where you will express a specific date, should you want it presented on screen, perhaps in subtext. Some films will specify to their viewers, on screen, that a scene happened in a particular location, or at a particular time. This will be presented in subtext on the screen. As for formatting this, there are a variety of ways. I usually use something like this: RUSSIA, The year 2052 Gustav is laying, face down on a filthy matress. He snores. Gun fire in the distance wakes him. Its good to use this technique for two reasons; 1.) It doesn't dictate what the director HAS to do, therefore I am not directing from the page. Should the director have a clever way of expressing this, he can, (for example, maybe showing a hand-made calendar on the wall). If not, then he/she may opt for the good old fashioned on screen text. Either way, the information is there for the reader/viewer and it is concise. Scene Action: To Cap or Not To Cap? Many new writers become bumfuzzled and confused when the capitalization within Scene Action technique must be employed. So, here are the basics for determining what to cap and what not to cap. 1. As mentioned above, S.A. will be the place for mentioning important props. In a previous example above with Laura and the old lady, you saw that "WALLET" was capitalized. This is because it is an important prop in the scene. You will always capitalize an important prop, set piece or even a sound, (like SMASH! or BANG!). Sometimes scripts will also have important actions capped. (Ex: "The police cruiser SLIDES across the icey highway, careening off an embankment.") 2. Character names will be capped ONE TIME throughout a script, and that is the very first time that you introduce/mention that character. At any other point in the script, the character name will need to be in normal sentence format. Well congrats, fellow writers! You've survived another of my intense screenwriting lessons and you are the wiser for it! So, keep writing, keep studying and keep on keeping on. Educate yourself on the craft and know your formatting! Remember to read all the scripts for all of your favorite films at sites like Simply Scripts and Script-O-Rama!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 For Successful Conception The Sperm should be capable of the following capacities to be able to fertilize the egg. It should be capable of rapid movement towards the egg. It should be capable of piercing the egg and fusing with its nucleus. Your semen analysis will reveal whether the sperm is capable of rapid motility Hamaster test would reveal if it can pierce the egg. Sperm Count There are different opinions about the number of sperms that should be normally present in the semen. According to the World Health Organisation, the count in every ejaculate should be around 50 million per milliliter of semen. Among them about 50 percent should be capable of motility and 60 percent should have normal morphology or appearance. It is enough if there are about 20 million sperms in about 1 ml of semen. Among them 5=10 million should be capable of motility. This is enough to bring about fertilization. Till about 25 years ago, 100 million per ml was thought to be required. The changing scenario of chemical pollution and lifestyles, the count is reduced to half. Low output of Semen The quantity of semen is very important for reproduction to occur. Semen output less than 1 ml is highly insufficient since it cannot even reach the uterine cervix. The female reproductive system has acid secretions. These are meant to kill any invading microorganisms. When the semen output is low, it will not to be enough to neutralize the acid secretions resulting in the death of all sperms. Many who come here have only limited understanding of this and we make it a point to inform them here. Repeated antibiotic therapy could only reduce the fructose content to half. Excess semen secretion was brought to normal. We can use the semen for artificial insemination, which brought about successful conception. Excess Semen secretion: If the volume of the semen you are expelling is more than 3.5 ml, the number of sperms would be less. Because they get lysed in the fluid. In about 90% of males the first ejaculate will have more of sperms. Get it out through masturbation. We can use it for artificial insemination.
8 Best Foods For Your Health By Miks Brauns Some researchers are investigating which foods contain the most natural chemicals. Why are those chemicals important? Well, it’s simple – they help you prevent many diseases. That includes heart diseases, diabetes and even cancer. Sounds great, doesn’t it? So lets reveal the list of the “8 best foods for your health”. Tomatoes: If you want to consume as much vitamin C as possible then you should eat them raw but even when cooked they still contain substances very useful for your health. Eating cooked tomatoes minimizes the possibility that you will get one of the cancers of the digestive tract. Spinach: There is a lot of iron in spinach, which is great, but even more important is that spinach contains folate – a vitamin that can prevent your blood vessels from being irritated. There are also some very useful phytochemicals to be found in spinach, such as lutein and zeaxanthi. Those two phytochemicals fight off macular degeneration (a medical that results in a loss of vision) Garlic: To preserve the valuable substances that garlic contains you shouldn’t cook it, better just smash it and eat it raw. Eating garlic helps you to fight against bacterial and fungal infections. The sulfides in garlic protect the heart and reduce cholesterol. Nuts: They contain some very valuable fats and that makes them much better than fast food. Nuts make the level of good cholesterol go up and the level of bad cholesterol go down no to mention that in nuts there is also a lot of vitamin E which can help fighting against cancer and heart diseases. Salmon: Omega-3 fatty acids are the best thing that salmon has. Just like nuts, salmon also drives down bad cholesterol as well as triglycerides. It reduces the possibility that the thrombocytes in your blood will stick to the arterial walls. That Omega-3 fat also helps you to avoid diseases like lupus, arthritis and even Alzheimer’s disease. Red wine: We all know that wine is made from grapes and skins of those grapes contain polyphenols which raises the level of good cholesterol. They also doesn’t allow your organism to produce the kind of peptides that leads to the hardening of the arteries. Still, you must be careful and consume red wine in reasonable doses because an extensive use of it can facilitate a variety of diseases. Broccoli: Not everybody loves this vegetable but it sure is good for your health. It contains a lot of beta-carotene, fiber and vitamin C. Phytochemicals in broccoli can save you from getting different kind of cancers, such as breast, colon and stomach cancers. Oats: Not to mention that oats are good for people with weight problems, they can also help lower the level of cholesterol and blood pressure. Tocotrienols (a rare kind of antioxidants) are also a reason for you to include more oats in your daily menu. Mike is a 20 year old student and he loves to write articles about health and fitness but you can also check out his latest website about Long tractor parts Leave a Reply
War and the Constitution The second basic point that we should clarify in order to think straight about criminal justice à la Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft concerns "unlawful combatants" -- the term that Tribe uses to explain the category of people that can be tried by simplified procedures for "violation of the laws of war." This phrase, "unlawful combatant," appears all over the place as though it could be the talisman that saves Bush's tribunals. The Supreme Court first used the term in 1942 in Ex parte Quirin to solve a particular problem that arose when eight German spies landed in civilian clothes on the beaches of Long Island. The FBI arrested them before they executed any of their planned acts of sabotage. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was resolved to prosecute them for something, and it turned out that there was a suitable law on the books -- a provision of the U.S. Code prohibiting spying in wartime near or around American military installations. That statute required trial by either court-martial or military tribunal and imposed an automatic penalty of death. Roosevelt quickly established the military tribunal that the statute authorized, but the constitutional dilemma remained. To see it, we have to concentrate on one horn at a time. The first problem was that these spies were members of the German army. We were at war with Germany and therefore the eight captives were arguably just like soldiers who might have crossed the Canadian border in tanks. And if they were combatants, then by the rules of international law we were not entitled to try them for acts committed in the pursuit of legitimate aims of war. As Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone wrote for the Supreme Court in Quirin: "Lawful combatants are subject [only] to capture and detention as prisoners of war by opposing military forces." The reason for this rule lies in the general understanding that a soldier is simply a servant of the state. He does not do anything in his own name. He cannot be held personally liable for the ravages of war. Now, admittedly, there are various ways around the rule. One is to deny that the military engagement is a war and call it instead some kind of police action. But the danger of trying too hard to deny the combatant status of those engaged in military battle is that we then encounter the second horn of the dilemma: If these are merely criminals who have committed crimes against the United States, they must be tried in a federal district court. That is the holding in the 1866 decision Milligan. In fact, it seems to be the tack taken by Harvard University law professor Anne-Marie Slaughter, who argued against Bush's tribunals in The New York Times, saying that al-Qaeda members fighting in Afghanistan are really just "common criminals" and shouldn't be dignified with the status of combatants. Here, then, was the quandary faced by the Supreme Court in 1942: Either the eight German spies were combatants or they had to be tried in federal district court -- with full procedural protections -- for their apparent conspiracy to commit sabotage. To find a way out of this predicament, the Court invented the category of "unlawful combatant." Eureka! The spies fell conveniently between the stools of international law (no trial for combatants) and the rule in Milligan (an obligatory trial in available civilian courts); thus, they could be tried in Roosevelt's tribunal. The soldiers were "unlawful" because they wore civilian clothes when they slipped behind enemy lines to spy. They did not deserve to be treated as combatants exempt from prosecution because by virtue of their deception they had not run the risk that all combatants run, namely of being shot when they cross into enemy territory. But if there is one idea that those now commenting on Bush's proposed tribunals systematically distort, this is it. They use the word "unlawful" as if it were the equivalent of "violating the laws of war." Recall Tribe's line: "In wartime, 'due process of law'...permits trying unlawful combatants for violation of the laws of war." His logic seems to be that any soldier who commits a war crime would be an unlawful combatant and subject to trial by military tribunal. Alberto Gonzales, the chief White House counsel, betrayed the same root mistake when he addressed the American Bar Association in late November. He tried to demonstrate the limited scope of the tribunals by saying that the administration was only after "enemy soldiers." Then someone reminded him that enemy soldiers are protected by the Geneva Conventions and cannot be prosecuted at all. He corrected himself by saying that tribunals were after "unlawful combatants." He, too, seems to believe that the category of "unlawful combatant" is so broad that it includes anyone the administration might want to prosecute in a special tribunal -- anyone who has done something unlawful and is a combatant. But that is not the meaning of the Quirin precedent. Much of the confusion arises from the failure to recognize that there are two bodies of law -- both called "the law of war." To understand the difference between them, we have to think ourselves back into the period before the Nuremberg trials, before the Japanese war-crime trials, when the law of war was not primarily about crimes; it was about how you conducted yourself as someone embedded in a chain of command and therefore qualified for the immunity from prosecution promised to combatants. It meant, among other things, that you had to wear a uniform, fight with your company, and cease fighting when the army surrendered. During World War II, the "law of war" came to refer primarily to war crimes that violated basic principles of morality and decency. But when the Quirin case was decided, that transformation had not yet become apparent. There was nothing immoral -- by contemporary standards -- about the Germans spying in the United States. The Americans would surely have done the same thing in enemy territory (and probably did if they were smart). Perhaps there was something duplicitous about crossing enemy lines in civilian clothes, but one could hardly imagine bringing a case to The Hague on those grounds. Quirin did not incorporate the universal standards of morality that we now associate with the principles of the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of July 1998 proposing an International Criminal Court. The key case in the transition to the modern law of war was the 1946 appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court by the Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita. A military tribunal in the Philippines, established by the postwar commander of the islands, Lieutenant General Wilhelm Styer, had charged Yamashita for allowing his troops to go on a rampage and commit atrocities against local civilians. The military tribunal had invented a new war crime that amounted, in effect, to a commander's negligent supervision of his troops, and the Supreme Court affirmed that it could do so. Thus was born the idea of a war crime under the law of war. If President Bush had a precedent on his side of the argument, it would be Yamashita v. Styer. According to this case, he surely has the power to use tribunals to prosecute war crimes (in the modern sense) that -- like the atrocities in the Philippines -- occur entirely outside the jurisdiction of the United States courts. Anyone who looks into the Yamashita case, however, will find that it stands together with Korematsu v. United States, the 1944 decision upholding the military internment of American Japanese, as one of the disgraceful episodes of World War II jurisprudence. Among other things, the Yamashita decision violated the Geneva Convention of 1929, which provides that prisoners of war may be convicted and sentenced "only by the same courts and according to the same procedure as in the case of persons belonging to the armed forces of the detaining Power." In other words, General Yamashita and every foreigner suspected of a war crime should have received the same procedural protection as was available in an American court-martial. (Thus, under the Geneva Conventions, Bush's executive order mandating military tribunals is unacceptable because it permits, among other things, a death sentence based on a two-thirds vote, while an American court-martial requires a unanimous vote.) The weakness of the Supreme Court's reasoning in Yamashita is exposed in stinging dissents by Justices Frank Murphy and Wiley Rutledge. It is not surprising, then, that in the current discussion no one invokes the precedent of Yamashita. But even if those who argue for the president's tribunals wanted to invoke the case, they would have to contend with the fact that General Yamashita was not subject to prosecution in the federal courts for acts committed in the Philippines against the local population. The implication of the Yamashita case is that Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters who are taken prisoner could be prosecuted by military tribunals (or more properly by American courts-martial) but only for war crimes committed in Afghanistan. As for suspects who allegedly participated in a conspiracy to commit the crimes of September 11, they are liable for a crime on American soil and are therefore subject to prosecution in the federal courts. In the end, Yamashita -- whether it is still good law or not -- does not help the president's case, for the precedent is limited to cases beyond the competence of the American civilian courts. To return, however, to the two different meanings of the law of war, what we've seen since World War II is a remarkable shift in emphasis from the law of war as a set of rules about fair fighting to the law of war crimes as a set of norms about decent behavior toward civilians and prisoners of war. And those who argue in favor of the president's tribunals typically confound the two. Because military tribunals do have jurisdiction over unlawful combatants, as the Quirin decision established, proponents claim that military tribunals can prosecute war crimes, or violations of the law of war in the modern sense. For example, in his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Cass Sunstein cited Quirin as though it were sufficient in itself to establish the constitutionality of Bush's tribunals. Here is how Ruth Wedgwood, a Yale University law professor, defended the president's order in The Wall Street Journal: "Military courts are the traditional venue for enforcing violations of the law of war." The statement is true if she is talking about Quirin-type violations of the law but grossly misleading if the focus is on war crimes in the modern sense. There is no tradition or constitutional authority legitimating trial by a military tribunal when the crime is subject to prosecution under American law and the appropriate American courts are open and functioning. And ever since the postwar period, anyone suspected of a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions against American nationals is, by law, subject to prosecution in a federal district court. One of the more disconcerting aspects of Tribe's testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee is that he preached congressional approval as a way of remedying the defects in the Bush executive order. It never occurred to him, apparently, that Congress has no clear constitutional basis for adding to the very limited categories of crimes committed under American law that can be prosecuted in military tribunals. In fact, the Bill of Rights guarantees a civilian court trial to anyone accused of crimes in violation of federal statutes, with only two historically entrenched exceptions. One is court-martial jurisdiction over the U.S. armed forces and the other is the limited case of spying upheld in the Quirin case. (Yamashita does not count here because it attaches to crimes committed outside the jurisdiction of American courts.) The narrow exception for court-martial jurisdiction is made explicit in the Fifth Amendment ("except in cases arising in the land or naval forces"), and the Supreme Court justified the narrow exception for the spying statute on the ground that military tribunals for spying functioned before the nation's founding and therefore were "grandfathered" into the Constitution. Contrary to Sunstein's testimony, there is no general exception recognized in American law for war crimes committed against civilians. In fact, since World War II, all war crimes committed by U.S. troops or against American nationals have been federal offenses subject to the jurisdiction of the federal courts. Nor can you make the Quirin argument that jurisdiction over these crimes antedates the Constitution, for there were no war crimes (in the post-Nuremberg sense) at the time and there was certainly no war crime based on attacks against the civilian population. Also, it is worth noting that in the language of the spying statute--which provides the only congressionally authorized military tribunal to date--Congress took pains to bring the crime within the framework of court-martial jurisdiction. The offense is described in the statute as "lurking as a spy" in or around a military facility. This falls within the penumbra of court-martial jurisdiction over military bases. The arguments concerning congressional authority do not satisfy. And if there is a good argument for the president's having inherent authority to establish the tribunals, I have yet to hear it. Ruth Wedgwood made a stunningly inaccurate claim in The Wall Street Journal that the president has implied power as commander in chief to set up military tribunals. She said this principle is "acknowledged by Chief Justice Stone in a 1942 opinion." The opinion she was referring to is--once again--the Quirin case, and here is what the chief justice actually wrote: "It is unnecessary for present purposes to determine to what extent the President as Commander in Chief has constitutional power to create military commissions without the support of Congressional legislation." Who knows what she could have been thinking. Wedgwood also claimed that Congress has already "agreed" to the president's power to invoke military tribunals. This, too, is false. The most Congress has ever done is recognize the possible existence of military tribunals. For instance, a provision of the 1950 Universal Code of Military Justice recognizes the authority of the executive branch to prescribe rules of evidence for military courts, including existing and authorized military tribunals. But that law does not grant the president authority to convene tribunals, and it specifies no criteria as to when a tribunal should hear a case that would otherwise go to the regular civilian courts. The fact is that the president has no apparent authority to convene military tribunals for the crimes of September 11. Of course, we do not know the circumstances in which the Defense Department will try to invoke this power to sentence supposed international terrorists to death. When it does, though, we can be sure that there will be litigation; and if the Supreme Court reads its own cases faithfully, it will uphold the rule in Ex parte Milligan and strike down the conviction of anyone who should have been tried in federal court. In the meantime, the very existence of the executive order of November 13 is creating an international scandal. European countries refuse to extradite suspects to us on the ground that they can be sentenced to death in summary proceedings. And an argument is in the offing that the very threat of capital punishment against "enemy soldiers," the phrase that Alberto Gonzales let slip, can constitute a war crime by the United States. According to the Rome Statute, it is a crime for one army to declare that "no quarter will be given" to the other side. Enemy soldiers, in other words, have the right to surrender without being harmed. Yet if we threaten them with the death penalty by summary proceedings, we are in effect depriving them of their right to a safe surrender and thus declaring that "no quarter will be given." The irony is that the administration has ably pursued its war aims. In this area of demonstrating respect for the Constitution and international law, however, it has failed miserably. Perhaps that is because the Bush team has been uncertain whether they are fighting a war or trying to arrest those who financed and organized the attacks of September 11. They cannot quite decide whether this was a collective crime of al-Qaeda and the Taliban, in which case war is the proper response, or the individual crime of Osama bin Laden and other as yet unidentified individuals, in which case a criminal prosecution is the correct action. The military tribunals offer a halfway-house approach that they may see as prosecuting the war while also bringing the bad guys to justice. Sooner or later, however, despite the failure of our "liberal" law professors, the truth will win out: The prosecution of suspects for crimes committed on American soil must--if the charges were not prosecuted in tribunals at the time of the Constitution--come before the federal courts. Neither the president nor Congress has the authority to suspend that constitutional guarantee.
What does rachischisis mean? Definitions for rachischisis Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word rachischisis. Princeton's WordNet 1. spina bifida, rachischisis, schistorrhachis(noun) 1. Rachischisis Rachischisis is a developmental birth defect involving the neural tube. This anomaly occurs in utero, when the posterior neuropore of the neural tube fails to close by the 27th intrauterine day. As a consequence the vertebrae overlying the open portion of the spinal cord do not fully form and remain unfused and open, leaving the spinal cord exposed. Patients with rachischisis have motor and sensory deficits, chronic infections, and disturbances in bladder function. This defect often occurs with anencephaly. 1. Chaldean Numerology The numerical value of rachischisis in Chaldean Numerology is: 4 2. Pythagorean Numerology The numerical value of rachischisis in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8 Images & Illustrations of rachischisis Translations for rachischisis From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary Get even more translations for rachischisis » Find a translation for the rachischisis definition in other languages: Select another language: Discuss these rachischisis definitions with the community: Word of the Day Please enter your email address: Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography: "rachischisis." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2017. Web. 18 Aug. 2017. <http://www.definitions.net/definition/rachischisis>. Are we missing a good definition for rachischisis? Don't keep it to yourself... Nearby & related entries: Alternative searches for rachischisis: Thanks for your vote! We truly appreciate your support.
Fragmentation slows your computer down. Disk fragmentation isn't as complicated as it may sound. Fragmentation is just another way of saying randomly scattered. You're probably not used to fragmented information in the real world, but it would be similar to keeping different chapters of a book in different places in the library, and you'd have to use the index to find all of them and put the book together in the right order so you could read it. Let me present you with a slightly different metaphor that may help explain why file systems get fragmented. Imagine a very long bulletin board. Assume this bulletin board is 11in. high — the height of standard US letter — and hundreds of feet long (you may imagine it to be in a really long hallway). Now imagine that there's a printout of an empty spreadsheet pinned at the very beginning, and a sharp pencil with a nice eraser hanging from a string right next to it. Long blank cork board with spreadsheet at beginning and pencil hanging from string. Because the spreadsheet is blank you can put pieces of paper anywhere on the board. Let's say you wanted to add a three-page story to the bulletin board. You could put it anywhere on the wall, but for convenience you put the pages all in a row right after the spreadsheet. Then all you have to do is add a line in the spreadsheet that says there is a story that spans the first through the third piece of paper on the board (the spreadsheet doesn't count). Long bulletin board with spreadsheet followed by three pieces of paper. Now another person comes along and wants to put up a flier for a band. They can put it anywhere on the board other than the first three page lengths. They decide to put it right after your story and add a line to the spreadsheet saying that it's occupying space 4. long cork board with spreadsheet with two entries, three sheets of paper after that and a band flier. You just had a great idea and decided that you'd like to add another page to your story! Unfortunately there's no room left behind your original post. You've got three options. 1. Take off all of your pages and put them up, with the additional page, after the other person's flier, and change the spreadsheet. 2. Move the person's flier, change the spreadsheet, add your additional page, and update the spreadsheet once more. 3. Put your new page up after the other person's flier and add a new line to the spreadsheet that says your original story is continued at place 5. long bulletin board with spreadsheet, three pieces of paper, band flier, one more sheet of paper. Hard drives take the third option. Why do they do this? Because it's faster. What if your original story was a three hundred page novel, and instead of a flier someone put up all the pages of War and Peace after your novel? Now relocating all those pages would take a long time. Instead, it's easier to simply add your new pages wherever you can fit them and make note of it on the spreadsheet. At this point your story is now fragmented because it's posted to multiple places on the bulletin board. Pretend that the rest of the board gets filled up. You decide that you don't want your story up anymore so you decide to erase it. Instead of taking down all your pages you can simply erase their entry from the spreadsheet and other people can just put things up over your story. First and third entries from the previous spreadsheet have been removed. Hard drives work the same way, which is why files can be recovered even after you've "erased" them. Writing zeros over your file on a hard drive would do the same thing as removing your pages from the board in this example; it takes a while but makes the file relatively unrecoverable. Now imagine you want to put up a two-page notice. Because you just erased your story you can put it up at the first two places. That leaves places 3 and 6-x open. If someone wants to post a large document they might have to put it in three or more different places scattered about the board. Notice added in first two places. Starting to get the picture? Because it's easier to write to wherever there's free space instead of shifting files around, hard drives will scatter data about the disk. The more files are expanded/contracted and removed, the more that fragmentation occurs. You've probably already guessed the downside. If you wanted to read a long story from the bulletin board you may have to go to several different places and keep referring to the spreadsheet at the beginning to find where to read next. The same thing happens with hard drives, which is why read times are greatly increased on fragmented hard drives. fragmentationdefragmentation3Defragmenting, at its most basic level, serves to simply make all the documents on the bulletin board consecutive. There are other types of fragmentation that can be resolved, but that's beyond the scope of this explanation. If you could only rearrange the board by taking individual pages and moving them to unused places to shift things around and make everything contiguous, it would probably take you a very long time. The same thing is true for hard drives. And just as if you had a much longer bulletin board, a much larger hard drive takes considerably longer to defragment. That raises the question of whether or not it's worth it to defragment, and if so, how often. I attempted to answer that question for the Apple formatting scheme—HFS+—in a previous article. I took the "roboficiency" both before and after defragmenting, then compared it to the amount of time it took to defragment and calculated how much computer use it would take to make up for it. I found that defragmenting my hard drive at that time increased my overall computer speed by 11.52% and took about 2.5hr. I calculated that after using my computer for 22 hours I would save the 2.5 hours worth of time by running 11.52% faster. What that didn't take into account was the fact that while you're using your computer for 22 hours, your hard drive is getting re-fragmented and hence reducing your roboficiency. That's why I recently did a study to find the fragmentation rate of an HFS+ hard drive. I recorded the amount of fragmentation on my hard drive, then defragmented it with a tool called iDefrag. Then for a month I held the shift key after login to prevent any applications from starting and used a tool called XBench—which I've previously shown to be the most accurate OS X benchmarker—to measure my computer and hard drive speed. I would then use iDefrag to measure the amount of fragmentation on the disk. What I found was that my hard drive fragmentation increased at a rate of fragments=.212x²+3.5427x+34.357 where "x" is measured in days. It's important to note that I wasn't using my computer for anything highly intensive at the time. I pretty much only wrote papers, surfed the internet, talked online and did basic web programming. I didn't install any software, I didn't download tons of files, I didn't do desktop programming, I didn't crack any encryption, I didn't run virtualization software, and I didn't edit a movie or a song. All of those actions require much more reading and writing from the hard drive and are likely to cause lots of fragmentation. Another important note is that I partitioned the hard drive I was doing this on. One of the main reasons I did that is because partitioning your hard drive separates fragmentation. In this particular configuration—which isn't exactly ideal—I have my operating system and applications on one partition and all of my files on another. That way my file storage partition doesn't get fragmented by all the files that are constantly being read and written by my operating system. For this test I found that the fragmentation rate for my storage partition was only fragments=-.0392x²+1.9741x-1.0912. Surprisingly there seemed to be no correlation whatsoever between hard drive fragmentation and overall computer speed. While the initial defragmentation did speed up my computer by 7%, after only four days my computer was running slower than when I started! For the rest of the month my computer speed randomly increased and decreased while my fragmentation steadily rose by the rate above. • Fragmentation is not highly related to computer speed on HFS+ volumes. • The fragmentation rate on a system partition is y=.212x²+3.5427x+34.357 for light use. • The fragmentation rate on a storage partition is y=-.0392x²+1.9741x-1.0912 for light use. It is possible that other maintenance software—like unix cron scripts—were responsible for the random fluctuations in my system speed. It is also important to remember that HFS+ drives do some automatic defragmentation for files less than 20MB.
Happy Independence Day from the Harmar Bald Eagles! Images courtesy-thank you 7/4/16 – Happy Independence Day from the Harmar Bald Eagles! Harmar eaglet celebrates Freedom on 7/4/16 Harmar eaglet celebrates Freedom on 7/4/16 As I think about freedom, the Harmar eaglets are on the verge of experiencing freedom like most of us will never have the chance to experience! Soon the eaglets will fledge and be free to roam the country (and Canada and Northern Mexico, no passport required). And did you know that our Bald eagles are free in a way wildlife in other countries are not? In America we subscribe to North American Model of Wildlife Conservation; the concepts that contribute to this model include: 1. Wildlife is a public trust: no one person owns wildlife, rather it is held in trust for everyone, including future generations (legal foundation lies in the Public Trust Doctrine of 1842). 2. Market hunting is eliminated: market hunting led to drastic declines and extinctions of wildlife and was eliminated entirely-with the exception of the highly regulated fur trade (legal foundation was the Lacey Act of 1900, later augmented by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973). 3. Allocation of wildlife is by law: this means everyone has equal access to wildlife and equal say in laws regarding wildlife (it was founded in early colonial laws that protected livestock and later set a hunting season on white-tailed deer after dramatic declines in their numbers). 4. Wildlife can only be killed for legitimate purpose: George Grinnell essentially wrote the code on sportsmanship, including hunting is done for the pursuit and affords a fair chance for the game, the sportsman should seek knowledge about the animal, not profit from the killing, cause no unnecessary pain or suffering, and not waste the game that is killed. 5. Wildlife is an international resource: understanding that wildlife crosses national borders and that protections need to be multi-national to work, the founding law was the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 6. Science is the tool to discharge policy: once widespread wildlife declines and extinctions occurred early conservationists, like Teddy Roosevelt, Aldo Leopold, Gifford Pinchot, George Grinnell, and others all realized the importance of sound scientific research as the basis for wildlife management and conservation. Currently there is a push to greater educate the public about how science works, as well as the animals and ecosystems that support them, and to greater engage them in the decision-making process. 7. Democracy of hunting/egalitarianism: all of us should have the same access and opportunities to wildlife and hunting. Teddy Roosevelt and Aldo Leopold were staunch supporters of the idea that all of us should have access to wilderness and hunting, even though this concept brings together two groups who seem fundamentally opposed: hunters and conservationists. These leaders recognized that hunters and conservationists actually had the same goal: sustaining wildlife. While this model does warrant improvement, it has been widely regarded as one of the most effective models of wildlife conservation. While these concepts are not unique to America (Canada’s laws are very similar), it represented a drastic change from the way things were being done previously. Remember the scene from Robin Hood, where the boy is caught killing one of the Sheriff’s deer, a crime punishable by death? That was not some fantasy story, it is based on the concept that wildlife belongs to the owner of the property on which it is found. So, if the boy did cross onto the Sheriff’s land and kill the deer, he did essentially steal the deer from the Sheriff, however, if the boy had waited for the deer to walk across the boundary onto his own property, then the deer would belong to him, to do with as he pleases. Thus, the poor are excluded, because they are not property owners. So, this Independence Day, as you celebrate your freedom, keep in mind the freedoms we allow our wildlife too! If you would like more information about this policy, download this Technical Review by The Wildlife Society and The Boone and Crockett Club. While the eaglets are still confined, they have expanded their world to include the near branches and far reaches of the nest itself. They head over the rim of the nest to hang out and to flap, they take their food at the edge of the nest too! And as the eaglets have been spending more time a bit farther from the nest, Bill from PixController once again pulled the cam back a bit for us to see more of the happenings. You see that happen in this video of wingercising. Harmar eaglet celebrates Fish on 7/4/16 Harmar eaglet celebrates Fish on 7/4/16 So celebrate the freedoms that wildlife enjoy, and Happy Independence Day from the Harmar Bald Eagles! One thought on “Happy Independence Day from the Harmar Bald Eagles! Leave a Reply WordPress.com Logo Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
The Orky Authority Everyone has probably heard of Orcs. They are the classic bad guy race and inspired countless writers to make other green-skinned-races. Like the Greenskins. See the connection? Anyway, a lot of writers do this. It is up there with Giant Spider Attack and Heroic Charge. Mostly, Orcs are just evil fighters. Not really anything to them. But have you ever wondered where the creature comes from? Like a lot of Tolkien’s creatures, they are original folkloric creatures that he solidified into a race. Obviously, a lot of their appearance is generally derived from goblins and hobgoblins (more on them later), but those are both types of orcs. Or just other names for orcs, it’s hard to tell. The name ‘orc’ is actually found in mythology too. It is connected with ogres. The root for these two creatures is actually the god Orcus, a god of the Underworld. Thus, Orcus is connected to demons and hell.dough.png This gives orcs a bit of a different flavor, doesn’t it? So an orc is a bit like a demon when they get into Beowulf. Beowulf has the word Orc in the form Orcneas, which C.S. Lewis uses in Narnia. In the context, Orcneas are mentioned as one of the four evil races descended from Cain. The others are eotenas, gigantes, and ylfe. Orcneas is usually translated walking corpses or demon corpses. Eotenas are usually translated Trolls or Ogres. I think they should be translated Ettins, two headed giants. Gigantes are Giants. Ylve are probably elves. Because of all this, I think Orcs should be in the same category as ogres, and be undead. Those green skinned warriors can be replaced with pigmen and goblins, as those two are often other names for Orcs. Orcs have always had monsters. That’s part of why it’s so fun to watch them fight. You know that at some point these giant Monsters are gonna come in pushing like a Catapult or Battering Ram. So, let’s go to Tolkien and find our Classic orc monsters. Wargs. Also called Wolves. They sometimes go crashing around in packs, but a lot of the time the General or the scouts will be riding them. They have their own language, and are pretty cool. Trolls. Taking it up a level. These guys are basically Shock Troopers. If the battle is going bad, bring in the trolls. One reason these are so popular is because they are funny. You can have them doing Elmo talk: “Oood no like Bad Fang”, and they argue amongst themselves. Thus, they aren’t very smart. Balrogs: technically these are not orc monsters, and the orcs are scared to death of them. Balrogs are ancient demons and live in caves, so they are the perfect excuse for a scary chase with arrows whizzing right past your ear. Stone Giants: these guys are pretty typical. Giants made out of stone that throw rocks at each other, and a similar thing is in Narnia. These guys are part of the Wild Nature of Midgard. It isn’t really explained where they come from in his published writings, but in early stuff he said they had been bred by Melkor along with Ogres (orcs?), wicked dwarves (Svartl?) and monsters (cool). Watcher in the Water: unknown. Presumably a trap set by the dwarves, maybe a Creature From the Depths of Time and one who walked the Mysterious Roads Underground. (like the Non-Canonical gremlins and centipede heads?) Goblins: Really Orcs. True LOTR scholars know this, but it really doesn’t matter. Anyway, they are a special race of orcs, smaller and more mischievous. They are very popular in Tolkien Fandom, and are one of the most classic enemies. The Boss of that level is the Goblin King, a fallen Maiar (like balrogs) Fell Beasts: Not Pterodactyls, not dragons. They are evil creatures used by the Nazgul and are a type of Wraith. Fell Beasts is actually not their name, but they are described thus. Beware the people who think the wraiths are called Nazgul, for they are horribly mistaken. which are actually not dinosaurs Those are the traditional orc beasts. Then we have the Hobbit movie creatures. In the Battle of the Five Armies, they kind of messed up. They changed the theme of the book into Orcs, when it should be The Adventures of a Little Homesick Hobbit. But, there are a lot of good Creatures fighting around. Guldur Orcs, orc that lived out in the ruins of Dul Guldur.ha Gundabad Orcs! Gundabad Bats! (always with the bats, fantasy writers?)ha3 Goblin mercenaries.ha4 Ogres, those skinny guys that everyone thought were trolls!ha5 Trolls.trollha spare3 Oglug Hais, trolls that can survive easily under the sunlight and have spiky armor. Ninja Trolls. noo And Were-Worms, a subspecies of Wyrms, which totally remind me of those Moon Worms in Clone Wars, and Southern Jungle Trolls.ha spare2 Other Evil Monsters in Arda are Werewolves.i love lotr video games Vampires.ha spare Great Beasts.why don t you marry it Cave face Snow trolls.hannah means's face is so ugly I threw up when i saw it. Oliphants.hannah is wierd Uruk-Kai, half human. yo mom Morranon orcs, those really ugly (but really big, so don’t tell them I said that) orcs in the Pellenor fields. Morgul Orcs are smaller orcs, so Sam and Frodo wear their armor when sneaking through Mordor. bob the freindly fellowSnaga were slave orcs.Snagas Gongs were a group of flying orcs. In the poetry Tolkien mentions several spirits like Spectres and the ancient Nameless things. He also mentions good spirits, like Badger Folk, white cows, Sprites, Dryads, Sylphs, and Fell Turtles.han 2 Lastly, Hobgoblins were bigger orcs from the Wilderlands. han 1 Goblins are spirits from folklore. They were generally evil, and tended to live in places like old abandoned towers. They are similar to the Kabold, the Imp, and even house fey like Brownies. Although their more house fey type brethren are hobgoblins. The name Hob comes from the word for fireplace, a nice place to sit with your family on cold nights. Hobgoblins in Lord of the Rings are just big orcs, probably another name for Uruks. But in mythology hobgoblins were often kind and helpful. As you know from the fey authority, Hob creatures are pretty common, and are all house creatures. Goblins in LOTR are just smaller orcs, cruel and technological. Following this in more modern fantasy, goblins are small and evil, crashing around in packs and building machines that break a lot. studio c, please make more videos Some recent twists on goblins are Merchants: they go around with wagons and are very good at handling money, like Gringotts goblins. High goblins: these are taller goblins with flowing long hair, living in the forest. highish goblins Crazy Flood of goblins: a plague invented by an evil wizard. These go crashing through the land as a group intelligence. They eat until they pass out, then they explode into ten more, which go and do the same. You can call these Gnoblars.this is a really cute but bad situation Kol’ksu are water goblins.bogle4 Hogboons are really friendly and helpful goblins. Kalikanzaros are goblins that only cause mischief on Christmas. Bogey, or Bogeymen, are really cool guys made out of boogies. In Warhammer there are Squigs. Squigs are big guys that look like this and come in many varieties. They are pets, warbeasts, artillery, and sometimes ammunition. zeke is a fatso fatso Snotlings are little guys, very cute, who are mischievous. zeke is a fatso fatso 2 Savage Orcs are very dumb animal-like orcs. say whaaat Zoats are awesome creatures. They are not working with greenskins, but they are so cool I just had to include them. yo mama so... heavy set... of the five fattest people I know she's three of them Well, that was brief right? For more read this link. Or for fun read this link. These people are just not too detailed in Lord of the Rings. They have green or brownish skin, depending on the species, they often fight each other, they are enslaved by Sauron. Other than that, their background and life cycle aren’t really addressed. This is partly so they are easier to kill. Uruks, or Black Orcs, or Hobgoblins, are dug out of the ground. Orks, in Warhammer, are living and sentient Fungi, thus detailing this. owza my humble freindly guys The rest of the Orcs types seem to have women and children, but we never see them. This is probably because they tend to stay out of the way during the war, so maybe they are still living out in Green-ville out in Wilderland. blue person is really purple Oh yeah, there are cool parts where two orcs will have a conversation showing you their distrust of Sauron, or just talking about how funny it is when Shelob eats people. However, these are between two leaders usually. Also, all this probably would have been fleshed out more if Tolkien had a better idea of the Orcs origins. His original origin theory, found in his unpublished works and the old version of Arda, was that they were made out of slime and forged by Morgoth in the heat and depths of the earth. This carried over to how Uruks were born. Cut the riddles man! just say people died here! He abandoned this because only Eru can create new beings. Thus orcs would have to be a copy of something. Thus, the published idea is they were elves, bred into Orcs by Morgoth. He apparently disliked this idea, however, because he made other theories and actually was going to make a new edition with one of them. elfs an elves Another is that Orcs were animals who attained sentience, thus only saying what Sauron puts in their heads. This he thought was dumb because they sometimes complain, and they were still talking when Sauron was banished into the Void. The idea carried over to the origin of Trolls. this is my sister = maha maha we adore... hiram ? So, Tolkien decided that a lot of Orcs were fallen Maiar, kind of like Balrogs. The Goblin King, for instance. Also, the name Boldog appears quite a lot in stories, it may actually be a species of creatures. Lesser then Balrogs, but better than Orcs. yo mama so... actually nevermind They may have also been corrupted men, or corrupted men mixed with corrupted elves, or Boldogs mixed with corrupted elves. This is what I think would be a cool way to do Orcs in a setting. Pigmen are the grunt workers. variant: zombie pigman. Ogre: Ogres are big and tough. Taking the place of Tolkienesque trolls, because “Ogres” is more related to the word “orc” then the word Troll is. Orcs: Zombie Ogres! Orkys: crusty, evil, and cowardly little creatures. Goblins and Hobgoblins: Related to these creatures, except goblins kept more of the ancient customs. Hobgoblins are more civilized goblins. Give your thoughts in the comments below! Adios Amigos! See you next time on… ICA! Oh yeah, be sure to read Mimi’s newest story on Mimi’s Corner! People on Facebook, there should be a link to come here to the actual bloge. Er… the real spelling is Blog but it’s kind of cool to say Bloge. Also read THIS STUFF Published by I like to draw comics, blog (duh) and be in plays. 7 thoughts on “The Orky Authority” 1. Idley sat the Orky by Waiting for his 🎃 pumpkin pie But all his patience was in vain Lumley took it on the Sneezel train “No Orky treat will I provide ,” The gnomeish hero bravely cried. “Not until they quit their wicked ways, No pumpkin pie for 13 days! Perhaps by then they stop misbehavin’?” But, “Nevermore,” quoth the Raven 2. I liked the trolls and garden gnomes May the enter many happy homes Your blog brings joy and education No doubt enjoyed by the Hacker Nation The trouble with the Internet Is all the visitors we never meet. To vistors one and all I say Keep your hacking far away Remember when you hurt another’s work That simply makes you the quasi-Jerk. So if you don’t want to become a lizard Best not mess with this here Wizard Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
Archive for the ‘Woodrow Wilson’ Category [Part 03] The Myth of German Villainy Benton L. Bradberry Chapter 1 – The Myth of Germany as an Evil Nation Germany’s positive image changes overnight Chapter 2 – Aftermath of the War in Germany The Versailles Treaty Effect of the Treaty on the German Economy Was the War Guilt Clause Fair? Did Germany Really Start the War? Chapter 3 – The Jewish Factor in the War Jews at the Paris Peace Conference Jews in Britain Chapter 4 – The Russian Revolution of 1917 Bolsheviks Take Control Jews and the Russian Revolution Origin of East European Jews Reason for the Russian Pogroms Against the Jews Jews leave Russia for America Financing the 1917 Revolution Jews in the Government of Bolshevik Russia Chapter 5 – The Red Terror Creation of the Gulag Bolsheviks kill the Czar Jews as a Hostile Elite The Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor) Chapter 6 – The Bolshevik Revolution Spreads throughout Europe Jews in the Hungarian Revolution Miklos Horthy saves Hungary Jews in the German Revolution The Sparticist Uprising in Berlin Jewish Bolsheviks Attempt to Take Italy Jewish Bolsheviks Attempt to Take Spain — The Spanish Civil War Czechoslovakia in Danger of Communist Takeover The Comintern’s aim? World domination! Chapter 7 – The Nation of Israel History of the Expulsion of Jews Chapter 8 – Jews in Weimar Germany Jews Undermine German Culture Chapter 9 – Hitler & National Socialists Rise to Power The 25 Points of the National Socialist Party Chapter 10 – National Socialism vs. Communism National Socialism Jews Plan Marxist Utopia Chapter 11 – Jews Declare War on Nazi Germany Text of Untermeyer’s Speech in New York The Jewish Persecution Myth Effect of boycott on the German economy Jewish exaggerations are contradicted by many The Nuremberg Laws -1935 The Zionist Movement Chapter 13 – Life in Germany under Hitler Night of the Long Knives 1934 Annual Nazi Rally at Nuremberg Hitler Revives the German Economy Hider becomes the most popular leader in the world Chapter 14 – Hitler Begins Reclamation of German Territory Chapter 15 – The 1936 Olympics Chapter 16 – Anschluss.” The unification of Austria and Germany Austrian Economy Revived Austria’s Jews Chapter 17 – Germany annexes the Sudetenland Chapter 18 – War with Poland The Polish Problem Hitler’s Proposal to Poland German-Polish Talks Continue Jews influence both Roosevelt and Churchill British and American political leaders under Jewish influence Roosevelt’s Contribution to Hostilities Lord Halifax Beats the War Drums Germany Occupies Bohemia and Moravia Roosevelt pushes for war Anti-war movement becomes active Poles murder German Nationals within the Corridor Chapter 19 – The Phony War Russo-Finnish War The Norway/Denmark Campaign German invasion of Denmark and Norway Churchill takes Chamberlain’s place as Prime Minister Churchill the War Lover The Fall of France Hitler makes peace offer to Britain Chapter 21 – The Allied Goal? Destruction of Germany! Chapter 22 – Germany as Victim Rape and Slaughter Jewish Vengeance The Jewish Brigade Chapter 23 – Winners and Losers Chapter 3 The Jewish Factor in the War Sir Arthur Balfour Chaim Weizmann Read Full Post » The Grand Design of the 20th Century by Douglas Reed The Grand Design Cover NEW Published: 1977 Douglas Reed [Image] Douglas Reed. In the 1960’s Reed was outspoken in his opposition to the decolonization of Africa, considering the Black Africans to be unable to govern themselves and needing prolonged colonial tutelage. In his “The Battle for Rhodesia” (1966) Reed explicitly compared decolonization to the above-mentioned appeasement of Hitler and outspokenly supported Ian Smith‘s unilateral declaration of independence, arguing that Smith’s Rhodesia had to be defended as “the last bulwark against the Third World War”, like Czechoslovakia had to be defended in 1938. • The Burning of the Reichstag (1934) • Insanity Fair: A European Cavalcade (Jonathan Cape, 1938) • Disgrace Abounding (do., 1939) • Fire and Bomb: A comparison between the burning of the Reichstag and the bomb explosion at Munich (do., 1940) • Nemesis? The Story of Otto Strasser (do,1940) • A Prophet at Home (do., 1941) • All Our Tomorrows (do., 1942) • Lest We Regret (do., 1943) • The Next Horizon;: Or, Yeomans’ Progress, novel (do., 1945) • The Siege of Southern Africa (Macmillan, Johannesburg, 1974), ISBN 0-86954-014-9 • Behind the Scene (Part 2 of Far and Wide) (Dolphin Press, 1975; Noontide Press, 1976, ISBN 0-911038-41-8) • The Grand Design of the 20th Century (Dolphin Press, 1977) • Galanty Show, novel • Reasons of Health, novel • Rule of Three, novel • Prisoner of Ottawa • The Controversy of Zion (Veritas, 1985) See also The plan I think is the old one of world dominion in a new form. The money power and the revolutionary power have been set up and given sham but symbolic shapes, (Capitalism or Communism) and sharply defined citadels (America and Russia). Such is the spectacle publicly staged for the masses, but what if similar men with a common aim secretly rule in both camps and propose to achieve their ambition through the clash between those masses? I believe that any diligent student of our times will discover that this is the case.” The appalling thing … is not the tumult but the design Lord Acton (Essays on the French Revolution). Part One — The Century of the Grand Design Dialogue in Hell Conspiracy of Silence Plenty of Money The Presidential Adviser The Roosevelt Era The Presidential “Fixer The “No-Win” Wars The World Government Experiment Enlightened Progressivism Convergence with Communism The Watergate Affair The Money Power Part Two — The Anglo-Saxon Peoples Churchill: Man of Paradoxes This Worldwide Conspiracy The New Imperialism The Rhodes Scholarships Institutes of International Affairs From Far and Wide America and Russia The Plan for Africa Back to Darkest Africa The Conspiracy of Truth The ways in which people try to explain what is happening in the world around them, whether in politics or economics, can be divided roughly into two classes. Or, as some would put it, there are two theories of contemporary history. The one held by the majority of people hardly deserves to be called a theory, but if that word must be used, then let us call it “The Idiot Theory”. Why “The Idiot Theory”? Because it insists that no one is to blame for the way history unfolds; things just happen. Likewise, the actions and policies of politicians, when they produce results we don’t like, are simply the product of mistaken ideas, misunderstandings, lack of sufficient information. Or, as some Americans would say: “History unfolds as the cookie crumbles” — the precise way in which the proverbial cookie crumbles being beyond all human control. The late President Roosevelt, possibly in an unguarded moment, made a simple statement of the rival theory when he remarked: Whatever happens in politics, you may be sure there is someone who wanted it to happen and made it happen”. He would have had much to answer for if that test had been applied to all that happened while he was President of the United States. Douglas Reed was foremost among those who declared, with Roosevelt, that when things happen in the world of politics and economics, especially when they continue to happen with marvellous consistency, then they are being made to happen and are meant to happen. His experience before World War II as the London Times’s Chief Foreign Correspondent in Europe, his familiarity with all the principal actors in the unfolding dramas and tragedies of those years, left him in no doubt that politicians, as a rule, are activated always by motives, and very often by motives which they take the greatest care to conceal. The real task for the investigator, therefore, is to look for and find the motive. Like so many before him and after him, Reed had merely rediscovered a piece of ancient wisdom which the Romans summarised in two words pregnant with meaning: Cui Bono? Or, as we would say when trying to unravel some political mystery: Who stands to benefit? In this little book Douglas Reed presents in a highly compressed form the story which emerges when this simple test of cui bono? is applied to all that has happened in the world since before the beginning of the 20th Century, right up to the present day. It is a simple, well written story which helps us to understand that changes in the world which disturb most ordinary people, leaving them confused and worried about the future, have been deliberately brought about and are part of a conspiratorial jig-saw puzzle which he has described as “The Grand Design”. Reed rendered a most valuable last service shortly before his death in August 1976 by reducing to some 13,000 words a history of our century which could be expanded into enough books to fill a large library. Those wishing to emancipate themselves from that sickness of mind and heart engendered by what they are told by the mass media will be greatly helped by this brilliantly written summary which serves as an introduction to the masses of excellent literature available. Indeed, there is not a page in Reed’s little book which could not be expanded into a large book. In many cases the necessary books are already available. The mention of the American traitor Alger Hiss, for example, reminds us that a long shelf would be needed to accommodate the books which have been written on this subject alone, the best of them being Witness, by Whittaker Chambers, the former Communist, whose evidence it was which sent Hiss to prison for three years. Can the story of The Grand Design be still further compressed? We can but try! Conspiratorial activity has been going on from time immemorial, conducted by different groups with different ends in view. Winston Churchill, writing with all the authority of a member of the British Cabinet, made it clear in 1922 that he regarded the Bolshevik Revolution, like the French Revolution over 100 years earlier, as part of what he called “a worldwide conspiracy”. That, however, is only one half of the story of The Grand Design of which Douglas Reed writes. The other half can be traced back to Cecil Rhodes, the South African multi-millionaire mining magnate, who had grandiose visions of a world government to be run mainly by people of his own Anglo-Saxon race, with some assistance from their cousins the Germans. This scheme he launched with his millions and it blossomed after his death into the Rhodes Scholarship Trust, the Royal Institute of International Affairs and similar organisations in America, the most important of these being the Council on Foreign Relations. Cecil Rhodes, we may be sure, would turn in his grave if he could see what has happened to his own secret and semi-secret enterprise, with its huge funds and its highly intellectualised and inflated “idealism” supplied by John Ruskin, high priest of Britain’s so-called Pre-Raphaelite movement in art and literature. Rhodes would find that it has been taken over by that other lot of conspirators (mentioned by Churchill), whose “ideal” of world government is best exemplified by what has happened in the Soviet Union. So today the conspiracy is like a highjacked airliner. Many of the passengers, still hypnotised by the Rhodes “vision” think they know where they are going, while the high-jackers, with 2,000 years of conspiratorial training and experience behind them, KNOW where they are going — and it is not the destination the passengers have in mind. It needs only full exposure to thwart and destroy a criminal conspiracy which has many well- intentioned but misguided people in its thrall — and no one has contributed more to the process of exposure than Douglas Reed. IVOR BENSON February, 1977. Part One … We are beginning an era that will make the achievements of the past look like two bits. No limit to our progress can be seen … by 1930 we shall be the richest and greatest Country in the world! (The Razor’s Edge by Somerset Maughan) Thus spoke one of Mr. Somerset Maugham’s heroines in the 1920’s and all agreed that he accurately captured the sanguine American mind. Today, fifty years later, the words sound like a joke. The 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence has been celebrated and the state of America is woefully different from that prognosis: indeed, George Washington, were he to return, would shrink appalled from the shape he would behold. Inextricably held in the coils of an international conspiracy of which the last eight Presidents were the prisoners, his republic is becoming, de facto if not de jure, a satellite of the Soviet Union and will not see the year 2000 in anything resembling the shape he bequeathed to it. By “covert and insidious methods” (his phrase) the principles and admonitions of his Farewell Speech have been abandoned, and America, like a pirated ship, has lost all control of course and destination. The conspiracy against nations has succeeded in hijacking the American inheritance of wealth and energy and diverting it to the purpose of destroying nations and setting up the world dictatorship. Now that the 20th Century is three parts done, the track of the conspiracy can be charted and its promoters identified. Only the lunatic fringe and the perjured public men still deny that it exists. The initiates have long since made public their plan for a world where nationhood would be a punishable offence, a plan, in fact, for a world concentration camp. The great Plan now overshadows our every day and is the reason why we live in a present without a future. The conspiracy has gained so much ground in this century that the attempt to bring off the final coup by the time the Christian clock strikes two thousand seems certain to be made. The instrument is ready: the Mafia-like mob in New York called the United Nations: it was created to destroy nations. The conspiracy is so old that efforts to trace its ultimate source flounder in the sands of time: the fanciful might picture it originating with the devil in council. It has reappeared periodically through the ages and between times seemed to become dormant or defunct: but it was always there. Five hundred years ago Machiavelli propounded the basic idea of world government: rule without any scruple of justice or humanity. Then the conspiracy hibernated for three centuries until the Bavarian Government in 1785 discovered the documents of Adam Weishaupt’s Illuminati, which showed that it was fully active and as evil as ever. Weishaupt’s disciples gave the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution its satanic character. Then in the mid-nineteenth century Maurice Joly revived Machiavelli’s ideas in his Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu. In 1897 the most explicit exposition of the methods of the conspiracy appeared in Russia: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. This title was probably chosen for purposes of obfuscation: too many non-Jewish names have appeared, down the centuries until today, in the story of this conspiracy for the Protocols to be considered the product of an exclusively Jewish cabal. The thing is evidently a compendium of earlier manuals of conspiratorial practice, but it is the clearest and most evil of them. To peruse the Protocols is to look into a dark pit filled with writhing, evil shapes: the work induces in most people feelings of nausea, of intimate communion with evil. All evil thought since time began is in these few pages. By the methods there laid down America was infected when this century began: the disease spread there and then into the surrounding world, like a cancer. So effective are the age-old practices prescribed that the American Republic has been taken over, as it were, by sleight of hand or pickpocketry: the victim has remained unaware of his loss or of his own helot’s plight resulting from it. The Protocols were translated into European languages in the 1920’s, and the effect was explosive. Their truth, attested by results already visible, was immediately seen. The Times (then still a trustworthy newspaper) asked: Which malevolent society made these schemes and is now triumphing over their realisation? … From where does the weird gift of prophecy spring that partly has come true and is partly to be realised? Have we fought these years to destroy the nefarious organization of the German Empire, merely to discover behind it a much more dangerous conspiracy because of its secrecy? The Times was right: that was exactly the fact of the matter. But when, 25 years later, the outcome of yet another war even more clearly revealed the existence of “a much more dangerous conspiracyThe Times, with all the world’s newspapers, had nothing to say about it. By that time The Times, and all the others, themselves observed that “secrecy” which it thought so dangerous in the 1920’s. When the Protocols were published “secrecy” (people might have thought) was finished. Far from it: the public debate about the Protocols was immediately quashed by a frantic clamour of “forgery” and “anti-semitism” from all parts of the world. Following the precepts of the Weishaupt papers and the Protocols, the conspiracy proved that it was able to control the public debate, and from that day no public man has dared mention this, the most important document of our century and the recognisable blueprint of our universal catastrophe. Secrecy” is no longer necessary when open debate is forbidden, and that has become the case. A notable authority, Lord Sydenham, took a lonely stand against this conspiracy of silence, to which by the 1940’s all the world submitted. The source of the Protocols, he said, was an irrelevant matter: the vital thing was the vast store of evil knowledge they contained and the results already achieved. As to that, 0. Henry or Damon Runyon might have said, in the American vernacular, “You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet”. Lord Sydenham died before he could see the much greater spread of the conspiracy and the suppression of all public mention of its manual, (in some countries, by actual official ban: in others, by tacit agreement among politicians, newspaper owners and editors). The content of the Protocols, as Lord Sydenham perceived, was the paramount thing, not the origin. Here some mind or minds knew everything that was to happen in the new century, and how it was all to be brought about. The same mind or minds knew how the Bolshevist revolution was brought about. Even before that revolution America (all unknown to its people) became the creature and financier of it. The first open sign of this came in 1917, when America entered the First War. President Wilson then welcomed “the wonderful and heartening things” that were happening in Russia (the revolution) and the next day authorized credits amounting to 325,000,000 dollars for the provisional government there. This was the start of something that has continued ever since. Without American money there would never have been Communism, or the abandonment of hundreds of millions of people behind the Berlin line to a concentration camp lethally enclosed by electrified wire, mines, machine-guns mounted on sentry-towers and searchlights that play all night. While he was still in Europe Lenin wrote to Angelica Balabanoff, then secretary in Stockholm of the International: Spend millions, tens of millions if necessary: there is plenty of money at our disposal”. The flow of American wealth and treasure in every imaginable form went on through the fourteen Rooseveltian years, and those of Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson and Nixon and continues today. It began with a man who until his death remained unknown to the American masses and of whom few Americans since have heard. This man, behind the scene, enabled the conspiracy to reduce the Washingtonian Republic to the plight of hired man of the revolutionary conspiracy. He is one of the great wreckers of the 20th Century, and in the destructive effect of his scheming the peer of Stalin. His name was Edward Mandell House, and he prefixed it with an unearned military title: “Colonel” House. The unusual middle name, “Mandell”, probably held some allusion recognisable to fellow-conspirators (who often identify themselves to each other by code-names, as the Freemason knows a brother by his handshake). This obscure Mr. House, long before the conspiracy triumphed in Russia, was its creature in America. He shunned publicity, but engineered the choice of Woodrow Wilson for President in 1912. Mr. Wilson was the first of the marionette presidents who were required by their captors to do what they were told. President Wilson’s welcome to and financial support for the revolution in Russia were acts dictated to him, and so was his introduction of the graduated income tax according to Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto. The historian owes gratitude to Mr. House (mankind owes him only tribulation) for the revealing picture he left of a conspiracy “managing” the frontal politicians from behind the scene. In 1912 a leftist American publisher issued a “novel” (Philip Dru, Administrator) authorship of which Mr. House disclaimed and then admitted. This described in fictional form a “conspiracy” (the author’s word) which succeeded in electing a puppet-president by means of “deception regarding his real opinions and intentions”. A character in the book (evidently Mr. House himself) enlists the support of a group of wealthy men in choosing a candidate for the presidency, and invites a potential candidate to dine “in my rooms at the Mandell House”. The candidate (called “Rockland”) is instructed that he must never go against the advice of his sponsors. (Here is seen the start of the regime of “the advisers” who haunted the White House for the next sixty years and dictated the actions of successive presidents). The best known of these “advisers” was Mr. Bernard Baruch, also recognisable in the tale as one of the stern “sponsors” of the new puppet-president. Mr. Baruch, who came to be popularly acclaimed as “the adviser to six Presidents”, was an obsessed advocate of despotic world government and to his “advice” may be traced the disastrous course of American foreign policy which to thoughtful Americans (as Mr. Gary Allen says): for the past three decades has been a compounding mystery and concern. Administrations have come and gone like the Ides of March but spring never arrives But Mr. Baruch went on forever, or nearly, and advised his six pupils to follow the path leading to despotic world government. The mob, led by the kept press, and ignorant of the kind of advice he was giving or of its effect on themselves, lustily applauded the veteran “adviser” through six presidencies. Philip Dru is enthralling reading for the student of this century’s managed ordeal and of the conspiracy. “Rockland” (the president-select); once or twice asserted himself and acted upon important matters without having first conferred with the ‘advisers’. For this indiscipline he was bitterly assailed by his sponsors’ newspapers and made no further attempt at independence … He felt that he was utterly helpless in these strong men’s hands, and so, indeed, he was”. President Wilson presumably read the book and if he was capable of feeling humiliation, must have suffered severely. He pined into senility and at last was pushed out of the White House (or locked away inside it by his second wife, a determined woman who was for some time the de facto President). Another fascinating glimpse of life behind the conspiratorial scene is given in this “novel”: namely, that “bugging” was already known to the plotters of 1908! Another man in the plot, a Senator, visits one of the big-banker group and tells the whole story of “Rockland’s” nomination and rigged- election campaign. He also describes “Rockland’s” “effort for freedom” and his recall to duty, “squirming under his defeat”. The “exultant conspirators laugh joyously” at this. Their mirth is short-lived because they find that the conversation has been recorded by an eavesdropping machine concealed in the next room and given to a newspaper, which publishes it. The attentive reader will note that, sixty years later, President Nixon was brought down by “tapes” recording his conversations, to which his enemies’ ears listened. I append a footnote of my own to this strange story. Mr. Baruch went on his advisory way from president to president, but no doubt retained a healthy respect for “bugging” devices. This, I fancy, is the reason why he came to be known as “the park-bench statesman”. He could do no wrong and the suggestion of “folksiness” implicit in this description made him even more popular with the idiot mob. The first puppet-president, Wilson, died, the stomach of America having revolted against his “League to Enforce Peace” (obviously, by war!) and its amended version, the League of Nations, the first trial world-government. The world owed a debt to the America of that period, still with its healthy love of country. Wilson was followed by three Presidents, Harding, Coolidge and Hoover, who were non-Illuminist, as far as one now can tell, and then the Gadarean slide was resumed with the choice and election of Mr. Roosevelt, who hastened from the nomination convention to Mr. House in Massachusetts, from whom, evidently, he received the same instructions about his duty to his “sponsors” as “Rockland” (Wilson) received in Philip Dru. Mr. House told his biographer in the 1950’s that he “was still very close to the centre of things, although few people suspect it.” He was (for the second time) “close to the movement that nominated a president” (Roosevelt), and this new president gave him a “free hand in advising the then Secretary of State”. Such was the ominous sponsorship of a most ill-omened presidency. Now followed the disastrous fourteen Roosevelt years. Briefed (as were “Rockland” and Wilson) by Mr. House, what Mr. Roosevelt was told to do became clear as soon as he entered the White House. He recognised the Soviet Union forthwith and resumed the financing of the Soviet which Wilson began. This continued throughout his fourteen years and parallel with it went infiltration of Soviet agents into the American Administration, at all levels. Roosevelt, a crippled man, was evidently as putty in the hands of his “sponsors”: when a repentant Communist informed him that a Soviet agent held a high post in the government, he told his informant to “go jump in the lake — but only in much cruder language”. The man he protected was the traitor Hiss, who “managed” the Yalta Conference to abandon half of Europe to the Soviet plague and was a founding father of the United Nations, the second trial world government. Under Mr. Roosevelt the conspiracy spread its cancerous capillaments ever deeper into the American body politic. Its mastery of the press and all means of public misinformation produced in the American masses that condition of bewildered inertia which the Protocols foresaw as ideal for the consummation of the great Plan. Two decades of this treatment anaesthetized the healthy instinct which led “the rubes on Main Street” to reject the Wilsonian League. Now the men behind the scene worked feverishly to have the world slave state come out of the approaching war against slavery. Colonel” House died on the eve of the Second War. Mr. Baruch, his collaborator in the selection and disciplining of President Wilson, now became the chief manager of the Washingtonian Republic’s decline. Unlike the secretly scheming House, Mr. Baruch was publicly known and adulated by the lapdog Press as the permanent adviser of presidents and “park-bench statesman”. This name particularly endeared him to the mob, which thought to see in him “the man in the street” who from simple fellow-feeling sat among the common “folks” in Central Park. (I think I might be the only spectator who related his park-benchmanship to the “bugging” episode in Philip Dru, and understood why he took an obvious precaution against being taped). Mr. Roosevelt, responding mindlessly to the articulated mechanism of the marionette, may yet have realised that he was being used for the aggrandisement of the Communist Empire and the ruination of his own country. This is implicit in “a strange statement” (Mr. Robert Sherwood, a Roosevelt biographer and White House intimate) which Roosevelt made when urged to quote in a wartime speech Mr. Churchill’s encomium: The United States is now at the highest pinnacle of her power and fame”. Roosevelt objected, saying: We may be heading before very long for the pinnacle of our weakness”. This looks like the open confession of purpose by a man of long servitude to the conspiracy who had come to make its destructive ambition his own. This revelation of truth, as always, went unheard by the public masses, but probably was bruited around with glee by the Communist conspirators who were rife in the Roosevelt Administration. When Hitler’s attack in 1941 on Russia brought the Soviet Union into the Allied side, Mr. Baruch’s influence became even more powerful, and also his ability to direct the course of the war towards the consummation devoutly desired by him. He was ever insistent, in both wars, that the times demanded “one man” as an administrator, not a board. In the First War he was the “one man”, becoming head of an “Advisory Commission” to the Defence Council, of which an investigating committee of Congress said after that war (in 1919): It served as the secret government of the United States … it devised the entire system of purchasing war supplies, planned a press censorship, designed a system of press control … and in a word designed practically every war measure which the Congress subsequently enacted, and all this behind closed doors, weeks and even months before the U.S. Congress declared war against Germany … There was not an act of the so-called war legislation afterwards enacted that had not before the actual declaration of war been discussed and settled upon by this Advisory Commission … The 1914-1918 war ended before Mr. Baruch could show all that he had in store for the American people. In 1935 he stated “had the 1914-1918 war gone on another year our whole population could have emerged in cheap but serviceable uniforms”, shoe-sizes being the only permissible variation. Mr. Baruch in these words revealed his vision of a future America: a faceless mindless mob allowed only to do allotted labour, provided with identity numbers and bread cards. Mr. Baruch was not appointed to be the “one man” when the Roosevelt War Production Board was set up, but the man who was appointed was a creature of his, one Harry Hopkins, and even Mr. Baruch could not have disposed of America’s wealth more autocratically than he or more perfectly in accordance with the Plan. I am not aware that this Mr. Hopkins ever received any particular appointment enabling him to act as an imperial despot. Presumably Mr. Roosevelt, who loved to picture himself as the common man, just said, “Go right ahead, Harry”. Anyway, this Hopkins was the product of the conspiracy and could only by this qualification have become permanently resident in the White House. Even Mr. Churchill was taken in by this almost illiterate “fixer” who could have boasted (like Mr. House); No important foreigner has come to America without talking to me … All the Ambassadors have reported to me frequently … In past times, when the West was toiling upward to some state of civilization, men who came to high places in their countries brought with them some token of experience and qualification. Mr. Hopkins had no such background. Like Dr. Kissinger thirty years later, he was publicly unknown when he began to bestride the narrow world like a Colossus. He had hopped around in the East Side from the claque for Caruso and Geraldine Farrar to a stint with the Red Cross in 1917, returning then to charity appeal work in the slums. Acquaintances depict him: an ulcerous type, intense, jittering with nerves, a chain-smoker and black coffee drinker”. This man, says Mr. Sherwood, was “in all respects the inevitable Roosevelt favourite”, (a more damning disparagement of Mr. Roosevelt could hardly be imagined). He was a dying man from 1937 and under Roosevelt in the next eight years became the global replanner and dispenser of billions. The American Congress and people alike were by that time bamboozled by their president and the corrupted press into thinking that all was well, but an occasional voice was heard in Congress asking to know more about the uncontrolled, and unrecorded, transfer of treasure to Moscow. This annoyed the bountiful donor, who dealt with Congress as the conspirators dealt with “Rockland” in Mr. House’s novel. The United States” (he said, in answer to a proposal that before further aid was given to Soviet Russia full information should be required about their military situation); the United States is doing things which it would not do for other nations without full information from them. This decision to act without full information was made with some misgiving … but there is no reservation about the policy … it is constantly being brought up by various groups for rediscussion. I propose that no further consideration be given to these requests for rediscussion”. Thus spoke Mr. Hopkins from East Side, and lo! it was so! (Whereat the conspirators no doubt “laughed joyously”). The conspiracy had taken firm grip on the American Republic. When the Second War ended with the “peace” conference at Yalta, Stalin saw his own henchmen (including Hiss) on the other side of the table so that the parley ended with the abandonment by the Western allies of half Europe to the Communist conspiracy. The Yalta Conference, historically considered, marked the end of the Washingtonian Republic and of the British Empire. The process of dissolution began there. Mr. Roosevelt and his “inevitable favourite”, Hopkins, both returned to America to die. These two men did more to destroy the West than any invader could have achieved. Roosevelt was succeeded by the Vice-President, a Mr. Harry Truman from Missouri, who soon gave proof of following dutifully the Wilson-Roosevelt (and House-Baruch) course. Re-elected in 1948, he declared war on “the Communist aggressor” in Korea in 1950. For a moment the American people thought the debacle of the Second War was to be amended and the Communist invader trounced. Few, if any of them had read Philip Dru, or they would have known that their rulers always practised “deception regarding their real opinions and intentions”. The American people responded loyally to the call to rescue at least one small country from the Communist plague, and their wartime allies, Britain, Australia, Canada, South Africa and the rest sent troops to join in the crusade. It was all “deception”. When the successful American commander, MacArthur, wished hotly to pursue a beaten enemy across the Yalu, Mr. Truman sacked the general. Then Korea was partitioned, like Germany and Europe, and the Communists were left in possession of the northern half. This was the first of the “no-win” wars in which American troops were sent to fight against aircraft, artillery and armour supplied during the war by Mr. Hopkins to the Communists. At this time Hiss had been exposed, the Canadian Government had published the full story of Communist agents and spies infiltrating into its administrative machine, and the story of British traitors was also beginning to become known. “Communism in government”, therefore, was a matter which even the American masses could understand and the cry for a cleaning of the stables was growing to a clamour. At this very juncture Mr. Truman (no doubt recalling Mr. Roosevelt’s “Go jump in the lake”) dismissed the public demand to “clear out the Communists”, as merely “drawing a red herring” across the debate, and the American tragedy (unless it is a comedy) continued. Mr. Truman was succeeded in 1952 by General Eisenhower, the formerly unknown American army officer who was catapulted over numerous seniors into the supreme command of the Allied invasion of 1944. This general used his command power to reject the British General Montgomery’s plan to shorten the war by striking hard for Berlin after the successful invasion of Normandy. The effect of this obviously politically motivated action was to reserve Berlin, and therewith half Europe, to Communist annexation. Historically, General Eisenhower must be seen as a conscious agent of the Communist conspiracy. He cannot have ignored the obvious effect of his action. He was indeed one of a growing number of men in high places who supported the aims of the conspiracy through their membership of an invisible-government-type body called the Council on Foreign Relations, which effectively operated as a secret world government organisation inside the American machinery of government (it was formed in 1921 after the failure of the first experiment in world-government, the League of Nations, and with growing strength pursued the ambition all through the inter-war years). General Eisenhower began his presidency with the now common, almost obligatory obeisance to Mr. Baruch, whose biographer, evidently after consultation with the great Adviser, summarised the recommendations which Mr. Baruch would probably make to the new Administration. General Eisenhower quickly and dutifully confirmed this prognosis, telling Los Angeles electors, as if to demonstrate his servitude, “I believe if Bernie Baruch were here tonight he would subscribe to every one of them” (he was referring to recommendations which, according to the biographer, “related entirely to preparatory mobilisation for war, controls, global strategy” and the rest of Mr. Baruch’s oft-repeated recipes for a “one man” controller, or dictator). When the Second War ended Mr. Baruch was 75. His vigour was unabated and his imperial vision boundless. The two atom bombs, exploded in August 1945, prompted him to still greater ambitions. Like some ancient Hebrew prophet, he cried, “I offer you living or dying”. “Hasten”, he cried. “Hasten” (or, as the Broadway barker might have put it, “Hurry, hurry, hurry”). “Hasten, the bomb will not wait while we deliberate.” What was needed, obviously, was “one man”. Mr. Baruch availed himself of the seeds of human panic sown by the two bombs to proffer himself; for the most vital undertaking of his life, the devising of a workable plan for the international control of atomic energy, and for achieving its adoption by the Atomic Energy Commission of the United Nations” (his biographer). President Truman duly appointed Mr. Baruch U.S. representative to the United Nations in March 1946. The “Baruch Plan” was then worked out “on a park bench” (where else?) together with a crony from 1919 Peace Conference days, one Mr. Ferdinand Eberstadt. In those days Messrs. House and Baruch had worked hard to push through a “League to Enforce Peace”, but a few responsible statesmen were still extant then and they talked it out. Nevertheless, all through the between-war years of 1918-1939 the conspirators worked away at their pet proposal to set up a supernational high command with “teeth” to enforce its dictates, and now Mr. Baruch’s Plan of 1946 went as far as even the most zealous of them could wish. He presented his Central Park Plan to the U.N. Atomic Energy Commission in June 1946. He began, in Hebrew-prophet vein, by saying: “We (sic) must elect world peace or world destruction.” Atomic energy must be used for peaceful purposes and its warlike use be precluded. To that end, “we” would have to provide for “immediate, swift and sure punishment of those who violate the agreements that are reached by nations”. So the “League to Enforce Peace” idea was dished up again: merely, the word “penalisation” was substituted for “enforce”, but the same thing was meant: a supernational dictatorship with “teeth”. Mr. Baruch’s crowning proposal was for a Nuremberg-type court, apparently of permanent nature, to be set up to inflict this “penalisation”. He explained that “individual responsibility and punishment” could be prescribed “on the principles applied at Nuremberg by the Soviets, the United Kingdom, France and the United States”. Finally, Mr. Baruch proposed the creation of “an Authority” (one man?) to supervise all atomic energy activities potentially dangerous to world security. “Immediate and certain penalties”, continued Mr. Baruch, were to be fixed for illegal possession of an atom bomb or for “wilful interference with the activities of The Authority”. Even the embattled conspirators in the Western governments and in the United Nations choked slightly on this heady stuff, and despite the compliant Mr. Truman’s announcement that the White House and State Department endorsed The Plan, it was talked out and shelved — to be brought out again after any third war. Mr. Baruch then resigned and resumed his permanent Advisorship. He died in 1965 having greatly harmed his fellow men and his country. A numerous phalanx of powerful men, ensconced in the Council on Foreign Relations, carried on the House-Baruch world-government conspiracy. No escape from these toils offered the American Republic in the last quarter of this century. From the start of his presidency, General Eisenhower revealed his continuance of the House-Baruch line. He looked on the Republican Party, which still contained a dwindling number of conservative-minded men, as his enemy, and thought of founding a new party which would offer the electorate “enlightened and progressive ideas” (as propounded by Marx and Lenin). He only abandoned this idea when Senator Robert Taft, the natural Republican leader, died, and when Senator Joseph McCarthy was “censured”. These events left Eisenhower in control of the Republican Party, for its sins. At that time masses of Americans saw in McCarthy the only man who told the truth about Communist infiltration of government and America’s involvement in the world-government conspiracy. General Eisenhower, himself tarred with this brush through his abandonment of half Europe to the Communist conspiracy, particularly hated Senator McCarthy. This became known and as at a given signal the kept press opened up a deafening chorus of “witch-hunt” against McCarthy. Any who have kept copies of this Senator’s speeches and pamphlets can check for themselves that he did not make unsubstantiated charges. He had no need to: what had become publicly known about the treachery of Hiss and the group around him was ample enough to support McCarthy’s arraignment of successive presidents. But the strength of the conspiracy was shown by the way McCarthy, like others before and after him, was politically destroyed. The Senate “censured” McCarthy for “conduct unbecoming a Senator”, and Eisenhower warmly thanked the chairman of the censuring committee, one Watkins, for “doing a splendid job”. When the Eisenhower presidency ended, in 1960, he had served the conspiracy well through suppressing public discussion of Soviet infiltration and espionage by his attack on McCarthy. His presidential years were rife with Soviet efforts, through a horde of spies in the United States, to gain full knowledge about the atom bomb and its method of production. These efforts succeeded, so that the Communists made their own bomb. The eight Eisenhower years showed that subservience to the World Revolution continued to be the paramount rule of American governmental policy. Under this paramount law, American generals if they encountered Communism anywhere in the globe, were forbidden to defeat it: the Soviet arsenals and armouries were kept bulging with armaments paid for with American loans and credits: these were used to kill many thousands of American and allied soldiers: and each successive American president became the patron and protector of Communism within the governmental ranks. In 1960 Eisenhower was succeeded by John Kennedy, scion of an immensely wealthy Massachusetts family. He was assassinated before his first four-year term ended, but his previous career showed that there would not have been any change, had he lived to complete his term. The reason for his assassination has never become publicly known. His life was cut short before he could show what he could or would do, but all the signs are that he too would have followed the course set by his four predecessors. A story was put about that he had “stood up to Moscow” by demanding, and obtaining the withdrawal from Cuba of Soviet missiles there, pointed America-ward, which were discovered by aerial photography. If this were true, he would have mortally offended the Revolution, and this would offer a feasible explanation for his murder. The story was as manna in the desert to the American masses, thirsting for an affirmative answer to Senator Robert Taft’s question, “Do we really mean our Communist policy? Unhappily, the story was never confirmed and in the context of American policy in this century seems improbable, so that the murder remains mysterious. Another mysterious event of the short Kennedy presidency was the attack on Cuba by an ill- organised force of Cuban exiles, which ended in such an appalling fiasco that it might have been betrayed beforehand by someone in the State Department or Council on Foreign Relations. The Vice-President, Mr. Lyndon Johnson, took the dead president’s place and occupied it until 1968 without diverging from the House-Baruch pattern. American presidents, because of their subservience to the overriding dogma of world government, tended to become shadowy figures and Mr. Johnson was not more sharply focussed than others before him. He may be said to have shown zeal in following the Baruch-House, Wilson-Roosevelt-Truman-Eisenhower-Kennedy line. About that time the “Insiders” of the Council on Foreign Relations let slip a phrase which indicated what that line was. Allusions to a “convergence with Communism” appeared here and there in the all-powerful, and all-subservient “media”, so that Americans could have gained some idea of what was coming to them. In 1968 the bewildered mass of Americans thought the end of the long dark tunnel of their frustrated hopes was near, for Mr. Richard Nixon stood and was elected with a thumping majority. He was the man whose name was connected with an event of 1949 in which Americans of traditional allegiance had seen one bright light during the bewildering years: the exposure and conviction of the traitor Hiss. True, Hiss was only convicted of “perjury” in denying that he was a Communist agent or had abstracted top-secret documents and transmitted them to Moscow: the influence of the conspirators was strong enough to protect him from the graver charge of “treason” and the greater penalty. Still, he had been forced into the light and had been convicted, and Congressman Richard Nixon had done it. It seemed that deliverance had come, like a cleansing wind. Here, thought the electors, was a man who really “meant his Communist policy”. He had proved it, nineteen years ago, true: but that was not forgotten. It was so rare, in these times of presidential protection for spies and traitors, to find a man who believed as honest folk believed and suited his actions to his beliefs. There had only been one other such, McCarthy, and he had been “smeared” and was dead. It was one more illusion, Mr. Nixon was no different from the other presidents. He too was made to toe the line. Electioneering, he promised a drastic rooting-out of Communists in government: little, or nothing was done. Nixon surpassed even previous presidents in deficit-spending on “welfare state” notions. He made the familiar pilgrimage to Moscow and virtually wrote off the Soviet wartime Lend-Lease debt of $9,100,000,000, and offered a further $2,500,000,000 in credit for the purchase of American exports. Fifty years after Wilson, America was still to be the banker of the Revolution. Mr. Nixon was accompanied on his Moscow trip by the recently-discovered Dr. Kissinger, born in Germany, who in his rocket-like rise to international power and vast undertakings reminded me of that other “profoundly ominous man”, Harry Hopkins. His first four presidential years showed that Mr. Nixon was doing all he could, by zeal in following the Roosevelt-Truman-Eisenhower line, to expunge from the memory of the conspirators his achievement in obtaining the conviction of Hiss. It was in vain: all through the twenty years between the “media” had maintained an unremitting tirade against him. He had mortally offended the conspiracy by that and they could not forgive him or let him forget. The conspirators prepared to “get” him. They followed one of the precepts laid down in the Protocols for gaining control of politicians or agents likely to be useful. It is, to obtain knowledge (or manufacture knowledge) of some shady episode in a man’s past, some scandal which can be used to cow or blackmail him. Every Scotland Yard or FBI detective who has had to do with the tactics of Communist espionage can quote instances where this technique has been used. Now President Nixon’s turn came to suffer this ordeal by forged evidence and mass intimidation. Had he read Philip Dru, or understood why Mr. Baruch preferred to do business “on a park bench”, he need never have fallen into the trap. Early in his second term the American Secret Service installed a monitoring system in the White House which in its omniscient knowledge of what went on there probably excelled anything in the world. The sound of a human voice automatically set the tapes working. The President could not stir in the White House without his movements being recorded and followed by buzzers and flashing lights on the monitoring apparatus. Every word the President spoke was recorded, (as he thought for his private benefit). The reason for this elaborate set-up became clear when the word “Watergate” became part of mob-parlance. The Watergate building contained the Democratic Party’s offices. The burglary was done with the utmost publicity short of placards proclaiming or loudspeakers announcing: “The Democratic offices are being burgled by the President’s order”. After the initial “discovery” one burglar returned to the scene of the crime and was found to carry a notebook with (guess what?) a White House telephone number in it. The word “Watergate” then spread over the world. I was in various countries at the time and grew to loathe the spectacle of the booboisie telling each other all about “Watergate” as if they had consulted the oracle and now were privy to the most closely guarded secrets of doings and goings-on in high places. Mr. Nixon, not having read Philip Dru, was taken aback by the sound and fury of the attack on him and at first, probably knowing nothing of the “burglary” but what the press told him, could not take the affair seriously, so that he refused assent when a Senate Committee, investigating the affair, called for tapes of his private conversations (unhappily for him, these were not “private”: they were overheard by those out to “get” the president). The tapes! They had been spinning endlessly, recording every word of his innumerable conversations. The president thought them privileged, private. But someone had listened to these miles and miles of tapes, someone on the watch for the smallest slip or contradiction. The President appealed against the Senate Committee’s order to produce the tapes and the Supreme Court upheld the Senate Committee’s order. By this time it was obvious to all that the tapes contained something which might be used against the President, and that someone knew what it was. The exact portions of the tapes to be produced were specified. The President, obviously, had been surrounded by spies in his own White House. The plot thickened to its appointed end. On June 23, 1972 the President’s voice had directed the Central Intelligence Agency to halt the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s enquiry into the “burglary”. On May 22, 1973 the President had made a public statement denying that any use had been made of the Central Intelligence Agency “for domestic political purposes”. A gasp of horror went through the great country where two presidents had refused to remove the Soviet arch traitor from the State Department (in Mr. Truman’s case the Canadian Prime Minister, no less, had provided the ignored information) and had given him protection to do his worst for the United States: the same country where a third president had used all his influence to have the one consistent anti-Communist censured and made politically outcast. Now the kept press and radio kept up their clamour that President Nixon was guilty of the heinous crime of “covering up” (the burglary) and of “obstructing the course of justice”. In the White House the cloaked men, the keepers of “the tapes”, gathered round the president and whispered “Resign, resign! The cumulative strain was too much for Mr. Nixon, who already had twenty-five years of this unrelenting vituperation behind him. His physical collapse was visible in the pictures shown. By the methods described in the Protocols and in Mr. House’s “novel”, he was thrown out of office, the first American President ever to be so humiliated. The conspiracy won its greatest victory. What American president would dare to step out of line, after this! The Vice-President, Mr. Gerald Ford, succeeded to the White House. He was an appointed, not an elected vice-president, having been chosen by Mr. Nixon when his original vice-president, Mr. Spiro Agnew, fell by the wayside somewhere along the line. In the light of preceding events ‘It was difficult to see Mr. Ford doing anything so unorthodox as rebelling against the forces which had proved too strong for all preceding presidents in this century. He, in turn, appointed Mr. Nelson Rockefeller as vice-president, who is on record as saying “When you think of what I had, what else was there to aspire to?” (but the White House). His appointment brought him (as Mr. Gary Allen commented) “within a heartbeat” of the White House. Mr. Nelson Rockefeller is a member of an enormously wealthy family, or dynasty, whose interests are worldwide and deep-rooted. The “conspirators” of Mr. House’s Story of Tomorrow, (which has proved to be a photographic forecast of all that has happened in and to America in this century) were immensely wealthy men. The massive fortunes accumulated in America by a relatively small group of men in the last hundred years have been put to serve the purpose of the Revolution, and of the world dictatorship designed to come of it. These great fortunes have usually left behind them great bequests ostensibly to be devoted to noble-sounding purposes, particularly “international peace”. Most of them have in fact served as hidey-holes for agents of the conspiracy: they are exempt from the “graduated income tax” introduced by Woodrow Wilson at his “sponsors’” behest. The fact is demonstrable that the Communist revolution was from the start financed by money from America and that the great fortunes substantially contribute to the “invisible government” (the Council on Foreign Relations) which for decades now has been steering America towards “convergence with Communism”, and towards the ultimate world super-state. Thus Mr. Nelson Rockefeller’s appearance on the stage at this late (possibly penultimate) stage in the game is of particular interest. The student of these affairs constantly finds himself confronted by other, less-advanced seekers to truth who snarl at him: Why would rich men support Communism, eh? Explain that. It doesn’t make sense! This writer always advises such innocents abroad to accept the incontrovertible fact that the thing is, and to work back from that point to the “Why?” He might take as starting point the testimony of an unassailable authority, Professor Carroll Quigley (Tragedy, And Hope, Macmillan, London, 1966). Professor Quigley, who has the advantage of himself being of the “Insiders” with inside experience of the conspiracy at work, says: There does exist and has existed for a generation an international … network which operates, to some extent, in the way the radical Right believes the Communists act … This network … has no aversion to co-operating with the Communists … and frequently does so. Another diligent explorer, Mr. Gary Allen (The C.F.R., Conspiracy To Rule The World, American Opinion, Belmont, Mass., 1969) says: Why would international bankers and financiers be interested in promoting a Socialist World Government? Clearly, socialism is only the bait to obtain the support of the political underworld and to create the structure necessary to maintain dictatorial control. What this small group of financiers and cartel-oriented businessmen are interested in is monopolistic control over the world’s natural resources, trade, transportation and communications … something that despite their great wealth they could not achieve otherwise. Therefore the super-capitalists become super-socialists, realising that only a World Government under their control can give them the power necessary to achieve their goal. Only this could explain why these extremely wealthy men would be willing to support movements which seem to be aimed at their own destruction. Part Two I quoted at the start the word of Mr. Maugham’s American heroine about the boundless future of the United States: “… by 1930 we shall be the richest and greatest country in the world … no limit to our progress can be seen … About the same time (the 1920’s) Mr. Noel Coward was composing a patriotic milestone drama about England, Cavalcade, which met the public yearning for reassurance about the future and made him, as he says, “extremely popular”. As the curtain fell, his heroine, glass in hand, drank; to the hope that this country of ours, which we love so much will find dignity and greatness and peace again … The positive expectations of Mr. Maugham’s “Isabel” and the wistful hopes of Mr. Coward’s “Jane” were alike doomed to disappointment. England, in fact, was caught in the same world-government conspiracy that was destroying America, and its leaders promoted the aims of the conspiracy as effectively as Presidents Wilson and Roosevelt. The plight of the American Republic, seventy years after the House-Baruch partners “captured” President Wilson and set him to work preparing the One Government Of All The World, was bound to have some effect on the other English-speaking country across the Atlantic, the one where I was born. Mr. Winston Churchill once during the Second War said that England and America were going to get “somewhat mixed up” and added that he could not stop that process even if he wished: he welcomed it. He was a man of occasional, strange paradoxes. A patriot of patriots, he never explained that strange statement, which to most Englishmen, and probably to most Americans, was inexplicable and unwelcome. He had no brief for so disputable an assertion. When he made it America was evidently, to any diligent observer, in the grip of a conspiracy which was dragging it towards “convergence with Communism” and the World Slave State. Mr. Churchill’s whole life-story seemed sure to make him shun any involvement with “world government” plans. Oddly, like all American presidents of this century, he was a devotee of Mr. Bernard Baruch, whose world-government efforts went back to the first World War and the bid at the Versailles Peace Conference to set up a “League to Enforce Peace”; a first attempt to establish world government in the confusion following a world war, which was foiled by the able Secretary of State, Mr. Robert Lansing, who clearly saw the intention to foist war upon the world in the name of peace (Mr. Lansing was soon removed from office, the first of a long series of Americans who paid the price for opposing the conspiracy). A significant incident in Mr. Churchill’s career was the receipt of a deathbed letter to him from President Roosevelt asking him “to see Bernie Baruch as soon as convenient …” Mr. Churchill answered that: Bernie is one of my oldest friends and I am telegraphing to say how glad I am he is coming. He is a very wise man. The two had “long and intimate talks”. During these Mr. Baruch presumably spoke of the atom bomb soon to be exploded (it would never have been dropped without the foreknowledge and approval of the great Adviser) and may have informed Mr. Churchill of his intention to propose the establishment (once the bomb had been exploded) of an authority with monopolistic rights in its use and control, and power to inflict quick and condign punishment on any who offended The Authority. History does not record what Mr. Churchill thought about this, the greatest Baruch Plan: it would obviously have meant that; dissolution of the British Empire over which I have not become the King’s first Minister in order to preside”. The dissolution of that Empire followed before his death. His inner feeling about the world government, which was evidently meant to be set up in its wake, is unclear. In 1920, when the revolution in Russia and its authors were subjects of lively public discussion (this was before an occult censorship effectively stopped all free discussion of such matters) Mr. Churchill wrote an article in the Illustrated Sunday Herald which showed that he perfectly understood the nature and authors of the revolution and the methods of conspiracy. Being asked in 1953 for permission to reprint that article, he had his secretary refuse. Certainly, Bernie (“a very wise man”) would not have approved of that article, for his favourite notion, the despotic world government with powers of enforcement, was the very child of that revolution. Mr. Churchill must certainly have been aware of the world government conspiracy because in various forms it preoccupied the minds of many leading men during his lifetime and he moved in their company. In the later decades of the 19th century, when England and the Empire were at the zenith of their might and renown under the great Queen, the world government conspiracy (as the developing fluid of time now reveals) was already eating, cancer-like, at the entrails of the Commonwealth. The conspirators were no cloak-and-dagger persons of the Cafés des Exilés type. They were public men of renown and great wealth, as in America. The man whose name first appears in the story on the eastern side of the Atlantic, although his ideas obviously grew out of earlier conspiracies such as that of Weishaupt, was John Ruskin. He was of the type for which the modern vernacular has found the name, Do-Gooder, a tribe of which may be said that the evil they do lives long after them. He was deeply moved, in that period of the industrial revolution, by the contrast between great wealth in Victorian England, and the poverty of the lower orders, and became famous, in his day, for his impassioned championship of “the downtrodden masses”. Ruskin’s life ended with a mental breakdown, as is sometimes the lot of beings who come to think themselves godlike. Ruskin’s “new imperialism” rested on the theory, which he imparted to his aristocratic students at Oxford, that their privileged lot in life could not be preserved unless the English lower classes were absorbed into it, and it extended to “the non-English masses throughout the world”. Ruskin’s ideas made a great and fatal impression on the mind and life of Cecil Rhodes, the gold-and-diamond multi-millionaire from Kimberley. Rhodes’s name is commemorated in that of the little country, Rhodesia, which seventy years after his death is waging a lonely struggle against a world of enemies, leagued together in the world-government-conspiracy, on the path of which Rhodesia is a small but obdurate obstacle. What Rhodes’s ambition was is a question befogged by the different opinions of his biographers, who assert variously that “the government of the world was his simple desire” or that he wanted to “paint the map of Africa red” (i.e. British). The words of his first will should make the matter clear (but where, in conspiracy, which always deals in “deception regarding real intentions and opinions” is anything ever quite clear?) for he states the ambition of “extending British rule throughout the world … and founding so great a power as to hereafter render wars impossible and promote the interests of humanity”. World-government proponents always proclaim that eternal peace will come of their plans, and simultaneously contend (as Mr. Baruch ever contended) that war must be made on any who question their dominion, so that this verbal flourish need not be taken seriously. What is clear is that out of Rhodes’s initial moves grew the world-government conspiracy that undermined all good government in England and America in the century that followed Rhodes’s death in 1902. Rhodes’s wills set up the secret society which was to pursue his ambition through the century to come. The first (the secret society will) took the Society of Jesus as organisational model (Weishaupt similarly used the Jesuitical structure as model for his Illuminati). Another will endowed the “Rhodes Scholarships” under which young men from the Empire, Germany and America were to be brought to Oxford for specialised training so that; after thirty years there would be between two and three thousand men in the prime of life scattered all over the world, each one of whom would have impressed on his mind in the most susceptible period of his life the dream of the Founder, each one of whom, moreover, would have been specially, mathematically selected towards the Founder’s purpose … What, then, was the Founder’s purpose? Was it “simply the government of the world” or “the extension of British rule throughout the world”? Rhodes’s planning took definite shape in 1891 when, with his collaborator and literary apostle, William Stead, he formed his secret society with himself as leader and Stead, Lord Esher and Sir John Milner (later British High Commissioner for South Africa) as members of an executive committee. A “Circle of Initiates” was to be formed with Mr. Balfour, Lord Rothschild, Sir Harry Johnston and other personages prominent on the South African scene. The outer circle (the pattern of circles-within-circles used by Weishaupt and the Communists) was to be an “association of Helpers” (in the Communist vocabulary such “helpers” are known as “friends” or “useful fools”.) If Rhodes’s dream or purpose was in fact “to extend the British Empire to encompass the world” its dissolution within sixty years of his death in 1902 was this “imperial statesman’s” mocking epitaph. If his “simple desire” (a biographer, Mrs Millin) was “government of the world”, the conspiracy he set in motion was far advanced towards this aim after those sixty years. He left behind him a “circle” of publicly renowned men who were (privately) devoted to that ambition. Outwardly they appeared to be rocklike pillars of Empire (as their counterparts in America seemed to be steadfast upholders of the Declaration of Independence). Lord Milner became leader of the Round Table organisation begotten by Rhodes’s secret society of 1891. When I joined The Times in 1921 I became vaguely aware of the existence of a band of brothers known as “Lord Milner’s young men”. I little recked, then, of what they might be at, or could ever imagine that their work, fifty years later, would entwine itself, poison-ivy-like, around my life and lot. One of them, Mr. Geoffrey Dawson, became editor of The Times in my day. Another initiate was Mr. Philip Kerr who held many offices in British South Africa and became, as Lord Lothian, British Ambassador at Washington. Another was Mr. Lionel Curtis, who took over leadership of the Round Table group when Lord Milner died. Something in the South African air seems to have produced this abundant crop of Round Table schemers at that period. Some of these gentlemen took the loftiest view of the shape their future world government would assume. Lord Lothian held that “we should strive to build the Kingdom of Heaven on this earth” (and added that the leadership in that task “must fall first and foremost upon the English-speaking peoples”). At that phase in his scheming “Colonel” House across the Atlantic was also talking about rebuilding the world on a basis of the “solidarity of the Anglo-Saxon peoples”. On both sides of the Atlantic the conspiracy was from the start one of wealthy men: in South Africa, Rhodes, Lord Rothschild (to whom Rhodes at one stage bequeathed his money), Sir Abe Bailey and Alfred Beit: in America, the great money-dynasties of Morgan, Rockefeller, Carnegie and others. One might naively wonder if these great men ever considered the human suffering their ambition would involve, particularly during the Second War, which brought the conspiracy a giant stride nearer its goal. Probably not: great men as a rule are completely cynical about any whom the Juggernaut crushes, provided that the Juggernaut continues towards the destination which they desire. The great men involved in this often had differing views about the shape of the consummation desired by them. The languid and lisping Mr. Balfour, a typical fin de siecle figure, much in demand by the ladies for their Victorian patball parties, held that the world government should be a Jewish one. Mr. House, across the Atlantic, wrote of establishing “Socialism as dreamed by Karl Marx” as the golden rule of world government. Before and after the First War the conspiracies of Rhodes and House began to converge. In the antechambers of World War One the schemers were already busy preparing to set up world government on the ruins. The attempt, at that first bid, was foiled by the American people, who spotted the thief in the woodpile, and discarded President Wilson. The One World conspirators at once regrouped and reorganised their forces for the next bid, through another war. Mr. Lionel Curtis was charged to reshape the Round Table group and established throughout the “English-speaking” lands separate “front organisations” (to use the Communist phraseology) each pursuing the common ambition behind a facade of fine-sounding designations. In England this became the Royal Institute of International Affairs, which absorbed the membership of the ci-devant Round Table group. In America Mr. House’s dictum about “deception regarding real opinions and intentions” was honoured in the name chosen for the new body which was incorporated in 1921: the Council on Foreign Relations. In the next fifty years, until today, this became the invisible government of the United States, supplying the government with increasing numbers of its graduates and in fact directing American state policy towards that “convergence with Communism” which is the truth behind the official protestations of undeviating antagonism to Communism. This CFR has become the protégé of the great banking dynasties and its membership now comprises fourteen hundred leading names in American banking, industry and communications. This invisible government has provided the men to fill nearly all the top posts in the Administration during the past forty-five years. Hence the course of American foreign policy, which by rights is the domain of the Secretary of State. For many years every Secretary of State has been a CFR man, and when he was not, a CFR appointee was leapfrogged over him. Witness President Roosevelt’s Harry Hopkins in the Second War and Dr. Kissinger today: both these publicly unknown men bestrode the narrow world like a colossus and the groundlings paid the price. The innocents abroad (and who is not “abroad” in this dark and haunted terrain of international conspiracy?) can always be heard plaintively asking, “Why?”, or alternatively, “How can wealthy men back those who seek to destroy them? I am not in these great men’s minds but think the answer is contained in some words which I heard the late Lord Birkenhead use, once long ago. This was in the late ‘Twenties, when even to hint that peace might not be eternal was to earn the epithet, “Warmonger”. Lord Birkenhead, a realist said warningly, “There are still glittering prizes to be won” (by making war), and the next morning had the whole coyote-like press pack yelping “Warmonger” at him. I see no other explanation for these dealers in death (for such their worldwide concentration camp would be) than this dazzling allure of the glittering prize. The One-Worlders aim at monopolistic control of the sources of wealth, of which they now control only “a piece”. Total control cannot be acquired by purchase and payment: only world government offers the ultimate seat of power. In Karl Marx’s paradise this absolute power would obtain: in that utopia the human being would be nothing, a zero. An authority with long-term inside knowledge of the conspiracy, (Prof. Carrol Quigley, Tragedy & Hope, Macmillan 1966) says: There has existed for a generation an international network which operates to some extent in the way that the radical Right believes the Communists act. In fact, this network, which we may indicate as the Round Table Groups, has no aversion to co-operating with the Communists, or any other groups, and frequently does so. In the two decades following its incorporation in Paris in 1921 the CFR went from strength to strength, and prepared, through its stranglehold on American foreign policy, to prepare the way for the next attempt to set up world government after another war. When it came, its agents were able to present the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour (of which warning had been given to and ignored by President Roosevelt) as a dastardly surprise (“a day which will live in infamy”). While the war went on the CFR was busy, through an Advisory Committee on Post-War Foreign Policy completely staffed by its appointees, laying the basis for the World State designed to come of it. This group designed the United Nations as the keystone of the World Superstate, and at the founding conference at San Francisco in 1945 the man subsequently convicted as a Communist traitor (Alger Hiss), was Secretary General. When the Second War ended I, and many other British writers, left the suffocating climate of post-war England, where the Socialists waited, like vultures on a bough, for the England where I grew up to breath its last. I was already, in my little way, a victim of the great conspiracy. Before the Second War I published a book which gave warning of its imminent approach, and because it broke out promptly I was held up as a man of brilliant foresight and insight. My eminence lasted but an instant. When I saw, and wrote, that the war was being fought merely to build up Communism, I was howled down as a Fascist and soon found that I was on every publisher’s black list. Thus I brought no illusions with me to South Africa where I arrived, like Othello, my occupation gone. For the next thirty years the spate of anonymous letters and newspaper attacks continued, that is, until today. Humble workaday scribe though I was, I found that the world-government conspirators could not, or would not forget me: no sparrow might fall from a roof, I gathered, but that their minions plausibly presented this as a foul, reactionary and counter-revolutionary deed. Even I was not beneath their notice, I found from this unending vituperation. That was not the worst: I saw that the last chapter of my life, like the twenty years between the two wars, was to be spent in the shadow of another threatening war: and it, like the other two wars, was designed to be one more move towards world government. After two years in South Africa I paid a visit to America and was there when the abominable Hiss was at last exposed and (reluctantly) convicted. I saw how numerous were his friends and patrons, how powerful they were to protect him and cover up his deeds. I saw that the man who denounced him was pilloried on every hand, reduced to poverty, kept in fear of his life (he soon died: the other still lives). I saw how the Widow Roosevelt, the “Madame de Farge” of the conspiracy, openly placed herself before him and even referred jeeringly, in court, to his accuser as “the defendant”. I felt in my journalist’s bones that this America could not long survive in the shape hitherto familiar to the world: it was rotting at the core. I learned of things more directly menacing to South Africa, and to me and my young wife and her babes who lived there. I learned that President Truman, having stepped from the vice-presidential into the presidential shoes on Roosevelt’s death, had grandiose plans for Africa, where he had never been, of which he knew nothing. I saw the red light at once. Had Mr. Truman inherited the House-Baruch plan from Mr. Roosevelt? If so, life in South Africa was going to be precarious. Mr. Truman soon showed that he had indeed inherited the fatal “sponsors”. I believe he was never outside America before he became president: he was a typical product of the American political machine, which, as manipulated by the House-Baruch group, produced presidents pre-tailored to a pattern of submissiveness. Now Mr. Truman, or someone in his name, produced a programme of bountiful undertakings in the world, Point Four of which related to Africa, a place quite unknown to him. Under “Point Four” he proposed to build great roads and railways, ports and airports and the like more. Obviously he had neither the knowledge nor the experience to have hit on such notions unaided. Someone was speaking through him, Charlie McCarthy-like. Simultaneously, the Communist leader in America (at that time, a Mr. Earl Browder) came out with a programme of gigantic undertakings in Africa which was in its essentials a duplicate of Mr. Truman’s Point Four. Neither of these benefactors, America and the Soviet Union, had any presence or foothold in Africa. How, then did they propose to get there and do these wonderful things? At this point my blood ran cold, as the saying is: I saw what was coming and returned to Africa with visions of earlier thundercloud days in Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland heavy on my spirit. I wrote a book about my discoveries in America (Far and Wide). I think it was the last one I was allowed to get published in England and it brought me even more obloquy than the preceding three or four. This book acquired a habit of vanishing from library shelves. Librarians, consulted by me, said they knew this was happening but could not catch the “book-burners”. The parallelism of American and Soviet policy, under the invisible guiding hand of the CFR, was again shown by this announcement of the two great Plans. The two “World Powers” (with the enfeebled British one trotting behind them like a carriage dog) were united in the resolve to carry out Lenin’s dictum that the expulsion of the colonial powers from their territories was essential to the achievement of the world revolution. The Soviet power avowedly desired this: American presidents continued to preach opposition to Communism and to practise support of it. President Roosevelt protected the Communist traitors in his administration: President Truman sacked the American general who wanted to win the war against Communism in Korea. The game went on, plain for all to see, but very few perceived its meaning. Next, President Truman, evidently desiring to show zeal to his sponsors, sent a roving emissary to Africa, a Mr. Mennen “Soapy” Williams, who stumped the continent calling for South Africa to be “brought to its knees”. Africa (this became obvious) was to be the new area of Communist expansion, aided and financed by America. Following Mr. Truman’s lead, every aspiring politician and newspaper editor in the world joined in furious attack on the White governments in Southern Africa, and this continues as I write, nearly thirty years later. This down-with-the-White-man campaign was immensely popular with politicians everywhere, who always rejoice to be able to divert attention from matters at home by pointing a finger at countries far away, and the further the better. Thus, politicos in places as distant from the scene as Australia and New Zealand, the enslaved countries behind the Berlin Wall, and the banana republics of Central America happily stayed in office year after year by this simple method of crying “Fie!” and sternly gazing in the direction of South Africa, thousands of miles away across the oceans. Africa at that period was a continent of order under the colonial powers, Britain, France, Belgium and Portugal. Unnumbered centuries of infant mortality, lethal diseases, slave raiding and tribal wars had left it a depopulated continent until the white man came, who put a stop to all those things, so that in the 19th century it rapidly became an over-populated continent. The orderly process, and the rule of law, were all to be changed when the conspiracy took Africa in hand. America and the Soviet Union set out hand in hand to destroy everything that had been gained, and to recreate Darkest Africa. American politicians fell into paroxysms of simulated moral indignation about the colonial powers and their treatment of the Black man (who soon would look back on the colonial era, when a man could call on the law even against his chief and the witch doctor, as the golden age). In America all the politicians saw in the anti-White man campaign a vote-winning ticket. Macaulay might have said of America at that time, even more truly than of the England of his day, that “We know of no spectacle so ridiculous as the public in one of its periodical fits of morality”. For example, a Mr. Robert Kennedy (younger brother of the late President John Kennedy) came to Africa with his wife and was accorded the hospitality of Natal University for a violent diatribe against the South African Government. I watched this disreputable performance with the eyes of a man who had seen two generations of politicians whipping the mob towards its own destruction. In America, too, Mrs. Roosevelt, gave much vent (publicly) to her feelings of indignation and compassion about the Black man, and helped (privately) to arrange for supplies of arms to the terrorists in Angola. What was coming was clear: America, under any president at all, was to help Communism take over Africa. For a decade this farce continued and then, lo presto and behold, the colonial powers revealed that they too were in the plot. There was no irresistible pressure on them to quit. They received their marching orders from somewhere and just upped and went. One day they were there and the next they were gone, reacting like marionettes to the hidden strings. Belgium went first, then France pulled out of Algeria, and then … Ah, then! Was Britain to desert and dissolve the Empire, and to abandon alike the White people there and the Black ones who still in some places seen by me kept the picture of the great Queen in their kraals and trading stores? Yes, even that. The man chosen to read the dictated death sentence was the British Prime Minister of the day, a Mr. Harold Macmillan. He spoke with the turn of voice and phrase which the frontal politicians of my unfortunate country are adept in using to gloss over an act of perfidy. The wind of change”, Mr. Macmillan told the Cape Town Parliament, was blowing Britain out of Africa. The wind of change! In any anthology of political prevarication this rates a high place. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and no “wind” was blowing the Empire away. It was being broken up by decisions reached long before in secret conclave, and its demolition was done to clear the way for the world-government conspiracy. Followed, in all the British territories, the pantomime of abdication: flags being lowered, plumed hats and gold-encrusted uniforms worn a last time, a Royal Personage handing over the deeds and so on. The only truth behind this woeful pageant was that the Black man was being handed back to slavery. In the next ten years the Black man foretasted the future which had been arranged for him. “Independent” Black states emerged on all hands, and in all of them the politician with the most guns shouldered his way to the front and took over, to be thrust aside a little later by another of the same kind who had been supplied with weapons by someone or other. The tale of carnage and chaos will never be told: it followed the same pattern everywhere, and the world was indifferent to it anyway. Darkest Africa was back. Of the White man’s era only South Africa remained (which immediately broke away from the Empire), and Rhodes’s Rhodesia, which saw that it was to be betrayed and proclaimed Independence on the Washingtonian model on November 11, 1965, and the eastern and western coastal territories of Mozambique and Angola, where the Portuguese had been since before the British Empire or the America Republic were thought of. The Sixties and Seventies, therefore, were filled with the enraged clamour of the outer world (particularly America and England) against these remaining White-governed territories. In England the Socialists were in office and they had long awaited the moment of imperial demise, like vultures on a bough intent on the victim’s last breath. The Socialist leader, a Mr. Harold Wilson, habitually used the language of George III’s prime minister, Lord North, about the Rhodesians. They were “rebels”, he declared. After canvassing the feeling of the British army about an attack on Rhodesia, and drawing blank, he announced at Blackpool (to the cheers of terrorists in the balcony) that he would give “unconditional support” in arms to the Communist bands which succeeded to power in the Portuguese territories neighbouring Rhodesia when the beleaguered Portuguese, after thirteen years of siege by the entire world, collapsed in 1973. I was in Rhodesia, Angola and Mozambique during these years, and although my own part in the imbroglio was but that of one small leaf in a gale, I felt that I was hard done by, after my embittering years in Europe between the wars, in being caught up in yet another chapter of the great conspiracy’s expansionist thrusts. I returned from Rhodesia, Mozambique and Angola to South Africa to await what yet might come. What came, in 1975, was the proof that Mr. Truman’s “Point Four” of 25 years earlier, was a simple restatement of the parallelism of American and Soviet policy, jointly leading to a Communist takeover in Africa. Angola gave clear token of that. Soviet arms, originally financed by America, were supplied to one of the contending factions which fought for power when the Portuguese left, and the Soviet called in Cuban troops to ensure the victory of that faction. The American President at that time was named Ford (the only difference between successive presidents was that of name: in subservience to the overriding world government conspiracy they were all alike) and he was seen, a shadowy figure on the television screen, making sounds of formal disapproval of the Soviet and Cuban incursions into Africa. The real effect of these sotto voce remonstrances was nil: America led the world in tacitly accepting the deed and the appearance of Black Communist states on the eastern and western shores of Africa. By this time it was obvious that no American president, with the example of President Nixon’s overthrow ever in his mind, would presume to affront the pupils of the House-Baruch school, embattled in the Council on Foreign Relations. Whichever contestant might win the 1976 presidential election, nothing would change: and that would hold good for any subsequent election. Thus I awaited my closing years in South Africa. Already, many years before, one of the enormously wealthy “peace” endowments in America (the Carnegie one) had produced a battle plan, complete to the last ballistic detail, for an attack on South Africa by air, sea and land. This open involvement of America in the Communist conspiracy has hung over South Africa ever since it was published in 1965. From my personal eyrie, overlooking the turbulent scene, I saw in it the co-ordination of another holocaust, the essential third stage in the conspiracy to bring about the super-slave-state. At the age I have reached, for a’that, my personal interest in the great melodrama is only to see to it, if I possibly can, that any tombstone of mine shall have the inscription, “He survived!” My ambitions are modest, and for more than that I do not hope. The conspiracy has progressed so far that it will not, possibly cannot stop now. Too many leading men are enchained to it for that. While they are in power over us, we shall all continue to be Gadarea-bound, and the new age of darkness is nigh upon us. When that comes we shall all need to start again and work for another renaissance. Many good men and true are preparing now for that, and tomorrow’s day will be theirs. The perjurers and their kept press will call it the counter-revolution. Its proper name will be The Conspiracy Of Truth. Know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free (John 8:32) PDF of this post. Click to view or download (0.6MB). >> Douglas Reed – The Grand Design of the 20th Century (1977) Ver 2 The Grand Design Cover NEW Knowledge is Power in Our Struggle for Racial Survival Version History Version 3: Jun 11, 2017 – Improved formatting. Version 2: Feb 14, 2015 – Updated cover, improved formatting. Updated PDF of this post. Version 1: Published Aug 27, 2014 Read Full Post »
Kingdom of South Carolina From MicroWiki, the micronational encyclopædia Jump to: navigation, search Kingdom of South Carolina Old SC flag.pngArms of H.R.H. Prince Matthew I of Saxony.png Providentae Memor Old SC map.png Capital city Myrtle Beach Largest city Columbia Official language(s) English Official religion(s) Christianity Demonym South Carolinian Government Constitutional Monarchy - King Matthais Legislature Landstag - Type - unicameral Established January 18, 2009 Area claimed 32,020 sq mi (82,931 km2) Population 100 Currency United States dollar $ Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4 All information are claims by the Government of South Carolina at that time. The Kingdom of South Carolina (German: Königreich Südkarolina), lasting between January 2009 and August 2010, was an independent member state of the U.E.N.A. as well as New Europe. Its capital was the city of Myrtle Beach, and its modern successor state is considered the County of Aiken. Becoming part of New Europe South Carolina became a member state in the final days of the U.E.N.A. Matthew Breen was designated state despot to forge his state as he saw fit. Breen was crowned King by the citizens of South Carolina and it was approved by the Emperor. South Carolina took much pride in its local militia force, which was considered to be as well trained as a regular force, it was so well organized that most customs used in the Imperial Army today are based off of the South Carolina Militia's own. In its founding days, the Imperial Army only had a unified command. However the regional states still maintained their own armed forces. The Royal South Carolinian Army had three component units. These were the Royal South Carolinian Leibgrenadiergarde, The Royal South Carolinian Garde zu Fuss Regiment, and the Royal Saxon Garde du Corps. These units had between 25-30 members at their appex. Imperial Frontier South Carolina, although a constituent state to the greater empire it served, had ambitions of its own. King Matthais boasted his military and royal prowess that he was made the first General Field Marshal for the entire military. As the chief military advisor as well as ruler of the most populated state in the empire the King convinced the Imperial Government to be firm against the Scientopian ultimatum which ultimately lead to the Meissner-Antifan War. It was also throughout the war that the South Carolinian government took majority in making military decisions seeing as it had the most soldiers under its command. The King sought a quick military victory against the enemies and endoresed Johannus von Ikner's plan to create a cyber warfare devision to combat Scientopia.
The Greek culture has many superstitions, and although the majority claim to not actually believe them, there is still a lot of evidence around that some are believers. Some of the more common stories are as follows: The Evil Eye Some Greeks, especially in villages, believe that someone can catch the evil eye, or “matiasma”, from someone else’s jealousy, compliment, or envy. A person who has caught the evil eye usually feels bad physically and psychologically. To avoid the matiasma, those who believe in it wear a charm: a little blue marble glass with an eye painted on it or a blue bracelet. Blue is believed to be the color that wards off the evil eye but it is also believed that people with blue eyes are givers of the matiasma.Garlic is another way to ward off the evil eye, and one can sometimes see it hanging in a corner of some houses. Garlic, as well as onion, is also considered of having a great healing power by many Greeks. If someone is feeling ill, they will advice him to eat garlic. Greeks never hand knives to someone who asks for it for they consider that if they do that they will have a fight with the person. Therefore they set it down on the table and let the other person take it. Some Greeks believe that spitting chases the devil and other misfortune away. That is why when someone talks about bad news (deaths, accidents, etc…) the others slightly spit three times saying “ftou, ftou, ftou”. It is still very common to spit on the devil during a baptism service! Although, it is never actual spit, it is more of a gesture. Tuesday the 13th Unlike the western belief, in Greece the unlucky day is Tuesday the 13th. “Piase Kokkino” When two people say the same thing together they immediately say “piase kokkino” (meaning literally, ‘grab red’) and both have to touch any red item they can find around him. This happens because Greeks believe that saying the same thing is an omen and that the two persons will get into a fight or an argument if they don’t touch a red thing. Nowadays, it is merely done for a game. These are only a few of the many but probably the most commonly believed. Sometimes I am surprised at what people believe, other times, I am just really embarrassed for them! Overall, I think it is interesting what superstitions have arisen from various cultures. One thought on “Superstitions Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
The positive role of social media for young people Lets talk about the positive role of social media for young people. Allowing our children to engage in social media can be great for their development and even their mental health. Yes I know, it isn’t something that sits well with many parents as they bemoan the ‘head in the device mumble’ that comes from their tween or teen. Or maybe it allows you a little sigh of relief so you don’t have to keep fighting and nagging and cursing the day Zuckerberg & co decided to make profiles, newsfeed and ‘likes’ the new reality. But either way, it goes against much of what we hear so often, about the failings of todays youth, as they withdraw further into their own worlds of emojis, abbreviations, snaps and instas. And certainly our immersion into social media is not without its dangers and drawbacks. There are those who rely far too heavily on the likes and followers for their sense of self esteem and self worth. There are those who become so immersed that they forget to participate in other areas of their life that help provide the balance they need. And certainly there are those whose online interactions and connections have resulted in everything from annoying drama to downright devastation. Social networks also help expose them to a myriad sights not made for their vulnerable minds. But with all things in life there is usually good and bad. There is usually a sense of balance required. There are usually many factors that determine the extent of that good or bad. And there is usually a role played by peoples behaviours, rather than simply the technology, the platforms and the networks themselves. So what benefits can the social networks really have on our children’s development and sense of wellbeing? Let’s take a look at some of the things I have observed from young people’s feeds in recent weeks. Social Media for Social Good There is definitely a heightened sense of social awareness and becoming active citizens in helping to implement change and raise awareness of issues. I have seen young girls raise money for koalas by sharing their drawings of the cute Aussie icon. I have seen families participate together in table tennis challenges to help end child slavery. We have seen young people urging others to be the best they can be and reach out in kindness in light of political situations that arouse fear. I have seen young people talk about poverty and I’ve seen them encouraging and applauding the achievements of those seen as disadvantaged. One only needs to read about the success of crowdfunding to realise the impact that social media has on our social conscience but also our ability to more easily become involved in things that matter. The sharing of other peoples lives and experience does help to develop a sense of empathy. Of course we know too, that access to 24/7 media can have the adverse impact of making people seem less impacted by what we see, but I for one, have also been witness to the opposite. The use of social media and the proliferation of video and video sharing does allow us to be brought closer to understanding the plight of others. It does make us feel more connected and more willing to reach out. Many will not forget the little Syrian boys body on the beach, that sent an overwhelming gasp of horror across the globe. Emotional freedom I notice this more with boys (thats not to say girls are not emotional online), but it has been one of my more surprising discoveries. We are working hard to break down the traditional notion of boys being emotionally stoic and unable to show vulnerable emotion for fear of being called out as ‘less manly’. I used to love watching the emotion I would see from boys and men on a sporting field as they hugged fellow players, cried in happiness and sadness and kissed their teammates. It always proved to me that they crave not only the outpouring of this emotion, but the connection with others in a way that didn’t call them out as ‘sissy’. Whilst we are coming a long way, I think social media does and will continue to play a role in this. I recently observed the social media feeds of my teenage son and was pleasantly surprised at the love these friends have for each other. There were kisses, and love heart emojis amongst all the ‘love you bro’s’. Now of course it is easier to be that way online than in real life and some of it may certainly ‘tongue in cheek’, but I think it certainly shows that we all have a need for connection and outward emotion. I think social media will actually help to make this Ok, and to make it the norm. A platform and a voice It is true that many people are braver online with their words than they are in real life. We talk often about the negative impact of the keyboard warriors hurling their abuse and personal attacks whilst they remain tucked safely behind the screen. And certainly there is no end of this type of behaviour. However. For many young people, shy, introverted, maybe not given a platform before, then the online world allows for them a place to have a voice and to be heard. They can publicly present themselves in a way they may be otherwise unable or less inclined to do so in real life. It is no surprise that when you walk in to a room full of bloggers or social media influencers, a large majority are usually shy and far more socially anxious in real life, whilst their online spaces give them a place to more confidently share their voice. Communication Etiquette There is a lot of etiquette that comes with communicating online. Being part of a team or group chat or collaboration allows young people to learn those social norms and etiquettes and to be a valued member of a group whilst still participating in a public space. They may not always get it right, but it is an area we want most of our children to succeed in. They soon get to know know what behaviours work for them and those that do them no favours. Young people are constantly taking photos, videos and finding content to share and comment on. Discovering new content and modifying and critically evaluating it, both as a representation of what they believe and as a way to express themselves and their ideas and beliefs, is becoming the norm. Content creation will play a big part in many of their lives. Learning what to share and how to evaluate it whilst they are young, is a skill they are developing constantly without even being aware. There is a lot of content out there. Searching through the bombardment of irrelevant, untrue, the dangerous and the rubbish is another skill unto itself. As our kids scroll through their saturated feeds of content they are constantly having to critically evaluate what is worthy, what requires exploration and discovery and what is relevant to their world. We need our children to be thinking critically every time they go online, and certainly their social media feeds help them to learn these skills. We still need to be aware of how young people are individually using the technology. We need to ask ourselves if our child is emotionally and developmentally ready for social media . We need to see how they are responding to social media as part of their individual wellbeing. We need to monitor the child and not just the technology. The skills our children need today are changing. Engaging in social media helps them to develop these skills that will become critical as they grow. , , , No comments yet. Leave a Reply CommentLuv badge Website maintained by Biz yourself
NIOSHTIC-2 Publications Search Search Results Perspectives on airborne infection in health care facilities. NIOSH 1994 Jan; :15-34 Airborne infections in health care facilities were discussed. Historical beliefs about the transmission of nosocomial infections were summarized. Within hospitals, infective dusts and aerosols, infected or colonized patients, staff, or visitors, and ventilation or air conditioning are major sources of airborne nosocomial infections (ANI). Outside the hospital, soil, dusts from construction and renovation projects, decaying organic materials, and water from cooling towers are important sources of ANI. Airborne nosocomial pathogens derived from inanimate environments generally have been less virulent than those derived from animate sources. A significant number of viruses, bacteria, and fungi can spread by way of airborne mechanisms in hospitals. Viruses that can be spread through the air include rhinoviruses, influenza and parainfluenza viruses, respiratory syncytial virus, and adenoviruses. Bacterial pathogens that can cause ANI originating from humans include the group-A streptococci, Staphylococcus-aureus, and Mycobacterium- tuberculosis. Bacteria that can be spread in infective aerosols in ventilation and air conditioning systems include Pseudomonads, Acinetobacter, Clostridia, and Legionellae. Fungal pathogens that can cause ANI include Aspergillus and Zygomyces species. The relative importance of airborne transmission of infection in the overall problem of nosocomial infection was discussed. Studies of nonepidemic nosocomial infection in hospitals have indicated that 10 to 24% of the infections were spread through the air. Epidemic outbreaks appear to account for 2 to 3.7% of all ANI. Infection-control; Health-care-facilities; Disease-transmission; Viral-infections; Fungal-infections; Biohazards; Bacterial-infections; Health-care-personnel; Indoor-air-pollution; Indoor-environmental-quality Publication Date Document Type Conference/Symposia Proceedings Bierbaum-PJ; Lippmann-M Fiscal Year NTIS Accession No. NTIS Price Identifying No. DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 94-106 Source Name
Here at stickee, we’re extra passionate about emerging technologies (have we mentioned that before?) and we have a fantastic R&D team always trying to push the boundaries of what our business can achieve. Despite what science-fiction movies would have us believe, artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t just about robots rising to destroy and/or enslave all of humanity. Yet… So far, AI has been applied in many fields and industries to make life and work easier: from financial trading to transportation, retail and healthcare. We have virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa, self-service checkouts at the supermarket, self-driving cars are currently being tested, and machine learning is helping to automate many systems and processes which used to require painstaking human labour. Let’s take a look at the ways AI can help business – and why we think R&D matters so much. What’s AI used for? The main reason for using artificial intelligence in business (and everyday life) is to make things easier or quicker for humans. Taking tasks which usually require human time and intelligence and giving them to a machine can improve productivity and efficiency for the whole business, and changes the way certain roles are defined. Admittedly, this also raises questions on the sustainability of these roles, and whether introducing AI into the daily routines of companies will lead to job losses. We’ll discuss this in a bit! We are currently at the beginning of what many eighties films called the future (Blade Runner, anyone?), and some of the most thrilling possibilities with AI are still being developed. Greg Pinnington, stickee’s Head of Technology, says: “I think one of the most exciting things at the moment is self-driving cars. NVIDIA are working on a system that car manufacturers can embed. They’re a graphics card company, but it turns out graphic cards are really good at doing the kind of calculations AI requires!” If you’re not a head of technology, here’s what this means: the company provides car makers with AI systems which are constantly being fed data in order to learn new capabilities, as well as a dedicated computer chip inside the car which receives data in real time to know what is happening around the vehicle, help it locate itself on a map, and plan the best route to take, among other things. Self-driving cars are on everyone’s mind, from Google to Tesla, Uber, and even Facebook according to some rumours. Incorporating AI into cars to allow them to drive themselves might sound like a recipe for many disastrous accidents, but it’s actually the exact opposite: Danny Shapiro, the senior director of Nvidia’s automotive business unit, told Business Insider: “Because you have this computer brain driving the car, it doesn’t get distracted. It’s not looking at a cell phone. It doesn’t get tired. It doesn’t drink and drive. It’s not dealing with children in the backseat. It doesn’t get road rage. So right off the bat we are eliminating a very high number of accidents and problems that human drivers have. I think we will see these cars being extremely safe, they are not going to take risks, they aren’t going to speed, but at the same time they will drive with the flow of traffic. They will do what’s safe.” Google's self-driving car is the cutest thing ever, and it's smarter than your child. Transportation, then, is the area where the general population is likely to see benefit from artificial intelligence the soonest. But what about businesses? Robots are already a central part of certain industries where operating dangerous machinery or performing very repetitive tasks is best left to a machine to prevent accidents – like the automotive industry, where many tasks are automated. Did you know Japan has the highest robot-to-human ratio in the world, at over 1,400 robots per 10,000 employees? Now you know. That’s top-quality information right there. However, machines aren’t just about brute force. Machine learning, a subset of AI dedicated to providing computers with the ability to learn from exposition to new data, is already making an impact in industries like retail, hospitality, and e-commerce. It easily replaces tedious jobs like data processing, with automated systems which end up being faster and costing businesses less money. Win-win! And if you thought AI would only benefit companies, think again: the world around you is already filled with machine learning artificial intelligence helping you live your life with less hassle. Your sat nav? AI. Predictive text on your smartphone? AI. Your activity tracker? AI. Facebook recommendations? You guessed it – AI. It’s everywhere, and it’s showing no signs of stopping. The drawbacks Wait, does everyone really win? Many fear that artificial intelligence will end up replacing human employees and lead to job losses. Others, like Professor Stephen Hawking, worry that robots and AI will destroy humanity if they become too intelligent. While these are both valid questions, and we’d love to get into the subject of the ethical issues surrounding artificial intelligence, there isn’t too much to fear just yet. AI replacing manual and tedious jobs simply means that humans get more time to focus on the tasks that really matter (and which those machines won’t be able to perform for a while) – imagine, for instance, a digital marketer who didn’t need to analyse or even fill out her analytics spreadsheets herself and could focus on the creative side of her role. “As well as reducing the pressure on the bottom line, AI can deliver improved experiences for end user groups such as customers, suppliers and staff.” (Business Insider Australia) While he agrees that automation will inevitably lead to job losses, Elon Musk also believes the rise of AI will give humans the opportunity to receive a universal income and dedicate more time to pursuing their true interests, learning and creating. As for AI rising up to destroy its creators, well, there’s no guaranteeing that won’t happen. Just remember: it can’t be bargained with, it can’t be reasoned with, it doesn’t feel pity or remorse or fear, and it absolutely will not stop… ever, until you are dead. Wait, that’s not very reassuring… We’ll just have to avoid making a Terminator! Why do we invest in R&D? Some of stickee’s most successful products and services that we provide to a wide range of well-known clients, like MoneySuperMarket or Samsung (shameless name-dropping here), actually started as R&D projects. After all, innovation is the best way for any company to move forward – but that’s especially true in the tech industry. Innovation can literally change the world. As a tech company, we need to always be looking towards the future if we want to stay relevant in an ever-evolving market and expand our products and services. In fact, we wouldn’t be where we are now without the R&D efforts of our team. Karl Binder, stickee’s Innovation Director, says: “the primary goal of the R&D department at stickee is to further the capabilities and expertise of the company by investing time into new ideas and exploring new technologies that can further enhance our business lines.” Karl’s team’s efforts are split into five areas: 1. Promotional, where they create interesting and engaging content (like virtual reality games and experiences) to promote stickee as a leader in the industry. 2. Creative, where games and VR play a huge part – the team develop VR and AR concepts to pitch to new or existing clients in order to win new areas of work. 3. Product development, where they assist product teams in developing proof of concepts and features for internal products, as well as design new features for pitches and presentations to clients. 4. Internal systems development, where the team research and develop ideas to improve stickee’s daily operations, workflow and employee satisfaction. 5. ‘Blue Sky’ new ideas, which is the core research area, enabling stickee to keep up to date with the latest advances in the tech industry, and develop ideas in areas we believe will become more and more widespread as the tech improves, like voice recognition and AR. stickee and AI So, what opportunities are there for stickee to play with AI and develop our products and services? We went back to ask Greg Pinnington, our resident AI fan and R&D pro. “Since one of the areas of innovation we work on at stickee is virtual reality, we might want to look at incorporating artificial intelligence into VR to make the user experience better. One thing that really sucks in VR is trying to enter text, and I think we might be able to look into using AI to add some gesture recognition features that would make it easier.” If you are passionate about R&D and want to discuss the possibilities AI offers for businesses and individuals alike, come talk to us! We love a good tech chat.
SQL Injection: Examples & How to Defend Against It SQL injection is one of the most common and dangerous security vulnerabilities facing Web sites and applications today. But what is it about SQL injection that’s so dangerous, and is there any way to properly defend against it? SQL Injection is a form of code injection used primarily against database-driven Web applications. The vast majority of Web applications in use today are comprised of either 3-tier or n-tier application architecture, but what they all have in common is the use of a database server located at the backend from which the logic or application tier opens a connection to and passes an SQL script for it to execute. SQL is the query language used to retrieve from and insert information into the majority of commercially-used databases. SQL injection, then, is an attempt by the attacker to manipulate the query that is sent to the database server by inserting code into presentation-tier input fields, such as username and password text fields representing a login screen, or into HTTP requests via the browser, which can result in the database server executing unintended commands or retrieving private data. To put it succinctly; SQL injection is an attempt to manipulate the application so that input data is parsed as code rather than treated as data. SQL injection is an ongoing security issue for all database driven Web applications, and indeed some of the most damaging attacks in history have been as a result of SQL injection, such as the 2009 attack by hackers on Heartland Payment Systems in which 130 million credit card numbers were compromised. The Open Web Application Security Project, a non-profit global organisation designed to provide standards for keeping Web applications safe from attackers, has ranked Injection (including SQL injection) as its number one security risk for Web applications in 2013. There are a number of scenarios in which applications that use a back-end database may be vulnerable to SQL injection attack. The first, and most easily exploited, of these, is when the application does not properly handle escape characters, such as the single quote symbol ( ‘ ). This is because SQL databases interpret the escape symbol (usually the quote character) as the demarcation between the data and the code. If an attacker can trick an SQL query into unintentionally escaping data, they can append code to the query. A simple example below shows PHP server-side source code to store a dynamic SQL query that does not handle escape symbols and thus is vulnerable to SQL injection. $SQL = “SELECT UserID FROM users WHERE username = ‘$_GET[“username”]’;”; The user at the client side could potentially cause an injection attack if they were to enter the below line into the ‘username’ text field corresponding to the variable retrieved from $_GET[‘username’]: ‘ DROP TABLE Users -- The resulting SQL query to be run on the database then becomes: SELECT UserID FROM users WHERE username = '' DROP TABLE users --'; The user in the above example has commented out the final quote to avoid an SQL exception. The above query gives the user unintended access to the database and (if the permissions allow it) allow the user to delete entire tables from the database, obviously a completely unintended outcome from the application developer’s perspective. Another vulnerability to SQL injection comes when the application sends SQL exceptions or server errors as responses directly to the client. This allows the user to test through trial and error for vulnerabilities in the application; for example, by guessing field names of tables through injected queries. If the application shows server error responses to the user, they can determine whether a particular field name exists or whether the application is vulnerable to escape characters. For this reason, Web applications should always show a generic, non-specific error page or message when an input returns an error. Many Internet security bodies and professionals recommend SQL Query parameterisation as a key defence mechanism to combat SQL injection attacks. Parameterised statements are those in which user input is not embedded directly into the SQL statement, but rather assigned to parameters or placeholders which are only ever parsed as a value of the given type of the table field. For example, in the above example, the user input ‘ DROP TABLE Users – would be assigned to a String parameter and matched against the UserID field. This would return no results, unless of course there were actually a user in the database called ‘ DROP TABLE Users –. All major development platforms support their own version of parameterised statements. Article by Tom Sprudzans You may also like...
Posts about South America Fungus-gardening Ant Species Has Given Up Sex Completely Full press release Anthropologists Find New Type of Urbanism in Amazon Jungles Anthropologists Find New Type of Urbanism in Amazon Jungles Using Cameras Monitoring To Aid Conservation Efforts photo of Jaguar How Hidden Cameras Aid Conservation Efforts for Jaguars and Other Rare Animals Tobler and his fellow authors write that “despite years of research throughout the Amazon, there are few complete mammal inventories and our knowledge of the distributions of rare and elusive species is still poor.” They explain further that traditional techniques for inventorying which animals are present in a given ecosystem, such as identification of tracks and scat, direct observations, and trapping of animals often do not account for species of animals that are rare and/or low in their numbers in a certain area. For these reasons, they wanted to test out how well cameras could document animals in the rainforest, where cover is dense and many species are hard to observe. Over the two years of the study, some of the more photographed animals included the Lowland tapir, which was caught on camera 102 times and also the White-lipped Peccary (seen 210 times). Among cat species, jaguars were photographed 51 times, ocelots 46 times, pumas 25 times, margays 15 times, and jaguarundis proved the most elusive, only being photographed twice. The four species of animals that were not photographed included the pacarana, the grison, the Southern naked-tailed armadillo, and the Bush dog. Given the recent lowering of costs and improvements in camera technology, hopefully their example and those of others will help other conservationists around the world to better understand the location of important and rare animals in their respective ecosystems. Given the large range of jaguars and their need for connected habitat, this study gives us hope to think that little hidden cameras might help us better understand where these charismatic cats and other rare animals roam, and consequently give us better information with which to help protect them. Photo Credit: purplegrum at Flickr under a Creative Commons attribution license Related: Rare Chinese Mountain CatJaguars Back in the Southwest USACool CatCam Aztec Math Aztec Math Decoded, Reveals Woes of Ancient Tax Time “The ancient texts were extremely detailed and well organized, because landowners often had to pay tribute according to the value of their holdings,” said co-author Maria del Carmen Jorge y Jorge at the National Autonomous University in Mexico City, Mexico. The Aztecs recorded only the total area of each parcel and the length of the four sides of its perimeter, Jorge y Jorge explained. Officials calculated the size of each parcel using a series of five algorithms—including one also employed by the ancient Sumerians—she added. Aztec math finally adds up That meant that some of the unknown symbols had to represent fractions of a rod, she said. By trial and error, she decoded the system. A hand equaled 3/5 of a rod, an arrow was 1/2 , a heart was 2/5 , an arm was 1/3 , and a bone was 1/5 . A set of at least five formulas emerged showing how the Aztec surveyors determined the areas of irregular shapes. In some cases, the Aztecs averaged opposite sides and then multiplied. In others, they bisected the fields into triangles. Related: Sexy MathPixar Is Inventing New Math1=2: A Mistaken Proof Ethanol Scam The Clean Energy Scam One groundbreaking new study in Science concluded that when this deforestation effect is taken into account, corn ethanol and soy biodiesel produce about twice the emissions of gasoline. Sugarcane ethanol is much cleaner, and biofuels created from waste products that don’t gobble up land have real potential, but even cellulosic ethanol increases overall emissions when its plant source is grown on good cropland. “People don’t want to believe renewable fuels could be bad,” says the lead author, Tim Searchinger, a Princeton scholar and former Environmental Defense attorney. “But when you realize we’re tearing down rain forests that store loads of carbon to grow crops that store much less carbon, it becomes obvious.” Related: Is Ethanol a Science Based Solution or Special Interest PayoffBiofuels use Could Worsen Global WarmingPeak SoilConverting Emissions to BiofuelsGeothermal Power in Alaska Peru Meteorite Provides Puzzles Peru meteorite may rewrite rules Usually, only meteorites made of metal survive the passage through Earth’s atmosphere sufficiently intact to scoop out a crater. But the object which came down in the Puno region of Peru was a relatively fragile stony meteorite. During the fiery descent through Earth’s atmosphere, these are thought to fragment into smaller pieces which then scatter over a wide area. Peter Schultz told the conference that the meteorite was travelling at about 24,000km/h (15,000mph) at the moment of impact – much faster than would be expected. “This just isn’t what we expected,” said Professor Schultz, from Brown University in Providence, US. “It was to the point that many thought this was fake. It was completely inconsistent with our understanding of how stony meteorites act.” At the velocity it was travelling, fragments could not escape the “shock-wave” barrier which accompanies the meteorite’s passage through the atmosphere. Instead, the fragments may have reconstituted themselves into another shape, which made them more aerodynamic. Consequently, they encountered less friction during their plunge to Earth, holding together until they reached the ground. “Although [the meteorite] is quickly broken up, it is behaving like a solid mass,” Professor Schultz told the conference. Excellent article. First it is just interesting. Also it shows how scientists have to learn from what they observe and try to understand what explains the results they see. Related: posts on scientific inquiry and scientists attempts to understand real world resultsScores Ill in Peru after Meteor StrikeLaws of Physics May Need a RevisionWhen Galaxies CollideMeteorite, Older than the Sun, Found in Canada • Recent Comments: • Recent Trackbacks: • Links
Friday, June 6, 2008 If Israel Attacks Israel has maintained secrecy about its nuclear weapons program. Officially, the Israeli government had maintained a policy of “deliberate ambiguity,” saying only that Israel will not be the first country to introduce nuclear weapons into a Middle Eastern war. This carefully worded statement was designed to avoid having to deny that Israel actually possesses nuclear weapons. Still, along with India and Pakistan, Israel is one of the three sovereign states possessing nuclear weapons that have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Israel made this decision simply to avoid lying about the nuclear program the world knows it has. The existence of the Israeli nuclear weapons program was first disclosed by Mordechai Vanunu in the London-based Sunday Times, on 5 October 1986. At that time, Vanunu was a thirty-one-year-old Israeli who had worked for ten years in a top secret underground bunker at Dimona in the Negev Desert, the site of Israel’s nuclear reactor and the country’s nuclear research establishment. Vanunu published a series of photographs in the Sunday Times, which permitted international nuclear weapons experts to determine that Israel possessed a sophisticated nuclear arsenal, estimated to rank as the sixth most powerful in the world, behind America, Russia, Britain, France, and China, but ahead of India and Pakistan. Since the 1950s, the United States had refused requests from Israel to help build the country’s nuclear capabilities. Israel got the assistance required from France, which built the Dimona reactor and supplied Israel with the plutonium-extracting technology which was required to transform the Dimona reactor from civilian purposes into nuclear weapons capability. Studying Vanunu’s photographs, nuclear experts in 1986 estimated that Israel might have as many as 100 to 200 nuclear weapons of varying capacities. This was more than ten times what experts had estimated prior to Vanunu’s revelations. For smuggling a camera into the Dimona secret facility and taking more than sixty photographs, Vanunu was convicted of treason. In April 2004, Vanunu was finally released, after serving eighteen years in prison, including eleven years in solitary confinement. Estimates in 1997 placed the number of Israeli nuclear weapons at some 400 thermonuclear and nuclear weapons. Before her death in 1978, Prime Minister Golda Meir told friends that suicidal thoughts had plagued her during the Yom Kippur War. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement for the Jewish people. It is the year’s holiest day. Prime Minister Meir referred to the surprise attach by Egypt and Syria. The initial forays by Israel’s two enemies were disastrous. Moshe Dayan, the Minister of Defense, is said to have called for nuclear bombs to be put aboard fighter planes and nuclear warheads placed on Israel’s Jericho missiles. He wanted to be ready should the attacking Arab states reach the point-of-no-return in endangering the State of Israel. Dayan was gravely fearful that the attack would result in the destruction of what he referred to as the “third Commonwealth.” The first had been destroyed by the Babylonians and the second by the Romans. US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger prevailed on President Richard Nixon to assist the Israelis by providing weapons and ammunition in the most massive airlift since the Berlin Airlift following World War II. Israel’s nuclear weapons have always been considered the core of what has commonly been known as the Samson Option. The strategy is named after the biblical story of Samson using his great strength to bring down a temple, killing a great number of enemy Philistines, as well as himself, in the process. Israel has sworn “never again” in relation to the possibility of another Holocaust. Given this determination, the Samson Option postulates that Israel would be willing to use extreme measures if the country’s survival were at stake. In the crisis with Iran, the Samson Option has been used to mean that Israel would attack Iran in a preemptive war and would be willing to use nuclear weapons. Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons is seen as a threat to Israel’s continued existence. In other words, Israel would be willing to attack Iran even if the result of an Israeli preemptive strike ended up being retaliation by Iran that ended up with Israel’s destruction. The Israelis judge that destruction in a military conflict with an aggressor like Iran would still be better than doing nothing and waiting to be destroyed. Passivity in the face of aggression has always been judged to be a mistake the European Jews made against Hitler. In extreme situations, Israel can be expected to attack, rather than to delay too long. This is why Israel’s patience for negotiations with the mullahs can be expected to run out. Israel knows the mullahs are trying to buy time and that time in this crisis works against Israel. Analysts argue that Israel’s current nuclear arsenal opens up many strategic possibilities short of the Samson Option. Israel has the type of relatively low-yield tactical nuclear weapons that can be selectively fired to eliminate specific targets. Low-yield “tactical nukes” could be used to hit the type of hard-ended underground centrifuge farm which Iran has built at Natanz to enrich uranium. Israel’s larger nuclear warheads have been adapted for the Jericho series of missiles. Israel first began developing these missiles with French assistance in the 1960s. The Jericho II is a solid fuel, two-stage missile that Israel has test fired into the Mediterranean Sea at ranges estimated at around 1,300 kilometers (800 miles). Reportedly, Israel has had a multi-stage Jericho III under development, more truly an intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of around 4,800 kilometers (3,000 miles). Israel also has cruise missiles which can be adapted with nuclear warheads, such as the Popeye Turbo which is designed to be air-launched from Israel’s F-15 and F-16 fighter jets. The Popeye Turbo can also be launched from the three Dolphin-class submarines the Germans built for Israel. While details of the Israeli nuclear arsenal remain highly classified, analysts believe Israel can launch relatively low-yield tactical nuclear weapons from the air and sea via Israel’s fighter aircraft and submarines. Conceivably, Israel could mix tactical nuclear weapons delivered via fighter aircraft with cruise missiles fired from sea. Higher-yield nuclear warheads deliverableby Israel’s Jericho II missiles would most likely be held in reserve, waiting to see what retaliatory responses Iran launched and how the war escalated from the initial attack. The above is an excerpt from Dr. Evans’ book Showdown with Nuclear Iran. All of those who send a donation of $50 to help create Jerusalem prayer teams throughout the world will receive an autographed copy of the book.Click here to make your gift. Your Jerusalem World News: Your Save Jerusalem Site: No comments:
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 The great debate - DEANZ 2010 Teaching ePortfolios: Department of Natural Sc...Image by hazelowendmc via Flickr The debate panel was comprised of Simon Atkinson, Niki Davis, Terry Neal, Nicki Page, Peter Guiney, and Derek Wenmoth. The judges were Liz Burge, Terry Anderson, and Bill Anderson. The debate point was that the new places, spaces and tools of learning produce better outcomes and opportunities for learners. Derek Wenmoth opened with a positive spin, first opening with a question as to what constitutes 'new', and emphasising the desire to continually improve. Technology was used as a term which embraces spaces, places and contexts. Transmission stands at the top end, rather than mediated experiences. He quoted a range of comments throughout the ages around technology; e.g. 1703 - "teachers today cannot prepare their bark quick enough - they have to rely on their slates. What do they do when their slates break?"! Simon 'the slayer' Atkinson was up next, and opened with the 3,000 year old story of the one eyed monk. The monks were wandering in the foothills, and if they wanted hospitality they would often have to debate. The novice monk was one-eyed, deaf and mute. They went up the hill to a monastery, and after 5 minutes the old monk left. The points from the story were that there was no technology at that time, and that it took no technology to tell the story...it seemed perhaps a little spurious!! It was also followed by a small stunt where one of the against team rang Simon on his mobile to interrupt his 5-minute against. Terry Neal was up next speaking for the affirmative. She was up front in saying that there was little to refute in Simon's points. Terry talked about two meta-analyses from 2009 that illustrated that there is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates that "stronger learning" outcomes are being achieved in blended environments when compared to only face-to-face education. She then mentioned meaningful examples of new places, spaces and tools, including those that were personally known, in particular those related to real-life skills. Nicki Page was the next speaker for the negative. Her suggestion was that we don't know where to draw the line. A lively, humorous presentation, it seemed to be designed to be derogatory toward some of the key advances in education (and some of the other panel members). It was funny, but I felt it was set out to pull down the positive aspects of ICT enhanced learning and teaching, rather than making a serious point for the negative team. Nicki Davis up next. She started by saying that students were being ignored which is why we have had to move to new places and spaces. As we move into the 21st century we have to realise who we haven't been reaching (including teachers). In NZ learners are being brought into these new spaces and places. She showed the NZ eLearning cluster map showing which schools are collaborating. Nicki made the point that blended learning has doubled annually in the USA since the advent of the first virtual high school. Some of the kids being reached are those that refuse to go to school - and they are being encouraged to participate (e.g. in the UK 'Not School'). Who are the learners we have not reached before (for instance those with low literacy and numeracy). Peter Guiney was next for the negative. He started by refuting the examples and evidence of the other team. He made a good point about "where's the new stuff"? asking why people had not been referring to the future, but rather pointing to the past. Power to the students was the closing, rallying cry! One minute rebuttals followed the 5 minute points. The negative team undermined the validity of the backchannel being shown on the screens during the debate, and voiced the desire to drown out the Twitter feed. The point was made that we are forcing our view of the world on students. Derek Wenmoth went back for evidence - the Massey Web site was down, but then found some research about Voicethread and Web 2.0 research with positive outcomes, then referred to the research around Midwifery and Second Life, and finally pointed out to MoE research and the fact that it was all written by the 'negative' half of the panel. The judges wrap-up was insightful and amusing. Pulling together key points from both teams, the first judge came down on the side of the positive, and the next on the negative. Liz Burge did the final wrap up return on investment for students, elegance, and integrity (delivering on the expectations of students). The winners were therefore the negative team! I wonder why they didn't ask the audience?????? (talking of learner expectations!!). I suspect there will be lively debate around the outcome. For me, the negatives just tried to shoot the positive team down in flames with no real substance to their arguments, and no evidence to support their points of view - not that I'm biased in any way of course ;-) Feedback from a couple of people from the audience I met afterwards, however, felt that the judges decision was right - because there had been no debate, so the only thing that could be judged was entertainments value...and the negatives were certainly were entertaining! In part, it was felt that the lack of debate was because the moot was a truism, and you can't debate it truism. Reblog this post [with Zemanta] No comments:
The living dead Florida panther This might disappoint a few but this is not an article about how Andrew Lincoln tackles to save our human species from a zombie invasion. In biology, the living dead is a concept referring to species whose only chance of survival is through rapid human intervention. These species cannot recover if habitat loss alone is stopped. Also referred to as “zombies”, they are left lingering on the planet until they die off into oblivion. Apologies for the dreary tone but this is unfortunately a fact that we must face. I promise to finish on a good note so do not get discouraged by the dark tale ahead. As humans continue to bulldoze their way across our planet, they are tearing apart habitats of thousands of animals. As a result, animal homes are becoming fragmented at alarming rates and large populations of species previously able to roam for thousands of kilometres are broken up and confined into “virtual islands”. This is of course not breaking news and although we are being constantly warned about the dramatic effect we are having on the planet, not a lot seems to be happening to stop it. We are mostly faced with news about species at the risk of extinction if we do not act soon, however this might be feeding our sense of hope that, like a late essay crisis, under pressure we’ll get our act together and help them pull through. What we don’t realise enough is that many species around us are already extinct but are still among us due to long generation times. In other words when the remaining ones die off then that’s it. These are the living dead. They are part of what biologists like to call an “extinction debt”. The earth is keeping a tab of what we’ve been spending over the last couple of years and before you know it we’re in overdraft. Now enough with the analogies and here’s the actual science behind this. A term at the centre of this concept is the minimum viable population (MVP). As populations decrease, a number of factors are at play that decrease their chances of reproduction. General variations in birth and death rates have an enhanced effect on small population than they would larger ones. This is known as demographic stochasticity. Take a population of three breeding individuals and let them have a one-year lifespan. If for some reason neither reproduce one year then their population goes extinct. Take a population of 100 on the other hand; even if a few don’t fancy getting it on one year, you’re still left with a very large population of reproducing animals. Variations in sex ratios also fall under the umbrella of demographic stochasticity. For example, the last six surviving individuals of the dusky sparrow were all male. There must therefore be a threshold of how small the population can be to allow it to persist. There you have it, what is known as the minimum viable population. Shaffer first introduced the term in 1981 and described it as “the smallest isolated population (of a given species in a given habitat) having a 99% chance of remaining in existence for 1,000 years”. So who are these living dead species? Unfortunately we don’t need to look very far to find them. The Florida panther is one amongst many to be heading down this dark path. These majestic animals have been reduced to a population of about thirty individuals in the area adjoining the everglades known as the Big Cypress Swamps. Reasons for their demise include as always habitat destruction. Due to such a poor gene pool they are also prone to many genetic diseases such as cryptorchidism. In simpler terms this means one or both of their testicles remain undescended and as consequence, to put it grossly, this “cooks” the sperm that are not used to such high temperatures. Rainforests are another example of “walk in graveyards”. The amazon is a host to a museum of species who are past their time. These include the tree ocelot, white-cheeked spider monkey, Rio Branco antbird, Brazilian tapir and Yellow-headed poison frog. As promised, I will finish on a positive note so that you go away from this with the drive to do more. Raising the living dead is a 2010 article by Carlos Magdalena on the successful resuscitation of a seemingly doomed species of flower known as Café marron (for you biologists out there it is a member of the Rubiaceae family, the fourth largest of the angiosperms). The Mascarene Islands on which it was found are known as the ‘Islands of the Living Dead’ due to the disastrous effects habitat destruction has had on their ecosystem. Following its initial discovery in the early 1700s, it then disappeared from our records until by luck 100 years later a schoolboy discovered a single specimen. The plant was rushed to Kew gardens for ex situ conservation. Unfortunately attempts for it to produce seeds were in vain despite relentless efforts. Three years later, Kew garden scientists were finally rewarded for their efforts as seven seeds braved their way into the world. This is very encouraging and good news for the future of the species. This success story should be used as a framework for future resuscitations and should help us remember that unlike Andrew Lincoln’s zombies, the living dead can be brought back. Click to comment Leave a Reply * Copy This Password * * Type Or Paste Password Here * The Latest To Top
Friday, January 24, 2014 Forgotten Chicago Water Crib Fire Killed Scores Note: This post is a few days late. In fact I only learned about this tragedy in from a short entry in a labor history web page posted to Facebook yesterday. Which is more than strange because I am pretty familiar with labor history and disasters and Chicago history. It turns out how a catastrophe of this magnitude can “get lost” has a lot to do with the status of the victims…. On January 20, 1909 a flash fire consumed a wooden barracks building on a stone pier in Lake Michigan about a mile off of 71st Street. Between 40 and 70 men—sources vary widely likely because no good records were kept and bodies were incinerated or lost in the lake—were killed. Upwards of 100 others barely survived by jumping into the water and clinging to ice floes until help finally arrived from the shore. Yet the horrific event is strangely missing from Chicago history which has documented and commemorated other disasters ranging from the Iroquois Theater fire and Eastland capsizing to the Holy Angel School fire and Loop El derailment. How could that be? It has a lot to do with the victims. They were mostly immigrants, overwhelmingly Irish. They were employed by contractor George Jackson to build a brick lined tunnel from the lake to the city as a conduit for fresh water to the rapidly growing South Side. Some were experienced tunnel rats—diggers of underwater tunnels and one of the most dangerous construction jobs of all. Others were casual laborers. Most were single and itinerant—moving from job to job, city to city. The more skilled men got about $2 a week, room and board in the barracks for weeks at a time while on the job. Laborers made about a buck. A handful of foremen and superintendents did better. But by in large they were nameless and faceless with few wailing widows and children left behind. In the America of that era no population was more expendable. The fact that the fire occurred far away from the bustling streets meant Chicago’s press was not there to document it with dramatic photographs or interviews with witnesses. They hardly even bothered to interview survivors. We have left is a grainy photo of some blanket wrapped survivors and some shots of the burned out pier. Finally as a major municipal project with an inevitably clout heavy contractor, City authorities were not keen on a deep investigation that would have uncovered the dangerous conditions in which the men labored and lived. There would not be thundering editorials demanding reform or months of headlines about investigations. It would disappear from the city’s consciousness by the time trees on shore began to bud. The fire broke out in the early morning before the men went down to the tunnel. It flashed through the wooden barracks in moments. Someone made frantic telephone call to the shore office, “The crib is on fire! For God's sake send help at once or we will be burned alive! The tug...” That was as far as the caller got. The line went dead. Men were burned in their bunks or trampled in the scramble to escape. The fire quickly spread to the wooden deck of the pier leaving no safe haven. They began to jump the ten feet or so into the Lake. Many drowned, others clung to ice floes. Meanwhile on shore there was a scramble to send relief. But the main supply tug did not have a head of steam up and small boats had a hard time breaking through the shore ice. It was almost an hour before help arrived. Too late for many. The exact cause of the conflagration has never been determined. It might have been that careless smoking ignited one of the flimsy mattress pads or that there was some sort of accident with the coal stoves that heated the building. At least one survivor reported that a janitor had sprinkled the barracks with gasoline to control an infestation of bed bugs. That little tidbit caused the disaster to be briefly mentioned recently when the city was cited by Orkin for two years running as the most bed bug infested city in the country. Interest in the disaster was also stirred in 2009 when divers with the Underwater Archeological Society of Chicago began exploring sunken remnants of the disaster and a former Chicago Fire Commissioner James Joyce took up an interest in the case. But after a short flurry of newspaper articles, the Crib fire rapidly faded back into oblivion. A few days after the fire thousands of curious Chicagoans lined the streets of the South Side to watch a parade of horse drawn hearses deliver dozens of caskets to Mount Greenwood Cemetery. Contractor Jackson “generously” paid for the funerals and burial. Each casket was lowered into an unmarked grave. Today you can find the only monument to the dead there, a simple brass plaque donated much later by the Mount Greenwood Cemetery Association which reads “In Memory of Crib Fire, 45 unknown men, Jan. 20, 1909.” You can see a familiar Chicago landmark, the 68th Street Water Crib built on a hexagonal artificial island with a light beacon and adjacent round red brick tank near the site of the fire. 1 comment: 1. Wow, this is an amazing story! Had absolutely no idea about this. Incredible that so many men are marked as unknown....or that the sprinkled GASOLINE to fix the bedbugs. I see a Trib article in your future with this story :)
Worm Holes If we insert our hands into the window from two different directions, then it appears as though our hands have disappeared. We have a body, but no hands. In the alternative universe, two hands have emerged from either side of the window but they are not attached to a body. In this purely hypothetical example, a "window" or wormhole has opened up in our universe. If we look into the window from one direction, we see one dinosaur. If we look into the other side of the window, we see another dinosaur. As seen from the other universe, a window has opened up between the two dinosaurs. Inside the window, the dinosaurs see a strange small animal (us). No comments: Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
viernes, 14 de octubre de 2016 Why is the kakapo important? Singularities of kakapos: • The ancient, flightless Kakapo is the world's rarest and strangest parrot, it only lives in New Zealand. • It the only flightless and nocturnal parrot. • It is, as well, the heaviest in the world, weighing up to 3.5 kilograms (8 lbs). Here is a pic of an adult with two juvenile, obviously a family. You may notice how strange is to find a parrot raising their chicks in a kind of den in the ground. Curiosities about the character of Kakapos: The kakapo is one of the most outrageously funny, loving and strangest birds in a land renowned for unusual creatures. Life moves very slowly for the kakapo - it seems locked in another time. It is slow to breed and lives longer than any other bird. Why so many people in New Zealand cares about Kakapos: • Because they tend to identificate their "identity" with the singularities of their nation, and the many singular species New Zealand has are, without doubt, part of the gross bulk of these singularity. • Because New Zealand has already a sad history of loosing many singular species. Why conserving kakapos has to do with conserving biodiversity in New Zealand: It is a matter of conserving enough "wild" habitats for the kakapo to live in, or loosing the kakapo forever. We in Spain (and Portugal) have a very similar problem, we have our Iberian lynxes that are so madly endagered as a species. If we are not able to manage the enough territory in the conditions required for them to live in, we will only have them as a remaining captive individuals. Why conserving kakapos is important for the rest of the world: For two reasons: - The people that will come after us. - If we choose to forget endagered species, and continue growing and populate the Earth only with us and our pets and cattle, will get to a point where we won't be able to feed ourselves acording with this trend. We are just a piece of the domino that is further of the extinction point than is the kakapo today, but the falling of the rest of the pieces will reach us in a moment or other. It is just time to think about this. More about the kakapo: New Zealand Ecology - Kakapo The Fabulous Kakapo Parrot More about extinctions in New Zealand: List of extinct animals of New Zealand Stephens Island wren A vision of the extinction of the Stephen Island Wren, written by myself (Spanish): El falso mito del gato del farero (1/3): El cuento, el pájaro y la isla No hay comentarios: Publicar un comentario
What is Android? Average: 5 (1 vote) Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google and is based upon a modified version of the Linux kernel. It was initially developed by Android Inc. (a firm purchased by Google) and later positioned in the Open Handset Alliance. According to NPD Group, unit sales for Android OS smartphones ranked first among all smartphone OS handsets sold in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2010, at 33%. BlackBerry OS is second at 28%, and iOS is ranked third with 22%. Android has a large community of developers writing application programs (apps) that extend the functionality of the devices. There are currently over 70,000 apps available for Android with some estimates saying 100,000 have been submitted, which makes it the second most popular mobile development environment. Developers write managed code in the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries. At Google, the team led by Rubin developed a mobile device platform powered by the Linux kernel which they marketed to handset makers and carriers on the premise of providing a flexible, upgradable system. It was reported that Google had already lined up a series of hardware component and software partners and signaled to carriers that it was open to various degrees of cooperation on their part. More speculation that Google would be entering the mobile-phone market came in December 2006. Reports from the BBC and The Wall Street Journal noted that Google wanted its search and applications on mobile phones and it was working hard to deliver that. Print and online media outlets soon reported rumors that Google was developing a Google-branded handset. More speculation followed reporting that as Google was defining technical specifications, it was showing prototypes to cell phone manufacturers and network operators. Open Handset Alliance Main article: Open Handset Alliance Eric Schmidt, Google Chairman/CEO With the exception of brief update periods, Android has been available as open source since 21 October 2008. Google published the entire source code (including network and telephony stacks) under an Apache License. With the Apache License, vendors can add proprietary extensions without submitting those back to the open source community. Update history Android has seen a number of updates since its original release. These updates to the base operating system typically fix bugs and add new features. And generally, each update to the Android operating system is developed under a code name based on a dessert item. Released 9 February 2009 1.5 (Cupcake) Based on Linux Kernel 2.6.27 On 30 April 2009, the official 1.5 (Cupcake) update for Android was released. There were several new features and UI updates included in the 1.5 update: * Ability to record and watch videos through camcorder mode * Uploading videos to YouTube and pictures to Picasa directly from the phone * A new soft-keyboard with text-prediction * Bluetooth A2DP and AVRCP support * Ability to automatically connect to a Bluetooth headset within a certain distance * New widgets and folders that can populate the Home screens * Animated screen transitions 1.6 (Donut) Based on Linux Kernel 2.6.29 On 15 September 2009, the 1.6 (Donut) SDK was released. Included in the update were: * An improved Android Market experience * An integrated camera, camcorder, and gallery interface * Gallery now enables users to select multiple photos for deletion * Support for WVGA screen resolutions * Speed improvements in searching and camera applications * Gesture framework and GestureBuilder development tool 2.0/2.1 (Eclair) Based on Linux Kernel 2.6.29 On 26 October 2009 the 2.0 (Eclair) SDK was released. Among the changes were: * Optimized hardware speed * Support for more screen sizes and resolutions * Revamped UI * New Browser UI and HTML5 support * New contact lists * Better contrast ratio for backgrounds * Improved Google Maps 3.1.2 * Microsoft Exchange support * Built in flash support for Camera * Digital Zoom * MotionEvent class enhanced to track multi-touch events * Improved virtual keyboard * Bluetooth 2.1 * Live Wallpapers The 2.0.1 SDK was released on 3 December 2009. The 2.1 SDK was released on 12 January 2010. 2.2 (Froyo)/2.2.1 Based on Linux Kernel 2.6.32[46] On 20 May 2010 the 2.2 Frozen Yogurt (Froyo) SDK was released. Changes included: * General Android OS speed, memory, and performance optimizations * Additional application speed improvements courtesy of JIT implementation * Integration of Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine into the Browser application * Improved application launcher with shortcuts to Phone and Browser applications * USB tethering and WiFi hotspot functionality * Added an option to disable data access over mobile network * Updated Market application with batch and automatic update features * Quick switching between multiple keyboard languages and their dictionaries * Voice dialing and contact sharing over Bluetooth * Support for numeric and alphanumeric passwords * Support for file upload fields in the Browser application * Browser can now display animated GIFs (instead of just the first frame) * Support for installing applications to the expandable memory * Adobe Flash 10.1 support * Default Search Engine Selection Based on Linux Kernel 2.6.35[46] Tentatively scheduled for Q4 2010 launch. Confirmed new features: * Support for WebM video playback * Improved copy–paste functionalities Unconfirmed new features: * Android Market music store * Media streaming from PC library * Revamped UI * Support for bigger screens with up to Wide XGA (1366×768) resolution * New 3D Games support including new Marketplace area for gaming * Use of mksh for /system/bin/sh * Support for video calls Honeycomb Scheduled for 2011 launch. Feature list started with things that won't make the cut-off for Gingerbread Current features and specifications: The Android Emulator default home screen (v1.5). Architecture Diagram Streaming media support RTP/RTSP streaming (3GPP PSS, ISMA), HTML progressive download (HTML5 <video> tag). Adobe Flash Streaming (RTMP) is supported through Adobe Flash Player plugin. Apple HTTP Live Streaming is supported through third party media player (Nextreaming NexPlayer). Micosoft Smooth Streaming is planned to be supported through the awaited port of Sliverlight plugin to Android. Adobe Flash HTTP Dynamic Streaming is planned to be supported through an upgrade of the Flash plugin. Additional hardware support Android can use video/still cameras, touchscreens, GPS, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, proximity and pressure sensors, thermometers, accelerated 2D bit blits (with hardware orientation, scaling, pixel format conversion) and accelerated 3D graphics. Market Like many phone-based application stores, the Android Market is a catalog of applications that can be downloaded and installed to target hardware over-the-air, without the use of a PC. Originally only free applications were supported. Paid-for applications have been available on the Android Market in the United States since 19 February 2009. The Android Market has been expanding rapidly. As of August 3, 2010, it had over 100,000 Android applications for download.. There are other markets, such as SlideME and Getjar, but Google's Android Market is the only one whose downloader is installed on every Google Android phone. Bluetooth Support for A2DP and AVRCP were added in version 1.5; sending files (OPP) and accessing the phone book (PBAP) were added in version 2.0; and voice dialing and sending contacts between phones were added in version 2.2. Videocalling Only supported handsets with a front facing camera support videocalling (like the Samsung i9000 Galaxy S). Multitasking Multitasking of applications is available. Voice based features Google search through Voice is available as Search Input since initial release. Also launched Voice actions supported on Android 2.2 onwards. Tethering Android supports tethering, which allows a phone to be used as a wireless/wired hotspot (All 2.2 Froyo phones, unofficial on phones running 1.6 or higher via applications available in the Android Market, e.g. PdaNet). To allow a laptop to share the 3G connection on an Android phone software may need to be installed on both the phone and the laptop Hardware running Android Main article: List of Android devices The Android OS can be used to power cellphones, netbooks and tablet PCs, including the Dell Streak, Samsung Galaxy Tab and other devices. The world's first TV running Android, called Scandinavia, has also been launched by the company People of Lava. The first commercially available phone to run the Android operating system was the HTC Dream, released on 22 October 2008. Software development Early Android device. The early feedback on developing applications for the Android platform was mixed. Issues cited include bugs, lack of documentation, inadequate QA infrastructure, and no public issue-tracking system. (Google announced an issue tracker on 18 January 2008.) In December 2007, MergeLab mobile startup founder Adam MacBeth stated, "Functionality is not there, is poorly documented or just doesn't work... It's clearly not ready for prime time." Despite this, Android-targeted applications began to appear the week after the platform was announced. The first publicly available application was the Snake game. The Android Dev Phone is a SIM-unlocked and hardware-unlocked device that is designed for advanced developers. While developers can use regular consumer devices purchased at retail to test and use their applications, some developers may choose not to use a retail device, preferring an unlocked or no-contract device. Software development kit In the middle of May 2009, Google released version 1.5 (Cupcake) of the Android OS and SDK. This update included many new features including video recording, support for the stereo Bluetooth profile, a customizable onscreen keyboard system and voice recognition. This release also opened up the AppWidget framework to third party developers allowing anyone to create their own home screen widgets. App Inventor for Android Android Developer Challenge Main article: Android Developer Challenge Google applications Google has also participated in the Android Market by offering several applications for its services. These applications include Google Voice for the Google Voice service, Sky Map for watching stars, Finance for their finance service, Maps Editor for their MyMaps service, Places Directory for their Local Search, Google Goggles that searches by image, Gesture Search for using finger written letters and numbers to search the contents of the phone, Google Translate, Google Shopper, Listen for podcasts and My Tracks, a jogging application. In mid August 2010 Google launched "Voice Actions for Android", an innovative feature to its set of applications. The application listens to users voice commands and does actions like search, writing text message, email or call a friend. It also allows for writing text directly by speaking to the phone. The objective is to reduce the typing hassles on touch phones. Whats more, Google is actively participating in the application building, encouraging developers to build high quality and innovative apps. Third party applications With the growing number of Android handsets, there has also been an increased interest by third party developers to port their applications to the Android operating system. Notable applications that have been converted to the Android operating system include Shazam, Doodle Jump, and WeatherBug. The Android operating system has grown significantly, and a lot of the most popular internet sites and services have created native applications. These include MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. As of 15 July 2010, the Android Marketplace had over 70,000 applications, with over 1 billion downloads. Languages (locales) The locales for Android are: (from Android 2.2) * Chinese, People's Republic of China (zh_CN) * Chinese, Taiwan (zh_TW) * Czech (cs_CZ) * Dutch, Netherlands (nl_NL) * Dutch, Belgium (nl_BE) * English, United States (en_US) * English, United Kingdom (en_GB) * English, Canada (en_CA) * English, Australia (en_AU) * English, New Zealand (en_NZ) * English, Singapore(en_SG) * French, France (fr_FR) * French, Belgium (fr_BE) * French, Canada (fr_CA) * French, Switzerland (fr_CH) * German, Germany (de_DE) * German, Austria (de_AT) * German, Switzerland (de_CH) * German, Liechtenstein (de_LI) * Italian, Italy (it_IT) * Italian, Switzerland (it_CH) * Norwegian * Japanese (ja_JP) * Korean (ko_KR) * Polish (pl_PL) * Russian (ru_RU) * Spanish (es_ES) Native code Complete applications can be compiled and installed using traditional development tools. The ADB debugger gives a root shell under the Android Emulator which allows native ARM code to be uploaded and executed. ARM code can be compiled using GCC on a standard PC. Running native code is complicated by the fact that Android uses a non-standard C library (libc, known as Bionic). The underlying graphics device is available as a framebuffer at /dev/graphics/fb0. The graphics library that Android uses to arbitrate and control access to this device is called the Skia Graphics Library (SGL), and it has been released under an open source license. Skia has backends for both win32 and Unix, allowing the development of cross-platform applications, and it is the graphics engine underlying the Google Chrome web browser. Community-based firmware There is a community of open-source enthusiasts that build and share Android-based firmware with a number of customizations and additional features, such as FLAC lossless audio support and the ability to store downloaded applications on the microSD card. This usually involves rooting the device. Rooting lets users load modified firmwares allowing users of older phones to use applications available only on newer releases. Those firmware packages are updated frequently, incorporate elements of Android functionality that haven't yet been officially released within a carrier-sanctioned firmware, and tend to have fewer limitations. CyanogenMod and VillainROM are two examples of such firmware. On 24 September 2009, Google issued a cease and desist letter to the modder Cyanogen, citing issues with the re-distribution of Google's closed-source applications within the custom firmware. Even though most of Android OS is open source, phones come packaged with closed-source Google applications for functionality such as the application store and GPS navigation. Google has asserted that these applications can only be provided through approved distribution channels by licensed distributors. Cyanogen has complied with Google's wishes and is continuing to distribute this mod without the proprietary software. He has provided a method to back up licensed Google applications during the mod's install process and restore them when it is complete. Android robot logo. The Android logo was designed with the Droid font family made by Ascender Corporation. Text logo. Market share In May 2010, Android's first quarter US sales surpassed that of the rival iPhone platform. According to a report by the NPD group, Android achieved 28% smartphone sales in the US market, up 8% from the December quarter. In the second quarter, Apple's iOS was up by 1 %, indicating that Android is taking market share mainly from RIM, and still has to compete with heavy consumer demand for new competitor offerings. Furthermore, analysts point to advantages that Android has as multi-channel, multi-carrier OS, which has allowed it to duplicate the quick success of Microsoft's Window's Mobile. As of August 4, 2010 Google is now activating 200,000 new phones to the Android platform per day according to Eric Schmidt. In early October 2010, Google added 20 countries to its list of approved submitters. By mid-October, purchasing apps will be available in a total of 32 countries. Here are the 20 new countries that are now allowed to sell apps: * Argentina * Australia * Belgium * Brazil * Canada * Denmark * Finland * Hong Kong * Ireland * Israel * Mexico * New Zealand * Norway * Portugal * Russia * Singapore * South Korea * Sweden * Switzerland * Taiwan And, here are the 18 new countries that will soon be able to buy them: * Argentina * Belgium * Brazil * Czech Republic * Denmark * Finland * Hong Kong * India * Ireland * Israel * Mexico * Norway * Poland * Portugal * Russia * Singapore * Sweden * Taiwan Android OS usage share Usage share of Android OS Usage share sorted * Android 2.1 (Eclair) - 40.4% * Android 2.2 (Froyo) - 33.4% * Android 1.6 (Donut) - 16.4% * Android 1.5 (Cupcake) - 9.7% Restrictions and issues Google tracks issues and feature requests publicly at Google Code's site. Linux compatibility * Android's kernel was derived from Linux but has been tweaked by Google outside the main Linux kernel tree. Android does not have a native X Window System nor does it support the full set of standard GNU libraries and this makes it difficult to port existing GNU/Linux applications or libraries to Android. However, support for the X Window System is possible. * Google no longer maintains the code they previously contributed to the Linux kernel as part of their Android effort, effectively branching kernel code in their own tree, separating their code from Linux. This was due to a disagreement about new features Google felt were necessary. The code which is no longer maintained was deleted in January 2010 from the Linux codebase. However, Google announced in April 2010 that they will employ staff to work with the Linux kernel community. Networking issues * Support for setting up a network proxy configuration for WiFi connections is not available. * Support for setting up a network proxy configuration for APN (i.e. GSM/EDGE) connections is not available. * Android doesn't natively support EAP extensions configuration. * Android does not support Cisco-compatible IPsec virtual private networks (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol is supported). Issues concerning application development * Developers have reported that it is difficult to maintain applications on multiple versions of Android, owing to compatibility issues between versions 1.5 and 1.6, especially the different resolution ratios in use among various Android phones. Such problems were poignantly brought into focus as they were encountered during the ADC2 contest. * The rapid growth in the number of Android-based phone models with differing hardware capabilities also makes it difficult to develop applications that work on all Android-based phones. As of August 2010, 64% of Android phones run the 2.x versions, and 36% still run the 1.5 and 1.6 versions * Older versions of Android do not readily support Bluetooth file exchange, although it may still be achieved with some hacking. Bluetooth is supported by more recent phones. * Android does not support video calls as do other mobile operating systems, such as Apple’s iOS, Symbian OS, and Windows Mobile, although third-party applications like Qik allow video calling over Internet on some models, and video broadcasting on others. * In version 2.2 the rSAP protocol is missing which many vehicles use for handsfree. Time zones Using the native Google Calendar functionality for Android phones, an Android device user runs into the same limitations that exist in the Calendar application. The most noticeable defect is the lack of proper time zone support: it is not possible to set the time zone for start/end times of events. Because of this issue, some users experience difficulty while traveling with Android devices. Claimed infringement of copyrights and patents See also: Java applet#The 2010 Oracle - Google lawsuit On the 12th of August 2010, Oracle, owner of Java since it acquired Sun Microsystems in April 2009, sued Google over claimed infringement of copyrights and patents. The lawsuit claims that, "In developing Android, Google knowingly, directly and repeatedly infringed Oracle's Java-related intellectual property." Oracle has named Boies, Schiller & Flexner as part of its legal team. Specifically the patent infringement claim references seven patents including United States Patent No. 5,966,702, entitled “Method And Apparatus For Preprocessing And Packaging Class Files”, and United States Patent No. 6,910,205, entitled “Interpreting Functions Utilizing A Hybrid Of Virtual And Native Machine Instructions”. It also references United States Patent No. RE38,104, (“the '104 patent”) entitled “Method And Apparatus For Resolving Data References In Generated Code” authored by James Gosling best known as the father of the Java programming language. According to Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney, Android is based on a clean room reverse-engineered version of Java, called Dalvik, which was developed without using any Sun technology or intellectual property. Oracle says Dalvik is a competitor to Java and infringes several of its patents, which are listed in the complaint, and its Java copyright.. While officially claiming that "Android is not Java", Google at the same time calls the suit "attack on Java community", likely making difference between "official Java" and "Java in general".
Links of high interest: Sunken worlds become visible: the reconstructed Lake Dwellings at Unteruhldingen. Pile dwelling in Ganvie, Benin, West Africa Inhabited pile dwellings are still existent today in all parts of the world. For example, people still live in pile dwellings in Southeast Asia, West Africa or Central America. Even in Europe, those houses on stilts can still be found in some places. In our latitudes they are however only used for bathhouses on beaches and vacation houses. These kinds of dwellings, one-story houses without a ground floor or basement are customary wherever floods invade people’s lives. This may be in river valleys, at lakes or near the ocean, where „dwellings on stilts“ were always considered effective protective measures. Nevertheless, in some places pile dwellings are often build to maintain building traditions or to guard against rodents or other crawling pests. There are many kinds of techniques to construct a floor above the ground. Great differences can also be noted between the various forms of the houses and the building constructions. Almost none of the floor, wall or roof plans are exactly alike. The forms of the houses and the technical solutions depend on the available building materials, the ideas, the value conceived by the builder, and most importantly the environmental conditions. Logically, when building on a muddy lake bottom, the reinforcement of the foundation has to be planned more carefully than when building on clay soil. It is also logical that in areas where there is an abundance of straight growing confer wood, such as pine, the log cabin structures were a preferred building style, whereas in areas with a large deciduous tree standing, we will find timber framing with forked poles that supported the structure. Since it has been established that during the stone and bronze age mixed deciduous forest dominated at Lake Constance, and the water level of the lake changed constantly, it is understandable that the prehistoric pile dwellings built with deciduous woods at the shores of Lake Constance, were the most common house type.
What is a Mammal What Is A Mammal? Mammal Characteristics & Definition What Is A Mammal? Welcome to Part 2 of Active Wild’s Ultimate Guide To Mammals, a series containing mammal facts, information and pictures. On this page we’ll discover the characteristics that make a mammal a mammal, and look at the scientific definition of a mammal. You’ll discover some incredible mammal facts, and meet some amazing animals! We recommend that you read the whole page to become a mammal expert, but if you just want to refresh your knowledge, use the links below to jump (kangaroo-style) to the required section! Other pages in this series: If you enjoy this page then feel free to link to it from your own website. Alternatively, you can share it on social media using the icons at the top of the page! What Is A Mammal? Introduction Mammals are an incredibly diverse group of animals. Mice, lions, horses, dolphins, hippos and humans are all mammals. Most mammals live on land, but some (e.g. whales) live in the sea, and some (bats) can fly! Despite this huge variety, all mammals have certain things in common, and on this page we’re going to be finding out what those things are! Tiger Cub Many of the world’s best known animals – including the tiger – are mammals. What Makes A Mammal A Mammal? There are 3 main groups of mammals: monotreme (egg-laying), marsupial (pouched) and placental (young develop in the womb) To get your brain in gear – and to get you thinking about what a mammal actually is – here are some quick questions. Don’t worry if you can’t answer them – by the end of this article you’ll know the answers, and we’ll ask you again to make sure! (We’ll also give you the answers, just in case!) Definition Of A Mammal: A Member Of Mammalia Humpback Whale Some of the world’s biggest mammals – such as this humpback whale – are mammals. Scientifically speaking, a mammal is a member of a ‘class’ of animal called ‘Mammalia’. A ‘class’ is a group of animals that have certain things in common. Scientists like to put animals into groups, and a ‘class’ is one of these groups. You may have heard of some other animal classes such as ‘Insecta’ (insects), or ‘Aves’ (birds). An animal can only be in one class, so a member of the Aves class, such as a hummingbird, is definitely not a mammal! Although a mouse looks very different to an elephant, both are mammals. However, a hummingbird – although similar in size to a mouse – is not a mammal (it’s a bird!). Despite the difference in size between a mouse and an elephant, they have more in common with one another than either of them does with the hummingbird. Although a mouse and an elephant seem very different animals, both are mammals. So what is it that all mammals have in common? What are the shared characteristics of all of the members of Mammalia? By the way, an animal is any species in the animal kingdom, Animalia. A ‘kingdom’ is one of the largest scientific groups of living things. You may have heard of other kingdoms, such as the plant kingdom (Plantae), or the fungus kingdom (Fungi). What Is A Mammal? Characteristics Shared By All Mammals: The following characteristics are present in all mammals. However, they are also present in other types of animal; having any of these characteristics doesn’t necessarily make an animal a mammal. All mammals are vertebrates. A vertebrate is an animal with a backbone. All mammals have backbones, but so do lots of other types of animal, such as fish and birds. All mammals have backbones. Can you feel yours? All mammals are warm-blooded (endothermic). Being warm blooded (or endothermic, to be scientific) means that an animal’s body can heat itself up or cool itself down. For example, if it gets too cold we start to shiver, which warms us up. If it gets too hot, we start to sweat, which cools us down. Cold-blooded (ectothermic) animals such as reptiles can’t regulate their body temperatures. Therefore if a snake gets too cold, it has to find a sunny spot to lie in. All mammals give birth to live young … er, apart from monotremes. (Virtually) all mammals give birth to live young. Mammal eggs are fertilized internally and develop inside a female mammal’s body. However, NOT ALL mammals give birth. There are 5 mammals (the platypus and the four species of echidna) that lay eggs! These egg-laying mammals are known as monotremes. Monotremes, such as this echidna, are the only mammals that don’t give birth to live young! All mammals have lungs for breathing air. All mammals breathe air and have lungs. Even mammals that live in the sea, such as whales and dolphins, have to come up for air between dives. Online Zoo: Southern Elephant Seal The southern elephant seal dives deeper and for longer than any other seal, but it still has to come back up for air. All mammals have a four-chambered heart. A mammalian heart has four chambers: the upper left and right atria and the lower left and right ventricles. A four-chambered heart isn’t unique to mammals: birds and crocodiles have a similar system. Secondary palate The secondary palate is a structure that allows air to flow from the nostrils to the back of the mouth. It allows an animal to chew and breathe through its nostrils at the same time. All mammals have them. What Is A Mammal? Characteristics ONLY Found In Mammals: The following characteristics are ONLY found in mammals. If you find an animal with any of these, then you’re definitely looking at a mammal! Only mammals have hair. Mammals are the only animals to have hair. Hair not only provides insulation: it also provides protection, and – in the form of whiskers – sensory information. Even whales and dolphins have hair, or at least hair follicles, the structures in the skin that produce hair. In some whales, the hair disappears shortly after they’re born, or is only present in small amounts. And before you ask, yes, your Grandad is a mammal – he did have hair once! Arctic Fox The Arctic fox has a thick, multi-layered coat to keep it warm in the Arctic north. Only mammals have mammary glands. Mammary glands are sweat glands that have adapted to produce milk. All female mammals feed their young with milk, which is nutritious and also protects the young mammal from disease. The word ‘mammal’ itself comes from ‘mammary’. Mammals are the only animals that feed their young milk. Mammal Drinking Mothers Milk All female mammals feed their young milk. Only mammals have three bones in the middle ear. Mammals have three bones in the middle ear. These bones, called the malleus, incus, and stapes, help to transmit sound from the outer ear to the inner ear. Only mammals have neocortex region of the brain. The neocortex is a region of the brain that is responsible for making sense of the signals received by the eyes, ears and other sensory organs. It also helps in movement, working out problems visually, and in thinking and understanding. Only mammals have sweat glands. Sweat glands are structures found in the skin that excrete fluid. They help to keep a mammal at the correct temperature. Not all mammals have sweat glands. Cetaceans – the group of mammals that includes whales, porpoises and dolphins – don’t have sweat glands. Only mammals have a single lower jaw bone. If you find an animal that has a single lower jaw bone, then it’s definitely a mammal. The direct ancestors of mammals were reptiles. Their lower jaws comprised several bones, including one called the dentary. As reptiles evolved into early mammals, some of the bones moved, and some disappeared. Only the dentary remained, becoming the mandible – or lower jaw bone – in mammals. Mammals have a unique jaw joint called the ‘dentary-squamosal jaw joint’. Mammal Skull As you can see from this cougar skull, the lower jaw of a mammal comprises a single bone. What Is A Mammal? Other Common Mammalian Characteristics: The following characteristics are common among mammals, but are not shared by all mammals, and may be found in other types of animal. External Ears. Most mammals have prominent external ears. Notable example of mammals without external ears are members of the earless seal family, Phocidae. Fennec Fox Ears Most mammals have external ears – but not all have ears as big as the fennec fox’s! Color Vision & Binocular Vision. Most mammals have good vision, and are able to use both eyes to work out distances visually. This comes in handy when leaping through the trees, or pouncing on passing prey! Large Brains in relation to body size. Mammals are a smart bunch, and, compared to other types of animal, have large brains in relation to body size. Living With Dinosaurs Tyrannosaurus Rex Did living alongside dinosaurs force mammals to become nocturnal hunters? Why did mammals evolve with all of the above characteristics? How did mammals find themselves with the abilities that enabled them to become the dominant land animals? Many scientists believe that the answer lies in the Jurassic Period, and with dinosaurs! Imagine living in the age of the dinosaurs! These mighty animals were pretty much unbeatable on land. They were strong, fierce, and even the plant eating dinosaurs could out-compete other animals for resources. This meant that the early mammals had to exploit the dinosaurs’ weaknesses. Being either cold-blooded, or having poorly-developed temperature regulating systems, dinosaurs would not have been equipped to hunt at night. The early mammals, on the other hand, were better able to adapt to night foraging. They had to become nocturnal in order to survive. With fur to keep them warm, and small, agile bodies, the early mammals found their niche in the undergrowth. They developed good eyesight, and excellent senses of smell and hearing. Whiskers helped them to find their way around, and big brains helped them to process all the information their improved senses were providing. Juramaia NT Juramaia, the oldest known placental mammal. Characteristics that you possess today may have developed when your ancestors were sharing the planet with dinosaurs! However, not all early mammals were skulking herbivores. There is fossil evidence that at least one Cretaceous mammal was a carnivore … and that it preyed on dinosaurs! This dog-sized, dinosaur-eating ancestor was called Repenomamus. We know about its diet because a Repenomamus fossil was found … with a fossilized dinosaur in its stomach! What Is A Mammal? Conclusion Now if anyone asks you ‘What is a mammal?’ you’ll be able to tell them! You should also be able to answer these questions with ease! (Answers at bottom of page.) • Is a bird a mammal? • Are sharks mammals? • Is a dolphin a mammal? • Is a fish a mammal? • Do mammals lay eggs? In the next part of our Ultimate Guide to Mammals, we’ll be discovering the many different types of mammal: from the tiny shrews that scamper around in the undergrowth, to the mighty whales that patrol the world’s oceans. Other pages in this series: If you have enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends by using the share buttons at the top of the page. Alternatively, link to this page from the teaching resources section of your website. We really appreciate it! Answers to questions: • Is a bird a mammal? No, a bird is NOT a mammal. It is a member of the Aves (bird) class of animals, not the Mammalia. • Are sharks mammals? No, sharks have gills and are therefore not mammals. Sharks are fish. • Is a dolphin a mammal? Yes! Although dolphins (and other cetaceans, such as whales and porpoises) look a bit like fish, they don’t have gills and breathe air with lungs. • Is a fish a mammal? No! Although fish are vertebrates, and some give birth to live young, they don’t have hair, and they don’t feed their young with milk. These, and other factors, mean that they definitely aren’t mammals! • Do mammals lay eggs? Yes – some mammals actually lay eggs! Well, only five species to be exact: the platypus and four species of echidna. Together they are the only remaining monotremes, an ancient order of mammals that lay eggs. Related pages: Leave a Reply
It's either 1983 or 1984, and Austin Seraphin begs his mom to take him to the electronics store to check out an Apple IIe computer. "She said they were so surprised, they were so shocked. And I said, 'Yeah, they must have been shocked that a blind person—especially a blind kid—wanted to use a computer.' And she said, 'No, they were shocked to have customers,'" he says with a laugh. The Apple IIe was a big deal in the mainstreaming of computers, but it was a really big deal for seven-year-old Seraphin. The machine was one of the first home units to have a slot for a sound card, allowing special software to read aloud whatever was on the screen. "It was great for its day...because it was all text, you know," says Seraphin. From games and bulletin boards to chat rooms, the early internet was simply words and commands, and a screen reader leveled the playing field for people with disabilities. "But when Windows became dominant, that's when we entered a dark age of accessibility," says Seraphin. Computer screens began filling up with images and graphics, and the mouse replaced the command line. Screen readers did a decent job keeping up with the changes, according to Seraphin, until the arrival of the World Wide Web. "That was so revolutionary, because it started bringing this graphical element with these links that they could click on, and move around with the mouse and display images and eventually multimedia," he says. Suddenly, screen readers needed more information about the content they were attempting to give voice to. The problem, though, is that website developers weren't feeding that information consistently in the form of code. Today, the web remains a hodgepodge of accessible and non-accessible sites for people with disabilities. Some major tech companies have taken the necessarily coding steps to make sure adaptive technologies work properly, while other .coms, .govs and .edus are riddled with unlabelled links and images without descriptions that make surfing near impossible. Advocates say it's far past time for the federal government to step in and protect these users by regulating web and mobile accessibility, and they point to the Americans With Disabilities Act as the legal basis. "This is beyond just mere conveniences like shopping online," says Chris Danielsen, director of public relations for the National Federation of the Blind. "This deals with education and employment...being able to do so many things that I just don't think it is realistic to say in the 21st century that websites don't have to be ADA compliant." Passed in 1990, the landmark civil rights legislation requires businesses, schools and governments to make reasonable accommodations for people with both physical and mental limitations, and prohibits discrimination. But there's not a word in the ADA regarding the internet. "This is a matter of equality," says Danielsen. "It's not just a matter of what laws apply." On this point, the United States Department of Justice appears to be on his side. The DOJ is working on regulations to fold the web into the law, spelling out exactly how an ADA-compliant site would function, and to clarify which websites would have to meet those standards. The agency may rely on an industry-adopted set of rules known as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. DOJ is scheduled to release its regulations in March, though they've been delayed several times already. "We are hoping that they will contain a very robust interpretation of what needs to be covered, but there's just no way to know at this point, and it is very frustrating that the wait continues," says Danielsen. In the absence of laws, lawsuits have been the go-to strategy for disabilities rights groups. In 2006, Target was sued because while their brick-and-mortar stores were accessible, their website wasn't. In a settlement, the retailer agreed to overhaul its online service. Another major case involved Netflix. In 2012, the National Association for the Deaf prevailed when the video streaming giant agreed to phase in closed captioning. There's also been complaints filed against major banks and universities, including Penn State. For a lot of sites, though, it was customers—not courts—that led to improvements. Five years ago, a group complained to Major League Baseball that much of their online content was difficult to use. "It was really a great grass roots initiative of baseball fans, particularly visually impaired baseball fans, who wanted that level of access to their games, particularly live games," says Matthew Gould, with MLB Advanced Media. He says the company honestly didn't know the site wasn't working well for everyone, so when it was brought to their attention, coders made the improvements. At tech-giant Yahoo, there's now an entire building on their California campus where people with disabilities test prototypes, identifying bugs before new products hit the market. "All the Silicon Valley companies really have people dedicated to the task: Paypal and Intuit and Google and Facebook and JPMorgan many companies are putting really substantive efforts in, not just Yahoo," says Larry Goldberg, the company's director of accessible media. Those efforts now extend into mobile technology, as smart phones including the iPhone come pre-loaded with screen readers. Austin Seraphin, who still has his Apple IIe in a box somewhere, now makes his living as a web accessibility consultant, helping companies craft technology that works seamlessly. "It's not just about helping the blind or whatever," says Seraphin. "It is about making a better website for everyone." Because, if a site or app is well designed from the ground up, people, no matter their ability, will be more likely to use it, he says.
Working Paper Poverty and the Environment: Exploring the Relationship between Household Incomes, Private Assets, and Natural Assets May 31, 2005 \| Urvashi Narain, Shreekant Gupta, Klaas van 't Veld Using purpose-collected survey data from 537 households in 60 different villages of the Jhabua district of India, this paper investigates the extent to which rural households depend on common-pool natural resources for their daily livelihood. Previous studies have found that resource dependence— defined as the fraction of total income derived from common-pool resources—strongly decreases with income. Our study finds a more complex relationship. First, for the subsample of households that use positive amounts of resources, we find that dependence follows a U-shaped relationship with income, declining at first but then increasing. Second, we find that the probability of being in the subsample of common-pool resource users follows an inverse U-shaped relationship with income: the poorest and richest households are less likely to collect resources than those with intermediate incomes. Resource use by the rich is therefore bimodal: either very high or—for the very richest households—zero. Third, we find that resource dependence increases at all income levels with an increase in the level of common-pool biomass availability. The combination of these results suggests that the quality of natural resources matters to a larger share of the rural population than had been previously believed; common-pool resources contribute a significant fraction of the income not just of the desperately poor, but also of the relatively rich.
How to restore deleted files and recover data from damaged disks Overwritten files Disaster rating: 5/5 If your file has been truly deleted and then overwritten, the sad news is that you probably won't be able to retrieve it. However, there are two theoretical methods that seem promising, so perhaps the situation will be more hopeful in the future. The first method is to do with variations in magnetic flux. When data is written to disk, the resultant magnetic flux depends mostly on the value written. However, the flux is also provided with a tiny contribution from the overwritten data. So, if you replace the normal read electronics that decide whether a bit is a 1 or a 0 with circuitry that can extract the analogue value from the head, subtracting the known contribution of the most recently written data should make it possible to determine what value was in place before it. This method of extracting overwritten data is commonly reported and academic papers have been written on the subject, but we've been unable to find any organisation that claims to have done it successfully. The problem is that the signal to the previously written data is so small that it effectively gets lost in the random electrical fluctuations commonly referred to as noise. However, Western Digital's Gerardo Bertero – while questioning whether the technique is really a practical proposition – did suggest one possible solution. By reading each bit thousands if not millions of times and averaging all those signals, electrical noise, being random in nature, would average out to zero – whereas the genuine signal would build up and become visible. The snag is that this would be hugely time-consuming and costly – which is why nobody offers such a service. Whether it becomes feasible when national security is at risk is another question entirely, and one we're not likely to get an answer to from the Secret Service. The second theoretical technique for recovering data is to use a Magnetic Force Microscope (MFM). It's claimed that this method offers an additional benefit – it can read data, overwritten or not, from the surface of a platter that is no longer able to spin because of damage. For the normal read operation of a hard disk, the platter must be able to rotate because an electrical signal can only be produced in the read head's coil if it's moving with respect to the magnetic field. However, an MFM is able to read a static magnetic field – so the platter doesn't have to be able to spin. An MFM is a laboratory instrument that has an ultra-fine magnetised tip suspended on a cantilever. As the tip moves over the surface of the object being imaged, the magnetic field of that object exerts a force on the tip, which in turn causes a displacement of the cantilever. This is measured using optical techniques. It's self-evident how an MFM could be used to read data from a platter that can no longer rotate, but what isn't as obvious is how the technique lends itself to recovering data that's been overwritten – at least in theory. Data is written to a hard disk's platter in concentric circles known as tracks. A highly accurate servo control system is used to position the read/write head over the required track, but, even so, the head isn't always positioned to exactly the same radial position. What this means is that if a track is overwritten but the head wasn't at exactly the same position as it was on the previous occasion, a narrow band of the previously written data might remain intact at the edge of the track. Again, despite hearing so much about this technique, and despite the fact that hard disk drive manufacturers already use MFMs for research and development, we haven't found any company who offers this technique for recovering overwritten data. We'd have to speculate on whether it's in use by the military, although the fact that military standards require disks to be physically destroyed at the end of their lives might just suggest that they know it's feasible. Scratched discs Disaster rating: 1/5 Methods such as undeleting files, repairing logical errors to the file structure and reassembling files also work with media such as memory cards and pen drives. However, there are certain methods of data recovery that apply only to optical disks. Except in the most extreme cases, when a CD or DVD won't read it's usually scratches in the outer plastic layer that are causing the problem. The plastic layer is there to provide protection to the layer of data underneath, but scratches can impair the passage of the light used to read the data. The solution is to remove the troublesome scratches using a mild abrasive so that light will pass through the plastic layer without obstruction. Although there are reports of this being done successfully using household substances such as Brasso, a more reliable solution is to use a product designed for this job. Such products range from kits comprising a bottle of suitably mild abrasive and a lint-free cloth to mechanical disk polishing devices such as Digital Innovations' SkipDr. The latter claims a greater chance of success since the polishing process is more uniform and controlled. Shattered discs Disaster rating: 4/5 Researchers at the University of Arizona's Optical Sciences Center have published a peer-reviewed paper in which they describe how they used an optical microscope to extract data from fragments of broken CDs or DVDs. However, the process is time-consuming and so isn't likely to be viable unless the rewards are huge. What's more, any data in the vicinity of the breaks is totally unrecoverable, so in many cases we'd be talking of recovering fragments of data rather than files in their entirety. A shattered disc still means lost data – although the future may hold more hope for broken optical discs.
Metamorphoses, Personalities Of The Gods Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 10th grade October 2001 download word file, 4 pages 0.0 Downloaded 698 times Essay 3 The various gods that populate the myths Ovid uses in Metamorphoses contain several different aspects of personality and relate to people in very different ways. Each god is associated with a different type of myth that relates to his specific personality and the metamorphoses that occur within these stories are unique to each god. Ovid portrays Jupiter as lustful, deceitful and violent as well as impulsive. Jupiter's deception and spontaneity often go hand-in-hand to accomplish one of his many schemes to seduce a woman for whom he lusts. Almost every rape involving Jupiter also involves a transformation of Jupiter into an animal or another person. For example, in order to rape Europa, Jupiter becomes a peaceful bull and grazes in a meadow to lure Europa onto his back. As the girl innocently hugs and decorates the bull with flowers, Jupiter's lust intensifies and when Europa climbs on his back, he races towards the sea. Although Europa begins to become frightened, it is too late for her to turn back and Jupiter carries out his plan. Another scene involving Jupiter's lust is in the myth of Jupiter and Callisto. Jupiter's transformation into Diana deceives Callisto into coming close to him and then he takes advantage of her, stealing her innocence. Even while Jupiter was making plans to be with Io, Juno, his wife, "knew well the deceptions practiced by that husband, who had so often been caught behaving as he ought not."ÃÂ (page 45). Jupiter attempted to deceive Io by offering to her a shady grove in which to shelter herself from the sun, but she ran from him. Even though Io fled from Jupiter, he blanketed the earth in darkness and "robbed her of her maidenhood."ÃÂ (page 45) He later transforms Io into a cow to deceive his wife, who suspects that her husband has wronged her. When Jupiter's brother rapes Proserpine and takes her to be his wife, Ceres, Proserpine's mother, grows angry with Jupiter and asks him to make reconciliation. Jupiter sees nothing wrong with his daughter's marriage to his brother, revealing his selfishness because he will not think of his daughter, but only of his brother and himself. Juno's personality is one of jealousy and revenge. Although she knows that her husband has been wronging many girls, Juno becomes jealous of the girls and does harm to them. When Juno hears of Jupiter's rape of Callisto, she turns Callisto into a bear, and Jupiter later mad Callisto and her son constellations. "When her rival was shining among the stars, Juno's wrath knew no bounds."ÃÂ Because of her fury at having one of her enemies above her, Juno visits Oceanus and requests that the two constellations not appear in the water. Even as Jupiter was planning to cheat on his wife, Juno felt jealousy towards those who Jupiter had raped in the past and grew suspicious of her husband. When Jupiter presented her with the cow, Juno knew that Jupiter was deceiving her in some way because of her jealousy. In addition to jealousy and revenge, Juno likes people to see her opinion as correct, while people should consider others in opposition wrong. When Juno argues with Jupiter over who gets most sexual pleasure, males or females, Juno refuses to believe Jupiter's proposition that the women are most pleased and she goes to ask Tiresias, who has been both male and female. When Tiresias agrees with Jupiter, Juno is angry and blinds him because he dared say she was wrong. Another example of Juno's vengefulness comes about in the story of Athamas and Ino. Juno is jealous of the riches of Athamas and Ino and sends the Furies to drive them crazy, which results in the death of Ino. As Ino is prays to Bacchus moments before her death, "Juno heard her, and laughed: "ÃÂMay the babe you reared ever bring you such blessing'"ÃÂ. (page 108) Juno has no compassion towards others and her selfish nature pushes her to seek revenge on any who could possibly become more popular than she is. Apollo is a god who falls in love deeply, yet always has his love taken away from him. His son, Phoebus, asks to ride his father's car because Apollo had promised to give him anything he asked. Even though he had promised, Apollo, knowing the danger of his son's request, is almost ready to break his vow. Because he does not want to break a promise and because of his intense love for his son, Apollo allows Phoebus to drive his car, which results in the death of the one Apollo held so dear. Again, Apollo finds love in Leucothoe, but her parents find out about their affair and bury Leucothoe alive. Apollo adores her so much that his brightness wanes in his attempts to revive her, but his efforts fail. Even when Cupid shoots him with the arrow of love, Apollo is unable to capture his heart's desire. Daphne, whom he falls in love with, flees from him and undergoes a metamorphoses, from woman to tree, that does not allow Apollo to have a relationship with her. Hyacinthus, Apollo's close friend, is killed by one of Apollo's discus throws and, again, Apollo tries in vain to save the life of his beloved friend. Ovid's portrayal of the gods in Metamorphoses mirrors the relationships of leaders in society and the various types of personalities found in any given community. Each god is unique and responds to people in a different way than the other gods, allowing them to become archetypes of different behaviors.
The Republic of Korea has a dual executive arrangement similar to that found in France, where a strong president and a weaker prime minister share executive power. In Korea's case, virtually all of the power is in the hands of the president. Since the early 90's, presidential power has slowly been devolving to the National Assembly, but the strong president remains a trademark of Korean politics, and will probably retain that status until well after the conflict with Pyongyang has ended. 1. Syngman Rhee, Liberal Party Inaugurated May 31, 1948 2. Ho Chong, Liberal Party Inaugurated May 3, 1960 3. Kwak Sang Hoon Inaugurated June 15, 1960 4. Ho Chong, Liberal Party Re-inaugurated June 26, 1960 5. Yun Bo Seon, New Democratic Party Inaugurated August 13, 1960 Chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction (military rule), May 16, 1961 6. Park Chung Hee, Democratic Republican Party Chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, March 24, 1962 Inaugurated president December 17, 1963 Assassinated October 26, 1979 7. Choi Kyu Hah, Democratic Republican Party Officially inaugurated December 6, 1979 8. Park Choong Hoon Assumed power in coup, August 16, 1980 9. Chun Doo Hwan, Democratic Justice Party Assumed power in another coup, September 1, 1980 Inaugurated President under civil rule, February 25, 1981 Sentenced to death, August 22, 1996 (later commuted to life imprisonment) 10. Roh Tae Woo, Democratic Justice Party (Democratic Liberal Party) Inaugurated February 25, 1988 Sentenced to 22 years in prison, August 22, 1996 11. Kim Young Sam, Democratic Liberal Party (New Korea Party) Inaugurated February 25, 1993 12. Kim Dae Jung, National Congress for New Politics (Millennium Democratic Party) Inaugurated February 25, 1998 13. Roh Moo Hyun, Millennium Democratic Party Elected December 20, 2002, inaugurated February 25, 2003
X 1.1 Class Solar Flare — 19 October, 2014 X1-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: This comes as no surprise. Behemoth sunspot AR2192 has unleashed an X1-class solar flare. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the blast in this extreme UV image of the sun on Oct. 19th (0500 UT): A pulse of ultraviolet and X-radiation from the flare caused a brief but strong HF radio blackout on the dayside of Earth, mainly over Asia and Australia. Also, the explosion probably hurled a CME into space. This possibility has not yet been confirmed by SOHO coronagraph data. If a CME is forthcoming, it will probably sail wide of Earth due to the sunspot’s location near the sun’s eastern limb. Big sunspots tend to produce big flares, and clearly AR2192 is no exception. More X-flares are likely as AR2192 turns toward Earth in the days ahead. Also, if you have a solar telescope, point it at the sun. This active region is a real beauty. original article : http://spaceweather.com/ Enjoy watching the video !
In the past, curriculum and location have been the primary drivers for parents selecting their child’s school. Experts are now predicting that sustainability will be the next consideration, pointing to the movement toward greening workplaces and other commercial spaces. It is also prompting design experts to look beyond the outdoor veggie patch or tree-filled playground and work their green magic inside the classroom. However, despite a desire to contribute to the environment, greening school interiors still isn't gaining enough momentum in the primary and secondary education sector. This mostly comes down to budget and its allocation according to Cameron Rosen, managing director of Australian Living. “Private and new schools have more opportunity to create the right healthy interiors for the children however the lack of awareness or understanding of sustainability by the core decision makers affects the outcome of how the budget is allocated,” Rosen said. “Their focus is on time and cost and basic function and this dilutes the real sustainable opportunity.” Here are four ways to green the classroom: Environmental Education Rosen encourages designers to start with the children, teaching sustainability and encouraging green habits. “Training them to understand different things like turning the lights out to save energy, drawing the curtains to stop the heat from coming in, closing the doors to stop the cold from escaping and separating waste and recycling," he said. "Children are then introduced to different materials and smells, understanding the difference between natural and non-natural products. Schools then introduce environmentally considerate items such as recycled paper and wooden toys to work with.” Flooring in schools must be both durable and cost-effective. “A classroom floor would wear differently to a common area not only because the common area might be partly outdoors, but because of the type of traffic, it has on it," said Rosen. "Then it follows in the order of maintability, is its repair ability, aesthetic, then is it natural or manufactured and finally if it has third party certification or production." He cited eco-friendly certified carpet squares as a great flooring choice in that if the carpet is damaged, it can be easily replaced without replacing the whole carpet. In some cases, companies will take back the damaged piece for recycling. Cork also offers sustainable, hypo-allergenic and durable qualities Cork also offers sustainable, hypo-allergenic and durable qualities Rosen agrees that outdoor veggie patches have gained momentum as they integrate practical and theoretical learning. This can also be done inside the classroom, but interior greenery is often notably absent. "(This) is unfortunate as it’s known as one of the key factors in creating healthy enviornments which are naturally filtered and refreshed with healthy oxygen," he said. In fact, research on indoor plants by the University of Technology Sydney found that indoor plants actually aid school performance. In its report, UTS revealed a 23 per cent reduction in primary school absences. The research showed that by placing four pot plants in a QLD classroom, mathematics, science and spelling scores improved by 11 to 12 per cent compared with plant-free rooms. UTS also noted to a Portugese study that installed six hanging plant baskets in a classroom and found they reduced in CO2 by 45 per cent, volatile organic compounds by 27 per cent and fine particulate matter by 30 per cent. Plants linked to improved student performance and air quality Plants are linked to improved student performance and air quality Schools can also benefit by implementing sustainable and non-toxic furniture. With an array of research and products on the market, Rosen is disappointed that these are not being utilised and believes it should be a priority as much as any other interior. In order to implement some of these green classroom initiatives, Rosen suggests schools write a sustainability plan with actions to generate a healthy, vibrant, inspirational learning facility. If cost is an issue, he suggests utilising independent or collaborative fundraising and informing participants of the benefits of these features while introducing them into the classroom. This educates parents and other members of the community to introduce similar practices beyond the school.
Featured Story: Seltzer’s Cinco Facts About Cinco de Mayo. By: Shannon “Hola, I am Selzter, your favorite Chihuahua! Most people think Cinco de Mayo (the fifth of May) is celebrated to honor Mexican Independence day however, it is actually to celebrate victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1867). Despite having a small band of fighters, the Mexicans were able to defeat the massive French army on May 5, 1862. Here are my Cinco Facts About Cinco de Mayo!” UNO: The festival is actually more widely celebrated in the United States than in Mexico. In 1862, when the Mexicans defeated the French, the Civil War in the USA had gathered intensity. Caught between both the conflicts, Mexicans in the USA started calling the victory in Puebla as their own victory. And since then, several Cinco de Mayo traditions, such as parades, Mariachi music performances, and street festivals were held in cities and towns across Mexico and the USA. DOS: The largest Cinco de Mayo celebration in the USA takes place in Los Angeles, California, which has the highest concentration of Mexican-origin population in the country. TRES: Although the Mexican Army won the battle at Puebla on May 5th, 1862 the French went on to win the war, occupying the region for five years. QUATRO: Cinco de Mayo is not a federal holiday in Mexico. However, in the State of Puebla, Cinco de Mayo is a very important state holiday celebrated with parades, festivals and reenactments. CINCO: Abraham Lincoln sympathized with the Mexican cause but during the French occupation he was unable to lend direct support to the nation due to the U.S. Civil War, which was taking place at the same time. When the Civil War finally ended, the U.S. forced France to withdraw its troops from Mexico and their empire collapsed. Leave a Reply WordPress.com Logo Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s %d bloggers like this:

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

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